Essential background for Abraham's story

This is the promise God made to Abram in Gen. 12:1-3 (NRSV):

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Note the 3 key parts:

1. Go to the land that I will show you.
2. I will make of you a great nation.
3. I will bless you. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Land; posterity; and blessing, a blessing not limited to his descendents but intended for the whole world.

Fillmore on Abraham

Here are the entries about Abraham and Abram (same guy, two names) from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore:

Abraham, a'-brå-ham (Heb.)--father (source, founder) of a multitude. Abram, son of Terah, of Ur of the Chaldees, and the father of the Hebrew nation (Gen. 11:27-31; 17:5).

Background on Abraham

This post contains information on both the overall history of Abraham, and some hints about his metaphysical meanings from Charles Fillmore.

Some thoughts from today's meeting; next meeting date and reading assignment

by Allen Watson

Today's discussion of Luke 24
We had a light turnout this morning, due in part, I'm sure, to the combination of our early meeting hour and the "spring ahead" time change. But the discussion was rich and rewarding among the six of us who attended.

The main thoughts I came away with were from the discussion based on the question, "Why do you seek the Living One among the dead?" that the angels asked the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus, only to find the empty tomb.  Several people each shared ways they saw themselves making a similar mistake: trying to hold on to "dead" ways of being living by them instead of letting them go and moving on; looking for nourishment from old rituals or behaviors that used to nourish but have lost their vitality; seeking spiritual life in dead churches; and so on. It was a very interesting discussion, and everyone seemed to have something to share.

Next Meeting
Our next meeting date will be April 11. The reading for next time will be on Genesis 15, the story of Abraham's calling. Check this blog before the meeting because I'll post some background information about Abraham; and remember you can also check out Charles Fillmore's thoughts on the chapter in  Mysteries of Genesis

Luke 24 from "Contemporary English Version"

1Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared.2When they found the stone rolled away from the entrance,3they went in. But they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus,4and they did not know what to think.

Luke 24 from "The Message" modern language translation

Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery

1-3At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.

Parallel accounts of the resurrection

by Allen Watson

Although we are studying just the resurrection story in Luke 24, some of you may be interested to know how the accounts of the resurrection given in the other three Gospels overlap (or not) with Luke's account. The stories are not all the same. The parallel accounts in the file I have located online are from yet another translation of the Bible, one I really know nothing about, but it isn't important. Use your own translation; this just shows the parallels. This kind of listing is called a "harmony" of the Gospels because it attempts to harmonize the varying accounts.

Here is a link to the Resurrection harmony, a PDF file I have posted on the web.

http://files.me.com/allen_a_watson/5560vm