Easter and the Resurrectio of Jesus Christ – Part 2

The Tearing of the Temple Veil and The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

In Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Part 1 the Old Testament model of the relationship between God and Man as being inter-mediated by the Jewish priests is discussed. This is shown in the diagram presented below.

The meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Old Testament picture is that only the High Priest could pass beyond the temple veil and communicate with God through the Ark of the Covenant. Matthew 27:51 says

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.

Many theologians interpret the tearing of the temple veil as a symbolic description of a totally different relationship between God and Man. The tearing of the veil indicated that the path for communication with God was now made available to everyone instead of just the High Priest. The veil was no longer in the way.

The Resurrection and the New Testament Model of Man and God Through Jesus Christ

The resurrection of Christ is key to the New Testament model of the relationship between God and Man. Paul states it very succinctly…

For if Christ be not risen, then our faith is in vain

So, the resurrection effectively validates the new relationship between God and Man. Melissa Scott has an excellent discussion on the proof of the resurrection. Since this is such a critical topic, take a moment to read the proofs that she discusses.

The New Testament relationship between God and Man is a direct relationship through Christ. As before, Theos is the God that is essentially unknowable with the human mind. The mediator with God is the Logos, which is the Christ. The Logos is the knowable God. This knowable God communicates directly with man through the Pneuma, which is typically translated as the Holy Spirit… and the Holy Spirit connects to man through Kardia, which is the heart. This is a huge change. Man’s relationship with God was no longer through the speaking or written dialogue of the High Priest. Now, God established a direct relationship to man’s heart.

The implication of this change is tremendous. Instead of a relationship through the rational mind (listening to the High Priest), the resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything to a non-rational mind relationship through the heart. Love is the nature of the God to Man relationship.

What’s really remarkable is the degree to which this new model relates to more Eastern ideas of the fourth (Heart) chakra. The Heart Chakra is considered key to progress on the spiritual path in many eastern traditions.

Celebrating Easter reaffirms the heart to God relationship.

Please share with your friends

Hide Sites

Posted in Christianity

Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – Part 1

Easter is about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Despite all the chocolate Easter bunnies, colored eggs and baskets with green paper in them, Easter really is the cornerstone of Christianity. In fact, without the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ the essence of Christianity is lost. Many people say that Easter is really an outgrowth of the festival of Ishtar which celebrated the resurrection of Tammuz, the only son of the moon goddess and the sun god. That may be. It may have been convenient to convert people who were already used to celebrating Ishtar to celebrating Easter, but Easter is much more because the resurrection of Jesus Christ symbolized a radical shift in the relationship between man and God.

God and man in the Old Testament

The following diagram shows the shift in religious thinking.

The meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Old Testament view of man and God is shown on the right side of the diagram. Most people think that God is God is God, but there is really quite a different philosophy between the Old and New Testaments. That is because mankind’s thinking about God changes and is not static. Theos is an unknowable God. The human mind simple is not capable of understanding God at the highest level. The Demiurge (a term adopted by the Gnostics) is really the God typically thought of in the Old Testament. It is like the representation of God in the Sistine Chapel — kind of a master artisan that formed and manages the earth… and of course the creator of Adam.

The Demiurge God Creating Adam

The word used for God in Genesis is Elohim, which grammatically is a plural form. Does that mean there were many Gods? There is some discussion about that. In any case, the Old Testament heavenly hierarchy consisted of the Demiurge, the Elohim (Angels?), Satan, the Watchers, and the Fallen Angels. Essentially, these are the forces of Good and Evil.

The important point is that there was no direct connection between the Theos or Demiurge and ordinary men. That connection had to be mediated by the Jewish priests and by the High Priest in particular. The Ark of the Covenant was the way to communicate with God and only the High Priest could pass beyond the temple veil to be in the presence of the Ark and in communion with God. At a practical level that meant that the priests interpreted what God had to say to the ordinary man.

See the New Testament meaning of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ in Part 2

Please share with your friends

Hide Sites

Posted in Christianity

3 Things To Get Healthy Eating Habits To Lose Weight

Want To Lose Weight? It’s all about healthy eating habits

Lose Weight With Healthy Eating Habits This isn’t for people who need to loose 5 pounds to fit into those clothes that are a bit tight. It is for people who need to loose 20, 30 or more pounds because that excess weight is a threat to their health. If you fall into that category, then you don’t need to diet. You need to change your lifestyle. Just take the word diet out of your vocabulary completely. A diet won’t work for you. In fact, the chances are that you have tried to diet before with no success at all or, if you did lose weight, you ended up putting it right back on.

The most important thing that you can do is to understand the way the weight loss industry works. Billions of dollars are made selling weight loss programs because they don’t work. That may sound a bit strange, but think about how many times you or someone you know has purchased a weight loss book, DVD, or program that didn’t work. Then they purchased another, and, then, another. The diet programs make tons of money by inventing some little twist like the “grapefruit” diet. They sell their product by making you think it is different and that it is the one that will finally work for you. They work for the people who need to lose a few pounds, but they don’t usually work for people who are really overweight. The problem is that the little twists form a weight loss mythology. The first thing that you MUST do is get rid of this mythology.

Here is the secret that you need to know…

You’re not overweight because of lack of will power, lack of exercise or lack of the right diet plan

The reason you’re overweight is really simple…

Your Habits Make You Eat Too Much Of The Wrong Kind Of Food

That’s it… and what you need is a way to change your habits for life instead of some temporary fad diet or fitness program that you will eventually stop and go back to your old way of eating. To change your habits you need 3 things.

Healthy Eating Habits To Lose Weight

First you must have knowledge of the actual science of weight loss. Bust the myths and work from the facts. There are two excellent books to give you the knowledge –

Next you must have awareness of what you actually eat. The best way to do that is to keep a daily log. Finally you must have proven tools that will help you change your behavior.

If you approach shedding pounds by getting healthy habits to lose weight instead of finding the right diet you will be successful in the long run.

Please share with your friends

Hide Sites

Posted in Food, Health