Category: Truth

Written as an appendix to my masters thesis “An Ethical Dilemma: Childhood Conversion in Christian Fundamentalism” in June 2009.

My ‘Thunderbolt’ Moment

This brief account of my personal case is provided to make known the perspective from which this paper was written, to demonstrate how some of the concepts discussed in this discourse apply in practice, and to help correct the misconception that a rejection of fundamentalism is a rejection of God.

The mind-explosion I have experienced is hard to describe. It was not until I began the academic research for this paper that I realised my Christian beliefs and those of my friends and family were classified as “fundamentalist.” I had still thought these beliefs were that of the average Christian, and that my school, being a “non-denominational” school, must have been one of the more open and accepting schools. I was very surprised as my investigations revealed that my school was part of a recent “new independent Christian school movement” that arrived with the Dutch in the 1950s, particularly given that my mother was one of those immigrants. I was even more surprised to learn that our fundamental beliefs were part of a movement that began in the 20^th century, and of the change in definition of faith. As I learned I shared my discoveries with my family and friends, which has challenged them to question too. Looking back I can see myself experiencing each of Fowler’s Stages of Faith, up to Stage 5 anyway!

As I mentioned in the introduction, for the first 20 years of my life I was a passionate evangelical Christian. I was born into a Christian family (who are wonderful and I love very much) with Christian parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I was christened at birth, and I “asked God into my heart” every time the Sunday school teacher said aloud “the prayer” at the Sydney Anglican Sunday school of my childhood. At 4 years old I began my schooling at Covenant Christian School (CCS), a new independent Christian school mentioned in chapter 6, where I spent the next 13 years of my life. During my childhood I experienced the Intuitive-Projective stage of faith, with the lasting fear of hell’s eternal damnation a feeling that, although I do not believe hell is a real place, is still a fear deeply buried in my subconscious. It pops up on occasion when some Christians I am close to worry that I could end up in hell’s fires if I do not “return to my faith in Jesus”. During my years at CCS I moved on to a Mythic-Literal faith, my entire concept of Christianity based on a one-dimensional interpretation of the Bible and the fundamentalist narrative that my teachers, my parents and my church shared.

During my first two years at university I moved onto the Synthetic-Conventional stage. I lived what I thought was a typical Christian life: daily “private-times” where I would read a chapter of a Christian book and pray. I would go to a “Bible study” group on Wednesday nights, church “youth group” at a Baptist church on Friday nights. I taught Sunday school on Sunday mornings, and attended the evening service on Sunday nights. By my own choice I was baptised and “confirmed” at 19 years old. I had completely dedicated my life to God and believed it was through Jesus I could have this relationship. I openly shared my faith with new friends, who were always a little shocked when I told them about my commitment. I had a coherent orientation in my outlook to life and I felt secure in my Christian identity. I was not afraid of stating what I believed. In my mind life seemed clear although, as Fowler points out, at this stage I had not yet stepped outside the paradigm to reflect on it and I was unaware that I even had it. Although I had not stepped outside the Christian paradigm, I was always interested in learning about other people’s beliefs: if someone was not a Christian I wanted to know why. Yet I struggled to get any answers from my new non-Christian friends at university. They just “didn’t believe Christianity was the truth” but they had no real reason for this choice. They did not want to think about it. The church’s explanation that these “non-believers” wanted to live by their own rules rather than God’s rules (in other words they reject God because they want to have sex, drink alcohol and not go to church) seemed to make sense in my fundamentalist mind. But what I couldn’t understand was how people could care so much about such fickle desires and ruling their own lives for the short 80 years or so we have on earth. This did not compare to the ever-lasting life Christianity had on offer from my point of view.

The transition point for me was like Fowler suggests, caused by ‘a serious clash or contradiction between valued authority sources’. It came in the form of a boyfriend’s father, who had been brought up Catholic and had spent much time in his youth researching the facts and the frauds of religion. It was at this time, at the age of 20, that I first learned about the Crusades and the Inquisition, about Pagan nature of Easter and Christmas, and I realised for the first time that the whole world does not base concept of time on Jesus’ birth (BC/AD), but that other civilisations have their own measurements of history. This ‘thunderbolt moment’ transitioned me into an Individuative-Reflective stage of faith. Following an emotional battle, with everything I based my life seemingly falling apart, I abandoned religion and escaped from the narrow-minded world that surrounded me in Sydney. I travelled and lived overseas for three years, exposing myself to the world-views people in Thailand, Japan and all over Europe.

Although I had rejected Christianity, I had not rejected “God”. Prayer was deeply embedded in my mental processes and whether it was my own deluded mind or was truly a connection with ‘God,’ I could see my prayers being answered, and I felt the comfort and security of a fatherly omni-present force protecting me and guiding me in my daily life. For the first time in my life I began to claim my own identity, with my own boundaries and connections with the divine. On return to Sydney I was once again surrounded by fundamentalism and now feeling at an emotional-distance from it, I decided to do some research for myself. My 92 year old Opa had a fall, I moved in as his carer and was rewarded with the most valuable thing in the world: time. I taught myself the things I had missed out on in my education: the theory of evolution, and a big perspective of the history of humanity in comparison to the history of the universe. I tried to comprehend how humans had evolved so rapidly in such a short space of time. I was slowly becoming more and more reflective, increasing my capacity for critical reflection and dealing with the images still with me from my fundamentalist past. At first I was studying by reading library books, watching documentaries and overloading my Internet browser with hundreds of links. I discovered a new love of learning and soon arrived back at university, but unlike my first degree (in Business), this time I was studying Arts. I wanted to know about the world, about history, about philosophy, psychology, politics and other religions. I chose to study in the interdisciplinary field of Peace and Conflict Studies, which allowed me to pursue such knowledge and piece together the missing pieces of the puzzle in my mind. The very nature of Peace and Conflict Studies, initiated a further transition, now into a Conjunctive faith. Simultaneous to learning about philosophies of peace, and the relationship between religion and war, I was continuing to research and document the history and theology of Christianity. My purpose in this search was driven by a desire to share my knowledge and the freedom of thought, with my younger sisters and cousins, who had also attended CCS and I saw as earlier versions of myself still stuck at stage 2 and stage 3. They had not been exposed to the wider perspectives I had been exposed to through my ex-boyfriend, my travels and my research. Through my inner voice God was leading me to do this research, and faithfully I followed.

I particularly focussed my search on the evidence that supports the two fundamental exegeses: the divinity of Jesus and the holy inerrant Word of God. I considered the “Jesus: liar, lunatic or lord” argument, which presents three mutually exclusive options for who Jesus was, and concludes that unless you are going to call Jesus a liar or a lunatic, then you had better call him Lord.[1] I discovered there were many alternative scenarios which this argument leaves out. I considered the possibility that Jesus was a great teacher whose story, following his death, grew more dramatic as it was transmitted over time. This proposition seemed a whole lot more likely to me than a physical ascension into the heavens above. Where would he go? Heaven, if it is anywhere, is not above us among the stars and other planets! I may have believed this idea had I still thought the earth was flat, however things have changed since the time of Jesus. Discovering that the supernatural elements such as the virgin birth and resurrection were also elements of pagan religions, gives credence to the alternative view that Jesus was a great teacher but not divine. It seemed that these elements of pagan myth were added to the story to fit in the context of Roman pagan religion. The fact that Christmas and Easter were pagan traditions adopted by Christianity,[2] made it seem highly likely that the stories of Jesus are contextually shaped.[3]

Similarly, the Bible is justified as the inerrant “Word of God” simply because the church makes this claim. The church gives no consideration to the inadequacy of such an internal circular logic, or to the fact that the verses used support this claim were written before the the books of the Canon had been selected.[4] Similarly no mention is that Paul and other New Testament authors did not even infer that their writings were being divinely inspired.[5] I looked for errors in the Bible, and I found they were numerous. From inevitable translation errors that come from the fact that Ancient Hebrew did not contain punctuation[6] to discrepancies over event details,[7] all of which were soon “harmonized” away in my discussions with Christians; either with far-fetched explanations, or with the backup harmonization “you just have to have faith”.[8] In my Christian education the willingness of the early Christians to die for their beliefs was glorified, and yet there was no mention of the Inquisitional killing of anyone who would not believe.[9] The Christian narrative was taught just as Spong states, as if it ‘dropped out of heaven in a fully developed form’.[10] There was no mention of the controversial theological debates that moulded it along the way. The research for this paper was the crux of my journey, and it is my hope that along with providing insights for academic readers, that it may provide some points for self-reflection for fundamentalists and that it may help assist them on the emotionally challenging process of questioning one’s faith and beliefs.

