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officialyourdailyinspiration · 2 months

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The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

and Hezron the father of Ram.

4 Ram was the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth,

and Obed the father of Jesse.

6 Jesse was the father of David the king.

David the king was the father of Solomon, by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

and Abijah the father of Asa.

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

and Joram the father of Uzziah.

9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

and Amon the father of Josiah.

11 Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were exiled to Babylon.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon,

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,

Abiud the father of Eliakim,

and Eliakim the father of Azor.

14 Azor was the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

and Akim the father of Eliud.

15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

and Matthan the father of Jacob.

16 And Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the exile to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way: After His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, had in mind to divorce her privately.

20 But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for He who is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 Now all this occurred to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, saying, 23 “A virgin shall be with child, and will bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is interpreted, “God with us.”

24 Then Joseph, being awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and remained with his wife, 25 and did not know her until she had given birth to her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. — Matthew 1 | Modern English Version (MEV) The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. Cross References: Genesis 22:18; Genesis 25:19; Deuteronomy 22:23; Deuteronomy 24:1; Ruth 4:18; Ruth 4:20; 1 Samuel 1:20; 2 Samuel 7:12; 2 Samuel 11:27; 1 Kings 3:5; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 15:24; 2 Kings 24:14; 1 Chronicles 2:12; 1 Chronicles 3:14; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 22:30; Jeremiah 27:20; Haggai 1:1; Matthew 16:16; Matthew 16:20; Matthew 27:17; Luke 1:31; Luke 2:7; Acts 5:19; Romans 1:2

#Jesus #Jesus' genealogy #Jesus' birth #Joseph #Mary #angel of the Lord #Matthew 1 #Gospel of Matthew #New Testament #MEV #Modern English Version Bible #Military Bible Association #Charisma House

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devilgrimoire · 3 months

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Reverend ██████ Segreti - Priest of Site 19

Reverend ██████ Segreti is the head priest to the recently installed church of Site 19. Due to the increased requirement for religious (primarily Christian) needs for the SCPs and staff, the church has become a permanent addition to the foundation.

Reverend Segreti went to catholic school all his life. The influence eventually led him to a seminary in the Vatican City where he got an Associate's in Philosophy and Bachelor's in Theology. After his bachelor's, he served a few years as a military chaplain before returning to the seminary to continue his studies. While acquiring his PhD in Theology and Biblical Studies, he served as a priest in the Vatican City. A few years later, he wished to travel, so he went to several churches in Europe and the Americas. He was traveling around Illinois when he was approached with a job offer from the SCP Foundation upon their installation of a permanent on-site church. He accepted with a curiosity about the foundation and the services they have to offer.

Reverend, only being on-site for a few months, spends most of his days meeting SCPs (e.g. SCP-166) and holding prayers and confessions for available staff members. Not until later did many employees show interest in attending Sunday services. The Reverend's duties extended to performing mass and bible studies.

Several tend to question the Reverend's willingness to continue to serve within the foundation due to his exposure to the inner workings of the foundation and how they may test his faith. Any religious preservation may be due to his relationships with several doctors and their advice in maintaining sanity (what little it may be).

#scp foundation #scp fandom #scp art #scp fanart #scp #scp site 19 #scp oc #oc x canon #reverend segreti #my art #reference

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sophie-frm-mars · 2 months

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Hi Sophie! In light of the genocide in Palestine and the conspiracies around it, do you have any thoughts on how to avoid conspiracy thought?

You pointed out in Conspiracy on the Left that conspiracists will often switch from using language that recognizes incentives and structures, to language that indicates direct malice and intent. I've seen this in real time with Zionism where people will stop using it as a term to describe the ideology and actions of Israel and America (economic and military interests, the historical inertia of the british empire, the interest of capital and western nations using Israel as a base in the Middle East), to using it as a placeholder for jews (people accusing individual people (usually american) of attempting to silence voices with media platforms)

I was gonna say I find this one really straightforward, but at the same time I myself have actually rushed into condemnations of Israel that gave too much leniency to antisemitic ideas, so there probably is a bit more to it. I'll get to it

Firstly, the straightforward part of it is that there are jews all around the world who absolutely fucking despise israel and its genocidal project, so even saying "Israel doesn't represent jews" is too mild. Israel actively denies citizenship to ethiopian jews for instance. I think the main thing is to recognise it for what it is - an outpost of imperialist white supremacy in the Middle East - and to recognise Zionism as a primarily American and imperial core phenomenon rather than a jewish one.

Once you have those ideas down it's pretty easy to separate it out because assuming that any jewish person or org supports Israel just because they're jewish is clearly antisemitic. But here's the rub, Israel uses jewish identity as a shield to justify its actions. At the same time that there are illegal settlers literally giving interviews saying "I describe myself as a fascist" the Israeli state claims that Hamas reads Mein Kampf and that Palestinians are literal Nazis. Not only that but Israeli statesmen use references to things like Amalek to signal their genocidal intentions, basically using the cultural references of Judaism to simultaneously hide behind and also attack.

Where I fell into something antisemitic was when I found out about the IDF cumjacker squad, the guys who go out to get the semen of Israel's fallen dead. the Jizzrael Defence Force if you will. Someone who was talking about it said that the justification had some kind of origin in the hebrew bible and I parroted this without thinking until a jewish friend pulled me up on it. There was no source and there was frankly no reason to repeat it even if it had been true, right? but I got carried away. The reality is that the cumjacker battalion exists for the same reason as sterilisation & organ harvesting programs, because Israel is a Starship-Troopers-Ass fascist nightmare state that sees the bodies of the pure and good as essential to the domination of the future and the bodies of the impure and wrong as wretched at worse and resources at best.

How I think we can avoid the trap of sharing these rhetorical points is by remembering what Israel's relationship to judaism is, which is primarily as a shield. "Shoot and Cry" is the phrase to remember. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said "We can forgive them for killing our children but we can never forgive them for making us kill theirs". This bogus remorse over their genocide of palestinians (because they understand genocide because of the holocaust, see?) and constant preemptive counterattack (Amalek attacked Israel first, see) is the place where Israel touches base with jewish identity, but if you can't see any benefit to Israel's strategy in association with jewish identity, it's likely someone is just trying to say The Jews instead of Israel or repeating the talking point of someone who is.

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sixminutestoriesblog · 7 months

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Friday the 13th

I wouldn't be much of a blog about folklore and superstition if I didn't take Friday the 13th into account, now would I? I also wouldn't be much of a tumblr blog if I didn't acknowledge one of tumblr's mini-holidays. So what makes Friday, especially the 13th one, so special and just how did it all get started?

Let's start with the number 13 since that's fish in a barrel. Or is it? For instance a lot of us were always taught that the number thirteen was considered unlucky because that's the number of disciples that sat down with Jesus for his Last Supper and obviously that didn't end well. In fact, in Victorian times, having thirteen dinner guests was believed to be courting death for you or someone else at the table.

On an interesting aside note, there was apparently a club in the late 1800s, started by a man named William Fowler that used to meet for dinner on the 13th night of every month to sit down to a thirteen course meal in room number 13 of the club Fowler owned. After they walked underneath a ladder to get to the table of course. Four US presidents, including our hearty Teddy R, were members at one time or another. The club was simply called, what else? The Thirteen Club.

There might be more to the number thirteen's public image than just a divine dinner gone horribly wrong however. Or - more than one divine dinner gone horribly wrong. Tradition has it that in Norse mythology, Loki became the thirteenth dinner guest to show up at the feast where he would then go on to trick Baldr's blind brother Hodr into killing him. Baldr's death was seen as the beginning of the end for the Norse gods.

Thirteen is also the victim of being the sibling immediately following the 'golden child' of numbers, 12. In some circles, the number 12 is considered the perfect number. There were 12 loyal disciples of Jesus, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules and 12 months in a year. What can you be after following such sheer popularity but unpopular?

The Code of Hammurabi, the oldest recorded set of laws, skips law number 13. Most historians chalk that up to clerical error but its enough to make others speculate.

Friday though is usually seen as a good thing, at least in our modern world where it marks the last day of work before a weekend of freedom for both workers and school children. There's even a chain restaurant named TGIF, the positivity associated with Friday is so ingrained. Friday, going back to our Norse myths, was also considered 'Frigga's day', an extremely lucky day to get married on since it was the day dedicated to the goddess of homes and families. By itself, Friday seems a perfectly fine day, even one with good associations.

