So tonight I was reading more of “Bee Season” and it struck me that this is another book about the search for God. I had NO clue in advance, I thought this would be more about a brainy girl, but there is QUITE a lot of mysticism in the novel. I considered my belief that there are no coincedences and that here and now I’m on a quest and found these 2 books on the same day.
I’ve started to realize, as one person commented, that all religions are one. “Misquoting Jesus” isn’t really challenging my faith, it’s challenging what I’ve learned these last 2 years in my return to Christianity.
And I’ve found that the more I learn, the more I am me. Christianity is the right ticket on many levels, but there is so much I cannot buy, and I do believe it’s because my soul has learned more advanced truths that it cannot deny.
Who was Jesus? I’m closer to thinking that perhaps He was a perfected person, or a perfected being, and separate from God. Still, we can pray to him, respect him and honor his sacrifice. And while I don’t think Christianity is a short cut to God, his life and death did bring those of us who follow closer to the Lord by bringing in the concept of forgiveness (a concept that I believe is WIDELY misunderstood and even abused).
I can’t help it, but deep down I believe:
-there are many paths to God. He created a limitless universe, how can only one road lead to Him?
-there are many lives. We need to really get perfect or close to perfect just to be in His holy presence.
-there was nothing but God and God created everything, therefore He is in everything. I was shocked recently to learn this is considered pantheism in some circles. This explains that “God shaped hole” we all have and our need to fill it. We just want to return to our Source.
-all religions are one – this is a slippery concept because of course there are false teachings, false prophets and falseness in general. But there are universal truths that we can call get to and quite frankly, lately, I’m seeing them EVERYWHERE. This leads me to confirm that God is everywhere, permeating everything, and evil and falsehoods cannot dam up Divine Truth.
-a merciful God would not condemn anyone forever. Yes I do believe in Hell and that it is eternal, but God is beyond eternal…so something lies even after THAT.
Whew! Some of that was hard to write. It’s hard to admit when you’re not what so many others want you to be. I cannot subscribe to the idea that because I’m not digesting Christ=God that I will be condemned eternally and ever to hell. That’s just not logical or merciful.