Novus Spiritus Church

[Georgia Lass]

Hello,

 

I had the moderators delete my old account so I could create this new one but my thread also got deleted so, I wanted to repost it. Thank you.

 

I just wanted to know what you guys think about the Novus Spiritus Church and it's teachings?

 

Novus Spiritus

[NotBlinded]

Sylvia Brown doesn't sit well with me. She said breast cancer would have a cure by 2005. I haven't seen it yet.

 

But, the link you posted holds many of the same thoughts as the Church of Religious Science. I went to one of those churches a couple of times and liked their ideas. I just couldn't go with the beliefs 100% when it came to holding an idea as true and it will come to be. This church is based of the beliefs of Ernest Holmes and his book, The Science of Mind.

 

This church also speaks of the Divine spark inside people as does Sylvia's. I can't see the difference, but I didn't read the entire site.

[Georgia Lass]

Sylvia Brown doesn't sit well with me. She said breast cancer would have a cure by 2005. I haven't seen it yet.

 

But, the link you posted holds many of the same thoughts as the Church of Religious Science. I went to one of those churches a couple of times and liked their ideas. I just couldn't go with the beliefs 100% when it came to holding an idea as true and it will come to be. This church is based of the beliefs of Ernest Holmes and his book, The Science of Mind.

 

This church also speaks of the Divine spark inside people as does Sylvia's. I can't see the difference, but I didn't read the entire site.

 

As with anything spiritual I take what looks good to me and leave the rest behind. I don't know anything about The Church of Religious Science but I could post a bit of what I like in Novus Spiritus.

 

Here are the Tenets of Novus:

 

 

I - The way of all peace is to scale the mountain of self. Loving others makes the climb down easier. We see all things darkly until love lights the lamp of the soul.

 

II - Whatever thou lovest, lovest thou.

 

III - Do not give unto God any human pettiness such as vengeance, wrath, or hate. Negativity is man's alone.

 

IV - Create your own heaven, not a hell. You are a creator made from God.

 

V - Turn thy power outward, not inward, for therein shines the Light and the Way.

 

VI - In faith be like the wind chimes, hold steady until faith, like the wind, moves you to joy.

 

VII - Know that each life is a path winding towards perfection. It is the step after step that is hard, not the whole of the journey.

 

VIII - Be simple. Allow no man to judge you, not even yourself, for you cannot judge God.

 

IX - You are a light in a lonely, dark desert that enlightens many.

 

X - Let no one convince you that you are less than a God. Do not let fear imprison your spiritual growth.

 

XI - Do not allow the unfounded belief in demons to block your communion with God.

 

XII - The body is a living temple unto God, wherein we worship the spark of the Divine.

 

XIII - God does not create the adversities in life. By your own choice they exist to aid in your perfection.

 

XIV - Karma is nothing more than honing the wheel of evolvement. It is not retribution, but merely a balancing of experiences.

 

XV - God allows each person the opportunity for perfection, whether you need one life or a hundred lives to reach your level of perfection.

 

XVI - Devote your life, your soul, your very existence to the service of God. For only there will you find meaning in life.

 

XVII - War is profane, defense is compulsory.

 

XVIII - Death is the act of returning Home, it should be done with grace and dignity. You may preserve that dignity by refusing prolonged use of artificial life support systems. Let God's will be done.

 

XIX - We believe in a Mother God, Who is the co-creator to our all-loving Father God.

 

XX - We believe that Our Lord was crucified but did not die on the cross and went on to live out His life in France with his mother and Mary Magdalene, his wife.

 

XXI - We, the Gnostics, kept this knowledge hidden that Christ's lineage exists even today and the truth, long-buried is open to research.

 

 

Anyway, this post would be a mile long if I get into everything but I could post the one-by-one explanations as well.

 

Again, I'm not trying to convert I just want opinions.

[Amethyst]

I'm highly skeptical of any group, religious or otherwise, that claims they have knowledge or truth that nobody else does. They are perfectly happy to claim that they have The Truth , but if you ask them for proof, they cannot provide it. I would steer clear of this group myself, it's already raised more than one red flag.

[Jun]

Well, looks like a mixed bag of faiths. Still a God-faith though. No one religion has a monopoly on the TRUTH.

 

I - The way of all peace is to scale the mountain of self. Loving others makes the climb down easier. We see all things darkly until love lights the lamp of the soul.

 

Soul? What soul?

 

III - Do not give unto God any human pettiness such as vengeance, wrath, or hate. Negativity is man's alone.

 

Which God? The Christian God, the Islamic God, The Hindu God? Negativity is mans alone? And who created man then - this God? So negativity is Gods also.

 

IV - Create your own heaven, not a hell. You are a creator made from God.

 

Made from God, a creator God as in Christianity then.

 

V - Turn thy power outward, not inward, for therein shines the Light and the Way.

 

What is mean't by "power" exactly?

 

VI - In faith be like the wind chimes, hold steady until faith, like the wind, moves you to joy.

 

Oh no, there's that "faith" word.

 

VII - Know that each life is a path winding towards perfection. It is the step after step that is hard, not the whole of the journey.

 

This is plagarism at it's best, straight from the words of Menzan a Japanese Buddhist priest of the 16th century.

 

VIII - Be simple. Allow no man to judge you, not even yourself, for you cannot judge God.

 

Why can't we judge God? We can judge any man-made fictional character as we please.

 

XI - Do not allow the unfounded belief in demons to block your communion with God.

 

Belief in demons is unfounded, but belief in a God is not?

 

XIV - Karma is nothing more than honing the wheel of evolvement. It is not retribution, but merely a balancing of experiences.

 

So the tenets seem to be from the Rosicrucian Order? Or early Esoteric Christianity?

 

XV - God allows each person the opportunity for perfection, whether you need one life or a hundred lives to reach your level of perfection.

 

Yep, I'd say that this is a form of the Rosicrucian Order.

 

XVI - Devote your life, your soul, your very existence to the service of God. For only there will you find meaning in life.

 

Er..............! Service of imaginary beings. May as well pray to Allah, Yahweh, or ask for Harry Potter's devine magical intervention.

 

XVII - War is profane, defense is compulsory.

 

Huh? I don't get it.

 

XVIII - Death is the act of returning Home, it should be done with grace and dignity. You may preserve that dignity by refusing prolonged use of artificial life support systems. Let God's will be done. [/quote]

 

mmmmm. Home to where? God's will?

 

XIX - We believe in a Mother God, Who is the co-creator to our all-loving Father God.

 

Cool, now that's nifty, a male and a female God. Is that like Izanagi and Izanami?

 

XX - We believe that Our Lord was crucified but did not die on the cross and went on to live out His life in France with his mother and Mary Magdalene, his wife.

 

Wow, now I'm confused. It was beginning to look like a branch of the Rosicrucian Order, until that one.

 

XXI - We, the Gnostics, kept this knowledge hidden that Christ's lineage exists even today and the truth, long-buried is open to research.

 

Gnostics? Aren't Gnostics ascetics with strict sexual and dietary regulations? In calling themselves Gnostics they would be either derived from Egyptian or Persian influences.

[Piprus]

This sounds like the same Sylvia Browne that's long been a favorite subject of James Randi's psychic debunking. She's up to 267 weeks since accepting Randi's million dollar offer to have her psychic abilities tested, and then avoiding the moment (according to the JREF web site).

 

So she's in the church business now? Cool. The tenets of the "church" look like yet another collection of new-age gobbledygook to me, mystical vagueries derived from other mystical traditions. Looks like a smattering of buddhism here, zoroastrianism there, gnosticism...name your poison, and be sure to give your money.

[chefranden]

Anyway, this post would be a mile long if I get into everything but I could post the one-by-one explanations as well.

 

Again, I'm not trying to convert I just want opinions.

 

IMHO: Bunk!

 

Sorry, you asked.

[Mythra]

We believe that Our Lord was crucified but did not die on the cross and went on to live out His life in France with his mother and Mary Magdalene, his wife.

 

Man, oh man. I wonder if they lived next door to the Cone-head family before they moved to America.

