Another fine article, Naomi, but I won't commend you more, lest you get the big head. Instead, I will criticise to our Jewish and Christian friends. Both rabbinic Jews and Christians believe God is Love, and that we must love as well. We both agree that the Hebrew Bible (the Tanach or Christian Old Testament) is a sacred book. Christians, of course, include the New Testament to the Old Testament as their sacred book. Both groups don't read nor study their sacred books near enough. The God of the Bible, both the Old Testament and New Testament, says that he is also Truth in addition to Love. Truth is found in the details, not in a few scriptures and platitudes.
I criticize our Christian friends for thinking all a person has to do to have eternal life is to believe in Jesus. I exhort Christians to read the entire four Gospels of Jesus' ministry. There is not one verse in Matthew, Mark, and Luke where Jesus says you have to believe in him to have eternal life. On the contrary, all three books record the incident where a rich nobleman asks Jesus what is needed to have eternal life. Jesus answered by telling him to keep specifically five of the Ten Commandments which tell us how to treat our neighbor. "Do this, and eternal life is yours", he said. He never mentioned any of the first four Commandments which apply to our worship of God. The man asked what he lacked. Jesus replied to sell his goods and give to the poor. The man was breaking the tenth commandment not to be covetous. "What!" many of our Christian friends would exclaim. "Doesn't John 3:16 state that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life?" Yes, it does state that, but the real meaning of the Hebrew word is to believe what he said and to practice what he taught. Just two chapters later in John's gospel, Jesus said that on the future Judgement Day, all the dead of all the world will be raised to life and stand before him. He plainly states that all will be judged. Those who did good will be raised to life, but those who did evil will be condemned. Again, there is not one word about belief in Jesus-- and these are Jesus' own words.
Now, I will criticize our Rabbinic Jewish friends. I attended a Jewish synagogue weekly for two years and occasionally prior to and afterwards. I stood and read the liturgy, except for one part which I refused to recite. That part stated (in so many words) that it is up to us to work towards making a perfect world, and when that happens, we will have Utopia and God will then return. We are each a broken shard of the vessel, and it's up to us to all come together and restore the primeval vessel. Then all evil will be banished, and we will then have peace on earth. After that happens, God will then return to establish his Kingdom. Balderdash, there is not one word in the Hebrew Bible supporting that belief. If mankind does it on its own, what need is there for God to return? Rather, all through the prophecies of both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible the exact opposite is true. God will intervene at the last moment to save the righteous people from evil people, to save the world. There have always been evil people, there are evil people now, and there will always be evil people. Both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament state the same thing. To my Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters, read critically the Book, all of it, not just the few scriptures I or others mention.
So glad you are on substack. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
Enjoy your family. I look forward to your material in 2023, and wish continued success to awaken others and disclose the pharma phraud. I have no doubt your leadership has inspired many.
There is no doubt we are immersed in the Big Ugly. I think that 2023 will to be the "Year of the Great Disclosure." We will need to keep the Narcissist’s Creed in mind as things move on:
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. Thank you. I've always thought that God comes to us in the Voice we can hear.
My son works with people overseas. He told me one of the young men is Muslim in Albania and he also cerebrates Christmas. ;) How? I asked. Not with Christ, just the other stuff he replied. But the gifts represent the Magi? Idk! Gee, Mom! Well. Everything Christmas is based on Christ. Except commercial stuff like Rudolph.... We changed the subject.:)
I've grown tired of people using Christmas if they aren't at all interested in God. But after speaking with my son, I wonder if God is not speaking to people in Voices they can hear? I believe the only way for Western Civ to survive is to embrace our Biblical history; both/either Testament... But I'm discouraged by all the wokies in charge of our churches. So, Dr. N, thank you for giving an old woman some hope. In my opinion, Love doesn't die; only our bodies die. Love is too powerful bc it's the Spark of God. (We have Cornish hens at Easter with bacon pieces in wild rice stuffing, to remember my Mom and pierogi's for my mil)
Beautiful piece what warmed my heart. I used to live in Maramures where Christmas was celebrated in a very traditional way. After living for decades in China and more than a decade in the US, I still find myself immersed in Romanian spirit of Christmas. It is the time of the year when the dishes are the ones I used to enjoy in my childhood, what my grandma used to put on the table after a long fasting period. Some needs to be prepared time ahead, are time consuming, delicious. My Chinese Buddhist husband relates Christmas to Romanian food and Maramures specific Christmas Carols. He may not understand much of it, but he is making sure always that I feel like in my memories, connected in my culture&tradition. As you said, because of love. Happy holidays, whatever each of us celebrate, what keeps us spiritually connected with our ancestors and God.
Dec 22, 2022·edited Dec 22, 2022Liked by Dr Naomi Wolf
Seeing such great acknowledgements here for Naomi's truly transcendental thoughts and post. It is also sad that after this beautiful and Godly epiphany and thought sharing by Naomi, I see some who seem to want to teach Naomi your own religious biases and traditions. Nothing wrong with them, yet Naomi has a spiritual epiphany here that cannot be diminished, whereas you are speaking of religion, religiosity, tradition, pathways to spirit and to God, but these are NOT omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Almighty God. PURE JOY and LOVE flows in a River that encompasses many traditions and religions. I say think over her epiphany and learn more from it. After all, you do not know more than the Supreme Being we call God, Great I Am, and many other words. Naomi has come to a high level of awareness here, and through her assiduous work for decades to help women and thus all humanity, plus her 3 years of navigating a spiritual war over the entire earth. God is NOT a denomination, a tribe, a tradition.....and God is not even a particular religion. They are pathways to God, but God is way above them. God is the Antithesis to Satan. Ascend, please. Way to Go Naomi!
You brought me back to the times my very dear Orthodox Jewish roommies basked with this devout Roman Catholic girl in decorating our dorm for Christmas. I will never forget— their joyful sharing in hanging stockings and strings of lights, exchanging the stories of each other’s traditions, religious history and ancient foundations (for me, our mutual foundation). I appreciated their enjoyment of it so much— because they loved me enough to share it with me. <3
Discussing our rich religious ritual traditions, I found I had more in common with them than with my Protestant friends. I felt deeply privileged to drink of the roots of my Catholic Christian faith from them. Truth: Learning about Judaism deeply enriched my Catholicism. So I fell in love with Roy Schoeman’s story, and his two books, “Salvation is From the Jews” and especially, “Honey From the Rock.” He was this brilliant (redundant?) Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, I think, who after hitting the top of the world’s goods as a prodigy Harvard Econ prof, lost his faith… and found it again in the most *unwanted* place, in the most astonishing way. He saw the Virgin Mary. You can find him speak on YouTube about it all.
Um, did you get to check him out yet? I know you and your husband, will find it gorgeously enriching, since it completely ties ties all the loose ends of our faiths…together…. :)
I couldn’t help but reflect that you and I, (and your husband, I’m a Catholic too)— we have the same “myth” of God— and I lay down my life that it IS TRUE— because— because LOVE. Because the point of the whole story is that *God* is LOVE and He introduced your ancestors to that fact first out of all humanity. There is NO disconnect between our ancient stories…my and your husband’s flows right out of yours… Because— Love.
Oh wow Naomi! You nailed something I have always believed: 'Who cares whose miracle wins?
Maybe all the miracles win.
Maybe love is the only real miracle; and all the stories simply manifest this river of love.'
Only word I would change is 'maybe'. I believe it is true! Thank you for the transcendental words, wonderful family reminiscences, and current joy... for our mutual miracles. Also I thank God for the beauty of your soul, words, books, and powerful VI Team.
While I would love to believe that there are many paths to God - I cannot. There is a bit of truth in every religion or belief system otherwise heresies and bad ideologies could never take hold — and hyped up pandemics would be quickly be debunked.
As the past several years have taught us, one must diligently search for the truth … always testing emerging facts against established facts to get as close to the truth as humanly possible. As Scripture says “iron sharpens iron”
When it comes to seeking God, good to be like the Berean christians who were fair-minded and “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so”
CS Lewis challenges us to answer a question about Jesus —
Is he a liar, a lunatic “on the level of a man saying he’s a poached egg” or is he Lord and God? You cannot answer that he is just a great moral teacher — he did not leave that option open to us.
Jesus loves each and every one of us and wants no one to perish , as he asked his disciples I believe he will ask each one of us ”Who do you say that I am?” And much like the serpent asked Eve in the Garden of Eden “Did God really say?” — best to be certain of your answer. Know what you believe and why you believe it.
