Saint Seth the Patriarch
Church icon of Seth
Holy Forefather, Antediluvian Patriarch, and Prophet
Honored in	Judaism Christianity Islam

Seth (Hebrew: שֵׁת, Standard Šet, Tiberian Šēṯ; Arabic: شيث‎ Shith or Shiyth; "Placed; appointed"), in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, he was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who were the only other of their children mentioned by name. According to Genesis 4:25, Seth was born after the slaying of Abel by Cain, and Eve believed God had appointed him as a replacement for Abel.

In the Pentateuch[link]

According to Genesis, Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old^[1] "a son in his likeness and image."^[1] The genealogy is repeated at 1 Chronicles 1:1-3. Genesis 5:4-5 states that Adam fathered "sons and daughters" before his death, aged 930 years. In Genesis 4:25, there is a folk etymology for Seth's name, which derives it from the Hebrew word for "plant" as in "plant a seed" (syt). Eve says, "God has planted another seed, under/replacing Abel's". Seth lived to the age of 912.^[2]

In Jewish tradition[link]

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi) refers to Seth as the ancestor of Noah and hence the father of all mankind, all other humans having perished in the Great Flood.

In gnosticism, Seth is seen as a replacement given by God for Abel, whom Cain had slain. It is said that late in life, Adam gave Seth secret teachings that would become the kabbalah. The Zohar refers to Seth as "ancestor of all the generations of the tzaddikim" (Hebrew: righteous ones).^[3]

According to Seder Olam Rabbah, based on Jewish reckoning, he was born in 130 AM. According to Aggadah, he had 33 sons and 23 daughters. According to the Seder Olam Rabbah, he died in 1042 AM.

In Islam[link]

Islamic tradition reveres Seth as the gift bestowed upon Adam after the death of Abel. Round about 25 prophets are mentioned in the Qur'an, although Seth is not mentioned, Muslims see Seth as a prophet like his father, and the one who continued teaching mankind after the death of Adam.^[4] Islamic lore gives Seth an exalted position among the Antediluvian Patriarchs of the Generations of Adam, and some sources even cite Seth as the receiver of a scripture.^[5] Islamic literature holds that Seth was born when Adam was past 100 and that, by the time Adam died, Adam had already made Seth the heir to him in guiding the "Children of Adam". Muslims hold that Seth was taught of the hours of day and night as well as of the Great Flood to come and was further taught to pray to God during the hours of the night. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, traces the genealogy of mankind back to Seth, since Abel did not leave any heirs and Cain's heirs, according to tradition, were destroyed by the Great Flood.^[6]

Some Muslims believe that Seth's tomb is located in the village of Al-Nabi Shayth (literally meaning The Prophet Seth) where a mosque is named after him.

In Josephus[link]

In the Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus refers to Seth as virtuous and of excellent character, and reports that his descendants invented the wisdom of the heavenly bodies, and built the "pillars of the sons of Seth", two pillars inscribed with many scientific discoveries and inventions, notably in astronomy. They were built by Seth's descendants based on Adam's prediction that the world would be destroyed at one time by fire and another time by global flood, in order to protect the discoveries and be remembered after the destruction. One was composed of brick, and the other of stone, so that if the pillar of brick should be destroyed, the pillar of stone would remain, both reporting the ancient discoveries, and informing men that a pillar of brick was also erected. Josephus reports that the pillar of stone remained in the land of Siriad in his day.

William Whiston, a 17/18th century translator of the Antiquities, stated in a footnote that he believed Josephus mistook Seth for Sesostris, king of Egypt, the erector of the referenced pillar in Siriad (being a contemporary name for the territories in which Sirius was venerated (i.e., Egypt). He stated that there was no way for any pillars of Seth to survive the deluge, because the deluge buried all such pillars and edifices far underground in the sediment of its waters.

In Christianity[link]

The 2nd century BC Book of Jubilees, regarded as non-canonical except by Coptic Christianity, also dates his birth to 130 AM.^[7] According to it, in 231 AM Seth married his sister, Azura, who was four years younger than he was. In the year 235 AM, Azura gave birth to Enos.^[7]

Seth is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with Adam, Abel, and others, with a feast day on July 26. He is also included in the Genealogy of Jesus, according to Luke 3:23–38.^[8]

See also[link]

• Biblical longevity
• Knights of Seth
• Sethian

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Seth

Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic and spirit medium, who said she had "channeled" a personality she called "Seth". Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the "Seth Material", established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena.^[1][2] The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio and video recordings and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations.^[3]

Early life and career[link]

Roberts was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. After attending public schools, she attended Skidmore College.^[3][4]

She wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children’s literature, nonfiction, science fiction and fantasy and novels. When she was in her 30s, she and her husband began to record what she said were messages from a personality named "Seth", and she wrote several books about the experience.

