It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.....Galatians 5:1
Exposing the Ego ~ A Deeper Look at Jesus
I stand here in trepidation ... entering a realm that's considered sacred-beyond-questioning ... and yet, I must question what I've been taught, by humans, about Jesus. Integrity begs me to do so. Truth beckons beyond the surface-understanding ... beyond the traditions of man, the unquestioned pat answers. I figure that anything I say here will offend someone. It's inevitable.
Here's what gives me the gumption to do this: I believe that Truth is self-evident. I believe that Truth can withstand any amount and degree of scrutiny. I believe that we need not protect Truth from scrutiny ... I believe that whatever falls away, must. I believe that humans have convoluted Truth via our inherent limitations of thought, vision, and experience. And mostly, because we have attempted to peer at Truth, and to comprehend Truth, via our egos. Our self-protecting, self-projecting agendas, both individual and collective, have warped who Jesus is, and what He came to do.
And mostly ... I dare to believe that it's the Spirit Himself who is leading me, drawing me, wooing me, into all Truth. Because I asked -- no, I begged -- Him to do so.
Join me as I ponder the possibilities ... as I "try on" an alternative understanding, just to see if it fits, if it resonates with the Spirit within. YOU must take what you ponder to the Spirit, for this can only be affirmed experientially ... it cannot be transmitted or absorbed by osmosis. You can be quickened by the thoughts of another ... but we must all move beyond second-hand religion, into first-hand personal relationship with Truth ... for Truth is the Word of God, the essence of God, and our primal and foundational Home.
Let us plunge...!
It seems to me that everyone wrestles with Jesus ... in various ways. For Jews, He's the reason why they've been hated and killed. For Christians He's the penultimate expression of God. For others, He's the ultimate kill-joy ... the epitome of how *not* to enjoy life, and the proof of why one shouldn't become a Christian.
It seems to me, that if we saw Him as He is ... none of us would reject, or even resist, Him. It seems to me that all of us, whether Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, agnostic or Christian, have misunderstood Him... that we've all seen Him through our own distorted lens.
What if He could be invited to set the record straight...? What would He show us?
What if, rather than being a harbinger of judgment, of fear, of wrath ... Jesus would want us to see Him as our Elder Brother, who truly brings *good* news for ALL mankind..?
Jesus gave us His mission statement, in His first public address ... let's look at it (found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 4):
18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
The NASB has it in caps, to indicate that it's a quote from the Old Testament ... in this case, Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61, verse one. If we go to Isaiah, we may notice that Jesus chose to stop where He did ... He did not say the next verse, which is:
And the day of vengeance of our God
Why didn't He include that statement? I have my own hunch ... perhaps you can ask Him for yourself. I personally believe that He didn't quote it because He only did what HE saw the Father doing ... and so He didn't see the Father bringing vengeance. I believe that this is an example of the human writer inserting his own egoic perspective into the text ... it's inspired, yes ... but God used fallible humans in the writing of the text, perhaps so that we would thus *know* to not take it at face value, but to inquire within ... perhaps so that we wouldn't worship the Bible, and rely on it, but would use it as a *useful* tool for connecting with the Spirit, who alone can lead us into all truth.
Going back to the mission-statement ... look at what Jesus said He came to do ...
To preach good news (gospel) to the poor ... to those who are excluded and maligned by the ones who fancy themselves as "chosen".
To release the captives -- and what enslaves us more than the very lies we believe in our own minds...? He later told us to have our minds renewed -- to exchange our own egoic perspective with God's perspective ... to move from lies to Truth. We shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set us free.
To bring recovery of sight to the blind ... we're not all physically blind, but we're certainly all spiritually blind. REcovery implies that we once saw ... and are in need of returning to correct sight -- and what blinds us more than our own egoic perspective? Jesus said that those who claim they can see, are those who are truly blind. It's only when we admit that we are blind, that we can begin to see...!
To set free those who are oppressed -- what oppresses us more than this egoic world we have created..? We create monstrous institutions that then demand our exhaustive service... We create bureaucracies of rules -- rules upon rules, that choke the very life out of us...!
