He reports visiting an ancient secret monastery deep in a mountain range. They blindfolded him all the way. It took about seven days on mule-back to get there. He reported the monastery was over 5000 years old, and some of the most senior monks were up to 300 years old.
They had many strange rituals and habits. They were building and using sophisticated men-sized puppets with limbs that could be arranged in various positions. They expressed god in dances and postures, similar to Sufis: no words or pictures.
Muslims do not allow images of the prophet or Allah. This is very wise and valid, in my opinion. Many say to meet god, your mind must be completely empty of expectations. Otherwise, the mind and the ego play games with you, and you think this is god, but it is mental conditioning and imagination. The mind can produce anything.
What is repeated over and over again by all genuine sages through all times is that God can't be described or only in negative terms. In non-duality, god is simply called "the Absolute", the source of all manifestations. Some spiritual teachers disregard any scriptures as false.
Personally, after reading countless spiritual books and learning from many teachers over the past 25 years, I found the only spiritual book worth reading in "I AM THAT" by Nisargadatta Maharaj. This book collected the direct talk of an immensely lucid enlightened person. I am reading it over and over again, and every time I wake up to more truth. Not saying this is for everyone. It probably would not have worked for me 20 years ago.
I have always said "institutionlised religion" is no different to any other cult, a means for a few to control the many. What I see in a lot of cases is these so called Christians put Jesus on a pedestal above God. Then we hit rock bottom where the Pope states and believes he is the Divine's "chosen" representative on earth." Such arrogance, to have people grovel at his feet and kiss his solid gold ring as kings of old would make others supplicate themselves at their feet.
Yes and the POPE s official title as Vicar of Christ means he claims he is standing in as the ruler of the world ,until Jeshua Ben Joseph [who never once called himself Christ] returns. Current Pope called for all the faithful to" 'TAKE THE DEATH SHOTS AS AN ACT OF LOVE " I believe thats a clue children.
It is two very different things worshipping Jesus and worshipping the Pope.
Jesus is not above God - He is eternal and was equal to God. Even so he became a servant (Philippians 2:5–8 ) and submitted himself to a shameful death on the cross, to save us, even when we were God’s enemies! This is actually really joyful news, because the truth is, without Jesus we’re doomed and stumbling around in the dark blind and feeling our way around in life, not knowing what we’re doing. God bless you this Easter season!
As a Spiritualist, I believe that Jesus died to prove superiority over death. He died publically to prove he had died He made contact with his followers after the crucifixion to prove the soul, the I Am (Holy Ghost) in each of us is superior to the human body. The I Am is the spark of God within each of us. We must make contact with it to be like Jesus & overcome death ( the wheel of Karma). If you believe in the eternity of the Soul (I Am), you can believe Jesus's remark "I am with you always".Then, we can start to appreciate Jesus's comment "all this and more shall ye do"
Keeping the awareness on the "I Am" is the only teaching of Nisargadatta Maharaj. That's how he achieved enlightenment. The book "I am That" is a collection of every possible question about life and spirituality and is answered by Nisargadatta. I never read anything more profound. Most who read it consider it the best spiritual book ever.
It makes the bible look like a children's book for kindergarten. I read it seven times and every time it reveals more.
I am a Christian and not scared by your post. Ultimately, I believe the statement attributed to Jesus is true, but I also believe that God's grace is big enough. He is God and He can do what he wants.
But the bigger point is that God is holy and we are not. The Jews had/have a complex program to be made right with God. It required sacrifice. Generally an unblemished lamb. When Jesus takes on this role, he is atoning for our sins. He is the unblemished Lamb...that comes back to life and, hence, a religion is borne.
And while I do want to share my faith with others and hope that all come to faith, salvation is a supernatural act between you and God. I can't save you. God saves. And, based on scripture, I am confident that there has to be some kind of atonement for falling short of God's glory.
So, for those who don't want to believe that Jesus is the ONLY way (which I think is a fun discussion), what is your atonement? Because if you don't believe that you need atonement then we aren't on the same wavelength. If, however, you have a good atonement mechanism that is outside of the Jesus narrative then I am always interested in that conversation.
I always seek common ground, and you offer some; thank you: ".... salvation is a supernatural act between you and God. I can't save you. God saves. "
Amen to that, I say.
Regarding atonement. I don't believe we are sinners as individuals. I don't believe in free will, either. Jesus himself said as much:
I read the bible in German, so my translation here might be slightly off, but one of my most loved quotes from Jesus is: "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they are doing."
Again, context is critical. The man hangs on the cross for hours, in excruciating pain, on death's door. He gets taunted and abused, and poked with spears by cruel people. And then this amazing insight. "They don't know what they are doing." That is 100% identical to Buddha saying: "Everyone is ignorant. "Jesus realised everyone is under the spell of their Ego and a victim of cause and effect. There is no free choice or will if you don't know what you are doing, isn't there? (A post about free will is in the making)
I believe that's when the last little bit of ego left in the man Jesus evaporated, and his ego died, and he got enlightened. The whole resurrection story is, once again, a metaphor. The "being reborn" metaphor is as old as human culture. Once again, many Christians and churches take the words in the bible too literally and out of context.
It doesn't mean physical death and physical resurrection, in my opinion. That is an entirely parallel and separate story. If Jesus was physically seen alive a few days later, it is very likely some people were bribed, and he was saved before his physical death. Because it was Sabbath the next day, they had to take all bodies of the cross. The most logical explanation is that he was in a coma and recovered. He had powerful friends.
The spiritual resurrection is way more interesting; he died as the ego-man Jesus and was reborn as Christ. He met god (his father) and became god in spirit. His body lived on or not. That's not that important as bodies always die, earlier or later.
Regarding Atonement: How I make sense of it is that there is only one sin, if you like to call it like that, and that is the original sin: Eating from the Tree of Knowledge and getting kicked out of paradise. Eating from the Tree of Knowledge is a metaphor for leaving the state of One-ness (Paradise) and entering the state of Duality. With this sin (a human brain development seems a more appropriate description), the Ego is born. But only in the mind. It is an illusion. A brain disease. Duality means a perceived "I" observing "the world". One-ness is split in two - subject and object. With it, all suffering starts.
All other sins follow the original sin because living in an ego-state IS the sin. As long there is an ego, we are not one with god and existence. (Note: Ego is used in its broadest meaning of the word. It is the core of the subject-object relationship. I don't use it in the casual judgmental sense, e.g. "This guy has a big ego." A good person doing good things has as much ego foundation as a bad person doing bad things. )
The only atonement is ego disolvement, reaching enlightenment, and the two (subject/object) become one again, and we are back in paradise. In my understanding, everyone is on that path of ego dissolution., knowingly or not, deliberately or not. Life, rebirth and Karma "cook" the ego through suffering and suffering and suffering until it is eventually surrendered. The surrendering is the death and re-birth as a whole, ego-free person. The purpose of life is fulfilled, and no physical rebirth is needed anymore. The two are one again and back in paradise.
Well, I think we can agree that if there was no physical death and resurrection than the entire Christian faith crumbles. Jesus transitions from Lord to a lunatic (or, liar, at a minimum).
I find it hard to believe that someone could be flogged within inches of their life only to cool around town 3 days later after faking a public crucifixion put on by the greatest capital punishers of all time: the Romans. Neither the Romans or the Sadducees had any motive to help some peasant rabble rousers fool not one but both of the those ruling bodies. And if they had successfully pulled it off, they would have been propping up a near Weekend At Bernies version of Jesus after being scourged 39 times with a cat of nine tails.
That said, if the death and resurrection did not happen, then I am probably working on my ego-state like you.
I don't think the Christian faith has to crumble if they drop the resurrection story. They can hire some of the Covid propagandists and adjust the story. No, seriously, the resurrection story is a bit of a thriller and great for Christian marketing but from a spiritual point of view, worthless. Bodily concerns e.g. living - dying - living was never important for true mystics. Jesus did the right thing and killed his ego on the cross and became enlightened (maybe even before, who knows). That's all that mattered.
I really like Jesus. I once was in a terrible state and someone suggested to me over the phone to pray to Jesus Christ. I was a meditator back then and a Vipassana course put me in this terrible psychological state. And my own arrogance, of course.
