Is A New Earth Okay For Christians?

Last spring when Oprah hosted the ten weeks of webinars with Eckhart Tolle, many people the world over were blessed, crediting the message of living in the now with changing their lives.  However, Evangelic Christians showed up on the message boards at Oprah's website,  totally up in arms about the whole thing....many of them ready to wage an online jihad of words against the infidels.  Ironically, many (most) most of them had not even read the book!!! 

There were a few voices of reason from the Christian side of things....including a guy known as Student 99.  I am going to copy and paste one of his posts...the post Oprah read during one of the first few webinars entitled, Why A New Earth Is Okay For Conservative Christians

I have seen many, many posts by concerned Christians wondering whether this book is a threat to their faith. As a Christian, I don't think it is, and here is why.

Most Christians understand the concepts from the Bible of surrendering their lives to God, of living a loving life, and living in the peace that passes understanding. Christians can quote Jesus' sayings, such as "be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect," or "judge (condemn) not, that you be not judged (condemned)," or "you must die to live," or "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me."

Unfortunately, not all Christians have succeeded in following up the talk with the walk. This is because these quotes point to an internal transformation, which some Christians have not yet fully experienced.

That is why I strongly recommend this book. It provides very powerful tools for being able to successfully follow Jesus' teachings, rather than just quoting them. The book doesn't ask anyone to change their religion of choice, but it does help tremendously in successfully applying faith.

In a nutshell the book shows how to apply forgiveness to every person, and every situation. It shows how to shine the light of awareness on our unconscious hatred of this moment, and thereby "overcome the cares of this world." If you want to go deeper than knowing about God, at the level of thoughts, and experience God at the level of knowing, I welcome you to join us in reading A New Earth.

Blessings, Student 99

The above link takes you to Student 99's profile page on Oprah.com.  There you will find with other posts he's written from an open minded  Christian viewpoint. 

But while Student 99 strongly recommends A New Earth, Greg Boyd has some rather strong cautions and takes issue with a lot of Eckhart's "theology". 

More tomorrow......

Boyd/Tolle It Is....

The next (probably oft interrupted) series will be the one I mentioned in my last post...inspired by Greg Boyd's review of Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth.  Not new news by any means.  It was a year ago or more, that A New Earth was a hot topic. Oprah became the reigning antichrist by featuring the book and Eckhart in a series of 10 or so "webinars."  So even though it is not new, it is, I think, a good topic for a series of blog posts. Besides, I am keeping with my tradition of "day late/dollar short."  

In another recent series of posts, I pondered the question of who we really are....who we really are not...and if you take away what we are not...then exactly what/who is left?  When I somewhat reluctantly began reading Eckhart Tolle's, A New Earth, the teachings helped to provide more understanding.   He explained the "two natures beat within my breast" thing (you know...one is cursed the other blessed.  One I love.  One I hate.  The one I feed will dominate) in a way that just clicked for me.  I think Eckhart's teachings are profound, but I don't think all the the answers can be found in his writings. 

For one thing, I think in Christ there is a pre-eminence, a significance, a level of awakening, Godlikeness that will forever make him "the head" of the body.  (Jesus = Head.  Cindi and everybody else, sooner or later = part of the body).  Some of the people I hang out with these days (cyberly speaking) seem to lean toward a belief that we are Christ...equal to, same as.  And in a way, we are.  Scripture tells us that we are, that he is the firstborn of many brethren....and greater things will we do than those things he did....yet...my friend Debra summed it up so well by saying that Jesus was divine in a way that she is not (nor are any of us)  Eckhart does not teach the divinity of Christ. 

Greg Boyd expresses what resonated with him in a (re?)post of his book review of A New Earth

He starts the post by crediting Tolle:

I found some aspects of Tolle’s book very helpful. For example, his analysis of the false and futile ways the ego tries to give itself worth is superb. His insights on judgment, the origins of violence and the causes of relational dysfunction were wonderful. His strong emphasis on “living in the present moment” is full of wisdom. And he is brilliant at helping readers identify ways in which they get stuck. In light of this, I can easily understand why many readers experience “aha” moments as they read this material. Tolle masterfully names issues all of us wrestle with, usually without knowing it. One can’t help but feel like Tolle is telling their own story.

