G-D wants to hear you thoughts on this article!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I've always wondered something...so don't take this personally:

How do people love someone they've never met, much less understand?  I always found that very interesting...to develop such a deep seated attachment to someone whose voice you've never heard, whose face you've never seen...it's quite odd.  It's like an online relationship, except you don't even get emails...just 2nd and 3rd hand accounts of how awesome that person is.  Perhaps I just think too much, though.

I'm not religious either.  I also really respect your view that there are several paths to God, providing that he exists.  I like to think that as well...otherwise a lot of us are screwed.   Generally I just try to be a nice guy and see where that takes me.

~Zoo 

Here I am.

MM, It is my understanding that the only religions that believe they have a lock on the truth (as in their way is the only Way) are Fundamentalist Christianity and Fundamentalist Islam.  Judaism has its fundamentalists, but they typically apply this only to Jews, as in the ultra-orthodox among us.

Many Christians, Jews, and Muslims might agree theirs is the way, but I don't think they so much judge or demonize others as do the fundies.

Buddhists are far from holding theirs to be the only way. And in most instances accept those of other ways without attempting to "convert" them. Jews push other faiths away to the extent that they do not wish to be seen as in any way prostheletyzing.  Even someone who comes to a rabbi for instruction and conversion is often turned away a few times before being accepted as a student.

Knowing God's mind is pretty much impossible as "mind" is a human characteristic and God is not human. The so-called "revealed" faiths hold that their sacred texts are ways of "knowing" God's mind as they purport to be a record of his manifestation to us. I don't believe so much this is "God's word" as much as it is a human being's attempt to put into the language of the time an experience they had of the Infinite.  This makes it by definition, a distortion. 

Judaism, Buddhism (I cannot speak to Christianity or Islam) have traditions of practicing to open oneself to the Infinite.  Prayer and meditation are ways of stilling oneself and opening oneself to the Other. We might say that religion is...or should be...more a practice than a belief system. 

When you go to synagogue, the liturgy is there to prepare you to step away from yourself and the world of ordinary time.  It is there to guide you to a place of openness and receptivity.  But like the prophet Elijah, who was told by God to go to a mountain in order to experience God as He presented Himself, if we are not "there" to experience God, he will pass us by without us knowing Him at all.  It is not religion, per se, that is the issue, but our willingness to prepare ourselves to experience  the Infinite.

My humble opinion.  May you be a blessing,

You are assuming that those who love G-d have indeed never met Him, never heard His voice.

In my experience the assumption is wrong. While you cannot physically meet G-d in this life or physically hear His voice, you can have experiences that are equivalent. I know I did.

The easiest such experience is the experience of community. I enjoy the company of the people I meet in my synagogue. And I am sure that they, like me, come there because of the community. (A Jew can pray at home.) But the same group of people, despite the fact that they want to be a group, do not meet just somewhere else. They meet in the synagogue because they believe in G-d. Even though I have never met or heard the voice of G-d, His presence (or people's belief in His presence) gave me a community that is like family. What more can I demand of a father?

I am sure you know that neither Islam nor Judaism claim that their way is the only way to G-d.

A Jewish or Islamic fundamentalist who insists that His way is the only way, is not a faithful Jew or Muslim.

I agree completely, at least about Judaism.  I do think as insiders we can (and do) have a differing understanding as regards faithful Jews.  Ultra-orthodox Jews and some Orthodox, hold that unless one keeps the commandments they are not following the way.  Any deviation from prescribed practices is seen as a lack of faithfulness to the Mizvot. Modern Orthodoxy I sense is a tad less stringent than this, and the Conservative and Reform movements have it that Jews can and should meet the commandments as authentically as is possible.

Be well. 

I also agree completely ....

The problem i always have with this issue of "our way or no way" particularly among the 3 Abrahamic religions is that if you look even casually to the three of them ... they are IDENTICAL in what they say about what God wants from us and how we should act and live our lives .... there are minute details ... but that even exist within each one of the three to a greater degree than among the three themselves ...

Regarding "who He is", He answered that in all three and said "I will be the judge of that among you" ... in other words any of the  followers of the three has no say on that point and none of them should argue about it .... Who He is is beyond anyone's understanding or even logical conceptualization

so ... saying "our way or no way" is total nonsense ..... it is the same way .. we just see it differently from different angles ... we should recognize that and stop arguing about it.... read all three and you will find not a single disagreement on any of the main points. details of how you eat or pray or call Him is not fundamental issues at all and they differ little anyway.

Zoo? yer one of the good guys around here I never take anything you say as mean spirited or personal, ok?

I assume G-D lives yes I also assume he/she is a loving G-D can I prove it? Nop-e, yer gotta have faith period! Have I heard the voice of G-D? maybe or maybe I am just a nut job.

What wonderful explanations of how you see things. wonderful! truly you are a good man, even if we seem to disagree on everything hahahahah.

OOps wifey calling me for breakfast gotta go BRB>

You know Zoo, you are making me say something i always wanted to say about that.

You are absolutely correct. People, and of course MM here, say they "love God" .... and they dont think of how serious that statement is

To "love God" is to reach the pinnacle of faith... the ultimate that any of His creation could achieve .... only messengers and prophets "may" attain that ... as far as i know ALL of them were not even sure that they reached that. All of them asked their followers to keep praying for them so God will disregard their minor missteps and their short comings in reaching that love... so if they feel that they did not reach that pinnacle how can any of us claim to even come near it.

The best we can do as humans is to follow his commands and guidelines and thank him for His bounties on us and hope that by doing enough of that He will accept us as good believers .... if we really sincere and hard working on that ... who knows may be we reach the point of knowing Him more and get closer to actually and really "love Him" ....

I have to agree with your title.  I love God, but I struggle with religion and religious people.  I think I was one at one time, but I think God might have rescued me from it.  I am positive of the existance of God because of my experience but I have talked to so many who's experience is similar yet completely different I can only conclude there is no box, method, school of thought or docterine to contain God.

I personally believe in the fundamentals of Christianity, a benevolent God, a merciful Savior, forgivenes, the power of  sacrificial love and unity.  However, I have difficulty in my church and with "churched" people who seem to add a lot of "extras" to their faith and then want to impose them on me and others.

Joa

Your explanation would have been mine to sodaiho,. but since you already posted this I just did not want to reiterate the same thing. All good points, as were his.

Yet JEWS look down on other Jews for not following their way, and fundi Muslims are trying to change the world through the use of murder and terror

I too love God but don't consider myself religious in the sense that I need to do anything or be something to enter eternal life.  I meet many religious people day to day but they don't necessarily know God.  Some are very caught up in their religious duties and such they have forgotten God in the process.  As a Christian I believe there is a difference between Christianity and Religion even tho some equate the two.   Religion is spelled D-O.  Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. 

I absolutely believe one can know and hear God no matter the denomination or religious upbringing.  God makes himself known to those who truly search for him.  I know God is real as I know my children and husband are real.  God is the most important person in my life although I am not always faithful to him as he is to me.   

I'm reminded of those on the plane during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  There was a quote later from someone on the plane who said:  "We're not making it off this thing alive.  We're going to have to go out on faith."

That's how I feel about this earth.  We're not making it out of here alive.  We're going to have to go out on Faith.  That's the only way.