Honestly, I was ready to slip right past commenting on Numbers 6. Truth be told, I am anxious to get further along toward the New Testament, since it has a lot more to do with healthy human interaction and less to do with preserving Israelite culture. As I've made fairly clear, the Old Testament scriptures we've seen thus far seem to be about controlling a population and using the concept of an external, infallible, almighty intelligence to enforce that control. There are also some profound truths that inescapably peer out from behind the very human fears that fill the biblical narrative.
Case in point: the Nazirites. Nazirites were special people in the Israelite community. Whereas many people were given tasks and roles by appointment, Nazirites made a personal choice to dedicate themselves. It had nothing to do with bloodline or having their names appear on some sacred list, the Nazirites were simply those people who willingly committed themselves to a purpose. Of course, their purpose was to serve their concept of God, but the choice was entirely theirs to make.
After a special preparatory period, the Nazirites were inducted with a special ceremony, marking their dedication with a meaningful and memorable experience. They also bore outward signs of their purposefulness, with the very obvious shaving of their heads. Through their behavior, their experience, and their appearance, they were outwardly and inwardly committed to what they considered to be a meaningful purpose. Why don't we adopt similar practices in our own lives? What prevents us from committing ourselves as intentionally to something profoundly meaningful?
The very first step in dedicating oneself is verbal declaration. Intentionally announcing your purpose out loud to other people is incredibly powerful. It will either solidify the underlying intention or expose it as a passing fancy. Perhaps we avoid this because we are afraid of what it will look like to other people if we fail or go back on that intention later on. Perhaps we don't want to risk ridicule if other people think our purposefulness is misguided. Those fears are empty. They are flimsy excuses that threaten to keep us from stepping forward into something that could be our life work. State your purpose, out loud and often.
For the Nazirites, there was a period of preparation before their induction. While your preparation may not pertain to diet or purification, there is still value in setting oneself up for success. If your purpose is truly valuable, it is worth taking time to prepare yourself. One doesn't set out to climb a mountain without a fair bit of physical preparation. You can't expect to start a new dietary plan without cleaning out your refrigerator and your cabinets first. It's the same with any purposeful endeavor. Determine what preparations you need to make and allow yourself the time to be intentional in your approach
The Nazirites also had a ceremony that symbolically took them across the threshold of their commitment. While this doesn't need to be a public affair, rituals are powerful tools that are underutilized by most of us. When your purpose has been declared with intention and you have prepared yourself thoughtfully, create for yourself a rite of passage that carries you into the realm of purposefulness. You could invite close friends to be a part of this, or it may be just for you, but make it a positive and memorable symbol of your commitment and your focus will be more easily maintained.
One can find any number of resources about accomplishing goals and living purposefully. Some of them are valuable and some leave a lot to be desired. The greatest advantage any person has in accomplishing any goal is their own personal passion about what they're doing. If you dedicate your time and energy toward something you are passionate about, the rest of these elements are simply enhancements to that passion. The Nazirite model is simply one way to pursue that passion with clear and focused dedication. Declare your intention out loud (to other people), prepare yourself thoughtfully, and acknowledge your purpose with some positive and memorable ceremony.
The end of Numbers 6 holds a blessing with which many Christians are familiar. It also works if one recognizes that the seat of divinity lies within. It can be a challenge at first to trust an internal voice, but the divine self has a character very different from the fearful and abusive self-talk we all carry around. The divine guidance from within possesses those distinctive qualities of deep truth, beauty, and creativity. When we allow ourselves to tap into that resource, we are in a way blessing ourselves.
That divine self is the part within us that truly wants us to succeed, that finds ways to keep us on our purposeful path. It is the part of ourselves that shines from within, that sees someone beautiful when we look intentionally in the mirror. It is the part of us that is willing to forgive ourselves when we get off track, and the inner sense of peacefulness and reassurance that is always available to us when we are willing to receive it. We have these things inside of us. We don't always accept that part of ourselves, but it is crucial for us to acknowledge this reserve of strength and graciousness and peace when we dedicate ourselves to a meaningful purpose. Our noble passions are worth our dedication.
