BIBLICAL REFERENCES IN THE COURSE
KEYS – T28f/33=TEXT pages 28&29 in 1st edition – page 33 in 2nd edition. W=Workbook. M=Teachers Manual. SOP=A Song of Prayer. PPP=Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice.
A miracle is a service. It is
the maximal service you can render unto another. It is a way of "loving your
neighbor as yourself." You recognize your own and your neighbor's worth
simultaneously. T2/4
Miracles
“praise God” through you. They praise Him by honoring His creations,
affirming their perfection. They heal because they deny body‑identification and
affirm spirit‑identification. T3/5
"No man cometh unto the
Father but by me" does not mean that I am in any way separate or different
from you except in time, and time does not really exist. The statement is more
meaningful in terms of a vertical rather than a horizontal axis. You stand below
me and I stand below God. In the process of "rising up," I am higher because
without me the distance between God and man would be too great for you to
encompass. I bridge the distance as an elder brother to you on the one hand, and
as a Son of God on the other. T5/7
My devotion to my brothers has placed me in charge of the Sonship, which
I render complete because I share it. This may appear to contradict the
statement "I and my Father are one," but there are two parts to the
statement in recognition that the Father is greater. T5/8
"Heaven and earth shall pass away" means that they will not
continue to exist as separate states. My word, which is the resurrection and the
life, shall not pass away because life is eternal. You are the work of God, and
His work is wholly lovable and wholly loving. This is how a man must think of
himself in his heart, because this is what he is. T6f/9
A guide does not control but he does direct, leaving it up to you to
follow. "Lead us not into temptation" means "Recognize your errors and
choose to abandon them by following my guidance." T7/9
You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you
behave. The Golden Rule asks you to “do unto others as you would have them do
unto you.” This means that the perception of both must be accurate. The
Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave
appropriately unless you perceive correctly. Since you and your neighbor are
equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You
should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of
others. T7f/10
The emptiness engendered by fear must be replaced by forgiveness. That is
what the Bible means by "There is no death," and why I could demonstrate
that death does not exist. I came to fulfill the law by reinterpreting it. The
law itself, if properly understood, offers only protection. It is those who have
not yet changed their minds who brought the "hell‑fire" concept into it. T9/11f
"Except ye become as little children" means that unless you fully
recognize your complete dependence on God, you cannot know the real power of the
Son in his true relationship with the Father. The specialness of God's Sons does
not stem from exclusion but from inclusion. All my brothers are special. If they
believe they are deprived of anything, their perception becomes distorted. When
this occurs the whole family of God, or the Sonship, is impaired in its
relationships. T10/12
The Bible tells you to “become as little children.” Little
children recognize that they do not understand what they perceive, and so they
ask what it means. Do not make the mistake of believing that you understand what
you perceive, for its meaning is lost to you. Yet the Holy Spirit has saved its
meaning for you, and if you will let Him interpret it, He will restore to you
what you have thrown away. Yet while you think you know its meaning, you will
see no need to ask it of Him. T196/211
"God is not mocked" is not a warning but a reassurance. God
would be mocked if any of His creations lacked holiness. The creation is
whole, and the mark of wholeness is holiness. T10/13
"God is not mocked"; no more His Son can be imprisoned save by his
own desire. And it is by his own desire that he is freed. Such is his strength,
and not his weakness. T430/461
What is seen in dreams seems to be very real. Yet the Bible says that a
"deep sleep fell upon Adam", and nowhere is there reference to his waking
up. The world has not yet experienced any comprehensive reawakening or rebirth.
Such a rebirth is impossible as long as you continue to project or miscreate.
T15/18
Only after the “deep sleep fell upon Adam” could he experience
nightmares. T15/18
You believe in what you value. If you are afraid, you are valuing
wrongly. Your understanding will then inevitably value wrongly, and by endowing
all thoughts with equal power will inevitably destroy peace. That is why the
Bible speaks of "the peace of God which passeth understanding." This
peace is totally incapable of being shaken by errors of any kind. It denies the
ability of anything not of God to affect you. T16/19
It is hard to believe a defense that cannot attack is the best defense.
