Book Review for Post#21500
Udja,
This book review covers pages 64-70 in the text that is being reviewed and study by the Hem clergy students. These pages bring some very important principles related to orthodox religions and the Neterian psychology and disposition towards dogmatic religions and faith based practices. One of these major principles relates to the zealotry of the Christian faith and its impacts on mystical religions and spiritual practices. The debilitating condition occurred during the Roman conversion to Christianity, which had a negative impact on the literary tradition of Ancient Egypt. Another major point to understand from this section covers the exclusion of women from the clerical group of religious practitioners, and how this helped to fuel the fundamentalist concept of religion. Another very important point from this section which not widely spoken about by other scholars is the Muslim movement and its role in the closing of the Ancient Egyptian temples.
Modern Christians operate under the pretext that their religious dogma is the one and true way to achieve “salvation”, or the one true and perfect way to reach and abide in the presence of God. This has led to a condition in which their practitioners try to bring to high degree of proficiency a faith-based form of worship. But since faith based form of worship is defective by nature, they fall short of the ideals of which their faith profess. One of the major issues with faith based Christian practitioners is their belief that the Kemetic Gods and Goddesses are pagan deities and would even resort to discriminatory actions against those who practice mystical religion. Yet, they exist in an ironic condition due to the historical occurrence in Roman times they were the persecuted class and when the Roman emperors converted to Christianity, they themselves engaged in religious discriminatory practices and persecuted so called pagan priests and priestesses. Thus, they committed atrocities in the name of their religious dogma with the expressed desire to convert others to Christianity. In paragraph one of page 64 it reads, “Also ironically, Christians, once the persecuted in the late Roman times when the Roman emperors adopted Christianity as the state religion, became the persecutors and murdered “pagan” priests, priestesses and led a persecution against all non-Christians, forcing new symbols on the populace”. This situation led to an untenable condition in Egypt as the persecution had a negative impact on the literary work that occurred in Ancient Egypt, with the burning of manuscripts, scrolls and books. In the same paragraph it states, “The persecution and wanton destruction of the Ancient Egyptian scriptures along with the murder of those who are knowledgeable about the symbolism was lost to Western orthodox culture from that time on.” Thus, the Christian persecution has a negative impact on the religious and spiritual health of humanity. In as such in modern times, practitioners of the Neterian spiritual process must develop a certain demeanor and psychological perspective in relation to those who practice orthodox religion. The Neterain follower must be aware of the philosophical and physical dangers that can arise out of the personalities of orthodox religions. “All those who would study, practice or profess the teachings of Neterian spirituality or any other mystical traditions should maintain keen awareness of the dangers posed by followers of orthodox religions or those who profess dogmatic teachings or fanatical fundamentalist forms of religion.”
In as such the faith-based paradigm in religion led to a series of teachings that is oversimplified and was well suited for the masses people, some of whom lost and some who had not developed the capacity to practice from a henotheistic system of gods and goddesses. And therefore, are incapable of being led by Egyptian (Kemetic) priests and priestesses. Therefore, when society becomes degraded or had not risen to a state of civilization fundamentalism becomes more appealing and more suitable for weaker minds. In as such in a society where there are no long periods of peace and tranquility the power of critical thinking, reflection and contemplation become denatured or underdeveloped. On page 65, Dr. Ashby writes, “when society is in a state of strife, fundamentalism gains more adherents. Under those conditions people tend to seek simple answers to the troubles of life and fundamentalist or cultish forms of spirituality that do not require, and even discourage critical thinking, become more seductive and to the weak and degraded mind.” The author listed eight primary doctrines most emphasized by fundamentalists, they are:
• 1- The Divinely inspired and infallible nature of the Bible
• 2- The Trinity
• 3- The immediate creation by the command of God
• 4- Man’s fall into depravity
• 5- The necessity for salvation of being “Born Again” by faith in Christ.
• 6- Christ’s deity, virgin birth, miracle-working power and substitutionary atonement for man, and his physical resurrection, ascension and imminent pre-millennial Second Coming.
