Overview of Precognitive Dreams & Experiences - w/ supporting evidence from Bem's Precognitive Experiments

Charles E Peck Jr • May 9, 2021

Pattern of Connecting with "Alienated" Personality Types 

Abstract: 
In this essay I present an overview of some precognitive dreams and perceptions with a focus on some repetitive and consistent patterns. The most obvious pattern is that almost all are perceptions of threats to the group - parallel to the alarm calls of animals. I supplement that aspect with Daryl Bem's very successful repeated precognitive experiments which shows by far the best results were produced by the precognitive experiments focused on sex. Sex of course is an instinctual behavior the same as alarm calls or vocalization of perceptions of threat s tp the group. Another pattern is that four of the dreams and perceptions appear to be "psychic" connections with alienated people - specifically Alek Minassian, the Canadian incel terrorist, Mohammed Mera the French lone wolf terrorist, as well as Warner the Nashville bomber.  
     
                                           Setting the Stage 

My personal interest and passion are born of persona spiritual-psychic experiences. I should note that in 40 years, I have had numerous spiritual-psychic experiences -  I have over ten documented spiritual-psychic precognitive experiences. Overall, it would be best described as a grab-bag of varied and different types of precognitive dreams and perceptions -with a fair number of abbreviated "tags" - as well as some detailed dreams and one "Once-in-a-lifetime exceptionally detailed and spiritually profound precognitive experience. The highlights include a warning to call to the FBI office in Toledo, Ohio prior to Hinckley's assassination attempt in 1981. Furthermore, I did call the CIA to warn them - to the best of my ability - of the impending 9/11 tragedy! 

My "Mustard Seed" or "What a nightmare" spiritual-psychic precognitive experience, from October 18, 1981 is an exceptionally detailed and profoundly spiritual precognitive experience-warning. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, woman, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the weathermen terrorist manifesto. I should mention that dealing with the US government is not all sweetness and light. I am 68, and it is late in the game, so I need to emphasize that these are facts no up for debate. Not all that surprisingly the U.S DOJ-FBI has been blowing smoke about the notarized "What a nightmare" precognitive warning which does by sheer chance and coincidence - has a FOIPA stamp on it. 

In forty years - since 1981 - not one of my therapists asked any questions or talked to me about my experiences at all. When I brought up and went over my very detailed and notarized Mustard Seed - What a nightmare experience - not one said a single word - not one word. That is conditioning - big time - and technically gaslighting and virtual ostracism. In my view this should have been dealt with 40 years ago - so in my view psychology, psychiatry - as well as the government can go screw themselves. Forty years of the silent treatment. - is just bulls**t.   

1. Most Recent Precognitive Warning to FBI: Nashville Bombing 
The Nashville Bombing 12-25-2020 Of course, it is a blessing that no one was seriously hurt in the Nashville Bombing! (according to the latest news brief) In a mini-stream of consciousness an email precognitive warning to FBI agent McElwee on 10-30-20: "terrorism - domestic - and specifically bombs." 

"My senses are tingling as it were and red lights are flashing and I feel that there is something up that may turn out to be important...........Of course What a nightmare symbolizes terrorism - domestic - and specifically bombs"
<charlie.peckjr@comcast.net> To: "mvmcelwee@fbi.gov" <mvmcelwee@fbi.gov> Date: 10/30/2020 3:30 PM Subject: birthday [symbolic association processes appear to be a frequently employed "method" in spiritual-psychic experiences at times]

2. Letters to the Embassies of the Allies March 2017 
The Might Makes Right Historical Cycle: From Athens, 478 BC to America, 2017

As a preface to this mini-essay, I should emphasize that after I sent copies of the letters to several Senators and Congressmen. Not too long after that I received a letter from U.S. Senator Van Hollen and then U.S governor Hogan expressing interest in research into spirituality and spiritual-psychic experiences. I must say those letters haven’t done me hardly any good at all. Those letters are posted on a page on my website: https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/
   
In letters sent to our allies' embassies in Mid-March 2017, I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace. When it comes down to it, at times, Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is Americans don’t even have the right question. History repeats itself and has definite cycles. I believe America is in the cycle of might-makes-right. After the Athenians defeated the Persians, they rose to the leadership of the Greek world. They used their power to bully and dictate terms to their allies. The Athenians ended up massacring all the inhabitants of Lesbos on the argument that might-makes-right. Their policies ended up backfiring." There were, in fact, two armed revolts against the Athenians by their 'allies' who the Athenians had abused horribly. Without question, The Athenians, at that time, had let power got to their heads and had adopted a "Might makes Right" state of mind. It is said that attitude is everything. In the case of the Athenians at that time the Power had become the one and only reality for them.

The Delian League was formed in 478 BC as an alliance of city states that numbered over 300 at one point to liberate Greek Cities from the Persians and for mutual defense against the Persians. However, the Delian League degenerated from a mutual alliance into the Athenian Empire after Athens took over the League’s treasury and compelled the city states to pay their dues (in money or ships). The injustice and unfairness of the Athenians in dealing with members of the Delian League must have engendered a large amount of resentment, since major beneficiary was certainly Athens. Pericles launched a massive re-building project of the city, in part funded by the Delian League treasury.

The Athenians constantly bullied, intimidated, and threatened their allies. Naxos rebelled and attempted to secede from the Delian League in c. 467 BCE. Athens response was to attack the island and reduce it to a semi-dependent city state. Later, the island of Thasos which wanted to keep control of its mines and trade centres and tried to gain some independence. The Athenians attacked Thasos and laid siege to the city for three years after which the city finally surrendered. In 428, Mytilene, one of five major cities on the Greek Island of Lesbos revolted against this BCE. After a debate in the Athenian Assembly the revolt was brutally suppressed. Lesbos - except the city of Methymna which had remained loyal - was reduced to the status of a subservient colony. It seems clear that a resurgence of this same mind-set - this Might Makes Right attitude is taking shape in US history right now.

Trump’s Abusive Calls to Allies’ Leaders – verification of my “read” of the situation.

July 30, 2020: The title of an article in the Indy 100, Independent, stated that “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call” The article went on to say How Bernstein of CNN observed that Although Trump "regularly bullied and disparaged" other leaders like Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison, his most "vicious attacks" were reserved for women, the report claims. Bernstein quoted one of his sources as calling Trump's phone calls with Merkel and May "near-sadistic". 
Some of the things he said to Angela Merkel are just unbelievable: he called her 'stupid,' and accused her of being in the pocket of the Russians. He's toughest with those he looks at as weaklings and weakest with the ones he ought to be tough with. The intelligence leak from foreign intelligence sources led to further revelations such as how Trump called May a “fool” on a phone call which was alter verified by former National Security advisor Bolton in his book. Bolton went on to say how he, former Secretary of State Tillerson, former Defense Secretary General Mattis, as well as another former top national security advisor all agreed that Trump is “delusional” – off his rocker in common parlance. So, it turned out I was right and then some in my letters to allies.

   
                                      List of Dreams 

1. Pakistan-India Dream: For instance, the documented precognitive dream from 1-18-2019 which (partly) took place in Pakistan and centered on the issue of Nuclear War has a very reasonable interpretation of having come true. I had a somewhat vivid dream about Pakistan in which 'nuclear war' was an aspect: "At the end, the dream was about nuclear war again….” About a month later, India, suddenly launched an air strike against Pakistan in retaliation for an attack on Indian civilians in Kashmir by Islamic extremists. On 2-28-2019, an article appeared: "Opinion: India, Pakistan, and the remote but real threat of nuclear war." You can’t take dreams literally of course, and as you know, no nuclear war occurred. Furthermore, the Indian leader, Modi’s nationalism became more aggressive and India annexed Kashmir a semiautonomous region with large numbers of Muslims, then later removed citizenships from large number of Muslims. The bottom line is that the dream could easily be portrayed as a perception of a “threat to the group.”     

2. Another example is that I had a dream about Libya (2-26-2019), and while the dream was not directly connected to any international events. seeming to be generally about "intelligence:" Similar to the timing of the dream about Pakistan-India, about a month later an article appeared: US troops temporarily leave Libya as security deteriorates Haley Britzky April 07, 2019 "The U.S. forces in Libya are temporarily leaving as the security situation on the ground has grown "increasingly complex and unpredictable." It turned out they pulled out permanently – and the situation deteriorated afterward. 

On June 14, 2020 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the discovery of mass graves in Libyan territory which were recently recaptured from forces commanded by Khalifa Hifter. An article on June 22, 2020 stated: “Turkey is playing a dangerous game in Libya and is violating all of its commitments made at the Berlin conference,” Macron said on Monday, referring to the January meeting co-sponsored by Ankara and Moscow. Describing the situation in Libya as “intolerable,” Macron called for “an end to foreign interference and the unilateral acts of those who wish to gain new positions by favoring war.” These are two of three dreams about foreign countries that I brought to my counselor’s attention before they “came true” as it were. And, it would seem readily apparent that these two dreams could readily and easily be interpreted as having come true.

 3. Dudayev Dream: In a rather vivid dream. Before the Chechen leader, Dudayev, was killed, I had a dream about Russia. In the dream, I was in a bombed out city of “rubble” near some mountains. I was in a room with two men. There was a stack of eight sided coins and six sided dice. Next in the dream, there was a runway for a plane. The dream abruptly ended at a field. About a week later Dudayev was killed by a Russian warplane at a village. About a week later, on April 21,1996, Dudayev was killed by two laser-guided missiles that zoned in on his satellite phone signal, after his location was detected by a Russian reconnaissance aircraft. He was killed in the village of Gekhi-Chu.

The pieces of the puzzle from the dream:
a. Mountains: Chechnya is in Russia in North Caucasus mountains;
b. Six-sided sphere: (Very) roughly Chechnya could be said to be six-sided;
c. Rubble: Chechnyan cities had been bombed by the Russians;
d. Airport Runway: a Su-24MR and a Su-25 were used to kill Dudayev;
e. Remote village: Dudayev was killed “near” Gekhi Chu;
f. Field: because he was killed “near” Gekhi Chu that meant he was probably in a field.
 One reason I numbered the details is to show that there are distinct and specific deta.ls Melanie, a counselor told me I was grasping at straws. Six are actually quite a few as far as dreams go - and not grasping at straws. A pet peeve of mine is that psychologists and psychiatrists know nothing about spiritual people or people who have spiritual-psychic experiences. Dr Neal, my doctor-psychiatrist said she has no training. The Kaiser Permanente manager-psychiatrist I spoke with recently, said he didn't know why psychiatrists had no training. As Park and Paloutzian point out, minimally, in America there are 110 million Americans who have spiritual-psychic experiences - and mainstream materialist psychologists-and-psychiatrists know Nothing about spiritual people or spiritual-psychic experiences - though – especially hard-core materialists love to say all sorts of stupid things – talking about ridiculous things like “Giant Cosmic Parrots” is all spirituality is about “disembodied spirits.” And it entirely a product of the lack of training, knowledge, or any exposure whatsoever in spiritual-psychic experiences or people who have experiences.  

 4. When I lived in Fredericksburg prior to 9/11, I had a dream in which there were apartment style buildings which were built in the architectural style of the Southwest region in the United States. At the very end of the dream there was a bag which was left beside a car which “felt [heavy] like money” - but was not. Believing it to be a precognitive dream I faxed it to the Fredericksburg FBI where I was living at the time. About a week later a woman was killed by a bomb when she picked up a bag by her car. This happened in a city that was located to the southwest of Fredericksburg. I figure that would also be a tag in that it had the central action of a “bag beside a car” and the dream also talked about a “devastating explosion” but it is lacking a bit in specifics of who was involved.

 5 A. 'Synchronicity' with Strasburg, France attack - dream 9-19-20-18
First, I should say I spent a year in Rennes, France as a high school exchange student in the 1968-69 school year. I must say that, for some reason I have had a fair number of dreams that “took place” in France, for some reason. Not all of them were precognitive of course. It is said the Holy spirit is like the wind because no one knows from whence it came or wither it goes. And with me that is true. Things come and things go, and it was interesting that for the longest time I had a stream of dreams about France. Perhaps that is because the French have suffered quite a bit from terrorist attacks.

That is an important factor, since while this dream is consistent as being a “perception of a threat to the group,” France has suffered deeply from Islamic terrorism with 22 terrorist attacks from 2015 to 2018 which killed 249 French people. French leaders such as Manuel Valls and Francois Hollande who view the attacks as attacks against democratic values and ideals born of enlightenment which “makes us who we are.” The bottom line is that while there is for example the unique item and symbol of the “Knife” in the dream which the terrorist yielded, the numerous terrorist events make it impossible to definitely assign any definite status to the dream. But it is interesting to merit review. 

Dream: On Sep 10, 2018, at 6:55 AM my dream contained several pivotal symbols and 'information.' The dream clearly spoke about an "Islamic secret society" as opposed to ISIS. It turned out from a NY Times article on 12-12-2018 stated "The gunman killed at least two people and wounded 12 in the Tuesday night shooting spree at the famous Christmas market in Strasbourg, a city of more than a quarter-million in France’s northeast border with Germany. …… the gunman was first seen shortly before 8 p.m. on the Rue des Orfèvres, in the heart of the Christmas market. He then moved through several streets, attacking with a handgun and a knife as he went." I have never heard of a terrorist carrying a knife. My dream significantly highlighted and emphasized "a very large knife." Although, "In a communiqué via its propaganda channel Amaq, the terrorist organization Islamic State says that Chérif Chekatt "was part of IS's army," the day of the terrorist attack, the police had shown up at the suspect’s apartment to arrest him for murder involved with a robbery. One commentator noted, “They thought he was involved in some sort of robbery last summer and they had raided his house when he wasn't there, and therefore this could have triggered him to do this.” In the dream, murder was a distinct theme: " There was a very large knife used for ritual killings-sacrifices made by the secret society."

5 B. Introduction: 
Internalization, Telephone Telepathy, and Mirror Neurons 
The psychologists Mossbridge and Baruss, in their book Transcendent Mind, briefly address a phenomenon known as "telephone telepathy," which refers to the "commonly reported experience of thinking of thinking about someone just before they call.... reported by approximately 40% to 70% of the population" (Transcendent Mind p.38). Of course, having a memory spontaneously 'pop-up' about someone else would be a form of "internalization" in that 'you' have internalized a perception of someone else without recognizing it as a specific 'external' perception or stimuli.

Take Theresa Caputo for instance, who is the TV very successful Long Island Medium. When she talks about her perceptions of others, she most often talks about herself in one form or another. One example of 'internalization' would be that on one TV episode show she said (talking about herself), she felt something at the back of her head, holding her hand to the back of her head. The man, whose girlfriend had been killed, said that his girlfriend was killed by a blow to the back of her head. Several times she feels pain in her chest then she knows that that person has chest cancer (or something), and so on. Almost all her demonstrations are illustrated through how she personally perceives or feels internally. That is, it easier to talk about a perception in terms of yourself and in your own framework - as opposed to trying to figure out what is happening in an external and unfamiliar framework. An analogy would be to water which takes the path of least resistance. The same would be true of telephone telepathy - if one has a perception from an external source, it is easier to "associate" and bring up a memory of the person, so to speak.

On top of that mirror neurons are an integral part of the human brain. A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts – eats a banana for instance - and when the animal observes the same action performed by another – such as when a monkey observes another monkey eating a banana. That is, the particular mirror neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other monkey – or person, as though the observer were itself acting. These mirror neurons were fist discovered in monkeys but are known to exist in humans and even birds. 

 5B. Internalized perception of a threat to the group. 

Here is one of my best "illustrations" of a “tag” of terrorism comes from 2012. A “tag” I define as a central action accompanied by one or two specific details. In this one instance, on France, a Muslim lone-wolf terrorist, named Mohammed Mera, went on a killing spree from March 11 to 19, 2012. A short time before that happened, I was out and about doing errands when I had a sudden, what can only be described as, a “flash” of anger against France. It was actually a very strong emotional surge that caught me off-guard. I realized instantly I was seeing through someone else’s eyes. In high school I had spent a year in France as an exchange student. I have fond memories of my French family and truly rich memories of Paris. So, I knew for a fact it wasn’t “me” that was angry with France – that it was a telepathic connection with a terrorist. The anger actually did seem directed at France. The investigation showed Mera was upset by France’s participation in the Afghanistan war in which Muslims were killed – so it would seem that Mera was, in fact, angry “at France” as a nation. I should not that I think it is salient that I “picked up” a frustrated and alienated Muslim but I didn’t “pick up” on the later ISIS terrorists. One interesting perspective is that - because I am a bit alienated myself - it was easier to ‘tune in’ to someone “alienated” for me than a religious fanatic. I suspect that all psychics have that same type of aspect of being able to tune in easier to some people than others.

6. A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. In an email to a friend, I briefly spoke about a dream which I awoke from at 2AM which involved Canada and the CIA and Canada. The email (dated April 18, 2018) said "just thinking - 2AM .... woke from a really strange dream - the Holy Spirit was like split up into different pieces and people were trying to understand that." Earlier woke up from a dream about: Canada and the CIA (personally, I connect the CIA with terrorism).”

Roughly a week later on an article stated: “The police have identified Alek Minassian, 25, as the suspect accused of killing 10 people and injured 15 with a rented van on Monday (April 24) in Toronto. Minassian appeared to identify as an "incel," or "involuntary celibate," in a Facebook post published hours before. As always, there is consistency in this being a perception of a threat to the group.

IN THOUGHT - IT SEEMS LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE TO SOME DEGREE FOR BETTER OR WORSE  

An important point is that it could be presumed that Alek Minassian, since he was rejected by women would have felt alienated, and my impression is that personally I “tune into” alienated people easier. Mohammed Mera in the example of the French Terrorist was also alone wolf terrorist who appeared to have been alienated. He did say that he was very angry at France because of Muslims killed in Afghanistan. It also seems clear that Warner, the Nashville bomber was alienated as well. Warner the Nashville bomber also appears to meet that pattern. 

The FBI report emphasized that Warner had "several eccentric conspiracy theories, and [had suffered] the loss of stabilizing anchors and deteriorating interpersonal relationships." Warner's "eccentric conspiracy theories" would clearly indicate alienation was likely a significant factor. However, the FBI concluded that "It is important to note that only Warner knows the real reason why he detonated his explosive device." IT was clearly very well planned and the date of Christmas Day could not have been arbitrary. Yet in his writing Christ appears to be absent. Christ was important to him - but "not there" for Warner. I say only partly tongue in cheek that I also have a conspiracy theory. My theory is that spiritual people are - in truth and reality "people" - but I feel I should strongly emphasize, of course, that is "theory" only [at the moment - I don't want people thinking I am crazy you know]! 

Nashville Bombing Christmas Day 2020 -Article: "Mr. Warner, the authorities said, drove his booby-trapped white recreational vehicle to Second Avenue North in the pre-dawn hours. The detonation damaged some 50 buildings, collapsing a few and shearing the antique brick facades off others that will require years and tens of millions of dollars to restore. Two months later, the blast area remains a confused, desolate patchwork of boarded-up buildings, cyclone fencing and uneven reconstruction efforts. The explosion, in front of an AT&T hub, crippled cellular, internet and cable service across several states for two days and underscored the vulnerability of such common yet unprotected facilities."

FBI news release - article: Based on analysis of the information and evidence gathered throughout the investigation, the FBI assesses Warner’s detonation of the improvised explosive device was an intentional act in an effort to end his own life, driven in part by a totality of life stressors – including paranoia, long-held individualized beliefs adopted from several eccentric conspiracy theories, and the loss of stabilizing anchors and deteriorating interpersonal relationships.

The FBI assesses Warner specifically chose the location and timing of the bombing so that it would be impactful, while still minimizing the likelihood of causing undue injury. The FBI’s analysis did not reveal indications of a broader ideological motive to use violence to bring about social or political change, nor does it reveal indications of a specific personal grievance focused on individuals or entities in and around the location of the explosion.

It is important to note that only Warner knows the real reason why he detonated his explosive device. However, at this time, the FBI is confident, based on evidence collected, Warner’s own writings, and interviews with those who knew him best, that the above assessment is accurate.

Righteous People
I should note briefly that, at times, it seems I pick up “righteous” people (at least as viewed by themselves) - as I believe I did prior to 9/11. 

Visibility in the Collective Consciousness

Another very important point is that if you compare precognition to vision as in eyesight, the visibility of Alek Minassian and his action would have had very low visibility – no landmarks to speak of, and very low “ideological” presence – versus al Qaeda and 9/11. I suspect that most psychics are like myself and able to tune into some people better than others. As the parapsychologist Dean Radin observed, there are something like a dozen or more documented precognitive experiences involving 9/11. I should mention in passing at least two that I know of are documented stories of children. 

7. This dream is a bit of a stretch, but it was so vivid, I thought I might mention it is passing. In 1984, while living in Northeast Maryland, near the Delaware border I had a dream in which I being cut into pieces. It was odd because I was conscious-alive - in a sense - while my body was bien cut into pieces. That definitely not a very pleasant dream. About a week later a woman’s body was found in a garbage bag all cut up into pieces. That being said at the time I was in Fredericksburg there was a predator preying on young woman about my daughter’s age and I never even got a tiny little mental bleep about the serial murderer. John Douglas the pioneer in FBI profiling spoke highly about a Fredericksburg Virginia psychic, who I presume was tuned to that sort of thing. My impression, actually is that I “tune” into alienated people easier than others.

Analysis: Instincts, Scientific Evidence and Alarm Calls 

The most striking characteristic of these experiences would be that, while they occurred haphazardly, there is a very clear consistency in that all could best be described as "perceptions of threats to the group" - parallel to the alarm calls of animals such as vervet monkeys who have four separate alarm calls for four separate predators. For the record, much of the Old Testament Prophecies could possibly be put in context of "perceptions of threats to the group" - including of course social/religious consciousness and group solidarity. 

 The parapsychologist, Daryl Bem, through successfully repeated experiments demonstrated that precognition experiments do (at least in this case), in fact, produce consistently successful results. In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of these experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Duggan). Daryl Bem told me that both he and the parapsychologist Dean Radin both agree that much of spiritual psychic experiences originate from instinctual processes. 

Spiritual Experiences Create Meanings and A Sense of Reality   

William James (complemented by Jung) from his groundbreaking 1902 The Varieties of Religious Experiences that spiritual experiences create a sense of reality. On top of that I went over the well-known and well-proven "categorization" process which means that any "normal" human brain would end up grasping the experiences precisely as "spiritual psychic" experiences - which means my brain is doing exactly what it is supposed to. That Materialist - or any other psychologist - should say, "Yes, while I don't agree with you, I can understand how you think. In 36 years, not one psychologist has ever said anything like that - they REFUSE to recognize spiritual peoples' beliefs as legitimate. Why? - Because when you get to the bottom of the barrel - due to the Prove God norm, which creates a mental block, psychologists, in my experience simply can't see spiritual people as "people."

While, here and there, psychologists, such as the prominent positive psychologist, Paul Wong, who highlighted Viktor Frankl's argument that spiritual processes generate and create meaning. Paul Wong elaborates on Viktor Frankl's views regarding the nature and characteristics of spiritual or noetic (from nous)processes in the mind "in the following quotation: "The noetic (spiritual, specifically human) dimension contains such qualities as our will to meaning [Frankl's central concept of the human being's primary drive] our goal orientation, ideas and ideals, creativity, imagination, faith, love that goes beyond the physical, a conscience beyond the superego, self-transcendence, commitments, responsibility, a sense of humor, and the freedom of choice making. The human dimension is the medicine chest of the logotherapist. Patients are made aware that they have these rich resources of health within." (Fabry 1994 pp.18-19) (p.156) Also, Paul Wong notes that, like many other modern-day existentialist and positive psychologists, “Park (2007) regards religion and spirituality as meaning systems.” (p. 156) One could infer then that like Frankl, Park would agree that spiritual processes would be involved in meaning creation.

Though Paul Wong and others highlight and emphasize this particular aspect idea, overall, the idea that spiritual processes generate meaning appears to have been largely overlooked, in the grand scheme of things. In fact, on close examination, in the writings of the iconic psychologists, William James, Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, Emile Durkheim, and Clifford Geertz, there is a rather remarkable consensus that (largely unconscious) spiritual processes generate and create meaning. William James took it one step further and pointed out that it would follow that spiritual experiences and spiritual processes, besides creating meaning, would necessarily, also, create a "sense of reality" (and thus beliefs). The argument that spiritual processes create meaning and a sense of reality and beliefs furthermore, dovetails into Emile Durkheim's argument that religion and spiritual-religious experiences gave birth to and was highly integrated into society with social-religious ideals and concepts like compassion, justice, righteousness, and so forth.

Reflections and Commentary

The psychiatrist McGilChrist, and others, have observed materialism – which largely drives the bus in psychology – have a “rigid adherence” to the “arbitrary” principle of quantification, which first of all excludes everything outside laboratory experiments as Kay Deux observed, such as group-related emotions and instincts of course – since genocides won’t fit into laboratories (which leaves American leaders in the dark about the underlying instinctual related causes of racism. Secondly, as both Jung and Einstein emphasized morals are outside ordinarily cause and effect and rational analysis. Furthermore, that leaves art, imagination, metaphor, creativity, and quite a lot of other functions and capabilities of human consciousness as well. Dreams have never fit within the nice tidy (and worthless) quantification-rationalization boxes.


                            Einstein: “Never stop asking questions!"

Since 1981 I have had a number of spiritual-psychic experiences. As several others who have had spiritual-psychic experiences have brought up, experiences do make you think – and question. So, my 38 years of a diverse variety and type of experiences has generated a large number of questions as well as some interesting observations and insights. 

For instance, my pivotal [notarized] spiritual-psychic experience which was exceptionally detailed, brought several questions to the fore. The first was the fact that the documented “What a nightmare” experience which was a warning about terrorism back in 1981, had specific pieces of “information” such as “22 were assembled” – and as it turned out a few days later, there was a shootout between the Weathermen terrorist gang and the Nyack police force which the New York Times reported had “22 officers” before two policemen were killed by the gang. Also, the same document had – in the last line – the Mustard Seed Parable in it, - which in light of the contemporary situation, I would personally would consider a divine insight. The Mustard Seed Parable is incredibly simple. It is about the Kingdom of God, and about “growth” [of the mustard seed plant] and “creation.” Also, in Luke Christ states that “The Kingdom of God is within you." (refers back to the Mustard Seed - Kingdom of God Parable) I didn’t really understand it until lately when I discovered the Synthesis-Consensus of William-James, Carl Jung and Frankl which states that spiritual experiences create meaning and a sense of reality. 

From my analysis, it appears clear that it was a synthesis of diverse perspectives, functions, and information. Clearly there was information which had to be at least partially originating from social signals and political stimuli. Then there was information which had to have originated from outside my “self” – which after years of doubts and intense questioning I concluded had to have been the Holy Spirit, in part because that would appear to be the only word-concept which fits my personal experiences. If you look at the raw "What a nightmare- Mustard Seed" document and then imagine sitting down and going over it with a FBI agent, you may more readily agree that there aren't a whole lot of words-concepts that fit that particular experience. A link to my "What a nightmare-Mustard Seed" is https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/mustard-seed 

For me, the Holy Spirit is very real - a physical force, and from my experience interconnected with social-political signals. I should mention that I have split feelings about God-Holy spirt much like Jeremiah who quite bluntly saw God as burden and task-master - as opposed to something miraculous or transcendentally or other-worldly Holy (though that potential is there), so to speak. That is different than Jung's (who was into myth and mysticism) concept of Collective Consciousness which emphasized spiritual, religious , and mythic symbols and symbolism energized forces in human consciousness - which is very true - especially about spiritual and religious symbols genetically acquired (which were an influence in my experience (i.e Mustard Seed). However my experience complements and fills in our understanding of the collective consciousness in that it brings into play psychological processes of the human mind. Social signals and political stimuli aren't very exciting but they are "real and influential forces" In looking back at the Old Testament Prophets it appears rather evident that social-political forces (including social signals and political stimuli) ere a major focus of their efforts and prophecies. And it would also some self-evident that spiritual forces were interconnected - does that make sense? The arguments which are based on fact do add another real dimension to Jung's theory of the Collective Unconscious, in my view!   

That is, it would seem self-evident that a collective consciousness must exist since the consistent information from external sources in my experiences would necessitate some form of collective consciousness. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit must be integrated into the collective consciousness in some form or fashion. On top of that, “visibility” in the collective consciousness would seem a salient factor. As Dean Radin pointed out, there are a dozen or so documented precognitive experiences related to 9/11. The Trade Center would be a powerful symbol and highly recognized landmark in the collective consciousness. On top of that, the horrifically violent images connected with the 9/11 attack would be highly energized in the collective consciousness as well. That happens to dovetail with my personal experiences being that the assassination attempt by Hinckley of President Reagan, 9/11, and the notorious Weathermen would have all been highly recognizable symbols, as it were in the collective consciousness.         



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While I will never claim to have The Answer, or know the Absolute Truth, the insights form my spiritual experiences as well as understanding gained from substantial research, I can provide others some tools, analyses, and basic concepts by which hopefully would allow people to better understand the dynamics involved in human consciousness, and hopefully help them forge their own paths through life.  