This is what is meant by "the meek shall inherit the earth." They will
literally take it over because of their strength. A two‑way defense is
inherently weak precisely because it has two edges, and can be turned against
you very unexpectedly. T17/19
“The meek shall inherit the earth” because their egos are
humble, and this gives them truer perception. T50/56
Miracle‑minded forgiveness is only correction. It has no
element of judgment at all. The statement "Father forgive them for they know
not what they do" in no way evaluates what they do. It is an
appeal to God to heal their minds. There is no reference to the outcome of the
error. That does not matter. T24/28
The injunction "Be of one mind" is the statement for
revelation‑readiness. My request "Do this in remembrance of me" is the
appeal for cooperation from miracle workers. The two statements are not in the
same order of reality. Only the latter involves an awareness of time, since to
remember is to recall the past in the present. T24/28
The statement "For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life" needs only one slight correction to be meaningful in this
context; "He gave it to His only begotten Son." T28f/33
I said before that “God so loved the world that He gave it to His
only‑begotten Son.” God does love the real world, and those who perceive its
reality cannot see the world of death. For death is not of the real world, in
which everything reflects the eternal. God gave you the real world in exchange
for the one you made out of your split mind, and which is the symbol of death.
T207/222
The “Last Judgment” is one of the most threatening ideas in your
thinking. This is because you do not understand it. Judgment is not an attribute
of God. It was brought into being only after the separation, when it became one
of the many learning devices to be built into the overall plan. Just as the
separation occurred over millions of years, the “Last Judgment” will
extend over a similarly long period, and perhaps an even longer one. Its length
can, however, be greatly shortened by miracles, the device for shortening but
not abolishing time. If a sufficient number become truly miracle‑minded, this
shortening process can be virtually immeasurable. It is essential, however, that
you free yourself from fear quickly, because you must emerge from the conflict
if you are to bring peace to other minds.
The “Last Judgment” is generally thought of as a procedure
undertaken by God. Actually it will be undertaken by my brothers with my help.
It is a final healing rather than a meting out of punishment, however much you
may think that punishment is deserved. Punishment is a concept totally opposed
to right-mindedness, and the aim of the Last Judgment is to restore
right‑mindedness to you. The “Last Judgment” might be called a process of
right evaluation. It simply means that everyone will finally come to understand
what is worthy and what is not. After this, the ability to choose can be
directed rationally. Until this distinction is made, however, the vacillations
between free and imprisoned will cannot but continue.
The first step toward freedom involves a sorting out of the false from the
true. This is a process of separation in the constructive sense, and reflects
the true meaning of the Apocalypse. Everyone will ultimately look upon his own
creations and choose to preserve only what is good, just as God Himself looked
upon what He had created and knew that it was good. At this point, the mind can
begin to look with love on its own creations because of their worthiness. At the
same time the mind will inevitably disown its miscreations which, without
belief, will no longer exist.
The term "Last Judgment" is frightening not only because it has been
projected onto God, but also because of the association of "last" with death.
This is an outstanding example of upside‑down perception. If the meaning of the
“Last Judgment” is objectively examined, it is quite apparent that it is
really the doorway to life. No one who lives in fear is really alive. Your own
last judgment cannot be directed toward yourself, because you are not your own
creation. You can, however, apply it meaningfully and at any time to everything
you have made, and retain in your memory only what is creative and good. This is
what your right‑mindedness cannot but dictate. The purpose of time is solely to
"give you time" to achieve this judgment. It is your own perfect judgment of
your own perfect creations. When everything you retain is lovable, there is no
reason for fear to remain with you. This is your part in the Atonement.
T29ff/34f
We have already discussed the “Last Judgment,” but in insufficient
detail. After the “Last Judgment” there will be no more. Judgment is
symbolic because beyond perception there is no judgment. When the Bible says
"Judge not that ye be not judged," it means that if you judge the reality of
others you will be unable to avoid judging your own. T41f/46
The ego literally lives on borrowed time, and its days are numbered. Do not
fear the Last Judgment, but welcome it and do not wait, for the ego's
time is "borrowed" from your eternity. This is the Second Coming that was made
for you as the First was created. The Second Coming is merely the return of
sense. Can this possibly be fearful? T158/170
The Second Coming ends the lessons that the Holy Spirit teaches, making way
for the “Last Judgment,” in which learning ends in one last summary that
will extend beyond itself, and reaches up to God. The Second Coming is the time
in which all minds are given to the hands of Christ, to be returned to spirit in
the name of true creation and the Will of God. W439/449
What is the “Last Judgment?”
