On Tuesday in this space I wrote about a young woman in Saudi Arabia who has just been sentenced to over 180 lashes for meeting a man on a beach in the dark of night and daring to have sex...
God's Religion is feed the poor and take care of the widows.
The problem is man's religion.
By having a relationship with our creator, then you will know what He wants. He has no problem making His desires Known.
Rebecca Winters
November 29, 2007 11:25 AM
I don't understand, Neale. According to the philosophy you espouse in your books, isn't it all God's will? And didn't this young woman "create" this for herself because of her beliefs?
Such is the philosophy I have read in your books. But I have not read them all and perhaps I am mistaken. Thus far I have you pegged as one of those New Age, "create-your-own-reality" nitwits.
jimmie t
November 29, 2007 11:26 AM
i am learning that my journey is a process of moving from fear into love... perhaps i even started from a place of pure love and goodness, but i forgot that, now I am remembering love. i had to know fear to know love. man's religion is simply our thoughts about what religion should be... it is also proving to be a journey from fear to love.. i am encouraged though, people like Bishop Carlton Pearson, Neale Walsh, Katie Byron are reminding us in new ways that God is love... all inclusive accepting comforting strengthening joyous LOVE.
after all, why would God tell us to JUDGE NOT and then turn around and JUDGE US... the old parent paradigm of God needs expansion:
our parents said "do as I say, not as I do" - that never rang true with me. God is not a hypocrite! Nothing can separate us from the love of God. God's love is something way beyond a parent's love. I know that as much as i love my children - i still lose my cool, yell at them, take the easy, selfish way. I choose to believe in a God that is bigger than that.. My God never looses his cool, never condemns, never judges, always welcoming the prodigal son back home... and He tells me ' if I can do it, so can you' and He tells me I will give you all the strength you need for today. as far as judging "gays"
the old message is still the same .. "he without sin cast the first stone"
"there's more where that came from"
Marceau
November 29, 2007 11:27 AM
"Philosophy" or "Theodicy"?
Patti Smith Fan
November 29, 2007 12:06 PM
"Some nights I'd surprise everybody by skipping off with a skirt of green net sewed over with flat metallic circles which dazzled and flashed. The lights were violet and white. I had an ornamental veil, but I couldn't bear to use it. When my hair was cropped, I craved covering, but now my hair itself is a veil, and the scalp inside is a scalp of a crazy and sleepy Comanche lies beneath this netting of the skin. I wake up. I am lying peacefully I am lying peacefully and my knees are open to the sun. I desire him, and he is absolutely ready to seize me. In heart I am a Moslem; in heart I am an American; in heart I am Moslem, in heart I'm an American artist, and I have no guilt. I seek pleasure. I seek the nerves under your skin. The narrow archway; the layers; the scroll of ancient lettuce. We worship the flaw, the belly, the belly, the mole on the belly of an exquisite whore. He spared the child and spoiled the rod. I have not sold myself to God. "
Patti Smith - babelogue
Greg Allen
November 29, 2007 12:13 PM
I think we need religion 0.0; as in no religion.
Rebecca,
For what it is worth to you.
The message I get from Neale's books (not Neale or most of his blogs) are that "the answers" are within, and about Us. About changing our own thoughts, words and deeds. Seeing Self in Other, affecting Other thru Self - in other words "being the change you want to see".
Neale often seems (to me) to imply that the messages of his books are about how the thoughts, words and deeds of others must change before the world is "right". (whatever that means)
Neale also likes to talk about changing the world. That is his "job" as he sees it, I think. It is different though than practicing this "be the change" message.
One could argue that his selection of certain Christian ministers as targets for change in the name of fixing the world before god is quite similar to selecting certain humans (say.... gays) as targets for change in the name of fixing the world before god.
Or one could say, well Neale was spoken to by God, so it is okay for him to pick on certain ministers and set the example that being spoken to by god allows exceptions to god's message of "be the change".
I never heard the message in CwG to be "Go forth and inflict the change you wish to see upon select others that the grace I have given you will allow you to identify as being most in need of change."
I see it as very New Age, New Thought, etc. But it is also Neale's job y'know, and I am certain he intends well. It's his role in the drama of "all the world's a stage". And peddling talk of ideas about the possibility of maybe one day living a New Spirituality is not as bad as say, peddling crack cocaine, eh?
I have noticed that "New" things begin immediately to get old. Like toys when we were kids, you notice that. "Now" things are more fun, to me.
"I looked up into the sky, and saw God, he told me that there is nothing to fear, that he loves every single creature on this planet, and he showered gifts of forgiveness and love onto the earth, and I realised that there was nothing to fear, and I loved everything...
all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we're the imagination of ourselves.
Here's Tom with the weather."
Bill Hicks
Clare
November 29, 2007 12:17 PM
This is a touchy subject for me- the whole gay thing. I was raised strict Catholic- my parent divorced b/c my father is gay. My dad is one of the most kind-hearted,loving people I know in my life. He thinks of others first, is always there to help-really, he is the best. There was controversy about my parents in our church when it happened, and that's when I realized that my view of God, is not what I was raised to believe. Love one another as I have loved you.....that doesn't seem angry,hateful or judgemental.
I have a good relationship with my God, as I understand him/her. There is no haterd , only love and forgivness. I feel bad for people who are worshipping in fear of their god's retribution.Oh, and that minister in kansas-well, if people are ignorant enough to go along with what he says- it will all comes back to them eventually.Those are the people we have to pray for.
Greg Allen
November 29, 2007 12:21 PM
In the realm of The Absolute, there are No Relative Opposites...
Good goeswith Evil.
God goeswith Devil.
Up goeswith Down.
Gay goeswith Homophobic.
Kbird
November 29, 2007 12:27 PM
What are leasons the Bible teaches us in the Old and New Testament? God does reveal He does not tolerate sin. That is why He provided a way for salvation for us through Jesus Christ. I do not agree with the strict letter of the law but the spirit of the law. My prayers are with the young Saudi woman. I pray for God's mercy and deliverence for her. Islamic law is the letter of the law which kills according to the Bible. It is the Spirit of the law that gives life. Sometimes Christine become legalistic as well and forget about the Spirit of the law. What is God revealing through His law and Word? Jesus will return and when He does it will be as the Lion of Judah and Judge of all humanity.
As far as the death penalty. The law in the Bible does set presidence for it. As a Christian I do not like thinking about people being senscented to death. However I am for the death penalty in extreme cases. In cases where there is no repentance or repeat offenders for murder, rape, etc. There are people who commit such evil crimes that warrant such a sentance. Who am I to say such a thing? I am a law abiding citizen as much as I can be, a mother, grandmother, wife, woman, and child of God. If you know murder will lead to your own death and still make the rational choice to kill a person, there is nothing any person can do for you. What we can do is learn from that person how they got there to begin with and make changes in our society here on earth that would prevent as much as possiable this reoccuring in the next generation. Each case is different was the person a socialpath, if so how did that person become one, etc?
For Islamics and fundamental Christians or other faiths choose to rule by the letter of the law leads to choking the life out of a soul, a person, people, or society is harsh. For us to look at them and reject all strong judgement is just as wrong at least according to my belief system. I am being refined everyday by the Living Word of God and by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I have to back up and say I was wrong and make better choices from there. Sometimes I just go to the next level/step. This is all any of us can do and trust in God to bring us around to His interrpretation of His Will.
Anonymous
November 29, 2007 12:59 PM
HELLO NEAL, LOVE ALL YOUR WRITTINGS!!! WELL, I FOR ONE, UNDERSTAND A NEW GOD, FOR MYSELF, LET ME EXPLAIN, I AM A GAY WOMAN, BUT FOR MANY YEARS, BEAT MYSELF, THINKING I WAS AN ABOMANATION, TO GOD, I HAD SO MUCH GUILT & SHAME, BUT I COULD NOT BE ANYTHING OTHER, THAN WHO I WAS, MY OLDEST SON, CHAUNCEY CRAIG, WAS KILLED IN A TRAGGIC CAR ACCIDENT @ THE AGE OF 15, THE DAY BEFORE MY 35TH B-DAY, IN THE DAYS AFTER HIS DEATH I THOUGHT, GO HAD PUNISHED ME, SO STARTED GOING TO CHURCH, I AM IN OKLAHOMA, THE BIBLE BELT, NONE OF THESE CHURCHES, & THERE WERE LOTS, DID I FIR IN, WHAT I DID SEE IS A LOT OF CRITICAL PEOPLE, HYPOCRITES, IF YOU WILL, SO I STARTED TO SEEK ANSWERERS FROM WITH-IN... THROUGH BOOKS, THANK YOU FOR C.W.G., & I CAME TO KNOW A GOD OF PURE LOVE & UNDERSTANDING, HE DOES NOT PUNISH US, WE PUNISH OUR SELVES BY CHOICES, SO I AM NOW LEARNING MEDITTION, & UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, SOME TTHING I NEW NOTHING ABOUT, IT IS SO SAD ALL THE PEOPLE WASTING THERE ENERGY IN THESE CHURCHES TRYING TO CHANGE PEOPLE, INSTEAD OF LEADING THEM ON THE RIGHT PATH, IT MAKES ME WONDER, IF ANY OF THEM WOULD OF OPENED THERE DOORS FOR JESUS, FULL OF BLOOD, & WITH ALL HIS OUT CAST FRIENDS????? OUR TRUTH LIES WITHIN, THEY CAN CALL ME A FAG, OR WHAT EVER CRUEL WORDS THEY CHOOSE, BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE THE PEACE, THAT NOW LIES IN MY SOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JESUS, SAID THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LIES WITH-IN, WHAT A WONDERFUL GIFT, WHAT A WASTE FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WITH ALL THERE HATRED....
ALL MY LOVE & APPRECIATIN, TO YOU NEAL, KEEP ON KEEPING ON
KELLY WISE
kelly wise
November 29, 2007 1:09 PM
does it not strike you odd, that gay really means happy, & the phrase, he is a little lite in his loafers, is really a diffrent, phrase of enlightment.....
Greg Allen
November 29, 2007 1:29 PM
kelly, that's great!
"lite in his loafers" - had not heard that one - is there a connection between the light hidden under a bushel, and the lite in the loafers?
;^)
D.T. Suzuki, a great modern Zen master said "enlightenment is like everyday ordinary experience, only about 2 inches off the ground".