Happy Hanukkah & Merry Christmas to all of us on this journey to seek truth … so thankful we can join together regardless of our backgrounds to help defeat those that seek to destroy our freedom of speech and dictate what we must believe and how we should live!
“Dear father of mankind, make me the human channel, so far as in me lies, through which Thy divine love and pity may reach the heart and lives of a few of those who are nearest to me.”
Years ago, my Jewish girlfriend and I would make a glorious mess eating crab. I'd also catch catfish from the back of my boat. We both loved pepperoni and salami as well that is until I was assigned a cardiologist who informed me that I didn't have that long to live, and it might be a good idea to stay away from those cured meats. I started eating kosher and discovered within a few short years that my health not only improved, but I could no longer consume these things without becoming violently ill, almost immediately. I had lost the constitution to consume these things and discovered that I was no longer welcome in anyone's home anymore because of my finicky diet.
I don't celebrate any holy days or holidays anymore. I have no one to celebrate them with, yet I too have experienced a small miracle as well. Spending over a decade in almost constant isolation is more than enough to drive anyone nuts especially when one is being harassed by family members who don't even really know who I am anymore. When one gets truly desperate, it's amazing how acute one's hearing becomes to the point where I finally heard that still small voice say, 'be still and know that I am God".
This is beautiful and so deeply embodied and rooted in tradition and our lineages. Here is a poem from Ibn al-Arabi, the Sufi, that I read in Karen Armstrong:
My heart is capable of every form,
A cloister for the monk, a fane for idols,
A pasture for gazelles, the votary's Kabah
The tables of the Torah, the Quran.
Love is the faith I hold, wherever turn His camels, still the one true faith is mine.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Longest Night, after which nanosecond by nanosecond the light begins to return. May that be true in all of our lives in every dimension.
Wonderful summary about God
Another fine article, Naomi, but I won't commend you more, lest you get the big head. Instead, I will criticise to our Jewish and Christian friends. Both rabbinic Jews and Christians believe God is Love, and that we must love as well. We both agree that the Hebrew Bible (the Tanach or Christian Old Testament) is a sacred book. Christians, of course, include the New Testament to the Old Testament as their sacred book. Both groups don't read nor study their sacred books near enough. The God of the Bible, both the Old Testament and New Testament, says that he is also Truth in addition to Love. Truth is found in the details, not in a few scriptures and platitudes.
I criticize our Christian friends for thinking all a person has to do to have eternal life is to believe in Jesus. I exhort Christians to read the entire four Gospels of Jesus' ministry. There is not one verse in Matthew, Mark, and Luke where Jesus says you have to believe in him to have eternal life. On the contrary, all three books record the incident where a rich nobleman asks Jesus what is needed to have eternal life. Jesus answered by telling him to keep specifically five of the Ten Commandments which tell us how to treat our neighbor. "Do this, and eternal life is yours", he said. He never mentioned any of the first four Commandments which apply to our worship of God. The man asked what he lacked. Jesus replied to sell his goods and give to the poor. The man was breaking the tenth commandment not to be covetous. "What!" many of our Christian friends would exclaim. "Doesn't John 3:16 state that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life?" Yes, it does state that, but the real meaning of the Hebrew word is to believe what he said and to practice what he taught. Just two chapters later in John's gospel, Jesus said that on the future Judgement Day, all the dead of all the world will be raised to life and stand before him. He plainly states that all will be judged. Those who did good will be raised to life, but those who did evil will be condemned. Again, there is not one word about belief in Jesus-- and these are Jesus' own words.
Now, I will criticize our Rabbinic Jewish friends. I attended a Jewish synagogue weekly for two years and occasionally prior to and afterwards. I stood and read the liturgy, except for one part which I refused to recite. That part stated (in so many words) that it is up to us to work towards making a perfect world, and when that happens, we will have Utopia and God will then return. We are each a broken shard of the vessel, and it's up to us to all come together and restore the primeval vessel. Then all evil will be banished, and we will then have peace on earth. After that happens, God will then return to establish his Kingdom. Balderdash, there is not one word in the Hebrew Bible supporting that belief. If mankind does it on its own, what need is there for God to return? Rather, all through the prophecies of both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible the exact opposite is true. God will intervene at the last moment to save the righteous people from evil people, to save the world. There have always been evil people, there are evil people now, and there will always be evil people. Both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament state the same thing. To my Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters, read critically the Book, all of it, not just the few scriptures I or others mention.
Naomi
So glad you are on substack. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
Enjoy your family. I look forward to your material in 2023, and wish continued success to awaken others and disclose the pharma phraud. I have no doubt your leadership has inspired many.
There is no doubt we are immersed in the Big Ugly. I think that 2023 will to be the "Year of the Great Disclosure." We will need to keep the Narcissist’s Creed in mind as things move on:
That didn’t happen.
And if it did, it wasn’t that bad.
And if it was, it’s not a big deal.
And if it is, that’s not my fault.
And if it was, I didn’t mean it.
And if I did, you deserved it.
Thank you!
Love your words.
I recommend this movie, especially now.
https://youtu.be/55VRdLnkvDw
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. Thank you. I've always thought that God comes to us in the Voice we can hear.
My son works with people overseas. He told me one of the young men is Muslim in Albania and he also cerebrates Christmas. ;) How? I asked. Not with Christ, just the other stuff he replied. But the gifts represent the Magi? Idk! Gee, Mom! Well. Everything Christmas is based on Christ. Except commercial stuff like Rudolph.... We changed the subject.:)
I've grown tired of people using Christmas if they aren't at all interested in God. But after speaking with my son, I wonder if God is not speaking to people in Voices they can hear? I believe the only way for Western Civ to survive is to embrace our Biblical history; both/either Testament... But I'm discouraged by all the wokies in charge of our churches. So, Dr. N, thank you for giving an old woman some hope. In my opinion, Love doesn't die; only our bodies die. Love is too powerful bc it's the Spark of God. (We have Cornish hens at Easter with bacon pieces in wild rice stuffing, to remember my Mom and pierogi's for my mil)
The truth, beautifully spoken: "Maybe love is the only real miracle; and all the stories simply manifest this river of love."
Beautiful piece what warmed my heart. I used to live in Maramures where Christmas was celebrated in a very traditional way. After living for decades in China and more than a decade in the US, I still find myself immersed in Romanian spirit of Christmas. It is the time of the year when the dishes are the ones I used to enjoy in my childhood, what my grandma used to put on the table after a long fasting period. Some needs to be prepared time ahead, are time consuming, delicious. My Chinese Buddhist husband relates Christmas to Romanian food and Maramures specific Christmas Carols. He may not understand much of it, but he is making sure always that I feel like in my memories, connected in my culture&tradition. As you said, because of love. Happy holidays, whatever each of us celebrate, what keeps us spiritually connected with our ancestors and God.
Seeing such great acknowledgements here for Naomi's truly transcendental thoughts and post. It is also sad that after this beautiful and Godly epiphany and thought sharing by Naomi, I see some who seem to want to teach Naomi your own religious biases and traditions. Nothing wrong with them, yet Naomi has a spiritual epiphany here that cannot be diminished, whereas you are speaking of religion, religiosity, tradition, pathways to spirit and to God, but these are NOT omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Almighty God. PURE JOY and LOVE flows in a River that encompasses many traditions and religions. I say think over her epiphany and learn more from it. After all, you do not know more than the Supreme Being we call God, Great I Am, and many other words. Naomi has come to a high level of awareness here, and through her assiduous work for decades to help women and thus all humanity, plus her 3 years of navigating a spiritual war over the entire earth. God is NOT a denomination, a tribe, a tradition.....and God is not even a particular religion. They are pathways to God, but God is way above them. God is the Antithesis to Satan. Ascend, please. Way to Go Naomi!
Dear Santa’s Jewish Helper, this was so precious.
You brought me back to the times my very dear Orthodox Jewish roommies basked with this devout Roman Catholic girl in decorating our dorm for Christmas. I will never forget— their joyful sharing in hanging stockings and strings of lights, exchanging the stories of each other’s traditions, religious history and ancient foundations (for me, our mutual foundation). I appreciated their enjoyment of it so much— because they loved me enough to share it with me. <3
Discussing our rich religious ritual traditions, I found I had more in common with them than with my Protestant friends. I felt deeply privileged to drink of the roots of my Catholic Christian faith from them. Truth: Learning about Judaism deeply enriched my Catholicism. So I fell in love with Roy Schoeman’s story, and his two books, “Salvation is From the Jews” and especially, “Honey From the Rock.” He was this brilliant (redundant?) Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, I think, who after hitting the top of the world’s goods as a prodigy Harvard Econ prof, lost his faith… and found it again in the most *unwanted* place, in the most astonishing way. He saw the Virgin Mary. You can find him speak on YouTube about it all.