Christ's Second Coming gives the Son
of God this gift: To hear the Voice for God proclaim that what is false is
false, and what is true has never changed. And this the judgment is in which
perception ends. At first you see a world that has accepted this as true,
projected from a now corrected mind. And with this holy sight, perception gives
a silent blessing and then disappears, its goal accomplished and its mission
done.
The “Final Judgment” on the world contains no condemnation. For it sees
the world as totally forgiven, without sin and wholly purposeless. Without a
cause, and now without a function in Christ's sight, it merely slips away to
nothing-ness. There it was born, and there it ends as well. And all the figures
in the dream in which the world began go with it. Bodies now are useless, and
will therefore fade away, because the Son of God is limitless.
You who believed that God's “Last Judgment” would condemn the world to
hell along with you, accept this holy truth: God's Judgment is the gift of the
Correction He bestowed on all your errors, freeing you from them, and all
effects they ever seemed to have. To fear God's saving grace is but to fear
complete release from suffering, return to peace, security and happiness, and
union with your own Identity.
God's “Final Judgment” is as merciful as every step in His appointed
plan to bless His Son, and call him to return to the eternal peace He shares
with him. Be not afraid of love. For it alone can heal all sorrow, wipe away all
tears, and gently waken from his dream of pain the Son whom God acknowledges as
His. Be not afraid of this. Salvation asks you give it welcome. And the world
awaits your glad acceptance, which will set it free.
This is God's “Final Judgment:” "You are still My holy Son, forever
innocent, forever loving and forever loved, as limitless as your Creator, and
completely changeless and forever pure. Therefore awaken and return to Me. I am
your Father and you are My Son." W445/455
IS EACH ONE TO BE JUDGED IN THE END?
Indeed, yes! No one can escape
God's Final Judgment. Who could flee forever from the truth? But the
“Final Judgment” will not come until it is no longer associated with fear.
One day each one will welcome it, and on that very day it will be given him. He
will hear his sinlessness proclaimed around and around the world, setting it
free as God's Final Judgment on him is received. This is the Judgment in
which salvation lies. This is the Judgment that will set him free. This is the
Judgment in which all things are freed with him. Time pauses as eternity comes
near, and silence lies across the world that everyone may hear this Judgment of
the Son of God: Holy are you, eternal, free and whole, at peace forever in the
Heart of God. Where is the world, and where is sorrow now?
Is this your judgment on yourself, teacher of God? Do you believe that this is
wholly true? No; not yet, not yet. But this is still your goal; why you are
here. It is your function to prepare yourself to hear this Judgment and to
recognize that it is true. One instant of complete belief in this, and you will
go beyond belief to Certainty. One instant out of time can bring time's end.
Judge not, for you but judge yourself, and thus delay this “Final Judgment.”
What is your judgment of the world, teacher of God? Have you yet learned to
stand aside and hear the Voice of Judgment in yourself? Or do you still attempt
to take His role from Him? Learn to be quiet, for His Voice is heard in
stillness. And His Judgment comes to all who stand aside in quiet listening, and
wait for Him.
You who are sometimes sad and sometimes angry; who sometimes feel your just
due is not given you, and your best efforts meet with lack of appreciation and
even contempt; give up these foolish thoughts! They are too small and
meaningless to occupy your holy mind an instant longer. God's Judgment waits for
you to set you free. What can the world hold out to you, regardless of your
judgments on its gifts, that you would rather have? You will be judged, and
judged in fairness and in honesty. There is no deceit in God. His promises are
sure. Only remember that. His promises have guaranteed His Judgment, and His
alone, will be accepted in the end. It is your function to make that end be
soon. It is your function to hold it to your heart, and offer it to all the
world to keep it safe. m37/38
The statement "Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord" is a
misperception by which one assigns his own "evil" past to God. The "evil" past
has nothing to do with God. He did not create it and He does not maintain it.
