#paganised

[saiyukiitaliaandinternational]

Monthly Minekura Christmas edition

Day 11 “Elf”

I know this might seem strange but the background is actually linked to the theme of 'elf' because that's Alden Valley, based on this photo that inspired me with the subject. Alden derives from Old English ælf ('elf') + denu ('valley'), thus meaning 'elf-valley'. I didn't want to use the Christmas version nor the Tolkien-based elves, and I couldn't find an equivalent in Chinese mythology. I prefer to stick with old traditions but it is complex and sometimes even confusing, so I preferred to use a place in England that was once associated with elves. Elves appear in some place names, though it is difficult to be sure how many of other words, including personal names, can appear similar to elf. The clearest English examples are Elveden ("elves' hill", Suffolk) and Elvendon ("elves' valley", Oxfordshire); other examples may be Eldon Hill ("Elves' hill", Derbyshire); and Alden Valley ("elves' valley", Lancashire). These seem to associate elves fairly consistently with woods and valleys. In Old English, elves are most often mentioned in medical texts which attest to the belief that elves might afflict humans and livestock with illnesses: apparently mostly sharp, internal pains and mental disorders. The most famous of the medical texts is the metrical charm Wið færstice ("against a stabbing pain"), from the tenth-century compilation Lacnunga, but most of the attestations are in the tenth-century Bald's Leechbook and Leechbook III. This tradition continues into later English-language traditions too.

Because of elves' association with illness, in the twentieth century, most scholars imagined that elves in the Anglo-Saxon tradition were small, invisible, demonic beings, causing illnesses with arrows. This was encouraged by the idea that "elf-shot" is depicted in the Eadwine Psalter, in an image which became well known in this connection. However, this is now thought to be a misunderstanding: the image proves to be a conventional illustration of God's arrows and Christian demons. Rather, twenty-first century scholarship suggests that Anglo-Saxon elves, like elves in Scandinavia or the Irish Aos Sí, were regarded as people. Keep in mind that like words for gods and men, the word elf is used in personal names where words for monsters and demons are not, so elves are people. In Old English, the plural ylfe (attested in Beowulf) is grammatically an ethnonym (a word for an ethnic group), suggesting that elves were seen as people.

Elves are known in Norse tradition, notably in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, which talks about svartálfar, dökkálfar and ljósálfar, but these terms are attested only in the Prose Edda and texts based on and it is now agreed that they reflect traditions of dwarves, demons, and angels, partly showing Snorri's "paganisation" of a Christian cosmology learned from the Elucidarius, a popular digest of Christian thought (this is why I take with a grain of salt Prose Edda when I want to learn about Norse religion). I prefer to focus in Old Norse poetry, particularly the Elder Edda. Elves are frequently mentioned in the alliterating phrase Æsir ok Álfar ('Æsir and elves') and its variants. This was a well-established poetic formula, indicating a strong tradition of associating elves with the group of gods known as the Æsir, or even suggesting that the elves and Æsir were one and the same. There are other sources that talk about elves such as Sagas of Icelanders, Bishops' sagas, and contemporary sagas. In Kormáks saga there is the mention of álfablót ("elves' sacrifice"), and in Eyrbyggja saga we can find the existence of the euphemism ganga álfrek ('go to drive away the elves') for "going to the toilet".

Fun fact: by the end of the medieval period, elf was increasingly being supplanted by the French loan-word fairy. An example is Geoffrey Chaucer's satirical tale Sir Thopas, where the title character sets out in a quest for the "elf-queen", who dwells in the "countree of the Faerie".

I imagined Gojyo (I find him the best for these kind of works) being alone in this place, pondering about his life and letting thoughts roam freely before maybe elves try to steal them. Here you can see two versions, a black and white version which resemble a manga page and another one where Gojyo chromatically stands out. I was unsure which posting, so asked a dear friend of mine and she liked both and eventually I decided to post both. Gojyo's pose was partially inspired by the famous painting of Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. Ok again sorry for long post.

Credits:

Saiyuki Reload Blast © Kazuya Minekura, Platinum Vision, 2017-present

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The most powerful anti-Christian movement is the one that takes over and "radicalises" the concern for victims in order to paganise it. The powers and principalities want to be “revolutionary” now, and they reproach Christianity for not defending victims with enough ardor. In Christian history they see nothing but persecutions, acts of oppression, inquisitions.

This other totalitarianism presents itself as the liberator of humanity. In trying to usurp the place of Christ, the powers imitate him in the way a mimetic rival imitates his model in order to defeat him. They denounce the Christian concern for victims as hypocritical and a pale imitation of the authentic crusade against oppression and persecution for which they would carry the banner themselves. In the symbolic language of the New Testament, we would say that in our world Satan, trying to make a new start and gain new triumphs, borrows the language of victims.

- René Girard

René Girard was a brilliant thinker and pioneer of Mimetic Theory. Mimesis, mimetic desire, and metaphysical desire are the fundamental building blocks of Girard’s psychology. Even the most intimate aspects of our identity can be radically shaped by others and as such rarely can we distinguish vanity from authenticity. These psychological fundaments are what make humans social animals, why prestige and recognition matter so much to us, and how we are able to form cultures and even language itself. They are responsible for humanity’s greatest achievements, but they also render us helplessly fallen creatures in creation.

Although he died in 2015 he had already diagnosed the driving force behind many headed hydra of intersectional feminism, anti-racism, and the woke that was already growing influential in far leftist circles in academia and beyond. He believed such forces used victimism as the ideology of concern for victims to gain political or economic or spiritual power.

