Of course, the thoughts I am writing here, in fact all that I write, is subject to revision in the future, if what I see changes but up to this point, the flow all seems to be in one direction.
Stated clearly, I am inclined to think that there is no division between supernatural and natural…. but the traditional Christian way and the way of the Christian doctrines (generally monotheism or “One God” people) have a lot of trouble with that concept…. some how they think that it is pulling God down, or making him less than he is……..thus the term “pantheism” is a belief which stands in contrast to “theism” or “monotheism”.
I wish to state, that I believe there is only one divine substance: “being” (I AM), and that the physical universe is the divine substance in action. This also conforms with what modern science is discovering, although the current environment of science vs. religion covers it up in North America. The only aspect which modern science has not yet “agreed” to ( 🙂 ), is that this substance, I believe, IS awareness. (which is why it “grows” life)
I think the main struggle of my youth was the thinking that I was separated from God…… regardless of being “saved” back into some relationship with God, there was always the sense that I was an orphan being conditionally accepted back into Gods household. No amount of “unconditional love” can make this sense of being “tentative” disappear. I have had a jealousy for my Jewish friends, who are “born” into their relationship.
But in dropping this concept of separation and duality, and exploring and studying this awareness which I seemed to be in possession of, I found that there was no such division there. There was no magic potion needed to heal a chasm.
But it was an often scared and troubled individual with a feeling that there was no other direction to turn, with the feeling of putting his eternal soul on the line in letting go of the basic structure he had been taught would save him, that was moving through these experiences, with real trepidation, and no available guidance but books and gut instinct.
Instead of falling into the abyss, which is the ghost story I had been told by those Christian teachers I had asked, the experience I FOUND there was the experience more like being a baby in an embryo, enveloped in a wholeness….. with the embryo giving me everything I need. It became clear….. there was no problem there…. only my errant thinking of what my true nature was. This proved to be the experience that kept me going when my self-doubt was scorning me.
This is a worldview which is very different from the one I was brought up with. There is no conditions, no possibility of separation….. this awareness has no “requirements”. This awareness, is itself, our birthright…. our proof that everything is all “one piece”.
In the various religious beliefs of “who God is”, it is very clear that the common belief among the monotheistic religions is that God and creation are separated…. that they are different substances. It seems in reading about these beliefs, that those religions believe that the two substances are necessary because God, who is Holy, cannot be in contact with evil…… this is the basic logic of all of them…… (but wait, I see Satan talking to God in the book of Job…. whats up with that? God talks to Adam and Eve after they have sinned…. whats up with that?)
It must be noted, that of course, there are varying concepts on these doctrinal positions within the Monotheistic religions, Catholicism, Islam and Judaism all have their streams of “mystical” thought, but until the present, these have all existed on the outer fringes, although some of them have become almost the “shamans” of the faith… bringing their healing powers to the table.
What do you think? Do you think there is a chasm that separates humans from God, that only Jesus can bridge? (God being a potter, and the universe being a pot, is not a chasm! It is like saying to the apple…. ok, now you are an orange now, because I said so)
In this scenario, all the unsaved persons in the world are lost and going to hell. These are the issues with these types of beliefs that people shy away from discussing these days. If a person believes that God has less sympathy than humans, then I will leave you to your beliefs, and trouble you no longer…. But I am thinking that folks are not really agreeing with that old way of looking at things, but in the process, are not realizing that it was the whole foundation of why there needed to be a saviour….. we can see the tribalism that arises from this type of belief system….. and humanity seems to be on the verge of collapse due to this divisive way of looking at our nature.
Anyways, the reason why I keep harping on this subject, is that the only REASON that monotheism can’t allow that God and his creation are of one substance, is because of “the problem of evil”. All the doctrines of Gods infallibility, his holiness etc, are due to the existence of evil…. God must stand out as white against the blackness of evil.
This problem of evil, is a major strand in the tangled ball of yarn we call Christian doctrines. Most of these doctrines were formulated in a negative response to the threat of heresy in the early church. This is a historical fact.
It may be that one of the reasons folks aren’t interested in listening to this pantheistic view of things, is because they have nothing that they feel they can replace it with.
I am going to go out on a limb, and state “fairly clearly”, what I see this far into my existential life experiment.
The question I am answering is: If Jesus didn’t come to save the world, then what did he come for?
1.) I believe that Jesus was a brother human, who showed us what we need to do to be in proper contact with God (abundant life). I believe he found this path the way we all can….. by looking inside for the REALITY of his awareness’s relationship with “the Father”. Now, I know how proof-texting works, and I also know that there are many many interpretations of the texts which PROVE what I am saying here is wrong. This is not for the literalists to argue with…… rather it shows me again, how closed mindedness works, and the real answers it covers up…. as I was among them as a fellow believer for a good part of a lifetime.
2.) I believe the way Jesus practiced, is to “get rid of” the ego delusion. Jesus practiced this, and it is evident in everything he preached….. giving up the individual will and surrendering to “the Fathers” will was the “prime directive” of his teaching. I believe Jesus’ struggles both in the desert and in Gethsemane were struggles with the ego, which he called Satan whenever he bumped into “it” …..(remembering that he even called Peter Satan, when Peters will was opposite to the Fathers will in Jesus’ life.)
3.) I believe that it is possible to extinguish the ego, because having an ego is really just a dark illusion which humans have. But we must find a method of doing this which is effective. God help us if we don’t.
The fact is that this way of looking at the universe is almost “universal” among all the humans who practice “mystical oneness” regardless of their religious affiliation or beliefs. Once the superficial faces we, as humans, put on to the divine, the center seems to be the same, regardless of beliefs. It is the one place of agreement that bridges the various religions. I believe Jesus was one of this group.
Reality is Dharma 