(1) The reference made is to my article "Constructing God". John, as usual, is taking in a literal sense what context makes clear is intended to be taken in a figurative sense. He also seems to have missed the introduction to that article, which warned of the dangers of combining the roles of shaman and philosopher and of applying a Metaphysical Empirical analysis to one's subjective, non-verifiable impressions. This, I argued, would likely prove a short road to simulated (or aggravated) schizophrenia. John, I'm afraid, would make an excellent case in point.
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(2) A poor reading of the article. What is referred to is anomolous good luck, not invariably good luck. Were the latter in great abundance, there would scarcely be an agnostic on the planet. An element of doubt will almost always remain with the worshipper. This much seems to be an expression of Divine will, which is one reason I will not "witness" and ask that others not witness on my behalf : the blessings of prayer might be lost, if spoken of too openly. The ancients warned against speaking too openly of one's good luck; Jesus was known to warn those he healed to not speak of the miracle.
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(3) The last purpose (getting his cats to calm down) is definitely not a worthy purpose for prayer, and the others are questionable. One should not view divine intervention as being a substitute for practical action. John's "prayers" here seem to be more akin to Wiccan "spells". They constitute an attempt to reduce man's relation with the Divine to a mere technology, instead of what it is - help granted by one who is as a loving elder family member, seeking to help us grow. Is it fitting to treat an elder as a servant?
Much as a child will rightly scream out to a parent when in danger, so we pray to the gods when faced with difficulties legitimately beyond us. But think of the sort of child who cries "help me, help me, mother", when his only "crisis" is that he doesn't want to get his own glass of water. To grant such a wish, would be to hinder a child's growth - an easy act, but not a loving one. John prayed for intervention in order to calm his cats? This is a problem that should be well within his capabilities, both to solve and to cope with. John was as that child.
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(4) I'm reminded of a story an old rabbi of mine used to tell. A little boy walks into the synagogue, and tells the rabbi, "rebbe, there is no God". Very concerned, wondering what has cost the boy his faith, the rabbi asks him "why do you say that?" "Because I pray to him and he doesn't answer".
"What did you ask for", asks the rabbi. "Candy", says the boy. "My son, you are mistaken. God did answer. He said 'no' ". (and the congregation laughs)
John is disillusioned because his expectations are unreasonable, and he refuses to accept this fact. He seeks magic for self-serving and arrogant purposes, when what he needs is self-control. Communion occurs between God and man when man manages to mirror part of God in his heart. How can one hope to achieve such a hint of resemblance to that so much greater than all that is human, by rejecting the lesser dignity that is one's own birthright?
The House may find members such as these by promising them metaphysical candy, but how well does such false sustenance feed the soul? They do themselves and their followers a disservice when they fail to admit that to such vain requests, the Lord shall always say "no". Could a loving parent do any less?
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(5) Self-confidence is a healthy thing, in moderation and within reason. Faith in oneself, in this context, becomes a polite way of saying "megalomania", not a healthy thing. The essence of a healthy faith is that it offers us a connection to something greater than ourselves; what does it say about the speaker when he thinks of himself as such a greater thing? Compare and contrast, these the words of the prophets and Kheru:
Jesus : "Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you". Moses : "Let my people go" John : "Sekhmet told me to look through your e-mail". Notice the difference? The true prophet acts on behalf of the will of the Divine; Kheru acts on behalf of himself. "Faith in oneself", in a John-ian sense, blinds one to the difference and is the birth of hubris. A true prophet knows that he is called to do service, not to be indulged.
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(6) The reader has already read John's notes to me, for himself, at this point. "Attitude" won't save his case.
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(7) Auditory hallucinations are one of the warning signs of that form of mental illness. However, compare John's commentary at this point with his attempt in the comments leading up to note 6 to deny having said what you saw him come out and say in one of his own notes, earlier. So, I would have had to ask him, "John, which is it - are you holding those "conversations" or aren't you?".
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(8) An Olympian "offended" by a worshipper's humble self-doubt? Most unlikely, especially among the "cults of the air" (those of the gods dwelling above ground, as opposed to the underworld divinities (or those of the wilderness like Pan), for example, that of Urania), which historically encouraged rationalism among the faithful, relatively speaking. Kheru has projected a fear-based Pentecostal viewpoint (one which has been refuted elsewhere on this site) onto the Traditionalist faith that provided the historical backdrop for the conception of Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy (some of us would go so far as to argue that it is a parent faith to Catholicism (with Judaism being the other parent)). Looking at the daughter faiths, we can see that not only is the belief that one hears voices from Heaven one that the faithful may rightly examine carefully, but that, in fact, such self-examination is mandatory.
One can't very well have respectable churches starting a new cult every time one of the parishioners develops a chemical imbalance.
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