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Image by David Maddison via FlickrI attended a Christian college not because I was Christian at the time (I was far more public about my atheism then as compared to now) but because the school had a great reputation in the region. I encountered my share of religiously-motivated bigotry, certainly more than I would have at one of the state universities in the area, but this ended up being good preparation for life in Mississippi. In fact, there is not much I would change about the experience. It wasn't always pleasant, but it helped to make me who I am today. In this post, I'd like to tell you about a particularly outstanding Christian professor who I admired and respected a great deal. If nothing else, this may serve as a reminder that even devout Christians can be wonderful teachers and good people.
The professor in question had his appointment in the departments of philosophy and held degrees in both religion and philosophy. The course I took with him was an upper-level philosophy course, the philosophy of religion. I ended up minoring in philosophy after being unable to figure out what I would do with a philosophy major.
I went into the course as a fairly rabid anti-theist with a chip on my shoulder. I suppose I expected to be penalized for expressing what I really thought about religion. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Well, that's not entirely accurate. You see, I did take plenty of shit from the other students, nearly all of whom were Christians. But the professor was nothing but accepting, encouraging, and genuinely helpful.
As we studied the various arguments for and against the existence of gods, focusing on classic and contemporary Christian apologists, the professor was clear about what he believed but equally clear that we were to arrive at our own conclusions. He never preached or attempted to impose his beliefs. Students were expected to wrestle with the material and critically evaluate it.
In hindsight, this was probably my favorite class from my time in college. It was quite difficult, both intellectually and emotionally, because it forced us to fully engage the material. I saw more than a couple Christian students break down and cry in class when one of their cherished arguments was effectively demolished. I remained an atheist but certainly became more thoughtful and mature about my atheism.
Best of all, I experienced support and guidance from someone who clearly did not agree with me but was nevertheless committed to helping me. Whenever I am tempted to lump all Christians together and apply categorical statements, I recall this professor as the exception that shatters my stereotype.
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They're AT IT again
Islamized Buddhist Statue at Bamiyan
BUDDHIST HERITAGE ERADICATED
From AFP
Trouble in paradise: Maldives and Islamic extremismBy Amal Jayasinghe (AFP) - 10 hours ago
MALE - At the Maldives' National Museum, smashed Buddhist statues are testament to the rise of Islamic extremism and Taliban-style intolerance in a country famous as a laid-back holiday destination.
On Tuesday, as protesters backed by mutinous police toppled president Mohamed Nasheed, a handful of men stormed the Chinese-built museum and destroyed its display of priceless artefacts from the nation's pre-Islamic era.
"THEY HAVE EFFECTIVELY ERASED ALL EVIDENCE OF OUR BUDDHIST PAST," a senior museum official told AFP at the now shuttered building in the capital Male, asking not to be named out of fear for his own safety.
"We lost all our 12th century statues. They were made of coral stone and limestone. They are very brittle and there is no way we can restore them," he explained.
"I wept when I heard that the entire display had gone. We are good Muslims and we treated these statues only as part of our heritage. It is not against Islam to display these exhibits," he said.
Five people have since been arrested after they returned the following day to smash the CCTV cameras, he said. The authorities have banned photography of the damage, conscious that vandalism of this kind which echoes the 2001 destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban is damaging for the nation's image. The gates of the two-storeyed grey building, which opened in 2010, are padlocked and an unarmed guard keeps watch.
The Maldives, a collection of more than 1,100 coral-fringed islands surrounded by turquoise seas, is known as a "paradise" holiday destination that draws hundreds of thousands of travellers and honeymooners each year. Visitors' contact with the local population is deliberately kept at bay, however, with most foreigners simply transferring from the main international airport directly to their five-star resorts on outlying islands.
Few have any idea they are visiting a country of 330,000 Muslims with no religious freedom, where women can be flogged for extramarital sex and consuming alcohol is illegal for locals. ISLAM IS THE OFFICIAL RELIGION OF THE MALDIVES AND OPEN PRACTICE OF ANY OTHER RELIGION IS FORBIDDEN AND LIABLE TO PROSECUTION.
The religious origins of the Maldivian people are not clearly established, but it is believed that a Buddhist king converted to Islam in the 12th century. Thereafter, the country practised a mostly liberal form of the religion, but more fundamentalist interpretations have spread with the arrival of money and ultra-conservative Salafist preachers from the Middle East. In 2007, following a bombing that wounded a dozen foreign tourists, the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom banned head-to-toe coverings for women as a sign of his intent to battle conservative Islamic thinking.
AT THE MUSEUM, ANOTHER OFFICIAL SAID THAT FUNDAMENTALISTS HAD THREATENED TO ATTACK THE MUSEUM ON PREVIOUS OCCASIONS UNLESS IT WITHDREW THE BUDDHIST DISPLAY.
The country's ultra-conservative Islamic group, the Adhaalath Party, condemned the attack, but said they remained opposed to Nasheed's decision to accept three monuments from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
"Our constitution does not allow idols and that is why we objected to the monuments," General Secretary Mohamed Muizzu said, referring to the gifts to mark a South Asian summit held in November in the Maldives.
The monuments, which included one of pillar featuring Buddhist motifs, and which had been on display in the southernmost island of Addu, have all since been vandalised... More
ISLAMIC SYMBOLS - SWORDS AND KORAN
COERCION, INTIMIDATION, THUGGERY AND OUTRIGHT TERRORISM ARE INTRINSIC AND ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF ISLAM.
ISLAM IS SO INTELLECTUALLY MORIBUND AND ETHICALLY REPULSIVE THAT IT CANNOT COMPETE FOR FOLLOWERS IN A FREE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS, BUT MUST ELIMINATE ITS CRITICS AND COMPETITORS BY WHATEVER MEANS MAY BE NECESSARY.
EVEN 1000 YEAR OLD BUDDHA STATUES ARE A THREAT TO ISLAM.
