Catholicism

Dear Readers,

Another delicate post, much like my post about Jehovah's Witnesses, I will talk about Catholic beliefs and why I am not Catholic. It is my sincere desire to not misrepresent the Catholic church or Catholicism. If there seems to be any misunderstandings on my part, please feel free to correct me. I am not above amending something that I have misconstrued. Unlike my post about the Jehovah's Witnesses, I could not find a direct website from them, thus Wikipedia was my main source of information. Therefore, I have all the more need for your comments to make sure that my understanding and information is correct.

Like with my other post, I will focus on the three questions of the soul:

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

Where am I going?

The Catholic church, an umbrella term I am using to refer to Catholicism in general, is comprised of an organization based around priesthood authority. Claiming lineage of this authority primarily through Peter, and therefore Christ Himself, passing down to Linus (2 Timothy 4:21) as the first recorded Pope (arguably Peter, but since he is still referred to as Saint Peter it is Pope Linus as the first Pope), then to Anacletus, Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telephorus, Hyginus, Pius, et cetera.

Under the pope are Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and Deacons. This is based much after the organization depicted in 1 Timothy chapter 3 minus the Cardinals, who are basically superior Archbishops.

It is interesting to point out that in the same chapter where this organization is set forth, there are also stipulation that are unmet in the Catholic church today, including Bishops being the "husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:2) and Deacons as well (1 Timothy 3:12). This seems contrary to the current practice of celibacy required for the station of Bishops and other clergy. However, I must admit that though this seems to be a requirement, it does appear to be closely related to the "forbidding to marry" as warned about in the following chapter (1 Timothy 4:3).

Alas, this brings us to the doctrines taught. Though they teach from the Holy Bible, many of their practices and doctrines come from tradition and other liturgy written and formulated by former Popes and other leaders, including theological counsels.

Saint Birinus Catholic Church link

One of the most famous of these counsels was that of Nicaea. From the counsel was created the Nicene Creed which decrees the nature of God as the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, Spirit of God) all as one being in order to stand apart from the polytheistic (multiple god) religions of Greece and Rome.

Madonna (Virgin Mary) from All Saints Catholic Church St. Peters, Missouri

With this monotheistic (one god) extreme of combining the Trinity into one, other doctrines were set forth, including prayers, sacraments, and other forms of worship. One of the many forms of worship that other Christians often view as idol worship is prayers to Mary the mother of Jesus and various Saints. However, in the course of my research I have been able to discern why this isn't so, or at least, why Catholics do not view it that way.

Adam's Creation by Michelangelo Sistine Chapel Censored

God created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing) in 6 literal days. Though, Catholic consign that evolution may have been the means of creating the first human body (Adam), God is responsible for creating his soul.

After Satan's fall, he tempts Adam and Eve into mortal sin. Mortal sin being unpardonable after death while venial sin is more forgivable. Baptism washes away mortal sin, thus with the fall of the human species, children have to be baptized to remove this original sin. Yet, this does not remove their agency.

Infant Baptism

While children, through baptism, have been cleansed form the original sin, there is a second conversion at 13 in which an individual expresses a personal willingness to serve God and thus, essentially, renew their baptism.

Though mortal sin can only be forgiven in this life through confession, penance, and a priest conferring absolution, venial sin can be forgiven after. This, therefore, allows for death bed repentance and thus salvation. According to Catholicism, when we die we are taken to God for judgment where we are set into one of three states of being.

Catholic Heaven as depicted in Simpsons season 16 episode 21

There is heaven (Mark 14:62), where those who are free from sin are raised in a state of "unspeakable joy that lasts forever" (wiki).

Depiction of Dante's Infero

Then there is hell, a state of eternal misery burning in fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10). Even though I find interesting the depiction of hell in Dante's Inferno, the description of nine circles is inaccurate according to Catholic theology. In this terrible state are all those who die with mortal sin remaining such as unbaptized babies, murderers, adulterers, et cetera.

Purgatory scene from 1999 The Haunting

Lastly, there is a temporary state of purgatory, where people who die with venial sins remain until they are purged by penance and prayers of others still living, on their behalf. Once they are cleansed, they are finally released to heaven or dragged down to hell. I like how this was depicted in the movie The Haunting, where an evil man clung onto children, thus holding them in purgatory with him until the demons finally dragged him down and released the children into heaven.

