Tenth Saying (Part 13 of our series)
“And the same mariner responded with another question: ‘You answered part of my question. But I would like to narrow the focus of the question to something I had in mind. It has to do with why I left the church I belonged to when I was younger. It concerns spiritual discrimination. The tenet concerned is that unless you belong to a certain church, unless you are baptized with water, you are going to perish. You are going to die. All other people who do not go through this ritual in this particular church are lost. The concept is certainly not unique with this one church . I would say the majority of churches maintain a similar teaching. To my way of thinking, this was spiritual discrimination. Since then my feeling remains the same. How is it that any small group of people, small compared to the world population, has a special privilege for its own members? Again, getting back to the concept of a just God, even though the rational mind may not understand, still it seems to be a legitimate question. Is there the same kind of spiritual discrimination here? Is this what a just God would do? Is there something I don’t understand?’
“And The Man answered him by saying: ‘All religions from antiquity to the present – and to name only a few: Zoroastrianism, Hebraism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islamism — taught a kind of exclusiveness. It is the nature of religion to be exclusive. Man has given many names to God; for example, Adonis, Baal, Attis, Osiris, Ahura Mazda, Apollo, Jupiter, Brahma, Artemis, Thor, Ra, Odin, Jehovah, Allah and many, many others. Now are these all different gods or are they the same God? According to the teachers from the times of these respective gods, there was a different way to attain salvation. During the times of Jesus, the Hebrew people believed that Jehovah dwelt within their tabernacle, a small wooden box they carried on a litter and placed in their temple. They actually believed that God occupied a space within a box. The Hebrew religion gave birth to the Christian religion, which has adopted the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, which was aimed at the Jews who worshiped the God Jehovah. The Protestants teach that if a person but believe in Christ he is saved. The Catholics teach that if you die in a state of grace you are saved. If you have been a good person, and participated in the sacraments, that is all that is required. And there are many religions that teach that if you just accept their particular god, you are saved. All of these religions either teach an inferior concept of God or they place a minor god on an altar for Man to worship.
“‘In the ancient world there was a power in knowing the true name of God. The Hebrews taught that their God had no name, but still He was referred to as Eloi, Jehovah, or Yahweh; so in knowing the name, one was able to speak that name and obtain a power. In the Christian world the name Jesus Christ is supposed to be a great power; for example, if one invokes the name of Jesus Christ and the name of God the Father, one can expel spirits and heal. Various peoples gave names to the god who was exclusive to their tribe or nation. A worshiper of the Egyptian God would call upon Hermes Trismegistus and say, “I know thy name, Heavenly One. I know Thy various manifestations. I know thee, Hermes, and Thou knowest me. I am Thou and Thou art I.” Now, there was a power in that. People believed in ancient times that by eating the flesh of an animal or a man, such as a sacrificial animal or an actual king, or drinking the blood of such a sacrificial victim, the participant took on the power of that creature. I believe the Christian concept of communion, eating of bread and wine substituting the body and blood of Jesus, came from this idea. The Aztecs and Incas used to shape out of corn dough a figure likened unto a god and then consume it in the same manner as the Christians took the bread, believing they took on the power of the god. Those who worshiped Mithra believed that by standing under a bull when its throat was slit they could be washed clean in the blood of that bull. Sacrifice was always an integral part of ancient religion because it was believed that God had to be atoned with blood of some sacrificial animal. The Christian attitude is that Jesus was crucified instead of the sacrificial lamb used by the Hebrew priests in the temple, and the blood of Jesus was a final atonement for the sins of mankind. A large segment of the Western world believes this teaching. Though such teachings have turned many men and women from religion, there is a very large number of people today — scholars, intellectuals, scientists, and others — who believe the latter to be a true teaching. Indeed, it is a fundamental teaching in Christianity for those who profess to believe in the one God, Jehovah.
“‘There is nothing more universal than the Sun and there is nothing more universal than light. All of the ancient religions were bound up with light, with the Word of God within light. God was supposed to have created the world at His command by means of light. I said earlier that I believed that the teachings of Jesus died with him – or at least with the death of his immediate apostles. Christianity today is not practicing the teaching of Jesus; yet Christians call upon his name and they call upon God just as if they were teaching or following the teachings of Jesus. The true teachings of Jesus must needs be bound up with light and not blood.
“‘Today individuals mold God into the form they like and worship it. But they will not worship God as He is. Therefore, Man is idolatrous: he idolizes a god of his own making that is convenient to his logic and reason. If all people were to be saved simply because of their presence in the world, then, as I said earlier, there would be no need for enlightened religion and no need for redeemers or a great Teaching of Light. Man is doomed to death. Everyone on the planet dies. You cannot change that.’”
We will continue next week with a more inspiring portion of the commentary. In the meantime, I wish you and yours a blessed and prosperous 2020. As you know, we have been gathering at the Sanctuary each morning for the Christmas-Epiphany vigil. I have included a photo of one of our sunrises. I think you can feel the power coming out of the Sun.
Again, if I may be of any personal service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Very truly yours in Light+,
Gene
