Author: James

In “Corky’s” response in the comments section, he shows a keen insight into what I’ve been getting at in this whole process.

Jewish law had little to nothing to do with a “soul” that was immortal, to be “saved, by a “higher” doctrine as in traditional Christianity, but with the human body, the human mind, here and now, as we relate to this world around us.

The human body IS a “soul”, or at least that was the general assumption of the Jews.

Within the concept of law, the “redemption of the body” was the all important aspect of Jewish law. The “kingdom of God” was an earthly kingdom, to be established in obedience to God, representing all the people of the world.

There is no biblical evidence that Jesus changed that idea into a mystery religion of immortal souls to be saved and taken to heaven, or December 25th as a holy day of his birth, or of Easter, etc..

The teaching was merely about law, how we relate to it, what it means to us, here and now, and how we can claim it for ourselves on this earth. The total reversal of the idea of Jewish birthright was challenged right out of the gate by both Paul and Jesus, who told Nicodemus that unless a man is “born again” or “born from above”, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Contrary to the general assumptions of traditional Christianity, this concept merely challenged the power of worldly government to control any human who chose to be “born of God”.

Dominic Crosson, for example, points out that a “son of God” by the usual standards, was a god-king who ruled over empires, born of a family of gods chosen to rule. Yet in John 1:12-13, we see a complete reversal of this process:

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe n his name:
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”.

When you compare this to what Jesus allegedly told Nicodemus, this is complete freedom from ALL human power structures, including the birthright of Israel itself. You are “born of God” and therefore outside the will of man, simply by your choice!

But if you’re born of God by free choice, how does that square with Paul’s teaching in Romans 8:29-30? It should be easily resolved. While any of us can make the claim to be ‘elect” or specially born of God, no human authority can say otherwise, because the ultimate choice lies with God! There can be no human authority that can represent such a power or control us in “God’s name”, yet each of us, as individuals, can claim the freedom of “sons of God” with none having the right or authority to challenge it! That’s individual sovereignty!

What this means, quite simply, is that we have the right to challenge all human authority systems in “God’s name”. Not only that, but every state constitution within the United States recognizes that fact!

While the mystery religions try to elevate Jesus into some kind of “Mithraized” divinity, the story itself merely tells of a man born of the humblest circumstances who, as Paul said, “thought it not robbery to be equal with God”.

The story is merely of a common man who claimed nothing that wasn’t claimed by all Jews who declared themselves to be the sons of God by virtue of the promise to Abraham. In fact, no man can make that claim for himself exclusively, as no one except God knows who that person is, as Paul plainly stated. The main difference, of course, is that it was offered to all humankind as an individual right to freedom before the law.

Let’s say Pilate wasn’t the benign servant of the people that the bible indicates. What it DOES indicate, and the point repeatedly made, is that a man was put to death for whom no crime could be attributed. When Jesus refused to answer his accusers, that was an ancient law recognized as the right against self incrimination. Israel recognized it, and Rome recognized it as the right to face the accuser(Acts 25:16). There was also the right to be informed of the crime accused of committing(Acts 25:27).

Rome also recognized a form of habeas corpus for Roman citizens as Acts 2:27-28 shows. These were all principles of law as recognized by both Jews and Rome(Isaiah 50:8, Isaiah 54:17).

The story is very simple, and need not require any “spiritual” justification to give it authority. Jesus was innocent, and the law put him to death with no justification. Therefore, he paid for no “sin” of his own, since ‘sin’ is defined as breaking the law(1 John 3:4).

Therefore, in the simplest possible fashion, of you were “born of God”, you were no longer subject to god-kings who only claimed that distinction, but you had the right to claim that same sovereignty! You had the presumption of innocence with God’s vindication( Isaiah 54;17), the right to face your accuser with God’s guarantee of protection(Isaiah 50:8), which we recognize in law today as the presumption of innocence!