That sorta sounds like being lite in one's loafers too, eh!
It would seem obvious to the authorities that the more noise a christian minister makes about gay men, the more they should be looking for decades old reports of homosexual child abuse by that minister.
It's like the man in the preacher's garb calling the kettle black...
i have an "extreme christian" friend who is obsessed with talking about homosexual behavior and how evil it is, and he constantly talks about how wrong anal sex is, whether heterosexual or homosexual. i mean we can be talking about skateboarding and suddenly he's onto anal sex and homosexuals.
it always strikes me as odd how much he knows about it, and how certain he is that it is distasteful. i think maybe he has some experiential guilt to work out...
Marie Ruggieri
November 29, 2007 1:51 PM
Thanks you for your poignant comments. I espcially liked when you said that religion was a compilation of a group of sayings ( always men) of hundreds of years ago. And that religion needed an update.
I have read some of your books and I think you said that you were raised Catholic. I was too. I have really had to scrutinize what the Church has taught over the past 2000 years to examine what I believe are teachings of man and those which are truly from God. And for me 85-90% are man's. And that might be stretching it some. My God is much more merciful and loving than the one I was taught about growing up.
Are you planning any more new books in the near future? I hope so.
Thank you and God bless you in your work.
Marie
Critical Thinker
November 29, 2007 2:35 PM
What God Wants, as interpreted by ten thousand people who died before you were born. Maybe they were smarter than you, but then again maybe they were just more manipulative than you? Or perhaps just louder? How many people has Phelps convinced by virtue of simple repetition and volume? In a thousand years if his message is carried down, what will it look like? 'I say that God hates fags' becomes 'God said that he hates fags'. The same is true for any message. We've all played telephone in grade school and seen how the message changes as it passes from person to person, by mistake or intent.
My point here, as with most of my comments thus far, is that the message has become corrupted, and it has become necessary to discern the truth on your own because you will not get it through the usual mortal channels. Only you can sift what you believe and feel and know and come up with a truth that is relevant, instructive, and worthwhile to you. What ten thousand people who died before you were born think God wants is pretty damned irrelevant.
Valentine
November 29, 2007 3:19 PM
Dear all,
We are ALL on the same spiritual path. Just at different places along the way; doing exactly what we know to do at the moment given the condition of our lives.
That means we get past the idea of blame and fault finding and begin to understand that just because we are at one place on the path and someone else is at a different place doesn't mean *we may judge them. (*A.K.A. EGO = Edging God Out.)
GOD IS LOVE: therefore, abscence of love is abscense of *GOD. So, people who behave in *loveleless ways truly do not know what they have done because they are living out of their own separateness.
Every human being who does any damage or inflicts any pain on anybody else is a far greater victim than those they victimize and must answer for all those things to a law of the *universe.
"ANY day above ground is a good one; because the glory of each morning that it offers us a chance to begin again."
Valentine
Valentine
November 29, 2007 3:21 PM
Dear all,
We are ALL on the same spiritual path. Just at different places along the way; doing exactly what we know to do at the moment given the condition of our lives.
That means we get past the idea of blame and fault finding and begin to understand that just because we are at one place on the path and someone else is at a different place doesn't mean *we may judge them. (*A.K.A. EGO = Edging God Out.)
GOD IS LOVE: therefore, abscence of love is abscense of *GOD. So, people who behave in *loveleless ways truly do not know what they have done because they are living out of their own separateness.
Every human being who does any damage or inflicts any pain on anybody else is a far greater victim than those they victimize and must answer for all those things to a law of the *universe.
"ANY day above ground is a good one; because the glory of each morning that it offers us a chance to begin again."
Valentine
Marceau
November 29, 2007 3:56 PM
Is there idiocy in our ideology?
Marceau
November 29, 2007 4:02 PM
You can go Yah-weh and I'll go mine.
Helena
November 29, 2007 4:47 PM
All I know that God is Love. From that basis I try to conduct my day to day life. I try to practice understanding, tolerance, compassion and love. I believe that these are all God given attributes. We all battle with the dark side inside ourselves, which tells us to scoff, hate, ignore or punish our fellow human beings. I try to walk in the light which I think comes from God. It is, however, a constant battle. It is so easy to turn on others. I do believe that mankind is making spiritual progress, in spite of what it looks like sometimes. Openess, conversation, discussion and searching will help to lift all of us even higher.
Helena
November 29, 2007 5:09 PM
When we quote "he who is without sin should cast the first stone" are we really practicing tolerance? Or are we saying that homosexualism is sin but that we have secret sins and will tolerate their sin? I believe that we must get past the point where we think of homosexualism as sin and accept the fact that on a scale of 1-10 we are all on that scale from extremely feminine to extremely masculine. It is just simply how the genetics turned out. It is not a position of choice.
Wisdum
November 29, 2007 5:14 PM
Re - Neale Donald Walsh
Does God really hate gays?
** If God hated gays (which is a mis-nomer BTW, that would mean like "Does God hate happy people?") If God hated goy/happy/homosrxual people they would not exist! Unless of course God is a masochist, with a low self esteem problem, which of course we should not completely leave out of the question ... "With God, ALL things are possible!"
Does God hate anyone?
** I guess it would be a stretch to consider that, since God would have to then hate His/Her own creations, which of course brings us back to God's supposed low self-esteenm problem... hmmmmm ... I'll have to think about that a bit ... hmmmm
Is God even capable of hate?
** Let's see, if God is the only "One" that is perfect, then perhaps the perception of "hate" bears a closer looking into. (oh yeah! perception is everything!)
Who and what IS "God," anyway?
God is the absolute total of all that we cannot grasp, comprehend or perceive. There are a few scientific formula that I like ... "Energy can neither be created or destroyed. Only change its form" (A. Einstein) where Gos is that Energy and we are its form... I also like "The Whole is equal to the sum of its parts", where God is the Whole and we are its parts! ... Of copurse if you don't buy any of that, it makes you an aWhole!
These are questions that no one wants to ask or answer.
** Nah! Not at all. People have been asking those questions, and God has been answering them since the beginning of Time...and before that! The interesting thing is, that mankind would rather listen to everybody else's opinion over God's. I think the phrase "Fear of God" pretty much sums it up. And of course any half-assed prophet (or is that profit?) opportunist that comes along that sounds a bit more intelligent than themselves, we are ALL ready and willing to bow down befor them and throw all out money at them ... I've never been able to figure that one out, but it brings to mind "You can never go wrong, underestimating the intelligence of the American public" (PT Barnum) As far as the rest of the world, they have a long history of being ignor-ant!
At least, no one in places of religious authority.
** Of course they do, but if they told you all about the Truth, the Light and the Way ... and you walked aWay, how would that effect the economy of the world? ... What's wrong with this picture? ... Follow the money trail!
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
Wisdum
November 29, 2007 5:43 PM
Re -Helena | November 29, 2007 5:09 PM
When we quote "he who is without sin should cast the first stone" are we really practicing tolerance?
** You noticed that also, I see. How many have noticed that attached to that statement by Yeshuah is "Is there nobody left to cast the first stone? Then neither will I" You think perhaps He was also not entitled to that privilege. It has alWays been surprising to me that we ALL take as the Gospel/Word of God everything that others perceive as “What God Wants”, but attribute very little to what Yeshuah taught! … Didn’t He say “Forgive them Father, for they haven’t a clue as to what they do!” (or something like that) . . . and then He cleverly attached that to “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those . . . who trespass against us” . . . You ALL realize of course, if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven, simply because we asked God the Father not to! (how cool is that!) BTW, how come there is no record of this Messiah between the ages of 12 to 30 ? (you think He may have been participating in a whole lot “freewill” stuff . . . be still my racing imagination!)
Or are we saying that homosexualism is sin but that we have secret sins and will tolerate their sin?
** If the fooshits! . . . (or is that shoe fits ?)
I believe that we must get past the point where we think of homosexualism as sin and accept the fact that on a scale of 1-10 we are all on that scale from extremely feminine to extremely masculine. It is just simply how the genetics turned out. It is not a position of choice.
** That is not exactly true. About 10% of homosexuals have natural genetic leanings, the rest are drawn by either psychological problems or are seeking a certain type of Love they either missed or clung to from childhood. This is clearly explained with sibling rivalry between the sexes. That would be the Love between parents and children. How does natural sexual desires manifest itself in the Parent- Child Love relationship, especially if we can not discern the difference between Love and sexual intimacy? "What we have here, is a serious lack of communication!"
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
Ali
November 29, 2007 6:02 PM
God not feel him by the other talking just feel him just feel the great language he talk to you by it's the love language which created with us God not say no for love but he said hey to love hey to every way to reach love, the world big problem is that they lost the love the love and again the love is the secret the magical medicine
Ali
November 29, 2007 6:07 PM
it's not important or there's no a relation between being love and do sex with her or him , you just if you love and respect person go and marry because this way safe you and give a respection between each of you, in Foreign countries the relation between couples is known and respected by the society not as middle east
"What religion desperately needs is an Update. We need Religion 2.0."
Interesting way of putting it (and yeah, my dad just bought me my first computer).
Anonymous
November 30, 2007 12:16 AM
No God would ever look upon me (or anyone) with anything but love.
Who was the greater lover Jesus Christ or Judas Iscariot?
What is the greatest gift which can be given to those beings who seek to be peace makers, to give, to reconcile?
If I were in your shoes, I would be you!
If you were in my shoes, you would be me.
What is there to condemn?
Let us create this WEB with delight and awe, the dark strands and the light.
There is a really good book related to sex, love and marriage which was a best seller in the 1970's. Its called "Open Marriage" by a couple with the surname of O'Neill.
It is not actually about open (or non-monogomous relationships), it is about love without constraining the other person, allowing them to grow and BE, freely.
K. Sean Proudler
November 30, 2007 12:17 AM
A religion is an exposure to less than truth. If the religion had exposed all truths, then there would be only one religion, for there would be no room for another.
Meanwhile people speak with certainty about their religions, even though there is no complete truth to support their certainty. In other words, madness is in the practice.
With madness in the practice, people place the value of beliefs above the value of truths, thus truths that are yet to be known of, are banned by the act of minds being closed minds, via their beliefs directing them to behave this way.
