The Church has lost touch with it's
founder, having embraced a religion about Jesus,
rather than the religion of Jesus. “The Way” was the religion
of Jesus. The later religion about
Jesus is what we know today as Christianity.
The Christian Church has become the
modern day equivalent of the legalistic and rule-orientated Pharisees
of Jesus' day. “Believers are told what to think, how to
believe, and the way to live. Furthermore, most church leaders
disregard the fact that their founder repudiated the religious
leaders of his day for doing this to the followers of Judaism”.
(pg.45)
One startling fact is that “in the
last ten years... it is estimate that Christian churches have spent
more than $ 100 billion on buildings and facilities. In that same
time, more than 400,000,000 people have died of hunger on this
planet”. pg.46
What
would Jesus do?
The future of the
Christian Church, with its members leaving in droves, is
definitely in question. Its death is near inevitable.
Unless
we can collectively abandon our desperate ego-driving pretension of
spiritual certainty, Humanity's future itself is also in question.
Steve McSwain words echo that of the Dalai Lama. (“Until
there is peace among the religions of the world, there will be no
peace in the world”).
I like
nearly everything Steve McSwain has to say. I especially like the
fact that “The Enoch Factor”
isn't attempting to re-market or repackage the old stagnant religion
of Christianity; to identify the demise of the modern day church, yet
selling its same flawed values.
Truth be known, I
believe this direction is the only choice that has any hope
for a future – not just Christianity's, but all of us.
His concepts are
simple, truthful, yet truly revolutionary.
Funny
that word, Revolutionary.
Over that past 2 years I must have reviewed at least 5 books to make
that claim. None of them were true. “The Enoch Factor”
doesn't make that claim of itself, but it most definitely is
revolutionary.
His take on certain
issues are refreshing, like a breath of fresh air. Better! They're
more like a spring breeze that cleans out the stagnant mold and damp
of an over-long winter.
"Salvation as it is called in the Christian tradition, or Enlightenment, as in Eastern traditions, is the opening of your spiritual eyes" (pg. 133).
We can begin seeing Jesus' Way as having an unofficial Buddhist take, with Salvation resembling and striving to attain the perpetual "Now", with escape from the regrets of the past and the anxiety of the future.
Sin, Creationism, Salvation; McSwain's underlying
point isn't to argue and debate these beliefs.
His underlying point is our collective freedom from sin, our escape from Ego.
This book should
force Christianity to question our man-made religion about
Jesus, and much more importantly, begin our exploration of the
religion of Jesus. Everything we believe we know and understand can
be viewed anew.
This book isn't about Christianity. This book has further reaching ambitions. The
author himself admits that he must tell the story
through his own medium; his own culture and that is a Christian one.
But do not be mistaken. This book isn't exclusively about
Christianity. This book is about Humanity itself. It seeks a larger,
more encompassing truth and has the open mindedness, tolerance, and
compassion to succeed.
The book is littered with various quotes from sources that cannot be called
anything but pluralistic.
The Buddha,
Krishna, Lao Tzu, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Jung, Kierkegaard,
Nietzsche, Einstein, Sagan, atheists, singers, presidents,
philosophers, theologians, authors. He truly embraces the idea of
seeking out truth and wisdom wherever you find it.
In
chapter 9 Steve McSwain tells the story of the death of his father
and its spiritual consequences for him. This story resonated with me
personally as I could relate to the time surrounding my mother's
death 26 years ago. This book is difficult to read 'objectively' –
in the sense of a 3rd
party reading, 'analyzing', and reviewing. It makes contact in an
up-close-and-personal sort of way.
The entire of
chapter 8 was most intriguing to me – so much so that I most
definitely need to revisit, reread, and study it in much better
detail. A near instructional guide to put you on your way to truly
purging sin – and even more importantly - Ego.
At the risk of
coming off sounding egotistical, this book gave me a great amount of
confirmation in my non-institutional spirituality; to the point were
I am forced to seriously consider myself – if not “awakened” to
used the author's terms - then well on my way.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
1 comment:
Thank you for the review. Post it to Amazon? I would greatly appreciate that, too. Sincerely, thanks.
Post a Comment