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God Is Still Speaking?


Guest billmc

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Guest billmc

For those who don't know, this is one of the slogans of the United Church of Christ. I'm not a UCC member and don't much about the particular denomination, but the idea behind this slogan is that God did not go mute with the close of the canon, that God still speaks to us today.

 

So I wondered, whether or not you consider God to be an external being or an internal influence or presense (or something different), in what ways does God continue to speak to you today?

 

Through the scriptures? Through prayer? Through the church? Through friends and family? Through media? Through conscience? Through creation? Through the "still, small voice"? Through events? Through dreams? Through the entirety of your life?

 

If you feel in some sense addressed by God, how does God most often and most clearly speak to you?

 

And, if you'd like to share further, how do you know that it is God?

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So I wondered, whether or not you consider God to be an external being or an internal influence or presense (or something different), in what ways does God continue to speak to you today?

Not an external being but as far as an internal or external influence or presence, experienced as both dualisticly speaking and in reality neither.

 

Through the scriptures? Through prayer? Through the church? Through friends and family? Through media? Through conscience? Through creation? Through the "still, small voice"? Through events? Through dreams? Through the entirety of your life?

Perhaps in languaging most accurately in all of the above

 

If you feel in some sense addressed by God, how does God most often and most clearly speak to you?

 

Without words as an inward knowing that originates beyond my conscious self.

 

And, if you'd like to share further, how do you know that it is God?

 

In that moment there is no need to know. It is known in the same subtle manner that you know without thought that you exist.

 

Just my own view concerning the questions

Joseph

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For those who don't know, this is one of the slogans of the United Church of Christ. I'm not a UCC member and don't much about the particular denomination, but the idea behind this slogan is that God did not go mute with the close of the canon, that God still speaks to us today.

 

So I wondered, whether or not you consider God to be an external being or an internal influence or presense (or something different), in what ways does God continue to speak to you today?

 

Through the scriptures? Through prayer? Through the church? Through friends and family? Through media? Through conscience? Through creation? theThrough the "still, small voice"? Through events? Through dreams? Through the entirety of your life?

 

If you feel in some sense addressed by God, how does God most often and most clearly speak to you?

 

And, if you'd like to share further, how do you know that it is God?

 

In the languge of the UCC, G-d speaks though us, not to us. Do not put a period where G-d put a comma.

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So I wondered, whether or not you consider God to be an external being or an internal influence or presense (or something different), in what ways does God continue to speak to you today?

 

If you feel in some sense addressed by God, how does God most often and most clearly speak to you?

 

And, if you'd like to share further, how do you know that it is God?

 

I think that G-d is "something different," and I'm not quite sure how I would characterize it. I most definitely do not think that G-d is an external being who can intervene in this world. I think that our idea of G-d (perhaps this is the something different?) has evolved, and for me; it has expression in living life to the fullest.

 

During my churchgoing days, I would often lose myself in contemplation along these lines when we would sing the old hymn "My Father's World"

 

"This is my Father's world,

And to my list'ning ears

All nature sings, and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world!

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas

His hand the wonders wrought."

Read more at Suite101: This is My Father's World: Hymn by Maltbie Babcock & Franklin Sheppard, Tune 'Terra Beata' | Suite101.com http://www.suite101....6#ixzz1W0Nra5wg

 

The more I contemplated, the more I came to realize that G-d is not so much a being, but rather; a concept. We look at the wonder of the world - the music of the spheres - and we imagine it as the creation of some great being.

 

So, for me, G-d - our mental construct - speaks in the language of the natural world.

 

NORM

 

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I think God's purpose is the increase of value in the world, and we derive our purposes from the divine purpose. ~John Cobb

 

I want to suggest that we are here for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to live better lives.~Rev. Dr. Jim Nelson

I think we do this by learning to attend, pay attention, to the moment. If we pay attention to what gives us joy, what makes us grateful, what is excellent, what strengthens us, what actions add value to the universe then in that attending is God speaking.

 

Dutch

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“I believe in God, even when He is silent” - part of a poem reported to have been found in a WWII bomb shelter.

 

Does God speak to me? I'm not really sure. I don't think of God as being external. I certainly think of that which I name God as being far greater than the sum of many parts.

 

I know that I feel a movement toward the divine when I am moved to awe by science, the beauty of nature, the complete trust of my cat, a moving piece of music, or the love in a friend's voice. I guess for me “God speaks” when I am reminded to be aware of the divine presence.

