Please, read carefully the other articles in this category:
Question[1]:
“A lot of folks who end up in Shin
Buddhism here in the West have a lot of vestigial concepts from our Abrahamic
background - whether or not they were ever "believers" [in God] themselves. And they carry those vestigial ideas with them when they
start in as Buddhists. Some don't do that of course - particularly the ones who
are given to serious study, and really consider it important to know what
Shakyamuni actually taught. But as you know from your time in both the
Zen and Shin Sanghas, such study is often not the primary focus - or even as
great a focus as it is in the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist Sangha groups. […]
So, in your opinion, based on your own reading and
contemplating, is it possible for an ignorant, yet well meaning person to come
to settled shinjin (faith) if he or she has never actually studied the subject[2],
and has some mixed up ideas about eternalism stuck in his mind stream? Or is
the presence of such thoughts a necessary karmic obstacle that must directly be
addressed and removed before the person can receive Amida's gift of shinjin?”