Analogue 39: The First Sacrament & Naming
Analogue 39 The First Sacrament and the Naming If one goes down into the water and comes up having received nothing and then says, “I too am the Christ,” he or she is Christian in name only and has simply taken the Name “on loan.” But if he or she receives the gift of the sacred Spirit, then that Name has also been received as a gift, which can never be taken away, whereas a loan can always be recalled . The perennial problem of spiritual and religious nominalism in sacred tradition—being a Christian in name only. Anointed Consciousness versus ideological identity in religion. External authority versus inner sovereignty. The Sacred Spirit is given as the gift of true authority. The Spirit is a shared reality and altogether interior, a part of interiorized Judaism as was taught by Yeshua. Inner versus outer naming. Use of the Name—invocation of the divine Name. COMMENTARY The Jewish Rite of Conversion First century Judaism practiced a rite of conversion (also called metanoia