Creating a Cultural Shift

A new spiritual awareness to solve global problems

Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All." – from The Gospel of Thomas, Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin, James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, revised edition. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990.

It seems to me that the current situation challenges the relationship that some people have with creation. The quotation given above seems to me to be doubly relevant both because it recognises that questioning and re-evaluating the truth on the basis of new knowledge is troubling and also because its source may be a new and perturbing revelation to some in the so called ‘Christian West’. I am tempted to suggest that there are people who confuse ‘fossil’ religious opinions (as in beliefs from the past that they have been taught to accept without question) with genuine spiritual insight. Seeing yourself as a part of, rather than apart from and in dominion over the world about us should not be opposed to anyone who accepts the founding texts from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, as they all claim to believe in one God and one creation. Unfortunately, I am aware that Christian teaching has be subject to political interference and reinterpretation to make it more acceptable to those in power since it was made the State Religion of Imperial Rome in the early Fourth Century. We are therefore fortunate that by accessing the internet at sites such as the Gnostic Society Library we can now read material that has been lost or hidden but gives a broader perspective for those who are genuinely interested to understand whether the sayings of Jesus really do offer insight into a greater truth about our relationship with creation and the Creator. I believe that such a cultural shift has to take place to reach the level of understanding required for humanity to break out of its self-destructive past nature. Enjoy the search because the reward could be greater and more wonderful than you can possibly imagine.

Paul Newman

June 2006