What is Wisdom?

(Revised 6-24-2008, 4:02 PM, PDT)

About a hundred years before the Christ Jesus was born, a wise Jewish Essene Rabbi named Hillel understood the Book of Wisdom, which reflects the feminine aspect of Divinity. Hillel understood it is the same as the Greek idea of the Logos or the "Word," which was in the beginning and is made flesh in all human beings, and he also understood and taught the oneness of God and humanity.

Mary and Joseph, the mother and father of the Christ Jesus, were also Essenes, and they were well versed in the teachings of Rabbi Hillel. Thus, like Hillel, they were practitioners of the ancient Jewish mysticism teachings of the Kabbalah (now also known as Cabala or Qabalah), which is a combination of three sources: 1) the Torah, the exoteric Jewish-Hebrew Scriptures in the "Old Testament"; 2) the Talmud, a collection of written scholarly commentaries on the Torah; and 3) the Kabbalah or Qabalah, the esoteric oral, written, pictorial, symbolic mystical interpretations of the Torah, called the Secrets of the Torah.

In the Jewish mysticism tradition, these three parts are considered to be the material body, the rational soul, and the eternal spirit of divine wisdom and knowledge, which is the feminine aspect of God: Wisdom, or Chokmah in Hebrew.

The great genius Albert Einstein would have understood the Essenes. After all, Einstein said: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mystical. It is the source of all true art and science." (And by the way, Einstein also said: "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.")

The Christ Jesus was a mystic, and one of the reasons he was critical of certain religious traditions held by conservative Jewish sects at the time, was because he was taught by the Essenes, who were very progressive and liberal in many respects. And that’s why Jesus went against some of the Jewish economic traditions and the patriarchal religious traditions regarding males and females. That is why he rebuked the money changers and the rich, and it’s why Mary Magdalene was actually the most beloved disciple of Jesus.

Granted, the Christian gospel writers may have stated that Jesus referred to God as "our Father." But, if he did, he did so for lack of a better term for our spiritual parent, for God is both our "mother and father," in the spiritual sense, but is actually the eternal, omnipresent Great Spirit and Supreme Consciousness; the formless Divine Light-Energy-Source of all form and material existence; the Essence of all life and form, and the primordial "Word" that was in the beginning and is made flesh in all of us.

The Essenes understood that, and that is why the Christ Jesus said to his disciples, "You have not seen God’s shape at any time," because God is omnipresent, shapeless and formless. And the "face" of God is not a man’s face, but the Divine Light that lies dormant in all of us and radiates fully in the aura of all enlightened ones, even though it can be seen only those who have an eye to see. For like truth, the Divine Light is in the eye of the beholder, and it is obvious that very few if any people "saw the face of God" in Jesus. It takes one to know one, and Jesus was pretty much alone in his full realization of God.

Still, the Essenes, like all others who better understand the teachings of those who have realized what God is, understood that God is not an idol, and that we should not worship an idol. And Jesus understood that very well, even though it was not understood by those who were responsible for the Nicene Creed and what is in the Christian Bible as we now know it.

Still, Jesus may have followed certain Jewish traditions to the extent that he attributed maleness to God. Because he may have done that, Christian tradition also holds that he chose 12 original male disciples as apostles. However, we don’t actually know whether the patriarchal traditions were created by the original gospel writers between the third and ninth decade after Jesus died, or by later church patriarchs. After all, in the fourth century when the first Christian Bible was compiled, only hand-written copies and translations of the original gospels of Matthew, Mark Luke, John, Paul, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James and Jude existed.

But, whoever did it and whenever they did it, they included the patriarchal attitudes right along with the man-made doctrines of preeminence and superiority, because they did not fully understand divine will and intent. They didn’t even fully understand the core universal teachings of the Christ Jesus, nor did they truly understand the Book of Wisdom or many other principles in Judaic scriptures. In fact, the Christian Bible compiled in the fourth century did not include certain gospels and other early Christian writings.

Then, much later in the sixteenth century, male Christian church patriarchs who brought about the Protestant Reformation would not and could not accept the Book of Wisdom and threw it out of their canon and bible. They apparently thought the Book of Wisdom was too Jewish, or perhaps too feminine.

Fortunately, the Christ Jesus was a great seer and prophet, and he foresaw what would happen. That is in fact why Jesus said "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them yet." That’s why he said he had to "go away and be seen no more on earth," but the "Spirit of truth shall come to issue judgment, guide you unto truth, show you things to come, and glorify me (the Christ in heaven)."

