Some Errors of Pedantic and Dogmatic Religion

Various thoughts gathered together regarding theological concepts, comments and objections
(perspective by Tony Bisson)

  Page One

Thank you for taking the time to look at these pages. I would like to offer a relatively short explanation of what I hold to be true with regard to eschatology (the purpose of life and our ultimate destination). I also cover certain areas where "contemporary" and "Literalist" Biblical religion and its many offshoots err, in greater or lesser measure, in relation to Greater World and Universalist philosophy.

To begin with I would like to explain that I accept the Divinity of Christ and that He died so that the world might be saved, but I should also like to point out that this statement can be somewhat misleading unless a fuller explanation is given (this is dealt with in this thesis). Also, I should like to point out that I am aware that ancient and modern day miracles took and take place in the name of Christ. While I am speaking personally, I should also like to point out that I am keenly aware that money should never be taken for personal gain for something which God has given freely, namely, His Truth and His power. All use of Divine power must be accounted for at some future time.

Good News

I can openly admit that my life would not hold so much joy and real hope, had it not been for my contact with Christ through the Greater World Christian Spiritualist Church. I now possess an unshakable belief in an inviolable law of consequences, c.-à-d.."As you sow so shall you reap", and am convinced in the existence of a perfect Divine justice. Also, the darkness caused by needless fear and anxiety has been removed by the introduction of the second element of Light - Christ; and moreover, a glorious future unfolds itself daily which reveals itself to be more wonderful than it is possible to even fathom at this present time. This does not mean that trials and obstacles that need to be overcome do not present themselves, or that love and faith is not tried, but these tests have proven to strengthen that very faith and love. However, the best thing of all, is the hope, available to everyone no matter who they are, that they have untold and undreamed of opportunities and gifts which are their birthright.

"But why be concerned about other people's beliefs?"

So why the concern with regard to what other people say? Well, for one reason, I believe it is perhaps bordering on ignorance not to try to have a little understanding of the beliefs of others, whether one actually believes them or not. "But surely, if we do not wish to follow what they believe, then we do not have to try to understand what they believe?" This is true up to a certain extent, but we cannot speak with knowledge unless we have tried to understand their point of view. I very rarely invite Watchtower people (Jehovah Witnesses) past my door any more because, generally, they do not seem to have any desire to hear what I have to say about my beliefs - it really seems as if they can turn off their ability to hear anything which is inconsistent with their own belief system. I can spend hours talking to them and it appears that their preconceived beliefs have already determined that I cannot possibly be right - all they are really interested in is getting me to accept their literature but they will never, under any circumstances, take any literature from me. And I have spent hours and hours learning about their beliefs - I would say I am not being ignorant if I turn them away from my door because of this. In the same way, I find it almost impossible to exchange my beliefs with Pentecostal or Evangelical Born-Again-Christians, or Gospel Baptists (I speak generally here because this is not always the case). In fact, the amount of times I have seen Fundamentalists get angry at me, has made me realise that it may well be best not to get involved after a certain point.

But when the beliefs of others affect your own directly in an adverse way, then it seems appropriate to speak up about it, or rather, inappropriate to remain permanently silent. From the outset I must say that I believe that anything which can raise an individual's heart and mind to God is precious to Him. I treat the Bible as the inspired word of God, and although I do not think that it has been untouched by human influence, God's Will can be seen very clearly in it. But I must also say that many good people have their questions answered in an unsatisfactory way, and I believe it is the case that the satisfying of the spiritual needs of many people is not taking place because those people turn to those who claim to have the answers and yet it seems to them that they have received stones instead of the spiritual food which is their Divine right.

What are the differences between Fundamentalists and Universalists?

What is the difference between the beliefs of those who are called "Fundamentalists" or "Biblical Christians" or "Literalists", and the beliefs of those who fall under the term: "Universalist Christians"? They all believe in their perception of God Almighty: God the Father, God the Son (although Jehovah Witnesses do not accept His Divinity) and the Divine Power of the Holy Spirit. So, what's the difference?

