Jesus the teacher within, Lawrence Freeman

 

I've just finished a review of "Jesus the teacher within", by Lawrence Freeman, on Hubpages.

You can read the review Here.

Karma and Christianity

Karma should be one of those points in my post 'Spirituality of the Everyday'. Karma is something which most people have a pretty good understanding of without a 'religious' background. At its simplist if you do good then good will come back to you. Likewise if you do bad it will catch up with you.
A constant theme which comes up with my reading of Laurence Freeman's 'Jesus, the Teacher within' is the idea of Karma and how it interacts with Christianity.

The sacrificial love of Jesus highlights the moral meaning of the universe, the gift of unconditional love that awaits us at the heart of reality. In contrast to the mechanistic view of sin and punishment based on karma, love transcends the dichotomy of reward and punishment. this is the 'scandal of the Cross', its affronts to the rational mind. We cannot perceive its moral meaning without also seeing how all-pervading is the activity of sacrifice throughout the universe.

On reflecting upon this I can see the more extreme forms of Christianity such as fundamentalism  and some pentecostals are more about Karma.  If you follow our rules and hang out with us then you are in, and will get to heaven. If you don't then doom will prevail and you will end up in hell. Like wise there prophesies. If the government supports same sex relationships then drought and bushfire will await. They are all based around idea of Karma.

Yet Christianity has, as Freeman calls it the 'scandal of the Cross', which brings about unconditional love or another word for it grace. It breaks Karma. The thing about a sovereign God is that often when we expect karma to strike, grace abounds. It is not for us mortal beings to know when or how the formula works. Unlike Karma.

Kundalini and baptism in the Spirit...

While reading "Jesus the teacher within" by Laurence Freeman,  I came across the word "Kundalini" which is common in eastern religion. I had never heard of this before. So a quick wiki search and I came up with the definition as well as what Kundalini looks like when manifest. Its basic definition is a corporeal energy which is based in the spine. While the physical effects are as follows::

• Involuntary jerks, tremors, shaking, itching, tingling, and crawling sensations, especially in the arms and legs
• Energy rushes or feelings of electricity circulating the body
• Intense heat (sweating) or cold, especially as energy is experienced passing through the chakras
• Spontaneous pranayama, asanas, mudras and bandhas
• Visions or sounds at times associated with a particular chakra
• Diminished sexual desire or a state of constant orgasm
• Emotional purgings in which particular emotions become dominant for short periods of time.^[19]
• Depression
• Pressure inside the skull and headache
• Bliss, feelings of infinite love and universal connectedness, transcendent awareness

What I found interesting was  8 out of 10 of these descriptions I have heard as definitions of been 'Baptised in the Holy Spirit' or manifestations of God, especially within a church service. (Yes even the constant state of orgasm!) I've actually experienced a few of these myself. That yes I would attribute these to God. These manifestations are especially evident in the Vineyard denomination which was the last Church which I ministered in. 

CS Lewis (I think) in 'Mere Christianity' made the point that Christianity does share much with other religions and it is specifically grace where Christianity is distinct.

Related articles

• Kundalini Meditation (brighthub.com)
• Is there a "mere Christianity"? (geneveith.com)