On the Origin of Satan and God of Wrath

Here is another excerpt from 'Conversation with God' by Neale Donald Walsch that I found very helpful. I always have a sense that 'God' is not this terrible 'God' that is portrayed by the Bible, but I have no way of proving it. Here is a passage on the 'Origin of Satan and God of Wrath' that is revealed from the book from 'God'.

Before this 'God of Wrath' period was the matriarch period, where God was perceived as the loving God. Men during this time have little power. Men simply do physical work to make themselves valuable. They are merely companions to females, who acted as servants and fulfilled their robust desire for lustful celebration of their Goddess magnificence. So it was not easy for men who were powerless to convince other powerless men to seek power ... until they discover fear.

Fear, with seeds of doubt, sown by the most disgruntled among the males. What if the women are wrong? What if their way of running the world wasn't the best? What if it was, in fact, leading the whole society into sure and certain annihilation?

This is something many men could not imagine. After all, didn't women have a direct line to the Goddess? The gift of bearing kids was given to women. And was not the Goddess good?

The teaching was so powerful, so pervasive, that men have no choice but to invent a devil, a Satan, to counteract the unlimited goodness of the Great Mother imagined and worshipped by the people of the matriarchy.

The one thing all of their society understood was the theory of the 'rotten apple'. Even the women saw and knew from their experience that some children simply turned out 'bad' no matter what they did.

So a myth was created. One day, the myth went, the Great Mother, the Goddess of Goddesses brought forth a child who turned out not to be good. No matter what the Mother tried, the child would not be good. Finally, he struggled with his Mother for her very throne.

This was too much, even for a loving, forgiving Mother. The boy was banished forever - but continued to show up in clever disguises and clever costumes, sometimes even posing as the Great Mother herself.

This myth laid the basis for men to ask, 'How do we know the Goddess we worship is a Goddess at all? It could be the bad child, now grown and wanting to fool us'.

By this device, men got other men to worry, then to be angry that women weren't taking their worries seriously, then to rebel.

This being you now called Satan was thus created. It was also not difficult getting anyone to accept that the bad child was male. Weren't males the inferior gender?

This device was used to set up a mythological problem. If the 'bad child' was male, if the 'evil one' was masculine, who would be there to overpower him? Surely, not a feminine Goddess. For, said the men cleverly, when it came to matters of wisdom and insight, of clarity and compassion, of planning and thinking, no one doubted feminine superiority. Yet in matters of brute strength, was not a male needed?

So, now a male was needed who could do more; a male who could also protect the Goddess and defeat the enemy. This transformation did not occur overnight but across many years.

It was not a major leap from male as protector to male as an equal partner, now standing alongside the Goddess. The male God was created, and for a while, Gods and Goddesses ruled mythology together.

Then, again gradually, Gods were given larger roles. The need for protection, for strength, began to supplant the need for wisdom and love. A new kind of love was borne in these mythologies. A love which protects with brute force. But it was a love which also covets what it protect; which was jealous of its Goddesses; which now did not simply serve their feminine lusts, but fought and died for them.

Myths began to emerge of Gods of enormous power, quarreling over, fighting for, Goddesses of unspeakable beauty. And so was born the jealous God.

It wasn't long before the jealousy of the Gods extened not only to the Goddesses - but to all creations in all realms. We had better love Him, these jealous Gods demanded, and no other God - or else!

Thus, the God of Wrath was borne. Soon, the whole idea of Deity was subverted. Instead of being the source of all love, it became the source of all fear.

A model of love which was largely feminine - the endless tolerant love of a mother for a child, and yes, even of a woman for her not-too-bright, but after all, useful man, was replaced by the jealous, wrathful love of a demanding, intolerant God who would brook no interference, allow no insouciance, ignore no offense.

The smile of the amused Goddess, experiencing limitless love and gently submitting to the laws of nature, was replaced by the stern countenance of the not-so-amused God, proclaiming power over the laws of nature, and forevermore limiting love.

This is the God you worship today, and that's how you got where you are now. It's important for you to know that you've made it all up. The idea that 'might is right' or 'power is strength' was born in your male-created theological myths. The God of wrath and jealousy and anger was an imagining. Yet, something you imagined for so long, it became real. Some of you still consider it real today. Yet, it has nothing to do with ultimate reality, or what's really going on here.