But even being desperate - I still rejected that suggestion to pray to Jesus. Until 20 min later when the next massive anxiety attack hit me. Finally I was humble enough and started praying to Jesus. I promised him that I would never meditate again if he would save me from going mad. In less than a minute, I was totally ok.
I kept my promise. Never felt the need to pray again either. I do self-enquiry now. Jesus and are good. We understand each other. He really doesn't care about all that fuss around him that these churches created, including the resurrection story. How that story can help anyone towards enlightenment is beyond me. But gods ways are mysterious.
Whatever is, is there for a reason and can't be any other way. That's what self-enquiry taught me. This bit of real knowledge I find extremely relaxing.
Constantly thinking of sins, of being not good enough, and hell? Shut the gate. Living like that actually sounds like we are in hell already. I don't know him that well, but I am pretty certain Jesus wouldn't advocate for that.
Judgement converted to Mercy. (I'm talking Kabbalah again)
Vipassana not for the faint of heart! Now that I'm an old lady, I know I couldn't subject myself to that. With certain exceptions, most meditations teach you to flatten the brain waves and submit to control. While this is a relief for most busy minds, it also leaves you vulnerable to suggestion.
I teach meditation, but only 10 min at a time. I just want to "do the dishes," not overhaul the kitchen.
I was reading Shirley MacLaine's "Camino," about her journey on the Way, and the visions she had while completing the ordeal.
In it she speaks of original sin, and it doesn't look biblical, at all. (this gets a little wild) When we were Lemurian, we had no duality, no sex, no divisions. We spoke with our hearts and minds, didn't really use speech. Then came Atlantis, which was all focused on spiritual tech - crystals and spaceports. But in order for a Lemurian to become an Atlantean (MacLaine goes through this process) you have to become pregnant with yourself and give birth to duality. Then you are male / female. Right / Wrong. Dark / Light. This is the Original Sin, the separation into Duality, and the focus on Tech rather than Oneness.
I'm seriously condensing her tale here, but it's an interesting perspective on the Garden & Eden & all that.
The thing that I dont quite get about Christianity is that no one bothers to point out that the bible as we know it was put together by the most rich and powerful people at the Council of Nicene in 325AD. Rich and powerful people are not known for being benevolent towards those they view as lower on the hierarchy scale so why did they pick the books that make up the bible? Why did they choose to exclude certain books from the bible? If the Biden administration decided to create it's own bible it would be the exact same thing as the bible put together 2000 years ago, a tool designed to enslave and delude the masses. Jesus was raised by the Essenes who believed in reincarnation, along with the Gnostics who were subsequently persecuted by other Christians, based on this the teachings of Jesus make much more sense and, IMO, the books excluded from the bible backed up this fact.
Couldn't agree more. Well put. They also twisted quotes and put stuff into the bible that had nothing to do with Jesus. That's why the bible is such a contradicting mess compared to other spiritual books.
I too have been harshly critical of organized Christian religion. I recently quit an evangelical church citing the widespread contradiction in that church between the behavior I experienced and how the Bible teaches Christians should act. I cited the books James and 1 John as indicative of how Christians should act as indicative of their authenticity. Many claim to be children of God. These books provide a standard by which to objectively measure. My belief is we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and after being saved should act in an ever increasing degree as He taught us. . . if in fact we ever were spiritually born into God's family through faith.
In that same church, from the pulpit a pastor asked an unbeliever why he wouldn't consider his message. The response "I won't join your church because of the way Christians treat each other"
In 2012 I almost died of simultaneous cancer, cardiovascular disease and severe ulcerative colitis. I reversed all 3 chronic diseases using food as medicine, a whole foods plant based diet. IN 2017 my Bible study class in that same church as noted above asked me to share my story with the church. I did. The broad based hostility directed at me including, ostracism, blatant snubs, mocking me to my face, malicious gossip, and lying about all the above when confronted prompted me to quit the church and tell the pastor and leaders of that Bible study class what happened in blunt terms. I met a still current member a year later in a grocery story. We were friends. She asked why I left so I tole her and asked, didn't they believe my story? She responded "THey absolutely believe your story is true, and they know they need to do this. THey just don't want to." And this is why they treat me with contempt? I visited 2 other churches and offered the pastor to share my story their. One never responded to me after he recruited me. The other told me in writing not to share my story with anyone in his church.
What is wrong with all these churches? I am a recovering alcoholic 34 years sober. Their behavior reminds me of my own addiction when I could no longer deny my addiction, couldn't get sober, and was mad at those who made me aware of MY problem. I was angry at them. I was the problem. I never got sober in the church, despite their hammering me from the pulpit. Desperation drove me to an addiction treatment center then Alcoholics Anonymous. And I still use the program today to live a better quality, more spiritual life. I almost married an Al-Anon, but when I broke off the relationship 3 years sober, both her and her sponsor destroyed my reputation in groups I was formerly welcome through malicious gossip. So having had my trust betrayed . . . AGAIN. . . I stopped going to AA also. Despite the warnings a drunk can't stay sober without AA, I built a solid 12 step program life and still trusted in God.
So now what? Both organizations betrayed my trust because of their own obvious character defects. Do I just give up on any organization that stresses spirituality and faith in God. Old school AA for me was a practical application of faith in God. So is the Bible, which after 40 years after first trusting in Christ, experience has taught me I can trust it. The same as a plant based diet BY EXPERIENCE has taught me I can trust it. That experience for example is what primarily led me to reject little Mr Fauci's propaganda and the death jab and rely on my own autoimmune system. And that issue is now settled. But the church and AA are still questions I wrestle with. I see the value of both in trusting the program of AA and the Bible as written (and often in conflict with what is taught in many churches)
Resolution is on hold for now as my time is monopolized providing assistance with my 92 year old mother and splitting my time between her home and mine. But I think what this will end is I will rejoin AA and I will stay open minded for a church that actually PRACTICES the Bible, not mouths empty words but their life does not reflect what Jesus taught. Remember, the harshest criticism Jesus had was reserved for the religious leaders of his day, whom he repeatedly called hypocrites. And that's what I see in most of today's church.
As far as whether the Bible can be trusted, I suggest an oldie but a goodie. A book by Josh McDowell called "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". It will directly and with granular detail answer some of the questions you raise. It will be a tough read. Be strong and keep an open mind. I couldn't find the original from 1975 but here's a link to what should be an updated version of what I read. The used books are reasonably priced. A new copy sells like an antique collectible.
In my experience, the teacher, church, or organisation finds me when I am ready for a particular teaching. In my experience, all teachings and teachers only provide a piece or a few pieces of a very personal spiritual jigsaw puzzle that I have to piece together. There seems to be no coherent, logical order or plan, but it unfolds rather mysteriously.
I had periods of intense spiritual experiences and upheaval, only to be followed by a decade of ordinary non-spiritual life.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, another piece was offered. I trust that process.
I think, ultimately, all teachers, systems, organisations and beliefs will disappoint and have to be abandoned if we want to know who we really are. It is disappointing and painful because of our false hopes that they (teachers, churches, organisations) will heal us. But they can't. They try and mean well, but ultimately, all answers are only within ourselves. All spiritual paths end up within. All questions and answers are within. That's where non-duality points to: Self-enquiry. Who am I? No one can answer that for us. God is not a belief. We can't know god. If grace is with us he will meet us when we are ready, and then all questions are answered, and we are finally home at peace and blessed.
It appears as though you have made up your mind without examining the evidence I presented. Josh McDowell's work is a meticulous well documented granular defense of Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ, which as I said has been largely butchered by today's church. I have not given up on the now 40 year history I have of following CHrist and the miracles I;ve experienced since trusting Him. I believe my example of reversing 3 chronic diseases, all life threatening, was through divine guidance leading me where almost no one will go to find a solution almost no one else will, following a nutrition source almost no one knew about. Today Dr Michael Greger at NutritionFacts.org is a globally recognized authority on applied nutrition. My results are even better than he predicts are possible.
My sobriety of 34 years is also rare. I attended AA for 3 years and only knew 1 other person 30 years sober in all of north Atlanta in groups I attended. And they all agree you cannot stay sober without regular meeting attendance. That is now 30 years proven results for me. Again an extreme outlier.
