For you are not come to a mountain that might be touched, and a burning fire, and a whirlwind, and darkness, and storm, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which they that heard excused themselves, that the word might not be spoken to them; for they did not endure that which was said: “and if so much as a beast shall touch the mount, it shall be stoned.” And so terrible was that which was seen, that Moses said “I fear and tremble.” But you are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the Church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel.
As the Pentecost cycle of the Synagogue (i.e., the Jews) treats of the core elements of the Old Covenant, so the Pentecost cycle of the Church exposits the core mysteries of the New Covenant, and the realization of the reconciliation between God and man. Let us interrupt our course on philosophy one week more, to look at this Feast and how it corresponds to what transpired more anciently.
God Occludes Himself atop Sinai
Pentecost and the Law
In the Old Testament, the Passover was when the Angel of the Lord “passed over” the Hebrews’ homes, slaying the firstborn of Egypt. Fifty days later, the liberated Hebrews arrived at Mount Sinai and received the Law. Hence this festival is called Shavuot in Hebrew, or “Weeks,” because it is a week of weeks (i.e., seven weeks) after Passover.
The Pentecost of the Old Covenant is an “antitype” of the Pentecost of the New Covenant. The term “antitype” refers to how a stamp is made in the mirror image of its desired impression. Thus does the Old Testament point forward to the New, with events of either Pentecost mirroring the other. Moses, the prophet of the Old Law, received it on the Pentecost after Pesach (Passover); Jesus, the fulfiller of the Old Law, gave a New Law on the Pentecost after Pascha (Easter). Jesus the Christ ascended to God on the 40th day after Pascha; Moses descended from God on the 40th day after Pentecost. Moses, leading the other Levites, killed 3000 idolaters on the ancient Pentecost; St. Peter, leading the other Apostles, converted 3000 devout Jews to eternal life, who had come to worship God on the festival.
The Old Law was written upon dead stones and emphasized the separation between the people and God, forbidding them to approach the mountain and being set in the Ark of the Covenant which the people could not touch; the New Law was not written down, but descended upon the true Ark of the Covenant (the Blessed Virgin, who bore the Word of God and the Manna from heaven in her womb), and upon all the Apostles and disciples who were gathered together in the high place of the upper room on mount Sion.
This latter point (of direct contact between God and man) is very important. The whole book of Hebrews dwells on the fulfillment of the Law in the Gospel; quoting in part from Jeremiah’s prophesy of this new covenant (or testament), St. Paul says:
And this is the testament which I will make unto them after those days, saith the Lord. I will give my laws in their hearts, and on their minds will I write them: and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. Now where there is a remission of these, there is no more an oblation for sin. Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the holies by the blood of Christ; a new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, as a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water. – Hebrews 10:16-22
Moses and the Brazen Serpent, Another Antitype of Christ’s Fulfillment of the Law
This is a matter of stunning importance; in the New Covenant, the Law is not given as a fait accompli, written down in stone or on a page. Rather, God Himself descended upon the Church in the fire of the Holy Ghost, making of each heart a sanctuary, abiding in each soul and giving it the power to fulfill the Law in Spirit and Truth. Of course, this is not to make each person into his own priest, prophet and king, justifying persons in their private opinions about religious truth – the Spirit is given to the whole Body of the Church, and the differing ranks and duties of the members must be honored, all cleaving together in Faith, Hope and Charity by the same Spirit.
But, it certainly is to say that the New Law is a matter of God abiding with men, in and through them guiding the Church in a continuity of faith and activity through the “latter days.” The last days are fully upon us in the Pentecost, for that begins the age in which the estrangement between men and God is overcome; God abides with men, and men begin finally to fulfill His Law in Spirit and Truth, becoming “perfect, as the Father in Heaven is perfect.” St. Peter makes this explicit in his sermon on the Pentecost, again quoting the Old Covenant’s prophets: “it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord,) I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of My Spirit…”
Indeed, this is another of the more important elements of the Pentecost; let us look at what has happened, again with reference to the times before Christ
Moses Sees the New Covenant Prefigured in the Burning Bush and Receives the Law
In the beginning, when Adam and Eve had sinned in paradise, the Lord ejected them from the garden, and set cherubim before the entrance with whirling swords of flame; they remained biologically alive, but spiritually they had perished—“in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.” On Sinai, God first appears to Moses in the burning bush, smokeless and unconsumed. Later, He hid Himself from the people in fire and smoke, warning that the people would die if they beheld Him or approached.
When God ordained the temple rites, many things indicate that the Temple, and especially the Holy of Holies (the innermost sanctuary) represent paradise. The words for the priests’ service and tending of the temple are the same words used for Adam and Eve’s duties in paradise. He commanded that the Holy of Holies be separated from the rest of the temple by a veil covered with cherubim. Just outside of it was the altar of incense, on which a fire was lit and incense burnt, so that the priest could protect himself with a cloud of smoke “lest he die” (Leviticus 16:13). Outside the Temple itself was the altar of holocausts, which also veiled the face of the temple in smoke. These altars were lit by a fire that had descended from heaven, and which the priests were to tend perpetually.
It is also recorded that men of old tried to bridge this gap once before, with the Tower of Babel. As a punishment, their tongues were confounded and they were unable to attain their aim; moreover, in Jewish tradition the uppermost regions of the tower were destroyed by fire from above. The theme is continual: God and man are estranged; God sets thick smoke and fire between Himself and man; the fire has a dual aspect, alternately punishing and rebuffing or shielding, protecting, purifying.
The Tower of Babel
Fallen man, at the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, hears this: “remember, man, that thou art ash, and to ash thou shalt be returned.” Redeemed, ascended man, 40 days after Easter, prepares to receive the flame of the Paraclete. “Presently the Lord, Whom you seek, and the Angel of the Testament, Whom you desire, shall come to His temple. Behold He cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. And who shall be able to think of the day of His coming? and who shall stand to see Him? for He is like a refining fire.” Indeed, our God is a consuming fire, and behold! On the Pentecost, He falls upon the prepared in cloven tongues of flame! Here is the New Law given and fulfilled in Spirit and Truth. Here the confusion of tongues at Babel is reversed; charity between men, and between men and God, is rekindled. “I have come to cast fire upon the earth,” our Lord said, “and how I wish it were already kindled!” He shall come again to judge the world by this self-same fire, and I tell you plainly, with Pentecost the judgment has already begun. The Kingdom has come, albeit only in part… for now.