But what does this have to do with the "idolatry" of Saints? Because heaven is alive and well now, those who die and go there are currently alive and with God. Thus, prayers to Mary and other Saints are more like phone calls to someone not in the room. Also, with the doctrine of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, being one with God the Father, there is no mediator to plead for us in mortality other than the Saints. Wherefore, praying to Saints to ask God for blessings on our behalf is the only help we can receive beside from God directly.

With this knowledge, it also makes sense why Pope Francis recently talked about how having a personal relationship with Christ can be dangerous (youtube). It appears woven into their beliefs that without others you are alone. Without Saints pleading to God on your behalf, without friend and family at church praying for you after you die, or receive constant absolution from priests then your efforts by yourself, as an individual, could leave your soul in jeopardy.

Now that I have talked about their beliefs and even defended the Pope, lets answer the questions at hand.

Where did I come from? Our bodies are essentially those of an animal though in the likeness of God having a spirit uniquely created by God at our birth.

Why am I here? Our purpose is to not sin and worship God.

Where am I going? Depending on how well I did not sin and worshiped God, I either go to heaven or hell, everlasting bliss or misery respectively. There might be a brief stay in purgatory, but eventually it would be one of these two places.

Not having any memories before this life, personally, I could live with my mortal body being created at birth and God creating my spirit at that time, but mortality seems rather pointless, just scraping by to live and commit no grand sins in order to make it to heaven. Then in heaven, yes it is ultimate bliss, but what is the point?

It seems as though most of the incentive to keep from sinning comes from not burning in hell fire for eternity. As it stands, according to Catholicism, I would be damned to hell because I have not been baptized by their authority and thus being cleansed from the original mortal sin. It is interesting, however, to note some of that power and authority as laid out in the Holy Bible. Matthew 16:19 is Christ addressing Peter concerning the keys of authority He gives him, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

As anecdotal evidence, while on my mission I had an opportunity to talk to a Catholic who clearly had talked to missionaries before. He politely turned my companion and I away, but before closing the door he added that the "keys" to bind and loose are found in the Catholic church. I knew what he was referencing because as a missionary, we talk a bit about how the keys are restored and families can be bound or sealed together for all eternity. Thus his comment intrigued me. In all of my research of the Catholic church I have not found what they would use this authority for (if they indeed had it).

With confession and absolution it seems as though they openly exercised power to "loose" people from the binds of sin on earth and in heaven, but what do they bind? Catholic marriages are till death do they part, so they bind on earth, but NOT in heaven, where everyone is like an angel of God (Matthew 22:30) having no spouse or children but are all brothers and sisters or children of God. I truly do not know what they "bind" on earth and heaven and therefore it appears as though they do not in reality have this authority to which they profess and claim.

To sum up, though I do not think the Catholic church is God's church on the earth, I do find their desire to serve God by being proper Christians, and even their desire to pray and try to help those who have passed on to be admirable. Yet, their idea of the purpose of life leaves me much to be desired, including the results of the afterlife. It boggles my mind that God would create a spirit for a new born baby or infant only to damn it to everlasting fire and brimstone for simply not being born to a Catholic family. This philosophy portrays a God that performs much for pointless and futile reasons. Alas, with this viewpoint I recognize my bias and advise others to follow their own hearts and to pray, asking God, to learn and know truth for themselves.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Previous: Jehovah's Witnesses

Death

Dear Readers,

Today's subject is one that I feel it necessary to express my views about. It relates in great deal to how I see the world around me, why I hardly ever grieve over death.

I first got the idea of how to express and explain my understanding when a friend who I call Shorty asked me a question about death. At what point do we die? Is it when the heart stops? What happens after we die?

I replied that it was indeed a "difficult" question to answer, but as for my understanding, our spirits communicate with our bodies through our brains. Somewhere in the cerebral cortex are cells that are able to interact with our spirit. I am unsure if this is gray matter, white matter, or the basal ganglia. However, it is evident not only in science that the body is controlled by the brain, but it is by electrical impulses that cause such control through the nervous system, so also is the "head" (Christ) what leads the body (the church). (Colossians 1:18)

Now, what I understand about memories I will go into greater detail in a later post, but it will suffice me to say that one key distinction between a brain an a computer is the ability to "choose" what to think about, what memories to recall and how to recall them. A computer can be made to cause random stimuli or even "ideas" on a subject, however, a human brain can "choose" to think about something else.

