chaikwa

As a person that has had no 'formal, organized religion', (I was raised Indian), if I were to want adopt a recognized religion, how would I know which one is 'correct'? There are so many and all claim that they are 'The One'.

This has always confused me.

chaikwa.

Mexstan

chaikwa, excellent question. This will take some time to answer and I don't have tha time right now. If nobody else gives you the answer by tomorrow, I will.
When you say you were raised Indian, are you talking American Indian or east Indian?

TurbosAmongUs

I wished the Bible would have explained more about UFO's...of course, they didn't have the technology back then to imagine what they were...I do think alot of "controversial" things nowdays like aliens, and hurricanes were left out of the Bible..however doesn't make it false in your eyes.
Chaikwa: Don't you follow the traditional native people's religion?Hopefully you can keep that alive, that is a vital part of American history my brother!

bdramsey

chaikwa-
to begin to explain the answer to your question is time consuming, however I would like to give you a couple things that you could think about.
1. Get a bible
2. Pray ... If I am not mistaken the bulk of indian traditional prayer is based on objects. i.e. sun, moon, stars. etc. Correct me if I am wrong. Please. God has a name it is Yaweh (hebrew transliteration), Jesus has a name Yashewa (hebrew transliteration). Folks somtimes feel kinda weird saying somthing to an invisible entity. Let me come back to this.

Another way to look at this. If you are driving down a back country road and you are travelling at 65mph, you come over a hill, and there is a cop. The cop pulls you over and tells you that you were speeding. You tell the cop "I didn't see any speed limit signs". (In texas the speed limit is 30mph on an unposted road), the cop says "too bad, the speed limit is identified in the driver's manual, here is your ticket, thank you have a good day" (like anyone would have a good day after getting a speeding ticket, hahaha) anyhow back to the scenerio. You decide that this is unfair. So you goto the court at the appointed time to discuss your case with the judge, maybe you think you are going to try to get probation, or defensive driving. Ya sit there for about an hour, the baliff calls you in, the judge looks at your ticket and says "You broke my law, what do you have to say for yourself?", you say "but the speed limit was not posted, so I think that you should dismiss the ticket", the judge says " I am not able to dismiss the punishment for the ticket, your punishment will be $5,000.00 and 1 year in prison", you say " but your honor why is the punishment so severe, I was only doing 35mph over the speed limit written in the driver's manuel", the judge say "This is the penalty for your crime, how will you fulfill your debt?", knowing that you are unable to pay the debt, you become sad, and scared of the punishment. All of a sudden this man comes into the court room, and runs to the judge and says "I will pay this man's fine". The judge then turns to you and asks "Will you accept this man paying your fine?". What will your answer be?
That is a brief example of what Jesus did for us. We were guilty by our human nature, not just you, but me, and everyother human on the face of this planet. We were guilty and Jesus paid our debt in full, therefore we are no longer bound to the punishment that has been set by God. This is a free gift, it is free to anyone who accepts it, if it is refused, then the penalty will be paid by our own hands, which God will not accept.
There is no other religion that has such selfless sacrifice for free. The fundamental building block of "christianity" is Jesus's selfless sacrifice so that we do NOT have to pay our own fare to enter into heaven. God is love, not the type of love that comes to most folk's mind at first, but love accepting other's regardless of the shortfalls that they have. Jesus said we are to love are enemy, and pray for those that persecute us. Is there another religion that has that perspective on behavior?
Never heard of one, but I suppose someone else has.

alright----back to the first part
Pray- we will hold and give account for every idle word that we speak. Try this "Jesus if you are for real, then show me, prove to me that you are for real"
Jesus healed people of every type and kind of affliction that they had.

Check out this website:
http://www.thewayofthemaster.com/

Just take a look at it. I'm sure that somone here can answer many of the questions that all of you might have.

phox_mulder

Just check out all the available religions and practice what you feel is the correct one.

I think all organized religious were founded by someone checking out what was out there,
and not finding anything that felt "right" to him or her.

I know the LDS religion was started like that.
(being raised LDS, I know the story backward and forward, as all little Mormon boys and girls have been taught the story since they were old enough to be taught)
Joseph Smith investigated all that was available at the time,
didn't find one that felt completely "right" so started his own.

Not versed in religious history, but it seems like the same story behind all organized religion.

Just check out everything around you, then run with whatever feels "right" to you,
or on the flipside, if none of them feel "right", just be the best You that you can be,
do that and all will be well.


phox


why does it suddenly feel a bit warm here?
Oh, thats the impending flame fest.

chaikwa

I should have been more specific, sorry 'bout that! I meant American Indian. Abenaki to be specific.

TurbosAmongUs: I DO follow the religion as it was taught to me, altho I admit to 'faultering' for awhile after the violent death of my best and closest friend when I was 18. I never questioned what I was taught however, just simply abandoned it, and everything else, for quite a few years.
At one time I could speak the language very fluently as well, but I lost that in my moment of faultering as well. Working to get that back now!

bdramsey: you are partially correct in your assumption that alot of Indian traditional prayer is based on objects. That's just part of the whole tho.

phox_mulder: When you said "just be the best you that you can be, and all will be well", you came very close to the basis of alot of the Indian's religious views. It all boils down to what you know to be right and how you live your life, amongst other things.

