You ever notice in so many posts, responses, stories, incidents, people feel the need to tell others how to think or how to be saved?

You ever notice say in the armegeddon posts how many people write in to say why the world will end or in some of the other sections people write in telling us they are aliens and have knowledge they will save the world.

Or you ever notice people who tell us they have found the truth and now want to teach it to us and tell us they are a master or expert or have been revealed knowledge they now wish to share with us?

For me, I question anyone who tells me they know the truth and wish to share it with me, especially when they claim the truth through their personal knowledge of religion or other knowledge.

From a psychological perspective, there is a behaviour called the messianic complex which I believe explains a lot of the above behaviour.

In that phenomena, a human posses the desire to save others.

Psychologists say a messianic complex is not just the general wish to save the world but to become personally the redeemer of the world.

This is why I prefer to find truth out for myself and question all religions and people who claim to be in the know or claim to know the truth. I question their personal attachment ot need to be the actual saviour often more then what they are actually saying.

For me the quest for truth and learning begins and ends on an individual level not a collective level or based on what someone tells me to think.

My philosophy is simple, the only truth is there is no truth, and that faith and belief is just a way for humans to deal with things they don't understand...

It's strange Rube I know - I had a cousin who was Jesus.....he claimed he could heal the sick, walk on water, turn water into wine and yet he can't open the door of his padded cell.....it's all very sad.

Ben

Look at it this way Ben, if Jesus was alive today, he would be the leader of a Socialist Guerrilla movement...

Then that it self is a lie.

Yes... but it sounds really deep...

shallow waters are often deceptive...

Psh... you take all the fun out of trying to be deep...

If you want deep, skep...consider that a truth, any and but not all truths, may be false as a truth is only what is percieved to be true, therefore, a truth neither confirms nor denies its actuality...with exception only to self-evident truths which are implicitly and inherently true regardless

My ideal is this, all of our deep concepts are human concepts, and may be nothing more than flights of our imagination... an common illusion we want so desperately to be true...

Psychologists say a messianic complex is not just the general wish to save the world but to become personally the redeemer of the world.

This is why I prefer to find truth out for myself and question all religions and people who claim to be in the know or claim to know the truth. I question their personal attachment ot need to be the actual saviour often more then what they are actually saying.
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And what a horrible world we would live in if person thought, acted, and loved like a messiah, like an anointed one?

Rube Perhaps you fear this?

How could any human concept, whether deep or superficial, be anything but a human concept? Concepts are symbolic reflections in the human mind of actualities percieved both internally and externally. There fore, it is not the actuality which is mistaken but our understanding of it.

Jl posts: And what a horrible world we would live in if person thought, acted, and loved like a messiah, like an anointed one?

Yeah, pretty horrible. Jim Jones, for one. He ’thought’, ‘acted’ and ‘loved’ as he and his followers thought a ‘Messiah’ should. People with a messianic complex are in fact very dangerous, regardless of whether or not one thinks they were ‘anointed‘. JJ thought he was ’anointed’ by ‘God’. JJ thought he had a ‘divine right’ to lead the people.

I’ve dealt with too many of these lunatics over the years and witnessed firsthand the ugly aftermath their impact left on the living.

I like this definition of ‘messiah‘: ‘A zealous leader of some cause or project.’ What educated and/or ethical, loving and caring person wants to follow a zealot???

However, the first and prominent definition of Messiah is: ‘The promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish People.’ The Jews are still waitin’ too. …peace and love~rore

We have three wonderful examples of those kind of men from the last century, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung...

But how can we think our mistaken concepts represent any kind of truth? Frankly, Messianic figures are often more harmful than good...

Why fear knowledge or the teachers there of? I gather that I am able to learn something from everyone and I do not fear to do so. Have you not hear that there is genius in madness, Rube? I give due respect to teachers..no matter what manner of knowledge that they impart. However, it is wisdom that I value far above knowledge. Yet, wisdom can not be taught, only gained through experience and the prudent application of knowledge, most importantly that of principles. And in that, no man is my teacher. Rather, it is my conscious and conscience, that embodiment of God within, which guides me. So let those who will, impart what knowledge that they have to share. There is nothing to fear from it so long as care is taken to understand it.

If you ask me truth olny becomes a lie when people open their mouths.....

I like to consider myself an educated, ethical, loving and caring person and yet I want to follow a zealot. :devil:

I think that truth is attainable, otherwise what would be the point of going on?

As for teachers or masters, I think that you can find them anywhere you look. If you define a teacher as anyone who, through their words or actions, leads you to a higher level of understanding, you would realise that everyone you interact with has the potential to be a teacher.

I consider everyone I meet to be a spiritual teacher in some way, even enemies have the capacity, as long as you can realise that there is a lesson to be learned in every situation. I have many Gurus, and I thank my lucky stars for them all...

The truth is absolutely attainable. I honestly feel good when I help people and I like to help people. Its worth it to me to open peoples minds up a little bit because they in turn tell there friends and it spreads. The more open minded people become the better the world is. I'm optimistic. I believe taking the time to open peoples minds up from everyday society is worth the effort and positive changes can occur. Society is designed to keep us trapped in our worries of everyday hustle and bustle. It is only natural for people that can see through what society is to spread the wealth. The people that recieve the information become teachers aswell and benefit humankind by opening up peoples minds a little bit. That is my reasoning for posting on this forum.