It may seem really odd to hear from me, but I don't trust the bible, especially the forked tongued lairs who call themselves kings! I want to show you just a few passages to demonstrate just how much the bible has been manipulated to control the people. As with anything, we cannot believe a word anybody says, so as always DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. I ask that people don't even trust me. I might have it wrong too. The individual is the one that is 100% responsible and accountable for their own life.
Romans 13:1 is by far the most famous passage that people use to prove that we are supposed to submit ourselves to the authority of the government. Here is what the passage says from one of the newer translations of the bible (The New International Version is very similar to this one):
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. - New English Translation (2005)
If I was to take this version word for word, it would appear that we are indeed supposed to submit to the government. One could argue that I'm not a person (body with no mind or soul), but putting that aside, let's dig a bit deeper and look at a translation that is a bit older.
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. - New King James Version (1982)
What I see here is that the wording has changed from soul to person. But I'm not satisfied, I want to dig deeper.
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. - King James Version (1611)
Now this is where things get VERY interesting. What this version is saying is that there is no power but God's. This is not saying anything about government at all. I also notice that it only applies to souls, not persons! But I'm still not satisfied. I want to dig deeper. To do that I need a tool called 'Strong's Concordance'. It is a book that allows me to look at even older versions. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew, the New Testament from Greek. Yes, there are other translations in other languages, but I have no experience going that far back. For me, Strong's Concordance is sufficient and allows me to look up these words in those texts.
The word soul is translated from the Greek word: ψύχω / psychē which means:
breath, life, a living soul, the soul as an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body). (source link here)
From my book and previous posts, I proved that 'person' is defined as the body MINUS the mind and spirit. The newer bibles use the word person, but this definition makes it VERY clear that it is talking about the non-corporal aspect of our being, the living soul, the spirit and true essence of who we are. Making a switch like that is fraud and stern warnings were placed in the bible warning people what would happen if shit like this was done.
Now that the spiritual jurisdiction, scope and context has been established, we can look at the next two important words 'higher power'. The word higher comes from the Greek word ὑπέρ / hyperechō which means:
to have or hold over one, to stand out, rise above, overtop (source link here)
The word 'power' comes from the Greek word ἔξεστι / exousia which means:
Power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases. Leave or permission. The ability or strength with which one is endued. The power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege). The power of rule or government. (source link here)
Context is so very important when we are looking up definitions of words. We have to be forever vigilant to make sure we don't misinterpret what the author is trying to say. We already put the context well into the Spiritual Realm by defining the word 'soul'. So now we are confronted with 'higher power' meaning to have or hold over, to stand out, rise above the power of choice & liberty. I absolutely refuse to consider the power of rule or government in this context. If the word person was used, then it would make perfect sense, but it was not used. Even if I did use this definition, we are supposed to stand out and rise above it which further invalidates the modern interpretations in modern bibles!
By digging deep I've just determined that a passage that has been used to convince people to surrender to the authority of the state is actually talking about people exercising the power of choice and liberty. This type of shit happens all throughout the bible. Why? Because kings needed it to justify their power and authority over people. The lied!
Another example is the word 'witch'. Since the King James Version was written in 1611, what was going on back then? Burning witches at the stake during the witch trials. But they needed a justification for such actions. So they used the bible to do that. In Galatians 5, the bible talks about the works of the flesh and how witchcraft is one of them. So let's look up that word and see what it says. Witchcraft comes from the Greek word φαρμακεύς / pharmakeia which means:
the use or the administering of drugs, poisoning (source link here)
Is it any coincidence that the pharmaceutical industry got a free pass because the bible switch the word pharmakeia (Greek root word for pharmaceutical) and changed it to witchcraft? Is it any surprise that the pharmaceutical industry are the ones that are actually involved in the works of the flesh?
The bible is full of lies, misinterpretations, deceit and fraud. Kings are responsible for the translations and as such they did it to support and justify their behaviour and empires. Don't trust anything you read. We need to check and double check to make sure history has not been altered. That is why I ask that people not even trust me as I am susceptible to error and misinterpretation as well. Do your own research!
Before I wrote my software, I studied ancient Greek with Robert Schmidt (philosopher, mathematician, physicist and translator of ancient astrological texts). The problem with translations is that the semantic fields often overlap so that there isn't a direct 1:1 correspondence for a word to a single meaning. The multivalent nature of the Greek language creates multiple meanings often times. That's why it's considered the language of philosophy because it's multivalence allows you to think in multivalent ways.
Fundamentalists often want to restrict the meaning of a given word. For instance "En arche, en kai ho logos..." (didn't look this up so it might be off because this is off the top of my head) translates as "In the beginning was the word". But logos has several meanings and when it was translated into Latin in the middle ages, the word "ratio" was used, which also has meanings such as "balance, proportion, relation, word", and ratio is an English transliteration. The "word" translation is a narrowing down of the meaning.
