Archive of Articles
—History and Issues
The Circle of Atonement is making these thought-provoking and inspiring articles about A Course in Miracles topics available to you online. Most of these articles have appeared in past issues of our newsletter, A Better Way.
For a selection of Circle of Atonement articles translated into Spanish, go to Artículos del Círculo de Expiación en Español.
For a selection of Circle of Atonement articles translated into Dutch, go to artikelen in het Nederlands.
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- The Earlier Versions and the Editing of A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. This article details the long and complicated process by which Helen Schucman's original notes became the published Course we are all familiar with. Essential reading for any Course student.
- Copyright Decision: What Does the Verdict Mean? by Robert Perry. On October 24, 2003, the copyright on A Course in Miracles was ruled to be invalid. This article explains the reasons given by the judge in rendering that verdict.
- And Now It Belongs to the World by Robert Perry. On May 28, 2004, the copyright on A Course in Miracles passed away forever. Robert has written an opinion piece on this important event. It begins with the latest details on the copyright situation and moves into an exploration of what freedom from copyright means for the future of the Course.
- This Baby is too Precious to Throw Out: An Editorial on the Copyright Controversy by Robert Perry. This article addresses the idea that maybe all the mess over the Course's copyright means that we should dispense with the book and its words.
- The Copyright Infrastructure by Rev Tony Ponticello. This article is a brief but excellent summary of the history of the Course copyright controversy from 1992 to January of 2004.
- Court Transcript of Judge Sweet's Verdict Court Transcript of Judge Sweet's Verdict concerning voiding the copyright of A Course in Miracles
Helen and Bill and the Scribing of the Course
- What If Jesus Really Did Write This by Robert Perry. This is a lightly edited version of a talk Robert gave at the 2007 ACIM Conference in San Francisco. Robert presents his reasons for believing that Jesus really did write A Course in Miracles, and explores the huge implications of that amazing claim.
- Three Aspects of Our Relationship with God by Robert Perry. Robert explores Helen Schucman's subway vision, which he says contains three aspects of our relationship with God, aspects which we all long for, but which often seem incompatible with each other.
- Helen and Bill's Joining: A Window onto the Heart of A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. What is the heart of the Course? What is the point at which it all comes together. This article views Helen and Bill's joining in "a better way" as that point, as the example of what the Course is trying to have happen in the lives of all of its students.
- The Earlier Versions and the Editing of A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. This article details the long and complicated process by which Helen Schucman's original notes became the published Course we are all familiar with. Essential reading for any Course student.
- This Is My True Church by Robert Perry. Are we supposed to actually go out and help people, or does that go against the nature of the Course? To answer that question, this article draws on specific examples where the author of the Course told Helen and Bill how to apply his teachings in real-life situations.
- Being Truly Helpful T-2.V.18: by Robert Perry. Draws out the meaning of the famous prayer which begins "I am here only to be truly helpful," by looking at its original context. The prayer was initially given to Bill Thetford to use at a conference on rehabilitation.
- Here I Am Lord by Robert Perry. In this article Robert looks at Jesus giving Bill Thetford the prayer "Here I am, Lord," and shows how this prayer was specifically designed to counteract Bill's particular defenses, with intended miraculous results.
- How Jesus Applied the Course to the Lives of Helen and Bill C-5.6: by Robert Perry. Some of the personal guidance that Jesus gave to Helen and Bill.
- Who Wrote A Course in Miracles? Part I by Robert Perry. The first part of a two-part series in which Robert Perry presents his case for Jesus' authorship of the Course, based on what the Course itself says as well as on personal guidance to Helen and Bill documented in Ken Wapnick's Absence from Felicity. Part I covers the relevance of the issue of the Course's authorship, and discusses the role of Jesus in its scribing.
- Who Wrote A Course in Miracles? Part II by Robert Perry.
- Never Correct a Brother's Error? by Greg Mackie. The "Correction of Error" section in the Text (T-9.III) is a section that confounds many Course students. It is often taken to say that you should never correct a brother's error at any time for any reason. But does this section really say that? Greg examines the section carefully and draws from other Course material—especially the sections immediately following—to come up with an answer that may surprise you.
- Interpretation and the Future of the Course by Robert Perry. Course students tend to have an uneasy relationship with the whole idea of interpreting the Course, yet the issue of interpretation is crucial, for how we interpret the Course determines our whole relationship with it. There are many perspectives on how to interpret the Course but the key question is "What did Jesus think about interpretation?" Robert offers an answer to that question based on the Course material itself, an answer that provides a whole new vision of Course interpretation.
- What Was Helen's Interpretation of the Course? by Robert Perry. In a 2007 interview, Judith Skutch-Whitson says that Helen Schucman was both her teacher and Ken Wapnick's teacher, and implies that Ken carries Helen's pure understanding of the Course to the world today. Such a story, coming from someone who was there, exerts a powerful effect on the minds of students. But does this story hold up? What was Helen's interpretation of the Course? And was it the same as what Ken teaches now? Finally, how do we align ourselves with the pure beginnings of A Course in Miracles?
