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Articles and essays:
- On Sin. (This one is deeply theological) by the Riven 6/6/05
- I can by Chris Close (parenting series)
- Be Eternal 5-18-o5
- honor part I 1-6-05
- honor part II 1-29-05
- leadership of the way 11-04
on sin
by the Riven 6/6/05
--The fruit was not the cause of the Fall, but the result of the new knowledge being mishandled by Adam&Eve. When
They 'ate' the of the fruit, they actively considered the potential of their own greatness and discarded their intrinsic need
for God. This was just like Lucifer who had declared that he would acsend above the Most High. In this case, the fruit of
the tree was their misuse of their own understanding.
--Original Sin is the misapplication of knowledge, which, when the knowledge was since forgotten, has become: ignorance,
the acts caused by ignorance, and a thirst for the lost mystery; which has since culminated in wars, chaos, cults, religions,
empires, and anarchy. The catalyst of all of our problems was the first instance of human sin; the thought of our own God-like-ness,
and the distortion of new knowledge.
In the church, we have been constantly reminded of our 'Sin Nature' and our inherited badness which has been overcome at
the very instant of our salvation. This is taught to us with words that mean little to us. Esoteric words such as; Redemption,
Repentance, Grace, etc. seem to seal our faith in salvation. Yet few enough of us know the intended purpose of the concept.
Sin is something of an unknown element when it comes to our understanding of it. We know the basics:
1. Sin is Bad
2. We all have it
3. Jesus saves us from it.
Some Christians believe it is a black mark on our otherwise brilliant lives. Some believe it is who we are (being born
'into sin').
*note-- We do have the knowledge, it is the manner in which we present this knowledge which is out of order.
In the church the emphasis of our need for Christ is that He will save us from ourselves. The implication is that sin
holds us down in our human condition of depravation, and that Christ will give us a completely new identity. However, this
is a backward view of the facts. Mankind is by nature created in the 'likeness of God' (Genesis 1 and 2). This quality, along
with sin, is passed along from generation to generation. The sin is what places us in a state of depravation, implying that
when Christ saves us, He does so literally, by restoring us to our intended & original state of closeness to God, and
removing from us our barrier to Him.
I believe this will shed light on this altogether seperate and important way of understanding sin, our role in the reduction
and overcoming of it, and why we need Christ and His redeeming quality.
In our post-fall viewpoint in which many medeival HRC doctrines are still taught, albeit with a modern flare, it is
popular to start at the end of mankind and work our way back to the beginning in order to grasp what the spirit is telling
us. Start at Revelation and learn of our 'Heavenly home' and the destruction of the evil and wayward. In Jude we read also
of the 'Heavenly hosts' that will join Christ. So then, since Heaven is a desireable end of our lives on earth, we must find
out how to get there. This is where the teachings of Paul come in, to tell us to not be religious, to be honorable, and to
pray, go to church, and witness. The Gospels and Acts tell us to prepare for the return of the King and to tell the world
about Him. We also see that sin seems to take on a personality of its own at times, leaving us feeling inferior and paranoid
at its power.
A new Christian will begin to ask questions like the follwing; 'when will sin strike', 'will I be ready', 'what if
I fall into temptation', 'does anyone know'?
to be continued. . .
“I Can”
For Parents
by Chris Close
We dream that our children
will have good friends, a pleasant home, an interesting job, and a fulfilling life. However, these dreams change and noone
is to blame.
The one dream we can have
come true for our children is having a healthy personality.
We can help our children
become people who are comfortable with themselves, who are clear and realistic in their approach to problems, who are just
and fair.
We can start now, whether
at birth or on their 14th birthday: but start now. Work on it day by day with the little things we do, or don't
do.
A healthy personality is
something children want and the human nature pushes toward it, so it is they who really do the work. Listen to your children
when there is something that matters very much to them. Go along with them, help in their efforts, smooth the road. Our children
don't stand a chance if we do not do our share; as a helper, friend, supporter and guide. Our children have to live their
own lives, they are the ones who have the wants and urges inside them. Believe in them and back them up in achieving the healthy
personality they desire.
Children have a hard time
putting what they want into words. They rarely use the words for what we are talking about. They do say: “Iwant a bite”
or “. . .a computer”.
Sometimes the answer is
yes and sometimes no. But these 'touchable holdables' don't mean as much to children as we think. We are talking about the
wants deep down inside them, they use their body and behaviors to let us know with their ; eagerness, searching, and persistence,
their peace and contentment when they have what they need. Their restlessness when they are not getting what they need.
