Entry 354 - Religious vs Spiritual

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9/30/20

If you are in a religion, you are religious. If you are outside of religion but follow God, then you are considered spiritual.

Yes, people in religion can also be spiritual, but you have placed yourself in an environment that is a mixture of religion and spirituality, which can cause confusion and limits within the heart. If you consider yourself spiritual but serve as a devoted and submitted member of a certain denomination within a certain religion, then you still have limits on what you can or cannot believe, how you operate in accordance with your religion, and what is considered "acceptable" within that denomination of religion.

Some key points religion needs to thrive and survive:

1. Convince you that you need that religion to live, survive, and get closer to God.
2. Convince you that you are guilty and shameful and need God only through that particular religion to save you. God forbid that God save you outside of religion's limits, and God forbid you no longer see yourself as guilty and shameful.
3. Convince you that religion holds the full truth in its entirety and is not missing anything at all.
4. Convince you that without the religion you will burn in hell for eternity, and others will too, so you must spread this religion to everyone, even if it means conquering and killing them. At least they will have the truth by force rather than not at all.
5. Convince you that you can’t understand the truth on your own; you must have people within your religion tell you, explain to you right and wrong, and set the limits for you to follow.
6. Convince you to see life completely shaped by that religion as being true.

If one religion can do this, you could become its devoted servant all the days of your life, which is neither bad nor good; it's just the path you've chosen. Is life easier without limits?


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