Pentecost from a 6th Century Gospel Book
God has cast His fire on the earth, and when the time is ripe it shall become an ineluctable conflagration. Dies irae, dies illa, solvet saeclum in favilla, teste David cum Sibylla (“That day, the day of wrath, blasts the cosmos to cinder and ash; so David and the Sibyll swear”). Our choices and deeds shall determine whether we are reduced to cinders as well, or whether we shall be found to be “not of this world,” and already accustomed to the purifying fire of the divine nature in the tabernacle of our hearts.
He that thinks he stands, let him take heed, lest he fall; for we are unworthy of so great an inheritance. God speed you, men!
Read More: Why Is Modern Christianity So Wimpy?
That’s a really good complement to my catechism classes.
Welcome back! Catechism class is where I had my first encounter at age 7 with a nun who beat me for telling silly child jokes in class. I couldn’t tell my parents because they would have punished me further to show their support for the nun.
How do you feel about that today?
I feel that parents back then were in denial that their children were being double-crossed by priests and nuns who would take their frustrations out on children through violence and verbal abuse while preaching the love of Jesus. Why so mean spirited and abusive? Because back then they knew they could get away with it.
I agree. Somehow, though, I expected you to tell me something like: Back then I hated it, but I was not yet ready to understand the lesson and I would do the same today blablah…
I assure you, back then I hated it but I had to wait until I was 16 to rebel and tell my parents I was through attending the Roman Catholic church. There were a few good priests and nuns but not enough for me to even think of doing it again today. I believe in a higher power, some may find theirs in that church, other religions, or completely outside of religious dogma, some not at all.
What they did was vile, and if Jesus’ words about millstones are true, I don’t envy them on judgement day.
That may be cold comfort, but still.
So he got a few belts of the crosier. Big deal. I went to Catholic school run by priests. Step out of line and you got a belt. You didn’t mess with the priests or you got what was coming to you.
If there was more discipline in schools now we wouldn’t have half the shit that goes on now. No guys sitting down to take a piss in the ladies for a start…….
That’s because they are men who have logic and know who needs to be kept in line. My best school days were at La Salle High run by the Christian Brothers. Not only did their discipline serve us well, it was fun to watch them “unspoil” a snarky kid raised by overly protective parents. I can still picture Brother Waffen telling this kid tin the cafeteria to pick up his rubbish. After the kid sassed him back Brother Waffen unfolded his arms, gave the kid a hard slap so loud all heads turned toward him, then he folded his arms again. End of exchange. As much as the rest of us loved it, we dare not laugh or snicker because he’d then ask you “Do you think this is funny?” (you’re damn right I do!) “uh,…no, Brother, I don’t”
Ah, yes…the memories!
I’ve long been a proponent of an innovative method called “repeated beating therapy.”
Observation indicates that the long term effects seem to be more positive and less damaging than the effects of being an passive, contemptible, wet noodle in the face of all misbehavior. Though, of course, there is a limit, beyond which its effectiveness diminishes.
Well, he had the right name for it. If only schools were still like this!
Brother Aurelius, throughout high school I was basically a good student who stayed out of trouble, but I always thought that vice- principal Brother Waffen was a “hard ass” who didn’t much care for me. I was wrong. During my last semester at this all male school he called me into his office out of concern that I fell off the honor roll and was told I was falling asleep in class. He was a smart man who suspected I had problems at home (my mother had become a full blown screaming alcoholic and in my young mind I needed to keep my night job at the donut shop to move away). Like a father to a son he talked me out of it, He called me back in 2 weeks later to follow up on me saying “I need you to try, I hate to see you not graduate over donuts.” I could tell he got the other teachers to work with me, and because of this man I was able to graduate. He left the order soon after, and sadly last year I got an email from my H.S. informing me that Brother Waffen passed away in Alaska.
I cried because I never went back to tell him thank you when I still had the chance.
This is the quality that so often impresses itself upon me, when I read stories of men’s youth and education in the past. The seeming sternness and rigidity of the men in authority in their lives, interspersed with realizations that these men actually cared deeply about them, attained through some timely and effective gesture – sometimes in gestures that were also bitter to receive, but were clearly necessary and helpful.
That’s what society misses, nowadays. Now we have a very womanly and matriarchal form of “caring.” I.e., feelings devoid of intelligent or serious, even difficult, action. Hashtags. Facebook Posts. Stupid ribbons and wrist bands. We need the kind of tough, profound love that it seems men are so much better at giving.
I don’t know if you still have faith; you don’t need to feel like you never had a chance to show your respect or gratitude to Brother Waffen. He would probably very much appreciate an occasional prayer for the repose of his soul, its release from Purgatory, etc. Even if he’s already out of Purgatory, it builds real connections with the departed to pray for them; they have not ceased to exist, they have simply begun to exist in a different way. If, with an heart contrite for sin and desiring reconciliation with God, you say the following simple prayer with the intention of benefitting his soul, a generous indulgence is granted for his benefit, indirectly, through you: “Grant eternal rest to them [i.e., the faithful departed], O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them; may they rest in peace. Amen.” Brother Waffen would like that more than any thanks you might have paid him before he died. But, forgive me if I presume too much in making such a personal suggestion.
Amen and thank you, Brother. I never lost my faith, just my desire to go back to the elementary school parish my parents preferred to attend, but they were okay with me attending church at La Salle. Interestingly enough my older sister became a nun and got her Masters in World Religions and now teaches in the Bay area. I called her 4 days ago after reading your excellent article 3 times and she was happy to hear how you inspired me to call her! We discussed Moses, then my experience at the elementary parish. As chance would have it, she got the “cooler” nuns at school. I told her the hardest thing for me was to watch even some of the girls get a hard slap to the ear from behind while they were facing the blackboard struggling to learn new math follow by “Stupid!” This did not help them understand the math problem. “You mean Sister Florence Irene? She had a serious problem, they pulled her out the following year you had her. I know her sister from another convent and she’s even worst!” (horrors!) Her examples were hilarious, it was fun going over old times!
I filed your post after praying like you told me for Brother Waffen, then I prayed for the other souls and will do so each day. Thank you Brother, for showing me the way back home.
I have a fun question: Do you know for sure that you’ll go to Heaven?
1 John 5:13
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
So the Bible says we can know for sure.
She didn’t beat you half hard enough……
Now, why would you go and say that, bro?
LOL I think Francis had Sister Mary Florence Irene in the 4th grade, that’s why he’s paranoid to this day!
I almost made the joke, but realized I shouldn’t.
It seems that no matter how many miracles they saw Moses perform his people would soon forget and demand more proof from him. You’d think parting the Red Sea would keep them a little humble but no, let’s build a golden calf now.
i know…it’s almost as if these outdated wives’ tales are completely made up!
“You can laugh all you want at the ancient ways,
Of Hebrews and Gypsies and Romans and Greeks,
And even the Mesopotamians.
