#because. for all intents and purposes. the earth kingdom won the war.

[zincbot]

i think the spontaneous airbenders are so interesting

[gust-jar-simulator]

Okay we’re thinking about this actually.

Legend of Zelda, but Twelve Kingdoms. If you’ve never seen that anime go watch it right now and cry over the wonderful worldbuilding, then come back.

To hammer out the relevant details: the divine Mandate of Heaven, the sign from the gods that a ruler is favored, comes in the form of a kirin. It goes out, finds the one most suited to be its king, and then swears fealty, never to bow before another. After the bond is made, the kirin serves as the king’s divine advisor. The catch is, if the king gets up to too much Immoral Fuckery, their kirin will fall ill and eventually die. Which is telling, because part of the kingship bond is also immortality.

With that in mind, let’s look at the quality of leadership in Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess, and what the gods have to say about it.

Obviously between OoT!Link’s fortuitous and prophecied existence, and Zelda’s visions, there is some divine interest in what’s going on. Link is there, to all intents and purposes, to forge some sort of new balance to the world and then follow that up by kicking his evil soulmate’s ass. Zelda exists to prompt him onto this path, as she has throughout the ages.

Something is out of balance, and must be rebalanced.

The thing is, my take on the divine interest in OoT is kind of layered. Hyrule, as evidenced by the Shadow Temple and other in-game content, has not been on the straight and narrow. There must be punishment.

Ganondorf is that punishment.

However, there must also be balance- the wrath of the gods cannot run unchecked.

Link, with Zelda as his guide, is that check to return things to the status quo. Hyrule is punished, the execution blade of the gods is forcibly sheathed, everybody goes home. Link is close enough to the princess to advise her if needed in the wake of things.

However, the timeline splits, something goes wrong, and if we follow the trail to Twilight Princess- Link fails, and the Sages he collected to create a new balance enforce it in his absence. They try to seal Ganondorf, but the gods favor him, his role isn’t finished. Is it because Link is the only one allowed to finish him? Is it because the gods wanted that vengeance served against Hyrule, especially in the wake of a war that wiped out an entire nation?

I can’t remember if he had the Triforce of Power in OoT, but I feel like whether he did or didn’t is important, and telling.

It’s all checks and balances, though. People have a lot of theories about the sword in Arbiter’s Grounds, its connection to Ganondorf, but I have a theory of my own: the name of the dungeon has a double meaning. While it was a prison and an execution site, I think it also tells us what Ganondorf symbolizes, when he’s cut away to the basics. He’s the arbiter, the executioner of the gods, there to keep Hyrule and its divine royal family humble. He destroys the illusion of a perfect, inviolate empire, forces Link to dig through the rubble and set the foundation for something better or die trying.

Applying all of that to a Twelve Kingdoms AU would be really interesting partially for the high stakes political intrigue, and partially because Link functioning as a divinely appointed advisor- and then in the middle of the war switching allegiances according to the whim of the gods- would be an extremely cool thing to explore. Especially if it means an alternate ending where the Demon King wins, and then Link is put into a position where he has to counsel him into ruling Hyrule well. Congratulations, you won, now how do we dial it back from a scorched earth policy?

[astrababyy]

Despite its flaws, the Forbidden Cities will always be better than the Lost Cities.

And you know why?

It’s because we’ve never once seen the Lost Cities emit such a large amount of positive energy through something so random. We’ve never once seen them laugh and cry about something that is so stupid and random.

Being human is freeing while it also isn’t. You know you don’t have all the time in the world or that you’ll have to plan and do everything you want in a limited amount of time because you never know when you’ll die but you know there is a very good chance it’ll be at a young age.

And yet you plan for when you’re old anyway.

There is freedom in naivety, in the lack of understanding of this world and its people. And yet knowing the cruel truth that you could die at any moment and still laugh in the face of death.

Elves will never understand knowing that you could die at any moment, that you don’t have all the time in the world and so they’ll do things so stupid and random because it’ll make them laugh but serve them no purpose.

They’ll never understand our history. How we fought hard and strong for our freedom, our rights. How war created history and lessons that, despite it all, make us feel pride for knowing we achieved something great. How we protest and yell in the streets for justice and liberty and freedom and rights because there is no king without a kingdom and they cannot fight us all.

They’ll never understand a high school talent show and how teenagers will do something that seems so random and yet, every other person there that is near their age understands it so perfectly. A grin will lift onto their faces and even though they have no idea what’s going on, the teachers and faculty will laugh and cheer too.

They will never understand how good it feels to know the team you are rooting for has finally won. How an entire stadium of thousands of people will understand what’s happening and will all do a giant wave that moves throughout the entire place.

Humans don’t need to be capable of reading minds, or being immune to fire, or being able to lift things without touching them.

Humans have evolved more in 200 years than elves have in thousands.

Humans could know and understand the intentions of a murderer without being able to see their thoughts, memories, and emotions.

Humans could be so determined to learn, or do, or create, or achieve something that seems impossible but somehow manage to do it anyway.

In the little time humans have walked this Earth, they’ve achieved more than elves could ever dream of achieving, good or bad.

They did it all on their own, without powers, without naturally intelligent minds, without immortality.

And I think that is so amazing.

[middleearthpixie]

In Time ~ Chapter Twenty-Five

Author's Note: I'm posting this far later than usual because today simply got away from me. Doncha hate that???

Summary: The Company of Thorin Oakenshield reaches Mirkwood, where Thorin will offer a deal to Thranduíl on Kili’s behalf, and later on, Amara runs into an old friend who fires up Thorin’s jealous streak

Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield/Amara (female OC)

Characters: Thorin, Amara, the Company, Thranduíl, Aiduin of Mirkwood

Rating: T

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4,205

Taggin: @i-did-not-mean-to @lathalea @tschrist1

As it happened, their luck, did in fact hold out over the fortnight it took for them to reach Mirkwood’s border. Thorin scowled as they stood at the Mirkwood border, where two of Thranduíl’s men stood silent sentry. He didn’t want to be there. After all, the last time he and the others found themselves in Mirkwood, spiders had tried to eat them, elves tried to kill them, and Thranduíl himself had them tossed into then dungeons. If it hadn’t been for Master Baggins, who never did explain exactly how he managed it, snagging the dungeon keys, they might still be in those tiny, damp, woodland cells.

But, the hobbit had freed them, smuggled them out in barrels, in which they bounced about like corks tossed on the river’s swift current, battling not only the elves trying to stop them, but the orcs sent to hunt Thorin himself.

He looked over at Kili, whose eyes practically gleamed at the sight of the wood. It was because of this place he’d met Tauriel, the she-elf who’d saved his skin the first time. Saved his skin and apparently won his heart. Although Kili rarely spoke of her, Thorin had the feeling he knew exactly what went through his nephew’s mind. Most likely the same thing that went through his own mind whenever he looked at Amara.

Which was why they were at Thranduíl’s front door. As much as it would pain him—and it would definitely pain him—Thorin would willingly gift the Seven Stars of Middle Earth necklace to Thranduíl if it meant Thranduíl would give his blessing for Kili to court Tauriel. The same blasted necklace that kept the woodland elves from aiding Erebor in its time of need, that caused Thranduíl to threaten Erebor with what became the Battle of the Five Armies, would find its way to Mirkwood, no matter how much Thorin hated to do it. He had no love lost for Thranduíl and knew the feeling was mutual, but he’d put aside his own dislike and distrust of the Elf King if it mean Kili would find the same happiness with Tauriel that he’d found with Amara.

With that, he climbed down from his saddle and stepped up to the sentries. “Thorin Oakenshield to see Thranduíl.”

“Does His Highness expect you?”

He shook his head. “He does not, no. But tell him I have something he wants and I am willing to discuss parting with it.”

The two sentries looked at one another, then the shorter of the two turned as the doors opened noiseless, and disappeared inside.

Thorin stared down the second sentry. He didn’t like being in Mirkwood. The air was heavy with apprehension and dread, its waters were enchanted with what some considered black magic, and the spiders alone were enough to make him want to avoid the woods with ever fiber of his being, for they were no ordinary spiders. They were big enough to hunt man, dwarf, and elf, and did so without impunity. Even from where he stood, at the edge the wood and vine bridge that would lead them into the Kingdom of Mirkwood, he could see the wispy white spiderwebs in the distance. Just the sight of them was enough to bring back the claustrophobic feeling of being wrapped in one of their cocoons.

He fought off a shiver as the memory of being wrapped so suffocatingly tight, of being unable to move much more than a finger or a toe, rushing to the forefront of his mind. Again, if it hadn’t been for Master Baggins and his sword—which he’d dubbed Sting—they might not have survived long enough to find their way into those dungeons.

“What is taking so long?” Dwalin grumbled from his saddle.

“I am certain Thranduíl is trying to come up with some reason to deny us entry,” Thorin told him over one shoulder, “all the while his curiosity kills him because he knows he’ll not be able to.”

“I say we keep moving,” Dwalin countered. “Why are we even here?”

Thorin grinned at Kili. “Do you wish to explain or should I?”

Kili held his stare easily. “I am not the one who always railed about how untrustworthy elves were. I do believe that was you, Uncle.” He winked. “Tell me, do you still feel that way?”

He asked it with all the innocence one could put into a sentence and Thorin’s grin faded as the others all snickered. “Enjoy your laugh at my expense,” he growled, looking from one dwarf to the next, finally letting his gaze land on Kili once more. “But, remember, I have something he wants. So, I’d think twice about baiting me, Kili, since I’ve yet to actually give him what it is he covets. And if I decide to keep it for myself, you will most likely not be welcome here again.”

Kili’s face went red as the others now turned their snickers in his direction. Dwalin laughed the loudest. “Last time ye blushed tha’ bad, laddie, was when ye mistook an elf-lad for an elf-maiden.”

Now even the sentry grinned as Kili’s face went redder still. From the corner of his eye, Thorin saw Amara shake her head and he almost smiled when she said, “To be fair, it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart.”

Kili smiled at her. “Let them have their fun.” He looked back at Thorin. “I won’t have to eat any words.”

Now, Thorin smiled over his shoulder at her. “I don’t mind eating these words.”

“Mr. Oakenshield,” the first sentry returned, his expression neutral, “My Lord Thranduíl will see you. Follow me. Edyrm will see your ponies to the stables.”

The others dismounted and Thorin didn’t miss how Edrym’s gaze lingered on Amara. Thorin said nothing, but reached out to link his fingers with hers. “She’s with me.”

“Thorin!” Amara whispered.

“What? I’m merely stating a fact. You are with me.”

“I know that, but he does not care one way or the other.”

He shrugged. “I take no chances.”

She said nothing, but he didn’t miss how she rolled her eyes. Well, let her. He cared not. He had no problem making it perfectly clear to any curious elf that Amara was with him. Childish, perhaps, but he rather enjoyed knowing that they would at that moment be wishing they were him. And sane man—be they Man, elf, or dwarf—would want to be in his boots.

They followed their guide into Thranduíl’s palace. Unlike Rivendell, Thorin found no peace or tranquility in Mirkwood. Everything was dark, earthy tones of brown, beiges, red and gold, with hints of green here and there. The air felt heavy and thick, damp from all of the roots and vines that made up the palace walls. The walkways were wide, open of both sides, with what looked like endless drops on either side. Nothing had changed since the last time he stood in the throne room, where the Woodland Realm’s king sat perched high atop his throne.

Unlike the Rivendell king, Thranduíl was tall and lanky, with sleek almost-white blonde hair and wide, almost clear blue eyes. He wore a crown woven of golden twigs and leaves encrusted with gold and brown polished stones that changed color depending on how the light—what light there was—bounced off them. He wore long, flowing robes of gold over green, and two slender fingers on each hand bore rings of the same gold and brown stones in his crown.

Those blue eyes were not the least bit friendly as he peered down at them now. “Thorin Oakenshield. It has been some time since we last spoke. I believe I’d had you dragged off to rot in my dungeon, hadn’t I?”

“The dungeons from which I promptly escaped,” he retorted, unable to hold back his smirk.

Thranduíl offered up a bland smile. “Your hobbit friend had more to do with that than you did, did he not?”

“Be that as it may, I still escaped.”

“And then, of course, there was my visit to your doorstep.” Thranduíl’s voice grew colder, if that was even possible. “When you opted for war over negotiation.”

“I was not myself then.” Thorin cast a quick, sideline glance at Amara, whose hand tightened about his ever so slightly.

The Elvenking’s expression turned sympathetic, but only for a moment or two, then his face slid back into its impassive mask.

“So, what brings you and your—” Thranduíl’s piercing gaze slid about the others gathered around him, lingering on Amara just as Edrym’s did—“company, to my realm?”

Thorin glanced over at Kili, whose color had returned to normal, and said, “I come to you with a business proposition. One I’d rather discuss one on one with you.”

Thranduíl’s eyes narrowed. “Is that so? The last time you were in my chambers, you thought to insult me. Then, you challenged me to war.”

A bit of heat came to Thorin’s face and he fought the urge to look over at his company. He’d said the same thing to Thranduíl that he’d insulted Amara with when they’d first met. “Our meeting last time was a bit—ah—tense, on account of not only had we had the pleasure of dealing with your spiders, but then we were, for all intents and purposes, treated as prisoners.”

“You were, if I recall,” Thranduíl reminded him, his voice void of any emotion whatsoever, “trespassing in my woods. Of course you were treated as prisoners. As for the spiders, they are not mine.”

“Oh, for the love of—“ Dwalin growled, but Thorin cut him off.

“Hush,” he snapped, without looking at Dwalin. To Thranduíl, he said, “Even so, I do have something I think you would be interested in and I am willing to bargain for something in return. But, I’d rather do so privately.”

Thranduíl’s lips disappeared into a thin white line and the slender fingers slowly fanned across the arm of his wooded throne. Then, he nodded. “Very well. Lorsan, show our guests to the dining hall and make certain they have something to eat and drink. Then, you may show them to the guest chambers,” those eyes flicked back to Thorin, “as I assume you will wish to pass the night.”

The last thing he wanted was to try to sleep in this tangle of vines and roots, but since he very well couldn’t say that, he nodded. “Your hospitality is greatly appreciated.”

He turned to Amara. “I will join you all when I’ve finished here.”

She looked up at Thranduíl, then back at him. “Why do you look so serious? Is something the matter?”

“Not at all,” he assured her, catching her hand to give it a gentle squeeze. “I’m about to throw myself on my proverbial sword for Kili and I think I’ll have but one chance to get it right.”

She leaned in and whispered, “Tauriel?”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

“Well, good luck.” She bent to brush his cheek with her lips, a hint of laughter in her voice as she murmured, “Remember, be nice.”

“Am I ever not nice?”

She pulled away, one brow arched, “Ish kakfe—”

“Unfair. You said yourself I was in unimaginable pain and so could not be held—”

“I did and you were. Just tread carefully. Elves are vain and Thranduíl more so than most.” She patted his shoulder and followed after Balin, who waited as the rest of the dwarves filed out of the throne room.

Thorin turned back to the Elven King, who now stood atop his high dais. With extreme care, so as not to trip over his robes, he slowly descended and swept toward him. “What is this about? You seemed quite adamant that you were interested only in war the last time we met.”

“Nearly dying has a way of changing the way one looks at things,” Thorin replied evenly. “I have had time enough to reflect on my actions and the mistakes I made leading up to the battle. And now, I’ve come to rectify those mistakes.”

“Have you?” A hint of amusement wove into Thranduíl’s voice, his gaze direct and unwavering. “And if your terms do not interest me?”

“They will.”

Lorsan led the group down deeper into the palace, where the air felt even colder and damper, and smelled of moss and rainwater. Amara shivered from the dampness, wrapping her arms about herself and rubbing her upper arms to try to warm herself, for all the good it did.

The others didn’t seem to notice the dank chill. Either that, or they didn’t care, for they chatted amongst themselves. She lingered behind them, looking about at how the roots from the trees of Mirkwood wove through one another to make the walls of the palace below.

“Amara?”

She froze at the soft, smooth voice that skimmed over her ears like satin. She knew that voice—or had known it, was more accurate—and when she turned and spotted the tall, slender he-elf, with the shimmering blond hair and eyes that were almost as dark as freshly watered soil, her smile rose of its own. “Aiduin?”

“You do remember me.”

“As if I could forget,” she said with a laugh as he caught up to her and threw his arms about her. “How are you?”

“I was fine but now, I think it safe to say I am even better! What brings you to Mirkwood?”

“She’s with us,” Dwalin growled, coming up behind her. “And it would be in yer best interest, laddie, to take yer hands from her.”

Aiduin’s eyes went wide. “I beg your pardon?”

Dwalin none-too-gently knocked Aiduin’s arms from either side of her. “There. Was tha’ simple enough for ye?”

“Dwalin!” She glared at him over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Thorin won’t like another man putting his hands on ye.” Dwalin glared at Aiduin. “He won’t like it a’tall.”

“Thorin?” Aiduin turned his puzzled look to her. “Oakenshield? You’re with him?”

She nodded, but before she could say anything, Dwalin cut in with, “She’s his intended. So, if I were ye, I’d make myself scarce before he sees you.”

“Dwalin!” Amara gritted through clenched teeth. “That’s enough.”

She turned back to Aiduin. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d decided you were going to strike out for parts unknown?”

“Miss Amara,” Balin stepped up alongside his brother, “you should come along.”

“You all go on ahead and I will catch up in a few minutes.” She gestured to Aiduin. “He is but an old friend and I’d like to catch up with him.”

Balin and Dwalin both frowned, which made her frown right back at them. “Do not look at me that way. Go.”

“Thorin won’t like this.”

“Why? There is nothing to like or dislike. Aiduin is, as I said, an old friend.”

Balin shook his head. “Very well. But—”

“If you say Thorin will not like it again, I’m going to scream,” she replied politely, but firmly. “Thorin will not care. Why should he?”

The brothers exchanged looks and she rolled her eyes. Then, she tucked her arm through Aiduin’s and said, “We have some catching up to do, don’t we?”

Aidiun didn’t look so certain. “Your friends don’t seem to think it wise.”

“It is fine. Besides, I’ve had only them for company for a fortnight. Now it is time for me to spend time with someone else for a change.” She smiled up at him. “So, shall we?”

Aiduin led her away from the grumbling dwarves, and she tried to ignore the nagging feeling that Thorin would indeed disapprove of her going off with another elf. But Aiduin wasn’t simply any other elf. He’d trained in Rivendell with her, before striking out for those parts unknown. How he came to be in Mirkwood was something she wished to know.

“Your friends seem to think you are going to get in trouble.”

She sighed softly. “They worry. They mean well, but at times, they can be overbearing. So,” she looked up at him, “do tell how you came to be here?”

“It’s quite simple. Mirkwood needed a healer. I needed work. Thranduíl took a liking to me and here I am. How about you? Are you still in residence in Rivendell? Or do you now wander like the dwarves?”

She smiled as they strolled along an open walkway, away from the palace and into the woods. It didn’t feel quite so suffocating out in the forest itself. “I wander with the dwarves now,” she told him as they stopped near a small pool. Trees alive and dead were all around, fallen over the pathway, vines doing their best to reclaim them. “Although, wander is not the correct term, I suppose. I’m journeying to Erebor.”

“As their healer?”

She shook her head. “No. Thorin and I… We are to be married.”

Aiduin’s smile faded, but only just. Then, he caught it and it returned in full force. “You are betrothed to a dwarf? I am not so certain I believe that.”

“Why? Why could I not be betrothed to one?”

“Well, because… he’s a dwarf. And you, Amara… you could have any elf you wished. If you set your sights on him, even Thranduíl would be unable to resist you.”

“I am hardly interested in Thranduíl.” She let out a laugh then, lightly punched him in the arm. “But I am interested int what you’ve been doing. So, do tell.”

“Me? Not much, I’m afraid. I told you, I wandered about here and there, and needed work, so here I am.” Aiduin shook his head. “Hardly a fascinating tale.”

“Oh, but to one who’s never been beyond Rivendell’s borders, your vagabond life is utterly fascinating to me.”

“Really? It’s a lot of traveling, sleeping in strange places, and never knowing where your next meal is coming from.”

“Ah,” she laughed, “a true vagabond.”

“More or less.” He leaned against the low wall of woven branches. “Do tell me, how is Rivendell?”

She hesitated, a feeling of homesickness rising to squeeze her heart. “It was fine when I left. I was fortunate in that my replacement was right under my nose, and a pleasant surprise as well. Lord Elrond is the same as always, although he was a bit weary from having so many dwarves in residence.” She looked off in the direction the dining hall, where muffled shouts and laughter floated from. “They are a lively group, you know. Very high-spirited.”

“And how did a dwarf win your hand? This I must know.”

“He and his nephews came to us gravely wounded.” She turned back to meet his gaze. “The Battle of the Five Armies, you know.”

“I heard about it, yes. These are Erebor dwarves or Iron Hill dwarves?”

“Erebor.” She reached up to touch the braid Thorin had woven in her hair, her fingertip tracing along the ornament. “Thorin is their king.”

“A king?” Aiduin’s eyes widened. “Is that so?”

“It is. But he nearly lost his life at Ravenhill. Azog the Defiler ran him through.”

“He is fortunate he found his way into your Healing Room.”

She sighed softly, still tracing the ornament as she remembered that very first day, when the attendants brought Thorin into her Healing Room. “I didn’t think he would survive that night, to be honest. The sheets over and beneath him were absolutely soaked in his blood, it had soaked through his clothes, the mail he wore, and he was so deathly pale.

“But,” she lowered her hand, clasping it with her other one, “dwarves are strong and they are fighters and he held on. No matter what setback he faced, what challenges he had—and there were quite a few—he met them head on and beat them.”

“He sounds very lucky.”

She nodded. “He was. Mahal was on his side.”

“I think it’s more he was in the best of hands.”

A pleased heat stung her cheeks. “Oh, I don’t know about that, though I thank you just the same. But he’s of the line of Durin and Durin’s Folk are strong. I think he would have lived regardless.”

“So,” Aiduin looked over at her, “what brings you all here? I should think you would be making for Erebor.”

“We are, but Thorin’s nephew, Kili, is sweet on an elf named Tauriel. Because of her—“

“Tauriel? The captain of the guard?”

Amara shrugged. “I don’t know. Is there more than one Tauriel here?”

“Well, no, but I thought she was sweet on Legolas.”

“Legolas?”

“King Thranduíl’s son.”

“Oh.” She didn’t quite know how to respond to that, for she didn’t know if Kili knew about Legolas.

“Amara?”

She looked over and smiled as Thorin strode toward them. “How did your meet with Thranduíl go?”

“Fine, thank you.” Thorin didn’t return her smile and in fact, glared at Aiduin as he said, “I thought you’d be with the others.”

“Well, I would have, but then I bumped into Aiduin.” She slid her arm through Thorin’s and said, “Thorin Oakenshield, this is Aiduin Drannor. Aiduin, this is Thorin Oakenshield.”

Aiduin smiled and held out a hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Indeed.” Thorin didn’t take his hand. He didn’t smile. In fact, she could almost feel the hostility radiating from him. “How do you and Amara know one another?”

“We trained together in Rivendell,” Aiduin replied, lowering his hand. “She was Ilyana’s star pupil.”

“Oh, hardly. You were far more skilled than I.”

Thorin’s arm stiffened against her. “We should join the others.”

With that, he turned and gave a sharp tug on her arm to pull her back toward the dining hall. She peered back over her shoulder at Aiduin, who stood there almost dumbfounded. “Thorin, that was rude.”

“Ask me if I care,” he growled, guiding her back along the walkway.

“What is the matter? I was only talking to him.”

“I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”

“Didn’t like the way he—“ she rolled her eyes—“and how was he looking at me?”

“As if he was trying to picture you naked.”

“Thorin!”

“What?” He glanced at her. “He was.”

“That is ridiculous. He is a friend and that’s it.”

“I’ve never heard you mention him.”

“Well, I haven’t seen him in years, so…”

“Trust me, I know what I saw.”

By then, they’d reached the dining hall and she yanked her arm from his grasp. “You are being ridiculous, do you know that?”

“Am I? I should think I know a look like that when I see it.”

“You are and I am done discussing it. He's a friend. No more and no less.” She moved down and sank onto the bench beside Dwalin.

Thorin followed her, sitting across from her. “Do you want to know how I know how he was looking at you?”

“No.” She glared at him. “I don’t, really. Because this entire conversation is silly.”

“Too bad, because I’m going to tell you.” He cast a sidelong glance at Dwalin, who shrugged and did not look away.

“I am not having this discussion here.”

“Fine.” He rose and came around to her side. “Walk with me, then.”

Mindful of the eyes on them, she sighed and stood. “Very well. But I think you are being ridiculous.”

“So you’ve said. Excuse us,” he said to the others, his hand coming to rest at the small of her back as he guided her toward the far end of the dining hall, where the room opened to another walkway.

Once they were out of earshot of everyone, he turned to her. “Do you know how I know?”

“How?”

“Because I am fairly certain it’s the same way I look at you.”

She just stared at him, her irritation draining away as she moved to slip her arms about his neck. “Thorin, he is but a friend. And even if he is looking at me that way, you can be certain I am not looking at him that way.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“Thorin.”

“I don’t. And if it weren’t for the fact that we are all worn out from traveling here, I would say we were leaving this evening. But I have to admit, I’m looking forward to sleeping in a comfortable bed this night and one that has no questionable smells or stains or extra dwarves. We can leave at first light come the morning.”

She smiled. The last inn before Mirkwood had been nothing short of a horror, as the innkeeper had only three rooms for the fourteen of them and she and Thorin shared theirs with Fili, Kili, and Bofur. “No. This evening, we should have some peace. Did you know Bofur sings in his sleep?”

“I did, actually.” He sighed softly, leaning in to press his forehead to hers. “I’ve no wish to fight with you, amrâlimê.”

“Nor I with you.” She threaded her fingers through his hair. “And you’ve nothing to worry about, you know. Maralmizu, Mr. Oakenshield. Nalish.”

She breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes softened and he murmured, “Maralmizi, kurdelê.”

Disaster averted.

[dogopower]

Satan, Prince of This World

seed is condemned over and over again. Every sensible human being knows that because God is God, i.e., the Supreme Being, Creator of Heaven and Earth (the Universe), He could, if He wished, have prevented Lucifer interfering with His plan to create terrestrial worlds and human beings, but if He had done so, we would have been subjected to no real test. Without wishing to be presumptuous, it seems reasonable to suppose that God obtains His pleasure from His marvelous creation out of love and fidelity given Him by those, both angelic and human, who remain staunch, loyal, faithful and true, despite all the evil machination of the Devil, and his angels, who wander through this world (and probably others), seeking the ruin of immortal souls.

In order to understand these things we must understand the facts concerning “Spirit tutelage.” The word “tutelage” is used to mean “guardianship” and/or “instruction.” Spirit tutelage is a divine ordinance. It permits man to be influenced by Good and Evil spirits who have the power to put ‘thoughts’ into our minds. Temptations are what we term “Evil” thoughts. Temptation by evil spirits is not a “divine ordinance.” It results from what theologians call “the permissive providence of God.” If the human race were not subject to “evil” influences as well as “good,” there would be no purpose in God having given us an intellect and free will. The intellect enables us to analyze the thoughts which enter our minds. We make a decision. Then, by use of our free will we make our bodies put the decision of the mind into action.

The most frequent question asked by people in all walks of life concerning this very important matter is “If God is GOOD, then why does He permit evil? If God loves the Human Race, WHY does He permit even innocent people to suffer the tribulations of wars, revolutions, sickness, etc.?”

Experiences in two wars and three revolutions taught me the answer to these questions. FIRST-I believe that it is God’s intention to fill the gaps in heaven resulting from the fall of angels of many degrees from Grace with beings, including human beings, who positively and definitely PROVE by the nature of their prayers and works, the manner in which they deal with temptation; and the way in which they stand up under conditions of physical, mental, and spiritual stress, that, regardless of what happens to them on this earth, they still wish, with a burning and constant desire, to VOLUNTARILY love and serve God for eternity. This belief is justified in Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:4; II Kings 7:4; Ps. 44:22, etc., etc.

I base this explanation on the further belief that God, being the Creator of the totality of the Universe, can derive happiness only from the love, loyalty, devotion, and service given Him VOLUNTARILY by His creatures. He intends that we prove to Him that we have definitely and irrevocably made this decision before He allows us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, we decide our own eternal fate.

St. Paul’s text, 1 Cor. VI:3, says, “Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more things of this world?” I take this to indicate that those human beings who come out of this earthly test “With God’s colors flying” will be chosen to pass judgment on the fallen angels who used their powers to inspire us with evil thoughts, and deceive us into doing evil things. The fact that the elect put aside temptation and refuse to be deceived, even though the agents of the Devil work great wonders, prove they have won spiritual domination over the forces of evil. They will be permitted to exercise this domination on the day of final judgment.

In 1918, when I was helping remove rubble, resulting from a German air raid on West Hartlepool, England, to rescue an infant whose cries came from the dark interior of the collapsed building, I learned the answer to the second half of the question. As we worked I heard the anguished mother cry, “If God is ALL GOOD how can He permit such evil?-How can He allow innocent little children to suffer? Why does He punish me so? I have tried to love Him and serve Him.”

As I worked, the answer came to me. Half an hour later we reached the baby. It was alive and uninjured. It was lying alongside the grandmother on a mattress on the floor inside a cupboard made by enclosing the space under the stairs which led from the ground floor to the upstairs rooms. The grandmother was dead.

When the baby was placed in its mother’s arms, I asked her if I might accompany her. Friends standing by had offered her shelter. She gave me permission.

Over the cup of tea (the provision of which is an absolute necessity in time of joy or sorrow with the English people), the mother hugged her infant to her breast and murmured, “Oh God, forgive me. How could I have doubted your infinite Goodness?” I placed my hand on her arm and said, “God doesn’t will that we, His creatures, suffer the abomination of war. Wars are a punishment humanity afflicts upon itself because the majority have obstinately and persistently refused to do His Will, obey His Commandments, and put His plan for the rule of the Universe into effect upon this earth.” We punish ourselves because we permit Satan to remain “Prince of this World.”

This line of reasoning I honestly believe to be the TRUTH. The incident I record here happened in April, 1918. Another World War and many revolutions have been fought since. The W.R.M. is directed AT THE TOP by the Synagogue of Satan to further the secret plans of the High Priests of the Luciferian Creed. It is they, human beings, diabolically inspired by the spiritual forces of darkness, who foment wars and revolutions, and in doing so they confirm the words spoken by Christ Himself when He said of the S.O.S., “Ye are sons, of the Devil, whose lusts ye shall do. He was a murderer from the beginning; etc.” Yes, the Devil has been and still is a murderer. Wars and revolutions are his means of committing mass murder. In my opinion we commit a terrible sin when we even think that God wills wars, revolutions, and other forms of abominations. God did not wish our

[misunne]

loki and worth.

(don’t reblog!)

“loki, why are you doing this?”

“to prove to father that i am a worthy son!”

okay so my boy and the idea of worthiness. worth. being of worth.

it’s always been sort of stunted. his understanding of worthiness is really rather political, based on his utility to the people and the state. pretty obvious, considering he’s the son of the king. his childhood was spent with the understanding that he wasn’t as prized as much as thor. odin preferred thor, the warriors three + sif were around for thor. thor was the center of attention. it was thor (featuring loki). it was almost like his worth was piggybacked onto thor’s. frigga tried to give him some of his own by teaching him mastery in magic, but that seemed to only give him a reputation. still, it was something of his own. something he was proud of. something that set him apart. a master of magic. it’s something. not only that, but he is a prince. a royal son of odin, prince of asgard. even if he’s the second son, it still holds weight. should thor be unable to fulfill his duties as king, or should something happen to him, loki was raised and trained to be a king. it was never really his goal, but he was brought up with the acknowledgement that the necessary succession came to him, he would have the right to it. that alone gives him a great deal of worth. personality aside, his position in the hierarchy is a high one. it gives him dignity. a place, a role, a sense of innate worth that’s born into his blood.

then come thor 1, and he learns what he is, who he is, and where he’s from. he’s not a son of odin at all. he’s not a royal asgardian prince. he’s an unwanted bastard of laufey, the crippled enemy. he was born worthless. he was born without any rite to rule, and in this world where hierarchy and lineage and birth is everything, this is catastrophic. family bond is only convenient. it’s only sentiment that odin sees him as a son, that thor sees him as a brother. in this world. it’s not something SOLID. odin’s love can’t give him the innate, inborn right to rule. for all intents and purposes, he’s a ward, but doesn’t belong to the royal household. in the line of succession, a blood cousin has more right to the throne than he does. he wasn’t meant to be a son. he was meant to be a link. a tool.

it’s a huge drop. he never had the intention to act on his title, but it was so core to his identity that he possessed it. he knows who he is and his role in things – but now that all of that is a lie, his identity thus far is also a lie. he’s nothing. born to be nothing, raised to be nothing, taught that he’s everything. what does he do? he tries to fix it. he tries to earn his place back into the role he thought he had by birth. frigga names him stand-in king, but he knows he’s not. but damn it, he’s going to take advantage of it while he has it and prove that he as a person, rather than a born prince, has the right to rule. when odin awakes, he wants him to wake to a peaceful and triumphant asgard because of him. an asgard without the threat of a jotun attack ever again, safe and victorious from any dangers. he’ll have proved himself a worthy son, acting as the prince he’s always been told he is.

but it doesn’t work. his ambition is skewed. he thinks seeking out peace is the same as keeping it. offensive maneuvers have never been his style. he’s trying to be someone he’s not. every time we see him fight or talk or do anything, it’s always a passive action, where he fights by making his enemy work against themselves. he creates illusions to trick his opponent. he draws his opponent into him to attack them with engaged-range daggers. he causes mischief and makes jokes that will call others into action. attacking jotunheim is not an act of his own nature, but an obsessive desire to prove himself as something he knows he’s not, which is a worthy son of odin. but by doing so, he proves that he will never be someone worthy to be the royal prince son of odin. not by blood, and not by ambition. odin refuses his attempts to earn his place. loki falls into the void.

he’s burdened with the remnants of trying to be someone with any sort of worth. someone who has fulfilled the role he was raised to be, which is a king. a ruler. even if odin refuses him, maybe he can prove it to himself. but in the back of his head, he still wants to try to prove it to odin, because he never truly stops trying. so he’s found by thanos and the other. this powerful creature, poisoned and twisted and corrupted and confused by his own destroyed self-worth and obsessive ambition to be someone, has fallen into thanos’ lap. he can use this guy. he can give him an army and give his ambition a focus. an aim. thanos needs something on earth. he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty. he can set this enraged pawn to do his job. and it works out really well. 

turns out loki already has vendettas against earth, the house of the tesseract. earth is the beloved planet of his brother thor, and loki uses thor as a scapegoat for all of his rage. the favored son of odin, the one who IS worthy, the one who seems to breathe usefulness each each inhale. he has worthiness born into his blood, and he’s successfully earned it. two goals loki could never seem to achieve. it’s nothing that thor did that causes loki to hate him. loki doesn’t hate him as a person. he loves thor. he grew up with an underlying resentment whenever thor pushed him aside, whenever thor downplayed him, whenever thor kept him down to rise above. he uses these slights, which were upsetting and damaging but overall forgivable, as the focus of his hatred. 

so thanos uses this corruption and complexity, applies the mind stone (along with a substantial amount of torture), and amplifies this. makes all of his wrongs and injustices ten times more intense. thanos hurts loki, tears him apart, rips him and rebuilds him into a deadly point with all this resentment as its poison. he gives him an army, a mission, a weapon, and a target, and releases him.

loki attacks earth, thinking that if he doesn’t have the right to rule asgard, a kingdom of the gods, he can at least rule earth, a kingdom of man. man, who is so frail and delicate, who a god should not love because they will be gone within a heartbeat of their lives. man, who exalted them as the mightiest back in the day. loki is told that he is superior to mankind. of course he believes it. he was there when the aesir were worshiped by the nordic people. he was exalted as a god. that, at least, is some comfort. if he’s not a royal prince, at least he’s still a god to mankind. he’ll rule them, and he’ll deserve it. after all, he’s a god. surely, he must be worthy of THIS at least.

targeting thor as the source of loki’s rage at odin, his injustice, and his rising, boiling hatred for himself. he’s enraged at him when thor says the throne would be bad for him, that he shouldn’t be king, because it’s speaking to the things he already knows. the things that he’s trying to fight, to prove wrong. ‘i am a king!’ ‘i was and should be king!’ ‘the rightful heir!’ he’s overcompensating. he hates that thor’s right.

but yet again, he’s failed. he couldn’t possibly defeat a team of clever, powerful beings. essentially, all he has is his own original cleverness and an army of kamikaze mercenaries without an ounce of cleverness between the lot of them. he knows that war isn’t won by force. he’s known that his entire life. that’s the exact opposite of how he proceeds. again, we see him denying his own nature, trying to push forward directly with pretty obvious subterfuge and offensive strategy. this entire time, loki is working against himself. that never works out well. he’s simply not himself. he’s still under control of his own blind ambitions and thanos’ direction. 

we see him wake up a few times, usually involving thor. on the cliff, when thor invites him to come home, but loki says he doesn’t have a home. he has no home that he feels wants him. jotunheim? asgard? to him, these aren’t homes. these are remnants of his false identities that he never truly knew. he’s rejected from one, unworthy of the other. we see it again on stark tower, when thor tells him to look around at the chaos, and ask if he thinks it’ll really end with his rule. loki actually listens. he might have scoffed at him if this was all his plan to start with, that this is exactly his intent. but it’s not. he listens, he looks around at the chaos, and there’s that flash of fear and ‘what have i done?’ with that same fear in his eyes, he smiles that false smile of his. he cries. he stabs thor. he scoffs at his sentiment. his false brother’s sentiment means little in weight (though his love is still there).

that didn’t work. he’s brought back to asgard for the first time since really acknowledging that he has no concrete worth. he’s failed twice in an attempt to earn worth he was not born with. promised, but not inborn. even odin, who once said that his birthright is to be a king, now says his birthright was death and unwantedness. loki is perceived as being vain, that he’s owed kingship. but really, it’s just what he was raised to expect, that he was promised all his life. fundamentally, it’s a lie. a life-long lie that made up the core of him. now, odin has to completely, entirely rejected him and proved that he is worthless. in a very obvious ‘rock bottom’, he’s tossed into prison, where lives the people with no worth in the state, and he already has no worth in the eyes of himself. this has been a twisted thorn in him since the events of thor 1. in the back of his head, he’s always known frigga was there. to her, and perhaps to her alone, he has had worth. she has never shown reason otherwise. after all, she was the one who tried to help him gain worth by teaching him magic. but then, she’s gone. there’s no one left. no safe haven left. his ambition, as well as thanos’ control of him, is broken. he’s broken. he’s nothing and he’s nobody. he’s settling with the fact that he has no identity. he takes his fury out on himself and the room around him, and he’s reduced to dwelling on the ground, maintaining a feeble sense of pride by keeping up an illusion.

then, when he needs it most, thor gives him the offer of revenge. thor is obviously desperate; why else would anyone seek out this failed monster? it sparks something in him. he has an aim again, small though it is. someone thought of him. and not just someone. thor thought of him. in a tiny way, it’s almost like having his brother again, going off on some dumb scheme. even if thor doesn’t see it that way, even if he hates having to trust loki who has repeatedly betrayed him, loki’s pretty excited about it. taking out the elves can be a minor balm of the agony that is his stolen worth, identity, and mother. i bet when he kills big scary guy (i forget his name right now), he sees thanos’ face. for a second.

but this is really where we see this chain broken, his obsessive need to regain what he felt he’s lost. trying to be who he was. but he’s beginning to realize that that person is dead. that person was a lie. but at the same time, ragnarok begins to open his eyes as to how much of that old identity actually can be salvaged, but merged into a new one. he doesn’t need to be loki odinson, nor laufeyson. he can simply be loki of asgard. god of mischief, but also more than that. rather than seeking worth politically or outside of himself, he can do so through redemption. he’s given himself the identity of ‘villain’, which was never his intention. that may have been thanos’ intention, but it wasn’t his. he never wanted to destroy or kill or enslave on a grand scheme. this isn’t the title he wanted.

maybe he can work to get another one.

[araitsume]

Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 697-702: Chapter (69) David Called to the Throne

This chapter is based on 2 Samuel 2 to 5:5.

The death of Saul removed the dangers that had made David an exile. The way was now open for him to return to his own land. When the days of mourning for Saul and Jonathan were ended, “David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And He said, Unto Hebron.”

Hebron was twenty miles north from Beersheba, and about midway between that city and the future site of Jerusalem. It was originally called Kirjath-arba, the city of Arba, the father of Anak. Later it was called Mamre, and here was the burial place of the patriarchs, “the cave of Machpelah.” Hebron had been the possession of Caleb and was now the chief city of Judah. It lies in a valley surrounded by fertile hill country and fruitful lands. The most beautiful vineyards of Palestine were on its borders, together with numerous plantations of olive and other fruit trees.

David and his followers immediately prepared to obey the instruction which they had received from God. The six hundred armed men, with their wives and children, their flocks and herds, were soon on the way to Hebron. As the caravan entered the city the men of Judah were waiting to welcome David as the future king of Israel. Arrangements were at once made for his coronation. “And there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.” But no effort was made to establish his authority by force over the other tribes.

One of the first acts of the new-crowned monarch was to express his tender regard for the memory of Saul and Jonathan. Upon learning of the brave deed of the men of Jabesh-gilead in rescuing the bodies of the fallen leaders and giving them honorable burial, David sent an embassy to Jabesh with the message, “Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness.” And he announced his own accession to the throne of Judah and invited the allegiance of those who had proved themselves so truehearted.

The Philistines did not oppose the action of Judah in making David king. They had befriended him in his exile, in order to harass and weaken the kingdom of Saul, and now they hoped that because of their former kindness to David the extension of his power would, in the end, work to their advantage. But David's reign was not to be free from trouble. With his coronation began the dark record of conspiracy and rebellion. David did not sit upon a traitor's throne; God had chosen him to be king of Israel, and there had been no occasion for distrust or opposition. Yet hardly had his authority been acknowledged by the men of Judah, when through the influence of Abner, Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was proclaimed king, and set upon a rival throne in Israel.

Ishbosheth was but a weak and incompetent representative of the house of Saul, while David was pre-eminently qualified to bear the responsibilities of the kingdom. Abner, the chief agent in raising Ishbosheth to kingly power, had been commander-in-chief of Saul's army, and was the most distinguished man in Israel. Abner knew that David had been appointed by the Lord to the throne of Israel, but having so long hunted and pursued him, he was not now willing that the son of Jesse should succeed to the kingdom over which Saul had reigned.

The circumstances under which Abner was placed served to develop his real character and showed him to be ambitious and unprincipled. He had been intimately associated with Saul and had been influenced by the spirit of the king to despise the man whom God had chosen to reign over Israel. His hatred had been increased by the cutting rebuke that David had given him at the time when the cruse of water and the spear of the king had been taken from the side of Saul as he slept in the camp. He remembered how David had cried in the hearing of the king and the people of Israel, “Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? ... This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed.” This reproof had rankled in his breast, and he determined to carry out his revengeful purpose and create division in Israel, whereby he himself might be exalted. He employed the representative of departed royalty to advance his own selfish ambitions and purposes. He knew that the people loved Jonathan. His memory was cherished, and Saul's first successful campaigns had not been forgotten by the army. With determination worthy a better cause, this rebellious leader went forward to carry out his plans.

Mahanaim, on the farther side of Jordan, was chosen as the royal residence, since it offered the greatest security against attack, either from David or from the Philistines. Here the coronation of Ishbosheth took place. His reign was first accepted by the tribes east of Jordan, and was finally extended over all Israel except Judah. For two years the son of Saul enjoyed his honors in his secluded capital. But Abner, intent upon extending his power over all Israel, prepared for aggressive warfare. And “there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.”

At last treachery overthrew the throne that malice and ambition had established. Abner, becoming incensed against the weak and incompetent Ishbosheth, deserted to David, with the offer to bring over to him all the tribes of Israel. His proposals were accepted by the king, and he was dismissed with honor to accomplish his purpose. But the favorable reception of so valiant and famed a warrior excited the jealousy of Joab, the commander-in-chief of David's army. There was a blood feud between Abner and Joab, the former having slain Asahel, Joab's brother, during the war between Israel and Judah. Now Joab, seeing an opportunity to avenge his brother's death and rid himself of a prospective rival, basely took occasion to waylay and murder Abner.

David, upon hearing of this treacherous assault, exclaimed, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord forever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner. Let it rest on the head of Joab; and on all his father's house.” In view of the unsettled state of the kingdom, and the power and position of the murderers—for Joab's brother Abishai had been united with him—David could not visit the crime with just retribution, yet he publicly manifested his abhorrence of the bloody deed. The burial of Abner was attended with public honors. The army, with Joab at their head, were required to take part in the services of mourning, with rent garments and clothed in sackcloth. The king manifested his grief by keeping a fast upon the day of burial; he followed the bier as chief mourner; and at the grave he pronounced an elegy which was a cutting rebuke of the murderers. “The king lamented over Abner, and said:

“Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, Nor thy feet put into fetters: As a man falleth before wicked men, So fellest thou.”

David's magnanimous recognition of one who had been his bitter enemy won the confidence and admiration of all Israel. “All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner.” In the private circle of his trusted counselors and attendants the king spoke of the crime, and recognizing his own inability to punish the murderers as he desired, he left them to the justice of God: “Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.”

Abner had been sincere in his offers and representations to David, yet his motives were base and selfish. He had persistently opposed the king of God's appointment, in the expectation of securing honor to himself. It was resentment, wounded pride, and passion that led him to forsake the cause he had so long served; and in deserting to David he hoped to receive the highest position of honor in his service. Had he succeeded in his purpose, his talents and ambition, his great influence and want of godliness, would have endangered the throne of David and the peace and prosperity of the nation.

“When Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.” It was evident that the kingdom could not long be maintained. Soon another act of treachery completed the downfall of the waning power. Ishbosheth was foully murdered by two of his captains, who, cutting off his head, hastened with it to the king of Judah, hoping thus to ingratiate themselves in his favor.

They appeared before David with the gory witness to their crime, saying, “Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.” But David, whose throne God Himself had established, and whom God had delivered from his adversaries, did not desire the aid of treachery to establish his power. He told these murderers of the doom visited upon him who boasted of slaying Saul. “How much more,” he added, “when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? And David commanded his young men, and they slew them.... But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.”

After the death of Ishbosheth there was a general desire among the leading men of Israel that David should become king of all the tribes. “Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.” They declared, “Thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed My people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord.” Thus through the providence of God the way had been opened for him to come to the throne. He had no personal ambition to gratify, for he had not sought the honor to which he had been brought.

More than eight thousand of the descendants of Aaron and of the Levites waited upon David. The change in the sentiments of the people was marked and decisive. The revolution was quiet and dignified, befitting the great work they were doing. Nearly half a million souls, the former subjects of Saul, thronged Hebron and its environs. The very hills and valleys were alive with the multitudes. The hour for the coronation was appointed; the man who had been expelled from the court of Saul, who had fled to the mountains and hills and to the caves of the earth to preserve his life, was about to receive the highest honor that can be conferred upon man by his fellow man. Priests and elders, clothed in the garments of their sacred office, officers and soldiers with glittering spear and helmet, and strangers from long distances, stood to witness the coronation of the chosen king. David was arrayed in the royal robe. The sacred oil was put upon his brow by the high priest, for the anointing by Samuel had been prophetic of what would take place at the inauguration of the king. The time had come, and David, by solemn rite, was consecrated to his office as God's vicegerent. The scepter was placed in his hands. The covenant of his righteous sovereignty was written, and the people gave their pledges of loyalty. The diadem was placed upon his brow, and the coronation ceremony was over. Israel had a king by divine appointment. He who had waited patiently for the Lord, beheld the promise of God fulfilled. “And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.” 2 Samuel 5:10.

[jatamansi-arc]

@illusivexemissary / @mixgoldenphoenix

LAST ONE YAYYYY my back hurtsss

Legends of the Jews, Vol. 4

CAMPAIGNS OF KENAZ 

After these preparations Kenaz took the field against the enemy, with three hundred thousand men. The first day he slew eight thousand of the foe, and the second day five thousand. But not all the people were devoted to Kenaz. Some murmured against him, and calumniating him, said: "Kenaz stays at home, while we expose ourselves on the field." The servants of Kenaz reported these words to him. He ordered the thirty-seven men who had railed against him to be incarcerated, and he swore to kill them, if God would but grant him assistance for the sake of His people. 

Thereupon he assembled three hundred men of his attendants, supplied them with horses, and bade them be prepared to make a sudden attack during the night, but to tell none of the plans he harbored in his mind. The scouts sent ahead to reconnoiter reported that the Amorites were too powerful for him to risk an engagement. Kenaz, however, refused to be turned away from his intention. At midnight he and his three hundred trusty attendants advanced upon the Amorite camp. Close upon it, he commanded his men to halt, but to resume their march and follow him when they should hear the notes of the trumpet. If the trumpet was not sounded, they were to return home. 

Alone Kenaz ventured into the very camp of the enemy. Praying to God fervently, he asked that a sign be given him: "Let this be the sign of the salvation Thou wilt accomplish for me this day: I shall draw my sword from its sheath, and brandish it so that it glitters in the camp of the Amorites. If the enemy recognize it as the sword of Kenaz, then I shall know Thou wilt deliver them into my hand; if not, I shall understand Thou hast not granted my prayer, but dost purpose to deliver me into the hand of the enemy for my sins." 

He heard the Amorites say: "Let us proceed to give battle to the Israelites, for our sacred gods, the nymphs, are in their hands, and will cause their defeat." When he heard these words, the spirit of God came over Kenaz. He arose and swung his sword above his head. Scarce had the Amorites seen it gleam in the air when they exclaimed: "Verily, this is the sword of Kenaz, who has come to inflict wounds and pain. But we know that our gods, who are held by the Israelites, will deliver them into our hands. Up, then, to battle!" Knowing that God had heard his petition, Kenaz threw himself upon the Amorites, and mowed down forty-five thousand of them, and as many perished at the hands of their own brethren, for God had sent the angel Gabriel to his aid, and he had struck the Amorites blind, so that they fell upon one another. On account of the vigorous blows dealt by Kenaz on all sides, his sword stuck to his hand. A fleeing Amorite, whom he stopped, to ask him how to loose it, advised him to slay a Hebrew, and let his warm blood flow over his hand. Kenaz accepted his advice, but only in part: instead of a Hebrew, he slew the Amorite himself, and his blood freed his hand from the sword.

When Kenaz came back to his men, he found them sunk in profound sleep, which had overtaken them that they might not see the wonders done for their leader. They were not a little astonished, on awakening, to behold the whole plain strewn with the dead bodies of the Amorites. Then Kenaz said to them: "Are the ways of God like unto the ways of man? Through me the Lord hath sent deliverance to this people. Arise now and go back to your tents." The people recognized that a great miracle had happened, and they said: "Now we know that God hath wrought salvation for His people; He hath no need of numbers, but only of holiness." 

On his return from the campaign, Kenaz was received with great rejoicing. The whole people now gave thanks to God for having put him over them as their leader. They desired to know how he had won the great victory. Kenaz only answered: "Ask those who were with me about my deeds." His men were thus forced to confess that they knew nothing, only, on awakening, they had seen the plain full of dead bodies, without being able to account for their being there. Then Kenaz turned to the thirty-seven men imprisoned, before he left for the war, for having cast aspersions upon him. "Well," he said, "what charge have you to make against me?" Seeing that death was inevitable, they confessed they were of the sort of sinners whom Kenaz and the people had executed, and God had now surrendered them to him on account of their misdeeds. They, too, were burnt with fire. 

Kenaz reigned for a period of fifty-seven years. When he felt his end draw nigh, he summoned the two prophets, Phinehas and Jabez, (19) together with the priest Phinehas, the son of Eleazar. To these he spake: "I know the heart of this people, it will turn from following after the Lord. Therefore do I testify against it." Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, replied: "As Moses and Joshua testified, so do I testify against it; for Moses and Joshua prophesied concerning the vineyard, the beautiful planting of the Lord, which knew not who had planted it, and did not recognize Him who cultivated it, so that the vineyard was destroyed, and brought forth no fruit. These are the words my father commanded me to say unto this people." 

Kenaz broke out into loud wailing, and with him the elders and the people, and they wept until eventide, saying: "Is it for the iniquity of the sheep that the shepherd must perish? May the Lord have compassion upon His inheritance that it may not work in vain."

The spirit of God descended upon Kenaz, and he beheld a vision. He prophesied that this world would continue to exist only seven thousand years, to be followed then by the Kingdom of Heaven. These words spoken, the prophetical spirit departed from him, and he straightway forgot what he had uttered during his vision. Before he passed away, he spoke once more, saying: "If such be the rest which the righteous obtain after their death, it were better for them to die than live in this corrupt world and see its iniquities."

As Kenaz left no male heirs, Zebul was appointed his successor. Mindful of the great service Kenaz had performed for the nation, Zebul acted a father's part toward the three unmarried daughters of his predecessor. At his instance, the people assigned a rich marriage portion to each of them; they were given great domains as their property. The oldest of the three, Ethema by name, he married to Elizaphan; the second, Pheila, to Odihel; and the youngest, Zilpah, to Doel.

Zebul, the judge, instituted a treasury at Shiloh. He bade the people bring contributions, whether of gold or of silver. They were only to take heed not to carry anything thither that had originally belonged to an idol. His efforts were crowned with success. The free-will offerings to the temple treasure amounted to twenty talents of gold and two hundred and fifty talents of silver. 

Zebul's reign lasted twenty-five years. Before his death he admonished the people solemnly to be God-fearing and observant of the law. 

THE MARRIAGE OF SOLOMON 

The next to suffer Joab's fate was Shimei ben Gera, whose treatment of David had outraged every feeling of decency. His death was of evil portent for Solomon himself. So long as Shimei, who was Solomon's teacher, was alive, he did not venture to marry the daughter of Pharaoh. When, after Shimei's death, Solomon took her to wife, the archangel Gabriel descended from heaven, and inserted a reed in the sea. About this reed more and more earth was gradually deposited, and, on the day on which Jeroboam erected the golden calves, a little hut was built upon the island. This was the first of the dwelling-places of Rome. 

Solomon's wedding-feast in celebration of his marriage with the Egyptian princess came on the same day as the consecration of the Temple. (12) The rejoicing over the king's marriage was greater than over the completion of the Temple. As the proverb has it: "All pay flattery to a king." Then it was that God conceived the plan of destroying Jerusalem. It was as the prophet spoke: "This city hath been to me a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day."

In the nuptial night Pharaoh's daughter had her attendants play upon a thousand different musical instruments, which she had brought with her from her home, and as each was used, the name of the idol to which it was dedicated was mentioned aloud. The better to hold the king under the spell of her charms, she spread above his bed a tapestry cover studded with diamonds and pearls, which gleamed and glittered like constellations in the sky. Whenever Solomon wanted to rise, he saw these stars, and thinking it was night still, he slept on until the fourth hour of the morning. The people were plunged in grief, for the daily sacrifice could not be brought on this very morning of the Temple dedication, because the Temple keys lay under Solomon's pillow, and none dared awaken him. Word was sent to Bath-sheba, who forthwith aroused her son, and rebuked him for his sloth. "Thy father," she said, "was known to all as a God-fearing man, and now people will say, 'Solomon is the son of Bath-sheba, it is his mother's fault if he goes wrong.' Whenever thy father's wives were pregnant, they offered vows and prayed that a son worthy to reign might be born unto them. But my prayer was for a learned son worthy of the gift of prophecy. Take care, 'give not thy strength unto women nor thy ways to them that destroy kings,' for licentiousness confounds the reason of man. Keep well in mind the things that are necessary in the life of a king. 'Not kings, Lemuel.' Have naught in common with kings who say: 'What need have we of a God?' It is not meet that thou shouldst do like the kings who drink wine and live in lewdness. Be not like unto them. He to whom the secrets of the world are revealed, should not intoxicate himself with wine." 

Apart from having married a Gentile, whose conversion to Judaism was not dictated by pure motives, Solomon transgressed two other Biblical laws. He kept many horses, which a Jewish king ought not to do, and, what the law holds in equal abhorrence, he amassed much silver and gold. Under Solomon's rule silver and gold were so abundant among the people that their utensils were made of them instead of the baser metals. For all this he had to atone painfully later on.

THE COURT OF SOLOMON 

As David had been surrounded by great scholars and heroes of repute, so the court of Solomon was the gathering-place of the great of his people. The most important of them all doubtless was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, who had no peer for learning and piety either in the time of the first or the second Temple. In his capacity as the chancellor of Solomon, he was the object of the king's special favor. He was frequently invited to be the companion of the king in his games of chess. The wise king naturally was always the winner. One day Solomon left the chess-board for a moment, Benaiah used his absence to remove one of the king's chess-men, and the king lost the game. Solomon gave much thought to the occurrence. He came to the conclusion that his chancellor had dealt dishonestly with him, and he was determined to give him a lesson. 

Some days later Solomon noticed two suspicious characters hanging about the palace. Acting at once upon an idea that occurred to him, he put on the clothes of one of his servants and joined the two suspects. The three of them, he proposed, should make the attempt to rob the royal palace, and he drew forth a key which would facilitate their entrance. While the thieves were occupied in gathering booty, the king roused his servants, and the malefactors were taken into custody. Next morning Solomon appeared before the Sanhedrin, which was presided over by Benaiah at the time, and he desired to know from the court what punishment was meted out to a thief. Benaiah, seeing no delinquents before him, and unwilling to believe that the king would concern himself about the apprehension of thieves, was convinced that Solomon was bent on punishing him for his dishonest play. He fell at the feet of the king, confessed his guilt, and begged his pardon. Solomon was pleased to have his supposition confirmed, and also to have Benaiah acknowledge his wrong-doing. he assured him he harbored no evil designs against him, and that when he asked this question of the Sanhedrin, he had had real thieves in mind, who had broken into the palace during the night. 

Another interesting incident happened, in which Benaiah played a part. The king of Persia was very ill, and his physician told him he could be cured by nothing but the milk of a lioness. The king accordingly sent a deputation bearing rich presents to Solomon, the only being in the world who might in his wisdom discover means to obtain lion's milk. Solomon charged Benaiah to fulfil the Persian king's wish. Benaiah took a number of kids, and repaired to a lion's den. Daily he threw a kid to the lioness, and after some time the beasts became familiar with him, and finally he could approach the lioness close enough to draw milk from her udders. 

On the way back to the Persian king the physician who had recommended the milk cure dreamed a dream. All the organs of his body, his hands, feet, eyes, mouth, and tongue, were quarreling with one another, each claiming the greatest share of credit in procuring the remedy for the Persian monarch. When the tongue set forth its own contribution to the cause of the king's service, the other organs rejected its claim as totally unfounded. The physician did not forget the dream, and when he appeared before the king, he spoke: "Here is the dog's milk which we went to fetch for you." The king, enraged, ordered the physician to be hanged, because he had brought the milk of a bitch instead of the milk of a lion's dam. During the preliminaries to the execution, all the limbs and organs of the physician began to tremble, whereupon the tongue said: "Did I not tell you that you all are of no good? If you will acknowledge my superiority, I shall even now save you from death." They all made the admission it demanded, and the physician requested the executioner to take him to the king. Once in the presence of his master, he begged him as a special favor to drink of the milk he had brought. The king granted his wish, recovered from his sickness, and dismissed the physician in peace. So it came about that all the organs of the body acknowledge the supremacy of the tongue. 

Besides Benaiah, Solomon's two scribes, Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, deserve mention. They both met their death in a most peculiar way. Solomon once upon a time noticed a care-worn expression on the countenance of the Angel of Death. When he asked the reason, he received the answer, that he had been charged with the task of bringing the two scribes to the next world. Solomon was desirous of stealing a march upon the Angel of Death, as well as keeping his secretaries alive. He ordered the demons to carry Elihoreph and Ahijah to Luz, the only spot on earth in which the Angel of Death has no power. In a jiffy, the demons had done his bidding, but the two secretaries expired at the very moment of reaching the gates of Luz. Next day, the Angel of Death appeared before Solomon in very good humor, and said to him: "Thou didst transport those two men to the very spot in which I wanted them." The fate destined for them was to die at the gates of Luz, and the Angel of Death had been at a loss how to get them there. 

A most interesting incident in Solomon's own family circle is connected with one of his daughters. She was of extraordinary beauty, and in the stars he read that she was to marry an extremely poor youth. To prevent the undesirable union, Solomon had a high tower erected in the sea, and to this he sent his daughter. Seventy eunuchs were to guard her, and a huge quantity of food was stored in the tower for her use. 

The poor youth whom fate had appointed to be her husband was travelling one cold night. He did not know where to rest his head, when he espied the rent carcass of an ox lying in the field. In this he lay down to keep warm. When he was ensconced in it, there came a large bird, which took the carcass, bore it, together with the youth stretched out in it, to the roof of the tower in which the princess lived, and, settling down there, began to devour the flesh of the ox. In the morning, the princess, according to her wont, ascended to the roof to look out upon the sea, and she caught sight of the youth. She asked him who he was, and who had brought him thither? He told her that he was a Jew from Accho, and had been carried to the tower by a bird. She showed him to a chamber, where he could wash and anoint himself, and array himself in a fresh garb. Then it appeared that he possessed unusual beauty. Besides, he was a scholar of great attainments and of acute mind. So it came about that the princess fell in love with him. She asked him whether he would have her to wife, and he assented gladly. He opened one of his veins, and wrote the marriage contract with his own blood. Then he pronounced the formula of betrothal, taking God and the two archangels Michael and Gabriel as witnesses, and she became his wife, legally married to him. 

After some time the eunuchs noticed that she was pregnant. Their questions elicited the suspected truth from the princess, and they sent for Solomon. His daughter admitted her marriage, and the king, though he recognized in her husband the poor man predicted in the constellations, yet he thanked God for his son-in-law, distinguished no less for learning than for his handsome person.

HEZEKIAH 

While the northern kingdom was rapidly descending into the pit of destruction, a mighty upward impulse was given to Judah, both spiritually and materially, by its king Hezekiah. In his infancy the king had been destined as a sacrifice to Moloch. His mother had saved him from death only by rubbing him with the blood of a salamander, which made him fire-proof. In every respect he was the opposite of his father. As the latter is counted among the worst of sinners, so Hezekiah is counted among the most pious of Israel. His first act as king is evidence that he held the honor of God to be his chief concern, important beyond all else. He refused to accord his father regal obsequies; his remains were buried as though he had been poor and of plebeian rank. Impious as he was, Ahaz deserved nothing more dignified. God had Himself made it known to Hezekiah, by a sign, that his father was to have no consideration paid him. On the day of the dead king's funeral daylight lasted but two hours, and his body had to be interred when the earth was enveloped in darkness. 

Throughout his reign, Hezekiah devoted himself mainly to the task of dispelling the ignorance of the Torah which his father had caused. While Ahaz had forbidden the study of the law, Hezekiah's orders read: "Who does not occupy himself with the Torah, renders himself subject to the death penalty." The academies closed under Ahaz were kept open day and night under Hezekiah. The king himself supplied the oil needed for illuminating purposes. Gradually, under this system, a generation grew up so well trained that one could search the land from Dan even to Beer-sheba and not find a single ignoramus. The very women and the children, both boys and girls, knew the laws of "clean and unclean." By way of rewarding his piety, God granted Hezekiah a brilliant victory over Sennacherib. 

This Assyrian king, who had conquered the whole world, equipped an army against Hezekiah like unto which there is none, unless it be the army of the four kings whom Abraham routed, or the army to be raised by God and Magog in the Messianic time. Sennacherib's army consisted of more than two millions and a half of horsemen, among them forty-five thousand princes sitting in chariots and surrounded by their paramours, by eighty thousand armor-clad soldiers, and sixty thousand swordsmen. The camp extended over a space of four hundred parasangs, and the saddle-beasts standing neck to neck formed a line forty parasangs long. The host was divided into four divisions. After the first of them had passed the Jordan, it was well nigh dry, for the soldiers had all slaked their thirst with water of the river. The second division found nothing to quench their thirst except the water gathered under the hoofs of the horses. The third division was forced to dig wells, and when the fourth division crossed the Jordan, they kicked up great clouds of dust. 

With this vast army Sennacherib hastened onward, in accordance with the disclosures of the astrologers, who warned him that he would fail in his object of capturing Jerusalem, if he arrived there later than the day set by them. His journey having lasted but one day instead of ten, as he had expected, he rested at Nob. A raised platform was there erected for Sennacherib, whence he could view Jerusalem. On first beholding the Judean capital, the Assyrian king exclaimed: "What! Is this Jerusalem, the city for whose sake I gathered together my whole army, for whose sake I first conquered all other lands? Is it not smaller and weaker than all the cities of the nations I subdued with my strong hand?" He stretched himself and shook his head, and waved his hand contemptuously toward the Temple mount and the sanctuary crowning it. When his warriors urged him to make his attack upon Jerusalem, he bade them take their ease for one night, and be prepared to storm the city the next day. It seemed no great undertaking. Each warrior would but have to pick up as much mortar from the wall as is needed to seal a letter and the whole city would disappear. But Sennacherib made the mistake of not proceeding directly to the attack upon the city. If he had made the assault at once, it would have been successful, for the sin of Saul against the priest at Nob had not yet been wholly expiated; on that very day it was fully atoned for.  

In the following night, which was the Passover night, when Hezekiah and the people began to sing the Hallel Psalms, the giant host was annihilated. The archangel Gabriel sent by God to ripen the fruits of the field, was charged to address himself to the task of making away with the Assyrians, and he fulfilled his mission so well that of all the millions of the army, Sennacherib alone was saved with his two sons, his son-in-law Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuzaradan. 

The death of the Assyrians happened when the angel permitted them to hear the "song of the celestials." Their souls were burnt, though their garments remained intact. 

Such an end was too good for Sennacherib. To him a disgraceful death was apportioned. On his flight away from Jerusalem, he met a Divine apparition in the guise of an old man. He questioned Sennacherib as to what he would say to the kings allied with him, in reply to their inquiry about the fate of their sons at Jerusalem. Sennacherib confessed his dread of a meeting with those kings. The old man advised him to have his hair cut off, which would change his appearance beyond recognition. Sennacherib assented, and his advisor sent him to a house in the vicinity to fetch a pair of shears. Here he found some people -- angels in disguise -- busying themselves with a hand-mill. They promised to give him the shears, provided he ground a measure of grain for them. So it grew late and dark by the time Sennacherib returned to the old man, and he had to procure a light before his hair could be cut. As he fanned the fire into a flame, a spark flew into his beard and singed it, and he had to sacrifice his beard as well as his hair. 

On his return to Assyria, Sennacherib found a plank, which he worshipped as an idol, because it was part of the ark which had saved Noah from the deluge. He vowed that he would sacrifice his sons to this idol if he prospered in his next ventures. But his sons heard his vows, and they killed their father, and fled to Kardu where they released the Jewish captives confined there in great numbers. With these they marched to Jerusalem, and became proselytes there. The famous scholars Shemaiah and Abtalion were the descendants of these two sons of Sennacherib.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR 

The suffering to which Jeremiah was exposed was finally ended by the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. This Babylonian king was a son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. His first contact with the Jews happened in the time of his father-in-law Sennacherib, whom he accompanied on his campaign against Hezekiah. The destruction of the Assyrian army before the walls of Jerusalem, the great catastrophe from which only Nebuchadnezzar and four others escaped with their life, inspired him with fear of God. Later, in his capacity as secretary to the Babylonian king Merodach-baladan, it was he who called his master's notice to the mention of the Jewish king's name before the Name of God. "Thou callest Him 'the great God,' yet thou dost name Him after the king," he said. Nebuchadnezzar himself hastened after the messenger to bring back the letter and have it changed. He had advanced scarce three steps when he was restrained by the angel Gabriel, for even the few paces he had walked for the glory of God earned him his great power over Israel. A further step would have extended his ability to inflict harm immeasurably.

For eighteen years daily a heavenly voice resounded in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, saying: "O thou wicked slave, go and destroy the house of thy Lord, for His children hearken not unto Him." But Nebuchadnezzar was beset with fears lest God prepare a fate for him similar to that of his ancestor Sennacherib. He practiced belomancy and consulted other auguries, to assure himself that he was against Jerusalem would result favorably. When he shook up the arrows, and questioned whether he was to go to Rome or Alexandria, not one arrow sprang up, but when he questioned about Jerusalem, one sprang up. He sowed seeds and set out planets; for Rome or Alexandria nothing came up; for Jerusalem everything sprouted and grew. He lighted candles and lanterns; for Rome or Alexandria they refused to burn, for Jerusalem they shed their light. He floated vessels on the Euphrates; for Rome or Alexandria they did not move, for Jerusalem they swam.

Still the fears of Nebuchadnezzar were not allayed. His determination to attack the Holy City ripened only after God Himself had shown him how He had bound the hands of the archangel Michael, the patron of the Jews, behind his back, in order to render him powerless to bring to his wards. So the campaign against Jerusalem was undertaken.

THE THREE MEN IN THE FURNACE 

During Daniel's absence Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol, and its worship was exacted from all his subject under penalty of death by fire. The image could not stand on account of the disproportion between its height and its thickness. The whole of the gold and silver captured by the Babylonians in Jerusalem was needed to give it steadiness. 

All the nations owning the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, including even Israel, obeyed the royal command to worship the image. Only the three pious companions of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, resisted the order. In vain Nebuchadnezzar urged upon them, as an argument in favor if idolatry, that the Jews had been so devoted to heathen practices before the destruction of Jerusalem that they had gone to Babylonia for the purpose of imitating the idols there and bringing the copies they made to Jerusalem. The three saints would not hearken to these seductions of the king, nor when he referred them to such authorities as Moses and Jeremiah, in order to prove to them that they were under obligation to do the royal bidding. They said to him: "Thou art our king in all that concerns service, taxes, poll-money, and tribute, but with respect to thy present command thou art only Nebuchadnezzar. Therein thou and the dog are alike unto us. Bark like a dog, inflate thyself like a water-bottle, and chirp like a cricket." 

Now Nebuchadnezzar's wrath transcended all bound, and he ordered the three to be cast into a red hot furnace, so hot that the flames of its fire darted to the height of forty-nine ells beyond the oven, and consumed the heathen standing about it. No less than four nations were thus exterminated. While the three saints were being thrust into the furnace, they addressed a fervent prayer to God, supplicating His grace toward them, and entreating Him to put their adversaries to shame. The angels desired to descend and rescue the three men in the furnace. But God forbade it: "Did the three men act thus for your sakes? Nay, they did it for Me; and I will save them with Mine own hands." God also rejected the good offices of Yurkami, the angel of hail who offered to extinguish the fire in the furnace. The angel Gabriel justly pointed out that such a miracle would not be sufficiently striking to arrest attention. His own proposition was accepted. He, the angel of fire, was deputed to snatch the three men from the red hot furnace. He executed his mission by cooling off the fire inside of the oven, while on the outside the heat continued to increase to such a degree that the heathen standing around the furnace were consumed. The three youths thereupon raised their voices together in a hymn of praise to God, thanking Him for His miraculous help.  The Chaldeans observed the three men pacing up and down quietly in the furnace, followed by a fourth the angel Gabriel as by an attendant. Nebuchadnezzar, who hastened thither to see the wonder, was stunned with fright, for he recognized Gabriel to be the angel who in the guise of a column of fire had blasted the army of Sennacherib. Six other miracles happened, all of them driving terror to the heart of the king: the fiery furnace which had been sunk in the ground raised itself into the air; it was broken; the bottom dropped out; the image erected by Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate; four nations were wasted by fire; and Ezekiel revived the dead in the valley of Dura.

 Of the last, Nebuchadnezzar was apprised in a peculiar way. He had a drinking vessel made of the bones of a slain Jew. When he was about to use it, life began to stir in the bones, and a blow was planted in the king's face, while a voice announced: "A friend of this man is at this moment reviving the dead!" Nebuchadnezzar now offered praise to God for the miracles performed, and if an angel had not quickly struck him a blow on his mouth, and forced him into silence, his psalms of praise would have excelled the Psalter of David. 

The deliverance of the three pious young men was a brilliant vindication of their ways, but at the same time it caused great mortification to the masses of the Jewish people, who had complied with the order of Nebuchadnezzar to worship his idol. Accordingly, when the three men left the furnace which they did not do until Nebuchadnezzar invited them to leave the heathen struck all the Jews they met in the face, deriding them at the same time: "You who have so marvellous a God pay homage to an idol!" The three men thereupon left Babylonia and went to Palestine, where they joined their friend, the high priest Joshua. 

Their readiness to sacrifice their lives for the honor of God had been all the more admirable as they had been advised by the prophet Ezekiel that no miracle would be done for their sakes. When the king's command to bow down before the idol was published, and the three men were appointed to act as the representatives of the people, Hananiah and his companions resorted to Daniel for his advice. He referred them to the prophet Ezekiel, who counselled flight, citing his teacher Isaiah as his authority. The three men rejected his advice, and declared themselves ready to suffer the death of martyrs. Ezekiel bade them tarry until he inquired of God, whether a miracle would be done for them. The words of God were: "I shall not manifest Myself as their savior. They caused My house to be destroyed, My palace to be burnt, My children to be dispersed among the heathen, and now they appeal for My help. As I live, I will not be found of them." 

Instead of discouraging the three men, this answer but infused new spirit and resolution in them, and they declared with more decided emphasis than before, that they were ready to meet death. God consoled the weeping prophet by revealing to him, that He would save the three saintly heroes. He had sought to restrain them from martyrdom only to let their piety and steadfastness appear the brighter. 

On account of their piety it became customary to swear by the Name of Him who supports the world on three pillars, the pillars being the saints Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their deliverance from death by fire worked a great effect upon the disposition of the heathen. They were convinced of the uselessness of their idols, and with their own hands they destroyed them.

THE DISTURBED NIGHT 

The night during which Haman erected the cross for Mordecai was the first night of Passover, the very night in which miracles without number had ever been done for the Fathers and for Israel. But this time the night of joy was changed into a night of mourning and a night of fears. Wherever there were Jews, they passed the night in weeping and lamenting. The greatest terrors it held for Mordecai, because his own people accused him of having provoked their misfortunes by his haughty behavior toward Haman.

Excitement and consternation reigned in heaven as well as on earth. When Haman had satisfied himself that the cross intended for his enemy was properly constructed, he repaired to the Bet ha-Midrash, where he found Mordecai and all the Jewish school children, twenty-two thousand in number, in tears and sorrow. He ordered them to be put in chains, saying: "First I shall kill off these, and then I shall hang Mordecai." The mothers hastened thither with bread and water, and coaxed their children to take something before they had to encounter death. The children, however, laid their hands upon their books, and said: "As our teacher Mordecai liveth, we will neither eat nor drink, but we will perish exhausted with fasting." They rolled up their sacred scrolls, and handed them to their teachers with the words: "For our devotion to the study of the Torah, we had hoped to be rewarded with long life, according to the promised held out in the Holy Scriptures. As we are not worthy thereof, remove the books!" The out-cries of the children and of the teachers in the Bet ha-Midrash, and the weeping of the mothers without, united with the supplications of the Fathers, reached unto heaven in the third hour of the night, and God said: "I hear the voice of tender lambs and sheep!" Moses arose and addressed God thus: "Thou knowest well that the voices are not of lambs and sheep, but of the young of Israel, who for three days have been fasting and languishing in fetters, only to be slaughtered on the morrow to the delight of the arch-enemy." 

Then God felt compassion with Israel, for the sake of his innocent little ones. He broke the seal with which the heavenly decree of annihilation had been fastened, and the decree itself he tore in pieces. From this moment on Ahasuerus became restless, and sleep was made to flee his eyes, for the purpose that the redemption of Israel might be brought to pass. God sent down Michael, the leader of the hosts of Israel, who was to keep sleep from the king, 

and the archangel Gabriel descended, and threw the king out of his bed on the floor, no less than three hundred and sixty-five times, continually whispering in his ear: "O thou ingrate, reward him who deserves to be rewarded." 

To account for his sleeplessness, Ahasuerus thought he might have been poisoned, and he was about to order the execution of those charged with the preparation of his food. But they succeeded in convincing him of their innocence, by calling to his attention that Esther and Haman had shared his evening meal with him, yet they felt no unpleasant effects. Then suspicions against his wife and his friend began to arise in his mind. He accused them inwardly of having conspired together to put him out of the way. He sought to banish this thought with the reflection, that if a conspiracy had existed against him, his friends would have warned him of it. But the reflection brought others in its train: Did he have any friends? Was it not possible that by leaving valuable services unrewarded, he had forfeited the friendly feelings toward him?  He therefore commanded that the chronicles of the kings of Persia be read to him. He would compare his own acts with what his predecessors had done, and try to find out whether he might count upon friends.

What was read to him, did not restore his tranquility of mind, for he saw a poor man before him none other than the angel Michael who called to him continually: "Haman wants to kill thee, and become king in thy stead. Let this serve thee as proof that I am telling thee the truth: Early in the morning he will appear before thee and request permission of thee to kill him who saved thy life. And when thou inquirest of him what honor should be done to him whom the king delighteth to honor, he will ask to be given the apparel, the crown, and the horse of the king as signs of distinction." 

Ahasuerus's excitement was soothed only when the passage in the chronicles was reached describing the loyalty of Mordecai. Had the wishes of the reader been consulted, Ahasuerus had never heard this entry, for it was a son of Haman who was filling the office of reader, and he was desirous of passing the incident over in silence. But a miracle occurred the words were heard though they were not uttered! 

The names of Mordecai and Israel had a quieting influence upon the king, and he dropped asleep. He dreamed that Haman, sword in hand, was approaching him with evil intent, and when, early in the morning, Haman suddenly, without being announced, entered the antechamber and awakened the king, Ahasuerus was persuaded of the truth of his dream. The king was still further set against Haman by the reply he gave to the question, how honor was to be shown to the man whom the king delighteth to honor. Believing himself to be the object of the king's good-will, he advised Ahasuerus to have his favorite arrayed in the king's coronation garments, and the crown royal put upon his head. Before him one of the grandees of the kingdom was to run, doing herald's service, proclaiming that whosoever did not prostrate himself and bow down before him whom the king delighteth to honor, would have his head cut off, and his house given over to pillage. 

Haman was quick to notice that he had made a mistake, for he saw the king's countenance change color at the mention of the word crown. He therefore took good care not to refer to it again. In spite of this precaution, Ahasuerus saw in the words of Haman a striking verification of his vision, and he was confident that Haman cherished designs against his life and his throne.

THE FALL OF HAMAN 

Haman was soon to find out that he had gone far afield in supposing himself to be the man whom the king delighted to honor. The king's command ran: "Hasten to the royal treasure chambers; fetch thence a cover of find purple, a raiment of delicate silk, furnished forth with golden bells and pomegranates and bestrewn with diamonds and pearls, and the large golden crown which was brought me from Macedonia upon the day I ascended the throne. Furthermore, fetch thence the sword and the coat of mail sent me from Ethiopia, and the two veils embroidered with pearls which were Africa's gift. Then repair to the royal stables, and lead forth the black horse whereon I sat at my coronation. With all these insignia of honor, seek out Mordecai!" 

Haman: "Which Mordecai?" 

Ahasuerus: "Mordecai the Jew." 

Haman: "There be many Jews named Mordecai." 

Ahasuerus: "The Jew Mordecai who sits at the king's gate." 

Haman: "There be many royal gates; I know not which thou meanest." 

Ahasuerus: "The gate that leads from the harem to the palace." 

Haman: "This man is my enemy and the enemy of my house. Rather would I give him ten thousand talents of silver than do him this honor." 

Ahasuerus: "Ten thousand talents of silver shall be given him, and he shall be made lord over thy house, but these honors must thou show unto him." 

Haman: "I have ten sons. I would rather have them run before his horse than do him this honor." 

Ahasuerus: "Thou, thy sons, and thy wife shall be slaves to Mordecai, but these honors must thou show unto him."

Haman: "O my lord and king, Mordecai is a common man. Appoint him to be ruler over a city, or, if thou wilt, even over a district, rather than I should do him this honor." 

Ahasuerus: "I will appoint him ruler over cities and districts. All the kings on land and on water shall pay him obedience, but these honors must thou show unto him." 

Haman: "Rather have coins struck bearing thy name together with his, instead of mine as hitherto, than I should do him this honor." 

Ahasuerus: "The man who saved the life of the king deserves to have his name put on the coin of the realm. Nevertheless, these honors must thou show unto him." 

Haman: "Edicts and writings have been issued to all parts of the kingdom, commanding that the nation to which Mordecai belongs shall be destroyed. Recall them rather than I should do him this honor." 

Ahasuerus: "The edicts and writings shall be recalled, yet these honors must thou show unto Mordecai." 

Seeing that all petitions and entreaties were ineffectual, and Ahasuerus insisted upon the execution of his order, Haman went to the royal treasure chambers, walking with his head bowed like a mourner's, his ears hanging down, his eyes dim, his mouth screwed up, his heart hardened, his bowels cut in pieces, his loins weakened, and his knees knocking against each other. He gathered together the royal insignia, and took them to Mordecai, accompanied on his way by Harbonah and Abzur, who, at the order of the king, were to take heed whether Haman carried out his wishes to the letter. 

When Mordecai saw his enemy approach, he thought his last moment had come. He urged his pupils to flee, that they might not "burn themselves with his coals." But they refused, saying: "In life as in death we desire to be with thee." The few moments left him, as he thought, Mordecai spent in devotion. With words of prayer on his lips he desired to pass away. Haman, therefore, had to address himself to the pupils of Mordecai: "What was the last subject taught you by your teacher Mordecai?" They told him they had been discussing the law of the `Omer, the sacrifice brought on that very day so long as the Temple had stood. At his request, they described some of the details of the ceremony in the Temple connected with the offering. He exclaimed: "Happy are you that your ten farthings, with which you bought the wheat for the `Omer, produced a better effect than my ten thousand talents of silver, which I offered unto the king for the destruction of the Jews." 

Meantime Mordecai had finished his prayer. Haman stepped up to him, and said: "Arise, thou pious son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thy sackcloth and ashes availed more than my ten thousand talents of silver, which I promised unto the king. They were not accepted, but thy prayers were accepted by thy Father in heaven." 

Mordecai, not yet disabused of the notion that Haman had come to take him to the cross, requested the grace of a few minutes for his last meal. Only Haman's repeated protests assured him. When Haman set about arraying him with the royal apparel, Mordecai refused to put it on until he had bathed, and had dressed his hair. Royal apparel agreed but ill with his condition after three days of sackcloth and ashes. As luck would have it, Esther had issued the command that the bathkeepers and barbers were not to ply their trades on that day, and there was nothing for Haman to do but perform the menial services Mordecai required. Haman tried to play upon the feelings of Mordecai. Fetching a deep sigh, he said: "The greatest in the king's realm is now acting as bathkeeper and barber!" Mordecai, however, did not permit himself to be imposed upon. He knew Haman's origin too well to be deceived; he remembered his father, who had been bathkeeper and barber in a village. 

Haman's humiliation was not yet complete. Mordecai, exhausted by his three days' fast, was too weak to mount his horse unaided. Haman had to serve him as footstool, and Mordecai took the opportunity to give him a kick. Haman reminded him of the Scriptural verse: "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he is overthrown." Mordecai, however, refused to apply it to himself, for he was chastising, not a personal enemy, but the enemy of his people, and of such it is said in the Scriptures: "And thou shalt tread upon the high places of thine enemies." 

Finally, Haman caused Mordecai to ride through the streets of the city, and proclaimed before him: "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor." In front of them marched twenty-seven thousand youths detailed for this service from the court. In their right hands they bore golden cups, and golden beakers in their left hands, and they, too, proclaimed: "Thus shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor." The procession furthermore was swelled by the presence of Jews. They, however, made a proclamation of different tenor. "Thus shall be done," they cried out, "unto the man whose honor is desired by the King that hath created heaven and earth." 

As he rode along, Mordecai gave praise to God: "I will extol Thee, O Lord; for Thou hast raised me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me. O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." Whereupon his pupils joined in with: "Sing praise unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment; in His favor is life; weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning." Haman added the verse thereto: "As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. Thou, Lord, of Thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong. Thou didst hide Thy face; I was troubled." Queen Esther continued: "I cried to Thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise Thee? Shall it declare Thy truth?" and the whole concourse of Jews present cried out: "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever." 

When this procession passed the house of Haman, his daughter was looking out of the window. She took the man on the horse to be her father, and the leader of it, Mordecai. Raising a vessel filled with offal, she emptied it out over the leader her own father. Scarce had the vessel left her hand, when she realized the truth, and she threw herself from the window, and lay crushed to death on the street below. 

In spite of the sudden change in his fortunes, Mordecai ended the eventful day as he had begun it, in prayer and fasting. No sooner was the procession over than he put off the royal robes, and, again covering himself with sackcloth, he prayed until night fell. 

Haman was plunged in mourning, partly on account of the deep disgrace to which he had been subjected, partly on account of the death of his daughter. Neither his wife nor his friends could advise him how to mend his sad fortunes. They could hold out only sorry consolation to him: "If this Mordecai is of the seed of the saints, thou wilt not be able to prevail against him. Thou wilt surely encounter the same fate as the kings in their battle with Abraham, and Abimelech in his quarrel with Isaac. As Jacob was victorious over the angel with whom he wrestled, and Moses and Aaron caused the drowning of Pharaoh and his host, so Mordecai will overcome thee in the end."

While they were yet talking, the king's chamberlains came, and hastily carried Haman off to the banquet Esther had prepared, to prevent him and his influential sons from plotting against the king. Ahasuerus repeated his promise, to give Esther whatever she desired, always expecting the restoration of the Temple. This time, casting her eyes heavenward, Esther replied: "If I have found favor in thy sight, O Supreme King, and if it please Thee, O King of the world, let my life be given me, and let my people be rescued out of the hands of its enemy." Ahasuerus, thinking these words were addressed to him, asked in irritation: "Who is he, and where is he, this presumptuous conspirator, who thought to do thus?" These were the first words the king had ever spoken to Esther herself. Hitherto he had always communicated with her through an interpreter. He had not been quite satisfied she was worthy enough to be addressed by the king. Now made cognizant of the fact that she was a Jewess, and of royal descent besides, he spoke to her directly, without the intervention of others. 

Esther stretched forth her hand to indicate the man who had sought to take her life, as he had actually taken Vashti's, but in the excitement of the moment, she pointed to the king. Fortunately the king did not observe her error, because an angel guided her hand instantaneously in the direction of Haman, (179) whom her words described: "This is the adversary and the enemy, he who desired to murder thee in thy sleeping-chamber during the night just passed; he who this very day desired to array himself in the royal apparel, ride upon thy horse, and wear they golden crown upon his head, to rise up against thee and deprive thee of thy sovereignty. But God set his undertaking at naught, and the honors he sought for himself, fell to the share of my uncle Mordecai, who this oppressor and enemy thought to hang." 

The anger of the king already burnt so fiercely that he hinted to Esther, that whether Haman was the adversary she had in mind or not, she was to designate him as such. To infuriate him still more, God sent ten angels in the guise of Haman's ten sons, to fell down the trees in the royal park. When Ahasuerus turned his eyes toward the interior of the park, he saw the ruthless destruction of which they were guilty. In his rage he went out into the garden. This was the instant utilized by Haman to implore grace for himself from Esther. Gabriel intervened, and threw Haman upon the couch in a posture as though he were about to do violence to the queen. At that moment Ahasuerus reappeared. Enraged beyond description by what he saw, he cried out: "Haman attempts the honor of the queen in my very presence! Come, then, ye peoples, nations, and races, and pronounce judgment over him!" 

When Harbonah, originally a friend of Haman and an adversary of Mordecai, heard the king's angry exclamation, he said to him: "Nor is this the only crime committed by Haman against thee, for he was an accomplice of the conspirators Bigthan and Teresh, and his enmity to Mordecai dates back to the time when Mordecai uncovered their foul plots. Out of revenge therefor, he has erected a cross for him." Harbonah's words illustrate the saying: "Once the ox has been cast to the ground, slaughtering knives can readily be found." Knowing that Haman had fallen from his high estate, Harbonah was intent upon winning the friendship of Mordecai. Harbonah was altogether right, for Ahasuerus at once ordered Haman to be hanged. Mordecai was charged with the execution of the king's order, and Haman's tears and entreaties did not in the least move him. He insisted upon hanging him like the commonest of criminals, instead of executing him with the sword, the mode of punishment applied to men of rank guilty of serious misdemeanors. 

The cross which Haman, at the advice of his wife Zeresh and of his friends, had erected for Mordecai, was now used for himself. It was made of wood from a thorn-bush. God called all the trees together and inquired which one would permit the cross for Haman to be made of it. The fig-tree said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel, and, also, my fruits were brought to the Temple as firstfruits." The vine said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel and, also, my wine is brought to the altar." The apple-tree said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The nut-tree said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The Etrog tree said: "I should have the privilege, for with my fruit Israel praises God on Sukkot." The willow of the brook said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The cedar-tree said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The palm-tree said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." Finally the thorn-bush came and said: "I am fitted to do this service, for the ungodly are like pricking thorns." The offer of the thorn-bush was accepted, after God gave a blessing to each of the other trees for its willingness to serve. 

A sufficiently long beam cut from a thorn-bush could be found only in the house of Haman, which had to be demolished in order to obtain it. The cross was tall enough for Haman and his ten sons to be hanged upon it. It was planted three cubits deep in the ground, each of the victims required three cubits space in length, one cubit space was left vacant between the feet of the one above and the head of the one below, and the youngest son, Vaizatha, had his feet four cubits from the ground as he hung. 

Haman and his ten sons remained suspended a long time, to the vexation of those who considered it a violation of the Biblical prohibition in Deuteronomy, not to leave a human body hanging upon a tree overnight. Esther pointed to a precedent, the descendants of Saul, whom the Gibeonites left hanging half a year, whereby the name of God was sanctified, for whenever the pilgrims beheld them, they told the heathen, that the men had been hanged because their father Saul had laid hand on the Gibeonites. "How much more, then," continued Esther, "are we justified in permitting Haman and his family to hang, they who desired to destroy the house of Israel?" 

Beside these ten sons, who had been governors in various provinces, Haman had twenty others, ten of whom died, and the other ten of whom were reduced to beggary. 

The vast fortune of which Haman died possessed was divided in three parts. The first part was given to Mordecai and Esther, the second to the students of the Torah, and the third was applied to the restoration of the Temple. Mordecai thus became a wealthy man. He was also set up as king of the Jews. As such he had coins struck, which bore the figure of Esther on the obverse, and his own figure on the reverse. However, in the measure in which Mordecai gained in worldly power and consideration, he lost spiritually, because the business connected with his high political station left him no time for the study of the Torah. Previously he had ranked sixth among the eminent scholars of Israel, he now dropped to the seventh place among them. Ahasuerus, on the other hand, was the gainer by the change. As soon as Mordecai entered upon the office of grand chancellor, he succeeded in subjecting to his sway the provinces that had revolted on account of Vashti's execution.

[ahavahisms-archive-blog]

the Tempest Isles was her home and with that, her whole wide world. And outside of the Isles, where Miranda lived, the story of the island and its mysterious and ethereal sorceress Prospera was legendary around of the Enchanted Forest, almost all the population in the World of Fairytales considering it nothing more than just a fairytale from sailors driven homesick with desire for solid ground underneath their feet and for the company of women - all except a small amount of people. Even the spirits of those lived in the Enchanted Forest, who we would recognise as the gods and goddesses of greek mythology, had no idea that such existence was of a truth, not a fairy story. Ruled by Prospera and her alone, the island, set upon the glittering, blue and everwild Southern Seas like a emerald gem, was a place of magic, of their wildest dreams. It was a place the sands were white and the seas were always the brightest blue and the earth was always fertile, where whole jungles were brimming with animals and flowers and life, where life was always safe. And once, it was only just a group of islands with nothing but sand when Prospera had being sent to die in the middle of the ocean with her daughter and where using her magic, Prospera had made a utopia amongst the uncharted. With magic as a protector against those with less than good intentions, Prospera did not just create a shelter for those who wanted to harm, as Miranda knew (who she was trying to hide from, Megera would never know), she created a paradise for her daughter to flourish safely and happily away from the dangers that the mainland had carried.

However, unlike what you may believe, Miranda did not grow up only in the company of her mother. As much as Prospera decided to raise her away from men, Prospera knew fine rightly that she could not grow up alone with the company of others. Which is where Prospera allowed women to the Tempest Isles a home, a shelter - for as much as Prospera understood that one day Miranda was to fall in love and make her in the world alongside with all women and men, all Prospera wanted to leave Miranda in her innocence until she was mature enough to make such decisions. And from the Tempest Islands had became a home for many.  Survivors of shipwrecks were taken care of and sometimes, as the men decided to sail back home, the women were invited to remain on the island with mothers and daughters decided not to take upon the tides and instead to make the Isles their home as Prospera offered. The sea caves were one of few that were considered safe for mermaids, for the Imperial Court of the Seas, to host their meetings and their singing and celebrations; the sea-salted winds carrying the enthralling songs of the mermaids and the selkies underneath full and crescent moons for all of the people to hear and croon little Miranda to sleep. Nymphs lived within the flowers and the trees and rivers, laughing and playing with wild abandon. And because of their kindness in difficult times, Prospera opened her home to the Amazon warriors, who used the island for many things. Upon ships, Miranda and Prospera would welcome Amazon women who came to the island all for different and yet similar purposes. The elderly came to spend the rest of their living in paradise, after years of battles and war, as a reward. Pregnant Amazons came to bear their children in comfort, either future daughters that would go in their peoples places as legendary fighters or sons that would go amicably back to their fathers and visited to every year. The dying came with their families and were personally greeted by Prospera, women dying from illness or injury or simply from age sent so they could live the rest of their days in comfort and amongst the closest place the Amazons considered close to heaven. The injured, after nearly having spent themselves in battle, came to heal, sometimes physically, sometimes mentally. Daughters or mothers, Prospera welcomed them all. And from there, little Miranda would never grow up alone. Women would rule the island with men as their loving husbands, their friends but women the rulers, the queens of the island.

And never she did. Growing up, Miranda was brought up surrounded by mothers and daughters, knowing the nymphs as her friends and playmates, the mermaids as her lullaby songstresses, the Amazons her teachers and protectors, growing up never doubting in herself. Ariadne, the fallen princess of King Minos, seer and Prospera's friend after being carelessly abandoned by the explorer Theseus, was Miranda's nanny while Prospera took time to rule over those within the Tempest Isles and as Miranda grew up, Ariadne's role as a nanny grew into that of a confidante and guide. All while Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons who frequently came to visit Miranda's mother, acted as her source to the world beyond the island. Hippolyta shown Miranda the way of the Amazons, how they defied their kingdom's roles as mere chattel and submissive child-bearers and took on the roles of warriors and strategists and scholars and rulers, the roles that their original kingdom of Greece, that their fathers and husbands, thought would be roles impossible for women. Miranda knew how the Amazons treasured the virtues of independence, loyalty and bravery above all else, how they fought battles against thousands with only hundreds and still won at the end of the day. She knew the fact that it was common for Amazons to take on lovers, men whom some they loved for years on end and had many children with and yet never married, not out of blind hatred for men, but because of out of defiance, to not be lowered as someones property, to keep their independence - in where Hippolyta and many of the Amazons came from, marriage was not a rite of love as it was here in the Tempest Isles and in a few kingdoms, but a contract to property, to a woman's will. The Amazons gave Miranda her own sense of independence, of pride. She wore her dresses of knee high height and played in their sports, hugged Hippolyta and cried when she left, begging to come along with her and wondering, just wondering, what lay beyond the crystal-blue horizon as the ships sailed away.

With Ariadne as her best friend and her confidante, Hippolyta her teacher and role-model and Prospera as her loving mother, Miranda lived nothing less than that of a charmed life within the island, sheltered from all dangers and evils that could have hurt little Miranda. Not that she didn't know what lay beyond the Tempest - she didn't grow up believing that the whole world was that of the Tempest. She heard from her best friend's mothers, from the mermaids, from the Amazons - she knew of the shipwrecks, of which carried men. She remembered most of them being kind, the little boys teasing her and their fathers smiling and giving her little trinkets but all kept their distance, all of them watched by Prospera with a watchful eye. And Miranda knew that she was to fall in love. The mermaids sang of it, the women talked and giggled about it and Miranda always asked questions about who her father was. All that Miranda knew was that Prospera loved her father and he loved her and from that love came Miranda. All that Miranda knew was somehow, her father was gone. Maybe that was why her mother always wanted to be at the side of the dying at their time of their soul passing. But Prospera, as much as she desired nothing but to keep Miranda safe upon the island, Prospera had always known that Miranda will find love and must find her way within the world - but she could always influence how it comes about, to always being a protective force for Miranda where ever she goes. But why her mother so desperately wants to keep her away from the outside world, Miranda did not know.

Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazons; women who d. Hippolyta herself was in love with a man. This man she met as a young woman who recently took her vows as a Amazon warrior and as Queen Otrere's heir, the past Amazon Queen and Hippolyta's mother. A mere merchant with a strong and kind heart, the pair were so enraptured with each other that from love at first sight, they made love within the warm nights that they shared together and from that lovemaking of passion and romance once seen as weak by the Amazons of old, did Queen Hippolyta's eldest daughter, Penthesilea, come into the world. She dearly loved him, gods she loved him even through she would not marry him. But love within the Amazons was seen as weakness, a feminine whimsy that placed them under the will of men, the very thing they were trying to destroy. Hippolyta, on the other hand, saw it as a strength - while she agreed that the Amazons should not marry, as an act of defiance against their realm, she believed that women should be allowed to love, to be apart of their children's lives be they male or female, have opportunities beyond that of warriors, to embrace their femininity and their sexualities instead of opressing it. Is their femininity, their sexuality, their desire for love the very things that the men of Greece tried to shame? Which is why upon Otrene's death, Hippolyta allowed women to have lovers, while not allowing marriage, and to have contact with their male children in able to establish strong ties with men and gain allies and good standing with the people. The husbands and sons and brothers and friends, raised to see their sisters and mothers and women as their equals, became allies to the Amazons. Many a Amazonian woman would have a lover who she would love for her whole lifetime and regard much like how a wife would love her husband. And Hippolyta would love Oliver her whole lifetime and have many sons and daughters that she loved.

Persephone would gladly allow Oliver and that of the lovers of the Amazonians to stay on the island and raise their young sons under vow of secercy about the island - the Tempest Island becoming a popular place for Amazonian women to visit their partners, to concieve their children, Persephone secretly lending out tips on the matters of love to young lovers with a glitter in her eye. And from there, Persephone, who embraced herself as Prospera, the Tempest Island's enchantress and ruler, would raise her and Hade's daughter, Miranda. Having being turned from a immortal to a mortal girl, Persephone was certain that Miranda would be able to live a carefree and safe life. A life of love and lullabies and cuddles and games, a life where Miranda was validated, where she was loved, protected and not controlled. Within the Trojan war that Hippolyta was leading

[callowsermons]

Sin-Reign of Death

Oddly enough, or maybe not that odd, I think out of all the plays I’ve seen live the one I’ve seen the most is Fiddler on the Roof.  And there’s a line in Fiddler that has always stuck with me.  Yente, the village gossip and matchmaker, tells Tzeitel, Tevye’s eldest daughter, “People! I tell you Tzeitel, if God lived on earth, people would break his windows!”  Now Fiddler is a deeply Jewish, yet also deeply human, play.  But that one line is also very deeply Christian.  How can it not be?  We believe that God has lived on earth.  And while we didn’t break his windows, we crucified him.

On the one hand, the point seems so obvious that absent Christian revelation God fearing Jews can make the same point even if jokingly.  But on the other hand, how confounding is that to contemplate?  God, the Lord of the Universe, maker of all things, ground of all being, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, goodness itself, justice itself, love itself, that which is to be more highly prized than all the wealth in all the world, whose supreme glory cannot be grasped, the object of sacrifice and scorn and abuse.  The object of murder.  

In our gospel reading Luke frames the confrontation that is coming.  As Jesus is teaching some Pharisees arrive and tell Jesus, “Leave this place and go somewhere else.  Herod wants to kill you.”  Just a word on the Pharisees.  The general portrait of the Pharisees in the gospels is so bad that we’ve turned the word into an insult.  But we need to be really careful about that for two reasons.  The first is that the Jewish rabbinic tradition grows out of the pharisaic tradition.  So we need to be careful about how we paint our Jewish friends, and whether or not we are accidentally wading into the waters of antisemitism.  But secondly, we want to make sure we are reading scripture rightly, and not imposing the things we “know.”  And this is a case where we might impose the things we know.  When we do that we silence the word of God.

The Pharisees, in Luke’s account, are not so much Jesus’ adversaries as much as his rivals.  Both have a very similar mission: to preach good news to the poor.  The Pharisees are not malevolent as much as they do not understand the purposes of God.  Jesus’ God is merciful, and the laws are expressions of the mercy of God.  The pharisaic God is righteous and zealous for his people.  Which is not to say Jesus does not depict a righteous God, but mercy is far more primary to Jesus.  Maybe the best way to put it is the Pharisees understand God’s mercy by what they take to be righteousness, Jesus understands that God’s righteousness is God’s mercy.

It is because the Pharisees do not understand the purpose and will of God that they earnestly warn Jesus to flee.  Herod has murderous designs.  If you leave Galilee and preach elsewhere you will survive and you can continue to spread your teaching.  But Jesus did not come simply to teach, Jesus came to deliver us from the power of sin and death.

And here we come to a deeper vision of the mystery of sin.  Why is it that the most loving, merciful, and wonderful human being in all history would be put to death?  Why would God be put on trial and crucified?  Because we live under the rule of sin.  This world, as John would put it, is ruled by Satan.  We heard this last week when Satan tempts Jesus by offering all the Kingdoms of the world for his worship.  Jesus never says “you can’t do that.” Jesus knows he has gone behind enemy lines.  This world is under the rule of sin, under the rule of death. Jesus came to free us from that bondage. 

And this isn’t merely mythological language, some strange cultural baggage from ancient times that we enlightened Americans need to do away with.  This is theological language.  With some reflection we can see this simply is the state of things.  How is it that against our best intentions, our strongest resolutions, we so often fall back into the same sins? Whether we grow resentful, even though we know it does us no good, or whether we grow envious even though we know it only causes us to suffer?  How many of us gossip, when we know we ought not gossip?  Why is it that nations go to war against other nations?  Why must there be conflict? Why does it seem that even our own denomination, against our best efforts, just can’t seem to resolve our disputes? Why do our lives seem like civil war?  Why is it that so much of life is soul denying, soul killing, death dealing, oppressing, depressing, and never enough?

Jesus says “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’  In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day— for surely no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem!”  When Jesus says that he will continue to drive out demons and continue to heal, he announces his intention to overcome the reign of sin and death in our midst.  When he casts out the demons and when he heals the sick, he is revealing the coming kingdom that overthrows the powers that haunt and oppress us and make us miserable.

But note what he says, “and on the third day I will reach my goal.”  The third day being his resurrection.  His goal is the total triumph over sin, our deliverance, the new life we may lead in him.  His goal is that we may overcome death by his victory, break of the shackles of sin by his deliverance.  His goal is that we need no longer be bound to go back to the vomit of sin like a dog, but may make our hearts right with him.  His goal is that we would know his life, the life abundant.

But he must go to Jerusalem.  Jerusalem where they kill the prophets, and stone those who are sent.  But of course they must, of course we had to, because the darkness cannot stand the light.  And this life is a battlefield between Spirit and Flesh, sin and grace.  The Cross is the great battle with sin and with death.  The Resurrection is his victory.  In the cross he assumes sin, and dies to sin.  He shows the Law to be defective, and removes all condemnation.  In the resurrection, he brings us new life.

This Lent we focus on the struggle, knowing that in Christ we have been given the victory.  Knowing that the victory has been won we may struggle in hope.  Hope of life.  Hope of peace.  Hope of reconciliation.  Hope that death may be overthrown, and life restored.

Questions for Reflection

Does our tendency to sin mean we are not responsible?

What sin is hard to break?

Why do you think sin and death are related?

Why does sin hate righteousness?

[johnchiarello]

Sunday sermon

SUNDAY SERMON  2-17-19

 John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

1 Timothy 1:18

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

 https://youtu.be/TMDxjB1MU-w Sunday Sermon

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/8-20-17-sunday-sermon.zip

https://ccoutreach87.com/8-20-17-sunday-sermon-2/ 

 Video made 2-10-19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDgpyxEj1cE&t=72s

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205331016033106/

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilM8RN-NWYOeUqeR

 Blog- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber

Other sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/  

Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/

Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/

[Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post]

NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam- Thank you- John.

NEW [Other videos below]

 ON VIDEO- [Original video for this post]

.Mass verses- Church Unlimited too

.Catholics and Evangelicals

.Immigrants welcome

.Racial prejudice challenged by Jesus

.Puppies eat the crumbs!

.Boundaries shattered

.Not pluralism- but acceptance

.Are we exclusive?

.You are too

.The sun- and the Son

.Objective truth

.Philosophy

.Gentiles- don’t get proud

.We were immigrants once as well [outside of the covenant]

.Ellis Island

.Revolutionary war

.Britannia ruled the seas- yet we won!

.Native Americans were here first

.The principle of storehouse- seeds

.Thales and the eclipse

.Scientific revolution

.Copernicus- Kepler-

.Ptolemy and cosmology [no- we didn’t think the earth was flat- not most of us]

.Alexander the great

.Absolute truth

Other Videos- [Teaching below]

2-13-19 Update- some teaching at the end https://youtu.be/HcsFP_Qphs8

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205341372332007/

8-19-18 Sunday sermon  https://youtu.be/LXU49c_kUxk

5-6-18 Sunday sermon  https://youtu.be/ABxS8VSkr2E

The Cross [1]   https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDvvCNelXjp2WdOu

Jon Locke and Jesus  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AAVBBVSygarsfTOEvPyhhz-GQv2C8XER/view?usp=sharing

The Word endures  https://dai.ly/x71t9zh

Philosophy and God  https://mega.nz/#!jHBDyCaC!N-83jfI1eN6qqo21rSApc-UGDKlinmpQU1fE1eAwBk8

Ephesians 2  https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcterll6r8stc28/12-9-17%20Ephesians%202.mp4?dl=0

Hebrews 5 with homeless friends  https://flic.kr/p/2eLgTYD

 2-11-19 Furman and the bird https://youtu.be/4xcF-rPgjN4

2-12-19 Public Safety warning https://youtu.be/C9OelIe8-04

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilEZWHo8UCywegxq

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mbnYPCjn_IAd6MQ_W52GwF5gWPz5fkZF/view?usp=sharing

11-5-17 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDrp8iA1KiuUl_1S

Hebrews 10-13  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sbN84KmD1ria6h-iqtpTb3-V5GYFvM1s/view?usp=sharing

Teaching Samuel with friends  https://www.instagram.com/tv/BtyI-KknUVB/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet

St. Patrick’s cathedral-[NYC] https://bit.tube/play?hash=Qmdt2uhyYHqXXeDVHzWAzvu1Rtb9WCXr69FALUx3xWaKFL&channel=160276

God of the living  https://flic.kr/p/2eERPiL

10-21-18 Sunday sermon- tree of Life  https://dai.ly/x71t9zg

2-13-19 Criminal corruption- Corpus Christi Texas  https://youtu.be/pmLYzZaDnqQ

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilJZmW4y-LzEtdoe

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205339629928448/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h3aS133s1nKQI-eEBm1jGEvY5LQpe14I/view?usp=sharing

1-14-18 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMeMlCArzzEG7ZgL0

Hebrews 7-9   https://drive.google.com/file/d/19pXxmPw7J3PlBlWkxkyWgziR5nEsO6mg/view?usp=sharing

Found a verse  https://flic.kr/p/2dkLrKk

6-17-18 Sunday sermon  https://dai.ly/x717yb8

 11-4-18 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDhxIxWdzx-wW5mv

Hebrews 4-6  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z7LmpMCMwv8d-rAWvIEPFMpLbacVz9wN/view?usp=sharing

Bus ride New York City  https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmVFJkXZYygCjAHaFin4uak8mR8hdnGzww8nywDQYqDKtq&channel=160276

Homeless friends   https://vimeo.com/293345050

 Henry  https://www.instagram.com/tv/Btvcm-MnJBt/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet

Kings 7  https://dai.ly/x71k2wr

6-3-18 Sunday sermon  https://flic.kr/p/K91fCx

  https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205333831263485/

Homeless friends https://youtu.be/qTRDGi2D05g

9-9-18 Sunday sermon  https://youtu.be/piX5uY7_sZw

1-14-16 Mercy  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0kImMPCe3gwmN_s

Pops  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VGZ_kk0nYf3LDzyTt5dRBBC0OhfqDV-i/view?usp=sharing

Off the cuff teaching  https://dai.ly/x71t9zf

8-6-17 Sunday sermon  https://flic.kr/p/2eGAKLx

Kingdom come  https://www.bitchute.com/video/tABRVY7euUyx/

David Martin  https://www.instagram.com/tv/BtqhYUVnpmY/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet

Jonah 3-4  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDWsJfRw9boMAKkX

Back in NYC  https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmdE48FbAQFcBUUcGXCLgkFdSQC4hG7rtbde4JM8RWCKQP&channel=160276

Hebrews 1-3  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wFu3tFfFjwQIPNAPjt6dfnuZHIKsKvfM/view?usp=sharing

Ephesians 1  https://www.dropbox.com/s/uve5l1dh546zxcp/11-21-17%20Ephesians-%20Intro-%20chapter%201.mp4?dl=0

Colossians 2  https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZTDgC7ZPoQNl5hYP5m4DkKVdOHuajF4C22V

Jerome  https://ln.sync.com/dl/cc8cc4690/fbcjw43f-2a9tx8cm-fdqa2ykb-6s59knuk

7-8-18 Sunday sermon https://mega.nz/#!Kbx1BSCb!pP5br5jYAGgkb693twch944NyEzQsFWeaiqDSq7sbII

Sunday sermon  2-10-19  https://youtu.be/LDgpyxEj1cE

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205331016033106/

John 16  https://youtu.be/nm8PjUZ1nrk

Kings 15  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDfLrbdhsVBNCJZl

Romans 14-16  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BHNBgaRAw8k9mo7woUdUs_JUnSSd8TB9/view?usp=sharing

10-14-18 Sunday sermon  https://dai.ly/x71w6sf

8-5-18 Sunday sermon  https://flic.kr/p/2444uHT

Jersey city ride  https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmchMNkaMSPN9nfE4GpBxgZLy5td1GFLwWPsWTJV4CN7KV&channel=160276

Kings 7  https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/kp64l86b

1-21-18 Sunday sermon  https://www.bitchute.com/video/TdkpqOTRA2Gr/

   Past Teaching- I taught on the verses from The Sunday Mass- and made some comments from Church Unlimited and New Christian Harvest [feeding ministry in the Bluff].

 I’ll add my past links below and just Make a few comments-

In Isaiah 56 we see the prophet telling God’s people that it was always his intent for the kingdom of God to embrace all people groups-

Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

 God even had statues in the Old Testament that allowed for this.

Then we read of the account where a woman from Canaan [Matt. 15] came to Jesus with a request-

Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

 The Jewish [religious] people of Jesus day were quick to cut off people who were not part of the commonwealth of Israel.

Judaism- at the time of Christ- became elitist.

 Yet Jesus answers the woman's request because she showed faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah- the son of David-

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

 In Romans 11 [by the way- these were the 3 main passages that were read in this Sunday’s mass- and I want my friends to see that these bible verses are not simply read by the priest with no rhyme or reason- they all have a purpose].

 Ok- In Romans 11 we see this dynamic come to a head.

Yes- God had given Israel great promises- the law and the prophets were sent to the people of Israel.

 Jesus Himself recognized this In his response to the woman-

Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Yet- the Jews for the most part rejected Jesus as the Messiah-

But this was the purpose of God- so the gospel would go to the Gentiles [non- Jews]-

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Now that we have become recipients of these blessings- we should not use this as an advantage against the ‘alien’ - meaning those who seem to be outside of the benefits that we are now partaking of.

Paul teaches in Romans 11 that all this has happened in the greater plan of God-

Romans 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Romans 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

We have now become beneficiaries of the blessings- so those who find themselves where we were- can receive mercy too.

It’s an interesting dynamic for sure.

 In our day- those who live in this great country of the United States- have benefited tremendously because our forefathers- who were strangers- made it to this land [Unless you are a Native American- Indian].

 But over time- some in this blessed land- have used the plight of the alien- stranger- in a way that says ‘Yes- we migrated here too at one time- we were indeed immigrants- but now we want to protect the blessings we have- and in order to do this- we want to keep others out’.

 Now- I’m not purely speaking politics here- this is actually the dynamic we see in the readings above.

 Yes- The Jewish people were blessed- with many things.

At the time of Christ- there was an anti immigrant mindset- but more along the Lines of a religious understanding.

 When Jesus welcomed the outcast- healed the daughter of the woman who was not a ‘rightful

 heir’ - he challenged mindsets- and yes- in doing so- he offended many-

 Some were offended to the point that they wanted nothing to do with Jesus-

61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

So the blessing went to others- to us- to the gentiles.

But wait- the apostle warns us- don’t make the same mistake- the mistake the religious leaders made at the time of Christ-

Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

 They rejected the Messiah- and it was thru that rejection- that the gospel came to us-

Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

But those of us who now believe- and received the blessings- we have to be careful that we do not use our privileged position- as heirs of the blessing-

And turn others away.

 Yes that's the warning Paul gave in Romans 11.

Ok- I talked about more on the video- and like I said- I’ll post that below.

 But I think if we- especially as Christians- Catholics- Protestants- all of us.

I think if we can apply the truths we have seen in the gospel this day.

Then we will do well.

 PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to this post- Sunday Sermon- verses below]

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/ 

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/  John 3

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/

https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/

https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/

https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ 

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel-links-updated-3-17/

https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ 

THALES AND THE PRE-SOCRATICS

Ok- let me do a little teaching- maybe finish it tonight.

 Christianity is not simply ‘made up stories’ from some bible.

 No- the history of Western Thought- Philosophy- ideas- all of the various World Views are imbedded with God- our concepts of God- and ask the ultimate question ‘where did all this come from- and why are we here’.

 We usually trace the beginning of Ancient Philosophy to the 6th century BCE.

 A thinker by the name of Thales sought to find ways to describe natural phenomena without the use of Greek Mythology.

 Even though Philosophy deals with Metaphysics [things beyond the natural- physical realm- Physics] yet Thales wanted to find explanations for existence- without leaning on Myth.

 He is considered a ‘Pre Socratic’ thinker [before Socrates] and espoused an idea that water was the key source of all things.

 These guys were looking for a singular thing to explain stuff.

Sometimes referred to as a unified theory- the same thing that Einstein was seeking to find some 2 Millennia later.

 So- Thales surmised that water was the key thing.

 There are various ideas of why he came to this conclusion- but one reason might have been the idea of motion.

 Many Geek thinkers were looking for the source of motion- where did it come from?

 And to the natural eye- if you observe the ocean- rivers- etc. - there does seem to be no cause for the moving of water- so to these guys it seemed like water itself was the source- motion came from water.

 Now- there were other religions who taught a sort of idea along these lines.

 Some pagan religions said that the ‘god’s’ moved upon the water- and life came that way.

 If you read the Christian account of creation in Genesis- you will notice that God did move upon the waters- and the account in Genesis does indeed say that he brought forth life from the water.

 Thales came from for Miletus- in Asia Minor.

 He was famous for the prediction of a Solar Eclipse that occurred on May 28th- 585 BCE.

 The earliest account of this is found in the writings of Herodotus.

Thales is considered one of the 7 sages of the time.

 Christianity was born at a time where Greek thought/ideas were a big part of society.

 We do find the early apostles using the language/ideas of the Greek philosophers when describing the reality of Christ.

 The apostle John refers to Christ as THE LOGOS- The word Logos- is a Greek word for ‘word’.

 Jesus is called ‘the word of God’.

 Now- the Greek thinkers were in fact seeking for the Logos- they used this term to describe the ultimate answer to all tings.

They were on a search for some Divine principle that could explain things.

 So- the writers of the New Testament were in a way saying ‘look- we have found the Logos- the thing that you guys are looking for- it is Christ- the Divine Logos’.

 We also see the apostle Paul debating with the Greek thinkers in the city of Athens [the seat of Geek philosophy- the city/state where Socrates was forced to drink cyanide].

 In Acts chapter 17 he is preaching to these guys on Mar’s Hill- he says ‘In him we live AND MOVE and have our being’.

Now- today as we read this- we don’t get the full import of what he was doing.

 But- to the Greek mind- the source of motion was a big thing.

 Paul was a smart guy- and he was saying ‘in him we move’ showing that yes- the ‘source of motion’ [Thales water] is not found in the natural world [Physics] but the source comes from the Metaphysical world [God].

 He also says ‘when I was walking thru your town- I saw one of your altars- to the unknown god’.

 At the time many believed in a Pantheon of gods- and to cover their bases- they had an altar for any god they might have missed- smart thinking!

 So Paul says ‘him I declare unto you’.

Notice how Paul was able to debate- converse with them- and at the end actually use their own ideas- to present the gospel.

In this chapter- Acts 17- we read of the only 2 groups of philosophers mentioned in the bible.

 The Epicureans and the Stoics.

 The Epicureans were an early form of what we call Hedonism today- the idea that pleasure is the principle purpose of man.

 The Stoics believed in ‘stoicism’ that man should have no emotional response to pain or pleasure- that’s why we call people today ‘Stoics’- when they seem to not be moved by anything.

 Ok- that’s it for now- might make some comments tonight- but I’m getting ready to fly out soon- and trying to wind down before I leave.

If I don’t write tonight- I’ll talk again when in North Bergen- God bless you all.

 1Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

1Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

1Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

1Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

1Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

1Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

1Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

1Corinthians 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

1Corinthians 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

1Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

1Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

 1Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1Corinthians 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

1Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

1Corinthians 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

1Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Corinthians 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.

 See? Paul the apostle had the intellectual capacity to engage with the best of them- but he knew that the core issue- was sin. That is those who reject Christianity on the basis of ‘it’s a religion of foolishness’- in reality- even if you win the intellectual argument- yet for the most part people will still not believe. In the end it is always a matter of true repentance- being honest with ourselves- and others. So- Paul didn’t rely on the ‘wisdom of men’ but the power of the Cross. When needed- he would ‘use it’ [men’s wisdom- Acts 17- Mars Hill] but he closed his argument by declaring Christ.

[parts]

HISTORY OF EVERYTHING- IN 1 HOUR

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. ...  2nd Thes. 2:10-13

 https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo  History of everything in 1 hour [part 1]

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip 

ON VIDEO-

.Did my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see

.They said a rocket hit the plane

.What did Patience say?

.Update on detention center

.Bishop Mulvey

.I was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law

.Where did the animals come from?

.Is the story true?

Mesopotamia

.Palestine

.Aristotle

.They were looking for the ‘LOGOS’

.Ptolemy

.Copernicus

.Cosmology

.Scientific/Industrial revolution

.Sir Ramsey and documentary evidence

.Luke/Acts as historical evidence

.Phenomenological language

.Aquinas- Anselm and Augustine

.Richard Dawkins alien creator

.Einstein and the big bang

.C.S. Lewis

.Everything is proof of God

MY LINKS-

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/ 

 [parts]

Alexander sought to implement the ideals of his teacher- he wanted to unify the known world under one people/culture- a belief that Aristotle held- a sort of ‘unified theory’ [Einstein] that would seek to bring all learning/knowledge together under one supreme [Divine] principle.

 Alexander’s experiment was called Hellenization- which was the Greek worlds attempt to impose Greek culture/language on all their conquered enemies- and at the same time allow them to hold on to the their own culture too. Alexander did amazingly well at this experiment- at the young age of around 24 he had accomplished most of his mission. The cities were a sort of composite of Greek culture mixed in with their own culture- this is where we get the modern term Cosmopolitan.

 Alexander died young and his kingdom was divided between 4 generals- one of them- Ptolemy- would himself make it into the history books because of his keen intellect.

 The system of cosmology developed under him would last [and work!] until some 17-18 hundred years later when it was overthrown by the Copernican revolution during the time of Copernicus and Galileo.

 Alexander’s generals would do their best to carry on the system of Hellenization- and other nation’s generals would keep the system going even after Greece fell. One of them- Octavian [Roman general] makes it into the history books by another famous name- Julius Caesar.

 Alexander established a great library in the Egyptian city of Alexandria [named after him] and many of the great writings were preserved during this time.

 The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance.

 Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah.

 Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement.

 Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language.

 Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me].

 It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate].

 Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church history.

   The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.

Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.

They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.

Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.

This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.

A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.

The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-

Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.

[parts]

In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin.

  What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff.

 Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far.

 Some thinkers went  back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists.

 Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church.

 Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world.

 As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.]

 These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways.

 There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words.

 Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes.

 Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality.

 This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term.  There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism.

 The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist.

 This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke].

 Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind.

 Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not.

 He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high.

 Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it.

 As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas.

 Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought.

 Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?]

 Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical  resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain.

 Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system.

 [parts]

(1045) Okay, I am up early and just finished prayer time. I kind of heard [spiritually speaking!] the lord speaking to me about a few various subjects, things I haven’t recently studied. I also ‘heard’ the verse ‘there are 12 hours in the day, if a man walks when it is light out, he does not stumble. Walk while you have the light, for a dark time is coming when no one will be able to walk’[Jesus- John’s gospel]. These last few weeks have been pretty bad for me, my work injury has been bad. I really am not sleeping at night because of the severe back pain. I only missed one early prayer time because of it. Not because I am some super hero, but if I don’t ‘walk when it’s light’ [or dark! 3-5 am] then I miss the daily opportunity of real prayer. I realized that to miss a daily prayer/study/teaching time is detrimental to my own health. To get up early and start is difficult, I make a few attempts at standing before I make it to the yard for prayer. I always walk while praying, but after the hour or so prayer walk, I can function okay for a while. I realized that my day starts at around 3:30 am, and it usually ends around 3-4 pm- 12 hours! Jesus gave us a 12 hour work day, we complain about 8! Actually the Jewish day was a 12 hour day, that’s why he said it. Now, let’s talk a little on apologetics. I recently read a few statements from various church traditions that seemed ‘apologetic’ and defensive. The historic church still ‘smarts’ over the whole Galileo affair. Let me defend the historic church a little. A few hundred years before Christ the great philosopher Aristotle developed a cosmology [stars and stuff] that wasn’t that bad. It is a common error to believe that we all believed the world was flat before the 16th century, only a few people  believed the flat earth theory, most accepted Aristotle’s [and later Ptolemy] view. Aristotle’s concept was improved a few centuries later by Ptolemy. Ptolemy developed a system that had the sun and planets and stars all orbiting around the earth on a system of ‘Crystalline spheres’ sort of like the earth was the center of an onion and the stars/planets were stuck on these outer layers and they appeared in certain places at certain times. Now, Ptolemy did not differentiate between stars and planets. He simply saw the planets as stars that were ‘irregular’ in their patterns. These ‘irregular stars’ were called ‘wanderers’ that’s where we get the current term for meteorology. Well anyway this system was obviously flawed, but it worked well for almost 2 thousand years. So during the 15-16th century when Copernicus came up with a more accurate system [our present understanding of the solar system- one where we orbit the sun and not visa versa] he was initially rejected on good grounds. What! Do you mean to tell me you believe in the old idea? Of course not, but the first system Copernicus floated was actually wrong! Many people don’t know this. When the church and science looked at the initial theory they found it to be lacking in certain areas. Copernicus had the planets orbiting the sun in a circular orbit, they orbit more on an Ellipsis like pattern. Also Kepler had to make other adjustments to the system to get it to work [complicated stuff like the retrograde motion of mars]. So the church had some ground to stand on when they rejected Copernicus/Galileo. Of course we later accepted the truths of science and do not see science and reason as ‘anti’ Christian. But it is this embarrassing history that puts us on the defense at times, that’s why some notable Christians have embraced evolution as a tool that God used to create man. These Christians are over compensating [in my view] for the bad history on stuff like this. I reject evolution based on scientific grounds, not biblical. If God wanted to use evolution as a tool to create man, he most certainly had that option. But  science does not show that ‘tool’ to be true. Those who reject all the evidence of Intelligent Design are standing with the Bishops of Galileo’s day, who when invited to just look into the telescope and ‘see for yourself’ rejected the invitation.

                    [parts]

Quantum Mechanics-

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honourof kings is to search out a matter. Prvb.

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/2-18-16-quantum-mechanics.zip

https://youtu.be/XKfs4SIQ1FA  QM

ON VIDEO-

[past posts- verses below]

.Quantum Leap

.Quanta a mystery?

.Bowling balls need a bowler

.You see it- you did it!

.What’s the big mystery?

.Light both wave and particle

.Observer created reality

.Interpretation of data

.Newton

.Copernicus

.Kepler

.Atoms- Electrons- Nucleus- all ok

.Quanta

.Pilot Wave

.science- or magic?

. Double slit test

.Wonderful- Wonderful Copenhagen?

.Chance or determinism- that’s the question

.Maybe my duplicate will go to heaven!

NEW STUFF-

QUANTUM LEAP

Ok- I want to make this as simple as possible- don’t be afraid of the title.

I have actually taught some of this over the years- because in the field of Physics [the study of stuff] this particular area has been used by thinkers [wrongfully] who refute God [atheists].

So- the past week or so I’ve been commenting about a documentary I’ve been watching on PBS [Fabric of the cosmos] and have also been going thru an old Physics course I bought years ago.

It just so happened [yes- I did not plan it] that they both deal with Quantum Mechanics [the study of very small particles].

As I listened to the good men- I noticed lots of contradictions- and over exaggerations [maybe they are just excited about their field?]

Now- if I were to guess- I think part of the excitement- is based on some of their ‘world views’.

Meaning- in the whole debate about God- and science- many have tried to argue that the physical universe is ‘not designed’.

The Christian thinker [and the early philosophers] did argue that you find design in the Cosmos.

So- when Quantum physics as a separate field arose in the early 20th century- it seemed to be an area where those who ‘want’ no design [or predeterminism] could finally say ‘see- we now have proof that the universe is ruled BY CHANCE’.

The Physicists I’ve been hearing the last few weeks have made this statement more than once.

I have taught that this actual statement- is nonsensical.

Because- chance is simply a word that describes the odds of something.

It is not ‘a thing’ that can cause [or rule] something.

Ok- what they really mean to say is something like this ‘we have found that random acts- probability- is a factor in what’s happening’.

Now- that’s ok- if they say it that way [even though I do not agree with all that they are saying- this would be the proper way to say it].

So- what’s the big thing that the quantum guys are saying?

It’s really not that hard- or such a ‘great mystery’ [which many are saying].

It comes down to the way Atoms work at the sub atomic level.

Atoms have Electrons inside them- that ‘orbit’ around the center [nucleus].

In these ‘orbits’ [circles] the electrons seem to pass from one circle- to another- without actually traveling thru the space.

They kind of ‘jump’ from one line- to the other.

This is called the Quantum Leap.

So- some have said this is proof that ‘something comes from nothing’ [see- that’s the worldview working].

Actually- it is not proof that something comes from nothing- and the scientists who were saying this at first- have stopped saying it.

Because- they were shown to be wrong.

The other thing that these guys have been saying is ‘we now see that the fundamental WORKING OF THE UNIVERSE- IS BY CHANCE’.

This is simply not true.

In the beginning of the 20th century a scientist by the name of Niels Bohr debated with Einstein about this very thing.

Bohr said these particles were actually reacting- working- based on the observation of the scientists looking at them.

Yes- he said the fact that they were being observed- made them act a certain way.

Einstein did not believe this at all- he responded ‘I prefer to think the moon is there- whether I look at it or not’.

But- over time- some in the field of quantum Mechanics have said Einstein has been proven wrong- and Bohr right.

But Einstein never said that Quantum mechanics was not true- he just said over time- we will understand more about the field.

Because that’s the job of the scientist- to keep looking for causes behind events [see- if you ‘stop’ looking for a cause- and say ‘it’s chance’- it would be the same thing that some have accused the Christian thinker of- that when the Christian says ‘see- we have no further explanation- so God did it’. Now- I do believe ‘God did it’- but- in science- you continue to look- as much as possible- for the chain of events. And this is what Einstein was saying].

There were experiments done [Double split- etc.] that showed that these particles did not respond in the normal way.

That is- individually.

But- over time- you could predict the way they acted- as a group.

The example used was like a casino- even though the casino owner cannot say who will win in his casino- yet- because of the odds- the probability- over time he could be assured that the house will make more- then the people gambling.

Ok- this is fine- this is not some type of mystery that overthrows ‘all that we ever knew about the universe’ [which some of the men are saying].

Also- in the documentary I watched- carefully- they said it has since been proven that Bohr was right- and Einstein wrong- in the area of the observation of the particles being affected- simply because they were being looked at.

But- the documentary did not show how- they did go on to explain the concept of entanglement- and ‘spooky action’ but I was waiting for them to show me how Bohr was proven right about the idea that when a particle is looked at- it then reacts a certain way.

[In the field of Quantum Mechanics there is no equation that actually shows HOW this works.

QM has many formulas that do indeed work- that’s why we have electronics- cell phones- computers- etc. - the laws themselves do indeed work.

But there are no equations that show Einstein wrong and Bohr right- in the particular area of ‘observation created reality’.]

They never showed that.

In short- the Atom has electrons in it- that orbit around the center.

These particles seem to jump from one orbit- to another [The Quantum leap] without traveling thru the space.

In my mind- the Atom is a finely tuned ‘machine’ that exists everywhere.

The fact that these machines exist- and work- is part of the Grand design.

The reality of the Quantum Leap does not ‘overthrow all that we ever knew about the universe’.

It is a unique part of the created order.

In short- that’s it.

And the fact that they exist- and function- like everything else- is proof of design in itself.

Because we cannot predict how each and every particle will act- but we can predict how they will act as a group- is not proof that anything happens ‘BY CHANCE’.

If you want to call it ‘a law of probable’s’ that’s fine.

But as a whole- or group- they do work in an orderly fashion.

Now- there’s a lot more to Quantum Mechanics- but in a nutshell- that’s was the big debate.

QUANTA  A MYSTERY!

- One of the physicists talking about Quanta- a minimum amount of energy that an electron puts out that can no longer be subdivided- said ‘this is amazing- nothing else is like that- for example- if you eat food- there is no minimum amount you must eat- why this is so is an absolute mystery!’.

Now- is he correct?

Is this so amazing?

The actual subject itself- the study of atoms [and everything else] is in categories- we define things by saying- well- it is A THING [meaning- they have limits- big and small].

By definition- yes- there are barriers-categories-limits to things.

Now- it’s a bit deeper than this- he is referring to insights Niels Bohr had in the study of Quantum mechanics.

But this is really no ‘mystery that changes everything we thought we knew’- not in the way the scientist talked about it.

BOWLING BALLS NEED A BOWLER

 Now- I don’t want to be ‘picky’- but I found it interesting that in order for the host of the documentary to give an example of how these particles were reacting- he gave an example of a man throwing them- like bowling balls [the example was fine] down an alley.

He was doing this to show the probability of them acting a certain way- over time.

The point is- even in his example- he has someone ‘throwing them’- which would be the ‘cause’ for the effect.

Now- I know this was a simple example- for the viewer to understand better.

But it is natural- even in a simple example- to have an actual cause- for an effect.

And what he was trying to show in the example- was that there was no ‘cause’.

YOU SEE IT- YOU DID IT

 Some argue that Quantum mechanics ‘proves’ that there are effects without a cause.

Which is an ideology that atheists try to use to say ‘there is no God’.

They appeal to the seemingly ‘causeless’ reaction of the electrons/particles that have no ‘movement or location’ until they are observed.

Actually- they do not see that they are contradicting themselves when they say this.

Why?

They are telling you [and me] there IS A CAUSE.

They are saying the cause is OBSERVATION by humans.

Now- if the Copenhagen interpretation holds true [it is being challenged by other interpretations- pilot wave-Hidden variables- consistent history] it would confirm the bible.

How?

The bible teaches us that man is unique- he has ‘dominion’ over the created order [Genesis- Romans- etc.]

Meaning- man- has a special ‘rule’ or authority over creation in a way that all creation ‘submits’ to his caretaking.

So- if Bohr is correct- that particles at the most fundamental level of reality- act- move- ‘locate’ themselves- only when man is observing them- then- this would be consistent with the biblical world view.

Bohr’s view is better defined as ‘observer created reality’.

WHATS THE BIG MYSTERY?

In short- in the Copenhagen interpretation- it seems as if Electrons/ sub atomic particles are doing what they do- simply because they are being observed.

As I studied what other physicists are saying about this interpretation I found out that many of them believe this whole thing is way overblown.

I came to this conclusion BEFORE I READ THEIR DOUBTS TOO.

Like I said above- if it is true- then fine.

It proves GOD.

If we keep looking- maybe there will be a scientific answer to the problem.

The other scientists said stuff like ‘the reason these other guys are talking like it is such a mystery- it overthrows our whole view of the way we thought the world worked…’

They said it was kind of a ‘rite of passage’.

Like they picked up this ‘mysterious’ way of speaking- because it simply gets you into the ‘in crowd’.

I’ll be honest- that’s what it looked like to me.

If one little unsolved part of the puzzle [why the particle seems to be affected by the observer] is not solved yet- fine.

This in no way would overturn all the science that has been done since the days of Aristotle- to Ptolemy- up to Copernicus- down the line thru Newton- and then to Einstein.

It simply is not as big as they are making it out to be.

Christianity Today magazine ran an article a few years back- saying ‘will Quantum Mechanics be the big challenge to God’.

 Guess they were simply trying to be trendy-

Maybe they should read my Blog?

LIGHT- WAVE AND PARTICLE

In the documentary- fabric of the cosmos- one of the scientists said part of the ‘mystery’ was that waves are not particles- and particles are not waves.

He used the example of an ocean wave [light wave] and rock [light particle].

This insight of Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century was indeed true.

The famous test- double slit- that seems to have confounded these men- to the point of using language like ‘this mystery will overturn all that we ever knew about the…’

The test showed that light has BOTH the characteristics of wave and particle- not that hard to see.

This simple reality seems to back up the Pilot Wave interpretation of QM’s-

Waves [both light- and ocean] are made up of particles. And yes ‘a particle is not a wave- and a wave is not a particle’.

But waves are made up of particles- and as simple as this sounds- that seems to be a part of the answer to the so called ‘puzzle’.

PAST POSTS [verses below]

In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin.

  What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff.

 Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far.

 Some thinkers went  back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists.

 Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church.

 Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world.

 As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.]

 These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways.

 There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words.

 Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes.

 Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality.

 This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term.  There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism.

 The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist.

 This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke].

 Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind.

 Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not.

 He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high.

 Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it.

 As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas.

 Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought.

 Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?]

 Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical  resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain.

 Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system.

     VERSES-

 Isaiah 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

Isaiah 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

Isaiah 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

Isaiah 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

Isaiah 56:8 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

Matthew 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

Matthew 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,

Romans 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

Romans 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

Romans 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Romans 11:9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

Romans 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Romans 11:12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

Romans 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

Romans 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

Romans 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

Romans 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Romans 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Romans 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

Romans 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Romans 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Romans 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Romans 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Romans 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Romans 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

  Here are the verses from the Sunday Mass-

USCCB »  Bible »  Daily Readings

 August 20, 2017

 « August 19  |  August 21 »

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 118

Reading 1

IS 56:1, 6-7

Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants— all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

Reading 2

ROM 11:13-15, 29-32

Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles.  Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them.  For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.  Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.  For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

Alleluia

CF. MT 4:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom and cured every disease among the people. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MT 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is tormented by a demon."  But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.  Jesus' disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me."  He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish."  And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

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[truthandlove]

Imprecatory Prayer 6/14/2017

Lord Jesus Christ, you are WORTHY of all authority, dominion, honor, glory and praise. You are the HERO of all time and space, having destroyed sin and death and triumphed over ALL the evil of this fallen world.

Thank you for placing me IN You, IN the Father, and placing the Holy Spirit IN me. Thank you for our union by faith, our sacred romance, for giving me a forever home with you, for opportunities to be used for truly meaningful and good purposes in Your Kingdom. YOU are the glory of my life and may my entire life conform to your will - the only true love and freedom there is.

We hereby summon the Kingdom of God, and the Glory and Rule of Iron of the Lord Jesus Christ, as King of Kings, as Dread Warrior, as Consuming fire and bring Messiah and the Victorious Trinity AGAINST all works of darkness. Against all spiritual forces, all witchcraft, all dark arts, all techno-magic, all oppression and deception, from individuals to nations.

They try to use witchcraft and technology to inflict their selfish, taking and evil wills upon the creation YOU Made. Stop them, Lord. Destroy them, Lord. Bring them to less than nothing, crushed under Your foot. Consume them, judge them, and bring the full weight of divine justice upon them - You who see every heart, every intention, every atom.

You know their allegiance, so now destroy these workers of iniquity. They war against You and Your Kingdom in vain. They rage against Your goodness in self-destructive ways. Forbid, Lord God, the collateral damage as these wolves damage those people not in their evil club, their secret societies, their dark allegiances and evil blood oaths. You who know all things and see the end from the beginning, now BLIND their all-seeing-eye, their techno-spying, their Palantirs. Turn their technologies and spellcraft AGAINST them.

We declare that YOUR WILL be done here and now, not their will. We BIND their evil will, and we RELEASE Your righteous will for life and goodness to all you have made, who belong to you and acknowledge You.

As witnesses of their corruption, we bring the judgement of the Most High God upon the workers of iniquity. Let their own darkness devour them, we pray. Let their own evil decisions drag them down into implacable darkness. Let all predators, the lawless ones, the self-willed, let them eat the ruination they tried to vomit on others. Let them IMPLODE into the emptiness of their own scalped souls, their empty hearts, their vacuous eyes, their voiceless screams.

Let all that is evil and insubstantial be exposed — revealed as a scam and sham — and let your reality, your glory, worthiness and goodness shine - brighter than the Sun for all to see and FACE the reality that You alone are good, are worthy, are wisdom, are righteousness.

We bow in openly-admitted inadequacy, but we come to Your Throne of Grace, Father God in humility and subjection to You, for Your love-power to OVERCOME just as it says in Your Word (Romans 12:21, Revelation).

We now bring the full Victory of Jesus at the Cross/Death/Resurrection over and AGAINST all expressions of the Kingdom of Darkness. We RECLAIM territory it has tried to steal, kill and destroy. We speak LIFE back into HEARTS the enemy has damaged. We speak RESTORATION of vision, of life, of dreams, of vitality BACK INTO those victimized by the darkness.

We call upon you to ARISE, and SCATTER all Your enemies in dread of the full weight of the truth. Let the haters eat their own hatred. Let the evildoers collapse upon the lies of their own schemings. Let them disintegrate like smoke that fades quickly to nothingness. Let their swords pierce their own hearts. Let their own treachery betray them. Let the sword from Your mouth cut them down. Let Your eyes of flame undo them.

The Lord Jesus REBUKE all political witchcraft against our nation, its leaders and institutions, and it laws. Let Godly judgement and righteousness be uplifted and practiced throughout this nation, and break the many veils of deception the witchcraft tries to invert reality and blind the minds. You, Lord Jesus, are the “Light of the World” (John 8:12 , John 9:5, John 12:46) and You have called us to reflect YOUR light to this world (Matthew 5:14). Therefore now, as Your representatives, we call upon you now Lord Jesus, “DESTROY THEM by the brightness of your Presence”, we pray. Destroy those who deal in death and follow the lord of the dead. Overthrow them by the power of your Grace and Your Lifeblood!

The Lord Jesus REBUKE all stalkers and individual predators. All who collaborate in terror. All who have compromised with the Deep State of lawless ones. All who work iniquity. All who are willing to hurt their neighbor in hopes of getting ahead, instead of loving their neighbor with the Love of Christ.

The Lord Jesus REBUKE all witches, satanists, luciferians, wizards, druids, and those who practice any dark art under any terminology: all Native American magic, all Alantean magic, all Crowley magic, all OTO magic, all Masonic magic, all Jesuit magic, all Enochian magic, all African magic, all Central American magic, all Voodoo and Santaria, all those who draw from evil principalities, all who collaborate with evil kingdoms under the water and under the ground. We declare your harming of people is at an end. You will bow to the sheer goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ! We command your full destruction by the Holy One, the Ancient of Days, the Mighty God. The Messiah Jesus REBUKE you! You have doubled down on curses and spells, on the technology of bondage and slavery, the magic of energy transference, the confusion of lies, the inversion of life. You are pirates. You are hackers. You are illegitimate and lawless. We bring the Judgement of Christ Jesus against you and utterly EXTINGUISH your darkness now in Jesus’ Name!

We summon and command forth, in Jesus’ Name, the FULL RETRIBUTION AND RECOMPENSE OF THE WICKED to manifest here and now. All those who are proud and without repentance, now collapse into the fire prepared for the devil and its fallen angels. Sink into madness. Let every jackal devour its fellow. Let there be no more companionship or collusion. Let every pit and trap they have set, ensure them forevermore. Let divine retribution encompass them, compress them into a micron and trap them in a plasma furnace and a black hole. Let their own wrongness and emptiness haunt them without mercy throughout eternity. Let every pain they have caused, be visited upon them to the full, without end. Let their failure to love and give horrify them with ever increasing magnitude. Let hope flee from them. Let their own ugliness disgust them with no relenting. Force them to endure their own selves forevermore.

In Your justice and righteousness, Lord Jesus, protect all lambs, every believer, every innocent one. Show them graciousness forevermore. We are all underserving, but we turn TO You for Salvation, for even Your name means salvation. Deliver us, Yeshua Jesus. Provide and protect. Cause your people to OVERCOME every hateful obstacle, every curse set against us, every witchcraft that would burden us. Let joy and light spring up, even OUT of the very darkness they would try to trap us in!

The Lord Jesus REBUKE the principalities that are deceiving people and deceiving the nations! Show them the unsurpassed strength of Your Right Arm! Show them who is BOSS. You are the LION of creation, the Word of God, with the Father in Creation! Put them in their place - all rebellious and wicked spirits from the least to the greatest! REMIND them who won the victory already and they are where they are now because they LOST - having fallen victim to their own pride, vanity, and envy.

We REBUKE political mind control. We REBUKE social mind control and the engineering of values and behaviors. We BREAK all mind control, all techno-stalking, all threats from the wicked, whether from mafia, from government, from secret societies, from witches/satanists/luciferians, and/or from the dark arts. Let the blackness of their dark arts BLIND THEM and BIND THEM in failure and confusion. But let your children shine with Your light, and radiate Your power. Let them REIGN with You forevermore. Hallelujah amen, in Jesus' Name it is so.

REFERENCES: Psalm 68:1,2 Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, And let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish before God…

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 9:5 "While I am in the world, I AM the light of the world."

John 12:36 "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light." After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and hid Himself from them.

Matthew 5:13-15 (speaking to believers) You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.…

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

John 3:13-21 No one has ascended into heaven except the One (The anointed Messiah) who descended from heaven—the Son of Man (Jesus/Yeshua). Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, (in crucifixion) that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal LIFE.

For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His one and only Son, (Jesus/Yeshua as a sacrificial Lamb of God on the Cross) that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal LIFE. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world (as it was already condemned by the Mosaic Law), but to SAVE the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

And this is the verdict: The LIGHT has come into the world, but men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that what he has done has been accomplished in God.

Romans 12:20,21 “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

John 4:1-6 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is already in the world at this time.

You, little children, are from God and have OVERCOME them, because GREATER is He who is in you than he who is in the world! They are OF the world. That is why they speak FROM the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of TRUTH and the spirit of DECEPTION.

John 16:33 I have overcome the world.

Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious (who overcomes), I will grant the right to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:26,27 And to the one who is victorious and continues in My work until the end (overcomes), I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father.

Revelation 3:21 To the one who is victorious (who overcomes), I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Revelation 20:4 Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

[getty-d]

Seeing Things Clearly

I wonder how many of us know what it really means to give our whole selves to Christ. What I mean by that is, the everyday mindset of being willing to do what it takes to serve Christ to the fullest and going through the process of dying to our flesh in what could very well mean possibility dying for our faith. When we look at people who bring the truth of good to the doorstep of an evil minded man and in doing so, challenge the comfort-ability and contentment of wickedness, we can see a strong tension start to take place. When a threat is presented to said evil minded men with the intention of freeing minds and souls from the deadly grip of the dark side; things become like an Austin Powers vs. Dr. Evil type battle in the real world. Or maybe a star wars analogy works better for you, the battle between the Light Side and the Dark Side? When you start to look at the other variants and dig into the spiritual aspects of things, you can also see a very real battle of Good and Evil taking place. This battle of Good and Evil is known to be the long ongoing fight of God and His people versus Satan and his followers. Why this information is important to know and remember is because it plays an important part in seeing the battle of your own flesh and spirit taking place. The fleshly earthly body you possess is in a state of fallen nature and is not fit for the kingdom of God. The other part of you that is a spirit and soul, can either be influenced by God or Satan. The only way to truly get to Heaven and be in the kingdom of God is to receive the Holy Spirit (becoming born again), trusting in Jesus alone for your salvation, and living separate from the ways of this world. When you don't have the Holy Spirit and have not gone through the process of being born again, your spirit and soul are susceptible to demonic influence. If you do have the Holy Spirit, you should already be realizing for yourself the very real spiritual battle taking place and waging war against the principalities and forces that you couldn't see existed before. The covering over your eyes can be lifted and once they are lifted by God, you will be able to see how the action of this spiritual truth is playing out into the physical world. Your old self which is called "the flesh" and your born again self (the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within you), will be internally at war with each other until the day you die, and they should be. You should only be feeding into either your spirit or flesh and what you sow is what you will reap. Meaning, the good or bad choices we make will have either good or bad reactions in our life. Only one side can win in the end and God who is all Good and All Powerful has already won the battle, which means it would be wise to be on His side in the end. If we want to be with Christ, then we have to be willing to lose our lives here on Earth so we can gain a true life in Heaven. Christ is the only thing fully worth serving in this life, He is the only one worth giving it all for and we can see the truth of that when we search for answers. Turning to God for help understanding is a fantastic start. As you start to seek for the clarity and search for the truth about what this life is about, you will begin to see things in a new way. We must remember though, the full truth can be found only through God Himself who tells us He is the truth and encourages us to trust Him. All other things besides Christ should not be placed higher or further more idolized. Christ even tells us "seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you." He is telling us that something can be found when it is looked for and we should have a genuine purpose and intention to the reason behind what we are seeking. When we seek after Christ Himself instead of carnal things and knock at the door of His offering instead of the door of the enemy, surely He will provide for us everything we could ever need. Does He not take care of sparrows and feed the birds of the air? Surely you are worth more in value than those creatures. Jesus meant what He said, and it would be in our best interest to listen to Him and take His words into careful consideration. Realizing what Jesus relays in His overall messages gives us great opportunity to connect with Him and allow Him to be our main source of everything in life. When we look at Matthew 6:33 we see that after seeking first the kingdom of God and Gods righteousness, all other things will be added to us. Your relationship with God should be the most important thing in your life. If you want to have the best life you could ever live and walk closely with God, you are going to need to make Him your first priority. When we try to do everything else rather than turning to the one that holds everything in His palm, we are going to have a faulty order. God has the guidance and direction we need, and seeking after our own desires and relying on our own strength is only going to prove to be a failed attempt. Jesus is genuinely giving us an important warning and heeding, along with a powerful truth when He tells us to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all else will be added to you. He is actually telling us the truth and we will see for ourselves the truth of it by actually putting it into practice. It relates to the listening and hearing of the word, as well as the doing and putting into practice part. As we can see, also in the book Matthew, chapter 7 verse 26, we see that it says "And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand." This verse is clearly again, telling us to our own life benefit, that someone who hears these words of truth but does not put them into practice, will be like a fool who built his house on sand. What happens when you build a house on sand? It collapses. Foundation in Gods word and presence is a necessary and important priority. Contrary to building your house on sand, there is an option to build your house on The Rock and that consists of both listening to the Word of God and following what they say. We must take heed to the words of Jesus as well as trust in the truth of them along with the rest of the Bibles scripture as well. When we step back and we make the effort to see the bigger picture and breakdown all the elements of what the full truth of God is, we realize what He is relaying in the message of His words and we can find peace of mind in being able to see Christ clearly through all of it.

[adamsetser]

Elijah, Mt. Carmel, and the Still, Small Voice

I spend the majority of my time in Bible study re-learning things I thought I knew, and this is especially the case in the Old Testament. I’ve written before of the story of King David and how I learned that he wasn’t the paragon of virtue I was taught that he was. In the same way, the prophet Elijah isn’t without his flaws. The real point is, if we don’t see these men as flawed, we miss the real point of their stories.

As a kid I was taught the story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel, and they said I should be bold like Elijah, to face my enemy like he did Queen Jezebel, to not run in fear, and to draw near to God and pray to Him in order to be blessed. This flannel-graph version isn’t wrong but it is shallow and meant for young Adam. Older Adam is supposed to see that Elijah’s life isn’t about me and my boldness: it’s about God, His judgment and redemption, His purposes for Israel, His strange Providence.

Context of the Elijah Narrative

Elijah’s story builds on previous relation like this: In Joseph we see a God who turns evil to good and remains faithful to His covenant, even in the darkest hour. In the Exodus we see God redeem His people from slavery by bringing the greatest nation to its knees. In Joshua’s conquest of Canaan we see God’s strength in the army of Israel to defeat its enemies and secure the land of promise. But in Elijah we see something different. We see the deeper story of God’s plan for redemption: Elijah teaches us that God isn’t going to redeem creation in one fell swoop as He did in the Exodus, and nor is He going to build a kingdom here on earth; instead, He is going to let His people go into exile in order to bring a Savior Israel could never have created themselves, to redeem them in the midst of their failures. God’s salvation would come through judgement, not mountain-top experiences.

Elijah is first introduced in 1 Kings 17, in a narrative of miraculous glory. We learn about King Solomon in 1 Kings 1-11 and then the divided kingdom in 1 Kings 12-16, at each turn the focus of the narrative being on whether or not each king was right in the eyes of God. Few were. As each king falls away from God, leading the nation of Israel further into sin, the curses in the Deuteronomic covenant begin plaguing the people—one of which was drought and famine.

Elijah the Rockstar—Disillusioned

Elijah comes on stage a rockstar. He prophecies of the drought (17:1); God talks to Him (17:2); birds bring him food while he hides from God’s enemies (17:5-6); a woman helps him, and for her reward she gets unlimited flour and oil (17:16). Then when her son dies, he raises her from the dead (17:22). Elijah is confident God will restore Israel to its former glory, and he’s starting to think He will do it through him (18:22, etc). But God has other plans for Elijah.

Pan to Mt. Carmel: There is a problem: the people of Israel (God’s chosen people through whom He was going to make a name for Himself) are “limping” between two gods, torn in their worship between Yahweh God and Baal, a Canaanite god of fire and fertility, so Elijah sets up a fire-duel with this intent: “If Yahweh is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (18:21). The prophets of Baal are embarrassed half to death by the awkward, sad silence of their god—meanwhile Yahweh God devours the altar (stones included) in supernatural fire. The people heartily respond by crying out, “YHWH, He is God; YHWH, He is God” (18:39). God’s people take their renewed faith in Him and slaughter the enemy (the pagan prophets of Baal), and God allows rain to fall on Israel, blessing them with fertility—the very thing they had looked to Baal to do. So far so good.

Elijah is elated: he takes off. He runs straight at the enemy—Queen Jezebel—and outruns Ahab’s chariot he’s so eager to get there. He’s ready to seal the deal. Elijah thought that because he won the battle, the war was over, but it had only just begun. Jezebel, the most powerful woman in the country, vows to kill him. So he runs—this time in fear.

Once safely away, he descends into the wilderness, the same place Jesus was tempted, the very place where Israel wandered for 40 years. There he falls down in depression and asks God to kill him—the same way Job asked for death when he was disillusioned of God’s Providence; the same way that Jonah asked for death when he saw that God redeemed people he didn’t think worthy. Elijah was depressed because, like those two, he had false expectations about God.

God, in His lovingkindness, calls Elijah deeper into the wilderness to teach him a lesson. First, he sends an angel to minister to Him, as with Jesus. Then he calls Elijah to a journey of 40 days and 40 nights—a journey similar to Noah’s time on the ark when God flooded the earth and pushed the reset button; a journey similar to Israel’s wanderings when God judged them for their unbelief and taught them to follow Him. God leads Elijah to his holy mountain, Mt. Sinai, because Jerusalem was no longer His mountain. It was defiled. And so he goes back to square one, communicating a new beginning not just for Elijah but for Israel itself. But what God teaches Elijah in the moment is a lesson He began teaching humanity thousands of years before, especially what He taught Israel over four-hundred years before. He taught Elijah who He was.

I Am Who I Am, Or, I Will Be Who I Will Be

Who God is is not a new revelation: it’s the very thing God has been communicating to us humans from the start of creation. But God reveals Himself in stages, through different means and circumstances. For example, one of the most significant texts of God’s self-revelation is the book of Exodus.1 At the beginning, God gives His name to Moses as a short little fragment “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be” (Ex 3:14). And it’s only after the Exodus and the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Golden Calf Incident that God gives His full name—and it’s a paragraph.

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Ex 34:6-7)

But His name is a paradox. God says He is both gracious and just; forgiving and vengeful. How can He be both? The question of who God is and how He works in the world is complex and left unanswered until Christ enters history and fulfills the paradox, allowing mercy and justice to kiss. In the narrative of Kings, the question is: How can He turn them around and get them back on track? How can he be faithful to his covenant and judge them and faithful to His promise of redemption and save them?

The answer is what he teaches Elijah at Mt. Sinai. He shows Elijah that He doesn’t always work in overt, miraculous ways that we can understand. He is not a god made by human hands and minds; He is so sovereign that he magically works in and through the causes and effects of our world—and that is enough to bring about His final and unalterable plans. The message to Israel through Elijah is that Yahweh is God and He hasn’t forgotten them, and even when it seems like He is silent, He’s working behind the scenes to redeem, to save, to renew. God’s salvation won’t come to Israel in a flash of miracles like in Egypt but will come through an overlooked family, into the exile, into fractured nation of Israel when they were at their lowest point in history.

Lessons from Elijah

Before Elijah goes back to work as a prophet, God gives him a new mission: three commands. He has to anoint two kings, and Elisha to be his successor. The odd thing is Elijah never does it; all he does is find Elisha and throw his garment on him, enlisting him as a servant. The text introduces Elisha as a dumb working man, plowing the field with the oxen—literally yoked up with them as the twelfth animal. Elijah’s pride is wounded, no doubt, and he doesn’t seem too happy to have learned his lesson.

Elijah has had his day. His name means “The Lord, He is God” and that was shown (18:39). Now onto the next act in God's play: Elisha. His name means “God saves”. The next thing that happens, in 1 Kings 20, is that God uses a nameless prophet, the wicked king Ahab, and the 7,000 prophets of Yahweh to defeat an army that threatened Israel. The proof of the lesson that God taught Elijah is here: God can (and does) use anyone (even a nameless prophet and pagan king) to bring about his purposes. He doesn’t work through heroes much, and He certainly doesn’t do anything the way we would expect it.

God is a still, small voice, and that is a lesson Israel will need to hang onto once their kingdom crumbles and they are taken into the Babylonian exile. For over seventy years they would languish in a foreign land, and once they returned, they wouldn’t even be truly returned. The nation would still be fractured, over-run and ruled by other nations. For four-hundred years they would hear nothing from God. Until one day, in a stable in the little town of Bethlehem, a few shepherds and some sheep would hear a baby cry. And in that tiny little human’s life would rest the paradox of God’s nature, the hope of the entire world. While the King sat in his royal palace in Jerusalem, this baby would grow out of the mire of the exilic life to live a short life and die a brutal death. And somehow, in God’s strange and mysterious providence, that man’s death would have the power to give the entire world life.

Next up…Elisha.

All throughout the OT and Jewish literature, God is referred to as the “one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The Exodus was the singular event (outside of Christ’s incarnation) where God revealed himself the most. ↩︎

[johnchiarello]

Sunday sermon

SUNDAY SERMON

 John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

1 Timothy 1:18

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

 https://youtu.be/TMDxjB1MU-w Sunday Sermon

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/8-20-17-sunday-sermon.zip

https://ccoutreach87.com/8-20-17-sunday-sermon-2/

   ON VIDEO-

.Mass verses- Church Unlimited too

.Catholics and Evangelicals

.Immigrants welcome

.Racial prejudice challenged by Jesus

.Puppies eat the crumbs!

.Boundaries shattered

.Not pluralism- but acceptance

.Are we exclusive?

.You are too

.The sun- and the Son

.Objective truth

.Philosophy

.Gentiles- don’t get proud

.We were immigrants once as well [outside of the covenant]

.Ellis Island

.Revolutionary war

.Britannia ruled the seas- yet we won!

.Native Americans were here first

.The principle of storehouse- seeds

.Thales and the eclipse

.Scientific revolution

.Copernicus- Kepler-

.Ptolemy and cosmology [no- we didn’t think the earth was flat- not most of us]

.Alexander the great

.Absolute truth

 NEW- I taught on the verses from The Sunday Mass- and made some comments from Church Unlimited and New Christian Harvest [feeding ministry in the Bluff].

 I’ll add my past links below and just Make a few comments-

In Isaiah 56 we see the prophet telling God’s people that it was always his intent for the kingdom of God to embrace all people groups-

Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

 God even had statues in the Old Testament that allowed for this.

Then we read of the account where a woman from Canaan [Matt. 15] came to Jesus with a request-

Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

 The Jewish [religious] people of Jesus day were quick to cut off people who were not part of the commonwealth of Israel.

Judaism- at the time of Christ- became elitist.

 Yet Jesus answers the woman's request because she showed faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah- the son of David-

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

 In Romans 11 [by the way- these were the 3 main passages that were read in this Sunday’s mass- and I want my friends to see that these bible verses are not simply read by the priest with no rhyme or reason- they all have a purpose].

 Ok- In Romans 11 we see this dynamic come to a head.

Yes- God had given Israel great promises- the law and the prophets were sent to the people of Israel.

 Jesus Himself recognized this In his response to the woman-

Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Yet- the Jews for the most part rejected Jesus as the Messiah-

But this was the purpose of God- so the gospel would go to the Gentiles [non- Jews]-

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Now that we have become recipients of these blessings- we should not use this as an advantage against the ‘alien’ - meaning those who seem to be outside of the benefits that we are now partaking of.

Paul teaches in Romans 11 that all this has happened in the greater plan of God-

Romans 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Romans 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

We have now become beneficiaries of the blessings- so those who find themselves where we were- can receive mercy too.

It’s an interesting dynamic for sure.

 In our day- those who live in this great country of the United States- have benefited tremendously because our forefathers- who were strangers- made it to this land [Unless you are a Native American- Indian].

 But over time- some in this blessed land- have used the plight of the alien- stranger- in a way that says ‘Yes- we migrated here too at one time- we were indeed immigrants- but now we want to protect the blessings we have- and in order to do this- we want to keep others out’.

 Now- I’m not purely speaking politics here- this is actually the dynamic we see in the readings above.

 Yes- The Jewish people were blessed- with many things.

At the time of Christ- there was an anti immigrant mindset- but more along the Lines of a religious understanding.

 When Jesus welcomed the outcast- healed the daughter of the woman who was not a ‘rightful

heir’ - he challenged mindsets- and yes- in doing so- he offended many-

 Some were offended to the point that they wanted nothing to do with Jesus-

61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

So the blessing went to others- to us- to the gentiles.

But wait- the apostle warns us- don’t make the same mistake- the mistake the religious leaders made at the time of Christ-

Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

 They rejected the Messiah- and it was thru that rejection- that the gospel came to us-

Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

But those of us who now believe- and received the blessings- we have to be careful that we do not use our privileged position- as heirs of the blessing-

And turn others away.

 Yes that's the warning Paul gave in Romans 11.

Ok- I talked about more on the video- and like I said- I’ll post that below.

 But I think if we- especially as Christians- Catholics- Protestants- all of us.

I think if we can apply the truths we have seen in the gospel this day.

Then we will do well.

 PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to this post- Sunday Sermon- verses below]

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/  John 3

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/

https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/

https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/

https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel-links-updated-3-17/

https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/

THALES AND THE PRE-SOCRATICS

Ok- let me do a little teaching- maybe finish it tonight.

 Christianity is not simply ‘made up stories’ from some bible.

 No- the history of Western Thought- Philosophy- ideas- all of the various World Views are imbedded with God- our concepts of God- and ask the ultimate question ‘where did all this come from- and why are we here’.

 We usually trace the beginning of Ancient Philosophy to the 6th century BCE.

 A thinker by the name of Thales sought to find ways to describe natural phenomena without the use of Greek Mythology.

 Even though Philosophy deals with Metaphysics [things beyond the natural- physical realm- Physics] yet Thales wanted to find explanations for existence- without leaning on Myth.

 He is considered a ‘Pre Socratic’ thinker [before Socrates] and espoused an idea that water was the key source of all things.

 These guys were looking for a singular thing to explain stuff.

Sometimes referred to as a unified theory- the same thing that Einstein was seeking to find some 2 Millennia later.

 So- Thales surmised that water was the key thing.

 There are various ideas of why he came to this conclusion- but one reason might have been the idea of motion.

 Many Geek thinkers were looking for the source of motion- where did it come from?

 And to the natural eye- if you observe the ocean- rivers- etc. - there does seem to be no cause for the moving of water- so to these guys it seemed like water itself was the source- motion came from water.

 Now- there were other religions who taught a sort of idea along these lines.

 Some pagan religions said that the ‘god’s’ moved upon the water- and life came that way.

 If you read the Christian account of creation in Genesis- you will notice that God did move upon the waters- and the account in Genesis does indeed say that he brought forth life from the water.

 Thales came from for Miletus- in Asia Minor.

 He was famous for the prediction of a Solar Eclipse that occurred on May 28th- 585 BCE.

 The earliest account of this is found in the writings of Herodotus.

Thales is considered one of the 7 sages of the time.

 Christianity was born at a time where Greek thought/ideas were a big part of society.

 We do find the early apostles using the language/ideas of the Greek philosophers when describing the reality of Christ.

 The apostle John refers to Christ as THE LOGOS- The word Logos- is a Greek word for ‘word’.

 Jesus is called ‘the word of God’.

 Now- the Greek thinkers were in fact seeking for the Logos- they used this term to describe the ultimate answer to all tings.

They were on a search for some Divine principle that could explain things.

 So- the writers of the New Testament were in a way saying ‘look- we have found the Logos- the thing that you guys are looking for- it is Christ- the Divine Logos’.

 We also see the apostle Paul debating with the Greek thinkers in the city of Athens [the seat of Geek philosophy- the city/state where Socrates was forced to drink cyanide].

 In Acts chapter 17 he is preaching to these guys on Mar’s Hill- he says ‘In him we live AND MOVE and have our being’.

Now- today as we read this- we don’t get the full import of what he was doing.

 But- to the Greek mind- the source of motion was a big thing.

 Paul was a smart guy- and he was saying ‘in him we move’ showing that yes- the ‘source of motion’ [Thales water] is not found in the natural world [Physics] but the source comes from the Metaphysical world [God].

 He also says ‘when I was walking thru your town- I saw one of your altars- to the unknown god’.

 At the time many believed in a Pantheon of gods- and to cover their bases- they had an altar for any god they might have missed- smart thinking!

 So Paul says ‘him I declare unto you’.

Notice how Paul was able to debate- converse with them- and at the end actually use their own ideas- to present the gospel.

In this chapter- Acts 17- we read of the only 2 groups of philosophers mentioned in the bible.

 The Epicureans and the Stoics.

 The Epicureans were an early form of what we call Hedonism today- the idea that pleasure is the principle purpose of man.

 The Stoics believed in ‘stoicism’ that man should have no emotional response to pain or pleasure- that’s why we call people today ‘Stoics’- when they seem to not be moved by anything.

 Ok- that’s it for now- might make some comments tonight- but I’m getting ready to fly out soon- and trying to wind down before I leave.

If I don’t write tonight- I’ll talk again when in North Bergen- God bless you all.

 1Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

1Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

1Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

1Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

1Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

1Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

1Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

1Corinthians 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

1Corinthians 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

1Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

1Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

 1Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1Corinthians 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

1Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

1Corinthians 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

1Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Corinthians 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.

 See? Paul the apostle had the intellectual capacity to engage with the best of them- but he knew that the core issue- was sin. That is those who reject Christianity on the basis of ‘it’s a religion of foolishness’- in reality- even if you win the intellectual argument- yet for the most part people will still not believe. In the end it is always a matter of true repentance- being honest with ourselves- and others. So- Paul didn’t rely on the ‘wisdom of men’ but the power of the Cross. When needed- he would ‘use it’ [men’s wisdom- Acts 17- Mars Hill] but he closed his argument by declaring Christ.

[parts]

HISTORY OF EVERYTHING- IN 1 HOUR

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. ...  2nd Thes. 2:10-13

 https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo  History of everything in 1 hour [part 1]

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip

ON VIDEO-

.Did my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see

.They said a rocket hit the plane

.What did Patience say?

.Update on detention center

.Bishop Mulvey

.I was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law

.Where did the animals come from?

.Is the story true?

Mesopotamia

.Palestine

.Aristotle

.They were looking for the ‘LOGOS’

.Ptolemy

.Copernicus

.Cosmology

.Scientific/Industrial revolution

.Sir Ramsey and documentary evidence

.Luke/Acts as historical evidence

.Phenomenological language

.Aquinas- Anselm and Augustine

.Richard Dawkins alien creator

.Einstein and the big bang

.C.S. Lewis

.Everything is proof of God

MY LINKS-

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/

 [parts]

Alexander sought to implement the ideals of his teacher- he wanted to unify the known world under one people/culture- a belief that Aristotle held- a sort of ‘unified theory’ [Einstein] that would seek to bring all learning/knowledge together under one supreme [Divine] principle.

 Alexander’s experiment was called Hellenization- which was the Greek worlds attempt to impose Greek culture/language on all their conquered enemies- and at the same time allow them to hold on to the their own culture too. Alexander did amazingly well at this experiment- at the young age of around 24 he had accomplished most of his mission. The cities were a sort of composite of Greek culture mixed in with their own culture- this is where we get the modern term Cosmopolitan.

 Alexander died young and his kingdom was divided between 4 generals- one of them- Ptolemy- would himself make it into the history books because of his keen intellect.

 The system of cosmology developed under him would last [and work!] until some 17-18 hundred years later when it was overthrown by the Copernican revolution during the time of Copernicus and Galileo.

 Alexander’s generals would do their best to carry on the system of Hellenization- and other nation’s generals would keep the system going even after Greece fell. One of them- Octavian [Roman general] makes it into the history books by another famous name- Julius Caesar.

 Alexander established a great library in the Egyptian city of Alexandria [named after him] and many of the great writings were preserved during this time.

 The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance.

 Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah.

 Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement.

 Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language.

 Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me].

 It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate].

 Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church history.

   The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.

Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.

They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.

Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.

This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.

A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.

The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-

Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.

[parts]

In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin.

  What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff.

 Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far.

 Some thinkers went  back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists.

 Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church.

 Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world.

 As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.]

 These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways.

 There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words.

 Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes.

 Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality.

 This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term.  There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism.

 The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist.

 This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke].

 Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind.

 Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not.

 He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high.

 Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it.

 As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas.

 Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought.

 Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?]

 Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical  resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain.

 Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system.

 [parts]

(1045) Okay, I am up early and just finished prayer time. I kind of heard [spiritually speaking!] the lord speaking to me about a few various subjects, things I haven’t recently studied. I also ‘heard’ the verse ‘there are 12 hours in the day, if a man walks when it is light out, he does not stumble. Walk while you have the light, for a dark time is coming when no one will be able to walk’[Jesus- John’s gospel]. These last few weeks have been pretty bad for me, my work injury has been bad. I really am not sleeping at night because of the severe back pain. I only missed one early prayer time because of it. Not because I am some super hero, but if I don’t ‘walk when it’s light’ [or dark! 3-5 am] then I miss the daily opportunity of real prayer. I realized that to miss a daily prayer/study/teaching time is detrimental to my own health. To get up early and start is difficult, I make a few attempts at standing before I make it to the yard for prayer. I always walk while praying, but after the hour or so prayer walk, I can function okay for a while. I realized that my day starts at around 3:30 am, and it usually ends around 3-4 pm- 12 hours! Jesus gave us a 12 hour work day, we complain about 8! Actually the Jewish day was a 12 hour day, that’s why he said it. Now, let’s talk a little on apologetics. I recently read a few statements from various church traditions that seemed ‘apologetic’ and defensive. The historic church still ‘smarts’ over the whole Galileo affair. Let me defend the historic church a little. A few hundred years before Christ the great philosopher Aristotle developed a cosmology [stars and stuff] that wasn’t that bad. It is a common error to believe that we all believed the world was flat before the 16th century, only a few people  believed the flat earth theory, most accepted Aristotle’s [and later Ptolemy] view. Aristotle’s concept was improved a few centuries later by Ptolemy. Ptolemy developed a system that had the sun and planets and stars all orbiting around the earth on a system of ‘Crystalline spheres’ sort of like the earth was the center of an onion and the stars/planets were stuck on these outer layers and they appeared in certain places at certain times. Now, Ptolemy did not differentiate between stars and planets. He simply saw the planets as stars that were ‘irregular’ in their patterns. These ‘irregular stars’ were called ‘wanderers’ that’s where we get the current term for meteorology. Well anyway this system was obviously flawed, but it worked well for almost 2 thousand years. So during the 15-16th century when Copernicus came up with a more accurate system [our present understanding of the solar system- one where we orbit the sun and not visa versa] he was initially rejected on good grounds. What! Do you mean to tell me you believe in the old idea? Of course not, but the first system Copernicus floated was actually wrong! Many people don’t know this. When the church and science looked at the initial theory they found it to be lacking in certain areas. Copernicus had the planets orbiting the sun in a circular orbit, they orbit more on an Ellipsis like pattern. Also Kepler had to make other adjustments to the system to get it to work [complicated stuff like the retrograde motion of mars]. So the church had some ground to stand on when they rejected Copernicus/Galileo. Of course we later accepted the truths of science and do not see science and reason as ‘anti’ Christian. But it is this embarrassing history that puts us on the defense at times, that’s why some notable Christians have embraced evolution as a tool that God used to create man. These Christians are over compensating [in my view] for the bad history on stuff like this. I reject evolution based on scientific grounds, not biblical. If God wanted to use evolution as a tool to create man, he most certainly had that option. But  science does not show that ‘tool’ to be true. Those who reject all the evidence of Intelligent Design are standing with the Bishops of Galileo’s day, who when invited to just look into the telescope and ‘see for yourself’ rejected the invitation.

 [parts]

Quantum Mechanics-

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Prvb.

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/2-18-16-quantum-mechanics.zip

https://youtu.be/XKfs4SIQ1FA  QM

ON VIDEO-

[past posts- verses below]

.Quantum Leap

.Quanta a mystery?

.Bowling balls need a bowler

.You see it- you did it!

.What’s the big mystery?

.Light both wave and particle

.Observer created reality

.Interpretation of data

.Newton

.Copernicus

.Kepler

.Atoms- Electrons- Nucleus- all ok

.Quanta

.Pilot Wave

.science- or magic?

. Double slit test

.Wonderful- Wonderful Copenhagen?

.Chance or determinism- that’s the question

.Maybe my duplicate will go to heaven!

NEW STUFF-

QUANTUM LEAP

Ok- I want to make this as simple as possible- don’t be afraid of the title.

I have actually taught some of this over the years- because in the field of Physics [the study of stuff] this particular area has been used by thinkers [wrongfully] who refute God [atheists].

So- the past week or so I’ve been commenting about a documentary I’ve been watching on PBS [Fabric of the cosmos] and have also been going thru an old Physics course I bought years ago.

It just so happened [yes- I did not plan it] that they both deal with Quantum Mechanics [the study of very small particles].

As I listened to the good men- I noticed lots of contradictions- and over exaggerations [maybe they are just excited about their field?]

Now- if I were to guess- I think part of the excitement- is based on some of their ‘world views’.

Meaning- in the whole debate about God- and science- many have tried to argue that the physical universe is ‘not designed’.

The Christian thinker [and the early philosophers] did argue that you find design in the Cosmos.

So- when Quantum physics as a separate field arose in the early 20th century- it seemed to be an area where those who ‘want’ no design [or predeterminism] could finally say ‘see- we now have proof that the universe is ruled BY CHANCE’.

The Physicists I’ve been hearing the last few weeks have made this statement more than once.

I have taught that this actual statement- is nonsensical.

Because- chance is simply a word that describes the odds of something.

It is not ‘a thing’ that can cause [or rule] something.

Ok- what they really mean to say is something like this ‘we have found that random acts- probability- is a factor in what’s happening’.

Now- that’s ok- if they say it that way [even though I do not agree with all that they are saying- this would be the proper way to say it].

So- what’s the big thing that the quantum guys are saying?

It’s really not that hard- or such a ‘great mystery’ [which many are saying].

It comes down to the way Atoms work at the sub atomic level.

Atoms have Electrons inside them- that ‘orbit’ around the center [nucleus].

In these ‘orbits’ [circles] the electrons seem to pass from one circle- to another- without actually traveling thru the space.

They kind of ‘jump’ from one line- to the other.

This is called the Quantum Leap.

So- some have said this is proof that ‘something comes from nothing’ [see- that’s the worldview working].

Actually- it is not proof that something comes from nothing- and the scientists who were saying this at first- have stopped saying it.

Because- they were shown to be wrong.

The other thing that these guys have been saying is ‘we now see that the fundamental WORKING OF THE UNIVERSE- IS BY CHANCE’.

This is simply not true.

In the beginning of the 20th century a scientist by the name of Niels Bohr debated with Einstein about this very thing.

Bohr said these particles were actually reacting- working- based on the observation of the scientists looking at them.

Yes- he said the fact that they were being observed- made them act a certain way.

Einstein did not believe this at all- he responded ‘I prefer to think the moon is there- whether I look at it or not’.

But- over time- some in the field of quantum Mechanics have said Einstein has been proven wrong- and Bohr right.

But Einstein never said that Quantum mechanics was not true- he just said over time- we will understand more about the field.

Because that’s the job of the scientist- to keep looking for causes behind events [see- if you ‘stop’ looking for a cause- and say ‘it’s chance’- it would be the same thing that some have accused the Christian thinker of- that when the Christian says ‘see- we have no further explanation- so God did it’. Now- I do believe ‘God did it’- but- in science- you continue to look- as much as possible- for the chain of events. And this is what Einstein was saying].

There were experiments done [Double split- etc.] that showed that these particles did not respond in the normal way.

That is- individually.

But- over time- you could predict the way they acted- as a group.

The example used was like a casino- even though the casino owner cannot say who will win in his casino- yet- because of the odds- the probability- over time he could be assured that the house will make more- then the people gambling.

Ok- this is fine- this is not some type of mystery that overthrows ‘all that we ever knew about the universe’ [which some of the men are saying].

Also- in the documentary I watched- carefully- they said it has since been proven that Bohr was right- and Einstein wrong- in the area of the observation of the particles being affected- simply because they were being looked at.

But- the documentary did not show how- they did go on to explain the concept of entanglement- and ‘spooky action’ but I was waiting for them to show me how Bohr was proven right about the idea that when a particle is looked at- it then reacts a certain way.

[In the field of Quantum Mechanics there is no equation that actually shows HOW this works.

QM has many formulas that do indeed work- that’s why we have electronics- cell phones- computers- etc. - the laws themselves do indeed work.

But there are no equations that show Einstein wrong and Bohr right- in the particular area of ‘observation created reality’.]

They never showed that.

In short- the Atom has electrons in it- that orbit around the center.

These particles seem to jump from one orbit- to another [The Quantum leap] without traveling thru the space.

In my mind- the Atom is a finely tuned ‘machine’ that exists everywhere.

The fact that these machines exist- and work- is part of the Grand design.

The reality of the Quantum Leap does not ‘overthrow all that we ever knew about the universe’.

It is a unique part of the created order.

In short- that’s it.

And the fact that they exist- and function- like everything else- is proof of design in itself.

Because we cannot predict how each and every particle will act- but we can predict how they will act as a group- is not proof that anything happens ‘BY CHANCE’.

If you want to call it ‘a law of probable’s’ that’s fine.

But as a whole- or group- they do work in an orderly fashion.

Now- there’s a lot more to Quantum Mechanics- but in a nutshell- that’s was the big debate.

QUANTA  A MYSTERY!

- One of the physicists talking about Quanta- a minimum amount of energy that an electron puts out that can no longer be subdivided- said ‘this is amazing- nothing else is like that- for example- if you eat food- there is no minimum amount you must eat- why this is so is an absolute mystery!’.

Now- is he correct?

Is this so amazing?

The actual subject itself- the study of atoms [and everything else] is in categories- we define things by saying- well- it is A THING [meaning- they have limits- big and small].

By definition- yes- there are barriers-categories-limits to things.

Now- it’s a bit deeper than this- he is referring to insights Niels Bohr had in the study of Quantum mechanics.

But this is really no ‘mystery that changes everything we thought we knew’- not in the way the scientist talked about it.

BOWLING BALLS NEED A BOWLER

Now- I don’t want to be ‘picky’- but I found it interesting that in order for the host of the documentary to give an example of how these particles were reacting- he gave an example of a man throwing them- like bowling balls [the example was fine] down an alley.

He was doing this to show the probability of them acting a certain way- over time.

The point is- even in his example- he has someone ‘throwing them’- which would be the ‘cause’ for the effect.

Now- I know this was a simple example- for the viewer to understand better.

But it is natural- even in a simple example- to have an actual cause- for an effect.

And what he was trying to show in the example- was that there was no ‘cause’.

YOU SEE IT- YOU DID IT

Some argue that Quantum mechanics ‘proves’ that there are effects without a cause.

Which is an ideology that atheists try to use to say ‘there is no God’.

They appeal to the seemingly ‘causeless’ reaction of the electrons/particles that have no ‘movement or location’ until they are observed.

Actually- they do not see that they are contradicting themselves when they say this.

Why?

They are telling you [and me] there IS A CAUSE.

They are saying the cause is OBSERVATION by humans.

Now- if the Copenhagen interpretation holds true [it is being challenged by other interpretations- pilot wave-Hidden variables- consistent history] it would confirm the bible.

How?

The bible teaches us that man is unique- he has ‘dominion’ over the created order [Genesis- Romans- etc.]

Meaning- man- has a special ‘rule’ or authority over creation in a way that all creation ‘submits’ to his caretaking.

So- if Bohr is correct- that particles at the most fundamental level of reality- act- move- ‘locate’ themselves- only when man is observing them- then- this would be consistent with the biblical world view.

Bohr’s view is better defined as ‘observer created reality’.

WHATS THE BIG MYSTERY?

In short- in the Copenhagen interpretation- it seems as if Electrons/ sub atomic particles are doing what they do- simply because they are being observed.

As I studied what other physicists are saying about this interpretation I found out that many of them believe this whole thing is way overblown.

I came to this conclusion BEFORE I READ THEIR DOUBTS TOO.

Like I said above- if it is true- then fine.

It proves GOD.

If we keep looking- maybe there will be a scientific answer to the problem.

The other scientists said stuff like ‘the reason these other guys are talking like it is such a mystery- it overthrows our whole view of the way we thought the world worked…’

They said it was kind of a ‘rite of passage’.

Like they picked up this ‘mysterious’ way of speaking- because it simply gets you into the ‘in crowd’.

I’ll be honest- that’s what it looked like to me.

If one little unsolved part of the puzzle [why the particle seems to be affected by the observer] is not solved yet- fine.

This in no way would overturn all the science that has been done since the days of Aristotle- to Ptolemy- up to Copernicus- down the line thru Newton- and then to Einstein.

It simply is not as big as they are making it out to be.

Christianity Today magazine ran an article a few years back- saying ‘will Quantum Mechanics be the big challenge to God’.

Guess they were simply trying to be trendy-

Maybe they should read my Blog?

LIGHT- WAVE AND PARTICLE

In the documentary- fabric of the cosmos- one of the scientists said part of the ‘mystery’ was that waves are not particles- and particles are not waves.

He used the example of an ocean wave [light wave] and rock [light particle].

This insight of Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century was indeed true.

The famous test- double slit- that seems to have confounded these men- to the point of using language like ‘this mystery will overturn all that we ever knew about the…’

The test showed that light has BOTH the characteristics of wave and particle- not that hard to see.

This simple reality seems to back up the Pilot Wave interpretation of QM’s-

Waves [both light- and ocean] are made up of particles. And yes ‘a particle is not a wave- and a wave is not a particle’.

But waves are made up of particles- and as simple as this sounds- that seems to be a part of the answer to the so called ‘puzzle’.

PAST POSTS [verses below]

In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin.

  What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff.

 Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far.

 Some thinkers went  back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists.

 Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church.

 Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world.

 As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.]

 These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways.

 There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words.

 Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes.

 Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality.

 This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term.  There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism.

 The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist.

 This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke].

 Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind.

 Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not.

 He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high.

 Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it.

 As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas.

 Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought.

 Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?]

 Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical  resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain.

 Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system.

     VERSES-

 Isaiah 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

Isaiah 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

Isaiah 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

Isaiah 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

Isaiah 56:8 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

Matthew 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

Matthew 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,

Romans 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

Romans 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

Romans 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Romans 11:9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

Romans 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Romans 11:12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

Romans 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

Romans 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

Romans 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

Romans 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Romans 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Romans 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

Romans 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Romans 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Romans 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Romans 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Romans 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Romans 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

  Here are the verses from the Sunday Mass-

USCCB »  Bible »  Daily Readings

 August 20, 2017

 « August 19  |  August 21 »

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 118

Reading 1

IS 56:1, 6-7

Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants— all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

Reading 2

ROM 11:13-15, 29-32

Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles.  Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them.  For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.  Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.  For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

Alleluia

CF. MT 4:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom and cured every disease among the people. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MT 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is tormented by a demon."  But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.  Jesus' disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me."  He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish."  And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

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