There’s belief in the rightness of their point of view. Religion that there is a deity; atheism’s there isn’t. Both build on the foundation of assumptions, which are unprovable. Religion can’t prove God, no more than Logic can prove that logic is correct. Science also rests on assumptions. The list could continue since both share the same qualities of an ideology or philosophy.

The differences are substantial though. I liken the differences to the up or down or left and right. We know that atheism and religion are essentially opposites of each other, just like up and down. However, up and down are still directions, similarly atheism and religion are still ideologies.

RELIGION = A GODDAMN SCAM + GOD = AN IMAGINARY FAIRY

Thanks.

More like…when your (own) cookie of SELF crumbles…

Try not to chip a “tooth of truth” along the way!

JC

Fair enough…thx for reading it…I tried and…I got a little carried away…lol.

Its a journey, journey on my friend…

John

But the stumbling block is reason. I can no more abandon reason than I can abandon my arm, and for much the same cause. It assists me in dealing with the world.

Taking stuff purely on faith may work for children. It seems to work for you. But no-one has explained to me how to do it–to disconnect from myself so much that I abandon thought for feeling without proof. This is not an act of will. I can no more stop thinking than I can stop my heart.

No-one has rationalized to me why I should believe in the unseen without proof. And no-one has ever been able to prove to me the superiority of one theism over another.

On my journey to atheism, I have at times stopped to ask for some indication that I was wrong. I’ve never heard an answer.

Hey, how you doing?

It was actually a response to one who asked…just tried to do it justice.

Have a good week.

Not that anyone will actually read it.

So, how do we get Him to take up residence in…us?

The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed… to make known…the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

And…

Don’t you know that you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you?

And…

Be lifted up, you ancient doors (of our hearts), so that the king of glory may come in.

And…

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

And…

As many as are led by the spirit, these are the Sons of God.

I have not “stumbled” upon this truth…but was simply willing to continue the journey receiving more and more at each and every turn. I have a long way to go but am grateful for being on the…light path…ha. You are correct in that I am in the minority with respect to my assertions but I did not arrive at this place in the journey casually.

This is a central theme, many of the things I believe (live) would be disputed (some vehemently) by the well-learned scholars of the so-called Christian faith. Many are simply religious (law-keepers devoid of love). I am no better, simply a bigger “fool”. It is not a belief system that saves but He himself and He is love.

First, please understand that while I have spoken metaphorically in previous posts this is not the case with the “mystical” indwelling presence of Christ. His spirit in us is imparted literally and substantively (the substance of spirit) an ever expanding tree of life within naturally producing the fruits of the spirit in our lives which are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. Notice which one is…number one.

First, an old quote concerning our common yet contentious ground:

Upon the plane of the mystical, reason no longer possesses that strength and power, which it has within philosophy, for then it is upon a trans-rational plane. A man, caught up into the mystical plane, into a mystic contemplation, then “becomes bereft of the reliance upon reason”, he surmounts reason. Does reason become altered or otherwise enlightened by revelation in what has been received upon the mystical plane?

There were two trees in the garden…of man…and there still are. Jesus grafts us back into this original matrix, the One Tree, the tree of life which is Christ. Originally we were spiritual in nature…created in His image and likeness, (God is spirit, not form) whole, not fractured in our love and loyalties. We had one God not many lovers as we do today (for where your treasure is there will your heart be found also).We knew where we had come from and where we were going (like the God-man Jesus). We had no identity crisis. There was no duality, only a garden (within) of innocence and purity. The roots of death & decay were timbered in man through the partaking of the tree of independence, or self. I believe this is the deeper meaning of the prodigal son story, in that in Adam we as a species went “out” demanded our independence and in Christ come back to the Father…who is ever waiting to receive us and is looking for our return. He has a Father’s heart.

Mankind had so devolved in his consciousness over the generations that he had essentially forgotten (had paternal amnesia) who he was in the beginning. Jesus, in part came to remind us of who we really are & were. So God re-inserts His DNA (substance of spirit) back into mankind through Jesus’ flesh in a daring raid into hostile (still hostile today) enemy territory. God saying this is my son in whom I am well-pleased. So Jesus is the pattern Son if you will the first of many. When His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray He began with…Our Father in heaven…So if God is our Father too and He is from heaven then what does that make Jesus (and us) but our older brother in the family of God and where are we (originally) from?…heaven. Now we come to understand our true spiritual ancestry & lineage or paternity. Jesus said that when we’ve seen Him we’ve seen the Father that is His nature, character being perfectly expressed through Jesus. And so it should be with us we can either be full of ourselves, our old inherited nature or we can be full of Him, His nature within. Gold.