 

I was kind of interested until I read this. If they can believe that, then that pretty much speaks to the rest of it as well.

 

Talk about a ridiculous, historically groundless assertion. My guess is they found this information out by channelling the twice-dead great grandson of Jesus & Mary.

 

Sorry, Georgia Lass. I have a very low tolerance for nonsensical drivel.

[Georgia Lass]

This is great! I appreciate all your questions and comments on this. I'm busy now but later on tonight I can answer what the tenets mean to me as well as post the novus explanations of them.

 

I'm not hurt by anything said so please don't hold back.

[Mythra]

Well, look at it this way, G.L. - we will definitely cut more slack to this sort of thing than you'd find at Christian Forums. At least we won't claim that you're listening to demons.

 

Keep in mind that this is an ex-christian site. Most of us have gone down the primrose path of gullibility. Taking someone else's word about what we needed to believe. Content to listen to only one side of the story. Smug and satisfied that we knew the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 

Only to have it all either slowly erode away, or explode in our face. Then, we did investigating and found out a ton of things that we were never told about our religion, and the shaky ground that it stands on.

 

So, many of us are now ultra-skeptics. We want evidence. We're not afraid to listen to other viewpoints, but we are not easily swayed.

 

So, it's good that you're not taking it personally.

 

Is this novus thing something you are already involved in or are just looking into?

 

Notblinded is right. This is somewhat of a warmed-over version of the Church of Religious Science. I went to this church when I was a teenager, so I'm a little bit familiar with their beliefs.

[Mythra]

See - now this is the kind of b.s. I'm talking about:

 

We would like to also point out that Mother Azna loves to be loved. We know that sounds funny. But She literally withers away if She doesn’t feel loved by you. One of the things that is most enjoyable, is to send Mother Azna the messages and to ask for a response, somehow. You can set up the response as you wish. If you fervently give Her a message and ask for something as a symbol in return, She so enjoys doing that for you. She is all the time ready, willing and there to be with you. She loves attention. She loves to be showered with praise and glory. She is absolutely so glorious that it is extremely easy to do. Even by going through this with us, you have made your covenant with Her. She will not forget you. She will not leave you. You are Her family.

 

From gnosticallyspeaking.com

 

Why on earth would anyone fall for this stuff?

 

Well, WTF. I suppose it's just about as valid as asking Jesus to come into your heart.

 

And we talk here about how a religion gets started....

[Georgia Lass]

Let me say first that I'm not here to try and persuade you to join Novus nor am I going to defend anything about it. I simply want honest input about something I find interesting. If it's not for you then I'm completely OK with that, it's your life and don't ever let anyone tell you how to live it.

 

Having said that let me post the discussion about the Tenets to better clear up what they mean to Novus.

 

 

The tenets form guidelines for living, they embody the philosophy and research upon which Novus Spiritus is founded. Since some of the concepts may be new, the following will help to clarify them.

 

I - The Way of all Peace

... is to scale the mountain of self. Your journey through life is largely one of self-discovery. Life is designed to test the very mettle of your soul. The largest obstacle is the Self, with all of its doubts, worries, and inhibitions. To truly be yourself, requires breaking through the limitations we have imposed upon ourselves. The best way of doing this is to focus energy outward, toward others. By getting out of yourself, you will indeed find yourself.

 

II - Love

Love is a force; it is the perfect emanation of good as defined by God. No love is ever lost. If you put love into the world, it is absorbed by someone, or something, that can use it. Love also has a way of coming back to you, although you may not see it. Love will always hit the mark; yet even though people can choose to ignore it, it always leaves an impression.

 

You can test this for yourself. Make a conscious effort to beam a shot of love to someone. Do they react? Does something change? Usually it will. Try it on strangers. Watch them closely. You can always love the spark of the Divine within a person, even though not liking their actions or personality.

 

III - Purity

God is pure and constant in Their love. People are erratic and subject to petty behavior. Never ascribe to God such pettiness, for it is not in Their nature, only ours.

