to walk freely in Gyd's house

[salishan]

when a prophet rises among u
i Yahweh reveal myself to u in visions
i speak to u in dreams
but this is not the case for my servant Moses
he has the run of my entire house
with him i speak face to face
clearly & not in riddles
for he sees me as i actually am

the spiritual (in 58 words)

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this is written by the E-author of the Torah (the Elohist)

while (overall) i prefer the J-author (the Yahwist)
her or his very-fluid & slyly ironic storytelling
(the distancing wit of a secular scribe , not a priest)
really high-caliber narrative literature

the narrative style of the Elohist is more plodding
heavy , the self-conscious story-production of an
all-too-serious Mushite priestess or priest

but the Elohist has her or his moments
the high-drama of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) , & though
both J & E write a burning-bush sequence (Exodus 3) , the epiphany-moment
the cathartic "i am who i am" (Exodus 3:14) is the Elohist's contribution
(this is the stuff of Sophocles or Shakespeare)
the Elohist knows how to smith-words to raise-the-stakes of a sequence
& construct a powerful dramatic scene , when called-upon
(this priest would have made a great playwright ! )

& Yahweh's speech , above
(ostensibly to chastise Aaron & Miriam
for criticizing Moses' choice of wife) is , dramatically
a searing exposition of Yahweh's love for Moses

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but to us modern seekers
this speech means much much more

to walk freely in Gyd's house , this
(however a seeker might picture it) is
the ultimate spiritual experience

to converse (unmediated) with the Divine

 

[salishan]

creature of flesh , creature of spirit

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what we call "life"
is a particular kind of delusion

u or i or the spider-climbing-the-bathroom-wall
is just a well-organized combine of
mechanical & chemical & electrical processes

what "organizes this combine" , the ancient world
wants to believe , is spirit

"chi" (or masculine potency) in China , or
"prajna" (or analytical acuity) in India , or
"pneuma" (or wit or life-force) in Greece , or
"ruach" (or breeze or breath-of-life) in Judea

spirit is the enemy of "fate" , enemy of pessimistic gloom
spirit is injected into the biological-combine to give it life , &
when spirit is removed , life goes away (hence "death")
(or so it is thought
a creditable delusion with a catchy pre-scientific logic to it , but
this is not how biology actually works , no
what life is , is a closed feedback-system
a discrete ecosystem capable of making decisions for the system's own benefit)

if u are looking for (scientifically verifiable) truth about "life"
spirit is pure delusion
but

if u are a seeker of meaning ...

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the spirit searches everything
even the depths of Gyd

for
what human being knows
what is truly human
except via the spirit-within ?

so also
no one truly comprehends
what is truly Gyd's
except via the spirit-of-Gyd !

- 1 Corinthians 2:10-11​

Paul of Tarsus is using the word "spirit"
in 2 different senses , here

spirit-within the human-being (to Paul of Tarsus) is both
the Greek sense of spirit (pneuma) as the "life-force" , &
the Hebrew sense of spirit ("ruach") as "breath-of-life"
but

by spirit-of-Gyd , Paul of Tarsus is referring to something
brand-new , totally unprecedented in the ancient (& early-modern) world

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due to selective-breeding of animals & cross-pollinating of grains & of fruit-trees
the Mesopotamians (& Israelites) know a thing-or-two about genetics

their folklore traces the human-genome back to a single ancestor
whom they call simply "Man" (Adamu , "Adam")

(scientifically , this Semitic assumption is a credible hypothesis
but most scientists now think that our homo sapiens genome
first consolidated 40,000ya from one small migratory band of African hominids
a gene-pool , numbering 2 or 3 dozen individuals)

(but in Semitic folklore) Adam & his descendants (the "sons of Man") , i.e. all humans
are creatures of flesh , are naturally-corrupt instinct-driven creatures
(something reinforced by Hebrew theology , as Paul of Tarsus understands it)

thus every "son of Man" needs
Gyd's Law
to keep her or him
righteous

(& as reward , the bodies of the righteous will be raised-up at-the-end-of-time
when Gyd establishes his kingdom on earth)

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a human-being is a creature of flesh , not a creature of spirit

due to the "fall of Man" (stained by the sins of the flesh)
Law is the only thing which keeps "Man" close to Gyd

(this is accomplished
via u suppressing u'r instincts
via u following Gyd's commands instead)

then (2000ya) ...

