Earth-Based Christian Fellowship

Deep down...

2005-12-01T01:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday SUCKED ASS. So much crap went on yesterday I don't even wanna talk about it. It was just a very depressing day. I mean like, one of those cyring days where you just cry constantly. I didn't even want to talk to anyone. You know how when you're sad and you're friends are like, "You could have called me if you were depressed. Just gimme a call if you ever wanna talk." And you're thinking, "If I really wanted to talk to anyone, I would have. So leave me alone." I didn't want to talk to anyone because I really didn't want to feel happy I guess.
You know, sometimes you just need to feel bad - really bad - and it hurts so much but you don't REALLY want it to stop because it's like you NEED it. Sometimes it makes you feel so alive to know that you can even feel that badly; the fact that it's possible to feel such deep emotion - even if it's bad - is, in itself, almost exhilerating. And you revel in your own sorrow, exaggerated though it may be for what caused it. Your self-pity feeds on itself and grows exponentially, until you just cry yourself to sleep.
Years of not feeling anything make you truly appreciate the emotions you have, and never again do you take them for granted. You embrace them, and you even want to share them with other people. That's why you don't call anyone - because you know that all your friends are gonna do is try to cheer you up, and you don't want that. You want to share your emotions with them. You want to talk about them, and hear them say, "Yes, I know exactly what you mean," not, "Oh, honey, it's not so bad. Look on the bright side."
It's that sinking feeling you get when you try to share something really deep with someone and they just look at you blankly because they don't get it. And you feel totally alone. Like, you're the only person on earth who has any sort of deep thoughts or feelings at all. Sometimes I feel like, no matter how caring or educated my friends are, somehow they're just never really deep enough. Like, it only goes so far, and you start talking to them and they get it, they really do, up to a point...then you lose them, and they stare at you, totally lost, and you're so disappointed beyond words.
Maybe we all feel like that sometimes. Maybe we all have our moments when we're the only person in the world who actually gets it and everyone else around us is just a disappointment. I guess I'm just searching for my twin. I'm always looking for someone who is just like me, and every once in a while I think I've found them, but then at some point they differ, and I'm disappointed. Will I never find my twin? Am I destined to jump from one surface-level friendship to another? Does anyone else get it? I feel lost, like a part of me is missing - or more like, the "other me" is missing. I am Pollux, and I can't find Castor anywhere. I am incomplete.

Searching Ourselves

2005-08-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is not about love, nor is it about hate. It is not about friendship, politics, substance abuse, or religion. None of that matters. It is about nothing. I am an individual, and being an individual means you are alone. Anything that makes you different also alienates you from everyone else. Even if you are like others in all ways except one, that one dimension will separate you from everyone you have ever known, and, in that one respect, you will be alone. Why is it so bad to be alone? When panic and noise surrounds us and we can't seem to escape we stand there and scream, "Leave me alone!" - but do we really mean it? When we are alone, we are depressed. Something weighs down on our soul and we cannot escape it. We constantly search for others who are like us in some way, so that we can feel like we belong. But why does it matter? Why do we crave others? We must somehow be connected, or it would not hurt so much to be by ourselves. When we are alone, we are not right. There is something missing - as if some part of us were lost. And we don't just want anyone around - we want others who are like us. We are looking for our twins, perhaps in search of ourselves. As if, in finding someone who is exactly like us, we could study them and reach a greater understanding of our own nature. Perhaps that search for companionship is really just a disguise for the search for ourselves. How did we lose ourselves in the first place? What is missing from us that we need? Or, is everything there after all? Perhaps we are mistaken in thinking that we need to know. Maybe we don't need to know after all. Maybe that delusion is what tortures us; the delusion that somehow we have to find out about ourselves - step outside ourselves and look back in. I wish we could all be happy just to exist.

What God is...