But they came from nothing,
To rule their world,
And they must have known something,
More than a lie.”
BB Ways 7:1-8
There was “something in the air” at that time. The best minds in history all in the same place, same time, and their thoughts changed mankind forever. Some theologians say that it was a new stage in our evolution as a species.
Perhaps it marks the culmination of our genetic rift from the ancestor we shared with the bonobo (it takes approx 10,000 years for genetic rift to manifest).
Imagine how much of a shift there will be in the next 10,000 years.
Go way troll.
Will you make the same, exact statement about every religion in the world? Why don’t you go to Bangladesh and publically question Islam? I’m sure the citizens of Bangladesh will engage you in a nice, calm debate.
i would gladly slate every single religion in the world… islam is obviously worse than christianity as well, i’ll give you that.
i would gladly slate every single religion in the world… islam is obviously worse than christianity, i’ll give you that.
It’s still possible to simply shut up your mind until you grasp what the metaphors mean. If the metaphors aren’t valid and useful, the religions built around them would never take off. It’s a bit of a straw man to believe that grasping the deepest levels of meaning implies that you then therefore also “believe in” the whole religion. If you’re here in the first place, you’re likely to grasp those core concepts, as religion and red pill have yuuge overlaps.
shift starts in 2 minutes so lucky you, I can’t climb up on my pulpit today …
many of them are valid and useful..at least as many are complete garbage…our inherited sense of morality makes us cherry pick the useful ones, while we dismiss the passages that do not fit our moral compass (or our inherent beliefs) as lost in translation.
Well, yes, that’s how things work. It’s no different than anything else.
exactly my point. the book is not special in that sense. it is a well-written book (for the time), but no more interesting (and in many cases, less interesting) from a philosophical point of view than so many other great works. so why do so many people (granted, typically of simple minds – but not always) dedicate their entire life to it and its “teachings”?
If I told my kids that a long-toothed carnivorous rabbit lived inside their head and fed on children’s fingers, it might be a fabrication but they’ll probably stop picking their nose. We all have the ability to discern where the facts lie. I don’t like to insult the beliefs of men like Aurelius, because the points are still valid even if I’m not totally on board with the big picture– and besides, in the end, people’s beliefs are all they have. Better to help reinforce the positive ones in my opinion, and work through my actions to paint a clearer picture of why the negative ones don’t really hold water. Gotta have faith that people will be intelligent enough to cast away destructive beliefs….even if we know it’s not always that easy.
the problem is that people are not intelligent enough to “cast away destructive beliefs”..the recent terror attacks on western soil are clear evidence of this. religion has been and – to some extent – still is a powerful tool to control the working classes. but when an outdated books packed with self-contradictions controls so many people, it is inevitable that societies strongest will use it for personal gain – as we see again and again.
You’re very right again, aberrations happen where fallible humans take infallible laws and use them to manipulate or control others towards unscrupulous or outright evil ends. But that doesn’t mean we should dispense with the positive messages altogether. Instead, it’s our place to push the discussion and understanding forward, again by acting better ourselves, and letting people see the outcomes of our actions compared to the others. After all, the J-man said in the Bible “by their fruits shall you know them” when the people asked him how to spot false prophets.
i would never argue that christianity does not have important lessons to teach us – most of western society was built on its foundations.. i would, however, argue that most of its teachings (if not all) have either been rejected or updated, as the human mind and society has progressed. just as is the case with any other school of thought.. no one should accept any single book as the absolute truth.
i have thoroughly enjoyed this discussion, but i have to get a move on now!
Yeah man, likewise for sure. Could you imagine trying to calmly debate this kind of stuff elsewhere? It’d be a total shitshow. We’re privileged to have placed like this to talk.
One parting thought if you don’t mind: maybe it’s not the material itself that’s outmoded, but some of the interpretations of it. The more I study the more I perceive deep parallels between these things and our modern understanding of science, sociology, psychology…everything really. Lately I’ve had the strong urge to start writing about it. If I ever get it done, I hope you and all the other good men here will give it a read.
Take care.
On some level you tacitly know that it’s time for you to shut your neck bearded face you preening, pseudo-intellectual, Hitchens-Dawkins parroting, basement dwelling, GNU-Reditt obsessed asshat.
Atheism flies men’s junk into other men’s backsides.
Most people are not intelligent enough to manage any complex system properly.
It is why the healthiest societies have usually involved a give and take between an healthy aristocracy that created an high culture and led by example, and a populace that strove to be moral rather than “intellectual.”
The idea of “educating” and exalting “the people” has simply destroyed high culture and exalted the vulgar tastes of vulgar persons who, over-reaching their station in life, desire to enjoy the feeling of impersonating an elite, without having the capacity to be one.
And ironically, by catering to plebian tastes, it has destroyed low culture as well. Just read accounts of peasant life from the Middle Ages or even folk songs from Appalachia before WWII.
I’m reminded of the scene from Orwell when a prole woman hanging her wash sang a vapid pop song called “Twas only a hopeless fancy.” She was able through her simple singing to make something empty and ugly into something beautiful. If only that prediction were right. Not only can no amount of beautiful singing make the average rap or pop music today worthwhile, but people have nearly stopped singing to themselves altogether. We are surrounded by noise.
You must be thinking of catholic priesthood – it is, however, usually young boys on the receiving end, not men.
It is true that many homosexuals are atheists. An obvious case of reverse causality, regarding what you wrote – not that you know what that means, of course.
Coming from the mind of a simpleton, this was actually quite funny. Well done!
Hi Aurelius, thank you for your reply.
I simply cannot agree with the motion that morality and education are somehow negatively correlated. Societies have only prospered through knowledge and education. By your argument, there was a higher sense of morality when Christians burnt “witches” at the stake – a time where the common individual was of very low education.
I agree that morality has been somewhat in decline in recent times. But linking this decline to a higher level of education of the common individual is preposterous. The level of education in the U.S. has been deteriorating, as the school system falters due to under-financing. Meanwhile, youngsters’ “idols” are swimming in a vulgarity of riches never seen before. These “idols” – our so-called elite – are the morally corrupt of today. And without proper education of our youth, they will continue to brainwash them.
No, I’m thinking of atheism you fanny crushing neckbeard.
While I do find you highly entertaining (I really do), I am not sure your “saviour” Jesus Christ would take too well to your attitude. You know, love thy neighbour and all that.
It’s amazing to see how depraved the elite currently is. The higher up the social scale you are, the more moral you have to be. Yet currently, we have the opposite and society is crumbling as a result.
