Posts
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The Bible is a collection of sixty-six small books that span many centuries. Its writers did not always know one another, and so, had some different ideas. For all human beings are unique, and each is a little different from all others. Just as the fingerprints, retinaprints, and bloodprofiles of each person are unique to that one, so are her thoughts and ideas.
I respect the fact that you are a "believer" in the Bible. I also use it almost every day, and have studied it for over thirty years.
But I know that people who are deeply religious often interpret natural events as the "actions of God." When you and I communicated recently about disease, remember, I said that they were usually simply the product of nature and behavior, and usually were not caused by either God or devil.
So, I believe that the story of Annanias, found in the book of Acts, and his wife, was a story of this kind. He suffered from a heart-attack, and died. The early Christians knew that he had tried to cheat, and so they superstitiously ascribed his death to God.
My God does not kill-- anyone,ever! For my God is Love plus nothing. The god of the Old Testament was always killing people. But this was the Jewish god, Yahweh or Jehovah. Since I am not a Jew, and certainly not an ancient Jew, I do not worship the Jewish god of ancient times.
If we trust that God is Love (and I do), then we can never be misled by the statements and interpretations of human beings. And while there are parts of the modern "Bible" that are inspired by God (Love), there are also parts that contain only human ideas. This is what Paul meant when he wrote, "This I say, and not the Lord..." This was a clear statement of what I have just said: Parts of the Bible reflect accurately the Mind of God, and parts contain human ideas about God or religion.
You already agree with part of this. For example, when one of the ancients committed a serious mistake ("sin"), Jehovah commanded, in the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament") to slaughter a bull as a sacrifice. This was a Jewish law, and appears in the Jewish Bible. But Christians do not follow this law even though it is commanded in the Bible!
Why not? Because they realize that some things said by the ancients about their god, Jehovah, do not apply to the Christian God, Who is Love. So, in reading even the Christian Scriptures ("New Testament"), we must use our God-given gifts of discernment, wisdom, and understanding. Just because someone (even a Bible-writer) says that something is from God, it does not mean that it was truly from God. If we are going to believe most fully in a God of purest Love, then we cannot accept the god of the Hebrews, who was constantly killing, committing murder, genocide, and much violence. I choose to believe in a God of purest, uncontaminated, undefiled Love. A God Who is Love cannot hate, and is never harsh towards his own children. For Love is a Fountain of infinite forgiveness; and no sin in the universe can ever be greater than God's Love (including perfect forgiveness).
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Showing posts with label God of love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God of love. Show all posts
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Jesus Christ and Religion
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Every day, we celebrate our "spiritual independence" from human doctrines, dogma, leaders, administrations, and the burdens imposed by legalism, scripturalism, and organized religion generally. What a sigh of great and sincere relief it is to realize that "belonging" to God (Love) is sufficient, and that you need "belong" to no formal Church; after all, Jesus belonged to none; for, during his day, not a single one of the many churches and denominations of our time even existed! Jesus was not even a "Christian," for that word had not been created until after his death. Also, he clearly was not accepted as a religious Jew, as the high priest and other orthodox leaders conspired in his murder.
So, he was neither religious Jew nor Christian (although he was genetically and culturally Jewish). He was a human being, without labels, in search of the treasure of the interior God of Love, which he discovered and sought to share with others.
Happy Independence Day, every day!:):)
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Every day, we celebrate our "spiritual independence" from human doctrines, dogma, leaders, administrations, and the burdens imposed by legalism, scripturalism, and organized religion generally. What a sigh of great and sincere relief it is to realize that "belonging" to God (Love) is sufficient, and that you need "belong" to no formal Church; after all, Jesus belonged to none; for, during his day, not a single one of the many churches and denominations of our time even existed! Jesus was not even a "Christian," for that word had not been created until after his death. Also, he clearly was not accepted as a religious Jew, as the high priest and other orthodox leaders conspired in his murder.
So, he was neither religious Jew nor Christian (although he was genetically and culturally Jewish). He was a human being, without labels, in search of the treasure of the interior God of Love, which he discovered and sought to share with others.
Happy Independence Day, every day!:):)
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Monday, March 31, 2008
Do Mystics, Jews, and Muslims Worship the Same God?
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It is "politically correct" to act as if all faiths worship the exact same God. While mystics, of course, support intercultural and interfaith exchanges, and mutual support, of all kinds, it would betray the truths of history to pretend that all godimages (and there have been many) are equal and "the same."
The God of the Enlightenment Tradition-- in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and many Eastern faiths-- is Love plus nothing. This is the God that needs to be recognized by our poor little tiny nanoplanet if it is to survive, and if we are to create and maintain peace.
A careful study of both history and Scripture, if it is objective, will prove beyond reasonable doubt that this God of purest Love has not been the traditional, historical, or Scriptural god of many traditions. For these gods have actively participated in warfare, genocides, bigotries, and other acts of stupidity and terrible violence. None of this could ever have been countenanced, or tolerated, by the sweet Lord of purest Love. For He/She has nothing to do with the godimages of traditional culture, which were formulated often by soldiers and/or very primitive, backwards, and sometimes even antispiritual, people.