And so truth is kept buried, and arguments go on and on. http://www.outersecrets.com/real/biblecode2.htm Believers will reject and bury the truths located at this web page for instance. A believer will find a reason, one way or another to prevent the viewing of this page, and so more truths are kept buried, truths written within the Bible itself.
And not to forget that God supports truth, and Satan supports less than truths, thus lies and deceit. So who do you think is winning ?
born2tell
November 30, 2007 3:24 AM
I hate to break it to the "hard core" so called "christians", but God MADE Fags! In the words of Gomer Pyle, "SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!"
I find it disgusting that these supposed "religious leaders" just like our favorite pastor in Colorado who preached to hate gays and is one himself (and that isn't counting the drug problem he has), go on and preach hatred, hellfire and damnation and then go on to say they are"christians". They tell their little jokes and laugh smugly feeling they are "truly God's children". But not so for the guy in the cell that they put to death. Isn't it strange that the places with the highest death penalty numbers are also the ones who sit most adamantly in judgment of a girl who is raped and wants an abortion. They call her a murderer. You are MORE than correct when you say that things need to be updated but then you get resistance from people quoting scriptures saying, "It isn't what God wants." God hung out with prostitutes, sinners, theives and the like and these people barely want someone from a different church around them. They called Native Americans pagans and they are the MOST spiritual and religious people I can think of because EVERY moment,every day, every bite of food and every drop of rain was a blessing to be THANKFUL FOR! They didn't kill an animal to eat or cut down a tree without THANKS and PRAYER. THAT is living spirit. How can ANYONE say what God wants? All you can do is follow the lead of your spiritual source(God,Goddess,Buddha,etc.) and learn by the lessons and actions that are shown to you, NOT by misinterpreting or putting YOUR interpretations on something and declaring it as God's Will. The LESSON IS LOVE! If you look through the Bible or ANY other religious or spiritual book and delve into the spiritual quest, the ultimate outcome is to reach a place of supreme love. It might be called enlightenment, nirvana, sainthood, heaven or whatever, but the great things that are there for us to learn have to do with learning love. Mother Theresa is a prime example. She didn't want money, she served because she loved. It seems that what religion needs and the update needs to direct us to is that love. All these people who decide what God wants need to be taught that fact. God wants us to love. Jesus taught it in so many instances. Now if we can just get the horrid preachers who picket greiving families and who teach hate to get off their ego trips and control issues and quit telling people what to think and how to feel, the punishment will fit the crime because the person giving it out will have love enough to realize we are all imperfect and make mistakes. It is the size and intent and circumstances that should determine it and not some egotistical, chauvanistic idea. Just like the teacher who almost got lashed and whipped for allowing her children (in class) to name their teddy bear Muhammed. I would think, what an honor! These children think so much of Muhammed that they want to have the idea of him close to them, toys are very close and important to children. They must really feel they want him close and accessible to them. The GOV. didn't think so and the poor woman almost was sent to prison and lashed! Such are the rules of man.
amilius
November 30, 2007 3:51 AM
Does One emulate or repudiate the most gracious man who ever walked the face of the planet by making ungracious choices in his name?
We are all One. Gracious choices, choosing for others only as one would choose for one's self, demonstrate this. Ungracious choices belie this truth. Enough with the Belial already. The ungracious choices of others inspire us to be clear that these are choices we would not make for ourselves. It is important enough to warrant the events as they unfold and for many to be inspired to change them.
Namaste.
born2tell
November 30, 2007 4:31 AM
Beautiful amilius. I hope I did not offend when I repeated what that Rev Phelps said about gays, the name calling. I was just SO appalled. I have gay family members and friends and they did not chose to be born that way. You are wonderfully right in stating that these cases are fine examples of ungracious choices and what we would not choose nor want for ourselves. Let us hope the world hears how off the gracious path things may get and is inspired to to love and truth.
Fraser
November 30, 2007 4:56 AM
Sometimes, I feel like Neale always reads my thoughts when it comes to things like this (or may be these things are too simple to be comphrended by the simplest of minds). The question is, why are so many people - especially our leaders (religion leaders, political leaders...) who make the 'stupidest' of claims such as the one about the Gay community.
What's wrong with these people????????????????
And Neale: Love what you do...Pls keep it up!!
Fraser (from Ethiopia)
Tricia
November 30, 2007 6:46 AM
Did not Jesus say "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"
and of course no one could.
Bless you Neale, you are doing so much good, in enlightening the
peoples of the World. Every little helps. Tricia.
Anderson
November 30, 2007 7:31 AM
The things that Neale talks about are the reason I don't go to church. The last time I went, I couldn't tell if I was at a church service, a Republican party meeting, or a Ku Klux Klan rally.
CJ
November 30, 2007 8:36 AM
I agree with Valentine. Humans are all on the same journey. I think we as a species have always tried to find meaning in life, and, depending on our cultures, that meaning-making and god-making takes different forms.
I think that at some point the religious practices and beliefs that humans develop are perfectly fine venues for revealing some Truth, and for helping humans understand their relationship with God. As such, all religions have the potential to lead people to God.
I was raised Roman Catholic. I don't believe half of what RC dogma proclaims now, but, my experience in the communities and Scriptures and music and life while a RC did lead me to a real relationship with God. Mission accomplished. Once I met the Creator for myself, and realized I am God and God is me, and YOU too, I am at peace. I'm not RC anymore, but, I try not to judge people for "where they are on the journey."
Are those crazy anti-gay preachers and lashing Saudis on the path too? Absolutely. Within the core of the religion that brought them to this place, there is still God, and Goodness. Perhaps they will hear and see it, and move beyond it some day.
I think I see a LOT of people doing just that.
Redd
November 30, 2007 8:52 AM
I am "relieved" and assured in the human race by ALL of the previous postings................Live and Let Live .........and I must be the change I wish to see in the world...........Luv your work Neale
Rod
November 30, 2007 9:14 AM
I believe that it comes down to tolerance. Very rarely do we demonstrate tolerance for each others beliefs, opinions, or actions just like the preachers who condemn homosexuality we in turn condemn them for their lack of tolerance. We may never really understand or accept others opinions or actions but maybe as we progress spiritually we can and will find the tolerance needed to quite our minds.
michelle
November 30, 2007 9:31 AM
Tolerance of other's benign belief system is one thing, but should we "tolerate" a Hitler? Should the gross mistreatment of other humans in our world be overlooked in the name of tolerance? Would we have a different opinion if it were our own brother, sister, mother, daughter, father, uncle, aunt? Well I am here to tell you that young Saudi 18 year old is your sister. Remember what underlies the true spirit of the Bible--We are all one. Love your brother as you would yourself.
I am glad that the international community did not just sit back and tolerate Hitler.
Love and Peace,
Michelle
Cully
November 30, 2007 10:36 AM
re: "the world big problem is that they lost the love the love and again the love is the secret the magical medicine"
Posted by: Ali | November 29, 2007 6:02 PM
I don't believe we ever *lost* the love, we were programed by men to forget the love. In forgetting we then allowed those men to become demi gods - believing that they had an inside track to God when in reality we all do.
Blessings,
Cully
Vickie
November 30, 2007 10:41 AM
Please let us never let the word "tolerance" be an acronym for "indifference". We need to remember that this Saudi Lady is not just my sister, she is me, and whatever happens to her, happens to me. No I may not feel her pain as she indures it, but her pain will go out to all that she is, which includes all of us who are part of her. The Universe, God, Goddess, or whatever you choose to call the Creator feels her pain. Therefore, we cannot be indifferent to her situation in the name of "tolerance". If we are not vigilant and stay the course, this could be any of us at sometime in the future. We are all One, whether or not the world knows it. Lets all be compassionate and look for ways so that more people wake up and understand that whatever we do to others, we do to ourselves.
Peace to all
Vickie
Sandi Foster
November 30, 2007 11:36 AM
Hello
I hope that one day we all get it right. Rape is not an act of sex it is an act of violence! Do you get it, violence. Also, if we could abolish organized religion there would be a lot less people to worry about and a lot more people who care. I choose not to attend church any longer myself. I have found that i am more spiritual with out it. And i cannot remember that last time that i spoke with a person of an organized religious choice, catholic, mormon, southern babtist, etc. that could explain to me anything about the bible, yet when i asked about their religion, intimate detail was overwhelming.
God Bless
Sandi :)
Clare
November 30, 2007 11:59 AM
Thank you Michelle and Vicki. Just hearing the compassion and love regarding our sister assures me that there is hope-and where there is hope, there is love.
Blessings,
Clare
Nishant
November 30, 2007 12:31 PM
Hi,
I only know that complaining about something doesn't help.
There are certainly many things in this world who go in our eyes totally wrong, but as long as you focus your whole life on what is wrong in your eyes, you waste your life.
You can't change it anyway, because there are souls who want to experience this things on some level.
Otherwise it wouldn't happen!
Why not just living your life according to your vision and your dreams, so that other may see what choices are out there.
Like Abraham would say, you always get what matches your vibration.
This lady who fell in love couldn't have any problem, when she would think and feel different.
Nobody could harm her falling in love.
I know it is hard to understand, but, don't blame others for what they do or how they think what is the right thing to do.
michelle
November 30, 2007 12:56 PM
"Like Abraham would say, you always get what matches your vibration."
I would just like to add to this true statement something I believe and that is that some of us experience the vibrational match of the multitude or the culture in which we find ourselves lving. If the vibrational match is one that has so much momentum having occurred over so many ages and ages, then it will, I think, take more than an individual vibrating at a more joyful resonance to overcome negatative or unwanted effects--it will take a consciously aware Collective to create the change we all desire. I do believe one can just be in the line of fire where vibrational match is concerned.
Thank you Clare, Sandi, Vickie for your Voices.
Flying Dolphin, I agree with everything you said. I do believe Wisdum has a good heart.
Love and Peace,
Michelle
Diamond
November 30, 2007 2:58 PM
Re: Michelle
“Well I am here to tell you that young Saudi 18 year old is your sister.”
Yes, I think of her in this way too, Michelle. I feel compassion for what she has and will continue to move through as a consequence of her rape, and embrace her as a spiritual being that will have chosen these events primarily for her own spiritual purpose. I do not see her as a victim in any way, and am deeply moved by her soul’s courage to experience the events she has in human form.
