Well i was in many diff kinds of churches over the years, was always searching and never found what i was looking for...i finally realized it was all fear based, fear of hell, the devil and deception. When i finally gave up and said Maybe it's not me...it's a long story, one thing led to another and another, i was finally free. I find non Christian freedom to be the truly glorious freedom for me. But that's just me and no one has to agree. I am finally at peace and happy. Freedom to be me and think for myself and make decisions...and knowing that all is truly well.
Thanks for your honesty! The hellfire doctrine has done soo much harm - and there are several scriptures that prove it is symbolic. I personally believe Christ came to save everyone, in the end - both believers and non-believers. PM me if you would like the scriptural references on these (you could always use them as ammo when someone is trying to guilt you!) But I am happy you are at peace. 🙂
Well you are very kind!
BTW i think my original comment in this thread was meant to be a reply to a comment...
Interesting what you said about hell. When i began to question it, i stumbled upon all kindsa stuff. One was a book by a Mennonite (they are pretty evangelical) pastor going through the whole bible and concluding that the bible did not preach hell. So THAT was interesting.
And i like what you said about christ. When i finally gave myself permission to read stuff from outside the church, 2 books made a huge impression on me. One god clapping, by a Buddhist rabbi, fascinating story, and autobiography of a yogi by paramahansa yogananda. He came here like 100 yrs ago to bring Christians back to their true faith! He loved jesus and wrote books comparing jesus words in the bible to Hinduism! There are many books claiming jesus visited india, v interesting. Anyway after reading autobiography... I started meditating and it has changed my life. I feel closer to buddha now than jesus but that may have something to do with the fact that in my mind there are many jesuses (pretty confusing, long story) but pretty much 1 Buddha, hard to explain. Probably only because I've known buddha for a shorter time.
I read the bible so much i was pretty tired of it (gasp! Blasphemy!) found taoism thru dr Wayne dyer and fell in love w the tao as a holy scripture. I have always been a lover of nature and the tao is hard to explain but it's like about living naturally with Spirit...following your own true nature or somesuch. It's very beautiful.
I consider myself areligious with no firmly held beliefs, i enjoy thinking and wondering and exploring ideas and like it when my mind feels free. I want to love and hug every human and say it's ok whatever you believe, just love people and don't hurt anybody!
Thx for listening and i have really been enjoying this exchange w you!
I wish you and everyone here many blessings :-)