My Mission 2

My idea of becoming a Light to the world is starting at home – by sharing the Supreme’s loving message to humanity and by exposing a brief history of how Christianity has replaced that loving message with one of their own, one with clear apocalyptic undertones.

I see around me the Supreme’s marvelous and intricate developing creation together with its countless creatures capable of adapting to changing conditions in environment. Thanks to a humble Galilean’s discovery, I know that ever since humans were created, there never has been a sky-god somewhere out yonder for humans to serve and worship or fear.

The historical Jesus of Nazareth uncovered the greatest discovery of all human history. He passionately taught and lived it during his brief life through stories and sayings. Here it is, in all its simplicity, his Light, offered especially for your enlightenment:
1) The Fatherly Presence of the One and only Supreme Essence lives in and among us, his sons and daughters whom he will never leave nor forsake, not even while we pass through death.

2) In the meantime, the Supreme is always compassionate and caring, accepting and unconditionally loving and forgiving toward us, patiently waiting for each of us to become enlightened concerning his ways just mentioned above. Those ways are his real justice (sadak).

3) And finally, the Supreme’s dream for all humanity is to free us from whatever and whomever oppresses us – freeing us enough to finally be able to love ourselves and then begin practicing those ways on others right here-and-now.

4) Still hidden among all the weeds of religious writings are these sayings of the historical Jesus – i.e. Matt 5: 38-48; stories of the Prodigal Son, the Generous Landowner, and the Good Samaritan are also excellent examples of his teaching.
The Galilean’s message was a direct challenge to the need for the following: religion, an anticipated Jewish messiah leader, an atonement for sin. a resurrection of the body, and an end-time judgement, all ancient apocalyptic ideas from Zoroaster. Religious leaders called his message blasphemous and cleverly had him murdered for trying to start another Jewish insurrection.
That’s it! We know nothing more about this historical Jesus except that his neighbors called him the bastard son of Mary. Eyewitnesses left no known written record of his life. Some scholars have good reason to think there may have been an early written record (“Q”) of only his sayings, but it has never been found.

Except for a few sayings and stories which proclaimed a Presence in and among us that would never leave us and a Fatherly dream for all his sons and daughters to imitate him right here-and-now, teachings which later found their way into narratives, the rest of all those so-called ” holy” writings are either speculation or myth. Not to say that there were no momentary explosions of consciousness (Thomas Jefferson called them “diamonds in a dunghill”) among them. (“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from old. According to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.”)

Why can I write such “blasphemy” concerning the so-called “inspired Holy Scriptures?” Well, because I have found that claim to be a lie! And because I cannot be loyal to a religious authority that requires me to shut down my mind!

First, consider Jesus’ challenge to the authenticity of the Jewish standard of law found in their Torah (“an eye for an eye”) which did not measure up to his discovery of the Fatherly unconditional loving forgiveness which he had become conscious of. Then consider the following (still unknowns to him) from history, archeology, scholarship, side-by-side comparisons of the narratives, and later from science. There are just too many contradictions and incorrect historical references in the NT to cover them up any longer. All I can do is encourage you to do your own extensive study. Just start by doing a side-by-side comparison of the four narratives while remembering historical events occurring when they were written. Or, since Easter is near, begin by comparing the Passover observations, the preliminaries up to and including the crucifixion, burial, and the supposed resurrection accounts, all next to each other. But you need to also be aware of the following history before comparing anything.

20-25 years after Jesus’ death, by then about 50-55 CE, a Doctor of Jewish apocalyptic law, who had supposedly been gathering Jesus’ followers for blasphemy punishment, and wow ho had grown up in Tarsus, the center of Roman Mithraism, an offshoot o f ancient Sumerian Zoroastrian’s religion of about 4000 BCE, well before Moses time, envisioned an opportunity to completely reverse Jesus’ message and instead satisfy the Jewish “Christ/Messiah” dream. See II Cor 11:4. Of His new theology was then based on the age-old human concept of divine vengeance through retaliation for human disobedience, a concept humans had attributed to their sky-god because of the natural disasters he supposedly sent to punish them. Therefore, humanity’s first thought was to appease this angry sky-god with sacrificial offerings. That idea found its way into official Jewish religious law during their Babylonian captivity when the old Hebrew stories and myths were finally gathered together as official historical records and Torah (Law).

Ancient apocalyptic accounts (Sumerian, Zoroastrian, Babylonian, Mithraism) filtered through Paul’s well-educated mind. And he skillfully used their ideas to paint a new picture of Jesus of Nazareth, one that could also appeal to the Gentile nations as well. Examples: sacrificial payment for sin, resurrection of the body to prove worthiness of payment, “Christ” becomes Lord in the sky, he returns later in judgement and to hand down a final punishment to enemies. These were Paul’s most important points. Each would already be familiar to the Gentiles who related them to their ancient Greco-Roman gods and myths. There were many other connections to apocalyptic teachings that followed later.

