The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Wednesday, October 04, 2017

An Angry God

What if Jonathan Edwards was right? What if much of the world finds itself on the wrong end of the gun? This sure would go a long way toward explaining what has, heretofore, been unexplainable. Whether you give credence to conspiracy theories about alien abductions or not, it is hard to argue with the facts. Bad things just seem to happen to bad people more often than to good people, though it's not unheard of for bad things to happen to good people. Although much of traditional Christianity has painted a rather bleak landscape for the world at large, maybe there is something to the idea that the One who brought us biological life isn't happy with the way that certain of His/Her/Its/Their Creation has treated other members of the same Creation.

There was talk & in fact, somewhat of a hub-bub this past month, about the return of Planet X, AKA, 'Nibiru'. The theoretical 3600 year elliptical orbit of this as-yet undiscovered 'planet' has been the impetus of some conspiracy theorist's claims that the collision of this 'planet' with our Earth, at that time slightly larger & called 'Tiamat', was the biblical genesis of Life as we know it. Zecharia Sitchin is the main & most well-known proponent & progenitor of this seemingly 'outlandish' theory. If indeed this mysterious 'planet X' is out there, as ancient Sumerian texts seem to point to, according to Sitchin, then much of what we know about this marvelous universe might have a better explanation & much of what is beyond our grasp, what we can only speculate about right now, might be within our grasp: imagine that!

The Story of Genesis Creation has been rumored to reveal, first, a heavens & earth in the midst of chaos. Before we go any further, we must remember that, in the beginning [ there were ] no chapter & verse divisions. Secondly, then, Elohim ( for that is the Hebrew word used here ) brought order to this creation that was 'formless and void', thereby making it hospitable for human population. The Hebrew Scriptures then seem to make this Creator God something of a tyrant, luring His first subjects into a test that not many ( if any ) 'children' would pass, much less with flying colors. On top of that, there are numerous instances that scoffers love to quote, wherein this God, or YHWH, seems to, almost pettily, demand instant retribution for any offense. One of the more famous ( or is that 'infamous'? ) is when a member of the victorious returning Israelite army is struck down simply for touching something YHWH had said was untouchable: you can read the story in II Samuel 6.

The so-called 'New Testament', or the Greek & Aramaic Scriptures, seem to present us with a kinder, gentler God. You may have heard the saying; 'the New is within the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed'; although the terms 'New' & 'Old' maybe should not be used thusly, this statement is true in that the Hebrew Scriptures do foreshadow what was written after, most notably, the Gospel of the Jewish Messiah. Whether one takes under consideration the theory put forward by some, that the apostle Paul's letter to the Romans, for example, was orchestrated to relieve the Roman Emperor of his guilt, it should be clear that, from the beginning, this Jewish Messiah was promised & pre-figured in types & shadows throughout the so-called 'Old Testament', the Hebrew Scriptures.

Did Jesus calm His Father down when He came on the scene, as some have supposed, rather simplistically? The Creator God, or Elohim ( plural ) of the Hebrew Scriptures was almost undeniably blood-thirsty; just like many of the gods of the surrounding nations, this God seemed to be appeased by the shedding of innocent blood, though, unlike those other gods, He allowed for the innocent blood to come from an animal rather than a human. However, also foreshadowed in the Hebrew Scriptures ( Genesis 22 ), Jesus, as the Son of Man, fully human, yet fully God, according to the Creeds, sheds His own innocent blood to appease the justice of an angry God.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus labored to show His brethren that they had sadly miscalculated, not simply the true meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures, but the true nature of the Hebrew ( Creator ) God Himself. Even if the Greek & Aramaic Scriptures are purely metaphorical in nature, as some suggest, it must be said that, just as prophesied, the One promised from the beginning ( Genesis 3:15 ) was revealed to be the very Son of the Creator God. As the Son of God, in very fact, the Creator God Himself ( John 1:1-3 ), Jesus rose from the grave, thus drawing all men to Himself, in essence, showing them that they too could become as He was!

In the Hebrew Scriptures, Yahweh Himself proclaims, 'You are gods' ( Psalm 82:6 )! First of all, yes; in context, these words were written to the ( spiritual ) leaders of the Jewish, or Hebrew nation & secondly, Yahweh used a small 'g' rather than the large 'G' He reserved for Himself, right?! Well, actually, given the fact that 'He' used the same Hebrew 'elohiym' in both cases, I think it's safe to say the small 'g' versus large 'G' division is man-made & should therefore be put to rest.

'If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came', in the words of Jesus ( John 10:34 ), why do we find  it so hard to believe that we, like Jesus, are judges of the earth & Sons & Daughters of the Creator God in our own right: Jesus also said, don't forget, that those who followed Him would do 'greater things' ( John 14:12 )!

So, according to theory, notably, Zecharia Sitchin's, we are likely the product of some kind of genetic engineering: whether or not this is true, or even conscionable; it is clear that this marvelous biology was created & not just created, but designed by an intelligence beyond our human understanding! Even if the Creator God used lesser gods like the Anunnaki to engineer us, though that does seem rather far-fetched to most of us, would that really detract from the glorious fact that we were created thus? Because we are the products of Intelligent Design, we should know to treat others with the respect they deserve! Unfortunately, we do not, so the earth itself rumbles with her displeasure. Wars & rumors of wars have been almost a matter of fact on this planet for thousands of years. Still, we do not learn our lesson & so must keep repeating the same mistakes over & over again, seemingly, till we drive them into our thick skulls!

A Great Awakening is occurring as we speak! No, actually, maybe 'awareness' is a better way to put it; yes, more & more people are becoming aware, realizing that we have been bamboozled by centuries of religious indoctrination. Though we shouldn't discard all that we have learned through religion ( lest we 'throw out the baby with the bathwater' ), we are learning that much of what we have been taught as 'Gospel' is not, but is in fact, mere 'doctrines of men'.

Charles Haddon Shank

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