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"You
must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all
your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is
equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law
and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two
commandments."
- the words of
Jesus , from The Holy
Bible
I
consciously made a decision to keep this ministry as removed from
politics as possible this year, especially, since there appears to be so
much passion involved in people's decisions to support certain
candidates and certain issues. But, this week I received
information from Houston, Texas, that Rick Warren's message to his
congregation regarding Proposition 8, was printed in the Houston
Chronicle. Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church, a
mega-church in California that hosted a "Faith Forum" which
included both Senator John McCain and Senator Barrack Obama.
Proposition 8 is on the ballot here in California to take away the right
to marriage from same-sex couples. Thousands of couples have
gotten married in California during the past few months since the
California Supreme Court made it possible.
Same-sex marriage is legal in the State of Massachusetts, and legalized
within the past few weeks in the State of Connecticut. Same-sex
marriage is also legal throughout the Provinces of Canada and some other
countries.
Our California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
his wife, Maria Shriver, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Vice-President-elect,
Senator Joe Biden, the Mayors of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a
host of celebrities, and Church leaders are asking Californians to vote
NO on this amendment to our State Constitution. Since so many
people have spoken out against this amendment, I did not feel it was
necessary to address it ... that is until Rick Warren's message became
widely circulated. After I read his message, I felt deep within
myself a "calling from Spirit within me" to counter his
message to as many people as possible. And so, here we go:
Rick Warren,
recently wrote the following and sent it to his congregants and passed
on to the national Media:
"
For 5,000
years, every culture and every religion -- not just Christianity --
has defined marriage as a contract between men and women. There
is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage
to appease 2% of our population. This is one issue that both Democrats
and Republicans can agree on. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have
publicly opposed the redefinition of marriage to include so-called 'gay
marriage.' Even some gay leaders, like Al Rantel of KABC oppose watering
down the definition of marriage.
Of course, my longtime opposition is well known. This is not a political
issue, it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about. There is
no doubt where we should stand on this issue.
This
will be a close contest, maybe even decided by a few thousand votes. I
urge you to VOTE YES on Proposition 8 -- to preserve the biblical
definition of marriage. Don't forget to vote!" <end>
Rick Warren is urging people to vote yes
on Proposition 8 .." to preserve the biblical definition of
marriage." Does he realize that the biblical definition of
marriage included polygamy and that women were forced by law to be
subservient to their husbands? Under the biblical definition of
marriage women were possessions to be traded and sold as property.
In the Old Testament Oman was forced, by religious law, to marry his
dead brother's wife even though he was in love with another woman.
I don't think many of us want to preserve any of this. And does
Pastor Warren realize that in some cultures, even now in 2008, brothers
share the same wife? Mormons in the United States were forced to
outlaw polygamy in order for Utah to become a state. In other
words, civil law took precedence over religious tradition.
Warren's 5,000 year tradition of marriage has had countless changes take
place as the cultures of the world have evolved.
Jesus broke the "moral law" ... the
"Law of the Sabbath" because he realized that a loving God
would not want anyone to go hungry for any reason, even on the Sabbath.
The religious leaders of his time were furious that he did this and
attempted to use it against him. But ... Jesus knew that God's
Love is greater than the "opinions" of men, and he was so
convinced that this is the truth that the religious leaders failed to
punish him for it. "Moral laws" change ... and have
changed throughout history, but "spiritual law" does not
change. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is not a
"suggestion" ... it is a spiritual principle that carries with
it consequences and this is why the Master Mind Jesus declared that it
was equally as important as the First Commandment, to Love God first.
The Bible contains the "Old
Testament" and the "New Testament" ... we are living in
the "Now Testament" ... and it is our work to continue to
evolve God's Love on Earth. Pastor Rick Warren wrote that
"God
has spoken clearly about this" ... but ... God has not
stopped talking. Did God stop talking at the end of the Old
Testament? ... Jesus didn't think so nor any of the great mystics since
him, so why would God stop talking at the end of the New Testament?
We must always remind ourselves, as did Jesus, that God is Love ... but
God is also Intelligence. If our traditions do not pass the test
of God's Love
and
Intelliegence, then we should let them go. God isn't evolving ...
we are evolving to God. But we won't evolve as long as we continue
to believe that anyone is less than another or anyone is superior to
another ... we are One ... One God, One Mind, One Life ... expressing
through ALL. "Love God and love your neighbor as
yourself" ... because they are ONE. This is the truth that
Jesus was trying to lift us up to!
So,
I urge you, those of you who live in California ... to VOTE NO on
Proposition 8 -- and follow Jesus in "loving your neighbor as
yourself" ... a spiritual principle equally important to: "You
must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all
your mind."
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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