Jainism - or anything else really

Does it bring life?

Does it ring true?

What is its highest value and the centre around which is revolved?

What is the goal? What is the means to that end?

What greater worldview/philosophy does it fit into? Is this worldview consistent with the actual reality? Can it at all be reconciled with reality or is it on another plane of existence entirely constructed in the minds of the believers? i.e. Is there any external evidence to this belief system?

Is the basic philosophy of this belief system internally consistent, or does it contradict itself? If it contradicts itself, does it cease to be a viable and trustworthy belief system/worldview or can these contradictions be reconciled? What is an absolute contradiction and what is an irrelevant contradiction and how should one differentiate?

What is meaning? Why is it important? Why do we test beliefs according to facts? Why is there the concept that facts and truth function in separate areas of life and should not be confused? When did we start to separate the two ideas from one another? Is there such a thing as a truth gradient? Is there such a thing as an irrelevant fact? What would it be irrelevant to? Are facts relevant? What to? Are they relevant to truth?

What is truth?

Is truth the most relevant fact, or does it not need external relevance to substantiate itself? Is it in fact relevant without needing to be relevant? How can truth need to be anything, whether relevant or irrelevant? Is it truth that needs substantiation, or is it our human need to find and investigate and derive and prove that the world holds together in some way? Does truth need to be acknowledged in order to be true?

Jainism after all

I do still feel compelled, however, to do as I said I would and explain why I don't  believe in Jainism.

A question that I believe to be a good test of any philosophy of life is does it bring life? In other words, does it lead to greater goodness, stronger and more genuine love, and revelation of truth in the lives of those who adhere to it, or does it lead in the other direction?

In Jainism, there is a concept known as Moksha where one annihilates all karma (good and bad) and become a Siddha (one that has attained the ultimate goal). They can then go on to Moksha where their souls are finally freed from the endless cycle of birth and death (reincarnation), and ultimately achieve it’s pure self.

That, in a nutshell, is what Jainism is all about. - www.modernjainism.com/testimony/

What I consider to be the primary problem with Jainism, as with all religion*, is that it is inherently selfish. In Jainism the point is to reach Moksha. Most religions have the idea that some sense of 'heaven' can be acheived - whether Paradise, enlightenment, Moksha, or the like, Some religions, such as Christianity and Islam, also believe in an alternative which involves eternal pain. This alternative, the consequence of failing to please God, then inspires fear in the members and drives them to work harder for their place in paradise.

How the Jesus-movement differs, is that once relationship with Jesus is entered, heaven (or 'salvation') is already secured, so there should be no more striving. All good deeds are not done in order to merit a place in heaven, or to outweigh the bad ones. Rather, good deeds are done because they are good, because they benefit another, and because as our love for Jesus grows so does our desire to be like him. This is love -  to give or do for the benefit of another, at cost to yourself and not for your own gain.

Unfortunately, members of the Jesus movement, those who know him and are known by him, very easily fall into a fearful religious mentality where they return to their old ways of trying to earn God's favour and their own merit and in doing so misrepresent who he is and what his love means. I am one of these, but I hope I will learn quickly to rest in his love and already-pleased-ness instead of striving for what cannot be earned.

* Religion -  a human system of serving a philosophy, person, God or another , usually in the interest of attaining a goal that serves personal interests.

Jesus and Jainism

Dear friend

You asked me to defend my disbelief in Jainism. I thought it better to defend my actual beliefs, to figure out a statement of defence of my faith.

The conversations we've had, among other things, has nudged me to question my beliefs, at least to ask the question why?

Why do I believe in a God, a Creator? Why do I 'give my life' to Jesus? Why do I believe in Him?

When I was fifteen years old these questions plagued me, and the thoughts whirred around and around in my head, questioning and contradicting one another, and a great fear gripped me that I don't believe, do not have the evidence to do so, and therefore am condemned. It was very scary, so scary that at times I could hardly even eat.

At a point it dawned on me, with the aid of my dad's wisdom, that I could choose to believe, and this set many fears to rest. So yes, it was a choice.

But still, why choose this way? Why choose Jesus? Why choose the God who is said to have revealed himself to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David and many many others?

Firstly. I believe creation is ample evidence for a Creator. It seems to make logical sense that existence does not come from non-existence, and that complex systems are made by intelligent beings, and that life does not come from non-life. Stands to reason that there is an intelligent being behind it, who breathed life into the living.

But why believe in this specific God? Why believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the creator? Why not the pantheon of Rome? Why not the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

So.. my answer to that, is Jesus. Haha, cop-out right? Swimming in circles? no.

I'm arguing from the resurrection. Jesus said that only the sign of Jonah will be given to those seeking a sign, the sign of Jonah is his death and resurrection. If Jesus was resurrected from the dead (evidence to follow), then it follows that he was no ordinary man, that supernatural powers were at work and are real, that there is more to life than we can see. His resurrection would prove his wildest claim (that he is to rise from the dead), and gives him resounding credibility.

Much research has been done with regards to his death and resurrection, more can be read here. In summary though, historical evidence suggests he died on the cross, a few days later his body 'went missing', and around five hundred people saw him alive and breathing after even more had seen him die. The fact that the resurrection accounts depict women as the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection draws serious question to the theories that the accounts were fictional - women's witness were not considered all that credible in 1st century Middle Eastern culture. Of all the possibilities, the idea that Jesus rose from the dead seems to be the narrative best supported by historical evidence.

