Here's a good artlice about the biggest difference between faiths in the East and West; re we saved through personal enlightment(finding spirituality or Gd within) or through Jesus Christ?
The author claims they are the same.

http://www.learnteachcreate.com/35.html

Christians typically denounce the idea of finding God with yourself yet the Bible implies that God is within each of us.

So is it possible that finding God within yourself is the same thing as going to the father through Christ?


All opinions welcome but it would be interesting to a Christians counter argument to this.

Yes! I belong to a Christian sect that's frequently misunderstood, but we believe exactly that, that God is in everyone and that He speaks his Word through each of us that chooses to listen, regardless of your denomination or chuch. In fact, it is the central belief of our faith and worship practice. If you're interested, do a little reasearch on Quakers, and you'll probably come to the conculsion that we're very "eastern" like, but we differ in a lot of ways too. So yes, there are not only Quakers, but several other denominations and sects within Christianity that believe this on some level (Quakers are one of the few, if not the only that actually believe that biblical inerrancy is something that isn't worth much consideration). Quakers just tend to be on the extreme side of that belief although we're still typically trinitarians--not all of us though, but mostly.

It truly amazes me even today how widely spread the Christian faith is, we all seem to practice so differently.. at least from my own point of view.

Jesus was the son of God, and as such was the essence of the living God on earth.
We're taught to emmulate Jesus, so we can all be the sons and daughters of God, incarnate on earth.
He wanted us to follow his teachings and to become as he was.

I don't think you have to "find God through Jesus" but it probably helps...like Jesus is the road map and God is the destination, if you know your way around town you don't need a map.

What I'm trying to say is Jesus is the guy at the gas station who tells you to "take a left on A street, a U turn on B street, and God is past the first stop sign on your left...if you see fire and brimstone you've gone to far"

I think it is very obvious that the bible shows God is within.

"Be still and know that I am God." ---Psalm 46:10


The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you---Jesus

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ---Jesus


Also the name of Jehovah is : I am that I am. "I am" is none other than the self. Look within the self and there you will find Truth. After the truth is found: Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. --Jesus

The soul is Spirit and God is Spirit. Both soul and God are one and there is no distinction: God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. --Jesus

That is correct, true worship of God isn't being attached by to a belief system of salvation but actually realizing the "Kingdom of God within" and identifying Him as such via your own "spirit" which is actually the spirit of God.

I and the Father are one. --Jesus, doesn't just apply to Jesus. It applies to the universe as a whole. Everything is God and we can see this truth for ourselves, all we need to do is "be still" still our minds that is.

I'll leave a quote from Kahlil Gibran which explains why a doctrine of truth is different to seeing it for oneself as our messiahs saw it: Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.

Bravo, Bravey, great post there!

However, I would also say that the bible can probably be used to prove any point a person wishes to make. It contains a great many contradictions and covers a vast number of subjects.

I had just posted on the Jiddu Krishnamurti thread that I really 'get it' now, about Truth being pathless, and that no religion, sect, philosophy, christ, buddha, priest, minister, guru, angel or god can lead us there. It is personal and individual and I would say the ONLY way one can experience their Divinity is within themselves.

Using three verses from the bible, one can prove anything he wants.

Isn't that the one that has the part about Judas hung himself; go and do thou likewise? I can't remember all of it.

Thanks. I agree. You can just about use any doctrine to justify unjust acts. Of course the bible can be used for that....how naive of me, it has been used and abused many times for such things. I dont follow all that. I pick and choose what I want to believe in the bible. I just appreciate the loving essence within the gospels and the parts about St Paul, from these texts a great measure of genuine spiritual insight can be ascertained. The rest is just mind numbingly boring which sends me to sleep.

This Christian idea that you MUST go through Jesus to get to God I don't agree with. Perhaps because I am a Messianic Jew but it quite clearly states in the OT you should go DIRECTLY to God.

hehe nice posts sir brave
its nice to read txt about what humans must know within self, I am also a christian but i dont go to church
because the pastors in the church use only thier members for their own luxuries that members dont even realize
others said they have been healed and i think they heal their ownself......they only wanted fame and money here
in the philippines

Thanks mmaaaaaatttteeeeee! Im the same. I dont go to church because I know that the true chruch is within. My body is my church, my mind is my chruch and my soul is my church and God dwelleth in these.

Organized religion is too corrupt for my liking. Though not all organized religion is bad most of it is and for this I keep well away from all of it, though I do know good people who do good in and for their organized religion.

Ultimately all religions are right because everything is an expression of God. A great Hindu spiritual master puts it very eloquently:

One should not think, 'My religion alone is the right path and other religions are false.' God can be realized by means of all paths. It is enough to have a sincere yearning for God. Infinite are the paths and infinite the opinions. ---Sri RamaKrishna

Beautiful isn't it??? Also another one I like of Jesus' which I rather naively left out of my last post was this: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. --Jesus Christ

So true.

What is heaven? The Kingdom of God. And where is the Kingdom of God? Within. Jesus is basically saying that one doesnt need organized religion to have a one on one religion with God. All is alreay within you and this treasure within us is greater than the greatest of all material possession.

I hadn't meant that statement at you, though. I had meant it to say that whoever uses scripture to prove one thing is correct, and someone else who uses it to disprove the first one and prove another thing will be correct also.

So, what I was saying is, those who have said we need a messiah to have a God can be correct with scripture, just as much as those who say we can and do find God within ourselves are correct. The bible has Jesus saying it every which way: The Kingdom is within you. Also: The Kingdom is inside you and outside you.

But it's good what you did. You clearly showed the inconsistency and that it ultimately comes down to the fact that we each find our own way to know Truth.

This MUST be why religions break off into so many denominations, sects, subdenominations and subsects. Everyone sees it a bit differently and finds the references that agree with their own inner knowings.

Yeah the purpose of the Guru is to make one realize that they are already self-realized.