#also trying to be respectful of the Christian faith whilst making this! think of it as like an alternative universe where things go wrong

[supersuperdupersecretnerd]

I may have some concepts of a H*zbin H*tel rewrite (nothing really set in stone, just some ideas). Let me know what you think!

(Context/Trigger Warning; Mentions of animal death, decay, discrimination against sex workers, religious trauma, abuse, and cannibalism/gore. Depictions of eye injury and of a character in lingerie)

You may have to zoom in to be able to read (unsure posting from mobile can't see how it looks on desktop rn). Let me know if any clarifications are needed!

Some related & unrelated notes

-Jay Jay gets attacked cause the angels that go down during exterminations don't really pay too close attention to who's who. It's just a mad rush of perma-killing and adrenaline, no time to think.

-I'm considering making the reason why everything in the show is so fucked be from the Holy Trinity just randomly vanished one day; no one knows how or why. Heaven blamed Hell for it (they weren't involved) and that in part is why the exterminations happen; although without guidance, things start to fall apart and heaven gets corrupted (not sure if I'm going with this yet or not, just an idea).

-V didn't know angelic weapons could hurt angels because she was just a human that got into heaven, not created an angel.

-Kee Kee (the cat) just ceases to exist based upon the concept that animals were made for humans and cannot go into heaven (recall first hearing about it as a kid from Old Yeller)

-Yeah Lucifer does not really care about Charlie. He just doesn't want the public to know that he made her because he is embarrassed he couldn't outdo God's creations. (although maybe he used the knowledge from this to help Mammon create those Fiz bots) (oh also- all of the seven deadly sins are complete assholes, through and through) (Dunno what to do with Lilith yet)

-Charlie wants to help sinners sometime after letting V stay with her; she grew to care for her, and through this care & love, she starts to sympathize with sinners in general and wants to make things better for them (mainly for V tho). However, even with the portion Jay Jay's soul Charlie's sense of morality is a little fucked... (Basically she believes in the eye for an eye, or an eye for a limb/maybe even two limbs/ if the situation is severe enough).

- V supports Charlie's plan and helps her out whenever she can (and with better understanding morality); she does have a life outside of the hotel though (she works as a waitress at a restaurant, she also does babysitting for hell born children on the side/not uncommon for her to bring the kids she's watching back to the hotel)

- Charlie tried to work at a fast food joint, but got hired due to unnerving the customers (she's still upset by that). She eventually got a job as an art model at some art place.

- Jay Jay grows a soft spot for Angel Dust after overhearing how he found and adopted Nugget. Thinks their a cool dude, the cat body often comes over to her purring.

- Also I do want to have a scene where Valentino comes over, Jay Jay overhears the abuse (verbal & emotional in this instance) behind closed doors and just absolutely starts wrecking his shit. Like, the floor just collapses right underneath where Valentino was, when he gets out parts of the ceiling starts falling on top of him, when he runs out shit from the wall starts getting tossed towards him, and the cat body just jumps up and starts scratching the hell out of his face. (Also Jay Jay feels the pain of the house coming undone, she does it anyways cause fuck Val) (Angel is terrified after that, just stares at the scene before going to lock himself in his room for awhile)

-The hotel is covered in Jay Jay's eyes, however she closes them whenever people walk into rooms outta respect and privacy. The house also can't hear (can feel tho), only the cat body can hear. Also due to sharing apart of her soul with Charlie, the two can talk to each other telepathically.

-I'm removing Rosie having the 'energy of a Jewish mother', I'm not making the leader of a cannibal town into a Jewish caricature fuck that. (Dunno what type of personality I want her to have, but I'm definitely removing the motherly relationship she has with Charlie) (Also in Cannibal town they just take turns eating each other; they eat everything but the head, and from that head the eaten person will slowly grow back; Cannibal town is a pay to get in and experience sorta deal, it has both permanent residents and those who just paid for a day; Rosie is making bank off this place)

[rosiewitchescottage]

A Kenyan British lady and her Nigerian British husband. They give a beautiful description of why they want to preserve the Britain that they traveled to become a part of.

You can come here and practice any religion. We have a stated value of mutually respecting different faith, cultures etc.

But notice this is 'Mutual' respect, that goes both way.

If there are people who refuse to render you respect for respect, then most of us will be on your side.

All that we ask is that people come here free to practice their own faiths, but whilst respecting the Christian foundation on which our country has been built.

Bring and practice your culture, along with your religion. As long as it doesn't violate any of our laws, we're fine with it.

All we ask for is to respect our native culture. And yes, we do have a culture

. We have foods and drinks that have a British (English, Welsh, Scots, N irish character) Try them out. They may not be spicy. But they do have their own tastiness.

We have loads of music, stretching back through centuries by home grown composers and performers.

Books, plays poetry - You've heard of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Keats? All British, and there are plenty more.

Folklore and fairy tales - We have four different countries, with their own myths, legends, folklore and fairy tales.

I highly recommend them all.

We love a celebration as much as anyone. Look at how we celebrate Christmas. Think of December as a month long festival of light, music, stories, food, drink and lots of good will. Check out The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Cambridge. You can get it on BBC Radio 4 from Christmas Eve onward.

Easter - Parts of the country have their own customs from the beginning of Lent onwards.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Races, Egg Rolling

Not sure why Maypole's are here in the Easter section. It's more usually at the beginning of May, the Pagan festival of Beltane, heralding the early days of Summer.

Morris dancing seems rather silly. But it's fun and began as a Spring fertility dance.

Cornwall - Some Cornish people want to be separate from England, some don't. But they're still British, either way

The Countryside - It's not racist. If you live here, it's yours to love and take care of too.

Go and visit, no one's going to stop you. See this gorgeous landscape that we need to take care of and protect.

Our History. - It's there for us to learn from, not to judge.

Some terrible things were done in our past.This is true

So, we find ways to not let it happen again. Most British people are fine with that.

Guess what. All but the tiny but worst percentage of people think this slavery is disgusting.

We don't want to fall into that trap again, so yes, let's keep learning about it.

But also we should learn the full history of slavery thousands, and I do mean many thousands of years ago. Jewish slaves taken to Babylon.

And the worst part? That history isn't over, how about we make up for our part in slavery in the past, by fighting slavery going on right now.

British Empire - Yes, it had some advantages. But that came at the price of a country not being allowed the freedom to rule itself, and that sucks.

So, I think most Brits are happy that it ended. The Commonwealth is a group of independent, self governing nations, that chose to keep the British Monarch as Head of State.

Are there improvements that can be made? I'm sure there are plenty. Let's work on that, rather than focusing on the problems of the past. We can make the present and future better. But the past is what it was.

British Heroes - Were these people paragons of virtue? Err No! They were people, imperfect just like us.

But we celebrate them today, because they did something extra special that helped our country.

Try learning about them. Yes, the bad as well as the good. But remember that it's not the bad that we celebrate them for, so why would we be ashamed of what made them human?

Look at what they did, and even if you can't celebrate them too. You'll at least see why many of us do.

A great speech dear Madam and Sir.

I'm delighted to call you and your children my compatriots.

[beta-lactam-allergic]

Does the person who commented on getting rid of monotheism realise that Hamas is also monotheistic. A much worse strain of monotheism.

Okay a lot of this is arguing from the most selfish atheistic perspective possible. I don't like arguing from this perspective. I'm an atheist but I don't have anything against Judaism or most other religions. I'm live & let live. I want peace, tolerance & respect between religious & non-religious people, not us supplanting them. Even if it was possible, I wouldn't want a world where everyone believed all the same things I do, that's boring. I just don't want a world where extremists kill people for having different beliefs. I think that we should be capable of being empathetic to Jewish suffering on its own merits.

But that's not whom I'm trying to reach so let's argue to the most selfish of my atheistic sisters, brothers & niblings (is that the right term for non-binary ones. I'm binary trans & admit to being ignorant of non-binary culture). I need the most selfish atheistic arguments on why we want Hamas to lose & how the Jewish people getting exterminated doesn't help us even if the goal is worldwide atheism (whoa this is nauseating).

Israel allows non-Jewish people to practice their beliefs on Israeli soil. Christians, muslims, bahai, atheists & even some pagans all openly live inside Israel's borders as equal citizens. Israel is a Jewish state, but non-Jews are safe there.

In general, Judaism isn't a proselytising religion. That means for atheists like myself, agnostics, polytheists & people of non-Jewish monotheistic religions, we can live with Jews if we choose to do so. They won't impose their beliefs on us, so all we have to do is not impose our beliefs on them & not discriminate against them & we have peace.

In short, in the case of an Israeli victory, people who aren't monotheistic are no worse off.

In contrast Hamas follows an extremist strand of Islam. They have no more tolerance for atheists, agnostics or polytheists than they do for Jewish people. Once they kill all the Jewish people, they will come for us next. The goal of extremist strands of Islam is to force all non-Muslims to either convert or perish.

In the case of a Hamas victory, we who are not monotheistic are worse off than before.

If you want the world to "move on from monotheism" letting Hamas kill all the Jews doesn't lead to that. All it does is kill the members of one of the more tolerant faiths & give one of the less tolerant faiths a further advantage. An advantage they will use against us to kill more atheists.

From the most pragmatic viewpoint possible, a Hamas victory is worse for atheism. Hamas want an Islamic theocracy. They already kill apostates, which means any atheists in Gaza have to be secret atheists because open atheism is a death sentence.

Why would you back them over Israel? Yes, Israel is a Jewish state, but they allow minority groups, including atheists to openly be who they are. They just ask you to not be a murderous jerk to Jewish people.

As it is, I don't think the goal should be moving on from monotheism as that would require us atheists to violently suppress all monotheistic groups the way that hardline christians & hardline muslims have suppressed us for over a millennia.

The goal should be to make the world safe for people who are already atheists to be atheists whilst letting those who will always be inclined to religious belief the freedom to follow the religion of their choice.

There's some evidence that they are innate difference in brain structure between religious & non-religious people in studies conducted in societies where both religiosity & non-religiosity are socially acceptable. China & the USSR both at points tried to stamp out religion & failed. Extreme christian & extreme muslim states have tried to eliminate atheism for over a millennia, also failing.

The goal can't be to eliminate religion, that's as impossible for us to achieve as it was for the extreme Christians & extreme Muslims to eliminate us. The goal has to be to ally with those religious groups that will tolerate us to build a world that the religious & non-religious can share without violence. The goal needs to be tolerance of both the religious & the non-religious.

Judaism has shown that ability to tolerate us. As has Hinduism (even as some hardline factions within it have gotten less tolerate of Muslims, Sikhs & Christians) as has Buddhism & Shintoism. As have even moderate strands of Christianity & Islam (there's a reason I put words like "extreme" & "hardline", I know there are strands & sects of these groups we can work with).

Someone who wants freedom of religious choice should back the power that doesn't consider apostasy to be a death penalty offence rather than the one that does.

Even more extremists atheists who want to stamp religion out entirely should at minimum sit this one out if they're an extreme ideologue & maybe back Israel if they have enough pragmatism to focus on reducing atheist deaths.

Just a few examples of how wonderful (read: terrifying) it can be to be outwardly Jewish on the internet. I blocked everyone who wrote those but I just thought I'd share some examples of "oh yeah hatred of Israel does actually result in blatant antisemitism".

Those on the "pro-Palestine" side (different from pro-Hamas, being pro-Palestine means not agreeing with or distributing pro-Hamas propaganda, which most of y'all seem incapable of doing), clean up your movement.

