A Course in Miracles

[PJM]

=ryanoneil;3052212]My wife’s friend said that A Course in Miracles can be used as a self help tool for anyone regardless of their religion. I disagreed and sent her these articles

ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/COURSE.TXT
ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/BRAINWAS.TXT

I told her a Christian couldn’t really believe what A Course in Miracles says. (based on this article quote)

I’d like to hear your comments on A Course in Miracles. Good and Bad. (regardless of your religion or lack of religion)

Thank you,

Ryan

"The Course in Miracles" is 1. New Age 2. Self serving and self-edifying [NOT God] centered and is clearly ANTI-Biblical [meaning not only NOT in the Bible, but teching in opposition to the bible.] It’s a quick, fun and easy way to get oneself pointed towards hell.

 

[Monica4316]

The “spirit”
that channeled through Mrs. Schucman wrote that Sacred Scripture was
in error in teaching us that sin separates us from God, and that
Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for our sins.

God would NEVER say this.

Scripture says that even if an angel preaches a different gospel, we shouldn’t listen. We know that sin does separate us from God, and that Jesus died for our salvation and rose again on the third day. Any “spirit” that says otherwise is not of God.

 

[minder_bender]

After reading the rest of this thread, I have discovered a few things:

1. There are those who are fervently seeking understanding of the Truth and those who think they already have full understanding of the Truth. (Catholic Vatican Catechism tells us that although we have received all revelation, we are still to be open to continueing enlightenment of given revelation by the Holy Spirit).
2. There is a awful lot of Judgment and Condemnation toward other ways of thinking. (This is in direct error with what Jesus personally commanded. “judge not”!)
3. Regarding acim:- Unless you have studied this course as instructed (1 lesson daily with prayer,meditation & a humble heart) you couldn’t possible know what it is saying. And if you are not an abstract thinker (quantum physics is another example), you would be hard pressed to reason it out on your own without the Holy Spirit giving guidance. To take out extracts without the understanding of the chapters before is too easy & will only lead to wrong conclusions. Take the comment of “Jesus coming in the flesh…” to support the argument that acim is opposed to the Bible. The Bible comment was aimed at people of the day who were being told by some that Jesus was just an apparition and that He didn’t even need food or drink to survive (rumours from when He was in the desert 40days)… That He wasn’t fully human as you & I. Acim states that Jesus is exactly as you & I. That He was born from a woman as you and I. That He ate and drank as you & I. That He existed exactly as we existed and His body bled & died as all our bodies will die. There is no conflict with scripture here. (And to continue, acim also states that Jesus is fully God, and one with the Father & the Holy Spirit. So there is no conflict there either).
   If you think you have found some extract that proves otherwise then you are mistaken in it’s interpretation. A common mistake world wide when comments are taken out of context.
4. Don’t believe everything you are told about new age thinking. (even from acim students). Acim is meant to be read solitaire. A personal journey. Beware of secret whispers when groups become involved. Before you know it, you have exploitists jumping on the new age band wagon. Authors bringing out books with their own theories & slants on things that have nothing to do with the Truth. One Truth I have grasped from acim is that *nothing *is as it seems, so a judgmental attitude is futile as well as self distructive. Blessing to you all

 

[Victorious]

1. There are those who are fervently seeking understanding of the Truth and those who think they already have full understanding of the Truth. (Catholic Vatican Catechism tells us that although we have received all revelation, we are still to be open to continueing enlightenment of given revelation by the Holy Spirit).

Public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. It is closed precisely so that we may have a reliable guide to the truth. Anything purporting to be new public revelation is bogus. Anything that contradicts the deposit of faith is bogus.

1. There is a awful lot of Judgment and Condemnation toward other ways of thinking. (This is in direct error with what Jesus personally commanded. “judge not”!)

“Judge not” means that we are not to judge the state of someone’s soul. It refers to things we cannot know. This does not include errors and heresies. “Judge not” does not mean that we are not to condemn error. Jesus inspired the foundation of whole religious orders (e.g., the Order of Preachers) for the purpose of combating errors and heresies.