WITH THE MASSIVE GROWTH OF EXTREMIST ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, WE CAN ONLY EXPECT JIHADISTS ATTACKS ON BUDDHISM AND BUDDHISTS TO INCREASE, AS THIS RECENT ARTICLE FROM POINT DE BASCULE MAKES CLEAR
THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND BUDDHISM
'Ecrit par Point de Bascule on 08 Septembre 2011. Posted in Articles par Point de Bascule "On September 7, 2011, the Dalai Lama, Tariq Ramadan and other personalities took part to the Second Global Conference on World's Religions after 9/11." It was organized in Montreal with the active cooperation of McGill University and the Universit'e de Montr'eal.During the conference a project of "Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World's Religions was discussed. The article 12.4 of the Declaration claims that "Everyone has the right not to have one's religion denigrated in the media or the academia."This push for censorship is part of a wider campaign led by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation representing 56 Muslim-majority countries to silence those who criticize Islam.While this is happening, several Muslim scholars including many endorsed by Tariq Ramadan and the Muslim Brotherhood describe non-Muslim doctrines in a very denigrating way. We do not suggest that these authors should be censored or banned. We bring up this contradiction to highlight the fact that radical Islamists want it both ways.Syed Maududi and other renowned Muslim scholars have written that kafirs (derogatory word for non-Muslims) will go to hell. They have claimed that Christianity is a distorted religion. In an Islamic Studies course set up by two Muslim Brotherhood operatives for the Edmonton Public School Board, Yusuf Ali's Qur'an is being used as a reference book. In this book, Jews are described as "apes and swine" (p. 1742). More examples of anti-Jewish stances found in the book are listed in a FrontPage article that was published after the Los Angeles school board decided to pull all its copies of Yusuf Ali's Qur'an from the shelves of its libraries.The depiction of Buddhism in Muslim Brotherhood-endorsed books destined to Muslim audiences is no more positive than that of Christianity and Judaism. In fact, it is worse. Harun Yahya's book "Islam and Buddhism" is a good example to illustrate where the Muslim Brotherhood and Tariq Ramadan's "understanding of Islam" leads.Harun Yahya is a prolific author promoted by various organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Yahya is a Turkish national born in 1956 whose real name is Adnan Oktar.Harun Yahya is a frequent contributor to OnIslam, a Muslim Brotherhood news portal closely associated with Youssef Qaradawi. In September 2010, Yahya was identified as a regular OnIslam staff. (GMBDR about OnIslam)The semi-private library operated by the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at Concordia University in Montreal has 44 books (28 different titles) written by Harun Yahya. The MSA is one of the oldest Muslim Brotherhood organizations in North America. The MSA's library at Concordia contains books that are endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood. It has no formal link with the University's own libraries (catalogue, etc.) but it is operated in Concordia University premises and funded by the Council of Student Life.Another MSA chapter at Memorial University (St John's, Newfoundland) promotes Harun Yahya's books and movies at their regular booth on campus premises. (Video)Muzammil Siddiqi, an important leader of the Muslim Brotherhood operating in the United States has specifically praised one of Harun Yahya's books. (Letter)Harun Yahya's books are sold at conventions organized by Muslim Brotherhood organizations. (p. 8 - ISNA Booth 1002)Point 4.18 of a 1991 Muslim Brotherhood internal memorandum stresses the importance of "role distribution" among the organization's activists in order to achieve success. While Tariq Ramadan is trying to take advantage of the Dalai Lama's reputation to legitimize censoring the critics of the Muslim Brotherhood, Harun Yahya is busy telling Brotherhood's supporters what they should really think about Buddhism.In 2004, Harun Yahya and his colleague Tariq Ramadan were the main speakers at a conference that Ramadan describes as the "largest Islamic event in Australia" on his website.HARUN YAHYA CLAIMS THAT BUDDHISTS ARE GUILTY OF "ASSOCIATION" AND THAT THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE "DESTINED FOR DESTRUCTION"In his book Islam and Buddhism", Harun Yahya concludes that Buddhists' accomplishments are purposeless and that they are "destined for destruction" because their understanding of God and religion is incompatible with Islam. Harun Yahya accuses Buddhists of "associating" false gods with the real one:To deny the supremacy of God and worship the idols of an ordinary person, as the Buddhists do, is described in the Qur'an as to "associate something with God." In hundreds of places in the Qur'an, God reminds us that this "association" is a very serious sin. For example: "(Qur'an, 4:48) God does not forgive anything being associated with Him, but He forgives whoever He wills for anything other than that. Anyone who associates something with God has committed a terrible crime.(...) To bow before these invented gods is a terrible crime against God. As stated in the Qur'an (4: 48), God may forgive those who commit every other sin and error, but never one who associates His creatures with Him. ("Islam and Buddhism" - Chapter 1)Historically, this so-called crime of "association" has been the pretext invoked by Muslim scholars to justify the destruction and the eradication of the Buddhist civilization from India, Afghanistan and many other parts of Asia.Ibn Khaldun (1332 - 1406) is one of many scholars endorsed by Tariq Ramadan. In his classic "Muqaddimah", Ibn Khaldun explains why resorting to coercion and violence against Buddhists and non-Muslims in general is justified:In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the (Muslim) mission and (the obligation to) convert everybody to Islam EITHER BY PERSUASION OR BY FORCE...continued -
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8PM CST- Join Ed the Pagan and Traci Logan Wood for WIld Wednesdays where anything goes! News, comentary, interviews, music with guest Tish Owen is a woman of abundance. She is a daughter, a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a friend, a shop owner, an author, a seamstress, a sailor, a brewer, reads tarot cards professionally, owns the Goddess and the Moon in Nashville, TN and is the coordinator of the Pagan Unity Festival.
In her book, Spell It Correctly, she calls on her nearly two decades of experience reading Tarot and crafting spell for the clientele of her shop. She also draws deeply from her wind-ranging knowledge of various spiritual paths, including what she learned from being raised in the Catholic Church. Spell It Correctlyis Tish's second book.
Her first, Chasing the Rainbow, is a quintessential guide and handbook for facilitation successful Pagan festivals. AND then at.. 9 PM CST- Over to Oberon and Ariel (OOA) with Oberon Zell Ravenheart and Ariel Monserat from CAW and Green Egg zine. Our guest tonight is Diane Wing. Diane is an author, teacher, personal transformation guide, and intuitive consultant.
She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology and has been providing valuable insights for the highest good of her clients for over 27 years.
Pagans Tonight witches and wizards paganism activism wicca
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"...IN TUNKASHILA, THERE IS NO TIME. EVERYTHING MOVES IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. IT'S AS FAST AS THOUGHT. SO THERE IS NO SPEED THERE. THERE IS NO TIME IN BETWEEN.
- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
There is a relationship between thought and reality. Every thought is alive, and as soon as you think it, a result occurs immediately. However, to make something happen it may take a series of one thousand thoughts before you can actually see it with your eyes. This occurs because the Laws of the Great Spirit act immediately. When you tell a lie, you immediately experience fear. When you tell the truth, you immediately experience freedom. To the Creator, there is no time. For us to experience the meaning of this requires us to act on faith. Faith is belief without evidence.
"Great Spirit, today, let me act on my faith. "
whitebison.org
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By George I. MantzaridisEmeritus Professor of Ethics and Sociology
Sir Steven Runciman, the noted Byzantinist, in his last interview said: "Sometimes I am disappointed by the other churches. Nevertheless, it pleases me to think that before one hundred years pass, Orthodoxy will be the only remaining historical Church. I believe that she offers the real spirituality which the other churches can no longer offer."(1) If this foreboding rings true, then the universality of Orthodoxy becomes current. At the same time its apostolicity, which is one of the four distinctive features of the Church according to the Creed, is emphatically presented on the modern stage.
Apostolicity links the Church together with historical and institutional origin, while at the same time it denotes character and perspective. The Church of Christ is Apostolic because her origins and teachings are based upon the Apostles of Christ. Besides, the Lord's command to the Apostles had universal scope: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."(2)
Christ was born as a man through the lineage of Judah to redeem the people of Israel and the whole world.(3) He did not overlook the other races and nations but recapitulated all in His theandric (Divine-Human) Body, namely the Church. Although the twelve Apostles represent the twelve races of Israel, they assume ecumenical conscience and teach "all the nations". Racial, national and other kinds of divisive characterizations exist before death's borders. The Church, rooted upon the truth and actual experience of the victory over death, does not disregard such divisions, yet she transcends the distinctions and unites the entire world in one and undivided body.
The racial and national divisions existing during the time of the Apostles still exist today. Even idolatry powerfully introduces itself in both the non-Christian and Christian worlds in one of its most ancient forms, that of covetousness. The present age believes in money and is directed by capital. Capital governs man, corrupts his morals, shapes his social life and determines political choices.
The Holy Bible and the Fathers of the Church directly relate man's freedom and justification to a detachment from money and to the broadening of one's conscience to embrace the entire world. The Gospel indicates the metaphysical dimensions that money potentially acquires transforming itself and becoming Mammon.(4)
St. Paul says that avarice is idolatry.(5) The Fathers of the Church also condemn avarice as a crime.(6) However, the contraction of the ecumenical conscience of a Christian and the return to a nationalistic outlook of perception is also to be identified with idolatry.
