Oahspe Study and Faithism
Religion and the Tiger of Science
The Dreams
In 1889, the spiritual medium Dr. John Newbrough (who had a decade earlier received Oahspe from Es) experienced some dreams with explanations given to him from Es. Newbrough wrote the following letter to his wife about them:
June 17, 1889.
The other night I dreamed I went to milk a cow and she was almost dry. She turned to hook me, and I came away, and then she went to get out of the lot which was a high plateau. She slid down under the gate and fell into the valley down below. Then she made believe she was a bull, and she stood on her hind feet and went toward the rich fields, and the people came by thousands and some said, "Stop that bull, it is under sentence of death." Then a tiger came out behind the tens of thousands of people, and he went slowly for that bull. And on his sides was painted the word "science." The bull turned away from him and fled into the forest and the tiger followed after. Then came a sign down out of the sky and it said, "The tiger has slain the bull but the tiger will never die. Look out for him. He will return in a later period. He is the most untamable of all beasts."
So when I woke, I told Ross what I had dreamed. Ross said it seemed to have significance.
The next night I dreamed a man came to interpret the dream. He said the cow represented the Christian churches and had been milked dry. Then when she tried to play bull it was but to deceive the world, and that science alone would demolish him (the church). After he had finished interpreting, I saw on the same field, which I had seen the night before, a vast concourse of people and a sign was written on the sky saying: "Fence the field in, for the tiger will surely come again." But they laughed saying:
"We are wise enough now. We can manage our matters to suit ourselves. If Jehovih will let the tiger come it is His matter, not ours. "Presently the tiger came and brought with her a lot of tiger kittens, very numerous, and she said to her young ones: "Behold these are Esseneans. Fall upon them, and eat what you like!" So the little tigers commenced to go for the people, and they scattered and fled in all directions. But the tiger made a speech saying:
"I am that that feeds for self alone. Ye would not build a fence and keep me out, so I came. As long as man lives upon the earth, I, too, will live." While he was talking, a fence was being built around the place, and on it was written the words: "Law. Law. Law. " But the tiger said:
"You are the unwisest of mortals. You build a fence now whilst my kittens are already in the field." And he pulled off the word "Science" from his sides and put thereon the word: "ANTI-RELIGION." And he fell to eating, and he and his kittens ate up all the people who were left, and then went off into the forest.
I stood on the bridge, wondering what would come next when the words came on the sky: "TO THE UNLEARNED, I GAVE THE SWORD THAT THEY MIGHT DEFEND THEMSELVES. TO THE SECLUDED, I GAVE THE CHINESE WALL. TO THE MODERN, I GAVE LAW."
That is the way I fill up nights, dreaming and dreaming. I wondered what it all meant and finally concluded we are not to do as the Esseneans did, but use scientific rules as to a proper method of protecting ourselves. But it may be it is the result of too good a digestion that I dream these things.
The foregoing letter was given by Dr. Newbrough's daughter to Wing Anderson (publisher of Oahspe for the 1st half of the 20th century).
For the following presentation, the lowercase word es (as in, e.g., es-man) is used to indicate a mind that knows as a reality any of the non-corporeal realms, and normally includes some comprehension of spirit and perhaps of soul). A capitalized Es refers to the Daughter of Jehovih---one of the Nine Entities of the Universe (36/0.6). Accordingly Esseneans are the adherents of Es, Daughter of Jehovih, which for our planet and her heavens refers generally to the kingdom of God, Son of Jehovih. Also, Es as in Es-man, refers to the highest es within man and attuned to Jehovih's heavenly kingdom. In that respect, the Es-man and Essenean are equivalent terms.
The Tiger Dreams --- an Interpretation
At its simplest and straightforward, the dream says that once science displaces the culture of Christianity, the Tiger will not stop there but attempt to displace all religion; and that once Christianity was sufficiently displaced, man did not stop the Tiger at that time but waited for the baby Tigers to appear and start to devour all religions.
As to Newbrough's interpretation that the Esseneans unwisely focused nearly exclusively upon the heavenly life of spirit --- that interpretation has proven to be a reactionary response, for in Kosmon times the Es-man must develop his spirit and balance that with the physical life and mastery over the corporeal elements.
