Since we all create our realities and our destinies, then in a sense we all are like God, or made in the image of God. Since we are made in the 13
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image of God, we cannot be God. Since God is in all men and all things, a man writing or preaching the word of God is technically a messenger or angeles (Hebrew), angellos (Greek), all meaning messenger of God.
There are people sent by God to deliver a message to help guide and shape societies, in order that they do not collapse or fail to evolve. The choice, however, is largely up to the people, for if they choose not to accept these words, then the future or their destinies cannot be altered.
This unity is seen in the messages of the people written about in the religions and sciences of the world, a message sent to the people, and the expected outcome theorized. Many prophets and scientists were persecuted because the people failed to acknowledge their message; as a result society has paid for the sins of these people. If we just listened to the words of these men (truthful men), then maybe society would already be the perfect world we dream of. These men have been persecuted since the beginning of time because people cannot view paradigms without BIAS.
We are only servants/creations of God or a greater energy meant to serve a purpose in the master plan. Is a messenger sent from God? Yes, since God is in all things. Can a man be God? No, but he can be God’s son. Since a man cannot be all things, can a man be closer to God or this energy than anyone else? Yes, this will later be shown in the scientific paradigm (believe it or not). Are monks and priests not considered more spiritual than most people? Is religion and spirituality not a key factor in attaining the oneness needed in creating, altering, and accepting our realities? And if so, how far can one alter that reality? Were Jesus and the prophets the closest men to God? Were they able to alter our reality more than others? That is an answer you will have to find for yourself.
When reading these paradigms, please, please…keep an open mind!
Please remember that it is possible to believe in more than one paradigm. I believe that this universe and world is governed by the supreme energy found in all matter, which is explained through different religious and scientific paradigms. Remember that the more we discover about our mind and our universe, the more we find out that anything is possible…
anything!
thought reMaIns the one eleMent of lIfe that nuMBers Cannot exPlaIn.
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3. trIBal BelIef and the orIgIn of CreatIon 150000 BC–15000 BC
These times were before the Mayans, Incas, and North American tribes; this period of time strictly applies to the first groups of men found in Africa. The oldest human ancestry can be dated to the origin of the African people, millions of years ago. Before the world was divided like it is with the many continents, it was formed as one, a period in geological time called Pangaea. This one continent phenomenon explains why we find dinosaurs on every continent in the world. Mankind arose from the time period after Pangaea, once the dinosaurs became extinct. Until this time, the animals ruled the planet and this has been said since the beginning of time.
If you look closely at the map of the world, you can see that the continents of the world fit together as one. The wholeness of Pangaea can be seen as the continents fit into each other like jigsaw puzzle pieces. During the time of the dinosaurs, these plates (continents) where whole, forming Pangaea. Eventually after millions of years a comet or asteroid hit earth, shattering the plates and causing havoc and devastation on the earth itself.
This event would cause natural disasters of huge proportions, plummeting the earth into nuclear-like winters and causing tsunamis and earthquakes of massive proportions. The impact of such an event would also cause huge faults and volcanic dykes or pipes, which would form many of the volcanoes of today. The chance of survival would be slim for creatures such as dinosaurs, and they would slowly die off after hundreds and thousands of years. Only the most rugged and adaptable of reptiles and animals would survive.
The lack of competition for food in these areas would give rise to the emerging mammalian age, and the eventual dominance of man estab-15
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lished over the earth. This method of thinking is applicable even to the religions of the world, as Genesis describes the first events of the universe and the world in this fashion. Only in creation are the cycles and stages of these events characterized as days; a day is the most basic form of cycle.
A beginning, and an end, night and day, yin and yang. This concept will later be explained in the Judaism chapter, describing the scientific process in religious metaphor according to the word of God. Believe it or not, a unity will be shown, with the scientific process not being compromised as a result. Remember words are a different way of depicting what numbers cannot.
thought reMaIns the one eleMent of lIfe that nuMBers Cannot exPlaIn.
These first tribes of men were the result of the events previously mentioned. Large quantities of snow would create glaciers and other forms of fresh water supplies, creating boreal types of forests found in Canada and Russia. Because the continents began to shift, this may have caused the poles to become off balance, resulting in the rotation of the earth’s axis that we experience today. Keep in mind that the impact may not have been enough to cause this rotation, simply the weight of the world causing the earth to form an oval or egg-like structure may be cause for the axis tilt. The weather patterns and wind cycles would change, causing different types of weather patterns in the world. The geological conditions for the first people became ideal (especially in Africa and South America), and the emergence of man began.