Slip it back just a bit however and we're right back to the Last Supper and the subsequent 'Good Friday' and a crucifixion. Friday's bad timing doesn't stop there either. In some Christian traditions, Friday is also the day that Adam and Eve ate the fruit that got them booted from Eden; its the day that Cain killed Abel; its the first day of Noah's flood and its also the day the Temple of Solomon fell. None of those have actual dates in the Bible, much less weekdays assigned to them, but the tradition persists. By itself, Friday might squeak by but when you add a 13 on the end, suddenly its not getting off so easily anymore.

What might have helped seal the deal about Friday the 13th, in at least the European conscious , happened in 1307, when King Philip IV of France had the Knights Templar, one of the most powerful, wide-spread and well-known military organizations of the time, rounded up, tortured and put to death. The date? October the 13th.

It was a Friday.

#friday the 13th #superstition #good luck #bad luck #norse mythology #christianity #friday #happy friday the 13th #knights templar

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theprinceofpeacesposts · 5 days

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Be still and trust God

"For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not," Isa 30:15 SUV

In this world, which is characterized by chaos, conflict, and uncertainty, the concept of strength is often associated with power, might, and military prowess. However, the scriptures offer a different perspective on where true strength is found. It is not in human strategies or military power but rather in quietness and trust in God.

The word of God today delivers a powerful message emphasizing that our salvation and strength lie not in our own abilities or alliances but in quietness and trust in our God. This verse encapsulates a profound truth that resonates throughout the Bible: God's strength is made perfect in our weakness, and true power is found in surrendering to His will.

Quietness, as described in this verse, goes beyond mere silence. It suggests a state of inner peace, calmness, and tranquility—a heart undisturbed by the storms of life. It is a posture of surrender, where one relinquishes control and allows God to take the reins. In Psalm 46:10, the Bible says, "Be still, and know that I am God." This stillness is not passive but an active choice to trust in God's sovereignty despite the circumstances.

Furthermore, quietness is closely intertwined with trust. Trust involves a deep reliance on God's faithfulness and promises. It requires us to let go of our fears, worries, and anxieties and place our confidence entirely in Him. The word of God in Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Trusting in God acknowledges His wisdom and goodness, even when we cannot see the way ahead.

The Bible is replete with examples of individuals who found strength in quietness and trust. David, facing the giant Goliath, declared, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer" (Psalm 18:2). His confidence was not in his own strength but in God's power to deliver him. Also, when the Israelites stood at the edge of the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army closing in, Moses told them, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14).

Even in the New Testament, Jesus exemplified quietness and trust in the midst of adversity. In the Garden of Gethsemane, facing the agony of the cross, He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus' surrender to the Father's will demonstrated the ultimate act of trust and paved the way for our salvation.

Your true strength is not found in your strategies but in quietness and in trusting God. As you navigate through the challenges of life, may God help you to follow the example of those who have gone before us, finding your strength in surrendering to His will and trusting in His unfailing love.

Prayer: Father, you know my heart, I pray to you, help me to rely on you and to trust you always. I surrender to your Holy Spirit, so He May Guide me in Life. Through all life’s challenges and troubles, I keep my trust in you. I know you are with me to lead me in the way I should go, and you are fighting my battles. Amen

#devotional #spirituality #christian faith #biblequotes #bible reflection #christian inspiration #bibleverse #god #believe #christian tumblr

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cyberdragoninfinity · 2 months

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so in case anyone was curious, this illustration is largely based on several stained glass portraits of St. Michael the Archangel slaying Lucifer (in kickass dragon form,) but especially this one (a 19th century window from Calvados, France)

A.) i Love angels in stained glass especially when the colors go crazy, this isnt the first time I've invoked them with art of Aporia and the Three Nobles, but more important B.) one day I will go off more about Aporia's angel symbolism in general but for now I gotta talk about Primo's, I gotta.

His Archangel Michael parallels make my brain spin around So fast--the Nobels are definitely supposed to effectively be robotic angels, messengers of the Apocalypse and God's (Z-one's) plan to fix the future. Primo sees himself as a loyal extension of Z-one's will, an agent of vicious justice, the 'commander' of his Ghost army. He's the android gijinka of Aporia's young adult war trauma. He's uhhh technically not alive! Meanwhile, Michael the angel is the leader of God's holy army, a military commander... and in Catholicism he's also the patron saint of death and soldiers. :^) (and. cops. cringe.) (though the Three Nobles were the heads of Sector Security for a While, huh.....) (it goes so deep it doesnt stop)

And there's the sword, of course, Michael is The angel most often depicted with a sword (sometimes a 'normal' blade, sometimes on fire, sometimes it's a spear, etc etc,) it's a spiritual weapon associated with him, created by God. And oh hey Primo what's that you got there....

Haha Ok Cool Man 👍 Sick Godsword

In the Bible it's Michael who leads the charge against Lucifer and his army of fallen angels in the battle of heaven and hell, and it's very specifically mentioned Lucifer takes on the form of a dragon during this epic clash. *the dog is, in fact, taking out the Book of Revelations*

so DEEPEST APOLOGIES TO STARDUST MY FRIEND STARDUST DRAGON for making her representative of the Literal Devil in that illustration; though, from Iliaster's point of view, perhaps of course Stardust WOULD be their draconic devil stand-in, the ace monster of Yusei, the dominant roadblock to their plans, the (you could perhaps argue) counterpart of their God's image. To Primo especially he has it Aggressively out for Stardust throughout his entire psychological obsession with Yusei. He Wants to Slay That Dragon So Bad, He Wants It as a Trophy On His Wall.

Michael also gets described and depicted very knight like in religious art and discussions, he is frequently armored; Primo also has a lot of knightly vibes imo, design and narrative wise. (And of course so does Sherry...interestingly, Sherry actually ALSO has a lot of parallels with St. Michael, including the fact she takes part in the fight against Primo's duel bot army (y'know...the Diablo :^) and a lot of her Joan of Arc invocations as a character) (that's a story for another post though) (Trey from Zexal ALSO has St. Michael parallels too imo) (but again, that's it's whole other post.) (yugioh LOVES religious symbolism like a bear loves salmon.)

it's just a very neat motif weaved throughout Primo's character!! His attitude is notoriously pretty shitty and difficult to put up with, but at his core he seems himself as a defender of sorts. God's sword. This is the path that will save the future. Tangentially, take this Alleluia verse about St. Michael:

"dreadful judgement," huh? Like... a Judgement Day? A world in peril and needing saving? Wonder who else has something to say about that and is very tunnel-vision obsessed with the notion of being the one alone to grant this safeguard...

ah :)

#ygo posting #primo 5ds #placido #dana's ygo bible study #long post /#will reblog the art itself and point out some little details too methinks....#iliasterliker9000

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bignickrgxa2 · 1 year

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I have some random Magnus Protocol t shirt Thoughts

Obviously the Latin means: We Shall Not Waver. A quick Google and a scan of the results seems, to reference both a speech made by George W Bush about military strikes on Al Qaeda camps (probably not that...), and also the Bible verse Romans 4:20 (nice):

"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded."

Fun, could be interpreted as avatars being strong in their faith gave glory to their entities? An unwavering belief in a process, be that Jonah Magnus and his devotion to an entity, or as the institutes dedication to it's quest to learn and study and archive the esoteric and supernatural. Or not. Idk. Thoughts though innit.

The references specifically to Romans don't stop there. What little we can see of the logo so far, shows a Laurel Wreath. The laurel wreath signifies military conquest, as far back as Grecian times, but obviously co-opted by the Romans, as a sign of empirical victory.

The blood, obviously means a lot of different things in Magnus, but is probably most closely associated with The Slaughter. Probably nothing, But there's a lot of references to military victory and war in general here already.

The biggest symbolic difference between the two so far, to me at least, that both the Eye and the Owl are missing, so far. Of course the new logo itself could be an eye. There's certainly the possibility of an eye shape if you look at the "blood splatters" that aren't in the central area? But it's absolutely unclear.

There's not much else to really point out so far, there is a potential upside down crucifix on the bottom right of whatever Coat of Arms is featured in the logo. There are also some letters that seemingly spell "O/G/C. blank. A. F", which, I mean, that's basically nothing. To me at least.

