Christianity and Zen

Oh LOOKIE.... a freshly WASHED thread.... BRAND NEW START.... Much like the mercies that Christ gives us daily.

So... let it begin with me.... Good morning CapeCodder

CapeCodder said:
I've been very angry, everything bad that could possibly happen, has been happening to me. How much can one person take before they start doubting the system, and looking to other possibilities?
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I want to address your broken and disappointed heart... and I want to encourage your spirit to be of good cheer.

GOD PROMISES that He will finish within us...that which He has begun ( which is a good work ). Consider for a moment that God is all knowing... all seeing... all POWERFUL... always present with us. Some Christian teachings have misunderstood this terribly and caused a great many to walk away from God in ANGER.... I'm sure you have heard it all.....If there really was a loving GOD....Why would he permit this to happen to me or someone else? The world is FILLED with sorrow and sadness... but as CHRISTIANS.... we are given HOPE that NO other religion can offer.

I believe that in order to TRUST GOD... we must first come to believe that HE is
a) PERFECT
b) ALWAYS GOOD
c) HE LOVES us in a personal way. ( meaning... He doesn't just love the world that He gave His only begotten son... but that He loves YOU CapeCodder ) = making it personal

It has been my experience that the MOMENT I understood that GOD is truly the GOD of the BIBLE ( He is who HE says HE IS ).... AND... that He is intimately acquainted with me ( HE LOVES me ).... THAT is when EVERYTHING came alive for me.

It took about 20 years for me to get from "becoming a Christian" to actually being able to FEEL like a NEW CREATION... and that is the tricky part... because in the mean time... UNTIL we get to the place of unwavering faith... we need to believe it BECAUSE the WORD SAYS IT.

Now back to the original post.... about ZEN.... I have good news for YOU... I have something even BETTER than ZEN because it actually works on a long term basis. It's called CHRISTIANITY. It's learning to completely TRUST your CREATOR and SAVIOUR.

If you like a certain type of music.... GO AHEAD and play it with FULL PERMISSION to enjoy it. If there are no nasty connotations to that music... it's all cool... and it's all good.

Instruments of all kinds... music of all kinds are neutral. they do not have a judgement behind them. A guitar is a guitar... a piano is a piano and so on. Put those together and you have a NOISE.... SO... as long as the noise is pointing to the CHRISTIAN GOD... or brings you to HIM... then BRAVO... HE LOVES it all.

I think perhaps you have simply tried to share that... but the problem is that you gave it a name that takes the Glory away from GOD.

I listen to all kinds of music... My favourite is smooth jazz... it just brings me to my happy place.

Music is like medicine CapeCodder ...and so... I say to you.... PLAY it... Let it help you get to a place of CALM which we ALL NEED to learn to get to. But I encourage you to give the credit to JESUS CHRIST. HE is your HOPE... HE is your HEALER... and HE is your biggest CHEER LEADER.

God bless you dear one. ~Most tenderly, In Awe of Him
 
forgiven61 said:
if your a born again Child of God .. you was never promised life would be easy. everybody goes through it some more than others . Jesus said in me ye shall have peace in this world ye shall have tribulation but be of good Cheer i have over come the world . its called going through the fire . you look to those other possibilities and you will stive have the same problems the same headaches maybe even worse . your peace is in Christ .. Jude wrote to earnestly contend for the faith.. war is hell spiritual war is fighting something you cant see.

there is not a person in this forum that has every I dotted and every T crossed. the apostles had it tough peter crucified upside down john the Baptist be headed teh apostle paul beheaded but not before being imprisoned . your music can be a type relaxation takes your mind off the issues.. but they will be waiting for you when the music stops. Good Christian music Contempary / southern Gospel/ country Gospel all has a message of Hope in it.. the concerns on zen and i know very little about it. even yoga if not careful can be a source to replace God..

we have the Holy spirit in us aka the comforter which means as one who walks beside us. so this outside source your posting about. that is somewhat opposed can lead us astray .. focus on music that has scripture based music lyrics .. that way your soul is being soothed and your also getting fed. every song has a message about it, a old hymnal it is well with my soul is about a man who lost his family to tragedy ,

in closing yes sometimes i feel like screaming and pulling my hair out and walking away in job 38: God spoke the JOB OUT OF TEH WHIRLWIND/ STORM . the disciples in the boat with Jesus .he was in the back asleep the storm come out they cried out master careth that we perish? in other words were out to sink and drown.. Jesus took control of the storm. a learning lesson for those in the Boat, our storms are lessons for us to learn. im still in school
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I couldn't overlook forgiven's post which is spot on. We all cannot place a dot and cross every T.

This gives me much to think about in my own affairs with God and life.

God bless you, forgiven and thank you for sharing.

 
bobinfaith said:
We all cannot place a dot and cross every T.
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i have said this many times in the movie the mask ..this timid wimpy person finds this mask. the moment he puts it on ne becomes mister cool.. what i am trying to say is so often Christian will have a mask on the outside appearance it seem/ we act like we have it all together . i can tell ya i dont have it all together going to work this morning .. the thought of romans 12:1-2 come to mind a living sacrifice holy and acceptable TO GOD. each one of us including those who post as they have it altogether lol.. i once had it together forgot where i put it..

my concern for the Church i pastor is are WE not they are we getting it . i have concerns are we growing spiritually. its real easy for us to drift away especially if we dont have our anchor set..

in closing we are all a W. I.P work in progress . have i learned to cast all my cares on him and leave them there? no and if everyone else would be honest times they don't either one of the great things about attending church is we all need each other . just be open and honest we need help

 
CapeCodder said:
I'm curious what others thoughts are on using both in your life? Zen focusing on bringing enlightenment to ones self and decluttering ones mind in order to do so. And Christianity where the individual is enlightened by Gods word and living in such a manner.

Zen does not worship anything, so "no false Gods" doesn't apply here, neither would the Occult because the individual is not drawing from an outside spiritual force. Everything comes from within. I've seen books on Meditating on the Scriptures, so I don't feel there's any conflict here. If one were an actual Buddhist then I would see a conflict, but that doesn't apply here.
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I approached this twenty-five years ago... I abandoned the thought of it after reading Chuck Norris' (first) autobiography. He mentioned that zen is part of Buddhism and that anyone actively practicing zen are practicing a facet of Buddhism.

While there are similarities, scripture should not be supplemented with zen... It doesn't need it. It's fine to recognize the similarities, but to "blend" them is tantamount to "watering down" the Word of God.
 
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