We know very little for
certain about the Sadducees – one of the three prominent religious groups among
the Jewish people at the time of Jesus – and most of what we know about them
comes from people who opposed them (so we have to read it with a cautious eye...).
But the Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus tells us that they rejected the concept of fate,
opting instead for free-will. “And as for the Sadducees, they exclude fate and
say that there is no such thing, and that the events of human affairs are not
at its disposal. But they suppose that all our actions are in our own power, so
that we are ourselves the cause of what is good, and we suffer what is evil as
a result of our own folly.” (Antiquities
XIII, 173)
And in the New
Testament (Acts 23: 8) we discover the idea that the Sadducees rejected the
concept of angels (and presumably demons as well).
Based on that I believe
that the Sadducees were, in fact, the first Rush fans.
There are those who think that life is nothing left to chance,
There are those who think that life is nothing left to chance,
A host of holy horrors
to direct our aimless dance.
A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot
perceive.
"The stars aren't
aligned
Or the gods are
malign"-
Blame is better to give
than receive.
You can choose a ready
guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to
decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from
phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path
that's clear-
I will choose Free
Will.
There are those who
think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked
against them- they weren't born in lotus-land.
All preordained-
A prisoner in chains-
A victim of venomous
fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can't pray for a
place
In heaven's unearthly
estate.
You can choose a ready
guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to
decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from
phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path
that's clear-
I will choose Free
Will.
Each of us-
A cell of awareness-
Imperfect and
incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt
that's far too fleet.
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