The Jeremiah Syndrome
And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. Luke 5:31 NASB
Are sick – So how do you feel today? Rested? Comfortable? Or maybe your back is a bit sore from holiday exercise. Maybe you ate too much. Maybe you’re coming down with the flu. Time to see the doctor. But if you thought about going to the “Great Physician,” you’ll be disappointed to know that he isn’t seeing patients with physical ailments. No, his practice specializes in another kind of sickness. In fact, if we just read the Greek here, we would have known that. The phrase is kakos echontes, to “have badly.” But the adverb, kakos, comes from a primary root with the same spelling that means, “evil, harm, wicked” and, also, “ill, bad.” As soon as we realize that the Hebrew concept of “sick” is primarily a moral one, we see that Yeshua is not telling us that he came to heal our physical ailments. Of course, he does that, but as a demonstration of YHVH’s graciousness and compassion. No, his principal practice is the healing of moral illness, the inner infection that keeps us from experiencing the full presence of the Father. He treats the Jeremiah syndrome, a disease that affects all humanity.
More than one prophet in Scripture speaks about kakos echontes. They all conclude the same thing: it’s a major problem. But they also notice that, in general, men don’t even think they are sick. Perhaps kakos echontes is more like gum disease than measles. You don’t know you have it until the damage is already done. Perhaps a visit to the periodontist of the soul would help. At least then we would know the symptoms. That’s critically important. Unless we recognize that kakos echontes is present, we won’t know what to do about it. So, what are the symptoms of this ubiquitous malady?
Remember that we are looking at symptoms, not the underlying illness. And the first symptom is most likely the lack of persistent prayer. Heschel once wrote that a man who does not pray cannot know God. In some way not clearly defined, prayer operates more on the one who offers the prayer rather than the one who receives it. Prayer alters our consciousness. The man who has trouble praying is most likely the man who is experiencing distance from the Creator. So number one on your self-diagnosis list might be this: “How easy is it for me to pray?”
Second, we better make a penetrating analysis of our sense of compassion toward others. If the second great commandment is about the other person, and the fulfillment of this intrapersonal empathy is a direct measure of our relationship with God, then the next important question probably should be: “Do I really have a heart full of kindness and compassion for others?” Ah, but that’s an easy one to answer if the “others” are just far enough away. So let’s reword this: “Do I really show a heart full of kindness and compassion for those closest to me?” By the way, the person in your mirror doesn’t get to answer this. The only ones who can give you the proper feedback are the others closest to you. Go ask them.
Third, and this will be all for now (we will probably need some recovery time), one of the symptoms of kakos echontes is fudging with the commandments. If we agree that the commandments are instructions for fulfilled life on earth, and that they represent ways of showing YHVH how much we love Him, then it is moral suicide not to do them. We lock people up who act in ways that are entirely self-destructive, but when it comes to Torah, we have offered two thousand years of psychobabble, theological excuses why we don’t’ have to act in our own self-interest by aligning ourselves with the God of the universe. In other words, kakos echontes appears to be a debilitating mental condition as well because it convinces us that we really don’t need to do what God asks and He will simply overlook the infraction. That’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Basically, this kind of action is insane. One symptom of kakos echontes is theological psychosis, the belief that God’s directions for living don’t really matter.
So how do you feel now? Better? Worse? Time to see the doctor? Ah, the doctor who specializes in kakos echontes, of course. No other will do.
Topical Index: kakos echontes, symptoms, Luke 5:31, sick
Good morning everyone. I like to think of the parable of the Good Samaritan. At the end Yeshua the question which of these three do you think right? Go and do the same. We cannot love God without loving our neighbor loving our neighbor without loving God is actually self destructive suicide.
