#The Catholic church is one of the oldest religions still in practice today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 4 years

Text

Religions of Korea in Practice

Book edited by Robert E. Buswell, Jr. Princeton University Press, 2007

The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), or Unification Church, is a small religion in Korea. Sun Myung Moon’s pikareum sex rituals from about 1946 to the early 1960s (and some say it continued on a smaller scale) were a national scandal in Korea. Moon was reviled for his perversion of the gospel by all the mainstream Christian Churches in Korea.

The editorial about the Unification Church in the Chosôn Ilbo, July 7, 1955, was titled: “Hananim Irûmûl Naegôlko Sesangûl Soginûn Saramdûl” “The Ones Who Deceive the World in God’s Name”

It was published three days after Moon’s July 4th arrest.

Sun Myung Moon’s “Providence of Restoration” has borne poor fruit.

This Introduction to the Religions of Korea in Practice book gives some context for the FFWPU in the religious landscape of Korea.

________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Don Baker

For students of religion, especially those interested in religious pluralism and religious change, the Korean peninsula is a fascinating place to explore. The spectrum of religious beliefs and practices in Korea is wider than almost any other place on earth. The peninsula has been divided roughly in half since 1945, with the Communist People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the northern side of a demilitarized boundary and the democratic Republic of Korea (ROK) on the southern side, giving it an even more diverse religious culture today than it had during its thousand-plus years as a unified country. In the North, the Communist government has suppressed most religious activity and replaced it with the ideology of Juche (chuch’e), literally “self-reliance,” an amalgam of Marxism and Neo-Confucianism with religious overtones. In the South, the opposite had occurred: since 1945, there has been an explosion of religious activity—particularly organized and self-conscious religious activity—leading to highly visible, vibrant, and growing Buddhist and Christian communities and expanding social roles for Korean new religions and traditional shamanism.

...

The primary division in Korean Christianity—one that is even broader than those that divide denominations—is the split between the few churches that promote the social gospel and the many that preach the gospel of wealth. Though the social-gospel churches remain a minority within the overall Protestant community, they contributed significantly to the democratization of South Korea in recent decades; they preached that God demanded that all human beings be treated with respect, and then acted on that conviction by leading public demonstrations for free elections and for better treatment for workers. The gospel-of-wealth churches, on the other hand, preach that political issues should be left in the hands of politicians. They also preach that God will reward the godly in this life with wealth and health. Their sermons that faith will be rewarded with wealth have brought large crowds into their pews. Some outside observers argue that the gospel of wealth has also inspired the rapid economic development of South Korea, as Christian Koreans have worked hard to increase their own and their country’s wealth as a way of proving that they are the chosen people of God.

New Religions

Korea’s traditional religions have responded to Christian proselytizing zeal by adapting aspects of Christianity that have made Christianity such a powerful force in modern Korea. Some of those responses have been more successful than others.

Modern Korean Buddhists, for example, have written Buddhist hymns that the laity can sing together and have encouraged greater lay participation in Buddhist activities. These responses have stimulated a boom in urban Buddhism, which has kept the number of Buddhists in Korea ahead of the number of Protestant Christians. Confucians, on the other hand, have not adapted well to their fall from power with the demise of the Chosŏn dynasty. The main Confucian organization in Korea officially declared itself a religious organization only in the 1990s and also published a one-volume guide to Confucian teachings and practice that at first glance looks a lot like a Christian Bible. However, although Confucian values remain strong in Korean society and most families still honor their ancestors with Confucian memorial rituals, Confucianism as an organization is very weak, and less than 1 percent of Koreans identify themselves as Confucians to survey takers. Internal alchemy is growing in popularity, though most of its practitioners are unaware of its ancient roots in Chinese Daoism and its modern connections to the worship of Tan’gun, and many of these adepts might not even consider themselves religious. Finally, Korean folk religion has not come up with a coherent response to Christian inroads, since it has no central organizations to formulate policies. Shamans, however, do not appear to have lost much of their appeal despite urbanization and the popularity of Christianity. According to the membership figures of national shaman organizations, there are as many practicing shamans in Korea today as there are Protestant pastors.

