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This engraving, ''The Dove Sent Forth from the Ark" by Gustave Dore, shows
that Noah took the message he received from God seriously, building the ark to
protect two of each species from a devastating flood. |
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As Roman rule diminished in the third and fourth centuries A.D., a philosophy called Gnosticism began to form. Its theories are close to what is now call the "occult." Gnostic teaching stated that the "stars are gods" and that only The Chosen (highest spiritual beings) are capable of receiving divine knowledge. As the Dark Ages set in, records of this and other ancient belief systems disappeared, leaving people in the dark about many aspects of these fascinating traditions. |
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Jewish Mysticism and the Kabbalah |
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At about the same time that the New Testament and Christian religions were forming, the Jewish religious tradition developed its own form of mysticism. The Kabbalah, from the word meaning "received love," is a mystical movement that also contains a magical side. It includes the use of amulets, charms, rituals, and combinations of letters and numbers reported to have sacred powers. |
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