What happened is that the Pentateuch, or whatever the Old Testament was called at the time, became known in Ancient Greece. And the Greek Philosophers realized that the Jews were talking about the God that the Stoics and other serious thinkers had been talking about. That’s why Christianity caused such an uproar when it arrived in Greec and Rome. About cherry-picking, as you mentioned; that happens today, yeah. But those people aren’t true Christians. Christianity, AKA the Roman and Byzantine churches are based on Stoicism. Check out the 7 Virtues studied by serious theologians and you’ll see that they’re exactly the same as Zeno and Plato taught.
Christianity may be a religion, but it’s actually applied humanistic philosophy. Born Again, Evangelicals, and those guys practice the OPPOSITE of Christianity, as it was founded.
Yes, I’m thinking about running a post on this.
I haven’t forgotten about you; I’m working on a reply, which may become an article, either here or on the hermitage’s blog.
Quite true. Since becoming traditional, first Orthodox and now, especially, Catholic, I have found that I have lost my old prejudices about low/high culture. I was a Classicaly trained ‘cellist, semi-professional. I had encyclopedic knowledge of the “high art” repertory from Monteverdi to Stravinsky. I looked down on “low” culture. Then, I got into touch with European tradition – with folk music, liturgical chant, etc. I didn’t lose my appreciation for Classical music, but I came to realize that “pop culture” is NOT “low culture,” it is “no culture!” There is a profound beauty, authenticity and wisdom even to the “low” culture of traditional folk music and, obviously, sacred monophony (despite being the simplest kind of music). Now I listen to Bach, Purcell and Bruckner with as much alacrity as I listen to Celtic folk songs, old tunes from the Libre Vermell de Montserrat or the Codex Calxitinus. Real culture, “high” or “low,” is the thing; fake culture is a plague.
You mean like Darwinisn?
Well, there were all those dinosaur bones still sitting around from after the floods that he said were just pranks by god to test their faith, so who could they trust?
Young World Creationism? Their message and lack of basic scientific academia makes them as toxic to public education as the Flat Earth Society. They probably think carbon-14 is a tool of Satan.
” Their message and lack of basic scientific academia makes them as toxic to public education as the Flat Earth Society. ”
The “Flat Earth Society” was a parody, but the flat Earth model is making a comeback right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNbjFoA8sJQ&list=PLSb2PIreQeTAv3Pez1pm8MNmgYr0nKzUr
And if the Earth is flat then NASA and the Apollo program….
“Flat Earth is not as dumb as you thought, I can prove you’re not moving whether you like it or not.
“You see that light called the North Star? In the middle of the sky like a bullseye. It’s gonna be there the rest of your life. It ain’t movin’ and neither are you and the rest of the Earth that would be incongruent with the fact that you’d have to be assuming that North star just happens to be zooming perfectly with you and me for eternity that’s stupid.”
https://i.imgflip.com/ynb60.jpg
Are you serious? Friend, how did this ridiculous pseudoscience charlatan get you to believe this crap? Let us begin with your North Star assertions:
https://chizzlewit.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/flat-earth-theory-and-the-pole-stars-conundum/
“They probably think carbon-14 is a tool of Satan.” This one statement just goes to show that you know basically zilch about modern creationists, who consider carbon-14 one of their biggest ‘selling points’, seeing that it’s found in coal, diamonds and even dinosaur tissue, implying none of those things is millions of years old.
I’m down with science entirely. Almost all Christian foolishness has come from trying to prove Christianity with measures and science. This was the wrong path.
I cede all in the material to the material.
Now let’s get to the matter of actual faith, if you’re up for the challenge.
Ha, I’ve done the math and nobody can prove it one way or the other so am a strict agnostic. Too many more pressing matters to attend to in life. I just like giving people shit.
I also will cede to things that are proven in the material realm. However, many of the persons that established the premises of modern astronomy, biology, etc., were Masons, Socialists and other persons with serious axes to grind. Furthermore, we all know how much pressure there is for conformity, and to avoid appearing a fool. There are odd things here and there that suggest some serious snow jobs have been pulled on the topics of evolution, our possible place in the universe, climate change, etc.
Frankly, I have next to no faith in the scientific establishment to be truthful or even honestly curious when it comes to matters that touch on ultimate questions. The behavior of so many in that community, illustrates that they are at least as emotionally involved in their religious beliefs as are members of traditional religions (if not more so). I trust the Tradition of the Church more, honestly. The Tradition doesn’t make many scientific claims, and, in fact, asserts its infallibility only on points of Faith and Morals (not science), but when it has an instinct to mistrust something as a direct attempt to undermine the Truth, rather than a sincere conclusion based on an unbiased reading of evidence, I tend to sympathize with it.
I’m not saying I outright reject modern science, but I remain very skeptical and would not at all be surprised if in the upcoming century, a lot of its pious taboos and infallible conclusions were spectacularly demolished.
You might, well “enjoy” isn’t the right word, reading about the replication crisis in science. A lot of ScienceTM is a lot less reliable than commonly supposed. The world is having to relearn the difference between real science and “what scientists do”.
Personally I lean far more creationist than I’m willing to admit sometimes (usually the debate is a distraction), but as a German physicist who guest lectured at my old university once asked me
“Does Gott tell us how much time elapsed betveen Gen. 1:1 und Gen. 1:2?”
Me:”Well….no.”
“Ah, so vee continue…”
The “scientific establishment” I distrust entirely. I was speaking strictly of the scientific method being valid for measuring and discovering the wonders of creation in the material realm, nothing more. The “scientists” these days on the other hand are mostly political pawns and hacks.
Yes, but they’ve been this way for a while. Reading Hubble’s account of his discovery of the universal red shift was illuminating for me. Forgive the long reply to you, but hopefully it’s interesting, at least!
If you don’t know, briefly, redshift occurs when an object is moving away from an observer, shifting the wavelength of the light it emits/reflects towards the infrared end of the spectrum.
Hubble’s observation that essentially everything was in redshift naturally suggests that Earth may somehow be at the center of the universe. Here are some of Hubble’s thoughts:
“Such a condition would imply that we occupy a unique position in the universe, analogous, in a sense, to the ancient conception of a central earth. The hypothesis cannot be disproved but it is unwelcome and would be accepted only as a last resort in order to save the phenomena. Therefore, we disregard this possibility and consider the alternative, namely, a distribution which thins out with distance.
A thinning out would be readily explained in either of two ways. The first is space absorption. If the nebulae were seen through a tenuous haze, they would fade away faster than could be accounted for by distance and red-shifts alone, and the distribution, even if it were uniform, would appear to thin out. The second explanation is a super-system of nebulae, isolated in a larger world, with our own nebula somewhere near the centre. In this case the real distribution would thin out after all the proper corrections had been applied.
