Seeds Of G_d

It is a well established fact that the internet is crawling with sexual content of varying extremes. Prehaps then it is suitable to find an unusual expression of this in the news. An Israeli man has been sentence to 10 years for rape, sodomy, indecent acts and aggravated fraudulent acquisition. These charges where not put against a sexual deviant in the more common form, but an individual who claimed he possessed 'divine' semen which had healing powers. Coupled with the jail sentence, he has also been told that he must pay just under $27,000 to each of the five women he was accused by.


Those of us who reside in the West are familiar with the miracles of Lourds in France, Fatima in Portugal, and Joseph Smith Jr's experience on the hill outside of Manchester, New York. There are also the experiences of the Catholic Church and the creation of saints through the miraculous actions of others. However, it is the case that the 21st Century sees widespead secular sentiment among the nations of Europe and North America. This influences our ability to appreciate anything which is bracketed as miraculous. In turn this leads to an ignorance and scepticism among the masses. It is fair to assume that anyone faced with a case of a miracle would want empirical evidence to offer support for the claim. Prehaps then it is all the more difficult for us to appreciate the extent of this allegation.

The region of Israel within the wider Middle East is a place of spiritual mystery. The city of Jerusalem has a proud history and plays a key role for the three main monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism and Christianity). Never the less, it will have seen its fair share of miraculous events from the aforementioned faiths. However with this experience, it may be easier for them to spot fraudulent claims compaired to more realistic examples. Tradition doesn't always maintain through the ages, and the encroachment of secularism will be leaving its mark on the region.

The case of Nissim Aharon and his 'divine sperm' is a prime example of this. He exploited the spiritulaity of people to get sex. Though his claims were not based in truth, some were prepared to follow through on this and perpetuate his lie. The judges at the trial claimed that 'his sexual appetite could not be satisfied'. If this is the case, then the aura surrounding miracles and divine power could be seriously undermined by this whole incident. However, this would only effect a minority and not create too much of a concern among the religious community. It does however add fuel to those who are critical of such phenomena. It may be the case that this is a purely incidental example of miracle scamming, and that most are in fact based on truth. In any case, this is an instance where the secular and the theological have come together to brand someone a criminal. The accusations were severe by any standard, yet the divine angle has the potential to make it all alot more potent. Prehaps a final thought to consider is: How many more instances of 'miracles' are in fact manipulations of the people and justice?