God does not believe in retribution. His Mind does not create that way. He does
not hold your "evil" deeds against you. Is it likely that He would hold them
against me? Be very sure that you recognize how utterly impossible this
assumption is, and how entirely it arises from projection. This kind of error is
responsible for a host of related errors, including the belief that God rejected
Adam and forced him out of the Garden of Eden. T32/36f
"Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord" is easily reinterpreted if
you remember that ideas increase only by being shared. The statement emphasizes
that vengeance cannot be shared. Give it therefore to the Holy Spirit, Who will
undo it in you because it does not belong in your mind, which is part of God.
T80/87
I have been correctly referred to as "the lamb of God who taketh away the
sins of the world," but those who represent the lamb as blood‑stained do not
understand the meaning of the symbol. Correctly understood, it is a very simple
symbol that speaks of my innocence. The lion and the lamb lying down together
symbolize that strength and innocence are not in conflict, but naturally live in
peace. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" is another
way of saying the same thing. A pure mind knows the truth and this is its
strength. It does not confuse destruction with innocence because it associates
innocence with strength, not with weakness. T33/37
Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God. It arises solely from fear, and
frightened people can be vicious. Sacrificing in any way is a violation of my
injunction that you should “be merciful even as your Father in Heaven is
merciful.” It has been hard for many Christians to realize that this applies
to themselves. T33/37
Because their hearts are pure, the innocent defend true perception instead of
defending themselves against it. Understanding the lesson of the Atonement they
are without the wish to attack, and therefore they see truly. This is what the
Bible means when it says, "When He shall appear (or be perceived) we shall be
like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." T35/39
The Bible says that you should “go with a brother twice as far as he asks.”
It certainly does not suggest that you set him back on his journey. Devotion to
a brother cannot set you back either. It can lead only to mutual progress. The
result of genuine devotion is inspiration, a word which properly understood is
the opposite of fatigue. To be fatigued is to be dis‑spirited, but to be
inspired is to be in the spirit. To be egocentric is to be dis‑spirited, but to
be Self‑centered in the right sense is to be inspired or in spirit. The truly
inspired are enlightened and cannot abide in darkness. T47/52
The goal of the curriculum, regardless of the teacher you choose, is "Know
thyself." There is nothing else to seek. Everyone is looking for himself and
for the power and glory he thinks he has lost. Whenever you are with anyone, you
have another opportunity to find them. Your power and glory are in him because
they are yours. The ego tries to find them in yourself alone, because it does
not know where to look. The Holy Spirit teaches you that if you look only at
yourself you cannot find yourself, because that is not what you are. Whenever
you are with a brother, you are learning what you are because you are teaching
what you are. T132/142
The Bible tells you to “know yourself,” or to be certain. Certainty is
always of God. When you love someone you have perceived him as he is, and this
makes it possible for you to know him. Until you first perceive him as he is you
cannot know him. While you ask questions about him you are clearly implying that
you do not know God. T36/39f
Accept as true only what your brother is, if you would “know yourself.”
Perceive what he is not and you cannot know what you are, because you see him
falsely. Remember always that your Identity is shared, and that Its sharing is
Its reality. T157/168
Wholeness is indivisible, but you cannot learn of your wholeness until you see
it everywhere. You can “know yourself” only as God knows His Son, for
knowledge is shared with God. When you awake in Him you will know your magnitude
by accepting His limitlessness as yours. But meanwhile you will judge it as you
judge your brother's, and will accept it as you accept his. T162/174
The statement "God created man in his own image and likeness" needs
reinterpretation. "Image" can be understood as "thought," and "likeness" as "of
a like quality." God did create spirit in His Own Thought and of a quality like
to His Own. There is nothing else. T40f/45
Right perception is necessary before God can communicate directly to His
altars, which He established in His Sons. There He can communicate His
certainty, and His knowledge will bring peace without question. God is not a
stranger to His Sons, and His Sons are not strangers to each other. Knowledge
preceded both perception and time, and will ultimately replace them. That is the
real meaning of "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end," and
"Before Abraham was I am." Perception can and must be stabilized, but
knowledge is stable. "Fear God and keep His commandments"
becomes "Know God and accept His certainty." T36f/41
Sane perception induces sane choosing. I cannot choose for you, but I can
help you make your own right choice. "Many are called but few are chosen"
should be, "All are called but few choose to listen." Therefore, they do
not choose right. The "chosen ones" are merely those who choose right
sooner. Right minds can do this now, and they will find rest unto their souls.