2005-02-07T23:18:00.000-08:00

God does not reside anywhere. God is. We reside in God.
God is not "out there" or "in there", but rather, we are "in God".
God is the matter and non-matter that pervades the universe and
beyond. This computer is not God, but is made of God. As if God were
some sort of material or idea - really both. God is the material and
the immaterial, the seen and unseen, the intelligence and ignorance,
what is and is not. The ultimate, seemingly impossible combining of
opposites. Not really a thing, but not nothing. The balance of
action and existence. God is summed up perfectly in the phrase, "I
AM".

Words, words, words, I'm so sick of words...

2005-02-07T23:15:00.000-08:00

I'm not one for spewing out obscure vocabulary words for the sake of making myself look smarter. Seems to have the opposite effect if you ask me (which I'm sure no one will). No one cares if you know 18 synonyms for each word you use. The ideas are important. Besides, the really profound and most truthful ideas of philosophy cannot really be put into words of any language. Words, in my opinion, are simply inadequate and over-emphasized tools of expression. It's a shame, really...they have so much potential...

Getting Rid of Christmas

2004-12-23T01:53:00.000-08:00

This whole "getting rid of Christmas" thing is getting really ridiculous. By taking away all religious affiliations, you are basically favoring one national religion - atheism! When everything is secular, atheists are the only ones allowed to express their faith in public. How fair is that?!

I don't buy into the saying that "in order to have freedom OF religion we need freedom FROM religion." That doesn't make any sense. Everyone should be able to express their own religions as they please. Most of the people in this country are Christian, so naturally you're going to see more Christian stuff than non-Christian. That's the beauty of being...um...free! Gee, it's kind of democratic that way...go figure!

If someone says, "Merry Christmas" to you, and you don't happen to celebrate Christmas, there's no need to fly off the handle and cry "intolerance"; just say, "Happy Yule," and move on, knowing you have both shared some joy with each other today.

If someone wants to pass out baby Jesus christmas cards at a gift exchange, go ahead. You don't have to convert just because you got this free card as a gift! Go ahead and give them one of your home-made solstice cookies in exchange.

Perhaps if everyone was allowed to truly express and display their religious traditions, there would not be such a great misunderstanding between all of them. Wear your pentacle or star of david proudly, and let it be a conversation starter! A doorway to communication and understanding.

Solving a Problem...

2004-12-16T01:04:00.000-08:00

A wee bit of humor for those who are tired of trying to convince Fundies that you are NOT going to hell!

How Do You Solve A Problem Like A Fundie
(To the tune of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria, from "The Sound of Music")

How do you solve a problem like a Fundie?
How do you take it when they put you down?
How to describe the look upon a Fundie?
A medlesome grimmace, an arrogant glare, a frown?
Many-a-thing you know you'd like to tell them.
Many-a-thing they ought to understand.
But how do you make them stay
And listen instead of pray?
How do you stop the endless reprimand?
Oh, how do you solve a problem like a Fundie?
Teach them to hold a moonbeam in their hand.

Tribal Humans

2004-12-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

One thing that stikes me as pretty unique about humans is that we are tribal. We are social and individualistic at the same time.

Whenever we meet someone our first instinct is to put them into a category: "where are you from", "what do you do", "are you married", etc. - not just for the sake of getting to know them, but to get to know what groups they fit into. If they are from the same part of the country that we are, great! We have something in common. We are part of the same "tribe". If they are a different religion, they are part of a different "tribe".

Once we have people placed into groups, we can begin to communicate with them. We now know what to say without offending them. We can call on one of our similarities when we need an ally. Or, when we want to be left alone, we can bring up one of our differences to distance ourselves.

It's funny how so much we do depends on communication: finding our tribes, and distancing ourselves from others. We are individuals, and communal. We learn on our own and bring that knowledge to others. We also learn from others and bring that knowledge back to ourselves to enhance it and make it our own. Sometimes we need others, and sometimes we just need ourselves. It's the unique human balance that we seek to achieve.

