Seen on a church sign in San Antonio, Texas:
REASON IS THE GREATEST ENEMY FAITH HAS
All I can say is, HUH?!!!??
* UPDATE: This sign validates what many of us have said about too many Christian churches today. "Leave your brain at the recepticle located by the front door. Believe only what we tell you. We know what FAITH is and how you GET it."
One of my favorite bloggers, Steve Jones, is writing again. I have reposted several of his posts here. He always has great things to say. Find Steve at: Ethical Monotheism
Great to have you back Steve!
I have been pondering what it is that makes it so difficult for traditional or fundamentalist Christians to see the truth of the Gospel of Grace, Bold Grace, UR, Universalism, or whatever you choose to call the belief that we all will return to God eventually, in the state we once were before we came here, free from all that bound us to this earthly life. And, that the reunion will successfully take place without our involvement at all.
In my opinion, one of the several difficulties, for our brothers and sisters lies in a fear of death. We are all, with very few exceptions, controlled by an ego. The ego creates an artificial self that we come to see is the real self. We believe that the ego is our source of comprehension and survival, and we look to the ego as the fountain of information about ourselves and the world. The ego brings to us the world and its meanings. We fear we would be lost without it. As our source and the object of striving, the ego is imbued with sentiment as well as the whole gamut of human feelings. We often become enamored of this entity, its roles, and its variations. The investment we have made in this self makes it too valuable to ever give it up. We become attached to this me and trust emphatically its judgement, which of course, is a grave error.
Finding that we have made this enormous lifetime investment in what we believe to be our true self, a very convincing self, we (and the self ) are incredulous to see there on the horizon of the future, the spectre of death. The awful information that this me is actually fated to come to an end is a horrible revelation for the self and for us who desperately believe in the self. The prospect of death as an ending to the me seems unfair, bizarre, unreal, and tragic. It often makes us angry and frightened. This despite the fact that the person says he/she is going to heaven.
The relinquishment of the ego self as our central focus is the only way our fear of death can be overcome. Sounds simple….NOT! To the average Christian, inspite of all the church’s teaching, all of this seems formidable. For those who finally "get it", existence is finally seen not to cease, no horrible , tragic fate is waiting if we don’t "get it right." Like the ego itself this whole story is imaginary.
Personally, I know that as I grow older, I have become used to the idea that this physical body will not last forever. That becomes more obvious with each birthday I celebrate. However, I also realize that my spirit is immortal and knows no end. What a comfort that is! I no longer fear death knowing that the me that once saw death as inevitable, now sees it as a transition not a terminus.
How many Christians do you know who say that they are not afraid of death, but their lives say otherwise?
Well folks, it’s almost that time of year again. You know, late October, harvest time, scarecrows, pumpkins, ghosts and goblins, witches, and ghouls. Deep down, I always enjoyed celebrating the arrival of Autumn (and the free candy!), even if, here in Texas, it often still feels like Summer. I guess the only objection to the celebration is the plentitude of horror movies and a concentration on violence and death instead of the true celebration. Speaking of horror, death, and violence, no wait!..It’s just the fundamentalists advertising for their "Hell Houses" again. Here’s a post from this exact date one year ago. Still very timely, thanks to the fundies.
*time for a confession: As a child, I enjoyed Halloween with my parents approval. Then came my fundamentalist days. I refused to let my children participate in this "pagan, anti-Christian" ritual. My children complained but followed their father’s direction. I sincerely apologize, guys. Now, I see the celebration in a different way after researching its origins. Check it out if you wish. Google "Samhain"
As most of you know, churches all over the country are setting up "Hell Houses" for Halloween to as they say, "scare the Hell out of kids". These "Hell Houses" come in kit form for the church to build for themselves, for only $299!! The object, of course, is to run kids through the "house", simulating Hell with all it’s horrors. Frightening them to the point that they will "accept" Christ and be "saved". I was reading in the local paper all the details about the local churches who are participating. The details, complete with pictures, almost brought tears to my eyes. The "fear" factor is the major part of this idea. How very sick this is. What kind of gospel relies on fear to gain followers? The Father and His Son must be very proud of these people. It really hurts my heart to see these tactics used on young people as a way of dispensing the "gospel". What’s wrong with this picture????
There are two possible sources of error stemming from traditional "true" religions. The first is simply misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the specific teachings of the original great teacher. Because the original listeners, or followers , were not themselves enlightened, the original teachings could have been contaminated by their egos. This then became magnified by subsequent translators and scribes down through the generations. The error often is due to the fact that the ego has a tendency to be literal in its hearing of the word rather than the spirit or essence of a teaching. Any translation that teaches anything other than peace or love just may be in error.
The second and more prevalent gross distortions are spiritual teachings which arise from what is usually referred to as "church doctrine". These regulations, often in the form of guilt-provoking prohibitions, were actually made up by church officials and supposed authorities who, in reality, had little or no claim to authority at all but instead had acquired political power in the structure of the institutions at the time.
There is no authentic or plausible reason to modify the precise teaching of an original great teacher for some ostensible gain. As obvious as it may seem, it has not been clear through the centuries that to be a Christian, for example, means simply to follow Christ’s teachings.
All the great teachers, Christ included of course, teach nonviolence, noncondemnation, and unconditional love. It is hard to see how alleged ecclesiastic authority could violate these basic truisms supposedly for "the good of the faith", or "the good of the church", or the "elimination of infidelities", or just wars.
There are many subjects not addressed in original spiritual teachings, thus creating the opportunity for fallacious religious elaborations. All kinds of ’sins’ have been invented over the centuries , with elaborate explanations and rationalizations which can only be described as sick manipulations of natural human affairs. Of course, if you believe in the "fall of man", that becomes a further justification for those ’sin’ creations. The harm that resulted was not only spiritual error but also psychological cruelty and the ’blanket’ guilt of humanity. This focus on guilt and sin further condemns human consciousness by reinforcing the dilemma of the opposites and the duality of perception. This latter destructive effect on human consciousness takes man farther away from God and creates a barrier that is transcended only by the very few who have to be almost spiritual geniuses in order to succeed in escaping the coercive trap of elaborate fallacies.
A further destructive effect of the pushing of some religious doctrines on the faithful is that it creates the very basis for terrible wars and persecutions. These are always based on religious differences which are exaggerated in importance in order to justify religiously sanctioned mayhem. These misinterpretations and deviations are especially noticable in the murky religious meddlings with sexuality, procreation, child-rearing, diet, details of daily living, customs, dress, and political power.
Wearing different kinds of clothing, hats, or facial hair is enough to fuel religious persecution or war. Circumcision, not eating meat on Fridays, saying grace before meals, and dates and details of religious holidays all become ammunition. Whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday becomes more important than the truth. whether wearing a hat or no hat shows respect for God becomes the issue. By exploiting trivialities at the cost of ignoring the main thrust of spiritual truth, religions contribute to their own downfall and that of all humanity. Much that is revered as church doctrine is really the product of the ego. Those who see sin and evil everywhere are themselves the problem.
Much of what has traditionally been described as sin is really the guilt-ridden exaggerations held in the mind of some "emotionally disturbed" church authority. Adherence to the admonition. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," would silence all the misappropriations of spiritual truth.
Collectively, these distortions of spiritual truth have paradoxically condemned both God and human nature in the name of "divinity". To usurp that authority and make pronouncements in the name of God seems rather delusional. No one who ever experienced the absolute reality of the presence of God could ever make such distorted statements.
* some ideas and concepts adapted from: "The Eye of the I", Dr. David Hawkins
I am in the process of reading a fascinating book, The Eye of the I. The author, in one section, presents a interesting thesis: The Christian religion’s level of truth has fallen dramatically since its inception.
He says that Christianity today is limited by the dearth of original teachings and this caused the progressive loss of what was written down from word of mouth teachings. There, of course, was also a loss of accuracy in translation from one language to another and misinterpretation by the scribes as well as listeners who themselves were unenlightened. He believes one can do a very informative study by researching the apparent level of consciousness of Christianity, century by century, as well as that of its various interpreters of the times. It is possible, by doing so, to even pinpoint during which year and by whose dictates the declines occurred. These can often be identified with specific events in which religious decisions were made by ecclesiastic authorities, resulting in dire consequences. The exact nature of the error can also be clearly defined and understood by interpretation of the cultural and political forces of the particular times. Compromises were made that probably seemed justified at the time and were considered to be temporary for the sake of survival but which had very unfortunate long-term consequences as they were never later corrected.
The most grievous and serious example of this, in the author’s opinion, was the great decline in the level of truth of Christianity which occurred at the time of the Council of Nicea. Christianity, which had been rated by the author at a level of truth of 900 out of a perfect 1000 on his scale, dropped over 400 points due to the inclusion of all the Old Testament with the New Testament as "The Bible", plus the inclusion of the Book of Revelation (which was not widely accepted at that time and continued to be questionable in many geographic areas of Christianity). The negativity resulting from the inclusion of the OT and the Book of Revelation is due to the anthropomorphic depictions of God as fallible, and subject to negative human emotions such as revenge, hatred, partiality, bargaining, vulnerability, wrath, destruction, pride, and vanity. This angry god of revenge had to be appeased, flattered, assuaged, and bargained with so as not to go on a destructive rampage and cast down storms, floods, fire, and pestilence. This was the exact opposite of the God of Truth, mercy, and forgiveness which Christ represented. The NT seems to imply that the god of revenge was to be replaced by the God of mercy and forgiveness. Enemies were to be prayed for and forgiven for their ignorance. This teaching was repudiated by the ancient Hebraic tradition of the God of Righteousness, Vengence, and Favoritism.
I have several questions about this thesis:
Do you see a lowering of the level of truth in Christianity from the 1st century through today?
Does the Council of Nicea’s role in the formation of the canon seem to be a political or religious role?