[possil]

LIVING IN AN ALIEN WORLD PT.1

Most Christians live in blissful ignorance of the reality of Eph. 6:12 that in a rapidly re-paganising West we are in the midst of spiritual and moral warfare. This spiritual struggle around us is going to metastasise massively, and the only way to surviv

Most Christians live in blissful ignorance of the reality of Eph. 6:12 that in a rapidly re-paganising West we are in the midst of spiritual and moral warfare. This spiritual struggle around us is going to metastasise massively, and the only way to survive as Christians is to draw in deep to the faith, and to a community of the faithful, to take refuge in God and his people. Toxic Environment In…

[thedraught]

my year in reading (& songs) | 2021

Time, curious time Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs Were there clues I didn't see?

From a perfect start to the year in January to letting go of tension in December, 2021 has me looking back on a year that was - as all years are - full of ups and downs and changes, but ultimately filled with light and friendship and love. In my mind 2021 is tinged in purple-pink hues - or in Taylors words: it gave me the blues and then purple pink skies, it gave me happiness once I was out of the woods and above the trees. It gave me all kinds of rings, from Paper to Mood, 3 filled journals, only 10 new books bought, and a newest obsession (for who would I be without one?). I did not reach my goal of reading 100 books, but at 82, I am rather happy altogether.at the dusk of an old year…

January was pink and frilly and full of good moods - Emma, Bridgerton, - almost a week over New Year’s Eve spent with J and our journals, Jane Austen, embroidery and apple crumbles. The soundtrack of the month then was clearly (as my poor battered roommates can attest to) Donna Summers Hot Stuff that brought light into the grey January air. In total I read 11 books this month but the highlights were Amina Cain’s Indelicacy and Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. Both of them marked by stunning cover design and stories about women and friendship, though completely different in nature. Indelicacy made me pensive, made me want to write, while Miss Pettigrew charmed me (and still does) - and even made me cry. I also spent time with Susan Sontag and her journals (Reborn: Early Diaries 1947-1963), underlining laughing at the breakfast table in Brussels when she wishes to paganise her young son’s soul, sending updates to J, marvelling at Sontag’s eloquent words (and the people she knew!) scribbled down next to mundane lists and recounts of her meals.

With February came incredibly cold days, hikes and frozen lakes, a picnic set up in my room and five of the eight Bridgerton books, read and discussed with J, heavily entertained and partially staring at blank walls while doing nothing but listening to Julia Quinn’s historical romances. However, I also read the newest Seanan McGuire (Across the Green Grass Fields), Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang (finally! go read it! it’s “just” a short story) and a highlight of the year: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. A surprising come-back by an incredibly talented author that whisked me away into one of the strangest worlds I ever had the pleasure to visit. I read In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, too, and decided I was going to write my thesis about her experience of queer violence that she lays bare in her unique and daunting memoir.

Where February was still ringing with Hot Stuff and Peggy Lee’s Fever, March turned into an emotional turmoil rather quickly and had me in a daze. But the daze also brought me feverish reading weekends, when I devoured Roald Dahl’s Completely Unexpected Tales, John Fowles skin-crawlingly-horrifying The Collector, and finally tackled a mountain that had been looming above me from my bookshelves ever since 2014: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. I breathlessly poured over the 800 pages in a single weekend, curing the distress I was feeling with a story so intricate and wondrous it had me spinning more than the heartbreak that raced through me that month. In March, Catton gave me memories, Catton gave me albatrosses, something to tether myself to, when I was lost. For a book the size of The Luminaries was the only one that could anchor me. Outside my window the cherry tree began to bloom.

Work on my thesis began in earnest in April, the whirlwinds of emotions cooling down slightly (though it was only the calm before a storm that would rattle me later), and I turned to the ever comforting Agatha Christie while tackling another beast I had avoided for years: the ever daunting Anna Karenina. I was not as impressed with Tolstoy’s most famous work, as I was with his War & Peace, but I did enjoy most of the book (read: all parts about Anna, none about Levin who takes up half the novel’s space) and enjoyed logging it from place to place with me.

May hit me with pain that had begun in March, and had been (in retrospect), unnecessarily drawn out til now. But I also received love & support, more than anyone could ever wish for. Distraction from my roommates, kind words from people that (mere months ago!) had been nothing but strangers, love from my parents, J and C, all of my friends. And love from books, to which I turned. Marie Antoinette and Die Welt von Gestern by Stefan Zweig enthralled me, Gone Girl kept me up all night and Muriel Spark’s The Girls of Slender Means disturbed and delighted me with its casual cruelty.

In June I was still weathering storms: my thesis, life, fears, which sounds more than dramatic in retrospect but was my reality at the time. I did not read much, except for nights spent with old romance novels by Sophie Kinsella to calm my nervous mind. Musically, however, Lorde made a reappearence and healed my soul with the announcement of a sun-soaked record. And I finally gave up my (hitherto likely unfounded) dislike for Taylor Swift and dipped my toe into her music, filling my days with summer songs from Lover (with Paper Rings front and center), as well as the ever-uplifting Fearless and All Too Well.

July was marked by travel - a strange word in a newsletter that summarises a year in which Covid 19 is and was still very much present. But I travelled locally and carefully. To see my grandmother (finally, after two years!), C in Hamburg, my parents, T and F, pick up my sister in Jena and see J and I, even if just for a day in the sun. I read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee in a heat-filled day on the balcony, before I played scrabble with my grandma and drank cocktails. And I finally read my first Jhumpa Lahiri (I am still dying to read In Altre Paroli, a book with the most interesting premise), The Namesake, and was rather moved by it.

