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Number Games in Holy Texts

Posted in Atheist, belief, Bible, faith, Hebrew scripture, prehistory, random, religion, scriptures, theology with tags , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2014 by chouck017894

In scriptural tales, when numbers were included in the texts, they invariably relayed hidden meaning to those trained in the art of sacred language. In ancient cultures, long before the rise of Judaism among the Hebrew tribes, numbers were considered to carry mystical significance. Virtually ignored by believers today is the fact that precise calculations were vital for many ancient observations and constructions which required several steps of computation which had to include and combine spherical geometry and trigonometry. As obvious as this should seem, the common opinion of the ancients has been that they understood only fundamental mathematics. Any fascination of mathematical exercise in prehistory cultures is thought to hold little implication. The number of persons such as is claimed within each of the Israelite tribes, however, do hold hidden significance for those trained in sacred language technique. Consider some other examples.

The number six, as in the six days of Creation, was regarded in ancient cultures as a balanced number, a “perfect” number, for 6 was seen as representative of Creation’s bearing principle–or the feminine aspect within Creation activity. Influenced by prehistory Creation lessons which had been given using various constellation illustrations, 6 was regarded as the first feminine number, for it represents the energy involvement out of Source which will “go forth and multiply.” In zodiac depictions we should note that the astrological sign Virgo is the sixth from Aries and tradition says Aries represents the head; also note that Virgo is the only female illustration in major zodiac signs. In the Genesis myth we are told that all Creation was whipped up in just six days. The number six was thus considered by the 8th century BCE priest-authors in Jerusalem as the number of God. And the sixth day of Creation was held as especial because man, considered as God’s highest achievement, was created on the sixth day. (The number 6, some have noted, holds the outline of a fetus in gestation.) Not so coincidently in Christian lore Jesus has credited to him as his sixth miracle his own transfiguration. This just happens to correspond to the sixth plane of energy involvement in prehistory Creation lessons which were in regard to primal energies moving into development as matter.

Interestingly, the ancient regard for the number six was eventually explained by the Greek philosopher-mathematician Pythagoras (c.582?-500 BCE). The number six was the first number among several that the followers of Pythagoras were taught as expressing the perfection upon which all that exists is anchored. It was their belief that numbers express the true nature of things. A number was regarded as “perfect” if it is equal to the sum of its proper divisors. A proper divisor is a number which divides another number exactly, and the number six, for example, equals 1+2+3. Other numbers regarded as “perfect” are 28, 496, 8128, and 33440336.

Augustine, the Christian saint, expounded upon the mathematical endowment of the number six (never mentioning Pythagoras) saying, “Six is the number perfect in itself, and not because God created all things in six days: rather the inverse is true; God created all things in six days because this number is perfect. And it would remain perfect even if the work of six days did not exist.”

Another number from prehistory Creation accounts is the number four (4). In prehistory Creation lessons the fourth stage involvement of primal elements concerned creative energy as it flowed toward manifestation as defined matter. In scriptural versions this fourth elemental energy involvement was commonly disguised with a zero added. Examples: 40 days of rain in the Noah account, the 40 years of wandering in the Moses epic, and in each case they attained their destiny after passing through four elementary energy developmental stages. This is also the coded meaning in the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead after Lazarus had “…lain in the grave four days already” (John 11). It is not accidental that there are four canonized Gospels either, each providing developmental phases of the Life Principle, personified as Jesus, who represents the universality of all life. Nor is it accidental that the supposed authors of those Gospels are symbolized with the four deliberately jumbled divisional signs from the zodiac. Matthew is signified with the Ox (Taurus), Mark is symbolized with the Lion (Leo), Luke is represents with Man (Aquarius), and John is represented with the eagle, which in Jewish astrology symbolized Scorpio. And in Christian accounts there are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelations 6:1-8), which were deliberately jumbled by color descriptions to disguise the symbolism borrowed from prehistory lessons on Creation’s elementary involvement.

In Genesis 32:14, where the dishonesty of Jacob is celebrated, other numbers convey disguised meaning. Jacob is portrayed as indulging in a schemed peace-making deal with his brother Esau from whom he had earlier stolen the “birthright” blessing of their father. As a peace-offering Jacob is portrayed as giving Esau “…two hundred she-goats and twenty-two he-goats” as a token of his good will. That number 220 happens to be the first among particular numbers which were regarded by Pythagoras to be charged with “friendly” vibrations. The reason for this respect was that certain numbers, such as 220 and 284, are each equal to the sum of the proper divisors of the other. [The proper divisors of 220 are: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20, 44, 55, and 110. These are numbers which divide evenly into a number, including 1, but excluding the number itself.]

We today tend to forget that many ancient cultures were highly sophisticated and were well acquainted with mathematics, medicinal, scientific, geometric, astronomical and psychological principles. The principle known in mathematics as pi is commonly thought to be of rather recent understanding. But it is interesting to note that ancient Babylonian and Egyptian mathematicians were quite familiar with the fact that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle is a constant, or what we know as pi. And they understood also that pi is no ordinary constant, for its precise value can never be known, and thus the constant holds the special status of being transcendental. This is so because not only is it a decimal that does not repeat, but neither does it terminate.

The prehistory mathematicians were well aware also of other numbers which shared the baffling properties of pi. As an example, the ratio of the diagonal to the side of a square is also a decimal that neither repeats nor ends. And a diagonal line drawn through a square results in two right triangles whose hypotenuse is the diagonal with the sides of the square which act as the sides of the two triangles. Such a diagonal division of space within a square which is symbolized in this manner is therefore mathematically equivalent to the division of light from darkness in Genesis 1:4, the division of waters from waters in Genesis 1:6, and even the provisional division as male and female in Genesis 1:27. And the ratio of two intergers[1] is calculated by a decimal which neither repeats itself nor ends, and it is this “irrational number” which can be said to be representative of God in the seemingly irrational scriptural storytelling. [1 An integer is any number or a set of positive whole numbers, such as 1, 2, 3 and zero.] Major “prophets”–Elijah for example–are portrayed as parting waters, and multiplying life essentials (bread, fish, oil, etc.), each in a one-time-only creation deal. This represents the division of energy for positive/negative exchange which makes for multiplication of creative energies.