- What Does It Mean to Be in the Present? by Greg Mackie. The idea of being in the present is extremely popular in spiritual circles. When people speak of being in the present, they often mean that we must get in touch with the immediate experience of our physical world, to "lose your mind and come to your senses." But is this what the Course means when it speaks of being in the present? Or is it pointing to something else entirely?
- We Can Be Wrong by Robert Perry. The Circle’s views can sound ironclad, as if we believe our interpretations to be infallible. Yet can any interpretation be perfect? In this article, Robert shares some of his changes of mind along the way, as well as his views on the enterprise of interpreting the Course.
- The Relationship Between The Circle's Teachings And The Teachings Of Ken Wapnick by Robert Perry & Greg Mackie & Allen Watson. This is a response to frequent requests for a comparison of our views of the Course compared to Ken Wapnick's. Written primarily by Robert Perry, with a section by Greg Mackie, it expresses the views held by all the writers and teachers at the Circle of Atonement.
- Are Miracles Only in Our Minds? by Robert Perry. Robert responds to a reader who claims that miracles occur only in our minds and that "any discussion of extending help or healing to people who are suffering 'out there' merely perpetuates separation [since] there is no 'out there.'"
- The Ark of Peace Is Entered Two by Two by Robert Perry. Many Course students don't believe that a holy relationship takes two. Robert explains how a relationship in which two people are truly joined in a common goal is a powerful way of learning that oneness is not a theory, but a fact.
- "Do You Prefer That You Be Right or Happy?": Does This Line Force Us to Choose Between Rightness and Happiness? T-29.VII.1: by Greg Mackie. This oft-quoted Course line is usually taken to mean that we must give up all desire to be right if we want to be happy. But is this really what it means? This article takes a fresh look at this line within its original context in the Course, a context which reveals that rightness and happiness are not mutually exclusive. Then the article discusses the practical impact of how we interpret this line.
- Helping Others in the World Makes the Error Real: Does the Course Really Say This? by Greg Mackie. It is a truism in Course circles that placing an emphasis on helping others "out there" makes the error real. After all, "Seek not to change the world." But does the Course really have such a dim view of helping others in the world? Does it ever really say that doing so "makes the error real"? The answer, in a word, is no.
- Does God Know We Are Here? by Robert Perry. It has become an article of faith in Course circles that God does not know we are here in this world, and does not even know that we think we are here. But what does the Course actually say about this topic? The answer, discussed at length in this article, may surprise you.
- Does the Holy Spirit Actually Do Things in the World? by Greg Mackie. This article is an excerpt from the book One Course, Two Visions, which compares the views of the Circle of Atonement and Ken Wapnick. Does God not even know about the separation (as Wapnick teaches), in which case the Holy Spirit is just an illusory split-off part of our own minds, a metaphorical symbol for the memory of God that does not have a plan or actively help us in any way? Or did God actively respond to the separation by creating the Holy Spirit (as the Circle teaches), a loving Being Who literally has a plan for the world's salvation and helps us bring that plan to fruition by actively guiding our thoughts, words, and actions if we will let Him?
- Please Take What? by Robert Perry. Course students often believe that if the Divine did anything in this world, it would make the world real. In this humorous hypothetical dialogue, Jesus asks Helen Schucman to take down the Course, only to find that she is already a metaphysically-savvy Course student.
- How To Deal with Payment in a Spiritual Ministry by Robert Perry. Spiritual ministries always seem to be struggling financially (not that we would know anything about that!), while at the same time wrestling with larger questions of how to see money and whether to charge money for services. These questions are actually dealt with head-on in a section called "The Question of Payment" at the end of the Psychotherapy supplement. In this article, Robert extrapolates what that section has to say about money and payment for spiritual ministries in general.
- Miracles Boomeritis by Robert Perry. "Boomeritis" is a term coined by transpersonal philosopher Ken Wilber to describe the pervasive cultural mindset of our time. This mindset, which Wilber believes began with the "baby boomer" generation, says that there is no absolute truth, there is only my truth and your truth, and therefore "Nobody tells me what to do!" In this article, Robert asks: Do we Course students have boomeritis? Are boomeritis and the Course compatible? What do we do about this issue?
- The Strange Taboo Against Disagreeing by Robert Perry. Robert addresses the point of view, common in spiritual circles, which says that it is never OK to express disagreement
- Entities Should Not Be Multiplied Beyond Necessity: Twelve Reasons I Do Not Accept Gary Renard's Account of The Disappearance of the Universe by Greg Mackie. Examines the question of the reality of Gary Renard's ascended masters using the measuring stick of Occam's Razor.
- Why Don't the Masters Have an Original Thought? by Robert Perry. Examines the question of the reality of Gary Renard's ascended masters in The Disappearance of the Universe.