This year’s rain-filled summer culminated with my birthday in August, my second vaccination and a short birthday visit from C, and a long one from J in Maastricht. J and me crafted and painted ceramics, went to the fabric market, cooked food, had picnics, relived the trashiest movies of all time, and finally fully submitted to Taylor. I read Elin Willow’s Inlands (“Precisely because all options are open and I can go wherever I like, it feels like the exact opposite”) and felt it enter my soul at that moment in time, and soothe me and upset me, even though I now barely remember any of it. The soundtrack of August was not Taylor’s eponymous song, but Lorde’s Mood Ring, instead. A brilliantly clever and sympathetically ironic song (paraphrased) - an absolute genius and delight.

In September I began searching for jobs read short-stories of Domestic Suspense, as well as The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy (which briefly recalled Bonjour Tristesse, if not in plot, then in atmosphere) and spontaneously purchased Frank Herbert’s Dune that I ploughed through in three days, since I went to watch the adaptation with M and A. I embroidered on the side, and passed the time with more Agatha Christie, as well as walks in the waning summer light, looking at the pumpkin patches.

I remember a party at F’s in October, Sushi with B, and my very first Dutch read Het Achterhuis, a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s Diary. Next to job interviews and my graduation celebration and fun days with G, I also revisited the Bridgerton universe with J, as I listened to all four of the Rokesby-series books (that were clearly inferior to Bridgerton, I must admit).

I had dinners in November, saw bright-red sunsets, started to work, visited Berlin and saw F. I deepened the attachment to Taylor (All Too Well), spent time with my roommates and organised a move. H and me spent a wholesome evening with Folklore, Evermore, fries and punch. We also had another wonderful silent-dinner. Reading-wise, I finally tackled Imogen Hermes Gowar’s The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock (impeccable writing, a lacking story) and swore off modern romance after a buddy-read of Sally Thorne’s (very well liked?!) The Hating Game.

December saw me moving, laughing lots and being stressed. But now it has me sitting in Rudolstadt at J’s, prepared to put pink highlights in my hair and drink Barbie pink shots to welcome the new year and bid farewell to 2021. Because, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 2022, just as well as I felt 2021. Even though I did not read a single book in December (I was busy embroidering for farewell gifts and Christmas), I experienced so much love and light and saw so many changes in my life that I am more than excited about. Closer to J (to further apart from my dear roommates, my friends, I should say), ready for 22, new books to discover and read, new things to see, new things to create. This month’s song obsession is I Bet You Think About Me. For the country, the vibe, the red lipstick. For everything.the magical dawn of a new one awaits.

In retrospect everything happened as it should have. My heartbreak turned out to be not so much of a heartbreak after all, and it gave me Taylor, a development I might give too much meaning to (and talk way too much about), but then again, I’d like to carry myself forward like this into the following years: Giving things too much meaning rather than not finding meaning in anything. And being open to accept new things, even if they mean discarding old views and opinions. I don’t know what 2022 will bring, if it’s still pink and blue, or burning red. Or perhaps maybe golden, like daylight.

I know that, as such, every day and every year, every life in fact, is reflected in the snippet of the song I’m going to leave you with here, but it seems to fit this year especially, for me:Time, mystical time Cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine Were there clues I didn't see? And isn't it just so pretty to think All along there was some Invisible string Tying you to me?

Can you find an invisible string in 2021? A string that pulled you away from something only to lead you somewhere greater? I hope that you can. And if not, I am certain that you will. Time is funny like that.

All the people I had to lose, or that I got to keep and meet and love in 2021, I’m glad that fate tied you to me. And I hope that the dawn of 2022 is a bright one for you.

[pharaoh-khan]

Your sin is from white Americanization and britainization osiris who is not me/pharaɸh Kh🖖🏽🤲🏼 Baal/Kanye as monkeys/scamps/pricks whoever you are sense paganised Britain and white Americans existed that is when racism was invented pedophilia at any time is scamping and hypocrisy which is also scamping and sparing the guilty which are salt without flavor haters inevitably

Not a drunk glory day quote he only smoked weed/Seshat which is not sin/scamping if done properly he was a divinity like David and Pharaoh Tut

[hochgouez-nerzhus]

Calendrier des arbres et lunes celtiques

Il n'existe aucun élément historique ou archéologique sérieux qui pourrait laisser penser que les Celtes disposaient d'un calendrier fractionné en périodes portant chacune le nom d'un arbre.

Il en découle que les  multiples versions du "calendrier celtique des arbres" ne peuvent trouver  leurs origines  que dans les domaines de  l'imaginaire, du mysticisme  ou de la poésie.

Ceci n'interdit nullement de traiter de ce  thème pour célébrer les Arbres et  les Celtes dans des oeuvres de fiction.

Selon que l'on sera barde, mage, astrologue, chaman, écologiste paganisant  ou simplement poète.

les Arbres, chargés de symboles, inciteront  aux rêves  et c'est là chose heureuse.

Le calendrier celtique des arbres est basé sur l’année lunaire par opposition à l’année solaire et commence après le Solstice d’Hiver. Il y a environ 13 mois lunaires qui débutent et finissent avec la nouvelle lune ; chaque mois est représenté par un arbre ou un végétal. Dans cet ordre :

1. Bouleau

2. Sorbier

3. Frêne

4. Aulne

5. Saule,

6. Aubépine,

7. Chêne,

8. Houx,

9. Noisetier,

10. Vigne

11. Lierre

12. Roseau

13. Sureau

Dans l’alphabet Druidique, chaque arbre représente également une lettre. La première lettre des noms Gaéliques des arbres est une consonne. Dans cet ordre à nouveau :

• Beth, qui donne B,

• Luis, L,

• Nion, N,

• Fearn, F,

• Saille, S,

• Huath, H,

• Duir, D,

• Tinne, T,

• Coll, C,

• Muir, M,

• Gort, G,

• Ngetal, N,

• Ruis, R.

