Key Concepts and Terms Articles

Most of us don’t use the word “sin” very much; it has a rather distasteful ring to it. But the concept, I believe, is deeply embedded in our psyches. What is sin? I am not versed in theological treatments of it, but I think I have a good grasp of the popular concept,...

What do you think when you hear the word “miracle”? I don’t mean in discussion about the Course; I mean in normal life. When you hear someone exclaim, “It was a miracle!” doesn’t something inside you feel lifted? Why? What does that statement mean? Roughly translated,...

There seems to be a great wariness these days in spiritual circles around the notion of “belief.” Belief strikes us as being at the heart of so much of what is wrong with traditional religion. We have seen people embrace beliefs that seem more like primitive mythology...

The Course tells us that its goal is true perception, which it also calls Christ’s vision, or usually just vision. All our learning, all our study and practice, all our forgiveness, all our giving of miracles, is meant to bring us to the point where we see with this...

“Heart” is one of the most revered words in alternative spiritual circles. We speak of journeying into the heart, reconnecting with the heart, coming from the heart, being in our heart. The impression one gets from such usages is that there is this deep place in us...

Everyone in our culture is familiar with the term “Son of God.” Even non-Christians know of Christianity’s belief that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. Yet what should we do now with that term? In a modern era, to see one individual as being born with a...

There is a powerful scene in the movie Forrest Gump. Forrest, who is mildly retarded, has been in love since childhood with Jenny, whose abuse by her father has left her psychologically damaged. At one point Forrest tells her he loves her and she quickly responds,...

Magic is an action or power that cannot really accomplish the effect it claims. Think of a voodoo doll. According to our modern worldview, there is no literal, causal connection between the doll and the person it represents. Therefore sticking a pin in the doll has no...

(This is a chapter that Robert was invited to write for a scholarly collection titled Miracles: God, Science, and Psychology in the Paranormal, edited by J. Harold Ellens. It appears in Volume III of that collection, Parapsychological Perspectives.) One can hardly...

For many Course students there is a tension, perhaps unconscious, between the word "miracle" in the Course's title and the Course's metaphysical foundation. A miracle is an amazing happening in this world, while the Course's metaphysical foundation says that the world...

Comments Most Course students are aware of the term "miracle worker," but few are aware of "miracle receiver." In combination with "miracle worker," this term makes it clear that the miracle is something that passes from a giver (or worker) to a receiver. This stands...