JUST MY OPINION........

by Debra Bacchus

It is not my intention to discredit anybody´s belief system or conviction, but rather to simply present a different level of understanding regarding certain key statements written in the Bible. It is my hope that this endeavor might lead to a greater tolerance and acceptance of all belief systems, which are all facets of the one truth.

WE ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

A very profound statement, which for the majority of Bible followers means that we are all God's children. I agree. But, I believe this sentence is telling us more. It succinctly reveals our true identity - boldly said: we are divine!!! Like a child born from its parents, which not only has similar facial and bodily features as the mother and father, it also shares character qualities and genetic inheritance. Referring to our spiritual identity this means we have inherited godlike qualities. We are godlike, not God, but divine. Realizing our divinity is understanding our true identity. Like God, who has unlimited potencies and qualities, we, too, descending from Him possess the same potencies and qualities, but to a limited extent. God is omnipotent. We are merely potent. One potency of foremost importance as divine beings is that we, too, are creators. We create our own reality simply by thought. Every scientific invention was created in thought first. I believe first there was thought, then thought was expressed in words as René Descartes says: "Cogito ergo sum"(I think, and thinking, I am). With this divine quality of our being we carry a responsibility that should not be taken lightly, for the world we see around us is a reflection of our thoughts.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN

As divine beings, God is within us. He is not something external from us to whom we will gain access to by following empty etiquette. This means to communicate with God no intermediary is necessary, be it a Church, a priest etc....Sitting in a confession box and recapitulating to an unseen person what you have done wrong is not rectified by later praying three or ten "Hail Marys", but by sole communion with your God-self in sincere honesty and repentance expressing when and how you erred and by simply strictly not repeating the wrongdoing and taking a compensatory action. Institutionalized religions will have us believe that only through them can we attain salvation. For centuries they have led as astray from the real truth that we as individuals are powerful, creative and divine beings. The sole aim was always to keep us under control and guided in the direction they choose right for us. It is time to say: Enough! I can walk on my own. Institutionalized religions not only carry the blame for intentional misguidance, but also for fear-based dogmas. Fear is always a tool used to keep people subservient and obedient. I remember as a child how terrified I was of perhaps having to go to hell for my wrongdoing. Hell doesn´t exist. Heaven and Hell are not places, but a state of the mind. Each person chooses where he wants to reside. Purgatory, too, (another fear-based invention) doesn´t exist either. How can it? The idea of a soul burning till purified from all sin and then being sent either to eternal hell or eternal heaven contradicts the concept of a loving God.

IN MY HOUSE THERE ARE MANY MANSIONS

Another thing I used to wonder about in my teens is: "Does everybody here on earth when dead really go to heaven? If so, heaven must be crammed full. Now there must be some kind of recycling system". After years of searching I found the "recycling system". The answer is: reincarnation. Heaven is indeed the place where we all end up and should aspire to attain. But we don´t all get there straight away. Some souls need perhaps only one or three lives, others a hundred. Reincarnation is the only plausible explanation as to how things work and also proof of a merciful and pitiful God. God is so merciful even towards the most recalcitrant souls that he doesn´t leave us to eternally burn in purgatory or be damned in all eternity to reside in hell, but gives us a second, a third and more chances to rectify our paths. The purpose of reincarnation is to gradually attain the knowledge of who we are and why we are here, so as to develop our divinity to its fullest potential, which will enable us to return back to God´s heavenly abode, where a soul only in the purest state can reside. Jesus Christ died on the cross and after three days resurrected/reincarnated and returned back to God our Father in heaven to show us that there is an afterlife. And like he, we can do the same. He did not die to take away our sins. This would mean he has given us free license to keep on sinning. And by the way there is not only one heaven. The true non-falsified wording of the Bible in Genesis says: "In the beginning God created the heavens (plural) and the earth". So there is no need to worry about how long it takes to get there. There is plenty of room for all of us. As Jesus Christ said: "In my house there are many mansions".

LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF

Accepting reincarnation as a logical conclusion leads to the realization that we are not this body..The body is only a temporary covering that we discard when no longer of use to acquire a new body. A process that repeats itself until we have learned to live according to our true identity as divine beings. But the concept of reincarnation also contains the solution to many problems we have today in society. If we cease to categorize people according to their outer bodily appearance, racism, gender discrimination, oppression and all kinds of duality would no longer exist. It would ultimately result in loving your neighbour as yourself. By realizing your divine nature you begin to love yourself. And as we have all descended from God, everybody else, every plant, animal is also a divine being, too. By seeing divinity in all people around you, you are able in a higher sense to love and honor your neighbour as yourself as you recognize in the other the same divinity- and this is love of God. It will result in a peaceful and loving co-existence. The English Romantic Poet, William Blake, in his poem "The Divine Image" describes the qualities of our God-self. Note that these qualities highlighted in purple coloring throughout this text are capitalized in the poem, for by living and being these qualities God´s kingdom within will manifest without:

To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love

All pray in their distress

And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness

For Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love

Is God our Father dear

And Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love

Is Man, his child and care

For Mercy has a human heart

Pity a human face

Love the human form divine

And Peace the human dress

And every man in every clime

Prays in his distress

To the human form divine

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace

And all must love the human form

In heathen, Turk or Jew

Where Love, Mercy and Pity dwell

There God is dwelling, too

 About Debra Vacchus

  Debra Bacchus is a  journalist, language instructor and translator that joined recently our Group, and we welcome her dearly with Love and Gratitude.

 A glimpse of her thoughts: 

"Over the years I have grown to become a spiritually-orientated person in all aspects of my life. I have always known that this world could be different and I feel that now is the time for it to manifest: a world that is governed by God´s divine will without a government, because all people on the planet naturally honour and follow these inherently rooted divine principles - as taught in many Scriptures and lived and preached by God´s most recent representative on Earth, Jesus Christ, which are distinct from any dogmatic Church teachings."