THE THEOLOGY OF THE MIND

a Return to Sanity in Religion

"As a man thinketh, so is he --" Solomon Paraphrased.

Solomon's Wisdom

Proverbs 23:1-7

Unpacked

THE BIBLICAL SOLOMON, IDENTIFIED BY THE BIBLE AS THE "WISEST MAN OF HIS ERA", DISAGREED WITH WHOEVER WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING EVE, MOTHER OF CIVILIZED HUMANS, RESPONSIBLE FOR EVIL AND SIN BECAUSE SHE DESIRED WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

by Dr. Bob Holt, MD

      Solomon (ruled 968-928) counts as one of the wisest men in the ancient world. His wisdom is celebrated in the story where he decides who is the true mother of a disputed baby. Solomon may have written the Biblical Song of Songs, the Book of Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. He is thought to have been a real, historical figure.

      Solomon was the last king of the United Monarchy (Judah and Israel). He built the temple in Jerusalem. His parents were King David and Bathsheba. King Solomon had great wealth and is credited with a large number of wives as well as concubines. He may have had copper mines.

     Solomon ruled for 4 decades, dying, perhaps, at age 52.

Also Known As: Jedidiah (= "beloved of Yhwh"), according to Jewish Encyclopedia.com Solomon, which says Solomon means peaceful.

Examples: Biblical sources on the reign of Solomon are the Books of II Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.

Startled by a Loud Voice

in My Head!

Now I'm not your usual psychotically unstable person that wanders around town hearing voices when no one around within eyesight is talking and No, I wasn't wearing an earphone

and a battery-operated radio or mp3 player!

    I did, however, have my laptop on my lap sitting sideways on my living room couch with a blanket because it was cool.  I was typing away with one finger the words that usually come into my mind when I'm writing something of a religious nature.  Often to put on my web-site but not always.   As I was typing down these words, usually coming along quietly as thoughts usually do I was startled by something different.

A very LOUD THOUGHT, as loud as a VOICE speaking into my head --out loud!  And what it said was this --

"As a Man thinketh, so is he!"

That's great, I thought.  It was just what I needed to write next in what I was writing, so I wrote it down.  But the LOUDNESS, and the startled feeling haunted me for a few moments and I decided to LOOK IT UP.

Who said that?  I thought.  I should know.  Maybe Jesus. Sounded like something Jesus might say.

When I "heard it" and hear it I did, not just "thought it", it seemed to me to be an Exact Quote, not just a paraphrase, and I was sure I'd find it in Strong's Concordance.  Exact.  Not a paraphrase.

 I couldn't find it.   What a shock! What a disappointment.  "As a man thinketh so is he" -- is not in the King James Bible.  Not in those words, anyway.

I WAS SAVED FROM FAILURE IN MY IMMEDIATE SEARCH IN STRONG'S CONCORDANCE BY THE FACT THAT "THINKETH" IS AN OLD ENGLISH WORD, WHICH APPEARS ONLY SIX TIMES IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE.   THE TEXT I WAS LOOKING FOR WAS

Proverbs 23:7

"As a Man Thinketh" is a literary essay by James Allen, published in 1902.

Basis of the book

The title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". The full passage, taken from the King James Version, is as follows:

"Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words."

While the passage suggests that one should consider the true motivations of a person who is being uncharacteristically generous before accepting his generosity, the title and content of Allen's work refer to the reader himself.

Allen's essay is now in the public domain within the United States and most other countries. It was released October 1, 2003 as a Project Gutenberg edition.

About the book

This book, written in terms of the responsibility assumption, opens with the statement:

"Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass."
I DECIDED TO PUT JAMES ALLEN'S ESSAY ON THIS WEB-SITE, WHICH I DID, ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE -- AND THEN TURN BACK TO SOLOMON'S ORIGINAL WORDS WHICH ARE NOT OF A POSITIVE SORT, BUT NEGATIVE.  SOLOMON WAS TELLING US TO WATCH OUT FOR A CERTAIN TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL AND I RECOGNIZED THE APOSTLE PAUL RIGHT AWAY!

 

Proverbs 23:1 "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:  2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite."

3 "Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are DECEITFUL meat.

4 "Labour not to be rich: cease from thy own wisdom.  5 "Wilt thou set thine eyes on that which is not?  for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven."

6 "Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an EVIL EYE, neither desire thou his dainty meats."

7 "For as he THINKETH in his HEART, so is he: Eat and drink saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."

AS I TOLD YOU EARLIER, WHEN THIS VOICE IN MY HEAD STARTLED ME BY BEING SO LOUD, AND I LOOKED UP THE WHOLE TEXT IN STRONG'S AND THEN THE KING JAMES' BIBLE, I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF THE APOSTLE PAUL.

TO FIND OUT WHY, YOU'LL NEED TO CLICK ON THE NEXT PAGE!

SAINT PAUL'S CONFESSION!

Click Here!

    

  

       A RETURN TO THE EARLIEST BELIEFS OF CIVILIZED MANKIND, AND THE RELIGION AND PRIVI-LEGES OF ADAPA, WHO FREELY WALKED AND TALKED WITH HIS GOD, AND WAS ENCOURAGED TO USE HIS MIND!

 

We can be FREE to THINK, and CHOOSE what we wish to become - following the MOTTO or Proverb --

 

"As a man thinketh, so is he."

Original wording --"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he;--" Solomon  Pr 23:7