I believe the real reason people have their newborns sons circumcised is because a group of people need access to foreskin? I really don't understand why this procedure is common place.
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Trying to follow this seriously… is there any where I can find what is now true and what is not in the Bible based on this “popularity” theory!
Your intuition is the perfect guidance system. You can intuitively feel your way through it and this will always lead you in the right direction.
Words are thrice removed from reality. Words point to ideas/concepts/abstractions which are twice removed from reality which, at best, can POINT AT reality itself. The mental conceptualization is not "reality itself" however.
I could share with you dozens of books that would help you reorient to the truth in the bible. I'm not saying the book "is true", but rather that it offers you a different perspective on what the bible really is all about. The "popular" conception is that the bible is a history book to be taken literally about the lives of people in different places and locations in a far-away time. The "unpopular" conception is that the bible is really a book that's all about THE REAL YOU, not the "you/me" that you THINK you are.
How did that strike you? Appalling? Unsettling? Interesting? Curious?
Most of the reactions I get from people are of the first two. A small handful react with the latter impressions. Such is the way it is.
There are far more revealing questions you can ask than things like "is the bible true" or "is there a God". Such as; Where am I? How did I get here? Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose for being here?
A quick run-through of these questions will hopefully lead you to the realization that your knee-jerk reactions to these questions are all things you BELIEVE to be true, meaning someone told you so. Someone told you that your name was Jane Doe. Someone told you that you live in SmallVille, USA on a planet called Earth. Someone told you "why" you are here. etc. etc.
But are these things "true"? Who can prove that they are? Perhaps only other people that also BELIEVE the same things as you? Are people who BELIEVE things differently than you then "wrong"?
Do you see how this works? Who can say what is "true"? Isn't everybody effectively mischaracterizing BELIEFS for TRUTHS?
When I talk to Christians I frequently ask them if they are practicing "The Greatest Commandment". Most say they are but I then point out to them ways in which they are not which they typically find upsetting as they see their fellow Christians behaving in the same way. It's the "everybody is doing it" so it must be okay defense.
Jesus wasn't kidding when he declared "The Greatest Commandment". It's quite true that "all the laws and prophecies follow it". Because if you're not practicing the Greatest Commandment 24x7x365, it's ABUNDANTLY CLEAR to me that by not doing so, these people do not understand either the laws or the prophecies "that follow".
I further contend that "loving God with all your heart, mind and soul" means every chance you get, this is what you're doing. Not watching TV, surfing social media, endlessly socializing, yada yada yada. Sure, those things can be done every once and a while for entertainment purposes. But if you want to understand the bible, the MAJORITY of your time needs to be spent communing with God and/or loving your neighbor as yourself -- where your neighbors include Obama, Biden, HRC, Fauci, etc. etc.
And how many Christians that you know are doing this? I would suggest to you that they don't yet understand the bible for this very simple reason.
We've been taught an endless number of lies in all facets of life. Because of this, it is an absolute requirement that one learns to slow down, be quiet, be in communion, be at rest and at ease, to enable God to assist you with unwinding all the lies. This is the easy way.
The hard way is "trying to figure it all out". I know, I tried for almost a decade until I realized my mistake.
I suggest dropping into your heart-space with a sense of gratitude and intending to commune with God/Christ/Holy-Spirit, asking sincere questions and then doing your best to stay quiet and not get lost in thought, which will undoubtedly continue to intrude on your efforts to be quiet. It will be hard at first as your monkey-mind is accustomed to bossing the REAL YOU around. You call this "thinking". But ironically, you remarkably don't have the power to will those thoughts away with your intention. They just keep coming. The harder you try to suppress them, the louder they get. Hopefully this will be a clue for you as to what they might really be. Sincerely ask God where these incessant thoughts come from that you don't want? Answers will follow in due course.
I read books across all traditions for over a decade. Many were from the "Christian mystic" category as those who like to categorize things like to bucket them. So be it. I would suspect these books would be more appealing to you than say a book on Zen, Yoga, Advaita-Vedanta, Sufism, etc. Such would be a good place to start if your curiosity is piqued. The older the book, the more "mind-based" it will be. The newer the book, the more heart-based it will be. We live in such times as the path forward is most accessible and graceful through the heart. But everybody responds to things differently.
If you find what I've said insulting or appalling than so be it. That was never my intention. I'm quite used to it now. I've helped many people on the Christian path deepen their connection to God via clearer understanding. This is always my intention. Never to turn someone into a "non-Christian" but rather to guide them toward deepening their spiritual inclinations. But I thank you nonetheless for asking me questions and allowing me to share my thoughts with you.
Quick response while I take in all you’ve written (which I appreciate) is that my initial impression is curiosity. Will need to read through a few times to fully digest but you’re definitely given me new concepts to consider.
Wonderful and thank you. That's all I could ever hope for. I realize It's a big step.
I presume you consider yourself to be a Christian and pray to God/Christ/Jesus/Holy-Spirit on a regular basis. If my assumption is correct, I suggest you take your time and bring your questions/concerns/curiosities about what I've shared to your prayers and see what sort of answers you get. I encourage you to pay extra-close attention to how you FEEL about the answers you receive rather than what you THINK* (intuition vs rationality)
My apparent mission in life is to guide those who are looking for deeper answers. And it's quite clear that not everybody is ready, let alone wanting these answers. A certain amount of spiritual "ripening" must have already been cultivated for what I have to share to resonate within you. It's okay if that's not the case. Nobody is better or worse than anybody else. We're all right where we need to be at all times. God never makes a single mistake despite our best efforts to screw things up sometimes...hahaha :)
Please take your time. No rush.
Thanks friend, it’s all very interesting, intriguing, and thought provoking. I have always been one to overthink, often causing me to never feel a closeness to God in a personal way, because I could never fully answer my intellectual questions. I call myself a Christian, and have been for 30+ years. But I am also the Christian that will question and has questioned every aspect of what I know and believe, over and over again. I know that the “world” is lying to us constantly, and I am forever on the defense in search of what those lies are, and how I’m being played. I don’t know that my way of thinking or feeling is correct, but I do believe that I am not done seeking Truth, wherever that leads. I know there is a Creator God. I know we are fallen creations in a fallen world. I know there is a Spirit that guides us, and I know Jesus died to save us. I also know as you have said, that history is not the truth we have been made to believe. So I find myself digging into those lies more and more. If you have any specific recommendations on reading along this subject line, especially related to the Bible, I would be very interested to explore them. Thanks again, your thoughts and time are appreciated.