Shamanism Assumptions by Rev. Vickers

Here is lesson 2 and 3   Unifying Assumptions   The basic unifying assumption with Shamanism is that everything in the universe is alive and can be communicated with when approached properly. These perceptions assist in the understanding of different realities from the one main-stream mundane reality suggested as "Ordinary Reality." Our true power comes in recognising our relationship to these realities. Shamanism deals with recognising each person has a helping spirit  and by working with the persons spiritual aspect of health.  It sees the realms as having a topography with a lower, middle and upper world. The anthropologist Michael Harner is noted as stating the core elements are practiced rituals and beliefs that occur universally across cultures. These core elements include: Ecstasy a sensation of being outside one's self, often joyously.  This is the ecstatic energy of Shamanic journeying, skiing and sex. Lower level shamanic reality is experienced as a journey passing through a tunnel to where power animals and other healing instructive forces reside. This is not the hell considered in Christianity. Middle World is considered ordinary reality experienced in the spiritual sense.  Participation in Divination and other forms of healing are done at this level. In Upper World it can be a positive journey for the Shaman as they travel upwards from Middle World again this is not considered as heaven. Non-ordinary reality is where the Shaman journeys to. It is not of the Aristotelian logic. Ordinary reality is our general life in our ordinary state of awareness. This is linear and of a logical formulation. Power is another element obtained through the right relationship to the other realms as we over come and achieve immunity against negative spiritual influences there by enjoying fullness of life. The power animal is the helping spirit or familiar that has agreed to act as guide advisor and healer. The Shaman which is a "Tungas" word refers to a person that contacts these other realties for healing and wisdom  in service to the community. The Shaman's Drum is considered to symbolise much spiritual power and is the Shaman's horse to travel to these other worlds.  It is usually a one-handed drum struck with a mallet. The Shaman's rattle is used to communicate with the spirits and assist in the healing work. Shamanic consciousness is an altered ecstatic state created usually through the use of a sonic driver, a repetitive sound or the use of mind altering herbs. The sonic driver could be a voice, rattle or drum.  The World Tree can used as the axis mundi as the energetic connection used to traverse between the worlds. A Shaman can be helpful in the recovery of Soul Loss. A psychic trauma that has affected the individual as a result of a physical or psychological trauma.  In essence this traumatic result has left the individual's soul missing and the person feels disoriented or lost.. something amiss where they may be depressed,have a loss of vigour or lust for life. The Shaman recovers a soul through Shamanic journeying to bring the persons soul back to it's home. Upon retrieval of the soul the person must nurture themselves and help to develop the newly recovered soul. The soul could have left at a much earlier time in the persons life and it will have to have assistance to return to original function and development the community can also assist at this point.   Shamanism Lesson 3. Religion By Rev.Cynthia Vickers Shamanism as a religion has been considered by some people to be a primitive-religious-magic practiced by aborigines through out the world.  There appears to be several view of the expression of Shamanism and their rites and practices including the removal of evil spirits. The Siberian tribes had a noticeable mythology foundation which was track able back to nomenclature.  This was supported by a intellectual activity in Mongols and neighbouring nations of Europe known as Shamanism as explained by scientist writing of Banzaroff. With the introduction of Buddism the Mongolic Nation's old religion became known as "The Black Faith" (Khara Shadjin) and the Buddism, " The Yellow Faith"(Shaira Shadjin). With the Chinese it was considered as Toa-Shen (gambolling before the spirits) this is according to Father Jakiuv. Further understanding of Shamanism looks at the Palaeo - Siberians is considered the simplest form of Shamanism with Neo-Shamism  being the most complex. The Palaeo-Siberians were mainly family members and the Neo-shaman more the profession Shaman. Not that the Palaeo -Siberian was more primitive it was the professional attended more the application of ceremonies and rites with the influence of communal life. Geographical influences also had effect on practice as relating to the heat and cold. These were the differences most directly noted on the practice. With this understanding it becomes a personal determination that one decides whether the Shaman is a cult to the Siberian region or if it is part of the general primitive magic-religion. The family Shaman is noted amongst Palaeo-Siberians and the professional amongst the Neo-Siberians. The family shaman are losing ground in modern times amongst the many tribes, with the exception of the Chukchee. Whether it is a individual or professional shamanism that occurs the reference that is implied is a person "with spirit" (enenilist), from enen, a shamanic spirit is also know by some writers as Arctic Hysteria. The most identifiable trait of a good Shaman is their power and other unusual qualities. Because the Shaman's vocation is rather vague in description with the exception of the working the drums and singing of melodies the family "tries to communicate with spirits in the same manner as a shaman." The difference between the families and the professional is timing..the family is in the outer room in daylight, the professional in an inner room at night. The vocation of Shaman is an inspired person often having overcome serious nervous afflictions. To be called to become a Shaman is generally equivalent to being someone afflicted with hysteria and they overcome the disease by answering the call of Shamanistic Practice. As a believer the acceptance means accepting several spirits or at least one as a protector or servant in which the Shaman can communicate with the whole spirit world. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Metaphysical healing homework by Rev. Edonna

Assignment: Number three Student: Rev. Dr. Edonna Alexandria Course: Metaphysical Healing ESOTERIC PHYSIOLOGY 1. Answer each of the following questions. a) Write a paragraph on the Human Aura:   The Human Aura is the protective invisible shield which surrounds the physical body,  it is composed of seven shields that span out around the body in an elliptical formation, much like the elliptical orbits that follow the path and rotations of the planets around the sun.  It provides protection to the body and allows information to flow through.  Information flows in and out, providing a two way communication system from the universe, immediate earth areas and the body. b) Why do we have subtle bodies?  We have these subtle bodies to: 1) protect our physical body. 2) Provide a communication system between the physical and spiritual words. c) Name the different energy systems.1) etheric, 2) Emotional, 3) Mental, 4) Astral, 5) Etheric template, 6) Celestial, 7) Ketheric, 8) Auric d) What is the function of auric fibers? The auric fibers provide protection to the physical body by picking up signals from our surroundings; Caution us ; vitalize our physical and subtle bodies with life force energy. e) where are the spinal nerves located? In the spinal cord. 2. Describe the Circulatory system in the physical. The circulatory system in the physical carries oxygen to the tissues and waste products away from.  It is the major transport system of the body involving the heart and blood. 3. Describe the Circulatory system of the Etheric.  It allows energy to be carried though the tissues physical body which assist the body in draining itself of negative etheric energy away from the body and into the auric field.  The auric energy field is a colorless like fluid which contains billions of cells that are excreted by the chakra system.  The auric cells circulate through the acupuncture meridians and exited the body along the auric cells by passing through the skin.  If this auric Sheath is damaged, the auric fluid will begin spilling out and experience in the physical body as exhaustion which will cause physical weakness. 4. Write a short paragraph on the Physical Aura. The personality of the human is created by the physical aura, which is contained in the physical body consisting of the etheric , emotional and cognitive bodies utilized to breath, think and feel. 5. What does the Etheric Body look like? It is similar to the blue/gray print of an architect.  It is an outline of the body much like that of a negative of a photograph.  It looks like the shadow of the physical body. 6. How does the Etheric body differ from the Emotional Body? The etheric body is lighter and more weightless compared to the body; additionally it creates the chakra system and is the first level where disease will reveal itself. 7. What are the main functions of the chakras? The main function of the chakra system is to vitalize and energize the body by transmitting energy through the blood system and to serve as a communication channel with the universal life force energies. 8. What is the color of the Astral Body? Rose Pink. 9. What function does the Astral Body serve? It serves as the mediator between the physical and spiritual aura, thus communicating between ourselves and the higher spiritual planes of consciousness 10. Why do we need a "silver cord"?To keep us connected the astral body because without it the physical body could not exist.   When that cord is cut, our astral body leaves the physical body which dies, while the spiritual continues to live its immortal existence. 11. Describe the Spiritual Aura. The spiritual aura is the embodiment of the higher spiritual self which allows us to communicate with beings that exist on the higher spiritual planes of consciousness and awareness. 12. Complete this sentence: The Auric Sheath is extremely strong and is resistant to penetration and  protects the fields. 13. Where are the major chakras located externally? Along the outside of the endocrine system.   14. Name them and give the corresponding endocrine glands. The a. Crown--Pituitary b. Forehead--Pineal c. Throat--Thyroid d. Heart--Thymus e. Solar Plexus--Pancreas f. Sacral/Naval--Ovaries/Testes g. Base of Spine--Adrenals/Top of Kidneys           Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Questions of Buddhism by Rev. Scott Luxon

Questions 1.      What socially-driven, pre-conditioned ideas might a person have to give up in order to have faith in nirvana?   Faith in nirvana is natural for a true Buddhist. Someone in the second or third stage of evolution would have to focus on the later half of the barriers to experiencing enlightenment. There is an irony here; whereby the barriers to achieving nirvana become a pre-conditioned idea in themselves. the duality of nirvana is also such that there is a tendency to believe nirvana has been reached only to realize that true nirvana is neither a "snuffing out" or a "cooling down" it is a state which is only characterized by annihilation of the self and obtaining detachment from suffering resulting in "bliss". I use quotations because the is no word is English which adequately describes the fulfillment of nirvana 2.      As we have said, the lotus flower is frequently used as a comparison to enlightenment. Can you think of another image that could be compared, metaphorically?   I tend to gravitate towards the idea of the Aztec mythology of Quezacotl or the Phoenix. The Phoenix to me is an apt comparison a bird which burns with the flame of realization and reincarnates from its own demise to obtain an existence of growing in resolve each time it falls, eventually achieving mystical strength beyond this world.   3.      If so, write a small poem about the comparison   realized sight burns bright ascending suffering now flying in nirvana Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Dr. of Metaphysics essay by Rev. Cindy Roskamp

I have so loved this course and have truly hate to see these lessons come to an end.  These courses have been very life changing to me.  They have so transformed my ways of thinking in all areas of my life. I have totally loved coming to the understanding of how to judge what truth is and seeing life from the perspective of all being an illusion created by our thoughts.  This is very powerful once you grasp it,  I love how this course teaches how to manifest miracles and make them a part of daily life.  Using attention and directed focus and intensity for the desires we have in life. I have found through this course that I am more conscious of my own thoughts and desires and making sure that they are grounded and rooted in truth and love instead of being based on fear,  This course brings great awareness to these things. Through it I have been able to change the way I look at my work and my relationships, all the areas of my life. I have the book a course in miracles but I am very glad that I was able to take this course because I think that it helps to grasp these concepts before reading it.  I truly also loved the way that this course changes the perception of self imposed limits and being able to move above that to clearly see that there are no limits. The things I learned in this course have built in me new aspirations and hope as well as causing me to see those around me in an entirely different light. It is not something that you can just read and put behind you, it moves you to change in all areas of your life.  I am so thankful that this course was offered here and I know that it is no coincidence that I have found it. I find myself going back to them often for reference. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

ULC Story - The Pickle Jar

The Pickle Jar The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. 'Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back.' Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly 'These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me.' We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. 'When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again.' He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. 'You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters,' he said. 'But you'll get there; I'll see to that.' No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill,and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me. 'When you finish college, Son,' he told me, his eyes glistening, 'You'll never have to eat beans again - unless you want to.' The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy.. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. 'She probably needs to be changed,' she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. 'Look,' she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak. This truly touched my heart. I know it has yours as well. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings.Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for Good in others. The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller - Happy moments, praise God. - Difficult moments, seek God. - Quiet moments, worship God. - Painful moments, trust God. - Every moment, thank God. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ Universal Life Church Seminary enjoys sharing these sort of stories.

