Biblical Spirituality

[Kavasheller]

That's right everything is based on gods word in the bible not on what anyone interprets. A main key in bible study is to use context to understand the real meaning of the verse in the scripture

 

[chandra]

While I agree that we should follow the words of the New Testament and not the opinions of men, the bible is written in a way where it is impossible for interpretation to not play a part to some degree. As for Kava, my personal belief is that God put it here for us to use just like many other plants used for medicine (many of them the precursors to today's medicines. White willow bark for example is literally nature's asprin. To me Kava is more of a medicine than an intoxicant if that makes sense.

 

[YogaNatureLvr]

Its eating from the tree of good and evil,

So there was a divine un awareness of Both.

Then we became aware of good and evil, which takes thought, the only perceptive tool we have that allows awareness of separation. Through time.

Our divine mission here, is to reconcile the world and God.

To become aware of our connection with God and know it.

If the whole world were blue, we wouldnt know what blue is.
Thats how humans lived before "the fall", then we fell ( say green came into our minds, green is bad per se, so then blue also came into our minds, good)

Our mission is to re realize that the whole world is blue, thus evolving to a conscious relationship with god. rather than it just being so normal we dont even know it.

This is how babys live. All blue
Dogs all blue
cats trees fish, earth herself, so on so forth?

Dont believe me. Were you aware of good and bad when you were a baby? no but you were alive and conscious and most likley very joyful , even when you cried you were full in crying.

Then you got older and started thinking, then you think either good or bad, you fall from your state of baby grace.

Then the suffering that that state generates naturally causes you too accept that you dont know whats good and bad, you dont know who you are or what to do.

then you rise above thinking above good and evil, re merge with God consciously. This is a beautiful thing and brings all of earth up with us if we collectivley reach this state.

Jesus understood this and i have great reverence for Jesus. I will display that wisdom here.

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!" Jesus

He mentions it here. If flowers live in oneness with God and are so amazing that not even Solomon is like one of them, how amazing would a human being be if aligned with God? he asks. recognizes both the separation from god in humans and the opportunity to realign and do great things.

"God is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and have our very being" (Acts 17:28)

And then Jesus said — when they asked him, 'Where is the kingdom of heaven and when is it going to come?' — he said, 'The kingdom of heaven does not come with signs to be perceived. You cannot say, ah, it's over here or look, it's over there, for I tell you the kingdom of heaven is within you.'"

This is such an amazing post, I just had to post it again. It displays remarkable depth and insight. May I ask what your spiritual orientation is?

 

[chandra]

My personal belief is that God gave us the bible but he also gave us the Holy Spirit to let us know what is right and wrong. So my personal beliefs and values come from the Bible but also what I feel is right in my heart. When I do something wrong, God let's me know it's wrong through the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

@YogaNatureLvr I do not have a spiritual orientation. This is just what I have learned and realized through my own non spiritually orientated teachers, plants like ayuasca and salvia, and insights that I meditated and realized or just came to me as a result of "throwing away" the garbage in your mind.

There is a strong power inside this moment. It's all here to be realized. Then you can see it in all the religions and so on and kind of giggle at one end that people mis interpreted it for so long and kind of sad because they've killed over these mis interpretations even though all spritual traditions say the same thing. Most of them just start with a human who wakes up out of thought .. then trys to convey what they realized to help and then people just misinterpret it and turn it into a "set path" kind of thing or atleast that's how it seems to me

 

[YogaNatureLvr]

@YogaNatureLvr I do not have a spiritual orientation. This is just what I have learned and realized through my own non spiritually orientated teachers, plants like ayuasca and salvia, and insights that I meditated and realized or just came to me as a result of "throwing away" the garbage in your mind.

There is a strong power inside this moment. It's all here to be realized. Then you can see it in all the religions and so on and kind of giggle at one end that people mis interpreted it for so long and kind of sad because they've killed over these mis interpretations even though all spritual traditions say the same thing. Most of them just start with a human who wakes up out of thought .. then trys to convey what they realized to help and then people just misinterpret it and turn it into a "set path" kind of thing or atleast that's how it seems to me

So true! ( I originally tagged someone else by accident in my prior post, sorry. )

You would probably enjoy the Stephen Mitchell translation of the Bhagavad Gita. It sounds very aligned with what you are talking about. It's a far better translation for Westerners than any other version I've ever read.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Yeah Stephen Mitchel does a wonderful translation of the Tao te ching

 

[wormwood]

To me, the Bible was written by people who had varying degrees of a close relationship with God. But that these men are imperfect, and so the Bible is imperfect. I do not like the new wave of Evangelism which states that, essentially, God wrote the Bible and that therefore it is totally inerrant and totally literal. In fact, this idea of Biblical inerrancy and literality is only a few hundred years old and was largely unknown to the earliest Christians. Never mind the fact the New Testament portion of the Bible was not officially canonized until some 200 years after Christs death.

