The answers I would give to some questions certain people might ask me...
... but probably never will.

How do you feel about religion in general?
Do you believe in the Bible?
What is your belief about Jesus?
What is your belief about the concept of sin?
What do you believe about the nature of salvation, evil, heaven, and hell?
How do you feel about other spiritual traditions and faiths?
What are your beliefs about death and immortality?
What is your philosophy of life?

When we examine the basic principles of the religions of the world, we find a great similarity. Each points to One central Life, from Whose Self-Existence all draw their livingness, and without which nothing could exist. That is why it has made such an appeal to the more vital races of the world.  Any Religion is simply giving a certain form to humankind's idea of god.  It seems, however, that many of the world's religions have done just the opposite, separating mankind not only from one another but from God also. All religions should assist their members in realizing their unity with one another and God.

Do you believe in the Bible?

In many respects, the Christian Bible is the greatest book ever written, and does truly point a way to eternal values. But it is only ONE explanation and cannot be considered the ONLY light on religion, for there are many others whose combined teachings weave the story of Truth into a complete and unified pattern.

I believe that in the unique personage of Jesus, this Christ was more fully developed than in anyone else of whom we have record. I  believe that in the person of Jesus God was truly manifest. I also believe that Christ comes alike to each and all. There is no one particular person predestined to become the Christ. I believe that the Christ is not a person, but a Principle. It was impossible for Jesus not to have become the Christ, as the human gave way to the Divine, as the man gave way to God, as the flesh gave way to spirit, as the will of division gave way to the will of unity--Jesus the man became a living embodiment of the Christ.  However, rather than Jesus as our savior, I believe that Jesus was a wayshower and master teacher who knew the Divine Truth about himself and all others. I do not believe he died on a cross to save us from sin (See next question).

I believe that we should look to Jesus as the great example rather than the great exception. In this belief, no attempt is made to rob Jesus of his greatness or refute his teachings. As Jesus said, "The works that I do shall you do also; and greater works than these you shall do."  Therein lies the divine potential for all mankind.

What is your belief about the concept of sin?

I believe that all humans sin, meaning that we all make mistakes.  I belive that we are thereby automatically punished, and continue to be punished as long as we continue to make the same mistakes.  However, I also believe that bondage is not real to the Universe, and sin is not real to God. This does not mean that we can do whatever we wish, with disregard for the consequences; nor does the fact that we are punished for our mistakes mean that there is an evil power in the Universe.  It does mean that there is an immutable Law of Cause and Effect running through everything. We are not punished for our sins but by them. Sin is its own punishment and righteousness is its own reward!  As we correct our mistakes, we forgive our own sins. God does not sit in judgment. God is a God of love, not anger, judgment, or punishment. God allows us to answer for our own mistakes (sins) to the immutable Law of Cause and Effect.

How does judgment affect us?

When the teacher Jesus said, "Judge not that you shall not be judged," he was simply referring to the Law of Cause and Effect. Since judgment is passed in our own mind, it impacts necessarily on our own experience, and not necessarily the experience of the person we are judging. When we judge others (or ourselves) we only create a sense of separation between ourselves and God.  It is also not ours to judge if others are deserving of some form of punishment. The Law of Cause and effect operates without judgment. There is no punishment, there are only consequences. When we begin to see first and foremost the Presence of God in ourselves and others we have no need or desire to judge.

There cannot be a Law in the Universe which demands evil, lack, limitation, and the experience of unhappiness, that glorifies God.  Mystics have taught that evil has only the power to destroy itself; that it is not God-ordained. From the viewpoint of Reality, it is an illusion, but it is not denied as an experience. It is an experience all have had. The great have not failed to recognize the appearance of evil, but they have separated the appearance from the reality. They have done away with evil as a cosmic entity—no devil, no hell, no torment, no damnation outside of one’s own state of thought; no punishment outside of that which is self-inflicted, through ignorance; and no salvation outside of conscious cooperation with the Infinite. I believe that both  Heaven and Hell are states of consciousness.

I believe in every church and in all forms of worship. Because Truth is Infinite, God must be continuously unfolding in our consciousness, and no one will ever have a complete understanding of Truth. A complete understanding of Truth would be a complete understanding of God, and a complete comprehension of God would be to become God. I believe that more light will be given as we use that which we have.

It is not merely pleasing and satisfactory to suppose that we pass from this life to the next, in full and complete retention of our faculties; it is logical. Jesus revealed himself to his followers after his resurrection to show them that death is but a passing to a higher sphere of life and action. The belief that we maintain an identity independent of the physical body is proof enough of immortality. This, together with the fact that remembrance maintains a constant stream of recollection, and the realization that mentality can operate independently of the body, performing all of its normal functions without the aid of the body, and that the new theories of matter and energy furnish proof of the possibility of a body within a body to infinity, and that our inner being is constantly forming matter into the shape of a body; all of these evidences should prove to us that we are not going to attain immortality, but that we are NOW immortal! My belief is not that the dead live again, but that a living person never dies.  The human experience of dying is but the laying off of an old garment and the donning of a new one. There is a material body and a spiritual body. This spiritual body is the resurrection body

What is your philosophy of life?

Life is an eternal flow, and we are streams of consciousness within this flow, forever unfolding. I believe that at some level we have always been and shall always be; it's what we do today with who we are that matters.  It is we, and we alone who ultimately create our experience. While this Truth may be a challenge at times to accept, it is also the Truth which sets us free. As we learn to take responsibility for our thinking, we see our lives transformed in incredible and wonderful ways. We begin to live, move and have our being in a greater awareness that God really is All that is. As we honor God's Presence in all people and places (including Ourselves, wherever we may be), the Divine Principle of Life automatically honors us.

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