Some of us are loners, some of us are socializers, but we all need a little bit of both here and there. We just express it in different ways. Me? I'm sort of in the middle. I have wild swings back and forth, from loner to socializer; wallflower to hostess. Everyone I meet knows a different "me"!

On Fundie Idol-Worship

2004-12-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

I think the problem is that a lot of Fundies fall into a sort of "idol-worship" without realizing it. They form their own ideas and opinions based on what they read in the Bible, which is GREAT! That's the point: It can speak to everyone. The problem is, they begin to worship those ideas (which are man-made ideas) and turn them into beliefs. These beliefs are based on "evidence" that is subject to change at any given time based on new discoveries of science, language, etc. Ideas can change, but beliefs - well, they're more difficult. And when your beliefs are based on something that can so easily be challenged and changed, how smart was it for you to adhere to those belifs in the first place?

Having your own opinions about what is right and wrong is fine; so long as you don't mandate them to everyone else. That's where people get into trouble. They basically begin believing in something they themselves made up/came up with - effectively worshipping themselves instead of God. They draw the conclusion that anything "not of themselves" = "not of God", and (in math terms), that means Themselves = God. You see - idol-worship at it's finest!

Despite outward appearances, I am really a peacemaker at heart, and always try first and foremost to find similarities between myself and anyone I'm addressing. I love common ground. Normally, pointing out common ground BEFORE pointing out differences does quite a bit for neutralizing the conversation and opening the door for communication a little wider. I just keep in mind that the point is not to sway anyone to my opinion, but to end up with a mutual understanding of each other's point of view. Not necessarily an agreement, but at least a better understanding. It's really the best you can expect most of the time.

In Between

2004-12-08T23:05:00.000-08:00

To everything there is a technique which cannot be taught, but which must be learned. Learning that which cannot be taught is the secret to life. Without this intuitive knowledge you are merely acting out your existence.

Life is composed of action and existence, or non-action, and it is the point in between these two that is called enlightenment. It is the balance of opposites, where both and neither exist at once. It is heaven. Life is the eden that was taken away. Knowledge was life's downfall. Life is to be found in the balance of knowledge and ignorance. Without knowledge you cannot act, and without ignorance you cannot exist. I have been there, it seems. It is nostalgic. It is familiar. It is where I came from, and where I am going. I can be there again, somehow, but I don't know how or when. It has been lost, but will be found; I am sure of it. It is between good and bad, dark and light. Hell is either one, but Heaven is in between, and both.

It is this which is God.

My Savior

2004-12-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

My Savior was born to an unwed teenage mother. He was raised in the ghetto amidst heretics and outcasts. He kept company with government thugs and dined in the homes of wealthy landowners and blue collar workers alike. He did not belong to the popular religion and was never ordained through any church, yet taught with the authority of God none the less. He vandalized a temple and challenged the authority and beliefs of priests and lay people. He was tried and executed for witchcraft and heresy and granted salvation to a thief just before he died. After he rose, he gave the first mission to spread the news of his resurrection to a woman - one whose life is still shrouded in mystery and scandal to this very day.

Most people agree that we should all try to be more like him; so my question is this:

If my Savior can be all these things, why can't I?

Pagans for George W. Bush

2004-10-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

What's this? Pagans FOR George W. Bush? Impossible! Isn't he a conservative Christian? Isn't he part of that Religious Right that most Pagans are so adamantly against? Sure. But putting religious affiliation and titles aside, what kind of values does he present to the country - to our children - that make him the right choice for America?

