I posted the following last Aug. 2023. Its worth a repost, as its still fairly up to date, but I could add a lot more of my present thoughts here, but most of the friends I still have left here, that have not died, know me by haven met me on some of tne various Chat Forums I have posted on, in the past, until I was being Shadow banned, i.e. censured, because I quit singing with the Choirs, so quit posting there. During those years I have rubbed elbows with, and grappled with various people on the Internet, I have not completely driven away those friends I still have left here on Face book. I appreciate you all.  Forgiveness is the Key, in the Big picture, because we only know what we THINK we know, which in the end, especially where we become sick, in pain, and unable to heal our selves, we KNOW we are ALL powerless over even our own destiny, let alone other’s! We need to extinguise the fires in our own burning homes, before looking for smoke in other people’s homes. 

That the above said, here was where I was in Aug. 2023, and am not far away now. I am greatful for my friends who are spread out over the U.S., India, Bhutan, Sweden, U.K., Austrailia, Canada, Mexico, So. America, France, Israel, and others.

Jim's Maze of Seeking God:

As a baby Christian, I was like a lamb being thrown to the wolves, when I first entered the Church arena, after becoming Born Again in April 1977, which changed me in to a “New Creation, crucified with Christ.”  I was “Baptised in The Holy Spirit” with evidence of speaking in tongues as per Acts. Chapter 4. In my mind’s eye I considered God the Father in the center of the Universe, with Jesus, the Christ, as the Intercessor between the Father and I. But, as I started to interact with other Christians, I started to add circles in my diagram branching out from the center, where the Father is located. In each of my circles, as I studied the different denominational dogmas, I circled Atonement; Righteousness; Eucharist, or Communion; Justification; Creator; Love; Grace; Faith; Mercy; Eternity; Immortality; Sin; Demons; Angels; Miracles; Church; Temple; Election; Predestination; Fate; Karma, Action or inaction; Reincarnation, Transmigration, Metempsychosis; Incarnation; and Resurrection, and last, but certainly not least, FORGIVENESS.

A couple years study of The Assemblies of God’s Berean Bible School earned me a Graduation Diploma, and a License to Preach by The A/G Denomination, and prayed for many Seekers to reveive the Baptism of The Holy Spirit as I had been gifted.  ( that initial Gift is what originally opened me up to “The Kingdom Within” that I became a member of. ) 

I ended up pastoring a small Assemblies of God Church in Laguna Beach, Ca. , that became much too controlled by the Parent A/G Org. and not allowing me to preach from my heart what I felt, but only their Dogma, so I resigned.

I then enrolled in a large Non-Denominational Seminary, was Oradined, while earning my B.Min., M.Min., and final Th.D. By that time, I was choked up on Fundamentalist Christian Dogma, and resigned from all Organisations and Credentials. It was a hard decision to part Company after all. Those years of hard work, study,  and monitary expenditures, but I am a Free Spirit that can not be harnessed and bridled by ANY Fundamentalist group of Over Seers!  

But, then, I started to venture off the beaten Fundamentalist track, and my search took me in many other directions included in the Maze of seeking God in new mysterious areas never before ventured.  

I studied Manly Palmer Hall’s writings, and attended many of his lectures, in person, when he was alive. He was the founder of Philosophical Research Society. I studied the writings of Douglas Baker, Barret, The Magus; Maurice Burke; Aurthur Edward Waite, Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine and Isis Unveiled; Alice Baily, Many Theosophy writings; Lost Continents of Atlantis and Lemuria; I read the entire Tome of the book called Urantia; as well as Eliphas Levi, Lewis Spence; the Matrix books of Val Valarien, Aliester Crowly, Edgar Cayce, which could all fall under the banner of Occultism, plus a Bibliography that could fill pages. All of no interest to non Seekers of the After Life. 

Then, I studied the UFO Sects, such as Shirley McLean; Schonfield; Erick Von Daniken; The Hollow Earth Theory; Zechariah Sitchen; Dr. Horn; and most of the main stream UFO Sects along with keeping up to dste with Dr. Richard Greer and Kerry Cassedy of Project Chamelot. 

Then, I also investigated Shamanism, starting with Terrence McKenna, progressing out to Spiritualism, Spiritism reading all of Allan Kardec’s book,  Channeling, and even read Anton LeVey’s Satanic Bible!

I checked out most of the Christian Cults, as well. Then of course, I subscribed to the Skeptical Enquirer, and gleaned the wit of Paul Kurtz and The Amazing Randy, while I was honing up on Col. Ingersol’s volumes of Atheist books. I fought my way through the maze of Roman Catholicism, wondering if I had made the correct move, when I ventured away from my Catholic roots, and ventured into Protestantism. 

Then, I had to be tossed back and forth as a ping pong ball between the Charismatic Pentecostals and Traditional mainline Fundamentalist Protestants. Then I had to decide between Historicity vs. myth vs. Tradition of the Bible. And, now allegory enters into the mix!

Once I found that Christianity gleaned the writings of Eastern religious writings, I was drawn into the maze of Eastern religions, simultaneously, while I was working through the ten year program of the Twelve Rosicrucian (AMORC) Degrees. Then, I took the Three Martinist Degrees as icing on the cake of the Esoteric Christian Maze.

I had to wade through, or sort out Eastern religions, other then the main stream Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, or Islam, I had to read Ram Dass, Charles Tart; study the drug Altered states of consciousness, read Benjamin Crème’s works; Sri Aurobindo; Nitananda; Yogananda; Dr. Paul Brunton; Muktananda; Satia Sai Baba; The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy; Rama Khristna Vedanta; Khrishna Consciousness; Meher Baba and the Sufi Mystic literature; Tibetan Buddhism and the Dali Lama ( Once saw him in person); Taoism; Confucianism; Shintoism; Essenes; Jainism; Transcendental Meditation; Egyptology; Judaism and the Kabbala; all leading me to the Radhasoami Sect! 

Then, after being initiated by Thakar Singh, then Charan Singh, I found myself into the Maze of historical bickering among the various Radhasoami Sects, each saying; My Master is the only Perfect Master, and all others are pseudo masters!” 

Along the way, while in the Maze, I had owned and read more Gnostic works than many could even imagine, and I went DEEPLY into both the Mormon religion, as well as Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

I owned the entire Nicene Church Father’s Series, all 50 plus volumes that ---- quotes from to support his Bible quotes. I have studied the Mind Science religions, such as Religious Science, Unity, and owned most of Ellen G. White’s works, including the 6 volume set of when she published editorials in the newspaper while she was alive. ( I donated most of my books to the local Library early 2023. I am no longer interested in other people’s experiences that I can’t access inside my own Kingdom Within.)  

Then, an exhaustive research of all Robert Monroes and TMI’S generous contributies after reading Monroe’s 3 books will never be forgotten. 

And, my dear friends and fellow Travelers, the above is only what comes to my immediate mind, of what I remember. I have bought, read, and sold and donated more books, in the past 40 years than the average Christian Church combined! ( Because most of them have not found the liberty to venture outside of their local Dogma.) Thank The Lord alone that my "Karma has run over my Dogma!!

THERE WAS MORE, BUT THIS WAS THE HIGH LIGHT.

Jim Sutherland, A work still in progress, as of 3/24