I occasionally see comments put forward by some, that to accept that various choices have been made on a spiritual level is all very well and good, but what if it were my brother or sister experiencing such an event. As in, would I feel any different? Yes, of course I would. I know that we’re all one, but as with so many others, I have not yet integrated that depth of spiritual presence into my everyday human experience. I've not encountered many who have. I would feel greater challenge in embracing the trauma of a loved one, but would still endeavor to experience insight as to its higher purpose and move into inner peace with that.
I agree with you also, in that Wisdum has a good heart. I hugely welcome his comments. Love is all there is.
michelle
November 30, 2007 5:08 PM
I am curious how everyone else feels about this: are we predestined to experience everything the soul has chosen prior to being born, and if so, how does this reconcile with the belief that a soul always has free will?
Love and Peace,
Michelle
Cully
November 30, 2007 6:34 PM
Michelle,
re: "I am curious how everyone else feels about this: are we predestined to experience everything the soul has chosen prior to being born, and if so, how does this reconcile with the belief that a soul always has free will?"
Posted by: michelle | November 30, 2007 5:08 PM
This will be my personal belief, taking “predestined” to mean: appointed or determined beforehand; and, in relation to our soul doing the choosing, that the predestination is not an action of God. Okay?
Blessings,
Cully
amilius
November 30, 2007 6:36 PM
Michelle,
In the context of a gracious Universe such as ours, this is how Predestination and Free Will co-exist:
The One Thing Predestined by the Universe is Absolute Joy. We all have the Free Will to Avoid it.
Hint: One avoids the predestined with ungracious choices.
We are all One. One designed it this way before embarking on the journey of Many.
Namaste.
Wisdum
November 30, 2007 8:35 PM
Hi ALL,
my wife would totally agree with all of you, I have entirely too much time on my hands! And I do indeed agree that whatever I say can appear tiresome to many, especially if they are in conflict with what I have to say (so what else is new!) I don't know if many of you out there fully grasp the enormity of what is going on here at this blog (I assure you that Neale does! Bear in mind that he does not respond at all to any of it, just moves on gathering data)
To not respond at all is to register in the afirmative, to confront is to open yourself to criticism. That is the nature of an open forum/debate. I am no more right or wrong than anyone else, only point out the other side of the truth. There is you truth, and there in my truth...and there is The Truth (if you catch my drift!)
There is an enourmous amount of teaching about God since the beginning of Time, all of whixh is incomplete, and was desigened to be that Way from the beginning. From the root of Monotheism has grown many branches, and if God is what all the religions say He/She is then if you connected all the dots you may finally get a picture that really represents what God is rather than the view from One branch, or even from just a leaf!
Predestined? If God is omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, the Alpha and Omega, and all the rest of the attributes, how does that play in Predestiny? Simple! You have freewill, to do anything you want, but God already knows what your choices will be, and has anticipated them all from ALL ... If God is all-Loving and all-forgiving, then isn't this all acedemic? On the other hand, you could say that the script has already been written, by God, directed by God, and performing ALL the parts, sitting in a thearer, next to Him/Her Self, hoping God likes it! (far out, huh!) Yeah! too much Time on my hands!
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
michelle
December 1, 2007 4:49 AM
Thank you all for responding to my question. I love you all. yes, you too, Wisdum.
I especially like the idea that we are given joy and have the free will to choose against it. thanks for wording it so graciously.
Michelle
Cully
December 2, 2007 2:47 PM
To not respond at all is to register in the afirmative, to confront is to open yourself to criticism.
Posted by: Wisdum | November 30, 2007 8:35 PM
Interesting... to me not responding is negating the other person's response - to say "you're not important/your opinion doesn't matter to me". As for confronting - well, confrontation never leads to meaningful dialogue, confrontation IS criticism.
Teja
December 2, 2007 4:42 PM
Hi all!
We all have our own way to same God. This way is one among the others, but not the only one. No way is less or more than my way. When we achieve goal, the end, all of this comes to an end. And then we are all one. In ourselfs!
Then you can say, that you are a priest or a teacher, when people alone, bye their own will come to you. Not becuse they have to, becouse otherwise devil will get them, but becouse you atract them by love, that you (they) are! Becouse they found a peace of themselfs in you, they found their own freedom in you! Otherwise they wouldn't have come!
All love is doing right that: it goes to body and then loves, nourish body, till it become a spirit, Holy spirit, that can be for all of us! As a way, that they can fallow. As a true, that they are, as life, that we all are!
I can say, that Christ has all of our lifes in him. He was gay, whore...whatewer...this is just a way to God and it is sacred as all other ways! All other lives, that are here...everyone is uniqoue way to God. We all choose this life by love, to love it. That it becomes a Spirit. And: it's our way!
Humanity has to deal with a disease, that is called hate. More and more people are infected by it. That guy, who "proclaimes himself" for a priest, can just say, that firstly, he is a gay, and secoundly, that he may be living his own life with love! That's all, and he wouldn't be suffering from hate!
God doesn't see hate, that is not "his" way! That's why he won't punish anyone, who come to light! When one will come to light, all of his kingdom will be seen and all darkness will gone forever! Becouse nothing, what is not the True, what is not Me or "I am", cannot be seen! It's impossible! That's why all guilt and all hate will be gone, when we will show ourselfs to light!
Nothing, that is build on sand, can't last forever, every-thing has the begining and the end, but I AM the beginning and the end, and that's why I AM forever! And Amen!
Great job Neale!!!
Bye (love),
Teja
Wisdum
December 3, 2007 8:20 AM
Re -Cully | December 2, 2007 2:47 PM
Interesting... to me not responding is negating the other person's response - to say "you're not important/your opinion doesn't matter to me".
** Here's the thing, the no response, says exactly that, nothing. Remember that this is a world wide forum and all we have to communicate is words (as opposed to murder, mayhem and war, as it were) This is as close as it get to what the Athenians dealt with in ancient times, who molded and shaped the future of the world. This is a level playing field, nobody is greater or lessed than another. It is freewill at it's finest (like it or not, which is also freewill!) Bear in mind that this will all shape and form the future of this world (if we don't blow it all to "Kingdom Hell") don't take your perception lightly (or take it Lightly)... (perception is everything!) There are those out there vying for control of the New World Order. "The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance" (Thomas Jefferson)
As for confronting - well, confrontation never leads to meaningful dialogue, confrontation IS criticism.
** This world is based upon con-frontation and pro-frontation , it will either result in Good or Bad and that too is all a matter of perception... "One man's pain, is another man's joy"
LUV 2 U /LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
Cully
December 3, 2007 4:36 PM
good to see you, Wisdum :-)
okay con/against or pro/for "frontation" - I like it... because confrontation can (along with it's negative connotation) be the bringing together of ideas for comparison; and, comparison is a search for similarity or dis-similarity of patterns, ideals... and from waaaay back in 1340, from O.Fr. comparaison, from L. comparationem, from pp. stem of comparare "make equal with, liken," from com- "with" + parare "to make equal."
yeah... good to see you!
hugz,
Cully
Linda Velez
December 3, 2007 10:24 PM
Frankly, I feel sorry for Reverend Phelps. He believes he is a "good Christian" however, he espouses hate. God does not hate. God does not create evil. Or evil people for that matter. No one is evil. Even such as one as Adolph Hitler or Jeffrey Dammer. They, just as everyone else, remains always as God created all of us: pure, holy and unsullied. There is no sin. Man created the idea of sin. Man created religion. That is not to say that religion is bad. People make mistakes with religion. If they truly listened to what the core belief of their religion said, They would see it is Love. Love is all. Love is God and all of us. The day will come when all men see this. They will eventually outgrow the need for organized religion, and find God inside, right where He's always been. Listen, you will hear the small quiet voice that lives in us all. Bessings to all.
paddysway
December 6, 2007 9:15 PM
This hideous idea that God wants this or that is outlandish and outdated and furthermore rarely followed by anyone. As christians and or catholics...there is the fundamental Ten Commandments to follow. I think it's safe to say that someone who has belief in their religion and follows it diligently also follows the commandments. But being human, all people make errors, mistakes, sin, etc. If God is the forgiving God that our system, re: Catholic diocese vocationalists, ministers, pastors profess Him to be, then he will forgive this sin of passon outside of marriage faster than He should should forgive the murderer, pedophile, rapist, incestuous acts?? The list goes on. There is sin everywhere. That doesn't mean that it's alright either. But somewhere there has to be a line drawn in actions of humans in love and together as one before, during marriage until death do they part. It's hard for me to believe that God has sent how many millions of people to perish in the fires of hell for having sex..No way.....It's time people grew up and took responsiblity for their actions but in the same token know that God doesn't necessarily hate or detest anyone for human acts..We are not of God's caliber and never will be. We can follow His rules and commandments, make mistakes and still be loved more than we ever will know every moment that we breathe and even after we no longer do so...He is there for us and loves us........
Lewis-Eliot
December 8, 2007 12:48 AM
Good Morning Neale:
Does God really hate gays? If the religions of the day have had a hard time tolerating each other, then some religious groups may be teaching from a level [to a degree] of hatred.
“I’m urging all religions to at least tolerate talking with each other, even though it’s hard to speak without getting angry because they feel that some beliefs are more hindering than others. But I think one of the saving things of the world would be getting people to be willing to talk to each other, even though they think they are representing the devil incarnate. When people sing together in community, there is a spirit that takes over“. [Pete Seeger]
The gentleman [above] has a way, this non-denominational website [beliefnet] and you too, have some very interesting and thought provoking materials on the subject.
But also, I wanted to pass along a Christmas Story:
It was the day after Christmas at a church in a major city. The priest of the church was looking over the crèche when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures. He hurried outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant Jesus. So he walked up to the boy and said, "Well, where did you get your passenger, my tiny friend?" The little boy replied, "I got Him at church." "And why did you take Him?" The boy explained, "Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told Him if He would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give Him a ride around the block in it."
This is a light, whimsical and heart warming story, its true. But all to often, as maturing adults we continue to parade around with our own red wagon filled with all sorts of idols and images. It only becomes hateful and violent when we try to inflict and manipulate others to our way of thinking, our pursuits and our creeds. I know this to be true because I have recently, been slandered and defamed by a religious establishment.