So yeah. Maggy Narchive thoughts 👍👍👍

#magnus archives #the magnus archives #the magnus protocol #tma #tma season 4 #tma season 5 #rusty quill tma #the magnus universe #magnuspod #magnus scrotocol #jonathan sims

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mariacallous · 9 months

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Kaplan Street is one of the main thoroughfares leading into and out of Tel Aviv. It was built along the outline of a German Templar colony, whose pro-Nazi descendants were expelled from British Mandate Palestine during World War II. During the 1960s and 70s, it was filled with Israeli governmental and cultural institutions, such as the Jewish Agency and the Israel Journalists Association. These days, Kaplan is the street where, every Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis protest the attempted judicial coup led by the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Contrary to the common version in the global press, the protesters are not only the scions of the old, privileged establishment. Those gathering on Kaplan are a big tent, including both the financially comfortable and the struggling. While some of the protest movement leaders are military elites or tech moguls, many others are not. The most vulnerable of them are set to become the main casualties of Netanyahu’s judicial coup. That’s because their children, who study in the public school system, may witness its slow collapse due to funds being redirected to the religious and ultra-Orthodox institutions.

Their kids, who—unlike most ultra-Orthodox Jews—serve a full term in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), will sit idle at home because in Israel, there is no public transport on the Sabbath. Single mothers will have their state support reduced in favor of ultra-Orthodox families with multiple children. People who live in peripheral areas will have to struggle against an ultra-Orthodox takeover of their towns. The first step will be a political takeover of the municipalities, followed by massive benefits to the ultra-Orthodox population. According to reports, this process is already happening in cities such as Tiberias, Safed, Arad, and Mitzpe Ramon.

They are Jews, Palestinians, men, women, native Israelis, and immigrants who arrived from developing countries via the Law of Return. The common denominator for all of them is the struggle against turning into a so-called donkey.

In Jewish tradition, the Messiah’s Donkey refers to the donkey upon which the Messiah will arrive at the end of days. In Israel, the phrase refers to the doctrine ascribed to the teachings of Abraham Isaac Kook: The secular Jews, who represent the material world, are an instrument in the hands of God whose purpose was to establish the state of Israel and begin the process of redemption. Upon Israel’s establishment, the secular Jews would be required to step aside and allow the religious to govern the state.

Kook, who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine from what is now Latvia in 1904, is considered one of the spiritual fathers of religious Zionism. According to him, the Zionist enterprise was a new historical development of the era of redemption. Nevertheless, Kook was terrified of secularism. He believed that secular education had “sinned greatly against the spirit of Israel” and represented “the beginning of the decay and the basis of all bad assimilation.” Kook sought to settle the contradiction. The secular Zionists, he wrote, are allowed to be the bricks of the building of redemption, “but when the secret of the righteous is to be revealed,” it would be easy to differentiate “between God’s servants and those who are not.”

Unlike Kook, Israel’s founder David Ben-Gurion was an atheist. He came from a religious background and respected Jewish heritage. At the end of the 1950s, a Bible study group gathered in his house, and the prophets were his favorite biblical characters. Nevertheless, Ben-Gurion did not attend synagogue and used to travel on the Sabbath. He made compromises with ultra-Orthodox parties only because of political constraints. It turned out to be a disaster for secular Israelis.

Kook’s prediction is about to come true, with one difference: Israel will not be a theocracy. It will be a country using religious law to allow profound corruption. In the past six months, there have been many reports on improper political appointments within the Likud party and its religious partners. Some of the coalition members have past criminal convictions, and there are reports of improper past conduct by others. And the country’s transformation into a corrupt religious state won’t only strengthen its ideological rivals—Israel is also a potential international drug trade route; such a shift may boost organized crime.

Over the next decade, the government plans to increase the budget of ultra-Orthodox educational institutions by 40 percent. This will make Israel the first country in the developed world that incentivizes schools that barely teach core subjects such as math, science, and English. The governmental supervision of ultra-Orthodox schools is weak, leaving vague information available about their curriculum. But according to sources in the education ministry, these schools teach primarily religious topics: the Talmud, Mishna, and Torah.

English, math, and even Hebrew are studied at an elementary level. In addition, more than $600 million of the coalition budget will be dedicated to empowering Jewish identity among students in the state education system, IDF soldiers, university students, and residents of secular and liberal cities. Aryeh Deri, the head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a convicted tax evader and one of the most powerful politicians in the coalition, plans a series of laws that might allow the ultra-Orthodox to take over secular towns politically.

Meanwhile, secular Israelis will pay six times more in taxes than the ultra-Orthodox, who constitute only 8 percent of the Israeli workforce. Their children will be obligated, as they are today, to serve a full term in the army (three years for men and two for women), while so-called national-religious men can serve in the army for a reduced term and most ultra-Orthodox are exempt.

Despite these facts, since the country’s founding, the secular population has been deprived of some basic liberties. This is because Israel has never created a constitution separating church and state. As a result, among other things, the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate holds a monopoly on marriage, which forces many secular Israelis to get married in other countries, or even online. Israel has no formal public transportation on Saturdays, which strands the millions of residents who don’t own a car.

“The liberals are beginning to realize that they will be used as the donkey up to the moment Israel is subjected to religious law,” said Yair Nehorai, a lawyer and the author of The Third Revolution, a book documenting the teachings of the rabbinic mentors of the messianic movement. “But this realization,” he noted, “is too difficult.”

“They will no longer be the majority in the country within a few decades, and they will have to say: This is not my country,” Nehorai said.

The idea of dividing Israel into cantons, which for years has been received with mockery due to the country’s small size and security challenges, has been gaining more and more traction over the past few months, and liberals are angrily calling to separate “Israel” from “Judea.” For some, Judea means the occupied territories. For others, Judea represents all ultra-Orthodox and messianic Jews, whether they live in Bnei Brak (in Israel proper) or Hebron (in the West Bank).

Sagi Elbaz, the author of Emergency Exit: From Tribalism to Federation, the Road to Healing Israeli Society, told me that these cantons will begin with the liberal Israeli cities. “A secular rebellion manifested itself, for example, when the municipalities of Tel Aviv and several other liberal cities launched a network of bus routes that operate on the Sabbath,” he explained.

Until recently, Kaplan Street appeared to welcome protesters of all stripes. Next to No. 8, where the offices of the tech company Fiverr are located, CEO Micha Kaufman hands out free water bottles. Not far from Kaplan 17-19 stand the protesters of the “Anti-Occupation Bloc,” forcing passers-by to acknowledge the elephant in the room with signs such as “No Democracy with Occupation.” Kaplan 22 looks like the mother base of “Women Building an Alternative,” whose photos dressed as handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel A Handmaid’s Tale have gained worldwide publicity. Next to them are the members of “The Pink Front,” who have ironically swapped the Israeli blue-and-white flag for a pink-and-white one.

At the end of Kaplan and on the adjacent Namir Street, you can find the unironic blue-and-white. And khaki. This is the center of activity for “Brothers in Arms—Warriors Journeying to Save Democracy,” a grassroots umbrella organization that includes several reservist groups.

Israeli researchers have often noted that, compared to developed Western countries, Israel struggles with establishing a free and open civil society, as the Israelis are attached at the hip to their army. Despite this, the veterans demonstrating on Kaplan are not all the same: Some served in the special forces. Others spent three unremarkable years, mostly killing time. Some veterans abused their power over the Palestinians. Others were discharged with physical and mental scars.

Some believe that serving in the occupied territories is a critical security goal. Others feel that they were forced to go there, but never came out in public to say so. Some of them committed acts of heroism. A few others proved their heroism by refusing to commit acts that they have deemed immoral.

Brothers in Arms, the embodiment of the liberal side of the “People’s Army,” has the most leverage of any group in the Israeli protest movement. Now, with the coalition resuming its legislative blitz, special forces veterans have declared that hundreds of them will stop volunteering for reserve duty. The number of objectors is rising. Former directors of special intelligence operations have warned that units across the IDF, the Shin Bet and Mossad are angry and in a state of unrest.

Reserve Col. Ronen Koehler, one of the Brothers in Arms coordinators, told Foreign Policy that until mid-March, “we were just another activist group.” But in the time since, “we received a flood of phone calls from reservists who were expecting us to tell them what to do about their service.” There were questions from high-ranking commanders who have an in-depth understanding of Israel’s strategic infrastructure: What if you are ordered to shoot in a way you were never ordered to before, and you are experienced enough to know that you shouldn’t do it? What happens if a submarine crew is not sure that the person who sent them to sea is trustworthy?