The being of Love has always been forced into a corner, to make a choice:
For it is impossible consistently to continue to accept godimages of the society/culture and, at the same time, truly to accept and welcome, with all your heartmind, the Lord or Lady of pure Love.
So, as usual, the person of enlightenment cannot simply go along with the crowd. For, in almost every church and religion, there exists an alarming absence of discrimination. In some, the godimage is so violent and evil that it is virtually indistinguishable from the "devil" image, although true believers always deny this.
But to cleanse our personal heartminds, and, ultimately, our poor little world, we, the people of Love, cannot compromise on this important matter.
This is true even though we generally always prefer the peaceful path of compromise to the unproductive, harmful path of confrontation. And, holding the truth in our hearts, we are still, and always, never interested in confrontation.
So, dear friends, let us insist, even in the face of enormous ignorance, that "God" cannot and must not be reduced to the common godimages of backwards, primitive cultures. Let us instead stand up for our right to believe in, and to worship, a God that is illimitable, immeasurable, quite beyond the human mind. And even though this God is beyond our imagination, we rest fully assured that She/He is the sum total of all the Love in all the heartminds on all the inhabited planets in all the galaxies.
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It is "politically correct" to act as if all faiths worship the exact same God. While mystics, of course, support intercultural and interfaith exchanges, and mutual support, of all kinds, it would betray the truths of history to pretend that all godimages (and there have been many) are equal and "the same."
The God of the Enlightenment Tradition-- in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and many Eastern faiths-- is Love plus nothing. This is the God that needs to be recognized by our poor little tiny nanoplanet if it is to survive, and if we are to create and maintain peace.
A careful study of both history and Scripture, if it is objective, will prove beyond reasonable doubt that this God of purest Love has not been the traditional, historical, or Scriptural god of many traditions. For these gods have actively participated in warfare, genocides, bigotries, and other acts of stupidity and terrible violence. None of this could ever have been countenanced, or tolerated, by the sweet Lord of purest Love. For He/She has nothing to do with the godimages of traditional culture, which were formulated often by soldiers and/or very primitive, backwards, and sometimes even antispiritual, people.
The being of Love has always been forced into a corner, to make a choice:
For it is impossible consistently to continue to accept godimages of the society/culture and, at the same time, truly to accept and welcome, with all your heartmind, the Lord or Lady of pure Love.
So, as usual, the person of enlightenment cannot simply go along with the crowd. For, in almost every church and religion, there exists an alarming absence of discrimination. In some, the godimage is so violent and evil that it is virtually indistinguishable from the "devil" image, although true believers always deny this.
But to cleanse our personal heartminds, and, ultimately, our poor little world, we, the people of Love, cannot compromise on this important matter.
This is true even though we generally always prefer the peaceful path of compromise to the unproductive, harmful path of confrontation. And, holding the truth in our hearts, we are still, and always, never interested in confrontation.
So, dear friends, let us insist, even in the face of enormous ignorance, that "God" cannot and must not be reduced to the common godimages of backwards, primitive cultures. Let us instead stand up for our right to believe in, and to worship, a God that is illimitable, immeasurable, quite beyond the human mind. And even though this God is beyond our imagination, we rest fully assured that She/He is the sum total of all the Love in all the heartminds on all the inhabited planets in all the galaxies.
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Spiritual Blindness
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Those with absolutely zero spiritual insight, who understand absolutely nothing about God, and very little about the Scriptures, are "blind" in their hearts. Yet-- often for money or fame-- they have set themselves up as religious leaders. This is based, not on their ability to love, but upon some shallow academic degree. They have failed to see God as Love, and hence, are "spiritually " blind. This is, by far, the very worst kind of blindness, for it affects not just the body, but the Soul.
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Those with absolutely zero spiritual insight, who understand absolutely nothing about God, and very little about the Scriptures, are "blind" in their hearts. Yet-- often for money or fame-- they have set themselves up as religious leaders. This is based, not on their ability to love, but upon some shallow academic degree. They have failed to see God as Love, and hence, are "spiritually " blind. This is, by far, the very worst kind of blindness, for it affects not just the body, but the Soul.
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Sunday, July 15, 2007
Misled Teachings of the Church
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There are a number of ideas that have come down to us in history as "Christian," which do not mirror or reflect the teachings of Jesus.
Among these are moral behaviors. The greed of the Church has, for centuries, been shameless. It has abused the poor, contrary to Jesus' Love for them, and has filled its own coffers with unimaginable wealth.
The official Church has also supported nightmarish murder in wars, notably the Crusades, in which tens or hundreds of thousands of Muslim sisters and brothers were massacred and slaughtered.
The official Church also supported torture and murder during the time of the notorious Inquisition. Women, especially, were murdered in ghastly ways. Thousands died, and much of their land went to the Church.
During the Middle Ages, popes, priests, and others in the Church supported political intrigues, assassinations, and wars for power.
