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  1. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    @Hockeycowboy, Thirza Fallen, JJ50 and others I suppose this proves the point. Although there is very little in the way of proof that Jesus existed outside the Bible, people are still willing to believe in him and in God. I think, from the answers in this thread, that even if all the miracles...
  2. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    That is very interesting. There are also three periods of time that delineate the building of the First Temple in 1 Kings. I suggest that you may be able to deepen your analysis if you look into the gematria of the text. I have coded a helpful tool to help people like you do that. If you use...
  3. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Sure. There is another thread on this forum by SalixIncendium, 'Faith in God' which is discussing that.
  4. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Indeed, and the sages say as much. There is the tradition of Jewish exegesis called the PaRDeS (Peshat, Remez, Derash, Sod), for the plain meaning, the allegorical, the comparative and the secret. My chief area of interest is the Sod of the Tanakh, but there is certainly much value in the...
  5. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Thank you! Much appreciated. The Gematria Substrate is an introduction to the subject, and matters that are not explored there are tackled in The Genesis Wheel. Its a paper intended to prove Gematria in the Bible rather than explain it all. I'll respond to you here for clarification though...
  6. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    First of all, I'd like to reiterate that although there is a treasure trove of gematria in the Bible, not all books of the Bible have it. In every line of Genesis 1-2 there is gematria, and the scribal motivation there was to link each step of creation with a letter corresponding to a path or a...
  7. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    How about we get back to the original topic? "Could you retain your faith and belief in God without believing in the strange and miraculous accounts in the Bible? Is a belief in 'the spirit' of God behind everything enough for you? " Thanks. :-)
  8. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    In order to have a thought, or hold any type of idea in your head at all, it requires a duality. A mystic is someone who unites those dualities in order to get beyond the ego into a realm of formless awareness. That's why "AND" is the major tool in the toolbox of the mystic. But the ego that...
  9. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    As a child I taught myself to program and I realized a very simple truth that was to inform most of my life as a mystic. And that is that the logical "AND" is almost always preferable to the logical "OR". Why divide the world into complex and simple terms if you can develop insight into seeing...
  10. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    I'm not speaking of numerology. I'm speaking of biblical gematria which is a very different matter. Numerology involves things like... working out the number of your life path and other nonsense. Also not all books of the bible are written with Gematria. Things are much more complex than...
  11. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    May I ask, what kind of analysis you are doing with Gen 26? I know someone who is counting letters* as part of a reconstruction of scribal techniques. I find that interesting though it's not my area of expertise. ----------------------------------- * i.e. : 1בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת...
  12. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    I think they didn't have modern distractions and had a longer attention span. I also think its possible that the art of gematria was something that young men would do to vie with each other. At times, it's like Ezekiel is showing off. Nerds is a bit too strong but definitely well along the...
  13. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    It's a take on Origen: Now that we are going to begin our interpretation of the Psalms, let us preface our remarks with a very pleasing tradition respecting all Divine Scripture in general, which has been handed down to us by the Jew. That great scholar used to say that inspired Scripture taken...
  14. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Much appreciated Sojourner. :-)
  15. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Fantastic! A skeptic! Doubt is a wonderful tool, as long as it is not closed minded. Would you do me a favour and read my paper on academia.edu and then do a brief review here for the other participants? I'd be fascinated to learn whether you still have doubts about my thesis after you've...
  16. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    He's probably right, but I know when I was a child I was intrigued by questions like: How did the burning bush catch on fire? Why did Moses's face start shining when he came down the mountain? How did Noah fit all the animals in his ark? etc. Now I know there's an answer to these questions...
  17. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Yes, I agree that its not a book for people who are immune to rational argument. However, I hope to reach people who have investigated gematria previously and been disappointed. The vast majority of people currently using gematria with the Bible today are using the wrong values for the...
  18. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    I like the Baha’i religion. I find the emphasis on the unity of science and religion to be refreshing and ahead of its time, and I think that eventually if we turn back from the destruction of the planet, the bird that is humanity will fly with both wings (of science and religion). But right...
  19. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    I never said that. Please consult the straw man you invented. Also QED: "Donald Trump went to Syria one morning. He dug a large hole in the ground and stepped into it and they covered him over with straw and pitch. He stayed there for 40 days and 40 nights and after that Netanyahu helped...
  20. Bethsheba Ashe

    Spirit or Superstition?

    Yes, I'm going to bed too, so that would be preferable. Good night. :-)
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