How can one be inter faith?

[ZoeNicole]

Your own beliefs should help you determine that and a general rule of thumb is whether people are being hurt or if they are only concerned with hating another group. Also if you have to commit to their beliefs only then probably avoid that too.

[Incarnadine]

I guess then one has to ask, how do you know if something is a cult, or evil and should not be followed?

"All Scripture [every written word] is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine [what is right], for reproof [what is wrong], for correction [how to make it right], for instruction in righteousness [how to keep it right]:"  II Tim. 3:16

Simple answer, if you believe the Bible to be true.

[Keira]

I guess then one has to ask, how do you know if something is a cult, or evil and should not be followed?

By its fruits, Matthew 7:16.

[Padma]

Discussing other people's beliefs in terms of being "evil" or "cultish" would very likely be a breach of the ToS of this site, as well as being beyond the scope of this topic.

If you wish to discuss interfaith issues, please ensure you do so without defaming other beliefs.

10. Bashing or flaming of any individuals or groups is not acceptable behavior on this web site and will not be tolerated in the slightest for any reason.

[Shawn Sunshine]

Excuse me, but i did not defame anyone's beliefs by asking that question, I should have never even asked it really, cause i already knew the answer.
It was not meant to be directed at people that do good things, instead as a Christian myself, was meant to find out from other Christians what to be wary of and stay away from so as to not be mislead.

I have every right to know what to follow and not follow so as to not be taken advantage of by people or the evil one.

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

First off lets see what a cult is:

Cult:

1. formal religious veneration : worship
2. a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4. a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>
5.
         a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad
         b : the object of such devotion
         c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

1.‪ The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
‪2. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
‪3. Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
‪4. The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
‪5. The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
6. The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
7.‪ The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
8.‪ The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
9.‪ The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt iin order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
10.‪ Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
11.‪ The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
12.‪ The group is preoccupied with making money.
13.‪ Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
14.‪ Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
15.‪ The most loyal members (the "true believers") feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

Almost any religion can fail under these definitions.

I would say that it is up to you as to whether or not a faith is a cult and if it is evil.

[Padma]

Excuse me, but i did not defame anyone's beliefs by asking that question, I should have never even asked it really, cause i already knew the answer.
It was not meant to be directed at people that do good things, instead as a Christian myself, was meant to find out from other Christians what to be wary of and stay away from so as to not be mislead.

I have every right to know what to follow and not follow so as to not be taken advantage of by people or the evil one.

I didn't say anyone had defamed anyone, I was warning people not to, since this would be a breach of the ToS. I'm just alerting you (and anyone who participates in this topic) that describing people whose faiths differ from yours as "evil" or "cultish" would be a breach of the ToS if they were so described solely on the basis of being of a different faith.

[Sarah Louise]

Religious beliefs can be (and is) a very sensitive subject.  Beliefs are personal and often very strong.

One persons "cult" is another persons belief system.

We saw that in the recent elections.  I know of many Conservative Christians who could/would not vote for Romney because of his religious beliefs.

[Shawn Sunshine]

my apologies then padma, thanks for clearing that up.

[Padma]

No worries.

[tekla]

I've never had the opportunity to talk with anyone who considers themselves a Buddhist Christian

A Trappist monk, named Thomas Merton had extensive contact with Buddhist leaders including the Dalai Lama, the Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.  So much so that when the Dalai Lama comes to the United States he often stays at Merton's old monastery, Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.  He wrote extensively (over 70 books) but the two that deal most directly with Zen and Christianity are The Wisdom of the Desert and Zen and the Birds of Appetite.

See also:
Zen Catholicism, Dom Graham (a Benedictine monk), 1964.

Benedict's Dharma, Patrick Henry, Riverhead Books, 2001 - is a reflection of the Rule of St. Benedict by Zen priest Norman Fisher, meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein, professor Judith Simmer-Brown, and Yifa, a nun of the Chinese Buddhist tradition.


As to the Golden Rule, referred to in theological terms as Ethic of Reciprocity, there is nothing inherently Christian about it.  Rabbi Hillel, one of the foremost scholars of the Torah once said: "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it."

Bahá'í Faith: "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah
   
Brahmanism: "This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 "

Buddhism: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18
   
Confucianism: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23
   "Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
   "Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4

Ancient Egyptian: (the original dates to circa 1800 BCE, and is the oldest version of this rule: "Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do."

Hinduism:  "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517

Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 3

Jainism:  "Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2.
   "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

Judaism: "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18

And it goes on...
   

[tekla]

You understand wrong, as my mom used to tell me.  The devil never tricks or fools people.  The devil has power not through deception, but by belief freely given.  And forget the horns, as Mick said, He's a man of wealth and taste.

[Stephe]

I am not sure I understand how a few folks have come to have interfaith and religious stances. How does one follow something other than Christianity in addition to being Christian and not then be following another God. How could you come to terms with including more than one religion in your mind and heart?

Because I believe we are all worshiping the same God. I also believe anyone who shows love and compassion for others pleases the God I believe in. It's their actions that matter.

Read what the Dalai Lama says about how we should live and then see is this is really any different from how Christ told us to live. Focusing on details of a specific religion dilutes what God's real wishes for us are, to love other people, be understand and compassionate. I believe God sent Christ to teach us this message and if the same message is being taught by others, it's doesn't make the message "not right".

