The Light of Life

The Light of LifeMoses at the Well of Be'er (Dura) “In him was life, which life was the light of men... That was the true Light which enlightens every man who comes into the world.” John 1: 4, 9 Daniel Drumm The angels of peace weep bitterly. The roads are ruined, and no one travels the Way. The covenant is made void. Isaiah 33: 7-8 Author’s Note What the concept of the Logos - theologically translated as the Word - meant in Christ’s day, and the relation Greek philosophy had to Christianity, can be read in a brief selection from the Cliff Notes to the New Testament before the main text is read. It is included at the start of the appendix. Otherwise it might be felt that the statements made in the text about Light and Reason don’t relate to Christianity. It is strange that later centuries have practically erased the role that reason (logos) and the mind or understanding (nous) play in connecting man to the Logos. The Logos was known anciently as Reason, or the acting Ideas, Order, or Intelligence of God. The claim that Jesus was God was made primarily because John said in the opening lines of his Gospel that Jesus was the Logos, a concept from Greek philosophy. Other quotes like, “Why do you call me good? There is One who is good and He is God” (Mt 19:17; Mk 10:18; Lk 18:19), coupled with Jesus’ claim that he was not blaspheming when he called himself the Son of God, because everyone who is taught by the Spirit is a Son of God (Jn 10: 2-6; Rom 8:14,16; Jn 6:45; Heb 8: 6-1; Psalm 82: 1, 6-7) argue against it. So what the Logos meant in Greek philosophy, and in Philo, called the Thirteenth Apostle, whose ideas helped shape early Christian thought, is important to understand. “God is Truth, and his shadow is Light.” Philo, who was familiar with this saying of Plato’s, called the Logos the shadow of God; and the Apostle John identified the Logos as “the true Light which enlightens everyone coming into the world.” The Logos was conceived as “apportioned into an infinite number of parts in humans” (Philo: Her. 24-26), with the reasoning capacity of the human mind being a portion of the all-pervading Divine Logos. The mind itself was a special gift to humans from God and has a divine essence (from Hillar’s notes on Philo in the appendix p.22). In the Various Notes section (p.21) which follows the Cliff Notes In the appendix are statements from different religious and noetic traditions that amplify the text, and indicate that other traditions than the Christian are similarly aware of many things Jesus and the Apostles taught. Following that are the ideas of a Jewish philosopher of Christ’s time, Philo (20 B.C.-50 A.D.), with whom Paul and John seem familiar (p.22). His ideas form an extraordinary link between Jewish and Greek thinking, and perhaps helped enable the Apostles to communicate to their varied audiences. If Jesus’ words about manna are accurately reported they sound unaccountably like Philo’s. Philo attempted to relate Greek philosophy with Jewish revelation and was influential in early Christian thinking. He was even called the 1th Apostle. The selections on Philo included in the notes are by Marion Hillar, from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Following the notes in the appendix every Biblical reference cited in the text is included in full (p.24). They are arranged in order and in columns so you can flip back and forth to the text. Following that are a few specific Biblical references that concern overcoming death (p.29). Daniel Drumm February 25, 2007 "The greatest Church Fathers attest... there is... an ontological link or bond (sungeneia) Please send any questions or comments to [email protected]. Include “Light of Life” in the subject header. Frontispiece: Moses at the Well of Be’er- from Dura (Europas), detail of the wall-painting from the Synagogue at Dura. Columbia University Art Database, http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/dbcourses/item?skip=140 Daniel Drumm © 2007 connecting the human present with the divine future. As Zizioulas, discussing Justin Martyr, summarizes: 'The permanent sungeneia between God and man through the medium of nous leads us to take the idea of logos, employed by Justin in a christological sense, as the bond between God and the world, between truth and the mind. Christ, as the logos of God, becomes this very link between truth and the mind, and the truth of philosophy is nothing less than part of this logos."' - Edward Moore, STD, PhD  . Meditation or thinking if developed by the means indicated are considered more than capable of demonstrating what is being described. but that of power.Daniel Drumm Daniel Drumm © 2007 Preface Christianity no longer really has a way to establish grounds for knowledge that derives from the divine. the emotions. Reality and the Spirit are then considered as unrelated rather than entwined. However if God is the Real. has opened a dialogue to compare its knowledge and thinks it may even have something to learn. the Real is never absent from any of its creations. and physics in particular. Science already believes that thinking can lead to its goals. The claim is that the nature of focussing Light. its greatest creation. expressing through the sense mind. sees adaptation of his self-concept and not the transformation of his being as what demonstrates Spirit. and is represented only as a set of feelings. Instead it is viewed as a set of “holy” concepts and assertions to which the ego. and that freedom is the whole point of Paul’s repeated message of the difference between the Old Covenant (or testament) and the New. That view is the hallmark of the carnal man who. belief in a doctrine. or the mind of the Spirit. Western religion has lost its philosophical and noetic roots in our culture. Scientists like Bohm and Sheldrake have even incorporated elements from these knowledge based religions’ explanations of reality into their theories. So the divine ends up partitioned by religion from life and its problems. Yet with religion that hasn’t divorced insight from practice such as Yoga. because it is modern religion that no longer believes thinking can lead to actual knowledge of the divine or to a knowledge of the world that does not contradict its beliefs. They come from examining the nature of thinking and knowing directly. subjectively. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear. It most likely would not even though it rests on the unexplained but universal experience of the nature of thinking itself. and not mere adherence to the Law. and not by the Light of mind. experiences and beliefs that are made to shape or influence thought and action from the outside as it were. but not knowledge. It needs to be described what has lead to the elimination of the philosophical views that expressed those grounds originally. Where this freedom is not understood understanding itself is under a cloud. In this lies the freedom of the Sons of God. And spirituality is not understood as entering man’s knowledge and creative endeavors as a light inspiring from within. feeling and becoming true and good. It is intended to address a religious one. The contention between these two views is symbolized by the Pharisees’ and Christ’s deeply different interpretations of the spirit and intent of the Scripture. and can stand side by side with science. nor is it absent now from the mind of man. This is not intended to convince an atheistic or scientistic audience. When we do we become intimately involved in Christ’s being. the intellect. and in such religion the aim of life inevitably becomes something outside of or beyond life and the present moment. As a result many churches have become faith or feeling based. transforming the ego from its roots up. Few Christians would consider religion an equal with science in obtaining knowledge or facts. though. The following points to markers in the Bible that establish the grounds for knowledge as divine in origin. separated from God. or submission to an authority. nor does it fulfil the command to love God with one’s mind. is the same in essence for everyone and the facts about it are discoverable by anyone who examines their own experience. but truthfully the psychological descriptions here go beyond the old philosophical forms. It is possible to demonstrate the action of Light directly. (2 Corinthians :6-18) Following Christ or turning to the Light means thinking.” 2 Tim 1:7 5 . and a veil is upon the heart. and pretends that objectivity is established by externals. Not that works psychologically and philosophically. Vedanta or Buddhism it is an odd fact that western science itself. That is not real faith. no matter what the authority claimed for what is believed. and of the Old Adam and the New. and that brings us to life. that includes what we call objective knowledge. and even the Spirit must adapt. always. already whole and holy. and requires no belief. What interprets the Bible is the state of the feeling and desiring soul. despite their disagreement with science’s interpretation of them. and of a sound mind. Spirit is not seen as the active and acting Cause of all forms of life. Spirituality to Christ means it is always the quality of heart or mind that makes the connection with the Light. filled with hope. or the noetic clarity of the mind. for we are to become like him in act and thought.from men who merely sit in meditation. and not on religious or biblical assertions. and of love. at least to yourself. even if it will not look at how it does so. which is what thinking that produces knowledge or understanding is. whereas simply wearing and declaring a belief leaves our hearts unchanged and the light of our being unbirthed. love and belief. Christianity has abandoned the field of knowledge to science and secular thought. It is religion that does not believe in the connection between truth and the mind. . one after another become actual and a You for them. and is conscious as. as his Word is not the words in a book. for he says plainly that if you do not dwell in love toward others. Jn 15:10. is not separate in him. 1 Jn 2:9-11) To love your neighbor as yourself. Mat 4:4) It is this Word which will never pass away. like hearts and minds. and the Life of God is eternal. (Jn 1:1-4.” . set aside circumcision. but as active powers. experienced within you where God’s Kingdom actually is.17) John’s first epistle says instead that “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8. It is intelligence itself. Life and Love? It can only mean to value them. according to the Bible. (Mat 18-20) 7 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . life in you and life more abundantly. or conscious awareness. using every means necessary to have them agree with you. express directly in your relations. men emerge from their entanglement in busy-ness. The Lord’s Word is real love and living light. (Lk 17:21) Light is what enables us to understand anything. nor do you know God. and they are the indicators there of the nature of what we call God. which is the Good (Lk 18:19) and the True. as the first of Jesus’ Two Great Commandments asks? It means to love Light and Love and Life. expresses itself. That isn’t mentioned as often. or in other words. Love. as the Bible puts it. These words Love and Light define what God is. Love sees what is real in others. as these are the Real. As Martin Buber puts it. and everything else through that. he would contradict his own being. intelligence and love. have you been born again. or a Jew to a Jew. you do not love God. which life was the light of men” is “the true Light which enlightens all who come into the world. But what does it mean to love Light. or who believe or think like you. not simply make their views mirror his (2 Tim 5-6. or be changed by the changing translations and opinions of men. who is a Father to all men. “Love is a cosmic force.16). nor. Spiritual publicans do that much (Mat 5:41-48). This replaces the idea of a vengeful. We must ask though what these words mean. and the good and the evil. of existence itself. the Logos in Whom “was life. 9) God is conscious intelligence. (Rom 1:8) He himself will eat meat. become a Greek to a Greek. is an expression of the unity of all existence. Therefore Love is his commandment to us: to acknowledge our deep relatedness to others and share our being with them. This is the harmony working beyond and behind all forms. (1 Jn 4:20-21. That which seems separated by bodies. with the divinely caring Father of Jesus. According to John. on the other hand. God does not support arrogance in anyone.and he was the “I” position. Dwelling in Love has nothing to do with converting your neighbor to your doctrinal views. light being that which illumines what is true. (Jn 10:10) John’s epistle makes clear that simple acceptance of a doctrine or dogma is not what is meant by this. the second of the Two Great Commandments. 14). (Job 4: 10-12. or just those who are nice to you. being and expressing them. (Ex :14) What then does it mean to love God with our whole heart. the beautiful and the ugly. relatives. or the love of all in you. attributes or actions. light and truth.as if essence or being were life and existence . and valuing means using. not the Law. because the external trappings of convention and culture that divide men are as nothing to him.” (Jn 1:4. perhaps because Light is less familiar than Love. If God really were egotistical and lorded his strength over the weak. which John also says God is. not as beliefs or concepts. making him an affront to his own justice. arrogant tribal god. or not eat meat. In the same epistle John also says. but the Light and Love behind them. God is conscious of.Love and Light The Light of Life In the New Testament loving God never means bowing to a powerful personality simply because he is more powerful and important than we are. given by himself: that he is “I am”. When these two. and are how the Whole. This is the Name under which when two or more are gathered God is present. (Jn 14:2. and upon which we live. There is one other defining statement. mind and soul. if we want to know what to worship. however. the oneness of all Being. you will then have. and is what illumines our understanding. 1 Jn 4:7-8. nor give access to the Light. For those who stand in it and behold in it. and friends. He seeks to reach the love and light in another and wake those. Most other descriptions are of powers. the clever and the foolish. as he seems to in Job. and what it means to worship. Jn 6:6) This is the same Light and Love by which the worlds were made. which God is. love being the root and substance of all good. despite whatever you believe or have been told. but Paul repeatedly teaches that Love is what is real to him.from I and Thou (and consider 1 Jn 4:12). “God is Light” (1 Jn 1:5). This is what keeping the Lord’s Word would have to mean. does not mean loving only your spouse. (Heb 8:10-11) Legalistic wrangling over scripture and dogma marked the sects of Paul’s time too. and such love does not form Christ. To keep that Word is Life. which are Life. you know because of previous experience that if you strongly desire to understand something. desiring to see what you already think. you abide in him by comprehending. Thinking is an internal asking which tries to see or understand. seek or knock. which is focusing the Light. then the Light will allow you to believe any delusion you desire. teaches you of all things. and only to your level of readiness. There is no real genius. The Light of Truth is what illumines every mind that comes into the world. seek. The proof is that this is what any focused thinking which leads to understanding already does. the mind grows in reality. The Light is what responds to thinking when you ask. This increased clarity is experienced in thinking. If instead you allow the sense of what is real intuited in honesty and genuineness to win over imagination the Light. Yet it affects what uses it. It is God’s omniscience put at your disposal. for you already know how to get answers. It is not a single startling fact to which all things conform. will relate what is inside to what is outside. is fundamentally the same act in all people. Truth is not a concept of any sort. That itself is a remarkable fact that few have ever looked at. ultimately. Light is living clarity that reveals. You just need to look when you are really thinking to see the action of the Light. This is the Light you use in thoroughly honest thinking and in all creative thinking. Truth is the living Light that shows you what is true. just a more conscious and intelligent use of the Light. or get what you want. because it dwells in both. and focus. or delusional. honesty. It is the Divine Light of consciousness. Thinking is inner seeing. or clarity. Especially when you want something badly.. When you develop the mind and then true it. it will not interfere with free choice. The Light is available to show the truth about anything if the truth is wanted. and is present in you. If instead your “asking” is just telling the Light what you want according to your preferences or prejudice. It doesn’t matter what it is about. the Life of the Logos. seek and knock Mat 7: 7-12). It responds to your internal questions when focused with desire. as its use and development are direct and responsive to sincerity. not in passive everyday awareness that simply meanders in unfocused light. insight and knowledge. and