The business of theology

Rev. Dr. Corey Minatani, M.Div. Submitted for Consideration for Publication to the American Prison Writing Archive on 7-31-21 Word Count 3367 The Business of Theology Nearing the end of my incarceration, after a long nine years, I’ve tried to imagine what exactly I want to do upon release; during my incarceration I’ve received certification in building maintenance technology, life-skills computing, small business entrepreneurship, business core, supervisory management, 6 Sigma, theology, and paralegal studies. Now, what can I do with that? One of the arguments for felons taking classes in business while in prison is to become our own boss; I’m not sure if the argument is that we cannot work well with others, or no one will hire us, or that we can somehow manage our own schedule like we previously did in prison. For myself, I’ve noticed there are a lot of drug-dealers and fencers of stolen goods; I’m not sure about giving inmates more specific training in business skills to become better criminals. Whatever is behind the ‘genius’ of allowing inmates business classes at the college-level, I for one not being a drug- dealer or thief, appreciate the opportunity. When our assignments ask for a business proposition, I’ve heard many crazy and nefarious ideas presented by my peers, let’s call them. From homosexual strip clubs to Food Trucks peddling Prison Recipes, I don’t understand why the instructors allow such nonsense. As a former college instructor, I feel that prison college instructors tend to be sensitive to inmate response; I believe they do not want the inmates to face rejection and stifle their creativity. Oftentimes, I know these inmates are pulling the instructor’s leg with their business concepts. My point is that it is very difficult to present to the class a legitimate business that might actually be couched in logic and practicality. For me, I had three goals to create upon my leaving prison: • Create a legitimate church. The Judeo-Christian Coalition Church. • Create an online seminary. Biblical Integrity Online Seminary (BIOS). • Create a religious publishing company. The Association for Biblical Integrity and Truth in Evangelism (ABITE). Once the church is legitimately situated within the legal confines of the State and Federal government, I can approach the State for registration of a seminary which stems from the church, as the church’s non-profit status allows this. After this, I wish to publish some of my own work and the work of others in spiritual matters; due to the opportunities offered by the American Prison Writing Archive (APWA) and Prison Journalism Project (PJP), I wanted to take my writing to a professional level which also dovetailed with my educational training. Years ago, I worked with local and international martial artists in my research organization, the Washington Research Council of Martial Arts (WRCMA). In 2005, I collected and edited a number of martial science submissions to compile them in our first research journal. Like the work with WRCMA, I now wish to develop budding writers in theology and ministry. My first jaunt beyond APWA and PJP in terms of publishing would be Biblical studies. There are many issues I have with Biblical studies and various translations of the Bible, especially in the United States. More often than not, they tend to bend or twist Scripture to meet their dogmatic teachings; this is fine, of course, but my goal is to present Scripture as it is: raw. Whatever it says, it says. If someone doesn’t like it, talk to God! The point is to present a clear picture, without any opinions, feelings, or emotions bled into the reading of the Scripture (known as Eisegesis). During my days at the University, competing for a BA degree in Philosophy, I took a class in something called Phenomenology. In short, it asks the observer to let the subject of observation or conceptual design speak for itself. Don’t add anything, don’t take anything away. Simple, right? Not in theology. The following is an excerpt of my Biblical study on the Book of Enoch. Today, it is an infamous text that is to be eschewed. During very ancient times, this book was celebrated. Why? It has heroes as Angels, and Angels as villains doing evil. It is not clean-cut, nor tidy; like life, in the words of Hobbs, it is nasty, brutish, and short. However, I think there may be a market for this material. Without further ado, I present the study: Naughty, Naughty Angels. [image of three intersecting circles within a square] Naughty, Naughty Angels: A study of the hierarchy of