As I said before, I appreciated your concern, but it is misplaced.
"My intentions are not to be argumentative or otherwise disrespectful of
you. Rather is a call to accountability of a Christian brother as called
for by the Apostle Paul."
The only person I am accountable to is God; even Paul would not disagree
with that. However, I never avoid answering questions, when they are
phrased courtiously.
"How do you reconcile your statement: '2) God tells one message to
everyone, but the society He is telling it to interprets it within its own
heritage;...' with the Hindu concept of reincarnation, keep coming back
until you get it right...."
That's not the Hindu concept of reincarnation, that is the (distorted)
Christian view of the Hindu concept of reincarnation. The Hindu do not see
reincarnation as an endless series of tests (pass and go on, fail and be let
back) designed to bring either salvation or damnation. They see it as a
continuing education, where in each life you are expected to learn something
new. The more you learn, the closer to perfection you become, so the
further you advance. Yet even if you learn nothing, you can still go on to
the next level.
"...and God's Word, '..it is for a man once to die, then judgement'?"
God's Word is Christ Jesus (John 1:1-14), and Jesus never spoke these words.
However, to answer your question fairly, the Hebrews (who passed that
beliefs onto the Christians) and the Hindus probably formulated their ideas
of life and death, based on their respective mythologies, long before God
imparted His message to them. Hence they interpreted the message as part of
their own culture.
"You said: "I stay a Christian out of habit and to honor my parents, but I
do not reject what truths other religions may have to teach me.' What about
John 14 shere Jesus says, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me'?"
Christ did not say He was the ONLY way, the ONLY truth or the ONLY life,
though it is a common misconception to think so. The rest of the passage
tells how, if you really knew Christ, you would really know God, so this is
simply a metaphor for how Christ and God are one. Besides, it's hard to
know just how much this passage has been tampered with by later editors who
wanted a strong statement by Christ about how He is the sole means to God.
Another possibility is that Christ is cryptically saying that He is a piece
of the puzzle needed to understand God, hence His statement, "If you really
knew me...." That always sounded strange to me, since one would expect that
Christ would reveal, or at least explain, Himself fully to His disciples so
that they could spread His message after He was gone. This statement almost
suggests that there are aspects to Christ that He would not tell them, or
could not tell them, that they would have to learn on their own. Then I
realized that John is the most gnostic of all the Gospels, and the Gnostics
were big on the meaning behind symbolism. Christ could be telling His
disciples that there is more to Himself and His relationship with God than
they could currently understand. If this is true, then since the Bible does
not explain Christ completely enough for us to understand God, then perhaps
the other religions will have something to tell us that could help.
"I critize you and that is blasphemy?"
A Brother in Christ does not perjure himself by distorting the words of
another Brother in Christ. Let me repeat what I said before: I have been
led to my current beliefs by the Holy Spirit. You may choose not to believe
me, but if I am telling the truth, then whenever you criticize my beliefs
you are criticizing the Holy Spirit. I am simply trying to warn you.
"On my dying day I will kneel before my Creator Jesus and He will ask me,
'What have you done for me, my child'? And I will answer, 'I believed
everything You told me'. What will you say to Him, Kevin?"
Assuming He is Christ and not some imposter, He would not have to ask that
question because He would already know the answer. But I'll bite.
What would I tell him? I would answer with, "I have done everything You
told me to do. I love God with all my heart, and with all my mind, and with
all my soul; I loved my neighbor as I loved myself; I followed all the
commandments; I was merciful; I tried to make peace where I could; I let my
light shine before all men; I forgave those who sinned against me; I have
not judged or condemned others; I fed the hungry; I satisfied the thirsty; I
was kind to strangers; I clothed the naked; I nursed the sick and I visited
those in prison. It is true that I did not believe everything that was
attributed to You, but I tried to live as You expected me to live."
It's not enough to simply believe, Dan. The real question is, what have you
_DONE_ for Christ, in His name? Have you done good in His name, shown love
and mercy in His name? Or have you criticized fellow Christians in His
name, especially if they believe differently from you? Have you tried to
force other people to adopt your beliefs, in His name? Have you engaged in
petty bickering over the unimportant question of origins, in His name,
rather than attend to what really is important, salvation? Only you can
answer that question; I hope it is the right one.
Kevin L. O'Brien