Mystical Christianity

Lesson 9;

 

Questions for the Heart and Mind;

 

1. Given what we know of the historical Mary Magdalene, what role do you think she played in the ministry of Jesus?

I think Mary played an important supportive role in the ministry of Jesus, emotionally, financially and in service. Mary was chosen by Jesus to be the first bearer of the Good News of His Resurrection. This was no mistake – Jesus chose the one He deemed reliable and faithful to carry out this important task.

 

It is possible that Mary came from Magdala, a center of commercial fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Mary left her home to follow Jesus, and fossibly financially supported Jesus’ ministry.

 

Mary led the other women together with Jesus’ mother at the crucifixion. She strengthened their resolve with her love and fearless loyalty as Jesus was executed.

 

Mary was a faithful and loving follower of Jesus Christ, remaining loyal and at His side until His ascension. 

 

2. What validity do you give historical material that is based on oral and/or cultural tradition?

It certainly has its place. Many cultures have handed down stories from century to century, faithfully passing them on from storyteller to storyteller. 

 

3. Do you believe in continuing revelation, and if you do, what standards do you use for discerning what is true?

Yes, I believe in continuing revelation. God through Jesus Christ continues to take an active role in the fortunes of the world and its people. This necessitates ongoing revelation of God through Jesus Christ to us. The standard I use for discerning what is true, is the test of time and test of God. The test of time is to wait; the truth always comes out with time. Also, if a revelation is of God, time and God will show if the revelation is indeed from Him or a clever lie.

 

4. What is your opinion regarding the conflation controversy? Do you believe that Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are the same woman?

My personal opinion is that historical evidence should be taken into consideration when preaching. Gregory assumed that Mary of Bethany and Mary of Magdala were the same person without having any historical evidence for the same. Mary of Bethany was from Bethany in Judea, within walking distance of Jerusalem. Mary of Magdale was from Magdala, three miles north of Tiberius in Galilee. Two women with the same name from opposite ends of Israel benefited from the charismatic presence of Jesus Christ. I believe that Mary of Bethany and Mary of Magdala were two different people entirely.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Mystical Christianity

LESSON 4 - ESSENES AND GNOSTICS;

 

QUESTIONS FOR THE HEART AND MIND;

 

 

1. What does it mean to 'know yourself'? How well do you know your True Self? Who are you?

 

'To know myself' means to know the deepest thoughts, aspirations and fears that lie within me. I know myself better than I used to in earlier years. My knowledge came after a car accident left me time to reflect on my life, who I truly was and what God was saying to me in my life. Until the accident I did not know my true self. After the accident I found out by degrees who I really was, and Who God really was, as He supported me through the suffering and losses to a new life where I was confident in choosing what I believe He wants me to truly do with my life in His service. I have learned that I am essentially a lover of God. God's love, my loving Him and my call to serve Him, together form the reason for which I was created.

 

2. Have you ever had a visionary or mystical experience? If so, describe how it affected you.

 

Yes, I had an experience of God. It affected me by changing every life decision I made. It eventually led me to seeking ordination as priest.

 

3. How do you define imagination and how do you experience it in your life?

 

I define imagination as the power of thought and the imagining of things unknown. I experience the power of imagination in my life, as I imagine how the new church minsitry and education ministry I am in the process of establishing will turn out, and this gives me the strength to go through all that needs to be done to achieve what I believe God is calling me to do. Imagination is a powerful force for good in my life, and a great gift I have always treasured since childhood.

 

4. What role does breath play in your life? Describe a moment when you were intensely aware of your breathing.

 

Breath plays a central role in my life. Without breath, I would be dead and unable to do all the creative activities I am still called by God to carry out before my journey to the next world is due. I was intensely aware of my breathing when I nearly drowned at the age of eleven years. I had dived and hit the water dead on. I don't quite know what happened, but I found myself at the bottom of the pool a short while later, unable to move. My lungs were bursting, and I needed to take in breath. I knew that if I breathed, I would drown. All I could think of were my parents, and how they would feel if they heard I had drowned while they were nearby.