Both explanations seem plausible, but neither is permitted by the observations. The apparent departures from uniformity in the World Picture are fully compensated by the minimum possible corrections for redshifts on any interpretation. No margin is left for a thinning out. The true distribution must either be uniform or increase outward, leaving the observer in a unique position. But the unwelcome supposition of a favoured location must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, we accept the uniform distribution, and assume that space is sensibly transparent.”
And, later…
“The departures from uniformity are positive; the numbers of nebulae increase faster than the volume of space through which they are scattered. Thus the density of the nebular distribution increases outwards, symmetrically in all directions, leaving the observer in a unique position. Such a favoured position, of course, is intolerable; moreover, it represents a discrepancy with the theory, because the theory postulates homogeneity. Therefore, in order to restore homogeneity, and to escape the horror of a unique position, the departures from uniformity, which are introduced by the recession factors, must be compensated by the second term representing effects of spatial curvature.”
The picture emerges, of a man who is horrified by an idea suggested by the evidence, and whose whole approach is therefore based at grasping for an alternate explanation to spare his feelings and prejudices. He describes the suggested idea as “unwelcome,” “intolerable,” an “horror.” Though he admits “it cannot be disproved,” it is “unwelcome” and therefore “we disregard this possibility.” Since it must be “avoided at all costs… we assume” an alternate explanation is correct. Is this a scientific approach? He then grasps at other ways to explain the phenomenon because he is horrified by the idea, and then further rejects evidence suggesting that idea on the grounds that it conflicts with the theory he has invented to explain it away.
To me, evolution is in the same boat; an observation of adaptability in living organisms led Darwin to postulate that perhaps all life had developed in this way. The scientific community latched onto it for the same reason that Hubble was “horrified” by the suggestion that earth was in a unique position in the universe – we both know what that reason is. Now, even the biologists admit that gradual, minor, circumstantial adaptation is not the mechanism that produced the evolution of the different species of life.
But despite drastic changes in the theory (brought about by difficulties in the fossil record and geological stratification, the recognition that macroevolution must be a matter of random mutations and subsequent difficulties about the time-span of life on earth, etc.), the central reason for holding to that initial assumption, and for not considering another explanation, remains the same. All evidence will be forced through the most extravagant, possible interpretations, before anything hinting at the falsity of the Narrative and its Prime Directive will be considered.
When it comes to the Left’s politically fraught ideologies, this is always the approach. The obvious scams of Climate Change and Social Sciences are defended with similar zeal. And we both know that persons who even so slightly step off the reservation to raise such questions, are excommunicated from the Academy – shunned, laughed at, blacklisted, relegated to the world of “kooks,” etc., with no evidence required other than the fact that they are “religious,” or “conservative” (or some other horrific thing) for one to conclude in clean conscience that they are biased, biased, biased beyond all hope of having a sane idea
So, what I’m saying, is this: it would not surprise me, if even many of the things that are now accepted as “obvious” truths of the scientific “consensus” – even matters related to evolution, geocentrism, climate change, sexuality, etc. – are actually bogus. They became part of the Canon of Sciencism when the revolutionaries (usually Masons or esoterics of one form or another) doing the early work advanced the ideas, and the unwashed masses have been immersed in their doctrines and worldview through the public schools and established media for a century, now.
Aspiring scientists arrive at the Academy with the same, instinctive horrors for “intolerable” ideas as Hubble had; any few that may not have this, are quickly identified and relegated to the world of kooks. It would not surprise me if, in the end, Sciencism has done exactly what it accused the Church of doing: teaching many false ideas under the guise of lily-white truth.
Belloc observed that Darwinian evolutionism came around just when the masses had absorbed Hegelian ideas of progress in history. It is propagated so vociferously because it is a key that fits so neatly into the lock that is the ideal of material progress as the final telos. You’ll notice that the advanced age of the Earth was already proved by Lyell a generation before through geology, but the intellectuals all merely yawned and the average man didn’t even notice.
Exactly.
“Well, there were all those dinosaur bones still sitting around from
after the floods that he said were just pranks by god to test their
faith, so who could they trust?:
Dinosaurs coexisted with man only a few hundreds years ago, they called them “dragons,” you may have heard of them.
Anyway, dinosaur bones and the soft tissue remains they’re finding more often than not, now that they’re bothering to check, which has supposedly survived tens to hundreds of million year old, is more of a problem for evolutionists than creationists.
The creationist just says, “Well, no surprise, since that tissue is only a few thousand years old at maximum.”
The evolutionist says, “Ah, this proves that soft tissue lasts for tens/hundreds of millions of years.”
And that’s why evolutionists are so afraid of Creationism in the classroom.
I love creationism. I dont believe it for a second, but it must be doing something right if it’s pissing atheists off so much.
Haha, yeah, like completely denying fact and logic. Creationism is like a dude standing in front of a pen with five ducks in it and asking how do we know there are five ducks there? And are we even sure they are ducks, as they walk and quack around the pen.
Then again, I love asking atheists prove to me that there is no god and how all the matter within the big bang was created.
Yeah but would you just shake your head and laugh at the duck guy or get really self righteously angry at him?
I know it isn’t a perfect metaphor, since he isn’t trying to legislate his delusions as fact, but I just think creationism is way less of a threat to science than people make it out to be. Maybe because I grew up in a world where it wasn’t an issue or a problem, but something inside me is happy that douchbags like Lawrence Krause go into fits that a creation museum actually exists. It’s just funny to me.
I don’t care if they personally believe it. You are free to believe in Nessy, Bigfoot, or creationism. Hell, I listen to crackpots on Coast to Coast nightly and love it. But when they try to jam it into high school science classes, then I get pissed. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3035cbda859566b2e80b95da809d391aea1686ff245cede22825ae26fec59afb.jpg
Meh as a former teacher, the kids are all dumbshits anyway.
Exactly. None of them know anything, anyway; I remain convinced that if you gave kids the option in junior high and high school to freebase meth all day instead of going to classes, conditions in the USA would actually improve. If you also gave kids the option to skip classes and to read quietly in the library all day, things would get an hell of a lot better, quickly.
The fact, is that the kids emerging even from a Creationist family’s homeschool curriculum, are more knowledgeable, competent (including in the sciences) and polite, than most kids coming out of public schools. If Atheists were half as rational as they think they are, they’d worry an hell of a lot more about secularism than they do about religion.
