JamesMichael
Premium Member
Thanks for all of your responses.
I understand what you said here but it is not religion you should be mad at but the Dogma of a certian religion. The Christianity you are probley railing against is the dogma man has put on that version. My dogma on christianity is that it is the ten commandments and that God sent Jesus to show he will take our sins if we only voice them to him. The easter religions are mostly you as your self deity. In my world this is selfish of me to only worry about the self and I want to always give to others. But this is me. At this point I want to say what document did you take the othe on?I stopped going to church and deconverted from Christianity in 2006. For a while I was an angry atheist until I began studying eastern religions. I use to practice zen and sit once a week in a group until moving away. I more or less settled into a philosophical taoist/monist. I've actually started to appreciate my time as a Christian again while studying freemasonry and Gnosticism/hermeticism. Last month I was initiated... I don't see myself going back to the church although I do believe in Deity.
Freemasonry isn't suppose to replace religion, but as brother Ernest Borgnine said, "it's enough religion for me."
Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App
I wasn't so much angry at religion as much as not agreeing with the literalist interpretation of the Bible. I have serious issues with any Deity that would think it appropriate to murder innocent children... and the fundamentalist churches I was involved in believed that if you didn't accept their interpretation then you were not a "true believer".
As far as the eastern religions promoting self-deity, I didn't find that the case, at least with Buddhism. Though I can't claim to totally understand the teachings of the Buddha, I found the opposite to be the case, that his teachings were more about "no-self" not the deity of the self. What I found personally distasteful about Buddhism was the idea that to truly reach "enlightenment" one must give up all attachment... or as one Theravadan monk explained to me, I would have to leave my wife and daughter and become a monk to really reach the pinnacle of Buddhist practice.
I took my oath upon the Christian Bible. I do believe in Deity and hold a special sentimental value toward the Bible. It was my time in church as a teenager that kept me from making the kinds of mistakes that teenagers usually do, and I have a family Bible that has been in my family for generations, of also I hold great value for. There are also many teachings in the Bible I greatly appreciate and agree with. But, I am no longer a literalist, I don't worship Yahweh, Jesus is not my personal savior, and I'm not exactly sure what happens after death, though I don't believe in a literal heaven or hell. When I submitted my petition I was asked if I believed in a Supreme Deity... I do, and that was good enough for my lodge.
I took my oath upon the Christian Bible. I do believe in Deity and hold a special sentimental value toward the Bible. It was my time in church as a teenager that kept me from making the kinds of mistakes that teenagers usually do, and I have a family Bible that has been in my family for generations, of also I hold great value for. There are also many teachings in the Bible I greatly appreciate and agree with. But, I am no longer a literalist, I don't worship Yahweh, Jesus is not my personal savior, and I'm not exactly sure what happens after death, though I don't believe in a literal heaven or hell. When I submitted my petition I was asked if I believed in a Supreme Deity... I do, and that was good enough for my lodge.
PS- I like your new avatar pic... digging the glasses!
PS- I like your new avatar pic... digging the glasses!