"shame-based conscience may sound like the voice of God and condemn us when there is no condemnation"

According to this illuminating blog, the shame-based "conscience" is often a result of learned conditioning based on one's background, upbringing, culture and so on, in which one is exposed to conservative views of family, schools, churches and society. Unfortunately organised religion sometimes propagate the erroneous idea that the "conscience "is the voice of god condemning us when actually there is no condemnation. The gospel of grace and peace hence plays a part in liberating people from this crippling sense of shame and guilt by declaring we are already innocent, blameless, beloved and whole. Our true identity of innate perfection never changes regardless of our performance. This is good news for everyone indeed.

Love does not require a sacrifice on the cross because Love simply forgives

 I think somebody will appreciate the invitation to think out of the box (tradition). Let's consider these questions.

Why would 'you' need grace from a God that is love? WHEN would LOVE have ever stopped loving? Are you sure that you have a clear understanding of what grace is all about? Love would simply forgive! NOT require a son on a cross!

These questions raise a pertinent point about grace because "grace" has often been used in a legalistic way in the christian circles. To some preachers, grace is like having a transaction with God, such as "God gives us his grace only when we give God our faith" or "God needs to punish Jesus to fulfill the law in order to give us his grace and forgiveness". That is not grace; that is legalism disguised as grace because the law is always conditional whereas grace is always unconditional.

Teachings that represent God/Jesus as a vindictive and vengeful divinity are actually anti-Christ because revenge and retribution are against his loving, gracious and non-violent nature. Jesus himself taught people not to return an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, but to love their enemies. It is amazing to think how much the mainstream christian teachings that propagate a picture of a judgmental and vengeful Jesus have the gospel upside down that is contrary to his true nature.

The cross simply demonstrates Jesus' love, compassion and forgiveness. He had said "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". If he had wanted revenge, he would have said something that was condemning.

Since God is love, and love keeps no records of wrong, then it does not make any sense for God to punish or require a sacrifice to atone for people’s wrongs. The “atonement for sin” theology therefore is man’s theology. I think Jesus came to help people repent (change their mindset) about God – that the idea of “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” is not compatible with God’s love (which keeps no records of wrong), and that God’s heart is to love one’s enemies. He also came to show us that we are already innocent and perfect/complete, for the kingdom of God (innocence/righteousness, peace and joy) is within each of us.

This also answers the question “If God doesn’t require sacrifice for “sins”, then why did Jesus die on the cross?” because Jesus’ suffering and death was to demonstrate what Jesus himself taught in the sermon on the mount – he did not return an eye for an eye when he was beaten, and instead he blessed those who cursed him, and prayed for those who persecuted him. The cross is a demonstration of the love of God which keeps no records of wrong, and not to atone for so-called sins (which man-made religions have mistakenly taught).

I believe there are people who will appreciate the invitation to think out of the box and question religious traditions, so as to find their own freedom from any kind of bondage of fear and condemnation imposed by organised religions, and experience peace within themselves and with others.

Related posts

Once you start seeing The Love of God, Hell Won’t Make Sense ~Dr. Michel W. Jones
Progressive thoughts on why Jesus died on the cross and whether God’s justice is retributive or restorative

Summary of the gospel of grace from preterist-universalist and mystical perspectives

Here is a summary of the preterist-universalist view of the gospel of grace that I have been learning about the past couple of years, though my mindset has continued to evolve from this view some time last year to embrace a more metaphysical view, that includes gnostic or mystical aspects (such as interpreting God as our highest self, rather than a separate entity).

"Hell" can mean grave (Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek), which also has a metaphorical meaning of "hidden". So hell/hades can symbolise ignorance or amnesia (of our oneness with God, and of our true divine identity).

"Gehenna" - Jesus was referring to the garbage dump in Jerusalem (Ge - valley; henna - Hinnom; the Valley of Hinnom). Metaphorically, it symbolises the condemnation that the Jews experienced in their conscience during the tribulation, because they (mistakenly) thought their "god" was punishing them when the Roman army attacked their city.

The "Last Days", as I understand it, was referring to the end of the Old Covenant Age - the end of the Jewish religious system, the end of the law system. It also symbolises the end of the law mindset (doing in order to become), thereby the end of the separation mindset.

