26 Religious scandals

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6eN29Azhgc

25 Bill Maher's 'Religulous': Extracting the Truth from contradiction

 

 

Bill Maher speaking about the movie > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e6MxTPRi5g.

And here are some scenes from the movie, as well > ‘https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbAKp7tfdVNNEy4Bx9xdnX8FnnMJwSPVZ’.

Bill Maher exposes the irrationality and absurdity of religious beliefs and teachings in a funny way all his own. But this time, new insights are introduced below that will change the way you think. A little late, perhaps, but hey, the divine principles are eternal and operate in all times and climes. What was true in the past is true even now, and tomorrow, too.

Heck, I’m a fan. So when Bill Maher tells me: “Rational people, anti-religionists, must end their timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves,” I just have to go and do it. Yeah. Although I am not anti-religion. Just rational.

The film takes up a lot. We had best go through them by the numbers.

1. According to the film, the story of Jesus is patterned after the story told about Krishna, Mithra and Horus who all lived long before him. I wouldn’t know, but it’s probably true based on the available information. Yet, I fail to see how this misrepresentation changes anything. After all, people, even Biblical writers do make up stories. It is for us to discern which is true and which is not.

God sent Jesus, Muhammad and Moses to deliver His divine message and teachings to everyone. So, is the postman more important than the mail he delivers? Is any messenger more important than the message he brings?

There are so many things that really are not that important but serve to misinform, deceive and will lead us astray, if we let them. We should lay them aside and not let them detract from what are truly important – We should focus, instead, on the message and the teachings.

2. The jealous God of the ancient Hebrews, the killings in the name of God and, in general, all the questionable teachings and practices promoted in the Old Testament objected to by many freethinkers were already refuted by the teachings of Jesus. You need only to refer to his actual words and teachings in the New Testament. 

Christ revealed the One God of Love and the brotherhood of all men. He taught us to love and serve our fellowmen and love even our enemies. All pronouncements by others that conflict with the Law of Love are false teachings and should be flatly rejected. 

3. Blind obedience and irrational behavior such as those committed by Abraham when he offered up his son as a sacrifice to God are, for us today, false teachings.

We shouldn’t be so gullible. No matter what anyone says, we should be practical and use our common sense. It is our best guide. And we should also keep in mind, “It isn’t your sacrifices and gifts that matter; instead, you must be merciful and kind.”

That said, we should understand that during Abraham’s time, the people were mostly ignorant, unschooled and lacked the ability to reason for themselves. So the elders mandated strict obedience from the people for their own good, the way parents even today impose their will on their little children who know no better.  

4. Circumcision, like the prohibition on eating non-kosher foods, and the prescribed manner of washing pots and pans are health issues, nothing to do with the things of the spirit. These man-made laws are not God’s laws and apply only to the material and physical worlds. God is Spirit and is concerned only with the things of the Spirit.

5. BM: “Religion is detrimental to the progress of humanity. (The) plain fact is religion must die for mankind to live.”

Whenever something new comes along, a new appliance, gadget, a piece of machinery or tool, it usually comes with an instruction manual that details its proper use and maintenance for best results and longer utility.

Religion is this set of instructions that leads us straight to God in the fastest and most expeditious way. Of course, you may fumble your way along, learning from your every mistake. Many do. But you can avoid much unnecessary hardships, difficulties, pain and suffering if you first read and follow the instructions.

6. A more useful comparison in regard to the Holy Trinity would be any corporate entity that has a CEO and Chairman of the Board, a Board of Directors or Trustees and a COO or Chief Operating Officer. All three – Father, Holy Spirits and Master Teacher of the world – are collectively responsible for our school system and are at-one with its ideals, objectives and practices.

Yes. Earth and the whole solar system is just a school for spirit students.

7. The reported meeting of Muhammad with God, Jesus and the other prophets before he set out on his own mission is likely true but probably not in every detail. It must be noted, as well, that it was the Archangel Gabriel who commissioned Muhammad in the service of Allah. There is only One God and one Truth, after all. And in heaven, there is no segregation.

8. Many things mentioned in the Bible and those that were conceived after are not to be literally interpreted, but are only symbolic, and represent some other aspect of the teachings.

The concept of original sin refers to past actions that we committed in our past lives. Reincarnation is implied but this divine principle must have to be discussed at some other time and place for lack of space.

So is baptism only symbolic of spiritual cleansing and does not in any way actually cleanse us of our sins. All transgressions must be repaid, in full, in compliance with the Law of Karma, or the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Jesus cannot absolve anyone of his sins and transgressions. We must pay our own debts, ourselves.

The partaking of the Holy Eucharist and the drinking of Christ’s blood (the wine) are likewise just symbolic acts alluding to our emulating the life of Christ, following in his example. This is merely a ceremonial act done in remembrance of Christ and all that he has done.

9. The Bible contains many parables with hidden deeper meanings. They are not to be taken literally. The talking snake and the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden explains the true purpose of life on Earth.

10. BM: “In layman’s terms, Jesus was nuts. Moses going up (the mountain) to get the 10 Commandments from God speaking through a burning bush… That guy’s a cuckoo.”

Non-believers would think so. But it’s really the absence or lack of a direct personal experience that divides us. You don’t believe because you have not seen or heard. But others believe because they have. If you haven’t, yet, just wait a bit longer. You will when your right time comes.

11. On the day of Pentecost, as recounted in the Book of Acts, many who were present at the gathering came from different regions where different languages were spoken. So that they also may be able to understand, some of the disciples were empowered to speak in their native tongues. Today, sadly however, many mimic the act but convey no actual message. Without a qualified interpreter who can decipher the utterances, the act becomes a useless exercise.

But God speaks to us in so many different ways – in our dreams, in visions, in our hearing voices, in listening to His prophets, in our reading Scriptures. It is different for different people.