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord ... this is speaking of the Year of Jubilee. In the natural, this was demonstrated (foreshadowed) by every 50th year in Jewish history, wherein everything returned to it's original owner ... slaves were set free, lands returned to whomever had originally owned them. In the spiritual realm, this was demonstrated by Jesus, who came to initiate the new covenant (the new heavens and new earth), wherein all would return to GOD (though we had only left Him in our own egoic minds) ... so that all would know God, and none would have to be taught of Him ... wherein the Spirit would lead everyone into all truth.
The problem is that we believe the ego more than we believe the Spirit ... until we come to our senses, recognize our self-created pig-sty for what it is, realize we are a Child of the Father, and return Home. The "far country" is only in our minds ... the separation between us and our Father is only in our minds. We were only ever enemies of God in our own minds.
But, Jesus did more ...
Our egoic mindset, the egoic world we have created, operates in the law of sowing and reaping ... cause and effect ... action results in reaction ... karma. What you sow, you shall reap. If you do this, that will be the consequence. It's the way in which we have imprisoned ourselves ... this is our captivity.
What we see, what gets our attention is the reaping ... the effect, the result. Then, we trace it back and say, "Aha! Here's the source for that!" We see this playing out in Jesus' time ... when they found a blind man, the disciples asked, "what caused this blindness ... the man's sin, or his parents' sin?" There was no question in their minds that a *sin* had caused this blindness. But Jesus answers outside their theological box ... "it's not about anyone's sin, but about displaying the glory of God." Jesus could do miracles because He saw beyond appearances -- He saw with God's perspective (and greater things shall we do, when we also see via God's perspective). Miracles happen we we are aligned with the Mind of God, when we operate out of the Mind of Christ (which we are told we *have*).
So ... the evidence of the effect, "proves" to us that there must be a cause..!
It's a fundamental principle of physics that if a thing exists, it will have an effect on something else. And the opposite corollary is also true: if there is no effect, then there is no cause ... without an effect, the cause cannot exist.
Everything we see and know in this world is the effect of our belief in sin. Sin, we believe is the "first cause" ... and from sin comes the effect of pain, suffering and death. Paul said, "the wages of sin is death." Sin is the cause -- death is the result (the effect). We believe this. We see and experience death ... and we trace it back to the "proof" of sin. Death is the ultimate proof that sin is real -- or so we believe.
But ... what if it could be proven that there is no sin, no separation...? In order to do so, we would have to be shown that there is no effect. A thing cannot exist unless it has an effect. To show that there is no sin, no separation, it would have to be demonstrated that death is not real.
Someone would have to show that death is not real ...
Jesus was that Someone.
His mission was to set us free ... and to do so, He came to show that there is no death. By all appearances, He died. The witnesses were innumerable. But so were the witnesses to His resurrection ... He demonstrated that there is no death ... that life is eternal, for all Life is the Life of God -- there is no "alternative" Source of Life.
This gives me incredible pause: The way in which He took away the sins of the world was to show that they had NO EFFECT. Through overcoming death, He took away all the sins. Jesus lived in this world of suffering, sin and death ... and demonstrated that it had NO effect on Him. He shattered our illusions.
The early followers believed this .... their focus was on the resurrection, and not the crucifixion. There were no artistic renderings of the crucifixion until ~1,000 years after His death ... the art emerged during the Dark Ages. The focus was primarily upon the resurrection ... the overcoming of death, the shattering of our illusions, for a millennium.
However, also during those early years, the following of Christ became a State-sponsored religion ... the allegiance switched from the leading of the Spirit, to the sanctioning of the Ego. Power, prestige, control, and even enforcement via the sword, became the means of promoting the beliefs ... committees (councils) got together and decided, by means of power-play enforced voting, what was State-sanctioned truth, and what was heresy. The goal was to get everyone to believe and behave in the manner in which best served the State ... the religion was in cahoots with the State. This is the origin of the religion we call Christianity. Christianity is the ego's reaction to Jesus.
Jesus didn't come to form a new religion, but to call us out of all religions (for they are all manmade) ... to call us out of our egoic minds, into the Mind of Christ. To align our thinking with God's, to awaken from our slumbering deception, and live as who we really are. To *know* that we were never separated from our Source/God, except in our own skewy thinking ... to know that there was never sin, except in our own fear-based, guilt-based minds ... to know that we do not die ... we merely lay aside our earth-suits when they no longer serve us.
