The Holy Land Experience
If you have always wanted to visit the Holy Land here is your chance. You can visit the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida. This interactive display will make you feel as though you have stepped back in time. Enter the walls surrounding Jerusalem and walk the streets where Jesus walked 2000 years ago.
I get goosebumps thinking of visiting the Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried. I think the experience would be humbling and awesome. I’m sure it must be an emotional experience to see the place where Christ died and rose again.
Also displayed are the Qumran Dead Sea Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. A greater insight to the intricacies of the temples and their significance is easier understood when you see the models of the Great Temple and and Wilderness Tabernacle.
Visit the Holy Land without crossing the ocean.
The way I see it… the holy land lies within and with a trained mind, you can enter it any time. Turning the Holy Land into such a materialist and consumerist concept is blasphemy and a big slap in the face of the divine intention of the scriptures.
That is an interesting thought. As listed on their website, they describe the not for profit project as follows:
“The Holy Land Experience is designed to give you a glimpse of what life was like during the time of Jesus Christ and to communicate the message of the Bible. As a not-for-profit Christian ministry, our hope is that you will grow in the knowledge of God, be challenged in your continuing search for the truth of God, and be encouraged in your faith.”
I think that any way we can get the message out to the unsaved is a good one. This project is special in that it brings realism to things we read in the Bible. It is just like having plays during vacation Bible school but on a bigger scale.
I agree, but it doesn’t change my opinion, though it helps me understand yours
I think one of the biggest problems (if not the biggest) with most religions and is that the spirituality has been largely replaced by materialism. Religion is of course more than just spirituality, it involves traditions, rituals and moral codes, but I do feel that these all originate through exercising spirituality and have been written down as a ’system’ through stories, the exemplary life of Jesus (and/or some other prophets), metaphors, and lessons.
I believe the 7 sins all stem from people’s overinvolvement in the material world, without also being involved in the spiritual. So I think sinning comes from an inherent inability of mankind to separate ourselves from the material (since we identify with our temporary, material form), and ignoring our soul’s desires – our eternal spirit.
This all leads to people taking scriptures too literal, too materialistic. Which leads to conflict, stress, and pain. I think being willing to kill yourself and innocent people by suicide bombing for a ‘higher purpose’ of materialistic nature (40 virgins in heaven, revenge, etc) is one of the most extreme examples of this.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with religion though. It offers great value to people all around the world, every minute of the day. Materialism and not being able to cut oneself lose from every day materialistic thinking however is a dangerous combination and expresses itself in overmaterialistic interpretation of spiritual lessons and scriptures.
That’s why I’m always a bit wary of things like this. Might be a cultural thing too though. I was raised in Holland and we call our culture ‘Calvinist’, meaning we don’t express too much emotion, don’t show off our successes or riches, and we are careful to not waste what we have. In the past (like in other European countries) the Dutch reformers stripped churches of statues, gold and other displays like that. I suppose this might influence my opinion on the matter too, even though I wasn’t raised as a protestant Christian.
Thanks for your reply, Karen. It’s always interesting to learn about other people’s views.
Thank you for your comment. I too appreciate the opinions of other people. You have so much wisdom at such a young age!
I think both of you are making valid arguments. But aren’t we missing the point? Isn’t reality that not religion but people believing these scriptures and moral codes who fight each other and keep on trying to prove the ‘other’ wrong.
This constant pointing and arguing about who is right will eventually bring all of us down, if we would stop saying things such as ‘The True Word of God’ or ‘Sinners’ or the ‘Unsaved’ we would be able to stop a lot of disagreements in this world. We are all sentient beings, we are all capable of thinking, why not give each other the space and opportunity to actually practice this gift we have.
In whatever way you choose, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddist, communist, capitalist or socialist (or whatever) you feel you choose right, if you can determine for yourself you are right, in a peaceful and harmonious way, to live with others, why can’t you let another choose that same path, even though it might differ on details and scriptures and cultural inheritance..
Who does bad will get bad, once energy is given it will come back, I think the saying “What goes around, comes around” is integrated in every culture I have so far encountered, which is not a quarter of what I would wish to encounter, if this is something we can all agree on, can’t we agree that the ‘bad’ ones will be punished, by whatever we will encounter in this life, the judgment or whatever.. And maybe there are ways that differ in it self but on a good/bad level are the same..? Reality is a construct of mind. But maybe the reality I have constructed is merely my own and not fitting in a world where everybody wants to be right.
I wish all, seriously, all; peace, love and harmony.
Karen thank you for writing this piece.
Yes Len. It would be a perfect world if we could just respect others’ beliefs and learn to get along. It is sad that we have wars over these things isn’t it?
I visited the real Holy Land – the land of the bible in 2005. Was an amazing trip and I do hope to be able visit again…:)
That must have been a fantastic trip. Have you blogged about it? I would love to read about it.
Hi Karen. Have not really blogged about it except I did a post on my Dead Sea experience which was part of my trip to the Holy Land. Maybe..I should consider posting about my Holy Land experience.
My Bug Lifes last blog post..Tale Of Two Great Loves