It is also why Jesus said that the "son of man to come" would "first be rejected by his generation and suffer many things" before the message from the Spirit of truth is finally accepted.

That is why the Christian Bible as we now know it is not the "final word" from God or the Spirit of truth.

Indeed, not only is the Bible not the final word. It contains errors and misleading language and claims. After all, the earliest Christian gospel in it was not written until about thirty years after the death of Jesus, and as I’ve stated on the page title The Virgin Birth Story, the stories of the life and death of Jesus had been told by word of mouth and were surely embellished and exaggerated over time. Some of what Jesus actually taught was lost, and new ideas were added to try to prove that Jesus fulfilled certain Jewish prophecies even though he did not. That’s why Jesus warned of the erroneous "doctrines of men."

But now we can read many of the gospels that were not included in the Bible, and we can read the Book of Wisdom. For it defines Wisdom as beneficent, kind, firm, secure, all-seeing, and pervading all spirits. Wisdom penetrates and pervades all things by reason. She is the aura of the power of God, the radiance of the eternal Divine Light, a spotless mirror of God. And she can do all things and renews all things, and passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.

The great and wise Solomon in Proverbs 9 wrote: "Wisdom has built her house and she calls to all: Come, eat my food and drink my wine and you will live abundant life and walk in the ways of understanding. Forsake the foolish, and live. Go in the way of understanding. For the fear of the Lord God is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased."

Solomon also wrote: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge God, and God shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. ... My son, do not despise chastening of the Lord, nor be weary of his correction. For whoever the Lord loves are corrected; even as a parent does the child in whom he delights. Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding. ... For She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retains her. The Lord God by Wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding has God established the heavens." (Proverbs 3:5-19)

"There was a poor wise man, and by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless, the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that rules among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroys much good." (Ecclesiastes 9:15_18)

I am a poor man in a material and monetary sense. But, because I have been endowed with the greatest riches in Spirit, part of my mission is to write in the "voice" of God’s word, which is the stone of truth. But, because I am materially poor and advocate for the poor and the least of our brethren, I have been and still am rejected. My wisdom is despised, and my words are not heard. But in due time the stone shall shatter the image of him that rules among rich fools and destroys much good, while claiming to serve God and Country.

Wisdom is better than strength. The pen is mightier than the sword. The weapons of God’s warfare are not carnal or lethal, but they are mighty through God for pulling down even the greatest stronghold of misused worldly power.

Having said that, I should speak more practically, in a way that might be more helpful to you personally.

I could not talk about Wisdom and understanding without adding commentary regarding Solomon’s statement that "fear of God is the beginning of wisdom," because many religious people do not realize what a "God-fearing" person should fear. They have been led to believe that you should fear God’s judgment when you die, and that your spirit-soul will suffer eternal hell and damnation if you do not abide by the dictates of church patriarchs.

Not so. At least I don’t think so.

Consider Isaiah 11:1-2: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

Even though I have increasingly been blessed (and burdened) with that spirit, I do not actually fear God as some religious people think we should. For I know that God is loving and God’s love is unconditional, like the love of a good parent. Moreover, like a good parent, God is understanding, merciful and forgiving, even though God is firm when firmness is called for. And, as Solomon said, "whoever the Lord loves are corrected, even as a parent corrects the child in whom he delights." God must love me a lot, because I am constantly corrected, and that has increased as I have become more aware of how God works, sometimes mysteriously.

That is why we all should fear God in this sense. Just as an unruly or difficult or willful child should have a healthy fear of a good parent, we all should have a healthy fear of the consequences of bad or self-centered thoughts and behavior, right here on earth. For as the Christ Jesus said, we reap what we sow here on earth. There are karmic consequences to our words and actions, and even to our thoughts, just as the Prophet, Christ, Avatar, Buddha, Sage, and all other great spiritual teachers have taught.

All intelligent, conscientious people learn that what we do and say will result in good consequences if it is positive, constructive, fair, kind, generous, and loving. Conversely, what we do and say will result in bad consequences if it is the opposite. Love attracts and brings love, while hate attracts and brings hate. And it’s the same with kindness as opposed to cruelty, understanding as opposed to bigotry, tolerance as opposed to intolerance, and gentleness as opposed to violence. We reap what we sow, and every action brings a reaction, whether good or bad.

