Good and Evil - Heaven and Hell !

Paradiso by Gustave Dore' Illustration in Dante's Divine Comedy, 1883.
Dante and Virgil at the Gates of Hell by William Blake, Illustration to Dante's Inferno, 1825.

In light of modern physics - quarks, energy and vibration - we need a different view, reminiscent of Galileo’s revolution.  And in light of simple questioning of Scripture, we must have a Christianity open to the whole world.  Not converting by Mosaic type brute force, conquistadors, crushing of heretics, and control by the fear of an angry God, but rather by evolution of consciousness - Christ Consciousness - and openness to Divine Wisdom - Sophia.  
There is a danger to the world from the arrogance and zeal of those “chosen to be the people of God”.    Some of the greatest inhumanities to man have occurred within the Church, and some the greatest good to man also occurs within the Church.
Now here is another question:  Does the devil create in man evil and harmful desires and fears or   does man create the devil?
This question is unanswerable in our present state.  And the two possibilities are similar to our other relative theories, such as Creation Separate From God verses Creation One With God.

In this image of the inquisition, is the torture the work of God, the Devil or the man?

Interrogation In Jail by Alessandro Magnasco, ~ 1710, Kunsthisortisches Museum, Vienna

The question of what is the nature of good and evil is part of the Perennial Philosophy - the Age Old questions.
    Our answer is that to live as if karma and reincarnation are real is healthier than living as if Original Sin is real.  And each will result in reaching the same place.  
In the recent past, the Catholic Church taught that is a sin if we ate meat on Fridays or did not go to church on Sundays.  Few believe that now.  Many believe that we will go to Hell if we are not Baptized in their faith.  And actions based on that belief has actually caused hell on earth. 
Luther’s Reformation was about abuses in the Church and about the way to salvation.  The Next Reformation is also about that.  Once a part of a system is found in error, then then entire system must be questioned and modified.  We therefore have the right to question and review the authority and the way of the Church.  And we have done that here.
Sometimes we feel that our ideas are so unique that we must teach others.  But history shows these philosophies appearing again and again. Even the concepts of quarks and vibrating strings of modern physicists have been visualized by some ancients.  The artwork presented here show a multitude of feelings from many centuries.  This is a real testament to the mystical union.

Mercy is a fine virtue and characteristic, but we can not count on it - mercy is arbitrary with the one giving it.  And we see no mercy in the natural world, except for man on occasion.  Where is the mercy and unconditional love in everlasting damnation ?  But, living our lifes with mercy and compassion will make a difference.

The Next Reformation will recognize

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