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That is to say, the starting point. In most other beliefs and religions out there, a god or the gods create humans more or less by accident. The humans are always low in status, and there is a clear difference on what belongs to the gods and what belongs to humanity. Yet in Abrahamic faith, God creates humanity on purpose and in His very image. He makes heaven immediately available in the Garden of Eden, and gives them full access to His presence and immortality. (Tree of Life)
So to recap, the major difference is the starting point. Y'all let me know if there is another belief where humans started out with immediate access to immortality and direct relationship with their creator/creators.
That is to say, the starting point. In most other beliefs and religions out there, a god or the gods create humans more or less by accident. The humans are always low in status, and there is a clear difference on what belongs to the gods and what belongs to humanity. Yet in Abrahamic faith, God creates humanity on purpose and in His very image. He makes heaven immediately available in the Garden of Eden, and gives them full access to His presence and immortality. (Tree of Life)
So to recap, the major difference is the starting point. Y'all let me know if there is another belief where humans started out with immediate access to immortality and direct relationship with their creator/creators.
There's no difference in the part where humanity is lower in status and what belongs to humanity and to God. The Abrahamic religion also restrict humanity acess to the presence of God and immortality. This is clearly seen in Genesis. Adam and Eve were mortals alone in the garden, hence the reason why God was looking for them after they ate the fruit and forbid them from eating the fruit from the Tree of Life. Humanity is shown to be capable of suffering, dying and ignorant of morality.
So, to recap, there is no difference in the starting point.
There's no difference in the part where humanity is lower in status and what belongs to humanity and to God. The Abrahamic religion also restrict humanity acess to the presence of God and immortality. This is clearly seen in Genesis. Adam and Eve were mortals alone in the garden, hence the reason why God was looking for them after they ate the fruit and forbid them from eating the fruit from the Tree of Life. Humanity is shown to be capable of suffering, dying and ignorant of morality.
So, to recap, there is no difference in the starting point.
God told Adam he could freely eat of all the trees in the Garden, and that would include the Tree of Life which holds immortality. (I say immortality based on what God said of it's attributes) Now there was a tree that was forbidden. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Besides that, heaven was made available to humanity from the beginning. There was no death. Animals didn't eat each other, nor did we eat the meat of animals. If it weren't for humanity's disobedience, those things would have continued and more.
I want to know if there is another belief that has that well of a start for humanity.
If it weren't for god setting humans up to fail, those things would have continued and more.
There. Fixed it for ya!
1. Forbidden tree with no explanation or guidance
2. Allow enemy agent to seduce the stupid humans. Don't intervene!
3. Mark and banish the humans and their innocent offspring forever -- make sure they suffer.
1. Forbidden tree with no explanation or guidance
2. Allow enemy agent to seduce the stupid humans. Don't intervene!
3. Mark and banish the humans and their innocent offspring forever -- make sure they suffer.
I think it was doomed from the start, personally.
Of course ... it's just a story anyway.
But it is a story born of primitive minds using a very immature concept of God and Reality. As an atheist, I escaped the conditioning of that primitive and immature concept of God (as the Omni-Creator and intervening Ruler whose Sovereign Wil is the source of everything that happens). The lack of any evidence or even a hint of this all-powerful intervening God during my entire life before my encounter left me completely "at sea" upon actually encountering God. But my lack of preconceptions freed me to try to figure out what this awesome unconditionally accepting and loving God could want from us. I found NONE of the existing speculations and conceptualizations acceptable. None of them made a lick of sense to my very pragmatic atheist mind.
That is why it took decades of intellectual effort in the sciences and in esoteric and religious literature to try to make some sense of it all. Fortunately, my direct consciousness-to-consciousness contact was completely unmistakable and left no doubt that our thoughts are influenced (but not controlled) by the unavoidably ubiquitous existence of the "mind of God" within each of us. Regrettably, too few of us seem to be aware of God or pay attention to His promptings. I was no exception before my encounter. This physical life is quite demanding of our attention and focus and the religions seem to operate as stumbling blocks to knowing God..
However, without the conditioned burden of trying to reconcile the irreconcilable vicissitudes of this existence with the dominant conception as the WILL or plans of an all-powerful OmniMax God, the obvious immaturity of the extant conceptions became readily apparent to me. Sadly, it seems the strong conditioning to an Omnimax God (or rejecting one) has been too dominant and prevalent to allow for a truly objective evaluation of the concept of God as the very sourceof our consciousness and Reality, IMO.
1. Forbidden tree with no explanation or guidance
2. Allow enemy agent to seduce the stupid humans. Don't intervene!
3. Mark and banish the humans and their innocent offspring forever -- make sure they suffer.
I think it was doomed from the start, personally.
Of course ... it's just a story anyway.
The Original Sin is quite trivial in nature, I agree on that one.
And like most of the OT, it is a symbolic story, not a literal one.
People living for 900 years in the OT, we all know that’s not scientifically possible either.
On the OP, I don’t know enough about the non-Abrahamic religions to say they don’t elevate human beings to a direct image of God.
On the OP, I don’t know enough about the non-Abrahamic religions to say they don’t elevate human beings to a direct image of God.
That's more than okay. I myself don't know a lot about the origins and stories of many religions out there. That is the scope of this topic. I want someone to tell me if there is another belief that has as good a starting point as the Abrahamic faith.
As for some of the other points of discussion others are having, that is beyond the scope of this thread.
Last edited by Heavenese; 11-08-2023 at 06:29 AM..
That is to say, the starting point. In most other beliefs and religions out there, a god or the gods create humans more or less by accident. The humans are always low in status, and there is a clear difference on what belongs to the gods and what belongs to humanity. Yet in Abrahamic faith, God creates humanity on purpose and in His very image. He makes heaven immediately available in the Garden of Eden, and gives them full access to His presence and immortality. (Tree of Life)
So to recap, the major difference is the starting point. Y'all let me know if there is another belief where humans started out with immediate access to immortality and direct relationship with their creator/creators.
There are other religions that teach that we are never separate from God, because nothing exists other than God. Since God is limitless, pure awareness, and fullness, we too are the same, ever free and limitless.
Major difference in starting point, indeed.
In the Abrahamic faiths, the Great Architect of the Universe has created everything and we are among that creation. It is only through our individual relationship with this singular creator that lies our hope for eternity.
There are fraternities wherein belief in an Abrahamic Faith is a prerequisite for membership.
That is to say, the starting point. In most other beliefs and religions out there, a god or the gods create humans more or less by accident.
Please name one, because I'm not aware of any.
Quote:
Originally Posted by O'Darby
The humans are always low in status, and there is a clear difference on what belongs to the gods and what belongs to humanity. Yet in Abrahamic faith, God creates humanity on purpose and in His very image. He makes heaven immediately available in the Garden of Eden, and gives them full access to His presence and immortality. (Tree of Life)
That isn't true at all. The Abrahamic faiths are derived from earlier existing faiths in which humans were low in status.
The Abrahamic god-things are not associated with the Tree of Life, but Ningishiddza is.
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