IS IT CORRECT TO REGARD A PERSON AS AN OUTCAST?

Generally speaking an outcast is a person who is rejected or cast out from home or society, or in some way excluded, looked down upon, isolated, rejected, or ignored.

Aside this general description, there are various caste systems world over under which some people in a particular society are regarded as freeborn and another group of people are considered inferior. In certain extreme cases some people in the same society are regarded as outcasts or untouchables. These systems can be borne out of a religious belief in which case, the caste system remains despite all modernization. In other cases the system operates to create societal divisions based on occupation and ethnic ties.

All of these forms of discrimination cannot be supported by the Laws of God which only promote love and justice and regards all men as equals! Where such tyrannical caste or social structures are found, there you have on display the reign of terror devised by the calculations of man.

To regard a fellow human soul as an outcast just because he is born to a certain class of society is an evidence of a lack of love. If such attitude is based on religious beliefs then its followers cannot make a valid claim to recognize the Almighty Who is Love.

And where a society is divided into classes, it is better not to have one class above the other. Such oppressive social structures that places one group of society above another only brings about disharmony and unrest. The so called high class people will be arrogant and the lower classes will be discontented and even bitter. Social tensions, crime and general insecurity are some of the results of this unsustainable structure.

Where man adheres to the Laws of his Maker, then there will be sincere love amongst the peoples and no one will be discriminated against by virtue of the circumstance of his birth. And where there has to be a class structure, then each class will stand side by side, giving and receiving from each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

When all is said and done, the real outcasts are those creatures who out of stubbornness continuously disobey the Laws of God. They indulge in sin and revel in harming their fellow men. It does not matter if these people adhere to a religion believing that they can ask for forgiveness at the last moment. Unless they repent now, and continually do the Will of the Almighty, they shall be considered by the Laws of God as outcasts belonging to the Darkness who shall be cast out from the Light and denied the grace of eternal life!

Does a prayer offered by the living on the dead have any effect?

The departed are still living human spirits like us on earth! The main difference between them and those on earth is that they have discarded their physical bodies.

On leaving the flesh, the departed one simply changes his location from one part of Creation to another part. The departed is held fast to the environment in the beyond which corresponds with the way he has lived his life while on earth. So, there are communities in the beyond for those who relish bearing false witness, for those who are robbers, hoodlums and so on. These areas are dark and each one tries to inflict harm on the other thus creating for themselves spheres of great suffering! These are the regions of the beyond which have come to be recognized as hell.

Those who are noble minded will however find themselves in the regions of Light in the beyond and they continue to work with those of like nature for the further maturity of their spirits.

Where then does the prayer for the departed come in? Since the departed are still in Creation, and have not ceased to exist, those on earth can still pray or intercede for them. One can pray so that help may reach them to point them in the direction leading to spiritual ascent. For it is possible that after much suffering a soul in the dark regions might still change and in its agony plead for help. This can lead him out of the dark regions and suffering.

Even for the departed who while on earth was already striving towards spiritual ascent, prayers will still have the effect of strengthening him as he makes his way upwards to the Eternal Gardens above.

We should strive to recognize that Creation is one. The different spheres of existence in Creation can be visualized as different countries belonging to one continent. Therefore, those who depart this earth do not simply cease to exist but have relocated to another part of Creation. The effects of man's thoughts and prayers are able to reach farther than this earth and therefore his prayers and thoughts can be of benefit to those who have departed this life.

However, as indicated above, what is decisive for the departed is the way they have lived here on earth. Those who abide by the Laws of God will ascend to higher regions of Creation; while those who stubbornly cling to their evil propensities will fall into the regions of darkness and damnation!

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Traditional marriage or court wedding- which one does the Creator recognize?

What is important is not the form of a wedding ceremony. The essential thing and what brings spiritual benefit is for a man and a woman of complementary qualities to unite on the basis of true love of the soul. Furthermore, the two who wish to live together need to share the common goal of striving to attain spiritual maturity and must be ready to walk side by side on this path as worthy partners.  

The attendant ceremony to a marriage does not on its own confer spiritual legitimacy on the marriage. In fact, many marriages contracted inside the finest of cathedrals before large audiences and the flashes of the cameras of the world press have ended up in bitter separations amidst allegations and counter allegations of gross indiscretion and malicious conduct. Many more are still being sustained not because there is love between the two but because there is a lot to lose in the material sense should there be a divorce. Many of such immoral marriages abound in the world today. They are mere earthly contracts which confer on those involved exactly what they want. This can be material security, or the assurance of having a person with whom to indulge and satisfy their physical needs under the cover of a socially acceptable association.    

The reason for getting married has to be clear from the onset. Some get married simply to gain freedom from their parents and have a family of their own to control. A young lady can enter into a marriage just to annoy or spite a former boyfriend   and to prove she can end up in the arms of a higher bidder! It is rare these days to find couples who have come together based on the mutual wish to go on the path of spiritual development.

Where a marriage is based on the right foundation however, the couple will naturally and joyfully grow towards spiritual ennoblement. They will live together harmoniously and they gain both materially and spiritually. The marriage becomes a blessing for the couple and their wider environment. The union of such a couple is blessed from Above and their marital happiness is assured right from the start. 

Of course, there is the need to observe the relevant local laws and the prevailing custom in solemnizing the union. The inner devoutness of the couple concerned bestows on the union a higher consecration and brings real and strong spiritual blessing to the couple. Marriages such as these are the ones that can be described as having been made in heaven. They are the ones recognized by God!

Are men able to see and hear God?

