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.

How do we discern cheap metaphysics which has become the hallmark of so many systems in this day and age, including Christian Science post Mary Baker Eddy? If the spirit of our blessed Master is not there, you can bet it is cheap!!

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. 

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.

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

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 trend today is away from religion towards spirituality. "There's many people who don't identify with any particular religious denomination or any particular religion. These are people who may call themselves spiritual rather than religious." (Roger Payne, UNC) It has taken almost 150 years, but perhaps the Christian world is ready for the clarity and power of Science and Health:

Spirituality is the only Christianity; and its basis is, “to be absent from the body and present with the Lord;” sensuality is personality ever present with the body. We have already sufficient professions of goodness without the Spirit: too many religions and not enough Christianity is the genius of the age. Man knows already too well how “to make long prayers, to be heard for his much speaking,” and to enlarge the Pharisaical borders, to steal in private and give in public, but this is political, not Christian economy. What we want is, “Christ and Him crucified,” in other words, Truth and the cross-bearing that attends it, to make mankind better. - 1st Ed. S&H

There is no dogma, no ritualistic taint in this - just the practical message of the Christ.

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!

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...

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.)

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!

Jesus said he came so that the blind could see and those with sight would be made blind. Really? Some Pharisees asked if that meant they were blind. Jesus answered, "If you were blind, you should have no sin: but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” (John 9)

A fascinating statement from Martin Armstrong’s blog "The Closed Mind Discovers Nothing but Bias": "there is an interesting order being masked as chaos…fundamental to everything… the appearance of randomness has led many to assume that the world is subject to our will, and therefore, we can manipulate the world, including the economy, to do as we desire. This is just not true.” (emphasis added)

PODCAST

Why did Jesus leave no record of himself? He didn’t write anything down, didn’t establish any church organization, made no effort to nail down his legacy in the usual ways. He certainly could have. He was educated and wise and attracted quite a following. And so, due to his refusal to leave a tangible record of himself, there are those who suggest he never really existed!