I guess if we see God as really a quantum force, along with all the uncertainty that results from that, then there isn't much difference between Christianity and what I believe in, which Dylan Thomas called "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower." I am convinced that Whatever "god" is s/he doesn't give a flip about individual people in terms of judging what we do. The point is we have no clue.
I was just talking to my daughter about the idea that for all we know, Heaven is whatever we most want it to be. In my case it would be a place where all books are in ebook form, and all free. And there are comfortable chairs. (BTW, my favorite reading chair DOES matter. It was my Dad's and is over 75 years old, and is a connection forever to him. I hope that chair shows up next to the Kindle Of Heaven.
Meanwhile, the moral position of the message is well worth heeding. As you point out there are chunks of that lesson even among the vindictive rants of the OT.
And I have no quarrel at all all with the power of love and forgiveness, but I don't think we need a god to tell us that it is important. I just ask that we have a society which tries to STOP evil from happening: stop Manson first, then forgive him if you wish. Stop ICE first, then take time for forgiveness if you wish. Just be sure that forgiveness doesn't encourage ICE or Manson to think it is cool to be what they are.
One question: if this thing was Jesus being channeled, isn't it HE who is a bad writer? Possibly because he's trying to use a language that didn't exist during his time on earth?
Love this comment, thanks. I do think that there are some evangelical Christians who use the forgiveness theme with their orange god as an excuse so they can get what they want. Saying NO to all of that is important. Forgiveness for me also doesn't mean that we don't have things like a Presidential Crime Commission for accountability reasons. We can send people to prison but still have forgiveness in our hearts.
But mostly, ACIM informs me about how **I** should behave. I have always fallen short. Sometimes much more severely than others. I suspect most of us can say the same thing.
As for the language thing, I had the same question, so I came up with my own explanation. I don't have a better one than yours or mine. :-)
I enjoyed this post very much. You had me at the subtitle. Hard to remember that these days. Also, forgiveness is harder to come by than ever before. And, this time, not a stretch to work in Quantum Mechanics! As I read that section of your post, the end of the 'Glory Be' began to echo in my mind. I'm sure you are familiar with it. 'As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.' In my mind, analogous to a superposition of time. That doxology (new word for me today!) is thought to date back to the 3rd century, possibly earlier.
Why are you writing this from a position of disdain for Marianne? I'd have expected you to go on to make fun of The Course, but not so. You do her a great disservice, and I think an apology is in order.
In fact, you could excise all references Marianne makes to The Course and just listen to the messages she delivers to realize she is a world teacher. To treat yourself to how extraordinary she is, here's my playlist of posts where I've written about her: https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/s/marianne-williamson
I don’t think mentioning that she made a fortune off a book about the Course of Miracles is disdainful. I merely stated a fact. I didn’t say there was something wrong with that.
Even the title of your post is a slam -- at The Course. It's not my favorite holy book, but respect for how it calls people to their best is in order.
Actually, I'd love your summation of what was delivered to me by the great beyond as the rock I stand on to summon others to a higher order of thinking:
This shows a fundamental misunderstanding about what I was writing, which is probably my fault as a writer. The course is my main go to with spiritual thought.
Funny that we connected over my admiring the precision of your writing.
But just to grab a chunk -- that has reverberations through the piece --this sort of drips with what seems to be cynicism. Like it’s woo woo and money was made – new age charlatan stuff:
In reviewing this book, I doubt that I could pull off what Marianne Williamson did when she made a fortune interpreting A Course in Miracles, which was supposedly written by the man himself, Jesus, through a channeling process with a woman who was — no way to sugarcoat this — a bad writer.
Williamson wrote A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, and made enough money that she was able to eventually run for president.
I love miracles, don’t you?
I get the sense, though, after reading A Course in Miracles, that God doesn’t much care that Williamson made a mint off it.
Williamson was able to distill a thousand-page tome into a 336-page bestseller. Pretty good trick.
And it WAS a good trick. I couldn’t do it. As you are testifying, I can’t do it in a short post. No way I could do a book on it. I understand objecting to my style of writing, but I’m not attacking anyone or anything.
I guess if we see God as really a quantum force, along with all the uncertainty that results from that, then there isn't much difference between Christianity and what I believe in, which Dylan Thomas called "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower." I am convinced that Whatever "god" is s/he doesn't give a flip about individual people in terms of judging what we do. The point is we have no clue.
I was just talking to my daughter about the idea that for all we know, Heaven is whatever we most want it to be. In my case it would be a place where all books are in ebook form, and all free. And there are comfortable chairs. (BTW, my favorite reading chair DOES matter. It was my Dad's and is over 75 years old, and is a connection forever to him. I hope that chair shows up next to the Kindle Of Heaven.