Jesus the Galilean enters the picture
& (whether real-world-fact or just startling-new-idea) , for Paul of Tarsus
this changes everything

to Paul of Tarsus
Jesus walks about this corrupt world , sinless
a creature (entirely) of spirit

Jesus treads the planet entirely in Gyd's shoes
(conducts himself not via the spirit-within
his behavior is not genetically-driven
he's not compelled to act via "life-force" or "breath-of-life"
he's different than Adam , he is not a "child of the gene")

Jesus conducts himself totally via the spirit-of-Gyd

this new definition of "spirit" (this spirit-of-Gyd")
signifies (for Paul of Tarsus) a new hope , a
new way for a person to conduct her or his self in the world

Law is good , but u
no longer need Law

u need (solely) to walk
(not as a "son of Man" , not as a descendant of Adam
not as a creature of flesh , but walk instead) in the spirit-of-Gyd
(walk in Jesus' shoes)

to follow Jesus' example , &
tread the planet as a creature of spirit

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spirit
breaching nature's design

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how can this be realized ?

thru grace​

the ego drops away
& the door is open unto u

to walk freely in Gyd's house

 

[radarmark]

Your posts are so thoroughly enjoyable… they make me think.

what we call "life"
is a particular kind of delusion
u or i or the spider-climbing-the-bathroom-wall
is just a well-organized combine of
mechanical & chemical & electrical processes
what "organizes this combine" , the ancient world
wants to believe , is spirit
"chi" (or masculine potency) in China , or
"prajna" (or analytical acuity) in India , or
"pneuma" (or wit or life-force) in Greece , or
"ruach" (or breeze or breath-of-life) in Judea
spirit is the enemy of "fate" , enemy of pessimistic gloom
spirit is injected into the biological-combine to give it life , &
when spirit is removed , life goes away (hence "death")
(or so it is thought
a creditable delusion with a catchy pre-scientific logic to it , but
this is not how biology actually works , no
what life is , is a closed feedback-system
a discrete ecosystem capable of making decisions for the system's own benefit)
if u are looking for (scientifically verifiable) truth about "life"
spirit is pure delusion
but
if u are a seeker of meaning ...

Pneuma-ruach-prajna-chi is but is not provable within the scientistic outlook. But without it all collapses to non-value and non-meaning.
Interesting opposition. This is why I think “spiritual truth” is entirely
Distinct from “formal operations truth”. Different thought processes, different experiences require different maps.

Paul of Tarsus is using the word "spirit"
in 2 different senses , here
spirit-within the human-being (to Paul of Tarsus) is both
the Greek sense of spirit (pneuma) as the "life-force" , &
the Hebrew sense of spirit ("ruach") as "breath-of-life"
but
by spirit-of-Gyd , Paul of Tarsus is referring to something
brand-new , totally unprecedented in the ancient (& early-modern) world

“Vitalism” versus “mysticism”.
Fueled flesh versus intuitive information.

due to selective-breeding of animals & cross-pollinating of grains & of fruit-trees
the Mesopotamians (& Israelites) know a thing-or-two about genetics
their folklore traces the human-genome back to a single ancestor
whom they call simply "Man" (Adamu , "Adam")
(scientifically , this Semitic assumption is a credible hypothesis
but most scientists now think that our homo sapiens genome
first consolidated 40,000ya from one small migratory band of African hominids
a gene-pool , numbering 2 or 3 dozen individuals)
(but in Semitic folklore) Adam & his descendants (the "sons of Man") , i.e. all humans
are creatures of flesh , are naturally-corrupt instinct-driven creatures
(something reinforced by Hebrew theology , as Paul of Tarsus understands it)
thus every "son of Man" needs
Gyd's Law
to keep her or him
righteous
(& as reward , the bodies of the righteous will be raised-up at-the-end-of-time
when Gyd establishes his kingdom on earth)

Must one include reward? The reward is in the action itself, in the moment itself. Redemption is the reconciliation or at-one-ment of Kosmos and Individual with the Divine. In that moment while becoming that action—there could lay the real reward.

a human-being is a creature of flesh , not a creature of spirit
due to the "fall of Man" (stained by the sins of the flesh)
Law is the only thing which keeps "Man" close to Gyd
(this is accomplished
via u suppressing u'r instincts
via u following Gyd's commands instead)
then (2000ya) ...
Jesus the Galilean enters the picture
& (whether real-world-fact or just startling-new-idea) , for Paul of Tarsus
this changes everything
to Paul of Tarsus
Jesus walks about this corrupt world , sinless
a creature (entirely) of spirit
Jesus treads the planet entirely in Gyd's shoes
(conducts himself not via the spirit-within
his behavior is not genetically-driven
he's not compelled to act via "life-force" or "breath-of-life"
he's different than Adam , he is not a "child of the gene")

Yes Paul may be read this way. But while Christ is external-Spirit (from Gyd), it must also be true that Jesus is internal-Spirit (from life).
Therefore, Christ Jesus is both “Son of Gyd” and “Son of Man”.
Otherwise we are left where we started. The abyss between not filled.