20 years after Paul’s letters, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Romans following another failed Jewish rebellion (69 -70CE), and thousands of Jews were slaughtered in the streets and surrounding villages. Although some scattered Jews may have been able to still remember hearing the historical Jesus’ repeated sayings and stories, only copies of Paul’s letters were available to be read and discussed in distant converted Jewish and Gentile gatherings.

About a decade later (nearly 80 CE), a Jewish writer, Mark, was determined to produce a narrative about Paul’s “Christ” and linking him symbolically to the Temple’s destruction. Since there were no eyewitnesses left, he had to rely upon Paul’s letters (even though Paul had never met Jesus); many hearsay accounts (now 50 years in the telling); a few of the recalled Jesus-sayings; and his own imagination as sources for narrative material. It was soon copied and distributed among those gathering to learn more about their new “Christ/Savior.”

Around the turn of the century (90 CE – 110 CE), while converted Jewish and Gentile gatherings were starting to be persecuted as secret cave societies eating and drinking human flesh and blood, two more writers added their narratives. They copied most of Mark, but added their own takes with many OT references. Matthew, obviously a Jewish “theologian” himself with a famous name (The position in the NT and the name of a disciple was given to this writer two centuries later to increase the credibility of the narrative.), and Luke, an obvious admirer of Paul’s theology, wrote their narratives just before the turn of the century. Later, Luke wrote Acts as an afterword to his narrative. It concentrated on hearsay stories of the early followers and especially about Paul. In order to coverup the “bastard” issue, Luke attempted to add immediate credibility to Jesus’ family genealogy and the circumstances surrounding his birth. In spite of numerous discrepancies and historical errors, Luke’s works were also copied and shared among the groups now called “Christians.”

A decade or two later, one more Jewish writer added a fourth narrative. It ventured the idea that the Christ had always existed as the “Word of God” that was meant to become human to pay for humanity’s sin-debt with his life. John also supposedly wrote his Revelation vision of the end-time return of their Lord/Christ to judge and destroy his enemies (unbelievers) in an everlasting hellfire prepared for them.

Does that sound like something the historical Jesus would do? Notice how NT writers used Paul’s apocalyptic theme of an end-time return for the judgement. (Return? Oh, yes. Their resurrected Lord had left them and had ascended back into the sky. Better than a resurrected body having to live out its life here and facing death again I suppose. Christians are praying to a mythological personification! Later, they added Mary and numerous saints to their list of possible folks who may be able to intercede on their behalf before the throne of their sky-god. Nonsense!)

Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing. May they become enlightened through your ever-presence and compassionate unconditional love for them.

Into the 2nd century, Christians were not only publicly persecuted but also captured for slavery and murdered for sport in the Roman arenas. This continued for about three centuries while they anxiously waited for their Lord’s apocalyptic return, for so Paul had taught them. In the meantime, they studied their copies of Paul’s letters, the four narratives, Acts, and a few other brief letters supposedly written by early followers who had taken or were given famous names. And there were always arguments over their authenticity and whether Jesus of Nazareth could possibly be much more than what he claimed to be, namely, just a mere man.

Unconverted Jews who still remained faithful to their Torah and their traditions remained undisturbed in their synagogues during this difficult time for Christians.

When the Roman Empire became disorganized and split into thirds, the Caesar that finally worked to bring the Empire together again was Constantine. He saw the weaknesses of the other two Caesars, one of whom finally abdicated, and Constantine finally overcame the armies of the third to become Emperor. He had been brought up in the Christian tradition by his mother, Helen, while he ruled the northern territories from Germany. During his last battle at a bridge leading into Rome, he claimed to have had a vision of a cross and heard a voice which ordered him to conquer in the name of Christ.

From then on, Constantine saw opportunity to unite his Empire by using the power of the Christian Bishops from North Africa, Asia Minor, and Europe to help unite a Christianity which disagreed on claims being made concerning Jesus, especially concerning his supposed incarnation. In 325 CE Emperor Constantine called a Council at Nicaea to settle the issue. They finally agreed that Jesus was the Son of God incognito and wrote a creed to say so.