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By Charles E Peck Jr November 18, 2024
II Théorie des quatre besoins qui expliquent la religion : besoin de sens, d’appartenance, idéologie, pulsion spirituelle + forces sociales de Durkheim, Résumé : Mon argument est que les croyances religieuses sont principalement créées et générées par quatre « besoins » ou « pulsions » très basiques et fondamentaux. D’un point de vue plutôt pratique et pragmatique, on pourrait dire que les religions impliquent en général un sens ou un but, les autres et les relations, ainsi que des structures et des principes pour le sens, les relations et la cohérence et l’intégrité du groupe. Une compréhension générale des croyances religieuses semble pertinente et significative pour comprendre la spiritualité et les processus spirituels – qui sont distincts de certains des processus impliqués dans les processus idéologiques liés au groupe qui dominent trop souvent les croyances spirituelles et religieuses avec des tendances agressives manifestes – mais qui y sont néanmoins associées. 1. Besoin de sens : « Le sens de la vie, c'est de donner un sens à la vie ! » – est une illustration par excellence de la théorie de l'esprit humain du psychanalyste emblématique, Viktor Frankl ! (p. 22 Will) Le principe premier de Frankl est que les êtres humains ont une volonté de sens ! 2. Le besoin d’appartenance est profondément enraciné dans la conscience humaine. Comme l’a observé le célèbre psychologue social Roy Baumeister : « Il est évident que les gens ont un besoin profondément enraciné d’avoir des contacts avec d’autres personnes. » (p. 14 Significations) Baumeister et Leary soutiennent avec force : « Nous [Baumeister et Leary] suggérons que l’appartenance peut être un besoin presque aussi impérieux que la nourriture et que la culture humaine est fortement conditionnée par la pression de fournir un besoin d’appartenance. » (p. 498 besoin) 3. a. Nécessité d'une idéologie : les religions, comme chacun le sait, sont des idéologies, au même titre que les idéologies politiques telles que le communisme ou le capitalisme. Dans son ouvrage sur la politique des pays émergents, Clifford Geertz, une icône de l'anthropologie, soutient que les idéologies religieuses, ethniques et nationalistes sont des « forces primordiales » à l'œuvre dans l'histoire et la société politique. b. Les êtres humains ont besoin d’ordre et de structure. Les psychologues sociaux Michael Hogg et Dominic Abrams observent que sans les processus mentaux qui mettent de l’ordre et organisent la multitude de stimuli et d’expériences, « nous serions submergés et paralysés par la surstimulation ». Dans leur livre sur l’identité sociale, ils soulignent que toute « théorie » psychologique, sous une forme ou une autre, « suppose » que l’esprit « impose un ordre » et une structure aux processus qui opèrent dans l’esprit. (p.17 soc id) 4. Les expériences et croyances spirituelles comme fonction de compréhension du monde et de synthèse-consensus : toute vision objective des croyances spirituelles et religieuses – des mythes, des récits, des paraboles et des enseignements – montre que ces croyances « donnent un sens au monde ». À cela s’ajoute la synthèse-consensus de Frankl, James et Jung selon laquelle les expériences spirituelles [l’esprit] créent du sens, construisent un sens de la réalité et donnent un sens au monde. Préambule : Processus inconscients, forces sociales de Durkheim, filtres et attention sélective I. Inconscient : perception sociale automatisée, catégories mentales, symbolisme A. Inconscient : la part du lion intimement liée à l'environnement Les recherches modernes sur l’inconscient démontrent que « l’inconscient » traite 11 millions de bits de données par seconde contre 40 bits de données par seconde traités par les processus cognitifs « Notre capacité de traitement conscient n'est pas insignifiante, mais il est clair qu'il s'agit simplement d'un bassin de rétention comparé à l'océan de l'inconscient. » (Extrait de : Forbes : Votre cerveau voit même lorsque vous ne voyez pas, 24 juin 2013) B. La part du lion : Trois grandes formes d’autorégulation automatique : John Bargh observe trois formes principales : « un effet automatique de la perception sur l'action, la poursuite automatique d'un objectif et une évaluation automatique continue de son expérience. À partir des preuves accumulées, les auteurs concluent que ces divers systèmes mentaux non conscients assument la part du lion du fardeau de l'autorégulation, en gardant l'individu bien ancré dans son environnement actuel. » (p. 462) C. la perception sociale implique des processus inconscients largement automatisés John Bargh observe : « L’idée selon laquelle la perception sociale est un phénomène psychologique largement automatisé est désormais largement acceptée. » La perception sociale est l’essence même de la conscience sociale. « Nos identités sont multiples : mère, musicienne, enseignante, passionnée de yoga, fan de NASCAR. Dans chacune de ces [identités] se trouvent des connaissances implicites et enracinées sur les valeurs et les comportements appropriés, les goûts et les dégoûts, les manières d’être. » Commentaire : Si vous pensez aux quantités massives d’informations impliquées dans les interactions sociales, cela met en perspective la nécessité d’un traitement inconscient. Même dans les échanges de base entre deux personnes, de nombreuses informations telles que le ton de la voix, le langage corporel, les gestes des mains et les traits du visage sont nécessaires, et des études montrent qu’ils véhiculent beaucoup d’informations. Il faut également tenir compte du contexte social et des circonstances. De plus, il existe des processus de théorie de l’esprit qui traitent les informations sur les intentions d’une autre personne. D. Catégories mentales et perception sociale « Les catégories mentales sont absolument essentielles pour simplifier et comprendre l'environnement riche en informations, le lien explicite entre la perception [de l'environnement] et l'action existe probablement pour une bonne raison adaptative, comme la création de préparations comportementales appropriées en l'absence de conseils et de surveillance conscients. Au sein d'un groupe social, on a plus de chances de s'entendre harmonieusement avec les autres membres du groupe si l'on se comporte de la même manière que si l'on est « désynchronisé » et se comporte différemment. Il est donc logique que la tendance comportementale par défaut dans une interaction soit basée sur la perception de ce que fait l'autre personne (avant que vous ne le sachiez). Les recherches de Bargh mettent l'accent sur les stéréotypes et les normes qui créent ces « catégories mentales » E. Symboles, drapeaux et la connaissance symbolique de Kant : Kant, Nietzsche, Ortega Gasset, Heschel, Heidegger et la plupart des philosophes occidentaux affirment catégoriquement que les symboles sont essentiels à la compréhension et à la connaissance. Cependant, la plupart des philosophes affirment également que le symbolisme reste, dans une très large mesure, en dehors du domaine des processus cognitifs et de l'analyse rationnelle. En effet, le symbolisme et la quantification sont des principes qui s'excluent mutuellement. Emmanuel Kant, philosophe allemand des Lumières (1724-1804), a créé la théorie de la « connaissance symbolique ». Abraham Heschel a observé : « Kant a démontré qu’il est absolument impossible d’atteindre la connaissance du monde tel qu’il est, car la connaissance est toujours sous forme de catégories et celles-ci, en dernière analyse, ne sont que des constructions représentatives destinées à percevoir ce qui est donné. » John Glenn souligne que « les concepts de base (les catégories et les idées de la raison) que l’esprit humain utilise ne peuvent être conçus que parce qu’ils sont susceptibles d’être d’abord présentés sous une forme symbolique concrète ! » Abraham Heschel souligne le fait que les « drapeaux » sont l’illustration la plus évidente, la plus répandue et la plus efficace des « symboles ». Bien entendu, les chrétiens reconnaissent Jésus-Christ sur la croix comme un « symbole » – un symbole ayant des significations diverses pour différentes personnes. Kant souligne que Dieu ne peut être compris que symboliquement – ce qui est conforme à la déclaration de saint Grégoire de Nysse : « La divinité illimitée et incompréhensible reste au-delà de toute compréhension. » II. Génétique, symbolisme spirituel et énergie A. La génétique de la spiritualité Tim Spector, dans l'article, Ce que les jumeaux révèlent sur la science de la foi (Popular Science, 8 août 2013) déclare : « Ils [les chercheurs] ont estimé que l'hérédité de la spiritualité était d'environ 40 à 50 pour cent, ce qui est assez élevé... Ces études démontrent notre sens variable mais inné de la spiritualité, qui affecte la façon dont nous percevons le monde, nous-mêmes et l'univers. B. Preuves sociologiques du symbolisme spirituel inconscient – Fandom Star Wars et Harry Potter Rhiannon Grant, dans The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom, observe qu’en 2001, le gouvernement britannique a organisé un recensement régulier, mais il a inclus une nouvelle question sur la religion. En réponse, près de 0,8 pour cent de la population totale a déclaré être un « Jedi » ou un chevalier Jedi ! (p. 38). Ces résultats ont été répétés en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande. » La popularité sociale contemporaine-moderne de Star Wars et Harry Potter, et des nombreux autres fandoms imaginatifs, fournit des données massives et des preuves de l’existence d’un symbolisme spirituel inconscient. C. Symbolisme inconscient énergisé À la lumière de la « réalité sociologique » des fandoms de Star Wars et d’Harry Potter, les symboles spirituels pourraient être mieux compris en termes de l’argument de Nancy Furlotti qui déclare : « L’affect émerge des archétypes, qui sont les principes d’ordre a priori de la nature, du monde et de la psyché. Lorsqu’un archétype est activé, une énergie est mise en mouvement qui n’adhère pas aux lois de la causalité, du temps et de l’espace. » (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Les croyances et les idées sont très réelles et incroyablement puissantes. De ce point de vue, l’idée de « l’esprit » en tant qu’énergie et force est très réelle, surtout à la lumière d’une conscience sociale et collective. D. Paradigme du prisme : le modèle du filtre énergétique L’énergie « provenant » du symbolisme inconscient est traitée et filtrée – comme une métaphore de la lumière (énergie) entrant dans un prisme et de différentes couleurs émergeant de l’autre côté du prisme. – Comme une expression de la spiritualité personnelle-individuelle. Comme le soulignent William James et les neurosciences modernes, les individus ont des points de vue différents parce qu’ils filtrent ou traitent différemment les données et les informations. La personnalité, l’éducation, la culture, l’environnement, l’ethnicité et les expériences sont des facteurs déterminants. E. L'attention sélective comme trait adaptatif évolutif Bernhard Hommel et al. observent : « Quel est le rapport avec l’attention ? Quelques phrases après cette célèbre phrase que nous avons citée plus haut, James écrit que l’attention « implique un retrait de certaines choses afin de traiter efficacement d’autres ». … Et bien que ces circuits simples de régulation du comportement interactif puissent sembler très éloignés de la cognition supérieure des humains, ils sont en effet les précurseurs [circuit d’approche du tectum rostral] des mécanismes qui contrôlent ce que l’on a appelé « l’attention sélective ». On soutient que la sélectivité dans le traitement est apparue au cours de l’évolution comme une caractéristique de conception d’un système sensorimoteur multicanal complexe, qui génère des phénomènes sélectifs d’« attention » comme l’un des nombreux sous-produits. (Personne ne sait ce qu’est l’attention » Bernhard Hommel & Craig S. Chapman & Paul Cisek & Heather F. Neyedli & Joo-Hyun Song & Timothy N. Welsh) L’histoire de John Bargh illustre le pouvoir et l’influence de l’attention. John Bargh, chercheur et psychologue de l’inconscient, observe : « Quand j’avais environ douze ans, nous avons eu une grande réunion de famille et j’ai décidé d’apporter un magnétophone pour que nous ayons un enregistrement de nos grands-parents, oncles, tantes et cousins pour la postérité. Je viens d’une grande famille élargie, donc c’était une pièce très bruyante. Pendant la réunion, notre grand-mère s’est assise sur le canapé et a raconté de belles histoires au milieu de toutes les autres conversations. Nous les avons écoutées et appréciées, et quelques jours après la réunion, nous sommes retournés les écouter à nouveau. Quelle déception ! Que du bruit, du bruit, du bruit, un million de personnes qui parlaient en même temps et aucun moyen de distinguer sa voix de celles des autres personnes qui parlaient, même si nous l’entendions très clairement à ce moment-là. Nous avons rapidement compris que nous n’avions pas remarqué le bruit de fond parce que nous avions été tellement captivés par les histoires de notre grand-mère. Nous avions filtré ce que les autres disaient. (p. 111 Avant que vous ne vous en rendiez compte) F. Interconnectivité complexe du cerveau humain Neuroscience morale : Funk et Gazzanigna observent que « la moralité est un ensemble de processus émotionnels et cognitifs complexes qui se reflète dans de nombreux domaines du cerveau. Certains d’entre eux sont régulièrement jugés indispensables pour émettre un jugement moral, mais aucun d’entre eux n’est uniquement lié à la moralité… Certaines des émotions traitées sont plus centrales à la moralité que d’autres, mais toutes les émotions contribuent au jugement moral dans des situations contextuelles spécifiques… Les circuits neuronaux des régions cérébrales impliquées dans la moralité se chevauchent avec ceux qui régulent d’autres processus comportementaux,….. » ) Architecture cérébrale de la moralité humaine, Funk et Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681) La neuroscience musicale indique des processus étroitement interconnectés : La musique touche à diverses capacités et ressources cognitives, notamment le calcul, le langage et la perception de l’espace. De la même manière, la musique recoupe les frontières culturelles, facilitant notre « moi social » en reliant nos expériences et nos intentions communes. » « L’évolution de la musique et des capacités sociales humaines Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014 ; 8 : 292. Publié en ligne le 17 septembre 2014. doi : 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292 » G. Une nouvelle conscience et une nouvelle spiritualité émergentes « La spiritualité est une prédisposition humaine naturelle. Elle est plus fondamentale que la religion institutionnelle et concerne le sentiment de connexion d'une personne avec soi-même, les autres et le monde (ou le cosmos). Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln & Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University La façon dont vous regardez les choses est la force la plus puissante pour façonner votre vie . Le poète théologien irlandais John O'Donohue La spiritualité est une prédisposition humaine naturelle ! Elle est plus primitive que la religion institutionnelle et concerne le sentiment de connexion d'une personne avec soi-même, les autres et le monde ! » (K. Bishop Grosseteste U, B Hyde Australian Catholic University) La spiritualité est plus primitive, Anton Killin : « Les plus anciens instruments de musique connus [datent] d'il y a 40 000 ans (40 Kya)… » Killin soutient que la musique est probablement apparue chez les hominidés il y a 275 000 ans. H. La musique : une illustration par excellence de la spiritualité et du trait adaptatif évolutif 1. « Il semble probable que les capacités proto-musicales et leurs particularisations culturelles en tant que musiques ont été des facteurs cruciaux dans la précipitation et le maintien de la polyvalence sociale et cognitive qui caractérise les humains modernes. (p. 5 – 6 Musique et évolution Ian Cross) 2. La musique est une expérience humaine fondamentale et un processus génératif Les capacités cognitives sont souvent mises en évidence. La musique est souvent fonctionnelle car elle peut favoriser le bien-être humain en facilitant le contact humain, la signification humaine et l’imagination humaine des possibilités, en la liant à nos instincts sociaux. La musique est un élément fondamental de notre évolution – et fonctionnelle car elle facilite le « contact humain » et notre « moi social » (The evolution of music and human social ability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014 ; 8 : 292. Publié en ligne le 17 septembre 2014. doi : 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292) Théorie des quatre besoins qui expliquent et décrivent [adéquatement] la religion : le besoin de sens, le besoin d'appartenance, le besoin d'idéologie et la pulsion spirituelle Signification et symbolisme L’un des arguments les plus importants de Geertz est que le symbolisme et le sens sont essentiels et cruciaux, tant pour la culture que pour la religion : « La vision de l’homme comme animal symbolisant, conceptualisant et en quête de sens, qui est devenue de plus en plus populaire dans les sciences sociales et en philosophie au cours des dernières années, ouvre une toute nouvelle approche non seulement de l’analyse de la religion en tant que telle, mais aussi de la compréhension des relations entre religion et valeurs. Le besoin de donner un sens à l’expérience, de lui donner forme et ordre, est évidemment aussi réel et pressant que les besoins biologiques plus familiers. Et, dans ces conditions, il semble inutile de continuer à interpréter les activités symboliques – religion, art, idéologie – comme rien d’autre que des expressions à peine déguisées de quelque chose d’autre que ce qu’elles semblent être : des tentatives de fournir une orientation à un organisme qui ne peut vivre dans un monde qu’il est incapable de comprendre. » (p. 140) Il ne fait aucun doute que les hommes, tout au long de l'histoire, ont tiré un sens de la religion et de Dieu. Comme je le dirai plus tard, depuis l'époque d'Aristote, qui affirmait « Tous les hommes désirent la connaissance », jusqu'à la psychologie moderne, il est clair que les gens ont un puissant besoin de sens. Paradigme de Baumeister-Funk et Gazzanigna et la complexité des croyances religieuses Baumeister soutient qu’il n’existe pas de « sens ultime de la vie » – mais plutôt une synthèse et une intégration holistique de significations diverses – famille, religion, éducation, jeu, police, philosophie, etc. Les neuroscientifiques observent que : « La neuroscience morale est un domaine complexe et en pleine expansion. Cette revue résume les principales découvertes scientifiques obtenues à ce jour. La moralité est un ensemble de processus émotionnels et cognitifs complexes qui se reflète dans de nombreux domaines du cerveau. Certains d’entre eux se révèlent indispensables pour émettre un jugement moral, mais aucun d’entre eux n’est uniquement lié à la moralité… Certaines des émotions traitées sont plus centrales à la moralité que d’autres, mais toutes les émotions contribuent au jugement moral dans des situations contextuelles spécifiques. (Architecture cérébrale de la moralité humaine, Funk et Gazzaniga) ……. Les circuits neuronaux des régions cérébrales impliquées dans la moralité se chevauchent avec ceux qui régulent d’autres processus comportementaux, ce qui suggère qu’il n’existe probablement aucun substrat neuronal non découvert qui soutienne de manière unique la cognition morale. » Architecture cérébrale de la moralité humaine, Funk et Gazzanigna (Opinion actuelle dans Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681) L'auteur et chercheur, Stefan Schindler, esquisse brièvement les grandes lignes de la religion : « La racine du mot religion est « lige », qui signifie « connecter » (comme un ligament relie l'os au muscle). Res-ligio = « la chose qui relie ». [est] généralement [ce par quoi je commence] a commencé par cela lorsque j'enseigne la philosophie de la religion... La religion, en reliant les humains à une matrice de sens plus large, donne le sentiment d'être chez soi dans l'univers, surmontant ainsi les sentiments d'aliénation (et les rencontres avec ce que Camus appelle l'absurde). Il y a deux approches à ce sujet. Deux interprétations de la fonction de la religion. L'approche athée consiste à la considérer comme un vœu pieux. (Nietzsche, Freud, Sartre, Bertrand Russell, etc.) L'approche spirituelle (à la Platon, Jésus, Bouddha, etc.) consiste à considérer la religion authentique comme un souvenir de notre connexion à quelque chose de divin. L'une des définitions du Dharma (il a de multiples significations) est connexion, lien, joug (qui est, bien sûr, le sens fondamental du mot) (Yoga). Les croyances religieuses et spirituelles sont très complexes et impliquent une variété de pulsions, de besoins, d’émotions et d’espoirs. En tant que telle, la religion remplit très probablement une variété de fonctions différentes pour les êtres humains et la société humaine. Il existe une pléthore de théories sur les raisons pour lesquelles les gens croient en Dieu : la peur de la mort ; les vœux pieux ; l’animisme, le naturalisme, la peur de l’inconnu ; l’explication du monde et de ses origines ; la croyance au surnaturel ; le fonctionnalisme social (moralité ; cohésion sociale) ; l’explication de la souffrance ; l’anthropomorphisme ; le confort ; l’adaptation ; le naturalisme ; ainsi que la superstition. Aucune de ces théories ne répond directement et complètement à la question. Chacune peut représenter une pièce du puzzle, mais aucune ne semble saisir l’essence des croyances religieuses. Comme l’a souligné l’éminent psychologue social Roy Baumeister, le « sens » en tant que tel est en fait un conglomérat et une collection de significations diverses et variées, d’une manière ou d’une autre interconnectées en un « tout » ou une unité fonctionnelle. La peur de la mort La peur de la mort exerce une influence considérable sur la conscience humaine. De nombreux chercheurs et scientifiques ont souligné que l’être humain est unique dans le monde animal en raison de sa conscience de la mort. Le sociobiologiste EO Wilson, ainsi que Carl Jung et d’autres scientifiques, ont tous avancé que la conscience et la peur de la mort avaient une influence majeure sur le surnaturel. Les premières sociétés humaines ont placé des objets significatifs dans les tombes des humains enterrés il y a 100 000 ans. Les objets funéraires sont considérés comme une indication significative d’une conscience consciente de la mort. Carl Jung souligne que les premiers êtres humains ont sans doute réalisé que la « vie », bien qu'intangible et imperceptible, « disparaissait à la mort, lorsque les gens arrêtaient de respirer » - et ont ainsi relié la « vie » au surnaturel (pour les humains, à l'époque, très probablement « tout » était probablement surnaturel puisqu'à l'époque il n'y avait pas de concept de « naturel ». Presque toutes les langues, de l'hébreu ancien sémitique, à l'arabe, au latin, au grec, etc., ont la racine linguistique de « esprit » dans le mot « souffle ». La peur de l'inconnu David Hume et plusieurs autres érudits modernes, comme Roy Baumeister, relient les croyances au surnaturel à la peur de l'inconnu et à l'anxiété. David Hume (1711-1776), dans son ouvrage Histoire naturelle de la religion, a fait des observations très astucieuses concernant la condition des hommes de l'Antiquité : « Nous sommes placés dans ce monde comme dans un grand théâtre, où les véritables ressorts et les causes de chaque événement nous sont entièrement cachés ; nous n'avons ni assez de sagesse pour prévoir, ni assez de pouvoir pour prévenir les maux dont nous sommes continuellement menacés. Nous sommes suspendus dans un suspens perpétuel entre la vie et la mort, la santé et la maladie, l'abondance et le besoin, qui sont distribués parmi l'espèce humaine par des causes secrètes et inconnues dont l'action est souvent inattendue et toujours inexplicable. Ces causes inconnues deviennent alors l'objet constant de notre espoir et de notre crainte ; et tandis que les passions sont maintenues dans un état d'alarme perpétuelle par une attente anxieuse des événements, l'imagination est également employée à se faire des idées sur ces pouvoirs dont nous avons une si entière dépendance. » Hume soutient que le caractère inconnu et largement imprévisible des forces qui affectent directement nos vies et notre bien-être constitue une influence majeure qui incite les gens à adopter et à accepter les croyances religieuses et plus particulièrement les croyances dans le surnaturel. Le célèbre psychologue social moderne Roy Baumeister avance un argument similaire lorsqu'il affirme que les gens ont besoin de contrôle. Il souligne que certaines études démontrent que même « l'illusion » du contrôle peut réduire l'anxiété et augmenter la résistance à la douleur. Je dirais donc que c'est un peu ironique, mais qu'au final, avoir des illusions n'est peut-être pas une si mauvaise chose après tout ? Logiciel d'animisme anthropomorphique inné dans le cerveau humain Xénophane, Aristote, Hume et saint Augustin Il est dans la nature des gens de penser en termes de traits et de caractéristiques humaines, non seulement d'autres, mais aussi de concepts intangibles en termes d'intentions et d'objectifs humains. Le philosophe grec antique Xénophane (vers 570-475 av. J.-C.) fut le premier « érudit » à faire l'observation que l'anthropomorphisme était un facteur très puissant dans la représentation des dieux et des déesses. Un peu sarcastiquement, Xénophane observa que « Mais si les bovins, les chevaux et les lions avaient des mains ou pouvaient peindre avec leurs mains et créer des œuvres comme le font les hommes, les chevaux comme les chevaux et les bovins comme les bovins représenteraient également les formes des dieux et feraient en sorte que leurs corps soient semblables à la forme qu'ils ont eux-mêmes. » Aristote a fait exactement la même observation. Saint Augustin (vers 354-vers 430 après J.-C.) a également fait la même observation des centaines d'années plus tard, en observant que les gens ont la faiblesse d'envisager Dieu en termes d'être (humain) car il leur est difficile d'imaginer quoi que ce soit en dehors de leur propre « humanité ». Saint Augustin, comme saint Grégoire de Nysse, croyait que Dieu est au-delà des mots et de la compréhension. Le célèbre philosophe David Hume (1711-1776) a exprimé exactement la même pensée selon laquelle les êtres humains ne peuvent généralement penser et envisager les choses qu'en termes humains et dans un cadre de référence humain. Je ne peux pas m’empêcher d’ajouter que Nietzsche et Mannheim ont tous deux observé que les influences « sociales » produisaient des « modes de pensée ou des mentalités » – ce qui serait pertinent pour voir Dieu comme humain. Processus inconscients Jean Piaget (1896-1980), célèbre psychologue suisse du développement, a mené des études approfondies sur les enfants et leurs tendances à l’animisme et à l’anthropomorphisme. Les enfants, lorsqu’ils sont très jeunes, semblent avoir moins de distinctions entre eux-mêmes et le monde, ainsi qu’entre eux-mêmes et les autres. Ils semblent avoir une tendance innée à percevoir les êtres, les objets et les choses comme étant vivants et comme des entités ou des êtres vivants. Dans une étude, il a essayé de découvrir comment les enfants pensaient à la vie. Dans le cadre de ses recherches, on a demandé aux enfants si telle ou telle chose était vivante. Il a découvert que les jeunes enfants, lorsqu’ils étaient très jeunes, avaient une vision de la vie comme étant universelle. Peut-être est-ce parce que leur conscience d’eux-mêmes était avant tout celle d’être vivants – ils pouvaient donc « supposer » que toutes les autres choses avaient également cette « vie ». Les psychologues modernes reconnaissent aujourd'hui que, dans l'esprit humain, il existe sans aucun doute un processus défini dans le cerveau humain qui a la capacité d'attribuer des états mentaux et de projeter sur les autres ses perceptions des croyances, intentions, désirs, émotions, connaissances et motivations des autres (qui peuvent être très différentes de ses propres opinions actuelles). Ce processus est appelé « théorie de l'esprit » (les neuroscientifiques ont tendance à le décrire comme le « réseau en mode par défaut » en termes de processus cérébraux). Il est entendu que le processus de la « théorie de l'esprit » est très important pour que les gens puissent comprendre et gérer les interactions sociales humaines dans la vie quotidienne. La théorie de l'esprit est essentielle pour analyser et juger les comportements des autres, et pour déduire les intentions, les motivations et les actions des autres . Il est bien connu que la plupart des autistes, dont on sait qu’ils ont un déficit dans les fonctions de « théorie de l’esprit », ont tendance à ne pas croire en « Dieu », probablement en raison du déficit de ces fonctions. En fin de compte, l’esprit humain a une capacité définie à envisager les autres et les choses en termes de personne ou d’entité et à leur attribuer des intentions et une conscience intentionnelle. Dans Faces in the Clouds, l’anthropologue Stewart Guthrie défend l’anthropomorphisme comme une influence majeure dans les croyances religieuses. Guthrie utilise quelques histoires de pompiers luttant contre les incendies de forêt qui parlaient parfois des incendies comme étant vivants et dotés de leur propre esprit. De mon point de vue, dans ce cas particulier, utiliser un logiciel d’animisme pour envisager et imaginer les possibilités d’incendies de forêt qui sont connus pour être erratiques et imprévisibles semble très pratique dans ces circonstances. L'inconscient collectif de Jung serait dans une catégorie à part. Jung soutenait que l'évolution a doté l'esprit de l'homme, et plus particulièrement l'inconscient collectif, de traits et de capacités spirituelles et religieuses, ainsi que d'une structure intégrée qui a informé et façonné la religion et les croyances religieuses. Jung a déclaré (Vol 8 [342]) : « L’inconscient collectif contient tout l’héritage spirituel de l’évolution de l’humanité, né de nouveau dans la structure cérébrale de chaque individu. Son esprit conscient est un phénomène éphémère qui accomplit toutes les adaptations et orientations provisoires, raison pour laquelle on peut comparer au mieux sa fonction à l’orientation dans l’espace. L’inconscient, d’autre part, est la source des forces instinctives de la psyché et des formes ou catégories qui les régulent, à savoir les archétypes. Toutes les idées les plus puissantes de l’histoire remontent aux archétypes. C’est particulièrement vrai des idées religieuses, mais les concepts centraux de la science, de la philosophie et de l’éthique ne font pas exception à cette règle. Dans leur forme actuelle, ce sont des variantes d’idées archétypiques, créées en appliquant et en adaptant consciemment ces idées à la réalité. Car c’est la fonction de la conscience non seulement de reconnaître et d’assimiler le monde extérieur par la porte des sens, mais de traduire en réalité visible le monde qui est en nous. » Le parapluie de sens et la matrice de sens J'ai commencé cet essai avec le concept de « sens » et le « besoin de sens » parce que beaucoup d'autres raisons et fonctions de la religion et des croyances religieuses, et la plupart de ces autres raisons et facteurs, pourraient facilement tomber sous le parapluie du sens. C'est-à-dire que les gens obtiennent du sens de Dieu en raison de leur peur de l'inconnu, de leur peur de la mort, etc. Il existe sans aucun doute des centaines d'autres facteurs, du besoin d'espoir à l'obtention de sens à partir d'autres sources terrestres lorsque la souffrance dans l'environnement mondial est primordiale, en passant par le besoin de transcendance, etc. Bien sûr, l'idée de Jung de l'inconscient collectif dans lequel est intégré « l'héritage spirituel de l'évolution de l'humanité » devrait tomber sous les multiples catégories du besoin de sens, du besoin d'appartenance, du besoin d'idéologie, ainsi que de la pulsion spirituelle. Une hypothèse non formulée mais une caractéristique incroyablement importante de la conscience humaine dans le concept d'inconscient collectif de Jung est la réalité évidente qu'il existe une pulsion spirituelle très forte inhérente à la nature humaine. Comme le souligne le physicien Josephson, de nombreux sociologues et scientifiques sont obsédés par l'aspect « surnaturel » de la religion et ignorent des idées aussi terrestres mais pourtant très importantes que la réalité d'une pulsion spirituelle. Même un regard précurseur sur l'histoire humaine révèle une pulsion spirituelle et religieuse incroyablement évidente dans la société et la culture ! Les quatre pulsions principales : le besoin de sens, le besoin d'appartenance, le besoin d'idéologie et la pulsion spirituelle Mon argument est que les croyances religieuses sont essentiellement créées et générées par quatre « besoins » ou « pulsions » très basiques et fondamentaux. D’un point de vue plutôt pratique et pragmatique, on pourrait dire que les religions impliquent en général un sens ou un but, les autres et les relations, ainsi que des structures et des principes pour le sens, les relations et la cohérence et l’intégrité du groupe. Une compréhension générale des croyances religieuses semble pertinente et significative pour comprendre la spiritualité et les processus spirituels qui sont distincts de certains des processus impliqués dans les processus idéologiques liés au groupe – mais qui sont néanmoins associés. Besoin de sens : « Le sens de la vie est de donner un sens à la vie ! » – est une illustration par excellence de la théorie de l’esprit humain du psychanalyste emblématique, Viktor Frankl ! (p. 22 Will) Le principe fondamental de Frankl est que les êtres humains ont une volonté de sens ! » De nombreux « grands penseurs » célèbres et emblématiques de l’histoire reflètent cette idée et ce sentiment. D’Aristote à Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, Clifford Geertz, Nietzsche, Roy Baumeister, Paul Wong, ainsi que la plupart des psychologues existentiels et positifs, la pulsion humaine et le besoin de sens ainsi que le concept fondamental des êtres humains en tant qu’« animaux en quête de sens » ont été constamment soulignés, soulignant souvent que le sens est absolument vital pour faire face à la vie. La « volonté de sens » est le concept central de la théorie de Viktor Frankl. Le concept pivot de la définition presque universellement acceptée de la religion de Clifford Geertz est la religion en tant que « système de symboles ! » Les symboles, bien sûr, incarnent le « sens » ! Comme l’observe le célèbre psychologue Paul Wong, « les croyances et pratiques religieuses et spirituelles sont considérées comme un élément central du système d’orientation d’un individu, qui l’aide à comprendre, évaluer et tirer un sens des événements stressants de la vie et l’aide finalement à décider comment réagir. » (p. xl Quest – mes italiques) Voici un lien vers un essai sur le besoin de sens : https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/the-need-for-meaning-frankl-jung-geertz-baumeister-and-paul-wo... Besoin d'appartenir : Les êtres humains ont formé des groupes – et plus tard des sociétés – depuis que l’Homo sapiens est apparu sur terre. Le besoin d’appartenance est profondément enraciné dans la conscience humaine. Comme l’a observé le célèbre psychologue social Roy Baumeister : « Il est évident que les gens ont un besoin profondément enraciné d’avoir des contacts avec d’autres personnes. » (p. 14 Significations) Baumeister et Leary soutiennent avec force : « Nous [Baumeister et Leary] suggérons que l’appartenance peut être un besoin presque aussi impérieux que la nourriture et que la culture humaine est fortement conditionnée par la pression de fournir un besoin d’appartenance. » (p. 498 besoin) Baumeister cite des statistiques médicales qui montrent que les personnes « seules » ont un taux de mortalité beaucoup plus élevé, mais conclut que « le fait que l’appartenance prédise le bonheur plus fortement – beaucoup plus fortement, en Amérique – que toute autre circonstance extérieure est un autre signe que le besoin d’appartenance est exceptionnellement puissant. Satisfaire le besoin d’appartenance est plus crucial et décisif que satisfaire tout autre besoin. » (p. 109) Le besoin d'appartenance de Baumeister est largement accepté en psychologie sociale et est fréquemment cité par les psychologues sociaux. Voici un lien vers un essai sur le besoin d' appartenance : https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/need-to-belong-society-baumeister Besoin d'idéologie : Les religions, comme chacun sait, sont des idéologies, au même titre que les idéologies politiques telles que le communisme ou le capitalisme. Dans ses écrits sur la politique des pays émergents, Clifford Geertz, une icône de l'anthropologie, soutient que les idéologies religieuses, ethniques et nationalistes sont des « forces primordiales » à l'œuvre dans l'histoire et la société politique. Depuis l'aube de la civilisation, les hommes (et les femmes) se sont battus et sont morts pour leurs convictions idéologiques. Au cours de la Première Guerre mondiale, environ neuf à dix millions d'hommes se sont battus et sont morts pour leur pays. Les émotions impliquées dans les idéologies et le patriotisme sont extrêmement fortes. Les conflits entre groupes génèrent les actes les plus sauvages et les plus brutalement violents de l'humanité. De plus, l'histoire semble être une preuve suffisante que les religions sont des groupes et que, tout au long de l'histoire, les religions et les croyances religieuses forment des groupes. Il semblerait donc inévitable de conclure qu'une fonction des croyances religieuses - des idéologies - serait de « former » des groupes, et il s'ensuivrait alors qu'un des objectifs des rituels - qui, selon Geertz, étaient, en substance et au fond, des « arguments » (vraisemblablement en faveur de cette religion particulière - Dieu), serait nécessairement, dans cette optique, la soumission « rituelle » de l'individu au groupe. C'est-à-dire qu'en participant aux rituels, l'individu accepte non seulement l'« autorité » du groupe, mais aussi, comme de nombreux rituels incluent la domination hiérarchique, engendre l'acceptation de la hiérarchie de domination. Il y a eu plus d'une douzaine de génocides depuis la Première Guerre mondiale. Voici un lien vers un essai sur les instincts et l'identité de groupe : Instincts, groupes et génocides - https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/post-title80df2bb9 Les êtres humains ont besoin d’ordre et de structure. Français François Jacob a observé que l'homme « ne peut supporter le vide ! » Susanne Langer, la philosophe, fait écho à Jacob lorsqu'elle dit que l'homme « peut s'adapter d'une manière ou d'une autre à tout ce que son imagination peut supporter ; mais il ne peut pas faire face au chaos. » (p. 287 nouvelle clé) Les psychologues sociaux Michael Hogg et Dominic Abrams, observent que sans les processus dans l'esprit qui mettent de l'ordre et organisent la multitude de stimuli et d'expériences, « nous serions submergés et paralysés par la surstimulation. » Dans leur livre sur l'identité sociale, ils soulignent que toute « théorie » psychologique, sous une forme ou une autre, « suppose » que l' esprit « impose un ordre » et une structure aux processus qui opèrent dans l'esprit. (p. 17 soc id.) Clifford Geertz a observé que, compte tenu de la nature floue des besoins, des désirs, des pulsions et des instincts humains, sans la structure que fournit la culture, l’être humain « serait fonctionnellement incomplet, pas seulement un singe talentueux qui, comme un enfant défavorisé, aurait malheureusement été empêché de réaliser son plein potentiel, mais une sorte de monstre informe sans sens de l’orientation ni pouvoir de maîtrise de soi, un chaos d’impulsions spasmodiques et d’émotions vagues. » (p. 99 interp.) Processus séparés et distincts dans le cerveau : En ce qui concerne les idéologies, il semble y avoir, à première vue, deux niveaux distincts. Le premier niveau, qui a déjà été évoqué, est que les idéologies fournissent une « structure de sens » ou un « système de symboles », comme le souligne Geertz à propos de la religion. Cependant, les idéologies organisent également les gens – à travers des rôles, un statut, un sens et un but. C’est-à-dire que la structure émotionnelle des gens est particulièrement structurée par les idéologies et, malheureusement, les instincts liés au groupe, comme le patriotisme lié aux idéologies nationalistes, sont liés ou associés aux idéologies de groupe. Voici un lien vers un bref essai sur les instincts liés au groupe : https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/post-title80df2bb9 Les neurosciences ont identifié 360 régions cérébrales distinctes et séparées. Des tests IRM réalisés par des neuroscientifiques ont montré que différentes situations sollicitent fréquemment différents processus cérébraux et que ces différents processus fonctionnent en général en tandem avec d'autres processus cérébraux distincts. En fin de compte, les processus spirituels impliqués dans la créativité et les idéaux tels que la compassion seront complètement différents et distincts des régions cérébrales engagées dans la « défense » de la survie et de l'intégrité d'un groupe ou d'une idéologie, par exemple. La pulsion spirituelle : une pulsion – Donner un sens au monde Une synthèse-consensus de Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, Emile Durkheim et William James Motivation : un point d'ordre Je pense que la question de la motivation est une question cruciale, donc je pense qu’elle doit être « abordée » pour avoir une perspective avant de continuer. Partie 1 : Les croyances spirituelles comme motivation. Lorsque vous parlez à des « personnes spirituelles », les croyances spirituelles ne sont pas seulement une motivation, mais une source d’inspiration très profonde et une motivation puissante. En revanche, la spiritualité en tant que motivation est visiblement absente du monde universitaire. À partir de 2017, j’ai fait des recherches approfondies à ce sujet et même un spécialiste des religions n’en avait pas entendu parler, comme S. Schindler, le Dr Wong, le Dr Emmons, le Dr Park, etc. Dans les cinq manuels de psychologie de la religion que je possède, il n’y avait aucune mention des croyances spirituelles ou religieuses comme motivation ou motivation. J’ai envoyé un message à cinq professeurs d’anthropologie « officiels » engagés à l’époque dans une discussion sur cette question et je n’ai reçu aucune réponse. J’ai cherché sur Google « spiritual drive » et j’ai posté dans des discussions sur le monde universitaire. Le fait est que la science n’a actuellement aucune explication sur la façon dont des millions et des millions d’églises et de temples ont été construits. C’est ahurissant. « Notre » société possède des sondes sur Mars et peut mesurer le spin réciproque de deux particules subatomiques séparées par de grandes distances, mais « nous » n’avons aucune théorie ni idée actuelle sur la façon dont toutes ces églises et ces temples ont vu le jour. Le Dr Visuri, qui a mené une étude incroyablement équilibrée sur les autistes « de haut niveau » et qui est spécialiste des croyances religieuses, a répondu à ma question sur les croyances spirituelles et religieuses en tant que motivation et pulsion en disant que la motivation et la pulsion sont des questions importantes et cruciales. Je lui ai demandé comment elle envisageait les motivations. Sa réponse a été : « Spontanément, voici quelques catégories auxquelles je pense : - Motivation sociale : partager les traditions et les croyances de sa famille et de sa communauté. - Motivation psychologique : la religion et la spiritualité utilisées comme stratégies d'adaptation. - Motivation expérientielle : donner un sens à des choses qui ne peuvent pas être expliquées par le raisonnement logique. - Le pouvoir comme motivation : avoir une position dans un groupe religieux que l'on ne veut pas perdre. - Motivation existentielle : la religion et/ou la spiritualité étant au cœur de la construction du sens. Dans la mesure où les « études religieuses » sont sa spécialité, il semblerait plutôt évident que la question de la motivation n'est pas fixée de manière concrète dans les sciences sociales. Partie II Une illustration de la question de la motivation chez les personnes spirituelles L'histoire de Nora ! extrait d'un article sur la spiritualité des enfants. Tout d’abord, Nora raconte comment elle avait pu voir les auras lorsqu’elle était plus jeune : « Quand j’avais quatre ou cinq ans, je jouais à la poupée avec deux amies. L’une d’elles m’a demandé quelle était ma couleur préférée. J’ai répondu « rose ». Elle m’a demandé quelle était la nuance de rose. J’ai répondu la nuance de rose de la lumière autour de ta tête. Les deux petites filles ont répondu « quelle lumière autour de ta tête ? » Une peur semblable à un couteau m’a traversé le cœur, car je savais qu’elles disaient la vérité : elles ne voyaient pas la lumière. Je voyais quelque chose qu’elles ne pouvaient pas voir. Je n’ai plus jamais vu de lumière autour des gens avant la trentaine. Nora considérait qu’il était normal de voir des auras jusqu’à ce qu’elle réalise que ses amies ne le pouvaient pas. Nora a observé que « l’importance que cela a eu dans ma vie après que je me sois souvenue de cette expérience a fait de moi une chercheuse de conscience supérieure. Je crois que ma fonction sur cette planète est importante pour chaque personne sur terre. » L’observation de Nora selon laquelle « l’importance que cela a eu dans ma vie après que je me sois souvenue de cette expérience m’a fait rechercher une conscience supérieure » illustre la question de la motivation. D’après mes conversations souvent informelles avec des personnes qui ont vécu des expériences spirituelles, il semble y avoir une compréhension universelle que leurs expériences ont été une motivation profonde pour elles. À titre d’information, je voudrais observer qu’en plus de Nora, une autre femme nommée Nunzi a la même capacité de visualiser les auras. Bien sûr, Edgar Cayce, le guérisseur-psychique documenté (actif environ de 1923 à 1945) est célèbre pour voir les auras. Addendum : Expériences spirituelles-croyances : synthèse - Comprendre le monde Toute vision objective des croyances spirituelles et religieuses – des mythes, des récits, des paraboles et des enseignements – serait évidente : ces croyances « donnent un sens au monde ». À cela s’ajoute la synthèse-consensus de Frankl, James et Jung selon laquelle les expériences spirituelles [l’esprit] créent du sens, construisent un sens de la réalité et donnent un sens au monde. Paul Wong est un psychologue et auteur très réputé et reconnu. Lorsque je lui ai présenté un bref résumé de ma « Nouvelle approche », il a eu la gentillesse de me faire remarquer que « votre approche est nouvelle dans le sens d’une approche intégrative à large portée, brisant la division traditionnelle artificielle entre science et religion, ou psychologie scientifique et psychologie humaniste ou psychanalytique ». Il a ensuite suggéré qu’un titre « Une nouvelle approche intégrative » serait approprié. Il existe un consensus assez remarquable parmi les psychologues William James, Carl Jung et Viktor Frankl sur le fait que « l'esprit » et les processus spirituels créent un sens et un sens de la réalité. Carl Jung, psychanalyste et contemporain de Sigmund Freud, a observé que « l'esprit donne un sens à sa vie [celle de l'homme] » (CW8:643). William James souligne dans son ouvrage classique, publié à l'origine en 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences que « Elles [les expériences spirituelles] déterminent notre attitude vitale de manière aussi décisive que l'attitude vitale des amoureux est déterminée par le sens habituel,… (p. 47) William James poursuit en disant que les expériences religieuses et spirituelles créent et génèrent un « sens de la réalité » (p. 48). Dans l’anthologie Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), éditée par Batthyany et Russo-Netzer, Paul Wong, l’éminent psychologue existentiel positif, observe : « Frankl considère que la recherche de sens découle de la nature spirituelle de chacun. » (p. 156) L’argument selon lequel l’« esprit » ou les processus spirituels créent du sens rejoint bien sûr l’argument de Durkheim selon lequel les croyances religieuses et spirituelles créent des normes et des idéaux sociaux, et, en fait, la société également. Le consensus selon lequel les processus spirituels [l’esprit] créent du sens, un sens de la réalité et, en fin de compte, créent réellement la Réalité et la Vérité, signifie sans aucun doute que les processus spirituels sont intimement liés au besoin de sens et à la structure du sens. Pourtant, je suggérerais que les processus spirituels accentuent la fonction d’intégration et de synthèse du sens, et mettent parfois en jeu la transcendance. De plus, en particulier dans le contexte de concepts tels que le Saint-Esprit, il semble clair que les processus spirituels jouent également un rôle important dans la connectivité avec les autres et le groupe et sont donc également liés au besoin d’appartenance. Jung et Frankl pensaient tous deux que la « conscience » joue un rôle important dans les processus spirituels [l’esprit] et qu’elle exerce donc un effet modérateur sur les processus impliqués dans le besoin d’appartenance et sur certains des processus impliqués dans les processus idéologiques. Comme l’a déclaré sans équivoque Émile Durkheim, l’un des pères fondateurs de la sociologie : « Aujourd’hui, nous comprenons que le droit, la morale et la pensée scientifique elle-même sont nés de la religion, ont longtemps été confondus avec elle et restent imprégnés de son esprit. » (p. 62 el) Plus pertinent pour cette discussion. Comme l’a observé, les croyances religieuses et spirituelles ont non seulement créé la morale, les valeurs et les normes, mais aussi, et c’est peut-être plus important encore, les idéaux sociaux, tels que la compassion, la vérité, la justice, l’égalité, ainsi que la moralité et la droiture. Ces idéaux sociaux sont des principes et des doctrines essentiels, non seulement de toutes les grandes religions, mais sont également devenus des valeurs et des normes ancrées dans la société et la structure sociale. Enfin, il est essentiel de comprendre que les croyances spirituelles et religieuses sont des pulsions – probablement interconnectées avec d’autres besoins et motivations. Conclusions : Le besoin de sens, le besoin d’appartenance et le besoin d’idéologie sont sans aucun doute intimement liés et entrelacés. Comme l’observe Roy Baumeister, « le sens lui-même s’acquiert socialement, auprès d’autres personnes et de la culture en général. La nature dote l’être humain d’appétits mais pas de sens » (p. 6 Meanings) – une affirmation reprise par de nombreux autres psychologues qui soutiennent que les gens obtiennent un sens principalement d’autres personnes – des proches, des modèles, la religion, le gouvernement, les établissements d’enseignement, etc. Ce seul fait relie le sens et le besoin de sens aux autres, aux personnes et au besoin d’appartenance, qui serait également directement lié à la structure, à l’organisation et au besoin d’idéologie. Enfin, je voudrais brièvement souligner le fait que, si ces trois « besoins » fondamentaux couvrent les bases et décrivent suffisamment la religion et les croyances religieuses en général, la complexité de l’être humain suggère clairement qu’il existe nécessairement d’autres influences significatives – par exemple, le « besoin de contrôle » et la question de l’« esprit » en tant que catégorie distincte, en plus d’être intimement et directement liés au sens, comme le reconnaissent tous Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, William James et Emile Durkheim. Cela étant dit, mon argument est que les trois besoins fondamentaux – le besoin de sens, le besoin d’appartenance et le besoin d’idéologie – fournissent une cause suffisante et nécessaire à la formation de la religion et des croyances religieuses – comme aurait pu le dire Piaget. Addendum : La mort est le fruit de votre imagination Extrait d'une mini critique du matérialisme académique qui a eu des milliers de vues et aucune critique A. La mort est le fruit de votre imagination Extrait de la critique de 2018 du matérialisme académique approuvée par le Dr H Koenig, le Dr P Wong, le Dr S Farra et S Schindler - qui se concentrait sur le sophisme/stéréotype inadapté « Toute spiritualité est irréelle ! » WR Miller et CE Thoresen, déclarent que « Une base philosophique pour cette perspective est le matérialisme, la croyance qu'il n'y a rien à étudier parce que la spiritualité est intangible et au-delà des sens. » Cette erreur produit le stéréotype inadapté répandu - d'après mes recherches - selon lequel « Toute spiritualité est irréelle ». Appliquer cet argument à la mort qui n'est pas non plus « quantifiable » fait de « la mort un produit de votre imagination ! » La mort n'est évidemment pas le fruit de l'imagination et montre exactement à quel point le matérialisme académique est obsolète, dysfonctionnel et non scientifique Ma critique du matérialisme académique a été vue plus de 5 000 fois sur academia.edu sans aucune critique. B. Autres défauts et problèmes méthodologiques 1. Il ne résulte pas de l'argument matérialiste selon lequel les neurones s'activent dans le cerveau qu'il n'y a pas de conscience sociale (Baruss, Mossbridge) a) « Il n'y a pas de psychologie de groupe » (Allport) b) La définition en cinq parties de la religion de Geertz n'a aucun concept de communauté ou de conscience sociale. Virgilio Enriquez et David Hay affirment tous deux que l'individualisme extrême inhérent au monde universitaire occidental est destructeur (antisocial) En contraste avec « la religion et la spiritualité sont plus ou moins cohérentes… ce qui signifie que les systèmes sont intégrés… acquis à travers les relations sociales. » Paloutzian & Park (p. 12) 2, Dr Neal déclare qu'elle n'a aucune formation sur les personnes qui ont des expériences spirituelles. Le DSM n'a RIEN sur la spiritualité. J. E. Kennedy déclare que « très peu de recherches » ont été faites sur les personnes. Le chapitre sur les expériences dans le Manuel de Park et Paloutzian révèle des expériences mais rien sur les personnes Le matérialisme académique est un système fondé sur un certain nombre de prémisses fausses, d'idées fausses et de stéréotypes inadaptés, ce qui en fait une secte. L'état d'esprit matérialiste (Mannheim) crée un biais chez le chercheur, comme le montrent les défauts et les erreurs. C. Quand la logique et la proportion sont tombées mortes Les paroles de la chanson White Rabbit de Jefferson Airplane sont terriblement prophétiques Quand la logique et la proportion Sont tombés morts Et le chevalier blanc parle à l'envers Et la Reine Rouge perd la tête Rappelez-vous ce que le loir a dit Nourrissez votre tête Véritablement prophétique – probablement une lecture de la signification dans le monde matérialiste académique dans lequel nous vivons – bien avant Sheldrake qui a observé que « l’idéologie athée a trouvé un puissant allié dans la science matérialiste, qui à la fin du XIXe siècle, a décrit un univers mécanique, sans but, inconscient, où les humains, comme toute vie, avaient évolué sans but ni direction. Dans ce monde sans Dieu [dépourvu de spiritualité], l’humanité prendrait en charge sa propre évolution, apportant le développement économique, la fraternité, la santé et la prospérité à toute l’humanité grâce au progrès. » (p. 157) Sheldrake poursuit en disant : « L’influence croissante de la science mécaniste a accéléré ce processus à partir du XVIIe siècle. Dieu a été retiré du fonctionnement de la nature, désormais considérée comme inanimée, inconsciente et mécanique, fonctionnant automatiquement. » (p. 155) – sans but est le concept central. Je devrais ajouter que je pense qu’il est révélateur qu’ils aient eu une conclusion erronée – au lieu de nourrir votre tête, il aurait fallu nourrir votre cœur (esprit) D. Kaiser Permanente a été violent. Le ministère de la Justice des États-Unis a accepté mes plaintes n° 83404-WLP, 83404 ; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – axées sur la réponse dégradante et irrespectueuse à l’erreur definiste – stéréotype inadapté selon lequel « toute spiritualité est irréelle » qui, selon mes recherches, constitue un problème dans le milieu universitaire et la culture américaine. Les directives médicales exigent le respect de la spiritualité. Le conseil des médecins du KP, le Dr Davis, le Dr Neal et les services aux membres m’ont dit d’aller me faire foutre (efficacement). + Le Dr De Paulo et le Dr P Perez (efficacement) ont fait savoir que « toute spiritualité transcendantale est une psychose ! » – y compris la spiritualité autistique, les rêves de personnes décédées (« pas rares ») et le deuil. Privé de Medicare : mon adresse à la sécurité sociale est Port St Easton, MD et je suis titulaire d'un visa touristique à Phils dans le 5-23 KP a refusé le service pour mes prestations Medicare - parce que je n'ai pas d'adresse dans le Maryland. - À mon avis, KP a fait cela en représailles aux plaintes que j'ai déposées. En réponse, j'ai reçu le DOJ 293169-VXT : La Section des litiges spéciaux est en train de « réviser ! https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr
By Charles E Peck Jr November 17, 2024
Theory of Four Needs that [adequately] Explain and Describe Religion: The Four Primary Drives: The Need for Meaning, the Need to Belong, the Need for Ideology, and the Spiritual Drive + Unconscious Processes, Durkheim’s Social Forces, Filters and Selective Attention Abstract: My argument is that religious beliefs are primarily created and generated by four very basic and fundamental “Needs” or “Drives.” From a rather practical and pragmatic approach, in general, religions could be said to involve meaning or purpose, others and relationships, as well as structures and principles for both meaning, relationships, and group coherence and integrity. A general understanding of religious beliefs would seem relevant and significant in understanding spirituality and spiritual processes - which are separate from some of the processes involved in group-related ideological processes which too often dominate spiritual-religious beliefs with overt aggressive tendencies - yet still associated. Unsplash: Symbols are reflections of reality – not the real reality 1. Need for Meaning: “The meaning of life is to give life a meaning!” – is a quintessential illustration the of the iconic psychoanalyst, Viktor Frankl’s, theory of the human mind! (p. 22 Will) Frankl’s primary principle is that human beings have a Will to Meaning!” 2. The Need to Belong is deeply rooted in human consciousness. As the prominent social psychologist, Roy Baumeister, observed that “It is apparent that people have a deeply rooted need to have contact with other people.” (p.14 Meanings) Baumeister and Leary forcefully argue: “We [Baumeister and Leary] suggest that belongingness can be almost as compelling a need as food and that human culture is significantly conditioned by the pressure to provide belongingness.” (p 498 need) 3. a. Need for Ideology: Religions, as everybody knows are ideologies, the same as political ideologies such as communism or capitalism. In his writing about the politics of emerging countries, Clifford Geertz, an icon of anthropology, argues that religious, ethnic, and nationalistic ideologies are "primordial forces" at work in history and political society. b. Human beings need order and structure. The social psychologists Michael Hogg and Dominic Abrams, observe that without processes in the mind that put order and organize the multitude of stimuli and experiences, "We would be overwhelmed and paralyzed by overstimulation.” In their book on social identity they emphasize that every psychological ‘theory’, in one form or another, ‘assumes’ that the mind “imposes order” and structure for the processes operating in the mind. (p.17 soc id) 4. Spiritual Experiences and Beliefs as Making sense of the World and Synthesis-Consensus Function: Any objective view of spiritual and religious beliefs – of the myths, the narratives, the parables and the teachings – it would be self-evident that these beliefs “made sense of the world. On top of that there is the Synthesis-Consensus of Frankl, James, and Jung that spiritual experiences [spirit] creates meaning and constructs a sense of reality and makes sense of the world Preamble: Unconscious Processes, Durkheim’s Social Forces, Filters and Selective Attention I. Unconscious: Automated Social Perception, Mental Categories, Symbolism A. Unconscious: Lion’s Share Intimately Connected to the environment Modern unconscious research demonstrates that the “Unconscious” processes 11 million bits of data per second vs 40 bits of data per second processed by cognitive processes “Our conscious processing capacity isn’t insignificant, but clearly, it’s just a retention pond compared to the ocean of the unconscious.” (From: Forbes: Your Brain Sees Even When You Don’t June 24, 2013) B. The Lion’s Share: Three major forms of automatic self-regulation: John Bargh observes the three major forms: “an automatic effect of perception on action, automatic goal pursuit, and a continual automatic evaluation of one’s experience. From the accumulating evidence, the authors conclude that these various nonconscious mental systems perform the lion’s share of the self-regulatory burden, beneficially keeping the individual grounded in his or her current environment.” (P.462) C. social perception involves largely automated unconscious processes John Bargh observes, “The idea that social perception is a largely automated psychological phenomenon is now widely accepted.” Social Perception is the essence of social Consciousness “Our identities are multifaceted – mother, musician, teacher, yoga enthusiast, NASCAR fan. In each of these [identities] there is stored implicit and ingrained knowledge about appropriate values and behaviors, likes and dislikes, ways of being.” Commentary: If you think about the massive amounts of information involved in social interactions that puts perspective on the necessity for unconscious processing. Even in basic exchanges between two people involve a lot of information such as tone of voice, body language, hand gestures, and facial features which studies show convey a lot of information. Then there is social context and circumstances. Plus, there are theory of mind processes which process information about the intentions of another person. D. Mental categories and social perception “Mental categories are absolutely essential for simplifying and understanding the information-rich environment, the express link between perception [of the environment] and action probably exists for a good adaptive reason, such as creation of appropriate behavioral preparations in the absence of conscious guidance and monitoring. Within a social group, one is more likely to get along harmoniously with other group members if one behaves the same way than when one is "out of sync" and behaves differently. So, it makes sense that the default behavioral tendency in an interaction is based on one's perception of what the other person is doing (Before you know it. Bargh’s research emphasizes stereotypes and norms that create these "mental categories" E. Symbols, Flags, and Kant’s Symbolic Knowledge: Kant, Nietzsche, Ortega Gasset, Heschel, Heidegger and most of western philosophy state categorically that symbols are vital for both understanding and knowledge. However, most philosophers also state that symbolism - to a very large extent – remains outside the realm of cognitive processes and rational analysis. In effect, symbolism and quantification are mutually exclusive principles. Immanuel Kant, an Enlightenment German philosopher (1724–1804), created the theory of “symbolic knowledge.” Abraham Heschel observed, “Kant has demonstrated that it is utterly impossible to attain knowledge of the world as it is because knowledge is always in the form of categories and these, in the last analysis, are only representational constructions for the purpose of apperceiving what is given.” John Glenn stresses “basic concepts (the categories and the ideas of reason) which the human mind employs can only come to be conceived because they are capable of being first presented in concrete symbolic form!” human culture.” Abraham Heschel highlights the fact that the most obvious, prevalent, and best illustrations of “symbols” are “flags.” Of course, Christian recognize Jesus Christ on the cross as a “symbol” – a symbol with diverse meanings for different people. Kant emphasizes that God can only be understood symbolically – which is in line with St Gregory of Nyssa who states: "The unbounded, incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all comprehension." II. Genetics, Spiritual Symbolism and Energy A. The Genetics of Spirituality Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high………..These studies demonstrate our variable but innate inherited sense of spirituality, which affects how we perceive the world, ourselves and the universe. B. Sociological Evidence of Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism – Star Wars & Harry Potter Fandom Rhiannon Grant in The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom, Grant observes in 2001, the British government ran a regular census, but they included a new question about religion. In response, almost 0.8 percent of the total population said they were a “Jedi” or Jedi knight!” (p. 38) Those results were repeated in Australia and New Zealand.” The contemporary-modern social popularity of Star Wars and Harry Potter, and the numerous other imaginative fandoms, that provides massive data and evidence of the existence of unconscious spiritual symbolism. C. Energized unconscious symbolism In light of the " sociological reality” of Star Wats and Harry Potter Fandoms, spiritual symbols might best be understood in terms of Nancy Furlotti’ s argument which states, " Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Beliefs and ideas are very real and incredibly powerful. From that perspective, the idea of "spirit" as energy and force is very real, especially in light of a social-collective consciousness. D. Prism Paradigm: The Energy-Filter Model Energy “originating” from unconscious symbolism is processed and filtered – as a metaphor of light (energy) entering a prism and different colors emerging on the other- side of the prism. – As an expression of personal-individual spirituality. As William James and modern neuroscience points out, people have different views because they filter or process – data and information differently. Personality, upbringing, culture-environment- ethnicity, experiences are shaping factors. E. Selective Attention as an Evolutionary Adaptive Trait Bernhard Hommel et al observe: “How is this related to attention? A few sentences after that famous phrase we quoted above, James wrote that attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” …. And while these simple circuits for governing interactive behavior may seem far removed from the higher cognition of humans, they are indeed the precursors [approach circuit of the rostral tectum] to the mechanisms that control what has been called “selective attention.” It is argued that selectivity in processing has emerged through evolution as a design feature of a complex multi-channel sensorimotor system, which generates selective phenomena of “attention” as one of many by-products. (No one knows what attention is” Bernhard Hommel & Craig S. Chapman & Paul Cisek & Heather F. Neyedli & Joo-Hyun Song & Timothy N. Welsh) John Bargh’s story illustrates the power and influence of attention. John Bargh, a researcher and psychologist of the unconscious, observes, “When I was about twelve years old, we had a big family reunion and I decided to bring a tape recorder so we’d have a recording of our grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins for posterity. I come from a large extended family so it was a really noisy room. During the gathering, our grandma sat on the couch and told some great stories in the middle of all other conversations. We listened and enjoyed all of them, and a few days after the reunion, we went back to listen to it again. What a disappointment! Just noise, noise, noise, a million people talking at once and no way to pick out her voice from the other people talking, even though we heard her so clearly at the time. We quickly figured out that we hadn’t noticed the background noise because we had been so captivated by our grandmother’s stories. We’d filtered out what everyone else was saying. (p. 111 Before you know it) F. Complex interconnectivity of the human brain Moral Neuroscience: Funk and Gazzanigna observe that “Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality………… Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations.…….The neural circuits of brain regions implicated in morality overlap with those that regulate other behavioral processes,…..” ) Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681) Musical neuroscience indicates intricately interconnected processes: Music cuts across diverse cognitive capabilities and resources, including numeracy, language, and space perception. In the same way, music intersects with cultural boundaries, facilitating our “social self” by linking our shared experiences and intentions.” “The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292. Published online 2014 Sep 17. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292” G. A New Emerging Awareness & Spirituality “Spirituality is a natural human predisposition. It is more primal than institutional religion and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos). Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln & Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life . Irish poet theologian John O’Donohue Spirituality is a natural human predisposition! It is more primal than institutional religion and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and world!” (K. Bishop Grosseteste U, B Hyde Australian Catholic University) Spirituality is more primal, Anton Killin: "The oldest known musical instruments [date] from 40,000 years ago (40 Kya) ….” Killin argues that music likely originated in hominins as long as 275,000 years ago. H. Music: A quintessential illustration of Spirituality and Evolutionary Adaptive trait 1. “It seems likely that proto-musical capacities and their cultural particularizations as musics were crucial factors in precipitating and sustaining the social and cognitive versatility that mark modern humans. (p. 5 – 6 Music and evolution Ian Cross) 2. Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts. Music is a fundamental part of our evolution – and functional because it facilitates “human contact” and out “social self” (The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292. Published online 2014 Sep 17. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292) Theory of Four Needs that [adequately] Explain and Describe Religion: The Need for Meaning, the Need to Belong, the Need for Ideology, and the Spiritual Drive Meaning and Symbolism One of Geertz's most significant arguments is that symbolism and meaning are essential and critical, for both culture and religion: “The view of man as a symbolizing, conceptualizing, meaning-seeking animal, which has become increasingly popular both in the social sciences and in philosophy over the past several years, opens up a whole new approach not only to the analysis of religion as such, but to the understanding of the relations between religion and values. The drive to make sense out of experience, to give it form and order, is evidently as real and pressing as the more familiar biological needs. And, this being so, it seems unnecessary to continue to interpret symbolic activities --- religion, art, ideology – as nothing but thinly disguised expressions of something other than what they seem to be: attempts to provide orientation to an organism which cannot live in a world it is unable to understand. ” (p.140) Without question, people, throughout history have derived and gotten meaning from religion and God. As I will discuss later, from the time of Aristotle, who stated "All men desire knowledge, to modern psychology it is clear people have a powerful need for meaning. Baumeister-Funk & Gazzanigna Paradigm and The Complexity of Religious Beliefs Baumeister argues that there is no such thing as an “Ultimate Meaning of Life” – rather a synthesis and holistic integration of diverse meanings – family, religion, education, play, police, philosophy, and so on. The neuroscientists observe that: “Moral neuroscience is an intricate and expanding field. This review summarizes the main scientific findings obtained to date. Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality…………Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations. (Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzaniga) ……. The neural circuits of brain regions implicated in morality overlap with those that regulate other behavioral processes, suggesting that there is probably no undiscovered neural substrate that uniquely supports moral cognition.” Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681) The author and scholar, Stefan Schindler briefly sketches the broad outlines of religion: "The Root of the word religion is "ligio", meaning "to connect" (as a ligament connects bone to muscle). Res-ligio = "the linking thing." [is] usually [what I start with] started with that when teaching Philosophy of Religion.... Religion, by linking humans to a larger Meaning-Matrix, provides a sense of being at home in the universe, thereby overcoming feelings of alienation (and encounters with what Camus calls The Absurd). There are two approaches to this. Two interpretations of religion's function. The atheistic approach is to see it as wishful thinking. (Nietzsche, Freud, Sartre, Bertrand Russell, etc.) The spiritual approach (a la Plato, Jesus, Buddha, etc.) is to see Authentic religion as a Recollection of our connection to something divine. One of the definitions of Dharma (it has multiple meanings) is connection, link, yoke (which is, of course, the root meaning of the word Yoga). Religious beliefs and spiritual beliefs are very complex, and involvement of a variety of drives, needs, emotions and hopes. As such, religion most likely performs a variety of different functions for human beings and human society. There are a plethora of theories about why people believe in God: fear of death; wishful thinking; animism, naturalism, fear of the unknown; explanation of the world and its origins; belief in the supernatural; social functionalism (morality; social cohesion); explanation of suffering; anthropomorphism; comfort; coping; naturalism; as well as superstition. None of these theories directly answer the question completely. Each may represent a piece of the puzzle, but none seem to capture the essence of religious beliefs. As the prominent social psychologist Roy Baumeister pointed out "Meaning" as such is actually a conglomeration and collection of various diverse meanings somehow interconnected into a functioning 'whole' or unit. Fear of Death Fear of death is a significant influence in human consciousness, and it has been noted by many scholars and scientists that the human being is unique in the animal world because of human awareness of death. Both the sociobiologist E.O. Wilson, as well as Carl Jung and other scientists all advance the awareness and fear of death as a major influence in the supernatural. Early human societies placed significant objects in the graves of humans buried as far back as 100,000 years ago. Grave goods are seen as a significant indication of a conscious awareness of death. Carl Jung emphasizes that early human beings doubtless realized that "life," although intangible and imperceptible, 'disappeared at death, when people stopped breathing - and thus connected "life" with the supernatural (for humans, back then, most likely 'everything' was probably supernatural since at the time there was no concept of "natural." Almost all languages, from Semitic ancient Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, Greek, and so on, do have the linguistic root for "spirit" in the word "breath." Fear of the Unknown David Hume and several other modern scholars, such as Roy Baumeister, connect the beliefs in the supernatural with fear of the unknown and anxiety. David Hume (1711 to 1776), in his work, The Natural History of Religion, made very astute observations relevant to the condition of ancient humans: "We are placed in this world, as in a great theatre, where the true springs and causes of every event are entirely concealed from us; nor have we either sufficient wisdom to foresee, or power to prevent those ills, with which we are continually threatened. We hang in perpetual suspense between life and death, health and sickness, plenty and want, which are distributed amongst the human species by secret and unknown causes whose operation is oft unexpected, and always unaccountable. These unknown causes, then, become the constant object of our hope and fear; and while the passions are kept in perpetual alarm by an anxious expectation of the events, the imagination is equally employed in forming ideas of those powers, on which we have so entire a dependence." Hume argues that the unknown and largely unpredictable characteristic of forces that directly affect our lives and well-being is a major influence that induces people to adopt and accept religious beliefs and specifically beliefs in the supernatural. The modern prominent social psychologist Roy Baumeister makes a similar argument when he argues that people have a need for control. He emphasizes that some studies demonstrate that even the "illusion" of control can reduce anxiety and increase resistance to pain. So, I would say only partly tongue in cheek, it would seem the bottom line having some illusions may not be such a bad thing after all?? Innate Anthropomorphic-Animism Software in the Human brain Xenophanes, Aristotle, Hume and St Augustine It is second nature for people to think in terms of human traits and characteristics, not only others, but also intangible concepts in terms of human intentions and human goals. The ancient Greek philosopher, Xenophanes (c.570–c.475 BC), was the first 'scholar' to make the observation that anthropomorphism was a very powerful factor in envisioning gods and goddesses. A bit sarcastically, Xenophanes observed that "But if cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do, horses like horses and cattle like cattle also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have. Aristotle made the same exact observation. St Augustine (c.354-c.430 AD) also made the same observation hundreds of years later – observing that people have the weakness of envisioning God in terms of a (human) being since it is difficult for them to imagine anything outside their own 'humanness.' St. Augustine, like St. Gregory of Nyssa believed that God is beyond words and beyond comprehension. David Hume the famous philosopher (1711 – 1776) stated the same exact thought that human beings can only ordinarily think and envision things except in human terms and a human frame of reference. I can’t resist adding that both Nietzsche and Mannheim observed that “social” influences produced “modes of thought or mindsets” – which would be relevant to seeing God as human. Unconscious processes Jean Piaget (1896 to 1980), a famous Swiss developmental psychologist, who did extensive studies of children and their tendencies for animism and anthropomorphism. Children, when they are very young appear to have fewer distinctions between self and world, as well as between self and others. They seem to have an innate tendency to perceive beings, objects, and things as being alive and as living entities or beings. In one study he tried to discover how children thought of life. In his research children were asked questions as to if one thing or another were alive. He found that young children, when very young, had a view of life as being universal. Perhaps this is because their primary self-awareness was that of being alive – so they might ‘assume’ all other things have this “aliveness” as well. Modern psychologists now recognize that, in the human mind, there is without question a definite process in the human brain which has the capability to attribute mental states and project unto others their perceptions of others’ beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge, and motivations (which can be quite different from one’s own current views) to others. This process is termed “Theory of mind” (neuroscientists tend to describe it as the “default mode network” in terms of brain processes) It is understood that the “Theory of mind” [process is very important for people to grasp and cope with the human social interactions in day to day living. The Theory of mind and is pivotal in analyzing and judging others’ behaviors, and inferring others' intentions, motivations, and actions. It is a well-known fact that [most – not all] autistics, who are known to have a deficit in their minds' 'theory of mind' functions tend not to believe in 'God,' most likely due to the deficit in 'theory of mind' functions. The bottom line is that the human mind has a definite capacity to envision others and things in terms of a person or entity and attributes intentions and intentional consciousness to them. In Faces in the Clouds, anthropologist Stewart Guthrie advocates anthropomorphism as a major influence in religious beliefs. Guthrie uses a few stories from firefighters fighting forest fires who at times would speak of fires as being alive with minds of their own. From my view, in that particular circumstance employing animism software to envision and imagine the possibilities of forest fires which are known to be erratic and unpredictable would seem very practical in those circumstances. Jung's Collective unconscious would be in a category of its own. Jung argued that evolution endowed the mind of man, and specifically the Collective Unconscious with a spiritual and religious traits and abilities, and built-in structure that informed and shaped religion and religious beliefs. Jung stated, (Vol 8 [342]) "The collective unconscious contains the whole spiritual heritage of mankind’s evolution, born anew in the brain structure of every individual. His conscious mind is an ephemeral phenomenon that accomplishes all provisional adaptations and orientations, for which reason one can best compare its function to orientation in space. The unconscious, on the other hand, is the source of the instinctual forces of the psyche and of the forms or categories that regulate them, namely the archetypes. All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes. This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of science, philosophy, and ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present form they are variants of archetypal ideas, created by consciously applying and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses, but to translate into visible reality the world within us." The Meaning Umbrella & The Meaning Matrix I started this essay with the concept of "meaning" and the "Need for Meaning" because many of the other reasons and functions of religion and religious beliefs, and most all of these other reasons and factors, could easily fall under the Meaning Umbrella. That is people get meaning from God as a product of their fear of the unknown, or fear of death and so on. There are doubtless hundreds of other factors from needing hope, to getting meaning from other worldly sources when the suffering in the world environment is paramount, to needing transcendence, and so forth. Of course, Jung's idea of the Collective Unconscious in which the "spiritual heritage of mankind’s evolution" is embedded would need to fall under the multiple categories of The Need for Meaning, The Need to Belong, the Need for Ideology, as well as including The Spiritual Drive. An unstated assumption but incredibly important characteristic of human consciousness in Jung's Collective Unconscious concept is that the evident reality that inherent in human nature there is a very strong Spiritual Drive. As the physicist Josephson points out many social scientists and scientists obsess over the 'supernatural' aspect of religion and ignore such worldly yet very important ideas such as the reality of a Spiritual Drive. Even a precursory glance at human history reveals an incredibly evident spiritual and religious drive in society and culture! The Four Primary Drives: The Need for Meaning, the Need to Belong, the Need for Ideology, and the Spiritual Drive My argument is that religious beliefs are primarily created and generated by four very basic and fundamental “Needs” or “Drives.” From a rather practical and pragmatic approach, in general, religions could be said to involve meaning or purpose, others and relationships, as well as structures and principles for both meaning, relationships, and group coherence and integrity. A general understanding of religious beliefs would seem relevant and significant in understanding spirituality and spiritual processes which are separate from some of the processes involved in group-related ideological processes - yet still associated. Need for Meaning: “The meaning of life is to give life a meaning!” – is a quintessential illustration the of the iconic psychoanalyst, Viktor Frankl’s, theory of the human mind! (p. 22 Will) Frankl’s primary principle is that human beings have a Will to Meaning!” Many of famous and iconic ‘Great Thinkers’ in history mirror that very idea and sentiment. From Aristotle, to Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, Clifford Geertz, Nietzsche, Roy Baumeister, Paul Wong, as well as most existential and positive psychologists, the human drive and need for meaning as well as the core concept of human beings as "meaning-seeking animals" has been consistently emphasized, often highlighting that meaning is absolutely vital for coping with life. The "Will to Meaning" is Viktor Frankl's central concept of his theory. The pivotal concept of Clifford Geertz's almost universally accepted definition of Religion is Religion as a "System of Symbols!" Symbols, of course, embody "meaning!" As, the prominent psychologist, Paul Wong, observes, “religious and spiritual beliefs and practice are thought to serve as a central component of an individual’s orienting system, which helps the individual understand, appraise, and derive meaning from stressful life events and ultimately helps that individual decide how to react.” (p. xl Quest – my italics) Here is a link to an essay about The Need for Meaning: https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/the-need-for-meaning-frankl-jung-geertz-baumeister-and-paul-wo... Need to Belong: Human beings have formed groups – and, later, societies – since Homo sapiens emerged on earth. The Need to Belong is deeply rooted in human consciousness. As the prominent social psychologist, Roy Baumeister, observed that “It is apparent that people have a deeply rooted need to have contact with other people.” (p.14 Meanings) Baumeister and Leary forcefully argue: “We [Baumeister and Leary] suggest that belongingness can be almost as compelling a need as food and that human culture is significantly conditioned by the pressure to provide belongingness.” (p 498 need) Baumeister cites medical statistics that show that ‘lonely’ people have a much higher mortality rate, but concludes that “The fact that belongingness predicts happiness more strongly—far more strongly, in America—than any other external circumstances is another sign that the need to belong is exceptionally powerful. Satisfying the need to belong is more crucial and decisive than satisfying any other need.” (p. 109) Baumeister’s Need to Belong is widely accepted in social psychology, and quoted and cited frequently by social psychologists. Here is a link to an essay about the Need to Belong: https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/need-to-belong-society-baumeister Need for Ideology: Religions, as everybody knows are ideologies, the same as political ideologies such as communism or capitalism. In his writing about the politics of emerging countries, Clifford Geertz, an icon of anthropology, argues that religious, ethnic, and nationalistic ideologies are "primordial forces" at work in history and political society. From the dawn of civilization men (and women) have fought and died for their ideological beliefs. In World War I, roughly nine to ten million men fought and died for their country. The emotions involved in ideologies and patriotism are tremendously strong. Inter-group conflicts generate the most savage and brutally violent acts in humanity. Furthermore, history would seem to be sufficient proof that religions are groups and that throughout history, religions-religious beliefs form groups. It would, therefore, seem an inevitable conclusion that "a" function of religious beliefs - ideologies would be to 'form" groups, and it would then follow that one purpose of rituals - which Geertz argued were, in essence and at the core, "arguments" (presumably for that particular religion-God), would necessarily be, in that light 'ritual' submission of the individual to the group. That is, in partaking of the rituals, the individual not only accepts the "authority" of the group, but also as many rituals include hierarchal dominance, asl engender acceptance of the hierarchy of dominance. There are over a dozen genocides since WWI. Here is a link to an essay about Instincts and group identity: Instincts, Groups, and Genocides - https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/post-title80df2bb9 Human beings need order and structure. Francois Jacob observed that man “cannot bear the void!” Susanne Langer, the philosopher, echoes Jacob when she said that man “can adapt himself somehow to anything his imagination can cope with; but he cannot deal with Chaos.” (p. 287 new key) The social psychologists Michael Hogg and Dominic Abrams, observe that without processes in the mind that put order and organize the multitude of stimuli and experiences, "We would be overwhelmed and paralyzed by overstimulation.” In their book on social identity they emphasize that every psychological ‘theory’, in one form or another, ‘assumes’ that the mind “imposes order” and structure for the processes operating in the mind. (p.17 soc id). Clifford Geertz observed that given the unfocused nature of human needs, desires, drives and instincts, without the structure that culture provides, the human being “would be functionally incomplete, not merely a talented ape who had, like some underprivileged child, unfortunately been prevented from realizing his full potentialities, but a kind of formless monster with neither sense of direction nor power of self-control, a chaos of spasmodic impulses and vague emotions.” (p.99 interp) Separate and Distinct Processes in the Brain: When it comes to ideologies, there would appear to be, on the face of it, two distinct levels. The first level, which has already been brought up is that ideologies provide a “Meaning Structure” or a “system of symbols” as Geertz points out when it comes to religion. However, ideologies also organize people as well – through roles, status, meaning, and purpose. That is, especially the emotional structure of people is structured by ideologies, and, unfortunately, group-related instincts, such as patriotism connected with nationalist ideologies, are connected or associated with group ideologies. Here is a link to a brief essay about group-related instincts: https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/post-title80df2bb9 Neuroscience has Identified 360 distinct and separate regions of the brain. MRI tests performed by neuroscientists have shown that different situations frequently engage different brain processes as well as that those different processes, in general, working in tandem with other separate brain processes. The bottom line is that the spiritual processes involved in creativity and ideals such as compassion will be completely different and separate than the brain regions engaged in "defending" the survival and integrity of a group or ideology, for instance. Spiritual Drive: A Drive – Making Sense of the World A Synthesis-Consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, Emile Durkheim, and William James Motivation: A Point of Order I feel the motivation question is a critical question, so I feel this needs to be “addressed” for perspective before proceeding. Part 1: Spiritual beliefs as a Drive or Motivation. When you talk to "spiritual people" - spiritual beliefs are not just a motivation but a very profound source of inspiration and a powerful drive. In contrast spirituality as a motivation is conspicuously absent from academia. Beginning in 2017, I researched it Extensively and even a scholar of religious had not heard of any as well S. Schindler, Dr. Wong, Dr Emmons, Dr. Park, etc. In the five psychology of religion textbooks I have, there was no mention of spiritual or religious beliefs as a motivation or drive. I messaged five ‘official’ anthropology professors engaged at the time in a discussion that question and got no response. I google-scholared spiritual drive, and I posted in discussions on academia. The bottom line is that science has no explanation at the moment how millions and millions of churches and temples got built. That is mindboggling. “Our” society has probes on Mars, and can measure the reciprocal spin of two subatomic particles separated by large distances but “we” have no current theory or idea as to how all these churches and temples came into being. Dr. Visuri, who did a really incredibly balanced study of “high functioning” autistics and who is a scholar of religious beliefs, replied to my question about spiritual and religious beliefs as motivation and drive by saying that motivation and drive are important and pivotal questions. I asked her how she might envision motivations. Her response was “Spontaneously, these are some categories I'm coming to think of: - Social motivation: sharing the traditions and beliefs of one's family and community. - Psychological motivation: religion and spirituality used as coping strategies - Experiential motivation: making sense of things that cannot be explained through logical reasoning - Power as motivation: having a position in a religious group that one does not want to lose - Existential motivation: religion and/or spirituality being the core of meaning making. In that “religious studies” are her specialty, it would seem rather evident that the motivation question is not set in concrete in social sciences. Part II An illustration of the motivation question in spiritual people Nora’s story! from an article on children's spirituality. First is Nora’s account of her ability to see auras as a younger child: When I was four or five years old, I was playing dolls with two friends. One of them asked what my favorite color was. I replied ‘Pink.’ She asked what shade of pink? I said the shade of pink of the light around your head. Both little girls said ‘What light around the head?’ A fear like a knife went through my heart as I knew they were telling the truth; they didn’t see the light. I was seeing something they could not see. I never saw lights around people again until I was in my 30s. Nora considered seeing auras normal until she realized her friends could not. Nora observed that “The significance this had on my life after I remembered this experience has made me a seeker of higher consciousness. A believer that my function on this planet is significant to every person on the earth.” Nora’s observation that “The significance this had on my life after I remembered this experience has made me a seeker of higher consciousness.” Illustrates the motivation question. From my often-informal conversations with people who have spiritual experiences, there appears to be a universal understanding that their experiences have been a profound motivation for them. As a point of information, I would observe that, besides Nora, another woman named Nunzi has that same capability of envisioning auras. Of course, Edgar Cayce, the documented healer-psychic (active roughly from 1923 to 1945) is famous for seeing auras. Addendum: Spiritual Experiences-Beliefs: Synthesis - Making sense of the World Any objective view of spiritual and religious beliefs – of the myths, the narratives, the parables and the teachings – it would be self-evident that these beliefs “made sense of the world. On top of that there is the Synthesis-Consensus of Frankl, James, and Jung that spiritual experiences [spirit] creates meaning and constructs a sense of reality and makes sense of the world Paul Wong is an extremely reputable and well-known psychologist and author. When I approached him with a brief summary of my “New Approach,” he was kind enough to observe that “Your approach is new in the sense of a broad-minded integrative approach, breaking down the artificial traditional divide between science and religious, or scientific psychology versus humanistic or psychoanalytic psychology.” He went on to suggest that a title of “A New Integrative Approach" would be appropriate." There is a rather remarkable consensus among the psychologists, William James, Carl Jung, and Viktor Frankl that "spirit" and spiritual processes create meaning and a sense of reality. Carl Jung, a psychoanalyst and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, observed that "Spirit gives meaning to his [man's] life" (CW8:643) William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences that "They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,..… (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), edited by Batthyany and Russo-Netzer, Paul Wong, the prominent positive-existential psychologist, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature.” (p.156) The argument that “Spirit” or spiritual processes create meaning, of course, dovetails into Durkheim's argument that religious and spiritual beliefs create norms and social ideals, and, in fact, society as well. The consensus that Spiritual Processes [Spirit] create meaning, a sense of reality and, in the end, actually create Reality and Truth, without question would mean that spiritual processes are intimately connected to the Need for Meaning and Meaning Structure. Yet I would suggest that the spiritual processes accentuate the integrative and synthesis function of meaning, and at times bring transcendence into play. Furthermore, especially in context of concepts such as the Holy spirit, it would seem clear that spiritual processes also play a significant role in the connectivity with others and the group and so also connect to the Need to Belong. Both Jung and Frankl believed that the "conscience" plays an important role in the spiritual processes [spirit] and so as such exercise a moderating effect on the processes involved in the Need to Belong and some of the processes involved in ideological directed processes. As Emile Durkheim, a founding father of sociology, stated unequivocally: “Today we understand that law, morality, and scientific thought itself are born from religion, have long been confused with it, and remain imbued with its spirit.” (p62 el) More relevant to this discussion. observed, religious and spiritual beliefs not only created morality, values and norms, but perhaps more importantly created social ideals, such as Compassion, Truth, Justice, Equality, as well as Morality and Righteousness. These social ideals are pivotal principles and tenets, not only of every major religion, but also became values and norms embedded in society and social structure. Lastly it is vital to understand that spiritual and religious beliefs are drives – likely interconnected with other needs and rives. Conclusions: The Need for Meaning, the Need to Belong, and the Need for Ideology are without question intimately inter-connected and intertwined. As Roy Baumeister observes, “Meaning itself is acquired socially, from other people and from the culture at large. Nature equips the human being with appetites but not meanings” (p.6 Meanings) - something echoed by many other psychologists who argue that people get meaning primarily from and through other people – significant others, role models, religion, government, educational institution, and so on. That alone, links meaning, and the Need for Meaning, to others, people, and the Need to Belong, which would also be directly connected to structure, organization, and the Need for Ideology. Lastly, I would briefly would highlight the fact that, while those three basic “needs” cover the bases and sufficiently describe religion and religious beliefs in general, the complexity of the human being would clearly suggest there necessarily exist other significant influences – for instance, the 'Need to Control' and the question of 'Spirit' as a separate category, besides being intimately and directly connected to meaning, as Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, William James, and Emile Durkheim all agree. That being said, my argument is that the three basic needs - the Need for Meaning, the Need to Belong, and the Need for Ideology - provide a sufficient and necessary cause for the formation of religion and religious beliefs - as Piaget might have said. Addendum: Death IS A Figment of Your Imagination Excerpt from mini critique of academic materialism which has had thousands of views and zero criticisms A. Death IS A Figment of Your Imagination Excerpt of 2018 critique of academic materialism endorsed by Dr H Koenig, Dr. P Wong, Dr S Farra, & S Schindler - which focused on the fallacy/maladaptive stereotype 'All spirituality is unreal!' W R Miller and C E Thoresen, state that “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” That fallacy produces the – from my research – widespread maladaptive stereotype that “All spirituality is unreal” Applying that argument to death which is also not “quantifiable” makes ‘Death a figment of your imagination!" Death obviously is not a figment of the imagination and shows exactly how defunct, dysfunctional and unscientific academic materialism My critique of academic materialism has had over 5,000 views on academia.edu with zero criticisms. B. Other methodology flaws and problems 1, It does not follow from the materialist argument that neurons fire in the brain that there is no social consciousness (Baruss, Mossbridge) a) "There is no psychology of groups” (Allport) b) Geertz’s five-part definition of religion has no concept of community or social consciousness. Both Virgilio Enriquez and David Hay state the extreme individualism inherent in western academia is destructive (anti-social) Contrasted with “religion and spirituality are more or less coherent… meaning systems embedded… acquired through social relationships.” Paloutzian & Park (p. 12) 2, Dr Neal states she has no training in People who have spiritual experiences. DSM has NOTHING on spirituality J. E Kennedy states "very little research" has been done about people. The chapter on experiences in Park and Paloutzian's Handbook reveals experiences but nothing on people Academic materialism is a system is founded on a number of false premises, fallacies, & maladaptive stereotypes - which makes it a cult. The Materialist Mindset (Mannheim) creates a researcher bias – as shown by flaws and errors. C. When logic and proportion Have fallen sloppy dead The lyrics from the Jefferson Airplane White Rabbit song are hauntingly prophetic When logic and proportion Have fallen sloppy dead And the White Knight is talking backwards And the Red Queen's off with her head Remember what the dormouse said Feed your head Truly prophetic – likely a read of meaning in the academic materialist world that we live in – long before Sheldrake who observed “The atheist ideology found a powerful ally in materialist science, which by the end of the nineteenth century, portrayed a purposeless, unconscious, mechanical universe where humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance. In this godless world [devoid of spirituality], humanity would take charge of its own evolution, bringing economic development, brotherhood, health, and prosperity to all mankind through progress.” (p.157) Sheldrake goes on to say, “The rising influence of mechanistic science accelerated this process from the seventeenth century onward. God was removed from the workings of nature, now seen as inanimate, unconscious, and mechanical, functioning automatically.” (p.155) -purposeless is the pivotal concept. I should add that I think it is telling that they got the conclusion wrong – instead of feed your head, it should have been feed your heart (spirit) D. Kaiser Permanente has been abusive. The U.S. Department of Justice accepted my complaints # 83404-WLP, 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – focused on the degrading-disrespectful response on the Definist fallacy - maladaptive stereotype that "All spirituality is unreal" which my research shows are a problem in academia and American culture. Medical guidelines require respect for spirituality. The KP board of doctors, Dr Davis, Dr Neal & member services told me to go screw myself (effectively). + Dr De Paulo & Dr. P Perez (effectively) conveyed that 'All transcendental spirituality is psychosis!' - including autistic spirituality, dreams of deceased ("not uncommon") & grieving. Deprived of Medicare: my address in social security is Port St Easton, MD & I am on a tourist visa in Phils in 5-23 KP refused service for my Medicare benefits - because I don't have a Maryland address. - In my view, KP did this in retaliation for complaints I filed. In reply I got DOJ 293169-VXT: Special Litigation Section is “reviewing!” https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr
By Charles E Peck Jr November 12, 2024
Preamble: "Walang ibang larangan ng kultura ng tao na hindi kasama sa nakikiramay na pagsasaalang-alang sa akademiko sa sarili nitong mga termino sa kadahilanang ang naturang pag-aaral ay nagsapanganib sa agham, katwiran, lohika, at ang buong pamana ng Enlightenment" (p.133). (p.36) Robert Bellah (1970b), [kilalang sosyologo] Ang empirikal at lohikal na katwiran na ngayon ay tumutuklas at nagtitiyak lamang ng mga katotohanan ngunit tumutukoy sa kaalaman bilang kaalaman sa katotohanan ay hindi mapagpatuloy sa awtoridad ng alinman sa kabanalan o halaga. Ang mga tunay na sagradong postulate ay hindi na binibilang bilang kaalaman ngunit paniniwala lamang, kung hindi pamahiin. Ang mga halaga ay tinukoy sa pamamagitan ng kagustuhan at dahil dito ay hindi hihigit sa mga usapin ng panlasa o ng aritmetika ng pagtitipid. ……………Ito ay katwiran na walang puwang para sa mga pananaw ng sining, relihiyon, pantasya, o pangarap. Ang mga kakayahan sa pagsusuri ng gayong walang pag-asa ngunit mahinang dahilan ay limitado, kung hindi man, at halos hindi mapagkakatiwalaan. Rappaport p. 130 Ekolohiya, Kahulugan, at Relihiyon Garden of Eden Myth: Simbolikong mapa, mito, kahulugan at paraan ng pag-iisip Hindi tayo maaaring mabuhay sa isang mundo na hindi sa atin, sa isang mundo na binibigyang kahulugan para sa atin ng iba. Ang isang binibigyang kahulugan na mundo ay hindi isang tahanan. Bahagi ng takot ay ang pagbawi ng ating sariling pakikinig, ang paggamit ng ating sariling boses, upang makita ang ating sariling liwanag. Hildegard ng Bingen Mga Talinghaga, Metapora, Simbolismo at Katotohanan - Ang Kaalaman na walang Pang-unawa ay Panlilinlang. Ang aklat ng Mga Taga-Corinto sa Bibliya tungkol sa mga kaloob ay nagpapakilala sa pagitan ng kaalaman at karunungan. Ang modernong akademya ay madalas na nagpapalabo sa pagkakaiba - na nagreresulta sa maraming pagkakamali ng kaalaman sa katotohanan. "Ang isang lalong mekanikal, pira-piraso, decontextualized na mundo, na minarkahan ng hindi nararapat na optimismo na may halong paranoya at isang pakiramdam ng kawalan ng laman, ay dumating, na sumasalamin, naniniwala ako, ang walang kalaban-laban na pagkilos ng isang dysfunctional na kaliwang hemisphere." — Iain McGilchrist Isang Mas Malalim na Kaalaman Si Jesucristo at Buddha ay nagsalita sa mga talinghaga. Ang propetang Islam na si Mohammed ay nagsalita tungkol sa mga paghahayag. Sinabi ni Karen Armstrong, isang mahusay na nai-publish na iskolar ng relihiyon, "isang magandang mito ang magsasabi sa atin ng isang bagay na mahalaga tungkol sa kalagayan ng tao. Ang mga alamat, sa pangkalahatan, ay mga alegorikal na kwento na iniaalok bilang tunay na pagmuni-muni, sa ilang diwa, ng katotohanan at ng mundo.” Tinukoy ni Heschel ang isang "mas malalim na kaalaman" at sinabi niya na "kung ano ang hindi natin masasabi." Heschel states about the ineffable aspect of consciousness which is beyond conscious expression: “Essential to human thought is not only the technique of symbolization but also the awareness of the ineffable. Sa bawat isipan ay may napakalaking tindahan ng hindi alam, ng pagiging tuliro, ng kababalaghan ng radikal na pagkamangha.” (Quest p.139) Naniniwala si Albert Einstein na ang intuwisyon at imahinasyon ay higit na mahalaga sa pag-unawa kaysa sa rational analysis at logical deduction. Ang iconic na neuroscientist na si Damasio ay naniniwala na ang mga tao ay may walang malay na pakiramdam ng pagiging. Ang argumento ng Rappaport na "Ang mga kahulugan ng mas mataas na pagkakasunud-sunod... ang mga kahulugan ng metapora, simbolo, at halaga, ay hindi direktang nakabatay sa mga obserbasyon sa kalikasan at sa gayon ay medyo malaya mula sa mga hadlang upang sumunod dito." (p. 84 Ecology) Ang Rappaport ay hindi lamang ang siyentipiko na gumawa ng pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng mga kahulugan na konektado sa pisikal na katotohanan at mga kahulugan ng mas mataas na pagkakasunud-sunod ng pagiging kumplikado. Si Roy Baumeister, isang kilalang social psychologist, ay gumagawa ng pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng mga kahulugan na nagmula sa pisikal na kapaligiran at iba pang mga kahulugan, pati na rin. Bilang isang mahalagang punto ng pagkakasunud-sunod, binigyang-diin ni Baumeister na - sa katunayan - mayroong "Walang Kahulugan sa Buhay" - na "Ang kahulugan ng Buhay sa katotohanan ay isang synthesis ng magkakaibang "kahulugan" ng buhay - na nagmula sa pamilya, mga kaibigan, edukasyon, paniniwala sa relihiyon, etnisidad, gayundin ang pagpapalaki at kultura. Siyempre - ang ganitong kumplikadong synthesis at holistic na nilalang ay lampas sa makatwirang pagsusuri at nangangailangan ng "mas malalim Gaya ng sinabi ni William James, “Ang katotohanan ay na sa metapisiko at relihiyong globo, ang mga articulate na dahilan ay matibay lamang para sa atin kapag ang ating hindi maipaliwanag na damdamin ng realidad ay napahanga na pabor sa parehong konklusyon…..Ang hindi makatwiran at agarang katiyakan ay ang malalim na bagay sa amin, ang reasoned argument ay ngunit isang ibabaw na eksibisyon. Instinct leads, intelligence does but follow.” (p. 48 na mga uri) Ang mahalagang ideya na inilalahad ni James ay tila, lalo na sa mga paniniwala sa relihiyon kung saan ang mga tao ay nakikipagbuno sa masalimuot at masalimuot na simbolismo at magkakaugnay na mga kahulugan na tila umaasa ang mga tao sa mga oras sa "hindi malinaw na damdamin ng katotohanan." Carl Jung na nagpahayag na "Ang isang simbolo ay nananatiling isang panghabang-buhay na hamon sa ating mga iniisip at nararamdaman. Iyon ay malamang na nagpapaliwanag kung bakit ang isang simbolikong gawa ay nakakasigla, kung bakit ito ay mahigpit na nakakahawak sa atin, ngunit kung bakit ito ay bihirang nagbibigay sa atin ng isang puro aesthetic na kasiyahan. Ang isang gawa na halatang hindi simbolikong nakakaakit ng higit sa ating aesthetic sensibility dahil kumpleto ito sa sarili nito at natutupad ang layunin nito." CV 588 119 Higit pa rito, sinabi ni Nancy Furlotti, na malawakang nag-aral kay Jung, na, " Ang epekto ay lumilitaw mula sa mga archetype, na kung saan ay ang a priori na mga prinsipyo ng pag-order ng kalikasan, mundo, at pag-iisip. Kapag ang isang archetype ay isinaaktibo, ang enerhiya ay inilalagay sa paggalaw na ginagawa. hindi sumunod sa mga batas ng causality, o oras at espasyo." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung's Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Ang Synthesis Consensus nina Carl Jung, William James, at Viktor Frankl ay nagmamasid na ang mga espirituwal na karanasan ay lumilikha ng isang pakiramdam ng katotohanan" na ang mga tao ay nagkaroon bilang resulta ng kanilang mga karanasan sa relihiyon. Ito ay tila madaling maliwanag na ang paghahatid ng isang pakiramdam ng katotohanan ay isang pangunahing tungkulin ng espirituwal at relihiyosong mga paniniwala ay upang lumikha ng isang pakiramdam ng katotohanan. Sikolohiyang salaysay Malinaw na ang mga alamat, sa mukha nito, ay mga salaysay o kwento. Naniniwala ang mga psychologist na ang mga bata sa edad na tatlo ay nagsisimula nang magsabi ng mga salaysay. Ang mga salaysay ay pang-araw-araw na bagay dahil, kung iisipin mo, lumilikha ka ng isang kuwento sa araw, bawat araw habang ginagawa at sinasabi natin ang mga bagay na hinahabi natin ang isang kuwento sa ating mga ulo - isang kuwento kung saan pupunta ang isa, kung ano ang ginagawa ng isa. , kung sino ang nakakakita, bakit nangyayari ang mga bagay at iba pa. Napakaliit ng ginagawa ng isang tao ay rational analysis. Nang matuklasan ng mga tao ang apoy at lumikha ng mga apoy sa kampo at ang mga tribong tao ay nagtipon sa paligid ng apoy, sigurado akong laganap ang udyok na magkuwento sa mga taong iyon. Kaya, malamang na ang mga salaysay ay nagmula sa pagkatuklas ng apoy milyun-milyong taon na ang nakalilipas. Tulad ng itinuturo ni Dan McAdams, "natutugunan ng mga kuwento ang isang pangunahing pangangailangan ng tao para sa pagiging kabilang... Dinadala nila tayo sa ibang panlipunang mundo... Bukod dito kapag nagbabahagi tayo ng mga kwento ng mga personal na karanasan dito sa mundo, nang walang mga bampira at mga wizard, ang mga kuwentong iyon ay nagbubuklod sa atin sa tao. mga kolektibo kung saan ang ating panlipunang pagkilos at ang ating mga motibasyon na proyekto ay nahahanap ang kanilang pang-araw-araw na kahulugan. Ang mga kwento ay maaaring ang perpektong mekanismo na nagbubuklod para sa mga likas na likas na matalino, eusocuial species na nakikita natin sa ating sarili, na nagtuturo sa atin kung paano maging tao habang pinaninindigan nila ang ating pagiging miyembro sa mga grupo ng tao." (p. 268 hanggang 269) Ang kapansin-pansing isyu ay ang mga salaysay at kwentong ito ay "nagbibigkis" ng mga tao at sa pamamagitan ng mga kwento o mito ay nagbabahagi ang mga tao ng isang karaniwang karanasan - at sa kaso ng aking, isang karaniwang ibinahaging kasaysayan at pamana. Ang Garden of Eden Myth sa Genesis ng Bibliya ay marahil ang quintessential at prototypal na paglalarawan ng isang mito. Ang ubod ng mito ay ang pagkilos nina Adan at Eba na kumain ng ipinagbabawal na bunga ng Puno ng Kaalaman. Kahit na ang isang paunang pagsusuri sa mito na iyon ay maghahayag ng alegoriko at simbolikal na kilos bilang gawa ng isang "hayop na naghahanap ng kahulugan." Dagdag pa, ang mito at salaysay ay naghahatid ng pag-unawa na ang kaalaman sa mabuti at masama ay humihimok ng isang maliwanag na masakit na kamalayan sa sarili na humihimok ng matinding kahihiyan at pagkakasala. Kung tutuusin, tinakpan nina Adan at Eba ang kanilang ari ng dahon ng igos. Kapansin-pansin na ang self-awareness ay na-highlight sa mito dahil napakakaunting mga species ng hayop ang lumilitaw na may anumang self-awareness dahil kakaunti ang nakakakilala sa kanilang sarili sa mga salamin (ibig sabihin, chimpanzees, elepante). Parang gustong itampok ng may-akda ang mga katangiang nagpapaiba sa tao sa hayop. Sasabihin sa iyo ng bawat siyentipiko na ang utak ng tao at ang isip ng tao - tulad ng kaalaman - ay ang pinaka natatanging katangian ng tao. Ang isang kagiliw-giliw na twist sa salaysay ay na sina Adan at Eba ay kumain mula sa puno ng kaalaman at sa gayon ay nakakaalam ng mabuti sa masama, ngunit sa Hebreo ang salitang "kaalaman" ay may ilang natatanging kahulugan ng isang matalik at isang personal na koneksyon. Sa pagtingin sa Lumang Tipan ay malinaw na ang "katuwiran" ay mahalaga sa salitang "kaalaman" marahil dahil ang kaalaman (at katotohanan) ay direktang sumasalungat sa kasinungalingan at pagsisinungaling. Kapansin-pansin na ang salitang Hebreo para sa kaalaman ay isinalin sa pag-uusap sa pagitan ni Abraham at ng Diyos sa isang pagkakataon bilang "tipan" sa halip na kaalaman. Syempre ang pag-unawa natin sa "kaalaman" ngayon ay konektado sa pilosopiya at agham. Ang walang hanggang siyentipiko o pilosopikal na mga katotohanan pati na rin ang "mga katotohanan" ay tila ang pangkalahatang pag-unawa sa "kaalaman ngayon. - na ganap na naiiba sa kung paano naunawaan ng mga sinaunang Hudyo ang kaalaman. Sinabi ni Blaise Pascal isang mathematician, physicist, manunulat at teologo, “Ang tao ay dapat kilalanin na minamahal; ngunit ang mga banal na nilalang ay dapat mahalin upang makilala.” Palagi akong may ilang mga problema sa pag-unawa sa pahayag na iyon ngunit ito ay tila kakaibang angkop sa kontekstong ito. Kaya, ang Garden of Eden Myth, bilang isang salaysay, ay naghahatid ng ideya ng tao bilang isang "ibig sabihin na naghahanap ng hayop" (kumakain ng bunga ng puno ng kaalaman) kung saan ang kamalayan sa sarili (kahiya at pagkakasala) ay nangyayari dahil sa kaalaman nakuha ng mali o tama at mabuti at masama. Ang mga dahon ng igos na tumatakip sa kanilang mga ari, siyempre, ay nagha-highlight sa isyu ng sekswalidad sa mga tao, at ang sex ay, para sa mabuti o mas masahol pa, isang malakas na puwersa sa kalikasan ng tao. Ang Garden of Eden Myth bilang isang Simbolikong Mapa Ang mga paniniwalang espirituwal-relihiyoso bilang kamalayang panlipunan at kaayusan sa lipunan-moral Ang social perception-consciousness ay panlipunang kaayusan: Ramon Reyes highlights the unifying aspect of spirituality in prehistoric Philippine society and early human society: "Sa kabuuan, panlipunan at moral na kaayusan ay sumasaklaw sa mga buhay na patay ang mga diyos at mga espiritu." Iyan ang espirituwal at relihiyosong paniniwala ng mga sinaunang lipunan ng tao na nilikha at pinanatili ang isang panlipunang kamalayan - isang panlipunan-moral na kaayusan. Makikita mo sa mitolohiya ni Zeus na ang parehong prinsipyo ay naaangkop. Inilarawan ni Zeus ang batas at kaayusan, karunungan, mabuting pakikitungo at panunumpa - lahat ng prosocial values. Sinusuportahan ng pananaliksik ni Ramon Reyes ang argumento ni Durkheim: “Sa katunayan, ang buong kaayusan ng lipunan ng Ifugao, kabilang ang mga praktikal na paraan ng pamumuhay, mga institusyong panlipunan at mga tuntunin, moralidad at lahat ng iba pa, ay bumubuo ng isang unitaryong sistema; at ito ay tinitingnan bilang isang relihiyosong kababalaghan ng supernatural na pinagmulan. Naglalarawan ng isang halimbawa ng prehistoric Filipino world-view na ito, sabi ng isang antropologo,. . . “Sa pagtrato sa kapaligiran bilang panlipunan, ang mga tao ay binibigyan ng maayos na pagpapaliwanag ng 'natural' na mga phenomena. Sa kabuuan, ang isang panlipunan at moral na kaayusan ay sumasaklaw sa mga buhay, mga patay, mga diyos at mga espiritu, at ang kabuuang kapaligiran.” Mga alamat bilang simbolikong mapa ng kamalayang panlipunan: (sipi mula sa sanaysay ng propeta ni Jeremias) Ang mga espirituwal na paniniwala ng sinaunang Griyego - partikular si Zeus - bilang isang kamalayan sa lipunan at kaayusan ng panlipunang moral. Si Zeus bilang simbolo ay "Ang nagtatag ng kapangyarihan ng hari, ng batas at ng kaayusan, kung saan si Dice, Themis at Nemesis ang kanyang mga katulong. Sa parehong dahilan ay pinoprotektahan niya ang kapulungan ng mga tao ( agoraios ), ang mga pulong ng konseho ( boulaios ), at habang siya ay namumuno sa buong estado, gayundin sa bawat bahay at pamilya. Binantayan din niya ang kabanalan ng panunumpa ( horkios ), ang batas ng mabuting pakikitungo ( xenios ), at mga protektadong suppliant. Pinaghiganti niya ang mga napinsala, at pinarusahan ang mga nakagawa ng krimen, dahil minamasdan niya ang mga ginagawa at pagdurusa ng lahat ng tao.” Sa The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, unang inilathala noong 1912, si Emile Durkheim, isang founding father of sociology, ay nagsabi na "Ang relihiyon ay isang pinag-isang sistema ng mga paniniwala at gawain na may kaugnayan sa mga sagradong bagay, ibig sabihin, mga bagay na inihiwalay at ipinagbabawal—mga paniniwala. at mga gawaing nagbubuklod sa isang pamayanang moral na tinatawag na Simbahan, lahat ng sumusunod sa kanila.” Ipinagtanggol nina Paloutzian at Park (p. 12), "ang relihiyon at espiritwalidad ay higit o hindi gaanong magkakaugnay, kultural na elaborated na mga sistema ng kahulugan na naka-embed at nakuha sa pamamagitan ng mga panlipunang relasyon at mga institusyong matatagpuan sa kumplikadong natural at binuo na mga kapaligiran." Pagsusuri sa Simbolismo sa Halamanan ng Eden Ang Garden of Eden Myth, bukod sa paglalagay ng pananaw sa kamalayan at pagkatao ng tao, ay nagpapaliwanag din ng pagdurusa. Ang Diyos, siyempre, kapag nalaman Niyang kinain nina Adan at Eva ang bunga ng puno ng kaalaman ay naghatol: Sa Genesis 17, ang Diyos, na nakikipag-usap kay Adan, ay nagsabi dahil ikaw ay “kumain ng bunga ng puno na aking iniutos sa iyo. , na nagsasabi: Huwag kang kakain niyaon; sumpain ang lupa dahil sa iyo; sa pagpapagal ay kakain ka niyaon sa lahat ng mga araw ng iyong buhay. 18 Mga tinik din at dawag ang isisibol sa iyo; at iyong kakainin ang damo sa parang. 19 Sa pawis ng iyong mukha ay kakain ka ng tinapay, hanggang sa ikaw ay bumalik sa lupa; sapagka't diyan ka kinuha; sapagka't ikaw ay alabok, at sa alabok ka babalik.'” Kaya, ang Garden of Eden Myth ay nagpapaliwanag ng pagdurusa, at sa kuwento ay hindi masisisi ng tao ang sinuman maliban sa kanyang sarili. Pagkatapos ay pinalayas ng Diyos sina Adan at Eva mula sa Halamanan ng Eden at naglagay ng dalawang Kerubin upang bantayan ang Halamanan ng Eden. Genesis 24 Sa gayo'y pinalayas niya ang lalake; at inilagay niya sa silangan ng halamanan ng Eden ang mga kerubin, at ang nagniningas na tabak na lumiliko sa lahat ng dako, upang ingatan ang daan patungo sa punong kahoy ng buhay.” Ang pilosopo, Stephen Burr, argues na ang pagpapalayas mula sa Hardin ng Eden ay isang gawa-gawa na pinagmulan para sa umiiral na makamundong existential pagpapatapon ng mga tao. Gayunpaman, sa mitolohiya ang kaalaman sa mabuti at masama ay ang puwersa na nagdudulot ng kamalayan sa sarili na nagreresulta sa kahihiyan at pagkakasala. Sinabi ni Karen Armstrong, "Tulad ng sining, ang relihiyon ay isang pagtatangka na bumuo ng kahulugan sa harap ng walang humpay na sakit at kawalang-katarungan ng buhay. Bilang kahulugan na naghahanap ng mga nilalang, ang mga lalaki at babae ay napakadaling mahulog sa kawalan ng pag-asa. Lumikha sila ng mga relihiyon at gawa ng sining upang tulungan silang makahanap ng halaga sa kanilang buhay, sa kabila ng lahat ng nakapanghihina ng loob na ebidensiya sa kabaligtaran.” (Case p.8) Ito ay kagiliw-giliw na si Karen Armstrong ay gumagawa ng koneksyon sa pagitan ng sakit at pagdurusa at kahulugan. Napansin ng ilang psychologist na ang sakit at pagdurusa ay madalas na nagdudulot ng mga proseso ng paghahanap ng kahulugan sa isip - na tila natural dahil tinatanong ng utak sa sarili, "Bakit ito (sakit) nangyayari?" Sa anumang kaso, masasabi kong hindi lamang kinikilala ng mga kontemporaryong siyentipiko at palaisip tulad nina Clifford Geertz, Roy Baumeister, Viktor Frankl, Paul Wong, Abraham Heschel, at Karen Armstrong, ang kahalagahan at kahalagahan ng "kahulugan" sa buhay ng mga tao ngunit napagtanto din ito ng mga sinaunang tao. Sa buod, ang Garden of Eden Myth ay naglalarawan sa tao bilang isang "meaning seeking animal" na may mahahalagang katangian ng kamalayan sa sarili na may pagkakasala at kahihiyan pati na rin ang sekswalidad, na hindi na kailangang sabihin, ay isang mahalagang kadahilanan sa kalikasan ng tao. Sasabihin sa iyo ng bawat siyentipiko na ang utak ng tao ang pinakamahalagang katangian ng tao na nag-iiba ng tao sa hayop - kaya ang "kaalaman" sa Garden of Eden Myth ay lubos na angkop. Ang mga alamat, siyempre, ay nauna sa nakasulat na mga kasulatan - marahil sa libu-libong taon kung hindi sampu-sampung libong taon. Naniniwala ang ilang antropologo na ang alamat ng Australian na "Dreamtime" ay nagmula sa libu-libong taon. Kaya, kung isasaalang-alang ang mitolohiyang ito ay malamang na nagsimula noong libu-libong taon at nagmula sa isang 'primitive' na tribo ng mga tao, ang mga primitive na ito ay talagang hindi gumagawa ng kalahating masama. Maaaring imungkahi pa ng isa na tumagal ng dalawang libong taon para maabot ng sibilisasyon ang primitive na tribong iyon. Mula sa bukang-liwayway ng sibilisasyon, kung gayon, tila ang "kahulugan" ay naging isang makapangyarihang puwersang intelektwal at espirituwal sa mga tao at sangkatauhan.
By Charles E Peck Jr November 12, 2024
Preamble: “There is no other sphere of human culture which is excluded from sympathetic academic consideration on its own terms on the grounds that such a study endangers science, reason, logic, and the whole heritage of the Enlightenment” (p.133). (p.36) Robert Bellah (1970b), [well known sociologist] The empirical and logical rationality that now only discovers and ascertains facts but that defines knowledge as knowledge of fact is not hospitable to the authority of either sanctity or value. Ultimate sacred postulates are no longer even counted as knowledge but are mere beliefs, if not superstitions. Values are defined by preference and as such become no more than matters of taste or of the arithmetic of economizing. ……………It is rationality that has no room for the insights of art, religion, fantasy, or dream. The evaluative capabilities of such a dispassionate but impoverished reason are limited, to say the least, and hardly trustworthy. Rappaport p. 130 Ecology, Meaning, & Religion Garden of Eden Myth: Symbolic map, myth, meaning and mode of thought We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light. Hildegard of Bingen Parables, Metaphors, Symbolism and Truth - Knowledge without Understanding is Deception. The Corinthians book in the Bible on gifts distinguishes between knowledge and wisdom. Modern academia often blurs the distinction – which results in many mistaking knowledge for truth. “An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world, marked by unwarranted optimism mixed with paranoia and a feeling of emptiness, has come about, reflecting, I believe, the unopposed action of a dysfunctional left hemisphere.” — Iain McGilchrist A Deeper Knowledge Jesus Christ and Buddha spoke in parables. The Islamic prophet Mohammed spoke of revelations. Karen Armstrong, a well-published scholar of religion states, “a good myth will tell us something valuable about the human predicament. Myths, generally speaking, are allegorical stories that are offered as genuine reflections, in some sense, of reality and the world.” Heschel refers to a “deeper knowledge” and observes that “what is we cannot say.” Heschel states about the ineffable aspect of consciousness which is beyond conscious expression: “Essential to human thought is not only the technique of symbolization but also the awareness of the ineffable. In every mind there is an enormous store of not-knowing, of being puzzled, of wonder of radical amazement.” (Quest p.139) Albert Einstein believed intuition and imagination were far more important to understanding than rational analysis and logical deduction. The iconic neuroscientist Damasio believed people have a nonconscious sense of being. Rappaport’s argument that “Higher order meanings… the meanings of metaphor, symbol, and value, are not grounded directly in observations of nature and are thus relatively free from constraints to conform to it.” (p. 84 Ecology) Rappaport is not the only scientist to make the distinction between meanings connected with physical reality and meanings of a higher order of complexity. Roy Baumeister, a prominent social psychologist, makes a distinction between meanings derived from the physical environment and other meanings, as well. As an important point of order, Baumeister, emphasized that – in actuality – there is “No Meaning to Life” – that “The meaning of Life is in truth a synthesis of the diverse “meanings” of life – derived from family, friends, education, religious beliefs, ethnicity, as well as upbringing and culture. Of course - such a complex synthesis and holistic being is beyond rational analysis and requires a “deeper As William James observes, “The truth is that in the metaphysical and religious sphere, articulate reasons are cogent for us only when our inarticulate feelings of reality have already been impressed in favor of the same conclusion…..The unreasoned and immediate assurance is the deep thing in us, the reasoned argument is but a surface exhibition. Instinct leads, intelligence does but follow.” (p. 48 varieties) The important idea James is presenting is that it seems, especially in religious beliefs where people are grappling with complex and intricate symbolism and inter-working meanings that people seem to rely at times on “inarticulate feelings of reality.” Carl Jung who stated that “A symbol remains a perpetual challenge to our thoughts and feelings. That probably explains why a symbolic work is so stimulating, why it grips us so intensely, but also why it seldom affords us a purely aesthetic enjoyment. A work that is manifestly not symbolic appeals much more to our aesthetic sensibility because it is complete in itself and fulfils its purpose.” CV 588 119 Furthermore, Nancy Furlotti, who extensively studied Jung, points out that, " Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) The Synthesis Consensus of Carl Jung, William James, and Viktor Frankl observe that spiritual experiences create a sense of reality” that the people had as a result of their religious experiences. It would seem readily apparent that conveying a sense of reality is a major function of spiritual and religious beliefs is to create a sense of reality. Narrative Psychology It is clear that myths, on the face of it, are narratives or stories. Psychologists believe children as young as three start telling narratives. Narratives are an everyday thing because, if you think about it, you are creating a story during the day, each and every day as we do and say things we weave a story in our heads – a story of where one goes, what one does, who one sees, why things happen and so forth. Very little of what a person does is rational analysis. When humans discovered fire and created campfires and the tribes people gathered around the campfire, I’m sure the impulse to tell stories was prevalent among those people. So, it would seem likely that narratives originated with the discovery of fire millions of years ago. As Dan McAdams points out, “stories meet a basic human need for belongingness…They transport us to another social world… Moreover when we share stories of personal experiences here on earth, without the vampires and the wizards, those stories bind us to the human collectives wherein our social action and our motivated projects find their daily meaning. Stories may be the perfect binding mechanism for the cognitively gifted, eusocuial species we find ourselves to be, teaching us how to be human as they affirm our membership within human groups.” (p. 268 to 269) The salient issue is that these narratives and stories “bind” people together and through the stories or myths people share a common experience – and in the case of my, a common shared history and heritage. The Garden of Eden Myth in Genesis of the Bible is perhaps the quintessential and prototypal illustration of a myth. The core of the myth is the act of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Even a precursory analysis of that myth would reveal the allegorical and symbolical act as the act of a “meaning seeking animal.” Further, the myth and narrative convey the understanding that the knowledge of good and evil invokes an evidently painful self-awareness that invokes strong feelings of shame and guilt. After all, Adam and Eve did cover their genitals with fig leaves. It is noteworthy that self-awareness is highlighted in the myth because very few animal species appear to have any self-awareness since few can recognize themselves in mirrors (i.e. chimpanzees, elephants). It’s as if the author wanted to highlight the characteristics that distinguish a human being from animals. Every scientist will tell you that the human brain and the human mind – as in knowledge - are the most distinctive characteristics of the human being. An interesting twist in the narrative is that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge and thus knew good from bad, but in Hebrew the word “knowledge” had some distinct connotations of an intimate and a personal connection. In looking through the Old Testament it is clear that “righteousness” was integral to the word “knowledge” perhaps because knowledge (and truth) opposed directly lies and lying. It is interesting that the Hebrew word for knowledge is translated in the dialogue between Abraham and God in one instance as “covenant” rather than knowledge. Of course our understanding of “knowledge” today is very connected with philosophy and science. Eternal scientific or philosophical truths as well as “facts” seem to be the general understanding of “knowledge today. - which is completely different from how the ancient Jews understood knowledge. Blaise Pascal a mathematician, physicist, writer and theologian observed, “Human beings must be known to be loved; but Divine beings must be loved to be known.” I always had some problems grasping that statement but it seems oddly appropriate in this context. So, the Garden of Eden Myth, as a narrative, conveys the idea of the human being as a “meaning seeking animal” (eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge) in whom self-awareness (shame and guilt) happens due to knowledge gained of wrong or right and good and evil. The fig leaves covering their genitals, of course, highlights the issue of sexuality in human beings, and sex is, for better or worse, a powerful force in human nature. The Garden of Eden Myth as a Symbolic Map Spiritual-religious beliefs as social consciousness and social-moral order Social perception-consciousness is social order: Ramon Reyes highlights the unifying aspect of spirituality in prehistoric Philippine societies and early human societies: “In sum, social and moral order encompasses the living the dead the deities and the spirits.” That is the spiritual and religious beliefs of early human societies created and maintained a social consciousness – a social-moral order. You can see in the mythology of Zeus that the same principle applies. Zeus epitomized law and order, wisdom, hospitality and oaths – all prosocial values. Ramon Reyes research supports Durkheim’s argument: “Indeed, the whole Ifugao social order, including practical ways of life, social institutions and rules, morality and everything else, constitutes a unitary system; and it is looked upon as a religious phenomenon of supernatural origin. Describing an example of this prehistoric Filipino world-view, an anthropologist says,. . . “In treating the environment as social, the people are provided with an ordered explanation of 'natural' phenomena. In sum, one social and moral order encompasses the living, the dead, the deities and the spirits , and the total environment.” Myths as symbolic maps of social consciousness: (excerpt from Jeremiah prophet essay) Ancient Greek spiritual beliefs – particularly Zeus – as a social consciousness and social-moral order. Zeus as a symbol was “The founder of kingly power, of law and of order, whence Dice, Themis and Nemesis are his assistants. For the same reason he protects the assembly of the people (agoraios), the meetings of the council (boulaios), and as he presides over the whole state, so also over every house and family. He also watched over the sanctity of the oath (horkios), the law of hospitality (xenios), and protected suppliants. He avenged those who were wronged, and punished those who had committed a crime, for he watched the doings and sufferings of all men.” In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, first published in 1912, Emile Durkheim, a founding father of sociology, stated that "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.” Paloutzian and Park (p. 12) contend, “religion and spirituality are more or less coherent, culturally elaborated meaning systems embedded in and acquired through social relationships and institutions situated in complex natural and built environments.” Analysis of the Symbolism in the Garden of Eden The Garden of Eden Myth, besides putting perspective on human consciousness and being, also explains suffering. God, of course, once He finds out Adam and Eve has eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge renders a judgment: In Genesis 17, God, speaking to Adam, says because thou “hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'” So, the Garden of Eden Myth explains suffering, and in the story man cannot blame anyone but himself. God then banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and places two Cherubim to guard the Garden of Eden. Genesis 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.” The philosopher, Stephen Burr, argues that the banishment from the Garden of Eden is a mythic source for the existent worldly existential exile of human beings. However, in the myth the knowledge of good and evil is the force that causes a self-awareness resulting in shame and guilt. Karen Armstrong observes, “Like art, religion is an attempt to construct meaning in the face of the relentless pain and injustice of life. As meaning seeking creatures, men and women fall very easily into despair. They have created religions and works of art to help them find value in their lives, despite all the dispiriting evidence to the contrary.” (Case p.8) It is interesting that Karen Armstrong makes the connection between pain and suffering and meaning. Several psychologists note that pain and suffering frequently invoke meaning seeking processes in the mind – which would seem natural since the brain asks of itself, “Why is this (pain) happening?” In any case, I would argue not only do contemporary scientists and thinkers like Clifford Geertz, Roy Baumeister, Viktor Frankl, Paul Wong, Abraham Heschel, and Karen Armstrong, recognize the importance and significance of “meaning” in the lives of human beings but ancient peoples realized it as well. In summary, the Garden of Eden Myth portrays the human being as a “meaning seeking animal” with the important characteristics of self-awareness with guilt and shame as well as sexuality, which needless to say, is an important factor in human nature. Every scientist will tell you that the human brain is the most significant characteristic of the human being that differentiates the human being from the animal – so highlight “knowledge” in the Garden of Eden Myth would be highly appropriate. Myths, of course, predate the written scriptures – possibly by thousands of years if not tens of thousands of years. Some anthropologists believe the Australian “Dreamtime” myth dates back tens of thousands of years. So, considering this myth probably dates back perhaps thousands of years and originated in a ‘primitive’ tribe of people, these primitives really didn’t do half-bad. One might even suggest that it took two thousand years for civilization to catch up to that primitive tribe. From the dawn of civilization, then, it would seem “meaning” has been a powerful intellectual and spiritual force in human beings and humanity.
By Charles E Peck Jr November 11, 2024
Profezia di Geremia: Profeti dell'Antico Testamento = Quando la morte nazionale minaccia e l'uomo, non come un atomo, ma come parte di un organismo sociale (Stibitz) + credenze spirituali e religiose come "ordine socio-morale" (R Reyes) Profezia come giustizia sociale e profezia come insegnamenti (parola di Dio), + Profezia come forza Preambolo: Profezia ieri e oggi: 1. "La profezia biblica o profezia biblica comprende i passaggi della Bibbia che si sostiene riflettano comunicazioni da Dio agli esseri umani attraverso i profeti. I cristiani di solito ritengono che i profeti biblici abbiano ricevuto rivelazioni da Dio." (Wikipedia) 2. La profezia teologica è una previsione di eventi futuri che si ritiene sia divinamente ispirata e comunicata a un profeta da un essere soprannaturale. La parola "profezia" deriva dalla parola greca prophēteia , che significa "dono di interpretare la volontà di Dio". La “Truffa del Soprannaturale”: La parola “soprannaturale” appare tre volte nei Vangeli, e non è mai stata usata da Gesù Cristo. La parola “soprannaturale” è un termine materialista che non ha definizione e trasmette un significato completamente diverso dai Vangeli, come magia, poteri, predizione della sfera di cristallo, ecc. Breve sinossi di come Cristo descrive lo Spirito Santo: I Vangeli sinottici, in genere, hanno meno da dire sullo Spirito Santo rispetto a Giovanni. Il Vangelo di Marco è quello che ha meno da dire, menzionando lo Spirito Santo solo sei volte. Come tutti i Vangeli, Marco sottolinea il battesimo e in particolar modo il battesimo di Gesù. Infatti, questo è il punto forte della scrittura di Marco sullo Spirito Santo: che l'opera di Cristo è superiore e migliore proprio perché egli battezza nello Spirito Santo, non solo nell'acqua. Esempi rapidi: Apocalisse (Luca 2:26), guidato (Luca 2:27), battezzare (3 incluso Luca 3:27), guarire i cuori spezzati (Luca 4:18), recuperare la vista (come 4:18), insegnare (come 12:11-12), dare potere (Luca 24:49) aspettare (Luca 24:49) Battesimo (Giovanni 3: 5), libero come il vento (Giovanni 3: 8). Vivo (Giovanni 6: 63), acqua viva (Giovanni 7:37-39). Consolatore ("intercessore, consolatore, avvocato") (Giovanni 14: 16). Invisibile, sconosciuto, estraneo al mondo (Giovanni 14: 17). Consolatore divino (Giovanni 14 v.18). vedere Gesù (14: 19). vita di risurrezione Gesù vive (Giovanni 14: 19). vita di risurrezione Gesù vive (Giovanni 14: 19) Consolatore (Giovanni 15: 26). Egli è lo Spirito di verità (Giovanni 15: 26). Dobbiamo "aspettare" finché non Lo riceviamo (v.49). Per dare un'idea, uno studio ha rivelato che, sebbene la religiosità sia diminuita notevolmente tra i giovani in Inghilterra, si è registrato un aumento delle credenze nella vita dopo la morte. Profezia irlandese contro Oracolo di Delfi Differenze culturali relative alla spiritualità e alla profezia COME Caroline Francis Richardson osserva nel suo articolo "The Use of Prophecy in the Irish tales of the Heroic Cycle", la profezia irlandese/celtica era/è piuttosto diversa e distinta da altre forme di profezia, e quindi avrebbe probabilmente anche una componente genetica distinta (per la cronaca ). La profezia irlandese non aveva alcuna somiglianza con l'antica profezia greca e il suo fascino per gli oracoli, come l'oracolo di Delfi. Caroline Richardson sottolinea che, a differenza della tradizione irlandese che non aveva sacerdoti o organizzazioni gerarchiche, a differenza dell'antica religione greca che consisteva in "Un corpo organizzato di sacerdoti interpretava gli oracoli di Zeus e Apollo ed era in grado, quindi, di colorare le politiche della nazione e di influenzare il carattere dell'intero popolo così come degli individui". (p. 394) Inoltre, la profezia irlandese non aveva alcuna somiglianza con l'attenzione sulla profezia sociale della giustizia e delle alleanze, dei profeti dell'Antico Testamento che spesso promettevano l'ira di Dio per ingiustizie e idolatria. Caroline Richardson riassume la profezia irlandese/celtica in questi termini: "La profezia non è il possesso di un singolo gruppo di persone; non ha un'abitazione locale; non ha influenza sulle politiche della nazione o sugli individui; non è parte integrante della trama delle storie. E in questi racconti la trama è la cosa, non spesso una trama finita, ma qualcosa di definito ha luogo; uomini e donne, e il Twatha de Danaan agiscono!" (p.395) Caroline Francis Richardson osserva nel suo articolo "The Use of Prophecy in the Irish tales of the Heroic Cycle", The Sewanee Review, ottobre 1913, vol. 21. n. 4 (ottobre 1913, pp. 385-396) Sembra subito evidente che il concetto di percezione della sfera di cristallo abbia avuto origine dalla cultura greca e in particolare dal modello dell'Oracolo di Delfi. Come nomina di informazione, la parola ebraica originale (yada) per conoscenza aveva un contesto "da vicino e personale", specialmente nel contesto di Yahweh. Il cristianesimo ha assimilato la filosofia greca e questo fattore sembra aver cambiato l'orientamento dei cristiani. I Corinzi (Doni) fanno una distinzione tra saggezza e conoscenza, per esempio. Prefazione: I profeti si occuparono dell'uomo non come di un atomo, ma come di una parte di un organismo sociale, di un membro vivente di un corpo vivente. Come il filosofo spagnolo Ortega Gasset, io sono "io" e le mie circostanze. I profeti probabilmente non sarebbero diversi! I profeti si occuparono dell'uomo non come di un atomo, ma come di una parte di un organismo sociale, un membro vivente di un corpo vivente. Guarire questo corpo quando era malato (Isaia 1:6), metterlo in guardia contro la dissoluzione imminente e riportarlo sui sentieri che conducono alla perfezione in Dio, era la loro grande e unica missione (Geremia 6:6). Quindi, erano sempre più numerosi quando la morte nazionale minacciava. Proprio prima della caduta di Samaria e della caduta di Gerusalemme li troviamo all'opera nel maggior numero e con la massima energia. (I PROFETI DELL'ANTICO TESTAMENTO COME RIFORMATORI SOCIALI. Di REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) Geremia e Giuda: Il regno meridionale di Giuda cadde durante il ministero profetico di Geremia (586 a.C.), dopo essere stato minacciato per molti anni da potenze esterne, prima l'Assiria e l'Egitto e poi dai loro eventuali conquistatori, Babilonia. Geremia si ritrovò a parlare a una nazione che si stava precipitando a capofitto verso il giudizio di Dio. moderna : Come punto informativo, vorrei sottolineare che l'evento dell'11 settembre, secondo una serie di "resoconti di esperti", ha generato un gran numero di esperienze precognitive documentate. Ricerca per la prospettiva: "I tragici eventi dell'11 settembre hanno portato una raffica di casi all'attenzione dei laboratori di parapsicologia. I casi spaziavano da sogni drammatici di aerei che si schiantavano o esplodevano ai più frequenti esempi di insolite deviazioni dalle normali routine che finivano per salvare la vita di qualcuno". (Incontri alle frontiere del tempo: domande sollevate da esperienze umane anomale Richard S. Broughton) Storicamente, questo è inaudito, senza precedenti, non ci sono preveggenze storiche documentate, esperienze precognitive di terrorismo, zero. Ci sono circa otto avvertimenti documentati, preveggenze di assassinii, ma nessuno di terrorismo. L'implicazione è che qualcosa è cambiato nella coscienza umana. “Un mondo sempre più meccanicistico, frammentato e decontestualizzato,… è emerso, riflettendo, credo, l’azione incontrastata di un emisfero sinistro disfunzionale.” — Iain McGilchrist Coscienza sociale storica e ordine socio-morale “L’uomo, non come atomo, ma come parte di un organismo sociale, membro vivente di un corpo vivente” Credenze spirituali-religiose come coscienza sociale e ordine socio-morale La percezione-coscienza sociale è ordine sociale: Ramon Reyes sottolinea l'aspetto unificante della spiritualità nelle società filippine preistoriche e nelle prime società umane: "In sintesi, l'ordine sociale e morale comprende i vivi, i morti, le divinità e gli spiriti". Cioè le credenze spirituali e religiose delle prime società umane hanno creato e mantenuto una coscienza sociale, un ordine socio-morale. Si può vedere nella mitologia di Zeus che si applica lo stesso principio. Zeus incarnava legge e ordine, saggezza, ospitalità e giuramenti, tutti valori prosociali. La ricerca di Ramon Reyes supporta l'argomentazione di Durkheim: "In effetti, l'intero ordine sociale degli Ifugao, compresi i modi di vita pratici, le istituzioni e le regole sociali, la moralità e tutto il resto, costituisce un sistema unitario; ed è considerato un fenomeno religioso di origine soprannaturale. Descrivendo un esempio di questa visione del mondo filippina preistorica, un antropologo afferma, . . "Nel trattare l'ambiente come sociale, alle persone viene fornita una spiegazione ordinata dei fenomeni 'naturali'. In sintesi, un ordine sociale e morale comprende i vivi, i morti, le divinità e gli spiriti, e l'ambiente totale". I miti come mappe simboliche della coscienza sociale Le credenze spirituali dell'antica Grecia, in particolare Zeus, come coscienza sociale e ordine socio-morale. Zeus come simbolo era "Il fondatore del potere regale, della legge e dell'ordine, da cui Dice, Themis e Nemesis sono i suoi assistenti. Per la stessa ragione protegge l'assemblea del popolo ( agoraios ), le riunioni del consiglio ( boulaios ), e come presiede l'intero stato, così anche ogni casa e famiglia. Vegliava anche sulla santità del giuramento ( horkios ), sulla legge dell'ospitalità ( xenios ), e proteggeva i supplicanti. Vendicava coloro che erano stati offesi e puniva coloro che avevano commesso un crimine, perché osservava le azioni e le sofferenze di tutti gli uomini". Nelle Forme elementari della vita religiosa, pubblicate per la prima volta nel 1912, Emile Durkheim, uno dei padri fondatori della sociologia, affermava che "Una religione è un sistema unificato di credenze e pratiche relative a cose sacre, vale a dire cose separate e proibite, credenze e pratiche che uniscono in un'unica comunità morale chiamata Chiesa tutti coloro che vi aderiscono". Paloutzian e Park (p. 12) sostengono che “la religione e la spiritualità sono sistemi di significato più o meno coerenti, elaborati culturalmente, incorporati e acquisiti attraverso relazioni sociali e istituzioni situate in ambienti naturali e costruiti complessi”. Prefazione: Ruach Hakodesh Tutti i Profeti hanno parlato «nello Spirito Santo»; e il segno più caratteristico della presenza dello Spirito Santo è il dono della profezia, nel senso che la persona su cui esso poggia contempla il passato e il futuro. Nell'ebraismo, lo Spirito Santo (in ebraico: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) si riferisce alla forza divina, alla qualità e all'influenza di Dio sull'universo o sulle creature di Dio, in determinati contesti. Il termine "spirito santo" appare tre volte nella Bibbia ebraica: il Salmo 51 si riferisce al "tuo spirito santo" (ruach kodshecha) [3] e Isaia si riferisce due volte al "suo spirito santo" (ruach kodsho).[4] Il termine ruach haqodesh si trova frequentemente nella letteratura talmudica e midrashica. In alcuni casi, significa ispirazione profetica, mentre in altri è usato come ipostatizzazione o metonimia per Dio. La comprensione rabbinica dello Spirito Santo ha un certo grado di personificazione, ma rimane "una qualità appartenente a Dio, uno dei suoi attributi".[8] L'idea di Dio come dualità o trinità è considerata Con la morte degli ultimi tre profeti (Aggeo, Zaccaria e Malachia), lo Spirito Santo cessò di manifestarsi in Israele e solo il Bat Kol rimase a disposizione dei saggi. Lo Spirito Santo di Cristo I Vangeli sinottici, in genere, hanno meno da dire sullo Spirito Santo rispetto al Vangelo di Giovanni. Il Vangelo di Marco ha meno da dire e menziona lo Spirito Santo solo sei volte. Come tutti i Vangeli, Marco evidenzia il battesimo nello Spirito come il segno distintivo di Gesù. Infatti, questo è il punto forte della scrittura di Marco sullo Spirito Santo: che l'opera di Cristo è superiore e migliore proprio perché battezza nello Spirito Santo, non solo nell'acqua. Luca rispecchia ciò che Marco dice nel capitolo 24, versetto 49: La "promessa del Padre" è il battesimo nello Spirito Santo". 1 Giovanni 2:27 dice "l'unzione che avete ricevuto da lui rimane in voi" (1 Giovanni 2:27). La metafora per "battesimo nello Spirito Santo" è diventata nel "cristianesimo" un aspetto fondamentale di "Cristo". La metafora prende l'idea della purificazione del corpo umano attraverso il battesimo con l'acqua e la estende alla purificazione dello spirito umano tramite il battesimo nello Spirito Santo. Questo saggio su Geremia si concentra sulla frequente attenzione nella teologia cristiana alla coscienza sociale (cioè al patto) e all'attivismo sociale, come nella giustizia, ecc. Aggiungo, naturalmente, che lo Spirito Santo è un aspetto importante della profezia. Sottolineo che considerare la profezia esclusivamente e interamente come una predizione sminuisce la vera natura della profezia e la coscienza sociale come forza George Barton; Come l'esilio babilonese e Geremia influenzarono il pensiero e la teologia ebraica: "L'influenza dell'esilio babilonese è discernibile in tre grandi ambiti della vita: (I) nell'apprensione della verità religiosa; (2) nell'organizzazione esteriore della vita religiosa; e (3) negli standard della morale pubblica. Cercheremo di trattare brevemente ciascuno di questi punti, ma prima di farlo sono necessarie alcune parole in riferimento alla natura dell'esilio stesso." (INFLUENZA DELL'ESILIO BABILONESE SULLA RELIGIONE DI ISRAELE, PROFESSOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) La casa del vasaio: la profezia di Geremia sulla casa del vasaio - Senso della situazione storica e formazione della coscienza socio-collettiva Geremia parla della costrizione e della coercizione che sentiva e che lo spingevano a parlare e ad agire: "Se dico: "Non lo menzionerò (Dio), e non parlerò più in suo nome, c'è nel mio cuore come un fuoco ardente, chiuso nelle mie ossa, e mi sforzo di contenerlo, e non ci riesco". (Geremia 20:9) Nella profezia di Geremia erano coinvolte emozioni profonde e presumibilmente anche istinti sociali. Nonostante la persecuzione, Geremia persiste nei suoi comportamenti. Eppure, Geremia sembra credere che Dio non gli avrebbe fatto passare quello che ha passato, e si chiede perché, di fatto, è sottoposto a persecuzione. Geremia si lamenta che Dio lo ha ingannato e per questo "Sono oggetto di scherno ogni giorno, tutti si prendono gioco di me" (Geremia 20:7) Geremia: “18 Questa è la parola che fu rivolta a Geremia dal Signore: 2 «Scendi nella casa del vasaio e là ti darò il mio messaggio». 3 Allora scesi nella casa del vasaio e lo vidi lavorare alla ruota. 4 Ma il vaso che egli stava modellando con l'argilla si era rovinato nelle sue mani; così il vasaio ne fece un altro vaso, modellandolo come gli sembrò meglio. 5 Allora la parola del Signore mi fu rivolta. 6 Egli disse: «Non posso io fare con te, Israele, quello che fa questo vasaio?», dice il Signore. «Come l'argilla nelle mani del vasaio, così siete voi nelle mie mani, Israele. 7 Se in qualsiasi momento annuncio che una nazione o un regno devono essere sradicati, abbattuti e distrutti, 8 e se quella nazione che ho avvertito si pente della sua malvagità, allora mi pentirò e non le infliggerò il disastro che avevo progettato. 9 E se in un altro momento annuncio che una nazione o un regno deve essere edificato e piantato, 10 e se fa ciò che è male ai miei occhi e non mi obbedisce, allora riconsidererò il bene che avevo pensato di fargli». Nuovo paradigma e modello: cavallo che traina un carro carico di merci! Se si fa un passo indietro e si guarda alla profezia in un senso più ampio, specialmente in termini di cicli e scopi storici, sembra chiaro che, alla fine, ciò che la profezia ha spesso storicamente compiuto è stato produrre influenze significative sul modo in cui alcune persone guardano al mondo e ha chiaramente influenzato la coscienza sociale e spirituale di molte persone religiose. Cioè, la profezia plasma la coscienza umana. Vorrei sostenere che si potrebbe fare un'analogia tra un cavallo che traina un carro con beni al suo interno e la profezia. Ci sono tre parti o aspetti che vengono affrontati: il cavallo-energizzatore, il carro o la narrazione e i beni o il messaggio o la Parola di Dio. Paradigma carrozza-cavallo-merci In questa analogia, il cavallo sarebbe la profezia-previsione che dà energia alla profezia. Donald Kalsched, uno studioso junghiano, osserva sugli archetipi, che in generale sono visti come predisposizioni attitudinali o comportamentali nell'inconscio della mente umana, che "L'energia archetipica è radicata profondamente nell'inconscio ed è 'arcaica', primitiva e anche 'tipica'. Le energie e gli affetti archetipici non sono facilmente assimilabili dalla mente cosciente. Possono essere luminosi o oscuri, angelici o demoniaci, ma poiché esistono in forma grezza e non mediata tendono a essere travolgenti". Nancy Furlotti riecheggia questa affermazione quando dice: "L'affetto emerge dagli archetipi, che sono i principi ordinatori a priori della natura, del mondo e della psiche. Quando un archetipo viene attivato, viene messa in moto un'energia che non aderisce alle leggi della causalità, o del tempo e dello spazio". (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung's Red Book: (2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Le credenze e le idee sono molto reali e incredibilmente potenti e, come osservano sia James che Jung, il simbolismo religioso è spesso sovralimentato dall'energia emotiva. L'idea di spirito e profezia come energia e forza è molto reale, specialmente alla luce di una coscienza collettiva. Il secondo aspetto o caratteristica della profezia sarebbe la narrazione del profeta che fungeva da carro per trasportare i beni, o messaggio della profezia. Ogni libro di profezie e ogni profeta racconta una storia e presenta una narrazione. Come ha osservato uno psicologo, le narrazioni sono la forma di conoscenza più antica, la più antica e la più antica, risalente senza dubbio a milioni di anni fa, quando la specie umana scoprì per la prima volta il fuoco e si riunì attorno a esso, il che naturalmente portò alla narrazione. La psicologia narrativa è emersa per la prima volta solo negli anni '70, un concetto sviluppato dallo psicologo narrativo Dan P. McAdams è l'idea di narrazioni impiegate come modelli di storie di vita che hanno plasmato l'identità e sviluppato la personalità in strutture sofisticate. La storia della vita e degli sforzi del profeta, in questo caso, ha servito come narrazioni o storie che hanno servito a plasmare il pensiero spirituale e religioso, nonché a dare forma ai conflitti culturali. Come i miti, le narrazioni profetiche hanno servito come veicolo per trasmettere realtà e verità spirituali, che naturalmente erano i "beni" trasportati dal carro. La casa del vasaio: la profezia di Geremia sulla casa del vasaio - Senso della situazione storica e formazione della coscienza socio-collettiva Geremia parla della costrizione e della coercizione che sentiva e che lo spingevano a parlare e ad agire: "Se dico: "Non lo menzionerò (Dio), e non parlerò più in suo nome, c'è nel mio cuore come un fuoco ardente, chiuso nelle mie ossa, e mi sforzo di contenerlo, e non ci riesco". (Geremia 20:9) Nella profezia di Geremia erano coinvolte emozioni profonde e presumibilmente anche istinti sociali. Nonostante la persecuzione, Geremia persiste nei suoi comportamenti. Eppure, Geremia sembra credere che Dio non gli avrebbe fatto passare quello che ha passato, e si chiede perché, di fatto, è sottoposto a persecuzione. Geremia si lamenta che Dio lo ha ingannato e per questo "Sono oggetto di scherno ogni giorno, tutti si prendono gioco di me" (Geremia 20:7) Geremia: “18 Questa è la parola che fu rivolta a Geremia dal Signore: 2 «Scendi nella casa del vasaio e là ti darò il mio messaggio». 