 

I called on God for strength, and somehow some strength came back into my limbs. I managed to swim back to surface. I lay next to the pool for a long time, before I could get motion back into my body. I have often remembered that moment, and how grateful I was to get that first breath back into my lungs. Breath has always been to me God's gift. The one thing that always puzzled me was that I seemed to have blacked out for a few seconds, during which I had sunk to the bottom of the Olympic depth swimming pool. How come I had not taken in any water? That was always to me a mystery. Somehow God had protected me through His angels, as He still had a plan and purpose for me in my life that had to be carried out.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

 

Mystical Christianity

Final Essay for "Master of Christian Mysticism"
By Brother Joseph Kovacic, Fr., Ph.D.

"Christian Mysticism or Mystery?"

The History Channel (television) has been airing a series titled "Ancient Aliens". This presents some unique positions concerning the history of the human world. Virtually all cultures have "gods". The mystery of just where these "gods" originated is something mankind has pondered a long time. There exists a mystery that promotes a response with mysticism. In order to handle the unknown, "man" has co-opted the position with mysticism.

Here are short definitions of the terms mysticism and mystery.

"Mysticism:   mys·it·cism (mis'ti-siz'?m) n. Immediate consciousness of the transcendent or ultimate reality or God. The experience of such communion as described by mystics. A belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual or intellectual apprehension that are central to being and directly accessible by subjective experience. Vague, groundless speculation.

© Houghton Mifflin Company
Copyright © 2011 Answers Corporation. All rights reserved."

". . . Mys·ter·y1 (mis't?-re)  n., pl., -ies. One that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma: . . . One whose identity is unknown . . . A work of fiction, a drama, or a film dealing with a puzzling crime. . . . The skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group . . . . The mysteries of Freemasonry . . . . A religious truth that is incomprehensible . . . Knowable only through divine revelation. . . .from the life of Jesus, especially the Incarnation, Passion, Crucifixion, or Resurrection, of particular importance for redemption. . . .Annunciation or the Ascension . . . . Eucharist. . . . 
  
 © Houghton Mifflin Company
 Copyright © 2011 Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.
 Terms of Use . . . "
 
Here we have a Delima between mystery and mystical, although mystical appears to cement the chasm with the unknown.

Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, that edged "his" way into the lives of the Jews during the time of Moses and the Exodus. According to the presentation, "Ancient Aliens", the appearance of these "gods" were none other than the guest stars of the TV series "Ancient Aliens". Yes, man's "gods" where extraterrestrials. Stop for a moment and consider all the stories from the Bible and other ancient scriptures were about extraterrestrial humans, beings from the planet Nibiru interceding in the lives of the Sumerians, and all other great cultures, throughout history, et. Al.

As "man" becomes more experienced and thus sophisticated such considerations that were dealt with through mysticism to help understand  and deflect these mysteries may be more pronounced.

Although the series may have been convincing there should be no dismissal of tried and true reasoning for which "man" holds "himself" in such high esteem. Skepticism may be of necessity to maintain the fragile thread that keeps us all together and sane.

Can one be certain where "truth" and/or "fiction" ends and begins? As Christians may be well aware of mysticism as a part in Christian theology and practice, what is the value of mysticism when considering alternative views. Many Christians and Jews when confronted with the History Channel's latest expose titled "Ancient Aliens" find the information influential much as "The DaVinci Code", which swept the masses across the plains, hills and mountains in the United States and Europe. 

The primus that the gods of ancient societies and cultures where in fact visitors from other realms of existence, other planets in our solar system and even other galaxies. They made appearance in bodily form were skin, bone, and blood creatures as we and were centuries past, and millennially more advanced than resident peoples of planet earth in the past and present both socially and technologically and beyond.

In the desert more than three thousand ago just with whom did Moses speak? Perhaps Yahweh was one of those visitors from another planet or domain. What about Jesus? He is alleged to be the product of a virgin birth. Was he of the "Holy Spirit" or was the BVM made pregnant by a DNA transplant. Was Jesus from parents of the earth and the Sky?

Noah, the son of Lemach, was not he also of a virgin birth? At least his earthly father had questions. What was Noah's ark? It is an incredible concept that the "boat" would accommodate two of all earth's creatures. More in line is the thinking of Giorgio A. Tsoulakos, one of the narrators of "Ancient Aliens". He, logically contends that Noah's Ark was a DNA lab.

Amenhotep the fourth, the Egyptian pharoe that changed the god concept for his people from polytheism to monotheism, was according to statue evidence, a most unusual representative physically of the Egyptian male. "Big at the little and bottom at the top". :) Possibly Amenhotep IV was another example of miscegenation involving "DNA experimentation".

