I'm a bit reluctant to post this (as I am with many topics posted here), I feel compelled for some reason to jot this down before it escapes me. I was raised Catholic, but do not currently practice at this time; however, I still have a strong affinity for this sect of Christianity for many reasons I will omit at this point. One thing that's always bothered me is the omission of the Bible of many topics that we may ask ourselves about life and God's relationship with it. For instance, at what point does the soul enter the body? Where is the soul actually made? Has our soul inhabited other human bodies before? Christ was essentially mute on these questions, with regards to the Bible as we know it today. As we all know, many Gospels were left out of the modern Bible by the Council of Nicea so there will be no way for definitively know for sure if the topic was spoken of. Secondly, we must take into consideration that these topics were spoken 2000 years ago, so any explanation would have been spoken from the standpoint that any person living 2000 years ago may understand. Having a more educated population of people today, it may have been written differently.
Some time ago, I happened to run into an article about a man named Edgar Cayce who lived in the late 1800's and early 1900's who used to go into trances and find cures for ailments, talk about history and Christ. When he was a boy, he would learn books by heart simply by sleeping on them. Reading about this guy got me really interested, but what interested me even more, was some of the things that he said while he was in these trances about Christ. I won't go too much into it, as you can check it out for yourself but I will give you a synopsis.
His hypothesis was that Christ was more like an "older brother" to humanity. The following paragraphs are excerpts from the website:
"From Cayce's perspective, we are not simply physical bodies, instead we are spiritual beings who are having a physical experience entailing personal growth and development. Many individuals have incorrectly assumed that the goal of being in the earth is to simply reach heaven, find enlightenment, or somehow "get out of the earth." And yet, this is a perspective quite different from that contained in the Cayce material. Instead, Cayce believed that as children of God, our mission was to somehow bring spirit into the earth."
"The dynamics of our deep and literal connection to God can be found throughout scripture, beginning with Genesis when we are told that God made humankind in the Creator's image. But our relationship with God as our Parent is perhaps no more clearly illustrated than in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24). This parable describes the journey of the soul: we were with God in the beginning, through the power of our free will we were able to make choices that were not necessarily in perfect accord with the Creator. And, at some point, we will "arise" and decide to return to God, regaining our inheritance and experiencing our true relationship with Him."
"The readings state that God desires to be expressed in the world through us. The example set by Jesus is apparently a "pattern" of wholeness for each and every soul.Regardless of an individual's religious or personal beliefs, this Christ pattern exists in potential upon the very fiber of their being. It is that part of each of us that is in perfect accord with the Creator and is simply waiting to find expression in our lives."
"Reincarnation is the belief that each of us goes through a series of lifetimes for the purpose of spiritual growth and soul development. Cayce's approach does not include the concept of transmigration, which states that it is possible for human beings to be born again as animals. From the standpoint of the Cayce material, souls only occupy human bodies through their spiritual growth and developmental process."
After reading this some time ago, it has lingered in my head for a very long time. I've grappled with the idea that a soul can jump into a human, be with it throughout it's lifetime, then leave the body after the flesh dies only to find a new challenge in another human lifetime.
Now, the questions that I have had to ask myself is: (a) Are my beliefs strong enough to be confronted with this; enough to be objective? Answer is yes, I believe so. (b) Do I believe in good in evil? Light and dark? Answer is yes. (c) Do I believe that there is another spiritual realm? Answer is yes.
The next question that I really had to get over was a tough one. Is any one religion "right?" Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. It took me a long time to mill the idea that these religions would have any connection. All stated here, after all, do have their good points. Should I not believe that "all roads lead home," if asked my specific faith?
What I believe is that each being, each soul, that inhabits a living being is a little piece of creation, a piece of God. Some souls are more cognizant and more aware than others. I'm in agreement with Mr. Cayce's statements that all souls are striving for "Christhood," progressing their way back to the creator (aka dying and going to heaven). I do believe that Christ was a living person, I also believe that he is the Son of God. More importantly, I think that he was crucial in establishing the guidebook for souls, the Bible, for humankind. In-so-doing, the Bible was made with just enough information to allow people to keep going on their way of progression to the light. This is no different for the Torah or the Qu'ran for Muslims. My firm belief is that any religion when practiced for the good or the light, will aid our souls in its progression back home. This is where it gets tricky because many religions have their customs and beliefs that can lead to extremism that commit acts that do not conform to the light. Who are we to say that our religion is more "right" than another's? We see it all the time though. Certain people preaching in the name of their religion about murder and enslavement of another people because their beliefs are more right than others or hold some sort of Divine sanction against another therefore justifying their extreme action. I subscribe to none of this. Why? Because this follows no means of good or light for humanity. If we're all God's children, would He approve or disapprove of people using his name to justify murder? Does God really care what custom your religion has, so long as you have faith in Him? Does He really care how many times you go to Church when you willingly commit acts like a sinner outside of the Church/Synagogue/Mosque/Temple?
I do believe that there is a life cycle- a light and a dark. Both spiritual realms exist and make each other's presence known in every day life.
All these are interesting points to ponder; certainly, provocative in circles. But then again, so little is known outside of what is stated in the Bible or many other religious texts to be able to explain with more detail some of the intricacies of what may lie beyond death and how it all works. Being a Christian, I'm perfectly fine with this thinking because it does not violate my beliefs in any way; in fact, I think that it strengthens them. We should all be skeptical of what people say though and their interpretations of literal meanings in the religious texts, using them as precursors to commit acts that contrast with the premise of them.
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