#christain dunning

[zubin-staresat-yourfave]

add will to the frequently asked characters

oh and also please do chris dunne

Zubin Sedghi is staring at Chris Dunne

[thedruidpath]

The Real Fionn Mac Cumhaill

Art by Jim FitzPatrick

Anyone who knows anything about Irish mythology is familiar the name Fionn Mac Cumhaill, or at least with its Anglicized version, Finn MacCool. Many doubtlessly know a few folktales about Fionn— such as his rather comical confrontation with the Scottish giant Benandonner— or have read some of the various version of the Fenian Cycle appearing in books.  Significantly fewer, however, may be aware that this is likely only a part of Fionn’s story, and that some of what we “know” about the hero may be completely incorrect.

I am referring in particular to Fionn’s origin.  Most versions of the Fenian cycle, from the twelfth-century Lebar na nUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow) onward provide the hero with noble-born parents, although the exact circumstances of his conception and birth sometimes vary a little.  But here’s the thing: all of them are likely wrong.  Why?  It comes down to one word, or, more specifically, one name.

Before we begin, however, it’s vital to understand that Celtic myths such as the Fenian Cycle (or the Ossian Cycle, as it was reputedly first created by Fionn’s son Oisin,) were oral traditions for centuries, possibly more than a millennia, before they were ever written down. This, along with the fact that some of the earliest writings have been lost, means that there can often be missing information and mistakes.  Add to that the tendency of the Medieval Catholic Church to rewrite old myths into Christianized morality tales, and it’s easy to see how parts of Fionn’s original story might be forgotten or changed.

With that being said, let’s continue to the aforementioned question of Fionn’s surname.  Cumhaill, also spelled Cumaill, is actually based on an old Gaelic word: cumhal, meaning bondwoman.  Thus Mac Cumhaill literally means “Son of the Servant Girl.”  As you can imagine, the only reason why a person would be known by such a name is if their father was either unknown or chose not to acknowledge them. Young Fionn was quite literally a Nobody.  

So why, then, was a chieftain named Cumhaill invented to be Fionn’s father?  The answer is simple.  It appears that the hero was given a noble lineage that was felt to be more appropriate.  This may, in part, be due to the time period during which these tales were transcribed.  Earlier texts concerning Fionn, from the eighth through tenth centuries, deal solely with his adult life.  (These include works such as Bruiden Âtha Í, Reicne Fothaid Canainne, and The Quarrel between Finn and Oisin.)  It’s only beginning in the twelfth century that we find references to Fionn’s birth and supposed noble parentage, with the most important reference to the hero’s early life coming from “Bodleian Laud Misc. MS 610,” an insert in the Book of the White Earl.  This is significant because, by the latter Middle Ages, the idea that God purposefully chose political leaders had become widely accepted—an idea that would eventually grow into the concept of the Divine Right of Kings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  The problem, of course, is that if a ruler is going to announce that he is king because God wants him to be king, he can’t very well have stories floating around about how the bastard son of s servant pulled himself up by the proverbial bootstraps to become a great leader.

It’s interesting to note that this does not appear to be the only character from Celtic myth who was given an invented noble lineage in later texts.  For example, Scathach, the warrior queen of An t-Eilean Sgitheanach, the modern day Isle of Skye, is called the Daughter of Ard-Greimne.  While a king by the name Ard-Greimne was later created, the word actually means “the High Place.”  As you can probably guess, only someone of common birth would have been named for the location of their village rather than for a renown ancestor, making it likely that her family were aithech, or independent farmers.

