Here I present two non-mutually exclusive face value readings of Matt 25:46 and 2 Thess 1:9 in response to the claim that a face value reading of these verses is devastating to Universalism.
These verses are in no way fatal to the universalist view.
1 - God is Eternal. The subject comes from an Eternal source. It is called eternal because the subject comes from eternity. Examples below.
"of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."
You are certainly not supposed to understand that Judgment is Eternal as though Judgement Day never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the Judgement came from an Eternal source. It is called eternal Judgment because it comes from eternity
”Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternalredemption"
You are certainly not supposed to understand that redemption is Eternal as though the redeeming never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the redemption came from an Eternal source. It is called eternal redemption because the redeeming comes from eternity.
"according to the eternalpurpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,"
You are certainly not supposed to understand that this purpose is Eternal as though it can never be achieved and will always be the purpose. Rather you are supposed to understand that the purpose came from an Eternal source. It is called the eternal purpose because the purpose comes from eternity.
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
You are certainly not supposed to understand that this punishment is Eternal as though justice can never be achieved and the punishment never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the punishment came from an Eternal source. It is called the eternal punishment because the punishment comes from eternity.
"These people will pay the penalty of eternaldestruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
You are certainly not supposed to understand that this destruction is Eternal as though destruction can never be achieved and therefore never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the destruction came from an Eternal source. It is called the eternal destruction because the destruction comes from eternity.
2 - The effects of the subject are Eternal. Examples below.
"of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."
You are certainly not supposed to understand that Judgment is Eternal as though Judgement Day never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the decisions of the Judgement are eternal. That judgement will always be the Judgement.
”Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternalredemption"
You are certainly not supposed to understand that redemption is Eternal as though the redeeming never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the effects of the redemption are eternal.
"according to the eternalpurpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,"
You are certainly not supposed to understand that this purpose is Eternal as though it can never be achieved and will always be the purpose. Rather you are supposed to understand that the effects of this purpose are eternal.
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
You are certainly not supposed to understand that this punishment is Eternal as though justice can never be achieved and the punishment never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the effects of the punishment are eternal and they correct you forever.
"These people will pay the penalty of eternaldestruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
You are certainly not supposed to understand that this destruction is Eternal as though destruction can never be achieved and therefore never ends. Rather you are supposed to understand that the effects of the destruction are Eternal.
Universal Salvation is the correct Doctrine for Biblical understanding.
The Father chose us In Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will. to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us In The Beloved. Ephesians 1: 4-6.
Before the foundation of the world… We were In Christ… We were In love… We were In The Beloved
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What Are We Now?
For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13;9-12
Now we are a child, We speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; we do childish things.
Now we know partially and we prophesy partially. Now we see God dimly.
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What Are We Now?
We eagerly wait for our Saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21
We are the Body of Christ in humble state.
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What Are We Now?
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22-23
Now we are like a child waiting to be born from Creation.
Now we are like a child who awaits his adoption.
We await the full redemption of our body, The Body of Christ.
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What Are We Now?
Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless Ephesians 5: 25-27
For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband--Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2
Now we are the promised bride of Christ. Betrothed to the Lamb.
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Do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16
Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge and in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:10
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
being renewed in the spirit of your minds; Ephesians 4:23
for we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
Who Will We Be?
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Revelation 19:6-9
First we will be the wife of Christ the Lamb
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Who Will We Be?
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into 'one' and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that 'in Himself' He might make the two into 'one newman', thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both 'inone body' to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access 'in oneSpirit' to the Father. Ephesians 2:13-18
Both Jesus and the Church will be as One in The One Body of Christ.
Both Jew and Gentile will be as One in The One Body of Christ. The Body of Christ will be The One New Man.
Who Will We Be?
He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Ephesians 4:28 -32
We will become One Flesh with Christ the Lamb.
We will be the fullness of Christ The Son of God.
We will be the completion of Christ The Son of God.
Who Will We Be?
He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, with regard to the fulfilment of the times [that is, the end of history, the climax of the ages]—to bring all things together in Christ, [both] things in the heavens and things on the earth. Ephesians 1:9-10
In the dispensation of the fullness of times He will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. Ephesians 1:10
Not only will we become One Flesh with Christ the Lamb, but All Things will come together and become One, in Christ.
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Who Will We Be?
Equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of 'the body of Christ; until 'weall' attain to the 'unity and oneness' of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to 'a mature man', to the measure of the stature which belongs to 'the fullness of Christ'. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom 'the whole body', being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of 'the body' for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16
We all will be One in The Body of Christ. We will know what it is to be The Son of God. The Body of Christ will be The One New Mature Man and we will be fully grown into Christ.
Who Will We Be?
We eagerly wait for our Saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state intoconformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21
Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3: 1-3
Our Body, the body of Christ will be transformed to be like the glorified body of Jesus Christ.
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Who Will We Be?
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22-23
For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
The Father has bought back Our Body, the body of Christ and we will be adopted by the Father.
When we became A Man we saw our Father face to face and we knew him fully just as He has always known us.
As a rule ghosts don't rush. They don't often have a particular place to be or a particular time to be there. So they watch a lot of TV and spend a lot of time at the movies watching the latest releases. In fact the red carpet premiere screenings that many rich and famous people attend are the most haunted places on earth.
Another reason ghosts don't hurry is because they can teleport. If they can see where they want to be, they can teleport there in the blink of an eye. Some ghosts can port anywhere on Mother Earth if they are in touch with her, because she can see everywhere. It sort of works like the transporters on Star Trek, the transporter turns your bodily matter into energy patterns then "beams" your energy to a target, where it is reconverted into matter. In the case of ghosts, the ghost dissolves into the skin of the Underworld and the combined consciousness of the ghost and Mother Earth causes the ghost to remanifest wherever said ghost needs to be. Short range teleports work on the same principle except the consciousness of Mother Earth is not required.
So when we think of our ghostly gang and their long journey to Dakota City we must realise that they are not tired, they need no rest or food and they are making good time by teleporting their way along. Craddock rides his horse not because he will get anywhere any faster, but because he is a vain and pompous prig. The other two are content to float along behind Craddock, letting him set the pace.