Skip, as a passionate follower of your stance on the nephesh, I would like to humbly submit that illness will show up, eventually, in all our dimensions. Everybody is unique and so it is not easy to ‘diagnose’ this multifaceted illness paradigm, but, as sure as God made little green apples, what exists in one dimension is going to reveal itself in the others, too, one way or another. You cannot be a bitter person, or an antisocial person, or a chronically fearful person without it having a profound effect on the mind and body. You cannot have mental illness without it affecting your ability to connect with self, God and others successfully or even be able to take good care of yourself physically, and if you are not feeling good, it is very hard to BE good, too. Fracture cuts across all dimensions simultaneously; therefore, we would be wise to heed the multitude of counsel that suggests we go to that great Physician to heal us in all our dimensions. He stands ready to make efficacious all our revenge on the fruits of disobedience when we turn around and get the obedience thing right. First thing to do to obey: we are told to go to Him for healing!
P.S. The laws of the physical universe are just as much His as all the other laws. Gravity works on saints and sinners alike, and the laws of health were codified in heaven, too, so we cannot ignore them either and claim full obedience. Torah is just as much about baths and healthy cuisine as it is about prayer.
“A passionate follower of your stance on ‘nephesh’. ”
One simply can not be a ‘passionate follower of nephesh’ and represent deliverance. The two concepts are simply incompatible.
seriously.
I am mystified by your response here. Nephesh is about the total homogenization of human being. Body and “soul” do not exist apart from each other. In fact, the certifiers themselves are a mistake. Nephesh is the total “person,” the personality that is embodied. How can deliverance occur WITHOUT affecting all of the person. There is no incompatibility here unless you begin with the unwarranted assumption that human being is BODY + SOUL.
While I’ve not done an NT search of the related terms, I’ll agree with Skip here, at least as regards Genesis 2:7. Here’s a translation of this verse in the LXX:
enephysēsen eis to prosōpon autou pnoēn zōēs, kai egeneto ho anthrōpos eis psychēn zōsan
He breathed into [the] face/body of him breath of life and he became the man into psyche-living.
He breathed into his face/body the breath of life and the man became a living soul.
Note that psyche is the Greek translation for nephesh. While it’s possible the NT makes some sort of distinction between psyche (soul) and sōma (body), there’s none implied in Genesis 2:7. But, I note that sōma (body) is used in John 2:21, while psyche (life/soul) is used in John 10:17, for the raising of Yeshua.
I don’t believe the Greeks were wrong about EVERYTHING, nor do i believe the Hebrews were RIGHT about everything.
However,
it IS nice to see skip and craig on the same page although i actually expected craig, w/all his alice bailey and occult background to lean more towards my inclination then skips.
No cookies, i forgot the keys i have to hit to get to them. #weightwatchersrule!
Bailey is neo-gnostic, delineating between matter (evil) and spirit (good), which means her work exemplifies a body-soul/spirit dualism. In the gnostic schema, the goal is to rid oneself of the ‘evil’ body in order to set the soul/spirit free. This is done through the acquisition of ‘higher knowledge’ (gnosis), aka ‘new revelation’ (I think the latter will sound familiar to you).
That’s not to say the NT may not reveal a distinction in the human, such that the body is made up of the body and soul or/and spirit. Having not searched this out, I just don’t know. However, Gen. 2:7 does not imply this at all – though it doesn’t necessarily contradict it, either.
BTW, if you want to bold or italicize, it’s not difficult at all. Just use the left and right arrow keys – the ones below the K and L on your keyboard. Since, if done correctly, these “tags” disappear once you “Post Comment”, I’ll illustrate using brackets instead. Just substitute the arrows for the brackets for the desired effect. The tag for bold is b, italics is i:
[b]bold[/b] or [i]italics[/i] or both [b][i]both[/b][/i]
Follow this pattern, being sure to use the forward slash preceding the applicable letter at the end (/b or /i) to close each tag. The tags are visible right now…until I “Post Comment”…then they’re gone.
There was a time in my life when i was considered well researched and reliable source for pertinent and accurate information.
However, i went through a great divide (read: divorce) and lost most of my reference points (by design, the man who divorced me first siphoned off my information and then destroyed my connection to it, by which i mean the computer that i used is not only inaccessible to me, but inoperable).
Sometimes i make a comment and then fall off the face of the earth because i realize to respond would be futile, i know what i remember from my research, but no longer have access to that said research.
