# this forum sure is quiet....



## BANDERSNATCH (Oct 11, 2011)

Imagine cricket sounds....

Was this area necessary?

Bandy


----------



## fishinbub (Oct 11, 2011)

Gotta have somewhere for those atheists who believe in omniscient aliens...


----------



## hummdaddy (Oct 11, 2011)

Atheists have their own place ...i think this would be a place for deism ,like me or alien intelligence... I don't mind hanging with them though at least their open to other possibilities,besides an invisible  god that manipulates peoples lives on a daily basis ...


----------



## stringmusic (Oct 11, 2011)

fishinbub said:


> Gotta have somewhere for those atheists who believe in omniscient aliens...


----------



## bullethead (Oct 11, 2011)

fishinbub said:


> Gotta have somewhere for those atheists who believe in omniscient aliens...



Ya gotta watch you don't trip while walking around with your nose that high in the air.


----------



## SarahFair (Oct 12, 2011)

I think a lot of people fear posting here as being seen as a crazy...


There are things I would like to discuss but not many people seem to have the knowledge/belief on a lot of the subjects.


...and its not so much a different faith, but more spirituality.
The Christian spirituality vs Spirituality is sort of a different faith (or people like to believe it is)


----------



## centerpin fan (Oct 12, 2011)

There's just not much interest in "other faiths" on this board.  This is the _Georgia_ Outdoor News forum, after all.  Christianity is the majority religion in the south, so it's only natural that it's the major topic of conversation on the board.


----------



## Tim L (Oct 13, 2011)

centerpin fan said:


> There's just not much interest in "other faiths" on this board.  This is the _Georgia_ Outdoor News forum, after all.  Christianity is the majority religion in the south, so it's only natural that it's the major topic of conversation on the board.



True; this particular section sort of falls between the cracks...When most think of other faiths they think a discussion of current religons; Christianity; Islam, Buddism; etc.  Not much of that goes on here....I'm surprized no one has ever discussed Zororastrianism and the obvious similarities to faiths that came about later...Has been hinted about in the past but no one has ever made the connection....


----------



## ambush80 (Oct 13, 2011)

Tim L said:


> True; this particular section sort of falls between the cracks...When most think of other faiths they think a discussion of current religons; Christianity; Islam, Buddism; etc.  Not much of that goes on here....I'm surprized no one has ever discussed Zororastrianism and the obvious similarities to faiths that came about later...Has been hinted about in the past but no one has ever made the connection....



Yes. Lets discuss some of the striking similarities between Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic religions.  

(Cue the crickets)


----------



## gordon 2 (Oct 14, 2011)

Tim L said:


> True; this particular section sort of falls between the cracks...When most think of other faiths they think a discussion of current religons; Christianity; Islam, Buddism; etc.  Not much of that goes on here....I'm surprized no one has ever discussed Zororastrianism and the obvious similarities to faiths that came about later...Has been hinted about in the past but no one has ever made the connection....



I'm very interested....Can you start us somewhere? I know little about this religion but have heard  often that if offers similarities to christianity.....

I'm definitely in....with interest...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism


----------



## centerpin fan (Oct 14, 2011)

Freddie Mercury was Zoroastrian.  

That's pretty much all I know about the faith.


----------



## gordon 2 (Oct 14, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> I think a lot of people fear posting here as being seen as a crazy...
> 
> 
> There are things I would like to discuss but not many people seem to have the knowledge/belief on a lot of the subjects.
> ...



Can you list some of the things you are willing to discuss? I would suggest that spiritual knowledge is quite parochial for the majority and possibly ever was. The effort in study of other spiritual disciplines, other than, christianity is often seen  by many christians as chasing other Gods. So it takes extra effort....I think....


----------



## BANDERSNATCH (Oct 14, 2011)

I'm all ears, too.    Know nothing about this.    Must be a reason it has all but died out, though.    Not one of the 'flagship' religions for a reason, I'm sure.


----------



## ambush80 (Oct 14, 2011)

centerpin fan said:


> Freddie Mercury was Zoroastrian.
> 
> That's pretty much all I know about the faith.





gordon 2 said:


> Can you list some of the things you are willing to discuss? I would suggest that spiritual knowledge is quite parochial for the majority and possibly ever was. The effort in study of other spiritual disciplines, other than, christianity is often seen  by many christians as chasing other Gods. So it takes extra effort....I think....





BANDERSNATCH said:


> I'm all ears, too.    Know nothing about this.    Must be a reason it has all but died out, though.    Not one of the 'flagship' religions for a reason, I'm sure.



Lets find some sources that talk about Zoroastrianism and read them, then discuss them; like online book club.  Maybe Wiki is a good place to start.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

I'm taking the little one and the dog to the park.  I'll read it later.


----------



## BANDERSNATCH (Oct 14, 2011)

I was just browsing some searched links to "Zoroastrianism and Christianity similarities".   Several articles discuss how Judaism and Christianity were 'molded' by Z.     

Made me wonder..."Did Paul know about Zoroastrianism?"   Surely he would have, having been taught by some of the greatest teachers of his time.


----------



## gordon 2 (Oct 14, 2011)

ambush80 said:


> Lets find some sources the talk about Zoroastrianism and red them and then discuss them; like online book club.  Maybe Wiki is a good place to start.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
> 
> I'm taking the little one and the dog to the park.  I'll read it later.



Same here busy right now..but will read later.... and whatever pics my interest I will share...


----------



## ambush80 (Oct 14, 2011)

BANDERSNATCH said:


> I was just browsing some searched links to "Zoroastrianism and Christianity similarities".   Several articles discuss how Judaism and Christianity were 'molded' by Z.
> 
> Made me wonder..."Did Paul know about Zoroastrianism?"   Surely he would have, having been taught by some of the greatest teachers of his time.



First paragraph of the Wiki said Zoro is 600 years older than Christianity.


----------



## gordon 2 (Oct 15, 2011)

ambush80 said:


> First paragraph of the Wiki said Zoro is 600 years older than Christianity.





This might be of benefit to undertanding the political landscape of this period. Rome was just starting as a town but would become the seed of an empire. 



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century_BC

This is also happening at aproximately the same time. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha

And the Jews are captive in Babylon.

________________

At first glance what strikes me in Zoroastrianism is that the initial tenants of are very similar or in fact the same as the first tenants of Buddhism's  Nobel Eightfold Path, namely Right view, Right intention and Right speech.

And of course the spiritual cosmos has some similarities with what we know of the Hebrew-jewish as far as having only one God and the eschatology is not unlike or in some ways similar Christian eschatology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology

http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Zarathushtrian/zoroastrian_eschatology.htm


----------



## Tim L (Oct 18, 2011)

BANDERSNATCH said:


> I was just browsing some searched links to "Zoroastrianism and Christianity similarities".   Several articles discuss how Judaism and Christianity were 'molded' by Z.
> 
> Made me wonder..."Did Paul know about Zoroastrianism?"   Surely he would have, having been taught by some of the greatest teachers of his time.



Bingo! Good beginning..Many of the ideas and concepts in Judism and Christianity first appeared in Zororastrianism; heaven and Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----; battle between good and evil; in Zororastrianism there are two dieties rather than one; one good; one evil...Most in Persia that did not convert were wiped out by the Muslims by 1000 AD...Some still around today in Iran; most are in India; a few here. Most today are wealthy; most marry within the same family...They actually call themselves "Parsis" today; have visited some Parsi families in the past with some jain friends; great veggie meals (that may  have been because jains were present); very, very bizare art; not really western; not really eastern...bizare ...But if you look at some of their basic beliefs and consider that they were the first (known) with those beliefs (will stop there); consider that before Judism they numbered in the millions and were based in what is now Iraq and Iran.......Where was the city of Ur?? Who do we know of that came from Ur??


----------



## gordon 2 (Oct 19, 2011)

Tim L said:


> Bingo! Good beginning..Many of the ideas and concepts in Judism and Christianity first appeared in Zororastrianism; heaven and Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----; battle between good and evil; in Zororastrianism there are two dieties rather than one; one good; one evil...Most in Persia that did not convert were wiped out by the Muslims by 1000 AD...Some still around today in Iran; most are in India; a few here. Most today are wealthy; most marry within the same family...They actually call themselves "Parsis" today; have visited some Parsi families in the past with some jain friends; great veggie meals (that may  have been because jains were present); very, very bizare art; not really western; not really eastern...bizare ...But if you look at some of their basic beliefs and consider that they were the first (known) with those beliefs (will stop there); consider that before Judism they numbered in the millions and were based in what is now Iraq and Iran.......Where was the city of Ur?? Who do we know of that came from Ur??




"consider that before Judism they numbered in the millions and were based in what is now Iraq and Iran.."

When I look at the timeline Judaism predates Zoroastrianism by many, many centuries. Possibly 1600 yrs or more.

You mean before Christianity perhaps?

Also I get that theirs is only one God not two with evil being a force not an entity and not the part of God's doing.


----------



## TTom (Oct 23, 2011)

Problem is in most "Other Faiths" we don't recruit or try to get converts. So debate is not needed discussion happens and folks just accept that other folks believe differently.


----------



## mtnwoman (Nov 1, 2011)

TTom said:


> Problem is in most "Other Faiths" we don't recruit or try to get converts. So debate is not needed discussion happens and folks just accept that other folks believe differently.



What "other faiths" would that be?

And some just choose to chop off heads if you don't believe as they do, so it's from one extreme to the other. It's not exactly as simple as it could/should be. 
Those who don't care about anyone else's well being or those that force you at sword point.  I don't care if people believe differently, as long as they don't care that I believe differently and unfortunately Christians are caught in between those who could care less and those who will kill you if you don't believe as they do.


----------



## bullethead (Nov 1, 2011)

mtnwoman said:


> What "other faiths" would that be?
> 
> And some just choose to chop off heads if you don't believe as they do, so it's from one extreme to the other. It's not exactly as simple as it could/should be.
> Those who don't care about anyone else's well being or those that force you at sword point.  I don't care if people believe differently, as long as they don't care that I believe differently and unfortunately Christians are caught in between those who could care less and those who will kill you if you don't believe as they do.



Is it in the Quran that non-believers must have their heads chopped off? Is that actually part of their religion or the work of radicals? Is beheading a part of their culture and law and a form of execution, just like we use electrocution and drugs here?
Is it fair to say that Christians burn people at the stake and drown them in lakes for not believing like in the 1600's?


----------



## SarahFair (Nov 1, 2011)

I dont believe much in trying to "convert". If you want to ask me a question about my faith I would be more than happy to answer but I believe you can not/should not really coax anyone into a religion...
To lead them by fear is a big no no in my book.
Deep down I think if you are ready to change your religion you will know it.


As for discussing my beliefs..
Anyone ever heard of Spirit Guides?
Practice meditation (and would this be considered prayer to christians)?
Dabble in divination?
Believe in reincarnation?
Think there is no hades or devil?
Believe everyone has/can develop psychic/medium abilities?
Auras?


----------



## centerpin fan (Nov 2, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> As for discussing my beliefs..
> Anyone ever heard of Spirit Guides?
> Practice meditation (and would this be considered prayer to christians)?
> Dabble in divination?
> ...




Reminds me of this scence from _Ghostbusters_:


Janine Melnitz: Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?

Winston Zeddemore: Ah, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.


I tried very hard to find a Youtube video of this but failed.  Sorry about the distraction, but _everything_ reminds me of a movie line.

I'll give you a serious answer next.


----------



## centerpin fan (Nov 2, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> Anyone ever heard of Spirit Guides?
> Practice meditation (and would this be considered prayer to christians)?
> Dabble in divination?
> Believe in reincarnation?
> ...



Heard of all of them.  The one I highlighted is getting more attention these days because of people like Rob Bell, Carlton Pearson, and Atlanta's own D.E. Paulk.


----------



## SarahFair (Nov 2, 2011)

funny.. I just watched Ghostbusters maybe 2 weeks ago, so I know the line you speak of (and I too like to relate things as well )

Honestly deep down I do not fear a world full of fire/lake of fire, we are all dammed to hades, etc.
My beliefs lead me to believe that to become a well balanced soul you have to experience the bad along with the good.


While I have heard of Karma traveling with you into your next life I have not given the subject much thought yet. 
What Im mean is, say you do MANY MANY MANY people wrong in life..
For example: Maybe you are a serial killer in this life; 
maybe in your next life you will have someone very close to you taken away via murder.
Maybe you cheat someone out of a ton of money in this life, maybe next life you will be poor.

My personal experience with karma:
There was a time in life where I was just angry and mean to everyone. Im not sure what crawled up me and died but I was just angry at the world. During this time I noticed I was stubbing my toes, A LOT. To the point where I was breaking/cracking my nails. I mean I would yell at someone, turn around and stub my toe instantly.. 
I finally shouted 'ALRIGHT! I get it!' adjusted my attitude and it stopped. 


I dont believe in the devil because I believe in Karma and reincarnation (and no, I do not believe we come back as butterflies or cows) 
You do bad in this life it can come back on you in this one or another. Life will always teach you lessons.. Might as well make the next one easier on yourself by doing good in this one


----------



## stringmusic (Nov 2, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> funny.. I just watched Ghostbusters maybe 2 weeks ago, so I know the line you speak of (and I too like to relate things as well )
> 
> Honestly deep down I do not fear a world full of fire/lake of fire, we are all dammed to hades, etc.
> My beliefs lead me to believe that to become a well balanced soul you have to experience the bad along with the good.
> ...


Do you believe in a god? If so, why do you feel the need for a god while believing in karma and not satan? 



> You do bad in this life it can come back on you in this one or another. Life will always teach you lessons.. Might as well make the next one easier on yourself by doing good in this one


What leads you to the conclusion that we come back to this earth at all?

I find that a works based religion is very tough to reconcile to everyday life. It is not possible to do good all the time, therefor, you next life will always be one of some type of strife. Who is to say that one has done "enough good" to no longer deal with the consequences of sin?

This is one reason I am a follower of Jesus, I cannot do enough good on my own, never, no one can.  I want to be in the presence of God in heaven when this life ends, I cannot do this with sin in my soul, but because of Christ we can.


----------



## stringmusic (Nov 2, 2011)

Next question  (I like talking and learning about other religions, even though I do not consider myself religious)

Do you believe in Nirvana as the Buddhist do?


----------



## SkeeterEater (Nov 2, 2011)

Live your lives.....quit worrying about where your going after you die, we may not be going anywhere but the ground.


----------



## stringmusic (Nov 2, 2011)

SkeeterEater said:


> Live your lives


Live our lives how?



> .....quit worrying about where your going after you die,



People have wanted the answer to this question for a looooong time. Why should I quit thinking about it?



> * we may not be going anywhere *but the ground.



What if we are going somewhere?


----------



## SarahFair (Nov 2, 2011)

stringmusic said:


> Do you believe in a god? If so, why do you feel the need for a god while believing in karma and not satan?
> 
> 
> What leads you to the conclusion that we come back to this earth at all?
> ...


Yes, I do believe in God. I was raised a christain (went to Providence Christian Acadamy till 5th grade). Since I was a child Christianity never sat right with me..
I mean, yes there are some good morals to their stories but I do not like trying to be forced into a religion via fear.


What leads me to the conclusion that we come back here on this earth?

Ever met someone you felt like youve known forever?
Ever met an adult that just cant seem to get it together, like they just dont get it and wont ever grow up?
Ever met a child that seems to be wise beyond their years?

You can never do enough good.. but yes, there will always be some sort of strife in life..
Before we come to this earth I believe we map our lives out. 
What I mean by that is when you are a soul prepairing to come to this earth you will decide what lessons you are ready to learn. Sometimes its not ourselves teaching but we put ourselves in situations (by knowing someone) where we learn.
To break it down very simple:
I knew a boy in HS that was killed in a car crash because he was not wearing a seat belt.
What I learned from that is always wear my seatbelt.

I knew a girl in HS that was killed in a car crash because she got in a car with a drunk driver.
What I learned from that is never drive drunk, make sure people always have a safe ride, and never ride with a drunk driver.

For a more complex "life lesson":
My mom was an addict. I believe she "challenged" herself before she came to earth to learn to over come such a thing. 
She died as consequences of her addictive behavior. 
She will again possibly have to face this lesson in another life.


It is up to the person whether they open their eyes to the lesson. If one do not choose to learn it one will most likely have to face it again.

Everyone you meet, everything you do all has a purpose to teach you things. Whether they cheat you out of something or donate an organ to save your life..
It is your choice to learn from what crosses your path.




stringmusic said:


> Next question  (I like talking and learning about other religions, even though I do not consider myself religious)
> 
> Do you believe in Nirvana as the Buddhist do?


Honestly I have not studied up on it much so I can not give you an honest answer.
I do not believe it has anything to do with the life I am in now though


----------



## SarahFair (Nov 2, 2011)

Here, I found a video speaking EXACTLY what I am talking about
It talks new age/occult vs christianity (and not in an offencive way!)


----------



## stringmusic (Nov 2, 2011)

Definitely interesting! The first minute of that video sounds exactly like what I know of Buddhism. I have never studied much of the new age stuff or the occult.

 I will do some thinking on all this and if I can come up with some things I'll post them.

BTW, thanks for all the info!


----------



## stringmusic (Nov 2, 2011)

Kinda long but here is an audio book to listen to if you get the time. Very very interesting.

http://christianaudio.com/the-lotus-and-the-cross-jesus-talks-with-buddha-ravi-zacharias

Just press the play button below the picture of the book.


----------



## gordon 2 (Nov 3, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> Here, I found a video speaking EXACTLY what I am talking about
> It talks new age/occult vs christianity (and not in an offencive way!)



Just a few ideas on "old soul " ideas. 

This is my experience with old souls. Old souls in my life are the outcome of being an inteligent child that prefers the company and the discouse of adults. 

Did you notice that the speaker says that the "bible is just too easy"? It is too easy from the perspective of seeing it as childlike in logic and meaning. Which it is not.

If you take a child's brain and the development of congnitive abilities, add perhaps a photographic memory for example or the positive in ADD, the positives in bipolar disorders, inherited High IQ,  and simply compare it to other people who have special physical abilites.... Some children are old souls at 4 and five yrs old, just as some kids will be natural atletes, leaders, councelors, etc... Some kids are just mentally adults in childrens bodies.

Now because the spiritual banter spoon fed to children is "to easy" for  precocious children, especially when said children detect that adults have not moved to a more robust spirituality that the " good old religion" they were spoon fed as children...these precocious children have a thirst to "seek" after a finer relationship with God  than the usual-- this usual which is to often the simplicity of "fear" in some denominations. Boogy man and fear spirituality is just not  good enough for a smart kid and later on a smarter adult.

And this is why it is both asthetic and reasuring to take on ideas of karma, this for that and that for this, and the wheel of this and the spoke of that.... And to become a pilgrim and a seeker of spiritual matter.

But really all along there is a ministry for the more mature souls by Jesus and the Gospels--for people who were never really children, even when they were children.

Just my .02cents.

PS...look at the manners( body language) of the guy in the video. I can see him being five, six yrs old and smarter than his 40 yr old parents... and having to suffer a loooog twenty yrs under dad's roof. The way he speaks with his head tilted sideways like children do, reminds me of tall kids who lean forward to shorten themselves and to" fit in". I find the photographs  and the dish on the shelves behind him tell alot. I personally would not be comfortable with them. But I like his sweater. I had one just like it when I still lived under my parent's roof.


----------



## gordon 2 (Nov 3, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> I dont believe much in trying to "convert". If you want to ask me a question about my faith I would be more than happy to answer but I believe you can not/should not really coax anyone into a religion...
> To lead them by fear is a big no no in my book.
> Deep down I think if you are ready to change your religion you will know it.
> 
> ...


----------



## SarahFair (Nov 4, 2011)

Im not sure Im fully getting your take on the "old souls". I get you are dancing around the idea of it being bull crap instead of just saying so.



Everyone's dreams have a personal message. I dont really believe in dream dictionaries where 'If you see a tiger it means power!'
A tiger to someone might be a great fear so to them it might represent a fear of something..

But I dont understand what you are saying by "I cant see why the people in our awake states should be different"
If you mean why are some people more psychic or clairvoyant than others I do have a reason for that..

People are more open.. meaning they have higher vibrational frequencies.  
Think of it like a radio. I have 2 radios in my house not 20 feet from each other. One picks up every radio station available (within reason) the other picks up maybe 2 big stations (example: Star 94 and Kicks 101.5) and some local channels. 
Just like humans, some are more "in tune" with higher frequencies. 
I am sure if I made some adjustments it would work properly. 



I dont understand what you mean by "out of round eyeballs" or whispering to the dog....


----------



## gordon 2 (Nov 4, 2011)

SarahFair said:


> Im not sure Im fully getting your take on the "old souls". I get you are dancing around the idea of it being bull crap instead of just saying so.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


---------------------
Sorry to make things nebulous, it is not my intention. I am saying that old souls is not bull crap at all, but has perhaps another explanation than souls who get aged via incarnations... I am saying that sometimes old souls are simply people of above average intelligence with an interest in spiritual matters or who are spiritually intelligent. This is my experience, direct experience with "old souls"...of all ages...

I have never heard of dream dictionaries...but phycology has studied dreams and thier meanings and have come up very interesting observations.

My observation with dreams is that we not only dream when we sleep, we dream when were are awake...perhaps subconciously but for real at times.

Some people see auras all the time, because of eye conditions, or eye glass prescriptions. The emotions do dialate and contract the tissues  in our organs and  in blood vessels. The eye is an organ. As we get older the inner parts of our eyes get out of round...and we see differently than when we were younger....etc..

I once know a doctor, an expert diagnostician who would sometimes diagnose people by simply looking at their eyes. Now a dog wisperer can perhaps do the same by looking into a dogs mouth...just like we put our hands on a child's forehead to check...for temps and mood etc.... 

I really respect your opinions and am really sorry if you thought I was discounting them and you. Trust me in this... It is not my intention to try to influence who you are in anyway. I just found your ideas very interstings in light of my near 60 yrs experience with New Agers, Christians, Buddhist, Muslims, Bahai, athiests,  and the like....


----------



## gordon 2 (Nov 4, 2011)

Just curious before Marconi inventions such as radios, sonar and micro waves, and other waves...how did mediams explain their gifts?


----------



## SarahFair (Nov 4, 2011)

Gifts from God?
Energies? 

I can not give you an honest answer


----------