 

Negativity abounds in the world. Did God create it? No. Man alone is responsible for it. Through free will choice, some people invert good to make a negative. This is one aspect of your perfection, to choose a path of Light or Darkness.

 

IV - Creator

You are an actual part of God; you carry within your soul a spark of the Divine. This spark has marvelous abilities, largely untapped, and can perform miracles. The most pressing need in this world is to make it your heaven. Call upon the strength within. Allow this innate goodness and beauty to mold the world around you. Let your God-Center view life as a heaven. Control negativity. Do not allow it to control you.

 

V - Power

Call upon the spark of the Divine. Consider it as a veritable force at your disposal. Most of us have experienced turning the power outward. It could have been when "your heart went out to them" in their need. Or it occurs when loving someone, and often when loving your pets. You can actually feel an emanation leaving you. It is the very heart of God moving. Cultivate this power. Turn it outward. Help others.

 

VI - Faith

Faith is a tool. When the world is darkest, and you struggle to survive, faith can get you over the worst. The best application of faith is to trust in your own strength and in your constant companion, God. Have enough faith to turn to God for help. And always know this: You are never asked to endure more than your soul can take. Every prayer is answered.

 

VII - Life

Life is a sojourn, usually endured alone, during which you perfect your soul for God. The result of all your suffering is to be content with yourself, knowing the true meaning of goodness. You will not rest until that day, by your own volition. Remember, simply survive each day and you will succeed. Learn from each step, better yourself on the next step, and you will find the lost perfection again.

 

VIII - Judgment

The soul cannot be judged by anyone but God. Let no person claim to have dominion over your spirit. We can judge the acts performed by man and be subjected to social law. However, none of us is qualified to judge the soul of another person.

 

IX - Light

Let the innate beauty of your soul provide a beacon of Light for others in this world of Darkness. Show others how to live; be an example for them. Choose joy; show a zest for life; love others and make your own heaven. Light your lamp for them all to see. You will find it can change your path and hasten perfection.

 

X - Growth

Reach outward and grasp God; then find Him within, and join them together. Forge the bond between your Creator and yourself. Live and actualize this bond. In so doing, your spirit will soar, fear will vanish, and life becomes a joyous path toward Home. Let Their love enter your spirit and magnify Their presence.

 

 

Continued on next post......

 

 

XI - Communion

Purge any notion of demons, sin, devils, or bogeymen. The only demons in this world are self-doubt, insecurity, and feeling unworthy of God. God is perfect love, and we are Their children. Therefore everyone is worthy of Their love, and ours. Certainly we have imperfections, but those will be dealt with in time. God does not withhold Their love until we attain perfection; if so, They would be waiting a very long time.

 

The concept of "sin" has a very tragic history. Novus does not believe in sin (or Karma) as touted by most religions. The fear of sin has caused centuries of grief and oppression for people. It is time to correct the definition. In fact, the original definition of sin was simply to "miss the mark."

 

We feel that "sin" can only be committed by someone against themselves, and occurs when they willfully, and with malice, endeavor to harm someone. Certainly the other person is harmed, which is bad, but their soul is not injured. Only the soul of the perpetrator carries any scar, and only God and that person can judge proper restitution. There is no damnation or everlasting hellfire. The soul itself will seek to rectify any injustice, with a loving God for guidance.

 

Unfortunately some churches claim that any deliberate turning away from God, however slight, is a "sin" and will jeopardize your soul. Never! That would imply God is so vindictive as to disallow normal human emotion such as anger, distress, and pain. The fundamental nature of God is love, which implies forgiveness. Can a moment of emotional passion be considered a sin by our Creator? Never, for we believe in an all loving God.

 

XII - Divine

God created us, and the mechanism to live in this world, a body. The glorious part is that within the body lies a part of Them, which is called the soul. This spark of the Divine is worthy of all the respect given to God the Father and Mother.

 

XIII - Perfection

Does God send damnation and pain to you? Never. Do you send such things to yourself? Yes. And the reason is to provide obstacles which aid in perfecting your soul. People having many trials in life are perfecting faster, by their own choice, where others may want to take it slower. The end result is the same. We will all arrive at a point of self contentment. and remain with God in our home called the Other Side.