Yet, like an individual sitting at a computer, that individual can choose which currents or electrical pathways to activate. Just as I am doing now, while typing my thoughts into script. Much in a similar way, our spirit interact with our bodies. The keyboard and mouse are like the parts of the brain that allow the spirit to interact with the body. Then the memory and storage for the computer is like the memory and storage of the brain. Unlike computers, biological brains are able to grow new connectors, and thus grow in storage capacity. It stores the history of things done, visuals, interests et cetera. Lastly there is the hard ware, like cameras, microphones, disk drives and the like. These the computer can use, but they are still controlled by the person at the computer. If there is something wrong with the camera (eye) then no matter how hard we push buttons we cannot get the camera to work until it is repaired or replaced. Such repairs to the body can be necessary, however, the greatest overhaul of all is the resurrection.

Now, because of a bioethics class I had a while back, I have thought about what is the decisive point of death. Indeed some people think that once the heart stops, then that is death, but then people can have their hearts restarted and come back to life. Thus the question, is that death? I don't think so, at least not in the definite sense. The heart stopping is like the power going out. No more oxygen and nutrients for the brain is equal to no more electricity to the computer. It shuts down and waits for the power to come back on. However, unlike a machine, cells die and cease to function if they are deprived for too long. Thus the spirit may linger hoping that the "power" will come back on, but when the brain itself dies, there is not much point for the spirit to linger at a "broken computer".

Therefore, death occurs, really, at brain death. Now, someone can be raised from the dead, as Christ did to Lazarus, like someone fixed the computer and the spirit came back to play. Yet, raising the dead is different from resurrection.

Comas, often times, still have brain activity only the brain is no longer in communication with the rest of the body. Kind of like if a computer freezes, it is still on, the person is at the computer, but they can not do anything on the computer. Sometimes whatever problem that caused the freeze is resolved and the individual awakes from the coma, but sometimes that does not happen and the plug is eventually pulled.

Also, there are cases of perfectly healthy people just dropping dead. This is also seen with old age, when the body is just so worn and used that the spirit simply walks away from the computer. With no more internal stimuli from the spirit, the system shuts down.

From what I have generally heard of near death experiences, and the religious aspects of it, which is mostly limited to my having watched movies like Dragonfly, Flatliners and similar media, most people find themselves in some kind of passage, a black tunnel, on a road, or at a train station like in Harry Potter. The visual symbolism is clear, of movement or transportation. Some places give you a choice to stay or move on. Often times it is the dark tunnel with a light at the end, and the individual moves or runs towards the light, but they don't make it. I would say that in these cases, the light would be God welcoming them home, while their not reaching the light is the re-establishment of whatever connection with the spirit and the body.

Sometimes there is also a guide, again similar to Harry Potter where Dumbledore was there and gave him advice, the guide may escort the spirit home, or advise them to stay. These spirits could be compared to angels of death, and can be friends, mentors, or even relatives who have passed beyond the veil of death.

These concepts work with scripture, particularly Alma 40:11 "...Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life." The emphasis I would like to add here is "taken" which could be synonymous with "escorted".

So, if physical death happens when the spirit has left the body, why are bodies "alive" meaning still breathing because of machines and other devices, even after brain death? It all depends on what you mean by life, if the spirit is connected, then it is a living soul (spirit and body together [Doctrine and Covenants 88:15]) otherwise, without the spirit, it is simply a living body. As far as I am concerned, keeping someone in this "alive" or living body state is only good for harvesting organs to help other people stay really alive. Though, I would like to emphasize that this is only in the case of brain death, not just being comatose.

Now, what about what happens after we die.

As I already quoted Alma 40:11, the rest of that chapter gives us the best straightforward insight I have found, "11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection... the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body... whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. 12... The spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where thy shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. 13... the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil... these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity... 14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection." This return to God and then consigning ourselves to a state of happiness or misery we call the first judgment, where we either feel pleased by the life we lived and our relationship to God, or feel wretched because we remember all of those willing sins that we have committed.

