Editor's Note: This article is part of a series; see the 8 link-icons below - each is best reviewed within a wide corpus of knowledge. My research, for nearly 60 years, attempts to get at what's real and true. Concerning priority of the topics, there's a song-lyric, "love changes everything" - so it is with the scientific evidence of the afterlife; its reality changes everything.

how can he blame you for being human when he made you human

episode 4, season 2, “The Driver” (1995) Debra (weeping): I can't do it right all the time. Monica: I know that. God knows that. How can he blame you for being human when he made you human?

Editor’s note: Absolutely. Monica nails the central issue. The vaunted “church fathers” would have done better asking themselves the simple question, How can God blame you for being human when he made you human? Our task today is to separate ourselves from the ancient “holy doctrines,” the respected lies about God, which purport otherwise.

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far too little emphasis has been placed on Christ's life and message

From “The New Revelation” (1918) by the great afterlife researcher, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of "Sherlock" fame:

"Christianity must change or must perish… Christianity has deferred the change very long, she has deferred it until her churches are half empty… until both the learned part of the community on one side, and the poorest class on the other, both in town and country, are largely alienated from her. Let us try and trace the reason for this…

"People are alienated because they frankly do not believe the facts as presented to them to be true. Their reason and their sense of justice are equally offended. One can see no justice in a vicarious sacrifice, nor in the God who could be placated by such means… Again, too much seemed to be made of Christ's death. It is no uncommon thing to die for an idea. Every religion has equally had its martyrs. Men die continually for their convictions. Thousands of our lads are doing it at this instant in France (WWI).

"Therefore the death of Christ, beautiful as it is in the Gospel narrative, has seemed to assume an undue importance, as though it were an isolated phenomenon for a man to die in pursuit of a reform. In my opinion, far too much stress has been laid upon Christ's death, and far too little upon His life. That was where the true grandeur and the true lesson lay...

“When I read the New Testament with the knowledge which I have of Spiritualism, I am left with a deep conviction that the teaching of Christ was in many most important respects lost by the early Church, and has not come down to us. All these allusions to a conquest over death have, as it seems to me, little meaning in the present Christian philosophy, whereas for those who have seen, however dimly, through the veil, and touched, however slightly, the outstretched hands beyond, death has indeed been conquered.”

'What is belief? - a state, not an act, of the mind.'  

Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871)

'It is not in the power of anyone to alter his state [of mind] by will. [There is] a tendency to suppose that [mere] profession [of mental position] might be taken for belief; the dishonest wanted only profession.'

The Gospel Of John commands belief; without which, it says, one is “damned already.” But there is no such thing as authentic belief led by will power. Human beings are constitutionally unable, lack the ability, to offer credulity on demand, even if they wish to do so and try very hard. Belief arises naturally, from the evidence, or not at all, even in spite of settled opinion.

And the fact that John suggests otherwise - indeed, commands - offers clear signal, to the objective reviewer, that this writing must be counted as fraudulent, an effort to engender fear in order to gain followers - a scheme of "the dishonest," warned De Morgan - and could never represent the mind of the real Jesus.

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the Catacombs reveal an early church, beautiful in its simplicity, before it became 'barnacled over' with 'complex abstractions'; 'one symbol predominates' in the artwork of the time

catacomb art, mid-200s AD, depicts Jesus as
shepherd carrying a lamb on his shoulders

From “The History Of Spiritualism, Vol. 2” (1926) by the great afterlife researcher, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of "Sherlock" fame:

"The Catacombs, also, it may be remarked, are a proof of the simplicity of early Christianity before it became barnacled over with all sorts of complex definitions and abstractions, which sprang from the Grecian or Byzantine mind, and have caused infinite evil in the world. The one symbol which predominates in the Catacombs is that of the Good Shepherd — the tender idea of a man carrying a poor helpless lamb. One may search the Catacombs of the first centuries, and in all those thousands of devices you will find nothing of a blood sacrifice, nothing of a virgin birth. You will find the Kind Shepherd, the anchor of hope, the palm of the martyr, and the fish which was the pun or rebus upon the name of Jesus. Everything points to a simple religion. Christianity was at its best when it was in the hands of the humblest. It was the rich, the powerful, and the learned who degraded, complicated, and ruined it."