"The silence of history is deafening when it comes to the testimony against the resurrection" - Tom Anderson

The resurrection draws sharp attention to Jesus.  While the resurrection in itself is not conclusive proof that Jesus is the Son of God and the coming Messiah, it does demand that Jesus be given serious consideration. Upon closer investigation one finds that Jesus fulfills many prophecies given by the prophets of Israel throughout the centuries, foretelling of a Saviour and Messiah who would suffer for the salvation of his people, the fulfilment of God's promises to Abraham, the father of the faith.

Many feel that faith is a leap in the dark, a self-inflicted blindness, a mindless submission to tradition, but this need not be the case, and indeed should not. The story is told of Thomas who, shortly after Jesus resurrection, refused to believe that Jesus was alive until he had seen it with his own eyes, and had touched Jesus' wounds. To this, Jesus appeared to Thomas, and invited him to touch his wounds, to examine the evidence and see for himself that Jesus was as alive as ever.

Things My Children Say

God has a sense of humour.

I am recently very aware of this. It's not that He's doing ironic things to me and it's my job in the divine game to find something funny about my circumstances. Not at all. It's actually a joyous awareness of God's sense of fun and funny.

I realised upon reading John Eldredge's Beautiful Outlaw that Jesus had a sense of fun. This should actually be pretty evident considering how joyfully funny many born-again believers are. It was not evident to me because I didn't recognise Jesus's sense of fun in the Gospels until the events therein were read and explained from the point of view that Jesus was a funny guy (due respect intended but alas never attained).

So, God has changed my perspective of Him through this book. Where before if i had a silly struggle i would solemnly ask God's forgiveness and His help to change me into the perfect being He [sic] wants me to be, now I grin sheepishly knowing that He's just laughing at me like a dad laughing at His little girl that puts on His glasses upside down. [cool picture eh?]

it's so awesome. soo so so awesome.

it's life changing to think of God as happy and enjoying me. Enjoying me because I'm silly and prone to mistakes and misconceptions. I'm his little girl, for crying out loud!

My mother has these little books in which she wrote down funny things me and my siblings said when we were small and even sillier than we are now. I wonder if somewhere on God's bookshelf he has one titled "Things My Children Say".

Atheism is unbelievable

Atheism is ridiculous.

It's a total cop-out.

I mean, this is the scenario humans are faced with:

• We exist.
• Why do we exist?
• How do we exist?

 Many people try to find answers to these questions.Many people stick to the answers handed to them by their society. Some people undertake deep personal searches to find these answers.

What do atheists do? They answer these questions at a level one does not expect (or should not expect) in normal humans. 

Why do we exist? "We just do."
How do we exist? "We just do." (It may have been an accident, at that.)

That's such a fundamentalist way to think. They decide what they want to believe and then close their minds to the questions that challenge them.

The thing is, why don't just exist. Had we been matter of the simplest form imaginable, perhaps the first answer would be feasible. But still the second would not.

Of course, we aren't dry matter. Which doesn't matter to atheists. If we as humans have no plan or purpose, we might as well have been pure matter.

To believe in a physical world alone is ludicrous.

How does a search for meaning even being to formulate itself without the existence of 'meaning' itself?

dream future

I have no idea what to do next year.

I don't know if the specifics matter to God. I have a feeling they do.

I don't think I am at all suitable for mission outreaches, but that has to change. I hope they change soon enough.

Anyway, this is what I want: (it doesn't have to happen that way, but it will be nice if it does)

• I want to have an adventure.
• I want to experience a really different culture.
• I want to do something useful and good.
• I really don't want to be bored or waste my life.

This is what I need:

• Strong faith.
• A relationship with Yeshua.
• Supernatural love for those He loves.

I guess those are not mutually exclusive. Oh, I don't know what to do, what to plan.

Oh, wait, I do know.

Wait. Pray.

Salvation

I have been pondering this subject for a while. Struggling with it, analysing it, and worrying about it. I had many questions about it.

What does 'by grace alone' mean? That we have no part in it? But aren't you supposed to believe correctly? And is believing correctly all there is to it? How does believing correctly change you? And wern't Yeshua's followers required to give up everything? How come we don't have to give up anything?

What are we saved from? From Hell? Why would Elohim want to chuck us in Hell because we don't realise an important truth? Is everyone who doesn't say the Sinner's Prayer going to Hell neccesarily? What about the Jews who have been blinded so the Gentiles can have a chance? (Romans 11:25-26)

That you cannot earn your salvation makes even more sense when you consider that we are saved from sin. Not the punishment for sin (although that too) but sin itself. How can you be saved from sin by not sinning? That doesn't make sense.

Also, we are saved because Yeshua died for us, and rose again. No-one on earth made Him do that. More importantly, he didn't rise from the dead because the disciples' belief was great. No-one on earth, by their virteous lives and great faith in Elohim, made Yeshua rise from the dead. Elohim rose Him so we could have life and life abundantly.

What I learnt recently: Don't try to be perfect. Let Elohim rule your life for you. He'll fix you, you won't.