1. Regarding acim:- Unless you have studied this course as instructed (1 lesson daily with prayer,meditation & a humble heart) you couldn’t possible know what it is saying.

I don’t need to drink the entire gallon of milk to find out of it’s sour.

 

[Zooey]

minder bender:

Regarding acim:- Unless you have studied this course as instructed (1 lesson daily with prayer,meditation & a humble heart) you couldn’t possible know what it is saying.

You do realize that this is exactly what the serpent told Eve, in the garden?
The devil is “a liar from the beginning”.
In Course in Miracles, the devil is telling the same old lie, and like Adam & Eve, people are falling for it.
I tried on 2 occasions, on the advice of others, to read & study Course in Miracles. By the grace of God, I was delivered from it. Thank God that I listened to “the still, small Voice” (which was surely my angel guardian), and rejected the Course. If I had continued on, I would almost certainly have been lost, because this vile, poisonous demon-inspired book nearly drove me to suicide. It was that kind of spiritual oppression that it created in me.
I urge everyone to stay away, far, far away from this book. It is straight from the pits of hell. I know; it tried to drag me there.

 

[PJM]

=minder bender;6931675]After reading the rest of this thread, I have discovered a few things:

1. There are those who are fervently seeking understanding of the Truth and those who think they already have full understanding of the Truth. (Catholic Vatican Catechism tells us that although we have received all revelation, we are still to be open to continueing enlightenment of given revelation by the Holy Spirit).
2. There is a awful lot of Judgment and Condemnation toward other ways of thinking. (This is in direct error with what Jesus personally commanded. “judge not”!)
3. Regarding acim:- Unless you have studied this course as instructed (1 lesson daily with prayer,meditation & a humble heart) you couldn’t possible know what it is saying. And if you are not an abstract thinker (quantum physics is another example), you would be hard pressed to reason it out on your own without the Holy Spirit giving guidance. To take out extracts without the understanding of the chapters before is too easy & will only lead to wrong conclusions. Take the comment of “Jesus coming in the flesh…” to support the argument that acim is opposed to the Bible. The Bible comment was aimed at people of the day who were being told by some that Jesus was just an apparition and that He didn’t even need food or drink to survive (rumours from when He was in the desert 40days)… That He wasn’t fully human as you & I. Acim states that Jesus is exactly as you & I. That He was born from a woman as you and I. That He ate and drank as you & I. That He existed exactly as we existed and His body bled & died as all our bodies will die. There is no conflict with scripture here. (And to continue, acim also states that Jesus is fully God, and one with the Father & the Holy Spirit. So there is no conflict there either).
   If you think you have found some extract that proves otherwise then you are mistaken in it’s interpretation. A common mistake world wide when comments are taken out of context.
4. Don’t believe everything you are told about new age thinking. (even from acim students). Acim is meant to be read solitaire. A personal journey. Beware of secret whispers when groups become involved. Before you know it, you have exploitists jumping on the new age band wagon. Authors bringing out books with their own theories & slants on things that have nothing to do with the Truth. One Truth I have grasped from acim is that *nothing *is as it seems, so a judgmental attitude is futile as well as self distructive. Blessing to you all

Thank you for the self-serving insight my friend.

You seem to ignore a few facts.

No one part of th Bible can contradict another part of the Bible or it would be of NO Value.

There are signifiant and unmistakable keys that can’t simply be dismissed:

**Matt. 16:19

Matt. 18:18

Eph.4:4-8

John 20:22-23

John 17: 14-19

John 6:47-56**

Then if you still find yourself wanting more, please consider:

There are over 100 references to PNly One Church / One Faith in the NT…

How do you reconcile that with the MANY THOUSANDS of Protestant faiths?

Interestering that you claim [without understanding] that Jesus say’s “not to Judge”

Are you aware Jesus always gave this teaching?