Man has infinite value. In himself the persona is a kind of centre capable of containing in himself the whole fullness of divinity and humanity.(7) This is the claim of Christian anthropology, which is neglected by the Christian world but preserved in Orthodox Theology. It is true that on a moral and social level the traditionally Orthodox peoples may not hold a superior position compared to the non-Orthodox. This is because of the secularization that began in the West and was ultimately transplanted in the East, resulting in disadvantaging the Orthodox. The desire to imitate and the inherent difficulty to assimilate and exploit foreign cultural elements created personal and social turmoil. Nevertheless, the superiority of Orthodoxy stems from its theological foundations. Orthodoxy remains as a pure truth of Christian Faith. In the Orthodox Church, Christian truth is unspoiled and the eschatological perspective of Christianity is preserved. This is Orthodoxy's greatest value and this guarantees the quality of what the Church profess to the world.
For the Orthodox, self-criticism and repentance is essential. From this perspective we see the challenge the Orthodox Church faces with globalization. When the spirit of the world in the form of avarice, love for power, religious syncretism, nationalism, liberalism or conservatism, entraps Orthodoxy in the inevitable web of corruption and death, the reduction or relativization of Orthodoxy's absolute and universal spirit can be fatal.
Should the Orthodox Church rest upon a conventional presence in the contemporary world, should the Church fail to respond to today's challenges with Christ's universal spirit, man will be without help. Man will submit to globalization's homogenization. However, if the Church fosters the spirit of Tradition on a personal and community level, the truth of Christ's universality will trump the illusion of globalization.
Present perspectives are disappointing. All phenomena betray the crisis and portend the inevitable explosion. If man's focus is on individual interests and man neglects fellow-man, society is undermined and is lead to an impasse. The economic growth model becomes the author of self-destruction. The rich grow richer with modern capitalism since wealth is retained by those that are wealthy. The poor grow poorer because the model's cyclical fluctuations and inherent need to sustain viability affect the income of the poor the most. This process can only lead to self-implosion.
The solution shall surface only when man decides to turn his eyes outward to his surroundings; when he decides to follow a basic Christian precept: "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."(8) When everyone takes interest in their fellow-man, when the interests of others are in our focus, when man recognizes the benefit of others as the ultimate goal of work, then man will take the right place in human society. At that time man shall ascertain that his true self, his true being, lies in his neighbour.
Yet, all these are not simply human choices. They emerge as a consequence of man's spiritual rebirth. Specifically, they spring as fruits of man's participation in the life of Christ. The one who follows Christ and becomes a partaker of His death and resurrection, enters into the perspective of His universality. Whether the individual is an ordained priest or lay person, he is summoned to bear the grace of the "royal priesthood"(9) and to offer services in the work of the reconciliation of the whole world, which is accomplished through Christ. This requires intense asceticism and prayer, which in turn reveals the image of God in man.(10)
Every person, and Humanity as a whole, are an image of God. This iconological character of man makes necessary the nexus between man and God. When a person ceases to reflect God in his being, he becomes self-deleted. He becomes the image of nothing. Man's reference to God is what gives substance to his hypostasis. It makes man a partaker of the Divine Being, a god by grace: "I say, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you."(11)
Such a high perspective for man and his life forms the ideal of the Orthodox Church. Besides, the Church is a "communion of deification".(12) The Church is the community constituted by the Presence of the Holy Spirit which elevates us to the status of the Universality of Christ. Yet, this elevation of humanity is concurrently given and demanded. It is offered as a donation from Christ in His Church, but it also has to be accomplished by the faithful through the activation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This achievement is not a painless process, yet it becomes possible by the means of humility and kenotic ["i.e." self-emptying] love.
Man cannot easily chasten himself or get rid of his egotism to accept his fellow-man. Although the loving disposition is inherent to human nature, a lack of true love does characterize the "fallen" man. True love is revealed only through the sacrifice of egotism. The model for this love is the Triune God. Unity in the Holy Trinity is accomplished through the kenotic and loving inter-penetration of the Divine Persons, thereby being the model for the unity of Humanity and for the creation of the communion of deification.
Such love was revealed to the world by Christ. This kind of love is what the Orthodox Church proposes to man for his salvation, which is identified with his becoming a universal person. In the Church the believer is called to live the universal tragedy which runs through history, in order to proceed through repentance to the universal reconciliation, to the catholic communion of love. In this way the entire world is fraternized and every man is opened to universality.
The ascendance to such a perspective of life requires great effort. The created and corruptible man is summoned to assume the ethos of the uncreated and timeless Being. Undoubtedly, this is not achieved by his powers only. Orthodox Theology always speaks about the synergy between God and man. The limit of this synergy is death. In the final analysis, death proves man's fidelity to God and his faith that death has been defeated. In this way the barrier of death is broken down and the new creation of the New Covenant is revealed. That is why, according to St Paul, the New Testament is not "man's gospel".(13)
Many people characterize our age as a post-Christian age. This must mean two things: First, that the former ages were Christian. Moreover, that our age is no longer Christian and that Christianity has nothing more to offer. This premise is twice mistaken. Because neither the former period was Christian, nor is the potential of Christianity ever exhausted, with nothing more to offer for the present and future. This does not mean that Christianity has not affected the past and the present. It means that Christianity has not been lived in its authentic dimensions by the masses.(14)
Christianity is person-centred. The individual is not seen as being subject to the impersonal whole, nor juxtaposed to the community. Christianity perceives the person as being in communion in the Church, and sees in every man the ability to reflect in his person all humanity. Consequently, Christianity does not seek to amend society by altering social structures. It seeks the amendment of society in the amendment of each person. In this perspective Christianity prioritizes the internal unification of man, which is achievable through the reunion of the intellect to the heart. In this reunion lies the essence of godly hesychia ("i.e." quietude, quiet contemplation or solitude; the practice of the prayer of the heart), a basic element of Orthodox Tradition.
In our turbulent age the reminiscence of hesychia seems unrealistic. This does not mean that it is beyond one's reach or, worse, that it is useless. Orthodox hesychia means not stagnancy or dullness but self-concentration and intense activity on the level of the inner man. It is the presupposition for the internal reorganization of man and the establishment of his relationship with God and his neighbour. In the confusion of noises and information that our present society offers, man can easily lose his identity and humanity. Unless he concentrates on himself and returns to a true relationship with God and his fellow-man, all human progress is condemned to annihilation. That is why devout hesychia is a priority which leads to man's perfection. This is in essence real social activism and missionary work.(15)
Orthodox Theology was cultivated throughout the ages through internal hesychia, which creates the conditions for the spiritual experience and for the avoidance of the alienating influence of the world.(16) The witness of the Orthodox Church in the contemporary world will be authentic and convincing only if it comes out of silence and hesychia. Hesychia, as perceived by Orthodoxy, can bring about a creative explosion of activity, which is man's only hope amidst the suffocating fetters masterly scattered to the entire world by recent globalization. This spiritual explosion will promote the disclosure of the authentic human person in the impersonal globalized society. The counter-offer of the Orthodox Church to activistic globalization is the hesychastic universality.
The authentic human is universal. In this universal person the world can find its universality. The Saints were such persons. In the person of the Saint the whole of creation is sanctified. Moreover, in the principal holy figure, the Mother of God, lies the "universal joy"(17) and the "universal glory".(18) Unless we see the ontological content of the human person in this unfathomable depth we can not rightly experience the mystery of the Church.
The Orthodox Church, with her theological and ascetic tradition summed up in the Divine Liturgy, preserved the aforementioned perspective, something that can not be affirmed for the western theological tradition. Principal tenets of Orthodox Theology and asceticism, such as the teaching about the real communion between God and the world, the kenotic love, which culminates in the love for the enemies, and hesychasm, which rescues the priority of the human person, form essential presuppositions for the restoration of the alienated Christian world.
In the Divine Liturgy the believer experiences the communion with God and the whole world. He participates in kenotic love and is instructed in the application of this love for all people. He enters eternity, he renders incorruptible the created nature and he lives the universality. The Divine Liturgy and other services, give the believer the proper impulse for the right life as embodied in the petition "for the peace of the whole world". Thus, the believer evolves into an authentic person, into a universal man. In this way man's desire for universality is satiated and man is properly armed to face the perils of globalization.
The above-mentioned are a treasure entrusted to the Orthodox Church. Here lies the Church's importance and monumental responsibility. The witness of Orthodoxy is not a confessional case, because it is of a catholic and universal significance. It is a witness emanating from her quality as the Catholic and Apostolic Church. Meanwhile it is the witness which has to be given, so that we can cherish hope for the future.
The truth of the Orthodox Church is testified not in the air but in the hearts of the Orthodox. It is not offered with reference to the past but through experience and activation in the present. Today, at a time when the world considers money as the measure of all things, when mankind is governed by money and deifies money, the witness of Orthodoxy must be given through the scorn of money, through the crumbling of this false god. This witness must be primarily given by Orthodox monasticism as well as by the whole body of the Church.
If the world is induced to believe that everything can be bought with money, it is necessary to see authentic forms of life, such as an Orthodox cenobitic monastery, or a traditional family, which remain free from money. Moreover, the world must be informed that with money only "the inferior and the insignificant things" can be bought, whereas "the necessary which constitutes our life" are common to all.(19) The money of the whole world, and the world itself, is nothing compared with the value of only one man, of only one human soul.(20)
1. Magazine "Pemptousia" 4 (Dec.2000-March 2001) p.38.
2. Matt. 28:19
3. John 4:22
4. Luke 16:9-13
5. Col. 3:5
6. St Basil, Sermon on the verse "I will pull down my barns" 7, "PG" 31,276B.
7. Arch. Sophrony, "We Shall See Him as He Is", Essex 1988, p. 197.
8. Philip. 2:4
9. 1 Peter 2:5, 9
10. Gen. 1:27
11. Psalm 82:6-7
12. St Gregory Palamas, "Homily on the Holy Spirit" 2,78 in P. Christou, "Gregory Palamas: Works", vol.1, Thessaloniki 1962, p.149.
13. Galatians 1:11
14. Archim. Sophrony, "On Prayer", Essex 1994(2), p.97 (Greek).
15. Isaac the Syrian, "Sermon 23". Ed. Ioannis Spetsieris, p.93.
16. "Be still and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10
17. Sticheron of the Vespers of the 9th of September.
18. Doxastikon of the Vespers of Saturday (1st mode).
19. St John Chrysostom, "Sermon on the Statues" 2,6, "PG" 49,43
20. Matt. 16:26
Source:: http://pagan-magic.blogspot.com
Whenever the topic of "evolution" comes up on an Internet forum - invariably, there will be some comments by those who utilize the [illogical] argument [assertion] that "science," as explained by Darwinists or evolutionists, must be more credible from their perspective, because they [the "scientists"] deal with "science" and not the age-old Scriptures [the Bible].
For those of you who think in such a fashion, I challenge you to visit 2 premier creationist websites. I say, "premier" because in addition to respecting the Scriptures as the unique divine revelation that it claims itself to be [2 Timothy 3:14-17 ; 2 Peter 1:19-21] - and the Triune God's masterful gift to humanity, they also believe in science. I say, "science" that can be verified - not pseudo science, based upon theory and conjecture, (such as Darwinism or evolution), but science in the traditional [repeatable / verifiable] sense.
Following, [below] are the two creationist websites [linked below]. And, those who choose to check them out, will find that Scripture does not contradict genuine, science. I might add, that a common [illogical] human error is, to stamp something unreal or incorrect, because our human knowledge about any given subject, is always imperfect and incomplete. And, fallen [sinful] human nature is such, that it makes the mistake of calling something a "contradiction" when there only "appears" to be a (seeming) contradiction. The rational thought of something being paradoxical, is not, considered.
"Institute for Creation Research" - icr.org
"Answers in Genesis" - answersingenesis.org/
It all boils down to the element of faith. Would you rather believe in a Divine Being who relates in His revelation book, what He tells you is necessary for your present and forever welfare? Or, on the other hand, do you choose to allow your life to be guided by an unproven theory, which, basically, amounts to a lousy "crap shoot?"
Even if all the "evidence" and "proof" were available for unbelieving souls, to put their faith in a loving and just, Creator, Triune God, - and, reject the theory of evolution for the reason for their existence, people will not be persuaded, against their sinful and willful persuasions. Such, was the case of the "wealthy" man in Christ's parable about "The Rich Man and Lazarus:"
"... And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'..."Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" Luke 16:29-31"
FINALLY, for any Christians who think that they can embrace the theory of evolution as the basis for their existence, - they had better think twice:
"'Evolution:' Rejected by Jesus Christ" - thechristianmessage.org/
When people accept evolution as the reason for their existence, their spiritual senses are dulled. Evolutionary teaching negates the Biblical revelation of the reason for the Savior. In the very beginning, sin corrupted the then know human race, - and, since then. Scripture teaches that sin resulted not only in imperfect human beings, but the whole of nature. Hence, the first promise of the Savior (from human sin) as recorded in Genesis 3:15.
Evolution and its acceptance, cannot rescue sinful human souls who are destined for divine accountability, sentence and eternal punishment. Only through the sacrificial merits of Savior Jesus Christ, can human souls be set free to experience perfection beyond earthly compare in a God promised heaven to those who have received God's free gift of forgiveness, offered by the Savior, Christ. John 3:14-21 ; John 1:12-13
Amen.
REASONS WHY NON CHRISTIANS CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
5 PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
* Scripture's purpose is to reveal the Messiah, the Savior
* Scripture must be understood, as a whole
* Scripture interprets Scripture - it interprets itself
* Scripture must be understood (first) by its clearest passages. Other passages [verses, - whether figurative, allegorical, or, whatever] then, are correctly interpreted in the light [on the basis] of the clear passages of Scripture.
* Scripture must be understood as God "inspired" [authored] - See 2 Timothy 3:14-17
NOTE: An example of this aforementioned 4th principle, can be illustrated by Christ's clear teaching of the end of the world, in the Gospel of Matthew 25:1f and subsequent Scriptures, for instance, in the book of Revelation.
ABOVE MESSAGE AND
OF WHOM DOES THE PROPHET SPEAK" - by Victor Buksbazen - Isaiah 53:1-12 - an in-depth view of and the prophecy of Christ, hundred of years before his birth. Isaiah 53:1-12 underscores the truthfulness of Divine Revelation as exemplified in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.
PLEASE NOTE: Topical Messages, by subject
Pastor (emeritus) Nathan Bickel
3 - What are the tell-tale signs that a person has been "Saved" [is a Christian]
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An interesting article from www.verticalthought.org about school. This follows this post about a man who saved millions of lives. For more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.