What's going on is that your soul yearns for the highest experience of itself it can imagine. It came here for that purpose - to realize itself in its experience.

Emotions - Functions and Dysfunctions

This is a excerpt from 'Conversations with God' by Neale Donald Walsh on emotions. This is how 'God' in his book explains emotions. I am paraphrasing it here. Neale has wrote a series of books on 'Conversations with God'. It you have not read them, consider reading them. I made peace with God through Buddha, but many of you might not have that experience. These books, however, are accessible to all. If you have not made peace with God, consider reading them. Once you made peace with God, you are truly at peace.

Emotions - Their Function

Grief is a part of you which allows you to say goodbye when you don't want to say goodbye. To experience the sadness within you at any kind of loss.

Anger is the tool which allows you to say 'No, thank you'. It does not have to be abusive, and it never has to be damaging to another.

Envy makes you try harder, continue striving until you succeed.

Fear is to build in a bit of caution. Caution is a tool that helps keep the body alive.

Love, when expressed naturally, it is without limitations and conditions. Healthy for both the giver and recipient.

Emotions, however, can be dysfunctional when they are repressed.

Grief, continually repressed, becomes chronic depression, an unnatural emotion.

Anger, continually repressed, becomes rage, an unnatural emotion.

Envy, continually repressed, becomes jealousy, an unnatural emotion.

Fear, continually repressed, becomes panic, an unnatural emotion.

Love, continually repressed, becomes possessiveness, an unnatural emotion.

People have killed, wars have started, nations have fallen through these unnatural emotions.

Monotheism vs Freedom

I read the letter written from the leader in Iraq. It seems the intention is toward 'monotheism', and Islam being the one, all others are 'nonbelievers'. It seems the intention is to continue this 'war' even after the Americans withdraw from Iraq.

President George Bush proclaimed that he fight for 'freedom', among other things, such as 'weapons of mass destruction'.

It is unfortunate that killing is the chosen way to achieve that purpose.

Monotheism. All things do lead back to 'God'. What else is there? Why are we killing each other for this? Is there a thing on this living earth that is not made of 'God'? It is as if you can go to a place where He is not there. It's impossible. He is everywhere.

Freedom. We all have the freedom to choose. Society will sometimes place restrictions on this 'freedom' to discourage certain types of behavior that they deem aren't good for society, but still that particular individual does have a freedom to choose. Some societies use beheadings as a form of discouragements, for others, it's jail time or pay fine. Still, nobody can take the freedom to choose from the individual. So, everybody has the freedom to choose, although the choice, once made, does have consequences.

I believe these crises serve as a catalyst for us to evolve to the next level. Christ and Buddha have showed us what we are capable of. To save this earth, it will take many of us to evolve to a higher level, where we will cease to kill because we see what we kill is also a part of us. We will reach out and help others because we see this is helping us. To raise consciousness means to see us as connected to the Source 'God', and to each other. If we can rise to this level, this can be a beautiful world indeed.

God is everywhere. This is the Garden of Eden.

I grew up requiring direct proof that God exist for me to believe, and now, I see Him everywhere. This is the 'Garden of Eden'.

I had many issues with God. One in particular is the 'Noah Ark' story, where God have this flood to destroy the 'bad' people. I usually say to God that He has set a bad example. I say now, people have an excuse to destroy people who they consider 'bad'. I also give Him the benefit of a doubt ... this is what the Bible say, of course, I don't know the 'real' you.

I also have an issue with the story of Abraham's requiring to sacrifice his son to show his faith to God. I usually say to God, if it's me, I would not sacrifice my son to show my faith to Him.

I also have an issue that if people don't believe in Him, they go to Hell. What kind of a God is He? He created them, and if He doesn't like them, He send them to Hell. Doesn't sound like a 'good' God to me, and even if there is such a God, I am not sure if I want to follow Him.

Then comes Jesus Christ. Christ is such a good person, and if Christ is like this, and He is the son of God, how come God is like that? It doesn't make any sense.

Then comes my next revelevation. From a textbook - 'How to become a Buddha'. In that text, Buddha also says, God, the creator, is full of love.

I have said a lot of things that offended Him. We have broken His commandments 'Thou shall not kill' as we are having this war. Yet, does He do anything to us ... No.

Not only that, I was awarded with the experience with a Buddha in my body. That is one experience that is profound, one that I cannot forget and cannot deny, although I cannot explain it.

But perhaps it's in science that gives me the direct proof, for the physical world as we see it everyday is really impossible, considering the nature of atoms and molecules and their tendencies. What holds us together remains an enigma. I give this credit to God. So, now God is everywhere, and this is the Garden of Eden to me. It is disheartening to see it turns into such a state. For those who love God, I see it as our role to turn this into a beautiful Garden again.

As physical beings, we are distinct from one another. However, as spiritual beings, we are all connected to one another, along with God. Jesus Christ recognized this and has the courage to come forward, and share this with us.

It is interesting that we are having this war to save something that doesnt' last - this physical form of existence. As spiritual beings, like Him, we never die.

Journalism and Blogs from Iraq

Perhaps people in the journalism feel a bit threatened by the increasing amount of blogs from Iraq, and question their role. They have different roles. Journals are supposedly more objective, and blogs are supposedly more subjective. In our society, however, we somehow value objectivity more than subjectivity, and blogs are somehow devalued because they are not objective.

To be able to express their feelings in the combat zone for the soldier is not only important, but also therapeutic, not only for the soldier, but for the community at large. Heck, this is what God is interested in ... the experience, and He is able to plug in to all of us, and we can only get what the particular soldier is willing to share.

The other idea that is going around is that for information to be valuable, it has to sit around and stew for a long period. Each time we bring back something from the past, the past has changed because we have changed. It is equally important because we see our progression of change.

Physical Beings, Spiritual Beings

It is unfortunate that there is an argument between creationism and evolution. Isn't it possible that both is correct?

My training started out in the Western world ... if A is true, then non-A cannot be true. Later, I moved on to Eastern philosophy, then I learned A and non-A can both be true, the principle of Yin and Yang, its interdependence and its transformation.

At one time, scientists argued whether light are particles or light are waves. Now, we know light have properties of both ... they are both.

Now, let's move to humans. Are they physical beings or are they spiritual beings? Well, they are both. We've studied a lot in the physical world. First, it is easier, we can see it and we can measure it. The spiritual world, it is harder to study, because we can't see it and we can't measure it. For the hypersensitive, they can pick up a lot, for others, they can't feel anything. Unfortunately, the majority are those who cannot sense it, and they often ridicule those who can sense it and has something to offer.

As physical beings, the story of evolution can be correct. As spiritual beings, the story of creation can also be true. As physical beings, western medicine have worked wonders. As spiritual beings, faith healers or other kind of energetic healers can also be as powerful.

Let's put our differences aside and work together for a better world. As physical beings, we maybe disconnected from one another, but as spiritual beings, we are all connected together. Physical beings are like light as particles. Spiritual beings are like light as waves. Both are useful and has its purposes.

Religious ... Spirituality ... Secularism ...

How do you define these terms? Where do you fit in this scheme?

Is is a religious person believe in a specific deity, and follow specific rules set out by that deity?
Is is a secular person believe that anything that is proposed by a religious group should be strike down because of the implication that this group would impose their religion on them?
And what is a spiritual person? Is this person is somewhere in between?

Am I a religious person? Definitely not. I remember being approached by a priest early on to go to church, and I usually say no. My reasons were: 1) I do not want to be told what to believe, and 2) I need direct proof to believe, and just because it comes from the bible, it isn't necessarily true, because it is written by men.

However, I did take a couple of verses from the bible and based my life on it because they were simply good advices: 1) Love thy enemy and 2) If the person slaps you on your left cheek, give them your right cheek. I suppose I chose that because I was in a 'war' situation, and I wasn't quite sure what to do should I meet 'the other side'. It's difficult to understand, but if you practice it, you will realize its transformative power, in you, and in the other person as well. That was how I escaped the 'near-death' situations back in Vietnam.

Frankly, I don't know what to believe, but I am willing to test different ideas. According to one idea, which I think, is the most useful for improving our society, everything is God, and there is nothing that is outside of God. Why are we created? So God can experience, and that experience can only comes from the physical bodies. Why are there 'good' and 'evil'? It's just a contrast so we can experience. We cannot experience something if we are in it. We can experience something only if we are outside of it.

As God create something that is outside of Himself so He can experience Himself, which is an illusion, we in turn feel disconnected from Him ... and there goes our sense of helplessness and sufferings.

In essence, we are all a part of Him. We are All One. The idea that would end divisions between us.