Why?

I said I would explain why I think the church doesn’t pursue advancement the way Education, Psychology, Astronomy and other scientific endeavors do. Because the traditional church believes we already have all we need to know. It has given us the Bible, which is the inerrant, infallible and never-changing Word of God. The odd thing is, in order to prove it we quote passages from it (Mark 13:31 and 2 Tim 3:16). I always thought that was like my mom saying, “It’s true because I say so.” The Bible also says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If that's true why would there be a need for any new revelation? The last book of the Bible even warns us if we add anything that “God will add us to the plagues written in the book.” Ouch! Is it any wonder why the church doesn't participate in any attempt to advance its understanding of God? 

But why can’t our understanding of scripture change? Why for instance, must a person in the 21st Century still believe in a literal description of the creation story the way Moses taught it? Why? Because we're afraid of what will happen to our faith if we examine it in a new light. Thus we can’t accept the scientific claim for an old earth because it presupposes evolution which raises questions about a “fall” of man. A fall can't be true if life is evolving. But the fall is taught in the Word of God so evolution can't be possible. And if Adam and Eve didn’t sin what was the meaning of Christ’s redemptive death on the cross? And if Christ’s death meant something other than a sacrifice for man's sin then the church must be wrong. But that can’t happen either. And so we remain stuck in our circular reasoning and church becomes less and less meaningful. The tragedy is, if we allowed it, our understanding of the universe and the amazing discoveries of Quantum Science could show us a God who would awaken us from our lethargy, excite us with its potential, and enable us with the power that Jesus had. We say we want that. What is it that holds us back?

The first thing we need is a desire for the truth that is greater than our need to prove our beliefs. As long as we insist that belief in the Bible will change the world we are not really looking for the truth. The most frustrating part is, even if the church admits the world isn't experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promised, it still doesn’t have to examine it's beliefs. Instead it reminds us that this world isn’t our home anyway. The Bible says we have mansions waiting for us on the other side. We seem content to hold onto a mythology that is long past its usefulness while we wait for Jesus to come back and make things right. But there were books known as the Gnostic Gospels that told a very different story about Jesus and a very different kind of Christianity, which books were systematically destroyed by the early church and never included in the canon. So no one knows that in the Gospel of Thomas Jesus said, “I am not your master. . . He who will drink from my mouth will become as I am, and I myself will become he. When you come to know yourselves you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father.” As the Father was in Jesus, so is He in us. The exciting thing about Quantum Science is that it's proving that to us. It is the great truth a literal interpretation of the Bible prevents us from seeing. Too bad. That truth really would set us free. 

In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world".
In Matthew 5:14 he tells us, “You are the light of the world”.

Believe which ever one you want. Just remember you create what you believe.

We Are All One

It is no longer simply a cliché from the rebellious ‘60s. Science is beginning to prove that, at the deepest level of existence, we are all part of the same thing. Everything that exists is created in the image and likeness of a Creator who does not exist apart from his creation. We are not APART from God. We are A PART of God. Nothing can be created that is not part of  the Creator. If this is true then the idea that God is "up there" in heaven is part of an outdated Separation Theology that serves no purpose other than to disable us. It's only an illusion that we have created by the belief systems we've adopted. Further, if everything is part of God the idea of an Enemy of God is also no more than a creation of our limited understanding - a necessary (for its time) but mythological explanation of the evil we perceive in the world.

These were the things I believed 28 years ago before I got “saved” and began trying to have faith like a Christian. It seems like the church teaches a much smaller God than I was used to then. But in order to fit in with other believers (I assumed they knew something that I didn't) I have tried to put God in a box that he is now beginning to break out of. Traditional church doctrine contradicts something too deep in my soul for me to ignore any longer.

And so I have begun the process of “outing” myself to those who are least likely to condemn me. Because of the spiritual apathy that I observe in the church I don’t  expect much feedback, but family and close friends are quick to suggest that I read the wrong kinds of books and need instead, to look to the Word of God for the truth. But I read the bible. It's a wonderful source of wisdom and guidance, and when read with the proper understanding could even be called  inerrant. The problem is we don't read it with the proper understanding. We refuse to interpret it in light of what we're learning about the nature of reality in the 21st century. God continues to reveal himself today to those who have ears to hear. And the same spirit speaks to me who spoke to the men who wrote the Word of God.  Doesn't it? And who’s Word of God are we talking about anyway? Despite what they claim, none of the world’s religions could possibly have a full and complete understanding of the nature of God, and it is becoming very dangerous for us to quarrel over the fine print of our scriptures and accuse each other of going to hell. An understanding of our one-ness in God is the only thing that will ever bring peace to the human race. I need to repeat that.

An understanding of our one-ness in God is the only thing that will ever bring peace to the human race.

