Shopping for God
Shopping for our gods of celebrity fallen and gadgets new most of us take the similar approach of shopping for God…
“Never talk about politics or religion”, because of this kind of illogic people pretend that all ideas and ideals are created equal…they are not…
It seems that in western democracies people want our leaders to simply get along to do the public business…and much the same is expected of religious leaders. A collective self delusion that all politicians are the same and all religions are the same is used to cover neglected thinking and to provide an excuse to watch the latest sitcom instead of meditating upon the deeper things of life. Cultures obsessed with looking young do not want to look death in the face…besides if there is a God then they will be answerable to more than their own desires and popular opinion. God plus one is not a majority…God alone is a majority…an absolute majority…
The character and nature of the supreme deity is completely different in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Buddhism denies there is a God and should not even be considered a religion but a philosophy. There is no need to pretend these and other belief systems are all the same, they are not….yet they can peacefully coexist…there is no need for us to go to war over these ideas and ideals…but let us not act as if they are the same or even…equal…they are not…
I fully support freedom of speech, religion and politics but that does not endow all such speech, ideas and ideals as being equally valid. If a person wants to worship iPhones, Tiger Woods or Barrack Obama they should have that freedom…if they want to evangelize me no problem…but that also means I have the freedom of speech to point out the points that prove they are not worthy of worship…such is the case with religion, politics…and freedom of speech…
God is not a celebrity or gadget and this may be an affront to a consumerist society but it is nevertheless a truth. The gods of these various belief systems do not plug and play with any and all…they are incompatible. Each has their own name because they are different…irreconcilably different. All of these belief systems reject the other…they all claim exclusivity…and it is an insult to each of them to indicate that they are all saying the same thing and worship the same God.
Shopping for God is wrong…genuinely seeking truth…spiritual truth is good…God is not for sale at the local mall…He is not on discount during these present economic times…He is not another app to plug into your iPhone …He is not a variance on coffee types at Starbucks and He is not a genie that answers to your every whim…He does not owe you anything…you owe Him all…
With the spread of post-modernist un-thinking gymnastic contortions and warped twisting of spiritual truth the promulgation in rejection of one truth has increased…primarily as there is a rejection of absolute truth…yet to say there is no absolute truth is an absolute statement that negates itself…
The fact of the matter is when it comes to humans shopping for God they are bankrupt…not a cent to their name…not in regards to the one true living God. You cannot buy His favour and do not deserve it…Yet He will gift it to you if you genuinely request it…trust Him alone…The major difference between being a genuine Jesus follower and that of the others at the “spiritual mall” is that we admit we are beggars that cannot even get into the mall unless God lets us in and He is the one that purchases our entry…He is an exclusive “franchise”….
Now please continue your shopping with MAX
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I usually have a rule to not go shopping for the same item after I have already made a purchase, because I am certain to regret the earlier decision. In this case, however, I am not the least bit bothered. Thus, we have in John 6:67-69 -
"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Jesus is the only one with the words of life.
There is one major religion I didn't see in the list, which centers on the Mythical Scientist who said 'so', and tempts us with ephemeral promises of academic glory and prestige, or at least the social acceptance by the high priests of this religion.
If I was to extrapolate from the shopping analogy I would urge “shoppers” to spend as much time investigating spiritual matters as they do other “purchases”…People will go to extraordinary lengths to learn miniscule details of the most mundane of objects, services or celebrity details…but are often unwilling to expend even two brain cells of energy or two seconds of thought on weighty spiritual matters…why is this?
Indeed Jesus is the only way to God and Heaven…all the others are…dead ends…some people are offended by this…and this Good Friday we remember what they did to Jesus because of this claim of His…of course on Easter Sunday we have His response…
Last month’s Graffiti post allowed for exposition of science and atheism:
http://lifeontheblade.blogspot.com/2010/02/missing-link-between-creation-and.html
I can’t wait to see what next month’s theme will be…have any suggestions for us?
Hey LS,
Phew...for a second I thought this article wouldn't be publish...oh, how I suffered with the thought of this LOL ;)!
I agree with you that the different religions are not the same...thus the word "different". I agree that they each deal with, address and discuss God in different ways; however I totally disagree with the notion that there are different gods for each religion.
There is only one God, and no other:
"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!" (Deut. 6:4);
"To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God, there is no other besides Him" (Deut. 4:35);
"Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other" (Deut. 4:39);
"Do not tremble and do not be afraid; have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses; is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none" (Isaiah 44:8).
God, Himself, Said it; who are we to contradict it?
"and it is an insult to each of them to indicate that they are all saying the same thing and worship the same God."
Insult!? What, are religions that emotional? Well, I know Islamism is extremely emotional nowadays (one can't make the slightest critique without seeing his life threatned or having a Fatwa issued against or something like that); I also know that evangelicals are extremely emotional as well (one can't say the slightest thing about Jesus without being threatened to go to hell); however I am not seeing other religions being that emotional...no...
Now, the religion that says that all the others worship not the same God (the One and Only there IS) should revise its knowledge on the issue; inasmuch as that declaration is based on ignorance.
Ah, we both used the word "mall"...were we in synch or what?
Anyway, my friend, I enjoyed this article...it was (how can I put it)...inflammatory - it is good to have you back, man :D!
Cheers
Hey Maximus!
LOL You must have conspired with Blogger to delay my post...
