Spiritual Logic

Atheists point to these events to indicate how religion does not work in fairness to the very people it claims to serve. Yet, religionists look upon the same events to expose the blasphemies of those who were removed from the ranks of the believers. The same event produces radically opposing interpretations. One is the unfairness of the institutions.

The other is the unfairness of the dissidents. At this juncture is where the true religious moderates are needed to bridge the gap between the war holler to destroy religious institutions, and the equally abrasive shriek of religious fundamentalists with their "Our way or the high-way" banner raised up from on high. Religious Moderation is not a code for apathy, extreme relativism, new-age, or anything of the sort. It simply refers to people of all religious and spiritually based systems who don't throw away their convictions every time they are tempted by their egos, and likewise it indicates those who don't shun the rest of the world because they practice the wrong religion.

Skeptics may say, "This is all very well in theory, but fundamentalists learn this attitude from their own books and scriptures. They don't get this from thin-air." They are correct in saying that, without a doubt. All of the religious scriptures of the world contain attitudes of extremism, intolerance, absolutist, and everything under the sun that religious fundamentalists cling to. There is also evidence to the contrary in those self-same books.

This is the point of contention among religionists with non-believers, and with each other as well. Each "group" is selecting choice passages and phrases that bolsters their own point of view, and they begin throwing these at each other to see who wins the competition. It reminds one of a theological snowball fight. One could say that even religious moderates are guilty of this, and they would be correct. Thus, the human experience exposes its imperfection for eternity.

Introducing children to religion

These are questions that many parents grapple with. We want to instill our values in our children, without scaring them or turning them off altogether. But what’s the best way to accomplish this?

Here are some suggestions, gathered from parents of several different faiths, of how they successfully shared their personal beliefs about God, religion and their church (or place of worship) with their children.

1. Start early. Begin sharing some basic principles with your children at an early age in an age appropriate way.

2. Make religion fun. Don’t make religious discussions boring. Use arts & crafts, signing, stories and even baking to share your story. One family said that they bake a cake each year together on Christmas Eve. Before bed, they light a candle and sing Happy Birthday to the baby Jesus. This lets them tell the story of Jesus’ birth in a way that the children can relate to, and look forward to more than just Santa’s visit!

3. Use child-friendly examples. Many religious concepts and stories can be overly complicated for children. Bring the concepts down to a very basic level – love, sharing, helping, and forgiveness are all ideas that even very young children can grasp.

4. Set an example. Your children watch you as a role model. Your language and behavior will carry as much weight as the lessons you teach.

5. Make attending church (or your place of worship) a social activity. Study after study has shown that children who are actively involved with their church are far less likely to be involved with negative activities like drugs, sex and gangs. And of course it doesn’t take a study to tell us that a child – even a preschooler – who has fun with his friends at church will enjoy it more.

6. Let children help with rituals. Even very young children can assist with certain parts of rituals, from lighting candles to giving thanks for their blessings.

The Active Christian

Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

One of our responsibilities as Christians is telling other people about the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is a commandment of Christ to go and tell others about salvation; it is our responsibility to witness everywhere we go, to have a good testimony. But it is something that many people fail at, take a look at the first verse…to know that because of us a person was saved form eternal damnation, that one day we will see that person in heaven is really something! It might just be a person that you are sitting next to on the bus or an airplane, but that person needs to hear about the fact that Jesus Christ died for him, he needs to hear about the fact that there is a place in heaven for him also.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

To be able to be a good witness and to be able to submit ourselves to Christ, we have to watch out for that old serpent, the Devil, because when he sees that you are getting serious about your faith, he will start to send everything that he has your way, it is then that we have to make sure that we are strong in the Lord and able to fight against all the temptations and arrows that will be coming our way. The Devil does not mind a Christian that just goes to church on Sunday, but when that Christian starts to trust in the Lord and starts to witness and win people to the Lord that is when the Devil gets interested in you and starts to attack you, many times he will try to get to you through your family, a lot of the time it will be a stab in the back.

