Re: god is not religion
'if people listened only to god's word,'
Aye, there's the rub! Deciphering God's word from the word of those who have set themselves up (or have been elevated to the rank of God by an idol-worshipping humanity that constructs a god in their own image & likeness) as God.
I LOVE God...the God of mercy, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, forbearance, unity , brotherhood, strength...all things that support and make Life what it is in its essence.
To me, there is no other god.This fearsome, axe-grinding, bottomless-pit throwing, damning god of the Old Testament numbs my mind and heart. This god was created to instill fear & doubt in a humanity that has most certainly lost its own self-identity.
I also don't subscribe to a personal savior - the one known as Jesus. There may truly have been an historical character who lived aeons ago and taught the very precepts by which I define God, however, imo, he was truly a wayshower...a harbinger of the Christic potential which is truly capable of ignition in all LIFE once that LIFE determines resolution with the qualities of God...ultimate coherency in mind and heart. Not human perfection by any means.
Just my beliefs.