The Sermon On The Mount

Articles

The Sermon On The Mount

By Hal von Luebbert
Oct. 25, 2005

Let’s make clear at the outset that my interest in Tom Keyes article “Debunking the Sermon on the Mount” isn’t about religion or creed. I not only don’t believe that the man Christianity calls Jesus rose from the dead (unless we speak figuratively), raised the dead, or walked on water, I know his name wasn’t Jesus. I happen to be a historian, and I KNOW what his name was.

More, and perhaps on the other hand, I’m scientist enough to know that virgin birth is not only possible, it has probably happened a number of times since man appeared on earth. In other words childbirth by a virgin doesn’t necessarily mean that god was your father – unless, of course, we speak figuratively again.

Probably the worst thing that could have happened to mankind and its history where "the son of god" is concerned was religion.

What I AM interested in is the way Mr. Keyes holds forth on a subject he apparently is ill-prepared to discuss, at least as a historian, scientist, or logician. I’ve written to Tom (if I may), incidentally, to advise that I intend to deal with his contentions in detail on my website, but I will attempt the same, in précis, here. Point by point, to answer his treatise would take many pages - etymological and historical basis in each instance necessarily being what it is.

What I take issue with where Tom’s asseverations are concerned is the offense they are to good reasoning and logic. The proof he gives by way of “debunking” falls logically for both irrelevant conclusion and division. To prove, for instance, that some people are cruel does not in any way mean that all people are cruel, or that one ought not expect mercy from humankind. In fact, that the merciful obtain mercy is an observation of a human trait that nearly every human being learns sooner or later to exploit. It is so common a human experience that adage after adage observes it, from the story of Androcles and the Lion to the story of Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. And many, many more. History is replete with examples and proof.

Taken one at a time, and reduced to their original meanings by examination of the original Aramaic, the beatitudes prove in most instances to be simple statements of fact. That the Meek shall inherit the earth, for instance, is also an obvious fact of nature – a pre-statement of evolution, even – when you realize that the word “meek” is best translated in today’s English (and St. Jerome’s original translation of the Aramaic into Latin) is “adaptable,” “flexible,” “able to change.”

Even the first of the beatitudes proves factual, once one has gone to the lengths necessary to experience it (sometimes called “a posteriori” proof). The Aramaic word that is translated as “poor” means “bent down,” “afflicted,” “powerless.” The beatitude says these people will have (or have) the Kingdom of Heaven, and little research is required to learn that by the latter is the place where men find their fellow hungry and give him food, thirsty and give him something to drink, et cetera.

And as to the rest of "The Sermon," the fact is that it was instrumental in my having been able to save my son from suicidal depression. When his father was financially ruined by the federal government and its tax collection methods, Aaron – who had been made to believe by his capitalist nation and society that the poor were “losers” – saw no reason to live any longer. When, further, all of modern psychiatric treatment (around a quarter of a million dollars worth) had failed, I went and got my son, and we went to live among the poor. In Babler State Park, northeast Missouri, Aaron reached the nadir of his depression; and I, his father, needed desperately something to save him. “It’s all a lie, isn’t it?” he demanded. “Mom, God, the Bible, my country, all of it. Lies.”

Unable to handle it all (“Mom” and his country were outside the realm of possibility at the time) but fairly well-read in the Bible, I chose it. “Look,” I said, “everything in the Bible comes down to the story of judgment and the Sermon on the Mount. And that’s either true or it isn’t. The way you find out about anything, whether the plane will fly or the boat float, is to try it. That means we live the way it says there. I think it makes sense. It’s a fact of human psychiatry and behavioral studies that a human being can only think about, concentrate on, one thing at a time. That means that it you’re thinking about someone else’s trouble, you can’t be thinking about your own. That simple.”

Knowing that I had to go into St. Louis – we were down to twenty-three dollars, and I had an investigation assignment from an insurance company – and that my son might very well kill himself (he had already tried), I said, “This park is full of homeless people – people who need help. You find somebody who needs help, and help them. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Aaron found someone in real trouble, and when I got back several hours later, he was helping them, and he was fine. A few days later, we went into St Louis and had a calling card printed up. Its blazon was a chess knight and the words “Knight Errant” (the name of my website, some will notice). On the back of the card were printed the words, “If you are in great trouble, and no one will help, I will. No charge – just be a good person and don’t lie to me.”

