Spiritual Discernment

Discernment Resources

• Good and bad signs when dealing with spiritual messages.
• Prayer as a Form of Two-Way Communication, especially the bottom section that deals with discerning intent ("By Their Fruits You Will Know Them").
• Discernment & The Spiritual Path. The second half is much better than the first.
• R. Longman's Discernment at the Spirithome site.
• The Contenders' (extra right-wing conservative) discernment. I don't agree with a lot of the previous, but some of it has to be said and isn't said anywhere else.
• Discernment and more of it at Acts 17:11. Material on false prophecy (more discernment). Demons.
• C.S. Lewis' book The Screwtape Letters is excellent material, and fun to read!
• Stainton Moses: On deceptive spirits ... The tail end of Section 32 mentions one possible way to avoid deceit.
• Twelve tests. Somewhat conservative; definitely asks the vital question: Does the prophecy lead to God, and only God?
• The discernment section of the Pamathalaan Course, with lots more links.

More Spiritual Resources

Various and Sundry

• Here's another plug for Ben's Spirituality Site. Experimental Christianity. Ben's study of Christianity's sudden turn from oppressed to oppressor in the early 300's.
• Another plug for: Sydney Banks Institute for Innate Health: Reflections. See what this unusually deep and ... well ... "spiritual" school of psychotherapy has to say.
• Another plug for: TIKKUN Magazine and Spirit Matters, a book by Rabbi Michael Lerner.
• Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words: available free online and free in print: one big lesson: it isn't that we need more light; it's that we need to live up to what light we already have.
• The Alcoholics Anonymous' Big Book is fascinating reading that depicts the power of spirituality put into practice. Available free online and also available in print form.
• Stainton Moses' 1883 Spirit Teachings are, it seems, from what certainly does sound like a pretty high, God-centered source; still, it seems to lack some concepts of mercy. (Link to More Spirit Teachings).
• This is also listed above, but is deserving of another link: David Sunfellow's Discernment & The Spiritual Path. (The second half is much better than the first.)
• Spirit Releasement Therapy ... don't agree with all of it, but a lot of it is powerful stuff.
• Parapsychology FAQ. Not that I necessarily agree with some of their theories....
• Question Mark, a refreshing column by a guy without the answers.
• "Demon Possession Handbook". Too conservative and black and white for my taste, but still useful. A bit of a "downer" site.
• Acts 17:11, a well-constructed but rather conservative Christian site. (See its listing above for some specific links.)
• Insights into the Afterlife. New Age-influenced page, with a lot of stuff I find questionable or misleading, but does have some useful material. Apply careful filters.

Non-online Spirituality Resources

Other Things to Ponder

Christian Resources

• The "Confessio" of Saint Patrick
• St. Augustine stuff
• Blue Letter Bible Project; Guide to Early Church Documents; the Bible Gateway
• Non-canonical gospels; Christian Classics.
• Ecclesiology: A Study in Church History traces the development of the Catholic Church. Written from a pro-Catholic point of view, but so far a balanced and interesting look. William Law's call to a devout life, long-winded, repetitive, seemingly endless, definitely conservative (but anti-hypocrisy!); still, generally solid and has some interesting points, and good advice on prayer (2nd half). Stuff on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (reminds me of Victor Frankl).
• Heights Christian Church has this page: No Fear. I found this on the Web one really stressful day, and liked it. Some sermons here and and here, and Discipleship Journal seem relatively friendly. Pray the News -- a convent.
• Christians for Biblical (gender) Equality, and documents on women's leadership roles in the early church. Some discussion refuting parts of Paul's restrictions on women.
• Rev. T.J. Bottoms' sermon to the Christian Church (Disciples).
• At last, a Christian site that's against forwarding all those syrupy and usually fake inspirational stories....

More Stuff

• Interview with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield on Frontline, about Sept. 11th, God, faith, and human nature.
• The Bible and Science
• Sacred Texts includes Buddhist texts
• Dalai Lama site ... some very interesting material.
• The After Death Communication (ADC) site (message board) and the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). Extensive NDE accounts at near-death.com, including Dr. George Ritchie's account of heaven, hell, lost spirits/ghosts, and Christ. Betty Eadie's site and Atwater's site and Christian Andreason's story, and Fast Lane to Heaven/Mission of Angels (Dougherty). Prebirth.com on what might happen before life, plus alternative to abortion.
• Submission.org, a site on Islam and the Quran with an interesting perspective. Women in Islam: in some ways better off, by theological standards.
• A Christian perspective on divorce.
• Zoroastianism (the teachings of Zoroaster) Does this area sound familiar?
• The Bagvad Gita (the teachings of Krisna (Hindu))
• Wicca: What it is, What it is not.
• Buddhist Studies WWW Library. Vipassana Meditation talks about the art of living, and this Vipassana site talks about eliminating anger and mindfulness and the practice thereof.
• Bio of G. Fox, Quaker founder
• Interfaith Alliance
• Mirror of a friend's aikido page: excerpts from the teachings of Morihei Ueshiba (founder of Aikido). More quotes from M. Ueshiba. And more...
• For real fun, contrast the tone between the above aikido URLs with this one: the Christian Research Journal's report on the martial arts.
• And heck, for an opposing point of view on things like positive thinking, try discernment discussion of Norman Vincent Peale and Guideposts.