How easily we believe what we’re told through gossip, the modern Media and the Scriptural News of old slanted to steer behaviours through trained perspectives, beliefs and World Views. Even our questions are coloured lines, patterned attitudes and contained beliefs- those old ‘boxes’ in which we see Life and from within which we create our collective and individual experiences. When we choose to step out of one such box created in a distant past, we often jump into another. Out of the box, we become a threat to the ‘status quo’ as heretics, unbelievers, doubters, exiles and outcasts.

I am reminded of Hagar, the ancient bondwoman of Sarah, wife of Abraham- a tribal chieftain who entertained the ‘men of God’ with food and drink and who agreed to a pact, a contract to fight in their wars in return for great promises. The identities of these men who ate, drank and threw bones to predict and tell fortunes have been translated now as ‘messengers of God’ and as ‘angels’ and as ‘God’. I am guessing that they were actually part of some ancient religious order with ties to extraterrestrials fighting for control of Earth. Just a guess, of course. I could be wrong.

Hagar is portrayed as a jealous servant who deserved to be cast out of the camp with her child to die in the desert when Sarah had given birth to her own son. He was to be the ‘rightful heir’ to promises of power, riches and many offspring with the help of these ‘angels of God’, ‘messengers’, ‘men of God’. The Scriptures ‘testify’ to this ‘contract’ of promises in return for warriors.

Seen from another perspective, Hagar was an Egyptian ‘bond-gift’ given to serve Sarah, the beautiful woman desired and favoured by the Pharaoh of that time. Hagar was forced to serve Sarah, attend to her needs like combing her hair- a personal attendant much like later ‘ladies of the court’. Hagar was forced to have sex with Sarah’s husband, believing false promises, in order to produce a surrogate child for Sarah by her command. Then, when Sarah, herself, was ‘miraculously’ inseminated, suddenly fertile, giving birth to her own child, both Hagar and her offspring became a threat to Sarah and her son. An excuse to be rid of them was easily created. Such circumstances with intrigues have been repeated in places of power throughout history.

Hagar was made into a symbol of powerless bondage and slavery while Sarah became a symbol of freedom, grace and God’s favour- all to justify and sanctify struggle for power ‘rightly won’.The consequences of these ancient actions have spread ripple effects through time even to this day.

From Sarah’s perspective, she did what was ‘right and just’ for herself and her son. Hagar was in bondage and had no rights, especially the right to glorified power, so Hagar was ‘in the wrong’ to assume power for her son despite false promises made to her by Abraham and Sarah herself. I am guessing that it did not ever occur to Sarah that bondage and slavery itself was ‘wrong’ and spiritually unjustifiable. The primitive culture of her time and of primitive cultures before her had accepted and lived in those ‘boxes of belief’ that bondage and slavery were acceptable, right, just,and the ‘will of their God’ as told by ‘men of God’. She’d believe this without question.

It’s amazing how men and women of intelligence fail to question the ‘status quo’’ even today. It’s also amazing how men and women of intelligence fail to see the ample contradictory evidence of a capricious God of Love and Condemnation, Love and Damnation, of Loving and Hating, of Comforting Grace and Angry Revenge, of Ultimate Power and Complete Powerlessness except through Fear and Need for Sacrifice- both animals and human life. Such versions and visions of the Creator, God, were brought to us by ‘men of God’ in many ancient cultures. How great the needless suffering has been because of this!

We must rise out of our ‘boxes of beliefs’ to a higher perspective, like a higher view seen of the Earth, a higher World View, and come to realize that we are all one, a unity of Life expressing diversity. Then we shall see God everywhere through new eyes, new ‘I’s’, as a more highly evolved Humanity. The assumption here is that we don’t destroy ourselves and our precious home planet first.

November 13, 2022

Shelley Audrey Wilson

Victoria, BC