The “kingdom of God” can be invoked, any time, any place, anywhere a person so chooses! We see this in Matthew 18:15-18, and in 1 Corinthians 6. Jesus pointed out in Matthew 18 that “whatever you(two or three of you) bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose will be loosed in heaven”. That is the complete legal authority of ANY two or three people to agree among themselves!

What does our U.S. Constitution tell us? No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. And what is due process of law? It is defined as law which traces to common law, “lawful judgement of peers”, rights that pre-existed the Constitution, as defined from Magna Carta. Historian Max DiMont points out that it was the Puritans and Quakers who took the principles of Magna Carta and “Hebraized” them, making them apply to all persons, not just Barons or leaders in government.

“Lawful judgement of peers” goes back to ancient times in the bible itself, guaranteeing the accused the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a legitimate accuser, not a paid advocate of government!

Jesus taught these things, said he would return, and did not return. Dies that make the principle itself false? Or does it mean that we now have the responsibility for ourselves to discover these principles and act on them as free individuals?

Jesus told the Jews of his day, “the kingdom of God is within you”. As Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas said, mea culpa(I am guilty) lies between a man and his God. It is a confession that cannot be extracted by any earthly power.

Corky has touched on a profound idea here, and the “redemption of the body” lies within your choice, my choice, and of any human who wishes for justice, mercy, and judgement on this earth.

The will and the power lies within you. Use it wisely.

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James sent me a copy of an email from a Muslim friend, regarding the flood and Noah. James recommends I might comment on it.

To me, such stories are mythology, just as the stories of Hercules, Zeus, and Narcissus are mythologies in Greek society. They start us off in a certain direction and seek to make us understand why a civilization believes as it does.

A study of the Masonic literature, especially Morals And Dogma, written by Albert Pike and published in 1871, reveals interesting tidbits about the development of Jewish history.

“The dominant system among the Jews after their captivity was that of the Pharoschim or Pharisees. Whether their name was derived from that of the Parsees, or followers of Zoroaster, or from some other source, it is certain that they had borrowed much of their doctrine from the Persians. Like them they claimed to have the exclusive and mysterious knowledge, unknown to the mass….They styled themselves interpreters; a name indicating their claim to the exclusive possession of the true meaning of the Holy Writings, by virtue of the oral tradition which Moses had received on Mt Sinai…”

If you put that in context with Jesus’ constant condemnation of their control of the law, of their claiming themselves as representatives of the people, it begins to make sense, “teaching for commandments the doctrines of men”.

The book tells of the Ormuzd, of whom Mithras is chief. Then you gradually see the development of the Thoughts of Ormuzd, the IDEAS which he conceived before proceeding to the creation of all things. The IDEAS are supposed to be superior to men. They are, wrote Pike, “the tutelary genii,”, protecting all men from the fall to the regeneration.

Ahriman was the dragon, whom we recognize as Satan or the serpent-tempter. After 3000 years, Ormuzd had created the material world in six periods. According to the story, Ormuzd and Ahriman concurred in the creation of man. When the first man and woman had been created, Ahriman tempted and seduced them, bringing evil. These doctrines, writes Pike were “sparingly borrowed by the Pharisee Jews”.

But Pike also points out that the people who accepted the message of Jesus were neither Pharisees or Sadducees, but the humble, common people.

If we look at the teachings of Jesus and his condemnation of the Pharisees, it would not be absurd to think he also condemned the mythology of Zoroastrianism that accompanied Pharisee thought. The “interpreters” as they styled themselves, the keepers of the secrets, or what later became known as Cabala, was condemned by Jesus, who said they were preventing the people from entering the “kingdom of God” there, at that time.

With the teachings of Paul, a former Pharisee who then completely challenged the whole concept that any human mind could be subject to God, the doctrines of “mystery religions” was challenged, only to be gradually resurrected by Constantine.

