Protestantism

» pink101 - Rabbi explains Shekina

In response to Rabbi explains Shekina posted by Migisi:
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The Shekina Glory of God--God's feminine side.
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When God created the heavens and all that is in it, logic tells us that God has to be outside the creation--apart from the creator.
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But, there were sparks and all kinds of left overs of God when the separation took place. What was left is the Shekina Glory of God.
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Have you read about the Rabbi in Spain who began the doctrines of the Skekina for his sect?
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It is an amazing story of men, once a year, meeting outside their villages, towns, and cities and staying up all night begging the Shekina to come to them.
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It makes me think of the Succubus.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Tis ...Tis... This

In response to Tis ...Tis... This posted by redback:
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From your linked article:
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"This means that it is possible for Jesus, according to his human essence, to grow, learn, die, etc. and according to his Divine essence to perform miracles, create from nothing, etc."
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If true, then the apostles also had both the human essence and the Divine essence, since they too were able to perform miracles.
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Here's a list: http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/... - (see Number and Variety of Physical Miracles in the Acts of the Apostles).
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But - would the presumption that they possessed the 'Divine essence' through their miracle-working mean that they too were also ~parts~ of the Godhead, as Christians claim Jesus is/was? That would mean that God is comprised of 14 parts... Jesus, the Holy Spirit, eleven apostles (minus Judas), and Paul. But wait, Jesus appointed 70 (or 72) more disciples to miraculously heal the sick... (Luke 10)
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Adding it up, God is starting to look like a 100 piece jigsaw puzzle. (wink)

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Rabbi explains Shekina

In response to Rabbi explains Shekina posted by pink101:
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It makes me think of the Succubus.
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Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Rabbi and his cult members, their wives have gathered across town and are begging for the Incubus to come to them. Tee hee.
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Superstitious people are a riot.
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I found this interesting:http: The Religion of the Goddess http://www.fellowshipofisis.com/religionofgoddess.html
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"The mythology of all antiquity is full of female as well as male deities. The Hebrews and many of their neighbouring nations, worshipped the Queen of Heaven; the Phoenicians adored Astarte; the Ssythians, Apia; and the Scandanavians, Frigga, the consort of Odin. Wherever female deities have obtained a place in the region of a people, it is a sign that women are of some consequence; for we find in those modern nations where women are held in the most despicable light, that even their deities are all of the masculine gender." (The History of Women, Dr. Alexander)
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Jesus referred to 'wisdom' in the feminine; "...But wisdom is justified of her children." (or ' her actions'- NIV; Matt 11:19, Lk 7:35 says 'of ~all~ her children'.)

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Rabbi explains Shekina

In response to Rabbi explains Shekina posted by Migisi:

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Check out Rabbi Isaac Luria the man who founded Lurianic Judaism.
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You can put his name and Shekina in your search engine.
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You will be rewarded.
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-- posted by pink101

» redback - Bible101

In response to Bible101 posted by BrianTubbs:

Hi Brian...I'm not the one video challenged...but my computer is. For some reason, the video stops and starts a half word or half frame at a time...gives up entirely before the sentence is out...before 20% of the video has run. If I wait too long to see if it then works (I'm on dial-up) I get booted off the internet.

So, when I persevere here, I aint exaggerating!

When we look to an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God...it's not clear why we have to divvy Him up into 3 parts for that to make better sense...and do that without diluting the sense of each omni and the global omnis.

You're suggesting Ravi does a better job in this than Francis, so I'll persevere.

-- posted by redback

» redback - Tis ...Tis... This

In response to Tis ...Tis... This posted by Migisi:

Jeff: "There can be countless manifestations of God but Biblically they all slip into the 'one true version' of a paternalistic sole God...God must be male."

Migisi: "That would depend on whether one accepts that version."

I was alluding to the Christian God the Father, God the Son...within contemporary Bibles and not to any version I may prefer. Is there any religious group currently believing in God the Mother, God the Daughter...and why should that be problematic for faith in any event?

But I have some idea that Eve or God has claimed intellectual property rights to what have been popularised in folklore as 'feminine traits'...their wiles, their intuition etc. By the time the naturally slower thinking man "woke up" to the idea of registering these rights, all the best feel-good ones had gone. So, the blokes re-wrote the Bible along the lines you refer to...to make up lost ground...thousands of years too late?

"...It's worth reading in its entirety, IMO."

I'll check out the link. I'm reminded that somewhere in my childhood, the Holy Spirit was referred to as the Holy Ghost. Many of these Bible changes are benign it seems to me but combined do they change the tone?
In my fruitless search for an off-camera Ravi, I read God provided just enough to give us hope and left out just enough to make us think...or words to that effect.

-- posted by redback

» pink101 - Jeff Begs The Question

In response to Bible101 posted by redback:

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When we look to an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God...it's not clear why we have to divvy Him up into 3 parts for that to make better sense...and do that without diluting the sense of each omni and the global omnis.
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So, this is where Jeff begs the question about why there is a need for a trinity.
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But, sometimes, when people have accepted a hierarchical set up to light the path on which they tred, they don't ask questions. In fact, asking questions can be seen as a heretical move toward excommunication. Better keep your mouth shut than question time honored obedience.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Tis ...Tis... Mary

In response to Tis ...Tis... This posted by redback:
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Is there any religious group currently believing in God the Mother, God the Daughter...and why should that be problematic for faith in any event?
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The RC Church has a 'mother goddess'... Mary -- the "Heavenly Mother', "Queen of Heaven" (note this title is used for the female deity of the ancient Hebrews), "Stella Maris" (Star of the Sea), "Theotokos" (Mother of God). Some believe Mary, as divine Mother, is equal to the Father.
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From the Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.h...
"The doctrine of Mary's spiritual motherhood of men is contained in the fact that she is the antitype of Eve: Eve is our natural mother because she is the origin of our natural life; so Mary is our spiritual mother because she is the origin of our spiritual life. Again, Mary's spiritual motherhood rests on the fact that Christ is our brother, being "the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). She became our mother at the moment she consent to the Incarnation of the Word, the Head of the mystical body whose members we are; and she sealed her motherhood by consenting to the bloody sacrifice on the cross which is the source of our supernatural life..." (end)
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Mary's ~corporeal~ 'ascension' into heaven is celebrated by Catholics everywhere as "The Feast of the Assumption". Here's how St. John of Damascus formulated the tradition in the Jerusalem Church: He writes (from above link):
"St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven."
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Like Mother, like Son?
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In Catholicism, Mary is worshiped as a female deity - the theology is called Marianology. I'm sure you're familiar with it. Churches bear her name, Catholics give praise, honor, and prayers up to her, and of course - the nuns model their lives after her.
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Some interesting stuff on female deities here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_godd...
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Why should it be problematic? I don't really know. It's only problematic in a patriarchal society.

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Tis ...Tis... Mary

In response to Tis ...Tis... Mary posted by Migisi:
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Quotes from:
http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/mothe...
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"113 Canon. 1. If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the Word of God become flesh by birth), let him be anathema (condemned, i.e. excommunicated)."
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[Council of Ephesus in June of 431, convened by Pope St. Celestine, in response to the theology of Archbishop Nestorius (Patriarch of Constantinople) that Mary was indeed the Mother of Christ but was not the Mother of God. Nestorius was condemned as a heretic by the Council.]
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"Much is made of the title 'Queen of Heaven' by those who attack Catholicism and Marian devotion. The allusion is always to the pagan pantheons and to the mother of the gods, often mother in a very carnal sense of other pagan deities. The Canaanite worship of the "Queen of Heaven" condemned by the prophets is mentioned, as is the worship of Diana of the Ephesians, devotion to whom was exceeding popular before the Gospel arrived among the pagans. It is said that Catholicism at the Council of Ephesus restored this pagan devotion under the cover of devotion to Mary...."

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Off topic - Ari is a nut!

In response to Rabbi explains Shekina posted by pink101:
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I took your suggestion, Pink. It confirmed what I thought about Luria. He's a nutcake.
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Quoted from:
http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=ab...
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"...The thumb is the key to human intelligence, according to the Ari ['Holy Lion' aka Rabbi Isaac Luria]...
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"The Ari explains, however, that the monkey is a "fraudulent image" of man. Like man, the monkey possesses five digits on each hand. But unlike man, it cannot make use of its thumb by operating it. The thumb corresponds to the highest dimension in a ten-dimensional reality-a level known as Keter.
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"In fact, Keter is the source of all intelligence that permeates our physical world. Though we may marvel at the intelligence of the monkey, its physical (and metaphysical) DNA is preset-a monkey cannot move out of its animal category. This limitation of intelligence is signified by its inability to operate its thumb." (end)
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Old World apes (Luria mentions) - chimps, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and many gibbons species - have opposable thumbs. And some non-primates like koalas and raccoons do too. The giant panda has a usable thumb-like digit. But Luria is clearly wrong to say these animals can't use/operate them. I've seen videos of chimps making 'tools' to dig out and remove ants from ant hills. Clearly, Luria's never watched a raccoon manipulate a latch on a cage door, or uncover a locking trash can lid. I really don't see how he can attribute having opposable digits to any "highest dimension" of reality or 'intelligence'. These special appendages (opposable digits) are there to aid in survival.

-- posted by Migisi