AMEN

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Amen means: "So let it be"

Amen (at) Amen (dot) Africa

Amen is for those who have left Christianity and for those who are in it, but have questions about it but do not know where to turn for answers, direction, or support. I have myself struggled with Christianity for years and understand the frustration and bewilderment involved in the search for truth.

In my journey for truth I began to realize that I was rationalizing the contradictions in the Bible. If the Bible is the "word of God" (language cannot hold nor convey truth, but this is another subject in itself) then how can it be so problematic? If God is so powerful as to be able to create the universe then how can he be without power to protect his own word as an original document after he created it? In April 2023 I read Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus by Joseph Atwill which impacted me so much that I completely abandoned Christianity because I discovered it is based on a fraud. I cried that day because for me it was like losing a loved one. "It's gone forever from my life!" I felt bettrayed. Today I have no religion, nor do I want another one. I also found that living a good live and being spiritually minded need not depend on any religion or statement of faith, but can be achieved by looking within ourselves (esoterism) and by living our lives according to principles, not rules.

Amen is not about telling anyone what religion they shd or shd not have, (if any), and I respect everyone's choice to follow their own path. It is not my business to change anyone nor to tell anyone what is right or wrong for them. I am here rather to present information, then let you decide. But most people do not want to see all of the evidence, but only select the evidence that supports their position. So I encourage people to look at all of the evidence, then follow the evidence wherever it leads you. In this regard I recommend the book The Trivium: The liberal arts of logic, grammar, and rhetoric. Understanding the Nature and Function of Language. by Miriam Joseph. This book presents the proper way in which information should be presented in order to create a valid argument, and also lists the fallacies to an argument.(2 page .pdf) In short, it can help us to better discern truth and error.

You can become aware in the 5 minutes it takes you to read the following section what it took me years to find out the hard way.

The Christian religion is based on the greatest fraud ever purpetrated in the history of man: the fraud of a Jewish race. No such race has ever existed. Furthermore, the character of Jesus as portrayed in the NT did not exist. There is no historical evidence to support the existence of either. A famous book was written "The Invention of the Jewish People" by Shlomo Sand, who was professor of history at the university of Tel Aviv. I had come to my conclusion before I even heard about his book. It is an intersting book which I recommend. Aside from tyhat I can prove that Jesus cd not have existed, and this is because the wjhol basis of the character of Jesus is based on his death, burial, and resurrection, and since it is scientificvally and medically impossible for anyone to be dead, buried in a sealed tomb, then after 3 days resurrect himself from the dead within that sealed tomb, Jesus cd not have existed.

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is vital in announcing the birth of the sUn which is on Dec 25th, at which time the sun is "born again" or is "resurrected from the dead" (starts moving again after 3 days and nights of no lateral movement in terms of degrees on the horizon.) In the mythology of ancient Egypt, Sirius was represented by Isis, and the constellation of Orion was represented by her brother and husband Osiris. Isis and Osiris produced Horus, the sUn of God (son of his father Osiris). The true esoteric understanding of the sun is not of Christian origin, and does not involve a flesh and blood Jesus. In ancient Egypt there was no word for religion. It was commonly understood that the mythical deities or gods represented principles. The sun and Sirius (and other stars and constellations) represent principles which are conveyed to us via mythology.

Much in the Bible (and all religions) is based on astrology. Here are a series of lectures by Manly Hall on the subject of Astrotheology.

I was once a Bible believer who said that the Bible was God's holy word and inerrent. I discovered that it was the act of believing that blinded me to reality and prevented me from seeing what I was looking at. The word believe contains two words: be and lie. Believing phonetically sounds the same as "be leaving". We are leaving our senses behind when we are believing. The first step in seeing clearly is to get rid of ALL beliefs, whether relating to Christianity or not. There is no such thing as a good belief. Even a seemingly "good belief" such as "God is good" is blinding us to reality. Beliefs about what or who "God" is are wrong. A belief that "God" exists or does not exist is wrong and will blind us to the truth. Beliefs about what is right and wrong will blind us to moral and ethical truth. ALL beliefs about EVERYTHING must be eliminated for us to begin to get a proper understanding of reality. Morality and ethics cannot be prescribed by beliefs or linguistic conveyance. Morality and ethics can only be encompassed via principles. In this regard "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots" are counter-productive and we don't need them. Our lives should be lived according to principles, not rules. Rules and laws can be twisted and circumvented, and sometimes require the creation of more rules to cover up the defects in the set first of rules. Rules and laws keep changing, but principles never change.

I discovered that the conventional history of Christianity is false and was created to mislead us. To properly understand what Christianity is, we must first understand the relationship between the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) and the New Testament (NT). The content of the NT is based on the DSS. This has been uncovered by the research done by Robert Eisenman in his book James, the Brother of Jesus, in which he anaylses the key players and events in the DSS and found their parallels in the NT. The two most important things to do to understand what Christianity is really about:

1) Get rid of ALL beliefs about EVERYTHING.

