Great Response, and a pleasure to read!

I look forward to your other response(s).

But, for a start, I think we are very much on the same wavelength on a number of things.

The quote from Lao tzu was a great start.

The Tao Te Ching was the first scriptural text I read aside from biblical content (which I hadn't really read, tho), starting from the age of 14. My subsequent journey in life took me to live in S. Korea, whose flag, you may be aware, sports 4 of the 8 trigrams and a symbol of the Great Eternity (the Tae Guk) (they call their flag the Tae Guk Ki, "ki" meaning flag), which probably underscores the level of influence Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism has historically held in that country and people.

"Not understanding that causes HUGE problems in the world." And everywhere IN the world, as well, from the individual level upwards to the global level! I'm not certain where I was first exposed to this concept, but it has become a virtual lodestone in the realms of my personal (internal) exploration: the Map is not the Territory

The quote from Ghandi is a good one too. It reminds me of something that was pivotal in me re-engaging with faith practice when I became an adult (18yrs), that thing being the parable of the blind men and the elephant. I'm guessing you are familiar with it.

There are nuances (which I would like to explore with you) around the significance and role of Jesus, what being 'saved' means etc. Nonetheless, I resonate strongly with your idea that "words CANNOT accurately tell the full human truth of ANYTHING, one reason why Christians can and should feel united with those of any healthy religion; such religions are other ways of spreading Jesus' teachings, originally by people who never heard of Jesus".

One caveat (or nuance, tweek) to that might be this: that only the words of a person who has come to embody the truth fully and completely can be regarded as direct expressions of truth. (Emphasizing the distinction between the record or teaching of Jesus' words vs those actual words, which were heard in real time in a different language 2000 years ago).

Either way, I resonate with your take on "love" here. I've never put it in those words. My own understanding / perspective is that many of the other faiths and teachings around the world had the purpose (from God's providential perspective) of preparing different peoples with different sociological, geographical and cultural conditions to be able to receive and connect with Jesus' teaching when it appeared.

How well that purpose was accomplished is a separate matter, but the point remains that all those healthy faiths / religions essentially have the same root, albeit it being expressed, imperfectly, in different ways.

In summary, I love your take on 'love' here (above), and I think there are some interesting ideas worth exploring further.

Great Response, and a pleasure to read!

I look forward to your other response(s).

But, for a start, I think we are very much on the same wavelength on a number of things.

The quote from Lao tzu was a great start.

The Tao Te Ching was the first scriptural text I read aside from biblical content (which I hadn't really read, tho), starting from the age of 14. My subsequent journey in life took me to live in S. Korea, whose flag, you may be aware, sports 4 of the 8 trigrams and a symbol of the Great Eternity (the Tae Guk) (they call their flag the Tae Guk Ki, "ki" meaning flag), which probably underscores the level of influence Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism has historically held in that country and people.

"Not understanding that causes HUGE problems in the world." And everywhere IN the world, as well, from the individual level upwards to the global level! I'm not certain where I was first exposed to this concept, but it has become a virtual lodestone in the realms of my personal (internal) exploration: the Map is not the Territory

The quote from Ghandi is a good one too. It reminds me of something that was pivotal in me re-engaging with faith practice when I became an adult (18yrs), that thing being the parable of the blind men and the elephant. I'm guessing you are familiar with it.

There are nuances (which I would like to explore with you) around the significance and role of Jesus, what being 'saved' means etc. Nonetheless, I resonate strongly with your idea that "words CANNOT accurately tell the full human truth of ANYTHING, one reason why Christians can and should feel united with those of any healthy religion; such religions are other ways of spreading Jesus' teachings, originally by people who never heard of Jesus".

I've never put it in those words. My own understanding / perspective is that many of the other faiths and teachings around the world had the purpose (from God's providential perspective) of preparing different peoples with different sociological, geographical and cultural conditions to be able to receive and connect with Jesus' teaching when it appeared.

How well that purpose was accomplished is a separate matter, but the point remains that all those healthy faiths / religions essentially have the same root, albeit it being expressed in different ways.

I really love your take on things here (above), and I think there are some interesting ideas worth exploring further.