Image by Karen Warfel
"In the name of God", down through the centuries, we have done many disturbing things: We've shaved our heads, gone into monasteries, become celibate, flogged ourselves, slept on nails, and gone after the Holy Grail, which does not exist. In doing all this, we have stated that it was in the name of God.
Soon after Jesus' coming, we fought "holy" wars. Now there is an oxymoron! There is nothing holy about a war! We still have such iniquity in the world. "In the name of God" we have created more atrocities than any one person or group could ever think up. In truth, all of it has been in the name of idolatry, not God.
The Commandments say, "You shall have no other Gods before Me." I believe in that particular Commandment -- some of the others can be challenged, but that one is valid. It means that you should not worship the wrong god -- namely, a fearsome god. Please ask yourself, why are we worshiping a god of fear? Of vengeance? Where is the God of love, the One who lovingly put us here? Which god is the God?
Stop And Think Logically!
What sadistic god, what monster, what horribly Satanistic type of god would put people on Earth only to suffer in life, then end up in hellfire and damnation, to lose people we love, to be with hurt children and homeless or crippled people? Do you think it is simply a toss of the dice? Or do you think that if you're not nice, your child or spouse will be taken away from you? Is all this suffering at the whim of a petty, jealous god? I don't think so!
The true God of Love allows us to go through school -- that is, through the hard knocks of this life -- because it makes us better people. God said, "If you want to perfect your soul for Me, if you want to be My emotion and experience, you have free will and the choice to go into life and endure it for Me." And we said, "I love You so much because You are Love. If You need me to experience for You, I am going to go down and do a good job. I am going to learn and bring information back to You."
Then we got down into life and the world began to fill our heads full of all kinds of erroneous stuff. Not the simplistic stuff such as "God is Love", because that does not make for big business. And we bought it, didn't we! Maybe some of you did not buy it, but said, "What kind of God is that? I'm so afraid of Him! Am I supposed to love Him or fear Him?" You cannot do both! Two opposite emotions cannot reside together. You must either love or fear. Which is it?
We Must Choose To Love God. It Must Be!
The love of God is why I am doing all of this. I do not want to say, "Look at the pain You put me through, God!" Not at all. I did it to myself, but most people do not like that. We do not like to be responsible for our situations. We want to blame someone else, even God, for our misfortune.
Yet on the Other Side, we were so happy when we did it. "God, I picked a tough one this time." Or an easy one, or some of each. "But hopefully, dear Father, I won't gripe about it every single step of the way, because when I get into human form, I get stupid and forget." We all do. We have our memory of the Other Side shut off, because if we had that memory, it would be easy. Then there is no test for the soul.
So we came down the chute merrily into life. Then we got here and said, "Oh, damn! This is awful! I may have picked this course of study, but now I don't want to do it." Tough! You picked it and must fulfill it, but you could do it with a smile, because you are really perfecting for yourself and elevating your soul to God. Sure it hurts! It's like a bad pair of shoes that you have to go walking in. It hurts for that time. But after you take off the shoes, you only remember how bad your feet hurt -- memory is a far-off thing.
That's the way it is when we get to the Other Side. It all becomes a vague memory. Ask any woman to stand up and recreate childbirth pain. They cannot. If we did, we would never have a second child. No way! The memory of pain fades. Physical pain, as well as mental pain, goes away fast.
Sometimes I look back on the hard times I have gone through, and it's all just a vague memory. I can look back and pretty much understand that Sylvia was suffering. But it's past; it almost seems to be another lifetime. You can do the same thing. You can stand proud and say, "But they didn't kill me. I am strong." Remember, they cannot eat you!
The tougher the stuff you picked, the more you wanted to gain in prestige, honor, and spirituality. That is what we wanted -- to get the gold ring. There is nothing wrong with that kind of pride and love. There is no false ego involved when we say, "God, look at me. Aren't you proud of me?" Absolutely. The same as you are with a child. You are proud of that child. Now imagine God's love for you magnified billions and billions of times. That is the God that we worship. That is the God that we love.