Returning to Mysticism, we will see that, assuming Mysticism helps humans focus attention to oneness with the Universe, thus eliminating the need to block the mysteries of the unknown. However, should the god phenomena as it currently exists be exchanged for religious systems with new understanding that all of the supernatural "pie" is expunged and recognition that gods, past and present are simply human type creatures whose egos lead them to take advantage of superstitious conditions on earth by "playing a trick."
 

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free, legal and lasts for life, so please take advantage of our Free Online Ordination.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and am proud to have started the Seminary.

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Mystical Christianity Course

Master of Mystical Christianity Final Essay
Michael Barth

    This course in Mystical Christianity really got me thinking about Christianity in a new way.  One thing that I learned was how I really view the Bible and Scriptures in my daily living.  I never could make my mind up if the Bible was supposed to be taken literally or symbolically.  After taking this course, I decided that some parts of the Bible are supposed to be taken literally while other parts are supposed to be taken symbolically.  I use a lot more from the Bible than I had previously thought.  Some of the things that I use from the Bible are the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and living as closely to how Jesus Christ lived.

    Another thing I learned was how masculine and the feminine are related to Christianity.  I have to admit that I did not think that the feminine was as strong in Christianity as I had previously thought.  One example is from Genesis in when God created man.  I had previously associated God creating man with creating Adam and then creating Eve from Adam’s rib, thus making Eve subservient to the male, Adam.  This thinking was changed during this course and I now think that the masculine and the feminine are equal.
    Another thing that I loved was learning about how the Mayan Calendar Year of 2012 relates to us.  When ever I heard of this topic, I was always hearing that the Earth was going to cease to exist.  I interpreted this as the planet Earth not existing or at least not having any life on it.  This was changed in the final lessons.  I now know that the Mayan Year of 2012 is when there will be a change from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius.  During this time, there will be an awakening among people where the right side of the brain will be developed and joined together with the left side of the brain.  After reading this, I started thinking that maybe I am starting to awaken by taking this course along with others through the ULC Seminary.  This change to the Age of Aquarius seems exciting and something to look forward to since peace and harmony among people will be possible if we as humans awaken.

    Another thing that I learned was how sexuality (sex), if used correctly, is the sexual union between the masculine and the feminine and is nothing to be ashamed of.  I had been taught from the time I was a child that sex was only for procreation and was not to be done otherwise since it is wrong and evil then.  This course helped me change my thinking about sexuality.  Now I am thinking that sex can be used to show love between the masculine and the feminine.
    Reading about the Essenes was real interesting.  I had heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls but never knew that the scrolls were about the Essenes.  I had never heard of the Essenes before.  Reading about how they lived and how they opposed many practices of Jerusalem and how they thought how Rome compromised and corrupted Judaism.   I thought how the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered was really interesting.  The fact that the scrolls were hidden in a cave around 70 C.E. and weren’t discovered until about the 1950’s was amazing.

    This course was really helpful.  It got me thinking and question things that I had been taught.  I know that the people who taught me did their best and were teaching what they had been taught, but I was never exposed to the material in this manner.  While everyone is going to have their own interpretation of things, this course got me to think and question some of the beliefs that I have had for so long especially about the masculine and feminine.  I would recommend this course to people who are interested in seeing a different view point about topics that they probably have been exposed to.  This course was laid out excellently and was easy to follow.  It was a great pleasure that I was able to take this course.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free, legal and lasts for life, so please take advantage of our Free Online Ordination.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and am proud to have started the Seminary.

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Mystical Chrsitianity Course

Mystical Christianity/Homework/Lesson 8                                                                            

1. I view Mary of Nazareth as a historical person. I enjoyed the picture given in this lesson of the world in which she lived and the choices which she had as a pregnant teenaged bride. It could all have ended tragically except for the caring person of Joseph whose important decisions saved Mary’s life and the life of her unborn son. She is the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ which was both an honor and a draw-back. Luckily, Joseph and Mary formed a partnership which would evolve into a solid marriage. At this point, I can’t imagine one without the other. Both took risks to follow their faith. If every marriage was founded on faith and respect, a partnership society might become the inevitable outcome.                                                                                                                      

