QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS ABOUT RELIGION
“Religion historian Martin S. Jaffee
answers questions about three of the world’s major religions—Christianity,
Islam, and Judaism—in this question-and-answer series. As a professor of
comparative religion and Jewish studies at the University of Washington inSeattle, Jaffee is uniquely qualified to discuss areas of commonality
among the three religions. For example, do all three believe in an afterlife?
Jaffee also explores Jewish mysticism and the origins of Christian baptism,
among a number of other issues.” Unedited
from here to the end from Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia
Questions and Answers about Religion
Q: Which religions
believe in an afterlife?
A: Virtually all known religious
traditions, whether monotheistic or polytheistic, whether the product of a
simple or complex society, share to some degree a common idea: that there is an
element of the human person that is independent of the physical body and
survives the body’s death. Religions differ dramatically, however, on how they
define this nonphysical aspect of the person, how they imagine its origin and
destiny, and the degree to which belief in this nonphysical aspect plays a role
in the daily lives of individuals.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
this aspect of the person is usually called the 'soul.' It is understood to be
the creation of God, sent into a physical body to serve the Creator and
destined to return to the Creator after the death of the body. At some points
in the history of each tradition, the fate of the soul has preoccupied the
lives of believers and led to great acts of self-denial with the goal of
lessening the body’s power over the soul and hastening the soul’s ascent to
God. At other times, particularly in the scientific culture that has dominated
much of the world since the 19th century, many forms of Christianity and
Judaism in particular have sought to redefine the nature of the soul in ways
compatible with modern psychological or moral theories.
Similarly, conceptions of the life of
the soul after death have undergone a variety of transformations. Each
tradition in its classical form imagines a final historical moral accounting in
which the souls of the dead are reunited with their former bodies in a mass
resurrection and are judged for eternal reward or punishment. Again, in modern
times, many Christian and Jewish communities have rejected such beliefs as unscientific.
But even in the 21st century, most Muslims, and many members of the more
'traditional' forms of Christianity and Judaism, continue to affirm the reality
of the soul's survival after death and the promise of a future judgment at the
time of the resurrection.
Q: How has the
practice of Judaism in the United States been affected by American culture?
A: Dozens of thoughtful books have
been written on this subject over the past 50 years. However, in this context
it is impossible to describe all the changes, large and small, that American
Jews of the past several generations have introduced into the ritual practices
and customs that their ancestors brought to North America.
Perhaps the most important change,
upon which so many other things depend, is the universal adoption by American
Jews of a typically 'American' concept of religion. That is, religion is a
matter of private conscience that can’t be regulated by the government; to
affiliate or not to affiliate with a religious community is a matter of
personal choice; and even one who joins a religious community is free to shape
its discipline to his or her own taste and needs.
The enormous diversity of religious
practices within and across the spectrum of 'organized' Jewish religious
communities embodies these principles. American Jews choose to be Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, New Age, or even 'secular' Jews; more
importantly, within those specific choices they craft and shape their lives in
accordance with a wide range of norms derived from the larger American culture
and interpreted through the filter of many forms of Jewish religious tradition.
I often tell my students that, in discussing American Judaism, almost anything
you can say about it will be true and false at the same time.
Here are three books I recommend on
American Judaism:
1. Glazer, Nathan. American Judaism.
2nd ed. University of Chicago Press, 1972.
2. Eisen, Arnold M. Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and
Community in America. Indiana UniversityPress, 1997.
3. Heilman, Samuel C. Portrait of
American Jews: The Last Half of the 20th Century. University of WashingtonPress,
1995.
Q: Are there any
precedents for Christian baptism?
A: Water is among the most universal
of religious symbols. Whether as rain, sea, pool, or flood, water's life-giving
and cleansing nature have made it a rich symbolic vehicle for ideas about
spiritual cleansing, rebirth, eternal life, and so on. Immersions in pools of
water or rivers for purposes of spiritual cleansing and renewal are known
throughout the world’s religions and often predate the emergence of the
monotheistic religions.
Christian baptism has its roots in
Jewish practices that originated in rules from the biblical Book of Leviticus.
A key assumption of that book is that contact with death, blood, certain bodily
fluids, certain kinds of animals, certain types of skin ailments, and so on
convey to men and women a condition of uncleanness. This uncleanness is not
“dirt” from a hygienic point of view. Rather, it is a pollutant that renders a
person incapable of approaching the place of divine worship until the pollutant
is removed by a ritual rinsing of the body.
In postbiblical times, the custom
emerged among Jews to use immersion pools for the purpose of such ritual cleansing.
Special cisterns have been found throughout Israel that were constructed for such immersion. Those entering these pools in
states of uncleanness emerged in purity. They could then make a pilgrimage to
the Temple in Jerusalem and enter it to offer sacrifices.
Christian baptism descends from this
Jewish idea of cleansing. Ancient Jews had already begun to see moral flaw as a
pollutant that could be washed away through immersion. Among early Christians,
baptism was seen as an act of penitence that cleansed a person from former
sins. More importantly, it came to be seen as a ritual that transformed a
person's relationship to God by conducting one into the community of those
saved by the sacrifice of God's son. Thus, in Christianity, the cleansing power
of water comes to represent the capacity of the soul to be purged of sin and
death and to be purified and transformed into a being awaiting eternal life.
