Noah’s Ark: A Sea Change in the Human Mind

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Lee — 9 Comments

What do the stories of Creation and Noah’s Ark have in common?

Umm . . . atheists and fundamentalists spend a lot of time arguing about them?

Haha! Yes they do. But besides that?

They’re both really old?

Yes, they go back thousands of years. Besides that?

They’re both in the Bible?

Well, yes, of course . . . but there are lots of other versions of these stories, too.

Okay, I give up. What do the stories of Creation and Noah’s Ark have in common?

They’re both from an ancient, mythical part of the Bible that was never meant to be taken literally. These are symbolic stories about the human condition, and about our relationship with God.

Oh really? Says who?

Just go with me on this one, okay? You’ll see. If we think of these as symbolic rather than literal stories:

We don’t have to waste our time arguing about science vs. the Bible.
We don’t have to think of these as just some old, outdated stories.
We don’t have to worry about which culture’s version of them is “right.”
We can find a deeper meaning in them that is just as true today as it ever was.

Does God really care what we believe about science and history? If the Bible is the Word of God as Christians believe it is, then isn’t it about the things God truly cares about? Spiritual things?

Noah’s Ark at sea

Let’s take a deeper look at the story of the Great Flood, and see what meaning it holds for us. Though the literal story is about a great, world-destroying flood, at a deeper level it tells the story of a great sea change in the human mind.

This change is something that the human race went through thousands of years ago as we made the transition from being pre-literate, nomadic hunter-gatherers to a more settled agrarian culture with spoken language and written literature.

It is also a change that each one of us goes through individually, from our own mythic times of infancy through the awakening of our thinking mind in early childhood.

Yes, all of this—and much more—is in the story of Noah and the Ark.

We are speaking of divine literature, not a human textbook of science and history. The depths of meaning contained within it put all the materialistic, quasi-scientific arguments of the fundamentalists into the shade.

For more on the depths of meaning in the Noah story, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: atheism, children, developmental psychology, divided mind, fundamentalism, Noah, Noah and the Ark, Noah's Ark, spiritual meaning, stages of childhood development, the Bible, The Great Flood
Posted in Science Philosophy and History, The Bible Re-Viewed

A Christian Movie Review of Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah”

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Lee — 20 Comments

(Warning: major movie plot spoilers below)

Noah Movie Poster

First, the disclaimer: Darren Aronofsky’s movie Noah is not faithful to the Bible story. If your primary interest is to see a dramatization of the Bible narrative of Noah and the Ark as told in Genesis 6–9, this is not the movie for you.

Here’s the official disclaimer from Paramount Pictures:

The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis.

Let’s just say that this disclaimer is a masterful piece of PR designed to placate the faithful while still giving the impression that Noah is faithful to the Bible story.

For the most part, it’s not.

We’ll list some of the accuracies and inaccuracies of the movie shortly.

Yes Noah does get some things right. The reference to movies “inspired by a true story” is apt: this movie does draw its central theme of the Great Flood, along with the names of various characters, from the Bible story. However, the departures from the Bible version are so fundamental and overwhelming that the movie must be viewed as a very different story than the one told in the Bible.

Why would anyone want to see Noah?

It’s a big American action flick that engages with Biblical themes, even if it doesn’t get them quite right. And unlike many previous dramatizations of the story, it does take a serious stab at capturing the intensity of a mythic Biblical event that changed the course of humankind. After seeing this film, it is no longer possible to imagine Noah as some delightful Doctor Doolittle character from a cute little children’s story. For that alone, it is worth seeing the film.

In the next article we’ll look at the Bible narrative itself, and consider some of the deep and powerful human realities embodied in the story of Noah and the Ark. The Great Flood marks pivotal phase shift in the spiritual history of humankind, and in our own early formative years as individual human beings. See “Noah’s Ark: A Sea Change in the Human Mind.”

For now, let’s take a closer look at the movie Noah, and how it compares to the Bible story. As it turns out, the movie delivers a modern story about our relationship with the earth, while the book delivers an ancient story about our relationship with God and with one another.

For more on the Bible’s Noah vs. Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Anthony Hopkins, Christian movie reviews, Christianity, Darren Aronofsky, Jennifer Connelly, movie reviews, Noah, Noah 2014 movie, Ray Winstone, Russell Crowe, the Bible, The Great Flood
Posted in Popular Culture, The Bible Re-Viewed

The Bible Says It, and I Believe It!

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Lee — Leave a comment

The Bible

I’ve written a new article on Christian Beliefs that the Bible Does Teach. It is a companion piece to my previous article, “Christian Beliefs” that the Bible Doesn’t Teach.

This new article is meant to show that the basic beliefs behind the articles here on Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life are solidly based on the Bible.

