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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Abraham and faith

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Denis Diderot: "There is only one step from fanaticism to barbarism." 

I intend for this to be a short writing. There’ll be no chapter-and-verse offered, as I will leave such detail to your own studies. My purpose will be to merely outline an issue, and leave it to you for further meditation.

Abraham plays a key role, not just in Christian theology but for other religions, as well. He’s called the Father of Faithful, the great archetype of belief in God.

We find the original account in the book of Genesis. There he is, dagger in hand, standing solemnly but menacingly over his son, about to stab him. God has told him to do this. And Abraham, according to the story, is willing to commit murder of his own son, because God said so.

At the last moment, the hand-with-dagger is stayed. “It’s alright,” the message is given, “you’ve passed the test,” faith in God has been confirmed, and “now I can trust you to obey.”

This Bible story was familiar to me for most of my life. I never thought too much about it. “I guess it’s a good thing,” some subliminal voice would contend.

In the New Testament, too, this “example of faith” is held up as one of the highest ideals. According to the biblical teaching, God was so impressed or endeared to Abraham for his top-shelf belief that God promised to eventually bless all peoples. The crowning benefit, we are told, was the coming of the Christ, a descendent of Abraham, whose sacrifice would save the entire world.

It’s all very dramatic, very intimidating to the hapless believer. Who could say a word against such profound and ancient theological pageantry?

There is a small problem, however. None of it is true. And I’d like to discuss how we can know it’s not true. Actually, there are so many things wrong with this “sainted” picture that one hardly knows where to begin.

But allow me to begin with the very biggest problem.

The end justifies the means.

Doubtless, Abraham (if there was such historical figure) was not thrilled to receive news of his “test.” But, we presume, his response was, “This sounds like the vilest murder and atrocity to me – killing my own son! -- but if God says so, well then, I guess I’ll have to gut my child like butchering a calf.” But the real God would never condone this.

Consider the psychology here: “The end” – obeying God – “is justified by the means” – criminal and sociopathic activity. Elsewhere, we talked about what the great psychologists said about this, the “divine numen,” the approving “nod from on high,” that sanctifies all putrid activity.

This is how all cult members think when Dear Leader commands them toward impropriety: the end justifies the means. Whatever bad thing they're doing, they're ok with it, they think it's just fine, they feel justified in doing whatever, because, as they secretly confide with themselves, it will bring good things to their cause. “Dear Leader will usher in utopia if only I will believe and obey, and then the promised benefits” – the end – “will justify and make clean the committing of any crime or incivility.”

All cultish mentalities think this way - and virtually everyone on planet Earth, every unenlightened person, to varying degrees, is engaged in some form of cultism.

Editor's note: This is why even smart people who work in the fake-news industry fall for this. They believe they're doing the world a favor by promoting totalitarianism with all of their disingenuousness: the end justifies the means, you understand. They know when they're lying, but they've received the "divine numen" from on high, absolving all actions. Socrates said that everything people do they believe to be good, even if it's evil.

But the moral universe doesn't smile upon this kind of respectable prevarication - you can never use evil and expect things to go well; not after a while. Most people will disagree with this, but they haven't seen all the evidence yet.

We witness this dark dynamic in the closely-related political arena, too, where Dear Leader is ruining the country, is guilty of all manner of sordid deed and lying policy, which is destroying the country, but millions of frothing devotees will support Dear Leader in this mayhem for some future, promised Shangri-La. All this is classic cult mentality.

Editor’s note: Let’s think about this. Once we begin to walk down the road of “the end justifies the means,” then where does this stop? And if one were to go so far, to be so deluded, as to kill one’s own baby, then what wouldn’t we be capable of? And of course we kill babies as easy as drinking water today, and now we know how we got to this depravity. See the "WG guide page" for afterlife reports on the unpleasant consequences of killing babies.

This is the unscheduled death spiral into the black abyss, the poisonous and foul philosophy, that eventually, under the right provocation, with sufficient religious/political insanity and dumbing down, is able to commit any crime of history. Those who cross to the other side in this diseased frame of mind should not be surprised to land in a "dark closet without walls." See more on the "sensibility" page.

We are told that Abraham killing his son would become a visual reminder of the great sacrifice, the offering of Jesus by the Father God.

It’s all very poetic, type and anti-type, great literary symmetry. The further problem, once again, however, is that none of this is true. There is no such thing as appeasing the bloodlust of God, hell-bent on killing his son to save the world. This is gross error.

See much discussion on the “Jesus” page; also see many afterlife testimonies on the “guide to WG” page.

Hard-core believers, in the “avatar from heaven to save me from my sins” category, find themselves in a confused, muddled, frantic mess upon crossing over to the other side.

Gangsters use initiation rites of killing the innocent to offer evidence of loyalty.

The real God does not need evidence of loyalty. What we are is well understood.

We’ve heard many stories of gang leaders requiring novitiates to kill a person, even a random innocent person, as entry ticket to the gang. This demonstration of fanaticism-to-barbarism is meant to indicate fealty.

The real God would never require this. Moreover, the real God would already know – if it were relevant to know – the state of Abraham’s mind without some deranged and macabre “test.”

Father Benson, in the afterlife reports, has stated that the so-called virtue of faith is greatly overrated.

Our way forward is not living by 'the end justifies the means,' which can quickly devolve to prostitution of one’s sacred sensibilities in favor of atrocity.

Instead, we are to activate, cultivate, the 'inner guidance system,' the spirit of God within, which is meant to lead us into all truth.

When we do this, when the “inner life of God” directs us, then, at the same time, we experience a sense of God in our lives. With this, we have no need of faith, now that we know. See more on the “belief” page.

So much could be said here, but it’s already been said on a thousand WG pages -- we are to vivify the “true self” and bring to the fore our made-in-the-image inner life.

Editor's note: Several times I've used the phrase, "the real God would never" do such-and such. But, how presumptuous - how do we know what the real God is thinking?

Go within, and find out, because that's where we'll meet the real God.