T39/43f
We have already discussed the Last Judgment, but in insufficient detail. After
the Last Judgment there will be no more. Judgment is symbolic because beyond
perception there is no judgment. When the Bible says "Judge not that ye be
not judged," it means that if you judge the reality of others you will be
unable to avoid judging your own. T41f/46
I have spoken of different symptoms, and at that level there is almost endless
variation. There is, however, only one cause for all of them: the authority
problem. This is "the root of all evil." T43/48
To wish is to imply that willing is not sufficient. Yet no one in his
right mind believes that what is wished is as real as what is willed. Instead of
"Seek ye first the
Kingdom
of
Heaven" say, "Will ye first the
Kingdom
of Heaven," and you have said, "I know what I am and I accept my own
inheritance." T44/49
“Seek ye first the
Kingdom
of
Heaven,”
because that is where the laws of God operate truly, and they can operate only
truly because they are the laws of truth. But seek this only, because you can
find nothing else. There is nothing else. T110/119
The "devil" is a frightening concept because he seems to be extremely
powerful and extremely active. He is perceived as a force in combat with God,
battling Him for possession of His creations. The devil deceives by lies, and
builds kingdoms in which everything is in direct opposition to God. Yet he
attracts men rather than repels them, and they are willing to "sell" him their
souls in return for gifts of no real worth. This makes absolutely no sense.
T44f/49f
The fruit of only one tree was "forbidden" in the
symbolic garden. But God could not have forbidden it, or it could not have
been eaten. If God knows His children, and I assure you that He does,
would He have put them in a position where their own destruction was possible?
The "forbidden tree" was named the "tree of knowledge." Yet God
created knowledge and gave it freely to His creations. The symbolism here has
been given many interpretations, but you may be sure that any interpretation
that sees either God or His creations as capable of destroying Their Own purpose
is in error. T45/50
“Eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge” is a symbolic
expression for usurping the ability for self-creating. This is the only sense in
which God and His creations are not co-creators. The belief that they are is
implicit in the "self-concept," or the tendency of the self to make an image of
itself. T45/50
“The branch that bears no fruit will be cut off and will wither away.
Be glad! The light will shine from the true Foundation of life, and your own
thought system will stand corrected. It cannot stand otherwise. You who fear
salvation are choosing death. Life and death, light and darkness, knowledge and
perception, are irreconcilable. To believe that they can be reconciled is to
believe that God and His Son can not. Only the oneness of
knowledge is free of conflict. T46/51
It is hard to understand what "The
Kingdom
of
Heaven is within you" really means. This is because it is
not understandable to the ego, which interprets it as if something outside is
inside, and this does not mean anything. The word "within" is unnecessary. The
Kingdom
of Heaven is you. What else but you did the Creator
create, and what else but you is His Kingdom? This is the whole
message of the Atonement; a message which in its totality transcends the sum of
its parts. T54/60
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Him” because there are
none. T55f/61
Myths and magic are closely associated,
since myths are usually related to ego origins, and magic to the powers the ego
ascribes to itself. Mythological systems generally include some account of
"the creation," and associate this with its particular form of magic. The
so-called "battle for survival" is only the ego's struggle to preserve itself,
and its interpretation of its own beginning. This beginning is usually
associated with physical birth, because it is hard to maintain that the ego
existed before that point in time. The more "religiously" ego-oriented may
believe that the soul existed before, and will continue to exist after a
temporary lapse into ego life. Some even believe that the soul will be punished
for this lapse. However, salvation does not apply to spirit, which is not in
danger and does not need to be salvaged. T53/59
This is the question that must be asked: "Where can I go for
protection?" "Seek and ye shall find" does not mean that you should seek
blindly and desperately for something you would not recognize. Meaningful
seeking is consciously undertaken, consciously organized and consciously
directed. The goal must be formulated clearly and kept in mind. Learning and
wanting to learn are inseparable. You learn best when you believe what you are
trying to learn is of value to you. However, not everything you may want to