But more than that, the purpose of the article is to provide some simple, practical, Bible-based beliefs for anyone who wants to live a truly Christian life.

Here is a quote from the first part of the new article:

The Bible is far more concerned with how we live our life than with what we believe. The Bible is a practical book, not an abstract theological treatise.

Still, the Bible does provide us with a foundation of basic beliefs that we can trust and use as guides for everyday life.

Here are some Christian beliefs that the Bible does teach:

      There is one God, and Jesus Christ is that God

      Believing in Jesus Christ leads to salvation

      We must not do evil and destructive things

      We must do things that are good and right

      We must recognize that the power to do these things comes from God

Let’s take a quick look at each of these Christian beliefs, and what the Bible has to say about them.

These five points are adapted from a statement of basic Christian beliefs found in True Christianity #3, written by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772).

Any time you want to refer to this article, you will find it linked prominently near the top of the right column on Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life, along with its companion piece.

To read the whole article, please follow this link:

Christian Beliefs that the Bible Does Teach

If you like it, please tell your friends and family. Links to it from any web pages you host are also much appreciated. Thank you.

Enjoy!

Tagged with: cease to do evil, Christian beliefs, Christianity, Emanuel Swedenborg, evil, faith, faith and works, God, Jesus Christ, learn to do good, spirituality, the Bible, there is one God
Posted in All About God, Spiritual Growth, The Bible Re-Viewed

The Basketball Eyes of Isaiah Austin: “Your Excuse or Your Story?”

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Lee — 2 Comments

Isaiah Austin

(For a follow-up story, see “Isaiah Austin’s Marfan Syndrome: Another Life or Death Choice.”)

Isaiah Austin has two eyes. Only one of them works.

He had a decision to make. That decision would determine his future.

Would he go with the bad eye, or with the good one?

An AP news piece tells the story. At about twelve years old, Austin got hit in the eye with a baseball. He didn’t lose sight in that eye then, but the accident did loosen his retina. Two years later, when he was in eighth grade, the retina detached when Austin, then 6’7″ tall, dunked the ball while doing his usual warm-ups for a middle school basketball game. Four surgeries later, it became clear that his right eye would never see again.

As he tells it, his biggest fear during that year of unsuccessful surgeries was that his days of playing basketball were over. He asked his mother, Lisa Green, “How am I going to get through this?”

“You can make it your excuse, or you can make it your story,” she said. “You can touch lives or you can be a quitter.”

The challenge of those words, spoken to him out of love, became the touchstone that helped him to put his life back on track.

Soon he was back out on the basketball court, struggling and working to learn how to shoot and how to play without his former depth perception.

Isaiah Austin had decided to go with the good eye.

But that didn’t mean it was going to be easy.

For more on Isaiah Austin’s decision, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: basketball, Baylor Bears, Baylor University, blindness, choice of life or death, inspirational stories, inspiring sports stories, Isaiah Austin, Lisa Green, NBA Basketball, sightless eye, sports injuries
Posted in Sports and Recreation

Kush Sharma and Sophia Hoffman Battle Words, Not Each Other, in Spelling Bee

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Lee — 2 Comments

Kush Sharma and Sophia Hoffman

A week ago in Jackson County, Missouri, an epic spelling bee battle between fifth-grader Sophia Hoffman and seventh-grader Kush Sharma finally came to an end. In the first part of the match—which was only meant to have one part—the two went sixty-six rounds, exhausting all of the words that the organizers had prepared for the spelldown.

In the second part of the competition, held two weeks later, they went almost thirty rounds before Sophia Hoffman stumbled on “stifling.” Kush Sharma then defeated “definition” (after asking for its definition, of course!) to win the match. As for some of the words they had to spell in between . . . well, let’s just say that spelling bees were about the only teams I was picked first for when I was in grade school, and I’m glad I didn’t have to spell those words!

Of course, the win was very exciting for Sharma, who will now go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

It was also very disappointing for Hoffman, who got so close, only to fall short after so many rounds. Her father was philosophical for her: “I think it is part of the growth of the kids to learn how to work through disappointment and come out stronger,” he said, as reported in an AP story.

The two middle schoolers had become friends during the long matchup, so even for Sharma, the victory was bittersweet. After he won, he was quick to show Hoffman support and appreciation.

However, what really piqued my interest was something he said in an interview with KCUR Radio. Speaking for himself and his fellow contestant, Sharma made this philosophical statement: “I don’t think we see it as I beat her or she beats me. I think it’s like the word beat me.”

Now that’s grace in victory! And it shows a wisdom beyond his years.

For Sharma, the opponent is not the other person. It’s the challenge and the task we’re up against.

