What
destroys a religion?
When you look at
the history of religion, you see a distinct pattern. Most religions
were started by a charismatic leader, who had a direct contact with
the spiritual world. Through this direct contact, the leader was able
to bring forth a teaching that formed the basis for a new religion.
However, in many cases the religion that eventually developed departed
from the original pattern or matrix set by the founder. Most religions
eventually lost the direct contact with the spiritual world. Therefore,
they seized being the open door for the bringing forth of new teachings.
No currently known religion originated in a vacuum. In other words,
when the religion appeared, there were already other religions in that
society or culture. The original founder of the new religion claimed
that the old religions did not contain everything that people needed
to know about God. Therefore, there was a need for progressive revelation,
and the new religion was founded to fill this need. In other words,
the very basis for the new religion was the need for progressive revelation.
If all religions are based on the need for progressive revelation, how
can it be that so many religions end up denying progressive revelation?
How come so many religions turn away from progressive revelation and
instead cling to a dogmatic interpretation of the teachings that were
delivered in the (often distant) past? How come so many religions lose
the direct contact to the spiritual world and in many cases deny the
possibility of maintaining that contact?
The following sections will explore the psychological reasons why so
many religions tend to become dogmatic and rigid.
Losing the founder
Imagine that you are one of the leaders of a religion that was started
by a person who had a direct contact with the spiritual world. While
the founder was present, it was easy to resolve any questions or disputes,
because the founder could bring down an answer from Above. This answer
was usually considered to be above questioning. In other words, people
would accept that the answer came from a higher authority. If someone
did not accept this, that person would usually leave the organization.
Now the leader is gone, and the organization no longer seems to have
a direct link to the spiritual world. How can the leaders resolve questions
or conflicts relating to the organization’s future?
One problem must be considered. Most leaders of a religious organization
have made great personal sacrifices to attain their positions. These
sacrifices often lead to a strong emotional involvement and attachment.
When you have been emotionally involved with an organization for a long
time, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. It is easy to think
that because your particular religion or church was based on what you
see as special circumstances, it is in some way different from or even
above other churches. Yet, in reality your church has similarities with
most other religious organizations. Most religions were started by a
charismatic leader who eventually had to leave. The organization was
then faced with the question: “What do we do now?” and in
too many cases this led to an internal struggle.
In the process of adjusting to the loss of a leader, it often happens
that many of the members and leaders of an organization enter a state
of consciousness in which they believe that because of this or that
condition, the organization does not have to change. When faced with
the loss of a leader, it is easy to cling to the teachings or doctrines
that are familiar.
No church is above the divine laws that govern the physical universe,
and therefore a religious organization can rise no higher than the consciousness
of its members and leaders. In almost every church, some members and
leaders believe that because their church was founded under such special
circumstances, it could never go wrong; it could never fail. Therefore,
they tend to set up a culture which states that the leaders of the church
are infallible and that certain doctrines are above questioning.
Why dogmatism?
A dose of humility would be helpful, and we only need to look at history.
Just about every religion claims to have originated from direct contact
with spiritual beings from a higher realm. Therefore, it seems unwise
to claim that your organization is the only one who makes a true claim
and that all other churches make false claims.
Furthermore, if the authority of a particular church is based on contact
with the spiritual world, how can a church still claim authority after
having lost such contact? Would it not be wiser to seek to reestablish
the direct contact to the spiritual realm instead of clinging to a dogmatic
and rigid interpretation of the teachings that were released in the
past?
Why do almost all churches tend to become rigid and dogmatic?
The key to understanding this phenomenon is to recognize the existence
of the carnal mind, as explained in the Teachings
section.
Because of the relativity and duality of the carnal mind, a certain
mechanism starts acting when you organize anything. Consider the old
story of St. Peter and the devil walking down the street. They see a
man on the other side of the street who bends down to pick up something
from the sidewalk. St. Peter says: “Did you see that man; he just
found the truth. What are you going to do about it?” The devil
replies: “I'm not worried, I'll just ask him to organize it!”
In any organization, certain mechanisms are at work and some of those
mechanisms are either influenced by or completely controlled by the
lower consciousness of the carnal mind. If the leaders of an organization
are not aware of this, or if they are not willing to acknowledge it,
then the organization will not reach its full potential. It will be
caught up in the cycle of arguments and squabbles that will consume
the energy and attention of the people. Instead of directing their energy
and attention towards fulfilling the goals of the organization, people
spend their energies arguing about this or that.
