FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 'Ignorance is an affront."
	YOU ARE IN DARKNESS.
supreme being page 1

Then came  agriculture and started transforming  life as a whole. Agriculture suddenly brought to the consciousness of human beings the concept of fertility. If the harvest was good happiness was all around. If the harvest was bad, they were in trouble. Therefore everything should be done to ensure a good harvest. The mother goddess cult has entered the scene, which expressed that  fertility - related to agriculture which was transforming the human life -  was sacred. Because it meant the continuation of life itself. The symbol of this mother goddess was a figure of a pregnant, naked woman. The concept of fertility  was one of the basics of being alive and the continuation of one's kind. The mother goddess joined the pantheon of various communities all around  Europe and the Middle East, and eventually became one of the most powerful supreme beings. She even overshadowed the sky god. She was more powerful than him. She was Inanna in Sumer, Ishtar in Babylon, Anath in Canaan, Isis in Egypt, and Aphrodite in Greece.

Myths, legends and stories of the people living then were  the media  invented on purpose and used to express and define the inexplicable and unseen power enveloping them. The order that supreme beings have established in the sky was the prototype of the order here on earth. Whatever is there  on earth was   designed  at  divine level and recorded on 'something', which was then realized here on earth. The political, social and ritualistic order was taking shape in line with this divine design. There are communities even today thinking on identical lines. Some claim that the Bible was 'the word of god, which was with supreme being since the beginning'; Some say that everything is foreordained and recorded on 'something' up there; Muslims believe that Kuran was with the supreme being always,  recorded on 'Lavh-i Mahfuz'  (A tablet with the supreme entity's decrees written on it and will be preserved until the end of time,  and sent down as a whole when the time came). Now you know when and where it had started.

In the year 4000 B.C. writing was invented in Sumer. They initiated some of the basic characteristics of the 'belief systems of the book' of our day. Then came the Semitic Akkads. In 2000 B.C. Amorites destroyed the Sumer-Akkad civilisation. They established Babylon as their capital city. 500 years later Assyrians have settled in nearby Ashur, and in the end they invaded Babylon in 800 B.C. The 'Babylonian tradition', which had a deep influence on the myths of Canaan was established. Canaan was Israel's 'Promised Land.' Like all the peoples of the region, Babylonians have also tied their development and the cultural level they have attained, to their gods. They believed that these supreme entities have revealed and taught their order to the mythical ancestors of the Sumerians. According to them Babylon was an exact reflection of the divine order and the palaces in the city were the exact copies of the palaces of the gods. People living in the city of  Babylon felt themselves in touch with the divine power (the concept of a sacred city was adopted by Judaism, Christianity and Islam). They preferred to believe that there was a divine connection between the order 'up there' and the order here on earth (Extraterrestrials?). This connection was celebrated every year at the New Year festivals. The tradition was formed at 1700 B.C. These celebrations were held in the sacred month of Nisan (April) in Babylon. The Babylonian civilisation depended on the sacred mana - the sacred power. On the fourth day of the festival Enuma Elish would be read at the grand temple. Enuma Elish was thought to be the appropriate account of the creation. How could they have thought otherwise? No one was present at the creation, no one has witnessed it.

Have you heard  Marduk? According to one version of the creation story Marduk was the one who has created us. Did you know that? Marduk has created mankind by mixing the blood of the Oafish (the consort of Tiamat) with earth. Take a sigh of relief! Here, for a change, man is  created from godly substance. But still this divine substance was taken from a 'thing' that was in close relationship with Tiamat (considered to be the first concept of Satan in the history of mankind). In other words it was a godly substance of a negative character. Don't forget the earth, and the dust. This example shows that supreme beings and mankind were thought as originating from the same substance. Supreme beings were more powerful. That's all!