For more on battling the words, the world, but not the people, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: children, enemies, Jackson County, Kansas City, Kush Sharma, Missouri, Scripps National Spelling Bee, Sophia Hoffman, spelling bee, spelling bees, spiritual battles, spirituality, war
Posted in Current Events

The Bible, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Reincarnation

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Lee — 761 Comments

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

“Do you believe in reincarnation?”

I’ve been asked this question many times over the years.

Sometimes it’s a litmus test question. The people asking already either believe in reincarnation or they don’t. If my answer agrees with their view, they’ll see me as enlightened. If not, they’ll see me as unenlightened. So it’s always tempting to answer with a light-hearted, paradoxical non-answer of the type a certain uncle of mine loves: “Not this time around!”

But the question keeps coming. People also want to know what the Bible says about reincarnation. And they want to know whether my favorite theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), says anything about reincarnation. Some are sincerely looking for understanding on this often confusing subject.

For example, here is part of a comment that a reader named Mark left on the article, “If there’s One God, Why All the Different Religions?”

Specifically however, please enlighten those of us who remain confused by reincarnation. As an example, Krishna conciousness teaches an absolutely beautiful and devoted life to God (whom appears in any way he chooses but still only ONE god). The bible seems to teach that we come through this human “life” but once. I understand that this could be once per each human life and I have considered that each human life, even reincarnated, is once. Please provide your take on this. Unless I have misunderstood, according to Krishna teachings, heaven is not the “final” or utmost attainment.

We’ll dig into all of this in a few minutes. But first, for those of you who just want the quick answers so that you can move on:

I do not believe in reincarnation (though I do think it points to a deeper truth).
The Bible does not support reincarnation (and it never did).
Emanuel Swedenborg also does not support reincarnation (but he explains why people think it happens).

There! I’ve said it!

If you still want to learn more, settle in. This is going to take some time. But it will be worth your time if you want a thoughtful, spiritual, non-dogmatic Christian response to the currently popular belief in reincarnation.

For more on Christianity, Swedenborg, and reincarnation, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: born again, death, Emanuel Swedenborg, heaven, Heaven and Hell, hell, justice, Nicodemus, past life regression, reincarnation, spiritual rebirth, spirituality, the spiritual world
Posted in Spiritual Growth, The Afterlife, The Bible Re-Viewed

Is the Bible a Book of Absolute Nonsense?

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Lee — 13 Comments

A reader named John recently left this comment on the post, “Curses or Consequences: Did God Really Curse Adam and Eve?“

I think it’s the same as 99.85% of the worlds Scientists .. That man evolved and the bible is a book of absolute nonsense, written by anonymous bronze age Nomads, who thought the Earth was a ” circle ” at the centre of the Universe and the Moon was a ” Lamp ” ..

Christians are delusional and deceive themselves into believing things that simply cannot be true ..

Hi John,

Thanks for stopping by, and for your comment. You may be surprised to hear that I agree with most of what you are saying—except your statement that “the Bible is a book of absolute nonsense.”

I’m a theist myself. Yet I enjoy conversations with thoughtful atheists. I often come away with new ideas and perspectives that add to my understanding of the universe we live in.

It is quite surprising to me, however, that many atheists take the same approach to the Bible as fundamentalist and evangelical Christians. They read it as if it were meant to be a literal, inerrant text. The only real difference is that the fundamentalists and evangelicals believe in that interpretation, whereas the atheists reject it—and the Bible along with it.

And yet . . . that literal view of the Bible is an anomaly in the history of Bible-based beliefs. In fact, it is a very recent development in Bible interpretation.

For more on the Bible, science, and nonsense, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: atheism, Christianity, culture, fundamentalism, history, inerrantism, metaphor, mythology, religion, science, symbolism, the Bible
Posted in Science Philosophy and History, The Bible Re-Viewed

Bible Study Notes, by Anita S. Dole

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Lee — 4 Comments

Practical and spiritual Bible lessons for all ages

In the early 1950s, Anita S. Dole completed a graded set of Bible Study Notes intended for use in Swedenborgian Sunday Schools. Since then, they have become popular with Bible students all over the world. This is one of the finest sets of Bible lessons available today, offering both practical wisdom for daily life based on the Bible story itself and spiritual insights based on the symbolic or “correspondential” method of Bible interpretation taught by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772).

Bible Study Notes, by Anita S. Dole, 6 volume set

The notes for each Bible story start with the basics for young children, and progress up through the age groups, adding more and more depth to the story as they go along, and culminating in the adult-level notes. Many adult readers find that the children’s lessons are just what they need to get a handle on the Bible stories! Yet even advanced Bible students will find a rare depth of understanding here.

Since these notes were written over sixty years ago, they have a “classic” feel about them. Yet the lessons for daily life and for a deeper, more spiritual view of the Bible stand the test of time.

