Which religions promote creativity and self-expression?

Post Reply New Topic

Try The Noahide Laws.

only 6 laws to follow - gives you a whole lot of space to be creative and self express.

What are these 6 laws?

Tim

They are discussed here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noachide_laws

The noahide laws are traditional Jewish laws for non-Jews. There is a disagreement about whether one need to be aware of them and choosing to follow them in order to actually be following them and there is disagreement about exactly what would disqualify someone from being a ben noach. In contemporary times there have been some very conservative Jewish groups that have chosen to push the noahide laws based on a fairly conservative take on them. For an example of how bad that can get, see here:

http://www.inner.org/noahide/noach11.htm

Noahide Laws -as in given to Noah - the one who walked with G-d, saved all the animals and his family from the flood and who at the end of the Flood was brought into a covenant for all generations with the Creator - that never again would a flood destroy the earth, and the laws were basically given in reflection to the rays of the rainbow. There are seven laws, btw - sorry my oversight. So 7 laws corresponding to each of the rays of the rainbow. These laws are NOT Jewish - they predate Judaism by a few thousand years, but pertain to all of Humankind.

http://7lawsforhumanity.org/home.php

"All the Pious among the Nations
hold a share in the world to come"

Foreword: This article has no other scope than the one to reveal and transmit the basic knowledge relating to the topic of the 7 noahide laws , and to satisfy the public interest in accordance with the recommendations of Judaism. In this respect, Judaism does not simply evoke the concept of "Jewish religion ", like many contend, nor does it defines the sum of rules and religious behaviors experienced and applied by the Jewish People throughout it's long history. Judaism does not refer only to the behavior of men. Judaism, in its essence, refers to the achievement of the precepts of the Torah itself, such as given on mount Sinai by the " Mouth of G.d". One generally defines by the word Torah the ensemble of laws and teachings drawn from the written law (the Hebraic Bible) and to the oral law (Michnah). These two dimensions define the essence of Judaism. From this perspective, the Torah doesn't appear anymore as a history book, considering the divine character of its writing and its teachings. The " Saint Zohar ", which deals with esoteric wisdom, reveals that " G.d read in the Torah and created the world from it". Also, Judaism supports the view that the true chronology of humanity starts at the time of the Creation of the world by G.d. It is the Creator who gives to the world its first generative pulse of time and of the sciences that result from it. And therein rests the starting point of the History of humanity and civilization.

The article below presents a digest of the definitions and essential aspects related to this topic, and proposes to determine the identity of those who respect the 7 noahide laws and who thus hold a share in the world to come. To that end, it is necessary to know the 7 noahide laws well and to learn to respect them. Pursuant to the commands of the Torah and values of Judaism, the Jewish People received the mission of diffusing to humanity the belief in the Unique G.d, so that this world would become a residence for Him and that humanity could sustain life here according to His Will.

History of the Bnei Noah concept

According to biblical chronologies, since the time of Adam — the first man and " Father of Humanity " —, all the human beings received from G.d the injunction to respect 6 laws. After the Flood, Noah and his three sons (Chem, Ham and Japhet) received the mission of rebuilding humanity and of repopulating the earth, while behaving in accordance to these 6 laws. In this circumstances, G.d ordered Noah to observe a seventh law, whence the expression " the 7 noahide laws ".

Since that time and until the Giving of the Torah, all men, Hebrews included (which are the descendants of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), are called Bnei Noah — " sons of Noah " — the 7 noahide laws are then known by all peoples, and are enforced by all peoples. Certain writings even reveal that Chem, the father of all the Semites, was head of a court which judged all men in accordance with these 7 laws. After the Giving of the Torah, the people of Israel will be detached from the group of the Bnei Noah. Indeed, the Hebrews then took upon themselves, not 7 but 613 laws : the 613 Comandements of the Torah. In this circumstances, the Scriptures will qualify the people of Israel a people of " Priests among the Nations ". The order given to the nations to respect the 7 noahide laws is renewed by the event of the Giving of the Torah, and the responsibility to inform all men about them then rests on the shoulders of Moses. The Torah stipulates that any Non-Jew who accepts the kingship of G.d and commits to fulfill the 7 noahide laws in accordance with the rules of the Torah — that G.d transmitted to the People of Israel through Moses, on Mount Sinai — is also regarded as a " priest " and a " Pious among the Nations ".

