CHRISTIANITY WITH AN EDGE-WITH SCOTT E. ROKELY

I talk about Father Gary Thomas who spends many hours a month performing exorcisms. The accuracy of the movie- "The Rite," is discussed as well as the close connection between Father Thomas and this movie. Ouija boards, the occult, exorcisms, a time I had a brush with the occult, and the Roman Catholic Church's exorcism school in Rome are all discussed.

Kills your soul, that is. Listen as I discuss how both Jesus the Christ and the Buddha warn us of the dangers of human desires. The reason desire is so dangerous is because it replaces God's Law of Perfect Love with another law, which is the law of "I want what I want right now!" How could 7 billion people operating under this law all at the same time ever make this perverted law work? They can't. Love, compassion, desire, selfishness, and the amazing similarities between the thoughts of Jesus the Christ and Buddha are all discussed.

Jesus words were for all people because they all came from the pre-existent Universal Spirit of Christ who made the entire Universe, and everything and everyone in it is filled with this Spirit. As Jesus himself said several times, he himself had nothing to say. Listen as I explain why some of Jesus' words, for example John 14:6, are so badly misinterpreted by some. Guys, this isn't hype: this understanding can change your life!

Up to this point in history, the Christian Church has pretty much ignored the concept of a Pre-existent Universal Christ which is plainly taught all throughout the New Testament. Listen as I discuss an exciting way to rethink Christianity.

The Christ existed before the Universe. Jesus of Nazareth existed starting around 0 A.D. The Christ created the Universe, and fills everything. Jesus of Nazareth did not create the Universe, but the Christ Spirit in him did. Listen as I talk about the drastic differences between "The Christ" and "Jesus of Nazareth." These differences have life changing global implications. And this is all easily provable by many verses in the New Testament.

As a child I was traumatized by a shocking event that taught me the crucial difference between Power vs. Force. Listen as I discuss the lesson I'll never forget.

In our own strength it is extremely difficult to open our heart to people outside of our own family. But with the help of the Spirit of Christ, you will be able to see others from God's perspective, and you will be able to meet every twist and turn of life with the overwhelming strength of God, not just your own resources.

Yes, if you give, you will get. But such giving has never impressed Jesus. Listen as I talk about God's preferred motivation for giving, one that really impressed Jesus. Selfish Christian ministry fundraising, so called "Christian TV," and the Giving To Get Gospel are all discussed.

Although Jesus based his entire ministry on non-violent resistance to evil, even Jesus was violent on one occasion. Listen as I discuss what made Jesus so angry that he cleansed the temple.

Didn't Jesus tell us to "turn the other cheek?" Yes, he did. But in his own life and ministry even a casual reading of the gospels reveals a person who is feisty, who regularly defended himself from verbal attacks, who seemed to prefer to turn other people's cheeks rather than his own, who was verbally assertive and even aggressive with people who opposed him, and who on one occasion used physical violence against those who were hurting other people. How do we sort all of this out? I offer one way.

General George Patton once famously said, "War is Hell." But almost everyone gets caught up in fighting our own mental wars with others in our minds. And the result of all this war mentality such as unforgiveness, hatred, impatience, prejudice, and constant criticism and judgment of others is HELL.

Heaven and Hell are not simply places you go to in the future. They are places people live in right now on this Earth. Listen how otherwise intelligent people choose to live in Hell, right now!

People can create their own Heaven or their own Hell through what they choose to think about all day. Hell is not so much a place God might send you to, Hell is a State of Mind you can send yourself to by what you choose to think about all day.

Are you sick and tired of having your mind filled with strife, and being upset, frustrated, angry, and feeling disillusioned with life? I've got good news for you. You can have peace of mind. There's only one thing you need to do.

Air France flight 447 teaches us four crucial life lessons. Listen to how one tragedy occurred to prevent a similar tragedy in your life.

All of the world is a living parable intended to teach us valuable life lessons. This week's podcast is a discussion of what life lessons can be learned from the crash of Air France flight 447.

Many world religions teach that God takes either human form, or other form to help us and teach us important lessons. Listen as I talk about someone who had to die to learn this important lesson.

It may come as a shock to some, but Jesus thought like, acted like, and spoke like, a raving liberal. He was shockingly liberal for his day. Listen as I discuss how liberal Jesus dealt with the religious leaders of his society.

Jesus Christ felt free to change the rules laid down by God in the Old Testament. Actually, he did much more than that. Listen as I discuss how Jesus interpreted and used the Bible of his day. And yes, God does change his rules.

Jesus picked and chose what he accepted in the Bible of his day. He definitely did not literally apply every verse as everyone did 2,000 years ago and the way many people still do. If you want to be Christlike, don't you think you should interpret the Bible the way Jesus did?

Jesus was not and is not religious. In fact, just about the only thing Jesus ever got angry about was the behavior of religious people. And what ticked Jesus off the most was when religious people made up non-functional religious rules.