If you look at history, you can see how these patterns have occurred
numerous times. Again, many people seem to think that their church is
in some way unique, and therefore it is above and beyond that. This
is an extremely dangerous illusion, and if the leaders of an organization
maintain that illusion, history proves that the organization will become
dogmatic and rigid. There is simply no question about this! If you do
not learn from the mistakes of the past, you are destined to repeat
those mistakes.
Opposing Factions
The main characteristic of this process is a fragmentation of the membership
so that people are divided into two or more opposing factions. One faction
will take a stand, and the people in that group believe their standpoint
is absolutely right. Therefore, if the organization does not comply
with their view, it will fail to fulfill its divine mandate.
Therefore, it is these people’s supreme duty to force their views
upon the organization. The other faction takes the opposite view, and
they have the same sense of supreme responsibility. Each faction is
seeking to beat other people into submission, all for the “higher
good.” In other words, both factions believe their viewpoint is
based on an unquestionable authority and therefore it is infallible.
If you are serious about avoiding this problem in an organization, you
need to step back and take a broader look at the situation. From an
objective viewpoint it is obvious that both factions cannot be right.
However, what if none of them are right?
Whenever two factions are formed, the vital question is not: “Which
of the two factions is right and which is wrong?” The vital question
to ask is: “What is the higher understanding that will resolve
the conflict?”
From a spiritual standpoint, it can be stated quite clearly: When two
people are arguing, none of them are right in the divine sense of the
word! What human arguments amount to is simply two people who are defending
their own carnal, relative viewpoint, and each person is saying: “My
relative viewpoint is better than your relative viewpoint!”
From a divine standpoint, none of those reasons are valid even though
some of them may be correct. In other words, you can be right about
a particular point in the argument without being right with God.
When two factions argue, they can both have viewpoints that are correct.
However, their approach to the situation can still be wrong, because
they are not seeking a higher understanding of the issue, and they are
not seeking harmony. The two sides often take their viewpoints into
the extremes, and they forget about the Middle Way.
Look beyond conflict
The Ascended Host have for centuries witnessed how people and organizations
that they have sponsored have been caught up in and destroyed by this
eternal human squabble. The Ascended Host have infinite love for human
beings, and they have absolute respect for the Law of Free Will. However,
sometimes even the patience of an Ascended being can grow thin when
they are seeing that the people who should know better refuse to do
better.
Every spiritual teaching contains the concept that human beings have
to rise to a higher state of consciousness. This is the universal element
that can be found in every spiritual and religious philosophy. The members
of any organization have free will. They have the right to choose not
to use the spiritual teachings to overcome the lower consciousness,
and instead seek to use those teachings to defend some aspect of that
lower consciousness. But if they do, the individuals doing this will
fail to attain a higher state of consciousness. And if these individuals
are in leadership positions, the organization will fail to complete
its mission. It is really that simple, and it boils down to the old
question: “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve!”
The real problem here is an unwillingness to look in the mirror and
ask yourself: “Do I have a tendency to judge any other human being?
Do I judge the beliefs and ideas of any other human being? Have I created
a standard in my mind, and do I use that standard to classify other
people as somehow acceptable and unacceptable, right or wrong, better
or worse? Do I use such a standard to argue that other people are wrong
and that I am right?”
If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you should be willing
to admit that the tendency to judge others can only come from the lower
consciousness. The simple fact is that in heaven there is no conflict.
If you find yourself in a position where you are in an argument with
another human being, then the reason why you got into and maintain that
argument is that you allow your carnal mind to get the better of you.
Oh yes, you might have the most wonderful reasons why it was necessary
to engage in this argument and why you are right and the other person
is wrong. Oh yes, you might say: “Well, then the other person
is also acting out their carnal mind!” And while this is correct,
the real question is: “Do you want to unite with your higher self,
or do you want to to remain identified with your lower consciousness?”
If you want oneness with your higher self, then you must rise above
the carnal mind and its human nonsense. For eons, the Ascended Host
have realized that there are no solutions to human problems and there
is no resolution to human conflict. The only possible resolution is
to bring in a higher state of consciousness that allows both parties
in a conflict to rise above the insignificant human questions that caused
the conflict.
The only way to avoid the fragmentation of a spiritual organization
is to get both members and leaders to pursue Christ consciousness. Attaining
a higher state of consciousness is the only possible way to overcome
the age-old human power struggle.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
