V. The Denial of God, P12
12 If God knows His children as wholly sinless, it is blasphemous to perceive them as guilty. If God knows His children as wholly without pain, it is blasphemous to perceive suffering anywhere. If God knows His children to be wholly joyous, it is blasphemous to feel depressed. All of these illusions, and the many other forms that blasphemy may take, are refusals to accept creation as it is. If God created His Son perfect, that is how you must learn to see him to learn of his reality. And as part of the Sonship, that is how you must see yourself to learn of yours.
Journal
I haven’t taken part in traditional religion in so long that I had to look up blasphemy to remember what is typically meant by the word. This is what I found.
Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God, to religious or holy persons or things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable.
In this paragraph, Jesus is telling us what truly constitutes blasphemy. When we see anything that is not in alignment with what God creates, and believe what we see, this is blasphemy. While I was looking up the religious definition of blasphemy, I saw that some religions take this idea very seriously, indeed, even calling it a religious crime. Jesus tells us that it is blasphemy to deny God, but He does not tell us that we are guilty for doing so. We are just confused and our confusion is hurting us, so he wants us to see what we are doing so we can change our minds.
At first it seems the impossible is being asked of us. We are to see no suffering, no depression, neither in others or ourselves. How the heck are we supposed to do that? Everywhere you look someone is suffering. I remind myself that when Jesus says we are not to see, what he means is we are not to perceive. We are not to look at apparent suffering, believe what we see and thus strengthen the belief in suffering for all of us.
Sometimes this is easy to correct. I see in the news that people have died in a fire. I say a prayer that they will transition gently, and their loved ones will know the comfort and love of God in this difficult time. I know that it seems bad, especially to all involved, but I know it is all right, that everyone involved is innocent and deeply loved by God. I know that what is happening is not real. I know that when someone “dies” the only thing that has changed is that they have ceased to animate this body with their awareness and that it has been placed elsewhere.
When a friend or family member dies, it feels different to me. It is harder to remember the truth. I feel shock and grief. The truth did not cease to be the truth; it is just harder for me to remember the truth. The emotions seem to temporarily overwhelm what I know to be true. It helps sometimes to have others, who are not so directly involved, to remember the truth for me. This strengthens my own ability to remember.
Always, however I feel when I see and believe what is not truth, I ask for the Atonement. I ask that the Holy Spirit correct my thinking, that He give me a different way to see the situation. He never fails to fulfill his function, and even when I have to return again and again for correction, He is always there, always ready to heal at the slightest invitation from me.
When someone is suffering, if I see their suffering as real and as justified I am not helping them. I am just making it worse for all of us as I make it real within the mind. But if I see that they are suffering without believing in their suffering or in the reality of the situation, I can be helpful. I can strengthen the light within their mind, with the light in my mind.
Just because the woes of the world have no reality, doesn’t mean we should fail to respond to a need. I send my condolences, I give a hug, I cry with my friend, I become the quiet listener. I can ask Holy Spirit if there is some way I can be helpful. He might ask me to do something, or to say something that encourages and lets them know they are loved and cared for. I could even be the answer to their prayer.
Taking these actions doesn’t mean that I am joining them in the error of believing in the problem. It means that I have compassion for their confusion because I have suffered the same confusion. It means I love them and care for them, just as God loves and cares for me even though He does not believe in my problems.
Today, Holy Spirit, help me to be aware of what I am giving my faith to. I want the peace of God and I cannot have that if I perceive suffering to be real. I open my mind to You, and ask that You remove those thoughts that justify the belief in what could never be true because it stands outside creation. Help me to do that for myself and for everyone else you send my way. Thank you.
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