Definitions

The usual Hebraic terminology which refers to the various statuses of Non-Jews is not always known by the general public. One must distinguish for example the terms of Ben Noah, Guer Tochav, Hassid Houmot Haolam, Oved Kohavim, Goy, etc. It is necessary to point out the definitions of all these terms and expressions employed in the sources of Judaism. Indeed, these words do not all refer to a person having accepted the practice of the 7 noahide laws. The use of the suitable qualifier will vary according to the context.

A Ben Noah — " Son of Noah " — indicates without distinction any human being, man or woman, in their globality. This name has many implication for the behavior of the individual with respect to the 7 noahide laws. In French and English litterature, the Non-Jews are sometimes designated under the term of " Gentiles ", but this expression is of Latin origin (" gentilis "), and designates either a peasant, or a polytheist, and does not have a direct correspondence with the Hebraic term. In the traditional Hebraic language the "pagan " term results in " Oved Kohavim ". While "Goy" is used in modern Hebrew to translate the same word of "Ben Noah", the expression "Oved Kohavim" evokes more particularly that one whose beliefs and habits are not in agreement with the One G.d, and generally refers to an idolater or a polytheist.

By extension, the term "Gentile " will be used to define a person who is not obligated by the practice of the 613 precepts of the Torah : it is thus a "foreign " person with respect to the Jewish people. Nevertheless, from a linguistic point of view, a " foreigner " for the Jewish people is called a " Guer ", in traditional Hebrew, whereas a foreign person with respect to a particular individual is called "Nohri" and can also apply, in this case, to the Jews. In modern Hebrew, " Guer " indicates a convert. The word " Goy " means "a people, a nation ", but also designates by extension a man not belonging to the people of Israel. In general, a " Goy " represents a Ben Noah who is not worried by the respect of the 7 noahide laws. However, it is concievable that the term " Gentile " indistinctly implies all men and women in general, excepting the Jews. This term thus becomes synonymous with " Goy ".

Who is called a "Pious among the Nations" ?

From a point of view of the Hebraic legislation, the practice of the 613 Commandments concerns only the people of Israel, whereas a Ben Noah or Goy has the obligation to respect only the 7 noahide laws, in accordance with the injunctions of the Torah. However, the Torah makes it possible to a Ben Noah to convert to Judaism, but prohibits to convince whoever to respect these laws by force. A person converted according to the Jewish law is called " Guer Tsédek ". In ancient times, when the Hebrews lived independent on the Holy Land, where sat the Sanhedrin — the supreme Court — it was allowed for a Ben Noah, under certain conditions, to settle in the country of Israel. For that purpose, he/she was to agree with the precondition to commit to the respect of the 7 noahide laws. He/she then received the status of a " Guer Tochav " (cf hereafter). In that situation, three cases could arise, according to the intentions of the Non-Jew. That leads us to make the further distinction between a person who voluntarily agrees to subject herself to certain laws, without however adhering to their divine origin, and another individual who will respect them exclusively out of the concern for the divine will expressed in them.

1) a Ben Noah who accepts without any constraint in front of a rabbinical court composed of three judges to respect the 7 noahide laws, in order to live among the people of Israel, must accept as a preliminary the Kingship of G.d and give up his polytheistic habits, after which he'll carry the status of a " Guer Tochav ", i.e. foreign resident. It is then a duty to integrate her into society as well as a Jew, as it is written : " Your brother will live with you ". This status can only be bequeathed at times where the Temple exists, and where the supreme rabbinical Court (Sanhedrin) exists and sits in Jerusalem, and where the legislation of the Jubilee is in force. The status of Guer Tochav is thus completely theoretical nowadays.

2) a Ben Noah who commits to respect the 7 noahide laws, who only decides it in presence of a rabbinical court composed of three judges, in accordance with the principle that those were ordered by G.d on Mount Sinai with Moses and were thus renewed by the Torah, is called a " Hassid Oumot Haolam ", pious man among the nations .