When I rejected the COVID hysteria in early 2021 as the death jabs were being rolled out, almost no one agreed with me to trust our own auto immune system and take care of it, but reject the vaccine. People were hysterical with masks, isolation, etc. I did nothing except take care of our God given defenses. And when I got the COVID virus in 2021 after walking the hospital COVID ward to pick up my mother, I was into a strong recovery in 3 days despite the extreme exposure and no protection (according to medical establishment)
That I am even alive today and sober, against all odds on all fronts, is to me God's directing my life through these 40 years of a very improbable journey. I would not trade my faith in CHrist for anything, or my sobriety through the spiritual program of AA, or my reliance on our God given defense system.
My faith is not tossed and blown like a wave on the sea in a storm. I am really disappointed that you have obviously not even considered my evidence and simple repeat your preconceived notion of rejecting all organized religious systems. I have already stated my objections to today's church. My faith in CHrist is not dependent on fallible men. or one person's experience but on a Savior who has repeatedly demonstrated Himself to me as trusthworthy. I have carefully and critically evaluated many systems of beliefs, including agnostic and atheist, but did so after evaluating the arguments.
If reading the serious book by McDowell is beyond your willingness to consider a different point of view, he has a much easier book entitled "More than a Carpenter". Used it is a reasonable price and to me a priceless read.
I clicked on your link in the previous post, and it led me to the Amazon site for the book you mentioned, which is $99, so I gave it a pass. Apart from that, I don't read many books these days. I totally believe that your faith in Christ is really working for you. It is obvious from the stories you tell.
I am not against trusting and believing in Jesus Christ at all. The purpose of the articele was about the claim that we can find god only through Jesus or within a church. The purpose was to promote religious and spiritual freedom.
I distinguish between a direct relationship with a teacher, guru, saint or holy person - whatever we call them and the churches and other religious institution that use a middle man, like priests etc. Of course, amongst those priests there can be really good people too. Granted, Chrisitanity is not working for me, so far. I tried. I found another spiritual path that works for me. But who know? Maye I find Jesus one day. If that happens I am ok too. If I sounded like I wanted to take away your faith, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. Take care, my friend.
I am pleased that your response is not the typical closed minded idealogue, who reflexively rejects any challenge to their thinking. And as stated previously, I share your skepticism with organized religion. But my faith in Christ is based on his work on my behalf, which I examined skeptically and eventually accepted as just obvious. Practice has demonstrated it's authenticity despite the crappy example many Christians set. So I look for evidence in facts, like historical facts. That is why I linked 2 books from McDowell.
But I agree $99 for one book sounds like a collector's item and I"d pass on that also. So the link offers used more reasonably priced. The mountain of work it took to lay out the meticulously detailed arguments to me is easily worth it. And my followup post to McDowell's book "More than a Carpenter" is modestly priced and a quick read. What worked for me here is what I did when I adopted a plant based diet 8 years ago. That is, to be skeptical initially but willing to consider an argument provided it is based on verifiable facts. Everyone is welcome to their opinion, but if you expect to move mine, you have to back it up with facts.
My faith in Christ is in Him, not a church. But I started with the above described healthy skepticism reading those above books with a critical eye to find the flaws in the argument. I don't read hoping to confirm my thinking. That is confirmation bias. I read to learn, but it has to stand up to scrutiny. And this has.
Nice chatting with you again. WE've done this before and the exchange has been informative for me. Take care.
I would suggest everyone read and or listen to the audio book ZEALOT by Reza Aslan , and break free of the spells of controlled organized religions all of them.
There is also a huge Celtic & occult tradition that Jesus was indeed educated. Between age 12 (at the Temple) and age 30, when he reappears, it is believed by some that he spent those years in India, Egypt and England, gaining his wisdom.
My issue with Christianity is that the bible as we know it was put together by the "elite" at the council of Nicene in 325AD. Anything that contradicted how the "elite" wanted to rule was tossed out and labeled as heresy thus we have no way of knowing what exactly it was that Jesus and his followers wanted us to know; all we know is what the "elite" decided would be useful to them, not us. Due to this most people are unaware that Jesus was raised by the Essenes, a mystic group that believed in reincarnation. If you apply this knowledge to Jesus' teachings they start to make a whole lot more sense. The whole notion of a hell filled with sinners, due to not following the "elites" bible is laughable, why would god create us with free will and then punish us for using it?
Thank you,Ma Mu. I am almost perfectly aligned with you on this subject. Of course I have had my own strange experiences with the Christian religions, and I have my own rather makeshift personal set of beliefs. For example, I have always been very big on angels and angelic visitations and nature spirits. Now I call on the Great Spirit and pray daily to “the Living Christ who is always with me”. I say the 23rd Psalm every day.
I listen mostly to Early Music, which of course was church music.
Re your substack name: I am as well 100% My Own Doctor, like you.
The next big spiritual paradigm shift has to be a non-decisive individual approach to god. No middle woman or middle man. There are as many ways to god as there are people. It is highly individual. That's how we can distinguish between real spiritual teachers and false teachers. Real teachers only help for a little while and set their disciples free again, encouraging them to replace themselves with our sadguru, which means inner guru. Inner teacher.
Nisargdatta, for example, deliberately taught from very small premises and refused offers from wealthy donors to build an ashram. He constantly sent disciples away because he knew that, instead of finding god in themselves, they would attach to him and try to copy his way to enlightenment. But the way to enlightenment can't be copied. It is new and unique for each person.
Wonderful to hear how you follow your own path and trust your intuition.
Amen to that. It is new and unique for each person. Also something that has never sat well with me: was it to be the God for humanity or only for those lucky ones that heard of him? And if you lived in a small village in the middle of, say China? Then what? You're excluded, unloved by God? Like, no God for you! Well, questions like these got me thrown out of religion classes at 12 yo, but I'm doing fine!
Enjoyed your essay Ma My and agree with your stand.
Your thoughts parallel mine. I have often thought that I could follow Jesus as a teacher & guide - but Christianity requires you to believe a whole lot of other crap, the primary one being that Jesus died to save us from our sins (and so on) & as long as you believe, you will be saved. This smacks of rank superstition to me, not spiritual truth.
To go deeper into the actual life and teachings of Jesus, I came across a group called "Guild For Psychological Studies" which produced some books, including “Records of the Life of Jesus" by Henry Burton Sharman. This is a sort of compendium that looks at what was said in the 4 main gospels (even the earliest, Mark, was not written until around 70 years afterwards) and sorts out what probably was actually said by Jesus (because it appears in several of the gospels) and what was most likely a bit of embellishment by the writer.
You can still buy it online at their website. Or you could find another of their books, "Jesus as Teacher" - which is available to read for free online:
It is meant to be read, studied, and discussed in a study group. Which I have not done, but this strikes me as an appropriate way to approach the teachings of Jesus.
And BTW, if you think the New Testament is confusing, then you should try reading the Koran... :)
My golly, the higher you climb the mountain, the closer the separate trails become. I haven't followed the Hindu / Buddhist routes after reading the advice given to The Beatles that you could reject orthodox Christianity then get lost in orthodox Hinduism / Buddhism ritual. I've just read a bit about N. Maharaj & it's clearly the same spirit. Now, l used to criticise pro vaxxers on YT & ran across a doctor called Felix Moyo. I asked him where his principles came from & he replied his Higher Self. He's African - another trail up the mountain.
You talk about evolving into a non dual state in the near future. I believe the same. I'm not sure if all will 'rise' in consciousness. This is a consequence of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius / end of the Mayan calendar/ Biblical end times. This is a very exciting & challenging opportunity. However, those who choose to remain in 3D are no less loved by God / Prime Creator / All That Is. Namaste
"My golly, the higher you climb the mountain, the closer the separate trails become. "
Nice metaphor. One god. One mountain. The base of the mountain is extensive. Many paths go up - even from opposite sides. But at the top, they all merge into one.
Another nice one is the elephant metaphor. An elephant represents God. Then these religious men (and women, of course), who read all the scriptures and claim to know god, approach. They are blindfolded, symbolising their ignorance. The Christian man touches the trunk and proclaims: This is how god feels like. God is about 1.5 m long, thick as my leg, and flexible like a snake. The Muslim approaches and touches a leg. He proclaims: No, no, no - it is much thicker, shorter, and stronger like an ox. The Hindu touches the elephant's belly and says: No way, god is nothing like that. It is soft huge, and round, and I can't find any boundaries.
They argue and fight the rest of the day because each one is sure of knowing god.
