But it shows 2 go you that just one's mannerisms and tone in general can have a profound impact on the quality of the time you spend with them.

The discoveries made in physics during the 20th century involved many things that leave an incredible amount of room for the metaphysical. Almost more than we might have ever dreamed of!

...evolution is even more God-like impressive than a literal interpretation of the biblical analogy of creation.

But it shows 2 go you that just one's mannerisms and tone in general can have a profound impact on the quality of the time you spend with them.

Sometimes, I can barely wait to learn it all. Sometimes I can barely contain the joy of it all.

When I said that our "sinlessness is guaranteed by God", it is part of the teachings of ACIM, FH. I just read your post where you didn't understand this statement, and not too worry as it takes a lot of "unlearning" to understand this. And I certainly cannot explain it, but it brings me peace to know this.

The Bible wasn't enough for me FH

Beliefs of the Group:

According to A Course in Miracles Homepage, "A Course in Miracles is a self-study spiritual thought system that teaches that the way to universal love and peace-or remembering God-is by undoing guilt through forgiveness" 30. This forgiveness is for others as well as oneself. The Course believes that only love is real, and that everything negative is merely an illusion of one's mind, including the world. Our world is made up of our own ideas, and this becomes truth as we know it. The world we see is simply a figment of one's imagination and realizing this leads to the ultimate truth: Heaven. The Course teaches that ego (not God) created the world. The world we see is illusional, and God does not know it exists 31. The Course stresses that it is not the only route people can follow, because "they all lead to God in the end" 32.
The Course refers to the illusionary view of the world as "ego" or "wrong-mindedness." The ego has three parts: sin, guilt, and fear. Sin is "the belief that we have separated from God"; guilt is having sinned; fear is the belief that one deserves punishment for one's sins 33. Right-mindedness, on the other hand, occurs when one stops believing in the illusionary world and starts believing in God's World. The Course describes darkness as wrong mindedness, and teaches the necessity to escape from darkness. The process has two steps: 1.) Recognition that darkness cannot hide; 2.) Recognition that there is nothing you want to hide even if you could 34.

Followers of The Course believe that Jesus came to Schuchman and presented The Course at that particular time for several reasons. These are outlined in the Foundation for A Course in Miracles (FACIM) Homepage. These include:


The Necessity of healing the mind of the belief that attack is salvation; this is accomplished through forgiveness, the undoing of the belief in the reality of separation in guilt.

Emphasizing the importance of Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit as our loving and gentle Teacher, and developing a personal relationship with his Teacher.

Correcting the errors of Christianity, particularly where it has emphasized suffering, sacrifice, separation, and sacrament as being inherent to God's plan of salvation 35."
The Course is Christian in terminology, referring to Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God, but its beliefs stray from the traditional ideals of Christianity 36. According to The Course, Jesus is one of many Christs, and we all have the possibility of becoming Christ. Jesus is, "an elder brother…entitled to respect for his greater experience" 37. The Course also differs from Christianity in its belief of Heaven. The Course believes that man has never really left Heaven; we are still there but simply in a dream from which we need to awaken 38. This process is atonement. The Course defines atonement as, "a lesson in sharing, which is given to you because you have forgotten how to do it" 39 . Unlike Christianity, The Course does not call for "worship, ritual, tithing, a formal church, conventional prayer, priesthood, hierarchy, or even a congregation" 40.

The Course defines terms in a different manner than usually defined in the English language. According to The Course, a miracle is "the change of mind that shifts our perception from the ego's world of sin, guilt, and fear, to the Holy Spirit's world of forgiveness" 41. The miracle occurs when we realize that the world is illusionary. The ego is the belief in the false self, that the world actually exists. Atonement is the way to, "undo the ego and heal the belief in separation," and Jesus is the first person to complete this atonement 42. ACIM sees the body as a consequence of the mind and a device which is only used to help heal the mind 43. Death, according to The Course, is the "central dream from which all illusions stem," and is the "symbol of the fear of God" 44. It goes on to add, "If God created bodies, death would be real" 45. But according to The Course, God does not create bodies.