Um, did you get to check him out yet? I know you and your husband, will find it gorgeously enriching, since it completely ties ties all the loose ends of our faiths…together…. :)
I couldn’t help but reflect that you and I, (and your husband, I’m a Catholic too)— we have the same “myth” of God— and I lay down my life that it IS TRUE— because— because LOVE. Because the point of the whole story is that *God* is LOVE and He introduced your ancestors to that fact first out of all humanity. There is NO disconnect between our ancient stories…my and your husband’s flows right out of yours… Because— Love.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas <3
Oh wow Naomi! You nailed something I have always believed: 'Who cares whose miracle wins?
Maybe all the miracles win.
Maybe love is the only real miracle; and all the stories simply manifest this river of love.'
Only word I would change is 'maybe'. I believe it is true! Thank you for the transcendental words, wonderful family reminiscences, and current joy... for our mutual miracles. Also I thank God for the beauty of your soul, words, books, and powerful VI Team.
Wonderful thoughts, beautifully written.
While I would love to believe that there are many paths to God - I cannot. There is a bit of truth in every religion or belief system otherwise heresies and bad ideologies could never take hold — and hyped up pandemics would be quickly be debunked.
As the past several years have taught us, one must diligently search for the truth … always testing emerging facts against established facts to get as close to the truth as humanly possible. As Scripture says “iron sharpens iron”
When it comes to seeking God, good to be like the Berean christians who were fair-minded and “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so”
CS Lewis challenges us to answer a question about Jesus —
Is he a liar, a lunatic “on the level of a man saying he’s a poached egg” or is he Lord and God? You cannot answer that he is just a great moral teacher — he did not leave that option open to us.
Jesus loves each and every one of us and wants no one to perish , as he asked his disciples I believe he will ask each one of us ”Who do you say that I am?” And much like the serpent asked Eve in the Garden of Eden “Did God really say?” — best to be certain of your answer. Know what you believe and why you believe it.
Happy Hanukkah & Merry Christmas to all of us on this journey to seek truth … so thankful we can join together regardless of our backgrounds to help defeat those that seek to destroy our freedom of speech and dictate what we must believe and how we should live!
“Dear father of mankind, make me the human channel, so far as in me lies, through which Thy divine love and pity may reach the heart and lives of a few of those who are nearest to me.”
John Baillie
Years ago, my Jewish girlfriend and I would make a glorious mess eating crab. I'd also catch catfish from the back of my boat. We both loved pepperoni and salami as well that is until I was assigned a cardiologist who informed me that I didn't have that long to live, and it might be a good idea to stay away from those cured meats. I started eating kosher and discovered within a few short years that my health not only improved, but I could no longer consume these things without becoming violently ill, almost immediately. I had lost the constitution to consume these things and discovered that I was no longer welcome in anyone's home anymore because of my finicky diet.
I don't celebrate any holy days or holidays anymore. I have no one to celebrate them with, yet I too have experienced a small miracle as well. Spending over a decade in almost constant isolation is more than enough to drive anyone nuts especially when one is being harassed by family members who don't even really know who I am anymore. When one gets truly desperate, it's amazing how acute one's hearing becomes to the point where I finally heard that still small voice say, 'be still and know that I am God".
This is beautiful and so deeply embodied and rooted in tradition and our lineages. Here is a poem from Ibn al-Arabi, the Sufi, that I read in Karen Armstrong:
My heart is capable of every form,
A cloister for the monk, a fane for idols,
A pasture for gazelles, the votary's Kabah
The tables of the Torah, the Quran.
Love is the faith I hold, wherever turn His camels, still the one true faith is mine.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Longest Night, after which nanosecond by nanosecond the light begins to return. May that be true in all of our lives in every dimension.
Sharing this link again on the verge of the winter solstice. That time when we are at the depth of darkness and see the promise of the light returning. God bless you Naomi Wolf for shedding light in the winter of our discontent. https://open.substack.com/pub/ptsdart/p/a-personal-solstice?r=t2t5x&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
O Magnum Mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentum in praesepio!
Beate Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia!
O Great Mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord, lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia.!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS4_l0osCx8 Morton Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium, one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. ~6 minutes