Transitioning from a Literal faith to a Conjunctive faith is not an easy process. Taking responsibility for one’s own faith, and ensuring it is a faith that you have chosen for yourself rather than a consequence of your upbringing, is a worthwhile pursuit. It gives generous rewards both during the process and at the end when you feel your relationship with God deepen in understanding and integrity. Breaking from institutionalised intermediaries, you move from a world that appears black and white to unveil an exciting reality of a God and Universe of many colours and many forms with whom you may live your life in accordance with “His” will, which in a strange way is entirely connected to your own will. It is my understanding that God is not a separate super-human consciousness, sitting up in the clouds with a magic wand. Instead “He” is an all-encompassing presence that we humans personify in order to comprehend and communicate with. However “He” is not a he, “He” is the powerful presence behind life, encompassing the tiniest quantum molecule inside a single grain of sand, and extending out to the most faraway planets in galaxies trillions of light years away. “He” is in the air, in the water, in our food, and in our mind. An omni-presence that allows “Him” to know everything, to know how many hairs are on our heads, and to know each and every one of our thoughts. I believe it is through this knowing of our thoughts, that prayers are answered. Our thoughts are transmitted and in themselves have consequences. “Ask and you will receive, knock and the door will open.” I have realised you can talk to God in your mind, and listen to “Him” through the many ways “He” communicates, not only through historical Holy Books, but through nature, through other humans, through your deepest intuitions, through art, books, music – through everything.

I have noticed in my life that by asking God and listening to “Him”, your past, present and future self combine in a way that allows your will to align with God’s will. It seems that the most unlikely desires, if they will lead to a positive result in the long run for the collective conscious of life, may be fulfilled if only you ask. I think that the most satisfying thing you can do in your life is find your purpose and live it out. Ask how you can provide the most benefit for the most people. Listen to your intuition as this is God communicating with you. Understand your place in the universe and your unique role in fulfilling God’s purpose: to create. God created us and is continuing to create. We are still evolving and this process will never stop. Why does God do this? So that He can know Himself. We have God inside us and we are made in His image. We are God’s expression of himself. As we express ourselves, we express God. How do we love God? By loving all people. Loving our planet. Being grateful for all we have. By having faith, listening to the God’s communication, following His signs and our deepest intuitions, and thereby living out our individual and collective roles in the universe. Fulfilling our potential.

When Jesus said ‘I’ve not come to call the righteous but to call sinners to repent,’ He was calling for an improvement of behaviour. By following His example we will see a change in the hearts and minds of people, that will lead to a state of peace within individual conscious and collective conscious. Jesus was a teacher, a healer and eventually executed for his ideas and for the radical stands he stood against the religious leaders and status quo, against the structural violence of his world 2000-years ago, the cultural-societal prescribed path that he faced, and leading a revolution of heart and mind. It is now in the 21^st century, that it is our turn to follow Jesus, and do the same.

But how do we do this? Our identity is caught up in our religion. We don’t know who we are without it. How would we define ourselves? How would we decipher what is right from what is wrong without the Bible as our guidebook? We share with our friends and family a wonderful blanket of security. We are warm, comfortable, and happy to think that our place in the afterlife is assured. Questioning this brings a fear of the future, and the uncertainty it holds. We feel we have no time to research these matters for ourselves, and we do not feel the need. We are satisfied with the simple explanation our church provides us of good versus evil, it makes sense and the outside world seems so confusing. Most of all we confront our fear of punishment, punishment for questioning, eternal punishment in hell’s fires should the fundamentalism be right, and the new path we choose for ourselves be wrong. What will happen to me after I die? These fears will soon be met with God’s love and assurance once again.

For the last 6000-years, humankind has become more conscious of our consciousness, ever since we, in mythological terms, “ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge.” As a side effect we have seen ourselves become more separate from other life forms and from God. However, this does not need to be the case. Our expanded consciousness is an amazing gift that allows us to express God in new ways. However we can expand our consciousness, express ourselves as creative individuals, and remain aware of the underlying connectedness of all life. When we disconnect from God, either through disfigurations of religion or by abandoning religion altogether, our separateness makes us feel alone and afraid, of what will happen to our consciousness when our human bodies die. But we are not separate from our environment or from each other. Our existence is interconnected. We cannot survive without our air, food, water and relationships. Plants transform our carbon to oxygen and provide us our food. God can be seen in every process, every cell, every animal, and inside us. Our existence is not comprised of the separateness we feel in our human defined identities, the separate consciousness of ‘me,’ but our existence is interdependent on everything. We are together, there is no ‘me’ there is only ‘us’.

The separate conscious we experience is a temporary illusion, allowing God to express his creativity and experience different realities. One day we will return to God, we will no longer separate, no longer experiencing the highs and lows – we will return to blissful peace of oneness. This is a place that we can meditate into, experiencing a temporary reuniting with God. This is what Buddhists find as they are enlightened. Even atheists must imagine the feeling of death, when our separate consciousness ceases to be conscious. We are returning to the state we were in before we were conscious – a return to nothing and a return to everything. Realise your connectedness, realise that you are not separate from God now nor will you ever be – then you can never feel alone. If you can see yourself in all things, you understand that death is not death, for you can never die. Even when our planet dies, we will continue to exist, beginning the wonderful evolutionary creative process once again in some alternate universe in some alternate time.

There is much to explore and learn and it is overwhelming at first. But we soon realise that we are all in this together, manifesting our individual and collective purposes in life and so the questioning and evaluation process becomes easy. Family and friends will see the joys of experiencing the deeper levels of reality you are experiencing. There is no need to fear anything – instead focus your mind and emotions on love. On loving God and loving others, for in the synchronicity of life, God, other humans and the Universe, are all you.

My faith today is stronger than ever. ‘How?’ asks my Dad, ‘Based upon what?’ My faith and understanding of God is not based on an authoritatively prescribed absolute, so there is no stock-standard simplistic answer as my Dad is able to place on the “historical evidence” as presented in the Christian Bible. My faith is based on deductions drawn from my own analytical evaluation of all the knowledge I have been exposed to and all the experiences I have had. As I am exposed to new knowledge and more experiences, the basis for my faith grows stronger and closer to the Truth, which I believe is a universal objective, even if humans will never fully discover it. This includes deductions drawn from what I see, hear, smell, taste, touch and feel; from my current understanding of language, history, science, religion, spirituality; and from the growing personal experiences I have with the unknown force driving the unfolding creation and evolution of our universe. I don’t claim that all these philosophies I describe are the one and only truth! They are simply the evolving results of my journey of faith.

I have gone from the very narrow perspective of my fundamentalist upbringing, blocking out much of the world in fear of loosing my assured place in heaven to a perspective that sees the unknown and embraces it, that rejoices over the uncertainty of life, and enjoys the ongoing process which learning allows for developing a deeper understanding of the purpose of my life in His continuous process of creation. I now have a closer relationship and much deeper understanding of God than could ever have been possible in the fundamentalist paradigm of my past. To take responsibility for your own mind and soul is scary at first, but then it is liberating. Your mind and soul are free to think for yourself.

While we can never know what new discoveries lay just outside our present knowledge, we can appreciate what we do know and enjoy the process of seeking to know more. When you have a question I recommend that you research it and draw your own conclusions, so that you are actively pursuing a deeper understanding of Truth, a deeper understanding of the Universe that God has created and which you and “He” are still continuing to create. Whether or not we ever achieve our goal of understanding the Truth is not important. When we realise that all people in all cultures and in all religions, are connected, and that we all seek this same common goal, we realise that joining together we can create a most wonderful synergy: sharing knowledge, sharing experiences, and sharing our understanding of the divine powers at play. Then we can, together, work for the common good of every form of life in our Universe. Continuing as part of God’s creative process, expressing “Him” in new ways, maximising our individual and collective creative potentials, advancing the collective conscious of the Universe to higher levels of understanding and spirituality. We are all a wondrous part of this exciting process and incredibly, if we set our sights on Shalom, the Kingdom of God, Peace on Earth, it will come. All we have to do is ask.

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[1] The ‘Trilemma’ argument first put forth by C.S.Lewis, but as restated for Christian youth by Josh McDowell, More Than a Carpenter(New York: Tyndale House Publishers, 1977, 2004).