The workbook serves to help students in their studies. "The purpose of the workbook is to train your mind in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world" 46. The workbook consists of 365 daily lessons, but one may choose to spend more than a day on one lesson. The lessons start out simple, but then build to more complex ideas. Lesson 1 states, "Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything" 47. The student then applies that idea to things around him, "this pen does not mean anything" 48.

Issues and Controversies

Is it Christian?
The Course angers many Christians due to its contradictions with the Bible. One such contradiction is concerning Creation. The Course teaches that the world is an illusion created by man, whereas the Bible explicitly states, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth" 51.

Another big difference between The Course and The Bible is that The Course teaches that Jesus is not the only savior. According to The Course, "We don't need a savior. Salvation is nothing more than right-mindedness. We are the source of our own salvation" 52. This belief obviously strays greatly from what Christianity teaches. Therefore, many Christians cannot accept The Course as legitimate. Christians argue that The Course is not a religion, "it is in reality nothing more than cloaked New Age philosophy lurking in the shadows waiting to spring on the unaware" 53. They are also resentful towards The Course because one of the purposes of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles (FACIM) is to correct, "the errors of Christianity" 54.

Many Christians are alarmed by the growing popularity of The Course. "A growing number of Christians are being sucked into this whirlpool of spiritual confusion in which they exchange the truth for a lie," writes one critic of The Course. He goes on to write, "It is unequivocally anti-biblical and it is without a doubt promoted by satanic deception" 55. A former Course believer, Moira Noonan, describes The Course as, "Satan's mock-bible," and also calls it a "course in brainwashing" 56.

One avid critic of The Course sums up his opinion, warning that, "It is a series of books and an organizations whose existence every Christian should not only be aware of, but also have a biblical answer for, in order to refute its heretical teachings" 57.

I know when I see someone who really finds something that he can believe in, and that puts that bounce back in his step, that renews his faith...I feel almost like it is happening to me. It is such a good thing...don't you agree?

Mathematics can describe and predict all these scientific observations, including evolution. And mathematics has been called the language of God.

Science always wins, you know.

Remember: Fundamentalist Christianity is itself younger than the US Consti2tion.

Is it Christian? I don't consider myself qualified 2 express my opinion without a long, personal discourse that I'm not prepared 2 go in2.

Is it spiri2al? I don't think so, much.

Now I'm Anglican (Episcopal) by label, Christian by belief.

I have issues with the Bible. I'm still a Christian. I have issues with some leaders in the Church (body of believers) and am still a Christian. I read books that aren't Christian, listen to music that isn't Christian, talk to people who aren't Christians about things that aren't Christian, and I'm still a Christian.

And I have a table fountain, some crystals I like, mediation tapes and even had my palm read in Hollywood - just for fun. None of that means that I am not a Christian.

When you say "We believe" you aren't always including me. You might be, and sometimes you are, but not always. That's ALL I wanted you to understand.

Quote:


We, as Christians, are to "forgive as God has forgiven us" of our sins against Him. God, and how He forgives us, is the model. God does not "forgive us" to make Himself "feel better about Himself."



We, we? Who is this "we".

Me, as a Christian, believe that our sinlessness is guaranteed by God...therefore there is NOTHING to forgive! And judgment is for God alone, who does not judge.

And this my Christian belief.

It is not a religion, nor does it claim to be a religion...it is a thought system.

And there are many, many Christian churches led by people such as Marianne Williamson who are also "students" of this thought system.

The trouble with you FH is you don't internalize the teachings of Jesus...you don't love your neighbors, not all of them, probably not most of them. Because to love someone means to care about them and their beliefs...and to respect that, and to rejoice in that...and to be happy that they have found God...because that is what it is all about, isn't it?

You don't seem to care...you just seem to want to preach scripture, and your interpretation of it only.

Remember FH, it was a command..."LOVE your neighbor" And believe me he didn't mean just the ones who believe exactly as you do.

I just don't understand you, and I guess I never will. You seem to want hurt people. You seem so angry and not like you are filled with God's love at all.

You can "name" Christians by whatever you believe defines them all you want...but you cannot see into their heart. And this is where the "truth" is.