To LJ:
For the record, as I saw it mentioned, I am not a Buddhist, though I practiced Buddhism in my early twenties. I also read the Bhagavad Gita and practiced some Vedanta Hindu spirituality: yoga meditation and exercises, etc., based on the teachings of Ramana Maharashi.
I have read many spiritual texts and delved into different teachings, for over eleven years. Atheism was one of them. However, my pursuit of these was largely in reaction to my former hatred of Christianity: the religion in which I was raised. So, I can relate to you.
For years, I considered the possibility that I was acting partly in reaction to my hatred, but I could not see that I was. In time, I learned I actually was; and I only realized this after many years, because it was so subtle.
Last year, after realizing that my accumulation of knowledge was not IT (communion with the Divine), and that my entire conduct was not reflective of what I was talking about and was contrived, I had a spiritual crisis. It was a blessing and exactly what I needed.
My previous studies of Buddhism were influential and played a part in my awareness of my own BS, but it was a very personal, yet impersonal, experience of liberation, wherein religious affiliation did not play a part.
It was like ice melting, in one of those nature documentaries, under which greenery is revealed, except, for me, the green was under ice for much more than one winter. Bitterness toward Christianity produced, and maintained, this ice. Love and personal impersonality destroyed all barriers.
Why was it maintained? Partly because I did not understand Jesus (and other figures I attacked) and, in spite of my exhortations of freedom, wanted to control others. Again, this was more implicit, than it was explicit, and I did not see it, at the time. I ask you both to look within, so as to see if this is your case. There is never cause for anger, only for compassion and grace.
I am not an atheist, but I love the atheist and sympathize with his/her brave struggle for freedom. I call him/her, however, to realize that bitterness keeps you endlessly tied to the very thing that you seek to escape. Look at Bill Maher: the man claims to be an atheist, yet he spends more time talking about Christianity than most Christians do.
Bitterness prevents you from exploring the waters that extend beyond Christianity.
I am not a Christian, but I love Jesus. I don't see the need for anyone to be a Christian, or to be part of any particular denomination: Catholicism, Baptist, Jehovah Witness, Mormon, in order to love Jesus. Read Jesus' sermon on the mount: it speaks to any kindhearted person and against "Christian" hate and prejudice:
http://www.biblepath.com/beatitudes.html.
To K4L
In the gospels, Jesus has one of the greatest messages of all time for us: selflessness, peace in poverty, love, in spite of hate, and endless grace toward all.
The religions have perverted or neglected his message, because they do not understand it, just as even his disciples had to be admonished for not, at times, understanding him.
When we bash others for their sexual orientation, religious beliefs, etc., and exalt ourselves as being chosen people, ask for blessings while in the world, and so on, we completely violate Jesus' teachings.
Jesus asked people to walk in his footsteps. This entails not worshiping money, as Jesus was essentially monetarily impoverished, and depending on God's grace, this means not judging others, as you are a mere mortal, who should not trust his own judgment. This also entails turning the other cheek and loving the enemy that you create in your mind.
This is easy to see here: you and LJ see each other, at some level, as enemies, but are you? You are only enemies in relation to one another, not in actuality. Another person may hear what you/LJ say and not be moved to feel anything.
But, you both still believe, as most of us do, in the ego/self. And belief in the promises of the ego/self comes with much pain and strife, which is evident here.
How ironic that we say we believe in the divine but then only serve it in relation to ourselves, the thoughts and beliefs of our little group, our little lives, our little desires, etc. How ironic that Jesus' apostles were admonished for their faults, yet you cannot admonish yourself.
Your indignation is not for Jesus' cause but for your own, and I say that with love. Your understanding of Jesus' cause comes from men and your own interpretation of a book, but the most objective interpretation, which is the ultimate, supreme subjectivity, belongs to no man. It belongs to the divine perspective and lies buried deeply within all beings.
Paul
The problem with the article is that it focuses on spiritual legalism (codes of conduct, superficial knowledge, etc.). It is not concerned with understanding the spiritual implications involved with daily living. And, the most learned scholars cannot tell you about these. This is a very personal thing that one needs to learn to practice in every moment of life. But, as things are, we only see God in a building. We only see Satan and temptation in the movies. God is everywhere, but it is not enough to say it and memorize it. We must experience it.
PEACE
From the Gospel of Buddha (1894), by Paul Carus:
Self begets selfishness.
There is no wrong but what is done by the assertion of self. [8]
Self is the beginning of all hatred,
of iniquity and slander, of impudence and indecency,
of theft and robbery, of oppression and bloodshed.
Self is Mara, the tempter, the evildoer, the creator of mischief. [9]
Self entices with pleasures. Self promises a fairy's paradise.
Self is the veil of Maya, the enchanter.
But the pleasures of self are unreal,
its paradisian labyrinth is the road to misery,
and its fading beauty kindles the flames of desires
that never can be satisfied. [10]