Does an anthropomorphic view of God "lower" Him to our level. If so, what view should we have?
Does ALL the Old Testament need to be in the Bible or would it be better to leave some out. If so, which books should be included and which books left out?
Does the Book of the Revelation deserve canon status, being that it has been so contestable and subject to various interpretations?
Was Marcion (the gnostic) really on to something when he declared that the God of the OT and the God of the NT were two different gods, given the radically different characteristics of each?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Have you ever gotten tired of hearing that worry, fear, anxiety, remorse, guilt, conflict, and distress are all a part of "normal" life, along with negative emotions, attitudes, and feelings? Some even suggest that these impedimenta are simply a result of "the fall". If someone exhibits one or more of these things, the "patient" is advised to seek a therapist to "get in touch with their feelings", rather than viewing these as an extended list of illusions which equal an "altered state" of human consciousness. We tend to think of an altered state of consciousness as an artificially produced abnormal state or something similar. When we think of pervasive negative influences in our lives, from birth, which act upon our consciousness, it becomes obvious that the mind of mankind meets the criteria of having been controlled, influenced, and, dare I say brainwashed, in a systematic and continuous manner by the very things which make up the above lists.
A child is born with the innocence of an unprogrammed consciousness, but then, like the hardware of a computer, he is systematically programmed with "software", which is societial and familial input. What the child lacks is a anti-virus program which will help him ascertain which software is really "bad" for him and which is "good". The child will innocently believe anything he is told. The unprotected consciousness of the child then becomes prey to the collective ignorance, misinformation, and fallacious belief systems which have blighted man’s capacity for happiness for the last millenia. Even as adults we are not free from virus-filled input.
The truly "normal" state of consciousness is one that is free of all negativity and instead filled with joy and love. Anything else is based on illusion and perceptual distortions. I’m afraid we as a society and as parents share the blame for allowing this to manifest in the child. Because disease prevails in a society does not mean that disease is a normal condition. Throughout history, disease has prevailed in society and, in fact, has killed off large portions of the population, but that does not mean that it is a natural condition. Even the Black Plague disappeared.
According to some research, the inaccurate, fallacious, destructive, negative, and damaging "program data" received by mankind from childhood through adulthood, equals around 78% of the total input. Now that’s disturbing! Even more disturbing is the research which shows that in some subcultures of the population, such as criminal street-gangs, the percentage is close to 100%. The total productivity of whole nations and cultures can be subverted to destructive ends. Witness the subversion of the economies of Germany and Japan during World War II, which were subverted to mass destruction, not only of innocent victims but also of their own culture. Whole countries can be reduced to rubble by propaganda that is so ignorant and fallacious that one wonders, in retrospect, how anyone could have been gullible enough to buy it, much less sacrifice their lives for it.
What is the answer to this greatest of mankind’s problem of "bad programming"? I don’t have a simple answer. I do believe that all of us must be ready to make a total, comprehensive, and sweeping change in the way we "program" our children. Therein lies the problem…..Are we willing to do this? JOY & LOVE!
Pantelism: The understanding that the Scriptures, both prophetically and redemptively, are fulfilled in their entirety in the person and work of Jesus Christ – the one to whom the whole of prophetic and redemptive history points. This fulfillment completed all Biblical eschatology, being demonstrated in Christ and His elect first-fruits saints end-of-the-age ministry, finding consummation in His prophesied Second Coming [Parousia] and Judgment upon the Old Covenant Mosaic world of the Law and Temple, circa AD70.
Christ’s coming in power was never about "the-end-of-the-world" as we know it, viz., the end of the material time-space universe. Nor was it ever about the end of the "Christian-age" followed by the endless utopian bliss of Heaven. No, Christ’s Coming, also known as ‘the Parousia’ was all about the ending of the Mosaic world of the Law for righteousness, followed by the ageless world of the Gospel of Grace – our present time [Rev 14:6].
*from the Pantelism website. Check it out…
What do you think?
I thoroughly enjoyed the following quote from our friend Jim. Dang! Wish I had thought of it first!
"It seems like most of the objections and concerns (about people’s beliefs) are based or founded on the assumption that the Bible is the verbal plenary inspired word of God. Because the two debating parties begin with different assumptions it becomes an exercise in futility."
Now, I just wish I would take it to heart!
Don’t miss Karen’s new blog, Say What?
If Hell is a place reserved for those who did not acknowledge "Jesus as their personal saviour" before their own death: 1. What happened to the six million Jews who were murdered by the order of Adolph Hitler? 2. What happened to the estimated 340,000 Muslims who have died in Darfur? 3. What happened to the estimated 300,000 people who died as a result of the Dec. 26, 2005 tsunami; most of which were most likely Muslim?
*Gerry Beauchemin’s book estimates that 98% of the people who have ever lived on earth have either rejected, have never heard of, or are indifferent to Jesus and the message of "salvation". Is that the "victory" spoken of in the Bible?
Stumble it!