We helped a lot of people, and it’s what my book, “Letters to Aaron” is all about. The Sermon on the Mount is the truth. And while I'll admit it took me a while to realize why, I know because I have lived it now for twenty years.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I mentioned that one here already.

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.” I also spoke of this one – it’s obviously true (it’s also judo, you know – the “gentle,” i.e., the adaptable win).

“Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.” I should think that this one would also be obvious. Today it’s even a school of whales in Australia. There will always be people willing to give you comfort when you’re down. They’re everywhere.

“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.” I hope this one’s true; it’s what I’m after. And I’m winning, pal – ask the IRS.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” A thousand times. For twenty years, I have never walked past anyone, or anything in need. I never go anywhere that I don’t make absolutely certain that the place and people are better for my having been there. Hard, fast rule – even if it’s just pick up litter. And nothing the government did to destroy me succeeded because I got help from everywhere. I still do. Use of this computer, for instance, is a gift.

“Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.” If you’ve never seen god, come find me, and I’ll show him to you in a way you cannot refute. (That he exists, you know, has been proved by one of the best quantum physicists on earth. The physicist is Dr. Frank J. Tipler, his proof is irrefutable (it’s stood now for more than ten years), and book is entitled, “The Physics of Immortality.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Well, that’s what I call them. What do YOU call them?

“Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Same reason as the fact that the poor help you when you’re poor, and the way that counts – down in the dirt with you.

Oh, I forgot one thing: Tom, you mix apples and oranges (that’s also fallacious logically, you know) with your attempt to debunk by showing contradiction in the statements having to do with “light before men,” etc. Most of us know the difference between boasting and accomplishment. Those of us who have lived among both the rich and the poor (in the month of April, 1974, I made $1,764,239.17) know the difference between million or billion dollar grants, or giving a million dollars to charity, or federal welfare programs, and what the poor do for the poor. You wouldn’t, I guess - you have to have been there.

So, my friend, as one disbeliever where religion is concerned to another, you’re all wet. That’s not really your fault, though, because, like I said, there are some things you have to do to know. I live the Sermon on the Mount, like “the birds of the air,” and “the lilies of the field,” every day. And do you know what? I may be the happiest man alive. I'm free, REALLY free. Where government and most people are concerned, I’m untouchable, invulnerable, invincible. “You can’t rule the innocent,” Ayn Rand said. There’s a corollary. You can’t rule a man who isn’t in debt, either. The poor are impossible to rule, and it’s simple (not easy) to prove.

I do just what I please, when I please. I have stood up to a nation, the nation many people call the most powerful on earth (they’re all wet, there, too – the truth is that it’s a beached whale). I have taken everything they could throw at me, eaten it up, spit it out, and come back for more. And that’s on the record, amigo, on the record.

You see, the truth is that we ALWAYS get what we ask for. We ask with our continuing thoughts, our deepest wants, the way we live, with our lives, and the result is inevitable. There is no way around that logically, either. You just haven’t thought about it enough (ask any professor of philosophy, study game theory, theoretical mathematics, or a dozen more the like).

And the Golden Rule. Well, if the reasoning and logic of that one aren’t apparent, obvious, nothing I can say will make a difference. But whether we finally become what it takes to live according to the Golden Rule will decide whether we endure as a life form. That’s just another self-evident fact, too.

And while much – perhaps all - of what I’ve said here is anathema to religion, it is perfect science. I tried it, and proved it.

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About the author: Hal von Luebbert is a retired soldier, private detective, bodyguard, and - recently - high school teacher. In 1978, the US government in its IRS avatar destroyed his business and family. In 1985, when he had recovered and remarried, they did it all again, this time driving a teenage son to three attempts at suicide. A war ensued, and when von Luebbert counterattacked federal murder attempts with electronic and personal surveillance proving massive governmental crime, a US District Court protected their federal empoyers by ruling his records exempted under the Freedom of Information Act by the national secrets exemption. US Senators and national media forwarded proof of federal crime like mayhem, murder, rape, and extortion to commit rape protected their masters by concealment of the evidence and personal silence. Protected still by evidence of federal crime, together with the fact of large numbers of remaining witnesses available for subpoena, von Luebbert lives mostly in the wild in Texas and states where concealed handgun laws make it possible for him to defend himself with lethal force. He is also a sixth degree black belt and three time national judo champion. His new website is www.judoknighterrant.com

Email: judoknighterrant@yahoo.com

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