At the head of the Baals of Canaan was the supreme being El. His wife is Asherah. El marries his three sisters, one of whom is Astarte. She is frequently referred to in the Old Testament as Ashtaroth. El not only kills his brother but also his own son: He cut off his daughter's head, castrates his father, castrates himself and compels his confederates to do the same. In Canaan the cult of sensuality was regarded as the worship of the gods in those days, men and women prostitutes were accepted as  sacred by the followers of the religion, the rewards for their services went into the temple treasuries as offerings for the supreme being. The despised and accursed religion of ancient Canaan has helped us reach a new understanding of Biblical statements about the religion of the Patriarchs. When the Biblical fathers called upon El-Elyon (the 'all highest'), El-Olam (the ancient of ancients - the eternal), El-Roy (he who appears, he who sees me) and El-Shadday (the highest or almighty - the mountain god), their prayers were directed, as many scholars believe, to the chief Canaanite supreme being El's local variants. El and Baal were the divine kings of the Canaanite Pantheon. They were later replaced by YHVH, the supreme entity of the 'chosen people' of the Bible. Yet there were certain differences. El was static, at rest, and unapproachable, while Baal in contrast was dynamic, active, and actual. One thing is clear, the supreme being of the Old and New Testaments (beside whom there was no place for another supreme being even in a subservient role) was naturally incompatible with the myth which had numerous other gods.

The supreme being of Israel, who led them out of Egypt, YHVH Sabaoth was a god of armies, a god of war. Later on they transformed this concept of a warring, vicious, bloody supreme being into a symbol of transcendence and compassion. The supreme being of the other two Abrahamic-Semitic belief systems, Christianity and Islam, also has armies. We read stories in these codebooks on the armies of supreme being and Satan joining in battle.

Suprme Being's name should not be uttered freely. This rule applies to the Old Testament's supreme being YHVH and to Allah of Islam (This prohibition is thought to have originated from an ancient taboo of prehistory. Moreover magic and sorcery are thought be the other reasons behind this ban, because the belief is that If one knows the name of a certain person one may use it to take that person under his influence). There are two names used for supreme being in the original Hebrew Old Testament: Elohim and YHVH. These different names are taken as an evidence of the belief in more than one supreme being in the early years of the Mosaic belief system. There are also two writers using one or the other name of supreme being. One of them is called 'J' (because he called his supreme being 'Jehovah'-Yehova), and the other is 'E' (because named his supreme being, 'Elohim'). Priestly tradition had YHVH say that he was Abraham's god. But Abraham knew his supreme being as El-Shadday according to one opinion, and as Rabb according to another. Abraham (Av+ram), Isaac (I'zak), and Jacob (Ya'kub) are presented as monotheists. This is only an impression. The reality is most certainly different. If they had ever lived, they must have lived in Canaan, and believed in the Canaanite gods. Abraham's supreme being was either El, El Shadday or Rabb; the name of I'zak's god in English was 'Fear' or 'Kinsman.' Ya'kub's god, again in English, was called the 'Mighty One.' These were most probably different gods. Though they may have been personal or tribal  or  regional gods, nevertheless they were written into the story in the Old Testament as the gods of the patriarchs.

God of the Jews is male. Christians and Muslims also worship a male supreme being. Allah is the Arabic word for supreme being which was used both by the Christians and Muslims. This name was known to Arabs even in the pre-Islamic times. The probable etymology is the contraction of al-ilah. The Aramaic words Alaha or Aloho are also possible candidates. There is another probable root: The Hebrew word el (and its plural elohim) derives from the semitic root alah ('to be strong' ) which means the great power. The word which describes this holy, miracle-working omnipotent power must have derived from the same source as the word for 'supreme being'. In the Hebrew original of the Old Testament the name of the supreme being is given as either elah (singular) or elahim (plural).  The Samaritans have a supreme being called 'Aloah'. Some scholars say that el, elahim, shadday, yehweh, yahweh were all used in an obscure meaning in prehistory. What do you think about the significance of the similarity between Jehovah, YHVH, YAHVEH and the other sacred name Jupiter, Jove.