3 Allora scesi nella casa del vasaio e lo vidi lavorare alla ruota. 4 Ma il vaso che egli stava modellando con l'argilla si era rovinato nelle sue mani; così il vasaio ne fece un altro vaso, modellandolo come gli sembrò meglio. 5 Allora la parola del Signore mi fu rivolta. 6 Egli disse: «Non posso io fare con te, Israele, quello che fa questo vasaio?», dice il Signore. «Come l'argilla nelle mani del vasaio, così siete voi nelle mie mani, Israele. 7 Se in qualsiasi momento annuncio che una nazione o un regno devono essere sradicati, abbattuti e distrutti, 8 e se quella nazione che ho avvertito si pente della sua malvagità, allora mi pentirò e non le infliggerò il disastro che avevo progettato. 9 E se in un altro momento annuncio che una nazione o un regno deve essere edificato e piantato, 10 e se fa ciò che è male ai miei occhi e non mi obbedisce, allora riconsidererò il bene che avevo pensato di fargli». Ciò che Geremia presenta qui è una visione di forze potenti (Dio) che cambieranno e plasmeranno il popolo e la fede ebraica. Da una certa prospettiva, come mostrerò più avanti, la Profezia di Geremia sulla Casa del Vasaio, questa visione di forze enormi (Dio) che avrebbero influenzato e plasmato la nazione ebraica, si è rivelata una delle sue profezie più fruttuose. Per dare una prospettiva, vorrei sottolineare il fatto che, se si fa un passo indietro e si guarda alla profezia in un senso più ampio, specialmente in termini di cicli e scopi storici, in generale, sembra che, da lontano, ciò che la profezia ha spesso "storicamente" raggiunto e realizzato è di produrre influenze significative sulle visioni del mondo delle persone e nell'Ebraismo e nel Cristianesimo ha plasmato la coscienza sociale e spirituale di molte persone religiose. Cioè, la profezia plasma la coscienza umana. Vorrei sostenere che si potrebbe fare un'analogia tra un cavallo che traina un carro con delle merci al suo interno e la profezia. Vengono prese in considerazione tre parti o aspetti: il cavallo-motore, il carro o la narrazione e i beni o il messaggio o Parola di Dio. Profezia come coscienza sociale George Barton, PhD: “Il disastro e il dolore costringono un'anima o una nazione a cercare di nuovo le fondamenta della vita. I tempi di dolore sono di conseguenza tempi di crescita religiosa. L'esilio babilonese non fece eccezione. In effetti, l'influenza di questo esilio sulla religione di Israele fu enorme. Ciò fu in parte dovuto al fatto che l'esilio fu l'evento esterno necessario per cristallizzare i risultati di influenze profetiche che erano state all'opera per lungo tempo, ma fu anche in parte dovuto all'approfondimento e alla chiarificazione della percezione religiosa che il disastro e il dolore portano.” George Barton spiega: "L'influenza dell'esilio babilonese è discernibile in tre grandi ambiti della vita: (I) nell'apprensione della verità religiosa; (2) nell'organizzazione esteriore della vita religiosa; e (3) negli standard della morale pubblica. Cercheremo di trattare brevemente ciascuno di questi punti, ma prima di farlo sono necessarie alcune parole in riferimento alla natura dell'esilio stesso". (INFLUENZA DELL'ESILIO BABILONESE SULLA RELIGIONE DI ISRAELE, PROFESSOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) Quindi, qui Barton, che riecheggia chiaramente un certo numero di studiosi, e afferma chiaramente che la profezia di Geremia, combinata con la sofferenza e il dolore dell'esilio, cambiò in modo benefico la teologia e la visione del mondo dell'Ebraismo. Un punto molto saliente Dalla descrizione di Geremia della spinta - e della compulsione - che lo spinse a pronunciare la Parola di Dio, sembrerebbe subito evidente che erano all'opera emozioni profonde e potenti istinti spirituali. Quindi, si potrebbe concludere che la lungimiranza e la profezia, in una certa misura, potrebbero essere viste in termini di un istinto correlato al gruppo, e la Parola di Dio sembra essere anche un'espressione di un istinto sociale poiché promuove i concetti di giustizia, i bisogni degli oppressi e dei deboli, così come la rettitudine. Geremia è l'illustrazione perfetta di come la profezia abbia cambiato la coscienza umana. Conclusioni su Geremia Devo dire che, secondo me, Geremia fece esattamente ciò che doveva fare. Fornì leadership e guida. E fornì un quadro di ciò che sarebbe accaduto in futuro. Per me, cavillare sul fatto che Geremia non abbia calcolato il numero preciso di anni dell'esilio sarebbe come criticare Geremia perché si è slacciato le scarpe. A mia conoscenza, nessuno ha mai predetto la data esatta di un evento, tranne forse per l'assassinio di Cesare, su cui c'è un dibattito storico. Come ha osservato lo studioso biblico Thompson, "se lo consideriamo [il numero settanta] come un simbolo di "molti" (Giudici 1:7; 8:14; 1 Sam. 6:19; 2 Sam. 24:15; Sal. 90:10; ecc.), servirà allo scopo che Geremia probabilmente intendeva". (p.514) 58 anni per me significano "molto tempo" e Geremia aveva ragione: è stato molto tempo. Ciò che mi ha colpito è che Geremia non solo sapeva che l'esilio non sarebbe finito tanto presto, ma si è fatto avanti e ha "sfidato" i falsi profeti. La mia argomentazione è che la profezia è una narrazione e che in questa particolare profezia, Geremia ha creato una narrazione che, alla fine, ha funzionato molto bene nel plasmare la coscienza e il futuro. A mio avviso Geremia ha fatto il suo lavoro, molto bene in realtà. Il modo in cui guardi le cose è la forza più potente nel dare forma alla tua vita. Il poeta teologo irlandese John O'Donohue 1. "Poche persone hanno l'immaginazione per la realtà!" - Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (1749 - 1832), poeta, drammaturgo, romanziere, scienziato e statista tedesco, sembra profetizzare accuratamente la rivoluzione scientifica della meccanica quantistica e dell'entanglement quantistico (in cui lo "spin" delle particelle subatomiche è sincronizzato - a velocità superiori a quella della luce - 2. Niels Bohr, fisico danese e pioniere della fisica quantistica, ha affermato che "Se la meccanica quantistica non vi ha profondamente scioccato, non l'avete ancora capita. Tutto ciò che chiamiamo reale è fatto di cose che non possono essere considerate reali." - Ciò suggerirebbe che è necessaria una rivalutazione della nostra comprensione del mondo, dell'universo e, naturalmente, della Verità, un universo di necessità. 3. Il futuro ha causato il passato. Professor Truscott Il professor Truscott ha concluso che l'esperimento ha dimostrato che: "Un evento futuro fa sì che il fotone decida il suo passato". (L'esperimento conferma la stranezza della teoria quantistica Science Daily, 27 maggio 2015 Australian National University) Riepilogo dell'esperimento: la natura bizzarra della realtà come delineata dalla teoria quantistica è sopravvissuta a un altro test, con scienziati che hanno eseguito un famoso esperimento e dimostrato che la realtà non esiste finché non viene misurata. I fisici hanno condotto l'esperimento mentale della scelta ritardata di John Wheeler, che coinvolge un oggetto in movimento a cui viene data la possibilità di agire come una particella o un'onda. Il gruppo ha invertito l'esperimento originale di Wheeler e ha utilizzato atomi di elio dispersi dalla luce. Se si sceglie di credere che l'atomo abbia realmente preso un percorso o dei percorsi particolari, allora si deve accettare che una misurazione futura stia influenzando il passato dell'atomo, ha detto Truscott. .... Quindi, la forma che avrebbe assunto dopo aver attraversato la prima grata dipendeva dal fatto che la seconda grata fosse stata messa in posizione in seguito. Pertanto, se continuasse come una particella o si trasformasse in un'onda non fu deciso finché un evento futuro non si fosse già verificato. Il tempo è andato all'indietro. Causa ed effetto sembrano essere invertiti. Il futuro ha causato il passato. La freccia del tempo sembrava funzionare al contrario. 4. Stephen Hawking: Einstein e il viaggio nel tempo "Un tempo si pensava che il viaggio nel tempo fosse solo fantascienza, ma la teoria generale della relatività di Einstein ammette la possibilità di deformare lo spazio-tempo a tal punto da poter partire a bordo di un razzo e tornare indietro prima di partire. Prefazione a “Profezia”: Definizione di profezia di Marriam-Webster Per dare una prospettiva, ci sono visioni diverse e contrastanti della profezia e la situazione sembra molto difficile da risolvere in quanto la definizione accettata di profezia esclude una comprensione teologica comune. 1: un'espressione ispirata di un profeta 2: la funzione o vocazione di un profeta (in particolare: la dichiarazione ispirata della volontà e del proposito divino) 3: una previsione di qualcosa che verrà (4:) A questa definizione di profezia, bisogna aggiungere la profezia come attivismo e promozione della giustizia sociale, tema comune e molto rilevante per i leader e i teologi cristiani. La mia tesi è che la “profezia” è in parte una forza dello Spirito Santo – o dal punto di vista psicologico, una forza nella coscienza socio-collettiva. La coscienza sociale è ordine sociale: Prospettiva nella profezia: congregazione e coscienza sociale L'ideale dei profeti non è una chiesa o una congregazione di credenti adoratori, ma una comunità, una società o uno stato di uomini e donne simili a Dio che vivono insieme nell'amore e nella verità sotto il Messia come re, che è pieno dello spirito di Dio, che esercita giustizia e giudizio verso i poveri e gli indifesi (Isaia 9: I-7; I1: 1-5). Dichiarazione d'indipendenza americana: "Riteniamo che queste verità siano di per sé evidenti, che tutti gli uomini sono creati uguali, che sono dotati dal loro Creatore di alcuni Diritti inalienabili, che tra questi vi sono la Vita, la Libertà e la ricerca della Felicità". Gran parte della coscienza umana riguarda gli ideali, il giusto e lo sbagliato. Come Hume osservò secoli fa, c'è una netta differenza tra il "dover essere" e l'"essere", e il giusto e lo sbagliato vanno oltre l'indagine scientifica. Secoli dopo, anche Einstein confermò questo fatto. Jung sottolineò che i simboli, in sé e per sé, sono processi cognitivi esterni. Come osserva il dott. Stephen Farra, "I nostri modelli sono la nostra realtà, ma i modelli Non sono la realtà. I PROFETI DELL'ANTICO TESTAMENTO COME RIFORMATORI SOCIALI. Di REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphia, Pa. Comunità Cristiana L'ideale dei profeti non è una chiesa o una congregazione di credenti adoranti, ma una comunità, una società o uno stato di uomini e donne simili a Dio che vivono insieme nell'amore e nella verità sotto il Messia come re, che è pieno dello spirito di Dio, esercitando giustizia e giudizio verso i poveri e gli indifesi (Isaia 9: I-7; I1: 1-5)… La pietà è carattere, e il carattere non è nelle cose, ma è il prodotto dello sforzo personale, per quanto favorevole possa essere l'ambiente. Pertanto, i profeti richiedevano a tutti uno sforzo onesto ed energico per realizzare il regno divino e ideale in questo mondo…, Rifiutano un culto che non mostra frutti nella sfera sociale…” I PROFETI DELL'ANTICO TESTAMENTO COME RIFORMATORI SOCIALI. Di REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphia, Pa. p.26 I veri profeti smascherarono i falsi ( Isaia 9:15) e li mostrarono come autoindulgenti, codardi, venali, che gridavano una falsa pace (Isaia 56:1-2; Michea 3:5, II); ma ai veri profeti rimase solo l'ingrato compito di dire una verità sgradevole a un popolo che amava farsi solleticare le orecchie (Michea 3:8-II). Quanto alle virtù richieste, l'opposto dei peccati precedenti non è solo implicito in ogni caso, ma espresso in modo molteplice. Senza entrare nei dettagli, è sufficiente richiamare l'attenzione sulle virtù fondamentali di giustizia, misericordia e umiltà richieste da Michea (6:8): "Che cosa richiede da te il Signore, se non di fare giustizia, di amare la misericordia e di camminare umilmente con il tuo Dio?" e da Amos (5:24): "Lascia che il giudizio scorra come acqua e la giustizia come un fiume possente". L'ideale dei profeti non è una chiesa o una congregazione di credenti adoranti, ma una comunità, una società o uno stato di uomini e donne simili a Dio che vivono insieme nell'amore e nella verità sotto il Messia come re, che è pieno dello spirito di Dio, esercitando giustizia e giudizio verso i poveri e gli indifesi (Isaia 9: I-7; I1: 1-5). La pace universale regnerà suprema (Isaia II: 6-01), ogni persona vile sarà conosciuta con il suo vero nome (Isaia 32: 5; e cfr. 26: I-Io; capp. 56-66). Per quanto riguarda la casa di questo regno ideale dei profeti (e possiamo dire della Bibbia nel suo insieme?), è una terra. È questa terra, e non così radicalmente diversa da quella che è fisicamente ora come a volte pensiamo. Rimuovi il peccato e le sue conseguenze diffuse, e chi sa fino a che punto anche questo mondo materiale sarebbe cambiato in meglio? (Cfr. Is 2,1-10; Rm 8,8-25; Ap 21,1-5.) p.27 La pietà è carattere, e il carattere non è nelle cose, ma è il prodotto dello sforzo personale , per quanto favorevoli possano essere le circostanze. Perciò i profeti richiedevano a tutti uno sforzo onesto ed energico per realizzare il regno divino e ideale in questo mondo... Rifiutano un culto che non mostra frutti nella sfera sociale, ma insistono sulla vera religione di Geova come unica radice e causa di tali frutti... Se ora chiediamo quale rimedio suggeriscono i profeti per i mali sociali, troviamo che la risposta è una fede vera e viva in Dio che opera tramite l'amore verso il prossimo". Ciò sembrerebbe - a prima vista - sostenere un tipo di coscienza sociale p.28 Abbiamo quindi qui scrittori che risalgono a un periodo che risale a circa ottocento o mille anni prima di Cristo e che all'unanimità esigono come potere purificatore e plasmatore della società la vera e disinteressata devozione dell'uomo al Dio supremo, in primo luogo; e, in secondo luogo, al suo prossimo... Profezia come giustizia sociale: “Giustizia sociale e profeti” di Walter J. Houston: estratto dall'articolo di Walter Houston che si concentra sulla giustizia sociale come aspetto vitale della profezia “Lasciate scorrere la giustizia come l’acqua!” (Amos 5:24). Parole magnifiche, ma cosa significano? Ciò che il profeta Amos intende con esse lo si può dedurre dalle ingiustizie che attacca. Le persone che denuncia prendono la loro parte dal duro lavoro dei poveri (Amos 5:11), li trattano con disprezzo e accettano tangenti. Quando vendono il grano, truccano le bilance e la valuta (Amos 8:5). Sono sempre i poveri le loro vittime. Questi spietati sfruttatori sono senza nome, ma hanno chiaramente ricchezza e potere. La loro casa è Samaria, la capitale del regno di Israele dell’ottavo secolo a.C. (Amos 3:9, Amos 4:1, Amos 6:1). Amos mostra che Dio esige da loro giustizia piuttosto che adorarli: “Io odio e disprezzo le vostre feste… Ma scorra come l’acqua il diritto e la giustizia come un fiume perenne” (Amos 5:21-24). Walter J. Houston, "Social Justice and the Prophets", np [citato il 20 aprile 2022]. Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/passages/related-articles/social-justice-and-the-prophets La domanda che pongo qui è questa: considerare la profezia come una previsione che svuota una caratteristica fondamentale della profezia come promozione della giustizia sociale e influenza della coscienza sociale e della cultura? Cioè, cosa pensi che sarebbe più importante per Dio: l'accuratezza della previsione o la giustizia sociale? Voglio dire, se Dio avesse voluto fare previsioni, avrebbe potuto assumere uno stenografo. Sembrerebbe evidente che la “comunità” e la “coscienza sociale” siano fondamentali per la profezia. Nuovo paradigma per la profezia: il profeta Geremia e la sua profezia sui settant'anni di esilio Dio mette i profeti nel mondo "solamente e unicamente" per fare previsioni? Profezia - Introduzione Sebbene non sia uno studioso di religione, l'unico scritto sulla funzione della profezia come argomento in sé e per sé sarebbe l'argomentazione di Spinoza secondo cui profeti come Mosè sono "esemplari", definiti come "una persona o una cosa che funge da esempio tipico o modello eccellente". La mia argomentazione è che la profezia è sia un messaggio che una narrazione o una storia. Inoltre sembrerebbe piuttosto evidente che tra il messaggio e la narrazione le profezie plasmano la coscienza umana che a sua volta plasma il futuro, per così dire, poiché il modo in cui pensiamo e agiamo determinerebbe in larga misura il futuro. Naturalmente, in ogni buona storia un eroe o un esempio è essenziale. Il profeta Geremia Il profeta Geremia ("Geremia" significa Yahweh stabilisce) visse in Giuda, il regno meridionale di Giuda all'incirca dal 627 al 586 a.C. Geremia fa risalire l'inizio del suo ministero al 627 a.C. quando ebbe la visione del ramo di mandorlo e del calderone rovesciato che trasmettevano il messaggio di una minaccia dal "nemico del nord!" Un commento interessante sulla prima profezia di Geremia sarebbe che c'è un gioco di parole della parola ebraica per mandorla che ha le sue radici nella parola ebraica per "osservare" e nel commento di Geremia che Dio stava "osservando". Un'altra sfumatura importante della prima profezia è che Geremia parla di Dio che chiede a Geremia cosa ha visto, il che ha un significato completamente diverso da un "profeta che scende dalla montagna e fa" proclami o dichiarazioni ". Geremia è spesso chiamato il profeta piangente perché ha vissuto e assistito alla distruzione di Gerusalemme e del Tempio. Geremia il combattente Poiché il messaggio di Geremia era così critico nei confronti del popolo ebraico e del suo paese di Giuda, Geremia suscitò un certo risentimento e animosità nei suoi confronti, e ci fu persino un complotto per ucciderlo, in cui persino la sua famiglia sembrava avere un ruolo. "La sua impopolarità crebbe e gli attirò scherni, ostracismo e maledizioni (15:10-11, 17; 17:15; 20:7)." (p. 101 libro di Ger) Spesso, Geremia gridava giustizia contro queste persone che lo stavano ferendo e ostacolando la sua missione. Alla fine, era molto amareggiato e, dopo la distruzione diffusa di Giuda (confermata dagli archeologi), fu portato con la forza in Egitto per sfuggire all'ira dei "super-patrioti" ebrei che volevano vendicarsi perché Geremia si era espresso contro i leader ebrei. Senza dubbio, il profeta Geremia era un combattente. In una pubblica "mostra profetica" Geremia ruppe un vaso di terracotta alla porta di Gerusalemme, per simboleggiare come il popolo ebraico sarebbe stato spezzato da Dio, proprio come Geremia ruppe il vaso di terracotta. In un'altra "mostra profetica" pubblica Geremia rivelò le sue profezie condannando le pratiche ebraiche di adorazione degli idoli nel suo "Sermone del Tempio". Per aver profetizzato, Geremia fu umiliato pubblicamente dal sommo sacerdote, processato pubblicamente dopo il suo Sermone del Tempio e, poco prima della caduta di Gerusalemme ai Babilonesi, gettato in una fossa in una segreta e lasciato morire. È fondamentale comprendere la profezia di Geremia secondo cui il "messaggio" di Geremia cambiò (il che cambiò anche la "narrazione") da uno di ebrei che incorrevano nell'ira di Dio a causa della loro infedeltà nell'allontanarsi dalle Vie di Dio e nell'adorare gli idoli, a un messaggio di riconciliazione e speranza. Ecco Geremia 32:36-37: 36 Voi dite di questa città: "Con la spada, con la fame e con la peste essa sarà data in mano al re di Babilonia"; ma così dice il SIGNORE, il Dio d'Israele: 37 Io li radunerò certamente da tutti i paesi dove li ho dispersi nella mia ira ardente e nel mio grande furore; li ricondurrò in questo luogo e li farò vivere al sicuro. La profezia dell'esilio di settant'anni Va notato che il primo attacco e la prima deportazione babilonese avvennero nel 597 a.C. Nel tentativo di convincere il popolo di Giuda che Babilonia era ormai il loro nuovo padrone, iniziarono un processo di esilio forzato dei residenti chiave, già nel 605 a.C. Negli anni successivi si verificarono altre deportazioni, che culminarono con la distruzione totale di Gerusalemme e del Tempio nel 586 a.C. Geremia parlò due volte della durata dell'esilio degli ebrei deportati. Il primo riferimento è in Geremia 25:11 che sembra essere parte di un riassunto (Geremia 25:1-14) Geremia 25:13 recita: "E tutto questo paese sarà una desolazione e una desolazione, e queste nazioni serviranno il re di Babilonia per settant'anni". Come ho detto prima, gli scavi degli archeologi hanno dimostrato che durante quel particolare periodo storico, numerose città in Giuda furono di fatto distrutte e ci fu una distruzione diffusa. La prigionia ebraica terminò nel 539 a.C., quando Ciro, un capo dei persiani e dei medi, conquistò Babilonia e pose fine al suo impero. Ciro diede quindi agli ebrei prigionieri la libertà di tornare in patria. John A. Thompson, studioso australiano dell'Antico Testamento e archeologo biblico, ha osservato nel suo voluminoso libro su Geremia che diversi studiosi calcolano il numero di anni dell'esilio storico in modi diversi. Ad esempio, un metodo di calcolo prende il numero di anni tra la caduta della capitale assira nel 612 a.C. e la caduta di Babilonia nel 539 a.C., che arriva a settantatré. Questo è davvero vicino ai settant'anni profetizzati da Geremia, anche se, come sottolinea Thompson, non è "esatto". (p.514) Tuttavia, a prima vista, l'esilio stesso dovrebbe essere il metro di paragone, poiché Geremia si rivolge agli ebrei nella sua profezia e quindi qualsiasi analisi dovrebbe essere rivolta alla situazione degli ebrei e non degli assiri o dei babilonesi. Per gli ebrei, l'esilio è andato dalla prima sconfitta di Giuda con la cattura di Gerusalemme e la deportazione di un numero considerevole di importanti leader e artigiani ebrei nel 597 a.C. all'editto di liberazione degli ebrei emesso da Ciro nel 538, il che dà una somma di 59 anni. Per comprendere il messaggio e la narrazione della profezia di Geremia è fondamentale comprendere che all'inizio dell'esilio, i "falsi profeti" profetizzavano agli ebrei esiliati che la loro redenzione era dietro l'angolo e che molto presto sarebbero tornati a casa. Sono sicuro che, poiché Geremia avrebbe saputo che si sbagliavano di grosso, ciò lo avrebbe fatto infuriare, soprattutto perché avrebbe prodotto cattivi frutti, per così dire. Questa sembrerebbe essere una pessima psicologia: dire alla gente che qualcosa sarebbe successo presto e poi che ciò non accadesse poteva essere piuttosto distruttivo per il morale delle persone. Quindi, Geremia prese posizione e prese posizione e profetizzò che gli ebrei sarebbero tornati nella loro patria in settant'anni. Il messaggio di Geremia agli ebrei esiliati era, essenzialmente, di "sistemarsi in quella redenzione che sarebbe tardata ad arrivare, ma quella redenzione e riconciliazione avrebbero davvero avuto luogo". Postscript: Un bivio – Una prospettiva storica contemporanea Quando la morte nazionale (culturale – stile di vita) minaccia “Un mondo sempre più meccanicistico, frammentato e decontestualizzato,… è emerso, riflettendo, credo, l’azione incontrastata di un emisfero sinistro disfunzionale.” — Iain McGilchrist Prefazione: Come informazione, vorrei sottolineare che l'evento dell'11 settembre, secondo una serie di "resoconti di esperti", ha generato un gran numero di esperienze precognitive documentate. Ricerca per prospettiva: "I tragici eventi dell'11 settembre hanno portato una raffica di casi all'attenzione dei laboratori di parapsicologia. I casi spaziavano da sogni drammatici di aerei che si schiantavano o esplodevano ai più frequenti esempi di insolite deviazioni dalle normali routine che finivano per salvare la vita di qualcuno ". (Incontri alle frontiere del tempo: domande sollevate da esperienze umane anomale Richard S. Broughton) Storicamente, questo è inaudito, senza precedenti, non ci sono preveggenze storiche documentate, esperienze precognitive di terrorismo, zero. Ci sono circa otto avvertimenti documentati, preveggenze di assassinii, ma nessuno di terrorismo. L'implicazione è che qualcosa è cambiato nella coscienza umana. Ho condotto studi approfonditi sulla letteratura profetica e psichica. Ho studiato l'oracolo di Delfi, l'Antico Testamento e Nostradamus. Gran parte delle profezie e delle predizioni dell'Oracolo di Delfi e di Nostradamus sono ambigue, il che le rende soggette a diverse interpretazioni. Il numero di "predizioni" dirette è estremamente limitato e forse arriva a una dozzina. Ho esaminato più di 900 quartine di Nostradamus e, usando alcune "regole" di buon senso, ne ho trovate solo una manciata che in realtà prevedevano un'azione specifica accompagnata da uno o due dettagli specifici. Ora, mentre ci sono un certo numero di profezie in qualche modo sorprendenti nell'Antico Testamento, come le interpretazioni dei sogni di Giuseppe, gran parte delle profezie dell'Antico Testamento, in un certo senso, mancano di alcuni dettagli specifici. Tim Callahan sottolinea che la profezia di Ezechiele sulla caduta e la completa distruzione di Tiro da parte dei Babilonesi non si è verificata storicamente esattamente come descritto nella profezia di Ezechiele. In realtà i Babilonesi non conquistarono Tiro e la città non cadde fino all'arrivo di Alessandro Magno. La conclusione è che quando si fa un confronto tra tutte le previsioni-profezie degli ultimi duemila anni prima della prima guerra mondiale e ciò che è accaduto dopo la prima guerra mondiale, il confronto è giorno e notte. In primo luogo, mentre Jeane Dixon è in realtà una sensitiva non documentata, ha fatto "verificare" le due previsioni dal suo biografo, il che perché sono, a mio avviso, statisticamente significative perché sono insolite. Edgar Cayce ha dimostrato la prima "percezione non locale" documentata o visione a distanza come sottolinea Stephen Schwartz. IN tutte le cose, si deve separare il grano dalla pula. Ciò sarebbe particolarmente vero per Edgar Cayce. Quando Edgar Cayce faceva previsioni per fare previsioni, aveva un alto tasso di fallimento, come Jeane Dixon e Nostradamus. Quando Cayce dava letture per il personale delle forze armate statunitensi, se la cavava piuttosto bene sulle questioni di quando sarebbe finita la guerra (seconda guerra mondiale). Edgar Cayce ha anche documentato otto guarigioni (su circa 100 casi) di epilettici, cosa inaudita a quei tempi e senza l'uso di farmaci. Poi c'è Theresa Caputo, la medium di Long Island, una medium sensitiva contemporanea in TV che contatta gli spiriti dei cari defunti e, così facendo, aiuta i suoi soggetti a ottenere una chiusura e conforto. Molto spesso i soggetti delle sue dimostrazioni la ringraziano profusamente e profondamente per il senso di chiusura e sollievo che hanno ottenuto. Se si assegna la probabilità di accadimento di ciascuna delle verbalizzazioni di Theresa Caputo di informazioni trascendentali che ha "ricevuto" - che a quanto pare potrebbero provenire solo dalla persona cara defunta del soggetto - a 1 su 10, allora solo dieci informazioni dalla "persona cara defunta" darebbero luogo a probabilità complessive di accadimento di una su dieci miliardi. Le persone si lasciano intrappolare nelle astrazioni. Un'amica di mia sorella è andata a una delle dimostrazioni di Caputo e ha finito per pensare che fosse totalmente una bufala perché aveva commesso degli errori. Mi imbatto abbastanza spesso nello stereotipo disadattivo secondo cui i sensitivi devono essere "assolutamente perfetti". Le persone commettono errori: questo è ciò che fanno. Oltre a ciò, c'è la visione a distanza. Wikipedia afferma: "La visione a distanza (RV) è la pratica di cercare impressioni su un soggetto distante o invisibile, presumibilmente percependo con la mente.[1] In genere ci si aspetta che un visualizzatore remoto fornisca informazioni su un oggetto, un evento, una persona o un luogo che è nascosto alla vista fisica e separato a una certa distanza.[2]" Sono stati condotti esperimenti dai fisici Russell Targ, Harold Puthoff e Stephen Schwartz. Negli Stati Uniti ci sono centinaia di migliaia di seguaci della visione a distanza, molti dei quali affermano di aver avuto esperienze di visione a distanza. Poi ci sono varie esperienze documentate come un artista che ha disegnato tre immagini chiaroveggenti sul Dr. Phil. Mele a mele In questa analisi il prerequisito è di confrontare mele con mele (indipendentemente dalla questione se psi lo sia o meno) - niente di più. Quando si confrontano esperienze spirituali-psichiche documentate di successo ora e negli ultimi cento anni - rispetto ai precedenti duemila anni di esperienze spirituali-psichiche documentate non c'è paragone - è un quadro molto netto di un nero molto scuro a un bianco molto bianco. Per quanto riguarda le profezie, l'Antico Testamento è piuttosto affidabile. Inoltre, all'Oracolo di Delfi - e centro intellettuale c'erano numerosi storici, quindi anche la loro documentazione potrebbe essere considerata piuttosto affidabile. Il mondo è stato capovolto e rovesciato - C'è un consenso tra gli scienziati sul fatto che la specie umana si stia ancora evolvendo e adattando. Negli ultimi 300 anni ci sono state rivoluzioni scientifiche, tecnologiche, socioeconomiche, sociali e politiche radicali e drammatiche. L'ambiente è cambiato: lo psicologo sociale Gergen ha scritto un libro intitolato "Saturated Self" che espone tutti i cambiamenti. Nel 1900 l'automobile ha rivoluzionato la mobilità. La radio e la TV hanno aumentato la comunicazione e il contenuto della comunicazione. Poi ci sono i Blackberry, Facebook; YouTube, Twitter, Internet, e-mail, SMS, ecc. hanno aumentato nel passato molto recente il numero di persone con cui comunichiamo e il tipo di comunicazione (più anonima, per lo più senza interazione tra persone). Tutto ciò che riguarda la comunicazione con gli altri è cambiato drasticamente. Credo che sarebbe ragionevole supporre che un notevole aumento delle interazioni tra esseri umani modificherà drasticamente i modelli di comportamento delle persone, e probabilmente non in meglio. Uno scienziato afferma che il numero di persone che il cervello umano è in grado di gestire è di circa 40 o 50. Ci sono troppe scelte, troppi modelli di ruolo, la società è diventata in un certo senso, semplicemente troppo per la mente umana, motivo per cui Gergen intitola il suo libro "The Saturated Self". Se la società è troppo, ci si potrebbe aspettare un comportamento più irregolare. In questa luce vorrei sottolineare che sembrerebbe una verità ovvia che la "società" non potrebbe nemmeno esistere senza la "coscienza sociale!" Tuttavia, quando ho chiesto a una studentessa di psicologia se avesse mai sentito parlare di "coscienza sociale", ha risposto: "No!" La definizione di religione in cinque parti "universalmente accettata" (secondo Chernus) di Geertz non include né la comunità né lo "spirito" per quella materia. Tuttavia, qualsiasi valutazione oggettiva o ragionevole della religione evidenzierebbe la caratteristica delle religioni come gruppi o comunità come caratteristiche incredibilmente salienti. Sembrerebbe anche una conclusione inevitabile che gli "insegnamenti" delle religioni dormirebbero - essendo norme - una coscienza sociale. Nella psicologia sociale la "norma" da Allport nel 1927 è che "Non esiste psicologia dei gruppi!" Nuovo approccio: spiritualità pratica-creativa vs. "La spiritualità è irreale!" "Non chiediamo alla vita qual è il significato della vita. La vita ci chiede qual è il significato della tua vita. E la vita esige la nostra risposta." Viktor Frankl: 1. WR Miller, CE Thoresen “Una base filosofica per questa prospettiva è il materialismo, la convinzione che non ci sia nulla da studiare perché la spiritualità è intangibile e va oltre i sensi”. 2. Critica peer-reviewed del 2018, approvata da 4 psicologi, ovvero il dott. H Koenig, confuta la massima materialista, identificandola come la fallacia del definitista (termini carichi). Spiegazione: se prendi il concetto di "morte", che è "intangibile e al di là dei sensi", allora "la morte deve essere frutto della tua immaginazione". 3.+Fallacia di Allport (psicologia sociale, 1927) "Non esiste una psicologia dei gruppi" = astrazione sconnessa con "patriottismo" - una confutazione ovvia + concerti rock, proteste... “I concetti creano idoli; solo la meraviglia comprende qualsiasi cosa. Le persone si uccidono a vicenda per gli idoli. La meraviglia ci fa cadere in ginocchio!" San Gregorio di Nissa È evidente che la spiritualità è impigliata in astrazioni: poteri, soprannaturale-irreale, magia, sfera di cristallo, ecc. Dott. S. Farra "Buon articolo breve: la mancanza di fede nel "libero arbitrio" porta di routine a un senso di mancanza di senso, disperazione e comportamento personale non etico. I nostri paradigmi sono il nostro modo di affrontare la Realtà, ma non sono la Realtà. Come suggerisce C Peck, Jr., ci stiamo perdendo nelle nostre astrazioni!" Nozioni di base 1. McGilChrist, M Sherif, Kant affermano che il "contesto del mondo reale" è vitale: le persone sono l'unica fonte di contesto del mondo reale per le credenze spirituali e religiose . 2. K Gergen: "La conoscenza adeguata mappa o rispecchia le realtà del mondo reale!!" - "Per comprendere qualcosa, che ne siamo consapevoli o meno, dipende dalla scelta di un modello!" I McGilChrist Metodo scientifico aristotelico 1. Raccogliere i fatti 2. Categorizza i dati 3. Analizzare le informazioni 4. Trarre conclusioni Nuovo approccio creativo pragmatico "La spiritualità è una predisposizione umana naturale! È più primordiale della religione istituzionale e riguarda il senso di connessione di una persona con sé stessa, gli altri e il mondo!" K. Bishop, B Hyde - A Killin: "I più antichi strumenti musicali conosciuti [risalgono] a 40.000 anni fa…" 1. Sé sociale spirituale musicale: "La musica è una parte fondamentale della nostra evoluzione – e funzionale perché facilita il “contatto umano” e il nostro “sé sociale!” - J Schulkin, G Raglan; la “musicalità” è una proprietà delle comunità piuttosto che degli individui” I Cross 2. Spiritualità e compassione: Saslow "La spiritualità era associata in particolar modo all'avere un'identità spirituale, all'aver avuto esperienze trascendenti e alla tendenza a pregare... ...i partecipanti spirituali ... tendono a provare compassione... collegamento tra spiritualità e compassione superiore..." & Sprecher + Fehr: correlazione tra spiritualità e compassione & principio di V Frankl: "gli esseri umani hanno un nucleo spirituale con un innato bisogno di significato..." 3. Guarigione spirituale nel lutto: Easterling: "... gli individui sembrano reagire meglio se riescono a "realizzare" le loro esperienze spirituali in tempi di crisi e J Parker 4. Spiritualità relazionale - sé spirituale: “Hay and Nye: la spiritualità implica una profonda consapevolezza della propria relazione con se stessi e con tutto ciò che è diverso da se stessi”. UN. Kapwa-loob filippino e norme pro-sociali: “Kapwa è un riconoscimento di un’identità condivisa, un sé interiore, condiviso con gli altri – appartenenza-coscienza sociale: JD Espiritu, M Zosa, R Ileto, J Reyes, Mercado, Jose De Mesa ... B. Tessitura dei sogni: T'boli-Bla'an T'nalak I sogni come fonte di ispirazione divina - T'boli Be Lang Dulay, ha creato oltre 100 diversi modelli T'nalak. c. "Relazioni umane con il mondo naturale" come credenze spirituali dei cacciatori-raccoglitori artici negli spiriti animali (Erica Hill) – coscienza relazionale-sociale 5. Spiritualità dei bambini “le esperienze anomale possono catalizzare l'autoguarigione per bambini e giovani.” Donna Thomas +D. Scott 6. Spiritualità artistica: il 20 percento degli americani si rivolge a "media, arti e cultura" come mezzo principale di esperienza e di espressione spirituale..." 7. Poesia e profezia: "Il profeta è un poeta. Ciò che i poeti conoscono come ispirazione poetica; i profeti lo chiamano rivelazione divina" - Heschel 8. Dott.ssa Ingela Visuri: Spiritualità e "Il caso dell'autismo ad alto funzionamento" - "esperienze sensoriali inspiegabili" Il dott. S Neal (JHU) ha affermato che la sua [psichiatria] non aveva alcuna formazione sulle persone che hanno esperienze spirituali. Dal capitolo "Esperienze mistiche, spirituali e religiose" di Park & Paloutzian - sinossi come breve elenco di "esperienze anomale, allucinazioni, esperienze di pre-morte, vite passate, mistiche e paranormali" dell'APA (senza nulla sulle "persone" che hanno esperienze. JE Kennedy: "Pochissime ricerche sono state mirate a indagare gli effetti complessivi" sulle persone Dott. Visuri: "C'è una differenza tra analizzare le esperienze e ricercare le persone". Prospettiva personale: Sinossi – biografia di 40 anni di esperienze spirituali-psichiche personali Prefazione: Come il filosofo spagnolo Ortega Gasset, io sono "io" e le mie circostanze. I profeti probabilmente non sarebbero diversi! I profeti si occuparono dell'uomo non come di un atomo, ma come di una parte di un organismo sociale, un membro vivente di un corpo vivente. Guarire questo corpo quando era malato (Isaia I:6), metterlo in guardia contro la dissoluzione imminente e riportarlo sui sentieri che conducono alla perfezione in Dio, era la loro grande e unica missione (Geremia 6:6). Quindi, erano sempre più numerosi quando la morte nazionale minacciava. (I PROFETI DELL'ANTICO TESTAMENTO COME RIFORMATORI SOCIALI. Di REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) “Un mondo sempre più meccanicistico, frammentato e decontestualizzato,… è emerso, riflettendo, credo, l’azione incontrastata di un emisfero sinistro disfunzionale.” — Iain McGilchrist Quando la morte nazionale minaccia: comportamenti antisociali negli USA 1. Negli ultimi 3 anni si sono verificate più di 73 sparatorie nelle scuole negli Stati Uniti. 2. CDC: i tassi di suicidio sono aumentati di circa il 36% tra il 2000 e il 2021. 3. Oltre 610 sparatorie di massa all'anno negli ultimi quattro anni. 4. Secondo il Washington Post, nel 2021 i crimini d'odio hanno raggiunto il massimo storico, con 826 filippini che si sono dichiarati vittime di crimini d'odio. 5. La politica di Trump di separare deliberatamente i bambini dalle loro madri per punirli per l'immigrazione In un recente articolo sulla candidatura di Trump alla rielezione, Trump ha dichiarato che cercherà di ripristinare la politica di separazione dei bambini dalle loro madri. "Più di 5.500 bambini, compresi i neonati, sono stati allontanati e centinaia non sono ancora stati riuniti ad agosto 2022". (Estratto da Wikipedia) 6. Le aggressioni agli insegnanti sono aumentate drasticamente, non solo negli Stati Uniti ma in tutto il mondo. 7. Le aggressioni agli operatori sanitari sono aumentate in modo esponenziale, un altro problema di portata mondiale. 8. epidemia (aumento del 25%) di narcisismo nei paesi occidentali (Twenge, ecc. ). 9. La "Antisocial No Mask Madness" guidata dai cristiani merita una menzione speciale. Gli americani sono il 4% della popolazione mondiale. Tuttavia, gli americani rappresentano il 20,6% dei morti nel mondo. Le analisi del numero di morti eccessive non necessarie rispetto ad altri paesi variano da 50.000 a 100.000 10. La sentenza della Corte Suprema sull'aborto si basa su una fallacia palesemente ovvia, una falsa premessa , che letteralmente sostiene che l'aborto non è legale perché la parola "aborto" non è nella Costituzione. Estratto dalla sentenza Sinossi-biografia: oltre 40 anni di esperienze spirituali-psichiche personali "Sosteniamo che Roe e Casey debbano essere annullate. La Costituzione non fa alcun riferimento all'aborto e nessun diritto del genere è implicitamente protetto da alcuna disposizione costituzionale, inclusa quella su cui i difensori di Roe e Casey ora si affidano principalmente, la clausola del giusto processo del quattordicesimo emendamento". Beh, sì ... metà della parola moderna non è nella Costituzione: energia nucleare, aerei, automobili. È una palese fallacia, una falsa premessa. Inoltre, l'argomentazione della Corte Suprema secondo cui il corpo di una donna non ha alcuna rilevanza costituzionale è una stronzata. È stato un lavoro di accetta politica. Il bastione di "Verità e Giustizia" che usa una fallacia superficiale e ovvia è un atto antisociale perché molti americani stanno perdendo fiducia nella "giustizia" o nel trattamento equo. Commento: Un'analisi ha affermato che gli USA hanno cinquantasette volte più sparatorie nelle scuole di tutta l'Europa messa insieme. Il tasso di suicidio negli USA è aumentato del 36% dal 2000 e, con 14,2 per mille, è più del doppio del tasso di suicidio nelle Filippine. Inoltre, mentre le aggressioni agli insegnanti sono un problema mondiale, le aggressioni agli insegnanti sono un'epidemia negli USA. Nelle Filippine, le aggressioni fisiche agli insegnanti sono rare. Sebbene vi siano senza dubbio diverse cause sottostanti distinte, quando un "presidente" e leader cristiani estremisti di alto rango "modellano" razzismo, odio e comportamenti antisociali, non dovrebbe sorprendere nessuno che gli USA abbiano più problemi con i comportamenti antisociali rispetto ad altre società. Detto questo, non si può considerare il problema delle sparatorie nelle scuole separatamente dagli altri comportamenti antisociali come le aggressioni agli insegnanti o le aggressioni agli operatori sanitari, che sono un problema diffuso nel mondo. Il fattore ideologia: omicidi con coltello nelle scuole materne ed elementari in Cina Credenze ragionevoli: categorizzare le esperienze insolite come insolite. Ciò che molte persone non capiscono è che gli studi dimostrano costantemente che da 1/3 a 1/2 delle persone hanno esperienze - e come osservano Park e Paloutzian, c'è una "normalità" nelle esperienze spirituali-psichiche. Inoltre le persone - a volte - perdono il buonsenso e spesso si perdono nelle astrazioni. Il buonsenso vorrebbe che il cervello elaborasse esperienze insolite come "insolite" - piuttosto sorprendente... eh? Quando le persone si lasciano andare alle astrazioni, spesso perdono di vista la comprensione del buonsenso e buon senso. Studi ed esperimenti che hanno stabilito che il processo di "categorizzazione" è un processo molto importante nella mente umana e che il processo di categorizzazione è sia ben noto che ben dimostrato in psicologia. William James continua dicendo che le esperienze religiose e le esperienze spirituali creano e generano un "senso di realtà" (p.48) Jung ha detto più o meno la stessa cosa in realtà: che le esperienze di un individuo modellano la realtà di una persona. Il consenso di sintesi di Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung e William James è semplicemente che "spirito, processi spirituali e credenze religiose creano significato, un senso di realtà e, in ultima analisi, Realtà e Verità". Nell'antologia, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong osserva: "Frankl considera la ricerca di significato come derivante dalla propria natura spirituale. William James sottolinea nella sua opera classica, originariamente pubblicata nel 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: "Esse [le esperienze spirituali] determinano il nostro atteggiamento vitale [senso di realtà] in modo altrettanto decisivo quanto l'atteggiamento vitale degli amanti è determinato dal senso abituale,..." Jung osservò, nelle Opere raccolte (CW8: 648 -1968 revisionate) che "Vita e spirito sono due poteri o necessità tra cui l'uomo è posto. Lo spirito dà significato alla sua vita e la possibilità del suo massimo sviluppo. Prospettiva: quasi tutte le mie esperienze rientrerebbero facilmente in una categoria parallela ai richiami di allarme degli animali. Jean MacPhail, studiosa, autrice di A Spiral Life ed ex ricercatrice in neuropatologia presso l'Università di Harvard, osserva: "Le mie esperienze sono davvero uniche!" - in parte perché si riferiscono ad eventi esterni a me, oltre a essere coerenti con interpretazioni ragionevoli (tutte come percezioni di minacce ai gruppi) - oltre a essere relativamente ben documentate. Ciò si incastra con i risultati di Daryl Bem dei suoi esperimenti di precognizione che hanno dimostrato una correlazione con motivazioni "istintive" (ad esempio il sesso) Le recenti prove di numerose percezioni documentate di minacce riguardanti l'11 settembre mostrano che le "percezioni di minacce" sono un fattore molto saliente, così come la "visibilità" - politica e socio-religiosa - è un fattore molto importante nella "precognizione". In tutte le mie esperienze, solo una manciata di percezioni poteva essere identificata distintamente come "precognitiva". Infatti, quando di recente mi sono seduto e ho rivisto le mie esperienze - una grande percentuale potrebbe essere definita come percezioni relative a persone "alienate" - una chiara indicazione che la telepatia era parte integrante. Quindi, metterei in dubbio la legittimità dell'idea di "precognizione pura" - per così dire (specialmente alla luce della coscienza collettiva). 1. Sogni: ho quattro sogni documentati e due sogni non documentati, tutti con interpretazioni coerenti e ragionevoli che elenco qui: (1) un sogno sul Pakistan e la guerra nucleare. (2) Una percezione ibrida del sogno: "Tag" precognitivo (un tag sarebbe un'azione centrale più uno o due dettagli) del terrorista "incel" in Canada a fine aprile 2018. (3) Sogno sulla Libia (26-2-2019), (4) Sincronicità con l'attacco di Strasburgo, Francia - sogno (19-9-20) + non documentato (5) Sogno di Dudayev (6) Fredericksburg 2. Esperienze coscienti: evidenzia le percezioni da svegli (1) la mia recente e-mail del 30-10-20 all'agente dell'FBI McElwee ha avvertito di una minaccia di "terrorismo interno" riferendosi a una "bomba" come arma, che è correlata - ovviamente - all'attentato di Nashville del giorno di Natale 2020 (2) Un avvertimento molto breve (telefonato) all'FBI prima del tentativo di assassinio del presidente Reagan (3) Ho chiamato la CIA prima dell'11 settembre (4) L'avviso del 1981 What a nightmare è una categoria a sé stante: l'avviso molto dettagliato, specifico e autenticato all'FBI il 18 ottobre 1981 di un imminente attacco da parte del gruppo terroristico allora attivo dei Weathermen. I dettagli [accurati] sono: gruppo - con denaro, fabbricazione di bombe, denaro, donne, 22 sono riuniti, New York, morte, nonché ID del manifesto dei Weathermen terroristici nel titolo "incubo". Come punto di informazione "fabbricazione" era molto preciso: i terroristi avevano piani e materiali per la fabbricazione di bombe nel loro appartamento ma nessuna bomba vera e propria. Anche l'articolo "22 sono stati riuniti" è incredibilmente accurato, poiché c'è stata una sparatoria tra i Weathermen e la polizia di Nyack che, abbastanza bizzarramente, il New York Times ha riferito di avere 22 membri nella loro forza di polizia. Ciò che rende il mio "Che incubo" notevole è che l'ultima riga includeva il "Granello di senape" [Parabola] che, a mio avviso, sembra essere in realtà una "intuizione divina!" La parabola del granello di senape si incastra perfettamente con la Sintesi-Consenso di Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, William James ed Emile Durkheim che afferma inequivocabilmente che lo "spirito" [processi spirituali] crea significato - e relativamente alla parabola sono "metaforicamente" semi di senape che creano crescita e producono una meravigliosa pianta di semi di senape - parallelo a "lo spirito è verità" (Giovanni 5:6) Riflessioni: A. L'esperienza può essere un'ottima maestra Ecco alcuni principi importanti che ho imparato dai primi spiritual-psichici relativamente ben documentati con interpretazioni costantemente ragionevoli delle mie esperienze nel 1981. A mio avviso le mie esperienze personali servivano principalmente come una funzione per innescare una ricerca e un interrogativo per essere onesti. 1. Come spiega JE Kennedy, gli studi dimostrano che circa il 45% delle persone ha una reazione iniziale di paura. Così è stato per me. Come molti, ho trovato la mia esperienza spaventosa, principalmente perché era un'incognita e la mia "mente non aveva modo" di organizzare l'esperienza. Dubbi e paure alimentavano un ciclo di dubbi e ansie. Una notte, ad Ann Arbor se non ricordo male, ho fatto due passi oltre il limite, ma me ne sono reso conto. Una mia epifania, condivisa da un gran numero di leader cristiani, è che la Verità Assoluta [Dio] è al di là della comprensione, che l'esperienza è acausale e al di là della comprensione. Questo è un fattore importante nella valutazione della profezia. Ridurre il divino all'esistenza come una previsione non è solo irrealistico, ma degradante per Dio e per il divino. 2. All'inizio del 1981, mi sono confrontato con la questione dello scopo della profezia. Mi era stato detto che avrei dovuto scrivere delle previsioni. Fu un grosso problema nel 1981, ed è una questione sollevata nella prima riga del mio avvertimento autenticato all'FBI il 18 ottobre 1981. La domanda che mi sono posto è: fare previsioni per fare previsioni ha senso biologicamente, psicologicamente o persino spiritualmente? La conclusione a cui sono giunto è che lo scopo e la motivazione sono fondamentali. Vale a dire, "lo scopo" è fondamentale per la profezia, e la spiritualità, specialmente alla luce di "Lo Spirito è Verità" (Giovanni 5:6). L'importanza della motivazione è molto coerente con le convinzioni spirituali delle persone con cui mi sono confrontato. Quando le "persone spirituali" vengono messe in discussione, in molti casi le convinzioni spirituali non sono solo una motivazione, ma una fonte di ispirazione molto profonda. Storicamente, dopo decine di migliaia di anni di convinzioni spirituali e religiose, anche se incredibilmente non accade nel mondo accademico, la spiritualità e la religiosità sarebbero chiaramente una spinta e una motivazione potenti. 3. Ho pensato intensamente alla spiritualità e alle esperienze spirituali trascendentali. Come ha sottolineato San Gregorio di Nissa, solo i "puri di cuore" 'vedono' Dio. A mio avviso è chiaro che c'è spirito dentro e spirito trascendentale. E senza spirito dentro non può esserci alcuna vera connessione con lo spirito trascendentale. Un'analogia appropriata sarebbe quella di considerare l'esperienza spirituale come il fiore e il significato, lo scopo e la creatività che vengono prodotti come il frutto. 4. Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972), un filosofo e teologo ebreo “di spicco”: Nel libro di Heschel The Prophets, Heschel cita NK Chadwick: Ovunque il dono della profezia è inseparabile dall'ispirazione divina. Ovunque questa ispirazione porta con sé la conoscenza, sia del passato, sotto forma di storia e genealogia; del presente nascosto sotto forma di informazioni scientifiche; e del futuro sotto forma di espressione profetica in senso più stretto…..Invariabilmente scopriamo che……….il suo [del poeta] umore è esaltato e lontano dalla sua normale esistenza…..” (P. 482 – 483)
By Charlie E Peck Jr November 11, 2024
Profecía de Jeremías: Profetas del Antiguo Testamento = Cuando la Muerte Nacional amenaza y el Hombre, no como un átomo, sino como parte de un organismo social (Stibitz) + creencias espirituales-religiosas como "orden social-moral" (R Reyes) Profecía como Justicia Social y profecía como enseñanzas (palabra de Dios), + Profecía como Fuerza Preámbulo: Profecía de entonces vs. de ahora: 1. “La profecía bíblica o profecía bíblica comprende los pasajes de la Biblia que se afirma que reflejan comunicaciones de Dios a los seres humanos a través de los profetas. Los cristianos suelen considerar que los profetas bíblicos recibieron revelaciones de Dios.” (Wikipedia) 2. La profecía teológica es una predicción de acontecimientos futuros que se cree que es de inspiración divina y comunicada a un profeta por un ser sobrenatural. La palabra "profecía" proviene del griego prophēteia , que significa "don de interpretar la voluntad de Dios". La estafa de lo sobrenatural: la palabra “sobrenatural” aparece tres veces en los Evangelios, pero Jesucristo no la utilizó ni una sola vez. La palabra “sobrenatural” es un término materialista que no tiene definición y transmite un significado completamente diferente al de los Evangelios, como magia, poderes, predicción con bola de cristal, etc. Breve sinopsis de cómo Cristo representa al Espíritu Santo: Los evangelios sinópticos, por lo general, tienen menos que decir sobre el Espíritu Santo que Juan. El evangelio de Marcos es el que menos tiene que decir, ya que sólo menciona al Espíritu Santo seis veces. Como todos los evangelios, Marcos destaca el bautismo y, especialmente, el bautismo de Jesús. De hecho, ese es el punto culminante de los escritos de Marcos sobre el Espíritu Santo: que la obra de Cristo es superior y mejor precisamente porque bautiza en el Espíritu Santo, no sólo en agua. Ejemplos rápidos: Revelación (Lucas 2:26), guiar (Lucas 2:27), bautizar (3 incluyendo Lucas 3:27), sanar a los quebrantados de corazón (Lucas 4:18), recuperar la vista (Como 4:18), enseñar (Como 12:11-12), empoderar (Lucas 24:49), esperar (Lucas 24:49) Bautismo (Juan 3:5), libre como el viento (Juan 3:8). Vivo (Juan 6:63), agua viva (Juan 7:37-39). Consolador (“intercesor, consolador, abogado”) (Juan 14:16). Invisible, desconocido, ajeno al mundo (Juan 14:17). Consolador divino (Juan 14 v.18). ver a Jesús (14:19). vida de resurrección Jesús vive (Juan 14:19). vida de resurrección Jesús vive (Juan 14:19) Consolador (Juan 15:26). Él es el Espíritu de verdad (Juan 15:26). Debemos “esperar” hasta recibirlo (v.49). Para ponerlo en perspectiva, un estudio reveló que, si bien la religiosidad ha disminuido sustancialmente entre los jóvenes en Inglaterra, ha habido un aumento en las creencias sobre la vida después de la muerte. Profecía irlandesa vs. Oráculo de Delfos Diferencias culturales relativas a la espiritualidad y la profecía Como observa Caroline Francis Richardson en su artículo “El uso de la profecía en los cuentos irlandeses del ciclo heroico”, la profecía irlandesa/celta era/es bastante diferente y distinta de otras formas de profecía, y por lo tanto probablemente también tendría un componente genético distintivo (para que conste ). La profecía irlandesa no se parecía en nada a la profecía griega antigua y su fascinación por los oráculos, como el Oráculo de Delfos. Caroline Richardson enfatiza que, en contraste con la tradición irlandesa que no tenía sacerdotes ni organización jerárquica, en contraste con la religión griega antigua que consistía en “un cuerpo organizado de sacerdotes que interpretaban los oráculos de Zeus y Apolo y podían, por lo tanto, dar color a las políticas de la nación e influir en el carácter de todo el pueblo así como de los individuos” (p. 394). Además, la profecía irlandesa no se parecía en nada al enfoque en la profecía social de justicia y pactos, de los profetas del Antiguo Testamento que frecuentemente prometían la ira de Dios por las injusticias y la idolatría. Caroline Richardson resume la profecía irlandesa/celta en estos términos: “La profecía no es posesión de un solo grupo de personas; no tiene residencia local; no tiene influencia en las políticas de la nación o en los individuos; no es una parte integral de la trama de las historias. Y en estos cuentos la trama es lo importante, no a menudo una trama terminada, pero algo definido sucede; hombres y mujeres, y los Twatha de Danaan actúan!” (p. 395). Caroline Francis Richardson observa en su artículo “El uso de la profecía en los cuentos irlandeses del ciclo heroico”, The Sewanee Review, octubre de 1913, vol. 21, n.º 4 (octubre de 1913, págs. 385-396): Parece evidente que el concepto de percepción con bola de cristal se originó en la cultura griega y, específicamente, en el modelo del Oráculo de Delfos. Como designación de información, la palabra hebrea original (yada) para conocimiento tenía un contexto “cercano y personal”, especialmente en el contexto de Yahvé. El cristianismo asimiló la filosofía griega y ese factor parece haber cambiado la orientación de los cristianos. Corintios (Dones) hace una distinción entre sabiduría y conocimiento, por ejemplo. Prefacio: Los profetas trataron al hombre no como un átomo, sino como parte de un organismo social, un miembro vivo de un cuerpo vivo. Como dice el filósofo español Ortega Gasset: “Soy yo” y mis circunstancias. ¡Los profetas probablemente no serían diferentes! Los profetas no trataron al hombre como un átomo, sino como parte de un organismo social, un miembro vivo de un cuerpo vivo. Su gran y única misión era curar este cuerpo cuando estaba enfermo (Isaías 1:6), advertirle contra la disolución venidera y devolverlo a los caminos que conducen a la perfección en Dios (Jeremías 6:6). Por eso, siempre fueron más numerosos cuando amenazaba la muerte de una nación. Justo antes de la caída de Samaria y de la caída de Jerusalén los encontramos trabajando en mayor número y con la mayor energía. (LOS PROFETAS DEL ANTIGUO TESTAMENTO COMO REFORMADORES SOCIALES. Por el REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) Jeremías y Judá: El reino del sur de Judá cayó durante el ministerio profético de Jeremías (586 a. C.), tras haber sido amenazado durante muchos años por potencias extranjeras: primero Asiria y Egipto y luego por sus conquistadores finales, Babilonia. Jeremías se encontró dirigiéndose a una nación que se precipitaba hacia el juicio de Dios. moderna : Como dato informativo, quisiera destacar que el suceso del 11 de septiembre, según varios “relatos de expertos”, generó una gran cantidad de experiencias precognitivas documentadas. Investigaciones para ponerlo en perspectiva: “Los trágicos acontecimientos del 11 de septiembre atrajeron una oleada de casos a la atención de los laboratorios de parapsicología. Los casos iban desde sueños dramáticos de aviones estrellándose o explotando hasta los ejemplos más frecuentes de desviaciones inusuales de las rutinas normales que terminaron salvando la vida de alguien”. (Encuentros en las fronteras del tiempo: preguntas planteadas por experiencias humanas anómalas, Richard S. Broughton) Históricamente, esto es inaudito, sin precedentes; no hay ninguna previsión histórica documentada, ninguna experiencia precognitiva de terrorismo. Hay como ocho advertencias documentadas, previsiones de asesinatos, pero ninguna de terrorismo. La implicación es que algo ha cambiado en la conciencia humana. “Se ha creado un mundo cada vez más mecanicista, fragmentado y descontextualizado … que refleja, creo, la acción sin oposición de un hemisferio izquierdo disfuncional”. — Iain McGilchrist Conciencia social histórica y orden sociomoral “El hombre, no como un átomo, sino como parte de un organismo social, un miembro vivo de un cuerpo vivo” Las creencias espiritual-religiosas como conciencia social y orden social-moral La percepción social-conciencia es orden social: Ramon Reyes destaca el aspecto unificador de la espiritualidad en las sociedades filipinas prehistóricas y las sociedades humanas primitivas: “En suma, el orden social y moral abarca a los vivos, a los muertos, a las deidades y a los espíritus”. Es decir, las creencias espirituales y religiosas de las sociedades humanas primitivas crearon y mantuvieron una conciencia social, un orden social-moral. Se puede ver en la mitología de Zeus que se aplica el mismo principio. Zeus personificó la ley y el orden, la sabiduría, la hospitalidad y los juramentos, todos valores prosociales. La investigación de Ramon Reyes apoya el argumento de Durkheim: “De hecho, todo el orden social ifugao, incluyendo las formas prácticas de vida, las instituciones y reglas sociales, la moralidad y todo lo demás, constituye un sistema unitario; y se lo considera un fenómeno religioso de origen sobrenatural. Al describir un ejemplo de esta cosmovisión filipina prehistórica, un antropólogo dice, . . “Al tratar el medio ambiente como algo social, se le proporciona a la gente una explicación ordenada de los fenómenos 'naturales'. En suma, un orden social y moral abarca a los vivos, los muertos, las deidades y los espíritus, y el medio ambiente en su totalidad”. Los mitos como mapas simbólicos de la conciencia social Las creencias espirituales de la antigua Grecia, en particular Zeus, como conciencia social y orden social-moral. Zeus como símbolo era “el fundador del poder real, de la ley y del orden, de donde Dice, Temis y Némesis son sus ayudantes. Por la misma razón protege la asamblea del pueblo ( agoraios ), las reuniones del consejo ( boulaios ), y como preside todo el estado, también lo hace sobre cada casa y familia. También velaba por la santidad del juramento ( horkios ), la ley de la hospitalidad ( xenios ), y protegía a los suplicantes. Vengaba a los que eran agraviados y castigaba a los que habían cometido un crimen, pues vigilaba las acciones y los sufrimientos de todos los hombres”. En Las formas elementales de la vida religiosa, publicado por primera vez en 1912, Emile Durkheim, uno de los padres fundadores de la sociología, afirmó que “Una religión es un sistema unificado de creencias y prácticas relativas a cosas sagradas, es decir, cosas apartadas y prohibidas: creencias y prácticas que unen en una sola comunidad moral llamada Iglesia a todos aquellos que se adhieren a ellas”. Paloutzian y Park (p. 12) sostienen que “la religión y la espiritualidad son sistemas de significados más o menos coherentes, elaborados culturalmente, arraigados y adquiridos a través de relaciones e instituciones sociales situadas en entornos naturales y construidos complejos”. Prefacio: Ruach Hakodesh Todos los profetas hablaron "en el Espíritu Santo"; y el signo más característico de la presencia del Espíritu Santo es el don de profecía, en el sentido de que la persona sobre la que reposa contempla el pasado y el futuro. En el judaísmo, el Espíritu Santo (en hebreo: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) se refiere a la fuerza, cualidad e influencia divina de Dios sobre el universo o sobre las criaturas de Dios, en contextos determinados. El término “espíritu santo” aparece tres veces en la Biblia hebrea: el Salmo 51 se refiere a “tu espíritu santo” (ruach kodshecha) [3] e Isaías se refiere dos veces a “su espíritu santo” (ruach kodsho).[4] El término ruach haqodesh se encuentra frecuentemente en la literatura talmúdica y midráshica. En algunos casos, significa inspiración profética, mientras que en otros se utiliza como una hipostatización o una metonimia de Dios. La comprensión rabínica del Espíritu Santo tiene un cierto grado de personificación, pero sigue siendo "una cualidad perteneciente a Dios, uno de sus atributos".[8] La idea de Dios como una dualidad o trinidad se considera Con la muerte de los últimos tres profetas (Hageo, Zacarías y Malaquías), el Espíritu Santo dejó de manifestarse en Israel, y sólo el Bat Kol quedó disponible para los sabios. El Espíritu Santo de Cristo Los evangelios sinópticos, por lo general, tienen menos que decir acerca del Espíritu Santo que el evangelio de Juan. El evangelio de Marcos es el que menos tiene que decir y menciona al Espíritu Santo sólo seis veces. Como todos los evangelios, Marcos destaca el bautismo por el Espíritu como el sello distintivo de Jesús. De hecho, ese es el punto culminante de los escritos de Marcos sobre el Espíritu Santo: que la obra de Cristo es superior y mejor precisamente porque bautiza en el Espíritu Santo, no sólo en agua. Lucas refleja lo que dice Marcos en el capítulo 24, versículo 49: “La “promesa del Padre” es el bautismo del Espíritu Santo”. 1 Juan 2:27 dice: “la unción que habéis recibido de él permanece en vosotros” (1 Juan 2:27). La metáfora del “bautismo con el Espíritu Santo” se convirtió en el “cristianismo” en un aspecto fundamental de “Cristo”. La metáfora toma la idea de la purificación del cuerpo humano a través del bautismo con agua y la extiende a la purificación del espíritu humano mediante el bautismo en el Espíritu Santo. Este ensayo sobre Jeremías se centra en el enfoque frecuente en la teología cristiana sobre la conciencia social (es decir, el pacto) y el activismo social, como en la justicia, etc. Agrego, por supuesto, que el Espíritu Santo es un aspecto importante de la profecía. Señalo que ver la profecía únicamente y completamente como una predicción disminuye la verdadera naturaleza de la profecía y la conciencia social como fuerza. George Barton; Cómo el exilio babilónico y Jeremías influyeron en el pensamiento y la teología judía: “La influencia del exilio babilónico se percibe en tres grandes esferas de la vida: (1) en la comprensión de la verdad religiosa; (2) en la organización externa de la vida religiosa; y (3) en las normas de la moral pública. Intentaremos tratar brevemente cada uno de estos puntos, pero antes de hacerlo es necesario decir algunas palabras con referencia a la naturaleza del exilio.” (INFLUENCIA DEL EXILIO BABILONICO EN LA RELIGIÓN DE ISRAEL, PROFESOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) La Casa del Alfarero: La profecía de Jeremías sobre la Casa del Alfarero: Sentido de la situación histórica y formación de la conciencia social y colectiva Jeremías habla de la compulsión y coerción que sentía y que lo obligaba a hablar y actuar: “Si digo: No me acordaré más de él (Dios), ni hablaré más en su nombre, hay en mi corazón como un fuego ardiente metido en mis huesos; trabajo, y no puedo contenerlo.” (Jeremías 20:9) En la profecía de Jeremías estaban involucradas emociones profundas y presumiblemente también instintos sociales. A pesar de la persecución, Jeremías persiste en sus comportamientos. Sin embargo, Jeremías parece creer que Dios no lo haría pasar por lo que pasó, y se pregunta por qué, de hecho, está siendo sometido a persecución. Jeremías se queja de que Dios lo ha engañado y debido a eso “cada día soy objeto de escarnio, todos se burlan de mí” (Jeremías 20:7). Jeremías 18 El Señor dirigió esta palabra a Jeremías: 2 «Ve a casa del alfarero, y allí te daré mi mensaje». 3 Bajé a casa del alfarero y lo vi trabajando en el torno. 4 Pero la vasija de barro que estaba moldeando se le estropeó en las manos. El alfarero la moldeó en otra vasija y le dio la forma que mejor le pareció. 5 La palabra del Señor vino a mí, 6 y me dijo: «¿No puedo hacer contigo, Israel, lo mismo que hace este alfarero? —afirma el Señor—. Como el barro en la mano del alfarero, así eres tú en mi mano, Israel. 7 Si en algún momento anuncio que una nación o un reino van a ser arrancados, derribados y destruidos, 8 y si esa nación a la que advertí se arrepiente de su maldad, entonces me arrepentiré y no le infligiré el desastre que había planeado. 9 Y si en otro tiempo yo anuncio que una nación o un reino ha de ser edificado y plantado, 10 y si hace lo malo ante mis ojos y no me obedece, entonces reconsideraré el bien que había pensado hacerle. Nuevo paradigma y modelo: ¡Un caballo tirando de un carro con mercancías! Si damos un paso atrás y analizamos la profecía en un sentido más amplio –especialmente en términos de ciclos y propósitos históricos–, parece claro que, al final, lo que la profecía ha logrado a lo largo de la historia es producir influencias significativas en la manera en que algunas personas ven el mundo y afectar claramente la conciencia social y espiritual de muchas personas religiosas. Es decir, la profecía moldea la conciencia humana. Yo diría que se podría hacer una analogía entre un caballo que tira de un carro con mercancías y la profecía. Hay tres partes o aspectos que se abordan: el caballo que da energía, el carro o la narración y las mercancías o el mensaje o la Palabra de Dios. Paradigma de los carros de caballos y las mercancías En esta analogía, el caballo sería la profecía-predicción que energiza la profecía. Donald Kalsched, un erudito junguiano, observó acerca de los arquetipos, que en un sentido general se consideran predisposiciones actitudinales o conductuales en el inconsciente de la mente humana: "La energía arquetípica está profundamente arraigada en el inconsciente y es 'arcaica', primitiva y también 'típica'. Las energías y los afectos arquetípicos no son fácilmente asimilados por la mente consciente. Pueden ser luminosos u oscuros, angelicales o demoníacos, pero debido a que existen en forma cruda, sin mediación, tienden a ser abrumadores". Nancy Furlotti se hace eco de esa afirmación cuando dice: "El afecto emerge de los arquetipos, que son los principios ordenadores a priori de la naturaleza, el mundo y la psique. Cuando se activa un arquetipo, se pone en movimiento una energía que no se adhiere a las leyes de causalidad, o tiempo y espacio". (Trazando un hilo rojo: Sincronicidad y el Libro Rojo de Jung (2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Las creencias y las ideas son muy reales e increíblemente poderosas y, como observan tanto James como Jung, el simbolismo religioso a menudo está sobrecargado de energía emocional. La idea del espíritu y la profecía como energía y fuerza es muy real, especialmente a la luz de una conciencia colectiva. El segundo aspecto o característica de la profecía sería la narración del profeta que sirvió como carro para transportar las mercancías –o el mensaje de la profecía. Cada libro de profecía y cada profeta cuenta una historia y presenta una narrativa. Como observó un psicólogo, las narraciones son la forma de conocimiento más antigua y más antigua, que se remonta sin lugar a dudas a millones de años atrás, cuando la especie humana descubrió por primera vez el fuego y se reunió en torno a él, lo que por supuesto condujo a la narración de historias. La psicología narrativa recién surgió por primera vez en la década de 1970; un concepto que desarrolló el psicólogo narrativo Dan P. McAdams es la idea de las narraciones empleadas como modelos de historias de vida que moldearon la identidad y desarrollaron la personalidad en estructuras sofisticadas. La historia de la vida y los esfuerzos del profeta, en este caso, sirvió como narrativas o historias que sirvieron para moldear el pensamiento espiritual y religioso, así como para dar forma a los conflictos culturales. Al igual que los mitos, las narraciones proféticas sirvieron como vehículo para transmitir realidades y verdades espirituales –que por supuesto eran las “mercancías” transportadas por el carro. La Casa del Alfarero: La profecía de Jeremías sobre la Casa del Alfarero - Sentido de la situación histórica y formación de la conciencia social y colectiva Jeremías habla de la compulsión y coerción que sentía y que lo obligaba a hablar y actuar: “Si digo: No me acordaré más de él (Dios), ni hablaré más en su nombre, hay en mi corazón como un fuego ardiente metido en mis huesos; trabajo, y no puedo contenerlo.” (Jeremías 20:9) En la profecía de Jeremías estaban involucradas emociones profundas y presumiblemente también instintos sociales. A pesar de la persecución, Jeremías persiste en sus comportamientos. Sin embargo, Jeremías parece creer que Dios no lo haría pasar por lo que pasó, y se pregunta por qué, de hecho, está siendo sometido a persecución. Jeremías se queja de que Dios lo ha engañado y debido a eso “cada día soy objeto de escarnio, todos se burlan de mí” (Jeremías 20:7). Jeremías 18 El Señor dirigió esta palabra a Jeremías: 2 «Ve a casa del alfarero, y allí te daré mi mensaje». 3 Bajé a casa del alfarero y lo vi trabajando en el torno. 4 Pero la vasija de barro que estaba moldeando se le estropeó en las manos. El alfarero la moldeó en otra vasija y le dio la forma que mejor le pareció. 5 La palabra del Señor vino a mí, 6 y me dijo: «¿No puedo hacer contigo, Israel, lo mismo que hace este alfarero? —afirma el Señor—. Como el barro en la mano del alfarero, así eres tú en mi mano, Israel. 7 Si en algún momento anuncio que una nación o un reino van a ser arrancados, derribados y destruidos, 8 y si esa nación a la que advertí se arrepiente de su maldad, entonces me arrepentiré y no le infligiré el desastre que había planeado. 9 Y si en otro tiempo yo anuncio que una nación o un reino ha de ser edificado y plantado, 10 y si hace lo malo ante mis ojos y no me obedece, entonces reconsideraré el bien que había pensado hacerle. Lo que Jeremías presenta aquí es una visión de fuerzas poderosas (Dios) que cambiarán y darán forma al pueblo judío y a su fe. Desde cierta perspectiva, como mostraré más adelante, la Profecía de la Casa del Alfarero de Jeremías –esta visión de fuerzas enormes (Dios) que afectarían y darían forma a la nación judía resultó ser una de sus profecías más fructíferas. Para ponerlo en perspectiva, destacaría el hecho de que, si uno da un paso atrás y observa la profecía en un sentido más amplio, especialmente en términos de ciclos históricos y propósitos en general, parece que –desde la distancia– lo que la profecía a menudo ha logrado y realizado “históricamente” es producir influencias significativas en las visiones del mundo de las personas y, en el judaísmo y el cristianismo, ha dado forma a la conciencia social y espiritual de muchas personas religiosas. Es decir, la profecía da forma a la conciencia humana. Yo diría que se podría hacer una analogía entre un caballo que tira de un carro con mercancías en su interior y la profecía. Hay tres partes o aspectos que se abordan: el caballo-energizador, el carro o la narrativa y las mercancías o el mensaje o la Palabra de Dios. La profecía como conciencia social George Barton, PhD: “Los desastres y el dolor obligan a un alma o a una nación a buscar de nuevo los fundamentos de la vida. Los tiempos de dolor son, por consiguiente, tiempos de crecimiento religioso. El exilio babilónico no fue una excepción. De hecho, la influencia de este exilio sobre la religión de Israel fue enorme. Esto se debió en parte al hecho de que el exilio fue el acontecimiento externo necesario para cristalizar los resultados de las influencias proféticas que habían estado actuando durante mucho tiempo, pero también se debió en parte a la profundización y clarificación de la percepción religiosa que traen consigo el desastre y el dolor”. George Barton explica: “La influencia del exilio babilónico es perceptible en tres grandes esferas de la vida: (1) en la comprensión de la verdad religiosa; (2) en la organización externa de la vida religiosa; y (3) en las normas de la moral pública. Intentaremos tratar brevemente cada uno de estos puntos, pero antes de hacerlo son necesarias algunas palabras con referencia a la naturaleza del exilio”. (INFLUENCIA DEL EXILIO BABILONICO EN LA RELIGIÓN DE ISRAEL, PROFESOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) Así que, aquí Barton, que se hace eco de varios eruditos claramente, y afirma claramente que la profecía de Jeremías, combinada con el sufrimiento y el dolor del exilio, cambió beneficiosamente la teología y la cosmovisión del judaísmo. Un punto muy destacado De la descripción que hace Jeremías del impulso –y la compulsión– que lo llevó a hablar la Palabra de Dios, parecería evidente que estaban en juego emociones profundas y poderosos instintos espirituales. Por lo tanto, se podría concluir que la previsión y la profecía, hasta cierto punto, podrían considerarse en términos de un instinto relacionado con el grupo, y la Palabra de Dios parece ser también una expresión de un instinto social, ya que promueve los conceptos de justicia, las necesidades de los oprimidos y los débiles, así como la rectitud. Jeremías es la ilustración perfecta de cómo la profecía cambió la conciencia humana. Conclusiones sobre Jeremías Debo decir que, en mi opinión, Jeremías hizo exactamente lo que se suponía que debía hacer. Proporcionó liderazgo y orientación. Y proporcionó un marco de lo que ocurriría en el futuro. Poner reparos en el hecho de que Jeremías no anotó el número preciso de años en el exilio sería, en mi opinión, como criticar a Jeremías por tener los zapatos desatados. Que yo sepa, nadie ha predicho nunca la fecha exacta de un acontecimiento, excepto quizás el asesinato de César, sobre el que hay cierto debate histórico. Como observó el erudito bíblico Thompson, “si lo consideramos [el número setenta] como un símbolo de “muchos” (Jueces 1:7; 8:14; 1 Samuel 6:19; 2 Samuel 24:15; Salmo 90:10; etc.), servirá al propósito que Jeremías probablemente pretendía” (p. 514). 58 años se traduce para mí como un “largo tiempo” y Jeremías tenía razón: fue un largo tiempo. Lo que me impresiona es que Jeremías no sólo sabía que el exilio no terminaría pronto, sino que se puso de pie y "desafió" a los falsos profetas. Mi argumento es que la profecía es una narrativa y que en esta profecía en particular, Jeremías creó una narrativa que, al final, funcionó muy bien para moldear la conciencia y el futuro. En mi opinión, Jeremías hizo su trabajo, muy bien en realidad. La forma en que miras las cosas es la fuerza más poderosa que moldea tu vida. El poeta y teólogo irlandés John O'Donohue 1. «¡Pocas personas tienen imaginación para la realidad!» – Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (1749 - 1832), poeta, dramaturgo, novelista, científico y estadista alemán, parece profetizar con precisión la revolución científica de la mecánica cuántica y el entrelazamiento cuántico (en el que el “giro” de las partículas subatómicas está sincronizado –a velocidades más rápidas que la velocidad de la luz– 2. Niels Bohr, físico danés y pionero de la física cuántica, afirmó que "Si la mecánica cuántica no te ha impactado profundamente, es que aún no la has entendido. Todo lo que llamamos real está hecho de cosas que no pueden considerarse reales". Esto sugeriría que es necesaria una reevaluación de nuestra comprensión del mundo, del universo y, por supuesto, de la Verdad; un universo necesario. 