[2] Christmas was on the winter equinox (25^th December in those days) – was a celebration of the birth of the sun-god. Easter was on the spring equinox – for thousands of years had been a celebration of the death and resurrection of Ishtar, the goddess of new-life.

[3] See Spong, A New Christianity for a New World. On page titled: Jesus.

[4] For example, 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed”. See the opening of each Bible book.

[5] For example, Luke makes it particular clear he is attempting to put together a cohesive historical account of what people are talking about; he is clearly not claiming to be writing words inspired by God. See: Luke 1:1-4.

[6] Gerald L. Schroeder, The Hidden Face of God : How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth (New York ; London: Free Press, 2001).

[7] For example, the conflicting genealogies of Matthew and Luke identify different fathers for Joseph’s father (Jesus’ grandfather).

Another example, is that each of the gospels state that Mary Magdalene visited Jesus tomb with a different person (Mathew states she was with one other woman while Mark states she was with two, Luke states three, and John states she went alone).

[8] For example the Joseph’s father might be harmonized by stating that ‘Joseph’s father might have changed his name sometime during his life from Jacob to Heli’.

Similarly the discrepancy between the women at the tomb can be harmonized by stating that ‘Mary Magdalene could have made one trip to the tomb alone. She could have followed this up with repetitive returns to the city and trips with various combinations of other women’ – this is ‘a very improbable story, but one that allows the Bible to be free of error.’

See: B. A. Robinson, ‘Harmonizing Apparent Conflicts & Errors in the Bible’.  (Ontario: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, April 2009). <www.religioustolerance.org/ine_none4.htm>.

[9] Popular readings among fundamentalist youth include: Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler, Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (New York: Word Publishing, 1992). and Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Michigan: Zondervan, 1988). These books provide one-sided arguments that were very convincing to me while my mind was looking inside the Christian paradigm. Once I learned how to critically analyse and was able to think through these arguments for myself, I realised just how biased the facts presented are, and how mislead the format of the argument is.

For a liberal Christian opinion see: John Shelby Spong, The Sins of Scripture : Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love (Pymble, N.S.W.: HarperCollins, 2005).

[10] Spong, A New Christianity for a New World. On page titled: Jesus. op. cit.

 

Further Reading

This is a short book that I wrote in 2007-8, documenting my questions, the answers I found and thought processes involved in weighing up different factors involved in dedicating oneself to Christianity:

Chapter 1 – Introduction Click here

Chapter 2 – Is the Bible the “Word of God”? Click here

Chapter 3 – Is Jesus Christ the “Son of God?” Click here

Chapter 4 – Discussing the contradictions Click here

Chapter 5 – What does this mean for my life today? Click here

Chapter 6 – My conclusions Click here

About the Bible

It seems to me that the fundamental facts about when, where and by whom the books of the Bible are written, are hushed over, not even talked about, problems are avoided or minimised, leaving ambiguities that mislead the reader and convey a false idea of reality. How can I believe anything they tell me? If God inspired the words, then wouldn’t He have inspired all the correct details? If the Bible is God’s word, wouldn’t he have ensured that translations his people base their lives on, are without error? Then, why are there contradictions? Did God just change his mind about what is right and wrong? What is the point in having a book of rules and instructions that is so open for different interpretations? All these questions makes me think that the Bible contains error and cannot be regarded as 100% full proof evidence of anything. I believe it’s best to treat the Bible like any other historical or non-fiction book, keeping in mind the author, their motivations and situation and the knowledge available to them.

In biblical times people thought the sky was held up by two mountains, and had no idea how far east and west that land extended. Far from their contemplation are facts we know now like the earth being round, revolved around the sun and not the other way round, and that the sun was just one of millions of stars in one of millions of galaxies. These people did not consider people living in lands as far away as Southern Africa, East Asia, the Americas or Australia. They did not know, probably wouldn’t care at all, that these foreign peoples had their own religions, experiences with spirituality and transcendence, their own relationship with “God.” How is one race’s “God” different from another race’s “God”? Only in the way each group has constructed their image of this almighty, incomprehensible power, which was based on their consciousness and experience at the time. Each race had various “prophets” or leaders, who had a deep intuition as to what would be good for their people. These leaders created the rules and often claimed they came from a transcendent God, which, if you believe God is inside us all, this is true. To increase people’s obedience to the rules, they described rewards and punishments akin to their sense of justice at the time.

About Jesus

After much consideration I have come to the conclusion that these are not mutually exclusive options. Jesus was both the son of God, and the son of Man, in the same way that you and I are sons and daughters of God too. Jesus contained God inside him, just as we contain God inside us. Jesus was an expression of God in the same way that you and I are expressions of God too.

In my mind, I accept Jesus as being born of Mary and Joseph, and the doctrine of the Virgin was most likely added to encourage pagan adoption of the new religion. Similarly Jesus did not rise from the dead in physical form, but it seems more likely that the resurrection passages were written allegorically and also taken form pagan religions.

I imagine Jesus was an enlightened spiritual leader and social activist, motivated to make a difference in his world: to help people be happier and experience peace on earth both within themselves and with their neighbours. It would seem more likely that Roman soldiers executed Jesus as they saw his nationalistic freedom fighting as a threat, than caring about the wishes of some Jews who saw him as blasphemous. When Jesus died on the cross, I think it makes sense that he died only in the physical sense, and similar to the presence I feel of my dead grandfather and dead Oma, Jesus’ disciples probably felt Jesus’ spirit with them. They decided not to give up on Jesus’ vision of a socially just world, of non-violence and human rights for the Jews – a realisation that provided them a purpose for their lives, and how they could play out a what in turn can be seen to be a significant role in the evolution of man and civilisation. Hence they set out to continue Jesus’ mission and spread his ‘good news.’

My summary of concluding thoughts

1. The Bible is NOT inerrant. It was written, edited and translated by humans, and contains errors and additions throughout.
2. The internal claim for inerrancy was made in before a canon even existed!
3. The writers of the Bible use folklore, myth, allegory, and Jewish midrash, to convey MEANING, not literal historical event.
4. NO, God did not cater for this in advance in order for you to have a complete book of His revelation in your hand to read, just so you can read it without needing to put in effort to learn history and language. God gave you a choice: to think or not-to-think – that is the question. If you do not think, instead accepting other’s authoritative rulings, what difference are you to a robot, a programmed computer?
5. Interpreting the bible as literal is a lazy, ungodly attitude, as is accepting everything your church leaders say, just because it is the common interpretation of your denomination’s theology at the present time. A literal interpretation is a MIS-interpretation. Conformity is not a sign of faith.
6. The world was NOT created in 6, 24 hour time periods.
   1. This story is a creation myth; a way of explaining the world that the developing human conscious found itself.
   2. The tree of knowledge is the beginning of consciousness, becoming aware of our human condition.
   3. The story has multiple authors and editors immediately evident if you read it – each story is repeated twice, and has been edited together.
7. This means the genealogies in the Bible are NOT literal.
   1. The bible specifies a genealogy between Jesus and Adam adds up to a maximum of 8000 years.
   2. Fossils are discovered underneath mountains – life that existed before the millions of years it took to geologically form the land mass, dinosaur fossils carbon date to be 60 million years old, the stars in our sky take millions of light years for us to even see them, and we see proof of our expanding universe every on our TV static.
   3. If the Aborigines have a 30000 year history there is NO WAY POSSIBLE that they can be descendants of Adam.
   4. These genealogies therefore must be recorded for more-than-literal reasons. Possibly their purpose is to imply Jesus’ connection with the bible and kings – a meaning that tells us a lot more than what the literal one does.
8. Hence the Bible is a reflection of one civilisation’s spiritual journey with the sacred, at different points in time.
9. There is NO cosmic battle between God and the Devil. Why would a God that is all powerful, require a cosmic battle in a literal sense? No, this narrative is symbolic.
10. Jesus says he is “the way, the truth and the life.” This means we must follow his example. That is the way to know God, and the way to live in His Kingdom – Jesus is referring to a state of peace on earth NOW, not another realm where you go when you die.
11. Jesus says the most important thing is to love God and love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus never asks to be worshiped himself.
12. The theology of the cross was one person’s interpretation of the Bible, 1000 years after Jesus, and 1000 years before today. Theologians debated it, many rejected it, and in the end _ decided to implement it.
13. Similarly, the theology of Original Sin. You are NOT born evil. As a baby you are perfect. You are born out of a complete connectedness with the universe and with God.
14. No idols on earth – this includes idolising the Jesus and the Bible.
15. Son of God = sons of gods; that is, in biblical times, when the bible was written, there was no such thing as capital letters! This is an addition made by Christian theologians throughout history.
16. Protestant beliefs have only been around for 500 years,
17. “Faith” has not always meant a rejection of reason, the battle between natural science and supernatural religions – until the Enlightenment faith referred to a state of mind and heart, of trust in God. Trust that His Will will be revealed to you, so you can lead the life He wants you to live.
18. Jesus was NOT born from a virgin – this element was added whether intentionally for mythological significance or to increase acceptance by pagan gentiles to whom beliefs in virgin births was a typical characteristic of all the gods, or a result of exaggerations over the years of oral tradition.
19. Jesus did NOT rise from the dead physically, after three days rotting in a tomb; again this is a pagan concept added in the gap between Jesus’ death and the writing of the gospels.
20. He did NOT ascend in a bodily form up into heaven – if he did, he would be blown up by the earth’s atmosphere, and where would he go?
21. Mythos is the way people thought … Mythos has been wiped from our conscious, and so it is difficult for us to understand
22. All religions ultimately agree on principles that will enhance your experience of life on earth: Love your neighbour as yourself and Love “God” – the magic energy behind life
23. The God of the Bible, in fact, is not irreconcilable with science. Our literal interpretation is, but when interpreted in its historical context, suddenly it all makes sense!
24. God and science go hand in hand, like two sides of a coin. God is the ‘what’, the meaning, the purpose, the motivation; and Evolution is the ‘how’, the method, the physical manifestation of God’s energy.
25. Creation has not finished. We are now the creators with God.
26. The purpose of life is to express God – so go forth, love, live, learn, grow and create!