And it is in revealing the issues "all of us wrestle with, usually without knowing it" that is such a valuable part of Tolle's teachings.

More on this tomorrow......

A Toss Up....

I've got ideas for several new series rattling around in my brain. Granted, I have more (half baked) ideas than I can keep track of whizzing around in there....but several that have congealed into a theme. I've come up with a mental outline of a succession of posts written around a somewhat vague central theme....intended to get a point across.

Okay...hold on...who am I kidding here? The "point" I am trying to get across is oft times a work in progress that kind of morphs as I write. But "it's all good" because I learn as I write...and hopefully those who graciously visit this blog learn something too.

So right now it's a toss up between a series on "mystic mimesis" about how mimesis does not always have to turn to rivalry. The trick is to take on the desires of our heavenly Father and imitate him...and not each other, which only leads to grief. I've come across several very thought provoking writings which birthed quite a few ideas for posts.

The other notion was born when I read a blog post by Greg Boyd reviewing Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth. (yes, I really like Greg Boyd and am ever so grateful to him for providing so many ideas for me to write about here on my blog) He had some positive things to say about the book...and some negative things to say.. Some of it I agreed with, other stuff I did not. He also expressed what he considered crucial, deal breaking differences in what Tolle teaches and the edicts of Christ.

Boyd suggested two Christian authors whose teachings are a "Christ-centered way of learning how to live "in the present moment".... Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach’s Practicing His Presence and/or J. De Caussade’s The Sacrament of the Present Moment. I researched those two authors on google (and actually read Brother Lawrence) and came up with ideas within ideas...likeminded quotes and plenty of thoughts to morph into what is hopefully a "point" to get across.

It's after ten. I'm tired. I am going to post this and toddle off to bed. Perhaps tomorrow I will flip a coin to see which series to write about. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would certainly welcome any and all.....g'night.....

Held Prisoner By Your Skin....

The following poem was posted on a list I am a (lurking) member of. 

What's it like to be a human
the bird asked

I myself don't know
it's being held prisoner by your skin
while reaching infinity
being a captive of your scrap of time
while touching eternity
being hopelessly uncertain
and helplessly hopeful

The poem is by Anna Kamienska...and there is more....but these first few lines caught my attention.  It reminds me of what Paul bemoans in Romans about living in a body of death.....

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24)

Other versions render it "who will rescue me"....still the same idea.

We are held prisoner by our skins.  Interesting way of wording that don't you think?

And then the time part...a captive of your scrap of time...while touching eternity. 

Same thought...worded a bit differently....

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end. (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Joel Goldsmith, a modern day Christian mystic wrote a book called A Parenthesis in Eternity. 

In his book, Real Magic, Wayne Dyer says this of the parenthesis. 

Try thinking of your life as a parenthesis in eternity.  The parenthesis opens at the moment of your conception and closes at the instant of your death.  The space within this parenthesis is your life, surrounded by something called eternity.  That something we label eternity is not experienced physically, yet it exists in some mysterious way within the mind.  There is something that is very much a part of us that is invisible.

The invisible self, the part that is not your physical sensory self, is the part that can contemplate eternity. 

Deepak Chopra says:

“We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment, but it is transient. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. If we share with caring, lightheartedness, and love, we will create abundance and joy for each other. And then this moment will have been worthwhile.”

And Sir Thomas Browne

The created world is but a small parenthesis in eternity.

And while we are in Ecclesiastes, how about this verse that sends the egoic mind into a tizzy trying to figure it out....

Ecclesiastes 3:15 (Darby Translation)

That which is was long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God bringeth back again that which is past.

Ecclesiastes seems to be a book of the Bible written specifically to/about the futility of the egoic self.  That might make a really good series of blog posts.  Perhaps more on that to come?

