This newsletter is in reply to some articles uploaded on the net. and has to do with abortion. I do not approve nor disapprove of abortion, for it is a matter between the mother and her own conscience. Abortion is a solution of last resort, but it is nevertheless a prerogative that concerns only the mother, and no one has the right to interfere in her decision. Again, I say: read with your heart and not with your intellect. This is the reason why Jesus left but one commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' And he added: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than this!
The crusades of the past have brought shame upon those who used and abused the name of God to further their biases and misunderstanding of life and hide behind the veil of religion a thirst for war and conquest.
The Inquisition iself has brought shame upon the Church and destroyed a credibility already weakened by the various councils of the 12 and 13th century. Instituted in the thirteenth century, the Inquisition reached its peak in the 15th century when, under the grand inquisitor Torquemada (the Spanish Inquisition), it became a symbol of cruelty, bigotry and fanatism. Sanctioned by the Church, tolerated by the nobility and feared by the new islamic and jewish converts and all those who were tempted to go astray, these inquisitors established a reign of terror of which Galileo and Joan of Arc were the most famous victims. Established in the beginning to investigate and deal with the heretics, it soon expanded to include sorcery and sexual aberration (whatever that meant). All that was needed to obtain a conviction was a denonciation and two informants that testified under oath. Usually under torture, the interrogation brought most of the time a swift admission of guilt and the carrying of the sentence which could go as far as a burning at the stake. Now all this was done under the supervision of the Church, and numerous were the theologians (among them Augustine) who believed that the Bible endorsed the use of force against heretics. And these were people who believed themselves to be good, who believed that this was the will of God.
Today we are facing an even greater danger because, not only the Church, but also laymen have embarked on another mission of rescue. The crusaders of the past have put on their coat of mail and their swords, and valiant soldiers of God, they have found their heretics of the twentieth century, the pro-choice movements and the pregnant women who desire to put an end to their pregnancy and have an abortion.
Highly publicized in the newspapers, the latest events that led to the killing of innocent people and all this picketing and harassing that goes on around the abortion clinics, are the shame of America, and they are definitely a sign that the day of reckoning is not far ahead. This day was foreseen by the prophets of old, and Jesus, the greatest of them, gave this warning:
When you see `the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong --let the reader understand --then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! [Mark 13: 14,-17]
It is, indeed, dreadful to see the fanatism that arises from these crowds of 'good' people who feel deep within themselves that they must right the wrongs of abortion. The real problem behind all this mascarade is that while all these people pray to God and claim that they love Him, they don't know, they don't have a clue as to who or what God really is. Not knowing who God is and feeding themselves on Old Testament stories of a God of wrath and vengeance, they fear that God and will do everything in their power to enforce what they believe to be His Laws.
And what are the laws of God? The laws of God are the laws of the universe. They are Order, Balance, Harmony, Growth, God-Perception, Love and Compassion. They are all wrapped in that one great law, the law of LOVE. And this is why Jesus said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." [Matt.22: 37-40]
And I am asking these people:
Where do you see ORDER, BALANCE AND HARMONY in all these manifestations and picketing in front of abortion clinics?
Where can you find GROWTH when you follow blind and ignorant teachers?
Where is that GOD-PERCEPTION that would allow you to see God in everyone you meet, including these women?
Where is that 'LOVE one another' that also applies to these women who do not want to bring their pregnancy to term?
And where is the COMPASSION for another human being who has to go through such a painful and traumatic experience?
THEY ARE NOWHERE TO BE SEEN. And so in one great manifestation of solidarity, all the laws of the universe have been disobeyed and put aside, leaving in their place hate and intolerance.
And the truth of the matter is that all these laws are within the human form, and when we disobey them, it is the human form that we disrupt, and this to such an extent that it brings disease and even death. So, all these people who, because of their biases and their intolerance, disrupt their own inner body, will have to learn their lesson and realize that each of us has been given free-will, the free-will to live according to the divine principle that dwells within their human form. So an individual can believe that Catholicism, or Protestantism, or Buddhism, or Islam, is the sole true religion. He can live according to that principle and thus be on his right pathway, for all experiences of life are valid. However, the same individual has no right to force these ideas on others, for they, too, are on their right pathway, as each of us is doing or believing what we feel is the best for the self under any existing circumstances.