Several years later, 415 CE, another council accepted Athanasius’ thinking on a bodily resurrection, an apocalyptic judgement day with destruction of a fallen creation and eternal hellfire punishment for unbelief in Christ’s atonement, and that there were actually a three separate persons in one God, so another creed was written to establish that belief. It took more than another half-century and several more councils to determine which “scriptures” were inspired enough to be infallible and placed into their Holy Bible, something which Paul had claimed for his “scriptures” over four centuries earlier. But their Bible was written only in Latin and distributed only to the Church leadership for proper interpretation. Hmmm…

In the meantime, terrible Jewish persecutions began because they refused to submit to the Christian claim of a Triune God. Their Shema said, “God is One!” With the encouragement of the Church, Jews and pagans throughout the Empire were captured and met the sword of Constantine and other horrible deaths for their stubborn unbelief in Christianity’s salvation atonement religion. They were also blamed for every pestilence that occasionally plagued Europe. Several Church-sanctioned Crusades went off to rescue holy places in Jerusalem from the Muslims, who like the Jews, had One Allah, and refused to accept the Christian Triune God. Through the coming centuries, Jews and Muslims became the targets of the Church and the Empire. Even the Reformer, Martin Luther, spoke harshly against them as being Christ-killers and he still feared hell on his deathbed. One has to wonder just how much behind-the-scenes encouragement Hitler received from the Church to rid the German race of the Jews and their influence, especially in banking and financial issues.

There were scientists like Galileo who challenged the Church’s teaching that the earth was the center of the known solar system. He was accused of heresy and forced to publicly recant his findings under threat of imprisonment and death. (Typical of tyranny.) After the big Reformation schism concerning paying for early release from purgatory (another myth), Evangelical Conservative Protestants continued to split over their interpretation of various individual doctrines found in their scriptures. And they still do today. Worse, they refuse any fellowship with any who do not agree with them.

Is it not past time to uncover and release the freedom-giving message of the historical Jesus? Is it not past time to shake off all the myths and creeds pinning Jesus of Nazareth down? Christianity has blindly followed the wrong teacher for two millennia! Their fear of punishment for blaspheming their “infallible” inspired scriptures, and their fear of the apocalyptic end-time judgement keeps them from questioning their “holy” scriptures.

It is a fearful thing to have such a sky-god as Christians have! Their faith in being saved from a judgement myth by the suffering and death of a mere man to pay for their sins is a false hope. It would be better to be an atheist and deny the existence of such a god that requires blood-restitution for disobedience to his laws and the punishment of eternal hellfire for unbelief in his salvation plan. At least an atheist’s consciousness, having been emptied of such mythology, may be prepared to be enlightened by the real good news of a compassionate, accepting, and unconditionally loving and forgiving Presence patiently waiting with open arms.

May the good news of the Galilean’s discovery concerning a loving Fatherly Presence bring you comfort and peace. And may that discovery turn you loose to share the ways of this Fatherly Presence with everyone you know.

God is Love. Love is God personified in humanity. There is no punishment in Love. Love does not ask for or demand atonement. Put away your cross necklaces and crucifixes.

Henry Hasse – August, 2015

My Mission 1

Good news for each is us from Jesus’ core message!

The historical Jesus left his core message in Matt 5:38-48. It challenged the “eye for an eye” Jewish justice system based on the apocalyptic message of Daniel written by a priest during the Babylonian/Persian captivity and taken from their official religion of ancient Sumerian, Zoroaster. It cost him his life when he was accused of starting another Jewish rebellion. The apocalyptic myth was also adopted by Saul of Tarsus, the Roman center of Mithraism, an offshoot of the Sumerian religion. (Look it up.) Paul later in 50-55 CE described his dessert “visions” which exactly duplicated Mithraism and became his basis for reversing Jesus’ message and inventing his own form of apocalyptic Christianity, nothing but ancient mythology!

One has to ask how Paul could write such a beautiful description of true love and then quickly return to the horrors of his envisioned apocalyptic myth!?

Two & three generations later in 75-110 CE the “gospel” writers adopted Paul’s apocalyptic myth about the need for a human atonement “savior” which was spread throughout Europe after Emperor Constantine insisted that the bishops gather copies of letters and declare an official canonical “Word of God” which he then threatened death by sword or worse for any pagans & Jewish unbelievers who refused to bow to this new “inerrant” and “inspired” “Word of God.”

Later the claim for a Triune God, a resurrection of of our dead bodies, and the threat of an apocalyptic return in judgment, destruction, and eternal hellish punishment for unbelief were added by the Athanasian Creed in 415 CE.

Christians mindlessly still recite this Creed today giving no thought to its contrived lies.

So mythology prevailed within Christianity instead of Jesus’ message of an accepting, loving, forgiving God who had always existed from the beginning and lives WITHIN each of us, NOT somewhere out yonder, while patiently waiting to be discovered by us for what he/she REALLY is!!! – Love personified through our accepting and forgiving actions among others.