These two states, paradise and prison, are both states of being in what Mormons call the spirit world. Catholics would refer to this state as purgatory. This spirit world is here all around us (Gospel Principles 41), and we cannot see those spirits because spiritual matter is more fine and pure "and can  only be discerned by purer eyes" (Doctrine and Covenants 131:7-8).

Science Company Image Link

There is a valid question, however, if spiritual matter and spirits exist, why can't we see it/them and how can they both be in us and yet interact with our bodies through the brain. There is a wavelength theory, that similar to how photons of ultraviolet ray wavelength can pierce through cells and destroy DNA which either kills the cell, or in some cases cause cancer, that spirit is photons or some other particle moving at a wavelength that can only interacts with certain depths or types of other matter.

Brian Greene's depiction of 4th dimensions from the video.

Though I like that theory, there is another one that I find more complete and intriguing. The idea of the 4th dimension. Most of the natural phenomenon can be predicted mathematically taking into account the 3 dimensions of space, and the dimension of time. However, the algorithm for electromagnetic fields require the abstract idea of a 4th dimension of space. This may seem absurd, yet let us think about this a moment. Brian Greene has endeavored to try to explain the running theory about this 4th dimension in his video Brian Green: The Search for Hidden Dimensions. In this, he describes how the dimension might be so small that as we look at them, they appear 3 dimensional when they are really 4 dimensional. Much like how a piece of paper looks 2 dimensional until you get a closer look at the edge and see some, not much, but some depth.

This idea of the 4th dimension would explain how spirit matter could be all around us in these dimensions, and yet we cannot see it, and it works with the scripture about spirit being too "fine" which could mean small, like fine grain salt or sandpaper. However, it is yet incomplete. This may only be personal preference, but I enjoy the idea of a larger 4th dimension that extends out like an actual direction. I go into this all in further detail in my blog post "Gravity, Science, and the Spirit World". It will suffice me to say that whatever means, likely a combination of directional 4th dimension, miniature 4th dimension, and wavelength frequency, our spirits interact with our bodies.

It is important to note that our own spirit looks like its owner, and the body grows, if not prohibited by genetic malfunctions caused by the fall, to grow in the likeness of the spirit body (Ether 3:16). As I already said, though the spirit is in the likeness of our bodies, or rather our bodies are in the likeness of our spirits, right now, here in mortality, our spirit only interacts with our bodies through the brain. Yet, as I recently discovered and talked about in my blog post about Quickening, Resurrection, and Ectoplasm, that when we are resurrected we will have spirit in our veins. Our spirits and our bodies will be inseparably connected. This would mean that our bodies would be quickened so that our spirit will connect with our bodies in the finger, in the toe, and every cell one to another. No longer would we simply control our bodies through our brains, but we will truly be one with ourselves. How glorious that immortal body will be will depend on our righteousness and how much of Christ's light we let quicken us.

Alas, that is after the resurrection. Until that time, post-mortal life will continue. The righteous, though at peace and rest, will continue to reach out to those in darkness and bring Christ's divine light into their spiritual lives. As with this scripture from 1 Peter, Christ taught spirits in prison who had lived in the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:19-20) and "for for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (1 Peter 4:6)

Though Christ did not personally minister to those in spirit prison, they were taught, for in the three day slumber for His body in the tomb, He organized the missionary work, and the word was first ministered to those of Noah's day. (Doctrine and Covenants 138:19-21)

With this wonderful missionary work going on beyond the veil, we wonder what the point is and why it is going on. 1 Peter 3:21 gives some insight. "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" That is to say, baptism cleanses the spirit of the guilt and corruption of sins and it is in the like image of the resurrection of Christ which cleanses our bodies into immortality. "...why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15:29) This is why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performs baptisms by proxy on behalf of the dead. Baptism for the dead allows a spirit beyond the veil to accept Christ's atonement and be cleansed and redeemed from spiritual death (separation from God). Alas, it does not force Christ's atonement upon them, it merely allows them to full accept Christ and feel His peace, enabling them to rise from prison to paradise.

