[The books referred to in parentheses in the following essay were all written by Neale Donald Walsch, and full bibliographic information about them is given at the end of this essay.]
The key to understanding Neale Donald Walsch is to realize that he is part of the New Thought movement. His ideas are very similar to other writers in this movement such as Rhonda Byrne, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Terry Cole-Whittaker. Nothing is paradoxical or unusual in his writings once one understands this larger movement and its idea of our relationship with the Divine. [This site contains an essay on the origins of New Thought, an essay on its basic teachings and an essay on its problems. All of these essays are in the History of Ideas section.]
What is unusual and interesting about Walsch is that he is very worried our civilization is in a deep crisis (CW2, p.138-140), and he expands basic New Thought ideas to offer a solution to the crisis. This crisis is so severe in his opinion that we are years, not decades, from collapse. (NR, p. ix) The purpose of his books is to raise collective consciousness to avert this crisis. (CW2, p. 256) He is to be commended for being one of the few New Thought teachers who focus on our civilization’s troubles, especially as he says his audience hates it when he talks about politics and are often infuriated with him. (F, p. 379-380)
While Walsch thinks there is an impending crisis, he is very hopeful. He says “the world could change overnight” if we could change our consciousness. (CW2, p. 260) We do not have to wait for the whole society or government to change. Individuals can change first and then help other individuals change. Eventually, there will be enough individuals with the new, more connected consciousness that finally a critical mass of people will emerge and society as a whole will change. [The critical mass is around 3% of all people. (T, p. 17)] Walsch is such an optimist that this change will not take centuries, but only decades or even just years. (T, p. 215)
According to Walsch, the core problem causing our crisis is the mistaken ideas organized religions teach us about God. (NR, p. 29-30) We are actually one with God and with all life, but organized religions do not want us to know this as priests want control. They would not have this control if we knew about the power within us through our connection to God. (H, p. 168)
Walsch says that people do not experience separateness from God on their own. Instead people believe they are separate from God because religion tells them so. (NR, p. 186) People forget their connection to God as they are taught they do not have any inner connection to the divine separate from the religious authorities. (T, p. 142)
Walsch says that our science, math, medicine, technology, philosophy and psychology have all changed to keep up with the times, but our religious ideas have not. (T, p. 213 & NR, p. 176) So the root of our civilization’s crisis is that we suffer from outmoded religious ideas that lead people to hurt each other and the planet. Walsch says that people “plunder the Earth, rape her of her resources, exploit her people, and systematically disenfranchise those who disagree with you.” (CW2, p. 172)
Walsch says that either we keep religious fundamentalism or we have new spiritual revelations. (NR, p. 64) As religious fundamentalism is the root cause of our civilization’s crisis, he thinks we need a new spiritual revelation: his books, which he claims are channeled from God. He says that this new revelation in his books will expand the insights of religions; it will not reject their insights, but rejuvenate them. “The world must create a New Spirituality. Not something to completely replace the old, but something to refresh it. Not something to reduce the old, but something to expand it. Not something to subvert the old, but something to support the best of it.” (NR, p. 177) His revelation will be a higher synthesis of the old religions and new insights we need to keep up with the times. This new revelation will not say that people were wrong in their earlier understanding of previous revelations. It will say, “You simply didn’t have a complete understanding. You needed more information. Transcending current beliefs is not an outright rejection of them; it is an ‘adding to’ them. Now that you have more information that you can add to what you presently believe, you can enlarge your beliefs – not completely reject them, enlarge them – and move on with your lives in a new way.” (NR, p. 9) This new synthesis will work by keeping people focused on the core principles in their religious traditions and stop them from quarreling over the minor points or fine print. (T, p. 233)
The core point of Walsch’s new spiritual revelation is that God is life, and we are God. (QA, p. 195) This realization of oneness has tremendous practical ramifications as it means that what you do for another, you do for self and vice versa. (CW1, p. 131) In this higher state of awareness, he says you will lose your selfishness as someone else’s interests are now seen as your own interests. (CW2, 141) Furthermore once you see others as you, you will not do harmful things to them as you are them, and you don’t do harmful things to yourself. (T, p. 72-3)
In this new society there will be a shift in consciousness so that everyone will share everything equally, and thus there will not be any private property. (CW3, p. 287 & 294-5) In a really advanced society, there will not even be personal pronouns as there will not even be the concept “yours” or “mine.” (CW3, p. 306-7) Sometimes he says there will be private property, but there will not be a need for taxes. Why not? He says people will contribute freely to the common good as we are all one. He says that “not contributing to the Fund for the Common Good would be like cheating on yourself. What good would that do?” (T, p. 270)
In this new society, people would never let other people starve as we would never do that to ourselves. (QA, p. 156-7) Moreover, there will not be competition, as when one person loses, we all lose as we are one. (CW3, p. 302)
Skeptics might think that some people will take advantage of the situation as in communism. Walsch responds that his system is much different than communism because in that system people were forced to share. In his system, the sharing in society comes about not from force, but from a change in consciousness. His theory is grounded in the belief that when a critical mass of people realize we are all one, it brings change in everyone.
Still Walsch thinks that sometimes people will do less than ideal actions. He says that if someone is a welfare cheat, you do not stop helping them as God’s goodness, patience and love (and hence ours as we are God) is never ending. (CW2, p. 170-1) If people do other harmful things, there will not be any punishment. He says that “the idea of punishment is simply not something that occurs to them [people living in advanced societies], because the concept of punishment itself is incomprehensible to them. Why would the One Being want to hurt Itself? Even if It has done something that is damaging, why would It want to hurt Itself again? How does hurting Itself once more correct the damage of the first hurt? It’s like stubbing one’s toe, then kicking twice as hard to retaliate.“ (CO, p. 151)
The essence of Walsch’s vision is that we are all one with God and one another; once we realize this, we will change and treat each other well. He is to be respected for bringing into New Thought a new dimension of social concern and trying to develop a vision of how people who take New Thought seriously will bring about social change.
Problems
The first problem with his social vision is that he says we will never do bad things to others as you don’t do bad things to yourself. Unfortunately, this is just untrue: we do bad things to ourselves all the time. Vast numbers of people consume harmful or dangerous food because it tastes yummy or smoke cancer causing cigarettes because they enjoy it. Or we just have to look at the problems people have with drugs to know that this idea that people don’t harm themselves is simply not true.