About Faith and God

Does a caterpillar know what it’s future holds as it builds it’s cacoon?

The term God in Hebrew simply means “I am” or “I will be what I will be.” That is, us as a people unfolding our destiny. p289 ^(Maddox) Us humans can only think within constructions of what we have ever seen, heard and experienced. Hence we construct our image of God in our own image. Throughout history we have personified this power in attempt to comprehend it. Some personified it as aspects of environmental nature like the sun, or as representations of aspects of human nature like greed or love. The Israelites personified this power as the most powerful thing they knew, the king. The imagery in the Bible describes God as the most powerful king, sitting on a throne in a golden luxurious castle, in a city of peace.

People of every culture and time have sought to please this power, so that they may be blessed with food and water, victories at war, sunshine for their crops, and life after death. In earlier times, people thought they must give sacrifices (animal or human) to please this power. Enlightened leaders like Jesus and Buddha realised that this wasn’t necessary. More beneficial to society would be a doctrine on non-violence. Loving each other, even those who do use wrong, will bring about heaven on earth. Heaven and Hell are also images constructed in our earliest consciousness, at a time the only explanation for the sun’s movements was that it was being carried across the sky by angels. Heaven in the sky, amongst the beauty of the stars and the beloved warmth of the sun. Volcanic fires from beneath the earth, brought death and destruction thus explained as creations of an evil God from below.

I think Jesus still lives on today. Not as a person sitting beside his father in the clouds, but in the same spiritual presence we will return into when we die. It seems unlikely that we will keep our separate presence when we die. Our memories and personality is contingent to our consciousness in a particular moment in time, it is not possible to take anything from earth with us when we die, and many of us would not even want to. Instead I imagine that when we die we reconnect in our entirety with the omni-presence of God living on through every person, animal, plant and cell in the universe. To me ‘God’ is everything including you and me. This means I am a Panentheist. Pan = everything, en = in, Theos = God. Everything in God. Are not all religions somewhat Panentheist? This makes sense to me. It is consistent with science, physics, history, other religions, and even with atheists. It seems more biblical than a belief in a supernatural separate God as it emphasises transcendence and God’s presence. It means that we never die, but are even now living out a moment of our eternal life. The most incredible thing about this design is that we are given the choice to live out our present moment in a state of heaven or a state of hell. Individually and collectively this is our choice, and a choice we must make in every moment of every day.

Even Atheists do not deny a great power behind our being, a Great Unknown energy that motivates cells to split, life to live, to evolve and to create. The different between Atheists and Theists seems to come down to whether one wishes to personify this power, or leave it as an abstract collage of mathematical formula and quantum hypothesis. When it comes down to it the circular nature of the Cosmological argument – that something can’t come from nothing, and hence something must have already existed, but where did that something come from – highlights the fact that there will always be some things we can not know.

There exists a connection between all matter in ways we still cannot comprehend, and for this unknown power to be presented as omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (always present) power, does make sense. In English the personification of this power we name ‘God’. In Hebrew it’s ‘Jehovah’, in Arabic? it’s ‘Allah’ in Japanese it’s Kami, in Spanish it’s Dios and in Indian it’s Deva. Sometimes I think this energy should be named something more descriptively appropriate like many New Age religions and Spirituality movements tend to do, like say The Void Potential or the Fatherly Oneness… The name of this power does not really matter but what I think we must recognise is the common goal of all humans is to have a connection with this power so that we might live out our purpose in the continuing evolution and creation of our world.

Finding fulfillment in our lives

When it comes down to it, what do we all want? “To be happy.” And what does this mean to us? We want to feel peace inside, and be surrounded by peaceful people in a peaceful world. Ultimately this is what all the wise teachers throughout the times have tried to help us get one step closer to this state.

We each hold a significant potential to leave this world in a better place than we arrived. We have been lucky enough to be born into a human body with a human mind – with potentials beyond what we presently realise and imagine. Every day we wake, we breathe, we think and we move, and we can make of that day whatever we wish. We can live for the short pleasures, or the longer-term satisfactions, or a bit of both. Fulfilment is most potent when we are connected with God, when we listen to His signs, when hear His voice inside us, and when we have faith that that voice is guiding you in the way that will most benefit you and the world.

The realisation that nothing lasts forever is another confronting idea, but once you accept it, it is one that frees you from fear. Think about it. Money could be worth nothing tomorrow – our currency could crash and all your hard-earned savings become worthless. Your house could burn down and your home insurance company may fold. You may be left with a big fat nothing. Your wife or husband could pick-up their bags and leave with the kids. Every day we get older, and our appearance perishes. We walk on the streets and drive our cars – constantly at risk of some kind of accident that may kill us, or in many ways worse would be to be left in a deformed state that would burden the people we love. I don’t say these things to increase your fear, but in order to let go of that fear. We crave security yet can never achieve it. Life is in a constant state of transience, it never stops for a break. We can fear the unknown or we can embrace it.

The only certainty in life is death. Hence death is a concept we must not fear, but should embrace, the returning to God and to the oneness of all that is.

Loving our Neighbours

There is a long history of Christians killing Muslims going back to the Spanish Inquisition, where heretics were tortured to death under the justification that it is better to save their soul by torture, then let them live. This killing continues in recent times in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo. In the process of colonialism, the West saw their culture as superior and forced people to convert to our culture including converting to our religion in order to be saved. Bringing them ‘out of darkness and into the light’ meant to enculturate them into our civilisation – alternatives were seen as barbaric and primitive. Much of our conception of salvation has to do with making our culture the dominant one.

We can even see the battle cry in War on Terror – for ‘freedom and democracy’ is a belief that our culture is superior. The way to ensure our security is to make everyone think like us. Religion gets tied up in that battle. We do not own god. We cannot fight battles stating that He is on our side. Religion, culture and politics are intertwined so in order to find a peaceful political situation we can start by finding a peaceful religious one.

If we really love our neighbours, we will not judge them, nor condemn, or think of ourselves as better than them. True love is not compatible with a claim to own a single path to God and to be the only religion with access to the Truth. With this attitude, religion will always be divisive force for humanity. Instead we must be empathetic toward each other and desire to learn from other’s connection with God, rather than try to impose our connection on them. We must be honest to ourselves, recognising the unavoidable fact that whichever religion we prescribe, it is but a consequence of our life’s experience that brought us to that acceptance of truth: whether it be the religion of our parents, our partner, our friend, or some inner voice that called you into some particular church. It was not separate from the ethnicity, nationality and culture that you were born into.

Technology has brought people from all over the world together and now we have the opportunity to unite as one species- the most intelligent, creative and powerful species on this planet. We can learn from each other’s experiences with the indescribable spiritual power, and we can re-interpret all we know of it in a way that is relevant to the society we desire today.

