Guest guest Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Namaste, The Bible or collection of books was rewritten by Ezra circa 4-500 BC. and it was also rewritten again by the Hasmoneans c150 BC. Since then it has been edited by Jewish Scribes and Christians, but the teaching myth is intact spiritually even if it is far from history..S And the voice which I heard from heaven said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. Rev 10:8 k j v HOW TO READ A BOOK Q: "How do I read the Bible in a nondual way?" When I was in graduate school one of the teaching assistants suggested I consider a book by Mortimer Adler entitled How to Read a Book. I was not happy to think that the guy thought I needed remedial help in this area, but I read the book anyway. Adler's approach was to read a book as though it were a love letter, which is to say: frequently, between the lines, and with intense curiosity. To avoid having the tail wag the dog, I would not advise that anyone set out to read in a nondual way. Nonduality is a dawning realization that God is One, All-in-All, and there is no other. (Some would point to Satan as the opposite of God, but this is mistaken. Satan, literally 'the accuser,' is the developed character of Lucifer, an 'angel of light,' God's chief musician, who fell from favor after willfully attempting mutiny -- see Isa 14:12-17; perhaps you, too, have noticed anarchy in the arts. I went to art school and studied anarchy. But this all sounds rather Greek.) The point is, that as we begin to suspect that only good is real, we will begin to notice glimpses in scripture that are indicative of this fact. For example: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1John1:5) So, where, then, is sin, and pain, and death? Where does darkness 'go' when the light comes on? Why do we observe no contest between these apparent entities? Does Johnny's miscalculation, that 6+7=15, disrupt the harmonic laws of mathematics when he writes it on his homework paper? Will 'my' sin, pain, death confuse God about the nature of Creation? Can sin derail God's handiwork? Some have termed this 'theodicy,' the problem of evil. Job didn't need a fancy word. He knew sore boils hurt. Yet he also knew he didn't deserve them because he was tight with God, and this couldn't be God's doing, or nature. Job was confident of his own righteousness and innocence. Perhaps he was standing on his rights rather than on his duties. (Why is it, that we claim our entitlements more eagerly than we accept our responsibilities?) At any rate, Job eventually came to see that the problem of evil was not his to solve. It was not about him. It was beyond him. We might say that he awoke to restoration, as from a bad dream about God's nature and their relationship. He let go of ego, and confusion, and of the perceptions of others. In some respects we see Job reborn. And as we do, we awake. And that is the effect of nondual contemplation. Are you born again? Have you read from God's love letter, The Bible, lately? When Jesus told Nicodemus that he (and we) must be born again, he was pointing to the Great Guru, God. Literally, the text says you must be re-spermed, ("you must be born of water and of the spirit," of spiritual water, an idiom for divine sperm; see John 3:5) but you won't hear that language in church. He was telling us that we need to be re-Fathered. We need to re-conceive ourselves as children of God, with all of the rights and responsibilities. We need to come home for God's instruction, and sit quietly reading the love letter. Are you ready for one-on-one Sunday School on a daily basis? Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto ME, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto ME: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. -Isa 55:1-3 [emphasis added]. Chaffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 , "saktidasa" <saktidasa> wrote: > > > Namaste, > > The Bible or collection of books was rewritten by Ezra circa 4-500 > BC. and it was also rewritten again by the Hasmoneans c150 BC. Since > then it has been edited by Jewish Scribes and Christians, but the > teaching myth is intact spiritually even if it is far from history..S > > <courtesy snip> god's infinite mercy The holy book of books Is being written Always So That the blind Can read it The deaf Can hear it And it's scent Can pervade The anosmic's Being It is hidden Yet revealed In the silence Of the dervish's emptied heart It is Water upon water It is Love Becoming Forget your books, ya Yosy, Stick with me, And dance! Yosy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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