Seth Material[link]

In late 1963, Roberts and her husband, Robert F. Butts, experimented with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for a book on extra-sensory perception.^[5] According to Roberts and Butts, on December 2, 1963 they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. She began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board, and she eventually abandoned the board.

Roberts described the process of writing the Seth books as entering a trance state. She said Seth would assume control of her body and speak through her, while her husband wrote down the words she spoke. They referred to such episodes as "readings" or "sessions".^[6]

Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people,^[1] including the philosopher William James^[7] and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne,^[1][8] through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically."^[9][10][11]

For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held regular trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth.^[12] Butts served as stenographer, taking the messages down in home-made shorthand, and recording some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published under the collective title Seth Material.

The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the material of the channeling sessions. Beginning in January 1970, Roberts wrote books which she described as dictated by Seth. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Robert Butts contributed notes and comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them.

According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical reality", who was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality.^[1] As Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial or professorial. "He" frequently assumed a distinct, although not identifiable, accent.^[13] Unlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts' syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth.^{[citation needed]}

Reception and influence[link]

Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers was profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book" published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library) contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hays, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks."^[14]

John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that, for each individual: "you create your own reality". He wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material".^[15] Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality", related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness".^[16]

Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East.... and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah."^[17]

The late amateur physicist Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise--and slight annoyance--I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics."^[18]

Criticism[link]

Roberts and the Seth Material have attracted critiques from outside the paranormal community. The poet Charles Upton, in his collection of essays titled The System of Antichrist, posited that Roberts multiplied the self due to a fear of death. His opinion was that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and of Eastern religions.^[19]

Professor of psychology and noted critic of parapsychology James E. Alcock opined, "In light of all this, the Seth materials must surely be viewed as less than ordinary. There certainly was the time and talent for fraud to play a role, but we cannot discriminate between that possibility and the possibility of unconscious production— At any rate, given these circumstances, there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency."^[17]

Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth.^[16] In the introduction to Seth's first dictated book, Seth Speaks, "he" says, "communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material". In The Seth Material, Jane Roberts wrote: "Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts." At least one person has claimed to channel Roberts.^[20]

Roberts and Butts donated their manuscripts, notes and recordings to the Yale Library.^[3]

Complete writings[link]

• Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) ISBN 0-8119-0379-6.
• Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. ISBN 978-0-9711198-0-2 .
• Roberts, Jane and Robert F. Butts (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-07-6.
• Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-06-8.
• Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-013953-X.
• Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-208538-0. Poetry.
• Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-731752-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-25-4.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-26-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cezanne: A Psychic Interpretation. ISBN 0-13-968859-5.
• Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-018515-9.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 1-57174-142-9. Children's literature.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-22-X.
• Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0134572599. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 1-878424-21-1.
• Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-17-3. Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984).
• Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-01-335749-2. Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. ISBN 0-9661327-5-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-450619-7. Poetry.
• Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, ISBN 0-13-219452-X and ISBN 0-13-219460-0.
• (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. ISBN 0-942380-15-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-09-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health: A Seth. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 187842430.
• Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. ISBN 0-9768978-2-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. ISBN 0-9652855-0-2.
• Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. ISBN 0-9711198-4-8.
• Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Two volumes.

Seth-related works from other authors:

