The Controversy of Bishop E. Bernard Jordan

Wednesday's communication (3/5/08) sponsored by Inner Flames Press (The Hidden and the Revealed) shared the idea that we are all living at a historic time. A shift in human consciousness is occurring. We are moving away from materialism toward a greater expression of spirituality.

Evidence of this shift completely surrounds us. As the Master taught, let those with eyes to see perceive the flowering of a new day.

Last year a charismatic young man named Bishop E. Bernard Jordan published an interesting book entitled The Laws of Thinking (Hay House, February 2007.) Using a conversational-style reminiscent of the Prophetess Juanita Bynum, Jordan presents his complex (and sometimes shocking) ideas in an easy to read format. He is the author of over 40 books, a speaker in high demand and the prodigy of New York's famous Rev Ike.

Dr. Aaron D. Lewis writes the book's introduction. He presents the old thinking Bishop Jordan promises the book will liberate Readers from. Lewis writes, "Being a third-generation child of the Pentecostal heritage I distinctly remember pastors strictly forbidding members to visit certain churches within our denomination, fearing that we might not come back. . . .Also, I remember how the same pastors encouraged us to read the Bible only, claiming that other books would contaminate our mind and spirit, rendering us worthless in the sight of God. . . .Most parishioners acquiesced and remained ignorant." (Jordan, The Laws of Thinking, pg. xvii)

Contrary to the limited belief systems of those preachers, Jordan promises to share with his Readers knowledge that will "rock your world. It's mind-blowing and perception-enhancing, and not everyone will be able to handle it. In fact, I'd say that the majority of Christians cannot handle the ideas in The Laws of Thinking." (pg. xvii)

So what are those ideas?

They all arise from the hot bed of controversy.

Inside the 20 chapters Jordan composed are some of the most shocking sentences I have ever read come from the pen of a minister claiming faith in the salvation work of the Lord Jesus Christ! I imagine the church Fathers who attended the Nicene Council and wrote the Apostle's Creed turning over in their graves. I am amazed Jordan receives speaking engagement by Bible-believing churches.

Echoing the Ancient World's belief that humanity and the Almighty share the same essence, Jordan thunders with authority, "When you declare 'I Am,' You become God. Ignorant minds will look at that statement and call it blasphemy, but that is only because they do not truly understand the nature of the relationship between God and man." (pg. 3) emphasis mine

Please allow me to repeat that idea. "You are god. But when you think about it, is it really so far-fetched?"

Bishop Jordan continues with one controversial paragraph after another.

"You are already at one with God. Separation from God does not exist. Everything is within the Infinite Mind. The only separation from God exists in your mind. That is the only sin in the world." (pg. 19-20)

"There is no such thing as evil. There is only the lack of awareness of God. You create the only evil there is when you choose to walk a path that rejects the good in you and rejects the calling from God to express His Spirit in the world." (pg. 44) emphasis mine

Such ideas are more comfortable coming out of the mouth of a so-called New Age, or New Thought, philosopher, not a Christian minister.

Personally, I applaud Bishop E. Bernard Jordan for the courage he expressed through the pages of this book. I disagree with some of his ungrounded speculations in the later chapters, but he blows the trumpet the Master gives any Believer in John 10:33-36 with fierceness!

"The Jews said to him [the Master], It is not because of the good works we stone you, but because you blaspheme; for while you are only a man, you make yourself God.

"Jesus said to them, Is it not so written in your law, I said, you are gods? (See Psalms 82:6)

"If he [King David] called them gods because the word of God was with them (and the scripture cannot be broken)

"Why to the one whom the Father sanctified and sent to the world, do you say, I am the Son of God."

From: The Holy Bible: George M. Lamsa's Translation from the Aramaic of the Peshitta; originally presented to the West in 1933

Make Flesh Your Desires - The Law of Increase (Pt. 1)

In this communication we advance our theme to give you practical information that you can use RIGHT NOW to improve your life. Increase is something we all desire. Here is the LAW OF INCREASE!