One of the main differences is our belief in God's Purpose for humanity. For instance, the Jehovah Witness and those naming themselves "Biblical Christians" both believe that only they will be the ones to receive eternal life (whatever their perception of eternal life may be) as a direct result of their belief and life upon the earth, and nothing more (the Earth-life, they would say, being the only chance for salvation - be "saved" during the Earth-life or be damned to Hell!). I, on the other hand, believe that all of God's creatures shall achieve a state of perfection, and that this is not achieved on the earth alone, but rather over aeons of time in other states of being. Moreover, I do not believe man enters "Paradise" through literally accepting a belief (in the sense of the act of acceptance qualifying one 'instantly' for eternity in spiritual Perfection), but rather I believe that souls must evolve to the state where the soul is of the same "substance" as that of the soul's surroundings. And this spiritual evolution is achieved by the application of the true parts of ones' belief to ones' existence, in whatever condition or Sphere that may be. To be able to abide in "Heaven", the soul of man must have evolved to get there. Furthermore, there are many, many different states or Spheres of existence in which people (real spirits) abide ("In My Father's House there are many Abiding Places").

Another great difference is in the God we follow, or rather, His attributes. My God is incapable of hatred or anger or even 'punishing'. I believe misery and suffering comes through the abuse of the freewill which brings consequences through violating existing spiritual laws, either individually, or collectively, and sometimes the innocent suffer (but they are always compensated for by Divine Justice and spiritual law). The "Literalists" have a God who punishes and also who gets angry and is capable of hatred. My God is Love Itself. He is Divine Sensitiveness, exquisite in compassion and understanding of the human condition. My God has only spiritual love for His lost children and seeks to bring them the gifts which He has waiting for them when they are ready to take them. He does not limit these gifts to only a chosen few, but He has made it possible, because of His All-Wise vision, that eventually all of His children shall find their way to those treasures of the Spirit.

In short, I believe that we do not achieve perfection because of what we believe, but we achieve perfection because of how we live and exist, both here on this earth (having already earned the right to be here through evolution prior to coming here) and in the conditions or states into which the soul passes when this earth life is over. I believe the soul pursues its way following its path until the glorious end is reached, and then that again is the beginning of the Life which knows no end: the Life of peace, joy and happiness, which nothing at all can ever take away.

The Literalists or those who perhaps call themselves "Biblical Christians" do not allow for my belief to enable me to achieve perfection, nor any other people with beliefs which are different from their own, regardless of how we live out our existence. For it is, according to them, the acceptance of what they believe which enables them to achieve life in what they may perceive to be the state of Paradise. But, ironically, my belief does allow for their belief to attain for them a proportionate measure of benefits, gifts and blessings which the human mind can only imagine in part.

Christians can be the nicest people in the world

Now, I want to make it quite clear that there are millions of people who call themselves Christians who are some of the nicest people any one could ever hope to meet. If it were the case that these good and humble Christians represented all Christians, then there would be no need for this treatise.

However, that it not the case. There are millions of people calling themselves Christians, who follow a teaching which is divisive (they believe they have 'been separated unto God' whereas no one else has) because they consider themselves to be the only ones to have achieved God's purpose for them (by being 'saved' perhaps they might say: something which occurs at one given moment during their earth life). Such people do not consider any one else to have been saved until they too have undergone this moment of 'transformation', and this moment is the one and only turning point that any human being is capable of having for his or her salvation, it is said by them. These people take certain writings and real spiritual teachings in a literal way and develop a literal yet erroneous theory.

Here are a few examples of what they write...

....."What was your basic nature before you were born again spiritually? You were by nature children of wrath, dead in sin, living completely to fulfil sinful lusts and desires. This is the condition of every unbeliever today."

..."When you came into spiritual union with God through your new birth, you exchanged natures. God changed you from darkness to light, from sinner to saint."

..."We are not sinners who sin, we are saints who sin occasionally."

..."When you were born again spiritually, you were adopted by God, and now you can live a sanctified life."