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I agree with Yvonne on being open and aware.

 

When this question came up a few months ago –

http://tcpc.ipbhost.com/index.php/topic/2102-g-d-is-still-speaking

 

what Mike wrote reminded me of the Evolutionary perspective-- “I think God has always been speaking, and that the whole cosmos, internally as well as externally, is in this respect an icon of the Divine.”

 

It depends on whether the question is interpreted on a personal level, a particular people, or our species as a whole. For me, the concept of science and natural events as God’s language for communicating with the entire human race is conceivable, but too hard to evaluate.

 

I think the bible itself affirms that God will always continue to speak to us when we’re listening. Perhaps, the messages were / are mostly like with Elijah, where God is not in the great wind, nor the earthquake nor the bonfire, but the still small voice within. As Ilia Delio says “before encounter God is perceived as omnipotent power; after encounter God is perceived as humble love. God, against all expectation, is humble.”

 

It seems to me that God can be heard when we spend time praying, reading scripture or spiritual books, contemplating any art form that moves us, talking with friends, reflecting on patterns of experience in our lives. Cynthia Bourgeault says, any practice that brings a person to a state of yieldedness puts us in alignment with our innermost being, through which the infinite love and compassion can reach us. “Going with the softness, the yes, always connects you immediately with your heart, and then the divine intelligence can begin to work.”

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Rivanna,

 

I aslo liked the other part of Mike's input in that thread being......

 

"came across something that seems to speak to the issue of whether God speaks and how. I'm not a reader of Ernest Holmes or his Science of Mind group, but this struck a chord with me: "

-----------------------------------------

God within you knows by pure intuition; that is, without process of reasoning with reference to external facts or existing conditions. If God were to know in any other way He would be finite. This is why it is said that God is omniscient or all-knowing. Such omniscience or all-knowingness exists at the very center of your being. Therefore, Divine Guidance exists at the center of your being, acting as a principle in nature. (This Thing Called You)

------------------------------------------

 

That seems to fit my experience. It seems our self requires reasoning and intellectualization to obtain some peace about that which is known but not reasoned. When we do reach that connection of inward knowing, there is peace but many times i find soon afterwards we start thinking again for reasons why or to make sense of that which was just previously classified as known . A search to re-enforce in reasoning and knowledge to prove that which was received not as such is usually entered. Trusting that guidance without reasoning is to me a most difficult aspect of the human walk. But when all else is said, to in a sense keep ones sanity, i have come to the conclusion that trust is warranted and to enter that realm there is no other choice.

 

Just my personal view and experience,

Joseph

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Myron wrote: "In the languge of the UCC, G-d speaks though us, not to us. Do not put a period where G-d put a comma. "

 

I see a problem with the logic of this statement.

 

If God speaks through us, doesn't that require someone that is being spoken to ? The one being spoken through being the means by which God speaks to the hearer?

 

Jenell

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Myron wrote: "In the languge of the UCC, G-d speaks though us, not to us. Do not put a period where G-d put a comma. "

 

I see a problem with the logic of this statement.

 

If God speaks through us, doesn't that require someone that is being spoken to ? The one being spoken through being the means by which God speaks to the hearer?

 

Jenell

 

The first part means that through our actions we express G-d's intentions. Words gain meaning though action. The second part is from Gracie Allen. It has several meanings. One is that we are sometimes too selective in our interpretations of the Bible. Another meaning comes from the idea that Creation is an ongoing process. and that communication with G-d is ongoing. Revelation is ongoing.

 

My own addition would be that words are not always necessary for learning. When we see and truly observe Creation we also gain knowledge "as if" G-d were speaking.

 

Myron

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Myron,

Oh, ok. I think there is some confusion too, at least in how I was thinking here, in using "speaking" as if synonomous with "conveying" or "communcating" which can be through means other than verbal and/or use of language.

 

Jenell

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Dear Bill,

 

It's been about two years since I've posted on TCPC. I'm pretty out of date, and I haven't been following the discussions in the past two years. So maybe I'm asking you to repeat yourself if I ask how you yourself feel about the questions you've posed on this thread.

 

I'm a channeller and practising mystic. So I know how I feel about the questions you've asked. What about you? How does God most often and most clearly speak to you, if you're willing to discuss this question?

 

Today I felt God's presence in the thunderstorm that swept over Ontario last night, and again in the smiles of the customers I spoke with today and tried my best to help.

