A Guest Article
Praying Loudly with No Volume
By Dr. Roderick Logan, DPTh, CFTP
Feeling overwhelmed often leads human beings to believe they are small and insignificant; leaving them with a heightened sense of loneliness. Society’s occasional hostility and general indifference will even affirm this notion. Stressed out individuals will conclude, “Why bother taking a second look?”
Daring to look deeper, however, one would see a dynamic relationship does exist between the human soul and the soul of the universe.
What a minute. The universe has a soul?Again, this is a “deeper” look. Where does the idea of people having a soul come from in the first place?
The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (Hebrew: nephesh haya – living soul). Genesis 2:7
The nephesh – soul – originates with God the Creator; the Source of all life. So, it is not a far cry to see that, although, humans are the only life forms bearing the Creator’s image and likeness, the remaining universe only has life and breathes because its origins also lie with the Creator. Thus, the universe has a soul. With that point established, consider this idea.
One might even say that the two souls – human and the universe – are essentially one; or seeking to become one. The two show striking similarities. For example, on the outside – the side that is so overwhelmed by one’s senses – there is conflict and chaos. At the same time, on the inside – the side that is much deeper and can only be felt by faith – there is an eternal love affair and inseparable embrace with the Divine and the Holy.
The Apostle expresses in his own words the tension and contrast between what is seen on the outside versus what is believed on the inside.
Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing… be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God… Creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth… Not only the creation, but we ourselves… we wait eagerly for adoption… For in this hope we were saved…(Romans 8:19-24)
King Solomon’s lyrical drama is based on this same idea and bears the inscription, “The Song of Songs.” He understood that songs are the nucleus of human and cosmic expressions: the longing of the individual to be reunited; to be at one with themselves and the world in which they find themselves. It is the ancient cry for harmony between what lies on the surface and what dwells beneath.
Songs are prayers and their lyrics give voice to a person’s concerns. On the outside, God seems so far removed. It feels as if there is a wide canyon between the lowly individual and the King of the universe, but as the call is made the echo is carried across the expanse and it does not diminished.
“In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears (Ps 18:6).” “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, LORD, do I seek (Ps 27:8).’” “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me (Pr 8:17).”
Now the bridge appears. Now the wide expanse closes. In this desperate moment, the outer and the inner, the high and the low, the holy and the common, heaven and earth, enfold into a single envelope.
No, it does not just happen. Conditions must be right for the soul of humanity and the soul universe to unite. The healing of the lovers’ wounded hearts requires humanity to enter the inner sanctuary that resides beyond desire and discord. All of creation – men, women, trees, animals, sky and ground – all have within them the divine origin which enables movement toward the fulfillment of each one’s purpose. Once a woman or a man can come to be at peace with themselves – discovering that oneness between their inner soul and their outer desire, reconciling what lies deep within their heart and what sits on their lips – then and only then can that individual experience the peace that “surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7).”
A vital insight is found in Hannah’s prayer.
“Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard… (1Sa 1:13).”
From Hannah comes the example of praying loudly with no volume. Her lips are moving, but there is no sound. Her upper brain has gone dormant while her lower brain is amped with streaming electrical currents, her adrenal glands have constricted her blood vessels, and her lungs have dilated. She cannot speak the words. She has the lyrics, but they are not audible. Her cortex, that enables her language, has stepped aside, submitting to the forceful emotions emitting from her lowest cerebral regions. No one hears her, but she hears her. She hears because she feels. Every letter, word, and the spaces in between are pulsating, rhythmically throughout every fiber of her body. In this moment, Hannah learns what it means to “pour out her soul.” Containment is beyond her capacity. She lets it flow and at times even surge with passion.
Hannah was observed by the attending priest. He, the most righteous in the community, concludes she is drunk from too much wine. She was not drunk with wine, but perhaps she was drunk in another way. Perhaps her desire to be a mother, her desire to be counted among the other blessed women of the village, and her desire to not live under the shame and ridicule of others were the sources of her emotional intoxication.
Hannah answered the priest, “I am a woman troubled in spirit… I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD… All along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation (1Sa 1:15-16).”
Hannah was overcome by her desires, but were her desires bad? Should she, “just get over it already?”
What do you pray for?
Do you pray for material things and then judge yourself as drunk with worldly desires?
Do you petition God to act on behalf of your negative situations and then second guess your requests before giving God the time to respond?
It is one thing when others do not understand what is deep within your heart, but it is another matter entirely when you do not understand what is truly spiritual within you. O, to be truly self-aware without judgement.
What if you did not merely look at material things as something material, but rather as material things that held spiritual value inside waiting to be released or uncovered; material things with a soul? Dare to look again at your gloomy situation and see what godly purpose is anticipating you will elevate it. No matter how matters turn out, there is a good that prevails.
