Bumper Sticker:
"No Vegetables, No Peas.
Know Vegetables, Know Peas."
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
I Never Sausage a Thing
"Man sucked into sausage machine."
O Mr. Donderbeck, how could you be so mean
How could you have invented your terrible machine.
All the neighborhood cats and dogs will never more be seen,
They've all been turned into sausages in Donderbeck's machine.
O Mr. Donderbeck, how could you be so mean
How could you have invented your terrible machine.
All the neighborhood cats and dogs will never more be seen,
They've all been turned into sausages in Donderbeck's machine.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Adam and Eve: Summary From Some Answered Questions
Quoting again from 'Abdu'l-Baha in Some Answered Questions regarding Adam and Eve:
No; it means what has already been said: Adam is the spirit of Adam, and Eve is His soul; the tree is the human world, and the serpent is that attachment to this world which constitutes sin, and which has infected the descendants of Adam. Christ by His holy breezes saved men from this attachment and freed them from this sin. The sin in Adam is relative to His position. Although from this attachment there proceed results, nevertheless, attachment to the earthly world, in relation to the spiritual world, is considered a sin. The good deeds of the righteous are the sins of the Near Ones. This is established. So bodily power is not only defective in relation to spiritual power; it is weakness in comparison. In the same way, physical life, in comparison with eternal life in the Kingdom, is considered as death. So Christ called the physical life death, and said, "Let the dead bury their dead." Though these souls possessed physical life, yet in His eyes that life was death.
This is one of the meanings of the biblical story of Adam. Reflect until you discover the others.
Salutations be upon you.
No; it means what has already been said: Adam is the spirit of Adam, and Eve is His soul; the tree is the human world, and the serpent is that attachment to this world which constitutes sin, and which has infected the descendants of Adam. Christ by His holy breezes saved men from this attachment and freed them from this sin. The sin in Adam is relative to His position. Although from this attachment there proceed results, nevertheless, attachment to the earthly world, in relation to the spiritual world, is considered a sin. The good deeds of the righteous are the sins of the Near Ones. This is established. So bodily power is not only defective in relation to spiritual power; it is weakness in comparison. In the same way, physical life, in comparison with eternal life in the Kingdom, is considered as death. So Christ called the physical life death, and said, "Let the dead bury their dead." Though these souls possessed physical life, yet in His eyes that life was death.
This is one of the meanings of the biblical story of Adam. Reflect until you discover the others.
Salutations be upon you.
'Abdu'l-Baha Answers Adam and Eve
Quoting from 'Abdu'l-Baha in Some Answered Questions, regarding Adam and Eve:
We must reflect a little: if the literal meaning of this story were attributed to a wise man, certainly all would logically deny that this arrangement, this invention, could have emanated from an intelligent being. Therefore this story of Adam and Eve, who ate from the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise, must be thought of simply as a symbol. It contains divine mysteries and universal meanings, and it is capable of marvelous explanations. Only those who are initiated into mysteries, and those who are near the Court of the All-Powerful, are aware of these secrets. Hence these verses of the Bible have numerous meanings.
We will explain one of them, and we will say: Adam signifies the heavenly spirit of Adam, and Eve His human soul. For in some passages in the Holy Books where women are mentioned, they represent the soul of man. The tree of good and evil signifies the human world; for the spiritual and divine world is purely good and absolutely luminous, but in the human world light and darkness, good and evil, exist as opposite conditions.
The meaning of the serpent is attachment to the human world. This attachment of the spirit to the human world led the soul and spirit of Adam from the world of freedom to the world of bondage and caused Him to turn from the Kingdom of Unity to the human world. When the soul and spirit of Adam entered the human world, He came out from the paradise of freedom and fell into the world of bondage. From the height of purity and absolute goodness, He entered into the world of good and evil . . .
Now consider how far this meaning conforms to the reality. For the spirit and the soul of Adam, when they were attached to the human world, passed from the world of freedom into the world of bondage, and His descendants continued in bondage. This attachment of the soul and spirit to the human world, which is sin, was inherited by the descendants of Adam, and is the serpent which is always in the midst of, and at enmity with, the spirits and the descendants of Adam. That enmity continues and endures. For attachment to the world has become the cause of the bondage of spirits, and this bondage is identical with sin, which has been transmitted from Adam to His posterity. It is because of this attachment that men have been deprived of essential spirituality and exalted position . . .
