Idoltry, Demons & the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven

By V.K. Bronz

It is only Jesus that has all authority and it is Jesus in us that causes us to walk in authority.   He that is Holy, He that is true If we lack a close walk with our lord we can end up as the seven sons of Seva who tried to cast the demons out of a man and the demons said Jesus I know Peter I know but who are you? And the demons jumped on the sons and beat them.

Even the disciples when faced with powerful demons could not cast them out. Why? Jesus said it was that particular kind of demons could only come out with prayer and fasting.

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(Mt. 16:19)  Authority of Christ given to the church

King Asa went about tearing down the idols of the land and turning the hearts of the people back to god after the previous king had turned them to idolatry. When Asa did this the people prospered and there was no war, they had peace in the land.

“And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers and gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we sought him and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. (II Chr. 14:6-7)

When we come to that place of rest in our Lord's trustworthiness and surrender our own will: That is when we can build and prosper; you’ll notice that while they were at rest they built towers, walls, gates and bars and an army for their protection, not because they didn’t trust the protection of the Lord but that they would be prepared for their enemies.

Not only is this true in the natural but spiritually. Historically we have walked away from God when we are at rest and prospering, so we must continue to be prepared and diligent to seek the lord our God watching always that the enemy would not come in and steal what God has given.

While Asa and Jerusalem were at rest the Lord allowed an invading Army, that had hundreds of thousands of troops, to come: “and Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee”. (II Chr. 14:11)

Isn’t that just incredible? Asa’s heart was perfect toward God. He had not let himself or his people become occupied with prospering or ministering etc., they loved the Lord and were ready when god came to test their loyalty.

It was God that allowed the Army to come (not Satan) that the people might be blessed even further; as they fought the invading army they took exceeding great spoil! Asa really believed God, that he would keep them who had no power against this enemy.

God’s eyes truly do go to and fro throughout the earth looking to bless those whose heart is perfect toward Him! Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name.

Oh people if we would only learn, there is no other way to gain the blessing and authority of God except we follow Jesus who holds all blessing and all righteousness and all life within Him. When the enemy comes it is because God has allowed it to test our faith in his faithfulness. He will use it to bless us even further.

There is no offering we can make or promise, when we give our life to the lord that is when we have already made a vow to him to totally relinquish control to the Holy Spirit and be obedient to His promptings.
If we will set our hearts upon god and set our hearts to cleanse the land (our life) of all its filth and idolatry God will come and perform his word.

It would be as Daniel when the messenger of God came to speak to him. “And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Than said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didest set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. (Dan. 10:11-12)

If we set our heart to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and all of our soul and all of our might we will automatically begin to perform that which is right in the sight of God, in our relationship with God our relationship with our spouse and children and with our church and with our government

The Lord sent word through John to the church of Ephesus that he was contemplating taking the spirit of light from them. Ephesus was a wonderful church from all outward appearances; you know they were in the word, because they had discerning ability. They could discern between the real and the false prophet, the Lord himself says they had the light and he was thinking of taking it.

Ephesus also had it going in missionary works with patience and longsuffering and they kept themselves separate from the evil that they would be unspotted from the world. They were abiding within the holiness life style. This is so much more then the church today.  So why was Jesus upset with them, so much so that he was threatening to take their light from them? It is not enough that we have light; it is not enough that we preach the gospel and it is not enough that we keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Jesus wants our love at all times. All of the above must be done out of our love for Jesus or there is no life in it and it becomes just works.

We start out in love with the Lord, so much so that we follow all his precepts and involve our lives with just him and his works, but then something horrible happens, we become the Pharisees, we begin to do all the works that are required but we have been so occupied with the church life or work or family life we are no longer in love with our lord.

“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canest not bare them which are evil; and thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne and hast patience, and for my name sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove his candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”. (Rev. 2:1-5)

The Lord says do the first works; by saying this we can see what has happened, their walk with God has become works, things they do for God. Jesus is telling them go back to the beginning and love me, forget about the works and just love me.

The Purpose of Christian Demonology

If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Matthew 12:26

By Paul D. Joao

For quite some now, studying Demonology from many Christian People in the community of theology to the paranormal to counseling, non Christian and last but not least secular, this verse is a solid Biblical statement that is explains everything. That Jesus was trying to make, we as Christians if we believe in Demons or Not, often hear stories of people have experience these beings that have resulted either in a exorcists or a learning experience that enable to become a teacher.  Even in the “not of” Christianity teachings sometimes they will change the belief and make it sound that Demons are a good thing if that something. Even though from the many resources out there available either on the website or Christian or Non Christian book store. People will read a version of that author's belief in the subject. Therefore, my view this is what it is, a battle for a soul that is in stake when people often forget that when preaching or teaching any topic of demonology that the heart of it all is a person soul. In this report, a person will comprehend that aspect to look for and what to know when engaging this Demonology.