And, Newbrough's solution would not be enough to save the Es-man from Science, as 120 years of experience after those dreams have proven to us today. In short, although there is some merit to the scientific method, yet it is not a sufficient guardian able to protect its adherents from the beast (Tiger), save in limited circumstances. Neither should we as Faithists look to Science to protect Es interests. We look to Jehovih to protect our interests, which are His interests as well.
Yet it might be proven prudent for those of the Es-man who are so inspired, to use Science to demonstrate the truth of some of the statements made in Oahspe, not only in the revelatory parts but in its predictions of things to come. This might give sufficient pause to those who would otherwise destroy the Es-man. One example of using Science to protect, is the statement in Oahspe that meat-eating is poison to man. Already much scientific evidence links meat-eating with various illnesses, and man feels cautioned to reduce or eliminate his meat consumption. The scientific evidence thus helps protect the Jehovih-given right of the Es-man to choose a Vegan diet.
On the other hand, if the Es-man can use Science as a tool, so can the Beast-man (those who hearken to the Beast nature instead of the Es nature). The Beast-man has been shown to use Science for beastly purposes; in fact, use it as a Tiger, as we have seen and shall see.
Using Science for beastly purposes the Beast-man (as Tiger) has manipulated or turned some people against Es. Yet neither science nor its scientific method is ever a valid reason to sacrifice much less abandon either man's Es heritage or the Es'sean ways of Knowing. Although Newbrough certainly would not have suggested abandoning that Es connection, he has suggested that we Faithists use Science not only as a tool, but as the preferred method of protection.
Even if used as such, the Faithist must take care not to be blinded by the hyperbole surrounding science and the scientific outlook / method. The old adage of "If you can't beat 'em, (then) join 'em" does not apply here for Faithists. It should be more like: "Take the best and leave the rest." For, as a way to attain to balancing Es with Corpor, man must first Know and Understand Es before that balance can be attained.
Man has spent the past 72,000 years studying Corpor, and the relatively recent scientific method might be useful to some degree toward the end of assuming wise stewardship over our planet and her atmosphere, as we mortals learn to take dominion of our physical world (as we must). But to sacrifice our Es heritage toward that end or for sake of vanity or self-gain, is not acceptable and will lead to destruction. Until man learns to place his Es in the decision-making seat while taking the health of Corpor as important as the health of his Es relationships, and most importantly, learns how to do this with the support of the animal nature within him and others, man will not succeed in attaining that balance.
The Setting
The events in the dream align with actual events and trends and can be tracked historically, its major antecedents seen in the cyclical rise of light near the end of the Bon dan'ha cycle and forward to our time.
The big problem for Science is that it only accepts corporeal evidence as proof of reality, and even that must be fit with accepted established paradigms. Whereas the big problem for religions is that without resorting to the unseen Spirit realm, none of them can prove to the corporeal senses via corporeal evidence their claim that their religion is at the top governing all. For, Inductive Reasoning rests as the basis of Science, even as Deductive Reasoning rests as the basis of Religion. To reason inductively is to induce / perceive a general rule from many recurrences; thus building from the bottom up to a top rule. To reason deductively is to start from the rules at the top and work down using logic and reason to arrive at / deduce a specific conclusion that matches / explains some known phenomena.
Since Science will not accept es demonstrations as valid proof of anything, so God, Son of Jehovih, allowed the rise of mortal science to topple Christianity's hold on mortals. By the build-up of man's esteem in corporeal mastery, man would have an alternative to willingly, even eagerly, look to and aspire toward instead of Christianity which was becoming increasingly unfulfilling and repressive to the soul of man.
An Unexpected Boost for Science
Prior to the rise of science, a big advance lifting man toward Jehovih and away from the religions of the beast came in the half-wave from 1450 to 1650 ce when man had opportunity to begin anew, free from the entanglements of Christianity. But around 1500 ce Looeamong discovered a crucial element of God's plan to redeem the world by the commingling of the westward-oriented seed of Ham (essentially Europeans) with the seed of Guatama (indigenous people of America), with its consequent commingling / merging of cultures. On perceiving this, Looeamong then set out to prevent that. He could not win the North Guatamans (indigenous nations) to his side, so he determined to destroy them and their culture so that neither could God, Son of Jehovih, have them. As a result, under the inspiration of Looeamong's drujas, the North Guatamans, from 1500 ce forward, fell to warring amongst themselves and destroying their beautiful culture as well as their populations.