Boring Teachers or Lazy Students?
by Zach Smith
Why do we have to sit in these boring classes, listen to boring old people tell boring stories and learn about things that aren't going to affect us on a daily basis once we're finally out of this place?
The attitude of many seems to be that education is a burden. But why does school have to be so bad? Is it the teacher? The school? The material?
Every day in my college classes I sit next to students who often complain about how boring a class is or how horrible the teacher is to listen to. Yet these people chose these classes, these teachers and this school! Is school that bad or are students just lazy?
School = hard work
A simple Google search on "lazy students" brings up links like "how to be a lazy college student" and www.lazywaytobettergrades.com. Seriously?
Although I get the sarcasm in the text of these sites, I know there is a natural desire to take it easy. This may be tough to hear, but the truth is that education is supposed to be challenging!
Really learning well requires a willing ear and a hardworking spirit. We can make up excuses about why we don't like a class or why we don't want to read a textbook, but the bottom line is we can't be lazy!
What kind of student are you?
Like nearly all recent U.S. presidents before him, President Obama spoke to an audience of students saying, "Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it."
Because of the advice of the president of the United States, a few students just might pursue success. But vertical thinkers may be familiar with similar inspired words from a greater leader, the wisest man of his time, King Solomon: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
This principle of hard work is a critical value for all vertical thinkers!
Why take the easy way out by not turning in assignments on time, racing mindlessly through homework without really gaining anything from it or sitting in class like a lifeless blob staring at the clock? Why not follow the wise advice of doing everything with all of your might, effort and ability?
Tips for more powerful learning
Here are a few suggestions for the studious and mighty:
Prepare yourself. Read the textbook and know the topic you're learning about.
Get involved. Active engagement in the class activities goes a long way to help information stick. Chances are the class might be a bit more interesting too...much more so than staring down the clock!
Plan ahead. Monumental tasks don't seem so impossible when you plan your time and break things down into easy steps. Make a list of assignments you need to complete and allow yourself plenty of time to finish them. This will relieve some stress and enable you to put more effort into each activity. (For more practical tips check out this list on ehow.com.)
Education is challenging, but with genuine hard work, your report card might read "top grades" this year.
But what about assessment on a higher level-a spiritual evaluation of personal effort? How can you strengthen your spiritual education? Read "Christian Through College" to learn more. VT
About the Author Zach Smith is in his last year of study at Cleveland State University, where he is pursuing a bachelor's of science in education.
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By Bonnie Contreras
Seeing the adverse catastrophes of the modern day, do you think it is about time to be rather spiritual than corporeal? The tragic events popping in today may only come to pass but you should also not ignore the number of lives these have taken and the number of cities that have fallen. People have been quite oblivious of their origin. They forget about the existence of supernatural power acting on every circumstance, found way beyond the universe. Thank God there is still something that can alter the tough segment of life and it is through prayer. So start spreading prayers for humanity and let your good deed give you peace.
Prayer efficacy is nothing that can really be argued about. Several skeptics may oppose this contention, but even the cognitive neuroscientists have found significant link of prayer and belief with reality. What seem to manifest in the real world originates from the thought. That theory alone explains how come prayers work.
Prayer involves mind and emotion. Hence, the stronger thoughts and beliefs are, the easier it is to get what you pray for. It is indeed very powerful. So you should never bother to test its efficacy for if you really are persistent with your affirmations, what will surely prove you wrong.
A very inspiring verse from Mathew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given unto you, ' will clearly give you an idea of how merciful God has been to all of His creations. Through consistent prayer and strong faith, you surely eliminate the word "impossible' from your list. Imagine how awesome that is.
So if a better life far from clashes or tremors is what you want, find His grace and pray for the changes you long to experience. He has never left His people. He is there at all times. It is only the people who have abandoned Him for whatever cause.
Prayers are meaningful. These work they way magnets do. These are manipulative forces attracting objects easily. Yet of course, you still remain cautious of the things you are asking. Think of their possible consequences. Are these only for your own good? Or are they meant for everyone?
The law of attraction states that where attention goes, energy flows. Prayer springs from your thought and driven by your emotion. Visualize an answered prayer every day and hold on to it. Believe in it and never fail to give thanks as if you already have it. That is how it is supposed to work.
Everybody should say even a simple prayer for mankind. The unending wars happening in Western Asia need a horde of people not for a prayer rally alone but for divine guidance. It is not about who initiates the warfare. What seems to matter more is those tyrants to be aware of the harms they have been causing.
The Godless oppressors' tyranny has not come to a halt. Think, how many more lives could be destroyed in a long run? The whole mankind can definitely benefit from each of your prayer. So utter even simple prayers for humanity each day.
About the Author:
You can visit the website www.myprayers.net for more helpful information about Help Create A Better Community By Spreading Simple Prayers For Humanity
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We humans have lost our identity. While individuals might have answers to the big questions of life, that isn't the case with us as a people. We no longer have the answers to these questions:
* Who am I?
* What is the purpose to life?
* Who is God?
* Why was I created?
These questions and the corresponding answers directly effect what we believe, how we view life, and how we live. The root of the issue is this - without an identity in Christ, we cannot see ourselves, others or the world in the proper context. We mistake a lie for the truth.
What is the truth? It is that each of us are created in the image and likeness of God. Big deal, you might think. But, it is. "It is our identity". We are adopted into the family of God (the Trinity) and made partakers of the divine nature. This means we that our nature is caught up into God, by our participation in God's divine life. A new-found identity in Christ means we can no longer look at ourselves or others in the same way. This is why the John Paul the Great quoted the following verse more than any other from Vatican II:"Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear." (Gaudium et Spes 22)If we want to know who we are, who others are, and the answers to the other questions that have been planted deep within us, then we need to understand who Jesus is and who we are in light of Christ. When God became man in the Incarnation, He didn't lower His own divine nature, which is impossible - because God is unchangeable, rather He raise up our human nature higher. The document goes on to say our nature
"has been raised up to a divine dignity in our respect too. For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man."
This is our "supreme calling" - to find who we are in Christ. To live fully in the Fathers' love, truth and grace. "This is what we were made for".
This is the truth about the mystery of humanity. We were made to live this way, to find this truth. When we do so, we find what real human "dignity" means.
"THE TRUTH IS THAT ONLY IN THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATE WORD DOES THE MYSTERY OF MAN TAKE ON LIGHT." WHEN WE DO NOT LIVE IN THIS TRUTH WE BRING SUFFERING UPON OURSELVES AND OTHERS. THIS IS THE ROOT OF "EVERY "problem in our culture today. Let me offer a few examples of this.
1 - Abortion. When we do not see a developing baby in light of the mystery of God and humanity, then the dignity of a baby who can't act as we act or do as we do is lost. They then become something that impedes our attempt to be happy, as we understand it. They are an inconvenience. But, if we see the child through the eternal eyes of God they have an inestimable value. They are priceless and their dignity is not dependent on what they "do". Their identity is a son and daughter of the Father. They are the brothers and sisters of the God-Man, Jesus.
2 - Relationships. When we enter into a relationship with another person who is as valuable as me, then I will do nothing but truly love them and give of myself to them. I will never treat them as someone who exists for me, but rather who exists for God. They are never to be used. They are always to be valued. What I say to them and what I do with them will always reflect this reality. More than anything - I will never use God's own beloved in for my own selfish pleasure or allow them to enter into any danger, whether it be a physical, mental, spiritual, or social danger because of me. This means chastity, prudence, and charity are the virtues that will come from such a relationship.
