From a site visitor: [Received 10 June 2007] Today you said history shows religion leads to separation and judging and even killing. That’s not true. For me, my religion leads to peace and power. I stay in conscious contact with Him with prayer all day, every day, and He empowers me and gives me guidance and peace so I can be happy for as long as by His grace I am allowed to live. I hope you can find your way to Him so that you can have peace in this life and joy forever. Signed, John (as in 3:16)--A Child and Agent of God
F.: Since persons nowadays will readily believe the most bizarre rumors that circulate on a daily basis, it’s no wonder that they believe myths that have been repeated for millennia. Religions are nothing more than modernized versions of ancient myths and pagan religions. Prior to Abraham, pagans believed that there were many gods, each in charge of certain aspects of the relative existence: rain, crops, war, fertility, etc. Whereas all of the pagans’ multiple gods fell into one of three categories—creation gods, sustenance gods, and destruction gods—Abraham taught that only one god existed.
His one (male) god theory resulted in the masses combining all of their gods into one and claiming that “he” is a creator, a sustainer, and a destroyer…all three rolled into one. From those teachings evolved Judaism, John's Christian religion, and Islam. Today, 6 billion+ members of those three religions believe in a god with multiple personalities who will “create you and sustain you and love you but will also destroy you and make you suffer forever.” Today, just like that "god of their understanding," those who consider themselves to be the most godly (that is, the most like that god with his contradictory nature) will also love you if you accept their beliefs or will destroy you if you do not. They are modeling their god perfectly.
One excerpt from a novel based in the non-duality teachings (The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders) shows how the ancient myths and ancient gods still overshadow reason, still dominate thinking, and still influence behavior, even today. The Christian mother of the lead character in that novel, a man named Kirk, demands that thanks be offered to God for their meal before they eat. Kirk knew the pagan origins of the words about to come from her lips even though she did not.
He knew that even the days of the week were named in honor of one of seven major gods. He also knew that on each day of the week, a prayer was offered to a particular god during ancient times:
1. On Sun’s-day, the ancients gave thanks to the sun for the gift of power and life;
2. On Moon’s-day, they prayed to the Moon god—the dispeller of darkness—and gave thanks for protection during the night;
3. On Tiw’s-day, the pagans prayed to Tiw, god of war, and gave thanks for personal strength and victory over enemies;
4. On Woden’s-day, prayers were offered to the god of gods;
5. On Thor’s-day, thanks were offered to the son of god who was in charge of war and thunder and personal strength (and their prayers pandered to Woden by saying, “in-Your-son’s-name-we-pray”);
6. On Frigga’s-day, prayers were offered to Frigga, the goddess of fertility; and
7. On Saturn’s-day, thanks were offered to Saturn, goddess of agriculture, for giving food.
And Kirk also knew that his mother’s prayer was going to roll all of those ancient pagan prayers into one, and it was recounted in the novel as she prayed:
Dear God from whom all power and life and blessings come, we thank You for watching over us during the night. As our troops prepare for battle overseas, please give them strength and victory over the evil forces. Please protect our boys and women and give them the strength needed. We ask Your blessing on my grandson and his wife, that they might become pregnant if it is in Your will. Now bless this food that You have given to us for the nourishment of our bodies. It is in your son's name we pray. Amen.”
Raising her head, she saw a huge smile covering Kirk’s face.
“And what are you smiling at?”
“I’m just happy.”
“No you’re not,” she countered while shaking her head. “It’s the prayer thing, isn’t it?”
“I just find it humorous.”
“There’s nothing humorous about God.”
“I agree with that, completely. Now let’s eat.”
So a woman who calls herself “a Christian” prays seven ancient, pagan prayers on three occasions throughout every day. A woman who thinks she is praying to her one Christian god is really calling on a pagan sun god, a moon god, a god of war, the son of a pagan god, a goddess of fertility, and a goddess of agriculture, just as you do “all day, every day,” John. She’s thinking she’s awake. She thinks that she knows why she’d doing what she’d doing. She thinks she knows why she’s saying what she’s saying.
F.: Since persons nowadays will readily believe the most bizarre rumors that circulate on a daily basis, it’s no wonder that they believe myths that have been repeated for millennia. Religions are nothing more than modernized versions of ancient myths and pagan religions. Prior to Abraham, pagans believed that there were many gods, each in charge of certain aspects of the relative existence: rain, crops, war, fertility, etc. Whereas all of the pagans’ multiple gods fell into one of three categories—creation gods, sustenance gods, and destruction gods—Abraham taught that only one god existed.
His one (male) god theory resulted in the masses combining all of their gods into one and claiming that “he” is a creator, a sustainer, and a destroyer…all three rolled into one. From those teachings evolved Judaism, John's Christian religion, and Islam. Today, 6 billion+ members of those three religions believe in a god with multiple personalities who will “create you and sustain you and love you but will also destroy you and make you suffer forever.” Today, just like that "god of their understanding," those who consider themselves to be the most godly (that is, the most like that god with his contradictory nature) will also love you if you accept their beliefs or will destroy you if you do not. They are modeling their god perfectly.
