Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity. In all but a few denominations, he is considered the great exception. The one who made it. The one that was the only son of God. The one endowed with special powers that no one else possessed before or will ever again.

Problem is that Jesus himself said that he was the great example. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do…” (John 14:12)

So, what would be different for you if Jesus were a mentor or big brother rather than a member of the elite? Would you approach life differently? What if you knew that the person next to you possessed the same amount of the Divinity that Jesus did? Would you treat them differently?

We’ve come to the final installation in the discussion of the book Open Secrets. The book is written by Rabbi Rami Shapiro from the perspective of an elder Jewish mystic. Over the past six weeks, we’ve explored several themes in the book including:

• The Nature of God
• Necessary and Unnecessary Evil
• Free Will
• Religion and Spirituality
• How to Find the Truths in Religion

Rami Shapiro also talks about everyday ideas like Jewish customs, intermarriage, and Isreal. There’s a heap in this tiny book (128 pages) that I was not able to bring to light during these discussions. If you’re interested in learning more about the Jewish faith or exploring the metaphysical side of Judaism, I urge you to pick up a copy.

In the late chapters of Open Secrets, the protege writes to the elder Rabbi to inquire about Jesus. Having moved to the U.S. from Russia after the war, the protege is confronted with the belief in Jesus from a Christian perspective. In the book, the elder Rabbi says that Christians need to believe in Jesus to bridge the idea of a sinless God to a sinning human. Jesus is that bridge. He explains that since Jewish people do not believe in sin, there is no need to believe in Jesus. While I think that’s a bit harsh, I think the idea of Jesus as the way to God has permeated Christianity. So much so that people have forgotten their connection to the Divine.

The Rabbi goes on to say that while Jewish people do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, he believes that Jesus was one of the great saints. He was able to penetrate Neshamah (the ego) and live from Chayyah (Spirit). In that respect, he considers him a great teacher and example.

In the book, the Rabbi tells this story. Two beautiful women who are identical twins appear before you, but they are both covered in layers of veils. They are unrecognizable. Slowly, one of the women begin to remove her veils. You begin to see the beauty in that twin, but you can’t tell what the other one looks like. Is the twin without the veils anymore beautiful than the one that hasn’t taken them off?

What if you could remove your veils and reveal the Divine that is within you?

In Spirit,
Nneka

So last week, I wrote a post about the Truths in religion, and my friend Leo of Zen Habits asked me, “What’s in it for me?” “How does this help me in my life? Yeah, it’s inspirational, but how do I find the Truth in religion?” Then I went to the Open Secrets book study last night, and one of the guys said that religions don’t tell you how to find God, they just pound into your head their version of what God is.

Not wanting to be one of the religious nuts, and wanting to provide value to my readers, I’ve come up with a few ways to find the Truths in religion.

1. Be open.

Before you set out on your journey, you need to open yourself up. It’s a risky endeavour you’re about to undertake, but you can’t find the Truth if you don’t open yourself up to some ambiguity. You’ll be on shifty territory for some time. No need to be afraid, the thing that you are seeking is seeking you. You will find it, but you have to remain a bit vulnerable and open.

2. Talk to your friends.

If you have friends of different religious backgrounds, talk to them. If you don’t, make some. In the U.S. there’s an unwritten rule that you shouldn’t talk about sex, politics, or religion, I break it everyday. Interestingly, people love talking about themselves, even their religion. Here are a few questions you might want to ask:

• How do you think the world started?
• If I wanted to become a (fill in the blank) what would I have to do?
• Do you believe everything about your religion?
• What text do you use? Do you read it literally?
• What are a few of your favorite religious stories?
• How often do you worship?

It sure beats weather stories

3. Visit places of worship.

Visit an Islamic mosque, or a Jewish synagogue, or a Hindu temple. Go to an Evangelical revival, or a Catholic mass. When you visit, take in the rituals. Engage and participate in the full experience. Pay close attention to the message of the spiritual leader. Sift through the dogma to find the kernel of Truth.

For example, one of my friends is married to a Southern baptist minister. I visited his church one Wednesday for Bible study. I was apprehensive at first, but I wanted to be supportive of my friend. The passage they were studying was the first part of Genesis. His talk was on the fall of man, but he couldn’t help but say that we are children of God. That resonated with me.

4. Read about religions.

For a quick start visit, the Wikipedia entries for the major religions and follow the links down the rabbit hole.

• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Judaism

Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions, is the text used in most Universities to talk about comparative religion. It gives a summary on the origination, myths, and cultures surrounding most of the religions (not individual denominations) in the world. With a basic understanding of the ideas behind religions, you can draw your own conclusions on the similarities.

The History of God by Karen Armstrong explores how we have made God in our own image rather than the other way around. It shows how our perception and understanding of God morphed over the past 4000 years. It’s a great book if you want to find the common thread among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

World Scripture edited by the International Religious Foundation gives a side by side comparison of religious texts surrounding different themes. This is not an easy read, but a great reference if you want to see what all the religions have to say about a particular theme, like say creation.

5. Look for common threads.

While you are experiencing and reading about different religions, look for common threads. Those are keys to Truths. Most religions, for example, say that we come from God. They might say we are children of God and fell from grace, or that we came out of God, but decided to live in the material realm, or that we are incarnations of God. Search for the similarities among the various religions, there you will find the Truths.

6. Go within.

In the end, the Truths taught by religions are held within you. Trust yourself to discern what fits for you. A word of caution though, while your mind is great for dealing with objective facts, it will run around in circles in an attempt to logically understand Truth (whatever that means for you). It’s not that Truth defies logic, it’s just that it might defy logic today given the tools and information that we have available to us.

In Spirit,
Nneka