2010-05-02-Apples, Oranges, and Violence

Session

Opening

Bzutu: “I thank you for noting my (1:22 and 2:22) prompts this afternoon, and I thank you for your greetings directed at us all. It’s good to be here, and your group Teacher is ‘online’ now.

Samuel: “This, I guess, is a well-timed lesson from your Teacher Aaron and also from me.

Lesson

We are talking today about fruits of the spirit -- the good things of soul progress that come from both, religion and spirituality. Not necessarily mutually exclusive, religion and spirituality can most suitably complement each other, as well as drastically, even violently oppose each other. Religion and spirituality are like apples and oranges. Different fruits from different trees.

“For many centuries, the ‘common people’ were generally too uneducated, as well as being kept very busy in everyday life to progress much in the spiritual sense. Happily, religion was there to keep the flame of soul progress burning, whilst various codes of belief and outright dogma tended to stifle individual minds. The bible became ‘the holy book’ for Christians, and the Koran fared no better for the Muslims.

“There is nothing holy about any book, leather bound, gold leafed notwithstanding. Like the Urantia Papers, they are texts, dry texts even – Mankind’s recollection of experiences at times, outright ‘romancing’ at worst, celestial input about basic truths at best, but always still dry, dry text. So don’t you, any of you, commence calling the Urantia Book a sacred text or a holy book!

“That which is sacred to you is the Spark of God which indwells you, not a book, and yet for many of you who have had ‘an awakening’ from being an indoctrinated member of any of many Christian, Hindu, or Muslim cults, there needs to be no separation from the congregation you once belonged to. There needs to be no black or white about who is wrong and who is right.

“You can be there, among your religious fellows whilst your heart, soul and mind honor your God in your understanding. It is the same God they honor in their way, and you may only touch on your new beliefs when asked, and by being a shining example to all. These are tough perimeters to work within. Note also that repetitive and strongly worded proselytizing as conducted by some cults is seen as verbal violence by many of your Teachers.

“Indeed, it is violence when it refers to purgatory, hell, and eternal damnation. It is violence when it is designed to invoke fear in another! That . . . . is the point we are making!

Closing

I am Samuel. This is Aaron, also, sending you our love. Good evening.”