 

And, as always, there's that not-so-still-and-not-so-quiet-voice. :D

 

And Myron . . . long time no hear. You wrote, "In the language of the UCC, G-d speaks though us, not to us. Do not put a period where G-d put a comma. "

 

I have to say I don't understand this comment. I speak to Jesus every day. In addition, and quite separate from my ongoing conversations with Jesus, I speak to God the Mother and God the Father (our Divine parents) each evening as part of my daily mystical practice. I do my best to absorb their patient instruction and follow their example of kindness and compassion. Perhaps this is what you mean by "being" a comma (as it were)? I could see the comma thing in the context of human beings trying to "pay it forward" (i.e. paying God's kindness forward).

 

Love Jen

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Jen,

 

Welcome back! The UCC began the "God is still speaking," initiative several years ago. There is a comma after the word "speaking" requiring further explanation. The UCC is a very active denomination in the area of social justice and what ususally comes after the "coma" has to do with putting G-d's word into action. UCC membership spans a fairly wide range of views and values and individuals are free to add their interpretatons as they see fit.

 

This is from the UCC website:

 

 

At a time when religion is too often portrayed as narrow-minded and exclusive, many are raising their voices for an alternative vision:

· where God is all-loving and inclusive

· where a church welcomes and accepts everyone as they are

· where your mind is nourished as much as your soul

· where Jesus the healer meets Jesus the revolutionary

· where together we grow a just and peaceful world.

 

Myron

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Hello Jen,

 

So good to have you stop by and share your perspective. I hope you will stay. I don't know if Bill will respond or not as he just announced in the news section that he was leaving the forum. I am most sorry of all to see him leave as i have appreciated his contributions, service as a mod and witnessed such growth in him these past years as evidenced in his posts.

Again, welcome back.

Joseph

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Myron, thank you very much for explaining the context in which UCC uses that phrase, and the comma, that it is not intended as a stand-alone statement, but as a preface to something else. That does give it an entirely different meaning, and one that does make sense to me.

 

As the thoughts and ideas shared here percolate down through the layers of my density, something else filters out of it....that actually, in truth, the question, whether God is still speaking, communicating, or for that matter ever did, is something of an absurdity. By that I mean, get right down to it, it is not a question anyone can answer, or perhaps that can be answered, in any valid way, at all.

 

All anyone has, even those that would answer most certainly, 'yes', to this question, is our own perception of what we may or may not see, experience, observe...As example, I would be one of those that in intitial response to the question would express emphatically that I beleive God speaks, communicates, to and with humans, and my belief that I personally experience that....but...upon further consideration, must arrive at the realization that all I really have is my own percpetion of that, my own interpretation of certain experiences as being of that nature. And I find myself back at that basic quality of any knowing through personal experience as being at once both the most reliable and least reliable way of knowing.

 

Jenell

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And I find myself back at that basic quality of any knowing through personal experience as being at once both the most reliable and least reliable way of knowing.

Yes, I find one of the least reliable ways is that if I think an experience has meaning. That's one place I run into problems.

 

Dutch

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Hi Myron, Hi Joseph, thanks for your greetings. Haven't been here for a while. The Spiral Path -- the unique spiritual journey of each individual -- took me in a different direction for a while.

 

The church I belong to -- the United Church of Canada -- uses the same initials (UCC), and is wrestling with some of the same questions expressed in the quote you've posted, Myron. The United Church of Canada is also very active in social justice issues -- the idea of putting faith into action.

 

I love the fact that there are so many important and meaningful ways to put one's faith into action. Everyone has an important role, though every role is different.

 

Jenell, you and I haven't "met." But I see you've been very active on TCPC, and have lots of interesting insights. I'm the weird chick from Canada who insists she's channelling Jesus. But I'm a mystic, not a prophet, and I have no interest in being the only one who knows "the truth." I believe with all my heart and mind and soul that everyone has their own path. I just happen to have a less-than-common skill set.

 

My motto is "there's no ethical mysticism without ethical scientific investigation."

 

So I look for God's ongoing voice in the places where faith and science intersect. And man, is there ever some cool stuff out there!

