BoldGrace

I strongly recommend the book "REINCARNATION FOR THE CHRISTIAN" by Quincy Howe Jr.

I don’t recommend it because I want or even care if others believe in reincarnation or NOT.  I recommend it because it offers people of honest thought the chance to exercise their free thinking ability.

You may say "Hey Cliff, I already do that".  But do you really or have you just bought into to what the Christian experts tell you is the correct history of Christianity.

According to Howe and many others there was quite the discussion going in the first five centuries about the possibility of reincarnation. 

Origen of Alexandria was born around 184 AD and died in 253, probably as the direct result of his imprisonment & torture for his faith.  He was a dedicated teacher,a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, and a strong believer in reincarnation.

You see like many since the early times of the church anyone who dared to have an original thought was persecuted and often put to death unless they fell in line with the accepted wisdom of the day.

Did you also know that during the first five centuries the predominant thought was universal salvation for all until the powers that be decided they needed a HELL to keep people in line.  

There have been many thoughtful and honest christians of thought down through the centuries that  believed in reincarnation but did not dare share their hearts out of fear.

What I like about this book is that Howe doesn’t try to prove anything.  He just shares some of the thoughts of great men of our past that believed in reincarnation and why.

The day of closed minds ended with the internet.  Now, anyone who really wants to investigate the questions of their heart can do so without feeling the fear that comes with doubting the status quo. 

Allow me to quote a few words from the back cover of this interesting book:

Can one believe in the concept of reincarnation and remain a Christian.  The answer according to Dr Howe (a christian scholar) is: ABSOLUTELY!

To back up his claim, Dr. Howe cites chapter and verse from the bible that clearly indicates an understanding and acceptance of the rebirth theory.

Dr. Quincy Howe, Jr. is a graduate of Harvard, Columbia and Princeton Universities.  He received his Ph.D. while at Princeton. 

All I want people who read this post to do is to realize that we have all been lied to over and over through the centuries by those who would force us to believe or be lost.  God gave all of us wonderful minds and hearts to help us find our way, and I don’t think He ever intended for a only a few to make all the decisions on matters of FAITH.

I’m sure many Christians out there will say that they now have the liberty to really speak their mind in church, and I really hope that is becoming more true, but I still think we have a long way to go. 

I do have great hope for the future of open minded Christians because with the age of the internet there will be NO going back to the dark ages where only a few decide what we should believe.

If you don’t believe in reincarnation now, don’t worry about it, YOU WILL BELIEVE IN IT IN THE NEXT LIFE………ha ha

Isn’t it exciting to know tha life really is what we make of it. I want to get up each new day with the anticipation of something wonderful is about to happen.

We are all so clouded in our spiritual vision. What causes this? Maybe the better question is "What will help us see more clearly?

I would love to think religion could help us out but my experience tells me that is not so.  In fact, every time I get around an ultra religious person I sense darkness that wants to overshadow any ability to see clearly.

I can’t answer for others but for me "SEEING MORE CLEARLY" has been a result of a lot less talking and a lot more listening.

I think we block real listening when we are consumed with talking so much.  I have come to believe that this earthly experience we are all in has built within it very clear messages that are clear and constant for all who will LISTEN.

I guess the next logical question is "What makes us all talk so much?"

I can’t speak for others but for me it was the need to be right, and to be right I had to make sure everyone agreed with me, and to get everyone to agree with me I had to convince them and to convince them I had to talk a lot.

I found that once I gave up the need to be right I no longer felt the need to talk so much and then I found my self listening a lot more.

Now I listen to the sound of life all around me.  The birds sing sweeter.  I cry much easier over the silliest of things.  I even wonder if my dogs are really angels that can talk but won’t break their cover knowing they will blow my mind.  Oh, the things I find myself imagining now that I’ve quit talking so much.

It feels so good to trust in this experience we are all a part of.  It feels so peaceful to know that my contribution is not nearly as important as my observation.  I am becoming an observer.  A  observer doesn’t judge or try to make life follow their pattern of belief.  A  observer observes and learns.

What I have found from being a better observer is that I love deeper, I feel with more intensity, and I trust what is coming next with a greater sense of excitement.

"Behavior scientist have known for decades that the most effective way to alter the behavior of any living creature is through positive reinforcement."

Those words come from a booklet I recently purchased, "The Whole Dog Journal". It is a publication that offers guidelines for raising happy well adjusted dogs.

Do you suppose that what was written here also applies to the creature of man?

What if we affected the behavior of other people through offering them nothing but positive reinforcement? What if we only stressed that God loves them unconditionally…..always. What if we told them only "good-news" and never tried to change them through threats of negative punishment from an angry God?

The Whole Dog Journal also states that "these techniques work – and better yet they work without ever making the animal afraid or defensive".

Hmmm. Who are the most well adjusted people.  Those who know they are loved and accepted or those who are afraid and defensive?

I have always believed that God meant for us to change the world.

Rom 5:6-8 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ came to take us out of the law of sin and death and deliver us over into His kingdom of light and love. He came to show us how to love and unfortunately mankind has made a complete mess of His example.  Study his life and you will see how people of all walks of life flocked to Him because they felt this unconditional love.  Paul tells us it is the only thing we owe to each other.

Rom 13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

1 Cor 13:4-8  4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

In the last post I took a look at possibilities.  Is life really as we see it or are there special beings that walk among us that we all desperately need so that we can move forward as the spiritual beings that we are?

As I have mentioned in the past I work in an Emergency Room as an Environmental Services person.  Basically I make sure the entire area stays clean.  In my position I have the opportunity to see things that most people never imagine.  I see life and death situations on a daily basis.  I see fellow humans who give of themselves in ways that money can’t buy. 

Today I want to talk about one particular group of fellow humans that never cease to amaze me—–we call them "NURSES".  Some are women and some are men.  Most of them are not aware that I am constantly watching them work.  I see their dedication.  I see their willingness to treat sick people with kindness even when some of these sick people are quite rude.  I see them work long hours under sometimes very difficult circumstances and yet they try their best to keep a smile and a positive outlook because they know their patients are depending on that.

One particular male nurse goes around whistling old songs and every time he passes me by he asks me how I’m doing.  Every single nurse I’ve met seems to really care.  Oh, I know sometimes they have bad days and don’t feel good but even on those days I watch them as they enter a patients room and they put on a smile even though they don’t feel like it.

I fully realize that some people go into this profession because of the money but I really don’t think that is the reason for most who do this work.  I have looked in their eyes and seen the compassion.  They show this compassion to every person who walks through the ER doors even if they are the most disgusting of our race.  They don’t pick and choose.  They show their love to the just and the unjust alike. 

Yes, we can learn a lot from some of the special beings that walk among us if we will just open our eyes and be willing.