We’d like to warmly welcome those of you who have recently registered, and hope that your experience on the website and forums have been educational and uplifting. Periodically we rotate a sampling of our written Teachings shared freely on the website, and we inform our members, through emails like this when we do.
For new members, we recommend reading An Introduction to Spirituality, which is always shared freely on the website to help Seekers clarify the path they are searching for; laying beyond and at the heart of the founding of all Religion. Those of you disillusioned with deadened ritual backed by dogma whose meaning has been long forgotten are ready to tap into and drink in the source of what founded these ancient edifices. This source is not simply what solidified into religion, but is the source of all life and meaning itself. It is the source of each of us, the world itself, and where we come from. It is Spirituality. Seekers requiring deeper answers need at least a basic introduction into what this means, and this booklet attempts to provide such. Feel free to read directly from the website or download it free from our Store.
Those of you questioning who we are should read the various sections in the About section (start with the About link, and hover your cursor over that tab for a list of different sections here), or may alternately download the Introduction to the Culdians booklet in the Store, also offered free of charge. This may help some of you understand our values, goals, and history. And if there’s any confusion on any of those points, feel free to email us at info@culdiantrust.org or post your questions and comments on the forums.
The theme for our current rotation of reading samples is The Good Religion, very much akin to what Spirituality is explained to be in the Introduction to Spirituality booklet. But it is something more. The Good Religion, while man made, is the Religion which accords best with man in his own time and place, and yet can also see beyond these to continually pattern itself after the Divine Design.
There is a continual reference to this Good Religion found throughout The Book of Wisdom in the Kolbrin. The final chapter of this book is called The Good Religion, and summarizes its main points. (As an extra, we have shared this chapter below in its entirety for you to read and ponder. The entirety of the Kolbrin is always available for purchase in our Store as an e-book, and the hardcover version is available through one of the third party booksellers linked to there.)
It is nearly December, cold for some and warm for others, but for all of us in the English speaking world it is a time to gather with family and friends to renew old ties and pay respect to ones no longer present. The holidays themselves have a deep and ancient spiritual significance, which is why we today we associate the reuniting love of family and celebration with the God of our Hearts. Love, reunion, wisdom, family, turning points (the solstice), the Soulpath, and God… these are the most important things to us as humans, and it is no accident the whole world celebrates these various things together all at the same time.
We currently have a very special treat for you, now becoming a sort of tradition this time of year. In the Spirit of Christmas, we offer to all registered Members of the site the ability to read The Gospel of the Kailedy, free at your leisure, and among your families. The Kailedy is the second part of the Kolbrin, and is the story of Jesus preserved by the Kelts, whose tradition predates the Roman Church.
Enjoy the read, and enjoy your family… and remember, we all have the potential to become a ‘Son of Man’, quite clearly because we are all already sons of men. Perhaps a New Year’s resolution is in order…
The Kailedy may be read by clicking on the following link after you have logged into the Website: http://culdiantrust.org/blog/teachings/kolbrinkailedy/kailedy/dedication/
As health, virtue, and strength begin to establish themselves symbolically in preparation for the New Year, the groundwork is laid to both manifest and connect with the Divine Source within and above. And as this process continues, it is experienced more purely and powerfully with less distortion and abstraction. Our booklet, A Culdian Perspective on Worship and Prayer, removes sectarian dogma around the subject while explaining how all of us may approach the Divine that is our universal birthright. This second selection, available to logged in members of the website, helps to unravel and experience our own personal place and connection with the universal source amidst and a part of the cosmic tapestry.
A Culdian’s Thoughts on the Bible is a very short booklet that just begins to touch on theological issues relating to the Bible, and is available for all members and visitors.
Our final selection, Reconciliation, is the true story of a Culdian’s struggle with present day Christianity, followed by a revelatory experience which had the effect of ‘reconciling’ certain theological differences between Culdian and mainstream Christian thought. Reconciliation is available to read free of all registered members and visitors of the website.
[b]Chapter 22 of The Book of Wisdom in the Kolbrin
The Good Religion[/b]
[i]This is not a recipe for salvation, nor a formula for blind belief. It is not a matter of doctrine alone, and dogmatic belief must not be rigidly imposed, though loyalty and unity are certainly to be expected from those who follow its light. The Good Religion is not so much a belief or doctrine as a way of living. It is the way of life of a company of kindred spirits headed for the same destination and all sharing the same adventure, with its hazards and excitement, all seeking the best road together.
It is not a religion of gloom and despair. It does not seek to placate or coerce any Being, for it serves a Divinity above such things. It is not a religion revelling in servility and meekness, instead it seeks to reveal the greatness of man. It is a religion of joy and hope, of high ideals and aspirations. It adheres to the highest principles of Truth, Justice and Goodness. It aspires to the greatest good for all mankind and believes in the sanctity of life, love and family. It hallows hearth and home.
