Entries from November 2007 ↓

These are all quotes from my recent read, Mystery Religions of the Ancient World.  They might seem random and nonsensical to some of my readers but others will find them particularly interesting.  In no particular order:

“Certain information was also given at Eleusis by word of mouth, including the ‘password to the Paradise of Demeter’ to be used after death.  … So the Lesser Mysteries give the initiates theoretical knowledge which chnages their whole view of man and the cosmos, and stands them in better stead when they have to leave this world for the unknown.  The Greater Mysteries, or higher grades of initiation, were conducted individually rather than collectively… But the primary object of these initiations was to take the candidate through the gates of death.”

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As I said in my about page, I am particularly interested in the Ancient World and in Early Christianity which explains why, as I was perusing the stacks the other day, I ended up checking out this book: Mystery Religions in the Ancient World by Joscelyn Godwin.  The book is intended as an introduction to a general audience and in that it serves its purpose.  (If this whole topic is new to you, you might want to read the wikipedia entry for Mystery Religions as a basic introduction. Basically the mystery religions were belief systems from classical antiquity that included secret rites and teaching into which religious followers were initiated.)

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For the next couple posts I want to discuss this book I just read, Mystery Religions in the Ancient World by Joscelyn Godwin which will call for the use of words like mysteries, cult, and occult.  Considering I am a Mormon and that word “cult”  is sometimes associated with my religion I want to be clear on definitions before we begin.  

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I went to a guest lecture last week, pulled in by the title: “The New Biblical Archaeology–The Future of the Past”.  The presenter was Prof. Aren M. Maeir (a blogger himself) of the Institute of Archeology Bar Ilan University.  In a field which is full of hot-topics and various groups with special interests I found him to be objective, professional, and all-around  trustworthy source.  

He started by defining the “old paradigm of Biblical Archeology” which looks through the lens of ‘proving the biblical narrative.’  It was (and is) full of non-professionals with findings that are not published in professional journals.  The media fuels it all by continuing to give headlines to those who have “found direct evidence of the Flood” or the “exact location of Sodom and Gomorrah.”  Continue reading →

Some books I’ve read that have inspired me in the “What is the best thing I could be doing?” question:

Three Cups of Tea  by Greg Mortenson

How to Change the World by David Bornstein

Four Essays on Love by Truman Madsen

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

Working toward Zion by Lucas and Woodworth

Approaching Zion by Nibley

Way to Be   by Gordon B. Hinckley

Some more thoughts:

What should we be doing? Well, first off, we should be thinking about that question. What should we be thinking about? What should we be doing? Such contemplation will allow us to examine ourselves to “know thyself” to identify our values and priorities and ultimately to realign our behavior according to high principles and high ideals.

Of course, this question assumes we ’should’ be doing some things over others. I think that word is appropriate if we want to do the most good. There are levels of goodness just as there are levels of beauty, and yes it’s somewhat in the eyes of the beholder but there are some ‘goods’ that are inherently more good than others just as such things as symmetrical faces are universally judged to be more beautiful than unsymmetrical faces. Not the best comparison but I do think we are faced with multiple ‘goods’ and some ‘goods’ are better than others. Continue reading →

An interesting article at National Geographic today about a recent observation that has implications about the commonness of earth-like planets.

The primary questions on the test of life, as discussed in a previous post, imply that we should be (1) seeking to understand God’s plan and desires for us and (2) focusing on relationships and how we think and act towards those around us. As we consider specific activities I would say that many choices are not between good and bad but between good and good. There are an endless number of activities that would fall under the categories of things we ’should be doing.’ The test is ultimately of the heart, the desires which will be evidenced in our choices although not to perfect execution. Continue reading →

Our time on this earth is of a finite duration. Considering it takes time to do anything there will be some things which we cannot do, requiring us to make choices. Our choices become a direct measure of our priorities and values. What then, should we be doing with our limited time? An exploration:

First, what do we see mankind generally doing with their time? Continue reading →

In light of my post yesterday, I found this lecture by Peter Flint, posted at Summa Theologica, interesting about the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The enthusiatic speaker’s main thesis being the Dead Sea Scrolls as the greatest archeological discovery of the last hundred years.  He does not go into much depth, it is more of a historical lesson about the Scrolls with a few interesting points at the end.