by Tim Gore
© Copyright 1997, Tim Gore All Rights Reserved
Contents
Introduction
Religion
God / Goddess
Ethics
Summary
This was one of my pages on AOL where some people have inquired about my religious beliefs and I fell it fair to attempt to give as honest an answer as possible for those interested. Bear in mind as you read this that these opinions are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of any group, individual or organization with whom I or this site are associated.
The word Religion comes from the root Religgo meaning to "re-link" with the Source or Creator. There is an old parable I once heard, (either from Zen or Buddhism) that describes my feelings about religion. There is an island on which little food or drinkable water exists and the inhabitants are always squabbling over the scraps. One day a person fresh from the fight stood on the shore and spotted a second island across a channel on which there was abundant food and drink and it's inhabitants lived in harmony and affection. So the person built a boat and sailed to the other shore where he left the boat to walk on the new island. The name of the new island is Paradise and it's food and drink are the spirit and substance of the Divine. The inhalants are ones brothers and sisters who have arrived there as well (by whatever boat they took). The name of the boat is religion and it is left at the shore because it makes no sense to carry a boat with you on dry land. In other words religion has it's place to relink one when the illusion of the mundane word clouds the Experience of the Spirit in our lives but when one walks in the Spirit all you need is your relationship with the Divine. What religion should one have? The answer is that the Divine calls to the heart of each of us in a way most conducive to our relinking. For some that may be Christianity, Islam or Judaism, for others it may be Paganism, Buddhism or Hinduism. I would even say that those who believe Elvis Presley was their Savior are on the right path if that was the calling to their hearts by the Divine.
You may notice that I have used the term "The Divine" as opposed to using the term "god". That's because the Ultimate is genderless and unfathomable by the human mind. Even though we cannot conceive of what the Divine is like It does have personality, will, preferences etc., but they are beyond our comprehension. In other words you cannot know the Ultimate. From the One comes the Two. The God and the Goddess (the knowable and conceivable forms) who are the Male and Female Principals. The Goddess is the creator of form and the God brings substance and Being to that form. She is the architect and He is the Builder. Without Her there would be no form only pure amorphous Being, no individuality. Without Him the infinite verity of forms and shapes would be only pipe dreams with no substance like blueprints without brick. Existence then is the constant congress between the God and Goddess. Where God's Being is constantly interpenetrating the Forms of the Goddess. Therefore it can be said that we are all children of the Divine couple. Even early Christianity may have believed in this concept. The Gnostic book "The Hypostasis of the Archons" describes the creation as an act of the Female Principal "calling forth" everything from the God in language similar to the Gospel of John describing the "Word".
"How ought humans behave?" This is the question that Ethics asks and discussing my religious beliefs must include a discussion of my ethical system. During the 1970's Dr. Raymond Moody MD came out with a book titled "Life After Life" in which documented for the first time what he and his fellow physicians had been hearing from their patients who had died and been resurrected by artificial means. These experiences now referred to as "Near Death Experiences" or NDEs are somewhat common knowledge now and some skeptics say that recent reports of NDEs may be the result of auto-suggestion but that doesn't explain the commonality of such reports prior to the publication of Life After Life. NDEs can and do vary but the most common reports follow this basic outline. Upon leaving the physical body the individual sees a bright light and moves toward it. As they get closer they begin to feel like they are moving through a long tunnel. At the end of the tunnel they encounter a Being whose body is Pure Light and whose Essence is Total Love, Total Compassion and Total Acceptance. This Being then shines a light of Truth on the individual and that person sees his entire life. Every hidden shame and every noble deed are revealed. The individual experiences the result of his actions not only from his own perspective but from those who his actions effected. While this is happening the Being of Light does not Judge the individual but is totally accepting and loving. However the individual judges himself against that Being. In other words the individual judges himself based on how like the Being of Total Love, Total Compassion and Total Acceptance he was during life. The individual judges himself less on the wrongs he's done than on the times he turned away or failed to give of himself or his heart to another being. This can be an intensely painful realization because it goes to the worth of the sum of ones life. It is impossible for anyone to live a perfect life as that Being but my personal ethos is to weigh my actions with the understanding that Love, Compassion and Acceptance are the values by which the Soul is measured. However as I say it is not possible to live totally in accord with the Nature of the Being of Light. And I do find myself judging as evil certain things. To me, fanaticism in any form is evil. By fanaticism I mean the quirk in human religions (especially monotheistic ones) that say "my way is the ONLY way" or "my God is the ONLY God" for everyone. As stated above, I believe the Divine calls each individual to re-linking through the heart and if that calling is calling to Jesus that's fine with the Divine, if that calling is to Buddha that's fine with the Divine, if that calling is to the Goddess that too is fine with the Divine as long as ones path is lead by the heart to the Spirit of holiness, reverence and love for the Divine presence. It is therefore an act of anti-religion (evil) to force a person who devoutly follows a Divine calling to believe the religion of another. Yet this is the nature of fanaticism. Any group, organization or leader who employs fanaticism (especially as a method of authoritarian control) is performing an act of evil and I stand opposed to that.
To summarize my credo. The Godhead is unknowable but is knowable in the Male and Female Principals. The God and Goddess, in a supreme act of love bring about all creation including ourselves, the rest of the universe and the many forms the God and Goddess take to appear to us. Love, Compassion and Acceptance are the basic ethos however in my imperfect unacceptance I do judge fanaticism as evil [fanaticism being defined as "my way is the only way"].