What worries me is that this is an escalation. These past two or three days are the first time I've received such absolutely unmasked antisemitic comments and asks. (I've gotten antisemitic stuff before, and a lot of it, but this is just completely unhidden.)

Antisemitism is actively getting worse.

Open your eyes.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hi!!! I just discovered your blog and I am definitely getting a lot out of it. I hope you don’t mind answering my question - do you think it’s possible for someone with no Greek background to… I don’t know if “worship” is the right word, but worship Greek deities? (Or however you would put that.) I myself have felt some connection to one or two, and done a lot of research! I try not to make unfounded claims (unlike some on TikTok lmao), but I know I lack the cultural background to fully understand what it’s really like. (continued)

Like a lot of American kids I came into contact with Greek myth through Percy Jackson and my book fair and I know that’s not the end all be all of the mythology and I’ve got a few books on my shelves as someone who is generally interested in Antiquity, as well as Hellenistic faith specifically. I’ve always felt a connection to love goddesses in particular and while I don’t claim to be a PRIESTESS (that’s very silly), I can’t deny that Aphrodite in particular draws me in (and her other counterparts in Ancient Mesopotamia). But I know that Greece is a real place, and it has its own culture, and I don’t want to be disrespectful yknow? (continued)

(Thanks for your patience, I’ve definitely rambled a little). My question is this: is it possible for me to continue down this road? (I mean, I hope so! Having a relationship with the Divine has improved my whole life.) And if it is, do you have suggestions of where to dig in deeper and learn more?

___________________ [END OF ASK]__________________________

Hello! Greeks agree that anyone can worship the Greek gods! It's not a closed practice and any faith is supported by the right to religious freedom. As you read, you can't exactly reconstruct the faith, but that doesn't mean you can't reach the deities in the ways that are appropriate for you, trying to follow some guidance from the past. I wouldn't recommend calling this worship "Reconstruction" for that reason, but I am sure you can at least practice something. You can have an altar, idols, offerings, and say the translations of ancient hymns.

It's true that you might lack some background knowledge and that can be balanced by years of reading ancient original texts (translated in your language ofc) about the deities and analyses by different scholars. Additionally, observe the iconography and the statues or idols of these gods to get an idea of how they are. Even many modern Greeks are not well informed about our ancient religion (because they might innately know some things but there is a lot of material to cover). In both cases you can only learn by studying.

If you don't have that feeling of what the line of respect is, you can acquire it by asking some Greeks who are Hellenic Polytheists and, if you can't find them, random Greeks who are decently informed about the gods (someone who won't call Zeus "a d*ck" unironically, for example :P). Many modern Greeks can feel the bs and when someone disrespects a deity, even though they are not in the ancient faith.

And there are some Greek Hellenic Polytheists who are only that in name and for them the worship is magic vibes, cool names and candles. So, always check what the individual knows and ask more than one person. Cross-examine the info you take with what you read on the ancient texts and the scholars. Don't forget to check the reputation of these scholars and if their claims have been debunked.

Search keywords on Google scholar and you might find papers that discuss matters that interest you. (Don't copy the DOI of the paper and definitely don't copy it into SciHub so you can download the paper - or the book, or article - for free! 👀👀👀👀👀)

I don't have a list of recommendations ready (and most of my books are dusting in a distant village) and I am not sure if my suggestions would help you. I am not a Hellenic Polytheist and I think you might find more suitable reads if you ask other Hellenic Polytheists what they have read or what they plan on reading. There are some who have a big collection regarding the gods!

I'll also cover that scenario: in case you want to worship 4 different goddesses from 4 different pantheons, that won't be a very consistent practice. Legally, nobody can or should stop you from doing that, but it will not be the most respectful thing on your part. While gods can be "imported" to other pantheons, first one has to be devoted to one pantheon and then import one or two deities from elsewhere. That means that to do it, you will have to focus on one pantheon and recognize and worship all the gods there. Meaning, if you only worship Aphrodite, it won't do it.

I've also noticed that a large portion of Hellenic Polytheists call themselves "Devotees" and that's not what they think it means. Being a devotee is closer to being a nun than having a deity that protects you. If you have one deity that protects you and you want to have their altar, that's not being a Devotee. That's more like a Christian aunty talking to their beloved saint. For someone to be a devotee, at least from what I know, they have to dedicate their life to religious worship on the temple of this particular deity. (Whilst recognizing the power of the other gods in the pantheon). I am not sure there is any place in the modern era when someone can be a devotee for a Greek god.

Lastly, I'd advise taking a look at this post for better terminology use. I get that a foreign vocabulary is difficult to use if you don't know the language. For example, you used "Hellenistic faith" and, unless you mean the state of the religion in the Hellenistic period of ancient Greece, the phrase doesn't hold the meaning you intended. Perhaps you mean "Hellenic faith"? Although the standard "Hellenic faith" for the last two thousand years is Orthodox Christianity xD So you better specify this by saying "ancient Hellenic faith".

A Greek Hellenic Polytheist was calling herself "Hellenic Greek" for her foreign audience but if she were to say this to a Greek she would sound like saying "I am a Greek Greek." And the Greek would tell her "of course you are a Greek if you are a Greek. What else would you be?" So she is misusing her own language, for what purpose I am not sure.

P.S. visit my tag #Aphrodite

I hope I covered your questions and if you have more I am here! As always, the post is open to anyone who wants to offer some more advice!

[corpuskirel]

hating on the archangels as  a demonolator? (jmp #1)

Welcome to the first of (hopefully many to come) my series which I’ve dubbed: Just my perspective! Jmp for short! I hope for this to be a compilation of just some thoughts I have as a growing occultist/demonolator. These are simply my perspectives on some things I see within the occult community, and are totally up for discussion if you’d like! My perspective should never be taken as an absolute truth, and whether you agree and disagree, please continue to keep an open mind as you read on! Thanks! 

I like to keep myself active on a number of sites related to demonolatry, especially sites where other practitioners can leave their input. I’ll be honest, next to witchtok being perhaps the most toxic platform in regards to learning witchcraft, the social media app: Amino, might as well be a close second. However, I am not here to critique the platform as a whole, but rather my experiences with other ‘demonolator’s’ there. As it is a platform for chatting, you’re bound to talk to a number of rotten apples and practitioner’s who genuinely make me question if they have taken the time to properly understand Demonolatry and Demonology before delving straight into the practice. I think one of the reason’s I despise a lot of the demonolator’s on there is the lack of seriousness and genuine priority they have for their craft. A majority of them are quick to anger, and are all for this concept of embracing the darkness, so far as to reject anything that is remotely considered as ‘light’. In my personal opinion, you cannot hurt without learning to heal, the saying also applies to you cannot understand darkness without understanding light. Switch it to positive and negative energy if that helps you understand it better. 

A number of ‘demonolator’s’, which I will choose to bracket simply because it would feel wrong to group these people (who are clearly under-researched and immature) to the legitimate demonolator’s out there who devote a lot of time into understanding demonolatry. The term legitimate is also hypocritical on my end, everyone’s paths are different, and I understand that. However even other demonolator’s on paths very different than mine devote so much time into their practice and have such a genuine pure love towards what they do. 

Getting to the point itself, I work with Archangels, and have had a number of experiences with a few of them. Perhaps in the beginning there was some fear, but as time continued, I have learned to respect and to love them the same way I adore the demonic. I will not be critiquing any hate towards all of the angels in general, as I have no experience with any of them but the archangels. I would notice oftentimes whenever I would bring it up in this chatroom of ‘demonolator’s’, this herd of users would suddenly uproar as if I had personally discriminated against them or something of the like. They would yell blasphemous things about how they didn’t like any angels, how they would never work with one, how they essentially denied the angelic existence and adored the demonic. Don’t get me wrong, I also love the demonic, but I don’t see working with the archangels as a betrayal of my path unless I were to do a 180 and become an Enochian witch full time. These ‘demonolator’s’ acted so disgusted by my mentioning of the archangels. A definite reason for this could be just religious trauma, after all, if we were to bring up our workings with a conservative Christian, or even some toxic new aged spiritualists, we might be met with a similar response. But I don’t think that’s an excuse to treat another person’s craft like that. I get it if you don’t like them that much, but it isn’t that nice to completely degrade them without acknowledging that a fair amount of demonolator’s eventually work with the angelic. For what reason? Balance. I think me being able to learn beside the archangels has helped me develop even further as a practitioner because it gave me the experience to understand them and how working with them can also be a very powerful and liberating experience. But that may be also for the fact that I know I don’t work with their Christian/Abrahamic perspective. I work happily with the masks of them that are far from an Abrahamic faith. 

I think in a way, this hatred towards the angels also comes from this inability to deal with anything Abrahamic. On those social media platforms, it seems that every time someone makes an educative post on the demonic from an Abrahamic perspective (which actually reading that post, didn’t really say anything to offend demonolators), this herd of ‘demonolator’s’, and it’s always the same people, go to attack and ostracize the post. This makes me a bit upset, because I understand being mean to Christian’s who have initiated that hatred against us, but for Christian practitioners genuinely trying to understand our perspective and sharing theirs, we shouldn’t instantly think to attack them. Rather, we should try to understand them rather than recklessly yelling insults at them. I always like to say this, but to understand demonology, understanding abrahamic faiths is also a requirement. You cannot attempt to learn demonolatry whilst ignoring its abrahamic roots. People who are still in the phase of being unaccepting of Abrahamic faiths, Angelolators, and Enochian Witches clearly have just as much growth to accomplish as those that would torment our practices. And, like I said, it’s very likely a lot of this stems from unresolved religious trauma. But seriously, I do wish more ‘demonolator’s’ would think through their words before pasting them. I love the Archangels I work with perhaps just as much as the Demons I work with, and I hold absolutely no shame in that. And I don’t think I or anyone else who works with Archangels deserves to be shamed for that. 

Just my perspective~ 

[davidjjohnston3]

I am mad at my biological father... People in Milwaukee have strong spirits but they don't test or discern from whence these spirits come (Satan); they have a kind of 'anti-a'ga'pe' that wants to send people to Hell.  I finally got fed up and started cursing or at least confuting in my head and heart, wishing there would be terrorized for messing with me / my soul.  I want them to be chastened.  In what universe is it OK to antagonize someone's soul rather than build them up / edify?  It's Babylon America: commerce is king, pornography is the supreme teacher(?), media is religion, movie-theaters are temples.  All this time my 'father-in-law' was trying to teach me the American way of lying to the civil authority and medical professionals... A while back I took stock of 'our' old family home and realized in some ways my biological parents are not that bad.  I told my biological father as much and he got even more mad / contemptuous of me. Do I not assess the man properly? Reddit got mad at me for saying 'social form' and some Christian on Twitter tried to 'nope(?!..=|)' me for saying I prayed Sec. Pompeo will be President.  'No room in the Kingdom for phony Christians.'  What's phony about defending the faith worldwide?   Paul Washer of HeartCry Ministries extols the authority of the African father and the son kneeling before him but Caucasian American dad-son relationships are not that way in my experience.  Once I bowed to my dad but it didn't mean much.  Once he bowed to me after my (near)-suicide-attempt in Korea and that did mean.. Anti-racism seemed like an important concept to me but then I thought there are so many people who just wanna get stuff and if I met Ibrim X. Kendi in real life he's probably be cordial enough but not hesitate to unlease looters and rioters against me for his vision of the greater good not to say communist-disintegrationist-chaoticist utopia.   Everyone in Milwaukee seemed to be mad at me a while back since the story of me in Korea at the high school was not 100% storybook.  'Oh David James Johnston he fell in love with his 16-17-year-old student, but realized they are being left behind or the Korean War is really terrible and they're all in danger up there then some things happened with the faculty and he tried to kill himself.'  That is not totally inaccurate but I wasn't 100% the depressive melancholy young prince over the last 9 years.  I had some ambitions and I studied a lot and I also had bad habits like smoking. I got a short-sleeved white polo shirt at the department store and lost a bit more weight.  I am around 5'11 165 I would guess.  I really have to make sense of my cardiac condition although hopefully it was acute / idiopathic from the Pfizer vaccine.  What scares me is that I had a foreaugury or prophecy(?) of it in 2016 when I felt something like a powdery liquid running down behind my breastbone at the same time as when I was walking around Lake Park in terror of Koreans from the past coming to kill me, angel soldiers, 'the stars throwing down their tears,' the tiger of wrath, and also, feeling like God was feeding me something without having to eat. I still haven't read all of Blake's 'America: A Prophecy.'