learn has lasting value. Indeed, many of the things you want to learn may be
chosen because their value will not last. T60/66
The Bible repeatedly states that you should “praise God.” This hardly
means that you should tell Him how wonderful He is. He has no ego with which to
accept such praise, and no perception with which to judge it. But unless you
take your part in the creation, His joy is not complete because yours is
incomplete. And this He does know. He knows it in His Own Being and its
experience of His Son's experience. The constant going out of His Love is
blocked when His channels are closed, and He is lonely when the minds He created
do not communicate fully with Him. T64/69f
The truly helpful are invulnerable, because they are not protecting their egos
and so nothing can hurt them. Their helpfulness is their “praise of God,”
and He will return their praise of Him because they are like Him, and they can
rejoice together. God goes out to them and through them, and there is great joy
throughout the Kingdom. Every mind that is changed adds to this joy with its
individual willingness to share in it. T65/71
The Holy Spirit is in your right mind, as He was in mine. The Bible says,
"May the mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus," and uses this as
a blessing. It is the blessing of miracle‑mindedness. It asks that you may think
as I thought, joining with me in Christ thinking. T67/73
The Holy Spirit is the only part of the Holy Trinity that has a symbolic
function. He is referred to as the Healer, the Comforter and the Guide. He is
also described as something "separate," apart from the Father and from the Son.
I myself said, "If I go I will send you another Comforter and He will abide
with you." His symbolic function makes the Holy Spirit difficult to
understand, because symbolism is open to different interpretations. As a man and
also one of God's creations, my right thinking, which came from the Holy Spirit
or the Universal Inspiration, taught me first and foremost that this Inspiration
is for all. I could not have It myself without knowing this. The word "know" is
proper in this context, because the Holy Spirit is so close to knowledge that He
calls it forth; or better, allows it to come. T67f/73f
When you are tempted by the wrong voice, call on me to remind you how to heal
by sharing my decision and making it stronger. As we share this goal, we
increase its power to attract the whole Sonship, and to bring it back into the
oneness in which it was created. Remember that "yoke" means "join together," and
"burden" means "message." Let us restate "My yoke is easy and my burden
light" in this way; "Let us join together, for my message is Light."
T71/77
You cannot be hurt, and do not want to show your brother anything except your
wholeness. Show him that he cannot hurt you and hold nothing against him, or you
hold it against yourself. This is the meaning of "turning the other cheek."
T75/82
The Bible enjoins you to “be perfect, to heal all errors, to take no
thought of the body as separate and to accomplish all things in my name.”
This is not my name alone, for ours is a shared identification. The Name of
God's Son is one, and you are enjoined to do the works of love because we share
this oneness. T147/159
It is impossible not to believe what you see, but it is equally impossible to
see what you do not believe. Perceptions are built up on the basis of
experience, and experience leads to beliefs. It is not until beliefs are fixed
that perceptions stabilize. In effect, then, what you believe you do
see. That is what I meant when I said, "Blessed are ye who have not seen and
still believe," for those who believe in the resurrection will see it. The
resurrection is the complete triumph of Christ over the ego, not by attack but
by transcendence. For Christ does rise above the ego and all its works, and
ascends to the Father and His Kingdom. T192/207
Not only does the ego cite Scripture for its purpose, but it even interprets
Scripture as a witness for itself. The Bible is a fearful thing in the ego's
judgment. Perceiving it as frightening, it interprets it fearfully. Being
afraid, you do not appeal to the
Higher
Court because you believe its judgment would also be against you.
There are many examples of how the
ego's interpretations are misleading, but a few will suffice to show how the
Holy Spirit can reinterpret them in His Own Light.
"As ye sow, so shall ye reap." He interprets to mean what you consider
worth cultivating you will cultivate in yourself. Your judgment of what is
worthy makes it worthy for you. "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord" is
easily reinterpreted if you remember that ideas increase only by being shared.
The statement emphasizes that vengeance cannot be shared. Give it therefore to
the Holy Spirit, Who will undo it in you because it does not belong in your
mind, which is part of God.