I was so wrong in teaching the Christian myth for years! But during the past 4-5 yrs I have discovered exactly what Jesus meant about his compassionate ABBA!

Thank God that his REAL message is still hiding in Matt 5:38-48 together with his stories of a generous landowner and an accepting forgiving Father of the Prodigal included among numerous hearsay stories about Jesus and what he supposedly did. Matt5:38-48 must have been among the oral sayings passed on by illiterate followers from Nazareth, a few sayings picked up by NT writers. Luke used these sayings from Matthew as well.

So fear not!!! There is NO apocalyptic judgement day coming! And there will be NO destruction of a so-called “fallen” creation OR an eternal hellish punishment for unbelief in an atonement myth!

We are bound up together with a higher Eternal Loving Consciousness which cannot die, not even when our bodies do. We only need our bodies and brains to finally learn this hopeful truth and use it to comfort others like Jesus did, even our enemies.

Henry Hasse – August, 2015

Love Heals

Healing Love

“We need to re-center regularly on the Love as noted in so many NDE accounts. As I read the new books from Lotufo, Pallmeyer, and Ellens it hit me again how the mythology of our religions has damaged human consciousness and so many human spirits over the millennia. These psychological approaches detail the trauma and destructiveness (the deformity and enslavement) that religions can have on the human person and life.

“Many people are not fully aware of how all this has impacted them. It is a major issue for the human family to recover this liberating discovery of Love behind everything. Ultimate reality is powerful liberating love! I think of this in terms of two key features: 1) Ultimate reality IS unconditional love; 2) We are that same love.

“Both of these are critical to human healing and advance. I repeat this a lot, but we are not yet even getting our feet wet on the shores of this reality, nor have we fully experienced its cleansing healing power and I ts enlightening liberating impact.

“Religion as a conditional reality has never communicated this truth clearly. Rather, it has more often distorted and buried it. That explains my impatience with all the reformist efforts now taking place within many religious denominations. They are good in exposing the violent deity at the core of the old mythology and that we need to move to new more humane views. But they are hesitant to really pull the diamond all the way out of the dunghill and clean it off so that it can do its liberating work. But nonetheless, I applaud them as far as they go. It is at least helpful.

“We have established that we can know that ultimate reality is love by seeing the best in humanity and by reasoning out that the Deity is infinitely better than religious mythology depicts it to be. From the Akkadian father on down to the historical Jesus of Nazareth, they got this. But unconditional love is rarely opened up for people to see in all its wonder.

“I see the liberating impact in varied ways. It liberates from all the fear, anxiety, worry, depression, and despair so widespread across the human family by going to the very root of human thought/perception to radically change all that pathological belief in an ultimate threat, anger, violence, punishment and so much more that was lodged in myth and religion about a deity. It changes or humanizes the foundations or core of human understanding completely. Multiple millennia of abusive and traumatizing impact from myth and religion has to be cleaned up.

“Unconditional love liberates ethically. It liberates from all those animal-like drives to small band exclusion, retaliation, and destruction of our opposing enemies. And since we are of the same love it also liberates from the damaging impact of a mythological “fall” and a “sinfulness” myth which claim that we deserve punishment and that we need to be saved by a perfect atoning bloody sacrifice. – (That was Paul’s apocalyptic claim found in his letter to the Romans, a claim that clearly contradicted the unconditional loving message taught by the Galilean about 25 years earlier. -HH)

“The more you survey the damage of the old story the more you see the healing power of the alternative message which the historical Jesus of Nazareth offered. No wonder, at a gut level, he got it and could say to all those damaged people he met, ‘Fear not….don’t worry’. You can heal yourself, your faith or belief in a merciful, compassionate Father will heal you. He did not have all the psychological tools we have today, but he got it at a gut level and used it. Pointing people to goodness everywhere in life – sun and rain and birds and grass/flowers clothed, and on and on. No threat or punishment in the man born blind, no revenge on the woman caught in adultery. Just mercy and compassion everywhere. It’s all good. It’s all going to be all right for everyone. Fear not. Nothing but liberating healing power from all the millennia of that darkening, enslaving, traumatizing myth.

“Anyhow, below is a brief quote from Anita Moorjani that relates to this psychological impact.”
-WKrossa

“I don’t recall ever being encouraged to cherish myself – in fact it would never have occurred to me to do so. It’s commonly thought of as being selfish. But my NDE allowed me to realize that this was the key to my healing: In the tapestry of life, we’re all connected. Each one of us is a gift to those around us, helping us to be who we are, weaving a perfect picture together. When I was in the NDE state, it all became so clear because I understood that to be me is to be love. This is the lesson that saved my life. Many of us still believe that we have to WORKS at being loving. But that means living in duality, because there’s a giver and a receiver. Realizing that we ARE love transcends this. It means understanding that there is no separation between you and me, and if I am aware that I am love, then I know that you are too. If I care for myself, then I automatically feel the same for you.

