Anthony
Downey
San
Diego California
8/19/24
Commentary:
Literary Analysis of Semitic Scripture
"I
find that all my thoughts circle around God like the planets around
the sun, and are as irresistibly attracted by Him. I would feel it to
be the grossest sin if I were to oppose any resistance to this
force."
The Bible is a set of books
derived from an Afro-asiatic religious group, which is meant to
answer the mysteries of the universe and contains guidelines, moral
code of conduct, and a philosophy for a person to live their lives.
It supposes an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being. It is the
catalyst for all that is known in the universe. It precedes all
things having no end or beginning. Its central figures are patriarchs
of an exclusive Semitic race, which God has chosen. It ultimately
comes to fruition that a Godman (whom is simultaneously the son of
God and God himself) named Jesus is born unto the world to redeem it
from the original sin of defying the rules and regulations of the
creator. This defiance lead to the world we see as having pain,
misery, and misfortune, which was not originally apart of Gods design
for humanity. With the sacrifice of the God-incarnate, people can
then become twice born through an initiation process, which is meant
to transform their lives. Reinstituting Gods divine order and saving
those who believe, from the inevitable end of Gods judgment, which is
supposed to end in a permanent death of the soul unless otherwise
saved by the God-incarnate Jesus Christ. The God whom was initially
reserved to the Semitic peoples, through Jesus, opened up a
relationship with people of all races and nationalities throughout
the world.
The first passage of the bible
begins with "In the beginning God...". This is to imply his
timeless eternal nature. Shortly after it is established that nothing
else existed until he created it. We can conclude He is beyond all
material conception because he precedes and is the source of all
physical things. It is stated that human beings are created in the
image of God , though some may argue, it should not be thought that
one mimics or mirrors him in a physical way but his incorporeal
nature. "In the beginning..." also implies the beginning of
things, which are relevant to human beings, namely the universe. It
goes onto explain the concepts of void or space. This at first
provides orientation while simultaneously manifesting time. For we
have two parts the perceiver and that which is perceived. Though void
is often depicted as "nothing" it is shown that it is embedded
with parts and particles. It is equated as a "vast water". Some
may draw comparisons between this and the primordial soup which begat
creation. Literalist will argue that it references a literal water as
God gathers these waters together and separates them by land. If we
continue reading however, we see that the Heavens as well as the void
are given the same terminology. There is some creative license at
work, which allows the reader to make an analogy between the
mysteries of the divine and the much more relatable world of form.
This is very commonly seen throughout all of literature. It seems to
demonstrate the chaos, which is the catalyst for creation. The
fundamental building blocks of all, which surrounds us. It can also
be seen as the continuity or more accurately the cyclical nature of
reality. The ebb and flow between life and death. It states in
chapter 3 of Genesis "For you are dust, and to dust you shall
return." Our material components will return to the closed system
of existence and be recycled, though it is thought that the soul is
transcendent of this experience rejoining with its creator once it
reestablishes its union with God. There is also seen this unparalled
vastness which is inconceivable and boundless. It hopes to invoke
feeling of awe and wonder upon the reader. The vastness of the
universe is so grand that we can at times feel lost in its immensity,
yet this thing is a simple creation compared to the limitlessness of
God. We can more appropriately look towards the source and find
providence in becoming lost in the mysteries of the creator. Waters
also convey reflectiveness. It is seen reflective in two ways, the
first being reflective of the sub-conscious mind and its desires, but
also of the emotional state of that which it is reflecting. In this
case, we see that it is reflective of the will of God. It says in
Genesis 1:2, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters". Spirit can be defined as the nonphysical part of a
person, which is the seat of emotions and character. It is the
character of God we see displayed, the unmanifest made manifest. It
is a reflection indeed a type of inverse of its source. It is simply
a gross reflection. Meaning it is a shadow of the former. One does
not identify with his shadow although he can recognize it. It is not
an independent source of consciousness but rather that which is
hidden from awareness. The shadow cannot exist without that which
precedes it. People often ask of where about did evil arise. If God
is the creator of the former than why not the latter? What we must
ask ourselves is does the sun make a shadow? Alternatively, the
earth? Does a man make a shadow? Invariably the answer is no, and
yet we can recognize that these parts are in some way responsible.
The truth is that when a light is shown a shadow is cast. The light
of God is shown unto us but it is the shadow of our material nature,
which we lay upon our world. It is our curiosity, ingenuity,
cleverness, and independence, which is cast upon the world in which
we inhabit. For the world, that God created was paradise and
reflective of his nature, but the world which we have is reflective
of ours. Our independence was in reality disobedience that manifested
as selfishness and greed. There is a strive for authority, power,
wants, passion, and desires. A world of work, toil, and struggle.
Fear and separateness from what the Gnostics would call "the
fullness of God". This is just the beginning of our journey but a
solution was written in the stars.
What we find in the New Testament
is that Jesus was the answer to the problem. What he hoped to address
is the question of how to navigate this world in such a way that we
can become united with the divine principle. It seems the logic and
way of the past was to oppose the new ways to be conceived. In past
cultures there seemed to be only one way to truly remedy the
consequences of immoral behavior. The Hebrew as their surrounding
contemporaries referred to them were no exclusion to this. Sacrifice
of plants, animals, precious metals, and human lives was deemed
necessary. It was often understood that the life force or soul was
somehow imbued in the blood of living creatures; as well, the
consequence of sinful behavior was death. To balance the scales of
justice an equivalent exchange was to be made. So for a life to be
saved a life must too be given. While this was, done guilt and shame
would flee from people's psyches, but only shortly. Because of this
sacrifice was done liberally to ensure the sanctity of the people.
What we see in Christianity is a fundamental shift in thought. Where
typically men pay obeisance to God, it seems that God in some respect
came to submit to men. Besides the fact that He made himself manifest
as a man, which quite assuredly is a humbling experience in itself,
he humbles himself further in his interactions with his creation.
Jesus makes a point of serving the lowest in society thus setting in
motion a chain of events, which would ultimately end in his death and
crucifixion. This was no mistake though; no, it was entirely the
opposite. It was in fact his goal so that he may make the ultimate
sacrifice not only for the Jewish people but also for the world. How
is this possible? One may ask. The conclusion, which is established,
is that to be eternally forgiven we must in turn have an eternal
sacrifice. Nothing on earth would suffice, as all is finite and
impermanent. The choice was clear because Jesus was God his blood
would pay for the eternal debt. This was recognized as a boundless
love, merciful, and a type of meekness we were all to emulate and
strive for. It seems that strength does not simply come from exerting
power over others, but by exercising authority through restraint.
This demonstrates to us humility, grace, wisdom, and compassion. This
act had momentous effects that revolutionized the world and how we as
human beings conceptualize the meaning of our lives.
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