“According to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will… (Ep 1:11).”
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to redirect the chaos of your world and bring it into harmony with the Creator’s intended purpose, and thereby achieving the at-one-ment He created in the first place. This is called repairing the earth.
“The Lord God took the human and put them in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Ge 2:15).”
Each man and woman is surrounded by elements related to his and her mission: family, health, home, talent, income, and community. Each one prays; singing their soul out. Each man and woman does so because he/she knows that however mundane these things appear to be, without all of them the mission will not be accomplished.
God is seeking you to seek Him. “He yearns jealously over the spirit that He has made to dwell in us (Ja 4:5).” He is listening, because He desires to dwell within your routine, ordinary, wearisome, and messy world. Just He hovers over the deep, murky waters, we find the likes of Hannah and ourselves hovering at the wall that stands between us and our relief.
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters (Ge 1:2).”
The revered Jewish Sage, Baal Shem Tov, comments on this passage. He said,
“The spirit of God refers to the soul within man. When a person invests his soul into the toil of hovering over the waters, meaning that he lingers with patience and diligence over the study of Torah – which is compared to water – then God says, ‘Let there be light.’ God illuminates his eyes with the light of Torah.”
Though your world appears to you devoid of structure and meaning, though you cannot find the right words, though you feel so disorganized, and answers are averting you begin now moving your lips and let yourself hear Him breath into your darkness, “Let there be light.”
“Daring to look deeper, however, one would see a dynamic relationship does exist between the human soul and the soul of the universe.”
Yes, indeed. And the relationship is so often overshadowed by the impulse to “have dominion over” our sphere, that some of the most fulfilling experiences go unrecognized. May we all become more intentional about our focus and our actions with respect to this vital restoration of our world.
Thank you, Roderick.
Thank you, Roderick and Gayle.
I think we have interpreted too many times “dominion” as “separating ourselves from”. I usually hear the first half of this verse trotted out to justify some form of killing, polluting or ignoring what the world around us needs from us. I have yet to hear the sermon or justification as to why the earth we were given “to dress and to keep” needs us to actually “dress” it and “keep” it. What does that mean? I don’t think we are going to get that vital relationship with the cosmos unless and until we recognize that we have a part to play, and what that part is. We take the first half of that verse – “dominion” – and run with it but don’t seem to understand that we aren’t actually practicing it unless we are obeying the second half.
I have thought many times that if you did a survey among Genesis-believing Christians – perhaps even Jews, I don’t know – how many of them are going to get a blank look on their face if you ask them to explain just how they are carrying out the original “dressing” and “keeping” command (yes, it was the first Command, and has, as far as I can discover, never been revoked or nailed to a cross)? So much of the outline about the land in the Torah that does not make modern agrarian sense has to do with how we should relate to the earth around us. We just think that it only applies to the mythical land of Israel, but why would we think that? Maybe Roderick or Skip or somebody would feel inspired to help us break this one down. I feel rather fractured from creation, and need to understand why. How about you?
I agree Laurita and having grown up between jumping in the freshly sheeared sheep wool and I can still sense the smell, or running in the fields of tall corn, riding on the combines on the farm or sleeping with my bedroom door open as the ocean crept closer to my bedroom at night at the beach house- I long to not be fractured from it and yes I want to look deeper
Well, Maddie, conversing with little heliotropes (sunlovers) and kayaking with dolphins has to be a good start! So happy you survived Irma in paradise!
The first verb in Genesis 2:15 is abad… to serve… to work… so when HaShem tells Adam to serve the garden of Eden, He was using the same verb that is used to serve Him… so, to serve the earth (creation) is to serve Him… as far as I’m concerned, it is still His creation… He is the owner…
The second verb is shamar… to keep… as in “if you love Me, keep my commandments”… spoken by Yeshua…
Does this make sense? How important should Genesis 2:15 be to us?
How do we serve the earth? Do we plow and plant so that it can be true to its nature. Cultivate what we put in… And give back in multifold?
Or do we shape and change it to bring forth its more glorious purpose? I think this is how it is understood with the common translation saying subdue it. Or Eve still sharing of the fruit of knowledge…
Or is it harvesting its natural additional results to benefit us most? Termites etc do this extremely well… We do as well windmills, solar panels etc.
Or is there another translation of serve that we are not aware of?
This TW had me thinking of words I read a few years back… Something like… Our purpose is not to find our role and responsibility on earth, but to empower or prepare ourselves for our task in the universe.
