Of what are we afraid, that we continue to persecute those who demonstrate through their spiritual gifts, that the human personality survives death? Surely such persecution ceased with the end of the Inquisition and the repealing of the Witchcraft Acts in Britain in 1951? Although the persecution is a little more subtle today, it is still there and as unthinking and uncaring as ever. Indeed the use by the government of EEC Directives to repeal the Fraudulent Mediums Act is yet another example of exactly this.
Intolerance loves to quote scripture in defence of its prejudice but no thinking person can accept the claim of priests, of any and all denominations, that their particular scriptures are ‘the word of God’. Doubtless much scripture has been spiritually inspired but that inspiration has from time to time been edited to suit the prejudices of particular individuals. For instance, the much quoted Old Testament injunction, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” was almost certainly inserted in the Authorised or King James Version of the Bible because the authors knew the king went in fear of witches. It does not appear in earlier editions.
Religion has brought and continues to bring, much comfort and solace to many and I would be the last to deny this. It has also inspired great works of art and produced some truly humble and spiritual individuals. However, no religion so far has escaped the all too human trap of becoming dogmatic and intolerant when achieving temporal power, be it minor or major. I mentioned earlier in the book the edict that man was specially created by God in His own image and the physical, instead of the spiritual interpretation of this has been used by theologians to excuse much cruelty and worse. Scientists, from Medical Doctors to Physicists and from Astronomers to Naturalists would not be held in the awe and almost god-like reverence they are today were it not that religion had prepared the way. Such reverence clouds the judgement and leads, all too easily, to unquestioning acceptance of scientific pronouncements. The narrow interpretations placed upon scientific discoveries and the irrational outbursts when lay people dare to question the assumptions of scientists, can without doubt be laid at the door of ecclesiastical arrogance and prejudice. The arrogance that pronounced the Pope as infallible, for instance
In my view religion has a vital role to play but the need to replace temporal with spiritual power is now paramount.
Not only should religion focus on building spiritual power but it should teach everyone how to do so. To keep such knowledge hidden is self-defeating. Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated that spiritual power is all conquering and said to his disciples with reference to his 'miracles', “greater things than these shall you do.” However, achieving such heights of spiritual power requires enormous effort, dedication and hard work. This Jesus gave unstintingly in preparing for his ministry.
The power of the spirit is an inner power and only by single-minded concentration on our inner selves can it be fully utilised. It does not mean cutting ourselves off from ordinary life, although spending time alone is vital during the development stages. It also requires that we deny primacy to the ego and eschew the drive for temporal power. In order to find ourselves we must first lose 'ourselves'. The physical self or ego, dominated as it is by mother nature, must be subordinated to the higher self or spirit and the challenge of achieving this is perhaps the most difficult we can set ourselves.
Because the Nazarene taught people to “turn the other cheek,” many regard his way as weakness; the soft option. On the contrary, he was the strongest of men. The courage and strength needed to develop and exercise true spiritual power, such as his, is huge. One look at what has happened in our world by following the strong option, the dictum of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” shows it is high time to use the alternative. Even a child can see that violence creates more violence: Hatred breeds greater hatred. The problems persist and no wonder; the ‘strong’ way is the negative way.
We need to become positive. Negation operates in darkness and produces greater darkness. Spiritual power and the love which is its source, is positive and produces light. Just as switching on the light in a dark room dissolves the darkness, without having to physically eject it first, so switching on the light of spiritual power in our darkened world will dissolve the darkness of violence, hatred and misery. We won’t have to fight to physically remove the darkness, it will dissolve. The darkness of hatred, violence and selfishness cannot exist in the bright light of unselfish spiritual power. The fight, for make no mistake there will be one, will take place within each one of us as we develop the power of the higher self. We will have to fight to overcome our physical nature, our ego. If you ever wondered what purpose is served by placing human beings on earth, surely there can be no nobler one than this.
We need to trust in the power of the spirit. Once we have the courage to grasp the torch, we will not be alone. There are legions in the spiritual world that will spare no effort to help us. Remember, they will be able to draw close much easier once we become more aware of our higher selves. Also, when this day dawns there will be no need for mediums to enable communication between earth and the spiritual word – each person will become his own medium!
This is an extract from my book "Please God Why?"
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