In recent years the idea of spirituality has been surfacing. Many feel or sense it but, no one can explain it. It is something beyond explanation of words but is well within our ability to experience. What is going on? Why are we so interested in it now as opposed to the past?
In a nutshell, I think people are just now realizing the importance of spirituality in their lives. We are living in a time where we have great physical wealth and with the economic difficulties on the horizon, we are finding out that this wealth lacks something. It lacks real substance that will support our essence. Material wealth has proven to be empty. Why? Because in reality we are spiritual beings. Yes we have physical bodies but that is not who or what we really are.
We have also exhausted the limits of religion to explain or give a deeper meaning to our lives and give a satisfactory explanation of our importance. Where do we go for answers?
This can take volumes to talk about (yet that would not be enough). So I feel the answer is where do we start? Our spiritual walk is just that, a walk, not a destination. We have been taught, too long, by our religious institutions that faith is a destination not a journey. Could we image a religion filled with people journeying its faith? Every religion would not only lose control but would also lose people. The people would not be satisfied with the boundaries religion has established.
Abraham in Genesis 12 had the same problem. He left to go into the wilderness. But the Hebrew for going out means to "leave by going inside". He left for the wilderness to remove the distractions of the world. He then started to look for answers within himself. Why? A piece of God exist within each of us. A piece of a universal soul within us has the memory of the truth. We should be looking to access that memory and discover that TRUTH (EMET).
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Messiah: What is it?
When talking about messiah we think of a man coming on the scene either from nowhere or from the sky with a heavenly host to set the world straight. This sounds great but it requires a reality check. These thoughts are based upon a single man (a super hero) whipping the world into shape as a benevolent king passing judgment upon the world. Thus by force the world is transformed. When reviewing the Torah we find no mention of such a messiah.
The word messiah comes from the Hebrew word moshiach, which means "anointed". Moses was instructed to create a special oil (Exodus 30:22-25, 31) that was kept in the Tabernacle (1 Kings 1:39). This oil was used only when instructed by God (Exodus 30:26) to use it, thus it was to confirm God's will (1 Kings 1:39-40). The furnishings of the Tabernacle as well as the priests were anointed or messiahed with the oil (Exodus 30:26-30). We find that kings and occasionally prophets were also messiahed as well (1 Kings 1:39, Psalm 45:8, 1 Samuel 9:16, 1 Kings 19:16).
The Tabernacle was an image of the body of a man (Israel) and his relationship with the Creator. It was not an image of a single individual only (Exodus 4:22). When the Tabernacle was operational it was a health meter of Israel's (corporate body) relationship with God. It was the shadow of our corporate health with God in heaven.
With all of this in mind it is not difficult to contemplate that Israel is the Messiah. All of those that grasp the Torah, including those individuals from the nations are the Messiah. Messiah is not just about an individual but also the willing corporate body.
In the near future we will be faced with a false messiah that will usher in the Temple and sacrifices within Jerusalem. This man will be false because he is an individual not the corporate Messiah body of Israel. Many will believe that he is the Messiah but few will speak out against this beast. We have seen this before.
The word messiah comes from the Hebrew word moshiach, which means "anointed". Moses was instructed to create a special oil (Exodus 30:22-25, 31) that was kept in the Tabernacle (1 Kings 1:39). This oil was used only when instructed by God (Exodus 30:26) to use it, thus it was to confirm God's will (1 Kings 1:39-40). The furnishings of the Tabernacle as well as the priests were anointed or messiahed with the oil (Exodus 30:26-30). We find that kings and occasionally prophets were also messiahed as well (1 Kings 1:39, Psalm 45:8, 1 Samuel 9:16, 1 Kings 19:16).
The Tabernacle was an image of the body of a man (Israel) and his relationship with the Creator. It was not an image of a single individual only (Exodus 4:22). When the Tabernacle was operational it was a health meter of Israel's (corporate body) relationship with God. It was the shadow of our corporate health with God in heaven.
With all of this in mind it is not difficult to contemplate that Israel is the Messiah. All of those that grasp the Torah, including those individuals from the nations are the Messiah. Messiah is not just about an individual but also the willing corporate body.
In the near future we will be faced with a false messiah that will usher in the Temple and sacrifices within Jerusalem. This man will be false because he is an individual not the corporate Messiah body of Israel. Many will believe that he is the Messiah but few will speak out against this beast. We have seen this before.