One of the first things is Prayer of protection and knowing that any sins in the past is past must be forgiven by God because when engaging in this field, a person that might be under a influence of a Demonic oppression or attachment will know the difference. Demons do not like binging discussed about so they will do everything in their power to keep you away from the Truth and use what a person has done in the past to haunt them. Verses a person who been forgiven but always keeps in the prayer mood and knowing that in any event anything might distract that person. 

Another thing is having a Biblical understanding of the nature of Demons. It is  common that people that is not Christian who may be in crafts that deals in Demonology may try to deceive a person in any way like Astral projection, where a person’s spirit can be transported to another location while the body remains back in the original location. The rule is if the Bible states anywhere such as Apostle John going to the third Heaven and receive a message from Jesus to write a book like Revelation then it must come from Jesus then. Perhaps, but not all AP is one of the many methods that Satan has used or tricked many to believe that is possible, knowing the differences can help people understanding what is allowed and what is not allowed in the Christian context, with Biblical verses to support the claim, if any. As Satan has copied God Word and use it for other than what God intended. Finely we have an understanding from a Christian view that can make a person who might have experience in these kinds of things before, coming to Christ.   

So what about people who have or had experiences it seems like every year a author comes out with a book or story on their encounters, and for those who are going through a form of struggle so what then. Call the author for help, sometimes reading the Bible might make since, perhaps if a person took the Christian Demonology cover and placed it around a Bible like these some Bible names such as Apologetics study Bible or a Christian Spiritual Warfare, whatever the case is. It is good to have a person write their story or come out with a theology Book that contains some sort of knowledge of how to deal or learn from. However, the person must state that God has saved them, or shown that it is a real account. In the past, there been attempts of Books by people who were false and the people who had their material thought was real, and it’s another form of false thinking been around.  Needless to say, for those who been writing and helping others these are a great way to get the message of Jesus out to the world. 

Even the Counseling is great source to know because what a person knows where or how demons feed off negative thoughts such as pain or events in the past, it creates a foothold in the person life. They can live a life however, when they come near any Christian environment it sometimes stirs things such as attachment or a memory in the past that does not allow the message of Jesus to come into the person life. This of course blocks and triggers the person to stay away, its effective in this manner. In some Christian counseling it helps to get to the root of the problem so the person can feel relax while he or she can attempt overcome this area and possibility build a relationship of Jesus Christ.  What a person should look for author or groups that have an insight to Christian Counseling, that might or near to relative to Demonology. This way as the sessions between the client and a counselor is in the process a healing of Jesus can begin in their lives. In the opposite aspect, in the some groups or people who treat in counseling may cause the client from not knowing the real treatment from Jesus.

Knowing there is a worldwide Christians who deal with Demonology in the paranormal or similar fields a person should be grounded in a Church and knowing that in some aspects people would consider it as outreach ministries than a “typical” group that is common misleading in Christian communities. Or having a both aspects helps bear witness to others who may wish to teach in the Christian Churches as an example is a Christian Demonologist or a Christian Paranormal team comes into the church and help others to understand a hidden danger that is not always welcomed in Christian communities. As people who are dealing with a form of demons in their home, a Church is sometimes called to help and does not help because of what the church may believe in. so the family is restored to asking a New Ager or a person who may be in the dark practice for help. So if the Church knew some knowledge or knows a team to help the family that family could come into the Christianity is it that what soul winning about.

What is the true form of soul winning in Demonology after all, why is easier to tell a Demon In the name of Jesus I cast you out phrase then telling that Jesus died for us and taking a point to tell them about Jesus. However, in our modern time people look for demonstrating act, such as seeing a power of Jesus or the power of Satan. People get so conceived that people probability do not know what to believe. As Christians who engage in the Demonology should conduct sermons on street corners  whatever the  outlet there is, that the message is clear that Jesus loves people and people should not feel threaten to call on Jesus and in times of trouble Jesus is near and he will protect the person. While Satan does the opposite he will do everything in his power to keep in harm, danger, trap, confuse until they been shown the truth of how much Jesus can do for them.