Persons who are prone to regard biblical tales as having been written by or dictated by God become a bit upset when the authors of holy word seem to get tripped up by principles of mathematics. The account of the resplendent temple allegedly erected by King Solomon (1 Kings 7:23), for example, falls a wee bit short in the calculations of the “molten sea”–a huge circular tank which is said to have held water for religious ceremonies. That holy holding pool is described as being “…ten cubits from one brim to the other…and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.” This would mean that the value of pi is casually rounded off as three–somewhat at odds with the true value of 3.14159+. The contention presented in this tale thus exposes the fraudulent claim that direct divine wisdom was being relayed to seekers, for it is impossible to make a circle which has a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of an even thirty.

Not surprisingly the obsession of using numbers as an indication of divine purpose was carried over by the Roman Empire authors of the New Testament as another technique aimed to attract Jewish converts. It is not exactly coincidence therefore that Jesus is depicted as having been crucified on the 6th day of the week. And there is the miracle of Jesus multiplying five loaves of bread and two fishes (Pisces) to feed followers (Matthew 14:19), which, we should remember, occurred after he had improved upon the miracle of parting waters by walking upon them. Speaking of fish consider, in the book of John 21:11 (written c. 105-106 CE), the number of fish allegedly caught by disciples at the Sea of Tiberius (better known as the Sea of Galilee) was 153. This happening is depicted as having taken place after Jesus had shown himself for the third time after his crucifixion. The peculiar number 153 in this professed happening is another which happens to be mathematically special. It is known as a triangular (three-sided) number, for it is equal to the sum of the integers from 1 to 17. In other words, if a triangle was a diagram with figures of fish, and the triangle measured 17x17x17, it would contain exactly 153 same-sized fish. Nothing miraculous here, nothing supernatural–just a mathematical exercise used in storytelling to imply their faith systems’ divine power over natural forces. From such as this we are indebted to “revealed” sacred truth.

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A Jealous God

Posted in Atheist, belief, Bible, faith, Hebrew scripture, random, religion, scriptures, theology with tags , , , , , , , on October 11, 2014 by chouck017894

According to the old priest-written Hebrew Scriptures any villany or atrocity could be indulged in and excused as long as you believed that a judgmental, prejudiced, reclusive god offered you his protection (at a price of obedience to some self-appointed mouthpieces). The personality of the aloof creator-god was openly stated in some versions of the second Commandment, “…for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” And in Exodus 34:14 seekers were further reminded, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous god.” That godly characteristic of jealousy allowed, in turn, the associated holy flaws such as belligerence, intolerance, vindictiveness, violence, pugnacity, warmongering, and a raft of similar niceties. In truth those imagined godly characteristics were unconsciously crafted upon the priest-author’s own ambitions for material control, and their own personal flaws of character were subconsciously tacked onto that imagined being. The faith system that was thus crafted in holy book form pointedly revolved around a never seen deity who can be characterized only as their faith system’s indestructible defender. This holy avenger angle was a lucrative promotional tactic which would also be utilized in the founding and crafting of a couple of other by-the-book faith systems which now dominate western cultures.

However, nowhere in those many volumes of holy writ is it ever explained why an omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (present everywhere) Creator should be racked with such a pathetic human frailty as jealousy. There have, however, been many attempts to get around this apparent weakness–primarily by trying to reinterpret the Hebrew word ganna, which is traditionally translated as “jealous.” Considering that an ultimate power created everything, what could there possibly exist that would cause “him” to suffer the pangs of jealousy? Jealousy is a form of covetousness. Such an idea of godly psychosis only serves to weaken a seeker’s trust. Jealousy is intolerant of rivalry, an emotional weakness that flounders in insecurity, a fear of being supplanted, a distress of possessiveness, an apprehension of ownership–in short, a neurosis.

Nonetheless, Exodus 20:5 portrays the Lord God confessing, “…for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them…” Let’s face it, that is excessively neurotic. Then in Deuteronomy 4:24 we are told, “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” And this gets reinforced in Deuteronomy 5:9 where it again relates, “…for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the…” etc. As noted, this supposedly jealous disposition of the Creator Lord conveniently flings the doors wide open for mankind (especially the faith system believers) to practice all the other flaws which habitually accompany jealousy. This is even admitted in Proverbs 6:34, which reminds us, “For rage of a man is jealousy; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.” This is further typified in-depth in the later book of the visionary Ezekiel 5+, the whole chapter of which pretty much extends holy justification for murderous indulgences by the faithful who, in their egoism, believe they are the “chosen” favorites of the jealous Creator.

Through millennia there have been countless apologists who have attempted to counter the negativity held in the emotion of jealousy which is attributed to God in holy writ. And the fancy sidestepping they have indulged in has been something like watching hip-hop dancers who can seem somewhat gracefully disjointed but awesome in their own right. God’s jealousy has been often likened by apologists to the Lord being zealous (which sounds a lot like jealous), or that god waxes enthusiastic or ardent or fervent in “his” commitment for intelligent life. (Perhaps concern for the intelligent part should be stressed more to the unquestioning believers.) In this way the apologists may then split hairs and say, as did the Reverend C. H. Spurgeon in 1863, that, “…there is such a thing as virtuous jealousy.” He also asserted in a sermons that “…jealousy, like anger, is not evil in itself, or it could never be ascribed to God; his jealousy is ever pure and holy.” If that sounds somewhat incongruous it is the stuff that blind faith thrives on. On the other hand, who among us is familiar with the subtleties that are waterlogged within the fountainhead of Creation? Still and all, it is unlikely in that distant timeframe that the priest-authors of the Old Testament would have couched their implications with such iffy phraseology. Those devious priest-authors aggressively sought to exercise authority and control, so it is not exactly in error that the Hebrew word ganna wound up being translated as Jealous, or that this emotional instability can be identified through human indulgence which typically leans toward intolerance and fearfulness of being supplanted.

