We can all certainly relate to feeling like we are going through a period of "bad luck" from time to time. I like to think of these tough knocks as life lessons. But, personally, I don't believe in curses. If someone told me I was living under a spell or hex that had been cast my way, I would have to just shake my head and wonder what kind of snow job that person was trying to pull over on me.
Unfortunately, every now and again, I have someone email me to ask what they can do (or what I can do for them) to undo a nasty curse someone placed on them. To believe in a curse is really about allowing outside influences to weaken your personal power. If you do believe in curses, it may very well be time to evaluate how this belief might be serving you. To hold onto the belief that you have been cursed may very well be an excuse for you not to acknowledge your personal responsibility in creating unpleasant life situations. Think about it!
Clairvoyant and healing consultant Joseph Ghabi offers an insightful article, You've Got a Curse, about how to handle advice you receive from psychics... especially when somone tells you that you are under a curse.
We can all certainly relate to feeling like we are going through a period of "bad luck" from time to time. I like to think of these tough knocks as life lessons. But, personally, I don't believe in curses. If someone told me I was living under a spell or hex that had been cast my way, I would have to just shake my head and wonder what kind of snow job that person was trying to pull over on me.
Unfortunately, every now and again, I have someone email me to ask what they can do (or what I can do for them) to undo a nasty curse someone placed on them. To believe in a curse is really about allowing outside influences to weaken your personal power. If you do believe in curses, it may very well be time to evaluate how this belief might be serving you. To hold onto the belief that you have been cursed may very well be an excuse for you not to acknowledge your personal responsibility in creating unpleasant life situations. Think about it!
Clairvoyant and healing consultant Joseph Ghabi offers an insightful article, You've Got a Curse, about how to handle advice you receive from psychics... especially when somone tells you that you are under a curse.
Apr 12, 2009
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree (Mark 11:12-14)
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Compare: Matthew 21:18,19
Jesus, Curses, and Israel
One of the more infamous passages in the gospels involves Jesus’ cursing of a fig tree for not having any fruit for him despite the fact that it wasn’t even the season for fruit. What sort of petulant individual would deliver a gratuitous, arbitrary curse? Why would this be Jesus’ only miracle in the environs of Jerusalem? In reality the incident is meant as a metaphor for something larger — and worse.
Mark isn’t trying to tell his audience that Jesus was angered at not having figs to eat — this would be very strange, given that he would have known that it was far too early in the year for that. Instead, Jesus is making a larger point about Jewish religious traditions. Specifically: it was not the time for Jewish leaders to “bear fruit,” and therefore they would be cursed by God never to bear any fruit ever again.
Thus, instead of merely cursing and killing a lowly fig tree, Jesus is saying that Judaism itself is cursed and will die off — “dry up at the roots,” as a later passage explains when the disciples see the tree the next day (in Matthew, the tree dies immediately).
There are two things to take note of here. The first is that this incident is an example of the common Marcan theme of apocalyptic determinism. Israel is to be cursed because it “bears no fruit” by not welcoming the Messiah — but clearly the tree here isn’t being given the choice to bear fruit or not.
The tree bears no fruit because it is not the season and Israel does not welcome the Messiah because that would contradict God’s plans. There can be no apocalyptic battle between good and evil if the Jews welcome Jesus. Therefore, they must reject him so that the message can more readily spread to the Gentiles. Israel is cursed by God not because of something they willfully chose, but because it’s necessary for the apocalyptic story to play out.
The second thing to note here is that incidents like this in the gospels were part of what helped fuel Christian antisemitism. Why should Christians harbor warm feelings towards Jews when they and their religion have been cursed for not bearing fruit? Why should Jews be treated well when God has determined that they should reject the Messiah?
The larger meaning of this passage is revealed more fully by Mark in the following tale of the cleansing of the Temple...
Compare: Matthew 21:18,19
Jesus, Curses, and Israel
One of the more infamous passages in the gospels involves Jesus’ cursing of a fig tree for not having any fruit for him despite the fact that it wasn’t even the season for fruit. What sort of petulant individual would deliver a gratuitous, arbitrary curse? Why would this be Jesus’ only miracle in the environs of Jerusalem? In reality the incident is meant as a metaphor for something larger — and worse.
Mark isn’t trying to tell his audience that Jesus was angered at not having figs to eat — this would be very strange, given that he would have known that it was far too early in the year for that. Instead, Jesus is making a larger point about Jewish religious traditions. Specifically: it was not the time for Jewish leaders to “bear fruit,” and therefore they would be cursed by God never to bear any fruit ever again.
Thus, instead of merely cursing and killing a lowly fig tree, Jesus is saying that Judaism itself is cursed and will die off — “dry up at the roots,” as a later passage explains when the disciples see the tree the next day (in Matthew, the tree dies immediately).
