Thankyou for the very productive post Acouwaila. Your experiences with Buddhism seem not too far off of mine. I also abandoned being an kind of "buddhist", as I realized I still need to determine my ego's form before I can bring it to extinction. To bring to extinction an ego I can't define, to me, loudly says I would be embracing death. I don't mean any kind of varried metaphysical interpretation of death, I just mean: DEATH. With all the blackness entailed therein.
But It's also been the most invaluable philosophy I've learned to date, and I'll always keep it as a part of my life and my education.

"that their own sacrifice is an incredibly small price to pay for the greater good of humanity, even under such horrid circumstances as crucifixion. "

its a small price to pay but its equally an enormous sacrafice, a miracle. there is no scale...no better or worse

I agree 100%; that's actually what I was going for. You phrased it a lot better than I though. When I say a "small sacrifice" I only mean to put it into perspective. The implications are of course huge. I also think it's quite possible that, historically, there was no crucifixion of Christ, but it would be a moot point. Similar self-sacrifice has been present throughout all history, and equally great has been shown by Christians themselves who allowed punishments just as great by the hands of Roman authorities; all thanks to the example led by the story of Jesus.



"...it is simply not possible to define an outer doctrine which accurately describes the reality of God. You can only know the reality of God through a direct inner experience." -Sananda

The only way to truely understand that God is real is to experience it for yourself.
I agree wholeheartedly. I also think this is why God doesn't exist, or doens't have to, as much as "he" does. The Buddhists and the Christians both acknowledged a great force that links the whole of existence. The Christians called it "God", the Buddhists called it "reality"; but both were immaterial, lacking in physical substance, yet of profound significance to those who dwell in the physical world. God only becomes God when we name it as such. I hold to the belief that it is not at all necessary to call it God, and such is not an insult or a rejection of those who do call it God.

Yet I try to explain that to my deity-worshipping friend here in the physical world, and he calls me "ignorant" and a "stubborn atheist". *sigh*