Well, let's take a look at his values a little more closely. He is a very spiritual person. Now, granted, he may not hold the same kind of spirituality as Pagans, but that shouldn't matter since tolerance is a core Pagan value...right? Or at least, it should be. The point is, he lives his spirituality to the fullest. Nearly everything he does involves a spiritual decision. He is not the fundamentalist Christian stereotype of someone who loves to pass judgement on people while completely ignoring their own religious advice. His faith is real, and he does his best to live his faith to the fullest. As Pagans, don't we live our lives the same way? Don't we teach our children to live lives as spiritual beings? Don't we teach them to have faith - faith in the God and Goddess, faith in themselves? Pagans cannot look at a falling leaf on the solstice without thinking about the wonders of Divinity and the Universe. And how many people can say they have seen George W. Bush make one decision that was not based on his tremendous faith?

And what about his conviction? As a leader, a President must find that delicate balance between what everyone else wants and what he believes is right. Isn't that how we all strive to live? Pagans realize that life is all about achieving balance: Balance between masculine and feminine, between the inner and outer worlds. We are not totally individuals, and we are not totally communal. That is what is so special about humans. We are a balance between community and individuality. Finding that balance is one of the most difficult things we will ever have to do. In fact, a lot of us never really find it. Do we want a leader who has no convictions and only does what others tell him is right? Do we want our own children to think that way? Is that the kind of role-model we want for them? I should hope not! What we need is a leader who listens to the people, yet still holds true to his own conscience. Children look up to our leaders - as well they should - and what kind of person would you put in front of them? George W. Bush listens to the people of America, combines their input with his own values, and then makes an informed decision that he thinks is fair. What more could you ask from a role-model?

"What about 'Harm None'," you ask. "He sent us to war." Well, first of all, he did not do anything on his own. Remember, the people of America wanted him to do that. And rightly so. Any self-respecting Pagan does not use this "Harm None" objection in this case because they know that it is impossible to harm none, absolutely. I mean, no one would claim that using a pinch of herb in tonight's dinner constitutes "harming" the plant. Pagans know that "harm none" means taking your actions into consideration so that you do not do any unprecidented harm to anything. It also means preventing harm to others. How many of you would shoot someone for trying to kill your spouse or child? Does this fall into the category of "harming". I wouldn't think so. "Harming none" means basically not doing anything malicious. If someone did try to kill your child, would you not prosecute? Well someone tried very hard to harm America and it's people. In fact, they succeeded in harming quite a few. And what do they want? They don't want money, they don't want oil, they don't want peace or freedom. They want us DEAD. That is the only demand of a terrorist. There is no negotiation. If they live, we die. That's how it works. It's terrible, I know, but consider the alternatives. How many more 9/11s would it take to destroy America and the rest of the World? Sacrificing a handful of brave men and women and a bunch of terrorists for the sake of saving the lives of millions - now that would hardly qualify as truly harmful.

So here we have the basic ethical concerns of the Pagan community:

-Live your spirituality to the fullest
-Stand by your convictions and do what you know is right
-Never doubt your faith - let it be strong and guide you on your path
-Harm none - work for the greater good
-Be strong and compassionate - find your balance

As Pagans we are compassionate enough to know that no one's path is better than another's. We should not judge a person based on their religious choices or on what "the rest of the group" appears to be doing. Look deeper than that. Look into the heart of every person and see that even if you don't agree with everything they say or do, they are still a human being, and as such, worthy of respect. We are all a part of each other, and if we reach out to people who hold different views and take the time the learn about what is in their hearts, we would truly be fine examples of humanity, and wonderful role-models for the generations to come.

On Doomsday, and the Rise of the Machines

2004-10-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

Everyone thinks that this "age of computers" is going to be the "end times" for earth: That the internet is becoming an object of worship, that technology is the anti-christ, and so-on and so-on.

The problem is, most people put too much emphasis on the surface-level technology, without stopping to analyze the reasons behind it. They think that a piece of software IS the terrible "BEAST" that we need to avoid, when really, it is the mindset of the people behind it. They think that if you just get rid of the computers you will get rid of this "beast" that they fear, when actually, the beast is the idea itself. It will still be there.

