Thanks

Hi

Thanks for all the comments that have been made since the last time I posted. I had a kind of crisis where I just couldn't deal with religion in any way any more. It just got too much. So I needed a break.

What caused this is that I found out there's a sect whose members are bracing themselves to commit genocide in the near future because they think that is what God may shortly order them to do through a prophet. They believe they will have no choice. They use the Bible to justify it in the same way others have.

Such things will continue to happen until people are willing to disagree with the Bible and say that Genocide is wrong no matter who ordered it. And that you can never trust a prophet because you have no way of verifying if what he says comes from God or not.

The reason atrocities happen is people are willing to do things they normally wouldn't as long as it's for a higher cause- ie their country, their religion, their people. Until we are brave enough to let our consciences trump these higher causes atrocities will continue to happen.

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If you do post a comment and I don't respond, please email me and tell me as I may not have been online for a while.

Elijah or El-Aja? Voodoo meets Judaism

I've been studying the history of Voodoo and its founders, the Aja people, and came across this legend about one of their gods:

"In ancient times, LISA sent a Messenger (LEGBA) to earth daily to travel from sunrise to sunset. He did this all the time every year. One day, while on His errands, He reached Aja land and it was already night. He could go no more and so He went into a house. There was a man who was also on the road. As night fell, he, too, went into this house. They gave them a place in the same house, the two strangers together.

LISA's Messenger asked the other, '”here are you going?”

He said, “I am going where the sun sets.”

Good, LISA's Messenger said, “It is life that gives a companion. I myself am going to the same place.”

The following morning, at first cockcrow, in a house beside theirs, was a sick child sleeping, and the parents were crying.

LISA's Messenger went to ask them, “Why haven't you slept all night?”

They said, “We have a child here who is very sick.”

Now, LISA's Messenger had a sack in which He carried some powder. He gave some of the powder to a man to give to the sick child.

And He went back quickly to the man who was sleeping in his house, and said, “Wake up! Wake up! We are leaving.”

They took but a few steps away from the house, when all at once the people in the house began to shout, Where is the stranger? Where is the stranger?' The child was dead.

So they went away (LEGBA and His companion). They went until they came to Savalou (another village). There in Savalou they spent the night. They took shelter in a house beside the road. At first cockcrow, LISA's Messenger took some flint and made a fire. And this fire He put to the straw of the house where He had slept. He said, now, to the other man, “Wake up! Wake up! We are going.” After they left, the house took fire. The people asked, 'Where are the strangers? Where are the strangers?' But they were gone.

They ran away and continued their journey. As LISA's Messenger did that, his companion, who was a human being, was astonished. He did not know that the other was a Vudu (God). So they reached Badahwedji where the sun sets. That is, they were almost there.

Now, there was a river that separated Badahwedji from where the two travelers were. In order to cross the river, one must put down a raft and pass on it. There was an old man from Badahwedji who was in the habit of coming to the river bank for leaves. He gathered them and went back. Now he was crossing the river for the second time. So LISA's Messenger came behind him and pushed him, so that he fell into the water.

When He did this, the man who came with LISA's Messenger ran away. LISA's Messenger saw him run and He called him back. "Come, come here,” He said, “That's not where you are going. You are going. You are going to this place. Here it is.”

The other said, “What I saw on the road here is too much. I am running away from it.”

LISA's Messenger said, “Now, I'm not a man. I know you are astonished at all I did. But I'm not a human being. In the house where I killed the child, if that child had not died, its mother and father would have died when it took its first step. It is LISA who sent me to destroy that child.' He said, 'In that house this mother and father have borne many children, and this one child could not be allowed to spoil their lives.”

He said, “The family where I burned the house has rich relatives among them. But they buried all their money and their children are poor. So I burned the house, so that when they break the walls to make them a new and begin to dig the foundation, they will find the money.”

