Listening to Voices 19

(What If This Is True?)

Do you misperceive imperfection?

Chapter Nineteen

“STOP! Hold onto that thought and don’t move until it overtakes you completely.”

I had just awakened, this morning and the seemingly fleeting, at that moment, thought had struck me and I really was about to pass it off as whimsical:

“What if most of what all of us believe as “irreducible truth” is based on misperception?”

If you’ve been reading Brad Cullen stuff for any length of time, you know that is the essence of one of my core beliefs. It is the reason I hammer away at words such as “perspective” “both” and “either.” But as with the words I felt compelled to put in red back in chapter 18, “Knowledge is the antithesis of Faith.” I had never before thought of it quite in those terms.

A close friend of forty years, with a Ph.D after his name which he refuses to even acknowledge most of the time …and unlike his counter-parts in the same profession, you won’t find the title on his office door or most of his correspondence. Some people honor him by calling him “Doctor” …I use the term when needling him, “Doctor Phud, Ph.D” – that kind of thing. I may get the go-ahead to quote what he said a bit later – very profound, after calling chapter 18 “the very most profound of your writings,” went on to add another dimension to “my” thesis that was mind blowing.

The foregoing all a set up to lay all of that out – and yes, we will come back to what he said.

It is now about three hours later than the thought to which I had awakened – and was instructed to hold onto (which really woke me up!) until it had overtaken me. That has happened. Again,            “What if most of what all of us believe as “irreducible truth” is based on misperception?”

There goes Ryan, he's sneaking off after stealing Jesus.

Okay, so …what now?

Another voice …this in my memory bank from a phone conversation yesterday with Ryan Bruce, “…the reason most people can’t move on from their religion of choice is fear.” They’re afraid to give up the comfortable little pews they sit on and the ear-tickling sermons they hear week after week because they think somebody is going to steal Jesus, as they perceive him, away from them.”

His comments were made to underscore him requesting that I write a new page, with a tab on the top menu bar of our website – for the primary purpose of providing an explanation for people about “how to go directly to the SOURCE.”

Oh my, I am supposed to go back to Dr. Phud’s comments about chapter 18 to finish this chapter and then finish the new page for the website – I already know the title of the tab, “Connecting With I AM” – well, that’s what came to me, we’ll see whether Ryan hears that it needs to be changed!

Here is the e-mail, from the “good doctor” in its entirety:

I’m going to have to do some thinking on this: “The antithesis of faith is knowledge.” Offhand however I am fueled by the challenge to connect the two. I do believe this could be considered a paradox.

What you write day after day is revealed knowledge via faith. The Spiritual Gifts element that Greg Gregory refers to is based on different knowledge or emphasis from a group at a time in history and place. I agree knowledge in the “Garden of Eden” sense remains the culprit, yet the knowing without ego involvement gives the energy to the relationship. As I know God, God’s nature, God as Source of all, God’s Almighty Love, I place increasing faith and relationship is furthered. The paradox of distant/intimate for me describes God. You and I have been touched by God and speaking for myself I find God as Intimate, yet fully distant, either in “wilderness” times or by “distance” and the lack of “seeing” physically God. My knowledge of God comes via the intimacy.

Knowledge and faith comes as a package, yet remain distinct. Knowledge can screw faith, but knowledge AND faith can be complementary. Personally I’m not frightened by knowledge and I certainly simultaneously realize that faith stands alone. A song I love musically I also appreciate by its title: Alone Together.

Recently I have received an infusion of knowledge regarding how the physical body can be nourished in the more meaningful senses. Instead of simply going for power via resistance training and aerobic activity, there are finer muscles that bring lots of “power” through control, hence stretching, strengthening through such as yoga work, breathing and balancing exercises bring an even better sense of well-being than the situps/pushups routines taught for decades, which as it turns out are results of looking in the mirror, for we obviously see our gut and our chest.

Through the added knowledge I have faith in stretching as worthwhile time invested, whereas without the knowledge I toss off stretching as a waste of time, for it doesn’t seem to enhance my body. I am different because of my knowledge. Knowing God more and more brings faith, for faith is a relationship.

My response was a simple “WOW, look who’s being profound” and a definitive statement that I would be getting back to him on this one.

So, I asked, what about Greg Gregory’s comments which the other e-mail referenced?

Yep, here they are:

Beginning to run with “Spirit filled” people in the early 80’s I was soon buying every book that I could find regarding Spiritual gifts.

A couple years later I came to the conclusion that people like me were just trying to get our abracadbras correct so that we could heal, cast out demons, raise the dead, etc.

SDA’s are big on “head knowledge”, book sales is a big source of income for them. They operate their own educational system from first grade thru doctorate degrees.

For the Spirit filled life you have just pointed out to me (and hopefully others) our blockage:

“The antithesis of faith is knowledge.”

Why isn’t this line in every piece you write?

I did like the idea presented in his last line – and I’m taking it “under advisement.” But we’ve already seen the different perspective raised by Dr. Phud – I guess I’ll take that under advisement as well.

Okay, off to finish the web page, see y’all back here for chapter 20, during which we’ll see if our SPIRIT-PARENT sheds any more light on just what is truth – holy mackerel, this thought is invading me! or is it just limited perspective ABOUT truth?

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