So the meaning of the passage could sound like this:
"In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God".
One could also translate like this:
"In the beginning was due proportion and the proportion was with God and the proportion was God".
Or...
"In the beginning there was balance and the balance was with God and the balance was God".
I believe there is an esoteric message here because when something was stated in a threefold manner, it was said to have something to do with completion. For instance in Arabic culture, if something isn't said 3 times, it's not complete... and of course with that is the idea of the Holy trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
Just my two cents...
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You make a fantastic point here, one that I was not even aware. Thank you for pointing that out. Excellent addition to the conversation. There are some that have witnessed a shift in court proceedings three times before charges are dismissed as the judges shift from one jurisdiction to another. There is weight behind what you just shared and I am grateful for that sharing. Thank you!!! You may feel it is only worth 'two cents', but let me provide much more for you with a major upvote!
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Its interesting to really look at each book by book.
To think that it was the Romans who both crucified Jesus, an innocent man yet turned him into an excuse for countless wars is just so sad and horrible to consider the suffering of his soul observing this for thousands of years AD.
The book of Romans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Romans
See the thing was Jesus's best friends were there when the kind man they lived with was stolen away from them. They told his story, and the woman that was turned into a whore, was removed from any importance about being the first to witness him in a new form.
In my perspective after the years of dogma, I will read the context of the red texts bibles and study what Yeshua said directly, vs what is written by other people who were not him and how long after him they wrote these things.
Its definitely been a tool watching push the war machine as of late, (Same way it was in the past of history) and I hope for his sake (to heal and transform his emotional suffering) we can actually celebrate who he IS and how he has transformed us through showing us how to transform ourselves.
^w^ Thank you for this enlightening reminder.
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I agree with you. I focus on the words he spoke verse what other people said or interpreted. It is my responsibility to learn from him directly as his spirit guided him through this life in a non-violent way. He had his own challenges and he fully recognized that. But I'm not going to let others convince me that he wanted us all to be slaves to the king. That does not resonate with his words at all! He said that we would be in a position to do GREATER works than what he was able to accomplish. So not only are we to meet his example, but exceed it. Thank you for sharing your views. I resonate with them greatly.
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Your probably one of the people I get to connect to most on this topic.
I still stand by that story I told you.
No one else knew but him, and here I am lifting myself out of the darkness and learning to stand on my own two feet while raising up others.
He has returned and I see him in so many people. He speaks through random strangers (even you hinting at my seperation from my kids father without ever much mentioning the story)
He answers prayers through us all.
Its the most sacred and profound expirience.
May we continue to heal
I'd love to start a non secular Sunday celebration looking and discussing the stories. ☆
Stay warm be well and
Best wishes always.
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I agree with you. I believe the second coming is not the flesh & body 'Jesus' returning, which is why I don't worship him. Instead it is each of us walking the path. We are in full agreement there. Peace to you my friend! I love the fact that you are open to discussing these topics. So refreshing and rewarding. Thank you.
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The church I use to go to also taught me that interpretation.
It was after the "weird" stuff happened after childbirth birth that I started reconnecting to spirit teachings. (Trying to make sense of what was going on with me)
I was at this point shunned by my church group for needing to take space to find his true character and seperating from their "Jesus Club".
It was this verse that changed my opinion on that:
[Mathew 11]
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.J)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23712J" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come,K)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23713K" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished.L)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23713L" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> In the same way the Son of Man is going to sufferM)" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23713M" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;"> at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
In this verse It appears he is saying john the baptist was the reincarnated spirit of Elijah.
Badly mistreated.... indeed. Clarifying he
Knew what fate was to be awaiting him...
~ and When I tried to reconnect to my christian friends to discuss I was later blocked completely and called bad names.... ^_^;;;
Happy to have those who care to dive deeper into all these subjects.
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That is not the only time he has taken himself off the pedestal that people seem to want to put him on. He did that when he confronted somebody for calling him 'good teacher'. Matthew 19:17.
That is why I don't refer to 'Jesus' but rather a philosophy for how we should be living our lives, a level of behaviour, self-governance and consciousness that allows us to fulfill the benefits we want to see manifested here for the benefit of all and then the Spiritual rewards will follow.
That is a very interesting observation. Thank you for sharing it, despite all the markup text mixed in with your post. ;)
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I figured you would have no trouble reading through it ;) hahaha sorry about that!
I have edited this story again
~☆~
Ty
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It is not only the Bible but the people (men of God) who twist the context of what they are reading to suit their purposes. I see examples of this every day here. A new church crops up in our neighbourhood on average of every six months to a year. In one barrio with a population of about 200 folks we have 8 churches! Each one competes for followers. I can't believe the lies that are being taught to folks tha really don't have much education and tend to follow like lemmings.
