A spare thought or two regarding religion and faith
Sunday, December 26, 2010 by the BCth
I haven't self-identified as a Christian for some time now, a couple of years. I've explored a variety of spiritual perspectives in that time. Now it seems I have less need to do any seeking of an outward nature. I try to focus on simply listening to what I'm being told personally by the circumstances and daily events of my life, by synchronicities and dreams. I observe silence and beauty. I dig into my thoughts, feelings and motivations, try to discern the true from the false with the sword of awareness, to understand where I've gone wrong, and attempt to forgive all my many deviations from the way of Life. Forgiveness is often the most difficult phase, but it is crucial. Without forgiveness, there is only a hell of guilt, a legion of incriminating voices crying "not good enough!"
To withhold forgiveness, from oneself or from others, is to deny the Love with which we are created, to obstruct the flow of Life that streams unending from the infinite source of all things. And when we are thus negatively disposed to that all-encompassing flow, we find that it becomes a rain of arrows, bringing anguish and pain. Instead of letting go and transforming our pain into Love, we too often simply opt to build thicker and thicker walls around our hearts. The result being that we are increasingly cut off from the Source. We descend deeper and deeper into separation, into a realm where illusion, deception, manipulation, distortion, and corruption appear to rule. Struggle replaces ease, fear and anxiety and anger replace love and trust and harmony.
Christianity holds that forgiveness is only possible because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, a "perfect sacrificial lamb" who took the sins of the world upon his shoulders, descended into hell, and defeated Satan's power so that whoever believes and accepts his redemption work can be saved and go to heaven. This is the storybook version. I know a lot of people believe it literally, and they're welcome to it. For me, it doesn't hold water as such. As far as I do accept it, I take it as an archetypal myth that both conceals and reveals the actual spiritual truth behind it, depending upon whether we have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Jesus was a spiritual master, prepared from even before his birth for the role he was to play on this earthly stage. He went through some process of initiation into the ancient esoteric mysteries, probably in both Egypt and India. He came to a full awakening of the Christ consciousness, which is a balanced and perfect consciousness, the Ain Soph Aur, the white light of the Trinity. In this sense he most definitely was an Avatar of God.
The Bible is a tough book to read if you're looking for truth but don't know what to look for. After all, it was written and edited by all sorts of people with all sorts of motivations. And canonized, mind you, by a particular group of people with particular motivations. I mean, of course, the Council of Nicea. That's when they made the sausage. When the modern, processed, pre-packaged, adulterated, sterile version of Christianity was born. To serve the needs of the very powers-that-be from under whose oppression the real teachings of Jesus would have delivered all people, had they been taken to heart.
If you question nothing, you get only what you're given. True faith in God will withstand any revelation and any trial, because it is flexible and open to new information, and rests upon the true source of all strength and hope and insight. Of course, our faith is weak. We stumble and stray. But this is the work of God in us. Every error and failing brings us closer to learning how not to fail. We learn what makes us suffer, and what the antidote to our suffering is. The answer is to seek to perceive God in all things, even to perceive as God. Through the eyes of Love and ever higher awareness....
To withhold forgiveness, from oneself or from others, is to deny the Love with which we are created, to obstruct the flow of Life that streams unending from the infinite source of all things. And when we are thus negatively disposed to that all-encompassing flow, we find that it becomes a rain of arrows, bringing anguish and pain. Instead of letting go and transforming our pain into Love, we too often simply opt to build thicker and thicker walls around our hearts. The result being that we are increasingly cut off from the Source. We descend deeper and deeper into separation, into a realm where illusion, deception, manipulation, distortion, and corruption appear to rule. Struggle replaces ease, fear and anxiety and anger replace love and trust and harmony.
Christianity holds that forgiveness is only possible because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, a "perfect sacrificial lamb" who took the sins of the world upon his shoulders, descended into hell, and defeated Satan's power so that whoever believes and accepts his redemption work can be saved and go to heaven. This is the storybook version. I know a lot of people believe it literally, and they're welcome to it. For me, it doesn't hold water as such. As far as I do accept it, I take it as an archetypal myth that both conceals and reveals the actual spiritual truth behind it, depending upon whether we have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Jesus was a spiritual master, prepared from even before his birth for the role he was to play on this earthly stage. He went through some process of initiation into the ancient esoteric mysteries, probably in both Egypt and India. He came to a full awakening of the Christ consciousness, which is a balanced and perfect consciousness, the Ain Soph Aur, the white light of the Trinity. In this sense he most definitely was an Avatar of God.
The Bible is a tough book to read if you're looking for truth but don't know what to look for. After all, it was written and edited by all sorts of people with all sorts of motivations. And canonized, mind you, by a particular group of people with particular motivations. I mean, of course, the Council of Nicea. That's when they made the sausage. When the modern, processed, pre-packaged, adulterated, sterile version of Christianity was born. To serve the needs of the very powers-that-be from under whose oppression the real teachings of Jesus would have delivered all people, had they been taken to heart.
If you question nothing, you get only what you're given. True faith in God will withstand any revelation and any trial, because it is flexible and open to new information, and rests upon the true source of all strength and hope and insight. Of course, our faith is weak. We stumble and stray. But this is the work of God in us. Every error and failing brings us closer to learning how not to fail. We learn what makes us suffer, and what the antidote to our suffering is. The answer is to seek to perceive God in all things, even to perceive as God. Through the eyes of Love and ever higher awareness....