One excerpt from a novel based in the non-duality teachings (The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders) shows how the ancient myths and ancient gods still overshadow reason, still dominate thinking, and still influence behavior, even today. The Christian mother of the lead character in that novel, a man named Kirk, demands that thanks be offered to God for their meal before they eat. Kirk knew the pagan origins of the words about to come from her lips even though she did not.
He knew that even the days of the week were named in honor of one of seven major gods. He also knew that on each day of the week, a prayer was offered to a particular god during ancient times:
1. On Sun’s-day, the ancients gave thanks to the sun for the gift of power and life;
2. On Moon’s-day, they prayed to the Moon god—the dispeller of darkness—and gave thanks for protection during the night;
3. On Tiw’s-day, the pagans prayed to Tiw, god of war, and gave thanks for personal strength and victory over enemies;
4. On Woden’s-day, prayers were offered to the god of gods;
5. On Thor’s-day, thanks were offered to the son of god who was in charge of war and thunder and personal strength (and their prayers pandered to Woden by saying, “in-Your-son’s-name-we-pray”);
6. On Frigga’s-day, prayers were offered to Frigga, the goddess of fertility; and
7. On Saturn’s-day, thanks were offered to Saturn, goddess of agriculture, for giving food.
And Kirk also knew that his mother’s prayer was going to roll all of those ancient pagan prayers into one, and it was recounted in the novel as she prayed:
Dear God from whom all power and life and blessings come, we thank You for watching over us during the night. As our troops prepare for battle overseas, please give them strength and victory over the evil forces. Please protect our boys and women and give them the strength needed. We ask Your blessing on my grandson and his wife, that they might become pregnant if it is in Your will. Now bless this food that You have given to us for the nourishment of our bodies. It is in your son's name we pray. Amen.”
Raising her head, she saw a huge smile covering Kirk’s face.
“And what are you smiling at?”
“I’m just happy.”
“No you’re not,” she countered while shaking her head. “It’s the prayer thing, isn’t it?”
“I just find it humorous.”
“There’s nothing humorous about God.”
“I agree with that, completely. Now let’s eat.”
So a woman who calls herself “a Christian” prays seven ancient, pagan prayers on three occasions throughout every day. A woman who thinks she is praying to her one Christian god is really calling on a pagan sun god, a moon god, a god of war, the son of a pagan god, a goddess of fertility, and a goddess of agriculture, just as you do “all day, every day,” John. She’s thinking she’s awake. She thinks that she knows why she’d doing what she’d doing. She thinks she knows why she’s saying what she’s saying.
But the truth is that she doesn’t have a clue about where her words and actions are really coming from. The ancient myths that were dreamed up by ignorant people and passed down by ignorant people and then blindly accepted by "unquestioning persons of faith" still control the thoughts and lives and words of modern people thousands of years later. Do you see why the Advaitins teach that "the cause of all is all"? To find motive, you must keep going back, for that is where persons "reside": not in the present, not in the now, but trapped in a web of ancient lies and learned ignorance from a fictional "past."
Thus, the considerations for today are, “Have you found what is motivating your every thought?” “Have you seen why you are saying what you say?” “Have you discovered why you believe what you believe?” "Do you really know why you are doing what you are doing?" "Have you seen that you are being driven by enculturation, conditioning, programming, personality, belief in lies, and fictitious legends?" "Are you also suffering some degree of religion-induced psychosis or schizophrenia, as discussed yesterday?" To come up with "a god of your own conception" is stil coming up with a self-generated concept. It is still nothing more than an idea that you've come up with, based in the learned ignorance to which you've been exposed.
Thus, the considerations for today are, “Have you found what is motivating your every thought?” “Have you seen why you are saying what you say?” “Have you discovered why you believe what you believe?” "Do you really know why you are doing what you are doing?" "Have you seen that you are being driven by enculturation, conditioning, programming, personality, belief in lies, and fictitious legends?" "Are you also suffering some degree of religion-induced psychosis or schizophrenia, as discussed yesterday?" To come up with "a god of your own conception" is stil coming up with a self-generated concept. It is still nothing more than an idea that you've come up with, based in the learned ignorance to which you've been exposed.
If you have not Realized, you cannot understand at all why you think and feel and believe and behave as you do. Rather than having "power," you are truly powerless if your every thought and action is being unconsciously controlled by tales that were dreamed up by ignorant people who lived thousands of years ago. One who lives under the mentally and emotionally-intoxicating influence of ancient myths and superstitions and programming and personality might as well be staggering through life under the influence of drug or alcohol-induced intoxication. The end result is the exactly the same in either case. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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Click CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS
THE FEATURED BOOK FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS (which identifies problems and their causes and offers suggestions for creating healthier relationships—relatively speaking. 15% off through June 17th.)