The ministry of reconciliation, as I understand it, is about God (our highest self) reconciling to ourselves through our true identity - Christ Jesus. To me, to be reconciled with God is to be reconciled with our true divine self, with the Universe - there is no more enmity or inner battles or condemnation in our own mind or consciousness - so we are completely at peace with ourselves.

There is no so-called future hell or lake of fire to be saved from. The lake of fire has already happened in AD70. The old identity in Adam (that was attached to external circumstances or performance) has already been done away, and it signified the end of condemnation. The only thing for people today is to awaken to their true identity (in Christ), or as spiritual beings on a human journey.

So that's my view in a nutshell in this stage of my journey. I think even the word "Christ" is not necessary for awakening - it is probably just specific to the Judeo-christian culture in the Middle East. Buddha or Krishna etc will do just fine as well - as long as it is about awakening to our true divine nature of Unconditional Love and Light in every one of us. :)

Knowing the fullness of God’s love and Debunking the myth of hell (Video transcript) – Part 1 of 2

I have decided to transcribe my message about the fullness of God's love and the myth of hell that I shared in a video in January 2011 so that it can be read at any time. Besides, I don't exactly speak in Queen's English, so my video might not have appealed to as many people as I would have liked to. Here is the transcript for the first half of the message. I have added subheadings where appropriate to summarise the main points in my flow of thoughts. Enjoy. :)

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Hello, I’m here to share the good news, and the good news of Christ is something that we need to hear again and again every day – we need to renew our minds, if we can.

Sometimes, faith comes by hearing. Sometimes, faith comes by reminding ourselves, wherever we are, because we are living in a world where there are condemning voices around us, if not from our own conscience, it can be from other people, whether we know them well or not. Sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, the way they treat us, the way they say something to us, we may all feel a sense of condemnation, or a sense of being judged. But that is life; that’s how life on earth is.

Maybe as children, we were not so conscious of that, but as we grew up, we all tend to be more sensitive and more conscious of how other people perceive us. It may come as early as in our early teens, or in fact, children can be very sensitive towards that. And of course, when we were very young, when we were still babies, we probably were not that conscious because all babies probably have only two fears to begin with – the fear of falling down and the fear of being abandoned. But all other fears are learnt, as some psychologists might observe.

The Good News is about the Love of God

So, as we grow up in this life, we all need to have a sense of acceptance, a sense of being cared for, because after all, God created us to be loved. Out of that love, can we love ourselves and love other people. So, it all starts with God. We can’t start with ourselves, no matter how much we try to psych ourselves, or how much we try to meditate, or refer to self-help books. But these only are temporary solutions.

There is a deeper need in us, in every one of us, that God created heart-shaped vacuum within us that can only be filled and satisfied with the love of God. The good news is really about the love of God, and that love is really beyond our understanding or human knowledge, that Paul said that we might know the love of Christ – the length, the depth, the height, the width – that passes knowledge. That love is something that our human knowledge cannot grasp fully without the help of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit has been poured upon our heart to know the love of God. And we need the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth regarding how much God loves us.

Questioning the traditional concept of hell

Mainstream Christianity or traditional Christianity has made it seem like God loves everyone BUT… There is always a “but” at the end. For example, those who don’t believe in Jesus Christ, they will be seen as forfeiting the love of God, and the ultimate consequence for rejecting that love of God by not believing in Jesus Christ would be to end up in a place called “hell” or “the lake of fire” in the book of Revelation, but is that really the truth?

Because as we think about the love of God that transcends understanding, the love of God that passes all knowledge, would it be possible that such a loving God would want, or would allow, or would even create a whole time frame where finally all those people who have not believed in Christ, or have not heard the gospel therefore they did not have the chance to believe in Christ, would end up in a place called the lake of fire where they would be tormented day and night forever and ever? Is that really the truth? But most areas, most aspects, most parts of the mainstream Christianity seem to subscribe to that kind of teaching, even grace-based church.

So, I want to address that because that is something that has to be… The false doctrine will always hold people in bondage. This kind of teaching, the “turn or burn” kind of doctrine – “believe in Jesus or you will burn in hell” kind of teaching – will always turn other people away, whether believers or non-believers because even some believers will still question, “Oh, maybe there are some parts of the Bible I don’t think is right, but because I’m a Christian, I’d better believe, or else, just in case kind of thing.” Maybe their church elders may tell them “Well, if you don’t believe in hell, then it means you are not really a Christian.” That kind of thing only holds people in bondage.