In the end, a  person who reads this should think as the person who is not a Christian have ever tried calling on Jesus and reaching out to a Christian Demonologist or a relative in the field. Or have they been trying every form of help with not getting to the root of the problem. That Jesus is the answer and we as Christian should work together with “Christian outreaches ministries” for help is in that the purpose of soul winning after all. Therefore, the person can now live with peace of Jesus in their lives. 

Paranormal News Saturday--December 1, 2012

The Adventures of Chip Coffey in the Land of You’re My Baby’s Daddy, Kissin’ Cousins & My Man [or Woman] is Cheatin’ On Me!

Earlier this week Mr. Coffey informed his readers that he’d be taking part in a TV  talk show. This was true. But what he didn’t say was that he was not the first choice. Nor was he even the second or third choice. The producers had to rush and find a replacement for the original psychic who was originally scheduled. The program’s topic is readings for people’s lives in 2013.

The taping took place in Stamford, CT. Our reporters were there, but luckily me or Ron Tebo or even Beatrice Marot didn’t bother to attend. Photos of us were posted so security could keep an eye out for his “personal” stalkers.

By the way, the name of the show is The Trisha Goddard Show.

The readings were colder than the weather outside. The only reason the trip was worth it, according to our reporters, were the free tickets.

Demons in the News

Need an exorcist? Call the Exorcist Hotline!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240821/Catholic-Church-sets-exorcist-hotline-Press-1-demonic-possessions-press-2-visions-Hell.html?fb_action_ids=478724532170698&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582


New Fashion Trend in England--I GOT A DEMON IN ME!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235669/Hundreds-exorcisms-performed-UK-Asian-communities-treat-people-mental-illnesses.html 


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Musings on Energy & Epistemology (How We Gain Knowledge) Part 2

By Mark Hunnemann

Continued from Part 1 

True knowledge of God and of the spirit realm cannot be acquired via ourselves; it must come from the infinite-personal God who is really there, revealing Himself to us. The bible speaks of the radical corruption of human beings (total depravity), and there is no part of us that is not tainted by sin—including our minds or consciousness. Looking ever deeper or higher within ourselves for certain knowledge of ultimate realty, is to overlook the severely corrupted nature of the human heart/mind (Jer. 17:9). Besides, as we have noted several times before, Rom.1:18ff states that we have exchanged the glory of the Creator God for a lie, and have begun to worship the creation instead of the Creator. Embracing an energy-centric worldview—energy is seen as ultimate reality—obliterates the Creator/creature distinction. What hubris to think that finite and sinful creatures can auto-generate pure and certain knowledge of God by a flight into higher consciousness. That is a Satanic reversal…we make God in OUR image.

Let me say it again—the vertical memory is alleged to be able to give us sure and accurate knowledge/answers to all of the profound questions raised earlier. An autonomous epistemology, like vertical memory, cannot accurately identify spirit beings either. Starting from ourselves, what is the basis for certainty regarding anything in the spirit realm? Earlier today I saw a thread on Facebook that was discussing Josh Gates and crew (Destination Truth), regarding an episode in which they re-visited a haunted forest—their camera guy had been thrown. Several people were intensely discussing what kind of entity/s were present there…the option most folks were espousing was that they were elementals—spirits which protected the forest. What struck me was how speculative the whole discussion was…one or two readily admitted they were left to mere guesswork…the truth would out when they died, was their contention. I could not refrain, and so I jumped in and, as gently as I could, pointed out that, with their epistemology, guessing was all they could do. There is a better way…

In contrast, in the book of Numbers, God in His infinite kindness and love has REVEALED Himself to us….when God “revelates” there is no need to speculate! In the ancient world, tassles were worn by nobles and other high class people. In Israel they are to be worn by everyone as a sign of being God’s chosen people. In observance of this requirement, Jesus would have worn these tassels. In Matt.9:20; 14:36 it clear that the “fringes” touched for healing by the sick would have been these tassels (same Greek word in Septuagint for “tassle” is used in Matt. for fringe…kraspedon)

Blue was used in the tabernacle, and so the blue threads reminded the Israelites that they were “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:6).They served a two-fold purpose (v.39): to bring to memory all the commandments of the Lord and do them; and the blue-laced tassles were a memory aid to not follow after their own hearts. There is a play on words with the expression “to follow” because this verb (tur in Heb.) means both “to spy” (an allusion to the disastrous results of the spies giving a bad report in ch.13) and “to follow”. Hence, this is a warning of the danger found in following their own whims rather than being absolutely loyal to the divine commandments or revelation.