Showing posts with label initiation rites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label initiation rites. Show all posts
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
God Told You to Cut Off What Part of My Anatomy Exactly?: Circumcision and the Need to Belong in Genesis 17
Nearly everyone has done something at some point in time to be a part of a special group of people. A person might shop at particular stores, wear a particular style of clothing, take up particular hobbies, listen to particular music, or hang out in particular places because of a desire to be identified as part of a subculture. People join fraternities or sororities in college, or they may join a fraternal organization later on in life, because on some level they want a place to belong. There is, I believe, a deep-seated need to seek out and discover one's place in the grand scheme of things, and there are many benefits that come from being a part of a larger group. Gang culture wouldn't be so compelling otherwise.
One factor that sometimes accompanies belonging to a group is the clear distinction that one does not belong to a different group. One only needs to belong to one fraternity, and there is a certain amount of pride that accompanies wearing those particular Greek letters. Likewise, if one is a Crip, then one cannot also be a Blood. One might avoid wearing red altogether, not just because blue clothing signifies where one belongs, but also because it clearly identifies who the "better" people are.
So competition kicks in on some level when we are finding our group. There is some "survival" value to this competition. If one identifies with people who work in a particular industry, one may be more or less likely to have consistent employment. Belonging to a "better" group could lead to opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be available. At the most basic level, actual survival may even be on the line. This was at least the case thousands of years ago, although most people didn't have much of a choice about the tribe to which they belonged.
Many groups have initiation rites that members must undergo. This "proves" the candidate's level of commitment to the group on a certain level, but more importantly it solidifies a personal sense of belonging with a powerful experience. Christians may be baptized into the church fellowship, Freemasons may undergo a series of initiations into different levels of the group's hierarchy, and a white nationalist may shave his head and get a swastika tattoo. So, some of the initiation procedures into a group leave a mark by which other people can identify a person, but many times the rites leave a much deeper mark on the psyche of the individual, allowing them to claim with some certainty, "I am ___________."
In Genesis 17, God supposedly tells Abraham that the mark by which his people will be known involves the removal of foreskin. Circumcision has meant different things to different cultures. In ancient Egypt, it was simply a rite of passage into adulthood, granting a young man the ability to learn mysteries that were not accessible to children. The initiated would then learn stories, rites, and prayers intrinsic to the religion of the culture at the time. For the Jewish people in biblical times, circumcision was a demonstration of obedience to God, which ultimately meant obedience to religious and community leaders.
In fact, the uncircumcised were literally cut off from the spiritual practices of the community. In no uncertain terms, they knew they were not a part of the in-crowd. Of course, this practice of enforcing identity with the group went beyond any hazing on a college campus. Circumcision was seen as a matter of purity. To be uncircumcised was to be impure. Not just excluded from a group of people, but excluded from favor with the divine. In other words, it was a very effective tool for control.
By now, many people have heard stories or seen movies about how difficult it is to extract oneself from a group. Whether it's the mob or a street gang or a cult, leaving is not easy. Even if one is allowed to break off ties easily, there is a void that some may find unbearable. A person who has broken off from a group no longer has a place of belonging, no longer fits anywhere, no longer has the same easy of identity. And the more intense the rites of inclusions, the deeper the void may feel.
It is not at all uncommon to want to belong somewhere, to want a place where one is accepted as part of the group. That feels safe. It satisfies a deep-seated need. I don't know of many groups, however, that do not in some way look down upon others who do not belong, whether they be people who belong somewhere else or people who don't seem to belong anywhere. It becomes one more Us vs. Them. "We belong to the chosen people." Therefore everyone else is obviously not chosen, or essentially worthless. So, identifying with one group automatically tells us which other groups we can ignore, abuse, or generally devalue.
The trick might be to recognize one's place in the world based on one's capability and passion rather than what kind of initiation one is willing to undergo. Not that everyone has a choice about what is done to their body, especially as a young child, but we do all have choices later on in life about the kinds of associations we make. We ultimately get to choose where we belong. Recognizing oneself as a unique human being who still shares an incredible wealth of characteristics with the totality of the human race can put things in a much healthier perspective than the idea of being part of a chosen few. People wind up doing things that would otherwise be unthinkable, all because of their affiliation with a particular group. Things like committing violence against other people when there could be countless other ways of handling an issue.
