>>4899Do you believe that Chistianity has exclusive claim to divine inspiration?
>>4901>but it's anothe step to apply all of those separate distinct cultures to Christianity and claim that it's the same religionThats not what Im doing at all, and you're right with this:
>he concept of goliness spirituality and worship is a very human one, but those other religions aren't relevant to the study of Christanity... and thats the point.
If 'a' tradition is ezclusively authoritative, it will show; as of now I have a wealth of experience that suggests that NO tradition is exclusively authoritative. Hence, the solution is to experience as many traditions, perspectives, philosophies, etc. as possible, from which,... less developed ideas can be ascertained and omitted from the equation.
The religions are observably different,
and yet the same in theme. The amount of overlap is staggering, doubly so when you factor for the inversion of religious roles in the stories!
But additionally, each tradition has its own nuggets of truth, exclusive from other traditions, which more accurately describes the Jesus I know than Christian traditions do. And, Im not so naive as to discount the effects of human failings on the conveyance of the stories, that these guys over here might have noticed something that those guys over there didnt notice.
And now for the big why.
Im of the mind that the avatar that is described in the bible with the 'given' name of Jesus Christ (not his actual name, not even close) is as much a cyclical part of the human experience and culture as the periodic cataclysms Im on about in History is a Lie.
To wit, Im of the mind that 'Jesus' shows up every few millenium or so to assist/correct/re-teach humanity a better way of doing/seeing/structuring things that is consistent with Natural Law and the framework that God intended versus the framework that it has devolved into.
'Jesus' is the adversary of humanity's cultural religious entropy which develops over time/influence to the benefit of the TRUE adversary (who is not a devil, he's something beyond a devil).
Having said, the 'name' Jesus is as accurate as Arjuna or Krishna, or Gautama Buddha, etc. ad nauseum.
Or Lucifer.
Everyone named was the adversary of the establishment who had languished in entropy.
>Just because two religions share similar ideologies (Christian asceticism vs Buddhist aceticism) doesn't mean they're the exact same thing, or even "manifestations" o the same thingsThats a reasonable position. My position - which I feel is reasonable - is that
<Just because two religions share similar ideologies (Christian asceticism vs Buddhist aceticism) doesn't mean they're NOT the exact same thing, or even "manifestations" of the same thingsThe problem is, Im operating from a wealth of experience I cant summarize and convey; I dont expect anyone to agree immediately or at all.
>At that point, you might as well start your own church.The problem here is that the 'church' which I would be starting would be a reiteration of a church/tradition far older than the church or Christianity, and yet far more historically venerated, and far more cohesive from an inter-traditional standpoint.
Meaning, just like how physics in a variety of ways are cohesive in depicting that flat earth is absurd, there are a variety of traditions that neatly discount some of the more spurious elements of the Bible, often providing perspective as to how one/many got that bit so very wrong.
Like, Exodus for example
No, Im not saying Exodus didnt happen, I AM saying it wasnt in -2k BC when its written that it happened. Historical analysis - including religious - bears that out.