PAGE 6Some Errors of Pedantic and Dogmatic ReligionPage SixA Redeemer from the beginningFrom the beginning of time God the Redeemer, the Restorer, the Saviour, has been amongst His children seeking to retrieve for them what they have thrown away. The Christ is not limited to being a one-off Redeemer, but He has tried all methods to bring His children out of their ignorance, and He will continue to show His children how they can reclaim their rightful inheritance, and He should not be restricted to the God and Saviour portrayed by limited man-made dogmas. The Great Redeemer always has attempted, and always will attempt to bring His children out of a state of ignorance into enlightenment. His acts of redemption go far beyond anything which man of this present civilization calls recorded history. Dogma does not want humanity to know who its God really isGod loves all of His children, whether they consider themselves the only ones saved or whether they know that all will be saved eventually through His most merciful processes. God knows the limitations of the human mind and there is no blame from Him because of man's limitations concerning what is actual Truth and what is only half-truth. There is the evolution of the soul for everyone, and this continues long after this world has been left. The God who gives life only on this earth to accept a particular man-made dogma (the failure of which shall mean for them torture with no end), is not the God of love who has been seeking the prodigal children since the beginning of time, when they entered imperfection through seeking power by "eating" of the tree with the temptation of instant power, instead of being obedient and doing as God had decreed, and learning about life in its fullness and how to use the freewill without error. And who could truly love the limited God of Dogma? Surely that love would be somewhat twisted in those who attributed to their God the characteristics which really belong to the lesser and callous side of human beings. No, God is the God who has set into being a process whereby all of His children shall be saved, even if this means thousands of years in awful conditions which are so indescribable that this little earth does not sustain any conditions which are truly comparable. I use the word "are" to describe the hells in the present tense, because the hells - those areas which are dark, darker still, and also those of the "outer darkness" (Matt. 8:12) to which the hypocritical, cheats and exploiters (Matt. 23:14) were to go - already exist and are coexistent with both life on earth and those conditions which are known as Paradise (which can be called the Bright Spheres), and this is clearly evident in Christ's parable of the rich man and the poor man. What the mind of man assumes that the justice and holiness of God means"But there is no universal salvation because the Bible clearly indicates that the justice and holiness of God will see that all those who oppose Him will be destroyed, therefore there is no universal salvation", so the pedants desire us to know. But God is Love, and God's justice is a quality of Love, and God's holiness is a quality of Love. Because God is Love, He is holy, and because God is Love, He is just. Justice emanates from Love and holiness emanates from Love. From Love come all attributes which are Divine, including justice and holiness. Love has always existed and therefore so has justice and holiness, but they exist because Love is what God is, and out of Love comes justice and holiness. Justice and Holiness are not equal with Love, but they are a part of Love. God is Love. God is not justice but He is just, and God is not holiness but He is holy. God's justice demands that all of His creations be saved. It is divinely just that anything He creates should not be lost to evil forever but should be saved. God's justice would not be Divine if anything which came from Him was lost forever. God's holiness means that He "cannot look on iniquity", and an everlasting punishment would mean that God, would have to contemplate iniquity forever, as evil would be sustained for ever without end. Such an idea is absurd. God shall be "avenged", so to speak, when all of His children are returned Home and all of the distorted characteristics within their souls have been transformed back to perfection by the end of the "Aeon of aeons". They call that hope?The elitists, naming themselves the chosen few, assure us: "Our way is full of hope!" This is one of the strangest and most absurd assertions in the universe, because if only a few of our fellow members of humanity are to receive "salvation", then most sensitive people would suffer from a deep depression rather than hope. How these relatively few "saved" people can eat heartily, sing and make merry at all - when the majority of good people who do not accept their misconceived dogmas are going to receive the eternal torment and horrors of Hell (according to them) - is simply beyond comprehension; and if one points this out to them, in their ignorance they suggest that one need not go to Hell if one just accepts their beliefs (the issue of freewill can enter at this point and that has been dealt with above). To be able to enjoy life when the majority of ones fellow beings, who can often be more sensitive and spiritual, are going to be tortured forever (for a difference in thinking!) - amounts to the most subtle and hidden form of selfish arrogance and conceit in existence. This, the unthinking Literalists dogmatically exclaim, is "hope". The Larger Hope which is God's preordained desire is as follows: that all of His children are to be saved, that God "is long-suffering with us not willing that any should perish", that He awaits the return of the prodigal son with great eagerness and longing, that He cares enough to leave the other sheep to seek the lost one until it is found - that "in the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ" and that there shall be perfect harmony and sweet Divine joy for each and every one of the children He ever thought into existence (albeit after aeons of purification) - that is Hope. Dogma prevents people from seeing the universality of salvation in the Sacred RecordThe "be saved or be damned" doctrine is but one of many interpretations which the mind of man has put together, and which have been handed down by man to man, but God loves them for trying and being sincere. The Bible gives plenty of references to universal salvation, which are unseen by the over-indoctrinated. For instance...