Good Morning
PAULA
December 20, 2007 8:51 AM
God is a God of love. He does not hate any of us but he does not always like the decisions we make. That is what the 10 commandments are about. They are a guideline for spiritual living.
lisa
January 24, 2008 10:54 AM
God can hate in all 3 religions only difference is that judaism practice some of its laws discretlt, christianity banned it, while Islam still practices most of it PUBLICALY.
Kitty Moran
June 10, 2008 5:52 PM
I am a social worker and I work with teens primarily. When a student begins to talk about how God would send them or someone else to hell, I ask them who they love most in the world. Almost everyone has one someone that they love deeply. Then I ask, "could that person ever do anything bad enough that you would want to send them to a permanent place of extreme discomfort where you would never see them again?" Ninety nine percent of the time they say no. Then I say, "so, you think you have more forgiveness in you than God?" It usually helps them to see how incredibly arrogant it is to think that God is such a vengeful, human character that he would hate people and banish them to hell.
Bobby Ray
July 28, 2008 3:37 AM
God hates sin, and disobedience. This is what makes us sinners. God is merciful to us here on earth but he puts us to the test to see if we truly love him. Merciful I mean he will let us get away with stuff until the fearful expectation of judgement. To say he will not throw is us in hell for disobedience is saying you do not know the words of God or call him a lyer. You have to repent like it or not he created us and we have no power to change what he says he will do if you do not repent. Yes God loves everybody he gave his only begotten son for you, would you give your child for a thief, murderer, or child molester, and people who would just not care or listen, this is the true love of God. Because Jesus died for you while you were still a sinner.
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God's Religion is feed the poor and take care of the widows.
The problem is man's religion.
By having a relationship with our creator, then you will know what He wants. He has no problem making His desires Known.
I don't understand, Neale. According to the philosophy you espouse in your books, isn't it all God's will? And didn't this young woman "create" this for herself because of her beliefs?
Such is the philosophy I have read in your books. But I have not read them all and perhaps I am mistaken. Thus far I have you pegged as one of those New Age, "create-your-own-reality" nitwits.
i am learning that my journey is a process of moving from fear into love... perhaps i even started from a place of pure love and goodness, but i forgot that, now I am remembering love. i had to know fear to know love. man's religion is simply our thoughts about what religion should be... it is also proving to be a journey from fear to love.. i am encouraged though, people like Bishop Carlton Pearson, Neale Walsh, Katie Byron are reminding us in new ways that God is love... all inclusive accepting comforting strengthening joyous LOVE.
after all, why would God tell us to JUDGE NOT and then turn around and JUDGE US... the old parent paradigm of God needs expansion:
our parents said "do as I say, not as I do" - that never rang true with me. God is not a hypocrite! Nothing can separate us from the love of God. God's love is something way beyond a parent's love. I know that as much as i love my children - i still lose my cool, yell at them, take the easy, selfish way. I choose to believe in a God that is bigger than that.. My God never looses his cool, never condemns, never judges, always welcoming the prodigal son back home... and He tells me ' if I can do it, so can you' and He tells me I will give you all the strength you need for today. as far as judging "gays"
the old message is still the same .. "he without sin cast the first stone"
"there's more where that came from"
"Philosophy" or "Theodicy"?
"Some nights I'd surprise everybody by skipping off with a skirt of green net sewed over with flat metallic circles which dazzled and flashed. The lights were violet and white. I had an ornamental veil, but I couldn't bear to use it. When my hair was cropped, I craved covering, but now my hair itself is a veil, and the scalp inside is a scalp of a crazy and sleepy Comanche lies beneath this netting of the skin. I wake up. I am lying peacefully I am lying peacefully and my knees are open to the sun. I desire him, and he is absolutely ready to seize me. In heart I am a Moslem; in heart I am an American; in heart I am Moslem, in heart I'm an American artist, and I have no guilt. I seek pleasure. I seek the nerves under your skin. The narrow archway; the layers; the scroll of ancient lettuce. We worship the flaw, the belly, the belly, the mole on the belly of an exquisite whore. He spared the child and spoiled the rod. I have not sold myself to God. "
Patti Smith - babelogue
I think we need religion 0.0; as in no religion.
Rebecca,
For what it is worth to you.
The message I get from Neale's books (not Neale or most of his blogs) are that "the answers" are within, and about Us. About changing our own thoughts, words and deeds. Seeing Self in Other, affecting Other thru Self - in other words "being the change you want to see".
Neale often seems (to me) to imply that the messages of his books are about how the thoughts, words and deeds of others must change before the world is "right". (whatever that means)
Neale also likes to talk about changing the world. That is his "job" as he sees it, I think. It is different though than practicing this "be the change" message.
One could argue that his selection of certain Christian ministers as targets for change in the name of fixing the world before god is quite similar to selecting certain humans (say.... gays) as targets for change in the name of fixing the world before god.
Or one could say, well Neale was spoken to by God, so it is okay for him to pick on certain ministers and set the example that being spoken to by god allows exceptions to god's message of "be the change".
I never heard the message in CwG to be "Go forth and inflict the change you wish to see upon select others that the grace I have given you will allow you to identify as being most in need of change."
I see it as very New Age, New Thought, etc. But it is also Neale's job y'know, and I am certain he intends well. It's his role in the drama of "all the world's a stage". And peddling talk of ideas about the possibility of maybe one day living a New Spirituality is not as bad as say, peddling crack cocaine, eh?
I have noticed that "New" things begin immediately to get old. Like toys when we were kids, you notice that. "Now" things are more fun, to me.
Best regards.
Dance In the Moment,
Greg Allen
http://timeoverthrown.blogspot.com/
http://www.gregallenmusic.net
"I looked up into the sky, and saw God, he told me that there is nothing to fear, that he loves every single creature on this planet, and he showered gifts of forgiveness and love onto the earth, and I realised that there was nothing to fear, and I loved everything...
all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we're the imagination of ourselves.
Here's Tom with the weather."
Bill Hicks
This is a touchy subject for me- the whole gay thing. I was raised strict Catholic- my parent divorced b/c my father is gay. My dad is one of the most kind-hearted,loving people I know in my life. He thinks of others first, is always there to help-really, he is the best. There was controversy about my parents in our church when it happened, and that's when I realized that my view of God, is not what I was raised to believe. Love one another as I have loved you.....that doesn't seem angry,hateful or judgemental.
I have a good relationship with my God, as I understand him/her. There is no haterd , only love and forgivness. I feel bad for people who are worshipping in fear of their god's retribution.Oh, and that minister in kansas-well, if people are ignorant enough to go along with what he says- it will all comes back to them eventually.Those are the people we have to pray for.
In the realm of The Absolute, there are No Relative Opposites...
Good goeswith Evil.
God goeswith Devil.
Up goeswith Down.
Gay goeswith Homophobic.
What are leasons the Bible teaches us in the Old and New Testament? God does reveal He does not tolerate sin. That is why He provided a way for salvation for us through Jesus Christ. I do not agree with the strict letter of the law but the spirit of the law. My prayers are with the young Saudi woman. I pray for God's mercy and deliverence for her. Islamic law is the letter of the law which kills according to the Bible. It is the Spirit of the law that gives life. Sometimes Christine become legalistic as well and forget about the Spirit of the law. What is God revealing through His law and Word? Jesus will return and when He does it will be as the Lion of Judah and Judge of all humanity.
As far as the death penalty. The law in the Bible does set presidence for it. As a Christian I do not like thinking about people being senscented to death. However I am for the death penalty in extreme cases. In cases where there is no repentance or repeat offenders for murder, rape, etc. There are people who commit such evil crimes that warrant such a sentance. Who am I to say such a thing? I am a law abiding citizen as much as I can be, a mother, grandmother, wife, woman, and child of God. If you know murder will lead to your own death and still make the rational choice to kill a person, there is nothing any person can do for you. What we can do is learn from that person how they got there to begin with and make changes in our society here on earth that would prevent as much as possiable this reoccuring in the next generation. Each case is different was the person a socialpath, if so how did that person become one, etc?
For Islamics and fundamental Christians or other faiths choose to rule by the letter of the law leads to choking the life out of a soul, a person, people, or society is harsh. For us to look at them and reject all strong judgement is just as wrong at least according to my belief system. I am being refined everyday by the Living Word of God and by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I have to back up and say I was wrong and make better choices from there. Sometimes I just go to the next level/step. This is all any of us can do and trust in God to bring us around to His interrpretation of His Will.
HELLO NEAL, LOVE ALL YOUR WRITTINGS!!! WELL, I FOR ONE, UNDERSTAND A NEW GOD, FOR MYSELF, LET ME EXPLAIN, I AM A GAY WOMAN, BUT FOR MANY YEARS, BEAT MYSELF, THINKING I WAS AN ABOMANATION, TO GOD, I HAD SO MUCH GUILT & SHAME, BUT I COULD NOT BE ANYTHING OTHER, THAN WHO I WAS, MY OLDEST SON, CHAUNCEY CRAIG, WAS KILLED IN A TRAGGIC CAR ACCIDENT @ THE AGE OF 15, THE DAY BEFORE MY 35TH B-DAY, IN THE DAYS AFTER HIS DEATH I THOUGHT, GO HAD PUNISHED ME, SO STARTED GOING TO CHURCH, I AM IN OKLAHOMA, THE BIBLE BELT, NONE OF THESE CHURCHES, & THERE WERE LOTS, DID I FIR IN, WHAT I DID SEE IS A LOT OF CRITICAL PEOPLE, HYPOCRITES, IF YOU WILL, SO I STARTED TO SEEK ANSWERERS FROM WITH-IN... THROUGH BOOKS, THANK YOU FOR C.W.G., & I CAME TO KNOW A GOD OF PURE LOVE & UNDERSTANDING, HE DOES NOT PUNISH US, WE PUNISH OUR SELVES BY CHOICES, SO I AM NOW LEARNING MEDITTION, & UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, SOME TTHING I NEW NOTHING ABOUT, IT IS SO SAD ALL THE PEOPLE WASTING THERE ENERGY IN THESE CHURCHES TRYING TO CHANGE PEOPLE, INSTEAD OF LEADING THEM ON THE RIGHT PATH, IT MAKES ME WONDER, IF ANY OF THEM WOULD OF OPENED THERE DOORS FOR JESUS, FULL OF BLOOD, & WITH ALL HIS OUT CAST FRIENDS????? OUR TRUTH LIES WITHIN, THEY CAN CALL ME A FAG, OR WHAT EVER CRUEL WORDS THEY CHOOSE, BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE THE PEACE, THAT NOW LIES IN MY SOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JESUS, SAID THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LIES WITH-IN, WHAT A WONDERFUL GIFT, WHAT A WASTE FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WITH ALL THERE HATRED....