Matt. 7: 13-21 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.
A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus you will know them by their fruits.
"Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers. Protestants= thousands of churches not just the one founded by Jesus. That ought be be of concern to many who think:

They ARE working For God;

When in reality they ONLY do God’s Work. NOT even close to being the same thing.

Love an prayers friend,
Pat

 

[Greg57]

ACIM is a hree-volume book that claims the world, sin and sickness are just illusions. This New Age belief system uses Christian terminology, but among the stated purposes of its publisher is to correct the errors in Christianity; meaning that would also include the doctrines of the Catholic Church.

It was ‘dictated’ to (a form of occultic automatic writing) atheist psychologist Helen Shucman by a disembodied entity who called himself Jesus. It promotes anti-Biblical practices and beliefs.

"In Course philosophy, biblical words undergo drastic changes of purpose. Often, the new meanings are the opposite of their biblical meaning. For example, “atonement” no longer refers to Jesus Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross for sin. In biblical teaching, the atonement is based on the fact that man’s sinfulness separates him from God. Before man can be reconciled to God, there must be a divine judgment of sin. Christ sacrificed His own life on the cross – He was judged in our place – to accomplish this.
(…)

“But in the Course, the word “atonement” means that exact opposite: that one is not, and never has been, separated from God. … For the Course, the term “atonement” refers to correcting the belief that men are separate from God, which is presumed to be a false belief.”
John Weldon, “A Course in Miracles/Attitudinal Therapy,” in Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, Harvest House, Eugene, Oregon, 1996. pp 9,10

 

[minder_bender]

Thank you for the self-serving insight my friend.

You seem to ignore a few facts.

No one part of th Bible can contradict another part of the Bible or it would be of NO Value.

There are signifiant and unmistakable keys that can’t simply be dismissed:

**Matt. 16:19

Matt. 18:18

Eph.4:4-8

John 20:22-23

John 17: 14-19

John 6:47-56**

Then if you still find yourself wanting more, please consider:

There are over 100 references to PNly One Church / One Faith in the NT…

How do you reconcile that with the MANY THOUSANDS of Protestant faiths?

Interestering that you claim [without understanding] that Jesus say’s “not to Judge”

Are you aware Jesus always gave this teaching?

Matt. 7: 13-21 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.
A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus you will know them by their fruits.
"Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers. Protestants= thousands of churches not just the one founded by Jesus. That ought be be of concern to many who think:

They ARE working For God;

When in reality they ONLY do God’s Work. NOT even close to being the same thing.

Love an prayers friend,
Pat

No one part of th Bible can contradict another part of the Bible or it would be of NO Value.
“the law says ‘an eye for an eye’ but I say, ‘Love one another. Do Good to those who hate and harm you.’”

The Bible verses you hold up for scrutiny are all correct. I have no issue with any of them. What is your point?
There are over 100 references to PNly One Church / One Faith in the NT…

I think you are confusing Faith & One Church with Tradition. Protestant traditions are fundamentally the same Faith. This being, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, The 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, through whom we are saved.

"]"Enter by the narrow gate;/
I am very aware of this passage and agree with it whole heartedly. Again, What’s your point? By the way, did you know that the ‘gate’ that Jesus was referencing to the crowd was a gate they related to. In the Jeruselem walls were many gates, some large with most of the crowd took because they did not need to unload their camals and risk theft of their belongs. (worldly treasures). The narrow gate was rarely taken because to enter through it, one had to unload his camel completely and push his camel through, go back and get his belongings and take them manually through to reload his camel. Mean time most of his wares were likely to be stolen. With this in mind, the passage presents a slightly different interpretation to the one you are assuming. And so it goes with most of your comments. You chide me with being self serving and in error but I think you are accusing yourself. because it is obvious to anyone who has ‘seeked’ that you are too closed to see the very real truths in all of the passages you selected to ‘inform me’. I truely Bless you in Jesus name and encourage you to continue to research the gospel. Truth is Truth.

 

[minder_bender]

Public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. It is closed precisely so that we may have a reliable guide to the truth. Anything purporting to be new public revelation is bogus. Anything that contradicts the deposit of faith is bogus.

