Karla's Comments

I am leaving this group.. if you wish to receive my devotions and updates from china..please e-mail me at faithhopeandlovefellowship@gmail.com

Keith

Hi Karla,
Great to hear from you. I see we're theologically very alike. I described myself "fundamentalist" only in the sense that I believe in the basic simplistic truths of the only source of "truth" the Bible. The fundamentals of the Gospel as seen in 1 Cor 15 1-4. I am Baptist in the sense that I believe that they predate the Reformation, and were known by many other names prior to the name Baptist. They never identified with the so called Church, but maintained a simple belief system and consequently were severely persecuted over the centuries. Their doctrine must be traced to the book of Acts. The term church was quickly adulterated by the enemy. It only applies to the local assemblies in the NT. When used in the plural it includes other local assemblies, not to a monolithic international religious organization. All believers collectively are referred to sparingly in the NT. (I think of Heb 12:23). ---I believe the term fundamentalist lost it's original intended meaning, and was used to refer to the "153 extra rule" keepers like the Pharisees. I believe the term came in around the 1920's when differentiating between the Modernists of the reformed churches and the Bible believers.
It's late, more later.---Bob

Hi Karla!
Paramahansa Yogananda is considered by many to be the twentieth century's most prolific mystic. He was born in India in 1893 and devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the beauty, nobility, and true divinity of the human spirit. Through his writings, lecture tours, and the creation of numerous Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation.
I believe Paramahansa Yogananda was God's chosen vessel to re-initiate the connection of the Christ Consciousness between the Eastern and Western worlds begun so perfectly by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but smothered in the early years of the church by various leaders and counsels in order to retain what they perceived as a more effective control over the masses.
Originally appreciated in the West only in the most lofty and abstract level, the spiritual legacy of India is now accessible as practice and experience to all who aspire to know God, not in the beyond, but in the here and now.
Yogananda has placed within the reach of ALL the most exalted methods of contemplation. A good place to get to know him is in his book "Autobiography Of A Yogi" which is considered to be one of the most popular books of the spiritual genre. My favorite boof of his is titled "The Second Coming of Christ" ( The Ressurection of The Christ Within You). It is an extensive two-volume commentary on the original teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

In response to your questions, I would aver that as one truly contemplates the concept of "Self", after sojourning the various "turnpikes" of perceived truth, one eventually arrives at a "rest-stop" known as Universal Truth. I have found that Truth to be that ultimately we are ALL part of the same consciousness as we all participate in the eternal unfolding of Divine Creation. When our Father said "Let Us make man in Our own image and likeness" the "human being" was created. The human part is composed of materialized manifestations of cosmic energy requiring a positive and negative charge for relative balance. The "Being" part is that which consists of the "Breath of God". Some would call this "breath" the Holy Spirit or "life force". It is this cosmic "Image" thAt is found to be the True connection between all human beings. Therefore as we share the same "Breath" we are ultimately "One".
I would answer your other two questions with an emphatic ABSOLUTELY YES.
Christ's Peace to you and your wonderful family.

This is such a great site, Karla! I've got a timely theological question that's economic in nature for you. Is it unscriptural to declare bankruptcy if your financial hardship is not because of irresponsible living, and you've tried every other avenue? Evangelicals say it is not biblical (Good Sense doctrine- being good stewards).

Nope, we lost! Glad to see you here!