The aforementioned Reverend Spurgeon may be forgiven his pulpit jockeying over the Lord’s jealousy back in the 1860s for the word does happen to be derived from the medieval Latin word zelosus (no, that is not misspelled, it is Latin). The Latin zelosus, from the Greek zelus, does mean zeal, and a zealous Lord sounds so much more respectful than a jealous one. Or does it? Zeal is an ardent self-commitment to something–a cause, ideal, goal–an enthusiasm and/or devotion in the pursuit of some emotional reassurance. Zeal and fanaticism happen to be unquestionably interchangeable, as history repeatedly demonstrates. Back in the Roman Empire timeframe the members of the Jewish sect which resisted Roman rule in Palestine were referred to a zealots. They feared being supplanted. Thus to this day, inspired by priest-written scriptural lore, the incongruity over God’s alleged jealousy remains. And we are left to ponder why should the all-powerful Creator-Lord of everything be either jealous or zealous about anything he/she/it created?

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Abushing Spirit

Posted in Atheist, belief, Bible, faith, Hebrew scripture, random, religion, scriptures with tags , , , , , , on June 15, 2014 by chouck017894

All scriptural texts of man’s contrivance have a lot of hatred enshrined throughout their many pages. The Bible, the “good book,” for example, is correctly speaking a library of books, all of which were purely man-conceived and designed to provide those authors with bogus authority over the people who might seek spiritual enlightenment. Instilling a sense of guilt is underhandedly injected from the very first book, Genesis, with Eve and Adam allegedly being tossed out of Eden for having “fallen” from god’s favor; the catch 22 allusion of original sin in this plotline was thus established early on, which allowed the priest class a chokehold on all subsequent generations.

Man-concocted faith systems have the tendency to exalt themselves by routinely focusing on the differences and the dissimilar features and characteristics that give life its radiant and diverse range. The creative, unifying force in which life is expressed is too often imagined in “sacred” accounts to be mainly concerned with the dilemmas of only one narrow selection of human species in one small region on planet Earth, and which just happens to represent that particular faith system. Such a narrow understanding of life and spirit’s significance in relation to the rest of the universe has resulted in many carefully cultivated hatreds which have for centuries set the stage for persistent and unnecessary conflicts.

Reason and knowledge are seriously constrained when self-serving faith systems labor to impose preconceptions of any kind to hover over people’s interactions with others. In man-structured faith systems, for example, seekers are indoctrinated and continuously conditioned with claims that it is only through their particular dreamed-up rites and rituals that they can attain the favoritism of the Creative Life Principle, which is personified as a humanlike “God.” But the universe and nature do not reflect that severely restrictive disposition in which the diversity and variety of life is continually formulated and made manifest by the Life Principle.

Promoting the idea of godly hatred toward anything which is made manifest within Creation is the greatest act of blasphemy that can be indulged in by any organized faith system. An organized, highly structured hierarchial faith system inflicts orderliness, methodology, regulation, systematization, inflexible rules, and narrow interpretations, most of which pretty much fly in the face of universal tolerance for variety and diversity within life experience. But these man-contrived faith systems take advantage of the fact that even their despicable posturing is tolerated in the democratic flexibility of Creation.

When the Creative Life Principle is imagined to be in man’s image, there is left scant room for any believer to ever attain their highest potential. Since all man-concocted faith systems have long histories of indulging in each and every one of the indulgences said to be hated by god, the followers should remember that a spiritually wise man questions every extreme of passion–especially in those professing to be spiritual guides. After all, the creative Life Principle installed a brain within man with the expectation that man would practice rationality so man could establish his own relationship with that creative power. It is alarming, therefore, that our personal connection to the Life Principle is so often negatively approached in so many “holy” books such as in (OT) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Ezra, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and hatreds are expressed in (NT) Matthew, Luke, Ephesians, Romans, Titus, 1 John, Hebrews, and Revelation. And in the Quran there are well over one hundred verses of outright murderous hatred encouraged!

Samples of alleged godly hatred: Proverbs 6:16 lists “…six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination to him.” The “things” that are subsequently listed by the priest-author certainly cannot be assessed as ethical conduct, and so the list of god’s alleged hatreds are actually extreme negative social interaction practices. To frighten followers into ethical conduct the priest-authors therefore asserted that the Creator turns livid over: 1) a proud look, 2) a lying tongue, 3) hands that shed innocent blood, 4) a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, 5) feet that be swift in running to mischief, 6) a false witness that speaketh lies, and 7) he that soweth discord among brethren.* (There is not a faith system in existence that has not indulged in every one of these.) In Ecclesiastes 3, pretended holy insight has it that everything has its appointed time and even lists “a time to kill (3), and “a time to hate (8). (*It was from the Proverbs list that Pope Gregory I, “the great”, 590-604, elaborated upon the “seven deadly sins,” which a lower priest had commented upon years earlier but received no credit.)

In the New Testament, Luke 14:26, even has Jesus avowing, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and bothers and sisters, yes, and even his own soul, he cannot be my disciple.” That is rather strong validation that what is recorded in those tales is not divine disclosure which was relayed from an omniscient being to a few favored priest-scribes. The words put into Jesus’ mouth by the interpreters are the very principles which are routinely untilized in cults promoting their faith system practices.

