Why Christianity?

Should we put our faith in God and put our lives in his hands? Or should we learn about the conditions that we live under to the best of our ability. Learn so that we can defend ourselves against those that want to hurt us through their knowledge about our psyches and how the world functions? 

I believe that this choice is an illusion. I believe that if we choose one and neglect the other, we will risk getting swept away by the storm that is coming. Because a storm is coming. And we’ve just felt the first tiny winds the past few years. But I believe that it’s a storm that brings with it lots of reasons to be hopeful. And hopefulness is really what this post is about. Because we can rest assured that God will carry us through whatever comes our way, in one way or another. It will probably not be the way we expect it. And for most of us, it will most certainly not be without hardships. But we are carried and when this life ends, we will be welcomed back into our heavenly father’s loving arms. 

At the same time, some of us feel called to learn more about ourselves, the world and how we are being manipulated by those that want to control us for their own selfish aims. I believe that the best foundation, if we want to stand strong, is to be found in the Bible. I know that many feel an instinctive resistance towards this idea. If you do, I want you to ask yourself why. Maybe Christianity conjures up images of dry, narrow-minded people that have left their intellects behind to “just believe”. This is the caricature that we are being fed. These types of people are the ones that we for the most part see in movies, on TV and in general everywhere mainstream. 

Before moving forward, I wish to interject that I think that there is much that we have yet to learn about Christianity. I think that Jesus taught many esoteric things and that understood correctly, Christianity is the most exciting spiritual belief out there. If you want an example, you can ponder the meaning of the following statement by Jesus: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22, King James version).

Here is the thing: we are being fed a certain worldview through the mainstream, whether is’s through Hollywood, the music industry or the papers that we read. We are being taught to believe certain things. And the smarter we think that we are, the more susceptible we are to this. Because fundamentally we are not rational beings. Our minds don’t work the way we think that they do. Unless we consciously take a step back and question the information that is being presented to us, we tend to believe it unless it conflicts too much with our current beliefs. So if the shift takes place gradually towards a new belief, we won’t notice it. This is what a normalization process looks like. Things that would have been considered unthinkable a a few decades ago pass by unnoticed today. 

So, why the Bible? Because it tells us the truth about us and our relationship with God and the world. It tells us that God is a loving, personal God that cares for- and has a will for us. It gives us an ideal to follow in Jesus. Someone that both in his words and actions shows us who we should strive to be. It tells us who the Holy Spirit is, so that we can seek his guidance, which is an indispensable help when we try to find our way through this difficult life. He is also a really good friend. One that is always by our side, never lets us down and gives us a window into how it would feel to fully walk with God.

The Bible also clearly tells us about all of the traps that we can fall into and how to avoid them. Because the traps are the same today as 2000 years ago. Even though they are amplified and packaged differently. Nothing new under the sun.

Knowledge about these traps is in other words more needed than ever. Because the world is telling us that in order to be free, we need lots of sensory gratification. And it’s telling us this like never before. 

We need partying, things, sex and tasty food. We are free when we indulge in these things. We are shown that those that are happy, fun and joyful are those that follow their impulses. Those are the heroes of movies today. And those that don't are presented as boring and inhibited by outdated values.

Everywhere we are bombarded with calls to do just that. To give in and follow our impulses. Music and movies that a few decades ago would have been considered too extreme for anyone but a few, are today considered mainstream and is even consumed by children. And if you truly think that these things have no effect on us whatsoever, I don’t think that you have examined it carefully enough. We’ve been conditioned gradually to accept more and more things as normal.

To put it bluntly, the truly exciting things are happening on a spiritual plane. In our relationship with God. On the inside. And in the meeting with other people that are also on a spiritual/religious path. In the conversations we have and what we discover together. So we may abstain from partying and certain types of entertainment. But on the inside, a whole new world might be opening up instead. It is for me. And I know or know of many others that are experiencing the same thing. If friends leave us because we don’t want to take part in their self-destruction anymore, we’re probably better off without them. 

I would say that the bare minimum for making it through life, especially in these troubled times, is a belief in a personal God and an understanding of the basic morals of the Bible. If we have this, we have a solid foundation to stand on. Whatever else we decide to learn besides this will differ from person to person. It’s between us and God. 

I myself have chosen to try and learn as much as possible about religion, spirituality and human psychology. Because I want to be free from the invisible prison of the world. And I want to help others to free themselves. But no matter what I do when it comes to this, I know that I never have to stand alone. That whatever happens, everything is in God’s hands.

To me the leap of faith that I will conclude this post with, came as a necessary consequence of believing what the Bible teaches me about myself and the world. As I hope that I’ve shown, I’m not talking about the historical claims. I’m talking about the impossibility that the Bible could have come about as a result of the efforts of human minds alone.