Observe that if, according to the suppositions of the People of the Book, the meaning were taken in its exoteric sense, it would be absolute injustice and complete predestination. If Adam sinned by going near the forbidden tree, what was the sin of the glorious Abraham, and what was the error of Moses the Interlocutor? What was the crime of Noah the Prophet? What was the transgression of Joseph the Truthful? What was the iniquity of the Prophets of God, and what was the trespass of John the Chaste? Would the justice of God have allowed these enlightened Manifestations, on account of the sin of Adam, to find torment in hell until Christ came and by the sacrifice of Himself saved them from excruciating tortures? Such an idea is beyond every law and rule and cannot be accepted by any intelligent person.
We must reflect a little: if the literal meaning of this story were attributed to a wise man, certainly all would logically deny that this arrangement, this invention, could have emanated from an intelligent being. Therefore this story of Adam and Eve, who ate from the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise, must be thought of simply as a symbol. It contains divine mysteries and universal meanings, and it is capable of marvelous explanations. Only those who are initiated into mysteries, and those who are near the Court of the All-Powerful, are aware of these secrets. Hence these verses of the Bible have numerous meanings.
We will explain one of them, and we will say: Adam signifies the heavenly spirit of Adam, and Eve His human soul. For in some passages in the Holy Books where women are mentioned, they represent the soul of man. The tree of good and evil signifies the human world; for the spiritual and divine world is purely good and absolutely luminous, but in the human world light and darkness, good and evil, exist as opposite conditions.
The meaning of the serpent is attachment to the human world. This attachment of the spirit to the human world led the soul and spirit of Adam from the world of freedom to the world of bondage and caused Him to turn from the Kingdom of Unity to the human world. When the soul and spirit of Adam entered the human world, He came out from the paradise of freedom and fell into the world of bondage. From the height of purity and absolute goodness, He entered into the world of good and evil . . .
Now consider how far this meaning conforms to the reality. For the spirit and the soul of Adam, when they were attached to the human world, passed from the world of freedom into the world of bondage, and His descendants continued in bondage. This attachment of the soul and spirit to the human world, which is sin, was inherited by the descendants of Adam, and is the serpent which is always in the midst of, and at enmity with, the spirits and the descendants of Adam. That enmity continues and endures. For attachment to the world has become the cause of the bondage of spirits, and this bondage is identical with sin, which has been transmitted from Adam to His posterity. It is because of this attachment that men have been deprived of essential spirituality and exalted position . . .
Observe that if, according to the suppositions of the People of the Book, the meaning were taken in its exoteric sense, it would be absolute injustice and complete predestination. If Adam sinned by going near the forbidden tree, what was the sin of the glorious Abraham, and what was the error of Moses the Interlocutor? What was the crime of Noah the Prophet? What was the transgression of Joseph the Truthful? What was the iniquity of the Prophets of God, and what was the trespass of John the Chaste? Would the justice of God have allowed these enlightened Manifestations, on account of the sin of Adam, to find torment in hell until Christ came and by the sacrifice of Himself saved them from excruciating tortures? Such an idea is beyond every law and rule and cannot be accepted by any intelligent person.
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Fable: A Nine-Year-Old's Questions
Why was there a long wait of thousands of years between Adam and Jesus before people could be saved? Why did all those people in between have to go to hell?
Why was sin automatically conferred from Adam and Eve to every other person in history, even though only Adam and Eve were involved in the original transgression?
Why does every church on the corner seem to preach that only its parishioners are saved, and members of every other church are damned?
Why is Christianity so fragmented if there is only one Jesus?
What about people in other areas and other times who never heard of Jesus?
What about people in other religions? What are all those other religions about?
Why would someone have to burn in hell for eternity for failing to get saved on Earth?
If you knew of a certainty that choosing Jesus was the only way to avoid going to Hell, why would you choose otherwise? So what would make that a free choice? How could God be that dumb?
Why would Jesus go to hell for three days?
How could Jesus be physically resurrected and then go to some physical heaven? Is heaven a physical place? If so, where is it? Up in the sky?
If Jesus is good, why would he come back like a thief?
Why was sin automatically conferred from Adam and Eve to every other person in history, even though only Adam and Eve were involved in the original transgression?