More about this in the coming editions
Seeker, I welcome you to review my comments to Gayle, Laurita, and Alfredo. I will dare to add one more thought. As I journey through the wilderness, I have come to understand that everything is spiritual. Without a tree, there is no house. Without a house, there is no home for the family or table to sit around for meals and prayers. Without a shelter, food, or prayers, my children will not thrive. If my children do not thrive, then this may be the last generation to know and hear the message of Torah. This makes the tree and carpentry spiritual. To repair is to build. B”H
Roderick thank you for the response. I agree with the connection you are referring to. Spirituality for me is about YHVH purpose and not our understanding thereof. I do not read much Buddhism in what you wrote. This is more in Wayne Dryer’s literature…
YHVH is in everything not created or made by man. He is life so everything He created produces life. Life is a changing reality once we take from life and create something static it has lost life and spirituality.
I think we view things the same and I trust you will not end with I am – God, claiming to be the divine soul… Or connected as such. Life is given and taken. We are not part of it it is a privilege from YHVH.
Now you have me thinking
As Skip has said on so many, many occasions, this is “our prime directive.” We may miss some things, but missing the prime directive is – IMHO – inexcusable. In truth, we can at least take out the garbage so the house does not smell. In other words, if each person just dealt with their “own stuff” and not assigned blame to others, the earth would smell better. That’s something of an improvement.
“Fractured from creation”, most definitely Laurita.
“Dominion ” as “separating ourselves from”, hmmm.
On July 1st 1867, without a shot having been fired, the three Provinces of Canada “(Upper-Ontario, Lower-Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick united as one to become “The Dominion of Canada” adopting the motto “From sea to sea” inspired by Psalms 72:7-8, “In his days may the righteous flourish and abundance of peace til the moon is no more. May he also rule from sea to sea…” (to sea, Arctic).
Torah as prophetic for Canada? I would hope so
Sin never did make sense, George. You can quit “hmmm”ing now.
Love the example of the correct use of the term “dominion”.
Long may your maple leaves wave!
Laurita, the default position of the earth is decay. The Creator made it that way – even before the Genesis 3 events – and science confirms what the text informs us. In other words, a tree, a butterfly, or a fish does not live forever. Like ourselves, every living thing begins decaying the moment its life begins. Likewise, if you or I purchase a new car, house, or iPad device in time these pristine, revolutionary items will – in time – fall apart, rust, break down, or just no longer serve their purpose. To sustain them we must do routine maintenance, upkeep, repair, or rebuild. That is what caretakers do for gardens, vineyards, children, the elderly, the sick, the imprisoned, and others. They repair them. They heal them. They help them continue to live and produce life. This is one of the primary ideas behind the keeping of Sabbath – keeping it holy. We rest from our creative labors and we give the land its rest. Because, as we are now learning from neuroscience, rest is as much a part of repairing and the actual work itself. To work and not rest not only hurts ourselves, but it deprives the earth of its rest. Thank you Laurita, for your comments today. B”H
Thank you, too, Roderick. However, I do believe that Adam, not the Creator, introduced death, as that is what the Scripture says.
Rest is a VERY important part of creation: it all appreciates when we allow it a breather, and we need that rest to the same degree. Thank you. You pointed out something important, I believe.
However, the command “to dress and to keep” clearly referred to the “work” of the other six days. What exactly is that “work”? If death – the cursed result of sin – only entered after the Fall, then what were the sinless pair expected to do before they fell, and is that Command still in force; which is to say, are we still being cursed today for not keeping it? I have been chasing this problem for a while, because I need a lot of answers for the unbelievers around me who are asking real questions.
Your article was a good first step, for me, and a breath of fresh air, too. Too bad we are stuck with “New Age” terms and language because ours has been so constricted we cannot seem to use it to talk about this subject at all. I would like to suggest that the language may most likely fix itself once we figure out how to address the “soul” of the problem!
Hi Laurita. You wrote “However, the command “to dress and to keep” clearly referred to the “work” of the other six days. What exactly is that “work”? If death – the cursed result of sin – only entered after the Fall, then what were the sinless pair expected to do before they fell, and is that Command still in force; which is to say, are we still being cursed today for not keeping it?”
I think we forget that what Adam and Eve had in front of them was just the “garden”… not the whole house… they were there to serve God by keeping it… by “gardening”…
When the new Yerushalayim comes down from heaven… then we will be in front of the “whole house”…
By the way, I’m trying not to use “new age” terms… just simple english terms (I actually speak spanish, so I’m not familiar with those terms anyway…)
Shalom Laurita!
Ok, Alfredo, I think I can see the “gardening” aspect. I do suspect that dominion was about the entire planet, however. Adam lost that planet – not just the Garden! – to the new “god of this world” which Yeshua came to reclaim. Again, he redeemed the entire planet – not just a Garden – for us. This has to be about something more than just gardening, even though I think gardening is an important first step.
