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Maslow Comment:  Maslow wrote during the early and middle of the 20th century which was dominated by the materialistic paradigms of stimulus response psychology, the behaviorists (Wundt, Watson, Skinner, Miller & Dollard).  The concurrently developing analytical schools of psychology that were defined by Freud, Jung, Erickson and their follows were dismissed by scientists as worthless because in their minds, these paradigms could not be subject to their scientific protocols.  Therefore Maslow, who along with Rollow May, Carl Rogers, George Kelly, and other existentialists and phenomenological psychologist created what was called the "Third Force" in psychology had to tread lightly.  To proclaim any concept or paradigm that rested in or even allowed for a concept of spirituality would have had the effect of  driving them out of their universities and livelihoods.  So the innocuous term "self actualization" was used. (See Maslow, 1984,  his last major work, for his closest approach to an overt concept of Spirituality.)

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8Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof 9and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. 10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea£ before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The LORD your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. 12Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the LORD that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith 13that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the LORD gives us the land.”

15Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. 16She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.” 17The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you 18if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down, and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. 19If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent; but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. 20But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you.” 21She said, “According to your words, so be it.” She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window.

22They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. 23Then the two men came down again from the hill country. They crossed over, came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. 24They said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us.”  (NRSV)

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Benjamin Franklin became a Freemason (while in France.) He arranged for funding of the revolution from Masonic and other secret orders in France (e.g., Rosecrucians) while there as Ambassador from the United States.  The United States was then founded by a group of men in which 52 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons [Mackey, 1917,  p 1046].  All 15 of George Washington's top generals were Freemasons, five of them Grand Masters.  Washington himself was Grand Master of the Alexandria (Virginia) Lodge. [Ref Mackey, 1917, p 1046]   The Great Seal of the United States, and our official currency (e.g. the humble dollar bill) is embossed with images that have profound Mystical significance (but only for those with eyes to see.)

For example, on the reverse of the seal, there is the pyramid. The pyramid's use as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh was a secondary use.  Its principle use (due to its dimensions and construction according to sacred laws) was as a temple for the priests who were contemporary custodians of the most ancient Spiritual Truths until the death of the Pharaoh. [van Auken, 1999]

On the dollar bill's pyramid there are 12 layers of blocks (symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel, which number is mystically significant going back beyond Pythagorean numerology. [Note:  related to ancient Egyptian astronomy (and perhaps even more ancient sources)  which tracked the annual route of the sun through the 12 astronomical "houses" of the night sky, with their recognized systematic influences on human activity.] The Roman numerals on the bottom row of the pyramid indicate the founding year, 1776.  [ref Hall, 1988, p LXII]  The characteristics of each of the 12 tribes is described in the occult dimensions of The Qabbalah, the Mystical text of Jewish origin. [See also Fillmore: The Twelve Powers of Man, 1995 reprint, which is based upon this Mystical guidance]

At the top of the Pyramid is a triangle, the shape of the Greek letter D (Delta,) which represents the name of GOD. It symbolizes the all seeing eye of GOD.  This not a reference to the primitive, vengeful, anthropomorphic God of Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals, but the transcendent universal GOD as worshipped by the original Gnostic Christians whose manifestation is described in The Secret Doctrine of Theosophy [Re Blavatsky, 1888/1988].  The pyramid contains 72 blocks (six representatives from each of the 12 tribes of Israel):

"The 72 stones are the 72 arrangements of the Tetragrammaton, or the four lettered name of God--the Divine part of nature completing the works of men.  These four letters can be combined into 72 combinations, resulting in what is called the Shemhamforesh, which represents, in turn, the laws, powers, and energies of Nature by which the perfection of man is achieved.  The Pyramid then is the Universal House, and above its unfinished apex [symbolizing the imperfection of mankind as an incomplete work] is the radiant emblem of the Great Architect of the Universe."  [Brackets added: Hall, 1944, 1972, p 179]  Read the allegory of  "The House of Three Rooms" in this work.

There are 13 (another mystical number described in Hall, 1988, [op cit., p LXIX]) each of the leaves and olives on the olive branches held in the right claw, symbolizing our preference and will to peace; 13 stars (for the original colonies,) tail feathers (balance,) and arrows in the left claw symbolizing our readiness and willingness for war if provoked.  There are sacred inscriptions in Latin: e.g., Noves Ordo Seclorum--" a new cycle of the ages, E Pluribus Unum-- "out of many, one" (which does not refer to the unit of money) and Annuit Coeptis--  "GOD smiles on this" placed over the triangle with the single eye at the top of the pyramid.  This Delta symbol represents the sixth chakra or the focal point of the intuitive mental plane that connects with the Spiritual information-energy fields.  Both of the latter inscriptions contain 13 letters in acknowledgment of the 13 colonies and the sacred number 13. (Ref Hall, Manly P., p XC)
See additional technical information grounded in Masonic Qabbalistic numerology.

The importance of this Mystical symbolism on our national seal, or on our common currency, has nothing to do with these symbols themselves. They only serve to remind the Spiritually endowed and stimulate the Spiritual Consciousness that a Spiritually empowered observer brings to these symbols that contains the Mystical power.  Without this Spiritual Consciousness, the symbols are meaningless, as can be found in trivialized materialistic interpretations for these symbols. As indicative of our nation's growing Spiritual impoverishment, pressures now exist within the materialistic corporate controllers of our government to remove these Sacred symbols from our money altogether.  ["Forgive them for they know not what they do!."]

There are detractors to this type of Spiritual interpretation and its link to Freemasonry.  When you visit any such source, keep in mind that Freemasonry has its roots in ancient Gnostic Principles even prior to the Christian Gnostics.  The line of Apostolic Successors (Proto-orthodox Christians) of the evolving Christian church, successfully persecuted the Gnostics from visibility during the first 300 years of the church [See NOTE;  see also details  at the end of part 3 of 3, Intro Dialogue.] Then the Apostolic Successors turned their inquisition on the Freemasons and other secret societies (alchemists, original Illuminati, Rosecrucians, Knights Templar, and others) who nevertheless preserved elements of these ancient Gnostic Principles in secret. For example, Isaac Newton, an alchemist in his latter years, took great pains to hide from the church his in depth involvement with alchemy, the Qaballah, Gnostic, and other Mystical sources.  [Ref the radical film: ARNTZ, William, CHASSE, Betsy, & VICENTE, Mark, 2004, What the Bleep do We know?, Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) & Captured Light Industries: Lord of the Winds Films, LLC;  PDF study guide] 

At the time of the revolution, it was not healthy to be a Freemason in colonial culture, let alone an enemy of the British Crown.  Consistent with the practices of all secret Mystical societies to sow doubt and confusion among their detractors, they frequently hid, destroyed, or never kept records that might be found incriminating.  Hence the detestation of Freemasonry among some of its religious and secular opponents. Such criticisms, when found, ought be interpreted with an informed grain of salt.  Better still, surrender you own understanding being developed from this and other sources and surrender your current understanding and confusion to Meditation.  Best of all is to enter Meditation in the The Silence, to nurture those influences from the Realms of Spirit, the only home of TRUTH.