Truth

It’s very confusing when there are so many religious beliefs that surround us, especially when those with faith, exalt their own beliefs and denounce the beliefs of others. This confusion is not new, over two thousand years ago when people faced similar circumstances, the Buddha gave them some advice, which I think is good advice for us today:

Do not accept anything on mere hearsay (ie thinking that we have not heard for a long time)

Do not accept anything by mere tradition (ie thinking that it has thus been handed down: through many generations)

Do not accept anything on account of rumours (ie believing what others say without investigation)

Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures

Do not accept anything by mere inference

Do not accept anything by merely considering the appearances

Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your preconceived notions

Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable (ie should be accepted)

Do not accept anything linking that the ascetic is respected; by us (and therefore it is right to accept his word)

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept and abide by it.

Kalama Sutta, p 3 ^{(Silva, 1994)}

Be honest about the gaps in your knowledge

Lack of expertise should not disqualify anyone from participation in important debates, provided that one is honest about the gaps in one’s knowledge. Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous concept of “known unknowns” is helpful here. We cannot know everything, but we can – if we are humble enough – estimate more or less accurately the dimensions of our ignorance.

Rejecting or finding meaning in context?

 

Do the above findings lead me reject all I have ever learned, seen and felt of God, the value of the Bible and the Christian religion? At first I did reject Christianity- I felt betrayed, like it was all a bunch of lies and that I didn’t know what I could trust. But as I learned more about evolution theory, I saw a mysterious force that seemed to be driving it. As I travelled I continued to talk to ‘God’ and feel ‘His’ comfort. I realised:

1. The bible still has worth – it provides a historical foundation of the relationship between Jews and the divine, a base from which we can build upon
2. Jesus’ messages were of peace on earth: love our neighbours and love god
3. Everything must always be read in its context
4. We should explore each other’s histories
5. We should try to learn from each other’s relationship and experiences with the divine
6. We should join forces together to decifer the facts, frauds and faiths, and to decide on which morals apply today, that will help our world move toward a more peaceful state.
7. What is God? ‘God’ is the name we humans (well those who speak English) have given to a personification of the powerful energy behind all that exists. Atheists have simply chosen not to personify this power, and instead leave it as an abstract energy. No one can deny an energy behind life, an energy that creates our and animal’s deep desire to live. Debating the existence of ‘God’ is largely an issue of semantics.
8. Other religions also have worth
9. Our non-religious history, scientific discoveries and philosophical thinkers, also help us get closer to our ultimate universally shared goal: truth.
10. The utmost most important thing for you to do is think for yourself
11. We are not separate from our environment or from each other. Our existence is interconnected. We cannot survive without our air, food, water and relationships. Plants transform our carbon to oxygen and provide us our food. God can be seen in every process, every cell, every animal, and inside us. Our existence is not comprised of the separateness we feel in our human defined identities, the separate consciousness of ‘me,’ but our existence is interdependent on everything – we are together, there is no me there is only us. The separateness you experience is a temporary illusion, allowing God to express his creativity and experience different realities. One day we will return to God, we will no longer separate, no longer experiencing the highs and lows – we will return to blissful peace of oneness. This is a place that we can meditate into, experiencing a temporary reuniting with God. This is what Buddhists find as they are enlightened. This is what atheists too believe will be felt when a separate consciousness ceases to be conscious – the return to the state we were in before we were conscious – a return to nothing, a return to everything.
12. The most satisfying thing you can do in your life is find your purpose and live it out. Ask how you can provide the most benefit for the most people. Listen to your intuition; this is God communicating with you. Understand your place in the universe and your unique role in fulfilling God’s purpose: to create. God created us and is continuing to create. We are still evolving and this process will never stop. Why does God do this? So that He can know Himself. We have God inside us and we are made in His image. We are God’s expression of himself. As we express ourselves, we express God. Have faith – that by following the signs you will fulfil the purpose of your present lifetime
13. How do we love God? Love beauty. Love all people. Love our planet. Be grateful for all you have. Have faith, listen to your intuition and follow the signs that come from the interconnectedness of all life. Live out your role in the universe. Fulfil your potential.

Peace

Is peace possible? I guess that depends on what you think is peace? What does a peaceful world look like? Once we have a vision, it won’t be long before it becomes reality. So yes, I believe peace is possible, and it’s up to us to create it.

If we were to look critically at our religion, identify facts, faiths and frauds, we can set an example for other religions to do the same. By not claiming ownership of absolute truth, others will not feel so unease about disclaiming theirs. Diminishing the arrogance and elitism that comes with a belief that we are the only ones going to heaven, acceptance and tolerance will increase and resentment and enmity decrease. It starts with us and our own personal realm of influence. By changing ourselves, a momentum will begin whereby others follow.

Penn wrote in 1684, ‘Governments rather depend upon men than men upon governments. Let men be good, and government cannot be bad. If it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be ever so good, they will endeavour to warp and spoil it to their tune.’ (Ferguson 1978 p113)

If we change, our governments will change and our world will change. Conflict may always exist yet violence need not. Violence against others and ourselves, both in thought and in action, is no good for anyone. World peace is not an abstract unachievable dream stated at beauty pageants. Peace is possible, and it starts with you.

Eccl. 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Let us move forward in love, questioning, analysing and thinking for ourselves – it is time for peace!

ONE FINAL FOLLOW-UP NOTE as at October 2009

All of the above was written around 2007 and at the moment I don’t have time to give it it’s deserved attention to editing and making sure everything in it is sources and makes sense. I think it’s important to keep all understands as tentative to the discovery of new information and since this time my understanding of a physical resurrection has now changed. That is, if Jesus’ spirit appeared to the disciples as the Bible says, even fundamentalist Christians if they really think about it do not believe it to be a fully physical resurrection. The Bible says Jesus appeared and disappeared seemingly walking through walls and vanishing into nothing. It also says the disciples did not recognise him at first – this would infer he was not resurrected into his rotting body-corpse. After watching John Polkinghorne on www.meaningoflife.com I realised that a spiritual resurrection on a quantum physics type of level could have been a little bit physical as well. There are so many unknowns so I guess with an open mind we can continue a ongoing conversation on the never-ending pursuit to get a better understanding of the unattainable truth.

 

In case you want to go back & read some parts again:

Chapter 1 – Introduction Click here

Chapter 2 – Is the Bible the “Word of God”? Click here

Chapter 3 – Is Jesus Christ the “Son of God?” Click here

Chapter 4 – Discussing the contradictions Click here

Chapter 5 – What does this mean for my life today? Click here

 

For further reading still, check out some developing thoughts on Who, or what is “God”??? Click here

What does it mean to have “faith”?

The definition ‘faith’ has changed

‘Faith’ would have been much easier 200 years ago before evolution theory was thought up. Why would God ask us to have ‘faith’ in a story that contradicts the geological and historical evidences? When I think about God, in His ultimate wisdom and power, I wonder why He would at one single point in history, in one single place, incarnate as a human and state that believe in a single narrative of His death and resurrection as the only way for humans to have a relationship with Him. And if this was, for some strange reasons we can’t understand, what God decided to do, then why would he allow human investigation into the evidence contradict this narrative? Why would He then request that humans ignore all the evidence and have ‘faith in Jesus’? Is this really what having ‘faith’ is about? Does it make sense that humans in 10,000 years time, would still have to learn and believe in the supernatural resurrection of a man from 12,000 years before them?

What is faith?

Prior to the Enlightenment, the truth of Christianity was not questioned, but was accepted by all as given fact. Christianity provided a meta-narrative that gave people understanding of the bigger picture and meaning of life. Presented as fact to the whole population, “belief” was not a concept that took “faith,” belief in Jesus and the Christian creeds, were taken for granted. In 1543  the Copernican of the earth revolving around the sun replaced the Ptolemaic view of earth at the centre of the universe, where the stars, moon and sun revolved around it. And everything changed.

Borg explains that in these times, “faith” referred to “trust in God,” that is, not being anxious, taking comfort in knowledge that God loves you and will keep you safe. Jesus said “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” And “Do not be anxious… you of little faith.”

Our Christian images have been filtered through primitive minds of a group of people inspired by God. At this time, they lived in a world completely different to the one we live today. A world of kingdoms led by kings. A world of mystery and superstition, a world of unknowns. Reliant on the natural world, with no idea how it worked. Not enough rain was a matter of life and death. The devil lived below them, controlling the frightening volcanic fire that could burst up from the earth’s crust and kill off full civilizations in a matter of seconds. God and his angels above, making sure to carry the sun across the sky every day, provide rain from the clouds for their crops, and transform into the most spectacular artwork for them to admire at night.