Children do not want to
stay small or helpless. If we read our children's behavior we can free them to grow. Never fear that if we help our children
get what they want they will be stuck in their development. Our job is to grease the wheels of our children's development.
Work with them so that they get the growth essentials at each stage.
Children need certain satisfactions
in their growing up. If they get them they are made stronger. They are more of a person for using them and they can build
on them and are stronger for tomorrow. end of part 1
Be Eternal
Be
Eternal. This is God's gift to all who believe. The light of the world is the life of the world, and this light is the Lord
Jesus Christ. This Light is the life of Men.
Jesus of Nazareth
did not die slowly and bleed all over Golgotha just so you could have hope, or peace of mind, or some
kind of super-psychosomatic response to a church service.
Can you understand?
Sometimes the noise in our heads is the very weapon of our own defeat. Because we are confused or burdened with our own beliefs,
we negate the spirit of truth that communicates to us on a cellular level. We in America are blaspheming Christ in our pursuit
of real estate and toys. I think that many of us in the body of Christ have reversed the order of our witness and contaminated
the value of our worship.
I see that
we sometimes try to prove Christianity by buying up 'things' and wearing beautiful clothes. We are more interested in appearance
than experience. And if we are into a certain experience, we leave it at that- an experience, and nothing more. Many
of us are afraid to reveal our weaknesses to our brethren. Why? Our weaknesses are our strengths. Can't understand? Apply
yourself through conversation with our Father to gain understanding.
To be eternal,
or to hope for eternity? Which is the Way of Christ?
What is eternal?
Everything in alignment with the Creator is eternal. If we are in Christ, than we are eternal. So if we are eternal, why do
we have such a hard time BE-ING. If you really believe what the Bible says, stop pursuing the American
dream. As priest kings of His Kingdom, we must pursue the Kingdom dream. We have no right to pursue anything else. (This does
not preclude that we will fail if we pursue that which is not of the Kingdom of Christ.)
Pursue God,
not that which belongs to Him.
The Eternal
are in line with Christ, and pursue that which Christ pursues. To pursue anything else is to discredit His value. To pursue
anything but Christ is much like suicide.
In your pursuit,
encourage others to move with you.
This BE-ING
requires determination, discipline, love, and pure concept.
Remember that
as you stand in your moment of indecision, others on the path behind you are taking up the cause. You can be a traveler
on the road, or be trampled to become pavement.
Choose Christ,
Be Eternal, Live now.
To understand
more clearly the importance of this study, I have included the following as a bonus for my readers.
Istigheit
(is-ness): The state of Be-ing
The term used
for a secondary and divergent 'way' of life in the Bible is the word; 'world'
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The world
is the reality of reduced perception petrified by improper vocabulary and the bindings of a poor grip of language.
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The Spirit
gives power to circumvent the reduction of our awareness of what is real.
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The sacrifice
of the old days (i.e. Passover lambs, and the sin sacrifices of the Hebrews) and the sacrifice of Christ are examples of that
which is sufficient versus that which is complete.
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Space and
time are reduction tools, but if used in reverse they are tools useful in increasing understanding.
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Symbols can
never BE or have the power of the things they stand for.
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We need reduction
in perception at intervals, because if one always saw clearly, one would remain nearly motionless and never want to do anything
but 'see'.
-
Participation
in the Manifest Glory leaves little room for ordinary human existence.
Honor part I 1-6-05
RECENTLY . . .
At work one day my coworker suggested that everyone has a cheating tendency, and I said that I would never
cheat on my wife "because I have a little thing called honor."
He looked at me sardonically and asked, "ya, but what is honor?"
After that we became involved in two hours of deep ‘metaphysical-sociological-as-well-as-theological-with-a-hint-of-scientific-theory-and-linguistics’
discussion. It is an important issue and we talked through every parameter of life and every aspect of a man’s relation
to his environment before I was able to say almost sardonically, "I’ll tell you what honor is. Honor is the hedge at
the bottom of the garden. When you know the meaning of this, you will understand honor." Of course, I was borrowing the
saying in Buddhism regarding the Dharma-Body, but I feel it is much more applicable in describing the concept of honor.
What Is Honor?
This is an important question, more than I had ever realized. I think this is at the core of every sociological
and religious view. Of course, the textbook definition would be a good place to start.
However, I am going to skip such droning dialogue in the hopes of more quickly covering such a broad spectrum
of ideas and contemplative conjecture. To be succinct and to the point would surely bring this essay to a blunt end, yet to
provide too many circumstances for review would be extremely wearisome.
Honor is not a thing. It cannot be grasped, shared, sold, achieved or taught.