“The flood of phone calls made us realize that something bigger than our protest activities was happening here,” said Koehler, who served as a submarine captain and is a former vice president at Checkpoint, a U.S.-Israeli hardware and software products company.

The government reached the same realization. A secret report that was submitted to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant caused a temporary halt of the judicial coup at the end of February, but it has now resumed with the passage of a law limiting judicial review on Monday—sparking even larger protests.

As successful as the protests have been, liberal civil society and the army veterans struggle to see eye to eye. For various reasons, some practical (to attract right-wing voters) and some ideological, the occupation is barely mentioned in speeches along the Kaplan encampment, and the number of Palestinian-Israelis joining the protests is low.

Recently, the Anti-Occupation Bloc, which usually demonstrates far from the main stage, decided to pass through the main avenue. The protesters carried a massive sign reading: “We Must Resist Settler Terror.” Some of the Brothers in Arms tried to forcefully remove the sign. After a time, they published a half-hearted apology, and a few days later, they met with Anti-Occupation Bloc representatives to settle matters peacefully.

Some protest participants hate each other, while others love each other. Some are caught in love-hate relationships. “We should be glad about the greatest achievement we got: the creation of a new kind of centrist identity,” Koehler said. “This center includes various shades, from the capitalist, hawkish right that believed in Netanyahu so far but not anymore, through the liberal center and up to the social-democratic left.”

“The protest doesn’t have intrinsic content yet,” Nehorai admitted. “But when a serving coalition is acting in a frenzy, it makes us feel, every minute of every day, that we are connected. The liberal camp is a country that is just being formed.”

All Israelis are facing legislation that will grant unlimited power to anyone the government chooses; they could be white-collar criminals, rehabilitated members of organized crime families, cocaine addicts, or messianic fundamentalists.

A growing number of Israeli liberals, especially younger ones, will soon start negotiating the cargo loaded on their backs, the identity of the hand holding the reins, and the direction of travel. And ultimately, they will refuse to continue being used as donkeys.

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fantasyinvader · 5 months

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Thinking about it some more.

Naming the scene where the cast pledges to follow Edelgard and fight the church "Path of Thorns" is ultimately putting a judgement call on the route. Thorns represent sin, meaning an offense against morality or religion, an action that is reprehensible or an often serious shortcoming. Like hadou, it does not have positive connotations. Path of Thorns, in particular, refers to a verse in the Bible about how such a path is the path of a sluggard, or lazy person, while the path of the righteous is a clear highway.

The path the game wants the player to take is them fighting Edelgard, while the player is also tasked with guiding their students. The options that unlock Safflower goes against this. The first option is the player dropping their duties as a teacher for a week in order to accompany Edelgard to Enbarr at her request. The second is siding with her after the Holy Tomb, where she tasked her soldiers with killing your students if they got in her way. You've put Edelgard above your other students, selecting the options that are presented as changing the story, and as a result lead them into joining her.

You didn't do your job, hence the Path of Thorns. You've committed sin in the eyes of the game. Likewise, you've prevented your students from fighting Edelgard and her hadou. Hadou, where the people are supposed to rise up and overthrow such a leader. Instead, the BE's enable her and are called the true face of the Empire.

But if you think about it, this also puts Byleth on a similar level to the lords and the themes of responsibility.

Edelgard seeks power, but hates the duties and responsibilities that come with it. She wants to get rid of those duties and responsibilities as well as the institution that promotes them, all while increasing her own power. She would hate Spider-man.

Dimitri accepts his duties, but has the wrong idea about what they mean. After he learns to live for himself and the people present rather than the dead, he realizes he doesn't want to do those things because they're expected of him. Performing his duties as a good king to his people is what he actually wants.

Claude, in the Japanese script, is just learning that nobles have duties after moving to Fodlan. This concept is seemingly alien to him, and in Hopes he rejects it and pushes for the absolution of the Church as a result. But in Houses, he learns from Fodlan and brings parts of it's culture back to Almyra to enact change there. outright says he'll put an end to Edelgard hadou/military rule, while the Japanese makes out that while they both are against the Church initially their ideals/goals are not the same. Not to mention in Hopes when he betrays Edelgard after talking to Byleth/Sothis, he points out how the Alliance joined out of duress and as he fights he talks about protecting the Alliance. Even asks Lorenz to look after it if things go wrong for him. Claude may not join the Church or Kingdom, but he becomes the hero in this path only to be defeated for it. He accepts whatever Sothis told him and opposed Edelgard's Agarthan-inspired outlook.

And that's not even going into the fact Edelgard is brandishing a weapon with the Crest of the Beast on it linking her to the devil arcana, uses demonic beasts as war assets, opposes the Goddess and her children for the sake of those living underneath the Earth's surface who are associated with snakes/serpents and have a history of tempting people away from what the Church teaches. Combine this with Claude's arc and his solution to the path of thorns, getting rid of the thorns (Edelgard and Hubert) while joking about wearing boots, and it's pretty clear.

If you have any understanding of Christian symbolism, the game is telling you Edelgard is the villain just like it does if you have understanding of Buddhist symbols.

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monarch-afterdark · 20 hours

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Titan History: The Awakened Gods

Welcome once again to Monarch: After Dark, the digital gateway between you and the organisation dedicated to understanding and navigating this troubled new world we live in.

For today's communication, we embark on the undertaking of rounding off the remaining handful of Titans known to have been awakened by Monster Zero in 2019. Currently, the Monarch database does not hold enough information on each Titan to warrant giving them their own entries, whether due to digital sabotage, loss of data amid containment breaches, or some other cause.

If more data does resurface, we will act accordingly and revisit these Titans as is relevant, but for now, let us round off the remaining Awakened Gods.

(Pictured above: Part of a global Titan map, containing the locations of outposts and the name of the Titan they are studying)

This list will be compiled based on numerical order of Monarch outposts.

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Titanus Leviathan

(Pictured above: Infamous 1933 photo of the Loch Ness Monster, possibly the first notable sighting of Leviathan)

Formerly contained within Outpost 49, Leviathan was found within Loch Ness, Scotland by Monarch. This Titan gets its name from the aquatic counterpart to Titanus Behemoth from the Hebrew Bible.

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Titanus Quetzalcoatl

(Pictured above: A stone carving of Quetzalcoatl, found on a temple in Teotihuacan, Mexico)

Formerly contained within Outpost 57, Quetzalcoatl was found within Machu Piccu, Peru. This Titan gets it name from a feathered Aztec serpent god.

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Titanus Sekhmet

(Pictured above: Depiction of Sekhmet in ancient Egyptian artwork)

Formerly contained in Outpost 65, Sekhmet was found in Cairo, Egypt. This Titan gets its name from the Egyptian goddess of medicine.

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Titanus Baphomet

(Pictured above: A statue of Baphomet flanked by two children, unveiled at the Satanic Temple in 2015)

Formerly contained in Outpost 68, Baphomet was found in Volubilis, Morocco. This Titan got its name from a perversion of the name of the prophet Mohammed, later associated with a goat-like diety in the 19th Century with ties to Satan.

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Titanus Mokele-Mbembe

(Pictured above: Recovered footage from Outpost 75, showing Mokele-Mbembe's escape obscured by smoke, circa. 2019)

Titanus Mokele-Mbembe, formerly contained in Outpost 75, in Jebel Barkal, Sudan, got its name from a water-dwelling diety in the Congo River Basin, later becoming popularly depicted as a sauropod-like cryptid in the 20th Century.

In reality, the Titan is a massive quadrupedal beast with a snake-like tail, a head much like a hairless elephant, with jaws that open like a crocodile's, a horn atop its head that glows a faded green, and downward-facing tusks.

When Monster Zero awoke the world's Titans, the director of Outpost 75, Dr. Kearns, refused to kill the Titan under the belief that the military just wanted an excuse to kill the Titans. Mokele-Mbembe killed most of the outpost's staff upon its escape, pulling some into its mouth with its trunk. Upon reaching the surface, Mokele-Mbembe battled Monarch forces and the Egyptian military before being pacified by the ORCA.