Besides all this, the Church has returned to the worship of the ancient Hebrew god, when Jesus tried to replace this illusion with the adoration of a Lord of purest Love. Because of this error, almost every official teaching of the Church has been affected.
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There are a number of ideas that have come down to us in history as "Christian," which do not mirror or reflect the teachings of Jesus.
Among these are moral behaviors. The greed of the Church has, for centuries, been shameless. It has abused the poor, contrary to Jesus' Love for them, and has filled its own coffers with unimaginable wealth.
The official Church has also supported nightmarish murder in wars, notably the Crusades, in which tens or hundreds of thousands of Muslim sisters and brothers were massacred and slaughtered.
The official Church also supported torture and murder during the time of the notorious Inquisition. Women, especially, were murdered in ghastly ways. Thousands died, and much of their land went to the Church.
During the Middle Ages, popes, priests, and others in the Church supported political intrigues, assassinations, and wars for power.
Besides all this, the Church has returned to the worship of the ancient Hebrew god, when Jesus tried to replace this illusion with the adoration of a Lord of purest Love. Because of this error, almost every official teaching of the Church has been affected.
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Sunday, May 20, 2007
Our Response to God
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God does not command us to join any particular church to find salvation from the lower nature, darkness, or ignorance generally. Indeed, most people, throughout all of history, were unable to join modern churches, because they did not exist!
It is part of this enlightenment to recognize that the ancient Jewish community, that of the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament"), worshipped a different god than the Lord of Love proclaimed by Jesus. Yes, Paul and some other early Christians did apply certain Hebrew texts about "God" to God, but this was so because they were intelligent proselytizers: The Jews of the time were enormously popular and powerful, and the early Christians were interested in making peace, not war, with the Jewish community. But Jesus was murdered because he taught that Jehovah was not the God of the entire universe; the Lord of Love was. In teaching that God was Love, Jesus taught a different, and universal, God-- a God for all people.
Jehovah was the local tribal god of the Israelis only. That is why they were so shocked when Christianity was offered to the Gentiles-- non-Jewish peoples. Had Christianity arisen in Greece, the early texts about Zeus would have been applied to the true God. Had the faith arisen in India, Christians would have applied the ancient texts about Brahman to the true God. For these Christians were, first, very smart; and second, they treasured peace, almost above all.
When Jesus taught that God was Love, he implicitly taught, enfolded within this larger teaching, a God who passionately longed, yearned, for the salvation of all His children. God was not the reticent Jehovah, who barely put up with human beings, or regarded them, as the "prophet" Isaiah said, as "grasshoppers."
No, the Lord of Love passionately, and profoundly, loved all His children, and was delighted when any one of them turned her life over to Him, trusting Him implicitly, without holding anything back.
What, then, should we do in response to this beautiful Lord of Love? We must live in Love twenty-four seven. This does not mean that we will become flawless or perfect. For, even while living "out of" our higher Nature, we will still have to contend with the lower. For that is the task, mission, or assignment of earth. But we can hold Love in our minds, to guide us, first in every situation. We can communicate (pray)
"without ceasing" to this interior Love. (Compare 1 Thes. 5:17)
Living in this purest Love was what early Christians meant when they recommended to "let Christ into your heart." For we must recognize the interior Christ of Love as our only "Master," and follow Love in every act, word, and thought in our lives-- as far as possible for imperfect beings. We must recognize that salvation (being "saved" from the lower nature and ignorance) comes only from the Christ, that interior Spirit of purest Love.
And, as far, and as often, as possible, we must turn to deep interior (sometimes wordless) prayer or meditation. We must begin by loving the Lord within our hearts with a blazing and exquisitely lovely intensity that wipes away every other priority.
We must awaken to the great truth that the only way to love God is by loving ourselves, other people, and other creatures. This will bring a life packed with joy, peace, and fun-- as God's many rewards begin to live in our hearts. We will have a clear conscience, not because we have never made mistakes, but because they are all forgiven. Jesus, in fact, was always getting into trouble for saying to people, often
strangers, "All your sins are forgiven."
This same wonderful message is a part of the interior communication of the Christ-spirit within our deeper Mind. First comes forgiveness, then rebirth-- as a son or daughter of God. For, as we reflect the genetics of our natural bioparents, we also reflect the image and likeness of God, in which we were created. We begin to manifest, among others, the nine "fruits of the Spirit" of Galatians 5:22, 23.
Like a tree, we produce these "fruits," not because we are smarter or better than others, but because God has smiled his tender Love upon us, through grace. Every minute, we must invite Love to take over our lives, and we must give ourselves over entirely to Its amazing and magnificent control. We must "obey God as ruler, rather than man," as it states in the book of Acts (5:24).
This means that we must become spiritually independent. We can no longer follow any guru, priest,pastor, or preacher. We follow only the Love of our hearts, which is perfect guidance. For, whatever else that you do or do not do, you cannot go wrong if you follow the Way of Love for all-- including the Way of harnmlessness. For, deep down, Love is all that we really want to do. It is all that we have ever wanted to do.
