For
teaching purposes, let us consider the crucifixion
again. We have not dwelt on it before because
of its fearful connotations. The only emphasis
we laid upon it was that it was not
a form of punishment. Nothing, however,
can be really explained in negative terms
only.
The
crucifixion is nothing more than an extreme
example. Its value, like the value of any
teaching device, lies solely in the kind of
learning it facilitates. It can be, and has
been, misunderstood. This is only because
the fearful are apt to perceive fearfully.
While
we emphasized only the resurrection before,
the purpose of the crucifixion and how it
actually led to the resurrection
was not clarified at that time. Nevertheless,
it has a definite contribution to make to
your own lives. And if you will consider it
without fear, it will help you understand
your own role as teachers.
Your
Role as Teachers
You
have reacted for years as if you were being
crucified. This is a marked tendency of the
separated ones, who always refuse to consider
what they have done to themselves. Projection
(of responsibility) means...
anger,
anger fosters assault, and
assault promotes fear.
The real meaning of the crucifixion lies in
the apparent intensity of the assault of some
of the Sons of God upon another. This (assault),
of course, is impossible (in Reality), and
must be fully understood as an impossibility.
In fact, unless it is fully understood as
only that, I cannot serve as a real model
for learning.
Assault
can ultimately be made only on the body. There
is little doubt that one body can assault
another, and can even destroy it. Yet if destruction
itself is impossible (in Reality), then anything
that is destructible cannot be real. Therefore,
its destruction does not justify anger. To
the extent to which you believe that it does
(justify anger), you must be accepting false
premises and teaching them to others.
The
message which the crucifixion was intended
to teach was that it is not necessary to perceive
any form of assault in persecution, because
(in Reality) you cannot be persecuted. If
you respond with anger, you must be equating
yourself with the destructible (the body),
and are therefore regarding yourself insanely.
I
have made it perfectly clear that I am like
you, and you are like me, but our fundamental
equality can be demonstrated only through
joint decision. You are free to perceive yourselves
as persecuted if you choose. You might remember,
however, when you do choose to react that
way, that I was persecuted as the world judges,
and did not share this evaluation for myself.
And because I did not share it, I did not
strengthen it. I therefore offered a different
interpretation of attack, and one which I
do want to share with you.
If you will
believe it, you will help me teach it.
We
have said before, "As you teach, so shall
you learn." If you react as if you are
persecuted, you are teaching persecution.
This is not a lesson which the Sons of God
should want to teach, if they are to realize
their own salvation. Rather, teach your own
perfect immunity, which is the truth in you.
And know that it cannot be assailed.
Remember
always, that what you believe, you will teach.
Believe with me, and we will become equal
as teachers. You are not asked to be crucified,
which was part of my own teaching contribution.
You are merely asked to follow my example
in the face of much less extreme temptations
to misperceive, and not to accept them falsely
as justifications for anger. There can be
no
justification for the unjustifiable (anger
& assualt). Do not believe there is, and
do not teach that there is.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If
you will listen to His Voice, you will
know that you cannot hurt or be hurt,
and that many need your blessing to help
them hear this for themselves."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You
Cannot Hurt or Be Hurt
I
am the model for rebirth, but rebirth itself
is merely the dawning on your minds of what
is already in them. God placed it there Himself,
and so it is true forever. I believed in it,
and therefore made it forever true for me.
Help me to teach it to our brothers in the
name of the Kingdom of God, but first believe
that it is true for you, or you will teach
amiss.
My
brothers slept during the so-called “agony”
in the garden, but I could not be angry with
them because I had learned I could not be
abandoned. Peter swore he would never deny
me, but he did so three times. He did offer
to defend me with the sword, which I naturally
refused, not being at all in need of bodily
protection.
I
am sorry when my brothers do not share my
decision to hear only one voice, because it
weakens them as teachers and as learners.
Yet I know that they cannot really betray
themselves or me, and that it is still on
them that I must build my church. There is
no choice in this, because only you can be
the foundation of God’s
church. I must found His church on you
because you, who accept me as a model, are
literally my disciples.
I
elected both for your sake and mine to demonstrate
that the most outrageous assault, as judged
by the ego, did not matter. As the world judges
these things, but not as God knows them, I
was...
betrayed,
abandoned,
beaten,
torn, and
finally killed.
It
was perfectly clear that this was only because
of the projection of others, because I had
not harmed anyone and had healed many. You
are not asked to repeat my experiences because
the Holy Spirit, Whom we share, makes this
unnecessary. To use my experiences constructively,
however, you must still follow my example
in how to perceive them.
You
are not persecuted, nor was I. My brothers
and yours are constantly engaged in justifying
the unjustifiable (anger and assualt). My
one lesson, which I must teach as I learned
it, is that no perception which is out of
accord with the judgment of the Holy Spirit
can be justified. I undertook to show this
was true in a very extreme case, merely because
it would serve as a good teaching aid to those
whose temptations to give in to anger and
assault would not be so extreme.
Remember
that the Holy Spirit is the communication
link between God the Father and His separated
Sons. If you will listen to His Voice, you
will know that you cannot either hurt or be
hurt, and that many need your blessing to
help them hear this for themselves. When you
perceive only this need in them, and do not
respond to any other, you will have learned
of me, and will be as eager to share your
learning as I am.
|
|
Workbook
For Students Special Topics - Part 2
"Death
is a human affirmation of a belief in level confusion
(belief physical level is reality). That is why the
Bible says, "there is no death," Proverbs
12:28 and why I demonstrated that death does
not exist."
|