Il y a également 5 voyelles, comme dans tout bon alphabet : Ailim, Ohn, Ur, Eadha, et Ioho (A, 0, U, E, et I). Ces cinq voyelles sont représentées par les arbres solaires, qui sont, respectivement, le Sapin, l’Ajonc, la Bruyère, le Tremble et l’If.

Les cinq arbres solaires sont comme des arbres « parapluies » ; ils couvrent une plus large portion de l’année que les arbres lunaires ; habituellement environ 2-3 mois chacun.

Correspondances Oghams et arbres

Le système entier ; les mois lunaires, les saisons solaires, les arbres à la fois sous leurs noms Anglais et Gaéliques, et l’ogham, est le Calendrier Celtique des Arbres. Il y a deux systèmes majeurs des Arbres Celtiques :

1- Le système Beth-Luis-Nion. Son calendrier commence au Solstice d’Hiver, les mois débutent à- la nouvelle lune, et les arbres sont : le Bouleau, le Sorbier, le Frêne, etc., comme listés ci-dessus.

2-  Le système Beth-Luis-Fern. Son calendrier commence à Samhain. Le 1er Novembre, les mois vont de la pleine lune à la pleine lune, et l’ordre de ses arbres est légèrement différent :

1. Bouleau,

2. Sorbier,

3. Aulne,

4. Saule,

5. Frêne,

6. Aubépine,

7. Chêne,

8.Houx,

9. Noisetier,

10. Vigne

11. Lierre

12. Roseau

13. Sureau

Dans le calendrier celtique chaque lunaison, chaque arbre, lorsque pris séparément peut nous enseigner sur nous-mêmes et nous aider à être plus en harmonie avec les cycles de la nature. Prise dans son ensemble, une étude du système des arbres peut nous aider à intégrer nos personnalités, à élargir nos horizons intellectuels et à nous ouvrir nous-mêmes spirituellement au cosmos, à aller au-delà du monde physique. C’est, après tout, en tout premier lieu le but de marcher sur la voie.....

[yourreddancer]

The dangers of creating a state religion are  outweighed by the tragic dangers of turning the state into a religion. Putting aside the sheer blasphemy of striving to merge the state and Christianity into a political religion, it is difficult to express the historical realities of such a move to the uneducated and indifferent. The religion of Germany in the 1930s and early 40s was a paganisation of Christianity merged with the political religion of Fascism. The Soviet Union was an attempt to replace Christianity with a political religion called Communism. In such a construct there becomes a category of “political heresy.”>>>

We are observing the creation of just such a merger of political religion with a perverted form of Christianity in the United States – nominal Christianity, to be sure, but one that uses the brand name. Over the past two decades, we have referred to this as “Christianism.” This creation of a new religion of the state include such radical mythologies as the idea that the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution are Divine Scripture, inspired by God directly. How deeply this twisted perversion has arisen among, particularly Evangelicals and the American Right Wing and Republican Party, is evidenced by the production of a new “American Bible” which includes the Declaration of Independence, the rather limited American Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself into the Canon of “God Inspired Holy Scripture.”

 In fact these latter are three documents which were  products of late enlightenment secular philosophy, inspired by such philosophers as John Locke, Voltaire, Immanuel Kant and Johann Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati Movement, who was quoted a number of times by Thomas Jefferson, who greatly admired him.>>>

We have seen the political “heresy hunting” and punishment of political heretics that is taking place in the Trump political cult already. Elizabeth Cheney is just one example of those punished for heresy against the Trump Cult which now totally dominates the Republican Party in the United States. The merger of the Evangelical Church and the Republican Party is producing a very dangerous religio/political religious cult – a “Cult of the State.” Blasphemous because it uses the name of Jesus Christ in a completely pagan manner and strives to give Him the same position that Jupiter held in the Roman Empire. The “canonization” of Donald Trump is precisely what the Romans did with their emperors.>>>

We should remember that, at the height of the more fanatical era in the history of Christianity and amongst the most fanatical and hyper religious, heresy hunting was almost a sport and was horrific and very deadly. Superstitions of the most barbaric type began to supersede the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was a Christian version of what we now see among the most radical Islamists. During that era, religion and the state were almost merged. We can see the same thing developing again now, and political heresy becomes merged with the idea of religious heresy. Like the ancient Romans, the idea that failure to observe the proper rituals and reverence for the State deities was tantamount to treason. That is the very reason why the Romans began to persecute Christians, because of their failure to honour the State deities such as Jupiter.>>>

This may be taking place in only a modified form in the United States, among certain religious sects and political cults, but it is taking place and the insurrection against the American capital and government is simply a symptom of this. This is the real “culture war” that our emotionally unstable preachers and priests should be concerned about.

Bishop Lazar Puhalo..

[thevagueambition]

Re-paganisation and bitterness about Christianisation and the ways in which it destroyed and repressed native traditions is a part of the break with Christianity in Northern Europe and although it is something easily co-opted by fascists it is in no way inherently fascist or even nationalistic and indeed we secede ground to the right when we allow them to take ownership of these feelings and that cultural expression that can exist entirely benignly. In making fun of bitterness over something that ancient or saying that "well, your countries chose to convert themselves to get trade deals" people with those feelings are, however subtlety, pushed towards the right because it is the right that will acknowledge those feelings and tell them they're right to have them and where to go from here with them and it is indeed a simplification of where those feelings come from, too.

It is not actually about the Christianisation a millennia ago it is about Christianity and it is about cultural imperialism from countries such as the US and yes, sometimes it is about nationalism, but not always a particularly dangerous kind, not unless tugged in that direction by other forces. I think a lot of what the right uses to entice people to their side is concerns that the left are unwilling to address in a way that is satisfying to them. In pretending that Denmark is not affected by American imperialism by making fun of eg concerns about the overwhelming presence of English in our culture because it's not dangerous the way most imperialism is, we are leaving the way open for nationalists to be the only ones with an answer to that issue and this is a pattern I see often. In another example when you claim that to be anti-EU is to be racist, you also push workers who are against the EU because of the labour violations it creates in their country towards the right (or potentially the far left, thankfully, but their voice is less booming right now).