*******
God does not command us to join any particular church to find salvation from the lower nature, darkness, or ignorance generally. Indeed, most people, throughout all of history, were unable to join modern churches, because they did not exist!
It is part of this enlightenment to recognize that the ancient Jewish community, that of the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament"), worshipped a different god than the Lord of Love proclaimed by Jesus. Yes, Paul and some other early Christians did apply certain Hebrew texts about "God" to God, but this was so because they were intelligent proselytizers: The Jews of the time were enormously popular and powerful, and the early Christians were interested in making peace, not war, with the Jewish community. But Jesus was murdered because he taught that Jehovah was not the God of the entire universe; the Lord of Love was. In teaching that God was Love, Jesus taught a different, and universal, God-- a God for all people.
Jehovah was the local tribal god of the Israelis only. That is why they were so shocked when Christianity was offered to the Gentiles-- non-Jewish peoples. Had Christianity arisen in Greece, the early texts about Zeus would have been applied to the true God. Had the faith arisen in India, Christians would have applied the ancient texts about Brahman to the true God. For these Christians were, first, very smart; and second, they treasured peace, almost above all.
When Jesus taught that God was Love, he implicitly taught, enfolded within this larger teaching, a God who passionately longed, yearned, for the salvation of all His children. God was not the reticent Jehovah, who barely put up with human beings, or regarded them, as the "prophet" Isaiah said, as "grasshoppers."
No, the Lord of Love passionately, and profoundly, loved all His children, and was delighted when any one of them turned her life over to Him, trusting Him implicitly, without holding anything back.
What, then, should we do in response to this beautiful Lord of Love? We must live in Love twenty-four seven. This does not mean that we will become flawless or perfect. For, even while living "out of" our higher Nature, we will still have to contend with the lower. For that is the task, mission, or assignment of earth. But we can hold Love in our minds, to guide us, first in every situation. We can communicate (pray)
"without ceasing" to this interior Love. (Compare 1 Thes. 5:17)
Living in this purest Love was what early Christians meant when they recommended to "let Christ into your heart." For we must recognize the interior Christ of Love as our only "Master," and follow Love in every act, word, and thought in our lives-- as far as possible for imperfect beings. We must recognize that salvation (being "saved" from the lower nature and ignorance) comes only from the Christ, that interior Spirit of purest Love.
And, as far, and as often, as possible, we must turn to deep interior (sometimes wordless) prayer or meditation. We must begin by loving the Lord within our hearts with a blazing and exquisitely lovely intensity that wipes away every other priority.
We must awaken to the great truth that the only way to love God is by loving ourselves, other people, and other creatures. This will bring a life packed with joy, peace, and fun-- as God's many rewards begin to live in our hearts. We will have a clear conscience, not because we have never made mistakes, but because they are all forgiven. Jesus, in fact, was always getting into trouble for saying to people, often
strangers, "All your sins are forgiven."
This same wonderful message is a part of the interior communication of the Christ-spirit within our deeper Mind. First comes forgiveness, then rebirth-- as a son or daughter of God. For, as we reflect the genetics of our natural bioparents, we also reflect the image and likeness of God, in which we were created. We begin to manifest, among others, the nine "fruits of the Spirit" of Galatians 5:22, 23.
Like a tree, we produce these "fruits," not because we are smarter or better than others, but because God has smiled his tender Love upon us, through grace. Every minute, we must invite Love to take over our lives, and we must give ourselves over entirely to Its amazing and magnificent control. We must "obey God as ruler, rather than man," as it states in the book of Acts (5:24).
This means that we must become spiritually independent. We can no longer follow any guru, priest,pastor, or preacher. We follow only the Love of our hearts, which is perfect guidance. For, whatever else that you do or do not do, you cannot go wrong if you follow the Way of Love for all-- including the Way of harnmlessness. For, deep down, Love is all that we really want to do. It is all that we have ever wanted to do.
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Sunday, May 06, 2007
Mystics and the Ancient Hebrew Bible
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You probably meant the quotation, "I came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them." Jesus' intent was not to "destroy" the faith of good and sincere Jews. Many of their Scriptural texts were applied, by early Christians, to him. And many of their laws were good, sound, and even borderline spiritual. For example, they prohibited stealing and murder.
Within a couple of centuries, certain of Jesus' early followers remembered that he taught that the Jewish "Jehovah" was not the Christian God. The latter was Love Itself, something never claimed for the very conditional, violent, murderous, warlike god of the Jews.
But these so-called "Gnostic" Christians did not think that Jesus went far enough. They taught that the Jehovah of the Jews was not just a human-fabricated illusion, having nothing to do with the God of Love, but that he was a demon. Since he created this world, then this entire world was evil. So was everything in it-- the senses, good food, sexuality, beauty (rainbows, roses, kittens, puppies, the human body). These fanatic ascetics hated and feared everything. Thus, they left behind and denied Jesus' message of moderation.