3. El futuro causó el pasado. Profesor Truscott El profesor Truscott concluyó que el experimento demostró que “un evento futuro hace que el fotón decida su pasado”. (Experimento confirma la rareza de la teoría cuántica, Science Daily, 27 de mayo de 2015, Universidad Nacional de Australia) Resumen del experimento: La extraña naturaleza de la realidad, tal como la plantea la teoría cuántica, ha sobrevivido a otra prueba: los científicos han llevado a cabo un famoso experimento que ha demostrado que la realidad no existe hasta que se la mide. Los físicos han llevado a cabo el experimento mental de elección retardada de John Wheeler, que implica que un objeto en movimiento tiene la opción de actuar como una partícula o como una onda. El grupo invirtió el experimento original de Wheeler y utilizó átomos de helio dispersados por la luz. Si uno decide creer que el átomo realmente siguió un camino o caminos particulares, entonces tiene que aceptar que una medición futura está afectando el pasado del átomo, dijo Truscott. .... Entonces, la forma que tomaría después de pasar por la primera rejilla dependía de si la segunda rejilla se colocaba después. Por lo tanto, si continuaba como una partícula o se transformaba en una onda no se decidía hasta que ya había tenido lugar un evento futuro. El tiempo iba hacia atrás. La causa y el efecto parecen estar invertidos. El futuro causó el pasado. La flecha del tiempo parecía funcionar al revés. 4. Stephen Hawking: Einstein y los viajes en el tiempo “Los viajes en el tiempo solían considerarse pura ciencia ficción, pero la teoría general de la relatividad de Einstein permite la posibilidad de que pudiéramos deformar tanto el espacio-tiempo que podríamos viajar en un cohete y regresar antes de partir. Preámbulo de “Profecía”: Definición de profecía según Marriam-Webster Para ponerlo en perspectiva, hay puntos de vista diversos y conflictivos sobre la profecía, y la situación parece muy difícil de resolver porque la definición aceptada de profecía excluye una comprensión teológica común. 1: una expresión inspirada de un profeta 2: la función o vocación de un profeta (específicamente: la declaración inspirada de la voluntad y el propósito divinos) 3: una predicción de algo que vendrá (4:) A esta definición de profecía, hay que añadir la profecía como activismo y promoción de la justicia social, un tema común y muy relevante entre los líderes y teólogos cristianos. Mi argumento es que la “profecía” es en parte una fuerza del Espíritu Santo – o desde un punto de vista psicológico, una fuerza en la conciencia social-colectiva. La conciencia social es orden social: Perspectiva en la profecía: congregación y conciencia social El ideal de los profetas no es una iglesia o congregación de creyentes adoradores, sino una comunidad, sociedad o estado de hombres y mujeres como Dios que viven en amor y verdad juntos bajo el Mesías como rey, que está lleno del espíritu de Dios, ejerciendo justicia y juicio hacia los pobres y desamparados (Isaías 9:1-7; I1:1-5). Declaración de Independencia de los Estados Unidos: “Sostenemos como evidentes estas verdades: que todos los hombres son creados iguales; que son dotados por su Creador de ciertos derechos inalienables; que entre ellos están la vida, la libertad y la búsqueda de la felicidad”. Gran parte de la conciencia humana gira en torno a ideales: lo que está bien y lo que está mal. Como observó Hume hace siglos, hay una clara diferencia entre el “deber” y el “es”, y lo que está bien y lo que está mal está más allá de la investigación científica. Siglos después, Einstein también confirmó ese hecho. Jung señaló que los símbolos, en sí mismos y por sí mismos, están fuera de los procesos cognitivos. Como observa el Dr. Stephen Farra: “Nuestros modelos son nuestra realidad, pero los modelos no son la realidad. LOS PROFETAS DEL ANTIGUO TESTAMENTO COMO REFORMADORES SOCIALES. Por el REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Filadelfia, Pensilvania. Comunidad cristiana El ideal de los profetas no es una iglesia o congregación de creyentes que adoran, sino una comunidad, sociedad o estado de hombres y mujeres como Dios que viven juntos en amor y verdad bajo el Mesías como rey, que está lleno del espíritu de Dios, ejerciendo justicia y juicio hacia los pobres y desamparados (Isaías 9:1-7; 11:1-5)… La piedad es carácter, y el carácter no está en las cosas, sino que es el producto del esfuerzo personal, por favorable que sea el entorno. Por lo tanto, los profetas exigieron de todos un esfuerzo honesto y enérgico para hacer realidad el reino divino e ideal en este mundo… Rechazan una adoración que no da frutos en la esfera social…” LOS PROFETAS DEL ANTIGUO TESTAMENTO COMO REFORMADORES SOCIALES. Por el REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Filadelfia, Pa. p.26 Los verdaderos profetas expusieron a los falsos ( Isaías 9:15), y los mostraron como indulgentes consigo mismos, cobardes, venales, clamando una falsa paz (Isaías 56:1-2; Miqueas 3:5, II); pero sólo a los verdaderos profetas les quedó la ingrata tarea de decir una verdad desagradable a un pueblo que amaba que le rascaran los oídos (Miqueas 3:8-II). En cuanto a las virtudes exigidas, no sólo se implica en todos los casos lo contrario de los pecados anteriores, sino que se expresa de múltiples maneras. Sin entrar en detalles, basta con llamar la atención sobre las virtudes fundamentales de justicia, misericordia y humildad exigidas por Miqueas (6:8): "¿Qué pide el Señor de ti: sólo practicar la justicia, amar la misericordia y humillarte ante tu Dios?" y por Amós (5:24): "Corra el juicio como las aguas y la justicia como un torrente impetuoso". El ideal de los profetas no es una iglesia o congregación de creyentes que adoran, sino una comunidad, sociedad o estado de Dios, como hombres y mujeres que viven juntos en amor y verdad bajo el Mesías como rey, que está lleno del espíritu de Dios, que ejerce justicia y juicio hacia los pobres y desamparados (Isaías 9:1-7; 11:1-5). La paz universal reinará suprema (Isaías 2:6-01), cada persona vil será conocida por su nombre correcto (Isaías 32:5; y cf. 26:1-10; caps. 56-66). En cuanto al hogar de este reino ideal de los profetas (¿y podemos decir de la Biblia en su conjunto?), es una tierra. Es esta tierra, y no tan radicalmente diferente de lo que es físicamente ahora como a veces pensamos. Si eliminamos el pecado y sus consecuencias generalizadas, ¿quién sabe hasta qué punto este mundo material cambiaría para mejor? (Cf. Is 2, 1-10; Rm 8, 8-25; Ap 21, 1-5.) p.27 La piedad es carácter, y el carácter no está en las cosas, sino que es el producto del esfuerzo personal , por favorable que sea el entorno. Por eso los profetas exigieron de todos un esfuerzo honesto y enérgico para hacer realidad el reino divino e ideal en este mundo... Rechazan una adoración que no da frutos en la esfera social, pero insisten en la religión genuina de Jehová como la única raíz y causa de tales frutos... Si ahora preguntamos qué remedio sugieren los profetas para los males sociales, encontramos que la respuesta es una fe verdadera y viva en Dios que obra por el amor hacia el prójimo”. Eso, a primera vista, parecería abogar por un tipo de conciencia social . Tenemos aquí, pues, a escritores que desde ochocientos a mil años antes de Cristo exigían unánimemente, como poder purificador y plástico de la sociedad, la verdadera y desinteresada devoción del hombre al Dios supremo, primero, y, segundo, a sus semejantes.... La profecía como justicia social: “La justicia social y los profetas” de Walter J. Houston: Extracto del artículo de Walter Houston que se centra en la justicia social como un aspecto vital de la profecía “¡Que corra la justicia como las aguas!” (Amós 5:24). Magníficas palabras, pero ¿qué significan? Lo que el profeta Amós quiere decir con ellas lo podemos deducir de las injusticias que ataca. Las personas a las que denuncia se llevan su tajada del duro trabajo de los pobres (Amós 5:11), los tratan con desprecio y aceptan sobornos. Cuando venden trigo, manipulan las balanzas y la moneda (Amós 8:5). Siempre son los pobres sus víctimas. Estos explotadores despiadados no tienen nombre, pero es evidente que tienen riqueza y poder. Su hogar es Samaria, la capital del reino de Israel del siglo VIII a. C. (Amós 3:9, Amós 4:1, Amós 6:1). Amós muestra a Dios exigiéndoles justicia en lugar de adoración: “Aborrezco, desprecio vuestras fiestas… Pero corra la justicia como las aguas, y la justicia como impetuoso torrente” (Amós 5:21-24). Walter J. Houston, "La justicia social y los profetas", np [citado el 20 de abril de 2022]. En línea: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/passages/related-articles/social-justice-and-the-prophets La pregunta que planteo aquí es la siguiente: ¿considerar la profecía como una forma de predecir el futuro es una característica fundamental de la profecía, ya que promueve la justicia social e influye en la conciencia social y la cultura? Es decir, ¿qué cree usted que sería más importante para Dios: la exactitud de la predicción o la justicia social? Quiero decir, si Dios hubiera querido hacer predicciones, podría haber contratado a un taquígrafo. Parecería fácilmente evidente que la “comunidad” y la “conciencia social” son fundamentales para la profecía. Nuevo paradigma profético: el profeta Jeremías y su exilio de setenta años ¿Dios pone profetas en el mundo “única y exclusivamente” para hacer predicciones? Profecía - Introducción Aunque no soy un erudito religioso, el único escrito sobre la función de la profecía como tema en sí mismo sería el argumento de Spinoza de que los profetas como Moisés son “ejemplares”, que se definen como “una persona o cosa que sirve como ejemplo típico o modelo excelente”. Mi argumento es que la profecía es a la vez un mensaje y una narración o historia. Además, parecería bastante evidente que entre el mensaje y la narración las profecías moldean la conciencia humana, que a su vez moldea el futuro, por así decirlo, ya que la forma en que pensamos y actuamos determinaría en gran medida el futuro. Por supuesto, en cualquier buena historia un héroe o un ejemplo es esencial. El profeta Jeremías El profeta Jeremías (“Jeremías” significa Yahvé establece) vivió en Judá, el reino del sur de Judá aproximadamente desde 627-586 a.C. Jeremías fecha el comienzo de su ministerio (627 a.C.) cuando tuvo su visión de la rama de almendro y el caldero que se inclinaba que transmitía el mensaje de una amenaza del “¡enemigo del norte!”. Un comentario interesante sobre la primera profecía de Jeremías sería que hay un juego de palabras de la palabra hebrea para almendra que tiene sus raíces en la palabra hebrea para “observar” y el comentario de Jeremías de que Dios estaba “observando”. Otro matiz importante de la primera profecía es que Jeremías habla de Dios preguntándole a Jeremías qué vio, lo que tiene un significado completamente diferente de un “profeta que baja de la montaña y hace “proclamaciones o pronunciamientos”. A Jeremías se le llama a menudo el Profeta Llorón porque vivió y fue testigo de la destrucción de Jerusalén y del Templo. Jeremías el luchador Jeremías se enojó mucho con el pueblo judío y con su país, Judá, por lo que despertó en él un resentimiento y una animosidad muy amargos, e incluso se llegó a tramar un complot para matarlo, en el que incluso su familia parecía tener un papel. “Su impopularidad aumentó, y le atrajo burlas, ostracismo y maldiciones (15:10-11, 17; 17:15; 20:7)” (p. 101 del libro de Jeremías). A menudo, Jeremías clamaba por justicia contra estas personas que lo lastimaban y obstaculizaban su misión. Al final, estaba muy amargado, y después de la destrucción generalizada de Judá (confirmada por los arqueólogos), fue llevado a la fuerza a Egipto para escapar de la ira de los “superpatriotas” judíos que querían venganza porque Jeremías se había pronunciado en contra de los líderes judíos. Sin lugar a dudas, el profeta Jeremías era un luchador. En una “exhibición profética” pública, Jeremías rompió una vasija de barro en la puerta de Jerusalén hecha de fragmentos para simbolizar cómo el pueblo judío sería quebrantado por Dios, de la misma manera que Jeremías rompió la vasija de barro. En otra “exhibición profética” pública, Jeremías reveló sus profecías condenando las prácticas judías de adoración de ídolos en su “Sermón del Templo”. Por profetizar, Jeremías fue humillado públicamente por el sacerdote principal, sometido a juicio público después de su Sermón del Templo y, justo antes de la caída de Jerusalén ante los babilonios, arrojado a un pozo en un calabozo y dejado morir. Es crucial entender la profecía de Jeremías que el “mensaje” de Jeremías cambió (lo que también cambió la “narrativa”) de uno de judíos que incurrieron en la ira de Dios debido a su infidelidad al alejarse de los Caminos de Dios y adorar ídolos, a un mensaje de reconciliación y esperanza. Jeremías 32:36-37: 36 "Ustedes dicen acerca de esta ciudad: 'A espada, a hambre y a pestilencia será entregada en manos del rey de Babilonia'; pero así dice el Señor, el Dios de Israel: 37 Ciertamente los reuniré de todas las tierras a las cuales los desterré en mi furor y en mi gran ira; los haré volver a este lugar y los haré vivir seguros. La profecía del exilio de setenta años Cabe señalar que el primer ataque y deportación babilónico ocurrió en 597 a. C. En un esfuerzo por convencer al pueblo de Judá de que Babilonia era ahora su nuevo amo, comenzaron un proceso de forzar al exilio a los residentes clave, ya en 605 a. C. Más deportaciones tuvieron lugar en años posteriores, culminando con la destrucción total de Jerusalén y el Templo en 586 a. C. Jeremías habló dos veces sobre el tiempo que los judíos deportados permanecerían en el exilio. La primera referencia está en Jeremías 25:11, que parece ser parte de un resumen (Jeremías 25:1-14). Jeremías 25:13 dice: "Y toda esta tierra será una desolación y un desierto, y estas naciones servirán al rey de Babilonia durante setenta años". Como mencioné antes, las excavaciones de los arqueólogos han demostrado que durante ese período histórico en particular, numerosas ciudades de Judá fueron de hecho destruidas y hubo una destrucción generalizada. El cautiverio judío terminó en el año 539 a. C., cuando Ciro, líder de los persas y los medos, conquistó Babilonia y puso fin a su imperio. Ciro luego dio a los judíos cautivos la libertad de regresar a su patria. John A. Thompson, el erudito australiano del Antiguo Testamento y arqueólogo bíblico, observó en su voluminoso libro sobre Jeremías que los diferentes eruditos calculan el número de años del exilio histórico de diferentes maneras. Por ejemplo, un método de cálculo toma el número de años transcurridos entre la caída de la capital asiria en el 612 a. C. y la caída de Babilonia en el 539 a. C., lo que da un total de setenta y tres. Eso está muy cerca de los setenta años profetizados por Jeremías, aunque, como señala Thompson, no es “exacto” (p. 514). Sin embargo, a primera vista, el propio exilio debería ser el indicador, ya que Jeremías se dirige a los judíos en su profecía, por lo que cualquier análisis debe dirigirse a la situación de los judíos y no a la de los asirios o babilonios. Para los judíos, el exilio abarcó desde la primera derrota de Judá con la captura de Jerusalén y la deportación de un número sustancial de importantes líderes y artesanos judíos en el año 597 a. C. hasta el edicto de liberación de los judíos emitido por Ciro en el año 538, lo que da un total de 59 años. Para entender el mensaje y la narrativa de la profecía de Jeremías es crucial comprender que al comienzo del exilio, los “falsos profetas” profetizaban a los judíos exiliados que su redención estaba a la vuelta de la esquina y que muy pronto regresarían a casa. Estoy seguro de que, como Jeremías sabía que estaban totalmente equivocados, se habría indignado, especialmente porque produciría malos frutos, por así decirlo. Eso parecería ser una psicología realmente mala: decirle a la gente que algo sucederá pronto y luego que no suceda podría ser bastante destructivo para la moral del pueblo. Entonces, Jeremías tomó una postura y se mantuvo firme y profetizó que los judíos regresarían a su patria en setenta años. El mensaje de Jeremías a los judíos exiliados fue, esencialmente, “asentarse en que la redención tardaría en llegar, pero que la redención y la reconciliación realmente se llevarían a cabo”. Posdata: Una encrucijada: una perspectiva histórica contemporánea Cuando la muerte nacional (cultural y de estilo de vida) amenaza “Se ha creado un mundo cada vez más mecanicista, fragmentado y descontextualizado … que refleja, creo, la acción sin oposición de un hemisferio izquierdo disfuncional”. — Iain McGilchrist Prefacio: Como dato informativo, quisiera destacar que el suceso del 11 de septiembre, según varios “relatos de expertos”, generó una gran cantidad de experiencias precognitivas documentadas. Investigación para ponerlo en perspectiva: “Los trágicos acontecimientos del 11 de septiembre atrajeron una oleada de casos a la atención de los laboratorios de parapsicología. Los casos iban desde sueños dramáticos de aviones estrellándose o explotando hasta los ejemplos más frecuentes de desviaciones inusuales de las rutinas normales que terminaron salvando la vida de alguien ”. (Encuentros en las fronteras del tiempo: preguntas planteadas por experiencias humanas anómalas, Richard S. Broughton) Históricamente, esto es inaudito, sin precedentes; no hay ninguna previsión histórica documentada, ninguna experiencia precognitiva de terrorismo. Hay como ocho advertencias documentadas, previsiones de asesinatos, pero ninguna de terrorismo. La implicación es que algo ha cambiado en la conciencia humana. He realizado estudios extensos de literatura profética y psíquica. He estudiado el oráculo de Delfos, el Antiguo Testamento, así como a Nostradamus. Gran parte de las profecías y predicciones del Oráculo de Delfos y de Nostradamus son ambiguas, por lo que están sujetas a diversas interpretaciones. El número de "predicciones" directas es extremadamente limitado y tal vez sumen hasta una docena. Revisé más de 900 cuartetos de Nostradamus y, utilizando algunas "reglas" de sentido común, encontré solo un puñado que realmente predecía una acción específica acompañada de uno o dos detalles específicos. Ahora bien, si bien hay una serie de profecías algo sorprendentes en el Antiguo Testamento, como las interpretaciones de los sueños de José, gran parte de las profecías del Antiguo Testamento, en cierto sentido, carecen de algunos detalles específicos. Tim Callahan señala que la profecía de Ezequiel sobre la caída y destrucción total de Tiro por los babilonios no sucedió en la historia exactamente como está escrito en la profecía de Ezequiel. Los babilonios en realidad no capturaron a Tiro y en realidad no cayó hasta que llegó Alejandro Magno. En definitiva, cuando se comparan todas las predicciones y profecías de los dos mil años anteriores a la Primera Guerra Mundial con lo que ha ocurrido desde entonces, la comparación es perfecta. En primer lugar, si bien Jeane Dixon es en realidad una psíquica indocumentada, hizo que su biógrafo "verificara" las dos predicciones, lo que, en mi opinión, es estadísticamente significativo porque son inusuales. Edgar Cayce demostró la primera "percepción no local" o visión remota documentada, como señala Stephen Schwartz. En todas las cosas, hay que separar el trigo de la paja. Eso sería especialmente cierto en el caso de Edgar Cayce. Cuando Edgar Cayce hacía predicciones para hacer predicciones, tenía una alta tasa de fracaso, al igual que Jeane Dixon y Nostradamus. Cuando Cayce daba lecturas para el personal de las fuerzas armadas de los EE. UU., le fue bastante bien en las preguntas sobre cuándo terminaría la guerra (la Segunda Guerra Mundial). Edgar Cayce también tuvo ocho curas documentadas (de aproximadamente 100 casos) de epilépticos, algo inaudito en esa época sin medicación. Luego está Theresa Caputo, la médium de Long Island, una médium psíquica contemporánea que aparece en la televisión y que se pone en contacto con los espíritus de los seres queridos que han fallecido y, al hacerlo, ayuda a sus sujetos a cerrar el ciclo y a sentirse cómodos. La mayoría de las veces, los sujetos de sus demostraciones le agradecen profusa y profundamente por la sensación de cierre y alivio que han obtenido. Si asignamos la probabilidad de que ocurra cada una de las verbalizaciones de Theresa Caputo de información trascendental que "recibió", que según todas las apariencias solo podría parecer que provenía del ser querido fallecido del sujeto, como 1 en 10, entonces solo diez piezas de información del "ser querido fallecido" darían como resultado probabilidades generales de que ocurran de una en diez mil millones. La gente se deja atrapar por las abstracciones. Una amiga de mi hermana fue a una de las demostraciones de Caputo y terminó pensando que era totalmente un engaño porque cometió errores. Me encuentro con el estereotipo desadaptativo de que los psíquicos tienen que ser "absolutamente perfectos" con bastante frecuencia. La gente comete errores, eso es lo que hace la gente. Además de eso, existe la visión remota. Wikipedia afirma: “La visión remota (VR) es la práctica de buscar impresiones sobre un sujeto distante o invisible, supuestamente percibiéndolo con la mente. [1] Por lo general, se espera que un visor remoto proporcione información sobre un objeto, evento, persona o ubicación que está oculto a la vista física y separado a cierta distancia. [2] ”Los físicos Russell Targ, Harold Puthoff y Stephen Schwartz han realizado experimentos. En los EE. UU. hay cientos de miles de seguidores de la visión remota, muchos de los cuales afirman haber tenido experiencias de visión remota ellos mismos. Luego hay diversas experiencias documentadas como un artista que dibujó tres imágenes clarividentes en el Dr. Phil. De manzanas a manzanas En este análisis, el requisito previo es comparar manzanas con manzanas (independientemente de la cuestión de si existe o no la psi), nada más. Cuando uno compara las experiencias psíquicas espirituales documentadas con éxito ahora y en los últimos cien años (en comparación con los dos mil años anteriores de experiencias psíquicas espirituales documentadas, no hay comparación), es una imagen muy cruda de un negro muy oscuro contra un blanco muy blanco. En cuanto a las profecías, el Antiguo Testamento es bastante confiable. Además, en el Oráculo de Delfos, un centro intelectual, había numerosos historiadores, por lo que su registro también podría considerarse bastante confiable. El mundo se ha puesto patas arriba y al revés. Existe un consenso entre los científicos de que la especie humana sigue evolucionando y adaptándose. En los últimos 300 años ha habido revoluciones científicas, tecnológicas, socioeconómicas, sociales y políticas radicales y dramáticas. El medio ambiente ha cambiado: el psicólogo social Gergen escribió un libro llamado "El yo saturado" que expone todos los cambios. En la década de 1900, el automóvil revolucionó la movilidad. La radio y la televisión aumentaron la comunicación y el contenido de la comunicación. Luego están los Blackberry, Face Book; YouTube, Twitter, Internet, el correo electrónico, los mensajes de texto, etc., han aumentado en el pasado muy reciente el número de personas con las que nos comunicamos y el tipo de comunicación (más anónima, en su mayoría sin interacción de persona a persona). Todo lo relacionado con la comunicación con los demás ha cambiado drásticamente. Creo que sería razonable pensar que el gran aumento de las interacciones entre humanos alterará drásticamente los patrones de comportamiento de las personas, y probablemente no para mejor. Un científico afirma que el número de personas que el cerebro humano es capaz de manejar es de aproximadamente 40 o 50. Hay demasiadas opciones, demasiados modelos a seguir; la sociedad se ha vuelto, en cierto sentido, simplemente demasiado para la mente humana, por lo que Gergen titula su libro "El yo saturado". Si la sociedad es demasiado, uno podría esperar un comportamiento más errático. En ese sentido, yo destacaría que parecería una verdad evidente que la “sociedad” no podría siquiera existir sin la “conciencia social”. Sin embargo, cuando le pregunté a una estudiante de psicología si había oído hablar alguna vez de la “conciencia social”, respondió: “¡No!”. La definición de religión en cinco partes “universalmente aceptada” (según Chernus) de Geertz no incluye ni la comunidad ni el “espíritu” en ese sentido. Sin embargo, cualquier evaluación objetiva o razonable de la religión destacaría las características de las religiones como grupos o comunidades como características increíblemente salientes. También parecería una conclusión ineludible que las “enseñanzas” de las religiones albergarían –al ser normas– una conciencia social. En psicología social, la “norma” desde Allport en 1927 es que “¡No hay psicología de grupos!”. Nuevo enfoque: Espiritualidad práctica-creativa versus "¡La espiritualidad es irreal!" “No le preguntamos a la vida cuál es el sentido de la vida. La vida nos pregunta cuál es el sentido de tu vida. Y la vida exige nuestra respuesta.” Víctor Frankl: 1. WR Miller, CE Thoresen “Una base filosófica para esta perspectiva es el materialismo, la creencia de que no hay nada que estudiar porque la espiritualidad es intangible y está más allá de los sentidos”. 2. La crítica revisada por pares de 2018, respaldada por 4 psicólogos ( es decir, el Dr. H. Koenig), refuta la máxima materialista y la identifica como la falacia definista (términos cargados). Explicación: si tomamos el concepto de "muerte", que es "intangible y está más allá de los sentidos", entonces "la muerte debe ser un producto de nuestra imaginación". 3.+ Falacia de Allport (psicología social, 1927) "No existe psicología de grupos" = abstracción desconectada con "patriotismo" - una refutación obvia + conciertos de rock, protestas... “Los conceptos crean ídolos; sólo el asombro comprende algo. La gente se mata por los ídolos. ¡El asombro nos hace caer de rodillas!” San Gregorio de Nisa Es evidente que la espiritualidad está enredada en abstracciones: poderes, lo sobrenatural-irreal, magia, bola de cristal, etc. Dr. S. Farra “Buen artículo breve: La falta de creencia en el "libre albedrío" conduce rutinariamente a una sensación de falta de sentido, desesperación y comportamiento personal poco ético. Nuestros paradigmas son nuestra forma de abordar la Realidad, pero No son la Realidad. Como sugiere C. Peck, Jr., ¡nos estamos perdiendo en nuestras propias abstracciones!” Fundamentos 1. McGilChrist, M Sherif, Kant afirma que el "contexto del mundo real" es vital: las personas son la única fuente de contexto del mundo real para las creencias espirituales y religiosas . 2. K Gergen: "¡El conocimiento adecuado refleja las realidades del mundo real!" - "¡Entender algo, ya sea que seamos conscientes de ello o no, depende de elegir un modelo!" I McGilChrist Método científico aristotélico 1. Recopilar datos 2. Categorizar los datos 3. Analizar la información 4. Sacar conclusiones Nuevo enfoque creativo pragmático “¡La espiritualidad es una predisposición humana natural! Es más primaria que la religión institucional y concierne al sentido de conexión de una persona consigo misma, con los demás y con el mundo”. K. Bishop, B. Hyde - A. Killin: “Los instrumentos musicales más antiguos conocidos datan de hace 40.000 años…” 1. Espiritualidad musical - Ser social: "La música es una parte fundamental de nuestra evolución - y funcional porque facilita el "contacto humano" y nuestro "ser social" - J Schulkin, G Raglan; la 'musicalidad' es una propiedad de las comunidades más que de los individuos" I Cross 2. Espiritualidad y compasión: Saslow “La espiritualidad se asociaba especialmente con tener una identidad espiritual, haber tenido experiencias trascendentes y tender a orar… …los participantes espirituales … tienden a sentir compasión… vínculo entre la espiritualidad y una compasión superior…” & Sprecher + Fehr: correlación entre espiritualidad y compasión & principio de V. Frankl: “los seres humanos tienen un núcleo espiritual con una necesidad innata de significado…” 3. Curación espiritual en el duelo: Easterling: “... las personas parecen afrontar mejor la situación si pueden "actualizar" sus experiencias espirituales en tiempos de crisis y J Parker 4. Espiritualidad relacional - yo espiritual: “Hay y Nye: la espiritualidad implica una conciencia profunda de la relación que uno tiene con uno mismo y con todo lo que es distinto a uno mismo”. a. Kapwa-loob filipino y normas prosociales: “Kapwa es el reconocimiento de una identidad compartida, un yo interior, compartido con los demás – pertenencia-conciencia social: JD Espiritu, M Zosa, R Ileto, J Reyes, Mercado, Jose De Mesa ... b. Tejido de sueños: T'boli-Bla'an T'nalak Los sueños como fuente de inspiración divina: T'boli Be Lang Dulay, creó más de 100 diseños T'nalak diferentes. c. “Las relaciones humanas con el mundo natural” como creencias espirituales de los cazadores recolectores del Ártico en los espíritus animales (Erica Hill) – conciencia relacional-social 5. Espiritualidad infantil “Las experiencias anómalas pueden catalizar la autocuración en niños y jóvenes”. Donna Thomas +D. Scott 6. Espiritualidad artística: el 20 por ciento de los estadounidenses recurre a los “medios, las artes y la cultura” como su principal medio de experiencia y expresión espiritual... 7. Poesía y profecía: “El profeta es un poeta. Lo que los poetas conocen como inspiración poética, los profetas lo llaman revelación divina” – Heschel 8. Dra. Ingela Visuri: Espiritualidad y “El caso del autismo de alto funcionamiento”: “experiencias sensoriales inexplicables” El Dr. S. Neal (JHU) dijo que ella [la psiquiatría] no tenía formación en personas que tienen experiencias espirituales. Del capítulo de Park y Paloutzian "Experiencias místicas, espirituales y religiosas": sinopsis como lista corta de APA "experiencias anómalas, alucinaciones, experiencias cercanas a la muerte, de vidas pasadas, místicas y paranormales" (sin nada sobre "personas" que tienen experiencias). JE Kennedy: "Muy poca investigación se ha dirigido a investigar los efectos generales" en las personas Dr. Visuri: "Hay una diferencia entre analizar experiencias e investigar a las personas". Perspectiva personal: Sinopsis – biografía de 40 años de experiencias psíquicas y espirituales personales Preámbulo: Como filósofo español Ortega Gasset, yo soy “yo” y mis circunstancias. ¡Los profetas probablemente no serían diferentes! Los profetas no trataron al hombre como un átomo, sino como parte de un organismo social, un miembro vivo de un cuerpo vivo. Su gran y única misión era curar este cuerpo cuando estaba enfermo (Isaías 1:6), advertirle contra la disolución venidera y llevarlo de nuevo a los caminos que conducen a la perfección en Dios (Jeremías 6:6). Por eso, siempre eran más numerosos cuando amenazaba la muerte de una nación. (LOS PROFETAS DEL ANTIGUO TESTAMENTO COMO REFORMADORES SOCIALES. Por el REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) “Se ha creado un mundo cada vez más mecanicista, fragmentado y descontextualizado … que refleja, creo, la acción sin oposición de un hemisferio izquierdo disfuncional”. — Iain McGilchrist Cuando la muerte nacional amenaza: conductas antisociales en Estados Unidos 1. Durante los últimos 3 años ha habido más de 73 tiroteos en escuelas de Estados Unidos cada año. 2. CDC: Las tasas de suicidio aumentaron aproximadamente un 36% entre 2000 y 2021. 3. Más de 610 tiroteos masivos por año durante los últimos cuatro años. 4. Según el Washington Post, los crímenes de odio alcanzaron un máximo histórico en 2021: 826 filipinos se declararon víctimas de crímenes de odio. 5. La política de Trump de separar deliberadamente a los niños de sus madres para castigarlos por inmigrar En un artículo reciente sobre la candidatura de Trump para la reelección, Trump afirmó que intentará restablecer la política de separar a los niños de sus madres. “Más de 5.500 niños, incluidos bebés, fueron retirados y cientos aún no han sido reunidos hasta agosto de 2022”. (Extracto de Wikipedia) 6. Los ataques a profesores han aumentado drásticamente, no sólo en Estados Unidos sino en todo el mundo. 7. Las agresiones a los trabajadores sanitarios han aumentado exponencialmente: también es un problema mundial. 8. epidemia (aumento del 25%) de narcisismo en los países occidentales (Twenge, etc. ). 9. Mención especial merece la campaña cristiana Antisocial No Mask Madness. Los estadounidenses representan el 4% de la población mundial. Sin embargo, representan el 20,6% de los muertos en el mundo. Los análisis del número de muertes innecesarias en comparación con otros países varían de 50.000 a 100.000. 10. La sentencia de la Corte Suprema sobre el aborto se basa en una falacia descaradamente obvia: una premisa falsa : literalmente, argumenta que el aborto no era legal porque la palabra "aborto" no está en la Constitución. Extracto de la sentencia Sinopsis-biografía: Más de 40 años de experiencias psíquicas y espirituales personales "Sostenemos que Roe y Casey deben ser revocados. La Constitución no hace referencia al aborto, y ningún derecho de ese tipo está protegido implícitamente por ninguna disposición constitucional, incluida aquella en la que los defensores de Roe y Casey se basan principalmente ahora: la cláusula del debido proceso de la Decimocuarta Enmienda". Bueno, sí ... la mitad del mundo moderno no está en la constitución: energía nuclear, aviones, automóviles. Es una falacia flagrante, una premisa falsa. Además, el argumento de la Corte Suprema de que el cuerpo de una mujer no tiene relevancia constitucional es una tontería. Fue un trabajo de desprestigio político. El bastión de la "Verdad y la Justicia" que utiliza una falacia superficial y obvia es un acto antisocial porque muchos estadounidenses están perdiendo la fe en la "justicia" o el trato justo. Comentario: Un análisis indicó que en los Estados Unidos se producen cincuenta y siete veces más tiroteos en las escuelas que en toda Europa en conjunto. La tasa de suicidios en los Estados Unidos ha aumentado un 36% desde el año 2000 y, con un 14,2 por mil, es más del doble de la tasa de suicidios en Filipinas. Además, si bien las agresiones a los profesores son un problema mundial, en los Estados Unidos son una epidemia. En Filipinas, las agresiones físicas a los profesores son poco frecuentes. Si bien es cierto que existen varias causas subyacentes distintas, cuando un “presidente” y líderes cristianos extremistas de alto rango “modelan” el racismo, el odio y las conductas antisociales, no debería sorprender a nadie que Estados Unidos tenga más problemas de conductas antisociales que otras sociedades. Dicho esto, no se puede considerar el problema de los tiroteos en las escuelas de manera aislada de otras conductas antisociales, como las agresiones a los maestros o a los trabajadores de la salud, que son un problema generalizado en el mundo. El factor ideológico: asesinatos con cuchillo en jardines de infancia y escuelas primarias de China Creencias razonables: categorizar experiencias inusuales como inusuales. Lo que mucha gente no entiende es que los estudios muestran sistemáticamente que entre un tercio y la mitad de las personas tienen experiencias y, como observan Park y Paloutzian, existe una "normalidad" en las experiencias psíquicas espirituales. Además, las personas, en A veces, pierden el sentido común y a menudo se pierden en abstracciones. El sentido común dictaría que el cerebro procesa las experiencias inusuales como "inusuales". Es bastante sorprendente... ¿no? Cuando las personas se sumergen en abstracciones, a menudo pierden de vista la comprensión del sentido común. y buen juicio. Estudios y experimentos han demostrado que el proceso de "categorización" es un proceso muy importante en la mente humana y que el proceso de categorización es bien conocido y probado en psicología. William James continúa diciendo que las experiencias religiosas y espirituales crean y generan un "sentido de realidad" (p. 48). Jung dijo más o menos exactamente lo mismo: que las experiencias de un individuo dan forma a la realidad de una persona. El consenso de síntesis de Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung y William James, expresado simplemente es que "el espíritu, los procesos espirituales y las creencias religiosas crean significado, un sentido de la realidad y, en última instancia, Realidad y Verdad". En la antología, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observa: "Frankl considera que la búsqueda de significado surge de la naturaleza espiritual de uno. William James enfatiza en su obra clásica, publicada originalmente en 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: "Ellas [las experiencias espirituales] determinan nuestra actitud vital [sentido de la realidad] tan decisivamente como la actitud vital de los amantes está determinada por el sentido habitual,..." Jung observó, en Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revisado) que "La vida y el espíritu son dos poderes o necesidades entre los que se coloca el hombre. El espíritu da sentido a su vida y la posibilidad de su mayor desarrollo. Perspectiva: casi todas mis experiencias encajarían fácilmente en una categoría paralela a las llamadas de alarma de los animales. Jean MacPhail, investigadora, autora de A Spiral Life y ex investigadora de neuropatología en la Universidad de Harvard, observa: "¡Mis experiencias son muy singulares!", en parte porque se relacionan con eventos externos a mí, además de ser coherentes con interpretaciones razonables (todas como percepciones de amenazas a grupos), además de estar relativamente bien documentadas. Esto encaja con los resultados de los experimentos de precognición de Daryl Bem, que demostraron una correlación con las motivaciones "instintivas" (es decir, el sexo). La evidencia reciente de numerosas percepciones documentadas de amenazas relacionadas con el 11 de septiembre muestra que las “percepciones de amenazas” son un factor muy destacado, así como la “visibilidad” (política y socio-religiosa) es un factor muy importante en la “precognición”. En todas mis experiencias, solo un puñado de percepciones podrían identificarse claramente como “precognitivas”. De hecho, cuando me senté recientemente y revisé mis experiencias, una gran proporción podría decirse que eran percepciones relacionadas con personas “alienadas”, una clara indicación de que la telepatía era integral. Por lo tanto, cuestionaría la legitimidad de la idea de la “precognición pura”, por así decirlo (especialmente a la luz de la conciencia colectiva). 1. Sueños: Tengo cuatro sueños documentados y dos sueños no documentados, todos con interpretaciones coherentes y razonables que enumero aquí: (1) un sueño sobre Pakistán y la guerra nuclear. (2) Un sueño-percepción híbrido: "Etiqueta" precognitiva (una etiqueta sería una acción central más uno o dos detalles) del terrorista "incel" en Canadá a fines de abril de 2018. (3) Sueño sobre Libia (26-2-2019), (4) Sincronicidad con el ataque de Estrasburgo, Francia - sueño (19-9-20) + indocumentado (5) Sueño de Dudayev (6) Fredericksburg 2. Experiencias conscientes: Destaca las percepciones de vigilia (1) Mi reciente correo electrónico del 30 de octubre de 2020 al agente del FBI McElwee advertía sobre una amenaza de "terrorismo doméstico" refiriéndose a una "bomba" como arma, que está relacionada, por supuesto, con el atentado de Nashville el día de Navidad de 2020 (2) Una advertencia muy breve (por teléfono) al FBI antes del intento de asesinato del presidente Reagan (3) Llamé a la CIA antes del 11 de septiembre (4) La advertencia de 1981, What a nightmare, es una categoría aparte: la advertencia muy detallada, específica y notariada al FBI el 18 de octubre de 1981 de un ataque inminente por parte del entonces activo grupo terrorista Weathermen. Los detalles [precisos] son: grupo - con dinero, fabricación de bombas, dinero, mujeres, 22 personas reunidas, Nueva York, muerte, así como la identificación del manifiesto de los terroristas Weathermen bajo el título "pesadilla". Como dato informativo, "fabricación" fue muy preciso: los terroristas tenían planes y materiales para fabricar bombas en su apartamento, pero ninguna bomba real. El elemento "22 personas reunidas" también es increíblemente preciso, ya que hubo un tiroteo entre los Weathermen y la fuerza policial de Nyack que, curiosamente, según informó el New York Times, tenía 22 miembros en su fuerza policial. Lo que hace que mi “¡Qué pesadilla!” sea notable es que la última línea incluye la “parábola de la semilla de mostaza” que, en mi opinión, parece ser en realidad una “visión divina”. La parábola de la semilla de mostaza encaja perfectamente con la síntesis-consenso de Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, William James y Emile Durkheim que afirma inequívocamente que el “espíritu” [los procesos espirituales] crean significado y, en relación con la parábola, “metafóricamente” las semillas de mostaza crean crecimiento y producen una maravillosa planta de semilla de mostaza, en paralelo con “el espíritu es verdad” (Juan 5:6). Reflexiones: A. La experiencia puede ser una excelente maestra. Aquí hay algunos principios importantes que aprendí de mis experiencias en 1981, de psíquicos espirituales relativamente bien documentados y con interpretaciones consistentemente razonables. En mi opinión, mis experiencias personales sirvieron principalmente como una función para desencadenar una búsqueda y un cuestionamiento para ser honesto. 1. Como explica JE Kennedy, los estudios muestran que aproximadamente el 45% de las personas tienen una reacción inicial de miedo. Esa fue la mía. Como a muchos, mi experiencia me resultó aterradora, principalmente porque era algo desconocido y mi “mente no tenía forma” de organizar la experiencia. Las dudas y los miedos alimentaron un ciclo de dudas y ansiedades. Una noche, en Ann Arbor, según recuerdo, me pasé dos pasos de la raya, pero me di cuenta. Una epifanía que he tenido –compartida por un gran número de líderes cristianos– es que la Verdad Absoluta [Dios] está más allá de la comprensión, que la experiencia es acausal y está más allá de la comprensión. Ese es un factor importante para evaluar la profecía. Reducir lo divino a la existencia como una predicción no sólo es irreal, sino que degrada a Dios y a lo divino también. 2. A principios de 1981, me enfrenté a la cuestión del propósito de la profecía. Me habían dicho que debía escribir predicciones. Eso era algo muy importante en 1981, y es una pregunta que se planteó en la primera línea de mi advertencia certificada ante el FBI el 18 de octubre de 1981. La pregunta que me hice fue: ¿tiene algún sentido biológico, psicológico o incluso espiritual hacer predicciones para hacer predicciones? La conclusión a la que llegué es que el propósito y la motivación son fundamentales. Es decir, el "propósito" es fundamental para la profecía -y la espiritualidad- especialmente a la luz de "El Espíritu es la Verdad" (Juan 5:6). La importancia de la motivación es muy coherente con las creencias espirituales de las personas con las que he trabajado. Cuando se cuestiona a las "personas espirituales", en muchos casos las creencias espirituales no son sólo una motivación sino una fuente muy profunda de inspiración. Históricamente, después de decenas de miles de años de creencias espirituales y religiosas (aunque increíblemente no sea en el ámbito académico), la espiritualidad y la religiosidad serían claramente un poderoso impulso y motivación. 3. He pensado intensamente sobre la espiritualidad y las experiencias espirituales trascendentales. Como señaló San Gregorio de Nisa, sólo los “puros de corazón” “ven” a Dios. En mi opinión, está claro que hay espíritu en el interior y espíritu trascendental. Y sin espíritu en el interior no puede haber ninguna conexión real con el espíritu trascendental. Una analogía adecuada sería la de la experiencia espiritual como la flor y el significado, el propósito y la creatividad que se producen como el fruto. 4. Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972), un filósofo y teólogo judío “importante”: En su libro Los profetas, Heschel cita a NK Chadwick: “En todas partes el don de la profecía es inseparable de la inspiración divina. En todas partes esta inspiración conlleva conocimiento, ya sea del pasado, en forma de historia y genealogía; del presente oculto en forma de información científica; y del futuro en forma de enunciados proféticos en sentido estricto… Invariablemente encontramos que… su estado de ánimo [del poeta] es exaltado y alejado de su existencia normal…” (p. 482 – 483)
By Charles E Peck jr November 11, 2024
Ang Hula ni Jeremias: Mga Propeta sa Lumang Tipan = Kapag ang Pambansang Kamatayan ay nagbabanta at ang Tao, hindi bilang isang atom, ngunit bilang isang bahagi ng isang panlipunang organismo (Stibitz) + espirituwal -relihiyosong paniniwala bilang "social-moral order (R Reyes) Prophecy bilang Social Justice & propesiya bilang mga aral (salita ng Diyos), + Propesiya bilang Puwersa Preamble: Propesiya Noon vs ngayon: 1. “Ang propesiya ng Bibliya o propesiya sa Bibliya ay binubuo ng mga sipi ng Bibliya na sinasabing nagpapakita ng mga komunikasyon mula sa Diyos sa mga tao sa pamamagitan ng mga propeta. Karaniwang itinuturing ng mga Kristiyano na ang mga propeta sa Bibliya ay nakatanggap ng mga paghahayag mula sa Diyos.” (Wikipedia) 2. Ang propesiya ng teolohiko ay isang hula ng mga kaganapan sa hinaharap na pinaniniwalaang inspirasyon ng Diyos at ipinaalam sa isang propeta ng isang supernatural na nilalang. Ang salitang "propesiya" ay nagmula sa salitang Griyego na prophēteia , na nangangahulugang "kaloob ng pagbibigay-kahulugan sa kalooban ng Diyos". Ang "Supernatural Swindle": Ang salitang "supernatural" ay lumilitaw nang tatlong beses sa mga Ebanghelyo - hindi isang beses ang salitang ginamit ni Jesu-Kristo. Ang salitang "supernatural" ay isang materyalistang termino na walang kahulugan at nagbibigay ng kahulugan na ganap na naiiba sa anyo ng mga ebanghelyo tulad ng mahika, kapangyarihan, hula ng bolang kristal. atbp. Maikling buod kung paano inilalarawan ni Kristo ang Banal na Espiritu: Ang mga sinoptikong Ebanghelyo, sa pangkalahatan ay may mas kaunting sinasabi tungkol sa Banal na Espiritu kaysa kay Juan. Ang Ebanghelyo ni Marcos ay may pinakamaliit na sinasabi na binanggit ang Banal na espiritu ng anim na beses lamang. Tulad ng lahat ng Ebanghelyo, itinampok ni Marcos ang bautismo at lalo na ang bautismo kay Jesus. Sa katunayan, iyon ang highlight ng isinulat ni Marcos tungkol sa Banal na espiritu – na ang gawain ni Kristo ay mas mataas at mas tiyak dahil siya ay nagbibinyag sa Banal na Espiritu, hindi lamang sa tubig. Mabilis na mga halimbawa: Apocalipsis (Lucas 2:26), ginabayan (Lucas 2:27), binyag (3 kasama ang Lucas 3:27), pagalingin ang mga bagbag na puso (Lucas 4:18), pagbawi ng paningin (Tulad ng 4:18), pagtuturo (Tulad ng 12:11-12), bigyan ng kapangyarihan (Lucas 24:49) maghintay (Lucas 24:49) Bautismo (Juan 3:5), malaya tulad ng hangin (Juan 3:8). Buhay (Juan 6:63), tubig na buhay (Juan7:37-39). Mang-aaliw (“tagapamagitan, mang-aaliw, tagapagtanggol”) (Juan 14:16). Hindi nakikita, hindi kilala, dayuhan sa mundo (Juan 14:17). Banal na Mang-aaliw (Juan 14 v.18). tingnan si Hesus (14:19). buhay muling pagkabuhay Si Jesus ay nabubuhay (Juan 14:19). muling pagkabuhay Buhay si Jesus (Juan 14:19) Mang-aaliw (Juan 15:26). Siya ang Espiritu ng katotohanan (Juan 15:26). Dapat tayong “maghintay” hanggang sa matanggap natin Siya (v.49). Para sa pananaw na ipinakita ng isang pag-aaral habang ang pagiging relihiyoso ay bumaba nang malaki sa mga kabataan sa England, nagkaroon ng pagtaas sa mga paniniwala sa buhay pagkatapos ng kamatayan. Irish Prophecy vs Oracle of Delphi Mga Pagkakaiba sa Kultura na May Kaugnayan sa Espirituwalidad at Propesiya TULAD ng naobserbahan ni Caroline Francis Richardson sa kanyang artikulong “The Use of Prophecy in the Irish tales of the Heroic Cycle,” ang Irish/Celtic Prophecy ay medyo naiiba at naiiba sa iba pang anyo ng propesiya, at sa gayon ay malamang na magkaroon ng natatanging genetic component bilang mabuti (para sa talaan ). Ang propesiya ng Irish ay walang pagkakatulad sa sinaunang Greek Prophecy at ang pagkahumaling nito sa Oracles, gaya ng Oracle of Delphi. Binibigyang-diin ni Caroline Richardson na taliwas sa tradisyong Irish na walang pari o hierarchal na organisasyon, kabaligtaran sa sinaunang relihiyong Griyego na binubuo ng "Isang organisadong lupon ng mga pari ang nagbigay kahulugan sa mga orakulo nina Zeus at Apollo at kaya, samakatuwid, ay kulayan ang mga patakaran ng ang bansa at upang maimpluwensyahan ang katangian ng buong tao gayundin ng mga indibidwal.” (p.394) Higit pa rito, ang Irish Prophecy ay walang pagkakatulad sa pagtutok sa panlipunang propesiya ng katarungan at mga tipan, ng mga propeta sa Lumang Tipan na madalas na nangangako ng poot ng Diyos para sa mga kawalang-katarungan at idolatriya. Si Caroline Richardson ay nagbubuod ng Irish/Celtic na propesiya sa mga katagang ito: “Ang propesiya ay hindi pag-aari ng isang grupo ng mga tao; wala itong lokal na tirahan; wala itong impluwensya sa mga patakaran ng bansa, o sa mga indibidwal; ito ay hindi isang mahalagang bahagi ng balangkas ng mga kuwento. At sa mga kuwentong ito ang balangkas ay ang bagay, hindi madalas na isang tapos na balangkas, ngunit isang bagay na tiyak ang nagaganap; lalaki at babae, at ang Twatha de Danaan act!” (p.395) Sinabi ni Caroline Francis Richardson sa kanyang artikulong “The Use of Prophecy in the Irish tales of the Heroic Cycle,” The Sewanee Review, Okt, 1913, Vol 21. No 4 (Okt, 1913, pp 385-396) Lumilitaw kaagad na ang konsepto ng crystal ball perception ay nagmula sa kulturang Griyego at partikular ang Oracle of Delphi model. Bilang paghirang ng informaiton, ang orihinal na salitang Hebreo (yada) para sa kaalaman ay may "malapit at personal" na konteksto dito - lalo na sa konteksto ni Yahweh. Sinasalamin ng Kristiyanismo ang pilosopiyang Griyego at ang kadahilanang iyon ay lumilitaw na nagbago sa oryentasyon ng mga Kristiyano. Halimbawa, ang mga taga-Corinto (Mga Regalo) ay gumawa ng pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng karunungan at kaalaman. Paunang Salita: ANG mga propeta ay nakipag-ugnayan sa tao, hindi bilang isang atom, kundi bilang isang bahagi ng isang sosyal na organismo, isang buhay na miyembro ng isang buhay na katawan. Bilang Pilosopo ng Espanyol na si Ortega Gasset - Ako ay "ako" at ang aking mga kalagayan. Ang mga propeta ay malamang na hindi naiiba! ANG mga propeta ay makitungo sa tao, hindi bilang isang atom, kundi bilang isang bahagi ng isang sosyal na organismo, isang buhay na miyembro ng isang buhay na katawan. Ang pagalingin ang katawan na ito kapag may karamdaman (Isa. I:6), upang bigyan ito ng babala laban sa darating na pagkawasak, at ibalik ito sa mga landas na patungo sa pagiging perpekto sa Diyos, ang kanilang dakila at tanging misyon (Jer. 6:6). Kaya naman, palagi silang mas marami kapag nagbabanta ang pambansang kamatayan. Bago ang pagbagsak ng Samaria at ang pagbagsak ng Jerusalem nakita natin silang nagtatrabaho sa pinakamaraming bilang at may pinakamalaking lakas. (ANG MGA PROPETA NG LUMANG TIPAN BILANG MGA SOCIAL REFORMERS. Ni REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) Jeremias at Judah: Ang katimugang kaharian ng Juda ay bumagsak sa panahon ng propetang ministeryo ni Jeremias (586 BC), na binantaan sa loob ng maraming taon ng mga panlabas na kapangyarihan—una ang Asiria at Ehipto at pagkatapos ay ang kanilang mga mananakop, ang Babylon. Natagpuan ni Jeremias ang kanyang sarili na nakikipag-usap sa isang bansang nagtutulak sa paghatol mula sa Diyos. Modernong pananaw: Bilang isang punto ng impormasyon, bibigyang-diin ko na ang 9/11 na kaganapan - ayon sa ilang "mga ekspertong account" - ay nakabuo ng malaking bilang ng mga dokumentadong karanasan sa pagkilala. Pananaliksik para sa pananaw: "Ang mga kalunus-lunos na kaganapan ng 9/11 ay nagdala ng maraming mga kaso sa atensyon ng mga laboratoryo ng parapsychology. Ang mga kaso ay mula sa mga dramatikong panaginip ng pag-crash o pagsabog ng mga eroplano hanggang sa mas madalas na mga halimbawa ng hindi pangkaraniwang pag-alis mula sa mga normal na gawain na nagligtas sa buhay ng isang tao." (Encounters at the Frontiers of Time: Questions Raised by Anomalous Human Experiences Richard S. Broughton) Sa kasaysayan, ito ay hindi pa naririnig – hindi pa naganap – walang dokumentadong historical foresight – precognitive na karanasan ng terorismo – zero. Mayroong walong dokumentadong babala - mga pananaw sa mga assassinations - ngunit wala sa terorismo. Ang implikasyon ay may nagbago sa kamalayan ng tao. "Ang isang lalong mekanikal, pira-piraso, decontextualized na mundo,... ay dumating, na sumasalamin, naniniwala ako, ang walang kalaban-laban na pagkilos ng isang dysfunctional na kaliwang hemisphere." — Iain McGilchrist Historical Social Consciousness at Social-Moral Order "Ang tao, hindi bilang isang atom, ngunit bilang isang bahagi ng isang panlipunang organismo, isang buhay na miyembro ng isang buhay na katawan" Ang mga paniniwalang espirituwal-relihiyoso bilang kamalayang panlipunan at kaayusan sa lipunan-moral Ang social perception-consciousness ay panlipunang kaayusan: Ramon Reyes highlights the unifying aspect of spirituality in prehistoric Philippine society and early human society: "Sa kabuuan, panlipunan at moral na kaayusan ay sumasaklaw sa mga buhay na patay ang mga diyos at mga espiritu." Iyan ang espirituwal at relihiyosong paniniwala ng mga sinaunang lipunan ng tao na nilikha at pinanatili ang isang panlipunang kamalayan - isang panlipunan-moral na kaayusan. Makikita mo sa mitolohiya ni Zeus na ang parehong prinsipyo ay naaangkop. Inilarawan ni Zeus ang batas at kaayusan, karunungan, mabuting pakikitungo at panunumpa - lahat ng prosocial values. Sinusuportahan ng pananaliksik ni Ramon Reyes ang argumento ni Durkheim: “Sa katunayan, ang buong kaayusan ng lipunan ng Ifugao, kabilang ang mga praktikal na paraan ng pamumuhay, mga institusyong panlipunan at mga tuntunin, moralidad at lahat ng iba pa, ay bumubuo ng isang unitaryong sistema; at ito ay tinitingnan bilang isang relihiyosong kababalaghan ng supernatural na pinagmulan. Naglalarawan ng isang halimbawa ng prehistoric Filipino world-view na ito, sabi ng isang antropologo,. . . “Sa pagtrato sa kapaligiran bilang panlipunan, ang mga tao ay binibigyan ng maayos na pagpapaliwanag ng 'natural' na mga phenomena. Sa kabuuan, ang isang panlipunan at moral na kaayusan ay sumasaklaw sa mga buhay, mga patay, mga diyos at mga espiritu, at ang kabuuang kapaligiran.” Mga alamat bilang simbolikong mapa ng kamalayang panlipunan Ang mga espirituwal na paniniwala ng sinaunang Griyego - partikular si Zeus - bilang isang kamalayan sa lipunan at kaayusan ng panlipunang moral. Si Zeus bilang simbolo ay "Ang nagtatag ng kapangyarihan ng hari, ng batas at ng kaayusan, kung saan si Dice, Themis at Nemesis ang kanyang mga katulong. Sa parehong dahilan ay pinoprotektahan niya ang kapulungan ng mga tao ( agoraios ), ang mga pulong ng konseho ( boulaios ), at habang siya ay namumuno sa buong estado, gayundin sa bawat bahay at pamilya. Binantayan din niya ang kabanalan ng panunumpa ( horkios ), ang batas ng mabuting pakikitungo ( xenios ), at mga protektadong suppliant. Pinaghiganti niya ang mga napinsala, at pinarusahan ang mga nakagawa ng krimen, dahil minamasdan niya ang mga ginagawa at pagdurusa ng lahat ng tao.” Sa The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, unang inilathala noong 1912, si Emile Durkheim, isang founding father of sociology, ay nagsabi na "Ang relihiyon ay isang pinag-isang sistema ng mga paniniwala at gawain na may kaugnayan sa mga sagradong bagay, ibig sabihin, mga bagay na inihiwalay at ipinagbabawal—mga paniniwala. at mga gawaing nagbubuklod sa isang pamayanang moral na tinatawag na Simbahan, lahat ng sumusunod sa kanila.” Ipinagtanggol nina Paloutzian at Park (p. 12), "ang relihiyon at espiritwalidad ay higit o hindi gaanong magkakaugnay, kultural na elaborated na mga sistema ng kahulugan na naka-embed at nakuha sa pamamagitan ng mga panlipunang relasyon at mga institusyong matatagpuan sa kumplikadong natural at binuo na mga kapaligiran." Paunang Salita: Ruach Hakodesh Ang lahat ng mga Propeta ay nagsalita "sa Banal na Espiritu"; at ang pinaka-katangian na tanda ng presensya ng Banal na Espiritu ay ang kaloob ng propesiya, sa diwa na ang taong kinalulugaran nito ay minamasdan ang nakaraan at ang hinaharap. Sa Hudaismo, ang Espiritu Santo (Hebreo: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) ay tumutukoy sa banal na puwersa, kalidad, at impluwensya ng Diyos sa sansinukob o sa mga nilalang ng Diyos, sa mga ibinigay na konteksto. Ang terminong "banal na espiritu" ay lumilitaw nang tatlong beses sa Hebreong Bibliya: Ang Awit 51 ay tumutukoy sa "Iyong banal na espiritu" (ruach kodshecha) [3] at si Isaias ay dalawang beses na tumutukoy sa "Kanyang banal na espiritu" (ruach kodsho).[4] Ang terminong ruach haqodesh ay madalas na matatagpuan sa talmudic at midrashic na panitikan. Sa ilang mga kaso, ito ay nagpapahiwatig ng makahulang inspirasyon, habang sa iba ito ay ginagamit bilang isang hypostatization o isang metonym para sa Diyos. Ang rabinikal na pag-unawa sa Banal na Espiritu ay may isang tiyak na antas ng personipikasyon, ngunit ito ay nananatili, "isang katangiang pagmamay-ari ng Diyos, isa sa kanyang mga katangian".[8] Ang ideya ng Diyos bilang isang duality o trinity ay isinasaalang-alang Sa pagkamatay ng huling tatlong propeta (Haggai, Zacarias, at Malakias), ang Banal na Espiritu ay tumigil sa pagpapakita ng sarili sa Israel, at tanging ang Bat Kol ang nananatiling magagamit ng mga pantas. Ang Banal na Espiritu ni Kristo Ang mga sinoptikong Ebanghelyo, sa pangkalahatan ay may mas kaunting sinasabi tungkol sa Banal na Espiritu kaysa sa ebanghelyo ni Juan. Ang Ebanghelyo ni Marcos ay may pinakamaliit na sasabihin at binanggit ang Banal na espiritu ng anim na beses lamang. Tulad ng lahat ng Ebanghelyo, itinampok ni Marcos ang bautismo ng espiritu bilang tanda ni Jesus. Sa katunayan, iyon ang highlight ng isinulat ni Marcos tungkol sa Banal na espiritu – na ang gawain ni Kristo ay mas mataas at mas tiyak dahil siya ay nagbibinyag sa Banal na Espiritu, hindi lamang sa tubig. Sinasalamin ni Lucas ang sinabi ni Marcos sa Kabanata 24 bersikulo 49: Ang "pangako ng Ama" ay ang bautismo ng Banal na Espiritu." Sinasabi ng 1 Juan 2:27 na "ang pagpapahid na iyong tinanggap sa kanya ay nananatili sa iyo" (1 Juan 2:27). Ang metapora para sa "bautismo sa Banal na Espiritu" ay naging isang mahalagang aspeto ng "Kristo" sa "Kristiyanismo." Ang metapora ay kinuha ang ideya ng paglilinis ng katawan ng tao sa pamamagitan ng bautismo sa tubig at pinalawak ito sa paglilinis ng espiritu ng tao sa pamamagitan ng bautismo sa Banal na Espiritu. Ang sanaysay na ito tungkol kay Jeremiah ay nakasentro sa madalas na pagtuon sa teolohiyang Kristiyano sa kamalayang panlipunan (ibig sabihin, tipan) at aktibismo sa lipunan - tulad ng sa hustisya, atbp. Idinagdag ko - siyempre - na ang Banal na Espiritu bilang isang mahalagang aspeto ng propesiya. Itinuturo ko na ang pagtingin sa propesiya lamang at ganap bilang isang hula ay nakakabawas sa tunay na katangian ng propesiya - at panlipunang kamalayan bilang puwersa. George Barton; Paano naiimpluwensyahan ng Babylonian Exile at Jeremiah ang pag-iisip at teolohiya ng mga Hudyo: “Ang impluwensya ng pagkatapon sa Babylonian ay makikita sa tatlong dakilang larangan ng buhay: (I) sa pagkaunawa sa katotohanan ng relihiyon; (2) sa panlabas na organisasyon ng relihiyosong buhay; at (3) sa mga pamantayan ng pampublikong moral. Sisikapin nating maikli na talakayin ang bawat isa sa mga puntong ito, ngunit bago gawin ito, kailangan muna ng ilang salita na may kinalaman sa likas na katangian ng pagkakatapon dito." (IMPLUWENSYA NG BABYLONIAN EXILE SA RELIHIYON NG ISRAEL, PROPESOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH .D.) The Potter's House: Jeremiah's Potter's House Prophecy -Historical Situation Sense, & Shaping Social-Collective Consciousness Binanggit ni Jeremias ang tungkol sa pamimilit at pamimilit na nadama niya na nag-udyok sa kanya na magsalita at kumilos: “Kung sasabihin kong, “Hindi ko na siya babanggitin (ang Diyos), o magsasalita pa sa kaniyang pangalan, mayroong sa aking puso na parang nagniningas. apoy na nakakulong sa aking mga buto, at ako ay pagod sa pagpigil nito, at hindi ko magagawa.” (Jeremias 20:9) Sa hula ni Jeremias ay nasasangkot ang malalim na damdamin at malamang na mga likas na hilig sa lipunan. Sa kabila ng pag-uusig, nagpatuloy si Jeremias sa kanyang pag-uugali. Gayunpaman, waring naniniwala si Jeremias na hindi siya pagdudusahan ng Diyos sa kanyang pinagdaanan, at nagtatanong kung bakit siya, sa katunayan, ay napapailalim sa pag-uusig. Si Jeremias ay nagrereklamo na nilinlang siya ng Diyos at dahil doon "Ako ay nasa kakutyaan araw-araw, lahat ay tinutuya ako" (Jeremias 20:7) Jeremias: “18 Ito ang salita na dumating kay Jeremias mula sa Panginoon: 2 Bumaba ka sa bahay ng magpapalayok, at doon ko ibibigay sa iyo ang aking mensahe. 3 Kaya't bumaba ako sa bahay ng magpapalayok, at nakita ko siyang gumagawa sa gulong. 4 Ngunit ang palayok na kanyang hinuhubog mula sa putik ay nasira sa kanyang mga kamay; kaya, ang magpapalayok ay nabuo ito sa isa pang palayok, na hinuhubog ito na tila pinakamainam sa kanya. 5 Nang magkagayo'y dumating sa akin ang salita ng Panginoon. 6 Sinabi niya, “Hindi ko ba magagawa sa iyo, Israel, ang gaya ng ginagawa nitong magpapalayok?” sabi ng Panginoon. “Tulad ng putik sa kamay ng magpapalayok, gayon ka sa aking kamay, Israel. 7 Kung sa anumang oras ay ipahayag ko na ang isang bansa o kaharian ay bubunutin, gibain at wawasakin, 8 at kung ang bansang iyon na aking binalaan ay magsisi sa kanyang kasamaan, kung gayon ay magsisisi ako at hindi ko idudulot sa kanya ang kapahamakan na aking binalak. 9 At kung sa ibang pagkakataon ay ipahayag ko na ang isang bansa o kaharian ay itatayo at itatanim, 10 at kung ito ay gumawa ng masama sa aking paningin at hindi sumunod sa akin, kung gayon ay muling isasaalang-alang ko ang kabutihang inilaan kong gawin para dito. ” Bagong Paradigm at Modelo: Horse Drawing ng Cart na may mga Goods sa loob nito! Kung ang isa ay umatras at titingnan ang propesiya sa isang mas malaking kahulugan - lalo na sa mga tuntunin ng makasaysayang mga siklo at layunin, tila malinaw na, sa huli, kung ano ang propesiya ay madalas na nagagawa sa kasaysayan ay upang makabuo ng makabuluhang impluwensya sa paraan ng pagtingin ng ilang tao sa mundo at malinaw na nakaapekto sa panlipunan at espirituwal na kamalayan ng maraming relihiyosong tao. Ibig sabihin, hinuhubog ng propesiya ang kamalayan ng tao. Gusto kong magtaltalan na ang isang pagkakatulad ay maaaring gawin sa pagitan ng isang kabayo na gumuhit ng isang cart na may mga kalakal sa loob nito at propesiya. May tatlong bahagi o aspeto na tinutugunan – ang horse-energizer, ang kariton o ang salaysay, at ang mga kalakal o ang mensahe o Salita ng Diyos. Horse-Cart-Goods Paradigm Sa pagkakatulad na ito, ang kabayo ay ang hula-hula na nagpapasigla sa propesiya. Donald Kalsched, isang iskolar ng Jungian, ang obserbasyon tungkol sa mga archetypes, na sa pangkalahatang paraan ay tinitingnan bilang attitudinal o behavioral predispositions sa walang malay na pag-iisip ng tao, na "Archetypal energy ay nakaugat nang malalim sa unconscious at ito ay 'archaic', primitive, at pati na rin ang 'typical' na mga enerhiya at epekto ay hindi madaling makuha ng may malay na pag-iisip. Maaari silang maging maliwanag o madilim, mala-anghel o mala-demonyo, ngunit dahil sila ay umiiral sa hilaw, hindi napapagitnaan na anyo ay may posibilidad na maging sobrang lakas. Nancy Furlotti echoes that statement when she said, " Ang epekto ay lumalabas mula sa mga archetypes, na kung saan ay ang isang priori ordering prinsipyo ng kalikasan, mundo, at psyche. Kapag ang archetype ay isinaaktibo, ang enerhiya ay inilalagay sa paggalaw na hindi sumusunod sa mga batas. ng sanhi, o oras at espasyo." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung's Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Ang mga paniniwala at ideya ay totoong-totoo at hindi kapani-paniwalang makapangyarihan at gaya ng pagmamasid nina James at Jung, ang simbolismo ng relihiyon ay kadalasang pinahihintulutan ng emosyonal na enerhiya. Ang ideya ng espiritu at propesiya bilang enerhiya at puwersa ay tunay na totoo, lalo na sa liwanag ng isang kolektibong kamalayan. Ang pangalawang aspeto o katangian ng propesiya ay ang salaysay ng propeta na nagsisilbing kariton upang dalhin ang mga kalakal - o mensahe ng propesiya. Bawat aklat ng propesiya at bawat propeta ay nagsasabi ng isang kuwento at naglalahad ng isang salaysay. Gaya ng naobserbahan ng isang psychologist, ang mga salaysay ay ang pinakaluma ang pinakaluma at pinaka sinaunang anyo ng kaalaman, na nagmula nang walang pag-aalinlangan sa milyun-milyong taon na ang nakalilipas nang unang natuklasan ng mga tao ang apoy at nagtipon sa paligid, na siyempre ay humantong sa pagkukuwento. Ang narrative psychology ay unang lumitaw noong 1970's isang konsepto na binuo ng narrative psychologist na si Dan P. McAdams ay ang ideya ng mga salaysay na ginamit bilang mga modelo ng kwento ng buhay na humubog sa pagkakakilanlan at bumuo ng personalidad sa mga sopistikadong istruktura. Ang kuwento ng buhay at mga pagsisikap ng propeta, sa kasong ito, ay nagsilbing mga salaysay o mga kuwento na nagsilbi upang hubugin ang espirituwal at relihiyosong pag-iisip gayundin ang paglalagay ng anyo sa mga salungatan sa kultura. Tulad ng mga alamat, ang mga salaysay ng propeta ay nagsilbing isang sasakyan upang ihatid ang mga espirituwal na katotohanan at katotohanan - na siyempre ay ang "mga kalakal" na dala ng kariton. The Potter's House: Jeremiah's Potter's House Prophecy - Historical Situation Sense, & Shaping Social-Collective Consciousness Binanggit ni Jeremias ang tungkol sa pamimilit at pamimilit na nadama niya na nag-udyok sa kanya na magsalita at kumilos: “Kung sasabihin kong, “Hindi ko na siya babanggitin (ang Diyos), o magsasalita pa sa kaniyang pangalan, mayroong sa aking puso na parang nagniningas. apoy na nakakulong sa aking mga buto, at ako ay pagod sa pagpigil nito, at hindi ko magagawa.” (Jeremias 20:9) Sa hula ni Jeremias ay nasasangkot ang malalim na damdamin at malamang na mga likas na hilig sa lipunan. Sa kabila ng pag-uusig, nagpatuloy si Jeremias sa kanyang pag-uugali. Gayunpaman, waring naniniwala si Jeremias na hindi siya pagdudusahan ng Diyos sa kanyang pinagdaanan, at nagtatanong kung bakit siya, sa katunayan, ay napapailalim sa pag-uusig. Si Jeremias ay nagrereklamo na nilinlang siya ng Diyos at dahil doon "Ako ay nasa kakutyaan araw-araw, lahat ay tinutuya ako" (Jeremias 20:7) Jeremias: “18 Ito ang salita na dumating kay Jeremias mula sa Panginoon: 2 Bumaba ka sa bahay ng magpapalayok, at doon ko ibibigay sa iyo ang aking mensahe. 3 Kaya't bumaba ako sa bahay ng magpapalayok, at nakita ko siyang gumagawa sa gulong. 4 Ngunit ang palayok na kanyang hinuhubog mula sa putik ay nasira sa kanyang mga kamay; kaya, ang magpapalayok ay nabuo ito sa isa pang palayok, na hinuhubog ito na tila pinakamainam sa kanya. 5 Nang magkagayo'y dumating sa akin ang salita ng Panginoon. 6 Sinabi niya, “Hindi ko ba magagawa sa iyo, Israel, ang gaya ng ginagawa nitong magpapalayok?” sabi ng Panginoon. “Tulad ng putik sa kamay ng magpapalayok, gayon ka sa aking kamay, Israel. 7 Kung sa anumang oras ay ipahayag ko na ang isang bansa o kaharian ay bubunutin, gibain at wawasakin, 8 at kung ang bansang iyon na aking binalaan ay magsisi sa kanyang kasamaan, kung gayon ay magsisisi ako at hindi ko idudulot sa kanya ang kapahamakan na aking binalak. 9 At kung sa ibang pagkakataon ay ipahayag ko na ang isang bansa o kaharian ay itatayo at itatanim, 10 at kung ito ay gumawa ng masama sa aking paningin at hindi sumunod sa akin, kung gayon ay muling isasaalang-alang ko ang kabutihang inilaan kong gawin para dito. ” Ang ipinakita dito ni Jeremias ay isang pangitain ng makapangyarihang pwersa (Diyos) na magbabago at huhubog sa mga Hudyo at pananampalataya. Mula sa isang tiyak na pananaw, gaya ng ipapakita ko sa ibang pagkakataon, ang Hula ng Bahay ng Magpapalayok ni Jeremiah – ang pangitaing ito ng malalaking puwersa (Diyos) na makakaapekto at humuhubog sa bansang Judio ay naging isa sa kanyang mas mabungang mga propesiya. Para sa pananaw, itatampok ko ang katotohanan na, Kung ang isa ay umatras at titingnan ang propesiya sa isang mas malaking kahulugan, lalo na sa mga tuntunin ng mga makasaysayang siklo at layunin, sa pangkalahatan, lumilitaw na - mula sa malayo - kung ano ang hula na madalas "sa kasaysayan" na nakamit at nagagawa ay upang makabuo ng mga makabuluhang impluwensya sa mga pananaw sa mundo ng mga tao at sa Hudaismo at Kristiyanismo ay hinubog ang panlipunan at espirituwal na kamalayan ng maraming relihiyosong tao. Ibig sabihin, hinuhubog ng propesiya ang kamalayan ng tao. Gusto kong magtaltalan na ang isang pagkakatulad ay maaaring gawin sa pagitan ng isang kabayo na gumuhit ng isang cart na may mga kalakal sa loob nito at propesiya. May tatlong bahagi o aspeto na tinutugunan – ang horse-energizer, ang kariton o ang salaysay, at ang mga kalakal o ang mensahe o Salita ng Diyos. Propesiya bilang Social Consciousness George Barton, PhD: “Ang sakuna at kalungkutan ay nagtutulak sa isang kaluluwa o isang bansa na hanapin muli ang mga pundasyon ng buhay. Ang mga panahon ng kalungkutan ay naaayon sa panahon ng paglago ng relihiyon. Ang pagkatapon sa Babilonya ay hindi eksepsiyon. Sa katunayan, ang impluwensya ng pagkatapon na ito sa relihiyon ng Israel ay napakalaki. Ito ay sa isang bahagi dahil sa katotohanan na ang pagpapatapon ay ang panlabas na kaganapan na kinakailangan upang gawing kristal ang mga resulta ng mga impluwensya ng propeta na gumagana sa mahabang panahon, ngunit ito rin ay sa isang bahagi dahil sa pagpapalalim at paglilinaw ng relihiyosong pang-unawa na nakakapinsala. at kalungkutan ang nagdadala." Ipinaliwanag ni George Barton: “Ang impluwensiya ng pagkatapon sa Babilonya ay makikita sa tatlong dakilang larangan ng buhay: (I) sa pagkaunawa sa relihiyosong katotohanan; (2) sa panlabas na organisasyon ng relihiyosong buhay; at (3) sa mga pamantayan ng pampublikong moral. Sisikapin nating maikli na talakayin ang bawat isa sa mga puntong ito, ngunit bago gawin ito, kailangan muna ng ilang salita na may kinalaman sa likas na katangian ng pagkakatapon dito." (IMPLUWENSYA NG BABYLONIAN EXILE SA RELIHIYON NG ISRAEL, PROPESOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH .D.) Kaya, dito si Barton, na malinaw na nagpahayag ng maraming iskolar, at malinaw na nagsasaad na ang hula ni Jeremias - kasama ang pagdurusa at sakit ng Pagkatapon, ay nakapagpabago sa teolohiya at pananaw sa daigdig ng Hudaismo Mula sa paglalarawan ni Jeremiah tungkol sa pagmamaneho – at pagpilit - na nagtulak sa kanya na magsalita ng Salita ng Diyos, tila madaling makita na ang malalim na emosyon at malakas na espirituwal na mga instinct ay gumagana. Kaya, ang isa ay maaaring maghinuha na ang pag-iintindi sa kinabukasan, at propesiya, sa ilang lawak ay maaaring tingnan sa mga tuntunin ng isang grupo na nauugnay sa likas na ugali, at ang Salita ng Diyos ay tila isang pagpapahayag din ng isang panlipunang likas na ugali dahil ito ay nagtataguyod ng mga konsepto ng katarungan, ang pangangailangan ng mga inaapi at mahihina, gayundin ng katuwiran. Si Jeremias ang perpektong paglalarawan kung paano binago ng hula ang kamalayan ng tao. Mga konklusyon tungkol kay Jeremias Dapat kong sabihin, sa aking pananaw, ginawa ni Jeremiah ang Eksaktong dapat niyang gawin. Nagbigay siya ng pamumuno at gabay. At nagbigay ng balangkas kung ano ang mangyayari sa hinaharap. Ang pag-aalinlangan sa katotohanang hindi nakuha ni Jeremiah ang eksaktong bilang ng mga taon sa Pagkatapon, sa isip ko ay parang pinupuna si Jeremiah sa pagkakatanggal ng kanyang sapatos. Sa aking pagkakaalam, walang sinuman ang nakahula ng eksaktong petsa ng isang kaganapan, maliban marahil sa pagpaslang kay Caesar, kung saan mayroong ilang debate sa kasaysayan. Gaya ng sinabi ng iskolar sa Bibliya, si Thompson, “kung ituturing natin ito [ang bilang na pitumpu] bilang simbolo ng “marami” (Huk. 1:7; 8:14; 1 Sam. 6:19; 2 Sam. 24:15; Awit 90:10; (p.514) Ang 58 taon ay isinalin sa akin bilang isang "mahabang panahon" at tama si Jeremiah - ito ay isang mahabang panahon. Ang humanga sa akin ay hindi lamang alam ni Jeremias na hindi magtatapos ang Exile anumang oras sa lalong madaling panahon ngunit siya ay tumayo at "hinamon" ang mga huwad na propeta. Ang aking argumento ay ang propesiya ay isang salaysay at na sa partikular na propesiya na ito, si Jeremias ay lumikha ng isang salaysay na, sa huli, ay gumana nang napakahusay sa paghubog ng kamalayan at sa hinaharap. Sa aking pananaw ay nagawa ni Jeremiah ang trabaho - napakahusay talaga. Ang paraan ng pagtingin mo sa mga bagay ay ang pinakamakapangyarihang puwersa sa paghubog ng iyong buhay. Irish na makatang teologo na si John O'Donohue 1. "Iilang tao ang may imahinasyon para sa katotohanan!" - Goethe Si Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (1749 - 1832), makata, manunulat ng dulang Aleman, nobelista, siyentipiko, at estadista, ay tila tumpak na hinuhulaan ang siyentipikong rebolusyon ng quantum mechanics at quantum entanglement (kung saan ang "spin" ng mga subatomic na particle ay pinagsabay - sa bilis na mas mabilis kaysa sa bilis ng liwanag - 2. Si Niels Bohr, isang Danish physicist at pioneer sa quantum physics ay nagsabi na "Kung hindi ka pa nabigla ng quantum mechanics, hindi mo pa ito naiintindihan. Lahat ng tinatawag nating real ay gawa sa mga bagay na hindi maaaring ituring na totoo." - Iyon ay magmumungkahi na ang isang muling pagsusuri ng ating pag-unawa sa mundo, sa uniberso, at, siyempre - ang Katotohanan - ay kinakailangan - isang pangangailangan na uniberso. 3. Ang hinaharap ay sanhi ng nakaraan. Propesor Truscott Napagpasyahan ni Propesor Truscott na ang eksperimento ay nagpakita na; "Ang isang kaganapan sa hinaharap ay nagiging sanhi ng photon na magpasya sa nakaraan nito." (Kinukumpirma ng eksperimento ang quantum theory weirdness Science Daily, Mayo 27, 2015 Australian National University) Buod ng Eksperimento: Ang kakaibang katangian ng realidad na inilatag ng quantum theory ay nakaligtas sa isa pang pagsubok, kung saan ang mga siyentipiko ay nagsasagawa ng isang sikat na eksperimento at nagpapatunay na ang katotohanan ay hindi umiiral hanggang sa ito ay nasusukat. Ang mga physicist ay nagsagawa ng delayed-choice thought experiment ni John Wheeler, na kinasasangkutan ng isang gumagalaw na bagay na binibigyan ng pagpipilian upang kumilos tulad ng isang particle o isang alon. Binaligtad ng grupo ang orihinal na eksperimento ni Wheeler, at gumamit ng helium atoms na nakakalat sa pamamagitan ng liwanag. Kung pipiliin ng isang tao na maniwala na ang atom ay talagang gumawa ng isang partikular na landas o mga landas, dapat tanggapin na ang isang pagsukat sa hinaharap ay nakakaapekto sa nakaraan ng atom, sabi ni Truscott. .... Kaya, kung anong anyo ang aabutin pagkatapos na dumaan sa unang rehas na bakal ay depende sa kung ang pangalawang rehas ay inilagay sa lugar pagkatapos. Samakatuwid, kung ito ay nagpatuloy bilang isang particle o nagbago sa isang alon ay hindi napagpasyahan hanggang sa isang kaganapan sa hinaharap ay naganap na. Bumaliktad ang oras. Lumilitaw na baligtad ang sanhi at bunga. Ang hinaharap ay sanhi ng nakaraan. Ang arrow ng oras ay tila gumagana sa kabaligtaran. 4. Stephen Hawking: Einstein at Time Travel "Ang paglalakbay sa oras ay itinuturing na isang science fiction lamang, ngunit ang pangkalahatang teorya ng relativity ni Einstein ay nagbibigay-daan para sa posibilidad na maaari naming i-warp ang space-time nang labis na maaari kang sumakay sa isang rocket at bumalik bago ka umalis. Preamble sa "Prophecy": Depinisyon ng propesiya ni Marriam-Webster Para sa pananaw – mayroong magkakaibang at magkasalungat na pananaw sa propesiya – at ang sitwasyon ay tila napakahirap lutasin sa kadahilanang ang tinatanggap na kahulugan ng propesiya ay hindi kasama ang isang karaniwang teolohikong pag-unawa. 1: isang inspiradong pananalita ng isang propeta 2: ang tungkulin o bokasyon ng isang propeta (partikular: ang inspiradong pagpapahayag ng banal na kalooban at layunin) 3: isang hula ng isang bagay na darating (4:) Sa kahulugang ito ng propesiya, ang propesiya bilang aktibismo at pagtataguyod ng katarungang panlipunan ay kailangang idagdag – pagiging karaniwan at napaka-kaugnay na tema ng mga Kristiyanong lider at teologo Ang aking argumento ay ang "propesiya" ay isang bahagi ng puwersa ng Banal na Espiritu - o mula sa sikolohikal na pananaw, isang puwersa sa panlipunang sama-samang kamalayan. Ang Social Conciousness ay Social Order: Pananaw sa Propesiya: Kongregasyon at Kamalayang Panlipunan Ang ideal ng mga propeta ay hindi isang simbahan o kongregasyon ng sumasamba sa mga mananampalataya, ngunit isang komunidad, lipunan, o estado ng diyos tulad ng mga kalalakihan at kababaihan na namumuhay sa pag-ibig at katotohanan nang magkasama sa ilalim ng Mesiyas bilang hari, na puspos ng espiritu ng Diyos, pagsasagawa ng katarungan at paghatol sa mga dukha at walang magawa (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5) American Declaration of Independence: “Pinaniniwalaan namin na ang mga katotohanang ito ay maliwanag, na ang lahat ng tao ay nilikhang pantay-pantay, na sila ay pinagkalooban ng kanilang Tagapaglikha ng tiyak na mga Karapatan, na kabilang sa mga ito ay ang Buhay, Kalayaan at ang paghahangad ng Kaligayahan.” Karamihan sa kamalayan ng tao ay tungkol sa mga mithiin - tungkol sa tama at mali. Gaya ng naobserbahan ni Hume ilang siglo na ang nakalilipas, mayroong isang natatanging pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng "dapat" at "Ay" - at ang tama at mali ay lampas sa siyentipikong pagtatanong. Pagkalipas ng mga siglo, kinumpirma din ni Einstein ang katotohanang iyon. Itinuro ni Jung na ang mga simbolo - sa loob at ng kanilang mga sarili - ay nasa labas ng mga proseso ng pag-iisip. Tulad ng naobserbahan ni Dr Stephen Farra, 'Ang aming mga modelo ay ang aming katotohanan ngunit ang mga modelo ay Hindi katotohanan. ANG MGA PROPETA NG LUMANG TIPAN BILANG MGA REPORMOR NG PANLIPUNAN. Ni REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphia, Pa. Pamayanang Kristiyano Ang ideal ng mga propeta ay hindi isang simbahan o kongregasyon ng sumasamba sa mga mananampalataya, ngunit isang komunidad, lipunan, o estado ng diyos tulad ng mga kalalakihan at kababaihan na namumuhay sa pag-ibig at katotohanan nang magkasama sa ilalim ng Mesiyas bilang hari, na puspos ng espiritu ng Diyos, nagsasagawa ng katarungan at paghatol sa mga dukha at walang magawa (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5)…. Ang kabanalan ay katangian, at ang pagkatao ay wala sa mga bagay, ngunit ito ay produkto ng personal na pagpupunyagi, gaano man kabuti ang kapaligiran. Samakatuwid, ang mga propeta ay humiling sa lahat ng isang tapat, masiglang pagsisikap na matamo ang banal, perpektong kaharian sa mundong ito……, Itinatakwil nila ang isang pagsamba na hindi nagpapakita ng mga bunga sa panlipunang kalagayan…” ANG MGA PROPETA NG LUMANG TIPAN BILANG MGA SOSYAL NA REPORMOR. Ni REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphia, Pa. p.26 Inilantad ng mga tunay na propeta ang mga huwad ( Isa. 9: I5), at ipinakita sa kanila ang pagiging mapagbigay sa sarili, duwag, mapang-akit, sumisigaw ng huwad na kapayapaan (Isa. 56: I -2; Mic. 3:5, II); ngunit sa mga tunay na propeta lamang nananatili ang walang pasasalamat na gawain ng pagsasabi ng hindi kasiya-siyang katotohanan sa isang bayang gustong kilitiin ang mga tainga nito (Mic. 3:8-II). Kung tungkol sa mga birtud na hinihingi, ang kabaligtaran ng mga naunang kasalanan ay hindi lamang ipinahiwatig sa bawat kaso, ngunit sari-saring ipinahayag. Nang hindi nagsasaad ng mga detalye, sapat na na bigyang-pansin ang mga pangunahing birtud ng katarungan, awa, at kababaang-loob na hinihingi ni Mikas (6:8): "Ano ang hinihiling sa iyo ng Panginoon, kundi ang gumawa ng makatarungan, at ibigin ang awa, at lumakad na may kababaang-loob na kasama ng iyong Diyos?" at sa pamamagitan ng Amos (5:24): "Bumaba ang kahatulan na parang tubig at ang katuwiran ay parang malakas na batis." Ang ideal ng mga propeta ay hindi isang simbahan o kongregasyon ng sumasamba sa mga mananampalataya, ngunit isang komunidad, lipunan, o estado ng diyos tulad ng mga kalalakihan at kababaihan na namumuhay sa pag-ibig at katotohanan nang magkasama sa ilalim ng Mesiyas bilang hari, na puspos ng espiritu ng Diyos, pagsasagawa ng katarungan at paghatol sa mga dukha at walang magawa (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5). Ang kapayapaan sa buong mundo ay maghahari (Isa. II:6-o1), ang bawat hamak na tao ay makikilala sa kanyang tamang pangalan (Isa. 32:5; at cf. 26: I-Io; chaps. 