A good analogy is this: A politician shows up to make a speech in front of a large crowd. Durring his speech someone in the crowd starts throwing rotten tomatoes at him, and the politician says to himself, "If only we could get rid of all the tomatoes, THEN everyone would like me."

You see, they have it backwards. It's not the technology that is to blame, it's the motive behind it. It's easy to stop a machine...it's not so easy to convince people - especially most christians - that they, THEMSELVES, are this "antichrist" that they fear.

What is REALLY being worshipped? It's not a machine. It's not some information super-highway. It's not a laptop. It is an idea - an idea not even related to technology at all EXCEPT in what it represents. It represents something which is really beyond proper description. It is a deep idea that does not exist in words. Yet it is so simple that you can't even really put your finger on it. It's not war, it's not power; rather it is the driving force behind all of these. War and Power are not bad AT ALL. They can both be very good, and, in truth, good cannot be fully achieved without them. But, like all things, they can be the representatives of bad motivation, and it is this motivation - this idea - that must be targeted. No one action or person or thing is this "anti-christ" that strikes fear into the hearts of millions of christians around the world. The real "beast" is that which causes them to fear in the first place.

In short, you can't force people to like you by taking away their tomatoes.

The Lottery

2004-09-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

You know that story, "The Lottery", where this little town has a lottery every year and the winner get to be stoned to death? And they all just keep doing it because it's tradition? Yeah, it's a good story. A wonderful metaphor for lots of things, really. Everyone should read it. I'll bet every person could find something in their lives to relate to that story. That's what makes it so good. Jesus' stories were like that. The problem is, since they are so universal that also means that people can twist them around to fit their own meanings, even if that meaning is not what the author intended. Of course, there's nothing wrong with doing that, provided you understand that this meaning is only YOUR interpretation and do not try to mandate that everyone else take on this new meaning. Especially when that sort of action directly contradicts the intention of the author. But, history does repeat itself, doesn't it? Everyone considers himself a Samaritan; no one ever considers himself a Pharisee.

Poem - unnamed as of yet

2004-09-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

Truth lies within the Heart of Man
And there doth God unfold His plan
Safeguard thyself from every ill
An it harm none, do as ye will.
Remember ye this creed of old:
All that doth glitter may not be gold
And though light may seem to abound
Evil yet may be around.
And likewise what may seem as sin
Might be esteemable within.
One knoweth not by outward deeds
What help the inward soul may need
And if you are to help your kin
You first must free yourself from sin -
A task which ne'er can be done
And so 'tis true that not a one
Can look to judge his fellow man
As only our heavelny Father can.
If each man here on Earth would strive
To keep his own good sense alive
He would not judge or harm or fret
And all his needs would thus be met.
Alas, it is not meant to be
For as our curse, great thinkers we;
We chose to think, instead of live -
But God has chosen to forgive.
For We, as He, can speak of life
And with a word, can end our strife
With God lies truth and power just
And so, to live - perish we must.

Dream: Christians vs. Wiccans

2004-09-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

This is a dream I had on March 22, 2004. I woke up stratled and wrote it down immediately so that I wouldn't forget it. I felt like it was important somehow, but wasn't sure what to do about it. There is tons of symbolism, but symbolism can go in many directions, depending on the person doing the analysis. Anyway, here it is in it raw form:

And the Master of All Evil had come. He was a man of average height with medium brown hair of moderate length. He wore a white suit, with a black shirt and black shoes. And he was killing and destroying everyone and everything that was good in the world. Everything that was evil he left alive, but all that was good was destroyed.

And there were 12 who called themselves Christians, who were sons and daughters of God; and there were 8 who called themselves Wiccans, who were sons and daughters of Goddess. And I was mediator; member and outcast of both groups; daughter of God and Goddess joined in holy union as one Supreme Being.

I knew, somehow - I had been told, but do not remember learning it - that the only way to overcome this evil was to unite all that was good on earth and fight it. Otherwise it would surely kill us all. It had already begun.