Rather than internal transformation, another response to the Christian challenge has been the creation of new religions, based on the Christian model of people with similar religious beliefs forming religious organizations to promote those beliefs. It is estimated that there are more than two hundred new religions in South Korea today, but only a few of them merit our attention. These include Ch’ŏndogyo, Wŏnbulgyo (Wŏn Buddhism), Taejonggyo, Tan (Dahn) World, Chŭngsando (Jeungsando), Taeson Chillihoe (Daesun Jinrihoe), and the Unification Church.

Ch’ŏndogyo, Wŏn Buddhism, Taejonggyo, and the Unification Church (which considers itself a Christian organization) appear to have been created with the Christian model of modern religion in mind. They all hold Sunday worship services in buildings that look like churches, and they sing hymns at those services. However, the prayers they pray, the hymns they sing, and the doctrines they teach are unique to each of these religions.

Wŏnbulgyo (Round, or Consummate) Buddhism, as its name implies, is a new religion with Buddhist orientations. The language it uses sometimes is more modern-sounding than traditional Buddhist language, but its basic doctrines have many parallels with what is taught in mainstream monasteries. Wŏn Buddhists sing hymns and pray, but they also practice Sŏn meditation, seek enlightenment, and practice compassion. Ch’ŏndogyo, on the other hand, cannot be assigned to any of the traditional religious categories. The oldest of Korea’s new religions, it began in 1860 as a response to Catholicism. That is clear not only in its monotheism but also in one of its early names for god, Ch’ŏnju (the Lord of Heaven), the name Catholics had coined for their God. However, Ch’ŏndogyo theology is not Catholic. Instead, Ch’ŏndogyo combines a belief in one God and in the equality of all human beings before God with a Confucian vision of the universe in which everything is related to everything else and the goal of religious endeavors is to live in harmony with the universe.

Taejonggyo is equally difficult to classify. It considers itself to be the revival of the ancient religion of the Korean people, which would suggest that it has its roots in folk religion. However, many of its rituals resemble Christian, rather than shamanic, rites. Moreover, its theology shows clear Christian influence. Taejonggyo is the only indigenous Korean religion to worship a trinitarian God, even though its leaders insist that ancient Koreans shared their belief that Hwanin, Hwanung, and Tan’gun were three persons in one God. There are also elements in Taejonggyo that resemble elements of the Shinto religion that Japanese colonial powers introduced to Korea in the early twentieth century, including Taejonggyo’s focus on Tan’gun as a divine founder of both the Korean state and the Korean race. Nevertheless, Taejonggyo adherents strongly resist any suggestion that their religious beliefs have in any way been influenced by Christianity or by the Japanese.

One thing all these new religions have in common is Korean nationalism. They represent assertions of pride in native Korean tradition in the face of the challenge wrought by Christianity and the West. That is particularly clear in the case of the Unification Church (T’ongilgyo). The Unification Church clearly derives from Christianity; its original name, in fact, was the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. However, it differs from mainstream Christianity in several key doctrinal points. Of particular importance is the Unificationist belief that Jesus failed to complete the mission God assigned him. He was supposed to marry and bring sinless children into the world but was crucified before he could do so. That is why God decided to assign the Reverend Mun Sonmyong (Sun Myung Moon) the mission of completing that task and bringing salvation to humanity.

