I receive a lot of emails from people who used to consider themselves Christians and were active in the church but no longer. They can no longer accept the literal interpretation of Scripture and the dogmatic nature of the Christian religion. They have dared to think outside the traditional Christian box, they are either been rejected by the church or feel alienated from the church and from Christianity.
Some people have had spiritual experiences – glimpses of nondual reality – and are no longer comfortable with the dualistic language, theology, and rituals of the church. They are especially not comfortable with the Christian attitude that only Christians know the truth. For that reason they have left the church and explored other spiritual traditions.
Yet a part of their heart is still in Christianity. A part of them misses the church, misses Jesus, and misses Christian worship and fellowship. They wish there was a way to be a part of a church but express their Christianity in a way consistent with their new broader awareness of spiritual Reality. That is the type of person who listens to my channel and many email me.
The good news is that Christianity and nonduality are not incompatible. I call it Christian nonduality. In fact the original message of Jesus, whom we call the Christ, is the nondual Reality that is at the heart of all spiritual traditions. So we can be followers of Jesus and affirm nondual awareness. But can we still be part of a church? Can we still go to worship in a church? I say yes!
As I record this episode Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Soon it will be Advent, which is a big deal in most churches. Then before we know it, it will be Christmas and then New Year’s Day. So we are in the holiday season.
Most of these holidays have become purely cultural celebrations for most people. But for Christians Christmas in particular is important religiously. Those of us from Christian backgrounds would like to pay homage to our spiritual heritage and attend worship during the holidays. But many people raised in the church no longer feel comfortable in church.
I receive a lot of emails from people who used to consider themselves Christians and were active in the church but no longer. They can no longer accept the literal interpretation of Scripture and the dogmatic nature of the Christian religion. They have dared to think outside the traditional Christian box, they are either been rejected by the church or feel alienated from the church and from Christianity.
Some people have had spiritual experiences – glimpses of nondual reality – and are no longer comfortable with the dualistic language, theology, and rituals of the church. They are especially not comfortable with the Christian attitude that only Christians know the truth. For that reason they have left the church and explored other spiritual traditions.
Yet a part of their heart is still in Christianity. A part of them misses the church, misses Jesus, and misses Christian worship and fellowship. They wish there was a way to be a part of a church but express their Christianity in a way consistent with their new broader awareness of spiritual Reality. That is the type of person who listens to my channel and many email me.
The good news is that Christianity and nonduality are not incompatible. I call it Christian nonduality. In fact the original message of Jesus, whom we call the Christ, is the nondual Reality that is at the heart of all spiritual traditions. So we can be followers of Jesus and affirm nondual awareness.
But can we still be part of a church? Can we still go to worship in a church? I say yes! I am in worship every Sunday – every Sunday I don’t have COVID that is. My wife and I have COVID right now and are isolating, but we are recovering. I agreed to be participating in the liturgy of worship service on the First Sunday of Advent, which is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I was asked to preach three times in the last six weeks. I had to say no all three times because I was in the hospital for heart issues and now COVID, but if I had not been ill I would have preached all three times. I feel comfortable in church.
People write to me and ask how I can do that. How can I still be part of a church where people do not necessarily share my interpretation of Christianity? Worship itself seems like a dualistic exercise. It is about a God up there somewhere and us down here, which is a very dualistic way of thinking about the world. It is all about God and the devil, Good and evil, heaven and hell, sin and righteousness, lost and saved, us and them type of thinking.
How do I deal with this dualistic mindset that is so common in churches? How do I deal with the exclusivity and religious intolerance so often expressed in traditional Christianity? How can I go to church if I don’t buy into the traditional interpretation of Christianity? How can I worship in church during the holidays?
I will tell you how. When I hear all this dualistic talk of separation from God and the need for redemption and atonement and sacrifice, I see these as just mind games that people have invented. They are theological schemes that the mind has devised to be able to convince itself to accept that we are reconciled to God - one with God. But the reality is we are always one with God and always have been one with God. There has never been a time when we are not pone with God. That is why the Bible says that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world, meaning there was never a time when we were not one with God.
So I participate in worship and have no problem with it. I just interpret the dualistic language and theology as pointing to the deeper truth of nonduality. I have to admit that most Christians in the church do not see it the way I do. The church can be narrow-minded and exclusive. That is what drove so many people away from the church in the first place. That is why the church is declining and losing members so rapidly. The church and traditional Christianity is seen as irrelevant by people who are searching for genuine spiritual truth.
Yet I still call myself a Christian, and I still enjoy worship and being part of a local community of faith. How do I do that? First I accept the church as it is - an imperfect, sinful institution. That is the present reality in Christianity and all religions for that matter. The vast majority of Christians have no idea what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God. They do not know spiritual awakening, which is what Jesus experienced at his baptism and which he then proclaimed.
Most Christians think the gospel is all about believing the right doctrines about Jesus and/or having a “personal relationship” with Jesus, and going to heaven when you die, and trying to convince others of this gospel. For them it is about religion or relationship. It is not. It is really about realization – realization of oneness with God, like Jesus said in John 17. To put it bluntly, they don’t get it.
When I look at the gospels I see that the earliest group of twelve disciples also did not get it. Jesus was constantly frustrated because his followers did not get what he was saying. So why should I expect it to be any different today? So I accept the church for what it is. Yet I have found that there are always a few people in every church who are open to more than what the institutional church has to offer. I connect with them and talk with them, and when I preach in church I preach to them. And those who have ears to hear, hear.
As far as my own experience of worship is concerned, I experience Christian worship as an expression of nondual reality. I experience it as a celebration of union with God. I have learned to hear the words of the hymns, the words of the Scriptures, and the words of the preacher and hear how they have a deeper meaning that the authors intend.
I have to add a caveat here. Some churches and preachers are so closeminded and judgmental and self-righteous that I can’t attend such a church regularly. Unfortunately I am afraid there are lots of churches and preachers like that. I would say that is the case in the vast majority of evangelical churches and fundamentalist churches. They are entrenched in religious delusions and lost in the maze of their theologies. But there are also some good mainline churches.
I search for a church where the pastor and people – at least some of the people – are open to more than evangelical or fundamentalist Christianity. I look for churches and pastors who are open to the Reality that Jesus called the Kingdom of God. When I am blessed enough to find such a church and pastor, then I can overlook all its other shortcomings.
In such a church I can worship. I can sing the old hymns and the new songs. I can appreciate how the lyrics point to the Nondual Reality I call God and Christ. I enjoy the fellowship with people who are looking for more than prepackaged dogma. I enjoy book discussions and Bible Studies, as long as participants are open-minded.
So this holiday season I invite you to participate in the holidays as spiritually meaningful occasions whether or not you are part of a church. See the truth hiding within the old stories. Bask in the glory of Christ which is God’s Presence here and now.