I just attended the church for a short while, and during my time there, I know he never went inside. He preferred to believe that whatever was going on ‘in there’ was a threat to him, not an invitation.
So often, this is the way with many people, too, when we get the invitation to get closer to God. We keep on standing right outside, believing that whatever is going on with others who are getting closer to God has nothing to do with us.
I’m glad I finally dared to step inside. If I hadn’t, I, too, would have forever wondered, “What’s going on in there?!”
God is what’s going on “in there,” and in every beat of our lives. We need not be frightened to step closer, as God is there in the midst of the discovery and the reconnection to Spirit.
I recently saw Bill Maher's documentary/movie: "Religulous"!
Many "religious" people will disagree with me, but I thought Maher did a fine job!
He poked fun at religion, and he had a right to do so when many people he spoke with could not provide an articulate and believable answer to support their faith. Who can blame him for not being convinced, when the people themselves who claim to be "believers" can't provide concrete answers to support their religious beliefs.
This is because so few people are willing to go deeper than the surface of what they hear in church.
So many people also believe in the God of their childhood religion, where they heard that God "punishes you" for being bad.
I don't blame the churches, and I don't blame parents for instilling a "fear of God" and his wrath into kids.
Sometimes, putting fear into people is the only way to get them to act right.
But I do blame people, who as adults, buy into the church's teachings lock, stock and barrel, without any personal inquiry! They do so because, fundamentally, they don't want to know the truth!
They want to believe that the minister, or the priest, will get the blessings for them, and if they just show up on Sunday, by osmosis, they will get "right by God!"
Well, I'm here to tell you that you can't find God by proxy, or by osmosis, or by association. You find God by searching within your own soul, and yes, a minister or priest can help you probe and delve deeper, but the work you must do must come from you!
Jesus did not die for our "sins," as we may want to believe.
Wouldn't that be awesome?!!!
That we can keep on sinning and doing wrong with impunity, because Jesus already paid for our sins!?
I cannot believe it when I hear grown men and women... some highly intelligent beings...spouting out stuff that you know they didn't think about!
The Jesus that I know came to show us by example what we also can do by following his ways in the world.
Jesus came with a message about God's spirit in him to empower us to believe that God also is in us! He said:
"Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself but the father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do also..." John 14:10-12
Jesus also said," Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one: that is God!" Matthew 19:17
Yet so many deify Jesus, totally ignoring his own words.
Why?
Because they learned it in childhood, or that's what their pastor, minister or priest told them to do.
I honor Jesus because I love the example he held up for me so that I also can aspire to such heights...maybe in many more lifetimes to come. But starting with an enquiring mind and by understanding the Spirit of God within me is a good start!
It's interesting that throughout the documentary, Bill Maher never touched the spiritual. I believe that even he knew that if he'd addressed "spirituality," he may not have had a story to tell!
Many believe that spirituality and religion are the same. But that is absolutely untrue! There are many people who claim to be spiritual, i.e. feel and experience the presence of God within them, without adhering to any religious beliefs: spirituality is in religion, but the reverse simply is not true.
As a spiritual director, I can work (i.e. walk)
with people of any religious background, because the common ground I go for, and address, is the Spirit within. This brooks no argument from any one, and it is the common ground that curtails all religious debate.
Religious contention comes in because so many of us want to believe that our view, i.e. our religion and its teachings, is the right view.
Even as a Christian, I have people question my faith because I don't think or believe the way they do, I don't see the Bible and the lessons in the Bible the same way their minister, pastor or priest told them to look at it.
This is sad!
"God did not give us the spirit of fear...but of Power and of Love and of a Sound Mind," II Timothy 1:7
The 23rd psalm has been recited and practiced by untold billions over the centuries. Yet today, it remains fresher than ever.
Those are the words of God.
No man could have conceived this on his own, without God’s inspiration.
This is true for most of the Bible.
Sometimes, there are things we may not understand in the Bible. We want to know what the writer meant. In those times, instead of chucking aside the entire book, we need to remember that even when inspired, man can put his own twists and “discernment” to the inspiration he receives.
The Bible is mostly a historical document, written and recorded during a certain period in human history. It is IMPERATIVE that we remember this, even as we search its depth for TRUTHS we can cling to today.
I love the Bible. I love the old language of King James. I love the beauty of the prose!
I am not one of those people who publicly quote the Bible. It's just not something I do, so most devoutly Christian people who know me probably believe I have no concept of what the "bible says!"
I don't discuss the Bible because truth be told, I don't take it "literally!" It is a controversial book, if you take it word for word. But of all the books in the many libraries I’ve kept over the years, this is the one book I reach for each day before I start my day.
Without fail, it is the one book that always has the right comforting food for any weary soul.
“Something’s going on in there!”
Yes, it is.
But until you take the time to learn what it truly says, and until you learn to look within your own soul for truth, then you'll always be at the whims of Bill Maher and others who, at any time, can question your faith.
Get to know God. Get to know yourself. Get to know your own Truth: Honor who you are...then no one can take away your truth from you!
John 8: 32: "You shall know the truth and the Truth shall set you free!"
Leo Tolstoy,Wise Thoughts for Every Day, writes:
"Very often a person wearing clean, shiny new shoes will walk carefully around the mud, then make a misstep and go into it as if he wasn't careful. When he sees his shoes have muck all over them, he will keep heading straight through the mud and get filthier and filthier. Do not do this in you spiritual life. If you venture into filth, get out of it, and clean yourself.
"A small sin can lead to a bigger sin."
Remember: the only real sin is not seeking your own Truth!
"Grow up or Die!" are some the last word Bill Maher says in his documentary. He's so-o right about THAT!
Namaste’,
Che’
1 comment:
This was so very timely and as always, you helped bring clarity to questions I had within my own mind. I love this writing; I love this blog.
Sorry if that is not a real deep comment; but it is definitely the simplicity of the writing that brought me into understanding.
These people who profess so much, who brag of their faith who judge those who they know nothing about, are like the man outside the place...they are afraid.
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