[1]  "The distinctive features of Israel's revealed religion formed a contrast to the religious milieu of Egypt and Canaan. Instead of many idols they were to worship God alone. In place of multiple shrines the Israelites had only one sanctuary. By means of prescribed offerings and consecrated priests provision was made for the laity to approach God without fear. The law guided them into a pattern of behavior that distinguished Israel as God's covenant nation in contrast to the surrounding heathen cultures. To the extent that the Israelites practiced this divinely revealed religion were they assured of God's favor as expressed in the priestly formula for blessing the congregation of Israel (Numbers 6: 24-26): 'The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace'." Samuel J. Schultz, The Old Testament Speaks (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960), p. 73. Dr. Lorenzo on May 9, 2017 wrote in the margin of this textbook from college days at Wrigley: "Here is the benediction used by the Methodist church when I was growing up ‒ I heard my father close church services and send off his congregation with this blessing literally thousands of times." And the Dr. sent us this additional comment: "What the USA lacks, I think, as of 2017, as I watch Fox Cable News and CNN on SKY's cable system here in Mexico day after day, is a shared sense of the sacred. James Comey, the fired FBI director, testifies in a senate hearing and each political camp spins a completely different and opposite interpretation of the very same event. There is no meeting of the ways. Liberals and Democrats worship idols of the Liberals and Democrats at the shrines of the Liberals and Democrats. Republicans and Conservatives worship idols of the Republicans and Conservatives at the shrines of the Republicans and Conservatives. There are not enough profound and moving, holy and sacred events shared by the people in common to heal the rift and convince the American population that they are all one people, sharing a common sacred purpose and common sacred destiny. It used to be that Democrats and Republicans would be found every Sunday worshiping together in church services all over the country. Everyone came away with the feeling that all sides, despite any differences, had shared a sacred calling and event together. In Mullica Hill, New Jersey, during the 1950s they took unification a step further. Every Thanksgiving a different church would host a Thanksgiving prayer service for all the town's churches, from Catholic and Episcopal and Presbyterian to Baptist and Methodist. One Thanksgiving all of the town's churches met in the old Quaker Meeting House on top of the hill and shared in respectfully following the old traditional Quaker format of silence. It was moving and unforgettable. Probably the seemingly incurable split in the American population now is due to a lack of any experience of this kind of healing unification. In Santisima Cruz, as Yazmín said, the whole town would have gone to hell long ago without the church. Every weekend in Santisima Cruz all sides, government soldiers, ELN guerrilla campesinos, Conservatives, Liberals, old, young, everybody, met to share a sacred experience in the 'one sanctuary', the church with the see-through coffin. What do we have that is anywhere near equivalent? Where are we going to find a healing of the rift? Without healing we will rot and die. While we are arguing and arguing and arguing forever and ever about who gave us away to the enemy, feeding the canker with venom, never pulling together to fight the enemy, forever worshiping 'many idols' at 'multiple shrines', the enemy is succeeding at taking us over. We desperately need leaders who can unite us and not divide us."

outline                  detailed table of contents

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what's happening with  Dr. Lorenzo now  (Dec. 2016)

the impact of  Jung's 'opposites'  on mj lorenzo

on the grave matter of what the Dr. calls  'mass psychosis'

about Sammy Martinez'  'Introduction'  to the present work

note from B. C. Duvall:  how to read  this kind of writing

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Back pages feature April 2017:

An aging dry-brain yet still self-analyzing shrink
Dr. Lorenzo
tells a live educated audience including would-be post-postmodern writers
why he risked chasing away readers
by recently adding to this website's home page
-- not 1 -- not 2 but --
3 hokey Bible verses