On a personal note, Anita Dole was my grandmother. She was married to the Rev. Louis A. Dole (my maternal grandfather, many of whose sermons are posted here), and taught Sunday School for many years during his pastorates in Fryeburg and Bath, Maine. She also taught the teen class for many years at Fryeburg New Church Assembly. My father, the Rev. Dr. William R. Woofenden, edited this six volume set from its original looseleaf form.

To purchase the Bible Study Notes direct from the publisher, click on the image above, or on any of the title links.

For further description and review, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Anita Dole, Anita S. Dole, Bible students, Bible Study Notes, Christianity, Emanuel Swedenborg, spiritual meaning, Sunday School, Sunday School curriculum, Sunday School notes, Swedenborg Bible study, Swedenborg Foundation, the Bible
Posted in Books and Literature, The Bible Re-Viewed

What Does it Mean When My Parents Die? Will I See Them Again?

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Lee — 189 Comments

In a spiritual conundrum submitted to Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life, a reader named Tom asks:

I just stumbled upon your website in my spiritual search and I am glad I did. Over the last 3 years I have lost both my parents and these events have made me consciously aware of my own death. I used to feel more comfortable with what awaits us on the other side but I am now more scared than ever there may be nothing. I guess I am looking for some comfort that my parents are ok and I will see them again one day. Thanks.

First, my thoughts are with you, Tom, on the loss of your parents.

Rising from Death

Both of my parents also died within the past few years. I wrote about their passing in an article, “When Death is a Celebration.”

It is very common for us to contemplate the meaning of life and death when our parents’ time of death arrives. Whatever our relationship may have been with them, knowing that they are gone changes our view of ourselves. There is no longer an older generation above us. Now, in a psychological sense, we’re on our own. Now we have to think about why we’re here on earth, and about where we are headed in life and in our own eventual death.

So your spiritual conundrum raises at least two issues that confront us at the time of our parents’ deaths:

Are my parents okay, and will I see them again one day?
What does my parents’ death mean for my own life?

Let’s look at these questions in reverse order.

For more on the meaning of our parents’ death, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: death, Death and Rebirth, Emanuel Swedenborg, heaven, Heaven and Hell, near-death experiences, on death and dying, resurrection, rising from death, the afterlife, the death of parents, the spiritual world, the world of spirits
Posted in The Afterlife

Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw: When a Hero Says he’s Not a Hero

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Lee — 10 Comments

Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw

In our hero-worshipping culture, what happens when someone hailed as a hero rejects that label?

On January 28 of this year, during the snow storm that paralyzed much of the U.S. South, Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw received a call that an emergency brain surgery was needed to save a patient at the hospital where he works, Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. At the time, he was six miles away at another hospital, Brookwood Medical Center, where he had been assisting another doctor in surgery.

All in a day’s work.

Only this wasn’t an ordinary day.

Dr. Hrynkiw attempted to drive over to his hospital, but he didn’t get far. The roads were jammed with accidents, stuck vehicles, and roadblocks. So he got out of his car and started walking.

Along the way, he used his cell phone to keep in contact with Steve Davis, the charge nurse at the neurological intensive care unit at Trinity Medical Center, getting updates on the patient and giving instructions for medications and preparations for surgery. Without immediate surgery, the patient had a 10% chance of survival. Dr. Hrynkiw was not going to let him die—snowstorm or no snowstorm.

When AL.com picked up the story, Dr. Hrynkiw was hailed as a hero.

But he insists that there was no heroism involved. He was just doing his job. In a follow-up interview with AL.com, he had this to say:

Interviewer: Why do you think this is such a big story?

Dr. Hrynkiw: It’s not. I don’t understand it. (pauses) It’s not a story.

And when a Huffington Post interviewer bubbled over about how heroic his actions were, Dr. Hrynkiw brushed it off:

Interviewer: Everyone seems to be calling your actions “beyond heroic.” Do you feel like a hero?

Dr. Hrynkiw: No! I think this is much ado about nothing. I mean, basically, that’s my job, and you know, you gotta do what you gotta do.

He matter-of-factly described the events of the day and the patient’s almost certain death if he didn’t make it, adding that it wasn’t going to happen on his watch—as if walking six miles in the snow is just what an ordinary human being does in the course of his job.

And you know, he’s right!

Or at least, he should be.

For more on Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw just doing his job, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Alabama, Birmingham, Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw, emergency brain surgery, heroes, neurosurgery, parable of the unworthy servant, service, Steve Davis, Trinity Medical Center, work, Zenko Hrynkiw, Zenko Hrynkiw walks six miles
Posted in Current Events

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Practical and spiritual Bible lessons for all ages

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