2. In traditional Christianity or at least Roman Catholicism, Mary is called the Queen of Heaven. She is Jesus’ loving mother and is said to act as our own mother in heaven. She remains virginally pure (even though she has had other children besides Jesus) and has the role of intercessor between human beings and her Son, the Christ. I do not believe in go-betweens but some people may believe that through her infinite compassion, she is available for that purpose.                                                                                                            

As the White Virgin, she is married to the Church (Joseph being no longer mentioned after the Nativity and flight in and out of Egypt.) After Calvary, Mary mourns as any mother would. She goes out of the N.T. scene not long after the Resurrection. During Jesus’ Ministry, she was pretty helpless as many woman disciples assisted Him in much more direct ways. Her role played, Mary stayed in a nebulous background, certainly unlike her goddess counterpart.                                                                                                         

3. The veneration of Mary may have been instrumental in keeping women out of important roles in organized religion. The cult could have been instituted to placate those verbal few who demanded respect for their most famous “Christian” heroine.                                   

4. If it were possible, I would like to see more women in leadership roles in the Christian Church. Some denominations allow women to be ordained as pastors while others point to the Bible and say that women as clergy goes against the law of God. I would love to see a female priest in the Roman Catholic Church and it would be a great thing for R.C. priests of both sexes marry and raise families. These changes will probably not occur in my lifetime if at all because a dominator society exists.

 

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free, legal and lasts for life, so please take advantage of our Free Online Ordination.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and am proud to have started the Seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

 

Mystical Christianity Course

-Rev. Alexander Balla

1. Imagine a Christianity without the influence of original sin and the fall.  If we remove “fall/redemption theology” from Christianity, what is left and what can be put in its place?

The focus would undoubtedly be on the focus that Jesus taught, rather than on constantly living in sin.

2. Explain the connection between the traditional understanding of the Genesis narratives and our ecological concerns for Mother Earth. Why are the two connected?

Traditionally it is the responsibility of all mankind for beginning and perpetuating original sin. In the same way that we sullied our own race, we are now sullying the earth around us; the earth that God presented as a gift to all people.

3. How do you react to the possibility, as theorized by Gregg Braden, that you carry the message “God Eternal within the body” in your genetic code?

This is a beautiful realm where spirituality and science meet and can peacefully coexist. The message of our creation exists within our DNA in our similarities and our genetic oneness with each other.

4. If this “God Code” is common to all humanity, how does it affect your understanding of current issues of world peace and justice?

This proves that we are all one big family. As sad as it is to say it, every family has a tendency towards dysfunction. The human family is no different. Maybe through decades of schooling and global therapy the gaps that divide us can be healed.

5. Become the storyteller of your life and create your own creation mythology. What would your creation story feel, look and sound like?

My story would be relatively short and simple:

In the beginning there was darkness, and this darkness represented nothingness, for nothing had yet come into existence. At the moment of his/her choosing God said “Let there be light!” and light came in the form of energy and matter, which initiated the big bang. The universe had been created and began to boil with eternal and ever expanding possibilities until somewhere in the far flung reaches of this universe a star was born. Rocky and gaseous bodies surrounded this star, which would usher in the advent of all life on a planet whose inhabitants would one day call earth. This God adhered to the laws of scientific creation that he/she gave life to and in so doing, gave life to all creation.

--
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Resumes and references are available upon request.

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free, legal and lasts for life, so please take advantage of our Free Online Ordination.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and am proud to have started the Seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

 

Mystical Christianity Course

Master of Mystical Christianity

Lesson 2 - Mirror Images

Question for the Heart and Mind

 

1. Imagine a Christianity without the influence of original sin and the fall. If we remove 'fall/redemption theology' from Christianity, what is left and what can be put in its place?

 

If the fall/redemption theology is removed from Christianity, then Christianity itself is removed. Christ came to put right that which had gone away in human understanding and relationships between humanity and God, and humanity with fellow humans and other beings in creation.

 

The Christian Scriptures inform us that God so loved the world He sent His only Son to us, so that we should not die but have everlasting life (John 3;16). So Christ came to earth with a God sent purpose of redemption. Take away the purpose and the reality of the crucifixion-sacrifice, and the rationale for the purpose of Jesus' life, death and resurrection has gone. This is the practical reality.

 

In the sphere of imagination, I imagine that God would have incarnated as human to partake our life experience on earth even if there had not been a pressing need for reconciliation/redemption. In a world without the influence of original sin and the fall, humanity would be kind towards one another and other beings in creation.

