Church of the Universe

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The Assembly of the Church of the Universe, an entheogen religion, was established by Walter Tucker in 1969 in the Canadian province of Ontario.

It is a new religious movement, or cult, which uses marijuana as a sacrament and promotes nudity as a demonstration of human equality. Many question the sincerity or depth of this religion, seeing it as an excuse to indulge in otherwise frowned-upon activities. However the church's use of cannabis is well founded in ancient Judaic practises involving KanehBosm, meaning cannabis. This translation was confirmed by the findings of Polish anthropologist Sula Benet in the mid-1940s.

Sula Benet (also known as Sara Benetowa) was a Polish anthropologist of the 20th century who studied Polish and Judaic customs and traditions. Born in Poland, Benet was fascinated with peasant culture of Poland from the time of her early youth. This interest eventually led her to enroll as a student of literature and philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities in the University of Warsaw, but she graduated with a degree in anthropology. Upon receiving her degree in 1935, she attended graduate school at Columbia University, where she received her doctorate in 1944.

Benet's writings have gained modern notability for her interpretations of the herb known as kaneh-bosm, or kneh-bosm, mentioned in the Old Testament, and how it may relate to religious use of cannabis. Kaneh-bosm was mentioned in the Old Testament as part of the holy anointing oil used in the temple, and it has historically been interpreted as calamus. Through comparative etymology and analysis of ancient texts, Benet asserts that the word kaneh-bosm actually refers to cannabis and was used in ancient Jewish religious rites, possibly as an intoxicant.

Cannabis advocates cite Benet's work as an example that cannabis use has a long, culturally important history, and that the criminalization and demonization of cannabis is a recent invention. While Benet's conclusion regarding the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally accepted among Jewish scholars, there is general agreement that cannabis is used in talmudic sources to refer to hemp fibers, as hemp was a vital commodity before linen replaced it. [1] According to Benet's research, cannabis appears in ancient Hebrew texts spelled with the Hebrew letters: “Kuph, Nun, Hé ¬ Bet, Shin, Mem,” translated into western alphabetic forms as ¹aneh-bosm, kaneh-bosm or kineboisin. The book of Exodus records the event of Moses receiving the instructions for making and distributing the hemp-enriched holy oil, in the most auspicious tones.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of qaneh-bosm, 500 shekels of cassia--all according to the sanctuary shekel--and a hind of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil” (Exodus 30: 22-33). [2] [3]

If you need further confirmation that Kanehbosm in the Old Testament is infact cannabis, you can check the translations of Ben-Yehuda, perhaps the highest authority of the Hebrew language; and according to the 1964 Ben-Yehuda Hebrew-English dictionary, Kaneh bosm is Cannabis Hemp. You can find it on page 140.

1 Theology
2 Activities
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Theology

The guiding rules of the church are variations on the Golden Rule: 1. Do not hurt yourself. 2. Do not hurt anyone else. However, there are other greater and lesser aspects of their worship.

The Church of the Universe is a syncretic religion. Although often quoting from the Bible and other scriptures, the church disclaims a direct connection to Christianity. Indeed, it also accepts as valid sources of inspiration the ancient and modern sources such as culture of Sumer, pagan holidays of the solstices, Canada Day, the Knights Templar, Chaldeans, Gnostic gospels and the Desiderata.

Their sacrament is cannabis, and followers are encouraged to smoke marijuana and use hemp products. They draw on accounts in Genesis and associate the tree of life with the hemp plant, additionally quoting Psalms 22:30 and Revelations 22:2,14.

Nudity also finds its origins in Genesis, since Adam and Eve were unclothed until they partook from the tree of knowledge rather than of life. However, members are enjoined to cover their heads on any official occasion or when interacting with government agents. The nudism is no longer practised in many communities within the Church of the Universe.

Since members are also ministers, and the church sells ordinations, there is theoretically no distinction between clergy and members. However, founder Walter Tucker and leading member Michael Baldasaro often appropriate religious titles such as reverend, archbishop, bishop and abbot with little consistency or apparent official basis.

[edit] Activities

Tucker founded the church at a water-filled former quarry in Puslinch, Ontario in Wellington County between Hamilton and Guelph. When he leased the site for a nominal fee, he renamed it Clearwater Abbey.

Church occupation of the area was not without controversy, including biker parties, the unexplained discovery of a corpse on the property in 1975, the termination of its lease in 1982, and subsequent ejection by police and sheriffs. An attempt to relocate to a disused foundry, renamed Hempire Village, in Guelph in 1994 met a similar fate. The church is now located in north Hamilton.

Marijuana use and nudism have attracted the most attention to the religion from people in general and the police in particular. Criminal charges of possession and trafficking are common for members, although the recent semi-legality of marijuana for medical purposes had reduced them despite the fact that sacraments are not medicines.

Frequent court challenges, based on charges or the exercise of political rights, have created an additional pair of intertwined activities: the Legal Self-Defence fund and the University of Universe. Members who defend themselves or others in court are granted degrees from this non-accredited university, the level depending on the level of court involved.

Baldasaro and Tucker are perennial candidates for various public and party offices, whether standing as candidates for various parties or as independents. Like the Natural Law Party, the Church of the Universe uses politics to further its religious goals rather than the reverse.

[edit] References

Assembly of the Church of the Universe. The Assembly of the Church of the Universe Sacramental Tree of Life. Hamilton, Ont.: The Church, n.d. [acquired ca. 1985]. Pamphlet.
Hamilton Public Library. Church of the Universe. Hamilton, Ont., n.p., various. Clipping scrapbook.

1. Encyclopedia Judaica. Volume 8. p. 323. 2. ^ Sula Benet, Early Diffusions and Folk Uses of Hemp. (Reprinted in Cannabis and Culture, Vera Rubin, Ed. The Hague: Moutan, 1975.) 3. ^ Sara Benetowa (Sula Benet), Tracing One Word Through Different Languages. (1936). (Reprinted in The Book of Grass, 1967.)

[edit] External links

Many stories in such local newspapers as The Hamilton Spectator and The Guelph Mercury on the church and its members do not remain online for long. The following links have been chosen for their stability on the web.