This is the Atonement ... the At-One-Ment ... when we know that we are one with God, and with each other. When we awaken from the nightmare of our own making, and live Life, as Jesus did ... He is the Way, the Truth and the Life ... and we "come to" the Father when we follow Him in the way He taught, in the way He lived.
He is indeed the Savior of the World ... only in the all-inclusive way He intended, rather than in the exclusive way that Christianity depicts ...
Again ... I'm sharing what I'm coming to see ... don't take my word for ANYthing! If anything I share resonates, take it to the Spirit for confirmation. If anything I share strikes you as offensive, consider the possibility that your ego is trying to maintain status quo, so that it cannot be detected, so that it can continue to rule you with fear and guilt. Again, take *that* to the Spirit, and let Him lead you into the Truth He has for YOU, at this time, right where you are.
We CAN trust the Spirit to lead each of us into all Truth. We CAN.
Shalom, Dena
Here's what gives me the gumption to do this: I believe that Truth is self-evident. I believe that Truth can withstand any amount and degree of scrutiny. I believe that we need not protect Truth from scrutiny ... I believe that whatever falls away, must. I believe that humans have convoluted Truth via our inherent limitations of thought, vision, and experience. And mostly, because we have attempted to peer at Truth, and to comprehend Truth, via our egos. Our self-protecting, self-projecting agendas, both individual and collective, have warped who Jesus is, and what He came to do.
And mostly ... I dare to believe that it's the Spirit Himself who is leading me, drawing me, wooing me, into all Truth. Because I asked -- no, I begged -- Him to do so.
Join me as I ponder the possibilities ... as I "try on" an alternative understanding, just to see if it fits, if it resonates with the Spirit within. YOU must take what you ponder to the Spirit, for this can only be affirmed experientially ... it cannot be transmitted or absorbed by osmosis. You can be quickened by the thoughts of another ... but we must all move beyond second-hand religion, into first-hand personal relationship with Truth ... for Truth is the Word of God, the essence of God, and our primal and foundational Home.
Let us plunge...!
It seems to me that everyone wrestles with Jesus ... in various ways. For Jews, He's the reason why they've been hated and killed. For Christians He's the penultimate expression of God. For others, He's the ultimate kill-joy ... the epitome of how *not* to enjoy life, and the proof of why one shouldn't become a Christian.
It seems to me, that if we saw Him as He is ... none of us would reject, or even resist, Him. It seems to me that all of us, whether Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, agnostic or Christian, have misunderstood Him... that we've all seen Him through our own distorted lens.
What if He could be invited to set the record straight...? What would He show us?
What if, rather than being a harbinger of judgment, of fear, of wrath ... Jesus would want us to see Him as our Elder Brother, who truly brings *good* news for ALL mankind..?
Jesus gave us His mission statement, in His first public address ... let's look at it (found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 4):
18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
The NASB has it in caps, to indicate that it's a quote from the Old Testament ... in this case, Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61, verse one. If we go to Isaiah, we may notice that Jesus chose to stop where He did ... He did not say the next verse, which is:
And the day of vengeance of our God
Why didn't He include that statement? I have my own hunch ... perhaps you can ask Him for yourself. I personally believe that He didn't quote it because He only did what HE saw the Father doing ... and so He didn't see the Father bringing vengeance. I believe that this is an example of the human writer inserting his own egoic perspective into the text ... it's inspired, yes ... but God used fallible humans in the writing of the text, perhaps so that we would thus *know* to not take it at face value, but to inquire within ... perhaps so that we wouldn't worship the Bible, and rely on it, but would use it as a *useful* tool for connecting with the Spirit, who alone can lead us into all truth.
Going back to the mission-statement ... look at what Jesus said He came to do ...
To preach good news (gospel) to the poor ... to those who are excluded and maligned by the ones who fancy themselves as "chosen".
To release the captives -- and what enslaves us more than the very lies we believe in our own minds...? He later told us to have our minds renewed -- to exchange our own egoic perspective with God's perspective ... to move from lies to Truth. We shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set us free.
To bring recovery of sight to the blind ... we're not all physically blind, but we're certainly all spiritually blind. REcovery implies that we once saw ... and are in need of returning to correct sight -- and what blinds us more than our own egoic perspective? Jesus said that those who claim they can see, are those who are truly blind. It's only when we admit that we are blind, that we can begin to see...!