* The psychiatrist whom I respect offered or 'ordered' me Prozac last week and it made me think.  I feel almost like the Boomers saw Millennial children as having no souls.  My parents wanted to send me to Hell.  My mother always used to speak about 'Rosemary's Baby' and when I was young I ran around with a red cape in a strawberry patch.  My mother told me this when I was in the mental hospital in 2013, afraid of the color red and not wanting to tear my chicken sandwich since I thought that it was metonymic(?) for tearing the Scripture rather than swallowing / appreciating it whole.   'We Boomers worked hard, stopped the ['totally causeless not trying to help anyone'] Vietnam War, Civil Rights, moreover weathered the traumas of JFK, MLK, RFK assassinations; ergo we earned the right to treat our daughters as sex-slaves and fire out our sons in order the better to take advantage of our neighbors' daughters whilst also amusing ourselves by medicating and psychologizing our kids rather than loving them and tending / nurturing / ministering to their souls.'   I didn't take the Prozac but I did think of (Ms. / Artist / [Singer]) Kim Taeyeon - 'Love in Color' is my favorite song of hers which makes me think about abortion-culture in a way and how 'too many choices' can destroy or over-modulate the distance or scuff and wear down the love in a relationship - and bipolar disorder.  I was diagnosed with bipolar in 2012 and suffered manic symptoms for most of my childhood.  I felt in the hospital that one possible 'aetiology' or origin / backstory of bipolar is knowing that people out there want to kill you; or even, damn your soul to perdition / Hell / everlasting eternal conscious torment for displeasing them or going against their norms / expectations. My diagnosis was later jacked up to schizoaffective / bipolar schizoaffective, then nearly 'crossed the ionosphere' into schizophrenia, and is now back to schizoaffective thanks to the wonderful, integrity- and probity-filled psychiatrist, who was also the only person telling the truth and not being a corporatist tank-driving-vehicular-manslaughterer at my commitment hearing where Father in Law lied to a district judge and the justice system treated me like a second-class system.  The ONLY person whose yes was yes and no was no. I still think sometimes about 'the condition of fiction.'  I wish I could develop my more scholarly ideals sometimes rather than writing in this 'free' style as I don't really like freedom I like formality and rules. I miss [].  I used to see so many colors and I saw this person in my mind's eye / Spirit when I met her online; but yesterday I felt like I just saw 'dark red.'

*

My brother is really rich (from Data Science)... I need to mend fences with him... I feel as if over the years I might've had mixed motives in 'taking him under my wing.'  We had a bad relationship when I was young and I even stole money from him a couple of times.  I also tried to catch him looking at pornography online rather than rebuke or chastise or plead with him not to, for courting death and failure.  I just wanted to embarrass / shame him. I helped him get a job shortly after the Great Recession and I guess some part of me falsely believed he owed me a favor for that. I sent him many books over the years. After my initial diagnosis of a possibly disabling mental disorder my mother told me he had said that I could live with him if I needed help but that no longer seems a possibility - in fact he said, 'I never said that.'  I was worried since I'm weak.  Hopefully God willing I can get back to where I was a couple of months ago and actually execute sth like the description of the educational administrative job that I was offered. I came to a point in my life lately where I no longer know whether something is destiny.  When I took the HS job in Korea - maybe the biggest decision of my life - I was confident.  But in the last couple of months has been a tempest or fog of war or I simply made so many decisions I don't recognize myself completely.   I want to work on 'Leaving Babylon' or 'Leaving Milwaukee' or 'Leaving America.'  There are or seem to be good Christians in Milwaukee but why live in Babylon - commercial empire worshipping all kinds of false prophetesses, porneia, objects, death, child-rape, abortion, post-partum abortion, automobiles, meals, brands, money / Mammon and other 'stuff' Pastor Timothy Keller calls 'Counterfeit Gods' (to say too little since they're actually often demons from Hell)... I'm not sure how to write it without penning distracting trash that would give wannabe writers bad habits and make naive readers think they know more than they do. My net worth is about 2,000 dollars but I want to give it away just because I'm mad.  I thought about selling my Lenovo X-1 laptop since it's Chinese Communist poison / curse, I know it's hacked by Huawei or whoever through a nano(?)chip, Father in Law tracks with AI... I heard the new Samsung smaller notebooks have around a 17-hour battery-life.

Milwaukee's Child Protective Services appear to be some kind of CCP-derived 'metaphor-joke.'  Amber Alert a child has been kidnapped in either a silver Kia or a Chevy Impala.  You can mount a plate-reading AI-camera on a 50-dollar drone easily...

I'm applying to a job in Korea.  I have no idea if I'll get in.  It is in my favorite neighborhood, and I liked the video of their staff. This would be a 'redemption-arc' for me.  'I am so exciting.'   I don't know if it can be. I listened to a few minutes of 'Inferno' by C. Cho.  Masterpiece.   Did I ever pay dues like a BigLaw junior associate?  Was I ever fast-tracked?   Career-decisions are difficult.  I have literal rejection-demons, I think, or uncertainty-demons.  Maybe it is Belial himself: sensuality plus intellectual abnegation.  Like I want to pretend the Spirit isn't there.   Other people also suffer disappointment-demons, I feel.  Loss-demons.   Understanding others can be challenging, and the fun of it, moreover, is overrated for some people.  IDK if I can ever. And too, some people, once you understand them - when they realize you understand them - become shameless.  They get more seared-conscience than ever, like the only reason they were ever acting good was to save / maintain face.  'Buyaolian.'   In past I tried to be all things to all men but lately I ended up trying to be 'Chinese mistress' to someone in a bad way.  I had already tried 'Japanese daughter, daughter-in-a-box.'  I don't know why I don't try 'son' except it makes him fake more than usual, that I know of. I felt praised like a daughter when I got praised; although maybe it is just me. 'Hello Kitty is a girl,' Said the Sanrio person. I looked at our family cat Ariel the other day and thought, 'my adult daughter Yves from LOONA.'   He used to look like a manly lion, like Jesus even, the Lion of Judah. Cats are feminine. I would get a cat but I just want to teach and write. This cat seems at peace; he no longer overeats nor conversely is hyperthyroidal and thin / 'dried out.' I miss the cat Pukah from down the way, who was fat and 'crepitant' in her voice-sound.  I took care of her for pay and bought some Audiobooks with the 'loot' or 'lucre.'

I honestly have a theory about Koreanness I don't like to share called 'Han Death Runes' that says some people see Koreans - women and girls - and just want to rape and beat and kill them.  They just do.  Japanese soldiers / officers / the entire government did.  Doubtless Chinese did before that.  Korean men did too.  Caucasian men do now.  Other people look at babies and want to kill them - not a joke, empirical Science has recorded it; Saint Augustine some 1600 years ago developed the category of Original Sin.

For a time I was convinced that ShowerThoughts on Tumblr was the Korean girl whom I attempted to save from attempted sex-trafficking by implying she should work hard in tenth grade and learn about [AI, IT]... 

I am interested in helping orphans and other young people; today in lieu of the Lead Teacher offer I missed out on I applied to some Assistant jobs at Christian private and charter schools and was impressed with the humaneness of the management-questions on the online hiring-assessment.  Nonetheless, ‘Blessed Are the Peacemakers,’ and the world will need I think / believe for somebody to prove that it is possible to take care of young people who don’t have good parents such as through a better orphanage-system someday.  At least, this is kind of what I dream and daydream about.  I think Saint Paul would talk more about older women helping younger women to be good mothers, however, or ‘teaching’ them, whatever that means.  

The pro-life cause as this political cartoon long ago pointed out is supposed to be in favor of life far beyond the emergence in to this world as a defenseless eight-pound baby.  

*

I feel lately as if I ‘waged a war for peace’ and ended up as the only casualty.  I don’t mean to aggrandize myself.  I strengthened my enemies and all I got out of it was a clarified love.  I hope / wish that this constitutes suffering and not just punishment before Moses for being a bad teacher with abominable taste in student clientele, and also forget to send off graduates with a graceful hail and blessing, maybe a final exhortation and prayer, and let them be they.

[notcrypticbutcoy]

Hi, not sure if you are aware of this, but the Timothy post - the one with Jesus vs Satan - is offensive because it is an inaccurate (and false!) representation of Jesus. I know that conservative 'Christians' in America are horrible people, but that post is very... if you want to diss Christianity at least do it right, like "Abraham and Sarah were half siblings" or something like that. This isn't personal, mainly just... annoying

Previous Jesus anon; my point is, canon Jesus is awesome, but conservative Jesus is horrible. Also, there’s the whole literal theme cycle of sin and redemption, and sin is the conscious choice to send your faithful servant away with their death message because you - whoops! - slept with their wife and now she’s pregnant but the servant was too loyal to sleep with his wife whilst everyone else was fighting - I’m looking at you, David. Anyway. Catholic who despises “the religious belt” of U.S.A.

Listen to the Pope, not conservatives who don’t know nothing. Just… the mispresentation of my religion across mass media because of idiots is very annoying. Sorry for the rant. I like my religion, but not all of the ‘followers’ a.k.a the idolators.

Alright, I’m going to attempt to make this reply as non-salty as I can, but I should prelude with the fact that I heavily dislike and criticise religion. In general. Not just Christianity - all religions. I don’t really talk about my views on religion much, because I know it can be a very sore point, so perhaps reblogging that post was poor judgement on my part, but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I’m afraid I’m not going to apologise for reblogging that post, because it’s obviously very tongue in cheek and not meant to be taken too seriously (and…doesn’t the Bible think humans are superior to animals? Doesn’t the Bible consider human souls above animal souls, or something?) (Quick edit because I didn’t make this clear, I am aware that that whole post is pretty inaccurate to what the Bible actually says, but again...tongue in cheek!) But I am sorry you didn’t like it - if you want me to tag those sorts of things so you can blacklist it, I’m sure I can do that. Not that I plan on making those sorts of posts a habit. “Satan wants equality” or whatever someone had said just made me snort.

But, look, I get where you’re coming from. I do understand that Christianity gets a lot of flack, and if you’re a well-meaning person just trying to do your thing, it must be disheartening. So I do sympathise with you in that respect. There are bad parts of all social groups - sadly, they’re usually the ones who get the most attention. It is what it is. Christianity is not at all unique in that respect.