But how many times have we said, “I will follow my heart to find God’s will? How many of us have walked through a forbidden relational door because that is what our hearts directed? When we come to our senses, it feels like death to put an end to what should have never happened. Verse 39 tells NOT to follow after our hearts because we are listening to our speculation and not God’s revelation…and He calls that whoring. My marriage and the unity of my family was destroyed due to a spouse who did not heed these words.

In Numbers 1:1 we read, “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying…” This seemingly insignificant verse (the Lord spoke to Moses) is pregnant with epistemological meaning! Five words which should send us to our knees in worship and wonder. How often do we thank God for having revealed Himself to us in the bible? In a culture drowning in subjectivism and evil, we have a sure word from the Creator Himself!

A fairy tale begins, “A long time ago, in a faraway place…” or, ancient myths are a-historical regarding the bizarre stories of sexually heated gods and The Fates (one never knows which is ultimate). However, the book of Numbers is replete with verses like the one above. The revelation of God to us was done in space and time! Space: in a specialized tent which was located in a real geographical location…the wilderness of Sinai. Time: the precise date is given when Yahweh spoke to Moses, presumably in Hebrew, as He did to Saul on the road to Damascus. The simple but profound point is that God’s revelation to us took place within the space-time continuum. Thus, our epistemology is certain fact, and not some airy fairy flight of fancy, nor imagination dreamed up by a drunken monk, nor some subjective state called vertical memory or higher states of consciousness. No, God has revealed Himself to us in space and time.

God wants us to be holy as he is holy (v.40), and the key is to remember and do all his revelation tells us to do. Christianity is a system of truth; it is more than a system of content and truth, but it is not less. Meditating on the content of truth is biblical meditation, as opposed to content-less eastern meditation, which may open the door to the demonic—as can “ascensions” into higher states of consciousness. In v.40 He is revealed as the God who saved them by grace out of Egypt, which is a type/symbol of the coming greater Exodus through the Person and work of Jesus. The commandments are set firmly in the foundation of God’s gracious dealings with us!

V.37..”The Lord said to Moses…” About 2,000 times in the Old Testament we have that cosmos-shattering epistemological utterance (thus saith the Lord). The first sin of Satan in the Garden was to question the veracity of God’s word…”did god really say…?” But these words regarding the use and meaning of tassels was a direct revelation from the Living God—now THAT is certain knowledge! Whether it is the nature of God, the true identity of spirit beings, our eternal existence in heaven or hell, and grace (as opposed to karma and reincarnation) we have true objective truth. His revelation is certain, true truth OUTSIDE of us…concerning things impossible for a creature to know without divine revelation. The reason we can have confidence in what we believe regarding these vital matters, is that the Creator God has lovingly and truly revealed Himself to us: regarding what He is like, who dwells in the spirit realm, true wisdom, and that history is truly His-story…culminating in His imminent Second Coming.

“Thus saith the Lord” versus “thus feeleth the heart/higher consciousness”—that is the issue facing us and our culture. When the heart takes primacy it is an invitation for disaster due to its deceitfulness. Let us not forget that the Lord views following our whims as whoring. If the Father ever has to choose between our whims and the singular honor and dignity of His beloved Son, He will always choose the honor and dignity of His Son…He has made that abundantly clear.

Double Demon Thursday!

By Kirby Robinson

I stumbled across these two very interesting blogs on the subject of demons and decided what the heck why not share them with our readers…so here they are!

Where are demons located?

http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/2012/11/29/where-are-demons-located?utm_source=Catholic+Spiritual+Direction+blog&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5bacbfd68e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN

What do demons think about?

http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/2012/11/22/what-does-a-demon-think-about?utm_source=Catholic+Spiritual+Direction+blog&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=000f570a77-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN

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Issue 96 – The Antichrist Will be a Real S.O.B.

By Kirby Robinson

It’s now time we offer the truth not only in eBook format, but as a paperback. Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State’s ‘I Am Six’ Case should be out by December 8.

Michael Frisbee’s The Paranormal Christian Radio Show – Saturday, 12/8

This might be the most eye-opening and controversial paranormal program ever!

I’ll be joining Michael for a special edition of his Saturday night radio program during which we’ll be tackle some of the most controversial issues within the paranormal field.

We’ve issued an open letter to Chip Coffey, Ryan Buell, and Lara M to appear and explain things away, which would lead to the removal of the book from the market, and a public apology. To date, we have received no reply from any of them.