Achieving that elusive "thing" called success is a step-by-step process by which you convert your emotional desires into material objects, events or experiences. It is a simple process. It is one we at Inner Flames Press believe can be made to order.

Yes, made to order.

In fact, we believe this guarantee is the essence of the Gospel; it empowers ordinary men and women to utilize their latent internal powers to dramatically improve their lives.

In this communication we drink deeply from American success literature to give you the tools you need right now to make flesh your innermost desires.

Our source for eight hard and fast rules is the world-renown Catherine Ponder. She is most famous for "The Millionaires of the Bible" series. Using a conversational tone she extracts the ancient "secrets" of Moses, Joshua and the Master, Jesus for modern Readers to employ and improve their own financial storehouses.

Success comes in many forms, but none more readily enjoyed than monetary resources. In our society we use money to acquire the "things" we require in this life: such as food, clothing and shelter. Money is not power, but the people who trade money for goods and services do possess power. Through her fourteen books and international ministry, Ponder has helped thousands of people enjoy the fruit of their labor more abundantly.

Here are the eight hard and fast rules toward a more prosperous future.

1) Identify someone you admire and imitate them. It doesn't matter if the person is alive or not, fact or fiction. What matters is that you see yourself reflected in that person.

Motivational speaker Anthony Robbins has counselled people for years concerning the potent power of modeling. (It is an echo of Napoleon Hill's advice.) Find a successful person in your chosen field of endeavor, then learn how to think like they think. Act like they act. See the world the same way they see the world. Approach life the same way they approach life and you will get the same results they do.

The point is not to become the person you admire, but to color your subconscious mind with their success-orientated thoughts and behaviors. Since your subconscious mind never sleeps, this technique is extremely powerful. It's results are well documented int he annuals of American business. Ask Denzel Washington, who admires Clint Eastwood, if you possess any doubts.

2) Put your Faith into Universal Principles. This is a critical point that requires emphasis. As Americans we are bombarded by clever sales pitches. Commercials abound with the latest, most scientific method to achieve this or that. We counsel you to not be fooled by such gimmicks. Success principles are tried and tested, simple to apply to everyday life.

Universal Principles are similar to the classic Western definition of God: the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. They work anywhere, by anyone. They are not a respector of persons or religious systems. Principles do not care if you ascribe to being a Buddhist, Muslim or Rastarfarian. Principles only care if you use them or not.

As Ponder writes in her 1983 book Dare to Prosper, "These prosperity methods are recession-depression-and-inflation proof, so that you will enjoy using them often!" (pg. ix)

3) Create a vacuum to receive. It is an oft-stated proverb that the Universe abhors a vacuum. This is a basic scientific law. It appears as if the Universe wants to be everywhere at all times. (Again, this echoes the Western definition of God.)

We can use this Principle to our benefit. We can consciously create vacuums in two ways: mentally and physically - in that order. Mentally we can form a vacuum by "cleaning out of your mind, negative, limited, unforgiving thoughts." (pg. 3) Physically, we move things our of our space. "Do not retain items of clothing, furniture, letters, files, books or any other personal possessions that you no longer need to use. Get them out of the way to make room for what you do want." (pg. 5)

4) Make plain your desire. This is the hardest of the Priniciples to use because you cannot fool yourself or the Father. Nothing mechanical here. Whatever you truly conceive prosperity to be will come forth. It becomes extremely important that you become clear on what you desire. Be specific. Very specific.

"Your deep-seated desires are God's good tapping at the door of your mind. Furthermore, write down dates by which you wish your desired good to be accomplished. You will be amazed at how the substance of heaven and earth will hasten to do your bidding when you give it definite desires and dates through which to work out good results." (pg. 10)

Go Beyond the Norm

He desired to pierce the veil and understand the Mysteries of the Father. He wanted to know how to apply spiritual insights to dramatically improve his life's conditions. He wanted to experience success.