To set free those who are oppressed -- what oppresses us more than this egoic world we have created..? We create monstrous institutions that then demand our exhaustive service... We create bureaucracies of rules -- rules upon rules, that choke the very life out of us...!
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord ... this is speaking of the Year of Jubilee. In the natural, this was demonstrated (foreshadowed) by every 50th year in Jewish history, wherein everything returned to it's original owner ... slaves were set free, lands returned to whomever had originally owned them. In the spiritual realm, this was demonstrated by Jesus, who came to initiate the new covenant (the new heavens and new earth), wherein all would return to GOD (though we had only left Him in our own egoic minds) ... so that all would know God, and none would have to be taught of Him ... wherein the Spirit would lead everyone into all truth.
The problem is that we believe the ego more than we believe the Spirit ... until we come to our senses, recognize our self-created pig-sty for what it is, realize we are a Child of the Father, and return Home. The "far country" is only in our minds ... the separation between us and our Father is only in our minds. We were only ever enemies of God in our own minds.
But, Jesus did more ...
Our egoic mindset, the egoic world we have created, operates in the law of sowing and reaping ... cause and effect ... action results in reaction ... karma. What you sow, you shall reap. If you do this, that will be the consequence. It's the way in which we have imprisoned ourselves ... this is our captivity.
What we see, what gets our attention is the reaping ... the effect, the result. Then, we trace it back and say, "Aha! Here's the source for that!" We see this playing out in Jesus' time ... when they found a blind man, the disciples asked, "what caused this blindness ... the man's sin, or his parents' sin?" There was no question in their minds that a *sin* had caused this blindness. But Jesus answers outside their theological box ... "it's not about anyone's sin, but about displaying the glory of God." Jesus could do miracles because He saw beyond appearances -- He saw with God's perspective (and greater things shall we do, when we also see via God's perspective). Miracles happen we we are aligned with the Mind of God, when we operate out of the Mind of Christ (which we are told we *have*).
So ... the evidence of the effect, "proves" to us that there must be a cause..!
It's a fundamental principle of physics that if a thing exists, it will have an effect on something else. And the opposite corollary is also true: if there is no effect, then there is no cause ... without an effect, the cause cannot exist.
Everything we see and know in this world is the effect of our belief in sin. Sin, we believe is the "first cause" ... and from sin comes the effect of pain, suffering and death. Paul said, "the wages of sin is death." Sin is the cause -- death is the result (the effect). We believe this. We see and experience death ... and we trace it back to the "proof" of sin. Death is the ultimate proof that sin is real -- or so we believe.
But ... what if it could be proven that there is no sin, no separation...? In order to do so, we would have to be shown that there is no effect. A thing cannot exist unless it has an effect. To show that there is no sin, no separation, it would have to be demonstrated that death is not real.
Someone would have to show that death is not real ...
Jesus was that Someone.
His mission was to set us free ... and to do so, He came to show that there is no death. By all appearances, He died. The witnesses were innumerable. But so were the witnesses to His resurrection ... He demonstrated that there is no death ... that life is eternal, for all Life is the Life of God -- there is no "alternative" Source of Life.
This gives me incredible pause: The way in which He took away the sins of the world was to show that they had NO EFFECT. Through overcoming death, He took away all the sins. Jesus lived in this world of suffering, sin and death ... and demonstrated that it had NO effect on Him. He shattered our illusions.
The early followers believed this .... their focus was on the resurrection, and not the crucifixion. There were no artistic renderings of the crucifixion until ~1,000 years after His death ... the art emerged during the Dark Ages. The focus was primarily upon the resurrection ... the overcoming of death, the shattering of our illusions, for a millennium.
However, also during those early years, the following of Christ became a State-sponsored religion ... the allegiance switched from the leading of the Spirit, to the sanctioning of the Ego. Power, prestige, control, and even enforcement via the sword, became the means of promoting the beliefs ... committees (councils) got together and decided, by means of power-play enforced voting, what was State-sanctioned truth, and what was heresy. The goal was to get everyone to believe and behave in the manner in which best served the State ... the religion was in cahoots with the State. This is the origin of the religion we call Christianity. Christianity is the ego's reaction to Jesus.