Absolutely beautiful. It's not just the religions that fight amongst themselves, it's also the denominations within them. They each want to own God rather than emulate a loving God.
I liked this article. I follow A course In Miracles. A few small issues, 1) who were the three wise men from the East, but Buddhist monks 2) apparently the Buddhist St Issa was also Jesus. Remember, the Bible only recounts a few years of a man who died in his early 30s 3) if Christianity is right, which sect has The Truth, then which priest has that Absolute Truth. They all interpret the same text differently.
I once read a book that made good arguments that Jesus spent about 10 years, between the age of 20 and 30 in India where he learned about Hinduism, Yogia techniques and Buddhism. Early Christianity has a lot in common with Buddhism.
There are more years than that of his mysterious disappearance from where they claim he was born , but does not actually appear ON ANY MAP or proven records at that time. But records do exist [ NOW IN RUSSIA ] of his supposed time in a monastery in TIBET.
I was following a woman who channelled Jesus & this is exactly what he said. The principles behind ACIM are supposedly closer to Buddhism / Hinduism than orthodox Christianity. The later exercises concentrate increasingly on I Am decrees.
Interestingly, there was a movement set up in the 1930s called the St Germain Foundation & the books written about it are called The I Am Discourses. I use volume 4, which contains numerous I Am decrees.
This is also at the core of Advaita Vedanta, an old Hinduistic non-dual movement. My prediction is that non-dual awareness-based spirituality will replace the ancient belief-based religions soon. And intentional spiritual psychedelic sessions will be instrumental for profound, meaningful, and insightful spiritual experiences. Ego delusion seems to be at the core of meeting god. If we disappear, all that is left is god. It is that simple. I am working on an article about how our sense of ego is an illusion at the Default Mode Network in our brains.
While I have heard most of this before, you make your case well. And I see honesty and the striving for truth in what you write. One thing I quite strongly disagree with, though:
"So he reassures them that in this specific case, the only way to god open to them is through trust in Him and not submitting to their fears and going back to the false Jewish doctrine. That's the only way these words make any sense."
They do make some sense this way, I agree. But I do not think it is the only way they do, nor the most important one. Forgive my verbosity, but I suppose I can make my point this way:
Traveling South India this year (one of my favourite corners of the earth) with my wife and two sons, one of which was still a baby at the time and has, in the space of seven weeks, been on more Dravidian grandma's arms than most local babies, I encountered a fellow kraut turned U.S. citizen and his wife, both of them Hare Krishnas. They are from our parent's generation and we had the most vibrant and refreshing conversations like we all were in our twenties and had nothing else to do.
While my approach to god is eclectic to say the least, built mostly on meditative experience, psychedelics, music, freely realised personal love and, though lack of direct personal knowledge has me retain a basic scepticism, Steiner's spiritual science, we jived completely in our metaphysical world view. What Christian esotericism calls Christ consciousness, they call Krishna consciousness. And all that we had to share about those correlated up to the finest details. The cosmogony may differ most fundamentally, but even that can be debated.
And, to my point, I see "No one comes to the Father except through me" as an expression of a real presence, an entity transcendent yet personal (or akin to being personal), call it a Logos if "Christ" (understandably) turns you off. The experience of this presence then is filtered through cultural lenses, where the diversity of earth's and people's being manifests, gloriously and confusingly. So though on the surface it certainly appears a divisive concept, that is not Jesus' spirit here (I know we agree on that), but it may well be an accurate enough quote that only resonates with truth at a deeper level of understanding, one actually not bound to historical context.
Since you are arguing with my post I guess I should respond!
Firstly If you were right and what was written in the Bible about Jesus was a lie then you would still be quite wrong in blaming Christians for our “attitude” - we are merely following the teachings that were handed down to us 2000 years ago.
Secondly - have you actually dispassionately examined the evidence that the New Testament scriptures are genuine and accurate?
Also the charge levelled at the missionaries about genocide etc is not true in general. In the cases I know of (Australia, the US, New Zealand) where this has occurred missionaries were trying to help and protect the indigenous people and standing up against imperialism (see Samuel Marsden, Louis Giustiani, Robert Lyons, and Robert Green in Australia) it was rather the secular governments in the last 150 years in particular which were inspired by colonialism and a racist brand of scientism/Darwinism that were responsible for the dispossession and genocide.
South America is different - Christian missionaries came in with violence here - however the Aztec and Inca religions were practicing human sacrifice and the rulers of these countries were consciously deceiving the common people - still this is probably an example of what you were talking about.
Most missionary endeavours through history were pacifist (the mediterranean, all of Europe England Ireland the South Pacific Russia Japan Philippines New Zealand Australia, China, most of Africa, in India the missionaries fought against the imperialist English government to establish schools and universities and outlaw evils such as widow self immolation , etc etc) and in all these places missionary efforts were based on rational discourse and the willingness of missionaries to suffer and die for Christ - which also happened in South America contemporaneously with the conquistadors.
As I said, if you love Jesus, love him as much as you want. My main reason for writing this substack is to support and promote freedom in all areas, including spiritual freedom. Claiming that the only way to god is through Jesus is totally ignorant and intolerant, severely damaging spiritual and religious freedom. Isn't it ironic that the early Christians suffered terribly under Nero? He burned them to only allow the Roman gods to be true. And then the Christian copy that for the next 2000 years. And you defending it. I have no sympathy for that,
Nonsense all human enslavement and indigenous culture destruction SINCE 1300 can be laid at the hands of one POPE who with his PAPAL BULL declared all of them soulless heathens, and their lands and resources to be stolen. Or forcibly CONVERT them. Human sacrifice was practiced by the pagan cultures the Catholic church is modeled from , It just the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE continued .
I am not aware of this papal bull. Maybe you can tell me which pope?
In Australia this was not so anyhow - the English government which operated under a thin veneer of Church of England was responsible for declaring Australia terra nullius. And the pastoralists took the racist evolutionary theories of early Darwinism as justification for the atrocities they were already committing.
I think it is a stretch to call many of the popes Christian particularly in the Middle Ages. Those who read and followed the Bible were not these people; popes and conquistadors.
Nonetheless I have read that the Aztec rulers expected this judgement - they were hiding the truth about one God from the people and controlling them using human sacrifice; they knew it was wrong. The conquistadors arguably were motivated more by the need to provide gold to their sponsors back home who had paid for their journeys than by any Christian feeling.
There is a strong case to be made "Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" that Jesus and his disciples did indeed partake of mushrooms, and that was part of the transference presented by the Guru. It's been decades since I read it, so sorry, cannot give more detail.
I'm still reading your article - but a few things occurred to me. I've been reading a bit of Kabbalah, "God is a Verb" by Rabbi David Cooper. It's a little weird applying Kabbalistic principles to the New Testament, but here we go. On the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, Jesus (and/or Krisna, if you like) resides in Tipharet. If you look at the Tree, Tipharet is in the middle - where the heart resides. It is the centre of the central column of the Tree. Your Heart.
No man comes to the Father (the Source) but by Me (the Heart).
I thought I would check the expanded Greek New Testament - it often reads like a legal contract (interesting to study!) - however - it is very literal, and translates to English, thus:
"I alone, in contradiction to all others, am the road and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (you see what I mean about the legal language in the expanded Greek?)
So, no new interpretations there. (you never know until you check!)
Anyhow - learning about Tipharet and the Heart on the Tree made this verse true for me. It just ain't how they are calling it. I've spent a good deal of my life freeing from the childhood indoctrination (I'm still wondering about Hitchens' call that this is "child abuse,") of literal Christianity.
George Gurdjieff (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=gurdjieff#cobssid=) is a fascinating spiritual teacher. This is from memory, so not 100% correct.
He reports visiting an ancient secret monastery deep in a mountain range. They blindfolded him all the way. It took about seven days on mule-back to get there. He reported the monastery was over 5000 years old, and some of the most senior monks were up to 300 years old.
They had many strange rituals and habits. They were building and using sophisticated men-sized puppets with limbs that could be arranged in various positions. They expressed god in dances and postures, similar to Sufis: no words or pictures.
Muslims do not allow images of the prophet or Allah. This is very wise and valid, in my opinion. Many say to meet god, your mind must be completely empty of expectations. Otherwise, the mind and the ego play games with you, and you think this is god, but it is mental conditioning and imagination. The mind can produce anything.