We no longer live under powerful kings, we know the earth is not flat, we understand the earth’s tectonic plates, how mountains are created, where the lava comes from and how clouds operate. The sun does not revolve around us, but us around it. We know what is beyond the sky is not heaven, but is a universe full of galaxies like the one we are a small part of. Does this take away from the mystery of God? No. Does it take away from the divine inspirations of our ancestors? No. What it does do is motivate us to re-evaluate our interpretations of these god-inspired words.

My interpretation of Faith

Faith is a commitment to God, connecting with him on a personal level so that you might allow His will to manifest in your life. His will IS your will. He is both inside you and outside you. That connectedness transcends any temporary desire your mind may begin to pursue. Hence we must get intouch with God, through our awareness and openness, and trusting that His will is your will too. By allowing yourself to swim with the tide rather than against it, you will not tire, but will get much further and have a much more prosperous, happy and fulfilling life. Faith means loving God, hence loving God’s creations. This includes loving yourself, loving others, loving nature.

Why would salvation be based on a formula?

I was taught that I must accept Jesus as Lord, his physical death and resurrection as his sacrifice in order for my sins to be forgiven so that I might be saved. Only those that know and believe this story will go to heaven. By how does this exclusivity fit with a loving God who created the world? Is this really what the Bible teaches? No!

According to theologian John Williams, the message in the New Testament is that any person whose heart is inclined to God is saved and that God has no favourites. God is for everyone. So why would God make salvation exclusive to a privileged group of people who by their education or culture are able to hear about Jesus, whereas the majority of the people in the world NEVER have the opportunity to hear? And why would salvation be dependent on the articulation of a formula? The Christian message is one of transformation and reconciliation, and a new creation in our inner being by the work of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is always the work of the Spirit. It can never be the work of any person. So to keep consistent with the God of the Bible, it can be deduced that salvation must be universally available. The Spirit must be present and effective in all cultures and all religions. Salvation must involve a positive response by each and every person, to the work of the spirit in their life, no matter what external form that may take.

The position of Christian is not one of privileged salvation, but one of privileged knowledge. This knowledge can be shared in a loving way with other people who want to hear it. In the same way, God want us to listen to the views of others, so we can learn more about Him through the ways He has communicated and inspired them.  Together a synthesis, an expanded knowledge of God, and experience as to the way God works in people’s lives. Neither a Christian nor any other religious person has the power to save somebody, and hence they should never see another person as a potential convert. All you would be doing is converting a person to a dogma with a set of rituals. To imagine that you are the possessor of salvation is idolatry because you’ve put yourself in the place of God. Salvation is God’s property not yours. Are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Atheists all equally saved as Christians? Yes, of course. Acknowledging this means our attitude toward people with other views will change. Starting with respect their another’s faith ripples out to respect for them as people.

What happened to people alive before Jesus?

One question which I have found very very difficult to reconcile with the Christian narrative is the conundrum faced when it comes to where all the millions of people that existed before Jesus, went when they died.

How can people be condemned for being born into other religions?

If the narrative of Christianity is true, that you must believe Jesus died for your sins in order to go to heaven, then all the people that lived more than two thousand years ago went to hell. But does that make sense? Why would God decide to send all the Ancient Egyptians, who dedicated so much of their time to wanting to please the God of the world that they dedicated most of their life on earth to building pyramids that they hoped would help provide them a pleasant after-life? The Sumerians, the first humans creative and smart enough to create a written language, were blessed with this intellect yet also condemned to hell? Because they did not know Jesus? How about ancient cultures of far-away lands, unknown to Bible writers, such as the Australian Aborigines, ancient Asians, native Americans… each dedicating much time and effort in hope of having a relationship with the Almighty Power of the universe – did they all go to hell too?

This seems ridiculous. Surely no matter what time and place on our planet we are born, our creator would love us unconditionally? Surely people striving for a relationship with ‘God,’ who record the revelations they receive in their own holy books, aren’t all wrong just because we are right? I think we must be pretty darn arrogant and ignorant if we truly think we are the only group people God loves enough to provide us the ‘knowledge’ of the one and only true path to him in a way that we find comprehensible and believable. The God of such a narrative would not only appear to be racist – ‘choosing’ one group of people and rejecting the rest of the peoples and animals He created; but to me He would also be quite unjust – condemning people’s ‘sins’ that come often from no choice of their own but from a consequence of their upbringing and life experiences.

God in man’s image – jealous and insecure

Another amusing point is comes from the observation of humans. I have noticed that the most attention-seeking individuals, who appear the most arrogant, have a deep desire for other’s approval and praise, and are the most insecure of all of us. Seeing as God of the Christian Bible portrays Himself as jealous, demanding no other idols before Him, His name not to be taken in vain, and other similar seemingly superficial immature requests, I truly question whether it is likely that the creator of such an incredible universe would really be so insecure?

It really doesn’t make much sense…

Why would a God help us discover the concept of Evolution, which makes an extraordinary amount of sense, along with helping us discover archaeology and various dating techniques, which all generally support a very big history of evolution; yet in contrast promise only to bless us with a heavenly afterlife if we are willing to forget reason and believe in a story seemingly spread by political figures for political reasons, unsupported by history and science, for general purposes of controlling masses of people? Why would He do this? It really doesn’t make sense.

Changing faces of God and His definitions of sin

At the start of the Bible we read about an angry God, Jehovah, who commits genocides of societies that are not his ‘chosen’ people, he kills his followers for trivial reasons such as Lot’s wife for looking the wrong way, he wipes out all of humanity except for Noah and his family with one huge flood. Jesus then presents God as Abba, a father, a God of justice, who love humanity and wants a close personal relationship with each of use through prayer. Revelations presents a once again vengeful God. Changing definition of sin in the Bible

From birth we are in a state of reward and punishment. Obey and be rewarded, disobey and be punished. This focuses on an external set of rules being imposed on us. The God of the Bible is treated in such an immature moral grounding. We also learn what is good for us through trial and error – when we get hurt we adapt our behaviour the next time. When we do something and it feels good, we are inclined to repeat that behaviour. We tend to accept our society’s definition of right and wrong, as God’s definition of such. In the twenty-first century hitting children with the stick as they Bible recommends, has been outlawed as the negative consequences of this behaviour both on the child and on society have been proven. We can only act within our limited knowledge, evaluating the impact of our actions on others and on ourselves, and making better decisions from there. Morality cannot be dictated- it must be found from within. In our generation, unlike in biblical times, ‘good’ need not be done in order to please a higher being, but may be done out of the pure motivation: love. Out of love for ourselves, for our neighbours and for our planet.

Heaven and the “Kingdom of God”

The concept of Heaven and Hell changes throughout the Bible. Ancient Hebrew Scriptures in the Old Testament describe the dead as leading a shadowy existence in a great cavern under the earth called Sheol, where everyone went whether they led a good or evil life on earth. This is similar to Pagan cultures at the time. After the Greek Invasion, Greek Pagan ideas about resurrection and eternal rewards for people who had followed the Law and been kind to others. Evil people would be punished.

Paul on the other hand writes of a heaven for those who had been saved by trusting and believing in Christ’s resurrection. He never talks about hell and seems to believe that unbelievers would simply perish and no longer exist. “The wages of sin are death”. The Synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke described Jesus as telling of a glorious eternal rest in heaven for those who are kind to the poor, and a Hell of eternal punishment: fire, worms and thirst, for those who were not. John describes Heaven is a reward for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and does not mention Hell.

