The Clashing of Polytheism and One G-d In Middle East Affected the World

Nadene  Goldfoot                                                

 Then and Now Bible Map compares a Bible map of Israel, Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia during Old Testament times―side-by-side with a map of modern-day Middle Eastern countries including Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel.  

 Blue water top left is Mediterranean Sea;  then pink land is Arabian Desert; Green land left is Mesopotamia , yellow land left is (Persia, Media Armenia ) going northward.     

Pink land on right is Saudi Arabia, then above the yellow is pink which is Syria;   Orange land is Iran on right.  Green is Iraq on right.                                                                                                                                      

        Here we see Egypt where Jews lived in Goshen, the Nile Delta area in Pink.  the green Akkadian Empire and the small Sumer land with Ur.  Canaanites along the coast were a mixture of Horites, Hittites and Hebrews dating back to the Hyksos period of 17th century BCE.  Syrians used the name  for themselves.  They were almost obliterated or assimilated by the Israelites by the 13th century BCE; and by the Philistines along the coast in 12th century BCE,  and then the Arameans in the north by the 11th century BCE.  The remnants fought kings David and his son, Solomon and were absorbed.  The name was remembered by the Sidonians and Phoenicians.                                                                                                                                        

  There were twelve principal deities in the Greek pantheon. Foremost was Zeus, the sky god and father of the gods, to whom the ox and the oak tree were sacred; his two brothers, Hades and Poseidon, reigned over the Underworld and the sea, respectively.     

                                                                     

Roman Gods, similar to the Greek ones only Roman names  The most important group of deities were the Deii Consentes, the twelve gods and goddesses of the Roman pantheon: Jupiter and Juno, Neptune and Minerva, Mars and Venus, Apollo and Diana, Vulcan and Vesta, Mercury and Ceres.

In biblical days, all these places believe in polytheism;  many gods. The whole world believed in many gods;  Greeks, then Romans, India with Hindi's, England, you name them.  

Only one pharaoh, Akhenaten, believed in one god. He founded the palace-city of Amarna as a centre for his religious beliefs. Akhenaten's religious reforms were not entirely new, but his exclusion of the cult of other deities marks a break with traditions. The Aten, or sun disc, was worshipped as the main deity.  believe in the sun as a god (one god), and it was a terribly unpopular idea for the people.  

         The Hindu deity concept varies from a personal god as in Yoga school of Hindu philosophy, to thirty-three major deities in the Vedas, to hundreds of deities mentioned in the Puranas of Hinduism. Illustrations of major deities include Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva, Parvati, Brahma and Saraswati. Today that has changed.  The majority of Asian Indians practice the Hinduism. The other major regions are Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam; and a small percentage of population practice Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Baha'I' Faith.                                 

                                           Abraham and Sarah                                       That was 3,971 years ago. Abraham and his family believed in one god.  

     Moses bartering with a new Pharaoh who didn't know him; in releasing the Israelites to Moses.  It is not surprising then that there were over 2,000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Some of these deities' names are well known: Isis, Osiris, Horus, Amun, Ra, Hathor, Bastet, Thoth, Anubis, and Ptah while many others less so.   

Abraham and his family believed in one god.  Moses was from his family born in 1391  who brought his people the Mosaic law which in turn was the Jewish law, continuing the belief in one G-d.  That was 3,414 years ago.  They were on the Exodus from Egypt to Canaan at the time.  It continued without Moses being he died just before arriving at Canaan, but Joshua took over leading the people.  Where it took Moses 40 years to lead the 600,000 Israelites and others out of Egypt to Canaan, today one can fly there from Cairo to Jerusalem in 5 hours and 30 minutes.  

Christianity was born out of  Hellenistic Judaism by Jesus who died in 29 CE,, but taken over by Emperor Constantine's mother, Helena. They Hellenized the one G-d belief even more as time went on, adding pieces to it from the Roman experience.  

The government was now the Byzantine Empire centered in Constantinople, Turkey. 

It was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to the Roman Empire, and later, when Franks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from the fifth century (400s)  onwards. The area became fully Christianized by the time of Charlemagne in the eighth and ninth century (700s and 800s).

By 640, again; in 721 and 873 The Jews in the Byzantine Empire were forcibly converted to Christianity.  

The Byzantine Empire was the eastern Roman Empire covering a vast land area till 637 CE which included Palestine.  As they developed they brought on more regulations concerning Jews.;  our religious life.  Emperor Justinian (527-565) continued to pressure against Jews with elaborate anti-Jewish laws in his Code, issued a decree in 533 which interfered with the conduct of the synagogue services.  Heraclius is reported in 614 to have issued an edict ordering the conversion of the Jews.  The practice of Judaism was formally forbidden by successive emperors;  by Leo in 723, by Basil I in 873 and 874; by Romanus Lucapernus in 932-936, etc.  On each occasion Jewish life re-established itself though Jews were treated with contempt.  