Central Africa and Central America retained much of its jungle-like climate, which enabled some reptilian creatures to adapt, crocodilian, modern day lizards and snakes to name a few. Because food competition began to be more aggressive and less food was available for larger reptiles, reptiles became smaller and more agile; only some giants of the sea retained their size, the blue whale being one of them (believed to be more than forty-five million years old), turtles, sharks, etc.
We can also conclude that the mean global temperature decreased as a result of these events, and that the oxygen levels may have been lowered as a result. As tropical forests were destroyed from the meteoritic impact, many millions of hectares of land were destroyed. It is proven that the desert-like climates of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghani-16
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stan, Iran, and other parts of the world were at one time lush climates consisting of heavily forested areas.
Because large amounts of oil are found in these areas, and oil is a biological fuel (made from decomposing organic matter), we can draw the conclusion that these areas were once heavily populated with many millions of acres of forests and other types of sub growth. These types of formations are also common in Alberta as one of the largest deposits of oil in the world is found there. Coincidentally the first discovery of dinosaurs was also found there, indicating that dinosaurs were found all over the face of the globe. Because oil is a fossil fuel, and this process takes many millions of years, this proves that there were lush forests in many desert-like climates, and that the age of the planet is extremely old as this fuel process takes millions of years of compression and containment in the earth’s crust to form into coal and fuel forms.
To begin the introduction to the origin of man, we begin with the religion or paradigm of tribal belief. The origination of tribal belief is the foundation on which pre-civilized man (African tribes, South American tribes, North American natives, Judaeo-Christian tribes, and early Chinese tribes) created their religions. There are many stories and beliefs associated with these cultures; however, the main premise is spirituality.
Although many of these religions practice the belief in multiple deities, they acknowledge that even the gods arise from the Creator (God). For example the shaman or priest of these cultures was believed to have direct contact with these gods (in fact they were communicating with God or the supreme energy); and from there they would give interpretation to what they received (signs and other forms of communicative interpretation).
These tribes were migratory and nomadic people, hunters and gatherers who depended on cunning and physical strength in numbers. The reason for man’s success is because they learned to work together as an organized group. The first cultures learned how to survive off the land and the animals around them, using pelts for warmth and burrowing in caves or in shanty-like structures.
Naturally as man progressed over time, they began to wonder where they came from and where they were going. Even before this period, rituals and prayer were used in hunting and gathering. Death was commonplace among these cultures, and ways to cope with grief were instrumental to society. Life was based upon sacrifice for the whole, and the strong 17
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protected the weak (women and children); and the first sense of duty, honor, and law rose amongst the people.
This sense of duty and honor eventually led to rituals and rites of passage into manhood and womanhood. Ceremonies and celebrations were initiated to and for the gods or God (supreme energy) to glorify and honor the people and help them in their journey of life. Laws and the first forms of councils were then arranged with the spiritual leader; and these ceremonies were then adopted and created as law and customs.
The foundations of the first laws were set, and creation myths from the shamans and priests were then created. Many of these stories and beliefs come from a divine sense of spirituality and connection with the universe that is understood only by the most spiritual of cultures and people. Even in modern society these religious leaders seek this spirituality and divinity which connects us to God, the energy of the universe.
These groups of people were centrally located in Africa; and began as one people millions of years ago (No exact date can be given on the first emergence of what we know as man; some fossils of human-like bodies have been found to be millions of years old). Once man evolved and adopted what we know as a soul or conscious thought (the ability to reason), this is what I deem the emergence of MAN. The period in the time specified is not one of written history, and can be counter-argued with no physical evidence on either side except for the bodies that have been found.
The oldest fossil in the world is an ape-like man, called Lucy, believed to be millions of years old. This evidence supports the theory that the first man was centrally located in Africa. Over time man began to migrate northward, eastward, and westward across the Bering Strait, populating what we know as North America, Central America, and South America, becoming the Chinese, and native people of today.
Even though written history was not created yet, some forms of communication would have been established in order for the people to function as organized groups. Oral or ritual motions and movements were handed down and memorized by the descendants and passed on from generation to generation. Eventually over time, pictures and other forms of wall writings were created, and the oral tradition eventually became a written tradition, evolving into the present and past day religions. Even though these first people had no form of writing, they had a deep respect and understanding for the sun, moon, and the cosmos around them.