These foolish people went even further: They said that, since the Hebrew Scriptures were written by a demon, and they still contained such good and healthy commands as, "Thou shalt not kill," and, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," it was the duty of a good Christian both to kill and to commit adultery.
These insane people were among the evil and ignorant Gnostics of the first two centuries. One "teacher," named Carpocrates, became infamous for this rationalization and justification of every kind of evil and hurtful behavior. He was clearly insane, and others, equally insane, joined his cult.
These "cap G" Gnostics had nothing to do with "small g" gnostics, who were true mystics. They just stole their name, based upon the text of John 17:3, which says, "This is timeless life, to know You [God] and Jesus Christ, whom You emanated." This "knowing" was the mystical and immediate knowing of God as purest Love.
The Carpocratian Gnostics wanted to "destroy the Law." But, because Jesus knew that some parts of the Jewish Law were good, healthy, healing, sound, and could help live a more Love-based life, he did not come to "destroy" these good laws. Still, he did know, and teach, as did the early Christian Marcion (about the year 140) that the "god" of the Hebrews was not the universal Lord of Love. This is why Christianity held that there was "one true God" for all people, not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well.
When Christianity came to the world, it was a step forward in human spiritual evolution. It "fulfilled," or made unnecessary, the entire Hebrew Scriptures, although fundies will heatedly deny this. For the god of the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament") was a god of war, violence, punishment, and unforgiveness.
Modern "Christian" fundies usually do not realize this all-important fact, but they continue to assume that the god of the Hebrew Scriptures was the God of Christ and Christians. That is why the terrible violence, war, and mass-murders ascribed to "god" in those Scriptures is so confusing to them. They insist on hanging on to the "Bible" that was done away with, or "fulfilled," by Jesus Christ. When you know the interior Christ of pure Love, you no longer need the Scriptures of an ancient, primitive, backwards people of another faith. (Judaism and Christianity are, after all, different religions, although this is simply a historical fact, and does not really matter to the enlightened person.)
Early Christians abandoned completely the sacrifices of animals for sins, and dozens of other customs and laws of the Jews, which were many (as found in the book of Leviticus). When they abandoned all these laws, they also deserted the Bible of the Hebrews. And, leaving behind that Bible, they did not take long to renounce the false god of violence, anger, bloodthirstiness, and confusion.
*******
You probably meant the quotation, "I came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them." Jesus' intent was not to "destroy" the faith of good and sincere Jews. Many of their Scriptural texts were applied, by early Christians, to him. And many of their laws were good, sound, and even borderline spiritual. For example, they prohibited stealing and murder.
Within a couple of centuries, certain of Jesus' early followers remembered that he taught that the Jewish "Jehovah" was not the Christian God. The latter was Love Itself, something never claimed for the very conditional, violent, murderous, warlike god of the Jews.
But these so-called "Gnostic" Christians did not think that Jesus went far enough. They taught that the Jehovah of the Jews was not just a human-fabricated illusion, having nothing to do with the God of Love, but that he was a demon. Since he created this world, then this entire world was evil. So was everything in it-- the senses, good food, sexuality, beauty (rainbows, roses, kittens, puppies, the human body). These fanatic ascetics hated and feared everything. Thus, they left behind and denied Jesus' message of moderation.
These foolish people went even further: They said that, since the Hebrew Scriptures were written by a demon, and they still contained such good and healthy commands as, "Thou shalt not kill," and, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," it was the duty of a good Christian both to kill and to commit adultery.
These insane people were among the evil and ignorant Gnostics of the first two centuries. One "teacher," named Carpocrates, became infamous for this rationalization and justification of every kind of evil and hurtful behavior. He was clearly insane, and others, equally insane, joined his cult.
These "cap G" Gnostics had nothing to do with "small g" gnostics, who were true mystics. They just stole their name, based upon the text of John 17:3, which says, "This is timeless life, to know You [God] and Jesus Christ, whom You emanated." This "knowing" was the mystical and immediate knowing of God as purest Love.
The Carpocratian Gnostics wanted to "destroy the Law." But, because Jesus knew that some parts of the Jewish Law were good, healthy, healing, sound, and could help live a more Love-based life, he did not come to "destroy" these good laws. Still, he did know, and teach, as did the early Christian Marcion (about the year 140) that the "god" of the Hebrews was not the universal Lord of Love. This is why Christianity held that there was "one true God" for all people, not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well.
When Christianity came to the world, it was a step forward in human spiritual evolution. It "fulfilled," or made unnecessary, the entire Hebrew Scriptures, although fundies will heatedly deny this. For the god of the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament") was a god of war, violence, punishment, and unforgiveness.
Modern "Christian" fundies usually do not realize this all-important fact, but they continue to assume that the god of the Hebrew Scriptures was the God of Christ and Christians. That is why the terrible violence, war, and mass-murders ascribed to "god" in those Scriptures is so confusing to them. They insist on hanging on to the "Bible" that was done away with, or "fulfilled," by Jesus Christ. When you know the interior Christ of pure Love, you no longer need the Scriptures of an ancient, primitive, backwards people of another faith. (Judaism and Christianity are, after all, different religions, although this is simply a historical fact, and does not really matter to the enlightened person.)