Do we dare to rock the boat of Christianity?

So, we are here actually, each one of us is born free. Ultimately, we all do not like to be held in bondage in some ways. So, sometimes, we may believe a lie because our pastor tells us so, or we don’t want to question too much, we don’t want to rock the boat, and we are simply satisfied to be just Christians and believe that “Oh, we are saved, therefore I don’t have to bother about that, because anyway I am going to heaven, and I really don’t have to find out more for myself, so that I can share the good news in a more accurate way with others, and whether others believe in Jesus, I don’t care. They can end up in hell for all they want.”

But that kind of belies a certain self-righteous attitude no matter how much we try to excuse ourselves because I came from that kind of position before. I was self-righteous. I came to realise that God’s love is much more than that. If I were to just ignore this set of doctrine, ignore this false teaching on hell, and just live my life like any other Christian in the evangelical or mainstream circle, I would actually be forfeiting myself of knowing… I would be robbing myself of the full benefits of knowing the fullness of the love of God. And that includes whether God would really allow, or would really want, or would really have in His plan of salvation where some people will ultimately end up in the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever.

So, how can we reconcile the fact that God is loving, and on the other hand, God, or rather we always say “Other people send themselves to hell by rejecting Jesus Christ?” So, what is hell like? And some people may say, “Well, I leave it to God, you know? Let God do what is just. Some people just don’t believe in Jesus Christ. Well, if that’s so, Lord, let God do what He wants. Maybe it’s torture. Maybe it’s torment in the sense of… whatever it means. Because some may say they are physically resurrected and then they will feel the pain or feel the suffering, and the Bible talks about worms and all that.”

The symbolic language of the Bible

But is that really the truth because the Bible is full of symbolic knowledge? And the book of Revelation is actually full of symbolism using the Jewish apocalyptic language, which unless we are familiar with the Old Testament symbolism, we would tend to misinterpret, and I have done that before. But we are here to know the truth because the truth will always set people free – free from religion, free from condemnation, free from fear, free from whatever that holds people in bondage in some ways that deny them the freedom, the peace of mind that they will feel at any point of time, not just when they are about to die, but any point of time, they may feel a sense of alienation or abandonment or being fearful that God will judge them if something goes wrong in their lives, so we have to settle this once and for all.

So this question of whether hell exists or whether hell is true or what does hell really mean – it does not just apply to when somebody is saved; it applies to even believers today because it will really affect what we believe in about our God – the God that we believe in. Is He the God of Christians only or is He the God of everybody?

What salvation really means

And someone might say, “Well, are you saying that everyone will go to heaven without believing in Jesus?” That is another erroneous question; it’s not even a scriptural question to start with because salvation is not about going to heaven; salvation is about having your spirit, soul and body made whole in every way. The word for “soteria” – that’s the Greek word for “salvation” – it means preservation, health, wholeness, prosperity, deliverance, protection from all dangers, deliverance from every evil in our lives, from lack, from any kind of addiction. So, it’s an all-encompassing word “salvation”. It is not “Oh, one day, we go to heaven.” That is actually the wrong question to start with.

But unfortunately, even in the evangelical world, even in the grace-based churches, “salvation” has that kind of connotation that “oh, you are saved from hell”. But no, it is not that. Yes, we use the Bible as our standard. Yes, we have the Bible… Someone called it the “word of God”, and I don’t want to go into that because the word of God ultimately is Jesus Christ, who is the Living Word. The Bible - we should not take it literally or else it becomes the “letter” that “kills”.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3 that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” and he said the letter is simply when we take the Bible literally, it’s like using it as the law to tell people do’s and don’ts, and that stems from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that is actually bringing condemnation into people’s lives, like you tell them “you have to do this in order to become something”. But the truth of the gospel is that we are already something – we are made in God’s image. There is nothing that we can do to change our identity.

So Jesus came to actually reveal (to) us that identity that has already been all this while, to cause us to remember, to wake up from our amnesia that we are already one with God, and we are made in His image. He has restored (to) us the glory and honour that Adam and Eve used to have. So that is actually the salvation that Jesus has come to give us in our spirit, soul and body.