Wŏn Buddhism and Ch’ŏndogyo share the Unification Church’s belief that the most recent spiritual leader of the human race was born in Korea. They disagree over who that spiritual leader is (each nominates its own founder), but they agree that Korea has become the spiritual center of the world, the place to which everyone today should turn for spiritual advice and guidance. That Korea-centric worldview is shared by Dahn World, an internal-alchemy organization that has opened branches all over the world but insists that its leader, Yi Sŭnghŭn (Seung Heun Lee), is a renowned spiritual leader who is leading humanity toward an “enlightenment revolution.” [He is also known as Il-chi Lee.] LINK

Taejonggyo goes even farther in its assertion of a leading role for Korea in modern religion. Because Taejonggyo worships Tan’gun, the mythical ancestor of the Korean people, it is able to claim that God is a Korean. That belief is shared by both Chŭngsando (Jeungsando) and Taesŏn Chillihoe (Daesun Jinnhoe), though they do not worship Tan’gun as the Supreme Deity. Instead, they worship Kang Chŭngsan, whom they believe is the incarnation in human form on earth of the Supreme Lord Above. Chŭngsando and Taesŏn Chillihoe, though they worship the same God, disagree on many of the details of what their God taught in the first decade of the twentieth century, when he walked on Korean soil. However, they are alike in at least one important aspect. Neither Chŭngsando nor Taesŏn Chillihoe show much Christian influence in their doctrines, their architecture, or their practices. Neither their services nor their worship halls look anything like Christian services or churches. They do not sing hymns or sit in pews. Instead, they chant sacred mantras taught by their God. Both religious organizations have grown rapidly in the last two decades of the twentieth century, a possible sign of greater self-confidence among the indigenous Korean religious traditions.

__________________________________

In the late 1950s the reputation of Moon and the FFWPU was very dirty.

Moon: “Let’s make our church a church for the intellectuals”

Ewha Womans University sex scandal as told in the 1955 newspapers

統一教會事件 = Unification Church Ewha incident [of 1955]

Moon’s theology for his pikareum sex rituals with all the 36 wives

Sun Myung Moon – Restoration through Incest

Where Sun Myung Moon got his theology from

Unification Church foreign missions may have been planned as a way out of the trouble it faced in Korea

Gods – William E. Padden

#Don Baker #Religions of Korea #Unification Church #FFWPU #Sun Myung Moon

5 notes · View notes

tipsycad147 · 4 years

Text

Psychic Curses and Spells that Work

Article about removing curses by Craig Hamilton-Parker.

Since earliest times, people have used ritual and magic to influence the world. The bison drawings from the prehistoric Altamira cave paintings in Spain, dating from 15,000 BC, may have been used in ritual magic to make sure a successful hunt. The principle is that similar things create similar effects–like produces like, or an effect resembles its cause. For example, in black magic, a human being could be cursed to death by spearing a skull with a metal point bearing the name of the intended victim.

This imitation of effects to influence events is called sympathetic magic. Magic also holds that things that have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. Many magic love spells, for example, require that the magician procure samples of the intended’s hair or fingernails to be used in the ritual or potion. The former principle is called the Law of Similarity, while the latter is the Law of Contagion or Contact.

Burning Effigies

I am writing this particular chapter on November 5, when we in the UK celebrate the ending of the first terrorist attack. Guy Fawkes was a co-conspirator in the “Gunpowder Plot” of 1605 in England. He and his cohorts decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London and succeeded in smuggling several barrels of gunpowder into the basement. The plot was thwarted and to this day we celebrate the occasion by setting off fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes.

This is, in fact, a form of sympathetic magic. Burning an effigy helps people to vent their hatred for their enemies in public, but the magician’s “law of similarity” also believes that burning the effigy will bring harm to the person whose image is being burnt. (A few years ago, my sister insisted that we burn an effigy of her ex-partner in place of the “Guy”)

The ritual of effigy-burning has been found in many ancient cultures including that of India, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Ojibway of the American West would fashion little wooden images of an enemy and burn them while chanting magic spells. Called “the burning of the soul,” this ritual was believed to bring about the enemy’s death.

Then, of course, we have all heard of the voodoo doll, into which pins would be inserted to cause an enemy harm. Voodoo is still largely practised in Haiti; while in New Orleans, rooted in its large slave population mixed with Catholicism, you will find altars set up to protect against hoodoo magic (like voodoo a primarily healing-based practice based on sympathetic magic).