The United States of America is an example of success in intentionally creating a Spiritually grounded advanced benevolent society.  [See details, The Secret Destiny of America, [Hall, 1944]  But the very success of the United States, or any Spiritually directed undertaking, does not guarantee worldly success for those Builders who risk to advance a Spiritually endowed cause based upon the Gnostic Wisdom and teachings of Jesus.  The fate of America's founding fathers has been documented, and all of them are True Heroes. They, and their supporting families, knowingly risked and accepted to suffer enormously, and did in most cases, in order to create the Spiritual legacy that is The United States of America.  The Spiritual integrity of The United States of America is now under assault from the corportists as aided and abetted by the religious right.  This trend has disastrous portent for our Democracy's future.  President Jimmy Carter, a Southern Baptist and Evangelical Christian, has written a well informed, thoughtful,and disturbing account of the religious right's pernicious influence in American politics today.  [Recommended, Carter, 2005]  

The world should realize that the current high profile opposition to Christian symbols, the word "God", and the use of prayer and religious ceremony in our public institutions has nothing to do with any real rejection of God, Jesus, or our Judao-Christian culture. The real reason is because the Christian religious right has co opted these symbols and is using them as weapons in their sectarian struggle for worldly political power, and in service to their goal to impose their values and beliefs on all others.  

The real reason then, why moderate and progressive Christians oppose the use of these symbols and rituals in public applications, is because the power mongers of  the Christian right have successfully hijacked these Christian symbols for tactical applications in their struggle for political power.  In serving these goals, they repudiate the teachings of their Jesus ("You cannot serve both God and mammon.") This betrayal by the religious right is the real reason for opposition to these symbols in public places, not because they are less Christian or Spiritual, but because they feel pressure to resist the religious right's tactical and strategic use of these symbols and rituals in public, in sectarian institutions, and in other secular activities. 

The power and majesty of the Spiritually grounded legacy our founders gave us was so potent that we continue to benefit today, even after 200 years of human weakness in our political leadership, even as this legacy is being progressively betrayed by corporate and sectarian greed, and their lust for worldly power.  These fatal goals are aided and abetted by Spiritually naive right wing sectarian interests and a Spiritually challenged electorate.  In their own lust for worldly power, much of the electorate has been successfully seduced to either ignore or give uninformed zealous support for the right wing's religious and sectarian betrayal of our Spiritual legacy.  

For this reason, as the Spiritual power behind these sacred symbols fades from the Consciousness of our political and corporate leaders and the greater American public, the USA slides into decline and eventual oblivion.  We  will not succumb to Chinese or Islamic aggression alone.  But we will succumb to Spiritual neglect, corruption, and emptiness.  In negligently facing this fate, we join every other great civilization before us who perished into oblivion because of their arrogance and ignorant neglect of Spiritual Truth. [e.g., in addition to world civilizations  like the Chaldeons, Babylonians, Egyptians, Alexandrians, and Romans, see also the alternating cycles of kings and prophets in the Old Testament.]

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OT/MP takes a somewhat different perspective on the teachings of Jesus. The purpose of Jesus' message was not to make us dependent and trapped by having to cling to the literal plank of His teachings. Rather, for those with "eyes to see and ears to hear" He has prepared us to give up the wooden plank to walk on the water and entirely transcend the storms of worldly life without any dependence on planks.

"Moral contempt for bankers and their power over others would endure across the centuries and into the  present time, but the process of capital accumulation established its own justification.  The morality was exalted in the Protestant ethic of John Calvin; the mechanics were elaborated by the classical economists who accompanied the rise of industrial capitalism.  Bankers were assured that by doing what they had once been forbidden, they were actually doing good for all." In- Greider, William, Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country, (NY: Simon and Schuster), 1987. (p- 172)

"The awkward little secret of the American System was that modern recessions did not flow ineluctably from mysterious natural forces in the business cycle.  Recessions were induced by the federal government.  In seven recessions since World War the same transaction had preceded each contraction [of the economy]:  the Federal Reserve's decision to force up the interest rates to an abnormal level" (p 393)

"The orderly world described in economics textbooks was thus inverted.  Economics taught that finance existed to facilitate business and commerce, that the real economy was the core of capitalism and that finance merely served it like a veil.  When money's value was given paramount priority, the order was turned upside down.   The diverse energies of the real economy, the vast aspirations of Americans generally, would now be suppressed in order to protect the interests of money." (p 620)

  "Certain principles of money were not subject to alteration by the modern technocratic managers.  They might be ignored or forgotten for a time, but they could not be repealed.  One of these principles was the ancient biblical injunction against usury,  The particular definitions of usury had changed over the centuries, but the moral meaning had not.  Usury was present when lenders insisted on terms that were sure to ruin the borrowers."  (Greider, op cit., p 707)

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Conversion or elimination of all "unbelievers" is a sworn goal that is required of all Muslims as an article of their faith. An "unbeliever" is any person not sworn to and devoted to the principles and obligations set forth in The Holy Qur'an. Believers are required to slavishly follow the dictates of The Holy Qur'an.  In the face of suras (chapters/verses) like those shown below, how is it possible to trust any claim of good will or proclamations of good faith by even so called "moderate" Muslims? 

Those Muslims who lust for secular power can conveniently hang their evil agendas on these scriptural hooks.  Under the rules defined by Islam, any deceitful and lying tactic is approved in order to overcome the infidel and propagate the faith, whether by fair means or foul.  As quoted in part two of the three part Introductory Dialogue, America must come to believe the truth in the following declaration with its dire implications:

Abu Bakar Bashir, an Islamic cleric who is the alleged leader of an Indonesian terrorist cult, Jemaah Iskmiah, with links to Al Qaeda, has said, "There are only two acceptable outcomes for Islam. To win or to die." [CNN Presents,  "Seeds of Terror," 8:00 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2003]"

The table below compiles comparative quotes from two translations of The Holy Qur'an.  The Dawood translation (copyright 1956-1974) has had 13 printings across four revisions during five decades. It is the most widely read and studied source of The Holy Qur'An  in the United States to the current day.   The Ali translation is slightly less militant. It is the translation that was provided the author by the American Muslim Council as the authoritative edition.    

Where the "exceptions" from The Holy Qur'an noted below refer to "just cause," ask who makes that decision? 
Ask who it is that defines the "limits" that Islam is not to "transgress."
And also consider whether or not we "...have been warned beforehand..." regarding our promised death at the hands of Islam. 

Since the quotes below are from the most sacred text of Islam, The Holy Qur'an, is there in fact an Islam that is not militant? WHERE ARE THE ISLAMIC SCHOLARS OF GOOD WILL WHO ARE PREPARED TO REFUTE THESE EVIL PASSAGE?  I plead to hear their voices.

The writer alleges himself to be a person by the name of Frank Collins.  By his comments and their tone, he is obviously a militant defender of Islam. His chilling words are posted here verbatim.   They need to be taken seriously, as well as the hatred with which they are packaged:

            [color added]

Posted April 11, 2007 7:54 PM

See link to letter from an American Airlines pilot immediately below that I offer as an antidote to the above expression of Islamic hate.

WHAT MUST BE DONE??  
The assertions in the MP's Introductory Dialogue (Part 2 of 3) state what must be done.  To visit that guidance and gain an appreciation of the scale of the effort required, please visit the concept "When Killing is essential for life [Begins with "The Vigilant and Dispassionate Phagocytes."]  Further, in Dialogue 1, (On The Nature of Consciousness) you learn that minds that are limited by a primitive (concrete) consciousness cannot be reasoned with from a different or higher level of consciousness [Because of the dominance of Concrete HIP (Human Information Processing) competence, developed as Dialogue 4.] 

Therefore, when any such group is prone to violence as the sole, primary, or inevitable means for achieving their political goals, they must preemptively be utterly, ruthlessly and completely destroyed, along with their entire supporting infrastructure.  Of course as noted in that Introductory Dialogue, (Part 2 of 3), such a draconian resolution must be accomplished only as a last resort in the context of rigid adherence to the conditional cautions and warning protocols discussed in that dialogue.

To apply the C/consciousness paradigm presented by OT/MP [glossary, def. of C/consciousness], evidence of good faith by the Islamic community should only be trusted given clear and persistent efforts by credible Islamic scholars and leaders in America and overseas, to refute these and other hostile passages taken from The Holy Qur'an. These hostile passages must be refuted as being the true words of Mohammed.   Until these passages are refuted, there MUST be NO accommodation with Islam.  No such agreement contrary to the mandates of Islam can be trusted to be anything more than a deceptive tactical device to cause the "unbelievers" to lower their guard and be eliminated.

Western scholars who have looked into the roots of The Holy Qur'an suggest the possibility that such repudiation could be obtained. They suspect that revisionist elements who followed Mohammed have perverted his teachings in order to advance their ego driven power and control agenda of world conquest. One of the foremost early 20th Century scholars into the Mystical legacy of humanity, Manly P. Hall, wrote about "The Faith of Islam," in his master work re-published in 1988, The Secret Teachings of All Ages.  He wrote:

"Everything to the contrary notwithstanding, Mohammed is not responsible for the contradictions and inconsistencies in The Koran, for the volume was not compiled and did not assume its present form until over 20 years after his death...  From what is known of the man Mohammed, it is reasonable to suppose that these nobler and finer portions represent the actual doctrines of the Prophet; the remainder are obvious interpolations, some arising from misunderstanding and others direct forgeries calculated to satisfy the temporal ambitions of [a] conquering Islam." p  CXCII

Note the following as ominous evidence of the REAL and latent threat from Islam as it is presently practiced.  The revelations of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of United States soldiers in Iraq reported during the spring of 2004 led to a paroxysm of concern, apologies, and investigations that terminated the careers of most of those responsible.  Yet this "torture" was minor compared to the beheading, violent torture, and other routine anti-human actions and practices of the Islamic terrorists and their supporters in Iraq and elsewhere.  Why then, is there is silence across the world of Islam as to their own outrages, and why do they not acknowledge the apologies and corrective actions of the US military once these abuses by Americans came to light?  What is the hidden message here?

Even worse, consistent with the model of C/consciousness taught by the MP [in Dialogue 1], the Muslems continue to rage against this lapse of American ethics while they do not acknowledge America's overt concern for our own errors expressed in the punitive actions upon those perpetrators of that prisoner abuse, nor do they acknowledge the remedies being installed to protect against subsequent abuse. What does this suspicious silence mean?  In countless interviews by the media political wonks on every network, why do they not ever directly and pointedly challenge the representatives of Islamic apologists and defenders who visit their programs about these hostile suras?   Their religion mandates that all non believer's be killed, a mandate for genocide.

The United States leadership needs to immediately go to the religious root of Islamic violence, and quickly demand, that the Koranic teachings in advocacy of violence and the exclusion of "unbelievers" be formally repudiated.

This corrective action must be done by both the followers of Islam, and especially by Islamic clerics and scholars across the world, and most especially by those in the United States. SURELY IT IS CLEAR WHAT IT MEANS IF THEIR SILENCE CONTINUES?   "By their works ye shall know them."  As promised in accordance with the science and Metaphysics of OT/MP:

Use your browser's "back" button to return to the various jump points in OT/MP that brought you to this note.

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     1. I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.

     2. I will obey my special orders and perform all of my duties in a military manner.

     3. I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions to the commander of the relief.

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"On 11 - 13 November, this ongoing discourse will move to Washington, D.C., as the FORTUNE Global Forum 2002 gathers the heads of the world's largest multinational corporations to focus on "The Power of Leadership: Mastering the New Realities."

"Participation is by invitation only and is limited to chairmen, CEOs, and presidents of major multinational corporations. [emphasis added] Top caliber guests, global representation, a strategically focused program led by the editors of FORTUNE, the intimate size of the meeting, and interactive formats ensure that the FORTUNE Global Forum is the premier summit for global executives."

There is an annual secret convocation held each year at Bohemian Grove, California, to which only invitations permit admittance. The alleged purpose of this convocation is for select corporate and government (read congressional) elite to play and romp with no serious discussions of any kind on the agenda. Sure!  No press or media are allowed.