Thank you for working at redeeming the language, by the way. I struggle a lot with that so as to not appear to be in agreement with unbiblical terms when I discuss these subjects with non-believers. It is refreshing to discuss them with you! Thank you!
Sure.. it is not about the garden only… but the story only tells us about the garden at that moment…
Let me put it in other words. Torah means instruction. So God is our Rabbi when we read Torah, being Torah His text book… He is the One who wrote it in a specific way that He chose in order to teach us… He even chose that special language that is Hebrew… So when I read Torah, I try to keep in mind this way of thinking, which leads me to ask myself every single line: What is God trying to teach me when He tells me “this” or “that” in His book? Why did He wrote it this way? What “treasure” is hidden from my plain sight?
You see, Yeshua also taught that way, when He used parables that people could not understand at plain sight… And he used the method of Rabbis, where a question is not answered directly, but in a way that the disciples have to “search” to get an answer…
As it is written:
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19
Hello Roderick. I was reading your opening statement: “Laurita, the default position of the earth is decay. The Creator made it that way – even before the Genesis 3 events – and science confirms what the text informs us.”
I agree that the actual position of the earth is decay, and science surely confirms this situation. Our DNA is broken; it is not at full operational state.
But the Creator did not make it that way. Sin made it that way. As it is written:
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—” Romans 5:12 NIV
In this verse we find the greek word for “world” is kosmos, that is the whole universe, creation.
Adam and Eve’s state at the beginning was not decaying. They were not to die… (they were not to live forever neither… they just were…) but they ate fruit from the forbidden tree… and here we are…
Alfredo, add the Tree of Life to your analysis, and you have it.
Yes! The Tree of Life!!!
Do we know what does it represent?
Obedience…
If Adam and Eve would only had been obedient, then they would not have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They would have eaten from the Tree of Life which was available to them for free!
Now… Who was the One that had the access of that Tree of Life by being obedient?
Yes, now we can see how this works! Yeshua made it possible by being obedient… as it is written:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:6-8
He took the very nature of a servant… came here to do the job of serving, the job that Adam and Eve failed to do, the one job that we still hesitate to take…
Uh, oh, servant. To the entire planet? No way! What about ‘personal salvation’?
I love the reference to the obedience of Yeshua as being the key to life. That was great for me!
“Uh, oh, servant. To the entire planet? No way! What about ‘personal salvation’?”
That is why HaShem only gives each one of us a little part of the garden!… hahaha!!!
Shalom Laurita!
Ok, belly laugh for the day! Too fun!
Shalom to you, too, Alfredo. My day is always better when you have said something.
Thank you Gayle for your comments. You are correct. Dominion is less about control and domination, and more about fulfilling the King’s desires and repairing the earth for the Age of Redemption. B”H
I completely agree with this!
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SKIP!! I think I will read this many many times!
The epistle 1John 2: 16-18, speak very clearly gave out the desires of this world, and the lust thereof, passing away.
Some might confused soul of the creator, being put into His universe . John 14:30 , and 2nd Corinthians 4:4, speak of Satan being the God of this world or the prince of the air. Clarity is especially needed of year because there she want is the light of the world who came into darkness in the people saw a great light.
Thank Roderick. He has lived it – and his words convey that experience
Be blessed Cheryl. B”H
All over Sarasota Florida there are little pink wild flowers springing up. When the sun is out they turn their faces upwards towards the sun and when clouds obscure the sun or darkness settles in they bow their heads and close their faces- I have had a deep yearning for my ears to be opened and my eyes to be unveiled so I can hear those flowers sing and the trees clapping their hands to their Creator. Yes the cosmos has a soul and I choose to become still to hear the voice of my Creator
Beautiful Maddie, we need to hear your poetic voice more often!
Watch The Elephants Tribute to Lawrence Anthony and try to believe the cosmos has no soul- nobody told them he passed yet they knew and walked miles led by two matriachs to spend two days not eating outside his house. AMAZING
It is claimed that when they grieve after they accidentally cause a death. The place the carcase or copse in a branch in a tree and for up to seven days the keep walking in circles around the tree… That is true remorse.
Sorry heard this from a safari guide in the Kruger National Park in South Africa who had witnessed it when a fellow guide was accidentally killed by the elephant.
Again…your daily word has been following along the path my journey is taking me. How does that happen?? It can’t unless our souls and soul of the universe ARE connected – whether we know it or not – whether we like it or not or whether we care or not. We are all connected! The chaos in my life has been addressed…the peace strived for is coming slowly into focus and my feet wrapped in concrete or slowly breaking free.
