Can we truly believe this?

According to the official account, A Course in Miracles is the result of Jesus contacting a woman named Helen Schucman and instructing her to write down all that he said. Her introduction to “the voice of Jesus” said, "This is a course in miracles. Helen scribbled shorthand to keep up with the voice and a colleague, William Thetford accepted the job of transcribing her notes. Although educated doctors, these were “common people”, not theologians or spiritually enlightened people.

The most obvious question about why God chose these people to bring his message to the world is… why them? Why not choose a trusted and recognized spiritual leader like the Pope, Billy Graham or the Dali Lama? If the aim is to reach all people, why select such an unlikely spokesman such as Helen to be the messenger? Any first year advertising/PR student would know that this is a bad idea…

That question baffled me until I thought about the bible and its beginnings. If you compare Jesus’ original disciples to job descriptions of today, you’d find fisherman (dock workers), an IRS agent, farmers and other common laborers. Jesus didn’t choose from the best and the brightest Jewish Rabbis, he chose ordinary people to become his followers and preach is word.

The next most obvious question (to me) is how do we know that Helen is telling the truth? Why should we believe that Jesus actually spoke to her? How can we prove this? The bible’s answer to such questions is “faith” – blind faith. Are we willing to accept Helen’s writings on blind faith? Obviously, we can’t prove or disprove her story and I for one have trouble with blind faith being my only recourse. The only plausible solution here is to continue studying the course and if it stands on its own merits, then it - and Helen must be believable.

So, I continue. I like the Course’s message and I want to believe that it holds the explanation for our existence on this planet – real or imagined.