Since man began to develop a sense of consciousness, the wonder of our 18
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surroundings continued to fascinate us.
The energy and altered consciousness these people embraced mystifies us even today. Scientists have just begun to make breakthrough discoveries that link consciousness to the world and universe that surrounds us. It is believed that the molecular structure of water can be changed according to emotion and/or thought. Who knows how long these first people would have been able to influence such energies around them? The concept of these energies will be explained in the text, but that energy is found everywhere and anywhere at one time; and, like a spider web, connects everything in the universe.
Somehow the first men understood this connection and dependence on favoritism of this energy found in his surroundings; they believed that when these forces favored them, they were prosperous and successful. But when they strayed from their paths, they were punished and did poorly.
Eventually from this concept arose the need for sacrifices and other offerings to be offered to the God or gods. This concept transcended into the teachings of religions for many millennia afterward, and offerings are still performed in mass ceremonies across the world.
Many people who believe in psychic phenomena and other supersti-tion can and may believe that the shamans and priests possessed some of these qualities. Many believed that these men and women possessed the ability to look into the future, and to carry on healing rituals and burial ceremonies. Some of these traditions are carried on to modern day society and are respected among their respective cultures. These ceremonies and healings help bring us a sense of hopefulness and closure, allowing us as a people to move forward. This was especially true in ancient times, when death lurked at every corner of existence.
The main emphasis of tribalism is to confirm that an organized school of thought began to emerge and primitive man began to understand philosophy by asking, “Why?” These questions of why, have engaged our minds to create the many answers we have today. Although we as a people know so much now, we in essence are living with the same blind faith that these first people lived with. We may be more sophisticated and intelligent; however, this may be the reason for our ignorance also. One would think that with evolution we would also become more spiritual; in many situations this not the case. The first concept of spirituality and faith arose from the first man and people; this is what the message of tribalism gives us.
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4. JudaIsM
For many millennia Judaism has been one of the dominant religions in the world. Some of the world’s most influential religions have originated from Judaism (Christianity, Islam). They are both based on Jewish scripture (the Old Testament). Even Jesus was Jewish, and a man who believed in the Jewish God and practiced other forms of Judaism. The Qur’an is also based on Jewish law. Judaism is one of the first forms of written religion and has been the most translated works in modern history (Bible).
This chapter will demonstrate the unity and evolution of the word according to the Jewish faith. This chapter will not specifically focus on the Torah and ancient traditions concerning sacrifices and methods in dealing with the dead, but rather the core issue of the prophets and their struggles in preaching the word of God to the people, also the trials and tribulations these people faced and overcame, claiming to have achieved such victories with the help of God.
This chapter will try to show the nameless and ever-so-powerful God of Israel, showing the qualities this God possesses, the relationship with the universe, and how our parts are played out in the game we call life. The energy found in all things and all people is this God that is spoken of in Judaism. Much like the tribal belief system, rabbis and priests (judges, prophets) believed they had a connection with God beyond that of the average human being. In Judaism many of these priests and prophets performed sacrifices to the God and sought favor during times of battle and hardship. Many altars, shrines, and temples were created and dedicated to this God over the course of time. Similar to many other religions of the world, Judaism embraces the monotheistic view of one God, and embraces the knowledge of being the “cho-20
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sen” people. Because of their obedience, God sent multiple prophets and judges forward to guide Israel.
As with all religions studied in the text, no one denomination or branch (orthodox/unorthodox) will be studied or mentioned. True Judaism is one of the oldest religions in existence and predates Christianity by a significant amount of time, dating back to the time of creation. If you practice Judaism in any form, you adhere to the ancient Hebrew texts, which remain fairly consistent among denominations. In my opinion all forms of Judaism preach and express the same message of one God, led by the prophets (God’s sons); and that God should be reason enough to unite all Jewish people. Although the previous definition of Judaism is said to have occurred with the covenant of Abraham or Abram; it began long before this. Judaism’s principles come from tribal belief systems predating Noah, and continuing back to the time of creation.
Every denomination can agree that prophets and messengers were sent down to man to preach and send guidance to the people. These prophets and messengers can be seen as angels. “The word angel in English is a fusion of the Old English word engel (with a hard g) and the Old French angele. Both derive from the Latin angelus, and thence the Koine Greek angellos (messenger) used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew “mal’akh” (yehowah) “messenger” (of Yahweh).”1
These angels can then be called angels of the Lord, as seen many times in the Old Testament. The angel of the Lord also came down and removed the stone from Jesus’s tomb and cast away the Roman high guard from the entrance. Even in the time of Abraham/Abram, the angel of the Lord spoke to him. Or were Abraham/Abram and Jesus Christ the angel/messenger of the Lord? The text and scripture has been translated so many times that people now believe angels to be winged creatures sent from heaven.