"There was an acrobat from a circus
Who chose to hang with a jerkus
A friend came along
Betrayed before long
But he knew of the acrobat's lurkus"
"Haha! very good Boston very good. My turn now. laughed Gary.
Once a snobby earthbound host
Thought he was a gentleman ghost
He wasn't so kind
With evil in mind
But he ended up with the most
"Your turn Boston hahaha"
Boston repeated the same limerick over again. "There was an acrobat from a circus
Who chose to hang with a jerkus
A friend came along
Betrayed before long
But he knew of the acrobat's lurkus"
"Ohh no, Not this again, cant you think of something different?"
"Ok, let me try.", said Boston. Boston proceeded to recite the exact same limerick another time.
"Arrrgghhhh, come on man! This is getting old! If you're going to bore me to death then I will get a ride with Jerkus hahahah"
"Well I just really like that one, in fact it has got to be the best limerick I have ever thought of, I don't want to forget it. Can we memorize it? Once we memorise it I can move on."
Gary's eyes rolled "Oh for a hit of heroine right now." he whined " Alright lets memorise the bloody poem then!"
They practiced the limerick until Deadman was satisfied that Gary knew it off by heart.
"There was an acrobat from a circus
Who chose to hang with a jerkus
A friend came along
Betrayed before long
But he knew of the acrobat's lurkus"
"Right" said Gary "Now hit me with a new one."
"I think I've had enough of limericks now." Answered Deadman
"Arrghhhhhh" Gary was exasperated, infuriated, frustrated. "I'm hitching a ride with Craddock" and he teleported up ahead to where Craddock was.
"You'll never remember my Poem!" Boston laughed light-heartedly
"Gobshite!" Gary called back.
Invisibility is another great thing about being a ghost. Deadman, Jim Craddock and Gary Lester, who incidentally was not allowed to ride with Craddock on his horse, were able to approach Dakota City without being seen by whoever was at the controls of the space craft. There were small ships darting about in the city. They were obviously scouting and guarding the cargo ships that took the factory merchandise up to the Mother Ship. The metal of the ships was dark grey but it reflected the light so that you could see all the colours of the rainbow glinting off of them at certain angles. You could see the rainbow refractions stop abruptly as they hit the faintly green energy shields that surrounded each ship. The noise of trucks coming and going was all that the ghosts could hear. The ships made no noise at all, eerie silence. Cargo was silently levitated from the trucks with the same green energy force that shielded the alien craft and gently placed inside the holds of the cargo ships. Apart from the truck drivers no one could be seen, no workers, no overseers, no aliens. Just cold silent automation.
"Have you been inside one of those ships?" Gary asked Craddock.
"No. I've been trying to acquire the means to exterminate them. Nth metal."
"Ah so that's why you want to see Alexander the Great!" exclaimed Boston.
"As I have told you. General Stuart has an Nth metal tank which I believe he procured from the largest Nth metal trader in all of Ghostdom, Alexander the Great. I have a plan to destroy these ships using Nth metal weaponry if only Alexander the Great would lend me his ear."
It was nearly dawn. After a big night Dead Man had returned to his circle in the centre of the park to think. He had made up his mind to go to Greece with Jim Cradock. After all, he had learned pretty much all he could from staying in Hub City. Albert, the old man, had been a help, although Dead Man couldn't get a word of sense out of him until he agreed to go to the factory where Chloe his granddaughter worked. Once they were there, the old man was at peace and could start to think about other things.
"We can't do what we want, we are being controlled, Sometimes I just want to sit and watch television or eat one of those donuts you keep talking about but if the desire gets too strong and it distracts from our labour, things just start to turn green and the desire goes away. If we try to fight against it, everything goes completely green and we regain consciousness later on, finding that we have been working all the while. I often think that I would happily comply if they would just let me give Chloe a hug or a chance for us to talk to each other."
"Sometimes when I am between sleep and awake I see a sun in my mind, only it is green."
" I can tell you that most of the metals we are working with are not like anything I've ever seen. We are making parts for something, you can see that we are making the ...errm...electronical parts. We just put them together and load them into boxes and they are taken away on trucks. At first I didn't know what I was doing but I was controlled and made to do it. Now that I know what to do it doesn't feel so much like I am being controlled, it's like team work now."
The trucks that came into the city to feed the factories, came from every direction, but Dead Man knew that the trucks full of the parts made by the factories all headed north out of the city. He figured they were headed to Dakota City. There were trucks full of metal plates, others with very large electrical cable, others with large gizmos and gadgets and huge circuit boards, all heading north. He and Craddock would have to go to Greece via Dakota city to check it out.
Morning finally dawned. Boston had been contemplating the horrors of the day before. Craddock's awful face for one, sometimes it was just a monocle and cigarette holder floating above his cloak and sometimes it was the face of a skeleton, manifesting Craddock's true evil intent. Craddock the evil bastard would have laughed and embraced the repugnant sight of humanity eating itself to survive. He would've stood there while a sick child was being slain, ready to capture the child's soul with some demonic artefact or other. Craddock was not to be trusted on any level. This brief allying of forces was strictly an information gathering exercise. Dead Man would have to keep a very close eye on the Gentleman Ghost. If he tried anything Dead Man would be ready, and if by chance the Gentleman Ghost caught him unawares; well Boston had a special Secret waiting for such an occasion. A Secret he had organised during the night.
"Top o da mornin to ye dere Boston.", a voice called out. It was Gary Lester wearing a leprechaun's hat and laying on an extra thick Irish accent.
"Gary frickin Lester, I haven't seen you since the last time I watched someone playing The Witcher. You were trapped in cyberspace. How the hell did you get out?"
"Well when "Da Greening" began oi was released from moi computer cairn. Oi cant say how it happened but oi do recall a flash in moi moind. It were da shoining green glow of a leprechauns arse hole...or maybe it was just the sun oim not sure."
Dead Man was torn between amusement and the need to get on with things."Yeah I've seen that in my mind too. Ok, I'll bite, what's with the accent and the hat?