I’m going to rid you of the misconception that I think what I do because of religious nuts in America. I’m not American, so to be perfectly honest, while I am aware of and despise the sorts of people you are referring to, they were a creed I discovered after the founding of my original point of contention with religion when I was about six years old, came home from school one day, and apparently announced to my mother, who’d never expressed any opinion on religion at all, that I thought religion was stupid. I’ve been through phases and thought about it critically since then, obviously, but…you get my point.

Jesus is probably one of the things about Christianity I dislike the least, because I do think Christianity expresses some good messages, and he gets the majority of them, but I just disagree with most of it, as a general concept. I haven’t decided I don’t like Christianity because of a few Evangelical Christians, or because of the “misrepresentation”, as you call it, of Christianity in the media. (Which…I could make a whole other post discussing that point).

A religion can’t exist outside of its following. You can’t say that a section of Christians that large are just “idolators”, because in America, they have rather a lot of power, and however much they may be warping the Bible for their own political agendas, what they’re quoting is, nevertheless, there. The Bible does condemn all sorts of ridiculous things. That said, I have the utmost respect for people like yourself that have clearly decided to update and modernise and adapt, while still believing in your god and your religion.

But, America aside, I have obviously met many perfectly nice Christians in my life. Some have been genuinely lovely people. I still don’t believe in what they believe. I still disagree with the way that in my experience Christians, particularly, have habit of trying to convert you. I recently worked with a group of Christian women in a kids’ after school club, and the level of indoctrination made me very uncomfortable. There was no balance. They weren’t Arsehole Christians, by any means - all were perfectly accepting of same-sex marriage, of divorce, of interracial marriage, they were all very nice and friendly and did good things in the community - but they did very loudly want everyone to believe what they did. And despite my repeated insistence that while I respected their right to practise their own religion I was an atheist, they made countless attempts to convince me to go to Church with them, even after many very polite refusals and explanations. 

The day I listen to the Pope is the day I’ve been possessed by an alien, I’m afraid. I understand what you’re trying to say, but again, please don’t think I dislike your religion because I’ve heard too many “The Westbro Baptist Church Shits On Gay People” stories. It’s far more nuanced than that. I am very aware of what Christianity is really about, and I am very aware that there are perfectly lovely Christians in the world. I can like Christians - some of them, as with any section of society!

I still don’t have to agree with them.

(Anon, I feel a teensy bit mean replying to you with all this, but…there it is. I hope you have a lovely day

[sortingoutayoungcontrarian]

I recently typed the name Christopher Hitchens into the search bar on WordPress and was very disappointed with the top result. This result was an ignorant evaluation of who Christopher was as well an evaluation of his book “god is not Great. The author of this “evaluation” was clearly a fundamental Christian along with those who commented on the post thus far… Obviously, they hated Christopher and did their best to discredit everything about the man. I could not help but be a contrarian. I shall copy and paste the exchange below. I shall update per reply.

Me:

Hmm I wonder if you would find Hitchens’ points valid if they were made by a compilation of ancient misogynistic people who believed that genocide, dispossession of land, slavery, polyamorous incest, virgin-child-sacrifice-scapegoating, and baby genitalia mutilation was acceptable (all of these acts adamantly encouraged even), and then translated by a committee of megalomaniacs lead by a man who boiled his wife in a bathtub… All of whom believed the universe revolved around them in every sense the phrase entails and murdered those who said differently whilst claiming absolute morality. The reason why atheists do not mind that Hitchens may or may not have plagiarized is that they value what is true and don’t care how they get that truth. Christians, however, claim the bible to be the inerrant word of god despite its countless plagiarisms and contradictions.

If you could respond to those points which Hitchens made rather than the one he obviously did not care about (the validity of Jesus), then maybe your thoughts of critique would hold more water, maybe even have an atheist flicker with doubt . To be quiet honest, I have a very hard time believing you actually read any book by Hitchens’, due to the fact that his main focus was not to refute the overall accuracy of the bible but rather reveal the overall hypocrisy. You chose to give a general evaluation of a man by highlighting an argument he argued carelessly because there was no need at all to even argue it. Or maybe you were just scared to touch on the points he made that would open the eyes of any free thinking rational mind to see the lie they have succumbed to.

His response:

Your first paragraph has a large number of mischaracterizations similar to what is typical of Hitchens. You seem to have learned him well. Unfortunately, upon close examination, it is sophistry through and through, nothing but a hollow shell of an argument. In but one point: Flatly, circumcision is not mutilation, and to phrase it like you have is not making an argument, but merely using hollow emotional rhetoric. I gave cold explanation of a point, and you respond with emotionalism. This is typical of modern atheism, which Hitchens exemplifies. It always amazes me that atheists deal so much in emotionalism. Personally I prefer reason and logic.

Concerning what I have stated, I backed my claims. For example, see the first link in the post above. As to the Canaanites, I have responded to that as well.

Also please take note of my comment policy.

Me:

Thank you, I am proud to have learned Hitchens! I simply could not do nothing about such an inaccurate “evaluation” of a great man. As to baby genitalia mutilation, I was not making an argument but stating the fact of the matter, a beautiful baby is born and on the eighth day take a blade to its genitalia. There is nothing fallacious about that claim. If it is a semantical issue, the greek translation for ��mutilate” is from a compound of kata and temno (to cut); a cutting down (off), i.e. Mutilation (ironically) — concision. The greek word used in the bible for mutilation is “katatomé” which translates– to cut. While circumcision is “peritomē” which translates — to cut around. Look for yourself, please. Studying in-depth interlinear commentaries in greek after graduating seminary school is what drove me away from the hypocrisy that is the church. I am not an atheist, as you assumed in your lazily mistaken attempt of ad hominem, but I merely saw the bible for what it was; a perfect business plan to enslave the people in a time where theocracy reigned. What sane person would not respond with emotionalism over this? If you apply James 2:24 to the role christianity has played throughout the narrative of history you will never again be amazed by the emotionalism that apparently surprises you in atheists however. It causes good people to do bad things, when one takes the focus off themselves and the box they locked themselves in due to fear of losing after-life insurance the bigger picture reveals itself. It is a lame excuse for wars birthed from an ancient inherited trait of tribalism.

You back your claims with a text you cannot prove. As to the Canaanites, I am always amazed by how christians separate real-life and their pretend world of faith as if in admittance to it not being real; Freudian slip esque. Like a child does when playing cops and robbers and their mom calls them inside for dinner and they have to break character in order to reply, “coming mom”. For example, I was stepping outside the realm of the bible and into empirical accounts in history books. who said I was talking about genocide mentioned in the bible only? I never brought up the Canaanites, you were mistakenly assuming (again) atop your omniscience tower. I was referring to, as Hitchens was, the rules for dispossession of land and the slavery of the previous land owners outlined in Leviticus 25, specifically verses 44-46. A lame excuse for justifying lust of what their neighbor has. Leviticus is the same book that outlines the pagan tradition of sacrificing life, (e)scapegoating responsibility. Chapter 25 in Leviticus was most cited chapter in the bible within memoirs of protestants during the establishing of the USA… and people wonder why black lives matter is heading a postmodernist movement.

You still avoided addressing the topic of (1) incest, (2) misogyny (which, unfortunately for all the women of the bible, in this context implies polygamy allowed for the man alone), and (3) The irrevocable evil, with a recorded historical background that goes back thousands of years before the bible linked to ancient savage polytheistic religions : scapegoating responsibility of sins through child sacrifice.

These were the main points of Hitchens, yes? I don’t think one could give a fair “General Evaluation of Christopher Hitchens” without addressing his main points. It seems as if you are trying to hide the reader from the points made by a man who had won countless debates with the leading apologists of all the major religions. A man who is now dead and unable to defend himself… If you could respond to those claims rather than attempting to define who I am or what I believe in then your critiques would be much more (logically/reasonably) respectable. I do apologize if I crossed a line defined in your comment policy. If you would prefer to reply privately I would still appreciate hearing your defense. Whether your audience hears you out or not is not upon my conscious. I would hope they follow you in order to hear the truth rather than feed confirmation bias. I have many issues with your past posts as well that I could refute using the bible, if you are interested. I am honestly just curious and value discussions from those that have come to opposing conclusion.

His Response:

As my comment policy states, this is not a discussion board and we do no go down endless rabbit trails here. Humoring you briefly is all I will do.

–You pointed out correctly that the Greek terms for cut around and cut off are two distinct terms. In no sense is circumcision mutilation. You agree the claim is incorrect. –As for horrible things like incest, the Bible accurately portrays history but does not condone these practices. It forbids incest and shows the folly of marrying many wives, for all who do so are shown to inherit the problems these practices create. –As to the Bible’s treatment of women, any claim that the Bible has a low view of women is completely false. –Child sacrifice was practiced by the Canaanites, which is one reason God commanded they be wiped out. Israel did what you and Hitchens seem to want them to do, which is not actually kill all the Canaanites. As I explained, this resulted in Israel starting these practices, which God stopped by sending Babylon to take Israel into captivity. Please portray the whole account or stop criticizing.

I did indeed deal with Hitchens in a fair manner. All signs point to Hitchens copying from earlier atheist writings, then not even doing the research to check out whether the claims were true. He spent the rest of his life traveling around repeating these claims with bluster, yet they are completely, entirely, totally untrue. His claims about virgin birth myths are completely false. Hitchens did not even do a magazine grade level of research on these items, yet repeated them for years.

The claims in this post stand.

Per my comment policy, we will stop here.

... And then he disabled the comments...

[tipsoctopus]

"Gio is miles better", "Poch really ruined his career": Many Spurs fans react to "salty" remarks

Tottenham Hotspur witnessed the departure of Christian Eriksen in January, leaving the north London outfit for Inter Milan in a £16.9m deal following seven years at the club.

And the Danish playmaker has been speaking about why he swapped Spurs for the Serie A in a recent interview with Jyllands-Posten, he said:

“Some Tottenham fans got angry because in an interview with the BBC I said there was a greater chance of winning something here, but the high number of strong English teams only makes it more difficult to win in England whilst at Inter there is more of a possibility.

“There will always be people at Tottenham who will be mad at me, but most of the fans have been positive. I really enjoyed playing there. I met many good people, I have many good memories. I wanted to say goodbye in a different way, but that’s not the way it is in football.”

Eriksen has only been able to feature eight times for the Nerazzurri, providing a single goal and assist, both of which coming in the Europa League.

Some of the Spurs faithful have been reacting to his comments on social media as several fan accounts relayed the interview – many were still hurt by his actions whilst others had moved on.

Cameo Clubs: Which obscure teams did these football legends play for?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Jose Mourinho has had his replacement in his hands since the day he was appointed in Giovani Lo Celso, who made his loan move permanent the same day as Eriksen’s departure.

Here’s the word from supporters…

It's not that. It's how he's lacking focus in so many games especially in the away match at Olympiakos. He's heart felt missing even in the Champions League final. It felt like he was playing for the sake of being played by the manager. It felt like pre season for him for months

—

DRIPPY DAVID

(@EricDonDier) May 5, 2020

I always loved Eriksen and I’m very grateful to have had him at Tottenham for as long as we did but he went the complete wrong way about leaving and I don’t think I can forgive him for that https://t.co/z7bwCO8iwy

— Kieren (@_Kieren__) May 5, 2020

Definition of a loser, thank god we got rid of him, just a shame it was 3yrs too late https://t.co/ZZ4eSljiXc

— george b. (@g_brooks_) May 5, 2020

The fans that were mad at you were also the same fans turning up week in week out watching you jog around, back out of tackles and not put any effort in, in his last 12 months he ruined everything he has done for us!

