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Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Pre-Rational Magical Thinking Dominates the Day


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In case you've been living under a rock and missed the memo, today is 6/6/06. Many people seem to be concerned that today bears some connection to the "mark of the beast" mentioned in the Biblical book of Revelations:
He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and its number is six hundred and sixty-six. (Apocolypse, Chapter 13, verse 18)
Yep, I have an old Catholic Bible.

I am truly amazed by the magical thinking that this day has brought to the surface. We like to pretend that we are rational, educated human beings, yet all over the world people are concerned about a phantasmic book written nearly 2,000 years ago that claims to predict the "end times."

It's easy to be dismissive of such clearly pre-rational thinking as documented in this article from Yahoo News:
Websites devoted to 666 were the reference point for rumours of meteors smashing into earth or of pregnant women trying to avoid giving birth to prevent their babies being born with the mark of the devil.

The figure 666 is named the "number of the beast" in the closing chapter of the Bible, the "Book of Revelation," otherwise known as "The Apocalypse of John."

Chapter 13, Verse 18 of the book, with its apparent reference to the coming of the Devil -- "his number is six hundred threescore and six" -- has for centuries absorbed meanings its author never intended. There is even a name for the fear of the number: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

To celebrate the so-called Devil's Day, Chicago's Internet-based Radio Free Satan hosted a massive party in Los Angeles, while a Netherlands-based evangelical organisation called on Christians in 21 countries to hold a 24-hour prayer vigil against Satanic forces.

The BBC News website reported that a woman who was turning 66 on 06/06/06, and was born weighing 6 pounds 6 ounces on June 6, was refusing to drive on her birthday to help avoid accidents.
But the question we must ask ourselves is this: what is it in our nature that can cause us to feel superstitious and to seek talismans against bad luck?

We all passed through a stage in our development when we believed that doing certain things could influence physical reality. This was a partial truth. We can indeed influence reality with our actions, but there are limits to our ability to do so. As three-year-olds, we don't understand those limits.

Prayer was very important to me as a young boy because the nuns convinced me that if I was good, and if I asked God for favors in the right way, that he would answer my prayers -- as long as I wasn't being selfish. Never seemed to work-- especially when, at thirteen, I decided to try prayer to keep my father from dying as a result of his fifth heart attack. Didn't work.

Go into any clubhouse in major league baseball and you'll be likely to find a player who hasn't shaved since he began a hitting streak, or a pitcher who wears the same socks for each outing, or a coach who chews an exact number of sunflower seeds each time he puts some in his mouth. As a college soccer player, I ate the same meal the morning of each game, the same meal I had eaten the first time --in high school -- that I scored six goals in a game, and then did it again a few weeks later after eating the same meal.

Yet I always wore number 13 to demonstrate the foolishness of superstitions.

Magical thinking is a part of our psyches. We can transcend it as we grow up, but it is always included. How many otherwise rational people read their horoscopes each day? I do, and I will argue with anyone that astrology is irrevocably silly.

The best we can hope for on a day such as this, when the magical thinking of an entire culture rises to the surface, is to honor the fears we share that the world is beyond our control. That is, after all, the bottom line. We engage in magical thinking as a way to make ourselves feel safe in a world that is so much larger than ourselves, so much more complex, and sometimes so very frightening.


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3 comments:

  1. Hello WH and all,
    Though some may look upon unknown information as magical or mystical, a little clarification helps to bring it back into the realm of rational thought. Here are some new insights into the true meaning and purpose of 666.

    666 is a numeric symbol that purposely marks the Vatican/Papacy throughout history, not any single individual. The number 666 is put forth in verse 13:18 in the Book of Revelation and of course, 6+6+6 equals 18, directly matching the verse number and helping to disprove any 616 assertions. The following information on triangular numbers further disproves attempts to hide the truth.

    Revelation 13:18
    Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

    Men, women, and beasts symbolize organizations and groups of people in all symbolically sealed Hebrew prophecies and Revelation never mentions the so-called antiChrist. 666 is the most famous of all triangular numbers, being the sum of the whole numbers from 1 through 36. Triangular numbers were very important to Greek Pythogoreans and Hebrew wisdom groups purposely used them as pivotal symbolism pointing to Greco-Romans.