12. BM: “Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking. Those who preach faith and enable and elevate it are intellectual slave holders keeping mankind in a bondage of fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction.”

The accumulation of knowledge and skills is gradual. A mechanic undergoes an apprenticeship training. A medical student must pass a period of residency. While under training, they commit many, sometimes serious and fatal mistakes.

Not being perfect, or completely knowledgeable, man has no recourse but to rely on faith, in the meantime. But as he gains more experience, he becomes more knowledgeable and skilled in his craft. He commits lesser and lesser mistakes.

Faith then becomes irrelevant and unnecessary. Faith is only a temporary condition that everyone resorts to in the absence of certain knowing for lack of the appropriate validating experience.

13. BM: “I promise you, you don’t (know what happens when you die). How can I be so sure? Because I don’t know. And you don’t possess mental powers that I do not.”

Most people don’t know how to pilot a space ship to go to the moon, but our astronauts do. We know what we know only from what they tell us. Most of us don’t know how it is up on Mount Everest, but we know from the accounts of those who have climbed up its peak.

Many now claim to have had near-death-experiences. And they tell us what happened to them. What is the difference between their experience and those of the astronauts who have walked on the moon? There are supporting evidences for both claims. Why would you accept one’s testimony and dismiss the other’s?

But there are other corroborating accounts, as well. Some of us are clairvoyant and sense non-physical entities and things. Some are telepathic and hear voices. Others dream dreams. Still others are able to astral travel and bi-locate.

In regard to these spiritual abilities, it is not mental powers that are involved but the developed sensitivity to apperceive non-physical vibrations according to our level of spiritual development.

Should you dismiss all of their accounts simply because you have not really looked seriously enough into the matter? Those who will seek will find, if they persist.

14. BM: “God is powerful. Why doesn’t He just obliterate the Devil and therefore get rid of all the evil in the world? What’s He waiting for?

“What was the Holocaust? Why was that good?”

In “The parable of the Garden of Eden,” it is revealed that in order for man to learn what is right and what is wrong, he must leave heaven, and live and die, where else, but on Earth.

But how can we understand what is good if there is only good and no evil to compare it with? Therefore in this world, evil is given free rein to afford us the necessary instruction.

But God being All-knowing and All-wise, devised a plan whereby His creations, you and me, would not come to any harm while they pursue their development. He clothed us in a flesh body that, for all intents and purposes, would even fool us into thinking that it is the real you and me, but is really counterfeit and disposable, to be cast aside after it has served its purpose.

As we undertake our lessons here on Earth, our physical body may suffer harm and even die, but the indwelling spirit entity within will have learned and developed in every instance.

Apart from the valuable lessons and the opportunities to develop our character that conditions of war provide, individual Jews were also provided the means to work out their karmic debts. All debts must be repaid, in full.

15. BM: “If God wanted to communicate something to the world, He is All-powerful, He would just talk to the whole world. It seems like He picks out a prophet in private and tells him: Okay you’re the prophet and you go tell the rest of the world. We just have to take it on faith. We have to believe you, you know.” 

Yes. God is All-powerful. Yes. He could talk directly to the whole world. But He wants each of us to experience life and be self-fulfilled through our own efforts. Hence, He teaches and trains us, and He delegates most of His work to those who are qualified so that we may learn to do things for ourselves and we will be able to do them well, eventually.

Does a physics teacher teach elementary grade school pupils physics? No. The pupils are taught the subjects they need to learn by the teachers who are closest to their level of development, the better for them to understand their lessons.

Hence, at different times and ages, different prophets and messengers are sent to teach the people precisely what they need to know. And upgrades are administered, periodically, at least every 2000 years, depending on the progress made by the student, according to his needs and just deserts.

16.  Regarding the state of Catholicism, the comments of Father Reginald Foster, a senior Vatican priest, are especially revealing. After mentioning that 10 books he read recently are all saying that religion or religious beliefs and teachings are “stupid”, Bill remarks that the naysayers will roast in Hell. But Father Foster corrects him saying, “That’s the old Catholic thing. That’s all gone. That’s all finished.”

On the unresolved controversy surrounding the actual date of Jesus’ birth, he dismisses it saying, “It’s all nonsense.”

He decries that based on recent surveys asking Italians who they pray to in times of crisis, Jesus placed only 6th on the list.

And on how to convince the people against false beliefs and practices, in exasperation, he replies, “Forget it! Let them die with their stupid ideas.” Then apologetically, “I’m sorry. (But) What are you gonna do?”  

Educating the people, helping to wean them from their superstitious and false beliefs, is really a daunting task. But slowly, gradually, with persistence, the Truth will win out in the end. 
 

17. Armageddon, the Rapture and the end of world prophecies relate to the old Biblical teachings that are now gone past and are currently undergoing a process of revision and upgrading.

The much-awaited Second Coming is almost upon us. According to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and Lobsang Rampa, Christ, having been born prior to the turn of the millennium, is here, now, waiting to make his public debut, very soon.

He promised: “Today, I speak to you in parables, but the time is coming when I will speak to you plainly.”

All your questions will be answered. Everything will be made clear.

 

24 Lesson 3 - Solutions to the review exercises

 

5 points per item

1. There is only one true religion, mine. D. Every religion is especially suited to its followers, helping them to pass on to the next stage of their development. Each has its own differences in approach and emphasis but all of them have certain qualities and teachings that every student can benefit from.

2. An eye for an eye. D. This Old Testament teaching during the days of our youth and ignorance has already been superseded by the teachings of Jesus Christ. He said, “Don’t resist evil, Return love for hate, and Love your enemies.”

3. The Gurus and Spiritual Masters who are in the world are only students, themselves. A. They may be advanced and very much ahead of us but they, too, have their own lessons to learn.

4. In matters of faith, the Pope is infallible. D. No one on Earth is infallible even if he is divinely inspired. Everyone here is subject to error.