Meanwhile, the moral position of the message is well worth heeding. As you point out there are chunks of that lesson even among the vindictive rants of the OT.
And I have no quarrel at all all with the power of love and forgiveness, but I don't think we need a god to tell us that it is important. I just ask that we have a society which tries to STOP evil from happening: stop Manson first, then forgive him if you wish. Stop ICE first, then take time for forgiveness if you wish. Just be sure that forgiveness doesn't encourage ICE or Manson to think it is cool to be what they are.
One question: if this thing was Jesus being channeled, isn't it HE who is a bad writer? Possibly because he's trying to use a language that didn't exist during his time on earth?
Love this comment, thanks. I do think that there are some evangelical Christians who use the forgiveness theme with their orange god as an excuse so they can get what they want. Saying NO to all of that is important. Forgiveness for me also doesn't mean that we don't have things like a Presidential Crime Commission for accountability reasons. We can send people to prison but still have forgiveness in our hearts.
But mostly, ACIM informs me about how **I** should behave. I have always fallen short. Sometimes much more severely than others. I suspect most of us can say the same thing.
As for the language thing, I had the same question, so I came up with my own explanation. I don't have a better one than yours or mine. :-)
I enjoyed this post very much. You had me at the subtitle. Hard to remember that these days. Also, forgiveness is harder to come by than ever before. And, this time, not a stretch to work in Quantum Mechanics! As I read that section of your post, the end of the 'Glory Be' began to echo in my mind. I'm sure you are familiar with it. 'As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.' In my mind, analogous to a superposition of time. That doxology (new word for me today!) is thought to date back to the 3rd century, possibly earlier.
Thank you. Yeah, time, I think, does not exist in the supernatural world.
I think not in a linear sense.
Thanks for that.
I can live with this, but living up to it is an uphill battle:
Corinthians 13:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
I know I sure don’t. Like a lot of things, it’s an ideal to strive for. It’s better than the ideal some have of counting money.
Perhaps my failure to follow it to the letter is why I'm still stuck on this planet. 😁
Must try harder.
I sure hope that isn't the requirement for getting off. If it is, I don't have a “prayer.”
Why are you writing this from a position of disdain for Marianne? I'd have expected you to go on to make fun of The Course, but not so. You do her a great disservice, and I think an apology is in order.
In fact, you could excise all references Marianne makes to The Course and just listen to the messages she delivers to realize she is a world teacher. To treat yourself to how extraordinary she is, here's my playlist of posts where I've written about her: https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/s/marianne-williamson
Edit to my prior comment: I am, however, happy to restack your list of articles about Marianne Williamson:
https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/s/marianne-williamson
I don’t think mentioning that she made a fortune off a book about the Course of Miracles is disdainful. I merely stated a fact. I didn’t say there was something wrong with that.
All that you wrote as the intro had a smarmy, pejorative air to it about Marianne. This will be in my Substack on Tuesday: https://substack.com/@mariannewilliamson/note/c-161513951
Even the title of your post is a slam -- at The Course. It's not my favorite holy book, but respect for how it calls people to their best is in order.
Actually, I'd love your summation of what was delivered to me by the great beyond as the rock I stand on to summon others to a higher order of thinking:
https://mightycompanions.org/suzanne/inside-the-intelligence/INSIDE-THE-INTELLIGENCE.pdf
This shows a fundamental misunderstanding about what I was writing, which is probably my fault as a writer. The course is my main go to with spiritual thought.
Funny that we connected over my admiring the precision of your writing.
But just to grab a chunk -- that has reverberations through the piece --this sort of drips with what seems to be cynicism. Like it’s woo woo and money was made – new age charlatan stuff:
In reviewing this book, I doubt that I could pull off what Marianne Williamson did when she made a fortune interpreting A Course in Miracles, which was supposedly written by the man himself, Jesus, through a channeling process with a woman who was — no way to sugarcoat this — a bad writer.
Williamson wrote A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, and made enough money that she was able to eventually run for president.
I love miracles, don’t you?
I get the sense, though, after reading A Course in Miracles, that God doesn’t much care that Williamson made a mint off it.
Williamson was able to distill a thousand-page tome into a 336-page bestseller. Pretty good trick.
And it WAS a good trick. I couldn’t do it. As you are testifying, I can’t do it in a short post. No way I could do a book on it. I understand objecting to my style of writing, but I’m not attacking anyone or anything.
Maybe it was just me who misunderstood you.
I can vouch for this.