It is a practical religion teaching the doctrine of evolving betterment. It establishes a standard for men to live by, which will make them better men and permit them to live in peace and harmony with others. It values the qualities of courage, audacity, fortitude and steadfastness. It upholds the virtues of modesty, patience, purity and gentleness. It is not a religion of undue restraint or narrow dogma, and it does not believe in the futile mortification of the body. It takes full regard of man as a twofold being and maintains the dignity of the mortal as well as the spiritual body. It makes no empty promises of salvation or redemption and is not founded upon a system of indulgences, rewards or promises. It expounds the principles of personal responsibility, obligation and effort. Its prime objectives are to the carrying out of the Divine Design and the service of mankind. It is a religion to be lived by and not just believed in. It demands to be expressed in deeds and not in words, in beneficial action and not in blind conformity. It is more interested in bringing out the hidden good than in outward display and pomp. The Good Religion concerns itself with whatever is necessary for the unfolding of the spirit, and its aim is to spur man upward to divinity.
The purpose of a religion is to serve and it cannot do this properly by concentrating on spiritual matters alone, for it also has the obligation of setting a moral standard. A worthwhile religion cannot permit itself to be shut out from everyday life. If it does so, it is undeserving of its status. It must concern itself with the way men live, with the conduct of their daily affairs, with their relationship with one another.
Religion is man’s response to his existence in earthly conditions and the answer to the challenge of his environment. Therefore, it is in religion that he finds the most satisfactory outlet for his feelings and the best way of expressing his inner yearning. The soundless, insistent voice of The Divine calls out to man from the depths of his being, and that which guides and directs him towards it is called ‘religion’.
The Divine is hidden from men and veiled behind the firmament, and this separation, this feeling of being cut off, is the source and basis of religion. The Divine and man, fire and spark, now sundered apart, crave to be united and this craving expresses itself as religion.
Man, the person, is like a lamb separated from its mother, the source of its life, and lost in the mountain mists. He is a lonely creature pulled and pushed around by urges and desires, dragged onward by the remorseless chords of time, heavily burdened with fragile mortality and always haunted by the accompanying phantoms of decay and change. His only encouragement is the light of divinity just dimly glimpsed in the distance, and his only consolation and comfort his religion.
But religion too often gives cold comfort and little encouragement, therefore the Good Religion must be a True comforter as well as a champion. It will teach man that there is a happy haven and worthwhile destination at the end of the road. It will show him that it is futile to try and run away from life and that its trials are inescapable. Life is given to man with intent and purpose and he can achieve divinity only by first experiencing the realities of existence here and rising above them.
The standards imposed upon those who follow the light of the Good Religion will be those already set out in the Sacred Books of times gone by, for wisdom is not a callow youth. Such standards should not weigh too heavily on men, as do some enforced under the cloak of ignorance. This is the Religion of the Light and it accords with the natural tendencies of man. It declares every man to be heir of divinity and therefore capable of living a righteous and upward-tending life.
The concept of righteousness held by the Good Religion is not one of external display, for it preaches that goodness is expressed in deeds and in a way of life, not in the holding of barren beliefs and purposeless ceremonial. It is like a mighty oak, always shedding leaves and replacing them in the proper seasons. Its roots keep spreading out into new ground, but its trunk is always strengthening and growing greater.
The Good Religion believes that man is the instrument of The Divine and His deputy on Earth; that man is entrusted with certain responsibilities and duties which he can shirk only to his cost; that the soul is immortal and the body mortal and that man can achieve divinity only through his own efforts. He can be saved by no one except himself.
There are those who prefer the worship of many lesser divinities, and those who divide their belief so from one come many, and each is content with his portion and derides that of others. The many divinities are like mirages across the sands, which appear to offer cool waters, but no man ever found refreshment there. When darkness falls the mirage disappears and he who trod the sand towards it is lost.
Men have to be organised in worship as in all things, but this is not so much for their own good, though this is often made the excuse, but to check man’s inherent tendency towards irresponsibility and apathy. While it is true that the less responsible and resolute men are the more they have to be organised and controlled, it is also true that the more they are organised and controlled, the less responsible and resolute they tend to become. In this as in all things a balance must be struck. Therefore, when a religion teaches that men should be responsible and resolute, it should not seek to organise and control them too much. However, it must also be remembered that without leadership, organisation and discipline, no battle was ever won.
The Good Religion must do more than produce good men. The popular religions within the confines of civilisation already produce good men, but they do not produce divinely inspired men or men who rise even above goodness.
The Good Religion will not accept the doctrine now preached that the man who suffers is one who has done wrong or offended some divinity. Instead it will declare that the man who suffers is undergoing one of the inescapable tests of life and may be one chosen for higher service. However, it should acknowledge that this should not lead to suffering being accepted passively. Not only must suffering be struggled against, but every effort must be made by others to help the sufferer. The trials and tests of life are not things to be endured with passive patience, they are challenges to be met and overcome.
The Good Religion must establish a tradition of service which it can hand down from one generation to another. It must also establish a base within a compatible body of people from which it can be propagated, not only by preaching and teaching but also, more important, by example. To each of its followers it must declare the message: “Whether a man does much or little is not as important as to whether he always does his best and directs his actions towards the fulfilment of the Divine Designâ€.
The Good Religion exists even now, for it is the faith of the few who cherish the seed. It is limited to a small number who hand on the torch, and this must continue until the day already appointed. Meanwhile mankind is not ill served by its many religions, but the day comes when they will no longer serve and that is the day the child of man’s ancient heritage will be born.[/i]