— Martin Flack (@martinflack) May 5, 2020

He spent his last season sulking on the pitch, his bad attitude caused a fractured dressing room. Totally unprofessional. Although Spurs were also at fault and should have sold him the previous summer, they’d got more money too, if you don’t want to play for any club then go.

— Chris (@ChesneyStalks) May 6, 2020

one of the greatest players we’ve had in the PL era

— JK (@DonJose___) May 6, 2020

His actions were louder than words, the performances were shocking.

— Daniel Rogers (@danrogers77) May 6, 2020

Maybe if he stepped up in the cup finals he played for spurs he’d have won something at spurs but he went missing in both.

— ENIC OUT PAUL (@paulyboym1) May 5, 2020

Eriksen why you lying

Nobody wanted you, you wanted to go Madrid or Barcelona but they didn't want you

https://t.co/AQKULsmbO2

— Dylan Whitehouse

(@MarshDylan17) May 6, 2020

Poch really ruined his career. Imagine 5 years trophyless. https://t.co/RWaLWaoIOK

— Afif (@PragmaticMou) May 5, 2020

So disrespectful

— Eman (@EffectJose) May 5, 2020

Christian would have won more at Tottenham but he never really stepped up to plate in big games .Very good player Nonetheless was sorry he left but nobody is bigger than club .

— Tony Corbey (@TonyCorbey) May 5, 2020

Hes just salty that he has to settle for warming inters bench rather than starting for Madrid or barca

— Respect don levy (@Bartholemwhosav) May 6, 2020

Glad he went. Luxury player !

— Chris Ion (@chrision1955) May 6, 2020

Gio is miles better.

— D S R (@stratton74) May 6, 2020

AND in other news, Spurs fans fuming by another transfer report…

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/3cbBBl4 via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/3dhhXEe via IFTTT

[sophiesmiles20]

Steve and Craig

Pragmatic Documentation and reflection on this weeks work:

Taking my work from sculpture to paint has been a natural process. In the sculpture weeks I produced fabric sculptures that reflect on Jesus being risen from the dead and the praise and glory that I feel toward this being able to experience this as a Christian. The white fabric represents the shroud also the colour white represents innocence, purity, protection, goodness and light. 

I have added bright colours to show praise, glory and power but also celebration of life. That I show in time of worship. I haven't done it on all of the pieces of fabric because I still want to show that innocence, purity etc because thats the underlining feeling, I still wanted to keep that element. This is the first time that I have added colour to my work this semester up to now I have just worked in black and white whilst in the drawing section. I feel that this is the right time to introduce colour because it means something to my work and it makes you feel a different way to my previous work.  

I think that I am going to still keep my practise abstract because I have tried in previous years to make the same type of work that I am doing at the moment and it was to obvious and I felt that I couldn't show my style and faith the way that I wanted people to view it. I want people to stop and think about what I am trying to express and share with the viewers. What the viewers see might not be the same image that I see and I find that interesting and helpful to my practise to listen to what they think and feel towards it. 

At the start of the project I was looking at several environments that I respond to as an artist and it wasn't planned to focus on one environment but it has come naturally to the project by just looking at my environment at church and expand on that. I am going to respect the natural flow of my practise by keeping to this.  

To take my work forward into photography and print I will look in to the architecture of churches/interior. I would like to show that a building dense make up the church, people and community that comes together and encourages one-another, helps/listens to each other and most of all worships God as a family. 

[shadovmoses-blog]

Maintaining The Dog Look After A Stormy Walk

Are you getting the feared blue display of loss of life? Are files getting damaged that you're working with? Can't still get windows to install over a new hard disk drive? Well, your trouble may be with the memory, generally called RAM MEMORY. Memory is composed of usually among one and four small circuit boards of your computer. Recently it has fall considerably in price, and can typically be found upon popular websites such as Newegg or even your local big box retail store.

Similar is the case with CALIFORNIA. From this start you can get each and almost everything. They can still offer you a job. But by the end decision is going to be yours. It will be your choice that will matter of which how willing are you or how determined are you?

So here's to Jesse Remnick plus the forward-thinking peeps at the Fresh Yorker regarding working towards solving the great magazine issue, to sense of humor: How does a magazine proceed online whilst still protecting its honesty of design, plus their full advertising and marketing offering, and offering Net utilities like search in addition to hyperlinks?

Buying or booking or funding a game console will allow the woman to play some games, likewise many of the new consoles allow DVDs or even CDs to get played in it as well. This will make it possible to avoid having to have got both a DVD player, COMPACT DISK player plus the game gaming console. Games of each and every type are around for the woman to try out, dependent on the woman interests. Typically the games carry out cost regarding $50. 00 average, and this may also be considered. Borrowing several games from your friend or even relative might be another option. Renting movies and games can be rented from local movie stores or perhaps from an email order video clip service. Many of these also permit the woman to view movies limitless on her computer, as well.

Play The fatigue Clock. Establishing deadlines is a good way to inspire you to take good care of the most important focus. Create deadlines for your hard chores plus assignments (and your children's) and put a part of your time besides each day to tackle the biggest ones. This will likely keep you from getting crazed the night before your midterm once your son's science project is due the next day.

Certainly, these types of idea is true as the physical appearance on the shaver is very sophisticated. Nevertheless, is the elegant visual appeal worthy typically the performance? Truly, you shouldn't request that question for the reason that reply is definitely completely yes. This razor will help you to own wonderful shaving knowledge.

Lastly, Mr. Will claims (half seriously, he or she says) of which Tom Demanding, America's Special Envoy upon Climate Change, has dishonored the First Change which forbids the government coming from undertaking the particular establishment of faith. Mr. Will can say of which because he states, "a religious beliefs is what typically the faith within catastrophic man-made global warming has become. " Maybe Mr. Will is ignorant that there is a new Christian environment movement, sponsored by the Nationwide Council of Churches then made up of training Protestants in addition to Catholics that promotes very good stewardship in addition to respect for the Earth.

[machinehead]

RE:  PINEAPPLE SUNFLOWER SEEDS AND MORE

I don’t know if any you have tried this ridiculous experiment with sunflower seeds and/or pineapple, but the comments and this music video by nut job/ Head Case Floyd MC BBQ have kept me in stitches!! @mcbbq - Big Loads (music video):  https://youtu.be/s7wqVXBTRHI

And I couldn’t stop laughing at this photo:  https://instagram.com/p/BU4jHD1FDj_/ Dyin’ ova' here! This just in; my A&R head honcho Monte Conner tells me that veteran music manager Scott Koenig claims that pure Pumpkin Seed Oil produces HUGE loads! One more thing to try I guess... I have yet to see any results, but it is supposed to take a couple weeks. Below are 3 of the most interesting replies I recieved regarding muslim/gay friends. From:  Peter Southwood Sunflower seeds and pineapple - no fucking idea. Sounds like bullshit. Muslim Friends - Apart from having very few friends anyway, none at the moment. However, I have known plenty, and the one thing I know is that they are people first, Muslim second (unlike the majority of Christians I have met). The Muslim community in the UK don’t even recognise jihadists as being Muslim. They don’t want the three pricks who attacked London on Saturday to be buried with Muslims. Kathy Griffin - It’s all a matter of perspective. If there weren’t beheadings by extremists in the middle east, would we see the picture in a different light? If this were during the election campaign, would we see it as less disgusting? With what Trump has said about Muslims, trying to ban them from going to the US, people could see the image as a jihadist with the presidents head, and therefore an attack on America. Personally, I have no problems with the picture; not funny nor satirical, but controversial and too easy to be misinterpreted by those who want to. Gay friends - Can’t say much about having gay friends; as I mentioned before, I have very few friends as it is, let alone gay ones. However, being gay myself, I find it funny that it’s frowned upon in the metal community. Let’s face it, one of the most popular rock singers was gay (Freddie Mercury), and the main figure behind the leather look that a lot of metal bands and fans adhere to, Rob Halford, got his look from the Leather scene in the gay community! Personally, I’m not worried about being open at a metal gig. In fact, whilst queuing outside the Hammersmith Apollo to see you guys, I got speaking to a couple of others. When they asked if I was married, I told them that my boyfriend and I were waiting for a while. We then went on to have a fucking fantastic time inside. The fact that I’m in the UK and not the US may explain it somewhat; there’s no-where near the level of bigotry over here. There are still some fucktards, but I’ve been lucky enough not to have come across them (not that I would, even if they wanted it!) From:  Waseem Ahmed Mr Flynn A 43 year old Londoner here who’s been listening to your music since 1994, well-kept digipaks of Burn My Eyes and TMTC proudly sat in my music collection, along with your other releases. And a muslim too. And I naturally know shedloads of muslims, both professionally and personally. Last Sunday, I was on the underground on my way to the theatre in the Covent Garden area with my kids. My sister sat opposite me, still heavily mourning the loss of her childhood favourite Chris Cornell. I received a text from a friend in Paris asking me to be careful as emotions would be running high following the London Bridge incidents. I responded that I’d be fine, "I’m wearing a Machine Head t-shirt so everyone will love me." Then it hit me. We’ve reached a point in London, one of the most awesome multicultural cities in the world, where we are now having to explain ourselves and how we differ to the maniacs that wreaked havoc in Manchester and London. Passing questions. All politely asked though. Are you ashamed about what they did? You’re not like those other muslims are you? At that moment, protecting me from any glare was my Bloodstone & Diamonds tour t-shirt. Damn, bad times. My 9-year-old boy is going to his first gigs this year, ticking off Linkin Park and Metallica of his wishlist. He’s scared after hearing about the Ariane Grande concert incident. I’ve told him he will be safe as security has increased everywhere. Fortunately he’s not cottoned onto the muslim label thing yet. That would be heartbreaking to see. I’ve been gigging in London since the age of 17. Classic venues such as The Marquee and Astoria have gone. One thing has remained. The camaraderie at metal gigs, irrespective of faith, skin tone or whatever. Everyone looks after everyone and we’re all there for the same thing. Together. Irrespective of the nonsense taking place in the world, I hope this bond remains throughout my lifetime and beyond. Well now you kinda know another muslim, although via email. If you’re ever in London and fancy a hearty home cooked curry, you’re most welcome to join me and my family. I’ll invite my gay work colleagues too. They are awesome too. And one’s a diehard metaller and one my favourite gig buddies ☺ All the best Waseem From: Svetlana Simanski Subject: Muslims and pineapples Hey Robb, I just read your TGJ email and laughed a lot - what a mix of topics and - since I'm already craving for new MH stuff - I thought the email would maybe an update. Anyway... as a straight girl I have been confronted with the pineapple-hypothesis several times in my life and - until today - in my opinion this is just a way to get girls into BJs a little more. :D Men can never get enough, so they invented this hoax to maybe achieve exactly this. And yes, I already tried to prove the hypothesis. Guess what, the pineapples had no effect at all. If you've ever tasted cum in your life you might know why pineapple-flavor sounds like a nice game-changer. So much on this topic. Now lets get to the muslims. I'm 28 years old right now and I am from Germany. After WW2 there came many guest-workers from Turkey to help us out here, to rebuild the country and most of them stayed, had families and their kids had families themselves, but I never was in touch with them. I met some in my time as a student at university, but never was closer friends with one so I didn't have a chance to get to know the culture or the religion. So, honestly, I had some prejudices. Not from my own experience, but from the word that spread. I live in a big city and we have to deal with some issues here. There are places you shouldn't visit after dark or even whole parts of the city which are not completely safe for white girls in black clothes and without a hijab. Well, of course I had kind of an inner fight with myself and these prejudices. I didn't want to have them at all and since we welcomed like two millions of refugees in Germany over the past two years I decided to work this out for me. Can you believe we still have Nazi-stuff going here in Germany? Didn't they learn anything from history or is it just a story, a bad fairy tale for some people? Honestly, I don't get it. Anyway I took a new job offer at a stationary youth welfare institution and had no idea what to expect. This was kind of an experiment for me and I started six months ago. I work there with 22 refugees. With kids. They came all the way without their parents or any other relatives. The youngest one is 15 years old and he arrived in Germany when he was 13. He did the whole fucking trip vom Afghanistan to Germany by himself. This age I played with barbie or tried out how to look good with make-up. Those were my problems. Wow... I thought I had to go through some things in my life, but I realized it was nothing compared to what they did to come here. What they had to do in their countries to basically survive. They killed for the Taliban to save their families. Can you imagine? No, neither can I. So now I know like 26 muslims (my boss and some coworkers are muslims as well) and I love them all. The kids are so kind and so cute, help- and respectful. You can't imagine. For me this changed everything in my life. Before this job I couldn't image to have a romantic relationship with a muslim, now I can. Besides... they're all a little too young, but in ten years from now... I'd see a bunch of handsome and polite young men from Afghanistan and I can tell you, there are some really, really special characters among them. Just awesome. I got to know their culture a little bit, their habits and routines in religious practice and I even started to learn a little Persian. My job is to look after them in any situation and explain the pitfalls of german bureaucracy. We are also friends somehow, they tell me stories about their lives in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Eritrea - sad and happy ones - and this is basically all I need. This job just gives me back so much. The love and the kindness you get back from these kids is amazing. It took some time to realize: I'm part of their lives now, I am somehow their sister, mother, aunt and friend at the same time. I can't write down all my experiences here, but I wanted to let you know at least a small part of my story and how this job changed my view, my behavior, my thinking and the way I speak to others about muslims or their culture, especially from Afghanistan. I'm hoping my English isn't too bad and you can somehow imagine what I tried to describe. Hope to see you in Germany in 2018. I'll be there, somewhere in the crowd. Cheers from Germany, Svetlana