2) Learn the true history of Christianity, which includes why, how, when, and by whom it was created, and this can be done by reading three books:

A) Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus by Joseph Atwill

B) Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Jesus by James Valliant and C.W. Fahy.

C) James, the Brother of Jesus by Robert Eisenman

(Note: altho Caesar's Messiah and Creating Christ have similar subtitles, they cover different material) Creating Christ covers more of the true history of Christianity. Both books are excellent.

Atwill in Caesar's Messiah presents information that there were two messiahs in the crucifixion story. Barabbas was also to be crucified. Barabbas means the son (bar) of God (Abba), [or son of the Father].

Other Recommended Reading relating to this subject:

The Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein and Niel Asher Silberman.

Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Elliot Friedman.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh.

The Invention of the Jewish People by Shlomo Sand. (Sand was professor of history at the University of Tel Aviv.)

When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth by Elizabeth and Paul Barber.

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Ehrman

Jesus Christ Sun of God by David Fideler

More recommended reading can be found by clicking the book tab at the top of this page.

MP3 Lectures and Interviews relating to the history of Christianity

I have reduced the file size to as low as it will go without losing quality. You can download these by right clicking, then "save to".

Joseph Atwill:

(author of Caesar's Messiah)

— Caesar Created Christianity

(part 1)

— Caesar Created Christianity

(part 2)

— Christianity and Mind Control

— How Did We Get Christianity?

— Interview by Alex Tsakiris

— Revolution Radio interview

James Valliant:

(co-author of Creating Christ)

— Hard Physical Evidence

— How the Roman Elites Co-opted Christianity

— Why Was the New Testament Written?

— The Making of Creating Christ

— Vindicating Roman Provenance

— Who Wrote the New Testament?

Robert Eisenman:

(author of James, the Brother of Jesus)

— Book Discussion on James the Brother of Jesus

— Christian Origins

—Paul and James

— Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls

— lecture 1

— lecture 2

— lecture 3

— lecture 4

— The Historical Jesus

King James Bible
(Mp4) documentary: Caesar's Messiah

The model for the process of spirtual growth is found in nature. When an acorn falls onto the ground and is covered by earth, it will not germinate until it is given the command to do so. Then after it has obeyed that command, it is given the next command in a sequence. Then after it has obeyed the command to sprout, it is given another command to grow roots, then emerge above the ground, start to grow branches, grown leaves and acorns etc. (I am sure I am missing steps along the way) The tree is not given then next command until it is in a position (stage of growth) to receive it. All of the commands are not given to the seed at once, but only as each stage has been reached and successfully accomplished, and for what is needed for the next step to be taken. Our spiritual growth only comes in steps, and can never be rushed. As it takes years for that oak tree to mature, so also it takes years for us to grow spiritually. If we attempt to force the tree to grow, or to skip one step, the tree will die. Growth is fawned by two aspects: light and magnification. A woman can clean her house and it looks clean to everyone. The floor looks spotless. But as the intensity of the light is increased, more dirt shows up. And if the floor is magnified more dirt will show up, and so it is with our lives.

For those who are wanting to fill the void that Christianity has left in their life, there a few options to consider:

1) no religion

2) a different religion

3) a cosmological system or a philosophical system, such as for example Buddhism, Hunduism, the cosmology of the Dogon Tribe of Mali, Tauism, and others. These are not religions because there is no exterior or separate "God" that is worshipped, and no Statement of Faith that You must adhere to.

4) Mythology.

5) Mysticism.

I myself am a mystic, and mysticism is a way of life for me. Mysticism and eSoterism are in one sense opposites, yet complement each other well. Mysticism is of our doing entirely and involves willful action or arrangement in setting up a condusive environment both on the inside and outside of us, which creates a more fertile ground for eSoteric principles to function to reveal their beauty, insight and wisdom. ESoterism however is an aspect of spirituality that we have no control over it. In short, eSoterism is holds that the answers are WITHIN us, and that WE (collectively) are "God", whereas eXoterism holds that the answers are OUTSIDE of us, and that "God" is a separate entity outside of and separate from us. For more about the confusing concept of God in the OT, click the God tab at the top right of this page.

Mythology

Using ancient Egypt as a model, they had no religion. But they did have myth, and it was understood by all Egyptians that the characters in the myth did not literally exist. A religion is formed when mythology becomes litralized. Mythology itself is harmless, and is beneficial to us spiritually because it contains veiled truth and meaning in its allegories and symbols. The danger is if mythology is taken literally.

There was never any contention in early Christian history between different mythological understandings of Christian texts because up until around the 5th or 6th century "Christianity" was still understood as mythology. In fact, there was no literal (exoteric) Christianity in existence early on. Literarism took a few centuries to develop and become predominant. It was not until the 5th or 6th century that a literal interpretation of the charcters and events in Christian texts had taken over and it had become a religion. Many versions of stories about Jesus existed as mythology early on, which are sometimes referred to as gnostic. Gnosticism can also be referred to as eSoteric, while a literal interpretation of Christianity should properly be referred to as as eXoteric. Exoteric Christianity which claims a literal interpretation of the people and events as literally happening is an impossible position to hold because if we interpreted the Bible as literal it would self destruct because of the contradictions and problematic nature of the information in it.

The divergence of views in the first few centuries of the development of Christianity was greater than it is today. Some of these texts have been recovered in what is referred to as the Nag Hammadi Texts, named after the location in Egypt where they were found (One even later discovery is The Reveation of the Magi which scholars claim was written a few centuries after the Nag Hammadi texts). There was no fighting between people then who had different understanding of Christian mythology. They understood it as mythology and got along well together regardless of their views. An interesting book to read in this regard is The Gnostioc Gospels by Elaine Pagels. A book which details the true history and development of Christianity in the first few centuries is Creating Christ by Valliant and Fahy. There were other gospels including The Gospel of Mary, The Gospel of Philip, The Gospel of Thomas, and The Gospel of Judas, in which Judas was the only enlightened one among the twelve disciples. There was no conflict between those who held that Judas was a saint and those who held that Judas was an villain because both opposing views were mythological. Rome began its campaign to stamp out eSoterism in all forms, and the burning of "heretical" books began and eSoterism went underground.

The Christian threesome of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus is patterned after the Egyptian threesome of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Much slaughter and horrible acts have been committed under the sanction of Christianity and God, but not under Horus or Egyptian mythology, or any other mythology. Here is a key difference between Christianity and mythology. For those who have left Christianity, I would suggest considering mythology and mysticism as alternatives. Any mythology is good whether Greek, Celtic, Egyptian, Nordic, African, Babylonian, etc. (the oldest creation myth is Babylonian: The Epic of Gilgamesh). Myth contains information which was veiled in order to protect its integrity while at the same time make it self perpetating and self preserving as the public would pass it on from generation to generation without realizing that they are being used to perpetuate this information. A good book to read on the subject of how mythology works is When they Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth by Elizabeth and Paul Barber.

Gaining a Better Perspective

There is no God "out there" and separate from us. Bhuddism and Hinduism and other philosophical and cosmological systems have it correct when they teach that we ourselves (collectively) are God (singular). Likewise there is no "devil" or "satan" out there. To find satan we only have to look in the mirror. (satan means "adversary" . . . we oppose ourselves) There are no evil spirits "out there". Any evil spirit that we are bothered with is from within us, or more accurately understood, is us. Here are a few lecture by manly Hall relating to the spiritual realm and its dangers.

Dangers of Psychic Self Deception
Thought Forms and Psychic Ghosts
Obsession and Spirit Possession
Opening the Doors to the Invisible
Living Universe Beyond Our Sensory Perceptions

One indication that we are on the right path spiritually is when we discover that our reason for wanting to do what is right is no reason at all. In other words, we are not trying to avoid "hell" or score points with "God" or earn anything, nor have any alterior or selfish motive, but simply because we are happiest when we do it.

THE Principle

Buddhist and Hinduism (and other philosophical and cosmological systems) have the teaching of Karma. Altho I do not agree with the idea of reincarnation which they teach, they do however in their doctrine of karma correctly teach that for every action and attitude that we have there are inescapable consequences, which cannot be avoided. Even forgiveness cannot allow us to avoid the consequences of our actions. Here is the bad thing about the Christian teaching of forgiveness in that we can be forgiven and have all consequences of our actions stopped. This is not true. The consequences cannot be avoided. Live your life according to this one principle, which I convey in the following two principle: (which are really a different view of the same one principle):

1) The principle of responsibility and maturity: If whatever action or inaction I am considering taking or not taking, or whatever attitude I have, or whatever words I choose to speak or not speak, am I responsible and mature enuff to accept any and all possible consequences of this action or inaction, whether present or future?

2) The principle of reciprocity. This is similar to what is known as "The Golden Rule" but is an improvement of it. This means that in every encounter that I have with people how wd I treat them and what attitude wd I have if I knew that the situation were some day to be reversed, and I was in the same position (or similar or even different) position that they are now in, and they in my position, how wd they treat me based on how I treated them? For example, if I was a policeman stopping someone for a traffic violation, but I had a bad attitude toward them and was disrespectful and rude, then in the future what if I (as a police officer) was in a car accident and the first man on the scene was the same man that I treated badly? He may not help me and may even let be bleed to death. Following this principle will cause us to treat people fairly, and never take advantage of anyone. Included in this core principle are all other principles including not judging other people, being understanding, etc.

We only need this one principle to live our lives by. We do not need any relationship laws or rules of conduct. No thou shalt or thou shalt nots. All other principles are based on this one principle. If everyone in the world lived by this principle there will be no violence, hatred, hurt, or damage to any people, animals, property, no pollution, and no destruction of the earth.

I recommend the book Self Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization by Manly Hall. In this book he shares a process of how we can build character and integrity in our lives. Here is an MP3 lecture by Manly Hall on Personal Growth

Your comments and questions are welcome

Amen [at] Amen [dot] Africa