3 - The poor. How would I treat my own child if they were to come to me and in need of food? I would give it them. Just so, God's children sometimes are in need and we are called to treat them as God's children, not as someone who is inconvenient. If we see them for the persons they truly are, there is no other reaction but for us to do what is best for them.
4 - View of self. The times we see ourselves as worthless or without dignity are the times we fail to see ourselves in light of the Incarnation. God took on flesh, not for His own sake, but for my sake and your sake. He became a man in order to show that there is nothing more worthy of love than the height of His creation - human beings. Nothing more worthy of love than you. Not a "feeling" of love, but a sacrificial love. A love that humbles Himself to live and die for another. That is love. It is for you.
5 - Suffering. Without Jesus crucified, there is no purpose to suffering. It is to be avoided at all costs and is the worst thing that can happen to us. Without the crucifix, pleasure becomes the highest good. But, pleasure comes and goes. When it is gone, our lives lose meaning. The Cross rightly orders our lives. It points us to the real meaning to life - living in the truth of who we are as humans made by God for sacrificial love. In this identity we can find why God allows suffering - in order to draw us closer to Himself.
Theses are just a few examples, but this is part of the antidote to the problems of our culture.
The mystery of man and the mystery of God isn't just fun to think about. It is the most important thing to search for. It is what will change us and our culture. It is the answer to the questions of life. As Gaudium et Spes 22 ends it says it all.
Such is the mystery of man, and it is a great one, as seen by believers in the light of Christian revelation. Through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. Christ has risen, destroying death by His death; He has lavished life upon us so that, as sons in the Son, we can cry out in the Spirit; Abba, Father
Amen.
Credit: http://magick-keys.blogspot.com
Some strands of Christianity seem to talk about the devil more often than they talk about God or Jesus. According to the beliefs of some of these churches, Satan is always lurking in the bushes and taking a personal interest in tempting believers into sin. While the official theology of even these Christian churches gives lip service to the idea that God and Jesus are far more powerful than the devil, there is little explanation for what is in practice a theology more similar to Manicheanism, the idea that the universe is caught in a battle between a good deity and his evil counterpart who is his equal and opposite.
This thoroughly un-Christian worldview also supports pretty questionable deflections of blame by those caught acting improperly. "The devil made me do it" is a cliche that is at least a century old and yet there are still individuals out there who invoke it rather than taking responsibility for their actions. A woman in Washington State was recently charged with stealing 73,000 from the church where she worked as an administrative assistant, but she insisted that Satan was to blame for her actions.
Papers filed with a theft charge Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court say the 62-year-old Arlington woman told detectives "Satan had a big part in the theft."
The Everett Herald reported the woman was accused of forging the pastor's signature on 80 checks from the Arlington Free Methodist church. She was fired in February 2008.
Actually, unless this woman was possessed by a demon and vomiting pea soup while she was writing out those forged checks the devil had nothing to do with it. Even if the devil exists and bears any resemblance to the caricature that is often bandied about by Christian preachers, the idea that he would take an active interest in the life of one individual person for the sole purpose of prompting her to steal some money from a church is pretty laughable. As if a theft like this would rise to the sort of cosmic or at least global significance that might draw the attention of the ultimate evil.
The saddest thing about this story is that the religious angle obscures what might very well be the real tragedy of the situation.
She told detectives she used the money to cover household expenses because she couldn't stand the thought of losing her home.
73,000 is a lot of money for household expenses, so maybe this is just another excuse. If she really needed that much money in order to keep her house, however, it seems to me that the real devils are the mortgage brokers who pushed her into taking out such a large loan and the employers who have resisted paying living wages in this country for years. Maybe that's who Christian "spiritual warriors" should really be out there rebuking.
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"The mystic finds the eye of the needle and enters into the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven within."
WHAT IS MYSTICISM?
More and more people have been asking me lately "What do you mean by the word mystic?" There seems to be quite a lot of blurry, confused notions and outright misconceptions about the word. And yet, it is perhaps one of the most important words pointing toward a fundamental truth about who we are at the soul of matter. Mysticism is about how we can come to live within the fullness of our true nature.
In a very real sense, because mysticism concerns the essence of life, it is audacious to even try and define it. Words are insufficient, often in the way of understanding. That to which the word "mysticism" refers, is a quality of presence that is quite literally beyond and before any words. Still, and like others, I feel compelled to try and come as close as I can to pointing toward something that speaks of our original nature. I beg pardon in advance for the terrible insufficiency of language and the limits of my own mere glimpses into these realms of an endless sacred mystery. Still, let me try.
A mystic is one who, above all else in life, desires to know, not in the intellectual sense of knowing, the deepest Truth of existence. A mystic is one who senses more to life than making a living or being of service in the world although these things are both necessary and good. The mystic, however, is looking beyond an exclusive or preoccupied focus on these survival or self-actualization to something more. He is looking to discover the deepest truth of our being as incarnate souls; to understand our greatest potential as reflections of God; to realize our wholeness within the ground of all. The primary interest in life for the mystic is to discover truth, to know God, to see into mans whole nature. The mystic sees all of life as an abundant opportunity to discover, realize, and express the Divine.
Mysticism springs from an insatiable curiosity for understanding the essential questions of life: matters of God, creation, the infinite and the human potential for knowing truth. The mystic is in reality the ultimate scientist who, looking beyond the apparent or obvious in all matters, asks, "Is this that I am seeing reality or the illusions that stem from fear? What existed before this sense of reality? What existed before my mental constructs, my beliefs, my self identity? Who is this that observes and is self-reflecting? What is at lifes very source?"
MYSTICISM: WHY IT'S SO OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD
Mysticism is terrifically misunderstood by mainstream culture. It always has been. Many people incorrectly think mysticism is some kind of odd occult or a mystic someone who studies magic or renounces life and goes off to live in a cave. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The reason this has often been confused though is not so surprising. The mystic is one who undergoes a radical shift in conscious understanding and that often looks, sounds, or seems very mysterious to our accustomed ways of thinking and being.
The mystic consciously enters into the sacred journey that all the worlds great religions speak of in various ways. Some call it becoming awakened, enlightened, or born again. It is an inner journey that requires a deconstruction of the conditioned illusions of separation so that the true freedom of living can emerge. It is the true meaning of being born anew. It is the process and realization of letting die our stale and conditioned habits and beliefs so that we may live in the fullness of each new moment of creation. It is the understanding that conditioned patterns, belief systems, and memory are not living, but dead moments already. It is the realization that true living can only be lived in a freedom that moves with the current of creation, forever open to each moment teaming with new potential.
To let go the illusions of ego identity and stand naked before our true original nature, often requires a removing of oneself from typical ways of living and thinking at least for a time. In the sacred literature, this is often referred to as entering the wilderness, facing the dark night of the soul, annihilation of the ego, or dying to oneself to be born again. It is a process of fundamental transformation of conscious understanding that the mystic takes on. The journey it takes to successfully deconstruct the layers of conditioning that block true awareness, and what emerges from this inner journey of realization or awakening can often look and sound very mysterious, if not down right confusing, to the uninitiated and linear mind. But in truth it is the deepest meaning upon which all the worlds great religions have their original foundation. It is the journey to discovering and experiencing direct relationship with/as God or the source of all creation. It is each individual soul coming to directly know itself within the divine. It is the fulfillment of our purpose, "I and my father are one."
GREAT MYSTICAL TEACHERS OF THE PRESENT AND PAST
Throughout all of history, mystics have been our way showers, those who go before, those who see beyond, those who seem to so often speak in riddles. They are those who have "lifted the veil" of worldly illusion to experience a deeper truth and wisdom of Being. The mystic is not so much concerned with survival as with coming to realize the full potential of being. The mystic is seeking direct realization of truth even within a dynamic of evolving mystery. The mystic finds the eye of the needle and enters into the realization of the kingdom of heaven within.
Every religion the world over, both of the east and west, orthodox and liberal has at its origin the way-showing wisdom of one or more great mystics. Indeed, all the men and women throughout recorded history who have had the greatest spiritual integrity and direct authority are rightly called mystics: Jesus of Nazareth was a true mystic, as was Gandhi, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, William James, Thomas Merton, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramakrisna, Lao-tse, Shankara, Vivikananda, Abraham, Job, Carl Jung to name a mere few. There are scores more of men and women poets and artists.
COMMONALITY AMONGST THE WORLD'S MYSTICS
If you study the life of past mystics youll find they share several things in common:
First, they all speak of an induction or of a need to learn/realize a new level of understanding. They all speak of a fundamental shift in consciousness be it called awakening, realization, divination, or being born again.
Second they all tell of making a journey into and through a despair process of being "undone" as the precursor to this fundamental shift in consciousness, be it through experiencing 40 days and nights in the wilderness, starving under the boddhi tree, facing the dark night of the soul, or the hero's journey. There is a journey of metamorphosis that all mystics have undergone in some way.
Third, it is an inner journey that must be taken up and navigated alone. This is a hallmark of the mystic's realization: The reason the journey must be alone is because that which must be faced, seen, and surrendered in order that something new can emerge, is only possible through sustaining the fear and despair process of being alone and meeting the ultimate and fundamental fear of "non-being" and annihilation.
Fourth, they all seem to realize the frustration of being misunderstood by those who have not yet been through the awakening journey - "those who have ears to hear, let him hear." A great deal of the mystical writings are devoted almost exclusively to the fact that fundamental spiritual truth cannot be understood by the intellect nor correctly put into words. Forever, the great spiritual teachers have tried through the insufficiency of words to point toward that which can ever and only be experienced and known on a level that is before and beyond the mind. This is something unfathomable to those who have not yet had this breakthrough revelation - and particularly so in our contemporary culture that has become so overly reliant and blinded by the limiting paradigm of the scientific method that forever reduces our understanding of intelligence to that which is sensory, measurable and linear in nature. Life isnt only or always linear. In fact it rarely is, except in man-made constructions and habituated uses of the mind.
THE MYSTERIOUS LANGUAGE OF GOD
There is literally a new language/understanding that accompanies spiritual realization. The same old words now have entirely different, deeper layers of meaning and significance within the framework of spiritual realization. In fact no words can encompass that which has been realized. That is why when the words of our worlds great mystics are heard through the common language of those who have not yet made the mystics journey, they are invariably misconstrued and misused. That is why Jesus was crucified. It is why we have "religious wars." And it is why we have so much religious politic and prejudice corrupting a universal truth that one has to enter into alone.
That is why we see so many people, wrongly, trying to "practice" their way into spiritual realization with all sorts of dogma, belief systems, religious structures, postures, and prayers. The reason these things dont work is because the need to grasp something, the very mechanism of the mind that needs to hold on to anything for its salvation, is the very thing that has to be let go of!
Its an odd sort of reverse psychology with a double twist. The path to spiritual realization is completely antithetical to what anyone would call a path at all. It is always the subtle paradoxical opposite of what one tries to see, know, find, understand. That is why so much of it sounds like riddles. That is why I say it is a fundamentally different language. Thats as close as I can come to pointing toward finding your way. Realize that we're talking about developing an ear for a completely foreign language. Start listening into the unfamiliar, the unclear, the uncomfortable, the not-knowing. Start living in not-knowing anything, not any thing! From there, the new language of knowing emerges like one of those 3-d picture puzzles where the image is embedded within and is more than the dots.
Listen in a new way, and not so much for new things... a key.
The word mystic at its root stands for that which cannot be named, that which is forever before the naming, source. The word also hints at the path to spiritual realization, that is, to become capable of going into a terrain that is beyond the mind before the naming, separate from any belief, any identification or security, and opens through a sense of awe for the great mystery.
THE CALL TO REMEMBER
The mystic is really anybody who seeks to experience above all else, the direct expression of God/Source/Being in one's life. He or she is anyone with the deep desire and courage necessary to look - and see - beyond the obvious conditioning of our manufactured world view; to see beyond the illusions of our self-created identities, and find what lies forever before and all around us, as the One that is All. The path is one of surrendering all that we currently hold on to as belief, identity and intellect. What emerges is the full expression of being within the language of love.
In my new book called: "Remembering Who You Really Are: The Journey of Awakening to Soul," I provide a very exposed and intimate account of the process of undoing that is the precursor to realization. My hope is that by offering such a close look at the confusing process of giving up identity and belief to a larger wholeness, that I may provide others with a tool for hearing and seeing the language of paradox that opens the gate to spiritual realization. That is the mystics way. It is the way for anyone who truly and deeply sees all of life as an abundant opportunity to discover, realize, and express the Divine.
Forever is the dance of awakening to find Love, here, in the eternal moment of living.
Author:Ronda LaRue
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This spell is meant to bring love to you
You will need the following items for this spell:
12 red candles (to put them in the heart position)
1 white candle for the center of the heart position
1 heart shaped Rose quartz
1 pinch salt
1 rose
1 Red or Pink Charm/ Mojo Bag
3 pieces of chocolate
a pin needle
Love Power Recipe Follows below
You will need:
1 Tsp.of Cinnamon Powder
1 Tsp.of Sugar
1 Tsp.of Lavender Powder
1 Tsp.of Rose Bud or Rose Petal Powder
1 Tsp.of Allspice Powder
1 Tsp.of Saffron or Turmeric
5 Drops of Rose Oil
5 Drops of Sandalwood Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla oil
A air tight jar to put the finish powder in. (Dark Jar better)
First you want to get a bowl to stir your ingredients together in and something to stir with. Next put all the herb powders in the bowl in any order you please. Than stir clockwise thinking about bringing love you or if your doing this for someone else it coming to them. After you have mixed your herbs together put in your drops of oil. Again mixed together clockwise but until the powder has no more chunks from the oil you put in. Done. Put the powder in your air tight jar and keep in a cool dark place. When the power looses smell give it to the earth and make more if you would like.
Put the Love Powder in the Mojo bag with the rose Quartz
Set Red Candles up in a heart Shape White candle in Center of Heart
place Rose next to you dust the Rose with the love Powder
Hold your Mojo bag and Repeat the Following
Goddess Gods make power upon thee,
make Love come to me,
love will be enpowered
my beauty/handsomeness will be showered
Take Pin Needle Prick Finger and let drops of blood get on Rose
place Rose next to white Candle in the middle of the Candle Heart Shape
Blessed God ( insert your Deity name ) Strong and all knowing
As this heart shines in candlelight,
I draw you to me tonight
Love is within me,
Love is without me,
Love is before me,
Love is behind me,
" Eat Piece of Chocolate
Blessed Goddess ( insert your Deity name) beautiful and Wise
This Gift I offer unto You
"Offer Chocolate to the Goddess "
place over Candle
Bless this Gift and make it shine
" Eat Chocolate"
I call the power of
the universe forth,
Bring the love that
is best for me,
In this time I ask
of thee
Be they kind or be they wise,
Romantic they be
till the end of our time
I do now bring one who will love,
and care for me as a love should
and when we are done and it's time
to move on,
no tears will be shed,
our sadness gone
I now invoke the law of three,
This is my will,
so mote it be
Eat last piece of Chocolate
Watch the Candles you will see an image appear of the person who is your love/ soulmate
Keep the Charm/Mojo bag under your pillows or mattress.