What is repeated over and over again by all genuine sages through all times is that God can't be described or only in negative terms. In non-duality, god is simply called "the Absolute", the source of all manifestations. Some spiritual teachers disregard any scriptures as false.
Personally, after reading countless spiritual books and learning from many teachers over the past 25 years, I found the only spiritual book worth reading in "I AM THAT" by Nisargadatta Maharaj. This book collected the direct talk of an immensely lucid enlightened person. I am reading it over and over again, and every time I wake up to more truth. Not saying this is for everyone. It probably would not have worked for me 20 years ago.
https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/I-Am-That-by-Sri-Nisargadatta-Maharaj.pdf
I have always said "institutionlised religion" is no different to any other cult, a means for a few to control the many. What I see in a lot of cases is these so called Christians put Jesus on a pedestal above God. Then we hit rock bottom where the Pope states and believes he is the Divine's "chosen" representative on earth." Such arrogance, to have people grovel at his feet and kiss his solid gold ring as kings of old would make others supplicate themselves at their feet.
Yes and the POPE s official title as Vicar of Christ means he claims he is standing in as the ruler of the world ,until Jeshua Ben Joseph [who never once called himself Christ] returns. Current Pope called for all the faithful to" 'TAKE THE DEATH SHOTS AS AN ACT OF LOVE " I believe thats a clue children.
It is two very different things worshipping Jesus and worshipping the Pope.
Jesus is not above God - He is eternal and was equal to God. Even so he became a servant (Philippians 2:5–8 ) and submitted himself to a shameful death on the cross, to save us, even when we were God’s enemies! This is actually really joyful news, because the truth is, without Jesus we’re doomed and stumbling around in the dark blind and feeling our way around in life, not knowing what we’re doing. God bless you this Easter season!
As a Spiritualist, I believe that Jesus died to prove superiority over death. He died publically to prove he had died He made contact with his followers after the crucifixion to prove the soul, the I Am (Holy Ghost) in each of us is superior to the human body. The I Am is the spark of God within each of us. We must make contact with it to be like Jesus & overcome death ( the wheel of Karma). If you believe in the eternity of the Soul (I Am), you can believe Jesus's remark "I am with you always".Then, we can start to appreciate Jesus's comment "all this and more shall ye do"
Keeping the awareness on the "I Am" is the only teaching of Nisargadatta Maharaj. That's how he achieved enlightenment. The book "I am That" is a collection of every possible question about life and spirituality and is answered by Nisargadatta. I never read anything more profound. Most who read it consider it the best spiritual book ever.
It makes the bible look like a children's book for kindergarten. I read it seven times and every time it reveals more.
I am a Christian and not scared by your post. Ultimately, I believe the statement attributed to Jesus is true, but I also believe that God's grace is big enough. He is God and He can do what he wants.
But the bigger point is that God is holy and we are not. The Jews had/have a complex program to be made right with God. It required sacrifice. Generally an unblemished lamb. When Jesus takes on this role, he is atoning for our sins. He is the unblemished Lamb...that comes back to life and, hence, a religion is borne.
And while I do want to share my faith with others and hope that all come to faith, salvation is a supernatural act between you and God. I can't save you. God saves. And, based on scripture, I am confident that there has to be some kind of atonement for falling short of God's glory.
So, for those who don't want to believe that Jesus is the ONLY way (which I think is a fun discussion), what is your atonement? Because if you don't believe that you need atonement then we aren't on the same wavelength. If, however, you have a good atonement mechanism that is outside of the Jesus narrative then I am always interested in that conversation.
I always seek common ground, and you offer some; thank you: ".... salvation is a supernatural act between you and God. I can't save you. God saves. "
Amen to that, I say.
Regarding atonement. I don't believe we are sinners as individuals. I don't believe in free will, either. Jesus himself said as much:
I read the bible in German, so my translation here might be slightly off, but one of my most loved quotes from Jesus is: "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they are doing."
Again, context is critical. The man hangs on the cross for hours, in excruciating pain, on death's door. He gets taunted and abused, and poked with spears by cruel people. And then this amazing insight. "They don't know what they are doing." That is 100% identical to Buddha saying: "Everyone is ignorant. "Jesus realised everyone is under the spell of their Ego and a victim of cause and effect. There is no free choice or will if you don't know what you are doing, isn't there? (A post about free will is in the making)
I believe that's when the last little bit of ego left in the man Jesus evaporated, and his ego died, and he got enlightened. The whole resurrection story is, once again, a metaphor. The "being reborn" metaphor is as old as human culture. Once again, many Christians and churches take the words in the bible too literally and out of context.
It doesn't mean physical death and physical resurrection, in my opinion. That is an entirely parallel and separate story. If Jesus was physically seen alive a few days later, it is very likely some people were bribed, and he was saved before his physical death. Because it was Sabbath the next day, they had to take all bodies of the cross. The most logical explanation is that he was in a coma and recovered. He had powerful friends.
The spiritual resurrection is way more interesting; he died as the ego-man Jesus and was reborn as Christ. He met god (his father) and became god in spirit. His body lived on or not. That's not that important as bodies always die, earlier or later.
Regarding Atonement: How I make sense of it is that there is only one sin, if you like to call it like that, and that is the original sin: Eating from the Tree of Knowledge and getting kicked out of paradise. Eating from the Tree of Knowledge is a metaphor for leaving the state of One-ness (Paradise) and entering the state of Duality. With this sin (a human brain development seems a more appropriate description), the Ego is born. But only in the mind. It is an illusion. A brain disease. Duality means a perceived "I" observing "the world". One-ness is split in two - subject and object. With it, all suffering starts.
All other sins follow the original sin because living in an ego-state IS the sin. As long there is an ego, we are not one with god and existence. (Note: Ego is used in its broadest meaning of the word. It is the core of the subject-object relationship. I don't use it in the casual judgmental sense, e.g. "This guy has a big ego." A good person doing good things has as much ego foundation as a bad person doing bad things. )
The only atonement is ego disolvement, reaching enlightenment, and the two (subject/object) become one again, and we are back in paradise. In my understanding, everyone is on that path of ego dissolution., knowingly or not, deliberately or not. Life, rebirth and Karma "cook" the ego through suffering and suffering and suffering until it is eventually surrendered. The surrendering is the death and re-birth as a whole, ego-free person. The purpose of life is fulfilled, and no physical rebirth is needed anymore. The two are one again and back in paradise.
Easy as, isn't it? ;-)
Well, I think we can agree that if there was no physical death and resurrection than the entire Christian faith crumbles. Jesus transitions from Lord to a lunatic (or, liar, at a minimum).
I find it hard to believe that someone could be flogged within inches of their life only to cool around town 3 days later after faking a public crucifixion put on by the greatest capital punishers of all time: the Romans. Neither the Romans or the Sadducees had any motive to help some peasant rabble rousers fool not one but both of the those ruling bodies. And if they had successfully pulled it off, they would have been propping up a near Weekend At Bernies version of Jesus after being scourged 39 times with a cat of nine tails.
That said, if the death and resurrection did not happen, then I am probably working on my ego-state like you.
I don't think the Christian faith has to crumble if they drop the resurrection story. They can hire some of the Covid propagandists and adjust the story. No, seriously, the resurrection story is a bit of a thriller and great for Christian marketing but from a spiritual point of view, worthless. Bodily concerns e.g. living - dying - living was never important for true mystics. Jesus did the right thing and killed his ego on the cross and became enlightened (maybe even before, who knows). That's all that mattered.
I really like Jesus. I once was in a terrible state and someone suggested to me over the phone to pray to Jesus Christ. I was a meditator back then and a Vipassana course put me in this terrible psychological state. And my own arrogance, of course.
But even being desperate - I still rejected that suggestion to pray to Jesus. Until 20 min later when the next massive anxiety attack hit me. Finally I was humble enough and started praying to Jesus. I promised him that I would never meditate again if he would save me from going mad. In less than a minute, I was totally ok.
I kept my promise. Never felt the need to pray again either. I do self-enquiry now. Jesus and are good. We understand each other. He really doesn't care about all that fuss around him that these churches created, including the resurrection story. How that story can help anyone towards enlightenment is beyond me. But gods ways are mysterious.
Whatever is, is there for a reason and can't be any other way. That's what self-enquiry taught me. This bit of real knowledge I find extremely relaxing.
