Ancient religions reveal the future

By: Dana Ford

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The Sumerian language is the oldest ever recorded in history. It was developed before the age of Jesus Christ and its religion supports a world made up of an ancient sea and many gods.

However, not only is it an ancient marvel, it’s also a futuristic phenomena.

The Sumerians perceived the world to be created out of an ancient sea from which the universe, gods and people were created. They believed that the universe was ruled by these gods, who had human features and personalities and who represented various natural phenomenons.

Each Sumerian city-state had its own patron deity to whom the citizens paid respect. Temples, known as ziggurats, were often built in the cities to honor and house each city’s god. The city of Ur, for example, constructed a ziggurat for Nanna, the god of the moon.

The main gods of the Sumerians were Enki (god of water), Ki (god of earth), Enlil (god of air), and An (god of heaven). These main gods were believed to have created the rules of Sumerian society to which all people were expected to follow.

Sumerians also believed that the reason for their existence was to delight the gods. It is observed that certain rituals and animal sacrifices were considered necessary in order to satisfy these often unpredictable deities.

The most mysterious thing about the Sumerian religion is that much of its literature draws distinct parallels to that of the Bible indicating the possibility of future telling abilities.

The clearest Biblical parallel comes from the story of the Flood.

In the Sumerian version, the religious Ziusudra is informed of the gods’ decision to destroy mankind by listening to a wall. He too weathers the flood aboard a huge boat.

Noah’s flood lasts a long time, but Ziusudra comes to rest within seven days and not the near year of the Bible. He does not receive a covenant, but is given eternal life.

As far as the New Testament goes, many also draw a parallel between Dumuzi and Jesus because Dumuzi is a shepherd-king and he is resurrected from the dead. This appeals to some as Dumuzi’s Akkadian analog, Tammuz, appears in the Bible, however Dumuzi’s periodic return from the underworld is not unique even in Sumerian literature.

Other findings include tablets of drawings and ancient literature from Sumerians. Some pictures include that of space ships which appear to be launching into space. Some think this is significant to a fortune telling event of that which happened centuries later when the first spaceship was launched.

Is it possible for the oldest living language and religion to be connected with events occurring now?

By Dana Ford

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When we think of magic, we think of black top hats, black wands, doves, scarves, bunnies and mysterious boxes, right? Magic tricks. Card tricks. But to the Shamans, magic is reality. It’s their way of life.

A Shaman is a person who believes he or she can use magic in order to cure sicknesses, divine the unknown or control certain events.

Shamanism is an analogous religion which is associated with most Central Asian and Arctic people.

A Shaman, also known as the “Medicine Man” is said to cure illness, direct communal sacrifices and escort the souls of the dead to another world.

The magic which is used to perform these things are with a drug called ecstasy. This drug allows for the Shaman to transform his body into a trancelike state.

According to encylopedia.com, “The trance state may be brought on by dancing, singing, drumming, or other methods. The trance brings the Shaman into the spiritual world, where a spirit teacher provides guidance on how to cure an illness or solve a problem. Shamanic healing practices include the use of gongs, rattles, finger bells, dancing rituals, purification ceremonies, physical manipulation, prayer, healing herbs, or removal of something inside a sick person, such as a stone, feather, piece of bone, or other material.”

This Shamanic type of healing was said to be developed in order for these people to have a sense of control over the world they lived in.

Many of the rituals shamans perform are done to ensure good crops, health and other important basic essentials.

A person becomes a Shaman through self-election or inheritance.

By Dana Ford

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Those considered Christian devote their hearts to Jesus Christ according to what the Bible may tell them to do. In many ways they do this, among one is tithing.

To tithe is to give a piece of one’s heart to God in exchange for his blessings. This piece of one’s heart is a financial gift to God in order to satisfy his wishes he expresses in the Old Testament. “Tithe” is a Greek word meaning “tenth.” Therefore the basic meaning of tithing means to give 10 percent of everything one owns to God.

Those who do not tithe are considered robbers of God’s blessings.

In Amos 4:4 it says, God commands Israel to bring back the tithe and reiterates the curse that is upon them if they don’t.

Several other religions practice tithing as well.

For example, Jews give 10% of their earnings to different charities, Jewish or non Jewish.

In the religion of Islam, a tithe of two and a half percent of their income is given to charities. This is called zakat. This tithe can be in the form of wealth, production or animals. It is the duty of Muslims according to their culture to collect zakat and distribute it fairly.

In other places such as Austria or Denmark, a church tax must be paid. These taxes are paid to help keep places of worship running properly and to show dedication toward a specific religion.

World religions follow these rules of the tithe every day. Sometimes it’s hard to give more than what we can afford, especially at a young age. But Christians say, give what your heart can manage.

And in Matthew 6:27, 31, 33 it says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Have you ever thought about tithing?

What is the Yin Yang sign? To me, it’s a popular tattoo in the twenty-five cent machines at Wal-Mart. It’s a fun and common sign we love to draw but seldom know the meaning of. Recently, I learned it’s a very important representation of the ancient Chinese understanding of how life works.

Yes, the Yin Yang sign unveils deep meaning. The outer circle represents the “everything” of this life while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two energies, called “yin” (black) and “yang” (white), which cause the “everything” to happen. They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, and they cannot exist without each other.

While “yin” would be dark, passive, downward, cold, contracting and weak, “yang” would be bright, active, upward, hot, expanding and strong.

The shape of the yin and yang sections of the symbol actually gives you a sense of the continual movement of these two energies, yin to yang and yang to yin, causing everything to happen just as things expand and contract, and temperature changes from hot to cold.

If Yang is overly powerful, then Yin may be too weak. If Yin is particularly strong, then Yang is apt to be defective.

If the male force is overwhelming, then there will be excessive heat. If the female force is overwhelming, then there will be excessive cold.

The Chinese use this to diagnose medical illnesses. For example, exposure to repeated and severe heat will induce chills in the body. Cold injures the body while heat injures the spirit.

When the spirit is hurt, severe pain will ensue. When the body is hurt, there will be swelling. Then, when severe pain occurs first and swelling comes on later, one may infer that a disharmony in the spirit has done harm to the body.

Likewise, when swelling appears first and severe pain is felt later on, one can say that a dysfunction in the body has injured the spirit.

Overall, Chinese use this symbol as a framework to their intellectual ways. Without this symbol, balance would be a hard to acquire.

Who knew a cool design could mean so much to culture?

Yoga is an exercise most everyone is familiar with. But do you think of other religions when you do it? Yoga is a very crucial aspect to the Hindu religion. We use yoga to relieve stress, get in shape and practice relaxation. Those who practice Hinduism use it to practice love for the Brahman, their highest deity, and to detach themselves from the world in order to overcome bodily desires.

Hinduism is a religion which lacks any solid system of beliefs and ideas. It represents a broad spectrum of beliefs and practices including the belief in idol worship, reincarnation, karma, dharmaand moksha. Human life is divided into four stages and there are defined rites and rituals for each stage from birth until death.

Reincarnation is the main Hindu Goal. They believe that when they die, their body goes through a process in which they return to Earth as another being. If their previous life was full of good deeds, they come back as a better person. If they did not live a fulfilling life, bad karma, or what they deserve, comes to haunt them and they come back as a worse person.

The whole process of reincarnation is that eventually, a person reaches a stage in one of their lives in which they become “perfect.” They become united with their highest god, Brahman, and they are released into Nirvana (which is similar to a Christian’s heaven).

Some moral ideals in Hinduism include non-violence, truthfulness, friendship, compassion, fortitude, self-control, purity and generosity. If they fulfill all these things, they will be united with their God.

To help them reach this unity, the Hindu practice yoga. Doing this relaxing meditation-like exercise helps them fight off desire, temptation and pleasure which are all things that could put them into potential danger of bad karma in the next life.

Although there are several gods in Hinduism, Brahman is the highest god, and he is the one Hindu people seek to become united with.

As every year, the fifth season is about to begin in Germany. Comparable to Mardi Gras or the Carnival in Rio, it is just a big festival with people dressing up and dancing and singing on the street.

