Western Religion and Eastern Pilosophy

In this episode, the Bald Brothers discuss the differences between eastern philosophies and Western religion. Specifically, we focus on the origins of Christianity and the timeline of its creation in relationship to other practices. In addition, using personal stories, we discuss how religions claim to be the only and the correct path to heaven. Our discussion follows through with the question, "Are we required to pray to Jesus to get to heaven?" 

This episode finishes with a story from one of our listeners describing a difficult time in their lives. As always, we believe that one person's lived experiences can serve as a playbook for some else going through similar difficulties.

Transcript

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Yeah, that's mind, body, soul. We connected with the globe. Yeah, that's mind, body, soul took some discipline, repetition and some self-control. We connected with the globe. Yeah. That's mind, body, soul. Whoa. Yeah. That's mind, body, soul. Hey. Yeah. That's Mind, body, soul took some discipline, repetition, and some self-control lies. Be the tribe soul. Welcome to Cirque to Soul. The only Uncut, unedited podcast that is dedicated to helping you to find spiritual peace in your life. Kim, last week we finished our series of Is There A God? And from that we decided that, hey, we now focus on the origins of religion, persist specifically the differences between Western religion and Eastern religions. Yeah, it should be a good one. Uh, I'm glad we, we finished the, is there a God, uh, maybe people just kinda opened up their hearts and minds and look at things differently, but this, Eastern and, Western religion, Gary, I, I did some research to try and understand the differences between Western religion and eastern religion. And I have two definitions. First, the Western religions, which includes Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Are defined as monotheistic and monotheistic means that they all believe in one God. In addition, they emphasize a linear view of time in history. This means that there is a beginning, a middle, and an end to history with the focus on the promise of a future afterlife. So Western religions emphasize the importance of faith and obedience. Eastern religions on the other hand, are practices, include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Tism. Are polytheistic, meaning that there is more than one God. In addition, these practices tend to focus on enlightenment. Now, enlightenment, we've mentioned that before. Enlightenment means the awakening to ultimate truth, leading to freedom from the cycle of suffering and reincarnation. Ooh, yeah. The state of enlightenment is also described as a state of supreme happiness and peace. This state is achieved through meditation and spiritual practice. Wow. That's it. That's it. Okay. Alright. Where to start? Um, last week we said, we were gonna explore this because, in my life and in yours as we've talked, uh, we sort of straddle. Uh, we had a mixture of the Christian view and the, and Eastern philosophies. We both have faith and we believe there's a God, but we also believe in meditating and trying to find. Spiritual peace within our enlightenment, right? So we wanted to start a discussion to understand, the basis of these different religions and see where it takes us. So let's start with Judaism and Christianity. Here's a good question. Here's a question, and you probably know this, but did you know that Christianity was not the first Western religion? Yeah. I, I started studying different religions and, uh, I was kinda shocked, but, uh, yeah, Judaism was the first Western religion and the Torah was their Bible. And in addition, they had the, the Hebrew Bible, which were stories and traditions passed down through time. And these stories and traditions were compiled and written down over a period of time. Hmm. So Christianity is just an offshoot of Judaism. We know Jesus was a Jew and he practiced Judaism. I don't know if people knew that, but I didn't know that either. Okay. Right, right. Early followers of Jesus were Jews and practiced Judaism. Well Christianity. Christianity started as a Jewish movement within the larger Jewish community. So Jesus' life, teachings and death are the foundation of Christianity. Okay. Correct. Okay. And of course, you know me. I have, uh, lots of questions starting with the Bible and how it came to be. Mm-hmm. The reason I'm asking these questions is because our faith and what we believe uses the Bible as its foundation. Right. And so, for me, the first question is, were Adam and Eve really the first humans on earth? Ah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so the Bible as we know it today, it contains writings from the