Honor is not simply a concept or an idea,
Honor is a system of concepts and,
Honor is a way of relating to the systems and laws of the universe.
Honor is a word used to express an attempt to live respectfully and disciplined according to the understanding
of the individual, and that individual’s ability to maintain what he believes to be right.
Honor is not a metaphorical, esoteric, or religious word, though it can be used in such a manner.
Honor is an attempt at a higher, or more interesting, way of life.
Honor is a keen sense of ethical discipline and,
Honor is a way of living up to the terms of a commitment.
Honorable intentions
It is true that many people have mislabeled the honor code as a religious ideology, however, I believe this
is intrinsically incorrect and harmful to the psyche. In a retrospective view of the effects of a religiously intense honor
system, I am confident to say that not only does the seeking of honor leave one empty and negligent, but it also leads to
a mind-binding hypocrisy. If honor is a goal for a religious person, it is a goal which leads to irreligious fanaticism, and
ultimately leaves the person clinging desperately to a system of imperceptible rights and wrongs. Needless to say, this is
rarely why such a person seeks to fulfill honorable tendencies. The attempt to quantify ones righteousness or social grace
by meeting the rigorous legislation of a self imposed honor system is a needless crucible. In time the cheap layer of quasi-honor
will peel away, whether in depression or regression, to reveal the verity of self-imposition which has bound the mind and
crushed the psyche. It takes quite a struggle to overcome such a mentally invasive lifestyle.
Honorary complacency
Though it is easy to call out the misuse of simple concepts such as honor, it is much more difficult to explain
the relevant application of such concepts. In every aspect of life, we find ourselves drawn to a specific goal, or ‘end’
which gives us the momentum to continue in the path we have chosen. Whether it is to drink until inebriated and in so doing
have fun, or to dedicate several years of our lives to contemplative meditation in order to gain insight, we always pursue
an end.
In the morning, I make coffee fully intending to drink it. My actions are predicated by my goal, in that if
I did not want coffee, I would not make it. Many people see their actions as preceding their goals, and reverse the optics
from an eternal view to a temporal view. If actions precede ends, then there must not be any important purpose, or no reason
to learn a purpose. If there is no purpose, there can be no honor. The concept of honor is dependent on purpose. Honor requires
purpose to be an implicit principle of all things. Therefore now our question of honor requires an answer to the question
of purpose. If purpose is not important enough to discover, then actions are not important enough to consider, and honor is
not even worth thinking about.
When I make coffee in the morning, I select a certain amount of water to filter through the grounds. If I
put too much, the coffee pot will overflow. This is cause and effect, there is nothing chaotic about it. Cause leads to effect.
Action leads to re-action and again, more action. This law is prevalent in all systems in the universe. If it is in all systems,
then it must have a purpose, or it would fizzle away from the order of things. Therefore honor requires cause and effect and
purpose, because honor is a mind set that leads a man to discipline himself in his actions and thoughts in such a way that
the effect will benefit as many people as possible. Now we arrive at a difficult crossroads. If there is a set of unspecific
principles and ‘laws’ which guide the universe; such as the afore mentioned cause and effect, purpose, and action-reaction,
then is it possible that there is an order to everything. Without order there would be no reason for purpose and therefore
no confidence of attaining a beneficial end to one’s actions. So is honor a vice for the spiritually inclined, or a
way of the enlightened? No. I see honor as an understanding. It is relatively simple, though I can spend days speaking of
the parameters of the concept of honor.
Honor is not a beginning, and cannot provide a purpose. Yet honor is dependent on purpose or it is negated.
There is no way to attain honor, because it is merely an idea, not a ‘thing.’ Honor is an effect of a causative
way of life. I believe honor is inevitable if and only if it is not made an ‘end’ and if it is not viewed as a
beginning. It must be understood that honor is a word representative of an inner knowledge of the ‘end’ of cause
and effect, due to the disciplined endurance of a purposeful individual. Honor cannot be earned or taken, it happens. To claim
to ‘have’ it may be folly, but to deny it is dishonorable.
HONOR PART II
HONOR IS USEFUL AS AN ACCEPTABLE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING TO EFFECT LIFE, IF AND WHEN IT IS VIEWED THROUGH THE EYES OF
A WARRIOR AND A SCHOLAR: I.E. A PERSON OF UNDERSTANDING.
There is always a desire in any self-aware man which draws him to a belief in something.
What this something is, is determined mostly by the values, experiences, and understanding of that individual. It is also
affected, or inflicted, by his language and the subsequent culture of that language and of his people. For one man to declare
himself honorable in one culture may very well make him a mockery to another culture. It is in understanding this that leads
the scholar to more dutifully search out the most likely origin and purpose of honor, and its useful application to his mind,
his actions, and his people.