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I agree with you. That is why I refuse to have anybody interpret it for me. That is my job, duty and responsibility. It does not matter if it is a priest, minister, bureaucrat, king or queen. In the end, it is my responsibility to build a one-on-one relationship with myself, Creator, Mother Earth and other people. The moment I surrender that to another, I have abandoned my responsibility and duty.
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Danger! Danger!.... I was half expecting Robbie the robot from Lost in Space to pop out ! We are all susceptible to error and misinterpretation. It's in the researching that the true value is gained. I loved the knowledge of knowing the amount of work that you put into this post. It was informative and riveting to read. You can read the Bible in a multitude of ways, sometimes in a way that is polar opposite of what its true intent. Thanks for a great read.
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lol. I'm not familiar with that robot, but I am familiar with Twiki from Buck Rogers.
I am glad you enjoyed the post. Indeed there is a lot of room for error and misinterpretation. That is why I did so much research. But in the end I still have to follow my heart and listen to how it feels about this whole topic. To me, it does not resonate with me that we are supposed to be slaves. That bothers me to the core of my spirit. In the end I still have to filter everything through my bull shit detector. Does it fit with 'love my neighbour as myself'? Slavery never fits that filter.
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How true! Following one's heart and listening within one's self is critical on this journey that we call life. I studied many religions ( my Father was a Minister of the Church) and there was a two year period where I was totally engrossed within it. I made it a point to only listen to those who have spent a life time within their particular religions, as this gave me the benefit of their wisdom and I always felt that I was learning from those who were well versed within those religions. Ultimately in the end I came up with conclusions that suited me. We all have a sense of whats right and wrong. We instinctively know whats right and pursue only whats right. My conclusions were very simple and easy. Irrespective of Religion, loving your fellow man is right, rectifying injustices is right, to help one another is right. I suspect that God wants us all to not only love Him but to love each other as well. Slavery is as far removed from loving thy neighbor as you could ever possibly get. Loved your reply. Thank you
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I picked up on this a while ago. The newer versions seem more corrupted then the older versions but like you mention even older versions have issues.
I look at the bible more as a guide or book that wisdom can be gleaned from rather then something to take literally.
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I do too. I read the bible like any other book and I pick out the gems. There is a lot of truth between its pages, along with a lot of violence, coercion, hatred and lies. It is my job to engage critical thinking and filter it through my 'love thy neighbour as myself' filter. If it passes the test, then I can use it. If not, then I will reject it. I reject many passages in the bible because it does not pass my filter. The filter requires that I love myself first before it even starts to work.
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Being a student of the social sciences i do believe the most sensitive and power institution of the society is Religion. It controls people thoughts and actions completely. That is why Karl Marx said
People don't do research and accept the discussions religious scholars do on different forum. Need of hour to do self research to reach at the root of anything then decide what is right and wrong. I have learnt this after spending 25 years of my life.
I can't believe the religious scholars rather i do research on any topic then find the truth.
Perfect message!
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Well said brother.
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It is very disheartening to know that even the bible cannot be fully trusted.
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So what's left to trust? Now we are confronted with feeling deeply with our heart to connect to God source and figure out life that way instead. Trust in our selves is going to be a key to working through all of this. Walking with slave mentality will provide barriers to that level of growth. But if we can find the Kingdom of God within, then we could do the work with confidence and spiritual guidance as well. In the end, we can see past the lies because we already know! Then we can pick out the diamonds in the rough!
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Because we are human and make mistakes it can be hard to trust in ourselves. But praying for spiritual guidance, with gratitude, will hopefully help us get through this mess of a world that surrounds us. I like reading your posts. Thank you.
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I saw a picture in the "religion" steem topics when I first got on here. A picture with Romans 13 lol so I commented and asked if hitler was the current authority do we have an obligation to follow? I also threw in 1samual vs 8. You should know this one well, it is seemingly contradicts Romans 13. The guy that did the post made a good point. Reading through kings and chronicles, the authorities were used to punish the people when they strayed from the Law. They are a natural consequence of shitting on Gods words and making our own laws (democracy). A Father disciplines his son because he loves him and wants to correct his behaviour, not because he hates him. my favourite version of Romans 13 is the Geneva bible 1590. It's about the oldest you will find!
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When I deconstructed Romans 13, suddenly it does not contradict 1 Samuel 8. In my view, Kings is a consequence of making the wrong choice in 1 Samuel 8. However, governments around the world use it to prove that they are in power with God's will and authority. No. It just means that people rejected God and this is the consequence. I can see how the fellow could see it as a punishment for straying. Interesting take on it all. Thank you for sharing that.
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Thank you! This is a great topic and I agree with all the points you made.