So we come to that question of abortion that is disrupting mankind at the present time. For eons of time we have been told that the fetus is a living entity, with the same rights as all human beings. The Church itself has reinforced its laws concerning marriage, divorce, abortion, and homosexuality, and has made it clear that the fetus is a living 'entity' and abortion, a crime.
Notwithstanding the fact that many bishops and members of the clergy have shown much open-mindedness in the matter, the Head of the Church and the Curia have chosen the status quo, rather than rock a boat that finds its strength in archaic laws, most of them issued from the pagan customs that were prevalent in the days of early Christianity. An example of this was the directive of the Church (upheld till the middle of this century) that in the case of a difficult birth, the child had to be saved at the expense of the mother's life, which, in itself was an aberration issued from an ancient male bias that the (male) child was more important than the mother who, out of love, agreed to be sacrificed. That Church law has not been removed, but the pressures of an evolved society and the reluctance of doctors in the matter has made it impossible to enforce that specific directive.
However, the Church finds its strength in the enforcement of its doctrine, and the Curia is far too busy trying to keep the boat afloat, to take the time to ponder on the various edicts, and ask themselves if they are benefical or detrimental to the human spirit. The Church is run by children who have been playing with the same toys for hundreds of years without asking themselves if there was not place for change and improvement. If everything evolves in society, why is it that religions remain stagnant and impervious to change? The answer is simple: fear. Fear is what is holding back a true spiritual evolution, and this is why the Church is so adamant to the silent prayers of all these women who have been raised in the fear of God and were told that ending a pregnancy is equivalent to murder.
Each of us is a unique individual in the world. Each of us is a free spirit answering to no one but the God Within. That God within is the sole judge and jury of all thoughts and actions of that individual. The body is the sole responsibility of the spirit that dwells within it, and no one has the right to interfere in the mental and spiritual process of another individual. This applies to marriage, divorce, homosexuality, abortion and all other activities of life, provided these activities do not threaten the free-will of another individual. The Kingdom of the soul is the Kingdom of which Jesus was the King, just as it is the Kingdom of which each of us is the King. Any interference in the mental and spiritual process of another individual is a direct breach of God's law.
In the theological debate that surrounds abortion, it is argued that the fetus is an independant living entity, and is therefore entitled to the rights and recourses granted to all individuals. It is also argued that abortion is equivalent to murder. Now, let us assume that the same mother decides to bring that fetus to term, and while giving birth, a problem occurs and a choice has to be made: saving the mother or the child. Should the child or the mother be sacrificed in order to save the other? According to what law of God should the choice be made? Is it a matter of moral, religion, or ethics? And should we bring in Salomon to settle the problem?
Let's go back to the first part of this century when the directive of the Church required that, in the case of a difficult birth, the mother be sacrificed in order to save the child. What were the criteria of judgment and the reasons invoked by the Church to rule in favor of the child to be born? Nowhere in the Old or the New Testament can you find a verse or a passage that would point in one direction or the other. And Jesus never made allusion to abortion, probably because he believed that it was a personal matter, and was of concern to no one but the mother. If it were a crime, don't you think he would have at least mention it once in the Gospels? So, where did the ruling come from? From misconceptions and male biases that have been handed down for centuries, and have, unfortunately, superseded true spirituality.
Thus, the roles being reversed and the mother becoming the victim, what would be the verdict of humanity in such a circumstance? What would be the verdict of the pro-life movements? Would they too, value a foetus over the life of a human being of flesh and blood, or would they consider that killing the mother is equivalent to murder? The most simple logic would favor the mother over the child. And yet, up to the middle of this century, and because of a male bias, a directive of the Church required that the mother be sacrificed in order to save the child! And only God knows how many mothers died in the process?
So, you can see that it is not always all white or all black, and there are many gray areas where human considerations are way out of focus and are not representative of God's Love, Mercy and Justice. Should we blame the Church for all that happened then and for what is happening now with the picketing and killing in front of abortion clinics. The fact is that we are all to blame. The Church and all other churches are the product of what we have become as a society. Their leaders are chosen from the ranks of that very society, and they feed themselves on the negativity engendered by a materialistic approach to life and a conception of God, Heaven and Hell which is right out of the Middle Ages. We have, literally, created them out of our own erroneous conceptions of life.