One Must Recognize One's Needs

One must recognize one's needs (spiritual and otherwise). I have been considering why devotees have so many problems in their spiritual lives and relationships. Observing Srila Prabhupada I see the perfect example of how Krishna consciousness should be executed. I just wrote to one of my Godsisters as follows: Prabhupada on the other hand was in complete touch with his needs and was very affectionate to all and not engaged in excessive austerities. His life is a perfect example of spiritual harmony and balance.

Just had a conversation with one of my disciples via skype. She has to spend a lot of time outside the temple environment relating to those who are not familiar with Krishna consciousness. Sometimes the devotees in the temple look down upon her and others whose life takes them outside the protected environment of a temple. In the beginning of the conversation the word "non-devotee" was used and I made the point afterwards that we have to be very careful in using language that creates division. In ISKCON we have many designations that create division not only between our members and others but also within ISKCON.

There have been many studies that indicate that the more divisive language is used the more a particular culture experiences conflicts internally and externally and these conflicts sometimes become violent conflicts. So, I prefer to think of people who are not practicing Kcon to be "aspiring devotees," who are not yet aware that they are aspiring. They are aspiring in the sense that they want Krishna but are not aware that they want Him. They are innocent. According to our philosophy a madhyama Adhikari should see those who are not opposed to Kcon as being innocent.

When I think in terms of innocence or in terms of people wanting Krishna but not being aware that they want Him, the thought naturally leads to compassionate thinking and action. We should be cautious whenever we use divisive, judgmental language. The sastras contain very clear descriptions because it is necessary to present the siddhanta in a way that one will not be confused, but in daily life one must exercise caution in applying these designations. I have already been getting some favorable feedback from devotees about the blog. Many are encouraged by it. It is important to be able to communicate feelings and thoughts about Krishna conscious realizations and service. It is almost as if Krishna told is forcing me to communicate because He does not want me to keep these thoughts/realizations to myself.

How To Get What You Desire

This format of "looking at lack" is most prevalent in financial categories. People see a lack of finances and really believe that lack of money is the problem. They say things like, "If I had more money; if I was out of debt; if I could just earn more money..." They then conclude, "Not having enough money is the problem in my life."

If you put a chicken in the oven to bake, when it's time to take it out of the oven, what do you have? A nice plump golden brown turkey? A delicious juicy ham? No. If you put a chicken in the oven to bake, then that's what you are going to take out, a chicken.

Now I know these may sound like really silly illustrations, but I use them to make a very serious point. What is on the outside is a very good reflection of what's going on inside.

I recently saw part of a program on TV about real estate. The man speaking is extremely successful in the real estate business. Perhaps you've heard of him. His name is Robert Kiyosaki.

One of the statements that Mr. Kiyosaki made was really terrific. He told his audience about the most valuable piece of real estate on earth. Do you know where it is?

He said that this particular piece of real estate is more valuable than any other property you could own. It's not a very big piece of real estate either. Where is it? Mr. Kiyosaki said it is the piece of real estate just above your nose.

This successful man knows that what's going on inside your mind is vitally important to what's going to happen on the outside.

But sadly, most people look at the lack in their lives as being the problem. Lack in your life is never the problem. Stop looking at the lack and take a good honest look at what's going on inside your own mind. What is your mindset?

You can focus on all your limitations and excuses and just accept that. That is also a mindset. You have free will to that if you want to.

A better choice is to focus your mental attention on your desires and destinations in life. You can picture in your mind who you really desire to be and where you really desire to go. That too is a mind set. You have the free will to think that way if you choose to.

What you focus your mind on is what you will bring into your life. It is a tried and true principle of life that works just like the law of gravity. If there is lack in your life, then refuse to focus on that lack and refuse to accept that lack. Instead, make a conscious decision to start focusing on your desired destination.

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Islam 101- Who Is Allah?

Islam teaches that there is only one God, the same God that has revealed himself since the beginning of time to various prophets such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Islam teaches that the cycle of humanity is something like this: God reveals himself to a prophet who then goes forth and preaches to his people, most of the people reject that prophet while a small number, usually the poor and downtrodden, will faithfully follow that prophet throughout his life. When the prophet dies there will be a group of people that continues to follow him, but slowly, over a period of generations, the information that the prophet taught will be lost or changed by mankind. Eventually, God sends another prophet to confirm the message that was brought before him and to bring people back to the straight path. Muslims believe that Muhammad (PBUH) was the final prophet to be sent forth by God to mankind, the seal of prophethood.