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Titanus Abbadon

(Pictured above: Artistic depiction of Abbadon battling Christian, from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan)

Formerly contained in Outpost 77, Abbadon was found in the Devil's Tower, Wyoming. This Titan got its name from a place of destruction, the 'sister location' to Hell (Sheol), a name later used for an angel who commanded an army of locusts in the Book of Revelations.

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Titanus Yamata no Orochi

(Pictured above: A woodblock print of the storm god Susanoo slaying Yamata no Orochi, by Toyohara Chikanobou)

Formerly contained within Outpost 91, Yamata no Orochi was found by Monarch in Mount Fuji, Japan. This Titan gets its name from an 8-headed serpent from Japanese mythology.

While the only current footage relating to Yamata no Orochi shows its outpost collapsing from the Titan's escape, it is known that the Titan had attacked a cruise ship in Japanese waters before being pacified by the ORCA. The Titan has been reported by one account to also have multiple heads.

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Titanus Typhon

(Pictured above: Depiction of Zeus aiming a thunderbolt at Typhon, upon a black-figured hydria, circa. 540-530 BC)

Formerly contained within Outpost 92, Typhon was found within Angkor Watt, Cambodia. This Titan gets its name from a serpentine giant from Greek mythology, the father of monsters.

A member of Monarch's primary mythology department, Greg Keyes, had lost vital information regarding Typhon during the Titan's awakening in 2019. To this day, he still working to retrieve this data from a corrupted database.

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Titanus Bunyip

(Pictured above: Artistic depiction of Bunyip in 1935, by Gerald Markham Lewis)

Formerly contained in Outpost 99, Bunyip was found by Monarch within Uluru (Ayer's Rock), Australia. This Titan gets its name from a swamp-dwelling creature in South Australian aboriginal folklore.

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And there you go! We apologise for being unable to provide much more information on these Titans, but rest assured we are hard at work scouring our databases and working to recover what we can so that we can provide more detailed accounts in future.

Until next time,

Monarch: After Dark

#monarch #monarch after dark #monsterverse #godzilla king of the monsters #godzilla kotm #godzilla 2019 #leviathan #loch ness monster #cryptids #quetzalcoatl #sekhmet #baphomet #mokele-mbembe #abbadon #yamata no orochi #orochi #typhon #bunyip

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 7 months

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Not My Will, But Yours

42 “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. — Luke 22:42-43 | Modern English Version (MEV) The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. Cross References: Matthew 6:10; Matthew 11:25-26; Matthew 20:22; Matthew 26:39; Matthew 26:42; Luke 23:34

#Jesus #praying #strength #Mount of Olives #angel #Luke 22:42-43 #Gospel of Luke #New Testament #MEV #Modern English Version Bible #Military Bible Association #Charisma House

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edwardian-girl-next-door · 7 months

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Feast Day: Michaelmas, or St. Michael and All the Angels

"The Three Archangels and Tobias" by Francesco Botticini (1470). Michael is on the far left, wearing some snazzy armour (via wikimedia commons)

Happy Michaelmas!

Michaelmas celebrates the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael; and in Anglican and Episcopalian tradition includes two other angels from apocryphal (not in Biblical canon) texts named Uriel and Jerahmeel. However, as the name suggests, most of the day is about Michael. Regarded as the warrior who drove Satan out of heaven, Michael is associated strongly with protection and military might. He is the patron saint of police officers, warriors, the sick, mariners, against lightning and windstorms, and of many places including France, Germany, Vatican City, and Ukraine and its capital Kyiv.

Michaelmas was one of the major observed saint's days in mediaeval and early modern England, Scotland, and Ireland. Keep reading to find learn about how the Devil was yeeted from heaven, if you're going to get married soon, and why you shouldn't eat blackberries after October 10th.

History

As an angel, Michael doesn't have a 'life', per se, but he is well-known and venerated in a variety of Abrahamic religions. The earliest recorded mention of his is from the Book of Enoch, a Hebrew apocalyptic text from the 3rd century BCE. The Book of Enoch contains other bits of juicy information on the origin of demons, moral justification for the great flood in Genesis, why some angels fell from heaven, and a prophecy for the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. Though it is not accepted as canon in Christian and Jewish traditions, it provides extra scholarship on canon occurrences and apocryphal traditions. Michael is not given an introduction by the Book of Enoch, implying that readers would already be familiar with him, and his legend may date back much farther. He is mentioned in the Book of Daniel, which is included in the Christian Old Testament and is one of the Jewish Talmudic writings. The Quran and Hadīth also acknowledge Michael as an archangel (often spelled Mika'il).

In the Christian Bible, Michael is explicitly mentioned in Jude 9, Daniel 7, and Revelation 12:7-12. This last passage is the most famous, and depicts Michael doing battle with the Devil and driving him out of heaven. As a result, he has very militaristic associations, often portrayed as the leader of the armies of God in the warfare between Heaven and Hell, good and evil. In the mediaeval and early modern world, people lived with these images and concepts in their everyday lives. Vivid depictions of the Last Judgement, or the end of the world, adorned church walls -- they make up a whole genre, called "doom paintings", and were often on the west wall of the church, which was most visible to the congregation. They sent powerful, unmistakable messages to those who could not read or understand the Latin service. In addition, many people lived with firsthand experiences with brutal, real world conflict; and the power of the church in law and society created overwhelming preoccupation with the afterlife. We have only to look to paintings like Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights of Hans Memling's The Last Judgement to see what nightmare fuel people truly believed in and feared. Michael was therefore an important protector figure in a serious battle against the forces of evil -- the OG Satanic Panic, 24/7.

"The Last Judgement" by Hans Memling (c.1466-1473). The right panel depicts heaven, the left panel depicts hell, and the middle panel depicts the judgement process, with Michael weighing souls in the foreground while Jesus looks on. (via wikimedia commons)

Doom painting in Salisbury's Church of St. Thomas a Beckett. Again, Heaven is depicted on the right, and hell is swallowing people on the left. I don't know about you, but seeing this every Sunday as a kid would have given me religious trauma they haven't even discovered yet. (via seeingthepast.com)

A little bit about the other angels commemorated: Gabriel is responsible for announcing God's will to humanity, and communicates the birth of Jesus to Mary and of John the Baptist to her sister Elizabeth, respectively. Raphael is not mentioned in the Bible, but tradition identifies him as a healing angel who stirred the waters at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-4). Uriel is also not mentioned in the Bible, but is in texts recognised as apocryphal by the Roman Catholic Church, and is also a figure in folk Catholicism. He is usually depicted as a cherub, representing repentance and holding the keys to Hell. Jerahmeel is mentioned in texts recognised as apocryphal by the Anglican Communion, and serves as a gatekeeper to Heaven with St. Peter and guides souls on their journey to the afterlife. All around pretty metal stuff.

Michaelmas and its Traditions

As Michael served as a benevolent force against darkness and evil, his commemoration asked for protection in the cold, long winter nights, where Satan's powers were supposedly more powerful.

Harvest activities, from the glorious Luttrell Psalter (c.1320-1340) (via johnclare.net)

In mediaeval England, Michaelmas marked the start of a new agricultural year, when the harvest ended and people could start preparing for the coming winter. In England, Ireland, and Wales, it was one of the quarter days, or four days during which major legal business was settled. Contracts for would begin or expire, rents and taxes were collected, school terms would start, &c. Hiring fairs were held around Michaelmas for labourers and servants looking for work. On manors, a "reeve" or estate manager would be chosen from among the peasants. Following this custom, the Lord Mayor of London is still elected on Michaelmas; and some British and Irish law courts and universities use a "Michaelmas term" to denote an autumn session or semester.

Michaelmas earned the name "Goose Day" from the tradition of eating a roast goose on this holiday. The end of September and beginning of October are naturally when geese were ready for eating, and they were also common fare for celebrations in general. Geese prepared for this time of year were referred to as a stubble-goose or an embling or rucklety goose. Goose fairs proliferated up and down the country, selling geese and other food, as well as providing entertainment. (The Nottingham Goose Fair continues in this tradition, happening around October 3rd every year.) A likely apocryphal legend provides a fun reason behind this tradition: Queen Elizabeth I was eating a goose when she heard of the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and vowed to eat it for Michaelmas. Others followed suit, and thus goose-eating helped ensure financial security for the year to come. Geese were also a great way to bribe your landlord, as including one with your rent might gain you a little more favour. Another fun goose tidbit: if the breast bones of the goose are brown after roasting, the winter will be mild, but if they were white or of a slightly blue hue, the winter will be harsh.