The bottom line is that wanting to belong is natural, but rites and marks that set one group apart also identify the outsiders. And "outsiders" is a strange word to use for the people with whom we share this planet. It's time that we stop looking for ways to belong by blindly following what other people tell us is right. We have a place in reality, every last one of us, and that place is determined by what we are willing and able to create, not by what we are willing to endure. No group is better than any other group. We are people. We are all people. Foreskins or not.
One factor that sometimes accompanies belonging to a group is the clear distinction that one does not belong to a different group. One only needs to belong to one fraternity, and there is a certain amount of pride that accompanies wearing those particular Greek letters. Likewise, if one is a Crip, then one cannot also be a Blood. One might avoid wearing red altogether, not just because blue clothing signifies where one belongs, but also because it clearly identifies who the "better" people are.
So competition kicks in on some level when we are finding our group. There is some "survival" value to this competition. If one identifies with people who work in a particular industry, one may be more or less likely to have consistent employment. Belonging to a "better" group could lead to opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be available. At the most basic level, actual survival may even be on the line. This was at least the case thousands of years ago, although most people didn't have much of a choice about the tribe to which they belonged.
Many groups have initiation rites that members must undergo. This "proves" the candidate's level of commitment to the group on a certain level, but more importantly it solidifies a personal sense of belonging with a powerful experience. Christians may be baptized into the church fellowship, Freemasons may undergo a series of initiations into different levels of the group's hierarchy, and a white nationalist may shave his head and get a swastika tattoo. So, some of the initiation procedures into a group leave a mark by which other people can identify a person, but many times the rites leave a much deeper mark on the psyche of the individual, allowing them to claim with some certainty, "I am ___________."
In Genesis 17, God supposedly tells Abraham that the mark by which his people will be known involves the removal of foreskin. Circumcision has meant different things to different cultures. In ancient Egypt, it was simply a rite of passage into adulthood, granting a young man the ability to learn mysteries that were not accessible to children. The initiated would then learn stories, rites, and prayers intrinsic to the religion of the culture at the time. For the Jewish people in biblical times, circumcision was a demonstration of obedience to God, which ultimately meant obedience to religious and community leaders.
In fact, the uncircumcised were literally cut off from the spiritual practices of the community. In no uncertain terms, they knew they were not a part of the in-crowd. Of course, this practice of enforcing identity with the group went beyond any hazing on a college campus. Circumcision was seen as a matter of purity. To be uncircumcised was to be impure. Not just excluded from a group of people, but excluded from favor with the divine. In other words, it was a very effective tool for control.
By now, many people have heard stories or seen movies about how difficult it is to extract oneself from a group. Whether it's the mob or a street gang or a cult, leaving is not easy. Even if one is allowed to break off ties easily, there is a void that some may find unbearable. A person who has broken off from a group no longer has a place of belonging, no longer fits anywhere, no longer has the same easy of identity. And the more intense the rites of inclusions, the deeper the void may feel.
It is not at all uncommon to want to belong somewhere, to want a place where one is accepted as part of the group. That feels safe. It satisfies a deep-seated need. I don't know of many groups, however, that do not in some way look down upon others who do not belong, whether they be people who belong somewhere else or people who don't seem to belong anywhere. It becomes one more Us vs. Them. "We belong to the chosen people." Therefore everyone else is obviously not chosen, or essentially worthless. So, identifying with one group automatically tells us which other groups we can ignore, abuse, or generally devalue.
The trick might be to recognize one's place in the world based on one's capability and passion rather than what kind of initiation one is willing to undergo. Not that everyone has a choice about what is done to their body, especially as a young child, but we do all have choices later on in life about the kinds of associations we make. We ultimately get to choose where we belong. Recognizing oneself as a unique human being who still shares an incredible wealth of characteristics with the totality of the human race can put things in a much healthier perspective than the idea of being part of a chosen few. People wind up doing things that would otherwise be unthinkable, all because of their affiliation with a particular group. Things like committing violence against other people when there could be countless other ways of handling an issue.
The bottom line is that wanting to belong is natural, but rites and marks that set one group apart also identify the outsiders. And "outsiders" is a strange word to use for the people with whom we share this planet. It's time that we stop looking for ways to belong by blindly following what other people tell us is right. We have a place in reality, every last one of us, and that place is determined by what we are willing and able to create, not by what we are willing to endure. No group is better than any other group. We are people. We are all people. Foreskins or not.
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