"The importance of faith/belief statements:
We feel that every denomination, para-church organization, religious group, and religious web site should consider creating a statement of belief or faith and displaying it prominently. This is particularly important among Christian groups who may use the term "Christian" to refer to only the Roman Catholic Church, or only to Evangelical Protestantism, or to the full range of Christian denominations and beliefs, or to some other subset of the religion. Quite often, when we visit a Christian web site for the first time, we have to search around among its articles to find out exactly what Christian belief system they follow and promote on their web site.
That said, the following is our attempt at a statement of belief. Please be sure to read the footnotes at the bottom of the essay because they include some important qualifications and exceptions.
OCRT Statement of Belief:
We are a multi-faith group. As of late-2012, we consist of one Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Thus, the OCRT staff lack agreement on almost all theological matters, such as belief in a supreme being, the nature of God, interpretation of the Bible and other holy texts, whether life after death exists, what form the afterlife may take, etc.
We believe in:
Personal worth: The inherent worth of every person. People are worthy of respect, support, and caring simply because they are human. Unfortunately, our group has not reached a consensus on when human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person with civil rights including the right to live. On this matter, our group's lack of agreement on when personhood begins mirrors that of society at large.
Lack of discrimination: Working towards a culture that is relatively free of discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, physical disability, language, age, body shape, etc.
Dignity: The dignity of the human person. We oppose the use of torture and cruel or unusual punishment including the death penalty.
Democracy: The importance of democratic processes within religious, political, and other structures in which the will of the people is implemented, subject to the limits imposed by the constitution.
Religion-state matters: The separation of religion and the state. (This is generally referred to as "separation of church and state." But we prefer the more inclusive term). The government should avoid promoting one faith group within a religion over another, or promote one religion over another, promote religion over secular beliefs, or promote secular beliefs over religion. 1
Personal freedom: The freedoms of religious beliefs, speech, association, and expression at the individual, congregational and denominational level. 1
Freedom of speech: The freedom to compare the beliefs of faith groups with each other, and with the findings of science. It also includes the freedom to criticize faith and other groups when they harm others.
Relative truth: The principle that many moral, ethical, and religious beliefs vary greatly from one culture, religion, and time to another, and are thus relative. We do acknowledge that they are often considered absolute by various religions and secular belief systems. 2
Impact of religion: The generally positive influence that most religions have had on their followers and on society. 3
A problem with the use of prayer: It is our belief that prayer is an unreliable method to assess the will of God. We were initially divided on this matter, but a pilot study appears to indicate that prayer for this purpose is unreliable.
Evil in religion: In the importance of individual believers detecting evil influences and policies that currently exist within their chosen faith group, and strongly advocating for their correction. If significant improvement or elimination of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, etc. is impossible, we feel that they should consider withholding financial support and/or leaving the group. 4
Education: The principle that people are not truly educated unless they have studied the world's major religions and ethical systems. They need to learn of both the good and evil impacts that each has had on society throughout history. They need to be taught skills at analysis and "baloney detection." 5
Check out Religious Tolerance (dot) org
Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts
Monday, July 21, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Sadducees
"The Sadducees (Hebrew: צְדוּקִים Ṣĕdûqîm) were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society.[1] As a whole, the sect fulfilled various political, social, and religious roles, including maintaining the Temple. The Sadducees are often compared to other contemporaneous sects, including the Pharisees and the Essenes. Their sect is believed to have become extinct sometime after the destruction of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, but it has been speculated that the later Karaites may have had some roots or connections with old Sadducee views."
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Monday, February 24, 2014
Tartarus
"A prisonlike, abased condition into which God cast disobedient angels in Noah’s day.
This word is found but once in the inspired Scriptures, at 2 Peter 2:4. The apostle writes: “God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.” The expression “throwing them into Tartarus” is from the Greek verb tar·ta·ro′o and so includes within itself the word “Tartarus.”
A parallel text is found at Jude 6: “And the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place he has reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.” Showing when it was that these angels “forsook their own proper dwelling place,” Peter speaks of “the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days, while the ark was being constructed.” (1Pe 3:19, 20) This directly links the matter to the account at Genesis 6:1-4 concerning “the sons of the true God” who abandoned their heavenly abode to cohabit with women in pre-Flood times and produced children by them, such offspring being designated as Nephilim.—See NEPHILIM; SON(S) OF GOD.