I think we on the left need to be better at listening to why a group is concerned about or very invested in something and be sure to then respond to the core of their issue and not just make fun of it or immediately label it reactionary. It may very well be reactionary, but if you do not understand where it comes from, you have no ability to offer these people an alternative to the right if they are indeed so invested in the issue at hand.

[aiiaiiiyo]

In 1951, the French Catholic clergy of Dijon burned Santa Claus in effigy in front of the city’s children as a protest against the paganisation of Christmas. [1280 × 842] Check this blog!

[christophe76460]

LE JOUR DU SEIGNEUR APPROCHE, OÙ EN EST-TU ?

Nous sommes dans les temps de la fin, et l'avènement du Seigneur Jésus-Christ approche à grand pas. Toutes les choses qui sont entrain de se dérouler dans notre monde aujourd'hui nous indiquent clairement que les saintes prophéties bibliques sont bien entrain de s'accomplir, et ce de façon plus accentuée que jamais. Toutes choses sont en travail au delà de ce qu'on peut dire. C'est la dernière ligne droite pour l'accomplissement du mystère de Dieu. Mais Satan Lucifer lui-même n'est pas en laisse, il travaille dur et de façon effrénée, maintenant qu'il ne lui reste que très peu de temps. Mais l'esprit des hommes ne réalise pas que l'heure est grave, et qu'il n'y a plus le temps à perdre.

Il est triste de constater que les chrétiens savent clairement que le Seigneur Jésus-Christ avait prédit que la tiédeur spirituelle s'emparerait des églises, qu'il y aurait beaucoup de séducteurs déguisés, et que le péché croitrait à un niveau phénoménal. Mais, comme aveuglés et anesthésiés, ils ont pour la plupart été embarqués eux aussi par le courant de la perdition, et ils ne réalisent pas du tout la gravité de l'état spirituel dans lequel ils sont, ils ont les yeux voilés pour ne pas discerner la subtilité des prédicateurs qui les séduisent, et n'éprouvent plus de regret et de repentance véritables en voyant l'esclavage des petits péchés dans lesquels ils ont fini par s'acclimater. Ils savent pertinemment que Christ vomira de Sa bouche toutes les églises et les chrétiens tièdes, mais ils continuent à être tièdes et s'y plaisent même. Ils savent pertinemment que le monde s'est assombri plus que par le passé, mais eux-mêmes ont été entraînés par le monde dans toutes ses tendances, et ils s'y plaisent, et cherchent parfois à justifier cette paganisation de la chrétienté.

La crainte du Seigneur a quitté la plupart de ceux qui invoquent partout le Seigneur en disant : Seigneur, Seigneur. Et même le cœur de beaucoup qui tremblait devant Dieu auparavant, et cherchait Sa face, s'est introduit dans d'autres choses. Les réprimandes du Seigneur ne font plus peur au gens. On est devenu tellement habitué à Dieu qu'on ne réalise même plus qu'on est très loin de Lui et de Son Esprit, quoi qu'on prononce Son nom régulièrement. Les commandements du Seigneur sont bafoués à un niveau inquiétant par des gens même qui avaient goûtés au Saint-Esprit et aux richesses de la gloire à venir. Il n'y a plus que de grands dormeurs dans l'évangile, mais ils ne savent même pas qu'ils dorment, ils pensent même que c'est le temps de la révélation, de la modernisation et de la révolution de l'évangile. Quel malheur !

Un évangile trompeur séduit les foules, et attire l'attention de presque tout le monde. Partout on entend ce type d'évangile. Il plaît à la chair, il pousse les gens à se plaire à eux-mêmes plutôt qu'à se dépouiller pour le Maître. Il excite les appétits, et rend les chrétiens amorphes et peu adonnés au Seigneur dans le renoncement à soi-même, le brisement et la consécration dans l'œuvre de Dieu, la prière fervente, et l'amour sacrificiel. Et alors, les gens ne réalisent pas que c'est ainsi une odeur anesthésiante que l'ennemi des âmes a envoyé sur toute la terre pour perdre des multitudes. De nombreux chrétiens qui s'étaient consacrés par le passé ont été gagnés par la tiédeur et la séduction. De nombreux prédicateurs qui avaient été suscité par le Seigneur pour sonner de la trompette, se sont découragés avec le temps et ont emprunté d'autres voies détournées.

Quant à ceux qui ont la grâce de côtoyer des serviteurs intègres et fidèles à la doctrine de l'Esprit, ils sont devenus habitué à la parole de Dieu tel que cela ne leur fait plus rien. Peu importe ce qu'on leur prêche, ils écoutent ou lisent, puis s'en vont, et la vie continue comme avant. Leurs yeux sont habitués aux versets bibliques, et leurs cœurs ne battent plus lorsqu'ils doivent confronter le Juge des vivants et des morts. Leurs oreilles sont habitués aux prophéties qui reprochent et censurent, et leurs repentances sont juste superficielles. Il n'y a plus de zèle pour Dieu, pour Le connaître en profondeur, pour L'aimer de tout Son cœur, et pour Le servir parfois au détriment de ses ambitions, de son aise et de ses goûts. Mais chacun se bat aujourd'hui pour s'en sortir dans la vie, pour être quelqu'un, même les prédicateurs.