Although Christianity in Britain tends to be associated with the arrival of St Augustine's mission to the English from Rome in 597, it had already taken root in Roman Britain in the 4th century.  England expulsed the Jews in 1290 and didn't allow any back until 1655; 365 years of being away.  

Eastern Europe took longer to become Christianized.                               In 966 Mieszko I, the founder of the dynasty, was baptised and introduced Christianity to Poland. Thus, Poland entered into the sphere of Christian and Latin traditions in about 970 CE, then. The Piasts united the lands that covered roughly the present territory of Poland. During the following centuries, the Polish State expanded eastwards.  Vladimir decided to adopt Christianity - the state religion of Byzantium - one of the mightiest states in Europe and Asia of that time. Historians consider 988 CE as the year of Christianity adoption in Russia.     The Christianization of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos krikštas) occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Christianity by Lithuania, the last pagan country in Europe.  By 1495 Jews were expelled from Lithuania.  

Remember it was in 1492 that Columbus said the ocean blue.  180,000 Jews were expulsed from Spain.  50,000  were converted to Christianity to be able to remain in Spain, known as conversos. On March 31, 1492, shortly after the end of the Granada War, the Catholic Monarchs signed the decree of expulsion of the Jews in Granada, which was sent to all the cities, towns and lordships of their kingdoms with strict orders to not read it or make it public until May 1. The Granada War (Spanish: Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada.  The Nasrid dynasty was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula.

Islam didn't take place with Abraham's other line of Ishmael, son of Hagar, Sarah's  Egyptian handmaid until about 610 CE when Mohammad was 40. This happened 1,413 years ago.  It was Mohammad (570-632 CE)  from Medina, Saudi Arabia, who heard the Jewish history being orated by Jews and Christians he had passed by and listened to or during the Meccan trade caravans he was on.  Mohammad became a prophet, and was a general leading his troops as well, so he was already a leader. Being he couldn't read or write, he had scribes take his dictation down and the Koran was written.  Mohammad thought the Jews would convert to his new concept of religion, but they wouldn't, so he was confused and angry.  Suddenly the Koran had phrases added that were against Jews. 

The Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) conducts flight operations with an unmanned aerial vehicle in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, Oct. 23. Components of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval

Since the 30th of October 2023, U.S. troops have been attacked by Iranian-backed militias at least 23 times in less than two weeks, Pentagon officials said Oct. 30, providing the most comprehensive account of the American military’s recent confrontation with Tehran’s proxies in Iraq and Syria. At least 14 of these rocket and one-way drone attacks have occurred in Iraq, while another nine were carried out in Syria, the officials said.  Several of the militia attacks took place after the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the groups it backs in eastern Syria on Oct. 26 in an effort to deter further hostilities. “Iran’s strategic objective has not changed,” a senior defense official told reporters. “Iran’s objective for a long time has been to force a withdrawal of the U.S. military from the region. What I would observe is that we’re still there.”  U.S. troops are in Iraq and Syria to advise and mentor local partners who are working to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. Some 2,500 U.S. troops are in Iraq working with Iraqi forces, while 900 troops are in Syria.   

Resource:

https://www.amazon.com/Middle-East-Then-Now-Testament/dp/9901980429  map picture

If Reincarnation Is Happening

Nadene Goldfoot                                                     

  Reincarnation of Bridey Murphy appeared, 100 years after Tighe had died.  

On the 15th of July, 1988, Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, Brian L. Weiss, MD, was published.   His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives has been talked about ever since.  He had accidently discovered reincarnation through this patient.

To help his patient, he had used hypnotism on her in order to discover the origin of her problems, and had rather accidently taken her back before her birth.  She had a Bridey Murphy experience, becoming another person in another life!!!

The tale of Bridey Murphy was the first story I had ever heard of that is similar to Weiss's experience.   Not many people realize that, throughout the 1950s, the United States developed an infatuation with reincarnation due to the tale of Bridey Murphy. Under hypnosis, a Colorado housewife named Virginia Tighe claimed to be a reincarnated Irish housewife named Bridey Murphy. Speaking in a thick Irish brogue, Murphy told those in the rooms with her tales of her life in Ireland – which had taken place 100 years before. This case of Colorado reincarnation in 1952 led to a media frenzy and widespread fascination with the concept of past life regression and reincarnation. 