"I will visit the sins of the fathers unto the third and fourth
generation," as interpreted by the ego, is particularly vicious. It becomes
merely an attempt to guarantee the ego's own survival. To the Holy Spirit, the
statement means that in later generations He can still reinterpret what former
generations had misunderstood, and thus release the thoughts from the ability to
produce fear.
"The wicked shall perish" becomes a statement of Atonement, if the
word "perish" is understood as "be undone." Every loveless thought must be
undone, a word the ego cannot even understand. To the ego, to be undone means to
be destroyed. The ego will not be destroyed because it is part of your thought,
but because it is uncreative and therefore unsharing, it will be reinterpreted
to release you from fear. The part of your mind that you have given to the ego
will merely return to the Kingdom, where your whole mind belongs. You can delay
the completion of the Kingdom, but you cannot introduce the concept of fear into
it. T80f/87
When I said "I am come as a light into the world," I meant that I came
to share the light with you. Remember my reference to the ego's dark glass,
and remember also that I said, "Do not look there." It is still true that
where you look to find yourself is up to you. T81/88
My brothers slept during the so‑called "agony in the garden," but I
could not be angry with them because I knew I could not be
abandoned. T86/93
We are still equal as learners, although we do not need to have equal
experiences. The Holy Spirit is glad when you can learn from mine, and be
reawakened by them. That is their only purpose, and that is the only way in
which I can be perceived as “the way, the truth and the life.” T86/94
If you interpret the crucifixion in any other way, you are using it as
a weapon for assault rather than as the call for peace for which it was
intended. The Apostles often misunderstood it, and for the same reason that
anyone misunderstands it. Their own imperfect love made them vulnerable to
projection, and out of their own fear they spoke of the "wrath of God" as
His retaliatory weapon. Nor could they speak of the crucifixion entirely without
anger, because their sense of guilt had made them angry.
These are some of the examples of upside‑down thinking in the New Testament,
although its gospel is really only the message of love. If the Apostles had not
felt guilty, they never could have quoted me as saying, "I come not to bring
peace but a sword." This is clearly the opposite of everything I taught. Nor
could they have described my reactions to Judas as they did, if they had really
understood me. I could not have said, "Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a
kiss?" unless I believed in betrayal. The whole message of the crucifixion
was simply that I did not. The "punishment" I was said to have called
forth upon Judas was a similar mistake. Judas was my brother and a Son of God,
as much a part of the Sonship as myself. Was it likely that I would condemn him
when I was ready to demonstrate that condemnation is impossible?
As you read the teachings of the Apostles, remember that I told them myself
that there was much they would understand later, because they were not wholly
ready to follow me at the time. I do not want you to allow any fear to enter
into the thought system toward which I am guiding you. I do not call for martyrs
but for teachers. No one is punished for sins, and the Sons of God are not
sinners. Any concept of punishment involves the projection of blame, and
reinforces the idea that blame is justified. The result is a lesson in blame,
for all behavior teaches the beliefs that motivate it. The “crucifixion”
was the result of clearly opposed thought systems; the perfect symbol of the
"conflict" between the ego and the Son of God. This conflict seems just as real
now, and its lessons must be learned now as well as then. T87f/94f
The gifts you offer to the ego are always experienced as sacrifices, but the
gifts you offer to the Kingdom are gifts to you. They will always be treasured
by God because they belong to His beloved Sons, who belong to Him. “All power
and glory are yours because the Kingdom is His.” T120/129
When I said, "All power and glory are yours because the Kingdom is His,"
this is what I meant: The Will of God is without limit, and all power and glory
lie within it. It is boundless in strength and in love and in peace. It has no
boundaries because its extension is unlimited, and it encompasses all things
because it created all things. By creating all things, it made them part of
itself. You are the Will of God because that is how you were created. Because
your Creator creates only like Himself, you are like Him. You are part of Him
Who is all power and glory, and are therefore as unlimited as He is. T130f/141
The Bible says, "The Word (or thought) was made flesh." Strictly
speaking this is impossible, since it seems to involve the translation of one
order of reality into another. Different orders of reality merely appear to
exist, just as different orders of miracles do. Thought cannot be made into
flesh except by belief, since thought is not physical. Yet thought is