God, Angels, and Sin By Corey Minatani, M. Divinity What is the Book of Enoch? Answer: A collection of Holy Scriptures removed from the normal study of God. Normally considered Apocrypha for modern Judaism, Catholicism and Protestant Christianity. • Apocrypha in Greek means hidden, as in hidden away. The early Jews and Christians hid it due to the knowledge it contained. • Apocrypha in Latin means spurious or not genuine. After 325 AD, the Church did not want regular people to know this material; the Jewish rabbis only allowed Apocryphal scriptures to be read by the most advanced scholars. After 1000 AD, it was simply never mentioned as part of the Jewish canon; before this, Enoch was a celebrated document. • Take-away: Depending upon the church or synagogue teaching, Enoch was hidden away (gnostic or secret teachings), denounced as heretical or false (early Christian church), or forgotten in time (e.g. Jews). Why study the Book of Enoch? Answer: • To understand the origins of Sin. • To understand the reasons for The Flood. • How Angels became Demons and the nature of Sin. • To understand the hierarchy (to some degree) of Angels and God. • What a righteous man to God really is. Where does the Book of Enoch come into play in the Bible? Answer: • The story comes into effect in Genesis Chapter 6; however, the Book of Enoch tells a backstory of what happened in between Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. • Satan (i.e. demons) appears in Job and I Chronicles; this gives us a picture as to what Satans’ job is on earth. Technically, all fallen angels are Satans, aka demons. • Angels have various jobs to do as well. Understanding their job enables us to see how God works in the world. Angels are not always Mr. Nice. • Sin originated with one of the fallen angels known as Azazel. According to Enoch, we can blame all sin on him! This is maybe where we got “the devil made me do it!” (See 1 Chronicles 21 with King David). However, this contradicts the Medieval Christian idea of “Original Sin,” blaming Adam and Eve; in Enoch, we find out about ‘the serpent’ and it’s not Lucifer, but one called Azazel, an angel from the Serpent race! • The Government of God is complicated. According to Jesus, no one has seen the Father except the Son; this is true even for Jews. However, many people either ‘talk’ to God through His agents or see Him through His agents. For example, in Genesis 1, Elohim is translated as God; but Elohim is plural because they use “we.” In Genesis 2, Yahweh and Lord Yahweh is translated as Lord and Lord God; in Job, Job speaks with a Yahweh and a Yahweh from the Tempest. In I Chronicles, David is speaking to Elohim (God), and the very next verse, Yahweh (Lord) tells Gad to speak to David! Apparently, this was clear in the older days, but has been clouded over during the following centuries, translations, and interpretations. • The Book of Enoch tells us really what to avoid in terms of Sin. In Genesis Chapter 4, God tells Cain Sin can be mastered; this means, you are not born into Sin. In addition, Enoch tells us Sin was taught to us by the naughty angels. Doing what they taught plants Sin in one’s life! Also, the naughty angels taught their wives witchcraft. This is why God tells us ‘we shall not suffer a witch.’ It goes to say what the wives of the fallen angels learned, and that was unholy unto God. Therefore, bad and a Sin. Additionally, Enoch tells us the wives of the fallen angels were turned into sirens. • The Book of Enoch tells why two scapegoats must be presented; one for God and one for Azazel. Apparently, according to God, demons can ‘eat’ sin! We see this in Leviticus 16, but many Protestant Bibles omit Azazel and mention only the wilderness. Outside of bordered lands (e.g. city), this is called a wilderness and it’s where demons hang out (e.g. in Job). Sometimes demons gain entry into a city, as Jesus dealt with Legion! • Lastly, the Book of Enoch tells us Hell was the place for the fallen angels once their penance on earth was complete (70 generations). The demons were to stay in Hell forever! Sheol was the place where people went when they die; on the day of final judgment, they will rise and be judged. Angel’s Mission, Jurisdiction, and Characteristics Michael (Leader): • Bind the leader of the fallen angels, Shamyaza and the rest of the fallen ones. • Set over the best part of mankind and over chaos. • Considered merciful and long-suffering. • One of the Holy angels under the Lord of Sprits. Raphael: • To Bind Azazel and throw him into the darkness in the desert. Azazel is mentioned in the • Catholic Bible in Leviticus 16, but never in Bibles based on the King James Version from • 1611! Back then, the idea was to say a demon’s name was to summon him! Never a • good idea, so they opted to remove him from our modern Bibles. • Set over the spirits of men. • Set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men. • One of the Holy angels under the Lord of Sprits. • Appears as a man going on adventures in the Book of Tobit. Uriel • As Michael and Raphael where binding the demons, Uriel was to notify Noah, a • blameless man (i.e. Sinless) before God, and let him know about The Flood. • Set over the world and Tartarus (I have no idea on what Tartarus is, sorry). Angel’s Mission, Jurisdiction, and Characteristics (Continued) Raquel: • To take vengeance on the world of luminaries. Luminaries are an object, as a celestial body (e.g. a moon or star); luminaries could also be a source of spiritual or intellectual light (e.g. scholar or monk). Gabriel: • To proceed against the bastards and reprobates. A bastard is an illegitimate child, an inferior breed or kind. A reprobate is one who is morally unprincipled and rejected by God with no hope of salvation. • To proceed against the children of fornication. Fornication is sexual intercourse between a man and a woman not married to each other. • To destroy the children of the fallen angels (aka the Watchers), who are the giants witnessed by the Israelites and King David. These giants are called the Nephilim; the suffix (-im) in Hebrew means plural or more than one! • Set over Paradise (Eden) and the Serpents and the Cherubim. The Serpent in Genesis 2 was the one who mislead Eve. The Cherubim are the angels with the fiery swords blocking the entry into Eden once Adam and Eve disobeyed. There is little to no info on the Serpents and why they are in Paradise anyway! Later, we find out Serpents can be angels. • Set over all the powers. The Book of Enoch does not tell what are the powers. • One of the Holy angels under the Lord of Sprits. Phanuel: • One of the Holy angels under the Lord of Sprits. • Set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life. Remiel: • Set over those who rise. This is Sheol, where sprits of the dead await judgment. Saraqael: • Set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. There are many spirits in the Bible who do odd jobs for God; Saraqael must manage their work. Orders of Angels: • Angels have an organization/rank called choirs. • Choirs include: Cherubin, Seraphin, and Ophannin among others. The Demons: Shamyaza (Leader), aka Jeqon: • Led astray all the Sons of God (i.e. the other angels). • Choreographed the fallen angels to conspire against God and take human women as wives. • The wives begat giant children that stood out like a sore thumb to the eyes of God. • Taught enchantments and root-cuttings. Azazel, aka Gadreel: • Taught men swords, knives, shields, and breastplates. • Taught men metallurgy and antimony (used to make alloys) • Taught men jewelry, make-up (women), dyes, knowledge of costly stones. • Taught men all the blows of death. • Led astray Eve in the Garden of Eden. This is the source of Sin according to Enoch. • An angel who is one of the Serpent race. • Considered “The Devil” in the Christian religion, working evil in the world. Amaros: • Enchantments Araqiel/Arakiba: • Signs of the earth Sariel: • Course of the moon Baraqiyal: • Astrology Ezeqeel: • Knowledge of the clouds Ramiel/Shamsiel: • Signs of the sun Kokabiel: • Constellations Penemue: • Taught men the bitter and sweet, and the secrets of bitter and sweet. • Taught men sinful teachings and to write them down; this allowed sin to be passed on to the generations through the written word. Asbeel: • Imparted evil council to the Sons of God (i.e. the other angels). Kasdeya: • Taught men the wicked smitings of spirits and demons (i.e. necromantic arts). • Taught men the smiting of the embryo (miscarriage). • Taught men the smiting of the soul. • Taught the bites of the Serpent. • Taught the smitings of noontide heat (heatstroke). • Son of the Serpent named Tabaet. • An angel who is of the Serpent race. Other Demons who fell: • Crimes of taking human wives. • Taught their wives charms and enchantments (i.e. witchcraft). • Taught the cutting of roots. • Made the wives acquainted with plants. o Rameel, Tamiel, Danel, Batarel, Ananel, Zaciel, Samsapeel o Satarel, Turel, Yomyael, Artagifa, Armen, Kokabel, Turael o Mumyal, Danyal, Neqael, Baragel, Bartaryal, Busaseyal o Hananel, Simapesiel, Jetrel, Tumael, Turel, Rumael  Many of the names of the fallen