Indeed, Lebor na hUidre, or the Book of the Dun Cow, contains another tantalizing clue to Fionn’s common birth in Compert Mongáin ocus Serc Duibe-Lácha do Mongán, which suggests that Mongán and Fionn Mac Cumhaill are the same person.  This is important because, as is seen in hero myths from around the world, Mongán is fathered by a God, in this case Manannán Mac Lir, on a mortal woman.  Some argue that this may have been a common practice when storytellers either did not know the origins of a hero, or wanted to invent a more illustrious birth for them.  Thus it again hints and the possibility of an unknown father. (It’s also interesting to note here that all tales agree on the fact that Fionn was, indeed, part-Tuatha de Danann, although the stories vary on which Lord of the Sidhe the hero is related to, and just how close that blood tie is. If nothing else, the divine ancestry certainly explains a lot.)

But, if Fionn was really a Nobody, then how did he become the leader of his own warrior band?  Shouldn’t that have been impossible?  Far from it.  According to both The Celtic Realms by Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick as well as Cattle-Lords and Clansmen by Nerys Thomas Patterson, the pre-Christain Celts had a sort of fluid cast system. A person could rise or fall through the social ranks by honor, reputation, and achievements.  Essentially, who your parents were and where you came from mattered less than what you could do.  We even see that kings were chosen not based solely on lineage but by a ceremony called The Tarbfheis, in which a Druid would be offered a feast, with a cooked bull as a centerpiece, and would then use dreams and omens to determine who the next ruler would be.  Thus, it is actually not at all unusual, from an ancient Celtic perspective, for a person of common birth to rise to a higher rank, provided, of course, that he or she had a great enough reputation and of list of deeds.

So, could Fionn Mac Cumhaill have really been one of ancient Ireland’s greatest original rags-to-riches stories?  There is certainly evidence to suggest it.  In my opinion, that would make the hero’s tale even more interesting and impressive.  Unfortunately, with no records of the earliest oral versions of the cycles, it is impossible to be certain.  However, it is an undeniable, and very intriguing, possibility.

[academicatheism]

Bad Reasoning on Display

logan-smarter-than-you-sanders:

Okay listen, it’s really not, I don’t know what Christains you are talking to, but clearly not very many. This is a HEAVILY overgeneralized my dude, majority of Christians, their end game is to love people, while there are plenty of them who take the Bible and God’s word and use it in a twisted and corrupt way, but those who don’t, God calls us to love thy neighbor as thy self, whereas, it is human greed and selfishness that wants the control. Don’t try and shove that solely on christains.

Every human ever created has sinned at least once. It is inevitable, we are flawed creatures. But to say that Christians only want control and power, that is an overstatement and honestly kind of hypocritical. You cannot look someone in the eyes and tell them honestly you have never, not once in your life, taken control or wanted to take control of someone or their actions.

Here Logan is saying he’s smarter than “you,” which I take to mean pretty much everyone, but his reasoning betrays his hubris. This is a clear case of Dunning-Kruger Effect. His entire first paragraph is a No True Scotsman. Apparently he thinks the “love thy neighbor” sort of Christian outweighs the Christians that have killed non-Christians throughout the centuries. He thinks there are more “love thy neighbor” Christians than Christians in the United States who hate immigrants, homosexuals, atheists, and anyone who practices another religion. If they don’t “love thy neighbor,” then they’re not a real Christian. Unfortunately for smart Logan here, Christianity has been the religion of hate since the Dark Ages. I think Galileo put it best:

Christians suppressed and silenced their adversaries by murdering them. In the US, now that it’s against the law to do that, they try to do so by foisting their conservatism into politics. Christians are the primary reason why women haven’t secured full reproductive rights in this country. The fetus, to the Christian’s mind, has more rights; that is, right up till it’s born because after that, the Christian doesn’t give a damn about it. The Christian’s pro-life stance perpetuates poverty the world over, so when women die because they don’t have access to safe and legal abortion procedures, the blood is on the Christian’s hands. So it looks like Christians throughout history in countries like the US, Brazil, Chile, England, Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, Argentina, and so on, weren’t really Christians because “love thy neighbor” didn’t extend to poor women who needed abortions.

I don’t believe in “sin.” It’s a nonsense Christian concept. Yet here’s another example of smart Logan’s egregious reasoning: tu quoque. He’s basically saying “yeah, it’s wrong to want to control other people, but you’ve probably done it and other people have done it too.” Two wrongs don’t make a right! Also and more importantly, it’s one thing to want to control someone when you know for a fact they’re making a terrible decision(s). When you care about someone, you want the best for them, so when you see someone’s decision(s) hurting them in the long-run, you want to step in. That’s not what Christians do! Think again of abortion. 

Christians basically tell poor women to stay pregnant and give birth. In doing so, they’ve perpetuated the cycle of poverty for centuries. Abortion is a quality-of-life issue. In most cases, the woman in question can’t afford to have children or she’s in a toxic relationship that isn’t conducive to her raising children. If Christians “loved thy neighbor,” they would be concerned about the role of domestic violence in the decision to have an abortion; they would be concerned  about physically, mentally, and sexually abusive partners who not only abuse the women, but sometimes the children in the household! Yet Christians have overlooked pedophilia in their ranks for years! Catholics defend their priests and nuns and Protestants wave their hands in satisfaction because to their minds there are no such scandals in Protestant churches. Yet they ignore Pastors who abuse underage girls. They ignore the thousands of stories of sexually perverted congregants who sexually abuse their own family members even....

So at what point do you realize that, from the Christian point of view (!), someone’s capacity to sin doesn’t disqualify them from being a Christian? In fact, smart Logan is far off from the Christian message, which I think is best captured in Jesus drawing the line in the sand. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone! Just because someone molests underage congregants or tortures or murders or lies or steals doesn’t disqualify them from being a real Christian! The issue is in Christianity. The issue is that Christians are shameful people. Christians confuse guilt for shame, so that’s why they “repent of their sins,” but there’s no corresponding change in their immoral behavior. A lot of them think it’s enough to ask for forgiveness and not change their behavior. It’s a cycle of shame. Never mind the role of sexual repression, especially in Catholic and Jewish circles. I can go on, but smart Logan here has no grasp of the tenets of his own religion and even less of a grip of logical reasoning and the history of his religion. In a nutshell, if it’s too much for smart Logan to read, this is what I intend to say:

A lot, dare I say, most, Christians are terrible people who do repulsive, unspeakable things! According to the Bible, that doesn’t disqualify them from being Christians. All a serial rapist or murderer has to do is convert on their death bed and they’re forgiven! The very idea of vicarious redemption is what makes Christianity such an ugly religion! That’s why so many Christians are ugly people and they are as real as smart Logan here claims to be. Not so smart from what I gather.

[newsnigeria]

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/breaking-news/ifa-okan-sa/

Ifa naa ki bayi wipe: Òkàn sá

Ekaaro eyin eniyan mi, aojiire bi? Mo lero wipe gbogbo wa la sun dokan daradara aku isimi opin ose, mosi fi asiko yi ki gbogbo àwon ore mi ti won je omo leyin kristi wípé eku odun eku iyedun emin yio se pupo re laye ninu ola ati idera o Àse. Ifá yi gba wa niyanju, tabi eni to ba bi nigbodu/itenifa niyanju wipe ki o se etutu daradara ki won si se akose ifa yi fun ki o fi sin gbere sorun owo re mejeeji ki a si tun se akose elemun fun akápò yi ki o maa mu dani fun sise adura lararo nitori ki o ma baa maa se Ogun amubo ati aseti ki gbogbo nkan to ba ndawole baa le maa yori si rere.