These messengers and prophets were sent to the people as angels of the Lord and came proclaiming belief in God and God alone.
Angels in history are seen to hate idols and worship solely God; they come to teach a direct connection with God. Over time the translations of the texts became distorted, lost, and intermingled as one. Many times these people have been sent to warn and guide man to change their ways; however, when this was not adhered too, great disaster fell amongst the people—beginning with Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham/
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel (Accessed December 2011).
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Abram and continuing on into modern day.
Many times these men were persecuted for their beliefs, messages, and scriptures. History outlines and portrays this struggle as both individual efforts and as by groups of people. Although the scriptures portray how these people triumphed over their struggles, it does not show the history of the Jewish people after these periods in time. Many of the scriptures found in Christian Old Testaments, including the prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) are not specifically mentioned in the Judaism chapters. Many of these scriptures contain events of the Jewish capture by Nebuchadnezzar, and his Persian forces. Where we have differences in denominations of Judaism is where written history takes place. Remember that religion is written metaphorically and that literal translation of any religion may result in chaos or unrealistic demands put on our society. For example “the man moved like a lion.” Did the man have claws and fur like a lion? No, it is a metaphor used to express the power of the man in question. Some things are literal, like the Ten Commandments. For these instructions are written,
“Thou Shall” or “Do not.” This is like saying the man is dead; there is no metaphorical meaning to this, it is as it is.
Since God’s messengers or angels guide humanity along their path of evolution, it is not always wise to regard all law, as law that should still apply to the standards of the time. Although the Ten Commandments still apply (our current Western law is based on these commandments), these laws are much more evolved. Would we replace the Criminal Code with the Ten Commandments? No, because the law is derived from these commandments already; why replace our laws with their predecessors? This idea and concept paves the way for new prophets and messengers to be sent down from the light (heaven) to guide and instruct man on a new path of social evolution.
If it is God’s will to guide man through the course of our existence, then would those instructions not also change? Just because we no longer put the “blood of the lamb along the inside of our doorways,” does not make us any less of a believer. It is the guiding principles of God’s law that guide us and unite us as believers. It would be a waste of cattle and a little unsanitary if we did many of the old traditions in contemporary society.
Also, the sanity of someone would be questioned if they performed some of these rituals in modern Western civilization. Why then the “blood of the lamb” or other old and archaic traditions? Remember that there is an explanation for everything!
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The Blood of the Lamb for example may have been for the people who were not following the leadership of Moses that partook in evil acts (incest, murder, robbery, etc.). Since paint was not commonplace (especially in the desert), it would be hard to mark the “good people” from the “bad people.” The method to do so would be by the blood of a lamb. Since everyone of that time period sacrificed lamb and had some form of cattle, it would be quite easily accessible for everyone to have lamb’s blood present. If they did not do this (mark their doorways), it would be hard to determine the believers from the nonbelievers.
Since the band of nonbelievers would be of an evil nature (stealing, murdering, raping, etc.), they would have to be destroyed or exiled in order for the “will of God” to be performed. Nonbelievers would be the people not adhering to the Ten Commandments or Abrahamic law; therefore, not putting the blood of the lamb along the inside of their doors. If these people (nonbelievers) were not defeated, then the Jewish people would not have evolved into the people they are today; this is just an example of one act that helped form and create the societies we live in.
Which brings us back to the original point of why Moses was sent down from God: to free the Jewish people from oppression, slavery, and even possible extinction; to teach the Jewish people how to live in a civilized manner with rules to guide and maintain that society; and to show the enemies of God the true and straight path of mankind. Sometimes (especially in the past) violence was necessary to overcome and overthrow these transgressors who were oppressing the people. This is the reason why some people regard the Old Testament God as a wrath-ful, vengeful, and a merciful God. For it is a mercy for the people to have these transgressors eliminated and executed for their blasphemies, because they were harming other people. Wrath is the means by which these people were removed.
The Old Testament of the Bible along with the writings of the Hexateuch and Septuagint show that violence was commonplace in the past.