Cher ami, et toi, quel est ton cas ? Où en es-tu ? Alors que le retour du Seigneur Jésus-Christ est proche, où en es-tu avec la foi ? Dans quel état est ton cœur à l'heure actuelle ? Dans quoi es-tu embarqué au moment où tu lis ? Serais-tu du lot des parfaits qui devrons être enlevés si la dernière trompette sonnait maintenant ? Mis à part la bonne image que les gens ont de toi, qui es-tu au fond, et quelles sont les ténébres que tu caches au plus profond de toi-même ? Et toi, vis-tu ce que tu prêches au gens ? Es-tu même sérieux dans ce que tu prêches, ou l'enseignement est devenu un simple travail routinier alors que tu n'es pas plus proche du Seigneur que ne le sont ceux qui t'écoutent et sollicitent tes prières ? Quelle véritable intimité as-tu avec le Maître ? À quel niveau Le connais-tu pour prétendre ainsi l'enseigner aux autres ? Et tu pourrais enseigner tant de choses aux gens que tu as toi-même appris d'autres, alors que Dieu ne te connais même pas, ni ne te reconnais. Souviens-toi, ce ne sont pas seulement ceux qui ont cru qui seront enlevés avec Christ dans la gloire, mais ce sont ceux qui auront été façonnés dans une vie de consécration, une vie pleine de fruits de l'Esprit de Dieu, une vie de prière fervente et de veille continuelle, une vie accomplie dans les souffrances, les efforts et les bonnes œuvres. L'exigence de la sanctification sera de taille. Mais toi, où en es-tu ? Que vas-tu faire pour te réveiller urgemment de ton sommeil ?

[rachdie]

Iedul Hubb alias Valentine merupakan perayaan paganise Nasrani. Tidak halal bagi seorang muslim yang beriman kepada Allâh dan hari akhir, merayakannya, mengakuinya atau mengucapkan selamat Fatâwâ Lajnah Daimah II/263 (at DGolden Cinere) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ659qlhmr4/?utm_medium=tumblr

[tipsycad147]

Capricorn December  Celebrating The Winter Solstice

By shirleytwofeathers

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as “Christmas.” Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots.

Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the “Invincible Sun” in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianised. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with “Christmas” actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent.

Pagans today can readily re-Paganise Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new traditions that draw on ancient ways. Here are some ways to do this: Celebrate Yule with a series of rituals, feasts, and other activities.

In most ancient cultures, the celebration lasted more than a day. The ancient Roman Saturnalia festival sometimes went on for a week. Have Winter Solstice Eve and Day be the central focus for your household, and conceptualise other holiday festivities, including New Year’s office parties and Christmas visits with Christian relatives, as part of your Solstice celebration. By adopting this perspective, Pagan parents can help their children develop an understanding of the multicultural and interfaith aspects of this holiday time and view “Christmas” as just another form of Solstice.

Have gift exchanges and feasts over the course of several days and nights as was done of old. Party hearty on New Year’s Eve not just to welcome in the new calendar year, but also to welcome the new solar year.

Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colours. Decorate your home in Druidic holiday colours red, green, and white. Place holly, ivy, evergreen boughs, and pine cones around your home, especially in areas where socialising takes place.

Hang a sprig of mistletoe above a major threshold and leave it there until next Yule as a charm for good luck throughout the year. Have family/household members join together to make or purchase an evergreen wreath. Include holiday herbs in it and then place it on your front door to symbolise the continuity of life and the wheel of the year. If you choose to have a living or a harvested evergreen tree as part of your holiday decorations, call it a Solstice tree and decorate it with Pagan symbols.

Convey love to family, friends, and associates. At the heart of Saturnalia was the custom of family and friends feasting together and exchanging presents. Continue this custom by visiting, entertaining, giving gifts, and sending greetings by mail and/or phone. Consider those who are and/or have been important in your life and share appreciation.

Reclaim Santa Claus as a Pagan Godform. Today’s Santa is a folk figure with multicultural roots. He embodies characteristics of:

Saturn (Roman agricultural god)

Cronos (Greek god, also known as Father Time)

Holly King (Celtic god of the dying year)

Father Ice/Grandfather Frost (Russian winter god)

Thor (Norse sky god who rides the sky in a chariot drawn by goats)

Odin/Wotan (Scandinavian/Teutonic All-Father who rides the sky on an eight-legged horse)

Frey (Norse fertility god)

Tomte (a Norse Land Spirit known for giving gifts to children at this time of year)

Santa’s reindeer can be viewed as forms of Herne, the Celtic Horned God. Decorate your home with Santa images that reflect His Pagan heritage.

Honour the Goddess as Great Mother. Place Pagan Mother Goddess images around your home. You may also want to include one with a Sun child, such as Isis with Horus. Pagan Goddess forms traditionally linked with this time of year include:

Tonantzin (Native Mexican corn mother)

Holda (Teutonic earth goddess of good fortune)

Bona Dea (Roman women’s goddess of abundance and prophecy)

Ops (Roman goddess of plenty)

Au Set/Isis (Egyptian/multicultural All Goddess whose worship continued in Christian times under the name Mary)

Lucina/St. Lucy (Roman/Swedish goddess/saint of light)

Befana (Italian Witch who gives gifts to children at this season)

Honour the new solar year with light. Do a Solstice Eve ritual in which you meditate in darkness and then welcome the birth of the sun by lighting candles and singing chants and Pagan carols.

If you have a indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire circle, burn an oak log as a Yule log and save a bit to start next year’s fire. Decorate the inside and/or outside of your home with electric coloured lights. Because of the popularity of five pointed stars as holiday symbols, this is a good time to display a pentagram of blue or white lights.