For me, accepting Jesus as my lord and savior and to actually believe that he died on the cross to atone for my sins is the necessary consequence that I’m talking about. It has neither been proven to me, nor experienced on a personal level. At least not directly, even though you could say that I’ve received what could be called inner confirmations. Confirmations through sensations and shifts on the inside. But not until after I took the leap of faith. 

The leap of faith, as I’ve already stated, came as a result of seeing that what the Bible tells me about myself and how the world operates is absolutely true. And for it to be so, in this way, the hand of God must have been involved. And the more I’ve studied the Bible, the more I’ve seen this hand of God. Seen it through how everything fits together, in spite of so many writers. Seen it through how the symbolism works on so many levels. How prophecies have come true throughout the time span that the Bible was written. And how prophecies are coming true today one after another. How the prophecies fit together. And how they all fit into a greater narrative. Just to name a few things

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus stands at the centre of everything. Without this, everything else falls apart. I’ve been convinced about the truth of everything that I find relevant about the Bible. In such a way that I believe that God must have inspired it. And therefore I find no other choice than to also accept that Jesus Christ is exactly who he said that he is. And that he did exactly what the Bible says that he did.

Behavioral patterns, worldviews and faith

Our world today is insanity on steroids. And most of us are more or less guilty of allowing for it to be this way. In this instance, guilt does not imply intent. In this case it is often the opposite of intent. 

One well known that quote about insanity is that it’s “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. Now we do the same things that have been proven to make things worse. And we do them more and faster, over and over again. We do them more and faster while somehow expecting thing to get better. Until we lose hope completely and just keep doing things out of habit while we wait for death.

The good news is that there is a rather clear way out of this mess. Our lives, both on an individual and collective level, are the sum total of the circumstances we are born into, plus our thoughts, feelings, words, beliefs and actions. And all of these things go together. 

Sure, things happen that we have no control over whatsoever, which are devastating beyond repair. But these things are a very small minority. For the most part, when tragedy strikes, it could either have been avoided all together, or we could be in a position where we could cope with it enough to get by,

So if life isn’t what we want it to be, this is where we have to look. At our beliefs, thoughts, feelings, words and actions. Today I’m going to focus on our beliefs. Because this is where it starts. Our beliefs are the lense that we view reality through and depending on what we believe, it will have a tremendous effect on our lives.

We can take a very prevalent belief in today’s society. If we believe that life ultimately is pointless, devoid of higher meaning, this will be reflected in what we think, feel, do and say. If you think that life isn’t worth taking seriously anyway, you might as well stay an infant till the day you die and waste your life on fastfood and mindless entertainment. 

This was where I was heading in my late teens and early twenties. I remember quite clearly when this destructive philosophy started to get hold of my mind. When I was seventeen I read The Satanic Bible by Anton Lavey. For those that don’t know, on the surface it’s ego-affirming atheism, even though I today believe that there is something more sinister behind its content. 

I was an atheist and the idea that there are no such things as right and wrong or higher meanings appealed to me. I found it to be the logical conclusion of the belief that we seize to exist completely when we die. If this would be the conditions that we all live under, I still can’t see how it could be any different. Luckily I know better today.

If you want to know how much beliefs affect us, this whole single worldview shaped how I dressed, the music I listened to, what friends I hung out with and what activities I chose to engage in. And all of these things reinforced each other. And my choices twenty years ago still have an impact on my life today. Because even when you find abundant proof that God exists, that life doesn’t end with death and you therefore want to turn your life around, it’s not that easy. I’m glad that I didn’t form any addictions, except maybe occasional overeating. But I have an overwhelming load of habitual ways of thinking and acting that are not easy to let go of. 

Have you ever noticed what happens when you try to act against an ingrained pattern? Anxiety will rise up inside. You will feel a tremendous pull to stay where you are and act like you’ve always acted. And this is if you’re lucky enough to realize that you are acting out a pattern that you wish to change. Many times you will just unconsciously assume that “this is how reality is and this is the only possible response to it.” 

What I’ve found, which is something that I talk about a lot on this blog, is that we are not in control of our lives. Not left to ourselves and our own reason. Our thoughts may fool us that we are making rational decision, while in reality we are not.

This line of thought is what I will expand on in the next blog post.

Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash

Conscious choices

Why am I doing what I am doing? This is a rather simple question that I think that we would do well to stop and ask ourselves now and then. Because it’s easy to get caught up in doing, whatever one is doing, for the wrong reasons. Or do something one does not really want to do. Or do what one should postpone to another time. Either because one needs to do something else, or because at the moment, one does not have the time, energy or enthusiasm to do a good job. In short, it’s easy to get caught up in activity. Or to just drift wherever circumstances lead one. Or to be driven by musts that are really just in one’s head.

I’ve noticed that we have such a tremendous tendency to stop making conscious decisions. All the time. We lose focus and then… boom! We’re in activity-autopilot. 