He said, "I had the man fall into the river, because the King of Badahwedji is dead. To replace this king, a younger man should be named. If that old man were alive, a young man could not be named. That is why Lisa sent me to throw him into the water. The people still think the old man will be their King. But if that man became King, there would be no more goats, no more cattle, no more children in that Kingdom. SAGBATA would come to their Kingdom and kill them, because MAWU had ordained that one could not be king. With a young king, they will have goats, pigs and children also.”

Then, He said, “I, I look into the hearts of men, and LISA sends me to look at things. You must not be astonished. Year after year, if I do not change into a man, I changed into a headache and kill men. I change into serpents and burn houses. And when, in the course of life, you see such things, you will know that is MAWU-LISA Who sends them."

Mawu-Lisa is their Creator God, Legba, the messenger, is their god of wisdom.

Now compare this to a Jewish legend about Elijah:

Joshua once asked Elijah to take him along on his journeys through the world. To this the prophet yielded on condition that Joshua should never question him concerning the causes of his actions, strange as they might appear; should this condition be violated, the prophet would be obliged to part from him.Both set out upon their journey.

The first halt was at the house of a poor man who owned only a cow, but who, with his wife, received the strangers most kindly, and entertained them to the best of his ability. Before they continued their journey next morning, the rabbi heard Elijah pray that God might destroy the poor man's cow, and before they had left the hospitable house the cow was dead.

Joshua could not contain himself, but in great excitement said to Elijah: "Is this the reward which the poor man receives for his hospitality toward us?" The prophet reminded him of the condition upon which they had undertaken the journey, and silently they continued on their way.

Toward evening they came to the house of a rich man who did not even look at them, so that they had to pass the night without food and drink. In the morning when they left the inhospitable house, Joshua heard Elijah pray that God would build up a wall which had fallen in one of the rich man's houses. At once the wall stood erect.

This increased the agitation of the rabbi still more; but remembering the condition which had been imposed upon him, he kept silent.

On the next evening they came to a synagogue adorned with silver and gold, none of whose rich members showed any concern for the poor travelers, but dismissed them with bread and water. Upon leaving the place Joshua heard Elijah pray that God would make them all leaders ("heads"). Joshua was about to break his promise, but forced himself to go on in silence again.

In the next city they met very generous people who vied with one another in performing acts of kindness toward the strangers. Great, then, was the surprise of Joshua when, upon leaving the place, he heard the prophet pray that God might give them only "one head”.

Joshua could not refrain any longer, and asked Elijah to explain to him his strange actions, although he knew that by asking he would forfeit the prophet's companionship.

Elijah answered: "The poor but generous man lost his cow because of my prayer, for I knew that his wife was about to die, and I asked God to take the life of the cow instead of that of the wife. My prayer for the heartless rich man was because under the fallen wall was a great treasure which would have come into the hands of this unworthy man had he undertaken to rebuild it. It was also no blessing which I pronounced upon the unfriendly synagogue, for a 'place which has many heads will not be of long duration'; on the other hand, I wished for the others, the good people, 'one head,' that union and peace may always be among them."

These stories are so similar it is obvious that they came from the same source. But who borrowed from whom? Is the story about Elijah, or is it about El-Aja (God of the Aja)? Hebrew has no vowels, so they would be spelled the same in that language.

Next post I try and figure it out.

Does Pell Do Pagan Rites?

Deltoid just posted a link to a site that says:

“George Pell [Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia] recently suggested that young fit Australians who voted Green were indulging in a pagan ritual”.

The words “Pagan Ritual” conjure up an image of people in long robes chanting words in an obscure language. Maybe there's a human sacrifice involved to meet the requirements of an ancient god, which is later celebrated by eating the victim's flesh and drinking his blood.

Does Pell think only his kind of people should be allowed to do such things? I wonder if he wishes for the good old days when pagans were tortured and killed to please this angry god?