 

XIV - Karma

Karma is simply the balancing of experiences. If you were poor, you may want to try rich. If ugly, try beauty. If crippled, be an athlete. Every person will choose the required balance of experiences. There is no such thing as "bad Karma" inflicted upon someone for their misdeeds. The only judgment comes from yourself and God. And only you two can balance any inequities.

 

XV - Reincarnation

The primary goal of living is to perfect your soul. It is the single most important job we do. Does it make any sense to give it just one try, pass or fail, for all eternity? No, not if you accept a loving God. Indeed, most "mysteries" of religion will disappear when reincarnation is added to the mix. And that is precisely why the early church fathers banned overt references to reincarnation; it would erode their power (Council of Nicaea, 325 ce).

 

Novus Spiritus believes that God is all loving. To be consistent with this love, we must have a means to correct our errors. For the path to God is harsh and varied, and we will stumble along the way. An all loving God will account for such weakness and assist in making us whole.

 

God does not condemn babies and aborigines to hell because they were not "saved" before dying. Every person will have many opportunities to live upon this world. Each life brings you closer to perfection, and eventually, no further lives will be needed. The true concept of being "saved," is to reach that level of perfection ordained for you, by yourself, with God's guidance.

 

XVI - Meaning of Life

Do you need a meaning in life? Most people have a vague notion of needing to serve, but how can we accomplish this? Some folks sublimate this urge by working to achieve business success, yet may find it too is empty. Others seek fulfillment in political power or money. All of these are secondary to the reason for living. Indeed, a simple formula for success is to live for God, love others, and be a beacon of hope to the world. Therein lies achievement.

 

XVII - War

An act of war is wrong, for overt killing defiles the temple of God. However, when attacked, it is compulsory to defend that temple. Never be afraid to strike back when your life, your way of life, or your loved ones are threatened.

 

XVIII - Death

Death is the reward of living. You have spent your time in the physical world, with its negativity, heaviness, and loneliness. Now comes the good part: You can return home to the true existence, and be welcomed back into the direct and ever present grace of God.

 

Never fear dying. Even if you feel damnation awaits you, it does not. The grace of God will counsel and heal you. Then, when appropriate, you will face another life to balance the soul.

 

Avoid prolonged use of artificial life support systems. Allow the spirit to leave when the body is spent. Death is never an accident.

 

XIX - Mother God

We believe in a Mother God, Who is the co-creator to our all-loving Father God.

 

XX - Crucifixion

We believe that Our Lord was crucified but did not die on the cross and went on to live out His life in France with his mother and Mary Magdalene, his wife.

 

XXI - Christ's Lineage

We, the Gnostics, kept this knowledge hidden that Christ's lineage exists even today and the truth, long-buried is open to research.

 

[Georgia Lass]

Well, look at it this way, G.L. - we will definitely cut more slack to this sort of thing than you'd find at Christian Forums. At least we won't claim that you're listening to demons.

 

Keep in mind that this is an ex-christian site. Most of us have gone down the primrose path of gullibility. Taking someone else's word about what we needed to believe. Content to listen to only one side of the story. Smug and satisfied that we knew the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 

Only to have it all either slowly erode away, or explode in our face. Then, we did investigating and found out a ton of things that we were never told about our religion, and the shaky ground that it stands on.

 

So, many of us are now ultra-skeptics. We want evidence. We're not afraid to listen to other viewpoints, but we are not easily swayed.

 

So, it's good that you're not taking it personally.

 

Is this novus thing something you are already involved in or are just looking into?

 

Notblinded is right. This is somewhat of a warmed-over version of the Church of Religious Science. I went to this church when I was a teenager, so I'm a little bit familiar with their beliefs.

 

I used to be a fundamentalist Christian myself for about 6 years before I became an Atheist. I was ultra skeptical of Novus myself for a long time but I read something that just felt right to me, it was very personal and something I've believed since even before I was tainted by the dogma of fundamentalist Christianity.