"True faith in God will withstand any revelation and any trial, because it is flexible and open to new information, and rests upon the true source of all strength and hope and insight."
This is a powerful statement! I completely agree. I feel that most people never take the time to really think about what they believe and why. I think this is natural... people seek stability and rules, even if they are manmade and illusory. It's sad that we can't be seekers of truth an yet still comfortably identify as Christian... I think searching for a higher understanding of God is exactly what Christ would encourage us to do....
I love Christ but can't call myself Christian... I used to feel guilty about that and pray a lot about it, but I finally realized that God has me right where He wants me to be. We're all in the palm of His hand. Why not live by Christ's teachings and just call ourselves human? God is still with us. Not all who wander are lost.
It's really not so unusual what Christ did... I think what's unusual is everyone's insistence that we can't be or do the same. Life only makes sense with faith; life is only fulfilling through love of God... and what does it matter how a person understands God, if he or she can still commune with God? That communion is always the same, no matter what the religion, because we all pray to one God....
Just some thoughts inspired by your post. I really enjoyed reading your blog!
-T
"I finally realized that God has me right where He wants me to be. We're all in the palm of His hand. Why not live by Christ's teachings and just call ourselves human? God is still with us. Not all who wander are lost."
My thoughts exactly. In fact, I agree with everything you said, and am exceedingly grateful that you took the time to say it. It is a great thing to notice that one is not alone in one's thoughts, that there are kindred spirits and like minds out there.
I never felt a real, personal connection to Jesus, even though I sincerely wanted to believe and live as I was taught in the Christian paradigm... But now I find that I can actually pray to God as the Christ (love/light) and receive the peace of Christ unto my soul, even if only for a moment. "Come to me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest unto your souls." This is a living promise.
Yes, your blog is definitely a breath of fresh air. :)
I've recently become much more comfortable with Christ... for a long time I loved God with a passion but didn't know where Christ fit into the picture. He didn't seem necessary to me. Why worry about Christ when everything is God? And what can Christ do that God can't?
But now that I'm growing in my spirituality and my understanding of Christianity (especially Catholic theology), I'm finding it easier to "connect" to the idea of Christ. I understand him as a symbol of God's relationship to Man. I think of Christ now as a mentor, someone who came before and lived a true life of sacrifice to God. However, all that "salvation/the Son dying for our sins" stuff is still very mythological for me and I focus more on Jesus' relationship to the Father, and the incredible courage he must have had.
But I think you're right in saying that you've never really felt a connection to Christ. I feel more of a connection to God... I think that's how it's supposed to be.
What does it matter if a philosophy is true or not, as long as it serves its purpose? Maybe the Christian path isn't the most logical one... and yet it is a way for people to commune with God and discover faith.
I just wish more Christians were encouraged to question things and seek a broader understanding of Christ, rather than fear "angering" God by asking too many questions, or fear disproving their own faith because somehow they know it's illogical. I think, if God loves us, God would want us to know the answers....
:)
Some of us need Christ. Others connect through Krishna. There are as many ways to find God as there are souls seeking him. The outer form of our relationship matters not, as long as the relationship itself is real. The same God, just different ways to perceive and experience his presence. :)
Hello William:
I keep these religious questions simple. My belief is that God made Man and Man made religion. Whom do you think did a better job?
Take care and keep the faith,
Mike
Mike,
You'll get no argument from me on that point. As for the question, well... God does everything perfectly, with full knowledge in the waking aspect. All God's creations express the perfection of it as imperfection, because they are of the sleeping aspect of God... and so as lucidity of spirit and soul increases in the flesh, so does harmony, and the imperfections gradually fall away to reveal the truth of who we are as expressions of God...
My thanks to you today for turning my thoughts toward God and Self. I've not been doing well, spiritually, and I'm trying to get back on the bicycle here. :)
~William
Hello William:
We all have our difficult times in life. As humans expressing Spirit we must handle all of humanity.
Sometimes, I think that the times that we are deep in the shit are transformational periods that we must go through to make us stronger and wiser.
I have another website you might like to visit. Read it and be open. It's not the words but the energy behind the words that is important. Feel the calm and balance that will come to you, but don't get lost in the good feelings. Take that calm with you and you just might find that life hasn't changed so much, but you and your way of handling problems has. Seek to connect to your own Self and your own Inspiration. You have insights to share also.
Oh, here's the link:
www.faith-restored.com
Take care,
Mike
Mike,
It's great that you've made contact with your invisible friends (really!), and I appreciate that you have a message for the world... but, for me, the time of being able to gain much from the messages of others seems to be coming to something of a close. My intellectual understanding is probably as clear as it needs to be for now, if not as clear as it could be... My focus is on living as I believe, walking the talk, and seeking my own inner truth and guidance. To be honest, I have no desire to hang on the words of any guru. No one's got it all figured out, and no one has the answers for anyone else. All we humans can really do for each other is act as catalyst and mirror. Eventually, we will learn to love all other-selves as self and to embody that love in all that we do... and even then, we are far from perceiving with unity, as unity. But our dharma will lead us even there in the end.
Respects, and all the best,
William
Hello William:
Yes, listen to you own Inner Voice first.
That's what I do. Works best for me.
Take care,
Mike