“Judge not” means that we are not to judge the state of someone’s soul. It refers to things we cannot know. This does not include errors and heresies. “Judge not” does not mean that we are not to condemn error. Jesus inspired the foundation of whole religious orders (e.g., the Order of Preachers) for the purpose of combating errors and heresies.

I don’t need to drink the entire gallon of milk to find out of it’s sour.

“Judge not” means that we are not to judge the state of someone’s soul. It refers to things we cannot know. This does not include errors and heresies. “Judge not” does not mean that we are not to condemn error. Jesus inspired the foundation of whole religious orders (e.g., the Order of Preachers) for the purpose of combating errors and heresies.

Lk. 6.3738, 4142
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Mk. 4.24

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

6 ¶ Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

 

[minder_bender]

You do realize that this is exactly what the serpent told Eve, in the garden?
The devil is “a liar from the beginning”.
In Course in Miracles, the devil is telling the same old lie, and like Adam & Eve, people are falling for it.
I tried on 2 occasions, on the advice of others, to read & study Course in Miracles. By the grace of God, I was delivered from it. Thank God that I listened to “the still, small Voice” (which was surely my angel guardian), and rejected the Course. If I had continued on, I would almost certainly have been lost, because this vile, poisonous demon-inspired book nearly drove me to suicide. It was that kind of spiritual oppression that it created in me.
I urge everyone to stay away, far, far away from this book. It is straight from the pits of hell. I know; it tried to drag me there.

I am trully sorry for your experience. All I can say is that mine has been the exact opposite. Though I must add that I wasn’t brought to read it by friends or any group of people. Also I have had no interest or background into delving with so called New Age or it’s thinking. All I have had is a close relationship with Jesus and a strong traditional catholic upbringing. Maybe I was ready to shift up in my spirituality and become more usable by Jesus by not continuing to be content with being spoon fed. I don’t think everyone is called or ready for acim. If you haven’t already a strong relationship with Jesus, it can play with your head. I don’t agree with groups getting together & discussing the course. I think that will lead to bias and human interpretation. My only advise regarding the course is listen to what Jesus is saying to you. No one else. He will led you where He wants you to go and it will be a gentle leading. There will be no confusion. No debate. You will know what His will is for you. His will (or law) will be written in your heart. Follow Him and no other and you will never stray. That is the Truth.

 

[Victorious]

“Judge not” means that we are not to judge the state of someone’s soul. It refers to things we cannot know. This does not include errors and heresies. “Judge not” does not mean that we are not to condemn error. Jesus inspired the foundation of whole religious orders (e.g., the Order of Preachers) for the purpose of combating errors and heresies.

Lk. 6.3738, 4142
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Mk. 4.24

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

6 ¶ Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

If you really had a traditional Catholic upbringing, you would know that admonishing the sinner is a spiritual work of mercy.

My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20

Take heed lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them… Deuteronomy 11:16

Curse the whisperer and deceiver, for he has destroyed many who were at peace. Sirach 28:13

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already. 1 John 4:1-3

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward. Any one who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son. If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting; for he who greets him shares his wicked work. 2 John 1:7-11

I’m going to try this one more time:

A Course in Miracles is evil.
Repent of having gotten mixed up with it and renounce it.
Otherwise, it is going to drag you into hell.

 

[minder_bender]

And the king will answer and say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me.

 

[PJM]

=minder bender;6954122]No one part of th Bible can contradict another part of the Bible or it would be of NO Value.
“the law says ‘an eye for an eye’ but I say, ‘Love one another. Do Good to those who hate and harm you.’”

The Bible verses you hold up for scrutiny are all correct. I have no issue with any of them. What is your point?
There are over 100 references to PNly One Church / One Faith in the NT…

I think you are confusing Faith & One Church with Tradition. Protestant traditions are fundamentally the same Faith. This being, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, The 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, through whom we are saved.