And in the Quran there are, as noted, well over one hundred verses which actually summon Muslims to indulge in violent hatred and outright murder. Indeed, the verses which implant murderous hatred as expressed in the Quran exceed all the expressions of hatred which appear in the combined Old and New Testaments. As a “spiritual” guidebook it is certainly something of an oxymoron for Muslims to claim the Quran guides a religion of peace. Mohammad’s constant “message” is the contention that everyone is an enemy to his spiritual tribe. For example: in the Quran 8:65 it is averred, “O Prophet, exhort the believers to fight.” No Islamist dares ask why, if Allah knows all and created all, he should have to relay his maintenance directives through a caravan merchant when he, Allah, could directly instill in every brain whatever information he desired. The overused excuse is that Allah, who knows all, found it necessary to use a prophet or messenger as a means to test everyone. This echoes the same “test” that was supposedly imposed upon Abraham who, it is claimed, was instructed by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a test of faith. An omniscient (all-knowing) god would have absolutely no reason to “test” anything.

Islam is not a faith system which reflects any genuine enlightenment value of tolerance toward the Creator’s use of diversity and variety in life expressions. That failing is not an exclusive trait of their faith, for as we have recounted here all man-concocted faith systems were built and function under the premise of submit and obey the faith systems’ manipulative procedures.

To the credit of humankind, however, that which is assessed as “spirit” is evolving among the broader masses. The allegations that the Life Principle, personified as God or Allah, would hold hatred toward any of the diverse and varied manifestations of life are slowly evaporating under the pursuit of true enlightenment. Unfortunately old tribal distrusts which habitually flavored so much of all man-written “holy” texts still pollute “spirit” like malignant cancer cells.

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Forbidden Tree of Eden

Posted in Atheist, Bible, faith, Hebrew scripture, logic, nature, religion, scriptures with tags , , , , , , on November 1, 2013 by chouck017894

According to man-written holy texts the creation of man was the Creator’s last and highest work. Naturally, from the writers’ perspective, man was God’s favored creation—especially the authors. But this claim brought with it the uncomfortable necessity to explain the imperfect circumstances which are experienced in life. Thus, very early in Genesis the assumed male Creator explains the facts of life by instructing the vaguely defined male/female beings about diet: they must not eat of the fruit of two specific trees in the center of his landscaped garden. And so in paradisiacal Eden, so the authors contend, the requirement for enjoying that paradise was to simply submit and obey. And that tactic of control has been used by and for every cult and faith system ever devised by man.

Thus in verse 29 of the first chapter God is quoted as saying, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of the tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” It is never explained how Adam and Eve would have known what “meat” actually signified, but we must ignore such trivialities. The plotting starts to get heavier by the opening of chapter three (verses 2 and 3) where Eve is portrayed as conversing with a serpent in regard to one of those trees which God had made the focus-point of his garden. The innocent and inexperienced Eve tells the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest you die.”

Whoa, wait a minute! Eve and Adam have existed only for an extremely short time, all of which had been played out in a paradisiacal garden; how could they possibly have any concept of what the threat of death meant? That’s not important! Anyway, in verse five the serpent reassured Eve that, “…God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” It is not explained how the serpent, a lowly creature fashioned in the early “let there be” throes of Creation, already possessed such knowledge, but God’s last and supposedly highest creation was, well, kind of stupid. So why would the newly functioning brains of these favorite beings, which are essentially blank, have any aspiration to be as gods since they don’t even know what good and evil means? Their eyes shall be opened, the serpent says to entice, but Eve already sees well enough to know a good meal when she sees it. So maybe the fruit of the tempting tree in question didn’t yield any seed, as specified in verse 29 of the opening chapter, how was she supposed to tell? (Plotting, you may have noticed, was not a strong point of the Genesis authors.)

Believers are never supposed to question why it is that the “fruit” is never named or even described in the Genesis account; an avoidance which has always allowed plenty of room for speculation as to which fruit might inspire knowledge of good and evil. Almost certainly the fruit could not be from an apple tree, although that makes for easy picking and colorful storytelling. On the non-accommodating side of the apple myth, apples occasionally may serve as the incubating media for some worms, and these wriggling God-made creatures are not exactly noted for their wisdom.

Just maybe biblical lore has been hugely misinterpreted. Anyway, who is to say that the fabled tree of Eden could not have actually been a banana tree? Of course the banana is not technically a “tree,” but is considered a large herbaceous plant with a perennial root or rhizome from which the plant is perpetuated. Such details certainly would not have bothered the Genesis authors. The banana is, however, a tree-like tropical plant, and we should remember that Adam and Eve are said to have romped around the garden naked. And how could they have ignored such a plant which can, when full-grown, attain a height of ten to forty feet and is surmounted by a crown of large leaves six to ten feet long and which may be two to three feet across? And the plant’s flowers are charmingly arranged in whorl-like clusters along a central spike. All-in-all a very ornate, attractive, alluring bit of foliage.

And what tempting fruit it bears! How was Eve to know that it was not fruit that bore seed (as specified in Genesis 3:29)? For some strange reason the shape of the fruit made Eve think of Adam. The fruit, she would notice, varied in length from four to twelve inches, and from one to nearly two inches thick; just right for enjoying raw. Thus we read in verse six of the third chapter of Genesis, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat…” Of course we are not supposed to ask, if Eve was virtually as brainless as a doorknob how could she have understood the advantages of becoming wise? But the fable says that Eve was overjoyed at the new delight, and she then coaxed her mate to share the enjoyment of gobbling on the forbidden fruit. With this God-revealed holy truth the authors of Genesis not only provided the limp excuse for man’s woes but placed the female in position as the direct cause of “original sin.”

So isn’t all this compelling evidence that the banana is a better representative of forbidden fruit? First of all this species of vegetation does not exist in the wild: it cannot perpetuate itself–cannot survive without the intervention of human cultivation. Only by taking cuttings from the perennial root of a banana tree and transplanting it can a new tree be produced. Such a dead-end situation certainly is not an ordinary perpetuation condition. Maybe that means that the original couple dared to steal some roots of the forbidden tree before they were booted out of Eden.

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Background of Holy Mountain Myths

Posted in Astronomy, Atheist, belief, Christianity, faith, freethought, Hebrew scripture, prehistory, religion with tags , , , , , , on September 23, 2013 by chouck017894

In planet Earth’s distant past, which we casually dismiss as prehistory, the heavens presented a constant awe-inspiring panorama for our ancestors. Prehistory lessons of Creation and life were once given using imagined figures across the skies and these are known to us today primarily from the zodiac. In those ancient lessons the North Pole Star was considered to hold the summary position from which all lessons of cosmology and life-meaning could be observed in their entirety. This gave rise to later notions which linked the Pole Star with the tip of “holy mountains.” Ancient Sumerian inscriptions spoke of a great peak in the north as “the mountain of the word,” which was thought to be the home of the gods and which was regarded as the supporting pillar of heaven. As noted in the book The Celestial Scriptures, the man-made temple “mountains” of Sumer and Babylonia (ziggurats), the pyramids of Egypt, the pyramid temples of Central America, and the “cosmic mountain” temples of India, to mention a few, all have intimate connection to the Pole Star. The Canaanite god, Baal, as another example, was said to have his palace in the “farthest north,” meaning the Pole Star. The Hebrew “God” could not be allowed to have anything less, and so the same was claimed for him.

The North Pole Star was referred to in ancient China as “The Cosmic Mountain,” and as “The Axis of the Universe.” In eastern cultures of the ancient world this concept inspired the understanding of the “Wheel of Life” and the “Wheel of Law.” And this observable rotation of Earth upon the apparent celestial hub inspired belief in karma. The Pole Star thus epitomized the center of creative action from which birth and death was initiated. Because of the Pole Star’s position as a “fixed star,” meaning that it is constant in one fixed point, it has to be ranked as one of the most celebrated stars in our skies. It is the permanence and dependability that the Pole Star presented to travelers that it came to represent to them a divine love that never misleads—if you pay attention.

In every populated region of the world seekers and believers always regarded the loftiest mountain within their locality to be the symbol of God’s abode. Since the North Pole Star seemed to seekers to be the highest advantage, it was regarded in many cultures as being “the throne of the most high.” Thus all the “sacred mountains” of various cultures such as Mt. Parnassus of the Greeks; Mt. Meru (or Sumeru) of Hindu and Buddhist lore; the heavenly mountain of Tien Shan; the Paradise of Taoist immortals; or the Mount Zion of the Hebrews symbolized the throne of God. Consequently all “holy mountains” signified the highest purpose of Creation. Thus in the book of Isaiah 14:13 it refers to “…the mount of congregation, in the uttermost North.” It was also understood by these ancient ones that these sacred “mounts” also symbolized mental acuity, which awakens scholarly seekers to a far deeper meaning as to why scriptural characters such as Moses had to go climb a mountain to receive laws and instruction from God.

There is only one constellation which seems to pivot around the North Pole Star (Polaris) and keeps a tight revolving motion around it–the constellation Ursa Minor, which is erroneously known as the Little Bear. (No bears have ever had long tails.) Only this constellation revolves around the North Pole Star without any apparent shift in its relative position to that star. In addition, there is the curious positioning of constellation Cepheus in connection with the Pole Star. Cepheus has been pictured since extremely ancient times as the Crowned King, and in the star outline of this figure he is shown as standing with his left foot poised above the Pole Star. The brightest star in constellation Cepheus is known to us today as Alderamin, meaning “the right forearm,” and it is this arm which holds aloft the royal scepter. This star is distinguished by its unusually rapid rotation, and it also holds the distinction of being located near the path which is followed by the Earth’s axis in space throughout the precession of the equinox cycles through 25,800 years. There is thus a strong correlation with the Hebrew verses, for the right arm is held toward the grand orbit of Earth’s movement through the universe!

In the New Testament book of Hebrews 12:22 (which was written after Revelation c. 137-140 CE) it states: “But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable host of angels..” (a reference to the star cluster of Ursa Minor). This is a sly connection to a verse in Psalms (48:2) which reads, “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole Earth is Mount Zion (North Pole Star), on the sides of the north, the city of the great King (as King Cepheus). The mention of Mount Zion in both these accounts, like all other mount myths, represents the highest point from which all activity concerning Earth-life may be viewed by Creation powers (God).

The “heavenly Jerusalem” of the Revelation text is a play upon the meaning of that troublesome city’s name–which means light and peace–but has absolutely nothing to do with the earthly city by that name. As noted, the “innumerable host of angels” of the quoted verse actually refers to the stars of Ursa Minor around the North Pole Star, which to prehistory cultures symbolized the innumerable emanations of Creative Consciousness made manifest with matter-life consciousness. This brushes admirably close to possible spiritual instruction: sadly, however, this was quickly negated in the final chapter 13 where there is then listed various things that concern only the church, and offers nothing for personal enlightenment of seekers. Instead, in the closing verses we are treated with an admonishment about listening to “strange doctrines,” the designated way of worship for Christians, the obedience and sacrifice for the church, and concludes with an uninspiring benediction.

Our long-ago ancestors knew the night skies much more intimately than most of us do today. If we think of the visible heavens at all, it is most likely in terms of science fiction or religiosity, not from any personal familiarity with the awe-inspiring celestial grandeur of which our world is merely a speck of dust. In our pursuit of taking dominion over all Earth life, as is encouraged in priest-written sacred texts, we now dominate the planet through human indulgence in over breeding and industrial pollution. Today, eight billion persons strong, we humans congregate mainly in cities and suck the vital essences of nature into them and exercise our “dominion” through the habit of commercial greed. Unfortunately, greed always pollutes. We rarely see any holy mountains clearly anymore through the heavy veils of greenhouse gasses. And within the cities we have obscured the night skies with heavy pollution of artificial light. So there are few persons any longer who could find the North Pole Star even if they tried. They might, however, know the “revealed truth” about some perfect Heavenly “kingdom” from their faith system texts, but their only awareness with the actual patterns of the dimly seen stars of the heavens is from glancing at their horoscope.

