The Tempter and The Redeemer

Ok guys, Since we're all having so much fun here, I'll just share a few more of my strange beliefs before I leave for other subjects.

When I said:

"That which leads us into temptation, eventually delivers us from evil, once we learn how to control it. [...] The serpent and the redeemer are one and the same!"

I did NOT mean that Jesus and Satan were the same!

I apologize for not defining my terms, since given the fact that the topic was the Bible, it is now easy to see how my statement could of been misconstrued. So while I was NOT being sarcastic, neither was I blaspheming. I was sharing my honest understanding of principle.

So let me define my terms and explain in more detail - The devil is in the details, as they say :-)

Serpent: The serpent is a symbol for the evolutionary drive that has brought mankind from the pleasant subconsciousness experienced by all creatures to the full awakening of his self conscious awareness.  As depicted in the story of the Garden of Eden, the garden is a metaphor for the subconscious state of humanity before the development of the "Self-Conscious" state of awareness. 

This driving evolutionary force of nature which has brought humanity from the state of pleasant subconsciousness  and into the state of apparent separation is the same evolutionary force, which when controlled, brings liberation.  

Man is the only creature on Earth who possesses the state of full Self-Conscious awareness.  This driving evolutionary force (which has brought Man to this point in his evolution) is also a part of all creatures below Man - a part of all life.  This force goes by other names as well: The Vital Soul, the Animal Soul, The Kundalini, the Serpent Power, etc...

Now it is this force, this animal level of consciousness, which is responsible for the survival and evolution of the species (up to the point of Self-Conscious awareness), and it is this force which must be brought under loving self-discipline and control in order to do God's Will. (George, you would call this vital animal soul force our "Sinful" nature).

The point where I depart from exoteric Christianity is in my understanding of this vital animal force. This powerful evolutionary force of nature has been personified anthropomorphically as an Evil, opposing deity, and as such, something to be destroyed.

However, it is my understanding, that this force is not to be destroyed, but instead, is to be redeemed and brought into the service of God.

Now, given the task of redeeming this driving evolutionary force of nature, which is in us and is a part of us, we must somehow bring it (and thus our complete selves) into the service of God.

Denying this part of ourselves, or calling it something that's bad, evil, wicked, or something that must be destroyed is NOT THE WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM of our so called "sinful" nature.  Being in self-denial is never the way to solve our problems. The way to solve the problem of one's so called sinful nature is to accept it as a part of ourselves and to work on taming it as one would tame a wild beast or domesticate an animal (only in this case the animal is our own vital soul force). 

Denying, punishing or repressing this part of ourselves would be tantamount to beating a ferocious lion with a stick - it will turn on you and devour you.  The presence of all sorts of pathology, dysfunctional families, substance abuse, and mental illness gives ample evidence of what happens when we try to repress, deny, and punish vital parts of ourselves.

Evil comes about when people act from their uncontrolled animal levels.  So while it is OK for an animal to act as an animal, it is NOT OK for humans to act as animals.

In other words, we are human, and so must act as humans as God intended.  So this act of taming our vital animal force is an act of humanizing it as well.

So how do we tame this vital force of life?

The only way to control the driving Vital Soul while still preserving its strength and vitality is through LOVE.  With LOVE you master the Beast (your own libido drives and desires). You do not stamp out desire.  You train your animal drives, not by stamping them out, buy by placing them under specific rules of loving self discipline.

This vital force (the Kundalini force in eastern yogic tradition), controlled via loving self discipline, is the same evolutionary drive which will take us from our perceptions of separation to complete awareness of our oneness with the Divine Life.  Lest I be accused of neglecting the Holy Spirit (Spiritual Intuition) in this process, let me make it clear that it is via making our selves receptive to Love, that we are able to control this vital animal soul force.  So when I speak of love, I'm speaking of the One Love Force, not just a personal emotion.

Now perhaps you have a better idea of what I meant when I said:

"The serpent and the redeemer are one and the same."

We redeem the serpent and bring it under control and in the process transmute our personality into an unobstructed vehicle for the Christ.  This vital soul force then becomes our vehicle for redemption.   (I say "we", but of course we are not the doer in this process.  It only seems like it).

In other words, it is this same force, (which when uncontrolled, results in all sorts of evils) that when it is brought under loving control, enables us to enact changes (to our personality and our environment) and to achieve that state where we can become unobstructed vehicles for God's Will.

That which leads us into temptation, eventually delivers us from evil, once we learn how to control it.

Now, given our past exchanges, I realize that everything I have said will be rejected as unbiblical, or heretical, or even from "the pit of Hell".   But it is not my desire to "debate" who is right and who is wrong on this matter. Nor was it my intention to insult, or to satirize, or to inflame.  It was, is, and always has been my intention to SHARE my honest beliefs, understandings, and thoughts with you - my friends.

I honestly believe (accept as my working hypothesis)  what I have written you, and so we must disagree. But that is OK in my book, because you are my friends. I accept you as you are, with feelings of friendship and good-Will, and I certainly entitle you to your beliefs and expect nothing in return but treatment in kind.

Take Care,

jc

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26 Apr 2001, 12:51:01 PM

"Temptation" with its negative, sinful connotation, is a word whose meaning gets thoroughly rectified in the unfolding process. It seems that humans need a promise of pleasure (temptation) in jumping the fence into new pastures where greener grass grows. We are thus lured into new fields of learning experiences, sometimes painful in the immediate process but fulfilling in time. "Blessed be the tempters, for they are MY servants." should be in the Beatitudes. They are essential to the evolutionary process of reversal. Can you imagine life without temptations to try all sorts of new experiences. There would be no procreation with that in place. Childhood would be a total washout without it. Let's have one for temptation.  Joseph 

Let no day pass without a little temptation. 
A cessation of temptation is no temptation. 
Temptation is the engine of Life. 
Keeps us moving. 
Temptation is the mother of discrimination. 
How to tell when you are dead? 
No temptation.

A common attitude about temptation is that one falls into it and that is undesirable like they are a pile of manure. Temptations are just the bait that leads us to our unfolding--our fulfilling. Joseph