The God Who Wasn't There

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Doch

Has anyone seen this doco? I have to wait a bit for its release here ( Australia)

If you have seen it, what did you think of it?

Thanks

http://www.thegodmovie.com/

Beth

Doch,

No, I haven't seen it, but I also live in the buckle of the bible belt, so many such films do not show here.

While I agree that Jesus was only fictional, you will have to make this decision for yourself!

I will tell you that everything on the trailer is correct, so it may be worth it to buy the DVD (especially if you want an abbreviated version of why Jesus was not a real person -- it will save you the time of a lot of reading!)


 
~Beth :grin:
Become a Critical Thinker!
"Ignorance is the greatest of all sins."
                   --Origen of Alexandria

Doch

Hi Beth.

Yes, I concluded for myself some time ago that Jesus (as portrayed in the New Testament) never truly existed. The same way that Buddha and Krishna never truly existed. What makes me feel a bit strange is the fact that so many people claim to meet/see Jesus when astralling, near-death, etc.

I don't know exactly what to think about that  :think:

El-Bortukali

people see what they want to see.
if i had a near death experience i'd mostl likely "meet"Alexander III
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat

Doch

But if for instance you read a book such as Kenneth Rings "Lessons from the light", some of the accounts mentioned are pretty compelling. Isn't it a bit obstinate to make that kind of a judgment?

Donal

Why do you think the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) never existed?
Now everybody wanna go to heaven but nobody want to die- Krayzie Bone

MisterJingo

Quote from: DonalWhy do you think the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) never existed?

Not 'never existed' as such, more not existed in the form we now percive them to be. Hundreds/thousands of years of passing knowledge on by tounge or word has a tendency to change that knowledge quite dramatically. Especially when we encounter religious/spiritual knowledge.

Doch

I suppose there's slightly more evidence supporting a historical Sid G, than for JC.

Beth

Quote from: DochHi Beth.

Yes, I concluded for myself some time ago that Jesus (as portrayed in the New Testament) never truly existed. The same way that Buddha and Krishna never truly existed. What makes me feel a bit strange is the fact that so many people claim to meet/see Jesus when astralling, near-death, etc. I don't know exactly what to think about that  :think:
In my experience of the astral Doch, I have found that more often than not what "we see" is what have best been called "mental constructs."  I may, for example, create a version of my apartment, or my neighborhood, or even somewhere from my past in order to meet with other people, or do certain things that I want/need to do in the astral realm. Sometimes, of course, an experience occurs somewhere that I am totally unfamiliar with. These places may be mental constructs created by other astral bodies involved in my experience, or it could be a combination of them, rendering the scene totally unrecognizable to me.

So, because we "see" things in the astral, it does not mean that those things are "real" in the same sense that we perceive the people and things of this world to be "real."

Let me see if I can expound upon this further without losing all of us!! :wink:

The following is my current opinion -- which I always reserve the right to change as my experiences change, okay?  :grin:

I have seen Jesus on two different occasions, but not since I have become firm in my knowing that Jesus was not as he is portrayed in the gospels. But--"seeing Jesus" just means that I had no other "image" to mentally construct that would put me in touch with that particular energy frequency, i.e., Reason, Higher Mind, Universal Salvation, or even, My Personal Savior. So "I saw Jesus" in the form that I thought "he" would be like.

It is the concrete images of our experience here on earth, some of which are provided through our myths, that give us the "stuff" of these mental constructs--through which we are able to apprehend certain energy frequencies.

Astrally speaking, however--"Light" is the "stuff" of which all things are made, and as light, certain energy frequencies stand alone, or combine to create those things that make up that which exists.

It all depends upon point of reference.

In the Gospel of John in the NT, the writer used the image of "light" FIRST. If you are familiar with this gospel, you will remember that from the very beginning of all things, Light and God were One. As the gospel continues, the next image is Jesus in the flesh, then other images are used such as the bread of life, living water, the door, the good shepherd, etc., ending with a final "abstract concept of LOVE."  So, from the beginning of this gospel the writer started with "light" as a base premise, and then through a series of concrete images, was able to work up to providing the main image to teach through, which was: that God as Jesus is the Light of the World.  This metaphorical phrase is, however, still yet another image that serves the main theme of the gospel, which is in essence: "God Is Light."

I think that this ancient writer was trying to "show us" that "light" is always transformed into whatever "images" we need in order to understand the concepts that we are grappling with. This is what we do when we are in the astral. We use concrete images to apprehend concepts that are only abstract to us here on earth. The biggest problem with Christianity is that they stopped with the physical image of Jesus--which was just a personified image to help us understand metaphysical reality--and they made that "image" into "God" and never went further in their understanding.