Q: Do different
denominations use different versions or translations of the Bible?
A: The most important difference in
versions of the Bible is the difference between the Jewish and Christian
collections of Scripture. In Judaism, the term Bible refers to the 24 books that make up
what Christians call the Old Testament. These are ancient Jewish writings believed
to have been revealed directly to prophets such as Moses or to have been
inspired in the minds of later prophets, such as Jeremiah. Jews call these
books collectively by the title of Tanach, which is an
acronym for the Hebrew words for law,prophets,
and the writings—the three kinds of
books that make up the Hebrew Scriptures.
There was no Old Testament until the
2nd or 3rd century AD, when emerging Christian communities began to collect
their own authoritative writings that sought to interpret the meaning of the
life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. This emerging collection of writings was
understood to testify to a “new covenant” or “new testament” that God had
entered into with the church. Gradually the Christian scriptures themselves
came to be called theNew Testament, while the ancient Jewish scriptures
were called the Old Testament.
To this day, Christian editions of
the Bible include both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Jewish editions
contain only the Tanach. The term Old Testament is not used among Jews, since they do not recognize the authority of the
New Testament.
There are currently hundreds of
different English translations of the various versions of the Bible. The most
famous is the Authorized Version of King James from the 16th century. This
version is the basis of most Bible translations in use among Protestants. There
are a number of Bible translations that reflect Catholic interpretive
traditions, such as the Jerusalem Bible. Most Jewish communities prefer the
various translations published during the 20th century by the Jewish
Publication Society. All of these differ from one another in many subtle and
not so subtle ways. But that is a topic for another time.
Q: What is the
difference between a child baptism and an adult baptism? Is one more correct
than the other?
A: Baptism is one of the essential
rites for entry into the Christian community. Historically it has taken many
forms, from immersion of the entire body in water to anointing with a few
drops, and from a rite performed for infants to a ritual suitable only for
adults. From a comparative and historical perspective, there is no 'right' or
'better' form of baptism. The form preferred in a particular Christian
community depends upon the traditions that community regards as authoritative.
The ritual of immersion in water for
purposes of physical and moral cleansing has its roots in ancient Judaism. In
Christian tradition adult baptism in particular is linked to the activities of
John the Baptist and to Jesus' own baptism at the onset of his mission of
self-disclosure as the Savior. Most early Christians were baptized as adults
because they were adults when they converted to the new faith. As Christian
tradition developed in the first centuries of the church, however, it became
common to baptize infants, and adult baptism became rarer.
return to adult baptism is often
associated with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Groups such as
the Anabaptists, Baptists, and others held that entry into the Christian church
should be an act of conscious faith. Thus, they claimed, the rite could be
performed only for adults who could freely make a choice. In the contemporary
Christian community, all new converts must be baptized. The Catholic and
Orthodox churches still favour infant baptism, while the diverse Protestant
denominations continue to practice different customs.
Q: Does the word
“worship” in the original Hebrew have many different connotations?
A: The Hebrew word behind worship is avodah. In the Bible it refers almost
exclusively to the sacrificial worship of the God of Israel in the wilderness
Tent of Meeting or, later, in theJerusalem Temple. In later
Hebrew, avodah can be extended to other worshipful activities, such as prayer,
study of the Torah, and devoted performance of divine commandments. The word avodah comes from a root that means 'to
serve.' The word eved (slave or servant) comes from the same root. Thus, avodah is the service
of God in an attitude of devoted submission. This sense of worship echoes in
Christian and Islamic tradition as well. The Greek word leiturgos (which means “public service” or
“public servant”) is the source of the term 'liturgy,' the technical term for
worship in classical Christianity. And the common Islamic name Abd Ullah (or
Abdullah) simply means 'servant of God,' the Arabic term 'abd' being identical
to the Hebrew 'eved.'
Q: Where and what
did Jesus do during his 'missing years'? I see him as a normal guy—pondering,
praying and meditating. But, did he know what he was sent here for?
A: The four overlapping accounts of
Jesus’ life that are included in the New Testament are silent about the years
from Jesus' childhood through his baptism and the onset of his teaching
mission. However, early Christian communities produced and preserved other
collections of Jesus' teachings and accounts of his life that historians
usually refer to as non-canonical gospels—that is, documents used for Christian
preaching and worship that did not ultimately gain acceptance as part of the
New Testament. These do fill in some of the obvious gaps about Jesus' life.
But, since these non-canonical works
have not become accepted by Christians as a whole, their stories about the
'lost years' have not gained much acceptance. Also, historians have tended to
dismiss these stories as legends. It is always possible that some of these
non-canonical gospels preserve early Christian traditions about Jesus that were
for some reason excluded in the official gospels of the New Testament, but
there is little consensus about this among historians. A good place to look at
some of these fascinating materials is in a book edited by Ron Cameron called The Other Gospels, published by Westminster Press in 1982.
Q: Does Judaism
acknowledge any form of 'life' after death? If so, does it include 'rewards'
and 'punishments?”
A: If by 'Judaism' one means the 'Old
Testament' or 'Hebrew Scriptures,' then it is difficult to find a coherent
understanding of 'life after death' in Judaism. However, for well over 2,000
years most forms of Judaism have held rich conceptions of the eternal life of
the soul after its separation from the body, reward and punishment after death,
and the reuniting of the soul and body in a resurrection at the time of
messianic redemption and divine judgment. In virtually all cases, the beliefs
are linked to creatively interpreted Biblical proof-texts.