5. Gautama attained enlightenment just by meditating. D. Enlightenment comes as a consequence of a high level of spiritual attainment. Through meditation, we are able to transcend the mind and access or recall that which we have already learned in our past lives. However, our degree of enlightenment can only correspond to the level in the order of evolution to which we have arrived. 

6. All men go to heaven when they die. D. Only those who have lived according to the divine will of God can merit heaven. However, there are “many mansions” or graded levels of heaven. We can only get to the plane that we deserve depending on our own thoughts and deeds.

7. If we only knew how to pray, all our requests would surely be granted. D. The granting of our prayer requests depends on spiritual considerations, whether it will be helpful or harmful to our spiritual development. That considered, everything useful and helpful comes to us whether we pray for them or not.

8. Simply choose the best alternative or the least evil. A. On Earth, many of our choices and alternatives are far from ideal. It is enough that we choose the best from the lot or the least harmful.

9. The physical yoga exercises enhance our spirituality. D. Physical yoga pertains only to the physical body and has no direct bearing on spirit. Spirituality relates to character, righteousness, loving and serving our brothers.

10. A man not tempted is not proved. A. This is an Islamic teaching which tends to explain why we undergo trials on Earth. Here, we are examined to prove our worthiness. In addition, the proof of learning is in the doing. He who doesn’t do proves that he doesn’t really know.

11. No soul shall bear the burden of another. A. This is another teaching of Islam which simply restates the principle of personal responsibility. We are responsible only for our own actions and not for those of others.

12. A priest is, of course, spiritually superior to other men. D. There is the presumption that the guide knows better and is more experienced than those he is guiding. However, this is not necessarily true in every case. Even priests and prophets are undergoing training and development in their line of work. And false guides are also sent to us to teach us how to discern and decide wisely concerning the things of life.

13. The different religions represent the different aspects of the One Truth. A. The Truth is so all-encompassing. To better comprehend it, it is broken down into smaller, easy to learn parts. But all the religions are parts of the whole Truth.

14. Each person’s understanding of the divine truths can only correspond to his own level in the order of evolution. A. No one can really understand unless he has personally experienced the fact and the teaching. Our capacity to understand then depends on how much we have learned from our accumulated experiences, including those that we have learned from all our past incarnations. 

15. Monogamy is, of course, the best form of marriage for everybody. D. What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another. To the Muslims, having just one wife is less than desirable. God gave everyone free will and the right to decide for oneself. Provided that all of the principal parties are in agreement, then nothing is wrong. All such circumstances and relationships are merely lessons and experiences provided us so that we may learn from them.

16. Patriotism is a positive spiritual trait. D. Patriotism is a grade higher than self-interest but falls short of true spirituality. True spirituality puts the interests of the whole above that of self or any other segregated group to which one belongs and realizes its oneness with the Divine. All men, regardless of their nationality, are brothers.

17. Sex is bad for the soul. D. Sex is natural, normal and necessary for spirits who are at a certain stage of development. Sex must be fully learned, experienced and enjoyed before one can advance to higher levels of development. The rule is for as long as we have a need, that need must be satisfied.

18. Old Testament teachings are valid even today. D. Many of the Old Testament teachings are no longer applicable to us. In fact, many have already been amended. The blind obedience of Abraham, an eye for an eye, the vengeful and jealous God of Moses and the blood of the lamb (Christ) as an acceptable sacrifice — All these were actually already upgraded and superseded by the teachings of Jesus.

19. All that we will ever need to know are already written in the Holy Scriptures. D. Jesus himself said, “There is so much more I want to tell you...” There are many new teachings which are only now being made available but they can be received only by those who are ready and open to receive them.

20. We should not add or detract from what is written in the Bible. D. We really have no recourse but to do so. Depending on what we have already experienced, we add to or detract from the teachings in the Bible. Our own personal experiences are the only true bases from which we may be able to discern which is true or false, and true from that which is only half-true.

23 Lesson 3 - Review exercises

 

Write whether you AGREE or you DISAGREE with the following statements and then, briefly, in a few sentences, explain why or why not (5 points per item)

1. There is only one true religion, mine.

2. An eye for an eye.

3. The Gurus and Spiritual Masters who are in the world are only students, themselves.

4. In matters of faith, the Pope is infallible.

5. Gautama attained enlightenment just by meditating.

6. All men go to heaven when they die.

7. If we only knew how to pray, all our requests would surely be granted.

8. Simply choose the best alternative or the least evil.

9. The physical yoga exercises enhance our spirituality.

10. A man not tempted is not proved.

11. No soul shall bear the burden of another.

12. A priest is, of course, spiritually superior to other men.

13. The different religions represent the different aspects of the One Truth.

14. Each person’s understanding of the divine truths can only correspond to his own level in the order of evolution.

15. Monogamy is, of course, the best form of marriage for everybody.

16. Patriotism is a positive spiritual trait.

17. Sex is bad for the soul.

18. Old Testament teachings are valid even today.

19. All that we will ever need to know are already written in the Holy Scriptures.

20. We should not add or detract from what is written in the Bible.

19 Spirits' response to Vatican on New Age

This Response was first posted to a Catholic Forum but was subsequently censored and withdrawn by the Moderator. It is reproduced here for your consideration and possible discussion. Let it not be said that we did not exert efforts to share our information with everyone.

Your Vatican has graciously issued an open invitation to dialogue on New Age issues. Please refer to Items No. 1 and 6.2. We at Inner Quest are pleased to accept. We only hope that our acceptance and sharing of information will be viewed by those of you here in the same spirit of brotherhood and cooperation in which they are given. Although everyone of us may believe and interpret the divine teachings differently, nevertheless, we all know in our hearts that there is only One God, One Truth and One Brotherhood.

