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| Hindu offering |
When did you last
marvel at the direction spirituality has taken in the West? For me, it was this
morning.
I opened an email from
Mother Earth News, offering a free viewing of a film, titled “I Am.” Its caption: “What if the solution to the world’s problems was right in front
of us all along? Everyone needs to see this film!” And below, a quote from
Buddha: “Be a light unto yourself.” The film was produced for Gaiam TV, a
Hindu-based (yoga) network.
The questions
filmmaker Tom Shadyac asks: “What’s wrong with the world? And what can we do
to fix it?”
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| Buddhist art |
I’m bemused when I
hear accusations that Christianity is only myths and fables. There’s more
archaeological evidence for the historicity of – and more manuscripts of –
biblical writings than any other historical documents of the time. Yet where
are the scholars who are tearing into the Koran, Hindu writings, or Buddhist
scripts with presumptions that they are forgeries, made-up tales of lunatic
writers, or historically inaccurate. Why attack the Bible so fiercely?
Religion is humanity’s
attempt to please God or the gods by doing something. Sacrifices, pilgrimages,
prayers, and rituals are part of systems responding to the Unseen, appeasing the gods, or winning favor.
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| Torah scroll |
The Creator understood our
human need to express devotion and attention, to make appeals and requests, and
to understand our surroundings. Books 2-5 of Moses (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy) explained to Israelites – uneducated, raw from slavery and
oppression, and being shaped by I AM into a innovative culture of blessing to
the world – how God could be approached. The laws and rituals realigned them from
pagan idolatry to the Creator’s nature of lovingkindness, goodness, and
justice.
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| Alternative "medicine" |
But we hate being told
what to do! It’s easier to:
· walk on a bed of nails
· breathe in and out contemplatively, thinking
only of the current moment, blocking out our sins or suffering
· deprive oneself of pleasures in a monastery
· endure hunger, heat, and cold in the name of
self-actualization
· devise strict systems of discipline in eating,
exercise, and meditation
· focus on self as the center of the universe and
the solution for world peace, environmental care, self-love, or whatever the
faddish focus
· slavishly follow a charismatic guru with wise-sounding
philosophies
· chip off part of God’s Truth and manipulate
until it twists and warps to fit us rather than molds our nature to please God
…
… than it is to do as God
has told us.
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| The Ten Commandments |
God hasn’t suggested
inner happiness and wholeness. Instead, he’s laid out for us exactly what it
would take to achieve those things. Hard things, that cut to the core of our
motivation, like:
· honor God, not only with words but with
actions, with our time and wealth, with our energy and devotion
· become friends to the poor and needy and help
them bear their burdens
· love others as we love ourselves
· meditate on God’s Word and let it shape our
lives
· pray, fast, and do other spiritual disciplines
as alignment with God rather than as self-discipline and self-promotion
· be thankful for what God has given us: the
husband/wife/single life, the family, the possessions, the job, the ---
· keep ourselves free from unforgiveness and
jealousy so that our relationships are sweet rather than bitter
These things require
self-renouncement without external praise or affirmation from others. They
happen between us and God. And God judges the heart, knowing how sincere our
motivation and how much integrity we have.
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| DIY - or not ... |
Ugh. There’s no faking
it with God, so we’d rather turn away from our shame and failings to devise our
own systems of right-ness. We feel better when we can attain some goodness
without accountability. We prefer “DIY” checklists rather than exposure to
God’s searchlight of perfection and his solution of Christ as Savior,
Benefactor, and PeaceMaker.
Because of this,
complicated myths and fables arise in cultures, becoming systems of worship and
self-protection against spiritual beings. Anthropologists record many stories
of the Flood, tales of Father and Son gods who save their people, and rules
upon rules of behavior that mimic the Ten Commandments. Our first parents knew
the stories and passed them down, interwoven with human worship systems.
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| Muslim pilgrims |
Why are religious
counterfeits still so compelling and enduring today? Why am I reading nonsense
from Mother Earth News promoting self-idolatry? Because we instinctively know
God’s ways. In Self-preservation, we reject the laws he has written on our
conscience and refuse guidance by his Holy Spirit.
Rebuffing his good
direction has always brought deceit and religiosity … without life. It has
killed us from the inside out: entire cultures become cruel and self-seeking.
We are able to do things so vile – in the name of religion – that other humans
shudder in disbelief. Sacrifice of children to ensure the harvest, maiming the
innocent for temple worship, mass slaughter of those who disagree with our
beliefs. Unthinkable. It’s been going on since humanity’s rebellion against
God’s prescription, “Do not eat of this one fruit, because it will kill you.”
To those seeking
self-actualization through guided meditation or physical movement, harmony
through good works and positive thoughts, or self-medicating with the jewels of
materialism, remember that we’re not inventive. Idols have always appealed to
more people than the terror, accountability, and overwhelming awe of a
relationship with the Living God.
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| Accepting the sacrifice; telling the Story |
Today, we may choose
again – for or against Him, but only on His terms.
Achieving a true flow
or “harmony” with the Creator’s purposes (glory to God, peace on earth, and
goodwill toward humanity) will cost us everything. Our pride. Our self-will.
Ownership of anything. Human systems of religious accomplishment and
recognition. It will even cost some of us our lives, today or in the future.
But what we win, what
we win! Life, inner peace, joy, Love, kindness, goodness, self-control,
friendship with God, integrity, and wholeness.
What is that kind of a
life worth to you?
Read more:
* Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 NIV
*If you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord. Jeremiah 29:13-14
*Zacchaeus
climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, because he was going to pass that
way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:4-5
Moravian Prayer: O Lord, sometimes it is difficult to hear your voice
amid the everyday noise and distractions of our lives. Pause our lives,
if only for an instant, to let us hear you clearly and know that you
are still with us. Amen.