So tune in and get informed, but also angered, that not only did they mock God [and continue to do so] but they mock the hard work of the honest and genuine investigators within the paranormal field. They mock the hard work of men and woman of the cloth who combat the demonic every single day without the limelight.

Antichrist vs. the Real Christ

There are far better bible scholars out there than me, so I’m not going to try to pass myself off as one. I wish to share my view of who and what the Antichrist is and how he differs from the real Son of God.

The real Christ was the only Son of God.

The Antichrist will NOT be the son of God but of a demon.

It’s important to note the well-known but very much misunderstood story concerning the Sons of God [angels] looking on earth woman having sex. This is something a normal angel can’t do. They produced offspring that was neither angel nor human. The offspring became a terror on the surface of the earth, leading men and woman to do the most hateful things in God’s eyes, so that He decided to flood it.

If Satan could tamper with the DNA of man, it could have affected the ability of Christ coming into this world as a man. When the Antichrist enters this world, it will be through the same type of mating by one of the Sons of Man: with a female of this earth. Thus, he can claim he is of man yet his sperm didn’t come from a man.

Much has been made that our current President is the Antichrist—he’s not. Also, George W. Bush was called the Antichrist, so apparently it goes with the job.

Just like Christ, he will be a polarizing figure while on earth.

All who opened their eyes and ears to His teaching loved Christ. Yet there were those who hated Him and wished to kill Him. God refused to step in as the free will that He has given man means so very much to Him.

The message that Christ preached was completely pure and just.

With the Antichrist, the story will be much darker. The Antichrist will be loved by all, [outside of those who have spiritual discernment]. People will be drawn to him and few will be able to find errors in the teachings of the Antichrist.

Some have said that he’ll come from a very wealthy family. Unlike Jesus who came from a middle class family. Some say that he’ll be a politician’s son or of royal blood. Christ was of royal blood. Some teach that he might be a leader in the military, to mock Christ who could call an army of angels to defend and fight for him. Some have even said that he will be a she.

Unlike Christ, who offered His words, and if you refused to hear them, that was up to you, with the Antichrist you damn well better listen to his message and no other. Because if you refuse it then you’ll suffer even to the point of death. What he’ll teach through both his words and the words of the False Prophet will be based on the lie. A lie that started in the Garden of Eden when Eve was told that man can be like God, and moved to the Sons of God who shared secret teachings to humans. To the Tower of Babel when man sought to be on the same level as God seeking to become Gods, and Babylon who taught there was more than one God to follow.

Christ performs real miracles: He raised the dead, healed the sick, made people whole, fed the hungry, and cast out demons.

The Antichrist will do the same but it won’t be through the power of God but by the work of demons. The only act he won’t copy is casting out demons, as the false religion he’ll present won’t have demons.

NEXT WEEK—More on the Antichrist.

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The Dalai Lama on Religious Harmony

A Biased Mind Cannot Grasp Reality

I am extremely delighted to attend this inter faith seminar on the Preservation of Religious Harmony, Co­existence and Universal Peace organised by the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), Ladakh group. Thank you very much for the detailed explanation of the association's history, activities, objectives and their relevance in the present century. I have nothing to add on what the speakers said earlier. But I would like to say a few things.

We are now in the twenty ­first century. The quality of research on both the inner and physical world has reached quite high levels, thanks to the tremendous stride in technological advancement and human intelligence. However, as some of the speakers said before, the world is also facing a lot of new problems, most of which are man­-made. The root cause of these man­-made problems is the inability of human beings to control their agitated minds. How to control such a state of mind is taught by the various religions of this world.

I am a religious practitioner, who follows Buddhism. More than a thousand years have passed since the great religions of the world flourished, including Buddhism. During those years, the world had witnessed a lot of conflicts, in which followers of different religions were also involved. As a religious practitioner, I acknowledge the fact that different religions of the world have provided many solutions about how to control an agitated mind. In spite of this, I still feel we have not been able to realise our full potential.

I always say that every person on this earth has the freedom to practice or not practice religion. It is all right to do either. But once you accept religion, it is extremely important to be able to focus your mind on it and sincerely practice the teachings in your daily life. All of us can see that we tend to indulge in religious favouritism by saying, "I belong to this or that religion", rather than making effort to control our agitated minds. This misuse of religion, due to our disturbed minds, also sometimes creates problems.

I know a physicist from Chile who told me that it is not appropriate for a scientist to be biased towards science because of his love and passion for it. I am a Buddhist practitioner and have a lot of faith and respect in the teachings of the Buddha. However, if I mix up my love for and attachment to Buddhism, then my mind shall be biased towards it. A biased mind, which never sees the complete picture, cannot grasp the reality. And any action that results from such a state of mind will not be in tune with reality. As such it causes a lot of problems.

