I finished Friendship with God yesterday.
A few thoughts: an interesting read. "God" said quite a bit of thought provoking things. I am going to go through it one more time. I have found by reading a book that is thought provoking at least twice through (back to back) the information gels together better and a clearer understanding of the author's intent is attained.
That said, perhaps I can address (in part) the issue of whether or not Walsch's book is actually God speaking to him, through him, as Walsch claims and "believes." (I do not know the man, so I have no idea about what he truly believes or not.)
For now, this is what I will say.
Walsch is either:
1. Telling the truth - God really did speak to him and have him write these books.
2. Lying - God never spoke to him, these are just his writings and thoughts only, there was no divine involvement.
3. Crazy - Walsch believes God is talking to him, but it's really the voice in his head that he interprets as God.
4. Mistaken - It isn't God that's talking to him, but Satan posing as God.
Maybe there's more, but those are the four I can come up with now.
I can, with certainty, address number 3.
No. Walsch isn't "crazy" or mentally ill - at least not in respects to the books. Folks with mental illness that "hear" God's voice (or other voices for that matter) don't do so in such an organized manner. I could get into further description here, but you'll have to take my word for it. The thought process (that is evident in the book) is not a reflection of mental illness. Without divulging too much - yes, I do have experience working with people with mental illnesses. While I am not a doctor, I am very familiar with the behaviors of folks with mental illness. Especially on a day-to-day basis and daily living.
So, that leaves us with: God is talking to Walsch, Satan is talked to Walsch, or Walsch is lying.
I will reserve my own judgement until I am finished reading the book the second time through.
As always, thoughts are welcome...
Showing posts with label Neale Donald Walsch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neale Donald Walsch. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friendship With God - some notes.
I am almost half-way through Friendship With God and a few things have caught my eye. I ran across the following quotes from "God" in the book. "God's" words are in red.
(I put "God" in quotes for the moment, because I am not yet addressing the validity of Walsch's conversations. We'll get to that later.)
Regarding God's will vs. ours:
“…I have no agenda for you, other than the agenda you set for yourself.”
God setting stuff in place for us to achieve our goals, or to direct us toward those goals:
“Yes, I will place the tools in your hands…You may choose to use those tool, or not to use them.”
Regarding is God's inspiration still "ours" and using tools:
“..I cannot tell you how many people to whom I have given wonderful words to write, who have never written them…songs to sing, who have never sung them…If {using your gifts that have been given} isn’t something to be thrilled about, I don’t know what is.”
In regards to folks who believe/feel “no-credit-is-to-come-to-me” or “I-am-not-to-feel-good-about-myself”:
“The trick is not to do what you do FOR acknowledgment but rather as an expression of Who You Are.”
As for if it's okay to declare ourselves and our gifts:
“Jesus announced himself and declared himself unequivocally to all who could hear.”
...and:
“In this (creating the best YOU you can envision) will I be glorified, for the glory of God is the glory of you, expressed wondrously indeed.”
Certainly something to think about. I can't say that I disagree. Deep down, I do believe God wants nothing but for us to express ourselves and to be ourselves and to help others do the same - yes, all the while still helping and loving others.
But, as I think I stated before in another post, we can't truly love others until we start to love ourselves.
Do you think Jesus thought ill of himself? Jesus could freely and openly love others without reservations, hesitation, or limitation because he fully loved himself (and God) as well.
DO NOT confuse this with ego. Or one thinking they are better than others.
I did come across some other stuff, which I believe Walsch got some flack about. I will get to those in another post.
All thoughts are welcome...
(I put "God" in quotes for the moment, because I am not yet addressing the validity of Walsch's conversations. We'll get to that later.)
Regarding God's will vs. ours:
“…I have no agenda for you, other than the agenda you set for yourself.”
God setting stuff in place for us to achieve our goals, or to direct us toward those goals:
“Yes, I will place the tools in your hands…You may choose to use those tool, or not to use them.”
Regarding is God's inspiration still "ours" and using tools:
“..I cannot tell you how many people to whom I have given wonderful words to write, who have never written them…songs to sing, who have never sung them…If {using your gifts that have been given} isn’t something to be thrilled about, I don’t know what is.”
In regards to folks who believe/feel “no-credit-is-to-come-to-me” or “I-am-not-to-feel-good-about-myself”:
“The trick is not to do what you do FOR acknowledgment but rather as an expression of Who You Are.”
As for if it's okay to declare ourselves and our gifts:
“Jesus announced himself and declared himself unequivocally to all who could hear.”
...and:
“In this (creating the best YOU you can envision) will I be glorified, for the glory of God is the glory of you, expressed wondrously indeed.”
Certainly something to think about. I can't say that I disagree. Deep down, I do believe God wants nothing but for us to express ourselves and to be ourselves and to help others do the same - yes, all the while still helping and loving others.
But, as I think I stated before in another post, we can't truly love others until we start to love ourselves.
Do you think Jesus thought ill of himself? Jesus could freely and openly love others without reservations, hesitation, or limitation because he fully loved himself (and God) as well.
DO NOT confuse this with ego. Or one thinking they are better than others.
I did come across some other stuff, which I believe Walsch got some flack about. I will get to those in another post.
All thoughts are welcome...
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