Credit: http://pagan-space.blogspot.com
Magick is a verb. While I enjoy many a newsgroup post about those intellectual souls that study every nuance of magick and occultism and can tell you exactly what happened in 1632, I am not a scholar. I do not pretend to be. I am a magician. This blog is about doing magick.
The reader will learn what worked for me and what didn't; see my wisdom and folly; and read about dreams and acts of will. I expect to embarrass myself and make myself proud. I intend to post the most painfully embarrassing parts of being a human and a magician. I have found that the more personal something is, the more universally understood the experience. I am determined to laugh at myself with you in the hopes that you will lift you nose out of some dusty book, pick up cup and wand and make your own magick. If not, I hope you are entertained.
Readers may also determine for themselves that I do magick well or poorly, with good or ill intent, from a place of extreme knowledge or ignorance or, alas, that I am simply a bone head. Hence, I chose the nom de plume of Frater BH, Bone Head.
I plan to keep this blog anonymous for as long as I can. Hence, I will not delve too deeply into my magickal background until it becomes painfully pertinent to the topic at hand as the magickal community is quite small. I will say that I have tried more than one path and found that of modern ceremonial magick to be best suited to my work. I also do Goetia and plan on doing Theurgia Goetia. I have had knowledge and conversation with my Holy Guardian Angel.
I invite you to take a peak at the workings of a modern magician and enjoy the ride with me.
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I am informed by the Jewish Daily Forward of 25th May 2011 that the ultra-Orthodox rabbinical authorities have established two recent rulings on the issue of jews going to secular authorities about cases of paedophilia within the ultra-Orthodox community. (1) Now the issue of paedophilia inside the ultra-Orthodox has always been something of an open secret that while the mainstream media is content to attack Catholic priests for similar vile activities it simply ignores the problem when jews are involved.
The first ruling by Rav Shalom Elyashiv states that frum jews with a "'reasonable suspicion'" of paedophilic abuse inside the community can go to the secular authorities and that does not count as being an "'informer'" in halakhah (jewish religious law). The second clarifying ruling by Rav Shlomo Gottesman clarifies Elyashiv's ruling to define what "'reasonable suspicion'" in fact is as Elyashiv hadn't; predictably enough, qualified his meaning enough to enable it to be put into practice.
The qualified ruling is essentially no change at all from the current halakhic status quo in ultra-orthodoxy with the jew who suspects that paedophilic abuse is going forced to "'consult'" a rabbi "'with experience in these matters'". Rav Gottesman doesn't define what he means by "'experience in these matters'", but I must admit I am unsure as to whether he means a rabbi who happens to be a" 'reformed paedophile'" or one who specialises in the halakhah surrounding deviant sexuality.
He probably means the latter, but I think it speaks volumes that he could within reason mean the former as each jew supposedly possesses a" 'special soul'" that is born within a "'special body'". So taking a matter to those who aren't born with a "'special soul'" born in a "'special body'" is rather galling for a jew to say the least. Hence jews don't tend to go to secular authorities and even often try (sometimes successfully) to manipulate them to their advantage. (2)
This is one of the problem that philo-Semites have long struggled with in that Judaism explicitly believes in the superiority of the jew over the gentile and that said superiority is innate. It isn't even remotely arguable that is not the case, because the halakhah on the subject and the rabbinic literature make this very clear. However it doesn't stop them trying to say that Judaism is a" 'universalist religion'"! (3)
One symptom of this idea of superiority of the jew over the non-jew can be found in the idea of the "'informer'" in Judaism, which simply means a jew who goes to secular authorities without permission to report anything to them. Usually the example given by jews to justify this particular part of the halakhah and its rabbinic commentary is that of the jew who goes to the secular authorities lying about the jews and causing said authorities to swoop down on the jewish community. The implied assumption there; of course, is that what all the jews who have gone to the secular communities without permission have done so to report imagined crimes and libels against their fellow jews.
This disgust is still evident in modern secular jews when they discuss the motives of "'fellow jews'" who have turned against their people. (4) This is almost certainly in part due to the fact that Judaism conceives of the past, present and future being essentially the same. (5)
However as the famous Rabbi Solomon Luria himself implicitly tells us the "'informer'" did often have good reason to go to the secular authorities as; for example, the jewish authorities regularly disregarded the "'law of the land'" (6) which they claimed the halakhah tells them they should; note not must, obey and imposed death penalties by sanctioned mob lynching. (7) It is also quite probable that the rabbinical authorities in this case didn't want the secular authorities investigating their financial dealings either as that would almost certainly lead to reprisals for things like tax evasion and lead to the confiscation of the wealth they had accumulated as part of their holy industry.
So then is it any wonder that rabbinical authorities like Meir of Lublin demanded that "'informers'" be hunted down and killed by their fellow jews? (8)
What does this mean for ultra-orthodox paedophiles?
It means that Rav Elyashiv's ruling with Rav Gottesman's "'clarification'" is essentially a free licence to rape children precisely because the ruling refuses to get secular authorities involved because they aren't jewish. What is particularly galling about it is the fact that ultra-orthodoxy is notorious for helping sexual criminals within its own ranks escape justice and I remember read some years ago an account by a child of notable ultra-orthodox halakhic authority to the effect that when she was a few years old her father began raping her on a regular basis and the rest of the ultra-orthodox knew all about, but said nothing because her father was a great halakhic authority and was at the apex of a supposedly glittering career.
In essence then ultra-orthodoxy is telling the world in general that its jews are permitted to be paedophiles just so long as they don't annoy specific rabbis; who "'have experience in such matters'", and then only if the threat to the community of discovery outweighs the problem of having non-jews investigate the inner workings of community will an ultra-orthodox rabbi; who "'has experience in such matters'", go to the gentile police.
So we may reasonably say that ultra-Orthodoxy knowingly gives aid and succour to jewish paedophiles and with these two rulings will continue to do so. After all a jew is allowed to tell "'white lies'"! (9)
Don't let your children be around ultra-Orthodox jews!
REFERENCES
(1) http://forward.com/articles/138131/ [Accessed: 27/05/2011](2) An excellent detailed case study of this maybe be found in Jonathon Frankel, 1997, "'The Damascus Affair: "Ritual Murder," Politics and the Jews in 1840'", 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press: New York (3) Morris Kertzer, Lawrence Hoffman, 1996, "'What is a Jew?'", 5th Edition, Simon mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">(4) Gavin Langmuir, 1984, "'Thomas of Monmouth: Detector of Ritual Murder'", Speculum, Vol. 59, pp. 830-832(5) Moshe Davis, 1978, "'I am a Jew'", 1st Edition, Mowbray: Oxford, pp. 132-134(6) Solomon Luria, 1859," 'Sheelot u-Teshubot Maharshal'", 11(7) Paul Kriwaczek, 2006", "'Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation'", 2nd Edition, Phoenix: London, p. 140(8) Myer Lew, 1944, "'The Jews of Poland: Their Political, Economic, Social and Communal Life in the Sixteenth Century as reflected in the Works of Rabbi Moses Isserls'", 1st Edition, Edward Goldston: London, pp. 128-129(9) Davis, Op. Cit., p. 71
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