A popular cleric once told his television audience how he was transported to Heaven one day and was able to overhear the discussions between The Almighty and Jesus! Certainly many have come across more or less similar and I daresay arrogant claims.

In Truth however, it is impossible for a man to see or hear God! This is for the simple reason of the lack of homogeneity between the Creator and all that has been created. Only Two Persons can approach the Almighty directly – The Son of God and The Holy Spirit. This is because they are both a Part of God and are One with Him. No one else can bear the pressure of God’s Presence or an approach!

On very rare occasions, special messages from Above can reach man through God’s messengers. One can here refer to the exceptional circumstances linked with the birth of Christ when an Angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and later on to the shepherds. On such occasions man is exposed to a tiny part of the pressure from above and he is overwhelmed with fear. This always makes it necessary for the heralds from on High to always say ‘be not afraid’ when addressing the human beings concerned.

What is more usual is that instructions and guidance can reach us from Helpers in the beyond. These speak to us through a part of our conscience and by listening to their gentle advice we are aided to refrain from doing that which is wrong. Furthermore, when we seriously ponder over something, this thought can become strong, magnetic, and able to penetrate to higher spheres from where it attracts higher thoughts which we often describe as inspiration!

There is in addition a promise for those who are pure in heart: they shall “see” God. However, this means that they will see God in His Works. Through Creation, The Almighty speaks to us. If we prayerfully observe Creation we will gain an understanding of the Will of God and by applying this we become pleasing to our Maker and our welfare is assured.

Finally, it is presumptuous for man to assume a personal attitude towards God without regard for the huge worlds and cosmic distances in between, which cannot be pushed aside as if non-existent. Let us remember that even when it became necessary to give man a direct Message from Above, God had to send a Mediator. He did this by severing a Part of Himself and incarnating Him on earth as Jesus Who lived on earth as an Envoy of God, with the sacred Mission of delivering God’s Message of Salvation.

Since it is said that the Creator can foresee all of our future decisions, why does He still test us?

The answer to this riddle lies in the fact that man is endowed with free will as a natural quality! He may think freely, speak as he desires and act in accordance with his own plans. However, the human spirit is subject to the consequences of each and every one of his thoughts, words and deeds. 

The Almighty neither tests nor tempts anyone! We are the ones who judge or redeem ourselves through our attitude to His unchangeable Laws. The Almighty in His Love gave us the Commandments and the Laws to help and to guide us unto paths that lead to our welfare. Obedience to these Laws leads to our happiness and makes us to become pleasing to our Creator. The Lord has provided all that works for our salvation and setting of snares for man is definitely not a part of His Works.   

Going back to man’s free will, let us picture a man holding a stone in his hand. He can decide to throw it or not to throw it. But once he throws it, he has no control over what the stone can hit or destroy. Yet the stone thrower remains responsible for any damage caused by the stone. Similarly, we freely choose what we do, but we are then bound to the consequences of our actions. These consequences are worked out in the Laws that govern the whole of Creation one of which is the Law of Sowing and Reaping which ensures that we reap what we have sown previously through our words, thoughts and deeds.

These Laws of Creation work automatically on us and all we produce and the Almighty does not need to know in advance how and what each and every one of us will   decide to do. However, what can be foreseen from Above are the consequences of our decisions which are brought about through the operation of the aforementioned Laws of Creation.

To sum up, let us always be mindful that we are responsible for all of our free decisions. This immense responsibility cannot be cast on any other person. We are not just robots playing out a pre-determined script for which we have no control and for which we are therefore not responsible. Furthermore, the Almighty does not tempt us. Temptations only come out of the darkness and even then, the decision to resist or fall for such temptations lies squarely in the hands of man himself. Therefore, even in the case of temptations, man is still responsible for his subsequent actions because his freedom to make decisions always remains in full force and effect!

Is hell real?

Hell is real. It is a place of intense suffering that holds great dangers for all those who by their attitude have to go there!

When a human being leaves the flesh, he is transported by the operation of the Laws of Creation to the area of the beyond which corresponds to how he has lived his life while here on earth. Where we have lived a life of purity and childlike obedience to the Will of God which manifest in His Laws, we are permitted to dwell in the lighter part of the beyond. From there we proceed higher and higher till we finally reach the gates of Paradise, the abode of the blessed.

On the other hand, all those who have lived their lives in disobedience to the Will of God, who have declared by their attitude that only material things are of value, will find themselves in corresponding regions of the beyond. These people have not put God first. They had other gods like their own personal comfort, family, money, power, position, fame and so on. For these things they could do just about anything! They indulged in all kinds of abomination and did not hesitate to cause harm to their fellow men in the pursuit of their personal desires. People who act in this way often feel weighed down in their sober moments. That which they feel at such moments is real and indicates that the burden of their wayward life is already pressing down their souls!

When these wicked ones leave the flesh, the Laws of Creation ensures that they go to dark regions of the beyond where they will encounter people who are similarly dark and spiritually heavy. For example there are places in the beyond where murderers, thieves and the likes co-exist. Their ugly passions will grow stronger through the effect of intermingling. They will carry out their inner urges without restraint on each other in a mad rage! It is not hard to imagine the kind of mutual torment and suffering that will prevail in such places. These are the realms of darkness and damnation, the much talked about hell!

The real danger however is that these dark regions together with their inhabitants are still in the world of matter. But there comes a time when the world of matter will have to disintegrate so that it can be formed anew. All those who by that time are unable to cross over to the eternal Spiritual Part of Creation will be destroyed along with the collapsing world of matter! Such will have their names erased from the Book of Life and that alone is eternal damnation!