See also patterns of disinformation and secret meetings noted at the following sites:

http://www.disinfo.com/pages/dossier/id1054/pg1/

http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=722
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http://www.parascope.com/articles/0597/gates.htm
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http://www.mega.nu:8080/ampp/www.tlio.demon.co.uk/bilder.htm

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"As a serious student of the conditions necessary for revolution, Tocqueville tried in the late 1840s to warn the governing powers in France about the possibility of overthrow.  He was convinced that the government and the Court had so offended the people that democratic passions would soon overturn the government.  On January 27, 1848, Tocqueville, a deputy, rose in the Chamber of Deputies.  'They tell me that there is no danger because there are no disturbances,' he said.  'They say that there is no visible perturbation on the surface of society, there are no revolutions beneath it.  Gentlemen, allow me to say that you are wrong. Disturbance is not abroad, but it has laid hold men's minds.'   Within four weeks the people revolted, the king fled, and the Second Republic was proclaimed.'"

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"The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings. Viewed by this light it becomes a coherent scheme, and not the monstrous maze the laity are apt to think it. Let them but once clearly perceive that its grand principle is to make business for itself at their expense, and surely they will cease to grumble."  in Bleak House by Charles Dickens, Chapter 39

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"Ah! in what a monstrous moment of pride and passion he had prayed that the portrait should bear the burden of his days, and he keep the unsullied splendor of eternal youth!   All his failure had been due to that. Better for him that each sin of his life had brought its sure swift penalty along with it.  There was purification in punishment. Not "Forgive us our sins" but "Smite us for our iniquities" should be the prayer of man to a most just God...

But this murder--was it to dog him all his life? Was he always to be burdened by his past? Was he really to confess? Never. There was only one bit of evidence left against him. The picture itself--that was evidence. He would destroy it. Why had he kept it so long?   Once it had given him pleasure to watch it changing and growing old.  Of late he had felt no such pleasure. It had kept him awake at night.  When he had been away, he had been filled with terror lest other eyes should look upon it. It had brought melancholy across his passions.  Its mere memory had marred many moments of joy. It had been like conscience to him. Yes, it had been conscience. He would destroy it.

He looked round and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it.  It was bright, and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter's work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.  It would kill this monstrous soul-life, and without its hideous warnings, he would be at peace. He seized the thing, and stabbed the picture with it....

When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart.  He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage.  It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was."

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NOTE:  Reaction Formation, A Freudian defense mechanism, is defined as follows:

"Reaction-formation" in Freudian jargon, is a defense  mechanism created by the ego to oppose the demands of the primal id by creating an opposing and incompatible concept or consciousness.  This creation blocks expression of the feared emotion or mental state. Example:  a person with latent homosexual tendencies, who resorts to reaction formation, will deny and repress that desire within himself by turning it into a "justifiable" hatred for all homosexuals. They will resolve the tension created by investing in that lie by public condemnations of homosexuals, and by acting out abuses on them.

Lawyers who invest themselves in deliberately exploiting the seamiest side of the human personality and weaknesses, will need to deny this Truth. So they go to great lengths to create a personal and public image of justice, cleanliness, style and correctness. These may be seen in their impeccable dress, stylish staff, ornate wood and marble halls of justice, and opulent offices.  All of this is paid for by those victims made vulnerable to the laws that lawyers have created to exploit.  This defense mechanism may be observed in many dimensions of life (e.g., politics and business. )  Defense mechanisms of all kinds become very transparent to those with an illuminated Spiritual Consciousness.
Return to Jump Point in Intro Dialogue, Part 3 o 3.

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"But, they teach in law school, in 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court changed all that - a decision which leads us directly to today's war with Iraq. The Court, the textbooks say, in the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case, recognized corporations as persons under the Fourteenth Amendment, and thus handed them the huge club of human rights that our Founders had given us humans to beat back government should it ever become repressive. Armed with this mighty weapon, corporations claimed free speech, privacy, the right not to speak, and used anti-discrimination statues originally passed to free slaves to throw out “bad boy” laws that favored local businesses over large corporations or companies that had been convicted of felonies.

I recently discovered that in 1886 the Supreme Court ruled no such thing. The “corporations are persons” was a fiction created by the Court's reporter. He simply wrote it into the headnote of the decision. In fact, it contradicts what the Court itself said. And we’ve found in the National Archives a note in the hand of the Supreme Court Chief Justice of the time to the court’s reporter saying, explicitly, that the Court had not ruled on corporate personhood in the Santa Clara case."    By Thom Hartmann  [Source]  [emphasis added]

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The females in the rat population were the most seriously affected by the high popu­lation density. They showed deviant maternal behavior: they did not behave as mother rats normally do. In fact, many of the pups, as rat babies are called, died as a result of poor maternal care. For example, mothers sometimes abandoned their pups, and, without their mothers’ care, the pups died. Under normal conditions, a mother rat would not leave her pups alone, to die. However, the experiments verified that in overpopulated communities, mother rats do not behave normally. Their behavior may be considered diseased, pathological.

The dominant males in the rat population were the least affected by overpopulation. Each of these strong males claimed an area of the enclosure as his own. Therefore, these individuals did not experience the overcrowding in the same way as the other rats did. The fact that the dominant males had adequate space in which to live may explain why they were not as seriously affected by overpopulation as the other rats. However, dominant males did behave pathologically at times. Their antisocial behavior consisted of attacks on weaker male, female, and immature rats. This deviant behavior showed that even though the dominant males had enough living space, they too were affected by the general over­crowding in the enclosure.

Non dominant males in the experimental rat communities also exhibited deviant social behavior. Some withdrew completely; they moved very little and ate and drank at times when the other rats were sleeping in order to avoid contact with them. Other non dominant males were hyperactive; they were much more active than is normal, chasing other rats and fighting each other.  This segment of the rat population, like all the other parts, was affected by the overpopulation.