When we believe the gospel, we will benefit from that. We will enjoy the benefits of salvation in this life. We know our sins are forgiven. And that is another question, I mean, another topic altogether because “sin” is actually referring to, or rather it applies to those who lived in the Old Testament times. They were under the law; therefore, sin was imputed to them. But we are not under the law in the first place because we Gentiles live after AD70, after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which actually signified the end of the old covenant age.

So we are actually living in the new covenant age, which is also called “the new heavens and new earth” in the last book, in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible – the book of Revelation. So now that we are living in the new covenant age, there is actually no “sin” issue. If you want to talk about “sin”, sin is only a matter of the ignorance of God’s love. Sin is called “missing the mark” or “falling short of the mark”.

So, if you want to talk about sin, the Lamb of God has come to take away the sin of the world. Well, in the Jewish context, it is actually taking away the sin of unbelief, and the sin of not knowing who they are. So, for Gentiles, you can still say the sin of unbelief, but He has taken away that. And even if we don’t believe, God still sees us righteous because 2 Corinthians 5:19 says that God in Christ has reconciled the world to Himself. So we are all reconciled, as far as God is concerned, He no more sees any sinner any more.

It is not as if you say some magic words, and say “Oh, Jesus is my Lord and Saviour”, and then God changes His mind about you. No, what and whether you believe that Jesus is your Saviour or not does not change God’s mind about you. God has already made up His mind that He has loved you with an everlasting love and He has always seen you as His children. It is up to you to believe that. When you believe, of course you benefit from that. If you don’t believe, the truth is still that God sees you as His children.

When you die, whether you believe or don’t believe in Jesus, you will still be with God because the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes says when a person dies, his spirit goes back to be with God who gave it. So we will all still be with God forever.

So it is a matter of “now”, here in this life. Salvation is for this life; it is not for one day when we die. I think I covered that in my previous video.

Grace versus Death Penalty

Someone recently wrote in a post in Facebook: "How can someone claim to be a grace preacher and still be in favor of the death penalty? It's a total contradiction. I believe it's time to make this very clear. If we preach grace, then we need to be consistent. Grace & death are poles apart. Grace and love will always protect, even if it means to distance oneself from the perpetrator or protect what is precious to us. Yes, there will be natural consequences to be accountable. South Africa is currently battling with violent crime. Whenever I hear about another rape or farm murder, it is human to be angry and upset. But there is grace for the criminals, even when they have to serve sentence as part of the consequences for their deeds. But there is no grace in an eye for an eye. I have especially targeted my statement to the so-called grace preaching pastors while simultaneously out of the same mouth they speak death. It does not make any sense."

I agree. Grace is not 'an eye for an eye'. Grace is forgiveness. Grace and love keeps no records of wrongs.

Grace and justice are perfectly compatible because justice is not law or legalism, nor is it about punishment or eternal torture. Justice is setting people free from the law and from condemnation. That's true justice.

Grace changes people from the inside out. Judgment or condemnation doesn't change anyone. It only inflicts guilt and creates more trouble in the society.

There are natural consequences for every action. People can learn from their own mistakes. No one will grow up if they are placed under do's and don'ts, or live under threats of punishment, such as the death penalty.

Grace teaches people to learn to take responsibility for their actions and not depend on outward laws. Under grace, all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial. People will learn to love their neighbour and do things that are beneficial because love does no harm to a neighbour.

Grace is also wisdom. Grace means taking measures to keep a distance from those who are abusive, so as to ensure one's own safety. Grace rules, not death penalty.

Those who receive ABUNDANCE of grace and gift of righteousness (or innocence) will reign in life over sin (or ignorance of God's love and of our true identity in Christ) and death (or condemnation).  

Thoughts on Troy Davis' case

I also agree with Troy Davis' view that true justice is about setting the innocent free from an unfair system. Even if a person has been guilty of a crime, the death penalty is not appropriate since it is equivalent to murder. At the most, imprisonment would prevent the person from carrying out further harm, and at the same time the person will have time to reflect and meditate on one's actions. Everyone deserves a second chance. Law and punishment never transform anyone, but only inflicts guilt and shame, which perpetuate problems in the society. I believe grace is the answer, for unconditional love transforms the heart. Hopefully, with the awareness of Troy Davis' case and his supporters' efforts, the death penalty can be removed from the judicial system one day.

