Eavevsdropping on a Conversation about the Abundant Life vs. the "Christian Life" ...

A conversation I recently had, elsewhere ... let's eavesdrop:

Me: I see Christianity getting in the way of the Abundant Life -- and yeah, I'm quite sick of it.

Other Human: How does the world get to the Abundant life? What do you believe the world already has and what do they need? And how is Christianity getting in the way?

Me (the rest is me, actually ... I mean, it's my blog, LOL!): The Abundant Life is God's life -- it's the life we all have, as His children. It's the only life there *is*. It's what we've always had ... only all manner of egoic/illusional perceptions get in the way.

Our early perspective of, and insistence of scapegoating/blaming (which created & justified the sacrificial system - which God said He never wanted!) got in the way ...

Our erroneous belief that we are separated from God (because of our focus on fear and shame) got in the way ...

Our erroneous belief that there is scarcity (not enough of food, land, water, resources, attention, love, God) and we must therefore compete, got in the way ...

Our erroneous belief that we have to *earn* a connection with God (whether by doing good works, or believing the right doctrines/beliefs) got in the way ...

WE have ALL that we need -- God is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniprovisional. We are of God, with God, and we all return to God. We are only separated in our imaginations, in our minds (& thus in our experience). Scripture affirms this, in many ways:

Colossians 1:21
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies *in your minds* because of your evil behavior.

Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...

(more "mind" verses: http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=in%20minds&version1=31&searchtype=all&bookset=2&limit=bookset )


What the world needs, what each of us needs, is to have our minds renewed -- to have our minds (filled with illusions, deceptions and skewy thinking) *transformed* -- so that our minds line up with our hearts - so that we are in tune with the Mind of Christ (which we *have* - 1 Cor 2:16).

What the world needs is to *wake up* to what God has done, who we (all!) really are in Him, and to recognize the banquet spread out before us ... the Abundant Life that is our very inheritance (what other sort of life is there, beyond the life that God had breathed into us? what other source of life do we imagine exists?).

We don't "get to it" ... we come to our senses and SEE it right there, in front of us, all around us and in us (we experientially experiencing God's reality, as opposed to our delusional and limited perspective). The Kingdom of God is *at hand*, in our midst... here and NOW. The journey is not linear, as if we must head out to a distant place in the future, or in some geographical location -- the journey is inward, within us, with God as both our Guide and our Goal. It's not about location-location-location, but about perspective-perspective-perspective...!

Christianity, as I see it, gets in the way, for it claims to be the "one and only" prescription to the problem of "separation from God". It perpetuates the notion of original sin (the product of the twisted thinking of Augustine -- a man who clearly needed some Theophostic and/or Prozac...!), of "separation from God", and that it is UP TO US to ensure that we can be reconciled to God (something that was demonstrated by Christ, to have never been a problem in the first place - *except* in our wrong thinking).

Christianity perpetuates the Pharisaical notion that we have to be "good enough" to warrant God's attention and blessing ... that we have to "do our part" to have a relationship with God ... when even scripture tells us that it is Godwho first loved us, Godwho puts the ability to respond to that love within us, Godwho enables us to have the faith to comprehend Him at ALL, Godwho has reconciled us to Himself, Godwho opens blind eyes, Godwho reveals Himself to us, Godwho leads us into all truth, Godwho even gives us the very desire to draw close to Him...!

Christianity masquerades as the Abundant life, while bleeding its adherents dry, putting them on an exhausting and perpetual striving-treadmill of "try harder, do better, repent more sincerely, believe right, serve enough, get your priorities straight, examine yourself," over and over, ad nauseam...!

Christianity claims to have the secret to knowing God (!), and excludes the vast majority of all mankind, unless and until they "do the right thing and claim the right beliefs" ... Christianity promotes self-righteousness, and an "us vs. them" mentality ... Christianity breeds division, separation and overlording ... Christianity takes organic life, and subverts it into organized hoop-jumping ... Christianity promotes the conventional wisdom of man (& how man traditionally views God), and makes a mockery of the subversive and alternative wisdom of Jesus ... Christianity keeps Christ to itself, and rejects the notion that Jesus is the savior of the WORLD, accessible TO the world, expressed in a myriad of ways IN the world ... Christianity sees love as a less-than-power, and resorts to using fear-power as a motivator to connect with God, thus Christianity doesn't trust in the love-power of God, and instead uses fear as a manipulation ... as if God's got nothing else going for Him...

I could go on and on, for this is a passion of mine ... but that's enough.

Accept no substitute for the Abundant Life which is your inheritance, NOW...!

Shalom, Dena