The behavior of the non dominant males and of the other components of the rat population has parallels in human behavior.  People in densely populated areas exhibit deviant behavior similar to that of the rats in Calhoun’s experiments. In large urban areas such as New York City, London, Calcutta. Jakarta, Mexico City, and Cairo, there are abandoned children. There are cruel, powerful individuals, both men and women. There are also people who withdraw and people who become hyperactive . The quantity of other forms of social pathology such as murder, rape. and robbery also frequently occur in densely populated human communities. Is the principal cause of these disorders overpopulation? Calhoun’s experiments suggest that it might be. In any case, social scientists and city planners have been  influenced by the results of this series of experiments."  [emphasis added; article copied from unidentifiable source]

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[End of digression.  Return from Jump Point in Intro Dialogue, Part 3 of 3;
 Return to jump point if you arrived from dialogue 3,
Return to jump point if you arrived from the Conclusion,
otherwise, use your back button to return to prior jump point]

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There are the right wing "conservative" Christian extremists who would, and do, use and abuse this element of the definition, a practice which they in fact aggressively embrace and exploit today. This is a distinct minority view they have foisted on the American public as a norm.  Given the constant association of this term by the political and religious right as a debasement of those they label "liberal" they have succeeded in keeping the liberal movement locked in an undeserved and unwise low profile hush. Hence, the arguments presented in the MP, that Jesus was a liberal, should be celebrated and amplified in public discourse.  [Jesus identified as a Liberal]

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"In Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.  Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.  Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.  Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic.  Then they came for me, and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."
[source]

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The following quotes are found in Spilka [1989]:

 "There is an extensive psychological literature that relates our views and behavior toward others to the kind of religion we hold. Persons who manifest an open-minded quest [as a] religious orientation tend to be unprejudiced and respond to others more as individuals than simply as members of groups...In other words, their attributions toward others do not involve categorically based prejudgments.  In contrast, an extrinsic utilitarian faith has been associated with negative and dehumanizing categorical attributions to others." (p-8)

 "When intrinsic religionists are singled out the high sense of God control remains, but personal control increases along with evidence of psychosocial  competence." (p-12)

 "The implications remain that true intrinsic religion constructively unites internal and God control in an active, person-active God Sense, and this combination pictures a faith that is truly functional...[An extrinsic orientation, by] demanding conformity and not individual thought and action the person becomes powerless regardless of the spiritual rhetoric that is employed." (p-12)

    "A faith that supports false generalizations about groups of people is socially and personally dysfunctional-- socially, in that it works against cooperating and peace, and personally for its reinforcement of an unrealistic sense of vulnerability and insecurity by pitting person against person." (p-8)  [Brackets added]

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"Now, let's talk about the recall. This recall is bigger than California. What's happening here is part of an ongoing national effort to steal elections Republicans cannot win.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you.

It started with the impeachment of President Clinton when the Republicans could not beat him in 1996. It continued in Florida where they stopped the vote count, depriving thousands of Americans of the right to vote.

This year, they're trying to steal additional congressional seats in Colorado and Texas, overturning legal redistricting plans. Here in California, the Republicans lost the governor's race last November. Now they're trying to use this recall to seize control of California just before the next presidential election.

They spent $3 million to put this recall on the ballot.

But you're going to have to spend $65 million of your hard-earned tax dollars to conduct that election.

I'm sure you'll agree with me that money would be better spent educating our children.

...There are many reasons to be against this recall. It's expensive, it's undemocratic, it's a bad precedent, and it almost certainly will breed more recalls. The end result will be more campaigning not less, more politics not less and less time to do the public's business.

... Now, the Republicans say this recall is about ousting me for past problems. But, my friends, we're getting over our past problems. California did not go dark. I signed a budget. The schools are getting better, and our economy will turn around.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

But this right-wing power grab is something we won't get over. It would do lasting damage to our state, our environment and the very fabric of our democracy.

This is a fight worth making, and I need your help.

FDCH e-Media, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.)
Posted, The Washington Post, Wednesday, August 20, 2003; 9:18 AM

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"Water, water every where and how the boards did shrink,
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."

"Oh happy living things! no tongue
Their beauty might declare;
A spring of love gushed from my heart,
And I blessed them unaware,
Sure my kind saint took pity on me,
And I blessed them unaware.

The selfsame moment I could pray;
And from my neck so free
The albatross fell off, and sank,
Like lead into the sea."

Return to jump point in Dialogue 1: Consciousness.

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Return to jump point in Dialogue 1: Consciousness

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"IMPORTANT AMENDMENT TO YOUR CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT

"[conditions stated] Example: If your account had a 17.99% APR [Annual Percentage Rate] and a Default Rate  of 24.99%, and we did not receive minimum payment due in January, 2004 by its Payment Due Date, we could, at our option, and without any additional notice, increase your APRs to as high as 24.99%.  This increase would affect your balances as of the first of your billing cycle closing in March 2004."

We are adding the following definition to the "ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATES" section:

"'Default Rate' means the Daily Periodic Rate (DPR) and corresponding APR  which may be applied to your account in certain instances of your default...

...we may increase you APRs, without further notice, for each balance category up to the Default Rate if at any time [we don't receive the default minimum payment,  or if your total outstanding balance exceeds your credit limit] ...effective the day after the Closing Date of your next billing cycle and may apply to any or all of your balance categories... [option given for customer to reject this change in writing] ...if you reject this change, we retain the right to not reissue your account when it expires or to close your account at any time."   [Paraphrases in brackets added]

To what political body responsible for banking regulation can a citizen so victimized turn for relief? In practical fact, there are none.

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"How do those of us in the material-rich West, for whom life is filled with hope and meaning, defend ourselves against terrorist attacks? The fact is we cannot. A free and democratic society is by definition a porous society. The enormous coastline, the volume of imported goods that passes through our ports each day, our unprotected water supplies and power plants and our transportation systems of roads, bridges, tunnels and terminals make this nation eternally vulnerable. Our lax gun laws make everyone a potential sniper. The availability of homemade explosives suggests that if one no longer cares about whether he or she lives or dies, there is no power on earth that can stop that person from killing innocent people.

Who would have thought that our overwhelming technological advances and even our atomic dominance would be rendered incompetent to defend us so soon after we had achieved such weapons?

There is only one way to defeat terrorism and that is to defeat despair and to create hope for all people. Life must be worth living for every person or no one will finally be safe or secure from anyone. Terrorism will finally force the nations of the world to step beyond tribal boundaries, to recognize the depth of our human interdependence, and to work for common solutions. The world will not long endure with half of its population dieting while the other half is starving. War against Iraq will not do it. Saber rattling on the world stage together with boasts about our overwhelming military power and our willingness to use that power preemptively to remove dangers from our world is hopelessly naive. It is a manifestation of a 20th century mentality that has quickly become irrelevant in the first decade of the 21st century.

It does not appear to me that anyone in power in our nation today, on either side of the political aisle, understands this reality. Perhaps our political leaders might profit by reading the apocalyptic literature from a time in Jewish history more than two millennia ago."

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Dear Jim,

The short answer is no! The longer answer is that if I treated liturgical words literally, it might become necessary to be dishonest but I don't relate to the words of the liturgy as if they are to be understood literally. Indeed, I don't regard any theological words as literal containers into which truth must be poured.