Constantly thinking of sins, of being not good enough, and hell? Shut the gate. Living like that actually sounds like we are in hell already. I don't know him that well, but I am pretty certain Jesus wouldn't advocate for that.
Judgement converted to Mercy. (I'm talking Kabbalah again)
Vipassana not for the faint of heart! Now that I'm an old lady, I know I couldn't subject myself to that. With certain exceptions, most meditations teach you to flatten the brain waves and submit to control. While this is a relief for most busy minds, it also leaves you vulnerable to suggestion.
I teach meditation, but only 10 min at a time. I just want to "do the dishes," not overhaul the kitchen.
I was reading Shirley MacLaine's "Camino," about her journey on the Way, and the visions she had while completing the ordeal.
In it she speaks of original sin, and it doesn't look biblical, at all. (this gets a little wild) When we were Lemurian, we had no duality, no sex, no divisions. We spoke with our hearts and minds, didn't really use speech. Then came Atlantis, which was all focused on spiritual tech - crystals and spaceports. But in order for a Lemurian to become an Atlantean (MacLaine goes through this process) you have to become pregnant with yourself and give birth to duality. Then you are male / female. Right / Wrong. Dark / Light. This is the Original Sin, the separation into Duality, and the focus on Tech rather than Oneness.
I'm seriously condensing her tale here, but it's an interesting perspective on the Garden & Eden & all that.
The thing that I dont quite get about Christianity is that no one bothers to point out that the bible as we know it was put together by the most rich and powerful people at the Council of Nicene in 325AD. Rich and powerful people are not known for being benevolent towards those they view as lower on the hierarchy scale so why did they pick the books that make up the bible? Why did they choose to exclude certain books from the bible? If the Biden administration decided to create it's own bible it would be the exact same thing as the bible put together 2000 years ago, a tool designed to enslave and delude the masses. Jesus was raised by the Essenes who believed in reincarnation, along with the Gnostics who were subsequently persecuted by other Christians, based on this the teachings of Jesus make much more sense and, IMO, the books excluded from the bible backed up this fact.
Couldn't agree more. Well put. They also twisted quotes and put stuff into the bible that had nothing to do with Jesus. That's why the bible is such a contradicting mess compared to other spiritual books.
The Nicene Creed is NOWHERE in the Bible.
I too have been harshly critical of organized Christian religion. I recently quit an evangelical church citing the widespread contradiction in that church between the behavior I experienced and how the Bible teaches Christians should act. I cited the books James and 1 John as indicative of how Christians should act as indicative of their authenticity. Many claim to be children of God. These books provide a standard by which to objectively measure. My belief is we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and after being saved should act in an ever increasing degree as He taught us. . . if in fact we ever were spiritually born into God's family through faith.
In that same church, from the pulpit a pastor asked an unbeliever why he wouldn't consider his message. The response "I won't join your church because of the way Christians treat each other"
In 2012 I almost died of simultaneous cancer, cardiovascular disease and severe ulcerative colitis. I reversed all 3 chronic diseases using food as medicine, a whole foods plant based diet. IN 2017 my Bible study class in that same church as noted above asked me to share my story with the church. I did. The broad based hostility directed at me including, ostracism, blatant snubs, mocking me to my face, malicious gossip, and lying about all the above when confronted prompted me to quit the church and tell the pastor and leaders of that Bible study class what happened in blunt terms. I met a still current member a year later in a grocery story. We were friends. She asked why I left so I tole her and asked, didn't they believe my story? She responded "THey absolutely believe your story is true, and they know they need to do this. THey just don't want to." And this is why they treat me with contempt? I visited 2 other churches and offered the pastor to share my story their. One never responded to me after he recruited me. The other told me in writing not to share my story with anyone in his church.
What is wrong with all these churches? I am a recovering alcoholic 34 years sober. Their behavior reminds me of my own addiction when I could no longer deny my addiction, couldn't get sober, and was mad at those who made me aware of MY problem. I was angry at them. I was the problem. I never got sober in the church, despite their hammering me from the pulpit. Desperation drove me to an addiction treatment center then Alcoholics Anonymous. And I still use the program today to live a better quality, more spiritual life. I almost married an Al-Anon, but when I broke off the relationship 3 years sober, both her and her sponsor destroyed my reputation in groups I was formerly welcome through malicious gossip. So having had my trust betrayed . . . AGAIN. . . I stopped going to AA also. Despite the warnings a drunk can't stay sober without AA, I built a solid 12 step program life and still trusted in God.
So now what? Both organizations betrayed my trust because of their own obvious character defects. Do I just give up on any organization that stresses spirituality and faith in God. Old school AA for me was a practical application of faith in God. So is the Bible, which after 40 years after first trusting in Christ, experience has taught me I can trust it. The same as a plant based diet BY EXPERIENCE has taught me I can trust it. That experience for example is what primarily led me to reject little Mr Fauci's propaganda and the death jab and rely on my own autoimmune system. And that issue is now settled. But the church and AA are still questions I wrestle with. I see the value of both in trusting the program of AA and the Bible as written (and often in conflict with what is taught in many churches)
Resolution is on hold for now as my time is monopolized providing assistance with my 92 year old mother and splitting my time between her home and mine. But I think what this will end is I will rejoin AA and I will stay open minded for a church that actually PRACTICES the Bible, not mouths empty words but their life does not reflect what Jesus taught. Remember, the harshest criticism Jesus had was reserved for the religious leaders of his day, whom he repeatedly called hypocrites. And that's what I see in most of today's church.
As far as whether the Bible can be trusted, I suggest an oldie but a goodie. A book by Josh McDowell called "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". It will directly and with granular detail answer some of the questions you raise. It will be a tough read. Be strong and keep an open mind. I couldn't find the original from 1975 but here's a link to what should be an updated version of what I read. The used books are reasonably priced. A new copy sells like an antique collectible.
https://www.amazon.com/Evidence-That-Demands-Verdict-Historical/dp/B005HAOVDK/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3HUUUP5YSMYBS&keywords=book+evidence+that+demands+a+verdict+by+josh+mcdowell&qid=1681044300&sprefix=josh+mcdowell+books+evidence%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-4
In my experience, the teacher, church, or organisation finds me when I am ready for a particular teaching. In my experience, all teachings and teachers only provide a piece or a few pieces of a very personal spiritual jigsaw puzzle that I have to piece together. There seems to be no coherent, logical order or plan, but it unfolds rather mysteriously.
I had periods of intense spiritual experiences and upheaval, only to be followed by a decade of ordinary non-spiritual life.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, another piece was offered. I trust that process.
I think, ultimately, all teachers, systems, organisations and beliefs will disappoint and have to be abandoned if we want to know who we really are. It is disappointing and painful because of our false hopes that they (teachers, churches, organisations) will heal us. But they can't. They try and mean well, but ultimately, all answers are only within ourselves. All spiritual paths end up within. All questions and answers are within. That's where non-duality points to: Self-enquiry. Who am I? No one can answer that for us. God is not a belief. We can't know god. If grace is with us he will meet us when we are ready, and then all questions are answered, and we are finally home at peace and blessed.
It appears as though you have made up your mind without examining the evidence I presented. Josh McDowell's work is a meticulous well documented granular defense of Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ, which as I said has been largely butchered by today's church. I have not given up on the now 40 year history I have of following CHrist and the miracles I;ve experienced since trusting Him. I believe my example of reversing 3 chronic diseases, all life threatening, was through divine guidance leading me where almost no one will go to find a solution almost no one else will, following a nutrition source almost no one knew about. Today Dr Michael Greger at NutritionFacts.org is a globally recognized authority on applied nutrition. My results are even better than he predicts are possible.
My sobriety of 34 years is also rare. I attended AA for 3 years and only knew 1 other person 30 years sober in all of north Atlanta in groups I attended. And they all agree you cannot stay sober without regular meeting attendance. That is now 30 years proven results for me. Again an extreme outlier.
When I rejected the COVID hysteria in early 2021 as the death jabs were being rolled out, almost no one agreed with me to trust our own auto immune system and take care of it, but reject the vaccine. People were hysterical with masks, isolation, etc. I did nothing except take care of our God given defenses. And when I got the COVID virus in 2021 after walking the hospital COVID ward to pick up my mother, I was into a strong recovery in 3 days despite the extreme exposure and no protection (according to medical establishment)
That I am even alive today and sober, against all odds on all fronts, is to me God's directing my life through these 40 years of a very improbable journey. I would not trade my faith in CHrist for anything, or my sobriety through the spiritual program of AA, or my reliance on our God given defense system.
