| Subject: Belief System Selector |
Author:
Sandra
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Date Posted: 07:24:19 02/24/04 Tue
Check out this site: http://www.selectsmart.com/RELIGION
Very educational. One gets to take a peek into the different belief systems.
I was surprised that my top three are Christian Science (100%), New Age (100%) and New Thought (96%). Just when I've called New Age history, eh? I guess in recent times it's been merging with New Thought. And besides, I guess my personal belief that all is one requires no walls nor any agreement from others (such a Morpheus statement!).
The following are the details...
Christian Science ("Church of Christ, Scientist")
· Belief in Deities: God is incorporeal Spirit -- creative Principle, supreme, omnipotent Father-Mother, omnipresent, omniscient -- the only intelligence and all that actually exists. God is Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, and Love. "God is All-in-all."
· Incarnations: We are all incarnations of God. Jesus was a divine Exemplar, and Christ is the divine idea of “sonship -- the Master. Jesus showed the way (the “wayshower”) for all to realize Truth, which is God. We are all sons/daughters of God.
· Origin of universe and life: The universe and humans are reflections of God's likeness and image, which is Spirit -- without beginning or end. Illusions, or delusions, of a material world and material body result from error in thought and ignorance of the true and only nature of reality, which is spiritual. God is all that truly exists.
· After death: Death is the belief in death. There is no death as humans are immortal Spirit. After that which we call "death," spiritual development toward Truth continues until all evil, or “error,” destroys itself. Heaven and hell are not places, but states of consciousness that continue after death. ”Heaven” is the self-made eternal bliss of realizing oneness with God. “Hell” is the self-made anguish of believing in pain and death.
· Why evil? Evil is the belief in evil. God is all that is real and God is completely good; therefore, good is real and evil is an illusion/delusion. The only power evil has is to destroy itself; attempts to destroy good naturally result in punishment for the evildoer. Sin creates its own hell. Not realizing one's true nature as Spirit results in selfishness, which can lead to error and disharmony.
· Salvation: Salvation lies in bringing oneself into harmony with one's true nature as God's reflection, through good works, patience, meekness, love, watchfulness, prayerful gratitude, devout obedience in following Christ's example. There are two basic commandments: that one turn only to God, perfect Mind, for guidance -- the Mind that was also in Christ; and, that one "love thy neighbor as thyself." Healing and immortality are achieved through consciousness that the only true reality is God, which is Love, and that one's true and only nature is in God's likeness. As one realizes the error of belief in the reality of suffering and evil, these images of thought impressed upon the mortal mind can be altered, thus banishing sickness, death, and sin -- testimony to the power of faith in God, of Mind over matter.
· Why suffering: Suffering is the belief in suffering, an illusion/delusion (or error) of mortal thought.
· Issues: The church claims no position on abortion. Prayerful Christian Science healing is preferred to, or used at the exclusion of, conventional treatment. Christian Science Practitioners may be called upon to provide healing prayers and consultation on Christian Science treatment. Conventional medicine is regarded as potentially harmful, as the belief in and fear of an illness may actually create the condition. Homosexuality is sometimes regarded negatively, a belief that requires healing through Christian Science practices -- the Mother Church has not announced opposition to this view.
New Age
An umbrella term for a wide range of personal and individual beliefs and practices influenced primarily by eastern religions, paganism, spiritism.
· Belief in Deity: God is the impersonal life force, consciousness, ultimate truth and reality, the incorporeal, formless cosmic order personified within all people and matter - God is all and all are God.
· Incarnations: Most believe there are no particular incarnations to worship as all in the universe are embodiments of God. Many of the world’s prophets, including Jesus, are viewed as reincarnations of the Christ.
· Origins of universe/life: The universe, life, and matter were not created by God but “are” God. The universe and life emerged out of the creative power of the eternal universal life force.
· After death: Some believe in continual rebirth - no death, as life is spirit. Some believe that our souls rest for a time before deciding on a new body (or bodies). Heaven and hell are states of consciousness, self-imposed, due to ignorance of God as all.
· Why evil? No original sin and no Satan and no evil. Most believe people make “mistakes” when they are ignorant of the power of goodness, which is God, within themselves and others. Some believe evil is perpetuated through accumulation of past-life wrongs and spiritual ignorance.
· Salvation: Salvation lies in the realization of oneness with the impersonal life force, thus unlocking one’s healing potential. Awareness can be heightened through methods that induce altered states of consciousness, e.g. hypnosis, meditation, music, drugs; and through intercession, e.g. crystals, tarot cards, amulets, fortunetellers and psychics, channeling. Some believe the salvation of humanity will occur when critical mass is reached as more and more people converge in celebrating their oneness with God and with each other, which will bring a New World Order or new Planetary Order, resulting in oneness of civilization and one world government, peace and harmony.
· Undeserved suffering: Suffering is the result of greed, hatred, and spiritual ignorance in a person’s, or humanity’s, past lifetimes, which returns as suffering (karma). Suffering is sometimes viewed as occurring for a specific purpose, to further spiritual growth and learn a life lesson, e.g. the death of a young child may occur because the parents need to learn not to take life for granted. Suffering is also seen as illusory in that it results from attachment to bodily pleasure and pain, and only the universal life force within, God, truly exists.
· Contemporary Issues: Abortion is not condemned, as there is no official doctrine. Generally adherents are supportive of a woman’s right to choose abortion. Homosexuality is generally accepted -- a reflection, perhaps, of the egalitarianism of the new age of Aquarius.
New Thought
An umbrella term for diverse beliefs that emphasize experiencing God's presence for practical purposes, such as healing and success. Examples include Unity, Religious Science, and Divine Science
· Belief in Deity: There exists one God -- Universal Mind, creative intelligence, omnipresent --- principle (not a being), impersonal force which manifests itself personally, perfectly, and equally within all.
· Incarnations: No particular incarnations, as God is within all equally. Some believe Jesus was exemplary of someone who fully realized his divine nature, and therefore is the “wayshower” (shows the way).
· Origins of universe/life: The universe and all within it are expressions of God - the creative intelligence - with no beginning and no end.
· After death: Some believe in continual rebirth as a gift from God so that all may become immortal, as was Jesus Christ, with each lifetime a preparation for the next. Others believe the individual soul merges with the universal spirit after death.
· Why evil? No original sin and no Satan and no evil. People make “mistakes” due to ignorance of one's true nature as Perfect Mind and Love, which is God.
· Salvation: Salvation lies in the realization of oneness with the impersonal life force, thus unlocking one’s healing potential. Licensed practitioners counsel on spiritual healing for problems of the mind, body, and life. Some believe Jesus is the “wayshower” to salvation. Some believe that all, regardless of actions, will be saved by the grace of a loving and forgiving God. Most believe that spiritual awareness of God’s omnipresence, that God is all and all are God, leads to personal and humanity’s salvation. Many believe that repeated reincarnations are God’s gift, each lifetime a preparation for the next, until “perfection” is reached, which is God.
· Undeserved suffering: Suffering results from ignorance of one's true nature as Perfect Mind and ceases with complete realization that we all are one with God, the Universal Mind. One can heal personal suffering through New Thought practices, often with the assistance of New Thought practitioners.
· Contemporary Issues: There is no official doctrine on abortion; therefore, abortion is not condemned.
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