Scholars think that when Jesus talks about the kingdom of god, that he is referring to himself as a way of living, living a state in god’s presence. The kingdom of god is god’s presence with humanity. Jesus didn’t use the word ‘kingdom’ – obviously he couldn’t seeing as he didn’t speak English. The original word recorded in the Bible was the Greek word ‘basileia.’ Jesus spoke Aramaic not Greek, and the word he probably actually said is ‘malkuth’, a word with meaning close to the Hebrew word ‘shalom.’  Malkuth basically means a condition of state of peace and harmony. So, god’s kingdom is us and the world being in a state of harmony in god’s presence. When you hear the church speak of the Kingdom of God, and they use it to refer to the church. It most definitily is not. The church is an institution. The Kingdom of God is a condition of humanity in the world and if you belief Jesus’ teaching, it’s a condition that can be experienced now. (Note for further reading google “The kingdom of God” Secombe)

Creation and life’s purpose

A loving God will allow his creation a degree of freedom to find its own way hence the very nature of a God of creation must be evolutionary. Only evolution allows for infinite creativity, and for intelligent beings within creation, to have any influence as to how things evolve. One spontaneous creation, fixed for all time, is deterministic, allows for no human freedom, and is the work of a deterministic god. Creation is contingent within boundaries and allows for interactions in the environment and a multiplicity of potential evolutionary paths. God may well know the perfect evolutionary path for creation to follow but God, out of love, has given enough freedom for the creation to find a way which is not necessarily God’s perfect way however within the structure of creation, there are boundaries that will ensure that creation does not self destruct and will whatever path it takes reach an endpoint that is God’s plan. This is known as “Process Theology.” At the human level, it is obvious that life is contingent and that the behaviour of each and every human can influence the course of history, can influence the environment of the planet, and can potentially effect the life of each and every person. This is the freedom that God has allowed humanity and the world, and the way for humanity to ensure that world history evolves in the optimum way, is to work in partnership with god. In a deterministic creationist world, there is no need for any partnership between God and Humanity. Do you believe god is relational, and humans can have a relationship with him? What is the purpose, if they do not have a power to influence? How will people learn and discover, if God does not allow us to make mistakes and to suffer, and to discover how to resolve our problems and obtain a productive and creative society? Evolution is the creative mark a loving God.

The true nature of relationship between God and Humanity

To believe that humans are made in the likeness/image of God is to believe that humans are able to have a personal living relationship with god, as we are a reflection of the nature of god. One of the most important aspects of this relationship is human creativity, reflecting the infinite creativity of God. This human creativity is obvious in our world in scientific endeavour, in the arts, in human inventiveness, ingenuity, and indeed in the ability of the human intellect to understand the very nature of the universe. God has willed for humans to have this capability and to a degree to be co-creators with God. All for the universe is continually evolving, and human consciousness continues to evolve to higher levels of understanding and the journey of discovery has no end. Humans reflect the nature of God mostly when they live in loving supportive relationships with each other. Indeed the very development of human nature, and the richness of human nature, is dependent on human relationships. Every time we alienate another person, we diminish our own humanity. Every time we embrace another person, we enrich our humanity. The enrichment of human society requires difference and diversity and for each of us to experience diverse cultures, and develop diverse understandings, dialogue and sharing of experiences – all an essential part of human development. This understanding of humanity and human community is a direct reflection of the communal nature of the Christian God. The ultimate purpose then, of humanity, is to be co-creators with God in the evolution of the universe.

Jesus died for our sins

Do you really think God, a power so incredible he can create the universe, is going to worry about your mistakes? Do you think he expects more from you than what you are able to give and do? You think because you stole a candy bar when you are a child, He wants to punish you just because you don’t tell Him you are sorry? Don’t you think God would be bigger than that? Don’t you think he would forgive without question, without even a thought? Don’t you think a God of love, simply wants for us whatever we want for us?

John explained to me,

“The doctrine of the cross is also very confused. Many Christians believe that Jesus was punished on the cross by God, in the place of humanity. But this is not even biblical. There are many metaphors to explain the cross, but the central doctrine is that Jesus reconciled humanity with God, not the other way around, ie not reconciled God with humanity, because God didn’t need to be reconciled. Humanity has a problem not God. If many Christians don’t get this central doctrine, how many other misunderstandings do they have? Jesus is dying to appease God’s wrath  – the idea that God is dying to save us from God, is completely illogical.”

When Jesus is worshiped as God, is this idolatry?

 

Sex and Guilt

I have seen Christianity cause harm to many lives, particularly when it comes to the issue of sex outside of marriage. Many Christians get married young so they can have sex, and from that point on have remained in a very unhappy marriage for half if not all of their lifetime, hurting children they produce in this dogmatic process. I’ve seen young people repress their sexuality, rejecting potentially wonderful relationships with non-Christians and finding themselves old lonely virgins. I hear and read of cases within the church where this repression morphs into the horrific events like sexual abuse of young boys or rape of daughters, not to mention the devastating consequences of the banning of condoms on the AIDS epidemic. Sex is treated as an evil temptation that is a sin against God, rather than the acceptance of sex as a natural desire we have to love and be loved, and express this with ultimate closeness.

I have not altogether avoided such harm although grateful to escape it to the most extent. I did struggle with sex issues when I was an evangelical and inlove with my boyfriend. Yet reading the Bible for myself, rather than accepting the Church’s teachings as authoritative, I realized the Bible never specified sex between two people who love each other, as being a sin. Sex is a subject that all of us must learn not to repress, but to control and enjoy as the ultimate expression of love for another person.

God is Love

1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

If God is love, ‘He’ will not keep record of wrongs, he will not seek praise and will not envy whatever we dedicate our life to. Jesus’ taught his followers that the way to find the kingdom of God, ie of finding peace on earth, is to love God and love others. Loving God and loving others is not about declaring my description of God as right, and other’s description as wrong. Loving God and loving others is about embracing the wonderful mysterious power behind life that we call God, connecting with this force, listening to that inner voice, following the signs that will guide you toward fulfilling your life’s potential. It is in these two universal teachings that we can continue Jesus’ movement toward a true state of peace that begins in you and from there will radiate throughout our planet and universe.

Further Reading:

Chapter 1 – Introduction Click here

Chapter 2 – Is the Bible the “Word of God”? Click here

Chapter 3 – Is Jesus Christ the “Son of God?” Click here

Chapter 4 – Discussing the contradictions Click here

Chapter 5 – What does this mean for my life today? Click here

Chapter 6 – My conclusions Click here

Son of God = son of god

What’s the difference between “Son of God” and “son of god”? Actually in Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke) and ancient Greek, the orignal language that the New Testament was written, capital letters were never used  – so there is NO DIFFERENCE!

Son or Servant?

The King James Version reads, “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

The New King James Version reads, “To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning every one of you away from his iniquities.”

Which is the correct translation? This is a pretty huge mistake. There’s a pretty big difference between claiming to be God’s servant, and his Son. Could Jesus have claimed to be the SERVANT, not the SON, of God? Is the Aramaic word for this the same, or is this a confused interpreter or what? How easy would it have been for the original interpreters to have tailored their interpretation to fit their purposes?

Son of Man?

Jesus tended to call himself the Son of Man not the Son of God anyway…

We are all Sons and Daughters of God

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.’

Jesus calls Adam a son of God in Luke 3:38, “the son of Kenan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”

Romans 9:26, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said of them ‘you are not my people’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

Matthew 5:44-45 “But I tell you: Love your enemies[a] and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Psalm 82:6 “I said, ‘You are ‘gods’; you are all sons of the Most High.’”

Genesis 6:1-3  “When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with (or remain in) man forever, for he is mortal (or corrupt); his days will be a hundred and twenty years.””

The disciples enthusiasm as evidence or support for a social revolution?

My Dad’s main argument for the evidence of the truth of Christianity, is the disciples. The disciples were weak followers. After their leader had died, they lost all hope. They were sad and depressed. What then caused such a change so that they might go out, profess Jesus resurrection? They believed so strongly that they would die for it. Paul, … were all martyred for their belief.

Paul was converted on his way travelling from Jerusalem to Damascus, by a voice and vision of Jesus. What else could have caused such a change? It must have been a true vision of Jesus or else why would he do it?

Let’s consider the options:

1. Jesus was not dead, a disciple nursed him to health. He appeared slowly to different disciples.

2. He was dead. One or more disciples stole the body.

3. Jesus appearance to them:

Did they imagine it?

Have a visit from his ghost/spirit?

Share a vision?

Maybe the idea of Jesus eating, was more of a little thing that the disciples added to make their story more believable (so that they weren’t thought of as crazy) The vision may have been a ghost / spirit, like a seance or something of the like…

An impostor: At first they did not recognise him – why not? Is it possible that it was because it wasn’t really him?

From the disciples point of view:

1. A new leader, had a revelation and inspired them with new vision to continue their ministry. They may have believed it would be for the good of mankind. They didn’t want to go back to their old way of life.

2. Another follower of Jesus conspired to create the resurrection story, stole the body and appeared to them like a magician/illusionist can do. The disciples thus believed the story and set out to spread the word with conviction.

