Doctor of Spirituality (ACIM) of ULC Seminary - Lesson VI / The Nature of Prayer

Name:           Stefan Schulz

Date:             May 27, 2024

Course:        Doctor of Spirituality (ACIM) of ULC Seminary

Lesson:        VI – The Nature of Prayer

Hello Loretta, hello ULC Seminary, please find attached my coursework to lesson no. 6 / The Nature of Prayer. Thanks to this course, I am for the first time able to understand the true nature of prayer in all its fundamental aspects and integrate it into my daily life. Thank you for your support in reaching this higher level of understanding! Your brother in Christ, Stefan

Prayer Exercise:

1.    In your own words explain how prayer came to be and what is meant by the concept communication and creation are synonymous.

In my words, prayer is pure, unadulterated, total, and mutual communion of God with His creation. From a human perspective, prayer is both the celebration and thanksgiving of one's fully restored oneness with God, which means having both personally regained true spiritual life and being able to activate true spiritual life in others, through the radiance (= conscious and unconscious communication) of the perfection of God's light, which is love, forgiveness, joy, abundance, wisdom, truth, and peace.

In the Hebrew-Christian tradition, the act of initial "spiritual creation of life through communication" can originally be traced back to and is vividly depicted in the biblical book of Genesis 2:7: "And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul", as well as in the Gospel of John 1:1-4: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him nothing that was created was done. There was life in him; and life was the light of men."

Coming from this perspective, God can be understood in this context as the creating universal life force or universal life energy (= spiritually / biblically identified and labeled as "Holy Spirit"). Biblically speaking, God created humanity in His own "likeness" and "image" (see the biblical book of Genesis 1:26-27). This "likeness" implies that His creation is equipped with a particular medium or channel of communication with His Spirit, or for receiving His life energy respectively. This inherent, spiritual medium or channel can be referred to as the totality of the human "mind", "soul", or "consciousness", each with partial, different functions and characteristics (notice in this context the Gospel of Luke, 17:21, where Jesus spoke: "the kingdom of God is within you"; moreover, see the Epistle to Titus, 3:3-5, which states that the eternal life energy of God would be spiritually activated "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost", emphasis by the author).

Therefore, this restored oneness in prayer does not require any particular man-made form, rules, time, or space. It is simply about being spiritually one with God and all His creation in the universe.

2.    Explain to a friend the definition of true prayer according to A Course in Miracles. With the help of this friend make a list of the things for which people typically pray and describe how these things disguise the real problem and the real solution. Tell how they are substitutes for God's Answer.

As a result of a dialog with my wife, we derived the following list people typically pray for. Please notice that this list is only in categories and is certainly not exhaustive, as people's ego-driven prayer requests are certainly much more diverse and differentiated. Our list includes prayers for

§  protection against emergencies, threats or illnesses, protection of close people (family, friends, animals)

§  forgiveness from people who seem important to them

§  relief from worries, pain, fears, feelings of shame, guilt

§  happiness, peace, well-being, favorable fate

§  success (e.g. passing exams, professional development, power and influence)

§  health, vitality, strength, attractiveness, long life

§  material prosperity, wealth, financial independence

§  finding a suitable partner or friends, restoring of relationships

§  guidance in unfamiliar environments (e.g. professional or personal restart, moving)

§  thanksgiving for preservation, protection, favorable developments in the past

 

With regard to this list, our initial hypothesis is that all of these requests, wishes or desires are projections and reflections of people's egos, i.e. each derived from an egoistic perspective. This is because the common pattern of this ego driven prayers is that God is supposed to recognize and solve a problem that the ego has defined by itself, this by giving His help, by doing something desired or even by performing „miracles", based on the particular life situation which the ego in turn has created previously. 

Moreover, one can see that this ego-driven prayer pattern therefore allows no real answer, solution or guidance from God, because this kind of prayer request already implies in its request the result what the ego wants from God. 

In this context, the ego can be described as a selfish, worldly-programmed and therefore unnatural and unreal belief system of individual human consciousness which for this purpose has eliminated the oneness of God and man by (sub-) conscious choice. The ego has been built up over a lifetime and is perpetually evolving by emotions, thoughts and experiences of fear, success, happiness, guilt, shame, unforgiveness, rejection and conflict. This is because the ego constantly feels threatened in its existence and in its power of being reduced in size or even eliminated or replaced. In turn the ego wants to survive, dominate and expand, which is also expressed by ego-driven „prayer".

 As a result, these negative, perpetual patterns and (sub-) consciously programmed, harming mental and emotional figures („beliefs"/"dreams") are the main obstacles that prevent human beings from true prayer also. In this perspective, this kind of „prayer" then can easily be identified as a symbol of being in a perpetuate a state of „duality" (= spiritual separation of God and man).

From this perspective, ego-driven prayer is just an imaginary one-way street or a symbolic, potentially useful call for support from man to God, since the cause of the prayer request and the solution to it are completely created and dictated by the ego.

Because of its „false" approach, ego-rooted „prayer" is primarily oriented both towards negative „symptoms" (e.g. fear, guilt, shame, sadness, worries) and „results" of a separated life (e.g. feelings of lack of success, poverty, loneliness, pain). Such artificial "prayer" is not able to see and solve the real problems arising from the separation of man and God through the construction of the ego, nor can it grasp the only possible solution to these problems, namely the complete restoration of the oneness of creation with God.

In summary, such a „prayer" is therefore a purely symbolic, artificial act, since real, mutual communication in spiritual oneness with God is not intended to take place. It is a result of selfish, utilitarian, (sub-) conscious thinking by which the unnatural self (ego) seeks to protect itself. "Prayer" is then reduced to a placebo, a spiritually empty cry for help from the ego with regard to life situations and problems that it has caused itself.

 

3.    Tell how you would use the concept of true prayer to minister to a young person who was praying to win a basketball game, or a man or woman who was praying to find a spouse. 

In this cases I would use the concept of true prayer as follows in bullet point form, this with an understanding of the dynamics of the situation and the potential reactions of the persons and their particular state of consciousness. This could also result in a process with different stages that built on one another and which therefore could extend over a longer period of time:

·         At first I would tell the persons that I would like to understand their perspective of prayer, their desires and their needs. In this context I would ask them to depict why it is so important to them to win this game or to find a spouse.

·         After I understand their starting point, i.e. their (= ego-programmed, illusion-driven) desires (= egoic believe system) for success, recognition, fear avoidance, security, happiness, conformity to social norms or simply to be loved, I would try to direct the conversation to the point why they feel certain that their wishes or desires mentioned above would then come true by winning this particular game or by finding a spouse.

·         Furthermore, I would ask what makes them certain that God should have the same view towards them and their pursuit of success or happiness. Additionally, I would encourage them to ask themselves why winning such a game or finding a spouse couldn´t be as important to God or even to other people

·         I would also ask them, since they pray to God, whether they really love and trust God and whether they would accept His decision for their future path unconditionally and without sadness or resentment

·         More over I would encourage them to ask God in prayer to show them for what are they really looking for and what are they think what their wishes and desires tell them about theirselves and their current state of consciousness

·         Then as a final step I would invite them to pray together in the Spirit, using the „Prayer Vizualization" pattern described in this lesson. When visualizing, however, in my view it is important to pay attention to the fact that the "thinking" could be overshadowed by the ego and that true prayer must therefore be done purely, i.e. in a state of "ego-emptiness". Coming from this view, I would like to invite and

o   Coming from this view, I would like to invite and to encourage them to relax, to calm down and to feel their own breath in order to quiet their minds

o   then to imagine a beautiful river, to feel, to touch and to bath into the water, to feel its perfect temperatur and its peace, wonderful color and harmony with the natural environment

o   then to surrender to the flow of the water, to let go, to give in and simply to float with the flow

o   then to release every attachment and problem, every imagined solution and every thought and emotion about it to the river and to have trust and faith that the river will carry the problems, attachments and solutions wherever they go

o   then to feel that the river will carry the problems, attachments and solutions directly into the hands of God

o   then to receive the true answers and guidance of God to them in and by the Holy Spirit (the flow of the living water)

o   then to feel the love of God for them as well as the easiness, the freedom, the wisdom and peace within these answers

o   Finally thanksgiving in prayer in Jesus` name to be a son or daughter of God and to have been given the grace and the love to be in oneness with God and all of His creation

 

Doctor of Spirituality - Lesson 5: The Holy Spirit / coursework and prayer exercises of Stefan Schulz

Name:           Stefan Schulz

Date:             May 21, 2024

Course:         Doctor of Spirituality (ACIM) of ULC Seminary

Lesson:         V – The Holy Spirit

Hello Loretta, hello brothers and sisters of ULC Seminary, please find attached my weekly coursework. This beautiful lesson was very helpful to me with regard to my prayers and to my rational clarity concerning the effectiveness and perfection of the Holy Spirit. In Christ your brother, Stefan

Prayer Exercise: 

1.    Write a short essay describing the ways in which you agree or disagree with the Course's definition of the Holy Spirit. 

