Reading the text by Eliade makes me think. He refers to connecting to the supernatural or sacred with the profane or natural. The premise is that reality is only possible when connected to the supernatural. Eliade's eternal return is distinguished from a philosophical approach called eternal return. That philosophy claims life is only a system of circular events. The scriptures support a linear time line, yet certain patterns exist that replicate circular concepts. We have the New Year which is based around "out with the old, and in with the new". This follows a pattern of creation and destruction. A person is born and a spirit filled believer is born again. Then it is appointed for us once to live and then the judgment (Heb 9:27).
What struck me last night was the concept of holy ground. God told Moses to take off his sandals as a show of respect for a patch of land near the mountain of God. Many traditions describe a mountain as the focal point between humans and God (or the gods). Mt. Olympus is the classical setting for Greek mythology. Mt. Sinai was the place where the Israelites had many supernatural events such as the burning bush, God writing the law, and Moses striking a rock so that water came out. Yet no one can find it today. The mountain had meaning for the people of that day and something to remember.
One of my favorite prayer times is to go in the backyard and pray in the evening. Three times I saw the heavens open and experienced supernatural events. Yet I have no way to put them into human words. I went out this morning and looked at the spot. It is just some sand with grass growing on top. What is so unique about it? It is not a cathedral, or mountain, or holy rock, or bones or anything of religious value. Is the encounter with the supernatural attributed to the person's frame of mind, the timing, the location or a combination of all of these factors?
What struck me last night was the concept of holy ground. God told Moses to take off his sandals as a show of respect for a patch of land near the mountain of God. Many traditions describe a mountain as the focal point between humans and God (or the gods). Mt. Olympus is the classical setting for Greek mythology. Mt. Sinai was the place where the Israelites had many supernatural events such as the burning bush, God writing the law, and Moses striking a rock so that water came out. Yet no one can find it today. The mountain had meaning for the people of that day and something to remember.
One of my favorite prayer times is to go in the backyard and pray in the evening. Three times I saw the heavens open and experienced supernatural events. Yet I have no way to put them into human words. I went out this morning and looked at the spot. It is just some sand with grass growing on top. What is so unique about it? It is not a cathedral, or mountain, or holy rock, or bones or anything of religious value. Is the encounter with the supernatural attributed to the person's frame of mind, the timing, the location or a combination of all of these factors?
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