Our God language is always symbolic and our liturgical language must also live within the symbolic definition. There are certainly some symbols that are clearly more negative than others, and sometimes more revolting than others when they are literalized. I think of the cannibalistic language so often employed in the Eucharist, such as eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus, which came originally out of the Passover celebration. In that liturgical action, after the blood of the paschal lamb had been placed on the doorposts of the Jewish homes to break the power of death, the "Paschal lamb" was roasted and the family would feast on "the body of the Lamb of God." When we employ this primitive language and view the Eucharist as a re-enactment of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, when he "died for our sins" or "to take away the sins of the world," we are using the language of Yom Kippur or the Jewish Day of Atonement.

There is also an abundant amount of sadomasochistic language present in our worship. We speak of God punishing Jesus instead of those of us who actually deserve the punishment. These images are shaped by the Servant Songs of II Isaiah (40-55), in which it is said that God has laid upon him "the iniquities of us all," and "by his stripes we are healed." Liturgies also use guilt-producing language which calls us to "live for Jesus, since he died for us," which is a product of that kind of Christianity that was designed to keep worshipers in a childlike dependent state.

In the baptismal formula, the old language of fall and rescue, which was started by a literal mis-reading of the Adam and Eve story, suggests that every child born was born in the sin of Adam and needs to be cleansed in Baptism or that child will perish.

Many forces shape liturgy over history and its language emerges from those unique moments in our religious tradition. It is employed to keep lives under the domination of a powerful religious institution. Liturgical reform is the process of bringing those concepts to consciousness and redirecting their emphasis. We do this by separating the experience of God from the way human beings in various times and places, have explained that experience. The experience of God can be both holy and eternal. The explanation of that experience is always finite, time bound and time warped.

Liturgy is a love song we sing to the reality that we call God who gives to our lives the dimension of transcendence, wonder and mystery. Love songs always employ excessive language. It is the nature of the language of love to be ecstatic. So I use these ancient words without crossing my fingers or becoming mute and I also seek to force a continuing reformation into all liturgical practices. I commend this pattern to you.

-- John Shelby Spong

[Source]

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...
NOTE: The NDE (Near Death Experience) is a Seduction of Satan?
Since the publication of such national best selling books as Life After Life, [Moody, 1975]  there has been a considerable scholarly activity around the NDE experience at places like the Universities of Virginia [Greyson, 1980;  evidence]  and Connecticut [Ring, 1984; 1982]; [current resources] with published scientific literature that combine to validate this experience.  The centerpiece of this experience is that the dying person becomes ONE with a powerful, pleasant, and Loving being of light while feeling absolute exquisite joy and Love.

Imagine then, a patient in a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the early 1990s, confiding to his chaplain that he had just lived this ineffably profound experience while being operated on. Imagine then, him being promptly and firmly told that, "Any such experience of absolute joy and love while you are alive is a seduction of Satan."

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    For more than the last two decades, I have been a serious student of politics, choosing to examine it from the perspective of a unique spiritual/scientific paradigm (model) that I have studied for an even longer period of time.  I am convinced that the George Bush dynasty is one of the most corrupt, even evil administrations to ever have political control of this nation. They are even more dangerous to the future of our Democracy than the Nixon administration. I say this because of the corporate right wing's serious effort to orchestrate an international conspiracy to replace all legitimate world governments with a despotic corporate cabal.  
Key reference =  Klein, Naomi, 2007, The Shock  Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Cpatilism.  
Review:   http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/reviews/juan-santos

    I offer the following as examples of the depths that the extreme right wing may be able to go to carry an election or cover their tracks surrounding criminal wrongdoing..  First, in the months before the 2000 election, former Missouri Gov. Senator Elect Mel Carnahan, was killed in mysterious crash of a private plane he chartered to visit rallies.   He was a popular liberal politician who was destined to win the senate race by a landslide. After he was killed in an airplane "accident" he nevertheless won election over John Ashcroft even though dead, and his wife was appointed by the Governor to fill his term.  

   Second, in the month prior to the 2002 Congressional election, the much beloved liberal senator from Minnesota, Paul Wellstone, was killed in a mysterious charter plane crash as he was flying from a stump speech to visit the funeral of a friend. 

    As a former pilot and instrument flight instructor, I was immediately suspicious about the nature of this crash as the meager advance details were released.  The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) who is charged to investigate and explain to the public the cause of all aircraft accidents in the US eventually released an unsatisfactory report.  I call your attention to the following article, written by a credible source, and its conclusions with which I am in full agreement.

http://www.alternet.org/story/14399/ 

However, the official accident report of the NTSB  that was questioned by a number of alternative investigations, indicates that the official cause of the accident was the inability of the flight crew to properly manage the runway 27 VOR instrument approach to the Eveleth, Minnesota, airport.  They allege that their neglect allowed the aircraft's airspeed to decrease to the point of causing a stall from which they could not recover prior to striking the ground, a type of accident unlkely to occur even with a newly trained and  inexperiened instrument pilot.

The person contemplating the political significance of this accident that cost the lives of a preeminent liberal Congressional representative and his staff and family, must choose between the possibility of a secretly massaged official report, or the crew selection by a charter company that provided a marginally (but legally) competent flight crew with a history of known deficiencies to operate their aircraft in minimally safe instrument flying conditions.  Even if this were entirely true, then it raises the question why a commercial (CORPORATE) charter company would risk the life of such a high profile client, and consequently their corporate credibility to provide safe flying services to their corporate clients.

Then there are also these follow-up articles:

May GOD protect our populist, progressive and liberal candidates, their liberal advocates, and this nation from any such assault.  

[An assassination did not materialize in the 2004 election due to a Republican victory which was itself due to the pernicious impact of unprincipled right wing tactics and effective  manipulation of the metaphor of the religious right.  See Essay (Position Paper) based on the MP for details.]

RELATED:  PATTERN OF A SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF AN INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST  POLITICAL CANDIDATE

The following information is re Hector Santos, designated Socialist Candidate for President of the Dominican Republic. Notice the plan of its current president at that time to bring further distress to the middle and low income classes in the Dominican Republic by applying the Milton Friedman Chicago School of "free market" (neoliberal) economics:

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"Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’"  [John 3: 3-7 NRSV]

To be born to Spiritual (Christ) Consciousness, you will reject the material world and its agendas as your guide to every thought, word and deed.  Far from becoming enslaved to the belief's of your faith group, the opposite occurs.  You will resist the sectarian "group think" of your faith group for you have benefited from the "renewing of your mind."  Your attention will become transformed from ego directed service to self, to expand your service to others.  You are "transformed by the renewing of your mind" [Rom 12:2] and you replace intellect's material "world" of ego consciousness and its secular agendas with a profound and sublime insight into the Spiritual Reality behind the material reality. When this True Spiritual rebirth of Consciousness happens, you are no longer able to do harm to another human being, not by thought, word or deed, nor can you serve any cause that does.  You are no longer able to follow the material path.  The sectarian politics of any faith is discarded.  You are infused with peace and Love.  You rewrite your life path.  You become servant only to good as exemplified by the Life of Jesus, Buddha, and every Avatar [definition] who has walked the earth.