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[eejytcxt]

Branches

You can be sure about things you do. You can also be unsure about it. Afterall, you come back as usually, confused and questioned. Do you ever imagined about fate? How do we apply it? Or how do it functioned? This skeptical always hate when people says, “It is fated to be” as if you never try your hard not making it to happen. In this journey, we assume to be liked by our surrounding. We always have a thought that people around us liked us. But how many likes we liked? How many of it is true whilst it isn’t? 

I’d watched “PASKAL Movie” last two days and found of one good advice said by one of the actor. He said to the hero more or less sounds:

“Dalam hidup ni, tak ada betul atau salah. Yang ada cuma simpang. Macam dahan pokok, setiasa bercabang” 

By means: “In this life, there is no right or wrong. It only has junctions, like tress, always branched”

Couldn’t agree more. Somehow, we always questioned our decision. True? Wrong? How many percent is true inside wrong? And how many percent is wrong inside true? Ever wonder? Personally, I thought there is no such a thing in making decision. It either you manage to get it easier, or you learn it hard way. So, no right or no wrong. Both are lesson to learn. 

Then what about the terror attacked in New Zealand? It is a wrong choice? Or lesson to learn? For me definitely a lesson to learn. That is his choice of behavior, but for us, muslims especially, we don’t hold any grudge towards non-muslim. Them are what they are, the attitude and action they took on one occasion. We are the reflection of our own behavior. The best part about this issue, Islam is upgrading from some called terrorist to a victims and non-muslim in New Zealand started to protect our brother and sister. That’s the truth. We, Jews, Christian and Muslim are from one root of religion. Agama Samawi which come from Nabi Ibrahim A.S. or Abraham. 

What is the lesson to learn? Of course, learn not to be racist and learn to respect each other believes. Doesn’t mean we have a different view on something, we are wrong. We just look at one thing in different views. Try to accept people opinion, not judge them. Simple. If there any goods with terror attacked? What do you get from being so violence? Satisfied? Angry? Don’t blame the game, don’t blame their broken family. And the most important stop blaming him. Keep our faith and pray. Move on. Look at the bright side, them, whom died from the attacked is InshaAllah a Syahid and will be granted Jannah. Allah itu Maha Penyayang. Alhamdulillah for our fallen sister and brother. 

Branches, which you decide which path will you walk through. Left, right or straight. No right or wrong. Just a decision of yourself. Hence you gotta to figured out. Figured it out and find the happiness in every decision you made. Things will not work out the way you think it could. It takes time, it take courage. Let fight for a better outcome!

“Don’t let fear stop you from doing the thing you love”

- Mr Moon, Sing

Until next time guys...

[cfijerusalem]

Watching Over Zion Report 11th October 2018 (2nd Cheshvan 5779)

The Word

In the eleventh year in the month of Bul [Cheshvan], the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He [King Solomon] had spent seven years building it. (1 Kings 6:38) By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.  (Hebrews 11:7)

Pointers For Prayer

Please pray for the two families of the Israelis murdered on Sunday in Barkan, an Israeli town close to Ariel in the Shomron, about 25 km east of Tel Aviv. Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, a 28-year-old Israeli Jew from Rosh Ha'ayin in Israel was murdered in the terror attack in the Barkan industrial zone. She leaves behind a husband and a two-year-old baby. The name of the other victim is Ziv Hajbi, a 35 year old father. Full story below.

The traditional prayer for rain that is added to the Amidah (Standing Prayer) during the month of Cheshvan is “Bless this year and all its produce for the good for us, O HaShem our G-d, and grant dew and rain as a blessing on the face of the earth…”This prayer continues to be recited three times a day until Pesach (Passover). Please do join with Israel in praying that the LORD God would indeed open the heavens and pour down rain upon the land of Israel.The Sea of Galilee is once again dangerously low. Do pray over these next weeks and months that Israel would have an abundant supply of rain.

Noah’s absolute faith in God, which resulted in uncompromising obedience, was the reason he was able to truly enter a place of blessed rest. In fact, the name Noah, or Noach in Hebrew, means rest. He was not a man who “leaned on his own understanding” of a situation, but trusted wholeheartedly in the Word of the Lord and obeyed. We will also come to this place of peace and rest when we learn to simply trust and obey God at His Word.Too often we try to reason everything out and make sure something makes sense or agrees with our theology before complying with God’s commands. Please do continue to pray for all who work/volunteer for Christian Friends of Israel throughout the world. Do pray for our strength and health and for an increase in support and fruit that will last. Pray too that we would be refreshed after a very busy summer period, and pray the Lord would ‘rain down’ all that we need spiritually and physically, and for the financial aid for us to keep going.

The Colours and Calm of Chevan 

The Hebrew month of Cheshvan (which generally falls in October/November) is one of my favorite times of the year, yet why? The dark nights will soon be upon us, and all those cold wet days… what can possibly be nice about that?  Well, for those of us who have had a very busy summer, Cheshvan comes after all the summer Christian festivals in the UK like New Wine etc. and the many conferences that I’ve been involved with.  For those who live in Israel, they will have experienced the full impact that the month of Tishrei brings, a month full of holy days: Rosh HaShanah, the Days of Awe, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and Simchat Torah.  So many holidays mean that nothing gets done until “after the holy days.” For me, this time of the year always seems like a time to “settle down” and possibly create a normal schedule – whatever normal is!  Okay… there is still an awful lot to do, and Chanukah/Christmas is just around the corner… but wait… stop… just for now, slow down, breath… kick some autumn leaves and enjoy the autumn colours, if only for a brief moment.

Our son Matthew spoke recently at the CFI Conference on the Isle of Wight on the importance of the Sabbath rest.  He said that when God created us, He created us as ‘human beings’, not ‘human doings’ – and he’s right.  But there is a great balance between being and doing. It’s easy to feel important, significant, when you are accomplishing something. From the world’s standards, when one is ‘done’ with your activity, one can look back and take pride and satisfaction in having achieved.  And western society certainly has great respect – even pride - for doing and accomplishing.  But what about “being”?  Should we not stop trying to accomplish long enough to appreciate what we’ve got, who we are, where we are? It could be a long walk on the moorland – which is what I did last week, or enjoying an occasional football match, which again is what I did last week… or it could be just sitting at home and enjoying some quiet!

Matthew spoke on the importance of the Sabbath rest.  I personally look forward to that moment when ‘Shabbat’ kicks in. After rushing around all week, it’s great to stop and ponder. And that is what happens in most Jewish homes… they stop… strike a match and light the candles. The woman of the house would wave her hands in the air whilst praying, sending light from the candles to family and friends saying the special blessing, ushering in the holiness of Shabbat. In that moment, there is nothing left to accomplish.

In the Bible, Cheshvan is called the month of bul (bool) (בּוּל) a name that stems from the word for “flood” (מַבּוּל). According to the rabbis, the flood began on the 17th of Cheshvan, and ended the following year on the 27th of Cheshvan. On the following day, the 28th of Cheshvan, Noah brought his sacrifice to God and God swore never again to bring a flood upon the earth to destroy all mankind, and then He revealed the sign of His covenant with the world, the rainbow – something that perhaps both Jews and Christians should be claiming back?

According to a study I’m doing at present, in the time of King Solomon, the Jewish people worked for seven years building the ‘The House’ – the Temple in Jerusalem. Their work was finally completed in the month of Cheshvan. The Jewish Temple epitomized the balance between doing and being. There were many detailed commandments about how the Temple must be built, and how one must go about bringing a sacrifice etc.  But there had to be a point when one would simple stand before man’s Creator, just for a moment, just to bask in the light and the depth of that connection. Now of course I’m not saying our work isn’t important.  And the past few months have been very important for the ministry of CFI UK as you will see, but we all still need the space and quiet to reflect on Who it is we are serving!  By the way… Cheshvan is also a month which has no holidays or special mitzvot (commandment). In Jewish thought, we are taught that it is “reserved” for the time of Mashiach (Messiah), who will inaugurate the third Temple in Cheshvan. Now that’s interesting… how far off are we of the Messiah returning?  But for now, we must wait, and treasure the moment.

Why The Rush Already?

So why exactly are the summer months so busy for ministries like Christian Friends of Israel in the UK (CFI)?  Well, every year, thousands of Christians attend summer festivals throughout the UK, yet approximately 80% have little understanding of Israel or of the ministry of CFI.  This year 20,000 Christians attended the ‘Big Church Day Out South’ where CFI’s Head Office staff Jacob Vince, Ruth Henderson and Lucy Synenko worked.  Julia and I worked with Emily Allen (volunteer) at the ‘Big Church Day Out North’ where about 12,000 Christians attended.  Up in the Scottish Highlands in July, CFI’s Paul & Mo Hayes (Regional Links) worked at the Refuel Festival on the banks of the River Spey in the Scottish Highlands, where over 1,000 Christians attended.

Also in July and August, CFI was back at New Wine in Somerset. 30,000 Christians attend this event over a two week period.  Week One had CFI’s Ruth Henderson and Ann Campbell (volunteer) with Jacob Vince working, while Julia, Matthew and I worked Week Two.  Later in August Julia and I worked at the ONE Event festival in Lincoln where around 6000 delegates came.  CFI still have the C.R.E. London to come on 16-18 October 2018 – do pray for this event as Moira Dare-Edwards (Regional Link) and CFI staff and Trustees work at the CFI stand. – click here for the free tickets available. In 2017, almost 5,000 attended this CRE (Christian Resource Exhibition).   