Sermon about 2010 by Pastor Pat

Before we get started tonight on a journey over many eons of time I have to tell you that throughout my life I have been called a Gnostic because of my desire to seek knowledge of God and the religions of the world to better understand my God and as well theirs.   I have been called pagan for the image of God I see is not some super imposed super human being setting on the edge of the universe judging us for our transgression.  Then My peers have called me heathen or rebel.  For my God is the life within us and around us spread throughout the universe.  A vastness beyond our comprehension of space and time. This evening I'm going to bring to light topics that are theories, mixed with conspiracies and mystery.    We are going to travel back in time beyond the birth of Christ to the land of the Egyptians, and the Mayan and journey to the island of Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea.  As we explore the Mayan 2012 Calendar and the Book of Revelation of the Christian Bible.   We will explore the Lost Books of the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls and other predictions handed down through the ages of our existence.  We will ask questions that throughout centuries we have plagued the universe in hopes to find answers to meaning of it all, and to come to peace with ourselves and the life, which we share with all creation.   In today's world, which we live, there are problems and societies ills all around us.  We are faced daily with the question what can be done?  Some will tell us that nothing can be done it is human nature! There is nothing we can do, so why bother?  If it comes, let it come. The hassles and confusions wars, plagues, and destruction have come to be the mainstream of the self-professed civilization we live in.    Made up of societies and cultures from all corners of this third rock form the sun and each one of us are a part of what is going on.    Yet, in our day's busy hustle and bustle we go about to and foe with blinders on like a horse drawing a carriage in Central Park of New York so we are not distracted from the world around us.  However, we cannot escape the TV, The Internet, newspapers, magazines where we are confronted with, "the world is in decay and us along with it."   But "STRANGE ENOUGH" at this very moment upon Earth, there are heighten energies, of discovery, awesome enlightment, and new knowledge with each new dawn, that has never existed before.  The opportunities and challenges of today's world are the climax of all that has proceeded us or were every created.   Never since our dawning existence has the population been greater than ever, by 216,000 births a day, give or take a few on either side.  Never before has our biosphere been in such a state, with global warming, holes in the ozone layer and on and on.  Not necessarily reflecting, the most balanced, healthy, or sane way to operate.  It is for us to decipher how to live our lives with truthfulness to determine what truths empower us to model our lives according to our greatest potential.   All that is manifesting around us reflects the sacred strengths of these prophetic times.    More than ever we are seeing with a clear mind.  Regardless belief, love, beauty, and compassions flood the world with multi-faceted victories of art, co-creation, communities coming together in support of one another, a healing and evolution shine all around us, that enlighten the spirit grace of our true self.   This all exists even tho around us down the block. Around the next corner or across the globe the world is in fear, with brutality, pain, disease, endless anguish of anxiety, separation, disconnection, confusion, and isolation alongside the toxic realities of the egoist, with their callous greed and corruption, materialism, additions and their dangerous ignorance. Science reveals that  (Earth's heart-beat), and the magnetic fields of the planet are dropping - reflected in the shifting migration patterns of animals. These shifting of the Earth's body allow physical and emotional patterns, conditioning, beliefs, attitudes, programming, and us to release unwanted baggage - mental. Simultaneously, that which we think or desire is becoming actualized increasingly swiftly. Temperatures are already on the rise. Since 1970, winter temperatures in the country have increased by an average of 1.3 degrees per decade—changing and damaging marine life, forests, agriculture, recreation and human health. Extreme storms are becoming more frequent. East coast for example, can expect a coastal flood equivalent to today's 100-year flood every two to four years on average by mid-century, and almost annually by the end of the century. The oceans are rising. Scientists project that sea levels could rise another 4.5 feet by the end of the century—inundating our coastline and claiming countless low-lying communities Heat waves are expected to increase. Within our children's lifetimes, Northeast cities could experience 20-30 days above 100 degrees causing pain, distress and even increased mortality for our vulnerable citizens. Our snow season is becoming shorter and shorter. By late this century, the length of the snow season could be cut in half across country, and reduced to a week or two in southern parts of the region, a trend that may have already begun. Plant and animal populations are shifting northward. Species like the fir and spruce are expected to all but disappear from the region by the century's end. The Baltimore oriole, American goldfinch and song sparrow populations will become much less abundant.   The facts speak for themselves. It's clear that the road on which we're traveling is a dead end. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to make a u-turn—but it's going to take your help to turn this world and this rock around.   What can you do about it?   As we catapult towards the point of no return, it's time to hit the brakes and begin change. I'm not speaking of plaguing congress and world governments to make climate changes to laws that have proven to be wrong, or for some that may have given us a dent in the overall problem, we as beings upon this rock have created.  The change begins with ourselves, and how we view our world and ourselves.    A lot of us even tho we may not say wander about the end time's wither we are going to be affected by the planetary alignment of 2012, will the world tilt on its axis.   On the other hand, will Jesus come, judge our sins, and give us paradise or damnation.    On the other hand, will we explode our rock with nuclear holocaust amiss a war as never seen before between good and evil?  Of course, we have to ask ourselves as beings that may fight that war, just who are the good or evil.  Of course, there are always the facts of possibility of super volcanoes or the big earthquake.   Or will we choke to death by our own emissions.  What a mess we have made and the funny thing is no God or gods have helped us do it.  We have done a good enough Job on our own.   I'm no prophet yet there are some truths behind all I've said.  First, I want to speak of the Mayan 2012 December 21st.  Is it doom or new beginnings?  Regardless of belief, the Mayans were not alone.   This time we are now in has been called "The Time of Trial on Earth," "Judgment Day," "The Time of Great Purification," "The End of this Creation," "The Quickening," Not to be confused with the Highlander series and movies "The End of Time as We Know It," "The Shift of the Ages." It is foretold that the completion of the Precession brings regeneration of Earth, offering awakening to all open willing hearts. Many peoples spoke of these last days of the Great Cycle, including the: Maya, Hopi, Egyptians, Kabbalists, Essenes, Qero elders of Peru, Navajo, Cherokee, Apache, Iroquois confederacy, Dogon Tribe of Africa, and Aborigines.   The apocalyptic view popularly attributed to the Maya, many New Agers believe that the ending of this cycle will correspond to a global "consciousness shift" and the beginning of a new age. This theory is grounded in a apocalyptic vocabulary dating back to the 1950s and draws on many of the same sources and personalities of the 1987 Harmonic Convergence. Established themes found in 2012 literature include "suspicion towards mainstream Western culture", the idea of spiritual evolution, and the possibility of leading the world into the New Age, by individual example or by a group's joined consciousness. The general intent of this literature is not to warn of impending doom but "to foster counter-cultural sympathies and eventually socio-political and 'spiritual' activism".   Well, technically, the planets will never perfectly align. If you are looking at it from a 2-D perspective (from above) it seems that they would. However, if you look at a 3-D perspective, you will see that the planets are not all on the same level. The planets when they do get close enough to be considering in alignment, there won't be too much to notice from it. If you are an astronomer or know what to look for, then you would have something interesting to look at in the sky in the weeks leading to and after the alignment. What you will be able to see is the planets grouped very close together. In no way will this cause an eclipse. Mercury and Venus are way too small and too far away to cast a shadow on the Earth. The only thing that can cause an eclipse is the moon. That happens all the time already so you don't need an alignment to see that. You may have to travel to a different part of the world to really get a view of it though. Some people have claimed that when the alignments of the planets happens, their increased gravity will wreck havoc on Earth. That is not true. The alignment will not increase their gravity or combine the effects of their gravity. The gravity that Mars or Venus impact on Earth is insignificant and would be impossible to measure. The same goes for the planets that are even further away. The gravity of Jupiter (the planet with the most gravity in our solar system) has no effect on Earth. The closest Jupiter ever gets to Earth is 365 million miles. The effects of its gravity are weaker and weaker as you move away from it. After 365 million miles, there is almost nothing left to feel. Therefore, the alignment of planets will not cause something bad to happen on Earth.   Will Jesus come, judging us giving us paradise or damnation?  Depending on whom you listen to, Mathematic, theology, or biblical scholars will tells us the book of revelations tells us of our doom.  What I'm about to tell you will put me on thin Ice with ministers and Christian alike.  Yet the facts stands that John the individual who wrote the book was imprisoned on the Island of Patmos Modern scholarship  suggests that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos were three separate individuals. This can be determined via new means of inquiry such as textual criticism. Certain lines of evidence suggest that John of Patmos wrote only Revelation, neither the Gospel of John.   For one, the author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself directly. While both works liken Jesus to a lamb, they consistently use different words for lamb when referring to him—the Gospel uses amnos, Revelation uses arnion.  Lastly, the Gospel is written in nearly flawless Greek, but Revelation contains grammatical errors and stylistic abnormalities which indicate its author may not have been as familiar with the Greek language as the Gospel's author. Most commentators accept Revelation to be the unified text of one writer.  Robert Henry Charles saw things slightly differently. He agreed that Revelation possessed an underlying original structure because the seven beatitudes, which exist unobtrusively in the text, have not been disturbed and that the first of these is right at the beginning (1:3) and the seventh near the end (22:7), Thus, prologue and epilogue are part of the original. However, he reasoned on internal textual grounds, that the book was edited by someone who spoke no Hebrew and who wished to promote a different theology to John's. As a result, everything after 20:3 has been left in a haphazard state with no attempt to structure it logically as John would surely have done. Furthermore, the story of the defeat of the ten kingdoms has been deleted and replaced by 19:9 and 10.  John's theology of chastity has been replaced by the editor's theology of outright celibacy, which accounts for 14: 4 'they which were not defiled with women: for they are virgins', and which makes little sense when John's true church is symbolised as a bride of the Lamb. Most importantly, the editor has completely rewritten John's theology of the Millennium which is "emptied of all significance" In the edited version, the martyrs when raised to glory, are "sitting on thrones in splendid idleness for full one thousand years" when, according to Charles, John's intention had been to show "the Millennial Reign is one of arduous spiritual toil" in which Christ and his martyrs evangelise the whole world, Jewish and Gentile. It has been contended that the core verses of the book, in general chapters 4 through 22, are surviving records of the prophecies of John the Baptist.  