Since being "born again" is exclusively a personal matter, the majority of those who so claim to having been reborn can "pass" as Christians, but without the substance of a genuinely awakened Spiritual (Christ) Consciousness.  They are impostors.  They do this in ignorance of their actual status.  Thus they remain capable of slavish devotion to material political agendas advanced by their church or political group, even when these are in direct and significant contradiction to Christian (New Testament) teachings.  There is evidence in the New Testament why Jesus would never support the current right wing political activism of most Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals. [Evidence]

One's awakening to Spiritual Consciousness does not depend on one's membership in a particular church which more often than not acts as an impediment. The most valid and interesting reports of such Real Spiritual awakenings have been reported by those who passed the threshold of death and been returned to life.  Such persons often report having had a NDE (Near Death Experience, ref.) Witnesses to the life of such persons uniformly testify that such persons are radically changed in positive and permanent ways.  Only Mystical experiences that produce such a radical change in Spiritual Consciousness insures that one is truly "Saved."

See the related note on this page, Why the original Gnostic Christians Disappeared.

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Suddenly a terrible event occurred.  A huge rogue elephant crashed into the room.  It lumbered about, smashing the furniture and delicate crystal, sucking up the drinks and food, and causing the guests to scatter in panic and confusion.  But what was really amazing about this event, is that nobody noticed the elephant!   Like the fabled blind men and their elephant, the guests only obsessed over the symptoms of their distress.  Some lamented the disappearing food and drink.  Others bemoaned the smashing of the beautiful furniture and ruination of the elegant ecological decor. Still others complained bitterly about the foul odor polluting their air.  And some, in fear for themselves, raged about the guests who were actually being crushed by the elephant and left lying on the floor, maimed or dead.  But in all of this anguish, nobody mentioned the elephant.  This is because the concept was not in their consciousness, and therefore the elephant was not visible to them.  Thus they were limited to only obsess over those symptoms of the elephant's presence that they could detect.  Therefore, they remained powerless to remove the real cause of their distress from their party.  They even fought over what symptom was most urgently in need of attention.  They blamed each other, and of course, "the government."

The party we speak of has been the 200 years in which the promise of America has been fulfilled. We have reveled in the bountiful goodness, scale, and scope of our material largess.  We had earned and received these blessings through the practice and celebration of our democratic freedoms, and by honoring a basic respect for the needs and rights of each other.  The "elephant" is the death grip that has resulted from the unopposed and unregulated greed and power mongers of corporate America who have turned our Democracy into a corporocracy.  They have seized the very juggler of our society. That grip creates all the symptoms and distress the party guests experience.  But this corporate beast, like the symbolic elephant, is out of the consciousness of the revelers.  They can not detect it for what it actually is. Thus, they cannot even speak of it. Therefore, they cannot act to remove its destructive presence from their lovely party. Ralph Nader attended this party.  Only Ralph Nader saw the elephant for what it Really is.  He tried to tell the revelers.  But he was promptly and rudely silenced and quickly shouldered out of sight by the corporate bouncers from the political right.

Strangely, many revelers persist in continuing their party as though nothing important has happened. But the most amazing aspect of all in this sad story, is the behavior of numerous politicians, political wonks, religionists, and pundits who also revel at this party.  One can understand that they do not want to bite the hands that feed them.  But while they spew reams of erudite and conflicted commentary about the symptoms of this elephant's presence, and offer sanctimonious declarations of religious values, and while they hold hours of brilliant debate about the various symptoms on which they choose to focus, many of them can be observed trying to elbow and shoulder each other out of the way in order to kiss the ass of this elephant.  This disgusting behavior is because the Reality of the elephant is not in their consciousness and they do not comprehend it for what it actually is. Therefore, they do not, cannot, know what they are actually doing.  For surely, one does not have to kiss the ass of anything or anyone to know that it will not be very nourishing and will leave a bad taste in one's mouth.

So if you are disturbed by a fetid odor wafting into your comfort zone these days, and wonder what is actually causing it, know that you are smelling the rotting corpse of our once beautiful American democracy--and elephant dung.

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Ebionites: Christians who maintained their Jewish identity, beliefs and practices; Jesus was a man and not God, but embraced and illuminated by God; believed Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah; there was only one God; they did not support Paul or the New Testaments as it developed; they associated with Jesus brother, James; had their own sacred texts attributed to Jesus

Marcionites: Christians who refused to be Jews; Jesus was completely God and not human; There were two Gods, the supreme Being who existed as the Pleroma (GOD) and who "breathed" a subservient God, Sofia, (called Jehovah by Jews and Christians) who created a corrupted visible universe; Paul was the ideal proponent for the true Jesus; the "law" was given by the God of the Jews, but the Gospel espoused by Paul promised that if one accepted Jesus they need not follow the Jewish law.  That legacy continues today, especially among fundamentalists and evangelicals, in that by "accepting Jesus" as one's personal savior, all prior sin is forgiven no matter how heinous.

Gnostics:  Dualistic cosmology, GOD is entirely Spirit, the material universe is separate, perceived by our material senses, and is an evil corruption;  GOD cannot be known by material means (the ego intellect and five senses) but can only be approached by complete surrender of the senses in deep prayer and meditation in "The Silence;" sacred scriptures and texts are myths and metaphor intended to guide a person on the only path of Knowing what can not be known by the intellect alone; Scripture, if literally believed, will lead one astray and deny those who are thus seduced their potential to experience the "GNOSIS" NOUS, or Knowing; most humans have a divine spark, a remnant of this Spiritual realm  from which we descend to earthly life;  we must navigate the evil material world to find our way back to GOD, but not all have this spark. Some are mere animals trapped in the material world of the flesh which is the True hell; Jesus is entirely a Spiritual Being, a Divine Eon, "breathed" forth by GOD, (described as "The Word" in the New Testament Book of John, 1:1.)  Jesus was sent to guide humanity back to the Spiritual path and create for themselves a total reunion with GOD; since the body was evil and to be escaped by means of the GNOSIS, it could not be indulged which led them to an ascetic lifestyle of denial of the pleasures of the senses.