the early Christians 'talked to their dead'

“An interesting book on early Christian [burial] remains in Rome, by the Rev. Spence-Jones, Dean of Gloucester, deals in part with these strange and pathetic records. These inscriptions have the advantage over all our documentary evidence that they have certainly not been forged, and that there has been no possibility of interpolation. Dr. Jones, after having read many hundreds of [epitaphs], says of these 'graves in this silent city of the dead, computed at three, four, or five million' [that] ‘The early Christians speak of the dead as though they were still living. They talk to their dead.’ That is the point of view of the present-day Spiritualists - one which the Churches have so long lost. The [Catacomb] Christians … dwelt always upon the happy continuance of life.”

there is a saying 'we create God in our own image' but this is only part of the misrepresentation

The great psychologists inform us that unenlightened humankind creates civilization as means to repress itself.

In this self-imposed darkness, the dysfunctional ego alternates between seeking to abuse and to be abused; to rule over others and to be ruled; to use others and to be used.

The Eurythmics sang it for us:

egoic dreams are made of this...

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

everybody's looking for something
some of them want to use you
some of them want to get used by you
some of them want to abuse you
some of them want to be abused...

And part of that civilization we’ve created – for, as Krishnamurti instructs, each one of us is the “world” and “society” because each one carries the seeds of evil within – part of this civilization issues as popular concepts of “God.”

When we want to abuse others, we conveniently imagine God -- thereby granting ourselves license to deal unjustly -- as harsh, unforgiving, stoically unmoved before the world’s suffering. In this re-creation of “God” we refer to him as “king” or “ruler” or “lord” or “father” or some such image of august personage.

But this high-and-mighty iconography does double duty. When the dysfunctional ego seeks to live as a fearful little child, in non-culpability, hiding under the mantle of a powerful potentate, then, in a switcheroo, the images of unapproachable “All-Father” now serve as shield, a convenient Peter-Pan excuse not to grow up, a reason to simply “believe” rather than to exercise one’s inborn rational faculties.

Popular conceptions of “God” have nothing to do with the real God, but reflect the egoic heart of darkness, which has created all civilization, including ersatz and plastic images of “God”, along with faux versions of ourselves, as well. See more on the “Cultism” page.

Dr. & Mrs. Carl Wickland, a husband-wife medical team of trance-mediumship, for 40 years, serving confused spirits who did not know that they were dead.

Dr. Carl & Anna Wickland

In 1897 Minnie Morgan, who had lived a wild and profligate life, finally died of morphine poisoning. Wandering in darkness as a spirit, she was helped toward a better realization by the Wicklands. Twenty-five years later Minnie returned to thank the husband-and-wife team and to report of her progress:

July 26, 1922, Minnie Morgan speaking to Dr. Carl Wickland, facilitated by trance-medium Anna Wickland. She explains how her loose living had progressed from bad to worse:

sow your wild oats, throw your sins onto Jesus, then stride proudly into heaven - and other fantasies

"I made up my mind that I would have a good time while I could and then, when the time came to die, I would be ready to go, because at the last I could throw my sins on Jesus and be washed as white as snow. I started out in life with that belief. I said: 'Why can't I have a good time like others? The future will take care of itself.' With that thought many persons go out to sow their wild oats, thinking that when the proper time comes they will be prayed for, and that then they will step into the glory of Heaven… In the way of the world I lived very fast. I went to church once in a while to be sure my soul would be taken care of. I paid money to the church so I would be all right, and then I drowned myself in the glory of the world. It was all right for a while. Each time I had glory, as I called it, I suffered both physically and mentally. I tried to shake it off and go on a little longer. I fell by the wayside. After a while my physical body wore out and I had misery and sickness."

Editor’s note: Minnie’s earlier shocking attitude of expediency, a cynical view of “sin now and be cleansed by a BlackRobe later,” came crashing down for her when she met reality upon entering the spirit world. The venal mindset of Minnie is well in line with many of my childhood, some of the worst, who lived their acid-mouthed religious lives in cavalier manner, believing that the Nice Young Man at Church would wash away, while you wait, indiscretions with a magic hand-sign. Church clergy who teach this kind of hideous immorality risk a reservation in the rat cellar. See scores of such cases.