The Lamb of God references in the Gospels are all associated with John the Baptist, and other hallmarks of Revelation can be tied to what is known of John the Baptist. With this take into acount that John the Baptist lost his head on the  King's daughter request.  John the Apostle is believed to be one of the 12 disciples.  Matthew links John's death as well with Herodias, as he related that her daughter so much delighted Antipas with a dance that he vowed to grant her any wish to which, after asking her mother (Herodias), she demanded the head of John the Baptist. (Matthew 14:6-8) The Gospels date John's death before the crucifixion of Jesus. Josephus places John's death no later than 36 CE (common era). Neither Josephus who was a first-century Jewish historian ,nor the Gospels state where John was buried, though the Gospels state that John's disciples took his body and placed it in a tomb and then told Jesus all that had occurred, to which Jesus replied that there had been no greater son of woman than John the Baptist (Matthew 14:3-12). I believe that John of Patmos imprision on a barian Volcannic Island saw visions and wrote what he saw.  Was it the destruction of Rome or today's predictions depends on who you talk to and your belief.   If a comet hit the Earth, would not all the wars end immediately as we bonded together or would a rogue leader use it to initiate international aggression?  In a little more than five years, all the major prophecies in the world coincide into a singular event.  From the Book of Revelations to the Bible Code and from the Hopi to Lakota prophecies, they all agree and are starting to synchronize.  There is a time in the future coming soon when they all agree about what will happen.  Are you ready?  It is a time to prepare now not out of fear but hope and excitement.  Something both terrible and wonderful is about to happen.   Some will tell us the book of Revelations is unfolding in Israel now.  According to the prophecy, Jerusalem is where this final battle is to be played out. No stranger to conflict and violence, this city is the focus of dreams of eternal paradise.  According to most Christians' beliefs, this is where Christ will come back to earth.  But first, the Jews must return.  Most Christians believe that the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy and since then 'the last days clock has been ticking'.   Many Christians interpret the US government's policies on Israel and the Middle East from a biblical point of view. Many Israelis are very worried about the kind of 'support' they are being offered. Some say this is not based on Israel's needs and that there is no support for peacemaking. On the contrary, the agenda of the Christian Evangelicals is war, to fulfill the violent prophecy of Revelation.   Provocatively, some Christians have joined forces with fundamentalist Jewish groups who want to rebuild the Temple of Solomon, touching on the ancient Jewish yearning for their destroyed Temple. However, the place where they plan to build it has deep meaning for the three Abraham religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Temple Mount is Islam's 3rd most holy site, Al-Aqsa Mosque.  The spot where Muslim, Jewish and Christian believers think that God created Adam, Abraham prepared his son Isaac to be sacrificed, and according to his vision, Muhammad was carried on a winged horse.   The Hopi prophecies came from a man known as Time's Special Witness, around 7th century Mayan prophet Pacal Votan.  He left a universal message for future generations of an evolving Earth. Proclaiming "If humanity wishes to save itself from biospheric destruction it must return to living in natural time."  He foretold of our accelerated technological society and the resulting damage of our collective divergence from Natural Law in exchange for materialist values.   Votan's prophetic call is alerting present-day humanity that our biological process is transforming, approaching the culmination of a 26,000-year evolutionary program. Bringing the return of universal telepathy, heightened sense capacity, and self-reflective consciousness, this is a return to the sacred domain of our inner technology.  This grand cycle of evolution will culminate winter solstice, December 21, 2012 AD. The Lakota prophecies are called The Prophecy of White Buffalo Calf Woman. To the Lakota, the birth of a white buffalo is a sign for the whole world.  It is said that when this calf matures, it will turn the four colors of the peoples of the earth (white, red, brown and black), and upon turning black, the world and all its peoples will be united in peace.  The birth of a white buffalo is said to be the fulfillment of age-old legends.   It's a one in 60-million chance that a pure breed buffalo will be born white. And an even smaller chance that it's offspring will also be white, but a couple near Belle Fourche say they have a matched set.  Three years ago Jim and Dena Riley were surprised with a very special new comer at their bison ranch, a white buffalo, who they call Miracle Moon. And now that she's three years old, Miracle Moon has had her first baby, another white buffalo.  Jim and Dena have named their new white buffalo Rainbow Spirit. "My husband saw a rainbow in the sky right after the birth so it was kind of appropriate to name her that," says Dena.  This buffalo unfortunately died. The birth is significant to many because Native American cultures tell of a young woman who taught them how to use the buffalo for survival. When she left the people, she turned into a white buffalo and promised to return.  When she returned it would be a time of chaos and disaster in the world.  And when she returned it would be a time for all races to come together in peace, balance, and harmony, and bring healing to the world. The Nostradamus predictions have been interpreted many ways but his end-times predictions are very clear.  From Part IV: The Time of Trouble.  Prelude to the Antichrist and W W III, there will be volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines and rioting.  The death of a world leader and revolt coincides with a comet.  Fiasco from communication breakdown between two superpowers causes Russian and American submarine and naval confrontation.  Crazed leader launches atom bombs on Mediterranean and Europe.    A third world leader creates strife.  Antichrist profits from radar research in Europe.  International political and social incidents occur.  War-game simulation by Britain in Europe leads to disaster.  American Electoral College voting ends in stalemate.  Earth abuse causes agricultural devastation in U.S. and Britain.  Underwater Russian submarine base defanged by diplomacy.  Extraterrestrials shot by paranoid nation and bacteriological agents released.  Extraterrestrial probe discovered by scientists.   From Part V: Scientific Achievements in the Time of Troubles.  Dangers of weaponry mixed with natural disaster.  Weather modulation devices go awry causing ice and hail.  Nuclear reactor meltdown near city with underground chambers.  Space shuttle accident releases microorganisms into atmosphere.  Devastating accidental weaponry explosions from earth tumult.  Ruptured earth energy fields cause meteorite storm.  Research into warping time leads to disaster.  The weapons of W W III are new, horrific, secret and radical weapons monstrosities.  WMDs unleashed on San Andreas and New Madrid faults.  Antichrist obtains WMD through espionage, bribery and treachery.  Death caused by radio waves.   The Bible Code predicts wretched cosmic. Meager year for 2010.  God year for  2012. 2012 has comet impact.  Revelation 16:18 "No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth."  Revelation 16:21 "From the sky huge hailstones of about 100 pounds each fell upon men."  2012 is Day of Judgment.  2012 is human extinction.   Looking for confirmation of published code on a possible cosmic impact with an extremely large body (60 miles diameter) in 2012 could be corroborated with other codes.  The odds on any one of these matrices appears to be on the order of one in a million, and to get 33 of them might lead someone to think that an important message was embedded.   The probability estimate is driven by the relative rarity of 5, 6, and 7-character words and the fact that multiples of these words are found in the same frame.   Let us all pray that it's not the extinction of the human species that we might find encoded here.  In America 2012-2013 Ohio may be one of the few places in America that will still be habitable after Yellowstone erupts.  There are persistent rumors about internment camps being prepared for use in an emergency.   It seems that there is going to be a time when many great and terrible things will coincide into a body and spirit opening for many and death of the ego for most.  It is time to get prepared.  It is not a time to fear but a time to embrace what will be world unity and eventual world peace.  A time when our super senses will be activated fully and we will experience life in a whole new way.  It happens in less than 2500 days        Metaphysical predictions 2012 is sometimes claimed to be a great year of spiritual transformation (or apocalypse). Many esoteric sources interpret the completion of the thirteenth B'ak'tun cycle in the Long Count of the Maya calendar (which occurs on December 21 by the most widely held correlation) to mean there will be a major change in world order.      In Conclusion We are living in strange and interesting times friends! And many times the word apocalypse comes up in regards to "the end of the world" etc. But the REAL meaning of the word is to "uncover," a "revelation," to REVEAL. The poor stone carver of the Mayan calendar ran out of rock or broke his chisel. John on the island of Patmos wrote to the 7 churches in a code so his Roman guards just thought he was crazy or writing a fantasy.  Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House. A Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas. It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis. One of them is Monument Six. Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted. It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation. However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible. Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky." Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772. And anyway, Mayas in the drought-stricken Yucatan peninsula have bigger worries than 2012. "If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea," saids, a Yucatan Mayan archaeologist. "That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain." The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012. "It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six." Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted." If it were all mythology, perhaps it could be written off. But some say the Maya knew another secret: the Earth's axis wobbles, slightly changing the alignment of the stars every year. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon. That will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the sun appears to rise in the same spot where the bright center of galaxy sets. Another spooky coincidence? " "If we want to honor and respect how the Maya think about this, then we would say that the Maya viewed 2012, as all cycle endings, as a time of transformation and renewal," As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, so did word of the "fateful" date, and some began worrying about 2012 disasters the Mayas never dreamed of. Another History Channel program titled "Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days" says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a "pole shift." "The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster," a narrator proclaims. "Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe." The idea apparently originates with a 19th century Frenchman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a priest-turned-archaeologist who got it from his study of ancient Mayan and Aztec texts. Scientists say that, at best, the poles might change location by one degree over a million years, with no sign that it would start in 2012. While long discredited, Brasseur de Bourbourg proves one thing: Westerners have been trying for more than a century to pin doomsday scenarios on the Maya. And while fascinated by ancient lore, advocates seldom examine more recent experiences with apocalypse predictions. Dooms day predictions have been, predicted, and handed down throughout the ages.  If 2012 as the western culture predicts perhaps we will see a change in ourselves and our world.  The bible states we know not the time of Christ's Return and if we are in the last of times we have only began to scratch the surface of the signs of His coming.  That is if the book of revelations predicts our doom and not that of the Roman Empire. If I have pasted on this evening a desire for you to research the topic spoken of so that you may come to your own conclusions, then I have done what I set out to do. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button.