Proto-Orthodox Christians: created our current Christian legacy;  believed that there was one God who created the universe; Jesus is both at once God and human; tripartite manifestation, father, son and Holy Spirit;  requires literal interpretations of Scripture; created paradoxes in order to deny the Ebionites and Marcionites legitimacy in their time;  to appeal to the Ebionites, the proto-orthodox Christians claimed that is was only necessary to accept Jesus as a personal savior and they need not follow the Jewish laws [see reference to why most Christians are not really saved, use back button to return;] dismissed the serious contradictions within their own theology by labeling them "Divine Mysteries;" claimed and enforced rules that held that only the apostolic Roman church has Spiritual authority and is imposed between God and man.  Beginning with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, among others, whose teachings were codified and affirmed at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, all other teachings were defined as heretical; this group of Proto-orthodox Christians survived the competition of Christian views and (contrary to the facts of that era) established themselves as the only legitimate line of Apostolic Successors; they established, defended and imposed their Orthodox Christian views of Jesus' teachings, life and meaning from the fourth Century on. [evidence]

How and why did the Proto-Orthodox Christians Prevail?
Given that the views of all four groups were equally and passionately defended by their proponents during the first centuries of the common era, how then did the Proto-orthodox expression of Christianity defeat all other versions of Jesus' life and teachings to become the dominant orthodoxy of today?  There are at least six important historically defensible reasons:

1.  The Proto-orthodox Christians established themselves in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, and were supported by Emperor Justinian and subsequent  Roman authorities, not only in Rome, but throughout the Roman Empire.

2.  Proclaimed and enforced that both the scriptures themselves and their interpretations were only valid under the apostolic authority of the Roman church.

3.  Interpreted, revised, and rewrote sacred texts to have them reflect only the views of the Roman church.

4.  Defined all other Christian teachers and any teaching of Christianity outside the Roman Church as heretics and heresy.

5.  Hunted down and destroyed conflicting texts and images of all other expressions of Christianity

6.  Established the inquisition to hunt down, and torture  into submission, or to kill all persons and groups defined as heretical, e.g., the Gnostics, Ebionites, and Marcionites.

Interesting to note that our current scientific understanding of quantum physics (GOD's revealed Laws of the physical universe) tends to be consistent with the metaphysics of Gnostic Christianity.  One can only wonder at how different our world would be had the Gnostics prevailed by the fourth Century.  But they were partly made victim of their own understandings of, and devotion to the Truth of Jesus' teachings.  That is, they did not feel the need to compete with the Proto-Orthodox Christians. They cared less about the need for any apostolic intercessor to represent to anyone to their vision of GOD.  Further, by the nature of their teachings, they were not capable of the ruthless capacity to lie and do the harm that would have been required to attack and destroy those whose views were hostile or different from their own, in particular, the Proto-orthodox Christians.  These differences in values operate today in the tactics and strategies of liberal (benevolent) politics versus right wing (power and control) politics, and religion that leaves liberals at a decided tactical, but not moral disadvantage.

Today, thanks to the 20th Century discovery of many original first and second Century Gnostic manuscripts at Nag Hammadi, in upper Egypt [Robinson, 1977, 1998; Pagels, 1981], there is access to the factual Truth about Gnosticism and the early Gnostics.  This new information is empowering a resurgence of Gnostic Christian Principles as put forward by the Gnostic Society, the new Apostolic Gnostic Church in America, and numerous other manifestations of Gnosticism expressed through New Thought (not New Age) movements.  [See: Other Gnostic links] [See: New Thought References]

What a shock to the numerous contemporary versions of orthodox Christianity, and especially to the fundamentalists and evangelicals, to be confronted with this highly credible evidence from Jesus' own era to the effect that the very foundation of their entire belief system is the result of centuries of unprincipled deception and manipulation, and may, in fact, not have complete validity in the mind of GOD.  This may help explain the large number of persons in western society who have intuitively repudiated Christianity in particular, or who have become comfortable to participate in its hypocrisy, and who thus stand apart from religion in general without knowing or understanding why.

Reasons why benevolent ideas are attacked:  There is a consistent pattern of evil overcoming good across the most ancient trails of Spiritual growth, and the organized opposition to Spiritual growth, across both the eastern and western hemispheres.  This trail presents the consistent evidence of benevolent Spiritual Truth being opposed, subverted and defeated by the custodians of worldly secular power. But then the defeated Truth reemerges in another disguised form.  The most prolific Mystical scholar of the 20th Century, Manley P Hall, has examined those trails in both western and eastern hemispheres and reached the following conclusion:

"The adversary [to Mystical, liberal, benevolent, and loving religions, e.g. Gnostic Christianity] personified either older cults which opposed the establishment of the benevolent Mysteries or later cults responsible for the destruction of these institutions.  In either case, an inferior state of spiritual enlightenment was implied.  The Mysteries were institutions of liberation and were naturally opposed by groups seeking to keep their people in bondage through ignorance .  The struggle was therefore between religion as temporal authority and the Mystery faith--the internal 'road of light.'  The ruins of the past explain why it was the common belief that the men of good spirit, the initiates, were sacrificed to the material ambitions of temporal rulers [including the sectarian churches.]  [Manly P Hall, 1979, p 32; brackets and emphasis added]

"[Proto-orthodox Christianity] refused to recognize the Esoteric Orders of the pre-Christian world.  It regarded them as detrimental to its own prestige, and sought relentlessly to exterminate them.  This was impossible, but the Church refused to accept and to teach a universal religion or a universal philosophy. The spiritual mysteries of life belong to no one faith, race, or school.  In order to advance itself as the supreme custodian of salvation, ecclesiasticism had to reject the Mystery system.  In doing so, it did not destroy that system, but forfeited its own place as an instrument for the fulfillment of the Great Plan."  [Hall, Manly P., 1979, p 112, emphasis added; this concept is why Blavatsky has said, "There is no religion higher than Truth."]

You will find there the reasons how and why the Apostolic successors (Proto-Orthodox Christian Bishops) acted to defend and advance their worldly power by eliminating the Gnostics and all other competing views of Jesus during the first three centuries of the Christian church. Their practices are similar to the questionable techniques that can be recognized in the political tactics and strategies of the religious and political right today.   [See also on this notes page, why most fundamentalist and other Christians are NOT really "saved" by virtue of their demonstrated values and behaviors.]  [See also Marr, 2001, 348-350]

Return to Jump Point in Introductory Dialogue, Part 3 of 3.
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