This book is not a new Bible, and this chapter does not intend to discredit the Bible, which, in the mind of many individuals, is considered as the Book of God.
It is rather an attempt to dispel the aura of infallibility that surrounds the Scriptures and the Church. Each of us is a standard-bearer of truth, but none is infallible. It also lessens the strong influence the Book exerts, on all those who live their life according to their own interpretation of the Old and New Testament.
Presenting the Bible in a different perspective, it replaces it in its true context, that of an excellent book centered on Jesus' teachings, but a book nevertheless, written by human beings, and subject, as all other books, to errors of translation and interpretation. To those who would be tempted to say that I am sacrilegious or that I don't believe in God, I will reply that the word God appears more than 675 times in the book. I do believe in God because I AM (is) God.
Truth is within, in one's own book of life, and no book can surpass, in knowledge, wisdom and authority, the God that resides within the human body.
Books must be read with a perceiving eye-mind, (clairvoyance), to enlighten the reader so that he may relive the vibration that is placed behind the words.
It is important, in the advance of mankind, to read the books of authors and philosophers, but the secret of this reading is to gaze beyond the words and gradually see what that spiritual operation means to that individual (the author) who is sending the reader a positive thought.
Excerpt from The God Within, by Elwood Babbitt and Chs. H. Hapgood
The Bible is, unquestionably, one of the most wonderful and powerful book in the world, and this in spite of the fact it has undergone many alterations, including a last one where it is seen, in the name of the feminist movement and other related groups, that we have inherited of a Mother God.
It is unfortunate it had to come from pressure groups that did not fully understand what they were asking for, because, apart from any feminist, or religious, considerations, there is truly a Mother God, Nature, which nurtures us and sustains human life on the tridimensional plane that we inhabit. So, it is a correct designation to address the Deity as Father God and Mother God. You can call God whatever you want, as long as you bear in mind that God is the totality of all that exists, and an intrinsic part of all life forms. animate or inanimateIt can, in no way, be considered as a separate entity, or a personal God. God is All. All is God.
To many religions and denominations, the Bible is the Book of God. It has been so for generations, and the Church, and all other churches that derive from it, have drawn upon its contents to establish their rules, and enforce the dogmas that have become an important part of their doctrine.
Fearing the wrath of God, and wanting to 'be saved' at all costs, members of many denominations live their spiritual, and material, life according to literal interpretations of the Old and New Testament. This has, unfortunately, led to misinterpretations, bias and erroneous notions, where individual freedom has been trampled on by a childish, fearful and fanatical religiosity, as in the case of children and adults who cannot receive blood transfusion because of their religious beliefs. There is nothing, in the Bible or elsewhere, to warrant such irresponsible actions. These are the direct consequences of the constant brainwashing of otherwise good people, who fear the wrath of their God, and are willing to sacrifice themselves, and others, to avoid the fire and brimstone of their self-created hell.
For this reason, the Church had restricted the use of the Bible to the clergy, knowing very well that it could become a two-edged sword in the hands of immature people. And that is exactly what happened when the Bible made its reappearance in the homes where the Old Testament took, once again, the place it occupied before the coming of Jesus.
Then, people began to rely on ignorant and misguided teachers, who did not have the proper understanding of spiritual truths. This, in turn, led to religious anarchy, and this is why there are so many religions and cults throughout the world. Thus we can see, that the laws of God are filtered through the screen of bias and orthodoxy of sects and religions, consequence of which, each of them tries to create a personal God, who will fulfill its specific needs and sanction its own conception of TRUTH.
This shows how dangerous the Bible can be in the hands of immature teachers who look upon spirituality through the lenses of their own ignorance, forcing on others their own limitations and misconceptions of life, and brainwashing them to the point where their addiction to the written word supersedes common sense, and becomes a stumbling block of bias and intolerance.