Master of Religion essay by Rev. Nick Federspiel

Masters of Religion Program Final Essay   Rev. Nick Federspiel            Where did our Bible come from and which is the most accurate version of scripture and who speaks for Bible based doctrine?  Lesson 2 digs right into the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, to me also known as the ten basic commitments as recorded in variant text in Exodus and Deuteronomy.  Lesson 3 discusses the textual edits made by many to resolve the emerging church's diversity in "scripture" and doctrine not to mention politics.  Lesson 4 discusses the missing books which raises the question of how really objective was the canon process.         Collectively, is this inerrancy at its worst or inspired God breathed text at its best?  Of all the lessons these initial few are perhaps the most disorienting to a new (and perhaps previously protected) student to the Bible's heritage and Christian history.  Today scholars write book after book discussing just what language the Books of the Bible were written in: Akkadian, Old Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek – which was first, which is the oldest, which is the most accurate?  Does anybody have a clue what is what?  Then many compound the issue and degenerate into condemning the Bible as a whole!        One truly has to wonder.  In researching issues the course brings to the surface, I went down the following thread, web site by web site including a few books altogether summarized tosses 2 Timothy 3:16 right out the window – for that matter taking 1 Timothy 3:16 with it.  Nineteenth century Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) in Sources of the Pentateuch claims Moses had nothing to do with the first four books (viswjk.com).  That lead to the suggestion that the four Gospels were written from a master version called the "Q."  Exodus 34, the second set of tablets, was written by "J" c 848-722 B.C.E.  (re: relgioustolerances.org.)  Deuteronomy 5 was written by "D" c 622 BCE."  The Eastern Church considers Exodus 20:2 a preamble, and on and on it goes.         The Cave 4 Qs Gospel fragments, 25% in Aramaic we are told, date 1st century A.D.  The Qs brings to the surface the whole concept of Biblical Criticism which starts with Moses authorship of the Pentateuch being "improbable" (jewishvertuallibrary.org).         Given the volumes of data from Biblical Archeology and the remarkable correspondence of the Qs with today's best translations a lot of Bible critics bite the dust.  It turns out all the reported text based bickering and confusion following the emergence of Christianity, under persecution during its initial centuries, created an extraordinarily homogenous message book.  Those today that persist with atheistic views based upon "differences" in this verse and that wastes our time and do the service of Satan by turning many away many thus confused from the word of God.  Many once curious about this new religion were simply mislead and misinformed by "experts."         The rubric theory says one of the 'two tablets' was the law and the other the obligations.  That same logic is extend to propose that Exodus is the law and Deuteronomy includes an extension and explanation of the moral obligations introduced in Exodus in regards to the Ten Commandments – which I tend to agree with.  Why?  Well, there is a lot more depth in Deuteronomy about laws, promises, instructions, duty, demands and teaching.  Thus, to me, Deuteronomy is a forty year project review in preparation for the departure of Moses and the assumption of command of Joshua.  It states what it means; and one to one correspondence with Exodus would be, simply, redundant.        Unless a student has his faithful feet firmly planted on Holy foundations one might sway and slip and slide off the path as one wades through volumes of diverse opinions as to the purpose, cause and effect of Biblical history which is wrought with champions, martyrs, scribes, councils, Popes, Kings, priests, lay witnesses and persecutors; all with scribal pen in the ink well.  I am not a literalist when it comes to Bible interpretation so all this is academically very interesting, but the derivative attacks I concluded long ago were about as valuable as a stock broker's options and his worthless derivatives are today.  They both lead to bankruptcy, one moral and the other ethical and financial.    I consider scripture to be God breathed, as if it were not in no way would the net result of 3000 years of editing from 600 B.C.E. to 2009 ever have produced a reasonably coherent document with a central theme of moral obligation and commitment, monotheism based upon the obvious, a Creator God, and the sacrifices representing Salvation sought by one Jesus Christ and bound it with one covering that within for all of us who read - be it as it may be an anthology of thought – ONE BOOK - with ten easy to understand rules.   Great course……   Thanks   Rev. Nick Federspiel ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Theology vs. Theosophy by Rev. Dr. D Allen Kjono

Theosophy vs. Theology By Rev. Dr. D. Allen Kjono   Introduction From the beginning of recorded history, and I am certain long before that, mankind has held polytheistic and monotheistic beliefs. In one form or another either a pantheon of deities or a singular omniscient being has reigned supreme over man's intellect. Few people, past or present, have held the view that there is nothing greater than humankind even though numerous sects, cults and organized beliefs claim this view.  It appears that having a completely secular view of no being superior to or greater than the human being has a tolerable level of acceptance in some people's minds, but as a whole, the vast majority of humanity does believe in some form of greater Being, largely by default. Since the earliest Homo sapiens looked to the heavens we have attempted to describe, characterize and catalogue what the exact nature of such a Being would be. In over six thousand years of the written language there still does not exist any form of unquestionable proof of any such deity or superior, creator Being.  The beliefs systems in place world wide that elude to such an existence are purely theoretical based solely on faith and transliterations of ancient texts (1). Even those who, by decree of their being prophets, seers or divine embodiments, claim that they only express what has been given their understanding by the invisible powers that are spiritual in make up. The consensus offered by these exceptional humans is that the Supreme is but the life force within as much as external to our physical being.  Traditional religions (2) place not only the importance of faith in such a Being, but all authority over mankind. Regardless of what theology one may prescribe to each of these avenues of skillful description empower the unknown and unseen while making subservient the human host of a religious, faith based system of worship.    Insomuch as this is purely subjective to begin with, it is my belief that such systems of religious doctrine have been put in place not for the betterment of mankind by making known the unseen, rather to place authority in the hands of those who perceive themselves as being of higher character and greater morals and ethics than his or her fellow man.   Spirituality, Spirit(s) and references to this life force herein are inclusively used to characterize the concept of any religious deity known as a "God".(3)     1.  The Bible, Koran, Torah,  Vesiva, Eddas etc…any authoritative religious text of any belief   2.  such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc…any recognized and organized religious belief system  3.  such titles as God, The Source, The Collective Consciousness, The All Father, Allah, The Divine, The Omniscient,  The Supreme Being, The Creator and of course many, many more    Before we can actually study religion, we need to determine what it is meant by the word religion. This may not be as straight forward a task as one is likely to suspect. There are many religions which hold views that one might consider very non-religious in nature. That notwithstanding, these peculiar organized systems are, in fact, religions. So, how do we know something is a religion?       The Latin word religio referred to an 'obligation or bond'. Most linguists believe that this was derived from the Latin verb religere, meaning to 'tie back'. Gradually, the meaning evolved until it came to mean "a tie between humans and the gods". After the legalization of Christianity in Rome during the early 4 th century, a shift occurred with regard to what was meant by 'the gods'. When the ancient Jovian religion (Roma religio) predominated in the Empire, it was clear that 'the gods' referred to the members of the Jovian pantheon: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, et cetera. Later, as Christianity supplanted it, Deity came to generally be accepted as referencing the God of the Jews and Christians: Jehovah, or Yahweh.       As a result, religere came to refer to a formal tie between devout Christians and their God. The people who exemplified this formal tie were the monks and nuns of the monastic communities. So, from the 5th century, for roughly a thousand years, religion referred solely to the monastic life.       In other words, the only truly religious people in medieval Europe were those living in a monastery or nunnery, those who had devoted their entire lives to the church, those who had "tied themselves to God". Then, around the 16th  century, the term began to take on a wider, broader meaning.       It was during the 1500's CE that our modern meaning for religion finally came into use. Initially, this was the service, worship, devotion and faithfulness to God or "the gods" depending on one's belief. But, that was a Western view, one perhaps accepted within Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but not necessarily applicable to numerous other worship systems around the world.       The contemporary meaning has been modified to refer to nearly any form of devotion or fidelity. The reason that this was not necessarily accepted by all of the worship systems around the world is that there are those which either do not believe in a god, or which maintain that a belief in god is peripheral or incidental to the real purpose and meaning of their belief system. Westerners often prefer to label these groups as 'ethical systems' rather than religions.   Ethical Systems     An ethical system is an organized system relating to moral action, motive or character. Since moral refers to the establishment of principles of right and wrong in behavior, a moral or ethical system would thus be a system organized for, and based on, principles of behavioral right and wrong. If this sounds very much like religion, you begin to see the difficulty that some people have in distinguishing between them. Actually, the reason for this is quite simple: there is only one difference between them to distinguish.  Religion, in the narrower sense, requires a god on which to focus worship, devotion and service; one to whom we must remain faithful. Ethical systems have no such requirement, so long as their standards for right and wrong can be derived without relying on deific decree and adhered to. For those who consider the Ten Commandments a foundation on which all morality is based ' ten deific, godly commandments' the idea that one can derive moral direction without involving God seems ludicrous. But, not only are there ancient traditions which do so (e.g. Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Druidism, Odhinnism and Buddhism), there are modern examples as well.   The perceived differences between religions and ethical systems are derived from defining religion in the 16th century form: "the service and worship of God or  gods", while the fact that religion is generally accepted today as any 'system of devotion, fidelity or reverence' is simply ignored.  In this there is no difference than assuming that the only people today who are truly religious are monastic orders. That meaning may have been prevalent at one point in time, but it has long since broadened to include a much wider swath of society. It is simply not acceptable to apply 500 or 1500 year old meanings to a word today. Consider the case of obscenities. The word bitch came into use about 1000 CE to mean a "female dog". It was commonly used, had no adverse connotations, and could be readily used in polite company.  By about 1400 CE, however, it had started to be used to refer to human females as an insult. By 1800, it was actually considered more offensive to call a woman a bitch than it was to call her a whore. To illustrate this, "bitch" is now a commonly used epithet in music, movies, radio and television. It is also not generally thought of as 'grossly offensive' by women today. In other words, both the meaning and the acceptability of the term bitch have changed dramatically over the past 1,000 years. It would be foolish to think today that we should restrict the meaning (and use) of the word to what it was either 500 or 1000 years ago. And yet, that is precisely what many people try to do with the term religion.  