Jehovih's Son, God of the earth and her heavens, to counter the ensuing attacks by Looeamong's forces, thus had to modify his plans. So God's hosts labored to inspire mortals toward industry and invention (technology) which was later conflated with natural philosophy (philosophy regarding natural phenomena).
It should be understood that Jehovih's heavens must work with man at his level, bringing him forward one step at a time. For which reason, we find man's philosophies were and are still far from perfect, encompassing only a fraction of light that he will eventually be capable of as he progresses into Kosmon.
Eventually over the course of some 300 years before the dawn of Kosmon (1849), under inspiration from Jehovih's heaven the natural philosophers would expand their inquiries beyond naturally-occurring phenomena to try to explain (find the "natural laws" governing) how man's inventions worked. By 1650 many natural philosophers had grown skeptical of Christianity, but began to believe that although God (i.e., the Creator of All) existed, He was far off somewhere, not interfering or intervening in the affairs of man. Others also skeptical of Christianity, believed in the Creator of All (Jehovih) as the Architect of the Universe; and yet others believed that the Creator of All (Jehovih) provides for man, and so referred to Him as Providence. Then there were those natural philosophers who were so skeptical as to reject religion, though indeed they followed their conscience and mostly followed the light of Jehovih. Aside from those were natural philosophers who remained devoutly Christian and stayed open to the discovery of natural law and open to what other natural philosophers had discovered.
All those mentioned above, in the main tolerated each other for the sake of natural philosophy, their science as yet still neutral as to respecting religion per se. After all, the "laws of nature" apply to everyone regardless of the religion of the persons who discovered them. Nevertheless, what most of these natural philosophers had in common if not just a skepticism toward Christianity, was at least a willingness to not let Christianity stand in the way of their philosophizing about the nature of the corporeal creation and its "laws".
Keep in mind their attitude of defiance, for it would and does continue to infect Newbrough's Tiger of Science and its Tiger Kittens. For, that attitude of defiance had been instilled in the natural philosophers since the early days of Aristotelian inspired inquiries, when the church tried to suppress and otherwise stifle not so much philosophers' searches for corporeal truths, but the conclusions drawn by the natural philosophers from their researches. The times, were also propitious for such suppressions to be met with defiance. Indeed, especially in the 1100 and 1200's ce, the church's own schoolmen --- the Scholastics; what today we might call university professors, some already drifting toward natural philosophy---- had used argument almost exclusively to arrive at truth. That inborn spirit of defiance within the field of natural philosophy grew and was greatly intensified by the Inquisitions of the Catholic (Christian) Church.
Modern Science Emerges
Natural philosophers assumed the attitude that mankind was ignorant of the more subtle "laws of nature" (Alas, the later more knowledgeable inventors and innovators remained just as ignorant). In time these early natural philosophers came to believe that once they knew these "laws" they could explain how physical inventions and technologies worked. Eventually some would come to believe that it might not be necessary to use the non-physical realm (e.g., God) to explain creation. Ultimately science would not only accelerate toward that same conclusion, especially after the beginning of Kosmon, but science would then go a step farther and reject the need for any spiritual explanation whatsoever to describe / account-for the Creation.
Along the way, the natural philosophers had been inspired to believe that in discovering / discerning all the "laws of nature", man could not only reduce the factor of blind luck in gaining mastery over the corporeal creation, but that this in turn would also lead to greater efficiency, abundance, and improvement of man's condition (which during the time of man's money-getting, became equated with wealth).
Near the time of Kosmon, natural philosophers began to be called scientists. Prior to then, most natural philosophers were independently wealthy dabblers, or hobbyists or teachers / professors. With the advent of Kosmon, scientists came to believe that their labor would open the way for more and greater technologies by putting to innovative or inventive use these "natural laws". By being helpful in that way, the natural philosopher began, especially after the first spell of Kosmon (1849-1882 ce), to feel he could "earn" his living as a scientist.