Jesus conducts himself totally via the spirit-of-Gyd
this new definition of "spirit" (this spirit-of-Gyd")
signifies (for Paul of Tarsus) a new hope , a
new way for a person to conduct her or his self in the world
Law is good , but u
no longer need Law
u need (solely) to walk
(not as a "son of Man" , not as a descendant of Adam
not as a creature of flesh , but walk instead) in the spirit-of-Gyd
(walk in Jesus' shoes)
to follow Jesus' example , &
tread the planet as a creature of spirit

Yes. However the early Fathers saw the danger of Jesus being “spirit-of-Gyd” yet not “spirit-of-life”. In reality, either way works—Jesus as Divine Invasion. However, the Chalcedean “prosopon” (one-personhood of Christ Jesus), “hypostatis” (one-substance of Christ Jesus), and “inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably” (per the Confession of Chalcedon) was needed to unify the Church. We no longer have Jesus Wars (see Jenkins’ book of same name) over the issue and (IMHO) it is the product of scientistic thought, we can let hypostatis go. But we must acknowledge that it is a way.

how can this be realized ?
thru grace
the ego drops away
& the door is open unto u
to walk freely in Gyd's house

That is what H!/Sh! demands of us.

 

[salishan]

to steer​

Radarmark
exquisite creature

i know u still cleave to the faith (Society of Friends)
but "spirit-within" , as u use the term (i.e. inner-light)
while it does work for me , morally
(as witnessing , an ego-free connection with another person
connection beyond the emotion of compassion , beyond even empathy)

light-within (however) does not work for me , spiritually
(it is unsatisfying , no sense of breaching)

& this (principally) is why i no longer attend Meeting

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to me , Paul of Tarsus is on-to-something

in his Hebrew theology , "spirit-within" is just genetic-programming
(innate instinctual behavior within all humans , within all sons of Adam/Man)
just the life-force , the inner-wind which drives the human sails
(the gasoline in our carburetor)

the life-force leads to good-behavior & bad-behavior indiscriminately
& here , the genuine power of the Torah displays itself by saying
STOP
here is the line-in-the-sand
that side is SIN , this side is RIGHTEOUSNESS

what brings u close to Gyd , is the LAW (the line-in-the-sand
& staying on Gyd's side of the line)

if humans are only genetic-creatures (only animals , only creatures-of-flesh)
then Judaic (Law-centered) theology , as Paul of Tarsus sees it
contains the one-genuine-answer to the Big Question , of
how to behave in the world

but Paul of Tarsus finds himself reaching for something-more

to him , a human is not just an (instinct-driven) "genetic creature"
(a creature-of-flesh which need a braking-device)
but this human is also a creature-of- ...

but Paul of Tarsus does not have a "word"
for what he wants to express
so he uses the cobbled-together phrase "spirit-of-Gyd"

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u are a railroad train , speeding down the tracks

a massive boulder lands , kerplunk !
in the middle of the track-bed ahead of u
(with the word "destruction" written-all-over-it)

u can accelerate the engine & attempt to knock the boulder aside
or u can hit the brake & hope to stop the 100-car train in-time

but either way , u are probably screwed
(just an act of fate , u'r "destruction" appearing inevitable)

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a human being
(a "son of Adam/Man" , creature of flesh) is limited this way
& Judaic theology (to Paul of Tarsus) portrays exactly this kind of 1-dimensional path
a path , with only 2-options

(according to Paul of Tarsus) , u may be slow to realize it
but u are a "creature of spirit" , too ("spirit-of-Gyd")
u are not on a railroad-track but u are on an asphalt highway
u are not one unit in a 100-car train but u are a single-car automobile

the boulder lands on the highway in front of u , & yes
u can accelerate , & yes
u can brake

but u (also) can combine the two
plus try
to steer around the massive obstacle

it's a tricky maneuver & u still may crash
but , if u can awaken to see u'r self for what u really are
awaken to realize that u are not a-train-on-a-track , with just two options

u discover u are transfigured , & u realize
u can steer a new course when the situation so demands it

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it's a clumsy phrase , "spirit-of-Gyd"
but this (the above) is what Paul of Tarsus means by it

u are a creature-of-spirit
u have a piece of Gyd (not inside u , not outside of u
but at u'r periphery) , u have a steering device

Gyd joins u
helps steer u on a new course
when the situation so demands

"steering" looks miraculous , but isn't
(it only looks miraculous if u perceive u'r self as just
a railroad-train on a set-track
the 1-dimensional path , which
Paul of Tarsus perceives Judaic theology to be)

& to Paul of Tarsus , it is Jesus the Galilean who
first tells humans that they are creatures-of-spirit
Jesus the Galilean who first teaches humans how to steer

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Radarmark
this is "spiritual" , to me

breaching my (innate) genetic-track
learning to steer

 

[salishan]

to steer

(to be a partner of Gyd , not merely a servant)

 

[salishan]

spirit-of-Gyd​

Jesus
then , was not just
a prophet announcing the kingdom

he believed that
the kingdom was breaking in
to Israel's history
in & thru his own
presence
& work

The Meaning of Jesus (1999) page 37​

steering​