Several friends of mine are participating in the Oprah-sponsored Monday night series with Eckhart Tolle based on his new book, A New Earth. While I am not participating in the series, I am familiar with Tolle's work and have personally experienced the Joy and Peace that flows from dissolving our egos and connecting with the divine presence here on earth (which is a core theme in all of his work).
During a recent lunch with friends -- some participants of the series and others not --we struck up a dialogue about Tolle's teachings and particularly the benefits that one of the participants had experienced in her own life from adopting some of the strategies suggested by Tolle for connecting with the divine and experiencing more joy and peace in your life. Following this lunch, one of the non-participants stumbled onto a website and a video stream -- http://www.godtube.com -- that blasts Oprah and the series as anti-Christian and spreading dangerous doctrine. The friend who sent it to me, a practicing Christian, was understandably curious about my thoughts on the website's take on Oprah and Tolle.
Below is my response.
"I didn't watch the entire clip, but I got the gist and am not at all surprised at the reaction of the particular church represented on the website. The interpretations of the Bible, Jesus and God by Eckhart Tolle are not accepted by many Christian denominations (or non-denominational Christian churches). The clip of Oprah talking about peoples around the world having different means to finding and experiencing God is certainly not going to jive with many Christian church doctrines either.
Even though I choose to attend a Christian church, I don't follow a strict Christian doctrine myself. I happen to agree with Oprah that there are many paths to finding and experiencing God. I don't believe that the Christian church has a monopoly on relationship with God.
I have never been able to believe that indigenous peoples in say Africa or the far East are not going to be "saved" because they don't know of or haven't embraced Christ. I don't believe that the Jews, Muslims or any other peoples on this earth are denied access to the love and acceptance of God because of their beliefs. I realize that certain Christians, including perhaps all of you, will not agree with me. I am OK with that. But I also know that there are many people attending Christian churches that feel the same as I do.
What is ultimately important to me is my relationship with the divine and my ability to express and experience Love, Peace and Acceptance for and with all humans. If you look at all of the major religions of the world, they all have at their core the same fundamental truths, the most important of which is Love, and particularly love for one another.
Any doctrine that is based on Fear -- fear of other human beings (who are all created in God's image) because they are or believe different from us, fear of not following the "right" path, to name just a few -- is not, in my opinion, consistent with God's Love. Almost all of the major religions -- Christianity, Judaism, Muslim, and others -- have factions that espouse Fear-based doctrines. As humans trying to make sense of this world that we inhabit, and to ascribe meaning and experience God's peace and love, I think there is room for multiple interpretations, opinions and expressions of "what is God?" "what is the Holy Spirit?" and "who was Jesus?"
How can any human truly assert that they know the absolute truths of these HUGE questions? Even the major Christian religions through the ages have their own unique answers to these questions and interpret the Bible in many different ways. And the monotheistic view of God -- a divine being that inhabits the sky somewhere -- that is fairly representative of most Christian religions and, I believe, the Jewish faith, is a relatively recent interpretation of "what is God?" in the history of the world.
I think that God wants all people to know the Love, Peace and Acceptance that is available through a relationship with God, and so I believe that God in fact provides multiple ways for people to experience this Holy relationship.
What is great about this discourse you have started is the opportunity for us all to connect with each other on a different level and to know one another better. I love all of you as fellow seekers in this fascinating world. Feel free to share your beliefs and faith, as I honor what is true for you."
Teresa
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