Because of the length and detail of the Vatican document, our response is likewise necessarily detailed and involved for clarity and completeness, as possible within the space provided. This response although very long is posted here in its entirety so as not to break the trend of thought of the Vatican presentation.

However, the thoughts and ideas that are in the Vatican document and those that we have included in our response are all open to subsequent discussion. All views and opinions for or against are welcome.

Vatican on New Age
An invitation to dialogue
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html

Foreword - The study is a provisional report. It is the fruit of the common reflection of the Working Group on New Religious Movements, composed of staff members of different dicasteries of the Holy See: the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Interreligious Dialogue (which are the principal redactors for this project), the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

These reflections are offered primarily to those engaged in pastoral work so that they might be able to explain how the New Age movement differs from the Christian faith.

Teachings of the Spirits of Truth
(All in italics)

The following explanations are here offered in the hope that they can contribute towards everyone obtaining to a better understanding of the New Age Movement and the New Divine Teachings.

While they may appear at first to digress and conflict with traditional Christian teachings in the view of some, they are nevertheless the introductory phases in the unfolding of that body of knowledge that Christ alludes to when he told us, “There is so much more I want to tell you.”

The age-old conceptions are now in the process of upgrading in recognition of our increased capacity to understand the Higher Truths. These are the Teachings of the Holy Spirit(s).

1 It (This document) is an invitation to understand the New Age and to engage in a genuine dialogue with those who are influenced by New Age thought. The document guides those involved in pastoral work in their understanding and response to New Age spirituality, both illustrating the points where this spirituality contrasts with the Catholic faith and refuting the positions espoused by New Age thinkers in opposition to Christian faith. What is indeed required of Christians is, first and foremost, a solid grounding in their faith.

Everyone should remain open-minded and be encouraged to try and understand new teachings. No one being perfect, therefore everyone has much to learn, still. To learning, there is no end.

Knowledge and Truth are not to be feared. All new information are to be embraced or rejected only after we have conducted a diligent study and evaluation, not opposed or refuted beforehand. Everyone should continue to seek in order to learn and comprehend the deeper Truths.

And where necessary, everyone should stand ready to let go of their mistaken beliefs, break down their old belief patterns and build anew.

1.3 When one examines many New Age traditions, it soon becomes clear that there is, in fact, little in the New Age that is new. The name seems to have gained currency through Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, at the time of the French and American Revolutions, but the reality it denotes is a contemporary variant of Western esotericism. This dates back to Gnostic groups which grew up in the early days of Christianity, and gained momentum at the time of the Reformation in Europe. It has grown in parallel with scientific world-views, and acquired a rational justification through the eighteenth and ninetenth centuries.

Spiritual instruction is progressive but necessarily builds and expands on what were taught before.

Gnostic teachings and all old conceptions are today clarified and upgraded. Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism having been established centuries earlier are technically not part of the New Age Movement.

Only the more recent developments during the last 200 years should be considered as parts of the NAM, but only to introduce it and prepare the world for its imminent arrival in force. In fact, they provide the incontrovertible and scientific proofs that will validate the New Teachings. They are the initiatives taken by God’s Holy Spirits and the Great White Brotherhood working together to prepare for the coming of the New Age and the return of Christ.

It has involved a progressive rejection of a personal God and a focus on other entities which would often figure as intermediaries between God and humanity in traditional Christianity, with more and more original adaptations of these or additional ones.

God is too far divorced from earthly conditions. His true nature cannot be fully appreciated until we can become more like Him, perfect as Jesus intimated. Instead, He sends His Holy Spirits, our ascended brothers, to whom He has delegated the work of guiding us so we too may become holy like them.

Due recognition is given to other advanced entities that are tasked by God to guide us in our development. They act much like bishops, priests and pastors. They are our Divine Guides and Teachers, only that they are far more highly evolved and competent in the performance of this work.

A powerful trend in modern Western culture which has given space to New Age ideas is the general acceptance of Darwinist evolutionary theory; this, alongside a focus on hidden spiritual powers or forces in nature, has been the backbone of much of what is now recognised as New Age theory.

Spirit evolution and physical evolution are separate and different things and processes.

God, being Spirit, created us spirits, in His image and likeness. However, we were in the beginning, innocent and ignorant, but endowed with every potentiality to attain to perfection through our own efforts. And we are destined to attain perfection, in the end, after we undergo life after life after life (reincarnation), learning from our own personal experiences. Jesus knowing this affirmed, "You must be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect."

Spiritual faculties or psychic powers are inherent but latent properties of every spirit entity. However, these powers are now fully explained and they can be developed by everyone, if we should so choose.

Darwin’s theories should properly be understood to refer only to physical things or bodies (forms) and not to the spirit self. Moreover, Theosophy in fact proposes a different theory, altogether. Here, the introduction of new improvements and faculties attaching to physical bodies or vehicles are designed by Higher Intelligences. Succeeding spirit-students can then avail of these new “life-forms” when they manifest in the physical worlds.

1.5 There is also a call in all of this to come closer to Jesus Christ and to be ready to follow Him, since He is the real way to happiness, the truth about God and the fulness of life for every man and woman who is prepared to respond to his love.

Similarly, the Spirits of Truth enjoin everyone to live according to Christ’s ethical teachings. God’s heaven is reserved only for the righteous who actually do His will in their everyday life.

Basic Teachings

2 Christians in many Western societies, and increasingly also in other parts of the world, frequently come into contact with different aspects of the phenomenon known as New Age. Many of them feel the need to understand how they can best approach something which is at once so alluring, complex, elusive and, at times, disturbing. These reflections are an attempt to help Christians do two things:

– to identify elements of the developing New Age tradition;

– to indicate those elements which are inconsistent with the Christian revelation.

Nevertheless, given the underlying vision of New Age religiosity, it is on the whole difficult to reconcile it with Christian doctrine and spirituality.

Through the guidance of the Spirits of Truth, the old truths are made plain and the New Teachings are advanced for our consideration. The most important principles are the following:

1 The existence of God

God may be defined as Infinite Intelligence. Imperfect as we are and still greatly influenced by matter, we are unable to completely understand the true exact nature of God. Finite minds cannot comprehend the infinite. In addition, our vocabulary is so poor that we are unable to more satisfactorily define God. While we may attribute to God certain very desirable and positive characteristics, we should never feel that God is confined to such attributes. To do so would be to limit God, Who is unlimited. However, we will be able to know and comprehend God more fully just as soon as we become totally freed from earthly influences and approach the righteousness that is God according to His ethical teachings.

2 The existence of the Spirit

God created us spirit beings in His image. However, at our creation, we were created perfect seeds, innocent and ignorant, but endowed with every potentiality to grow and develop to full maturity or perfection through our own exertions.

3 The reality of the Spirit World

There are other dimensions of being, other worlds apart from the physical worlds and the earth in which we live at the moment. There are “many mansions” in the Kingdom of God. We leave these more spiritual worlds temporarily when we are born to earth, and we return to them at physical death. And there, we will live for all eternity as soon as we prove ourselves worthy.

4 Oneness and brotherhood of all creation

At this earthly stage of our development, most humans are just beginning to curb their selfishness and selfish interests in favor of the common good. We are only now considering our planet as a single spaceship or boat in the vast sea of space. We are only now learning not to rock the boat lest we sink the ship and drown all of us, together. But, eventually, gradually, we will come to learn that all are one.

5 Reincarnation
In order to further develop spiritually, we spirit beings repeatedly come to earth and other physical worlds by motivating physical bodies which will enable us to undergo all the necessary experiences that afford learning until such time that we are able to arrive at a certain prescribed standard of spiritual perfection.

6 The Law of Karma
This is the Law of Harmony that provides for the restoration of balance to all things. This is also the law of cause and effect and sowing and reaping. Relative to ethical matters, the law was not intended to punish offenders as much as to teach us right from wrong and good and evil.

7 Infinite progression of the Spirit entity

No one will be committed to suffer forever in hell. All who are not yet fully developed or perfected will continue to be given every opportunity to improve himself in the Lower Worlds. This process continues until we are able to attain to the perfection that God intended. We are destined to come live with Him in His Kingdom after we have completed our earthly studies.

8 Personal responsibility and salvation through individual effort
Having been given free will, we alone have the right to decide regarding personal matters. “We are the captain of our soul, the master of our fate.” We only need to learn the divine laws and their consequences and abide by them in order to ensure for ourselves the kind of life we desire. It follows that God won’t and Jesus cannot save us because this is in direct contravention of His divine will. Instead, Jesus having shown us the Way, we now need to save ourselves through our own personal efforts.

9 Mediumship as a means of communication with the Spirit World
By developing our higher faculties, we are able to break through the barriers between this world and the Higher Worlds thereby obtaining undeniable proofs and further divine instruction.

10 Love and service as the Way

Emphasis is given to righteousness, which is love in action, and active service to our fellowmen as the Way to obtain release from the necessity of further incarnations and the attainment of eternal life in the Spirit World, the World of Reality.

All other attendant and more worldly concepts and teachings are only corollary or supportive of these main spiritual teachings, of which there are infinite levels and aspects. Each corresponds to a specific stage in the order of evolution. Everything in its rightful place.

Emergence of Spiritism and Theosophy

2.1 The Age of Aquarius has such a high profile in the New Age movement largely because of the influence of theosophy, spiritualism and anthroposophy, and their esoteric antecedents.

At about 1850, to call our attention to the more spiritual aspects of our being and commence the necessary preparations for the coming new age, two important major movements drawing extensively from supernatural sources were initiated, one by the Great White Brotherhood, the other by the Spirits of Truth. Eastern and Western, they constitute two seemingly different approaches, but each complements the other and both are working for the same goals. There is only One God and one Truth.

By 1875, the great libraries had all been razed to the ground or ravaged by war and almost all of the old sacred books and records were destroyed. To reintroduce the Wisdom Teachings of the ancients, the Great White Brotherhood commissioned the services of their "chela," Madame Helena P. Blavatsky. With the use of her spiritual faculties highly developed from past incarnations, she clairvoyantly accessed the lost information from the Akashic Records and compiled them all in ‘The Secret Doctrine.’ She also founded the Theosophical Society to oversee the dissemination of these ancient teachings and prepare candidates for "chelahood," a state where candidates have qualified for acceptance as a student of the Masters, henceforth meriting direct and personalized guidance and instruction. Theosophical studies cover the origin and development of the cosmos and human development in all the planes of being from its beginning to its end.

Following in this tradition a century later, the Tibetan lama, Lobsang Rampa, was tasked to further simplify, clarify and upgrade the Eastern teachings. Adept at soul traveling, highly clairvoyant and telepathic, he recounts his experiences and provides us with startling revelations relating to the Unseen World. Highly evolved himself, he understands the divine teachings more completely and he teaches and explains them in his books which became bestsellers.

As early as 1850, the Spirits of Truth with the spirit guides and guardian angels had already initiated their own work in the Christian context. Their primary objective then was to provide proofs of the survival of the spirit. Countless Spiritualist mediums in Europe and America now began to manifest all sorts of magical and highly entertaining phenomena. Tables rapped messages, so did ouija boards convey information from beyond. Ghosts and apparitions regaled and frightened. Objects flying all over the place appeared and disappeared from view. Much of these manifestations were subsequently proven to be false, but enough of the genuine articles convinced those with open minds that there is a greater reality, another world beyond ours.