Damnation/Hell
There are some that feel that we are all doomed to eternal Hell if we don’t agree to various “blind faith” religious doctrines. We have been taught by our religious western culture that since God is perfect we have been rejected by IT because we are not perfect. Thus we were created to be separated from God. This truly is a tragedy! We are left with the conclusion that we are unwanted. This creates a niche market and fertile grounds for snake oil salesmen of religious institutions to offer a solution to the very lies they create. HOW CONVENIENT!
But “blind faith” solutions defy logic. Let’s take a logical walk. If nothing is equal to the Creator and nothing exists outside of the Creator, than all exist within IT. Thus all that is within the Creator receives life from the Creator. If the Creator gives life to all souls then a piece of the Creator exists within each of us. This would mean without that piece of the Creator within us we would cease to exist. So we must exist due to God’s “breathe” within us. If our soul feels joy then our Creator, through that piece of ITSELF in us, “shares” in that joy. If we feel pain the Creator also “shares” in that pain. So if we are to be eternally damned then so too will be part of our Creator. Thus, eternal damnation cannot exist simply because God would be inflicting pain upon ITSELF.
One more thought may help to clarify this point. We at this point must conclude that Hell is a created place if it exists. If Hell is within our Creator, then Hell would be contained within our Creator. But here is the problem. Hell is a place devoid of God so souls can be tormented. Such a place cannot exist within our Creator Remember that nothing else exists other than the Creator. Thus Hell cannot exist.
Damnation or Hell is not spoken of or supported within the Torah. The Torah defines a covenant with mankind and would be the most appropriate time to mention such damnation. There are mentions of punishments but with a positive outcome assured by our Creator. Hell on the other hand, offers no hope thus opening a door for the snake oil salesmen that crafted a solution to the very problem they created.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Torahs Purpose: Exhaust Religion
The first five books of our Bibles are called the written Torah, Pentateuch, or the Books of Moses.
When asking people what the purpose of Torah is, we get varied responses. Some will say it is a book that teaches us how to live a life acceptable to G-d. Some will say it is the beginning of our faith. Others will say, it is about creation of the universe, creation of the people of faith, and creation of Israel. None of these are wrong. But is there a more subtle purpose for it. After all it was given to Israel after leaving an oppressive nation both physically and philosophically (Exodus 20:2).
It is interesting to note that no less than three religions use the Torah as their declaration of legitimacy for their religion. The three are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How can this be? These three religions are very dissimilar and in many cases they are in opposition to each others' teachings and beliefs.
The answer is simply, that each religion implements the Torah as its base document for their religions beliefs. Each religion has it own doctrines and agenda. In short each has its own propaganda machine that redefines the Torah into a tool for the good of the religion. The Torah is placed secondary to the goals of the religious establishment. Rather the religions should be transforming itself for the GOOD of Torah.
Torah's purpose is to exhaust religion. It is meant to dismantle religious fallacies. What is left are the sparks of Truth that were hidden within the religion and raise them up for all to see. When that is done, religion will become passé and as such we will be drawn closer with a direct (Israel = Direct to God) relationship to our Creator with no intermediaries.
When asking people what the purpose of Torah is, we get varied responses. Some will say it is a book that teaches us how to live a life acceptable to G-d. Some will say it is the beginning of our faith. Others will say, it is about creation of the universe, creation of the people of faith, and creation of Israel. None of these are wrong. But is there a more subtle purpose for it. After all it was given to Israel after leaving an oppressive nation both physically and philosophically (Exodus 20:2).
It is interesting to note that no less than three religions use the Torah as their declaration of legitimacy for their religion. The three are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How can this be? These three religions are very dissimilar and in many cases they are in opposition to each others' teachings and beliefs.
The answer is simply, that each religion implements the Torah as its base document for their religions beliefs. Each religion has it own doctrines and agenda. In short each has its own propaganda machine that redefines the Torah into a tool for the good of the religion. The Torah is placed secondary to the goals of the religious establishment. Rather the religions should be transforming itself for the GOOD of Torah.
Torah's purpose is to exhaust religion. It is meant to dismantle religious fallacies. What is left are the sparks of Truth that were hidden within the religion and raise them up for all to see. When that is done, religion will become passé and as such we will be drawn closer with a direct (Israel = Direct to God) relationship to our Creator with no intermediaries.
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