God does not want His children to be left in darkness. Though there are certain things that we must do to return to His presence, He will not deny us from any of them, we can only deny ourselves. Death is not something to be feared, it is simply coming home to our ever loving, ever merciful Father in Heaven and waiting the fullness of Christ's redemption to come upon us.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Bleach 2: Zampakuto and Hollows

Dear Readers,

This post is based off of the prerequisite of having read the first Bleach post. Thus, some aspects could become confusing if the Bleach 1 post is not read first.

In my last Bleach post I mentioned zampakuto, the spirits of the ausuchi or spirit swords. I wanted to talk about these spirits a little bit, but first, I will be making a comparison with Job. Specifically, when the Lord speaks to Job in chapters 40-41 and shows him the Behemoth and the Leviathan.

Job 40:15-24 Behemoth
"15. Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
16. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the naval of his belly.
17. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
18. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
19. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
20. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
21. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
22. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
24. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares."

Now that we have how the scriptures describe the behemoth, I would like to point out a couple of things. First, the Lord says that He made the behemoth with Job. That could mean that Job helped to make the behemoth, but for the purpose of my comparison, I will take a leap and say that the beast is with Job as well as made by him. The beast has strengths, a large tail, strong bones, then is compared to the ways of God. It is a good beast. Then we have the comparison of a sword and "approach[ing]" the beast. Often times Ichigo, the main character from Bleach, trained and fought with his zampakuto named Zangetsu.

Then we get a kind of description of what is the behemoth's home. Mountains, grass, trees, and a brook or river that is compared to the river Jordan. For Ichigo, his zampakuto lives in an inner world that contains skyscrapers, symbolizing his heart's joy and reaching for the sky.

Thus, the mountainous luscious area could be considered Job's inner world.

(Final Fantasy Behemoth below)

One could make the argument, that Zangetsu is humanoid, but the behemoth is some strange beast (likely the description of a hippopotamus).

Renji Abarai is another character from Bleach, who begins as a kind of neutral antagonist that later becomes a protagonist and fights along side Ichigo. Renji's zampakuto is called Zabimaru which appears as a baboon with a snake tail.

Therefore, it is not necessary for the zampakuto to be humanoid, and indeed most are not,(at least in the shikai stage). This adds credence to my comparison with the behemoth.

(Final Fantasy Leviathan below)

Then there is the Leviathan
Job 41:1, 7-8, 14-32
"1. Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
7. Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
8. Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
14. Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
15. His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
16. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
18. By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
20. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or cauldron.
21. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
22. In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
23. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
24. His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
25. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
26. The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
27. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
28. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstone are turned with him into stubble.
29. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
30. Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
31. He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
32. He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary."

We see here that the Leviathan, has so much more power than the Behemoth. The Behemoth was compared to having bones of iron and brass, but to the Leviathan, it "esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood". Thus we see the power difference that could be compared to the shikai stage of a zampakuto and the bankai stage. For, with the bankai stage, the spirit changes in its own right, or at least in appearance.

(Ichigo's bankai Tensa Zangetsu, below)

(Renji's bankai Zabimaru, below)

Remember that in order to awaken the bankai stage, one must discover that the sword of the Spirit, and its power truly reside within the individual. As we study the scripture and being to feel the power of God's word, we gain an appreciation of it. Yet, if we allow the words of Christ to be written within us, become part of us, our power becomes unimaginably stronger. Thus, Ichigo's Zangetsu no longer looks like a wise old man, but has now become young, very close to Ichigo himself in age. As for Renji's Zabimaru, it has become humanoid. Both representing how the word is becoming more relatable to them. I think that it is interesting that throughout the series, beings become more powerful by becoming more human. Adds credence to the concept that we are the children of God and are made in His perfect, all powerful image.

One should note that Ichigo's inner world has changed as well (see above). Zangetsu, who lives in this world, explained that the reason for this was all of the sadness that Ichigo has felt, all his pain, came down like rain, so heavily, that it flooded the world. In a correlated transformation, the once sky reaching buildings have become the town in which Ichigo lives. The town that houses the people he loves and wants to protect.

I think it is fitting that both Ichigo's inner world, and the Leviathan's habitat have to do with the sea (Job 41:31). Water can symbolize so many things, the tears of sorrow, as well as the washing and renewal of baptism. Indeed, if combined, we see that as we are washed clean from sin in the waters of baptism, sorrow for past sins are merged therewith and swept away. Very poetic when one compares the flooding during Noah's time as the baptism of the earth. The wicked(ness) were drowned and washed away.