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Spiritual Rigor Mortis

Posted in agnoticism, Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, culture, faith, freethought, history, humanism, random, religion, thoughts with tags , , , , , on November 19, 2010 by chouck017894

The general consensus among man-fashioned faith systems is that the creative power that is to be ceremoniously appealed to is an omnipotent and omniscient (all-powerful and all-knowing) being.  This raises a nagging question: Why should mortal persons be encouraged to whip themselves into a neurotic conviction that there is only one way—their man-concocted way, of course—to seek higher attunement with that omnipotent and omniscient intelligence?  And why would an all-powerful and all-knowing being feel any need to rely upon a theatrical marathon led by pompous and outlandishly costumed charlatans to accomplish his divine intention?

Something in each faith system’s My-Way-Only approach to attracting universal attention simply does not add up; especially considering that this little planet is swamped with a minimum of 4,200 religions, faith groups, schism denominations, independent churches, tribal beliefs, cultural traditions, congregations, etc.  (These statistics were calculated by aherents.com/)  And every one of them is convinced that they alone possess exclusive access to an afterlife paradise or bliss or something resembling a spiritual country club that defies depiction.

These eternally unanswered challenges should send up caution signals to any rational mind.  We should always question any faith system that seeks to forcibly impose their man-invented brand of religious theatrics upon the masses in the name of that all-embracing creative power that demonstratively expresses creative will in endlessly diverse ways.  The diversity that is found throughout all that is seen as life signals to us the universal truth that one’s connection to that Source may also be achieved in endlessly diverse personal ways—not  just through some unyielding, uncompromising dogma.  It is when something is dead that it becomes stiff, cold, inflexible, and unfeeling; i.e. unspiritual.

Rigor mortis is defined as the progressive stiffening of muscular tissues after death, which is due to chemical changes in the physical body.  And this fact of life illustrates the standard by which we may estimate the life-and-spiritual value in our self-awareness which allows each individual to interact with that sustaining creative power.  The creative force  responsible for all creation grants the privilege of diversity throughout all creation.  When faith is made to shrivel into a rigid, unbending, adamant, pitiless practice (fundamentalism), there is no way that such a dead approach could possibly reflect the all-embracing omnipotent and omniscient will in which all diverse things are sustained.  Such self-centered insolence is not a living spiritual practice, for it is purposely directed to achieve only material-tyrannical objectives. 

The fundamentalists habitually string their beliefs upon a few narrowly selected verses of “holy word,” but ignore that the bulk of those stories which they cannibalize for examples on how to stroke God’s ego were primarily concerned about political struggles that were palmed off by the human writers of those self-serving tales as being divine disclosure.  Thus psychologically conditioned, the insecurity that fundamentalists feel in their belief system drives them to seek legal trickery to enforce their distorted values upon the multitude.  Cultivating hatreds and inciting disorder against all those who do not share their inflexible “faith” amounts to nothing more than an indoctrination practice in which followers are conditioned to act as dedicated assassins of spiritual equality.  That is not an honorable way to serve the hallowed source of life; that is personal spirit in the throes of rigor mortis.  There is advice to be found in the New Testament book of Matthew 8:22 that may be directed to those poor souls who have allowed themselves to stiffen into such spiritual rigidity: there it says, “…let the dead bury the dead.”

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Revelation, Fraudulent Prophecy

Posted in Astronomy, Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, Christianity, culture, enlightenment, faith, freethought, history, humanity, life, logic, random, religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 21, 2009 by chouck017894

The book of Revelation, the  canonically approved conclusion to New Testament myths, cannot truthfully be termed “revelation.”  It was fashioned upon cosmological teachings that were regarded as ancient even in the time when Revelation was edited for propagandist purpose, c. 135-138 CE.  The alleged author, John, did not have to rely on visions or divine insight for his imitative version: he needed only access to the myths and cosmological knowledge of older cultures, the use of well-known Pagan symbolism, and a familiarity with the revelatory style from Ezekiel to fashion an ecclesiastical deception.

This “judgement day” mishmash of godly retribution upon wicked humanity is the deliberate perversion of ancient teachings regarding the different energy aspects involved as the creative process responsible for matter manifestation.  These ancient cosmology lessons had once been taught by using imagined figures outlined upon various groups of stars, i.e. constellations.  Hence, in this propaganda for the young Christian faith, the source-clues pop up everywhere: the symbolism and the repeated use of the number seven, for example, are  common to all ancient Creation myths, not end-time prophecy.  Elsewhere, in chapter four, a “throne” is described with “…a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”  But the “throne” that is referred to is not the seat of some divine being; it refers to green Earth, and the “rainbow” round about it refers to (gasp) the Zodiac!   In the verse prior to this, other gemstones were mentioned: jasper, sardine stone, and the emerald–the stones associated with the constellations Gemini (emerald), Pisces (jasper), and Cancer (sardonyx-alternated bands of brown and white).

With chapter five of Revelation the propaganda for the Christian version of faith really takes off with reference to a book that is sealed on the backside (prephysical conditions) with the usual seven seals.  The only one worthy to pop open the seals and read it is “…the Lion…” of Judah (the undisguised symbol of Leo), “the root of David,” and therein stood a Lamb (symbol of Aries).  Only this “lamb” had been slain (from the foundations of the world), “having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of  god sent forth into all the earth.”   In the ancient teachings from which these symbols were taken, the “lamb,” or  Aries lessons, had taught of the life principle that rises to preside in the four energy dimensions of matter and was explained in seven lessons on energy manifestation as matter.