ALL MY LOVE & APPRECIATIN, TO YOU NEAL, KEEP ON KEEPING ON
KELLY WISE
does it not strike you odd, that gay really means happy, & the phrase, he is a little lite in his loafers, is really a diffrent, phrase of enlightment.....
kelly, that's great!
"lite in his loafers" - had not heard that one - is there a connection between the light hidden under a bushel, and the lite in the loafers?
;^)
D.T. Suzuki, a great modern Zen master said "enlightenment is like everyday ordinary experience, only about 2 inches off the ground".
That sorta sounds like being lite in one's loafers too, eh!
It would seem obvious to the authorities that the more noise a christian minister makes about gay men, the more they should be looking for decades old reports of homosexual child abuse by that minister.
It's like the man in the preacher's garb calling the kettle black...
Best regards,
Greg Allen
http//www.timeoverthrown.blogspot.com
http://www.gregallenmusic.net
i have an "extreme christian" friend who is obsessed with talking about homosexual behavior and how evil it is, and he constantly talks about how wrong anal sex is, whether heterosexual or homosexual. i mean we can be talking about skateboarding and suddenly he's onto anal sex and homosexuals.
it always strikes me as odd how much he knows about it, and how certain he is that it is distasteful. i think maybe he has some experiential guilt to work out...
Thanks you for your poignant comments. I espcially liked when you said that religion was a compilation of a group of sayings ( always men) of hundreds of years ago. And that religion needed an update.
I have read some of your books and I think you said that you were raised Catholic. I was too. I have really had to scrutinize what the Church has taught over the past 2000 years to examine what I believe are teachings of man and those which are truly from God. And for me 85-90% are man's. And that might be stretching it some. My God is much more merciful and loving than the one I was taught about growing up.
Are you planning any more new books in the near future? I hope so.
Thank you and God bless you in your work.
Marie
What God Wants, as interpreted by ten thousand people who died before you were born. Maybe they were smarter than you, but then again maybe they were just more manipulative than you? Or perhaps just louder? How many people has Phelps convinced by virtue of simple repetition and volume? In a thousand years if his message is carried down, what will it look like? 'I say that God hates fags' becomes 'God said that he hates fags'. The same is true for any message. We've all played telephone in grade school and seen how the message changes as it passes from person to person, by mistake or intent.
My point here, as with most of my comments thus far, is that the message has become corrupted, and it has become necessary to discern the truth on your own because you will not get it through the usual mortal channels. Only you can sift what you believe and feel and know and come up with a truth that is relevant, instructive, and worthwhile to you. What ten thousand people who died before you were born think God wants is pretty damned irrelevant.
Dear all,
We are ALL on the same spiritual path. Just at different places along the way; doing exactly what we know to do at the moment given the condition of our lives.
That means we get past the idea of blame and fault finding and begin to understand that just because we are at one place on the path and someone else is at a different place doesn't mean *we may judge them. (*A.K.A. EGO = Edging God Out.)
GOD IS LOVE: therefore, abscence of love is abscense of *GOD. So, people who behave in *loveleless ways truly do not know what they have done because they are living out of their own separateness.
Every human being who does any damage or inflicts any pain on anybody else is a far greater victim than those they victimize and must answer for all those things to a law of the *universe.
"ANY day above ground is a good one; because the glory of each morning that it offers us a chance to begin again."
Valentine
Dear all,
We are ALL on the same spiritual path. Just at different places along the way; doing exactly what we know to do at the moment given the condition of our lives.
That means we get past the idea of blame and fault finding and begin to understand that just because we are at one place on the path and someone else is at a different place doesn't mean *we may judge them. (*A.K.A. EGO = Edging God Out.)
GOD IS LOVE: therefore, abscence of love is abscense of *GOD. So, people who behave in *loveleless ways truly do not know what they have done because they are living out of their own separateness.
Every human being who does any damage or inflicts any pain on anybody else is a far greater victim than those they victimize and must answer for all those things to a law of the *universe.
"ANY day above ground is a good one; because the glory of each morning that it offers us a chance to begin again."
Valentine
Is there idiocy in our ideology?
You can go Yah-weh and I'll go mine.
All I know that God is Love. From that basis I try to conduct my day to day life. I try to practice understanding, tolerance, compassion and love. I believe that these are all God given attributes. We all battle with the dark side inside ourselves, which tells us to scoff, hate, ignore or punish our fellow human beings. I try to walk in the light which I think comes from God. It is, however, a constant battle. It is so easy to turn on others. I do believe that mankind is making spiritual progress, in spite of what it looks like sometimes. Openess, conversation, discussion and searching will help to lift all of us even higher.
When we quote "he who is without sin should cast the first stone" are we really practicing tolerance? Or are we saying that homosexualism is sin but that we have secret sins and will tolerate their sin? I believe that we must get past the point where we think of homosexualism as sin and accept the fact that on a scale of 1-10 we are all on that scale from extremely feminine to extremely masculine. It is just simply how the genetics turned out. It is not a position of choice.
Re - Neale Donald Walsh
Does God really hate gays?
** If God hated gays (which is a mis-nomer BTW, that would mean like "Does God hate happy people?") If God hated goy/happy/homosrxual people they would not exist! Unless of course God is a masochist, with a low self esteem problem, which of course we should not completely leave out of the question ... "With God, ALL things are possible!"
Does God hate anyone?
** I guess it would be a stretch to consider that, since God would have to then hate His/Her own creations, which of course brings us back to God's supposed low self-esteenm problem... hmmmmm ... I'll have to think about that a bit ... hmmmm
Is God even capable of hate?
** Let's see, if God is the only "One" that is perfect, then perhaps the perception of "hate" bears a closer looking into. (oh yeah! perception is everything!)
Who and what IS "God," anyway?
God is the absolute total of all that we cannot grasp, comprehend or perceive. There are a few scientific formula that I like ... "Energy can neither be created or destroyed. Only change its form" (A. Einstein) where Gos is that Energy and we are its form... I also like "The Whole is equal to the sum of its parts", where God is the Whole and we are its parts! ... Of copurse if you don't buy any of that, it makes you an aWhole!
These are questions that no one wants to ask or answer.
** Nah! Not at all. People have been asking those questions, and God has been answering them since the beginning of Time...and before that! The interesting thing is, that mankind would rather listen to everybody else's opinion over God's. I think the phrase "Fear of God" pretty much sums it up. And of course any half-assed prophet (or is that profit?) opportunist that comes along that sounds a bit more intelligent than themselves, we are ALL ready and willing to bow down befor them and throw all out money at them ... I've never been able to figure that one out, but it brings to mind "You can never go wrong, underestimating the intelligence of the American public" (PT Barnum) As far as the rest of the world, they have a long history of being ignor-ant!
At least, no one in places of religious authority.
** Of course they do, but if they told you all about the Truth, the Light and the Way ... and you walked aWay, how would that effect the economy of the world? ... What's wrong with this picture? ... Follow the money trail!
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
Re -Helena | November 29, 2007 5:09 PM
When we quote "he who is without sin should cast the first stone" are we really practicing tolerance?
** You noticed that also, I see. How many have noticed that attached to that statement by Yeshuah is "Is there nobody left to cast the first stone? Then neither will I" You think perhaps He was also not entitled to that privilege. It has alWays been surprising to me that we ALL take as the Gospel/Word of God everything that others perceive as “What God Wants”, but attribute very little to what Yeshuah taught! … Didn’t He say “Forgive them Father, for they haven’t a clue as to what they do!” (or something like that) . . . and then He cleverly attached that to “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those . . . who trespass against us” . . . You ALL realize of course, if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven, simply because we asked God the Father not to! (how cool is that!) BTW, how come there is no record of this Messiah between the ages of 12 to 30 ? (you think He may have been participating in a whole lot “freewill” stuff . . . be still my racing imagination!)
Or are we saying that homosexualism is sin but that we have secret sins and will tolerate their sin?
** If the fooshits! . . . (or is that shoe fits ?)
I believe that we must get past the point where we think of homosexualism as sin and accept the fact that on a scale of 1-10 we are all on that scale from extremely feminine to extremely masculine. It is just simply how the genetics turned out. It is not a position of choice.
** That is not exactly true. About 10% of homosexuals have natural genetic leanings, the rest are drawn by either psychological problems or are seeking a certain type of Love they either missed or clung to from childhood. This is clearly explained with sibling rivalry between the sexes. That would be the Love between parents and children. How does natural sexual desires manifest itself in the Parent- Child Love relationship, especially if we can not discern the difference between Love and sexual intimacy? "What we have here, is a serious lack of communication!"
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
God not feel him by the other talking just feel him just feel the great language he talk to you by it's the love language which created with us God not say no for love but he said hey to love hey to every way to reach love, the world big problem is that they lost the love the love and again the love is the secret the magical medicine
it's not important or there's no a relation between being love and do sex with her or him , you just if you love and respect person go and marry because this way safe you and give a respection between each of you, in Foreign countries the relation between couples is known and respected by the society not as middle east
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/robertson_giuliani_endors/2007/11/27/52687.html?s=al&promo_code=3E4D-1
"What religion desperately needs is an Update. We need Religion 2.0."
Interesting way of putting it (and yeah, my dad just bought me my first computer).
No God would ever look upon me (or anyone) with anything but love.
Who was the greater lover Jesus Christ or Judas Iscariot?
What is the greatest gift which can be given to those beings who seek to be peace makers, to give, to reconcile?
If I were in your shoes, I would be you!
If you were in my shoes, you would be me.
What is there to condemn?
Let us create this WEB with delight and awe, the dark strands and the light.
There is a really good book related to sex, love and marriage which was a best seller in the 1970's. Its called "Open Marriage" by a couple with the surname of O'Neill.
It is not actually about open (or non-monogomous relationships), it is about love without constraining the other person, allowing them to grow and BE, freely.
A religion is an exposure to less than truth. If the religion had exposed all truths, then there would be only one religion, for there would be no room for another.
Meanwhile people speak with certainty about their religions, even though there is no complete truth to support their certainty. In other words, madness is in the practice.