If our present theologies worked, if they were functional and were producing peace on earth and goodwill to human beings, there would be no need to question them. But we live in a world of deep anger, brutal violence, terrible poverty, and unrelenting terror. If we admit that our faith in the God we believe in has not saved humanity from the brink of self-annihilation, then we may wish to entertain the possibility that we don't have a complete understanding of God after all. Further, if I truly believe that man is in need of a spiritual awakening then I have a responsibility to share what I’ve been given in order to help facilitate it. Someday soon the human race will willingly and eagerly embrace an expanded concept of God (hopefully not because of some world-wide catastrophe) and will understand that he does not care whether we are Catholic or Protestant, Jewish or Muslim, Hindu or Mormon, or have no religion at all. In fact he will not even care if we "worship" him. Why would he if there is only one of us? Unless of course we continue to believe that he is separate, living somewhere up in heaven, and needing something from us.

Religion's biggest fallacies about God:

1. God needs something from us

2. We have failed to give God what he needs

3. God has separated us from himself because we failed to give him what he needs

4. God still requires us, now from our separated position, to give him what he needs

5. God will destroy us if we do not

The world is eager to explore the latest developments in science and technology, education and medicine, psychology and cosmology. Why is it that we refuse to do the same with our spirituality?* Can there be any wonder why the church is losing it's appeal?

* I know the answer the church gives and I'll address that next time.

What Part Of God?

A friend of mine recently sent me an article that said, "When we become a defender of a particular belief about God it is no longer believing God — it is only believing our belief about Him." Is that what's happening in the church?

It has been my position that we have become so uninspired and disillusioned with our understanding of God, and our difficulty in feeling his Real presence that Church has ceased to be a power-full experience. So many go through the motions each Sunday without any evidence of the joyful, abundant life, or the power they claim to have. I'm convinced that what's needed now is a careful and thorough re-examination of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The question I’m asking people these days is, What does it really mean that the spirit of God is in you? What is the fullness of the statement that we are made in his image and likeness? And, most interestingly, what is science telling us lately about this belief? If God is spirit and that spirit is in man, then what part of God is not? What part of him is it that we look up to heaven and pray to? The answer is, No Part. There is no part of God that is separate from man. God doesn't exist somewhere outside of his creation. The universe is a manifestation of him. The things we hear and say and sing in church today clearly show a separation theology which we have spoken into existence, but which no longer resonates with thinking people, certainly not the youth, and for good reason. It’s not true. 

I'm coming to the conclusion that was more clear to me before I became a Christian. Like a drop of water is to the ocean we are all part of God. We manifest in many different ways but there is nothing which he is that we are not. Nothing that he possesses that we do not. No where he is that we are not. The idea that God is living in heaven, watching down on us and waiting for us to approach him has to be seen as part of a mythology that was necessary for early believers. It no longer serves a purpose for the spirituality of the human race and we do a dis-service to ourselves by continuing to allow it. Again I refer to our "worship" songs. Thankfully the Spirit in us is beginning to awaken us.  We are all one with God the same way Jesus was. 

When we finally come to that amazing awareness we will suddenly find the joy that's been missing. We will have a new understanding of the power and authority Jesus told us we had. Church will be a celebration more exciting than the Super Bowl. Most importantly for the future of our planet we will also see our relationship to each other in the proper way. Like Neale Donald Walsch says, "There's only one of us". That's why Jesus told us to “love your neighbor as yourself”. When we're able to do that religions will be as unnecessary as the wars we fight to prove them.

Is It True?

California Institute of Technology physicist John Preskill said that developing quantum mechanics was “the crowning intellectual achievement of the 20th century.” It is the most battle-tested theory in all of science, having been subjected to rigorous testing for eight decades without ever being shown wrong. Einstein may have been troubled by its philosophical implications but his attempts to disprove it were themselves disproven after his death. The facts, as strange as they are, remain undisputed. The universe is a complex web of energy in a continuous exchange and redistribution which appears to us as material. The human mind and body are "local" expressions of this exchange and are constantly interacting with everything else in the energy field. Even the space between atomic particles is bursting with activity. It has been estimated that the energy in a single cubic meter of space is enough to boil all the oceans of the world. Tiny packets of this energy “collapse” into visible matter and then disappear back into the underlying field. Finally, and most surprisingly (the part Einstein called spooky) this collapse of energy into visible matter depends upon the consciousness of an observer! Clearly the sub-atomic world is nothing like the world we live in. And yet it is the world we live in. What we think of as real, permanent and unchanging is only an illusion that we create with our awareness. It’s time we begin to look at everything in light of that reality.

It is my belief that, just as our understanding of nature has evolved, so too should our understanding of God. I believe that within the realm of quantum physics we will find out why Jesus told us not to put our hope in the things of this world but instead to seek the kingdom of God within. We might discover the truth about us being in him and the father being in us. When we learn how consciousness affects matter we'll be on the road to doing the "miracles" he said we would do. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if all this begins to create an excitement about God that has been missing in church.

Recommended Reading:

The Beginning Of Fearlessness - Quantum Prodigal Son
Lee and Steven Hager

The Field
Lynn McTaggart

The Purpose-Guided Universe
Bernard Haisch

Quantum Enigma
Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner

The Biology of Belief
Bruce Lipton

Quantum Physics

Those are big words about the study of very small parcels of energy which Einstein named “quanta”. Research and discovery began as recently as 100 years ago so it really is a new science. It’s a fascinating subject because it provides new understanding of the reality of the universe we live in and has great meaning for anyone seeking truth about man’s existence. I'm not a scientist but I am learning about what’s being discovered and somehow I feel a need to share it. It concerns me that the human race is undergoing a paradigm shift comparable to the discovery of a round earth while most of us are busy watching American Idol.

There are two problems I will have. I don't know enough about physics to explain it sufficiently (I will refer often to experts), and the study of the very small is wildly unpredictable. Einstein himself called it "spooky". Niels Bohr, the imminent Danish physicist said, "If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet." Yet it continues to be thoroughly researched and tested - and is proven to be true 100% of the time.

The other problem could be even more difficult. New light is being shed on the nature of the universe and of God and man's relationship to both. Some of it may necessitate a rethinking of long-held religious beliefs. It is not my wish to force this change – just to present the facts as I'm learning them and help others see beyond what they believe is the only reality. The universe, including God, is much more amazing and wonderful than any of us have ever been told, or have ever imagined. Hopefully this dialogue will spur readers on to their own inquiry and they will be free to draw their own conclusions. Christians with more fundamental beliefs need not fear. Jesus told us the truth would set us free and there is no reason to doubt that. In fact I haven’t found anything that contradicts anything Jesus ever said. I myself am a born again, spirit-filled Christian who is excited about the new convergence of science and spirituality. I always thought it should be possible. We like to tell God we want more. Are we ready for what he would show us? If so maybe we'll see why our church experience has become so wanting.

Here are a couple things to think about before I start. 1. The material world is an illusion. There is no such thing as physical matter. Everything is part of an energy field which vibrates at different intervals. 2. Everything that exists, or has ever existed, is part of what created it. We've heard it so often that it has become a cliche, but now it's beginning to be proven. We're all one.

A Possible Answer

A football game has the power to excite us because, among other things, we know its a real experience.  The presence of God in church doesn't appear as real to us and therefore doesn't cause us to react with the same kind of emotional exuberance. Church is also a time of quiet prayer and meditation, but shouldn't it sometimes cause us to erupt in spontaneous excitement to realize that we are in the presence of the living God? (I don't mean polite applause at the end of a worship song). The question is Why doesn't it? And why do I know so many people who claim to be dissatisfied with their church experience? It's no wonder Church is losing its appeal for so much of the younger generation. I think I may have part of an answer.


We've been taught since we were children that God is somewhere "up" in heaven. Our being "down here" necessitates a belief that we are apart from him - a belief more powerful than our belief that his spirit lives in us. How else do you explain why we look up to the sky and lift our hands to worship him? Think about it. If we really believed he lives in us why would we sing "Come holy spirit" and "Lord I will wait for you"? And think about this too. If God is spirit and that spirit lives in us, then what part of him is elsewhere? Jesus said the kingdom of God is in us. God is manifesting himself through us. We can't possibly be separate from him. The reality of that hasn't really dawned on us and it certainly isn't expressed sufficiently in church. If it was it might even be as exciting as the Super Bowl.

What... are we nuts?

Quick. Who won the Super Bowl last year?

Was it New England? New Orleans? Indianapolis? I really can't remember who the World Champion is. So how is it that so many people are willing to travel great distances and spend enormous sums of money just to see the next one crowned? Thousands of hours of manpower and millions of dollars are spent on the broadcast and events leading up to and following... a football game? Millions more will be wagered and hundreds of millions will watch it on television as the world stops to accommodate a day now immortalized as Super Bowl Sunday. My question is, How long do we remember the winner? Til training camp next summer? Are we nuts or something? I say we because I will have buffalo wings and chili dogs laid out for my own guests when they arrive for the 6:30 pm eastern kickoff. I'm not proud of that but everything else in my neighborhood will be closed. What else can I do? Some of my guests will have painted faces. Some will yell at my television. Some will be hysterical with joy as their favorite quarterback holds up a trophy that commemorates the winner. The outpouring of emotional energy over this fleeting thing called the world championship never ceases to amaze me.

Meanwhile at my church we sit in self-conscious silence in the presence of the undefeated, undefeatable, everlasting, eternal Champion of the Universe! Occasionally someone might have the courage to lift their hand in a private expression of joy... maybe.

What... are we nuts?