Why does every church on the corner seem to preach that only its parishioners are saved, and members of every other church are damned?
Why is Christianity so fragmented if there is only one Jesus?
What about people in other areas and other times who never heard of Jesus?
What about people in other religions? What are all those other religions about?
Why would someone have to burn in hell for eternity for failing to get saved on Earth?
If you knew of a certainty that choosing Jesus was the only way to avoid going to Hell, why would you choose otherwise? So what would make that a free choice? How could God be that dumb?
Why would Jesus go to hell for three days?
How could Jesus be physically resurrected and then go to some physical heaven? Is heaven a physical place? If so, where is it? Up in the sky?
If Jesus is good, why would he come back like a thief?
Friday, May 7, 2010
A Fable, From the King James Bible
Here is the story, quoted from Scripture [from Genesis Chapter 2 and Chapter 3]:
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . . .
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die . . .
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath not God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded the that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly thou shalt go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of they life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground form whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . . .
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die . . .
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath not God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded the that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly thou shalt go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of they life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground form whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
A Fable, From Church of God In Christ
Here is an excerpt from a pamphlet published by the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite:
"In the beginning, after God had created Adam and Eve, he loved to fellowship with them while they walked together in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve did not know about sin and evil because they were innocent and pure. God gave Adam and Eve only one commandment to obey. They were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From the beginning, God has given mankind the power of choice, and He has never revoked it.
"Satan, a powerful fallen angel, deceived Eve by tempting her to eat of the fruit from the forbidden tree. He told her she could disobey God without any consequences, and that eating the fruit would give her godlike knowledge. Then Eve chose to eat and offered the fruit to her husband, and he made the same terrible mistake.
"What a fatal choice! Their innocence was gone. They were guilty. Shamefully recognizing their nakedness, they tried to cover themselves with aprons of fig leaves. The became afraid of God and hid when they heard His voice. That was only the beginning of trouble. Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden and they became subject to sin and death. Even the earth was cursed because of what they had done.
"They now found they were inclined to do evil. Their knowledge of good and evil did not keep them from doing wrong. Spiritual death passed down to their children and, eventually, to all their posterity.
"The influence of evil is all around us. We find every evil thing imaginable in our world today. People are proud and lustful, seeking pleasure and power. They make many wrong choices and suffer the sad consequences. One person's choice often makes those around him miserable. How terrible are the results of sin!"
"In the beginning, after God had created Adam and Eve, he loved to fellowship with them while they walked together in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve did not know about sin and evil because they were innocent and pure. God gave Adam and Eve only one commandment to obey. They were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From the beginning, God has given mankind the power of choice, and He has never revoked it.
"Satan, a powerful fallen angel, deceived Eve by tempting her to eat of the fruit from the forbidden tree. He told her she could disobey God without any consequences, and that eating the fruit would give her godlike knowledge. Then Eve chose to eat and offered the fruit to her husband, and he made the same terrible mistake.
"What a fatal choice! Their innocence was gone. They were guilty. Shamefully recognizing their nakedness, they tried to cover themselves with aprons of fig leaves. The became afraid of God and hid when they heard His voice. That was only the beginning of trouble. Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden and they became subject to sin and death. Even the earth was cursed because of what they had done.
"They now found they were inclined to do evil. Their knowledge of good and evil did not keep them from doing wrong. Spiritual death passed down to their children and, eventually, to all their posterity.
"The influence of evil is all around us. We find every evil thing imaginable in our world today. People are proud and lustful, seeking pleasure and power. They make many wrong choices and suffer the sad consequences. One person's choice often makes those around him miserable. How terrible are the results of sin!"
Monday, May 3, 2010
Treasures Beyond Measure
A very holy day.
I again attended Farsi class in Burien with the youngsters, who already speak Farsi in their homes, but are learning to write it. The instructor, Saied, is an instrument maker. He had recently met my friends Tim and Deb, coincidentally at a convention. They publish a magazine for people who make instruments. Sunday he mentioned that he had seen their magazine while he lived in Iran. He brought out a Tar he had made.