Not long after, 'Progress through Science' arose to become an accepted belief / axiom in the social order. Add to that the possibility of scientists mastering corporeal reality through science, especially through creating new labor-saving devices, and the contemplated result would induce the natural philosophers to embrace man-made industries. From that, another conflation resulted, that of science and technology---technology being viewed by science as those inventions or innovations that put the scientifically discovered "natural laws" to unique or entirely new uses.
As scientists began to feel they could explain these new or improved uses of "natural laws", so they began to feel they could perceive more comprehensively and with greater mastery than the inventors, innovators, and technologists of industry. Accordingly, the stage was set for science to begin taking credit for inspiring new technologies. Meanwhile, Capitalists and Captains of Industry listened rapturously to the spiel of Science, dreaming often of the profit to be made off the back of science, now often thought of as including technology.
When could man have Effectively Corralled Science?
By the beginning of Kosmon, Looeamong and his heavenly kingdom, who were the creators and propagators of Christianity, were cut off from the earth and lifted away by God, Son of Jehovih, and his heavenly hosts, with assistance from his etherean brothers and sisters. And in the ensuing time of one spell upon the earth (1849-1882), Science in the USA coalesced into what we know it today with its methodology, system and order.
At this early stage with the commencing of Kosmon, times were propitious for man to create laws placing science within bounds beyond which it could not go. Especially propitious was this time because it coincided with the opening of the veil between the spirit world and the corporeal world, and as a result the evidence of the unseen through spirit manifestations was widely witnessed and documented in the first spell of Kosmon proving that apparent laws and physics of corpor where neither absolute nor transcendent.
But man, 'ever vain of his talents' (an inherited trait) felt he could handle whatever came his way, and so gave science free rein to do whatsoever it would. In fact, such an attitude was only reaching its zenith at that point, it having started around the time of the establishing of the Republic Social order in Guatama when scientific knowledge began to outgrow its old field.
As the Republic began, science was already becoming too vast for any one person to understand sufficiently as to be proficient in the many emerging subfields of science.* That trend quickened exponentially after 1882 till the number of emergent subfields developed into even greater subdivisions and emerging specialties over the next 100 years (1849-1949), and especially after 1982.
(*The earliest most comprehensive compendium of scientific knowledge, the Encyclopedie, 1772, consisted of 28 volumes covering 71,818 articles and 3,129 illustrations; its full title in English: Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts. Much of it contained the techniques of industry, i.e., technology with diagrams showing how to do the techniques.)
Who were / are the Tiger kittens?
If Science per se --- with its manner of discerning truth, with its somewhat-agreed-upon results, and with its habit of conflating those with wisdom --- is The Tiger, so the Tiger kittens, in part, were the various scientific disciplines and specialties created in great numbers after man failed to provide boundaries for Science. And where such restrictions were created, these were weak and more-or-less easily circumvented. Under such a free hand --- that at times even recruited for, encouraged and financially supported the Tigers --- so great became the power of Science and the swelling numbers of practitioners, supporters and scientific fields, that virtually every other discipline / industry / field of study aspired to be like them --- to become scientific! All these, then, collectively and individually are the Tiger kittens.
Who was / is the Tiger?
The Tiger represents the animal nature within man that uses stealth, subterfuge, and sudden ferocity to gain its objective. The Tiger in man intends to destroy whatever quarry it is seeking. The Tiger loves to prowl and stalk its prey.
Although, in the early days the USA did nothing to hold science in check, some few in the social order nevertheless strongly sensed the need. Most others felt the power of the Tiger in its outer realm effects but they misjudged its well-hidden fundamental nature. That mistake was possible, in part, because mankind --- having been suddenly released from the shackles of the Four Heads of the Beast --- was in a bewildered mood mixed with an inexplicable sense of exhilaration. The elation came as it was a time of heavenly light in earth's atmosphere.
To perhaps best understand the Tiger we need to perceive the context within which it operates.
The root concerns of the beast (including the beast in man) focus on three things: nourishment / food; procreation / sex; and security / threats. Included in this latter category are self-defense, and the pecking order (alpha-beast and hierarchy with its lesser alphas). As to the beast in man, included in the category of nourishment is a need for soul fulfillment, spiritual refreshment, and food for thought.