This becomes an issue when talking about groups which do not 'service and worship a god'. Groups that fall into this category include such people as Confucianists, Taoists, and Jains. The first two of these began as Chinese structures, and neither mentions Deity in their original forms. Both, however, saw later adherents graft discussions of Deity onto them.  Today, there are clearly divisions of adherents which would be classified as a religion even with the 'God criterion'; however, they also retain large segments of their followers which simply never discuss Deity; and, this often gets them branded as ethical systems in contradistinction to being religions. Jainism is an avowedly agnostic religion, which means that it is also often classified as an ethical system by those who demand the presence of God before something can be declared as a religion.  Christian denominations which might fall into this religio-ethical trap include members of the Unitarian-Universalist Association as well as Christian Scientists. In the case of UU, the problem is that it is an inclusive structure which refuses to dictate a creedal position regarding God. So, some UU members might be "religious" while others are humanist or "ethical". The problem, for some, with Christian Science group is that God is defined in an impersonal form.  It is a form that some more traditional Christian denominations do not consider to truly be God at all. In that case, it isn't enough to be God-centered, the description of God must also apparently comply with some unwritten set of criteria to qualify.   Absurd? Absolutely. Offensive? Certainly it is to some. So, why bother to even mention it? Because when looking at religious philosophy we not only must agree on the method of analysis, but also on what is being analyzed (i.e. a religion versus an ethical system).       Precepts     Although most people don't know what it is, there is actually a significant difference between a precept and a concept. And, in the field of religion, this difference can be critical. Consider the dictionary definition of each:         concept n. [L. conceptus, fr. concipere to conceive] 1. A thought; an opinion. 2. Philos. An idea, as distinguished from a precept; also, a mental image of an action or thing.         precept n. OF fr. L ;ceptum, fr. ;cipere to take beforehand, instruct, teach] 1. Any commandment, instruction, or order intended as a rule of action or conduct; esp., a practical rule guiding behavior, technique, etc. 2. Law An order, warrant, or writ issued pursuant to law, esp. to an administrative officer.    These definitions make it relatively clear; but, just to be certain we have the difference firmly in mind, consider the following example. Each of the Ten Commandments is a precept. Each one is a "commandment, instruction, or order intended as a rule of action or conduct". According to the story in Exodus, 'Thou shalt not kill' isn't an idea that God had one day and would prefer all of us to think about (i.e. a concept) It is an injunction, an instruction whereby He has provided a "rule of action" ( i.e. a precept).  If it is possible to give someone a clear idea about something that is foolish, nonsensical, and nonexistent, then one would assume that it must be a lot simpler to provide an image of something that was important, logical, and real. To adherents of a religion, God most certainly exists; He is supremely important; and, the rationality and reasonableness of a belief in God is to be accepted without question.     So, how does this make these two terms differ when referring to religion? A concept is a mental image of either an idea (e.g. God) or action (e.g. forgiveness). A precept is a rule of action (e.g. "thou shalt not steal") or conduct ( e.g. love thy neighbor as thyself). Precepts, however, turn out to be a lousy way to analyze religion. Either they only exist within a specific faith (e.g. atonement -Christianity), or they exist within virtually every faith (e.g. the Golden Rule is found in every world religion). In neither case do they offer grounds for comparison or understanding of religion.   Fundamentals       What are the fundamentals, or fundamental concepts, that religions tend to share? I consider the following to be a partial listing of the fundamentals of what it takes to be a religion. The examples are minimal, but should provide at least a basic understanding of the questions each raises with regard to one's definition of religion.     Deity/Reality Most religions accept that there is some form of, for lack of a better term, "spiritual being", some Ultimate Reality. Where religions often differ with regard to this is in defining how many of them there are; whether they have gender, and if so which; and what are the attributes of Deity. Even those that generally avoid discussion of Deity are almost always concerned with determining the true nature of Ultimate Reality, whether it is completely spiritual or totally materialistic and physical or perhaps even both at times.           Theophany: If some form of Deity is accepted, does that deity ever "come to earth" in physical form? Has it, does it, can it incarnate?           Prayer: What does it mean to a group to pray? Is this a process by which the followers petition Deity to act in their behalf? Or, is it simply a means of aligning the individual with either Deity or Ultimate Reality?          Soul: Do we have a "soul"? Is there "that of God" in every man? Is there a divine essence, a divine spark, an inner essence of spirituality? Do all humans have this? Do animals? Do insects? Do plants? Is this just another term for "life force", or is it something far more spiritual and ethereal?          Worship: What does it mean to "worship"? Does it make sense to worship an impersonal deity? Does Deity/Reality respond to human worship?          Sacrifice: Virtually all religions embrace some form of sacrifice as a means of acknowledging the supremacy of Deity/Reality. What forms can this take? What do humans "get out of it"?           Salvation: Not every religion has the concept of salvation. Salvation is predominantly a Christian belief coming through the belief that Jesus the Christ died for our sins and only through him might we be "saved". If there is no sense of impending doom, why must one be saved? How does this impel the other beliefs and practices of these groups?           Mysticism: When is a religion being "mystical"? What does that mean? Is mystical knowledge somehow automatically either superior or inferior to conventional physical knowledge?           Death: What happens after death? This is a key feature in studying religion. There are several possible answers: nothing, resurrection, reward, punishment, corrective penalty, reincarnation. Typically, the views a religion holds regarding death are indicative of a whole host of other beliefs and practices.           Dualism/Monism: Dualism is the basic belief that reality can be seen as existing along a continuum with two opposing poles: good & evil, right & wrong, yin & yang, et cetera. Monism, by contrast, is the belief that all reality is composed of a single essence. This may be material, spiritual, or some third essence underlying both physical and spiritual existence. The impact that this belief has on one's religious practice is immense.           Orthodoxy: Composed from two Greek roots, orthodoxy simply means to hold "correct thoughts". Most analysts seem to identify the orthodox position by a democratic process; in other words, it is often accepted by outside observers that the ideas held by the largest number are the "orthodox". Obviously, those within a religion, who may hold to different ideas, don't necessarily agree and find themselves in a conundrum of remaining within a sect, order or belief system or leaving to form their own.           Orthopraxy: Similar to orthodoxy, orthopraxy (or orthopraxis) comes from the Greek roots meaning "correct practices". We can think of orthodoxy as "what they preach", and orthopraxy as "what they practice".          Pantheism: Pantheism is another composite word that, literally, means all (pan) is God (theos). Although there have been pantheistic religions for thousands of years, it was the rise of neo-paganism in the 20th century that brought this back into academic discussion.           Universality: Where most religions espouse and practice a degree of universality, there are clearly some that focus on an ethno-centrality. This means that most religions believe they are the answer for everyone. To that end, these groups often attempt to convert others to their way. By contrast, some religions accept that there is a strong cultural component to their religion, and that their religion is not the answer for people who do not share those cultural distinctions. Most of these groups would permit others to join with them, but they find it largely foolish, and therefore usually make no attempt to convert others.           Uniqueness: Across the religious landscape, there are a number of religions that hold to unique (or rare) beliefs or practices. These are sufficiently rare to make it nonsensical to make them into a 'category' of beliefs to be analyzed; but, they may have significant importance to the group that holds them.           Truth: What is it? Who has it? Is it exclusive? All religions claim that they have access to "the truth"; most believe that they are the only ones who do; a very few acknowledge that truth is a personal and cultural phenomenon, and that there can be many paths to Truth.   Defining Aspects of Religion   Spiritualism A definition of Spiritualism    Spiritualism is based on the conception in the mid 19th century of Spiritualist mediums having abilities in connecting the physical and ethereal worlds. A contemporary view of this belief includes the association with the ethers or Spirit Realm with our three dimensional physical world. It also revolves around the faith observers of this form of intellectual perception have in "God" being a collective conscious and touchable by meditation and concentrated thought.  It is defined by some as a "religion" however it is far more than that. There is no specific dogma, doctrine or creed beyond the Spiritualist's motto of "Do what is right." Right in the eyes of "God" first and man second. Spiritualism holds strong to the belief that our Spirit or Soul continues after physical death of the vessel (body) that it inhabits during its time here in the physical planes of life on Earth. It is through discussion on this topic that most followers of Spiritualism beliefs are formed and used throughout their lives while interacting with other 'travelers' of the physical dimension.  The spiritualist affirms that man's spirit survives death and enters a spirit or ethereal plane of existence which surrounds and interpenetrates our material life.  This statement can be demonstrated under certain conditions when communication can and does take place between the spirit world and the earth plane. This communication is possible through people who have what are known as mediumistic abilities or "Gifts". Spiritualists, for the most part, tend to stress that the right conditions must prevail for communication to take place and that there is a spirit willing to communicate to the physical plane.  Communication will take place if spirits are at ease and the medium agrees to channel for the communication. A misconception about Spiritualists is that they "call up the dead", this is not accurate at all, it is more accurate to say it's the reverse.   A great deal of evidence has shown throughout history that the spirit energies call to us, we do not call on them.   There has also been found a number of "Higher Spirit Beings" that seem to have an intended and enlightened message for the physical beings. These 'messages' usually revolve around topics such as our purpose and destiny and what this higher consciousness sees as a benefit to our humble lives here in the physical world.  The modern Spiritualist movement began around1848 when sensational happenings in America led to the beliefs in such things ethereal and eventually spread across Europe and around the globe. The largest Spiritualist Organization found today is the Spiritualists' National Union based in the UK, as it is recognized by H. M. Government, being the legally established religious body for Spiritualism. It has an extensive philosophy based on the Seven Principles that expressly set forth ethics for Spiritualists to follow in their beliefs and everyday manner of living.   The Seven Principles of Spiritualism (4) (4) Provided by the resource www.pathwaytospirit.co.uk   1.The Fatherhood of God By the study of Nature - that is, by trying to understand the Laws of Cause & Effect which govern all that is happening around us - we recognize that there is a creative force in the universe. This force, or energy, not only created the whole universe, but also life itself in its many forms and is continuing to create today. The effects of this eternal creation can be seen around us and this leads us to the evidence that 'God' - 'The Creative Force' - manifests directly, or indirectly, in all things. We know this power as God and as we are part of the Life created by God, we acknowledge God as our Father.   