Gathering blackberries after Michaelmas (old style October 10th) was deemed unlucky. Supposedly, when Michael cast Satan out of heaven, Satan landed in a blackberry bush and got tangled in its brambles. Cursing the bush, Satan either spit, stamped, scorched, or peed on it, or a combination of all of those things, making the fruit unfit to eat after that date. Blackberry pies, called Michaelmas pies, were often made to use up the last of the blackberry harvest. In Ireland, bad blackberries are also attributed to púca, a shape-shifting spirit that can bring both good and evil.

Michaelmas bannock with blackberries (via allthehousehold.com)

Scotland and Ireland also have unique celebrations from those in England and Wales. In parts of Scotland, particularly the Hebrides, the eldest daughter of the family baked Sruthan Mhìcheil, or St. Michael's bannock, on the eve of Michaelmas. Sruthan Mhìcheil is a scone-like bread or cake, consisting of equal parts barley, rye, and oats, and without using any metal implements. Some recipes are cooked in lamb skin. As the person making the Sruthan turns it on the fire, they utter a variant of this blessing over it: "Progeny and prosperity of family, Mystery of An Dagda, protection of Bride". There is also a Hebridean blessing which runs: "Là Fhéill Mìcheil nì sinn struthan, Gabhaidh sinn dheth gu cridheil cairdeil, Mar bu choir a bhith" or, in English, "On St Michael’s Day we will make a cake, we will partake of it in a joyful friendly manner, as is proper". Special Sruthans, made in memory of absent loved ones or those who have died, are blessed at Michaelmas mass and given to the poor.

Another Scottish tradition involves carrots, the last of which are supposed to be pulled up on Michaelmas day. Finding a two-pronged carrot is considered extra lucky! There's a Gaelic rhyme for this task, too, which accompanies the carrot pulling: "Torcan torrach, torrach, torrach, Sonas curran còrr orm, Michael mil a bhi dha m’chonuil, Bride gheal dha m’chonradh" or in English, "Cleft fruitful, fruitful, fruitful, Joy of carrots surpassing upon me, Michael the brave endowing me, Bride the fair be aiding me."

I found a good deal of Irish traditions relating to Michaelmas, varying region by region. One legend tells of a king who choked to death on a goose bone and was brought back to life by St. Patrick. In honour of the saint, he ordered goose to be eaten on Michaelmas. In parts of Ireland, geese were given to the poor, and in some regions slaughtered sheep were also thrown in with the donation. Many people took pilgrimages to holy wells associated with Michael to take a drink from the blessed waters. A ring would sometimes me placed in a Michaelmas pie, and the person to find it would be married soon.

Towns often implemented winter curfew on Michaelmas. The church bell would ring at 9pm, once for every day of the month that had passed, to remind everyone to get inside. Curfews usually lasted from Michaelmas (September 29th) to Shrove Tuesday or Lady Day (March 25th), another quarter day. Chertsey in Runnymeade, Surrey, still rings a curfew bell between these dates; their oldest church bell dates from 1380.

Michaelmas dasies (via butterfly-conservation.org)

Michaelmas daisies, or asters, bloom around this time of year, one of the last flowers to bloom before the onset of winter. Some say they represent a final, hearty burst of light before the darkness and barrenness of winter, just like the celebration of Michaelmas. A rhyme says: "The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds, / Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds. / And seems the last of flowers that stood, / Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude." (Sts. Simon and Jude is October 28th).

And of course, no feast day would be complete without a plethora of weather wisdom! Here are a few:

"If Michaelmas bring many acorns, Christmas will cover the fields with snow."

"If the ice is strong enough to bear a man before Michaelmas, it will not bear a goose afterwards." (see Martinmas, November 11th)

"So many days old the moon is on Michaelmas Day, so many floods after."

"If St. Michael bring thunder, rough weather will follow."

Thomas Tusser also advises to pick fruit after Michaelmas if you want it to last the winter.

If You're Still Interested...

Here is a Michaelmas bannock recipe, from the picture above!

Sources

Wikipedia (Michaelmas)

Wikipedia [Michael (archangel)]

agecrofthall.org

projectbritain.com

historic-uk.com

britannica.com

nts.org

A Countryman's Daybook, ed. C. N. French

#feast day series #feast day #michael the archangel #st michael #michaelmas #sainst day #english history #british history #cultural history #history

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xtruss · 9 months

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Argument: Israel’s Protesters Refuse To Be Donkeys

An entire generation is taking to the streets to resist what they see as the rise of a corrupt theocracy.

— By Gitit Ginat | Foreign Policy | July 24th, 2023

Demonstrators block a highway during a protest against the Israeli government's judicial reform plan in Tel Aviv on July 24. Jack Guez/AFP Via Getty Images

“Ben-Gurion’s compromises with ultra-Orthodox parties turned out to be a disaster for secular Israelis.”

“They will no longer be the majority in the country within a few decades, and they will have to say: This is not my country,” Nehorai said.

Israeli security forces use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the entrance of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on July 24. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

“This is the Most Irresponsible Government in the History of Israel.”

“The law could grant unlimited power to white-collar criminals, members of organized crime families, cocaine addicts, or messianic fundamentalists.”

— Gitit Ginat is a Freelance Journalist and a former writer for Haaretz.

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newman-the-newmanite · 10 months

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Why Christianity?

Simply put: Christianity is right.

Slightly More-Complexly put: The ideals presented within the Bible, alongside reasoning of many saints and philosophers are seen to be meet and right to concur with, and to follow religiously(in a literal sense, in this case).

However, it is important to note no matter what, faith will be required to believe. Belief ipso facto requires faith(to different extents).

In the words of the great Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”

Our Lord was around 33 when He was crucified and died. Upon the third day, He Rose again in accordance with scriptures (Mark 16:5-7).

Around the Year of Our Lord (Anno Domini)70 and 95 would the Gospel According to St. Mark be written down. This is still within the lifetime of many of those within the land of Judea, whereas to descent could easily be made.

In opposition to this was Richard Carrier, stating "There are still people today who believe that in 1947 an alien craft crashed and was recovered, along with alien bodies, by the United States government, and that this was subsequently covered up and kept secret."(Carrier, as seen within Pulliam 2010).

However, there is multiple problems with this association between the lack of Christ within the Tomb, and the Roswell Incident, as so has it been called. Firstly: There is indeed disagreement within such. The Military has been stout in debunking this belief, within the Roswell Morning Dispatch, an article almost immediately after was made titled “Army Debunks Roswell Flying Disk as World Simmers with Excitement.” Furthermore, there was many less people directly seeing the objects, than there was Jesus. If they knew Jesus Christ was false, they would have stated such.

An Important figure to note upon such is Josephus. His accounts of Our Lord's Crucifixion can be found in many apologetic circles from days far gone until hitherto this era we see ourselves in.

Many would argue that such accounts are false or altered. Yet, even with people within anti-Christian apologetics, the Crucifixion isn't directly denied.

in order to clarify who Jesus really was. I have placed the sections possibly inserted by the scribe in brackets: At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man [if indeed one should call him a man, for] he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of people who receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. [He was the Messiah.] And when Pilate, be¬ cause of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previ¬ ously did not cease to do so. [For he appeared to them on the third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of these and countless other wondrous things about him.] And up until this very day the tribe of Christians, named after him, has not died out. (Antiquities 18.3.3) 2(Ehrman, 2009, 150).

This shows that the crucifixion isn't something to be denied in the words of Josephus. All the doubt would show is that Josephus did not truly believe in Christian Ideals, which is not something I, or many others, would argue.

This, alongside the prophecies of Isiah 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.(Isiah 53:5) there is much connections to be made, regardless of whether or whether not you believe Christianity is inherently true.

This inherently strikes the Islamic belief of Crucifixion being too humiliatingly for a prophet(especially one of the Highest Prophets) as at the very least, questionable, at most, false.

To these points, atheists might ask: "Why do you believe Christianity? there is multiple religions out there" or state "I am as much of an atheist as you, you just believe one more religion than I"

For the latter: that makes no sense. A married man is as much single as I am; they just have one more spouse than I. ( I hope the ignorance in that statement shone fourth)

For the first: all these reasons put together, plus simplistic reasonings for God (CS Lewis and St. Thomas Aquinas are good ones, alongside St. Augustine of Hippo, and others. )

For those who need 100% proof, let me ask this:

Do you believe in reality? If so, why?