Only one more example, out of many, of  “John’s” theft from ancient sources to be used as scare tactics to inspire conversion to Christianity. Chapter six of the twenty-two chapters of Revelation contains the well known “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”   The “lamb,” of course, opens the first of the seven seals and what is seen?—a white horse.  There is here an abrupt jump to symbols associated with Sagittarius, where Centaurus aims his arrow at the center of galaxy energy.  There are four horsemen rather than seven, for the ancient lessons on Creation and cosmology taught of  four energy planes that combine as matter.  The colors given the horses charging into John’s nightmare are given as, 1) white, 2) red, 3) black, and 4) pale.  These are intentionally mixed up to present a tale of calculated slaughter of non-Christians by the Prince of Peace.

In the ancient Creation lessons from which these images were taken, the four colors represent the amoral energies that involve in the process of matter manifestation, and so properly represented stages of energy amassment in which life arises as once taught with the contellation lessons Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpius.  The original and proper order of the four colors was: 1) pale, 2) red, 3) black, and 4) white.

  • The word pale signifies no given color, which corresponds to the stage of Creation activity where energies are not fully defined as discernable form.  The closing lesson given with Leo concerned the pale framework of light that slowly manifests into matter forms.
  • Red, a primary color, represents the earlier matter-forms—mineral and plant life; this dimension of rising life was taught with the constellation Libra.  The reference in Revelation to wheat, barley, oil and wine clearly refer to Libra.
  • The color black results when every band of light is reflected back from a surface, and thus indicates the lessons of Virgo, which were concernd with dense matter.  In Revelation the rider on the black horse carried a balance and would seem to indicate Libra.  However, when Revelation was  penned, the constellation signs Virgo and Libra were commonly intermixed and regarded as reciprocal (inseparable) units.
  • White symbolizes purity striven for and attainable only through establishment of harmony with creation forces.  This inspiration for life continuance was in the lessons given with Scorpius.  Thus the use of the white horse in Revelation to symbolize the Life Principle “going forth conquering and to conquer” is an intentional defilement of more scientific, more honest understanding of the role of conscious life in the universe.

Not all Christian representative were supportive of Revelation, being outright suspicious of its origin and connection to “pagan” teachings.  In the General Council of the Church of Nicaea, 324, there was considerable argument over whether or not Revelation should be included in Christian canon.  Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem in 340 omitted the book from his canon.  The Synod of Bishops in 364 elected not to include Revelation from the New Testament.  In 370, however, Bishop Epiphanius of Salamis of the Island  of Cyprus reinstated Revelation.  But then in 375 Bishop Gregory Nazianze in S.W. Cappadocia struck Revelation from his canon.  And in 380 Bishop Philastrius of Brescia also chose to omit Revelation.

It is notable that over 1200 years later (16th century) there was still rational objection to Revelation as not harmonious with Christ’s teachings. Luther, for example, advocated the removal of the book as well as three other books closing the New Testament; James, Jude, and Hebrews–all deemed as “inferior.”

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Blind Faith and Expected Bliss

Posted in Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, Christianity, culture, faith, history, humanity, Middle Ages,, random, religion with tags , , , on July 21, 2009 by chouck017894

There are those religionists that take every word of their “scriptures” literally.  Inconsistencies and contradictory pronouncements are shrugged off as divine mystery when in truth such things attest to the ineptitude of the human schemers that wrote them.  Avoidance of critical perusal of claimed revealed wisdom does not logically stand as respect to god; in reality that approach to “faith” is simply devotion to brain idleness and the immature expectation that mental laziness will be rewarded with bliss.  Indeed, there is even a slogan for this: Ignorance is Bliss.

Blind faith seems never to be shy of certainty, however; it is too often like the squeaky hinge that demands one’s attention and gets rewarded with a relieving squirt of oil.  An example of priestly unhinged squeaking was provided in 1654 by Dr. John Lightfoot (1602-1675) who declared: “Heaven and earth, centre and circumference were made in the same  instance of time and clouds full of water and man was created by the Trinity on the 26th day of October, 4004 B.C., at 9 o’clock on a Friday morning.”  Another version says Creation took place at 9 o’clock in the  morning  of the 17th of September 4004 B.C., also a Friday.  What’s another month, more or less?  Anyway, Dr. Lightfoot was a member of the Westminster Assembly and was vice-chancellor of  Cambridge University from 1654.  He was also one of the scholars who assisted the noted English authority on the Bible, Brian Walton, in preparation of the six-volume Polyglot Bible (1654-1657).

The renowned Brian Walton, by the way, received his B.A. degree in 1620, his M.A. in 1623, and his D.D. in 1639.  He was ordained in the Church of England in 1623 and culminated his studies by being consecrated as bishop of Chester in December of 1660.  Some versions of his six-volume Polyglot Bible drawn from a Hebrew original of the Old Testament, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and interpretations from other language works are printed in seven languages.  Okay, so he wasn’t ignorant, just unquestioning in his pursuit of what ancient myth-spinners had composed.

Also in 1654 an Irish archbishop, James Ussher, had two volumes published, Annales Veteres et Novi Testamenti, in which he also fixed the date of Creation as having occurred in 4004 BCE.  He was also certain that the return of Christ was imminent.

Well, that was the seventeenth century: dare we say that religious understanding has evolved?

Unfortunately, there are still fundamentalists who insist that planet Earth is only a little over six thousand years old and is the center of the universe.  And it is holy truth to them that dinosaurs and humans romped together in Eden before being expelled for dietary no-no’s.  Never mind that dinosaurs are not mentioned in scriptures (but whales and fishes are).  Even a female senator from one of the southern states recently addressed the U.S. Senate referring to Creation as having occurred six thousand years ago!   Yes, the Bible told her so.

