Kaballah - Is it a religion, a cult, a philosophy or what?

by freetosee 19 Replies latest jw friends

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  mindseye

  From my understanding it's similar to Gnosticism, in that it pertains to a revelation of God rather than a faith based approach (seems mystical, but from what I've read, some adherents do not like it referred to as mysticism). It divides God into an impersonal 'unknowable' aspect, and a 'revealed' aspect that communicates with humanity. The Tetragrammaton is read in multiple combinations, with each one describing an aspect of the divine. It's an interesting system of interpretation.

  I have a friend who reads a lot of Kabbalah texts, and he's also heavily into Gnosticism. He only studies it personally, so I couldn't comment on any cultish or religious aspects of it. Like any religious system, it probably has the potential to be cultish.

  I'm not familiar with any scientific claims on the Kabbalah, but it seems that many throw the word science around way too much without knowing what it really means.
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  freetosee

  I'm not familiar with any scientific claims on the Kabbalah, but it seems that many throw the word science around way too much without knowing what it really means. -exactly, that was my impression.
  
  My friends group is part of this network http://www.kab.tv/eng/ and they are very negative about the sect Madonna belongs to.
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  dogisgod

  All of the above.
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  Terry

  My understanding is that it is to the Old Testament what Dark Knight was to the Batman series. A retelling. Reboot.

  By using what existed of the Old Testament as a foundation it wouldn't seem like they were starting from scratch but merely getting "new Light".

  Fact of the matter is, the mysticism element is an excuse to make up stuff.

  The configuration of hebrew letters AS NUMBERS always led redactors and scribes to mischief in hiding acrostic "sayings" and such.

  Pulling those back out must have been jolly fun.
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  J. Hofer

  is esotericism a religion? it doesn't matter where you put it, it still stinks.

  it's the basis for some religions and cults, but it stinks right on it's own too.
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  freetosee

  Well, out of curiosity I attended one of their meetings or seminars. It was fascinating!

  Men and women were separated. While the men stayed in the seminar room, the women and children gather in the kitchen. All were seated in front of a big screens in every room watching this teacher give a monotone speech. Groups from all over the world were connected via satellite.

  When the music started all stood up putting their arms on the next persons shoulder and joined singing. What an experience!
  The speech was black and white. This guy made strong statements without any backing.

  They were uncomfortable with some of my questions, but I made sure not to offend anyone.

  Apart from a few strange nerds, the people were very nice and the food was good. Off course I was love-bombed.
  I did not expect it to be so cultic.. filled with made up stuff.
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  designs

  If there was Cake it was probably alright, everything is better with Cake
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  moshe

  Madonna has split from the Kaballah center- just as the IRS starts sniffing around.
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  White Dove

  Seems like saying it's cultish is like saying the Bible is cultish.

  I would imagine that someone could take the Bible and form a cult around it.

  Same with Kabalah.

  One could take the ideas and form a cult around it.

  No, Kabalah in and of itself is not cultish any more than the Bible is.

  The Bible's not religion, either, but someone could form a religion around the Bible.
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  freetosee

  You're right, White Dove! Its the people who make the cult.
  
  The main reason I went was to meet the people and to get the opportunity to ask them questions. That is why I enjoyed this experience and am thinking about visiting other religious groups. I have never been to a synagogue or mosque. I'm even thinking about visiting the mormons, but somehow have mixed feeling about that.