good, evil, Oneness, and the illusion of separation

[ArmsMerchant]

The issue of good and evil is one that theologians and secular philosophers have been dealing with for thousands of years. In this thread, I will try to explain my take on these issues. My intent is neither to convince nor convert; my intent is simply to communicate my truth with clarity, compassion, and completeness. And alliteration, evidently.

Christian theology contends that we are born evil (the doctrine of Original Sin) due to the actions of some mythical people at some unclear point in the past. Most of us here reject that notion.

I have stated before that at the Highest Level, there is no difference between good and evil. Some members become quite annoyed by this notion, and respond with hostility and invective--this suggests I have inadvertantly struck a nerve. I still maintain that not only is there no difference between the two, at both metaphysical and mundane levels, the terms are essentially devoid of meaning. Good and bad are simply labels we place on thing to denote our approval or disapproval. In general, we tend to label good that which serves us, and bad which does not serve us.

Take something as mundane as weather. Fair weather is "good" if you are planning a picnic, but very "bad" to a farmer whose crops are dying due to drought. Take movies--if I say a movie was "bad", all you know about it is that I didn't like it--no useful information has been conveyed. If I say the plot was cliched, the acting was wooden, and the FX primitive--then I have said something meaningful.

But people are neither weather nor movies. Still, I reject the notion that there are good and bad people. In my view, we are all perfect in our way--God neither creates junk nor makes mistakes. Neale Donald Walsch quotes God thusly:

I am going to tell you this, there are no "rotten apples." There are only people who disagree with your point of view on things, people who construct a different model of the world. I am going to tell you this: no persons do anything inappropriate, given their model of the world. (end quote)


Suppose you disagree, and choose to judge and label people. (The Bible says "Judge not, lest ye be judged." I think this means that in the very act of judging, you judge yourself--that is, you define yourself in terms of what you approve of.) There is nothing "wrong" with this, but it does tend to retard one's spiritual evolution. I have been taught, and accept as true, however, that feeling superior to those you judge as inferior to you is a very cheap way of feeling good about yourself. In my view, no one is any better or any worse than anyone else--at the Highest Reality, we are all one, all part of the universal force or information field collectively known as God.

In onther words, no one is somehow inherantly more important in the greater scheme of things.

I am NOT saying we are all the same, or even that we are all equaly valuable in terms of our contribution to society or abilities. I may be crazy, but I ain't stupid. I think it wise to acknowledge and celebrate our differences, while still recognizing that we are all fruit of the same tree. However, if you make mor emoney and pay more taxes than I (and most people in America do), that in no way makes you "better" than I. Some of us are more highly spiritually evolved than others (think Mother Theresa vs Jeffrey Dahmer, to cite extreme examples)--but if you think God lovesd MT more than JD, you have a lot to learn about God. Both of them did what seemed appropriate to them at the time, both had immortal souls, and (I suspect) that both have already reincarnated into lives that are radically different than the ones they are known for.

And neither do I say that the more highly spiritually evolved are "better" than those less so--that a person at level six is somehow three times as good as someone at level two. Thing is, we are all on the path to sainthood--spiritual evolution is not only mandatory, but inevitable. Indeed, a person at level two, who is honestly and sincerely plagued with guilt and driven by ambition, is far more spiritual than someone who pretends to be a saint.

Unity consciousness, the gut feeling that we are indeed All One is a level seven thing. Those at other levels do not have much chance of grokking this in fullness. And they will get no help from society or popular culture in terms of evolving farther. Governments, particularly during wartime, foster an us versus them mentality, and try to dehumanize the enemy.

I notice this is getting rather long, so I think I'll end this now, and try to amplify and expand upon these ideas in posts further along in the thread.