Eclectic Christian

[Aina]

How do you guys feel about it? :)

[Aina]

HAHAH i voted, yes i voted for the first one. Im a loser.

[HadouKen24]

Eclectic Christianity?

You mean... American Protestantism?

[LordHelmet]

This will create a problem with much of the Christian community.

Works like this. Since, OBVIOUSLY the bible is the word of God and in it Jesus says he is The Way... there's no room for eclecticism.

so ya, # 3.

[Lahmi]

Quite the contrary, LordHelmet.

Yes, Jesus is indeed The Way, the Truth and the Life. :)

That does not mean, however, that we are to be cookie cutter christians.
Far from it actually.
Now as to what the original poster is including in 'eclectic' as long as it
does not contradict God's will for our lives, it is quite probably fine.

[Meadhbh]

I'm confused what is eclectic christianism exactly?

[Morgandria]

the term has no meaning for me.

[morganxpage]

Why be an Eclectic Christian at all? If you actually bother to delve into Christianity, beyond the surface stuff taught in churches, you'll find a very rich, deep, and full religion. Cabala, Gnosticism, Alchemy, hundreds of philosophers, thousands of mystics, a COMPLETE cosmology and theology, et al. If you aren't fulfilled by that alone, then maybe you aren't a Christian at all.

The Bible is only the primary text of the religion. There are thousands, if not millions, of other texts worth exploring. If you're truly Christian, how can you have any time to branch out into other religions and practices when there's still so much that you have to learn about Christianity?

Unless of course, by Eclectic Christian you mean taking from various denominations of Christianity, in which case that's a great idea.

[Rainbow]

I feel that what elements you incorporate into Christianity are between you and God/Gods/Jesus/Whomever.

The history of Christianity is filled with mixing and syncretism. Some people feel this is wrong (either because it "destroys" indigenous beliefs or because it changes Christianity), I feel it's one of the traits that makes Christianity interesting.

I can say that you should look into whether you can deal with the reaction you will get from people who think Eclectic Christianity is wrong/oxymoronic/etc. Other than that, to each their own.

[aluokaloo]

I know you guys are sick of me saying this but....whatever floats your little boats.

[Sesen]

Why be an Eclectic Christian at all? If you actually bother to delve into Christianity, beyond the surface stuff taught in churches, you'll find a very rich, deep, and full religion. Cabala, Gnosticism, Alchemy, hundreds of philosophers, thousands of mystics, a COMPLETE cosmology and theology, et al. If you aren't fulfilled by that alone, then maybe you aren't a Christian at all.

The Bible is only the primary text of the religion. There are thousands, if not millions, of other texts worth exploring. If you're truly Christian, how can you have any time to branch out into other religions and practices when there's still so much that you have to learn about Christianity?

Unless of course, by Eclectic Christian you mean taking from various denominations of Christianity, in which case that's a great idea.

morganxpage summed up my own thoughts perfectly. Well put, I agree. :nyah:

[ravenmyst]

to each their own, if they can work, more power to them, at least they are accepting other input, :)

[ravenmyst]

as far as I can tell most religions are eclectic, :)

[LordHelmet]

Quite the contrary, LordHelmet.

Yes, Jesus is indeed The Way, the Truth and the Life. :)

That does not mean, however, that we are to be cookie cutter christians.
Far from it actually.
Now as to what the original poster is including in 'eclectic' as long as it
does not contradict God's will for our lives, it is quite probably fine.

Eclictic means basicly chose and pick and choose what of it u want, and fill in spaces as you see fit. It does not mean accept Christ ans the one and only son of the father who brought grace and salvation unto the world and through who we are all able to gain salvation through faith, (aka we believe, basicly, this whole teaching, as is, and conform our thinking to it, rather then the other way around). Believe and you will know the glory of his grace, don't and you'll know the fullness of his wrath... basicly.


I know you guys are sick of me saying this but....whatever floats your little boats.

It's not little! I have been informed that 6&1/2" is actualy above average!!! How dare U!!!!!!!


as far as I can tell most religions are eclectic, :)

... umm... Damn... Nice, .. ummm post...

I mean ... like since religion and eclectic are like ... wait ....

NICE BUTT!!!!!

there I said it now back to what u said.

Ecclectic is an attitude towards a religion, and I think, your fortunate to find that attitude common. I think it fosters the real spirituality of what would otherwise be a lot of excuses and reasons as to why the beliefs are 'spiritual'. In fact I don't see a connection between that concept of spirituality and what I (and I would think most of our MW friands) would would see as spiritality.