 

[Sacred Journey]

To me, the Bible was written by people who had varying degrees of a close relationship with God. But that these men are imperfect, and so the Bible is imperfect. I do not like the new wave of Evangelism which states that, essentially, God wrote the Bible and that therefore it is totally inerrant and totally literal. In fact, this idea of Biblical inerrancy and literality is only a few hundred years old and was largely unknown to the earliest Christians. Never mind the fact the New Testament portion of the Bible was not officially canonized until some 200 years after Christs death.

Yes, Christians have taken Christianity and in some cases turned it into something completely different from what it originally was. I am not against Christianity like some folks, because I believe that even in some of the worst churches, as long as they are encouraging people to actually study the Bible, there is always a chance that something will strike them. But I have learned that in order to understand Christianity, you need context. You need to understand at least a little bit about the ancient world, how people viewed life back then, how they saw the scriptures, what the words meant in the original languages, the nature of the conflicts, etc.

The reason for this is that the mindset of the modern american person is so materialistic, media brainwashed and divorced from nature that it simply has no context for understanding the Bible and similar texts. It doesn't know what to do with them except misinterpret, because we no longer have a place in our culture for spiritual knowledge and the sacred. As a result, people try to interpret these texts in familiar terms, in terms a modern american would understand and that is simply not possible. You have to be counter cultural to be a real Christian and not many people are willing to truly leave american culture behind.

 

[Jason51]

Yes, Christians have taken Christianity and in some cases turned it into something completely different from what it originally was. I am not against Christianity like some folks, because I believe that even in some of the worst churches, as long as they are encouraging people to actually study the Bible, there is always a chance that something will strike them. But I have learned that in order to understand Christianity, you need context. You need to understand at least a little bit about the ancient world, how people viewed life back then, how they saw the scriptures, what the words meant in the original languages, the nature of the conflicts, etc.

The reason for this is that the mindset of the modern american person is so materialistic, media brainwashed and divorced from nature that it simply has no context for understanding the Bible and similar texts. It doesn't know what to do with them except misinterpret, because we no longer have a place in our culture for spiritual knowledge and the sacred. As a result, people try to interpret these texts in familiar terms, in terms a modern american would understand and that is simply not possible. You have to be counter cultural to be a real Christian and not many people are willing to truly leave american culture behind.

well said @Sacred Journey

• “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15)

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Eternal ever present one life. Joy is subject to no time nor space, infinite

 

[tribal1209]

I'm a practicing Catholic.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

It's important to remember that for much of human history the "common people" have been illiterate. Or, even if they were literate, they wouldn't have access to a book as substantial as the Bible. Thus, we have depended on pastors and priests to tell us what is in the Bible. Now that we do have access to this manual for preachers, and assuming that we actually read it, it is easy to see that Christianity is a pretty authoritarian, bigoted, and quite violent tradition. How many times did God commit genocide in the Old Testament? It's hard to keep count. Sure, the teachings of Christ are pretty solid, but he also talks about not coming to earth in peace, but with a sword "to turn sons against their fathers." I look at "Christians" in our society and typically see incredibly bigoted jerks who want to ban gays, deport Muslims, and keep all of their money for themselves. Then again, I grew up in a liberal Catholic church where the family certainly was a central component and I did love the beautiful rituals and teachings.

But just read that book again and get back to me on its "Goodness."

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

@kavassuer there is wonderful book by Stephen mitchell called The gospel according to Jesus and it nicely seperates the wisdom of Jesus and the quotes that were clearly added by church doctrine later on. it was inspired by Thomas Jeffersons attempt to do the same

 

[Kava_Joe]

Live Christianity. Don't just preach it !

 

[kastom_lif]

Atheist humanist here, but if religion helps you out I see no harm in it. Be good to others and take the long view. Live every day with love in your heart. I hope your religion, whatever it may be, brings you fulfillment and success in life.

 

[nickbroken]

Yeah I believe myself, but I don't know so I just kinda try to be good and not give people shit about their beliefs, well not vegans I persecute vegans all the time.

 

[chandra]

I wonder how many people here consider themselves spiritual but not religious? More of the pioneer type that even if you do believe in a specific religion, don't wholly believe in man's interpretation or feel the need to have someone tell you what you are supposed to believe?

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Technically speaking, I am a "low church anglican mystic," which is not as weird as it sounds. The tradition goes back four hundred years and there have been some famous ones, such as the poet John Donne, and the writer, Evelyn Underhill. Kava fits right in with it quite nicely from both a religious and a spiritual point of view, a very nice fit indeed.

 

[chandra]

Technically speaking, I am a "low church anglican mystic," which is not as weird as it sounds. The tradition goes back four hundred years and there have been some famous ones, such as the poet John Donne, and the writer, Evelyn Underhill. Kava fits right in with it quite nicely from both a religious and a spiritual point of view, a very nice fit indeed.

Can you explain what that means? I am a student of religions and magical traditions. Everything from early Christianity to Paganism to Traditional Witchcraft, Jesus to Crowley. I find the more I learn about different belief systems the more I'm able to make sense of the world and figure out what my own beliefs are.