HONOR AROUND THE WORLD IN HISTORY IS MARKED BY a strained conflict of the perpetuation of self-aggrandized
standards and a need to legitimize these standards by fighting and killing to prove them. However, from this stems a general
concept of personal measure which enables the modern scholar/warrior to upgrade himself in an acceptable and much less violent
manner.
Ancient Japan
The Japanese language is much an island of expression which for most of its time was left uncorrupted
by societal trends from outside the island. Due to this isolation, an unique form of honor arose which was expressed in the
Japanese way of life. The Japanese language uses elaborate systems of expression which display politeness and honor.
The most notable expression of honor in Japanese history is undoubtedly
found in the Samurai Bushido Code. Bushido translates as: "The Way Of the Warrior." This
code was employed before the 12th century by soldiers, and was incorporated by noble knights from the beginning
of the 12th century, and then abolished with the feudal system in 1871. Despite the abolition, the code maintains
a place in every Japanese warrior’s heart.
The following is From Microsoft Encarta
Bushido (Japanese, "the way of the warrior"), code of
ethics observed by the warrior noblemen, or samurai, of feudal Japan. Like the rules of chivalry that prevailed in medieval
Europe, Bushido was based on such virtues as rectitude, endurance, frugality, courage, politeness, veracity, and, especially,
loyalty to ruler and country. Only through the exercise of these virtues could a knight maintain his honor, and one who had
forfeited honor was compelled to commit suicide by hara-kiri. Fully developed by the late 12th century, Bushido became a written
code in the 16th century. When feudalism was abolished about mid-19th century, the code was abandoned, but its influence,
mainly on the army, persisted.
© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Chivalry in Europe
Much like Bushido, chivalry developed from a set of concepts in European understanding. These
concepts were subsequently evolved into a system of behavior for nobles and gentry.
Although the chivalric code was spurred on by the " Christian
Era" , (which I call the Roman Catholic Era), It fell extremely short of any of the teachings of
honor in the Sacred texts. The code expressed how to behave. This is also true for every other form of esoteric system of
behavior. Honor was expressed in actions, and thereby the heart was revealed. However, this idea is intrinsically incorrect.
Honor must stem from the heart and be revealed in the actions, not vice-versa.
The following is from Microsoft Encarta
"Chivalry, code of behavior that medieval
knights followed. Chivalry was a feature of the High and later Middle Ages in western Europe. While its roots stretch back
to the 9th and 10th centuries, the system of chivalry flourished most vigorously in the 12th and 13th centuries before deteriorating
at the end of the Middle Ages. However, the ideals of chivalry continued to influence models of behavior for gentlemen and
the nobility during the Renaissance in the 16th century."
© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
I suppose that a new class of warrior is rising from the ashes of these ancient concepts in
the restoration of the idea of honor and its place in this world. There is a great need and there are many
willing even now.
What can you do?
establish your own beliefs, and be sure to compensate for the error margin. What this means
is, you are not all-wise, so proceed with the knowledge that your knowledge is incomplete and your beliefs are based on that
incomplete knowledge. For instance, we believe in Jesus Christ and Him raised from the dead, but our understanding of that
is drastically incomplete. This is why Paul explains this faith as the "Mystery
of the Cross."
Be prepared to ask yourself unbelievably difficult questions of faith, activities, responsibilities,
etc.
Do the right thing, all the time, every time. This will enable you to examine yourself. Later
you will observe your own actions as if from another man ’s
eyes to reveal to yourself how to improve yourself.
Begin within. Do not attempt to display your honor or beliefs
to the world. Only believe and watch everything change.
Don’t be afraid to fail, guilt is an avarice of evil designed to incapacitate even the most noble of men.
Failure is a step in the right direction, now you know what not to do.
Study to show yourself approved. Don’t run blindly or enthusiastically to every interesting theory.
Contemplate. Think about good, honest, pure, lovely, true things.
Meditate on the One. This will "center" you and prepare you for success in
every venture.
Most importantly,
Be Honest with yourself in your own mind. You hide more from yourself than you are aware of.
One More Thing. If it is acceptable to you, learn combat techniques and skills. This is important for the warrior in order
to defend the defenseless and to be strong for the weak. I would recommend kung fu or tai chi or kenpo. Just try to avoid
the strange religions which are often associated with such disciplines.
This essay is by The Riven visit zekeriven.tripod.com iamriven@lycos.com
be blessed
banner concepts report; the first publication ever!
--Leadership of the Way--
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