In ancient post-exilic Judaism, these
ideas are common in the Apocalyptic writings of Second Temple times (after 200
BC); in many of the Dead Sea Scrolls (ca. 140 BC-AD 66); in the writings of
Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria (e.g., the first century philosopher, Philo);
among the Pharisees (according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus);
and in the Rabbinic writings of the third to seventh century AD.
Indeed, medieval Jewish philosophy,
as represented by such figures as Maimonides (12th century) and Nahmanides
(13th century), and Jewish mysticism, as represented in the Zohar and other
writings (13th-18th century), held firmly to the belief in the eternal life of
the soul as well as rewards for righteousness and punishment after death for
the unrepentant wicked.
In the past two centuries or so, many
forms of Judaism that emerged among the modernizing Jews of Central and Western Europe have abandoned these beliefs, holding
them to be unnecessary to Judaism and without firm Biblical foundation.
Nevertheless, belief in an afterlife is deeply embedded in classical Jewish
sources and continues to be a firm conviction in all forms of contemporary
Orthodox Judaism.
In general, this statement from the
third-century AD Mishnah is a reliable guide: 'All Israelhas a share in the World to Come—except those who deny that the
resurrection of the dead is taught in the Torah.'
Q: Roman Catholics
and most Protestants differ on the breakdown and numbering of the Ten
Commandments. How do Jews distinguish the Ten Commandments?
A: The Ten Commandments appear in the
Torah in two slightly different versions. The first setting is the actual
revelation of the covenant at Sinai (Exodus 20:2-14). The second is in Moses'
summary of that event (Deuteronomy 5:6-18). In neither place are they actually
numbered. Throughout the history of Jewish and Christian interpretation,
therefore, scholars have struggled to divide the divine statements into ten
explicit propositions. In the Rabbinic tradition, which has defined Jewish
biblical interpretation for 2,000 years, the ten statements are usually
enumerated as follows (in the Exodus version). I paraphrase them for convenience.
Different English renderings may be
consulted in any reputable biblical translation:
1. I am the LORD your God who brought
you out of the Land of Egypt ... You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus
20:2-3)
2. You shall not make an image
(Ex.20:4-6)
3. You shall not take the name of the
LORD your God in vain (Exodus 20:7)
4. Remember the Sabbath (Exodus
20:8-11)
5. Honour your father and your mother
(Exodus 20:12)
6. Do not murder (Exodus 20:13)
7. Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:13)
8. Do not steal (Exodus 20:13)
9. Do not swear falsely against your
neighbour (Exodus 20:13)
10. Do not desire your neighbour’s
house, wife, or servant (Exodus 20:14)
Q: Why do
contemporary Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah? What is it about Jesus that
does not meet their expectations of a Messiah? What type of Messiah are Jewish
people looking for?
A: Christians often cite certain Old
Testament prophecy, such as Isaiah 53, as evidence that Jesus was the Messiah
that the Jews were awaiting. Christians believe that Jesus fulfilled other
Jewish symbolism in Abraham's offering of Isaac, Moses’ serpent on a pole, the
sacrificial system, the high priesthood and Passover.
The question is not really
“Why do Jews reject Jesus as the
Messiah?” but “Why have the great majority of Jews always rejected the
legitimacy of messianic claimants both prior to and since the career of Jesus
of Nazareth?”
As Jewish thinking about the biblical
prophetic texts has crystallized since the early Second Temple period (about
536 BC to AD 70) and in the generation since the destruction of the Jerusalem
Temple in AD 70, the standard expectations of the Messiah have come to include
the following:
* He must exemplify extensive
knowledge of rabbinic tradition.
* He must rule as king over a visible
empire in the land of Israel.
* He must preside over the
restoration of the Temple and its sacrifices.
* His era must witness the
restoration of all exiles.
* And so forth...
The accomplishments of all historical
messianic claimants, including Jesus, have failed to meet these expectations.
So, for most Jews in most times,
there simply isn't much of interest to discuss. It would be inappropriate to
engage in duelling proof-texts, since all messianic interpretations of
Scripture—Christian or Jewish—depend on already believing what the
interpretations set out to prove. It's a barren exercise and usually yields
nothing but bruised feelings. Christians and Jews would do much better trying
to simply live up to the high moral standards that each tradition embodies and
strives for.
Q: Having just
begun studying readings about the Kabbalah by Rav Berg, I am curious why this
area was unavailable to mainstream Judaism for so many years. I find many
answers to my questions concerning spirituality and the world. Can you explain
the reason for withholding so much valuable and relevant information?
Also, can you
direct me to further readings on the Kabbalah? Unfortunately, my Hebrew is
limited so I would have to read commentary or translations.
A: For most of its history, Jewish
mystical tradition, also known as Kabbalah ('tradition'), has been a form of
knowledge reserved to a highly selective intellectual and spiritual elite. Its
popularization among broader segments of Jewish society has been fairly recent,
since the 15th and 16th centuries.
Contemporary Hasidism has, since the
late 18th century, been the most common context in which kabbalistic ideas and
spirituality have been made available at a popular level. For most of the 19th
and 20th centuries kabbalistic learning was downplayed among central European,
western European, and North American Jews who were interested in modernizing
Judaism to conform with modern, scientific conceptions of the universe.