 

I don't take everything they have to offer and I look at each little bit to determine whether I feel this part is right for me or not. I do find that for me personally most of it feels like something I want in my life ... and so it is. If someday I out grow this.. or that.. then I will just toss it by the wayside with the rest of what doesn't suit me.

 

I know the anger and betrayal people feel when their dogmatic religions are finally revealed for what they truly are so, I understand that people here are likely to react to my beliefs and this church in ways that can be less then supportive but I encourage people to be themselves and never sugar coat what you feel to be the truth.

[Jun]

I'll be up-front. I believe it's another farce. A concoction of differing religious beliefs strung together.

 

II - Love

Love is a force; it is the perfect emanation of good as defined by God. No love is ever lost. If you put love into the world, it is absorbed by someone, or something, that can use it. Love also has a way of coming back to you, although you may not see it. Love will always hit the mark; yet even though people can choose to ignore it, it always leaves an impression.

 

You can test this for yourself. Make a conscious effort to beam a shot of love to someone. Do they react? Does something change? Usually it will. Try it on strangers. Watch them closely. You can always love the spark of the Divine within a person, even though not liking their actions or personality.

 

Er, this is "projecting compassion on others," a practice in some Vajrayana and Theravada schools of Buddhism. Nothing new there, and certainly nothing to do with "gods."

 

Throughout it seems to use Judeo-Christian ideals to describe its beliefs and then suddenly - Karma - a term first used in Vedantic Hinduism, and later adopted for use in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Ayyavazhi. Karma, is an Indian ideal (Sanskrit - Karma, Pali - Kamma: it means "the fruits of action") I can't see how another "faith" that has no historical link or cultural link to the religions of india can adopt its use and change its meaning.

 

Honestly, why let another dogma dictate how you should live. Decide your own path. Religions, such as this one, offer nothing but sophisticated methods of avoiding the truth, of building elaborate fantasies in place of reality. Religions such as this obscure reality rather than reveal it.

[Georgia Lass]

I'll be up-front. I believe it's another farce. A concoction of differing religious beliefs strung together.

 

II - Love

Love is a force; it is the perfect emanation of good as defined by God. No love is ever lost. If you put love into the world, it is absorbed by someone, or something, that can use it. Love also has a way of coming back to you, although you may not see it. Love will always hit the mark; yet even though people can choose to ignore it, it always leaves an impression.

 

You can test this for yourself. Make a conscious effort to beam a shot of love to someone. Do they react? Does something change? Usually it will. Try it on strangers. Watch them closely. You can always love the spark of the Divine within a person, even though not liking their actions or personality.

 

Er, this is "projecting compassion on others," a practice in some Vajrayana and Theravada schools of Buddhism. Nothing new there, and certainly nothing to do with "gods."

 

Throughout it seems to use Judeo-Christian ideals to describe its beliefs and then suddenly - Karma - a term first used in Vedantic Hinduism, and later adopted for use in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Ayyavazhi. Karma, is an Indian ideal (Sanskrit - Karma, Pali - Kamma: it means "the fruits of action") I can't see how another "faith" that has no historical link or cultural link to the religions of india can adopt its use and change its meaning.

 

Honestly, why let another dogma dictate how you should live. Decide your own path. Religions, such as this one, offer nothing but sophisticated methods of avoiding the truth, of building elaborate fantasies in place of reality. Religions such as this obscure reality rather than reveal it.

 

I have to say you know quite a bit more then I when it comes to religion and I respect your opinion. You have given me a lot to think about.

 

Ever since my fall from fundamentalism I have be wary of anything that says you must believe this.. or do that.. in order to get that.. or avoid this.. to loosely quote Robert De Niro "I never get involved with anything I can't walk out on in 10 seconds flat if I feel the heat coming around the corner."

 

I haven't heard anything from Novus that would lead me to believe they are dogmatic in any way but believe me I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for just such a thing.

[Astreja]

Well, if love is an actual force it's a natural one rather than a supernatural one. Attributing it to a "god" may be premature.

 

The "part of God" bit sounds somewhat pantheistic.

 

Overall it's much more palatable than standard Christianity, but there are still a lot of unsupported assertions that get in the way of the overall "live and love" message.