Sacrament, Sacrament

Another way of looking at Sacraments is that they are an external and physical sign of the conferral of Sanctifying Grace. Catholic Encyclopaedia: "Sacraments" http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13295a.htm Throughout the Christian faith views concerning which rites are sacramental, that is conferring sanctifying grace, and what it means for an external act to be sacramental vary widely. Other religious traditions also have what might be called "sacraments" in a sense, though not necessarily according to the Christian meaning of the term.

Protestant denominations, both sacramental and non-sacramental, almost invariably affirm only these two as sacraments, traditions, or ordinances; although they may also practice some or all of the other traditional sacraments as well whilst not acknowledging the action of divine grace in the external form.

The Sacraments. Obtained online at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13295a.htm Regarding the validity of the sacraments, however, The Catholic church teaches that: All sacraments must have proper matter , form , and intention . The form is the sacramental sign, the verbal and physical liturgical action, e.g. the "this is my body" spoken during communion. The matter is the part of the sacrament to which something is done, the physical objects, e.g. the waters of baptism (although not all physical objects used in administering a sacrament are considered essential matter).

Also, a child who is pretending to baptize another child would not confer a valid baptism upon that child, because his intention is to play, not to baptize. The importance of intention also shows that while the sacraments are effectual in and of themselves, they are not magic whereby God works against our will.

Some lists of the sacraments taken from the Church Fathers include the Consecration of a Church, Monastic Tonsure, and the Burial of the Dead. Meyendorff, J. (1979). The Sacraments in the Orthodox Church, in Byzantine Theology . Obtained online at http://www.lasvegasorthodox.com/library/Orthodox_Practices/The_Sacraments.htm More specifically, for the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christian the term sacrament is a term which seeks to classify something that may, according to Orthodox thought, be impossible to classify. The Orthodox communion's preferred term is Sacred Mystery . While the Catholic Church has attempted to dogmatically define the sacraments, and discover the precise moment when the act results in the manifestation of the grace of God, the Orthodox communion has refrained from attempting to determine absolutely the exact form, number and effect of the sacraments, accepting that simply that these elements are unknowable to all except God. According to Orthodox thinking God touches mankind through material means such as water, wine, bread, oil, incense, candles, altars, icons, etc. How God does this is a mystery. On a broad level, the mysteries are an affirmation of the goodness of created matter, and are an emphatic declaration of what that matter was originally created to be.

In this sense, Baptism and Eucharist are the "precepted, primary, and principal sacraments ordained for our salvation." and the other five sacraments are lesser, deriving their efficacy from the former.

It is a neologism derived from the Greek language meaning 'manifesting the deity within'. Entheogenic sacraments have been utilised since very ancient times up to the modern age and have been determined through the application of the scientific method in diverse fields including anthropology, linguistics/cryptography, and cognitive sciences to be a central aspect of all world religions including the Catholic faith (which most Christian organisations have hierarchically inherited as the source for understanding and the context of Ritual and Eucharist).

Entheogen practitioners generally believe that the practice of sacraments are essentially grounded in identical religious rituals which bring one mystical communion with people, nature, and the spirit. Many often believe that it is the will of higher beings that humans achieve greater understanding through the entheogens (the being or beings God/Angels/Saints are often a central part of many rituals and appear to require respect, admiration and even in some cases worship as a prerequisite for the rites to occur). The primary difference in entheogen rituals may be based on the cultural limitations which determine the means of attaining communion. Further complexities arise in relation to the understanding of theology, spirituality, ritual etc. Included in this diverse grouping of religious preferences are Odinism, Cyberisan Shamanism, Paganism, Witchcraft, Gnosticism and even ancient Semetic, Indo-Aryan, Ethiopic traditions.

The following traditions utilise a substance (or substances used in conjunction as in the case of Ayahuasca and others) which when ingested are believed by their practitioners to cause, facilitate or catalyse a communion with The Divine: The Native American Church utilises The Holy Peyote Sacrament as a means of communion with the Great Father. The NAC has rituals and ceremonies which involve the use of peyote as the flesh of god. It is believed that the biblical Manna which was provided for the ancient Isrealites is indistinguishable from the same spiritual gift of Peyotl which was given by Great Father as a gift to humanity. The NAC and UDV share the belief that The Bible is the written word of God, in addition to the belief that the sacraments are messengers of his will.

The ritual ingestion of a holy sacrament which contains the active principal dimethyltryptamine which is a molecular progression of the of the endogenous neurochemical pathway and is a central tool of accessing the profound mystical revelation of the divine. This ritual is privately held and involves only those individuals that are members of the organisation. Respect should always be maintained in regards to the sacraments and rituals of any tradition for they are the central and core tenants that are the most holy to those who practice them.

For your own personal safety always be cautious; be ready to learn from your elders Medical Doctors, Brahmins, Priests who may know far more than you. Always make informed decisions involving your health and safety. If you are in a state with laws involving a ban or prohibition on your sacraments be sure to follow the law of your religion and state accordingly and be prepared to either keep your practice secret or be well informed about the role that such substances play in your religious beliefs. Be prepared to be labeled a heretic by commoner's rhetoric, the accusations from the religious establishment and brutal punishment by your government for your beliefs if you should actually choose to practice a belief system that leads to higher understanding of your true self. It can also be observed and demonstrated in commonly available literature however that there a number of organisations which utilise various types of craft from architecture to alchemy to priestcraft to witchcraft.

Source: Wikipedia > Sacrament