Edit: I don't know what would posess me to this kind of honesty but... I meant 5&1/2"

[MoonBreath]

if the path feels right to you, than by all means feel free to practice it. Faith is a personal thing anyways, at least it is in my opinion!:)

[Pagan Warrior]

This will create a problem with much of the Christian community.

Works like this. Since, OBVIOUSLY the bible is the word of God and in it Jesus says he is The Way... there's no room for eclecticism.

so ya, # 3.

Actually, I think Christans have failed to realize that the 1st commandment says "you shall have no other gods before me." It never specifically says you cannot worship another god as a lower god to him. It doesn't specify that you cannot call upon magick in his name, or from the earth. I believe Christians would benefit from an eclectic spiritual path, the Chinese have been doing this for a very long time ... they practice Confucianism socially, when someone is sick they call up on the Taoists, and when someone dies they consult the Buddhists. They have no "one and only" spiritual path ... that's a very narrow viewpoint IMHO.

[Lahmi]

Eclictic means basicly chose and pick and choose what of it u want, and fill in spaces as you see fit. It does not mean accept Christ ans the one and only son of the father who brought grace and salvation unto the world and through who we are all able to gain salvation through faith,
you're right, that's where the "christian" part comes in...

eclectic christianity.

:)

[StephanieAine]

"... Eclictic means basicly chose and pick and choose what of it u want, and fill in spaces as you see fit. It does not mean accept Christ ans the one and only son of the father who brought grace and salvation unto the world and through who we are all able to gain salvation through faith, (aka we believe,basicly,pile of bull crap the )....


I don't think that was very nice **at all.**

[ravenmyst]

from my studies I have noticed alot of picking what fits or adding things to make a population more comfortable with a religion, so in that aspect, most religions seem eclectic. spirituality should be what feels right to you and fulfills the need you had to seek it, there is no "one size fits all" maybe UU philosophy effects my view but I have always felt that way. and yes... it is a nice one, :D

[LordHelmet]

I don't think that was very nice **at all.**

Ya your right. That is rude. I shouldn't go around calling a beliefe bull crap just because it strikes me that way.

[jcldragon]

If you are familiar with Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Mystical Traditions of the Mediteranean, then you will understand the context, and the symbolism of Christ's teachings. People are not generally aware that the Orthodox Jews have always believed in reincarnation. Always.

If you don't have that background, then you have little chance of understanding what Jesus was talking about. This is a major problem that has plagued Christians since the Council of Nicea, in which a dirty political deal was cut that watered down the religion to suit the Roman Emperor's plans, in exchange for Official Recognition by the Roman Empire.

Essene, Gnostic, Qaballistic & Hermetic writings all ought to be in the Bible. There were some 33 Gospels of Christ that were excluded from the Bible, and many of these were written by those who knew Jesus personally, and were taught by him directly. A good portion of the Jewish Scriptures does not appear in the Old Testament (The Catholic Bible has more of this material than the Protestant Bible, but it is missing some very vital Scriptures) ... which makes the Bible very incomplete. Moreover, the Bible NEVER claims to be the Word of God. The Bible only comes close to defining the phrase, Word of God, in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, and there is a mistranslation there, since they took the Greek word, Logos, and used the word, Word, instead of Divine Reason, which is the proper translation. The idea that the Word of God could be contained in the pages of a book is rubbish. The Divine is Infinite & Transcendental, existing simultaneously across all planes of existance, and cannot be confined merely on the Material Plane of Reality.

The most important thing a person should understand about Christ, is that Christ is the Divine Attribute of LOVE. Any living being who has Love in their Heart, has already Accepted Christ, and what they think or believe makes no difference. All living beings who have entered into Illumination, understand this, and they could be of any religion or none at all. This Enlightenment cannot be owned exclusively by any religion or philosophy.

Very soon the Earth will be going through a Magnetic Pole Flip. This is the Event spoken of in the Christian Scriptures as The Rapture. Then what has not been understood, will be known to everybody on our planet. Afterwards, we will establish Civilization on Earth, something that I have been working towards all my life.

[LordHelmet]

I of course agree with all that stuff JCDragon. Hmmm... to pull that stuff past 'christians' and have them take it seriously though, different matter.

[Athena-Nadine]

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