Napoleon Hill did more than experience success: he documented it. As a young journalist, Hill interviewed steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. It was a fateful meeting. Carnegie was so impressed by Hill that the old Scot gave the young man an assignment: create and distribute a philosophy of success.

For twenty years Napoleon Hill criss-crossed the American continent interviewing notable men and women. A pattern emerged. Slowly he began to understand why some people were successful and others were not.

In 1927 Napoleon Hill published a masterpiece entitled, THE LAWS OF SUCCESS! Here is the philosophy of success in three beautiful paragraphs:

"If you have ever done any farming, you understand that certain preparations are necessary before a crop can be produced from the ground. You know, of course, that grain will not grow in the woods, that it requires sunshine and rain for its growth. Likewise, you understand that the farmer must plow the soil and properly plant the grain.

After all this has been done, he then waits on Nature to do her share of the work; and she does it in due time, without outside help.

This is a perfect simile which illustrates the method through which one may attain the object of one's definite chief aim. First comes the preparing of the soil to receive the seed, which is represented by faith and infinite intelligence (read God, JAH, Allah) and understanding of the principle of Auto-suggestion (read affirmations, positive self-talk) and the subconscious mind through which the seed of a definite purpose may be planted. Then comes a period of waiting and working for the realization of the object of that purpose. During this period, there must be continuous, intensified faith, which serves as the sunshine and the rain, without which the seed will wither and die in the ground. Then comes realization, harvest-time." (from "Accurate Thinking," pg. 89-91 THE LAWS OF SUCCESS, 1937 edition)

Look for the Laws of Increase; they can change your LIFE!

May you remain open to the Blessings of the Father. Selah.

Fundamentalism is DEAD!

Without pretense - without employing the intellectual arrogance of High Academia - yet, adhering to the standards of Truth and Integrity, we here at Inner Flames Press will continue our tradition of presenting controversial, high quality information to our Readers over the next several weeks.

Look for THE LAW OF INCREASE. It can transform your LIFE.

Some, who have grown used to us and welcome the penetrating level of criticism we bring to spiritual matters, will think nothing of our new series of articles. Others will be shocked. A few ill choose to attack us. To all three groups we say in advance: THANK YOU. Please leave comments!

Our goal, as always, is to make plain the Mystery of the Gospel. In direct imitation of the Master (Jesus of Nazareth), we wish to reveal the Mysteries of the Father to the babes and the suckling. We believe it is only as the 1) least among us reach mastery over the base natures, 2) consciously learn how to direct Thoughts and Emotions along the Creative Process and 3) become aware of the Holy Spirit, which is ever striving to "connect" the human instrument (being) to the Divine Mind, will "civilization" reach the heights the Father intends.

Towards this end, we promoted this position during 2007 via an email campaign. Specifically, we communicated the following ideas: You Are a Spiritual Being Having a Human Experience and Thoughts and Emotions = The Events, Experiences and Things That Enter Your Life.

Although the email campaign was successful, rapidly growing from 12 email addresses to 572, we received ambitions to grow beyond the limitations of an email campaign. However, experimentations with cyberspace did not bear fruit until now. We look forward to INCREASE for the services we provide.

The purpose of Inner Flames Press is to promote a world-wide paradigm shift within the Christian mentality. FUNDAMENTALISM IS DEAD! Whether it rears its head as a radical Islamic jihad or the destruction of an abortion clinic, the expression of a rigid belief system that seeks to impose its conception of God onto unwilling people is WRONG! It is intolerable no matter what religious form it manifests as: Islamic or Christian - communist or democratic. An intellectual alternative to fundamentalism must arise and lead the World away form FEAR and VIOLENCE.

For this position, we here at Inner Flames Press are "controversial." We do not blindly ascribe to doctrine or dogma based on "faith," completely devoid of clear intellectual supports. We believe, like the famed African American theologian, James Cone, that we should worship the Father with our minds and our hearts. Pure emotionalism is dangerous! It must be balanced by fluid intellectual discourse and keen questioning of methods.