After the more thoughtful among the people got over their fascination and wonder, they began to question why all the fuss, what does it all mean. This time, the Spirits chose a Frenchman, Leon-Denizarth-Hippolyte Rivail, a member of several learned societies and a scientist-researcher well known in scientific circles to disseminate their explanations and teachings. Through various mediums and countless seances, a special team of Spirit teachers, among them the Apostle John and St. Augustine, communicated to Rivail the beginning basis of the promised revelations, the All Truth referred to by Jesus, the many things kept hidden since the foundation of the world, which in Jesus’ time, the people would not have been able to understand.

Rivail included all these revelations in his books, ‘The Spirits’ Book’ and others under the penname of Allan Kardec, according to the instructions of the Guides. They later formed the underlying teachings of Spiritism, which term simply means guidance by the Holy Spirit. In the Philippines and in Brazil in the mid-1900s, psychic surgeons belonging to this school performed their barehanded and painless operations and attracted large followings.

In the United States today, Channeling has taken over from Spiritualism. Each addition to the series brings in new insights and reveals deeper aspects of the same eternal Truths.

Other implied truths

Some of the traditions which flow into New Age are: ancient Egyptian occult practices, Cabbalism, early Christian gnosticism, Sufism, the lore of the Druids, Celtic Christianity, mediaeval alchemy, Renaissance hermeticism, Zen Buddhism, Yoga and so on.

There is some truth in all schools and religions. All of the Truth was not given to any one person or group, alone, but to everyone in part, in proportion to his development. To know the Whole, we must draw from each of them those parts that were entrusted to them. However, all the old conceptions should be reviewed in light of every new information.

Much of the old teachings have already been rendered obsolete by more recent findings and revelations. There is always progress in all things.

Here is what is “new” about New Age. It is a “syncretism of esoteric and secular elements”.(16) They link into a widely-held perception that the time is ripe for a fundamental change in individuals, in society and in the world. There are various expressions of the need for a shift:

– from Newtonian mechanistic physics to quantum physics;

– from modernity's exaltation of reason to an appreciation of feeling, emotion and experience (often described as a switch from 'left brain' rational thinking to 'right brain' intuitive thinking):

– from a dominance of masculinity and patriarchy to a celebration of femininity, in individuals and in society.

As explained earlier, New Age concepts and teachings relate both to the things in the world and the things of the spirit and of heaven.

Newton’s physics and our physical brain functioning are worldly concerns.

Rational thinking is part of spirit development and at our present stage, we are just beginning the early phase of abstract thinking. Though largely unremembered, intuitive insight relates to the knowledge gained from our past life experiences. Masculinity and femininity are just two different aspects of our being. In our many incarnations, we will at times be male, female, gay or lesbian until we are able to attain to a more complete and balanced development. Until such time that we are already “perfect”, every seeming abnormality or aberrant behavior is for us really a normal condition and learning experience in the spirit sense, they being within the realm of human possibility.

Perhaps the clearest example of this, in terms of the relationship between New Age and Christianity, is the total recasting of the life and significance of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to reconcile these two visions.

The “vision” of the Church in regard to Jesus is its own conception and not at all according to how Jesus introduces himself and his God in his own words. The Holy Trinity is also another of these purely Catholic conceptions. Jesus never did teach these. All thoughts and teachings by others including those of the Church that contradict his direct teachings should be rejected, outright.

We should listen instead to Jesus – To the Master who knows, not his students who don’t. His words are clear in the Gospels. Truth just needs to be more clearly understood.

2.21 One of the most common elements in New Age “spirituality” is a fascination with extraordinary manifestations, and in particular with paranormal entities. People recognised as “mediums” claim that their personality is taken over by another entity during trances in a New Age phenomenon known as “channeling”, during which the medium may lose control over his or her body and faculties.

To convince skeptics initially, the medium or psychic performs only during deep trance, receiving and delivering messages given to him word for word, in a voice not his own, secretly and privately, under cover of darkness. Upon returning to consciousness, he remembers nothing of what transpired. Usually, the communications go far beyond the extent of his personal knowledge and experience.

As acceptance grows, further proofs become unnecessary and the medium is allowed to receive and relay information consciously, interpreting pictures and thoughts during daytime and in public. He can also recall everything that happened. Finally in the advanced forms of mediumship, the medium’s eyes can be open and his body will exhibit no extra physical exertions or rigidity. Telepathy most closely approximates normal, unimpeded communication here on Earth.

As language improves and ideas are more effectively concretized, the messages become more meaningful, rational and better suited to the target audience, according to the audience’s capacity to comprehend.

At this advanced stage, the rules that apply in our evaluating information coming from any and all sources, whether from an authorized source or unauthorized, confirmed or unconfirmed, should at all times be observed fully.

Other friends and counsellors from the spirit world are angels (which have become the centre of a new industry of books and paintings). Those who refer to angels in the New Age do so in an unsystematic way; in fact, distinctions in this area are sometimes described as unhelpful if they are too precise, since “there are many levels of guides, entities, energies, and beings in every octave of the universe... They are all there to pick and choose from in relation to your own attraction/repulsion mechanisms”.(22) These spiritual entities are often invoked 'non-religiously' to help in relaxation aimed at better decision-making and control of one's life and career. Fusion with some spirits who teach through particular people is another New Age experience claimed by people who refer to themselves as 'mystics'.

We communicate with those spirits that can offer us the information or help that we need and want. It is up to us whom we want to communicate with and what kind. Spirits are of all classes just like people on earth.

If we seek spiritual guidance, then we should invoke the guidance of the Holy Spirits. If we should need worldly advice or just want to be entertained, then we call on Familiar Spirits.

But everyone should take heed lest they be deceived. Only those who are serious and sincere merit the attention of high-minded spirits. If we are frivolous and trivial, we will attract only those of our same kind.

In all of these activities, we should be open to new ideas. We should listen. But we should reserve our judgment until we are able to more thoroughly study the matter and arrive at our own conclusions. Only after should we decide on a course of action, whether to accept or reject the advice. But regardless, no harm can come to us unless we ourselves allow it.