God describes himself in varying, subtle ways throughout the Qur’an, leaving the reader with no clear concept of what exactly He is. Even the pronoun that God uses for himself in the Qur’an is constantly changing, sometimes it is the "royal we", sometimes it is "I" and at still other times it is the third person "He". This is meant to leave the reader with no clear concept of God in their mind. In fact, God says in the Qur’an that He does not resemble any of His creations which is, of course, a major difference from Christianity. The fact that God is the supreme creator and doesn’t resemble any of his creations, means that any image you might come up with in your mind of what God is or looks like is false, because the mind itself is a creation.

However, we can get an understanding of who Allah is by his attributes. In the Qur’an Allah gives 99 names to himself, each of which is one of His divine attributes. Those names are, in English: The compassionate, The merciful, The sovereign, The holy one who is free from all blemishes, The source of all peace, The giver of peace, The giver of protection, The mighty, The overpowering Lord, The self-glorious, The creator, The one who gives life, The fashioner of shapes, The exceedingly forgiving, The one who has control over all things, The giver of all things, The sustainer and provider, The remover of difficulties and giver of decisions, The all-knowing, The straightener of sustenance, The extender of sustenance, The one who humbles and lowers, The exalter, The giver of honor, The giver of dishonor, The all-hearing, The all-seeing, The maker of immutable judgment, The just, The knower of innermost secrets, The all-knowing, The clement, The great, The forgiving, The highly grateful, The most high, The infinite, The protector, The giver of sustenance and strength, The reckoner, The one with exalted position, The benevolent, The caretaker, The answerer of prayers, The lenient, The wise, The most loving, The venerable, The resurrector of the dead, The omnipresent, The truth, The provident, The almighty, The invincible, The patron, The praiseworthy, The keeper of counts, The originator, The one who has the power to create again, The giver of life, The giver of death, The everlasting, The sustainer of life, The all-perfect, The all-excellent, The one unequalled, The one free from want, The all-powerful, The source of all power.

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Catholic Church And Its Beliefs

The Reform Catholic Church (RCC) is a worldwide parent company of that were created in the 1960's, yet, the concept was long ago.

The Reform Catholic Church (RCC) is a worldwide firm of churches that were created in the 1960's, still, the concept was long ago.

The name was select out of of options in an go to sustain a piecing together to usual Orthodox and Catholic churches and beliefs systems while, at the same time, realizing the must for an ongoing reform of the methods used by the Church to communicate with its delegates. Many Reform Catholic organizations use acronyms as their names.

It was Roman Catholic that first assured collected to form the RCC, as well as Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox who, in some way or a different, were upset with some, or many, of the actions and of their .

This led them to hunt for a more pleasing way to rehearsal their beloved Christian religion. As one of the goals, the founders looked to invent a Christian priestly that was comprehensive, tolerant and quenched the unworldly dryness of the individuals while making the life of Christ as described in the Bible more profound to them.

As an illustration of the beliefs of the RCC, it relationship or shift to Orthodox, Catholic and more Christian , because of it's belief in the communion of Christian churches.

For the most part, the RCC to the spiritual beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. However, one argument is that the RCC believes, if practiced, both men and womanhood have the honorable to become ministry colleagues, due to their intrinsic heavenly equal opportunity.

Clergy are allowed to marry in an exertion to tolerate them to more fully take part in the normal daily lives of the family around them. This, actually, is no unusual than the faith of the Roman Catholic Churches, since many of them who are in full communion with the Vatican consent their ordained priests to marry, as well.

At this aspect you may be what type of litany the RCC uses. For the most part, it uses the same ceremonies and devotions that you would find in the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches.

Various methods of birth control are accepted. However, as a typical rule, are disapproved of. In accuracy, it is implicit that there may be one circumstances in which an abortion be justified.

The sacrament of marital is performed as it is in many another , in such that God, through His priesthood, joins organized the duo who want to be matrimonial.

Divorces, as well, can be granted to those who want them. Divorce, in spite of this, is not upon auspiciously and only a conjugal pair that are fundamentally incompatible and in which a true wedded relationship does not happen will be granted one.

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