Thoughts on commentary by Kevin Powell - "Troy Davis did not die"

I just read a heart-felt commentary by Kevin Powell, a fellow black man who is an activist, writer and public speaker based in New York. His writing resounded with me, especially the final part of his article, as he is also against death penalty. Like him, as much as I am aghast by the failure of justice in Georgia, I too believe Troy's death is not in vain but has created awareness in the world about the urgent need for reform in America's judicial system and change in people's mindset to overlook differences in skin colour. Love and justice shall prevail as we participate together in the movement with his supporters to end death penalty.

The issue of human dignity

It is about the value of human life, therefore death penalty in any form, whether lethal injection or other methods, can never be justified. I remember reading a news article recently which said that just by causing the person to wait for the lethal injection to be ministered would likely to have caused some psychological trauma. I once watched a movie "Dead Man Walking", which shows the actor Sean Penn who played the role of the condemned experiencing great fear and stress at the thought of dying before the execution. Death penalty is cruel and should be abolished for the sake of human dignity.

Update (24 October 2012)

I've been through my own seasons of disillusionment and cynicism about the lack of action and responsibility by the authorities to do something about the state of the world, and I am finding my own way to see what can be done. It is not easy to find hope, though I do see some small progress, such as the recent move by the local government to revise laws on death penalty, for example. It's thanks to my best friend's sharing with me about Troy Davis' case last year that I was eventually inspired to write to the national newspaper forum to abolish death penalty, and I believe this, together with other collective efforts by other activists, have helped make some positive changes in the laws.

According to the Good News, What is the “Second Death” that the Bible is Referring to?

[The following post is adapted from an interesting discussion in Yahoo Answers which presents some liberating truths.]

The book of life is the book of Grace. Those who have been trying to live by self-efforts instead of God’s grace would have been cast into the lake of fire to be tormented (basanizo – tested, purified) in their consciousness, until they experienced the SECOND DEATH (coming to the end of themselves) and saw their need for Jesus (“Who shall deliver me from this body of DEATH?“~ Paul wrote in Romans 7.) For further information, please click here.

Do you know that the lake of fire is something that has continued right after new heavens and new earth? Do you also know that we will ALL have a part in it?
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Yes, we ALL have a part in the lake of fire, as Jesus said, “For EVERYONE will be seasoned (tested or purified) with fire“. (Mark 9:49)

The lake of fire is something that has continued right after the new heaven and new earth, in which we are living today. The second death happens when a person who depends on self-efforts to get right with God comes to the end of himself/herself and finds freedom and perfect peace in Christ Jesus. The lake of fire is meant to cleanse us from self-righteousness or religiosity, so that we die to our old performance-based mentality, and live according to our new identity in Christ based on grace and truth.

There are two kinds of death in the Bible. The first death is spiritual death or condemnation. Remember the ministry of death is also called the ministry of condemnation. (2 Corinthians 3) Those who are under law will experience condemnation in their conscience.

The second death is the end of condemnation. (Romans 8:1) It spells freedom for a person because when he/she experienced grace or undeserved favour, he/she will be set free from guilt and condemnation and enjoy righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit – which is the kingdom of God within each of us. 
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The book of Revelations was written by the apostle John before the destruction of the temple in AD70. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem signified the end of the old covenant age or world, that is, the end of the Jewish religious law system.

Ever since AD70, we are living in the new covenant age or world, which is the new heavens and new earth.

We know God is not some sadistic, mean and vengeful God who burns people for eternity in hell. It is time for people to reexamine the context of Revelations 20-22, and study the Greek meanings for “torment”, “lake of fire”, “hades” and “forever and ever” (aion meaning for an Age). If the lake of fire is a physical place like some people said, how can death (which is non-physical) be cast into it? The lake of fire is a metaphor.

Last but not least, Revelations 21:8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral sorcerers, idolators, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” simply means the doing away of the old identity.

Because God has become all in all ever since the end of the old covenant age in AD70, we are now new creations living in the new covenant age. Therefore, we no longer see ourselves in the worldly or fleshly perspective, but we see one another in our new identity – we are all new creations, and sons and daughters of the Most High God.