IL was also used to denote Allah. El, il, alaha, elah, elahim, eloh, elohim, aloah are the names of supreme being in the Semitic languages. Although the words elohim, elahim in Hebrew are plural,  they are also used in a singular context - denoting a sole supreme being. >Moses ben Maimonides, who is considered to be  the second founder of Judaism uses elohim in a singular context. Some scholars say that the root of the word for the supreme being of Islam, Allah, is the Aramaic Alaha  (Encyclopedia of Islam). Syriac is accepted as a branch of Aramaic. The word Allah is Syriac, and may have its root in Aramaic 'Aloho.' Allah is definitely not Arabic, it comes from a non-Arabic root.

In some inscriptions found in Safa (a place near Makka) the word god  appears. The words Allah, Hallah appear together with the name of one of the idols in Nabataean (This is extremely important. Make a note), but the word Allah appears alone in the Safa inscriptions. The origin of Allah, according to people of Kufa is ilah. According to Basrans it is lah.  The assumption is that, in order to magnify 'ilah',  the prefix  'el' was added. The 'l' of 'el' and 'i' of ilah became too heavy to pronounce; 'i' is dropped; and the resultant word became 'ellah.' The same applies to 'lah'. To exalt the word, most probably,  'el' was added and the final word became el-lah.  Some Islamic scholars say that god is general than Allah. Arabs reportedly "..had the habit of calling each one of their idols as Allah in addition to its name. Then suddenly Allah became the name of the greatest supreme being." Since the word Allah has become the name of the greatest supreme being, and there is only one greatest supreme being, it has no plural. From the standpoint of Islam the other gods cannot be called Allah or elah  or ilah. Allah is the 'greatest name' because it belongs to Him. "The concept of Allah among the pre-Islamic Arabs was amazingly similar to the concept of Allah in Islam. Kuran is baffled sometimes as to why such a correct understanding of supreme being had not led the infidels to accept the new reality,"  writes Dr. Toshihiko Izutsu. These pre-Islamic Arabs believed that Allah was;

• The creator of the world,

• The one who brings rain, 

• The one who gave life to everything on earth.

The only thing which makes Kuran feel uneasy towards them is the fact that though they knew supreme being as "the One who created the sky and the earth, they did not end up with the conclusion that He was the only one to worship." According to Islam Allah is first and last because he existed before everything and he will exist after everything ceased to exist. Everything will end, only his 'self' is permanent. He is above everything. There's none higher. He is in everything, closest to everything. This is the formula in Islam: "Allah exists. He has no before or after. He is eternal. He is the only supreme being. He doesn't need anybody or anything. He has no spatial location. He does not beget, and he is not begotten. He has no equal. He is always alive (hayy). He is all-knowing. He is all-hearing. He is all-seeing. He has the will. He is all-powerful. He is the giver of speech. He is the creator." According to an early tradition (hadith) supreme being said to the Hagarene Messenger ('Muhammad'): " I was a hidden treasure; I wanted to be known. Hence, I created the world so that I might be known." This is basically the supreme being of Islam, which was the supreme being of Abraham, the supreme being of Moses, the supreme being of Jesus and finally the supreme being of the Hagarene Messenger.

The god's name is 'Teng-ri ' for the Turks of Central Asia. Here I must remind you that the word used for supreme being in Sumer was either 'Dengir' or 'Dingir. The similarity between Tengri and Dengir/Dingir' is worth noting, especially when one remembers Lu-dingir-ra's account on  where his people came and settled in Mesopotamia. He wrote that the Sumerians have emigrated  from a mountainous country to the northeast. People with Turkish origins and  communities under the influence of the Turkish culture and language were living in that direction. Interesting! ; Persians called their supreme being 'huda'. The Hagarene Messenger ('Muhammad') is reportedly used to address his supreme being as follows: "Ente Ilahi! Laelahe illa ente!" (You are my 'ilah'! There is no other 'ilah,' but you!'). As seen from here Mohamed called his supreme being 'ilah'  the origin of which could be traced back to elah, eloh, aloho, alaha etc. The word 'rabb' is used also as the name for supreme being in many places in Kuran.

A supreme being showing itself to human beings was normal in the beginning. They were just superior to the mankind, therefore more powerful. That was all. They created the mankind as their servants, but they shared their environment with humans. The writers of the Old Testament adopted and adapted the stories of the ancient times and wrote their own versions which we read in the codebooks.  In one of those stories Abraham even sits down for a meal with his supreme being in ancient Mamre, Hebron-Al Khalil, and suddenly realizes that one of the visitors (there were three) is his god. Could any one of you imagine a naivety like this? A supreme being sitting down and eating with a human being? This is ridiculous. Here we have an anthropomorphic - human like - supreme being imagined by mankind.

No wonder, this idea - a supreme being revealing itself - became an anathema for Israel later on. The 'Priestly Tradition' was not very happy with an anthropomorphic supreme being. Following the Babylonian exile the concept of god of the Mosaic belief system was amended: Supreme being became an entity 'the divine presence of whom could only be seen as an afterglow.' This divine presence is called by the writer as "the glory (kavod) of YHVH", and instead of YHVH accompanying Israel during the Exodus they changed the story into the glory of YHVH filling the tent where he met Moses. This glory(!) should not be confused with the supreme being himself. It is only a manifestation. The writers of the Old Testament added an important motif to support this idea. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai "his own face reflected this 'glory' and shone with such an unbearable light that the Israelites could not look upon him."

We can say that during those centuries of darkness which unfortunately are not open to an extensive historical research, there must have been a series of powerful volcanic eruptions and the consequent earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean basin, which left a deep impression both on the local communities and  the landscape in Palestine. In the conversation between YHVH and Moses before Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, YHVH tells Moses that He (YHVH) wants Israel to found a state (mamlaka) of priests (kohanim). In the light of these wishes it could be said that these people in front of the Mount Sinai (it should be mount Horeb) did not know YHVH before, or they had forgotten him a long time ago. The two names used in the Old Testament for supreme being, Elohim and YHVH,  may be taken as an evidence supporting this assumption. Elohim has appeared in the beginning, later on YHVH  replaced  Elohim. The types of prayers, the tent, and the Ark of the Covenant appeared with YHVH. YHVH may have been brought over by Moses, or he may have been the supreme being of a small community and made the sole supreme being of the new community by Moses. According to a widespread opinion YHVH was the supreme being of the Kenites (A Semitic tribe). It was impossible to see this supreme entity, and the making of his effigy was forbidden. Moses may have adopted this supreme being as his god and tried to impose him as the sole supreme being on the nomadic tribes that have set out towards  the Jordan valley to settle there.

The supreme being of the Children of Israel did not take part in His act (the creation). This supreme being is endless, not like His creation. He is not created therefore he must have a time and place particular to him. The supreme being of Judaism made himself known under names like elohim (el), eloah, el Shadday, YHVH, YHVH Sabaoth, adonay, and shekinah (in the Cabbalistic context). Israel's supreme being is a jealous and dreadful entity. As Bertrand Russell tells us, "the whole of this understanding of supreme being has its origins in the ancient eastern despotism." Israel's supreme being is a wholly divisive and differentiating god. YHVH, differing from the other gods, did not express himself in a cosmic, but in a historical time scale with an absolute beginning and end. God of Israel was the only designer and organiser of the daily life, history and politics of the Jews. All kinds of humanly decisions and judgements could inevitably contradict  Him, even if they do not violate the Law of  the supreme being. Nothing could be added to or subtracted from god's creation. According to the Jews, man's duty in this world is summarized in Ecclesiastes 12:13: "Hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear supreme being, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Jews are required only to know what supreme being has done, not to interpret it (but they did interpret the word of god, and they still do).  Since it  is god's word,  the interpretation of it is god's prerogative, as it is written in Genesis 40:8: (The butler and the baker of the 'King' of Egypt are talking to Joseph) "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Don't (you know) interpretations belong to supreme being? Tell them to me. I pray you." Joseph says here that the interpretation belongs  to the supreme being,  but in Genesis 40:12 he does interpret the dream.  This is another example of the incompetence of the writers of the Old Testament. Interpretation of god's actions is considered as sedition. One should remember here, that Islam has also prohibited the interpretation of the law - Kuran - and branded this action as equating oneself with the supreme being. But nevertheless there are numerous interpreters of both the Old Testament and Kuran, who consider themselves guides showing(!) or leading(!) the way to the supreme being. These actions should be considered sedition as well. Don't you think so?

Back to Judaism. Since the seditious acts  are considered as sinful acts  they exactly fall into the description in Isaiah 59:2: "..Your iniquities have separated between you and your god, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear."  The gods of the Pagans, the man-made effigies and idols were branded as the 'symbols of evil' by the Jews, who were acquiring their names and their communal identity within their alliance with supreme being. A Jew is  the servant of his supreme being. He is like a worker on contract on the Promised Land, because according to the Law the land belonged to supreme being. It is the belief of the Jews that  Israel's supreme being is also good,  and involved with his people, and a dialogue has been going on between the supreme being and  mankind since the time of Abraham.

Abraham's god  was a peaceful, friendly supreme being. When he thought necessary, he revealed himself in human form. But later on the idea of an anthropomorphic supreme being wandering amongst  the mankind will become an anathema for  Israel. The story about the supreme being walking amongst mankind and revealing himself to Abraham by the side of an oak tree in Mamre-Hebron was written into the Old Testament by the writer called 'J' (who is called 'J' because he calls his supreme being 'Jehovah,' and he is one of the four writers of the Pentateuch). Another writer, this time 'E' (he is called 'E' because he calls his supreme being 'Elohim') finds this intimacy between the Patriarchs and their gods unacceptable, and he makes god speak to Abraham through an angel. How could a creator, an absolute ruler, fixer of destinies meet face to face with an insignificant human being, who was created by Him? An intermediary, a minister, an interface,  a modem is absolutely necessary.

The theory that YHVH-Jehovah was a Midianite god is discredited by some today. All right! What was He? A supreme being brought over from Egypt by Moses? Does it make any difference? No. But as we read in the  codebook it was in Midian that Moses had his first vision of YHVH (the burning bush story), where supreme being calls  to him by name and Moses replies "I am here!" (hineni!). YHVH was accepted as the supreme being of Israel, and the Old Testament announces that He had led Israel out of Egypt. YHVH was also called,  'god of Armies', a supreme being of war. Here we have a clue to the reason behind this name: He was the 'supreme being of Armies' because Israel had to fight their way towards a new homeland. They needed a god of war. Later on they transformed this concept of a warring, vicious, bloody supreme being into a symbol of transcendence and compassion. Upon their arrival in Canaan and joining their next of kin there Israel made another contract with YHVH. But in reality, Israel remembered YHVH whenever they needed His military protection. At, peaceful times they went back to Baal, Anath, and Asherah.

The later monotheists, especially Christians in the western world were influenced mainly by the Aristotle's idea of supreme being. There was the Unmoved Mover at the top. It was a pure being, eternal, immobile and spiritual. It was pure thought; thinker and thought at the same time, engaged in an eternal moment of contemplation of himself, the highest object of knowledge. In contrast  to 'it' matter is imperfect and mortal, therefore there could not be a material element in supreme being. Each movement must have a cause that can be traced back to an antecedent, and from that antecedent to another antecedent, eventually ending up in a single source. The Unmoved Mover is the source which causes all the motion and activity in the Universe. This Unmoved Mover activates the world by a process of attraction, because all beings are drawn towards this Being. Man is different. He is in a privileged position, because human soul has the divine gift of intellect. By having this intellect he becomes akin to the supreme being; he has some of the qualities and attributes of the divine nature, and because of this divine capacity of reason he is above the plants and animals (Islam was influenced deeply by the Greek thought and consequently considers man as the pinnacle of creation). Man is a microcosm of the whole of universe, and it is his duty to become immortal and divine by purifying his intellect. Wisdom (sophia) is thought to be the highest of all human virtues, and when man contemplates he imitates something which the Unmoved Mover does all the time, and  man becomes divine(!).

Theoria is understood as two completely different things in the East and West. In eastern Christianity theoria (assumption-theory) is understood as the product of assumption at worst and speculation-abstract reasoning at best (Islam has adopted this approach). Whereas in the West theoria (assumption-theory) is understood as something that has to be consistent with reason, and verified. it is a rational hypothesis which must be logically demonstrated. How instructive and expressive this is! Because this basic difference in their approach to thought processes display the different foundation stones in the formation of eastern and western societies. Therefore, to become divine(!) man has to indulge in abstract reasoning. But be warned, this abstract reasoning/speculation is extremely difficult to achieve. It is not something for everybody. One has to have logic first. But that is not enough. One needs a disciplined intuition as well. Only this mixture of logic and disciplined intuition would result in an ecstatic self-transcendence. Obviously very few human beings are capable of this wisdom. What the majority of the people can do is the exercise of foresight and intelligence in daily life. This meant that the Greek supreme being could be discovered by human reason. In contrast to this supreme being, the god of the Old Testament could not be grasped by human intellect, and He made himself known only by means of revelation. An unbridgeable gulf separated YHVH from the world. In contrast Greeks believed that the gift of reason made human beings akin to supreme being. They could therefore reach him by their own efforts. But Aristotle's supreme being had little religious relevance. He had not created the world, because this would have involved an inappropriate change and a time bound, transient activity. This supreme being remains quite indifferent to the existence of the Universe, because he cannot contemplate anything inferior to himself. He could not have directed or made changes to the world or to our lives. Furthermore, it was doubtful whether this supreme being was aware of the Cosmos which (supposedly) came to being as the necessary effect of His existence. At first this supreme being of Aristotle made a great impression on the Jews and Muslims. They loved it. He was the tailor-made supreme being for their purposes, but later on they found out to their dissatisfaction that this superior entity could have only a minute effect on the world of mortals. That was the negative aspect which meant that this concept of supreme being cannot be made use of by the ideologues of these belief systems, because they were aiming at a total control on their communities and the creation of a monolithic faith, based on coercion, blackmail and threats. To achieve their goal these leaders   needed an all-seeing, all-hearing, ever-alive supreme being who fixed the destinies, punished the wrongdoers, who decided on the beginning and the end of the Universe, and passed judgment on the mankind on the judgment day etc. So Aristotle's supreme being was not suitable for them and they reverted to their specific concepts of supreme being.

The lesson? Here is my advice: Come to your senses and contemplate not to become divine but to understand that there is nothing divine.

Every time the monotheists felt themselves close to the Greek philosophy, they attempted to adapt the Greek supreme being to their objective. The first one who attempted that was Philo of Alexandria. He was a Jew, a devout observer of mitzvot - commandments of the Jewish Law. He did not see an incompatibility between his supreme being and the Greek one. Aristotle's supreme being had no human characteristics. We could only know it existed. But being a practicing Jew Philo believed that supreme being showed himself to the messengers. He felt that he had to find a solution to this contradiction between the two ideas. He said that supreme being has an essence (ousia) which is impossible to comprehend fully; and there are things he does in the world, which are his manifestations (dynameis) or energy (energeiai). Therefore we could not know supreme being as he is. But in his benevolence, supreme being employs his power and manifestations to adapt himself to our limited intellect. To make himself known of course! Philo furthermore says that there is a kingly power and a creative power on either side of the essential being (ousia) of the supreme overseer. According to Philo, the two angels accompanying YHVH when Av'ram/Abraham met them at Mamre, Hebron are the allegorical presentation of ousia and the two great powers (what an imagination!). Philo introduced the theory of divine logos as well. This divine logos was the master plan of creation devised by the supreme being. This is the highest idea that humans can think of the  supreme being.

The supreme being of  the Old Testament has communicated with the mankind on various occasions, but this god (could it be another superior entity?) has spoken to mankind only once in the New Testament, and this happened during John the Baptist's baptizing of Jesus (The story is in Matthew 3:16-17). After that event supreme being has never spoken to anyone again  (Jesus included), and never gave orders. In John 4:24 Jesus talks about his god: "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth."  The debate on supreme being has reached its peak with Jesus, because he claimed that he was sent by the supreme entity (Father) as the Saviour; he was the only Son of  the supreme being, thus the supreme being in person(!). If the supreme being is a spirit as Jesus had said, and he is the Son of that supreme being, then how are we going to explain this problem of 'god appearing in a body of flesh?'  This necessarily meant that supreme being has created Himself in the image of man. In the Epistle (letter) of  Paul to the Philippians 2: 6-11 we read: (Referring to Jesus Christ) "Who, being in the form of god, thought it not robbery to be equal with god.. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:.. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.. Wherefore god also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of god the Father."   What does this mean? According to the Law it was the other way round: Man was created in the image of the supreme creator. This was anathema to the Jews. According to the Bible Jesus is divine and he is baptized. Jesus was not eternalized by YHVH. But he has eternalized himself in the memories of the following generations as the 'spirit created in the image of man.' Contrary to YHVH, Jesus never promised land in this world, but promised firstly an eternal life in the kingdom of the supreme being somewhere up there, and life after death.

As if there wasn't  enough to keep those people occupied, once more, the resurrection entered the stage. In his first Epistle to the Corinthians 15:12-17 apostle Paul declared the heart  of the Christian belief system:

• "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?.. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:.. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ..And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, you are yet in your sins." 

The summary: "If Christ is not raised then our preaching is in vain and so is our faith."  Another unbelievably nonsensical statement. The risen Christ is the pivotal point of the Christian faith. Because no resurrection means no Church, no hope of eternal life (which is the eternal yearning of man, and the New Testament is founded on the hope of achieving an eternal life), no eucharistic bread and wine. The resurrection of Christ is the most radical of the Christian doctrines. There are precedents and parallels of his supposed sayings, compassion for others, even his martyr's death in other myths, legends, stories and religious traditions. But the claim that supreme being has raised him from the dead has no precedent. This story has created doubt and disbelief from the beginning. Jews of the Biblical Yerushalim thought that it was simply blasphemous for the renegade Christians to claim that a crucified criminal was the Messiah. If we are to believe in  the New Testament, it was the appearance(!) of the resurrected(!) Christ  that lit the flame of the Christian faith. Various Biblical scholars argue that the gospel stories of the empty tomb and Jesus' post-resurrection appearances are fictions that are devised long after his death to justify claims of his divinity (I share this view). Beginning with the apostle Paul's fairy tales  the original Jesus Movement was lost eventually, falling victim to the developing Christian Church establishment, which has transformed the human Jesus into a divine 'Son of god', the Messiah. There are scholars who argued that the early Christians applied to Jesus all the myths that had accumulated about the expected Messiah (these myths date back to Mithraism and  Zoroastrianism). The god of Jesus  was the loving and caring father of the whole mankind. He was the universal, sole supreme being. Whereas YHVH - Israel's supreme creator - was 'our supreme being' (the supreme being of a certain group of people) who was the particular sole god of the sons of Israel. Could any person in his/her right mind claim that these two concepts of the supposedly same supreme being are identical? One is presented as universal while the other is tribal, national. Do you know what this shows? It shows that Israel has needed a concept of a fighting, particular supreme being to lead  them on the road to achieving their aims, to lead them towards a nationhood in their fight against  the local people of the region they have invaded. But Jesus needed a concept of a supreme being suited to the needs of the Jewish community who felt strait-jacketed by an all-enveloping god, and yearned for a bit of a humanly freedom.

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