In more recent decades, especially in
the context of the general reorientation of North American culture toward inner
spirituality, Kabbalah has enjoyed a kind of resurgence among precisely the
sorts of Jews who once rejected it—those very closely in touch with the general
non-Jewish culture. It has, for many, become a 'route back' into Judaism.
Here are two helpful
works appropriate for the general reader:
Ariel, David S. The Mystic Quest: An Introduction to Jewish
Mysticism. Schocken, 1992.
Matt, Daniel C. The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish
Mysticism. HarperCollins, 1994.
Q: Is it true that
in the earliest period of Judaism (before the Babylonian captivity), there was
no notion of a 'messiah' because the Jewish people had no need for a mediator
between God and mankind?
A: Actually, the notion of Messiah
does in fact date to the pre-Exilic period, but Jewish notions of Messiah do
not include the role of a 'mediator' between God and humanity.
The Hebrew word for messiah,
mashiakh, refers in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) and many
early prophetic writings to a person anointed with oil to serve as a
representative of the community before God. This could be a priest, as in the
book of Leviticus; a king, such as David; or even a prophet. During the Second Temple, or postexilic, period, the
concept of Messiah was expanded to include a figure—either priestly or
royal—who, at the end of time, would come to restore Israel to its land and establish a divine
kingdom.
Jews during this time seem to have
acknowledged more than a few candidates for this role, and Jesus was one such
candidate. But the idea that he is a mediator between God and humanity, sent
for the forgiveness of sin and the conquest of death, is a Christian one and is
not a part of Jewish messianic ideas.
Q: What is the
meaning of postmodernism in Christian theology?
A: Postmodernism is a recent
intellectual movement that has affected many fields of humanistic learning,
including philosophy, literary criticism, history, and theology. There is no
single definition of postmodernism. In general, it is characterized by a
suspicion or outright rejection of the claims of 'modern' thought (that is, the
main Western intellectual tradition since the 18th century) to provide
objective, unbiased truth about the world and human nature. For many postmodernists,
objectivity is impossible, and any claims to the objectivity of scientific
knowledge often mask deeply political motives for power.
Postmodern Christian thought tends to
react against the modernist trends of Protestant and Catholic theology that
sought to accommodate Christian belief to the 'objective' truths of the natural
and human sciences. Thus modernist Christian thinkers sought to revise
scriptural conceptions of the age of the world with scientific models of the
origins of the Universe. Or they sought to revise understandings of scriptural
events in light of modern literary, historical, and archaeological research.
Postmodern Christian thinkers question the modern 'faith in objectivity' and
point to the shifting versions of truth recommended by historical changes in
science itself. Many are especially critical of the institutional structures
inherited from Christian modernism, which in their view continue to harbor
distinct vices of modernism in general, such as nationalism, racism, and sexism,
all of which, at some moment or other, have been defended as scientific,
objective points of view.
Although Christian postmodernists
question many scientific perspectives on scriptural truth, they are not
fundamentalists. From a postmodern perspective, fundamentalism is a modernist
movement. That is, it accepts scientific models of objectivity and simply
claims that the Bible is the truth about science.
Q: Why are there
three different Sabbaths in the three monotheistic religions?
A: It is commonly said that the
Jewish Sabbath falls on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), the Christian
Sabbath on the first day of the week (Sunday), and the Muslim Sabbath on
Friday. This is, however, a misconception.
The root of the question is the
biblical institution of resting from all labor on the seventh day of the week
in commemoration of the divine rest on the seventh day of creation. This
Sabbath (from Hebrew shabbat, meaning
“ceasing”) became in later Judaism a day devoted not only to very strict
restrictions on creative work, but also to study of the Torah and extended
feasting and public worship. Contemporary forms of Judaism still honor the
seventh day, from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, as a special time.
From the first Christian century onward,
as Christianity developed its consciousness as a biblically based religion
distinct from Judaism, the question was asked: Are Christians bound by the
commandment to observe the Jewish Sabbath? Most forms of Christianity have
answered in the negative. Early on, the first day of the week became a
preferred time for public Christian religious celebration. Since Christ was
believed to have risen from death on a Sunday, this day became known as the
Lord’s Day. It gradually attracted to itself much of the reverence that the
Sabbath enjoyed in Judaism.
In Islam, there is strictly speaking
no formal day of rest comparable to the Jewish Sabbath or the Christian Lord’s
Day. It became common custom in the first Islamic century, however, for Friday
to serve as a day of obligatory public prayer. To this day, in Islamic
settings, the Friday noon prayer service in the mosque is a major weekly event.
Q: An increasing
number of people use the word ‘spiritual’ in place of ‘religious.’ What, in
your opinion, is the difference between the two terms?
A: In the history of Christian
theology there was a time in which the terms spiritual andreligious were virtual synonyms. Both
represented inner attitudes of faith that opposed 'worldliness.' Indeed, in
medieval Roman Catholic tradition, the word religious did not apply to all Christians baptized into the Church. Rather, it was
used specifically in reference to those who chose a 'spiritual' life of
asceticism and prayer, usually in a monastery or a convent. These were the
'religious,' as opposed to other Christians who married, pursued their varied
livelihoods and enjoyed other forms of 'secular' life.