My faith is not tossed and blown like a wave on the sea in a storm. I am really disappointed that you have obviously not even considered my evidence and simple repeat your preconceived notion of rejecting all organized religious systems. I have already stated my objections to today's church. My faith in CHrist is not dependent on fallible men. or one person's experience but on a Savior who has repeatedly demonstrated Himself to me as trusthworthy. I have carefully and critically evaluated many systems of beliefs, including agnostic and atheist, but did so after evaluating the arguments.
If reading the serious book by McDowell is beyond your willingness to consider a different point of view, he has a much easier book entitled "More than a Carpenter". Used it is a reasonable price and to me a priceless read.
https://www.amazon.com/Josh-D-McDowell-Carpenter-Special/dp/B00HTK29P8/ref=sr_1_29?crid=15HK8TA52XM4T&keywords=josh+mcdowell+books&qid=1681127790&sprefix=josh+mcdowell+book%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-29
I clicked on your link in the previous post, and it led me to the Amazon site for the book you mentioned, which is $99, so I gave it a pass. Apart from that, I don't read many books these days. I totally believe that your faith in Christ is really working for you. It is obvious from the stories you tell.
I am not against trusting and believing in Jesus Christ at all. The purpose of the articele was about the claim that we can find god only through Jesus or within a church. The purpose was to promote religious and spiritual freedom.
I distinguish between a direct relationship with a teacher, guru, saint or holy person - whatever we call them and the churches and other religious institution that use a middle man, like priests etc. Of course, amongst those priests there can be really good people too. Granted, Chrisitanity is not working for me, so far. I tried. I found another spiritual path that works for me. But who know? Maye I find Jesus one day. If that happens I am ok too. If I sounded like I wanted to take away your faith, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. Take care, my friend.
I am pleased that your response is not the typical closed minded idealogue, who reflexively rejects any challenge to their thinking. And as stated previously, I share your skepticism with organized religion. But my faith in Christ is based on his work on my behalf, which I examined skeptically and eventually accepted as just obvious. Practice has demonstrated it's authenticity despite the crappy example many Christians set. So I look for evidence in facts, like historical facts. That is why I linked 2 books from McDowell.
But I agree $99 for one book sounds like a collector's item and I"d pass on that also. So the link offers used more reasonably priced. The mountain of work it took to lay out the meticulously detailed arguments to me is easily worth it. And my followup post to McDowell's book "More than a Carpenter" is modestly priced and a quick read. What worked for me here is what I did when I adopted a plant based diet 8 years ago. That is, to be skeptical initially but willing to consider an argument provided it is based on verifiable facts. Everyone is welcome to their opinion, but if you expect to move mine, you have to back it up with facts.
My faith in Christ is in Him, not a church. But I started with the above described healthy skepticism reading those above books with a critical eye to find the flaws in the argument. I don't read hoping to confirm my thinking. That is confirmation bias. I read to learn, but it has to stand up to scrutiny. And this has.
Nice chatting with you again. WE've done this before and the exchange has been informative for me. Take care.
This 👍💯
I would suggest everyone read and or listen to the audio book ZEALOT by Reza Aslan , and break free of the spells of controlled organized religions all of them.
There is also a huge Celtic & occult tradition that Jesus was indeed educated. Between age 12 (at the Temple) and age 30, when he reappears, it is believed by some that he spent those years in India, Egypt and England, gaining his wisdom.
I'll stop now, but this was fun, thanks!
My issue with Christianity is that the bible as we know it was put together by the "elite" at the council of Nicene in 325AD. Anything that contradicted how the "elite" wanted to rule was tossed out and labeled as heresy thus we have no way of knowing what exactly it was that Jesus and his followers wanted us to know; all we know is what the "elite" decided would be useful to them, not us. Due to this most people are unaware that Jesus was raised by the Essenes, a mystic group that believed in reincarnation. If you apply this knowledge to Jesus' teachings they start to make a whole lot more sense. The whole notion of a hell filled with sinners, due to not following the "elites" bible is laughable, why would god create us with free will and then punish us for using it?
Thank you,Ma Mu. I am almost perfectly aligned with you on this subject. Of course I have had my own strange experiences with the Christian religions, and I have my own rather makeshift personal set of beliefs. For example, I have always been very big on angels and angelic visitations and nature spirits. Now I call on the Great Spirit and pray daily to “the Living Christ who is always with me”. I say the 23rd Psalm every day.
I listen mostly to Early Music, which of course was church music.
Re your substack name: I am as well 100% My Own Doctor, like you.
Bless you.
The next big spiritual paradigm shift has to be a non-decisive individual approach to god. No middle woman or middle man. There are as many ways to god as there are people. It is highly individual. That's how we can distinguish between real spiritual teachers and false teachers. Real teachers only help for a little while and set their disciples free again, encouraging them to replace themselves with our sadguru, which means inner guru. Inner teacher.
Nisargdatta, for example, deliberately taught from very small premises and refused offers from wealthy donors to build an ashram. He constantly sent disciples away because he knew that, instead of finding god in themselves, they would attach to him and try to copy his way to enlightenment. But the way to enlightenment can't be copied. It is new and unique for each person.
Wonderful to hear how you follow your own path and trust your intuition.
Amen to that. It is new and unique for each person. Also something that has never sat well with me: was it to be the God for humanity or only for those lucky ones that heard of him? And if you lived in a small village in the middle of, say China? Then what? You're excluded, unloved by God? Like, no God for you! Well, questions like these got me thrown out of religion classes at 12 yo, but I'm doing fine!
Enjoyed your essay Ma My and agree with your stand.
Your thoughts parallel mine. I have often thought that I could follow Jesus as a teacher & guide - but Christianity requires you to believe a whole lot of other crap, the primary one being that Jesus died to save us from our sins (and so on) & as long as you believe, you will be saved. This smacks of rank superstition to me, not spiritual truth.
To go deeper into the actual life and teachings of Jesus, I came across a group called "Guild For Psychological Studies" which produced some books, including “Records of the Life of Jesus" by Henry Burton Sharman. This is a sort of compendium that looks at what was said in the 4 main gospels (even the earliest, Mark, was not written until around 70 years afterwards) and sorts out what probably was actually said by Jesus (because it appears in several of the gospels) and what was most likely a bit of embellishment by the writer.
You can still buy it online at their website. Or you could find another of their books, "Jesus as Teacher" - which is available to read for free online:
https://www.jesusasteacher.com/table-of-contents
(I have not read this one yet.)
It is meant to be read, studied, and discussed in a study group. Which I have not done, but this strikes me as an appropriate way to approach the teachings of Jesus.
And BTW, if you think the New Testament is confusing, then you should try reading the Koran... :)
My golly, the higher you climb the mountain, the closer the separate trails become. I haven't followed the Hindu / Buddhist routes after reading the advice given to The Beatles that you could reject orthodox Christianity then get lost in orthodox Hinduism / Buddhism ritual. I've just read a bit about N. Maharaj & it's clearly the same spirit. Now, l used to criticise pro vaxxers on YT & ran across a doctor called Felix Moyo. I asked him where his principles came from & he replied his Higher Self. He's African - another trail up the mountain.
You talk about evolving into a non dual state in the near future. I believe the same. I'm not sure if all will 'rise' in consciousness. This is a consequence of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius / end of the Mayan calendar/ Biblical end times. This is a very exciting & challenging opportunity. However, those who choose to remain in 3D are no less loved by God / Prime Creator / All That Is. Namaste
"My golly, the higher you climb the mountain, the closer the separate trails become. "
Nice metaphor. One god. One mountain. The base of the mountain is extensive. Many paths go up - even from opposite sides. But at the top, they all merge into one.
Another nice one is the elephant metaphor. An elephant represents God. Then these religious men (and women, of course), who read all the scriptures and claim to know god, approach. They are blindfolded, symbolising their ignorance. The Christian man touches the trunk and proclaims: This is how god feels like. God is about 1.5 m long, thick as my leg, and flexible like a snake. The Muslim approaches and touches a leg. He proclaims: No, no, no - it is much thicker, shorter, and stronger like an ox. The Hindu touches the elephant's belly and says: No way, god is nothing like that. It is soft huge, and round, and I can't find any boundaries.
