In 1998 I read this book, "Conversations With God", by Neale Donald Walsch. It was a real mind-blower and prompted me, an agnostic at the time, to reconsider the possibility that God might be real and active in people's lives. I went on to read several of the "Conversations" series, and thought they were all very inspirational.A few years later I began to question certain aspects of the CWG "philosophy". I felt that it might be a bit too open-ended, too postmodern, but mainly "too good to be true". If you've read the book I'm sure you'll know exactly what I mean. I had this overwhelming conviction that it just couldn't be true because it was too obvious, too simple, too eager to forgive the human condition.
I moved away from what I'll refer to as CWG and embraced Christianity. For 5 years I have read and studied the Bible. I've read enough books about the subject to fill a small library. I attended church services for a good part of that time until I came to the conclusion that most of the people in the congregation were more concerned with their status within the church and how good they looked in their "Sunday Best" than with anything else. Still, I tried to proclaim the message of God's love and forgiveness in various ways according to my abilities.
But increasingly I found myself at odds with certain aspects of, if not Christianity itself, then with the way in which it was practiced and defined by the majority of those I knew and those I'd heard on Christian radio (I don't even take the vast majority of "Christian television" seriously...except, of course, for my crush on Joni Lamb...he he).
The TBN stable, for the most part, are serving mammon, as anyone with a shred of discernment should be able to see. The radio preachers are mainly a more respectable lot, but most of them teach a rigidly conservative point-of-view with a very literal interpretation of scripture.
Too many evangelical leaders want to "save souls" and bring them into the "body of Christ". But they try to turn the "body of Christ" into a club that reels 'em in with talk of forgiveness then does it's best to strip 'em of their personalities in hopes that they'll fit the mold of "model Christian". The fact that there is actually a "Christian subculture" should give you a clue as to just how separatist the whole game has become.
It wasn't long after my "return to Christ" that I was overwhelmed by how many denominations claimed exclusivity to the "keys to the Kingdom". I saw so many divisions that they nurtured about ridiculously trivial things. For instance, there are many out there who insist that the King James version is the only authentic translation of the Bible. All others, they would tell you, are faulty and not to be trusted
My long held fascination with the Catholic church crumbled when I found out the Pope had returned to teaching that his church was the ONLY legitimate one.
My God, what a population overflow there will be in hell if all these excusivists turn out to be right. And what a small town Heaven will be.
It's this bullshit that irks me about what human beings have turned the teachings of Jesus into, how they've completely ignored the REAL meanings of FORGIVENESS and GRACE. Shouldn't those two attributes of God give a man (or even a whole culture or race) liberty to embrace Him and accept Him in whatever manner He has chosen to reveal Himself?
And where's the grace in homophobia, a hallmark of the conservative faithful? It's not just the kooks from that Kansas based Baptist church who protest military funerals, secure in their belief that our casualties in Iraq are the proud accomplishments of a God who is angry at our country for "tolerating" gays and lesbians. One would think that "tolerance" would be the logical extension of "forgiveness". But these guys aren't out to forgive or to do unto others as they'd have done to them. They want a witch hunt. They want an Inquisition. They would be proud to exterminate each and every homosexual in a holocaust that would make even Hitler look like a part-timer.
Maybe that's a bit harsh, maybe such vehemence is only applicable to a certain demographic. But for all the talk of acceptance, you'll have a hard time finding an out of the closet homosexual in the congregation of just about any denomination in America, with the exception of the Episcopalians.
Such hypocrisy how one man can see another as subhuman based on sexual orientation, all the while believing that such discrimination is sanctified by the Bible.
But I seem to have veered from the subject I began with, namely "Conversations With God". What I meant to say was that even in the last few years as a professing Christian (alienated from today's Christendom as I may well be) I have, consciously or subconsciously, filtered my understanding, beliefs and faith through what was revealed to me through CWG. The freedom I've felt to explore other belief systems, like Hinduism and Zen Buddhism, has been encouraged by what I took from CWG. I will always follow Christ and serve God, but the truth is that I wouldn't even BELIEVE in Him if it weren't for CWG. CWG has helped me to see through all the bullshit propagated by the modern church and shown me the real meaning of the Gospels.
So you can look at this post as a hearty recommendation of not only the initial "Conversations With God", but also all the books that came after it.
Some will say that the only "God" that Neale Donald Walsch ever conversed with was the one in his own mind. To which I could only respond that if such is the case, well, his mind, when he wrote this stuff, must have been on a whole other wavelength, a dimension, even, of prophecy (if I may be so bold as to use the term).
CWG is not for everyone. It will probably make a lot of people angry as it challenges their perceptions of who and what God is. Unlike much of the church crowd, however, it does not demand that you accept it or else be damned to hell. Undeniably it's a wonderfully thought-provoking book and so, with that, I leave you with the 5 Steps to Peace from CWG's most recent weekly newsletter:
5 Steps to Peace
Step 1.
I acknowledge that some of my old beliefs about God and about Life are no longer working.
Step 2.
I acknowledge that there is something I do not understand about God and about Life, the understanding of which will change everything.
Step 3.
I am willing for a new understanding of God and Life to now be brought forth, an understanding that could produce a new way of life on this planet.
Step 4.
I am willing to be courageous enough to explore and examine this new understanding, and, if it aligns with my inner truth and knowing, to enlarge my belief system to include it.
Step 5.
I choose to live my life as a demonstration of my highest and grandest beliefs, rather than as denials of them.
ReCreation Foundation (CWG.org)
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