mel..you take offence at my way of seeing "religion".. .i have already told the group i did bible study via correspondence and bible study at sunday school..winning prizes..and i have read the bible. .so next question?. .i was baptised as a lutheran ..3 months of age in germany..no i am not german..estonian.. .. you do not seem very curious a person... uniting church..are you not interested in their policies?
you seem very uptight. .relax go with the flow spiritual search is not where the rule book is at ..hop in and read some poems by rainer maria rilke ..broaden your horizons ..read aldous huxley's the perennial philosophy. .lighten up ..be more accepting ..you sound like you wish to dam me to hell..because i think like i do. .tut tut..that's a very fundamentalist way of reacting open your heart flow and listen to the grasses growing what else can i say? relax you are not my judge or keeper take is easy listen to the bird song be calm be of good cheer and above all love what is good thank you for the effort you have put into this email all the best for you in your search peace be with you merle Merle The only reason why I sat up and took notice of your postings was when you suggested that time should be taken to examine the Christian teachings, as Christians seem to be like a swarm of ants in this world we live in. You didn't say that last part but that was basically the gist of what you were saying. You've come from an atheistic household, as you've said, unlike some of us. Those of us from the other end who have come from strong or even extreme religious backgrounds will not necessarily have covered all of scripture and yet will not bother finding out what your religion is all about. Being of atheist background as you say you are, you then have no idea what some of us from the other end have gone through, especially those from Catholicism If you're happy being buddy-buddies with Yahweh, then good. Good luck to both of you. The only thing that you should be mindful of is all the evangelism bull many of us may not take too patiently to. As you can see from the postings, the Christian scriptures are also being discussed, amongst other things. You have to be really way off-topic before Edgar or Bill jumps down on you from heavens above Having got the above out of the way, I will now attend to your posting below. Yes, you can go to church, and I'm certainly not going to persuade you to do otherwise and the congregation doesn't have to know everything about you, including your possible interest in Buddhism, Wicca, and other sorts of thinking. Before replying to you here, I've noticed in one of your postings of your disapproval of scripture. That's also fine, as the Quakers themselves don't follow by the principle of Sola Scriptura. However, this is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it: you cannot have a solid grounding or understanding of what your god wants from you without learning his teachings. For even just $1, you can get an old copy of the bible in any second-hand retailer. Again I repeat, that's only a suggestion and you may take it, or leave it. Without a strong base in scripture, you're basically nothing more than cattle following the rest of the herd The Uniting Church of Australia. What about them? I know nothing of them nor am I interested in their policies. As a practicing Christian in the past(or at least I made huge attempts to do so without being forced as so), I had paid heed to NO ONE who was in my eyes or ears, a JESUS ONLY believer, and those others who never bothered to aim to read the whole damn book for themselves(and now you can partly see why I left and settled instead for the old fella under the tree). The only impression I have of such organizations such as the mentioned church above is that they seem to be more tolerant of oddities compared to say, the Roman or Anglican Catholic movements Mother Nature did you say? Good luck, as you're basically forcing yourself into a corner of extreme confusion here. On a side note, please don't mistake the Quakers for worshipers of Mother Nature as such. Look them up on the net. You'd be surprised to find out what they're all about, and most Quakers I have known personally regarded scripture as important. You're not a part-time Wiccan by any chance, are you? Well, whichever/whatever the case, good luck in your search because I definitely see you and Yahweh in a rather turbulent relationship in the long run. Does that mean I believe he exists? I have no idea, and I don't really care The Christians(and their 2 other Middle Eastern cousins) say there's only one god. Have you worked out yet where Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes in? Being a good churchie laddie includes working these things out. Also, sitting at the fence trying to decide whether you're a pagan or Christian will make you no different to the back-sliding Israelites who seemed to have developed quite an art of upsetting their Father above, as had been indicated in scripture. For Christians, they're lessons on how not to do things. However, you may decide on the other hand that if the Chosen Ones can do so...oh heck...why not you? As with the Muslims and the Jews, you as a Christian will have to eventually decide where you belong Zen Buddhism. Much better, and less stress. Also, less grasping of/on things...but hey, who am I to preach? Any individual out there may take time to find out...or not. No hair off my head or skin off my back if they don't. I will suggest, but I will not force. Why should I be responsible for anyone's screw-ups? Mel