• Dahl, Lynda Madden (1992). "Beyond the Winning Streak: Using Conscious Creation to Consistently Win at Life". The Woodbridge Group. ISBN 978-1-889964-10-2.
• Dahl, Lynda Madden (1995). Ten Thousand Whispers: A Guide to Conscious Creation. The Woodbridge Group. ISBN 978-1-889964-06-5.
• Dahl, Lynda Madden (1997). "The Wizards of Consciousness: Making the Imponderable Practical". The Woodbridge Group. ISBN 978-1-889964-03-4.
• Dahl, Lynda Madden (2001). "The Book of Fallacies: A Little Primer of New Thought". Moment Point Press. ISBN 978-0-9661327-9-3.
• Norman Friedman. Bridging Science and Spirit: Common Elements in David Bohm's Physics, The Perennial Philosophy and Seth. The Woodbridge Group, 1994. ISBN 978-1-889964-07-2.
• Norman Friedman. The Hidden Domain: Home of the Quantum Wave Function, Nature's Creative Source. The Woodbridge Group, 1997. ISBN 978-1-889964-09-6.
• Stack, Rick. Out-Of-Body Adventures : 30 days to the Most Exciting Experience of Your Life. Contemporary Books. ISBN 0-8092-4560-4.
• Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Reality : A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1984. ISBN 0-13-189127-8.
• Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Happiness: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1988. ISBN 0-13-189226-6.
• Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Dreams: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1990. ISBN 0-13-189382-3.
• Susan M. Watkins. Speaking of Jane Roberts: Remembering the Author of the Seth Material. Moment Point Press, 2001. ISBN 0-9661327-7-7.
• Watkins, Susan M. Conversations with Seth. Moment Point Press, 2005, 2006, two volumes. ISBN 1-930491-05-0 and ISBN 1-930491-09-3 (original version published: Vol. 1 (1980), Vol 2 (1981).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jane Roberts

• Guide to the Jane Roberts Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library Archival Collection includes both published and unpublished materials
• Seth Network International[1] The Global meeting place for Seth readers
• Seth Center Index to the Early Sessions
• Seth Learning Center An overview of titles and related audio clips, New Awareness Network
• Nirvikalpa Archive of over 1500 quotations and excerpts from the Seth Material

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Seth Godin
Born	(1960-07-10) July 10, 1960 (age 51)
Alma mater	Tufts University Stanford University
Occupation	author, marketing guru
Website
sethgodin.com

Seth Godin (born July 10, 1960) is an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker. Godin popularized the topic of permission marketing.

Background[link]

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Seth Godin graduated from Tufts University in 1979 with a degree in computer science and philosophy. Godin earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. From 1983 to 1986, he worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software. For a time Godin commuted every week between California and Boston both to do his new job and to complete his MBA..

After leaving Spinnaker Software in 1986, Godin used $20,000 in savings to found Seth Godin Productions, primarily a book packaging business, out of a studio apartment in New York City.^[1] It was in the same offices that Godin met Mark Hurst and founded Yoyodyne. After a few years Godin sold the book packaging business to his employees and focused his efforts on Yoyodyne, one of the first online marketing companies.^{[citation needed]} It was with Yoyodyne that Godin came up with the concept of permission marketing.^{[citation needed]} For a period of time, Godin served as a columnist for Fast Company^{[citation needed]}

Godin and his wife Helene now live in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York with their two sons.

Viewpoints[link]

Godin believes that the end of the "TV-Industrial complex" means that marketers no longer have the power to command the attention of anyone they choose, whenever they choose. Second, in a marketplace in which consumers have more power, he thinks marketers must show more respect; this means no spam, no deceit and a bias for keeping promises. Finally, Godin asserts that the only way to spread the word about an idea is for that idea to earn the buzz by being remarkable. Godin refers to those who spread these ideas as "Sneezers", and to the spreading idea as an "IdeaVirus." He calls a remarkable product or service a purple cow.

Advertisements on television and radio are classified as 'interruption marketing' which interrupt the customer while they are doing something of their preference. Godin introduced the concept of "permission marketing" where the business provides something "anticipated, personal, and relevant".

Business ventures[link]

Yoyodyne[link]

In 1995, Godin launched Yoyodyne which used contests, online games, and scavenger hunts to market companies to participating users. In August, 1996, venture-capital firm Flatiron Partners invested $4 million in Yoyodyne in return for a 20% stake.^[2] The site gained significant traction, with over one million viewers visiting the site, and companies like America Online, American Express, H&R Block, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Sony Music, Sprint, and Volvo using its services.^[3]

At Yoyodyne, Godin developed the principle of permission marketing and authored Permission Marketing: Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers.

In 1998, Godin sold Yoyodyne to Yahoo! for $30 million^[4] and became Yahoo's vice president of direct marketing, a position he held until 2000.^[5]

Squidoo[link]

In March 2006, Godin launched Squidoo, a community website allowing users to create pages (called "lenses") for subjects of interest.^[6] The site donates 5% of the profits to charity, and 50% to the lensmasters. Godin and Squidoo have been profiled on CNN and the Washington Post.^[7][8] The site was given top prize in SXSW's community/wiki category.^[9] As of July 2008, Squidoo was one of the 500 most visited sites in the world.^[10]

Other projects[link]