What does Genesis have to say about man's place in the world? Gen 1:26 (NIV) says:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals[a], and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

With rulership comes obligations. Genesis 2:15(NIV) says:

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

That's what Pagans and Greenies are really about- trying to take care of the world. So whose side is God really on, Cardinal Pell?
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[a]. the earth. [This is the] Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text

Bible Quotes from BibleGateway New International Version, ©2011 (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Happy Easter!

Every year I make up an original puzzle for my youngest to solve so he can find his Easter treats. He just turned 19 so I have to make them challenging. I figured I'd share the one I just made, in case someone else would like to try it. It's in a form that I invented myself.

There are 5 shapes in 7 different colours with letters on them. You place them into the blanks to make words and sentences. The shapes and colours are in repeating patterns. ie if there were only 2 colours, they'd alternate. If there were only three shapes, they'd go diamond, cross, star, diamond, cross, star for example.

Here are the blanks typed out. Except for the last line, each line has one word. The "," are commas, not apostophe's. The solution is a cryptic clue.

_ _ _,
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _
_ _ _, _ _ ?

You can print it out by accessing this file:
Fill in the blanks.

The shapes are here:



You do get 4 hints to get you started:

The green triangle with the letter Y on it is the 3rd letter.
The yellow egg with the letter Y is the 19th letter,
The red square with the H on it is the 30th letter,
and the blue triangle with the Y on it is the 53rd letter.
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So Happy Easter from me, my family and my dog Silas and my favourite plant!

I Promise to Love, Cherish, & Wash Your Feet?

When Jesus was washing his disciple's feet at the last supper, was he referencing a loving relationship between a woman and her husband?

In Jesus time a marriage contract outlined what the husband and the wife had to do for each other. Jewishencyclopedia says:

The husband's duties to the wife are set forth in detail under Ketubah [marriage contract] . In the body of that instrument he binds himself to work for her, and to honor, support, and maintain her. The wife, if she brings no dowry, is bound to do such housework for the husband as grinding, baking, washing, cooking, suckling her child, spreading the bed, and working in wool (spinning, knitting, and the like). If she brings one slave woman, or the means to buy one, she need not grind, bake, nor wash clothes; if two, she need not cook, nor suckle her child; if three, she need not spread the bed nor work in wool; if four, she may "sit still in her chair". She must, however, do certain small services for her husband which it would be improper for any but the wife to perform, such as washing his hands and face.

This was a legally binding contract . Note how a woman could get a slave to perform most of her duties for her except for filling his cup, make his bed and wash his hands, face and feet. This is something she couldn't get out of, even if she made a vow not to in order to serve God.

The relevant passages in the Talmud are:

Mas. Kethuboth 61a:

IF FOUR, SHE MAY LOUNGE IN AN EASY CHAIR. R. Isaac b. Hanania stated in the name of R. Huna: Although it has been said, SHE MAY LOUNGE IN AN EASY CHAIR she should nevertheless fill for him his cup, make ready his bed and wash his face, hands and feet. 28

(28) Such personal services are calculated to nurse a husband's affections (Rash. l.c.).

Mas. Nedarim 81b:

E.g., if she vows, Konam be fruit unto me? he can annul: Konam that I prepare nought for my father, for your brother, for your father, for my brother, or that I place no straw before your cattle, or, water before your herds, he cannot annul. [Konam] that I may not paint or rouge or cohabit, he can annul as a matter affecting their mutual relationship; that I do not make your bed, or, prepare you drink, or, wash your hands or feet, he need not annul. 5

(5) Such vows are automatically invalid, since she is under an obligation to do these things.