then acting on what the Light shows you. hearing. It is what you have always posed questions to internally when you have thought to know anything. or focused awareness that is asking. The Light itself is unattached to and unaffected by what is done with it. and is truth. but you must want the answers. The Light does not require belief. This Light. It shows all things as they are. desire. Everyone thinks about something. When you think.when you truthfully want to know. You must focus Light to get it. recognizing its real nature. This comes in response to your effort. desiring that men grow through the law of their own thinking and asking. because it is truth. but it reveals only to the degree of your actual desire to know. because it is truth. The Light will reveal what things are to themselves when you honestly Daniel Drumm © 2007 8 . When the mind understands this and uses Light appropriately. so you will abide in him. strength. Fairness gives no one the right to affect another against their will. The Light that enlightens everyone will show you what things are. rather than caring what the Light which illumines all things will show an honest question. That is what Truth does. The Light always preserves the freedom of the individual. which affect others. require a correction through reaping what you sow. even as it teaches you. according to its asking. when you think to know or understand.that is its function. It is the only thing in existence that can use Light.What is Light? In his first epistle John relates what anointing by Light means: “The anointing which you have received of him abides in you. which establishes objectivity internally and externally. Truth connects what is real in you to what is real outside you. When you really need to know something you don’t hesitate. You know and have experienced the psychological reality of all this.” (1 Jn 2:27) As the Light shows you internally what is true. Focusing the light of awareness through interest and honesty is how we discover the truth about the world and ourselves. as John says. At least within your own mind and until your actions. creativity and wisdom. as understanding is inner. and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things. and have to think to get it. experienced as inspiration.. the focus of something internal provides you answers by means of a light. the Light leads to seeing and hearing without illusions. or spiritual. Anyone at any time can remove the impediments they have created to using it in their own form of asking. as thinking. but responds when you ask. Mind is the functioning of spiritual matter. It is available to all men through simple honestness (ask. unless that will is itself unfair. or wonder . The source is hidden from you. or at an unexpected moment. which is what knowing is. and the Light is pure intelligence or divine omniscience. no matter how small the degree of it. Thinking is your act. But most often it is the cause of the mind’s fall. You do not already have the knowledge you seek. focusing in a way to get answers. for even at the level of the sensory intellect it leaves you free to ask what you like. the Light will also show the cataracts of preference and prejudice on the sense-mind’s eye. Consider the implications of that faith and possibility. or different from the previous mental context of the “asker”. that one must be prepared over time to receive the answer. one’s conditioning or ignorance. relating to it. even changed in its spiritual substance by the Light it receives. that insight would come in great mental breakthroughs. prejudice. This sense-mind is ideally intended to be the focus faculty for the real mind. or after sleep. and developing from it. or one very superior being is. but what is it that enlightens your mind when you do? It is not your mind. The Light behind your answer comes from a level so far beyond your present level. The Light represents an actual potential to know all things. that is. or a spiritually focused person wants to know. however you do that. At the same time it exposes illusions. like a miniature pregnancy. even years.and it is made to do so all the time . cited by Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth. still faithful in this to the Spirit. unfeeling hand that holds steady whatever the mind wants to look upon. It takes place when you are open. Intelligence and Love. You do not realize that the knowledge you obtain comes from the brief union with the Light. or the opinions of men.. to the deeper intuition or understanding. or the level of the question. Oneness occurs when you focus the Light. Your mind is what makes the effort to know: it is open. and developing one’s thought over weeks. and it is affected. It can instantaneously show everything true about it..and it makes no difference to the process that you do so.” But consider this. and the Light opens through that point into knowledge of your subject. or true about it. actually making it easier . Sometimes it also comes later than when the mental effort was made to see.but you are who doesn’t know. sometimes involves carrying that desire. a thinker. and what you may have given up by leaving your Father’s hearth to feed on husks. Light is the intelligence of all understanding. But to the real mind. and try to see what is essential. receptive. when the focus is clean like that described above. because it will show what is essential. In fact enlightenment itself is a condition in which no egoic resistance is present in the relationship one has with the Light. which simply means desiring to know.. One doesn’t ask who gives. true or real about anything it is asked to illumine. The Sense-mind. and that which translates light into act. You get answers when you think (or meditate) qualified by the form and light your mind puts the question in. if it is the Logos itself you ask to show you. More Light is shed on what you are trying to see when you focus your interest on the point of what you are considering. flood the mind with a completely new understanding or solution. quoted that description.a neutral.free of craving. then you have the potential for knowing the truth about anything whatsoever.. months. Focus is interest brought to a point by the desire to know. be and know what is true. but asking of what? Your mind is also what understands when you receive. You ask questions of yourself when you think . that the answer can. A survey of great discoverers and thinkers.it carnalizes meanings or strips them of their living essence so Daniel Drumm © 2007 9 . you do not think of the Light as different from you. Because you obtain answers through your ability to temporarily experience oneness with the Light. and trying to see. That is because people must learn to value and develop their intellect before they can learn to use it rightly. real (honest and truthful). If it is made to do so despite its incapacity . It is unfeeling and only perceives the surfaces of things. The desire to know beyond what is already understood. Thinking is nothing more than this activity of asking questions internally. and so knowing is direct.want to know that. fact. and flood the mind with understanding. This has also been called oneness with God. like a scientist. “One receives.but not with underlying principles or ideas. and asking. which illumination is. Either one very superior level inside you is affecting another. It works with form and abstractions from form. It gives knowledge itself. As even the atheistic philosopher Nietzsche says. The Light responds when you ask. The Light in response to interest and focus will give insight into how to make a painting beautiful as readily as how to make a gun. or significant. impersonal (no respecter of personalities over life. Focusing your inner question on the point focuses Light. unless they concern form. The reason is that the depth or complexity of what is sought is so new. and with words. with what the senses show. or meaning) and desire to see. especially if it is acting at the whim of the ego or unbalanced emotion. life. as feeling fills them out. It deals with all things as if they were mechanical and unfeeling like itself. The intellect or sense-mind has this virtue. will reconnect the intellect to the real mind . Objects and how they feel become strangely important and substantial. The real mind is what focuses meaning and comprehends. and support and indwell them.that it can grasp them.e. sentimental. not to acknowledge or work with feelings and desires. And the soul may identify with the sense-mind or the mind of the Spirit. Christ meant to be used and absorbed by us. and wine. taking things apart to work with them. When it tries to work with ideas it substitutes mechanical logic and authorities for pure thinking. John 4:2 and John 6:57 10 Daniel Drumm © 2007 The Light of Life . The light of the intellect needs the love of the heart to grow into the actual Light of Life. It is the soul of feeling and desire that chooses and uses the minds based on what it most wants. literally. and gives life to the world. being unaware as a self. that it can view desire and emotion unmoved. and foolish. (Luke 18:19) It takes love and light for life to take root in the Real. and love. Similarly. and not the One who is Good.” (Jn 6:) and the “Kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17:21) indicate these are psychological realties spoken of. Its action is to isolate and separate.for it can perceive neither essences nor life. This carnal mind is essentially an identification that arises when the soul identifies with the body. the earth is cold because its axis is turned away from the sun’s warmth. Honesty will solve much. and with the personality that arises from these. not for knowledge but to deal with things unfeelingly. as if everything and every problem it considered were a form that could be fitted together or taken apart. and reach upward. and through the development of the morality that honesty and truthfulness are. (Jn 4:14) The bread. for feelings and desires. But it has no motive of its own. The union of Light and Love within you is entry into the Kingdom of God. which are poetical emblems for light. unconscious drive. When the mind and the sense-intellect (the shining mind and the chattering mind of Taoism) are brought together in the pursuit of knowledge conceptual intuition is born. empathy and the sense of relation. and not necessarily on right being. When the intellect is used to work with issues and matters beyond itself this is how evil arises. and what it is not. Nothing can grow or live then. The Light will show what Love is. But the ego or earthly man normally uses the carnal intellect as its prop and ally. and desire hungers for them. It is analytical. or it makes things dead to “understand” them. water. It then cuts off feeling. The Pharisees are the Bible’s imagery for what the carnal mind regularly does with the things of the Spirit. and not for intelligence and love. In that case its focus and intent become fed by an intense. allowing the real mind sufficient breathing space to see and consider. able to slice through bodies or issues as if they were so much butcher’s meat. not external ones. the passions. and compare appearances through association (i. this is like that) . Then one acts for the body. It cannot wonder. and everything comes to life and grows. Your heart’s knowledge must include the warmth and depth of love to understand the greater dimension of what is Good. The way loving a child teaches love unselfishness. and the water of Life. but like a computer can only tabulate. “For the bread of God is he that comes down from heaven. It is Love that allows Light access and entry to whatever it is considering and trying to understand. Put differently. and everything returns to the root. and Knowledge itself is the union spiritually with the subject or object known. and show how such a contraction of life is released. (Jn 4:24) When it is said that God is Light and Love what is referred to are spiritual and internal facts and states. based simply on right asking. This is Life. with the point of view of the mind of the body. a psychic whirlpool of feelings and desires. despite the fact that the sun is brightest in winter. as God is a Spirit and can only be worshiped in spirit and in truth.but without Love the mind plows a barren field. despite the fact these ultimately cause all external realities. and Life is Spirit. light and warmth combine. but this virtue is more often used to suppress. love without what is true is blind. selfish. nor synthesize its understandings through essences. It gives intuitions of your real relations with things and others. or a direct knowing with Light. while what causes them or what they are in themselves recedes. Then it works with them mechanically as if they were objects. Or it can bring to the surface the emotion causing a habit. The Light that the sense-intellect accesses allows for any and all discovery. But come spring the hemisphere leans back into relation. (Jn 6: 6) Light and Love are real food. Jn 6:. who puts on incorruption. When the spirit lives as the body. and all the sons of God shouted for joy.7). Rom 8:18-21. the son of man not God. In the same way that Jesus was literally fed by. and Jesus after him.. the earthly man. but if through the Spirit you will mortify the deeds of the body. This is literally true. 24) and Revelations (2:7) contradicted. not according to the passage “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth. or are asleep in Christ. (Jn 6: 5158) And he clarifies in this passage this eating . but live as the creature.. if you live after the flesh you will die. But you shall die like men. 2) But if the body is resurrected and given eternal life for those who are evil.is not meant physically but spiritually. (Jn 6:55) These are what God’s being actually is. “Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. still they died.. then are Paul. he states that the use of his Light and Love will transform us. Genesis (:22. earthy. (Rom 8:2) The word sleep is what the New Testament uses when it refers to someone who has died. 9) This is the spiritual Bread that comes down from heaven.the Son of God already lives forever. “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. saying they have fallen asleep. but if sin is death as Paul says. when the morning stars sang together.” (Jn 6: 45-6) Light is the living Bread. or as he puts it.” (Lk 14:15) “Who is made. The Life within these. or in heaven for your body to be quickened. As the living Father has sent me. and we are to live upon God’s being. and don’t merely use it for distracted and disconnected desire.” (Ecc 12:7) The spirit was not born at physical birth. It is the servant. how is it that those in the hells they picture also have eternal life? “For to be carnally minded is death. and I live by the Father. to be dead or to refer to the dead means. that a person’s spiritual consciousness is buried in their body (“Let the dead bury the dead..”). is the Life of the Logos.” (Rom 8:11) It does not say that you must be dead. and lived by his Father. and all of you are children of the Most High. and had not their scriptures indicated that all those unto whom the light of God came were gods? Paul also says. and to dust thou shalt return..” (Job 8:4. unaware how to re-ascend to heaven. and is a prodigal living on husks. elevates and transforms the soul insofar as you inquire into the Real. or the physical bread that came down from the heaven. after the mind and heart are reborn in Christ. 51 . Jn 1: 4. so he that eats me will live by me. it is dead spiritually. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. “Dust thou art. not after the law of a carnal commandment. the son of a man.” (Rom 8:14. it is also the goal and promise for all of Jesus’ teaching (Heb 6:20). nor does it die at death. he that raised up Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.the most primitive form of oneness or union . but after the power of an endless life. the earthly man. in you. (Jn 6:50-51) This Light feeds. the creature. (Jn 6:2) For even manna. identified psychologically with the animal body that the spirit inhabits and makes human. and then the judgement. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God. but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. “You are gods. Here God is speaking to the personality of Job. and death is overcome by dying to sin. you will live. Jesus defends himself against the charge of blasphemy by saying he is a son of God. only that the Spirit dwell in you. in biblical terms.” (Heb 7:16) Despite the fact this is a description of Melchisadek.16) The quotes.. and not for intelligence and love. (Jn 11: 11-14) By contrast. but already existed when the foundations of the earth were laid. which it came down 11 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . they are the sons of God. but is reminding the Son of God that he wanted to come to earth when the foundations of the earth were laid. not the spirit.” (Rom 8: 6. But whoever eats this Bread will not die.” (Psalm 82:6-7) “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him..make clear he was not referring to an external sacrament here. (Jn 15:1-5. For it is the spirit that quickens and changes the inner being.. This means they are not aware as the spirit. the Body of Christ we are to absorb and use to attain eternal life. ( Jn 8: 2-6. Redemption is of the body.1) “For the first man is of the earth. So continuing life after the death of the body is not what is meant by resurrection. without which you can neither love nor think nor act. that the fathers ate in the desert. not what the body consumes. It is unconscious as a Son. meat and drink indeed. For the Bible also says. Paul says in Romans: “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you.” and “It is appointed unto man once to die. you have no life in you. just as Love is the Wine or the Blood of Christ. and not any carnal symbols for them. Who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” (Heb 9:27) are warnings to the earthly man. In John 10:2-6. The second is of the Lord from heaven.” (1 Cor 15:47) The spirit is not born when the body is born. and give us eternal life. The churches interpret that resurrection means something that happens to us after we die. John. in some translations) the Lord from heaven. acquiring a Body of Light that could be touched and felt by all. The body is necessary. then as Paul puts it.” (1 Cor 15: 50-51) The resurrection of the dead means overcoming physical death. all die. and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. If this is not true. which Hebrews Chapter 8 criticizes. It is walking in darkness at noonday. even so in Christ shall all be made alive. wisdom. This approach is really the First Covenant from the Old Testament. Many of religion’s teachings and beliefs are based on a negative. and the Fall is a choice we are continually making. till they see the kingdom of God. if it does not put on incorruption by the power of the Spirit (1 Cor 15:5-54). I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep. (1 Jn 2: 5) “He that says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness even now. made a high priest after the Order of Melchisadek. and afterward appearing to upwards of 500 people. and to have abundant. and the strength of sin [ie to kill] is the Law. but we shall all be changed. which was established upon better promises. your faith is vain. They relate to each other. It is not necessary to die physically to overcome death. neither does corruption inherit incorruption. according to his own words . Nor is he the firstfruits of them that slept. Only by the Spirit dwelling in you is death of the body overcome. and important. did to his Apostles. that die. 6-7) What such living means is to become richly conscious. mainstream religion’s initial address to people is quite often about fear: fear of God. These were demonstrations that death has no power over the Spirit. and fear of the afterlife. This corruptible. makes you alive. are the true and the good. and the personality of the body.” (Rom 8:21. but it is not identity. Rising from actual death as Jesus and Lazarus did only makes the point dramatically that death does not exist for the Spirit. which together the Bible calls the old Adam. But behold. for “whoever keeps his word [or light]. (Jn 14:12) The Old and New Covenant Spirituality is living as the spirit. is the son of man unto whom it is appointed once to die. and is made after the power of an endless life. a god in the midst of whom Yave Elohim judges. intelligence and love. Jn 8:51) Overcoming death means overcoming physical death. but if the Spirit dwell in you “he that raised up Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. He that loves his brother abides in the light. So also Jesus. that is. (Jn 10: 4. capable of appearing physically like he did to Abraham. how is it we die. Death is the backdoor into heaven. without beginning or end of days. fearful view of God and his wrath. eating fish.from. by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant. (James 1:15). and then has God himself set aside. only that the Spirit dwell in you. Psalm 82:1. and Christ is not risen from the dead. If Christ. It’s author says. in him truthfully is the love of God perfected”. there be some standing here. and perfect each other. as the “heavenly man”. if we are not still in Adam? “For as in Adam all die. or is of. To live as the spirit means to establish real relationships with things and others (love). fear of the unknown. and “the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. for “I tell you of a truth. in identification with the carnal man. You do not die physically to overcome death. is immortal. Rising from actual death as Jesus and Lazarus did only makes the point dramatically that death does not exist for the Spirit.” (Rom 8:11). (Phil 2: 5-6) Everything Jesus did we can do. (1 Cor 15:47) According to the Bible. and then the judgment. Nor must we think it robbery to be equal with Jesus. It even calls the spirit of fear in man. for in Adam. eating fish and being touched in the physical. else we would not die.and Jesus overcame physical death.” (1 Cor 15:56 ). (Rom 8:6) This is the Fall. that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. this heavenly man is elohim. “for the sting of death is sin. and to think and act based on honesty and truthfulness (light). “who is a quickening Spirit”. notes 2-4] “Now this I say brethren. if death is swallowed up in victory. is judgment overcome. who is as (or is. 12 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . That was only a demonstration that death has no power over the Spirit. manifesting love and light. These two.” (1 Jn 2:9-10) By contrast. Melchisadek lives. not the heavenly.” (Lk 9:27) Nor will they will taste it after. world. It is the body. which Jesus demonstrated. letting himself be touched. which shall not taste of death. “But now hath [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry. for the Spirit. Much of its activities and some of its doctrines are designed to avert or overcome the fear which religion intentionally arouses to interest people in its views. fear of the uncontrollable. even eternal life. [Various Notes.” (1 Cor 15:22) Spiritual “death” causes physical death. or those who have already died. like all other pairs of opposites. punishes the evildoers. the Logos acts in a compensatory manner. or his brother saying.” (Heb 7: 18-19) Paul says there is a literal veil over the mind and heart of anyone who looks backward to what has been done away with.” (Heb 8: 6-7) The old covenant was based upon fear of God. and was related to Plato’s divine Ideas: “To say just how much of the New Testament was influenced. Whenever either of two opposite forces operating in the world oversteps its bounds.. and Reason itself. and proportion. says that the image of God in man is not a corporeal image. male and female. You cannot love and be open to what you must placate and fear. including those in human nature. or the light of his mind (nous). but is the understanding itself: . (2 Cor : 6-18. as the divine element that is present in human beings. Through thinking the mind reaches in its considerations beyond the personal and the particular. 2 Cor :1-18) The writer of Hebrews says plainly that the time Jeremiah was predicting is present now. and not in books or on tablets of stone. and restores the proper balance of things. or Reason. God’s laws. that Love and Light have replaced the Law. then should no place have been sought for the second. was understood as the divine Reason. for its weakness and unprofitability. Plato regarded the Logos. and as the comprehension of identity through essence. He says: “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt [which covenant is the Law. “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached. It can even lift it’s understanding to the World Mind and see reality through that. Its demand for harmony among the elements. For the Law made nothing perfect. the Logos ensures that a proper balance is restored. and is ended. In that Covenant. Whenever the requirements of justice are violated.” (Lk 16:15-17) He repeatedly states that the Old Covenant was ineffective. but such influences are recognized readily in the doctrine of the Logos. the breakthrough by thinking into the higher mind of the heavenly man is termed Pure Reason. in tablets of the heart. Jer 1:0-4. upon the Law. the Logos was a kind of cosmic order. also Ga 4:21-1) Fear prevents understanding of the good news of the Gospel. by which we draw near to God. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. and write them in their hearts. Man’s reason is the rational light of the mind.For if that first covenant had been faultless. either by individuals or by nations. Now that which decays and waxes old. In philosophy. Augustine distinguishes between the God-image which is Christ and the image which is implanted in man as a means or possibility of becoming 1 Daniel Drumm © 2007 It was to these ideas that the Apostles John and Paul were referring when they explained that it was the incarnation of the Logos itself in Jesus to their Jewish and Gentile audiences. but the bringing of a better hope did. and on Commandments that proscribe and condemn.. are thus kept in proper relation to one another. For Heraclitus.. They are perceived there as the moral intuitions of Light and Love. as sanity. are written in all men’s hearts and minds. or as God. Reason was viewed as a fundamental order. the Prophets. “For there is truthfully an annulling of the commandment that went before. This was the covenant about which Hebrews says. or divine justice. Love and Light are the New Covenant Jesus brokered for us. was understood by the early church Fathers. that presides over the destinies of a changing world. 2 Cor :-8.” St. and that the New Covenant Jesus established for us can perfect us. by Greek conceptions is difficult.. virtue. Nor is the work of the Logos confined to the physical aspect of nature.. The Logos of Philo. Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. says the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind. and every man presses into it. balance..from Cliff Notes to the New Testament. whereas the Law could not. wisdom and discipline. wet and dry. Light and darkness. to the impersonal and the universal. That there was a relation between man’s reason (logos).. provides the key to the real meaning of the good life” . and our life is hid in Christ. he says.. for it affects the moral order as well. a new covenant. saying they are already fulfilled. Heraclitus. “In that [God] says. and the Stoics. for instance. moderation. is ready to vanish away. “The God-image in us reveals itself through “prudence. and they shall not teach every man his neighbor.” (Heb 8:1) The Light as the Logos In the writings of Plato the term logos is translated as reason or meaning. At the end of the chapter in which he quotes Jeremiah’s words. which may be translated as Word or Reason. he has made the first old. heat and cold. the Prophets and the Commandments]. no matter what you may force your lips to say. or eternal ideas.” (Heb 8:6-11. Heb 10: 16. justice. Augustine. Jesus always sets aside any view that is not love. and thereby asserting that truth cannot be known. “which has now become a prejudice. how can anyone know 14 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . “Ye shall know the Truth. flexible and loving interpretation of scripture. in keeping true recognition of God at arm’s length. then ultimately knowledge of any sort is impossible as there is no relation to what is actual or real through understanding. Feeling alone cannot support knowledge. that it is impossible to know God. If you insist that all understanding and divine experience must conform to scripture to be considered true. even going so far as to call it “your law” more than once. but is not itself knowable.” as Hegel put it. (Mat 19:4-11) The science of establishing the link to the Logos through self-knowledge and insight slipped away from the churches as the possibility of knowing God or the divine through the light of the mind was denied. The capacity for mind to know truth cannot be established. not only to love but also to know God. If we have no access through knowledge to the divine. Provided you don’t simply parse the letter of scripture as the Pharisees did by the carnal intellect. that it is the spirit that leads to truth. by denying that the Light of God is what illumines the mind of man. Where the understanding is. building a tower of interpretation based on whatever doctrine and dogma are considered traditional. we gain the convenient license of indulging in our own fancies.” . 10:4) Something given in it because of the hardness of a people or a period’s heart may be changed. and the Truth shall make you free. You must use your mind to understand what its expressions mean. It has helped promote “. in placing Divine Being beyond our cognition and the pale of all human things. Secular attempts to make the competing voices of different religions politically equal are not the source of relativism in our culture. there he knows there is something more in him than is given to the beasts. It is the Light that establishes all objectivity. there God has his image. causes and supports all things. Paul. while the other is intuitive and based on life. it is nonetheless to your reasoning about scripture that you have it conform. the “homo coelestis” [or heavenly man] of St. (Jn 8:17.” (1 Cor..from Hegel’s lecture Reason in History. faith-only teachings of later centuries to go unchallenged. that is. and penetrates even the depths of divinity. using the Light of God made available to thinking. that we are fashioned after the image of God nowhere save in the understanding. says Augustine. or set aside. where the mind is. the possession of which distinguishes man from animals. “The God-image is within.. But Jesus said. Thus. 15:47) . “Following this doctrine we now contradict what the Holy Scripture commands as our highest duty. it is still a set of thoughts to you. but in the “anima rationalis” [rational mind. and the Pharisees’ fear-based version of the same words. treating scripture as a tool but never as the Spirit itself. . The translation in the Bible of Logos as the Word tends to obscure that early Christianity’s understanding of the Logos provided a link between truth and mind. so to speak.” From this it is clear that the God-image is. And pious humility. to what underlies. since there is no longer any divine source for objectivity. illustrates the difference between the sense-mind’s treatment of spiritual matters. if it has no access. “But where man knows himself to be made after the image of God. by Carl Jung. namely. The latter is the higher spiritual man. This denial makes knowledge relative. knows very well what it gains for its arbitrary and vain striving. according to Love. identical with the “anima rationalis”. just as anyone who explains it to you also must.” (Jn 8:2) Knowledge and Religion In feeling based. the vanity of knowledge and the subjectivity of sentiment now have ample justification. We now categorically deny what is written. and not his. One is ego-based. and the Christ mind’s. if truth is rooted in the divine. The source of relativism lies in what denies that reason or knowledge is meaningful. On the contrary. faith-only religions. such religion’s “truths” are also irrational and relative. . The God-image is not in the corporeal man. and essentially negative. or soul]. And some sayings are only for those who can receive or understand them rightly. including any truths belief asserts. no comprehension. and no conscious relation to the divine.the doctrine. and faith without any knowledge is merely imagination.” Hegel continues. The tendency of religion to strip knowledge of its claim to connection with divinity has allowed instead the claims of feeling based. where the power of investigating truth is. knows all things. Even if you claim a divine source like the Bible for your belief. That reasoning is based upon your understanding of and experience of the divine. The difference between Jesus’ open.like God.” Therefore we should remind ourselves.from Aion. namely. denies that there can be direct insight into facts by the mind. through internal asking. We are freed from the necessity of referring our knowledge to the True and Divine. legalistic. Those efforts are attempts at fairness. Or. without breaking the scripture. not in the body. The “truth” is arrived at by textual. especially if he works and thinks to benefit his neighbor. (1 Cor 2:14) Feeling and desire without the Light have no capacity for understanding in themselves. not intrinsic. Hence they are not founded on a relation with the Holy Spirit or the Logos. a mental idol of him.. rather than the spirit of divine intuition (as in Meister Eckhart’s sermons). The modern confusion of tongues in religions that declare they are all the “same faith” and the “One Way” is unavoidable since they are based on unillumined feeling and desire. and not a Pentecost. Belief is not salvatory until it reaches the Light. on love (conscious. at least originally. What that man values in his heart and mind. and the carnal intellect.if they only say and believe he will.they simply feel and want. leads to whatever the motive for that worship really is. with an idealism. is not founded on using Light (thinking/unselfish prayer/meditation). guided by the religious tradition examining. or on the transformations of character wrought by these. as our Father in Heaven is perfect and complete? Many churches’ teachings have instead become hieratic assertions of the bigness of God.. Such “worship” fulfills the requirements of the New Covenant. There