The Text of the chapter seven is in process, and will be posted soon. Please check back!
Today's Scripture actually points out how "green" the Bible is at its core. Many think that one day, God is going to set the earth ablaze and watch it burn with heavenly pleasure. This is a distorted view of one or two passages in the New Testament, but it is not the biblical testimony. "Rapture-ready" Christians are praying for World War III, and for hellfire and brimstone to rain down on the Middle East so that God can evacuate them from this glorious planet in exchange for a celestial dwelling. The Creative Apocalypse laughs in the face of such a deceptive lie! What the Text actually says is that the true sons and daughters of Abraham will redeem the Gentiles (non-Jews) for what certainly sounds like a universal salvation of all peoples, tribes, languages, nations, and even the planet earth. Everything is included in this ecstatic vision, and the only ones left out are those who consciously choose to reject Life. But even they will always hear the call to change their ways of thinking and acting. What could be more creative and hope-filling than an Apocalypse of this kind?
Most of us begin our lives with radical inclusivity, seeing no need to exclude anyone or anything from our inner circle as infants. Slowly, we are taught to rightly distinguish between objects, which eventually leads us to our preferences, biases, and the fashioning of our ego. While this is a normal and healthy process, we wind up with an unnecessary and harmful superiority or inferiority complex. Then, we begin deciding who is "in" and who is "out." Fundamentalists are experts at such an unconscious game, and they're found in every group imaginable, from politics and religion to sports and recreation. The fallible human mind is the primary "problem" in this equation, though most people find it easier to blame a particular group of people, so as to not locate the issue within themselves. But with the Creative Apocalypse descending on us like an avalanche, we now have no choice but to stand up and expose this foolishness for what it is at its core. Not only must we denounce such trickery, but we have to respond with a positive vision of what is ideal.
I emphasize Jesus, the Christ as the Exemplar of all examples for us to follow. He is the One who would rather be slain than to slay. The only violence that He will commit is with the sword of His mouth, as He only speaks Truth filled with Grace and Love. You wouldn't think that such an approach could be so deadly, but most of us are unprepared to stand before the Face of Reality. This is where misguided souls get their notion of 'hell' and define it as "eternal, conscious torment." I suppose those who propagate such non-sense must be presently entrenched in their own kind of eternal, conscious torment to concoct such a despicable theology! Nevertheless, this is why we can't afford to simply look back 2,000 years at Christ in the flesh, but we must raise up 144,000 new slain lambs who remain standing in the face of violence, persecution, and bullying. Will we be able to call together Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Atheists to collaborate together, or will we continue our descent into the depths of death and destruction? May the Creative Apocalypse continue, my friends!
Questions or reflections? Please state them in the forum below! Your participation is crucial.