From these texts it is evident that Tartarus is a condition rather than a particular location, inasmuch as Peter, on the one hand, speaks of these disobedient spirits as being in “pits of dense darkness,” while Paul speaks of them as being in “heavenly places” from which they exercise a rule of darkness as wicked spirit forces. (2Pe 2:4; Eph 6:10-12) The dense darkness similarly is not literally a lack of light but results from their being cut off from illumination by God as renegades and outcasts from his family, with only a dark outlook as to their eternal destiny.
Tartarus is, therefore, not the same as the Hebrew Sheol or the Greek Hades, both of which refer to the common earthly grave of mankind. This is evident from the fact that, while the apostle Peter shows that Jesus Christ preached to these “spirits in prison,” he also shows that Jesus did so, not during the three days while buried in Hades (Sheol), but after his resurrection out of Hades.—1Pe 3:18-20."
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This word is found but once in the inspired Scriptures, at 2 Peter 2:4. The apostle writes: “God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.” The expression “throwing them into Tartarus” is from the Greek verb tar·ta·ro′o and so includes within itself the word “Tartarus.”
A parallel text is found at Jude 6: “And the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place he has reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.” Showing when it was that these angels “forsook their own proper dwelling place,” Peter speaks of “the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days, while the ark was being constructed.” (1Pe 3:19, 20) This directly links the matter to the account at Genesis 6:1-4 concerning “the sons of the true God” who abandoned their heavenly abode to cohabit with women in pre-Flood times and produced children by them, such offspring being designated as Nephilim.—See NEPHILIM; SON(S) OF GOD.
From these texts it is evident that Tartarus is a condition rather than a particular location, inasmuch as Peter, on the one hand, speaks of these disobedient spirits as being in “pits of dense darkness,” while Paul speaks of them as being in “heavenly places” from which they exercise a rule of darkness as wicked spirit forces. (2Pe 2:4; Eph 6:10-12) The dense darkness similarly is not literally a lack of light but results from their being cut off from illumination by God as renegades and outcasts from his family, with only a dark outlook as to their eternal destiny.
Tartarus is, therefore, not the same as the Hebrew Sheol or the Greek Hades, both of which refer to the common earthly grave of mankind. This is evident from the fact that, while the apostle Peter shows that Jesus Christ preached to these “spirits in prison,” he also shows that Jesus did so, not during the three days while buried in Hades (Sheol), but after his resurrection out of Hades.—1Pe 3:18-20."
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Gehenna
"This name appears 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, and whereas many translators take the liberty to render it by the word “hell,” a number of modern translations transliterate the word from the Greek ge′en·na.—Mt 5:22, Ro, Mo, ED, NW, BC (Spanish), NC (Spanish), also the footnotes of Da and RS.
The deep, narrow Valley of Hinnom, later known by this Greek name, lay to the S and SW of ancient Jerusalem and is the modern-day Wadi er-Rababi (Ge Ben Hinnom). (Jos 15:8; 18:16; Jer 19:2, 6; see HINNOM, VALLEY OF.) Judean Kings Ahaz and Manasseh engaged in idolatrous worship there, which included the making of human sacrifices by fire to Baal. (2Ch 28:1, 3; 33:1, 6; Jer 7:31, 32; 32:35) Later, to prevent such activities there in the future, faithful King Josiah had the place of idolatrous worship polluted, particularly the section called Topheth.—2Ki 23:10.
No Symbol of Everlasting Torment. Jesus Christ associated fire with Gehenna (Mt 5:22; 18:9; Mr 9:47, 48), as did the disciple James, the only Biblical writer besides Matthew, Mark, and Luke to use the word. (Jas 3:6) Some commentators endeavor to link such fiery characteristic of Gehenna with the burning of human sacrifices that was carried on prior to Josiah’s reign and, on this basis, hold that Gehenna was used by Jesus as a symbol of everlasting torment. However, since Jehovah God expressed repugnance for such practice, saying that it was “a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart” (Jer 7:31; 32:35), it seems most unlikely that God’s Son, in discussing divine judgment, would make such idolatrous practice the basis for the symbolic meaning of Gehenna. It may be noted that God prophetically decreed that the Valley of Hinnom would serve as a place for mass disposal of dead bodies rather than for the torture of live victims. (Jer 7:32, 33; 19:2, 6, 7, 10, 11) Thus, at Jeremiah 31:40 the reference to “the low plain of the carcasses and of the fatty ashes” is generally accepted as designating the Valley of Hinnom, and a gate known as “the Gate of the Ash-heaps” evidently opened out onto the eastern extremity of the valley at its juncture with the ravine of the Kidron.—Ne 3:13, 14."
