Religion

• How comes hypocrisy?

  Who wants to be a hypocrite? Can't imagine anybody wanting to be! How does it happen?

  Professing stuff is a good start. This usually comes with joining a group, which by its very existence requires a profession of some sort. The one who downplays his profession and upplays his doing has a good chance of avoiding hypocrisy. This one might participate in the group thing, but only as a means to an end.

• Is religion a choice?

  Instead of "Are you religious?", the truer question ought to be "What are you religious about?" This second question bypasses the profession aspect and gets to the pith of the whole thing. In this sense, everybody is religious, just as everybody has a philosophy, and everybody is political. These are characteristics of human existence. 

• Muckety mucks wouldn't listen anyway

  This morning in my reading John 4 - Jesus was chatting with a Samaritan woman by a well. The Samaritans were considered heretics essentially, so Jesus as a Jew was crossing the line of political correctness. The Samaritans worshipped God in the mountain tops, while the Jews considered Jerusalem THE place for worshipping.

• Muslim threat?

  Divine Love is universal. God does not know Jew, Christian, Muslim, etc.

• No Truth needed at a Super Bowl party?

  Is there anything in my life that is outside of the jurisdiction of Truth? Do I ever get a break from God? Silly, isn't it. But ironically church "culture" tends to cultivate this. A special place to worship, special times to pray, a life segregated into church activities and "other" activities...

• THE most annoying thing

  Watched YouTube debate of the late Christopher Hitchens (famous columnist and avowed atheist) and a Christian (apparently good friends)  - he opened with "what I hate most about you is that you look at me as someone who must be saved." This is all I needed to watch - it captured the underlying arrogance of the religionist and the understandable exasperation of the non-believer. It made me question myself - how do I approach others who do not share what I understand to be true? God forbid I look down on them!

• Truth makes us free from what?

  This morning I opened to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (from Paul to the Galations)

  What's this all about? Free from what? Paul then went on to say "if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." "Christ shall be of no effect unto you, whosoever are justified by the law." Ouch!! to those faithful church-going types who do everything they are supposed to do...

• When is religion dangerous?

  Any religious promise that circumvents the individual’s overcoming of sin (self-destructive behavior) is deadly. Following are some examples (for the purposes of this illustration, sin is hatred/resentment, self-will, or adultery):

  • - Profess Jesus Christ and admit your sin and you are forgiven.
  • - Declare you are a perfect child of God with one Father-Mother, and you have arrived.
  • - Declare that sin is unreal and you are free from it.
  • - Indulgences - pay tribute for your sins so as to reduce punishment. Being a good church person qualifies.
  • - Meditate your way to a clear consciousness.
  • - Kill someone who does not believe what you believe and you get a ticket direct to heaven, for you and your loved ones!!

  In all these cases, if the self-destructive behavior continues, the subject has done nothing - NOTHING! except extend his own slavery. "Principle is imperative. You cannot mock it with human will.” (S&H)

  The laws of the universe are unforgiving. Why? Because “The design of Love is to reform the sinner.” (S&H) - to free the sinner from his own enslavement. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” This is the promise, that freedom from sin is possible, is absolutely required. But it is a spiritual, not a material requirement - divine, not human.

  Hatred/resentment, self-will, or adultery? No escape in high heaven or earth below, but full pardon with reformation.

  "Be of good cheer; the warfare with one's self is grand; it gives one plenty of employment, and the divine Principle worketh with you, — and obedience crowns persistent effort with everlasting victory.” (Misc. Wr.)

• When religion impedes spiritual growth

  Except you are more spiritual than the religious class (scribes and Pharisees), you will never enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus warned his listeners. Now that was a severe rebuke to the holier-than-thou crowd!

• Where is thy God?

  {jumi [playerLink.php] [Psalms/Psalm 42.mp3] [This Psalm 42 speaks about those who mock "Where is thy God?"]}