They argue and fight the rest of the day because each one is sure of knowing god.
Absolutely beautiful. It's not just the religions that fight amongst themselves, it's also the denominations within them. They each want to own God rather than emulate a loving God.
This comforted me in the 80's, when I was still trapped in my childhood conditioning:
https://youtu.be/n7qLkxpkO6M?si=sLI4COttJR4ux3QN
Little River Band, So Many Paths
Nice comment and I kind of align with your thinking.
I liked this article. I follow A course In Miracles. A few small issues, 1) who were the three wise men from the East, but Buddhist monks 2) apparently the Buddhist St Issa was also Jesus. Remember, the Bible only recounts a few years of a man who died in his early 30s 3) if Christianity is right, which sect has The Truth, then which priest has that Absolute Truth. They all interpret the same text differently.
I once read a book that made good arguments that Jesus spent about 10 years, between the age of 20 and 30 in India where he learned about Hinduism, Yogia techniques and Buddhism. Early Christianity has a lot in common with Buddhism.
I've learnt about it too, about that connection and similarities between the teachings etc.
There are more years than that of his mysterious disappearance from where they claim he was born , but does not actually appear ON ANY MAP or proven records at that time. But records do exist [ NOW IN RUSSIA ] of his supposed time in a monastery in TIBET.
I was following a woman who channelled Jesus & this is exactly what he said. The principles behind ACIM are supposedly closer to Buddhism / Hinduism than orthodox Christianity. The later exercises concentrate increasingly on I Am decrees.
Interestingly, there was a movement set up in the 1930s called the St Germain Foundation & the books written about it are called The I Am Discourses. I use volume 4, which contains numerous I Am decrees.
This is also at the core of Advaita Vedanta, an old Hinduistic non-dual movement. My prediction is that non-dual awareness-based spirituality will replace the ancient belief-based religions soon. And intentional spiritual psychedelic sessions will be instrumental for profound, meaningful, and insightful spiritual experiences. Ego delusion seems to be at the core of meeting god. If we disappear, all that is left is god. It is that simple. I am working on an article about how our sense of ego is an illusion at the Default Mode Network in our brains.
While I have heard most of this before, you make your case well. And I see honesty and the striving for truth in what you write. One thing I quite strongly disagree with, though:
"So he reassures them that in this specific case, the only way to god open to them is through trust in Him and not submitting to their fears and going back to the false Jewish doctrine. That's the only way these words make any sense."
They do make some sense this way, I agree. But I do not think it is the only way they do, nor the most important one. Forgive my verbosity, but I suppose I can make my point this way:
Traveling South India this year (one of my favourite corners of the earth) with my wife and two sons, one of which was still a baby at the time and has, in the space of seven weeks, been on more Dravidian grandma's arms than most local babies, I encountered a fellow kraut turned U.S. citizen and his wife, both of them Hare Krishnas. They are from our parent's generation and we had the most vibrant and refreshing conversations like we all were in our twenties and had nothing else to do.
While my approach to god is eclectic to say the least, built mostly on meditative experience, psychedelics, music, freely realised personal love and, though lack of direct personal knowledge has me retain a basic scepticism, Steiner's spiritual science, we jived completely in our metaphysical world view. What Christian esotericism calls Christ consciousness, they call Krishna consciousness. And all that we had to share about those correlated up to the finest details. The cosmogony may differ most fundamentally, but even that can be debated.
And, to my point, I see "No one comes to the Father except through me" as an expression of a real presence, an entity transcendent yet personal (or akin to being personal), call it a Logos if "Christ" (understandably) turns you off. The experience of this presence then is filtered through cultural lenses, where the diversity of earth's and people's being manifests, gloriously and confusingly. So though on the surface it certainly appears a divisive concept, that is not Jesus' spirit here (I know we agree on that), but it may well be an accurate enough quote that only resonates with truth at a deeper level of understanding, one actually not bound to historical context.
Since you are arguing with my post I guess I should respond!
Firstly If you were right and what was written in the Bible about Jesus was a lie then you would still be quite wrong in blaming Christians for our “attitude” - we are merely following the teachings that were handed down to us 2000 years ago.
Secondly - have you actually dispassionately examined the evidence that the New Testament scriptures are genuine and accurate?
Also the charge levelled at the missionaries about genocide etc is not true in general. In the cases I know of (Australia, the US, New Zealand) where this has occurred missionaries were trying to help and protect the indigenous people and standing up against imperialism (see Samuel Marsden, Louis Giustiani, Robert Lyons, and Robert Green in Australia) it was rather the secular governments in the last 150 years in particular which were inspired by colonialism and a racist brand of scientism/Darwinism that were responsible for the dispossession and genocide.
South America is different - Christian missionaries came in with violence here - however the Aztec and Inca religions were practicing human sacrifice and the rulers of these countries were consciously deceiving the common people - still this is probably an example of what you were talking about.
Most missionary endeavours through history were pacifist (the mediterranean, all of Europe England Ireland the South Pacific Russia Japan Philippines New Zealand Australia, China, most of Africa, in India the missionaries fought against the imperialist English government to establish schools and universities and outlaw evils such as widow self immolation , etc etc) and in all these places missionary efforts were based on rational discourse and the willingness of missionaries to suffer and die for Christ - which also happened in South America contemporaneously with the conquistadors.
As I said, if you love Jesus, love him as much as you want. My main reason for writing this substack is to support and promote freedom in all areas, including spiritual freedom. Claiming that the only way to god is through Jesus is totally ignorant and intolerant, severely damaging spiritual and religious freedom. Isn't it ironic that the early Christians suffered terribly under Nero? He burned them to only allow the Roman gods to be true. And then the Christian copy that for the next 2000 years. And you defending it. I have no sympathy for that,
Yes excellent comment
Nonsense all human enslavement and indigenous culture destruction SINCE 1300 can be laid at the hands of one POPE who with his PAPAL BULL declared all of them soulless heathens, and their lands and resources to be stolen. Or forcibly CONVERT them. Human sacrifice was practiced by the pagan cultures the Catholic church is modeled from , It just the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE continued .
I am not aware of this papal bull. Maybe you can tell me which pope?
In Australia this was not so anyhow - the English government which operated under a thin veneer of Church of England was responsible for declaring Australia terra nullius. And the pastoralists took the racist evolutionary theories of early Darwinism as justification for the atrocities they were already committing.
I think it is a stretch to call many of the popes Christian particularly in the Middle Ages. Those who read and followed the Bible were not these people; popes and conquistadors.
Nonetheless I have read that the Aztec rulers expected this judgement - they were hiding the truth about one God from the people and controlling them using human sacrifice; they knew it was wrong. The conquistadors arguably were motivated more by the need to provide gold to their sponsors back home who had paid for their journeys than by any Christian feeling.
There is a strong case to be made "Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" that Jesus and his disciples did indeed partake of mushrooms, and that was part of the transference presented by the Guru. It's been decades since I read it, so sorry, cannot give more detail.
Also - what did Jesus really say?
Check with The Jesus Seminar, who have gone through the canon to determine the likelihood that he actually said a thing. It's quite surprising.
"No man comes to the Father but by Me."
I'm still reading your article - but a few things occurred to me. I've been reading a bit of Kabbalah, "God is a Verb" by Rabbi David Cooper. It's a little weird applying Kabbalistic principles to the New Testament, but here we go. On the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, Jesus (and/or Krisna, if you like) resides in Tipharet. If you look at the Tree, Tipharet is in the middle - where the heart resides. It is the centre of the central column of the Tree. Your Heart.
No man comes to the Father (the Source) but by Me (the Heart).
I thought I would check the expanded Greek New Testament - it often reads like a legal contract (interesting to study!) - however - it is very literal, and translates to English, thus:
"I alone, in contradiction to all others, am the road and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (you see what I mean about the legal language in the expanded Greek?)
So, no new interpretations there. (you never know until you check!)
Anyhow - learning about Tipharet and the Heart on the Tree made this verse true for me. It just ain't how they are calling it. I've spent a good deal of my life freeing from the childhood indoctrination (I'm still wondering about Hitchens' call that this is "child abuse,") of literal Christianity.
Reading on . . .