As reporters researched the story, it became increasing apparent Tighe's claims were inaccurate. After the discovery of a neighbor she had known growing up named Bridie, people came to believe this was a case of cryptomnesia. This is a phenomenon in which someone recalls lost memories and falsely believes them to be new, leading to confusing recollections that may explain past-life memories. Despite the fact Tighe was likely not the reincarnation of Murphy – Murphy had not been resurrected in her body – the case continues to be a fascinating study in public curiosity and the fallible nature of memory.                                  

Reincarnation is the religious belief of the Hindus.     "Reincarnation, also called transmigration or metempsychosis, in religion and philosophy, rebirth of the aspect of an individual that persists after bodily death—whether it be consciousness, mind, the soul, or some other entity—in one or more successive existences." The soul is seen as immortal and the only thing that becomes perishable is the body. Upon death, the soul becomes transmigrated into a new infant (or animal) to live again. The term transmigration means passing of soul from one body to another after death.            

 Shirley MacLaine, singer, dancer, actress and writer, wrote 'Out On A Limb," about her own experience with reincarnation, published in 1983.   It details MacLaine's journeys through New Age spirituality. The book follows her from southern California to various locations including New York City, Europe, and Hawaii, culminating in a life-changing trip to the Andes Mountains in Peru. Central characters.

The book received both acclaim and criticism for its candor in dealing with such topics as reincarnation, meditation, mediumship (trance-channeling), and even unidentified flying objects. It made Shirley MacLaine the butt of many jokes, especially by late-night television comedians.  Out on a Limb was adapted for television broadcast in 1987. The five-hour ABC miniseries starred MacLaine (as herself).   

The prominent psychiatrist, Brian Weiss, is Jewish.  What does Judaism say about reincarnation?  We do believe in it, which is a new belief from Kabbalah, also a newer layer of Judaism.  You can say that a few are into it, but most may not be believers of it.  So it may not have been that big a shock when his patent regressed into another person.  However, he may not have known about the condition of  cryptomnesia.

Rabbi Hayyim Angel has also written an essay on "Afterlife in Jewish Thought." Here is an excerpt:

"There is a paucity of explicit references to afterlife—whether a bodily 

resurrection or a soul world—in Tanakh. The Torah promises this-worldly 

rewards and punishments for faithfulness or lack thereof to God and the 

Torah. It does not promise heaven for righteousness, nor does it threaten 

hell or the absence of heaven for sinfulness. Given the 

ancient world’s 

belief in, and even obsession with immortality and 

afterlife, the Torah’s 

silence is all the more remarkable.

Aside from the lack of explicit references to afterlife in the Torah, one 

might have expected an appeal to afterlife in the Book of Job. For all the 

arguments raised by Job’s so-called friends, they never invoke afterlife in 

their attempts to vindicate Job’s unfair suffering. Rather, Job and his 

friends agree with the biblical premise that ultimate justice must occur 

during one’s lifetime. Job insisted that his suffering was unjust, whereas 

his friends assumed that he must have deserved his punishment."

                                              

However, according to Chabad who teach about such 

things, , whose comment on 

reincarnation in the Kabbalah, is that : "The soul is 

eternal, a spark of the Divine, or 

as the prophet Job calls it “a part of G‑d above.” The soul 

exists before it enters the body and it lives after the body is 

laid to rest. Though the soul’s place of origin is in the higher 

worlds, there is something that the soul can achieve in a body 

that it cannot achieve in the heavenly realms. It has already 

been explained that the purpose of creation is to make an 

abode for the Divine in this world. Although higher worlds are 

glorious in terms of revelation and offer the best reward for a 

soul after it has achieved its earthly mission, the heavenly 

realms are not the purpose of creation. It was G‑d’s desire to 

create a world where His presence would be acutely 

concealed and darkness and evil would 

prevail. He charged 

his children with the task of creating a home in 

this world, and 

the soul fulfills that mission by its adherence 

to Torah and Mitzvot.(good deeds-like visiting 

the 

sick.)   The earliest roots of Kabbala are traced to Merkava 

mysticism. It began to flourish in Palestine in the 1st 

century 

ce and had as its main concern ecstatic and mystical 

contemplation of the divine throne, or “chariot” 

(merkava), 

seen in a vision by Ezekiel, the prophet (Ezekiel 1). 

                                        

Safed became a center of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) 

during the 16th century. After the expulsion of the Jews from 

Spain in 1492, many prominent rabbis found their way to 

Safed, among them the Kabbalists Isaac Luria and Moshe 

Kordovero; Joseph Caro, the author of the Shulchan 

Aruch and Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, composer of 

the Sabbath hymn "Lecha Dodi".            