"Well I thought it would be appropriate and all, given that I'm joining forces with this top hat wearing blatherskite." replied Gary in his normal voice as he motioned toward Craddock who appeared from behind a tree, mounted on his horse.
"And given that the world has become a somewhat permanent St Patrick's day, if only in colour, our friend has seen fit to celebrate his Irish roots." Added Craddock as he appeared.
'Oh nuts" thought Boston, "Im gunna need to get Gary onside. He's not a bad guy but he is extremely unreliable and very easily suggestible, and we all know Craddock is a master of suggestion."
"Well its a blessin from St Patrick himself ta meet anoder foin Oirishman on dis foin day." Said Boston. Will ya be headin ta Dakota City wit us den?"
"Haha" Gary was pleased. "Yes I will mate. Yes I will."
They all headed north to Dakota City. Craddock didn't seem to mind a slight delay from his trip to Greece. In fact it made sense to him that they should uncover the destination of the trucks, he would no doubt be showing them something important when they came closer to Dakota City anyway.
Gary and Boston began to play a teleportation game. Boston made a point to invite the snooty Gentleman Ghost to play but he was riding his horse and he didn't care for childish games.
"Hey Gaz, I will teleport into an object on our path and you see if you can guess which object I have teleported into, you get one guess."
"Ok, go........erm......The tree?"
Boston glided out of a parked car. "Nope sorry. Try again and win a prize." Boston teleported ahead again into another parked car.
"erm......the phone box?"
"Wrong again, I tell you what, I.ll have one more go and then its your turn."
"erm......the yellow car?
"Ding ding ding ding you win a soft sweet warm donut, well done."
They played this game all the way from Hub City to Pittsdale and every time Dead Man teleported, he hid inside a parked car. At first this seemed stupid to Gary, then it got so ridiculous that it was funny, then it became more like a game of guess the car rather than find the ghost. Finally it became tiresome and Gary began to wonder about Boston's intelligence quotient, still they had reached Pittsdale before nightfall and the game had kept them occupied. Boston and Gary then became absorbed in a to and fro of Irish jokes and limericks.
Craddock was up ahead and he had stopped still. The two Irishmen looked up and their smiles and laughter melted away. Craddock was pointing up ahead in the sky at a huge space craft that floated, seemingly without sound. It was circular with five points coming out of it like a star. They could just make out smaller ships ascending and descending to and from the city sized mother ship.
"This is what I thought we would find" said Craddock. "This sort of thing is happening all over the globe."
He floated there above the paved circle that joined all the paths in the park together. Surrounding him were statues of the seven Justice League Heroes. Each one of them guarded one of the seven paths that led off from the paved circle.
His eyes were closed and he was meditating, concentrating on summoning the goddess Rama Kushna. He had tried to commune with her almost everyday since he discovered that he could no longer posses people, but it seemed that their connection to each other was broken. He broke off from his meditation and wafted out of the park and through the town, thinking.
"What's the point of going to see Alexander the Great anyway. he thought. How can he help?
I can't trust that whack job Jim Craddick either, for all I know he's behind this whole mess. Mmph I might go check out the mess hall, see who's eatin'. Like I don't know."
Boston had taken a liking to watching a certain Old man and his granddaughter as they ate in the mess hall. He liked the good wholesome innocence that they represented. He had begun to read their eyes as they looked at each other, unable to speak. He could see love and comfort in their faces because they were together. When something unusual would happen such as a bird flying into the mess hall, they would look at each other and Boston could see the laughter in their eyes. It just made him feel good. He would have liked to posses them and experience the love of a grandparent and grandchild.
"What?" Boston thought "Where is the old bastard? He should be here. The girl is here eating. He's probably takin a crap."
As Dead Man drifted closer to the girl he became conscious of the tears in her eyes and a look of despair. He had to get away.
"I don't need this" he said and he hovered away through the kitchen of the mess hall, past the same chef who cooks up the same slop every day, Boston always thought it was funny seeing a chef look disgusted at his own food, and not just disgusted but positively nauseous.
"Hey! Hey you!" a voice yelled at Boston.
Boston turned to see where the voice had come from and right there by the service counter was the old man that he had been watching for weeks. It was good to see him, a welcome relief from the heartache he had left behind in the mess hall.
"Hey Buddy!" Boston laughed happily. "It's great to see you."
"They are eating me." Said the old man in zombie like shock.
"Huh?"
"Chloe is eating me." The old man growled in distress. He then took off past Dead Man and through the kitchen wall. Boston perused him. He found himself in the cool room where the old man stood looking down at his clothes that were still left on the floor.
"I got that coat in the army." the old guy said. "My wife fixed it so it looked new."
"They're eating you!?" Boston exclaimed.
"I had terrible pain in my arm and chest. I thought they were taking me for medical attention but they took me here and slit my throat. We've all been eating dead people! My granddaughter is eating me right now!"
Boston scanned the room and spied a box marked "Donut mix". "What I wouldn't give for a donut." he thought. He knew he should be sickened by the bits of the old man's skin and hair that were in that pile of clothes on the floor but all he could think of was eating a warm delicious donut.
"Well this aint good. C'mon we gotta get outa here."
"But...but Chloe...what about Chloe?"
"She'll be back here same time tomorrow Bud, eatin the same food in the same place. There's nothing we can do. C'mon, we need a change of scenery." Together they drifted through the cool room wall and headed down the alley behind the kitchen.
"Im Boston by the way."
"Albert."
"Pleased to meet you Albert..... Remember eating donuts?......"
Don't be confused. This blog does not contain evidence for the existence of an Intelligent Designer. This blog contains evidence showing that things were designed by an intelligence.
For now I have copied and adjusted @WillPayton: s Thread Design for this blog. I will add to, and adjust this OP over time.
The Theory of Intelligent Design is going to become one of the most tested, well supported, and accepted theories in science. Quite often on this site people get into arguments about whether Intelligent Design is actually even true or not. This tends to happen in the various religion threads like clockwork.
