"Principle of Correspondence
As above, so below and as below, so above"
Kybalion

18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18 (New International Version)

33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Matthew 5:33-37 (New International Version)


1) Considering free-will, will God interfere DIRECTLY on the life of the one that "break" the oath?

I don't think so.

2) Considering the power of belief (and a ritual is a very pattern-interrupt, hyper-reality type of thing) is It the person that can damages himself psychosomatically?

That seems more plausible.

3) For whom was Jesus refering too in the passage "to the people long ago"?
People of the old testament? Is It true that freemasonry only studies the old testament?

Peace for all.



[edit on 29-8-2009 by infobrazil]

"Is It true that freemasonry only studies the old testament?"

Nope...nor is it claimed.


Masonry pulls from all the books of the bible and some of the apocrypha. The settings are mostly in the old testiment but then the new testiment is sometimes quoted even in those settings of pagentry.

I might personally argue philisophically it's soul is contained within the book of James. I think one merely needs to rea dthat book and "get it" to understand 80% of Masonry.

Not to mention the Sheperd of Hermes. Though I doubt but a handful of masons actually read that.

[size=5]The incongruency of the Bible left me very confused. Is the New Testament the "patch" of the old?[/size]

<< Leviticus 5:4 >>

NIV© "'Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil--in any matter one might carelessly swear about--even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty."

<< Proverbs 20:25 >>

NIV© "It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows."

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
"When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it, for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. "

Ecclesiastes 5:6,7
"Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God."


and then...


Matthew 5:33-37 (New International Version) Oaths 33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.


Seems okay to join masonry, except that It can produce a huge cognitive dissonance for those, like me, that consider the words of Jesus showed bt the Bible.

Originally posted by infobrazil
[size=5]The incongruency of the Bible left me very confused.

If one takes everything they read in the bible litteraly, they will be very confused indeed. If you go to court, you will swear an oath, on the bible no less, if you get married, yep, swear an oath. If you join the millitary, same deal. The bible is meant as a guide. (IMHO)

Matthew 5:33-37 (New International Version) Oaths 33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

...and yet, the same Christians who preach this still take the oath of marriage without question.

[edit on 7/10/2009 by Saurus]

It is the general consensus of mainstream Christianity that Jesus was talking about superficial oaths, i.e., in casual conversation by saying something like "I swear to God I'm going to be a millionaire someday".

Most Christians do not consider it a ban on formal, serious oaths. For example, the Apostle Paul places himself under oath multiple times in his Epistles (for example, see Romans 1:9 and elsewhere).