I think that making conscious decisions is something that we can and need to train ourselves to do more regularly. And the thing is that we are never alone in this. We have God and his Holy Spirit to guide us if we just learn to listen. You might not recognize that this is the case. But I can promise you that things will happen as you pay more attention to what is going on inside your head. Whether you believe that God exists and can actually speak to you or not.

And yes, this is a small, simple thing that we can do that will have a tremendous effect on our lives. Stop and ask ourselves a simple question from time to time. And really listen for the answer. 

If there is something that we are in dire need of right now it’s focus. Focus trumps willpower every time of the day. Just think of all the little bad decisions you make throughout the day that make life harder for you. It can be such a simple thing as to allow your attention to drift to social media for five minutes. Or you stay caught up in your thoughts while performing some task, which makes it take five minutes longer than it has to. Make fifty similar decisions throughout the day, every day, and you have a serious problem. 

We often try to whip ourselves into doing this or that without thinking. We decide one thing and then we run on auto-pilot till we have completed the task. And often we don’t complete the task at all. Instead we end up doing something else entirely, such as checking our social media feed or search for information about something completely unrelated to what we are doing. Can you recognize yourself in this?

It’s important to note that I’m not talking about efficiency here. Not necessarily at least. The world is full of self-help gurus that tell us that all we need to do is decide what to do and then do it. If it was this simple, everyone would be a success and the world would be perfect. Sure, there is a case to be made for developing more discipline. This is something that is lacking in today’s society of instant gratification and endless streams of leisure activity. Which, by the way, is there to keep us distracted, dumbed down, lazy and numb. Those that produce these things are usually not malevolent. Just greedy. But they are unknowingly working for truly malevolent forces. 

What I’m talking about is becoming intimate with ourselves. About getting to know ourselves and our real needs. You see, I used to listen to these ideas about just whipping oneself into doing whatever one sets one’s mind to. And I always, eventually ended up doing something else instead. Then I beat myself up for not being able to trust myself. Or, if I manage to stay more or less on track, I did a poor job with what was doing. With the result being a lazy, slow job with an end result reflecting the effort that I put in. 

What I’m talking about here can even be the opposite of efficiency. If what I truly need is to lay on the sofa all day, this is what I do, if I can. I’m not saying that this is something that I should do. But if I need this to recuperate, this is what I should do.

If I don’t make these conscious choices, I might drift to social media instead. We often do these things to give our overworked minds some rest. And then we’re not really resting at all. 

It I, on the other hand, take some time to just be, I’m almost guaranteed to come back to the task at hand with renewed energy and focus.

I’m using social media a lot as an example in this post. And for a good reason. Because I think that it might be our worst time and energy thief of our day. Social media preys on our need for rest. It gives us a false sense of rest, while in reality depleting us even further. And it’s got the insidious “it’s only a couple of minutes” factor as well. 

There are of course countless other examples. But I hope that you get the point.

Ultimately, the task of making conscious choices under the wise guidance of God is a spiritual practice. A spiritual practice that is a powerful weapon against the forces of this world that want to keep us in invisible chains. 

We live in a fallen world. A world that isn’t what it should be. A world that is not what God intended it to be. But God wants us to have what we need. Even in this fallen world. And if we let him, God will guide us. When we ask questions such as “Am I making the best use of my time” and really listen, God will answer. We may not be able to perceive the answer perfectly immediately. But if we practice, we will grow in our discernment. And when we are unsure, we can seek out the Bible for guidance.

Jesus, for example, said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). He also said: “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

Does this sound like the words of a person that wants your life to be an endless struggle to measure up, in a world where the bar is raised higher and higher all the time? A world where you are never really enough? A world that both sedates you and kills your spirit with fast food and mindless entertainment, while at the same time asking you to perform more and more?

We need to start making conscious choices. And conscious choices start with saying no to the ways of the world and yes to the will of God. To learn to do this in every given moment. To learn what God wants for us. Because when we understand what we truly want, our will and God’s will are one. How can it be any other way? 

Every moment holds to possibility of making a conscious choice or go back to auto-pilot. And the more we figure out what we truly want, which is what God wants also and choose consciously to act accordingly, the more we allow God to shape us in his image. As he intended from the beginning.

Work when you need to work. Rest when you need to rest. Have fun when you need to have fun. Grieve when you need to grieve. Play when you need to play. Labour when you need to labour. Give when you need to give. Keep when you need to keep. Joke around when you need to joke around. Be serious when you need to be serious. Everything in its proper place.

Don’t let the world or your ego rule over you. Make conscious choices. In every moment.

Speaking MY truth?

There is a lot of talk within New Age circles about speaking one’s truth. But the issue that I’m going to talk about here is really an issue about how we view truth in general. I believe that there is one important question that we need to ask ourselves in this context. One that has big ramifications: Do I sincerely search for the truth, or am I looking for the “truth” that pleases me the most? This, I believe, is not a question that should be taken lightly. Because it’s very possible to say that we want the truth, but unconsciously look for the “truth” that doesn’t require us to change or put in any effort. How do I know? Because I’ve believed many such “truths” throughout my life.

As I’ve said in other posts, I believe that in the extraordinary times that we are living in, it’s important that we talk to each other. We don’t have to agree on everything. But in open, humble, friendly discussions where we assume the best about each other, we might be able to find out the truth together, in areas where it’s still unclear. There are people in the world with a lot of power that want to hurt us. And therefore it’s important that those of us that are waking up to this fact stand together. This is the reason why I want to have a conversation with the New Age community, while at the same time lifting issues that I believe concern everyone.

As with so many other ideas, “my truth” can mean more than one thing. This was sort of implied in the question I posed a moment ago. And as with so many other ideas, it can create a lot of confusion when we think that we talk about the same thing, while in reality we’re not. 

I firmly believe that the truth is to be found in the Bible, even if I think that we have yet to find it out completely. The concept of progressive revelation is quite firmly established within theology and other forms of biblical interpretation, so this is to be expected. This basically means that much of what was written in the Bible, was meant to be revealed in the future. Prophecies is an obvious example. But I also believe that many of Jesus’ sayings have an esoteric side. Some of this has been revealed to mystics. But I believe, as other things about the special times that we are living in are being revealed, more and more people will understand more and more these teachings.

The Bible is also a masterwork of statements with multiple meanings. For example: “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:32) can mean spiritual truth. But it can also mean that there is a natural law where lies enslave us, both on a personal and collective level. It can also mean that when we confess our secrets, something happens. We are no longer burdened by carrying the weight alone. Observing the effect this statement has when put into practice, is one way of discovering that there is a spiritual reality underlying our lives in the physical world.

This also highlights another issue. Are we talking about factual claims about our physical world? Factual claims about science, politics or standards for beauty? Or are we talking about the fundamental nature of reality? Or about moral truth? I’m talking about all of these things and I believe that when spiritual truth is the foundation, all of these things come together. And to make it clear, I’m an objectivist when it comes to all of them. I will explain more about what this means in a moment.

Another thing that I want to make clear, is that I don’t believe for one second that we have the right to interpret the Bible any way we want to. If something is there, it’s there for a reason. And neither science nor cultural norms are valid reasons to discard it. The only valid reason I can find, is when circumstances change in such a way that some particular statement does not apply anymore. And to be clear, I’m talking about actual, factual circumstances. Not our knowledge about the world or human nature. Or what we now think that we know. What qualifies as science within the soft sciences today, for example, is tainted by ideology. This distorts the lenses through which researchers view the objects of study. And much of what is produced in the universities today should be viewed as propaganda. Even though the propagandists often don’t realize that they are engaged in propaganda. 

So, where am I going with this? In the beginning I talked about how “my truth” can mean two different things, which is something that I’ve been trying to illustrate with the prior discussion. On the one hand, it can be the truth the way I see it, when humbly doing my best to understand it as objectively as possible. This view acknowledges that there is such a thing as “objective truth”, while also acknowledging that when it comes to most contested matters, we may be wrong in our beliefs. We try, to the best of our ability, to take into account as many factors as possible, that distort our perception, when we try to figure out the truth.

The second view is that there are no absolute truths and that therefore everyone carries their individual truths. This view means that we are free to believe what we want and no one is more right or wrong than anyone else. Except, perhaps, when it comes to hard, indisputable facts. 

In philosophy, the first stance would be called “objectivism” and the second would be called “relativism”. 

While the second option might seem humble and inclusive to many, it in reality leads us into a fantasy land where there is no common ground to stand on. It also sort of makes everyone the god of their own world, which does not sound so humble anymore. Furthermore, if there is such a thing as objective truth, we will almost inevitably end up in the wrong place if we discard the idea that there is such a truth. And in my humble opinion, there is absolutely and undeniably such a truth. Even when it comes to moral issues. I have a somewhat simple view when it comes to this. One which cannot be used in an absolute sense. But what I basically believe, is that the best way of determining moral truth is when a particular moral stance is put into practice. And most ideas have been put into practice, in one way or another.

For example, if our current cultural values create a well functioning society, happy individuals and leaders that lead our countries in a positive direction, then our moral values are true. If not, they are false.

Many of our brightest minds tell us that we are nothing more than intelligent, pleasure seeking animals. If this is true, those that put this philosophy into practice should be the happiest, most well functioning individuals in society. I can of course only speak for myself. But during the time when I put this philosophy into practice in my teens and early twenties, I was poor, lazy, overweight, emotionally numb and I engaged in destructive partying every weekend, which would have led to addiction eventually if I had kept it up. I know that I’m an extreme example. But I met many people like myself in my youth.

Now, let’s get back to the question of “my truth”. We can use the worn out analogy of the map. Let’s say that we are going to walk through a forest. This is not the typical kind of forest. It’s a forest full of traps. Luckily, many people have gone before us through to forest. So there is a map that they all have contributed to. Someone gives us this map. It contains both the right direction and the traps clearly highlighted. But we take one look at the forest and the map, whereupon we decide that we want to find our own way. Following a map is no fun and the forest is much more beautiful in places that deviate from the known route. I think the answer is obvious to the question of whether this is a wise choice.

Is this analogy correct? Or am I simplifying things too much? Well, in my experience we don’t usually really know what we truly want. Our capacity self-deception is almost endless. Many end up destroying themselves. And even among those that don’t, many reach the end of their lives realizing that they have prioritized the wrong things. Which leads to a bitter end to an, on the surface, successful life. And even if we don’t feel this way when we reach the end of our lives, it’s still possible that we have prioritized the wrong things anyway. 

This possibility is what I wish to wrap this up with. I’m not going to pretend that I know exactly what is going to happen after we die. Or if we are in danger of something bad happening to us after death if we make the wrong choices in this life. What I do know, is that life goes on after death in some way. Therefore, if we don’t view our life from the perspective of eternity, we will have the wrong perspective on a very fundamental level. 

I also know for a fact that God exists, has an intelligence, a will and is personal. I know that God cares for each and everyone of us. Therefore, if we don’t view our life from this perspective, we will have the wrong perspective on a very fundamental level. 

These two perspectives, if taken seriously, will have implications for how we view the factual claims about the world, as well as how we view moral truth. They will be the very mold that shapes our lives. They will demand things of us. Require us to change and become different from who we are. If we believe that we are going to live forever, many things that seem important from a finite perspective, such as career, wealth and social status, become unimportant. But I don’t think that the opposite is true. Our friends, family, our character and our moral choices are important both for this life and for the one to come. But some things that from a finite, atheist perspective are not just unimportant, but utterly nonsensical, such as going to church and in other ways spend time with God, become very important.

Therefore, I believe that these two perspectives need to be the foundation of the road that we travel on. They are true and written into everyone’s heart. And we don’t just need to believe that they are true. We also need to live as if they are. If we can’t feel them in our heart, it means that our hearts are numb. And if we don’t like the conclusions that they lead to and therefore decide to take a different route, we will inevitably get lost and fall into traps. This is why I believe that objective truth matters, no matter if that truth is about the physical world, spirituality or morals. In the end, when we start to see things clearly on a fundamental level, all of these areas fit together.

Perception, God and the Bible

We need to take back the control of our minds! In this blog post I will explore the conditions that we live under from my perspective as a Christian and believer in God. But I will try to do so in a manner that will offer some food for thought for anyone, regardless of prior beliefs. And I ask of you that you try and relate what I'm saying here to your own life and experience. Because it's so easy that we turn what we read into just empty word. Especially in these days, when so much is trying to catch our attention.

I believe that the truth is to be found in the Bible. I also believe in progressive revelation. This means that I don’t believe that the whole truth has been revealed to us yet. I believe that the truth of the Bible expands as we learn more about the world and the particular time that we are living in. And I believe that some of our current well-established interpretations need to be discarded, in favor of others that are more plausible.

We live in a world where everyone is trying to get our attention. But few seem to care about us as people. Some do. But when it comes to those that don’t, they at best want to use us to further an agenda that they truly consider noble. At worst, they want to ruthlessly exploit us purely for their own gain. To make it worse, what can be a noble agenda for one person, can be ruthless exploitation for another. It all depends on the person’s character and actual knowledge about the issue at hand.

Here is a little part of my experience: The more I learn about the world, myself and my being in the world, the more confusing I find everything. I bet many of you feel the same way. We don’t know who we can trust anymore. If we’ve started to understand just a little bit of what is really going on in the world, we know that we most definitely cannot trust politicians. Neither can we trust the mainstream media, nor public figures. And those that oppose the world views that are pushed by journalists and politicians for the most part don’t seem trustworthy either. 

To me, there is only one way out of this mess. Please tell me if you’ve found another. 

To you that don’t believe: I’m not asking you to believe without evidence. I’m only asking you to start paying more attention to your experience and being open to whatever you may find when you do so.

To me, God is not just something that I choose to believe in. To me, the existence of God is absolutely undeniable. It’s my lived reality. But since this knowing comes from personal experience, I cannot prove to anyone that I’m telling the truth. I do, however, believe that this is something that everyone can find out for themselves. That they can find this out by just opening up to the possibility that God might exist and want a personal relationship with us. By hoping that me and all those other countless people throughout history, that believe or have believed, are not just delusional. In this hopeless world, what have you got to lose? 

Something I do believe wholeheartedly, is that it’s more reasonable to believe that reality is more than what we can perceive with our five senses, than to believe that this is all reality is. If you look at history, it’s abundantly clear that we’ve never been able to trust what our senses seem to tell us about the world. Why would things be different today?

This is not an argument for the existence of God per se. Just an argument against the idea that matter is all there is. Ultimately, as I said in the beginning, our relationship with our creator is personal. It’s not about reason or rational arguments. 

With that being said, we can understand the conditions that we live under and thus gain more clarity. And I believe that, even though we ultimately can always put our trust in God, this is just what many of us have to do. Because there is a battle for our minds happening right now.

One fundamental condition that we live under, which is relevant for the discussion that is to follow is this: We only have access to the contents of our own minds. This is self-evident. And yet, many of us don’t reflect much upon what this means. When I started thinking about this, it changed my whole view of the world and how I relate to it. 

All I have access to, is my subjective experience. I cannot even know for sure that what I’m experiencing has any relation to what is going on outside of myself. I of course have to assume this to function in the world and not go crazy. And since I can communicate with others, they can confirm or disconfirm my experience. But I cannot know whether their experience is correct. Neither can I know that other people are telling me the truth about their experience. And to complicate things further, I cannot know that we mean the same things, with the words they use to describe their experience. For the most part, I can know the opposite: that words mean different things to different people.

Yet, truth seems to matter. A lot! We don’t like when people lie or deceive us. We also have emotions attached to many of our beliefs. When we do, we get uncomfortable when someone challenges our beliefs. If we have strong emotions attached to them we might get angry. Especially if we think that we have the arguments firmly on our side.

Let me give you an example of how our perception can become distorted:

Lately I’ve been thinking about when I studied psychology at the university. One subject was: “men that are abusive to their partners”. This was framed as men’s will to dominate women. Because this is what these men said in the interviews. We were given the image of a man that calculating used force to dominate their partner. But what if this is incorrect? These studies said nothing about who these individual men were. What if at least many of these men felt helpless in most areas of life, but tried to dominate the few areas where they could feel powerful? It doesn’t make it any more okay, but it sheds a totally different light on the problem. The problem is no longer dominant men that use force to subjugate women. It instead becomes broken, disempowered men that try to grab on to what little power they can in their lives, in the most dysfunctional, destructive way possible. I would never say that this is always the case. There are of course thoroughly cruel people, that use violence in a cold, calculated way. But what if these are the minority cases?

In other words: We have an event. We have the perpetrator that describes the event. He tells us how he sees what happened. Then we have the researcher that tries to understand what the perpetrator is communicating. The researcher then puts it down in his or her own words. And then we have these findings reproduced by other academics, that include them in their own papers or course literature. Then we finally have classes taught on the subject and students assimilating the information. We have now moved very far away from the actual situations and the people involved in them.

Now comes the interesting and quite frightening part. And the whole reason for this lengthy example: Our identities shape our perception of reality. If I assign a certain label to myself, such as “feminist”, “anti-feminist”, “alt-right”, “ or “anti-racist”, this label will become part of how I interpret and thus describe reality. None of us are immune to this. Labels come with an emotional charge. And while emotions are an important way of understanding reality, if we aren’t conscious of how they shape our thinking, they will inevitably distort our perception. So if someone, in this case a researcher, views information through a distorted filter, he/she will interpret the information in a way that conforms to his/her worldview. Unless he/she can be objective enough to override said worldview.

Our distorted perception works something like this: I will embrace certain information. Then reinforce it in my mind. I do this by thinking about it and what it means. And by discarding other information. I can look for valid ways of dismissing information that I don’t like. Or I can discard it completely without thinking. Or I can distort it so that I can dismiss it. This last way is called a straw man and is called so because a figure of straw is easy to knock down. We often have no problem seeing this way of reasoning in others. But it’s much harder to spot it in ourselves.

In short, we look for information that supports our beliefs. And not only that. We also interpret the information in a way that suppors said beliefs and describe it to others in a way that supports our beliefs. But to us, we are only stating facts.

This is also just one side of it. Now we add streaming services, social media and algorithms to the mix. It is today common knowledge that the algorithms of the biggest streaming services and social media, suggest media based on prior consumption. This means that if you are looking into information that is more right wing, you will see more and more information and perspectives related to this. And the same goes for the left. This has today created two very distinct camps that fiercely oppose each other, even if they in many ways share the same problems and concerns.

This is of grave concern, since this creates more and more animosity between ordinary people. This is by design, since those that truly prey on us want us to fight each other instead of seeing what is really going on. We could wake up from this nightmare and start opposing our captors. Instead we perpetuate the nightmare by hating our neighbor for not sharing our beliefs and hating ourselves for not living up to impossible standards. And since we’re told that religion is the root of all evil, we learn to hate religion as well. This in spite of the fact that godlessness and the sense of meaninglessness that it produces, is arguably the root cause of much of the degeneration of our culture. 