As the late Martin Luther King, Jr. said so eloquently: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness, in a descending spiral of destruction."

So there is good reason to fear. For while the late great Franklin D. Roosevelt was quite right when he said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself when threatened by an evil enemy, we should fear the consequences of our own greed, selfishness, offensiveness, malice, and bad behavior. And we should also fear the consequences of our government’s bad behavior.

Like a child fears a good parent who insists on proper behavior and chastises, reprimands and corrects their children when they misbehave, we should fear the consequences of our words and actions when they cause hurt feelings or harm or loss to others. If you cause harm to another, you will suffer harm. If you cause loss to another, you will suffer loss. Maybe not immediately, but inevitably. For we will indeed reap what we sow and we will suffer the consequences, unless we admit our error, make amends, and repent or change our behavior.

People who cause harm or loss to others may get away with it for a while, and they may escape karmic social or legal justice for a time, but sooner or later their karma will catch up with them and they will reap what they have sown unless they repent. The laws of the universe and nature are certain, and sure.

That’s why we should walk in the ways of understanding, forsake selfishness, greed, arrogance, malice and mendacity, and live by the golden rule and the universal divine imperative that is common to all religions: Treat all others as you would want to be treated if you were them.

I confess that I do not understand all the ways of God. In fact, I’m not even close to that, and probably won’t be while I’m in this world. The ways of God are a mystery, and that may always be beyond human understanding.

I do know, though, that it is absurd to blame God for the acts of tyrants, terrorists, murderers and criminals, and it is absurd to claim that God is responsible for their acts. Furthermore, I know that natural disasters are not so-called "acts of God." In fact, most are random acts of nature, caused by weather, climate changes, and geological changes, including those caused by global warming. And human beings are responsible for many of them, as I mentioned on the home page.

I also know that as I have gradually become more actually faithful and trustful of God, I have more fully realized how the Spirit of truth corrects me more often through my conscience and through all the things that are in my immediate environment. When I have egocentric thoughts that elevate or exalt myself in any way, I am more often made aware of it in a variety of ways, and I do understand why it has been said that God "corrects" loved ones especially. I know that God and the Spirit of truth nourishes our heart but prunes our ego, and sometimes corrects us in very mysterious ways, and we can be aware of them without being superstitious.

For example, I have been prone to delusions of grandeur and glory. It has diminished a lot over the years, mainly because I always pay for it with devastating self-criticism and self-loathing. In the past I have been, as some would say, bi-polar, with great highs followed by terrible lows. I’m a very slow learner. But more recently I’ve begun to more fully realize that my egocentric notion that "I" have done something great is merely the flip side of my egocentric fear of failure or error or wrongness. Fortunately, in my increasingly lucid moments I realize that both sides are part of the illusion of duality, and neither one is real. For as Jesus said, "Of myself I do nothing." So I somehow manage to put myself aside, let go of my egotism, and let God guide me in ways that often amaze me, and make me very grateful.

The trick, I think, is in recognizing that when we are following divine guidance it warms our heart and produces joy, love and harmony, and when we are guided by egocentric notions of superiority, self-importance and self-righteousness, it is counterproductive, creates conflict, and is even harmful. Self-righteous anger can be energizing, and it can even be a comfort zone and refuge for a stubborn ego refusing to face a guilty conscience. But a sane, good person will always be tempered by their conscience and accept correction by the Spirit of truth, however it comes.

Let those with an ear to hear and an eye to see try to understand Wisdom, as I am. Right here, right now, in the eternal now which we are always in, we should do and think and say what we know in our heart is selfless, correct, and for the benefit of all concerned. Otherwise, it is self-centered, vain folly, fruitless, detrimental to others, and even detrimental to our own spiritual growth.

Ironically, as children we understand it, generally speaking, and I feel I should share a story someone forwarded to me by email that is a perfect example of that.

The story was originally told by a veterinarian who kindly went to a family’s home to euthanize their beloved dog who was dying from cancer. The parents and their six-year-old son stood by to witness the dog’s passing, and after the dog died peacefully, the adults talked about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. They wondered aloud, perhaps trying to find a way to comfort the boy.

But the boy was not the one who needed comforting. After listening quietly, he spoke up and said, "I know why." He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

The boy comforted his parents, and the veterinarian. He was a child who understood dogs, and the Wisdom of God.