I was in Mohammad’s cave when…

I was in Mohammad’s cave when the Archangel Gabriel embraced him. The story of the First Revelation is well-known. What are not so well-known are these:  the Prophet was not alone, nor was he aware that I was sitting not too far behind him. What is also not known is that he was not the first person embraced by Gabriel in that cave. I was.

One day before Mohammad arrived at the Cave of Hira for his historic encounter, I was alone in that very same cave. For it was my habit, as well as that of the Prophet, to seek out an isolated cave and mediate. As you can imagine, I was shocked to be embraced by this entity and ordered to “Read.” Unlike Mohammad, I knew how to read, so I asked, “What am I to read?” When I was presented with a vision of the holy text, the entity calling himself Gabriel (but how am I to know for sure?) once again said, “Read!”

And I said… “No.”

Here I will pause for a moment and tell you what is rarely even contemplated – there are people who actually say “No” to God, even when they’re sure It’s really God Who is trying to engage them. This should not surprise you, though, for do we not have free will? And does not God respect that? After all, He has His purposes, and (if it’s quite alright) so do I.

When I said “No,” the entity released me from its embrace and said no more. But I remained in that cave to think about what just happened. The next day, Mohammed enters. He did not notice me crouched in the back for he seemed preoccupied. It wasn’t long, though, until he was embraced as I had been. I didn’t see or hear anything, though I heard the Prophet’s replies.

That was back in the year 610 AD, over 1400 years ago. And I am still alive but Mohammad isn’t. [Maybe that is my punishment, though I don’t feel that way.] I go back as far as the Pharaohs, having even seen some of them from a distance. And I am not the only one like this; we even find each other on occasion. Being a recluse (I have my reasons), I always keep my distance from the celebrated and powerful.

Mohammad left the cave, still not having seen me. In the years that followed, we never spoke or made direct eye contact. From a distance, I followed his career and that of his faith, as I’ve followed the careers of others – genuine and false. To this day, I don’t know what had embraced Mohammad (and, earlier, me) in the Cave of Hira.

I’ve often wondered how Mohammad feels, from wherever he happens to be, about the Muslim community and the turns it’s taken. I guess I should say “Muslim communities” – for that seems to be the problem. Maybe it’s true, that which is written: All things fade over time.

The entity said to each of us that he was Gabriel. It’s not that I didn’t believe him – I didn’t care one way or the other. Other entities have beckoned me since then, and before then, but I’ve ignored them all – especially when they ask me to do something.

I can’t account for my long life except to say that maybe I am here only to be a witness. Actually, that’s quite a big job. Toward that end, I sometimes disguise myself to get closer to people. Once I even disguised myself as a Sunni Muslim and got quite close to members of one rural small community in Egypt in the early 1800’s.

I’d managed to save a bit of money to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, since it’s a prime religious obligation to do that at least once in a lifetime. I’d actually saved “a bit” several times, but I never went. As I’d prepare to go, without fail I would encounter some desperately poor family and would give them my money.

I hope that was alright.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“                                            “ – Steve.

Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com

Adam and Eve were Black, Black, Black…

THESIS:  Adam and Eve, of Biblical fame, were not Caucasian (aka “pinkies”) – they were Black. Black as the richest top soil…I’ll explain. [NOTE: All scripture cited below is from the KJV of the Bible.]

Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 27: “So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

So far, so good…and then God talks to them (in verse 28): “…and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…”

Moving on to Genesis, Chapter 2, we have (verses 1 & 2): “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made…”

Okay, I get it… “…God ended his work which he had made…” But there’s a problem – some people call it the source of the “dual creation” narrative. For after He “ended his work,” we have this:

Genesis, Chapter 2, verse 7: “And the LORD God formed man…” Wait…I thought He had already done that…not only created man but – at the same time – created woman. Not only that, but He had already spoken to them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply…” – as I noted above.

Verse 7, in its entirety: “And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Wait…God breathes? Well, it does say, “…and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” God breathes…got to let that sink in. Does this mean, the Jesus part of the Godhead trinity, created man? [Personal opinion: This whole Trinity concept is a fraud foisted upon us by clever men.]

Verse 7 (again): “…formed man [of] the dust of the ground…” That’s how I concluded that Adam was Black (as was Eve, since Chapter 2 cites Adam as the source of Eve). If man was formed of the dust of the ground, that “dust” had to be at least brown and was most likely black since we would expect God to form man from the richest of top soils which, of course, is black. [Any farmer knows that.]

In any event, I’ve never heard of “white (pink?) dust” – although I suppose anything’s possible.

It’s interesting to note that God didn’t create man from nothing – out of thin air – though of course He could have. He created man from the earth. Of course, that’s referring to Chapter 2, though Chapter 1 of Genesis says nothing of dust or breath into nostrils. What are we to think of the Chapter 1 version of man?

So time goes on…

…and man & woman begot children…eventually, lots of black children. Till we reach the incident of the Tower of Babel. Before that, we were all one race (Black) and spoke the same language. After that, differences arose among us – differences in language, appearance, and (due to scattering) location.

I was discussing my thesis with a friend, who asked, “Did the original Black race have supple hair on their heads?”

I thought for a moment and offered this: “Maybe the Blacks after the Incident of the Tower were allowed to keep the skin color of the first man, Adam. But lest they think that to be an intentional mark of distinction, other marks were laid upon them. Such as what is crudely known as ‘bad hair’ and worst location – banished to such areas as might cause their suffering and exploitation (for instance, as slaves).”

My questions…

This is why I have problems with scripture – even Buddhist scripture. That last would be a problem for me in particular, since I’m a Buddhist. There are so many gaps and ambiguities in the various narratives, it’s hard to know what’s what. I won’t even get into why Eve tells the serpent, “God hath said, Ye [Adam and Eve] shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” As if dying is a bad thing. What could she and Adam have known of dying and its implications, and how could they have known anything at all about it?

During my 59 years on this planet, I’ve noticed that people who pay too much attention to scripture – especially to the opinions of others (so-called experts, gurus, popes, famous rabbis, conservative talk show hosts, etc.) – seem to have the most problems being happy. And they seem to be the most capable of giving everybody else – who disagrees with their preferred authority figure – a hard time.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“There are far too many among us who don’t ask questions – either of their religion or their politics. That’s what’s holding us back” – Steve.