Ifá yi gba okunrin ti odu yi ba jade si niyanju wipe ki o se etutu naa ki o ma baa maa se amubo iyawo , ki iyawo ba le ba gbele dojo ale, ti o ba si je obinrin naa lo jade si ki o se etutu naa daradara o ki o ma baa ni isoro Oko ki won ma baa maa gbe lagbeju sile ki o ba le lade lori dojo ale re. Ifa naa ki bayi wipe: Òkàn sá Èjì sá babalawo àsá dífá fun àsá lojo ti o nroko iwaje, beeni asa nse Ogun amubo o nse Ogun aseti o wa goke ijeti ile Orunmila “won gbódo wálè àgbède òrun ro” won ni ko karale ebo ni ki o se ki o ma baa maa se amubo ati aseti mo ki o baa le maa ri eran obi meji……..sile meta owo ati igba ewe ayajo ifá, àsá kabomora o rubo won ni ko gbe lo sorita meta ajaloko àsá si se bee, nigbati o dorita meta o wa nse adura si etutu ni esu odara de, o wa beere lowo asa wipe kini isoro re? Asa ni Ogun amubo ati aseti lo nba oun finra pe kosi gbogbo nkan toun ba mu ti ki nbo lowo oun, esu ba mu ikan ninu emu ti asa fi rubo yen o fi ikan si lowo otun o fi ikan si lowo osi oni kosi nkan to bati mu ti yio bo lowo re mo inu asa ba dun to ba wati ri nkan to fe gbe àsá a so wipe; Àpasà? maa ni o han só, Oni òkò àsá nko? Mani ki nbale nsanwo, lati igba náà ni àsá ti segun Ogun amubo ati aseti o wa njo o nyo o nyin awo awon babalawo nyin ifá, ifá nyin Eledumare oni riru ebo a maa gbeni eru atukesu a maa da ladaju nje ko pe ko jina ifá wa bami larusegun arusegun ni a nbawo lese obarisa. Eyin eniyan mi, mose ni iwure laaro yi wipe ire ayé wa koni bo danu lowo wa mo, ao maa ni aseyori lori gbogbo adawole wa, gbogbo obinrin ti won nse amubo Oko yio di asegun loni e o si lade lori dojo ale yin, gbogbo okunrin ti won nse amubo iyawo won yio di alaya ni odede, ako ni sanwo ire gbogbo mo laelae, laalaa wa koni jasi asan lase Eledumare aaase. ÀBORÚ ÀBOYÈ OOO.

  English Version:

Continue after the page break TIP ON OKANRAN OSA CORPUS. Good morning my people, how was your night? Hope you slept soundly, wishing you all happy weekend and Easter festive to all my Christain friends. This morning i will like to teach one concrete hint in the holy corpus of okanran osa. Ifá advised whoever this corpus revealed out for that he/she should offer sacrifice so that he/she will not suffering from dropping down of goodness and unsuccessful position all his/her endeavor. If this kind of corpus revealed out for man, ifá advised him to offer sacrifice because of the problem of wife, so that he won’t experience the breakdown of relationship every time or not be able to seek for good partner and also vice versa for woman and the akose must be done for him/her to make it an incision round his/her both wrists, then another one will be made by local scissors he/she will be praying to it daily. Hear what the corpus said: Òkàn só Èjì sá the priest of eagle cast divined for eagle when eagle was going for hunting eagle was suffering from dropping down of goodness, eagle was advised to offer sacrifice so that goodness will never fall from her hands anymore, two kola nuts……three shillings and ifá leaves, eagle complied and was instructed to placed it at the three junctions and eagle did as she was instructed, when eagle was doing prayer on the sacrifice, esu odara emerged and he asked eagle that what problem does she have? Eagle responded that whatever things she lay hands on does not prosper and she is suffering of falling down of goodness, èsù òdàrà said there is no problem, èsù òdàrà took one out of that three local pliers/scissors she offered as sacrifice he put one of it on the eagle right hand and one on the left hand and he told eagle that nothing will be falling down from your hands as from today, truly since then whatever eagle catch do not falling down from her hands eagle started dancing and rejoicing praising priest the priests were praising ifá while ifá was praising Eledumare. My people, I pray this morning that our goodnesses will never falling down from our hands anymore, we shall be succeeded in all our endeavors, those women that were suffering from dropping down of husband will never experience that anymore and those men that were suffering from dropping down of wife will never experience that too, we shall never work in vain aaase.