I never published these photos, to my knowledge — I don’t know how that happened. They’re so old that it’s almost funny: L and her friend E are now in high school, as tall or taller than their parents, learning to drive, alternatively annoying and charming adults.
Little I no longer is little. He’s in middle school now.
And our little man E and E’s and I’s little sister E? Not even a thought in their head.
“Language-like activity in the absence of meaning” — a good definition of glossolalia, the act of speaking in tongues. The Bible promotes it, and I’d always understood it to be the miraculous act of speaking a language one doesn’t have any foreknowledge of. For example, breaking into Farsi having never studied it.
“Surely,” I thought, “No one really believes that happens?! It’s so easy to debunk: record it and have a computer try to recognize and translate the language.” But it turns out, real speaking in tongues is not the miraculous speaking of an otherwise-unknown language: it’s speaking in the language of angels. It is, in simple terms, gibberish.
If you listen to these segments of people speaking in tongues, you’ll notice a few things:
I’m on the fence about the video, though, because they’re clearly mocking these people, and while it does seem silly, I find myself thinking that they must get something out of it. It likely gives a natural high of endorphins.
I once attended a church where there was a lot of calling down of the Holy Spirit, a lot of prayers for God to send the Holy Spirit to enter the building and enter them, with repetitive music playing, the congregants with their hands raised and their eyes closed, swaying to the music. It struck me how similar they appeared to people I’d see just a week or so earlier at a party who’d passed around a gigantic bong and gotten stoned out of their gourd. They all had the lost-in-the-moment look about them, and even in some churches that speak in tongues, one way they see the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is through uncontrolled laugher, the tell-tale sign that someone has smoked marijuana.
There’s also the element of crowd pressure — some of those people are clearly forcing their laughter. And perhaps some of them are closeted non-believers and they’re finally able to let out the laughter that they keep pent up every Sunday.
The king of all this nonsense is huckster Benny Hinn.
I just can’t understand how people can fall for this stuff. I’d love to get up on stage with someone like this and let him wave his arms at me, fling his coat at me, and just stand there looking at him. Wonder what would happen — I’d likely be hustled off the stage in a hurry…
One year later, the breakdown still doesn’t shock.
On the way to work today, I listened to an episode of the Cults podcast, which was about the Australian group Hermes Far Eastern Shining, a group that teaches an Eastern-tinged variety of religious silliness. Their original leader, who claimed to have the same type of spiritual energy and ability as Jesus, died over a decade ago, but they’re still peddling their quackery. Their primary product seems to be magic wands. That’s not a joke: they sell magic wands, which are basically plastic tubes with a liquid that an Australian regulatory agency determined was nothing more than dyed distilled water.
One of their more inexpensive wands is the “Don’t Fence Me In Wand,” which sells for only $55.00. What can we expect of this marvel of medieval superstition?
“… Give me room, lots of room underneath the starry skies…” Like inhabitants of “Flatland”, the usual person is hemmed in, unable and unwilling to step over the ‘line’. We are constrained within one-dimensional and two- dimensional levels of existence, by self and other possession. The one-dimensional is the atheistic scientific model of the universe, in which it is insanely suggested that an individual’s behaviour could be predicted by simply knowing where all their molecules are at one time and somehow knowing where they will be at some future time. This abysmal view is utterly and deplorably fallacious, “Thank God”. The two- dimensional aspect of this is other possession particularly and ‘self-possession’.
This consideration of ‘don’t fence me in’ is focused in other possession. This other possession has many forms; some of these are concept possession, lower astral possessions, entity possessions, parental and sibling possessions, friends, possessions, place possessions, time possessions, black witchcraft possessions, programming possessions, dimensional possessions and so on. This is all the stuff of Television drama; struggling with father, mother, brother, sister, lover or some idea that torments us. Penetrating the illusion of these possessions can be very freeing, leaving us at last with our own self-possession, which is our own moral responsibility, under the banner of energy and feeling.
(Being ‘psychic’ is simply what we are to understand as feeling. (Energy we are to understand as ‘action.’) Exit stage right, Alice1 disappears down the rabbit hole…
I’m not sure I understand what this product description is exactly claiming because, like all religious poppycock, it’s long on poetic, esoteric nonsense and short of practical specifics. But at least they include instructions on how to use the wand:
The Wands can be carried with you throughout the day in your hand, pocket, handbag, briefcase etc. You can engage them at work, during exercise, recreational activities, meditation or at home. You can imbue a glass of water with the Energy of your Wand by tapping it to the side of the glass. Sip the water while holding the Wand and receive its energy.