As a follower of Jesus Christ, who represents „the Son" of God (the Father) within the Holy Trinity of Christianity, I agree with the Course´s definition of the Holy Spirit as the third person of this trinity, this in his symbolism, in his characteristics and manifestations, in his functions as well as in his approachability.

At first, the description of the symbolism used in the lesson almost completely corresponds to the symbolism used in the New Testament, e.g.

·         Fire (Matthew 3:11)

·         Wind (Acts 2:2-4)

·         Water (John 7:37-39)

·         A dove (Matthew 3:16)

More over, the characteristics and the manifestations of the Holy Spirit used in the lesson are consistent to the „Biblical Trinity", see for example:

·         Genesis 2:7: The Holy Spirit is the „breath of Life"

·         Proverbs 2:6: The Holy Spirit gives „knowledge and understanding"

·         John 14:16/John 15:26: The Holy Spirit is a „comforter" or „advocate"

·         John 14:17: The Holy Spirit is the „Spirit of Truth", who „dwells with you" and „shall be in you"

·         John 14:26: The Holy Spirit is a „teacher"

·         1 Corinthians 12:7-11: The Holy Spirit gives „wisdom", „knowledge", „faith", „healing", „working miracles", „prophecy", „discerning of spirits", „divers kinds and interpretation of tongues"

·         Romans 8:11: This Holy Spirit who „raised up Jesus from the dead" is same that „dwell in you"

·         Romans 8:16: The Holy Spirit „bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God"

·         Galatians 5:22-23: The Holy Spirit brings fruit, that is „love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance"

Furthermore, the functions of the Holy Spirit used in the lesson are congruent to its biblical record (highlights by the author), e.g.

·         Ephesians 2:18: The Holy Spirt gives „access by one spirit unto the Father" and is therefore the link back to God

·         2 Corinthians 10:5: By the Holy Spirit one is able to „cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God". In this regard the Holy Spirit ends illusion and duality, in other words the separation of God and His creation

·         John 6:63: Therefore the Holy Spirit brings „life", not death

·         John 16:13: The Holy Spirit „will guide you into all truth" and will end all unnatural, egoic programming

·         2 Corinthians 3:17-18: As a result the Holy Spirit brings „liberty" and „transformation": „Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Another very important aspect of the Holy Spirit which is congruent to the biblical perspective, is his approachability. The definition of the Course that the Holy Spirit resides in every human being (this is why the Holy Spirit can be activated by the „washing of regeneration und renewing", which is in turn a description of the biblical „being born again" - experience), is also the key principle how to turn to and to communicate with, in and by the Holy Spirit (highlights by the author):

·         Jesus says in Luke 17:21 „the kingdom of God is within you". By using metaphorical language Jesus depicts the fact that the Holy Spirit resides in every human being

·         Titus 3:5 shows in this context: „Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost"

·         The same one can find in 1 Corinthians 6:19: „your body ist he temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you"

·         Jesus says in John 3:5-6: „Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Asking for and praying in the Holy Spirit (as well as through meditation and contemplation) are the most important tools for every human being to turn to and to access the Holy Spirit, e.g.

·         Luke 11:13: Jesus Christ spoke: „If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

·         John 14:14-17: Jesus Christ spoke: „If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

·         Ephesians 6:18: Paul wrote to God´s children in Ephesus: „Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit"

2.    Give a personal example of how you believe the Holy Spirit has functioned in your own life? 

Since I was a child, I have always felt and known that the Holy Spirit resides in me, even if I could not express or make this understandable to me and others with words or thoughts at that time.

