Building Spirituality - Part Three

I have never had a bad day. This sounds like an incredible statement but it is true just the same. When I say this to people I am greeted with looks of mild puzzlement, some initial skepticism, but in all the forward-leaning probity that asks the silent question that begs an answer; How is that so? "But, I have had a bad attitude," I tell them, "and rarely did it last but a single day." Smiles and nods greet this amendment as my auditors reflect upon this undeniable truth. Oh, yes; I could carry a grudge for weeks, months, years! And just how did this affect the people I resented? Not at all. It was like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. And it was, in most instances, nothing they did to spark this bad feeling but my perception of what they said or did. My spirit was in bondage; I lived in Hell and was wracked by constant fear; I jealously guarded my possessions, or more accurately, what I thought were mine, including people. But all that has changed, though I'm still working on it. I learned that trying to change my circumstances is an occasional pastime but changing myself is a full time job, one that is immensely rewarding and deeply satisfying. I was once invited to address a high school class. The teacher, a friend with whom I had been sharing these ideas, was probably as surprised as was the rest of the class when I told them I was on a recruiting mission. "Let's see a show of hands. How many of you would like to be slaves?" Silence. No hands went up. "The choice is yours," I told them, as I then had their full attention. "You can either be the masters of your own lives or slaves to the whims and wishes of others." The key, of course, is knowledge. Gathering knowledge is a three step process; information, investigation, and confirmation. Information by itself is prone to the machinations of devious persons who would create false impressions to advance evil agendas. A current example of this is Dick Cheney's assertion that Iran is developing weapons grade uranium. This is patently false, as investigations by responsible authorities have found no such evidence. More than one agency conducted these searches, thus the confirmation that Cheney's claim is a lie designed to influence public opinion in favor of war with Iran. It's the same tactic that was used to "justify" America's criminal invasion of Iraq; then it was "weapons of mass destruction" and when that proved a lie it was portable bioweapons labs, and when that proved a lie it was something else.
Lies, lies, lies.
But far and away it's the Bible that is the fertile field of most misleading information.In Exodus we are told that pharoah "knew not Joseph", the man who warned the Egyptians of the impending famine and supervised the gathering of grain during the seven years of plenty. Nasty ol' pharaoh! What an ingrate! That's what you're supposed to think. After what Joseph did for them it's outrageous that the Egyptians should appoint task masters over the poor Jews and put them to work. But that's only what the Fundamentalist religous jackals want you to think. The truth is a bit less noble. As the relevant article on the website http://timeoftheend-faithandreason.net shows, complete with accounts from academic history, Joseph entered Egypt sometime around 1944BC after being abducted by his jealous brothers and sold into slavery. He seems to have been a gifted man, as he became overseer of Potiphar's lands until discredited by the land owner's wife. Later, when in prison he achieve the stautus of trustee. While there Joseph accurately interpeted the dreams of the baker and the butler, and it was this latter, to years later, who recommended Joseph to pharaoh as one who could interpret the king's dream of the seven kines and seven ears. Joseph was summoned to the palace, related his vision to pharaoh and was appointed to see to the stocking of the storehouses: Joseph became the most powerful man in Egypt after pharaoh. It was in the second year of the famine, about 1920BC, that Pharaoh Senwosre II bid Joseph to invite Jacob and the people to take up residence in Egypt, as the journey to Canaan with the wagonloads of grain were too taxing on the kingdom's resources. The Children of Israel migrated into Egypt that same year and settled in the land of Goshen, on the Plain of Ra (Ra'meses), in the Nile delta just to the northeast of Memphis. They multiplied to such numbers that they far outnumbered the Egyptians in the area. This went on for 220 years, until 1700BC. In the year 1700BC Egypt was attacked and most of it conquered by Canaanites under the leadership of the hyksos, "shepherd kings." They took Memphis without any resistance, set up a base in the nome (city state) Sethro and overran all but the southernmost parts of Egypt. By some odd coincidence Egypt was invaded by people from the same land from whence came the Jews two-hundred twenty-two years earlier: Canaan. Six pharaohs were actually Canaanite kings who ruled until expelled from Egypt by the brothers Ahmose and Khamose between 1575 - 1555BC. This is all covered in the book, Egypt of the Pharaohs, by Sir Alan Gardiner, Oxford Press 1962. Were the Jews who migrated into Egypt during Joseph's time engaging in "fifth column" activity, paving the way for their fellow countrymen to conquer the land that had saved them? Sure look that way. Looked that way to Amenhotpe I, successor to Pharaoh Ahmose (1555-1550BC), and it is he who decreed that taskmasters be appointed over the Isrealites. The Bible tells us that the Egyptians feared that the Israelites, numbering so many, could ally themselves with an enemy force. It appears they already had. Amenhotpe was no fool: he just checked the history and saw the truth.As regards Exodus, there is a totally false impression of what this migration out of Egypt was in fact. Not the happy journey of an oppressed people liberated from slavery, but cowed and superstitious idolators who were ordered removed from the Land of the Nile by an authority superior to the Jehovah (a title, not a proper name),Yaweh. who was saddled with the task: one that he clearly didn't relish. For his part Yaweh punished or killed the "stiff necked" people for the slightest infractions of the laws he made up along the way; a man stoned for gathering sticks on the Sabbath; the extermination of 250,000 Levites under the leadership of Korah, Kohath, Dathan, Abiram, and On, the chief princes of Levi, when they revolted in Numbers, Chapter Nine; and many other abominations that the curious reader may satify him/herself about by reading what's there (as opposed to swallowing whole what someone with a vested interest in deception tells you is there.) There are such people.
A Biblical website on the net tells of Yaweh's commission to Moses: to go to pharaoh and secure the rlease of the people. "Let my people go." Remember? Well, this particular website describes the meeting in this way; "The Lord said...I will go with you." The ellipsis indicates that something has been left out of the original text. The missing part is where the Jehovah's anger waxed hot: it seems Moses didn't want the job and had to be coerced into taking it. Several times in Exodus, beginning when the Children looked out and saw paharaoh leading the hosts of Egypt against them, they told Moses that they didn't want to leave Egypt. This is well documented, complete with Biblical references in the chapter entitled The Chosen Captives, in the book, The Time of the End, on the website of the same name. Have your Bible handy to check the facts.
So what will you be, master or slave? No one can make that decision for you. Are you happy sitting there in front of the glowing screen, an electroninc dumpster where the disasters and tragedies of the world are compacted for your viewing enjoyment? Weapons of mass destruction, anyone? How about Osama ben Laden; think they'll ever catch the rascal? Oh, by the way, ben Laden died in December of 2002. Do you believe the "official" version of 9/11? It was an inside job, you know - a Reichstag Fire used to justify the War on Terror. But don't take my word for it. Don't take anybody's word for anything: demand proof! When the White House issues a statement demand to know who said it. The building doesn't talk. When sources at the Pentagon issue statements trying to whitewash the disastrous defeat the US is experiencing in Iraq and Afghanistan, demand to know who is making such statements. Buildings don't talk. When something is "alleged" demand to know who is doing the alleging. When "sources" are quoted demand to know who these sources are.

The stakes are too high to settle for less.