56-66). Kung tungkol sa tahanan ng huwarang kaharian na ito ng mga propeta (at masasabi natin sa kabuuan ng Bibliya?), ito ay isang lupain. Ito ang mundong ito, at hindi gaanong kakaiba sa kung ano ito ngayon sa pisikal na kung minsan ay iniisip natin. Alisin ang kasalanan at ang malawak na pagkalat ng mga kahihinatnan nito, at sino ang nakakaalam kung hanggang saan ang materyal na mundong ito ay mababago para sa mas mahusay? (Cf. Isa. II: I-IO; Rom. 8:8-25; Rev. 21:1-5.) p.27 Ang kabanalan ay katangian, at ang pagkatao ay wala sa mga bagay, ngunit ito ay bunga ng personal na pagsisikap , gaano man kaganda ang kapaligiran. Samakatuwid ang mga propeta ay humiling sa lahat ng isang tapat, masiglang pagsisikap na matamo ang banal, huwarang kaharian sa mundong ito……, Itinatakwil nila ang isang pagsamba na hindi nagpapakita ng mga bunga sa larangan ng lipunan, ngunit iginigiit ang tunay na relihiyong Jehova bilang ang tanging ugat at dahilan ng ganyang mga bunga…..Kung ngayon ay tatanungin natin kung anong lunas ang iminumungkahi ng mga propeta para sa mga kasamaan sa lipunan, makikita natin ang sagot ay isang tunay at buhay na pananampalataya sa Diyos na gumagawa sa pamamagitan ng pagmamahal sa kapwa-tao.” Iyon ay - sa mukha nito ay tila nagtataguyod ng isang uri ng panlipunang kamalayan p.28 Mayroon na tayong mga manunulat dito kasing aga ng walong daan hanggang isang libong taon bago si Kristo na nagkakaisang hinihingi bilang nagpapadalisay at plastik na kapangyarihan ng lipunan ang totoo at hindi makasariling debosyon ng tao sa kataas-taasang Diyos, una; at, pangalawa, sa kanyang kapwa-tao…. Prophecy as Social Justice: “Social Justice and the Prophets” ni Walter J. Houston: Sipi mula sa artikulo ni Walter Houston na nakatuon sa katarungang panlipunan bilang isang mahalagang aspeto ng propesiya "Hayaan ang hustisya na bumagsak tulad ng tubig!" ( Amos 5:24 ). Mga kahanga-hangang salita, ngunit ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng propetang si Amos sa kanila maaari mong lutasin ang mga kawalang-katarungan na kanyang inaatake. Ang mga taong tinutuligsa niya ay kumukuha ng kanilang sariling paghiwa mula sa mahirap na gawain ng mga mahihirap (Amos 5:11), tinatrato sila nang may paghamak, at tumatanggap ng mga suhol. Kapag nagbebenta sila ng trigo, nililigpitan nila ang mga timbangan at ang salapi (Amos 8:5). Laging mga mahihirap ang kanilang biktima. Ang mga malupit na mapagsamantalang ito ay walang pangalan, ngunit sila ay malinaw na may kayamanan at kapangyarihan. Ang kanilang tahanan ay Samaria, ang kabisera ng ikawalong siglo BCE na kaharian ng Israel (Amos 3:9, Amos 4:1, Amos 6:1). Ipinakita ni Amos ang paghingi ng Diyos ng katarungan sa kanila sa halip na pagsamba: “Aking kinasusuklaman, hinahamak ko ang inyong mga kapistahan… Nguni't ang katarungan ay dumaloy na parang tubig, at ang katuwiran ay gaya ng malakas na batis” (Amos 5:21-24). Walter J. Houston, "Social Justice and the Prophets", np [binanggit noong Abr 20, 2022]. Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/passages/related-articles/social-justice-and-the-prophets Ang tanong na itinataas ko dito ay ito: Ang pagtingin ba sa propesiya bilang prediksyon ba ay isang mahalagang katangian ng propesiya bilang pagtataguyod ng katarungang panlipunan at pag-impluwensya sa kamalayan at kultura ng lipunan. Ibig sabihin, alin sa palagay mo ang mas mahalaga sa Diyos: Ang katumpakan ng hula o katarungang panlipunan? Ibig kong sabihin kung nais ng Diyos na gumawa ng mga hula ay maaaring kumuha ang Diyos ng isang stenographer. Mukhang madaling maliwanag na ang "komunidad" at "kamalayan sa lipunan" ay mahalaga sa propesiya Bagong Paradigm para sa Propesiya: Propetang si Jeremias at ang kanyang Pitumpung Taon na Propesiya ng Pagkatapon Inilalagay ba ng Diyos ang mga Propeta sa Mundo "Tanging at Buong Buong" Upang Gumawa ng mga Hula? Propesiya - Panimula Bagama't hindi ako iskolar sa relihiyon, ang tanging pagsusulat tungkol sa tungkulin ng propesiya bilang isang paksa sa loob at sa sarili nito ay ang argumento ni Spinoza na ang mga propeta tulad ni Moises ay "Mga Halimbawa," na tinukoy bilang "isang tao o bagay na nagsisilbing tipikal na halimbawa. o mahusay na modelo.” Ang aking argumento ay ang propesiya ay parehong mensahe at isang salaysay o kuwento. Higit pa rito ay tila maliwanag na sa pagitan ng mensahe at ng mga propesiya sa pagsasalaysay ay humuhubog sa kamalayan ng tao na siya namang humuhubog sa hinaharap na parang kung paano tayo mag-isip at kumilos ay higit na matukoy ang hinaharap. Siyempre, sa anumang magandang kuwento, mahalaga ang isang bayani o halimbawa. Ang Propeta Jeremiah Ang Propetang si Jeremias (“Jeremias” ay nangangahulugang itinatag ni Yahweh) ay nanirahan sa Juda, ang katimugang kaharian ng Judah humigit-kumulang mula 627-586 BC Si Jeremias ay nagsimula ng kanyang ministeryo (627 BC) nang makita niya ang kanyang pangitain tungkol sa sanga ng almendras at sa tipping cauldron. na naghatid ng mensahe ng isang banta mula sa “kalaban mula sa hilaga!” Ang isang kawili-wiling komento tungkol sa unang hula ni Jeremias ay na mayroong isang laro ng mga salita ng salitang Hebreo para sa almond na nag-ugat sa salitang Hebreo para sa "pagmamasid" at ang komento ni Jeremias na ang Diyos ay "nagmamasid." Ang isa pang mahalagang kahulugan ng unang hula ay ang sinabi ni Jeremias tungkol sa pagtatanong ng Diyos kay Jeremias kung ano ang kanyang nakita - na may ganap na kakaibang kahulugan mula sa isang 'propeta na bumaba mula sa bundok at gumagawa ng "mga pagpapahayag o mga pahayag." Si Jeremias ay madalas na tinatawag na Propetang Umiiyak dahil nabuhay siya sa pagsaksi sa pagkawasak ng Jerusalem at ng Templo. Jeremiah Ang Manlalaban Dahil ang mensahe ni Jeremias ay napakakritikal sa mga Hudyo at sa kanyang bansang Juda, si Jeremias ay pumukaw ng mapapait na hinanakit at poot laban sa kanya, at nagkaroon pa nga ng balak na patayin siya – kung saan kahit ang kanyang pamilya ay tila may papel. “Ang kanyang hindi pagiging popular ay lumago, at nagdulot sa kanya ng panunuya, pagtataboy, at pagmumura (15:10-11, 17; 17:15; 20:7).” (p. 101 book of jer) Kadalasan, si Jeremias ay sumigaw ng hustisya laban sa mga taong ito na nananakit sa kanya at humahadlang sa kanyang misyon. Sa huli, siya ay napakapait, at pagkatapos ng malawakang pagkawasak ng Juda (na kinumpirma ng mga arkeologo), siya ay puwersahang dinala sa Ehipto upang takasan ang galit ng mga Hudyo na “Super-Patriots” na gustong maghiganti para kay Jeremias na nagsalita laban sa mga pinunong Hudyo. Walang alinlangan, si Propeta Jeremias ay isang mandirigma. Sa isang pampublikong “propetikong pagpapakita” ay binasag ni Jeremias ang isang sisidlang palayok sa pintuang-daan ng mga pira-pirasong bato ng Jerusalem upang sagisag kung paano babasagin ng Diyos ang mga Judio tulad ng pagbasag ni Jeremias sa sisidlan ng palayok. Sa isa pang pampublikong “makahulang pagpapakita” ay isiniwalat ni Jeremias ang kaniyang mga hula na hinahatulan ang mga gawaing Judio ng pagsamba sa mga idolo sa kaniyang “Sermon sa Templo.” Dahil sa paghula, si Jeremias ay hayagang pinahiya ng punong saserdote, inilagay sa publikong paglilitis pagkatapos ng kaniyang Sermon sa Templo, at bago ang pagbagsak ng Jerusalem sa mga Babilonyo, itinapon sa hukay sa isang piitan at iniwan upang mamatay. Napakahalagang maunawaan ang propesiya ni Jeremias na ang “mensahe” ni Jeremias ay nagbago (na binago rin ang “salaysay”) mula sa isa sa mga Hudyo na nagdulot ng poot ng Diyos dahil sa kanilang kawalan ng pananampalataya sa pagtalikod sa mga Daan ng Diyos at pagsamba sa mga diyus-diyosan, tungo sa isang mensahe. ng pagkakasundo at pag-asa. Narito ang Jeremias 32:36-37: 36 "Iyong sinasabi tungkol sa bayang ito, 'Sa pamamagitan ng tabak, taggutom, at salot ay ibibigay ito sa hari ng Babilonia'; ngunit ito ang sinabi ni Yahweh, ang Diyos ng Israel, sabi: 37 Tiyak na titipunin ko sila mula sa lahat ng lupain kung saan ko sila itinaboy sa aking galit na galit at matinding poot; Ang Propesiya ng Pitumpung Taon ng Pagkatapon Dapat pansinin na ang unang pag-atake at pagpapatapon ng Babylonian ay nangyari noong 597 BC Sa pagsisikap na kumbinsihin ang mga tao ng Juda na ang Babylon ay ngayon ang kanilang bagong panginoon, sinimulan nila ang isang proseso ng pagpilit sa mga pangunahing residente sa pagkatapon, kasing aga ng 605 BC Higit pang mga deportasyon. naganap sa mga sumunod na taon, na nagtapos sa malawakang pagkawasak ng Jerusalem at ng Templo noong 586 BC Si Jeremias ay dalawang beses na nagsalita tungkol sa haba ng panahon na mananatili sa pagkatapon ang mga ipinatapon na Hudyo. Ang unang reperensiya ay nasa Jeremias 25:11 na lumilitaw na bahagi ng isang buod (Jeremias 25:1-14) Mababasa sa Jeremias 25:13: “At ang buong lupaing ito ay magiging tiwangwang at sira, at ang mga bansang ito ay maglilingkod. ang hari ng Babilonia sa loob ng pitumpung taon.” Gaya ng nabanggit ko noon, ipinakita ng mga paghuhukay ng mga arkeologo na sa partikular na makasaysayang yugtong iyon, maraming lunsod sa Juda ang talagang nawasak at nagkaroon ng malawakang pagkawasak. Nagwakas ang pagkabihag ng mga Hudyo noong 539 BC, nang sinakop ni Cyrus, isang pinuno ng mga Persiano at Medes, ang Babylon at winakasan ang imperyo nito. Pagkatapos ay binigyan ni Cyrus ng kalayaan ang bihag na mga Judio na makabalik sa kanilang sariling bayan. Si John A. Thompson, ang iskolar sa Lumang Tipan ng Australia at arkeologo sa Bibliya, ay naobserbahan sa kanyang napakaraming aklat tungkol kay Jeremias, na ang iba't ibang iskolar ay kinakalkula ang bilang ng mga taon ng makasaysayang pagkatapon sa iba't ibang paraan. Halimbawa, ang isang paraan ng pagkalkula ay tumatagal ng bilang ng mga taon sa pagitan ng pagbagsak ng kabisera ng Assyrian noong 612 BC hanggang sa pagbagsak ng Babylon noong 539 BC na umabot sa pitumpu't tatlo. Iyan ay talagang malapit sa pitumpung taon tulad ng ipinropesiya ni Jeremiah - kahit na itinuturo ni Thompson, hindi "eksakto." (p.514) Gayunpaman, sa mukha nito, ang Exile mismo ang dapat na maging sukatan dahil si Jeremias ay tumutugon sa mga Hudyo sa kanyang propesiya at sa gayon ang anumang pagsusuri ay dapat idirekta sa sitwasyon ng mga Hudyo at hindi ng mga Assyrian o Babylonians. Para sa mga Hudyo, ang pagkatapon ay nagmula sa unang pagkatalo ng Juda sa pagkabihag sa Jerusalem at ang pagpapatapon ng malaking bilang ng mahahalagang pinuno at artisan ng mga Hudyo noong 597 BC hanggang sa utos na nagpapalaya sa mga Hudyo na inilabas ni Cyrus noong 538 - na nagbibigay sa isa ng isang kabuuan ng 59 taon. Upang maunawaan ang mensahe at ang salaysay ng hula ni Jeremias, napakahalagang maunawaan na sa pasimula ng Pagkatapon, ang “mga bulaang propeta” ay hinuhulaan na ang mga tapon na Judio na malapit na ang kanilang pagtubos, at na sa lalong madaling panahon sila ay babalik. bahay. Sigurado ako, dahil malalaman ni Jeremiah na sila ay patay na mali ay magalit kay Jeremiah - lalo na't ito ay magbubunga ng masamang bunga. Iyon ay lilitaw na talagang masamang sikolohiya - ang pagsasabi sa mga tao na may mangyayari sa lalong madaling panahon at pagkatapos ay ang hindi mangyayari ay maaaring medyo mapanira sa moral ng mga tao. Kaya, si Jeremias ay nanindigan at naninindigan at nagpropesiya na ang mga Hudyo ay babalik sa kanilang sariling bayan sa loob ng pitumpung taon. Ang mensahe ni Jeremias sa mga Tapon na Hudyo ay, sa esensya, ang 'tumira sa pagtubos na iyon ay matagal pa pagdating - ngunit ang pagtubos na iyon - at ang pagkakasundo ay talagang magaganap.' Postscript: Isang Sangang-daan – Isang Kontemporaryong Pangkasaysayang Pananaw Kapag ang Pambansa (Kultural – Paraan ng Buhay) ay Nagbabanta ng Kamatayan "Ang isang lalong mekanikal, pira-piraso, decontextualized na mundo,... ay dumating, na sumasalamin, naniniwala ako, ang walang kalaban-laban na pagkilos ng isang dysfunctional na kaliwang hemisphere." — Iain McGilchrist Paunang Salita: Bilang isang punto ng impormasyon, bibigyang-diin ko na ang kaganapang 9/11 - ayon sa ilang "mga ekspertong account" - ay nakabuo ng malaking bilang ng mga dokumentadong karanasan sa pagkilala. Pananaliksik para sa pananaw: "Ang mga kalunus-lunos na kaganapan ng 9/11 ay nagdala ng maraming mga kaso sa atensyon ng mga laboratoryo ng parapsychology. Ang mga kaso ay mula sa mga dramatikong panaginip ng pag-crash o pagsabog ng mga eroplano hanggang sa mas madalas na mga halimbawa ng hindi pangkaraniwang pag-alis mula sa mga normal na gawain na nauwi sa pagsagip sa buhay ng isang tao. ” (Encounters at the Frontiers of Time: Questions Raised by Anomalous Human Experiences Richard S. Broughton) Sa kasaysayan, ito ay hindi pa naririnig – hindi pa naganap – walang dokumentadong historical foresight – precognitive na karanasan ng terorismo – zero. Mayroong walong dokumentadong babala - mga pananaw sa mga assassinations - ngunit wala sa terorismo. Ang implikasyon ay may nagbago sa kamalayan ng tao. Nakagawa ako ng malawak na pag-aaral ng propetiko at saykiko na panitikan. Napag-aralan ko ang orakulo ng Delphi, ang Lumang Tipan, gayundin ang Nostradamus. Karamihan sa Oracle ng Delphi at Nostradamus na mga propesiya at hula ay hindi maliwanag na ginagawa itong napapailalim sa iba't ibang interpretasyon. Ang bilang ng mga tuwirang 'hula' ay lubhang limitado at marahil ay kasing dami ng isang dosena. Dumaan nga ako sa Nostradamus 900 plus quatrains at gamit ang ilang common sense na 'mga panuntunan' ay nakakita lamang ng ilan na aktwal na hinulaang isang partikular na aksyon na sinamahan ng isa o dalawang partikular na detalye. Ngayon, habang mayroong ilang medyo kamangha-manghang mga propesiya sa Lumang Tipan, tulad ng mga interpretasyon ni Joseph sa mga panaginip, karamihan sa mga hula sa Lumang Tipan, sa isang diwa, ay kulang ng ilang partikular na detalye. Tinukoy ni Tim Callahan na ang propesiya ni Ezekiel tungkol sa pagbagsak at lubos na pagkawasak ng Tiro ng mga Babylonians ay hindi nangyari sa kasaysayan nang eksakto tulad ng nakasulat sa hula ni Ezekiel Ang mga Babylonians ay hindi aktwal na nakuha ang Tiro at hindi ito aktwal na bumagsak hanggang sa dumating si Alexander the Great. Ang ilalim na linya ay kapag ang isa ay gumawa ng isang paghahambing ng lahat ng mga hula-hula ng huling dalawang libong taon bago ang WWI sa kung ano ang naganap mula noong WWI ang paghahambing ay araw at gabi. Una, habang si Jeane Dixon ay talagang isang undocumented psychic, mayroon siyang dalawang hula na 'na-verify' ng kanyang biographer, na dahil ang mga ito, sa aking pananaw, ay makabuluhan sa istatistika dahil sila ay hindi karaniwan. Ipinakita ni Edgar Cayce di ang unang dokumentadong "nonlocal perception" o malayuang pagtingin gaya ng itinuturo ni Stephen Schwartz. SA lahat ng bagay, kailangang paghiwalayin ng isa ang trigo sa ipa. Iyan ay magiging totoo lalo na kay Edgar Cayce. Nang si Edgar Cayce ay gumawa ng mga hula upang gumawa ng mga hula, siya ay nagkaroon ng mataas na rate ng pagkabigo - katulad nina Jeane Dixon at Nostradamus. Nang magbigay si Cayce ng mga pagbabasa para sa mga tauhan ng armadong pwersa ng US - mahusay siyang nakagawa sa mga tanong kung kailan matatapos ang Digmaan (World War II). Si Edgar Cayce ay mayroon ding walong dokumentadong pagpapagaling (sa humigit-kumulang 100 kaso) ng epileptics - na hindi pa naririnig sa araw at edad na iyon nang walang gamot. At nariyan si Theresa Caputo, ang Long Island Medium, ay isang kontemporaryong psychic-medium sa TV na nakikipag-ugnayan sa mga espiritu ng mga yumaong mahal sa buhay at sa paggawa nito ay nakakatulong sa kanyang mga nasasakupan na magkaroon ng pagsasara at ginhawa. Kadalasan ang mga paksa ng kanyang mga demonstrasyon ay nagpapasalamat sa kanya nang labis at malalim dahil sa pakiramdam ng pagsasara at kaginhawaan na kanilang natamo. kung itatalaga mo ang pagkakataong paglitaw ng bawat isa sa mga verbalization ni Theresa Caputo ng transendental na impormasyon na natanggap niya - na sa lahat ng paglitaw ay maaaring magmumula lamang sa namatay na mahal sa buhay ng paksa, na nangyayari, bilang 1 sa 10, pagkatapos ay sampung piraso lamang ng ang impormasyon mula sa 'umalis na mahal sa buhay' ay magreresulta sa pangkalahatang pagkakataong mangyari ng isa sa sampung bilyon. Ang mga tao ay nahuhuli sa mga abstraction. Ang isang kaibigan ng aking kapatid na babae ay pumunta sa isa sa mga demonstrasyon ni Caputo at sa wakas ay naisip na siya ay ganap na isang panloloko dahil siya ay nagkamali. Nakatagpo ko ang maladaptive stereotype na ang mga psychic ay kailangang maging "ganap na perpekto" nang madalas. Ang mga tao ay nagkakamali - iyon ang ginagawa ng mga tao. Sa itaas nito, mayroong malayuang pagtingin. Sinabi ng Wikipedia, "Ang remote viewing (RV) ay ang kasanayan ng paghahanap ng mga impression tungkol sa isang malayo o hindi nakikitang paksa, na sinasabing nakakaramdam ng isip.[1] Karaniwan ang isang malayong manonood ay inaasahang magbibigay ng impormasyon tungkol sa isang bagay, kaganapan, tao o lokasyon na nakatago sa pisikal na pagtingin at nakahiwalay sa ilang distansya.[2]” Ang mga eksperimento ay isinagawa ng mga Physicist na sina Russell Targ, Harold Puthoff, gayundin ni Stephen Schwartz. Sa US mayroong daan-daang libong tagasubaybay ng malayuang panonood – marami sa kanila ang nagsasabi na sila mismo ay nagkaroon ng malayuang panonood. Pagkatapos ay mayroong iba't ibang mga dokumentadong karanasan tulad ng isang artist na gumuhit ng tatlong clairvoyant na larawan kay Dr. Phil. Mansanas hanggang Mansanas Sa pagsusuri na ito ang kinakailangan ay upang ihambing ang mga mansanas sa mga mansanas (anuman ang tanong kaya kung ang psi ay o hindi) - wala nang iba pa. Kapag ikinukumpara ng isang tao ang matagumpay na dokumentadong espirituwal-psychic na mga karanasan ngayon at sa nakalipas na isang daang taon – paghahambing sa nakaraang dalawang libong taon ng dokumentadong espirituwal-psychic na mga karanasan ay walang Paghahambing – ito ay isang napakalinaw na larawan ng napakadilim na itim hanggang sa napakaputi. puti. Sa abot ng mga hula ang Lumang Tipan ay medyo maaasahan. Gayundin, sa Oracle ng Delphi - at intelektwal na sentro mayroong maraming mga mananalaysay upang ang kanilang rekord ay matingnan na medyo maaasahan din. Ang mundo ay nabaligtad at nasa labas - Mayroong pinagkasunduan sa mga siyentipiko na ang mga species ng tao ay patuloy na nagbabago at umaangkop. Sa nakalipas na 300 taon nagkaroon ng radikal at dramatikong mga rebolusyong siyentipiko, teknolohikal, sosyo-ekonomiko, panlipunan, at pampulitika. Ang kapaligiran ay nagbago: Ang social psychologist na si Gergen ay nagsulat ng isang libro na tinatawag na "Saturated Self" na nagpapaliwanag sa lahat ng mga pagbabago. Noong 1900's binago ng sasakyan ang kadaliang kumilos. Ang radyo at TV ay nagpapataas ng komunikasyon at nilalaman ng komunikasyon. Pagkatapos ay mayroong Blackberry's, Face Book; U-tube, Twitter, internet, email, texting, atbp. na sa pinakahuling nakaraan ay nagpapataas ng bilang ng mga taong nakikipag-usap tayo at ang uri ng komunikasyon (mas hindi nagpapakilalang karamihan ay walang interaksyon ng tao sa tao. Lahat ng tungkol sa komunikasyon sa iba ay may Malaking pagbabago. Maniniwala ako na makatuwirang isipin na ang malaking pagtaas ng mga pakikipag-ugnayan ng tao sa tao ay kapansin-pansing magbabago sa mga pattern ng pag-uugali ng mga tao - at malamang na hindi para sa mas mahusay na estado na ang bilang ng mga tao na kaya ng utak ng tao ay humigit-kumulang 40 o 50. Napakaraming mga pagpipilian, napakaraming mga huwaran - ang lipunan ay naging sa isang kahulugan - masyadong marami para sa pag-iisip ng tao, kung kaya't pinangalanan ni Gergen ang kanyang aklat, "The Saturated Self Kung ang lipunan ay masyadong marami ang maaaring umasa ng higit na mali-mali na pag-uugali. Sa ganoong liwanag, bibigyang-diin ko na tila isang maliwanag na katotohanan na ang "lipunan" ay hindi maaaring umiral nang walang "kamalayan sa lipunan!" Gayunpaman, nang tanungin ko ang isang estudyante ng sikolohiya kung narinig na niya ang tungkol sa "kamalayan sa lipunan", sumagot siya, "Hindi!" Ang limang-bahaging kahulugan ng relihiyon na "tinatanggap ng pangkalahatan" ni Geertz (ayon kay Chernus) ay hindi kasama ang alinman sa komunidad o "espiritu" sa bagay na iyon. Gayunpaman, ang anumang layunin o makatwirang pagtatasa ng relihiyon ay magtatampok sa katangian ng mga relihiyon bilang mga grupo, o mga komunidad bilang hindi kapani-paniwalang kapansin-pansing mga katangian. Lumilitaw din ang isang hindi maiiwasang konklusyon na ang "mga turo" ng mga relihiyon ay tutulog - bilang mga pamantayan - isang kamalayang panlipunan. Sa |Social psychology ang "norm" mula noong Allport noong 1927 ay na "There is no psychology of groups!" Bagong Diskarte: Practical-Creative Spirituality kumpara sa "Spirituality is Unreal! “Hindi natin tinatanong ang buhay kung ano ang kahulugan ng buhay. Ang buhay ay nagtatanong sa amin, kung ano ang kahulugan ng iyong buhay. At hinihingi ng buhay ang ating sagot." Victor Frankl: 1. WR Miller, CE Thoresen "Ang isang pilosopikal na batayan para sa pananaw na ito ay materyalismo, ang paniniwala na walang dapat pag-aralan dahil ang espiritwalidad ay hindi mahahawakan at lampas sa mga pandama." 2. Sinuri ng peer ang 2018 na kritika, na inendorso ng 4 na psychologist - ie Dr H Koenig - pinabulaanan ang materyalistang kasabihan - kinikilala ito bilang Definist Fallacy (na-load na mga termino). Paliwanag: Kung kukuha ka ng konsepto ng "kamatayan" - na "intangible at lampas sa mga pandama" kung gayon "Ang kamatayan ay dapat na isang kathang-isip ng iyong imahinasyon" 3.+Allport's Fallacy (soc psych 1927) "There is no psychology of groups" = disconnected abstraction w/ "patriotism"- an obvious refutation + rock concerts, protests... “Ang mga konsepto ay lumilikha ng mga idolo; tanging paghanga lamang ang nakakaintindi ng anuman. Nagpapatayan ang mga tao dahil sa mga idolo. Napaluhod tayo sa pagtataka!" St Gregory of Nyssa Ito ay maliwanag na espiritwalidad ay gusot sa abstractions: kapangyarihan, supernatural-unreal, magic, bola kristal, atbp. Dr S. Farra "Magandang maikling papel: Ang kawalan ng paniniwala sa "malayang kalooban" ay karaniwang humahantong sa isang pakiramdam ng kawalan ng kahulugan. kawalan ng pag-asa, at hindi etikal na personal na pag-uugali. Ang aming mga paradigma ay ang aming paraan ng pagtugon sa Reality, ngunit ang mga ito ay Hindi Reality. Gaya ng iminumungkahi ni C Peck, Jr., naliligaw tayo sa sarili nating abstraction!” Mga Pangunahing Kaalaman 1. McGilChrist, M Sherif, Kant ay nagsasaad na "tunay na konteksto ng mundo" ay mahalaga- Ang mga tao ang tanging pinagmumulan ng tunay na konteksto sa mundo para sa mga paniniwalang espirituwal-relihiyoso . 2. K Gergen: "Mga mapa ng wastong kaalaman o sumasalamin sa mga aktuwalidad ng totoong mundo!!" - "Upang maunawaan ang isang bagay, alam man natin ito o hindi, ay nakasalalay sa pagpili ng isang modelo!" I McGilChrist Aristotelian Scientific Method 1. Magtipon ng mga Katotohanan 2. Ikategorya ang Data 3. Suriin ang Impormasyon 4. Gumuhit ng mga Konklusyon Bagong pragmatic creative approach “Ang espirituwalidad ay isang likas na predisposisyon ng tao! Ito ay mas primal kaysa sa institusyonal na relihiyon at may kinalaman sa pakiramdam ng isang tao na konektado sa sarili, sa iba, at sa mundo!” K. Bishop, B Hyde - A Killin:"Ang pinakalumang kilalang mga instrumentong pangmusika [petsa] mula 40,000 taon na ang nakakaraan….” 1. Musical Spiritual - Social Self: "Ang musika ay isang pangunahing bahagi ng ating ebolusyon - at gumagana dahil pinapadali nito ang "kontak ng tao" at ang "sosyal na sarili!" - J Schulkin, G Raglan ; 2. Espiritwalidad at Habag: Saslow "Ang espiritwalidad ay partikular na nauugnay sa pagkakaroon ng espirituwal na pagkakakilanlan, pagkakaroon ng mga transendente na karanasan, at pagkahilig sa pagdarasal… ….mga espirituwal na kalahok… may posibilidad na makadama ng pakikiramay …. link sa pagitan ng espirituwalidad at mas mataas na pakikiramay…” & Sprecher + Fehr: ugnayan sa pagitan ng espirituwalidad at pakikiramay at prinsipyo ni V Frankl: "ang tao ay may espirituwal na ubod na may likas na pangangailangan para sa kahulugan…." 3. Espirituwal na Pagpapagaling sa pagdadalamhati: Easterling: “... ang mga indibidwal ay tila mas makakayanan kung maaari nilang "i-actual" ang kanilang mga espirituwal na karanasan sa mga oras ng krisis at J Parker 4. Relasyonal na espirituwalidad - espirituwal na sarili: “Hay at Nye: ang espirituwalidad ay nagsasangkot ng malalim na kamalayan sa kaugnayan ng isa sa sarili, at sa lahat ng bagay maliban sa sarili ng isa.” a. Filipino Kapwa-loob & pro-social norms: “Ang Kapwa ay isang pagkilala sa ibinahaging pagkakakilanlan, panloob na sarili, ibinahagi sa iba – pagmamay-ari-panlipunang kamalayan: JD Espiritu, M Zosa, R Ileto, J Reyes, Mercado, Jose De Mesa ... b. Paghahabi ng Pangarap: T'boli-Bla'an T'nalak Mga Pangarap bilang pinagmumulan ng banal na inspirasyon – T'boli Be Lang Dulay, nilikha ng mahigit 100 iba't ibang disenyo ng T'nalak. c. "Human relationships with the natural world" bilang arctic hunter gatherer spiritual beliefs in animal spirits (Erica Hill) – relational-social consciousness 5. Espiritwalidad ng mga Bata "Ang mga maanomalyang karanasan ay maaaring magpasigla sa pagpapagaling sa sarili para sa mga bata at kabataan." Donna Thomas + D. Scott 6. Artistic Spirituality: 20 porsiyento ng mga Amerikano ay bumaling sa "media, sining at kultura" bilang kanilang pangunahing paraan ng espirituwal na karanasan at pagpapahayag...." 7. Poetry & Prophecy: "Ang propeta ay isang makata. Ang alam ng mga makata bilang patula na inspirasyon; tinawag ng mga propeta ang banal na paghahayag" - Heschel 8. Dr. Ingela Visuri: Espirituwalidad at "Ang Kaso ng Mataas na gumaganang Autism" - "hindi maipaliwanag na mga karanasan sa pandama" Sinabi ni Dr S Neal (JHU) na Siya [psychiatry] ay walang pagsasanay sa mga taong may espirituwal na karanasan.' Mula sa kabanata ng Park at Paloutzian na "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences"- synopsis bilang maikling listahan ng APA "mga maanomalyang karanasan, guni-guni, malapit sa kamatayan, nakaraang buhay, mystical, at paranormal na karanasan!" (w/ wala sa "mga tao" na may mga karanasan. JE Kennedy: "Napakakaunting pananaliksik ang naglalayong imbestigahan ang pangkalahatang mga epekto" sa mga tao Dr Visuri: "May pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng pagsusuri ng mga karanasan at pagsasaliksik ng mga tao." Personal na Pananaw: Synopsis - bio ng 40 taon ng mga personal na espirituwal-psychic na karanasan Preamble: Bilang Espanyol na Pilosopo Ortega Gasset - Ako ay "ako" at ang aking mga kalagayan. Ang mga propeta ay malamang na hindi naiiba! ANG mga propeta ay makitungo sa tao, hindi bilang isang atom, kundi bilang isang bahagi ng isang sosyal na organismo, isang buhay na miyembro ng isang buhay na katawan. Ang pagalingin ang katawan na ito kapag may karamdaman (Isa. I:6), upang bigyan ito ng babala laban sa darating na pagkawasak, at ibalik ito sa mga landas na patungo sa pagiging perpekto sa Diyos, ang kanilang dakila at tanging misyon (Jer. 6:6). Kaya naman, palagi silang mas marami kapag nagbabanta ang pambansang kamatayan. (ANG MGA PROPETA NG LUMANG TIPAN BILANG MGA SOCIAL REFORMERS. Ni REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) "Ang isang lalong mekanikal, pira-piraso, decontextualized na mundo,... ay dumating, na sumasalamin, naniniwala ako, ang walang kalaban-laban na pagkilos ng isang dysfunctional na kaliwang hemisphere." — Iain McGilchrist When National Death Threatens: Anti-social na pag-uugali sa USA 1. Nagkaroon ng 73+ bawat taon sa nakalipas na 3 taon na pamamaril sa paaralan sa USA. 2. CDC: Tumaas ang mga rate ng pagpapatiwakal ng humigit-kumulang 36% sa pagitan ng 2000–2021. 3. 610+mass shootings bawat taon para sa huling apat na taon. 4. ayon sa Washington Post, ang mga krimen sa pagkapoot ay nasa pinakamataas na lahat noong 2021 kung saan 826 na Pilipino ang nag-uulat sa kanilang sarili bilang mga biktima ng mga krimen sa pagkapoot. 5. Patakaran ni Trump na sadyang ihiwalay ang mga bata sa kanilang mga ina para parusahan sila sa pandarayuhan Sa isang kamakailang artikulo tungkol sa bid ni Trump para sa muling halalan, sinabi ni Trump na susubukan niyang muling ibalik ang patakaran ng paghihiwalay ng mga bata sa kanilang mga ina. "Higit sa 5,500 mga bata, kabilang ang mga sanggol, ay inalis at daan-daan ang hindi pa rin napagsasama-sama noong Agosto 2022." (Sipi mula sa Wikipedia) 6. Ang mga pag-atake sa mga guro ay tumaas nang husto - hindi lamang sa US kundi sa buong mundo. 7. Ang mga pag-atake sa mga manggagawa sa pangangalagang pangkalusugan ay tumaas nang husto - isa ring problema sa buong mundo. 8. epidemya (25% na pagtaas) sa narcissism sa mga kanlurang bansa (Twenge, atbp ). 9. Ang pinamunuan ng Kristiyanong 'Antisocial No Mask Madness' ay nararapat na espesyal na banggitin. Ang mga Amerikano ay 4% ng populasyon ng mundo. Gayunpaman, ang mga Amerikano ay kumakatawan sa 20.6% ng mga patay sa Mundo. Ang mga pagsusuri sa bilang ng mga hindi kinakailangang labis na pagkamatay kumpara sa ibang mga bansa ay nag-iiba mula 50,000 hanggang 100,000 10. Ang desisyon ng kataas-taasang hukuman sa aborsyon ay nakabatay sa isang tahasang halatang kamalian-maling premise - . literal na nangangatwiran na ang aborsyon ay hindi legal dahil ang salitang "pagpapalaglag" ay wala sa konstitusyon. Sipi mula sa pamumuno Synopsis–bio: 40+ taon ng mga personal na espirituwal-psychic na karanasan "Naniniwala kami na sina Roe at Casey ay dapat pawalang-bisa. Ang Saligang Batas ay walang pagtukoy sa aborsyon, at walang ganoong karapatan ang hayagang pinoprotektahan ng anumang probisyon ng konstitusyon, kabilang ang isa kung saan ang mga tagapagtanggol ni Roe at Casey ay pangunahing umaasa—ang Due Process Clause. ng Ika-labing-apat na Susog." Well, yeah ..... kalahati ng modernong salita ay wala sa konstitusyon - nuclear power, airplanes, automobiles. Ito ay isang maliwanag na kamalian-maling premise. Higit pa rito, ang argumento ng korte suprema na ang katawan ng isang babae ay walang kaugnayan sa konstitusyon ay mga kabayo**t. Isa itong political hatchet job. Ang balwarte ng "Katotohanan at Katarungan" gamit ang isang mababaw at halatang kamalian ay antisosyal na pagkilos dahil maraming mga Amerikano ang nawawalan ng pananampalataya sa "katarungan" o patas na pagtrato. Komentaryo: Isang pagsusuri ang nagsabi na ang USA ay may limampu't pitong beses na mas maraming pagbaril sa paaralan kaysa sa pinagsama-samang buong Europa. Ang rate ng pagpapakamatay sa USA ay tumaas ng 36% mula noong 2000 at sa 14.2 kada libo ay higit sa doble ng rate ng pagpapakamatay sa Pilipinas. Gayundin, habang ang mga pag-atake sa mga guro ay isang pandaigdigang problema, ang mga pag-atake sa mga guro ay isang epidemya sa USA. Sa Pilipinas, bihira ang pisikal na pananakit sa mga guro. Bagama't walang pag-aalinlangan ang ilang magkakaibang pinagbabatayan na mga dahilan, kapag ang isang "presidente" at mataas na ranggo na mga lider ng ekstremistang Kristiyano ay "nagmodelo" ng rasismo, poot, at mga antisosyal na pag-uugali - hindi dapat ikagulat ang sinuman na ang USA ay may mas maraming problema sa mga antisosyal na pag-uugali kaysa sa iba. mga lipunan. Iyon ay sinabi, hindi mo maaaring kunin ang problema sa pagbaril sa paaralan nang ihiwalay mula sa iba pang mga anti-sosyal na pag-uugali tulad ng mga pag-atake sa mga guro o pag-atake sa mga manggagawa sa pangangalagang pangkalusugan na isang malawakang problema sa mundo. The Ideology Factor: mga pagpatay ng kutsilyo sa kindegarten at elementarya ng China Makatwirang Paniniwala: Pag-uuri ng mga hindi pangkaraniwang karanasan bilang hindi karaniwan. Ang hindi naiintindihan ng maraming tao ay ang patuloy na pag-aaral ay nagpapakita na sa isang lugar sa pagitan ng 1/3 hanggang 1/2 ng mga tao ay may mga karanasan - at tulad ng pagmamasid nina Park at Paloutzian, mayroong "normalcy" sa mga espirituwal-psychic na karanasan. Higit pa rito, ang mga tao - kung minsan - ay nawawalan ng sentido komun at kadalasang naliligaw sa mga abstraction. Ang sentido komun ay magdidikta na ang utak ay nagpoproseso ng mga hindi pangkaraniwang karanasan bilang "hindi pangkaraniwan" - medyo kamangha-manghang.... huh? Kapag ang mga tao ay pumasok sa mga abstraction, kadalasang nalilimutan nila ang pag-unawa sa sentido komun at tamang paghuhusga. Ang mga pag-aaral at eksperimento na nagpatunay na ang proseso ng "kategorya" ay isang napakahalagang proseso sa pag-iisip ng tao at ang proseso ng pagkakategorya ay parehong kilala at mahusay na napatunayan sa sikolohiya. Sinabi pa ni William James na ang mga karanasan sa relihiyon at espirituwal na mga karanasan ay lumilikha at nagdudulot ng “sense of reality” (p.48) halos pareho talaga ang sinabi ni Jung - na ang mga karanasan ng isang indibidwal ay humuhubog sa realidad ng isang tao. Ang synthesis consensus nina Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, at William James ay simpleng sinabi na "ang espiritu, mga prosesong espirituwal, at mga paniniwala sa relihiyon ay lumilikha ng kahulugan, isang pakiramdam ng katotohanan - at sa huli ay Reality, at Katotohanan. Sa antolohiya, Kahulugan sa Positibo at Eksistensyal Ang Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, ay nagsabi: "Isinasaalang-alang ni Franklin ang paghahanap ng kahulugan bilang nagmumula sa espirituwal na kalikasan ng isang tao na binibigyang-diin ni William James sa kanyang klasikong gawa, na orihinal na inilathala noong 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: "Sila [mga espirituwal na karanasan] ang tumutukoy sa ating mahahalagang bagay. saloobin [sense of reality] na kasing determinado ng mahalagang saloobin ng mga magkasintahan ay natutukoy ng nakagawian na kahulugan,…” napagmasdan ni Jung, sa Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) na “Ang buhay at espiritu ay dalawang kapangyarihan o pangangailangan sa pagitan ng kung saan ang tao ay inilagay ang Espiritu ay nagbibigay ng kahulugan sa kanyang buhay, at ang posibilidad ng pinakamalaking pag-unlad nito. Pananaw: halos lahat ng aking mga karanasan ay madaling magkasya sa isang kategorya na kahanay sa mga tawag sa alarma ng mga hayop. Si Jean MacPhail, iskolar, may-akda ng A Spiral Life at dating kapwa sa neuropathology sa Harvard University, ay nagsabi, 'Natatangi ang aking mga karanasan!' – sa isang bahagi dahil nauugnay ang mga ito sa mga kaganapan sa labas ng aking sarili, pati na rin ang pagiging pare-pareho sa mga makatwirang interpretasyon (lahat bilang mga pananaw ng mga banta sa mga grupo) - pati na rin ang pagiging medyo mahusay na dokumentado. Kaugnay nito ang mga resulta ni Daryl Bem ng kanyang mga eksperimento sa pagkilala na nagpakita ng kaugnayan sa mga "instinctual" na motibasyon (ibig sabihin, sex) Ang kamakailang ebidensiya mula sa maraming dokumentadong pananaw ng mga banta hinggil sa 9/11 ay nagpapakita na ang "persepsyon ng mga banta" ay isang napaka-kapansin-pansing salik pati na rin ang "visibility" - pampulitika at panlipunan-relihiyoso - bilang isang napakahalagang salik sa "pagkilala." Sa lahat ng aking mga karanasan, iilan lamang sa mga persepsyon ang makikilala bilang "precognitive." Sa katunayan, noong naupo ako kamakailan at nirepaso ang aking mga karanasan - isang malaking proporsyon ang masasabing mga perception na may kaugnayan sa "alienated" na mga tao - isang malinaw na indikasyon na mahalaga ang telepathy. Kaya, tatanungin ko ang pagiging lehitimo ng ideya ng "purong precognition" - kumbaga (lalo na sa liwanag ng kolektibong kamalayan). 1. Mga Panaginip: Mayroon akong apat na dokumentadong panaginip at dalawang hindi dokumentadong panaginip - lahat ay may pare-pareho at makatwirang interpretasyon na inilista ko dito: (1) isang panaginip tungkol sa Pakistan at digmaang nuklear. (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (isang tag ay magiging isang sentral na aksyon kasama ang isa o dalawang detalye) ng "incel" na terorista sa Canada noong huling bahagi ng Abril, 2018. (3) Mangarap tungkol sa Libya (2- 26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented (5) Dudayev Dream (6) Fredericksburg 2. Mga Mulat na Karanasan: Nagha-highlight ng mga nakakagising na pananaw (1) ang aking kamakailang 10-30-20 na email sa ahente ng FBI na si McElwee ay nagbabala tungkol sa banta ng "domestic terrorist" na tumutukoy sa isang "bomba" bilang sandata. na may kaugnayan - siyempre - sa pambobomba sa Nashville noong araw ng Pasko 2020 (2) Isang napakaikling (tinatawagan) na babala sa FBI bago ang pagtatangkang pagpatay kay president Reagan (3) Tinawagan ko ang CIA bago ang 9/11 (4) Ang 1981 What a nightmare warning is in a category by itself - ang napakadetalyado, partikular, at notarized na babala sa FBI noong Oktubre 18, 1981 ng isang paparating na pag-atake ng aktibong grupong teroristang Weathermen noon. Ang [tumpak] na mga detalye ay: grupo – may pera, mga gawa-gawang bomba, pera, kababaihan, 22 ang pinagsama-sama, New York, kamatayan, pati na rin ang ID ng manifesto ng teroristang weathermen sa pamagat na “bangungot”. Bilang isang punto ng impormasyon "fabricating" ay napaka-tumpak - ang mga terorista ay may mga plano sa paggawa ng bomba at mga materyales sa kanilang apartment ngunit walang aktwal na mga bomba. Ang item, "22 were assembled" ay hindi kapani-paniwalang tumpak din - dahil nagkaroon ng shootout sa pagitan ng Weathermen at Nyack police force na kakaibang iniulat ng New York Times ay mayroong 22 miyembro sa kanilang police force. Ang kapansin-pansin sa aking "Ano'ng bangungot" ay iyon, ang huling linya ay kasama ang "Buhi ng Mustasa" [Parable] na, sa aking pananaw ay lumilitaw na talagang isang "banal na pananaw!" Ang Parable ng Mustard Seed ay ganap na nauugnay sa Synthesis-Consensus nina Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, William James, at Emile Durkheim na malinaw na nagsasaad na ang "espiritu" [mga prosesong espirituwal] ay lumilikha ng kahulugan - at nauugnay sa talinghaga ay "metaporikal" na mga buto ng mustasa na lumikha ng paglago at gumawa ng isang kahanga-hangang Halaman ng Mustard Seed - kahanay ng "espiritu ay katotohanan" (Juan 5:6) Mga Pagninilay: A. Ang karanasan ay maaaring maging isang mahusay na guro Narito ang ilang mahahalagang prinsipyo na natutunan ko mula sa maagang medyo well documented spiritual-psychic na may pare-parehong makatwirang mga interpretasyon sa aking mga karanasan noong 1981. Sa aking pananaw ang aking mga personal na karanasan ay pangunahing nagsilbing isang function upang mag-trigger ng isang paghahanap at pagtatanong upang maging tapat. 1. Gaya ng ipinaliwanag ni JE Kennedy, ipinapakita ng mga pag-aaral na humigit-kumulang 45% ng mga tao ang may unang reaksyon sa takot. Ganyan ang akin. Tulad ng marami, nakita ko ang aking karanasan na nakakatakot - lalo na dahil ito ay hindi kilala at ang aking "isip ay walang paraan" upang ayusin ang karanasan. Ang mga pag-aalinlangan at takot ay nagpakain ng isang siklo ng mga pagdududa at pagkabalisa. Isang gabi – sa Ann Arbor sa naaalala ko - dalawang hakbang ako sa ibabaw ng linya – ngunit napagtanto ko ito. Ang isang epiphany ko - na ibinahagi ng isang malaking bilang ng mga Kristiyanong lider ay ang Ganap na Katotohanan [Diyos] ay hindi kayang unawain - na ang karanasan ay sanhi at hindi kayang unawain. Iyan ay isang mahalagang salik sa pagtatasa ng hula. Ang pagbabawas ng banal sa pag-iral bilang isang hula ay hindi lamang hindi makatotohanan ngunit nakakasira din sa Diyos at sa banal. 2. Maaga noong 1981, nakipagbuno ako sa tanong tungkol sa layunin ng propesiya. Sinabihan ako na dapat kong isulat ang mga hula. Iyon ay isang Big Deal noong 1981 – at ito ay isang tanong na dinala sa unang linya ng aking notarized na babala sa FBI noong Oktubre 18,1981. Ang tanong ko ay - ang paggawa ng mga hula upang gumawa ng mga hula ay may anumang kahulugan sa biologically, psychologically, o kahit na espirituwal? Ang konklusyon na aking narating ay ang layunin at pagganyak ay mahalaga. Ibig sabihin, ang "layunin" ay mahalaga sa propesiya - at espirituwalidad - lalo na sa liwanag ng "Espiritu ay Katotohanan" (Juan 5:6) Ang kahalagahan ng pagganyak ay lubos na naaayon sa mga espirituwal na paniniwala ng mga taong nakasama ko. Kapag ang "espirituwal na mga tao" ay tinanong - sa marami, ang mga espirituwal na paniniwala ay hindi lamang isang pagganyak ngunit isang napakalalim na mapagkukunan ng inspirasyon. Sa kasaysayan, pagkatapos ng sampu-sampung libong taon ng espirituwal at relihiyosong mga paniniwala - kahit na hindi kapani-paniwalang wala ito sa akademya - ang espirituwalidad at pagiging relihiyoso ay malinaw na magiging isang malakas na drive at motibasyon. 3. Pinag-isipan kong mabuti ang tungkol sa espirituwalidad at transendental na espirituwal na mga karanasan. Tulad ng itinuro ni St Gregory ng Nyssa na tanging ang "dalisay ng puso" ang 'nakikita' ang Diyos. Sa aking pananaw ay malinaw na mayroong espiritu sa loob at transendental na espiritu. At kung walang espiritu sa loob ay hindi magkakaroon ng anumang tunay na koneksyon sa transendental na espiritu. Ang isang wastong pagkakatulad ay ang espirituwal na karanasan bilang bulaklak at ang kahulugan, layunin, at pagkamalikhain na ginawa bilang bunga. 4. Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972), isang “nangunguna” na pilosopo at teologo ng Hudyo: Sa aklat ni Heschel na The Prophets, sinipi ni Heschel ang NK Chadwick: Kahit saan ang kaloob ng propesiya ay hindi mapaghihiwalay sa banal na inspirasyon. Kahit saan ang inspirasyong ito ay may dalang kaalaman – sa nakaraan man, sa anyo ng kasaysayan at talaangkanan; ng nakatagong kasalukuyan sa anyo ng siyentipikong impormasyon; at ng kinabukasan sa anyo ng makahulang pagbigkas sa mas makitid na kahulugan…..Palagi nating nalaman na……….ang kanyang kalooban [ng makata] ay mataas at malayo sa kanyang normal na pag-iral….” (P. 482 – 483)
By Charles E Peck Jr November 11, 2024
La prophétie de Jérémie : les prophètes de l'Ancien Testament = Quand la mort nationale menace et l'homme, non pas en tant qu'atome, mais en tant que partie d'un organisme social (Stibitz) + les croyances spirituelles et religieuses en tant qu'"ordre social et moral" (R Reyes) La prophétie en tant que justice sociale et la prophétie en tant qu'enseignements (parole de Dieu), + la prophétie en tant que force Préambule : Prophétie Hier et aujourd'hui : 1. « La prophétie biblique comprend les passages de la Bible qui sont censés refléter les communications de Dieu aux humains par l’intermédiaire des prophètes. Les chrétiens considèrent généralement que les prophètes bibliques ont reçu des révélations de Dieu. » (Wikipedia) 2. La prophétie théologique est une prédiction d'événements futurs que l'on croit inspirée par Dieu et communiquée à un prophète par un être surnaturel. Le mot « prophétie » vient du grec prophēteia , qui signifie « don d'interpréter la volonté de Dieu ». L’escroquerie surnaturelle : Le mot « surnaturel » apparaît trois fois dans les Évangiles – et jamais il n’a été utilisé par Jésus-Christ. Le mot « surnaturel » est un terme matérialiste qui n’a pas de définition et qui véhicule une signification entièrement différente de celle des Évangiles, comme la magie, les pouvoirs, la prédiction par boule de cristal, etc. Bref résumé de la manière dont le Christ dépeint le Saint-Esprit : Les évangiles synoptiques parlent généralement moins du Saint-Esprit que celui de Jean. L'évangile de Marc est celui qui en parle le moins, ne mentionnant le Saint-Esprit que six fois. Comme tous les évangiles, Marc met l'accent sur le baptême et en particulier sur le baptême de Jésus. En fait, c'est là le point fort de l'écriture de Marc sur le Saint-Esprit : l'œuvre du Christ est supérieure et meilleure précisément parce qu'il baptise dans le Saint-Esprit, et pas seulement dans l'eau. Exemples rapides : Apocalypse (Luc 2 : 26), guider (Luc 2 : 27), baptiser (3 dont Luc 3 : 27), guérir les cœurs brisés (Luc 4 : 18), recouvrer la vue (Luc 4 : 18), enseigner (Luc 12 : 11-12), habiliter (Luc 24 : 49), attendre (Luc 24 : 49) Baptême (Jean 3 : 5), libre comme le vent (Jean 3 : 8). Vivant (Jean 6 : 63), eau vive (Jean 7 : 37-39). Consolateur (« intercesseur, consolateur, avocat ») (Jean 14 : 16). Invisible, inconnu, étranger au monde (Jean 14 : 17). Consolateur divin (Jean 14 v. 18). voir Jésus (14 : 19). vie de résurrection Jésus vit (Jean 14 : 19). vie de résurrection Jésus vit (Jean 14 : 19) Consolateur (Jean 15 : 26). Il est l’Esprit de vérité (Jean 15 : 26). Nous devons « attendre » jusqu’à ce que nous le recevions (v. 49). Pour mettre les choses en perspective, une étude a révélé que si la religiosité a considérablement diminué parmi les jeunes en Angleterre, on a constaté une augmentation des croyances en la vie après la mort. Prophétie irlandaise contre Oracle de Delphes Différences culturelles relatives à la spiritualité et à la prophétie Comme l’observe Caroline Francis Richardson dans son article « The Use of Prophecy in the Irish tales of the Heroic Cycle », la prophétie irlandaise/celtique était/est assez différente et distincte des autres formes de prophétie, et aurait donc probablement aussi une composante génétique distincte (pour mémoire ). La prophétie irlandaise ne ressemblait en rien à la prophétie grecque antique et à sa fascination pour les oracles, comme l’oracle de Delphes. Caroline Richardson souligne que, contrairement à la tradition irlandaise qui n’avait pas de prêtre ou d’organisation hiérarchique, contrairement à la religion grecque antique qui consistait en « un corps organisé de prêtres interprétant les oracles de Zeus et d’Apollon et pouvant, par conséquent, colorer les politiques de la nation et influencer le caractère de tout le peuple ainsi que des individus. » (p. 394) De plus, la prophétie irlandaise ne ressemblait en rien à l’accent mis sur la prophétie sociale de la justice et des alliances, des prophètes de l’Ancien Testament qui promettaient fréquemment la colère de Dieu pour les injustices et l’idolâtrie. Caroline Richardson résume la prophétie irlandaise/celtique en ces termes : « La prophétie n’est pas la possession d’un seul groupe de personnes ; elle n’a pas d’habitation locale ; elle n’a aucune influence sur les politiques de la nation, ni sur les individus ; elle ne fait pas partie intégrante de l’intrigue des histoires. Et dans ces contes, c’est l’intrigue qui compte, pas souvent une intrigue achevée, mais quelque chose de précis se produit ; les hommes, les femmes et les Twatha de Danaan agissent ! » (p. 395) Caroline Francis Richardson observe dans son article « The Use of Prophecy in the Irish tales of the Heroic Cycle », The Sewanee Review, octobre 1913, vol. 21. No 4 (octobre 1913, pp. 385-396) Il semble évident que le concept de perception par la boule de cristal trouve son origine dans la culture grecque et plus particulièrement dans le modèle de l’oracle de Delphes. En tant que moyen d’information, le mot hébreu original (yada) pour la connaissance avait un contexte « proche et personnel » – en particulier dans le contexte de Yahweh. Le christianisme a assimilé la philosophie grecque et ce facteur semble avoir changé l’orientation des chrétiens. Les Corinthiens (Dons) font par exemple une distinction entre sagesse et connaissance. Préface : Les prophètes ont traité l’homme, non pas comme un atome, mais comme une partie d’un organisme social, un membre vivant d’un corps vivant. Comme le disait le philosophe espagnol Ortega Gasset, je suis « moi » et mes circonstances. Les prophètes ne seraient probablement pas différents ! Les prophètes traitaient l’homme, non comme un atome, mais comme une partie d’un organisme social, un membre vivant d’un corps vivant. Guérir ce corps lorsqu’il était malade (Esaïe I : 6), le mettre en garde contre une dissolution prochaine et le ramener sur les sentiers qui conduisent à la perfection en Dieu, telle était leur grande et unique mission (Jérémie 6 : 6). C’est pourquoi ils étaient toujours les plus nombreux lorsque la mort nationale menaçait. Juste avant la chute de Samarie et la chute de Jérusalem, nous les trouvons à l’œuvre en plus grand nombre et avec la plus grande énergie. (LES PROPHÈTES DE L’ANCIEN TESTAMENT EN TANT QUE RÉFORMATEURS SOCIAUX. Par le révérend GEO. STIBITZ,) Jérémie et Juda : Le royaume du sud de Juda tomba pendant le ministère prophétique de Jérémie (586 av. J.-C.), menacé depuis de nombreuses années par des puissances extérieures, d'abord l'Assyrie et l'Égypte, puis leurs conquérants éventuels, Babylone. Jérémie se retrouva face à une nation qui se précipitait tête baissée vers le jugement de Dieu. moderne : A titre d’information, je voudrais souligner que l’événement du 11 septembre – selon un certain nombre de « comptes rendus d’experts » – a généré un grand nombre d’expériences de précognition documentées. Recherche pour la perspective : « Les événements tragiques du 11 septembre ont attiré l’attention des laboratoires de parapsychologie sur une multitude de cas. Les cas allaient des rêves dramatiques d’avions s’écrasant ou explosant aux exemples plus fréquents d’écarts inhabituels par rapport aux routines normales qui ont fini par sauver la vie de quelqu’un. » (Rencontres aux frontières du temps : Questions soulevées par des expériences humaines anormales, Richard S. Broughton) Historiquement, c’est du jamais vu – du jamais vu – il n’existe aucune prémonition historique documentée – aucune expérience prémonitoire de terrorisme – zéro. Il y a environ huit avertissements documentés – des prémonitions d’assassinats – mais aucune de terrorisme. Cela implique que quelque chose a changé dans la conscience humaine. « Un monde de plus en plus mécaniste, fragmenté et décontextualisé… est apparu, reflétant, je crois, l’action sans opposition d’un hémisphère gauche dysfonctionnel. » — Iain McGilchrist Conscience sociale historique et ordre socio-moral « L’homme, non pas en tant qu’atome, mais en tant que partie d’un organisme social, membre vivant d’un corps vivant » Les croyances spirituelles et religieuses comme conscience sociale et ordre social et moral La perception sociale et la conscience sont l’ordre social : Ramon Reyes souligne l’aspect unificateur de la spiritualité dans les sociétés philippines préhistoriques et dans les premières sociétés humaines : « En résumé, l’ordre social et moral englobe les vivants, les morts, les divinités et les esprits. » C’est-à-dire que les croyances spirituelles et religieuses des premières sociétés humaines ont créé et maintenu une conscience sociale – un ordre social et moral. On peut voir dans la mythologie de Zeus que le même principe s’applique. Zeus incarnait la loi et l’ordre, la sagesse, l’hospitalité et les serments – toutes des valeurs prosociales. Les recherches de Ramon Reyes soutiennent l’argument de Durkheim : « En effet, l’ordre social des Ifugao dans son ensemble, y compris les modes de vie pratiques, les institutions et les règles sociales, la moralité et tout le reste, constitue un système unitaire ; et il est considéré comme un phénomène religieux d’origine surnaturelle. » Décrivant un exemple de cette vision du monde préhistorique des Philippins, un anthropologue dit : « En traitant l’environnement comme un élément social, les gens reçoivent une explication ordonnée des phénomènes « naturels ». En résumé, un ordre social et moral englobe les vivants, les morts, les divinités et les esprits, ainsi que l’environnement dans son ensemble. » Les mythes comme cartes symboliques de la conscience sociale Les croyances spirituelles de la Grèce antique – et notamment Zeus – étaient considérées comme une conscience sociale et un ordre socio-moral. Zeus, en tant que symbole, était « le fondateur du pouvoir royal, de la loi et de l’ordre, d’où le fait que Dé, Thémis et Némésis sont ses assistants. Pour la même raison, il protège l’assemblée du peuple ( agoraios ), les réunions du conseil ( boulaios ), et comme il préside à l’ensemble de l’État, il préside également à chaque maison et famille. Il veillait également à la sainteté du serment ( horkios ), à la loi de l’hospitalité ( xenios ) et protégeait les suppliants. Il vengeait ceux qui avaient été lésés et punissait ceux qui avaient commis un crime, car il observait les actions et les souffrances de tous les hommes. » Dans Les Formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse, publié pour la première fois en 1912, Émile Durkheim, l'un des pères fondateurs de la sociologie, affirmait qu'« une religion est un système unifié de croyances et de pratiques relatives aux choses sacrées, c'est-à-dire aux choses mises à part et interdites, croyances et pratiques qui unissent en une seule communauté morale appelée Église, tous ceux qui y adhèrent ». Paloutzian et Park (p. 12) soutiennent que « la religion et la spiritualité sont des systèmes de significations plus ou moins cohérents, élaborés culturellement, intégrés et acquis par le biais de relations sociales et d’institutions situées dans des environnements naturels et bâtis complexes ». Préface : Ruach Hakodesh Tous les prophètes ont parlé « dans l’Esprit Saint » ; et le signe le plus caractéristique de la présence de l’Esprit Saint est le don de prophétie, en ce sens que la personne sur laquelle il repose voit le passé et l’avenir. Dans le judaïsme, le Saint-Esprit (hébreu : רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) fait référence à la force divine, à la qualité et à l'influence de Dieu sur l'univers ou sur les créatures de Dieu, dans des contextes donnés. Le terme « esprit saint » apparaît trois fois dans la Bible hébraïque : le Psaume 51 fait référence à « ton esprit saint » (ruach kodshecha) [3] et Isaïe fait référence deux fois à « son esprit saint » (ruach kodsho).[4] Le terme ruah haqodesh apparaît fréquemment dans la littérature talmudique et midrashique. Dans certains cas, il signifie l'inspiration prophétique, tandis que dans d'autres, il est utilisé comme une hypostase ou une métonymie de Dieu. La conception rabbinique du Saint-Esprit comporte un certain degré de personnification, mais il reste « une qualité appartenant à Dieu, l'un de ses attributs ». [8] L'idée de Dieu comme dualité ou trinité est considérée comme Avec la mort des trois derniers prophètes (Aggée, Zacharie et Malachie), le Saint-Esprit a cessé de se manifester en Israël, et seul le Bat Kol est resté à la disposition des sages. Le Saint-Esprit du Christ Les évangiles synoptiques ont généralement moins à dire sur le Saint-Esprit que l’évangile de Jean. L’évangile de Marc en dit le moins et ne mentionne le Saint-Esprit que six fois. Comme tous les évangiles, Marc souligne le baptême par l’Esprit comme la marque de fabrique de Jésus. En fait, c’est là le point culminant de l’écriture de Marc sur le Saint-Esprit – que l’œuvre du Christ est supérieure et meilleure précisément parce qu’il baptise dans le Saint-Esprit, et pas seulement dans l’eau. Luc reflète ce que dit Marc au chapitre 24, verset 49 : « La promesse du Père, c’est le baptême du Saint-Esprit. » 1 Jean 2:27 dit : « L’onction que vous avez reçue de lui demeure en vous » (1 Jean 2:27). La métaphore du « baptême du Saint-Esprit » est devenue dans le « christianisme » un aspect central du « Christ ». La métaphore reprend l’idée de la purification du corps humain par le baptême d’eau et l’étend à la purification de l’esprit humain par le baptême dans le Saint-Esprit. Cet essai sur Jérémie se concentre sur l'accent fréquemment mis dans la théologie chrétienne sur la conscience sociale (c'est-à-dire l'alliance) et l'activisme social - comme dans la justice, etc. J'ajoute - bien sûr - que le Saint-Esprit est un aspect important de la prophétie. Je souligne que considérer la prophétie uniquement et entièrement comme une prédiction diminue la vraie nature de la prophétie - et la conscience sociale comme une force George Barton ; Comment l'exil babylonien et Jérémie ont influencé la pensée et la théologie juives : « L’influence de l’exil babylonien est perceptible dans trois grands domaines de la vie : (I) dans la compréhension de la vérité religieuse ; (2) dans l’organisation extérieure de la vie religieuse ; et (3) dans les normes de la morale publique. Nous allons essayer de traiter brièvement chacun de ces points, mais auparavant, quelques mots sont nécessaires sur la nature de l’exil. » (INFLUENCE DE L’EXIL BABYLONIEN SUR LA RELIGION D’ISRAEL, PROFESSEUR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) La maison du potier : la prophétie de Jérémie sur la maison du potier - Sens de la situation historique et façonnement de la conscience sociale et collective Jérémie parle de la contrainte et de la pression qu’il ressentait et qui le poussaient à parler et à agir : « Si je dis : Je ne le mentionnerai plus (Dieu), et je ne parlerai plus en son nom, il y a dans mon cœur comme un feu ardent enfermé dans mes os ; je suis las de le contenir, et je ne le puis. » (Jérémie 20 : 9) La prophétie de Jérémie met en jeu des émotions profondément ancrées et probablement aussi des instincts sociaux. Malgré la persécution, Jérémie persiste dans ses comportements. Pourtant, Jérémie semble croire que Dieu ne lui ferait pas endurer ce qu’il a enduré, et se demande pourquoi il est, en fait, soumis à la persécution. Jérémie se plaint que Dieu l’a trompé et à cause de cela « je suis tous les jours en dérision, tous se moquent de moi » (Jérémie 20 : 7). Jérémie : 18 Voici la parole qui fut adressée à Jérémie de la part de l’Éternel : 2 « Descends à la maison du potier, et c’est là que je te donnerai ma parole. » 3 Je descendis donc à la maison du potier, et je le vis travailler au tour. 4 Mais le vase qu’il façonnait avec l’argile était abîmé dans ses mains ; le potier en façonna un autre, et le façonna comme il lui semblait bon. 5 Alors la parole de l’Éternel me fut adressée, 6 et il dit : « Ne puis-je pas faire de toi, Israël, ce que fait ce potier ? » déclare l’Éternel. « Comme l’argile dans la main du potier, ainsi tu es dans ma main, Israël. 7 Si je déclare qu’une nation ou un royaume doit être déraciné, démoli et anéanti, 8 et si cette nation que j’ai avertie se repent de sa méchanceté, alors je me repentirai et je ne lui ferai pas le mal que j’avais projeté. 9 Et si, à une autre époque, je proclame qu’une nation ou un royaume doit être bâti et implanté, 10 et qu’il fasse ce qui est mal à mes yeux et ne m’écoute pas, alors je reconsidérerai le bien que j’avais résolu de lui faire. Nouveau paradigme et modèle : un cheval tire une charrette avec des marchandises à l'intérieur ! Si l’on prend du recul et que l’on considère la prophétie dans un sens plus large – notamment en termes de cycles et de finalités historiques – il apparaît évident qu’en fin de compte, la prophétie a souvent eu pour effet historique d’exercer une influence significative sur la façon dont certaines personnes voient le monde et d’influencer clairement la conscience sociale et spirituelle de nombreuses personnes religieuses. En d’autres termes, la prophétie façonne la conscience humaine. Je dirais qu’on pourrait faire une analogie entre un cheval tirant une charrette contenant des marchandises et la prophétie. Trois parties ou aspects sont abordés : le cheval qui donne de l’énergie, la charrette ou le récit, et les marchandises ou le message ou la Parole de Dieu. Paradigme des marchandises transportées par des chevaux et des charrettes Dans cette analogie, le cheval serait la prophétie-prédiction qui dynamise la prophétie. Donald Kalsched, un spécialiste de Jung, a observé à propos des archétypes, qui sont généralement considérés comme des prédispositions comportementales ou attitudinales dans l'inconscient de l'esprit humain : « L'énergie archétypique est profondément enracinée dans l'inconscient et elle est « archaïque », primitive et aussi « typique ». Les énergies et les affects archétypiques ne sont pas facilement assimilés par l'esprit conscient. Ils peuvent être lumineux ou sombres, angéliques ou démoniaques, mais parce qu'ils existent sous une forme brute et non médiatisée, ils ont tendance à être surpuissants. » Nancy Furlotti fait écho à cette déclaration lorsqu'elle dit : « L'affect émerge des archétypes, qui sont les principes d'ordre a priori de la nature, du monde et de la psyché. Lorsqu'un archétype est activé, une énergie est mise en mouvement qui n'adhère pas aux lois de la causalité, du temps et de l'espace. » (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung's Red Book: (2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Les croyances et les idées sont très réelles et incroyablement puissantes et, comme l'observent James et Jung, le symbolisme religieux est souvent surchargé d'énergie émotionnelle. L'idée de l'esprit et de la prophétie en tant qu'énergie et force est très réelle, surtout à la lumière d'une conscience collective. Le deuxième aspect ou caractéristique de la prophétie est le récit du prophète qui sert de chariot pour transporter les marchandises – ou le message de la prophétie. Chaque livre de prophétie et chaque prophète raconte une histoire et présente un récit. Comme l’a observé un psychologue, les récits sont la forme de connaissance la plus ancienne et la plus ancienne, remontant sans aucun doute à des millions d’années, lorsque l’espèce humaine a découvert le feu pour la première fois et s’est rassemblée autour, ce qui a bien sûr conduit à la narration. La psychologie narrative n’est apparue que dans les années 1970. Le psychologue narratif Dan P. McAdams a développé l’idée de récits utilisés comme modèles d’histoires de vie qui ont façonné l’identité et développé la personnalité en structures sophistiquées. L’histoire de la vie et des efforts du prophète, dans ce cas, a servi de récits ou d’histoires qui ont servi à façonner la pensée spirituelle et religieuse ainsi qu’à donner forme aux conflits culturels. Comme les mythes, les récits prophétiques ont servi de véhicule pour transmettre des réalités et des vérités spirituelles – qui étaient bien sûr les « marchandises » transportées par le chariot. La maison du potier : la prophétie de Jérémie sur la maison du potier - Sens de la situation historique et façonnement de la conscience sociale et collective Jérémie parle de la contrainte et de la pression qu’il ressentait et qui le poussaient à parler et à agir : « Si je dis : Je ne le mentionnerai plus (Dieu), et je ne parlerai plus en son nom, il y a dans mon cœur comme un feu ardent enfermé dans mes os ; je suis las de le contenir, et je ne le puis. » (Jérémie 20 : 9) La prophétie de Jérémie met en jeu des émotions profondément ancrées et probablement aussi des instincts sociaux. Malgré la persécution, Jérémie persiste dans ses comportements. Pourtant, Jérémie semble croire que Dieu ne lui ferait pas endurer ce qu’il a enduré, et se demande pourquoi il est, en fait, soumis à la persécution. Jérémie se plaint que Dieu l’a trompé et à cause de cela « je suis tous les jours en dérision, tous se moquent de moi » (Jérémie 20 : 7). Jérémie : 18 Voici la parole qui fut adressée à Jérémie de la part de l’Éternel : 2 « Descends à la maison du potier, et c’est là que je te donnerai ma parole. » 3 Je descendis donc à la maison du potier, et je le vis travailler au tour. 4 Mais le vase qu’il façonnait avec l’argile était abîmé dans ses mains ; le potier en façonna un autre, et le façonna comme il lui semblait bon. 5 Alors la parole de l’Éternel me fut adressée, 6 et il dit : « Ne puis-je pas faire de toi, Israël, ce que fait ce potier ? » déclare l’Éternel. « Comme l’argile dans la main du potier, ainsi tu es dans ma main, Israël. 7 Si je déclare qu’une nation ou un royaume doit être déraciné, démoli et anéanti, 8 et si cette nation que j’ai avertie se repent de sa méchanceté, alors je me repentirai et je ne lui ferai pas le mal que j’avais projeté. 9 Et si, à une autre époque, je proclame qu’une nation ou un royaume doit être bâti et implanté, 10 et qu’il fasse ce qui est mal à mes yeux et ne m’écoute pas, alors je reconsidérerai le bien que j’avais résolu de lui faire. Ce que Jérémie présente ici est une vision de forces puissantes (Dieu) qui changeront et façonneront le peuple juif et sa foi. D’un certain point de vue, comme je le montrerai plus tard, la prophétie de la maison du potier de Jérémie – cette vision de forces énormes (Dieu) qui affecteraient et façonneraient la nation juive s’est avérée être l’une de ses prophéties les plus fructueuses. Pour mettre les choses en perspective, je soulignerais le fait que, si l’on prend du recul et que l’on considère la prophétie dans un sens plus large, en particulier en termes de cycles et de buts historiques, en général, il apparaît que – de loin – ce que la prophétie a souvent « historiquement » accompli et produit, c’est d’avoir produit des influences significatives sur la vision du monde des peuples et, dans le judaïsme et le christianisme, elle a façonné la conscience sociale et spirituelle de nombreuses personnes religieuses. C’est-à-dire que la prophétie façonne la conscience humaine. Je dirais qu’une analogie pourrait être faite entre un cheval tirant une charrette contenant des marchandises et la prophétie. Trois parties ou aspects sont abordés – le cheval qui donne de l’énergie, la charrette ou le récit, et les marchandises ou le message ou la Parole de Dieu. La prophétie comme conscience sociale George Barton, Ph. D. : « Les catastrophes et les chagrins obligent une âme ou une nation à chercher à nouveau les fondements de la vie. Les périodes de chagrin sont donc des périodes de croissance religieuse. L’exil babylonien ne fait pas exception. En effet, l’influence de cet exil sur la religion d’Israël fut énorme. Cela était dû en partie au fait que l’exil était l’événement extérieur nécessaire pour cristalliser les résultats des influences prophétiques qui étaient à l’œuvre depuis longtemps, mais cela était aussi dû en partie à l’approfondissement et à la clarification de la perception religieuse qu’apportent les catastrophes et les chagrins. » George Barton explique : « L’influence de l’exil babylonien est perceptible dans trois grands domaines de la vie : (I) dans l’appréhension de la vérité religieuse ; (2) dans l’organisation extérieure de la vie religieuse ; et (3) dans les normes de la morale publique. Nous allons nous efforcer de traiter brièvement chacun de ces points, mais avant de le faire, quelques mots sont nécessaires concernant la nature de l’exil. » (INFLUENCE DE L’EXIL BABYLONIEN SUR LA RELIGION D’ISRAEL, PROFESSEUR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) Ainsi, ici, Barton, qui fait clairement écho à un certain nombre d’érudits, affirme clairement que la prophétie de Jérémie – combinée à la souffrance et à la douleur de l’exil – a changé de manière bénéfique la théologie et la vision du monde du judaïsme. Un point très important D’après la description que fait Jérémie de l’impulsion – et de la contrainte – qui le poussait à annoncer la Parole de Dieu, il semble évident que des émotions profondes et de puissants instincts spirituels étaient à l’œuvre. On pourrait donc conclure que la prévoyance et la prophétie peuvent dans une certaine mesure être considérées comme un instinct lié au groupe, et la Parole de Dieu semble également être l’expression d’un instinct social puisqu’elle promeut les concepts de justice, les besoins des opprimés et des faibles, ainsi que la droiture. Jérémie est l’illustration parfaite de la façon dont la prophétie a changé la conscience humaine. Conclusions sur Jérémie Je dois dire que, selon moi, Jérémie a fait exactement ce qu’il était censé faire. Il a donné des directives et des orientations. Il a fourni un cadre pour ce qui allait se passer dans le futur. Ergoter sur le fait que Jérémie n’a pas noté le nombre précis d’années d’exil serait, à mon avis, comme critiquer Jérémie pour avoir défait ses lacets. À ma connaissance, personne n’a jamais prédit la date exacte d’un événement, sauf peut-être pour l’assassinat de César, à propos duquel il existe un débat historique. Comme l’a observé le bibliste Thompson, « si nous le considérons [le nombre soixante-dix] comme un symbole de « plusieurs » (Juges 1:7 ; 8:14 ; 1 Samuel 6:19 ; 2 Samuel 24:15 ; Psaume 90:10 ; etc.), il servira le but que Jérémie avait probablement prévu ». (p. 514) Pour moi, 58 ans signifient « une longue période » et Jérémie avait raison : c’était une longue période. Ce qui m’impressionne, c’est que Jérémie savait non seulement que l’exil ne se terminerait pas de sitôt, mais qu’il s’est levé et a « défié » les faux prophètes. Mon argument est que la prophétie est un récit et que dans cette prophétie particulière, Jérémie a créé un récit qui, en fin de compte, a très bien fonctionné pour façonner la conscience et l’avenir. À mon avis, Jérémie a fait son travail – très bien en fait. La façon dont vous regardez les choses est la force la plus puissante pour façonner votre vie. Le poète théologien irlandais John O'Donohue 1. « Peu de gens ont l'imagination nécessaire pour comprendre la réalité ! » - Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (1749 - 1832), poète, dramaturge, romancier, scientifique et homme d'État allemand, semble avoir prophétisé avec précision la révolution scientifique de la mécanique quantique et de l'intrication quantique (dans laquelle le « spin » des particules subatomiques est synchronisé - à des vitesses plus rapides que la vitesse de la lumière - 2. Niels Bohr, physicien danois et pionnier de la physique quantique, a déclaré que « Si la mécanique quantique ne vous a pas profondément choqué, vous ne l’avez pas encore comprise. Tout ce que nous appelons réel est fait de choses qui ne peuvent pas être considérées comme réelles. » – Cela suggère qu’une réévaluation de notre compréhension du monde, de l’univers et, bien sûr, de la Vérité – est nécessaire – un univers de nécessité. 3. Le futur a causé le passé. Professeur Truscott Le professeur Truscott a conclu que l'expérience démontrait que « un événement futur amène le photon à décider de son passé. » (Une expérience confirme l'étrangeté de la théorie quantique Science Daily, 27 mai 2015, Université nationale australienne) Résumé de l'expérience : La nature étrange de la réalité telle que la décrit la théorie quantique a survécu à un autre test, avec des scientifiques effectuant une expérience célèbre et prouvant que la réalité n'existe pas tant qu'elle n'est pas mesurée. Les physiciens ont mené l'expérience de pensée à choix différé de John Wheeler, qui implique un objet en mouvement auquel on donne le choix d'agir comme une particule ou une onde. Le groupe a inversé l'expérience originale de Wheeler et a utilisé des atomes d'hélium diffusés par la lumière. Si l'on choisit de croire que l'atome a réellement suivi un ou plusieurs chemins particuliers, alors il faut accepter qu'une mesure future affecte le passé de l'atome, a déclaré Truscott. .... Ainsi, la forme qu'il prendrait après avoir traversé la première grille dépendait de la mise en place de la deuxième grille par la suite. Par conséquent, le fait qu'il continue à être une particule ou qu'il se transforme en onde n'était pas décidé avant qu'un événement futur ne se produise. Le temps reculait. La cause et l'effet semblent être inversés. Le futur a causé le passé. La flèche du temps semblait fonctionner en sens inverse. 4. Stephen Hawking : Einstein et le voyage dans le temps « Le voyage dans le temps était autrefois considéré comme de la simple science-fiction, mais la théorie générale de la relativité d'Einstein laisse entrevoir la possibilité que nous puissions déformer l'espace-temps à tel point que nous pourrions décoller dans une fusée et revenir avant notre départ. Préambule à « Prophétie » : définition de la prophétie par Marriam-Webster Pour mettre les choses en perspective, il existe des points de vue divers et contradictoires sur la prophétie, et la situation semble très difficile à résoudre dans la mesure où la définition acceptée de la prophétie exclut une compréhension théologique commune. 1 : une déclaration inspirée d'un prophète 2 : la fonction ou la vocation d'un prophète (plus précisément : la déclaration inspirée de la volonté et du dessein divins) 3 : une prédiction de quelque chose à venir (4 :) À cette définition de la prophétie, il faut ajouter la prophétie en tant qu’activisme et promotion de la justice sociale – un thème commun et très pertinent des dirigeants et théologiens chrétiens Mon argument est que la « prophétie » est en partie une force du Saint-Esprit – ou, d’un point de vue psychologique, une force dans la conscience sociale et collective. La conscience sociale est l’ordre social : Perspectives dans la prophétie : Congrégation et conscience sociale L'idéal des prophètes n'est pas une église ou une congrégation de croyants en adoration, mais une communauté, une société ou un état de Dieu comme des hommes et des femmes vivant dans l'amour et la vérité ensemble sous le Messie comme roi, qui est rempli de l'Esprit de Dieu, exerçant la justice et le jugement envers les pauvres et les sans défense (Esaïe 9: I-7; I1: 1-5). Déclaration d’indépendance américaine : « Nous tenons pour évidentes ces vérités : tous les hommes sont créés égaux, ils sont dotés par leur Créateur de certains droits inaliénables, parmi lesquels la vie, la liberté et la recherche du bonheur. » Une grande partie de la conscience humaine est axée sur les idéaux, sur le bien et le mal. Comme Hume l’a observé il y a des siècles, il existe une nette différence entre le « devrait » et le « est » – et le bien et le mal échappent à la recherche scientifique. Des siècles plus tard, Einstein a également confirmé ce fait. Jung a souligné que les symboles – en eux-mêmes – sont extérieurs aux processus cognitifs. Comme l’observe le Dr Stephen Farra, « nos modèles sont notre réalité, mais les modèles ne sont pas la réalité. » LES PROPHÈTES DE L'ANCIEN TESTAMENT EN TANT QUE RÉFORMATEURS SOCIAUX. Par le révérend GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphie, Pennsylvanie. Communauté Chrétienne L’idéal des prophètes n’est pas une église ou une congrégation de croyants en adoration, mais une communauté, une société ou un état de Dieu comme des hommes et des femmes vivant dans l’amour et la vérité ensemble sous le Messie comme roi, qui est rempli de l’Esprit de Dieu, exerçant la justice et le jugement envers les pauvres et les démunis (Esaïe 9 : 1-7 ; I1 : 1-5)… La piété est un caractère, et le caractère n’est pas dans les choses, mais est le produit d’un effort personnel, aussi favorable que puisse être l’environnement. Par conséquent, les prophètes exigeaient de chacun un effort honnête et énergique pour réaliser le royaume divin idéal dans ce monde……, Ils rejettent un culte qui ne porte aucun fruit dans la sphère sociale… » LES PROPHÈTES DE L’ANCIEN TESTAMENT EN TANT QUE RÉFORMATEURS SOCIAUX. Par le révérend GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphie, Pa. p.26 Les vrais prophètes ont exposé les faux ( Isaïe 9:15), et ont montré qu'ils étaient complaisants, lâches, vénaux, criant une fausse paix (Isaïe 56:1-2; Michée 3:5, II); mais aux seuls vrais prophètes restait la tâche ingrate de dire une vérité désagréable à un peuple qui aimait qu'on lui chatouille les oreilles (Michée 3:8-II). Quant aux vertus exigées, le contraire des péchés précédents est non seulement impliqué dans tous les cas, mais exprimé de multiples façons. Sans entrer dans les détails, il suffit d'attirer l'attention sur les vertus fondamentales de justice, de miséricorde et d'humilité exigées par Michée (6, 8) : « Que demande le Seigneur de toi, sinon que tu pratiques la justice, que tu aimes la miséricorde et que tu marches humblement avec ton Dieu ? » et par Amos (5, 24) : « Que le jugement coule comme des eaux et la justice comme un torrent puissant. » L’idéal des prophètes n’est pas une église ou une congrégation de croyants en adoration, mais une communauté, une société ou un état de Dieu, comme des hommes et des femmes vivant ensemble dans l’amour et la vérité sous le Messie comme roi, qui est rempli de l’Esprit de Dieu, exerçant la justice et le jugement envers les pauvres et les sans défense (Esaïe 9 : 1-7 ; I1 : 1-5). La paix universelle régnera en maître (Esaïe II : 6-01), toute personne vile sera connue par son vrai nom (Esaïe 32 : 5 ; et cf. 26 : 1-10 ; chap. 56-66). Quant à la patrie de ce royaume idéal des prophètes (et pouvons-nous dire de la Bible dans son ensemble ?), c’est une terre. C’est cette terre, et elle n’est pas aussi radicalement différente de ce qu’elle est physiquement aujourd’hui que nous le pensons parfois. Enlevez le péché et ses conséquences généralisées, et qui sait à quel point même ce monde matériel serait changé pour le mieux ? (Cf. Isaïe II : I-IO ; Rom. 8 : 8-25 ; Apoc. 21 : 1-5.) p.27 La piété est un caractère, et le caractère n’est pas dans les choses, mais est le produit d’un effort personnel , aussi favorable que puisse être l’environnement. C’est pourquoi les prophètes demandaient à chacun de faire un effort honnête et énergique pour réaliser le royaume divin et idéal dans ce monde… Ils rejettent une adoration qui ne produit aucun fruit dans la sphère sociale, mais insistent sur la véritable religion de Jéhovah comme seule racine et cause de ces fruits… Si nous demandons maintenant quel remède les prophètes suggèrent aux maux sociaux, nous trouvons que la réponse est une foi vraie et vivante en Dieu qui agit par l’amour envers son prochain. » Cela semblerait – à première vue – préconiser un type de conscience sociale p.28 Nous avons donc ici des écrivains aussi anciens que huit cents à mille ans avant Jésus-Christ, qui réclament à l’unanimité, comme pouvoir purificateur et plastique de la société, la dévotion véritable et désintéressée de l’homme au Dieu suprême, premièrement ; et, deuxièmement, à son prochain… La prophétie comme justice sociale : « La justice sociale et les prophètes » par Walter J. Houston : Extrait de l'article de Walter Houston qui met l'accent sur la justice sociale comme aspect essentiel de la prophétie « Que la justice coule comme de l’eau ! » (Amos 5.24). Des paroles magnifiques, mais que signifient-elles ? Ce que le prophète Amos entend par là, vous pouvez le comprendre à partir des injustices qu’il attaque. Les gens qu’il dénonce prélèvent leur part du travail pénible des pauvres (Amos 5.11), les traitent avec mépris et acceptent des pots-de-vin. Lorsqu’ils vendent du blé, ils truquent la balance et la monnaie (Amos 8.5). Ce sont toujours les pauvres qui sont leurs victimes. Ces exploiteurs impitoyables sont anonymes, mais ils ont manifestement la richesse et le pouvoir. Leur domicile est Samarie, la capitale du royaume d’Israël au huitième siècle avant notre ère (Amos 3.9, Amos 4.1, Amos 6.1). Amos montre que Dieu exige d’eux la justice plutôt que l’adoration : « Je hais, je méprise vos fêtes… Mais que la justice coule comme de l’eau, et la justice comme un torrent impétueux » (Amos 5.21-24). Walter J. Houston, « Social Justice and the Prophets », np [cité le 20 avril 2022]. En ligne : https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/passages/related-articles/social-justice-and-the-prophets La question que je pose ici est la suivante : considérer la prophétie comme une altération des prédictions est-elle une caractéristique essentielle de la prophétie en tant que promotion de la justice sociale et influence de la conscience sociale et de la culture. Autrement dit, qu'est-ce qui, selon vous, serait le plus important pour Dieu : l'exactitude de la prédiction ou la justice sociale ? Je veux dire que si Dieu avait voulu faire des prédictions, il aurait pu engager un sténographe. Il semble évident que la « communauté » et la « conscience sociale » sont essentielles à la prophétie. Nouveau paradigme pour la prophétie : le prophète Jérémie et sa prophétie sur les soixante-dix ans d'exil Dieu a-t-il placé des prophètes sur terre « uniquement et entièrement » pour faire des prédictions ? Prophétie – Introduction Bien que je ne sois pas un spécialiste des religions, le seul écrit sur la fonction de la prophétie en tant que sujet en soi serait l’argument de Spinoza selon lequel les prophètes comme Moïse sont des « exemplaires », définis comme « une personne ou une chose servant d’exemple typique ou d’excellent modèle ». Mon argument est que la prophétie est à la fois un message et un récit ou une histoire. De plus, il semblerait assez évident qu’entre le message et le récit, les prophéties façonnent la conscience humaine qui, à son tour, façonne l’avenir en quelque sorte, puisque la façon dont nous pensons et agissons déterminera en grande partie l’avenir. Bien sûr, dans toute bonne histoire, un héros ou un exemple est essentiel. Le prophète Jérémie Le prophète Jérémie (« Jérémie » signifie Yahweh établit) a vécu en Juda, le royaume du sud de Juda, de 627 à 586 av. Jérémie date le début de son ministère (627 av. J.