His whole oneness approach will not solve the problem he thinks it will because most people don’t treat themselves that well, so there is no reason to think they will treat others well even if they think the others are themselves.
The second problem is his belief in how these ideas will come about in society. He says that when enough individual people share his ideas, a critical mass will be reached which will create a force field of some type so that everyone in society will share this belief. He says that “as more and more people are awakening… that number will reach critical mass, and the so-called Hundredth Monkey theory will play out its effect. That is, everyone at once will know and understand.” (QA, p. 240)
The idea of this kind of force field is very popular in the New Age movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says that when enough people meditate, peaceful and calm vibrations are sent out so there is less crime and terrorism in the area. And Rupert Sheldrake refers to this idea as morphogenetic fields. But the most popular way of phrasing this concept is the hundredth monkey. While Walsch finds this a hopeful concept, unfortunately for him, the hundredth monkey and related phenomena have been thoroughly debunked by researchers and scientists. [The present site has a larger essay on the problems with the hundredth monkey idea.]
So the theoretical foundations of his solution do not work. Things will not suddenly change radically for the better when we think of others as ourselves. If we want to change our civilization, we have to look for a different approach than Walsch’s.
While Walsch’s basic vision is flawed, his discussions about religion contain some basic misconceptions that many modern spiritual people share and so it is useful to discuss them.
The first misconception is that he overestimates religion’s effect on our lives. He says that our whole culture emerged from religion. (T, p. 115) But there are lots of other influences on our culture such as philosophy, science and our theory of human nature. The philosophy behind capitalism did not emerge from religion. Adam Smith was very much influenced by Stoic philosophy and his theory of human nature, but he was not much influenced by religion. His theory of capitalism came from a theory of human nature that says we are selfish creatures but the Deist God arranged things in such a way that our selfishness works for the good of all in the long run.
Walsch has a theory of human nature where we are good and part of God. So he says that it is hard for us to kill one another as it goes against every instinct we have. So why do we kill each other? Not because we are greedy or lustful or want more land or because we are selfish by nature. No, according to Walsch, it is due to organized religion brainwashing us that it is okay to kill. Organized religion has reorganized our thoughts so that we think killing is okay. (NR, p. 206-7) Killing did not start because I wanted your pretty wife or your clean cave, it started because of organized religion.
Walsch seems naïve to think religion is the only important negative force in our lives. He is neglecting selfishness, lust and our other lower base desires. But his position follows from the basic tenets of New Thought: it says we are one with God and does not really believe we suffer from bad past karma, sinful nature or lower personality desires that significantly push us away from God.
New Thought does not believe in evil, but for Walsch, organized religion becomes the functional equivalent of evil. He teaches that we are one with God and would continue to have this oneness, except for organized religion. This scapegoating of organized religion makes it basically equivalent to the Christian devil. (Except the Christians are more sophisticated and do not give all the power to the devil as our lower base urges also play a major part in our troubles.)
The second misconception is that he does not understand how religious change happens and how much religions have changed throughout history. Religions change tremendously, but Walsch does not notice the change because the religions keep the same holy books. They change by interpreting their book differently or putting more emphasis on another part of the book. So in America in the mid-1800s, slavery was a major problem. There are many passages in the Bible that, if interpreted literally, support keeping slaves. The Southerners interpreted these passages literally and held up the Bible as supporting slavery. In order to abolish slavery, the Northerners did not need a new revelation, they needed a new way of reading the Bible. And they got one. Instead of focusing on the literal interpretation of biblical passages, they emphasized the larger principles and general arc of the Bible. These were for liberation, freedom, equality and care for everyone. The abolitionist movement in America was led by religious people using the Bible as support for the abolition of slavery. A related process is happening now in our country concerning homosexuality where many people interpret Bible passages literally to disparage homosexuality, and other people emphasize Jesus’ love and toleration for everyone.
There are many other times in history when Christianity significantly changed to accommodate social changes. So when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and started the process of Christianity becoming the religion of the Roman Empire, Christians stopped being pacifists. When Western Europe, started getting more capitalistic, the Catholic Church changed its traditional condemnation against charging interest on loans.
The third misconception is his claim that his new revelation does not reject earlier religious revelations, but enlarges and enlivens them as it is a synthesis of the best of the old and the new. Modern spiritual writers like to claim their spiritual systems encapsulate earlier traditions in a higher synthesis. James Redfield claims this in his book Celestine Prophecy, and Ken Wilber says his ideas are a synthesis of previous ways of thinking. These writers say their synthesis keeps the basic, core insights of the previous tradition.
The trouble is that it is not easy to decide what are the core principles from the older tradition that have to be kept in the synthesis, and what are the lesser principles that can be left behind. Buddha told his disciples before he died that they could discard the minor monastic rules and follow only the major important ones. However, his disciples could not decide how to do this, and they ended up retaining all the monastic rules, including interesting ones like all medicine has to have urine in it and monks cannot eat after noon.
When Walsch talks about changing unimportant principles of the Christian tradition, he specifically points to changing the masculine pronouns used in the Bible to make them gender neutral. Walsch says that changing the pronouns is not changing anything important and people should realize this. He knows that “critics such as James Dobson, founder of the conservative Focus on the Family ministry, say muting ‘the masculinity intended by the authors of Scripture’ violates the Gospel by ‘ obscuring the fatherhood of God’… ‘and the true identity of Jesus Christ.’” He, however, says this resistance is “petulant bickering.” (NR 75 & 76)
Walsch claims to be making a higher synthesis, but a true synthesis will have to convince conservatives like Dobson, not just liberals. Otherwise, it is not a convincing or good synthesis that takes our culture to the next stage of its spiritual evolution. Redfield and Wilber’s work suffer from the same kind of easy “synthesizing.” So the vast majority of Christians still have not realized how the Celestine Prophecy revitalizes their faith, and the vast majority of academics pay absolutely no attention to Wilber’s work. Of course these spiritual writers and New Agers in general just dismiss these people as having resistances and blockages, but the mark of a true synthesis is that it will be convincing to non-believers, not just to believers.
Killing Mosquitoes and Killing Jews
While his theory of social change will not succeed and it is based on misconceptions about religion, the last problem with Walsch’s social theory is how his ideas about oneness apply to killing other creatures. This point is especially contentious because Walsch says, or seems to say, the Jews co-created their deaths in the Holocaust, and Hitler actually did them a favor by killing them.
This point starts by discussing the killing of mosquitoes. Walsch asks God, “If I am One with everything, what about swatting the mosquito?” (FR, p. 371) The Buddhists share a very similar philosophy of oneness with Walsch and their answer to this question is pretty simple: do not kill any living creature, even an insect, as non-violence is the spiritual way of living. Considering Walsch thinks God is life and life is sacred, one might think he would respond like the Buddhists do. Nevertheless Walsch does not give this simple and seemingly obvious answer.
He has God reply, “What kind of change do you choose to create in that part of your Self that you call the mosquito? That is the question you are asking, and that is the implication of the We Are All One wisdom. You are ‘changing’ the part of The All that you call the mosquito. You cannot ‘kill’ the mosquito, do you see? Life is eternal, you cannot end it. You do have the power to change your form. As in your popular science fiction entertainments, you might call yourself a shape shifter. Yet know this: all of consciousness acts together. In the highest sense, it is impossible for one of you to have dominion or control over another. Every aspect of divinity has co-creative control over its destiny. Therefore, you cannot kill a mosquito against its will. At some level, the mosquito has chosen that. All of the change in the universe occurs with the consent of the universe itself, in its various forms. The universe cannot disagree with itself. That is impossible.” (FR, p. 371)
I have highlighted the last part of the quote because it says that any creature killed by a person has participated in the killing by choosing to be killed. You could not have killed it otherwise as we are all one.
Walsch is aware these ideas sound dangerous. He says “this is dangerous talk. This is a dangerous teaching. People could use this to say, ‘Well, then I can do anything to anyone I want, since they’ve given me their permission. After all, they’re ‘co-creating’ it with me….we can do “incredible damage to each other, all under the guise of simply believing that everything in the Universe agrees with what we are doing. I am just deeply troubled by that.” (FR, p. 371-2)
Walsch does not give an easily understandable reply here. God quickly says a person will not torture someone else as that is torturing yourself. But on the other hand, God responds by repeating the point: “it is impossible to do anything against the will of another…WE ARE ALL ONE. Therefore, of course, you cannot do anything to another that has not at some level been co-created with you. That would be possible only if we are not All One. Yet, WE ARE ALL ONE. There is only one of Us. We are creating this reality together.” (FR373-4)
Walsch comes back to this point ten pages later and asks again if it is okay to swat a mosquito, pick weeds or kill lambs for “those delicious, tender chops?” (FR, p. 385-6)
God responds by saying that he has no preferences other than what people want to do. (FR, p. 386-7) He says people are free to decide for themselves what to do and they define themselves by these choices. (FR, p. 388) Furthermore, because we are God, we also decide who God is. Walsch says “In your daily actions and choices, you are not only announcing who You Are, you are also deciding Who I Am, because you and I are One.” (FR, p. 389)
As far as I know, Walsch does not say we should be totally non-violent and never kill another creature. When he talks about Hitler, he even says, or seems to say, that killing another creature is not bad in any way.
God starts by saying that Hitler did nothing “wrong” and so is in heaven. (CW2, p. 55) Walsch then asks, “I still don’t understand how Hitler could have gone to heaven; how he could have been rewarded for what he did?” God responds: “First, understand that death is not an end, but a beginning; not a horror, but a joy. It is not a closing down, but an opening up. The happiest moment of your life will be the moment it ends. That’s because it doesn’t end but only goes on in ways so magnificent, so full of peace and wisdom and joy, as to make it difficult to describe and impossible for you to comprehend. So the first thing you have to understand – as I’ve already explained to you – is that Hitler didn’t hurt anyone. In a sense, he didn’t inflict suffering, he ended it.” (CW2, p. 56)
God makes it even clearer that Hitler did not harm the Jews. In fact, he says, or seems to be saying, that Hitler actually liberated the Jews. “The mistakes Hitler made did no harm or damage to those whose deaths he caused. Those souls were released from their earthly bondage like butterflies emerging from a cocoon. The people who were left behind mourn those deaths only because they do not know of the joy into which those souls entered. No one who has ever experienced death ever mourns the death of anyone.” (CW, p. 242)
After Walsch wrote the Conversations with God series of books, many people asked him questions about his worldview. One question was about the Hitler passages. He says this Hitler passage is the most challenging in all his books, and he himself struggles with it. (QA, p. 331) He wants to make it clear, though, he is not trivializing the Holocaust. (QA, p. 332) He says that some people say that my books “portray Jews as simply having been ‘liberated from their Earthly troubles’ by the Holocaust, and since return to the Creator is a joyful experience, there is nothing to complain about.” (QA, p. 333) He responds that no “reasonable interpretation of the material” could fairly portray him as thinking God condones killing human beings, or he brushes the Holocaust off as no consequence or of no importance. (QA, p. 334)
But I think Walsch does, or seems to do, something far worse: by saying that death is to be welcomed as we are going to a better place by being liberated from suffering on earth, and by saying that you cannot kill a mosquito (or any creature) unless it has chosen to be killed by you, Walsch is saying that the Jews killed in the Holocaust chose Hitler to kill them. Furthermore, the Jews killed in the Holocaust should be thankful to Hitler for liberating them from suffering on earth. It even seems, that according to his philosophy, Hitler was the greatest helper of the Jews in history as so many Jews chose him to liberate themselves from their horrible suffering on Earth.
All the books referred to in the essay were written by Neale Donald Walsch.
CO = Communion with God (New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2000)
CW1 = Conversations with God: an uncommon dialogue, Book 1, (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1996).
CW2 = Conversations with God: an uncommon dialogue, Book 2 (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997)
CW3 = Conversations with God: an uncommon dialogue, Book 3 (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998)
F = Friendship with God: An Uncommon Dialogue (New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1999)
H = Happier than God: Turn Ordinary Life into an Extraordinary Experience (Ashland, OR: EmninBooks, 2008)
NR = Th New Revelations: A Conversation with God (New York: Atria Books, 2002)
QA = Questions and Answers on Conversations with God (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1999)
T = Tomorrow’s God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge (New York: Atria Books, 2004)
Copyrighted 2009
My name is Joseph Waligore. I currently have a part-time job teaching philosophy and religious studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. More information about me can be found at my MySpace profile or my Facebook profile.
This website is one of four websites I have. At makingyourconnections.com I have a posted a significant portion of a self-help book I am currently writing. This book helps people succeed in the world by making their connections, the special people in their lives. Another website, www.followingtheflow.com is for spiritually oriented people and discusses very similar ideas from a more spiritually oriented perspective. Another one, www.josephwaligore.com is for academically or intellectually oriented people. It has my writings about spiritual philosophies such as Stoicism, Socrates, the Deists, the Enlightenment period, and the rise of modern science.
There is a Facebook group called Flowing. People interested in meeting other people who are interested in these ideas and/or participating in discussions about these ideas are invited to join the group.
Many people reach this site through keyword advertisements. It might be of interest that Joseph got the money for these ads through his daytrading profits.
Pete Jones wrote “I read N.D.Walschs book Communion with God Im convinced it,s all rubbish to quote the apostle Paul Walschs books are fit for the dunghill! Most people hate the real truth because it exposes our true condition which what the bible reveals about us being sinners which of course where all guilty. But the good news is Jesus of Nazareth has taken the punishment we all deserve upon himself. Thank you our most precious and wonderful saviour I admit I cant make heavan on my own.”
Personally, I feel Mr. Jones needs to keep an open mind about what he calls truth. Christianity has been so badly distorted almost from the very beginning that Jesus would hardly recognize any Christian teaching as coming from his mouth…but as another contributor to this thread points out “Live and Let Live.” This is what NDW is trying to say. If it makes you feel good to think that God is some psychotic being that cannot even meet his own needs, and therefore punishes his son for the imperfection that He allowed us to develop, then have at it. I rejected it (original sin) long ago as a flawed basic premise. I’ll leave it as your axe to grind (and your cross to bear!)
Then Stella wrote: Walsch may be trying to do a good thing. But his logic is flawed. And anytime someone says that on comment boards like these, all the Walsch fans say, “oh you just don’t understand it”. But non-fans can say the same thing right back. Blind fanatics- it is YOU who is missing the real problem here.
To understand, truly, the premise on which Walsch writes is to realize its innaccuracy.
“The opposite of fear is love.
Love is all there is.”
I’m not a blind fanatic, by any means. Nor am I a Walsch fan. But to call a paradox an inaccuracy is, well, in a word, inaccurate!
You seem to want to speak from a deep philosophical space and call this statement illogical. Of course it’s illogical!! Walsch himself said so, calling it part of the Divine Dichotomy”. Its a paradox and the funny thing about a paradox is that it demonstrates 2 contradictory statements as being equally true. The only difference between NDW stating this and the statements of the New Testament that say the same thing is that the NT doesn’t put the two statements back to back. But both are there, in somewhat different words. Is the Bible then illogical, and, therefore inaccurate?
I read and followed what Neale was talking about in CWG books. I have read and followed every word. I have become a much better person, a greater man. In order to understand one must read the books. The excerpts do not make it justice, mostly and mainly because the book gives explanations as to why the methods would work. Furthermore, it explains why the human consciousness, at its present state, does not serve the purpose for human beings. Gives the alternative as to how to reach the full potential for the human race. What is said here is not incorrect, it carries its message with elegance and eloquency. However, one must read it to discredit it. To have the information by second hand is making it a huge disservice. I read the books mostly to discredit them, there was no way that God and a mere mortal were having a conversation. I wanted to laugh at its primitiveness. But I came out the other side…well….in awe.
There are different levels of understanding but none so powerful as understanding out of an experience. There is much being offered by NDW that can seem tough to grasp and that is to be expected. But once you experience the essence of what he is speaking about it looks, sound, feels, tastes and is a very different dynamic. This kind of stuff is understand with a thinking different to that of the lodgic and reason that we normally plug into. The writers arguments here however are very weak and lack any true level of understanding…. but I love his willingless and courage to voice his thoughts….. the whole God think is amazing and still far from anyone’s understanding -what we know is what we know but we are not yet aware of that which we do not know…. let see how life dances on….
neale does wonderful work. god is the providence of our world with christ jesus sent and the holy spirit around us. neale further explains the wonder that is our god. we will always be grateful to all those who open more and more vista of celestial blessing like neale. imagine what will be in books in 3000 years time…thanks, praise and honor be with god. the greatest of these 3 is thankfulness
I have read only Neal’s first book. Before I read his book, I was in denial of God’s exsitance. This book opened my mind and heart to God. I was miserable, now I am light as a feather! I have moved away from his books now but I still believe in the messages he writes. We all are one. We all have our choices. We can change our surroundings and our inner selves. We have the power to do what we want, how we want and when we want. I feel sorry for the people out there that cannot see the light. Though, I know these people will see the light after their transformation into the vibrational vortex. I have seen this happen. I have talked to others that have made this journey. They are not physically here but they are always looking out for us and guiding us. I do not cry for the people who die. I cry knowing that these people could not see the light while they were in their physical bodies and they had to find out the hard way. I am so happy to know what I know. I cannot wait to know more in my own time. I am excited about life. I cannot wait for all of my desires to come true. I commend Neal Donald Walsh for opening hearts and minds and eyes to what we need to know and follow throughout our physical presence here.
I find it very unfortunate that a message from neal meant to let us realize the power within us an how much we can shape the world for the better…can be condemed by tose who want to stay in the fear and dogma created by others for us to see ourselves?WHAT IS WRONG ABOUT KNOWING YOU ARE POWERFULL,YOU CREATE YOU AND YOU ALLOW OTHERS TO SHARE YOUR COMPLETENESS..YOU DO NOT NEED OTHERS TO BE COMPLETE..THIS IS THE SUMMARY OF THE MESSAGE…(TELL ME THIS IS WRONG AND I WILL TELL YOU NOTHING IS RIGHT.)
I have read all of the comments and find them interesting. But know this all of you,it matters not one whit what all of you think about the CWG books or the author. The CWG books have set me free to be or not be anyone I choose to be. I have a knowing that none of you can or will change. I don’t care what any of you think it is none of my business. What you all think will define who you are, beware of what you think.
I had the opportunity to met neale in person; he is a very sincere and enlightened person. I have read all of his books. I love all of the comments that I have read on this sight; all seem to be very analytical….help me out with something (especially bible scholars)….in the book of Acts 10:39 the verse states “And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:”…this, of course, refers to Christ being crucified. Slew is the past tense slay, which means to kill. So it appears that Christ was killed and then hanged…I have always heard that dead men don’t talk.
Neale Donald Walsch has brought much joy to the world.
The author of this critical commentary is entitled to his views as we all are. It is all about perspective. The majority who will read these thought provoking books will accept NDW’s written works as just that, thought provoking.
The world must change and can only do that once the global consciousness is enhanced …
God Bless Neale Donald Walsch
I’ve read alot of these books. They work very well with sylvia Browns books… the levels of creation,and the Mystical Traveler. The world needs to read these books. This is the future of GODS Messengers !!
You can only be part of love if you believe in it. If you accept God’s love offer (Jesus)then you are part of God’s family. That is not so difficult to understand.
CWG is complex
Who writes this stuff anyway? All this stuff about who is right and who is wrong about God…How can anyone who has a belief in God be wrong??? Live and Let Live and simply carry the Peace and Love that Your belief carries in your heart, Let others have theirs’…May Gods Love Shine on Us All!!!
I read N.D.Walschs book Communion with God Im convinced it,s all rubbish to quote the apostle Paul Walschs books are fit for the dunghill! Most people hate the real truth because it exposes our true condition which what the bible reveals about us being sinners which of course where all guilty. But the good news is Jesus of Nazareth has taken the punishment we all deserve upon himself. Thank you our most precious and wonderful saviour I admit I cant make heavan on my own.
To all you Bible punchers. Do you honestly, without a shadow of a doubt believe that everything in the Bible is 100% accurate????Come on, get real. Read Genesis 3 times properly and let me know your thoughts again. I have never seen such a display of violence in my life. OUR GOD, punishing and killing people for such trivial reasons!!! A GOD of absolute LOVE doing this……..I do not believe it for one second. As for Jesus. Jesus was just as much God’s son as each and every one of us. How people can honestly believe that Jesus is the only son of God is beyond me. Come on, think logically just for one minute. God is not and has never been human, so the flaw is so apparent that it slaps you in the face. Us born in the image of God is very correct, as we are born as a Spirit (Soul); which is what GOD is. GOD = BIG SPIRIT……..us = small spirit (but spirit nevertheless). The only difference bewteen Jesus and the rest of us is that HE achieved full emlightenment as a human being in the 3rd dimension (our current reality, being planet earth). My challenge to all these supposedly Bible punchers out there is quite simply this: take off your blinkers for 5 minutes and ask yourself just one thing……..what if you ARE wrong??? God will not punish you for thinking such things, so do not be frightened. The real issue is that most people have been programmed to such an extent that they believe that God will punish them if they think of ANYTHING out of the ordinary. Well, it won’t happen, so re-wire your brain accordingly and you may just be pleasantly surprised.
I have read every one of NDW’s books, and some of them twice. All I have to say is that if anybody thinks that they can one day wake up and produce the material that he has produced; they are truely fooling themselves. It can only be classified as Divine Inspiration, nothing else. Other authors that come to mind are Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek) and JK Rowling (Harry Potter). Please educate me as to how anybody can create such work without being inspired by a greater Force, Energy, God (call it what you want to). If 5% of the world would truely embrace Neale’s work and spread the work to like minded folk; this planet of ours will not only live longer, but be a far better playground for us and our children. What irks me about “reborns” is that they are not willing to sit and listen to “our” side of the story, but expect “us” to give them our undivided attention. And woe be to you if you challenge them; for they are God’s chosen few. Well I have news for you folk. Wake up and smell the roses. To educate yourself a little more is different ways of looking at life, try reading some of David Icke’s books or “Slave Species of god” by Michale Tellinger. If that does nothing for you, nothing will.
i am confused by only one part of his books and that is why he would give props to george bush….with just a little research anyone can know how dark and intolerable george bush and his actions are, in my perspective….why is he giving props to people like him when there are so many other truly beautiful beings out there who have done more than create wars….all im looking for is someone to be able to give me a different perpective on this so i can give mr walsch and his words the credit i did before reading that part…..
Just read the criticism and comments about CWG books. It brings to mind what is expressed in The Bhagavad Gita, that whatever is happening is right , what each one of us expresses is right and that is the way things are ,and whatever is happening is as it should be given the circumstances and the individuals and what is going on in each of our lives. Therefore there is nothing right or nothing wrong , everything just is, it is all in the perception of the person.
There is nothing new in what he says only he says it in a manner which reaches out to most of us.
Just finished book 1. Brilliant. So many truths all of them so hard to deny but felt the speedy resolution and revelation that 2 more books were to follow total cheapened the whole experience. Is this a case of as long as there is money to be made from it God will continue to talk to Mr Walsch? Something so important to every single human being here on earth shouldn’t be rushed and should be created with no notion of profit. These are the only issues I have. The rest of the book was exceptional.
De donde saca este señor ,que Hitler no hizo daño? es su amigo o que ? es cierto que el que se fue con Dios esta mejor ,pero ese mostro va a ser juzgado como un gran asesino y con mucha sangre en sus manos……………
Mr. Walsch’s books has done a great job in bringing me closer to God. In the Bible it states Jesus left us The Holy Spirit. To teach us ALL things. With that statement, what do we need preachers for? Or any of these people we hear about in the news abusing our kids. Thanks you Mr. Walsch I’m going to go continue my own “CONVERSATION WITH GOD”
well , the writer dosent seem to understand the gravity of Neale’s thought !!!
please stop reading the words , u havent done anything unless u feel what he is trying to say…..
and for ur kind information , the concept of the 100th monkey has been proven by science !!! Noetic science …….
U should read “the lost symbol” by “Dan Brown”
I am very very split on Mr Walschs books. On one hand extremely fascinated and inspired but when reading that God has meant that a proven criminal,with lots of blood on his hands ( as Governor before his presidency of USA) has been assigned by God to be his representative on earth I got extremely disappointed and suspicious. Then you must suspect that Walsch`s God is Satan in disguise or just Fake or just representing Walschs own misdirected and incomplete knowledges about hard facts encircling the NWO league and there devillish intent to reduce the worlds population to 500 millions, insignificant with what means and other many many proven terrible acts on their conscience like 11/9, killing of millions in unjust wars in Irak, Afghanistan and Vietnam etc. etc., but many many things in his books also seems to contradict this so this point I for sure find very very odd…
The very fact that one would dispute and find fault with this revelatory writing simply exposes a disconnect with the Divine. May the God and Creator of all things have mercy and show Himself to those who doubt.
Yes: What about Jesus Christ. He died for love of all. Yes we are as God but we die like men. You write about a higher Mind movement, but remember that the bible says to take on the mind of Christ and you will be able to love and be able to move mts. The ten comandments are for a purpose for all beings. When the truth is in our heart and minds then can the lion lay with the lamb. There will be peace and love. As for the jews. Hilter was a pawn on the board the the Father used to bring about his purpose. Why not look at the countries that have lost people because of the weather, just a cleansing with a purpose that God has. Jesus hrist is the way, truth and the Life throught the Holy Spirit.
Walsch may be trying to do a good thing. But his logic is flawed. And anytime someone says that on comment boards like these, all the Walsch fans say, “oh you just don’t understand it”. But non-fans can say the same thing right back. Blind fanatics- it is YOU who is missing the real problem here.
To understand, truly, the premise on which Walsch writes is to realize its innaccuracy.
“The opposite of fear is love.
Love is all there is.”
?…are you being serious?
This is a direct failure in Logic 101. Walsch need to be assissted in his premise (he uses what we call a double-premise, which leads to double-think and double-speak; a sort of black-and-white mind-f*** that fans mistakenly interpret as intelligent)
I took the liberty of explaining some of it here:
http://randidan.com/blog/?p=9591&cpage=1#comment-4176
Instead of thinking of things in the sense of “right” and “wrong” (two words Walsch desperately tries to render meaningless), perhaps we can think of things in terms of “accurate” or “inaccurate”. We can also see “right” as meaning “to follow one’s conscience/inner voice”.
Walsch, or whoever is working with him, is very knowledgable in neuro-linguistic programming, either by accident or on purpose. But not as good as I. It is obvious to me.
We can say “there is no right or wrong” all we want. But when we find ourselves facing a decision, there are careless choices, ignorant choices, good choices and better choices etc.
It’s time to bake the other half of Walsch’s potato and see what we find.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha aha ha ha ha bwah ha ha ha bwah ah aha ahahahahaha aha ah aha aha aha ahahahahahahahhhahahahahahahah aha aha aha aha aha aha
i belive in total freedom, there is no right or wron, its all relative, let everyone express their opinion, that is where they are with their journey, no harm done
we keep moving forward, towards the greater truth, its inevitabe, the only question that we ask self, do i need to know, am i happy where i am,
you stop where you are, its ok, you move forward and realise self, its ok.
I agree with Bill totally ,he must be listening to Satan. I believe in the bible ,and what he has written is nothing what the bible says.
When each of us becomes conscious of and owns every part of ourselves – the destructive, as well as the nurturing, then we will no longer need to project our unbearable or disowned parts (often our hostility, anger, destructiveness etc)onto the outside world. Only then will there be greater peace and more conscious living. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us. Look inside, recognise and embrace every part – even the darkness. Be courageous and make it conscious. Then you will no longer act it out unconsciously.
I would suggest, with some degree of reticence, that all the authors on this page pick up a book by Karen Armstrong or from any author that has delved into the course of humanity. Though no panacea, Karen offers a glimpse of why “beliefs” exist at all, possibly where they came from and why we still need and use them. I like her book, “A short Story of Myth.” It was insightful to say the least. Further anyone making claims about new age wisdom vs biblical scripture need bow from the discussion forth wit. No logical arguments can be made either way, in favor of or against, either. Beliefs are not in within the scope of “logic” perse. They surely exist. Question to be asked is why?
The joyfulness of life can truly be experienced. Having read books by Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch and many others, I am convinced that we co-create our reality. My true life experiences have shown me divine perfection. Experiences that I was unhappy about, I now see as necessary, having brought me to this beautiful moment of my life. Having read the CWG trilogy, Friendship WG and Communion WG, I felt satisfied that I have read them all. By divine perfection I was introduced to “Home With God”. I absolutely enjoyed it. I have already shared the information as I have perceived it, with others whom I felt will benefit. I refer to it daily and want to make it very much a part of my daily remembrances, together with the teachings of Sai Baba.
My CWG journey began many years ago. (with book 1) This book had me enthralled from the moment I picked it up. To this day I refer to it as my bible. The amount of TRUTHS which resonated throughout the entire book just had me marvelling. FINALLY a book of TRUTH. Pure, simple, unaltered truths….like arrows piercing the confusion.
It matters not from where they came. Thankyou Neale Donald Walsch for passing them on.
Just study a course of Miracles..Everything will be cleared out fore everybody..SIMPLE as that-LG&Eternal light Santa C
Hi, I just wanted to say I’ve always considered myself a devout Christian but always felt that something wasn’t quite right with the world. One day while killing time in the library, I picked up the CWG book 1 not really knowing what it was. (Later on I would consider this a divine intervention.) Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. It resonated so DEEPLY with me…I literally read the entire book in about two days time. I have never felt such a peace in my life as I did when I finished his series. At the end of the day, all religions are based on human interpretations or “filters” of a divine message. Neale Donald Walsch included. (he even makes reference to this).
Therefore, always keep this in mind and go deep inside you to see what resonates with you. Use external resources as your guide but always trust your inner voice to know what is right for you. Remember that “the Kingdom of God is within you”. For myself, I try to surrender myself to the process and try to practice unconditional love. This was the most important messages of Jesus and he suffered greatly to bring it to you!
If the message is not of love and acceptance, then turn yourself away from it but do not fight against it…for that only feeds into the negative emotions which created it. However, also do not judge or condemn it…remember, it’s still a part of the process!
Once we all come around to this type of thinking…we will truly create Heaven on Earth. Many thanks to Joseph for creating this opportunity to share our ideas.
Love and Life!
I like one Neals quote :
“Bible is a Word of God, once you read it, your interpretation becomes your word about Word of God”
This is the reason why we have so many flows of Cristian religions, each one stating that It understands God better than Others do, or what is worse claiming the other One is a total nonsense or devils crade..
I see the same thing in this argument..
How often do you ask yourself a question : “What if I am wrong? What influence on the world it brings?” and the other one : “What if I am right? What influence on the world it brings?”
I like Neals writings, and it does not matter to me whether Walsh is channeled to God or not, I don’t care if he made it all up, BUT HE HAS GOOD POINTS, very VALUABLE points.. I do treat people differently, because I understand them, that is what he gave me..
My personal feeling is the following : author has already filled up himself with some vision of the world, which does not comply with what Neal says.. And while reading, he was not looking into understanding, but was trying to find misconception.. And experience says : you always find what you do look for.. This happens with people quite often, and I am not here to tell why..
It reminds me of two people looking at a number, first one sees “6″ and the other one sees “9″ : who is right?
If you drop your knowledge(previous experience), and move around 180 degrees you will see your opponents number, but if you choose to stay where you are, you will criticize your opponent.. Also you can stay at your point and let your friend stay at his.. Which one would you choose?
The thing is that none of them is wrong : they both are right from perspective of their own view.. I know it sounds dumb and not applicable to life, or this example, but this is the reason for most(but not all) wars, fights, etc.
I would want to thank the Author of this criticism, as he makes me think of some flaws in Neals philosophy, and make my own patches to them, MAKE ME THINK..
“People, look at yourself, is that really You?” – this is the main message I see in Hitlers question, and it took so many lives to send this message to us, all of us.. And Hitlers thing did not end, it is still everywhere : Africa, Irag, United States, other countries, it only has a different form, and it still lives, because none of us received Hitlers message, we have only criticized Nazi and Hitler and Germans and others and did not take responsibility of what WE did through hands of Hitler..
“Troop of soldiers were following the road through the forest, suddenly one of them ran forward and was blown by stepping on a mine..” (sorry for my poor military knowledge)
If you look narrow, you see only a guy being blown by stepping on a mine, the big picture tells you that he has saved a troop.. Was it worth it? On the higher level, yes – that is what Neal is trying to tell – on the higher level, mosquito agreed to die, on the lower level he wanted to live.. Same thing with Jews and Hitler, they both played a role in humans history, and made up our reality.
That is my word about Neals word, you may interpret it anyway you like, that is your right.
I want to thank to critic, Neal Walsh, those who agree and especially those who disagree. God Bless You All.
Primeiramente gostaria de realmente dizer a quem importe que use seu coração como forma de filtro, e que faça das afirmações no livro algo útil e benção na sua vida.
Tenho vasta experiência com religião “CRISTÔ , E AFIRMO COM TODA A CERTEZA QUE, nunca havia pensado em nada parecido com essa nova forma de “DEUS” falar, mas observando com calma e repensando com todo cuidado voçce verá que a “humanidade” deixou pra voce e para mim uma divindade que não pedimos, não comcordamos,não achamos justo,criticamos e enchergamos erros e falhas de administração “DIVINA” GRAVÍSSIMOS!.
Mas “DEUS” ERRA…? Perde o controle…? Faz alguma coisa errada e imperfeita…? existe algo que ele não pode fazer…? Existe algum lugar onde ele não pode ficar… ou ir…??
Por que será que analizando melhor o “DEUS” bíblicamente apresentado vemos um estereotipo de “reizinho” terrestre…, vingativo, nervosinho, e pior ainda faccioso, que faz acepcão de pessoas e de nações…? essa porcaria mal feita e mal explicada voce chama de “DEUS”…???!…
Se para voce pareçe não fazer nem um sentido a DIVINDADE ter as características de ser humano e dos mais ruinzinhos…
Pra mim também não…!
Essa forma de “Deus” que ví em ccd1,2 e 3 e outros mais do tipo é realmente a única forma de tentar entender DEUS como sendo perfeito! E de ver essa perfeição!
O “DEUS” hebraico, grego,cátolico romano, protestante,hindú,islã e etc…! Todos são o mesmo! Ele é simplesmente tudo e está em tudo todo o tempo…!! E sua realidade e seu comportamento e personalidade são totalmente diferentes da realidade humana, está anos luz de distância do modo de ver o mundo e o universo que a humanidade tem…!!
Porém… as versões divinas humanas tem em comum uma coisa,todos eles são hipocritas, mentirosos e são carregados de todas as falhas de carater humano… Como será “DEUS” então…??
a resposta que se faz única em minha mente é que como eles(religiões humanas) dizem que “DEUS” é..! eu sei que não podeira jamais ser…!! pois o “divino” só pode ser percebido como “divino”… se não for humano…!
livre-se… a verdade realmente liberta…!!
I am a person that find it difficult to believe what people say concerning spiritualism, but I totally believe that God inspire Neale Donald Walsch in all his writting because I personaly experienced most of the things he wrote in his books, and again most of his writings are common sence, how could human being say God is love, merciful and the same time say God is vengeful, which one is it? All his books make sence to me, if things is not going well human being should be opened to find solution and change to correct things. People that are calling him fruad are attention seekers that use everything and everybody to make money in the name of Judaism and Christanity.
I have not read the books, simply various excerpts. Certainly someone who believes they have regular conversations with ‘God’ could be thought of a delusionary and form part of a number of diagnoses of psychological disorder. Of other interest is a little bit more than 2000 years ago another guy felt he had regular conversations and carried the word of ‘God’, resulting in the publishing of a book with various old and new versions. That movement resulted in a religion. I wonder if we are seeing a new religion forming, and I wonder where the financial riches of this new religion will go.
Ah well, what ever floats your boat.
