Kathie Costos
October 24, 2022
Pick any religion, and what you will find is spiritual people among the "religious" ones that were free to choose what group they belong to. The difference is, anyone can be spiritual but not belong to a religious group. I am churchless but not Godless. Whenever I am in a group and asked about my faith, I am unashamed of the answer I give. The problem is, those that who attend church have a problem with that. I am constantly invited to their houses of worship when I choose to worship in my own house.
What the ‘spiritual but not religious’ have in common with radical Protestants of 500 years ago on The Conversation is a good place to start this.
The spiritual but not religious are independent seekers, many of whom pray, meditate, do yoga, and other spiritual practices outside the confines of a particular tradition.
I am a Christian and became a Chaplain in 2008 but as a Chaplain, I had to choose between faith and helping others heal PTSD. I chose to help on their terms, no matter where they were on their spiritual beliefs. When I addressed anything that was based on scripture but they did not believe in God or Jesus, I told the person I was helping that was what I believed but if they did not, they should regard it as a story. If they believed, which over 90% did but did not consider themselves "religious" it was easier to open their eyes to what they did not know was in the scriptures.
Most of them knew John 3:16 but they did not know the rest of the passage. Nicodemus was one of the leaders of the Jews. While he was among those who wanted to put Jesus to death, he was a man with an open mind and a wise spirit. He decided to talk to Jesus and find out what He was all about.
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
In other words, while others used their "religion" to end the life of Jesus here on earth, He came to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and provided a place for Him, not just in his tomb, but in his heart.
Many parts of the Bible discuss how we are in fact spiritual creations. While not all spiritual people are Christian, they do agree that there is something within them that is empowering. The same applies to you and is vital if you are trying to heal PTSD. It strikes the emotional core of what makes you "you" and then infects it with all that is attempting to destroy you.
That was the reason I rewrote my last books and turned them into The Ministers Of The Mystery because there is what we think we know, and then there is the amazing truth about what else there is to discover. It is a battle of good against evil, fact against fiction within fictional works of The Scribe, The Accused, and The 13th Minister Of The Mystery.
These are spiritual people, healers that were regarded as "witches" much like many of those hunted down during the Witchcraft Trials around the world. They were judged by "religious" people in their time but vindicated by ours. The story is about fighting against what the protagonist believed about himself and friends fought to help him find the purpose of his very strange life. If you know anything about the miracles in the Bible, you may think they stopped happening but when you think about how each of the deliverers of the miracles was given their gifts to achieve the results, it makes it easier to realize they are still going on in today's world.
Some think that PTSD only strikes veterans, but the truth is, it strikes survivors of all types of traumatic events. All of the "friends" survived different things, suffered afterward, and healed enough they wanted to pass on that gift to others. It was a gift they were willing to give freely because others gave it to them first in the same way.
If you like supernatural, paranormal, and psychological splashed with real history, the spiritual gifts of the soul, empowerment, peer support, good witches, and miracles, I hope these books fill that and entertain you. Above all, I hope they strengthen the power within you!
The Scribe is available on Kindle Vella with the first three episodes.
The Scribe, The Vision, and The 13th Minister will be released at the end of November on Amazon Kindle and paperback.