angels have a suffix of (-el) in their name. Why? They are related to or created by Elohim, which in Hebrew means gods. • Whoever the Elohim represent or their rank, usually in Scripture, they operate or are managed by Yahweh (Lord). Historically, the Jewish rabbis didn’t know what to think about all of this; all they said, no matter what Scripture says, “God is One.” Bible Selections Problems with Creation and Creations: Genesis: Enoch and Noah are without blame (i.e. without Sin) and walk with God. Genesis Chapter 1: God (Elohim) create world and man. Genesis Chapter 2: Lord God (Lord Yahweh) creates Adam and Eve and Eden. Apparently, the Archangel Gabriel is in control of this area, to include the Cherubim and Serpents. Genesis Chapter 4: God tells Cain he can master Sin. According to God, we aren’t born with it, but it lies in wait for us. Genesis Chapter 6: At this point, God has had it with the earth! Problems with Leadership in God’s Organization: Job: Job is considered blameless as well by His own declaration to Satan. Job 1:6-12: Satan is roaming the earth and patrolling it. Which fallen angel this is, we do not know. Satan literally translates as accuser, like a legal sense. Also, he is called adversary. In this verse, we see Yahweh (Lord) with the Sons of God, which most scholars take as some divine council; we should be wary of that. If the Bible says, Sons of God, it’s Sons of God. Period. Here the point is, that Yahweh, whoever He is, isn’t very omniscient; he doesn’t know what Satan has been doing, nor how all of this will turn out. Obviously, He isn’t the Father of what Jesus spoke. In the Bible, we see many of the Father’s servants make a whole bunch of mistakes. Job 38:1-39:30: At this point, Yahweh “from the Tempest” gets tired of all this moaning and groaning. I think it’s because he’s losing the bet with Satan; Job is complaining quite a bit! And we see this “good cop/bad cop” routine. In this set of verses, Yahweh yelling Job; this is the bad cop Yahweh. Job 40:1-5: Now, Yahweh (not from the Tempest) answers Job as well; this is the good cop Yahweh. Job 40:6-41:26: Then, Yahweh “from the Tempest” starts on Job again; this is the bad cop Yahweh. So, either there is two Yahweh or God is talking with Job from two different locations and also, two different attitudes towards talking with Job! The Scripture clearly denotes two Yahwehs with different approaches towards Job! Problems with Different Bible Translations: Different Bibles print entirely different things. Most Bibles based on the King James Version (1611) tend to leave out some things, especially concerning angels, demons, and the hierarchy of God. People in 1611 had different ideas about what to teach people in Christianity and Judaism. The following is a side-by-side examination of a Thomas-Nelson NKJV and the Catholic New American Bible. The Catholic Bible has the original text without omissions, and contains many more books of the Bible. Remember, this info is theology, it has nothing to do with your salvation! [left column] Thomas-Nelson NKJV Leviticus 16:6-10 Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. Leviticus 16:20-22 And when he has made an end of the atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall beat on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. [right column] The New American Bible Leviticus 16:6-10 Aaron shall offer the bull, his purification offering, to make atonement for himself and for his household. Taking the two male goats and setting them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, he shall cast lots to determine which one is for the Lord and which for Azazel. The goat that is determined by lot for the Lord, Aaron shall present and offer up as a purification offering. But the goat determined by lot for Azazel he shall place before the Lord alive, so that with it he may make atonement by sending it off to Azazel in the desert. Leviticus 16:20-23 When he has finished purging the inner sanctuary, the tent of meeting and the altar, Aaron shall bring forward the live goat. Laying both hands on its head, he shall confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and their trespasses, including all their sins, and so put them on the goat’s head. He shall then have it led into the wilderness by an attendant. The goat will carry off all their iniquities to an isolated region. When the goat is dispatched into the wilderness, Aaron shall go into the tent of meeting, strip off the linen vestments he had put on when he entered the inner sanctuary, and leave them in the tent of meeting.