Latest Theology....

[mnaz]

Suppose the Old Testament ended after its first sentence, before all the talk of kingdoms got started.... Maybe throw in Ecclesiastes as well. God created the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing new under the sun. Why not leave it at that?

I refuse to pin down God. Divine energy informs my life.... my world. To willfully attack it is to attack God, and by extension, myself. On this foundation a temple of wisdom and love is built; cornerstone and covenant of the messiah. Inside this temple you may accept the gift of God.

When a pastor speaks of the the body as a temple, he grasps the rich symbolism and empowerment of Christian faith, if only briefly, before the inevitable Kingdom talk resumes. The messiah's gift is most forsaken by those who most loudly proclaim his imminent return. He never left. He dwells in the temple, awaiting invitation.... ascension to the heart's throne.

Heaven continually receives purchase offers from the faithful. Many try to hasten the messiah's return by their actions; even destructive in nature, if deemed necessary. These are the same people who tell us that salvation is not of our works, and who warn us against false pride and arrogance. These are people who tell us that God is infinitely complex, and then proceed to put God in a box and proclaim it the one true faith. They talk of values.... a power struggle.

The Bible documents an ongoing power struggle, as does history in general. It has never been understood in large numbers the power struggle within. That is the real battlefield. That is what the messiah transcended. That was his gift.... his message. But the faithful tend to turn within to without, dissect their favorite scriptures, erect their chosen barriers, and swear to uphold the Church above all else, even at the expense of its own transcendent foundation if necessary.

The generations endure the Kingdom builders. They come and go, armed with impatient prophecy. They declare war on each other with the tides. Innumerable variations on the final Kingdom shakedown are possible. It was supposed to happen when the clock hit a thousand, or perhaps two. It was supposed to happen when Coronado converted some Pueblo Indians at swordpoint and butchered the rest. It was slated to happen when the master race wiped the planet free of inferior genes, or when Israel controlled every inch of its holy ground, or when Communism buried the West, or vice versa.

The Kingdom builders always have their reasons. They always get a lot of ink and attention. It's hard to argue with their insular logic and conviction, but I think it's worth a shot.

[mnaz]

p.s....

sorry for the preach and the rant.

[mtmynd]

mnaz - an insigtful piece here.

the way i view this is the problem with words and how others interpret them. take the power words, 'God', 'Lord', 'Kingdom', 'Jesus', the list is bibically long... but the interpretations of what is meant is even longer than the mere words written (altho these words are simply interpretations from the original words themselves!).

this basically is why i tend to lean towards the 'eastern' way of looking at the underlying idea of these words that have brought on so many wars and violence amongst the so-called followers in the christian/muslim world. yes, there is no concise agreement amongst the 'eastern religions' but there is a bit more understanding of the experience that brings these words into being... and it is the experience of 'God' that is interpreted more delicately perhaps, or even more openly than that of the christian/muslim religions. The 'god experience' is transcendent to religions and yet it is the defense of religion itself that brings about the battles, as if religion itself is the 'god-experience', whereas it is the physical manifestation (scriptures, buildings, ceremonies and the followers) that actually is what is being defended.

o well... such is the path of mankind - proving himself the best beast amongst all others, including his own... the big ego problem that may be the 'apple of the garden', and that too, is but words - only meaningful to those that attach to them.

cec'

[Zlatko Waterman]

mnaz:


Your grasp of the central metaphors of Christianity and their power, and the compulsive need the worldly church seems to feel to "de-mystify" God are clearly and forcefully expressed here.

Thanks for these little "pocket ruminations" on a very big subject.


Well done.



--Z

[mnaz]

I think my favorite verse might be, "The Kingdom of God is spread upon the earth, yet men do not recognize it", from the gnostic gospel of Thomas (which was booted from the holy scriptural canon by the Catholic Church long ago, if I recall correctly).

I also seem to recall Joseph Campbell referring to gnosticism as the Western counterpart to Eastern philosophy....... so I suppose it's no wonder that the Church tossed out the gnostic gospels....

Zlatko and Cecil...... thank you for your comments/thoughts.

[Doreen Peri]

What's to Believe?

[stilltrucking]

I believe in friends.

my dearest friends are perfect strangers
they wish me freedom and self destruction

Billy Joe Shaver "the poet guard of outlaw music"

"she just danced her young life away, from dusk 'til dawn, 'til the cows come home, as long as the music would play . . . I made her my wife and she danced through my life like a whirlwind in a storm."

I used to have a girl friend who believed in reincarnation. Would that be nice.

[Traveller13]

Deformation, important passages being added or removed by people with political or religious ambitions for milleniums, have probably rendered the Bible useless by now, or at least a lot less powerful than it used to be.

The Bible should be read sideways.

I read somewhere that the Bible can be condensed in the Old testament, which can be condensed in it's first paragraph, genesis, which itself can be condensed in it's first sentence, which, itself, can be condensed in it's first letter, the second letter of the alphabet. The Bible starts with the second letter of the alphabet and not the first to illustrate the omnipresence of duality in humans.

supposedly

...

[mudshark]

Suppose Old ended its sentence, talk kingdoms started.... Ecclesiastes well. and is the Why leave at

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[mtmynd]

Traveller - your line - "the Bible should be read sideways," brought me a smile and a chuckle... nice one, however I would add that most probably read it sideways to come up with some of their interpretations.

mudshark!! fancy seeing your sideways around here. you too, brought me a laff after reading this.

[mousey1]

Aw, go ahead and preach mnaz

You do make good sense. You're another one who always makes me think.

You've got a nice mind.

Enjoyed.

[Arcadia]

the aleph is a beth!?
I used to get lost in the old testament readings during the mass. I never understood who was talking... The catholic church make a bad zapping from the Old Testament or it is that way?