2.The Brotherhood of Man Because we all come from the same universal life source we are, in effect, one large family, small individual offshoot from the whole. This means that all mankind is part of a brotherhood. A brotherhood is a community for mutual support and comfort. We are all members of the same divine family. We need to share our joys as well as our burdens; we need to understand the needs of other individuals in order to assist them as part of our service to each other. As we learn to give so must we also learn to receive thereby achieving the necessary balance for our life. We must look not only to the material necessities of our fellow creatures but also to their spiritual needs and help those in need to become strong and worthy of their relationship in the Family of God.   3.Communion of Spirits and the Ministry of Angels All religions believe in life after death but only Spiritualism shows that it is true by demonstrating that communication with departed spirits can and does take place. Spiritualist Churches provide one of the venues where communication, through medium-ship, is possible and many loved relatives and friends take advantage of this opportunity to continue to take an interest in our welfare. There are also spirit people/teachers who are dedicated to the welfare and service of mankind. Some bring inspiration and teachings whilst others work within the healing ministry.   4.Continuous Existence of the Human Soul It is scientifically proven that matter cannot be destroyed; it merely changes its form. Spirit, as part of the Creative Force is, therefore, indestructible. On the death of the physical body, the spirit continues as an integral part of a world, which interpenetrates our world but in a different dimension. This world is referred to as the Spirit World. In spirit life we have a spirit body, which until we progress far enough, is a replica of our earthly body. We are the same individuals in every way with the same personalities and characteristics and we change only by progression, or otherwise, as a result of our own efforts. Our personal responsibilities do not stop at death.   5.Personal Responsibility This principle is the one which places responsibility for wrongful thoughts and deeds where it belongs - with the individual. It is the acceptance of responsibility for every aspect of our lives and the use to which we place our lives depends entirely upon ourselves. It is not possible for any other person, or outside influence, to interfere with our spiritual development, unless we are willing to allow this. No one can put right the wrongdoing except the offender. As we are given freedom of choice (freewill) so also are we given the ability to recognize what is right from what is wrong. We are totally, as well as personally, responsible.   6.Compensation and Retribution hereafter for all Good and Evil Deeds done on Earth. As with all the other Principles, the natural laws apply and this one echoes the law of Cause and Effect (e.g.: as you sow, so shall you reap). One cannot be cruel and vindictive towards others and expect love and popularity in return. It must be understood that the compensatory or retributive effects of this law operate now -on earth - they do not wait until we begin to live in the Spirit World.   7.Eternal Progress open to every Human Soul In every heart there exists the desire for progress and to every human spirit belongs the power to progress in wisdom and love.   All who desire to tread the path that leads to perfection are able to pursue it. The rate of progress is directly proportional to the desire for mental and spiritual understanding. If we do our best in earth life to follow our inward prompting or intuitions; we shall find progress very easy, on earth as in spirit; if not, every step in advancement will follow a struggle against imperfections, which we ourselves will have worked into our natures. Within the Family of God, with all the advantages that our realization of that state can give us, we are all given the opportunity to be responsible for our own eternal progress.    Influenced by these Principles as well as its scientific and philosophical ramifications, for many people Spiritualism has become more than just a religion; it has become a Way of Life.    What is also a misnomer among those outside of these teachings is that followers of Spiritualism do not believe in God. This is far from the truth as it is the first principle in the belief system. Most Spiritualist have a firm belief in a Higher Being, a Creator, The Source, The Collective Conscious and myriad of other 'labels' or names. Spiritualism does not try and confine and define "God" as being anyone thing or being. Instead they acknowledge that there is a Divine Source that manifests itself to individuals in many different forms so that collectively we can identify this source within our Self. What may make sense to one person may not make much sense to another so the message changes even though the end result is a unified understanding.  For instance, we could say "God is: Love, compassion, understanding, devotion, Self expansion, caring, graciousness, ethereal, spirit, higher power, creator, source, never ending" and so forth. No one description gives a full and complete understanding of God's love for us, yet collectively encompasses the many and diverse aspects of a Supreme Being.  I am enthusiastic about my Spiritualism Beliefs. Spiritualism in our contemporary view incorporates the principles and theories of the medium-ship abilities of the Spiritualist with those of a more contemporary view of religious believer. To have the belief that "God" bestowed these abilities or gifts upon us to use in our quest for a better understanding of ourselves and our eternal spirit expresses no conflict in my faith.  I feel this is what resonates the best with my inner core being, my Spirit. By removing dogma and doctrine from this basic principle of the Cosmos we find that labels, titles and names are far less important than the message of "Doing what is right". When we fill our lives with striving to be the best we can be by being 'love, compassion, understanding, devotion, Self expansion, caring, graciousness, ethereal and of the Spirit, we set an example to emulate for those not so grounded.  After all, every prophet or messenger of God's will has described this basic premise of God being "within". That we are in essence a part of God and God is a part of us, puts a whole new angle on things. It is through this very statement that we should all strive to be a representative of God's Will and allow that energy to flow through us from the ethers  to mankind.   Nine Noble Virtues Odhinnist Charge      Asatrû Folk Assembly Courage                  Courage is better than cowardice Truth                      Realism is better than dogmatism Honor                     Honor is better than dishonor Fidelity                   Kinship is better than alienation Discipline                Strength is better than weakness Hospitality               Joy is better than guilt Self Reliance            Freedom is better than slavery Industriousness        Vigor is better than lifelessness Perseverance           Ancestry is better than universalism     The Old Nordic way was one of personal responsibility and inner strength. By living up to The Code of the Nine Noble Virtues, one was expected to have a full and meaningful life. One of the most beneficial virtues was that of Self Reliance. This meant to the ancients that one had a full and complete understanding of the other eight virtues and practiced this belief system in everyday life. To be individually strong of character assured the benefit of the clan, family and community.  One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Nordic clansman was the incorrect view that they worshipped a pantheon of gods. They did in fact have a large number, some 100-150 "gods" that they recognized, however emulation, not worship of the aspects of each 'god' was their inspiration. In all actuality they held strong to the belief that worshipping any deity was belittling to their inner strength and character.  Insomuch as Odhinn (Odin, Othin, Odinn, Oddin a.k.a "All Father) is the highest ranking god in Asgaard (heaven) who sits in Gildesheimer, the Golden House, he himself is not the ultimate "god" of the ancient Norsemen. The following is a brief view of Nordic story of creation, which in contrast, is greatly familiar to most "Christians".   Odhinn, the All Father, brother to Vili and Ve, father to Thor, born of Buri and Ivesta, took up his cause in his youth. There was no order to the cosmos and Earth had yet to be formed. Aldunna, the Mystic Cow had brought forth all manner of things from her mouth, yet there was no one to make things usable for mankind.   During this creation, it was said that there must be division between the spirit world and the physical world, just as there is separation between night and day. Therefore it was commanded and the physical world became day and the Spirit world became night. But there were so many spirits in the ethers that darkness prevailed so that Sunni (sun) could not shine bright enough to balance things. It was Odhinn who took on the task of bringing balance and harmony to the ethers.   He asked the Creator to make available to him all manner of spirits from all corners of the Multiverse (the nine universes) so that he could achieve his goal. A small speck of dust (Earth), near to Sunni seemed the right place to collect his bounty, so it was there he placed each spirit as he caught it. He called this place Midgaard, the world between worlds. The spirits could not leave this place as the light prevented them from finding the ethereal darkness.   After a long period of searching the ethers and collecting all forms of spirits, Odhinn once again called on the Creator. In communing with Creator it was determined that balance and harmony were in the true heart of Odhinn, so Creator granted him his second wish, that all spirits be given form. It was done. From the Earth sprang every form of living thing. Feathered and scaled creatures, those creatures with smooth skin and those with fur all manifested into physical form.   Odhinn noticed that Sunni had began to brighten, yet darkness still held the majority of the sky. Only when facing her directly did Light prevail. Odhinn thought on this awhile and once again sought counsel with the Creator. It seemed to him that as long as things remained the way they were, there could be no balance between light and dark so he petitioned to the Creator.   "Oh Great Creator, who brought forth Aldunna which brought forth life, you keep the spirit of all within you so that nothing may change. If one is a spiritual thing then darkness is of no consequence, however, if one is a physical thing light gives hope and blesses the icy coldness with warmth. Shall I always, forever and forever, be held in the clutches of the cold? Or should all spirits know the joys of warmth to make their cold eternity worthwhile? Therefore I propose as All Father to allow each spirit to know warmth and each manifest creature to know coldness and dark. I shall return the manifest creatures to their origins when their time has been allotted, however while in the Light, they shall know comfort and multiply."   Thus it was for all living creatures that they should have the privilege of knowing both the manifest and spirit world of the ethers from whence they came. The Creator saw this as good and called upon all things to adhere to Odhinn's command. Since man was the closest resemblance to the gods, in mind and spirit, he would be given authority over all things. Thus the cycles of life and death began. It was therefore commanded by the Creator that all living things should know the comfort of Light and the Blissful Peace of darkness.   And when things came into being and manifest upon the Earth, they should live kind with kind and give of each other readily in order to bring balance to night and day. As there were then creatures of the day there was also brought into being creatures of the night. As Odhinn would hunt the manifest creatures for meat to fill his belly and furs to clothe his cold skin, the cycle began. So many creatures now existed that the Creator saw need for help for his manifest presence on Earth. Odhinn was blessed with two brothers, Vili and Ve and in turn blessed each of them with many wives to fill there houses.   It is from this lineage that the Keepers of Balance came into being and from whom we were taught to respect the cycle of life and death and allow it act freely in the best interest of the Multiverse. Odhinn commanded that on Midgaard, no living creature should be taken before it's time, therefore hunt only those of age or inflicted with wounds. Be thankful and give praise for each life returned to the Source of All Life.   Since those early days of life in the ethers came the cycle of one physical death gives way to one spiritual manifestation, and for every spiritual return gives one physical birth. And thus it has been so since near the beginning and how we have obtained balance between then Light and Dark. From good comes evil and from evil comes good. It is the purest form of Isa, the great cosmic contraction and expansion, that all things are manifest whether spiritual or physical manifestations.  As well, the ancient form of divination with the runestaves was knowledge handed down to us from Odhinn to mankind by his "hanging on tree nights nine and he fell back to the ground roaring with the knowledge of the runes". This gives us the picture of an inherent "knowing" of things ethereal rather than a learned or instructed education in such things. As a person well versed in the runestaves and the use of these instruments of divination it is much the same as a true medium or psychic. There is an inner strength, an inner working of one's Spirit that allows us to read the staves 'correctly' and give Spiritual knowledge to those that seek it with a genuine heart.  The ancients of the Viking era were a prime example of theosophy in orthopraxy in that they practiced their Spiritual knowledge in a very real and manifest physical form. This was the true embodiment of esoteric emulation versus the exoteric venue of worship.   Image of God    Our images of God are an attempt to decipher the Being we have intellectualized and manifested as God. For instance in the clockmaker model, we think of ourselves as the product of creation, evolved here to harvest the world's resources and to exploit and dominate the planet. In the spirit model, the function of every being is to participate as co-creator in our collective consciousness. Seeing ourselves in those terms, we tend to view our responsibility to the larger whole, whereas if we think of ourselves as the end product, then we have no particular investment to try to make this a better world for all.  The humanistic image of God merely sets up a competition between "my" Belief and "your" Belief, which is the basis of all religious confrontations and violent exchanges. However, if one thinks of creation as the manifestation of a unified spiritual intelligence, the interwoven nature of all beings comes to the forefront of thought. Therefore a perception of competing gods evaporates. We then are able to see the face of God in every human being and every other living thing upon the Earth.  Michael Angelo painted one of the few pictorial representations of God creating Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Other than this historical reference very few likenesses have been produced mostly because God is granted a supremacy role of which we humans are to tread upon very lightly. In this thinking God is far too holy to be depicted by the hand of mere man. This creates yet another authority over our lives that is mandated by a religious hierarchy. (I would have liked to have been present at the meeting of the Pope and God when this edict was handed down.)    Since we have no depiction of any of the myriad of "gods", beyond that of the imagination or vision of the artist, we must assume the following: A. "Gods" do not photograph or pose for paintings B. No one has ever actually seen a god, including Moses when given the Ten Commandments(5) C. No god exists D. God(s) are a concept of intelligent philosophy (5)  Biblical reference   I tend to believe in choice "D.". We have conceptualized the face of God in order to lend graphic credibility to his presence and to expand upon the philosophy. I am certain that among the earnest and devout followers of any of world's religions, sometime, somewhere the Supreme would have made a physical manifestation of some form in order to end the suffrage of blind faith. To my mind it is inconceivable that any benevolent god of love would allow the hundreds of wars and billions of deaths that have resulted over the question of his existence by merely being a bit 'camera shy' or too busy to show himself.  Actually a couple of things come to mind on this premise. There are numerous mentions in religious texts of "God" communicating with mankind in the form of a trumpeting voice or booming verbalization. We are also instructed in the Old Testament: Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man(kind) in our image, after our likeness: and let them  have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.    This tends to give the "image" that "God" is at minimum a dyad if not a triune because of the reference "Let us make…" and "…in his own image". If we are to take as evidence that Genesis is actually the word of God given unto Moses then we must accept the precept that God deliberately made reference to his multifaceted Being. The Holy Roman Catholic Church uses the terminology of 'God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit' in its blessing and signing by priests of the Order.  In contrast to this, Heathen, Pagan and Naturalists beliefs use "God the Father, God the Mother and God the Son". Even further to the left there are those of paganistic beliefs that use "Mother Earth, Father Sky and Spiritual Son" in their trinity and yet others that conform to "Father Spirit, Mother Manifest and Son Ourselves". This translates to the Father being the ethereal Spirit within, the Mother being the earth and all that is 'alive' upon it and the Son being mankind and its capacity to show emotion, speculate and conceive of ideas beyond what is manifest before us and real.    (I feel it necessary to also discern here that the definition of "Heathen" simply refers to those who, in ancient days, worshipped a naturalized world amongst the heath rows, or rows of the heather plant commonly used as land partitions from about 600 BCE to 1900 CE. "Pagan" is an Old English word that simply referred to those that lived in the hills or pages and goes back to around the first century.)    Since we do not have a clear understanding if "God" actually dictated the words to Moses to write down in Genesis nor do we have a clear interpretation of the dyad, triad or greater division of the omniscient Being, we again have a situation of mere faith and belief concerning our understanding of the exact nature of The Almighty Creator Spirit. What we can clearly understand from Scriptural reference is "God's" absolute intention to have us figure this out for ourselves through our physical interpretation of the ethereal plane of existence.  Physical beings or matter can not occupy the same space at the same time without a great deal of turmoil in the surrounding area. In simplistic terms, this is why we get a nuclear explosion by forcing two elements to occupy the same space. So since Earth is not like the Sun, in that it is not a continuous hydrogen explosion, "God" in the multiple or singular, must have meant that image of himself was to be Spiritual in reference, not physical.  It seems to me that attempting to depict Spiritual Energy is much like trying to paint a picture of electricity. We can portray lighting, sparks and the trailing effects of electricity, but not the actual series of electron flow. So much like an artist paints a picture of a bent tree or flailing piece of fabric to represent wind, we would have to come up with a similar method of depicting "God". In other words, the effects of "God", not the Being itself. And of course this is done on a regular basis by the spectacular sunrise, perfect flower or beautiful animal with a scripture attached that lends the reader to imagine the awesomeness and wonder we have labeled "God".   The Purpose of Religious Belief    Regardless of which particular path one may follow, their belief is mostly a conscript of their raising and upbringing; Christian begets Christian, Muslim begets Muslim, Jew begets Jew and so forth. This is of greater importance to the church, temple or synagogue than to the individual by all means and is why the first five years of a person's life is so important as to what influences a child during those years. Even if in adult life one happens to stray from their parent's views and doctrines there remains that tingling little question at the back of the mind "what IF they were right?"  No matter how devout we may become to a different belief than our parents and their peers in our adult years, that one, seemingly inconsequential question burns at the very base of our latter found belief. However, many of us have found that when we truly open our hearts, minds and eyes, we see something that seems to be overlooked by our predecessors. All religious beliefs are so very similar when we take away the mask of illusionary uniqueness.  Whether religious doctrine or secular enlightenment permeates our thinking it boils down to a set of moralistic and ethical behaviors we are subjected to, and expected to follow, in order to be accepted by our fellow human beings. So whether it is the Nine Noble Virtues or the Ten Commandments in which we place our belief, the source of those beliefs is instructing us in basically the same manner.  As a member of the human race and supposedly being the highest form of intelligence on this planet, I find it hilarious that we need to be taught these things when the majority of other species we share space with do it with what we have labeled "instinct". But then we, as humans, have this one little aspect of Self that fails the animal kingdom, we have the abilities of dreaming of things beyond instinct and to speculate and conceptualize. However, these "abilities" come with a great responsibility, to do that which is right and for the best of all.  For most people this is where their sense of right falls into the category of what they have learned through religious teachings. In order to be accepted by others we must follow a certain guideline of moral and ethical behavior. We are taught our responsibilities and the consequences of choice. If we follow our religious foundations (moralistic) we are included or accepted by the rest of humanity (ethic).   It is purely the need for mankind's ego to be stroked that the authority of religious tradition and doctrine be given precedence over secular law. "Do only that which is right" in itself has no religious connotation to it. Addressing what was said above about our morals and ethics versus animal instincts, philosophically there tends to be a gray area. Our instincts dictate to us that if we treat others as we wish to be treated, for the most part, that is what happens to us.  If we act in wanton disregard for the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for others, that is more than likely what will become of our short life.  So in essence we could surmise that religion serves a purpose in lengthening our physical life as much as offering us hope of yet another life to come in the ethereal planes of existence. However, should we choose to be in touch with our instinctual self preservation guidelines through secular means, we will have reached the same intellectual goal.  It seems to me that man has redefined what we are taught through "God's" Word by requiring worship, through public demonstration of prostrate obedience to an invisible, ethereal Being. Emulation of the qualities, ethics and morals already embedded in our instinctual sense of self preservation appears to have a higher vibration closer to that of The Source. If we are made in His image, it is a Spiritual image, not a physical one. As well, if "they" decided to create us to dominate the Earth, They did so with full knowledge and intent of our using our instincts and Spiritual Gifts. Instincts are embedded, doctrines are learned, which do you feel is of a Higher Power or Supreme Source?   Theosophies vs. Theologies    By title this is basically the difference of religious speculations dealing with the apprehension of God versus a study of religious truths concerning the nature of God; Emulation vs. Worship.  We certainly could not have one without the other unless we were not meant to use our brains for every purpose of understanding and defining our world around us. I may be crossing a line here, but I firmly believe this is one of the fundamental differences between the two: Theology is provided for us by the great Prophets and religious teachers since the dawn of modern civilization, Theosophy is experienced and thus self taught through varied means and occurrences of situations presented to the individual. The sheep mentality of follow the leader or fox mentality of being an independent, self sufficient spirit.  The only "right" or "wrong" that should be differentiated here is what fits the individual best. Some of us simply can not survive in a world where everything is handed to us and there is only "one" correct way of living. Some people fold their socks while others prefer to stuff them, some do a little of both. There is nothing more important, or shouldn't be anyway, than our Spirit, Soul, God Within; that tricky and elusive little thing we label the "spark of life", to any individual. How we choose to treat that spark should be completely up to the owner of their personal little spark insomuch as it does no harm or ill will towards others.    