Moreover, how will God be "all in all" (all things in all beings) if the majority of His creations are to be in "everlasting punishment"? (1 Cor.15:28) Christ waits "until the times of restitution of all things" (Acts 3: 20,21). This time shall be that spoken of by Isaiah: "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (Isa.45:23). Indeed, Isaiah tells the truth when he says Christ "shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied". This is the good God who shall save all of the life He has brought into being. Teaching otherwise - that God saves only a small amount of His children - only causes divisions and ill-feelings among people who may be following a spiritual path which is also very Christian in its teachings and which allows them to grow above personal likes and dislikes and to love humanity unconditionally. The salvation of a restricted few is a misguided teaching which gives a misconception of God and His love. Indeed, before the proud and cruel early Latin race adopted Christianity, early Christians were most certainly Universalists: Gregory of Nyasa, Clement and Origen all clearly refused to dogmatize. When, under Constantine, Christianity became the State Religion of the Roman Empire with its harsh and exclusive instincts, a further distortion was impressed upon Christ's original Universalist Teaching. A study of the Alexandrian and Carthaginian Theologies shows that it was the contact of the earlier Christian Religion with the Latin race which caused an extremely unfortunate bias towards a restricted view of God's Purpose and Christ's Saviourhood. All are equal in the sight of the Lord, who is the living, radiant Christ, who would welcome anyone into His kingdom who would offer kindness and love to the less fortunate, because they do it to Him. What comes from the heart is what matters, not necessarily that which comes out of the mouth. Universal salvation and warnings always go hand in handThe teachings of Jesus were more than interspersed with universal salvation, and the disciples gradually became aware of this, but things have been affected by the mind of man throughout the ages. Because the Law of Consequences have been made of none effect by the Dogma, it is claimed that "teaching universal salvation incites people to sin by letting them become complacent". If Divine Law was taught properly however, and the idea of receiving salvation based only on believing and accepting a concept was consigned to history - then there would be far, far less complacency than exists today under the present collection of theological offerings. "But some Spiritualists openly deny Christ?"Every one is different but some generalization must be made to cover the following subject. A few there are who name themselves Spiritualists and consider themselves to have 'discovered' the highest truth there is; and these few repudiate Christ and deny His existence, whether it be His earthly sojourn or His Omnipresence. Indeed, such as these have a lot to learn and a lot to work out when the body is no more (perhaps a long time after leaving the physical covering behind). Being able to hear and see spirits does not mean that the individual is acquainted with Divine Truth. Enlightenment comes by degree and according to the measure of release of the Spirit within. These types of person calling themselves Spiritualists have never encountered or entered into the Christ vibrations and are ignorant of the Light which such vibrations bring. These people can cause much disunity between God's children, although they seem content with such disharmony, and a small number even seem to thrive on rebuking the very existence of the Christ. If the Spiritualist is bound by the chains of the earth and still desires personal gain for something which should be free, then that Spiritualist is harking to the voices and influence of disembodied spirits who do not know the real Christ, and who are in fact still earthly in their thinking and aspirations. Certain people may have something of the gifts of hearing and seeing released, but they are still bound by earthly thinking and listen to the voice of the world. Such Spiritualists along with the spirits they listen to, know about life after death to a certain degree, but have not sought the Truth for Truth's sake, but instead, have sought knowledge about life after death for the sake of gain which is associated with the physical mind. These people see no need to sacrifice and suffer to safeguard their gifts, and indeed consider their gifts as a source of material income and the fame of the world. They combine spiritual ambition with material ambition when these two desires are often antagonistic to each other, but such people justify themselves by saying they need the income to pass on the truth they claim to be ultimate. They must learn that God will provide what they need rather than what they want, and the power is decreased by degree, and those disembodied souls who are still earthbound are drawn to them and believed. Such is also the case with regard to religion in general where the power of spiritual truth is diminished because the way of the world has taken first place. The truths that Christ taught such as humility, self-denial and self-sacrifice are inwardly despised by a small number of people who have some of the aspects of the outer manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit available to them, although they may claim to adhere to some similar teaching, and in the same breath seeking and desiring in their hearts and minds something very different perhaps. These people are child-souls, and the gifts they have which are meant to be sacred, are used as toys for their amusement and for the amusement of others. For misleading others the results are grievous indeed. The law of attraction is applicable here, and like attracts like. The attitude