 

Love Jen

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I don't think there is any evidence God has ever been speaking to anyone all this time but it is people claiming to be the mouthpieces of God. You'd think if God was actually speaking to us, it would be all over the news, the person speaking with God would be subjected to dozens of research labs for scientific purposes and peer reviewed journals, and they would at least win a Nobel Peace Prize. One should think if God was speaking to us, he or she would reveal to us something actually useful to society like the cure for AIDs and cancer or how to travel through time and something really amazing and beneficial to humanity. But whenever people claim God is speaking to us, it's usually some moral commandment we could have figured out on our own through our own reasoning and logic. It seems to me that whenever people claim to speak for God, it has almost always been used to justify immoral actions, whether it's the psychopathic mother who claims God told her to kill her child or the Pope claiming God gave him the authority to wipe out all the heretics and non-believers, or Bush claiming God told him to start a holy war in Iraq. There is no weapon in politics and military that's more powerful than to claim you have a special phone line connection with God and God is on your side on everything you choose. How many Republican presidential candidates this year have claimed God told them to run for office and that God likes their favorite pet political issues? Instead of looking towards a supernatural agency somewhere up high to give us orders, we should look inside ourselves for the spark of inspiration within the human race that doesn't need divine agency to discover our own moral code and purpose.

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Hi Neon,

 

Just saw your note. I assume it's directed at me. Hey, listen, I understand your skepticism. I'd be skeptical, too, if I were you. As I've said many times before, I don't ask anyone to take me at my word. You don't have to read my posts or listen to anything I say, and that's okay with me. I'm pretty used to that.

 

You've raised some interesting points in your post. You say, " You'd think if God was actually speaking to us, it would be all over the news, the person speaking with God would be subjected to dozens of research labs for scientific purposes and peer reviewed journals, and they would at least win a Nobel Peace Prize."

 

I'd like to challenge you here because you're making some pretty sweeping assumptions. To start with, I have been part of research project and my brain has been scanned while I'm channelling. But there aren't very many researchers who want to stick their neck out on a topic like this. Last fall I wrote a detailed query letter to a well known researcher who's published on this topic, and I included a copy of my SPECT scan, and he wasn't interested in doing a study on me because the phenomenology of my experience doesn't fit within the parameters of the Hood Mysticism Scale. Apparently I'm not flaky enough. So . . . please don't assume that I think I'm above the science. Quite the contrary. The research that has been done -- and is being done -- on mysticism is in the preliminary stages. A lot more work remains.

 

Second, I've completed 9 full courses towards a Masters degree in theology, and I've completed my long research paper (or short thesis, if you prefer), and I can state from my own personal experience that there's little interest among theologians, divinity students, or New Testament scholars in putting mysticism under a scientific microscope. I'd love for them to do it, but none of the people I've come in contact with are interested. It's as simple as that.

 

Third, why do you assume that I or any other legitimate mystic would want to be all over the news? I'm a quiet, low key, private sort of person, and I can't think of anything worse than being dragged onto a Fox News expose. I'm just one person, and I know very well what the limits of my ability are. I certainly would never be able to do any of the things you suggest I, or others like me, should be able to do, such as find a cure for AIDS or cancer or travel through time or "something really amazing and beneficial to humanity." Something worthy at least of a Nobel Peace Prize.

 

You know, I've been doing what I do for 11 years now, and I do it well. I've never claimed to be able to do anything other than communicate clearly with one soul who happens to be the soul who once lived as Jesus. To me, he's a regular guy, not the son of God. He's very good at communicating in clear, simple terms his own life story. He's also very good at communicating insights about the nature of the soul and the way in which the soul is hardwired into our human DNA. These topics are the focus of my ongoing research.

 

I'm not a psychopathic mother. In fact, my 27 year old son quite likes me. I claim no authority over any other living being. I believe God is on everyone's side. I don't give orders to anyone. And I don't take orders from God, either. I believe I'm a child of God (as all people are children of God). I believe that as a child of God I'm responsible for the moral decisions I make and the actions I choose to carry out in this world.

 

This is the best I can do. I try to be a kind, loving, courageous, responsible person each day. I think this is pretty darned good. Not worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, but enough to try to bring a tiny bit of compassion into one small corner of this planet each day.

 

That's all I'm trying to do. But I won't apologize for being able to communicate clearly with Jesus. It's who I am. If I were gay, would you tell me I have to hide this fact about who I am? Probably not.

 

Last evening, the Discovery Channel had a one-hour special -- "The Last Show With Jay Ingram." For the past 16 years, Jay Ingram has been the host (well, actually the co-host) of a Canadian evening news magazine (Daily Planet) that focuses on science, nature, the environment, and technology. It's a very cool show. Anyway, Mr. Ingram is retiring, so they taped a special episode with lots of cool science moments and lots of fun people moments.