With madness in the practice, people place the value of beliefs above the value of truths, thus truths that are yet to be known of, are banned by the act of minds being closed minds, via their beliefs directing them to behave this way.
And so truth is kept buried, and arguments go on and on. http://www.outersecrets.com/real/biblecode2.htm Believers will reject and bury the truths located at this web page for instance. A believer will find a reason, one way or another to prevent the viewing of this page, and so more truths are kept buried, truths written within the Bible itself.
And not to forget that God supports truth, and Satan supports less than truths, thus lies and deceit. So who do you think is winning ?
I hate to break it to the "hard core" so called "christians", but God MADE Fags! In the words of Gomer Pyle, "SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!"
I find it disgusting that these supposed "religious leaders" just like our favorite pastor in Colorado who preached to hate gays and is one himself (and that isn't counting the drug problem he has), go on and preach hatred, hellfire and damnation and then go on to say they are"christians". They tell their little jokes and laugh smugly feeling they are "truly God's children". But not so for the guy in the cell that they put to death. Isn't it strange that the places with the highest death penalty numbers are also the ones who sit most adamantly in judgment of a girl who is raped and wants an abortion. They call her a murderer. You are MORE than correct when you say that things need to be updated but then you get resistance from people quoting scriptures saying, "It isn't what God wants." God hung out with prostitutes, sinners, theives and the like and these people barely want someone from a different church around them. They called Native Americans pagans and they are the MOST spiritual and religious people I can think of because EVERY moment,every day, every bite of food and every drop of rain was a blessing to be THANKFUL FOR! They didn't kill an animal to eat or cut down a tree without THANKS and PRAYER. THAT is living spirit. How can ANYONE say what God wants? All you can do is follow the lead of your spiritual source(God,Goddess,Buddha,etc.) and learn by the lessons and actions that are shown to you, NOT by misinterpreting or putting YOUR interpretations on something and declaring it as God's Will. The LESSON IS LOVE! If you look through the Bible or ANY other religious or spiritual book and delve into the spiritual quest, the ultimate outcome is to reach a place of supreme love. It might be called enlightenment, nirvana, sainthood, heaven or whatever, but the great things that are there for us to learn have to do with learning love. Mother Theresa is a prime example. She didn't want money, she served because she loved. It seems that what religion needs and the update needs to direct us to is that love. All these people who decide what God wants need to be taught that fact. God wants us to love. Jesus taught it in so many instances. Now if we can just get the horrid preachers who picket greiving families and who teach hate to get off their ego trips and control issues and quit telling people what to think and how to feel, the punishment will fit the crime because the person giving it out will have love enough to realize we are all imperfect and make mistakes. It is the size and intent and circumstances that should determine it and not some egotistical, chauvanistic idea. Just like the teacher who almost got lashed and whipped for allowing her children (in class) to name their teddy bear Muhammed. I would think, what an honor! These children think so much of Muhammed that they want to have the idea of him close to them, toys are very close and important to children. They must really feel they want him close and accessible to them. The GOV. didn't think so and the poor woman almost was sent to prison and lashed! Such are the rules of man.
Does One emulate or repudiate the most gracious man who ever walked the face of the planet by making ungracious choices in his name?
We are all One. Gracious choices, choosing for others only as one would choose for one's self, demonstrate this. Ungracious choices belie this truth. Enough with the Belial already. The ungracious choices of others inspire us to be clear that these are choices we would not make for ourselves. It is important enough to warrant the events as they unfold and for many to be inspired to change them.
Namaste.
Beautiful amilius. I hope I did not offend when I repeated what that Rev Phelps said about gays, the name calling. I was just SO appalled. I have gay family members and friends and they did not chose to be born that way. You are wonderfully right in stating that these cases are fine examples of ungracious choices and what we would not choose nor want for ourselves. Let us hope the world hears how off the gracious path things may get and is inspired to to love and truth.
Sometimes, I feel like Neale always reads my thoughts when it comes to things like this (or may be these things are too simple to be comphrended by the simplest of minds). The question is, why are so many people - especially our leaders (religion leaders, political leaders...) who make the 'stupidest' of claims such as the one about the Gay community.
What's wrong with these people????????????????
And Neale: Love what you do...Pls keep it up!!
Fraser (from Ethiopia)
Did not Jesus say "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"
and of course no one could.
Bless you Neale, you are doing so much good, in enlightening the
peoples of the World. Every little helps. Tricia.
The things that Neale talks about are the reason I don't go to church. The last time I went, I couldn't tell if I was at a church service, a Republican party meeting, or a Ku Klux Klan rally.
I agree with Valentine. Humans are all on the same journey. I think we as a species have always tried to find meaning in life, and, depending on our cultures, that meaning-making and god-making takes different forms.
I think that at some point the religious practices and beliefs that humans develop are perfectly fine venues for revealing some Truth, and for helping humans understand their relationship with God. As such, all religions have the potential to lead people to God.
I was raised Roman Catholic. I don't believe half of what RC dogma proclaims now, but, my experience in the communities and Scriptures and music and life while a RC did lead me to a real relationship with God. Mission accomplished. Once I met the Creator for myself, and realized I am God and God is me, and YOU too, I am at peace. I'm not RC anymore, but, I try not to judge people for "where they are on the journey."
Are those crazy anti-gay preachers and lashing Saudis on the path too? Absolutely. Within the core of the religion that brought them to this place, there is still God, and Goodness. Perhaps they will hear and see it, and move beyond it some day.
I think I see a LOT of people doing just that.
I am "relieved" and assured in the human race by ALL of the previous postings................Live and Let Live .........and I must be the change I wish to see in the world...........Luv your work Neale
I believe that it comes down to tolerance. Very rarely do we demonstrate tolerance for each others beliefs, opinions, or actions just like the preachers who condemn homosexuality we in turn condemn them for their lack of tolerance. We may never really understand or accept others opinions or actions but maybe as we progress spiritually we can and will find the tolerance needed to quite our minds.
Tolerance of other's benign belief system is one thing, but should we "tolerate" a Hitler? Should the gross mistreatment of other humans in our world be overlooked in the name of tolerance? Would we have a different opinion if it were our own brother, sister, mother, daughter, father, uncle, aunt? Well I am here to tell you that young Saudi 18 year old is your sister. Remember what underlies the true spirit of the Bible--We are all one. Love your brother as you would yourself.
I am glad that the international community did not just sit back and tolerate Hitler.
Love and Peace,
Michelle
re: "the world big problem is that they lost the love the love and again the love is the secret the magical medicine"
Posted by: Ali | November 29, 2007 6:02 PM
I don't believe we ever *lost* the love, we were programed by men to forget the love. In forgetting we then allowed those men to become demi gods - believing that they had an inside track to God when in reality we all do.
Blessings,
Cully
Please let us never let the word "tolerance" be an acronym for "indifference". We need to remember that this Saudi Lady is not just my sister, she is me, and whatever happens to her, happens to me. No I may not feel her pain as she indures it, but her pain will go out to all that she is, which includes all of us who are part of her. The Universe, God, Goddess, or whatever you choose to call the Creator feels her pain. Therefore, we cannot be indifferent to her situation in the name of "tolerance". If we are not vigilant and stay the course, this could be any of us at sometime in the future. We are all One, whether or not the world knows it. Lets all be compassionate and look for ways so that more people wake up and understand that whatever we do to others, we do to ourselves.
Peace to all
Vickie
Hello
I hope that one day we all get it right. Rape is not an act of sex it is an act of violence! Do you get it, violence. Also, if we could abolish organized religion there would be a lot less people to worry about and a lot more people who care. I choose not to attend church any longer myself. I have found that i am more spiritual with out it. And i cannot remember that last time that i spoke with a person of an organized religious choice, catholic, mormon, southern babtist, etc. that could explain to me anything about the bible, yet when i asked about their religion, intimate detail was overwhelming.
God Bless
Sandi :)
Thank you Michelle and Vicki. Just hearing the compassion and love regarding our sister assures me that there is hope-and where there is hope, there is love.
Blessings,
Clare
Hi,
I only know that complaining about something doesn't help.
There are certainly many things in this world who go in our eyes totally wrong, but as long as you focus your whole life on what is wrong in your eyes, you waste your life.
You can't change it anyway, because there are souls who want to experience this things on some level.
Otherwise it wouldn't happen!
Why not just living your life according to your vision and your dreams, so that other may see what choices are out there.
Like Abraham would say, you always get what matches your vibration.
This lady who fell in love couldn't have any problem, when she would think and feel different.
Nobody could harm her falling in love.
I know it is hard to understand, but, don't blame others for what they do or how they think what is the right thing to do.
"Like Abraham would say, you always get what matches your vibration."
I would just like to add to this true statement something I believe and that is that some of us experience the vibrational match of the multitude or the culture in which we find ourselves lving. If the vibrational match is one that has so much momentum having occurred over so many ages and ages, then it will, I think, take more than an individual vibrating at a more joyful resonance to overcome negatative or unwanted effects--it will take a consciously aware Collective to create the change we all desire. I do believe one can just be in the line of fire where vibrational match is concerned.
Thank you Clare, Sandi, Vickie for your Voices.
Flying Dolphin, I agree with everything you said. I do believe Wisdum has a good heart.
Love and Peace,
Michelle
Re: Michelle
“Well I am here to tell you that young Saudi 18 year old is your sister.”
Yes, I think of her in this way too, Michelle. I feel compassion for what she has and will continue to move through as a consequence of her rape, and embrace her as a spiritual being that will have chosen these events primarily for her own spiritual purpose. I do not see her as a victim in any way, and am deeply moved by her soul’s courage to experience the events she has in human form.
I occasionally see comments put forward by some, that to accept that various choices have been made on a spiritual level is all very well and good, but what if it were my brother or sister experiencing such an event. As in, would I feel any different? Yes, of course I would. I know that we’re all one, but as with so many others, I have not yet integrated that depth of spiritual presence into my everyday human experience. I've not encountered many who have. I would feel greater challenge in embracing the trauma of a loved one, but would still endeavor to experience insight as to its higher purpose and move into inner peace with that.
I agree with you also, in that Wisdum has a good heart. I hugely welcome his comments. Love is all there is.
I am curious how everyone else feels about this: are we predestined to experience everything the soul has chosen prior to being born, and if so, how does this reconcile with the belief that a soul always has free will?