So it is not a question of trying to find a scapegoat. It is a question of trying to understand the underlying principles that govern all activities of life. These principles are what makes the planets follow their orbital path, the sun rise in the morning and the grass grow under our feet. They are also what makes the body vibrate at a specific rate in order to function in the physical planes. These principles are within the human form. They are an intrinsic part of each and everyone of us.
With this in mind, we come to the heart of the subject. Why is it that so many people believe that it is a crime to abort a fetus. It is purely and simply because, since early childhood, we have been raised on principles that are only partially true, and there are many missing links in our conceptions of life, religion and spirituality. One of these missing links is the concept of reincarnation, that was taught throughout Christianity, and this, up to the 6th century when it was declared anathema by a synod of the Church convened and controlled by the Emperor of the time. This concept teaches us that, life after life, we reincarnate in this or any other world, in order to grow in understanding and attain our ultimate goal, the return to the Source from which we sprung.
Therefore, even though the human form we wear to function in the physical planes must be honored and respected, it is the spirit that dwells in that body that must be nurtured, cared for and fed with positive thoughts, for these thoughts are what brings health or disease to the body. Therefore, the spirit takes precedence over the body, for it is the spirit that gives it life, and it is the spirit that lives on eternally. Because many people believe there is only one life to live, and because eternity seems so far away, humanity tends to give more importance to the body than it gives the spirit. And yet millions of people believe that the body returns to dust and the spirit is immortal!
So, here we have a pregnant woman versus a fetus that will only become a living entity when the doctor slaps him on the buttocks and you hear his first cry. That little body is important, for it is the opportunity for a spirit to experience life on earth. However, in that pre-natal state, it is never as important as the mental and spiritual health of the mother, for this is what her spirit feeds on in order to grow in understanding. As a free spirit and a manifestation of God on the earth plane, she must take responsibility for the choice to be made, and she is the one to decide what that choice will be.
The criterion, here, is not what the Church law is, or what society thinks. The true criterion is what is best for the physical, mental and spiritual health of the mother and that of the unborn child. Both the mother and the future child have a right to a decent, fruitful and constructive life. Inwardly, and even though it might look otherwise, the first reflex of a mother will be to bring the pregnancy to term. However, the contigencies of life and the difficulties of living in a materialistic world ( of which we are all responsible) weigh heavily in the balance. These are the `devils' that she must confront in order to make a decision that will reflect, not the requirements of religion or society, but the longings of her heart and the requirements of her own spirit. And if ever she decides not to bring her pregnancy to term, who gives us the right to judge? Who appointed us as judge and jury of another individual's behavior? Don't you remember what Jesus said to the teachers of the law? When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them: If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." [John 8:7]
This, of course, was in answer to those who were about to stone the adulteress, but Jesus would have said the same thing to all these `good' people' who picket in front of abortion clinics and harass these women who decide, of their own free-will, to end their pregnancy. And their decision may be much wiser and more in accord with the will of God, than that of some women who, fearing the wrath of `their' God and to follow the directives of their church, will bring their pregnancy to term, and may, later on, take it out on the child, or the husband, or the whole family, because she cannot cope with the situation. The harm she does to the child and the family is by far greater than putting an end to h er pregnancy, which is only delaying the entrance of a spirit into the world, for that spirit can always find another channel to make his entrance into the world.
And during that time, cannons rumble throughout the world and people die by tens of thousands. Where are the pro-life movements during all that time? If, according to them, it is wrong to `kill' a fetus, isn't it even worse to kill a human being? The Force we call God does not compartmentalize the laws of the universe. `Thou shall not kill' applies to all human beings, animals, and birds as well. That law doesn't say that you can kill in one circumstance and not in another. It says `Thou shall not kill'. Period.
This does not mean that ending a pregnancy is without consequence, and this is certainly not a plea in favor of abortion. It is a plea in favor of free-will, the God-given right of all individuals to live their life according to the divine principle that dwells within their body. That divine principle is the sole judge and jury of the body it occupies, and again, no one has the right to interfere in the mental and spiritual process of that individual. Killing an individual is wrong, but killing the spirit of that individual is even worse, for it is the spirit that lives on. It is the spirit that will have to live with the consequences.
Abortion is a personal affair, and it is settled between the individual concerned and her inner God. Interfering in the matter only amplifies the problem and makes the choice even more difficult. There are so many causes, orphans, old people and sick persons who need help. These are worthy and commendable causes, and pro-life movements should look in that direction.