On March 15, 2015, I had an initial awakening experience through Jesus Christ, who revealed himself to me in a personal encounter. Without asking and without any prior notice, He broke through my ego-induced consciousness overlays for the first time. Since then, I was initally able to emotionally and rationally understand and describe what it means when the Holy Spirit resides and works in, by and with me. After that experience, the Holy Spirit constantly had taught, protected and guided me to the point where I understood through his spiritual revelation that as a child of God and follower of Jesus Christ, I actually always was, am and will be one with God and His universe. In turn, I understood at this point, that I am not "just" a "child" or a "random being" who has experienced, respected and idolized God so far, but can otherwise continue to live and act autonomously, i.e. to be a creature that can exist split-minded or exist in a status of „duality".

In other words, over time, the Holy Spirit started to cleanse me of all unnatural, ego-driven programming of my various levels of consciousness and evolved me into what I always was, am, and will be: an eternal Son of God brought into this world after His spiritual image. This to celebrate, multiply and share true life in a spiritually open, experiential garden of love, joy, forgiveness, peace, justice and wisdom, as a creation and expression of God, and as such to be spiritually connected to the entire universe as well as to my forerunner and brother Jesus Christ, who is the light, the way and the truth.

Doctor of Spirituality - Lesson 4: Forgiveness / coursework and prayer exercises of Stefan Schulz

Name:           Stefan Schulz

Date:             May 14, 2024

Course:         Doctor of Spirituality (ACIM) of ULC Seminary

Lesson:         IV – Foregiveness

 

Dear brothers and sisters of ULC Seminary, dear Loretta, please find attached my coursework.  Thank you very much for this lesson in forgiveness, which showed me and sharpened very important aspects for my further path. It was a great joy and very enlightening for me to study this course and apply it in prayer. Your brother in Christ, Stefan

1.    Explain how you agree or disagree with the Course's view of true forgiveness. Give examples that support your thoughts. 

As for the Course's view of true forgiveness, I generally agree with its perspective, principles and its approach. However, when it comes to the three steps of true forgiveness presented in the lesson and in the Course, I take a different view regarding their order. 

In my perspective, the first step should be self-forgiveness (the healing of our perception of ourselves). This is necessary due to the reason, that the urge for forgiveness is based on the fact that it is a reflection of one's own unnatural (sub)consciousness programming on other members of God´s family. A spiritually pure, non-dual consciousness that is in harmony with God would require neither self- nor other-forgiveness. In this respect, self-forgiveness is the first step, as it is intended to eliminate any possible, previously unrecognized duality, i.e. a disruption of the unity between God and the true self. 

Through the act of self-forgiveness and thereby the restoration of the unity of God and the true self, it is then possible, in a second step, to project His divine forgiveness towards all other people as part of divine creation. Because only in spiritual oneness with God will one be able to see Christ in other people purely, naturally and in all perfection and in this light will one furthermore be able to recognize and to understand their unnatural deeds, these programmed and controlled by their ego-centric belief system. 

In this context, a good example seems to me to be the past relationship with my father. In my childhood and youth, this relationship was particularly characterized by mental and physical abuse (e.g. humiliation, belittling, beatings, breaking off contact, manipulation of all kinds). After my unity with God has been restored by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, I was also able to see my earthly father's true, divine nature for the first time, that is, see through him to his true essence. I saw his buried, divine nature emerge again and again in individual actions and moments and understood his entire tragic conflict and self-imprisonment. 

Finally, I realized that he is not able to help himself on his own or through third parties as long as he is caught in his false, programmed ego-consciousness. In this context, it became clear to me that for as long as I have known and experienced him, he has lived and acted in a state of complete separation, i.e. within his completely unnaturally programmed belief system and that this belief system has become extremely solidified over the years. For him, it has become a self-made prison. The reasons for his unnatural state are in my understanding a pronounced inferiority complex, i.e. the feeling of being inferior to his own sister (lack of love and competition for love and attention) and a strong feeling of being neglected and rejected by other people. This has resulted in an unhealthy isolated life style as well as in emotions and thoughts such as fear, self-justification and judging other people, competitiveness and a manipulative, utilitarian mindset towards other people. 

After realizing this, I lost my fear, negative feelings and thoughts towards him and was able to forgive him completely. Then I further realized that I, in particular, as an ordained son of God in Jesus Christ, have the power, the privilege and the ability to radiate divine love and forgiveness onto him, as my heavenly father does it onto me. 