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The deep, narrow Valley of Hinnom, later known by this Greek name, lay to the S and SW of ancient Jerusalem and is the modern-day Wadi er-Rababi (Ge Ben Hinnom). (Jos 15:8; 18:16; Jer 19:2, 6; see HINNOM, VALLEY OF.) Judean Kings Ahaz and Manasseh engaged in idolatrous worship there, which included the making of human sacrifices by fire to Baal. (2Ch 28:1, 3; 33:1, 6; Jer 7:31, 32; 32:35) Later, to prevent such activities there in the future, faithful King Josiah had the place of idolatrous worship polluted, particularly the section called Topheth.—2Ki 23:10.
No Symbol of Everlasting Torment. Jesus Christ associated fire with Gehenna (Mt 5:22; 18:9; Mr 9:47, 48), as did the disciple James, the only Biblical writer besides Matthew, Mark, and Luke to use the word. (Jas 3:6) Some commentators endeavor to link such fiery characteristic of Gehenna with the burning of human sacrifices that was carried on prior to Josiah’s reign and, on this basis, hold that Gehenna was used by Jesus as a symbol of everlasting torment. However, since Jehovah God expressed repugnance for such practice, saying that it was “a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart” (Jer 7:31; 32:35), it seems most unlikely that God’s Son, in discussing divine judgment, would make such idolatrous practice the basis for the symbolic meaning of Gehenna. It may be noted that God prophetically decreed that the Valley of Hinnom would serve as a place for mass disposal of dead bodies rather than for the torture of live victims. (Jer 7:32, 33; 19:2, 6, 7, 10, 11) Thus, at Jeremiah 31:40 the reference to “the low plain of the carcasses and of the fatty ashes” is generally accepted as designating the Valley of Hinnom, and a gate known as “the Gate of the Ash-heaps” evidently opened out onto the eastern extremity of the valley at its juncture with the ravine of the Kidron.—Ne 3:13, 14."
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Sheol/Hades
"There is no English word that conveys the precise sense of the Hebrew word sheʼohl′. Commenting on the use of the word “hell” in Bible translation, Collier’s Encyclopedia (1986, Vol. 12, p. 28) says: “Since Sheol in Old Testament times referred simply to the abode of the dead and suggested no moral distinctions, the word ‘hell,’ as understood today, is not a happy translation.” More recent versions transliterate the word into English as “Sheol.”—RS, AT, NW.
Regarding Sheol, the Encyclopædia Britannica (1971, Vol. 11, p. 276) noted: “Sheol was located somewhere ‘under’ the earth. . . . The state of the dead was one of neither pain nor pleasure. Neither reward for the righteous nor punishment for the wicked was associated with Sheol. The good and the bad alike, tyrants and saints, kings and orphans, Israelites and gentiles—all slept together without awareness of one another.”
While the Greek teaching of the immortality of the human soul infiltrated Jewish religious thinking in later centuries, the Bible record shows that Sheol refers to mankind’s common grave as a place where there is no consciousness. (Ec 9:4-6, 10) Those in Sheol neither praise God nor mention him. (Ps 6:4, 5; Isa 38:17-19) Yet it cannot be said that it simply represents ‘a condition of being separated from God,’ since the Scriptures render such a teaching untenable by showing that Sheol is “in front of” him, and that God is in effect “there.” (Pr 15:11; Ps 139:7, 8; Am 9:1, 2) For this reason Job, longing to be relieved of his suffering, prayed that he might go to Sheol and later be remembered by Jehovah and be called out from Sheol.—Job 14:12-15."
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Regarding Sheol, the Encyclopædia Britannica (1971, Vol. 11, p. 276) noted: “Sheol was located somewhere ‘under’ the earth. . . . The state of the dead was one of neither pain nor pleasure. Neither reward for the righteous nor punishment for the wicked was associated with Sheol. The good and the bad alike, tyrants and saints, kings and orphans, Israelites and gentiles—all slept together without awareness of one another.”