3) a Ben Noah who respects these 7 laws only under rational and human, moral or social utility premices, or for any other personal reason, and not because of their divine origin, are called " Haham Chel Oumot Haolam ", " Wise among the Nations ". This qualifier follows the principle that the attachment of this Non-Jew to the 7 noahide laws is purely intellectual, and his submission to these laws is by no means justified by the divine transmission of such laws in the Torah. The difference with the Guer Tochav lies in the fact that the last one accepts as a preliminary the divine kingship as a fundamental condition of the respect of these 7 laws. Nevertheless the duty of the people of Israel to accomodate this Wise among the Nations and to assist her remains in force.

Conclusion

Nowadays, a Non-Jew who commits to respect the 7 noahide laws, as emanating from the divine Will is called " Hassid Oumot Haolam ", a pious man "among the nations ". It is about him that the Torah stipulates that he holds a share in the world-to-come, at the time of Messianic Redemption.

http://7lawsforhumanity.org/pious-nations.php

These are the 7 laws - retrieved from wikipedia

Prohibition of Idolatry: - There is only one God. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
Prohibition of Murder: - You shall not murder.
Prohibition of Theft: - You shall not steal.
Prohibition of Sexual Promiscuity: - You shall not commit adultery.
Prohibition of Blasphemy: - Revere God and do not blaspheme.
Prohibition of Cruelty to Animals: - Do not eat the flesh of an animal while it is still alive.
Requirement to have just Laws: - You shall set up an effective judiciary to fairly judge observance of the preceding six laws.

Historically, I would question that claim. The Noachide laws are first found in the Sanhedrin section of the Nezikin (a part of the Talmud). Claims for the pre-talmudic origins of the Noachide laws, while commonly made by some Orthodox Jews, are talmudic and post-talmudic. They can only be supported through some rather "creative" hermeneutics of the Tanakh.

Don't forget that prior to receiving the Torah at Mt.Sinai the Torah was virtually transmitted and received prophetically to the Patriarchs, each according to his virtues and abilities. Abraham from G-d, Isaac from Abraham and Jacob from Isaac and each directly from G-d with each covenant. In making a covenant directly with G-d, Noah also received the Torah and was able to pass on the Teachings to his son Shem, after whom the word Semite was named.

I won't pass judgement on the patriarchs, but most of the tanakhic texts cannot be confirmed through academic historical analysis either. Nonetheless, they are older than the Talmud, which is the "obvious" source for the Noachide laws.

I was raised in the church of God--General Conference based in Findlay, OH (sometimes referred to as Winebrennerians). This group was a breakaway from the old German Reformed Church. Their theology is very Arminian, and closely related to Wesleyan Methodism, as the the Wesley's were greatly influenced by Jakob Arminius.

I left this church under pressure primarily from relatives who flat out told me I was going to hell for listening to J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, instead of Lowell Mason and Fanny Crosby, who, to them, were the be-all and end-all of music. While there is nothing wrong with Lowell Mason hymnody, they couldn't get it through their thick heads, that most of the great hyms came of the hymnal they were using at the time (Zondervan Publishing's Tabernacle Hymns #3) were either of Lutheran or Anglican heritage.

Since my first professional music job out of college was with a Lutheran congregation, I jumped ship to the ELCA, and to a lesser extent, LCMS and WELS. My biggest beef right now with the ELCA, along with the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Moravians, and United Methodists is the demasculization of the Trinity. The trend started with the 1977 Lutheran Book of Worship (which I still consider to be a piece of garbage), the 1980 Anglican Hymnal, the 1980 United Methodist Hymnal, the new UCC Hymnal (which is an absolute mess, in my opinion, since there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to the ordering of hymns in that book) and the new Presbyterian hymnals, and continues today with the 2010 EVangelical Lutheran Worship book, and the newer hymnals the other mainline denominations have been publishing.

Don't know if it's been mentioned already but Laveyan Satanism is probably the closest "religion" I can think of. I was pretty interested in it when I was younger. And to make it clear, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Satan of Christian mythology or any deity for that matter.

