The Ride, Curious on what you all think... Options

[World Dreamer]

Is it me or has Ed completely become whoever he is talking to in The Ride? Or did I just completely misunderstand the song?

This post has been edited by World Dreamer: Jul 26 2012, 3:56 pm

[deepenoughtodive]

That's a lame deceptive description of Christianity Fish.

[FishOutaWater]

That's a lame deceptive description of Christianity Fish.

Am I wrong in saying that most of mainstream Christianity involves believing that God became a human being who needed to be crucified and die and then raise from the dead as a sacrifice for our sins and if you believe that and accept Jesus as your savior, then you go to heaven and if you don't then you go to hell? Isn't the basis of prosteletizing and missionary work that people who don't believe need to be converted so that they can be saved? The most vocal and visible elements of Christianity in America are the evangelicals and Baptists and denominations like that - and can you say that those are not based on fear, judgment and division? I know that I have sat through their services and it makes me uncomfortable because they tell you that you have to believe this and that or you are going to hell. Aren't the "beliefs" and the canon all focused on teaching someone what to believe instead of letting a person find it within themselves freely? Doesn't Christianity condemn homosexuals? Doesn't the Catholic Church say that you are ex-communicated and going to hell if you divorce and remarry or that you have committed a sin if you have pre-marital sex or use contraception? Doesn't the Catholic church say that different sins have different grade-levels (cardinal, venial, etc.) and that you have to go to a priest and tell him your sins and then get a homework assignment of prayers to say to work off the sins. I see all of that as activity operating at the ego-mind level. The reality is that if you become knowledgable of the philosophical difference between a Western style religion and an Eastern religion, these are really fundamentally different philosophical approaches to spirituality.

I am not trying to be critical. I am just calling a spade a spade.

As I said in my post, I consider myself a Christian, but I don't think that Christianity is the only path to God or that non-Christians are going to hell. And I have no idea whatsoever what Ed believes. But I think his current activity and interviews with Christian radio stations and websites, stokes the fundamentalist Christians.

P.S. - I tried to say "generally" and qualify my comments as much as possible, because I realize that I am making over-generalizations. My most pointed criticism is of the Christian fundamentalist beliefs, like those of evangelicals. I think it is pretty clear how you can draw a distinction between Eastern spiritual philosophy and Christian evangelicals. If you don't see a contrast in the philosophical underpinnings of those two approaches to spirituality, then I am afraid that I can't say any more to describe it. And in America, the most vocal and visible elements of Christianity (the Christian right if you will) are those parts. The moderate, centrist, progressive Christians (of which I think I am a part) are not out there on the news espousing their beliefs. I am not drawing the contrast with that aspect of Christianity. I think there are many Chritians who are pretty "enlightened" and "awake". I really don't think that what I said was lame.

This post has been edited by FishOutaWater: Jul 27 2012, 9:20 am