http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repentance

Repentance is a change of thought and action to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from the one wronged.

The religious contexts are derived from two translations... one from Hebrew and one from Greek.

Old Testament Repentance, translated from Hebrew, contains two verbs to suggest the meaning:

a.) to return

b.) to feel sorrow

New Testament Repentance, translated from Greek, the word Metanoia suggests the meaning:

To perceive, to think, the result of perceiving or observing. "To think differently after".

An after-thought, different from the former thought; a change of mind accompanied by regret and change of conduct, "change of mind and heart", or, "change of consciousness".
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Repentance occurs in every-day thought processes, whether one is religious or not.

This internal dialogue reveals self-evaluation of our own actions (after the fact). Those learning through feelings of guilt reach that point in thought process where they look at their own action(s) and feel regret. It is more difficult for guilt-ridden to reach the point of "change of mind and heart" or "change of consciousness" because they tend to linger and even wallow in regret, leading to self-condemnation, rather than resolution.

The Christian solution to this phenomenon is to hand it over to God and recognize that Jesus Christ who died, absolves us for all our sins.

To actually really believe this to be true must be a very liberating feeling, indeed.

For those who have not accepted Christianity, the internal struggle to move through this natural learning process seems far more daunting.

Of course it would seem silly to a Christian to not accept the Christ concept. This whole process would appear to a Christian as a whole lot of unnecessary suffering.

What if, to navigate the mind's maze, one's heart could provide all guidance? Here, its called "heart", elsewhere, it could be called "Higher Power" or "God".

Don't we all experience the same journey, regardless of beliefs?

If we ALL have within our selve's the ability to pass through this process with or without religion, wouldn't accepting those who don't choose the path of religion allow for ALL to move into peace?

Died and resurrected. If Jesus would not have resurrected our sins would still be there.
Resurrection is what brings salvation.
My Lord's dead was just a step in the divine plan for salvation.
However, His resurrection was the climax through which we are saved.

Was King David's sins Forgiven?

Understood.

Would you be willing to consider answering the question in the second half of the OP?

Great answer... very correct.

Before grace there was blood atonement for sins & the law. Grace is the fulfillment of the law.

Hi Quick,

Would you be willing to consider the second half of the OP and perhaps comment?

Thanks,
SL

It sure would.

And life would be a lot easier, too.

Thank you, Invisible.

And so, what if we do ALL have the same ability?

We'd still have plenty to talk about here. If we all experience this process, we should be able to translate our experiences to one another regardless of belief.

Is this not possible?

Could be a good reason to hang around the Religion Forum.

To answer your question...

Why would I want to entertain something that is contrary to what works for me?

Unfortunately for some it doesn't seem to be possible.

They can not, or will not, understand that different people have different needs, different ways of thinking.

They think that things working for them have to work for anybody else the same way.

I do not care what anybody believes. I just refuse to let these people patronize me, and then there is the first resentment coming.

I’ve been discovering that the best religions are the ones that are based on goddesses.

The great Wankan Tanka of the North American Indians is thought of as being feminine, and the folklore that surrounds her is very wise and intelligent.

The Goddesses of the Wiccans (which I’ve only recently been studying) also display great wisdom and intelligence.

Compare this with the egotistical jealous male god’s of the Mediterranean folklores. Not only are they based on the patriarchal male-chauvinism of jealous judgmental Gods who lust for blood sacrifices, but they are also quite absurd, unwise, and far from being intelligent.

I’ve concluded that, for me, only these Goddess-based religions make any sense at all. They are the only ones that represent true wisdom and intelligence. They don’t seem be obsessed with repentance. I suppose these Goddesses have a little faith that the vast majority of people will naturally be good.

And this is indeed what we experience. People claim that the world is so bad. But then they go out and watch a movie, or go to a dance, or a nightclub, or a restaurant, and enjoy the evening without incident the vast majority of the time.

In other words, they are completely blind to just how good people truly are!

This obsession with sin and repentance is nothing short of a sickness. Most people are not sinners. It’s clearly obvious. The doctrines that claim that all people are sinners are clearly lies.

These negative religions that are trying to force everyone to believe they are sinners should hang their heads in shame. It’s clearly a lie. There’s no doubt about it. Those religions are lies. We have the evidence to back it up. They’ve been proven to be lies. Why people continue to believe in these false doctrines that have been proven to be lies is beyond me.

Dear Quick,

The actual question was about accepting those who don't choose the path of your religion and having willingness to communicate about your experiences, relating them to those with "contrary" beliefs.

Never suggested you entertain anyone else's beliefs. What works for you still stands as your good. Never wished to take anything away from that.

Peace

The invitation is for ALL to look at humanity's common threads (this particular one being the secular and nonsecular experience of repentance), regardless of religion, and to begin to relate to one another's human experience from a place of sharing, rather having to prove any other as invalid.

Patronization can be a MAJOR trigger, blinding one of any commonalities with another (I react very strongly when I feel patronized). It's harder to prove to someone that they're being patronizing than to try to meet them in the middle.

Most of the time, people aren't the slightest bit aware that they're seeming patronizing.

It drives me nutz

What ever I can say or do, these people will call me rude because it is not what they WANT to see or hear

People call you rude because they interpret your intention as you wishing to prove them wrong...

We all hate feeling "wrong"...

It shakes the foundations...

Makes one feel like a failure (only initially). No one is going to be forced into admitting any error. One has to come to that on their own (its personal).

How can you prove them right?

Find their fragment of truth...

Meet them there.

Maybe I shouldn't have an opinion of my own,

just say what everybody wants to hear

What a confusing world

Your opinion is a fragment crucial to the whole truth.



If people didn't share contrasting opinions, humanity certainly would be down the ****ter...

Don't you think?

Perhaps this will seem ridiculously naive...

Perhaps if they didn't feel that their beliefs were being challenged, they'd wish more to relate.