"]"Enter by the narrow gate;/
I am very aware of this passage and agree with it whole heartedly. Again, What’s your point? By the way, did you know that the ‘gate’ that Jesus was referencing to the crowd was a gate they related to. In the Jeruselem walls were many gates, some large with most of the crowd took because they did not need to unload their camals and risk theft of their belongs. (worldly treasures). The narrow gate was rarely taken because to enter through it, one had to unload his camel completely and push his camel through, go back and get his belongings and take them manually through to reload his camel. Mean time most of his wares were likely to be stolen. With this in mind, the passage presents a slightly different interpretation to the one you are assuming. And so it goes with most of your comments. You chide me with being self serving and in error but I think you are accusing yourself. because it is obvious to anyone who has ‘seeked’ that you are too closed to see the very real truths in all of the passages you selected to ‘inform me’. I truely Bless you in Jesus name and encourage you to continue to research the gospel. Truth is Truth.

My point friend is that OSAS is a fraud. It’s not biblically supportable and even denies the facts that God is Perfect, and made us with the Spiritual attributes of maind, intellect, freewill and soul precisely so that we; NOT GOD, select heven or hell. [See Isa. 43 v.7 an v. 21]

Love and prayers,
Pat

 

[minder_bender]

I’m sorry PJM (& Victorious). ---- BUT you don’t know what you are talking about. That is quite OBVIOUS!

 

[Liraco]

I’m sorry PJM (& Victorious). ---- BUT you don’t know what you are talking about. That is quite OBVIOUS!

Is that not judging?

I don’t think everyone is called or ready for acim. If you haven’t already a strong relationship with Jesus, it can play with your head.

A clear sign that this should be avoided, you see it yourself yet immediately turn a blind eye so you can follow this “truth”.

I don’t agree with groups getting together & discussing the course. I think that will lead to bias and human interpretation.

Yet you allow the spirit of ACIM guide you to the “truth”. Why not humbly accept that you may be wrong in your personal search for truth when the church warns against the very things you’re in? Remember “Whoever hears you, hears Me”, so I’d urge you to listen to them, not to yourself. You’re not following Jesus in ACIM, ultimately you’re following yourself.

My only advise regarding the course is listen to what Jesus is saying to you… Follow Him and no other and you will never stray. That is the Truth.

See the contradiction? No, but I do. Don’t listen to the course, listen to JESUS. Read the Bible, learn what He says, and follow His Church which He gave authority to. Follow HIM, not this “revelation” in ACIM you seem so adamant in following over the truth of the Catholic Church.

 

[PJM]

=minder bender;6971421]I’m sorry PJM (& Victorious). ---- BUT you don’t know what you are talking about. That is quite OBVIOUS!

REALLY?

Consier these facts:

There are BILLIONS of stars and planets BUT only ONE, planet earth can sustain life.

WHY?

On planet earth there are hundreds of thousands of LIVING THINGS… BUT Only One… humanity is gifted with a mind, a intellect, a freewill and a soul. ALL SPIRITUAL Things that can be demonistrated, but cannot be quantified.

WHY?

For example: tell us how large your mind is? What is it’s shape, what color is it, how much does it weigh? You can’t because it’s a Spiritual attribute; yet the fact that you are
reading this and comprehend it prove that you have a mind.

The precise use of these gifts lay in the purpose of our Creator who gives them to us.

ONLY humanity has the tools and potential to know, love, and serve God!

Yet these same tools can just as easy be used to deny God, profane, God, ignore God.

It is in the freedom humanity has on this issue, that makes clear ones LOVE of God; or hate for God [no middle road is possible**] Rev.3:16.

God not only permits us to choose but demands that we choose. In the same manner, we, NOT GOD, choose for ourselves heaven or hell. God simply affirms our choice.

Gen.1 Verses 26 to 27: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Isaiah 43: v. 7 and v. 21

[7] every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

[21] the people whom I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.

Dear friend in Christ,

Pay no heed to “my opinins.” But do yu dare ignore your God?