“In my NDE state, I realized that the entire universe is composed of unconditional love and I too am an expression of this. Every atom, molecule, quark, and tetra-quark is made of love. I can be nothing else because this is my essence and the nature of the entire universe. Even things that seem negative are all part of the infinite, unconditional spectrum of love. In fact, Universal Life-force energy is love, and I am composed of Universal energy! Realizing this helped me to understand that I did not have to try to become someone else in order to be worthy. I already am all that I could attempt to be.”

(We also need to understand that love gives us the freedom to act negatively, like the Prodigal Son, and then learn from our mistakes while love remains nonjudgmental. -HH)

March 8, 2015

Absolutely No Conditions!

Whatever you believe is your business. In this country it is your right to choose any religious dogma you wish to live by. And it is your right to even express your beliefs publicly if you so desire. But please do not attempt to force your beliefs on me by belittling me for my beliefs or by passing judgement on me for believing as I do. Threatening me and sharing your fears for my future really turn me off! – And physically harming me in the name of some monster deity is not allowed in America.

I understand where many of you are within your belief systems because I used to teach the same things with great conviction. Several of you sat in my classroom and some of you were colleagues of mine.

However, as you probably know by now, my beliefs have completely changed.

I would not trade the comfort, relief, and peace that passes all understanding for discovering the consciousness of an accepting, forgiving, and unconditionally (with no conditions or stipulations) loving presence of an Ultimate Goodness that will NEVER (No exaggeration with this promise!) leave me, not even in death!

I totally depend upon that upside-down discovery which was relentlessly taught by the Galilean peasant, the historical Jesus, (and which was also the cause of his demise), and which still is contrary to any and all religious atonement (blood-offering) dogma vicariously given by a conjured up vision of a “Messiah/Christ,” as-well-as the apocalyptic judgement/eternal hellish punishment-for-unbelief dogma, both of which are meant to appease some imaginary monster sky-deity for humanity’s original disobedience.

I know that this really good news to me may trouble some of you because it may challenge your current belief system just as it did mine at first. That is, it did until it convinced me to “fear not!” This news concerning the eternal kindness and generosity of a loving Creator who knows our individual human imperfections and STILL chooses to accept and live among us is indeed amazing! (It was a scandal to the Prodigal Son’s judgmental brother, remember? – because his kind of justice was the payback kind, not the “no strings attached” forgiving kind of loving justice shown by his father.)

So, please reconsider your current belief system, especially if you believe its dogma only because of fearing the eternal consequences for not believing it.

Henry Hasse ~ January 8, 2015

Merry Mithras

Warning! The history which follows will be hard to hear for most at this time of year.

Mithraism’s center of worship of an ancient Sumerian/Persian savior-god/messiah religion was at Tarsus, the home of a huge Roman army garrison and also the home of Saul who later had the vision to shut down the fledgling Jesus movement out of Galilee (the one that spoke of a kind, generous and unconditionally forgiving/loving ABBA always present among us), and labeled that peasant movement as “anti-Christ.”

Instead, Saul/Paul turned it into an apocalyptic Christ/Messiah/Savior movement similar to Mithraism which would relate better to the Gentile/Romans and pagans who were already well acquainted with Mithras. – Very clever idea which was destined to finally become the new Christian atonement religion about three centuries later, that is, with the help of NT narratives written a couple generations after Paul, and especially with Emperor Constantine’s decree to unify the Empire under the symbol of the cross. -HH

………………..

Ho, Ho, Ho Merry Mithras to All!
by Stephen Van Eck

One of the most tiresome and predictable aspects of the holiday season is the annual lament that we’re “forgetting whose birthday it is.” Related to that is the exhortation to “keep Christ in Christmas.”

Those who employ these tired slogans simply do not understand Christmas at all. A review of the true historical roots of Christmas might help ease their confusion, and should be diverting to those who’ve never been bothered by the secular aspects of this holiday.

Devout Christians are of the opinion that Christmas has been corrupted, becoming more secular in recent decades than in its authentic form. Nothing can be further from the truth. What they fail to understand is that Christmas is actually the awkward amalgamation of two distinct cultural heritages, Christian and pagan. And the pagans had the holiday first.

Unknown to many, Christmas has its origins in the winter solstice festivals that virtually all ancient civilizations observed. (The Romans called it the Saturnalia.) The sun had ceased its ebbing, and had started to return to the world. Days stopped getting shorter, as if the light were reborn. The occasion was marked with feasting and merrymaking.

The original Christian church spread itself into cultures that had strong pagan traditions. They found these practices difficult to eradicate, and instead settled on a policy of consciously co-opting them. Pagan traditions continued, but in a new Christian context. This is what happened with the winter solstice festivals.

There is no record whatsoever of the specific date of Jesus’ birth, but December 25th is extremely unlikely. (While shepherds watched their flocks by night? Not in the winter they didn’t!)

The Church quite deliberately selected December 25th as a way of co-opting the solstice celebration. Since it was the time of the light coming back into the world, it had a practical symbolic tie-in that served their purposes well.

It could have been December 21st, a typical date for the actual solstice, but December 25th happened to be the birthday of Mithras, a Persian savior-god who was himself considered the light of the world. Mithras had a sizable cult within the Roman Empire during the first two centuries of the Christian Era, and by appropriating his birthday for their Savior, Christians could more easily convert Mithraites with a remarkably similar tale. As Mithras is forgotten today, it’s clear the strategy was a rousing success!

But Christmas continued as a schizophrenic holiday, part pagan festival, part Christian narrative. Along the way it absorbed more pagan elements that had absolutely nothing to do with Christian theology. Such things as decorating fir trees, hanging mistletoe, and sleigh bells in the snow simply do not pertain to ancient Palestine or Christian dogma at all, but they’ve had a strong appeal to our civilization just the same. It’s a true reflection of our forgotten pagan heritage.

Eventually, most Christians were no longer aware of the pagan origin of Christmas, which only created confusion over its persistent pagan aspects. The Puritans, however, did recognize its essential pagan character, and some early American colonies actually prohibited the celebration of Christmas.

One suspects they may have been disturbed not just by the paganism, but by the prospect that some people might actually cut loose and have fun. To them, December 25th was strictly to be just another working day, to be faced as sternly and joylessly as possible. The present-day Jehovah’s Witnesses attitude, when it comes to the legitimacy of Christmas, is pretty much the same.

The increasing secularism of the Christmas season, then, represents not a corruption of its original form, but a re-emphasis on the paganism that lies at its very foundation. Paganism that, since it was the original source of the holiday, has a more legitimate right to define what that holiday is. And let’s face it – all these pagan customs are actually rather enjoyable.

You’ll get no “bah humbug” from me – I’ll leave that to the Christians, who failed to co-opt the holiday completely, and are now upset that to most of us, it means something besides a drab indoctrination.

Merry Mithras to all, and to all a good night!

Henry Hasse ~ December 8, 2014

Incredible Experience

http://nhneneardeath.ning.com/video/near-death-experience-of-light-and-sound-by-a-neurosurgeon?xg_source=activity&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latest-activity-on-nhnende+%28Latest+Activity+on++NHNE+Near-Death+Experience+Network%29

Here you are…unconditional love is very real indeed! And what we can mirror here and now is merely a hint of that which is in store for us!

I think that the Galilean Teacher from Nazareth must have had a similar experience and could not shut up about telling stories that taught as much. Home-town folks, even family, thought he was out of his mind for teaching that such a loving Ultimate Goodness (ABBA) really exists among us… especially in spite of the oppression all around them – and in view of what WE see in the news reports from around the world.

I say, never mind the alarmists! They are wrong 100% of the time and always have been throughout history. It is much better to be “out of your mind” like the Galilean and me! Dare to question the “holy inspired” Scriptures. Dare to use your God-given higher intelligence to question “authorities.” Dare to be anti-Christ in your thinking! (Yes, Paul’s theology and the theology of the other NT writers who followed him was mostly wrong too!) Dare to think that humanity’s Fall, the need for atonement with a vengeful “deity,” the need for religious rituals, and the threat of an everlasting punishing hell for unbelief in atonement are nothing but nonsensical myths, all the results of human fears merely appearing real.

We have absolutely nothing to fear from ABBA!

Henry Hasse ~ November 7, 2014

“Holy” Words Control Psyches

Jihad is in the air, in the news, and on the minds of people living in fear. It means “the struggle against evil.” It is based on the “eye for an eye” metaphor which demands retaliation and maintaining strength to establish peace. Negotiation, statesmanship, and mutual agreement for the benefit of all are off the table. All that matters is controlling another person’s, group’s, nation’s concept of “evil” which is always centered on “holy” words found in their “holy book.”

Only interpretations of their Biblicism differ among the three major religions of the world today (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) as leaders in each attempt to control the psyches of their followers. And the more fundamental their interpretation is, the more anxious they are to satisfy their need to destroy their “evil” enemies to effect peace and to appease their monster deity who requires a punishing justice for disobedience and/or unbelief in its vicious master plan of atonement for their salvation.

What has a chance to overcome all of the above?

Rejection! Rejection of Biblicism, rejection of religion, rejection of the “eye for an eye” metaphor of justice, rejection of a monster deity and its vicious master plan of atonement for humanity’s salvation, rejection of fear.

But especially becoming conscious of the presence of an Ultimate Goodness that patiently yearns to be discovered among humanity and then shared with all as an unconditionally loving and accepting and as an endlessly forgiving and compassionate ABBA-like deity who understands the slow growthp of consciousness in all its prodigal sons and daughters.

Love conquers fear! Love liberates! Love allows for freedom to the benefit of all. Initiative and creativity and productivity are fruits of Love.

See Micah 7:18-20 for a brief on ABBA, my deity of Ultimate Love & Goodness.

– H Hasse
Sept. 30, 2014

Liberty & Freedom

Just thinking about Liberty and how it allows for the freedom to make mistakes.

There are sensible safety rules that loving adults share with their growing children. You know them.

Unfortunately, some adults are too paranoid, and some are too ready to mistrust, threaten, punish, senselessly remove the child’s freedom, and set horrible examples for children to learn from.

It is not easy to be free. Freedom requires great personal responsibility. Freedom is Liberty’s child. Freedom is many things, such as hanging on to your own acceptance, unconditional loving forgiveness, and then accepting and unconditionally forgiving another’s harmful ways toward you and loving them anyhow.

This is the only way to change yourself and others: no atonement, no guilt, no threats, no payback, no punishment for you or your enemies.

This is and has been ABBA’s loving way from the beginning. This is ABBA’s justice! This was the liberating message that the Galilean, the real historical Jesus of Nazareth, taught and lived among his oppressed neighbors. It set them free to go out and do as he did to others. It set them free to learn to be like ABBA while still learning from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others.

Compare the above Jesus with the “Christ” of Paul and the NT writers.

The Galilean taught that ABBA was always near us and in us, and would never leave us. Not even death can separate ABBA from being a part of us.

But Paul’s “Christ” is completely opposite. You know all the ways. And Paul’s “Christ” was embellished even more ways by the Church during the next four centuries. You know those ways too and you have confessed or sung those ways.

Those ways threaten eternal punishment by having “Christ” come in judgement to send unbelievers to that hellfire punishment. You know all about that too.

Does that sound anything like ABBA’s ways that the real historical Jesus of Nazareth (not Bethlehem) taught and lived in his parables? What about his core teaching still hiding among all the NT weeds: Matt 5:38-48?

Little wonder he was murdered by Church and Roman authorities! ABBA’s ways of a loving justice were a threat to mankind’s justice of payback punishment!

Think about the Liberty that ABBA offers to you. Think about the freedom you have from guilt and oppression. Think about how your forgiving justice, with no strings attached, could change things starting with your family, friends, and neighborhood. Think about how far ABBA’s love could reach among us.

My eternal love to you,

Henry Hasse ~ July 10,2014

The Illusion of Knowledge

Here’s something to contemplate for a while. “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge.” – D. Boorstin

We are all born ignorant, but with the potential to learn quickly – and we do. Ignorance is nothing more than an empty personal journal waiting for meaningful entries.

But the illusion of knowledge closes the mind to further thought. A new idea which has potential to carry one beyond where one is stuck in her/his current “truth” is vital for growth and development of the human being.

We were created to question, consider, learn through curiosity, and move on to whatever is better than what we had thought before. Progress is always better than the illusion that we have already arrived with the one and only answer. Illusion inhibits human development.

We fool ourselves by trusting words that come from supposed authorities, that is, people whose education level demands our respect. Red flags should appear immediately! And when they claim that such words are “holy” and that they are the very words of God, well, then you can be certain that their words hide illusion from you. “People of the Book,” as they are sometimes called, are still teaching, living, and trusting an illusion, a myth.

Their bean-counting retaliating god who supposedly rules from somewhere up yonder does not exist and never did. Their illusion has kept them from learning the historical development of ancient humans and their gods.

Not only do they refuse to listen and learn from historical records which clearly explain the origins of religions which controlled the ancients, they also refuse to consider how their own religion developed and changed.

How, where and when did the Hebrew religion develop during their history? When did the ancient Sumerian religion begin to influence Hebrew thinking? Although the seeds of Zoroastrianism were already present throughout the land of Canaan, they contaminated Hebrew thinking during their Babylonian/Persian captivity.