Hello. First I would like to say that I disagree with most of what I have read here. I will also admit that I have not read all of his books, so I accept criticisms, but I have read enough to get his major ideas. I would first Like to comment on RaeChandran’s Comment just a couple weeks ago. I find it Ironic that you use a statement out of the gospel, spoken by Jesus to defend his books and/or teachings. When If anyone has read jesus’s teachings, or the entire Bible in this case you would realize that Mr. Walsch’s teaching go against almost all of its principles. (I say almost because I have not read ever single one of his works, so somewhere maybe some ideas agree, but i have found none so far. To take a stab at your question, though it be rhetoric “How has our history treated people who has brought truth to the people?” usually they get murdered, jailed, ridiculed, ect. Usually radical truth is met with a radical violent responses (Jesus, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, MLK jr., ect.) But in this case there are minor criticisms, but not much else. I think because his teachings are no more a threat to the truth than some guy living in his parents basement in Ohio in 2010 claiming that he is British and they really won the war. Anyone who knows truth, very quickly realizes this is absurd. That was what My reaction was like when I read Conversations with God. I’m no Einstein, But the false logic he uses to take a reader from arguments; such as, the most un-selfish person in reality is the person who cares about themselves the most is actually kinda funny. I think this review is correct in showing the type or logic (if it can be even called that) that the author uses and how it doesn’t really hold water. i actually read this book right after I read Screwtape letters, by CS lweis. conversations with God kind of reminded me of a real life situation to lewis’s fictional story, In the methods of deception used. Anywho, Please don’t write back angry with some “better” argument telling me I’m stupid, even though its tempting. I just want to encourage the reader to really think what the implications are of his writings, though they sound good, are they in-fact? Also how this “god’s” teachings tend to disagree with all fundamental Christian, Islam, and Judaism beliefs. I will leave you with what will be my most hated statement. I would say I know God pretty well, or at least his teachings, and after about 2 pages into this book I realized very easily that this is not the real God speaking, But Satan. Yes conversations with Satan would be the appropriate title. I tell you he promises great things, so great he sound like a good being, but at the cost of something much worse for your souls in the long run.
You have Clearly not understood the writings of Neale Donald Walsch.
How has our history treated people who has brought truth to the people. CWG books are for people who have ears to hear (not just listen) and eyes to see (not just seeing, but seeing it through the heart).
Bravo for Neale Walsch for brining these amazing books.
All skeptic should read the book – Home with God, in a life that never ends. It will put your minds to rest.
Rae Chandran
Tokyo
New Thought is a bit hard to take, which blends well, too, with some Eastern Mysticism. I would rather that what is the “problem” with Neale’s stuff is not what is “personally bothering” people. So far it’s been rational/logical to me.
As for me, if there’s anything bothering me, it’s that Neale’s filter was Christian/Catholic, which most likely muddled certain issues. But at least I admit to this fact that it’s my personal disturbance.
Hi, I am sure that everyone will not agree with everything. But a very important point that Neale has made is that he has stood up and said what was required to be said. He has done what needed to be done. He has put my soul to rest. I mean its hard to change the world in a day but he is trying his best. If there is anyone who has spirtually touched my heart. Ill say it will be Neale. I am from a sikh relegion and I say that. A lot of people from different relegion think the same way. I urge people to make free choice and continue. Its very easy to point finger and its hard to do what he has done. I have no complaints. In dark times he has become a hope of light to millions. With love and hug (Mani)
I am 42 pages short of finishing the triology of CWG. I have found it very inspiring, to a point. He speaks little of Jesus Christ. One would think talking to His Father would bring out the Pride He has in His “only begotten Son.” I have made peace with my formative years and have re-programed myself to a Loving God. I like the idea, “if you want to change the world, first change yourself.” A Sanscrit Proverb. Much of what he says in CWG, I have come across through other Spiritual Mentors, such as Emmet Fox, Carl Young, Norman Vincent Peale, William James, Wayne Dwyer, Eric Butterworth, The Rev, Gary Maier and so many others. I condensed much of what I have learned from the above mentioned authors in my own Book; “Hey God, I’m Home” published in 2002. It is atestemony to just what The Spirit wil do for an individual when one practices the Presence Of God rather than the absence of God which I was indoctrinated to do. So, much of what is in Neale’s book was of an interest to me,however I enjoy knowing that My God, will do nothing more for me than what I let Him do. He told me so!
I see all the points you are making and they are well-founded and quite possibly true but it’s also quite possible that you completely missed the point. You have attempted to rationalize the ideas in these books and, even though you might be “right”, if it causes you to lose the wisdom that can be gleaned from them, then what is the point? Maybe you feel that you’ve had enough Neale Donald Walsch but I highly suggest reading what I believe is his most current book (but I could be wrong). It’s called “Home with God, in a life that never ends”. Even though I thought I had read enough of his books (as I have read almost all of them) this was is a real topper. It’s blowing my mind in a good way – allowing me to get “out of my mind” in order to embrace the Ultimate Reality which cannot be conceptualized with the rational mind. Read it with your heart then see if it feels any different.
the author of this essay does not really understood the messages of the conversation. we can doubt, thats ur right. we can critique, thats also ur right. but please in doing so understand first or rather absorb first the messages of the holy conversation. u r criticizing piece meal of the whole understanding of the revelation. do not try to convey ur judgment of the book unto to others when u r not sure of one thing, and that is understanding the truth within ur self. millions have read the book, millions have changed their lives for the better because of the holy conversation and now u labeled it as nonsense? whether it is GOD speaking to him or just a fruit of his fertile imagination could u give me a far better revelation than CWG? my point is it “changed” the lives of millions for best that any organized religion cannot give. or shall we call it an alternative. IT IS A SOULS JOURNEY Please give him/her a break, will you?
what do donald walsch have to say about jesus christ
I really don’t think you understood Neal’s book at all… You should probably read them again and then revise your review because some paragraphs don’t even make sense. For example:
“So he says that it is hard for us to kill one another as it goes against every instinct we have. So why do we kill each other? Not because we are greedy or lustful or want more land or because we are selfish by nature. No, according to Walsch, it is due to organized religion brainwashing us that it is okay to kill.”
You just read one paragraph of the book and you believe you have the answer. If you would have read the rest, you would realized the root cause is fear, which is the opposite of love, and the only thing religions are responsible of is keeping us living in fear.
the issues you raised can be resolved. seth said we create our reality, our senses do not perceive reality but create it. we are all co creators of our reality , no matter what happens. so by this thinking the jews and hitler created that reality.
in e.t. materials the andromedans state the holocaust idea came from aliens who were interacting with the nazis at that time. there are complications within complications as different realities coexist and create difficulties we are supposed to surmount using our soul energies. we have all lived and died many times. life is just one big computer game