Eve,  Ardi and Lucy

”Praise be to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made darkness and light”. (The Qura’n, 6,1)

There are three important women in the history of man.  Ardi lived about 4,4 million years ago in Africa. She is the oldest hominid specimen we know. She seems to have been about 4 feet tall, and has been walking on her two feet, but she had opposable big toes and thumbs for climbing in the trees. Lucy was living not that far from Ardi, but 1,2 million years later. She was walking upright and was more like us, but has still a small skull capacity akin to that of apes. Ardi and Lucy have recently been discovered by archeologists.  Nobody has found the remaining of the skeleton of Eve. The Bible tells us that she was the first human woman ever on this planet, whom God created out from a rib of Adam.  Did she live before Ardi or after Lucy?

I think the question gives no meaning. The first 11 chapters of the Bible are not history like history is told in modern presentations. Adam and Eve are presented as real historical persons. But they don’t represent two individuals millions of years back in time. They represent mankind in its two genders. This may be discovered in the text of the Bible itself talking about other people living at the same time.

The Bible and the Qura’n as well as a great number of holy Scriptures from ancient times agree in the  fact that humans, animals, planets and even the light are created by God. This will probably never be understandable for  humans. We have to use our scientific tools. The archeology brings us  millions of years back in time. Using geological methods we go back towards the origin of our planet and the astronomers may  look back to the birth of the Universe.

But all those scientific tools are descriptive. They observe historical processes and describe details they observe and what changes are going on. But they cannot notice the ultimate power behind the changes.

It is like falling in love. It is easy to observe how two people are attracted to each other. Everyone might see changes in behavior, and changes in their bodies may be measured. But no scientist can see the love itself, the ultimate power, which is more than chemical reactions.

So the scientist will continue to talk about Ardi and Lucy, and the ancient texts which talk about Eve will be read again and again. None of them are false, they just represent two different dimensions in the history of mankind.

Witchcraft – which craft?

You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. (2 Sam 22,29)

Some years ago my daughter who then was just 19 travelled to the middle of Africa to stay there for a year and experience a new culture and meeting new people. But she had an internet connection and could communicate with her parents in Norway by e-mail.

Some days after she had arrived at her town, we got a message telling: Oh, this is an exciting place, they believe in witchcraft!

Yes, they believe in witchcraft. Even in 2013 old women and children are imprisoned some places in the world suspected of bringing about diseases, accidents, disasters and death. What cannot be explained in other ways will find its deeper reason in the witchcraft of evil people.

It happened also in Europe during the 17^th and 16^th century. Even in Norway many women died at the stake accused for witchcraft.  The reality of witchcraft was a part of our culture.  Today we recognize that idea as a dark spot of our history, and I hope this idea will not return dressed in other costumes.

Many traditional Norwegian fairytales tell about the trolls, the evil giants, living in the darkness inside the mountains. By night they might come out making life dangerous for people, especially young Norwegian blondes with long hair.  But the trolls have to return to the inside of the mountains again before sunrise.  If a troll is hit by a sunbeam, it will explode and disappear. The fairytales in this way tell a deep truth.  Some ideas cannot exist anymore when our mind is enlightened, and ideas about trolls and witchcraft will melt and evaporate.

According to the text of the Old Testament in the Bible already king David experienced that his fear disappeared in the light coming from his Lord, and he could sing out: You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.

The confession of King David is related to the experience of the Norwegian fairy tales, but his words have a wider scope. He is not talking about the sun of our solar system, but about the lamp of the Universe.  It has the craft to enlighten every soul and to make all ideas about witchcraft fade away.

He commanded the light into existence in the very first day and gave every man the ability to receive it. 

You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.  Ancient words for modern man.

 2013, February 10

Mankind is blessed

He created them male and female and blessed them. 1 Mos 5,2

I was chatting online with a Muslim woman from Malaysia, and when the chat was finished she said: Thanks for your time. God bless you.

Another time I got the same greeting from an Indian yogi and even from a non-believer(?) in China.  I am sure those three words – God bless you - were not just an empty saying. All those people wanted to give me their very best wish.  And they touched my heart.

May be there deep into our collective memory is a dim idea that we all are blessed. A human being is a blessed being. The concepts about God can be very different, even absent. But still there exists a common idea about receiving a superhuman blessing.

Today people all over the world are connected in a new way. We are travelling across borders. We are sending messages around the globe.  This is a new opportunity to enlighten our collective memory and to renew those ancient words. God bless you. A wish that like a compass shows us the right direction of thinking and acting.

In that wish we will find our deepest roots as humans and the reason for our dignity. A blessed man should not be hated or humiliated. A blessed man ought to be respected and honored. To be blessed means to experience the fullness of life. Today billions of poor and suffering people are waiting for this blessing.

God bless you. Ancient words for modern man

2013, February 9

In the beginning was the Word 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Joh 1,1)

When I was a student at the Semitic Institute of the University of Oslo, my professor one day said in a discussion we were into:  “We do a serious mistake if we suggest that people living in ancient times were less intelligent than modern people from the twentieth century.  In fact they often showed wisdom that modern people have lost”.  Today I agree with him.

Some ancient ideas have showed to be immortal and will still have a strong impact on people and populations.  Christian believers find power and life in the words of Jesus and the prophets from the Old Testament, Muslims will repeat the words of the Qur’an again and again and there are numerous Holy Scriptures from all over the world being studied by their followers.

Looking back towards the origin of our cultures we will find philosophers, storytellers, authors and politicians who have been inspired to give speeches and write documents that belong to the treasures of the humans.

One of the characteristics of humans is to construct words and to combine words into sentences.  Probably this ability has belonged to the human race from the very beginning. Or did the words, at least the abstract ideas behind the words, exist before Homo sapiens were walking on this globe. Did the words come first?

During history numerous famous persons have imparted the experience of words and ideas coming to them from outside. Again and again the prophets of the Old Testament tell:  “The word of the LORD came to me”.  Inspired people from other religions will tell similar things. And philosophers as well.  Through all history of man wisdom has been illuminating people.  The wisdom of the ancient words should not be forgotten, but   constantly be repeated and transformed for modern man.

Ancient words for modern man.

 2013, February 2