Master of Religion

This blog is about the course on the Master of Religion offered through the Universal Life Church Seminary. There are essays from those who have finished the course, as well as answers from the various lessons.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Jesus and Yehoshua

Four Gospels Course
‘Jesus and Yehoshua’
By Carter Matherly

The man known today as Jesus was not always as popular as he is today. We will take a brief look into the life of this man, his teachings, and uncover some misconceptions that Paul has propagated. Jesus only held his ministries for two years and the miracles attributed to him were valid, however not entirely word for word as the bible depicts.

The first thing that we should investigate is the name of Jesus. Most people today are convinced that this was his actual name as one might be called Bob or Sherry. This is a simple misconception. Jesus is actually a Jewish title. The person who carries this title is a savior or king of the Jews. Here there is no divine implication as the Jewish religion teaches that their savior will be mortal and nowhere is it stated that the savior will be an embodiment of God. The name of the man we know as Jesus is Yehoshua ben Joseph. This was the name given to him by his parents. He obtained the title of Jesus through his followers as he was a king of Jews, just as the hundreds of other Jesus’ through history have been.

There are other misconceptions that modern believers suffer from. Through the use of titles to represent persons we understand that Jesus is really Yehoshua. We should take the time to analyze the man that was spared instead of Yehoshua. This man was known as Barabus. Barabus was the murderous robber that the Jews supposedly chose to live and let Jesus die. The misconceptions that run through this fable are deep and unfortunately strong. We will take our time in dissecting this scenario as it will lead to a greater understanding of this whole affair.

Firstly, the men: Jesus and Barabus. We have already established Jesus’ name as Yehoshua. The commonly accepted name Jesus is nothing more than a title like president or professor, so why not Barabus? After working with this name we find it is actually two words tied together, Bar and Abus. Translating these names gives us ‘Son of’ ‘The Father’. Father is capitalized because Abus refers to the heavenly father, God.

Why would a murder be named ‘Son of The Father’? It’s true that our Barabus was a murder. However this is in the same sense that a general is a murderer. Now we know that Barabus was no regular murder. His name was James, James the Just to be exact. This was Yehoshua’s brother.

To understand how both brothers came to such a predicament we need to research their roles in the Cannite Qumran community. This Jewish community was founded by Moses when he led the Jews out of Egypt. It was founded on three basic principals. The king, the priest, and God. This was represented by twin pillars connected by an archway representing heaven; the key stone in the archway was named ‘shalom’ meaning God. Yehoshua was always the leader and thus he occupied the Kingly role while his brother was the priestly one. James only assumed this role after the decapitation of John the Baptist.

Yehoshua did not recognize his brother as the priestly pillar of this community and thus claimed that he was all of them after John the Baptist’s death. This is the origin of the greatest misconception of Yehoshua’s earthly state. When he claimed to be all of them he only intended the kingly and priestly. However, as we will learn later, Paul got this statement all backwards in his teachings. Yehoshua never clamed to be shalom or God.

Parts of Yehoshua’s teachings were a return to the basic Ten Commandments that Moses brought to his people. Yehoshua said that the other some 450 holy laws were an invention of man and a mockery of God’s intent. This proclamation, along with his ongoing insisting that he was not only the king but the priest of the community led to eventual unrest among the people and the roman leadership who oversaw the community.

On the holiest night of the year Yehoshua stormed into the Holiest of Holies to make his devotion. Only the high priest was allowed to enter here and this privilege was offered only once a year. It was this act that eventually led to Yehoshua’s arrest.

Interestingly enough, charges were brought against James for leading a raid through another city in God’s name. The Romans now had the two leaders of the Qumran community in their hands for execution. Pontius Pilot knew that executing both of them would create civil war. So he did something that had never been done and would never be done again. He offered the crowd to save one of the men. This was a tough decision, save the priest of the king. The crowd chose their priest, James. Of course, Yehoshua was crucified as this was their form of the gas chamber or electric chair. A King or any military leader is a very useful tool in death, the martyr dying for the cause.

Yehoshua died on the cross only two years after being baptized by John the Baptist. His brother James lived for another twenty years before his death. The Christian movement didn’t occur for fifty years after Yehoshua’s death. A man by the name of Paul, obtained a scroll of Qumran that spoke of the workings of the Jesus Yehoshua. It can be easily seen how the name Jesus became a staple when reading the scrolls. It looked like this was his actual name rather than a title, much like Barabus!

Paul is an interesting character. The Romans referred to him as ‘Paul, the spouter of lies’. Christianity’s nickname Paul-theism also comes from this infamous namesake. Paul preached what was written in the scrolls he found. Sadly what was written was in dialect and slang familiar to the Qumran community. The effect was like taking a news paper from England and reading it in California. Things would be mistaken in their meanings. In England a cigarette is referred to as a ‘:censor:’ I think this analogy accurately illustrates my point.