I pleaded with the Wiccans, but they remained silent on the matter. They did not believe that the Master of All Evil was killing them, and they refused to join a group of delusional individuals in a fight against a mythical creature.

I begged the Christians, but they insisted that they would never join the Wiccans because they were evil, even though the Evil itself had been killing the Wiccans as well as the Christians - and the Evil only killed that which was good.

I finally reached the leader of the Christians. She was a woman in her late 50s, with dark blond, graying hair pulled neatly into a bun in back of her head. Her clothes were drab layers of browns, grays, and whites, and her skin was very pale. She looked down at me, for she was very tall and was standing on the second step of a staircase while I was on the ground. I pleaded with her to help take a stand against this evil, but she hardened her heart toward me.

Suddenly the Master of All Evil appeared between us, facing her. He slowly advanced toward her with a knife in his right hand. I begged, frantically, once more, but she only raised her head and stared at me defiantly, convincing herself of her own martyrdom. The Evil transfered the knife into his left hand and made a severe gash from the left side of her throat to a point just to the right of her trachea. She was dead. The wound bled but very little.

I immediately turned and ran, gathering up the dachshunds I held as my most beloved of pets. I knew he would becoming for them next, for they were the Ultimate Innocence - the True Good. I tried to hide them throughout the house and yard, but to no avail. He found them all. Three I hid under a coffee table; seven were under a large china hutch - four on the left, three on the right; and twelve were out in the back yard. One by one he killed them all.

And so I began to run. I followed the path of hiding places, out through the yard, around the side of the house, and into the street. He was persuing me, of course, I was the only one left.

It was then that I realized I would always run, because there was no one left to help me fight.

Sin, and Why Jesus Really Died

2004-09-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

A sin is not an action. A sin is pure intention. One cannot accidentally sin. A sin in the mind is a sin in the body, as Jesus said. All the commandments referrence intention, not action: worship, take in vain, honor, keep holy, bear false witness (we must know that it is false), covet, murder (not kill, murder), even adultery and stealing, as pure action, can have circumstances which would make them not sin (e.g. a so-called "open marriage"; or unintentionally taking something that wasn't yours). And the two greatest commandments have one intention in common: Love.
That being said, we ARE the word of God. God spoke, and we were made. Thus, we are God's intention, and we (that intention) "went wrong/bad". Therefore, we ARE God's "bad intention", or sin. If you look at sin, not as a quality of "evil", but as a "bad intention", we, by definition, are God's sin. Crazy, I know, but bear with me. As I see it, "sin" is a god-ly quality, not a human quality, for if we had not "become like gods" as it states in Genesis, we would not have sin. Sin made us "like gods".

So Jesus was God's atonement for His/Her sin, just as Jews had to sacrifice for their sins. Since we are all a part of God, in a sense, once God's sin is atoned for, so are ours. Hit it at the source! That is HOW Jesus forgave our sins with one act.

But for the Why, that is more difficult. Looking at the Jews' atonement process - the blood sacrifice - they had to take something that was perfect in "our world" - an unblemished lamb - and give it to God without using it themselves (without eating it). Also note that God did not actually use the sacrifice either, in the physical sense. The reverse is also true: God took something that was perfect in "God's world" (the Spiritual world) and gave it to us without "using it" - Knowledge. And just as God couldn't actually use the blood sacrifice (lamb) in the Spiritual world the way it was meant to be used here on Earth (i.e. to be eaten), we couldn't use this "knowledge" of ours in the physical world the way it was really meant to be used in Spirit. We could use it to a limited extent, but not in the way it was really MEANT to be used. In essence, Life was our realm, and Knowledge was God's. When we took that Knowledge from God, we had to, in turn, give something of ours back. So that explains the blood sacrifices.

