Are there any Christians that have embraced other ideologies(read details)?

Question

I have found the following ideologies very interesting and compatible in a lot of cases with my faith:

Some paganism
Taoism
Buddhism
Zoroasterianism (did i spell that right?)

Am I nuts or what? But I simply cannot ignore the similiarities. I admit there are some things here and there that may not jive but, why not?

Answer 1

Embraced? No.

Compared and found similarities? Yes.

Comparative religion courses at the undergraduate level in a post secondary institution are essential to those who aspire to serve God in a Pastoral, Missionary, or Diaconate role, as well as giving the layman a better understanding of those they are living along side of, and evangelizing to.

But...

To "embrace" them is to ignore the the foundation of the Protestant Reformation!

1 Sola gratia (”by grace alone“)

2 Sola fide (”by faith alone“)

3 Sola scriptura (”by Scripture alone“)

4 Solus Christus (”In Christ alone“)

5 Soli Deo gloria (”Glory to God alone“)

And if someone is a member of a belief system that is founded on "Apostolic Succession" (Catholic type) doing such would also be contrary to their theology as well.

Several Scriptures tell the story as to where we must stand in reference to our reconciliation to the Father:

Matthew 16:24 "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Follow Christ, bottom line. The way He lived, the things He taught which is stated here:

Matthew 22:36-40 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Loving God means living and following after His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Is there a way around that? No. Is there any room for adding or subtracting ideals, theologies, practices? No.

Well why not..?

Because:

Matthew 12:30 "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

Is it wrong to be open minded? No. Is it wrong to sympathize with the plight of mankind? No. Is it wrong to want to understand the cultures and beliefs of others than yourself? No.

Is it wrong to implement ideologies other than those outlined by:

God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit?

Yes.

Joshua 24:15 "...choose you this day whom ye will serve; ...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Loving thy neighbor is the second of the great commandments, but the first must always be loving God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Which goes back to the Five Solas stated above.

I am not willing to take the "Politically Correct" road to modern day Christianity as so many have made the mistake of doing... God says what He means, means what He says. He does not lie, and He does not change His mind. Mankind adapts to Him, He does not adapt to mankind.

And when it comes time after I have left this earthly body behind to stand before the Bema Judgement Seat of Christ, I want to be able to tell Him that...

"As for me and my house, we chose to serve the LORD."

Answer 2

You are not crazy. Most major and minor religions have the same guiding principles - only the details and the wording are different. This is why I have a problem with anyone who says that "their" religion is the only way. Obviously they've missed something fundamental. There are books that detail the similarities. I found a wonderful quote from a rabbi who was asked to capsule the Old Testament. He said "Love God with all your heart and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. The rest is commentary." I love that.

I think we tend to get too caught up in the details and miss the big picture. I wish we could all just focus on the similarities instead of the minute differences. I think the world would be a much better place.

Answer 3

No you are not nuts.
As a Faithful follower of Jesus Christ the life that I have found in Him is one that has come from Him and only Him, but I must say that I have as well found similarities in other writings, texts, and paganism.
With Jesus Christ it is becoming all the more revealing that He is one who understands the refinement of oneself inside as much as the outside.
It is the way that these "ideologies" find and figure certain practices *in* Christianity that fall in the same religious belief stem as other cultures, texts, and writings.
If any practice of worship can not be directed or referred to with the Word of God is a definate no no when finding common knowledge.

EDIT:

Answer 4

I don't see why Buddhism would be incompatible with Christianity since it promotes no deity. Arguably, Zoroastrianism reveres the same God as the Abrahamic religions. With Taoism and paganism you have a multitude of deities so I don't see how you could reconcile that with Christianity. But..Christians did change their day of worship from the Jewish Sabbath to the day of worship of the sun cult. Christianity has had so many permutations over the ages that it's obviously a very adaptable religion. I doubt Jesus envisioned mega-Churches, or creationist museums.

Answer 5

I am a Christian and I don't incorporate any of these other beliefs in my faith. However, religion is man's attempt to understand God. In our world, there are hundreds and hundreds of religions and denominations. I would imagine that many of them have bits of truth. I think the total picture of God is much more than any human can grasp, let alone understand on the basis of any one belief. So, I'm open to the idea of others exploring and utilizing components of other beliefs. I just haven't found anything for myself that I could not already find in Christianity.

Answer 6

Yes, I am a Christian and yes, I have accepted aspects of other religions and ideologies. Whether fundamentalist Christians want to admit it or not, there are similarities in all faiths, whether it's flood myths or the story of a god dying for his people.

There are many true paths.

Answer 7

Ive explored yes and then when I turn back to the scripture I know where I belong.

Answer 8

there are many similarities between most religions. it's natural that you would feel this way. it's unfortunate that many monotheistic religions teach the opposite as true

Answer 9

When you have the best ,Why settle for the rest?

Answer 10

I think you are very smart for being open minded.