    Likewise, John 21:11, which speaks of Peter, the supposed first Pope, has the number 21 in its chapter and verse number. 21 is also a triangular number that is the sum of all whole numbers from 1-6, thereby forming a triangle with three 6 point sides, hence a triangular symbol for 666.

    John 21:11
    Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land (earth) full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three (153); and for all there were so many, yet the net was not broken.

    Additionally, 153 is a triangular number that is the sum of the whole numbers 1 through 17. Also the verse number is 11 and the sum of all whole numbers from 1 through 11 equals 66 and 17-11 equals 6. Why are 11 and 17 important in this verse talking about Peter and symbolizing 666 and triangular numbers? The Second Temple period of ancient Israel was during the 11th 360-year cycle on the Hebrew calendar and the 21st century is the beginning of the 17th cycle, which began in Hebrew year 5761, which was Christian year 2001. Thereby, John 21:11 purposely links Peter, the Papacy, 666, and the 11th through 17th cycles on the Hebrew calendar. Notice also that the prophecies of St. Malachy say that the Papacy will end shortly, which will be during the 21st century and 17th cycle? Here is Wisdom!!

    Also read the following article - Verifiable proof that "Armageddon" has begun

    For more stunning confirmation of this information, download my FREE EBook and read through the symbol glossary for 1776, 666, 153, 66, 36, 21, 18, net, triangle, and triangular number and their related references. Be prepared to be shocked and amazed.

    There is a foolproof way to verify the truth and expose centuries-old religious deceptions. It also proves why we can no longer let the Vatican tell us what to think about ancient history or much else. It is the common thread connecting why the ancient Hebrews, Yahad/Essene, Jews, Gnostics, Cathars, Templars, Dead Sea Scrolls, DaVinci Code, and others have been targets of Rome’s ire and evil machinations. The Vatican and its secret society cohorts don’t want you to understand that the ancient Hebrew symbology in all of these texts purposely encodes and exposes the truth about them. Furthermore, the structure of ancient wisdom symbology verifiably encodes the rules to decode messages built with it. This is what they most fear you will discover.

    If the Bible represented the literal truth or even accurate history, there would be no need for faith in the assertions of deceptive and duplicitous clergy and their ilk. It is undeniable the New Testament is awash with ancient Hebrew symbolism and allegory. The same is evidenced in the Old Testament, Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic texts, biblical apocrypha, Quran, DaVinci Code, and other related sources. All ancient religious, mystical, and wisdom texts have been shrouded in mystery for millennia for one primary reason: The ability to understand their widely evidenced symbology was lost in antiquity. How do we finally solve these ages-old mysteries? To recast an often-used political adage: It’s [the] symbology, stupid!

    It is beyond amazing that the Vatican still tries to insist the Gospels are the literal truth. Every miracle purported for Jesus has multiple direct symbolic parallels in the Old Testament, Apocalypse, Dead Sea Scrolls, and other symbolic narratives and traditions. Recasting the symbolism of earlier Hebrew texts as literal events in the New Testament is one of the central deceptions associated with Christianity. This is part of the secret knowledge held by the ancient Gnostics, Templars, Cathars, and others, which is presented with dramatic effect in the DaVinci Code. None of these narratives or stories were ever intended as the literal truth. This fact is the key to unraveling many ages-old mysteries and exposing the truth about the Vatican's long-term deceptions.

    It's no wonder the Vatican fears the truth more than anything else. As further proof of these assertions, seek to understand the symbolic significance of my name (Seven Star Hand) and you will have proof beyond disproof that Jews, Christians, and Muslims have long been duped by the great deceivers I warned humanity about over the millennia. What then is the purpose of "faith" but to keep good people from seeking to understand the truth?

    Now comes justice, hot on its heels... (symbolism...)

    Not only do I talk the talk, I walk the walk...
    Here is Wisdom!!

    Revelations from the Apocalypse

    Peace...

    ReplyDelete
  2. If my fiance did not have a work meeting this evening, we would have celebrated by going to see the Omen. :)

    ReplyDelete