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I was watching a series. I think it was the Tudors
There was a scene were the priests were in the monasteries translating the bible. All they did, all day. I actually watched that scene over and over again. In that series, they point blank, say that the bible was/is manipulated. King James version. That says it all right there. It's HIS version.
Such a great blog! I Even face booked it! Lol
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The Tudors, Rome and some of those period shows are fantastic to watch as they highlight the shit, politics and behaviours of the time. If only people watch the shows to realize these truths rather than to watch it as violence and soft porn candy. Thank you for sharing. :)
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Why am I not surprised!
Great reveal Mr :)
Can't say that I am drawn to read the Bible or any other religious tome as instinctively know that it is has all been manipulated for the ease of manipulating the masses.
Sorry fact of humanity that folks desire power and control over others.
And yet ~ I sense change is coming.
Have a great week.
xox
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I was not surprised either. I can find many instances of that kind of manipulation. I sense change as well. <3
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Revelations 13:18 was always my favourite from a child - Then i learnt that the true number of the beast was 616 - which tied in with the 616 commandments. Even the 1611 edition is not a true reflection of the teachings, this is a very touchy subject for most as the book is quite often taken literally and some become very offended when the faults are pointed out - so i usually leave this subject alone - your a brave man to tackle this one :)
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I've been attacked by fundamentalists in the past, but I am not going to let that deter me from speaking my truth. I've gone up against the state with this type of determination. One or two people using the bible to justify violence, slavery or coercion is not going to shut me up. :)
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Amazing post! Thank you for this! In my opinion, a book of words created and organized by humans, such as a the Bible, is but a tool by humans to influence and control humans. How could "the word of God" be put into such humancentric contex?
I love how you have dug into the changing of words and contex to show how it has been used over the ages to promote and justify an agenda. I am really curious about the passages speaking against homosexuality. My theory has always been that a king wanted/needed as many subjects as possible to tax and fill his army. If man was laying with man and woman with woman, this would lessen the rate of procreation and therefor his wealth and power. -Any insight on that?
Thank you for sharing knowledge and opinion.
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I'll let Bishop Spong answer your question. Here is a quote from his book "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism":
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The problem is that people don't think for themselves nowadays. The world we live in is moving so fast and clustered that there is little or no room for self reflection and thinking openly. This is what results in people believing whatever they hear and acting upon it. The governments and the elites have used this as leverage and further manipulated us. It's time to bring back Renaissance.
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Indeed. That is why returning to the land is so important. It slows life down and allows for that reflection. Great point! Thank you for raising it!
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I found your blog through #stewardsofgondor
Amazing initiative y'all have here. I hope to be a part of it soon if I ever get a chance to be.
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I'm glad you found me. Welcome! Yes, doing some ground breaking and out side of the system work here! If you are confused about recent blog posts, I recommend going to the beginning and catching up as what I write about is not 'normal'. :)
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What is normal is usually mainstream and mainstream is always full of shit. I have checked out some of your blogs and I've followed you as well. Interesting content.
I too, am not a big fan of the mainstream. The government has an agenda which controls people to the core and religion is one of the main forms of social controls to be used. It's not a surprise that this is happening.
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I can't say that the Bible is full of lies, it was proposed to have been written by the apostles
However what I do know and believe is that sometimes there are deeper meaning to what the Bible really mean that to what it reads
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I think this raises an interesting point too... just sayin?
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Nicole, I ask that you do some of your own research before you post stuff like this. Matthew, for example, is a translation from Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ Mattityahu or מתי Mattay. So I can easily see how the word 'Matthew' was used as a translation from 'Mattityahu'. There is a lot of memes that floated around Facebook where people put zero effort into doing any research and just continue spreading ideas that are founded on half truths or lies themselves. Please don't get caught up with that stuff here. If you have research to prove your claim then fine. But this meme is a passive / aggressive way to attack people.
You suggest that the question within this meme raises an interesting point. So perhaps you should make that point then because I'm at a loss to see what the point is.
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I am deeply hurt by this harsh admonishment. My intention was a little bit of light heartedness in what most people consider a very serious subject and my point was that NOTHING should be taken literally, even the Bible, or how we got the names in said Bible. I respect Steemit and its users and was under the impression humor was allowed here. I'm so sorry for whomever I offended by my insensitive meme, it won't happen again.
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Amen! Please keep these coming. There are so many of them.
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I will do what I can. :) Thank you for following my blog and commenting!
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Check out the research that Michael Hudson has done. In several ancient cultures, the word for "sin" was the same as the word for "debt". We already know that the Bible talks about debt jubilees and that usury is not allowed, but it turns out that the stories are more economics oriented that anyone had previously thought.
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That would not surprise me at all. Thank you for the share.
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You are right sir.
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This is but controversial!
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life's been manipulated, the Bible repeatedly in "destroy your own liking by individuals seeking profits.
before I did not know this. thank for information @wwf
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This is so great! You got the great point here......
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