Human nature is corrupt. The flesh yearns for fucking and the bowels yearn for sin. That’s why Christianity absolutely implies that you need to fast. Eat less meat, drink less alcohol etc. The only way to see God’s work in your life ( and acknowledge it ) is to fast and respect His commandments. I did an exercise of trying my best to obey the 10 commandments while keeping fast and praying in the mornings and evenings. And sure enough, you start noticing a lot more things that you would normally dismiss as ,,trivial”.
I encourage everyone of you guys to try the same exercise as well. See what happens.
Yes, right in His face. But it’s also a reminder of the abominations we are prone to commit right in God’s face in our own lives. With compunction and God’s grace, we can amend for the better, however.
Part of the Church’s and Theologians teachings discuss Jewish behavior. The power of God is revealed in that he came from the lowliest of the low. Most other religions make their founders/prophets out to be from wealth or high-ranking casts. God, Jesus, or whatever came to man from the Jews, who were regarded by the rest of the civilized world as common garbage. Just take Leviticus: The laws governing behavior were already accepted as normal social behavior in everyone else. It took freakin’ laws from God to stop the Jews from screwing the mothers/sisters or to not murder their parents. Those things were common social behavior by the Jews at the time. When Christ came, it was pretty much to say that God was finished with just them, and now was for the rest of mankind. Look at the Jews today: Same mindset and behavior as they had 2500 years ago.
Pentecost self-discipline is hard.
Biblical Pentecost is 50 days after Passover… (lev 23). This year June 12… Man-made Pentecost counts 50 days after man-made ‘easter’….
I’ll stick with God’s true Pentecost (Shavu’ot).
“Christ our Pasch is sacrificed.” If you want to keep the Passover of the Jews, you don’t answer to me; for Christians, Christ is the True Passover. You will find that in the early Church, long before Constantine or Nicaea, already all Christians save a few in Asia Minor (some of whom kept it on Pesach, some of whom kept it on the Sunday after Pesach), kept the Passover on the Sunday following the Paschal moon, since that corresponded to the day of our Lord’s Resurrection on the less variable Roman Calendar which was in more common use amongst the peoples who actually accepted the Messiah.
Sunday, as both the 1st and the symbolic “8th” day of the week, pointing to the future age, has been revered from the beginning, being already called “Dominica” (“Kyriake,” “the Lord’s Day”) in the New Testament. It is not a “man-made” day; rather: “haec dies, quam fecit Dominus; exsultemus et laetemur in ea, alleluia.”
Romans 14:5
Not saying nobody is right, mind you.
Yes, I almost quoted that for him in relation to the “man-made” day comment.
Of course, the Church has the power to bind and loose. Over time, she has appointed the observance of certain days as holy, so ignoring them would now be impious. But in principle a Protestant should have no objection to the observation of one day or another, given the natural interpretation of that verse in the context of a dearth of specific information on orthopraxy.
Between men, yes…. But what about when God says to do things.
Galatians 4:9-11New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless [a]elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [b]over you in vain.
Romans 14:4-6New American Standard Bible (NASB)
4 Who are you to judge the [a]servant of another? To his own [b]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person [c]regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, [d]does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
The whole context of that book, is those who have returned to the observance of the Old Law as necessary for Christian salvation. Hence it also deals with circumcision and other matters.
Christ gave the authority of binding and loosing to the Apostles, gave His Church indefectibility and commanded the faithful to heed it. The Church can establish Holy Days; even in Hebrews, it is already saying that the faithful should not forsake the Sunday assemblies, which are obligatory to the Faith. St. John mentions that he was observing the Lord’s Day when he received his vision – what is this “Lord’s Day,” if there are no days to observe?
No, St. Paul is talking about adhering to the Jewish Law, and its rites (based on the calendar) as a necessary Christian observance. He condemns this. But this does not abolish the whole idea of holy days, seasons and years as a salutary observance, nor does it nullify the Church’s ability to establish them. This was more flexible in the early Church, because the Liturgical Calendar was the least of their concerns! But over time it developed naturally in the Church, which the Spirit “shall lead into all truth.”
“Passover of the Jews” ? Uh no…. Leviticus 23 sets out God’s appointed times – Note they are *GOD’S* times, not “Jewish” times…:
Lev. 23:1 The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations — My appointed times are these:
Your argument that others were already (in error) keeping certain times – again separate from the scriptures (God’s Word) is telling. Just because folks were doing things in error early on doesn’t make up for the fact that it is in error….
Christ is our Passover – yet without allegorizing things – how about *DOING* what scripture says?
1 for 5:7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, anot with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
“Therefore let us celebrate the feast…..” huh, scripture….
What does Jesus say about “man made” traditions vs. His own Word?
Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Matthew 15:6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
I think it’s pretty clear……
Christ fulfilled the Old Law; the ceremonial Law especially is obviously no longer in effect, as there is neither any Aaronic or Levitical priesthood that would perform the old sacrifices at the appointed times.
As St. Paul specifically says, the Old Covenant with the Jews is covered by a veil, which is only removed in Christ; in other places he rebukes Christians for returning to Jewish customs as they stand. I will adhere to the universal, Apostolic Tradition of the Church, to which Christ gave His own authorities and promises, to understand how the festivals are now to be kept. St. Paul commands adherence to the traditions he enjoined; the Apostolic Tradition is not a “tradition of men,” but of God.
Matt. 5:17 ¶ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
Matt. 5:18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matt. 5:19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Yes, as I said; Christ did not abolish the Old Law; He fulfilled it. Hanging on the Cross, Christ said “it is accomplished,” and what has followed in the recreation of the cosmos through His Resurrection is not an abolition of the Law, but its perfect fulfillment. And hence, we have St. Paul telling us that Christ nailed the handwriting of the Law to the Cross; we have St. Paul rebuking those who wish to keep the Law in respect to circumcision and other points as necessary; we have St. Peter receiving a vision in which God commands him to kill and eat what the Law had previously called unclean; we have the Church meeting in a synod, with the Apostles declaring in the authority of the Holy Ghost that the faithful are not bound to observe the Old Law, but issuing other directives that seemed “good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”
That is the point; the new Law is the Holy Ghost shed abroad in the hearts of men, perfectly leading the Church into all truth through the Apostolic authority, which is directly from Christ. In Pentecost, which is the fulfillment of the Lord’s Pasch, the fulfillment of the Old Law is realized in the Church, the New Israel, as she begins to fulfill God’s Law in Spirit and in Truth. The Holy Ghost and His Charity is the New Law, leading the Church to worship God more correctly and fully than was ever done under the shadows of the Old Law. Indeed, this had been the point, to which the entirety of the Old Law was directed.
This is very plain, even in the Scriptures, without making much reference to the Apostolic Tradition on prominent display throughout the early Church. You marshal smatterings of isolated quotes, but you evince no profounder understanding of the integral content of the Scriptural teaching, to say nothing of the Apostolic Church’s primitive history.
There is plenty of error in what you wrote above, yet I will simply point out the most obvious one – I love it when folks pull out Acts 10 and “the food” to prove their point….
The Acts 10 vision has *NOTHING* to do with food….
It’s *ALL* about the acceptance of Gentiles into the Kingdom…. do a true study and read it yourself… at a deeper level, not at one where you hope it makes your point.
As I advise many – “make your beliefs match scripture” – you on the other hand make scripture match your beliefs…. very different…. and errant
Acts 10:28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how aunlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. 29 “That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”
Acts 10:30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during bthe ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 ‘Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 “So I sent for you immediately, and you have 1been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
Acts 10:34 Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and 2does what is right is welcome to Him.
With that – I believe you have much to learn from a *Biblical* standpoint, you have had your ears tickled and do not wish to move from that – that is your choice, yet if you truly wish to pursue truth, I suggest you let scripture ‘be’ and do not twist it into something you want it to say….
blessings
It has nothing to do with food, except for the fact that unclean foods were central to the vision…
And, not long thereafter the Apostles would infallibly declare in a Synod led by the Spirit, that the Old Law no longer had to be observed on such matters. Again, things should not be isolated; the integral development of thought in the Scriptures and in the early Church must be appreciated.
You are a grown man, I presume; believe as you will. We shall both have to offer an account of ourselves to God. In charity I tell you that all of Church history tells a story different from yours, and I encourage you to walk honestly with yourself and before God. The stakes are very high, and therefore no man should walk too stubbornly in his own opinions, but should always pray God for light to be delivered from his unsuspected errors. I believe I have found the True Faith, and I also pray each day, after truly composing myself in a spirit of humble acknowledgment of my capacity for self-deceit and pride, that God would save me first of all from myself. I recommend this practice to you, in charity. God bless.
Fascinating article, brother. Read it, reading it again. Thank you.
Many thanks.
Again I was familiar with the basics on things like Covenant, Passover, Babel, and so on, but had only heard the word Pentacost in relation to denomination. It’s interesting to go deeper and I’m always up for learning more on specific ritual and symbolism and the interplay.
Thank you sir.
Thank God; I always hope my articles are both interesting, and pique men’s further curiosity about the profundities and beauties of the Faith.
Your articles are very underrated. So much spiritual wisdom, which is needed
That’s very kind; thank you.
I would like to have a theological discussion with you, regarding doctrines.
Sure. I have a tutanota.com email with this handle (all one word). I try to check it once a week, but I’ll admit I sometimes space it amongst other things. Send your questions to me there; if I don’t get in touch with you, message me here and remind me to go check it!
let me let you in on a little secret. Jesus was black not a pale caucazoid. The bible even says so.
Well, you would know best, I suppose.
Did you pull that out of Rachel Maddow’s asshole?
Book of daniel and the book of revelations.
Even the Vatican portrays Jesus as black. Google it dummy.
Yep. Right out of her asshole.
Jesus was a HEBREW.
What a lie. Jesus was olive complexioned, a Hebrew. The Bible never says he’s black you low IQ thug moron.
Thank you Aurelius for another great article. I only wished I had learned so much earlier.
great article
“pentekostos” is Greek for “fifty”. If I’m not mistaken, it was the equivalent of five Egyptian weeks.
That’s an odd way of putting it, though I guess it’s technically accurate. The Christians have always named it thus from Acts 2:1 –
Καὶ ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς πεντηκοστῆς ἦσαν πάντες ὁμοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.
(“On the day in fulfillment of the Pentecost, all were together in the same place.”) Pentecost was the word that the Hellenic Jews (Jews living abroad, especially in Alexandria) used for the feast of Shavuot. Shavuot is Hebrew for “Weeks,” because it was a “Week of Weeks” – i.e., 49 days, ending on the 50th day, the first after this cycle. The Septuagint and the New Testament both use the term for this feast.
This cuck of a Pope we have now. I’m loosing my religion…….fast……
After the Protestant crisis, the Church had the theologians discuss what would happen if a Protestant got elected to the papacy; the answer was very clearly given by St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church; his principles were repeated in Paul IV’s “Cum ex Apostolatus Officio;” that was then reiterated by Vatican I, and Bd. Pius IX, and then by Leo XIII and Pius XII in solemn encyclicals (Satis Cognitum, and Mystici Corporis, respectively). This was further confirmed by the canonization of St. Robert, and by declaring him a Doctor of the Church, during the latter, two pontificates.
What is this binding doctrine? It is the principle that all manifest, public heretics are self-excommunicated and cannot be members of the Church, let alone her head. The application of this to the papacy, is that any supposed pope that is a manifest heretic is not a pope; the faithful have an obligation not to follow him.
All of the above popes and documents affirmed the principles; St. Robert, Paul IV, Vatican I and Bd. Pius IX also explicitly affirmed the application to heretical “popes.” So, this is not a “crazy idea.” It is the certain doctrine of the Church. Ecumenical Councils and Supreme Pontiffs themselves, have admitted that a pope who “withers away into heresy” ceases to be pope, if he ever was pope to begin with. Why should we be ashamed, therefore?
So, it is a clear teaching, and there is no ambiguity. If Catholics had obeyed the doctrine of the Church and immediately rejected John XXIII after his humanist encyclical, or at least Paul VI after his numerous treacheries, the problem would have been nipped in the bud. Instead, they have allowed the emotional appeal of Rome (and the admitted importance of union with Rome in normal circumstances) to supersede Rome’s own, defined doctrine on how to realize when something is amiss. Now there is this massive crisis where they keep trying to reconcile heresy and orthodoxy in an “hermeneutic of continuity,” avoiding the obviously necessary course of action. Ignore Francis and the apostates pretending to be cardinals and bishops, hold a Council with the few orthodox who remain, and get a real pope again.
Though the principles are clear, most Catholics have no frame of reference for this: all they know is “I must be with the pope.” Well yes, you must be with the pope, when there is one and you know who he is; but the Church is telling us how you may know when a man isn’t the pope, so that you don’t have to be with him! If Donald Trump marched into Rome and put on a white cassock and the tiara, and called himself Pope Tremendous, would we have to “be with the pope?” Yes!
But Trump wouldn’t be the pope. Neither is Francis. Pretending to be the pope is not the same thing as being the pope. Canon Law and theology tell us what is necessary for man to actually be the pope. Francis doesn’t fit the bill. Even if you wanted to pretend Francis is orthodox, it’s obvious that huge numbers of Cardinals are apostates and heretics. They are not members of the Church; what are they doing in a papal conclave? What validity could elections with such electors have? They’re all just playing dress-up at this point.