 

2.    Re-write one of your own prayers for forgiveness in light of the true forgiveness taught by the Course. Show the before and after examples here: 

Before: Heavenly Father, Abba, I pray to you in the name of my Lord, Light, Redeemer, Liberator, Savior, King, High Priest, Way, Truth, Judge and Shepherd Jesus Christ, who is in me and I in Him. Please restore the relationship to my father, forgive him all his hurtful habits and deeds and pull him into Your presence, that he may be purified and changed according to your will. Please help him. Amen.

After: Heavenly Father, Abba, I pray to you in the name of my Lord, Light, Redeemer, Deliverer, Savior, King, High Priest, Way, Truth, Judge and Shepherd Jesus Christ, who is in me and I in him. Thank you that I now have fully understood and restored my position as your Son in Jesus Christ. I know that through this I have the power, the privilege and the mission to reflect Your love, joy and forgiveness onto all creation. Thank You for the gift to see my earthly father with Your eyes for the first time. Please utterly heal my wrong perception and reflection of this longtime situation. So I ask You to remove any mental and spiritual obstacles that might still hinder me and thereby please end my self-imprisonment in this regard. Please forgive me and delete all my potentially negative, unreal thoughts and reactions when dealing with my father in the future. I pray to You that Your Spirit will guide our relationship into perfect love, understanding, wisdom and strength, according to Your will. Amen.

Course: Doctor of Spirituality (ACIM) of ULC Seminary - Lesson 3: Jesus

Name:           Stefan Schulz

Date:             May 4, 2024

Course:         Doctor of Spirituality (ACIM) of ULC Seminary

Lesson:         III – Jesus

Hello Loretta and brothers and sisters of ULC Seminary, thank you very much for this beautiful, in-depth study of Jesus Christ! Here are my exercises:

1.    Write an explanation of your understanding of Jesus' role as The Lamb of God. Include how your understanding compares to the one expressed in A Course in Miracles. 

As a follower of Jesus Christ, my understanding of Jesus` role as the Lamb of God is mainly rooted both in the books of the „Old Testament" as well as in those of the „New Testament". In this context, the Old Testamtent describes how the „passover lamb" saved God´s people, the Israelites (the hebrew meaning of „Is-ra-el" can be loosely translated into „Man who rules as God"), from death. The blood of a sacrificial lamb, which was used to mark the entrance of their homes, was the covering, protection and redemption (see Exodus 12:1-14) of the Israelites from death. If their entrance was covered by the blood of an innocent, faultless lamb without „blemish and spot", the angel of death could not enter but had to pass over that house. The Hebrew word for passover is „Pesach". This hebrew word means to come under the protection of God by „stepping over" something, in this case the threshold or the entrance into the home, which represents life, because the Angel of death could not enter. Isaiah, a major Old Testament prophet who lived around 700 years before Jesus, already spoke of the suffering a human lamb would experience (see Isaiah 53). This points directly to the New Testament, when John the Baptist introduced Jesus with the words: „Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:36). In 1 Peter 1:18-21 one can read with regard to the meaning of Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God: „Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God."

In my perspective and with particular regard to the above mentioned scriptures, the role of Jesus as the lamb of God represents or symbolizes - by His death and resurrection - the way back to our inner, true, unchangeable, eternal, innocent, thus godlike self, which always was and eternally is without „blemish and spot", because it is a reflection, a creation, a representation of God (see Luke 17:21: „… the kingdom of God is within you"). Therefore the ordained role of Jesus was to end the duality between man and Go as a living example or reality. This particular, biblically unique role is well depicted in Hebrews 6:19-20, too, namely by „a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf " („the curtain" = the ego, the unnatural, programmed „self"; „the inner place" = the true self which is holy and which universally, unchangeable and eternally exists as separated from the temporarily old/programmed/wrong self and is therefore one with God; „our forerunner" = our „elder brother").

More over, the end of duality between man and God as a result of the ministry of the Lamb of God is described in very beautiful metaphorical language in last two chapters of the prophetical book of Revelation, which is the last book of the New Testament. Revelation 21:21-27 says in this context: „And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." In Revelation 22:1-5 it is written on that point: „And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."

In my conclusion, the (biblical coined) understanding of Jesus as the lamb of God is in essence the same as it is expressed in „A course in miracles".

 

2. Ask a friend to give you their interpretation of the meaning of the quote below; then give them your interpretation of it based on what you have learned. Write a couple of pages on what the two of you talked about. 