From the New Wine festival Julia Soakell wrote, “Although we had very few negative responses at all, it would be fair in summary to say, that we need to pray for those who avoided visiting the stand or who think Israel is completely irrelevant to their walk with the Lord and the Church and nation at all.” Both Matthew and I kept the CFI Social Media up-to date various times each day, and Matthew also created a new short video, so do check out our highlights from New Wine, where once again we engaged with thousands of festival visitors. You can view the video by going to our CFI YouTube channel or simply click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_BtmSCWBw4.

So, think about it… Why does Christian Friends of Israel do these summer festivals?  Well, approximately 74,000 Christians attended these events, yet roughly 80% knew little about Israel or the ministry of CFI.  I would say it is imperative that we make this our focus, and get the truth out.

Why The Media Silence Over The Death of Israelis?

A Palestinian terrorist murdered an Israeli mother and another work colleague on Sunday morning, yet the disgraceful headlines at some news outlets went with totally inaccurate reports, while others like the BBC and Sky News didn't even run the story.  CNN reported a ‘workplace shooting’. Really CNN? A Palestinian terrorist ties up a young mother and shoots her in cold blood in Barkan, central Israel. He then murdered another Israeli, a father of three, and CNN report it as a workplace shooting? Should we be surprised? Sadly no, but one wonders how the media would have reacted had it been an Arab Palestinian killed!

The terror attack took place in Barkan, an Israeli town close to Ariel in the Shomron, about 25 kilometres east of Tel Aviv. Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, a 28-year-old Israeli Jew from Rosh Ha'ayin in Israel was murdered in the terror attack. She leaves behind a husband and a two-year-old baby.  Kim was one of two people who were executed in this heinous attack. The name of the other victim is Ziv Hajbi, a 35 year old father. Ziv Hajbi, from Rishon L’Tzion, was a “pure and amazing soul who left behind three children and a wonderful wife”, said his mother Iris.

According to sources Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel was executed by a Muslim Palestinian terrorist who handcuffed her to a chair and shot her. Security forces and Shin Bet agents continue the manhunt for the Palestine Authority resident who perpetrated the attack (a male in his 20s). The Palestinian terrorist, Suleiman, posted on his Facebook Page, “May Allah send the message I am longing for.” Both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad applauded the attack. “The Hamas movement and the Palestinian people everywhere praise the heroic operation near the Ariel settlement,” Hamas said in a statement. Hamas also handed out sweets to celebrate.  Suleiman was employed at the factory were both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs work together. The terrorist had worked there for the past seven months as an electrician. Please keep the families of Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi in your prayers.

And Israel Still Bless 

Israel have suffered thousands of rockets being fired at their civilians in Israeli towns from Hamas in Gaza; They have suffered many months of Hamas terrorists sending various weapons to burn Israeli farmers’ fields, and yet even as two Israeli Jews were being murdered, literally, Israel continued to stretch out their hand of humanity!  On Sunday between Gaza and Israel, 20,829 tons of goods in 639 trucks entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom Crossing. There were 4 ambulance crossings through Erez Crossing and 209 Palestinian Arabs entered Israel from Gaza for humanitarian purposes.  On top of this, and despite the fact that Indonesia refuses to conduct diplomatic relations with Israel, the Jewish state has sent water purifiers to the earthquake and tsunami-devastated country, and has also sent a team to help.  To view other areas where Israel have often been the first to help, click here:

However, it appears to be a different story when it comes to the Palestinian Authority helping the people of Gaza.  According to a report in the ‘liberal’ Haaretz newspaper recently, it was agreed in a meeting of donors to the Gaza Strip that Qatar would pay for fuel for Gaza’s sole power plant, under a UN-brokered deal that seeks to end the severe energy crisis gripping the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.  According to the report, Qatar will invest $60 million.  The diesel fuel was supposed to enter Gaza last week through the Kerem Shalom crossing. However, the Palestinian Authority contacted the Israeli gas company that provides diesel fuel to both Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and threatened to boycott it and stop all purchases if it transferred the fuel to Gaza. The PA warned it would start buying all its fuel and gas from another country, such as Jordan. The PA officials also called UN employees in Gaza who were to physically transfer the fuel and threatened that they would pay a “heavy price” if they showed up to work. In other words, the Palestinian Authority, led by the ‘moderate’ President Mahmoud Abbas, blocked an improvement in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, primarily to make clear to the whole world that the PA must be involved in any step regarding the territory.

In about two weeks, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee will convene and possibly resolve to completely halt all its payments to Gaza, which currently stand at $96 million a month. But who will be blamed? Not the Palestinian leader!  Even though Hamas have received billions of dollars in aid already – most from the U.N., most of the money has gone on building tunnels to enable terrorists to attack Israel, along with more money for Hamas rockets.  However, due to Abbas’ PA hampering further efforts, and the likelihood that the situation in Gaza will become even grimmer, we can only see the anti-Israel groups and even Hamas themselves blaming Israel yet again.

Nikki Haley, Resigns As US Ambassador To The United Nations

Well, I don’t think any of us saw this one coming – “US Ambassador Nikki Haley – who is a ‘true friend of Israel’ resigns.” USA President Donald Trump has accepted Nikki Haley’s resignation as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and now many are speculating as to the reason for Ambassador Haley’s resignation as Washington’s envoy to the United Nations, but as I’m writing this report, there has been no official reason given to date for the dramatic move.  Major American Jewish groups and top Israeli politicians issued effusive praise of US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley following the announcement of her resignation on Tuesday.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished Haley well, saying she “led the uncompromising struggle against hypocrisy at the UN, and on behalf of the truth and justice of our country.”  The Israel Defence Forces @IDFSpokesperson tweeted, “Thank you @nikkihaley for your service in the @UN and unwavering support for Israel and the truth. The soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute you!” Naftali Bennett, Israeli politician and leader of The Jewish Home party tweeted, “Dear Amb @NikkiHaley, on behalf of the Israeli people: Thank you for what you've done for Israel. We will not forget.” Yair Lapid, an Israeli politician and former journalist serving as Chairman of the Yesh Atid party also tweeted, “Nikki Haley is a great friend of Israel and an important voice at the United Nations. She took on the hypocrisy and bias at the UN with conviction and clarity. Thank you @NikkiHaley.”

Without doubt, Nikki Haley has been one of the best, if not THE best U.N. ambassador for decades. Haley identifies herself as a Christian and she is a strong supporter of Israel. She has been fearless about speaking truth to dictators the world over, and to the often corrupt and undemocratic United Nations itself.  In her resignation press conference President Trump afforded her the honour of inviting her to sit in the chair in the Oval Office – a chair normally reserved only for visiting heads of state.  So what will become of Nikki Haley? One thing is for sure, whoever takes on the role of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. will have big shoes to fill. But could she actually have resigned because she needs time to plan ‘strategically’ and carefully for a 2024 presidential run?  I would not be surprised if Nikki Haley does run for presidency and indeed even became America’s first female president. I for one would welcome that move, and I’m sure Israel would too. David Soakell Media Correspondent Tweet me @David_Soakell

[henleybeachchurch-blog]

Reflections on the Readings for the First Sunday of Advent Year B

Compiled by  Father Claude Mostowik msc, Director, Missionaries of the Sacred Justice and Peace Centre Convenor, Pax Christi Australia [NSW] President, Pax Christi Australia.

Most would remember when a school teacher needed to leave the classroom, and would do so with a ‘I’ll be right back, so you better not misbehave.’ Of course, no one did for a few minutes, but the longer the teacher was out of the classroom, the more trouble that ensued. And then there was trouble. Mark was trying to avoid this by wanting everyone to be in his or her place, doing exactly what the ‘returning’ Jesus expected. Mark uses the images of being asleep or being awake; being conscious or being oblivious to what’s happening around us. The key virtue for Christians around the year 70 is simple: ‘Be watchful! Be alert!’ Be doing what Jesus expects you to do when the door of the Parousia suddenly opens. Yet more than 2000 years later, though we no longer expect his imminent return, alertness still remains a key virtue because for Jesus God was present and effectively working in everyone’s life. He tried to make others aware of God’s kingdom among them; that they be alert to a presence most people did not seem to notice.

The cosmic imagery Mark has used just prior to this passage suggests upheaval, destruction of the Temple, images of war, earthquakes, famine and family betrayal. Great words for the preachers and prophets of doom! It can come as a shock that a season perceived to be about joy and peace begins with the end of the world. As Advent approaches, Jesus’ words come less as a shock but as something familiar. This last year up to a couple of months ago, there were a number of times when my world ended in a small way. Nothing like the End of the World Jesus describes here, but a gap left with the death of my mother, the death of my 16 year old feline companion, the death of a friend. I see these ending as part of the many endings that people all around me experience.

They are all connected and the coming of Christ at the end of time somehow shows me that he inhabits and is present in ending we experience. Advent calls us to be on the lookout for the presence of Christ who inhabits our every loss, who is present in each devastation, and gathers us up when our world has shattered, and offers healing now. On another level, the destruction might not be of the world but the ruin of the status quo. It might point to how harsh the world is, but also how it can be when we are ‘alert’.

The emergence of new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting can threaten the established order. We have seen this in various social movements. People calling for a new way of doing things. Something new is possible and we are being offered an alternative way to be human. Ingrained habits, and mindless and oppressive ‘business as usual’ is being challenged. The old world of the 1%, the world of corporate greed is challenged more and more. Some will accept the changes and others will struggle against it. Christ’s words are those of comfort and presence despite pictures of darkened skies and falling stars and suggestions of violence which jump-start Advent.

It is necessary to both work and watch. It means to be a servant (‘each with his or her own work’) and a doorkeeper (‘on the watch’). This work is a cooperation with the One who is active and at work bringing about a new humanity. We are being invited or lured into collaborating. Can we live engaged in God’s world and be open to the arrival of the new? We are called to be fully present to the moment, immersed in the present, and looking to the future. This waiting is not passive but an active waiting… whilst listening, discerning and doing. Jesus did not wait around. Nor was he always patient. A call to patience, like the call to ‘obedience’ or ‘loyalty’, can subvert being active; people can be lulled into accepting an unjust status quo. Institutions [commercial, political or religious] thrive when we are sleepy, passive, obedient and impressionable. We can be uncritical [asleep] about the rantings of people [advertisers, politicians and shock jocks] about the world, our country, or the church. We see then when the drone goes on about the need for further military involvement in the Middle East or the so-called threats to our security by people who seek our protection.

Former member of parliament and courageous advocate for asylum seekers and other people suffering injustice, Petro Georgiou, said: ‘In life, do you know how many things you'd like to walk past and not notice?...Lots. But sometimes you do notice, and when you notice, you have to do something.’ The global financial crisis has awakened some to look at our values. Climate change is waking us up to how we deface the earth and how our action or lack of action harms our Pacific neighbours. We do not always wake up to the fact that an Israeli death is just as tragic as that of Palestinian. When our Government continues to change the rules to hurt voiceless and helpless people, especially children, who seek our protection from violent situations, will we wake up to what is meant by a ‘fair go’. Or, do we drift of back to sleep.

Patience and waiting do not change the world. It is a call to engagement. Otherwise those who are poor, lonely, elderly, sick, have to wait even longer. The poor wait for an end to their suffering in a world where medicine is patented. World AIDS Day commemorated on Friday continues to prompt us to remember those who still struggle to obtain even generic and affordable medication for their illness. Indigenous people and gay people still wait for justice, equality and freedom. And when it is achieved, it is given grudgingly and with conditions. Is God silent because we are asleep?

