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I'm going with an idea that ritual doesn't serve the religion, religion serves ritual. It looks to me like Ritual is a human instinct, whether in the military, civil organisations or religion (and how often they connect!). I think we need rituals to give things a sense of meaning and validity and to bond people in. Of course they can be the kind of thing that seems like some kind of alchemy; bread turning into muscle tissue, indeed, and not even given ten minutes microwave. Or the kind of phenominalist frenzy like a rock concert or Ibitha foam orgy. This is - like prayer - about human feelings, not about cosmic truths.
I'm going with an idea that ritual doesn't serve the religion, religion serves ritual. It looks to me like Ritual is a human instinct, whether in the military, civil organisations or religion (and how often they connect!). I think we need rituals to give things a sense of meaning and validity and to bond people in. Of course they can be the kind of thing that seems like some kind of alchemy; bread turning into muscle tissue, indeed, and not even given ten minutes microwave. Or the kind of phenominalist frenzy like a rock concert or Ibitha foam orgy. This is - like prayer - about human feelings, not about cosmic truths.
The catholic church was -- for me -- overflowing in rituals. And many of them seemed pavlovian.
I see quite a bit of ritual in the Theravada Buddhist religion, as well, but it strikes me more as 'Buddhism lite' than pavlovian.
God has his own 7 feasts, 3 harvests in 2 seasons.
What would Christian traditions and rituals of Babylon teach?
They teach the first supposedly resurrected man, " Nimrod "
Every single Easter, every single Christmas and all their traditions and rituals teach of Nimrod dying and being resurrected with the name, " Tammuz."
You bake cakes on Easter for Tammuz, you put up a Christmas tree for Tammuz, you hang mistletoe for the branch of heaven," Tammuz."
It doesn't matter in the least that people call Tammuz," Jesus," the traditions and rituals alone teach Tammuz.
The Christian says," We worship Jesus," but it doesn't matter because in the rejection of the holy days of Jesus given by the father strictly prohibits the practice of Easter and Christmas besides it being pure paganism.
Tammuz is the name of the antichrist, and where you find is name in Ezekiel is the EXACT PLACE AND REASON FOR THE 666.
The traditions and rituals of Jesus teach Jesus, the traditions and rituals of Christianity teach the resurrected Messiah of Babylon.
Now the Christian will deny this because it couldn't he.them with a 666 slap dab in the middle of their forehead, " They say to themselves," So what, we Christianized all the Babylonian holy days. "
There simply is no excuse for practicing pagan Babylonian holy days and in doing so, you make.ypurself.the.enemy of every Jew and every Gentile who accepts and practices the real holy days, traditions, and rituals THAT DO IN FACT TEACH CHRIST.
That's ok, let everyone lie to themselves about what their hands teach.
To add insult to injury, the pagan Christian looks down on Pagans and Atheists.
God has his own 7 feasts, 3 harvests in 2 seasons.
What would Christian traditions and rituals of Babylon teach?
They teach the first supposedly resurrected man, " Nimrod "
Every single Easter, every single Christmas and all their traditions and rituals teach of Nimrod dying and being resurrected with the name, " Tammuz."
You bake cakes on Easter for Tammuz, you put up a Christmas tree for Tammuz, you hang mistletoe for the branch of heaven," Tammuz."
It doesn't matter in the least that people call Tammuz," Jesus," the traditions and rituals alone teach Tammuz.
The Christian says," We worship Jesus," but it doesn't matter because in the rejection of the holy days of Jesus given by the father strictly prohibits the practice of Easter and Christmas besides it being pure paganism.
Tammuz is the name of the antichrist, and where you find is name in Ezekiel is the EXACT PLACE AND REASON FOR THE 666.
The traditions and rituals of Jesus teach Jesus, the traditions and rituals of Christianity teach the resurrected Messiah of Babylon.
Now the Christian will deny this because it couldn't he.them with a 666 slap dab in the middle of their forehead, " They say to themselves," So what, we Christianized all the Babylonian holy days. "
There simply is no excuse for practicing pagan Babylonian holy days and in doing so, you make.ypurself.the.enemy of every Jew and every Gentile who accepts and practices the real holy days, traditions, and rituals THAT DO IN FACT TEACH CHRIST.
That's ok, let everyone lie to themselves about what their hands teach.
To add insult to injury, the pagan Christian looks down on Pagans and Atheists.
I respect your knowledge of the feasts and harvests, especially as they symbolically refer to the Spirit within us. But Spirit is all about our state of mind and is the primary concern of ritual which is supposed to evoke the Holy Spirit in us. What is important about those feasts and harvest is their SPIRITUAL CHARACTER, NOT their names or carnal or worldly attributes. As long as they are done in the states of mind associated with God's Holy Spirit of agape, the rest does not matter.
Philippians 2:5-30 King James Version
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
The Holy Spirit IS the True Nature of God revealed, described, and demonstrated unambiguously by Jesus. He IS agape love, kindness, mercy, compassion, gentleness, unconditional acceptance, empathy, sympathy, tolerance, long-suffering, decency, friendliness, peacefulness, joyfulness, understanding, care, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, sensitivity, tender-heartedness, soft-heartedness, warm-heartedness, warmth, love, brotherly love, tenderness, gentleness, mercifulness, leniency, lenience, consideration, kindness, humanity, humaneness, kind-heartedness, charity, benevolence, and He is non-judgmental.
The catholic church was -- for me -- overflowing in rituals. And many of them seemed pavlovian.
I see quite a bit of ritual in the Theravada Buddhist religion, as well, but it strikes me more as 'Buddhism lite' than pavlovian.
Well yes you are probably right about Catholic services, and other Liturgical churches.
But what makes some loud and manic Evangelical or Pentecostal service any better?
Pavlovian-like repetition is not such a bad thing for many people, as it reinforces beliefs.
Don’t know a lot about Buddhist services, but would be interesting to see.
I was raised a Catholic, stopped going to church when I was about 15 yrs old. Later in life, became interested in Buddhism and yoga and yogic philosophy. Read a bunch of Krishnamurti, someone my mother turned me on to, surprisingly enough. ("Truth is a pathless land.")
I have rituals that are not necessarily religious but for me come more from a spiritual perspective (if we distinguish religious vs spiritual) - a feeling of connecting to something greater than myself.
In the morning, Boo and I got outside after he's been fed. I take my coffee and we sit together (well, before the deck was demolished) and take in the morning air. We sit close to one another, touching, and both look out on the trees, watch the birds, and just connect with that beauty around us.
Now that we are getting close to winter, I light candles and prepare for the change of seasons that mimics, to me, the cycles of life. I like to reflect fall going into winter that it's now a time to slow down, settle in during the snow season, engage in slower activities, rest.....eat a bit differently, to match the season....
But even in everyday life, like riding my bike yesterday, marveling at the beauty of nature, contemplating 'LIFE,' counting my blessings, considering how much of this could be just a random cosmic accident or intelligent design......I find all of this akin to a religious ritual. And I don't mean this to diminish anyone who adheres to a strict scriptural belief. It is all a beautiful miracle, even the difficult times we go through. It is all 'for a reason.' I think.
EDIT: P.S. When I stopped going to church, it was with a heartfelt belief that God is everywhere. He hears me - if he's listening - no matter where I am.
Well yes you are probably right about Catholic services, and other Liturgical churches.
But what makes some loud and manic Evangelical or Pentecostal service any better?
Pavlovian-like repetition is not such a bad thing for many people, as it reinforces beliefs.
Don’t know a lot about Buddhist services, but would be interesting to see.
Pavlovian responses make people do things on command (such as the bell ringing during mass) without thinking, so I'm not sure it reinforces beliefs, but rather reinforces habit.
For example, I remember well when the catholic church went to services in English instead of Latin. My grandmother had a fit about it. I said, "But grandma. Now you can understand what the priest is saying". "Nope, it's supposed to be in Latin. Doesn't matter if I understand Latin".
To me, this is a cop-out. How is our mindset different? It is making excuses. They had the same feelings as we do, how could they NOT have? It is using the excuse that our ancestors and the ancients were stupid and we are clever, yet they have demonstrated they had the skills necessary to do things we cannot do today.
Are you trying to say that strong emotions and mental states of mind(whatever they are?) are what is known as the Holy Spirit? Can anyone really describe what being possessed by the HS is like? I would have thought it was probably beyond words and certainly is not something anyone can achieve however 'holy' and 'repentant' they are. Otherwise you would see HS infused people going around doing the things Jesus is supposed to have done. People in the full throws of emotion are virtually useless and are gibbering wrecks. I do not think this is a good position or state to be in and certainly does not mean you are in a state where you cannot sin. Besides sin is relative to the culture you are in at the time. Can you imagine a bunch of people all being in that state after listening to Jesus' lecture? It would be bedlam.
You misunderstand and are focusing on the wrong things. Our emotional state of mind just REFLECTS our Spiritual state which varies as we respond to the vagaries of this physical life. The only times our spiritual state can be guided by the Holy Spirit is when we are "in Christ" ("in the "mind of Christ"). The descriptions of the states of mind ASSOCIATED with God's Holy Spirit and the "mind of Christ" are those described, revealed, and demonstrated BY JESUS, NOT our ancestors' interpretations of God's inspirations.
If we could not be guided by the Holy Spirit there would be no point to our life, so we definitely CAN BE! But you are fooling yourself and missing the point if you are not aware of what state of mind you are in and ASSUME you are "in Christ" (magically or supernaturally) and being guided by the Holy Spirit. That is why I provided a list of the states of mind most associated with the "mind of Christ" and God's Holy Spirit as JESUS presented them. When you are in any of them, you are "in Christ" and cannot sin.
Philippians 2:5-30 King James Version
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
The Holy Spirit IS the True Nature of God revealed, described, and demonstrated unambiguously by Jesus. He IS agape love, kindness, mercy, compassion, gentleness, unconditional acceptance, empathy, sympathy, tolerance, long-suffering, decency, friendliness, peacefulness, joyfulness, understanding, care, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, sensitivity, tender-heartedness, soft-heartedness, warm-heartedness, warmth, love, brotherly love, tenderness, gentleness, mercifulness, leniency, lenience, consideration, kindness, humanity, humaneness, kind-heartedness, charity, benevolence, and He is non-judgmental.
Thanks for your question sorry for the delayed response. Rituals are the most fun for me in my religion it gives me a chance to play, affirm life, and practice high ceremonial Magick! Lighting candles (Earth-green) (Air-yellow) (Fire-Red) (Water-blue) (Spirit-White) in symmetry while walking outside your sacred circle as you chant the sacred words to enter your world of perfect love and perfect trust is exhilarating, intoxicating and ecstatic.
My religion involves celebrating spirituality not mourning it, so it's hard for me to understand why rituals are not part of that celebration? My mother was protestant my father was Catholic and I was always intrigued how many rituals and scripts of acknowledgement there were in the Catholic faith. I liked Ash Wednesday ritual they perform around Easter, it is similar to our Ostara ritual where we smudge our faces with mud to celebrate the return to spring and creation of life our Mother Earth gives us each year. Their ritual is more somber, our ritual is more joyful and promising because we are connected to our mother that shows us how life continues on, for the billions of years before to the billions of years to come, to let us know that life is sacred!
I can't speak for the Christian Faith but I know there are passages in the bible warning it's followers that their heart will harden with age. Don't allow yourself to become spiritually dead, enjoy life, affirm it with the awe and wonder of a child! Don't work on rituals, perform them as if your life depended on it and when you mess up!
You laugh, because you are only human, that has a sacred and beautiful connection with our Earth, our entire Cosmos and the oneness of pure being! When you can enjoy every ritualistic breath in pure ecstasy as you breathe, you found your way home to me! That is the religion I follow and pray for so hard for the poor lost souls that are spiritually dead, and hearts that are hardened.
I think your question is why go through the motions of life when you are dead? My reply is to live and to it live well! Hugs
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- about human feelings, not about cosmic truths.