Unfortunately, these transgressions of God's laws are common place amongst the churches, and many denominations have become the repository of false doctrines, that they believe to be the ultimate TRUTH. Their leaders assert themselves as both judge and jury, taking into their own hands the fate and the conscience of their flock, as if they had received such a mandate from God. This leads to intolerable situations, where bigoted and 'holier-than-thou individuals scrutinize everything in the name of morality, while their hearts are closed to the laws of love and compassion. This we have seen, in the extensively publicized case of an American 'Christian' denomination, which, having accused a woman member of fornication, threw her out of the church, under the false pretext that the Bible condemned fornication, when the same Bible reports that Jesus answered the multitudes, saying:"
Didn't the Master say in the parable of the lost sheep:
Jesus truly said that he came to teach the spirit of the Law, the New Testament, not the written one, but a New Order, a New Renaissance that can only be realized through love, understanding, forgiveness and service to others, without feeling obliged to pay lip service, through repetitive prayers and lengthy rites, to a God that has no need of all these exterior manifestations, and is no further than our own inner self.
Now the point is this: if, as many people believe, the Bible is the Book of God, no one, not even the Church, should dare, alter, or remove, even one iota from its contents. Just imagine God writing a Book and us, His creatures, altering, changing and correcting it for well over nineteen and a half centuries. Doesn't that sound preposterous, disrespectful and ludicrous? The Bishops would not dare, alter, or correct, a Pope's Encyclical without his consent! An editor would ask the author's permission to make changes in a book, and we dare doing that to God! God is not mocked, and if, indeed, He had written the Bible, no one would be allowed to change its contents. At the reading of certain passages of the Old Testament, it is hard to believe that God has inspired them. All these biases, conflicts and wars of all kinds are found in the relations of all great civilizations, but they are, by no means, the kind of story we may expect in a book of God. And if it were only for that fact, it is obvious that the book was written by human beings, with all the reservations it implies. Otherwise, Jesus' teachings mean nothing, and his admonitions to love one another, and turn the other cheek, is a mockery. Didn't he say:
If the Bible was written by human beings (even if enlightened beings),which is much more logical, then the Book should be judged at its face value, and with an open mind, considering the fact that the Gospels were written many decades after the Crucifixion.
The most outstanding Gospel is that of Lucius (Luke), who was not a disciple of Jesus as some believe. He knew the Master only by the numerous talks he had with the mother Mary, the disciples, and many of those who had followed him during his ministry. Lucius was a physician who, after experiencing two of his patients' spiritual healing, felt the desire to know more about the Man who, a few years back, had taught spiritual truths and performed 'miracles'. He related the Life and Teachings of Jesus, as he heard it from all those who had crossed his pathway of life, especially Mary, the holy women, and the disciples still alive.
So, the most reliable Gospel of the New Testament is not a first hand account. Although written in good faith for the purpose of preserving the teachings for posterity, it is not, and was never intended to be, the infallible Word of God. It should be read carefully, keeping in mind the fact that, most often than not, Jesus spoke in parables, and many of his teachings should be interpreted in that light. Some of them were contrary to Jewish Law, and he condemned their false religious rites and customs. This was demonstrated, when he threw the merchants out of the Temple, and healed on Sabbath day. In fact, the teachings of Jesus were in total contradiction with Jewish rites and customs, and, from the onset of his ministry, the priests and the Sanhedrin did everything they could to eliminate such a cumbersome reminder of their own decrepitude.
As history repeats itself, we now find ourselves in the same situation, where we must, as Jesus taught so often, relinquish what is considered 'the letter of the law,' the books, and open our own Book of Life. There, we will discover the 'true spirit of the Law', and the secret of Life Everlasting.
Unfortunately, man has a tendency to interpret, in the light of his tridimensional self, truths that were, and still are, intended for his total self, that is, the spirit, soul and body. Just as material teachings, history, geography, mathematics and science, are for the purpose of living and experiencing material life in the best manner possible, so spiritual teachings are for the main purpose of lifting the veil of materiality, that has, for so long, obscured our sight, so that we can understand, and put to good use, the esoteric principles that will enable us, to become aware of the Higher Dimensions, or Circles of Life, thus finding our way back to the Godhead.
God, the Supreme Intelligence, is not interested in our mortal life, nor what we do with it. Human laws are there for that purpose. It is our spiritual life that is of concern, and this spiritual life cannot be judged by anyone. The 'letter of the law' has become synonymous with religiosity, and it is obvious that we are always prone to judge others by the book, rather than find within the self the Love and Compassion that are, in fact, the Spirit of the Law.