Torah. From the Hebrew Bible. Now, the Torah, which you've already said, it's the first five books of the Bible, are the Old Testament now, the New Testament, it evolved. That evolved from accounts of Jesus life and teachings of the teachings of what we call Gospels, and from the writings of Paul and the other Apostles and various other writings, so not just Paul and the Apostles, but various other writings. Right now, before we go down this path of the origins of religion and the origins of the Bible. Something I read, and this is going to, put a little light on what we discussed in some, past episodes. Mm-hmm. The differences between science and religion science's, primary method, which is called the scientific method. It involves, uh, observing. It involves testing and drawing conclusions based on evidence. So we get back to the agnostic. Okay. Right now, this method. It really is limited to the natural world, and it can't be used to definitively prove or disprove the existence of God. Our supernatural events are the truth of, um, religious texts, like the Bible right now. While some of those aspects of the Bible. Might seem the conflict with scientific findings, and this is where I guess I am, I, I see conflicts. Mm-hmm. A lot of these conflicts, they're often due to, different interpretations or maybe a misunderstanding of the Bible's intended meaning. So for example, uh, the Bible's account of creation, it's not intended to be a scientific textbook, but rather a theological statement about God's creative power. And so I iquest How does anyone know that? What do you think? Right? Yeah. Um, man, that's, uh, you're trying to get the signs and religion trying to connect the two together. Sometimes it's kind of difficult, uh, especially when you grow up, being taught a certain thing in religion and that's what you. Been programmed to believe, right? Then all of a sudden, here comes science with this, uh, pesky facts, right? So, to try to find a balance between the two, uh, may be difficult. But, uh, I think, uh, I think we've talked about this maybe the first one, hopefully eventually, it may take years and years, but they'll finally, connect with each other and we'll know for sure, right. Okay. Let me go back to that last statement. Mm-hmm. Um, the Bible's account of creation is not intended to be a scientific textbook mm-hmm. But rather a theological statement about God's creative. Who was it that decided that it's not scientific, but that it's, uh, a theological statement? I'm just asking a question. I know you don't have the answer, but that's a question that I would ask. Yeah. Well, you know what, and this may be, this is maybe a little off the topic or whatever, but a question is, who wrote Genesis? Who wrote the creation story? Well, the, remember they said that's the first five books were the Torah and write You Going back, but Who wrote the Torah, right? Yeah. Who wrote it? Yeah. Who was there to. I mean the, write that down and know that according to them, that Adam and Eve and that story, you know who wrote that? Look, you know what? I don't know where to begin. I really don't know where to begin. I think in order to understand the origins of our Western religion, we really need to take a deep dive into religion in general. And that's a big topic and I think. If we were to do that, we would see that Christianity, it's a relatively new religion when compared to most Eastern practices and Judaism, in the Western world. Yeah. So here, let's try to make this a little easier. I'm gonna ask the question, do you think that Jesus was or is the only prophet? And'cause I asked that question because Judaism does not believe that Jesus is the son of God. I know, man. That's crazy, isn't it? When I first learned it, I'm like, what? I'm like, okay. So Jesus was Jewish. Okay? And according to the Bible and the Torah, whatever, the Jews are, God's chosen people, And Jesus was a Jew and he came along and did the miracles and everything, but. They don't believe he's the son of God. That just blew me away when I first heard that. I'm like, how could that be? And that's those things you start questioning, And so, uh, do I think Jesus was as the only true prophet? Growing up, I just didn't see Jesus as a prophet. I just saw Jesus as the true son of God. Right. And so when we said profit, that, kinda, I guess it's kind of uncomfortable for me, but uh. The more you get into it and study religions, then you know that, uh, Jesus told us how to get, how to try to become one with God and he wasn't the only one. So having said that, no, I don't think Jesus was the only one. Okay. What do you think? What do you think? Well, my personal belief, I think that we've had many prophets. And as I stated before, Christianity, it really is a relatively new