Words. . . There is a place beyond words, even beyond knowledge. A wonderful book was written about that place; it is called "The Bible." Fortunately or unfortunately it fell into, and was preserved by, and passed forward through history in some dull hands, hands that historically were not always capable of hearing, seeing and understanding. The result was a latent, and then finally an overt offendedness that brings us to this time, and "paradigm conflict" in history. So badly mishandled, the Bible is no longer of interest to a "post Christian world."

Offended by a Book so badly misrepresented, the culture has gone elsewhere in its pursuit of or aversion to truth, as the case may be. An early alternative to the Judeo/Christian was/is Islam, born out of the same offendedness in its own day. (It's interesting, not to say "terrifying," to see what happens when love falls into wounded hands, whether the hands of the offender or the offended.)

Even prior to that reaction to misrepresented love, there was middle eastern religious thinking with a lingo all its own. It seems all three have found themselves grid locked in the intersection of our own day. It's not pretty, and the traffic jam is not easily cleared. It appears all the traffic in the intersection has been discipled in offendedness, each with its own special lingo, all of it offended and offending.

Most of the "new age" traffickers have been offended by what's been calling itself "church," but they're not the only ones. There are many who are dropping out of institutional/organized religion, including the big brand names of Christianity, who have not yet abandoned Christ. This exodus from "church" is enormous - trying to escape what is wrong with "church" without forsaking Christ.

A big problem in the intersection of all these various interest groups is words. On their best day, words have a difficult time communicating what is actually going on between one heart and mind and another. Once words have become so loaded/offensive, their task becomes nearly, or perhaps actually, impossible. As I understand our challenge, it is the need to place the Bible in its proper place of honor, in the present pursuit of truth.

Going back, way back to a better time; the day before Eve was taken out of Adam, reducing humanity to two hearts where there had been only one, we can only imagine how unspeakable that unbroken intimacy must have been. We pause to consider the cause of our groaning desire to return once more, and finally, to that place that surpasses the fallen knowledge of our present wounding.

My very strong impression is that it was in and by The Creator's removal of the woman that the whole creation became subject to frustration. We are told that the creation was "frustrated in hope." What is the hope, and what is it that we are hoping for?

There are centuries of wounding in the "baggage section" between "post Christian," and "new age." All the baggage has the same tag: "Offended!"

Perhaps if what's left of "Christianity" would just go away, the gurus of the middle east could negotiate a peaceful settlement between Islam, and new age, and those three paradigms could march off into the sunset at peace with each other.

As for me, I don't think so, at least, not before the last Bible has been burned. The Bible presents a different scenario, one that's very difficult to dismiss for those who take the time to read it in the same Spirit with which it was written.

Only after the completion of the main body of this work did it become clear; the warning this introduction should contain!

This book is not about information!

A number of things drew me to this conclusion: a vast amount of time in cyberspace, researching multiple thousands of facts and details on the history of money, along with many patient supporters who encouraged me to push deeper, brought even more to light. As a result I have gone far beyond what I had originally intended in making my perception clear.

Thus it is that place beyond words, beyond knowledge - where the author must invite the reader to go.

One chapter removed from the beginning, it is written: "This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.' Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Genesis 2:23-25 One chapter short of the end, it is written: "And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21:2 Somewhere between the two, we find: "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Ephesians 5:32

Sad to say, what's been calling itself "church" has managed to keep this "great mystery" well hidden from the eyes, ears, hearts, and minds of those who are described as ". . . walking in darkness," Isaiah 9:2. The truth is that all the rest of the Bible has to do with this great mystery!

Since my first wrestling with God's position on money as revealed in the Bible, there have been many conversations on this and related subjects. Many of those conversations have been with those who could be said to have a greater than average spiritual intelligence.

Again, over the years since first looking at the subject of money and the Bible, I have experienced and written much about spiritual intimacy and relationship. I have concluded that even sex is a parable. I see it as the first parable.

Should I survive this latest effort on the subject of gold, there may yet be time to publish one last book, a book about the first parable, and likely titled, "In Other Words Sex Is a Parable." By now the writing of it is nearing completion.

Where our failure to get the point of these two parables is concerned, it is difficult to say which failure has caused the greater problem. In either case, it should be very clear by now to even the dullest of observers that the disaster, and near disaster, is monumental. While the institution of central banking has gotten stronger, the institution of marriage has been all but destroyed.

I will have something more to say about the necessity of understanding these parables shortly, but for the moment I mention them both only to make this disclaimer concerning our ability to understand the second - the parable of money or gold.

Our understanding must finally come down from above. I have done all my feeble powers of communication can do even with all the expert help received, and have been brought to a paraphrase: "Save the Lord brings the understanding, the scholars search in vain."

Having done what I could, I give you this helping hand to know what to be looking for:

"God is Love." God is not a merchant.

The difference between the two is a matter of the condition and content of the heart. When God chooses to reveal the truth of His love to human history is the moment when "Kings will shut their mouths."

One more clue: If it snarls it's probably not a sheep.

Romans 8:20-23

Romans 1:18-27, Ephesians 5:31, 32

Psalms 127:1

1 John 4:8

Isaiah 52:15