The purpose of this thread is to present and compile informational links, videos, and pieces of evidence for why Intelligent Design is true, and to be able to use this as a resource in future discussions. Instead of getting into yet another argument about whether there is or isnt evidence supporting Intelligent Design, you can now just link to this thread and be done with it.
(If you run across any new pieces of evidence or interesting resources, please PM me and I can include it here at the top of the thread.)
Let's begin!
What is a scientific "theory" and how is it validated?
A theory in science is an explanation of some system or aspect of the natural world. A theory usually explains how individual facts and natural laws fit together, makes testable and falsifiable predictions about what that system should look like, and is generally very well substantiated by observations and experimentation.
When a scientific theory becomes an "accepted" theory (i.e. it gains scientific consensus) that theory is pretty much understood to be a fact and a correct explanation of how that aspect of nature works. Examples of such theories are Quantum Mechanics, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, the Germ Theory of Disease, and Plate Tectonics.
In science, theories make predictions, those predictions are then tested, and either the tests support the theory or contradict it. If they support it, we keep testing in new ways until we have a very high level of confidence in the theory. If any observation or experiment contradicts the theory, that theory is discarded. All it takes is one of a theories predictions to shown false for a theory to be rejected.
What is the Theory of Intelligent Design?
Intelligent Design says that all organisms on Earth are linked through a common designer. Organisms are designed to change as they reproduce, these changes lead to new and different traits. By the process of Natural Selection, those traits that allow an organism to reproduce more are then more likely to be represented in the next generation. Through this process beneficial genes are passed on and harmful ones die off. DNA is designed to change in certain loci and the selective process of the environment causes organisms to adapt.
The strength of Intelligent Design as a theory is that its predictions have been tested and supported over more than 150 years by many different and independent types of evidence, from DNA to fossils to geographical distributions and comparative anatomy. And, no one has yet found any evidence that contradicts Intelligent Design.
What predictions does Intelligent Design make?
We should find that organisms of the same Genus/Family are more complex in the fossil record the further back we look.
· Traces of the Common Design between species should be observed in their DNA.
· The first Phyla (organisms) should appear suddenly in the fossil record.
· Designs such as, body type, organs, systems etc should appear suddenly in the fossil record.
· Species should be seen to become specialized for their environment over time.
· Species should devolve in the course of specialization.
· We should find that organs, and systems within organisms have a purpose, even if currently unknown.
· We should find codes, complex and specialized information, encryptions, translations, transcriptions, editing, correction mechanisms, adjustment mechanisms at the base level of an organism.
· Mutations should be repeatable in the same species by applying the same selective pressure.
· Natural selection conserves genetic information so we should see organisms that have hardly changed since their initial design.
So lets build a case for prediction 1
1. We should find that organisms of the same Genus/Family are more complex in the fossil record the further back we look. (oh no now I have some work to do.....Ill be back.)
Dead Man watched the world change all around him. He watched as normal everyday people began to work together toward some kind of common goal. It was like the whole of Hub City had become one huge factory. Large numbers of trucks moved around town regularly and he found that he could predict where a truck would be to within one minute, the same trucks would come by at the same time every day, week or fortnight depending on their destinations. People would come by at the same times each day also. He was guaranteed to see the same people come by in the same places at the same times every day. Cars, trains, planes and buses were all the same and traffic flowed smoothly and precisely, there were no traffic jams or horns beeping, no one shouting, no breakdowns and no accidents, just efficiency, like you see on a production line of a factory.
"What the hell is going on Boston!?"
"Jim Craddick? Why would you wana talk to me?"
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"Well I tried striking a conversation with General Stuart but it seems he has managed to obtain an Nth metal Tank, no doubt with matching Nth metal weaponry. He threatened to... erm... 'Blow me back to my Gal-Boy King'."
"Whadaya want?"
"I want to see Alexander the Great and I insist you help me gain an audience with him, apparently he was allowed to slay thousands of peasants but I am not worthy of his presence because I've managed to acquire a few extra souls on my humble journey through death. Hypocritical don't you think? Well, have you been to Greece since these events have transpired? "
"I aint gone anywhere."
"What? What have you been doing?...Twiddling? I've been all over the Globe, every continent, every country, trying to get to the bottom of this mockery; and you! You haunt the same house everyday watching re-runs of The Nanny I suppose!"
"I been doing my homework Bud! Like you don't even know that there aint no TV anymore. No one watches it, no one works at the TV stations, no one goes to movies or parks or bowling, not even the circus. All people do all day is work, eat and sleep, even kids are going to work in the factories. No one talks anymore, people just look at each other. Some of them look like zombies, some of them look to be in pain, others look like they are struggling, fighting against it; and have you sat in one place long enough to notice that the world looks green?"
" Green?"
"Yeah like there is a green hue over everything."
"Never mind that nonsense. Did you possess these people and find out what the hell is going on?"
"I can't, something is stopping me. I went to see a great Detective that I know..."
'Who?"
"Good Question. Anyway, of all the people I've been watching, he is the only one who has managed to fight hard enough to speak a word. He seemed to be peacefully going off to bed but once he laid down I began to see him fight, he seemed to be trying to cover his mouth with his hands, or maybe trying to keep from covering it. Then with great pain and effort on his face he said "I've". After that he shut his eyes and went to sleep, and that was when I tried to posses him. I moved in up through the chakras like I usually do, I thought I had all his basic stuff, survival, sex, dominion; but then I went through the sky gateway and Bam! I was outa there before I knew it, I mean I was thrown outa his room and right outa the building."
"That's it? 'I've'? I've? You mean that's all you've got?"
"Well yeah..except..right before I got the boot, a green sun flashed up in my mind."
"So are you going to help me Boston or am I going to add you to my collection?"
The-Saviour could now set about his saving work because The-Son (who is the body of all who are one with The-Saviour) was established and growing in The-Womb of The Universe.
“The New-Tree is planted. The old tree may now perish.” he said to them.
He allowed those who didn’t like him to hang him from a tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the World-Tree.
