Welcome to this special place on the path to spiritual reality. Here, you will find wisdom, insight into the nature of spiritual authenticity, and the encouragement to think for yourself and form a centered, rational, informed perspective on spirituality and religion.
William Edelen has spent his life in courageous pursuit of the historical truth about religion. Basing his research on facts, not popular opinions or religious dogma, he stands for accuracy.
Bill was a Marine Pilot for 12 years during WW II and the Korean War, where he learned his love of reading and scholarship. Earning advanced degrees in anthropology and theology, he taught at the university level, where his classes were always popular. Among his many learned friends were Buckminster Fuller, Walter Annenberg and Joseph Campbell. It was Joseph Campbell who recommended to Bill that he keep pointing people “Toward the Mystery.”
You will find many surprising historical truths in his inspiring lectures and columns, such as the fact that the first six presidents of the United States were not Christians – they were Deists and Humanists and were against the church being involved with government.
Join William Edelen as he presents the documented origins of religious beliefs, mythologies, traditions, and ceremonies, as well as introduces the stimulating spiritual philosophies of some of the world’s greatest minds in modern times and throughout history.
Prayer as magic
January 22, 2012
In the study of religion among primal peoples you find that many believed in “magic.” Magic is defined as the belief that supernatural forces can be controlled, influenced and manipulated by executing a ritualistic formula, either physical or verbal. We still, today, in a more fashionable way, utilize superstition, prayer wheels, magic, sacrifices and elaborate doxologies to induce God to favor our requests, grant our wishes and perform miracles upon demand.
Minister, rabbi and priest are expected to offer prayers on behalf of the desires of their congregation. Does this not make God a divine magician? And does this not make the minister or priest a magician’s apprentice?
I am asking, “Can something called “God’s Will” really be changed by requests from the earth?” And if so, what kind of a capricious, chaotic universe would this be? What kind of chaos would it be if the eternal will of an eternal God with an eternal design could be changed from time to time as this design was subjected to millions and millions of people in a barrage of requests to make things different?
One of my sources of amusement and disbelief is to read the headlines of the tabloids as I am going through the grocery store check out line. Such as PRAYER AND GOD CURED MY CANCER ON MY DEATHBED…or…PRAYER SAVED ME WHEN THE AIRLINER CRASHED…and on and on with similar daily headlines of superstition. Or an even greater amusement is to turn on the television channels from time to time and watch the ultimate con men, the ultimate hucksters and shysters at work with their “healing” stage shows.
Our heart goes out to the believing victims of these stories. The believing of the naive… the gullible… the desperate… the hopeless… the ignorant who are such easy prey for religious parasites.
Finally, to their everlasting credit, the prestigious Mayo Clinic has thrown the weight of their name and reputation behind the task of educating the public and exposing the phony claims as to the relationship between religion and health. Phony claims that are not just in tabloid journalism but in well-read national magazines as well.
Read the story »
Recent Columns
- Prayer as magic · January 22, 2012
- Ideas that use us · January 15, 2012
- To break the silence · January 8, 2012
- The age of Aquarius · January 1, 2012
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