I am reading a book that someone sent me called The Presence Process – some would call it New Age – some would call it a waste of time – I am seeking the truth contained within it and hearing His words. His presence is everywhere – and we can either acknowledge the truth contained ‘everywhere’ or we can go our own way and sink further into our own chaos and confusion and call it ‘normal’. Here is something that I keep coming back to from this book:
“Many of us spend our waking hours thinking either about circumstances from the past or events yet to occur. Indeed, the thinking aspect of the mind is almost exclusively engaged in such activity. Thinking about eh past and future is a mental addiction that imprisons humanity in a distracted internal dream state, reflected outwardly as ongoing planetary conflict, chaos and confusion. …this addictive dream state is called “living in time” a condition devoid of present moment awareness and thus of the consciousness of consequence. We can’t be responsible for the quality of our experience, be available to support others, and experience our connectedness with all life unless we enter present moment awareness. Without present moment awareness, it’s challenging to perceive the energetic connection between cause and effect. We remain oblivious to the unified field in which we are all dancers. However, when we are authentically present, we can’t knowingly cause harm to another because the intimately connected nature of present moment consciousness equips us with the capacity to FEEL the consequences of our behavior.”
Maybe … .. if we learned how to be PRESENT in every moment that we BREATHE that we would truly be able to come out of the darkness and step into the LIGHT of ILLUMINATION…… back to breathing in the moment.
Thanks for sharing I felt God put on my heart to ask & seek about God’s intelligence compared to man’s intellect -I believe somehow the enemy has tried to enlarge our intellect in our culture yet God’s kingdom& intelligence is different & is one with the heart…I am still learning
Sounds very Buddhist and in line with literature from the late Dr Wayne Dryer… The only problem I had was with the claim I am God. Instead of I am because of God…
Pam, recent reports from some research of the human brain and how it functions shows that breathing is much more than inflating and deflating our lungs. In fact, breathing is directly connected to how well our brains functions and depending on whether we primarily breathe through our mouth or our nose determines what parts of our brain is activated. Remember, the human brain is use-dependent. That is, the parts we use gets developed and thrives, and the parts we do not use become dormant and can possibly die. Does that sound like something else you have heard before? Thank you Pan, for your comments. B”H
I have a testimony about this!!
This summer I experienced God coming into the dark places of my soul. I invited Him into a place I didn’t even understand, other than it was the place that resides AFTER abuse ( abuse requires another person) after abuse is when i was alone -everything is silent ,dark ,empty, with no Advocate, lonely, empty, void , space, ……no confession and repentance from the perpetrator no one to confess that they were wrong ,the insanity of silent pretending nothing happened , void of needed repentance for their actions had tormented me for years.. i believe it was related to one year before this I chose to walk out of a false refuge I had made my home with Pain and Suffering from abuse …so I received a miracle and God came into that place and said He was “My Witness -The Witness” in the dark places of my soul and I haven’t been the same ..I give Him glory for His goodness and then to seal His work He had done -I stopped chewing my nails after chewing them for 50 years…..!!!!!!!!
Colleen, thank you for sharing. I too have experienced God coming into the dark places. In my life and in the lives of others. My mother was one of those persons. She was a teacher, a singer, and a survivor. One of her songs, written by Audra Czarnikow, was entitled, “God Walks the Dark Hills.” These lyrics are haunting, but Oh so familiar:
God walks the dark hills
The ways, the by ways
He walks through the billows
Of life’s troubled sea
He walks through the cold dark night
The shadows of midnight
God walks the dark hills
Just to guide you and me
God walks the dark hills
To guide my footsteps
He walks everywhere
By night and by day
He walks in the silence
On down the highway
God walks the dark hills
To show me the way
God walks in the storm
The rain…
I work with mentally disabled. One of my girls has fragile-X- syndrome and was abused much in her life. Two years ago I was driving her and her peers shopping. It was around the holidays and she asked about what I was going to do. I told her nothing as it’s not Yahushua’s birthday. While everyone else was calling me scrooge she blurted out ” shut up that’s the most beautiful thing I have ever heard ( speaking of his name). She wanted to learn what God’s name was so said YHWH Elohim’. When it came to teaching Ruach ha kodesh she said ” I need me some of that I will speak to YHWH Elohim’ Tonite about that. This was a girl with atrocious behaviors. Two years later she is a walking miracle and everyone notices. She still does not filter things through her intellect she truly by- passes that through the spirit.and when she speaks I listen. She has taught me so much about walking in spirit and truth instead of soul and truth. I now am allowed a small fellowship at work very unusual on a job while working. I have learned they are far from disabled, I often in comparison to their understanding come up wanting.
Thank you for sharing Pam, you have provide more proof of the true power and nature of rebirth.
Thanks seeker the ordinary being extraordinary that’s joy.