religion compared to some of the others. Mm-hmm. We already know that Buddha preceded Christ by almost 500 years. Right. And so Buddhism was, 500 plus years before Christianity. It may even, and let me even add that a lot of these, uh, scientists or historians believe that Jesus visited, uh, India and studied Buddhism Right. And then came back at the age of 30 when he started his ministry. Absolutely. Okay. Go ahead. Right. Yeah. So, one prophet study under another prophet, I mean, I don't know. Yeah. But the, the fact is that, Buddhism preceded, Christian Christians Christian religion by 500 years. And then some of the other Eastern religions and practices, they're even older than Buddhism. Yeah. So the question is, why would we believe that Christianity is the one and only true religion? And I think it gets back to what we said a few weeks ago. Everyone sort of has to choose their path. Yeah. Correct. I think, uh. A lot of it is just how you grow up and what you, and what you've, been taught and, your surroundings. And, we've been, we were taught Christianity from, babies on up and that's just what we believed. And, that's just what people believed. I guess some of those, something that just got me was when they said. Only Christians are gonna go to heaven. I'm like, well, what about everybody else? I mean, right. You're right. Couldn't I just couldn't fathom that. So I think it's just how you grow up. Yeah. What you've been taught. You what you've been taught. Well, what you just said was, that was my next question to you is Yeah. Why do so many Christians say that our way is the only way to find God? That's the only way to get to heaven. Yeah. That's just the way we grew up. It's just what we believe that Jesus, when Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life and no man goes to the Father, but by me. Yeah. But that's, again, that's that, interpretation. It's how you interpret that. And you can interpret that either way. Christians say, well, Jesus is the only way. That's it, or most other. Historians and religions will say, what Jesus was saying is, I'm gonna show you how to get there. You just follow me.'cause I, I'm there. I'm gonna show you how to get there. Not meaning that, uh, I'm the only way to get there. I'm just showing you how to get there. Right. So, in the very first episode I told, you,'cause there were some things that I hadn't talked about before, in this 13 year journey that I had, after the car accident. Mm-hmm. Now I described how, I had studied and participated in several different religions and practices, but in the end I came to the conclusion, at least for myself, that God is found within. Mm-hmm. I learned that everyone was on a journey. What was distressing was the fact that so many people tried to convert me to their particular faith or their particular religion. Mm-hmm. I was told, I don't know how many times that if I really searched my heart, then I would know that their faith or their religion was the only way to truly know God. Now, I don't believe that God makes mistakes. So I believe that he gives us, many ways to find him. Mm-hmm. But in my mind, I, I just thought it was very arrogant to hear someone say that, our way is the only way when we have all these prophets. So who do I believe you are? Do I believe you know God who put all these prophets there? Right, right, right. Yeah. That's, when growing up, that's, I remember going to Western and this guy was, he was an atheist, basically saying this and saying, I'm like, how can you not believe you have to follow Jesus. He's the only way. I said, what if you are wrong? And I was just going at it, and I don't know, just, it just hit me one day that, Kim. You know what? Everybody's on their own spiritual path. I can't judge anybody. Whatever path you are on, if that's working for you, God bless you. You stay on that path. We are all trying to evolve and reach that, that God-like level. So whatever journey you are on. You do you and I'm I'll back you, I'll support you, but let me do me right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I I'm not gonna be arrogant just to say I I know I'm the only one that knows. Right, right. You know what, I got another story here. Uh mm-hmm. Uh, it's something in a few years back, I would get these regular visits from Jehovah's Witnesses and that was usually on a Saturday morning. And, I would always invite them in and we'd have different discussions. Well, this went on for a few weeks. The sessions would always end with me asking a question that they couldn't answer. Hmm. They would always say, well, we'll get back with you and answer, and we'll be back next week. Mm-hmm. And they would always come back the next week. Well, it was on this particular Saturday, we're having a discussion about 20, 