 

Killing would be both unthought and unheard of, and the eating of other earthly beings such as animals would not occur. People would live healthily from pulses, grains, fruits and vegetables. Humans would not fear humans, and animals would not have cause to fear humans. Love, tolerance, understanding and peace would be the hallmarks of every relationship.

 

What is thus left after the removal of all redemption theology is relationship with God (Christ) and with fellow humanity and creation. What can be put in the place of the fall/redemption theology is a theology of all-embracing love, of a lack of malice and manipulation of fellow beings and creation for one's own ends. Selfishness would not exist; only peaceful, caring co-operation from a mature and integrated inner universe of heart, mind and soul of each human.

 

2. Explain the connection between the traditional understanding of the Genesis narratives and our ecological concerns for Mother Earth. Why are the two connected?

 

As Christians we have been trained from our earliest years to dominate our environment without sensitivity, rather than to work in partnership with the kingdoms of creation. The result has had a spin off for our planet as a whole. The traditional understanding of the Genesis narratives echoes the belief that anything related to matter, the physical body, and the feminine became defined as opposed to a life of faith, if not actual evil.

 

Preston Bristow (2001) has affirmed that Christianity has been called arrogant towards nature and charged with being the historical root of our ecological crisis.

Human selfishness, greed and carelessness are moral problems which lead to consequences in creation and ecology. It is obvious from watching the news that the centre is not holding (Mother Maryesah 2007). Areas of land ecologically devastated in the past experienced some or all of the following;

- wildlife being all but eradicated due to heavy trapping for fur

- forests being stripped for logging and for farming

- hillsides being over-grazed by herds (Bristow, The root of our ecological crisis; 2001).

 

The connection between the traditional understanding of Genesis that we are masters to dominate the earth instead of being stewards nurturing the earth is directly linked to our current ecological crisis. At present we seem to have the outlook that animals, birds, trees, resources, water are ours to pollute, maim, kill and destroy rather than nurture and contentedly share the planet with.

 

Consumerism in our society often tends to influence us to use more of everything for our own resources without counting the cost to other tenants of planet earth. Examples are; the murder of animals for their meat and furs; the destroyal of forests and rainforests by unchecked logging; the pollution of water by chemicals and contaminants; the interference with the earth's stability by the experimentation with airborne weapons.  All of these can contribute towards the destabilisation of the earth's ecological systems, with consequences for us all as we exist as co-dependant neighbours on the planet. What affects one affects all.

 

3. How do you react to the possibility, as theorised by Gregg Braden, that you carry the message 'God Eternal within your body' in your genetic code?

 

I believe that each of us hold the Divine Fingerprint of God within both our soul(spirit) and body. Many of us verbalise the yearning I feel for Someone Greater, for something more wonderful, towards Whom I strive. I understand this Being to be the Supreme God, Who was incarnated in human form in Jesus Christ. I react to this possibility by aasserting my belief that none of us finds true rest or harbour for our spirits unless we rest within the God Eternal Who created us.

 

Our bodies are finite, destined to be recycled according to God's Almighty Plan back into the matter of the earth; however, we carry the DNA of God Eternal within us as the body which is fused on earth with our spirit or soul, carries that spirit to its eternal destination of Union with God.

 

5. Become the storyteller of your life and create your own creation mythology. What would your creation story feel, look and sound like? 

 

In the beginning was God, and God was full of life and love. And God looked on the earth and decided earth needed to be enriched by a femal being of life, love and laughter to be His servant and humanity and animal and plant kingdom friend. So He created me.

 

I was created laughing and joyous in my mother's womb through the love of my father and mother, both celebrating their love together and forming the connection through which God could create me. I was created reaching my tiny being towards the Mighty Hand of God creating me. And God was overjoyed at this miracle and our relationship, and so was I.

 

And God in my creation, gave me a mission, to think not of self, but to offer my life in His Service for the service and benefit of others. And so the struggle in my own life began, to move me away from my own needs and my own will towards giving God supreme power over my life, body and soul in order to create me to be the person He ultimately planned for me to become when He fashioned my embryo body and embryo soul.

 

And God looked on my creation; and, as is with all His Creation, He found my creation very good.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free, legal and lasts for life, so please take advantage of our Free Online Ordination.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and am proud to have started the Seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar