Monday, December 21, 2009

Religion: The Art of Sampling, Remixing and Remastering

If I know something is a remix or a sample doesn't make it less valid, less pertinent to my experience in my contemporary time. Nor does it make the original less valid. I may just appreciate all that was added to the remix. Like improving upon family recipe.

If you were to ask a Rabbi where the stories of the Hebrew Bible came from they may tell you that the Teachers of old took the best stories and they changed the names and some details. (Greek mythology copied Egyptian mythology. Just changed the names and details.) And some of the stories which are distinctly Hebrew are exaggerated accounts of what really occurred. To support that sentence, chew on this: a lot of the Hebrew Bible is a military history and the Hebrews did like most people do. When they won a battle or a war they attributed the victory to the Will of God. This may be true but dangerous as people tend to think and Pastors tend to Preach that God always leads us to victory and never to a crushing defeat.

Most of the Hebrew Bible wasn't written and compiled until about 1000 B.C. meaning there was at least 1500 years of oral tradition. As we know a story can change slightly or dramatically with each story teller. In the end it is the story or allegory or poem that teaches and leads us to righteous, which is another word for Justice.

The Hebrews were in Egypt 430 years, and they were in Babylon and Persia for a couple generations. If you believe they were the same people coming out as they went in...then I have a diamond mine in my sock drawer that I wanna see you. But you got to buy it first.

The concept of the Satan as we know him doesn't exist in the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew Bible he is more like a District Attorney appointed by God for us. An Angel who has to ask God's permission (get a warrant) before any action is taken against us. It was not until the Hebrews encountered Zoroastrianism and Ahura Mazda and Ahriman when the Satan became the embodiment of evil. Before that evil was the result of our internal action and not an external being. Evil is the result of man and the D.A. highlighted our actions before the Judge. You only need to read the description of Angels and Heavenly beings and see the statues Gods and Heavenly beings of Babylon and Persia to connect the dots.

Now I warn people to be cautious to what they label "of unbelievers" or "pagan" or "heathen" because of what we know of God from the Hebrews. The Hebrews went in every region that was more advanced than them and they learned (sent into exile and captivity by the design of God) they evolved because of the people that they were with.

They took the stories and collected them all together and gave us a more clear view (not perfect view) of who God is. GOD (the Light) comes to us through a sort of prism. Different people see the same light at a different frequency. The Hebrews, over time focused the Light on our side of the prism. They took the spiritually Obtuse and Acute angles, mingled them and gave us a Right Angle.
(If you study religion,like I do, WITHOUT A BIAS, you will see the same stories/Allusions/Allegory hinting at the common source with variation. Some stories are wild/outlandish and so are some things in the Bible. But faith is exercised. Some people believe literally, while others simply say its figurative, appreciate the lesson and keep it pushing.)

To put it short and simply:
My Grandfather may have seen Ford's first Model-T but he has never seen a Mercedes S-500.


-Now in writing this some are definitely gonna question my personal Christianity and faith. That's okay-

When in doubt, this is how I pray:
"Lord, I believe. Forgive my unbelief."

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Forgive my silence

Forgive my silence but I am working on something that is proving to take some time and courage to write. But it will challenge the paradigm of many or confirm your own inner-most thoughts on the subject.
Until then...I'll leave you with this one thought.

Forgiveness is the sweetest Taboo.