So how do we re-attain to this originality, this spiritual paternity, belonging?

We don’t…it’s a Him thing…again. We never really become like Jesus, but rather as we empty ourselves…of ourselves…He becomes Himself in us would be a better analogy. Paul implored us to have this same mindset, attitude that Jesus had in Him, who…made Himself of no reputation, did not hold to His human ancestry, identity but emptied (humbled) Himself even to the point of death. And so it is with us but the death we experience is the death of our old, former self and identity. This is why Jesus says not to call anyone (on earth) your Father (paternity), meaning source of origin, for we are “of” Him when we are born of His spirit. We are transplanted back into the heavenly (spiritual) vineyard wherefrom we originated in the soil of His love.

Obviously, this in no way appeals to our sense of reason but to the realm of the spirit or heart within. Reason will adamantly oppose this foolishness considering it a most risky and vulnerable proposition but reason does not know LOVE. Now we hear Jesus say that if we want to enter in to this kingdom (here and now, within) that we must become as children. Children just love, they trust their Father implicitly. They have no cynicism, no fear of love. One of my favorite quotes along these same lines is from the old 19th century Scottish God-lover, poet, author George Macdonald saying: “Have you met our King…there He is laughing and playing with children saying they are like Him”. He hides Himself from the proud, the self-fulfilled but reveals Himself to the humble, the empty (who in and of themselves have no self-sufficiency but find themselves lacking).

Couple parables Jesus shared…The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and planted in his field (his body, in him) which indeed is the smallest of all seeds but when it is grown, it becomes a great tree and…The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

As a friend said like the parable Jesus gave, having discovered the whereabouts of the treasure (in the field – our bodies) we sell all we have (external values, beliefs, what we hold onto, our old identities, etc in order to purchase the field wherein the treasure lies, US. We have this treasure in (our) earthen vessels…Christ IN you, the hope of glory (meaning our original state in God).The kingdom of heaven is within you. You may call to mind the “mining” analogies I made a while back asking if there was anything or anyone worth digging for…in you.

Yes…humility in its true sense, the lowering, emptying of ourselves is helpful. We have to want Him and guard our hearts. He said (paraphrased) its good for you if you are found to be poor in spirit (lacking) in and of yourself, for the kingdom belongs to such and its good for you (blessed) if you hunger and thirst…for then you will be filled…w/Him. We are not truly hungry (in any sense) when we are full, but only when we are empty…of ourselves. This emptying creates a condition of hunger…we begin to make room to be filled as we become increasingly…humble. So we see Jesus asking a sick man a silly question…do you WANT to be made well? And that is the same question He asks us today.

In my own experience (nearly a quarter century ago) I had become extremely desperate for an answer to an inner craving so very intense I could not help but find the full remedy to…lest I die…kind of intensity. I somehow knew this to be of God, but like many, I wrongly assumed the answer would be found in a church or building somewhere. So I began (desperately) to drive to random church buildings and ask, inquire of strangers as for an answer. I got nowhere…no one could help me at these churches. They didn’t seem to be hungry like I was either. The hunger only increased, I was only getting emptier.

Btw…what I describe is very similar (at the time I was not aware of his famous story) to the online autobiography of George Fox penned by (ironically) William Penn. Great reading, historical account and truly (better than I can) reveals the process of how one becomes inwardly renewed and comes to the light within. The old saying, you can’t know a God that lives up in the sky but you can know one who lives in you…and me.

Keep in mind that dreaded thing called religion has been a great hindrance to many as they associate it with Christ’s message which is actually a polar opposite in that it brings life, light & liberty while religion (endless rule-keeping devoid of love) is binding and oppressive and only results in greater despair. I was searching for authenticity without pretense, hypocrisy or fabrication. I wanted only the real deal or nothing at all.

The faith you speak of being something we manufacture, or required of us is actually tied to the very hunger He gives us and that faith is also a gift of God…scripture says He has given to each a measure of faith and that it is a gift of God so we can not “make Him do anything”, it’s a free gift therefore we can make no claim on it. Its not about us, it’s about Him…in us, He supplies it all.