The contemporary sense that
'religion' and 'spirituality' are somehow at odds is not new; it has a
genealogy going back to the Protestant Reformation. Many Reformers attacked
Catholicism's conception of 'religion' as opposed to 'worldliness,' and sought
to turn worldly activity itself into a divine calling, a witness for
'spirituality.' Thus in Protestant countries, monasteries and convents were
abandoned.
Present usages of the terms
'spirituality' and 'religion' reflect this tradition. 'Religion' is seen as a
body of imposed rules and dogmas that often smothers the natural 'spirituality'
of human nature. This 'spirituality' is conceived in a variety of ways that
cannot be summarized easily. But it commonly appears as an inner sense of
connectedness to the ultimate forces of reality that lead to psychic wholeness
and other forms of inner strength. 'Religion,' in this view, tries to constrain
'spirituality' by packaging it in received formulas. Even contemporary
Catholics and Jews often speak the language of 'spirituality,' finding that
their 'religions' offer ample room for exploring the inner life of the divine.
Q: Do any religions
not believe in ascending upward after death?
A: If we stay within my own area of
familiarity, I would say that classical Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe
in both an upward ascent (of some souls to Heaven) and a downward descent (of
some souls to Hell). In the Hebrew Bible ('Old Testament'), however, it is very
difficult to find an explicit statement of an upward ascent to Heaven after the
soul leaves the body. There are, however, ample references to those who
'descend to Sheol' after death. Sheol is conceived as a shadowy nether world
whose inhabitants are somehow cut off from communication with the God of
Israel.
Microsoft
® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez has neither
subtracted nor added a single word, phrase, clause or sentence to these
depositions just to emphasise the historical derailment of authentic
Christianity that has eventually demonised the version of spiritual fellowship
the whole world had been condemned to since Roman pagans took over from Saul of
Tarsus. Now, if I may ask this question that has bugged me;
MY
BROTHERS & SISTERS, WHICH RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS, WORDS,
TRADITIONS
OR EVIDENCE ARE TRULY GENUINE?
Religious symbols
have been borrowed across cultures and religious boundaries for centuries that
they rarely mean same things to a variety of fanatical followers or worshippers
of the plethora of religions and denominations in our present world. How do we
penetrate centuries of historical distortions of the originals to define the
pristine truths from nature and established by our Creator so that we can
arrive at the most objective version that is egalitarian, humane and applicable
in all cultures, time and clime for world peace?
--Dr
J. K. Danmbaezue, PG Student (1981) Asked after the Rev Jones/Guyana Mass
Religious Suicide.
“Religion was/is a
superstitious search by humanity for its origin, existence, meaning and
relevance before the scientific era. The search was led by acclaimed sages
among the elders of a community who defined its theories and practices. It is
later ratified and recommended for legislation and implementation by state
apparatus by convincing stratagem or coercion by politico-religious
leaders. Thereafter, it is fine tuned and administered by ordained
priests and priestesses who hand it down along ancestral lineages from one
generation of lukewarm adherents, fanatics and mystics to another. Gradually,
strong personalities emerge claiming divine appointment and so pull strong
followers who idolise them as role models with supernatural powers. This
obsession confirms them as beacons of adulation and finally leads to full scale
idolatry.” Or,
put in another fashion, how can we be certain that the doctrines and dogmas we
hold on to today were/are not merely fake theories from the past. In short, how
do we sift truth from human beliefs, myths, legends and/or fables forged and
fabricated by sages of old or demagogues whose objectives were merely
manipulating the masses of their generation into reverencing and/or obeying
them sheepishly? This is the task before all of us. It is the only way to
arrive at ONE WORLD RELIGION. That is Integrational Spiritan Movement, led by
the Holy Spirit of the Genuine Creator we all ought to worship! A.k.a
KENEZIANISM.
--Rev.
Prof. J. J. Kenez, D.Sc. (2001) the Vessel of the Holy Spirit of the Creator of
the Universe.
Religion, which is
superstition sanctioned by the state, is actually an addiction to man-made
doctrines and dogmas invented, patented and copyrighted by a few demagogues.
·
It enslaves the mind more than
psychoactive drugs,
·
Benumbs human creativity and
resourcefulness thereby
·
Restricting the development of the
human potential and capital.
It is the main cause
of poverty of the mind and underdevelopment of third world countries as its
side-effects are indolence, redundancy, laziness and dependence on finished
products and services. In the final analysis, it is the predisposing factor to
lack of initiative, debilitating ignorance, fetish belief-systems, abject
poverty and perennial ill-health.
Perhaps its only advantage is that
it makes the polity docile and amenable to the whims and caprices of their
oppressive leaders. Often, it hoodwinks its adherents into believing that ‘The
God’ or ‘the gods’ they worship speak to them through the voices of their
egocentric clerics who therefore can conveniently exploit them to satisfy their
demonic desires of sensual pleasure and inordinate ambitions of amassing
wealth. Their wanton indulgence in gluttony, wine and women is seen in every
action and definitely this is the foolproof evidence of their demonic
genealogy.
