1077 sats \ 2 replies \ @crrdlx 23 Apr \ on: Views on religion culture
Just wanted to point out a distinction...
Often we hear something like, "All religions seek to reach the mountaintop. It may be called nirvana, enlightenment, or heaven, or whatever. But, there are many paths to that mountaintop, with each religion merely following a different path up to the same peak." Your passage below seems to reflect that.
However, Christianity is different. Other religions rely on a person doing something to reach that peak...meditation, sacrifice, good works, etc, as you allude. With Christianity, Jesus came down from the mountaintop to carry us all up. Reaching the peak is a gift given to us independent of anything we've done or anything we do. Grace.
No religion has come to bring people to salvation. The purpose of the arrival of religions is as follows:
They have come as good news to the few people who live in societies mired in evil.
And, of course, for some of the other people to learn from.
Only one's own effort can lead to salvation.
reply
Yes, that's a notable difference, but It seems that there are couple religions where the deity suffers to help humans (based on
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying-and-rising_deity )
E.g. Prometheus suffers for his gift to humans...