Hanging then from the tree The-Saviour saw a vision of The-Woman (who is Mother-Nature, our Universe) and of all those who he loves, who are one in him (The-Son).
He said to The-Woman, “Woman, behold, your Son!”
Then He said to all those he loves, who are one in him, “Son, behold, your Mother!”
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Death of The-Saviour and the symbol of the tree
The presence of the tree in the death of the The-Saviour is a symbol...
...honouring the death and regrowth of The-Tree in the beginning.
...foreshadowing the death of the World-Tree, our universe and the growth of the New Tree that is coming to replace her.
Christianity
“If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.799
And when they had platted a crown of thorns they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand with which they also whipped his head: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!800
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.801
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.802
Ancient Scandinavia
I know that I hung on the windswept tree all nine nights
With spear I was wounded and given to Odin
Myself to me
On that tree which no one knows from which roots it grows.
Bread I was not given, no drink from the horn, downward I glared; up I pulled the runes, screaming I took
them, from there I fell back again.803
Buyagoma of Burundi
God sent a beautiful angel to help the first people. The people saw the angel fly down on wings of thunder and they were terrified. “Do not fear me. God has sent me to help you. Ask what you wish.” The people asked for farming animals. God smiled and animals fell from the clouds. The Angel of God stayed on earth for many years to help people with their troubles but then one day evil men seized the angel and nailed him to a tree with iron spikes! God pulled out the spikes and healed the angel’s wounds. God sent a storm that blew the angel back to heaven.804
Bushmen of Southern Africa
Cagn was the first being, he gave orders and caused all things to appear. One day Cagn sent Cogaz his chief son to cut sticks for bows but he was caught by baboons. They asked him who sent him there. Cogaz told them. So they said “Your father thinks himself more clever than we are. He wants to kill us with those bows so we will kill you.” and they killed Cogaz and tied him up in the top of a tree and they danced around the tree singing. Then Cagn took Cogaz down and gave him canna and made him alive again.805
Hindu
There was a poisonous serpent called Kaliya in the waters of Jamna. For four leagues about him the water the boiled and bubbled with the serpent poison. No bird or beast could get near him without dying of poison. Only one solitary Kadamba tree grew on the river bank. Krishna had just healed some herdsman who had drunk from the waters and was now inclined to subdue the wicked serpent. He climbed the lone tree and hung from it over the water. With his belt well fastened, he slapped his arms and dropped into the poisonous water. Kaliya rose up with his hundred and ten hoods vomiting poison. But Krishna played in the water with no fear. Furious with Krishna’s lack of respect Kaliya bit Krishna’s tender parts and wrapped himself around Krishna’s body. Seeing Krishna lying motionless in the coils of the serpent his dear friends collapsed in great distress, they were overcome with sorrow and pain because they thought Krishna had met his death.806
Then Balarama went to the ocean and resorting to yoga he fixed his mind on the Supreme Being and departed from the world of mortals. Krishna saw his departure and placed himself down upon the lap of the earth under a banyan tree and was manifested in his four armed god-form dispelling the four quarters of darkness by his radiance. As he sat he placed his reddish lotus foot on his right thigh. Just then a hunter named Jara, who had approached the place, mistook the Lord’s foot for a deer’s face. Thinking he had found his prey, Jara pierced the foot with his arrow, which he had fashioned from the remaining iron fragment of Samba’s club. Then, seeing that four-armed god-form, the hunter became terrified of the offense he had committed, and he fell down, placing his head upon the feet of the enemy of the demons. Jara said: O Lord, I am a most sinful person. I have committed this act out of ignorance. O purest Lord, please forgive this sinner. O Lord Vishnu, the learned say that for any man, constant remembrance of You will destroy the darkness of ignorance. O master, I have wronged You! Therefore, O Lord of, please kill this sinful hunter of animals immediately so he may not again commit such offenses against saintly persons. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Jara, do not fear. Please get up. What has been done is actually My own desire. With My permission, go now to the abode of the pious, the spiritual world. Krishna’s charioteer Daruka soon arrived and upon seeing Lord Krishna resting at the foot of a banyan tree, surrounded by His shining weapons, Daruka could not control the affection he felt in his heart. His eyes filled with tears as he rushed down from the chariot and fell at the Lord’s feet.807 Without employing the mystic agni meditation to burn up His transcendental body, which is the all- attractive resting place of all the worlds and the object of all contemplation and meditation, Lord Krishna entered into His own abode.808
Buddhism
This was the manner of Buddha’s death, called Parinirvana, or Final Release. In the forty-fifth year of his ministry the Buddha suffered from a severe illness, and declared that he would not live long. All this was endured that others might be reminded that none are exempt from old age, decay, and death. Buddha lay down on a couch in a grove of sal-trees near Kushinagara. Then he said : “Now fourty five years have passed for me. While i lie on the bed of final enlightenment In between the two sala trees. Now I depart to Nirvana; I leave with you my ordinances ; the elements of the all-knowing one will indeed pass away, but the three gems will remain.” But Ananda broke down and wept bitterly. Then Buddha continued : “ O Ananda, do not let yourself be troubled ; do not weep. Have I not taught you that we must part from all that we hold most dear and pleasant? No being soever born or created can overcome the tendency to dissolution inherent in itself; a condition of permanence is impossible. For a long time, Ananda, your kindness in act and thought and speech has brought you very near to me. You have always done well; persevere, and you, too, shall win to perfect freedom from this thirst of life, this chain of ignorance.” Then he turned to the other mourners and commended Ananda to them. He said also that the least of those present who had entered the path to Release should never entirely fail, but should at last prevail and reach Nirvana. After a pause he said again: “Mendicants, I now impress it upon you that the parts and powers of man must be dissolved; work out your salvation with diligence.” Shortly afterward the Buddha became unconscious and passed away. He thus finished all the duties of a Buddha. While lying on the bed of final enlightenment between the twin sala trees in the sala grove.809
Ancient Greece