I agree that there is only one true living God...however some people worship false gods, fakes, frauds....For example if a person worships Tiger Woods they are worshipping a false god but this does not stop the true one living God from existing...If a person worships Tiger Woods they are not worshipping the one true living God...although Tiger may feel differently about this...no matter how profoundly people may want Tiger to be a god he is not...they are worshipping a non-god or ungod...an antigod
If a person tells people of the various religions/spiritual views that they are all worshiping the same god/God the person is telling them they are so stupid that they cannot tell the difference. For example the god of Islam is profoundly different from the God of the Bible. Allah is not a personal Being but the God of the Bible is. Judaism, Islam and Christianity teach there is one God but each means different things with this. Hinduism and Mormonism believe in a plethora of gods...Mormonism teaches that humans can become a god or goddess...this is repugnant to Judaism, Islam and Christianity...
I am not emotional about being told I am too stupid to recognize that Tibetan Buddhism and biblical Christianity are the same (they profoundly are not the same). Nevertheless the inference is that I must be stupid, as I cannot understand all beliefs are the same...which they are not...
LOL Yes we both did work the “mall” perspective...I enjoyed the way you presented your article...I did think you were a bit gentler than usual...*ducking*
LS and Max, I am pondering something regarding the shopping analogy - in shopping we can choose multiple items (I will set this aside), and we can choose nothing. It is the 'nothing' option I would like to focus on.
Christianity doesn't have a notion of a 'nothing' choice of religion. The theory of evolution likewise requires that religion be a part of our DNA makeup, because all aboriginal cultures are known to be religious, although it doesn't make deductions from this point. Christianity, on the other hand, does make the additional deduction:
"... their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." - Philippians 3:19
And yes, it seems that food can take control of my being at times. Do you think it is possible to be non-religious?
Hmmm, potential topics ... I don't feel quite qualified to suggest, but ...
Which living person is setting the best example today?
An exemplary case of charity ...
The academic institution which gives people both a good moral and academic education.
How will the view of the world change from your respective locations after the US is gone?
Looney and Max,
Interesting food for thought…
“Do you think it is possible to be non-religious?”
Let me re-modulate the question without I think doing violence to the intent (tell me if I do)…I would pars religion and spirituality differently (unpacking them for our current western society). I would say from the Biblical text that “religion” is people trying to get to God or please Him by religious duties, rituals and the Law. So this position demands a religiosity in activity such as going to Mosque (Muslim point of view), catechism (Roman Catholicism) or eating kosher (Judaism)…
I do not believe that it is plausible for people to “get to” God in this way (does not eating sea bugs (lobster) really impress God?) On the other hand I think there is indelible spirituality in everybody, at times it is buried deeply but it is still there under the residue or patina of the Fall.
We are told in the OLD Testament:
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- - Exodus 34:14 TNIV
It is clear in this passage that God does not think of any and all religion as being the same. Worshipping Allah is not the same as worshipping the God of the Bible…Yet people have a propensity to worship whether themselves, family, ideas, things…etc.
The NEW Testament is in concert with this and also informs us that:
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
- - John 4:24 TNIV
In a sense religion is not spiritual, we cannot worship God in that way, it must be in the Spirit and in the truth…it must be spiritual…Being religious and worshipful are different…I may have strayed a bit (an annex of thought?) but I think this is integrated into the idea…
“Which living person is setting the best example today?”
- I will take the easy answer…Jesus :) He is not just setting an example but actively transforming my…
“An exemplary case of charity ...”
- People that put up with my long winded answers?
“How will the view of the world change from your respective locations after the US is gone?”
- LOL Could we talk about something simpler like inspiration, the nature of truth and beauty? LOL First it is difficult to imagine the US as being “gone” (I am going there in June so it would really mess up our plans…) However if you mean the US relinquishing its roll as dominant global culture and juggernaut of, democracy, freedom, liberty and capitalism…Well it would be immensely sad (except if baseball dies out)…however dominant cultures come and go…I would take the “a time to…” position of Ecclesiastes 3…
Hi LSus,
"LOL You must have conspired with Blogger to delay my post..."
LOL no, I didn't...I swear *angel face*...
"I agree that there is only one true living God...however some people worship false gods, fakes, frauds....For example if a person worships Tiger Woods they are worshipping a false god but this does not stop the true one living God from existing...If a person worships Tiger Woods they are not worshipping the one true living God...although Tiger may feel differently about this...no matter how profoundly people may want Tiger to be a god he is not...they are worshipping a non-god or ungod...an antigod"
LOL you know what I think of this kind of examples: they make no sense.
"If a person tells people of the various religions/spiritual views that they are all worshiping the same god/God the person is telling them they are so stupid that they cannot tell the difference."
I disagree. God, Himself, said that He is the Only Existent God: are you saying that God is stupid?
The several religions are worshipping the same God; only they face different ways of addressing, dealing and discussing God.
"For example the god of Islam is profoundly different from the God of the Bible."
No, Mohammed addressed Allah in a different fashion. He wrote about his view on Allah. Yet, Allah remains the same.
"I am not emotional about being told I am too stupid to recognize that Tibetan Buddhism and biblical Christianity are the same (they profoundly are not the same). Nevertheless the inference is that I must be stupid, as I cannot understand all beliefs are the same...which they are not..."
It was never said that Buddhism and Christianity are the same (they are two different philosophies, with different approaches, thus they could never be the same); what was said was that the Buddhist Creative Force and God are the same - totally different.
"LOL Yes we both did work the “mall” perspective...I enjoyed the way you presented your article...I did think you were a bit gentler than usual...*ducking*"
LOL LOL LOL LOL *throwing you a mug*...are you saying that I am aggressive, LS? LOL LOL....
Looney and LS,
"Do you think it is possible to be non-religious?"
Yes, it is possible to be non-religious; yet highly spiritual.
One can believe in God, serve Him, yet not belong to a specific religion (and its rituals). Some say that this dogma-free path is the purest path to reach God...but I am not sure it is so.
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