But what about Jesus? We see what we took from God and what we had to do in order to "make up" for it, but this could go on forever. We would never stop sinning and so never stop sacrificing and things never really evened out. But what did God take from us? God took life from us (the tree of, that is) when we chose knowledge over the life that God had originally given us. God took the Life, and what could God do with it? Nothing! This Life was not a Spiritual aspect. This Life was an Earthly attribute - Life did not exist before our world did. God has no use for this kind of "Life". Just as God had no use for the blood sacrifice, and we had no use for knowledge. God cannot give us back the Life we lost, but He/She CAN give us life THROUGH our knowledge/spiritualness/god-ness - i.e. through our sin - and the way God did that was through Jesus. After all, God does have to atone for His/Her sin, and that is done through sacrificing something sacred and perfect in Spirituality and giving it to us, although we may not know how to fully utilize it (see the parallels?). Jesus gave us the Spiritual Life we needed by teaching us how to utilize the knowledge we were never meant to have. God found a use for the Life he had taken from us - He/She put that Life into Jesus. And so, we must therefore find a use for the Knowledge we have taken from God, and Jesus showed us how to do that. Essentially, God put what He/She took to good use, and in doing so showed us how to put what we took to good use.

Thus, in Jesus, it all evens out - IF we are willing to take God's advice! If we do not put our "stolen" knowledge to good use (i.e. to Spiritually better ourselves), the cycle of sin and atonement will not be complete, for we will be falling short of our end of the bargain. Jesus' death and resurrection will have been in vain in our case if we choose to waste his gift. Looking at it this way, one can see why "No one goes to the Father except through me", because without Jesus' sacrifice, the cycle would be unbalanced. It's also clear, then, that one does not need to know ABOUT Jesus to follow his teachings, for several cultures and religions follow those teachings of Jesus without calling him "Jesus" or without knowing that Jesus even existed. Maybe they call him by the name of another god, or maybe they don't personify him at all, but the teachings are the same. Jesus didn't say, "No one goes to the Father except through Knowledge of me", he just said "through me". As everyone now can see, Life can be completely separate from earthly knowledge, for it is a Spiritual "Knowledge" that is necessary to attain Spiritual Life.

The equation is thus:

Through our Earthly (stolen) knowledge, we gave God Earthly life (Blood Sacrifice).

Through God's Spiritual Knowledge (given to us), God gives us Spiritual Life (through Christ).

The Search for the Sacred Feminine

2004-09-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

Asherah was said to have been kept in the Arc of the Covenant.

Mary Magdalene was said to be the Holy Grail.

The search for the Arc of the Covenant is said to produce God.

The search for the Holy Grail is said to produce eternal life.

If Asherah is the Arc and The Magdalene is the Grail, then it follows that Asherah is the key to finding God and The Magdalene is the key to finding eternal life.

God cannot be complete without Goddess. There is no God without Asherah, and no life without The Magdalene. It is the union of the two, masculine and feminine, that lead to everlasting life in God. The union of male and female is the union of God and Goddess played out here on earth. That is why we have such a union. God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helpmate for him." That "helpmate" is what "helps" man reach God. Without her, he could not be complete. That is why a man leaves his mother and father for his wife; because the wife brings him to God. Jesus said we had to love him more than our families. Jesus brought the sacred feminine back to us. Trusting Jesus' words is like trusting your wife: It is necessary in order to reach God. The wife does not leave her family for her husband because she is the one who forms the "string" of generations. It is the female that holds the family together. The female can be stable, unchallenged by wandering desires. The male brings her order, while she, in turn, brings him stability. She is the rock.

So it makes sense that The Magdalene is the foundation of the curch, while Peter is the organization of it. But something went wrong. Mary was forsaken. So we now have rules and structure unchecked by stability. The foundation is gone, and no one remembers where we started because we have wandered so far. It is not good for man to be alone. Man cannot find God on his own because he wanders. The church that Peter founded desperately needs a helpmate. We must bring back Asherah and The Magdalene. We must bring back Isis and Pallas Athena. Bring back what Jesus tried to give us all along - our helpmate. The rock has been cast into the sea and forgotten. We must fish it out, for we now have rules with no basis, and order around nothingness. Headstrong wanderers and warriors go into battle, but there is no plan of action, and so they are divided, and so conquered. There is strength and courage, but no patience, no wisdom, no discernment or discretion. There is anger and no compassion.