While the Greek teaching of the immortality of the human soul infiltrated Jewish religious thinking in later centuries, the Bible record shows that Sheol refers to mankind’s common grave as a place where there is no consciousness. (Ec 9:4-6, 10) Those in Sheol neither praise God nor mention him. (Ps 6:4, 5; Isa 38:17-19) Yet it cannot be said that it simply represents ‘a condition of being separated from God,’ since the Scriptures render such a teaching untenable by showing that Sheol is “in front of” him, and that God is in effect “there.” (Pr 15:11; Ps 139:7, 8; Am 9:1, 2) For this reason Job, longing to be relieved of his suffering, prayed that he might go to Sheol and later be remembered by Jehovah and be called out from Sheol.—Job 14:12-15."
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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Who is Metatron?
"One part of the answer to this question is that He is our older brother, our role model leading us toward what we may become - because legend tells us that Metatron once led a physical life as Enoch the Scribe, who led a faultless life on earth and ascended straight to heaven to continue his job at God's right hand: so he is one of the few angels who are said to have experienced human life, and have since risen to heights of love and power and wisdom that are probably beyond our wildest imaginings in our present state of consciousness.
But we are growing, we're evolving; and here is the whole point! Metatron is described as the Archangel who is bright enough to look God straight in the eye: one day, then, we too shall be able to sit among the highest frequencies without full spontaneous combustion. Other legends say that Metatron was the angel who led the Israelites out of Egypt and into safety; once we tune into his energies, the guidance we receive is awesome.
Metatron has been described as huge enough to bridge heaven and earth. He is often described as the Angel of God's Presence - and indeed one of his great gifts is to help us in mastering time, which comes down to helping us to be present. Really.
Metatron is beyond angelic, beyond even archangelic; and the prefix 'meta' expands a concept: in metaphysical we transcend the physical, in metamorphosis we move beyond the limits of one form - caterpillar to butterfly-fashion. 'Tron' means instrument, or device. As Metatron has also been seen and felt by many to be, in the words of J.J. Hurtak ("The Keys of Enoch") the 'creator of light in the outer universe', so this Being can be seen as providing divine tools of light, which enable us to surpass ourselves.
If he is Ruler of that map of consciousness itself, the Tree of Life, then He guides us on our return journey to wholeness, or Paradise. The spheres in the Tree of Life represent different worlds, or parallel realities: as we bring about profound change in our awareness and understanding, as we let go of old and worn-out 'stories' or versions of the truth, the potential is there for us to step into a different reality: one of abundance and love, in which our joy and creativity can be expressed. As we receive more and more of the light that Metatron is offering us, we allow in more and more of the deepest good in the cosmos.
Some people think comfortably in terms of Angelic or Divine energies; they perceive that there are Beings, or spiritual energies, or messengers from some of the vast numbers of other dimensions that exist in the Universe, and that these Beings are available to us in a palpable way. This is our experience in working with the energies of Metatron: a real, tangible and very loving presence is felt within the room and dramatically in the process of the Transmissions and when giving client sessions. Other people prefer to think in terms of Science; they may be more comfortable with the concept of vibrations within a unified field of consciousness. Both are true. In the end, our concepts are just ways of attempting to make sense of ideas and phenomena in a polarized world; but our destiny is to move beyond separation.
And in this, the Archangels are our greatest teachers and allies."
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But we are growing, we're evolving; and here is the whole point! Metatron is described as the Archangel who is bright enough to look God straight in the eye: one day, then, we too shall be able to sit among the highest frequencies without full spontaneous combustion. Other legends say that Metatron was the angel who led the Israelites out of Egypt and into safety; once we tune into his energies, the guidance we receive is awesome.
Metatron has been described as huge enough to bridge heaven and earth. He is often described as the Angel of God's Presence - and indeed one of his great gifts is to help us in mastering time, which comes down to helping us to be present. Really.
Metatron is beyond angelic, beyond even archangelic; and the prefix 'meta' expands a concept: in metaphysical we transcend the physical, in metamorphosis we move beyond the limits of one form - caterpillar to butterfly-fashion. 'Tron' means instrument, or device. As Metatron has also been seen and felt by many to be, in the words of J.J. Hurtak ("The Keys of Enoch") the 'creator of light in the outer universe', so this Being can be seen as providing divine tools of light, which enable us to surpass ourselves.