We are controversial solely because we are not yet endorsed by any mainstream organization. Our ideas are NOT controversial because they lack historical or philosophical proofs. In fact, the ideas we present are common fare for seminary students. The majority of college-trained ministers are well-aware of the "controversial" ideas we present and choose not to share them with their congregations.

Remaining true to our mission, in 2008 Inner Flames Press will focus on the key idea the Master presented to the oppressed peasants of First Century Palestine: It is done unto you as you believe.

Thank you for reading these few words. May you remain open to the Blessings of the Father. Selah.

Spiritual Genius (Pt. 3)

The Christian Mystic Joel Goldsmith, in the Art of Spiritual Healing, wrote, “If you understood the nature of God, never would you pray to God for any thing. God has only the gift of Himself to give, and in that gift all needs are met. Any other kind of God is a man-made myth, invented by the pagans centuries before the Master. The pagans worshiped that kind of a God; they worshiped many gods, always for the purpose of getting something from God. When there was no rain, they prayed for rain; when there was too much rain, they prayed to have it cease; when there were floods or storms, they prayed to have God stop them; and when there was no food, they prayed to God for food. Prayer such as that is purely paganistic, a relic from the days when people made a God after their own image because they had no idea at all of what God is.” (pg. 25)

In the above paragraph Joel Goldsmith hints at the Key to this Life and the personal responsibility that comes with it!

Here, I will choose to yield to temptation and quote scriptures. Specifically, the Master is remembered instructing His disciples that, “It is done unto you as you believe.” (Write that down!)

The same idea is expressed in the inspired words of I John 3:2. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

What is the Key to the Life? Quite simply, it is an idea; a very powerful idea, but one that meets so much resistance. The Key to this Life is: you can consciously achieve union with the Light (i.e. God.)

What the Light actually is and how you achieve union is debatable. Anu would try to recreate the dream-like trance state he entered during his sickness through rhythmic singing, dancing, drug usage and extreme fasts. Such techniques, which either hypnotize participants or alters their brain chemistry, are still used by Native American civilizations and other groups with a close affinity to the Earth. Union is achieved organically.

The “higher” religions (i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam) propose the innovation that spiritual union is “higher” than human nature. It is epitomized by the Prophet Elijah’s mystical experience atop a mountain.

Thanks to a controversial ministry against a violent, corrupt king, Elijah finds himself a highly recognizable fugitive. To maintain his life, he must hide in the wilderness, that favorite abode of Israeli prophets.

“And the word of the LORD came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

“He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (I Kings 19:9-13)

The Elijah Experience is intense. It forces a person to rise above all fear and perceive a spiritual universe beyond the “appearances” communicated by the five senses. Once a person has “been to the mountain top” they are no longer moved by threats or power plays. Similar to the Master before Ponitus Pilate, they say in a gentle whisper, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” (John 19:11)

Union with God is reached through a mastery of the human condition. One learns how to disassociate from the “flesh” or the materialism of this world. This is why Christianity clashes so hard with science. Science gives value to “sensory perception.” Christianity devalues it. In fact, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all agree that spiritual guidance trumps human thought.

Once someone has achieved union through the Elijah Experience, he or she becomes aware that they are surrounded by a power that resists linguistic communication. It is the Presence of the Lord or the Holy Spirit. Slowly, the person discovers that the physical world is “suspended” somehow in this Spirit. And from this Spirit all things are made.

This Spirit responds to the “unified” person’s awareness (or consciousness) of It, thoughts projected into It and emotional vibration. Conscious awareness allows the unified person to remain centered and thus, not be moved by the projected thought currents and the emotionalized manifestations of others. Awareness (also called intuition) permits the unified person to know, without knowing, that God is LOVE and the only power there is.

Through experimentation with his or her level of awareness, the unified person learns that the spirit crystallizes around thought projections, making them flesh. However, emotional vibrations attract or repel spiritual “matter.” Working together, thought Projections and emotional vibrations manifest the human experience. The more intense the emotional vibration, the faster a thought projection is clothed in flesh.