While we’re at the subject of those that govern us in the overall framework of perception: The actions of those that govern us don’t seem to make much sense. At least when looked at from the perspective of them representing those that voted them into office. On the other hand, if you start looking at the function of government from a different perspective it start start to make sense. This perspective would be: increasing control and surveillance, and transferring money from the masses into the hands of a wealthy few so that these wealthy few can increase their power.

All of this amounts, in my view undeniably, to something dark on the horizon. Something that is planned and by design. Something that is hidden in plain sight. Something that, once seen, cannot be unseen. 

In the storm that is coming, I put my trust in God. Because I know that God exists. And I have to believe and trust that God is who he says he is in the Bible. That he knows and wants what’s best for us. I cannot se where else there is hope to be found. 

Ever since I came to believe in God seventeen years ago I’ve immersed myself in religion and spirituality. Since then, I’ve only found more reasons to believe. And even though I’ve found plenty of reasons to doubt what I’ve believed, or change my beliefs, I’ve never found reason to doubt my core faith in a good, almighty creator. 

Throughout this time, I’ve not always been a Christian. It’s a faith that I’ve been growing into over the years with a lot of going back and forth, until finally something clicked. Something that began seventeen yeas ago, but came to fruition about six months ago. It can be summed up as an ever growing, inner knowing, followed by a sense of peace and joy, that grows with the knowing.

I believe that we can only take back our sovereignty with the help of God. By reconnecting with our creator. My belief in God and all that it entails is what colors my whole perception of reality. This is the lense that I choose to view the world, myself, other people and my relation to the world and other people through. 

The best way of understanding God and his will I have found in the Bible. I choose this lense because I believe it to be absolutely true. I believe the Bible to be the word of God, handed down through ordinary humans. Ordinary humans that were not called primarily because of their moral virtues. For some of them this was part of the reason. But many of them were great sinners. I think that part of the reason why they were chosen, was because God knew that they, sometimes reluctantly, would say yes and then do what needed to be done.

To me, since our reason is so fallible, I think that the question of whether a worldview seems to lead us where we want to go is very relevant. That this question should be taken seriously when we search for the truth. 

On this point, the Bible has never failed me, while all other teachings that I have chosen to guide me have done so. What the Bible says may at first seem counterintuitive. But it has always provided me with an accurate analysis of the world and the human condition. This analysis has helped me to break free from much of the unconscious programming of my mind. That which the world has instilled in me without me knowing it. Without me having made any conscious choices about it. 

The Bible has corrected many of my distorted perceptions. Thus it has helped me to gain clarity in areas such as career, family, dreams, goals, entertainment, sex and social relations. Areas where what has seemed reasonable from a human and our culture’s perspective, has proved to break down my psyche and spirit.

In this darkness that we are now facing, I believe that Jesus is the only truly valid guiding light. The ideal that we should strive for, no matter who we are, what we’ve done or what the world tells us. In my going back and forth, Christianity has never failed me. And I’ve always been led astray when I’ve deviated from it. So the Bible and the person and message of Jesus is where I’m going to put my trust to guide me through the chaos, which is soon to unfold.

But I’m not looking to convince you of anything, even if it might seem that way. What I want you to do, is find out the truth for yourself. And when doing so, it could be good to keep in mind, that ultimately everything is personal experience, i.e. subjective perception. Subjective perception of an objective reality.

God's will - The good news and the "bad" news

The good news is that your eternal life is going to be so much grander than eternal happiness and bliss in paradise. You are going to live in such a beautiful, loving, ecstatic, blissful connection with your creator, that the adjectives that I just used cannot even begin to describe it. 

This state is even available in this life and can be experienced longer and more intensely depending on our choices.

The “bad” news is the “depending on our choices” part. The “bad” news is that if we want to experience this, we have to do our best to stop doing what is bad for us and do more of what is good for us. We have to stop doing things that take us further away from God and do more of what brings us closer to God. Which means that we have to swallow our pride and do what God says. 

This starts on the inside. With a change of attitude. With the cultivation of humility. “Humility” is one of those words whose meaning is so important. And for me, one of those words that I hadn’t really reflected on until a couple of years ago. What does it mean to be humble? It was right in front of me. I could seriously brag about this or that without seeing that I had a problem with humility. And I can still get caught up in stubbornly wanting to have my will, even when I ought to know that it shouldn’t matter much. When I ought to know that there aren’t many things in this temporary life, in this temporary world that truly matter. Not from the perspective of eternity. Which is the perspective that will gradually remove the dust from our eyes.

Will I let the world fool me, trap me and control me while I attempt to have “my” will? Or will I freely choose God’s perfect will and allow him to set me free? The choice is easy once we see it clearly. We can either grasp for the empty pleasures that the world provides. Or we can fulfill our divine purpose. Which means enjoying the creation the way God intended for us to enjoy it. 