In a cry from the heart, Isaiah [520 BCE] pleaded for an end to God's silence. God seemed remote or absent at a time when the nation was in ruins and the Temple desolate. Now we wait for God’s servants to be near, active, healing and gathering.

People in the Pacific wait for us to listen and respond to their situation of climate change; people in Syria and Afghanistan want their countries back from the foreign forces and insurgents that attack them over and over again with impunity; the people of Zimbabwe have waited for 37 years for some measure of relief from oppressive and corrupt government but will there be change; people on Manus Island cry out for us to listen to their pleas for security and freedom but who is listening? people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries still ask what the future holds for them when medicines are unavailable due to the ‘profit motive’; West Papua still cry out for respect, for human rights and autonomy in the face of ongoing repression and violence, but is the world listening; Palestinians remain imprisoned in Gaza and endure daily hardships few of us know about. All are God’s children and all are vulnerable and ‘vulnerability’ means ‘waiting to be wounded’ again and again. If God cares, we need to join Isaiah who demands God’s face be shown again – a face that is shown in our presence, our solidarity and our care and compassion.

Advent invites us to be in solidarity with all that groans and who groans under the birth pangs of the new creation. In the movie, The Way, four men set out alone to do the Camino - pilgrimage/walk to Compostella. They aim to go alone but fall in together during the walk. The Way begins with the story of Daniel, a young man, who was somewhat estranged from his father, Tom (played by Martin Sheen). When Daniel is killed in an accident not long after beginning the pilgrimage, Tom flies to France to identify and reclaim Daniel’s body. Here Tom learns that his son had embarked on the ‘Camino’ in order to ‘find himself’, and so decides to complete the pilgrimage in his son’s memory. Intending to keep to himself and his own thoughts, Tom finds himself in the company of three other men – all with personal reasons for taking the 800 kilometre journey. An extrovert Dutchman who only intended to lose excess weight discovers within himself a depth of kindness and joy he had not appreciated earlier. An embittered Canadian divorcee was on the journey to quit smoking but finds forgiveness and acceptance. An Irish writer looking for a story for a novel rediscovers his faith. And Tom, who intended to scatter his son’s ashes at the end of the journey, ends up with a new understanding of, and a deep respect for, the son he had lost. In this story of gradual, quiet and personal transformation, the four men, in their interaction, discover the difference between ‘the life we live and the life we choose’.

In the 1960's, an out of touch Church offered a new view of itself and its mission: ‘The joys and hopes, the sadness and pain of human beings in our time, above all, of the poor and all who suffer, are also joys and hopes, sadness and pain of Christ’s disciples. There is nothing truly human that doesn’t find a place in his heart……’ (Gaudium et spes. 1). It needs to continue to struggle with this as it finds that this is not possible unless it is accountable, allows for diversity, embraces the world, seeks to serve rather than defend its power structures, and seeks healing and justice rather than defending its image. This takes us back to last Sunday’s gospel: ‘Whatever you did to the least of these you did it to me!!’ As with Isaiah, we too need God to ‘rend the heavens and come down,’ to rend, rip away the indifference and egoism that separates country from country, race from race, male from female, rich from poor, young from old, religion from religion, healthy from sick, etc. More importantly however, we need to pray that we rend our hearts and be part of the change that we want to see. God is already in the action. God has been embracing us with love all along. The Eucharist reminds us that God is bound to us and bound up with the whole of creation. Yes, there is serious pain in the world, in our community. There are wars and rumours of wars. There's strife within families, and even within the Church and between churches, those called to be one in Christ. God’s name continues to be profaned, used as a political prop to assert power over the powerless when God’s name is really the name of the one who is compassionate, a servant, who feeds the hungry, lifts up the lowly, frees the prisoner. We know this as well as Mark’s readers did. God’s reign is not late in coming, it has not been derailed. It is here. We know the God of Jesus is love, and love [our love] drives out fear.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote of the connection between the spiritual life and the human condition in his book The Phenomenon of Man: ‘We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.’ Despite the images in Mark’s Gospel, we are bombarded with so many distractions such as catastrophes in the form of hurricanes and typhoons, political unrest, illness, family/work stressors, violence and addictions that distract us from living fully human/spiritual lives. Mark tells us that we must ‘Watch’ – not what others are doing or be in judgement of them, but to watch and be alert to what we are thinking, doing, feeling, giving and taking. Do our actions and interactions and engagements with others align with those of Jesus – his loving and healing presence? We need to trust that others will benefit from our loving presence.

Panic and fear, like sleep, keeps us from watching and listening, from the ability to respond to another person, and with that, the ability to love. Keep watch and respond with love. Let’s not nod off when the attractions and comforts of life in one of the richest nations of the world attempt to lull us into complacency: keep watch, and respond with love. There will be earthquakes and wars and famines, as well as more personal catastrophes of betrayal, but there is nothing that can derail this train, so people, get ready: Jesus is here, and always has been. Keep watch, and respond with love.

As Advent begins, can we help one another to discover the difference between ‘the life we live and the life we choose’? Can we try to make of our lives a journey where every person we meet and every circumstance we find ourselves in are a revelation of God’s presence in our midst?

God is both the road we travel and the destination of the pilgrimage on which we have embarked.

Advent reminds us to be alert along the way and to be open to the unmistakable signs of God present in the people we meet and the events that happen to us. God’s work began in Jesus’ ministry, and it continues in our midst and with us. We are faithful disciples not when we focus on the future and obsess about the end of the world but when we commit our lives, here and now, to the great work of God, repairing this world, shaping a new creation of beauty, grace, justice, and joy, leaning into the reign of God.

Don’t Just Give Thanks: Pay It Forward One Act of Kindness at a Time John W. Whitehead Dissident Voice November 22, 2017.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them”. — John F. Kennedy

It’s been a hard, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning kind of year filled with violence and ill will. It’s been a year of hotheads and blowhards and killing sprees and bloodshed and take downs. It’s been a year in which tyranny took a step forward and freedom got knocked down a few notches. It’s been a year with an abundance of bad news and a shortage of good news. It’s been a year of too much hate and too little kindness. Now we find ourselves approaching that time of year when, as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, we’re supposed to give thanks as a nation and as individuals for our safety and our freedoms. It’s not an easy undertaking.

How do you give thanks for freedoms that are constantly being eroded? How do you express gratitude for one’s safety when the perils posed by the American police state grow more treacherous by the day? How do you come together as a nation in thanksgiving when the powers - that-be continue to polarize and divide us into warring factions?

It’s not going to happen overnight. Or with one turkey dinner. Or with one day of thanksgiving.

Thinking good thoughts, being grateful, counting your blessings and adopting a ‘glass half-full’ mindset are fine and good, but don’t stop there.

This world requires doers, men and women (and children) who will put those good thoughts into action.

[power-in-christ-blog]

✝️CHRISTIAN TOPICS 2017✝️ #5 of #6 (September 2017) - WILL GOOD PEOPLE GO TO HEAVEN? 😇👼🏻 When talking about the Christian faith with non-Christians, I often stumble across the question of who will go to Heaven. Most people are familiar with the Christian concepts of Heaven and Hell; unfortunately some erroneous teachings, such as: articles online, books or conflicting viewpoints cause mass confusion on the definition of each respective afterlife in contrast to the actual Biblical definitions. What should be remembered is that Heaven and Hell are Christian constructs, so it really makes no sense for a non-believer to believe in Heaven, Hell or anything after death without any theological investment. 💀 To begin with it makes sense to look at exactly what a good person is. 👳🏾GOOD VIBRATIONS 👷🏻 I am sure the majority of us like to look in the mirror each morning and think that we are good people; lots of us will compare our lives, and how we live them, against others in an attempt to feel good or justify our actions, this is quite normal human behaviour. Unfortunately, the majority of people view the term "good" through a different lense to God. Most of us don't worry about the little things that we do wrong such as: lies, deceit, greed, boastfulness, excessive pride etc; instead we accept these and seem to be part of a culture that readily condemns more serious sins like: murder, pedophilia, violence, adultery etc - however what we fail to acknowledge is that all sin is bad in God's eyes. For further information on sins my first Christian Topic in January 2016 goes into a good amount of detail: https://power-in-christ.tumblr.com/post/165469581913/power-in-christ-christian-topic-1-january The point that I am trying to illustrate is we all make mistakes and we all fall short of God's glory. Unfortunately most of us are unable to admit to ourselves when we are actually living in, or with, sin. Romans 3:23-24 - "23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." 😇HOW DO WE GO TO HEAVEN?👼🏻 Hopefully it is clear that God loathes all sins, of all kind; it is quite literally impossible for anybody—despite what some may claim—to be free from sin; each and everyone of us make mistakes, some big, some small. But why did God have to allow sin into the world through Satan’s deceitful corruption of Adam and Eve? Sin is not good in anyway, shape, nor form, but the one benefit of sin is that it highlights the motivations of the human heart and it can help to distinguish a Christian from a non-Christian. That isn't to say that Christians are free from sin; on the contrary Christians are just as sinful as everyone else - what separates a Christian from the pack is that we accept our sins, then we confess our sins in prayer directly to God, after this process then we are allowed to accept God's Free gift of salvation - Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, sacrificed his life on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of each and every person that should live. Why? Because God hates sin, but as God is divine, sin must be paid for somehow. God recognised that the weight of sin is too much for normal men and women to bear, so he sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins; as Jesus was sinless he was a perfect a sacrifice and more than sufficient to cover the penalty of sins for all time. Remember, Jesus sacrifice is a free gift to us all - all we need to do is recognise Jesus actions and ask to be saved. John 14:6 - “26 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 👨🏻‍🔬WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?🤴🏽 It should be clear that God needs sin to be punished to be true to his divine nature; but to be true to his loving, and forgiving, nature he provides a way of escape for us all in Jesus. In short God has a plan. Satan’s betrayal and the introduction of sin became the perfect tools to show the wicked natural desires of the human heart; Adam and Eve’s betrayal also demonstrated Mankind’s option of free will to rebel against God; but in truth, all of us will inevitably sin on some level, but God loves us so much that he provided an escape from the penalty of sin, whilst still fulfilling the required punishment of sin. The issue is Mankind; God has tried to communicate to our species through prophets, scriptures, the Bible, archaeological evidence, genealogical evidence, signs, miracles and of course Jesus; but still a large portion of Mankind would rather trust in human intelligence, rather than God. Each of us have the gift of free will, we can choose to accept God, and accept Jesus' gift of salvation, or we can choose to continue our lives without them. God wants a relationship with us all; each of us—no matter how far we think we may be from God—can reach out and form this loving relationship at any time; don't ever be deceived into thinking God doesn't want you! Salvation can only be found in accepting Jesus as our Lord, thus accepting the gift of our loving Father. If you chose a different option for yourself that's up to you; remember, that freewill to choose is also another free gift from God - he loves you enough to let you choose to deny him. Once we leave this Earth there are no further chances for salvation, we can only be saved whilst alive and willing to accept Jesus. Be sure to get right with God before you pass from this world if you are even slightly curious about God, Jesus and the afterlife - otherwise it will be too late. ⚰️ http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_savn.htm https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/second-chance-salvation.html https://www.gotquestions.org/signs-saving-faith.html https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/19080/will-unbelievers-burn-for-eternity-in-the-lake-of-fire https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/lake-of-fire.html