Lets say "Grace"!!!

If there is such a thing as the "invisible hand", I would think it's the aggressiveness of evil as compared to virtue. Good people do not aggressively seek out the ruin of people nor create systems of exclusion.

In climate change we have used the term "operationalizing" the response - that is to build upon best practices and to aggressively put them into practice. However, the motivation for building peaceful systems lacks heart. At least in the public eye and mainstream aspect of communication.

Even if you are Christian, it may be difficult to recognize the difficulty the Church had in creating a system of belief that balances all aspects of a heavy handed economic system. It's not a system directly opposed to a monetary system but if anything - using words of theology - "it fulfills the system”. The system itself is not necessarily corrupt but for the outcomes to be balanced there needs to be yet another "invisible hand."

In this case it was not a government but an Aboriginal tribal belief system that included a social structure based on ritual and strong supporting verbal and written practices. The new "rituals" resulting from the life and death of Christ was three fold: forgiveness of sins, acts of grace, and a completed since of salvation.

There IS a reason why economics is so structured around dept and profit: because the vision of the "New Jerusalem" is based on a pure Christian structure of the Church's theology of debt, forgiveness and grace. If there was ever a social balance to the metaphysics of money (economics) it would have to be the historical Christian concept of "Grace" and the invisible hand of its benefits.

Grace in Christianity

In Western Christian theology grace has been defined, not as a created substance of any kind, but as "the love and mercy given to us By God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it", "the condescension or benevolence shown by God toward the human race". It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. - Wikipedia

The total nemesis of money and personal profit.

What made early Christianity a powerful balancing force is that a system of grace was defined and still exists in the Catholic faith - it recognizes suffering and the grace accumulated by its members and saint's. The Church itself acts as the system and dispenses "grace" through its actions as well as it's ceremonies. What the original Protestant reformer's protested was the Church's use of Indulgence's.

Indulgence

...an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins which may reduce either or both of the penance required after a sin has been forgiven, or after death, the temporal punishment, in the state or process of purification called Purgatory. - Wikipedia

In the history of the Church the dept of sin was managed through ritual practices and by dispensing "grace". In the practice of forgiving the dept of sin it was an action that was managed through the ritual practices of the Church but also as an individual practice in its social teachings and example. Most of the time this context is considered "salvation" and it's somewhat muddled by history.

"In recent times, the Church has recognized that its teaching about the necessity of the Catholic Church for salvation has been widely misunderstood, so it has "re-formulated" this teaching in a positive way. Here is how the Catechism of the Catholic Church begins to address this topic: "How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Reformulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body" (CCC 846).

In keeping with the Church’s current spirit of ecumenism, this positive reformulation comes across less harshly than previous negative formulations. Even so, it remains quite controversial. So, let’s see how this new formulation squares with Scripture." - http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/what-no-salvation-outside-the-church-means

- Christ is the head of the Church.
- The church is his body.
- Grace is dispensed through the body.
- God does not condemn anyone.
- Grace comes from the acts of Christ.

Although many argue that access to grace is limited by the theology the opposite is true - everyone has access but not everyone "drinks this water." What I would tell you is this - find the well that contains this water and drink it daily - never stop. Offer it to everyone you meet including your enemies. While you may not have the means to give everyone you meet money - Grace is Free because it comes from God. Or if your an atheist - it comes from the very foundation of life itself and is totally a human in devoir.

Transubstantiation

For a while now I've been interested in the social history that surrounds the divergence of Christianity. Especially the more famous occurrence that resulted in the Protestant Reformation. One of the very first questions that formed - was that the first time in history? The resulting Protestant Reformation began with disagreements in doctrine especially those surrounding the Sacrament of the Eucharist. A Sacrament in this context is a ritual believed as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual divine grace with the Eucharist being specifically instituted by Christ at the Last Supper.

The Reformation itself is considered beginning with Martin Luther, a German Augustinian monk, posting his 95 theses on a church door at the university town of Wittenberg. However, even this wasn't the first disagreement. Over the centuries there had been many that resulted in church councils that desired simplification. However, the political context of this church battle was based on the emergence of the middle class and thriving cities in what is now known as Italy. These new medieval cities began focusing on trade allowing for the growth of towns and leisure time. Artisans and merchants, developed their own associations, such as the Guild of Merchants, to protect their interests and help fight against the feudal system. This was done in the context of Church belief and structure.

Church symbolism and ritual was the bases of society and the Guild's expanded on these beliefs. The Church doctrin that allowed for this is called the Communion of Saints and at the center of this belief is the Eucharistic ritual.