Each Wand holds a specific intention of purification and transformation. The Wands are not influenced by other energies and so do not require ‘cleansing’, ‘clearing’ or ‘re-charging. They can be used personally, shared with others and used in your immediate environment.
You can also apparently hold it over someone’s head for some kind of special effect.
Another option, in the $1,500 price range, is to buy an “Energy House,” which holds several of these magic wands and makes you a particularly good reader.
“Energy Houses” — quotes very much intentional
If you’re already sold on the whole magic wand supersition, you can forego the tedium of adding them one at a time to your shopping cart and get a pack of 20 for a mere $2,250.
There’s also the “Food And Beverage Spiritualiser”
As our forms are lifted and transformed over time, so to is it necessary for the energy of the food and beverage that we receive. The Food and Beverage Spiritualiser brings a clearing and blessing energy to optimise the intensity of all that we ingest. In tern, this helps the energy of our food to combine with our forms more easefully and support us to be more like Light than flesh.
One of the original intentions of the Food and Beverage Spiritualiser was to help us awaken to the recognition that as we evolve, we must support our forms to incorporate and conduct the Eternal Current of Divine Light and Radiance.
In addition to the four golden, glass spheres holding a vast array of special Alchymeic Energies, the Food and Beverage Spiritualiser holds a clear Soul Fire Octahedron in the centre, with four diamond bezels in the four corners, sitting upon a spinning base.
Finally, there’s the ultimate magic-water machine, the Bubbler.
This beautiful piece of quackery will set you back $6,000 — I’m sure it’s worth it for all the amazing benefits.
At one point, the Australian government shut down the whole operation for obvious reasons, but they opened again, adding a lengthy disclaimer to the website. Among the choice weasle-word passages about making no health claims is this stunning admission:
What we offer has no scientific backing, evidence or support. It is a wholly ‘esoteric’ matter, completely outside of conventional scientific understanding. There are no scientific verifications for our work. Hermes Far Eastern Shining does not claim and will not claim that conventional worldviews provide any support for our work.
In short, they are admitting that there is no way to determine whether or not their products actually do anything. The further explain,
When you choose to work with our products, any results that you may experience cannot be anticipated and they may not be readily observable. Any results are up to the Divine and how well you understand and apply what is presented.
Some people do report many things to us – some of them truly inspiring things – but we want you to be clear that this is a matter between you and the Divine and that we are not interested in persuading anyone or suggesting that this will be your experience.
In other words, it might not seem to work at all, and if it doesn’t work, it’s likely your fault because you don’t have enough faith.
It’s bad enough that this group bilks gullible people out of thousands of dollars. It also does real harm to those in the cult:
One former devotee Jackie Gate, said she joined the group with her boyfriend when she was 31-years-old.
She said the ‘friendly’ group took her in and made her feel secure.
But not long after she joined, she said she started to notice its dark underbelly.
When she fell pregnant, Ms Gate said the group tried to turn her against her boyfriend and take control of her and her unborn child.
She said a member told her ‘you know this baby is yours and not the dad’s, no matter how much you say you will be together. You don’t need him, we will help raise your baby as one of us … don’t rely on a man for help’.
Ms Gate said this was a turning point for her and her boyfriend.
She told the group she needed to fly to the UK for a funeral, and immediately booked flights home to Sydney.
‘I stumbled across something that I thought looked wonderful, but felt dark,’ she said.
Another former devotee Anna Fitzgerald said she was ‘love bombed’ by recruiters and spent eight years with the group after she was initially showered with kindness.
At 50-years-old, Ms Fitzgerald left her life in the UK and moved to Australia where she was given the name Perplexity Swings This and That.
But after eight years of working for up to 16 hours a day, Ms Fitzgerald said she realised she was just a victim.
‘I realised I was being conned,’ she said.
Ms Fitzgerald said she hatched up a plan in 2011, and asked some shopkeepers to help her escape.
She was driven to a hotel in Coolangatta where she hid until her family sent money to get back home. (Source)
That people fall for this stuff is a testament to the susceptibility even in these times to fall prey to silly superstitions. Other groups have magical objects and special water, but at least you don’t (as far as I know) have to buy those: you get them after you’ve paid your dues in the organization!
In a post on social media in the group I’ve been following — people who have been participating in the “Bible in a Year” podcast, though I haven’t listened to any of it in weeks — someone posted the following:
I wish I am like Elijah who can hear God’s words.
This seems like a reasonable request. After all, if the Christian god is to be seen as a father, as he’s portrayed in the Bible, one would expect clear interactions with him. As a father myself, I try not to rely on the practice of maintaining physical distance from my children, being essentially invisible and leaving little evidence of my actual existence, while hoping we develop a good relationship through generic letters not necessarily written to them personally but to children in general. I find it’s much better to communicate to them directly, in their physical presence. This person clearly wishes her god engaged in parenting practices more like my own preferred methods and less like, well, most gods tend to prefer.