There are two things to take note of here. The first is that this incident is an example of the common Marcan theme of apocalyptic determinism. Israel is to be cursed because it “bears no fruit” by not welcoming the Messiah — but clearly the tree here isn’t being given the choice to bear fruit or not.
The tree bears no fruit because it is not the season and Israel does not welcome the Messiah because that would contradict God’s plans. There can be no apocalyptic battle between good and evil if the Jews welcome Jesus. Therefore, they must reject him so that the message can more readily spread to the Gentiles. Israel is cursed by God not because of something they willfully chose, but because it’s necessary for the apocalyptic story to play out.
The second thing to note here is that incidents like this in the gospels were part of what helped fuel Christian antisemitism. Why should Christians harbor warm feelings towards Jews when they and their religion have been cursed for not bearing fruit? Why should Jews be treated well when God has determined that they should reject the Messiah?
The larger meaning of this passage is revealed more fully by Mark in the following tale of the cleansing of the Temple...
Curses & Cursing
What is a Curse?:
A curse is the opposite of a blessing: whereas a blessing is a pronouncement of good fortune because one is initiated into God’s plans, a curse is a pronouncement of ill fortune because one opposes God’s plans. God may curse a person or a whole nation because of their opposition to God’s will. A priest may curse someone for violating God’s laws. In general, the same people with the authority to bless also have the authority to curse.
Types of Curses:
In the Bible, three different Hebrew words are translated as “curse.” The most common is a ritualistic formulation which described as “cursed” those who violate community standards defined by God and tradition. Slightly less common is a word used to invoke evil against anyone who violates a contract or oath. Finally there are curses which are invoked simply to wish someone ill will, like cursing a neighbor in an argument.
What is the Purpose of a Curse?:
Cursing can be found in most if not all religious traditions around the world. Although the content of these curses may vary, the purpose of curses seems to be remarkably consistent: enforcement of law, assertion of doctrinal orthodoxy, assurance of community stability, harassment of enemies, moral teaching, protection of sacred places or objects, and so forth.
Cursing as a Speech Act:
A curse communicates information, for example about a person’s social or religious status, but more importantly it is a “speech act,” which means that it performs a function. When a minister says to a couple, “I now pronounce you man and wife,” he isn’t just communicating something, he is changing the social status of the people before him. Similarly, a curse is a deed which requires an authoritative figure performing the deed and acceptance of this authority by those hearing it.
Curse and Christianity:
Although the precise term isn’t generally used in the Christian context, the concept plays a central role in Christian theology. According to Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve are cursed by God for their disobedience. All of humanity, according to Christian tradition, is thus cursed with Original Sin. Jesus, in turn, takes this curse on himself in order to redeem humanity.
Cursing as a Sign of Weakness:
A “curse” is not something which is issued by someone with military, political, or physical power over the person being cursed. Someone with that sort of power will almost always use it when seeking to maintain order or punish. Curses are used by those without significant social power or who simply lack power over those they wish to curse (such as a stronger military enemy).
A curse is the opposite of a blessing: whereas a blessing is a pronouncement of good fortune because one is initiated into God’s plans, a curse is a pronouncement of ill fortune because one opposes God’s plans. God may curse a person or a whole nation because of their opposition to God’s will. A priest may curse someone for violating God’s laws. In general, the same people with the authority to bless also have the authority to curse.
Types of Curses:
In the Bible, three different Hebrew words are translated as “curse.” The most common is a ritualistic formulation which described as “cursed” those who violate community standards defined by God and tradition. Slightly less common is a word used to invoke evil against anyone who violates a contract or oath. Finally there are curses which are invoked simply to wish someone ill will, like cursing a neighbor in an argument.
What is the Purpose of a Curse?:
Cursing can be found in most if not all religious traditions around the world. Although the content of these curses may vary, the purpose of curses seems to be remarkably consistent: enforcement of law, assertion of doctrinal orthodoxy, assurance of community stability, harassment of enemies, moral teaching, protection of sacred places or objects, and so forth.
Cursing as a Speech Act:
A curse communicates information, for example about a person’s social or religious status, but more importantly it is a “speech act,” which means that it performs a function. When a minister says to a couple, “I now pronounce you man and wife,” he isn’t just communicating something, he is changing the social status of the people before him. Similarly, a curse is a deed which requires an authoritative figure performing the deed and acceptance of this authority by those hearing it.
Curse and Christianity:
Although the precise term isn’t generally used in the Christian context, the concept plays a central role in Christian theology. According to Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve are cursed by God for their disobedience. All of humanity, according to Christian tradition, is thus cursed with Original Sin. Jesus, in turn, takes this curse on himself in order to redeem humanity.
Cursing as a Sign of Weakness:
A “curse” is not something which is issued by someone with military, political, or physical power over the person being cursed. Someone with that sort of power will almost always use it when seeking to maintain order or punish. Curses are used by those without significant social power or who simply lack power over those they wish to curse (such as a stronger military enemy).
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