Contribute to the manifestation of more wellness on Planet Earth. Donate food and clothing to poor in your area. Volunteer time at a social service agency. Put up bird feeders and keep them filled throughout the winter to supplement the diets of wild birds. Donate funds and items to non-profit groups, such as Pagan/Wiccan churches and environmental organisations. Meditate for world peace. Work magic for a healthier planet. Make a pledge to do some form of good works in the new solar year.

by Selena Fox

https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/pagancalendar/category/december-days/

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

The God Who Evaluates | John Black, Jerusalem Assembly [Nov.4/19]

I want to zero in on four characteristics of God in Genesis 1:3-5.

Genesis 1:3-5 | And God said, “Let there be light,” & there was light. And seeing that the light was good, God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” & the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, & there was morning—the first day.

These 4 characteristics are true of Day 1, but also throughout the creation account. So I’m using Day 1 to show the paradigm of what happens repeatedly with each passing generation.

The 4 characteristics we’re going to unpack are:

God said

God saw

God separated

God called

So we’ll walk through each 4, I’m going to develop each point then we’re going to apply it to our lives.                    _____________________________________________________

1.] So the verb said, it occurs 11 times from Genesis 1:1- Genesis 2:3. The first section of the book of Genesis. Here we have the spoken Word of God.

When we ask the question: How did Elohim create? How did He transform the chaos of v.2 to what we have by the end of Genesis 2:3?

One answer is: His Word

God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. His Word is decisive; it’s powerful. When God speaks, something happens.

There is no effort. There is no opposition. There is no resistance. The product is immediate.

God’s Word irresistible.

Ex. If I were to say, “Let every man in this congregation stand-up.” There is a pause, there is hesitation, there’s opposition. There’s resistance.

My words are powerless. There’s no immediate obedience to the words just spoken.

But eventually you have to stand if you want lunch, you’ll stand.

Have you ever tried this at home? Let this room be clean. Anything happen? or  Let these children sleep. Nothing.

Parents go to great length to get their children to sleep. How many fathers have I seen with their strollers at 10pm-11pm, trying to get that infant to sleep.

Some of us strap them in the car, & go for a long drive, just to get that child to sleep. God’s Word is different. God’s Word is powerful. IRRESISTIBLE!

We see it in the life of Jesus: “Lazarus come out!” [John 11:43] And  Lazarus comes out.

Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (v.40)

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. (v.41) I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.” (v.42) After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

“Be clean!” Jesus said. And the leaper was cleansed.

“Stand up, take your stretcher, & go home,” Jesus said. And the paralytic man stood up & immediately took his stretcher & went.

“Be quiet,” Jesus says, “calm down.” And the great storm on the Galilea was dead quiet.

I use that verse all the time with the kids, completely different result. >> Cause God’s Word is powerful/decisive/irresistible.

The product of Day 1 is light. The product of Day 2 is firmament or expanse [heavens or the sky].

Day 3, the product of God’s Word is dry land & vegetation.

The product of Day 4, the luminaries. The greater & lesser light from the sun, moon, & the stars.

The product of Day 5 are sea creatures. The product of Day 6 the land animals & humanity.

What is the point? God creates life by the means of His powerful/irresistible Word. Unlike Mercedes Benz, God doesn’t need a mold, nor does He need raw materials. He doesn’t need electricity or some external source of power.

God is the power. He is the creator of life.                    _____________________________________________________

2] God separated

The verb separated occurs 5x in this section of Scripture. God makes divisions. He carves out boundaries. He separates what does not belong together. God is separating based on tasks, based on functions.

Light & dark have different functions so God separates them. The water above/below the rekia have different functions, so He separates them.

These boundaries are important. >> The reason is boundaries create order; & order secures/sustains life.

Ex. Fish live in the sea, if they were on land, chaos results—that chaos is death. Humans are bound to land, that’s our boundary.

If we tired living in the sea, we die.

This idea of God creating order bleeds through on the pages of the entire Bible. We see it in the creation account, the Mosaic law, in the Church, & in the family.

In the law, God divides the holy from profane. He separates clean from unclean.

He separates the Israelites from the nations, within Israel He separates priestly class from the non-priestly. We see God’s order in the construction of the tabernacle & the temple. He divides the holy place from the most holy place.

What happens when the wrong person/ppl enters the most holy place? Chaos in the form of death.

God’s order in the church is seen in the offices given to the church. Those offices are 1st century only, the foundation of the church (apostles & prophets); evangelists, pastors/teachers..

Not every believer should fill these offices. When the wrong people are in those offices, chaos results.

When I was a pastor at Maine, there were wrong ppl serving in the office of elders; & the result of their ministries was chaos (ppl were hurt, the church is confused).

In the family we see God’s order play out in the distinct roles given to the husband/wives. We parents create boundaries for our children, don’t we?

We separate cleaning agents from the food, toys from the tools. Our kids aren’t allowed to play with the power tools because we want them to live.

We create boundaries. We are creating order that promotes & sustains life. Here’s the point I’m trying to develop:

God separating light from darkness informs us that not only is He the creator of light, but He’s the sustainer of life.                    _____________________________________________________

3] God called light day & dark night, so God names things.

Why do this?

I can think of 2 reasons,

1st turn to Daniel 1:6-7. After being taken captive to Babylon, king Nebuchadnezzar renamed Daniel & his friends.

Ancient kings renamed those whom they conquered. The significance is that naming things meant that the namer has the authority.

Naming communicates soverignty, I’m soverign over you so I name you. It’s what the Roman Emperor Hadrian did in the 2nd century AD (130 AD). He renamed Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, in his efforts to paganise the city.

God gives parents authority over their children & one of the first uses of that authority is in granting a name (naming the child).

By naming light & darkness day & night, God has authority over both. He also has authority over the chaos back in verse 2. God exercises His authority to bring order out of the chaos, which promotes & sustains life.