 

Anyway, one of the guests was a man who lost his sight some years ago (they didn't say how long ago). Despite this loss, he remains a gifted portrait artist. He used his hands to touch Mr. Ingram's face and hair, then he went off-stage and within an hour had produced an astounding portrait of Mr. Ingram. (I wish I could remember the artist's name, but I forgot to write it down, and now I don't remember).

 

A few years ago, before I learned to be a channeller, I might well have guffawed at this clip and assumed it was a fraud. I would never be able to do what this man does. I can hardly sign the digital signature pad of the Purolator courier because there's no visible pen line to guide my hand to where it's going next! I rely heavily on my sightedness. So to me, this artist's talent looks like an impossible gift. Nonetheless, it's a gift that's real.

 

I really can't say anything other than that.

 

Love Jen

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My post wasn't directed specifically at you canajan so I hope I didn't come across as making personal attacks but my post was directed towards the very notion of an interventionist benevolent deity who takes a personal interest in human affairs and occasionally usurps the laws of the universe just to help us and the notion that anyone has the ability to speak on behalf of God. It seems to me that for all the god talk that goes on in the world, there still remains senseless suffering and immense amounts of evil and no religious guru has been able to discover the sure fire secret to ending it all. In fact, some of this senseless suffering is caused directly by organized religion and supernaturalism. There are countless numbers of believers in the world seeking the will of God yet all the world religions come away with completely different contradictory messages that aren't always incompatible with each other. Like some religious believers claim God wants them to fly airplanes into buildings while other believers claim they know for a fact that God loves gay people. Of course God could clear everything up right now if he wanted to by revealing himself in the sky simultaneously to everyone around the world to let us know what his will is like the aliens on V or something. Yet for reasons unknown, God decides to reveal his infallible will through fallible humans who all claim to be speaking on his behalf and to know what he wants everyone to do yet they all say completely different things. Again, this is not directed towards you but the whole notion of supernatural theism in general. I think if there is a god somewhere out there, God clearly left us alone after he created the universe and seems to have more important matters to focus on than resolving human issues.

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Regarding the blind artist and his ability to paint portraits. Is it possible? Yes. Ask yourself this question: Why does a cat have large eyes, whiskers and touch sensitive pads on its paws? The answer is: "To acquire information from the environment." Many cats hunt at night and the large eyes allow then to capture enough light to allow them to see things in low light conditions that humans will miss. The whiskers and paw pads add information about the immediate environment, they are touch sensors.

 

Researchers have determined that a significant part of the human brain is dedicated to detecting lines, edges and contours from which it costructs images. If tactile information contains the right content concerning the structure of objects, then the artist ccould use the information to recreate a visual image. It is also known that the unique structural features of the human face are "hardwired" into the brain. This allows a newborn baby to recognize a human face minutes after being born.

 

Feasible? You decide.

 

Myron

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Myron,

 

I have read that an enormous portion of our brain is dedicated to sight. However, without sight, this area can be exploited by other functions and these become highly enhanced. One example is the ability of some blind people to develop a form of radar in which they send out sounds and can determine shapes and distances of objects by the returning sound.

 

George

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Andrew Newberg has been doing brain imaging of people having religious experiences for over 15 years His 2010 book was "How God changes your Brain." His early studies were of Tibetan monks in mindfulness meditation' and Catholic nuns in active prayer and an atheist with 30 years experience in meditation. Brain activity was remarkably similar - particularly in the parietal lobes. All subjects report similar feelings. First - everyone, these and others across time and traditions, says it is hard to describe the ineffable experience. They also talk about a loss of sense of self, a timelessness, spacelessness, and often union with that on which they were meditating. Because of the consistency of these reports -self transcendence, timelessness, spacelessness, communion - about these experiences that correlate with what the brain scans show Newberg says that this is a verified phenomenon.

 

But science has nothing to say about the verbal content of each person's experience. Nuns speak from within their Catholic traditions and Buddhists speak from within their traditions. The nuns may say that Jesus spoke to them; the Buddhists are not likely to.

 

I had do not know the Hood Mysticism Scale. I see that there are two factors, 'a general mystical experience factor and a religious interpretation factor'. This seems similar to Newberg's findings. The mystical experience is a verified phenomenon. The religious interpretation aspect depends on self reporting .