Thank you Doctor Logan for your words. I cannot add to them, but they remind me (both in style and content) of my favorite “non-messianic, fundamentalist, living Christian author”: Frederick Beuchner (I have many such boxes and labels…perhaps an idiosyncracy I should not openly share here with such an eminent psychologist), from his book: “Telling Secrets”. I heartedly recommend his many
(non-messianic, fundamentalist, Christian) works to this community. Here is a sample that came in just today…can you spell synchroniscity… uhh synchronocity ….well, obviously I can’t, but still enjoy his complementarity comments on this topic.
“Life batters and shapes us in all sorts of ways before it’s done, but those original selves which we were born with and which I believe we continue in some measure to be no matter what are selves which still echo with the holiness of their origin. I believe that what Genesis suggests is that this original self, with the print of God’s thumb still upon it, is the most essential part of who we are and is buried deep in all of us as a source of wisdom and strength and healing which we can draw upon or, with our terrible freedom, not draw upon as we choose. I think that among other things all real art comes from that deepest self—painting, writing music, dance, all of it that in some way nourishes the spirit and enriches the understanding. I think that our truest prayers come from there too, the often unspoken, unbidden prayers that can rise out of the lives of unbelievers as well as believers whether they recognize them as prayers or not. And I think that from there also come our best dreams and our times of gladdest playing and taking it easy and all those moments when we find ourselves being better or stronger or braver or wiser than we are”.
“Thus, the universe has a soul. With that point established….” I’ll grant this point for the sake of this conversation, as a foundational truth of the creation of YHVH, I’d rather see a clear prophetic uturance or Biblical declaration. Human interpretation or reason does not establish anything but human opinions. That said I agree hartly with much of these sentiments particularly “God is seeking you to seek Him. “He yearns jealously over the spirit that He has made to dwell in us (Ja 4:5).” He is listening, because He desires to dwell within your routine, ordinary, wearisome, and messy world. Just He hovers over the deep, murky waters, …hovering at the wall that stands between us and our relief.” The mysteries of the soul, the universe, and the nature of the Soul of YHVH and where in fact it resides is His call not ours. I trust we are all listening for that call and this post at least sounds a note or two from His trumpet, I was glad to hear…
It seems everyone enjoyed this TW, but as one of the primary reasons for this site is the correct understanding of Biblical words, I am concerned the whole essay muddled the distinction between soul and spirit. Especially the following,
“The spirit of God refers to the soul within man”
In my understanding, the spirit and the soul (nephesh, mortal life) are not only NOT the same thing, they are in OPPOSITION to each other. Believing they are the same thing leads to all kinds of church invented traditions and mistakes.
Most of us probably grew up believing we had an immortal soul which was spiritual in its essence, when in fact, the phrase “immortal soul” never appears in Scripture and the soul’s real connection is to the flesh and death. Our spirit returns to God, but the soul that sins, (everyone), it shall die (returns to the ground.)
Ecc 12:7 NASB, then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Eze 18:20 KJV, The soul that sins, it shall die.
Gen 9:4 NASB, “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life (soul, nephesh), that is, its blood.
1Co 15:45 NASB, So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
Rev 12:11, And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life (soul, nephesh) even when faced with death.
Unless we understand and use these terms more accurately, we will be lost.
Thank you for bringing up these points, Daniel. Some of the word study today struck me as being almost New Age.
Thanks Daniel and Thomas,not everyone enjoyed TW .
I had refrained from commenting on this TW, waiting to see if anyone else recognized what I saw (I’m usually the naysayer, it seems). Glad to see that Mark Parry, Daniel Kraemer, and Thomas Elsinger provided their respective inputs, which align, in part, with my own thoughts.
First, I’d say the following is a non-sequitur:
Does the universe “breathe”? Perhaps I missed this, but I don’t find this concept in Scripture, either literally or metaphorically. Romans 8:19-24 is better understood as a metaphor, that creation is personified—not that creation is a literal living, breathing person in some fashion. (New Agers adhere to the idea of a ‘universal soul’, or, alternatively, ‘world soul’, depending on the proponent.) Creation is metaphorically “waiting” for the children/sons of God to receive resurrection bodies, for at that time creation will be renewed.
This is parallel with the idea of those of the “green” persuasion—that we must somehow restore the earth to the Garden of Eden state (Joni Mitchell, in the song “Woodstock”: and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the Garden). No, the ‘renewed’ Garden of Eden comes at the eschaton, after Messiah returns and believers receive imperishable bodies. We have nothing to do with it. Of course, this does not absolve us from adhering to the Biblical command to steward God’s creation. But, that is a very different thing.