Jesus didn't come to form a new religion, but to call us out of all religions (for they are all manmade) ... to call us out of our egoic minds, into the Mind of Christ. To align our thinking with God's, to awaken from our slumbering deception, and live as who we really are. To *know* that we were never separated from our Source/God, except in our own skewy thinking ... to know that there was never sin, except in our own fear-based, guilt-based minds ... to know that we do not die ... we merely lay aside our earth-suits when they no longer serve us.
This is the Atonement ... the At-One-Ment ... when we know that we are one with God, and with each other. When we awaken from the nightmare of our own making, and live Life, as Jesus did ... He is the Way, the Truth and the Life ... and we "come to" the Father when we follow Him in the way He taught, in the way He lived.
He is indeed the Savior of the World ... only in the all-inclusive way He intended, rather than in the exclusive way that Christianity depicts ...
Again ... I'm sharing what I'm coming to see ... don't take my word for ANYthing! If anything I share resonates, take it to the Spirit for confirmation. If anything I share strikes you as offensive, consider the possibility that your ego is trying to maintain status quo, so that it cannot be detected, so that it can continue to rule you with fear and guilt. Again, take *that* to the Spirit, and let Him lead you into the Truth He has for YOU, at this time, right where you are.
We CAN trust the Spirit to lead each of us into all Truth. We CAN.
Shalom, Dena
Comment
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Comment by Deb on November 7, 2009 at 1:40pm -
Hi Nancy :-)
YES...Dena seems to put "out there" what I am thinking in many ways too. :-) Religion really has it's "roots" or "claws" deep within! It was created by all the egoic minds out there in the universal "world mind", or so me thinks :-). It is not from God!
I agree with Dena in the fact that we can only be renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit....and YES, it is He that leads us into ALL Truth! And He does it one moment at a time as we are willing to follow. At least this has been my experience. There was a time...not too long ago that I was not willing to follow...because of "fear". {ego is fear based..the complete opposite of God/Love}. Thankfully, I am past the fear now and what a journey it has been! :-)
I love all your "what if's" :-).....sounds like you are ready to start your own journey!!! :-) Questioning is where it all began for me too.
And YES...the adventure continues! ;-)...hold on to your hat!
Love ya.....
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Comment by Deb on November 7, 2009 at 1:23pm
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Deb~
Yes, the courses definitions of almost all the christian words we are familiar with have a different meaning. A GREAT book to get in order to prevent confusion is:
GLOSSARY of Terms from A Course In Miracles...2nd edition...by Robert Perry.
Oh, and here is something I copied from Awakening Mind...David Hoffmeister's site ( http://awakening-mind.org/ ) :
My Meaning in Scriptures
Questions and Answers: A Dialogue of Clarity
With Verses from the Bible...and Answers from the Christ (In A Course In Miracles)
In the Bible Jesus says: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show [it] unto you." -John 16:12-14
Now is the appointed time:
Click on the topics below. IF THESE AREN"T HIGHLIGHTED SO YOU CAN CLICK ON THEM, THEN GO TO THE WEBSITE ABOVE AND IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER CLICK ON "JESUS CHRIST" AND ALL THE TOPICS WILL COME UP. :-)
Who is Jesus Christ?
What is my relationship to You?
Speak on the parable of the prodigal son
Please speak about Creation and the "fall of man"
How is fear abolished?
Is distorted perceiving (lack of Vision) the main problem?
How does what I perceive relate to The Golden Rule?
What is a Miracle?
Speak on the Beatitudes
What is the devil?
What is temptation?
Speak on perfect equality
Please speak on Charity
What does it mean to "Be Still?"
Does God require any sacrifice?
What is the meaning of the crucifixion?
Speak on the Resurrection
Speak on the Last Judgment
How will the world end?
What is the meaning of "bearing fruit"?
What do these sayings mean?
Please speak further on time and the meaning of "Born Again"
Speak of judgment
Speak on Prayer
Speak of Union, of Holy relationship
Please speak on lust, fantasies, & the desires of the flesh
Speak on celibacy and chastity
How, then, would You have me look upon the body?
Speak on the deception of seeking and holding idols
How is healing accomplished?
Speak about the split mind, which tries to serve "two masters"
What does it mean to discern between unreal and real?
