jerryb

Still true, even today! What would God look like if *we* wrote the next testament? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> October.....I shudder at the thought of what God would look like if we wrote the 'Next Testament'....and of course, some day someone probably will. Which brings up a good question: "if you were asked to tell a totally illiterate person the four most important things about God....what would you say? Blessings Jerry

Welcome Lars, Believe or not...I've been there...and done that. When I first began to 'step timidly'outside my then, fundamental faith,and explore some new horizions in my relationship with God, my wife was,to say the least, very skeptical. But over time,as we pledged to be patient with each other in this area of our lives,it all came BEAUTIFULLY together. Not only has she also stepped outside the narrow boundaries of fundamentalism, but she now has a daily post entitled Spiritual Pathways(notice the word pathways...many ways to GOd). And we have entertained groups of people from all over the U.S. in our home for two day spiritual retreats. It has been a fabulous blessing to both of us. So I encourage you and your boyfriend to give each other the time to GROW TOGETHER spiritually. Blessings To You My Friend Jerry p.s...if you want to talk by e-mail,it is Uplift7 @aol.com

James, Thanks for your post. I agree with some of your remarks,but not this one"We worship God because it is just and right". How do we KNOW that it is just and right? Thankfulness and worship are not exactly the same thing. To answer my own question,however,I do believe that perhaps the truest kind of worship would be our expression of 'profound gratitude' to God for all our blessings. Of course,that begs another question...how about the person who is,at present, going through what they feel is 'hell on earth'...should they feel worshipful? What are your thoughts on that premise? Blessings to you James, Jerryb

Great post Flow, I really like the part where you said,"to interpret the messages in as pure a form as possible". Wouldn't it be great if we ,as spiritual people,would use that same diligence to express God's love in this present world? Thanks for reminding us Flow, Jerryb

I remember Joseph Campbell talking about his encounter with a Japanese Zen master who said ... "we don't have a theology, we don't have an ideology ... we just dance". minsocal <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Minsocal....I like your post on this subject. And wouldn't it be great to have a theology and still dance? Blessings, Jerry

Hi Flow, Do we know for sure that it ALWAYS requires ego to be artistic and creative? I don't yet know the answer to that question...but I'm intrigued by the possibility that there may be some examples of artistic creation without using ego. Any more thoughts on this? Jerry

I truly believe,that one of humanity's problems is our need to project our human attributes onto God. We, of course, have an ego that must be constantly stroked and praised to make us feel that we are of value. But if God has no ego.....why would He need our worship? What do you think? Jerry

Greetings Flow....some super thoughts in your post today. When you have time,could you share with me,as the new kid on the block, more of what you mean by 'living in the matrix? I'd like to pursue some additional thoughts on that. I find it very intriguing. Blessings fellow traveler Jerry

Good thoughts Aletheia, I especially like what you said about randomness. Driving down the expressway just yesterday, in a driving rain, it suddenly occured to me that just one person, having a heart attack on THAT road at THAT time,could have changed the lives of myself and others on that road. Was it 'mapped out' as you said, that we all were allowed to safely arrive at our destinations? Maybe....chance and randomness do in fact rule and order our lives. Thanks for your succinct thoughts,as always, you are a breath of fresh air on this board. Jerry

'The serpent said to the woman,"You won't die...but God knows your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God,knowing everything,both good and evil" Gen. 3:4 Whether you believe this really happened,doesn't really matter. Because all of us KNOW that we have the awesome power of choice....and God has absolutely no power over our choices. Do you agree? Looking foward to YOUR thoughts, Jerry

Hi Soma...good post I heard Depak Chopra say recently..." The barrier between our mind and our soul is 'paper thin'. And he went on to say..."The more the mind thinks about the soul,the closer it is drawn to it." The mind keeps getting closer and closer to the soul, until one day, the mind actually falls into the soul, and becomes one with it. I like that analogy....what do you think?

