Faulty Faith

As I was perusing the web looking for something interesting for this blog I came across one site which discussed various religions, faiths , God, heaven, hell etc.  I came across two articles which caught my eye.  The heading of one read, “Connection with the Divine to be found in everyday life.”   That is true enough.  Then I kept reading.

The first article was written by a devout Muslim.  It made sense.  He stated his opinion on how to seek God in every aspect of our daily life. He wrote on how Muslims praise and worship God.  In fact it could have been written by a Christian, that is, until the last sentence.  He wrote that we are either lucky or  unlucky in seeing the opportunities presented to us.  The unlucky ones will “throw themselves in hellfire.”  I don’t quite understand his idea of having luck or being unlucky.  As a believer, I don’t agree with the idea of luck. Either God is involved or not involved in our daily life.  We, however, are given the power of choice.  My faith doesn’t depend on the roll of the dice.

The second article was written by a Hindu.  He too, had a message of recognizing the Divine in all of nature and the Divine that resides within each of us. Through Yoga and contemplation we are able to reach the Divine and become one with Him.

These well written articles appeal to spiritual seekers. But one must read carefully to fully understand their impact.

The Hindu says that we must open our minds to the Divine Spirit to become one with the Divine Nature.  “Yoga means the union of the individual soul with the universal soul.”  Then surely all happiness will be ours!

Is this man really capable of obtaining and recognizing the Divine by simply focusing his thoughts in meditation?   Seems to more akin to self hypnosis.  By the way, neither article mentioned sin.

We ourselves cannot realize God’s perfect will for man because we live in a world corrupted by sin.  Elevating our thoughts might give us a sense of well being but it doesn’t solve the problem of man’s dilemma.  It is the guilt of sin which causes us to reach out to something beyond ourselves. A Higher Power as some have said.   We all recognize that it isn’t within us to alleviate the turmoil we encounter within each of us.

If I am reading the Bible correctly, the writers tell us that humans, through our own self will, defied God and sin entered the world.  Sin is the result of our disobedience to the perfect will of our Creator.   Simply elevating our thoughts will never take away sin.  It’s here to stay.

Our attempt to climb to heaven on a ladder of reason, morality, and experience cannot get us one step closer to the Divine Perfection.  As sinful humans we cannot ascend to God on our own……but that God descended down to us in the form of a man called Jesus. He showed us not only what is God’s perfect will for us but He also showed us the way.  It wasn’t through spiritual mediation…..but through obedience, righteous living and prayer.

Man wants to find a God that fits his world view.  We remake God in our image, instead of being remade from the inside out.  Now that’s what I call being “reborn.”