About “A Possible Gospel”
IN BRIEF: (Details are in the first several posts following this one.)
1. Concept: A) This site is definitely not marked “For Christians Only.” B) Applying terms like “gospel” and “testament” to something written today raises questions for anyone, such as:
Q: Do you have a Messiah complex?
A: No – you’ll notice nobody’s writing a gospel about me.
Q: Do you have a prophet complex?
A: I can’t predict the future. But I’m pretty sure the earth is getting warmer.
Q: Do you think your writing is inspired?
A/Qs: What do you mean by “inspired?” Do you mean the way that scripture is inspired?
2. Content: Things we’ll take a look at include:
1. What do we mean by “God?” Whether or not you believe in God, what is it that people are trying to talk about with that word?
2. What is love?
3. What is faith?
4. What is scripture?
5. Are the Gospels and The New Testament uniformly inspired, or are some parts a lot better than others?
6. What is a “loaded question?”
Since #5 was a loaded question, yes, I’ll be trying to sort the wheat from the chaff. Some of you will want to lend a hand. Others will go, “Hey! Hey! It’s all wheat!”
Basically, the Possible Gospel half of this blog is like reading the gospels (along with the letters of
Whatever your point of view on religious and spiritual matters happens to be, it’s welcome here. I do ask that people express themselves in words that are respectful of others’ outlooks and feelings.
posted by Darius @ 2:42 PM
20 Comments:
Interesting. These are important issues and you definitely aren't approaching them with a narrow view. I will be back to see how things are developing.
I look forward to reading this!
I'm an Episcopalian, but I went by a UCC Church (okay, redundant, I know, like ATM Machine) the other day and saw their banner, "God is still speaking," and I thought..YES!
Anyone who can maintain a sense of humor while writing about religion has my attention. I look forward to reading this blog.
asallam alaykum ~ peace be upon you, a very nice start to a worthy trek, I look forward to reading yours and others exploration.
Okay, I'm in. Buddhist.
Gangadhar - Good point, and ironic. And terrible - that religion, while it does good in many respects, is also often clearly a source of harm and misery in, as you say, the "ideology" respect.
Sirbarrett - Thanks - I look forward to the conversation.
Andy - God is still speaking... I think so too.
Anonymous, thanks for checking in.
Kevin - Peace to you too, look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Matthew – Actually I've been reading your blog for a while. Mind getting in touch with me? There's an email address on my blogger profile.
Renee - Me too!
I tend to like pondering loaded questions! - LOL! So... Fire at will!
very interesting blog mate :)
I'll be back for more for sure...
in short, to me religion is just a belief...and it's very personal. And it doesnt always have to be practised in front of a God. Music, Love almost anything can be religion. As long as it doesnt harm another being.
Keshi.
It would be pointless for me to leave a church denomination here, as my worship is only an extension of my faith. So put 'er there, Christian.
I am one of God's children who actually acknowledges Him. 'Nuff Said
I'm an athiest, I agree with much of what Richard Dawkins says about religions (but he tends to be a bit ruder than I ever could be), I think people should be good people because it's the right thing to do, not because of a religion. But I do consider myself "spiritual". (I know, it's a cliche "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual") I believe in energy. If you want to call that "God", fine, but I don't believe in "God" per se. I look forward to more posts!
Wow - off to a great start. I'll stay tuned :-)
Hi Darius, I think that there might be a place for another atheist here. :-) I'm looking forward to your posts and everyone's comments.
Dale - Great! I think the more Christians learn about Buddhism the better, and that there's a great deal of synergy between them in terms of moral life and Christianity's mystical tradition.
Hi Kerry - And feel free to ask loaded questions yourself.
Keshi - Religion as "belief" - yes, I think that's how it's usually looked at. But then you mention music, love, and so that's interesting...
Jadedtic - "Actually acknowledging" God would be what as opposed to what? So you raise an interesting question there.
Crystal - Thanks. I like that icon you've got.
Marissa and SH - Glad you're here and I look forward to your thoughts.
Grumblefish: I agree. If religion/spirituality doesn't translate into improving how we live and act, it seems to me to call its authenticity into question.
Kathy: I think more and more people in this country, maybe starting in the eighties - ? - have become aware of Buddhism. Even for people who aren't Buddhists, it has a lot to offer in terms of practical insights and strategies for improving our outlook and actions.
I am glad that someone is finally appoaching this subject with an open mind. Religious made a slave out of me, and when I broke the chains the Christian community I lived in treated me like I was thier personal devil. I like your appoach, Darius, this is so refreshing.
Thanks, LP -
Darius, thank you for your comment on my blog. Looking forward to spending more time reading yours.
very good approach, i have been interested in extracting Jesus' words from the rest of the NT text, doing in the Hebrew, which it has been returned to, and applying Kabalistic means to the Jewmans words.
you have a good start here, where the ground needs desparately a major reform.
AJ: And vice-versa...
JIM: I value your input. Judaism and Islam (to say nothing of eastern religions) are underepresented in public discourse on religion in the US.
In divinity school, I was disappointed by what was perhaps an 85% focus on Christianity, with the other 15% divided about evenly between the study of Judaism and Islam - and almost nothing on eastern religions.
Hopefully this has improved in the years since I graduated.
Nice gentle blog. Feel free to come over to mine sometime.
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