The oral traditions of the Pharisees took the form of Mishna, Gemarra, and Talmud, which is the chief work that Rabbis today study. It might surprise you to know, however, that it was the Babylonian Talmud that is highly regarded among Jews, the document beginning in Babylon after the captivity, embracing Persian religion, and further spreading from Babylon to embrace the world with its interpretations regarding money, usury, laws, banking, and legislation that “explains” the commandments given at Sinai.

Writes Pike: “The sources of…the Kabalistic doctrines, are the books of Jezirah and Sohar, the foremer drawn up in the second century, and the latter a little later; but containing materials much older than themselves. In their most characteristic elements, they go back to the time of the exile. In them, as in the teachings of Zoroaster, everything that exists emanated from a source of infinite light….With the idea so expressed is connected the pantheism of India. The King of Light, the ANCIENT, is ALL THAT IS”.

And of course you can read about the blending of religions under Constantine with Krishna, Indian and Persian religions blending with mystery religions that became what we know as Christianity today.

But it is these traditions of men that both Jesus and Paul, and the disciples, challenged.

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world…(Colossians 2:8)”.

“neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions…”

The mythology that found its way into the Old testament was placed there by the evolution of the Jewish culture in captivity, after the Oral tradition” of Moses, the “traditions of men” condemned by Jesus who taught that all people have the right to be heard, to know the law, and to be protected by that law.

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When I was in the marines, I became a baker, and later a baking instructor. I liked this for two reasons: first it avoided the militaristic BS that the “grunts” had to endure, and second, bakers had nice little ways of getting even with officers who had to eat the baker’s food preparations. I passed on this wisdom to my students when I became an instructor.

Two things about leavening:
1.It will expand within a loaf until it consumes all available fuel
2. Salt acts to retard the growth of leavening

So, as a baker, when I see Jesus telling his followers “ye are the salt of the earth”, I see individuals who act to retard the growth of power and general BS.

I find this relationship between leaven and truth to be quite interesting today. For example, in a book by Rudy Rucker called Mind Tools: The Five levels of Mathematical Reality, Rucker explores the relationship between mathematics and truth, and comes to interesting conclusions paralleling the biblical teachings regarding leaven. Here is a statement I found interesting, toward the back of the book:

“Higher properties–such as truth, beauty, or virtue–are prospective. There is no fixed rule or token by which you can recognize the true or the beautiful or the good: these human ideals are not computable. Nor is there any kind of program or attitude that will enable any individual person or school to produce all truth or all beauty or all goodness. Our highest goals are not to be exhausted by the logical working out of any single system.”

Let’s look at that last statement. It does have a solid connection to the idea of “leavening” in the bible. If any single system continues to grow and grow, and claim to represent truth, whether it is biblical truth, or a god-king who claims his word is truth and cannot be questioned, or any system whatever that seeks to extend itself until it controls all activity, will be false.

We can be certain that such a system will be false. Alonzo Church, who studied Godel’s theorem, developed the theorem telling us that no simple yes or no answers can be given for important questions. Godel’s theorem tels us that no logical program can hope, even in the limit, to answer all the questions. As Rucker writes:

“After the work of (Alan) Turing, Church, and Godel, the old dream of capturing all truth in a finite logical net can be seen to be thoroughly bankrupt. Turing’s analysis of computation suggests that every finitely given logical system(including human beings) is subject to the theorems of Godel and Church. Godel’s theorem tells us that no programmatic method can generate all truth; while Church’s theorem tells us that we are unable to predict the consequences of the programs that we do devise.”

Therefore, if “God” and “truth” are the same, we can be certain that no single religious or logical concept of man can fully represent either one!

No government can represent all truth, and no religion can fully represent God, which strongly suggests that neither church nor state are legitimate authorities over the human mind!

Is that bad? Should we despair because we can never develop such a system? Rucker suggests this to be a reason for joy!