This is the type of attitude and teaching to which this treatise is directed, and not to those many good and humble Christians who do not consider themselves to have risen to such an exalted status above the majority of their fellows. And so, the idea of these people is that they are "saved" through a one-time conscious affirmation during their life on earth, and are now in a position to live a spiritual life. This is in contrast to any one who has not taken that one-time confirmation and therefore cannot live a spiritual life, because their natures, according to the Elitist, are sinful, not saintly, like their own.

The people who preach the dogmas above are opposed to my personal belief (c.-à-d. the teachings of the Greater World Christian Spiritualist Church) in their teachings. It is not the Christian side of our church which they oppose so much but, rather, the gifts of the Spirit which started the Greater World Association (League) that they oppose. They say that all spirits are evil, and that any spirit contacting us in the flesh is sent "from Satan". There are other large organizations whose dogmas also condemn my belief. For instance, in a book given to me from the Watchtower (Jehovah Witnesses), it says that we must take any book to do with Spirit-communication and 'burn it'.

There are huge multi-million dollar worldwide organizations that teach such things, and there are millions of books in circulation which also announce in the name of Christianity that Christian Spiritualism is the "work of the Satan". Without being specific about the denominations involved, it would perhaps be fairly suitable to describe these people as "right-wing fundamentalists", although that term is not altogether accurate either.

Generally speaking, those who condemn Christian Spiritualism as an evil force, are conscientious people who think they are dominated by motives both sincere and practical; but in reality, when they pass over, then they see that they have done much to build up the barriers between themselves and the God they would worship. When illumination comes to them, they see that much needs to be worked out by them to rectify what they have worked in.

(I have noticed that some of these organizations ask for money if people want their ministers and circles to pray for them. Prayers should be given freely! Jesus did not tell His disciples to ask for money before they prayed or healed people, or to make certain that their Golf Club memberships were paid up to date, but rather the opposite - He told them not to possess anything but the bare essentials while they showered His blessings, love and wisdom upon their brothers and sisters. This was because the greatest spiritual strength is built up through self-denial, and the work which is done then has greater power to remain; work done where materialism shadows the mind has less stamina and a weaker spiritual value.)

I have roughly estimated that of all of the various types of Biblical teachings in the world today, about 25,000,000 people follow a teaching that literally claims that all Spiritualism is the work of the Devil. Now, this does not mean that 25,000,000 people have actually claimed that Spiritualism is evil, but rather those 25,000,000 people are following a teaching that proclaims Spiritualism as evil.

As a Greater World Christian Spiritualist, I feel that something is sadly lacking and erroneous in the above teachings, and so this is another reason why this treatise is written (and updated accordingly).

If it is the case that I may seem to be somewhat critical in this thesis (in the way in which I explain my beliefs in relation to these others), it is only because I need to speak of what I consider to be the truth in order to achieve this because so much has been said (by those who are supposed to know about spiritual matters) against what I consider to be wholly sacred. Many people are "put off" of the beautiful message that the Greater World has for them because those who name themselves God's representatives on earth, have not been able to embrace the message. I feel that it is only fair to at least try to allow these others the opportunity to see that, after all, Greater World Christian Spiritualism is God-ordained for the benefit of humanity.

I would also like to say that I believe there are many roads to God, some shorter, some longer. This is partly because of the nature of individuals. The human mind may seem similar from a superficial aspect, but each one is wonderfully unique. So it is that not every mind can think the same way. And every soul is at a different stage of development, and in this there are certain characteristics in the soul which might be more developed in some areas and less developed in others. Hence, there appears many different pathways. Even among those who believe in Spirit Return, there are various types of belief. But underlying the whole scheme of things, is the fact that people desire to better their spiritual existence, whichever way they look at it. And God is the Great Parent of all, Who yearns over those who have wandered far from His illimitable love and therefore suffer from spiritual loneliness.

"If Satan should rise against Satan then his kingdom would be divided"

Ironically, many Biblical theologies and dogmas, or rather, the people who follow them today, do not accept that I can know Christ through the channel of the Greater World. At first, this was something of a shock for me, because I thought that in Christ we all had such a common bond. Then, as time went on, I found that some Christians were actually against me for being in a church which had "Spiritualist" in its name. For this reason, I touch on a few of the errors in the thinking of those who are so quick to criticize, and yet who have never had enough faith in God or even the desire to try to understand the truth which is available to all through this wholesome and most spiritually rewarding channel.

I am "for Christ and not against Him", and those who are so quick to condemn without even bothering to find out whether or not this treasure is true or false, should remember that Christ rebuked His disciples for complaining that someone not of their band was working in Christ's Name. People who condemn Christian Spiritualists as being evil are horrendously wrong, for Jesus was also accused of casting out "devils" in the name of the Devil; Christ told His accusers that Satan's kingdom would be divided if "Satan were to rise against Satan".

It is also ironic, that those who are so quick to condemn, are those who demand that Jesus comes to earth leading an army of cold-hearted beings to deliver any one who has a different way of thinking to themselves and into an "everlasting punishment". These people forget that Jesus was the embodiment of Love, forgiveness and compassion, and the personification of tenderness and kindness, the One Who possessed an unmatched sweetness of character, the One Who delighted to serve and to give and give again - not the one who was full of hatred and revenge and the desire to punish! These people read words in the Bible but fail to see the mighty message beneath them - that which is of the One true God.

Spirits are here, and they are here to stay

I also accept that communication between highly developed spiritual messengers and people in human bodies is a fact, and should be viewed as a sacred gift given by God for mankind's benefit and progression.

I must also point out (as a matter of principle when telling others that communication is possible with those who have climbed further up the hill to God than those in the body of flesh and blood) that there is a right way to use such a gift, and there is a way fraught with danger. The abuse of such a gift can only bring much misery to the abuser. It should be remembered that it is the motives, desires and the attitude of the individual which attract certain disembodied spirits with similar attitudes into their vibrations. Like attracts like in the spiritual sense.

This point should explain the reason for the God of old having to prohibit the spiritually ignorant Israelites from spirit-intercourse. Such people were utterly ignorant - worshipping demonic idols and even performing human sacrifices to them - among all sorts of other abominable deeds. They were controlled by debased spirits, and no good could possibly come from contact with the Spirit World at that time amongst such a backward people.

It is also true today that around the individual there is never a time when there are no spirits. These spirits will be either working in harmony with God and His laws, or working against the Divine flow. This knowledge should be made available to humanity. It can be brought to the awareness of any open-minded person with the desire to comprehend. Such knowledge would revolutionize this earth - along with the knowledge of the more involved spiritual mechanics - because it is applicable to any nation anywhere.

But some people are afraid of being jeered at, and some are too intellectually proud to consider investigating the subject, seeing no immediate acclaim or profit from it, and orthodox religions have no idea as to the fuller reality and have no input to make either. Nevertheless, people need to be protected from themselves in so many cases.

Spiritual ministers to mankind

There are always those sent by God to work among His children on earth. They are capable of seeing what the Spirit within the individual wants from this earth with regard to experiences, lessons and tests. The Spirit-charged beings are instructed and know what is written on the soul-body - the pattern of the life which must be worked out according to the design of the God-spirit within that soul. These guides and helpers seek to guide the individual onto the path which is most advantageous for the Spirit within. They have the power to influence the individual in the flesh by throwing their thoughts, light and power over the individual, but they are forbidden to directly interfere with the gift of the freewill

Many religionists call such inspiration the Holy Spirit (which indeed it is) but do not readies how it is constituted, and in many cases would object with shocked disbelief that anyone should suggest that God's developed children should actually be an aspect of the Holy Spirit. The working of this spiritual force is according to strict Divine Law, and the freewill is never interfered with. It is always the individual who must make the choice as to action and deed. These spirits (who might appear "angelic" to our limited sight even if our spiritual eyes were opened at this stage) are here to help, heal and direct, so that God's loving desire that His children will all finally return to perfection might be fulfilled - "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb.1:14).