2nd) Naming things promotes order. It orders humanity’s thoughts, & gives us a way to think about things. By giving us common reference points, we can understand one another & communicate & share ideas.

Imagine if God & Adam didn’t name anything. Confusion & chaos would result. So naming creates order that gives way to a richer more meaningful life.                    _____________________________________________________

God said He is the creator of life,

God separated, God is the sustainer of life.

God called, God is the provider of a richer & more meaningful life.

4] God saw it was good (v.10)

From God comes forth goodness. Now God does not only evaluate creation. This characteristic of God begins in Genesis 1 & goes all the way through Scriptures to the last chapter of the Bible.

Like Mercedes Benz, who analyze every step of the process, & every employee in the process; God is evaluating everything about His creation.

He evaluates Israel/church/nation & every single person. God is the ongoing evaluator of life, so let’s take Israel as an example.

God entered into a covenant with Israel, & this covenant had responsiblities for both covenant partners. God regularly evaluated Israel, are they meeting expectations, are they a quality covenant partner.

When they failed, a breakdown in quality, God sent prophets to them. Those prophets were sent to call them back, to call them to repentance.

>> To draw them back into their covenant obligations.

Listen to the words of Jeremiah 25:2-4, are you progressing/regressing? If not how can we help you do better, these are forms of quality control.

How we ensure high quality? By ongoing evaluations. God demands a high quality church w/ high quality believers (no wrinkles/spots)

What does God evaluate? Here are a few sobering passages:

Matthew 12:36 Every careless word

1 Corinthians 4:5 bring to light the motives in people’s hearts..

2 Corinthians 5:10 recompense for the deeds we have done good/bad..

HE will evaluate EVERYTHING about you. Does that get your attention?

Some of you might say, “hey this doesn’t sound too pleasant, but I’m saved.” We’re not talking about salvation, we’re talking about the believer’s growth toward perfection, the Bible teaches it & God expects it. He demands it.

So how is your quality? How does your quality compare with last month/year..?

Are you progressing? or regressing?

How are your spots & dots? Are they getting bigger/smlr? Evaluate your lives, examine yourselves, test yourselves.

We celebrate communion, which celebrates Jesus’ finished work on the cross 2000 years ago; & when we enter into communion, Paul warns us examine yourself!

The warning there is that if you do it in an unworthy manner, you will be disciplined. But communion also celebrates the future coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; & in that future coming there is a final evaluation. Are we ready?

Are you ready for Jesus to lay bare your entire life? So how can we become quality believers? Evaluate your lives.

To help us get started in that effort, I have a few general questions:

These are meant to get you started, & to trigger more detailed questions because each of you are individuals, I can only address very generally..

But I think you will quickly get the idea.

1] can you step back & look at the works of your hands—as God did with His in Genesis 1—& say it’s good?

would those whom you work agree? would your spouse/God agree?

Ephesians 6: role of a dad is to teach kids the fear of the Lord. It’s tough & a challenge because they are filled with sin. How are you as parents investing in your child the values of God’s kingdom?

As a brother/sister in the house of God, how are you handling relationships? And would your brother/sisters agree?

In your role in ministry, are you carrying it out well? Would those affected by your ministry agree? How about those funding your ministry overseas?

Would your hard drive agree? or your smart phone?

If you can’t say it’s good, ask yourself: what’s keeping you from being able to say that? What defect is there? What darkness is there?

Do you get feedback/clues from others who pass comment on your behaviour? >> Remember God is sovereign over the darkness.

If there's something preventing you from being able to declare that all these things in your life is good. You can take that to Him.

God specializes in transforming darkness. And He wants to do that in your life & mine, so we need to confess it to Him.

We need to humble ourselves before God & accept our flaws/inadequacy. I need Your help Lord, please help me to not resist it.

Please help me to partner with You & go along with the process of becoming better for Your holy use.

Quality products require controlled quality inspection, & Mercedes Benz knows it & professional athletic teams know this, successful companies know it.

GOD knows it. GOD does it, & He expects us to do it too.

Not only have we seen that GOD is the creator of life, the sustainer of life, the provider of a richer & more meaningful life. We have seen He is the ongoing evaluator of life. He regularly evaluates all creation, we need to emulate His standard process too.

[legends-en-blog]

Barber surgeon of Avebury

The re-erected Barber Stone The Barber surgeon of Avebury is the name given to a skeleton discovered in 1938 at Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. The body was found underneath a buried megalith by archaeologist Alexander Keiller in 1938. It was dated by coins to the early 14th century, and identified as a barber surgeon by a pair of scissors and a medical-looking probe. The stone was re-erected by Keiller. Many stones of Avebury Henge had been buried, presumably as a result of attempts to de-paganise the site or to clear land for agriculture. The skeletal remains of the "barber-surgeon" The story of the barber surgeon is one that most visitors to the prehistoric site of Avebury Henge will have heard. The traditional interpretation goes as follows; a pious traveller was assisting the folk of Avebury in burying the pagan standing stones in the village during the fourteenth century. Alas as he was busily digging out the underside of a stone it fell over, crushing him and entombing him beneath it. Keiller lifted the stone to reinstate it in 1938 and found the man's remains underneath. Items found with the body including coins, scissors and an iron medical probe identified him as an itinerant mediaeval barber surgeon. Keiller sent the remains to the curator of the museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, whom he felt would appreciate the find. It was thought to have been destroyed during bombing in the Second World War but was rediscovered and re-examined in 1998. A large healed cut wound was noticed on the skull but no evidence of traumatic death was identified and it was suggested that the man had been buried beneath a stone rather than crushed by it. More details Android, Windows

[lofihipbot]

lofi hip hop beats to paganise to