There seems to be a trend in the film and movie
industry to make movies that appeal to those who are considered
"believers." Mostly Christians, particularly Christian
Evangelicals and fundamentalists. This is a great opportunity for filmmakers and the
movie industry to elevate the consciousness much like the television
industry has done on so many social issues. Yet, there is no
evidence that elevating the consciousness is included in any of the
movies and films that are being distributed. If anything these
films have offered nothing new or even that interesting other than
perhaps the titles; i.e. "God Is Not Dead." This
implies that there are people who have said that God is dead but if
they have this news has eluded me. But, perhaps there is a point
to this title that the movie left out.
No, G-d is not
dead. But the God of reward and punishment never existed except
in the mind of mankind. Neither did the God that favors one
religion over another ever exist. This is simply mankind's
fantasy. To make use of a medium such as film or
movies to continue to perpetuate a God that rewards and punishes based
on man-made religious dogma is both foolishness and has an almost
sinister quality to it. If to define sin as something that
negates the good in mankind or to deny the Reality of the Intelligence
and Love that G-d is, then this would have to be a sinful action in
the minds of those who produce such movies and films.
Charles Fillmore,
Co-Founder of the Unity movement and a mystic in his own right,
wrote: "Creation originates
and exists in Divine Mind, God. In the creative process Divine
Mind first ideates itself. In the Scripture this ideal is named
Jehovah, meaning I AM the ever living - He who is eternal. The
creation is carried forward through the activity of the Holy Spirit.
The Hebrew Jehovah has been
translated "Lord." Lord means an external ruler.
Bible students say that Jehovah means the self-existent One.
Then instead of reading "Lord" we should read I AM. It
makes a great difference whether we think that I AM, self-existence,
is within, or Lord, master, without. All Scripture shows that
Jehovah means just what God told Moses it meant, I AM.
"This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all
generations." So whenever you read the word Lord in
Scripture say I AM instead and you will get a clearer understanding of
what Jehovah is."
Assuming what Charles
Fillmore has written is true, we can come to the conclusion that G-d
is within each and every one of us for we all use the words I AM even
though we may not understand the power that is resident within
them. When Jesus said "I AM
the light of the world" he was
referring to this one and same I AM that is within all of mankind.
I remember reading many
years ago that television programs were targeted to the mind of a 13
year old. At the time I thought it was a provocative statement,
but it was true nonetheless. Television produces didn't think
that the viewing public was much more intelligent than that or they
thought that when adults watched television they desired to put their
intellect on freeze-frame and preferred to let the mindlessness of
television geared toward a 13 year old hold their attention. Too
often people have allowed religious teachers to treat them in the same
way. A minister once told me, "they are not ready for the
truth" ... and I thought, how do you know that? It is this
same assumption that the television producers made that causes so many
to teach that Jonah was actually in the belly of a whale and so much
more nonsense.
The movie, "God Is Not Dead" is of the same offensiveness as those television programs
that did little but waste our precious time. The movie pointedly
tries to convey the false idea that without the God of religion people
are without morals and have no reason or hope. In other words,
the movie implies that we all must be controlled by those who know
better how to live our lives than we do. And if we don't share
their faith in the Big Guy In The Sky God then we are all amoral and
without the ability to know right from wrong, resulting in becoming
angry, mean-spirited or totally confused. It is so stereotypical of
Christian self-righteousness that it is an insult to not only those of
other faiths but to intelligent, loving Christians as
well.
It does not take the mind of a
rocket scientist to become aware in the reading of The Torah, The Holy
Bible and other legitimate spiritual writings that all points to an
Infinite Intelligence that functions in our lives through Love and
Law. When Jesus called this Infinite Intelligence
"Father" he was using a word that gave a familiarity to what
he was teaching about this Infinite Spirit and our relationship to
It. All of the great mystics became aware of this Intelligence
as a universal, immutable and eternal Principle. In a subjective
context of mind, Jesus was referring to this when he said, "I and
the Father are One." Why? Because we are all in the
Spirit and of the Spirit and all the devils in hell can never change
the truth of who we are.
The mystical
Ernest Holmes wrote: "Jesus
tells us that the real treasures of life are eternal. They
belong to the Kingdom of God within us. These treasures cannot
be corrupted, they do not corrode, thieves cannot break through or
steal them. It is in this sense that no one gives to us but
ourselves and no one takes from us but ourselves.
No one could ask for a higher
justice or a greater mercy. If we can believe in an inner
integrity, an inward security of which no man can rob us, then instead
of putting on sackcloth and ashes and spending our time lamenting, we
shall anoint our heads with the oil of peace, don the robe of
confidence, and wear the shoes of gladness.
Jesus, who knew all things, said
that when we keep the eye single the whole body will be filled with
light. Turning to the light we receive the light. But
turning only to darkness even such light as we have will become
dimmed. We cannot serve two masters. If we believe that
evil is equal to good, or that wrong is equal to right, the mind
becomes a house divided. We shall have to desert the one to
serve the other. The mind cannot travel in opposite directions
without disintegration."
To
live the joyful life, the abundant life and the wonderful life more
fully and completely, we must loose the falseness of the world from
our mind. Let's give up the false belief in G-d and something
else and eliminate duality from our mind. Let's know that the
God of reward and punishment is dead for it was merely a creation in
the worldly mind of mankind. As Jesus said, "let the dead
bury the dead" ... G-d Is Life ... Life expressed in the freedom
and liberty to be all that is ours to be.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the
faith!
Rev.
Henry Bates
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