So do all my distortions arise from attack thoughts?
What do all the "Watch" parables mean?
Distinguish between our Father's Law of Love and make-believe laws (Satan or ego)
Speak on the topics of money and possessions
What thought need I give to my earthly needs?
Are there plans I need make to follow You?
How will I know what words to speak?
Please speak of Trust
What if I cannot do what You ask?
Speak of your appearance on the road to Emmaus
BLESSINGS.....
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Comment by Deb on November 7, 2009 at 1:15pm
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Hi Deb :-)
You said:
"I heard on A.C.I.M. "our lies may blind our vision but the truth is still there", and, "every moment is a moment for a clean fresh start".
YES....I love that too. Truth lives in us...where the Kingdom is....ALL we need is there, but the ego obscures our view of what is real. God withholds nothing......but ACIM is all about retraining our mind in such a way that the egoic thoughts are brought to nothing and our real thoughts....our Christ thoughts...come to us and we live from/by them instead. That is WHO we really are......
Blessings....
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Comment by Nancy on November 5, 2009 at 10:01am -
Hey Deb,
Dena’s willingness to just be real spiritually and share her journey is a trip in itself. I feel compelled to question what I’ve been taught by humans, about Jesus, too. But sharing what I believe Father is making real…whoa that’s another story. That’s one of the reasons I appreciate Dena. She just does it. So often I feel her speaking for me, saying things I think but don’t have words for yet.
Sharing the true meaning of the living word Christ, one of the most delicate, fragile and significant truths in scripture, seems nearly impossible at the moment; it still threatens the existing Christian doctrine that resides in me. Let alone others—yikes! I’m thankful Father is redeeming Christ in the human spirit, without redeeming Christianity [the religion].
What I see and hear in Dena’s articles…is the sometimes messy process, the result of her “daring to believe that it's the Spirit Himself who is leading her, drawing her, wooing her, into all Truth. Because she asked—no, begged—Him to do so”.
Dena said, “it seems to me, that if we saw Him as He is...none of us would reject, or even resist, Him.” I agree, and I believe Father’s purpose, plan, and intent for the human spirit is to be real spiritually, AS the son of God. Letting God be the origin of all life activity AS Christ did in his earth body. AS a result…we "get to" see him as he is—
I have my own “what ifs” at this stage of asking Father to make me more real spiritually to him and others. My response being to cooperate and participate as much as I know how. What if everything I’ve been taught by sincere Christian humans, using human translation of scripture—is wrong? And what if I am compelled to start over, as a child, and be taught only by the living word that resides in me? [What I think of as spirit DNA] That’s kind of where I’m at…child-like, not childish, hopefully. What if everything in scripture is true but it’s just NOT true the way I learned it?
I believe we are the most privileged and most respond able generation; the first to know about quantum science, relativity, holograms, subatomic particles, ageless photons, micro chips and my personal favorite, spirit DNA. [hee hee]. I think the whole idea of science discovering what God is up to in the heart/brain/spirit is quite fascinating.
The adventure continues…nancy
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Comment by deb farrell on November 4, 2009 at 11:34am -
Hi Deb,
Me again! Was just thinking about the verse where Jesus ( is said to have) said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do", if, what he actually said was, "I" forgive them for they know not what they do". OR simply, "I forgive you because you don't know what you're doing." This would take the bite out of the religious (egoic) belief that we must do something to earn forgiveness. (Which, wouldn't have fit well with the state-sponsored interpretation of the scriptures.) Maybe I read this somewhere?
Peace,
Deb F.
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Comment by deb farrell on November 4, 2009 at 10:22am
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Hi Deb,
These have been great posts. The verses from Luke resonated in my heart many years ago when I was in the belly of the beast (my ego!). Also, the scripture about renewing our minds. Others as well, Rom.8:1 and "I will never leave you or fosake you', among others...Words the Spirit was using to comfort and care for my 'sin sick' mind.
So, it is exciting indeed to learn these things although not so easy to always remember, but, so wonderful to not 'have to' beat myself up for screwing up.
I heard on A.C.I.M. "our lies may blind our vision but the truth is still there", and, "every moment is a moment for a clean fresh start". -So full of love and so comforting!
Love and thanks,
Deb F.
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