Early Christians abandoned completely the sacrifices of animals for sins, and dozens of other customs and laws of the Jews, which were many (as found in the book of Leviticus). When they abandoned all these laws, they also deserted the Bible of the Hebrews. And, leaving behind that Bible, they did not take long to renounce the false god of violence, anger, bloodthirstiness, and confusion.
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Sunday, March 18, 2007
The "Dangerous" Teaching of Grace
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The text about which you ask is one of my favorites. It is John 12:32, where Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I shall draw all unto myself."
In the ancient Greek, the phrase "all" is a rendition of pantou anthropou, and means literally "all men," or "all people." This is one of several Christian Greek Scriptural ("New Testament") texts that imply the universality of salvation. So, with some Christians, it is not very popular or beloved.
Salvation, the Scriptures make absolutely clear, does not come to us because we are "better" than others, because we work harder, or because we know more. No, all salvation has only one single Source, and that is the free gift of grace. This comes from the non-judgmental heart of God. Jesus said, "The Father judges no one."
We are saved from the lower nature, from pain, ignorance, hatred, and even death by this great and unlimited gift. Over and over, the Scriptural texts of the Christians use the Greek word charis ("grace") to refer to this enormous and immense gift. This gift originates, not with our behavior, or even our choice, but is rooted solidly, and exclusively, in the horizonless Love of God.
So, as with many deep questions, we are forced yet again into the great pleasure of examining the Love of God. First and foremost, we must ask whether this Love is limited or unlimited.
I think that you will be happy to agree with me, and with the Scriptures, that God's Love is unlimited. In fact, It is so illimitable that a "limit" on Love is a "limit" to God. This makes God a twisted, distorted limited thing; and It is no longer God, by simple definition. For, because "God is Love," this Love must be also unlimited, since a "limited God" is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. God must forever be
recognized as both unlimited and illimitable.
But can it ever be fair that Jesus draws unto Himself "all men"? Yes, it can be fair if not all people are drawn at the same time. Jesus himself illustrated the situation in a parable like this:
A rich man agreed to hire people to work in a field for one hundred dollars a day. People came to him all during the day-- some came at 9 am, others at noon, others not until three, and others not til the very end of the day, at 5 pm.
When he started to pay them, the ones who had come early were delighted and excited to see the "five-o'clockers" get a hundred bucks. For, they thought, we shall certainly get a lot more, since we began the day much earlier. But when they were paid, they grumbled and complained, since they received only a hundred dollars.
Early in the day, they were thrilled, because a hundred dollars was pretty good money; but they felt ripped off now, because the employer paid them now "only" a hundred dollars! But Jesus pointed out that the man had been fair and just: He had promised a hundred dollars, and he had given a hundred dollars.
So it is with the kingdom of heaven: God gives the same grace to everyone, whether she was enlightened a thousand years ago, or just this morning. God has promised grace (including total forgiveness) to all, and He gives it freely and equally to all. Some, especially super-religious types, do not have sufficient Love in their hearts. They grumble and complain, despite the wonderful fact that they also are receiving the abundance of God's free gift-- this very same grace.
They do not want God to "pay" all people the same salary; they feel that they deserve more, as they might work harder and longer. But, as Jesus said, the money belongs to the rich man; he can give it to whomever he chooses.
Often, religious types do not just bitch and complain that the later workers are being paid the same amount; they do not want God to "pay" the later workers at all. In fact, they teach that their "god"-- worse than any devil or demon-- wants to torture in horrible agony his own misled children.
For, as noted, perfect grace is also perfect forgiveness. Many do not come to God until very "late in the day," and some have not found a relationship with Him even yet. But God has forever to educate his children, and we also have forever to learn. So, no one is really in a big hurry.
Our challenge is to cultivate a grace-reflecting Love which is like the Love of God. (In fact, all real Love is God living within and through us.) Then, we will welcome with smiles and loving hearts those who turn to God (Love) and receive of his grace, exactly the same as we have received of it.
All salvation comes from grace. This is such a "dangerous" teaching that the cult to which I used to belong, Jehovah's Witnesses, have completely removed the word "grace" from their Bible. It does not appear a single time.
Many religious people want to ignore or even deny the Power of grace. They do not believe that it is fair; but Love goes far, far beyond fairness. The disciple James wrote, "Mercy exults triumphantly over justice."
God does indeed believe in justice, but Love can go much further than
mere justice or fairness. Grace is an undeserved or unearned gift. No
one really "deserves" it. It is the overflow of the galactic Love of the
Supreme heart. And, because it is from God (Love), It misses nothing and
no one.
*******
The text about which you ask is one of my favorites. It is John 12:32, where Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I shall draw all unto myself."