Some Indian religions, (maybe most, I'm not well versed in ALL of them!), acknowledge the existance of God and Christ, and closely parallel the bible in some of their teachings. I don't know if this is from pre-european times or if it's an influence of the europeans after their arrival on this continent. That's been widely debated in the past.

My original question hasn't been answered however. Now, don't take that statement as a reason to turn this thread into an all-out religious war, because it wasn't meant to be a statement of instigation! I DO believe there is a God, and I believe in the bible and most of what's written in it. I was just asking how ANYONE could know what the 'right' religion is, IF there is one.
I think, (not sure here either, I may be wrong), that most religions state that Jesus was a Jew, and if that's true, why is there any other religion than the Jewish belief? I would think it would be confusing to anyone that hasn't been exposed to a particular religion all their life to choose one to start believing in and worshiping.

I'm not the most eloquent speaker/writer, so I apologize in advance if I've offended anyone, as that is definately NOT my intention here. I don't usually even get involved in religious discussions simply for that reason! But this board has a great bunch of guys that has helped me so many times I can't even begin to count them, and even when I've read controversial posts like this one, everyone here remains pretty civil and respectful of everyone else's views, so I figured, 'What the heck, I'll give it a shot!'

Thanks to everyone to responded to my question too!

chaikwa.

bdramsey

I didn't start this thread so that a religeuos war could start, but so that folks could have a place to discuss thier belief, not to force or coerce other into believing the same. I think most folks on here have decency when it comes to respecting others.
I think that there is other religions from judaism because like phox said there were those that disagreed. Being American indian placed your ancestors in a different part of the world when judaism began, the bible deals with middle eastern history all the way through the old testament, which is the mostly the history part of it. The new testament deals with more of a middle eastern- african-southern european setting. However, In the new testament Jesus commanded his followers to go into all the world.

What it all boils down to pertaining Christianity is not possible unless God draws the person, it is futile and it will cause problems if I ran around shoving my beliefs down other peoples throat, I would be quite a lonely feller. What I do though is share my belief with others, kinda like advice, I put it on the table and if it gets discussed, then fine, but if the other person(s) don't want to discuss it, then that is cool too.

Not a religeous scholar so I can't be too through when explaing other religions, but I do know enough of them to know that they are not what I believe in. I guess you could kinda put it like knowing your enemy, I don't view other beliefs as my enemy, however I do view them as a way to expand knowledge and understanding. I can only relate to my situation, and enviroment. I do have to say that some of our adversaries favorite tools are christians. Because they talk the talk but don't walk the walk. It puts a bad name on the rest of us that are serious about our beliefs.

As far as the right religion------- The bible does say that all men will have the chance. Only our creator knows the true catlyist to reveal to somone who he is. Some call it a fantasy world, but I look around, and through my experiances I have found my path. Narrow it might be, but it is straight.

bdramsey

1 belief
Yes he did
Yes his followers are to follow his example.

phox_mulder

Most likely 1 belief survived the flood
If you believe there was in fact a flood
I believe it was more of a big tidal wave myself,
and there are scientific minds who think the same as I.

But, of the hundreds (if not thousands) of religions being practiced today,
which one was it that made it onto the ark?

I'm pretty sure the practicioners of each of those beliefs will say it was theirs,
and be able to prove it, at least to themselves and others that share that belief.

Therein lies the commonality between all religions.

If you believe yours is the right one, then it is in fact the right one,
and nothing anyone else says will sway you from your belief.

Again, those seeking religion must seek them all till they find one that feels right, then embrace it.


phox

bdramsey

How could a tidal wave put an object the size of the ark on top of a mountain? Much less after 40 days to still be able to only see water?
Musta been an awful dumb raven and an awful lazy dove to not find a branch. If there had been dry land it would appear to me that neither one would have returned at all when they were initially released.

There might be thousands of titles, but I would venture to say that they can all be summed up in 2 catagories. Right, and wrong.

Does thousands of religions mean that there are thousands of ways to heaven?

mhuppertz

Good thread. God is good, and on the other side of the vail everything will be clear.
"All things work together for good, for those who love the Lord"

chaikwa

bdramsey: Does thousands of religions mean that there are thousands of ways to heaven?

WOW! Excellent point!!! I NEVER would have thought of that! That's definately something to think about!



mhuppertz: Good thread.
I agree, an excellent thread indeed! Thanks again for all the honest and thought provoking answers.

bdramsey, sorry I kind of 'hi-jacked' your original post!

chaikwa.

Mexstan

chaikwa, sorry but still have not had the time to prepare a proper answer to your good question, but will post the following as step one for you to consider. I said that to answer your question properly would take time, and it will, but I want to do my best to give you a full answer, so please bear with me, even it it is a lot of reading. Feel free to ask more questions.