Indeed, even while Zangetsu was in the shikai (old man) stage, he pleaded with Ichigo not to let the rains fall in his inner world. From the very beginning, the Spirit of God uses the light of Christ in us to plead, asking us not to commit sin which cause us suffering and pain. Yet, when Zangetsu was in the bankai (young man) stage, Zangetsu made his intentions clear, that he, Zangetsu, wants all despair to depart from Ichigo. Indeed offers to remove the "source of despair" within Ichigo's heart. I think that it is amazing, that when we perform the ordinance of baptism, we make a covenant to God that we will keep His commandments, and God promises that the Holy Ghost will be with us and will help us do this very thing. The Holy Ghost will act as a refiner's fire and purify our hearts and rid us of our sin and and the despair that accompanies it.

Now, I have not as yet mentioned the bad guy in this inner world. He is what is known as an inner hollow. His name is Hichigo (Hollow Ichigo). He represents the animalistic side of Ichigo, basically the "natural man" spoken of in Mosiah 3:7 in the Book of Mormon. In that passage of scripture it states that the "natural man is an enemy of God" so is Hichigo the enemy of all things, save it be, what Hichigo himself wants. He is an embodiment of selfishness and pride.

Once Ichigo begins training to become what is known as a visored, he battles with his inner hollow. During this course of action, Ichigo learns new ways to fight, as well as eventually defeats this darkness inside. This allows him to wear a hollow mask, which is the sign of the visored. Ichigo's mask, or the mask of a visored, I will relate to the "helm of salvation" spoken of in Ephesians 6:17. I consider it as such, because it is helm of sorts and it can represent salvation. It represents salvation not in the traditional way, the use of a halo, but rather what the salvation is from. Christ offers us salvation from all that is vile, unclean, and evil. He offers us salvation from our natural man, but first we must show our efforts and do all we can to fight our inner hollow, or natural man. I say first, because we are saved through mercy, which is the redeeming and enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. We use mercy when we repent, but when we are obedient, when we strive to follow Christ's example, that is when we take advantage of mercy by becoming something/someone better. That is what the visored mask represents to me.

A hollow mask, hollow being a spirit who's heart has been lost through the encroachment of his chains of fate, is a mask that represents the animalistic, monstrous "hunger" that the hollow has. A hunger that is fueled by the desire to fill the hole within that cannot be satisfied.

For hollows (not inner hollows), unlike other spirits, they cannot be saved though the konso or soul burial. Instead, when a shinigami slices a hollow, essentially killing it, then it is purified. In a way, the only salvation for a hollow is intervention by the power of the word of God. Cutting through and purifying the spirit.

There are also ranks or progression of hollows. If we were to temporarily compare them to demonic spirits, rather than the "familiar spirits" (1 Samuel 28:7-6) that they more likely represent, we find that Luke 11:26, which is part of Christ explaining a phenomenon, sheds light on their progression. A woman has a possessing spirit, probably a demon, expelled from her body. That demon then goes forth, wandering from place to place, and finds seven demons "more wicked than himself". He then returns with these demons and makes the woman's life worse than before. I do not think that Christ would say anything that could be untrue, even for a teaching purpose. Therefore, there are ranks of evil spirits, or demons. Satan does have an hierarchy to go with his priesthoods.

Just up from hollow is the gillian or minos grande (lesser great hollow). This creature is created from a hollow that is so hungry that it develops a taste, not only of normal spirits, but of other hollows as well. After eating enough other hollows, it transforms into a gillian. Most gillian are uniform. They loose their sense of self to the will of hunger.

On some occasions, a gillian will manage to keep its wicked will and sense of self, and use it to eat other gillians. This causes it to become an adjuchas (intermediate great hollow). These are beast like, reflecting their former hollow selves, but are much stronger.

If an adjuchas manages to stay alive long enough, devouring other hollows, it can eventually become a vasto lorde (highest great hollow). As I pointed out earlier, the stronger a being becomes, the more human it's appearance is. So it is with the vasto lorde.