(Photo by http://www.reise-nach-italien.de/karneval-rhein.jpg)

It all starts on a Thursday the week before Ash Wednesday. This tradition once began to expel winter: People wore ugly masks and costumes to scare the spirits of winter away. Afterwards they celebrated with music, dancing and delicious food. This also is compared to Christian Lenten season, which starts about a weak later: people enjoyed their last lush meals before they had to abandon for the next 40 days.

Today it is more about the pure fun than about getting rid of evil spirits. On this certain Thursday, it begins with women gaining the mastery over men. To show their power, they cut off the men’s ties, so most of them do only wear really old and ugly ties that day. Some people dress up for work or school, but mostly it really starts in the evening. People go out because there are events almost anywhere and even though the next day they have to go to work, everyone celebrates boisterously.

It goes on like this for the next few days: kids dress up as princesses and cowboys, as witches and clowns or as fairies and supermen and just enjoy going out like this on the streets. In the afternoon there are events for the little ones with fun music and dancing and it is like a big birthday party. But during the night the older ones get to have their fun, too. No matter your age, it is a tradition to get dressed up and imagination knows no boundaries.

On Rose Monday and Tuesday, one can watch a lot of different pompous processions through the streets: again with a lot of music, dancing and singing while watching the parade passing by.

Usually there is also a ball on Monday night as a highlight and at the same time as an indication for the end of those cheerful days.

With people having to go back to work on Ash Wednesday again, there are only the memories and stories left to tell and to share with colleagues and friends. And almost everybody is already excited about next year’s fifth season here in Germany.

What do you think about this celebration? Would it be fun if it was somehow implemented in your town?

We’ve all heard about Haiti lately…because on Tuesday, this nation made breaking news. A major earthquake struck there. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and is also known for its traditional religion, Voodoo.

Although many find the practices and descriptions of Voodoo to fit more of a superstitious type category, it is important to note that Voodoo is the dominant religion of Haiti.

According to Bob Corbett, author of an article called “Introduction to Voodoo in Haiti,” the Voodoo religion encompasses basic concepts which to other religions and foreigners of Haiti, seem strange and unethical.

The most basic concepts of Voodoo:

1. There is one God, Bondye. This God is very similar to the God of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. There is only one God.
2. There are three important categories of other spiritual beings: Loa, the twins and the dead. Loa interacts with the people of Earth and causes good and bad things to happen to people. The twins are mysterious forces of contradictories: good and evil, happy and sad, etc. If honored in religious services, they will help you have the better side of life or vice versa. The dead consists of mainly the souls of one’s own family members who have died but not yet been reclaimed by the family. Ignored family dead are dangerous. Honored and cared for family dead are helpful. These are the various spirits of family members, the spirits of the major forces of the universe– good, evil, reproduction, health, all aspects of daily life.
3. The central and key aspect of Voodoo is healing people from illness. Such healing activities probably constitute 60% of all Voodoo activity. Healers heal with herbs, faith healing (with the help of Loa and other spirits) and, today, even with western medicine!
4. The priesthood of Voodoo contains both men and women. Their functions are: healing, performing religious ceremonies to call the spirits, holding initiations for new priests, telling the future and reading dreams, casting spells and creating protections and creating potions for various purposes (for love or death). For any of these, they may receive fees. But they may not, too. This differs from one houngan and mambo to another. This is similar to fees paid to rabbis, mullahs, priests and ministers.
5. There are two primary sorts of Voodoo. There is Rada, which is a family spirit Voodoo and the Voodoo of the relatively peaceful and happy Loa.
6. Petro is a black magic Voodoo and the Voodoo of angry, mean and nasty Loa. Dangerous things happen in Petro including death curses, the making of zombi and wild sexual orgies.

Also, in Voodoo it is believed humans have two spirits and a body.

Today, many missionaries visit Haiti in attempt to convert Voodoo to Christianity. It’s a dangerous mission.

In some instances, missionaries have been killed by mobs of Haitians who want them to stay clear of their nation and for their religion to remain untouched.

Voodoo is voted one of the most unethical religions among other religions. How do you feel?

Agnosticism is a term used to describe the question: Do gods exist or not? Many adopt this concept if they believe gods do not exist at all.

However, many claim they are Agnostic so they aren’t labeled as Atheists.

Much of this has to do with a person who is not religious and does not necessarily know God, so therefore has no real knowledge to call themselves one religion or another.

Being Agnostic does not match Atheism. Simply, it means one does not have a specific belief or knowledge about religion to declare one way or another.

This is considered to be a “weak” Agnostic. Those specified as “strong” Agnostics have plenty of knowledge about different religions; they just don’t have the assurance to say whether they believe certain gods exist or not.

Basically, those labeled Agnostic believe in a god, but are unsure whether their god exists.

It seems strange to think this is an actual adopted belief. However it makes sense if we compare our beliefs to those of others.

Most religious beliefs are based off of faith. Christians worship an unseen God because they have a faith in their God existing without seeing God physically.

Agnostics base their beliefs off pure knowledge, disregarding a faith aspect.

Many find it strange, but yes indeed there is a category of beliefs for those who are unsure whether to believe or whether to not believe at all.

Sex. Anyone uncomfortable reading that word? Afraid your parents might see that what you’re reading is about… SEX?

It’s true: sex is a powerful word. It’s a powerful thing. It’s also something, that if you belong to a Christian faith, you should wait for.

In Christianity, virginity symbolizes the event of Mary giving birth to Jesus as a virgin. This purity of Christians before marriage arises from this instance talked about in the Bible.

Then, those who become “one” under God through marriage finally experience this thing we call sex within a committed, lasting relationship.

But why wait? If two people are in love and not married, why wait? A sensual and sexual experience is completely and 100 percent natural! Right?

Well, to some Christians reading this, the word SEX! is deafening.

For the general population of Christians, to have sex is to give away the key to their hearts—to give into sin like Adam and Eve. So they wait until they are united as one in the house of God.

It’s a fundamentalist idea of the Christian faith and what they practice.

To fully understand someone else’s morals and values regarding anything at all, one has to understand their culture, their religion, what kind of family they come from.

Too often, we ask, why? But we never do the research. Sometimes, we don’t even know what WE stand for.

Who are you? What is the key to your heart? Why are you still a virgin? Why is your friend still a virgin?

Maybe it has something to do with a little faith. You’re making the right decision to wait.

Many religions we’ve heard of but not taken much thought as to learn more about them. Others, we have never even dreamed would exist.

Many find it strange. Others? Well, it’s a way of life.

Ever heard of a Ratsafari? What about a Jedi or a Pastafarian?

All of these are religions. Interesting? Yes. Bizarre? Well, let me know what you think.

In 1962, Bob Marley became part of a religion known as Rastafari. This religion, founded in Jamaica, has few changes to the beliefs of Christians and Jews. One is that their God is called Jah, who is believed to have manifested himself twice in Jesus who they believe was black and H.I.M his imperial majesty. They also believe that Africa is heaven and that a true Rasta is immortal physically and spiritually. Although they do not believe in an afterlife, they look to “Zion” or Africa as Heaven on Earth. Their sacred text of Rastafarians is the Holy Piby, which is the “Black Man’s Bible.”

Another “religion,” called Jedi, is based on the Jedi from The Star Wars Saga. It’s almost identical to it in that they believe in an all-powerful force that binds the universe together but that unlike most religions, there are two sides to this force— the light and the dark. The Jedi church teaches that the light side is the one we must follow. This religion does not, however, have enough members to become an official religion.

On the other hand, there is such a thing as a Pastafarian. This group is a creationist religion which believes the world was made by a flying spaghetti monster.  The movement began as a protest against the Kansas State Board of Education’s decision to teach intelligent design in place of evolution in schools. It was initiated by 25-year-old Oregon State University graduate Bob Henderson. He reasoned because intelligent design mentioned this ”intelligent designer” in charge of creation in such a vague sense, this entity could appear in any form, even a spaghetti monster.  Henderson said, ”I don’t have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. If there is a god and he’s intelligent, then I would guess he has a sense of humor.”

(Photo by salamandersociety.com)

The idea of this religion was based off Christianity but with minor changes.

One change is that the Promised Land is in Finland. The land is said to be made similar to their creator. Also, while most Christians use stars or blinking angels to put atop their Christmas trees, members of the Pastafarian church put spaghetti monsters atop theirs.

The world is full of new and exciting traditions. Some are insignificant and unbelievable. What do you think? Strange or admirable?