of mind of a small number of Spiritualists (but certainly not all Spiritualists) is very similar to the outlook and attitude of mind of a small number of Fundamentalists (but not all Fundamentalists). They are insulting to others, and have no time or desire to understand men and women who think differently to themselves. There are all grades of spiritual evolution and development. The different needs of individuals in their spiritual progression means that only a certain level of illumination can be achieved at whatever stage the individual is at (the individual may be advanced in some areas, and lacking in others). However, when the temptation of the desire for gain is stronger than the resistance of the individual - whether this gain is in the form of possessions, the adoration of the populous or the desire for notoriety, or even the desire for power over others - then the spirits which are drawn to that individual possess similar desires and are often worse as far as progression of the soul is concerned. This is a reality, and much anguish and suffering occurs to the one who abuses his or her gifts. The truth must be spoken because where real love is, idle flattery must stand aside. There are some calling themselves Spiritualists who think that the use of the gifts of the Spirit is something new, and they think that their use of these gifts (in the limited fashion which they think is the sum total of the subject) is their domain, and do not wish to associate these gifts with something sacred or holy, which they are in the form of spirit return and Spirit communion. Such idle use of these gifts will cause them to want to flay themselves at a later stage because they will then see how sacred these gifts were. These people either deny the Christ or simply think the Christian-vibration is just another path, but they do not realize that the Love-vibration and the Christ-vibration are synonymous - they are one and the same thing. By following the Way shown by Christ for man to follow, they could have entered more deeply into the Love-vibration - by bearing their heavy cross, by seeking to follow the path of humility, by not seeking notoriety or 'celebrity' status, and by not seeking to use holy and priceless gifts for the entertainment of the mind. The Way has been cleared by Christ for all to follow who would aim for the highest and the best. Those who wish to follow properly the Christ, may undertake the training by adverse experiences and material denial, to free the higher self in a greater degree. These may then be better in a position to help those who are sick through the abuse of their own freewill in the dark planes. People with this desire of helping their fellow brothers and sisters in the dark planes, can train now while still in the flesh. The Cross upon the hill shines bright as a light to all men to see the Way, and Christ holds up the lantern of Love as Leader and Guide. So many calling themselves Spiritualists assume that because spirits come back to the earth plane, they must be spiritually free, but this is a great mistake. The spheres closest to the earth plane are often a greater temptation than the earth, because those who inhabit them take the so-called beauty of those spheres and do not seek to give anything in return. Certainly, many spirits may come back to contact their loved ones on this earth, but what desire do they have to help their brothers and sisters who have fallen into the dark planes? The answer, alas, in so many cases, is no desire to help them at all - they have not even considered doing as the Master did, and taking upon themselves denser garment upon denser garment so that they can minister to those spiritual lepers who wander and grope as invalids, incapable of getting free without help. Thus, Spiritualists who allow these spirits to come back are opening up a channel which is meant to be used for Spirit-Communion, and the gifts of the Spirit are abused and Divine power is wasted on entertaining the mind and comforting the lesser self alone. Both Spiritualist and so-called guide are still in need of a spiritual awakening as to their own purpose for using Spirit Agency. Spiritualists who deny the Christ so quickly, will at one stage see for themselves that they could not even have lifted the arm of their physical body without using the power of the Christ. And at such a time of self-revelation, any excuse that the teaching of the Christ Way was lacking in those who were supposed to be teaching about Christ, will be a very poor excuse indeed for repudiating the Christ, Who is bound to them in every way, and Who has watched them and has sought to help them since the beginning of their being. Anguish is experienced by degree when the full light of revelation comes as to the heavy price paid by Love for the sake of His children, comes to the one concerned - and in this connection, there is no body at all, who shall not feel some measure of compunction as the illimitable and unbounded love of Christ for His creation is made ones own when greater freedom comes at a future time. There are some spirits who will deny the truth to be found in the Sacred Record to a very large extent, refuting most of what is recorded. While the Bible is not infallible, what is written therein is true for the most part (but of course is open to interpretation). The word of God found within those sacred pages has been misread and misinterpreted by the physical mind of man throughout the ages, and passed on from man to man - but for the largest and greatest part, the events and spiritual messages are accurate. If there is something which seems a little faulty to the sincere seeker, then he or she must remember how those records came to be in his or her possession: many stories were handed down from mouth to mouth until they were put into written words, and this fact, coupled with the knowledge that some mediums are held back by the things associated with the material world, helps to explain something as to those little faults - but there is very little in the Bible which is the fault of the physical mind of man, and, as has been said, for the largest part is accurate. Also, there are well-meaning and loving Spiritualists who listen to spirits who, during the earth-life were deluded as to their own true identity although they appear loving themselves in many respects. God our Father does not interfere with freewill and is also very fair-minded; if a person in the flesh thinks that they are someone who they are not, and yet that person is good and loving to others while he or she is on the earth plane, then at physical death that spirit enters a fitting state. The change of the body does not change the attitude towards life or the desires of the heart, and the same 'person' lives on but in another world. Thus, there are spheres 'close' to earth inhabited by spirits who do not know much of a higher Truth but who, nevertheless, find themselves in conditions which are 'pleasant' (in comparison to the dark spheres where those who have been selfish and wicked to their brothers and sisters go). There are some spirits claiming to be highly evolved spiritual beings, and there are a number who will also claim to be Jesus Himself and actually believe they are Him (it should be noted that claims by trance mediums that Jesus actually uses their bodies in precisely the same way as other spiritual beings use their bodies for trance communication, should be viewed with extreme care, for the spiritual power of Christ would instantly disintegrate a human body if the same method is used). And so, the mediums who listen to these spirits are impressed by what such disembodied souls tell them, and believe the claim of the spirit as to their identity. It should be understood that the Law of Divine Love governs all life. Therefore anyone, either in the flesh or in the Spiritual World, who can help another of God's children to follow the Law of Love receives the blessing of the Father God, even if what they teach is faulty as far as the higher Divine Truth is concerned. If there are spirits living in their 'own world' of understanding which they believe to be true even if it is far from ultimate Truth, and yet they are able to bring others a little closer to the Law of Love, then they receive the blessings of Love anyway because Love yearns for His children to be free from anything which inhibits them from receiving His wonderful love. So, the freewill not being interfered with, a person can choose to believe what they will. Often there are many different levels of teaching because not everybody is able to learn the same things. The unfortunate thing about Spiritualists who listen to spirits who deny the Divinity of Christ (that Jesus was not God) is that they miss out on so much revelation of the true love of God in its highest aspects. For instance, what would it tell a person about God's love if an ordinary mortal washed the feet of his friends? Very little. But what would it tell a person about the love of God if God Himself washed the feet of His friends? A great deal indeed - the sweetness and humility of God! The humility of subjecting Himself to His own laws so as to be able to help redeem His fallen children wandering around in their sadness; the love which made Tenderness Personified suffer the worst temptations and rejection of love a human could ever experience; the Great Heart Who yearned to give comfort to His suffering little ones by showing them that He could undergo the worst sufferings and even feel separated from His Godhead temporarily (the Crucifixion), and therefore so could they but that they would never have to take on anything like His earthly suffering. Indeed, the revelation of the love of God through His Manifestation as Jesus of Nazareth showed mankind a thousand, thousand things, about Divine Love, many of which pass unnoticed. One of the wonders of His Manifestation as Man - God as Man, is that it is so inclusive - there is a message for everyone according to what they are able to believe and accept as true, for not everyone can believe or understand the same truth. Thus Jesus Christ the Man is seen as God by some, and those (whether human or spirit) who cannot achieve that realisation also benefit even if they only see Him as a great celestial Teacher and nothing more. Although the child of God can never become the Great Parent, within each of God's children is Divinity in miniature - gifted at creation - which means that all of the gifts of God are there, in miniature, waiting to be released by spiritual advancement - this being achieved over aeons of time in fullness by effort and striving and climbing the steep and narrow hill to God - and one of these gifts is the gift of discernment. Earnest prayer, sincere motive and honest desire, and communing with the Spirit within, shall enable the individual to discern the truth contained within each item that comes under his or her attention; and by seeking the things which are of God first, the bright and glorious ones are able to guide the soul into the Truth of all matters. The only real peace, hope and joy, is to know that God's Plan includes peace, hope and joy for everyone else tooThere is no end as there was no beginning to the Love of God and its varied manifestations in countless forms, all expressing miracles of Infinite Love and Grace. There are dark spheres made ugly by the folly and selfishness of man, and there are Bright Spheres made beautiful by sacrifice and enhanced by the melody culled out of the hearts and minds of those seeking to do the mundane task, and those which are dark have the potential to draw a little nearer to that which is lighter still. All these shall be brought together as one in God's Plan through spiritual evolution, and will transcend the beauty which we cannot even conceive of now. Hence, even the bright spheres are themselves only relatively age-long, and they will be further transformed over countless aeons into something greater in God's Mind. Heaven, as we call it, is far beyond anyone to attempt to understand, far beyond the scope of the human mind to grasp even a fraction of the reflection of the degree of light and purity which exists and always has existed in such a state of spiritual perfection. So, to God we offer our humble obeisances for the all-glorious future He has in store for those who seek to do His Will and to keep His Word. |