But it raises lots of questions if this god is going to maintain physical distance yet communicate audibly with his believers. I queried this believer about these concerns:
Even if it were an audible voice, how would we know it’s the voice of God and not something else, say schizophrenia? I think we pretty much discount people who say they hear God talking to them. How would we know the difference?
Her response was simple: she maintained that “somehow I think you’d know.” I naturally couldn’t let that stand: “How exactly? Especially if it were audible only to you.” She replied with the worst possible example I could imagine:
You just know! Unexplainable, but I will try. 🙂
When God spoke to Abraham. Only Abraham could hear him. Yet Abraham knew it was God.
The voices of schizophrenia is evil. Insane. The voice of God is good. Sane. The outcome of the two are complete opposites. (“How would we know the difference?—>)The results.God does not boom to us vocally from the heavens today, like we surmise Him doing back in the Bible days. Its within. *God The Holy Spirit*, whether its for God, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, a Saint, or an Angel. We instinctively know which one it is. A miracle. A mystery that can not be explained. Then faith and trust follows, because its all you have left to explain the unexplainable.
There are few stories in the Bible that I find more disturbing than the story of Abraham and Issac. I couldn’t let it stand without comment:
The voice of God told Abraham to kill his son. That sounds pretty insane. If you heard what you thought was the voice of God, would you be willing to do the same? I know I wouldn’t.
The response:
God speaks in different ways…sometimes audibly..sometimes through others…sometimes in a way only your soul recognises.
So beautiful.It’s like being in love. You just know.
“It’s like being in love.” Yes, I guess sometimes you just know — but most of the time I’ve “known,” I was wrong. I was right only once.
[G] I always know.. it comes in threes…usually through the media or through a priest during a homily.
What method did this person use to determine this? How do we know whether or not to count some event as part of those “threes”?
[G] You know. A voice you’ve never heard before, yet is some how the most familiar voice ever. The sound of pure, unconditional love. A peace and calmness, total serenity comes over you. 99% of the time God leads in ways other than a voice, and it can be difficult to decipher His will as He will not impose upon our freedom of will. However, if God wants to say something to you, there is no question, He will make Himself be known.
If you’re looking for a god, that’s exactly what you’ll find.
I don’t know why I do this…
Today’s reading in Mass had to do with the coming of the wise men — the magi:
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” (Matthew 2.1, 2)
It doesn’t take much to see that they are using the star rising — which is a clear reference to astrology — and by this, learn of Jesus’s birth. Astrology is condemned in the Old Testament: “Do not practice divination or seek omens” (Leviticus 19.26) makes this clear, as does “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19.31) and “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer” (Deuteronomy 18.10). But here it seems to be fine. In fact, God is using astrology to guide the wise men to the infant Jesus.
Bishop Robert Barron spoke of this in his homily today. The magi are astronomers, he suggests, and because of their “scientific investigation[, they] are now journeying to find this newborn king of the Jews.” Only in one’s wildest fantasies could one call these three astronomers. They were clearly astrologers. Astronomers do not see stars as being guiding forces in any way; that’s exactly what astrologers do.
The priest in Mass today brought up science as well, though in a different way. He talked about how atheists deny God’s existence by saying there’s no scientific proof for him. “But science changes all the time!” the priest protested, adding with a pause, “Just ask the CDC.” Laugher in the congregation prompted him to admit, “I thought you’d like that one.” It was an underhanded way of belittling science’s advances: “It really doesn’t say anything completely trustworthy because it’s always changing. It’s useful, but not for grounding ultimate concerns,” was the insinuation. It’s a way of having the benefits of the scientific advances of the last 200 years (“We’re not Luddites, after all!”) without having to deal with the direct challenges science makes to religion.
On the non-religious side of things, my new bike arrived today:
A new mountain bike for me actually means a very happy Boy. “Think of all the places we can ride now!”
Yesterday, we spent most of the day touring the Biltmore estate again. K has wanted to see it in its Christmas splendor for some time, so we made use of our season tickets to see what it looks like for Christmas.
Of course, there were Christmas trees everywhere. Sixty-some trees, according to docents.
But the real charm came at night.
In some ways, Biltmore Village was even more lovely.
As our forms are lifted and transformed over time, so to is it necessary for the energy of the food and beverage that we receive. The Food and Beverage Spiritualiser brings a clearing and blessing energy to optimise the intensity of all that we ingest. In tern, this helps the energy of our food to combine with our forms more easefully and support us to be more like Light than flesh.