2.22 Phenomena as diverse as the Findhorn garden and Feng Shui (23) represent a variety of ways which illustrate the importance of being in tune with nature or the cosmos. In New Age there is no distinction between good and evil. Human actions are the fruit of either illumination or ignorance. Hence we cannot condemn anyone, and nobody needs forgiveness. Believing in the existence of evil can create only negativity and fear. The answer to negativity is love. But it is not the sort which has to be translated into deeds; it is more a question of attitudes of mind. Love is energy, a high-frequency vibration, and the secret to happiness and health and success is being able to tune in, to find one's place in the great chain of being.

New Age teachers and therapies claim to offer the key to finding the correspondences between all the elements of the universe, so that people may modulate the tone of their lives and be in absolute harmony with each other and with everything around them, although there are different theoretical backgrounds.(24)

The first rule in seeking for Truth is to first analyze, test and question everything. We are to accept only those propositions that test true in the light of our personal experience and reject all that do not.

No source in our world is 100% complete, true or accurate. Feng Shui is an art, not a science, and while some may base their recommendations on certain valid known or little-known natural principles, much is superstition, nevertheless, depending on the practitioner.

Of course, there is good and evil by comparison to one another. But no one should be condemned because all of us are prone to error, we being still in the process of learning. We are still on the main innocent and ignorant spirits – many are even devilish and mischievous. Jesus said of us, “They don’t know what they are doing.” But Jesus also said, “You must be perfect as the Father is perfect.” And so we all shall in His time.

But even as we forgive, we should nonetheless exert all efforts to prevent the recurrence of harm to our self and others.

Love must be lived. Those who don’t do not know love. It is not enough to think or believe only. The proof of knowing is in the doing.

Regardless what New Age and other teachers say, we should “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be added unto us.”

2.23 Formal (allopathic) medicine today tends to limit itself to curing particular, isolated ailments, and fails to look at the broader picture of a person's health: this has given rise to a fair amount of understandable dissatisfaction. Alternative therapies have gained enormously in popularity because they claim to look at the whole person and are about healing rather than curing. Holistic health, as it is known, concentrates on the important role that the mind plays in physical healing. The connection between the spiritual and the physical aspects of the person is said to be in the immune system or the Indian chakra system. In a New Age perspective, illness and suffering come from working against nature; when one is in tune with nature, one can expect a much healthier life, and even material prosperity; for some New Age healers, there should actually be no need for us to die.

This is just saying that our faults and character weaknesses are the root causes of all physical diseases and for that matter all unwanted situations and circumstances that come to be part of our life.

Make ourselves right with God according to His ethical teachings and all will be well.

The influence of our character deficiencies and misdeeds committed in our past lives on our present life situations and conditions are revealed and more clearly illustrated in the life readings given by Edgar Cayce under the supervision of the Spirits of Truth.

But of course, if we are born into the world, then we must die. How else can we go back home to heaven.

Originally, reincarnation was a part of Hindu cyclical thought, based on the atman or divine kernel of personality (later the concept of jiva), which moved from body to body in a cycle of suffering (samsara), determined by the law of karma, linked to behaviour in past lives. Hope lies in the possibility of being born into a better state, or ultimately in liberation from the need to be reborn. What is different in most Buddhist traditions is that what wanders from body to body is not a soul, but a continuum of consciousness. Present life is embedded in a potentially endless cosmic process which includes even the gods. In the West, since the time of Lessing, reincarnation has been understood far more optimistically as a process of learning and progressive individual fulfilment. Spiritualism, theosophy, anthroposophy and New Age all see reincarnation as participation in cosmic evolution. This post-Christian approach to eschatology is said to answer the unresolved questions of theodicy and dispenses with the notion of hell. When the soul is separated from the body individuals can look back on their whole life up to that point, and when the soul is united to its new body there is a preview of its coming phase of life. People have access to their former lives through dreams and meditation techniques.(26)

Soul is consciousness in a physical body. But we don’t wander aimlessly. We enter into pre-planned experiences that will help us in learning what we came to earth to learn in the first place and build and refine our character.

This is similar to coming to an earthly classroom to learn our lessons. Here on earth, we are learning all about good and evil, right and wrong by undergoing the precise experiences that afford learning.

Birth is coming to class and death is returning home. After a hard day’s study, we then look back at the plan we agreed on with our guides before coming to earth to review the lessons that we learned and determine whether we accomplished our objectives. Afterwards, we can then plan for our next incarnation.

Through intuition, dreams and meditation, we may be able to obtain insights relating to our past lives and likewise receive messages and inspirations from above. But this is allowed only when such a remembrance and message will be helpful to us in our present life situations.

2.32 The essential matrix of New Age thinking is to be found in the esoteric-theosophical tradition which was fairly widely accepted in European intellectual circles in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was particularly strong in freemasonry, spiritualism, occultism and theosophy, which shared a kind of esoteric culture. In this world-view, the visible and invisible universes are linked by a series of correspondences, analogies and influences between microcosm and macrocosm, between metals and planets, between planets and the various parts of the human body, between the visible cosmos and the invisible realms of reality. Nature is a living being, shot through with networks of sympathy and antipathy, animated by a light and a secret fire which human beings seek to control. People can contact the upper or lower worlds by means of their imagination (an organ of the soul or spirit), or by using mediators (angels, spirits, devils) or rituals.

While man still on earth does not have the faculties or the sufficient experience to fully appreciate higher concepts and realities, nevertheless to some limited extent, we can relate them to everyday happenings and things here.

We could think of the cosmos as a school system for developing spirits. The earth then would be simply as a classroom.

Theosophical studies cover the origin and development of the cosmos (school premises and everything in it) and human development in all the planes of being from its beginning to its end. They include the physical facilities, teaching methodologies and all other support systems in place in the school. All that have happened in the course of our studies are likewise covered in large part, along with some previews of things yet to come.