According to Buddhist philosophy, happiness is the result of an enlightened mind whereas suffering is caused by a distorted mind. This is very important. A distorted mind, in contrast to an enlightened mind, is one that is not in tune with reality.

Any issue, including political, economic and religious activities human beings pursue in this world, should be fully understood before we pass our judgement. Therefore, it is very important to know the causes. Whatever the issue, we should be able to see the complete picture. This will enable us to comprehend the whole story. The teachings offered in Buddhism are based on rationality, and I think are very fruitful.

Today, a lot of people from different religious backgrounds are present here. In every religion, there are transcendent things that are beyond the grasp of our mind and speech. For example, the concept of God in Christianity and Islam and that of wisdom truth body in Buddhism are metaphysical, which is not possible for an ordinary person like us to realise. This is a common difficulty faced by every religion. It is taught in every ­religion, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, that the ultimate truth is driven by faith.

I want to emphasise that it is extremely important for practitioners to sincerely believe in their respective religions. Usually, I say that it is very important to distinguish between "belief in one religion" and "belief in many religions". The former directly contradicts the latter. Therefore, we should resolutely resolve these contradictions. This is possible only by thinking in contextual terms. A contradiction in one context might not be the same in the other. In the context of one person, a single truth is closely associated with a single source of refuge. This is of extreme necessity. However, in the context of society or more than one person it is necessary to have different sources of refuge, religions and truths.

In the past it was not a major problem because nations remained aloof from each other with their own distinct religion. However, in today's close and inter-connected world there are so many differences amongst various religions. We must obviously resolve these problems. For example, there have been a lot of religions in India for the past thousand years. Some of them were imported from outside whereas some have grown in India itself. Despite this, the fact is that these religions have been able to coexist with each other, and the principle of Ahimsa has really flourished in this country. Even today, this principle has a strong bearing on every religion. This is very precious and India should really take pride in it.

Ladakh has been a predominantly Buddhist area 'for so many centuries. But other religions such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism have also flourished here. Although it is natural for the people of Ladakh to have attachment to and love for their own religions, yet this place has a very peaceful environment with no major problems of religious intolerance. During my maiden visit to Ladakh, I heard elderly Muslims using the phrase "community of sangha" in their speeches. Although such phrases are not found in Islam, yet a reference of this kind invokes a lot of trust amongst the Buddhists. Therefore, people from different religious background in Ladakh are very close to each other and live in harmony.

As far as the Muslims are concerned it is appropriate for them to have complete devotion to Allah while praying in the mosques. This is also the same with Buddhists who are completely devoted to the Buddha when they pray in Buddhist temples. A society, which has many religions should also have many prophets and sources of refuge. In such a society it is very important to have harmony and respect amongst the different religions and their practitioners. We must distinguish between belief and respect. Belief refers to total faith, which you must have in your own religion. At the same time you should have respect for all other religions. This tradition of believing in one's own religion and having respect for others is in existence in Ladakh since your forefathers. Therefore you do not have to invent it. The most important thing at the moment is to preserve and promote this tradition. I would like to thank all of you for working hard regarding this and request you to continue to do so in the future.

If a harmonious relationship is established amongst societies and religious beliefs in today's multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural world, then it will surely set a very good example for others. However, if all the sides become careless, then there is a danger of imminent problems. In a multi­ethnic  society  the biggest problem is that of between the majority and the minority. For instance, in the capital Leh, Buddhists constitute the majority of the population whereas Muslims belong to the minority community. The majority must consider the minority as their invited guests. The minority, on the other hand, should be able to sensitise with the majority. In other words, both sides should live in harmony. In order to sustain this harmony, both sides should not take lightly the sensitive issues between themselves. Indeed, the majority should pay attention to and appreciate the views and opinion of the minority. Both sides should discuss and clearly express what they think about the other's view and opinion. The minority, on the other hand, should be careful about where the sensitive issues of the majority lies and express whatever doubts they have in their minds. If problems are resolved in such a friendly manner; then both sides will gain. Suspicion of each other will only harm both communities. Therefore, it is very important to live in harmony and analyse where the opinion of the other lies. The best way to do this is to engage in dialogue, dialogue and dialogue.

Excerpts from His Holiness the Dalai Lama's address to the inter-faith seminar organised by the International Association for Religious Freedom, Ladakh Group, in Leh on 25 August.