25 minutes in, and one of the folks there, there was usually two or three of them. He asked a question, he said, do you think religion can solve the world's problems? And and I flat out told him no. Mm-hmm. And they kind of looked at me surprised and one of'em said, why? And I told him, I said, as long as each religion claims to be the true path to God, then you're creating this. We they scenario. Hmm mm-hmm. And when you create a we they scenario, then someone is right and somebody's wrong. No one wants to be wrong, so no one wants their religion or what they believe to be wrong. And so, there's this battle line that's already formed between the various religions. I mean, we see that. We see that, right? Right. So I said, how can you solve problems, our experience, love and unity, if you already have these battle lines drawn because you think you're the right and the others are wrong? Mm-hmm. Now two of the Jehovah's Witnesses that were there, they said they understood and they left. And you know what? They never came back to the house again. Hmm. So what conclusions, do I draw from this? Uh, do I believe, do you believe that Chris's religion can solve the world's problems? What, you know? Yeah. You know what I, I have a Facebook page called Everyday Wisdom, and one of the quotes on there was that. If all the religions, felt theirs was the right one, then why is there so much division in the world? Right? Yeah. If they all believe they're right, and if they all believe preach, love, love for one another, then why is there so much division in the world if they all would just come together and preach love? I mean, really preach love and then judge, and allow people to be on their path and. I get it. Yeah. We could all do it, but it's not that way right now. And, as long as, like I said, as long as each religion believes they're, they are the right one and nobody else is. Right. You have that division. Yep. Yep. So what do you believe? I, I'm sort of there too. Here's another factoid for you. Did you know, I'm gonna ask you a question. Do you know how many different sects of Christianity there are? Oh, no, I don't know how many, but I, I, there's quite a few, I'm sure. 1200, 1000, 200 different sects of Christianity. Wow. And most of those started because someone didn't agree with the teachings of this particular church and they went out and started their own sect and those groups. Right, right, right. So even within, the Christian religion, there are issues. Yeah. But you know what my. I'm grounded in my faith. I believe that there's a God now. I pray to God. Yeah. I believe that. Like you said before, Jesus, he's one of the many prophets that's been in our world. Mm-hmm. Now this is gonna be something that may, shock people or sound a little, outta line for Christianity, but I don't necessarily buy into the idea that the only way we can get to heaven is by praying to Jesus. I believe that the life of Jesus, you said it earlier, Jesus life is more of an example for us, uh, on how to live right now. I also believe that, uh, we do or should try to find God through meditation. Meditation. Mm-hmm. Uh, Jesus meditated, right? Buddha meditated. So did, and so did Moses on the mountain, and so did Moses on the mountain. There you go. I, I forgot all about that one. Yeah. But their meditation helped them to attain this higher level of, spirituality. Our Yeah. Our enlightenment. Yeah. Now the Bible tells us that we can become enlightened if we have the faith of a mustard seed. Mm-hmm. The Bible doesn't say enlightenment. It just says, if you have faith, you can do these other things. Right. But I think, if, if we can become enlightened, if we have faith Right. If we have faith, then we find it. So, we've been told that we're a part of God or that God lives within us. Mm-hmm. So I believe that these prophets have been put on earth not to be worshiped, but to show us, the way to enlightenment. I don't believe that they are I gateway. You have to pray to them to go to heaven. Yeah. Yeah, I, yeah, I agree. Uh, I, you always see this, Jesus wasn't a Christian, Buddha wasn't a Buddhist, that's just terms we came out with because they were so great. They were Enlighten that, that's what we're trying to get to. So we came up with a name for it. Um, and this is something, think about this Gary, and this may be off subject a little bit too. Has anybody ever asked what was Jesus' last name? And and we don't know, but we always said, Jesus Christ and Christ. Is that highest form of God, like, Yes. Yeah. And Buddha, that wasn't his real name. His real name was Soda, Guan or something. Something like that. Guana. Yeah. Yeah. But, Buddha is the kind of, means the same thing as Christ.'cause they always said, you can be a Buddha. You can be a Buddha, or you a Christian. Be a Christian. Be a Christian. It's the highest form of God. Like we wanna be one with God. One with God. And that's where the meditation comes in. Because think about it, Moses couldn't perform all them miracles unless he had been to that, to the highest level, that meditation, the highest level. Right. And he said, he performed a lot of miracles too. So yeah, I don't think they, oh man, you, that's tough. Because if we said they're not here to be worship, woo woo. That's why I say it would be a problem. But yeah, really, I believe, why does God need somebody as a gateway? Right. I believe these prophets were put here as an example to show us how to get to God. Exactly. Yeah. Especially when you know, and Jesus said, he said, the kingdom of heaven is within you. Right? Within you, which he is showing us how to connect to that kingdom of heaven and be one with God. That's what they came here for. Yeah. That's their purpose according to what we believe. I'll put that in or what we believe. You talking about you and I? Yes. Because in the Christian religion, they believe you have to pray to God. You have to pray to Jesus to get to God. Yes. Okay. Yes. Yes. Jesus is the gateway to to God. Yes. Okay. And again, that's fine. That's what you believe. That's fine. You are on your own spiritual journey. You have to do what's best for you at this period of time in your life. This is just what we kind of evolve to, and it's what we believe. Right. I need to speak to something real quick, before we, close this segment. Mm-hmm. Uh, I need to respond to one of our listeners. Mm-hmm. Uh, she had commented that our podcasts states that, we're trying to help people to find spiritual peace in our lives. Mm-hmm. But it seems that the conversations that we're having are causing people to doubt what they have always believed are causing them to question their faith. Hmm. Okay. Now. I can understand that, and this is how I want to answer that, and I want other people to hear this too. Mm-hmm. Um, what we're doing with this podcast is hopefully, causing someone to strengthen their faith or begin to ask questions so that they can be able to create a path to enlightenment and creating, that purposeful life. That's what we talked about in this early episode. Mm-hmm. Um, I, I was on a 13 year journey. I went from, being this Baptist, Christian, young man, boy, to actually going out and asking questions and experiencing different faiths and different religions, uh mm-hmm. Which started me on a whole new path. And I'm more at peace now than I was before. Mm-hmm. So to answer this, this listener. Yeah. Our podcast is not to down any one religion. It's to ask questions. Right. And hopefully, open up conversations and have you to think about where you're at and if you're fine where you're at, that's fine. Yeah. If these questions, make you think about where you're at, then that's good. Right. At some point in time, the hope is that you find this spiritual peace and able to create this purposeful life. Like I said, it took me 13 years. A car accident cracked me wide open, so, yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Well, yeah, I agree., If you are listening and you're at peace already, God bless you. I mean, God bless you. That's great. But I would just say this, I'm gonna ask question, wouldn't you wanna be one with God then Jesus, when he prayed in St. John, God let them be one with us as I am one with you and me. Me and you. To be able to experience that to me is just the greatest thing you can experience, and just to be one with God and bas and basically that's all we're doing. That's all we're trying to do is to open your heart and mind up and just see if we can keep evolving and get to that, that God-like level. But like Gary said, if you're at peace right now, God bless you. We're not trying to change you or anything. We're all on our own spiritual journey. Absolutely. God bless you all. I agree. Alright. Oh, go ahead. No, I was gonna say I agree and I think, we're just peeling back layers. At least for myself, peeling back layers of my belief and, and just trying to understand what it means. That's all. Yeah. And well, I'm, I know we're about running outta time. Yeah, that's okay. And it just, I saw something, I read it or I saw it or something, and they said, what is the purpose? There we go. What is your purpose of life? And you know what this one person said, what is to live life the way you wanna live it? And I'm like, wow, okay. And so this whole spiritual journey thing, do you, whatever you are on your own spiritual journey, God bless you, right? God bless you. We just trying to get, trying to help everybody get to that. God, like peaceful level. That's all right. I agree. I agree. Alright. Alright, Gary, think that we're