There have been hundreds of books written on the subject of the evidences of the divine inspiration of the Bible, and these evidences are many and varied. Most people today, unfortunately, have not read any of these books. In fact, few have even read the Bible itself! Thus, many people tend to go along with the popular delusion that the Bible is full of mistakes and is no longer relevant to our modern world.
Nevertheless the Bible writers claimed repeatedly that they were transmitting the very Word of God, infallible and authoritative in the highest degree. This is an amazing thing for any writer to say, and if the forty or so men who wrote the Scriptures were wrong in these claims, then they must have been lying, or insane, or both.

But, on the other hand, if the greatest and most influential book of the ages, containing the most beautiful literature and the most perfect moral code ever devised, was written by deceiving fanatics, then what hope is there for ever finding meaning and purpose in this world?

If one will seriously investigate these Biblical evidences, he will find that their claims of divine inspiration (stated over 3,000 times, in various ways) were amply justified.

Fulfilled Prophecies

The remarkable evidence of fulfilled prophecy is just one case in point. Hundreds of Bible prophecies have been fulfilled, specifically and meticulously, often long after the prophetic writer had passed away.

For example, Daniel the prophet predicted in about 538 BC (Daniel 9:24-27) that Christ would come as Israel's promised Savior and Prince 483 years after the Persian emperor would give the Jews authority to rebuild Jerusalem, which was then in ruins. This was clearly and definitely fulfilled, hundreds of years later.

There are extensive prophecies dealing with individual nations and cities and with the course of history in general, all of which have been literally fulfilled. More than 300 prophecies were fulfilled by Christ Himself at His first coming. Other prophecies deal with the spread of Christianity, as well as various false religions, and many other subjects.

There is no other book, ancient or modern, like this. The vague, and usually erroneous, prophecies of people like Jeanne Dixon, Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, and others like them are not in the same category at all, and neither are other religious books such as the Koran, the Confucian Analects, and similar religious writings. Only the Bible manifests this remarkable prophetic evidence, and it does so on such a tremendous scale as to render completely absurd any explanation other than divine revelation.

Unique Historical Accuracy

The historical accuracy of the Scriptures is likewise in a class by itself, far superior to the written records of Egypt, Assyria, and other early nations. Archeological confirmations of the Biblical record have been almost innumerable in the last century. Dr. Nelson Glueck, probably the greatest modern authority on Israeli archeology, has said:


"No archeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries."

Scientific Accuracy
Another striking evidence of divine inspiration is found in the fact that many of the principles of modern science were recorded as facts of nature in the Bible long before scientist confirmed them experimentally. A sampling of these would include:


Roundness of the earth (Isaiah 40:22)

Almost infinite extent of the sidereal universe (Isaiah 55:9)

Law of conservation of mass and energy (II Peter 3:7)

Hydrologic cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7)

Vast number of stars (Jeremiah 33:22)

Law of increasing entropy (Psalm 102:25-27)

Paramount importance of blood in life processes (Leviticus 17:11)

Atmospheric circulation (Ecclesiastes 1:6)

Gravitational field (Job 26:7)

and many others.
These are not stated in the technical jargon of modern science, of course, but in terms of the basic world of man's everyday experience; nevertheless, they are completely in accord with the most modern scientific facts.
It is significant also that no real mistake has ever been demonstrated in the Bible -- in science, in history, or in any other subject. Many have been claimed, of course, but conservative Bible scholars have always been able to work out reasonable solutions to all such problems.

Unique Structure

The remarkable structure of the Bible should also be stressed. Although it is a collection of 66 books, written by 40 or more different men over a period of 2,000 years, it is clearly one Book, with perfect unity and consistency throughout.

The individual writers, at the time of writing, had no idea that their message was eventually to be incorporated into such a Book, but each nevertheless fits perfectly into place and serves its own unique purpose as a component of the whole. Anyone who diligently studies the Bible will continually find remarkable structural and mathematical patterns woven throughout its fabric, with an intricacy and symmetry incapable of explanation by chance or collusion.

The one consistent theme of the Bible, developing in grandeur from Genesis to Revelation, is God's great work in the creation and redemption of all things, through His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible's Unique Effect


The Bible is unique also in terms of its effect on individual men and on the history of nations. It is the all-time best seller, appealing both to hearts and minds, beloved by at least some in every race or nation or tribe to which it has gone, rich or poor, scholar or simple, king or commoner, men of literally every background and walk of life. No other book has ever held such universal appeal nor produced

Tommy93w350

Guys, I'm praying for all of you. It is obvious that the Gospel is working in your hearts by all of the questions and concerns. Close your eyes and pray to thank God for giving us the wisdom and strength, to share our fellowship, and come into our hearts and forgive us.

Isn't God great!!! It's that simple, you'll defintely know you have made the right choice.

Guys, if you are riding the fence about religion and think these gentlemen and myself are forcing a religion onto you. We aren't doing that, we are witnessing to you. Sharing facts, history, fables, and teachings about the life of a man and his mission on earth. Jesus is real as you and I, this is called the Gospel of Jesus.

God Bless every one of you and remember God loves you, just ask him he's listening, really ask him.