"Spiritual" in Responding to A Christian Prophet


Response to "Spiritual"
You'll want to check out messages on the Holy Inheritance blog. Spirit is who we really are. Soul is who we think we are. But a cleansed and purified soul becomes pure spirit.
Submitted by A Christian Prophet


"Spiritual" Response
I’m not really sure I understand what your point is, Christian. Perhaps you could clarify it. Are you agreeing with me or are you challenging my interpretation of spirit and soul? The problem could well be that I am approaching the words as language and you are approaching them as commitment.

I went to your website, but was blinded by the commitment there, much like a deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic. Consequently, I could not determine the substance of the messages. Perhaps you could dim the lights somewhat (explain your rationale for your obvious commitment, that which stimulated you to follow the path you have chosen). Please keep it simple. I have trouble following convoluted thinking. I will attempt to respond to your reply to ‘Spiritual’, though I might miss the point entirely since the information you have provided is limited.

It seems reasonable, to me at least, to assume that there is no such thing as a soul. In our existential awareness of the aloneness of our self and our realization that there has never been nor will there ever be another me, we apperceive, intuit, that uniqueness as a soul. In hysterical rejection of our isolation, we become aware of a presence close, perhaps part of, our soul. We have the option of welcoming that presence or rejecting it. If we accept it, we have in affect established a relationship with God. I have justified that relationship, since it is one of choice, as decision-oriented and have justified my having a soul by defining it as a gift from God and the sum of all my decisions. I believe that in God’s eyes this is who we really are. It is our essence. I see no other possible rational for there being a soul. This is however a belief. It is not rational. Perhaps you could enlighten me with your interpretation of soul.

We once believed that trees had spirits living in them because they moved in the wind and because their leaves rustled (whispered) when there was no apparent breeze. We still speak of animals having spirit when they demonstrate determination. We once thought that our breathing in and out was our spirit trying to escape and being drawn back in through its attachment to our body. There is still within us the uneasy feeling that our last breath is that spirit finally escaping. We once explained the moving of the air when it invisibly brushed against our cheek as spirits, both good and malevolent, touching us. We once explained sickness as an evil spirit breathed in when we unsuccessfully tried to sneeze it out.

Although I understand the natural tendency to interpret spirit as who we are, especially since we seem to reveal ourselves to others through our spirit or lack of spirit, I believe the word carries too much baggage to be useful. It confuses us, and so tempts us in too many instances to fabricate, to misrepresent what is obviously true, to make a square peg so to speak fit in a round hole. This of course leads to further complexity and consequently more confusion, and more fabrication. If I am overstating the problem or if my concern is more confusing than it is enlightening, I would appreciate your input.

I have a problem with the idea of purification and the need to be cleansed. I believe we can improve ourselves in the eyes of the world, our family, our friends, and even of ourselves if we have a clear goal and a clear path to that goal. Purification and cleansing, however, suggest some degree of self-hatred or uncleanness. It insinuates that there is something inherently wrong with us, some original sin, some evil associated with being mortal. I freely admit that if we were created from something other than God material, if there be such a thing (that “something not God” being nothingness), and if God and only God is good, then we are not good; we are bad, even capable of being evil (a subjective and therefore misleading and/or confusing term). Although I can understand why, therefore, those who believe we are godlike in that we, like God, are not substantial beings and that we are only dwelling in the body of a substantial being, might wish to shed the animal instincts inherent in that body. I can even understand why these same people might wish to chastise the rational tendencies we have used to control what God has created, inasmuch as what we cannot control extrapolates into that which cannot be controlled (God).

However, the fact that many Christians seem to feel a need for purification thoroughly confuses me. It seems inconsistent to say in one breath “Jesus gave his life to purify you” and in the next “You must purify yourself” and/or “This is what you must do to become purified” and/or “I will purify you.” It would seem to me that Jesus’ message would be rather, “God accepts you just the way you are, but you can do better.” If you are not a Christian then this, of course, means nothing, but my uneasiness with anyone or anything that suggests we are in need of purification still stands regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof. Perhaps you could reassure me in that regard, Christian.

Your commitment is commendable. I would like to hear more about it.