Very old thread so I don't really know what the original rules for 'self-expression' would be.

I've had a pretty intensive year and a half of researching like crazy but also getting buffeted a lot in the process. I pretty much researched the new age side, researched the orthodox and protestant Christian side, and researched the occult angle.

At this point I've joined two groups - Paul Foster Case's Builders of The Adytum (aka. B.O.T.A.) which has thirteen years worth of lesson plan with respect to esoteric study of the tarot (ie. Qabalah and spiritual alchemy by way of it) and I also joined AMORC (the American Rosicrucian order). Both do weekly lessons either by mail or online and in the case of the later organization they have enough local groups where most people near a major city can at least find a Rosicrucian discussion group if not an atrium, proanos, or temple. So far the people in AMORC seem like the exact kind of crowd I was looking for - ie. healthy and well-balanced sorts of people who want to use this information and this kind of personal development in healthy and well-balanced sorts of ways.

As far as both organizations above - so far wonderful material and resources, B.O.T.A of course being a bit more niche. Seems like it pretty much has all the things that neither mainstream (exoteric) Christianity didn't have or at least seemed to be concealed under heavy wrappings and it also does a lot to unite the slush of mystic events and things of the sort that cause people to look at this stuff a bit askance. Some ideas are new, most aren't, but the level of detail and the structured sort of self-development plans are wonderful for helping you if you want to go for learning immersion. Another thing AMORC has within the US is called the TMO (Traditional Martinist Order) which I understand to have a very intensive program of not only mystic studies of Judaism and Christianity but additional Kabbalah, Pythagorean/Egyptian number theory and geometry, and a lot of very, very interesting stuff.

"going to hell for listening to J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms,"



I believe it was John Wesley himself who remarked "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?"

"demasculization of the Trinity?"

I always thought it obvious that while Jesus was a man God was well beyond sexual identification.

No. It was Martin Luther that made that comment about the Devil having the good tunes.

To be fair, the elders in that COGGC congregation were not that well educated. None of them,who are now deceased, never made it past an 8th Grade Education. They grew up in a time, that, in order to get to high school, you had to pass a state examination, that determined whether you went to college, went to trade school, or ended your education at the 8th grade. Since the eldership in this congregation were my relatives, (my paternal grandmother side of the family, since she had 18 brothers and sisters), and the majority of then became farmers. Besides, they did have a point, when it came to both Beethoven and Brahms. Beethoven was a free thinker, and Brahms flat out stated he was an atheist. However, DON'T YOU DARE MAKE THT ACCUSATION ABOUT BACH, SINCE BACH''S OWN CREDO WAS SOLI DEO GLORIA (To God Alone be the Glory!). The biggest problem was trying to convince them that the hymnal was not all Lowell Mason and Fanny Crosby Hymnody,. A good portion of the hymns were of Anglican descent, as well as Appalacian, shape note derivation (books like Southern a Harmony, etc), and Pietistic hymns in the Lutheran and Moravian tradition, as well as a lot of Calvinistic hymnody. (Which is a bit odd, considering that Arminianism and Calvinism were always at Odds with each other.).

However, we're talking about PA German ancestry here. Someone on another board said, at one time, there are two groups of people I can't stand: ignorant people, and the Dutch. When dealing with PA Germans (or PA Dutch, as they are commonly known) it's not worth your time trying to argue with them, as they're always right, and you're always wrong

As for the demasculization of the Trinity, the Church catholic (read catholic as Christian, and not Rome or Constatinople) Scripture has always referred to the Trinity in the Masculine. There has been a trend, especially with the more liberal churches who're are of a feminist bent to refer to the Trinity as otherwise. That is the biggest heresy going around right now! And those churches are wondering why they are losing members?

???

I've never heard that about Brahms before and according to wikipedia he called himself a "complete agnostic."

As for poor Mr. Beethoven he clearly had a strange relationship with everything (including Church).

I suspect after a point he only really related to people in a normal way through music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wod-MudLNPA

As for the subject of feminization of Christianity since Mary was a woman it was only logical for NT writers to refer to God as a male otherwise it doesn't seem normal for us mammals.