This idea of “repairing the earth” (tikun) is also found in Isaac Luria’s Kabbalah, which has some parallels with ancient Gnosticism (and, hence, the New Age / New Spirituality). In Lurianic Kabbalah, the Cosmos came about as Ein Sof contracted Himself to make space for creation, and, in the process, all creation came to have a part of the Divine/Deity within, a spark (Nitzutzot) of the Ein Sof. It is up to us humans to liberate the individual sparks from their outer shells (kelipots), and once this is accomplished then all the sparks can rejoin, culminating in all becoming One with God Himself yet again.
Luria also conflates nephesh with “spirit”.
Well researched Craig. Thanks for the summary.
What does the bible self reveal. Proverbs earth to earth spirit to God the giver. Read separate from 1Cor 15 this would imply the breath of life given in Genesis refers to the spirit. Thus man became a living soul…
Man without breath of life is therefore like an animal or beast destructive, self centred only concerned with keeping itself alive etc. Which ever fits the description.
As Torah only came years later I can assume the breath of life is what Yeshau refers to as called unto him by God. So then Torah becomes the guidelines that discipline us to become worthy of being called… Paul told Timothy to study to show approved. Not yet called.
Read inline with what Yeshau and Paul said we study as man to become approved. Once approved the change or calling into spirituality happens…
No soul yet so soul seems to be the form of those called unto Christ through what Genesis reveals to as breath of life.
If Leviticus revelation that soul is in the blood of the living being then it seems that soul is the natural inclination of the creature. Cows eat grass, Lions eat antelope. Humans or apes intended to eat fruit and vegetables. But because of stubbornness the NT authors including Yeshau say these natural orders where permitted to change as God accepted the defect in His human creation we can say…
Life is in everything. Soul seems only to be in called humans so not every human has a soul. Or should I read more into the records.
I am not new age. Tried that and stopped when claims were made we are God based on reading into scriptures….
Seeker,
According to Gen 1:20, 21, 24, & 30, creatures also have nephesh haya. Thus, it follows that all humans, regenerate or not, have nephesh haya. The regenerate receive God’s Spirit, which I don’t think can be equated with the nišmaṯ ḥayyı̂m, “breath of life”, of Gen 2:7. Also, I don’t think the following should be understood as “soul is in the blood of the living being”; I think this should be understood as life (see Daniel Kraemer’s post above @ December 16, 2017 4:00 pm regarding Gen 9:4).
I think your idea of “soul” is influenced by Hellenistic or Greek philosophical thought. Do we ‘have’ a soul that is a separate part of our being such that it is inserted into our body at some point and/or leaves the body at some point upon death? When Yeshua said He was going to lay down His ‘life’, the word used was psychē—the same word the LXX/Septuagint uses when translating nephesh many times. When Peter said he’d lay down his ‘life’ for Yeshua, the word used was also psychē.
Craig,
Thank you for the response.
If creating living creatures is the same as becoming a living soul then I will agree with you. My latest bible the standard English christian bible which excludes 1 John 5:7-9 as claimed on this forum to be the correct translation as other corrected incorrect translation also highlighted on this forum… Still uses different words implying soul and creature. Could it be that nephesh haya is better translated as living creature rather than living soul. As living soul is created through the breath of life. A very specific action different from the rest that was created.
This is neither Hellenic or Greek. It is the translated version I am using. I will say again you and Skip need to get together and write a more correct translation so that we the Greek and Hebrew impaired can read the correct message.
I was told this is impossible as the words or pictures used will be translated through the paradigm of the translator and to check and recheck was the reason why the records only come publicly available around 250CE… So it may take you both around 20 years to finalise a version you agree on…
This just shows how difficult it is for us with less resources.
For this reason I prefer using the bible in its current translated form and have I stopped using the KJV etc. Versions. The Jewish bible I down loaded is also helpful but not clear on specific meanings as Skip and you are highlighting.
If we say life laying down as translated from psyche implies soul then I need to accept that life is soul and vice versa. I thought psyche rather referred to spirit or attitude.
Then again I am grateful to be acquainted with you all on this side. It surely keeps me amazed realising how incorrect I have been in reading scripture with my background. When I should read it as it is intended revealing how others understood and did the will of God.
Keep well.
Thank you, Craig, as usual, for fixing the language usage. That is important, but, in this instance, I wish to suggest that you may have missed fixing the sick “soul” of the problem, which, I posit, is fracture from the very creation we were commanded to “dress and to keep”. I believe that it is our failure to keep this Command that has led to pagan attempts to repair that fracture themselves (which, of course, they can’t). However, I have believed for a good while that we would do well to hang our head in shame instead of throw stones at their failure.