Pat

 

[minder_bender]

All I can say is HALLALUIA! I not only here & now agree with all of the above quotes but have always agreed with them. I am not ignoring them but embracing them more fully then ever before. Is it I or you who is missing something? acim for me, has only reinforced all of the above as it only can if it is truelly Jesus speaking. I do not substitute the Bible with “it”, but use it as an extension to understanding. Monks & priests go on sebaticles & read all manor of writtings to further & deepen their faith. If you tried to read the works of theologians, you would also find it “playing with you head”. The Truth is in reality quite simple. It’s when Man gets a hold of it and makes it out to be what it is not, that difficulty arises. Jesus has always spoken to me clearly, all my life, and I am not going to start doubting Him now. God is greater than your vision of Him. He is not weak, limited, or dependent on any institution. He speaks constantly to all who will listen and will never give up. This is supported in His word. The question is:- What IS God’s word and what is that which is interpreted by man? We can read the same phrases and get completely different meanings. If you think that just because Jesus authorized The Catholic Church that misinterpretations haven’t occured than I think you are nieve. What Jesus DID promise, was that He would never leave us, or give up on us. “though you walk through the valley of death, no evil will you fear”. That was NOT an idle promise. You should tap into some of the phylosophy questions on this site and get your teeth into some real creativity instead of preaching to the converted.

 

[minder_bender]

Is that not judging?

Liraco, You are absolutely right. Jesus brought that very fact to my attention later in my prayer time. I sinserely appologize to both Victorious and PJM for judging them and ask that they forgive me. After being gently (yet sternly) chastized by Jesus, I blessed both of them in my prayer time and sent forth to them what I hope was sincere love. I chose to react with my “flesh (or ego)” instead of loving them and thanking them for their concerns. I do not tell you this to brag of grandiose myself in any way, only to let you know somewhat of how I choose to work my mind when obviously in error.

A clear sign that this should be avoided, you see it yourself yet immediately turn a blind eye so you can follow this “truth”.

I don’t necessarily think that because a text is complicated or intellectually challenging that it’s content is erroneous. Many of the Biblical texts have one thinking over & over on it’s true meaning. This is all I ment by “play with you head”. I have read many extracts from St Augustine which also challenge my thinking but I don’t assume it to be in error.

Yet you allow the spirit of ACIM guide you to the “truth”.

Mark 9:38-41 (New International Version)
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us
38"Teacher," said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us. 41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
Luke 11:9-13 (New International Version)

Why not humbly accept that you may be wrong in your personal search for truth
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

The church tells us rightly the who & how, when & where. As a suppliment only, acim tells us the why? only for those who are inspired to seek further. Not because you find a lack but because you want to be of more use to Jesus in the field. You may not be in a position to be a priest or a social worker or president of the parish council. You may have a mundane job the has very little contact with different types of people, seeing the same foke day in and day out. Doing the same things, the same routine. This is where acim has made a difference to me. Being present with Jesus every moment. At His immediate call to pray & bless everyone & anyone, who comes into our presence and thoughts and know that God is bringing about something wonderful in His plan. I don’t see any contradiction with the church or the Bible in *this *respect and this is the whole point to it’s philosophy. You can argue & pick at passage after passage just as people do with the Bible and the Catholic question, but the essence is True. *God *is in control not the devil.

Don’t listen to the course, listen to JESUS. Read the Bible, learn what He says, and follow His Church which He gave authority to. Follow HIM, not this “revelation”

Again, I don’t see the contradiction! The essence is the same. Love one another, Forgive one another, Bless one another, Repent of your error and Thank God for His Grace through Jesus. This is the essence of the Bible, acim *and *The Catholic Church if you dare to look beyond man and his structures.

 

[Liraco]

Mark 9:38-41 (New International Version)
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us
38"Teacher," said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us. 41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
Luke 11:9-13 (New International Version)

But we’re also asked to test all things to make sure they’re from God, correct?