It will shock you when you realize how Jesus interpreted the Bible of his day. He did not interpret it the way the religious crowd of his day did, and he did not interpret the Bible the way that you probably do.

In this episode I give you the ultimate religious challenge: I challenge you to read the gospels constantly asking the question: "What is Jesus' attitude towards the organized religion of his time, and towards the leaders of organized religion he interacted with?" The results will revolutionize your relationship with God.

Here is a New Years resolution for you: KILL GOD! You know, the false god who lives in your head, but who doesn't really exist, and start believing in the God who does exist. And this God is Love.

We spend our lives scurrying around looking in a thousand places for happiness. But we never find happiness until we finally find the one way to be happy that always works.

Everyone on the planet tries to work these three programs to be happy, and it can't possibly work. People end up frustrated, irritated, and unfulfilled in their lives. But there is one program for happiness that works wonders in your life.

St. Francis of Assisi knew that his own unrestrained ego was a thousand times more injurious to him than any other enemy. Do as he did, instead of feeding your ego, try starving it!

God is in love with everyone on the planet. When we criticize others in our thoughts, we are deliberately separating ourselves from God. Really.

If you view God as narrow, inflexible, and big on tradition, do I have a surprise for you. God is none of those things, and it's easily proven.

The Universe is constantly trying to send life to you, but you will push it all away from you until you literally become open-minded. All it will do is - transform your life.

Who are you? You might answer by telling me where you were born, who your parents are, or what your job is. But none of those things describe who you really are. Listen as I talk about the real you. This will surprise you.

There is a complete and perfect explanation why all adversity comes into your life. And you will never guess it in a million years. Listen as I discuss one lady's experience.

Religion has the concept of holiness all wrong. Holiness is not about fastidious rule keeping, it's about something much more important than that.

Most of humanity's religion serves mostly to entrench people's egos and selfishness. But there is another kind of religion, the kind of religion God is backing. Listen as I describe the kind of religion God has in mind. Why religion is boring, the function of religion, transformation, liberation from the ego, attempting to control God, and why Judaism was a big step forward for humankind are all discussed.

It is absolutely impossible to give thanks for everything until you know what I discuss in this episode. Adversity, giving thanks, gratitude, Near Death Experiences, Buddha, Jesus Christ, agreeing with your critics are all discussed.

If you focus on what is wrong, it gets worse. If you focus on what is right, what is wrong will improve. So say Jesus Christ and Buddha. An attitude of gratitude, thankfulness, life, prosperity, and peace are all discussed.

Do you think that God focuses on your faults and weaknesses? That couldn't possibly be true because God wants us to focus on other's strengths, and if He chose to focus on other's weaknesses, we would be more Godly than Him!

We all think we know better than to throw out the baby with the bathwater, but we continue to throw out the baby anyway. Listen as I discuss one of the worst mental mistakes we can make, and what simple understanding can help us tremendously. Judging the charitable way that God judges, transcending but including, American politics, humility, grace, perfectionism, and even Putin are all discussed.

What's the point of being optimistic? It's different than you probably think. Listen as I discuss a much different way of looking at the events of your life. Almost nobody looks at life this way, but if they did, they would enjoy it much more. Fate, Faith, Optimism, Adversity, Buddha, Detachment, Letting Go, Passion, and even Job Interviews are all discussed.

The greatest gift you can ever give is forgiveness. But forgiveness is not a gift you give someone else, it is a gift you give to yourself.

Forever wanting more afflicts almost everyone. The problem is, when you finally get what you want, it fails to satisfy for long, and you want something else. And none of it makes you happy. There is a better way.

I describe a wonderful way to permit emotional healing to take place in your life.

God did not put me on this earth to gather a group of people who will love, accept, and support me. God put me here to love, accept, and support other people. And if you have any other attitude, you will suffer, suffer, suffer.

Our minds are the battlegrounds for two diametrically opposed forces. Listen as I discuss the way that spiritual masters such as Jesus the Christ and Buddha recommend fighting this battle.

It is subtle the way evil works. At first, evil whispers into your mind. And if you haven't learned how to discipline your mind, you have no chance against it.

Your life is perfect. But I don't mean that everything is to your 100% satisfaction. I mean it is perfect in a much more important way. Listen as I discuss why everyone's life is perfect when looked at from God's perspective.

Once again, Jesus and Buddha agree. Listen as I discuss a great way to be happier.

If you will dedicate yourself to doing this, you will be much happier than you probably are now.

Buddha spoke of the "filth of human passion," and it seems Mr. Spock would agree. What do both of these personalities have to teach us on the subject?

There is only one way to be happy in this life, and it requires developing the ability to let go of things mentally so your mind, your spirit, and your body can relax into God's presence in your day. Listen as I discuss a myriad number of things we all need to let go of.