In the ancient Greek, the phrase "all" is a rendition of pantou anthropou, and means literally "all men," or "all people." This is one of several Christian Greek Scriptural ("New Testament") texts that imply the universality of salvation. So, with some Christians, it is not very popular or beloved.
Salvation, the Scriptures make absolutely clear, does not come to us because we are "better" than others, because we work harder, or because we know more. No, all salvation has only one single Source, and that is the free gift of grace. This comes from the non-judgmental heart of God. Jesus said, "The Father judges no one."
We are saved from the lower nature, from pain, ignorance, hatred, and even death by this great and unlimited gift. Over and over, the Scriptural texts of the Christians use the Greek word charis ("grace") to refer to this enormous and immense gift. This gift originates, not with our behavior, or even our choice, but is rooted solidly, and exclusively, in the horizonless Love of God.
So, as with many deep questions, we are forced yet again into the great pleasure of examining the Love of God. First and foremost, we must ask whether this Love is limited or unlimited.
I think that you will be happy to agree with me, and with the Scriptures, that God's Love is unlimited. In fact, It is so illimitable that a "limit" on Love is a "limit" to God. This makes God a twisted, distorted limited thing; and It is no longer God, by simple definition. For, because "God is Love," this Love must be also unlimited, since a "limited God" is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. God must forever be
recognized as both unlimited and illimitable.
But can it ever be fair that Jesus draws unto Himself "all men"? Yes, it can be fair if not all people are drawn at the same time. Jesus himself illustrated the situation in a parable like this:
A rich man agreed to hire people to work in a field for one hundred dollars a day. People came to him all during the day-- some came at 9 am, others at noon, others not until three, and others not til the very end of the day, at 5 pm.
When he started to pay them, the ones who had come early were delighted and excited to see the "five-o'clockers" get a hundred bucks. For, they thought, we shall certainly get a lot more, since we began the day much earlier. But when they were paid, they grumbled and complained, since they received only a hundred dollars.
Early in the day, they were thrilled, because a hundred dollars was pretty good money; but they felt ripped off now, because the employer paid them now "only" a hundred dollars! But Jesus pointed out that the man had been fair and just: He had promised a hundred dollars, and he had given a hundred dollars.
So it is with the kingdom of heaven: God gives the same grace to everyone, whether she was enlightened a thousand years ago, or just this morning. God has promised grace (including total forgiveness) to all, and He gives it freely and equally to all. Some, especially super-religious types, do not have sufficient Love in their hearts. They grumble and complain, despite the wonderful fact that they also are receiving the abundance of God's free gift-- this very same grace.
They do not want God to "pay" all people the same salary; they feel that they deserve more, as they might work harder and longer. But, as Jesus said, the money belongs to the rich man; he can give it to whomever he chooses.
Often, religious types do not just bitch and complain that the later workers are being paid the same amount; they do not want God to "pay" the later workers at all. In fact, they teach that their "god"-- worse than any devil or demon-- wants to torture in horrible agony his own misled children.
For, as noted, perfect grace is also perfect forgiveness. Many do not come to God until very "late in the day," and some have not found a relationship with Him even yet. But God has forever to educate his children, and we also have forever to learn. So, no one is really in a big hurry.
Our challenge is to cultivate a grace-reflecting Love which is like the Love of God. (In fact, all real Love is God living within and through us.) Then, we will welcome with smiles and loving hearts those who turn to God (Love) and receive of his grace, exactly the same as we have received of it.
All salvation comes from grace. This is such a "dangerous" teaching that the cult to which I used to belong, Jehovah's Witnesses, have completely removed the word "grace" from their Bible. It does not appear a single time.
Many religious people want to ignore or even deny the Power of grace. They do not believe that it is fair; but Love goes far, far beyond fairness. The disciple James wrote, "Mercy exults triumphantly over justice."
God does indeed believe in justice, but Love can go much further than
mere justice or fairness. Grace is an undeserved or unearned gift. No
one really "deserves" it. It is the overflow of the galactic Love of the
Supreme heart. And, because it is from God (Love), It misses nothing and
no one.
*******
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Faith, Love, and Justice
*******
Faith and Love, although deeply related, are not quite identically the same thing. The world tests both, every day.
Faith is the absolute certainty that an invisible Power exists and is a part of our lives, and cares for us. This "faith" can actually be simply the product of close and careful observation.
For there are so very many things that occur that we do not, and cannot, influence or control. We must have a kind of "faith" that the sun will rise tomorrow, and there is absolutely nothing that we can do either to prevent this, or to make it happen. We must have a similar faith that the sun, water, and soil will create fruits and vegetables. Then, we must have faith that this miracle-- the creation of delicious foods from water, dirt, and sunlight, will create blood, bones, teeth, eyes, and skin from tomatoes and watermelons.
We must also have faith that our bodies will take in oxygen, and use it in a thousand ways to support our biochemistry. We must have faith that thousands of biochemical processes will occur in our bodies.
To show just how complex these processes are, scientists estimate that to describe all the processes occurring in your body in one single second would require forty-seven large volumes of fine print!