Francis is a manifest, public heretic; he is not a Catholic; he is not a pope. Until Catholics rediscover and reaffirm their own doctrine and Tradition, they can expect to keep enduring this freak show.
The Catholics of R.O.K. are the new insurgency, the new rebellion who will reclaim the Church as we reclaim our place in a righteous patriarchy.
Good article; I learned some things. I enjoy the church calendar articles, and I look forward to Advent’s, as it oddly enough is my favorite church season. I don’t know why, maybe I like fall, or it’s when I was born, or the anticipation of Christmas coming, as opposed to the long winter following.
I struggle with faith, perhaps I always will. It is hard to reconcile the Christian faith with the existence of other religions and which of those to believe valid. I pray nightly for a poor child with cancer, his name is Drew, and he is recovering nicely. His mother asks for specific things to pray for, I pray for miracles, and let God and Christ work. I value and appreciate the Bible and the direct line to Christ that prayer affords me; I try not to abuse it, and I appreciate how we do not have to do sacrifices of animals or other old rituals with the New Covenant. Perhaps loving your religion is one of the steps to improving the faith; I hope so.
Surely; we care for the things we love. When I look at the Medieval Cathedrals, built when technical capabilities were far lower, and when there was less wealth overall in society, I see the plain evidence of the most sublime kind of love. No other civilization has buildings to rival them.
Advent and Christmas is probably my favorite time of year, in terms of its general “spirit.” In terms of the Liturgy, the journey from Septuagesima to Trinity Sunday (spanning Lent, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost) is my favorite time of year, dealing with the Mysteries of our Faith in a clearly inspired way. My favorite Feast has always been Ascension; but now that competes with Christ the King, the Immaculate Conception and the Lady of Sorrows.
And yes, that is the central meaning of Pentecost – God now directly abides in man. The veil is rent, the Holy Ghost has descended in a smokeless fire and tabernacled Himself directly in the hearts of the faithful. Alleluia! Even the role of the priesthood, which many non-Catholics (and even some Catholics!) poorly understand, does not in any way impede this. Christ gave the Apostles the special authority of governing the Church and forgiving or retaining sins for the purpose of shepherding souls, guarding the Sacraments of the Church and helping people make spiritual progress most effectively.
The bishops and their priests retain this legitimate role… but they themselves have always taught that sins are certainly forgiven directly by God to those who are contrite, ask His forgiveness, and who intend to make their sins known to the Church when they can (in order to receive counsel for penance, and in order to let the trained pastors of the Church safeguard discipline and the Sacraments). So even the misunderstood role of confession in the Catholic Church does not impede this direct access of men to God; rather, it is the most amazing sign of it – God Himself has even extended a share of His power to forgive sins, unto mortal men.
Aurelius, like all the pundits and the deliverers shoddy goods in all religions and elsewhere, you are just like a parrot, a tape recorder, repeating at nauseam WORDS which have been formulated in some sick mind and handed down throughout the ages to gullible people. Have you ever asked yourself WHAT is really their value? What you are really looking to attain through them? What do they really bring to people? What is the interest in listening to a parrot besides turning into yet another parrot and maybe obtaining a cozy fuzzy feeling for awhile that “as long as I keep these words in my mind I’ll be alright?” (For how long though, it’s anybody’s guess. It takes just a bit of Alzheimer and your are done for).
Look, if you are so hooked up on “sacred texts” and the like I can feed you a piece that should be the last one you ever need to read of to repeat to the true “spiritual seeker:”
nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā, na bahunā śrutena: yamevaiṣa vṛṇute, tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanῡṁ svām. (Katha Upanishad (ii. 23)
(This Soul cannot be attained by study of the Scriptures, nor by vast intelligence, or even by much hearing. He whom the Self chooses, by him the Self can be gained. To him this Atman reveals Its true nature.)
AND even that is just parroting, you see? It’s not worth anything if it does not percolate to the very physical essence, if it does not become flesh, therefore action.
Your commitment and dedication show in your writings and in your answers. If you applied that much energy to allowing the Natural State of your Nature to express itself, well, that would be a mighty sight indeed!
Therefore, get rid of the manipulative slimy catholic (or any other religion) environment, allow your real Nature to express itself by easing up on being so fascinated by thought (thought only has the function of being the servant of life, to solve real-life situation, not to make up fantasies and the apparatuses that keep them alive), work some physical job, or do lots of sports, go out and smell the freedom, avoid losing time masturbating your brain with useless theological cr*p, and teach Men to be Real Strong Men if you want to do good. A Real Strong Man does not need any crutches, religious or otherwise to stand upright. Don’t worry, you are not going to fall. Just do it and find out.
And quit repeating empty words like a parrot or a tape recorder, I think it would be best for everyone. This community of Kings does not need the delusional disorders induced by religions. This community of Kings needs Strong Men of Action, who have clear thoughts and who are in touch with reality, or they simply will keep perpetuating the same insanity we are living in.
Tl;dr version: I’m the smartest little boy in the world!
You pose as some sort of guru, yet a moment’s reflection would indicate the enormous occlusion of mind, brought upon by the intrusion of ego, into your questions and approach.
Shall I simply listen to you and “parrot” you? Or is it your definition of “free-thinking” that anyone who agrees with your bunch of hooey is a free-thinker, and anyone who agrees with my bunch of hooey is a “parrot?” Your bunch of hooey isn’t “theology” because it is “Nature,” and my bunch of theology is “crap” because it’s in a book? What kind of “wisdom” is this? It’s a wonder any of the ancient sages or philosophers ever bothered to write anything down!
You are big on “doing it for yourself.” All I can do is point the men towards some of the resources, to start doing just that.
so it is to say that jews are anti-god, no? as in the faith of christ god is one with man , in k!keism, they seperate from god and have rules written down, so it is not a moral thing to do something wrong , just breaking the rules . maybe that is why they drink the blood of under aged 12 christians and make it in to matzo bread.
“The rules,” ideally, often give expression to the objective norms of morality. The problem with the Jews, is that they rejected the incarnation of that Norm, the Good Himself, Who was the fulfillment of their own Law.
In rejecting Christ their legitimate king for Barabbas, a rebel, the Jews rejected the Good, and the legitimate expression of their heritage, for a shyster and revolutionary who prioritized his people’s merely worldly ambitions over their legitimate good. To this day, most of them do not escape that legacy. There are some good Jews (and bad Christians), obviously; their condition is more a spiritual curse than a genetic necessity. And some Jews escape it altogether and join the Church.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And His kingdom will have no end.
Thanks again for another great article.