Attis was a boy of marvelous beauty. The tale goes on that Agdistis fell in love with him. The savage deity took the grown lad out hunting, led him into the most inaccessible wildernesses and gave him spoils of the chase. Midas, King of Pessinous, sought to separate Attis from Agdistis, and to this end gave the boy his own daughter to wife. Agdistis appeared at the wedding and drove the participants mad with the notes of a syrinx. Attis castrated himself beneath a pine-tree, crying out: “Unto thee, Agdistis!” And thus he died.810
Aino
A handsome and brave young man, who was skilful in the chase, one day pursued a large bear into the recesses of the mountains. On and on ran the bear, and still the young fellow pursued it up heights and crags more and more dangerous, but without ever being able to get near enough to shoot it with his poisoned arrows. At last, on a bleak mountain-summit, the bear disappeared down a hole in the ground. The young man followed it in, and found himself in an immense cavern, at the far end of which was a gleam of light. Towards this he groped his way, and, on emerging, found himself in another world. Everything there was as in the world of men, but more beautiful. There were trees, houses, villages, human beings. With these, however, the young hunter had no concern. What he wanted was his bear, which had totally disappeared. The best plan seemed to be to seek it in the remoter mountain district of this new world underground. So he followed up a valley; and, being tired and hungry, picked the grapes and mulberries that were hanging to the trees, and ate them as he trudged along. Happening suddenly, for some reason or other, to look down upon his own body, what was not his horror to find himself transformed into a serpent! His very cries and groans, on making the discovery, were turned into serpent’s hisses. What was he to do? To go back like this to his native world, where snakes are hated, would be certain death. No plan presented itself to his mind. But, unconsciously, he wandered, or rather crept and glided, back to the entrance of the cavern that led home to the world of men; and there, at the foot of a pine-tree of extraordinary size and height, he fell asleep. To him then, in a dream, appeared the goddess of the pine-tree, and said: “I am sorry to see you in this state. Why did you eat of the poisonous fruits of The Underworld? The only thing you can do to recover your proper shape is to climb to the top of this pine-tree, and fling yourself down. Then you may, perhaps, become a human being again.” On waking from this dream, the young man,—or rather snake, as he still found himself to be,—was filled half with hope and half with fear. But he resolved to follow the goddess’ advice. So, gliding up the tall pine tree, he reached its topmost branch, and, after hesitating a few moments, flung himself down. Crash he went. On coming to his senses, he found himself standing at the foot of the tree; and close by was the body of an immense serpent, ripped open so as to allow of his having crawled out of it. After offering up thanks to the pine-tree, and setting up the divine symbols in its honour, he hastened to retrace his steps through the long, tunnel-like cavern, through which he had originally entered The Underworld. After walking for a certain time, he emerged into the world of men, to find himself on the mountain-top, whither he had pursued the bear which he had never seen again. On reaching his home, he went to bed, and dreamt a second time. It was the same goddess of the pine tree, that appeared before him and said: “I have come to tell you that you cannot stay long in the world of men after once eating the grapes and mulberries of The Underworld. There is a goddess in The Underworld who wishes to marry you. She it was who, assuming the form of a bear, lured you into the cavern, and thence to the Underworld. You must make up your mind to come away.” And so it fell out. The young man awoke; but a grave sickness overpowered him. A few days later he went a second time to The Underworld, and returned no more to the land of the living.—(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 22nd July, 1886.)811
Then the most horrifying thing happened to The-Saviour. The connection of his mind to the mind of The-Man was broken.
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” He cried
This is much like what happened with The-Woman only she was the one who took her mind away from The-Man.
This time The-Man took his mind away from The-Saviour.
When the The-Mind of The-Man receded from The-Saviour so also did The-Spirit recede from full connection with The-Saviour’s bodily soul.
“I am thirsty!” he cried.
This is much like what happened with The-Woman only she was the one who took her bodily soul away from The-Spirit. This time it was The-Spirit who moved away from The-Saviour. The-Saviour was left hanging there with his bodily soul still focused on the memory of his Father.
In the day when The-Woman’s bodily soul dropped away from The- Man and from The-Spirit, it changed from being like a vine to being like a serpent.
It changed from being rooted in and growing into The-Spirit to being a lone entity.
In the same way, with the full connection to his father severed, the bodily soul of The-Saviour also became a serpent.
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And for the first time, darkness fell over the whole of creation.
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The bodily soul of The-Saviour had become just like the many who are one with the serpent power of The-Woman.
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Death of The-Saviour and the Symbol of the Serpent
Sumer
Inanna Queen of heaven ascended from the underworld, the Galla, the demons of the underworld, clung to her side. The galla were demons who know no food, who know no drink, who eat no offerings, who drink no libations, who accept no gifts!...
...When Inanna arrived in Uruk, and came upon her husband, Dumuzi, she found him sitting on his magnificent throne, dressing in his finest garments. Dumuzi did not move. Inanna told the Galla: “Take him! Take Dumuzi away!” The Galla seized him by his thighs, breaking the reed pipe which he had been playing. They beat him and gashed him with axes. Whereupon Dumuzi let out a wail, raising his hands to heaven to Utu, the God of Justice, and beseeching him to change him into a snake so that he could escape his demons. Merciful, Utu accepted Dumuzi’s tears and changed him into a snake.... 812
Ancient Greece
Asclepius, the Greek physician is traditionally depicted as a bearded man wearing a robe and holding a rod with a single serpent coiled around it. The Rod of Asclepius is our symbol for Medicine
Judaism
The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
Judaism/ Christianity
I am a worm, and not a man, A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
“ Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”…..
For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me. 814
Christianity
Jesus said “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”815
Maori of New Zealand
Te Tuna the Monster Eel said to Maui: “We shall have to fight a duel, and when one of us has been killed the other will take the woman for himself.”
“What sort of duel would you like it to be?” Maui asked. And Te Tuna said: “We shall first engage in a contest in which each goes completely into the body of the other, and when that is over, I am going to kill you, take my woman, and return with her to my own land.”
“Let it be as you wish,” Maui agreed. Then he asked: “And who is to be the first?”
“I’ll begin,” the Monster Eel replied, and when Maui consented, Te Tuna stood up and commenced chanting his incantation:
The Orea-eel swings and sways, The Orea-eel balances his head lower and lower: He is a mighty monster who has come hither across the ocean from his distant isle. Your phallus will urinate from fright!
The monster contracts, becoming smaller and smaller. It is I, Te Tuna the Monster Eel, who now enter, O Maui, into your body!
And Te Tuna disappeared completely into Maui’s body, where he disposed himself to remain. However,
after a long while, he came out again. Maui had not been disturbed in the least. “Well, now it is my turn,” Maui said. 816
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And The-Saviour, cried out with a loud voice, saying,
“Father, Into Your hands I commit my spirit!”
He bowed His head and breathed His last.
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With his physical body now dead he found that he was The-Seed of The-Man once again with all the authority of The-Man. His mission as a human was complete. No longer did he have to submit to the powers of our world.
He saw that he was bound to the underworld because he was one with the serpent power. But death could not hold The-Seed of The- Man as it does humanity. He cut off his serpent power and was no longer one with The-Woman or with humanity.
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Casting off the serpent power to escape the Underworld
Here the hero must die by tree and in doing so his own serpent power is circumcised from him; he is then able to escape the underworld.
Aino
A handsome and brave young man, who was skillful in the chase, one day, pursued a large bear into the recesses of the mountains. On and on ran the bear and still the young fellow pursued it up heights and crags more and more dangerous, but without ever being able to get near enough to shoot it with his poisoned arrows. At last, on a bleak mountain-summit, the bear disappeared down a hole in the ground. The young man followed it in, and found himself in an immense cavern, at the far end of which was a gleam of light. Towards this he groped his way, and, on emerging, found himself in another world. Everything there was as in the world of men, but more beautiful. There were trees, houses, villages, human beings. With these, however, the young hunter had no concern. What he wanted was his bear, which had totally disappeared.
[Little did he know The bear was a goddess of The Underworld who wished to marry him. She it was who assumed the form of a bear, lured him into the cavern, and thence to the Underworld]
The best plan seemed to be to seek it in the remoter mountain district of this new world underground. So he followed up a valley; and, being tired and hungry, picked the grapes and mulberries that were hanging to the trees, and ate them as he trudged along. Happening suddenly, for some reason or other, to look down upon his own body, what was not his horror to find himself transformed into a serpent! His very cries and groans, on making the discovery, were turned into serpent’s hisses. What was he to do? To go back like this to his native world, where snakes are hated, would be certain death. No plan presented itself to his mind. But, unconsciously, he wandered, or rather crept and glided, back to the entrance of the cavern that led home to the world of men; and there, at the foot of a pine-tree of extraordinary size and height, he fell asleep. To him then, in a dream, appeared the goddess of the pine-tree, and said: “I am sorry to see you in this state. Why did you eat of the poisonous fruits of The Underworld? The only thing you can do to recover your proper shape is to climb to the top of this pine-tree, and fling yourself down. Then you may, perhaps, become a human being again.” On waking from this dream, the young man,—or rather snake, as he still found himself to be,—was filled half with hope and half with fear. But he resolved to follow the goddess’ advice. So, gliding up the tall pinetree, he reached its topmost branch, and, after hesitating a few moments, flung himself down. Crash he went. On coming to his senses, he found himself standing at the foot of the tree; and close by was the body of an immense serpent, ripped open so as to allow of his having crawled out of it. After offering up thanks to the pine-tree, and setting up the divine symbols in its honour, he hastened to retrace his steps through the long, tunnel-like cavern, through which he had originally entered The Underworld. After walking for a certain time, he emerged into the world of men, to find himself back on the mountain-top, whither he had pursued the bear. .—(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 22nd July, 1886.)816
The True Circumcision
The-Saviour cut off the serpent from himself, this is the first true circumcision.
The serpent has always been seen as a phallic symbol and so circumcision or indeed full emasculation is a symbol of the cutting away of the serpent power, the true circumcision to come.
Gnosticism
Some gnostics describe the negative aspects of the serpent power within the individual as “kundartiguator” which means the “abominable organ” 817
Jesus’ disciples said to Him, “Is circumcision beneficial or not?” He said to them, “If it were beneficial, their father would beget them already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become completely profitable.”818
Death, Circumcision and Emasculation
Here we see that true circumcision/emasculation comes after death or in connection with death.
Ancient Australians
Aranda Aboriginal youths are decorated and placed under blankets as a symbol of death. Then the sacrificial operation of circumcision is performed.819
The Xhosa of Africa
A Xhosa boy is considered to be a man by the others of his tribe, after he has gone through the initiation of the circumcision lodge, which can take more than a week. During the time of the initiation, the young men live in special huts, secluded from the rest of the tribe and especially from any females. The boys cover themselves all over with white sandstone and wrap themselves in a reed skirt and a reed cone headdress with a fringe-like mask. When the day of the circumcision comes the symbols of the death of the child begin; they burn all the items that they have used in the rituals including the huts. They circumsize the boy and after the circumcision they are required to bury their foreskin and are driven to the river while being beaten by the initiators. Finally all the white sandstone is washed from their bodies and with it the last vestiges of their youth. They return to their villages and are daubed with red ochre which is not removed for another three months. After this, they are considered to be men. 820
Ancient Greece
Cybele loved the beautiful shepherd, and made him her own priest on condition that he should preserve his chastity inviolate. Attis broke the covenant with a nymph, the daughter of the river-god Sangarius, and was thrown by the goddess into a state of madness, in which he unmanned himself. When in consequence he wanted to put an end to his life, Cybele changed him into a fir tree, which henceforth became sacred to her, and she commanded that, in future, her priests should be eunuchs.821
Attis was a handsome youth loved by the goddess Kybele. However when she discovered that he had been unfaithful, she forced him to castrate himself and transformed him into a silver fir. The tree was decorated at the centre of her orgiastic rituals, its phallic cone representing the castrated members of her lover.822
Adonis pricked the boar with a swift-turned spear. The fiery boar tore out the slender splinter And rushed the boy, who saw his death heave toward him. With one great thrust he pierced the boy’s white loins. And left him dying where one saw his blood flow into rivulets on golden sands.823
Set found the coffer of Osiris as he was hunting a boar one night by the light of a full moon. And he knew the body, and rent it into fourteen pieces, and scattered them abroad. But Isis sailed up and down the marshes looking for the pieces and she buried each limb as she found it so that if Set searched again for the body he might not be able to find it. However, the genital member of Osiris had been eaten by the fishes, so Isis made an image of it instead.824
“But the Aigyptians (Egyptians) in their myths about Priapos [i.e. the Egyptian god Min] say that in ancient times the Titanes formed a conspiracy against Osiris [who was identified with Zagreus] and slew him, and then, taking his body and dividing it into equal parts among themselves, they slipped them secretly out of the house, but this organ alone they threw into the river, since no one of them was willing to take it with him. But Isis [Demeter or Io] tracked down the murder of her husband [or son in the Greek version], and after slaying the Titanes and fashioning the several pieces of his body into the shape of a huma n figure, she gave them to the priests with orders that they pay Osiris the honours of a god, but since the only member she was unable to recover was the organ of sex she commanded them to pay to it the honours of a god and set it up in their temples in an erect position. Now this is the myth about the birth of Priapos and the honours paid to him, as it is given by the ancient Aigyptians.” “This god [Zagreus] was born in Krete (Crete), men say, of Zeus and Persephone, and Orpheus has handed down the tradition in the initiatory rites that he was torn in pieces by the Titanes. And the fact is that there have been several who bore the name Dionysos.”825
An intriguing parallel to the fall of Humanity can be found in the story of the enlightenment of the Buddha
The Bodhi tree, tree of awakening, also called the tree of wisdom or the tree of knowledge. It is positioned at the immovable midpoint of the world. This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil found in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
The idea of “awakening” is the same idea found in the Garden of Eden where after they ate the fruit “the eyes of them both were opened”.
The serpent in Eden encourages Adam and Eve to take the knowledge of good and evil just as the serpent king encourages the Buddha to do the same.
Here I have the two stories for you to read, only I have swapped the names of the characters and adjusted the stories slightly to make it work.
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Adam proceeded toward the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, As he walked along the forest path hundreds of kingfishers, peacocks, and other birds and beasts surrounded and encircled him. Devas, serpents, asuras and creatures of every kind walked along with him to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent king, Lucifer who dwelt near the path, chanted his praise; and his wife, with countless serpent girls, welcomed him with flags and flowers and jeweled ornaments, and sung perpetual songs of praise. Then Lord God the evil one assembled his army. There were some with a hundred thousand mouths, some with heads, hands or eyes or feet misshapen, some with fiery tongues, some devouring serpents and other kinds. All these marched toward the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam took his seat on the eastern side of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil vowing never to rise until he had attained the knowledge of good and evil. Lord God tried to trouble him with the cares of the world but he was all the more determined to attain something better. The goddess of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil rejoiced and cast her jewels before him and prayed him to persevere. Goddesses of other trees came also and offered flowers and perfumes and songs of praise and encouragement. Lord God tried to tempt him with his daughters and their sexual wiles and arguments. But he was unchanged. Lord God sent his army in to attack; so fearsome were they that the gods dispersed in fear. But he was unchanged. They attacked him but they were paralyzed and their spears fell as flowers before him. And Lord God attacked him with his discus of great power but it did not touch him. “Be gone!” Lord God said with great anger. Adam replied “This throne is mine. How can you who have no merit posses it?” Then Lord God boasted “My merit is greater than yours.” And Lord God called his army to witness and they called out with a sound like the roar of the sea rising to the very sky “We witness!” And Adam said “I have an impartial witness”; and he stretched out his hand from his robe like lightening from an orange cloud and touched the earth and called on her to witness his merit. The Goddess Earth rose at his feet and cried out with a hundred thousand voices like the sound of a cosmic drum; “I witness.” Through that night Adam’s eyes were opened; he perceived the exact conditions of all beings, He gained divine insight so that all things far or near appeared to him as if they were close at hand. Then he obtained the knowledge that unfolds the causes of the repetition of existence and the privileges of the four paths. At dawn he became a Supreme and Perfectly Enlightened One. He meditated there for seven days then he fixed his gaze upon the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for another seven days, then he walked for seven days, then he sat for seven days where the doctrine became clear to him. In the fifth week he sat under the tree Ajapala and experienced Nirvana; during the sixth week he sat by Lake Lucifer, where Lucifer the king of serpents sheltered him from storms of rain. When the storms were over Lucifer changed into his human form, bowed before Adam and went back to his palace with joy. He sat beneath a fig tree for a week then moved around to other places. Four gods brought him an offering and a goddess daughter of the gods brought him rags to wear.
The Fall of Man
Genesis 3
1 Now Muchalinda, the serpent king was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord Mara had made and was very old, having seen more than one of the former Buddhas come by that way. And he said to the bodhisattva, "Indeed, has Mara said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2 The bodhisattva said to the serpent king, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the Bodhitree beneath which the previous Buddhas had attained the enlightenment, which is in the middle of the garden, Mara has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' " 4 The serpent king said to the bodhisattva, "You surely will not die! 5 "For Mara knows that in the day you eat from it you will be enlightened, and you will becomeBuddha, knowing good and evil." 6 When the bodhisattva saw that the Bodhi tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the Bodhi tree was desirable to make one wise, he took from its fruit and ate. 7 Then the eyes of the bodhisattva were opened, and he knew that he was naked; and he sewed fig leaves together and made himself loin coverings. 8 He heard the sound of the Lord Mara walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and he hid himself from the presence of the Lord Mara among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord Mara called to the Buddha, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the Bodhi tree of which I commanded you not to eat? What is this you have done?" 12 And the Buddha said, "The serpent king deceived me, and I ate." 14 The Lord Mara said to the serpent king, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the Buddha, And between your seed and his seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." 16 To the Buddha He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; And they will rule over you." 17 "Because you have eaten from the Bodhi tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."
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