If he is Ruler of that map of consciousness itself, the Tree of Life, then He guides us on our return journey to wholeness, or Paradise. The spheres in the Tree of Life represent different worlds, or parallel realities: as we bring about profound change in our awareness and understanding, as we let go of old and worn-out 'stories' or versions of the truth, the potential is there for us to step into a different reality: one of abundance and love, in which our joy and creativity can be expressed. As we receive more and more of the light that Metatron is offering us, we allow in more and more of the deepest good in the cosmos.
Some people think comfortably in terms of Angelic or Divine energies; they perceive that there are Beings, or spiritual energies, or messengers from some of the vast numbers of other dimensions that exist in the Universe, and that these Beings are available to us in a palpable way. This is our experience in working with the energies of Metatron: a real, tangible and very loving presence is felt within the room and dramatically in the process of the Transmissions and when giving client sessions. Other people prefer to think in terms of Science; they may be more comfortable with the concept of vibrations within a unified field of consciousness. Both are true. In the end, our concepts are just ways of attempting to make sense of ideas and phenomena in a polarized world; but our destiny is to move beyond separation.
And in this, the Archangels are our greatest teachers and allies."
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Sunday, February 9, 2014
Religion for Animal Rights Activists
"The seventh-century Christian mystic Saint Isaac the Syrian asks, "What is a charitable heart? It is a heart which is burning with love for the whole creation, for men, for the birds, for the beasts . . . for all creatures. He who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without his eyes being filled with tears by reason of the immense compassion which seizes his heart; a heart which is softened and can no longer bear to see or learn from others of any suffering, even the smallest pain being inflicted upon a creature. That is why such a man never ceases to pray for the animals . . . moved by the infinite pity which reigns in the hearts of those who are becoming united with God.""
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Friday, January 24, 2014
Lilith
"Lilith (Hebrew: לילית; lilit, or lilith) is a Hebrew name for a figure in Jewish mythology, developed earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be in part derived from a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts of Assyria and Babylonia.
Evidence in later Jewish materials is plentiful, but little information has been found relating to the original Akkadian and Babylonian view of these demons. The relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish Lilith to an Akkadian Lilitu—the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash amulets—are now both disputed by recent scholarship.The two problematic sources are discussed below.
The Hebrew term Lilith or "Lilit" (translated as "Night creatures", "night monster", "night hag", or "screech owl") first occurs in Isaiah 34:14, either singular or plural according to variations in the earliest manuscripts, though in a list of animals. In the Dead Sea Scrolls Songs of the Sage the term first occurs in a list of monsters. In Jewish magical inscriptions on bowls and amulets from the 6th century CE onwards, Lilith is identified as a female demon and the first visual depictions appear.
In Jewish folklore, from the 8th–10th century Alphabet of Ben Sira onwards, Lilith becomes Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same earth as Adam. This contrasts with Eve, who was created from one of Adam's ribs. The legend was greatly developed during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. In the 13th century writings of Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, for example, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with archangel Samael.[4] The resulting Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror."
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Evidence in later Jewish materials is plentiful, but little information has been found relating to the original Akkadian and Babylonian view of these demons. The relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish Lilith to an Akkadian Lilitu—the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash amulets—are now both disputed by recent scholarship.The two problematic sources are discussed below.
The Hebrew term Lilith or "Lilit" (translated as "Night creatures", "night monster", "night hag", or "screech owl") first occurs in Isaiah 34:14, either singular or plural according to variations in the earliest manuscripts, though in a list of animals. In the Dead Sea Scrolls Songs of the Sage the term first occurs in a list of monsters. In Jewish magical inscriptions on bowls and amulets from the 6th century CE onwards, Lilith is identified as a female demon and the first visual depictions appear.
In Jewish folklore, from the 8th–10th century Alphabet of Ben Sira onwards, Lilith becomes Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same earth as Adam. This contrasts with Eve, who was created from one of Adam's ribs. The legend was greatly developed during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. In the 13th century writings of Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, for example, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with archangel Samael.[4] The resulting Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror."