3. It was true: Jesus was dead. Then he was resurrected. He appeared maybe in the garden to some women, maybe… he walked through walls to appear to the disciples even though they could touch the holes in his hands and eventually he physically shot up into the sky towards the sun.

It is possible that it was Jesus and one disciple planned to create a new religion all along. Maybe they staged everything. It is a possibility. If Jesus wasn’t dead, he could have appeared to many, then escaped to Egypt or some far away place. Alternatively if he was dead, the co-conspiring disciple could have stolen the body, organised himself or someone else to impersonated him as to excite them that the resurrection came true. Why did some disciples doubt him? The few men that were close to him didn’t even think he was going to rise from the dead…

Pagan Religions – who is the copycat?

 

Virgin-born Saviours who died and rose again

This is a list of religions before Christianity who had virgin-born saviors who were sons of their gods, who lived, preached, performed miracles, rose from death and ascended into heaven:

• Chrishna – Hindu
• Osiris – Ancient Egypt – The worship of Osiris continued for over 6000 years. During that time millions of Egyptians believed that the had risen from the dead. In contrast, Christianity is less than 2000 years old and the resurrection of Christ is rejected today by ? .
• Aesculapius – Ancient Greece – Adonis – Syrians at the time of Jesus (One of the gods that Paul continually scolded the Jews for going back to)
• 386AD St Jerome says “Over Bethlehem (in the year 386 after Christ) the grove of Tammuz, that is of Adonis, was casting its shadow and in the grotto where formerly the infant anointed cried, the lover of Venus was being mourned””

 

The Babylonians and other Pagan cultures believed that the earth was flat with mountains around the edges holding up the rigid dome of the sky and that the sun, moon, planets and stars were pushed by angels along the underside of the dome (kind of like the Truman show) The Tower of Babel story where people try to build a tower to reach God, is an example of this type of belief.

Easter

Nelson’s search on Easter reveals:

“Easter was originally a pagan festival honoring Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of light and spring. At the time of the vernal equinox (the day in the spring when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are of equal length), sacrifices were offered in her honor. As early as the eighth century, the word was used to designate the annual Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ.”

This is what is says about Ishtar:

“The ancient Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar symbolized Mother Earth in the natural cycles of fertility on earth. Ishtar was the daughter of Sin, the moon god… Ishtar has been identified with the Phoenician Astarte, the Semitic Ashtoreth, and the Sumerian Inanna. Strong similarities also exist between Ishtar and the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, and the Roman Venus.”

Ok, so I don’t have to worry that someone is making up this ‘Ishtar’ character in order to turn people away from Christianity. This is information written by Christians!

“Then he brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz.”Ezekiel 8:14 NIV

The notes of the NIV study Bible say “The only Biblical reference to this Babylonian fertility god. The women of Jerusalem were bewailing his dying, which they felt caused the annual wilting of vegetation.”

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary says regarding this verse: “Tammuz, later linked to Adonis and Aphrodite by name, was a god of fertility and rain … In the seasonal mythological cycle, he died early in the fall when vegetation withered. His revival, by the wailing of Ishtar, was marked by the buds of spring and the fertility of the land. Such renewal was encouraged and celebrated by licentious fertility festivals … The women would have been lamenting Tammuz’s death. They perhaps were also following the ritual of Ishtar, wailing for the revival of Tammuz” (Vol. VI, 1986, pp. 783-784).

Does the Bible mention ‘Easter’?

The word Easter appears once in the King James Version of the Bible, in Acts 12:4, where it is a mistranslation. Reputable scholars and reference works point out that the word Easter in this verse comes from the Greek word pascha, meaning Passover. Modern translations correctly translate this word “Passover.”

Christmas

“You shouldn’t write ‘Xmas’ as it takes the “Christ out of Christmas.” I often thought that people today have lost focus on what is important. They put all their attention on commercial things such as the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Easter eggs and exchanging gifts, loosing the real meaning of Christmas – Christ’s birth; and of Easter – his ultimate sacrifice – he died for YOU, then rose again – just as you will rise and have eternal life.

Slight problem I have just discovered, how can we put the “Christ back into Christmas”, if it wasn’t even there to begin with?

The bubble hurts as it bursts, but but just as children discover the truth about santa, as adults we do need to know the truth behind our traditions. The ‘real’ meaning of Christmas is not Christ. Christmas did not start out a Christian celebration. Christ wasn’t born on or even close to the 25th of December. This date was adopted by Christians in order to ease the conversion of Pagans. The ‘real’ meaning of these celebrations goes back far further than 2000 years – all the way back to Ancient Egypt. This date was the shortest date of the year, the winter solice, and since from this day, the sun would be in the sky for a longer time, it was considered the worship of the Sun god Ra.

How do we know Christ wasn’t born in December?

Firstly, the shepherds. Luke 2:7-8 tells us shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth. Shepherds were not in the fields during December. Secondly, the census. Luke 2:1-4 tells us that Jesus’ parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census. Such censuses were not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition.

If you are reading this in disbelief, check out the Catholic Encyclopedia, which states that The Sol Invictus festival has a “strong claim on the responsibility” for the date of Christmas.

Christmas outlawed

Did you know that Christmas was outlawed in England and some parts of the American colonies in the 17th Century because of its unbiblical and pagan origins? I wonder how we managed to forget something so important. Why haven’t I been taught the truth behind something I have celebrated every year for the last 25 years?

Wise men, kings, shepherds and astrology

Three wise men? Three kings? Why did shepherds follow a star? What does this mean?

Did three wise men travel to see Jesus? The Bible doesn’t say. There could have been more. We are told only that they gave Jesus three kinds of gifts: “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:1, 11). Did the wise men, as nativity scenes often depict, arrive to find Jesus in a makeshift shelter–a manger–because there was “no room in the inn”? (Luke 2:7). Not really. By the time the wise men arrived, apparently some time after Christ’s birth, Joseph’s family was residing in a house (verse 11). Did the writers of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) consider Jesus’ birth to be one of the most significant events for Christians to acknowledge or celebrate? Mark and John do not even mention the event.

Virgin Birth

Paul didn’t know Mary was a virgin – if he did wouldn’t he have mentioned it? Alexander the Great – His mother told him that Zeus was his father, that she had slept with him in the hills. The Hebrew word for ‘Virgin’ also meant “young woman”. Matthew 1:20 says the news of Jesus’ impending birth was first told to Joseph in a dream. Yet Luke 1:28 describes the news coming first to Mary, by an angel. I know my Christian response would be to say that both events would have happened, but why does Matthew fail to mention Mary’s experience with the angel, and Luke omit Joseph’s dream? And why did Mary seemingly forget these incredible circumstances of her son’s birth? That is, later in the gospels she tells her other children to go and get Jesus who is acting like a lunatic, and bring him home…

I think I would have a different perception of my son if had I been visited by angels and been a pregnant virgin…

Supernatural additions – theological debates and decisions

“Most Christians seem to assume that the details of their faith system dropped out of heaven in a fully developed form. The creeds began as baptismal formulas in the 3rd century and did not receive the shape we now recognize until the 4th century. Doctrines like the Trinity and Incarnation were still being formed in the 5th century.

Moving closer to the life of Jesus, scholars now suggest that miracles were added to the Jesus story only in the 7th and 8th decades of the Christian era. The Virgin birth and the suggestion that resurrection meant physical resuscitation are products of the 9th decade, and the account of Jesus’ ascension enters the tradition only in the 10th decade. Perhaps the biggest gap in our knowledge of Jesus, however, occurs in those years between 30 C.E. when Jesus’ earthly life came to an end and 70 C.E. when gospels began to achieve written form. Today, by lining up the gospels in chronological order with Mark first (ca. 70 C.E.), then Matthew (ca. 80 C.E.), Luke (ca 90 C.E.) and finally John (ca 100 C.E.), we can see how the miraculous was heightened; the details become more graphic and supernatural activity more pronounced. If the story could grow as dramatically as it did from 70-100 C.E., is it not reasonable to assume that it also grew from 30-70 C.E.? Yet with no written sources, entering that time of oral transmission is a problem.”

http://www.johnshelbyspong.com/bishopspongon_jesus.aspx

 

Further Reading:

Chapter 1 – Introduction Click here

Chapter 2 – Is the Bible the “Word of God”? Click here

Chapter 3 – Is Jesus Christ the “Son of God?” Click here

Chapter 4 – Discussing the contradictions Click here

Chapter 5 – What does this mean for my life today? Click here

Chapter 6 – My conclusions Click here