Let us remember a line from Shakespeare: “In religion what damned error but some  sober brow will bless it, and approve it with a text.”

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The “Original Sin” Scam

Posted in Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, Christianity, culture, faith, freethought, history, logic, Middle Ages,, random, religion with tags , , , , , , on July 13, 2009 by chouck017894

Some private response to the article “Born in Sin” (July 10, 2009), a theory which is also alluded to as “Inherited Sin” or “Original Sin,” has prompted a few more notes.  Specifically, attention is drawn to the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church that assembled in Trent, Italy on December 13, 1545.  It was a tiresome affair that lasted intermittently until 1563!  Eighteen years!  Indeed, three pontificates, Paul III, Julius III, and Pius IV would sit upon the papal throne before the council would finally fold up shop.

Hammered out among god’s alleged representatives were such things as disciplinary decrees regarding Episcopal duties, the religious orders of the church, the education of the priesthood, and the censorship of books.  Doctrinal decrees were also issued on the Mass, purgatory, the veneration of “saints,” and the doctrine of indulgences.  Thus the long, dragged-out “council” set the corporate standards of the Roman Catholic faith and for practices that remain to this day.  Of course decisions set in place by that council infected even the religious reformation blocs.

For starters, it was in the fourth session (1546) that sacred tradition was put on a par with Scripture, as were also all the books contained in the Vulgate (edited by “saint” Jerome c. 392).  This version of the scriptural presentation is known as the Vulgate because it employed the language of the common people in Jerome’s time.  It contains not only the sixty-six books of the Authorized Version but also eleven books of the Apocrypha, which the Catholic Church holds as being divinely inspired, but which most Protestants reject as not in keeping with the most ancient authority.  In other words, of doubtful religious significance.

At this overly long ecumenical council, there was much haggling whether the story of Susanna and the Elders belonged in Scripture, for example.  Ultimately it wound up as an apocryphal addition to the book  of Daniel (which happens to be a Hebrew retelling of a Babylonian tale).  The Vulgate was then declared to be “authentic,” and affirmed to be canonical.

Now, back to the main point: it was with this council that the no-escape clause of “Original Sin” was heartily embraced.  Dressed in holy phraseology the council announced, “From the fall of man until the hour of baptism the Devil has full power over him and possesses him.”  What a perfect scam: holding all mankind as hostage as blemished from Adam’s nibbling fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Nothing much has been changed in the assessments made in the Middle Ages by the eighteenth council on what constitutes holy “truth.”  In the nineteenth century things were updated with insertion of clarifying additions: added were two definitions of the Immaculate Conception and the declaration of the infallibility of the pope.  It is on such authority that we are told that we can be cleansed of “sin” (life’s inevitable boo-boos) only by a religious business machine.

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Truth ala Juggled Scriptures

Posted in Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, Christianity, culture, faith, history, random, religion with tags , , , , on July 12, 2009 by chouck017894

If we are to place our faith in the armies of faith merchants, it would seem logical that god would allow no room for confusion over how we are expected to practice dogma or what we are to rightfully accept as true articles of faith.  But there are thousands of man-written interpretations circulating that purportedly convey directions on the proper narrow path we are to follow.  Holy Truth, apparently, suffered a relay glitch somewhere, for not everyone agrees on what books most accurately communicate holy truth.  Thus  various Christian sects have offered to them this broad menu from which to choose one’s poison.

BOOKS COMMON TO ALL JUDAIC AND CHRISTIAN CANON:  — Genesis – Exodus – Leviticus – Numbers – Deuteronomy – Joshua – Ruth – 1 & 2 Kings – 1 & 2 Chronicles – Ezra (Esdras) – Nehemiah – Esther – Job – Psalms – Proverbs – Ecclesiastes – Song of Songs – Isaiah – Jeremiah – Lamentations – Ezekiel – Daniel – Minor Prophets

DEUTEROCANONICAL:  BOOKS OR SECTIONS OF BOOKS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT ARE ACCEPTED CANONICAL BY EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN AND ROMAN CATHOLICS — AND CONSIDERED APOCRYPHAL BY MANY PROTESTANTS:  — Tobit – Judith – 1 & 2 Maccabees – Wisdom (of Solomon) – Sirach – Baruch – Letter of Jeremiah – Additions to Daniel – Additions to Esther

GREEK AND ORTHODOX CANON:  — 1 Estras – 3 Maccabees – Prayer of Manasseh – Psalm 151

GEORGIAN ORTHODOX CANON:  — 4 Maccabees – 2 Estras

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX “NARROW” CANON:  — Apocalypse of Ezra – Jubilees – Enoch – 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan – 4 Baruch

SYRIAC PESHITTA:  — Psalms 152 through 155 – 2 Baruch – Letter of  Baruch

A canon, we must remember, is an ecclesiastical code or “law” that is established by a church council and is used by it as a base for judgment or as the criterion upon which decisions on moral and disciplinary matters are interpreted.  In other words, a canon is a political contrivance by which spiritual theories are manipulated for church benefit.

One of the earliest examples of enactment of canon law is found in the New Testament, Acts 15:6-29, where it is related that the council of elders at Jerusalem framed rules of discipline for the Gentile converts.

As matter of note, canon law became the object of scientific research in the 12th and 13th centuries.  Of the compilations made through that time, the most prominent work was promulgated by Pope Gregory X c. 1234 and known as the Five Books of the Decretals.  A sixth book was added to this by Pope Benedict VIII in 1298.  Centuries later, in 1917 Pope Benedict XV promulgated The New Code of Canon Law (Codes Juris Canonici) which took effect in May 1918.  Think that canons are all about spiritual freedom and godly acceptance of diversity?  The New Code of Canon Law contains some 2414 canons in five books that theorize on how followers are to be judged and disciplined to be worthy of god’s conditional love.

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