Everyone has these kinds of faith-- even a person who claims that she is a total atheist, and has no faith in anything.
But when it comes to Christian faith, we must add another factor. We, as Christians, must develop a very special faith. This is faith in Love.
In a world that can be, and often is, quite horrible, we must believe that Love (God) is in charge of absolutely everything. We must believe, to put it colloquially, that "He's got the whole world in His hands."
This is the Christian, and general mystical, belief in God as Love. In a world whose major purpose is the outworking of negative karma, there is so much suffering. The Buddha said, for example, that "life is suffering," and we have all suffered in this world-- some more, some less.
The question is this: How can we live in such a nightmarish world, and still believe that Love is in charge and control of the whole show?
The only answer lies in karma. I have quite carefully studied, over the past forty years, every Christian "explanation," and many varieties of Christian faith. (I have attended the churches of forty-seven Christian sects and denominations.) I have also read widely in Christian literature.
One amazing fact that I discovered, which will be denied out of ignorance by many Christians, was that, until the second century after Jesus, reincarnation was a staple of Christian belief. Before the great Corruption of the fourth century, almost every Christian in the world accepted reincarnation as fact.
There is a lot of "blah-blah" about "the will of God," but that phrase means nothing if you cannot explain why the "will of God" includes so much horror and agony for living creatures.
Karma says that nothing happens at random. If we suffer, we are helping, at a soul-level of deep mind, to create that suffering. It is bringing justice to the cosmos; it is also teaching all to love-- often, by showing the "hell" of its absence.
This is a universe of harmony. God or Love never creates suffering, but God allows it to create growth and progress in all of God's children. Earth is such a painful mess because it is a planet full of "kindergarteners" or "pre-schoolers" spiritually. Among many human beings, there is zero interest in spirituality (Love), and so, the cycles of karma continue, for only Love can ever erase or neutralize karma.
This letter, then, is the result of over four decades of looking for an answer that makes sense. Honestly, if I can ever find a better answer than karma, I will drop and throw away karma, and embrace the new answer!
*******
Faith and Love, although deeply related, are not quite identically the same thing. The world tests both, every day.
Faith is the absolute certainty that an invisible Power exists and is a part of our lives, and cares for us. This "faith" can actually be simply the product of close and careful observation.
For there are so very many things that occur that we do not, and cannot, influence or control. We must have a kind of "faith" that the sun will rise tomorrow, and there is absolutely nothing that we can do either to prevent this, or to make it happen. We must have a similar faith that the sun, water, and soil will create fruits and vegetables. Then, we must have faith that this miracle-- the creation of delicious foods from water, dirt, and sunlight, will create blood, bones, teeth, eyes, and skin from tomatoes and watermelons.
We must also have faith that our bodies will take in oxygen, and use it in a thousand ways to support our biochemistry. We must have faith that thousands of biochemical processes will occur in our bodies.
To show just how complex these processes are, scientists estimate that to describe all the processes occurring in your body in one single second would require forty-seven large volumes of fine print!
Everyone has these kinds of faith-- even a person who claims that she is a total atheist, and has no faith in anything.
But when it comes to Christian faith, we must add another factor. We, as Christians, must develop a very special faith. This is faith in Love.
In a world that can be, and often is, quite horrible, we must believe that Love (God) is in charge of absolutely everything. We must believe, to put it colloquially, that "He's got the whole world in His hands."
This is the Christian, and general mystical, belief in God as Love. In a world whose major purpose is the outworking of negative karma, there is so much suffering. The Buddha said, for example, that "life is suffering," and we have all suffered in this world-- some more, some less.
The question is this: How can we live in such a nightmarish world, and still believe that Love is in charge and control of the whole show?
The only answer lies in karma. I have quite carefully studied, over the past forty years, every Christian "explanation," and many varieties of Christian faith. (I have attended the churches of forty-seven Christian sects and denominations.) I have also read widely in Christian literature.
One amazing fact that I discovered, which will be denied out of ignorance by many Christians, was that, until the second century after Jesus, reincarnation was a staple of Christian belief. Before the great Corruption of the fourth century, almost every Christian in the world accepted reincarnation as fact.
There is a lot of "blah-blah" about "the will of God," but that phrase means nothing if you cannot explain why the "will of God" includes so much horror and agony for living creatures.
Karma says that nothing happens at random. If we suffer, we are helping, at a soul-level of deep mind, to create that suffering. It is bringing justice to the cosmos; it is also teaching all to love-- often, by showing the "hell" of its absence.
This is a universe of harmony. God or Love never creates suffering, but God allows it to create growth and progress in all of God's children. Earth is such a painful mess because it is a planet full of "kindergarteners" or "pre-schoolers" spiritually. Among many human beings, there is zero interest in spirituality (Love), and so, the cycles of karma continue, for only Love can ever erase or neutralize karma.
This letter, then, is the result of over four decades of looking for an answer that makes sense. Honestly, if I can ever find a better answer than karma, I will drop and throw away karma, and embrace the new answer!
*******
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