Two large hollow lobes join to form the body of the instrument, made from mulberry wood. There is lambskin stretched across the body cavity, a long neck with camel bone frets, and gut strings. It was strummed with a pick made from a narrow, flat brass piece with a handle from beeswax. It was beautiful. One of the students brought her violin and she played that during the break; the teacher played a piece on the tar, and another student played a traditional Iranian melody on the recorder. I was enchanted.
Sunday afternoon we celebrated the Twelfth Day of Ridvan at Lisa's house in Salishan, rebuilt subsidized housing. The original houses, WWII-vintage, had been falling apart. The new houses make a beautiful neighborhood, and Lisa's home has become a hub of children's classes and a study circle for learning to teach. Parents trust their children to Lisa, as she works in the neighborhood school.
Sunday we had about six or seven adults plus numerous students from her classes, who sat quietly attentive during the Holy Day devotions. A song of unity by the Black Eyed Peas was played, then George told a story about the festival of Ridvan. The readings were long, and I tried to help make the service more accessible to the children by saying a shorter prayer and singing a song. Soon we were all singing songs of unity that the children sing in their classes.
To my surprise, I was invited afterward to a home visit with "Jeff", a gentleman contacted recently who said he felt the Baha'is were guided to his door, as the Baha'i message seems to be something which he needs right now. He was warm, friendly, and spiritually deepened and had much to add to the scriptures we studied on the subject of honesty.
Because I was surprised to end up the day in this lovely study class, I was reminded of lyrics by Gerry Rafferty: "who knows what the day will bring, it can bring anything. Who knows if we'll still be here--we could be there."
There is a verse by Baha'u'llah which I have always found touching, and I offered a song based on that verse, feeling that there are so many jewels hiding in our communities, waiting for us to meet each other. [Regard man as a mine, rich in gems . . . ~ Baha'u'llah.]
The song I offered:
To gather jewels have I come to this world. If one speck of a jewel lie hid in a stone, and that stone be beyond the seven seas, until I have found and secured that jewel, my hand shall not stay from its rest.
~ Baha'u'llah
I again attended Farsi class in Burien with the youngsters, who already speak Farsi in their homes, but are learning to write it. The instructor, Saied, is an instrument maker. He had recently met my friends Tim and Deb, coincidentally at a convention. They publish a magazine for people who make instruments. Sunday he mentioned that he had seen their magazine while he lived in Iran. He brought out a Tar he had made.
Two large hollow lobes join to form the body of the instrument, made from mulberry wood. There is lambskin stretched across the body cavity, a long neck with camel bone frets, and gut strings. It was strummed with a pick made from a narrow, flat brass piece with a handle from beeswax. It was beautiful. One of the students brought her violin and she played that during the break; the teacher played a piece on the tar, and another student played a traditional Iranian melody on the recorder. I was enchanted.
Sunday afternoon we celebrated the Twelfth Day of Ridvan at Lisa's house in Salishan, rebuilt subsidized housing. The original houses, WWII-vintage, had been falling apart. The new houses make a beautiful neighborhood, and Lisa's home has become a hub of children's classes and a study circle for learning to teach. Parents trust their children to Lisa, as she works in the neighborhood school.
Sunday we had about six or seven adults plus numerous students from her classes, who sat quietly attentive during the Holy Day devotions. A song of unity by the Black Eyed Peas was played, then George told a story about the festival of Ridvan. The readings were long, and I tried to help make the service more accessible to the children by saying a shorter prayer and singing a song. Soon we were all singing songs of unity that the children sing in their classes.
To my surprise, I was invited afterward to a home visit with "Jeff", a gentleman contacted recently who said he felt the Baha'is were guided to his door, as the Baha'i message seems to be something which he needs right now. He was warm, friendly, and spiritually deepened and had much to add to the scriptures we studied on the subject of honesty.
Because I was surprised to end up the day in this lovely study class, I was reminded of lyrics by Gerry Rafferty: "who knows what the day will bring, it can bring anything. Who knows if we'll still be here--we could be there."
There is a verse by Baha'u'llah which I have always found touching, and I offered a song based on that verse, feeling that there are so many jewels hiding in our communities, waiting for us to meet each other. [Regard man as a mine, rich in gems . . . ~ Baha'u'llah.]
The song I offered:
To gather jewels have I come to this world. If one speck of a jewel lie hid in a stone, and that stone be beyond the seven seas, until I have found and secured that jewel, my hand shall not stay from its rest.
~ Baha'u'llah
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