- God's Word or Human Words? The Quest for Truth in Elaine Pagels's Beyond Belief and in the Course Community by Greg Mackie. How can we tell the difference between the word of God and mere human words? Do we listen to what the authorities tell us or rely on personal experience alone? Or is there another way? Based on Elaine Pagels's bestselling book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, this essay explores Pagels's account of the conflict in early Christianity between heterodox "spiritual Christians" and the orthodox Christianity that eventually triumphed. It then applies what Pagels says about Christianity to the Course community and offers an answer to the question of how we Course students can discern truth within our own developing tradition.
- How Can A Course in Miracles Accomplish Its Purpose? by Robert Perry. A detailed presentation of the Course's own vision for how its teaching can penetrate the world, and of the part we see in this for the Circle of Atonement.
- Should There Be Course Churches? by Robert Perry. Are Course churches somehow against the teaching of the Course or are they natural places for students to join together in practicing the Course? This article attempts to answer this important question by consulting the Course's own statements about religion and church.
- An Editorial on Jesus Channeling by Robert Perry. ome observations of how we might view the many "channels" who claim to be channeling additional words from the author of the Course, Jesus.
- Our Attitude Towards Other Teachers by Allen Watson.
- Applying the Course to Hurricane Katrina by Robert Perry. Notes from a class given a few days after the hurricane struck New Orleans. Did we create the world we see? Is the disaster real? What part does guilt and forgiveness play in this?
- Forgiving Bush: Seeing Our Holy Savior in Brother George W. by Greg Mackie. Perhaps no one in our world today inspires such intense reactions as President George W. Bush. Many people hold strong grievances against him, and in our work at the Circle, we’ve seen that many Course students are struggling to forgive him. This article is meant to help alleviate this struggle. It provides practical Course tools, including a visualization exercise, to help those who hold grievances against Bush forgive him and see him as the holy Christ he really is.
- God Is Love and Life Is Eternal: Applying Section 27 of the Manual to the Asian Tsunami Disaster by Greg Mackie. The death and destruction spawned by the earthquake and tsunami in Asia has shocked and saddened the entire world. For those with religious inclinations, it has once again brought up an age-old question: How can we reconcile such tragic death and destruction with a loving Creator? Section 27 of the Manual ("What Is Death?") offers a radical and liberating answer: We can’t, and we shouldn’t try. This is truly joyous news, for if death and destruction are not of God (and are not even real), then we need not be afraid of Him and can trust Him completely. God is only Love, and life is eternal.
- Above the battleground: Applying the Course to the Iraq War by Greg Mackie. Greg says, "Forgiveness entails looking upon all of the conflict in our world from a higher vantage point: a place above the battleground. With the Holy Spirit's help, we can look upon the Iraq war with Christ's vision." The article includes a lengthy visualization for rising above the battleground, written by Robert Perry.
- Above the battleground: Our thoughts on the September 11 terrorist attack by Robert Perry & Greg Mackie & Allen Watson.
- Each Day Should Be Devoted to Miracles: Reflections on the Terrorist Attack of September 11 by Greg Mackie & Robert Perry. A look at September 11 from a Course perspective, written in the week following the tragic events. This article is a meditation on the darkness revealed by the attack, the light of the Course's teaching that this darkness is not ultimately real, and the hope that September 11 can serve as a call to God's miracle workers to heal the world.
ACIM and Other Thought Systems
- Is Reading Signs Compatible with A Course in Miracles? by Robert Perry. This article is timed to be concurrent with the release of Robert's first non-Course book, which is titled, Signs: A New Approach to Coincidence, Synchronicity, Guidance, Life Purpose, and God's Plan. The book is about a phenomenon that Robert has been working with for many years, which might be called an extreme form of synchronicity. This article is about whether or not this phenomenon is in harmony with the Course. Robert argues that it is, not only on general grounds, but because an occurrence of this phenomenon played a pivotal role in the early story of the Course.
- Should We Dispense with Beliefs? by Robert Perry. It is a popular sentiment these days that belief is of the ego, and that we should dispense with beliefs in favor of direct experience. What does the Course have to say about this? What role does it give to belief on the spiritual journey?
- A Course in Miracles and The Secret by Greg Mackie. Greg Mackie answers the question — Are the teachings of the popular video The Secret compatible with those of the Course?
- Beauty From My Christian Past by Allen Watson. Allen Watson reflects on how much truth and light reached him while he was a practicing fundamentalist Christian.
- Shadows on the Wall: How Would the Course Have Us Regard Modern Physics? by Greg Mackie. For many students of the Course, especially in the wake of the movie, What the @$%#* Do We Know?quantum physics is seen as scientific support for the Course's view of reality. Yet would the Course see it that way? Greg's answer may surprise you.
- Suggested Readings from A Course in Miracles for a Memorial Service by Robert Perry. These are quotes from the Course material that are designed to be suitable for reading at a memorial service. They express the Course's view of death while not presuming that those listening are familiar with the Course and its philosophy. These quotes were originally selected and arranged by Robert for the memorial service of the Circle's dear friends Carl and Jane Suraci, who died on November 1, 2007.
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