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The Case for Lilith
"
The Case for Lilith
Of all the ancient Jewish myths, the story of Lilith is undoubtedly the most fascinating. According to her legend Lilith was
the first wife of Adam. But she was a failed mate who rebelled against her husband and fled from the garden to become
the mother of demons. Her legend has influenced more modern monster mythologies than any other Jewish myth. Her
tale was not only the original source material for medieval beliefs in succubae and night-hags, but as the mother of
estries she also lies at the root of modern vampire lore. Her creation story also fueled ancient Jewish notions about
Golems, and has thus helped inspired the modern version of this myth, Frankenstein. Although Lilith is not widely known
amongst those normally considered well versed in scripture, given the validity of her legend, her prominence in the
Bible more than matches her prominence in modern monster mythologies.. As we shall see, Lilith is the first Sotah, the
archetype of the adulterous wife who turned aside from her husband and who was subjected to the supernatural bitter
water trial. She is the Serpent who caused Adam and Eve to fall. She and her seed are the chess pieces of Lucifer’s
struggle against God and man. Her firstborn, Azazel, is the infamous seed of the Serpent. He is locked in epic battle with
the promised seed of Eve. Due to his exalted position Azazel plays a prominent role in Israel’s Yom Kippur ceremony.
He is the recipient of the sacrificial scapegoat, or literally, the goat “to Azazel”. There are intriguing evidences that in
her quest to conceive Azazel Lilith was responsible for bringing upon the earth the race of Nephilim, the giant offspring
of angels and women, and as such she was the ultimate cause for Noah’s flood.
According to commonly known versions of her legend, Lilith was created by God from the soil of the earth at the same
time as Adam. She was intended as Adam’s mate, but Lilith was rebellious against her husband. She quarreled
continuously with Adam and refused to sexually submit to him from an inferior position below. At her rebellion’s
culmination she unleashed her long hair and shouted the ineffable name of God. She thereby supernaturally sprouted
wings and took flight from the garden. After her departure Adam became lonely and sought to recover his errant wife. At
his behest Jehovah sent three angels to return her. They found Lilith in the midst of the Red Sea. But she refused to
return with them. She chose instead to become the mother of demons. She did this not only by mating with demons, but
by also stealing semen from men at night while they slept. Because of Lilith’s refusal, the angels cursed her that every
day 100 of her demon seed would die, and for Adam God created Eve as a replacement for his rebellious mate. In
revenge Lilith resolved that she would visit Eve’s children in childbirth and kill those whom she found were not
protected by the names of the three angels.
As we shall see, there are deeper mysteries to Lilith’s legend that may be derived from a careful study of the Biblical
text. These details confirm tenets held by the Zohar of Kabalah concerning Lilith. The Zohar is perhaps the most
important book on Lilith outside of the Bible. The Zohar explains Lilith’s rebellious nature. It states that after God had
formed Adam’s and Lilith’s bodies from the earth, Lilith became animated by the defective light of Lucifer, whereas Adam
became animated by the holy spark of God’s perfect light. From Genesis it is apparent that Lucifer’s defective light
entered Lilith through a defiling mist which erupted from the ground and watered her body. This preempted God’s spirit
in animating her. Therefore Lilith is said to be created from filth and sediment, whereas Adam is said to be created from
dry dust, as he was untouched by the defiling mist. He was animated by God’s perfect light that entered him with the
breath of God’s holy spirit filled his nostrils.
According to the Zohar and numerous Biblical evidences, Lilith later returned to the garden under the title of the
Serpent. Genesis reveals that the Serpent Lilith deceived Eve into eating of the forbidden tree and thereby caused her
and Adam to fall. Because of this God cursed the Serpent Lilith and her seed. He declared that a doomed rivalry would
exist between Lilith and Eve and between their seed. Lilith would bruise the heal of Eve’s seed, but Eve’s seed would
crush the head of Lilith. Lilith being identified as the Serpent also links her to Leviathan, which Job 26 and Isa 27
describe as a winged serpent fleeing before God. Leviathan is commonly held to refer to the Serpent of Eden, and thus
Lilith. From a study of Leviathan we learn again that Lucifer is intimately fused with Lilith, and that Lilith was created in
the same fashion as Adam. She was a golem fashioned from the dust of the earth and animated by Lucifer’s defective
light."
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Religious Ecstasy
"Religious ecstasy is only one type of an altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euphoria. Although the experience is usually brief in time, there are records of such experiences lasting several days or even more, and of recurring experiences of ecstasy during one's lifetime. Subjective perception of time, space and/or self may strongly change or disappear during ecstasy, sometimes called enlightenment." (wikipedia)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Yom Kippur
What is it?
Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers oneself absolved by God.
Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers oneself absolved by God.
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