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"In religion and
politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case
gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who
have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them
at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were
not worth a brass farthing." -
Mark Twain, American Writer, Lecturer
Easter
is a worldwide tradition involving many customs that people believe to
be Christian. However, there is nothing in the Bible ... the
textbook for Christians ... that gives any authority for Easter.
But it does give authority for Passover. Easter is dependent on
Passover for its place on the calendar and also for the traditions that
lead up to Easter. The early "Church" was still
observing the Jewish Passover ten years after the death of Jesus.
The vast majority of ecclesiastical and secular historians agree that
the name of Easter and the traditions surrounding it are deeply rooted
in pagan religion.
Most of us are very familiar with
the religious traditions of Easter, and some of us participate in these
and some of us don't. It is a great inspiration to all of us to
think about Jesus' resurrection ... and for this ministry,
"resurrection" is the key to Easter ... and
"resurrection" is the key to spiritual healing. No
matter what issue we may be dealing with; financial, physical, mental,
relationships, career ... we desire to "resurrect" the joy and
feelings of security in our life. And our path to happiness and
security is through the "resurrection" that takes place within
our mind as we realize that the Good that we affirm for ourselves and
for others will be made manifest.
Each day this past week I passed the sign
of a church that reads, "Easter is not about bunnies and eggs"
... and of course we agree that there is more to Easter than bunnies and
eggs. It is about new beginnings, growth and expansion, which is
what bunnies and eggs represent. And it is also what the
"resurrection" represents ... the Master Mind Jesus stated,
"I have overcome the world" ... in other words, "I have
overcome the false beliefs of the world that believes that Life can be
limited to this physical expression on Earth."
Our own personal "resurrection" is
dependent on our ability to "overcome limitation" ... or,
limited thinking. But, in order to do so, we must
"loose" the false beliefs that we have accumulated in our
consciousness ... and "affirm" the "infinite
possibilities" that are always available to us.
It is important that we realize that
unlike traditional Christianity which relies on the Gospels for the
importance of the "resurrection mystery" ... we must take that
which is written and not limit it to the information provided by the
Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark and Luke did not personally know
Jesus and their information is second and third-hand. The Gospel
of John was written by several authors although the disciple that Jesus
loved, John, is also one of the authors of this Gospel. In the
Gospel of John there are two endings to Jesus' discourse at the Last
Supper and there is great evidence that this Gospel was changed and
rearranged to dramatize certain events ... and is based more on
myth-traditions than on actual knowledge.
Not accepting these Gospels as the "word
of God" ... puts us in the non-Christian category of theology.
But, it does not make the experiences that are attributed to Jesus any
less meaningful even if they were dramatized and written to support a
religious agenda. And I can state this as both
"crucifixion" and "resurrection" ... are experienced
in our mind, first. Just as the Master Mind Jesus demonstrated
multiplying the loaves and fishes, turned water into wine ... and walked
on water ... his consciousness put him on the cross ... and his
consciousness took him down from it. It is obvious that his
"intention" was to demonstrate that Life is not limited to the
physical ... and this is the "root belief" of metaphysics.
In other words, we must "believe it to see it" ... rather than
the world idea of "I will believe it when I see it." We
must always be aware that we are always dealing with both the "seen
and the un-seen" ... and it is on this "un-seen side of
Life" that we "accept" as complete that which we desire
to see made manifest. Is there a process to this? There is
and there isn't. If we can intelligently remove limitation from
our mind and reason out the results that we desire to the point that our
mind has removed all doubt ... we can spontaneously demonstrate that
which we desire.
"The Infinite lies stretched in smiling
repose within you - this is the true state of your mind. The power
and wisdom of this Infinite Mind become potent and active in your life
the moment you recognize Its existence and establish your mental contact
with It. If you do this now, you will experience immediately a
marvelous feeling of inner security, and you will discover the peace
that pass-eth understanding." - Dr. Joseph Murphy
Our
greatest activity in our celebration of Easter can be the "action
of mind" within us that "recognizes" that the Power of
God is within us, waiting for us to "accept" the Good that we
desire ... and as we open our mind to the Infinite within us ... then
our desires may be expanded to include more love, more joy, more
happiness, more security, more prosperity ... than we have even imagined
before! Let us together look at the issues of our life and begin
today to "resurrect" happiness, joy and a feeling of
well-being in our mind. We have the power ... the Master Mind
Jesus demonstrated that we do ... and the Easter Bunny and colored eggs
remind us that our mind is "fertile" ... filled with hope ...
and this hope springs eternal as we demonstrate the desires of our
heart!
AND SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev. Hank
Bates
Visit: www.IraqMemorial.org
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