I ask this, because, ultimately, there is no reason to believe your surroundings exist(You can prove you exist in some form through the statement Cogito, Ergo Sum, yet to prove your surroundings exist is impossible).

This is where some form of a leap of faith is required. eventually, all statements and beliefs boil down to a leap of faith(some gaps larger than others, I will grant that).

For myself, there is no separation between the statement "My surroundings are real" to "God is real" in distance of belief. Others, will see it differently, stating seeing their surroundings shows more proof than God; that Video, Ergo Est. However this shows an assumption of the surroundings existing wherein such belief can't be proven, wherein such belief in needing absolutes disavows such. Thus, Saint Thomas Aquinas' belief on faith comes into play, Faith is required to believe anything, as formerly mentioned. To what degree one person restricts faith(Absolute faith, partial faith, reasoning, et cetera) , is a personal choice, one wherein each person must decide for themselves. If you are a Christian struggling with faith, read apologetics, and pray. There is absolutely nothing wrong with questioning faith. There is nothing wrong with wondering if you're wrong. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind on beliefs you held, or will hold. Let this also be kept: I am not claiming I am smarter, better, or more righteous in my stature because I am Christian. Many non-Christians do great deeds. Many of them are better people than I. Most are more schooled than I. That is not the point I'm trying to get across. I am a person with many flaws, and many traits both good and bad. I am human. Yet, if one were to ask: "Why are you Christian?" or "Why Christianity?" these would be the reasons.

Much of this is simplistic answers to a complex situation. Eventually these topics will be discussed in greater depth.

May God Hold You and Bless You.

Go Fourth and Do As God Willeth.

#christianity #theology #apologetics #episcopalian #anglican #saints #anglo catholic #catholicism #catholic

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 10 months

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Sun Myung Moon, anti-communism and the Japanese far right (1974)

▲ In 1974 Sun Myung Moon spent $350,000 on radio, TV, and other advertising to promote a major evangelical rally at Madison Square Garden to stimulate new support in the East. The event was held September 18 and attracted a large crowd of curious onlookers, hostile fundamentalists, leftist demonstrators, policemen, and atheists.

an extract from Korean Evangelism (1974)

The full article is available on WIOTM here:

https://whatisonthemoon.tumblr.com/post/720614563491561472/korean-evangelism-1974

... Reverend Sun Myung Moon, achieve notoriety when he announced last year in full page newspaper advertisements across the United States that President Nixon had been put into office by God and could be removed only by His will. Sun Myung Moon’s National Prayer and Fast Committee stuck by Nixon to the bitter end. (Thus did Moon inevitably meet Rabbi Korff, who then obligingly spoke before a Moon-affiliated organization on “The Fact of Communism and America’s Future.”10  

The Reverend Moon is a new phenomenon in America, but not in Asia where his following now totals nearly a million people, concentrated in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Moon found his calling back in 1936 when Jesus Christ approached him on a mountainside and asked him to devote himself to God’s service as an evangelist. Moon waited until 1954, however, before organizing a new world religion, the Genri Undo, or Unification Church, formerly called the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. (Detractors claim he got off to a slow start because of three arrests for sexual offenses. [1946, 1948 and 1955]) 11  

Despite his wide following in Asia, and his whirlwind American tour last year, Moon has not attracted a wide following in the United States, where he can claim only about 25,000 supporters. Now that he can no longer lead the campaign to save President Nixon, Sun Myung Moon has fallen back on more traditional approaches. Recently he spent $350,000 on radio, TV, and other advertising to promote a major evangelical rally at Madison Square Garden to stimulate new support in the East. The event was held September 18 and attracted a large crowd of curious onlookers, hostile fundamentalists, leftist demonstrators, policemen, and atheists.12  

Once described as a “Korean-style Elmer Gantry” but preferring the title, “God’s Hope for America,” the Reverend Moon preaches about the many dangers of communism along with his personal interpretations of the Bible. One Japanese source describes his movement as “less a religion than an anti-communist front group.” Rabbi Mark Tannenbaum of the American Jewish Committee observes that “Moon seems to be exploiting the emotional power of religion in order to indoctrinate his anti-communist ideology. The tragedy is that so many young people respond to this emotional appeal.” And he has predictably drawn fire from concerned clergymen, in the words of one, for his “seemingly cozy relationships with the dictatorial Park Chung Hee regime in South Korea.” In reply to these charges a Moon spokesman insists, “Many religions acknowledge the threat of Communism.”13

  Sun Myung Moon can afford to lavishly finance his propaganda activities. Time estimated his personal fortune at $15 million, derived from investments in a tea company, titanium mines, retreat ranches, pharmaceutical firms, and shot gun manufacturers. Recently his Unification Church purchased several estates and an old seminary in New York for about $3 million. The question remains: is this vast international effort just a personal undertaking?14  

Moon and his close associates are predictably silent, but disturbing evidence is emerging of his church’s close ties to anti-communist political organizations with less spiritual ends.  

For example, Moon’s closest associate and English interpreter, Colonel Bo Hi Pak (“God’s Colonel”), formerly a Korean military attaché, has strong links to both Korean intelligence and the American CIA. He heads the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation (KCFF) which operates “Radio Free Asia,” possibly an outgrowth of a project by the American organization, Committee for a Free Asia (now the Asia Foundation), funded by the CIA. KCFF also conducts propaganda operations in Vietnam. Its legal counsel is none other than Robert Amory, Jr., former deputy director of the CIA. In 1962 Amory almost became head of the Asia Foundation (he was turned down to avoid blowing the CIA cover); now he is a law partner in Corcoran, Roley, Youngman & Rowe, a firm which has long handled the legal work for CIA proprietaries.15  

The possibility of CIA involvement with a right-wing movement now entering the United States is frightening enough. But just as troubling are the close financial ties of Moon’s church to the world of wealthy neo-fascist Japanese capitalists, who seek not only a rollback of Communism but a new “Greater Asia” under the Emperor, based on the integration of Korea and Formosa into the Japanese orbit. In Japan, the chief financial backer and organizer of the Genri Undo is Sasagawa Ryoichi, the 75 year old former Class A war criminal. Back in 1931, with the notorious Kodama Yoshio, he formed a chauvinist patriotic party and intelligence organization that siphoned off enormous wealth from China during the Japanese occupation and ultimately provided much of the postwar financial backing for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In 1939 he set in motion the negotiations leading to the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy; three years later he was elected to the Diet on an ultranationalist platform of southward expansion. His stint in the Sagumo Prison after World War II for suspected war crimes set back his career only a short while, for he and fellow inmates like Kodama Yoshio and former Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke used their influence and time to plan the resurrection of the postwar Japanese Right.16  

Both Sasagawa and Kodama still exercise enormous influence in Japan, and are described as “kuromaku” – powers behind the throne. The New York Times description of Kodama applies identically to Sasagawa: “Yoshio Kodama is among the most powerful men in Japan. He was instrumental in founding the nation’s governing party, he has had a hand in naming several Premiers, he has settled dozens of disputes among top businessmen. He also commands the allegiance of Japan’s ultra-right wing and has strong influence over the yakuza, or gangsters, of the underworld here.”17 Both are dedicated to restoring the power of the Emperor and crushing opposition to the Right.  

Sasagawa, as president of the Japan-Indonesia Association and Japan-Philippine Association, both reminiscent of the prewar imperialist South Seas Association, has helped to spearhead the southward Japanese commercial advance in Asia. He funded the anti-Sukarno forces which organized the Indonesian coup d’état of September 30, 1965; he likewise supported the Lon Nol faction which overthrew King Sihanouk in Cambodia in 1970, and arranged for Japanese economic aid to prop up the new government. Currently he is active in strengthening Japanese ties with the strategic Arabian peninsula, through his Japan-Oman Association. Most significantly, Sasagawa has long been a leading light in the Asian Peoples’ Anti-Communist League, and was behind the recent organization of the World Anti-Communist League. With his vast fortune acquired from shipbuilding, gambling, and organized crime, Sasagawa not only influences the Japanese government but acts as a powerful force in all of “Greater Asia.” His support of Moon’s Unification Church is thus just one of many elements in the constellation of interlocking activities surrounding the Japanese, Asian, and world right-wing movements which still thrive in many forms. 

...

