“When we open our minds to listen to what another person believes in we are often surprised. Putting aside the fact that different names, and even sexes in some cases, are
used when talking about divinity, it appears that most spiritually-minded people believe that one day they will meet their ultimate source - their God or Goddess, Universal Spirit, Divine Light, Holy Guardian Angel - all different names referring to the same thing. It can therefore be said that we are all heading in the same direction, only on different paths.”
Francis Billinghurst, “Temple of the Dark Moon”
That is how Francis B. (paganist) explains it; this is how I, shYne, (spiritualist by way of Christianity) explain it…
Religions and doctrines and dogmas are like the entrance ramps and rest stops on a busy interstate highway. Though they originate from and are located in different places, they all enter the same Interstate. me a.k.a. shYne
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I view ramps as religions and their starting points as doctrines. There is always a set of principles by which your particular belief is defined and guided within that religion. These principles are similar to principles of other geographical locations of ramp starting points along a master interstate… I mean … similar to other religions.
What often makes and breaks these views as being shared or different than other relationships, is the perspective of the individual person… what is ”doctrine” and what is “dogma”? For that matter, what does it mean to be “indoctrinated”?
DEFINITIONS:
doctrine - a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief
indoctrinated – to be taught a principle or position or body of principles… yada yada (see above)
dogma – A- something held as an established opinion ; especially : a definite authoritative tenet :a code of such tenets. B- a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds. C- a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church.
A dogma is like the rest stop. It isn’t coming from any particular place. It sits there. Rarely grows or changes. You can make a pit-stop and take care of some very basic needs (sometimes not even that)… and then you resume your travels down the highway. There is very little “picking up” to help sustain your journey… mostly dropping off waste… at a rest stop, that is.
Just as rest stops are similar, there are similarities of ramps as well. They are “coming from” … somewhere! A winding country road, a rural town, a bustling city…somewhere! From these places of origin, there are attributes of that place or state of being that you will find useful to you on your travels. The actual ramp can be a direct and straight shot that finds itself quickly merged onto the interstate or it can be a winding, technically correct, merger-friendly construction that takes you in a modern, new-age 360 (degrees) and then guide you gently for .75 miles before a merge onto the actual interstate is required.
Either way… you end up on the same interstate as entrance ramps before you have led other travelers.
When I hold conversations with people who seem not to realize that the universal interstate exists, they seem to be very knowledgeable about the towns and cities from whence they come and attentive to the details of their entrance ramps… maybe even of their rest areas. They are either right off the “I” or heading towards it. They have not yet communed with the other travelers and found that there are differently constructed ramps entering the “I” depending on when it was constructed, the type of terrain in the area or what resources were available to construct a particular ramp. These folks may think that if the ramp doesn’t look like their own, it must be entering some other roadway.
I am on a spiritual path, unlike typical religions with labels, but I am on this path via Christianity. There’s no denying that I hold the Christianity Map as my guide. The potential to have a conflict with one who calls themselves a Christian is that my understanding and interpretation of the Word varies so much from how they have been indoctrinated or taught.
But we all pray for the full understanding of Truth and Spirit to assist each others on this life’s journey and are better for it because both the giver of prayer and the recipient of prayer are rewarded and blessed.
Are you going my way?
used when talking about divinity, it appears that most spiritually-minded people believe that one day they will meet their ultimate source - their God or Goddess, Universal Spirit, Divine Light, Holy Guardian Angel - all different names referring to the same thing. It can therefore be said that we are all heading in the same direction, only on different paths.”
Francis Billinghurst, “Temple of the Dark Moon”
That is how Francis B. (paganist) explains it; this is how I, shYne, (spiritualist by way of Christianity) explain it…
Religions and doctrines and dogmas are like the entrance ramps and rest stops on a busy interstate highway. Though they originate from and are located in different places, they all enter the same Interstate. me a.k.a. shYne
------------------------------------
I view ramps as religions and their starting points as doctrines. There is always a set of principles by which your particular belief is defined and guided within that religion. These principles are similar to principles of other geographical locations of ramp starting points along a master interstate… I mean … similar to other religions.
What often makes and breaks these views as being shared or different than other relationships, is the perspective of the individual person… what is ”doctrine” and what is “dogma”? For that matter, what does it mean to be “indoctrinated”?
DEFINITIONS:
doctrine - a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief
indoctrinated – to be taught a principle or position or body of principles… yada yada (see above)
dogma – A- something held as an established opinion ; especially : a definite authoritative tenet :a code of such tenets. B- a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds. C- a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church.
A dogma is like the rest stop. It isn’t coming from any particular place. It sits there. Rarely grows or changes. You can make a pit-stop and take care of some very basic needs (sometimes not even that)… and then you resume your travels down the highway. There is very little “picking up” to help sustain your journey… mostly dropping off waste… at a rest stop, that is.
Just as rest stops are similar, there are similarities of ramps as well. They are “coming from” … somewhere! A winding country road, a rural town, a bustling city…somewhere! From these places of origin, there are attributes of that place or state of being that you will find useful to you on your travels. The actual ramp can be a direct and straight shot that finds itself quickly merged onto the interstate or it can be a winding, technically correct, merger-friendly construction that takes you in a modern, new-age 360 (degrees) and then guide you gently for .75 miles before a merge onto the actual interstate is required.
Either way… you end up on the same interstate as entrance ramps before you have led other travelers.
When I hold conversations with people who seem not to realize that the universal interstate exists, they seem to be very knowledgeable about the towns and cities from whence they come and attentive to the details of their entrance ramps… maybe even of their rest areas. They are either right off the “I” or heading towards it. They have not yet communed with the other travelers and found that there are differently constructed ramps entering the “I” depending on when it was constructed, the type of terrain in the area or what resources were available to construct a particular ramp. These folks may think that if the ramp doesn’t look like their own, it must be entering some other roadway.
I am on a spiritual path, unlike typical religions with labels, but I am on this path via Christianity. There’s no denying that I hold the Christianity Map as my guide. The potential to have a conflict with one who calls themselves a Christian is that my understanding and interpretation of the Word varies so much from how they have been indoctrinated or taught.
But we all pray for the full understanding of Truth and Spirit to assist each others on this life’s journey and are better for it because both the giver of prayer and the recipient of prayer are rewarded and blessed.
Are you going my way?
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1 comment:
Great analogy. I think this blog needs to read worldwide.
I'm going your way!
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