Let's look at Genesis 2:24 (NIV):

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

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Now read John 13:6-9 (NIV):

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

In a marriage, the two become one- so each is a part of the other. Maybe Jesus was saying he wanted his disciples to be so close that they are part of him and part of each other. And that they are to take the subservient role in this relationship. So like a wife, they were supposed to wash the other's feet to symbolize this deep love, bonding and humility? This would be backed up by the beginning of the account where it says in John 13 :1 (NIV):

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

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Bible Quotes from BibleGateway New International Version, ©2011 (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Germs Prove Jesus Isn't God

Matthew 15:1-2,7-9 (NIV)

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

"'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

His instruction to ignore this rule of the elders made his followers sick:

1 Timothy 5:23

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Of course everyone knows you have to wash your hands before you eat or the germs on your hands will make you sick. But surely the elders didn't know about germs?

Here's some info on Shibta by John Lightfoot (1602-1675). He said:

To these most rigid canons they added also bugbears and ghosts to affright them.

It was the business of Shibta. Where the Gloss is, "Shibta was one of the demons who hurt them that wash not their hands before meat." The Aruch writes thus, "Shibta is an evil spirit which sits upon men's hands in the night: and if any touch his food with unwashen hands, that spirit sits upon that food, and there is danger from it."

Note, John Lightfoot quoted this about 200 years before germ theory was first stated, so, he could laugh but if you were explaining to a child why they had to wash their hands, what would you say?

“Well, there are these invisible creatures that are on your hands and that can make you sick if you don't wash them off before you touch food that's going to go into your mouth.”

Sounds a lot like a Shibta doesn't it?

But Jesus didn't believe in Shibta and didn't know about germs so he could not possibly be God.

To be fair, I don't think he ever said he was.
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All Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com

I've previously posted on this in two other articles:

Demons and Personal Hygiene

Elders and the Spirit of the Unwashed Hands

but they are pretty technical and not so easy to read.

How A Fanatic Thinks

How to Deal With a Non-Believer:

Do everything you can to share your religion with them. It is your privilege, it is your obligation to save them.

When someone disagrees with you, however, remember, they are disagreeing with the person who taught you. If they disagree with the person who taught you, then they are disagreeing with your Holy Books, if they disagree with your Holy Books then they're disagreeing with your prophets and if they disagree with them then they are disagreeing with God Himself and must be made to repent!

So when asked a question that suggests you might be wrong about something, don't check your facts, because by checking them that means you have doubts about what you believe, and if you have doubts about what you believe, you might start to doubt what you were taught, and if you doubt what you were taught , you might start doubting your Holy books and if you start doubting those you'll start doubting your religion and then you'll be a heretic which is exactly what the question is meant to achieve!

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Of course this is false reasoning, but there is a reason fanatics think this way. Most are newbies to the religion and start teaching others before they have finished learning the basics themselves. They probably haven't read the entire Old Testament/Tanach, for example. Furthermore, they are the type of people who don't question what they are taught- they swallow it whole, so they don't ask questions, so their teachers can't tell if they got it right. Also people aren't taught what their Holy Books actually say. There's a huge disconnect there. Furthermore, what the prophets actually said and what was recorded that they said is also different. Reporter bias comes into play. Then of course there's the case where the prophets get it wrong. For instance, Jesus got it wrong when he said that his followers shouldn't wash their hands before they eat. That's just an example from Christianity but this applies to prophets of all religions from what I have seen.

Of course if someone studied their Holy books and did the research they would no longer be a fanatic, but until they do, their faith is so fragile that every question threatens to destroy it, which is why they fight you so hard when you question a statement. If the fanatic has settled in with a like minded group of people, they will be disinclined and discouraged from studying because if they did they might start thinking different from the group and no longer belong.

Fanatics are in the religion to feel good. They're happy because they are surrounded by others who love and accept and agree with them. Fighting with others against the outside world is a bonding experience that makes them feel good too. Also, their religion gives them purpose and meaning and a mission. Something that's very valuable and was probably missing from their lives before they became an adherent to their religion. Their priority is to feel good about what they are doing and teaching, not to get to the truth.

So don't bother arguing with fanatics- they have too much to lose if they change their minds. They just won't do it.