Love and Peace,
Michelle
Michelle,
re: "I am curious how everyone else feels about this: are we predestined to experience everything the soul has chosen prior to being born, and if so, how does this reconcile with the belief that a soul always has free will?"
Posted by: michelle | November 30, 2007 5:08 PM
This will be my personal belief, taking “predestined” to mean: appointed or determined beforehand; and, in relation to our soul doing the choosing, that the predestination is not an action of God. Okay?
Blessings,
Cully
Michelle,
In the context of a gracious Universe such as ours, this is how Predestination and Free Will co-exist:
The One Thing Predestined by the Universe is Absolute Joy. We all have the Free Will to Avoid it.
Hint: One avoids the predestined with ungracious choices.
We are all One. One designed it this way before embarking on the journey of Many.
Namaste.
Hi ALL,
my wife would totally agree with all of you, I have entirely too much time on my hands! And I do indeed agree that whatever I say can appear tiresome to many, especially if they are in conflict with what I have to say (so what else is new!) I don't know if many of you out there fully grasp the enormity of what is going on here at this blog (I assure you that Neale does! Bear in mind that he does not respond at all to any of it, just moves on gathering data)
To not respond at all is to register in the afirmative, to confront is to open yourself to criticism. That is the nature of an open forum/debate. I am no more right or wrong than anyone else, only point out the other side of the truth. There is you truth, and there in my truth...and there is The Truth (if you catch my drift!)
There is an enourmous amount of teaching about God since the beginning of Time, all of whixh is incomplete, and was desigened to be that Way from the beginning. From the root of Monotheism has grown many branches, and if God is what all the religions say He/She is then if you connected all the dots you may finally get a picture that really represents what God is rather than the view from One branch, or even from just a leaf!
Predestined? If God is omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, the Alpha and Omega, and all the rest of the attributes, how does that play in Predestiny? Simple! You have freewill, to do anything you want, but God already knows what your choices will be, and has anticipated them all from ALL ... If God is all-Loving and all-forgiving, then isn't this all acedemic? On the other hand, you could say that the script has already been written, by God, directed by God, and performing ALL the parts, sitting in a thearer, next to Him/Her Self, hoping God likes it! (far out, huh!) Yeah! too much Time on my hands!
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
Thank you all for responding to my question. I love you all. yes, you too, Wisdum.
I especially like the idea that we are given joy and have the free will to choose against it. thanks for wording it so graciously.
Michelle
To not respond at all is to register in the afirmative, to confront is to open yourself to criticism.
Posted by: Wisdum | November 30, 2007 8:35 PM
Interesting... to me not responding is negating the other person's response - to say "you're not important/your opinion doesn't matter to me". As for confronting - well, confrontation never leads to meaningful dialogue, confrontation IS criticism.
Hi all!
We all have our own way to same God. This way is one among the others, but not the only one. No way is less or more than my way. When we achieve goal, the end, all of this comes to an end. And then we are all one. In ourselfs!
Then you can say, that you are a priest or a teacher, when people alone, bye their own will come to you. Not becuse they have to, becouse otherwise devil will get them, but becouse you atract them by love, that you (they) are! Becouse they found a peace of themselfs in you, they found their own freedom in you! Otherwise they wouldn't have come!
All love is doing right that: it goes to body and then loves, nourish body, till it become a spirit, Holy spirit, that can be for all of us! As a way, that they can fallow. As a true, that they are, as life, that we all are!
I can say, that Christ has all of our lifes in him. He was gay, whore...whatewer...this is just a way to God and it is sacred as all other ways! All other lives, that are here...everyone is uniqoue way to God. We all choose this life by love, to love it. That it becomes a Spirit. And: it's our way!
Humanity has to deal with a disease, that is called hate. More and more people are infected by it. That guy, who "proclaimes himself" for a priest, can just say, that firstly, he is a gay, and secoundly, that he may be living his own life with love! That's all, and he wouldn't be suffering from hate!
God doesn't see hate, that is not "his" way! That's why he won't punish anyone, who come to light! When one will come to light, all of his kingdom will be seen and all darkness will gone forever! Becouse nothing, what is not the True, what is not Me or "I am", cannot be seen! It's impossible! That's why all guilt and all hate will be gone, when we will show ourselfs to light!
Nothing, that is build on sand, can't last forever, every-thing has the begining and the end, but I AM the beginning and the end, and that's why I AM forever! And Amen!
Great job Neale!!!
Bye (love),
Teja
Re -Cully | December 2, 2007 2:47 PM
Interesting... to me not responding is negating the other person's response - to say "you're not important/your opinion doesn't matter to me".
** Here's the thing, the no response, says exactly that, nothing. Remember that this is a world wide forum and all we have to communicate is words (as opposed to murder, mayhem and war, as it were) This is as close as it get to what the Athenians dealt with in ancient times, who molded and shaped the future of the world. This is a level playing field, nobody is greater or lessed than another. It is freewill at it's finest (like it or not, which is also freewill!) Bear in mind that this will all shape and form the future of this world (if we don't blow it all to "Kingdom Hell") don't take your perception lightly (or take it Lightly)... (perception is everything!) There are those out there vying for control of the New World Order. "The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance" (Thomas Jefferson)
As for confronting - well, confrontation never leads to meaningful dialogue, confrontation IS criticism.
** This world is based upon con-frontation and pro-frontation , it will either result in Good or Bad and that too is all a matter of perception... "One man's pain, is another man's joy"
LUV 2 U /LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
good to see you, Wisdum :-)
okay con/against or pro/for "frontation" - I like it... because confrontation can (along with it's negative connotation) be the bringing together of ideas for comparison; and, comparison is a search for similarity or dis-similarity of patterns, ideals... and from waaaay back in 1340, from O.Fr. comparaison, from L. comparationem, from pp. stem of comparare "make equal with, liken," from com- "with" + parare "to make equal."
yeah... good to see you!
hugz,
Cully
Frankly, I feel sorry for Reverend Phelps. He believes he is a "good Christian" however, he espouses hate. God does not hate. God does not create evil. Or evil people for that matter. No one is evil. Even such as one as Adolph Hitler or Jeffrey Dammer. They, just as everyone else, remains always as God created all of us: pure, holy and unsullied. There is no sin. Man created the idea of sin. Man created religion. That is not to say that religion is bad. People make mistakes with religion. If they truly listened to what the core belief of their religion said, They would see it is Love. Love is all. Love is God and all of us. The day will come when all men see this. They will eventually outgrow the need for organized religion, and find God inside, right where He's always been. Listen, you will hear the small quiet voice that lives in us all. Bessings to all.
This hideous idea that God wants this or that is outlandish and outdated and furthermore rarely followed by anyone. As christians and or catholics...there is the fundamental Ten Commandments to follow. I think it's safe to say that someone who has belief in their religion and follows it diligently also follows the commandments. But being human, all people make errors, mistakes, sin, etc. If God is the forgiving God that our system, re: Catholic diocese vocationalists, ministers, pastors profess Him to be, then he will forgive this sin of passon outside of marriage faster than He should should forgive the murderer, pedophile, rapist, incestuous acts?? The list goes on. There is sin everywhere. That doesn't mean that it's alright either. But somewhere there has to be a line drawn in actions of humans in love and together as one before, during marriage until death do they part. It's hard for me to believe that God has sent how many millions of people to perish in the fires of hell for having sex..No way.....It's time people grew up and took responsiblity for their actions but in the same token know that God doesn't necessarily hate or detest anyone for human acts..We are not of God's caliber and never will be. We can follow His rules and commandments, make mistakes and still be loved more than we ever will know every moment that we breathe and even after we no longer do so...He is there for us and loves us........
Good Morning Neale:
Does God really hate gays? If the religions of the day have had a hard time tolerating each other, then some religious groups may be teaching from a level [to a degree] of hatred.
“I’m urging all religions to at least tolerate talking with each other, even though it’s hard to speak without getting angry because they feel that some beliefs are more hindering than others. But I think one of the saving things of the world would be getting people to be willing to talk to each other, even though they think they are representing the devil incarnate. When people sing together in community, there is a spirit that takes over“. [Pete Seeger]
The gentleman [above] has a way, this non-denominational website [beliefnet] and you too, have some very interesting and thought provoking materials on the subject.
But also, I wanted to pass along a Christmas Story:
It was the day after Christmas at a church in a major city. The priest of the church was looking over the crèche when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures. He hurried outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant Jesus. So he walked up to the boy and said, "Well, where did you get your passenger, my tiny friend?" The little boy replied, "I got Him at church." "And why did you take Him?" The boy explained, "Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told Him if He would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give Him a ride around the block in it."
This is a light, whimsical and heart warming story, its true. But all to often, as maturing adults we continue to parade around with our own red wagon filled with all sorts of idols and images. It only becomes hateful and violent when we try to inflict and manipulate others to our way of thinking, our pursuits and our creeds. I know this to be true because I have recently, been slandered and defamed by a religious establishment.
Good Morning
God is a God of love. He does not hate any of us but he does not always like the decisions we make. That is what the 10 commandments are about. They are a guideline for spiritual living.
God can hate in all 3 religions only difference is that judaism practice some of its laws discretlt, christianity banned it, while Islam still practices most of it PUBLICALY.
I am a social worker and I work with teens primarily. When a student begins to talk about how God would send them or someone else to hell, I ask them who they love most in the world. Almost everyone has one someone that they love deeply. Then I ask, "could that person ever do anything bad enough that you would want to send them to a permanent place of extreme discomfort where you would never see them again?" Ninety nine percent of the time they say no. Then I say, "so, you think you have more forgiveness in you than God?" It usually helps them to see how incredibly arrogant it is to think that God is such a vengeful, human character that he would hate people and banish them to hell.
God hates sin, and disobedience. This is what makes us sinners. God is merciful to us here on earth but he puts us to the test to see if we truly love him. Merciful I mean he will let us get away with stuff until the fearful expectation of judgement. To say he will not throw is us in hell for disobedience is saying you do not know the words of God or call him a lyer. You have to repent like it or not he created us and we have no power to change what he says he will do if you do not repent. Yes God loves everybody he gave his only begotten son for you, would you give your child for a thief, murderer, or child molester, and people who would just not care or listen, this is the true love of God. Because Jesus died for you while you were still a sinner.
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