Interpreting Dogma
For centuries, our wonderfully loving God was made into a false god of vengeance, pettiness, and humanistic qualities. If pure love and pure intelligence exist, there can be no avarice or greed; such an entity cannot play favorites, have vengeance, or make a devil. Because if God makes a devil, that means He had to have evil within. Be reasonable. You cannot make what you do not know.
So the early religions inverted the true God of Love. They made a vengeful and mean god and a devil to scare everyone into obedience. The early religions made people fear god and convinced them they were sinners.
To be a true Christian, follow Jesus' teachings. We do not need to focus on his death in order to appreciate his greatness! The terrible horror he went through on the cross is not needed to validate his teachings. If you do nothing more in this world, please approach your religious and spiritual beliefs with knowledge. Do not ever approach anything with blind faith. That is one of the most awful concepts around. And never approach things with guilt.
It is so simple -- God is Love! You came here to fulfill your contract, which you will do whether you like it or not. It is nicer if you do not gripe about it, but if you do, so what? All of us will face hardship and tragedy. I know I have, and so will all of you. But regardless, we are all going to graduate eventually.
Time Is Speeding Up!
Time condenses and seems to be going faster these days. Have you noticed that? Francine says that time is speeding up, because we are getting to the end of things. And please forget about the "rapture" because Jesus does not want to come down here anymore. Would you? No.
Francine says that we are in the "time of the Messiah." When she first told me that, I could not understand what she meant. She said, "The Messiah is coming again, but in the form of True Thought. Jesus will be resurrected to what he really was in the beginning." That is the rapture! He is not going to appear in the sky with a sword. Why would he appear with a sword? He was the most kind, loving person in the world. He is supposed to slash the bad on the left and take the good on the right? Nonsense! What if you were born in Africa and never heard of Jesus? You cannot tell me that God hates those good, wonderful people.
I have been to Kenya many times. I would go back in the bush and see the natural beauty and spirit the people have. If those souls are not going to Heaven, then I do not want to go. If all the people of the world who do not know Jesus are damned to hell, then I do not want to go, because only an evil god could do such a thing.
In truth, all of us will go back to live with the Father and Mother God. That is the true Heaven; there is no hell. We are going back to the God that we love, who loves us unconditionally. But you might say, "I'm a sinner. I have done terrible things." So have I; so have we all.
Does love fill churches? No! Fear does. Fear builds big cathedrals! It makes people fall to their knees, bend their heads, and strike their breasts. Imagine a loving God looking at this! If your children fell to their knees in front of you and hit their chest every time they walked in the room, then what kind of a parent would you think you were? Something would be very wrong with that.
If you come from the position that God is Love, you will be all right. Just say, "God, my day is spent for You. Know always that my heart is with You, through all my faults and foibles." I know that God knows my heart. He knows where my Truth is, even with human failings. He knows that my motives are right. And so are yours!
Reprinted with permission by Hay House Inc.
©2000. www.hayhouse.com
Article Source:
God, Creation, and Tools of Life
by Sylvia Browne.
The best-selling author of Adventures of a Psychic discusses such topics as reincarnation, healing and nutrition, one's relationship to God, soulmates, and meditation, in the first volume of her series on the journey of the spirit.
About The Author
Sylvia Browne is the author of Adventures of a Psychic, Life on the Other Side, and The Other Side and Back, among other works. A #1 New York Times best-selling author, Sylvia Browne (1936–2013) was a spiritual teacher and world-renowned psychic who appeared regularly on The Montel Williams Show and Larry King Live, as well as making countless other media and public appearances. With her down-to-earth personality and great sense of humor, Sylvia thrilled audiences on her lecture tours. She also wrote numerous immensely popular books, 22 of which appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. Please visit www.sylviabrowne.com or call (408) 379-7070 for further information about her work.
