I’ll always be Christian. Jesus sings to my soul. His divine humanity gives me an awesome goal for which to strive. His lessons ring true to me: loving, accepting and helping one another, and the necessity of fostering a personal relationship with the Almighty without the need of a human intermediary.
Being a Christian means standing for love and forgiveness. I believe Jesus, the son of God, was tortured and died for my salvation. My Lord possesses and dispenses unconditional love to guide us on our journeys and give us strength to overcome obstacles.
Before I proceed, I want you to know that I respect and appreciate all spiritual journeys—mine is no better than yours. With that said, I hope you’ll read on with an open mind.
You don’t have to be Christian to be right with God.
God creates individuals, not clones.
Whether you’re Middle Eastern or European, homosexual or heterosexual, God instills in us different personalities, strengths and interests. And what the Great I Am creates is blessed, regardless of your culture, sexual orientation or faith. One uniform religion seems illogical; if only one true faith existed, wouldn’t the Almighty make us more alike? In my opinion, the Lord would never give us such diversity and then expect us to follow one avenue to achieve the ultimate spiritual relationship.
We are all connected through our blessed creation.
It doesn’t matter if you call the Supreme Being, Lord, Yahweh, Allah, Goddess, Krishna or something else. Once we realize we are one in God’s creation, we’re mandated to treat each other with love, kindness and respect.
Perhaps, like me, organized religion doesn’t suit you.
Many connect with the Great I Am through:
- communing with Mother Nature,
- meditating,
- tapping into their intuitive abilities,
- living in the present, or
- combining personal truths from various spiritual works.
Be true to whom God created you to be.
Your spiritual needs and the path you select are based on your experiences and what resounds within your heart and soul as genuine. If you pursue your sacred journey out of love and a quest to better yourself and connect with the divine, you cannot go wrong.
Well said, Kathleen!
Thank you Sharon.
I call myself a Christian, and still, I’m a professional sinner (humor intended, but true). Raised Catholic, lapsed, checked out “religious science” saw God in the mountains of New Mexico, (worshipping the creation and not the Creator). It’s my belief that the best writing takes a chance, makes a stand and that follows with believing in God. The Bible says that Jesus is the only way to salvation, and I believe the Bible. Only means only. I want everyone to go to heaven; the primary resource says that the way is made, but it requires a commitment. I’ve lived a long time avoiding commitments, they are not always comfortable for me, but my experience has shown me that’s where the deeper part of living lies.
Tony
Thank you so much for having the gumption to disagree with me! I respect your viewpoint and once believed as you did. In my heart, I feel God has shown me that he has created various paths to reach Him. I do realize this goes against the New Testament teachings and will probably be the most controversial aspect of others considering me a Christian. The major religions agree on most issues–I’ve wondered if Jesus could’ve been a “prophet” to other faiths, but called a different name? One of the reasons I started writing this blog was to foster a conversation. If people always agree with me, there’s not too much to talk about. 🙂 Take care!
I respect your viewpoint, Kathleen and the way you present it. We who have thoughts, and are committed to putting them into the written word, are compelled to speak. Thanks for the forum, and for having the courage to be who you are. My evolution has involved life events such as a major illness as a child, being blind for a year as an adult, losing a wife to cancer, and, of course, there’s more. Losing my wife, I believe, was God’s great wake-up call. And, more or less, He seems to have used my own greatest weakness (women) to make the point. I am planning to blog that memoir which I’ve titled “Lover’s Cross” in the future. It will be very personal, probably more than I care to be, but that’s the price. I’m grateful for the courage you’ve shown me in your blog as it empowers me as well. Thank you.
tony
Thank you for being open to differing viewpoints. I’m glad you will be sharing your story and empowering others. You have endured much and I’m sure the result has taught you a great deal.
I’ve been thinking about this topic tonight and I remembered the ruckous earlier this year about the pastor who said Gandhi wasn’t in Hell. This isn’t the article I read, but it provides fodder for thought: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Editorial-Board-Blog/2011/0309/Is-Gandhi-really-in-hell
Thanks again.
I’ll give that a look, Kathy.