Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Conversations with God, part 17

Authority

Among the several criticisms of Christianity in this book, God takes a few pot shots at those who accept the Bible as the authoritative word of God. She writes that, "By listening to what other people think they heard Me say, you don't have to think at all" (p.6). The uncritical reader, already hostile to Christianity, will find himself laughing right along with God at all the mindless fundamentalists, but they will be completely oblivious to how Walsch is poking fun at his own readers. Those who continue to buy Walsch's sequels to Conversations With God and pay $25/year for his news letters are, themselves, "listening to what other people think they heard Me say," and about those people, God says they "don't have to think at all." I could not miss the humour in thinking that Walsch was poking fun at the very people who are supporting him financially.

Another criticism Walsch has of Christianity is the belief that God punishes people and that there's such a thing as original sin. Pay careful attention to how God suggests that we get rid of those erroneous views. She says, "You can undo the teaching by reading and re-reading this book. Over and over again, read it. Until you understand every passage. Until you're familiar with every word. When you can quote its passages to others, when you can bring its phrases to mind in the midst of the darkest hour, then you will have ‘undone the teaching’'' (p.120). So apparently, the way to get rid of the beliefs in original sin and a punitive God is not by thinking and reasoning, but by brainwashing yourself with what somebody else claims that God said to them—the very thing that supposedly removes the need to think.

If, in the end, you decide you want to deprogram yourself from all that Walsch has brainwashed you into believing, I recommend getting a basic book on logic and reading it over and over again until you understand every passage and are familiar with every word so that you can quote it to other people. Once you understand logic, you will have undone what Walsch has taught you.

to be continued...

Part 18

No comments: