Saturday, July 29, 2006
THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN
Looks like I've done it now...gone and committed the unforgivable sin of "negativity."
Who was that masked man, anyway...?
Actually the "negativity" depends upon your point of view. From the Catholic point, I am starting to find the living breathing people who hate the Church, as opposed to historical figures and philosophy which is all that I've been able to turn up in research in the past. I guess Alice Bailey's Hierarchy is externalizing. It's better to be able to identify your opposition than to have them lurking in the shadows. So from my perspective, Ishmael's "negativity" is really "positivity". Is that a real word?
TEMPLUM DE OCTO ROSAE MYSTICUS
is "a Christic-based interfaith esoteric consortium [which offers] integrated teachings, practices, and initiatic training based on Eight Mystic Roses of the Western Traditions" according to their website. Essentially it appears to be an order of esoteric Freemasonry, since one of its objectives is to "Deepen Communion with The One-Unity..." Interested readers are directed to The Arimathea Institute, of which Bishop Timothy A. Storlie is the Spiritual Director.
The Order's Suggested Materials gives a picture of what this Order is about. There are 71 books on the list (some appear more than once). Of those books 25 use the word "Kabbalah" in their title, 7 use the word "Qabalah" in their title, 2 use the word "Cabala" in their title, and 6 use the word "Magic" in their title. The author's list includes Johann Reuchlin, a 16th century cabalist and professor of Hebrew who engaged in a protracted quarrel with Johann Pfeffercorn over the Talmud. (This quarrel was covered extensively by E. Michael Jones in the November 2005 issue of "Culture Wars".) Gareth Knight is on the Suggested Materials list, as is former Catholic now Episcopalian priest Matthew Fox.
A Catholic is forbidden by the First Commandment to engage in magic and spirit contact.
CCC 2117: All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. ...Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.
Friday, July 28, 2006
BISHOP TIMOTHY A. STORLIE
Within occult groups it is common for a member of one group to belong to several other groups as well. Bishop Storlie is an example of such multiple involvements.
He is a Bishop in Lewis Keizer's Home Temple Synod of Bishops.
He is Knight/Commander of the Sanctus Sophia Commandery, Order of the Grail.
He is the Spiritual Director of the Arimathea Institute (An interfaith institute named after St. Joseph of Arimathea). There you can discover that "The focus is not about 'believing in' Jesus but upon developing a deep, living relationship with his teachings and with the Divinity he knew so intimately--the Sacred Unity he called Allaha." The Arimathea Institute is an umbrella group for another group of Gnostic enterprises, including The Apostolic Guardian Church of Grace and Blessing, whose Primate (Storlie) indicates that the church has been dissolved. Storlie's wife, Rt. Rev. Debra Belshee-Storlie, is a member of the current Board of The Arimathea Institute.
He is a Hierophant (Priest) of the Templum de Octo Rosae Mysticus according to his bio in the website, which also indicates that he is a Reiki Master, a 32 deg. Mason, and an Initiator is several orders including the Sufi Martinist Order.
He is a Druid.
He is a Bishop in the Apostollic Temple of Sophia, "an independent expression of the one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church" which emphasizes "the esoteric, mystical, and theurgical teachings of advanced Catholic spirituality," and where "The Sacrament of Holy Communion is offered to all who approach the altar with reverence."
According to his bio in the Home Temple website linked above he is also co-author of a book with Dr. Lewis Keizer titled INITIATION INTO THE GRAIL MYSTERIES. He holds membership in the White Robed Monks of St. Benedict, the World Peace Society, the Pious Union of St. Joseph, the Distant Healing Network.
Perhaps he has perfected the ability to bi-locate, because in addition to all of these leisure time activities his Home Temple bio indicates he is also a Washington State Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Home Health and Hospice Medical Social Worker. Rev. Storlie is a busy man!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
VIDEO GAME VIOLENCE
In short, the modern entertainment media landscape could accurately be described as an effective systematic violence desensitization tool," he said. "Whether modern societies want this to continue is largely a public policy question, not an exclusively scientific one."
That was the conclusion drawn from psychological research conducted by two psychologists at Iowa State University. You can read the whole Spero News story here.
Will responsible people accept the responsibility and stop this desensitization of our youth even if it costs them something to do that? I seriously doubt it.
DR. KEIZER'S WISDOM SEMINAR
Dr. Lewis Keizer has taught at the university level, though his Academic Resume indicates he is currently teaching Earth Sciences and Physical Sciences at Westmont High School in Campbell, California. His academic back ground includes Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley where his dissertation was devoted to Tractate 6 of the Nag Hammadi Codex VI.
Today he offers a series of "Wisdom Seminars" as distance learning courses. One of those courses, "Rosslyn Chapel and Esoteric Freemasonry" is particularly pertinent to my area of interest. Is there a Catholic alive today who has never heard of the DAVINCI CODE? Anything about Rosslyn Chapel sparks interest in curious Catholics.
I found the Syllabus for "Rosslyn Chapel and Esoteric Freemasonry" online. Take a moment to read through the modules. You will get the history of Freemasonry and esoteric movements from the Dan Brown perspective. He notes Catholic campaigns against Freemasonry in Module 4. I couldn't help but wonder, while reading through the topics, whether Dan Brown was one of his students.
Jay Kinney, writing for "New Dawn Magazine," notes the same association, even citing Dr. Keizer as a source for information about wandering bishops in footnote 3. His article opens with a discussion of Dan Brown.
The Church, of course, still takes the same position on the Gnostic heresy She has always taken.
19th century esotericism is seen by some as completely secularised. Alchemy, magic, astrology and other elements of traditional esotericism had been thoroughly integrated with aspects of modern culture, including the search for causal laws, evolutionism, psychology and the study of religions. It reached its clearest form in the ideas of Helena Blavatsky, a Russian medium who founded the Theosophical Society with Henry Olcott in New York in 1875. The Society aimed to fuse elements of Eastern and Western traditions in an evolutionary type of spiritualism. It had three main aims:
1. “To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, caste or colour.
2. “To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science.
3. “To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.
“The significance of these objectives... should be clear. The first objective implicitly rejects the 'irrational bigotry' and 'sectarianism' of traditional Christianity as perceived by spiritualists and theosophists... It is not immediately obvious from the objectives themselves that, for theosophists, 'science' meant the occult sciences and philosophy the occulta philosophia, that the laws of nature were of an occult or psychic nature, and that comparative religion was expected to unveil a 'primordial tradition' ultimately modelled on a Hermeticist philosophia perennis”.(32)
A prominent component of Mrs. Blavatsky's writings was the emancipation of women, which involved an attack on the “male” God of Judaism, of Christianity and of Islam. She urged people to return to the mother-goddess of Hinduism and to the practice of feminine virtues. This continued under the guidance of Annie Besant, who was in the vanguard of the feminist movement. Wicca and “women's spirituality” carry on this struggle against “patriarchal” Christianity today.
Dan Brown has, in effect, thrown down the gauntlet. I get the impression that Dr. Lewis Keizer, among others, is happy to pick it up.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
PANSOPHIC FREEMASONRY
In the comments box attached to my blog with the same headline posted on Friday, July 21, the following comments appear:
Bishop Keizer ordained me after nearly 8 years correspondence. He is a gifted and knowledgable man. The Home Temple is the work of many years and he was trained in a Theological College. He has also received mentorship from a very gifted female elder. It may surprise some more orthodox people who are unfamiliar but there is a valid place in the world for people who have a heartfelt love of Jesus and who wish to serve unshackled by the restraints of the "official" churches. Many of these restraints are purely political when you examine the historical evidence.
Many Blessings
Elias
Elias Ibrahim | 07.22.06 - 3:33 am | #
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Would you be willing to answer some questions, Elias?
Carrie | 07.22.06 - 10:24 am | #
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Elias Ibrahim is pictured on Dr. Keizer's website here. If the comment was indeed made by Elias Ibrahim, I had hoped he would be willing to answer some questions. Apparently he is not.
A little background...
Elias Ibrahim's Home Page where you can read that he is
An enthusiastic student of Martinism, Sufism, the Qabalah and the Esoteric wisdom of Mankind in General. Currently I am facilitating a class on Qabalah and the Tarot at the Theosophical Society here in Sydney....
For dedicated students of the esoteric path, we are now able to offer initiation into the +Martinist Order of The Temple+ and help with those who wish to follow the priestly path offered by the Home Temple.
He has a link back to the Home Temple of Bishop Keizer, together with a link to email Keizer.
At the Amazon.ca website, he makes a brief review statement for the book THE TEMPLARS AND THE ASSASSINS: THE MILITIA OF HEAVEN which appears to have been first published in the magazine "New Dawn", September-October 2001:
Historically it was the Assassins who opposed the Catholic Templars, if I remember my history lessons correctly. It's interesting to note that Michael A. Aquino has also made a favorable statement about this book. According to Gavin Baddeley, "in 1975, Aquino led a walk-out of disaffected Church of Satan members..." (LUCIFER RISING, p. 102) Strange company.
The Blavatsky Lodge of The Theosophical Society, Sydney includes Elias Ibrahim as a member and lecturer on its 2006 Program.
Elias Ibrahim is listed as translator for an article which first appeared in "Inconnus", 1951 titled "Islamic Origin of the Rose-Croix?" Contributor of the article is Dame Donna of The Order of the Grail Grand Commandery.
Dame Donna signs herself "Your Servant in the Quest" at this website, where the Commandery is named for St. Mary Magdalene.
Two more websites mention Elias Ibrahim.
He is cited at the bottom of this webpage.
And he has signed a letter here.
JOSEPH'S LATEST ARTICLE IS UP...
As Israel began its latest campaign of self-defense, the Vatican’s leading government official rushed to join his peers on the speeding bandwagon of international disapproval.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s secretary of state and effectively its prime minister, condemned Israel’s attack against Hezbollah’s positions in Lebanon and the resources the terrorist group could exploit.
Continue reading...
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
EMAIL FROM MARK WATERINCKX
It is officialy confirmed now. The Vatican asks the Bosnia-Hercegovina-bishopsconference to install a new commission about Medjugorje.And following the directives of the Vatican itself they have to consider the FACTS before the fruits. So the chance of a recognition of the 'apparitions' is 0%.The real problem of this sad story will be the psychology of the Medjugorje-supporters. Therefore read :
www.unitypublishing.com/Apparitions/MedLove.htm
Th best recent book is " Understanding Medjugorje" by Donal Foley.
ISBN 0-9550746-0-6 See www.theotokos.org.uk
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UPDATE
Here is the Catholic News Service article on this new commission.
THE BULL, THE LION, THE ANGEL, AND THE EAGLE
Those are the symbols on the banner that is hanging to the left of the altar in the Roman Catholic Church I visited recently.
Take a look at the images in the picture at the top of Dr. Lewis Keizer's "The Wisdom Seminars" website.
ARE THESE WEBSITES AMORC ?
http://gnostic.org/orgcontents.htm
Euphotic Foundation
The foundation is linked at the bottom of the Gnostic.org website. It bears the P.O. Box 8660 San Jose address. At the bottom of the Euphotic Foundation website is a link back to Gnostic.org.
The website Gnostic Order of Christ also carries the P. O. Box 8660 San Jose address.
I presume these are the same or closely related organizations since their philosophy is identical and they share a post office box address. The similarity in website design is also interesting.
The Gnostic.Org website links The Gnostic Order of Christ, Immaculate Heart Servants of Mary, and The Auric Egg Meditation among others. These can all be found in the website of Rt. Rev. Timothy D. Harris whose webpage also carries the 8660 address.
The history of Rt. Rev. Timothy D. Harris' "rite to ordain" is listed at this website. He has a long-standing history with the Holy Order of MANS, going back to 1970, and that at the time Ruth Blighton separated from the HOOM group so as not to become a part of the Orthodox Church, he followed her. You can also see that The Order of the Holy Cross plays a part in The Holy Order of MANS.
The Order of the Holy Cross can also be found in the website of The Religious Movements Homepage Project of The University of Virginia. There you can read:
The Holy Order of MANS was founded by Earl W. Blighton in San Francisco in 1968. Blighton, a retired electrical engineer from Rochester, New York, migrated to the west coast in the late 1940s and became involved with Spiritualism, the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, and various alternative healing therapies.
And:
A combination of Christian and Masonic/Rosicrucian symbols began to emerge in the belief system of the Science of Man Church by the spring of 1967. Blighton saw symbolism as a means for demonstrating spiritual mastery over the physical environment. He taught that the material or spiritual conditions that a person sought in their lives could be gained through the use of esoteric symbols on the mental plane and by speaking the “word of power” (Lucas 1995: 38). Blighton thought that all things in the universe were first derived from the circle, square, and triangle. The circle represented the Godhead and “the unity of all things” (Lucas 1995: 39). The triangle represented the process of creation. The square represented the “material plane” (Lucas 1995: 39).
The circle, square, and triangle appears on this webpage in The Gnostic Order of Christ website.
There you can read about The Gnostic Order of Christ and other HOOM groups.
The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis is the spelled-out version of "AMORC," for those of you who don't try to keep track of the ever-evolving landscape of esoteric orders.
Given this string of connect the dots, I think it is reasonable to suspect that HOOM and AMORC, The Gnostic Order of Christ, and the Euphotic Foundation are all interconnected.
Another interesting association surfaced in the process of collecting these dots...
One of the former members of the Holy Order of MANS and The Gnostic Order of Christ is Sanuel L. Lewis, a Sufi best known for his Dances of Universal Peace. The Dances of Universal Peace can also be found linked on the Gurdjieff Internet Guide website. There are two links provided--one to the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace, and the other to the Prescott Dances of Universal Peace. The Prescott website indicates their activity is "based on the work begun in the late 60s by Samuel L. Lewis, they promote peace and integration within individuals and groups worldwide." The Prescott Dance Leaders sign their website with a heart (Heart Doctrine?) and the words "Toward the One."
Monday, July 24, 2006
RANDOM QUOTES FROM JPII
Joseph sent in a link to Fish Eaters, a webpage dedicated to providing random quotes from John Paul II. Here are some it gave me:
The radiant Incarnation of our elder brothers in the Faith will beautify our future dignity.
The luminous enthusiasm of social systems will celebrate the People of God's great hope for peace.
The astonishing epiphany of our sister churches will evolve the People of God's enculturation.
The astonishing depth of social systems will create our future compassion.
The immense abundance of conscience will create today's dignity.
The unfathomable contemplation of our elder brothers in the Faith will develop acceptance of the Church's liturgical renewal.
The noble acclamation of ecumenical dialogue will inspire our future enculturation.
The transcendent radiance of the United Nations will modernize the restoration of our social justice.
The brotherly liturgy of the diakonia of the truth will inspire , in a certain way, the Church's human wisdom.
The brotherly enlightenment of renewed zeal will transform our future new Springtime.
The genuine inspiration of the United Nations will further the cause of modern man's great hope for peace.
No references are given. Who knows where they came from. None of them sound even remotely Roman Catholic; however, I've been reading gnostic literature over the last several days, and now they are sounding familiar.
When Christ returns, will there be any faith on the earth?
ARE THESE WEBSITES AMORC ?
http://gnostic.org/orgcontents.htm
Euphotic Foundation
IS THIS CO-MASONRY ?
The Kybalion
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI WAR ZONE
A curious story was linked at NOR last week, about a fracus outside two churches in Jackson during the time when the congregations were gathering on Sunday morning for worship. Today Google brings up a Canadian independent news site where the story is being carried: Anti-Christian violence erupts in Mississippi.
While the story is being spun as "Anti-Christian," I thought it was curious which two congregations were involved--one a Unitarian Universalist, the other St. James Episcopal.
As the article describes it, no one was actually hurt, though a vehicle was destroyed by PVC pipe-weilding demonstrators. It is not possible to determine from the article which church was the scene of this violence. The police on the scene refused to get involved because "the rioters refused to identify themselves when asked" according to Rev. Benham who is quoted in the story.
Unitarian Universalism is noted for being open to anyone of any religion including Buddhism and Paganism. They are one of the most "tolerant" churches in America. Why would a story about voilence at the UU church be spun as "Anti-Christian"? Sounded odd. A group called Operation Save America was cited in the article. I did a little digging.
A July 16 article at another independent news source turned up Clinic Defense in Jackson, Mississippi.
This time the story is spun as "anti-racist action". It seems that this same UU church requested protection during their Sunday service from Operation Save America (formerly Operation Rescue) from a demonstration involving "10 foot signs of an aborted fetus" and messages sent over a loudspeaker from across the street. On this occasion, the car of a pro-lifer was demolished when it attempted to enter the church parking lot.
There is also a curious blog entry concerning St. James headlined: "What One Parish Went Through: St. James Episcopal Church in Jackson, Mississippi"
According to the story the congregation is split over the consecration of Gene Robinson, and what had been a thriving membership at standing-room-only services, dwindled significantly over this consecration, and funds dried up. The church had been in the "middle of a fund raising effort to refurbish part of the church plant, plus add new space, including a new parish hall, [and] was force [sic] to shut down these efforts and deal with its loss in membership and in financial giving."
It sounds like there is a war in Jackson, alright--one the police want no part of. On one side are Christians, and on the other side are Universalists who support abortion and homosexuality.