It is also not good for woman to be alone, for that would bring stability with no order. Patience with no drive. We would be content to sit passively, surrounded by chaos, with no direction. It is clear that both God and Goddess are needed to reach "God", who is all things and nothing, good and bad, masculine and feminine, light and dark. It is this state of balance that we seek, and which leads us to become fully human - fully anthropos - and one with divinity. The Arc and the Grail have been lost, and we must seek them with all our hearts, lest we be deprived of the true eternal life in God.

Seeking

2004-09-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

God commanded us to seek him 75 times in the Bible. He only told us to find him 10 times. Which leads us to believe that seeking is the important thing. Yet how many people are too afraid to really seek God? How many are content to believe everything people tell them about God, without finding out for themselves if it is true? How many people have seriously studied non-Christian religions? I mean, seriously studied, with an open mind, trying to "seek" God. How many people have looked at the beliefs of other religions and talked to people who are part of them, not with the idea of condemning or converting them, but to really learn from them? Hindus, Wiccans, Satanists. And how many of those peole are still Christians? I am one. I have not been afraid to question what other people have told me. I have looked at all of these with an open mind, and have decided for myself that these others are not really the right path for me. They may be right for someone else, but not for me. Many people would condemn such behavior. Many would say that a Christian should not study other beliefs because they are "not of God". I despise that phrase: "Not of God". When someone says something is "not of God", that just means that they themselves are not at all familiar with it and do not understand it and so, being "not of themselves", it must be "evil". How do they know it is not of God unless they investigate for themselves? Many people were told that the world was flat, and yet very few chose to test that belief. Then again, many people have been told the earth is round, and not everyone has tested that either. You see, what other people tell us may be true or false, but if we want to "seek" the truth, we must find out for ourselves. Many people condemn those who seek other belief systems, but I say embrace them, for their faith is stronger than those who are afraid to seek.

How many people would go out and search for a lost dog? If you lost your dog, you would not stay at home and wait for someone to call you saying, "Hey, I found your dog." No! You would go out and put pictures on telephone poles, ask your neighbors, call your dog's name. True, you may find your dog lying in the street, having been hit by a car, and you may fear this, but that doesn't stop you from looking; because you may also find him right around the corner, waiting for you and wagging his tail! The thing is, you will never know unless you LOOK. Even if he has been hit by a car, at least you will have found him. If you are willing to go through this much effort for a dog, why are you so reluctant to seek for God? True, you may not find him where you expect him or want him to be. You may not find him how you expect, but at least you would have found him, and you can go on from there. One thing is certain: you will never find him if you stay locked in your house, afraid of what may await you. And how fragile is your faith if one disappointment can destroy it!

But one might say, "What if I seek and I find that God is not where I thought he would be? What if I find out I've been wrong this whole time?" And to that I say, "Congratulations! You've found Him!" It doesn't matter where God really is. The point is that you seek. Because having the courage to seek and to test your faith is a sign of strength in your faith. In mathermatical terms, the strength of your unwillingness to seek God is inversely proportional to the strength of your faith. The less you seek, the weaker your faith becomes. Even if you find that God is not what you expected, that is not what is important. Even if you find that your beliefs have changed completely, God does not care. As long as you seek, you will find, and where you find God is not as important as that you find him. Remember, we are all connected, like links of a chain, to God. There are all kinds of colors, shapes, sizes, and makers of the links, but weak faith is a weak link, and will cause the chain to break. Of course, I don't know for sure (because I am not God), but I think that God would rather have a strong chain reaching across all of creation, than a few broken links in the palm of his hand.