Now is time to make a comparison. During Ichigo's visored training, while fighting his inner hollow Hichigo, Ichigo's body or spirit body would become hollowfied. He would become a raging hollow. First, we can see that the spirit and the mind or inner world, are not the same thing.

Later, when Ichigo is fighting an arrancar named Ulquiorra (I will talk about arrancar in a different post), Ichigo, seeming to be defeated, and again transforms into a hollow, only this time... different.

This time, his hollow has the appearance of a vasto lorde. This is also near the period that he will battle Aizen for the first time. It is here that I would like to make the point, that the more righteous we become, the more the powers of darkness combine against us. Also, the more righteous we become, the harder we fall if we become unrighteous. It is because we would be sinning against the greater light (Doctrine and Covenants 82:3). If Ichigo were to fall, now, forever, he would become a vasto lorde, the most wicked and powerful beast in hueco mundo (the hollow world, which I will also talk more about in another post). A great example of this is the Book of Mormon itself. The Nephites, who are supposed to be the more righteous people, go through the "pride cycle" so many times, that eventually they are left more wicked than their counterparts the Lamanites (Moroni 9:8-10). When the righteous fall, they become as equally wicked as they were righteous. It is also important to note that Ichigo is still using his bankai. Even Hollowfied, Ichigo is still using the word of God. That is because even the Devil uses scripture when it suits his needs, like when he was trying to tempt Christ in Matthew 4. Indeed, often when someone leaves the church, they use the scriptures to try to back up and produce anti material. Yet, for Ichigo, he did not fall, at least for good and managed to return to normal. There is always that chance for repentance, if we use it.

Sadly, I could not find a proper visual for my next point, but during Ichigo's training to be a visored, it was revealed that Hichigo and Zangetsu are part of one whole, Ichigo himself. Indeed, Hichigo and Zangetsu cannot exist in the inner world simultaneously, at least at this time. When we are beginning to become better, using the gospel of Jesus Christ and the scriptures, we have to cast aside our natural man and listen to the Spirit of God. You cannot listen to both the Spirit and the natural man. Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters..." and this is a prime example of that.

Now, to connect the two halves or yin and yang (good and evil), when Tensa Zangetsu offers to remove the "source of despair" from Ichigo, Zangetsu digs his hand into Ichigo's chest and rips out Hichigo. It is at this time that Hichigo manifests himself separate from Zangetsu.

Now is the time for a battle. Ichigo, being advised by his father to do so, is seeking knowledge from Zangetsu. The knowledge of the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshou (final heaven piercing lunar fang). Getsuga (lunar fang) is the first power that manifested when Ichigo awakened his shikai form. Getsuga Tenshou (heaven piercing lunar fang) is the power of Ichigo's bankai. I think that these names are significant, because, the sword being the word of God, means that the word is at first sharp, reaching for the moon or terrestrial glory, trying to break past this fallen telestial world, then "heaven piercing" trying to reach even higher, and then, finally, a final piercing reach into heaven, the celestial glory. Thus, what Ichigo is truly seeking here is exaltation in the Celestial kingdom of God.

Here, Hichigo and Tensa Zangetsu merge again and fight Ichigo. Indeed the toughest battle Ichigo has ever fought, and ultimately looses. This merging is different and necessary. 2 Nephi 2:27 says, "For there must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.... righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, nor holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore all things must needs be a compound in one..." When we are resurrected, we will still have bodies, with the same appetites, that same opposition. Only, we will have dominion over it. Doctrine and Covenants 93:33 "...spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fullness of joy;" That is why the resurrection is so joyous. Also, the Old Testament or Law of Moses focused on the letter of the law, what we have to do. The New Testament or spirit of the law focused on what we can do. I declare that when it comes to God's commandments, obeying the spirit of the law or the letter of the law will never bring complete fulfillment of the commandment. Only if we combine the two and live the spirit and the letter of the law, can we completely keep the commandment. Indeed, the spirit and the letter inseparably connected produce a fullness of joy.