 

Take Care

 

Dutch

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My post wasn't directed specifically at you canajan so I hope I didn't come across as making personal attacks but my post was directed towards the very notion of an interventionist benevolent deity who takes a personal interest in human affairs and occasionally usurps the laws of the universe just to help us and the notion that anyone has the ability to speak on behalf of God. It seems to me that for all the god talk that goes on in the world, there still remains senseless suffering and immense amounts of evil and no religious guru has been able to discover the sure fire secret to ending it all. In fact, some of this senseless suffering is caused directly by organized religion and supernaturalism. There are countless numbers of believers in the world seeking the will of God yet all the world religions come away with completely different contradictory messages that aren't always incompatible with each other. Like some religious believers claim God wants them to fly airplanes into buildings while other believers claim they know for a fact that God loves gay people. Of course God could clear everything up right now if he wanted to by revealing himself in the sky simultaneously to everyone around the world to let us know what his will is like the aliens on V or something. Yet for reasons unknown, God decides to reveal his infallible will through fallible humans who all claim to be speaking on his behalf and to know what he wants everyone to do yet they all say completely different things. Again, this is not directed towards you but the whole notion of supernatural theism in general. I think if there is a god somewhere out there, God clearly left us alone after he created the universe and seems to have more important matters to focus on than resolving human issues.

 

Dear Neon,

 

I agree with many of the observations you've raised in your post. Religion -- all religions -- have caused considerable harm and suffering in the world.

 

For several years, I struggled with the theodicy question. I thought I could understand it by looking at the writings of various religious and spiritual teachers and gurus. This only made matters worse. I got more confused and more skeptical.

 

Two major experiences in my life converged to pull my confused mind out of the quagmire of theodicy. One was my experience working directly with patients who had major mental illness -- major depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, and Axis II issues. The other was my growing confidence and experience as a mystic/channeller. (Though please don't refer to me as a mouthpiece, because claims of being a "mouthpiece of God" are the province of apocalyptic prophets, and I have no common ground with or respect for apocalyptic prophets such as Harold Camping).

 

I'm not an apophatic mystic, which is the sort of mystical experience that falls under the Hood Mysticism Scale. There is more than one physiological experience of mystical connection with God. Most of the small body of legitimate research done on mystics has focussed on apophatic mystics. This is because there's a larger group of draw test subjects from (eg. Carmelite nuns and Buddhist meditators). Statistical analysis requires a larger group.

 

I'm also not an anagogic mystic. This is the sort of charismatic prophet who loudly proclaims he's a mouthpiece of God. These are the chaps who prophesy about future events and tell everyone they're "specially chosen vessels" of God who are closer to God than all those other poor slobs out there. The apostle Paul was an anagogic mystic. (And I'm not exactly fond of Paul's teachings.)

 

In my work with the soul who once lived as Jesus (I get that most of you don't accept this claim) he's coined the term "endogenous mystic" to describe the experience of a smaller number of known mystics. There's some overlap between the experience of endogenous mysticism and what some describe as nature mysticism. These folks haven't been studied much.

 

Most endogenous mystics don't know they're mystics. They usually seem to end up as writers.

 

Anyway . . . what I'm trying to say (though none too briefly, I note) is that because I'm a mystic/channeller, I was able to get some clear answers to the theodicy question. The answers I got all led to psychiatry and psychology and neurophysiology. I understood these answers because of my lay experience working with individuals who suffered from major mental illness. I doubt I would have been able to understand what Jesus was saying if I hadn't had modern scientific resources to work with.

 

You might think that because I'm a mystic who works with the soul who lived as Jesus I would be enamoured of ancient spiritual traditions and time-honoured religious doctrines. In fact, I have much more in common with the researchers who are examining weird phenomena of the brain such as blindsight and other "strange but true" oddities of human biology, such as those described by Myron, George, and Dutch above.

 

With this understanding, I've been able to renew my faith in a theistic God at a powerful level that nobody can take away from me now. I understand that others don't share this belief. Everyone has their own path, their own journey, and all of us have to do the best we can each day to try to muddle through.

 

Love Jen

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Anyway . . . what I'm trying to say (though none too briefly, I note) is that because I'm a mystic/channeller, I was able to get some clear answers to the theodicy question. The answers I got all led to psychiatry and psychology and neurophysiology.

Jen,

 

Are you able to share the answers you got to the theodicy question? If so, it might be worth starting a new thread to address this issue. This seems to be a common issue with those who began in traditional religion and have moved on.

 

George

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