Great Post Flow! I'm with you on this.....and my spirit has come dangerously close to flying lately. "Mote it be"...as my pagan friends say. Blessings to you fellow flyer Jerry

Hi October....It has not been my experience either. I've come to believe that we live in a 'messy' universe,and that if we are to discover our deep spiritual roots,we have to become what Jack good calls, "chaos tolerant". He also says,"A progressive faith is one that begins in grief." grief over the loss of the 'certitude' of our conservative upbringing. I totally agree with him. Blessings, Jerry

Minsocal.....I like your statement "The feeling of openess is almost as natural as breathing" Oh God...let it be so! My oldest daughter is gay, and has had a commited relationship with her partner for 25 years,so you can understand my fervent prayer that acceptance of gays and lesbians should come sooner rather than later. Blessings to you, Jerry

Hi Mystic....I like your statement" I am always changing things...prayer helps me change things with more wisdom,energy,love, humility". What a solemn responsibilty,and yet...what a high honor and priviledge! Thank you for this post Jerry

Cynthia.....You are certainly right about us having a'limited view'. I'd like you to expand a bit about God having 'choices'. I want to learn everything I can about effective prayer ,and you may be on to something regarding God's choices in the prayers He/She answers. Tell me more! Blessings to you, Jerry

Good post David You really cover some deep stuff there. I don't know all the answers to some of the questions you posed in your post, but I am feeling more convinced every day that I live, that God can only do some things through us. I know that puts a heavy burden of responsibility on us, but there must be some reason why more of our prayers are not answered, Maybe God is 'standing in the wings' saying,"O.K. Step on stage and do your stuff....answer your own prayer". Well...maybe it's time I took some 'acting lessons',and got out there on stage. What do you think about that premise? God,s best to you my friend, Jerry

Hi Flow.....I love Buddha's answer. And I truly believe that is exactly the problem with most of us...we are just not awake. I,ve often wondered....could it be that we are born 'fully awake' as babies,and as we grow older and time passes,maybe we fall asleep again spiritually. What do you think about that possibility? Looking forward to your thoughts, Jerry

Part of the ancient practice of yoga was the process of actually 'watching' the mind as it is 'drawn' toward the soul. The idea behind this process is, that the soul just 'naturally' draws the mind toward God. But....this can only happen as we remain 'aware' of that drawing. So maintaining awareness is the key to spiritual evolution. If we remain aware...THE PROCESS IS AUTOMATIC! Looking foward to your thoughts on this, Jerry

Maggie...I love your take on this, especially where you said" I also believe that God is the life-giving energy that infuses all of life,including us,so maybe it's the part of us that has God's spark that is used to answer prayer". I too believe that's how it works. Someone has said," We are a piece of God". And by the way..someone quoted the scripture here recently where Jesus said," The works I do you will do...and even greater works will you do". John 14:12 Maybe we should take Him at His word, and attempt some 'great things'. Blessings to you Maggie Jerry

I have come to believe...God has no hands but ours...no feet but ours...no hearts to care but ours,hence God ALWAYS uses us or our resourses to answer prayer. What do you think about this? Jerry

Cynthia......I really like your concept of faith stated here.."But the attitude of faith is to let go". What a radical new concept. All of we fundamentalist were taught to 'hang on' in faith, until God answered our prayer. I am coming to believe, that is not how much or how often we pray that matters...but how much we trust the waters of grace to hold our heads above water. Thank you for this post, Jerryb

Aletheia...I too like your concept of 'shedding our presuppositions of what God SHOULD look like'. I still have some work to do on that one. But I'm working on it...and I hear the old african American man singing.."I ain't what I outta be , and I ain't what I'm gonna be, but praise God,I ain't what I was". Amen to that! Blessings to you Aletheia, Jerry

Oh....I like your idea of 'aiming ourselves toward God....becoming God-centered instead of ego centered'. Depak said today.."If we can learn to live from our soul outward,people will see that we are connected to God, and they will believe that they can be connected to God too'. Could this idea be 'real evangelism'? Pondering......?????? Jerry