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one does not die in a procession, one dies alone

From “The Vital Message” (1919) by the great afterlife researcher, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of "Sherlock" fame:

“But the commonest failing, the one which fills the spiritual hospitals of the other world, and is a temporary bar to the normal happiness of the after-life, is the sin of Tomlinson in Kipling's poem, the commonest of all sins in respectable British circles, the sin of conventionality, of want of conscious effort and development, of a sluggish spirituality...

fatted over

"fatted over by a complacent mind and by the comforts of life. It is the man who is satisfied, the man who refers his salvation to some church or higher power without steady travail of his own soul, who is in deadly danger. All churches … are noxious the instant that they allow him to think that by any form of ceremony, or by any fashion of creed, he obtains the least advantage over his neighbour, or can in any way dispense with that personal effort which is the only road to the higher places….

one dies alone

"One can get through this life very comfortably following without question in some procession with a venerable leader. But one does not die in a procession. One dies alone. And it is then that one has alone to accept the level gained by the work of [one's] life. And what is the punishment of the undeveloped soul? It is that it should be placed where it will develop, and sorrow would seem always to be the forcing ground of souls.”

'no immediate healing of a diseased moral constitution by ceremonial absurdities'

Afterlife researcher, Buffalo NY attorney, Edward Randall, working with direct-voice medium Emily French (circa. 1900), in his book “The Dead Have Never Died” reported:

“Having opportunity to speak with one very learned and advanced in the afterlife, I said: ‘Describe, if you please, the spheres in which you live'.”

The conversation led to comments about moralistic instruction on the other side:

Communicator: "They [the Spirit Guides] teach … that, according to the divine moral economy, there is no such thing as pardon for sins committed — no immediate mercy — no possible escape from the natural results of crime, no matter where or by whom committed; no healing of a diseased moral constitution by any outward appliances, or ceremonial absurdities; and finally, that the only way to escape sin and its consequences is by progressing above and beyond it [via charitable works and taking personal responsibility for one's life and actions]."

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Big Religion became the most powerful institution in the Western world by manipulating the fear of death, thereby controlling whole continents and civilizations

Dr. Bernardo Kastrup, PhD philosophy, PhD computer science, interviewed by Beshara Magazine:

“[Scientific] materialism didn’t become mainstream without reason. One of its biggest advantages is that in one fell swoop it eliminated the biggest fear humanity has had throughout its history, which is: what are we going to experience after we die? In Christian terms, are we going to go to hell? This fear has dominated human life to the point that the Church could control whole continents and civilizations and became the most powerful institution in the Western world. It is this fear that makes us feel guilty, which imbues us with anxiety and a sense of responsibility for what we do. But if we don’t believe in anything beyond material existence, we don’t need to worry.”

A Wanderer In The Spirit Lands represents channeled testimony from the other side.

The communicating spirit-person, Franchezzo, was a young Italian man who had seduced many women. But then, having met the authentic love of his life, he suddenly died and found himself in the Dark Realms. He recounts his misery and terror, unable to see or hear, as he wandered about the “rat cellar.”

Finally, calling out for help, he was given the opportunity to rehabilitate himself, to atone for his own sins, by entering into a life of severe charitable works, helping those who had fallen into sexual sins as he had done.

In a dramatic way, he would learn the meaning of Jesus' warning about "paying the last penny" for debts incurred during one's misspent life.

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'I've been searching and searching for my savior but can't find him'

The following is channeled information via the mediumship of William W. Aber, the Psychic Research Society, as reported in “The Rending Of The Veil” (1898), compiled by J.H. Nixon. Testimonies were offered by numerous spirit-persons by means of full-form visible materialization. A visiting afterlife entity asserts:

“When you pass to this sphere of life, you expect to find all things just as you have been told during all your earthly journey. But alas! How mistaken! No orthodox God … takes you by the hand. No convoy of winged angels meets you here.

"You grope your way in darkness. Your earthly [religious] training has not unfolded your spiritual nature to self-dependence. In spirit you are yet a babe. Your training you received on earth not only was all wasted there, but retards your development here.

"After you have been here a time, slowly awakening from the false relation in which your orthodox training placed you, you meet a friend who has been here long years before you. This friend at last gets you to recognize him. He asks you what you are expecting.

“You say: 'I want to find my God. I want to find my Savior. Can you show me where to go?'

"The friend tells you: 'I have been here a long, long time. I have never seen such persons. Those who have been here for ages tell me they know no such person or persons as you call your God and Savior.'

"You say: 'Oh, there is—there surely must be!'

“You look on and on; and, failing to find your great Jehovah, you begin to look for something—you know not what. You meet another friend, who tells you of your ignorance and your vain search. 'I hunted,' he tells you, 'in vain.'

"You say: 'Oh, friend, you must know. Tell me, that I may go to him!'

"But you finally wake up to the fact that you have been taught wrong, that your whole earth life has been lost! Then you are ready to begin where your training on earth should have begun.”

The Dazzling Darkness is a concept representing a frame of mind untrammeled by the dysfunctional ego. Therein, freed from base-alloy lower-nature inclinations, one might apprehend not only the identity of one’s true mate but also a realization of the living presence of God in one’s life. READ MORE

Why does the sky-god always need a little more money?

Comedian George Carlin offered somewhat of a unique and sharp angle on the hypocrisy of Big Religion.

Carlin’s humor was raw – so be warned of that. However, his perspective, in broad measure, was correct. The fairy-tale straw-god of orthodoxy is a complete fabrication, and has little confluence with the real God.

To those who would object to Carlin’s apparent atheism, I will put forward that the afterlife reports inform us that the sincere atheist will enter a good place over there along with whole-hearted believers. The scheming and duplicitous religious clergy, however, will have some overdue homework to hand in before things go well for them.

We’re reminded, too, of Jesus’ comment that the Scribes and Pharisees, the religious elite, would not enter the kingdom before the putative sinners of the day.

See George Carlin’s stand-up routine

If Jesus lived and taught among us today...

If Jesus lived and taught among us today, he would be branded as a rabid revolutionary, a threat to “good people” and stable society. He would be imprisoned, vilified, banned from social media, a target of fake-news; respectable leaders would line up to offer their outrage and speak against him; and if the paid-for mob got to him first, he would be bludgeoned to death in the streets.

But the greatest outcry of denunciation would come from elites within the Church. They would call him demon possessed, a castaway of God, a tool of Satan, as his teachings would contradict their “infallible doctrines.”

Many, however, would flock to Jesus’ humanitarian ways, his wisdom and keen insight into mysteries, and his dramatic manifestations of spirit-power. This burgeoning popularity, from certain quarters, would infuriate the Church hierarchy all the more, as their monopoly on “godtalk” would be severely challenged.

In secret council, those concerned with losing power, position, and a flow of tithe-monies, would plot how to discredit and marginalize this upstart from nowhere, this arrogant self-appointed teacher, who hadn’t even attended seminary or bible college; and if they could figure out how to get away with it, they would kill him – in God’s service, of course, considering the menace to the unwitting and vulnerable “sheep.”

All this, a replay, as it happened 2000 years ago.

Anyone – you don’t have to be a Jesus – who speaks the truth will be condemned by "party faithful" and materialistic powers-that-be of this world. Anyone who teaches that access to highest wisdom is within you, that God will teach each one of us directly, obviating the need for infallible gurus, will be marked for persecution. Anyone, in childlike openness and humility, without fear and guilt, who follows the truth wherever it may lead, will automatically come to loggerheads with those who insist that privileged ecclesiastical position becomes license to espouse rigid doctrinaire creedalism as final answer.

We – those willing to accept – are all summoned to live a “Christ life” of demonstrating, in the face of adversity, "the truth" by our words and deeds. It wasn’t just for our brother Jesus, and a spectator sport for the rest of us.

See Bill Maher's interview with Latin scholar and senior priest, Father Reginald Foster, at the Vatican.

you can have it all laid out in front of you, but it won't make you think 

Concert for George
Royal Albert Hall
November 29, 2002 

Horse To Water