I was taught that the sin of the world’s impenitence lies at the door of the church, and this could well be exhibit A. Our fracture from our environment directly correlates to our own relative sickness. I think it was Francis Shaeffer (How Should We Then Live) who taught me that we should be taking the responsibility of the entire world: the world should be able to look to us for the answer to all that ails the planet. In that spirit, I have spent time participating in various gatherings of earnest people who can see the problem and are trying hard to find solutions without the God of the Bible, (and wondering why they did not look there), but realizing, after talking to them, that they already had, but were turned away at the door of the church with quotes such as the above boiler plate by Craig.
I went for years, for example, to the International Herb Conference at Black Mountain, NC, listening to a good description of the problem; but, interestingly to me, looking around, I saw the exact same sick, bewildered, unhealthy, missing-link crowd I saw at church. These people – most of them health practitioners – could see the problem, but were still not able to implement a final solution. (I believe most of the ones in church have not even tried to look for either because they had been convinced not to.) I saw different missing links, though. I saw that if the two could ever get together and compare notes, the problem could be solved, but somewhere back there, I believe an enemy has slipped in and split the dialectic so that neither side would ever be able to do exactly that. This is sad, but I believe blaming the people who are suffering and trying and seeing the problem is not going to be enough to fix it.
I believe that the church (and synagogue, too) stopped being relevant to the ails of the world somewhere back there in the mists of dualism, which both, I suspect, conveniently used to justify a basic irresponsibility to our environment/planet/nature. Ever since then, we have increasingly been suffering from an internal and external biome – which we are inextricably linked to, by the way – that has been abused, neglected and exploited at will by pretty much the entire supposedly Judeo-Christian world – which the world can plainly see, by the way. Now that our (very sick) birds are coming back home to roost, we wonder why we feel so bad and are so sick. Well, I would want to suggest, look around: the rest of the planet, as well as your interior biome, is sick to the exact same degree. Wonder why?
Laurita I think k it I’d still our flesh part that is eating of the tree that is the problem. Our spirit knows what must be done but our flesh relies one science and the little we truly know of the universe for a quick fix. Nice to see and good to eat of.
Undoubtedly.
C. S. Lewis said that “an atheist cannot find God for the same reason that a thief cannot find a policeman”.
John Piper said that “Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it holds out some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us until we believe God is more to be desired than life itself.”
If there is a fitting conclusion to this conversation this is it. Thank you as ever dear sister for not only keeping your heart aligned with us but your attention and concentration fixed on what is full of grace and truth.
Laurita,
I think we’re looking at different things. The fracture occurred with the eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The result of this fracture as regards the earth is Gen 3:17-19. The primary fracture, however, was in the relationship between man and God.
I’m not pointing out any sort of failure on the part of pagans to ‘repair the land’ as if the attempts themselves at ‘repairing’ are ill-conceived (though they are). It’s their faulty cosmogenesis that informs their idea of how to “repair”. They’ve not overcome the very first fracture—the fracture between God and man. Unless and until they overcome this first fracture, they’ll never understand the root of the issue.
Now, mankind’s ill-treatment of the earth is a separate issue altogether (pollution, e.g.). But, it’s mankind’s attempts to circumvent the effects of the fall by the use of fertilizers and now GMOs that are going to be a large part of our downfall, I’m afraid.
Let me add this: Our human goal is not to become ‘at-one’ with creation, which is a central aspect of this TW. We must first become ‘at-one’ with our Creator. Eschatologically, we become ‘one’, so to speak, with creation only after we receive our non-flesh and blood bodies.
We agree on the Fall problem, and the root, too.
We also agree on “circumventing the effects of the fall”, BUT I think we are still left with what the positive action we should be taking (“dressing and keeping”) should look like.
Thanks for this adition to the conversations. The soul is the deeper subject here. But knowing it (experientialy) and it’s origins are not the same conversation. Even our own soul can be idolized and it lead us into risky territories. A lot in this discussion is personal helpfull but not , in my mind theologically acurate. Watchman Nee has a fine book “The latent power of the Soul” Nee not being a western thinker His writings might prove informative for our brothers on T.W. steeped, and excessively degreed in western institutions of “higher learning”. I say this tong in cheek not as a jab or a dig. It was William James who said “men of genious differ from ordinary men not in any innate quality of the brain, but in the aims and purposes on which they concentrate and the degree of concentration which they manage to achieve”. Surely here many ingenious people share for we focus on what is most worthy of consideration. Yet the living soul that man is can and does to frequently concentrate on himself, his ideas, his personal atributes and in this case the very way he knows and experiences existance. However the Hebrew way of knowing is starkly different to the Greek and that is the deeper message to be gleened. If we are knowing through our soul we will see and define all as part of the soul, if however we know through the word and spirit of YHVH we will know him, and to know him is to know Messiah and him crucified. The accurate interpretation of the Word requires spirit and intelect. And it is in and through the Rauch Ha kodesh we must know and discern.