are many who say that Jesus is Lord. or the pastor of the church. and on belief in authorities. and their worship has devolved to rote flattery of a massive ego. their dogma is the letteralism of the sense-bound intellect. and as entirely complete and self contained. God ponders the heart. and not the changing thoughts and opinions of men. expressing a fundamental fear of God. on emotion. and the intellect is based in the ego. Simply by honest methodology and strong asking.but from God apparently . and such piety for spirituality. there is a clear rejection by God of that view in Isaiah 58. You must know God in spirit and in truth to actually worship him. without reason or knowledge. having only faith and feeling now. because it is God and not a concept of God. and the unworthiness of man. are believed without further inquiry into any deeper meaning than the literal.because he honors what is real. and the whole of Jesus’ manner and approach refutes it. will lead him to the knowledge that is union with God eventually . not instinctual union). linguistic and historical analysis. human tradition. Their faith really amounts to believing that Jesus will save them . The tongues of their several inspirations have become a Babel. and not love of the Good. By contrast. because the ego is based in fear. These are at war with the spirit. God doesn’t care what a man says he believes if in fact he worships in spirit and in truth. Instead doctrines of men are simply applied like bandages to the body of men’s thoughts. to relieve the suffering of man. . The light of the mind is no longer seen as linked to God through the Good and the True. or the essence of the man. and rely upon formal. on awareness (direct knowledge). reasoning. And how many Christians believe that the New Covenant that Jesus established is the discernment of the Real through the heart and mind of man? (Heb 10:16) Or that the Kingdom of God is actually and literally within? Or that we are to become perfect. seeing essence as spiritual meaning. or in beliefs or assertions that are not understood. mind and reason. intellectual examination of the letter of it. The Father has need of such. just as they were in Christ’s time.irrespective of its beliefs. or through contact with the One who is Good itself (Mk 10:18). Religion based only in feeling. and worse. so that whatever the mortal mind can reason from this position is accepted as biblical. Instead many religionists. Otherwise you worship your own thought. Faith is quite often seen as the verbal or sense-mind’s acceptance of a set of assertions deemed absolute by the church. by closing the gap between knowing and doing. In Buddhism they are called winds. believe that God is a wrathful spirit. whether of God or man.The Logos and the Holy Spirit In John 10:4 Jesus indicates parenthetically that the scriptures were written by the “word” of God coming unto 15 Daniel Drumm © 2007 that what they believe is true? How is any explanation or understanding trustworthy. But all such efforts are the fleshly mind. but for them this means a fundamentally fear-based bending-of-the-neck which is taken for piety. and are termed irrational because they cannot comprehend or discern. if comprehension itself is untrustworthy? By doing this religion became vulnerable to atheistic science. or complete. through experience of the Light that illumines that nature’s understandings (Job 2:8). Unfortunately. Such faith is not a result of knowledge produced by the divine nature of man. and every sect argues with the other the meaning of what neither understands anymore. the worship of a concept-idol. To these the Mind of the Spirit and the motive of love are foolishness. and treating others as equal to oneself. Or the text is treated as inerrant. to contend against what science tangibly demonstrated it could accomplish with Light. and through. Religion and Spirituality Preaching the idea that the light of one’s own heart and mind. The original heresy hunter. as Gnosticism and heresy.one of the prophets. in situation after situation. and a new claim to the Jews and Gentiles of their audience. rather than by fear. Knowledge and Being are one. transformation through forgiveness and learning to love. It does this in terms the psychic soul can understand by constructing events experienced entirely for these learnings. and is accomplished through the Light of the Holy Spirit. That claim was an odd. he treated any Christian system of thought based upon individual knowledge. or heavens).” It is possible that references to self-knowledge as a path were deleted or obscured in the public texts because they did not lend themselves to institutionalization. and rational thought. often out of profound experience. written over the entrance to the Oracle at Delphi. The Logos on the other hand instructs the understanding of the heart and mind directly. In this way man is aided in all realms (the three worlds. The fact is religion is not a search for truth. It teaches one to intuit life directly. where men and women can live in the light of the understandings they receive. If every man can know God through his own heart and mind and you need not that any man teach you. That is its real purpose. Early Christian teachers thought. But one communicates to the inner thinking world of man. notes 1]. or the Light. are what connect him to the Logos. and to engage the wholesomeness of Being. understanding itself. but teaches primarily through his outer relationships. without fear. concretely. However. sounds like the Pali word for the real Self. It is where the practical work of building culture can be done with other like-minded individuals. but for brotherhood. The other communicates to his inner feeling world as a Presence. reason and self-knowledge. and taught by Socrates. The Apostles would have known this when they claimed the Logos was incarnated as Jesus. doesn’t make control or consensus easy. Its purpose is to create brotherhood. That was Iraeneus’ objection. or the individual reason of man. how are people to be motivated when so few think deeply. but that the link in man to the Logos was through self-knowledge. revelation or relation with God. It’s lessons concern learning through relationship to undo the ego and let go. such alterations would not necessarily have been looked upon as problematic. love and understand. or revelation. was not. and why he insisted salvation could only come through the Catholic Church via its sacraments. and care little about love? These are very practical problems. but the Holy Spirit is more man’s experiential teacher in whatever environment he finds himself. But if you do not know yourselves. based upon the individual effort to see. Abba. and you will know that you are Sons of the Living Father. The Logos on the other hand communicates directly to. that religion seeks to establish 16 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . This is a higher form of inspiration. That phrase was considered by the Greeks to be the epitome of their philosophy and wisdom. if those understandings are truly enlightened. Both reveal. then what is the role of the churches? How is agreement even possible? If men are to be guided by reason. that there was a link through the mind with the Logos [Various Notes. Atta. It does not refer to some already written book spoken of as the Word of God. and you are that poverty. or the psychic soul. The Holy Spirit as Love is already taught by the churches. but the paths to them can seem very different for a while. Both are One. But for this very reason. really love. and has been for centuries. The Holy Spirit teaches feeling and desire. as Greek philosophy did. The Holy Spirit communicates to the heart and mind of man as the Logos does. which search is an individual dialogue with Light.” Clement was echoing the saying “Know Thyself” from Greek philosophy. the source text of which may even predate the so-called “Q-document” used to write the Gospels: () “If you know yourselves you will be known. Both sayings are also echoed in the Gospel of Thomas. as the Light of insight. Clement of Alexandria stated “He who knows himself. know. the light of man’s knowing. and through love to enter the life of things. this discussion is about the Logos as the Light. Religion’s method and purpose is to create consensus agreements that form a recognizable and moral culture. as it was by the Hindus where the teaching most likely came from. you are in poverty. knows God. Even the word that Christ used for Father. I have read that Jerome claimed he altered the Gospel of Matthew because it was too esoteric. This can only be interpreted as an internal communication of light and understanding that was translated into words by the mind of the prophet. as Hindu teachers came back from India with Alexander’s armies. Given Jesus’ statements about an inner teaching reserved for those prepared to receive it. or scripture to those not in authority. by seeking to get real knowledge through asking more sincerely and honestly. Old age for many would become the time of life reserved for direct spiritual experience. and establishing it should be taught as far more important than any absorption of views. This would be practicable if direct experience were held up as the ideal. as ever. encounters the daily world. and deny the capacity of the mind to reach God. it cannot be what. or the say-so of others. a form of culture and community in which spiritual relations can express. or some special authority’s. When control is the goal it is easier to preach to people what they must believe to be saved. Everyone can find rightness matching their responsibility in the tablets of the heart. It may be unrecognized as God. from the least to the greatest. and not insight. God has said directly. harmony.5). The experience of truth is the intuition of God’s Ideas in one’s heart and mind. and expectation color the result. Everyone who is truthful wor. through his Light. note 5] God will let any person make a mistake because you are to always be left free. It is conservative because it seeks to create. not to tell others to know the Lord. by making mistakes. and not concepts. that interprets reality. The quality of one’s relation to the Light is primary. not because God necessarily changes. if it is not an open. That however is not spiritual consensus. or to interfere with your sense of self despite the fact that it is closer to you than breath. Insight and revelation however are always ongoing and developmental. and he gives unselfishly what is true and what is good to the one loved. on which they rely. for his laws are written in every person’s heart and mind. like scaffolding. his love is real love. based on knowledge. and not knowledge of what is Real. an experience. Incidentally. There are none who are incomplete who are inerrant. [Various Notes. and not direct experience of God. in the same way that your love and your will are the same thing. and for which they seek. as when Paul upbraids Peter and Barnabas for being both (see A History of Christianity by Paul Johnson. Even the Apostles did not understand Jesus’ teaching. it is the Light the mind uses that discerns here. as if it were only carnal and intellectual. that it is God’s thinking. and the rest would be treated as valid but auxiliary teaching for varying temperaments. preference. searches for truth. you establish a living relation to the Light. Those in authority will often promote doubt and fear in whomever they wish to control. And to Love. in a Bible most everyone agrees gives no clear exposition of reality itself.agreement. then prejudice. 2 Cor :. It is not just an affection which attaches him. secretly or openly. in the very book being used to tell others to know the Lord. and then maintain. 7-8) What it is that all know and believe in is some form of Love and Light internally. Religion is where what is known and experienced of these. What the consensus agreement chose would be integrated into the mainstream of religion. remaining invisible except to what is like itself. It is one person. and the experience of his Love. to enable the always individual approach to God. even in groups. truthful and sincere asking. And. and the development of the individual. What you love. and make clear that deviation in thinking from consensus leads to terrible consequences. and not as linked to the divine. not question. and were vacillating and fearful even after Pentecost. and the promotion of belief inclines people to follow. The trouble is that those in authority usually seek to guide and control what the consensus is. (Heb 8: 6-1. Not to a book. or some small group. The Light itself takes pains not to intrude on. desire. p. or the tradition he follows. The claim is made. With God though. A time when religion itself would fall away. The faith one is asked to have is really faith in a minister’s personality or point of view. By trying to understand. After Jesus entered as high priest all now know God directly. in the individual. love and truthfulness should be taught as what actually links man to the spirit. and religion’s intention was to lead the social orders to that and not away from it. community. but man’s understanding does. In other words honesty. and the actual level of their understanding. extol faith. This is because what is to be believed can be crafted and directed with certain ends in mind. which the real mind is. So again. but it is the actual yardstick of their effort nonetheless. and not their own that is being put forward. or be told by them. or God. through honesty and truthfulness. a balance might be struck to raise the real knowledge of religion. that you do. and no longer in books or rituals or forms. enabling them to grow.17 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . God’s Love is his Will. or which blindly seeks union. If religions cultivated an inner circle of individuals whose efforts were to bring Light and revelation to the community. even if it remains unsaid. It is really faith in that person’s understanding or some other authority’s interpretation of the meaning of what all truthfully can read for themselves. As if they were simply telling you what God’s “Word” is or says. Thinking is treated badly then. The fact is they have used their own intellect and feeling to establish and justify their views. and will often censure thinking. called the Son. knows God and is born of him. and know that you know. to love God with your whole heart. The acceptance of a belief system. The old commandments are preparation for them. Jesus is the high priest of the New Covenant. threat. using Light. which is simply a set of thoughts that you regard as truth.ships God in spirit. Much in present day Christianity is inappropriate. will “teach you of all things. and especially not if the Light itself refuses to do so with any man. what is left to respond to external praise? Love certainly doesn’t seek it. but remain unaffected in your heart. whether subtle. (Lk 9: 54-56) That he is One with Love. and fears to disagree or stand alone. The Spirit itself bears witness with your spirit.” (Jn 8: 4-5) Spirit is life. you do not fulfill the first of the Two Great Commandments. Especially if you have merely adopted them. so that he could express and be the Light. But the Son abides forever. who desired the authority and power of the Old Testament prophets. by allowing others to think and ask for you. and to the Son all of the Sons of God are of importance. and the truthfulness of your asking opens the door. if not cowardly. An expedient man will not take up any cross for what is true. Jesus is no object for cheerleading. or for flattering his self-importance or personality. you are being expedient. Jesus also rebuked his Apostles. for you are not being truthful. They do not in themselves involve you in the Light of God. and even repeat them on demand. control. for thinking him a prophet like Elias to visit punishment on whoever disagreed with him. or coercion. There cannot be an excuse for trying to force others to believe as you do. and soul. and originally by Moses. and to love your neighbor as yourself. else Jesus would not have made them the cornerstone of love in the Two Great Commandments that replace the Law and the Prophets for a Christian: to love God with your whole heart. which coercion of any kind negates. They are of infinite importance. not intimately like insight. (1 Jn 4:7) These are the commandments of the New Covenant. and not of the ancient religious forms that are passing away. the Kingdom of God cannot manifest on earth. does not make you spiritual no matter what the nature or original source for those beliefs. Loving God with your mind means using it. 18 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . Not if you have been warned not to by the book you use for the authority to do so. And the servant abides not in the house forever. or the Kingdom of God within you. Hence you remain in your sins. intuition or revelation do. and the Light to transformation. Paul. The means are the end as far as Spirit is concerned.. nor is it even religion. if you cannot love your fellow man. The two Great Commandments to love God and man given by Jesus and Hillel. identity and meaningfulness. and have not won through to them by your own efforts. “is the servant of sin. This hope is based upon bringing the heavenly man forward into awareness. are the “better hope” of St. All such ego he overcame and let die. the doing of which lead to the Light. mind and soul. but are not the Real itself. mind. making it plain he will have nothing to do with a spirit of wrath. You can have the “right” thoughts. “For how can you love God whom you cannot see. Without the expression of love. but they cannot transform you. Spirit develops the greater you. through the transformations love and truth work in the personality. whom you can?” (1 Jn 4:20) Spirit intends a sane and reasonable world through sane and reasonable relations. Thoughts are things you can have. Living from Light and Love is. Instead. If the desire for acclaim died in him. This has never been and never will be accomplished by any form of fear. or earthly man. and honoring what it shows you until through the development of honesty and truthfulness you know. Everyone agreeing to some doctrine or other is not the Kingdom of God. silent. and expediency is a cardinal value of the earthly man.. which involve direct relation with Light and Love internally.” Asking means the humility of admitting you don’t know something. like a book or a vase. The Old Testament Commandments and the Scripture are fingers pointing toward the Real.” (Ga 4:19) If you have faith in God and in his Light to reveal truth your awakening connection to that Light. or blatant. brainwashing. “until Christ be formed in you. The Light relates directly and without superiority. no matter what he says he believes. like some old pagan potentate. has this ever been believed? The Spirit of the Commandments If you stifle your conscience by accepting the beliefs of others out of fearfulness or doubt. Everyone who loves. “Whoever commits sin”. with that mind. or the simple fact of being conscious. It is not the memorization of facts or thoughts. feeling and experiencing. Reality is viewed for the first time from that level. In philosophy it is called Pure Reason and in Buddhism. and rarely reach beyond the understandings of the first or second heaven. and let these transform you into what is real and eternal. looking for that which is essential and real in them. Knowledge is Union. and all true knowledge is knowledge thereof. as the Bible says. much like a hypothesis. when it is considered equivalent to Being. is a clearing act. The Hall of Wisdom according to Mahayana. is a direct expression of God. prior to all thinking. and the Light is that which shows you things as they are. and not of it. Truthfulness is how transformation is embodied. Becoming conscious that you are conscious then. reason alone. including the ideas and writings of men and religions. Faith is then the intuitive extension of one’s knowing. that of an earthly conditioned ego. as we now know it. trans by H. God is the Real. Consciousness is prior to life. and that is the Real. (1 Cor 2:9-16) In Patanjali this mind is called Soul Vision and it is the aim of Yoga. which you neither penetrate.Blavatsky as The Voice of the Silence. 19 Daniel Drumm © 2007 .” It is the Causal plane of Shankara and the Dharmakaya of Buddhism. and not know they are terrified as well. into the yet unknown. dogmas. This fear is our satan. conscious as the personality of the body’s life.. and honor the real nature of our minds. The super-consciousness of the heavenly man is the view of the third heaven Paul mentions. if we will learn how to know. God is known through your inner core. but simply regurgitate. wherein all shadows are unknown. prior to their identifications with habits. and fear of our fellow man express themselves in a contraction from life. distorting our hope and estranging our love. It is a contraction of the heart which causes us to be afraid of others. from you. That is why there is such a gulf in the understanding of the different countries. All facts derive from the Ground of Being. The doctrines. Only fear can. centuries. is the capacity to know or see into something: to comprehend. The Light uses all of your experiences to educate you. for if you are not conscious no other psychological act is possible. and where the light of truth shines with unfading glory. can behold it. nor integrate. Fear of God.. or any aggregate of those. which Plato speaks of as formless: “Without color or shape. so they must eventually lead to knowledge of its nature and the means of its expression. Honesty with facts leads to substance. and is not something separate from you. You can bring love and light into expression. and all that really opposes a Christian of the New Covenant. preferences and prejudices. without which its basic function to see things as they are and work with them as it sees them is prevented. capable of dying. the soul’s pilot. that is what you are within. or a prediction of the behavior of a system does. is an emotional and moral collapse from the heavenly man or woman. Rigpa. given that any form of evil only reaches us through that. since the real point is to develop in you the mind of Christ. in how they see God.The Real Knowledge. its implications and direction. expressing his Life and Kingdom through you. A little knowledge often leads away from God. and from others. based on known laws. Being conscious means “with Knowing”. What you identify yourself with or as distorts that innate ability. The fear at the root of this idea of self. Honesty is the fundamental working principle of the mind. They are not to replace your own connection with the Light. from events. You can’t separate the within of you. it is described as the “indestructible fount of omniscience. By virtue of being conscious we share in the knowledge and being of God.from Book of the Golden Precepts. Just as seeing the conscious one in another is a way to reach toward the Divine in them. The Light will show us what we wish to know. You cannot be different from it if. A person believes themself vulnerable and mortal when they identify spiritually with the body. beliefs and authoritative voices of any particular time period are a picturing of God by each race’s level of awareness. and represents the highest aspect of Deity. and even between the books of the Bible. into “our better angel. prior to everything else.as Lincoln put it.” . You are that.” If the Kingdom of God is within you then consciousness. Christos Nothing real can separate us from the Life that the Light and Love of God express. God is Pure Intelligence and Love. Being conscious is the ground upon which everything else within you depends.P. that cannot be touched. but a great deal leads back. and open our hearts unselfishly. to show us what is actually there. If our life expresses intelligence as sanity and love as fearlessness. A recoil from Life.” (Isa 58:8) We will call. engagement. and radiance. and the Fall is a choice you are continually making. We then discover the Love that underlies the happenings of all our lives. that enfolds the sorrowful selves who appear here as fearful caricatures of their real selves. we need only listen and look. through the Light and Love of God. otherwise the Light will wait until we are asking. freed feeling. and feel directly. but are something fear and distorted desires manipulate to pleasurable or consoling ends. This is the Fall. appetites and energy. and he will answer. transforms your manifested energy. and not real relations.This collapse and inferiorization of self causes withdrawal emotionally and leads to possession by one’s own attached mind states. Re-cognition or identification with the Son or Daughter of God you are. The Light shows us what it true. Events and experience are then no longer how the living Father communicates the path of growth. Ascension is moral and spiritual. lowers it. There is a recoil from openness. if we are authentic in our being. blips on your radar. in all of our relations. and our health spring forth speedily. and you will arise. just as identification with the body. People become mere ideas or images to you. and not a matter of space and time. we will see others for the first time. But we must be truthful with what we see. and feeling and desiring as the personality of the body. the Love which weaves the fabric of all life’s relations. Similarly. “then will our light break forth like morning. Choose to ascend through the Light and Love of God by being intelligence and love in relation. Daniel Drumm 20 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . In Stoicism more than in any other branch of Greek phi- losophy. and the wise person will accept them without fear or complaint.NOTeS: CLIff NOTeS TO THe NeW TeSTAmeNT: On Greek Philosophy in the New Testament http://www. are thus kept in proper relation to one another. Centuries after Plato. wet and dry.” The individual has power over his own inner attitudes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-85. The Greek language was used by educated people.cliffsnotes. By virtue of the Logos. like all other pairs of opposites. either by individuals or by nations. He can govern his own spirit. Therefore. or Reason. The Stoic philosophers identified Reason with God. for it affects the moral order as well. one that is as nearly like the ideal as it is possible for a physical object to be. To say just how much of the New Testament was influenced either directly or indirectly by Greek conceptions is difficult. Reason becomes conscious of itself. the world that is experienced through the senses is a changing and unstable one. the Logos ensures that a proper balance is restored. the doctrine of the Logos was emphasized. and the writings of the Old Testament were translated into Greek by the seventy scholars whose work was known as the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Scriptures. that presides over the destinies of a changing world. constitutes reality. Epictetus. heat and cold. the only difference being that in the former case. although they are not as conspicuous there as they are in the writings of Paul and John.” he uses a concept that had long been familiar to students of Greek philosophy. a well-known Stoic writer. Christians illustrated this point when they said of Jesus Daniel Drumm © 2007 21 . these authors necessarily had to use language with which the people to whom they were writing were familiar and could readily understand. matter is the source of corruption and deterioration. For Heracleitus. Some things that happen are inevitable. Its demand for harmony among the elements. Ideas conceived in this way are something more than a basis for the existence of particular things: They are also ideals or standards of perfection. Light and darkness. Reason is present in the minds of humans. or Reason. Such attempts are true to a considerable ex--tent in the Pauline letters and also in the Gospel of John. as the divine element that is present in human beings. but such influences are recognized readily in the doctrine of the Logos. a person is morally good who conforms to the pattern of the ideal as much as it is possible for a human being to do. Reason functions to give guidance and direction to the activities of life. In both of these instances. in other parts of the New Testament. On the other hand. the result is always somewhat inferior to the original. and the Word was with God. They did not conceive of it as having an existence apart from the world. the Logos acts in a compensatory manner and punishes the evildoers and thus restores the proper balance of things. which was the term used by the Greeks. there to be content. and the Word was God. Whenever either of two opposite forces operating in the world oversteps its bounds. especially in those parts of the literature that attempt to interpret the Christian religion of people whose prior experience was in a Gentile rather than a Jewish environment. control his temper. and follow the path of duty rather than yield to his feelings or be led by his emotions. The Word. The influence of Greek ideas can be seen in many instances of New Testament writing. This realm is eternal and unchanging. In contrast. or the realm of the spirit. including those in human nature. and this bond was recognized by the Stoics as the basis for their belief in the universal brotherhood of humanity. The presence of these ideas. begins his account of Christianity by saying “In the beginning was the Word. circumstances arise over which there is no control. So far as humanity is concerned. which the Stoics believed was a real possibility for any normal human being. In other words. and knowledge is possible because the rational element in human nature is akin to the Reason that exists in nature. gives to them the appearance of reality. one of the Pre-Socratics whose work appears to have had considerable influence on the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. Reason operating in the lives of human beings made possible the realization of what constituted for them the real meaning of the good life. We could not have any knowledge concerning such a world except for the unchanging ideas that participate in it. or divine justice. But when ideas are embodied or imitated in material things. The Stoic ideal is expressed in the words “life according to nature. in ethical conceptions having to do with the conflict between flesh and spirit. too. an idea that pervades the whole structure of Greek philosophy and is illustrated in the teachings of Plato.” which means a life directed by the rational element that is present in both nature and humanity. or Logos. In a similar way of thinking. When the author of the Fourth Gospel. Greek influences can be noted. Plato regarded the Logos. they believed that it permeates every part of the world. which may be translated as Word or Reason. The apostle Paul reflects this ideal when he writes in one of his letters. “I have learned. Because all humans are rational beings. commonly known as the Gospel of John. Nor is the work of the Logos confined to the physical aspect of nature.” Closely related to the concept of the Logos. and in the belief in immortality. has a long and interesting history. who held that the world of ideas. provides the key to the real meaning of the good life. One finds it in the writings of Heracleitus. a common bond exists between them. thus making it possible for particular things to be evaluated in terms of their approximation to the ideal. describes this way of life in his essay “Things within our Power and Things not within our Power. which are copied or imitated in particular things. Whenever the requirements of justice are violated.pageNum-8. male and female. the writings were addressed to communities composed of Gentile and Jewish Christians. To call an object good means that it is a close approximation to the ideal.html The influence of Greek philosophy was widespread throughout the Greco-Roman world. in whatsoever state I am. or Reason. the Logos was a kind of cosmic order. This ideal can be achieved by bringing one’s feelings and desires under the control of Reason. Greek-inspired schools of philosophy were established in leading cities of the Roman Empire. is the notion of conflict between flesh and spirit. the world is a cosmos rather than a chaos. is the task of philosophy. in which there will be no more sin. above all when our discourse is upon truth..Origen. and nothing indicates that he ever abandoned the notion of original sin. goodness. The Hindu religion has no specific founder. including his mind and his body. is not the knowledge of. . 9-40. he frequently uses the language of Greek philosophy. and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. a struggle is constantly going on within one’s own nature.from the Cliff Notes to the New Testament VARIOuS NOTeS: “Christ consciousness produces a new creature.22 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . For example. Vol. It is there that true being dwells. It is not for the purpose of patching up the old man. though it lives in the form-desire world and is known as an adept. the soul’s pilot. 1. This body is the one which has been spoken of in theosophical teachings as “nirmanakaya. because a being in a Body of Light can communicate and actively help other beings. can behold it. This Love is all-embracing and ever-growing.”..the form body of the physical. and then gives us a glimpse of what the soul would see if for a brief moment it were able to “look upon the regions without. Then he overcomes in his physical body time and death in the physical world by immortalizing the form of the physical body. by Namkhai Norbu “A mahatma may decide to keep a body. trans by Yogi Ramacharaka “’Know Thyself. in writing to Gentile Christians. The body increases in strength and gradually throws off its physical particles.. that the God in himself is the same God in all that is. reason alone. that cannot be touched. by Ida Mingle “The Body of Light is the supreme realization of Dzogchen. If you want to define Hinduism. “What man of good sense can ever persuade himself that there were a first. by David Ulansey. not physical matter as such.from The Cosmic Mysteries of Mithras. that the tree of life was a real tree.” .” . He is the ideal man. soul. They are in conflict with each other. the spiritual state of being. “I can live without air. and spirit constitute a unit that is good. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. and self-control. Masters. sickness. then loss of remembrance. the source of goodness is spirit. faithfulness. Evil entered the world with the Fall of man and infected all of the elements in his nature.” . For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit.. joy. moon. Body.. and that each of these days had a night when there were yet neither sun. an adept of a higher order. fashions the child of Light.. .this rational insight brings us that reconciliation with actuality which philosophy grants those who have once been confronted by the inner demand to comprehend. But this is the manner of it. A staunch Hindu will say.. in the physical world where it may be seen by men.. gentleness. and none shall sing worthily. Its function is different from that of a Sambhogakaya manifestation. He puts the body through a course of training and provides it with particular foods which he gradually diminishes in quantity. and that its fruit had the virtue of making those who eat of it live forever?” .from the Bhaghavad Gita.” .” . Because a human being is composed of both matter and spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. and all true knowledge is knowledge thereof. had planted a garden in the east. Nevertheless. a spiritual state of being. pp. and a third day. he writes. It is as if the physical body. you can do so with the help of a monosyllable: Love.in which he can communicate with and be seen by humanity. a second. from Thomas Paine’s answer to the Bishop of Landaff “To comprehend what is. kindness. 1991) “The knowledge of God.of Nazareth.” . sorrow. the seers. Christ consciousness is the means by which God.from Steps in the Way. none of our earthly poets has yet sung. “So I say. acting the part of a gardener.from the preface of Philosophy of Right by Hegel “. This state of being appears at the end of mortality as the fruit of Christ’s progression in Time. for what is is reason. The Greek idea of a good mind and an evil body was never accepted by Jews.From passion comes confusion of mind. peace.” “Of that place beyond the heavens.’ This is what Hinduism stands for. but not without God.from Dzogchen: the self-perfected state. Christ consciousness is the identification of Christ within the organism of one suitable to function the Principles of Being..” . It ultimates in producing the Body of Christ. But the soul that moves in the world of the senses and yet keeps the senses in harmony. and the ruin of reason leads man to destruction. It is based primarily on the soul-stirring utterances of the rishis. A seer is one who visions the Truth. The conflict between good and evil that takes place in the life of an individual is a conflict between the desires of the flesh and the demands of the reason. This is the quintessence of Hinduism. the conqueror of death. which is the ruling part of one’s spiritual nature. or awareness of a great Being.. patience. The apostle Paul was brought up in the Jewish tradition. and communes with the Truth.” Jesus is regarded as an embodiment of the ideal. nor stars? What man can be stupid enough to believe that God. For the Greeks. who teach that man is created in the image of God. and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. or death. live by the Spirit.” says Plato. but the expression through human instru... its material substance having been absorbed into its luminous essence. without color or shape. continues to live as an aggregation of the elements in their subtle aspect. by Sri Chinmoy “In his dialogue Phaedrus (247 BC) Plato envisions a journey by a soul to the outermost boundary of the cosmos. This continues until all the physical particles have been thrown off and the body of form stands. and Mahatmas by Harold Percival. To recognize reason as the rose in the cross of the present and thus to delight in the present.from Yoga and the Spiritual Life. the forgetting of duty. the standard according to which the goodness of any other human being is to be judged.from Adepts. but maintains its form. or producing more harmonious material conditions. Author of The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries (Oxford University Press. in the Epistle to the Galatians. From this loss comes the ruin of reason. that I am the heart of all. free from attraction and aversion. . and evil has its roots in matter. in His-Her Principles of Being. finds. for assuredly we must be bold to speak what is true. . man’s highest union with God is limited to God’s manifestation as the Logos. the underlying individual "I am" is at the other end. The pineal gland is used when direct knowledge of a thing is to be obtained. “such knowledge is the boundary of happiness and blessedness” (Det. as if in a tomb. mystic vision allows our soul to see the Divine Logos (Ebr. when we are alive. In any case. being conscious is the opening of the way. we do attain buddhahood. metaphysical concept of the Logos is in sharp contrast to the concept of a personal God described in anthropomorphic terms typical of Hebrew thought. But at present it is as silent as the tomb.. The thread itself is that which is conscious through all atmospheres. 152) and achieve a union with God (Deut. within a process or manifold. and was likely discussed in Jewish religious circles during Christ’s time.108). It was by applying this method of isolation of the essential element in the midst of a complex. if it thinks there is a spiritual end it does not consider how that end is to be reached. I have done this for many years [Wolff had been a Professor of Mathematics at Stanford] without regarding it as a meditative technique. The mind in the physical body is at one end of the thread. the pineal gland is the organ by which the higher and more divine individuality of man is related. but the artificial state thus effected was barren of results. H. The Greek. however. In the process the Logos became transformed from a metaphysical entity into an extension of a divine and transcendental anthropomorphic being and mediator between God and men..mentality of the divine omniscience. then our soul would live according to its proper life being released from the evil and dead body to which it is bound” (Op. When I recalled this fact and applied it. . 0:19-20. seem to have come from contact with ideas derived from Philo] Philo believed that man’s final goal and ultimate bliss is in the “knowledge of the true and living God” (Decal. 14).utm. I found at once a really effective method of meditation. Philo adopted the Platonic concept of the soul with its tripartite division. without the process of reasoning. LA 1. Thinking about it is the beginning. a given phase or aspect may be isolated for special attention without stopping the process or eliminating the balance of the manifold.edu/p/philo. is breathed into man as a part of God’s substance. could be neglected. This is a familiar technique in scientific and philosophic thinking. 86). Post. The pineal gland is the organ through which is brought to the human understanding that knowledge and wisdom which is complete in itself.. that subtle continuum of our awareness will awaken to a state of omniscience called dharmakaya. Heretofore. or else. Jesus speaks of manna as if he were referring to Philo. 2 Daniel Drumm © 2007 .” . The way to reach it and unite the ends is by means of thought. Thought travels along this thread and discovers it and inspirits it.from Experience and Philosophy by Franklin Merrell-Wolff (State University of New York’s press) INTeRNeT eNCyCLOPeDIA Of PHILOSOPHy: On Philo (by Marion Hillar) http://www. The end which is in the physical can reach the spiritual end. The rational part of the soul. Many of Paul and Johns’ ideas. The issue then lay between thought-consciousness and Transcendant-Consciousness while the rest. By continuing to think about it and by extending the conscious principle. But if it were to die.. Now. Praem. 12-15). we are so though our soul is dead and buried in our body. To him. there is that which relates each to the other and by means of which the mind in its physical body may become aware of each and of all its atmospheres and adjust itself in its proper relationship to each atmosphere. In fact. without trying to restrain the other components. and in course of continued effort the ends will become one. Through the larger part of my life the thought-world has naturally dominated the sensation-world so that sensation had come to mean little more than small waves do to an ocean liner. Repeatedly I have tried stopping thought and closing out the senses. Philo speaks figuratively “Now. by H. The pituitary body is used in all ratiocinative processes and mental operations requiring the activity of the reasoning faculties.Alice Bailey "Like a thread passing through each of the atmospheres and connecting with physical man. 58. To ordinary mankind the pituitary body is used without his immediate knowledge in the same manner that he may think but does not know how he thinks. at some future point. I finally took this fact as a key and abandoned all effort to stop thought or to interfere with the reports of sensation. I realize." . the incarnate mind becomes conscious of itself and conscious of its higher self at the other end of the conscious principle. the rich values have come to me through or while thinking. 12).from “Converstations with Friends” by Harold Percival “Concerning Meditative Technique: The form of meditation that I have found effective differs substantially from that generally given in the manuals on meditation.from “Converstations with Friends” by Harold Percival “There dwells within us all this potential which allows us to awaken into buddhahood and attain omniscience. He adheres to the Platonic picture of the souls descending into the material realm and that only the souls of philosophers are able to come to the surface and return to their realm in heaven (Gig. I found..from Dzogchen.. The way is the thread. Philo made a synthesis of the two systems and attempted to explain Hebrew thought in terms of Greek philosophy by introducing the Stoic concept of the Logos into Judaism. self-evident.” . Thought is not the way. 67-69.iep. Abr. To the incarnate mind there seems to be no other end than that at which it is. but thought makes or prepares the way. According to Philo. When. 81. that [my transcendental experience] was effected. and the identification of Jesus with the Logos. the distrac- tion caused by the latter I have found to be too weak to be of real importance. the Dalai Lama "Both the pituitary body and pineal gland are organs for the soul of man. In the ordinary man the pineal gland is a present witness to the possibilities of the future Divinity of mankind. The pineal gland is the organ which is used consciously and intelligently by one possessed of spiritual understanding and wisdom.htm [Note: Philo fuses Jewish with Greek ideas. But whereas the pituitary body is that center which is used directly by the human mind in all things requiring mental operations. This applies to the spiritually wise.” . Her. 41) or the shadow of God [Note: Plato said“God is Truth. “God therefore sows and implants terrestrial virtue in the human race.14). consequently they become filled with “manna.” Manna is described by Philo as a “generic thing” coming from God. and by every portion of it . and is also the ambassador.. nor yet created as you.96). 112-11). neither being uncreated as God. Earthly wisdom is but a copy of this celestial Wisdom.. like a hostage. and next is the Logos of God... That which is in the second place after the masculine Creator was called feminine.” After the souls are watered they are filled with the manna which “is called something which is the primary genus of everything. Philo describes the Logos as God’s son. But the most universal of all things is God. 112-11). When speaking of the high priest. the pure delight and sweetness. washing off and cleansing all those things which dirty and defile our miserable life. saying “And I stood in the midst. the soul of the more perfect man is nourished by the whole word (Logos). as such. stands between Creator and creature. Mind is a special gift to humans from God and it has divine essence.” (Op. thus we impart the Divine Logos..45). is neither uncreated as God nor created as men. This being is a mediator giving hope to men and who “was sent down to earth. and his shadow is Light”. full of all evil reputation as it is” (Her. sends “the stream of his own wisdom” to men “and causes the changed soul to drink of unchangeable health. mediating between God and the world.. however: “the most generic is God. is in reality masculine because powers have truly masculine descriptions.. which is exposed to affliction and misery. to both parties (Her.. so the Wisdom of God is both masculine and feminine (Fug. Moses called manna “the most ancient Logos of God (Det. By receiving this humans received freedom and the power of spontaneous will free from necessity (Deus. 24-26).86). to the subject race. and a supply of unlimited blessings” (Mos. and ambrosial medicine of pleasure and happiness” (Somn. Manna God sends “the stream” from his Wisdom which irrigates God-loving souls. as it were. and pouring forth and joy. to stand on the confines of both. being an imitation and representation of the heavenly virtue” (LA 1. which he so exerted that every genus received its proper form (LA 1. Maker. Philo believes that the Logos is “the man of God” [the universal human or Adam Kadmon] (Conf. his son. And the Logos rejoices..249). So in Philo’s view the Father is the Supreme Being.The Logos is the Bond of the universe and mediator extended in nature. but we must be contented if we are nourished by a portion of it” (LA . being itself in an unmixed state. a messenger and mediator Daniel Drumm © 2007 . and separate that which had been created from the Creator. which being both sublime and the first of things he quarried out of his own powers. The reasoning capacity of a human mind is but a portion of the all-pervading Divine Logos. 205). which Philo describes as “destitute of arrangement. 9-10). The Logos is the “cupbearer of God . The immortal part of the soul comes from the divine breath of the Father/Ruler as a part of his Logos. It does not come from God directly. between the Lord and you” (Num. of animation. Through the Logos of God men learn all kinds of instruction and everlasting wisdom (Fug. The Divine Logos never mixes with the things which are created and thus destined to perish. without indeed touching it himself. As a result we acquire some likeness to the Father and the Creator of all (Her. the Daughter of God. 16:48). The Father eternally begat the Logos and constituted it as an unbreakable bond of the universe that produces harmony (Plant. [Meaning Philo is saying the Logos and Sophia are one] Philo’s doctrine of the Logos is.” God. a perfect being procuring forgiveness of sins and blessings: “For it was indispensable that the man who was consecrated to the Father of the world (the high priest) should have as a paraclete. of which the proper name is Ideas. clearly the second individual in one God as a hypostatization of God’s Creative Power-Wisdom.. but attends the One alone. for the abrupt rock is the wisdom of God. according to Philo. whereas virtues are feminine. 50-52). and in the second place is the Logos of God” (LA 2. Artificer). Philo’s Model of Creation Though Philo’s model of creation comes from Plato’s Timaeus. between God and the world. Wisdom [Sophia]. of distinctive character and full of disorder and confusion. the being most perfect in all virtue. According to Philo.. and the Logos as his chief messenger. Philo transforms the Stoic impersonal and immanent Logos into a being who was neither eternal like God nor created like creatures.. but begotten from eternity. 205-206). but her priority is masculine. And “the Wisdom of God. for it was not lawful for the all-wise and allblessed God to touch materials which were all misshapen and confused. to procure forgiveness of sins. but the Logos. but being in the midst between these two extremities. sent by the Ruler of all. The Logos is an ambassador and suppliant. The Logos.175-176). 127-120). And the father who created the universe has given to his archangel and most ancient Logos a pre-eminent gift.29). The Logos converted unqualified. and John identifies the Logos with Light] that was used as an instrument and a pattern of all creation (LA . according to Philo. Accordingly. This Logos is apportioned into an infinite number of parts in humans. but he created them by the agency of his incorporeal powers. therefore. 118). of quality. It was represented in historical times by the tabernacle through which God sent an image of divine excellence as a representation and copy of Wisdom (Lev.. neither unbegotten nor begotten as are sensible things (Her..86). the other things subsist in word (Logos) only” (LA 2. 47). it is imperishable. This wisdom was represented by the tabernacle of the Old Testament which was “a thing made after the model and in imitation of Wisdom” and sent down to earth “in the midst of our impurity in order that we may have something whereby we may be purified.” Next Philo explains that men are “nourished by the whole word (Logos) of God.. 16:16. which is 24 Intermediary Power The fundamental doctrine propounded by Philo is that of Logos as an intermediary power. 2. 2. 22) into four primordial elements: For it is out of that essence that God created everything. the direct agent of creation is not God himself (described in Plato as Demiurge. unshaped preexistent matter. And this same Logos is continually a suppliant to the immortal God on behalf of the mortal race. so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance.. 12 Seeing then that we have such hope. 16 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God. and of a sound mind.6-9). neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. 17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? And wilt thou condemn him that is most just? 1 John 4:8. 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is. much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. Justin Martyr. God. H. by reason of the glory that excelleth. 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord. according to Philo. John 1:4. the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.) much later in interpreting Plato.. a Hellenized Jew. Philo’s primary importance is in the development of the philosophical and theological foundations of Christianity. that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. coming to the world. for God is love. was glorious. and of love. “For some men. He elaborates instead his theory of the eternal creation (Prov. 2 Tim 1:7 7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear. it was only natural that someone would try to develop speculative and philosophical justification for Judaism in terms of Greek philosophy. but the spirit which is of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man.) Philo of Alexandria. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (Det. which put a veil over his face. 12 Now we have received. but he is “eternally applying himself to its creation” (Prov. Thus God.. Attridge). and by Origen. is a figure that spans two cultures. 1. 17 10 Therefore hearken unto me ye men of understanding: far be it from God. his contemporary. Job 34: 10-12. and as impiously and falsely have represented God as existing in a state of complete inactivity” (Op.the nurse and foster-mother and educator of those who desire incorruptible food. that the corporeal world is always coming into existence but never possesses real being. from the superficial observation that the world existed from eternity. independent of any creative act. Op. 11 For the work of a man shall he render unto him.C. 7. the veil shall be taken away. and perhaps the authors of the Gospel of John (C. Why callest thou me good? None is good. Proclus brilliantly demonstrated that even in the theistic system the world though generated must be eternal. are changed into the same image from glory to glory.E.. 2 Corinthians 3:6-18 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament.E. especially by Clement of Alexandria.. we use great plainness of speech: 1 And not as Moses. admiring the world itself rather than the Creator of the world. surely God will not do wickedly. 1. but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 25 Daniel Drumm © 2007 Job 32:8 8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.7. Christian Apologists like Athenagoras. with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2: 9-16 9 But as it is written. according to him. yea.. 7 But if the ministration of death. which doth enlighten every man. that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.. neither have entered into the heart of man. but the fountain of divine wisdom is borne along. and eternal. when Moses is read. he laid the foundations for the development of Christianity in the West and in the East. Eye hath not seen. and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God. In the process. there is liberty. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect. and cause every man to find according to his ways.. much more that which remaineth is glorious. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious. W. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things. yet he himself is judged of no man. as we know it today. 9 He was the true Light. . Theophilus. as did Philo. save one. not of the letter. as did Proclus (410-485 C. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord. 8-84). which veil is done away in Christ.. 18 But we all. is always becoming to be. save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man.. because they are spiritually discerned. 12 Yea. that he should do wickedness.. 9 (Young’s Literal Translation) 4 In him was life. Aet. When Hebrew mythical thought met Greek philosophical thought in the first century B. but the spirit giveth life. and the life was the light of men. the veil is upon their heart. Thus Philo produced a synthesis of both traditions developing concepts for future Hellenistic interpretation of messianic Hebrew thought. 7).. immediately supplies food to those which are brought forth by her. and God in him. and at another with greater rapidity and a more exceeding violence and impetuosity. the deep things of God..E.E. not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth. that he should commit iniquity. He may have influenced Paul.-50 C.. not the spirit of the world. Dodd) and the Epistle to the Hebrews (R. SCRIPTuRAL RefeReNCeS IN THe TexT All selections KJV unless noted otherwise. but of the spirit: for the letter killeth. Tertullian. On Philo: Biography Philo of Alexandria (20 B. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them. but the Spirit of God.C. the Greek and the Hebrew. God is love. written and engraven in stones. 115-117 Eternal Creation Philo denies the Aristotelian conclusion coming. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things. that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament. Luke 18:19 19 And Jesus said unto him. and from the Almighty.. nor ear heard. 15 But even unto this day. have represented it as existing without any maker. because the “world is always fabricated. did not begin to create the world at a certain moment. but that of power. that is. at one time in a more gentle and moderate stream. which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory. Williamson and H.” Proclus believed. 1 Which things also we speak. . Love your enemies. and the Logos was God. but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light. 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. If we love one another. but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. and make our abode with him. 1 John 4:20-21 20 If a man say. and it shall be given you. will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then. which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois. even as I have kept my Father’s commandments. do good to them that hate you. even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. I will put my laws into their mind. and his love is perfected in us. and walketh in darkness. and declare unto you. and in him is no darkness at all. because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I AM THAT I AM: and he said. 4 Ye have heard that it hath been said. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness. 4 In him was life. Matthew 4:4 4 But he answered and said. how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you. saying. and persecute you. John 4:14 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never 26 Daniel Drumm © 2007 John 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven. Hebrews 8:10-11 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. and knoweth not whither he goeth. ye shall abide in my love. Know the Lord: for all shall know me.  All things were made by him. 1 John 2:9-11 9 He that saith he is in the light. Matthew 5:41-48 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile. the words that I speak unto you. 1 John 2:27 . go with him twain. from the least to the greatest. Exodus 3:14 14 And God said unto Moses. and every man his brother. he will keep my words: and my Father will love him. John 1:4. will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish. the kingdom of God is within you. let us love one another: for love is of God. and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth. and pray for them which despitefully use you. John 14:23 2 Jesus answered and said unto him. Matthew 18:20 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God.. and hateth his brother. how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him. seek.see above Luke 17:21 . and the life was the light of men. 1 John 4:7-8 7 Beloved. That he who loveth God love his brother also. and hateth his brother. for God is love. It is written. and giveth life unto the world. and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. Romans 13:8 8 Owe no man any thing. . and abide in his love. and they are life. and knoweth God. and we will come unto him. God dwelleth in us. and he that seeketh findeth. 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God.see above Matthew 7: 7-12 7 Ask. 14 5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee. and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. bless them that curse you. 9 Or what man is there of you. Man shall not live by bread alone. John 1:1-4 1 In the beginning was the Logos. John 15:10 10 If ye keep my commandments. and that they might have it more abundantly. know how to give good gifts unto your children. I love God. 46 For if ye love them which love you. what do ye more than others? do not even re publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect. Luke 17:21 21 Neither shall they say. and ye shall find. and without him was not any thing made that was made. and the Logos was with God. and every one that loveth is born of God. 42 Give to him that asketh thee.see above John 4:24 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 44 But I say unto you. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. 1 John 4:12 12 No man hath seen God at any time. Lo here! or lo there! For behold.1 John 1:5 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him. If a man love me. and hate thine enemy. and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor. knock. and I am persuaded that in thee also. and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.. that God is light. what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only. 2 Timothy 5-6.. whom if his son ask bread. saith the Lord. I AM hath sent me unto you. 9 . there am I in the midst of them. Luke 18:19 . is in darkness even until now. they are spirit. he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen. being evil. John 6:63 6.see above John 10:10 10 I am come that they might have life. and thy mother Eunice. Thou shalt love thy neighbour. which I will give for the life of the world. for which of those works do ye stone me?  The Jews answered him.. Your forefathers ate manna and died. whom the Father hath sanctified. 51. and were never in bond- 27 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me. bringeth forth death. We be Abraham’s seed.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. And all of you are children of the Most High.. 47 I tell you the truth. Luke 14:15 15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things. and I in him. I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit. they are spirit. and all the sons of God shouted for joy? John 10:32-36 2 Jesus answered them. that we are the children of God: Psalm 82:6-7 6 You are gods. the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you. but after the power of an endless life. John 4:32 2 But he said unto them. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. he purgeth it. Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.. but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. and my Father is the husbandman. Moses gave you not that bread from heaven.. only he has seen the Father. This bread is my flesh. and the truth shall make you free. unto whom the word of God came. How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 5 Jesus said to them. saying. even Jesus. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 5 I am the vine. This is a hard teaching. and I in him. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit. 9 . which a man may eat and not die. ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body. 6 Say ye of him. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. you have no life in you. except it abide in the vine. the flesh counts for nothing. he will live for ever. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. which a man may eat and not die. except ye abide in me. he will live for ever. John 8:32-36 2 And ye shall know the truth.. and sent into the world. 48 I am the bread of life. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. verily. I tell you the truth.. he who believes has everlasting life. 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. I am the son of God? Romans 8:14. John 1:4. makest thyself God.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.. This bread is my flesh. Job 38:4. because I said. ye are the branches: He that abideth in me. he said unto him. I say unto you. John 6:45-63 NIV 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God. For a good work we stone thee not. 60 On hearing it. many of his disciples said. but he who feeds on this bread will live for ever. so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. If anyone eats of this bread. 7 When the morning stars sang together. but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 6 The Spirit gives life.. Who can accept it? 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this. but for blasphemy. Romans 8:6. and my blood is drink indeed. Is it not written in your law. Jesus said to them. not after the law of a carnal commandment.thirst. and the scripture cannot be broken. and because that thou. ye shall live. James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived. he that raised up Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. being a man. it bringeth forth sin: and sin.7 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare. even he shall live by me. Ye are gods? 5 If he called them gods. Thou blasphemest. and I in you. Many good works have I shewed you from my Father. the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 4 Abide in me. they are the sons of God. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. no more can ye. and giveth life unto the world. John 6:57 57 As the living Father hath sent me. I said. John 6:33. 16 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God. and they are life. Ecclesiastes 12:7 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Hebrews 7:16 Who is made. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father. 7 But you shall die like men. John 15:1-5 1 I am the true vine. 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves. 4 Jesus answered them. John 6: 50-51 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. John 6: 51-58 . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert. Verily. yet they died. which I will give for the life of the world. that it may bring forth more fruit. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. when it is finished. and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me.  They answered him. if thou hast understanding. If anyone eats of this bread.13 6 For to be carnally minded is death. and I will raise him up at the last day.. John 6:55 55 For my flesh is meat indeed. 51  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven. Hebrews 6:20 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered.see above John 6:32 2 Then Jesus said unto them.see below John 6:63 6 It is the spirit that quickeneth. 1 For if ye live after the flesh. and your faith is also vain. Philippians 2:5-6 5 Let this mind be in you. seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. Luke 9:27 27 But I tell you of a truth. who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. 2 And not only they. thought it not robbery to be equal with God. 1 Corinthians 15:47 (NIV) 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth. the creature.” In Christ.I have said. 23 above. and greater works than these shall he do. and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. and this mortal must put on immortality.. See. Behold. John 14:12 12 Verily. the body.. Romans 8:21.” Gen 3:19 “It is appointed unto man once to die. 15 Yea. then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption. [Note: In Adam all die. and not man. 24 And the LORD God said. Ye shall be made free? 4 Jesus answered them. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.see above John 11:11-14 (NIV) 11 After he had said this. 2 A minister of the sanctuary. and this mortal shall have put on immortality.28 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . ‘I said. I say unto you. Verily. even so in Christ shall all be made alive. John 8:51 51 Verily. Revelation 2: 7 7 He that hath an ear.. 5 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.” Heb 9:27 But Psalm 82: 1. What dies as a man is the spirit’s identification with and as the earthly man. or son of God. “You are gods. in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written. 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead. and of the true tabernacle. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. because I go unto my Father. if he sleeps. 6-7 (NKIV) 1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty. 21 For since by man came death. the man is become as one of us. `Gods ye [are]. “Lord. And all of you are children of the Most High. 1 John 2:9-10 “He that says he is in the light and hates his brother. but ourselves also. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity.. 4 For if he were on earth. 7 But you shall die like men 1 John 2:5 5 But whoso keepeth his word. Ye are gods?’ Psalm 82: 1. for he is a quickening spirit.. verily. your faith is vain.” Hebrews 8 1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest. we are of all men most miserable. He judges among the gods. is the one who ascends back up to it. the human animal or creature.. verily. ye are yet in your sins. The one who came down from heaven. which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ. not willingly. “Lazarus is dead. or return to dust “because dust thou art. Genesis 3:22. 6-7 says: “God hath stood in the company of God. Romans 8:18-21. how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 But if there be no resurrection of the dead. being in the form of God. he drove out the man. to wit. and then the judgment. then is our preaching vain. let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.. which is in the midst of the paradise of God. lest he put forth his hand. all are made alive. 14 So then he told them plainly. See Romans 8:18-21. who is as the Lord from heaven. then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen. the works that I do shall he do also.] John 10:34 4 Jesus answered them. till they see the kingdom of God.” 12 His disciples replied. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead. Death is swallowed up in victory.age to any man: how sayest thou. which shall not taste of death. In the midst God doth judge. there be some standing here. but I am going there to wake him up.all of you.  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 6 I said. which the Lord pitched. he shall never see death. waiting for the adoption. He that believeth on me. and live for ever. but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. Hebrews 9:27 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die.” 1 Corinthians 15: 53-54 5 For this corruptible must put on incorruption. verily. I say unto you.” 1 Jesus had been speaking of his death. If a man keep my saying. and become the firstfruits of them that slept. he will get better.. if so be that the dead rise not.. but after this the judgment: Romans 8:21 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. and take also of the tree of life. to know good and evil: and now. the second man from heaven. 22 For as in Adam all die. is in darkness even now. he should not be a priest. 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. He that loves his brother abides in the light. I.as contrasted with the heavenly man. because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up. the redemption of our body. It is the heavenly man buried in the tomb of the body who wakes from the dead. And sons of the Most High. and eat. as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for. I say unto you. Is it not written in your law. the second Adam. 23 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. The dust of Adam. ye shall be free indeed. by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 6 If the Son therefore shall make you free. must put on incorruption when the Spirit overcomes death. even we ourselves groan within ourselves. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 16 For if the dead rise not. But as man ye die”Young’s Literal Translation. 23 . 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. and we are found false witnesses of God. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. and to dust thou shalt return. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. he went on to tell them. Know the Lord: for all shall know me. that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. and I regarded them not. but our sufficiency is of God.see above John 8:17 17 It is also written in your law. the days come. from the least to the greatest. Whosoever shall put away his wife. then should no place have been sought for the second. and every man his brother. saith the LORD:  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. Have ye not read. thou barren that bearest not. and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor. and every man his brother. and write it in their hearts. the days come. but he of the freewoman was by promise. and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves. but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. but the bringing of a better hope did. For the Law made nothing perfect. 1 In that he saith. he hath made the first old. All men cannot receive this saying.see above Galatians 4:21-31 21 Tell me. and is in bondage with her children. 10 His disciples say unto him. which is Agar. save they to whom it is given. I will put my laws into their mind. Ye are they which justify yourselves before men. but of the spirit: for the letter killeth. as Isaac was. by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant. written not with ink. but of the free.see above Mark 10:18 18 And Jesus said unto him. brethren. and they shall be my people. For this cause shall a man leave father and mother. 28 Now we. 2 Corinthians 3:3-8  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us. by which we draw near to God. Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement. are the children of promise. 4 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor. do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written. and will be their God. If the case of the man be so with his wife. saith the Lord. his teeth shall be set on edge. but with the Spirit of the living God. not of the letter. 1 Corinthians 2:14 .see above John 8:32 . from the least of them unto the greatest of them. and every man presseth into it. Isaiah 58: 1-12 29 Daniel Drumm © 2007 . when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Hebrews 7: 18-19 For there is truthfully an annulling of the commandment that went before. which is the mother of us all. 0 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. saith the Lord. 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament.see above Luke 16:15-17 15 And he said unto them. 27 For it is written. and in their minds will I write them. because they continued not in my covenant. 1 Behold. 1 So then. for its weakness and unprofitability. the one from the mount Sinai. which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 2 Corinthians 3:13-18 . that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. that Abraham had two sons. ye that desire to be under the law. which gendereth to bondage. saying. and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain. and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them. which my covenant they brake. except it be for fornication. saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity. he saith. than one tittle of the law to fail. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia. committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. that the testimony of two men is true. and answereth to Jerusalem which now is. 7 They say unto him. we are not children of the bondwoman. it is not good to marry. saying.see above Matthew 19:4-11 4 And he answered and said unto them. I will put my laws into their hearts. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless. was glorious. but one flesh. Hebrews 8:6-11 -see above Jeremiah 31:30-34 0 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape. God. 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry. so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance. brethren. let not man put asunder. 8 For finding fault with them.see above 1 Corinthians 15:47 . 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free. although I was an husband unto them. even so it is now. written and engraven in stones.see above Job 32:8. John 10:34 . 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit. Hebrews 10:16 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days. break forth and cry. saith the LORD. and I will remember their sin no more. 5 And said. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants. thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. and with the house of Judah: 2 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God. 9 And I say unto you. but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death. 11 But he said unto them. Hebrews 8:13 . A new covenant. saith the LORD. 2 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh. Know the LORD: for they shall all know me. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass. that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. but in fleshy tables of the heart. After those days.saith he. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. 16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached. that is. What therefore God hath joined together. Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. Behold. 2 Corinthians 3:6-18 . the one by a bondmaid. and shall marry another. I will put my law in their inward parts. the other by a freewoman. Rejoice. not in tables of stone. which was established upon better promises. saith the Lord. saith the Lord. From the Chaldaic writings of the Hebrews given before the Egyptian bondage: “On those overcoming all weaknesses and abolishing all sin from their lives. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual. it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness. John 6:48-51 (NIV) 48 I am the bread of life. and this mortal shall have put on immortality. and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden.see above 1 John 4:7. 4 Behold. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy. but to save them. whose waters fail not. 55 O death. 5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush. till they see the kingdom of God. of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.1 Cry aloud. 45 And so it is written. John 8:34-35 4 Jesus answered them. Verily. Hebrews 10:16 -see above John 10:34 . It is sown in corruption. and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning. if anyone keeps my word. And they went to another village.Rabbi Bendovan. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. which shall not taste of death. in the day of your fast ye find pleasure. and thou takest no knowledge? Behold. even as Elias did? 55 But he turned.see above 2 Corinthians 3:3. but we shall all be changed. ye fast for strife and debate. and thy darkness be as the noon day: 11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert. he will never see death. to undo the heavy burdens. and consume them.see above Hebrews 8:6-13 . I love God. for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin. spare not. Lord. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives. and satisfy the afflicted soul. where is thy sting? O grave. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 . If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke. he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen. in the twinkling of an eye. and the strength of sin is the law. wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven. there be some standing here. bringeth forth death. and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry. the putting forth of the finger. because he is born of God. 5 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice. which I will give for the life of the world. we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15:26 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. thou shalt cry. but the gift of God is eternal life. and there is a spiritual body. at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound..  Wherefore have we fasted. but that which is natural. which a man may eat and not die. 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations. 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry.see above SuPPLemeNTAL RefeReNCeS: ON IMMOrTALITy James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived. then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written. as a nation that did righteousness. it is raised in incorruption: 4 It is sown in dishonor. and afterward that which is spiritual. Here I am. 7-8 . when it is finished. 52 In a moment. and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul. and said. death has no claim. it is raised a spiritual body. it bringeth forth sin: and sin.” . he will live forever. and like a spring of water. and the house of Jacob their sins. and the LORD shall answer. such are they also that are heavenly. and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee. and we shall be changed. it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body. lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Mt 16:28) 27 But I tell you of a truth. and rebuked them. and he shall say. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death.see above Luke 9:54-56 54 And when his disciples James and John saw this. how can he love God whom he hath not seen? Galatians 4:19 19 My little children. If anyone eats of this bread. where is thy victory? . a Levite record keeper. Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-55 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. 50 Now this I say. 48 As is the earthy. verily. the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward. and exact all your labours. 1 John 4:20 20 If a man say. then shall thy light rise in obscurity. to make your voice to be heard on high. 2 Yet they seek me daily.” Luke 9:27 (also quoted in Mk 9:1. the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. This bread is my flesh. and speaking vanity. and delight to know my ways. and this mortal must put on immortality. and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast.. 47 The first man is of the earth. that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day. and satisfy thy soul in drought. John 8:51 (NIV) 51 I tell you the truth. they take delight in approaching to God. and to let the oppressed go free. There is a natural body. that thou cover him. yet they died. 9 Then shalt thou call. The restorer of paths to dwell in. and shew my people their transgression. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption. 51 Behold. they said. I shew you a mystery. such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly. 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. 1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin. brethren. 5 For this corruptible must put on incorruption. neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. The first man Adam was made a living soul. and thou shalt be called. say they. earthy. The repairer of the breach. I say unto you. and an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness. and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. the second man is the Lord from heaven. We shall not all sleep. and hateth his brother. Behold. yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Genesis 3:22.. 24 And the LORD God said. abideth a priest continually. but after the power of an endless life. though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham. that he pleased God. Believest thou this? [Note: If you abide in the Vine. Revelation 2: 7 7 He that hath an ear. who receive the office of the priesthood. you shall never die. 5-17 1 For this Melchisadek. and take also of the tree of life. (for under it the people received the law) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisadek. 15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisadek there ariseth another priest.. . Lazarus was one on whom death had no claim. I am the resurrection. of which no man gave attendance at the altar. nor end of life. of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. of their brethren. 14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah. and the life: he that believeth in me. without mother. of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.. having neither beginning of days. He was not referring to a life after death. If he were simply demonstrating the power of the Spirit to raise the dead in a later physical resurrection.. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life.. that is. 8 And here men that die receive tithes. 17 For he testifieth.  Without father. to know good and evil: and now. let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.. because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony. there is made of necessity a change also of the law. and live for ever. which is in the midst of the paradise of God. and blessed him that had the promises. but made like unto the Son of God. Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisadek. 11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood. why would he tell Martha the living would not die?] Hebrews 11:5 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death. the man is become as one of us.. 7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.. but there he receiveth them. 16 Who is made.. have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law. 1 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe. his Word or Light. lest he put forth his hand. 5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi. and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed. or a later resurrection. without descent. he drove out the man. though he were dead. for he was speaking to Martha right before he raised Lazarus.John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said unto her. not after the law of a carnal commandment. and eat. Hebrews 7: 1. and was not found.