leewoof

[leewoof]

"Your Kids are Not Special"

“Your kids are not special.” That is the message of a TikTok that has gone viral: @lisaconselatore #tiredteacher #enough #raisingkids #timetolisten #supportteachers #culturetalk #culturecheck #teachersoftiktok #teachersontiktok #teaching2023belike ♬ original sound – Lisa Conselatore In it, Lisa Conselatore, an experienced teacher, decries a present-day approach to parenting in which children…

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#child-raising #children #community #entitled children #heaven #Lisa Conselatore #parenting #raising children #spiritual child-raising #spoiled children

[leewoof]

Jesus Was Not White

Jesus was not White. He wasn’t Black, either. Jesus was Middle Eastern. Biblically, he was descended, not from Japheth, nor from Ham, but from Shem. Historically, he lived, not in Europe, nor in Africa (though he did spend some time in Egypt as an infant), but in the Middle East. A Galilean man Physically, he probably had olive skin, brown eyes, and brown to black hair, similar to this modern…

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#Christianity #Historical Jesus #Jesus #Jesus Christ #Joseph #Mary #race relations #Shem Ham and Japeth #the birth of Jesus Christ

[leewoof]

Are We All Just Bundles of Quantum Energy?

In a recent comment, a reader named Anton said: Hi Lee, I lately watched a documentary about quantum physics that just confused me so much, to the point where I began to think about the transition and distinction between the physical and spiritual worlds, and I couldn’t really make sense of it in my head. Or to say it better, I got the Swedenborgian message, but I got confused by the quantum…

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#distinct levels #gradual levels #material reality #new age #physical reality #physics #quantum physics #science #science and religion #second law of thermodynamics #spiritual reality

[leewoof]

The Ancestors in African Spirituality in Comparison with Swedenborg’s Experience of the Spiritual World

(Note: This post is a lightly edited version of a paper written in 2022 for an academic program at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. References for some quotations have been left in condensed academic format. For full publication information, see the bibliography at the end.) Introduction During the time my wife and I have been living in Soweto, Johannesburg, since we moved here from…

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#Africa #African Traditional Religion #Ancestor veneration #Ancestors #contacting spirits #Credo Mutwa #David W. Mooki #Emanuel Swedenborg #South Africa #spirits #The New Church of Southern Africa

[leewoof]

If the Trinity of Persons is False, Why did God Allow it to Prevail in the Christian Church?

In a question on Christianity StackExchange here, a user asks: According to non-Trinitarians, if God’s nature is not adequately portrayed by trinitarian theology, then why did God allow such an erroneous understanding of His nature to become so widespread among the members of the Church, the Bride of His Son? If God has the power and the prerogative to intervene in historical events, then why…

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#Arianism #Christianity #Constantine #Constantine the Great #Council of Nicaea #doctrine of the Trinity #Peter #the Trinity #Trinity #Trinity of Persons

[leewoof]

Is God a Spirit Being?

In a comment here, a reader named leeannemeredith wrote: Do you think God is a Spirit Being? I get tied up in these questions regarding the nature of God. Where or how God came into being. Sometimes I think of the old movie Jason and the Argonauts and a group of godly figures standing around and discussing the human travails and laying bets on the fragile choices we make. This post is an edited…

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#God #Jesus Christ #materialism #monotheism #pantheism #polytheism #the Divine Humanity #the material world #the spiritual world

[leewoof]

If God Sees Everything, Is Everything that has Ever Happened Still Happening?

Here is a question that a reader named leeanemeredith recently asked in a comment here: I’ve been thinking on your analogy of God surveying the entire scene of events. Does this somehow mean that everything that’s happened is still somehow happening? Nothing disappears or un-happens? If God sees the entire stage, then the events are still playing out? This post is an edited and expanded version…

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#choices #determinism #free will #God #the future #the material world #the past #the spiritual world #time #time and space

[leewoof]

Dethroning the Imperial god of Constantine and Calvin

(Note: This post is an edited version of a paper written for an academic program at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. It was originally written for a professor who adheres to Liberation Theology. It is therefore addressed to people of that perspective. However, others may also find its challenge to Liberation Theologians thought-provoking. References for some quotations have been left…

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#Allan Boesak #Black Liberation Theology #Christianity #Constantine the Great #Council of Nicaea #Emanuel Swedenborg #imperialism #John Calvin #Liberation Theology #Michael Servetus #the Bible #Trinity of Persons

[leewoof]

Does "Us" in Genesis 1:26, 3:22, and 11:7 refer to the Trinity of Persons?

Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) Then the Lord God said, “See, the humans have become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now they might reach out…

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#Abraham #angels #Christianity #Jacob wrestles with the angel #Plural of Majesty #polytheism #Royal We #Satan #the Bible #The book of Job #Trinity of Persons #wrestling with angels

[leewoof]

Did Swedenborg See Himself as a Prophet?

A recent question on Christianity StackExchange asked: Emanuel Swedenborg The Wikipedia article on Emanuel Swedenborg mentions his revelations, but doesn’t use the term “prophet” even once. Did Swedenborg not see himself as a prophet? What is a prophet, according to Swedenborg, other than someone receiving divine revelation and preaching it? What follows just below is a slightly edited version…

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#correspondences #doctrine #Emanuel Swedenborg #exegesis #inspiration #prophecy #prophets #the Bible

[leewoof]

Desert Warfare

Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1) Among the various terrains in which wars can be fought, the desert is one of the most severe and unforgiving. Intense heat; choking dust; parching dryness; sand in which both humans and machines get bogged down; rocks and boulders strewn everywhere; it is a harsh, unforgiving landscape that gives none of…

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#Abraham #Babylon #desert #ego #glorification #Jesus Christ #Lot #spiritual rebirth #temptation #the Bible #war

[leewoof]

Water and Spirit

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11) As we follow both the Old Testament story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the New Testament story of Jesus as an infant, a young boy, and a man, we find that they are parallel stories. They…

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#Abraham #baptism #baptism with the Holy Spirit #baptism with water #Bethel #Jesus Christ #John the Baptist #Lot #spiritual rebirth #the Bible #wealth

[leewoof]

A Swedenborgian in Dialog with Black Consciousness and Black Liberation Theology

(Note: This post is an edited version of a paper written for an academic program at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. References for some quotations have been left in condensed academic format. For full publication information, see the bibliography at the end.) As the Africans surpass all others in interior judgment, I have talked with them on matters requiring rather deep…

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#Africa #Black Consciousness #Black Liberation Theology #Christianity #community #David W. Mooki #Emanuel Swedenborg #freedom #Robert Grendon #South Africa #Steve Biko #swedenborgianism

[leewoof]

And Jesus Grew in Wisdom

After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. (Luke 2:46–47) The story of Jesus as a boy at the Temple in Luke 2:40–52 is the only biblical account we have of Jesus’ childhood. Even the story of his birth is told in only two of the four Gospels,…

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#Abraham #Egypt #famine #fruitfulness #gender roles #Jesus Christ #Pharaoh #Sarah #the Bible

[leewoof]

A Child of Revelation

This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. (Luke 2:34–35) “The thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” I have been thinking lately that in this largely Christian culture, Jesus is a touchstone as to where people are spiritually. Not that we can judge where anyone…

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#Bethel #Canaan #Holy Land #Jesus Christ #land of Canaan #Moreh #Shechem #south #the Bible

[leewoof]

Is Free Will an Illusion? A Response to Sam Harris

Is Free Will an Illusion? A Response to Sam Harris

In a recent comment, a reader named K asked me to respond to this article: “Why You Probably Don’t Have Free Will,” by Jack Maden. Here is the article’s opening synopsis: “Neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris argues that free will is an illusion. In his view, we are the mere conscious witnesses of decisions that deep in our brains have already been made.” In particular, K wanted a response…

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#atheism #atheists #Calvinism #determinism #free will #freedom #God #human brain #materialism #Sam Harris #science and religion

[leewoof]

The Infant Lord

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. (Luke 2:29–32) Simeon blesses Jesus These words, usually in a more traditional translation, have found their way into the closing section of many worship…

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#glorification #Haran #inner life of Jesus #Jesus Christ #love #Simeon #The Call of Abram #The Fertile Crescent #Ur of the Chaldeans