Yesterday, Jacob Roloff wrote a lengthy Instagram post regarding his thoughts on a book by his favorite author, Alan Watts. The book is entitled "Behold the Spirit: A Study In The Necessity Of Mystical Religion".

Jacob explains that he was "compelled to write a 7-page (!) letter, to my brother, about it."























Although Jacob does not clarify which brother he wrote the letter to (his followers asked him in the comments but Jacob rarely answers questions posted to him since he stopped using his Ask.fm account nearly two years ago), many are making the reasonable assumption it is Jeremy Roloff.

Jeremy is the most outspoken Roloff on social media regarding his Christian faith, often tweeting and retweeting Christian pastors, websites and public speakers about how Christianity and Christians are under attack over issues such as Christian business owners not being allowed to refuse their services to gay people.

http://www.instagram.com/p/BOiz7MyhzhL/?taken-by=jacobroloff45

Here is part of what Jacob wrote on Instagram:

jacobroloff45Well I've just finished my final book of the year, #30, and it was yet again a stunner from Alan Watts. It changed my perception and inspired me so much, I was compelled to write a 7-page (!) letter, to my brother, about it.
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Generally put, it's about an opportunity for Christianity to stop isolating itself by being solely focused on morality—at all costs, while, at the same time, ignoring the inner (mystical) feeling that makes 'good' morality quite obvious and self-evident; thus creating a Christianity vs evil world complex that is nowadays misinterpreted as a War on Christianity. 

This opportunity is for Christianity—rather for individual Christians, since it isn't the doctrine but the perception of it that needs medicine—to look into the beneficial aspects of Far Eastern philosophies: Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism. .

Specifically highlighted by Watts is their well-developed conception of non-duality in the Divine Being—God, Brahman, Tao, or whatever other name it could be known as. Speaking of this non duality is parallel to and equally as difficult as speaking of what it was like before the beginning of the universe and existence; so he uses it as his first point of departure.

......For "Christianity has .. degenerated into a system of morality with only remote eschatological sanctions, and in practice is therefore a religion largely bereft of joy and power." But it's not too late to be saved, is his point of this book— because, "The Truth from which all the joy and power of Christianity proceeds [is] the truth of the Word made flesh—that the eternal life of God is given to man here and now in the 'flesh' of each moment's experience" and this understanding of the mystical experience of life is where Far Eastern religions greatly exceed our own.

....

Jacob publicly stating that he wrote a 7 page letter to someone in his family about a subject like religion is out of character for Jacob.

None of the Roloffs, Jacob and Jeremy included, have ever discussed each other's opinions or views publicly.

Back before Jacob stopped answering questions from his readers/followers, he once said on Ask.fm that he does not discuss religion with Jeremy because there is no point in starting an argument.