The famous writer and civil rights activist, James Baldwin,
who penned the famous book Fire The Next Time, comes from an African-American
spiritual titled "God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign," which contains the lyrics: No more water,
(Gen. 9:11) Fire next time (2 Pet 3:10)
Baldwin, like, the self-proclaimed genius Kanye West, who
remixed Chaka Khan's song Through The Fire (Mal 3:2) on his album College
Dropout, utilized the bible's idea about BAPTISM OF FIRE to compose their
literary work.
BAPTISM OF FIRE is a concept associated with and used by the character John The Baptist to
describe the work of Christ, who allegedly stated: "He {Christ will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matt 3:11; Luke 3:16)
According to the Bible Dictionary, some scholars believe
that two different baptisms are mentioned here: "the baptism of the Holy
Spirit" or the baptism that brings mercy, forgiveness, and life) and
"the baptism of fire" (the baptism that brings judgment, condemnation,
and death.)
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In trying to make sense of this, remember, FIRE, from a
textual point of view, symbolized God's presence and power (Gen. 15:17-18). It
also represented God's judgment on wickedness and unbelief. For, God was viewed
as a "CONSUMING FIRE" (Ex 24:17; Deu. 4:24; Heb. 12;29)
This is made self-evident in the New Testament. Why?
Because, eternal damnation is pictured as an EVERLASTING FIRE (1 Cor. 3:13;
Rev. 21:8) Plus, the Book Revelation (Rev. 20:9.10) goes on to say: "Fire
from heaven is an instrument of God's Wrath to crush the satanic rebellion.
With that stated, let's not forget, that FIRE WORSHIP was
(and still is) practiced in many cultures of the ancient world. Some of these
fire worshipers, to appease the gods, often, sacrificed their children on
flaming alters, which was an abomination to the LORD. (Ezek 16:20, 21; 2 Chron
28;3).
These biblical passages, of course, have a triple-fold
meaning to the learnt man and woman. But, let's focus on those, who sacrifice
themselves in the fire, which is known as "SELF-IMMOLATION".
“SELF-IMMOLATION” is a word used to mean suicide by fire,
its etymology connotes “sacrifice.”
Historically, it has been a term used as a form of protest
through the act of suicide for thousands of years in both the East and the West
including ancient Greece, 4th-century China, and 17th-century Russia.
The most iconic expression of SELF-IMMOLATION, occurred in 1963, by Thích Quảng Đức in
protest of the US-supported South Vietnamese government’s persecution of
Buddhists during the Vietnam War.
This, of course, led others to utilize this extreme
technique in an attempt to create social change from the protester at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, to
the revolutionaries of the Tunisian Revolution, the demonstrators of the "Arab Spring, along
with LGBTQ rights and climate change activist, David Buckel
Donald Trump stands trial, which occurred two months after
US airman Aaron Bushnell SET HIMSELF ON FIRE in front of the Israeli embassy in
Washington, DC, in an apparent act of opposition against the ongoing war in
Israel and Gaza.
According to Psychology Today, SELF-IMMOLATION occurs when a
person, who may be revolting against or seeking to escape from political and
social oppression commits suicide. In the case of Bushnell, he might have felt
some form of guilt, or self-blame. Especially, being a member of the military,
where he may have become empathetic about the plight of the Palestinians while
desiring to stop the Israelis' "genocide" against them.
But, with very little information on the soldier, some,
considered, his extreme "political" act of "protest," an
act of terrorism and mental illness. While, others view his act of
"setting himself on fire" as heroic, making him a martyr in their
eyes.
Self-immolators, amongst men, usually, have a history of
mental illness; even if there was no professional psychiatric evaluation given.
Many of these individuals, often, have a mood disorder or
borderline personality disorder, and possibly, may have attempted suicide in
the past or battled with suicidal idealization, which may not have been known
by their family.
So, they, often, utilized this self-destructive act of
escapism and self-harm during times of extreme depression, hopelessness,
financial difficulties, or separation from a partner due to divorce.
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Why? Because, some have tried to romanticize this horrible
public display of death while attempting to utilize Buddhist logic to
rationalize it by stating monks, who burn themselves lose neither courage nor
hope. For, the act, is, believed to be constructive, not destructive.
Meaning, that a person courageous enough to set himself on
FIRE, is somewhat Christlike, and sacrifices himself to save the world, which
is considered the highest honor of comPASSION.
This is similar to the myth of the Egyptian Phoenix, which
goes up in flames, only to rise again from its ashes like the SUN OF RIGHTEOUS
WITH HEALING IN ITS WINGS. (Mal. 4:2)
According to the Intelligencer, before Bushnell set himself
on Fire, he posted this message on Facebook, which stated: Many of us like to
ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow
South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?”The
answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.
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