This is shown through the multiple offences against the messengers of God (starting with the slaying of Abel), right to the stories of war and glory that are so prevalent in our history. Violence is still common in society; can we expect a people of such a difficult and trying period to be any less violent than we are today? Any one of us would do practically anything for our families and children. In a time when survival 23
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was so hard and just trying to find food was difficult, is it any wonder that the people needed to be rescued and shown how to live?
The statutes that paved the way provided a guide for the people to refer to, and that law was followed for hundreds and thousands of years, and is the basic law that guides us still. These laws are the glue that hold the fabric of our societies together; the fabric is the people, and the glue is religion, which formed the law and standards that we as a people live by today, which in essence is morality.
The prophets and angels wanted unity among the Jewish people and believers; to achieve that unity, laws, rules, and punishments had to be handed down. Were the prophets and angels successful in achieving this? Well, we have some unity (meaning we are not killing each other needlessly in mass quantities) among our societies. Religions that have developed, adopted, and based their societies on these laws are the most successful people and nations, having the lowest crime rates within their societies. Many Western nations (whose laws are based on the Ten Commandments and Abrahamic law) have the most unity among nations, are generally not in civil wars, and have some of the greatest democracies on the earth. Although some successful nations follow other laws and are equally successful, generally speaking the previous statement is true.
So did the prophets and angels achieve their goals? You be the judge. It is this use of logic that must be maintained when studying all religions. What is the purpose of this? Why would God instruct a messenger to perform such acts? Since history is written from the hand of the conqueror, you must assume that not everything written is true, or the true meaning of why things and rituals were done was lost along the way. Many of the teachings of Moses were in fact not written down and were of an oral tradition; he may and probably did have many similar teachings to that of his forefathers (including Abraham). Although the law was written, and enforced very strictly, it would be safe to assume that Moses also taught the people to forgive each other, and other laws may not be of his origination.
Granted that any religion in its purest form is not violent, and preach-es unity and peace amongst all people, many societies choose to not adhere to these teachings, and their societies are functioning in chaos. Look at the top nations in the world, and look at the lowest. Among the top, 24
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there is a sense of equality, order, and respect amongst all people. Among the lowest there is murder, theft, rape, and genocide. The facts speak for themselves, and the evolution of the people can be seen on how they adhere to their messengers or “roots”—whether it’s the tribal people not adhering to their “root” teachings of oneness amongst everything or the Muslims who are not adhering to the Qur’anic teachings of peace, unity, and wholeness amongst the universe, or the Christians not practicing forgiveness, or the Jewish people not adhering to the law (commandments).
Each society has been punished and rewarded accordingly to their adherence to the way of life that God has attempted to show them. Whether or not they follow the messengers and prophets is up to the people, and the people cannot say they were not warned.
Since each society and people are different, is it any wonder that the teachings and messengers sent to the people differ so much? Between Buddha, Muhammad, Jesus, and Abraham, the fact is that at one point we were all one people, and the straying from that oneness has led us to a path of destruction and deceit. The core principles and teachings of all religions are a respect for life, death, humanity, and the never-ending cycle that we as beings are condemned to. It is on this note that we delve further into the teachings of My Belief and that ever-present energy that we call God.
When studying biblical religion, it is VERY important to not put any bias on the study. Many Christians who study the Jewish religion and spirituality do not read without bias because the Jewish people were the betrayers of Jesus Christ. Although this is true to some extent, people are largely ignorant of the events and politics that were surrounding this young man (Jesus) at the time. It will be later explained in the text some of the many problems politically and socially that Jesus Christ faced in his time.
Many of the Christian people who hold a bias against Judaism are the same Roman descendants that partook in the execution of Christ.
Remember that it was a ROMAN ORDER to have Christ crucified, not a Jewish one (although the Jews demanded it). Although the Jewish community did in fact influence the discussion, it was ultimately up to the Caesar who issued orders to the governor, Pontius Pilate, whether or not to crucify Christ. So how hypocritical would it be to blame the Jewish community solely, when in fact the Roman descendants share equal fault. This will be discussed in length in the Christian paradigm.
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Also later mentioned in the text—the sacrifice of Christ did in fact lead to the salvation of the Jewish people and the fall of their conquerors and oppressors, the Roman Empire. It was, believe it or not, the goal of Christ to free the Jews from Roman oppression. Christ was a Zionist (Zion means a holy place of peace) and a zealot leader (wanting to overthrow Roman rule over Jewish states). It is the adoption of Christianity by the Romans that later perverted the message of Christ and raised him to the status of an idol. This is clearly not what was intended by Jesus, as he spen