Unfortunately this topic is one of those times, although, to be fair i did spend a fair amount of my free time yesterday looking for the 2 sources that i knew i had to bolster my stance. Alas, to no avail.
So, i must respectfully bow out of the conversation and apologize for the inconvenience.
however, my learning curve is still strong, hence my attempt here: [b]bold[/b] or [i]italics[/i] or both [b][i]both[/b][/i]
and if the above works, it is because i blatantly copied and pasted from Craig’s post and if it does NOT it is because my computer is odd, not i.
and lastly, COOKIES FOR ALL!!!! ????????????????
and so, i see my little plagiaristic moment where i copied and pasted Craig’s work doth reveal my computer is in rebellion and cannot obey the most basic of commands.
No small reflection on it’s owner, i’m thinking.
Substitute [ for < and so forth
did it work?
Hello Skip and Others,
Only because of the ongoing favor and lovingkindness of YHVH, can I answer in the affirmative to the three questions posed here. A practice found helpful was suggested some time ago to me by the late Messianic Rabbi, Stan Greene. Take one to two minutes out of every hour and reflect quietly and thankfully on the goodness of Adonai to you during the past hour. Bring concerns to His attention only briefly. Then, go back to living life. I have to decide to do this often, and when waking every day, also decide whom do I choose to serve this day. Your reflections today and this month have been very instructive and encouraging to one in a time of adjustment to not buying into the “Christmas story” hook, line, and sinker. I am grieved that from a historical perspective, many clergy hang on for dear life to what seems to be misinformation. May YHVH continue to be our very present help! Thanks again!
David Russell
Thanks , has anyone here heard of the missed Institute? Short overview it is taking our God given emotions and realigning them properly ancient Jewish practice.
Musdar Institute
A Visit to the Doctor
And the Great Physician asks: “Will you be made whole?” [I AM not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance]. What? What [sick] man in his right mind would not want to be made “whole?” Ahh.. but herein lies the rub.
We (the sheeple) are NOT in our right mind! Actually, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. But.. “if the scriptures are true” [Ha!] It is written.. (oh, those three words!) – “If we [but] confess our sins.. [to the Priest? – oh yes, but not that one,— THAT One!! – a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek] He is Faithful and Just [that is His Name!] to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness! Friend, “Ask.. – and you will receive..” It goes like this: “Father, forgive ME for ‘I’ have sinned..” As the scriptures again state: ALL have sinned.. – therefore ‘I’ would certainly be included in the “ALL!” I {too} have sinned and I [too} am included in this group of prodigal sons and daughters..
But the “good news?” Paul {formerly known as Saul] knew it – and went everywhere to declare it: “Christ Jesus has come into this world to save sinners! (of whom I am chief!).
In His own words: [Calling all sinners] Where is forgiveness found? “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1.18) Ask. And you will receive..
Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole,
I want Thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow..
Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,
Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;
To get this blest cleansing I all things forego;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up myself and whatever I know;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet;
By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait;
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee Thou never saidst, No;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Ask, [in faith] and you will receive.. [by grace!]
Thank you. This is right on the money Skip; and I needed to hear it. Again.
We’re all mad, here…
Your sick-little-monkey friend,
Andrew
I have to say prayer can sometimes be extremely exacting, prayer is often not an easy process, not always of course, but the most focused prayers with time and place and intention set apart tend to be difficult. Why, well there are many reasons, but I guess the simplest and most important reason is I try to be serious, in fact one has to be serious when it is suitably clear there are no other ways to pray in this manner
there is a lot to be said about that, God is wonderful, I’ve learnt about God’s goodness and love but also though difficult have benefited immensely from the seriousness of God’s will
maybe it is the trauma of these experiences, as with many other challenges, which has helped me to learn to be more moderate and understanding with others, again a lot could be said, but the essential idea is that God is caring and wants us to be caring and at the same time to be serious, but this seriousness is between God and us as individuals, whereas towards other individuals let us practise the kindness and understanding we hope for, we can probably fairly say this is very easy and yet also very difficult