-C.) lorsqu'il a eu sa vision de la branche d'amandier et du chaudron basculant qui transmettait le message d'une menace de « l'ennemi du nord ! » Un commentaire intéressant à propos de la première prophétie de Jérémie serait qu'il y a un jeu de mots entre le mot hébreu pour amande qui a ses racines dans le mot hébreu pour « surveiller » et le commentaire de Jérémie selon lequel Dieu « surveillait ». Une autre nuance importante de la première prophétie est que Jérémie parle de Dieu demandant à Jérémie ce qu'il a vu - ce qui a une signification entièrement différente d'un « prophète descendant de la montagne et faisant des « proclamations ou des déclarations ». Jérémie est souvent appelé le prophète qui pleure parce qu'il a vécu et a été témoin de la destruction de Jérusalem et du Temple. Jérémie le combattant Le message de Jérémie était si critique envers le peuple juif et son pays de Juda qu’il suscita un ressentiment et une animosité amères à son égard, et il y eut même un complot pour le tuer – dans lequel même sa famille semblait avoir un rôle. « Son impopularité grandit et lui attira les railleries, l’ostracisme et les malédictions (15:10-11, 17; 17:15; 20:7) » (p. 101 du livre de Jérémie). Souvent, Jérémie réclamait justice contre ces gens qui lui faisaient du mal et qui entravaient sa mission. À la fin, il était très amer, et après la destruction généralisée de Juda (confirmée par les archéologues), il fut emmené de force en Égypte pour échapper à la colère des « super-patriotes » juifs qui voulaient se venger de ce que Jérémie avait dit contre les dirigeants juifs. Il ne fait aucun doute que le prophète Jérémie était un combattant. Lors d’une « démonstration prophétique » publique, Jérémie brisa un vase en terre cuite à la porte de Jérusalem pour symboliser la façon dont le peuple juif serait brisé par Dieu de la même manière que Jérémie avait brisé le vase en terre cuite. Dans une autre « démonstration prophétique » publique, Jérémie révéla ses prophéties condamnant les pratiques juives d’adoration des idoles dans son « sermon au Temple ». Pour avoir prophétisé, Jérémie fut humilié publiquement par le grand prêtre, traduit en justice publique après son sermon au Temple et, juste avant la chute de Jérusalem aux mains des Babyloniens, jeté dans une fosse dans un cachot et laissé pour mort. Il est crucial de comprendre la prophétie de Jérémie selon laquelle le « message » de Jérémie a changé (ce qui a également changé le « récit »), passant d’un message selon lequel les Juifs encouraient la colère de Dieu à cause de leur infidélité en se détournant des voies de Dieu et en adorant des idoles, à un message de réconciliation et d’espoir. Voici Jérémie 32:36-37 : 36 « Vous dites au sujet de cette ville : C'est par l'épée, par la famine et par la peste qu'elle sera livrée au roi de Babylone. Mais ainsi parle l'Éternel, le Dieu d'Israël : 37 Je les rassemblerai certainement de tous les pays où je les ai chassés dans l'ardeur de ma colère et dans ma grande fureur ; je les ramènerai dans ce lieu, et je les ferai habiter en sécurité. La prophétie des soixante-dix ans d'exil Français Il convient de noter que la première attaque et déportation babylonienne a eu lieu en 597 av. J.-C. Dans un effort pour convaincre le peuple de Juda que Babylone était désormais son nouveau maître, ils ont commencé à forcer les principaux résidents à l'exil, dès 605 av. J.-C. D'autres déportations ont eu lieu dans les années suivantes, culminant avec la destruction totale de Jérusalem et du Temple en 586 av. J.-C. Jérémie a parlé à deux reprises de la durée de l'exil des Juifs déportés. La première référence se trouve dans Jérémie 25:11 qui semble faire partie d'un résumé (Jérémie 25:1-14). Jérémie 25:13 dit : « Et tout ce pays sera une désolation et un désert, et ces nations serviront le roi de Babylone pendant soixante-dix ans. » Comme je l'ai mentionné auparavant, les fouilles des archéologues ont démontré qu'au cours de cette période historique particulière, de nombreuses villes de Juda ont en fait été détruites et qu'il y a eu des destructions généralisées. La captivité juive prit fin en 539 av. J.-C., lorsque Cyrus, chef des Perses et des Mèdes, conquit Babylone et mit fin à son empire. Cyrus accorda ensuite aux Juifs captifs la liberté de retourner dans leur patrie. John A. Thompson, spécialiste australien de l’Ancien Testament et archéologue biblique, a observé dans son volumineux ouvrage sur Jérémie que différents érudits calculent le nombre d’années de l’exil historique de différentes manières. Par exemple, une méthode de calcul prend le nombre d’années entre la chute de la capitale assyrienne en 612 av. J.-C. et la chute de Babylone en 539 av. J.-C., ce qui donne soixante-treize ans. Ce chiffre est très proche des soixante-dix ans prophétisés par Jérémie – bien que, comme le souligne Thompson, ce chiffre ne soit pas « exact » (p. 514). Mais à première vue, c'est l'Exil lui-même qui doit servir de référence, puisque Jérémie s'adresse aux Juifs dans sa prophétie et que toute analyse doit donc porter sur la situation des Juifs et non sur celle des Assyriens ou des Babyloniens. Pour les Juifs, l'exil s'étend de la première défaite de Juda avec la prise de Jérusalem et la déportation d'un nombre substantiel de dirigeants et d'artisans juifs importants en 597 av. J.-C. jusqu'à l'édit de libération des Juifs promulgué par Cyrus en 538 - ce qui donne un total de 59 ans. Pour comprendre le message et le récit de la prophétie de Jérémie, il est essentiel de comprendre qu’au début de l’Exil, les « faux prophètes » prophétisaient aux Juifs exilés que leur rédemption était proche et qu’ils rentreraient très bientôt chez eux. Je suis sûr que, sachant qu’ils avaient complètement tort, Jérémie aurait été furieux – d’autant plus que cela aurait produit de mauvais fruits. Cela semble être une très mauvaise psychologie – dire aux gens que quelque chose va bientôt se produire et que cela ne se produira pas ensuite pourrait être assez destructeur pour le moral du peuple. Jérémie a donc pris position et a prophétisé que les Juifs retourneraient dans leur pays d’origine dans soixante-dix ans. Le message de Jérémie aux Juifs exilés était essentiellement de « se résigner à ce que la rédemption tarde à venir – mais que la rédemption – et la réconciliation auraient bel et bien lieu ». Post-scriptum : Un carrefour – Une perspective historique contemporaine Quand la mort nationale (culturelle et mode de vie) menace « Un monde de plus en plus mécaniste, fragmenté et décontextualisé… est apparu, reflétant, je crois, l’action sans opposition d’un hémisphère gauche dysfonctionnel. » — Iain McGilchrist Préface : À titre d’information, je voudrais souligner que l’événement du 11 septembre – selon un certain nombre de « témoignages d’experts » – a généré un grand nombre d’expériences de précognition documentées. Recherche pour mettre les choses en perspective : « Les événements tragiques du 11 septembre ont attiré l’attention des laboratoires de parapsychologie sur une multitude de cas. Les cas allaient des rêves dramatiques d’avions s’écrasant ou explosant aux exemples plus fréquents d’écarts inhabituels par rapport aux routines normales qui ont fini par sauver la vie de quelqu’un. » (Rencontres aux frontières du temps : Questions soulevées par des expériences humaines anormales, Richard S. Broughton) Historiquement, c’est du jamais vu – du jamais vu – il n’existe aucune prémonition historique documentée – aucune expérience prémonitoire de terrorisme – zéro. Il y a environ huit avertissements documentés – des prémonitions d’assassinats – mais aucune de terrorisme. Cela implique que quelque chose a changé dans la conscience humaine. J'ai étudié en profondeur la littérature prophétique et psychique. J'ai étudié l'oracle de Delphes, l'Ancien Testament ainsi que Nostradamus. La plupart des prophéties et prédictions de l'oracle de Delphes et de Nostradamus sont ambiguës, ce qui les rend sujettes à des interprétations variées. Le nombre de « prédictions » directes est extrêmement limité et peut atteindre une douzaine. J'ai parcouru plus de 900 quatrains de Nostradamus et, en utilisant quelques « règles » de bon sens, je n'en ai trouvé qu'une poignée qui prédisaient réellement une action spécifique accompagnée d'un ou deux détails précis. Or, bien qu'il existe un certain nombre de prophéties quelque peu étonnantes dans l'Ancien Testament, telles que les interprétations des rêves de Joseph, une grande partie des prophéties de l'Ancien Testament manquent, en un sens, de détails spécifiques. Tim Callahan souligne que la prophétie d'Ézéchiel sur la chute et la destruction totale de Tyr par les Babyloniens ne s'est pas produite dans l'histoire exactement comme elle est écrite dans la prophétie d'Ézéchiel. Les Babyloniens n'ont pas réellement capturé Tyr et elle n'est pas réellement tombée avant l'arrivée d'Alexandre le Grand. En fin de compte, lorsque l’on compare toutes les prédictions-prophéties des deux derniers millénaires avant la Première Guerre mondiale avec ce qui s’est passé depuis la Première Guerre mondiale, la comparaison est de jour comme de nuit. Premièrement, bien que Jeane Dixon soit en réalité une médium non documentée, elle a fait « vérifier » les deux prédictions par son biographe, ce qui est, à mon avis, statistiquement significatif parce qu’elles sont inhabituelles. Edgar Cayce a démontré la première « perception non locale » ou vision à distance documentée, comme le souligne Stephen Schwartz. En toute chose, il faut séparer le bon grain de l’ivraie. Cela est particulièrement vrai pour Edgar Cayce. Quand Edgar Cayce faisait des prédictions pour faire des prédictions, il avait un taux d’échec élevé – comme Jeane Dixon et Nostradamus. Quand Cayce donnait des lectures pour le personnel des forces armées américaines – il s’en sortait plutôt bien sur les questions de la date de fin de la guerre (la Seconde Guerre mondiale). Edgar Cayce a également documenté huit guérisons (sur environ 100 cas) d'épileptiques, ce qui était du jamais vu à cette époque où il n'y avait pas de médicaments. Il y a aussi Theresa Caputo, la médium de Long Island, une médium-psychologue contemporaine à la télévision qui entre en contact avec les esprits des êtres chers disparus et qui, ce faisant, aide ses sujets à tourner la page et à trouver du réconfort. Le plus souvent, les sujets de ses démonstrations la remercient abondamment et profondément en raison du sentiment de clôture et de soulagement qu'ils ont ressenti. Si vous attribuez à 1 sur 10 la probabilité d'occurrence de chacune des verbalisations de Theresa Caputo d'informations transcendantales qu'elle a « reçues » - qui ne pourraient, selon toutes apparences, provenir que de l'être cher disparu du sujet -, alors seulement dix informations provenant de l'être cher disparu donneraient lieu à une probabilité globale d'occurrence d'une sur dix milliards. Les gens se laissent prendre par les abstractions. Une amie de ma sœur est allée à l'une des démonstrations de Caputo et a fini par penser qu'elle était totalement une imposture parce qu'elle avait fait des erreurs. Je rencontre assez souvent le stéréotype mal adapté selon lequel les médiums doivent être « absolument parfaits ». Les gens font des erreurs, c’est ce que les gens font. En plus de cela, il y a la vision à distance. Wikipedia déclare : « La vision à distance (RV) est la pratique de la recherche d’impressions sur un sujet distant ou invisible, prétendument ressenti avec l’esprit.[1] En général, un observateur à distance est censé donner des informations sur un objet, un événement, une personne ou un lieu qui est caché de la vue physique et séparé à une certaine distance.[2] » Des expériences ont été menées par les physiciens Russell Targ, Harold Puthoff, ainsi que Stephen Schwartz. Aux États-Unis, il existe des centaines de milliers d’adeptes de la vision à distance – dont beaucoup déclarent avoir eux-mêmes vécu des expériences de vision à distance. Il existe également diverses expériences documentées, comme celle d’un artiste qui a dessiné trois images clairvoyantes sur le Dr Phil. Des pommes aux pommes Dans cette analyse, la condition préalable est de comparer des pommes avec des pommes (indépendamment de la question de savoir si le psi existe ou non) – rien de plus. Lorsque l’on compare les expériences spirituelles-psychiques documentées réussies aujourd’hui et au cours des cent dernières années – en comparaison avec les deux mille ans d’expériences spirituelles-psychiques documentées précédentes, il n’y a aucune comparaison – c’est une image très austère d’un noir très foncé sur un blanc très blanc. En ce qui concerne les prophéties, l’Ancien Testament est plutôt fiable. De plus, à l’Oracle de Delphes – et au centre intellectuel – il y avait de nombreux historiens, donc leurs archives peuvent également être considérées comme assez fiables. Le monde a été bouleversé et retourné à l'envers - Les scientifiques s'accordent à dire que l'espèce humaine est en constante évolution et s'adapte. Au cours des 300 dernières années, des révolutions scientifiques, technologiques, socioéconomiques, sociales et politiques radicales et spectaculaires ont eu lieu. L'environnement a changé : le psychologue social Gergen a écrit un livre intitulé « Le moi saturé » qui expose tous les changements. Dans les années 1900, l'automobile a révolutionné la mobilité. La radio et la télévision ont augmenté la communication et le contenu de la communication. Il y a aussi eu les Blackberry, Facebook, les téléphones intelligents, les tablettes, les ordinateurs portables, les ordinateurs de bureau ... Youtube, Twitter, Internet, les emails, les textos, etc. ont récemment augmenté le nombre de personnes avec lesquelles nous communiquons et le type de communication (plus anonyme, la plupart du temps sans interaction de personne à personne). Tout ce qui touche à la communication avec les autres a radicalement changé. Je pense qu'il serait raisonnable de penser que l'augmentation considérable des interactions interhumaines modifiera considérablement les modèles de comportement des gens - et probablement pas pour le mieux. Un scientifique affirme que le nombre de personnes que le cerveau humain est capable de gérer est d'environ 40 ou 50. Il y a trop de choix, trop de modèles - la société est devenue, en un sens, tout simplement trop pour l'esprit humain, c'est pourquoi Gergen intitule son livre, "Le moi saturé". Si la société est trop, on pourrait s'attendre à un comportement plus erratique. Dans cette optique, je voudrais souligner qu’il semble évident que la « société » ne pourrait même pas exister sans « conscience sociale » ! Cependant, lorsque j’ai demandé à une étudiante en psychologie si elle avait déjà entendu parler de « conscience sociale », elle m’a répondu : « Non ! » La définition en cinq parties de la religion « universellement acceptée » (selon Chernus) de Geertz n’inclut ni la communauté ni « l’esprit » d’ailleurs. Pourtant, toute évaluation objective ou raisonnable de la religion mettrait en évidence la caractéristique des religions en tant que groupes ou communautés comme étant des caractéristiques incroyablement saillantes. Il semblerait également inéluctable de conclure que les « enseignements » des religions endormiraient – en tant que normes – une conscience sociale. En psychologie sociale, la « norme » depuis Allport en 1927 est qu’« il n’y a pas de psychologie des groupes ! » Nouvelle approche : Spiritualité pratique-créative vs « La spiritualité est irréelle ! « Nous ne demandons pas à la vie quel est le sens de la vie. La vie nous demande quel est le sens de notre vie. Et la vie exige notre réponse. » Victor Frankl : 1. WR Miller, CE Thoresen « Une base philosophique pour cette perspective est le matérialisme, la croyance qu’il n’y a rien à étudier parce que la spiritualité est intangible et au-delà des sens. » 2. Une critique de 2018 revue par des pairs, approuvée par 4 psychologues - à savoir le Dr H Koenig - réfute la maxime matérialiste - l'identifiant comme l'erreur definiste (termes chargés). Explication : Si vous prenez le concept de « mort » - qui est « intangible et au-delà des sens » alors « la mort doit être le fruit de votre imagination » 3. + L'erreur d'Allport (psychologie sociale 1927) « Il n'y a pas de psychologie de groupe » = abstraction déconnectée avec « patriotisme » - une réfutation évidente + concerts de rock, manifestations... « Les concepts créent des idoles, seul l’émerveillement comprend quelque chose. Les gens s’entretuent à cause des idoles. L’émerveillement nous fait tomber à genoux ! » Saint Grégoire de Nysse Il est évident que la spiritualité est empêtrée dans des abstractions : pouvoirs, surnaturel-irréel, magie, boule de cristal, etc. Dr S. Farra « Bon article court : Un manque de croyance dans le « libre arbitre » conduit systématiquement à un sentiment d’absurdité, de désespoir et de comportement personnel contraire à l’éthique. Nos paradigmes sont notre façon d’aborder la Réalité, mais ils ne sont pas la Réalité. Comme le suggère C Peck, Jr., nous nous perdons dans nos propres abstractions ! » Notions de base 1. McGilChrist, M Sherif, Kant affirment que le « contexte du monde réel » est vital - les gens sont la seule source de contexte du monde réel pour les croyances spirituelles et religieuses . 2. K Gergen : « Une connaissance appropriée cartographie ou reflète les réalités du monde réel ! » - « Comprendre quelque chose, que nous en soyons conscients ou non, dépend du choix d'un modèle ! » I McGilChrist Méthode scientifique aristotélicienne 1. Rassemblez les faits 2. Catégoriser les données 3. Analyser les informations 4. Tirer des conclusions Nouvelle approche créative pragmatique « La spiritualité est une prédisposition humaine naturelle ! Elle est plus fondamentale que la religion institutionnelle et concerne le sentiment d'appartenance d'une personne à soi-même, aux autres et au monde ! » K. Bishop, B Hyde - A Killin : « Les plus anciens instruments de musique connus [datent] d'il y a 40 000 ans… » 1. Soi musical, spirituel et social : « La musique est une partie fondamentale de notre évolution – et fonctionnelle car elle facilite le « contact humain » et notre « moi social ! » - J Schulkin, G Raglan ; la « musicalité » est une propriété des communautés plutôt que des individus » I Cross 2. Spiritualité et compassion : Saslow « La spiritualité était particulièrement associée au fait d'avoir une identité spirituelle, d'avoir vécu des expériences transcendantes et d'avoir tendance à prier... ...les participants spirituels ... ont tendance à ressentir de la compassion... lien entre spiritualité et compassion supérieure... » & Sprecher + Fehr : corrélation entre spiritualité et compassion & principe de V Frankl : « les êtres humains ont un noyau spirituel avec un besoin inné de sens... » 3. La guérison spirituelle dans le deuil : Easterling : « ... les individus semblent mieux s'en sortir s'ils peuvent « actualiser » leurs expériences spirituelles en temps de crise & J Parker 4. Spiritualité relationnelle - soi spirituel : « Hay et Nye : la spiritualité implique une conscience profonde de la relation que l'on a avec soi-même et avec tout ce qui est autre que soi-même. un. Kapwa-loob philippin et normes prosociales : « Kapwa est une reconnaissance d'une identité partagée, d'un moi intérieur, partagé avec les autres – appartenance-conscience sociale : JD Espiritu, M Zosa, R Ileto, J Reyes, Mercado, Jose De Mesa ... b. Tissage de rêves : T'boli-Bla'an T'nalak Les rêves comme source d'inspiration divine – T'boli Be Lang Dulay, a créé plus de 100 motifs T'nalak différents. c. « Les relations humaines avec le monde naturel » en tant que croyances spirituelles des chasseurs-cueilleurs de l'Arctique dans les esprits animaux (Erica Hill) – conscience relationnelle-sociale 5. Spiritualité des enfants « Les expériences anormales peuvent catalyser l'auto-guérison des enfants et des jeunes. » Donna Thomas + D. Scott 6. Spiritualité artistique : 20 % des Américains se tournent vers « les médias, les arts et la culture » comme principaux moyens d'expérience et d'expression spirituelles... » 7. Poésie et prophétie : « Le prophète est un poète. Ce que les poètes appellent inspiration poétique, les prophètes l'appellent révélation divine » - Heschel 8. Dr. Ingela Visuri : Spiritualité et « Le cas de l'autisme de haut niveau » - « expériences sensorielles inexplicables » Le Dr S Neal (JHU) a déclaré qu'elle [la psychiatrie] n'avait aucune formation sur les personnes qui ont des expériences spirituelles. Extrait du chapitre de Park & Paloutzian « Expériences mystiques, spirituelles et religieuses » - synopsis sous forme de courte liste d'expériences anormales, d'hallucinations, de mort imminente, de vies antérieures, mystiques et paranormales de l'APA ! (sans rien sur les « personnes » qui ont des expériences. JE Kennedy : « Très peu de recherches ont visé à étudier les effets globaux » sur les personnes. Dr Visuri : « Il y a une différence entre analyser les expériences et faire des recherches sur les personnes. » Perspective personnelle : Synopsis – biographie de 40 ans d’expériences spirituelles et psychiques personnelles Préambule : Comme le disait le philosophe espagnol Ortega Gasset, je suis « moi » et mes circonstances. Les prophètes ne seraient probablement pas différents ! Les prophètes traitaient l'homme, non comme un atome, mais comme une partie d'un organisme social, un membre vivant d'un corps vivant. Guérir ce corps lorsqu'il était malade (Esaïe I : 6), le mettre en garde contre une dissolution prochaine et le ramener sur les sentiers qui conduisent à la perfection en Dieu, telle était leur grande et unique mission (Jérémie 6 : 6). C'est pourquoi ils étaient toujours les plus nombreux lorsque la mort nationale menaçait. (LES PROPHÈTES DE L'ANCIEN TESTAMENT EN TANT QUE RÉFORMATEURS SOCIAUX. Par le révérend GEO. STIBITZ,) « Un monde de plus en plus mécaniste, fragmenté et décontextualisé… est apparu, reflétant, je crois, l’action sans opposition d’un hémisphère gauche dysfonctionnel. » — Iain McGilchrist Quand la mort menace la nation : les comportements antisociaux aux États-Unis 1. Il y a eu plus de 73 fusillades dans des écoles aux États-Unis chaque année au cours des trois dernières années. 2. CDC : Les taux de suicide ont augmenté d’environ 36 % entre 2000 et 2021. 3,610+ fusillades de masse par an au cours des quatre dernières années. 4. Selon le Washington Post, les crimes haineux ont atteint un niveau record en 2021, avec 826 Philippins se déclarant victimes de crimes haineux. 5. La politique de Trump consistant à séparer délibérément les enfants de leurs mères pour les punir d'avoir immigré Dans un article récent sur la candidature de Trump à la réélection, Trump a déclaré qu'il essaierait de rétablir la politique consistant à séparer les enfants de leurs mères. « Plus de 5 500 enfants, y compris des nourrissons, ont été retirés et des centaines n'ont toujours pas été réunis en août 2022. » (Extrait de Wikipédia) 6. Les agressions contre les enseignants ont augmenté de façon spectaculaire, non seulement aux États-Unis mais dans le monde entier. 7. Les agressions contre le personnel de santé ont augmenté de façon exponentielle – il s’agit également d’un problème mondial. 8. épidémie (augmentation de 25%) de narcissisme dans les pays occidentaux (Twenge, etc. ). 9. La campagne « Antisocial No Mask Madness » menée par les chrétiens mérite une mention spéciale. Les Américains représentent 4 % de la population mondiale. Pourtant, ils représentent 20,6 % des morts dans le monde. Les analyses du nombre de morts inutiles par rapport aux autres pays varient de 50 000 à 100 000 10. La décision de la Cour suprême sur l'avortement est fondée sur une prémisse manifestement fausse : elle affirme littéralement que l'avortement n'est pas légal parce que le mot « avortement » ne figure pas dans la constitution. Extrait de la décision Synopsis–bio : Plus de 40 ans d'expériences spirituelles et psychiques personnelles « Nous estimons que l’arrêt Roe et Casey doit être annulé. La Constitution ne fait aucune référence à l’avortement, et aucun droit de ce type n’est implicitement protégé par une disposition constitutionnelle, y compris celle sur laquelle les défenseurs de l’arrêt Roe et Casey s’appuient principalement aujourd’hui – la clause de procédure régulière du quatorzième amendement. » Eh bien, oui … la moitié du monde moderne n’est pas dans la Constitution – l’énergie nucléaire, les avions, les automobiles. C’est une prémisse manifestement fausse. De plus, l’argument de la Cour suprême selon lequel le corps d’une femme n’a aucune pertinence constitutionnelle est une connerie. C’était un travail de sabre politique. Le bastion de « Vérité et Justice » qui utilise une erreur superficielle et évidente est un acte antisocial parce que beaucoup d’Américains perdent foi en la « justice » ou en un traitement équitable. Commentaire : Une analyse a révélé que les États-Unis comptaient cinquante-sept fois plus de fusillades dans les écoles que toute l’Europe réunie. Le taux de suicide aux États-Unis a augmenté de 36 % depuis 2000 et, à 14,2 pour mille, il est plus du double du taux de suicide aux Philippines. De plus, alors que les agressions contre les enseignants sont un problème mondial, elles constituent une épidémie aux États-Unis. Aux Philippines, les agressions physiques contre les enseignants sont rares. Bien qu'il existe sans aucun doute plusieurs causes sous-jacentes distinctes, lorsqu'un « président » et des dirigeants chrétiens extrémistes de haut rang « incarnent » le racisme, la haine et les comportements antisociaux, il ne devrait surprendre personne que les États-Unis aient plus de problèmes de comportements antisociaux que d'autres sociétés. Cela étant dit, on ne peut pas traiter le problème des fusillades dans les écoles indépendamment des autres comportements antisociaux tels que les agressions contre les enseignants ou les agressions contre le personnel de santé, qui constituent un problème répandu dans le monde. Le facteur idéologique : les meurtres au couteau dans les écoles maternelles et élémentaires de Chine Croyances raisonnables : catégoriser les expériences inhabituelles comme inhabituelles. Ce que beaucoup de gens ne comprennent pas, c'est que des études montrent systématiquement qu'entre 1/3 et 1/2 des personnes ont des expériences - et comme l'observent Park et Paloutzian, il existe une « normalité » dans les expériences spirituelles-psychiques. Parfois, les gens perdent leur bon sens et se perdent souvent dans des abstractions. Le bon sens voudrait que le cerveau traite les expériences inhabituelles comme « inhabituelles » - assez étonnant... non ? Lorsque les gens entrent dans des abstractions, ils perdent souvent de vue la compréhension du bon sens et un bon jugement. Des études et des expériences ont démontré que le processus de « catégorisation » est un processus très important dans l'esprit humain et que le processus de catégorisation est à la fois bien connu et bien éprouvé en psychologie. William James poursuit en disant que les expériences religieuses et spirituelles créent et génèrent un « sens de la réalité » (p. 48). Jung a dit à peu près exactement la même chose en fait - que les expériences d'un individu façonnent la réalité d'une personne. Français Le consensus de synthèse de Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung et William James est simplement que « l'esprit, les processus spirituels et les croyances religieuses créent du sens, un sens de la réalité - et finalement la Réalité et la Vérité. » Dans l'anthologie, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong observe : « Frankl considère que la recherche de sens découle de la nature spirituelle de chacun. William James souligne dans son ouvrage classique, publié à l'origine en 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences : « Elles [les expériences spirituelles] déterminent notre attitude vitale [sens de la réalité] de manière aussi décisive que l'attitude vitale des amoureux est déterminée par le sens habituel,… » Jung a observé, dans les Œuvres complètes (CW8 : 648 -1968 révisé) que « la vie et l'esprit sont deux pouvoirs ou nécessités entre lesquels l'homme est placé. L'esprit donne un sens à sa vie et la possibilité de son plus grand développement. Perspective : presque toutes mes expériences pourraient facilement être classées dans une catégorie parallèle aux cris d'alarme des animaux. Jean MacPhail, chercheuse, auteure de A Spiral Life et ancienne chercheuse en neuropathologie à l'université de Harvard, observe : « Mes expériences sont très uniques ! » – en partie parce qu'elles se rapportent à des événements extérieurs à moi-même, qu'elles sont cohérentes avec des interprétations raisonnables (toutes en tant que perceptions de menaces envers des groupes) et qu'elles sont relativement bien documentées. Cela concorde avec les résultats de Daryl Bem dans ses expériences de précognition qui ont démontré une corrélation avec les motivations « instinctives » (c'est-à-dire le sexe) Les preuves récentes issues de nombreuses perceptions documentées des menaces liées au 11 septembre montrent que les « perceptions des menaces » sont un facteur très important, tout comme la « visibilité » – politique et sociale-religieuse – qui est un facteur très important de la « précognition ». Dans toutes mes expériences, seule une poignée de perceptions ont pu être clairement identifiées comme « précognitives ». En fait, lorsque j’ai récemment examiné mes expériences, une grande partie pourrait être considérée comme des perceptions liées à des personnes « aliénées » – une indication claire que la télépathie était intégrale. Je remets donc en question la légitimité de l’idée de « précognition pure » – pour ainsi dire (en particulier à la lumière de la conscience collective). 1. Rêves : J'ai quatre rêves documentés et deux rêves non documentés - tous avec des interprétations cohérentes et raisonnables que je liste ici : (1) un rêve sur le Pakistan et la guerre nucléaire. (2) Une perception hybride du rêve : « Tag » précognitif (un tag serait une action centrale plus un ou deux détails) du terroriste « incel » au Canada fin avril 2018. (3) Rêve sur la Libye (26-02-2019), (4) Synchronicité avec l'attaque de Strasbourg, en France - rêve (19-09-20) + non documenté (5) Rêve de Dudayev (6) Fredericksburg 2. Expériences conscientes : met en évidence les perceptions éveillées (1) mon récent e-mail du 30 octobre 2020 à l'agent du FBI McElwee avertissant d'une menace de « terrorisme intérieur » faisant référence à une « bombe » comme arme. qui est liée - bien sûr - à l'attentat de Nashville le jour de Noël 2020 (2) Un très bref avertissement (téléphonique) au FBI avant la tentative d'assassinat du président Reagan (3) J'ai appelé la CIA avant le 11 septembre (4) L'avertissement de 1981 « Quel cauchemar » est dans une catégorie à part - l'avertissement très détaillé, spécifique et notarié adressé au FBI le 18 octobre 1981 concernant une attaque imminente par le groupe terroriste alors actif Weathermen. Les détails [précis] sont : groupe - avec de l'argent, fabrication de bombes, argent, femmes, 22 sont rassemblés, New York, mort, ainsi que l'identification du manifeste des terroristes Weathermen dans le titre « cauchemar ». A titre d'information, « fabriquer » était très précis - les terroristes avaient des plans et du matériel pour fabriquer des bombes dans leur appartement mais pas de bombes réelles. L'élément « 22 étaient rassemblés » est également incroyablement précis - puisqu'il y a eu une fusillade entre les Weathermen et la force de police de Nyack qui, bizarrement, selon le New York Times, comptait 22 membres dans sa force de police. Ce qui rend mon « Quel cauchemar » remarquable, c’est que la dernière ligne inclut la « graine de moutarde » [parabole] qui, à mon avis, semble être en fait une « révélation divine » ! La parabole de la graine de moutarde s’accorde parfaitement avec la synthèse-consensus de Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, William James et Emile Durkheim qui affirme sans équivoque que « l’esprit » [les processus spirituels] crée du sens – et par rapport à la parabole, ce sont « métaphoriquement » les graines de moutarde qui créent la croissance et produisent une merveilleuse plante de graine de moutarde – parallèlement à « l’esprit est la vérité » (Jean 5:6) Réflexions: A. L'expérience peut être un excellent professeur Voici quelques principes importants que j'ai appris de mes premières expériences spirituelles-psychiques relativement bien documentées et avec des interprétations toujours raisonnables de mes expériences en 1981. À mon avis, mes expériences personnelles ont principalement servi à déclencher une quête et un questionnement pour être honnête. 1. Comme l’explique J.E. Kennedy, des études montrent qu’environ 45 % des gens ont une réaction initiale de peur. C’était le cas pour moi. Comme beaucoup, j’ai trouvé mon expérience effrayante – principalement parce qu’il s’agissait d’une expérience inconnue et que mon « esprit n’avait aucun moyen » d’organiser l’expérience. Les doutes et les peurs ont alimenté un cycle de doutes et d’anxiétés. Une nuit – à Ann Arbor si je me souviens bien – j’ai fait deux pas au-delà de la limite – mais je m’en suis rendu compte. Une de mes révélations , partagée par un grand nombre de dirigeants chrétiens, est que la Vérité Absolue [Dieu] dépasse l’entendement, que l’expérience est acausale et incompréhensible. C’est un facteur important dans l’évaluation de la prophétie. Réduire le divin à l’existence en tant que prédiction est non seulement irréaliste, mais aussi dégradant pour Dieu et le divin. 2. Au début de 1981, je me suis demandé quel était le but de la prophétie. On m’avait dit que je devais écrire mes prédictions. C’était une question importante en 1981 – et c’est une question soulevée dans la première ligne de mon avertissement notarié au FBI le 18 octobre 1981. La question que je posais était la suivante : est-ce que faire des prédictions pour faire des prédictions a un sens biologique, psychologique ou même spirituel ? La conclusion à laquelle je suis arrivé est que le but et la motivation sont essentiels. C’est-à-dire que le « but » est essentiel à la prophétie – et à la spiritualité – surtout à la lumière de « l’Esprit est la vérité » (Jean 5:6). L’importance de la motivation est en parfaite adéquation avec les croyances spirituelles des personnes avec lesquelles j’ai collaboré. Lorsque l’on s’interroge sur les « personnes spirituelles », les croyances spirituelles ne sont pas seulement une motivation, mais une source d’inspiration très profonde. Historiquement, après des dizaines de milliers d’années de croyances spirituelles et religieuses – même si ce n’est pas le cas dans le milieu universitaire, ce qui est incroyable – la spiritualité et la religiosité sont clairement un puissant moteur et une motivation. 3. J'ai beaucoup réfléchi à la spiritualité et aux expériences spirituelles transcendantales. Comme l'a souligné saint Grégoire de Nysse, seuls les « cœurs purs » « voient » Dieu. À mon avis, il est clair qu'il y a un esprit intérieur et un esprit transcendantal. Et sans esprit intérieur, il ne peut y avoir de véritable lien avec l'esprit transcendantal. Une analogie appropriée serait de considérer l'expérience spirituelle comme la fleur et le sens, le but et la créativité qui en découlent comme le fruit. 4. Abraham Heschel (1907-1972), un philosophe et théologien juif de premier plan : Dans son livre Les Prophètes, Heschel cite NK Chadwick : « Partout, le don de prophétie est inséparable de l’inspiration divine. Partout, cette inspiration porte avec elle la connaissance – que ce soit du passé, sous la forme de l’histoire et de la généalogie ; du présent caché sous la forme d’informations scientifiques ; et du futur sous la forme d’une déclaration prophétique au sens strict… Invariablement, nous constatons que… son humeur [celle du poète] est exaltée et éloignée de son existence normale… » (p. 482-483)
By Charles E Peck Jr November 10, 2024
In Norse mythology, Thor is the hammer-wielding god of lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind. Yggdrasill, the world tree, a giant ash supporting the universe. It is closely related to the tree of life (similar to the Garden of Eden in Judaism and Islam...Similarly, In Greek mythology, Zeus was the king of the gods, the ruler of the sky, and the god of thunder and lightning. Zeus was also the “god” of oaths and the origins of “noos” – Wisdom. Charles E Peck Jr academia.edu profile https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr Followers 1,900; Engaged Readers 3,736; Total Views 391k+ Myths as Symbolic-Meaning Maps: Thunder Gods, Zeus, Heracles Thor, Indra, ancient Germanic-Norse Mythology; Models for Consciousness + Jane Goodall's Apes' Primal Challenge Displays toward a violent Thunder Storm! Point of Order Myth- definition: “myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons). As with all religious symbolism, there is no attempt to justify mythic narratives or even to render them plausible. Every myth presents itself as an authoritative, factual account, no matter how much the narrated events are at variance with natural law or ordinary experience.” My argument is that myths as symbolic maps of social consciousness makes them plausible. 1. Iain McGilChrist, Muzafer Sherif, Kant state real world context is vital- People are the only source for true real-world context for spiritual-religious beliefs. 2. K Gergen: "Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world!!" - “To understand something, whether we are aware of it or not, depends on choosing a model!" Iain McGilChrist Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve. - Max Planck Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself! - George Bernard Shaw Perhaps a more focused assessment might be "Finding yourself" - grappling with “what is” - is an act of creation. Plus “what is” is a moving target. “What is today” will quite often change by tomorrow. Even for humanity, human consciousness changes and evolves. We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light! -Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179), was a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, a German Benedictine abbess and was a spiritual person historically known as the Sibyl of the Rhine – so she understood spirituality in a sense from the inside out. Hildegard of Bingen correctly identifies an important factor in the "drive to understand". That is, to make - create - our own interpretations and understanding, our minds analyze and absorb “what is” in many different ways and thus make it our own. In my research I came across the case in ancient Greek History when the Greeks colonized Sicily and after that had been done then myths appeared about feats of the Greek hero Hercules. So, Hildegard was correct in her assessment Thought I should add an astute observation by Tina for perspective; I learned that “there are three ways to learn wisdom: first, through reflection, which is the noblest; second, through imitation, which is the simplest; third, through experience, which is the most painful.” Modern neuroscience has demonstrated – in morals and music for instance – that a number of interconnected and overlapping processes are involved in those “functions.” The neuroscientist Joshua Greene and his colleagues performed some fascinating experiments that focused on how the brain processes moral dilemmas and situations. While subjects were asked questions relating to moral dilemmas, the subjects were undergoing MRI scanning to see which parts of the brain were active. The dilemmas presented were the trolley and footbridge dilemmas. What they found is the footbridge dilemma (up close and personal situation) activated different regions of the brain than the more impersonal trolley dilemma. That is, situations triggered different regions of the brain into action and different regions of the brain worked in tandem. Conclusion: Early human societies were not defining or determining the world reality, they were creating reality – making sense of reality and making it their own. Myth, Symbolic Maps and Social Consciousness 1. Iain McGilChrist, Muzafer Sherif, Kant state real world context is vital- People are the only source for true real-world context for spiritual-religious beliefs. 2. K Gergen: "Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world!!" - “To understand something, whether we are aware of it or not, depends on choosing a model!" Iain McGilChrist 3. “The forces before which the believer bows are not simple physical energies, such as are presented to the sense and the imagination; they are social forces,” Emile Durkheim 4. Social forces as symbolic maps-models - background: When I google searched symbolic maps and symbolic models not a lot came up. Under symbolic maps – symbols in geographical maps was the main category that came up. Under symbolic models, clinical psychology therapy was a sizable response. “The practice of symbolic modeling is built upon a foundation of two complementary theories: the metaphors by which we live, and the models by which we create. It regards the individual as a self-organizing system that encodes much of the meaning of feelings, thoughts, beliefs, experiences etc. in the embodied mind as metaphors. Symbolic modeling aims to heighten awareness of clients' personal "symbolic domain of experience", facilitating them to develop a unique "metaphor landscape" and to explore their internal metaphors, which in conceptual metaphor theory are seen to govern behavior.(Wikipedia - Symbolic modeling) Myths as Symbolic Maps: Zeus as Symbolic Map of Social Consciousness That being said, myths were “Symbolic Maps!” Zeus, the Father and Ruler of heavens and earth was replete with bountiful symbols and symbolism. The lightening bolts of Zeus symbolized raw power and control of nature. Zeus, of course had a royal scepter and a throne which symbolized “authority” and social power. The Eagle and bull were the “sacred animals” of Zeus. Zeus abducted Ganymede as an eagle and Europa as a bull. In hunting gatherer societies, the ability to transmute into animals was often assumed. Though usually depicted with a long robe (chiton) and cloak (himation), on occasion he was pictured nude. “Befitting his role as King of the Gods, Zeus was attended by a large complement of lesser divinities. His throne was guarded by four winged spirits, two male and two female, named Kratos (Strength), Zelos (Rivalry), Nike (Victory) and Bia (Force). Kratos and Bia functioned as muscular enforcers and were tasked with jobs such as the apprehension and imprisonment of the Titan Prometheus. Nike drove Zeus' chariot and often accompanied him in miniature form as something of a divine familiar. The god Hermes was Zeus' personal herald who acted as diplomat, envoy and general agent of the god's will. His messenger was Iris, the winged goddess of the rainbow, who simply relayed messages verbatim and delivered commands to the other gods. Zeus' high councillor Themis, goddess of law and order, was seated beside his throne. She was attended by their six daughters the Moirai (Fates) and the Horai (Seasons). These goddesses were collectively responsible for the orderly functioning of the cosmos. Themis was also charged with summoning all of the gods to assembly in the courtyard of Zeus. Metis, goddess of wisdom, was perhaps his most unusual attendant. Zeus swallowed her whole to avoid a prophesy and she took up residence in his belly. The ancient Greeks believed the belly rather than the brain was the seat of thought and emotion, and so by subsuming her he effectively implanted wise counsel in his mind. She continued to exist in some form or other within the god, even to the extent of birthing Athena there and equipping her with armour and weapons before her second birth from Zeus' head. The founder of kingly power, of law and of order, whence Dice, Themis and Nemesis are his assistants. For the same reason he protects the assembly of the people (agoraios), the meetings of the council (boulaios), and as he presides over the whole state, so also over every house and family. He also watched over the sanctity of the oath (horkios), the law of hospitality (xenios), and protected suppliants. He avenged those who were wronged, and punished those who had committed a crime, for he watched the doings and sufferings of all men. He was further the original source of all prophetic power, front whom all prophetic signs and sounds proceeded. Everything good as well as bad comes from Zeus, and according to his own choice he assigns their good or evil lot to mortals and fate itself was subordinate to him.” (https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Zeus.html) Symbolic maps of a Different type Social Consciousness on Norse Mythology “The Viking social structure was a hierarchical system, fundamentally divided into three main classes: the Jarls, the Karls, and the Thralls, reflecting the society’s values on power, wealth, and freedom. Jarls were the ruling elite with wealth and lands, Karls were free peasants and skilled craftsmen, and Thralls were slaves with no rights, captured in raids or born into servitude. This stratification played a crucial role in Viking society, influencing their raiding, trading, and governance practices, and remains a key aspect of our understanding of Norse culture.” (Study Smarter Viking Social Structure) Carole Cusack in her essay on Durkheim and ancient Germanic culture observes: “The relationship of the social classes and their particular gods is elaborated in Eddaic poem Rigsthula, which tells how the god Heimdell became the progenitor of the three social classes.7 Disguised as Rig, Heimdell presents himself at a very poor house, and is greeted by Great grandmother and Great grandfather. He sleeps three nights with the and leaves. She later has a son, called Thrall. He is swarthy and performs the menial tasks of life. He marries Drudge, and they have a brood of ugly children, all with pejorative names. Rig journeys on, and stays three nights with grandmother and grandfather, who are delivered of a son Karl, freeholder. His descendants have more flattering titles, including those of artisans and craftsmen. Finally Rig stays with Father and Mother, who receive him sumptuously in their luxurious house. Mother later has a son, Jarl. Unlike his other children, Jarl is nurtured by Rig, and one of his descendants, Konr ungr, becomes the first king. Each of these descendants of Rig is typical of the class to which he/she belongs. Thrall is black, ugly and denied any participation in the finer aspect of life; thralls in ancient Scandinavia had little or no rights, and no legal existence. Their marriages were not recognized, and they had no authority over their children.8 Karl is described as ruddy and strong, with a love for the land. He is industrious, and a valuable member of society. He is not unlike his patron god, Thor, also a strong and ruddy peasant.9 The yeoman was in fact the staple of society in the Viking period. The warrior class could go raiding and trading, but someone had to remain in the home country, and work the land to ensure adequate food for all members of society. Both thralls and jarlar were in some sense dependent on the yeomanry for their wellbeing.10 Jarl, the representative of the aristocratic class, is described as a warrior: the Rigsthula says of him, Shields he brandished, and bowstrings wound, Bows he shot, and shafts he fashioned, Arrows he loosened, and lances wielded, Horses he rode, and hounds unleashed, Swords he handled, and sounds he swam.11 This is precisely the role played by the Scandinavian aristocracy, which was primarily a warrior class, and acquired their wealth by pillaging neighbouring countries. Jarl is associated with the colour white, as were several of the Norse gods. It also refers to the fairness of complexion that the Norse possessed. The difference between Konr ungr and the other descendants of Jarl is quite clearly expressed: Konr ungr becomes king and enjoys dominion over his family because he is a magician, possessing the power of the runes. He is thus described in the Rigsthula: “But Kon the Young learned runes to use Runes everlasting, the runes of life; Soon he could well the warrior’s shield Dull the swordblade, and still the seas. Bird chatter he learned, flames he could lessen, Minds could quiet, and sorrows calm.”12 Odin is the god of the runes, the one who enjoys dominion because of his magical knowledge; as such he is a fitting god for Konr ungr. The aristocratic class of pre- Christian Scandinavia provided both the temporal and the spiritual authority. Both functions were generally combined in the godar (singular godi). He was both temporal lord of a specific area, and the priestly authority of the area. (Emile Durkheim in Perspective -Put in Context of ancient Germanic Religion Essay by: Carole Cusack LECTURER: Professor Eric J. Sharpe - SUBJECT: Religious Studies III (Honours) “The forces before which the believer bows are not simple physical energies, such as are presented to the sense and the imagination; they are social forces,” Emile Durkheim.) Historical Social Consciousness & Social-Moral Order Zeus – a Symbolic Map of social consciousness Social perception-consciousness is social order: Ramon Reyes highlights the unifying aspect of spirituality in prehistoric Philippine societies and early human societies: “In sum, social and moral order encompasses the living the dead the deities and the spirits.” That is the spiritual and religious beliefs of early human societies created and maintained a social consciousness – a social-moral order. You can see in the mythology of Zeus that the same principle applies. Zeus epitomized law and order, wisdom, hospitality and oaths – all prosocial values. Ramon Reyes research supports Durkheim’s argument: “Indeed, the whole Ifugao social order, including practical ways of life, social institutions and rules, morality and everything else, constitutes a unitary system; and it is looked upon as a religious phenomenon of supernatural origin. Describing an example of this prehistoric Filipino world-view, an anthropologist says,. . .“In treating the environment as social, the people are provided with an ordered explanation of 'natural' phenomena. In sum, one social and moral order encompasses the living, the dead, the deities and the spirits, and the total environment.” Zeus: Myths as symbolic maps of social consciousness Ancient Greek spiritual beliefs – particularly Zeus – as a social consciousness and social-moral order. Zeus as a symbol was “The founder of kingly power, of law and of order, whence Dice, Themis and Nemesis are his assistants. For the same reason he protects the assembly of the people (agoraios), the meetings of the council (boulaios), and as he presides over the whole state, so also over every house and family. He also watched over the sanctity of the oath (horkios), the law of hospitality (xenios), and protected suppliants. He avenged those who were wronged, and punished those who had committed a crime, for he watched the doings and sufferings of all men.” In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, first published in 1912, Emile Durkheim, a founding father of sociology, stated that "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.” Carole Cusack in an essay 40 years ago observed, “Emile Durkheim’s theory concerning the nature and origins of the phenomenon of religion, articulated in The Elementary Forms of the Religion Life1 was essentially arguing that religion had nothing to do with an existing or imagined supernatural world and beings; but was rather a reflection, and amplification, of society and the values and attitudes that it holds dear…. Religion is therefore man worshipping his own racial and politicial organisation, and offering prayers and propitiations in order to maintain the status quo.” Paloutzian and Park (p. 12) contend, “religion and spirituality are more or less coherent, culturally elaborated meaning systems embedded in and acquired through social relationships and institutions situated in complex natural and built environments.” Genetics, Spiritual Symbolism and Energy A. The Genetics of Spirituality Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high………..These studies demonstrate our variable but innate inherited sense of spirituality, which affects how we perceive the world, ourselves and the universe. B. Evidence of Unconscious Spiritual Symbols: Star Wars & Harry Potter Fandom Rhiannon Grant in The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom, Grant observes in 2001, the British government ran a regular census, but they included a new question about religion. In response, almost 0.8 percent of the total population said they were a “Jedi” or Jedi knight!” (p. 38) Those results were repeated in Australia and New Zealand.” The contemporary-modern social popularity of Star Wars and Harry Potter, and the numerous other imaginative fandoms, that provides massive data and evidence of the existence of unconscious spiritual symbolism. As Carole Cusack correctly observes “the imaginative exercise of realizing that world [of spirituality and supernatural force in Harry Potter and Star Wars] is extremely attractive..(p.27) – which is to say the unconscious symbolism associated with spirituality is a viable force in human consciousness. C. Energized unconscious symbolism In light of the " sociological reality Fandoms", spiritual symbols might best be understood in terms of Nancy Furlotti’s argument which states, " Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Beliefs and ideas are very real and incredibly powerful. From that perspective, the idea of "spirit" as energy and force is very real, especially in light of a social-collective consciousness. D. Prism Paradigm: The Energy-Filter Model Energy “originating” from unconscious symbolism is processed and filtered – as a metaphor of light (energy) entering a prism and different colors emerging on the other- side of the prism. – As an expression of spirituality as a natural predisposition. As William James and modern neuroscience points out, people have different views because they filter or process – data and information differently. Personality, upbringing, culture-environment- ethnicity, experiences are shaping factors. John Bargh, a researcher and psychologist of the unconscious, observes, “When I was about twelve years old, we had a big family reunion and I decided to bring a tape recorder so we’d have a recording of our grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins for posterity. I come from a large extended family so it was a really noisy room. During the gathering, our grandma sat on the couch and told some great stories in the middle of all other conversations. We listened and enjoyed all of them, and a few days after the reunion, we went back to listen to it again. What a disappointment! Just noise, noise, noise, a million people talking at once and no way to pick out her voice from the other people talking, even though we heard her so clearly at the time. We quickly figured out that we hadn’t noticed the background noise because we had been so captivated by our grandmother’s stories. We’d filtered out what everyone else was saying. (p. 111 Before you know it) E. Selective Attention – an Evolutionary Adaptive Trait Bernhard Hommel et al observe: “How is this related to attention? A few sentences after that famous phrase we quoted above, James wrote that attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” interact with another stimulus is indeed accomplished, quite literally, within the approach circuit of the rostral tectum. And while these simple circuits for governing interactive behavior may seem far removed from the higher cognition of humans, they are indeed the precursors to the mechanisms that control what has been called “selective attention.” It is argued that selectivity in processing has emerged through evolution as a design feature of a complex multi-channel sensorimotor system, which generates selective phenomena of “attention” as one of many by-products. The present paper reaffirms and expands this position by placing particular and new emphasis on the interconnected and integrative nature of the human sensorimotor information processing systems. No one knows what attention is” Bernhard Hommel & Craig S. Chapman & Paul Cisek & Heather F. Neyedli & Joo-Hyun Song & Timothy N. Welsh) Reflections and Commentary In the Prism Paradigm – Metaphor of the light of energized spiritual symbolism is comparable to the light going into a prism which gets separated (filtered) into different wavelengths. There are all sorts of different “wavelengths” types-views of spirituality in consciousness. For instance, there is autistic spirituality - which as Dr Visuri points out tends to be expressed as unexplainable sensory experiences (invisible touch etc) which would clearly be a product of their unique physiology and perhaps compensatory for their well-known weakness in social skills and deficit in the “theory of mind process – “Default Mode Network which processes intentionality. Then there is the spirituality of grieving which si very common, the spirituality of recovering addicts, the spirituality of loving nature, the awe-wonder experiences,….. and so on. There are all sorts of different “wavelengths” types-views of spirituality in consciousness. For instance, there is autistic spirituality - which as Dr Visuri points out tends to be expressed as unexplainable sensory experiences (invisible touch etc) which would clearly be a product of their unique physiology and perhaps compensatory for their well-known weakness in social skills and deficit in the “theory of mind process – “Default Mode Network which processes intentionality. Then there is the spirituality of grieving which si very common, the spirituality of recovering addicts, the spirituality of loving nature, the awe-wonder experiences,….. and so on. My personal favorite is musical spirituality and artistic, painting, and poetic spirituality. As the theologian Abraham Heschel observed, “The inspiration of the artist is what is meant by the hand of the Lord which rests upon the prophet.” (p.468-469) Historically I believe there is a correlation between spirituality (which should be considered separately from religiosity) and creativity-fruitfulness.- derived from the unconsciously originated energy of spirituality - as a natural predisposition. As William James and modern neuroscience points out, people have different views because they filter or process – data and information differently. Personality, upbringing, culture-environment- ethnicity, experiences are shaping factors. In the Prism Paradigm – Metaphor – the light of spirituality is comparable to the light going into a prism which gets separated (filtered) into different wavelengths. What Myths reveal about Processes in the Human Mind: Thunder Gods, Zeus, Heracles Thor, Indra – Symbolic Models for Consciousness Force Einstein observed, “Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration of this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious" It is important to note the word Eisntien used is "force!" Thunder Gods! Hammering, loud peals of thunder had startled me into consciousness. As a young child of six, the storm had roused me from the comfortable oblivion of my deep sleep. The booming rolls of thunder had woken my father as well. His head peered from behind the door. Finding me awake, we went onto the porch of our summer cottage, which was perched high on a sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan. There, we had a panoramic view of the angry storm. Lightning split the black void of night. The brief, searing flashes of brilliant white light lit the boiling waters of the lake. Dark clouds crouched menacingly above the enraged water. Waves, lashed by the fierce wind, roared onto the sands of the beach below, and could be heard above the din of the storm. The wind moaned and wailed in the fragile screens of the small porch. We watched in reverent silence as the storm clawed its way across the whipping waves. When the storm reached our cottage, earsplitting and bone jarring cracks of thunder amplified the nearly simultaneous jagged strikes of lightning. As a young child I was awe-struck by the naked power of the thunderstorm. At the age of six, if my father had told me that ‘gods’ were hurling thunder bolts from the sky I would have readily believed that. There is something raw and primal in the violent displays of thunderstorms. Jane Goodall, the ethologist and primatologist had the opportunity to watch a group of chimpanzees react to a violent thunderstorm. She watched the chimpanzees feeding on a slope across a ravine from where she was situated. About noon the rain began to fall. The chimpanzees climbed the hill to a ravine. Then, with a vengeance, the storm hit. Goodall relates, “The rain was torrential, and the sudden clap of thunder, right overhead, made me jump. As if this were a signal, one of the big males stood upright and as he swayed and swaggered rhythmically from foot to foot, I could just hear the rising crescendo of his pant-hoots above the beating of the rain. Then he charged off, flat down the slope…” (p.52 In The Shadow of Man) The other males followed the big male, tearing branches from trees, then climbed trees at the bottom of the slope. The big male went back up the hill and again the other males followed him. Then they repeated the performance, charging down the hill again. “As the males charged down and plodded back up, so the rain fell harder, jagged forks or brilliant flares of lightning lit the leaden sky, and the crashing of thunder seemed to shake the very mountains.” (p.53) The challenge displays lasted for about twenty minutes. The chimpanzees had reacted as if the storm, with its thunderous bellows and sizzling strikes of lightning were a living, breathing entity that they could intimidate with challenge displays - charging down the hill and breaking off branches as if to strike the storm. The chimpanzee displays were directed at the forces which had threatened them and they treated the storm as if it were a living, breathing animate force or being. Jane Goodall concludes, “With a display of strength and vigor such as this, primitive man himself might have challenged the elements.” Commenting on how ancient peoples might perceive the thunderbolt, Burkert observes that, “in the face of such a manifestation of divine energy, man stands powerless, terrified and yet marveling.” (p.126) Walking in the shoes of prehistoric and ancient people As Ramachandran, the neuroscientist, emphasizes - a primary process of the human mind is to make models of the world and forces art work in the world. To ancient humans, powerful forces were at work - over which they had no control - and for which they had no rational explanations or natural understanding. Without doubt, a major influence was exactly the feeling of powerlessness in a world it didn’t understand. As the anthropologist, Bronislaw Malinowski, observes, religion is “the confession of human impotence in certain matters…” (p. 19) Ancient humanity took the most salient features of the world and developed a worldview - an ideology - from the formidable natural phenomena like storms and lightening. Once created man could entreaty these force gods to intercede on his behalf. Thus the gods and goddesses were a pathway to a power of sorts. There were sun gods, sky and storm gods, seasonal gods, gods of the underworld and afterlife, harvest gods, rain gods, as well as sacred groves, springs and caves. Robert Blust, a linguist, makes a similar point about the widespread Polynesian concept – archetype of “mana.” “According to linguist Robert Blust, "mana" means "thunder, storm, or wind" in some languages. Blust hypothesized that the term originally meant "powerful forces of nature such as thunder and storm winds that were conceived as the expression of an unseen supernatural agency. As Oceanic-speaking peoples spread eastward, the notion of an unseen supernatural agency became detached from the physical forces of nature that had inspired it and assumed a life of its own." (Wikipedia) As neuroscience studies consistently show, the different processes in the brain are very interconnected. The mind’s “musical” processes are intimately connected with speech, singing, dancing and spirituality (as well as a number of other brain processes) for instance. Myths and mythologies of ancient and prehistoric civilizations are replete with storm gods. There are almost fifty storm gods in different cultures. Often, the thunder god, like Zeus, is the chief among the other gods. The fierce, hammer wielding Thor, was the god of storms, thunder, lightning as well as fertility and strength in Norse mythology. Thor fights a series of battles with the sea serpent Jormung and, as well as accomplishing many feats of strength. In Hinduism, Indra, the god of rain and thunderstorms, rides a white elephant and wields a thunderbolt named vajra. Indra is the king of gods and leader of the Devas. He is the god of war, representing strength and courage. Indra, the slayer of the dragon-serpent vrtra, wages unending war against the Asuras demons. Like the Greek god Zeus, whose home was Mount Olympus, Indra’s home is on a mountaintop, Mount Meru in heaven. Zeus, after overthrowing the god Cronus, became the ruler of the gods. Greek art frequently depicted Zeus holding a thunderbolt. The origins of the Greeks are shrouded in mystery. Scholars believe that Indo Europeans migrated from the Pontic Steppe (roughly Ukraine), where the horse was domesticated, into Greece about the end of the third millennium BC to the beginning of the second millennium BC. Gaia (Mother Earth) was the genesis of Greek mythology. Gaia gave birth to Uranus (Father Sky). The union of Gaia and Uranus first produced six sons and six daughters called the Titans. Gaia then gave birth to the three Hekatonkheires and three Cyclopes. These were primordial giants, the Hekatonkheires being one hundred handed giants and the Cyclopes having one eye. Uranus considered the Hekatonkheires and Cyclopes utterly hideous so he imprisoned them in Tartarus, an abyss deep in the bowels of earth. In Homer’s Iliad, Zeus states that Tartarus is "as far beneath Hades as heaven is high above the earth." Gaia was angry that Uranus had imprisoned her youngest children so she asked her Titan sons to overthrow Uranus. The youngest Titan, Cronus, took a flint bladed sickle provided by Gaia and castrated Uranus. Cronus threw the genitals into the sea which gave birth to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. After Cronus re-imprisoned the Hekatonkeires and Cyclopes, Uranus and Gaia prophesied that Cronus would be overthrown by his children. Crus took his Titan sister, Rhea as his queen. Their reign is considered to be the Golden Age when immorality didn’t exist and people always did the right thing. The Athenians held a festival each year for Cronus who was seen as a god of the harvest. The theme of the castration of a god is a bit odd. In the real world, the bull is tamed by castration. Perhaps, by analogy, the old god, Cronus, was tamed by castration. In Anatolia, Hittite and Hurrian mythology also contains the theme of castration. The Hittites were Indo Europeans that migrated into Anatolia (roughly where modern-day Turkey is) about the same time as the Indo-European migration into Greece – sometime around 2000 BC. Sometime around 1400 BC to 1200 BC, The Hittites recorded the Hurrian Kumarbi myth in The Song of Kumarbi or The Kingdom of Heaven. Alalu (Semitic etymology), the original god was overthrown by Anu (god of heavens, Sumerian etymology). Kumarbi then fought Anu, and bit off Anu’s genitals when he tried to escape. Kumarbi gave birth to Teshub, the storm god. Teshub, together with Anu then overthrew Kumarbi. Teshub, like Indra, Zeus, and Thor, battles a dragon serpent, Illuyankas. Because of the prophecy that his children would overthrow him, Cronus swallowed whole his children right after they were born. With Gaia’s help Rhea secretly gave birth to Zeus on Crete. Rhea gave Cronus a stone swaddled in cloth after the birth. Believing it was a baby, Cronus swallowed the stone. After he was grown, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge the children he had swallowed. Zeus then killed the monster Campe, a dragon with a scorpion tail and the head of a beautiful woman, who guarded Tartarus, setting the Hecatonkheires and Cyclopes free. The Cyclopes forged the thunderbolt and gave it to Zeus out of gratitude. The War of the Titans, or Titanomachy, ensued. Zeus, together with his sisters and brothers, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, along with the Hecatonkheires and Cyclopes fought the Titans. It is said that the hundred handed Hecatonkheires threw rocks as big as mountains. After the defeat of Cronus and the Titans, Zeus and his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, drew lots for who would rule what. Zeus drew the sky. Poseidon drew the waters. And Hades drew the underworld. Later, Zeus had to fight Typhon, the most fearsome Greek monster who had one hundred snake heads, and then later his mate Echidna, half woman and half snake. Zeus, father of gods and men, is the chieftain of the gods and goddesses. Zeus ruled as a father rules over his family. All the gods and goddesses called him father, even his brothers and sisters. Zeus maintained his position as the ruler of the gods in large part because he is the strongest of the gods. When his sister and wife, Hera, attempted to drown his son Heracles (born from Alcmene, a mortal woman) in a storm, an enraged Zeus hung Hera upside down in the sky. Yet, Zeus had many different characteristics. Zeus always seemed to have a plan though he rarely divulged it. The Greek word, nous was used frequently in descriptions of Zeus. Nous indicates “good sense” or intellect. Zeus is not a despot. Most frequently, Zeus plays family politics: comforting, cajoling, or threatening as the situation demands. And like any human family, Hera (Zeus’ sister and wife), as well as Zeus’ children and siblings’ squabble and scheme. In the ancient Greek classic about the Trojan War, the Iliad, Homer describes the ‘heroic’ struggle between the Mycenaean Greeks, led by king Agamemnon and Menelaus, and the ancient Trojans, led by king Priam and prince Hector. In the Iliad the gods and goddesses all take sides with either the Greeks or the Trojans - frequently intervening in attempts to influence the outcome of the war. It is important in understanding how ancient Greeks viewed their gods and goddesses to realize that the gods and goddesses employed indirect means to intercede in the affairs of men: “a god sends or throws courage and despair, shrewdness and delusion into the person.” (p.122) In general Zeus looked dimly on the meddling of the gods and goddesses. At one point in the Iliad, Zeus threatens his wife Hera and his daughter Athena, with thunderbolts to keep them from intervening on behalf of the Greeks in an ongoing battle. Zeus had many different epithets, sometimes designating a specific locality and sometimes indicating one of his many aspects. Zeus Horkios was the god of oaths. It should be pointed out that if there was one thing that ancient Greek religion was not, it was not a religion of statutes or laws, though “the men who administer justice receive their ordinances from Zeus.” (p. 130) Yet, in truth there were only three golden principles embodied in Greek religion: the sanctity of oaths and hospitality, and the principle of excellence as embodied by Achilles. Oaths were very important in Greek culture. So, Zeus Horkios was the keeper of oaths. Those who didn’t keep their oaths were forced to dedicate votive statues to Zeus at Olympia. Similarly, Zeus Agoraeus was the patron of the marketplace (agora) and was appealed to avoid dishonest traders and people who swore false oaths. Zeus Hospites was the god of hospitality and guests, protecting people from strangers. In ancient times hospitality was a code of behavior almost like a code of honor. There were many more epithets. Zeus Olympios was Zeus ruling the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus and patron of the ‘Olympics’ which were the Panhellenic Games held every four years at Mount Olympus starting in the eighth century BC. Zeus Georgos was worshipped in Athens as the god of crops and the harvest. Another was Zeus Plousios, the wealth-bringing god. There is even a chthonic version of Zeus who was ‘easy’. Especially in Athens, an alter for Zeus Herkeios (from herkos, fence) stood in the courtyard. Libations and sacrifices were made to protect the house, household, and courtyard. Zeus Ktesios (the acquirer) protected household possessions. Zeus was promiscuous in the extreme. Mythographers count one hundred and eighteen women with whom Zeus had liaisons. To trick the women, Zeus would sometimes appear in the form of an animal. Zeus metamorphosed into a bull, a cow, or a bear in order to mate with women. Zeus appeared to the Spartan queen Leda in the guise of a swan. From that union came two eggs from which Helen of Troy (Spartan king Menelaus’ wife in the Iliad), Clytemnestra (Agamemnon’s wife in the Iliad), and Castor and Pollux. Ancient Greek religion is the only ancient religion in which the ruler of the gods had so many extramarital affairs. Perhaps this is because of the localized nature of Greek mythology in which many localities each had their own legend and story of (divine) origin. Some of Zeus’ offspring were powerful gods or goddesses: Apollo; Hermes; Artemis; Dionysos; Athena; Ares; Persephone. Other of Zeus’ children were heroines, such as Helen of Troy; or heroes, such as Heracles. Zeus is defined to a large extent in contraposition to his sister and wife Hera. Hera is the goddess of the wedding, marriage, and women. Burkert points out that, “In the Iliad, Hera is the quarrelsome, jealous wife who, much to her husband’s annoyance, sees through his little secrets so that he can only maintain his authority by resorting to threats of violence.” (p. 134). This may be due to Homer’s artistic portrayal of Hera. At Mount Olympus, the first temple was dedicated to the seated figure of Hera. Hera is portrayed as a majestic and formal figure crowned with the polos (ceremonial crown). A warrior statue of Zeus was only added later. The cult of Hera thrived on Samos where a later temple was built which remained one of the largest temples in the Greek world. Hera was without question a woman who was very jealous of her husband’s numerous liaisons. The nymph Echo was assigned by Zeus the task of distracting Hera while Zeus had his extramarital affairs. Echo diverted Hera’s attention with constant flattery. When Hera discovered this, she condemned Echo to the repetition of what others said. But the trials Hera put on Heracles were vindictive and cruel. Heracles was born of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, who was a descendent of Perseus. Hera sent two large serpents to kill Heracles as a child. Heracles grabbed the snakes, one in each hand and strangled them. On reaching manhood, Heracles married the Theban king’s daughter, Megara. Hera sent madness onto Heracles, driving him to kill his children. After being cured, Heracles went to the Oracle of Delphi to inquire how he could make atonement. At the direction of Hera, the Oracle of Delphi instructed Heracles to perform ten labors for his archenemy, king Eurystheus, who had replaced Heracles. Eurystheus later cheated him and added two more labors. Hera did all she could to hinder, harass Heracles and prevent him from accomplishing his labors. Heracles’ tenth task was to steal the magnificent red cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon in the land of Erytheia in the western Mediterranean. In traveling across the Libyan desert, the heat infuriated Heracles so he shot an arrow at Helios (sun god). Helios admired Heracles for his pluck so he leant Heracles his chariot. On reaching Erytheia, the two-headed dog, Orthrus, attacked him who he dispatched with one blow of his olive wood club. Heracles confronted Geryon who had three shields, three spears and three helmets. Heracles killed him with arrow poisoned with the blood of the Leraean Hydra. In herding the cattle on his return, Heracles found his cattle beset by a gadfly sent by Hera to irritate and scatter the cattle. It took Heracles a year to gather them up again. Then Hera sent a flood to a river so Heracles’s cattle could not traverse the river. Heracles took stones and filled the river so the cattle could cross. When Heracles returned, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera. In order to really grasp the full meaning of ancient Greek religion, one needs to understand the historic and cultural context, so I will do a (very) short synopsis of ancient Greek culture-history. The Indo-European Greeks were warrior elites who arrived with horses and chariots. The wanax (king), with the Eqeta (“companions” or “followers”) ruled the city states that were throughout central Greece, the Argolid, Thessaly, and the Peloponnese. “All political power was concentrated in the hands of the king. He was convener and leader of the Council and of the Assembly…” (p.67, Hammond) The Councilors, too, had their rights. They enjoyed the title of ‘elders’ or of ‘council-giving kings’…their opinions were respected and they joined the king in receiving embassies and in addressing the Assembly.” (p.68) The people (demos) had no rights. In the Iliad, king Nestor of the Mycenaean city state Pylos calls for the men to be called into assembly by phratry and tribe. In later times Athens was organized into four tribes, each tribe consisting of three phratries, with each phratry divided into thirty family groups (genes). The city-state also had a civil administration and was divided into districts with governors, deputies, and community leaders. From the number of craft shops and storerooms in the palaces as well as from the Linear B tablets, we know that the production of crafts and commodities was to a large extent centralized. Textiles, metallurgy, oil and to some extent ceramics were all part of a palace economy. There was also a separate leadership of religious functions. The center of the palace was the megaron, a rectangular hall with a circular hearth and columned open front porch, dominated the palace complex. An oculus in the roof supported by four columns vented the hearth. In the hall the walls were painted with frescoes whose themes frequently included chariots in battle or horses, and of course women. Heinrich Schliemann (1822 - 1890), the German archaeologist who discovered Troy, also unearthed shaft graves (1600 BC to 1450 BC) at Mycenae. The lavish furnishings of the graves told a story of a rich and powerful elite dependent on a thriving sea trade. The men were laid out in battle armor with swords (some had ivory or gold handles) and boar tusk helmets, frequently with gold death masks. Ornate daggers depicted scenes of hunting or fighting. Women frequently had gold crowns and clothes inlaid with gold ornaments. Ornate staffs, gold rings and bracelets were left in the shaft graves, as well as gold and silver cups. Among the cups were the beautiful Silver Siege Rhyton and Nestor’s Cup, which are works of exquisite craftsmanship. Bulls’ heads and double axes in the graves signified the powerful Minoan influence. It is believed that most of the frescoes in the megarons were painted by imported Minoan artisans. Compared to Egyptian and Minoan graves the use of gold was so extravagant and lavish that some scholars believe that the Mycenaeans had a source of gold in the Balkans for which Greece would then have served as a trade route. The influence of Minoan civilization was so pervasive that some scholars talk in terms of the Minoan-Mycenaean civilization. The Minoan civilization emerged much earlier than the Mycenaean civilization. The Minoan civilization first flourished beginning between 2000 BC to 1750 BC when palaces, production of bronze, Egyptian inspired pottery, and roads appeared, as well as peak and cave shrines. The Minoans advanced from hieroglyphic writing to a still un-deciphered Linear A script. Greek gods and goddesses are recorded on the clay tablets preserved from the ancient Greek Mycenaean Bronze Age civilization, which appears about 1600 BC and lasted until 1100 BC. The tablets were uncovered at Pylos, Thebes, Mycenae, and other Mycenaean cities. The Mycenae tablets, written in a proto-Greek called Linear B, record the first written testimony of the Greek gods and goddesses. Zeus, son of Cronus, is derived from a Greek form of the Indo-European word deiwos, and is documented in the tablets as di-we and di-wo. Though there was a religious cult room or shrine in the palaces, there were few sanctuaries and no temples in the Mycenaean world. Walter Burkert, a German scholar and author of Homo necans and Greek Religion among others, believes that the Indo-European Greeks “discovered and took over fully developed cults.” (p. 2 Greek Religion). N. G. L. Hammond, a British scholar of ancient Greece, observes that the immigrant Greeks “though dominant, were very much in the minority and that the population into which they came was already very mixed.” (p. 41) The etymology of Helios (sun god) and Eos-Aurora (goddess of dawn) are clearly Indo European and there are Indo European roots in the names of the goddess Hera (sister and wife of Zeus), Poseidon (god of the waters), and Ares (god of war). In the Linear B tablets, familiar names like Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, as well as others are readily understood. However, ‘Drimios the son of Zeus’ and ‘Manasa’ are unknown. When the Greeks finally emerged from the Dark Ages in 800 BC, half of the Mycenaean gods and goddesses would have disappeared. One aspect of ancient Greek religion that differentiates it from all others is the bards and poets - versus priests - that broadcast and expounded and elaborated myths and narratives of the gods and goddesses into an intricate and complex ideology of the cosmos and human behavior. Of the ancient mythologies, Greek mythology, would seem to be one of the most creative. The gods are ingenious characterizations of every possible human attribute often combined with natural phenomena. The Greek gods are mischievous, bellicose, strong-minded, heroic, audacious, playful, frisky, loyal, steadfast, treacherous, scheming, and all too human. Every Greek god has his or her own, usually complex and often convoluted, history and genealogy. And every local grove, valley, meadows, river, sea, mountain, spring, and forest has a divine spirit or nymph with its unique history and personality. For instance, Castalia was a nymph whom Apollo loved. She fled from him and dove into the spring at Delphi, at the base of Mt. Parnassos, which was then named after her. Water from this spring was sacred; it was used to clean the Delphian temples and inspire the priestesses. The last oracle of Delphi mournfully notes that the "water which could speak", has been lost forever. The Castalian Spring, in the ravine between the Phaedriades at Delphi, is where all visitors to Delphi — the contestants in the Pythian Games, and especially suppliants who came to consult the Delphic Oracle — stopped to wash their hair; and where Roman poets came to receive poetic inspiration. This is also where Apollo killed the monster, Python, and that is why it was considered to be sacred. The Greek Mythology is replete with very creative and imaginative narratives, myths, as well as deities and spirits: Acheloids (from the river Achelous), Alseids (groves), Dryads (forests), Hamadryads (trees), Hydriads (water) Leimoniads (meadows), Meliads (ash trees), Naiads (springs and rivers), Napaea (valleys), Nereid (the Mediterranean), Oceanids (the sea), Oreads (mountains) Different from goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek polis. They are believed to dwell in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and also in trees and in valleys and cool grottoes. Nymphs are personifications of the creative and fostering activities of nature, most often identified with the life-giving outflow of springs: as Walter Burkert (Burkert 1985: III.3.3) remarks, "The idea that rivers are gods and springs divine nymphs is deeply rooted not only in poetry but in belief and ritual; the worship of these deities is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a specific locality." One of the identifying characteristics of Greek religion/mythology is that in early Greek religious beliefs there was no dogma. In fact, the ancient Greek priests and priestesses of the temples worked part time. Also, in Greek theology-mythology there were a myriad of various and diverse versions. In Greek mythology, there are seven or eight different variations of who and how Zeus was raised. When Zeus attained manhood, he devised a plan and forced Cronus to disgorge, first the stone, then his siblings who emerged fully armored and ready to fight. According to myth the stone, the Omphalos, was set at the foot of Mount Parnassus at Delphi. Zeus then traveled to Tartarus and freed Cronus’ brothers, the Cyclopes, the Gigantes, and Hecatonchires. Out of gratitude, the Cyclopes gave Zeus thunderbolts which had been hidden by Gaia. These gods, which perhaps represent the primordial forces of earth, together with Zeus and his siblings fought Cronus and his Titans. Zeus, with his siblings and allies, defeated Cronus and the Titans. Zeus,’ who drives the clouds’, condemned Cronus and then Titans to the gloomy underworld of Tartarus. Atlas was given the eternal sentence of having to hold the earth up. Zeus and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, drew lots over who would rule what part of the universe. Zeus drew the sky. Poseidon drew the oceans, and Hades drew the underworld of the dead. Truth as a Territorial Imperative First, I would point out that the Absolute Truth is beyond comprehension - as St Augustine, St Gregory of Nyssa and many other Christian leaders emphasize. Secondly, neuroscience has concluded that in morals (and most other fields of inquiry) the human brain is incredibly interconnected and morals are a product of diverse brain regions and processes. Funk and Gazzanigna observe that: “Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality…………Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations. Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681) Of course, the same is true for spirituality - especially with religious people - there would be the spirituality of compassion ("love one another"), the spirituality of righteousness and morals (which is distinct from righteousness in my view), artistic spirituality. the spirituality of marital fidelity, the spirituality of religious rituals, the spirituality of the sacred, music, dancing, and so on. Imagination is one of the pivotal aspects of spiritual and religious beliefs. A basic plot of spiritual beliefs is that due to how the brain works, it must “grasp” the world and reality in some shape or form. Of course, without doubt when faced within an unknown or unknowns, the brain will kick in the imagination processes, without fail. What else can the brain do – huh? Furthermore, as Klinger and Jung observe emotions are the primary motivation and emotions clearly direct attention, so the emotions kick in to push the brain in dealing with reality and the world like it needs to. An interesting question of the “functions” of myths is when the Greeks colonized Sicily though prior to the colonization there had been no myths of Hercules or his feats in Sicily – after the Greeks colonized Sicily new myths of acts by Hercules done in Sicily emerged. The Greek colonists were “grasping” – colonizing - their new land – a territorial imperative – parallel to the Territorial imperative written about by Robert Ardrey. Historically “Truth” is something human beings have demonstrated a willingness to fight and die for. The idea of spiritual-religious beliefs as a way for people to mark their territory is not that wild an idea. to begin with Ancient religions were very territorial. Gods were generally viewed as being restricted to regions or specific territories. Furthermore, in Greek mythology, nymphs - for example had specific locations or regions. I looked nymphs up and there is a very long list of specific nymphs connected with specific territories. My argument is that these spiritual symbols were a way for people to mark - and grasp their world - to make the world - "their" world On a list of nymphs connected to specific territories in Greek mythology – there were almost 80 specific nymphs connected with specific regions or landmarks just in the category of names beginning with the letter “A”. Marking – or claiming territory – is wide-spread in the animal world, wolves, cats, monkeys, lemurs, etc., etc. For the sake of argument, I would add that one “possibly” could compare this territorial imperative to a “nesting” instinct ion a lar4ge scale. In a way this aspect could be seen as an effort by humanity to conquer the world and universe. This si in line with the theory that an underlying drive for spirituality and religious beliefs is anxiety and the need for certainty. I believe it was Malinowski who observed that an island tribe of the Polynesians had rituals and ceremonies for “deep” sea fishing expeditions – while there were none for lagoon (safer) fishing. The ended for certainty is a reality and plays into political and social situations as well. And a lot of different needs paly into spiritual beliefs – 1. The need to belong (which would include compassion as well as familial relationships) 2. The need for meaning – which would involve a plethora of different brain regions, 3. the need for ideology, and 4. motivation or drive. Addendum I: A Crossroads – A Contemporary Historical Perspective Spiritual-Psychic Experiences – then and now – Utterly black and white I have done extensive studies of prophetic and psychic literature. I have studied the oracle of Delphi, the Old Testament, as well as Nostradamus. Much of the Oracle of Delphi and Nostradamus prophecies and predictions are ambiguous making them subject to varying interpretations. The number of straightforward ‘predictions’ is extremely limited and perhaps number as many as a dozen. I did go through Nostradamus 900 plus quatrains and using some common sense ‘rules’ found only a handful which actually predicted a specific action accompanied by one or two specific details. Now, while there are a number of somewhat amazing prophecies in the Old Testament, such as Joseph’s interpretations of dreams, much of Old Testament prophecies, in a sense, lack some specific details. Tim Callahan points out that Ezekiel’s prophecy of the fall and utter destruction of Tyre by the Babylonians did not happen in history exactly as written in Ezekiel’s prophecy The Babylonians did not actually capture Tyre and it didn’t actually fall until Alexander the Great came along. The bottom line is that when one does a comparison of all the predictions-prophecies of the last two thousand years before WWI with what has occurred since WWI the comparison is day and night. First, while Jeane Dixon is really an undocumented psychic, she did have the two predictions ‘verified’ by her biographer, which because they are, in my view, statistically significant because they are unusual. Edgar Cayce di demonstrate the first documented “nonlocal perception” or remote viewing as Stephen Schwartz points out. IN all things, one has to separate the wheat from the chaff. That would be especially true of Edgar Cayce. When Edgar Cayce made predictions to make predictions, he had a high rate of failure – same as Jeane Dixon and Nostradamus. When Cayce gave readings for U.S. armed forces personnel – he did pretty well on questions of when the War (World War II) would end. Edgar Cayce also had eight documented cures (out of roughly 100 cases) of epileptics – which was unheard of in that day and age with no medication. Then there is Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium, is a contemporary psychic-medium on TV who contacts the spirits of departed loved ones and in doing so helps her subjects gain closure and comfort. Most often the subjects of her demonstrations thank her profusely and profoundly because of the sense of closure and relief they have gained. if you assign the chance occurrence of each of Theresa Caputo's verbalizations of transcendental information that she 'received - which would by all appearances could only seem to come from the subject's departed loved one, of happening, as 1 in 10, then only ten pieces of information from the 'departed loved one' would result in overall chances of happening of one in ten billion. People get caught up in the abstractions. A friend of my sister went to one of Caputo’s demonstrations and ended up thinking she was totally a hoax because she made mistakes. I encounter the maladaptive stereotype that psychics have to be “absolutely perfect” quite often. People make mistakes – that is what people do. On top of that, there is remote viewing. Wikipedia sates, “Remote viewing (RV) is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with the mind.[1] Typically a remote viewer is expected to give information about an object, event, person or location that is hidden from physical view and separated at some distance.[2]” Experiments have been conducted by Physicists Russell Targ, Harold Puthoff, as well as Stephen Schwartz. In the U.S. there are hundreds of thousands of followers of remote viewing – many of whom state they have had remote viewing experiences themselves. Then there are miscellaneous documented experiences like an artist who drew three clairvoyant pictures on Dr. Phil. Apples to Apples In this analysis the prerequisite is to compare apples to apples (regardless as to the question so whether psi is or not) – nothing more. When one compares successful documented spiritual-psychic experiences now and in the past one hundred years – comparison to the prior two thousand years of documented spiritual -psychic experiences there is No Comparison – it is a very stark picture of very dark black to a very white white. As far as prophecies the Old Testament is rather reliable. Also, at the Oracle of Delphi – and intellectual center there were numerous historians so their record could be viewed as rather reliable as well. The world has been turned upside down and inside out - There is a consensus among scientists that the human species is still evolving and adapting. In the past 300 years there have been radical and dramatic scientific, technological, socioeconomic, social, and political revolutions. The environment has changed: The social psychologist Gergen wrote a book called the “Saturated Self” which expounds on all the changes. In the 1900’s the automobile revolutionized mobility. Radio and TV increased communication and content of communication. Then there are the Blackberrys, Face Book; U-tube, Twitter, internet, email, texting, etc that has in the very recent past increased the number of people we communicate with and the type of communication (more anonymous mostly without person to person interaction. Everything about communication with others has drastically changed. I would believe it would be reasonable to figure that greatly increased human to human interactions will dramatically alter peoples’ behavior patterns – and likely not for the better. One scientist states that the number of people that the human brain is capable of handling is about 40 or 50. There are too many choices, too many role models – society has become in a sense – just too much for the human mind, which is why Gergen titles his book, “The Saturated Self”. If society is too much one might expect more erratic behavior. Addendum II: Excerpt from Mannheim & Materialism as Ideology vs Social Consciousness For nearly one hundred years, materialists have argued that 1) “There is no psychology of groups” (Allport’s Taboo – 1927) or 2) human consciousness is restricted to the firing of neurons in the brain and so there cannot be any social consciousness. It does not follow from the fact that neurons fire in the brain that there is no social consciousness! Social Pscyhology's 1927 Allport's Maxim, “There is no Psychology of Groups!” Contrast that concept with the real world context of crowds gathered for rock concerts, protests, and folkdances with the prevalent academic norm and abstraction that “There is no psychology of the group” (i.e., Allport’s taboo 1927). Even a precursory glance at those pictures clearly and vividly conveys the reality that – actually – yes, there are psychologies of groups (more than one probably. In Geertz’s five part definition of religion – which Chernus points out is universally accepted in the social sciences there is no concept of community or social consciousness. As both David Hay and Virgilio Enriquez (of Filipino Kapwa (shared identity) psychology) emphasize – Western academics have fostered a form of extreme individualism in western culture. The maxims – “What you see is what you get! – and – Out of sight, out of mind are very true principles in psychology. Addendum III Fallacies and False Premises - Death is a figment of your imagination Addendum: The Materialist Map of Spirituality: Maladaptive Stereotype that “All spirituality is unreal!” Death IS A Figment of Your Imagination "Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world!"- K Gergen “To understand something, whether we are aware of it or not, depends on choosing a model!" Iain McGilChrist The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” That the pivotal part of that argument is a fallacy – specifically the “Definist fallacy” because it uses “loaded” terms which prevents any real dialogue or communication. Peer Reviewed Critique of Materialism Endorsed by Four Very Prominent Psychologists and Medical Researchers The critique – dating from 2017-2018 has had well over 10,000 views and zero criticisms 1. Dr. Paul Wong, Professor Emeritus of Trent University edited two large volumes of The Human Quest for Meaning 2. Dr. Harold Koenig, a medical doctor-psychiatrist, a well published and very well-known author and researcher stated about this article: "Charlie – makes perfect sense to me, 3. Dr. Stephen Farra: Columbia International University Emeritus "Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all 4. Stefan Schindler, an award-winning author, and retired psychology-philosophy professor Spiritual Poison: Academic Maladaptive Stereotype: On the subject of the materialist Definist - maladaptive stereotype “All spirituality is unreal”! Dr Stephen Farra, wrote: "Charles, I strongly agree that the Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all! Frankl writes about how a closed Naturalism leads to a suffocating Reductionism, which leads to a mental and emotional Nihilism and the kind of Moral Corruption he experienced in Auschwitz and Dachau……” The Materialist Map that “All spirituality is unreal” goes far beyond “unscientific to hideous and destructive!” Death is a figment of your imagination! “It is not true if the major premise is not true” – Justice Rehnquist Narrative explanation: Not too long ago, I happened to be talking with a Filipina college graduate at a street restaurant in General Santos, Philippines. I explained the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it – “the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” I was a bit surprised when the Filipina college graduate I was talking with emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. So, I asked her to consider – for a moment - the concept of “death”. I pointed out that “death” is way beyond quantification or measurement. I then added that if you follow the logic and reasoning behind the materialist argument then “Death then would be a “figment of her imagination and superstitious nonsense.” She paused for a second then agreed with my reasoning – which is a major success for me. Bargh observes that most people just really don’t want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge. Researcher Bias: Academics rarely admit (never actually) that their thinking has been influenced by unconscious materialist academic norms. Yet it is clear in discussions with academics that their thinking is badly skewed – an obvious researcher bias. Here are some of the comments I heard on FB “science” groups: "mental illness," "Santa Claus", "fairies," and so on. In one instance I checked and questioned a member of a FB psychology group who referred to spirituality in terms of "Santa Claus" Any objective review of the social sciences and deficiencies and un-information when it comes to spirituality, social consciousness, and religion reveals a readily apparent researcher bias. The Filipina who agreed her views had been skewed by a maladaptive stereotype-fallacy is really no different from academics who are clearly influenced by unconscious stereotypes. As John Bargh, the Unconscious researcher observes, Unconscious influences are pervasive and often powerful: Imagine for a moment that you are a psychology professor who does experiments on conscious awareness. You keep finding that your subtle manipulations of people's judgments and even behavior are successful—causing your experimental participants to like someone or to dislike that same person, to feel happy or sad, to behave rudely or with infinite patience. However, none of your participants have a clue as to what caused them to feel or behave in these ways. In fact, they don't believe you, and sometimes even argue with you, when you try to explain your experiment to them and how they were caused to feel or behave. Now, let's say you are home with your family for the holidays or on vacation. Your aunt or brother-in-law asks politely what your job is like. You attempt to explain your research and even some of your more interesting findings. Once again you are met with incredulity. "This can't be so," says your brother-in-law. "I can't remember this ever happening to me, even once." https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr
By Charles E Peck Jr November 9, 2024
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. Aristotle Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Galatians 6:7-9 Donald Trump: Aggressive Rhetoric and Political Violence by Brigitte L. Nacos, Robert Y. Shapiro, and Yaeli Bloch-Elkon "During Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy and presidency political discourse in the United States became more hateful and divisive. Threats and actual violence against groups and individuals singled out and demonized by Trump increased. The targets of his verbal attacks were most of all racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, the news media collectively and individual journalists, and well-known politicians, mostly Democrats. There was a rise in bullying incidents in schools against minority students. Assuming that aggressive rhetoric by influential political leaders affect their supporters’ words and deeds, we examined Trump’s online and offline hate speech, the rhetorical reactions of his followers, and the violent consequences suffered by their declared enemies. Trump’s aggressive, divisive, and dehumanizing language was seconded by his followers and inflicted directly or indirectly psychological and physical harm to Trump’s declared enemies." Donald Trump: Aggressive Rhetoric and Political Violence by Brigitte L. Nacos, Robert Y. Shapiro, and Yaeli Bloch-Elkon PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 14, Issue 5 Unconscious Contextual Tuning and the Contagion Effect Trump has been a significant underlying cause in the creation of a climate - environment of fear and hatred. Contextual tuning: In his articles Bargh often comments on how the unconscious processes are intimately tied to the environment . Further supporting this notion of natural contextual tuning of one’s behavior to the present environment, cognitive research indicates that action-related objects activate multiple action plans in parallel and that action production is driven by some form of selective disinhibition. Contextual priming is a mechanism that provides still more precise adjustment to events and people in present time (Higgins & Bargh, 1987). In contextual priming, the mere presence of certain events and people automatically activates our representations of them, and concomitantly, all of the internal information (goals, knowledge, affect) stored in those representations that is relevant to responding back. Besides which there is the cotnagion effect The term “emotional contagion” has been defined as the tendency to mimic verbal, physiological and/or behavioral aspects of another person's emotional experience and thus to express/experience the same emotion (Sonnby-Borgström and Jönsson, 2004). Bargh also highlights - the mimicry effect as being prevalent Letter to Congressman Ruppersberger 2016 I have been saying the same thing since I sent a letter to Congressman Ruppersberger warning of an increase in hate crimes and white supremacist shootings which did happen in both 2017 and 2018. Of course now an American President modeling racism has continued to destabilize America - there have been 73+ school shootings for then last 3 years and 610+ mass shootings in the past four years. The surge in school shootings began roughly in 2015 when Trump entered politics While the article identifies the Trump "culture" as a culture of hate and fear - I have not seen a study identifying Trump as a significant underlying cause of the horrific level of violence in the USA. In my view it was an obvious problem which the DOJ should have dealt with back in 2017 as a very real threat to the general welfare of America. In my view the passive DOJ and FBI silencve is - in truth - “effectively” repressing information about Trump's hate speech being a problem which is documented to have caused an increase in hate crimes and white supremacist shootings – that information would have an impact on many Americans’ thinking. To be blunt school shootings and mass shootings are a huge problem in the USA - and to be blunt, it is all money and manipulation in the USA now. The good news is there are only 50 school shootings this year so far (10-19-24). For the laws three consecutive years, there have been 73+ school shootings each year and over 610 mass shootings for the last four consecutive years. In all the studies of school shootings Trump’s hate speech and racist rhetoric is not mentioned in any study. Much of the negative consequences of Trump’s racist rhetoric and hate speech are self-evident. In 2016 I sent Congressman Ruppersberger a letter explaining that Trump's hate speech and racist rhetoric would result in an increase in hate crimes and an increase in white supremacist shooting rampages - both of which came true - of course. In both 2017 and 2018 the FBI stats showed a 17% increase in hate crimes in both years as well as a spike on white supremacist killing sprees. Yet, there is no mention of that factor in any study of school shootings. It is the job of the DOJ-FBI to make proper assessments of threats to America. It is an important factor without which the current studies of school shootings are distortions – worthless in my view. If you look at the graph of school shootings, the surge began around 2015, roughly the time when Trump entered politics. It has gotten worse since then. Washington. Post: “Hate crimes in U.S. rose to highest level in 2021, By David Nakamura March 13, 2023 at 1:32 p.m. EDT “Hate crimes in the United States rose in 2021 to the highest level since the federal government began tracking the data more than three decades ago, the FBI said Monday in a new report that also reflected a record spike in attacks targeting people of Asian descent.” A total of 9,081 Asians has fallen victims to hate crimes in the US, according to the report released by Stop AAPI Hate on Aug. 12. Around 9.1 percent or 826 Filipinos are Asian hate victims in the US, the report found. An official assessment would have an impact on many Americans’ thinking. For the record I wrote 5 or 6 essays explaining soem causes (ingroup-outgroup syndrome and social identity research + neuropsychology research) and historcal background of the 200+ genocides since WWI and the innumerable atrocities - as well as the mechanics of scapegoating whcih has been employed - not just by Hitler - but documented in Europe in the late 1800's. Teh mechanics are simple - bu vilifying outgroups and minorities Trump "Emotionally" identifies himself as an "ingroup member." In 2017 - 2018 I wrote lettyer and posted essays. I did categorically state if the police did not get additional training to help cope with strong emotions conencted with outgroup conflicts the the disproportionate number of unarmed blacks killed by police (facts are there - you have to dig for them) would not improve - and they didn't. In 2021, the Washingotn Post printed an article which said Blacks say nothing has changed - whcih really shouldn't be a surprise. Point of Order: “James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution” In an article on June 3 2020 in the Atlantic By Jeffrey Goldberg, James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens. “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.” A Secretary of Defense PUBLICLY DENOUNCES a president for racism - and the DOJ is mum? - and now there are 73+ school shootings a year and +610 mass shootings a year and they don't care?? Categories Categories of analyses of school shootings (Wikipedia): Age, Family dynamics, Parental supervision, School bullying, Mental illness, Injustice collectors, Violent media theory Video games, Literature, Notoriety. I saw nothing on cultural or social factors and of course not a word about Trump’s Hate speech and fear tactics. When National Death Threatens: 9 Anti-social behaviors in USA 1. There have been 73+ each year for the past 3 years school shootings in the USA. 2. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. 3. 610+mass shootings per year for the last four years. 4. according to the Washington Post, hate crimes are at an all-time high in 2021 with 826 Filipinos reporting themselves as victims of hate crimes. 5. Trump’s policy of deliberately separating children from their mothers to punish them for immigrating In a recent article about Trump’s bid for re-election Trump stated he will try to re-instate the policy of separating children from their mothers. “More than 5,500 children, including infants, were removed and hundreds have still not been reunited as of August 2022.” (Excerpt from Wikipedia) 6. Assaults on teachers have dramatically increased - not only in the US but worldwide. 7. Assaults on healthcare workers has increased exponentially - also a world-wide problem. 8. epidemic (25% increase) in narcissism in western countries (Twenge, etc). 9. The Christian led ‘Antisocial No Mask Madness’ deserves special mention. Americans are 4% of the world's population. However, Americans represent 20.6% of the World's dead. Analyses of the number of unnecessary excessive deaths compared to other countries varies from 50,000 to 100,000 10. The supreme court ruling on abortion is based on a blatantly obvious fallacy-false premise - . literally arguing that abortion was not legal because the word "abortion" is not in the constitution. Excerpt from ruling "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely—the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." Well, yeah..... half the modern word is not in the constitution - nuclear power, airplanes, automobiles. It is a blatant fallacy-false premise. Furthermore, the supreme court argument that a woman's body has no relevance constitutionally is horses**t. It was a political hatchet job. The bastion of “Truth and Justice” using a superficial and obvious fallacy is antisocial act because a lot of Americans are losing faith in “justice” or fair treatment. Commentary: One analysis stated that the USA has fifty-seven times as many school shootings as all of Europe combined. The suicide rate in the USA has increased 36% since 2000 and at 14.2 per thousand is over double the rate of suicide in the Philippines. Also, while assaults on teachers are a worldwide problem, assaults on teachers are an epidemic in the USA. In the Philippines, physical assaults on teachers are rare. While there are without doubt several distinct underlying causes, when a “president” and high-ranking extremist Christian leaders “model” racism, hatred, and antisocial behaviors – it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the USA has more problems with antisocial behaviors than other societies. That being said, you cannot take the school shooting problem in isolation from the other anti-social behaviors such as assaults on teachers or assaults on healthcare workers which a widespread problem in the world. The Ideology Factor: knife killings in China kindegarten and elementary schools __________________________________________________________________ Preface, for perspective, I should preface this with a quick observation from personal history. As Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, states that my spiritual-psychic experiences are unique – in part because they are correlated with external political events many of which are documented, in part because they have both “consistent” and “reasonable” interpretations as “perceptions of threats to the group” – which dovetails into Daryl Bem’s repeated successful experiments (involving over 10,000 subjects) which demonstrate instincts are a significant factor in precognition. There are three scientific aspects which should be considered. The first is that while it used to acceptable with the outmoded "billiard ball physics that spiritual-psychic experiences were automatically rejected. Niels Bohr was a Nobel prize-winning Danish physicist, who pioneered the development of the quantum physics and theory stated “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.” Secondly, the synthesis-consensus of Viktor Frankl, William James, and Carl Jung that spiritual experiences can create meaning and a sense of reality as well as the fact that different experiences create different understandings. Third - in light of the well-proven and well-known process of categorization, it would stand to reason that unusual experiences would be categorized as "unusual." In spite of this I have had three psychiatrists - Dr Ray De Paulo, Dr Philip Perez and Dr Joseph Schwartz convey to me that all transcendental spiritual experiences are psychotic/schizophrenia. I also have a number of PhD's recommend my essays. For perspective - a Quick Bio: Charles E Peck Jr. Academia.edu Profile Link to academia profile: https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr Followers 1,820 + “Highly Engaged” readers 3,655 Total Views (of essays) 391k. Furthermore, I have a critique of the Materialist maladaptive stereotype which has endorsed by 4 prominent psychologists including world famous Dr Paul Wong and Dr. Harold Koenig. The end result for me was my two older children have not sent me a father's day card or Christmas card for the last three years. I tried to talk to my daughter but she said she refused to discuss my essays because she knows I am "psychotic". For the record my diagnosis from 5 doctors since 2000 has been "mood disorder" Why is this happening - because – in my view - American psychiatrists convey that all spiritual-psychic experiences are psychotic - which has NO basis in fact. Bio: Holy Spirit Synopsis of 40 years of spiritual experiences (limited number) Preamble: THE prophets dealt with man, not as an atom, but as a part of a social organism, a living member of a living body. To heal this body when diseased (Isa. I:6), to warn it against coming dissolution, and to bring it back to the paths which lead to perfection in God, was their great and only mission (Jer. 6: 6). Hence, they were always the more numerous when national death threatened. (THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS AS SOCIAL REFORMERS. By REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) Introduction First. I should highlight the fact that many of my warnings were accurate and relevant – though ignored. I should preface this with the post on FB in September 2016. Later, I sent Congressman Ruppersberger a letter explaining that Trump’s racist rhetoric and hate speech would cause a rise in hate crimes and right-wing white supremacist terrorist shooting sprees – which did in fact happen. In both 2017 and 2018 there was a 17% increase in hate crimes – as recorded by the FBI as well as a severe spike in white supremacist mass shootings in both 2017 and 2018. It has gotten worse since then. Washington. Post: “Hate crimes in U.S. rose to highest level in 2021, By David Nakamura March 13, 2023 at 1:32 p.m. EDT “Hate crimes in the United States rose in 2021 to the highest level since the federal government began tracking the data more than three decades ago, the FBI said Monday in a new report that also reflected a record spike in attacks targeting people of Asian descent.” A. Highlights of dreams, some documented by emails, all with consistent and reasonable interpretations: (1) Precognitive Dream about 'Pakistan and 'Nuclear War' – from email - 1-18-2019 – a month later India launched an attack against Islamic Jihadists in (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a central action with one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), A month later the U.S. forces left Libya (4) Synchronicity with Muslim lone terrorist attack in Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) (5) Dudayev (Chechen leader) Dream – dream had several details matching the death of Dudayev the Chechen leader (6) Fredericksburg bomb (civilian) Several details of a dream matched the death of a woman by a bomb B. Highlights from forty years of conscious perceptions (1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A very brief (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called – warned the CIA before 9/11. Analysis: As Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, states that my spiritual-psychic experiences are unique – in part because they are correlated with external political events, in part because they have both “consistent” and “reasonable” interpretations as “perceptions of threats to the group” – which dovetails into Daryl Bem’s repeated successful experiments (involving over 10,000 subjects) which demonstrate instincts are a significant factor in precognition. From forty years of (limited) experiences, it would appear readily apparent that a good analogy for my experiences would be to the engine of a jet fighter - in which the “psychic” aspect only “turns on” occasionally, depending on circumstances, and that most of my “perceptions” result from a synthesis of senses - a good historical-political situation sense seems very salient. My personal spiritual-psychic experiences have been invaluable in my writing and research – since I knew what I was looking for. Point of order: “spirit and truth” (John 4: 23-24) and the Holy Spirit are my guiding lights. Actually, it is for that reason – like many other Americans - I vigorously oppose the politicization of Christ in America which has produced an abomination – a racist American president that has destabilized America. Personally, in context of my spiritual experiences, I view Trump as a Demon to be honest. Political and religious leaders modeling anti-social behaviors are a significant Underlying cause in the exponential increase in the USA of serious anti-social behaviors. For instance, school shootings in the USA that are 57 times the entire total of school shootings in Europe, and other serious anti-social behaviors (huge increase in assaults on health worker and teachers, 25% increase in narcissism, and 36% increase in suicide. __________________________________________________________________ Extreme Individualism, the Trump-Christian No Mask Madness We Must Bring Balance Back to the Force David Hay, a scholar and Christian theologian, argues that Western Academia convers the model or map of “extreme individualism” – which I believe is correct. Virgilio Enriquez has very similar views and viewed western academia as a threat to pro-social values such as Kapwa (shared identity) – Allport’s Fallacy that "There is no psychology of groups" which even today is an ongoing problem. Brian McVeigh, a scholar on Japanese culture and author stated that the idea that "There is no psychology of groups" is an example of extreme individualism. Twenge (et al) argue that an epidemic in narcissism has occurred in western countries beginning around 2000 (25% increase). It would stand to reason in that narcissism could be viewed as a form of extreme individualism it would be correlated with the extreme individualism that David Hay speaks about and V Enriquez has similar views. Vater in his article focused on Narcissism collective vs individualist cultures, observed “Narcissism scores are higher in individualistic cultures compared with more collectivistic cultures.” Aline Vater goes on to explain his study: “Our results showed that grandiose narcissism was higher and self-esteem was lower in individuals who grew up in former West Germany compared with former East Germany.” There is evidence that the materialist based “western individualism” is a factor in extreme behavior: “For example, collectivism was a powerful predictor of mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic, both among individuals and cultures (Jin & English 2021). My argument has been that materialism is an ideology which has an inherent dehumanizing factor with its fixation on quantification has been instrumental in facilitating extremist behavior. Iain McGilChrist properly identifies materialist ideology as a mode of thought: “An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world… has come about, reflecting, I believe, the unopposed action of a dysfunctional left hemisphere.” McGilChrist’ s view of the materialist mode of thought dovetails with Christina Maimone’s assessment of Mannheim with social sciences as ideologies and modes of thought - which exclude contrary evidence (Mannheim’s Paradox) – which in turn is supported by modern research into the processes connected with “attention” The filter-attention process which filters out and excludes information – as William James noted in the 1900’s that to pay attention to something one necessarily had to ignore a lot of information. On top of that unconscious research explains the powerful influences of norms and stereotypes – even – or especially – academic norms and stereotypes. (Bargh) As Buddha empathized long ago “We become what we think!” – which modern science has proved to be true with numerous studies demonstrating the reality of “Self-fulfilling factor” of psychologies The materialist-ideology factor would seem readily apparent in the child knife slayings in the Chinese Kindergarten Knife Slayings China kindergarten stabbing: Six dead in Lianjiang By Kelly Ng & Rupert Wingfield-Hayes BBC News The stabbings also fit in to a disturbingly familiar pattern. Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also one incident where the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children. The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of those have happened between 2018 and 2023. This particular behavior is unheard of – unknown! Killing – murdering – with a knife is up close and personal – very different from killing forma distance with a gun. Killing a 5 or 6-year-old child with a knife is horrifically brutally violent. Any way you look at the situation – it is Abnormal – with a capital A. No one has a theory for what happened and lump it into “mental illness” though it is far from random. My argument is that the materialist – very unspiritual and dehumanizing – ideology (being based totally on a “rigids adherence to quantification “ which is very ridged and intolerant is undermining peoples’ pro-social norms and social structure. A close review of social sciences reveals a number of anti-social norms such as the social psychology norm originating in Allports’ taboo that “There is no psychology of groups” which a 1996 textbook indicated is still an ongoing situation in social psychology. If taken within the context of modern research into “automated social perception” and the readily apparent factor that academic norms are very salient forms of social perception, then that makes sense. Bargh observes that “The idea that social perception is a largely automated psychological phenomenon is now widely accepted.” Bargh goes on to say, “Our identities are multifaceted – mother, musician, teacher, yoga enthusiast, NASCAR fan. In each of these [identities] there is stored implicit and ingrained knowledge about appropriate values and behaviors, likes and dislikes, ways of being.” Materialist ideology is - as Maimone emphasizes - an ideology – and as such it is a from of social consciousness. One contemporary example of social consciousness would be the American tea-party movement which Trump hijacked and continues – unfortunately - to be vigorous “force” in American politics. In that context the materialist ideology can also be better understood as an independent force. How can I say that materialism is an unspiritual ideology? Long ago, as I posted on FB groups, I began to document their responses. Here are some of the comments I heard on FB “science” groups: "mental illness," "Santa Claus", "fairies," and so on. In one instance I checked and questioned a member of a FB psychology group who referred to spirituality as "Santa Claus" – after asking questions it became clear that he didn't even read the essay. These are all college graduates and from research I know undergraduates have no education or training in spirituality – which is precisely what the problem is. Giant Cosmic Parrots The most obnoxious comment was by a neuroscientist who stated on my fairly generic post about spirituality in which I didn't even mention spiritual-psychic experiences - “please keep the religious drivel to religious channels, this is science and science by its very nature only deals with the material - what can be observed and measured. It serves no practical use of time to hypothesize whether giant cosmic parrots travelling from higher dimensions are responsible for anything because unless one flies into our view there’s no way to prove it.” Academics swear they are objective but when it comes to spirituality – and social consciousness – many are not even remotely objective. I posted quotes from Kenneth Gergen and Christina Maimone about “social knowledge”. Making a distinction between social knowledge and the physical sciences would be common sense – or deductive reasoning. The comment from a philosophy science FB group was “bullshit” Review: “The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined” While my emphasis is on academic anti-social teachings, it is self-evident that a “president” and high-profile Republican and Christian leaders modeling antisocial behaviors would be a very significant underlying cause as well. My argument in a nutshell is that materialist-academic ideology is a self-fulfilling prophecy – as many psychologies have been shown to be - which undermines prosocial values (McGilChrist, Sheldrake, David Hay, V Enriquez) That is materialist ideology primes the pump - and with inadequate prosocial values – facilitates activation of extremist views. “There have been 413 school shootings since 1999” “More than 378,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. Beyond the dead and wounded, children who witness the violence or cower behind locked doors to hide from it can be profoundly traumatized. (Washington Post article https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/school-shootings-database/) Washington Post Article: “More than 357,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. Major antisocial behaviors are not confined to the USA. Assaults on teachers has become a worldwide problem. However, no other country in the world has the magnitude of anti-social behaviors that the USA has. Seven More Major Anti-Social Behaviors Emerged roughly since 2000 1. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. 2. All time high in mass shootings 2023 - 559 Mass shootings in 2023 so far 3. according to the Washington Post, hate crimes are at an all-time high in 2021 with 826 Filipinos reporting themselves as victims of hate crimes. 4. Assaults on teachers dramatically increased - not only in the US but worldwide. 5. Assaults on healthcare workers increased exponentially - also world-wide 6. epidemic (25% increase) in narcissism in western countries (Twenge, etc). 7. The Christian led ‘Antisocial No Mask Madness’ deserves special mention. Americans are 4% of the world's population. However, Americans represent 20.6% of the World's dead. Analyses of the number of unnecessary excessive deaths compared to other countries varies from 50,000 to 100,000 Thumbnail rough sketch: Attacks on Teachers worldwide - USA, Ireland, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany. Collective (Asian) countries are a well-known category in psychology such as Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia – which appear from a precursory overview to have much less problems with attacks on teachers. There didn’t appear to be much in Spain either for some reason: 1. 14% of US school educators feel humiliated by the assaults so much that they don’t share the information with their colleagues. 12% of educators have been traumatized by serious verbal threats and/or physical assaults in the past year. (Case Guard) 2. 13% of UK teachers have been physical assaulted by a pupil in the last year. 28% of teachers said they have been subjected to verbal abuse. (Evening Standards, UK) 3. 77% of Canadian public elementary teachers in Ontario say they have personally experienced or witnessed violence against a staff member in schools. 42 % of members have suffered a physical injury, illness, or psychological injury/illness as a result of workplace violence against them this school year. (Durham Radio News, USA) (Violence Against Teachers: 17 Alarming Statistics and Headlines https://www.bite-pro.com/blog/post/violence-against-teachers-17-alarming-statistics-and-headlines) Make America Great Again - Trump and Republicans are Modeling Antisocial Behavior For me, this story began in September, 2016. I realized that America had a problem so I began with a post on FB in September 2016 - which I followed up with a letter to Congressman Ruppersberger explaining that Trump’s racist rhetoric and hate speech would incite extremists into action and cause a rise in hate crimes and right-wing white supremacist terrorist shooting sprees. In November 2016, the Huffington Post printed an article (which I highlighted in a FB post in 2018) that laid out the racial slurs and ethnic insults verbalized by Trump in his ceaseless and unending hate speech: "Donald Trump ’s affront to the Latino community reached new heights last week after Mexican-American journalist Jorge Ramos was forcibly removed from the presidential candidate’s Iowa press conference. But it wasn’t the first time Trump has offended Latinos....In Trump's speech when he announced his candidacy for president, he began by comparing Mexican immigrants to "rapists" and then decided to broaden the scope of his insult to all Latinos. Shortly after his initial "rapists" remark in his speech, the candidate expanded his comments beyond Mexico. "It's coming from more than Mexico," he added. "It's coming from all over South and Latin America..." Trump even insists the Mexican government is purposely shipping all its criminals into the U.S. Not surprisingly, there was a horrific increase in hate crimes as well as White Supremacist shootings. In both 2017 and 2018 there was a 17% increase in hate crimes – as recorded by the FBI as well as a severe spike in white supremacist mass shootings in both 2017 and 2018. As an additional point of information, I have written five essays on racism since then and advocated additional training for police to decrease the high disproportional killings of blacks in the UISA (facts are there but you have to dig for them). Title of article in the Washington Post that was published on 6-9-22: "Poll: Black Americans fear more racist attacks after Buffalo shooting. Two years after George Floyd’s murder, nearly 8 in 10 Black Americans say there has been little or no improvement in how police treat Black people", according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll (see footnote). ____________________________________________________________________________ Essays on Racism 1. McDougall's Group Mind - the "Unreasoning Impulsiveness" of Groups Very Relevant to Current Events - But, Group Mind was Excluded by Allport's Taboo (1927) of All Social Consciousness. https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/mcdougall-group-mind 2. New Theory of Social Identity - Explaining Scapegoating & The Ingroup-Outgroup Syndrome of Social Identity Theory PLUS Powerful Emotions of Unconscious Processes from Group-Related Instincts https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/new-theory-social-identity-scapegoating 3. Scapegoating from 1890's - Learning from the Systemic Anti-Semitism In Medieval Europe https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/anti-semitism-europe 4. If the World wants Peace, "We" Need to Outlaw the Ingroup-Outgroup Syndrome: Ideologies and Instincts - Incredibly Powerful Emotions are Generated by Group-Related Instincts https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/instincts-and-ideologies 5. Underlying Causes of Racism: Human History, in a sense, has been a History of Conflict with Outgroups with Genocide after Genocide after Genocide! https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/underlying-causes ____________________________________________________________________________ It has gotten worse since then. Washington. Post: “Hate crimes in U.S. rose to highest level in 2021, By David Nakamura March 13, 2023 at 1:32 p.m. EDT “Hate crimes in the United States rose in 2021 to the highest level since the federal government began tracking the data more than three decades ago, the FBI said Monday in a new report that also reflected a record spike in attacks targeting people of Asian descent.” MANILA – “Malacañang on Thursday expressed alarm over the latest Stop Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate report which showed that Filipinos ranked third among nationalities that experience the most number of hate incidents in the United States (US). A total of 9,081 Asians has fallen victims to hate crimes in the US, according to the report released by Stop AAPI Hate on Aug. 12. Around 9.1 percent or 826 Filipinos are Asian hate victims in the US, the report found.” Trump’s policy of Separating children from their mothers as punishment Trump’s policy of deliberately separating children from their mothers to punish them for immigrating More than 5,500 children, including infants, were removed and hundreds have still not been reunited as of August 2022. Excerpt from Wikipedia on Trump’s Policy of separating even very young children from their mothers. “The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. It was officially adopted across the entire US–Mexico border from April 2018 until June 2018. Under the policy, federal authorities separated children and infants from parents or guardians. More than 5,500 children, including infants, were removed and hundreds have still not been reunited as of August 2022.” If you look at the graph, the surge in school shootings began around 2015. “Though Trump had been politically active sicne 2011-2012, Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015. His campaign was initially not taken seriously by political analysts, but he quickly rose to the top of opinion polls. He became the front-runner in March 2016 and was declared the presumptive Republican nominee in May.” 36 Hours After School Shooting in January, Trump Said ‘We Have to Get Over It By Lauren Tousignant | July 15, 2024 | - “Get over it”??? America in the last three years has had 73 school shootings in 2021, 79 school shootings in 2022, and 82 school shootings in 2023.! That is obscene – but “Get over it tells you Trumps true mindset. Seven More Major Anti-Social Behaviors Emerged roughly since 2000 1. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. 2. All time high in mass shootings 2023 - 559 Mass shootings in 2023 so far 3. according to the Washington Post, hate crimes are at an all-time high in 2021 with 826 Filipinos reporting themselves as victims of hate crimes. 4. Assaults on teachers dramatically increased - not only in the US but worldwide. 5. Assaults on healthcare workers increased exponentially - also world-wide 6. epidemic (25% increase) in narcissism in western countries (Twenge, etc). 7. The Christian led ‘Antisocial No Mask Madness’ deserves special mention. Americans are 4% of the world's population. However, Americans represent 20.6% of the World's dead. Analyses of the number of unnecessary excessive deaths compared to other countries varies from 50,000 to 100,000 Preface: Why is social consciousness important? “We become what we think” as Buddha said. The materialist ideology - with an inherent bias for extreme individualism (i.e. David Hay, Virgilio Enriquez) and thus an antisocial teaching-ideology - is an unhealthy and destructive “self-fulfilling” Prophecies. “ To understand something, whether we are aware of it or not, depends on choosing a model.” Iain McGilchrist "Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world." Kenneth Gergen “Models are our realities, but models are not reality” – Dr Stephen Farra Besides being a particular type of “understanding” Gergen’s “map” (vs model) also implies a “practical use” - in that maps are “supposed to guide” a person. That is in line with William James argument that “practical use” is important. (Gergen, Kenneth J. "The social constructionist movement in modern psychology." (1992)) Major Anti-Social Behaviors recently emerged since roughly 2000 1. School Shootings: “The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined” (that is actually from an outdated CNN article) Recent data reveals, “There have been 413 school shootings since 1999” “More than 378,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. Beyond the dead and wounded, children who witness the violence or cower behind locked doors to hide from it can be profoundly traumatized. (Washington Post article https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/school-shootings-database/) The federal government does not track school shootings, so The Washington Post has spent years tracking how many children in the United States have been exposed to gun violence during school hours since the Columbine High massacre in 1999. Washington Post Article: “More than 357,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine The median age of a school shooter is 16: Children, The Post also determined, are responsible for more than half the country’s school shootings — none of which would be possible if those children didn’t have access to firearms. The ranks of school shooters include a 6-year-old boy, who killed a classmate he shot on purpose, and a 15-year-old girl, who did the same to a friend for rejecting her romantic overtures. Point of order: Access to firearms is the focus of many scholars. As appoint of order, I believe gun ownership is not a divine right and there is no reason for people to own AR-15’s. That being said, in the Philippines, there have been only two school shootings (only one according to Wikipedia) – and firearms are readily available in the Philippines – so access to firearms is Not the Sole criteria. The type and category of school shootings to a large extent is very different from the USA where killing for the sake of killing appears the primary “type” in the USA. The school shootings in the Philippines appear more like political assassinations with collateral damage as it were. In the USA “targeted” shootings is a category along with “random rampage” school shootings. “Most studies identified extreme social rejection and bullying as key risk factors. Social rejection, perpetrated by peers, often included romantic rejection. Bullying took numerous forms, both verbal and physical, and was heavily characterized by actions and words meant to humiliate the victim. Other research-identified risk factors included the availability of guns and the consumption of violent media (especially violent video games, but also violent music, television shows, and films).” Still - “the 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 27 people before committing suicide; shortly before the attack he had also killed his mother in their home. The shooting garnered particular attention due to the age of the victims: 20 of those killed were 6–7 years old.” - just doesn’t exist in the Philippines (school shooting, Britannica - https://www.britannica.com/topic/school-shooting) However if you look at the “meta” statistics compared to other countries, it is clear that the American culture has a problem – even considering “targeted” school shootings - “ The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined” (CNN - https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/school-shooting-us-versus-world-trnd/index.html) “Almost all the deadliest assaults were committed by White gunmen” [Yet] Black students make up 16.6% of the school population but they experience school shootings at twice that rate.” “Across all such incidents, The Post has found that at least 205 children, educators and other people have been killed, and another 464 have been injured.” Deep South has highest rate of gun deaths among major regions: Average of annual gun deaths per 100,000 people in each region from 2010-2020 Nationwide rate: 11.4 gun deaths per 100,000 people. (The Surprising Geography of Gun Violence, Politico magazine, By COLIN WOODARD 04/23/2023) – which is prime Trump follower territory. Furthermore, if you look at the chart below, the surge in school shootings in the USA appears correlated – roughly with the appearance of Trump who is a racist often spewing hate speech. In September 2016, I posted an article on FB and later sent a letter to Congressman Ruppersberger stating that Trump’s hate speech and racist rhetoric would incite people and result in an increase in hate crimes and white supremacist shootings – which did occur. There was an increase of 17% in hate crimes in both 2017 and 2018, as well as a spike in white supremacist killings internationally. It would stand to reason that the same principle would apply to school shootings as well. To me it isn’t surprising at all that the USA has more antisocial behavior when “president” Trump and the extreme right Christian leaders – by supporting Trump - model anti-social behavior. The bulk of academia condone Trump’s hate speech and racist rhetoric with their silence. Six Major Antisocial Behaviors 2. From Wikipedia: “As of 2017, studies indicated that the rate at which public mass shootings occur has tripled since 2011. Between 1982 and 2011, a mass shooting occurred roughly once every 200 days. However, between 2011 and 2014, that rate has accelerated greatly with at least one mass shooting occurring every 64 days in the United States. (Wikipedia) Besides school shootings, a number of “antisocial” behaviors have emerged recently. First the CDC study showed an increase of 36^ in the suicide rate from 2000 to 2021 – and an epidemic in narcissism in western countries of roughly 25% (Twenge, et al). 3. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. Suicide was responsible for 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million attempted suicide. Suicide affects people of all ages. In 2021, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.3 4. Assaults on teachers; First I should say a quick thumbnail research into assaults on teachers did indicate collectivist countries (where the group is more important than the individual vs western “extreme individualism” as David Hay refers to it) had a lesser problem with school assaults: Philippines, Japan, Malaysia. Spain also had a lesser problem by all appearances for some reason. Culture does play a role. There has been a recent drastic increase in physical assaults on teachers in America – and worldwide i.e Teacher stabbed to death by pupil in France (BBC World News, France)According to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, one-third of teachers report that they experienced at least one incident of verbal harassment or threat of violence from students during the pandemic. (National Education Association, USA) Germany sees increase in attacks on teachers. (Deutsche Welle, Germany) Student Violence Against Teachers Has Become the Norm and That’s NOT Okay. (Bored Teachers, USA) School principals experience highest rate (75%) of violence and abuse in Australia. (ABC News) Surprising Israeli statistic emerged: the victims of student abuse – primarily veteran teachers – don't seek help. (Bar-Ilan University. Israel) New Zealand teachers want action as student assault rates on staff escalate. (Stuff, New Zealand) – (Violence Against Teachers: 17 Alarming Statistics and Headlines https://www.bite-pro.com/blog/post/violence-against-teachers-17-alarming-statistics-and-headlines ) During the 2020–21 school year, a higher percentage of elementary public-school teachers than of secondary public-school teachers reported being threatened with injury (8 vs. 4 percent) or being physically attacked (7 vs. 1 percent) by a student from their school. Teachers Threatened With Injury or Physically Attacked by Students (https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a05/teacher-attacked-by-students) 5. Intentional killings of police have increased dramatically in the USA Last year saw the highest number of law enforcement officers who were intentionally killed in the line of duty since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an increase that comes as a rise in gun violence and homicides continues across the country. According to preliminary year-end data provided to CNN by the FBI, 73 officers died in felonious killings in the line of duty in 2021. The year marks the highest total recorded by the agency since 1995, excluding the 9/11 attacks. (https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/13/us/police-officers-line-of-duty-deaths/index.html) 6. Assaults on healthcare workers have had an exponential increase: What’s behind an alarming rise in violent incidents in health care facilities “Government data shows that health care workers are five times as likely to experience workplace violence as other workers. They accounted for 73 percent of non-fatal injuries from violence in 2018, the most recent year for which numbers are available, and there are signs it's getting worse.” 7. Narcissism Epidemic: Since roughly 2000 there has been an epidemic of narcissism in western countries. Is modern life making us more narcissistic? And if so, why? We agree with Paris (2014, pp. 220 –226) that the answer to the first question is yes. In fact, as we demonstrate below, the case for increasing narcissism is even stronger than presented in his article. On the second question, we agree that expressive individualism and lack of social support play key roles in this increase. However, we question the idea that therapy is building narcissism.” (The narcissism epidemic: Living in the age of entitlement. APA Psych net) 8. All time high in mass shootings 2023 - 559 Mass shootings in 2023: “This is a list of mass shootings that took place in the United States in 2023. Mass shootings are incidents in which several people are victims of firearm-related violence, specifically for the purposes of this article, a total of four or more victims. As of November 30, a total of 660 people have been killed and 2,330 other people have been injured in 559 shootings. (Wikipedia) 9. Chinese Kindergarten Knife Slayings China kindergarten stabbing: Six dead in Lianjiang By Kelly Ng & Rupert Wingfield-Hayes BBC News The stabbings also fit in to a disturbingly familiar pattern. Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also one incident where the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children. The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of those have happened between 2018 and 2023. This particular behavior is unheard of – unknown! Killing – murdering – with a knife is up close and personal – very different from killing forma distance with a gun. Killing a 5 or 6-year-old child with a knife is horrifically brutally violent. Any way you look at the situation – it is Abnormal – with a capital A. The article highlights these two incidents: “In April 2021, two children died while 16 others were injured during a mass stabbing in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In October 2018, 14 children were injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in Chongqing, south-west China.” Excerpt from Wikipedia A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 90 dead and some 473 injured. As most cases had no known motive, analysts have blamed mental health problems caused by rapid social change for the rise in these kinds of mass murder and murder-suicide incidents. The state media has also been keeping news of these attacks quiet by deleting forum entries on the internet and releasing few facts on the incident for fear of copycat crimes and mass panic. (almost as bad as FB when it comes to spirituality – eh?) The Dark Side of Psychology: Abstractions and the concept of free will. Detrimental health effects of academic ideologies, abstractions, and maladaptive stereotypes – from research on Free Will Research by Kathleen Vohs and Jonathan Schooler showed that “It seems that when people stop believing they are free agents; they stop seeing themselves as blameworthy for their actions. Consequently, they act less responsibly and give in to their baser instincts. Vohs emphasized that this result is not limited to the contrived conditions of a lab experiment. “You see the same effects with people who naturally believe more or less in free will,” she said. “Further studies by Baumeister and colleagues have linked a diminished belief in free will to stress, unhappiness, and a lesser commitment to relationships. They found that when subjects were induced to believe that “all human actions follow from prior events and ultimately can be understood in terms of the movement of molecules,” those subjects came away with a lower sense of life’s meaningfulness. Early this year, other researchers published a study showing that a weaker belief in free will correlates with poor academic performance……. The list goes on: Believing that free will is an illusion has been shown to make people less creative, more likely to conform, less willing to learn from their mistakes, and less grateful toward one another. In every regard, it seems, when we embrace determinism, we indulge our dark side.” (There’s No Such Thing as Free Will - But we’re better off believing in it anyway. Story by Stephen Cave Atlantic, JUNE 2016 ISSUE) Materialist ideology as a self-fulfilling prophecy Psychologies as Self-Fulfilling Prophecies It is true that the materialist ideology is purposeless. “We become what we think” – BuddhaSelf-fulfilling psychologies are realities - and should be considered in context of psychology theories – especially materialism and reductionism. One study: “Impression Formation” C.N. Macrae, S. Quadflieg, The term self-fulfilling prophecies refers to the observation that sometimes our beliefs about others can lead us to treat them in such a way that they subsequently become what we expect them to be. Originally, the effect was demonstrated in the classroom and called the ‘Pygmalion effect.’ The Materialist Worldview: Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 1942), an author and scientist states “The atheist [materialistic] ideology found a powerful ally in materialist science, which by the end of the nineteenth century, portrayed a purposeless, unconscious, mechanical universe where humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance.” (p.157) (Quotes from the Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative Experiences and Their Effects on Our Bodies, Brains, and Health, 2017 by Rupert Sheldrake) “Purposeless”, unfortunately, is true. The Boston University analysis of Social cognitive theory states that emotions and motivations are weaknesses. I had a biology PhD tell me that there is no meaning at all in life because science has demonstrated there is no perceivable purpose to the universe. That is a fallacy – same mistake Tolstoy made – equating “meaning” in his life to an ultimate purpose of creation in the universe. So, yes Sheldrake is correct: materialist ideology mandates that “humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance.” Iain McGilchrist, a British psychiatrist, scholar, philosopher and neuroscientist published the iconic 2009 book The Master and His Emissary, stated “An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world, has come about, reflecting, I believe, the unopposed action of a dysfunctional left hemisphere.” In other words, McGilChrist’s research basically links materialism with the over-dominance of the left hemisphere. It would stand to reason that the academic institution and schools would play a powerful role in conveying those un-values – primarily via unconscious norms and stereotypes - consistent with Bargh's research in the unconscious processes. Christina Maimone states, "Ideology is, as Mannheim uses the term, a mode of thought that obscures the real condition of society to the group holding the thought…. Groups are simply unable to see particular facts that would undermine their conception of the world… Ideology is most strongly associated with groups that have a dominant position in society. Their ideology serves to secure their place in the social order….” "Social science becomes an increasingly complex task when one realizes that social scientists themselves are firmly embedded in a social context and subject to ideological and utopian thought. My mode of thought will determine what questions I ask, how I define concepts, and what elements of the world my social reality obscures." Materialist academics are notorious for being close-minded to the point they absolutely refuse to hear the question or discuss alternatives. Brian D Josephson, a Nobel-prize winning quantum physicist who also believes that precognition and telepathy are hypothetical real possibilities, in his article, Religion in Genes (Nature, Vol 362, April 15, 1993) stated unequivocally that “With religion, focusing on the factuality or otherwise of religious belief similarly misses the point: the significant questions in this context relate to the functions and fruitfulness of religious beliefs.” “Dawkins criticizes religion on the grounds of apparent conflicts between religious beliefs and scientifically established facts.” That is, in a nutshell, scientists are fixated on the "supernatural." Josephson unequivocally states: "Emotive attitudes to religion have, it would seem, led to the neglect of important distinctions between science and expression of opinion in writings on the subject. I strongly urge the adoption of a more objective and insightful approach!" Dr Stephan Farra states that materialsits "prejudge" - which is very true. Dr Paul Wong agreed wikth my statemtn that "The system is broken!"
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