Pre-captivity Prophets spoke of mercy without sacrifice, kindness, and compassion especially for those in need, and an unconditionally loving God who was always present among them.

After the captivity, the Persian apocalyptic, retaliating, and judgmental god became the god of the Torah. The Greeks and Romans brought the Hebrews to their knees wishing for the coming of the apocalypse to save them from tyranny. Several self-appointed Jewish apocalyptic “Messiahs” attempted rebellions but only made matters worse.

A simple alternative message from a lowly Galilean peasant offered a merciful accepting and unconditionally loving and forgiving message during these difficult times instead of a punishing, getting even, retaliation message. His reality was similar to the messages of the pre-captivity Prophets that offered comfort and relief to oppressed people. It was a message from an unconditionally loving, forgiving, and ever-present Fatherly God whose justice for all could be seen in the reality of rainfall and providing for birds. How much more for you? But it was a message which challenged the Hebrew apocalyptic religion and its leadership. And the Galilean was soon murdered as just another upstart rebel.

His close followers scattered for their lives. Although some of his illiterate followers continued to spread his sayings orally together with his generous ways, but his message was soon discarded for the more familiar apocalyptic salvation message of a well-educated lawyer who turned the Galilean into the long-awaited apocalyptic “Messiah” foretold to save all people (not just Jews) from their sins by offering himself as a sacrifice to Zoroaster’s angry god. This was the message that spread during the years of tyranny and persecution that followed – about four centuries of it while Gentile Christians waited for the promised apocalypse to relieve them.

From that time on, Christianity received the backing of the Emperors and/or the Popes, and they soon brought their own horrible apocalypse on the Jews, the Muslims, the pagans, and other unbelievers, all in the name of their god and their confessions.

People of the Book still prefer to have their forgiveness paid for with a vengeful bloody sacrifice just because one of the writers of their Book, Paul, said it was so. And then they top that off with the threat of an everlasting punishment by a hellish fire prepared for those who have questioned their salvation mythology.

May our loving Fatherly God surround them with his patience and unconditional forgiveness such that they begin to see the Light of his accepting Presence among them and therefore have reason to grow and develop and to do unto others as God would do. – Love them. Let it be so. – May your kingdom come among us.

John Shelby Spong writes, “Ultimately, this will cause us to redefine God. – (much like the Galilean peasant did) God will no longer be understood as a supernatural being, who invades the world miraculously from somewhere outside it. God will rather be perceived as the Source of Life calling us to live fully, the Source of Love freeing us to love wastefully, and as the Ground of our Being empowering us to be all that each of us can be.”

Henry Hasse ~ May 31, 2014

Dare to Challenge Tyranny With Goodness

Complaints of “political correctness” and “religious bias” and “…-baiting” of all types, even labeling and bullying, originate from a mindset that spews tyranny, a mindset that needs to “get even, punish, or retaliate for something fearful grating away in its own gut.

Negative labeling that belittles in some way, is unproductive and only drives a deeper wedge between people. Children bully. Adults label. Really no difference. Both are put downs.

Today, “political correctness” and “religious bias” means that nothing dare be challenged with another point of view. And this in turn discourages discussion and exchange of ideas and growth and development and making things better for everyone. The loudest accuser wins with her/his personal “sacred” tyranny and shuts down what may have become an improvement in thought and action.

But when such put downs are off the table, ears have a better opportunity to be open to alternative possibilities.

Actually, the only sacred thing on earth is humanity itself. All humanity is worthy of receiving and giving unconditional love, no matter what. This is why all humanity needs to be sacred to us as well, no matter their personal beliefs and past mistakes, no matter their “blasphemy” or their “heresy.”

This worthiness is the surprising gift of an accepting love, even toward an enemy, and it has far more power to change someone than a threat of punishment or death. It has the power to begin changing a life into something with eternal value. Think about that for a while.

This is the real Diamond of Goodness – namely, real justice offered to us without any stipulations – unconditionally. It is a gift that surprises. When it imputes righteousness, a whore can become a lady! e.g. Don Quixote.

Out of my mind? I think not! The historical Joshua of Nazareth spoke of the same. He challenged the ancient mindset of both a tyrannical punishing god and an “eye for an eye” justice system. He challenged it with Compassion and Goodness and Loving forgiveness which is the justice of the real God.

Go ahead. Try it out. Your paying forward of real justice can and will make a difference. Seeing someone as they still think they are not, believing in what they can do and in what they can be when they are still unable to believe it, eventually imputes them with righteousness, with “doing the right thing,” – doing what God would do.

Henry Hasse ~ May 21, 2014