In doing so, they have not been able to truly grasp the message of the gospel: "God" is "Light."  If then, "we are made in God's image" ergo, "we are light" as well.

From this we can gather that the whole of our physical world is also made from "light," but since our point of reference is here in the physical, we apprehend the metaphysical in physical images. From the point of reference of the metaphysical, however, all things in the physical are Light based images.

It is important to also point out that in my experience, these energy frequencies are autonomous to us, in that we apprehend "them" because they exist regardless of whether we apprehend them or not. In essence, they are very much "alive" in their own way, so let's say that the energy frequency of Jesus is indeed "universal salvation" or "personal savior" then that bundle of energy does indeed exist.

Humans will naturally apprehend that energy in whatever image, whatever mental construct, to them best represents that energy, e.g., an image of Jesus, of Buddha, of the inside of a church, of my apartment, and so on. To those of us who have been taught that "Jesus" is our "salvation" we will naturally "see Jesus" until we move on to other equivalent images.

Does any of this make sense?  It is, like I said, my own experience and my own opinion. But I think the fact that so many different mythological figures can be interpreted to mean the same basic thing as other mythological figures, that this unequivocal fact will bear out at least some of my opinion.

The important thing to keep in mind is that all of these things are JUST IMAGES. Images that move us from the concrete to the abstract. From the phyiscal to the metaphysical/mental/astral. In one way or another though, from the beginning to the end, existence is always -- Light to Light.

I also must say that to truly understand how all of this really works, "we" will have to evolve a great deal more than even we--astral travelers--have evolved. But we have at least a head start on most everyone else! :wink:

I hope this helps! :grin:

~Beth
Become a Critical Thinker!
"Ignorance is the greatest of all sins."
                   --Origen of Alexandria

Doch

Thanks.

Yes, that does make sense to me. Although, I can't have anyone acting as a proxy for me  :smile: . So, I will have to half believe you until I'm advanced enough to explore the notion further in the astral. Thanks again for the detailed response.

Beth

Doch,

You are very welcome! These things are NOT EASY to talk about; the limits of our language seriously impede our ability to do so. I am pretty practiced at talking about such things, especially as regards religion, but many times I have to struggle to put into words my astral knowledge and experience. And I sometimes feel that I fail miserably in my attempts!

For example, when I said that "we as astral travelers" I did not mean to disregard those who have yet to travel the astral, as much as those who lend no credence to the existence of the astral.

Recognition that this physical world is only a small portion of our total reality, and that "heaven and an afterlife" do not come close to accounting for the totality, a major step has been taken in opening the mind to the existence of the astral.

I think that many people are unable to acknowledge the astral, not because they never experience the astral, but because they refuse to allow the astral to exist. As a result, they do not recall their experiences. When this recognition really kicks in, then active and aware participation begins to occur and many amazing things become possible!

~Beth
Become a Critical Thinker!
"Ignorance is the greatest of all sins."
                   --Origen of Alexandria

Doch

Maybe I'm just too astrally inexperienced - enough to render me ignorant? :smile:

I suppose one question I could ask, and this ties in with the afterlife thread - do you feel one and the same person within your astral travels, comparative to physical waking life?

Not so much with astral projection, but I was practicing Yoga Nidra once
http://swamij.com/yoga-nidra.htm ( some people may not distinguish between the two) and my level of consciousness heightened to such a degree, it was if I was meeting myself for the first time - pretty unbelievable - the most amazing experience I've ever had. I tried to reproduce the experience but without success. I haven't achieved the same level of awareness with AP.

Beth

Quote from: DochI suppose one question I could ask, and this ties in with the afterlife thread - do you feel one and the same person within your astral travels, comparative to physical waking life?
Oh Doch!

What an EXCELLENT question!!!!  :thumbsup:

In the astral I feel complete.

When I return to my "here" consciousnes, I ALWAYS feel like I have left behind a very important part of myself.

Here, I am fragmented. There, I am whole.
Here, I must try to figure things out. There, I already know.

Having knowledge of the astral (and of my whole self) can actually bring on the "melancholies" sometimes.

Even though I feel "homesick" quite profoundly at times like this, I know that this body I am currently inhabiting will not last forever and that one day I will be completely me again! Because of this, I don't even mind getting older!! :wink:

~Beth

p.s. How about other members? How would you answer Doch's question?
:question:
Become a Critical Thinker!
"Ignorance is the greatest of all sins."
                   --Origen of Alexandria