Also, I’ve read parts of ACIM and they’re very clearly AGAINST the Church (meaning it contradicts the faith), so I wonder where you find good in the course when it teaches:

-the denial of original sin

-everything you see around you is an illusion (starting at lesson #14)
“With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny its reality. God did not create it, and so it is not real.” ← FALSE.
While it’s true that God didn’t create evil, it’s nonetheless real because He ALLOWS it. Why? Simple: Free will, we’re not robots. Without Free Will, real Love can’t exist. Our fallen natures can also make us do things despicable to God though, which He allows out of respect for our Free Will.

The world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist. ← do you hold this to be true?

-sin and guilt are not real but, “solely an invention in your own mind”(lesson #70)
Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. ← Yes, it’s NOT from you, it’s from Jesus Christ and His body the Church through whom we are saved.

When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you must also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. Understanding this you are saved. ← No repentance then because there’s nothing to bring you to repentance?

-Also: “you can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you”<-- is the glaring error of this statement not obvious? Unless you believe that putting your hand in boiling water won’t hurt you.

This is where acim has made a difference to me. Being present with Jesus every moment. At His immediate call to pray & bless everyone & anyone, who comes into our presence and thoughts and know that God is bringing about something wonderful in His plan.

We’re all called to holyness, to love one another, to love God, but my question is, how do you not find this in the Catholic Chuch? Practicing the Real Presence is a very good way to achieve holiness, certainly. My question is what in ACIM gave you what was apparently missing in your life? Quotes would be appreciated too.

Again, I don’t see the contradiction! The essence is the same. Love one another, Forgive one another, Bless one another, Repent of your error and Thank God for His Grace through Jesus. This is the essence of the Bible, acim *and *The Catholic Church if you dare to look beyond man and his structures.

Your mention of “beyond man and his structures” seems to hide a subtle hint of rebellion or opposition to the Church as a man-made institution and as if it had only the traditions of men. I do hope I’m miss-understanding here, but I detected it in your posts before and that’s what’s troubled me. That’s why I worry for you and anyone else deceived by the course.

Perhaps a return to the basics is in order for us though, back to Scripture, not an outside source.
Hebrews 5:12: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food.”

 

[minder_bender]

But we’re also asked to test all things to make sure they’re from God, correct?

Yes ALL things. That includes any thing from the Church as well.

Also, I’ve read parts of ACIM and they’re very clearly AGAINST the Church (meaning it contradicts the faith),

True faith CAN’T be contradicted. Though our perception (or interpretation) of God’s word can be. Truth is Truth.

-the denial of original sin

There was no sin before the fall. As ACIM is looking from THAT view point beyond ‘time’ from infinity, there is no sin. Jesus saw to that. As far as original sin is concerned: the question is rather What was the original sin?? Was it our disobedience? or was it our BELIEF that a loving Father God could go against His own nature, and condemn His son. If you reread Genises, you will notice that Eve, after disobeying, didn’t feel any repremand from God, it was only after she joined with another (Adam) in her disobedience that TOGETHER, they experienced SHAME. God didn’t even notice their nakedness and had to ask them Why they were acting so shamfully. In that one false presumption, they condemned themselves to the valley of death. In the valley of death there is diffinately Original Sin. In Heaven, there is none.

-everything you see around you is an illusion (starting at lesson #14)
If you are looking from a Heavenly perspective, that is true. Heaven is not confined by the physical or time. According to the Bible, everything is finished and won. It is only in the valley of death that there is a physical element. Angles and spirits and pass right through our so called solid images. Have you ever woken feeling relieved to find your dream was not real. While you were dreaming it it certainly felt real. This life is no different. That is why the Bible says that in the end times this world will “roll up like a scroll”. What truelly solid thing could do that ?

← Yes, it’s NOT from you, it’s from Jesus Christ and His body the Church through whom we are saved.

If you truelly knew the meaning of this extract in ACIM you would know that Jesus Christ & His Church were indeed our salvation. Your eyes are blind!

“you can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you”<–

It is refering to your TRUE self. your eternal spirit. This can not be harmed by attack if aligned with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, his Church and our Father (God the creator).