No individual, or individual group, should stand in judgment of another individual's spiritual behavior, and this applies to churches as well:
For example, if an individual is accused of robbing somebody else's property, he will be tried, and if found guilty, he will have to spend a certain time in jail. This is human law, and until humanity fully understands the true meaning of Brotherhood, it will need the long hand of the law to maintain a certain equilibrium in human affairs. On the other hand, if, of her own free-will, a woman decides to use contraceptives, or have an abortion, it is her own decision, and no church, or government, or individual should ever interfere. It is a decision that she, and she alone must make, and those who, in their righteous ways and judgmental attitudes, accuse her of killing a fetus, that, through the process of incarnation of a spirit, will become a human life, are, indeed, creating a much stronger karma for themselves, because they unduly interfere with the individual's free-will and development, and with the laws of procreation that the mother represents (she is, in that case, the creator). This, in itself, is a much greater 'sin' than abortion that could , at best, be called a lack of generosity, because, as a general rule, the spirit does not enter the body until the third month of pregnancy, and, in the event of an abortion, that spirit can always choose another channel for its entrance in the world, and it has eternity to fulfil its obligations.
You may read the Bible all your life, but you will never find one paragraph, or one sentence, or even one word where Jesus condemned anyone. Why are we, humans, so intent on finding the 'mote in the neighbour's eye' , when, most of the time, it is only a reflection of our own inadequacies.
In the same order of things, Jesus never gave a disciple supremacy over the others, because his teachings were all about man's equality. He certainly did not have in mind the imposing hierarchy of today's churches, and the aura of infallibility given to some of their leaders. He knew fully well there would always be dissensions among the disciples, and in their stubbornness, they would not have accepted a leader. Even after the Ascension, which occurred many years later, they argued, more than often, as to how the teachings should be spread, and whom to choose as disciple. Because of their social and religious upbringing, some of the disciples were divided concerning the role of women in the newly formed organization, and although Jesus accepted the latter as disciples, this lack of understanding eventually led to their estrangement from the priesthood in the following centuries.
When Jesus sent his disciples to teach all nations of the world, he never asked anyone to write a book, or organize a church in his name. He gave the Law of 'Love the Lord, the God within, and love one another,' and would certainly reprove all these Church laws and dogmas that unfortunately enslave the individual, and are the stumbling blocks that retard his own spiritual development.
The spiritual progress of mankind, lies in the unlimited expression of man's own individuality, in an unlimited universe. Here again, it is man's refusal to accept his own Divinity, that prevents him from fully experiencing, not only the tridimensional universe, but the whole universe, seen and unseen.
By altering biblical books to reinforce its owns laws, the Church has distorted Truth. It has limited man's experiences in the universe, his free-will to live his life as the true Son of God he is. It has succeeded in building a spiritual Babel tower of hundreds of churches and denominations, most of them searching a hypothetical Heaven up there in the sky, all of them convinced that they possess the ultimate truth and that theirs is the only path to God. They are closed to the realization that there is only one God, the Supreme Intelligence, one Law, the Law of Love, and one religion, the religion within the self in the Temple of the Living God.
Jesus tried to convey these spiritual truths, but the people were awed by what they considered 'his miracles', and they found it more secure to hail him as a Savior, and, later on, as the only Son of God, forgetting altogether that his mission was to make them realize they were all Gods, that all things in the universe were at their command, and they could perform these same 'miracles,' and even more, if they forsake, once and for all, their preconceived ideas regarding their experience in the world, and their own kinship with God.
At the dawn of the 21st century, few people can claim a deep knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures, simply because, through its logic and its analysis of what it has been taught in the past, humanity cannot go beyond its own limitations, and, there, see the simplicity of all life. The Bible can help us understand the basic elements of spirituality, but it is within, in our own book of life, that we will find all the answers.
It is ackward to see so many followers of Jesus, using his name to further their cause, while at the same time swapping his teachings for the legends and war stories of the Old Testament, that are more in agreement with their conception of an avenging God and eternal hell. Convinced that it is the book of God, they take refuge in these outdated verses, hoping to find there, a calming of their fears and a sanctioning of their intolerance.