Sources William Turner, Power Out the Right (Berkeley: Ramparts Press, 1971); Jane Kramer, “Letter From Guyana,” New Yorker (September 16, 1974), pp. 100-128; Cheddi Japan, The West on Trial (London, 1966), p. 307. 

Footnotes

...

10. On Korff’s close relationship to Moon, see Washington Post, July 25, 1974; New York Post, September 16, 1974. Rabbi Korff’s latest project is to force Congress to impose severe curbs on the media, which he blames for President Nixon’s downfall (Washington Post, August 17, 1974).

11. Daily News (New York), September 13, 1974; Christianity Today, March 1, 1974, pp. 101-02; AMPO, Winter, 1974, p. 43; New York Times, September 16, 1974; Village Voice, September 12, 1974. Estimates vary as to the size of Moon’s worldwide following; Moon’s chief associate put the figure at over two million (New York Times, September 16, 1974).

[ Ewha Womans University sex scandal and Sun Myung Moon as told in the 1955 newspapers

Sun Myung Moon found guilty in 1955; started two year jail sentence ]

12. New York Times, September 16, 1974 (including full-page advertisement on p. 40); Daily News, September 13, 1974; New York Times, September 19, 1974; UPI dispatch, September 19, 1974; Wall Street Journal, September 20, 1974.

13. AMPO, Winter, 1974, p. 43; New York Post, September 16, 1974. Moon’s organization has created a number of secular anti-communist front groups including the International Federation for Victory over Communism, the World Freedom Institute, and the Freedom Leadership Foundation. The South Korean Government sends its civil servants to an anti-communist indoctrination center in Seoul operated by the Church (Village Voice, September 12, 1974; New York Times, September 17, 1974).

14. Time, October 15, 1973, pp. 129-30; Daily News, September 13, 1974; Christianity Today, March 1, 1974, pp. 101-02. Moon’s church is worth “far more” than Moon’s personal $15 million (New York Times, September 16, 1974).

15. Village Voice, September 12, 1974; Steve Weissman and John Shoch, “CIAsia Foundation,” Pacific Research, September~October, 1972. One of Corcoran’s earliest projects for the CIA was representing Chennault’s Civil Air Transport, now Air America. CIA officials deny any ties to Moon’s Unification Church, but funding of the Church remains mysterious (Wall Street Journal, September 20, 1974).

16. AMPO, Winter, 1974, p. 43; New York Times, July 2, 1974; Don Kurzman, Kishi and Japan (Astor-Honor).

17. New York Times, July 2, 1974. Sasagawa has been implicated in recent Japanese election irregularities. See Far Eastern Economic Review, September 6, 1974, p. 28.

18. AMPO, Winter, 1974, pp. 43-5.

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Sun Myung Moon organization activities in Central & South America

1. Introduction 2. ‘Illegal Aliens Joining Moonies’ – The Pittsburg Press 3. Moon’s ‘Cause’ Takes Aim At Communism in the Americas – Washington Post 4. Moon in Latin America: Building the Bases of a World Organisation – Guardian 5. Guatemala 6. Nicaragua 7. Honduras 8. Costa Rica 9. Bolivia 10. Uruguay 11. Paraguay 12. Brazil

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Politics and religion interwoven

Contents  1. Shadows on Rev. Moon’s beams. Politics and religion interwoven.  Chicago Tribune – Sunday, November 10, 1974 2. Howling at the Moon – Chicago Reader Weekly Friday, November 22, 1974 3. Messiah Sun Myung Moon on the Run 4. The Unification Church: Christian Church or Political Movement? – by Wi Jo Kang (1976) 5. Moon’s Sect Pushes Pro-Seoul Activities – by Ann Crittenden . The New York Times, May 25, 1976 6. Panel Told Seoul Used Followers of Sun Myung Moon for Protests . The New York Times, June 7, 1978 7. Unification Church Protected by the Regime in South Korea . 週刊ポスト Shūkan Post magazine October 15, 1993 8. American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit  in the House of Bush – by Kevin Phillips (2004) 9. Missing Pieces of the Story of Sun Myung Moon – by Frederick Clarkson (2012) 10. Sun Myung Moon was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. It seems the manufacture of Moon’s ‘Autobiography’ was an attempt to promote Moon for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the publisher of the book was jailed for four years for fraud – for buying books from stores to push the book up the best-seller list, and for other financial crimes. 11. ‘Privatizing’ Covert Action: The Case of the Uniﬁcation Church Dr. Jeffrey M. Bale Lobster #21. May 1991  Introduction

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The Sun Myung Moon church – Jane Day Mook & Hiroshi Yamaguchi (1974 & 1975)

#Sun Myung Moon #VOC #IFVOC #anti-communism #WACL #APACL #Kishi Nobusuke #Sasakawa Ryoichi #Kodama Yoshio

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sadsongsandwaltzes · 2 years

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Okok for a country music ask either

which song do you personally believe to be the absolute best country song of all time?

Why do you believe that so many people people of our generation dislike country music? (because it honestly breaks my heart that good country isn't always given the love it deserves)

I can’t say it’s the best all around, there are better examples of a true country sound and musicianship, but as far as I’m concerned, Sunday Morning Coming Down is the greatest song ever written. I’ve talked about my love for this song before. A couple times actually. There is no song that resonated at my core more than that one did when I was Going Through It. But this does give me an idea to maybe long post about Kris Kristofferson sometime because he’s my favorite songwriter of all time :)

As for why people dislike country… I don’t think it’s a generational problem. I think it’s cultural mostly.

In rural America, country music is still alive and well. Outside of that…. Eh. Nashville “country” is thriving with the suburbanites who think farmhouses are actually all white, I guess. But typically this dichotomy between rural/small town Americans loving country and the rest of America hating it has existed as long as the music itself has been around. So it’s not generational. It’s cultural. And why those who are outside of the culture won’t give it a chance boils down to two reasons 1. Misconceptions or 2. Classism/“other”-ism

1. Misconceptions: this is more true now than in the past because of the gap between country music and country radio, but if I had no background knowledge of country music and turned it to country radio and heard Kane Brown, I wouldn’t be impressed either. And we’re still feeling the sting of Bro country, so everyone thinks country music is just about men objectifying women in their trucks. But even before country radio went downhill, misconceptions and stereotyping was a problem. They’d dismiss country as just “drinking and cheating songs.” Which country does have plenty of drinking songs — some better than others — but these people completely ignore how the better songs take these real and painful aspects of life and turn it into something beautiful. They ignore the songs about every other aspect of life. They ignore the stories. They ignore the musicianship. They ignore the artistry. Granted anymore it’s not entirely their fault. We need to have better representation of country music in the mainstream. Cuz country radio ain’t it.

2. -isms: mostly I’d say classism. Country music was made by the people. And the “people” include the backwoods Bible thumpin tobacco spittin hicks. It gave a voice to the poor, to the forgotten, to the every man. Most people who aren’t these people don’t want to associate with these people and they certainly don’t want The Other people trying to mingle with them and have a say in society. I mean Kris Kristofferson’s own parents disowned him because he gave up a prestigious military career to instead write songs for hillbillies. His parents wanted nothing to do with that. They didn’t want to associate with hillbilly music and viewed him as an embarrassment to their family and cut him out of their lives. Country music is rooted in the truth. Of course his parents couldn’t stand it — people like that don’t care about what is real, they only care about appearances. Being in good standing with ~ society ~. And isn’t that just the whole thing? Really the correct -ism is classism. And it’s not even necessarily that all people of a higher class don’t enjoy country music and that all poor people do — it’s the desire to be a higher class, or at the very least perceived as such. And that’s the actual heart of classism. Of course, I also tied in the divide between rural and suburban/urban. But I don’t think that’s the biggest issue here. I think it’s class. I think it’s wanting be seen as high class. And poor people are viewed as low class. And rural people are viewed as low class 🤷🏼‍♀️ either way, it’s dumb hillbilly music to them. But the people who don’t care about that kind of shallow stuff — no matter what their actual tax bracket is or what culture they came from — this obviously isn’t a problem for them if they don’t care about being viewed as “higher” than others. I’m not talking about them.

Well… I’m sure this post will be received well lol.

Also, I’m not saying you have to like country music. We all have different taste. It’s more so the disrespect that country music gets. Even if you don’t like it or it’s just not your thing, you should at least be able to respect it as a legitimate art form.

#country music #country music commentary

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