The fallacy of HUMAN CONCEPTS OF THE ULTIMATE CREATOR AND WHAT HE DEMANDS OF ALL OF US is similar to the verdicts of the four blind men who went on an excursion to know what the elephant looked like. But in our case in religious buffoonery, it is not the personal verdicts of the first set of the blind men that we hold on to; that unfortunately is the tragedy of current day Religionists and the breeding ground for puerile bigotry, fanaticism, doctrines, dogmas, crusades and jihads. It is futile to not only believe the verdicts of the earliest FOUR BLIND MEN who were actually wrong but psychotically paranoid to swallow the bastardised versions handed down by degenerate grandsons of those cowardly and shameless blind men who never made the trip at all! So many blind religious leaders do not even set out to make the trip! Rather, they are satisfied by propagating what other blind men heard from the original four blind men that really touched the elephant. So it is that a thousand interpretations of what the wise explorers concluded is now bandied about what the original elephant looked and still looks like. The Elephant in his majesty refuses to say a word! Why, you may ask! It is unnecessary; for the glory, majesty and truths about the true worship of Our Almighty Creator abound in Nature and the Sane Human Beings observe them on a daily and hourly basis 365 days every year! Only the blind do not want to see the Natural and Eternal Laws he engraved into each macrocosm and microcosm He has made and given to all His Creations to share. We are equal heirs to His Infinite Love!
Every individual nature is part of the cosmos. To live virtuously means to live in accord with one's nature, to live according to the natural and eternal laws the designer of the universe intended by employing truth and right reason in all we do. Because passion and emotion are considered irrational movements of the soul, the wise individual seeks to eradicate the passions and consciously embrace the rational life. “True law is right reason in agreement with Nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions. . . . There will not be different laws at different countries or communities, or different laws now and in the future, BUT ONE ETERNAL AND UNCHANGEABLE LAW WILL BE VALID FOR ALL NATIONS AND FOR ALL TIMES.” The laws governing all living things; birth, growth, respiration, movement, nutrition, excretion, reproduction and finally death hold sway in every place on planet earth under normal temperature and pressure. Humans have the same anatomy and physiology despite our differing languages, child-rearing practices, skin colour, racial differences and social statuses. We are the offspring of the Almighty Creator of the macrocosms and microcosms we share. Our survival in our variety of physical environment follows the same laws. No man is an island. We need each other!
Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez also contends that natural laws are sacrosanct for they were made by the Almighty Architect and Engineer who created every being on planet; EARTH. They are divine and eternal; because they are universal and are no respecters of places and times of birth, parentage, race, educational level or religion! There are so many self-evident examples; the movement of the sun and moon regulate the hours of day, night, weeks, months and years; so also do gravity, temperature, pressure, emotion, motivation, conception, pregnancy, labour and birth regulate family life. If anyone disagrees, let him provide evidence to the contrary. The founders of HAPPY FAMILY NETWORK, INTEGRATIONAL SPIRITAN MOVEMENT AND FINALLY FAMILY LIFE COLLEGE, therefore, posit that human slavery, in whatever form it is used to deny any Homo sapiens and others their fundamental human rights, was/is and will forever remain illegal! Caste systems must be abrogated both in civil and religious circles all over the world to arrive at;
The fallacy of HUMAN CONCEPTS OF THE ULTIMATE CREATOR AND WHAT HE DEMANDS OF ALL OF US is similar to the verdicts of the four blind men who went on an excursion to know what the elephant looked like. But in our case in religious buffoonery, it is not the personal verdicts of the first set of the blind men that we hold on to; that unfortunately is the tragedy of current day Religionists and the breeding ground for puerile bigotry, fanaticism, doctrines, dogmas, crusades and jihads. It is futile to not only believe the verdicts of the earliest FOUR BLIND MEN who were actually wrong but psychotically paranoid to swallow the bastardised versions handed down by degenerate grandsons of those cowardly and shameless blind men who never made the trip at all! So many blind religious leaders do not even set out to make the trip! Rather, they are satisfied by propagating what other blind men heard from the original four blind men that really touched the elephant. So it is that a thousand interpretations of what the wise explorers concluded is now bandied about what the original elephant looked and still looks like. The Elephant in his majesty refuses to say a word! Why, you may ask! It is unnecessary; for the glory, majesty and truths about the true worship of Our Almighty Creator abound in Nature and the Sane Human Beings observe them on a daily and hourly basis 365 days every year! Only the blind do not want to see the Natural and Eternal Laws he engraved into each macrocosm and microcosm He has made and given to all His Creations to share. We are equal heirs to His Infinite Love!
Every individual nature is part of the cosmos. To live virtuously means to live in accord with one's nature, to live according to the natural and eternal laws the designer of the universe intended by employing truth and right reason in all we do. Because passion and emotion are considered irrational movements of the soul, the wise individual seeks to eradicate the passions and consciously embrace the rational life. “True law is right reason in agreement with Nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions. . . . There will not be different laws at different countries or communities, or different laws now and in the future, BUT ONE ETERNAL AND UNCHANGEABLE LAW WILL BE VALID FOR ALL NATIONS AND FOR ALL TIMES.” The laws governing all living things; birth, growth, respiration, movement, nutrition, excretion, reproduction and finally death hold sway in every place on planet earth under normal temperature and pressure. Humans have the same anatomy and physiology despite our differing languages, child-rearing practices, skin colour, racial differences and social statuses. We are the offspring of the Almighty Creator of the macrocosms and microcosms we share. Our survival in our variety of physical environment follows the same laws. No man is an island. We need each other!
Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez also contends that natural laws are sacrosanct for they were made by the Almighty Architect and Engineer who created every being on planet; EARTH. They are divine and eternal; because they are universal and are no respecters of places and times of birth, parentage, race, educational level or religion! There are so many self-evident examples; the movement of the sun and moon regulate the hours of day, night, weeks, months and years; so also do gravity, temperature, pressure, emotion, motivation, conception, pregnancy, labour and birth regulate family life. If anyone disagrees, let him provide evidence to the contrary. The founders of HAPPY FAMILY NETWORK, INTEGRATIONAL SPIRITAN MOVEMENT AND FINALLY FAMILY LIFE COLLEGE, therefore, posit that human slavery, in whatever form it is used to deny any Homo sapiens and others their fundamental human rights, was/is and will forever remain illegal! Caste systems must be abrogated both in civil and religious circles all over the world to arrive at;
· ONE ALMIGHTY CREATOR, ONE CREATED UNIVERSE, ONE
HUMAN FAMILY, ONE GLOBAL FAITH and ONE
MODE OF WORSHIP; which is our creed
· SERVICE TO HUMANITY INTERNATIONALLY; is the
lifestyle of all bona-fide members,
· LOYALTY TO THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH; in every thought,
word or deed is our international social ethics &
· OBEDIENCE TO ALL THE NATURAL & ETERNAL LAWS OF
THE CREATOR; is our gospel worldwide.
If you want to be a
foundation member of the board of directors for this all-inclusive humanitarian
FAMILY LIFE COLLEGE send us a proposal of what you can contribute and attach a
brief CV, your contact addresses and a current passport sized photo of
yourself.
Revolutionary
Professor Jideofo Jude Kenez, D. Sc.
International
Animator of Integrational Spiritan Movement (ISM) Tel: 0803-9097614
Composed
from 03:07:
55 on 11th March 1990 to Monday 30/08/2010 @ 02:08:28 HRS GMT.
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ALL
THE WEBSITES OF MEMBERS OF KENEZ FAMILY
1. www.happyfamilynetwork.hpage.com
4. http:wwwrenascentigborel.blogspot.com
The subtitles for
the second, the third & the sixth in case they are difficult to find are;
GOOGLE
URL PROFILES SITE FOR DR KENECHUKWU DANMBAEZUE
LINKEDIN
PROFILE ADDRESS/NUMBER
For 6 and 7 websites, after getting the
opening page, search for SIDE BAR, click it and click RECENT SITE
ACTIVITY to see my entries therein. Difficult, Email me!
MISSION
STATEMENT
KENEZIANISM or ISM
is founded on the discovery of all the natural and eternal laws in creation and
full obedience to all of them. In brief, Kenezians worship the Absolute Truth
wherever it is found; on, below or above the earth! Tell, Live, Propagate and
Die for the Truth! This principle and only this lifestyle guide the true sons
and daughters of the Almighty Creator of the universe!
Dr.
Jideofo Kenechukwu Danmbaezue a.k.a. Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez, D.Sc.
The Humble Vessel of
the Holy Spirit of the Almighty Creator of the Universe
1. The causes of depersonalisation syndromes in human
beings are obscure, and there is no specific treatment for it. When the symptom
arises in the context of another psychiatric condition, clinicians opt for
treatment that is aimed at that particular mental illness and gradually attempt
to re-integrate the patient into one self-actualising individual over a long
period of psychotherapy sessions.
2. In our study, however, no post-independence
indigene realised that s/he even had a depersonalisation problem. That is the
irony of the scenario. Abnormality here disappears as more than 99 % of the
population are immersed in it. In our research efforts on depersonalisation among formerly colonised peoples,
we intend to bring to consciousness the subtle and bizzarre conditions it
thrives on and then explain the hurdles that one who is immersed in two
contrasting cultures must deal with.
3. Just like the patient in my clinic who perceives
his/her body or self as being odd, unreal, strange, altered in quality or
quantity, the colonised citizens of a country that has recently won its
independence have generalised identity crises. This state of self-estrangement
may take the form of feeling as if one is a robot designed by dissimilar
architects and constructed by two unfamiliar engineers who studied in different
universities.
4. The ex-colonialist is living in a dream world.
Psychologically, s/he has been uprooted half-way from her/his sociocultural
milieu and transplanted into unfamiliar territories. Having little or no time
for the transition, s/he is not in control and may never be in real control
of the environment both physically and emotionally. Here is when, how and
where the wisdom of our elders comes in. Most post-colonial literates are never
masters of their intellectual faculties. In short, one is not in control of
one's actions.
5. De-realisation is another variant of the problems
faced in this scenario. The feelings of unreality concerning objects outside
oneself occurs at the same time as they occur in mental life.
Post-colonial depersonalisation may occur alone in neurotic persons but is more
often associated with phobic, anxiety or depressive symptoms emanating from
learned haphazard inculturation processes.
6. This variant commonly occurs in younger men
and women and may persist for many years after political independence has been
won. This group finds the experience of depersonalisation intensely difficult
to describe and often fear that others will think them insane. As with
other neurotic syndromes, we see many different symptoms of regressive
behaviour than depersonalisation alone.(Culled from my
1981 UNIBEN Ph.D. thesis proposal relating to the Psychopathology of Fanaticism)
KENEZIAN
THERAPEUTICS FOR POST-COLONIAL CITIZENS
1. Since
peoples of African descent all over the world face similar
socioeconomic and psycho-political challenges, we need to form a consortium of
eggheads who will strive to create better futures for our descendants. If the
earlier international cooperation and shared strategies for bringing about
social change are the legacies of the founders and protagonists of
Pan-Africanism, what are the present generations of African intellectuals
waiting for?