A prime example of this is the act of turning water to wine. This was a slang term for turning nothing into something. In actuality, Yehoshua baptized everyone at that wedding party. The un-baptized were water and after they were baptized they had become wine. This is only one example of the many false teachings of Paul.

The man we know today as Jesus was actually named Yehoshua and had a brother named James or as the bible referred to him, Barabus. Yehoshua did many things that were considered great enough to be written down in a time when printing presses and computers did not exist. These scrolls were later obtained and mistranslated by Paul. A man so revered by the Romans that they called him ‘Paul the spouter of lies’. Through his work Paul laid the foundations for Paul-theism or commonly referred to as Christianity.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers hand-fasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



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Monday, April 17, 2006

Master of Religion

Universal Life Church Religion program
Rev. James Connor

I have very much appreciated what has been brought out by this course. The technique of it is in the developing of our clear awareness and focusing it in a particular way so that we can accurately discern what is happening while we express the Lord in every day, momentary living.

Human beings are certainly wrapped up in themselves and even when it comes to religion, apparently, everything is geared to benefit man. The salvation for man’s sake is supposed to be supreme. Well, presumably, if human beings are here on Earth, they should have some purpose. This purpose would relate to the overall picture and be included in the universe; therefore, the function of man is important in the overall picture. As long as the view is self-centered, as it is from the human standpoint, as though the end and aim of everything is to please man, then he is living in a fool’s paradise, which could hardly be described as God’s paradise. The earth was not created for man, but man for the earth. There is a difference!

As we recognize that we are vibrational beings, realizing what is in our consciousness; the truth of each person is that which observes the observer, described as “God” and is eternal. What a person focuses on is what manifests in his or her own life, giving thanks in all things is the only way to success and fulfillment.

We have often spoken of something coming down from God out of Heaven, which will take form through human beings and be expressed on earth. The capacity of consciousness in man provided by reason of the fact that he has a physical body, allows this creative process to occur when there is a right setting in the conscious of which human beings become aware. He did not cause the events to appear, he merely provided the setting for their appearance. The Lord then, is not missing in action. The events, which occur in such case, indicate the emergence of the creative _expression of God, within the range of human awareness. The consciousness of man is then not separate from the creative expression from God. Here is the true reality of oneness.


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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers hand-fasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Friday, April 14, 2006

Christian Studies

Four Gospels Course
Doctor of Christian Studies
Textbook: The Unvarnished Gospels by Andy Gaus
Rev. Bryan Keith Speroni

As I study the four gospels in the Bible, I find it difficult to point to any one particular passage that brings me more comfort than another. It seems to me that the gospels in general are designed to bring comfort to the world. Let me share with you some examples.

In the many healing miracles of Jesus, we find hope for the healing of each of us. It is comforting to have the knowledge that we are never beyond hope.

In the calming of the storms that were performed by Jesus, we find hope for the calming of the storms that arise in our lives. Just as the storms arose unexpectedly upon the disciples, storms arise unexpectedly upon us. In those storms the disciples had no choice but to apply a little faith to the matter. The same is often true for us. But, my oh my, what a difference a little faith (even faith the size of a tiny mustard seed) can make !!!

In the feeding of the multitudes, we find hope for the meeting of our needs. We are given the assurance that if we are seeking God's kingdom (His ways) and His righteousness (seeking "to do that which is right" - ULC Motto), our needs will be met. What a comfort that is !!!

In the love shown by Jesus, I find the message that needs to be shared with a violent world. In His acts of compassion, I find an example to follow in order to show the meaning of true love to a hurting world.

In the way Jesus dealt sternly with some people, I find the courage to stand up for those who are suffering unjustly. I also find in Him the courage to make my voice heard and my influence felt in facing up to things and dealing with things that are simply not right, especially when it comes to the harsh way in which people treat each other in our world. Compassion and kindness are in short supply and yet are desperately needed. Jesus, from time to time showed firmness, but never unkindness.

As Jesus hung on the cross and pleaded with His Father to forgive His tormentors, I find great comfort concerning the forgiveness of my sins, failures and shortcomings. I assume that the same forgiveness that was extended to them is also extended to me. It also reminds me that I need to be more forgiving of others.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The gospels teach so many lessons of comfort and encouragement that it would take volumes to deal with them.

As far as the parts of the gospels that trouble me, they are always the ones that show how far my life falls short of what it ought to be. I compare myself to the Jesus of the gospels and I realize how much improvement and how many changes I need to make. However, it also brings to mind the fact that my life is not over and there is still time for growth and maturity. The gospels give me challenges to face and goals to reach for.

I have appreciated the opportunity to study the textbook and the monthly e-mail notes. They have been very enlightening. I intend to refer back to them often as I continue to look at the life of Jesus Christ and how His teachings apply to me.



Paper prepared by:
Bryan Keith Speroni



*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar