Myths from the Past and Present

Myths are specific accounts of gods or superhuman beings involved in extraordinary events or circumstances which is understood as existing apart from ordinary human experiences.

From Wiki: In Jewish folklore, a golem (/ˈɡoʊləm/ GOH-ləm; Hebrew: גולם‎) is an animated anthropomorphic being that is magically created entirely from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing.

Tehillim 139:16 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
Thine eyes did see my golem (embryo), yet being unformed; and in Thy Sefer (Book) all the yamim (days) ordained for me were written down, when as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:16 New International Version (NIV)
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

The text says: “Your eyes saw my unformed limbs,” as translated from golmi ra’u enecha. The Jews believe that the phrase was said by Adam, the first human, and the term “golem” used there literally means “unfinished substance.”

There are many ancient stories about golems. These myths were born in different times and in different regions of the world. The Mayan myth of creation describes that before the first humans, the gods created men from wood. In ancient Greece, there was the story of an inventor named Daedalus who built living statues. These sculptures were supposedly harmless, although if they were not restrained, they could run off. In ancient Egypt, people molded figurines of clay and wood called ushabti. These figures were specifically built to help the dead in the afterlife and were animated with an Egyptian prayer. In the same line of “afterlife golems,” the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the building of an army of thousands of terracotta soldiers in the year 246 BC. These warriors made of clay were meant to protect Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife, just as the emperor was protected by human soldiers while alive.

However, when it comes to finding the very first written reference to golems, one would expect to find such mention in some book or magical text from the Middle Ages. The concept of golems as such seemed to have emerged in those times.

However, the first mention of the term took place many centuries before in the Bible, appearing only once.

Let’s define what a golem is again. A golem is an anthropomorphic creature (having human characteristics) created from inanimate matter such as clay, and does not have a conscience. This creature is usually brought to life through magical rituals or procedures and is limited to obeying any order of its creator in a literal way.

Golems would be fashioned from mud and clay which was the most common material for constructing their bodies. Mythology in other ancient societies depicts golems made from other elements, such as wood, wax, or metal.

But the description of golems as we know them today comes from Jewish folklore. Throughout medieval times, there were many rumors that some Jewish teachers or “Rabbis” had learned to perform the rituals contained in a sacred text called Sefer Yetzirah.

This text supposedly described the way God created life, and thus, the Rabbis could learn to create their own living version of a clay man, the golem.
There are numerous texts describing the formation of a golem, and although there are variations in its procedures, all these tend to coincide in certain points. For example, the creator of the golem has to be someone who is untainted. Pure, clean, and close to God. The material used to construct the golem must be uncontaminated, while the ritual to give life to the golem is verbal and usually involves the Hebrew name of God.

Once the body of the creature is molded, some writings indicate that the creator must sing a combination of Hebrew letters with the name of God, which will give life to the creature. Other instructions state the Hebrew word emet (“truth”) must be written in the golem’s forehead to activate it, while to deactivate it, the first letter is erased, thus forming the word met (“death”). A third version says that a paper with the name of God must be introduced into the mouth of the golem to breathe life into it.

Many ancient cultures believed that human beings themselves are golems, inferior creations made from the mud of the earth by a superior deity. The old testament book of Job, Job 33:6 says: “See, before God I am as you are; I too was formed from a piece of clay.”  In Hebrew mythology, the Babylonian Talmud, written in the third century AD, says that the first human created by God remained as a soulless golem during its first 12 hours of existence. We may assume that it was at this point the creator breathed life into his creation giving it conscious life, or self awareness. These myths are a narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. Whatever society in which the creation myth is told, it is usually regarded as conveying profound truths, metaphorically, symbolically and sometimes in a historical or literal sense. These myths give mankind a explanation how through Supernatural Beings we came into existence.

Myths can kill

The Eternal Jew, a 1940 antisemitic German Nazi propaganda film, presented as a documentary to the German people, was full of myths and stereotypes of Jews and portrayed the Nazi idea of a ‘master race’ as a superior race of people. The film portrayed the Jews as parasitical in nature and as dangerous aggressors who had to be exterminated.

Anglo Israelism

*As we saw above, myths can be employed to influence people to do some very bad things. Now apply this process of thought to the myth of British Israelism as told by the Armstrong churches of God. This myth that they hold as a pillar of truth explains who they really are in the context of the world, and reveals their real priorities and prejudices.

This myth is a tale about a superior people, created and blessed by the very same god that gave rise to ancient Israel. This myth known as British Israelism also gave rise to the Christian Identity movement. A racist, anti-Semitic, and white supremacist interpretation of Christianity which holds that only Germanic, Anglo Saxon, Celtic, Nordic, Aryan people and those of kindred blood are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and hence the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Of course this IS only a myth. The science of DNA does not back up this theory.

Tools of the devil

A myth can be used as a metaphorically means to explain something unknown. A myth can also be exploited, and used for devious purposes. A scheming man with ulterior motives that lowers mankind to the level of a brute beast, a man with dangerous ambitions that stand unchecked, can and does wreak havoc on to the world. This is what we call “unintended consequences.”

Remember this always.  A myth is just that – a myth. Stories passed down from the ancients and/or earlier centuries by generations of men who tried to explain the world they lived in. These stories can and are used as a tool by unscrupulous men who manipulate and distort facts for their own end. Herbert Armstrong took the myth of B.I. from a earlier century author and applied it to the United States and Britain. Without any scientific proof, this man manipulated and used for financial gain, hundred of thousands of people who had the misfortune of tuning in his World Tomorrow TV sales pitch.

“Myths are specific accounts of gods or superhuman beings involved in extraordinary events or circumstances which is understood as existing apart from ordinary human experience.”

Let us instead embrace the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.“

and

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

The world has enough hatred in it. Why should any of us contribute to the misfortune of others when we have the power within us to do good? For those of you who are going through the process of leaving armstrongism, know that the world as cold and cruel as it is, has more love to offer you than any of the church groups put together.  And remember, leaving your cultist group does not mean that you are abandoning God, rather you are accepting His grace if you so chose. You will find that regardless of whatever may trouble you, leaving your cult will gift you with a extraordinary peace of mind and a feeling of wellbeing. A positive state of mind will engulf your senses!

*If only I had done some serious due diligence and looked into armstrongism before I signed up for that shit show, I would have saved myself a decade of disillusionment and suffering.

I should have investigated armstrongism like I investigated my first wife before marrying her when I had her open her mouth so I could run my fingers through and check her teeth. My decision to marry was based on what I found!

Just kidding ladies……!