When infused with God’s spirit, our senses come fully alive. Everything feels, tastes, sounds, smells and looks better. The emotions associated with our sensations become stronger. Feel more real and meaningful.

You may ask: how can an omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite, eternal being be so personal that he has a will for each and everyone of us? And yet, this is exactly how it is. God wants to write us into his love story. We were made to love God and to be loved by God. This is the whole purpose of our existence. Sadly many of us don’t always live in a way that reflects this love. I don’t always live in a way that reflects this love.

We don’t just pray because it makes us feel good. Or because it puts us in a state where it's easier for us to believe in our ability to reach our goals. We pray because God listens to us. Because God wants to communicate with us. Because God is interested in us. Even if God already knows everything about us, he still wants us to turn to him consciously. To speak to him directly. And when we do, it changes us.

If we try earnestly, this is what we will eventually start feeling with all of our being. Not all of the time. In the beginning we will just have glimpses of this relationship. But these glimpses are so powerful that they will keep us going. We will want more of them. We will have more of them. In this life or the next one. And they will be more real and meaningful than anything we can ever experience without God.

God wants to give us everything. And all he wants in return is for us to seek his love, which is by far the best gift of all his gifts.

In a sense, finding out what God’s will is, is very simple. At least what to look for is very simple. 

God’s will is simply what comes natural, when we completely stop fooling ourselves. When we truly start acting in the manner that feels best in every given situation. In other words, when we get our egos out of the way, we will see that our will and God’s will are one. If God has a will and wants what’s best for us, how could it be any other way?

We can live in a natural flow or we can go against the natural flow. Resistance or non-resistance. This can be applied to anything in life. Does what I do follow the natural flow of life or does it disrupt it? This is something that we can only know for ourselves. But it is how life operates whether we like it or not. This is God’s will. And nothing that we tell ourselves can ever change that. The big mistake that has been made with regard to this throughout history is to attach morals to it. Hence, we have made something that needs to be understood on a personal level, into collective morals and dogma, that is forced upon people by the authorities. When we understand this principle, authorities become unnecessary. Because when we understand this principle, we understand that whatever action that goes against the natural flow of life, first and foremost damages the one engaging in the action. Do I want to hurt others and myself? Or do I want to heal others and myself? Do I want to get closer to, or further away from God? 

It is this simple. The difficult thing is not to understand this. The difficulty lies in letting go of our pride. It’s difficult to admit that we don’t have everything figured out. That our approach to many things comes from a need to be right and feel superior. Not from what will lead to the most happiness for everyone involved.

Furthermore, we have accumulated so much baggage, in the form the opinions and views of friends and family, that are just as- or even more confused than we are, of societal and cultural norms and expectations, habits, perceived needs and so on. Many times we haven’t really reflected on why we’ve adopted certain ideas and perspectives. It has more or less just happened. We’ve reacted to something long ago. And then we’ve used that reaction to interpret other similar experiences or information. And so it goes. Cause and effect with no real, conscious choices. 

I tell myself that I want something because of one reason. But really, my reason is another. Or at least, I’m not telling myself or others the whole truth. One example that I ran into a while back, was that I tried to stay fit because of health reasons. This was partially true. But the reason was also vanity. If it wasn’t, I would have worked out differently. This realization led to the choice of changing my workouts. Which I did. I started working out in a way that focused on improving my body instead of growing muscles and shedding fat. Which led me to having more pleasurable workouts. It also led me to the realization that I was basing a far from negligible part of my self-worth on how I looked, rather than who I was. Which also has prompted me to examine other areas where I base my self-worth on things that don’t really matter.

I’ve had a taste of what is possible when I let go of my ego’s petty wants and wishes. When I, for example, let go of my pride and need to be right. When I try to meet every person, regardless of the circumstances, with love and respect. Or when I just accept what is, instead of wishing for things to be different. Or when I stop needing that other people see me a certain way. And so on. There is such a light sense of freedom in this. And yet, when I try to let go of old patterns, I’m shaken by anxiety. And even though it feels like crap, I feel such a strong pull from these habits, that I often give in to them. Even though I know that I get absolutely nothing from giving in and even though I know that the anxiety has no basis in reality. 

In the end, God’s will is to live in harmony and not in disharmony. Harmony is what comes easy and natural. When we just can let go and trust, we won’t need anything else. We can put our lives fully in God’s hands. But until we are ready to do this, we will have to learn more about ourselves, struggle with ourselves and feel the pain of failure. Before we are ready to hear the voice of God on the inside all the time, we will need external sources to guide us. But remember this, even if we cannot se it from our current perspective, God and his Holy Spirit are always closer than anyone or anything in the world. The Holy Spirit will always work in our lives to the degree that we let go of our ego’s petty wishes and desires.