communication, for which the body can be used. This is the only natural use to
which it can be put. To use the body unnaturally is to lose sight of the Holy
Spirit's purpose, and thus to confuse the goal of His curriculum. T141/152
This course offers a very direct and a very simple learning situation, and
provides the Guide Who tells you what to do. If you do it, you will see that it
works. Its results are more convincing than its words. They will convince you
that the words are true. By following the right Guide, you will learn the
simplest of all lessons: “By their fruits ye shall know them, and they shall
know themselves.” T161/173
You may have taught freedom, but you have not learned how to be free. I said
earlier, "By their fruits ye shall know them, and they shall know
themselves." For it is certain that you judge yourself according to your
teaching. The ego's teaching produces immediate results, because its decisions
are immediately accepted as your choice. And this acceptance means that you are
willing to judge yourself accordingly. T311f/335
The rituals of the god of sickness are strange and very demanding. Joy is
never permitted, for depression is the sign of allegiance to him. Depression
means that you have forsworn God. Many are afraid of blasphemy, but they do not
understand what it means. They do not realize that to deny God is to deny their
own Identity, and in this sense the “wages of sin is death.” The sense is
very literal; denial of life perceives its opposite, as all forms of denial
replace what is with what is not. No one can really do this, but that you can
think you can and believe you have is beyond dispute. T175f/189
The world as you perceive it cannot have been created by the Father, for the
world is not as you see it. God created only the eternal, and everything you see
is perishable. Therefore, there must be another world that you do not see. The
Bible speaks of “a new Heaven and a new earth,” yet this cannot be
literally true, for the eternal are not re‑created. To perceive anew is merely
to perceive again, implying that before, or in the interval between, you were
not perceiving at all. What, then, is the world that awaits your perception when
you see it? Every loving thought that the Son of God ever had is eternal. The
loving thoughts his mind perceives in this world are the world's only reality.
They are still perceptions, because he still believes that he is separate. Yet
they are eternal because they are loving. And being loving they are like the
Father, and therefore cannot die. T194f/210
I once asked you to "sell all you have and give to the poor and follow me."
This is what I meant; If you have no investment in anything in this world, you
can teach the poor where their treasure is. The poor are merely those who have
invested wrongly, and they are poor indeed! Because they are in need it is given
you to help them since you are among them. T205/220
"My kingdom is not of this world" because it is in you. And you
are of your Father. T287/308
Projection makes perception. The world you see is what you gave it, nothing
more than that. But though it is no more than that, it is not less. Therefore,
to you it is important. It is the witness to your state of mind, the outside
picture of an inward condition. “As a man thinketh, so shall he perceive.”
Therefore, seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about
the world. Perception is a result and not a cause. T415/445
"And the last to be overcome will be death." Of course! Without the
idea of death there is no world. All dreams will end with this one. This is
salvation's final goal; the end of all illusions. And in death are all illusions
born. What can be born of death and still have life? But what is born of God and
still can die? The inconsistencies, the compromises and the rituals the world
fosters in its vain attempts to cling to death and yet to think love real are
mindless magic, ineffectual and meaningless. God is, and in Him all created
things must be eternal. M64/67
Jesus is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, Whom he called down upon the
earth after he ascended into Heaven, or became completely identified with the
Christ, the Son of God as He created Him. The Holy Spirit, being a creation of
the One Creator, creating with Him and in His likeness or spirit, is eternal and
has never changed. He was "called down upon the earth" in the sense that
it was now possible to accept Him and to hear His Voice. His is the Voice for
God, and has therefore taken form. This form is not His reality, which God alone
knows along with Christ, His real Son, Who is part of Him. M85/89
God is said to have “looked on all He created and pronounced it good.”
No, He declared it perfect, and so it was. And since His creations do not change
and last forever, so it is now. PPP19
When I said, "My peace I give unto you," I meant it. Peace comes from
God through me to you. It is for you although you may not ask for it. T172/185
“My peace I give you.” Take it of me in glad exchange for all the world
has offered but to take away. And we will spread it like a veil of light across
the world's sad face, in which we hide our brothers from the world, and it from
them. T240/257