The highest emotional vibration humanity has so far identified is love.

The very fact that the unified person is aware that he or she is unified brings upon themselves an awesome responsibility. “To whom much is given, much is required.” Or, to quote Marvel Comics writer, Stan Lee, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Once a person is unified, he or she cannot live as a normal man or woman, because, quite frankly, he or she is no longer normal. He or she has risen above the “normal” plane of human-hood. He or she now has access to power – the only true power in the Universe: the love vibration of God. Such power pales in comparison to that wielded by the unconscious.

Of those who are conscious, the Master is the perfected example. No one in recorded history can touch Him in the sheer raw ability to manipulate “Earth Space.” The miracles He worked astounded those of His generation. When food was needed, He simply gave thanks and it materialized in obedience to His highly cultivated skill at Thought Projection. When He needed to travel across water to reach His disciples, again, He raised His personal vibrational level to its spiritual equivalent and walked on water. And when a storm came, Jesus went to sleep in the boat, fully confident that if need be, the wind would obey His command.

A genius of this caliber cannot succumb to base human desires. He cannot choose to use His awareness to enslave others. This is what the Temptation of Christ was all about: would He use His powers for personal gain? The answer was no. It is the same for us.

Some covenant communities are livicated (never dead-icated) to actually empowering their members with the Truth, as expressed here. Others labor under leadership content with enslaving the masses. Each, as the Master taught, receive their reward.

I shall conclude this communication with something Minister Malcolm X taught. 85% of the people are dumb, deaf and blind to “who and what” they really are. 10% know but choose not to “civilize” themselves or others. 5% are actually striving toward to perfection and are called the poor righteous teachers of humanity.

Now, the 10% are jealous of the 5%, who possess real power. They manipulate the 85% to persecute and kill the 5%/ This is the basis of what we call history, whether it is personal, regional or national.

The question is: what percent of the population are you?

Thank you for reading these few words. May you remain open to the Blessings of the Father. Selah.

Spiritual Genius (Pt. 2)

Anu’s experience is the archetype of the prophetic call. Throughout ancient spiritual manuscripts, those brave souls who choose to teach humanity about the spiritual realm all told a similar story. The details changed depending upon the environment or the circumstances, but the overall pattern remains the same.

The brave soul is a perceptive individual. He or she possesses smarts in abundance. Long before the prophetic call, the members of his or her family notice how the brave soul is able to draw insight and wisdom from the most ordinary of happenings. Nature is like an open book to them. No interaction comes without the fruit of greater knowledge concerning the human condition and how humanity fits into the overall scheme of things.

One day, something significant happens to shift the brave soul out of his or her normal mode of THOUGHT. A near death experience, such as Anu. Or, the tragic loss of a loved one. Or, a spontaneous mystical experience through a dream. Something happens that shifts the brave soul to think on a higher plane!

Tremendous insight is gained. The Key to this Life is communicated and the brave soul begins to view everything from a spiritual vantage point. Coincidence becomes a concept of the past. Every little thing is the result of the Divine Order: cause and effect. The brave soul becomes obsessed with telling people of his or her experience.

Having no reference point for what the brave soul is communicating, most are confused. They agree that a spiritual realm exists, yet how it relates to their harsh, brutal life escapes them. To make the insight intelligible, the brave soul is forced to invent a story. Inside the story, the brave soul hides the Key to this Life. In time, some of the more perceptive people who hear the story understand what the brave soul is trying to communicate and join him or her in productive conversation.

This is reflected in Karen Armstrong’s research, “When people began to devise their myths and worship their gods . . .[the] symbolic stories, cave paintings and carvings were an attempt to express their wonder and to link this pervasive mystery into their own lives.” (pg. 5, emphasis mine)

When enough people were familiar with Anu’s “myth” something unexpected happened. The small circle of clarity became a big circle of confusion. The myth became more important than the insight that the myth communicated. The Key to this Life was lost in the details.