This is why we say that each must look within, in his own book of life, for it is there that God talks to us, each day, each minute and each second of our life. He speaks clearly, and loud enough for us to understand, and it is certainly not His fault, if we are deaf and do not hear His voice.
Life is everchanging, and what is true to day is obsolete in the morning. To use a concrete example, it was acceptable, a few years ago, to use the furs of animals as a garment because of the scarcity in raw materials, but it is no longer the case, to day, when all kinds of warm clothes are available, and killing animals for such a purpose denotes a total misunderstanding of the interrelationship that exists between all forms of life. What was then a necessity has now become a luxury and a whim obtained at the expense of a life. Thus, the truth of the necessity has become obsolete, because of the progress made in the clothing industry.
The same will apply someday, when we find a way to replace meat by another nutrient, (the process has already begun with the tofu plant and other condiments) Until then, we can eat meat without guilt, simply having a spiritual thought for the animal whose flesh we eat to sustain our own life. This too, is in the evolutionary process of all life, and what is true in this respect to day, may be obsolete in a near future when things will be seen in a different perspective.
Some will argue that we are engaging on a slippery road, that all things considered, vegetables, fruits, spices and all nutrients that enter into our daily food supply, are equally forms of life. However, contrary to humans and animals, these form of life have a common consciousness and are fully aware of their mission that consists in nourishing humanity. By offering themselves as nutrients for the survival of humankind, they participate to the divine plan, thus climbing the rungs spiritual ladder that leads to the God-Head.
In a cosmic perspective, humans have no need of food to sustain themselves, for they have access to the pranic energy of the atmosphere that surrounds them. It is our own limitations that have created this tridimensional arena where the most evolved forms of life eat each other in order to survive.
Under the banner of Jesus, and contrary to his teachings, the Church has promulgated laws and dogmas that limit the individual's free-will of expression, and bind him to ordinances that have more to do with rites and exterior manifestations, than with his own spiritual unfoldment. Just a few decades ago, it was a mortal sin (for catholics) to receive Holy Communion without fasting from at least twelve midnight, and today, catholics can receive it anytime. Quite suddenly, the sin has disappeared, and those who transgressed this church law in the past, have suddenly discovered that they had, in fact, never sinned.
Even worst than that is the misinterpretation of the teachings, to institute the Sacrament of Penance. When Jesus told the disciples they would be able to forgive 'sins,' he meant that the healing process of the individual came from within; that all disease being psychomatic, the healing would occur by impressing on the spirit of that individual the thought of perfection. He was referring to the sick who were healed by the divine energy emanating from his own body centre, thus removing the 'sins' that originally caused the disease to appear on the body. This was the true significance of Jesus' teaching, and we have no need of confession, as we only answer to the God within the self, and the law of cause and effect takes care of the rest.
Nothing in the Bible leads to abortion, or homosexuality as being a sin against God, because the Law of God is more subtle than the laws of men, and it takes into account the weaknesses of the human race, and the extenuating circumstances surrounding these conditions. It is much more important to follow the Law of 'Love one another,' than follow man-made laws that only limit man's expression on the earth plane.
The interpretation of the Bible requires an open-minded approach, and true spiritual perception of its underlying truths. Most of the teachings contain symbolic messages, that have nothing to do with the mundane and literal interpretations of so many of our spiritual teachers, priests, rabbis, pastors and evangelists.
Nowadays, the Bible has become a family companion. Budding evangelists embark into that new adventure, and suddenly become 'champions' of the Divine Word. Their religious zeal spread to their followers, and, in social circles, it is not unusual to see one of them improvise himself, or herself, as a teacher, flipping through the Bible with expert dexterity, and quoting at length various passages of Samuel, Jeremiah or the Leviticus.
It is good to read. it is definitely good to read the Bible and spread the Word of God. Nevertheless, it is a two-edged sword. Just as one has to take lessons to get a driving license, so must he reach true spiritual understanding and development to decipher the symbolism and the underlying truths of the Bible, and become a teacher.