“Behold, I make all things new.” May we all see one another in our new identity – we are ONE in Christ. 

Related Posts:
“Tested in the Lake of Fire” by Gary Amirault
“Misunderstandings about the meaning of hell (Part 2) – Lake of Fire versus Gehenna” by Jath van der Westhuizen

How the Gospel Affects our Consciousness

I am coming to realise the gospel has much (if not everything) to do with our consciousness — the more we know and are conscious of God’s love, and the more we are established in the knowledge that God is love and He is good and only good, and there is no bad in Him, the more we will experience the reality of His goodness and love and mercy and grace working in our lives.

Psalm 27 seems to bear this truth – when David chose to do the one thing and behold the beauty of the Lord, he ended up living a victorious life.

Psalm 27:4-6
⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Similarly, in my Bible reading two days ago, I learnt that long before King Jehoshaphat and his army were surrounded by their enemies, they first heard from a prophet who had a judgment mentality about God, for he had told them that God would deal with them harshly unless they tried their best to please Him – that must have caused them to be sin-conscious and fearful, and this negative consciousness manifested in their reality as the enemies suddenly approached to outnumber them (2 Chronicles 19 and 20). It’s only after Jehoshaphat sought the Lord for help, that they received the revelation that the beauty of holiness is found in praising Him for He is good and His love and mercy endures forever! The moment they started to be conscious that God is love and only love, and not an angry God out to get them, they started to reign supernaturally, and they even defeated their enemies without a fight, and they collected so much spoils in the following three days in the battlefield.

2 Chronicles 20:21
“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
‘Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.’”

Similarly, it’s so important we all feed on the right kind of teachings that present God in the fullness of His love towards us, so that we will always be conscious that He is always with us and for us, and He has never alienated us from the very beginning, and His heart of immense generosity just wants to pour out and LAVISH His blessings on us His beloved children. Let’s keep beholding the BEAUTY and GRACE of our good Lord Jesus and Abba Father.

Video commentary:
Peace reigns in love consciousness. The gospel is about how perfectly God loves and favours us because Jesus is our true identity. This is the power of God to save us from fear, guilt, shame, ignorance and condemnation in the battlefield of our minds.

What Does the Climate and Weather Patterns Say about Our Collective Consciousness?

Since emotions are a form of energy, our emotions can effect the environment and weather patterns. Emotions are a form of energy, and perhaps an excessive amount of negative energy, such as anger, hate, fear, guilt, etc, contributes to tornados, hurricanes, flooding, etc.

We control the weather to a certain extent when we send negative energy into the atmosphere. Psalm 82 seems to suggest this idea. I think Joseph Prince mentioned something similar in one of his sermons quite recently, perhaps earlier in the year 2010. He was teaching about the importance of having a “no condemnation” mindset, because when people feel condemned and think negative thoughts about themselves and/or others, they can affect the environment and even cause adverse weather phenomena, like typhoons, around the world. So yea, the gospel is so important because when people align their minds with the good news that God loves them and is not mad at them, they will be at ease and at peace with themselves and with others too, and the environment will also be more peaceful (in terms of being free from natural calamities).

Makes me think that some of the natural disasters like earthquakes in the Old Testament were not caused by God (though they appeared to be) – they were probably caused by negative thoughts or emotions of the children of Israel when they were under the law — they felt condemned and bad things started to happen to them; for example, earthquakes swallowing up some people or the fiery serpents appeared in the desert to bite them (hence God told Moses to put the bronze serpent on a pole for them to look — to see that their guilty conscience (or accuser) has been judged and they should no longer feel condemned or guilty), or the armies of Moab and other nations rising up to attack them. You can read more about how the gospel affects our consciousness here.

Looks like we’re indeed living in a matrix world of sorts. So important then for us all to guard our heart (our mindset or belief system or our thought life) from fear and condemnation because out of it springs forth the issues of life. (Proverbs 4) It’s good for our hearts to be established with grace, as Hebrews 13 also says.

Sin-consciousness, condemnation, guilt… all these negative feelings contribute to our environments.

So, start thinking happy thoughts.

Related Posts:

The Effect of Human Thoughts and Emotions on Weather Patterns

Reflections: How the Gospel Affects our Consciousness