Archive for August 2023
Question 207: What role does atheism have in the Gospel of Oneness?
It’s all right to be an atheist or an agnostic for a lifetime or even several lifetimes. Every soul has a unique path back to the realization of Spirit as the only reality. No one is sent to hell for not believing in God. Given the false dualistic gods of the man-made religions, it may be better to be a moral, clean-living atheist than a fanatical and self-righteous believer in a false god.
The Jews, Christians, and Muslims worship a dualistic god who plays favorites, chooses a special people, or chooses a special religion, or a special holy man to be superior to all others. Of course, some members of these religions see past the dualistic images of their God, but many of them see atheists as being destined for hell. A couple centuries ago, some Christian leaders advocated the death penalty for atheists. Today, some Muslim leaders still advocate the death penalty for atheists and blasphemers who insult their god or prophet.
The Creative Spirit of the universe has created everyone out of its own consciousness and does not play favorites with one part of itself. By the attractive magnet of unconditional love and the universal laws of karma that teach the consequences of free will, every soul finds its way back to Spirit sooner or later.
Whether we are an atheist, agnostic, or a firm and devout believer in God, we still have to deal with our own psychological makeup. Are we able to admit the flaws of our egos and move up to higher states of consciousness? Are we able to forgive ourselves and others? Are we able to give and receive unconditional love? These are some of the questions we need to answer regardless of our belief or disbelief in God.
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My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests. — George Santayana
One does not become an atheist out of a desire for hassle-free Sunday mornings. People come to atheism because they have a problem with organized religion – usually a problem they consider to be of moral urgency. — Lynn Coady
I don’t think atheism means one does not believe in a spiritual life. I think it means one does not follow the tenets of the established religions. — Amanda Donohoe
Small amounts of philosophy lead to atheism, but larger amounts bring us back to God. — Francis Bacon
All the people in the world contribute to the mass consciousness that largely determines the social and environmental conditions on Earth. Our Creator Spirit gave us a planet to live on and gave us free will to co-create the conditions on Earth. Over an unknown number of generations, we have made and shaped life on Earth. We can’t ask God to suddenly change our conditions because that would take away our free will. We have to influence the mass consciousness to change our conditions. But how do we do that? Sometimes one person can have enough influence to change the mass consciousness. Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, Lao Tse, and Mohammed are examples of religious figures who have changed the masses. Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Charles Darwin are three scientists who have changed the masses. Sometimes it has been dictators and tyrants who have changed the world. Sometimes it has been philosophers, entertainers, philanthropists, inventors, and pioneers who have changed the world. So, even one individual can greatly affect the mass consciousness.
For most of us, however, we won’t make much of a difference in the mass consciousness. Nevertheless, everything we do as individuals contributes to the quality of the mass mind. By living with the realization of the oneness of all life and living by the golden rule we uplift life on earth. The golden rule has been recognized and preached long before Jesus came to reinforce the concept, but the world, in general, does not live consistently by this rule. We still have a long way to go to infuse the mass consciousness with the awareness of the oneness of all life. We are trending in that direction. We have the momentum. We can all contribute to this momentum by daily living by the golden rule.
When people say, “Where is God in all these tragedies that happen on earth?” we can remember that it is up to us to be the expressions of God’s love and compassion on earth. We can all do our part. Some of us may even have a major influence on the mass consciousness.
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“There is almost a sensual longing for communion with others who have a large vision. The immense fulfillment of the friendship between those engaged in furthering the evolution of consciousness has a quality impossible to describe.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“The key to growth is the production of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” ~ Lao Tzu
“Today, it is more important than ever to raise human consciousness, so that technology becomes a means of empowerment, not destruction.” ~ Sadhguru
“You are not limited to this body, to this mind, or to this reality — you are a limitless ocean of Consciousness, imbued with infinite potential. You are existence itself.” ~ Joseph P. Kauffman
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