just about outta time for today. It was a good one. Yeah. Hopefully we can continue this conversation next week. I think we can. I think we will. So, okay. Well, all right. Okay, so, so now time for our favorite part of the podcast. We share one of our listeners stories of a storm in their lives and how they were able to conquer overwhelming odds and doubt to bring peace in their lives. Okay, today's story is from Sherry. Sherry writes, I never thought I would survive the day I lost my son, Caleb. The moment the doctors told me he was gone, the world collapsed around me. I had always believed in God's grace, but in that moment I felt abandoned. How could he let this happen? How could I go on breathing with my child? My beautiful boy no longer did. The first weeks were a blur. I drifted through each day in a haze, unable to function beyond the most basic task. My husband, David, tried to hold me up, but he was drowning too. Nights were the worst, the silence, the absence. I would wake up and for a fleeting second, forgot that Caleb was gone. Then reality would slam into me. I stopped going to church. I stopped answering calls. I didn't want to hear words of comfort or hollow assurances that Caleb was in a better place. This place was here with me, and now he was gone. But grief does not exist in isolation, not truly. As much as I tried to shut the world out, it kept pressing in. One Sunday morning, nearly three months after Caleb's passing, my neighbor Mrs. Lane, knocked on our door. She was in her seventies. A small woman with the quiet strength that I had always admired. Come to church with me. She said, simply holding out her hand. I shook my hand, my shook my head, but she didn't. She didn't leave. She sat with me, pouring me tea, telling me about her own loss, her daughter taking too soon. Decades ago, I. You think it will break you? She said, but it won't. It will bend you, reshape you, but it won't break you, not if you don't let it. The following Sunday, I went. The moment I stepped into the sanctuary, a hush fell over the congregation. People turned their eyes filled with love, with understanding. No one rushed me. No one bombarded me with platitudes. Instead, they simply surrounded me a hand on my shoulder. A quiet nod, a whispered, we love you. The weight of my sorrow was still there, but for the first time, it felt shared. Faith wasn't an insecure. I wrestled with my anger, my doubt, but slowly I began to pray again, not for answers, but for peace. That peace, yeah. I asked God to guide me through the storm. Even when I couldn't see the shore, the community carried me in ways I never imagined. They brought meals, they sat with me in silence when words were felt too heavy. They helped me remember Caleb, not just in sadness, but also in joy. Do you remember when he danced in the rain? Mrs. Lane laughed one evening. Oh, how he loved the rain, and just like that, memories of my son became something more than pain. They became moments of love I could cherish faith and community. Didn't erase the loss, but they gave me strength to carry it, to find purpose again. To live in a way that honored Caleb's life rather than drowned in the sorrow of his absence. One morning, nearly a year after his passing, I stood in the church and lit a candle for my son. The flame flickered warm and bright, a symbol of the light he left behind the love that would never fade. As I looked around at the faces of those who had carried me through my darkest days, I understood grief didn't define me. Love did. Wow. Thank you Sherry, for sending your story. We hope that you have found some peace and purpose in your life. We believe that your lived life experiences someone's playbook for dealing with the storms in their lives. Your story will help someone to find the strength to deal with the storms in their lives. Great. Yeah. Alright. This will close our podcast for today. Thank you for joining us today on CDU Soul. We hope that it sparked some new thoughts about the purpose of life. If you would like to send us some questions for discussion or if you would like to send your story, please email those to CDU soul444@gmail.com, C-I-R-Q-U-E-D-U-S-O-U l444@gmail.com. If you found value in today's episode, please share it with someone who might benefit from it. Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. And remember, your spiritual journey is uniquely yours, but you are never, never alone. There'll always be others to help you through the storms in your life. So take care of yourself, be kind to yourself, and be kind to the world around you. And until the next time, have a great day in paradise. Down to the, I'm praying for things to change Lord, and I need it to happen to happen right away. But you sit so as I wait on you, Lord, for your, and drop my.