The Christian notion of the soul has always been passive. A divine process infuses soul into the body, requiring that each soul be subject to a divine judgment.
This traditional, dogmatic view of the soul never sat well with Francis William Bessler. Cast out of seminary school because his "thinking was not that of a Catholic priest," Bessler went on to discover the soul's true nature as an active force imbued with divinity.
Bessler's vision of the soul leads to a new, insightful understanding of the world around us, the past, and Jesus. Christ's role as divine judge does not mesh with a soul that manifests without divine process. What role, then, does Christ play?
Christ's true role, Bessler discovered, can be found in the gospels of Thomas and Mary Magdalene, two documents notably banned by a church that favors divine selection and judgment. Far from a divine judge, Jesus can only be understood as a brother of humanity.
A thoughtful, innovative examination of the human soul and its relationship to the divine, Exploring the Soul and Brother Jesus challenges readers to rethink long-established dogma in favor of accepting the divinity that resides in us all.
About the Author: Francis William Bessler was born on a small farm outside Powell, Wyoming, on December 3, 1941. The seventh of Leo and Clara Bessler's eight children, Bessler was raised Christian Catholic.
After high school, Bessler spent six years studying for the Catholic ministry, first at St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, and later at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado.
In the spring of 1966, Bessler was asked to discontinue his studies as his "thinking was not that of a Catholic priest." Specifically, the seminary objected to his argument that faith must be subject to understanding, without which no dogma could be upheld as truth with any certainty. His dogma professor went so far as to label him heretical. His expulsion didn't stop him from considering the nature between the soul and the divine. If anything, it strengthened his resolve.
More information about Bessler can be found at www.una-bella-vita.com.