"The communion of saints, when referred to persons, is the spiritual union of the members of The Christian Church, living and the dead, those on earth, in heaven, and, for those who believe in purgatory, those also who are in that state of purification. They are all part of a single "mystical body", with Christ as the head, in which each member contributes to the good of all and shares in the welfare of all.” Wikipedia - Communion of Saints

The Protestant Reformation resulted in the destruction of the ritual that created social unity. In the context of our history it is this event that describes the beginning of the modern era. The Catholic Church survived and did reorganize without Kings and Monarchs. This was simply called the Counter Reformation and included reforms such as actual training for priests in theological traditions and a return to spiritual life through devotions and a personal relation to Christ. It also included the creation of a system of tribunals known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.

The Inquisition moved at the pace of government and was as widespread as it's influence. There were three distinct movements based on the Supreme orders: Catholic, Spanish, Portuguese and Roman. The Roman Inquisition was considered more bureaucratic and focussed on pre-emptive control in addition to judicial prosecution. It was out of this history that our current forms of government evolved and that specifically separated Church into state, science, and religion.

Although the ritual at the center of Church was supplanted by politics, observation, and the Bible - we find ourselves now at the apex of this modern era where none of these institutions by themselves have meaning. Interesting enough the Eucharist Ritual is about meaning and what it does to use as humans. As a ritual, it's a social activity embraced by a people and a celebrant where activities have specific meaning. In the context of this tradition the change is from bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. This ritual was defined during the previous mentioned history and has its foundations in biblical history and tradition. However, can we now understand it's meaning? Is there a necessity hidden in these acts that could help us out of a society that has become so fragmented that it's disfunctional? The most enticing question for me is - has anything really changed? The only remaining ritual with as much history and tradition is money.

Culture of Life

As Pope John Paul II theorized on the "Culture of Life" in relation to Church teachings, the popular media completely ignored his pastoral thesis and focused on the "Culture of Death", here is what he said...

"...we are confronted by an even larger reality, which can be described as a veritable structure of sin. This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denies solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a veritable 'culture of death.'"

He elaborates:

"This culture is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political currents which encourage an idea of society excessively concerned with efficiency. ...a war of the powerful against the weak: a life which would require greater acceptance, love and care is considered useless, or held to be an intolerable burden, and is therefore rejected..."

Concluding that:

"...a kind of 'conspiracy against life is unleashed. This conspiracy involves not only individuals in their personal, family or group relationships, but goes far beyond, to a point of damaging and distorting, at the international level, relations between peoples and States."

What is very recognizable to me is his description of "sin" as a cultural unit of measure and indicating it has a structure. This structure does not have a name but he describes it as a specific activity -  "it denies solidarity".

Focusing on the "Culture of Death" immediately eliminated identifying any "activities" necessary to overcome "denying solidarity" in all our lives. Establishing a "Culture of Life" quickly ran into political issues and agreement with how this could be done. However, I do agree with the critics who say:

"...critics, who argue that religious conservatives do not have a monopoly on valuing life, or that they devalue it themselves, or that by emphasizing quantity of life they devalue quality of life."

Pope John Paul's original observation of a "Denial of Solidarity" however seems very valid in the current political context. Even more so than a "Culture of Death" focused on abortion, euthanasia, and other socially occurring manifestations.

"Denial of Solidarity" sounds related to Pope John Paul's personal involvement in Poland's Solidarity Movement (1980-1989). This was a pro-democracy movement made up of workers, intellectuals, students, peasants, the Catholic Church, and major professional groups targeting the communist regime.

Searching for reference to "Denial of Solidarity" was fruitless except for the law book entitled, Solidarity, by K. Bayertz, Springer Science & Business Media, Feb 28, 1999 - Law - 350 pages.

There are many legal books referencing this particular phrase and combination of words but as I dug deeper another type of reference began to appear. Health books and papers referencing human dignity as a taxonomy subject.

"Solidarity is unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on universities of interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies. It refers to the ties in a society that bind people together as one. The term is generally employed in sociology and the other social sciences as well as in philosophy or in Catholic social teaching."

Solidarity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://tinyurl.com/njut9g8

Culture of life - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://tinyurl.com/np3t9uf

Movements and Campaigns: http://tinyurl.com/ppz6eht

Solidarity - Google Books: http://tinyurl.com/mr2uxe7

The Holocene Impact Working Group

...is a group of six scientists who hypothesize that meteorite impacts on Earth are more common than current scientific consensus indicates.

http://goo.gl/kYhRIf

When Space Changed History

...Documentary

http://goo.gl/GtkYSu

Did a Comet Cause the Great Flood?

...The universal human myth may be the first example of disaster reporting.

http://goo.gl/txrcsc

Burckle Crater

...Dating the Flood

http://goo.gl/bmz84N

The 9 Most Influential Works of Scientific Racism...

One of the more enduring symbols of Christianity is Bread and Wine. As sacrifices to God they go back to our origins in Genesis and continued to evolve throughout the entire biblical canon. Bread is a representation of the flesh while wine is a refection of the spirit. It is no mistake that wine is mixed with water - the spirit can be overpowering and intoxicating to  man. As a comparison, certain fundamental aspects of our mutual existence can also be overpowering.

Sacrifice seems to be a human reaction to the unknown with a physical element intended to influence the result. Early in the Old Testament sin was connected to the natural environment in a fundamental way. Men's actions were seen as influencing the environment that was governed by the unnamed God. Although there were two types of sacrifice handed down from Adams sons - cereal and animal - it was Melchizedek who focused on cereal sacrifice after the great flood. The animal sacrifice of Cane transitioned into human sacrifice that Abraham sought to overcome. This was done by a priestly sacrifice of a ram taking the place of his son. The concept of ritual sacrifice or the symbolic representation of an offering developed.

Lost in the stories and biblical symbolism is the idea that we can influence God and nature. The Old Testament struggles with sin as the central symbol that's at the root of the perceived hardships - natural disaster and human self oppression. The biblical references move from the examples of natural disasters and focus on human self oppression toward the end of the Old Testament. A notable example of this is the story of Job that bore a number if hardships not based on his personal sins but for God's glory alone. This was the cumulation of the sacrificial paradigm in the old testament, not a disconnect from the concept of sin causing natural disasters and social hardship but sin as a human commonality.

What Christianity did for the regional pagan concepts of sacrifice, having evolved into human sacrifice and oppressive patriarchal feuding, was to fulfill and bring full circle the oppressive social elements of a multicultural region and transformed them into democratic concepts. These concepts have always been opposed by leaders who consider the earth and its inhabitants as resources to be exploited but revered by those who have a fundamental respect for the earth and its multiracial inhabitants.

Although the fulfillment of these Old Testament beliefs found a regional history that expanded beyond  the New Testament and the European Renaissance, what lessons can be learned that would allow us to bring together our modern Paganism? Not the notion of classifying people into a system of believers and unbelievers or Christian and Atheist. Nor by judging people as fit for sacrifice based on their sexual preference or other actions that should not qualify for government funding. The modern Paganism that I'm referring to is the tribalism that underlies the entire spectrum of communication and spreads exponentially using the disruptive communication tools that have become a norm. Although our religious history seems to frustrate our most modern science and our religious beliefs contain little room for measuring minute results, our conversion must include a forgiveness that does not sacrifice each others most cherished Human gifts. Each other.

http://io9.com/the-9-most-influential-works-of-scientific-racism-rank-1575543279/+AnnaleeNewitz

Purgatory

Purgatory as a descriptive word for a broken  communication system...

http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-sued-over-disappearing-imessage-texts-sent-to-android-users/

Aldous Huxley on Drugs, Democracy, and Religion

Might have to read the book. There is ONLY ONE TRUTH not many and I also enjoy the science tradition. However, they always oversimplify the theology which leads me to believe the evaluation is a general evaluation or based on a narrow fundamentalist view. Although science contains two of the three dynamics of Catholic tradition it is not a unified concept in the Reformed Tradition. Science and Engineering both historically serve the political structure while religion in the Reform Tradition is Protestant. The reformed churches are structured and exist as symbolic representations of the Israelite nationalistic communities at the time of Christ. Based solely on research of the various reformed writings and from a Catholic perspective, they exist totally separated and opposed to structured human knowledge systems that do not profess Christ as their savior.

The Messiah theology has been part of Jewish tradition from the beginning however there is a major difference in the perception and expectations of Messiah. Jewish apologetics on Christianity indicate that Christians would be yet another sect of Judaism except for the recognition of Christ as the promised Messiah. Despite the divergent path that believers in Christ followed, is there another more predominate element that would explain how the faith of the emerging nation transitioned into a world faith? There is an element of Judaism that it is so profound that scripture does not expanded on it and that is also contained in other ancient belief systems. In addition, can there be an inherent design to Judaism that has caused this large scale fragmentation of thought? Although biology has chosen to speak in a language that professes no belief in God does its perception also validate ancient beliefs that exist in our humanity? In the Jewish scriptural tradition the oneness of God is so profound that scripture writings never have a beginning. In terms of a modern writing style they never contain the first chapter because everything was one.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/03/25/aldous-huxley-moksha-drugs/