Centuries ago I would have been called before the Inquisitor and almost certainly been hideously murdered for such a belief. I'm also certain that there are far more Inquisitors in Hell than average folks.    While there has never been any direct evidence of a Supreme Being, beyond that of visions, this is where I believe it only healthy and being right minded to express theosophy rather than theology. Theosophy questions and intends to answer mankind's individual needs while theology declares itself the true nature of God and authority over the individual while having absolutely no grounds for doing so. I'm sure my "vision" of being Supreme Dictator of the World would end rather badly should I try and enforce my true nature.  We would not have been created with our intellect, instinct and creativity were we to simply be a sheep of the masses. By the very nature of our creation, in being given these qualities, it seems to me by default we were meant to question and become Self sufficient. When we surrender our Self to that of dogma and doctrine we fail to grow, expand and add to the Collective Conscious in any form or manner. This to me would be like insisting that we manage our contemporary lives by using the official dictionary in use at the time of the Magna Carte.  When we usurp our very intellect by failing to expand our understanding of the Universe, the world and our Self, we box ourselves into a stagnation effect that was never intended for us by the Almighty. In today's world we paint a very different picture than that of the Apostle's when we hear "look within". Theologian or secularist can see, now, that this means looking at the true nature of that by which we were created. A Source Energy that is meant to be emulated not worshipped and that we are an omniscient Being in the physical form.    Our purpose then is to learn, grow and bring intelligent thought back to the Collective Conscious from which we originated. How then do we do this?    We do this through a very simple concept. It is called Hope. Hope is the greatest attribute to religious belief and faith. It is hope that tends to keep us all, for the most part, obligated to lead a good and moralistic life. Without hope we would have nothing for which to strive to keep us responsible to Self above all things and to each other as a rule. It is therefore Hope that is the goal of all theological, theosophical and theoretical thinking concerning our disposition, as human, in context to the universe and all living things within it.    In summary Hope becomes the purpose of religious belief. We fulfill this purpose by following a family tradition or a path we discover through our individual desire to adhere to a doctrine that best fits with our own thinking. Regardless of an individual's means or reasoning for taking on a belief system it is merely a method through which the person expresses their own vision of Hope. Thusly, anyone who then demands adherence to only one vision is completely blind to the concept and purpose of faith and belief in the first place.   Closing Remarks The statement was made that the impact of being monistic is immense. This is the belief that "All is One". If a faith is monistic, what might it mean if that "One" is God? Is there any such thing as evil? Is there matter? Do you exist?   If you do, what is your true essence? What about the apparently physical world in which we find ourselves? Is it real? Is it separate from the "One" or is it all encompassing? Orthopraxy is the practice of expressing orthodox views, in other words putting faith into actual works and action. Is this a necessary function? Is there a point at which orthopraxy is merely a condition of attempting to prove one's faith in their belief to themselves?   I believe this to be one of the fundamental differences, and one closest to my own belief, of Universal Life Ministries. That we may speak orthopraxy, or not, and still be able to communicate Spiritually amonst each other. Regardless of our personal views and beliefs, we have faith in a common goal of "Doing That Which is Right", not doing that which is "Orthodox", dogma or doctrine.<<< Submitted by: Rev. D. A. "Reverend Al" Kjono  Church of Universal Humanism Atwater, CA   Universal Life Seminary ID# 12600   Reference also previously published articles: Living the Humanist View, Rev. D. A. Kjono, 11/08 Emulation or Worship?, Rev. D. A. Kjono, 07/08 Monotheism in a Spiritualist Age, Rev. D. A. Kjono, 10/07 Cultural Views on Paganism, D. A. Kjono, 04/07 The Gods and Their Runes, D. A. "Felbain" Kjono, 03/99 An Introduction to the Runestaves, D. A. "Felbain" Kjono, 07/98 Nordic Beliefs, Contemporary Religions, D. A. "Felbain" Kjono, 06/97   Blessings of Peace, Light and Prosperity, Rev. Dr. David A. Kjono   ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Why I became a minister by Pastor Colin

Life has greatly changed in these last 30 years or so. I can only speak from an East Coast New Jersey perspective. I remember when love really was looking in someone's eyes and enjoying that person's company. I remember when doubting a person without a reason usually didn't occur. I remember firm handshakes and eye contact that meant something. I remember when a handshake was more than a business-type maneuver. Believe it or not, I remember when business and government actually gave money back without our demanding or requesting it.   All of a sudden it seemed that everything changed. Job placements deceased, the belief that humans needed a "Higher Power" deceased, and the word "love" became associated with escapism. The "good" old fashion way no longer seemed "good". Things of character were replaced with "if it looks good and gets by, then who can judge?" This mentality has led to the collapse of our economy, good government, and trust in leadership.   What could I do to try to change things? What could you do? What would Jesus do? There had to be someone, somewhere who still believed that I (or you) could make a difference in our area for the better.   I tried religions and other "organized" bodies. They all had one thing in common. They would all mold "God (Higher Power)" into their image. Some would even create "holy books" of this "God" that really enforced their own power structure. If any of these "ways" were true, our world would face less wars, dysfunctions, and greed. The religion walk had some good points, but it wasn't for me. I really believe what Jesus told Nicodemus, that God moved how He chose to move (like the Wind), and He called whom He chose to call (like John the Baptizer).   My life was in shambles. My financial institute repeatedly failed me and then attacked my character when I complained. I tended to have a Joseph relationship with my spiritual brothers and earthly family members. I was always "pushed" or forced out. It took me years to realize that God had other plans for me. My agenda to be "quiet and do my part" was not enough for God. God would Oversee the "pushing" to get me to where He wanted me to be. In poverty, I attempted to donate sometimes coins, other times dollars to charity. I was immediately placed on a "donor's list" and endlessly contacted by other solicitors.   I began to realize that the God of the Bible and the way that modern humans attempt to worship Him appeared to be in contrast. Yet, I also witnessed the early deaths, the legal problems, the court trials, the break ups, the infidelities, and all that goes will serving a "made God of the Flesh".   When I think of Jesus, or any "Holy Man", I see a person who stood on His or Her own. This was a person who heard the Voice of God (the Wind-John 3:1-16). Jesus, who represented such a Man, told Nicodemus (who represented organized or structure religion) that God's Servants must obey God not men or women (Acts Chapter 5).   I became an Ordained Minister of the Universal Life Church for these reasons: 1) I am allowed to follow God's voice. There is no person or body in the ULC which attempts to dictate what I am or am not to do (as long as I do the right thing), 2) We truly are One. This is the motto of the Universal Life Church. "God" wants us to strive beyond our human shortcomings and look out for the better good of all, 3) I'm actually doing what I truly enjoy doing! I AM A MINISTER OF GOD! It's a joy and a Freedom from all organizations and human made rules (which often tend to be oppressive), 4) I see God's Presence and hear the Voice of God in nature, in life, in animals, in insects, in study, and in supernatural manisfestations of the Most High God. The final reason I enjoy being an Ordained Minister of the Universal Life Church is one that I did not expect or ask for. My concerns are respected more by onlookers. Actions are more readily taken against unethical persons or those who exploit the elderly and others.   I wish to encourage everyone to listen to the Voice of God, however God talks to you. God has Higher Callings to offer. We don't have to accept the dysfunctions of life. I'm a firm believer that God will bless us with our needs, if we are willing to let Him lead us in His will.   Pastor Gary Colin Booker is a Minister of the Universal Life Church. You can contact Pastor Colin at seeingbeyondthetrees@yahoo.com http://www.webspawner.com/users/comingagain Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

thoughts on Reincarnation and Christianity by Rev. Judith

Christianity and Reincarnation = Mystical Christianity = Lesson 17:                                    1. Sometimes, no matter how good a person is, lessons remain to be learned. When you pray to God to help you out during these inevitable "bad times" of your life, He may seem to not be listening or there is a delay in answering your prayer. In that situation, He is telling you to take an active role in resolution with Him as a much needed back-up. Yours become the hands and He is the strength and courage to see it through.                          2. As a Christian, I have asked this question over and over again to my Pastor and to others in authority to know.  One answer is that there is always a reason behind every tragedy and that God is working behind the scenes.  When you are close to dire circumstances, it's hard to notice the hand of the Creator at work.  (It occurred to me that in some mythologies the god of creation is also the god of destruction.  The Biblical God has also been known to play that dual role …)  This past year, my mother died of brain cancer – that was a family tragedy.  She was a strong, vibrant, intelligent woman who quite suddenly began to manifest violent personality changes.  We took care of her at home and thank God, she passed away without pain.  Bad arrives with good- at least that has been my experience to date.  When my Mom died, she left me in financial hardship- unpaid medical bills, reverse mortgage people trying to take our home etc.  I had to terminate my employment at a job where I worked for 21 years to get my pension to attempt to remedy the situation.  Unemployment is tough, but the little things I did not appreciate before have become big blessings –A life lesson!  So the bad is coupled with the good: quitting my job = it was a position of mental and physical slavery in which my soul was under a crushing weight for too many years.  Sure, we're scrambling and sticking it out – not fun by any means- but I received an unexpected scholarship to study at an accredited seminary and hope to be ordained as a pastor within the year.  That's a good thing!  I am going to be able to help others, pass on the blessings that I was fortunate enough to receive, in whatever ministry the Lord leads me to.  It's a dream come true!  I hope this makes sense.                                                                                                        3. This is a hard question. I think that when you do a good deed, positive energy is sent out into the world.  In contrast, those who do not care about their "neighbors," those who are set on revenge, are always angry and deal unfairly with others, send out negative energy which seems to compound.  I wonder why the negativity is stronger than the good.  Good deeds may not receive beneficial gains in return but evil will without a doubt multiply.  The doer of malevolence, the so-called "bad" person will eventually be caught up in the whirlwind of results which he has set into motion.  I think that we must always keep it in mind.                                                                                                                             4. Karma may be a factor but I think that human beings have some control over their circumstances.  I really have to know a bit more about reincarnation and the laws of Karma to give an intelligent answer.  Perhaps if you teach another course dealing with these subjects specifically?  I'll be the 1st to sign up!   ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/