The name of Jesus is the name of one who was a man but saw the face of Christ in all his brothers and remembered God.

The interpretation of my wife, who I asked to give me her valued view of the meaning of the quote, can be described by the following key points:

-       Jesus was human because he showed human emotions (e.g. pain); more over He was tempted by Satan (see Matthew 4:1-11) and was thereby reduced to His humanity likewise

-       But Jesus was not only human, but also God; „Jesus" is not the same as „Christ"; the name „Jesus" (meaning: „God saves") depicts His humanity, while the expression „Christ" („Messiah") depicts His deity

-       The term „all his brothers" seems to include all humans, not only the biblical Israelites; therefore all humans are sons and daughters of God like Jesus himself; more over, according to the biblical book of Genesis, they are all created in the likeness of God

-       Jesus Christ did not die on the cross, because only His body then died; before that, His ego had died at the time as He saw the face of Christ in all his brothers and remembered God, in other words at that time His status of duality had ended and He became one with the Spirit of God  

-       Jesus thereby became a living reality, a mediator, a bridge to God for all humans to lead them out of their status of duality and back to God by His Spirit (Holy Spirit, third person of the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit)

My interpretation of the quote is that Jesus is the name of a human being, created and ordained by God, who represents a way to end the duality between God and man by re-discovering his God-given, eternal, pure, natural unchangeable, universal, true self and consequently His ultimate oneness with God. He saw His true self or nature/spiritual essence/God-likeness in all of His brothers and sisters likewise („the face of Christ"), this instead of their superimposing „ego", which governs (sub-) consciously their lifes and actions. By perceiving both the universal true self and by decoding the human ego, He was able to remember and to understand the true purpose of God´s creation, which is to extend love, forgiveness, peace, joy and spiritual guidance to help other people to re-discover their true self and purpose. 

The ego can be described as the selfish, worldly-programmed and therefore unnatural and unreal belief system of individual human consciousness which eliminates the oneness of God and man with all creation by choice, that is primarily driven by emotions, thoughts and experiences of fear, guilt, shame, unforgiveness, rejection and conflict. As a result, these negative, perpetual patterns and (sub-) consciously programmed, harming mental and emotional figures („beliefs"/"dreams") are the main obstacles that prevent human beings from identifying and selecting their true self, which in turn constitute and perpetuate a state of „duality" (= spiritual separation of God and man).

In our dialogue we talked about the following additional topics and questions:

-       What is the significance of biblical baptism?

-       Was Jesus predestined by God for his role as a living reality of the combination of humanity and divinity?

-       Could Jesus only recognize God in other people because he was God or because he had received the Spirit of God?

-       What are similarities and differences between Jesus and Adam, Abraham, Moses, Melchizedek, Buddha?

-       What are similarities and differences between Jesus and ordinary humans? Are there differences in their nature/essence?

 

3. Write about what it means to call upon the name of Jesus in prayer according to A Course in Miracles. Tell about how you agree or disagree with the Course's approach.

According to „A Course in Miracles", in my perspective the role of Jesus can be described by several characteristics and stages:

-       Jesus as a human being, created and ordained by God

-       Jesus as a perfect reflection of God, the Father and His promises

-       Jesus as a Son of God

-       Jesus as a light & spiritual guide for humans to re-discover their true, unchangeable, eternal, godlike self

-       Jesus as our older brother, as our „forerunner"

-       Jesus as a bridge or mediator for His followers/disciples

-       Jesus as a way to end the duality between God and man

-       The oneness of Jesus and the Father (the state of being „Christ")

To call upon the name of Jesus in prayer is to identify oneself with Jesus & His Spirit and therefore to enter into the full, unseparated, perfect presence of God, the Father, or, in other words, to be one with the Father. More over to call upon the name of Jesus in prayer is a well-founded, authorized call to God to make all His amazing promises accessible to us as His Sons and Daughters which He made accessible to Jesus. These promises involve in particular love, joy, freedom, forgiveness, peace, life.

In my daily prayers I often start with the words „Heavenly Father, Abba, I pray to you in the name of my Lord, Light, Redeemer, Liberator, Savior, King, High Priest, Way, Truth, Judge and Shepherd Jesus Christ, who is in me and I in Him." Therefore I fully agree with the Courses´s  approach to call upon the name of Jesus in prayer.

Best regards from your brother in Christ,

Stefan