“A world where there is no Godel’s theorem would be a world where every property is listable–for any kind of human activity, there would be a programmatic description of how to carry it out[which, after all, is what religions and governments have proposed to do for centuries]. In such a world, it would be possible to learn a hard and fast formula for ‘how to be an artist’ or ‘how to be a scientist‘. It would just be a matter of learning the tricks of the trade….Our world is endlessly more complicated than any finite program or any finite set of rules. You’re free, and you’re really alive, and there’s no telling what you’ll think of next, nor is there any reason you shouldn’t kick over the traces and start a new life at any time”.

In history, we see Jesus constantly condemning the “leaven of the Pharisees”. And what were the Pharisees doing? Well, constantly condemning and judging those who didn’t wash according to tradition, who didn’t observe specific rules and formal laws established for standards of “righteousness”. In short, they were pretentious.

Not only were they pretentious, but Jesus said they “shut up the kingdom of heaven” and they “take away the key of knowledge” to the people. In short, they taught that it was possible, by observing “programmatic” laws, rules, and rituals, to be “sinless”.

In fact, that problem came to a head when Rabbi Hillel, a contemporary of Jesus, stated that, by the process known as his “Seven Laws”, it would be possible for humans to establish proper guidelines for obedience to God, that the human mind, in fact, CAN be “subject to God’, provided it follows proper procedures and disciplines, or in other words, providing it establishes rote, programmable, finite and rational processes of thought.

Yet that is exactly the process Jesus condemned when he quoted fro Isaiah “In vain do ye worship me, teaching for commandments the doctrines of men”. In more modern terms, the Pharisees were creating statutory legislation by which the people could be ruled. It was that very process of statutory legislation that Jesus condemned among the lawyers in Luke 11:52, by saying they “take away the key of knowledge” from the people.

And in fact, that is what Paul directly challenged in Romans 8:7. he told the people that the natural mind, my mind, your mind, is enmity against God and cannot be subject to God. In fact, Paul’s statement is mathematically correct! There can be no single system of human thought, in any method of rote or repetition, to represent truth!

That also parallels the statement of Claude Shannon when he developed information theory. The more a message is repeated, the less information it contains. In other words, the more any culture strictly obeys certain rules and rituals because they are convinced those rules and rituals come from some unquestionable source, the less they are able to adapt to change.

That is exactly the same question we face today, in regard to the U.S. Constitution. is it a “living document”, or should we follow the “original intent” of the founders?

Believe it or not, when Kurt Godel was studying for citizenship in the U.S., he declar

ed that the laws of the Constitution would lead to dictatorship!

As Godel was preparing fore his citizenship test, a judge mentioned that “wasn’t it wonderful that there will be no Hitler in this country?” To which Godel responded that in fact the laws of this country, as written, would very well lead to a dictatorship or tyranny. Fortunately, his friend Einstein, who knew of Godel’s misgivings, accompanied Godel to the test, and quickly diverted the conversation away from Godel’s findings.

But what led to Godel’s conclusions? Palle Yourgrau, in a book titled A World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Godel And Einstein, writes:

“Years later, asked for a legal analogy for his incompleteness theorem, he would comment that a country that depended entirely upon the formal letter of its laws might well find itself defenseless against a crisis that had not, and could not have been foreseen in its legal code. The analogue of his incompleteness theorem, applied to the law, would guarantee that for any legal code, even if intended to be fully explicit and complete, there would always be judgements ‘undecided’ by the letter of the law”.

When you think about it, that is exactly what we are considering regarding Constitutional law today, and was the battle between Jesus and the Pharisees of that time. Can truth be found by any process of finite, programmed, rote law? Jesus and Paul said no, it cannot. The Pharisees said yes, it can. Today, we alternate between “originalism” and “living law”. But you will notice that either interpretation, as in the days of the Pharisees, is said to be decided by those who are “experts” in the law.

But there are no such experts, because no single human mind or system can contain all truth!

So again, Jesus and Paul were correct! And from that perspective, so are the atheists today!
There simply exists no “God” that can be contained as a “higher” process of human thought!
There is you, and there is me, and there is our right and obligation to consider others as we consider ourselves.

That, said Jesus, and correctly, is the truthful basis of all law and all commandments.

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