I also believe too many people are focused on their -own- salvation, which gets in the way of them doing the "love other people" part. The whole thing to me is: if we are following a certain religion for selfish purposes (our own salvation, fear etc) that is missing the whole point being made by Christ.

[SarahM777]

The crux of the matter goes into who is Jesus? Either the claims He makes are either true or false. These are some of those statements

John 6

35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."


John 10

7 Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.


John 11

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 14

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

John 15

5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

These are His words not mine. Jesus leaves no room for any other option,either He is who He says He is or He is not. He never puts it as believing in things that make us feel good. Jesus puts it in such a way that our belief is to be in a person namely Him and it is wholly,totally and completely through Jesus and Him alone. He is the straight and narrow gate.

[Incarnadine]

Going back to the question of whether one can be inter-faith, one has to deny certain points about certain religions in order to be able to combine some or all of them.

For example, if a person says they believe in Yahweh Elohim, but they do not believe what the Bible says about Yahweh Elohim, then they do not really believe in Yahweh Elohim.  They have changed who He is.  Deut. 6 declares that Yahweh Elohim is one Yahweh and that we are to love Yahweh Elohim with all our heart, soul, and might.  To worship any other god is to deny the LORD God His full place in our heart, soul, and might.  We are commanded to have no gods "before" Yahweh - the word "before" does not mean "more important than" - it means "in front of" or "brought in the face of".  No other god is to be brought into the presence of Yahweh Elohim.

To declare that the God of the Bible is the same as the gods of other religions is to deny His own statement in Ex. 3:6 that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  When the command is given in Ex. 20:7 to not use God's name in vain, according to Strong's, the word vain can be used as empty, useless - or desolating, false: part of the application is that Yahweh Elohim's name is not to be falsified.  You can't change His name or combine His name with that of another god; to do so is to falsify or desolate His name.

In keeping with the requirements of this board, I'm not directing my comment at any specific person or religion; each individual has their own free decisions to make.  I'm simply trying to help Shawn answer her questions from a religious text that she and I both believe to be true and dependable. 

[Sarah Louise]

As a conservative Christian and a Bible believer (as I myself interpret the Bible), I personally don't see how someone can be "inter-faith".  I know I could not and still call myself a Bible believing Christian.

I don't speak for everyone calling themself Christian.  I guess its a matter of "faith" and up to each person individually.

[Stephe]

The crux of the matter goes into who is Jesus? Either the claims He makes are either true or false.

Yes this is very much what matters. If you see Christ as a -being- and this -being- is what is critical to worship than yes, only one religion works.

I see Christ as Gods love brought to our world and if you read the below quoted passages in that context, then other religions work too in their own way. Most follow this same message. For me what is important is to accept, worship and spread -Gods love- which I believe is his message, not to worship "Him". "Gods love is the bread of life", "Gods love is the light of the World" etc. I believe THAT is the message he was bringing, given he IS Gods love living here in a human form. I'm not going to worship the shell he came in.

I know some people see all this in black and white, "true or false" but for many people it's not. I do not read the bible literally and I do think the message in it is for us to interpret ourselves. If we are going to quote scripture literally and proclaim "It's true or false" then most of us -are- an abomination just like the Westboro Baptist church says we are!

[Stephe]

To declare that the God of the Bible is the same as the gods of other religions is to deny His own statement in Ex. 3:6 that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  When the command is given in Ex. 20:7 to not use God's name in vain, according to Strong's, the word vain can be used as empty, useless - or desolating, false: part of the application is that Yahweh Elohim's name is not to be falsified.  You can't change His name or combine His name with that of another god; to do so is to falsify or desolate His name.

So you believe you are worshiping the "right God" being kind and loving others. But these other people who are being kind and lovng others are worshiping -some other God- and so their good deeds don't count with your God? I guess I have a real problem with the whole "chosen people" thing and at least the God I believe in, the one teaching us to love each other equally would not pick a "chosen people" over some other people. That doesn't seem real loving of these other people does it? It feeds into the whole "God is on our side of this war" mentality.

[Constance]

I am not sure I understand how a few folks have come to have interfaith and religious stances.

I think you have to read from a very different bible to be "inter faith".

Going back to the question of whether one can be inter-faith, one has to deny certain points about certain religions in order to be able to combine some or all of them.

I personally don't see how someone can be "inter-faith".



To these comments, I offer the following reply.

The one who says it is not possible should not interrupted the one doing it.
-- Chinese proverb

[SarahM777]

Yes this is very much what matters. If you see Christ as a -being- and this -being- is what is critical to worship than yes, only one religion works.

I see Christ as Gods love brought to our world and if you read the below quoted passages in that context, then other religions work too in their own way. Most follow this same message. For me what is important is to accept, worship and spread -Gods love- which I believe is his message, not to worship "Him". "Gods love is the bread of life", "Gods love is the light of the World" etc. I believe THAT is the message he was bringing, given he IS Gods love living here in a human form. I'm not going to worship the shell he came in.

But He did not say God's love is,Jesus said I AM. A whole world of difference. He even then goes farther

John 11 24-26

24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 12:45-46

45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

John 14: 1-3

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Here in these passages Jesus says to believe in Him. He

John 12:44-45

44 Then Jesus cried out, "Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.

He equates believing in Him as the same as as believing the Father. Again not my words but His.