Most of those who read the Bible should limit themselves to the Gospels and meditate on Jesus' teachings, instead of leafing through the Old Testament, as if they were participating in a reading contest. Not that these books are not enlightening, but it is very difficulty to relate to them in terms of actuality, and the words are, more than often, misconstrued and taken in their literal, rather than symbolic, sense.
It has been said in the Bible, that there will be false prophets, who will perform 'seeming' miracles, and exert great influence on the people. That day has come, and many evangelists and preachers are unfortunately displaying much more power of speech, than expressing a true understanding of the spiritual values of life. These false prophets are the 'baby souls' of this generation. Confident of their exceptional powers of persuasion, reinforced by their threats of fire and brimstone, and their unending 'Praise to the Lord', they are, in fact, brainwashing a society in search of a Personal God and a convenient Savior, a society that has forgotten, that we have freely chosen to individualize on this tridimensional plane, in order to learn, by ourselves, the lessons that life presents; a society that should stand firm, in the belief that we must find, each in our own personalized and creative way, the way back to our Father's Home.
The Bible has become a powerful tool in the hands of these evangelists and preachers. Through the medium of radio and TV, they have managed to build up, and control, gigantic financial structures that generate tens of millions of dollars each year. Under the aegis of these organizations, they have built schools and universities, where they teach, not the spiritual values of life, but the old beliefs of hell and damnation. Abortion, fornication, homosexuality and sex have become their favorite topics. They always seem to find, mostly in the Old Testament, a verse, or a sentence, that will justify their claims. They try to relate to incorporate, in their life, customs of the past and teachings that are totally alien to our present social structure.
Respectfully using an analogy, it is as though they were trying to repair a 1995 Buick, using the 'Repair and tune-Up Guide of 1945. A skilled mechanic could hardly get a valid information out of the guide, and it is more than obvious that an apprentice couldn't make head or tail of it. To him, it would be total gibberish. Motors have changed during the past fifty years. The shape of the cars have been modified. Now they have electronic injectors, and gadgets that were unthinkable in those days.
If society has been able to adjust to the changes brought about by technological progress, it can also adjust to the new modes of expression and the changes of thought forms of a humanity in search of its identity. Mankind will finally realize that TRUTH is within the self; that there is an enormous discrepancy between the half-truths that we find in books, and the living TRUTH that arises from the total expression of our own feelings and our own personal experience of all things material and spiritual.
Each of us is an island, a Universe within the self. We, as a manifestation of God on the earth plane, have accepted the challenge of experiencing material life, not through the eyes of our neighbours, or our Church, but through our own senses of perception, standing firm on our own two feet, in the thought that we are, physically, mentally and spiritually the sole judge of that life; that it is our own limitations, that prevent us from understanding, and harnessing, the spiritual laws, that,, sooner or later, will allow us to become, once again, co-creators with that Universal Force we call God.
Once and for all, the Bible must be recognized for what it really is, a wonderful book, centered on the teachings of Jesus who became the Christ, but a book nonetheless, written by well-meaning people, who were simply trying to preserve some of the teachings for posterity. And it is obvious that, had all of Jesus' teachings been kept, it would fill quite a few books.
As for the Old Testament that has become the bedside book of many denominations, and, more than often, supersedes the Gospels, we wish to remind those who cling so much to its sometimes undecipherable symbolism, its folk's tales, and its historical array of warriors, kings and prophets, that Jesus himself said (and it must be repeated again and again) that he came to teach, not the letter of the law, (the Old Testament), but the Spirit of the Law, the New Testament of Love and Understanding, that cannot be found in books, but rather in the stillness of the self, in one's own Book of Life.
Humanity is at the threshold of a new era of spiritual understanding, a New Renaissance that now dawns upon all those, who, turning away from the old ways and misconceptions of the past, will transcend the limitations that we all originally placed upon ourselves. In the many mansions of God, there will be a place for all those who 'will dare to see the vision and endure, and will recognize that, through the multi-dimensional expression of their own spiritual force, and their own God-Power, they become unlimited in an unlimited Universe.
Go deep within, and study your own Book of Life.