My reason for considering leaving. My mini Biography.

[KufirbintKufr]

hollowstar,

think again about that child I told you about. He came back from the shop with the wrong thing. He tried, but he got it wrong. Surely you would not be angry with him, would you?

It is very manipulative statement. God sent us to shop not one time but million times. Every minute of our live we can go back to the shop and buy the right thing.

The purpose of this life is to buy a right thing. It is not God's fault that we spend time on watching DVD's, goofing around, wasting time.

Even in the last moment you have the chance as the crucified thief. One of them used his time to mock Jesus while the other asked for forgiveness.

There is hell in Buddhism too.

[enceladus]

(snip)
There is hell in Buddhism too.

So they say....

However, there is a big difference in the "hells" that the religions believe in.
This link gives a description of what Buddhists believe -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_%28Buddhism%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From the above site - ( emphasis added by me )
"First, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment; second, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long.

Instead, a being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous karma (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until his or her karma has achieved its full result."

So, in other words, the Buddhist view of things is that one's fate is ***as a result of one's own actions*** -
not as a result of divine judgement. Although I'm not Buddhist myself, I'd say that's very fair!

It is actually very close to the saying that "as ye sow, so shall ye reap". In other words, if you do good things, then that will tend to be reciprocated.

If you do bad things, then they too will be reciprocated. Nothing could be more fair!
Certainly, the Islamic view (that only Muslims go to paradise) is ridiculous in comparison to the Buddhist view.
- enceladus

[Rashna]

There is hell in Buddhism too.

But Buddhism doesn't say that one goes to Hell for worshipping the wrong God. Islam & Christianity say this, that no matter how good a person you are if you happen to choose the wrong god\s you suffer eternally. Thus people like Gandhi, Anne Frank, the Dalai Lama would be in Hell according to Christianity & Trinitarian Christians like Mother Teresa would burn eternally according to Islam for believing Jesus=God. In this one regard, I find Islam & Christianity as bad as each other. As the saying goes, "Hitler burned Anne Frank for sometime & we call him evil, God will burn Anne Frank forever & we call Him good."

However, I don't really mind if a religion says that I'm going to Hell, as long as its not in a hurry to send me there or make my life miserable here on earth, which Christians nowadays aren't. Muslims are.

[King tut]

Yeah Islam, Christian and, Judaism are like vultures, speaking of vultures Zoroastrianism is pretty sad and despicable too, so too is Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Paganism, Bhai'sm and, Confucianism the only decent philosophy/faith is Buddhism, and Pakistani Chishti Order.

[FinallyFree]

I sense a great deal of confusion in you...........


You need heaven? Why? Why is it important to you? My mother is still a Muslim for one reason, she needs Heaven' so far she has had a crappy life and been patient with a lot of sh#t and all for heaven, so in her mind it would be justified if she went to heaven and was rewarded for her patience and good. I used to need heaven, why? I didn't want to end up redundent and the thought of nothingness almost scared me.

But why Islsmic heaven? All it is is an orgy with food and sofas, surely this must get boring after the first day? Lusts don't last after they have been gratified, the Muslims who invented Islam never had the chance for air conditioning or sofas or nice refrigerated food or even sex on tap but most of us have these things when we want (the last one can be bought). They have become part of our lives, this is muslim heaven, yet it is still a struggle because these things are material.

No, heaven should be different, why do you need a muslim lust heaven? Why can't you seek a different (less evil) mythology with a more spiritual and imaginative heaven? I'm an agnostic/atheist so I don't believe in heaven, but to me, after we die our atoms become part of this amazing universe and we become part of the thread, I don't know if consciencenous would still exist, but imagine that thought of being one with the earth or the stars, an equal and defined part. That for me is better than any heaven, even if I don't see it or feel it at the time

[time to wake up]

Hollowscar

I'm a Christian, albeit not a very good one, nevertheless I have no fear of death because of what Christ has done for each one of us that accept it— his life, a sacrifice freely given, so that all can be redeemed and none need fear hell.

I am convinced God does not want you to fear him, what relationship is that? any relationship based on fear is a desperate and controlling one. If Jesus (who called God Father) is to be believed, this is definitely NOT what God wants from us.

Jesus himself said and did many things, to many people, but he never caused harm to anyone, rather he brought healing and restoration. If you want to know what Jesus taught about God I would recommend looking at his story of the prodigal son, this shows clearly that God's heart is for us, though he won't impose Himself where we take our own path—rather, He waits for us to come back to him and runs to greet us, not in judgement, but in restoration, so there is nothing to fear at all.

The attached link will explain better than I could
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/prodigal.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You may not think that Jesus is God's son, so what. All you need do for now is to keep an open mind, wherever it leads.

All your questions about the nature of God will find answers if you look at what Jesus said and did. You will find it all in the New Testament and I would recommend the NIV version for readability, as it is a modern translation.

Finally, do not fear, as the Bible says you are fearfully(different context) and wonderfully made, dear Hollowscar. The chains of fear that still bind you should be recognised for what they are. God does not want you bound up in them, but released to be all that you can be, not in human lusts and headenistic pleasure, but in living a just and good life without fear and with the assurance Christ gives to all who follow him.