Interesting Website....Arise Ministries

Arise Ministries is a "kingdom" ministry.  Meaning they believe in UR but the articles you will find...and the links they include....are all from a very Christian viewpoint/belief.  You will find writings from Ray Prinzing, Preston Eby, Bob Torango...and others.  There are links to audio messages. If I had more time this morning, and didn't have to head into work in about an hour, I would poke around there a bit more.  Perhaps you have some time to spare this Friday.  (Can you believe it is the TENTH of July already??)  Have a great day one and all.....

Okay…last one…Wrapping up the Patriots Bible Series

In my earlier post about the Apollo 8 mission, I mentioned the section about Judeo-Christian ethics located in the beginning of this Bible.  How hypocritical is this little ditty....

Principle #1 - The Dignity of Human Life

Exodus 20:13 (You shall not murder)

Matthew 22:39 (You shall love your neighbor as yourself)

The Scriptures emphatically teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life.  In the Declaration of Independence, our nation's Founding Fathers wrote that everyone has "unalienable rights" and that among those rights are "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.

If people and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both the born and the unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless.  The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible, it is the first principle of any civilized society. 

How can they say this with a straight face?  I picked up a couple of books at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago (also for a quarter a piece.  That must be the going price for yard sale books these days) One is called Secret Native American Pathways.  In it there is a section that talks about Trail of Tears….

….and in 1838, the removal called the “Trail of Tears” took place.  Sixteen thousand Cherokees were brutally rounded up by US Military forces and marched in midwinter to Indian Territory, which today is known as the state of Oklahoma.  Of this group, four thousand would perish in holding pens or along the way.  The entire episode stands as one of the darkest and most shameful events in United States history. 

 

The Trail of Tears, was painted by Robert Lindneux in 1942. It commemorates the suffering of the Cherokee people under forced removal.

I’m thinking perhaps neither of these images made it into the glossed over view of American history depicted in the American Patriots Bible.  To repeat the closing sentence in the first principle of Judeo-Christian ethics….. 

The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible, it is the first principle of any civilized society. 

Hmmmmmmmm……say that again??

Wrapping up the Patriots Bible Series..

Time to wrap up the American Patriots Bible "expose."  I can probably accomplish that in two posts...

I wrote the following a week or so ago....at Border's....taking advantage of their " free" reading program….sitting at the one table near an electrical outlet.  The extended life battery was not available on this mini netbook when I purchased it a couple of months ago..and the battery only lasts about two and half hours.  I know where all the plugs are in most of the places I frequent.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand….

On page 65, there is a full page devoted to George Washington, The American Moses.  Hmmmmmm.  Something about that reference just does not seem right. They use Exodus 3:10 as the launching point

Come now, thereefore, and I will sned you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

And so George Washington is compared to Moses.  Freeing the people. That is really great…freedom and all.  But what about the people who inhabited this great land before we did....before the Patriots this Bible honors stole it from them? Greg Boyd, in his series of reviews on this Bible, sums it up thusly....

A reference to Joseph being sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites (Gen. 37:28) elicits a tender quote from Dick Cheney regarding how easy it is to “take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.”

And on the topic of liberty being taken from people, why does the version of American history in this Bible gloss over the long and bloody history of how white Americans took away the freedom of millions of Africans and Native Americans? Honestly. Christopher Columbus is made out to be a hero – even fulfilling Zechariah 9:10 which says “He shall speak peace to the nations…” — and no mention is made of how he and his fellow Conquistadors cheated, enslaved, raped, mutilated and executed members of the indigenous population.

Why, for example, don’t we find a commentary on how President Andrew Jackson signed the “Indian Removal Act” in 1830, robbing Cherokees, Choctaw and other Indian tribes of millions of acres of land once promised them because white settlers now wanted it. (Among other things, it was discovered the land had a lot of gold.) Jackson eventually ordered them to march to a little reservation in Oklahoma, and multitudes died in the process.

 

Why, indeed?  That is a really good question.  More tomorrow….