Christianity Oasis Forum

[Angelwings]

(PART TWELVE)

Is God in Control?


Control is a funny thing; the more you have it the less you have to exercise it. And it works the other way too, the more you exercise control the more it slips through your fingers.

There is a simple explanation for this phenomenon. If you are truly in control, you are able to achieve your goal with minimum amount of effort. People who are not truly in control, but only so-so, put a lot of effort into a show of force to be able to maintain the illusion of control. (This serves a two-fold purpose: you convince yourself that you are in control, and hopefully you convince other people as well.)

God's control is impeccable and fully allowing. Streams flow where they want on the palm of God. God isn't forcing control from the outside, but rather lets it arise from the inside as the true will of being. (The creator co-creates with the created.)

Some people look around, see the pain and suffering, and since they see things to be less then perfect, they come to the conclusion that God must have gone crazy and lost control to allow the world to get into this state. The next step is usually to blame the faults that they see on this weak, deplorable image of God.

In this case, it is not God who lacks control, but the human person who makes that assumption. That person has two choices: to claim responsibility, embrace and change the world as they see fit, or to continue to put the blame on this external mirror-image of themselves.

It is generally more effective to control with an open palm than a closed fist.





(PART THIRTEEN)

Is God Light?


'God' and 'light' are two concepts that are closely intertwined. Any kind of depiction of God usually includes a radiating source of light.

Even physical light has interesting properties. On the level of quantum physics, light sometimes behaves as a wave, and sometimes as a particle. This dual nature points to not that something is wrong with light, but that our understanding of it is deficient. Another fun fact about physical light is that it moves at the speed of light, and the theory of relativity points out that at the speed of light time as we know it doesn't exist - for light, everywhen is NOW.

Light in the metaphysical sense is also interesting. When someone is closer to God, we say that person is 'enlightened'. An insight can strike as lightning, and a good idea can feel like a light bulb has been turned on inside our minds. Light in this sense is definitively associated with a higher state of mind.

Matter as we know it may also not be much more than light circling into itself. We might say that light is a primary emanation of God in the realm of this world. Many traditions and beliefs associate the Sun with the creator aspect of God for this reason.

The opposite of light is not darkness - it's also light. Light can reinforce itself or align back to nothingness. Therefore parallels can be drawn between light, Love, and God: the opposite of Love is also Love, and the opposite of God is also God. Everything is integrated into unity, and all is one!





(PART FOURTEEN)

Is the Bible the Word of God?


Mmmyeah... not really. Words belong to the domain of deficient human communication, while God communicates through Love, creation and the beauty of all that is.

The Bible was written by humans. Sacred documents of other religions were also written by humans. You could say they were divinely inspired and that these writings attempt to convey that divine inspiration to others, but in general that doesn't work out all too well. The word of God is something you hear in your heart, and not so much in the confusing words of humans.

There are some nice words and good ideas in the Bible, but there are a lot of useless ones as well. If you treat the Bible as something written by humans (and thoroughly edited throughout the ages) and use your discernment, then you can surely find gems of wisdom you can apply to your present situation in life.

It is unfortunate, but most religions turned out to be a means of controlling the masses, even if they started out with the sincerest intentions. Christianity is the rule and not the exception in this case. There is a world of difference between telling other people what to do and to encourage them to seek God on their own.

Since the Bible is a complex document with many points of view, rather than reading the Bible and forming their own opinions, people generally just listen to the interpretations of others - that's the easier route. Seek out God on your own. Follow God, not other people.
(PART FIFTEEN MONDAY)