We come to TRUTH Himself in the PERSON of Jesus Christ. Then we know the truth and that truth causes us to become free, Christ ruling and reigning within on the throne of our (liberated) hearts, now free from the bondage of self, that old, corrupted nature we inherited from Adam with all his negative traits, besetting sins, etc, now Christ (the second) Adam does away with (as we appropriate, live out the truths within) the old nature and we become partakers of His divine (spiritual) nature being re-grafted in to the original, tree of life…Christ. It’s a whole new life. Paraphrased, He says don’t live your own life, let me live mine (higher life) through you.

Eventually, I ended up receiving His spirit by simply “coming to Him” just as He said to receive this new life asking for it (His spirit) to enter into mine by the gift of faith He provided as promised during my season of hunger. The details of my personal story, while amazing are too long for me to share here since this is already way too lengthy. Jesus told the religious leaders who were big fans of the law, OT that they search there that they might find life (Him) but they won’t come unto ME (Jesus) that you might receive this life. He is a person and thus we relate, by faith (that He supplies) personally. He made the ear…He can hear…you.

If someone becomes hungry (aware of their inward self insufficiency) in the same (severe) manner, they can be certain this is of Him. I realize this is a strong statement.

It all starts with humility. So we hear these words…do not be high-minded, but associate with the humble and DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN OPINION (in and of yourself, because it will only serve as a barrier). Humility (emptiness) is the gateway, then, we can begin to get hungry…and be filled. Lord, I don’t see, please help me to see…rather than…not only do I see for myself but I am satisfied in and of myself…lacking nothing (inwardly) speaking.

Then we hear you must be born from above of the spirit this time as opposed to our first, natural, physical birth. And then as many as received Him (Jesus) to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name…who were born, not of blood, or the will of man (like our first birth) but this second, spiritual birth is by the will of God. And that which is born of flesh is of a natural, fleshly nature, but that which is born of spirit is of a spiritual nature.

We transition from mere natural men to spiritual men, like our original matrix where spirit was the pure, dominating influence and all things being in order. Not religious, but spiritual, love being the soil by which our (true, original) nature now transplanted back within us grows. A heart transplant is mans greatest need for where else do all these evil actions that plague humanity originate from, except from the heart (inner thoughts, deep center) of his being. They come “out” of man, the unregenerate, un-renewed mind. So we are told to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.

So in the cross, we died with Him and in Him (this is scripturally based, not merely my interp) that is our old nature and we are resurrected into new life, eternal life in Him if we believe. So He says now…I am in you and you are in me. Now the “smallest seed” grows into a giant tree (of His light & life) within if we commit to the journey with Him and trust Him to do what He says He will do which is to restore us and our hearts (quality of our inner lives) back to the original matrix…man at peace with God within. Therefore, having been justified by (the faith He has given us) we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The simplicity is a stumbling block to many. He translates us from darkness into the kingdom of the son of His love. We receive mercy, forgiveness and love.

The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force…we want it…badly.

Christ in you, is the pinnacle intention of the Father’s heart and man’s joy and very remedy for humanity.

So we hear…Awake, sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

&

It is high time to awake out of sleep…the night is far spent…let us put on the armor of light…and put on the Lord Jesus Christ….the original mold.

&

Lord I will be satisfied when I awake in your likeness.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of Kings (that’s us) to search it out.

You can go to http://www.projectplaylist.com and punch in under search bob bennett “you’re welcome here” beautiful song if you want which is descriptive of this indwelling in our house.

There is a life…

Humble…Hunger…Believe…Ask…Receive…Live…Love!

Thanks for your collective tolerance of dissenting viewpoints, its very admirable.

Now I know how Tele feels with those super long posts! lol

Tried that. He got snippy because they weren’t kosher.

BTW, for those who care, Peter Kirby has gotten the Early Christian Writings site back up.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/

How DO I get Christ to take up residence inside me?

Offer cookies?

Well, any possible universe that doesn’t have pain or evil in it. It’s a really bad explanation for a universe like our own, hence the quote by Epicurus above, and two thousand years of surreal arguments grouped under the heading of “theodicy”.

Well said. I should have left it at “omnipotent”.