Beyond such basics, most beastly responses in man are a reaction to something the Es-man did that is interpreted by the beast as a threat to its preferred existence. Generally speaking, a Baugh-ghan-ghad character (see i055 Tablet of Baugh-ghan-ghad) will set the tone of the lowest beast response.
The Tiger is the last line of defense for the Baugh-ghan (literally Lion-man) before the Lion-man acting as a God, must himself become directly involved in his defense. As such, the Tiger (note position in tablet) can be considered the Lieutenant (chief helper) or Champion (defender) of the Baugh-ghan-ghad, or rather, of the way set forth by Baugh-ghan-ghad. This function of the Tiger is not because the Lion demands it (unless it feels it must) nor even because the Lion expects it, but mostly because the Tiger-man, with his independent spirit, for the most part desires the same ends as the Lion-man, and so of his own accord will perform the desired task. Yet in a confrontation, the Tiger will yield to the Lion as king of the beasts.
The lowest grade group of man (those of grades 1-25, see i029 Tablet of Grade and Ingrade) can most readily fall under the influence of a Baugh-Ghan-Ghad, for these lowest grades are more ruled first by passions, self-desires, and strong emotional appeals (fear is a big one) than they are ruled by reason or logic. And that is how the Lion-man tends to rule along with threat and ferociousness; and although able to use stealth, yet he typically does not try to hide his being there, because his presence can usefully instill fear. The Lion-man usually makes decisions based on a gut-feeling. Hint: Regardless of what image they try to project, Alpha-Capitalists often are Baugh-ghans at heart, and tend to readily retreat to that stance when under pressure.
Members of the lowest grade group may claim to make decisions based on reason and logic; yet however sincere that belief may be, still, their professing will be mostly lips in service to those who manipulated them to think the way they do and to hold the sentiments that they do. And the higher positioned beastly alpha-leaders-over-the-lowest-grade-group certainly know how to manipulate.
But not all of mankind are of the lowest grade group, and the intentions of the Lion tend to be increasingly transparent to those in a higher grade group, especially if these latter are in ascension. Also, the higher the grade group, the more these require logic and reason to be swayed rather than be quickly won by emotional manipulation.
Compared to the Lion, the Tiger is more cunning. So with regard to reason, note that in the dream the Tiger took the time to educate (or taunt) his opponents, i.e., he set forth a logical reason why he was not concerned with any laws man might make to curtail the Tigers' behavior --- because the attempt at outlawing was too late to be truly effective. While there may have been some truth in that fatalistic assertion, making its logic seem reasonable---yet, in fact it was the Tigers themselves that would not allow the laws to become effective because such laws would interfere with the Tigers' self-serving goals---and most importantly they would tend to be in a social position able to quash, deflect, outmaneuver or evade any such law / regulation / rule, or any attempt to establish the same.
As a destroyer, the Tiger tends to represent the bulk of the lower grade carnivores / omnivores within a social order who are displeased with their own outlook for advancement. While these lower grades may not have what it takes to protect what they consider to be vital to themselves, so quite the opposite the Tiger manifests in abundance the cunning yet merciless and devouring nature of the carnivores. In other words, the Tiger on its own initiative manifests what the lesser beast-man feels needs to be done regarding an attack on some value/s held dear by these Baugh-Ghan-Ghad parts of humanity.
These lowest grades do not and cannot tell the Tiger what to do, of course, but instead will support, at least in sentiment if not verbally or tacitly, the Tiger in its labor. If pushed too far by the social order, these will also actively endorse the Tiger and even join him. Conversely, the Tiger can manipulate such people into mindsets / mental-frameworks useful to the Tiger.
This is not so difficult as might be supposed, for the Tiger as Science had already given the death blow to Christianity by 1849. But thrashing about on the earth, its body refuses to acknowledge it. Its body consists of mortal Christians, their innumerable sects and their churches. These, upon being set free from the false one who had led them, are to learn-to / desire-to turn to their Maker the Great Spirit Jehovih. They initially searched for a Savior in the form and figure of a man or some institution purporting to Save them. Being adrift, those of that body thus become easy prey for the slick-talking beast-man.
All Oahspe references are from the modern language edition: Oahspe Standard Edition
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Frameworks under which Science Exists