Spiritism or Guidance by the Spirits of Truth takes up the lesson proper. The studies are directly supervised by holy spirits and it is their task to help us become holy, ourselves.

In all of these studies, there is much truth, but at the same time, there is much more that are false. It is for every student to discern for himself which is which. "If you adhere to my teaching, you will really be my disciples; and you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free."

People can be initiated into the mysteries of the cosmos, God and the self by means of a spiritual itinerary of transformation. The eventual goal is gnosis, the highest form of knowledge, the equivalent of salvation. It involves a search for the oldest and highest tradition in philosophy (what is inappropriately called philosophia perennis) and religion (primordial theology), a secret (esoteric) doctrine which is the key to all the “exoteric” traditions which are accessible to everyone. Esoteric teachings are handed down from master to disciple in a gradual program of initiation.

The eventual goal is spiritual (ethical) perfection. Knowledge is just the accompanying resulting component and is simply “added to us” automatically. Knowledge not applied is useless, just as “Faith without works is dead.”

Spiritual perfection entails our attainment of God’s divine qualities and character. And they are to be applied consistently in our daily life. Deeds are all-important.

The secret doctrine of Theosophy is God’s Divine Plan of Evolution that is now being made available to all those who desire to learn more about it.

It reached its clearest form in the ideas of Helena Blavatsky, a Russian medium who founded the Theosophical Society with Henry Olcott in New York in 1875. The Society aimed to fuse elements of Eastern and Western traditions in an evolutionary type of spiritualism. It had three main aims:

1. “To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, caste or colour.

2. “To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science.

3. “To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.

In the study of Theosophy, every student is free to make up his own mind regarding any of the teachings. Everything is open to question. There are no hidden agendas. No dogmas. No recognized authority. Not even Helena Blavatsky. Everyone on earth is merely a student. No one is perfect. Everyone is prone to error.

Guidance is provided by the Masters or the senior students that include all the spiritual masters, gurus, adepts and other advanced beings that have ever lived and studied on earth.

2.341 New Age involves a fundamental belief in the perfectibility of the human person by means of a wide variety of techniques and therapies (as opposed to the Christian view of co-operation with divine grace).

There is no other Way to God but through Righteousness, Love and Service to our fellowmen. Christ by way of his own example symbolizes this Way. However, through the application of the twin principles of Reincarnation and Karma, exacting divine justice automatically eliminates the need and exercise of divine grace.

2.342 “All is one”. This unity is monistic, pantheistic or, more precisely, panentheistic. God is the “life-principle”, the “spirit or soul of the world”, the sum total of consciousness existing in the world. In a sense, everything is God.

This was first and better known as a Hindu teaching that predates Christianity by 3000 years.

This is also essentially the exact-same divine principle that Christ teaches in his Parable of the Vine and the Branches and our being One with the Father and with him in the Book of John. And so does St. Paul elaborate on this basic principle in I Cor., the One Body of Christ.

“Christ” is a title applied to someone who has arrived at a state of consciousness where he or she perceives him- or herself to be divine and can thus claim to be a “universal Master”. Jesus of Nazareth was not the Christ, but simply one among many historical figures in whom this “Christic” nature is revealed, as is the case with Buddha and others. Every historical realisation of the Christ shows clearly that all human beings are heavenly and divine, and leads them towards this realisation.

Contrary to what the Christian Churches teach, Jesus Christ himself affirms this truth in his own words.

"Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?" Then he pointed to his disciples and said, "Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants him to do is my brother, my sister and my mother." (MT 12)

Jesus said, "But you are to become perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (MT 5)

He also said, "All that I have done, you, too, can do." (JN14) 

3.4 The heart of genuine Christian mysticism is not technique: it is always a gift of God; and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy”.

Except for God creating us and endowing us with eternal life and every potentiality to become like the Father, there are no free gifts. Our enjoyment of everything else is based on merit.

It is just that God and His Holy Spirits will do for us what we cannot as yet do for ourselves. But they will leave us to do for ourselves all that by virtue of our own development we are already competent and capable of doing.

Let the Light shine in

6.1 People who wonder if it is possible to believe in both Christ and Aquarius can only benefit from knowing that this is very much an “either-or” situation.

So was the Sanhedrin in Jesus’ time faced with this similar dilemma. But this hard-line position of the Church is misguided and regrettable and should not be adopted or followed.

For this Age of Aquarius is in fact the promised return of Christ. And these teachings are part of the “so much more” that he wanted to tell us but didn’t, because we would not have been able to understand them anyway, at the time.

And if it should ever come to a choice, we can all be certain that whoever positions himself against the Lord will not prevail.

All those who refuse to go forward will discover much to their regret that they will be falling behind. Their friends and classmates will advance to Higher Studies in the Higher Realms. They on the other hand will be joining the next batch of spirit-students and undertake another round of physical existence – suffering more pain and hardships - on similar material and earthly planes.

6.2 The Catholic Church has its own very effective networks, which could be better used. For example, there is a large number of pastoral centres, cultural centres and centres of spirituality. Ideally, these could also be used to address the confusion about New Age religiosity in a variety of creative ways, such as providing a forum for discussion and study. It must unfortunately be admitted that there are too many cases where Catholic centres of spirituality are actively involved in diffusing New Age religiosity in the Church. This would of course have to be corrected, not only to stop the spread of confusion and error, but also so that they might be effective in promoting true Christian spirituality. Catholic cultural centres, in particular, are not only teaching institutions but spaces for honest dialogue.

Whenever confronted by new concepts and ideas, especially those that would seem at first to disagree with our long-held beliefs, there is the normal tendency to refuse to listen, misunderstand or be confused in the beginning. But confusion is the beginning of learning.

To all those among you who are now ready, let the mysteries unfold!

For added information, click on CBCP on New Age > http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html