infinity wrote:Perhaps its difficult for me to make a transition due to the value I got out of the bible. It may very well be just that - dangerous and deceptive - I certainly know of many inconsistencies in it about historical events and see through the unreasonable claims of many believers of the value and nature of the bible. But how do I denounce the very thing that taught me values and abilities (which we would call psychic abilities here) that I truly cherish? How do I look at it as nonsense if applying the practical stuff in it really gets results? How can I not see some value in it? Perhaps because I misunderstand how some of those values and abilities were developed? Perhaps the bible and the religious environment I was in had little to do with it but I just can't see it?
I understand your perspective, as I was raised Roman Catholic and found a lot of value in what the Bible taught. I was educated by Brothers and Sisters (Nuns) in Catholic schools, starting at the 7th grade. (In Grammar school, I attended Catechism from the 3rd to 6th grades). I drove the priests crazy with my questions--which they liked, back then, as it showed a genuine interest in the Faith. And it was a actually nun, Sister Kathleen, way back in the 8th grade that got me interested in mythology. I had to do a report on the story of
Cupid and Psyche and did the typical, boring analytical thing I did so well... but she would not accept my report, telling me that "I was capable of much more than this superficial view" and sat me down and explained symbolism and allegory--and made me rewrite the paper. I found the concept fascinating, and spent the whole weekend looking up stuff in the encyclopedia and doing the rewrite... got an A+. She told me it was one of the best papers she ever read (and she was one tough, old-school, hard-core nun), and those words, being only 13 years old and just getting started on life, changed the direction of the way I thought so I was able to see what is behind the Faith, not just the Catholic faith, itself. (Then the Brothers spent the next 5 years trying to recruit me into the Franciscan order.)
My life events over the next 45 years formed the framework that I now share in my papers and discussion--the story behind the story--like the old Mystery schools did (except I make my research public).
infinity wrote:What's your take on the following 4 chapters? 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 13, 2 Corinthians 3, and Romans 14? I would suggest a literal translation like a KJV as interpretive / paraphrased translations really mess up most passages.
"Take" is a rather general term, so I don't know what kind of response you are looking for. I will comment on a few things...
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
If you dig into the etymology here, you find that the reference to "dumb idols" doesn't mean "stupid idols," because "dumb" in those day, means
mute--unable to speak (ref: "deaf and dumb", cannot hear or speak). The "idols" are most likely the
Teraphim, small statues that would speak the commands of the old gods--what we'd call a walkie-talkie or cellphone these days. "dumb idols" were statues that did not speak (broken, or just a copy made to look like a Teraphim). Since YHWH (Jehovah, Enlil) had the only functioning Teraphim, anyone with a "dumb idol" must have his allegiance to one of the other gods. Enlil wasn't the only God, as Christians tend to believe, which is obvious by His commandment, "Thou shalt have no OTHER gods before me" (admission that there are other gods, but you are to worship Him).
This sets the tone for the remainder of the chapter, which concerns the "body of Christ" and the benefits of being a part of that "body." Basic psychology describes the "body" as the
collective, which is analogous to a social club for
feelings rather than material
interests. (By "feelings," I am not referring to
emotions, but to the characteristics/beliefs that define who we are.)
Now, just as a large, social group can force out all the smaller social groups and dominate a society, the same situation can occur with these collectives--and they become a
religion. The larger the club, the more power it wields... the larger the religion, the more power it wields. This is where "being of one body" comes in--if everyone were a member of, say, the Democratic party here in the United States, then NO OTHER political body can exist, anywhere on the planet. And no one would conceive of any different political view, because those patterns enforced by the social order would be 100% effective. A New World Order, with one political view and one religion, would be the ultimate expression of this in both the material (sensation-based) and cosmic (feeling-based) realms.
Try thinking of Biblical translations as being done as a marketing tool, to recruit people into the religious collective. Because the human psyche only has so much "time" to hold collective memberships, one BIG collective tends to push out all the smaller ones, making a person intolerant to other beliefs. Consider the old phrase, "You can't fight City Hall." (Part of the NWO objective is to CREATE "big government," so you cannot fight "City Hall.") Once that collective gets a strong foothold, then "resistance is futile." You will be assimilated. So what the translators do, is to write text to appeal to what is important to the people they are trying to recruit into the collective. In the case of Corinthians 12, it is to grab people that have a natural, spiritual gift--not god-given, but nature-given. If they recruit you, they also recruit your talents into the collective (assimilation). If you're into Bibles, then I'd recommend reading the
Heliand (the Saxon Gospel), written by a Monk to convert the Saxons to Christianity. Because they were a warrior-based people and only respected power, he made Jesus a kick-ass warrior that conquered all the hill-forts and got all the babes and gold. And the only way Jesus could prove he was the baddest warrior out there, was NOT to fight to prove it. The Saxons were impressed by the stories and stopped fighting--to prove they were just as bad-assed as Jesus was. Probably one of the best marketing schemes I've ever seen, and quite revealing as to the tones of these tomes.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be assimilated by a collective, to obtain the benefits of what that collective knows and does. I can still access everything I learned when I was Catholic--but it does not dominate or control my life. I've certainly gained a lot from the ethical teachings of the Catholic Brothers and Sisters, which is one of the reasons that I share my research (and time) freely. And since I "kicked out" the Catholic collective, well, there's a lot more room inside to access other collectives--and I've found that once you do, it's the "common denominators" that tend to stick in your mind, as it is those denominators that are the closest to the truth.