Looking back, we can see how this naturally occurred. Surrounded by a world perceived to be filled with danger, humanity saw no need for philosophy. A greater need was perceived in a sense of safety. The myth promised safety in the form of the Light. In the hands of the big circle the myth underwent a massive transformation!

In exchange for the safety the circle so desperately desired a contract was created between the Light and humanity. The Light would provide protection and gifts (i.e. blessings) in exchange for acknowledgment of Its existence (i.e. worship.) When a breach in the contract occurred, the Light would withdraw Its end of the bargain, thus expressing human emotions, which the big circle could understand when calamity befell them. Extra measures, beyond worship, were used to regain the Light’s favor, such as animal, or human, sacrifices.

This early distorted concept of the Light made it a projection of the human mind and the servant of human desires. Humanity used God (i.e. The Light) to get things done (i.e. receive a healing, secure a good crop, find a wife.)

Some still hold to this primitive belief system.

Spiritual Genius (Pt. 1)

The quality of modern scholarship is such that popular cable networks, like the Discovery Channel, can present elaborate reconstructions of how dinosaurs, big and small, lived and died. Some scholars even speculate on how dinosaurs expressed their intelligence. The evidence for any of this is fragmentary at best: fossils and accidential mummies. Yet, the scientific method and human imagination is able to flesh everything out.

It is amazing what light scientists can shed on bygone eras.

Curiously, modern scholarship is silent on who, what, when where and how humanity came to possess the “Key to this Life.” The question is asked, but the answer is not found. What necessity drove humanity to make this discovery?

History is silent.

We know more about the dinosaurs.

In this communication we here at Inner Flames Press will investigate this question.

The historian, Karen Armstrong, author of the wonderful book A History of God, writes, “[My] study of the history of religion has revealed that human beings are spiritual animals. Indeed, there is a case for arguing that Homo sapiens is also Homo religiosus. Men and women started to worship gods as soon as they became recognizably human, they created religions at the same time as they created works of art.” (pg. xix)

It is here, at the dawn of civilization, that we begin our investigation. We must travel back before the Chinese Emperors, beyond the Mayan sacrifices, past the Egyptian pyramids. Difficult as it is, we must stretch our imagination to a time before the nomadic tribes started herding sheep and growing crops. The time period Armstrong refers to is one where humanity is just forming.

Small family groups exist. Hunting and gathering is the basis of the local economy. Unrefined primitive tools, fashioned from rocks, sticks and animal parts assist humanity in creating an ecological niche for itself. Competition with creatures adapted to the specific environment is fierce!

Humans cower before big game, seeking refuge in caves and tree limbs. The weather presents unique hardships. Although mastery of fire provides warmth and some protection from more equipped game, fire has its hazards and is not easily transported.

This is the bygone era out of which the human consciousness forms. In time, through trial and error, our Ancestors learned how to adapt to their environments. Creative leaps in technology opened doors to more and more of the Earth’s resources. Slowly a storehouse of plenty permitted leisure time and an increase in family members. Naturally occurring dye compounds gave rise to body adornment and wall paintings. Singing and dancing became refined arts. Language developed to the point where some specialized in poetry and storytelling. Knowledge of plants grew until sicknesses and injuries were addressed by “medicine men and women.” The raw intensity of living lessened.

It is in this setting that the Key to this Life was discovered. It was forced upon us through necessity. We were given a choice. Either we accepted the Key and rose to a new level of consciousness, or we rejected the Key and remained in a primitive state. As evident by our advanced civilization, our Ancestors chose to accept the Key.

Imagine that someone became sick. Let’s call him Anu. Anu is known for his robust health, high intelligence and hunting achievements. He is a valuable member of the small community we have established. For reasons no one can discover, he is sick. He is unresponsive to everything the medicine man can do. He becomes so still that it appears that he is dead. People begin losing hope and start mourning his loss, which is great.

But, all is not lost. He makes a remarkable recovery. Just a mysteriously as the sickness came upon him, it leaves him. Everyone is amazed and overjoyed. Mourning is replaced by singing and dancing.