21. Free Will?
The question of free will has been present in my mind for quite some time now, and while I have touched on this concept briefly in the past, only now have I felt compelled to actually investigate this question with any real …
22. The “Genesis” of an Illusion
IV. Theological Problems of Christianity We have discovered it time and again throughout this book – the fact that the ego, the self-concept, is an illusion, rendering all belief structures which assume the ultimate reality of the self to be fiction. …
23. What is God?
While all words are ultimately inadequate to express what God truly is, perhaps the best way to describe God is the Oneness of All. God is the One, the Uncreated All. God is that which is never born and never …
24. What is Jesus Christ?
The name “Jesus Christ” is an expression of the experience of a dual nature, both human and “divine.” To be clear, when I speak of “spirit” or of the “divine,” I am speaking metaphorically, and am not referring to the concept of “substance …
25. True Salvation
The common view of salvation within traditional Christianity is to view the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the purchase of the souls of those who believe Jesus is the Son of God who offered himself as a necessary …
26. Life Without God?
In a previous chapter entitled “The Principles of Oneness” in this book, we learned there are two fundamental principles of oneness – stasis and change. We also learned the principle of change is what is responsible for “creating” energy, or the “stuff” we …
27. The Illusion of “Sin”
When I look back on the trajectory of my life, I can see how the creation of this book was in many ways inevitable. My desire to understand all of the things which were drilled into my head in CCD …
28. The Authority-Driven Life
As I watched the pastor at the church where I work proceed with the Communion ceremony one day, it dawned on me the essence of the entire problem with religious faith. It all centers on the concept of authority. In …
29. Dollars for Dogma
Whenever a salesperson attempts to sell us something, they will always state the benefits of why we need what it is they are selling, and with that, will often include numerous reasons why we would be fools to decline their offer. Each “religious” person …
30. Doubting Thomas
I admit to being a “doubting Thomas,” which I do not consider to be a “bad” thing. The expression “doubting Thomas” was coined from the famous scripture passage after Jesus’ resurrection in which his apostle Thomas is quoted in John …