It was with these that Ichigo fought with or wrestled with, comparing this experience to Jacob's "wrestling" with the Lord (Genesis 32:24-26). Here, Jacob wrestled seeking a blessing, just as Ichigo is wrestling for exaltation. Ultimately, Ichigo lost the battle in a way that allows him to win. This complete Zangetsu plunged his blade into Ichigo's chest, piercing his heart. We have to let God's will be done. We have to "accept His blade" into our hearts, completely, wholely, and let it change us for the better. The law of sacrifice is still valid today, but Christ does not ask us to offer up live stock. 3 Nephi 9:19-20 state this clearly. Christ, who has appeared to the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, speaks His will.
"And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood.... And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit..." Christ asks for us to willingly offer up our very hearts unto him, hearts that have been broken, through suffering and compassion.

I do not believe that we will have a heart broken enough to be an acceptable offering until we are kneeling before the judgment bar of God. When we are taken from this life, and come to a remembrance of all our sins, when our lives have been fully spent doing the will of the Father even though imperfectly, that is when Christ who sits upon the mercy seat will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) That is when we will receive the the robes of glory that are prepared for the saints (Revelations 6:11).

This does not mean that we cannot offer up our hearts to Christ, broken or not. It just means, in my opinion, that it will not be a complete sacrifice until the time of judgement.

Now, that Ichigo has given his whole heart, and received glory, we find that there are some differences.

 The first, and most distinguishable is that the chain that hung from Ichigo's bankai is now wrapped around his arm, and has formed a gauntlet on his right hand. Literally, the sword, meaning the word of God or the Spirit of God, has become one with Ichigo. He truly wields the sword of justice in his right hand (3 Nephi 29:4). The purpose of this blade is to strike down the wicked.

Ichigo goes into a final battle with Aizen. Aizen, who has gained so much power through wickedness that even the shinigami can no longer recognize his reiatsu or spirit pressure. Like trying to feel the rain when you are already under water. When Ichigo finally comes forth, Aizen is surprised, for not even he can feel Ichigo's reiatsu. He falsely surmises that somehow Ichigo found a way to remove his reiatsu in exchange for his new speed and strength, which Ichigo uses to grab Aizen's face and slam him into some mountains far out of town.

Then, during the battle, we find that mountains are being sliced clean through. Again Aizen incorrectly assumes that it is his power doing so.

Finally Ichigo uses the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshou to slice Aizen in half.

I would like to point out something here. Though I have compared Ichigo's power with glory, clearly this is not the tradition white light glory. However, we can easily compare it to the shadow and smoke that filled the temple in old testament times (Isaiah 6:3-4).

Also, Aizen was not slain nor killed. Instead the source of his power, which I will talk about in a later post, kept him alive. Yet this attack made it so that Aizen could be bound. There is a clear correlation here of Ichigo being a representation of Christ, and Aizen being a representation of Satan, and how, at the resurrection and the beginning of the millennium Satan will be bound and have no power (Revelations 20:2). That is not to say that Satan will physically be bound, but that he will have no power to tempt the hearts of God's children because they will choose righteousness. Going back and thinking of Ichigo as simply a resurrected being, imagine, an army of the saints of God all holding such power. Power that even with all of Satan's conniving and deceit, he cannot even fathom let alone compete with. Alma 48:17 says, "...if all men had been, and were, and ever will be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would be shaken forever; yea, the devil will never have power over the hearts of the children of men." All these soldiers of God standing as watch guards and sentinels here on earth being like unto Moroni. No wonder Satan would have no power. No wonder he would shrink from the very sight of the children of God and bury himself in the depths of darkness.

It is at this point, however, that one could make a mistake and learn false doctrine. In the series, because of this attack, Ichigo looses his powers, and becomes human, even less than he was before for he can no longer see spirits. Despite this loss, he works hard and finds a way to gain back most of his power. This is a cycle that most would consider reincarnation. Going through the plan all over again, just in a new life, and in a new way. I have posted about reincarnation as a false doctrine here: http://jacobugothbeliefs.blogspot.com/2015/10/reincarnation.html

Turning aside from that false doctrine, we can still appreciate the opportunity this gave for us to learn other quite amazing doctrinal precepts that were not covered earlier in the series. I will refer to those in a later post. I must admit, I can fully see why most people stopped watching the series after Aizen was defeated. The great and strongest adversary vanquished. Yet, I hope, that with my next few posts about Bleach, you will be able to appreciate the rest of the anime series as well. Again, special thanks to bleach.wikia.com for their information. Feel free to leave any comments.

Love,
Jacobugoth

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