Another portion plus I got this from a jewish website but wow. Kabbalah & Paganism: The Muses were 9 in number. They were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. There was Clio, Muse of History; Urania, Muse of Astronomy; Melpomene of tragedy; Thalia of Comedy; Terpsichore of Dance; Calliope of epic poetry; Erato of love poetry; Polyhymnia of songs to the gods; and Euterpe of lyric poetry. Their half-sisters were the 3 Graces: Algaia (Splendor); Euphrosyne (Mirth); Thalia (Good Cheer). They were the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, the daughter of the Titan, Ocean. Like the Muses, the Graces were one and went hand-in-hand. They were a trinity, a “triple incarnation of grace and beauty,” as Edith Hamilton put it. The Muses, too, were one. “They are all of one mind,” wrote Hesiod, “their hearts are set upon song and their spirit is free from care.” It was only later that each Muse was given its particular field of expertise and the 9 could be divided for distinguishing its specialty. Together they numbered 12. They originated from One and became 12 distinguishing personalities. Seems a strange beginning for an article on Jewish Kabbalah. Sadly, it is all too relevant. For too long we’ve condemned Christians for their paganized elements of worship and theology. However, we are just as, if not more, guilty. Kabbalah and its vain mysticism is purely Greek. As some medieval Jewish philosophers attempted to explain God and his actions they merely mimicked ancient pagan Greek thinking. Ein Sof became the originator and emanator of Sephirot (enumerations) by which God reveals himself and acts about his creation. Like the Graces, the first 3 stand separate. They are Ein, Ein Sof, and Ein Sof Or= nothingness, limitless, and eternal light. They are purely metaphysical. The others are strikingly like the Muses. They are attributes: Crown, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Mercy, Judgment, Compassion, Long Suffering, Splendor, Foundation, Realm. The difference between Judaism and Christianity is, fortunately, that Greek philosophy did not become the mode to shape established religion. Kabbalah is considered a metaphysical or mystical element, but mercifully mainstream rabbis resisted its intrusions in actual liturgy, theology and established worship. Its influence in all things “scholarly Jewish,” however, is all too present. According to Kabbalistic writings and philosophy God is Ein Sof, which basically means “without ending.” Yes, this is true that God is eternal, but Ein Sof has come to mean God before he even created the world and revealed his name. In some respects usage and regard for the term and its applied meaning is along the line of some Deist thinking. This pure inner part of God is set apart, basically the UNKNOWN GOD of Platonic exegesis. He sends forth lesser manifestations of his character or holiness (Sephirot, etc) to accomplish his will and reveal himself. Some Kabbalists went so far as to say God as he is in his true self is so incomprehensible as to be Ein -- “not.” Practically nonexistent. The complete opposite of what he himself has revealed in Scripture. HE IS. “Am I a God afar off? Do not I fill Heaven and Earth?” Whether Greek philosophy influenced key Kabbalists or whether Kabbalah simply reflects man’s untrained mind to spin tales is a question for another place. However, God has revealed himself in Scripture for a purpose. This, and not our vain minds, is the standard to understand him. When God says he is incomprehensible, he really means it. He is not going to be explained by attempts to look erudite. We cannot understand how he is omnipresent. We cannot understand how every part of his being is present at every location: mind, emotion. Although we cannot understand him, we can appreciate his power a little more when we take a small glimpse at the power in our own brains. We cannot understand how we form vivid mental pictures in our dreams. How we create people and imbue them with personalities. We don’t understand how we move so much chemical and electronic energy to form these pictures and set them in motion. Yet we are there in these dreams: omnipresent and observant. Without hands, without voice, but there. If one wishes to philosophize perhaps it is best to actually use as an example something like humankind’s spirit which we know is made in the image of God. If we can move a truly mind-boggling amount of electrical signals and chemicals in orderly fashion to create by pure will, though confined to our minds, what indeed is God capable of in the Universe? Does the Universe indeed exist in the mind of God? Our knowledge of our own brains, minds, and the Universe has grown leaps and bounds. It should impress upon us the genius of the one who created it all and then endowed us with his likeness. God truly is astoundingly incomprehensible. . .but we are learning enough to truly appreciate that. Kabbalah and its ancient Greek foundation are not only inaccurate, they are terribly primitive and, worse, obsolete. They are praised by those who mimic, not by original thinkers and those who meditate upon all the works of God. Some in the Messianic Movement have even adopted the mantel of being “mystics” or “Kabbalists” because they read scholarly books on the subject. They reduce Jesus to being an emanation of God much as in the Greek (which they think is original Jewish thinking) pagan philosophic concepts of gods and resident spirits. In that overriding and frequently blind-sighting drive to appear Jewish they have completely lost sight of the purpose of reformation. The goal of the Nazarenes is to reform both Judaism and Christianity with the truth of the Scriptures. So far, some traditional rabbis have done this better than Messianics, since their goal has been to learn of God and teach of his ways rather than merely being a drum beater of “Jewishness.” Creation has changed nothing about God. His holiness does not require that he confine himself to some pure form and send out lesser emanations. Our sin cannot affect him. It does not taint him in anyway. What does the Parable of the Good Samaritan teach, whether in its rabbinic or Christian form? If man knows to be good to someone who is absolutely at the lowest end of the spectrum, how much more does God. Man is not defiled by helping a dirty, poor soul. God is not defiled by seeing our sin. He is not holier in one place over another. He set apart a place to be holier: the Temple and his holy of holies for our sakes. It became a point of reference for us. He does not dwell in houses. But because he put his name there, he made it holy, and it is only proper and a sign of genuine reverence that we hold it as a sanctified area. The reason he made a point about the holiness of his name and his Temple was to impress upon us respect and love. He is not to be taken for granted. “I will be sanctified in the midst of this people” has far ranging ramifications. It does not just mean an open reverence for his name and Temple, it also means a mental and spiritual regard for his holiness, a very familial sense of love and devotion. The Temple, in its way a body for God’s own spirit, impresses upon us he is very real and is to be taken seriously. He is a person. He is THE SOUL. He is not a high and lofty concept reserved for mental gymnastics. This is violated by such haughty philosophizing that impersonally reduces God to various levels of emanations. Scripture impresses upon us both the nearness of God to us in every aspect of our life and yet that he is unreachable and that he does not deal. We know we are removed from him. He will not speak to mankind directly. He vowed that he wouldn’t. He is a God that hides himself. We must seek him by faith and when found follow with love. This, and not fear of punishment, truly tempers the soul. Fear of punishment merely controls actions. But a heart inclined to the LORD will set in motion righteousness. Every bit of Jewish teaching hinges on God being wiser and greater than man. If we are capable of grace, God is more capable. If we are capable of mercy, God is more merciful. God openly taught like this while he walked among us in his living temple. His own spirit finally spoke to us directly as he promised Moses so long ago. Scripture is more than a base for rules. God has revealed himself through the Prophets. Study the words and acts of God and be awed at the nature of the living God. Do what it says, and meditate on his nature and acts. This will lead to understanding. The medieval rubbish of arcane sophists will not
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 07:39:16 +0000
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