Wednesday November 28, 2007
By Neale Donald Walsch
Wednesday is Question and Answer Day on the blog...a time for exploring many of the questions that people have recently asked about the nine Conversations with God books and the New Spirituality. Here's this week's entry...
Topic: Are you a Christian?
Question asked by Jacqueline:
Neale...I just saw the movie based on your book and I cried so hard for the situation you were in (making eye contact with a young boy while leaning up against a dumpster eating a sandwich).
I too, was raised Roman Catholic and left the church in search of truth. I became a non-denominational Christian. I still find many people do not understand the depth of my love for people; it is not from me, but from God. I started a ministry called "God's kitchen" feeding and delivering hot meals to local shelters WITH LOVE. Not to be mistaken with a soup kitchen where many are treated like cattle. My children and I made cards for the shelter residents encouraging them to keep on going.
Unfortunately, our church no longer wanted "that riff-raff" to come to service on Sunday mornings, so I left the church too. Do you consider yourself a Christian? I am not sure what to make of all of this. I love your philosophy, but is it considered "Christian" or something else? It seems like I finally found one who thinks as I do and loves as deeply as I love.
Neale's Response:
My Dear Jacqueline...I would not describe myself as a Christian, at least not according to the fundamentalist Christian definition of which I am aware. I would describe myself as a Chrismuslijewdian.
I do not believe that there is only "one way to God", and that everyone who does not take that way is going to hell. I simply do not believe that. And frankly, I don't know many people who do. I know that they are out there, but I do not know many, personally. I think we've pretty much graduated from this limited idea. I think most of us pretty much understand that God welcomes all God's children back home, and that "spiritual worthiness" is not about taking a particular path or adopting a particular belief or saying a particular prayer or doing a particular ritual or following a particular discipline. I think most of us are clear that there is more than one way up the mountain.
And so I can declare that there is enormous truth in every religion -- but not the Whole Truth in any single one of them. Thus, I am also a Hindudibuddian. And a Mormonishintodian. In short, I guess I am an Everythingian.
Thank you for your kind words. And for the way you are choosing to show up in our world. If you keep this up -- sending all this love and goodness into the world -- I think I could become a Jacquelinian!
Love....Neale.
(Ask Neale may be accessed on a daily basis in the Messengers’ Circle at Neale's personal website: www.nealedonaldwalsch.com. Each week Neale selects a question from those posted there and publishes it in this blog.)