2. The
only vehicle that transmitted the culture of a people prior to colonial
policies is today excised by the current craze of nursery and kindergarten
education given to our children in urban cities. None of the urban urchins ever
learns or will ever know the traditional folklores or idioms that our ancestors
used to teach morals to the youths!
3. Even
among parents who were the beneficiaries of university education, no one makes
the effort to nip in the bud the enslavement of his/her children to these
depersonalisation antics used by their erstwhile colonial masters that caused
this estrangement to authentic African culture. Some children are even barred
from speaking their mother tongue, so that they will be more fluent in the
foreign one. Even in the rural areas, misguided youths brag about their
acquisition of foreign accents and inability to pronounce native names! This is
a disaster! It is a shame!
4. The
modern African literary writer thus only uses tradition as subject matter
rather than as a means of affecting continuity with past cultural practices.
The relationship between oral and written traditions and in particular between
oral and modern written literatures is one of great complexity and not a matter
of simple evolution. Modern African literatures were born in the educational
systems imposed by colonialism, with models drawn from Europe rather
than existing African traditions.
5. These
halfway measures must stop if we aspire at reclaiming what has been lost
through many decades of colonial domination by the whites. We cannot afford the
luxury of aping them in everything we do or depend on finished products and
services from developed economies. To institutionalise therapeutic measures
will be difficult until Africans realise the depth of mental enslavement all of
us are in!
6. One
social area where we are still mentally enslaved that has refused us
independence is RELIGION. Only Professor Chinua Achebe identified this factor
early and bemoaned its affront on the culture of his people: “That night the Mother of the Spirits walked the
length and breadth of the clan, weeping for her murdered son. It was a terrible
night. Not even the oldest man in Umuofia had ever heard such a strange and
fearful sound, and it was never to be heard again. It seemed as if the very
soul of the tribe wept for a great evil that was coming – its own death.”
7. It
was and still is a tragedy that despite our high-sounding academic degrees and
literary prizes won at international circles, the majority of Africans who
studied abroad as well those at home are still victims of depersonalisation and
de-realisation syndromes! Like the earlier attempts at Pan-Africanism, the
present crops of intellectuals from independent African nations, owe it a duty
to their children and posterity to fashion indigenous curricula that can douse
the raging flames of neo-colonialism sweeping across the nations of Africa.
8. In
my practice before I resigned from the NIGERIAN AIR FORCE HOSPITAL IN KANO,
I had the displeasure of handling a neurotic with auditory hallucinations that
the CIA was following him everywhere and every plane that flies over our
hospital was their handiwork. This writer, a consultant clinical psychologist,
is calling on all who have benefited from tertiary education to deploy what
they acquired for the liberation of our kith and kin that do not realise that
they are still mentally colonised! Here, I rest my case!
FOR A COMPLETE ANALYSES BASED ON
EXPERIENCE, SEEK FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE 664-PAGE BOOK; PSYCHOMETRIC FAMILY
COUNSELLING; AND LEARN HOW SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES FOR LASTING MARRIAGES HAVE
BEEN DEVELOPED; e-mail; saintkenez@yahoo.co.uk .
THIS IS MERELY AN OVERVIEW, a statement of the problem and the pathway to follow so we can eventually arrive at ONE WORLD RELIGION THAT WILL DETHRONE A LASTING PEACE INCUR BELEAGUERED, CRISIS , FANATICAL WORLD, DESPITE OUR ADVANCES IN SCIENCES, THE INTERNET AND HUMAN MEDICINE.
ReplyDeleteWhy are we still toddlers in religion ? WE ARE SHEEPISHLY FOLLOWING DOCTRINES AND DOGMAS THAT LACK LOGIC, SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS THAT MODERNITY DICTATES, simply pouring NEW, SOPHISTICATED, WINES, OPIUM, SEDATIVES, COCAINE etc. etc INGO THE BRAINS OF OUR CHILDREN! For how long must unguarded Moses and Mohamed hold US ranmson with their uneducated guesswork on social ethics? ? ? type into Google Search, dither of these websites, INTEGRATIONAL SPIRITAN MOVEMENT, 2. RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION. 3. THE PRINCIPLES OF KENEZIANISM or finally AN INTRODUCTION TO RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION to see more than 250 excellent dissertations THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT OF THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE HAS GRACIOUSLY DICTATED TO THIS HUMBLE VESSEL that can guarantee A LASTING GLOBAL PEACE IN OUR DIGITISED GLOBAL VILLAGE ! ! ! Email me. saintkenez@yahoo.co.uk. or alternatively. agunabu1948@gmail.com
PLEASE, HELP ME CORRECT, TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS CAUSED BY GALAXY AUTOMATIC MACHINE the worst being. DETHRONING. instead of ENTHRONING, there are so many ..forgive me, but READ BETWEEN THE LINES, FOLLOW THE LOGIC OFMMY DISSERTATION, please moo o
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