Living, as we do now, separated from seeing God face to face because of our sin is really just a fore-taste of what it would be like to be separated from God eternally. (4/97) God being holy means separated from sin, but in reality it is us sinners that are seprated from God, the vine. Sins can be subtle like laziness (see The Road Less Traveled) and not being an activist for other people's problems. (Randy)
SEPARATE/SEPARATION - see HOLY ???, SIN, SPLIT, DIFFER, SELF, ILLUSION, MYSTERY, HIDDEN, SECRET, DUAL, BECOMING, IDOLATRY, EXPRESSION, INDIVIDUAL, Tree of Knowledge
Antonyms: WHOLE, HOLISTIC, ONENESS, UNITY, INTERDEPENDENT, REALITY, TAO, BOTH, NOT-TWO, COMPLETE, INTEGRATE, CONNECTED, TRUTH, ESSENCE, GOD
Much of the religious quest has been an attempt to recover the lost harmony, paradise, wholeness, integration - there was no consciousness of distinctions and divisions. Separation was positive (God separated land from sea, light from darkness, Sabbath from rest of week) and could also entail irretrievable loss. As the division between humanity and God increased, sin became a possibility, which in turn could accelerate the dynamic of separation and estrangement. (In the Beginning by Karen Armstroing, Separation)
God cannot project Himself outside Himself; God can only express Himself within Himself. The can be no such thing as a distinct or separate individual that would be separate from the Universe. Man is not an individual in God, rather is an individualization of God. (Discover the Power Within You, p54)
Chopra claifies what he calls a mistake of the intellect that has confused differentiation with separation. (3rd Jesus)
It is not ignorance, but that only one thing that separates us from God is our sin - for God is holy and pure. (Billy Graham)
I have a vague recollection of the idea that a big aspect of holiness was being devoted to, and therefore under the ownership/mastership of, God (a la your 2 Tim 2:21)...and then another aspect was differentness from the (human) norm "be holy as I am holy".
It is the ego which blinds us to the inner mystery of all things, but once we have got beyond that we are not isolated, separate beings but one with the Ground of all existence. (History of God, p241)
Jesus clearly manifests the fact that the whole person is "divine and human." Jesus came to cure us of the misconception that we live separated from God.The path of contemplation is the path through suffering and dying into the experience of oneness with God. (Meaning, p134-5)
The purpose of ACIM is to heal our pain and suffering from the incorrect thinking that we are separated from God. (p3) In reality or heaven we are one. (p5) (Miracles Intro)
“God is still everywhere and in everything forever. And we are a part of Him”. (p92) "Whenever you question your value, say: ‘God Himself is incomplete without me’”. (p165) “The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself. There is no separation of God and His creation”. Whereas, the Bible is clear that God is distinct from His creation. John 4:24 tells us that God is spirit, but we are flesh. Psalms 50:21 tells us that God us unlike man ethically, “You thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you”. God is righteous and holy (Lev. 11:44, 19:2; Isa 6:3) and He distinguishes sin from righteousness. (p136) (Course in Miracles)
Too often critcism blocks compassion, separating is into polarized factions. By choosing separation we lose lose our oneness in Tao; in tolerance we regain it. (Tao Peace, p208)
Jesus was concerned with the distance that seemed to separate God from humanity. How could human beings, who were substained by the divine breath, feel that God was so remote? Humanities consciousness gave distinction and divisions and separation from God. The theme of separation was crucial to P's creation narrative. God created a habitable world by dividing light from darkness, sea from land, blessed the Sabbath by separating it from the rest of the week and making it holy. (Beginning, p21-3)
Genesis shows the gradual separation of God and humanity. Henseforth, we would be forced to rely on our own ideas, dreams, and intuitions, without explicit divine instruction. In Exodus, God is a more untouchable being, not appearing in human form or sitting with his chosen ones as a friend, but having human beings keep their distance and appreciate God's essential otherness or holiness. People should experience the divine as one another's keeper; they would be able to sense life's sacred dimension when they displayed practical compassion toward their fellow men and women and when they wrestled manfully with the turbulent, conflicted world of the psyche. (Beginning, p93-4)
"Nothing can separate us from the love of God that comes to us through Christ Jesus, Our Lord" (Rom ____), except our selfishness, our pride, and our sin. (IAM, page vii).
When I begin to feel the separation or lack of balance between flesh and spirit, I have learned to enter a quiet place within me and reflect upon my spiritual needs. (Awakening, p216)