• 7- The physical resurrection of man for Heaven or Hell.
• 8- Fundamentalism also stresses domestic and foreign evangelism and is strongly opposed to evolution, Communism, and ecumenism.
The Christian tradition of excluding women from the ranks of the clergy or any major role in the religion was in line with the cultural norms of the Romans and Greeks, however, this exclusion is in direct contradiction to Neterian culture and mystical religion. Therefore, fundamentalism is the polar opposite of the mystical tradition born and developed in Ancient Egypt. Therefore, polytheistic monotheism does not align with fundamentalism because in a Henotheistic religious format the opposites in creation must reach a synthesis and balance of opposites. While in the fundamentalist religion the opposites are not reconciled because the feminine principle is diminished in their dogma, and this relates to how their practitioners and parishioners generally view women. “Further, the Christian exclusion of women from the priesthood and from a prominent position in the religion was agreeable to the Roman leaders whose culture, coupled with that of the Greeks, professed male dominance, unlike the Ancient Egyptian culture and religion.”
The Islamic tradition acts in the same manner as the fundamentalist Christians in that they also resorted to denigration of the Ancient Egyptian Mystical religion and committed atrocities against the adherents of the mystical tradition. “This is what the Christians also did to the Native Americans, destroyed their sacred sites, and built churches over them, and convinced the people that they are going to hell if they did not follow the new tradition. At the same time, they killed or cut off those who spoke about or espoused other traditions.”
Thus, one of the major issues with the Islamic faith is their propensity to tear down traditional sites/structures of worship and erect mosques at those earlier holy/religious sites. This was done extensively in India, during the Muslim occupation, where Hindu temples were torn down and replaced with Mosques. This damaging practice of tearing down mystical religious sites/structures and replacing those structures with Mosques was also practiced in Egypt and other parts of Africa as well. “One example which has caused much consternation to Egyptologists is the Mosque that was build on the site of the Temple to Amun in Waset (Luxor), Egypt which was constructed right on top of one of the most important temples of Egypt.” To date the Muslims who oversee the Mosque refuse to remove it, acknowledging that it is built on a holy/religious site. Interestingly, they used blocks from the temple itself, and existing architecture from the temple to constrict the Mosque. Thus, there are Egyptian hieroglyphs written inside the Mosque, which, by practice is a contradiction to the Islamic faith as they operate under the dictum that they do not use images for worship or to designate Divinity (which can be refuted if a close look of the faith is taken).
It is important to understand that the Islam views Ancient Egyptian Religion in much the same way that Christianity does. In Islam the other Abrahamic religions are also refuted and they, like the Christians, believe that their religion is the one true way. To Islam, Shetaut Neter, Christianity and Judaism are all the same, groups that do not hold the truth. Page 69 of text being studied states, “As for the Islamic views on the followers of the Ancient Egyptian religion, they are indirectly mentioned as polytheists and they are group together with the Jews and Christians as well as other groups.”
The Christian religion has had a deleterious effect on the mystical religions with Shetaut Neter being heavily targeted by this group. In so doing, and through the cultural norms of the groups (Romans, Greeks) that helped to perpetuate Christianity women have been denigrated and removed, essentially, from a prominent role in the religious process. Islam as Christianity sees the Mystic Religions as enemies and imperfect forms of practice, even idolatry. Therefore, it is very critical the practitioners of Neterianism reflect on this section of the book carefully and develop, individually and collectively the proper psychological and mental disposition to generate in handling and engaging with people and practitioners of the Abrahamic religions.
1. Sebai Muata Ashby Egyptian Mysteries Volume 3 Cruzan Mystic Books P.O. Box 570459 Miami, Florida 33257
2. Random House Encyclopedia
3. Sebai Muata Ashby Egyptian Mysteries Volume 3 Cruzan Mystic Books P.O. Box 570459 Miami, Florida 33257
4. ibid
5. ibid
Dua Sebai Maa, Seba Dja, Hemu
HTP