What was important to Weiss and his patient were comments coming from his patient, that were apart from the reporting of the patient, Catherine, said to be coming from "The Messenger."  It was a spirit there to teach the doctor as to how to help his patients work on more views of their outlook on life, sort of like our 10 basic laws with some more, like our 613 Jewish laws of behavior.  They seem to be very common sense, not going against anything in any religion, but things that have been possibly ignored.  It's about the growth of our spirit.  They go through 7 stages.  

"No.  We go through so many stages when we're here.  We shed a baby body, go into a child's, from child to an adult, an adult into old age.  Why should we go one step beyond and shed the adult body and go on to a spiritual plane!" p. 140. 

The 7 heavens that the Quran of Islam refers to:  

In religious or mythological cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven levels or divisions of the Heavens (Heaven). The concept, also found in the ancient Mesopotamian religions, can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; a similar concept is also found in some other religions such as Hinduism. 

Latter-day Mormons can distinguish between 1. acelerity, 2. aterrestrial, and a 3. telestial place of heaven.There will only be one living in the heavens, the celestial kingdom. The Trinity (the God existing in three persons), which Christian followers do not appreciate (their concept of God existing as three persons).

Here is a Mormon perspective on the Jewish concept of 7 heavens:

A famous system, which I've never heard of,  of Seven Heavens for Jews developed in the 1st millennium CE.   The first heaven, called Vilon (*), belongs exclusively to the family of Angels: it is the closest of the seven heavens to our planet: It is home to angels and angels are considered the highest spirits.  It is believed by Jews that any attempts to preserve the world around us will result in a good afterlife.  This would refer to "repairing the world, Tikkun Olam", that I do know about.  There are Jewish claims that all Jews receive new life as a result of reincarnation throughout their lives and into their deaths.

Before I go on any further, I wonder if Weiss's patient, Catherine, might be Mormon or Muslim or a Kabbalaist.  She might be repeating lessons learned and forgotten, in that part of the brain.  

No doubt that the "lessons" Weiss was uncovering could help him help patients, but he was helping his patient anyway, with his own methods, as it was.  

"It's about coexistence...and harmony....the balance of things."  I knew the Masters were nearby....... The Masters told her through Catherine that if the person didn't learn an important lesson in this life, they would have to repeat it in another life and get it right before they could go on to another level.  

My thoughts on this is that Hitler should be reborn in an ant's body and have to go through all the forms of creation to get it right.  

What this is leading to is that one must be a good person in this life.  There is no allowing one to shirk their responsibility for being good.  Actually, following the commandments, either the 7 for most people or the actual 10 for Jews couldn't hurt in order to reach "Nirvana" or that  place of perfect peace and happiness, like heaven. In Hinduism and Buddhism, Nirvana is the highest state that someone can attain, a state of enlightenment, meaning a person's individual desires and suffering go away., the 7th heaven -being perfect.  You can't expect another person to take on your errors in life, only you.  

The question of following an orthodox Jewish life comes to mind.  The reason for all that is expected, that was created more by the rabbis than by the laws that Moses brought to us, the whole package of 613, have developed for a reason, to create a body of religious people who will keep all this in mind.  It's a conditioning process, in my opinion, and a good one.  It has kept us together for about 4,000 years.  

We've reached a new era in all aspects, questioning religion, having the highest of technologies, and yet we have war continuing, viruses that keep on mutating, and the possibility of even  destroying our own planet.  No wonder we're seeing UFO's  or whatever they are now being called-UAPs, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.  We may be on the verge of what has always been referred to as "The End Times."  it's like math;  the highest of intelligence/ the desire to kill.  It bubbles over in all the shootings happening, in schools, hospitals, cities.  Many children are walking around in fear for their lives.  The good old days of my youth may never return.  There's no real door we can go through to a past generation like in "Outlanders."  We're stuck in the time period we ourselves have helped to create.  Everyone needs to work on "repairing the world."  

                                                                                       

Resource:

Book: many Lives, Many Masters, by Brian L. Weiss, M.D.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomnesia

https://www.ranker.com/list/bridey-murphy-reincarnation/erin-wisti

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_on_a_Limb_(book)

https://www.jewishideas.org/

https://www.jewishideas.org/heaven-hell-and-afterlife-jewish-thought?gclid=CjwKCAjwtcCVBhA0EiwAT1fY70mntly8DxTYhMsvdBUY7u9gE2W2SZK0E9lBvV8yVatK7l2KiyFbBRoCwBIQAvD_BwE