Sympathetic Magic

Sympathetic magic is still with us today in our superstitions and beliefs. How often do we see the American flag or effigies of Uncle Sam being burnt in protests? Burning an effigy is pure sympathetic magic: just as the image suffers, so does the man or nation.

“Holy Trinity, punish him who has done this evil and take him from us by thy great justice, that the sorcerer/sorceress may be anathema and we may be safe. Amen.” Popular Hoodoo Spell to remove a curse (To be spoken while throwing angelica in a southern direction)

Sympathetic magic is not necessarily evil in its intent. For example, voodoo (or more properly “Vodu”) is a religion that is characterised by ceremony, music, dance, and sacrifice, through which participants commune with their ancestors in trance and possession. It has a pantheon of spirits, called ‘Iwa’ that protect areas of life including love, family health, and wealth. Similarly, throughout Europe and America, there is a growing interest in the old religion of Paganism which is trying to cast off the negative witchcraft image given it by Christianity.

The truth is that many ancient magical beliefs may be used for good or ill. For example, returning to the effigy theme, puppet healing is the reverse of effigy burning. Instead of desiring to kill or injure the person whom the puppet represents, the practitioner wishes to help them. Healing given to the puppet is transmitted to the person represented.

Protective Spells

Protective healing spells are cast on the night of a full moon by voodoo sorcerers. In particular, they will make a Paket Kongo to summon the healing spirits. This is an onion-shaped, bright coloured, a cloth-bound package filled with herbs and the powdered flesh of a sacrificed rooster. It is tied around with string seven times and has large feathers sticking out of its top. Similarly, a Catholic may pray in Church with a rosary or a colour healer may “charge” water or a photograph with coloured light (Graphichromotherapy). Clearly, it is the intention of the practitioner that determines whether the results of magic are good or evil.

Voodoo and hoodoo have some interesting methods to protect the soul from harm. For example, if a person believes that they are under a psychic attack, there are a number of remedies that they can use to negate the harm. They may have a feeling that something “out there” is after them or that someone has bad intentions towards them. Similarly, they may feel that this energy has become an “entity” that is causing bad luck or illness. Wiccans generally believe that once you are aware of the curse or negative energy sent towards you, it no longer has power, where followers of voodoo and hoodoo believe that a curse, spell, or “crossing” can only be lifted using specific rituals and techniques.

The Psychology of Spell Casting

Naturally, psychology plays an important part in making a spell work. Just as we can talk ourselves into being ill, we can frighten ourselves into believing that bad luck and illness will befall us. If we believe we are unlucky, we may inevitably attract bad luck into our lives and curses may only succeed because the victim believes in their power.

Most people find out that they are jinxed through word of mouth or when a “friend” tells them that a spell has been put upon them. Let’s face it, people love to gossip and soon the belief in the jinx is reinforced by the community at large. Inevitably, as soon as something untoward happens to the victim, the jinx is to blame. They may lose their keys or a credit card and immediately they remember what the friend told them. And so the cycle of fear begins.

Worse still, a hideous token, gris-gris, amulet, or charm may be posted to them or hung on their door to warn them that magic has been cast. A hoodoo sorcerer may nail a gruesome chicken bone amulet on your front door and cover your steps in blood-red powder. In some countries, it is traditional to spit or blow powder in the victims face while speaking the words of the curse. This shock technique reinforces the power of the curse, taking the victim, as it does, off guard and naturally causes a severe upset.

Curses and a Jinx

REMOVING A CURSE | REMOVING A HEX |

“Protection comes to me this day . This crossed condition goes away. Returning negativity To the one who has crossed me.” –Hoodoo Candle Spell

There are as many ways to remove a curse or spell as there are ways to cast them, and these vary according to the cultural tradition. Remaining with the hoodoo theme, the belief is that curses should be “sent back” to the perpetrator. A popular way of doing this is to scatter Angelica in the direction of the curse, or to the South if the sorcerer is known. Similarly, Five Finger Grass (Cinquefoil) can be stuffed into a drained egg which is then sealed with wax. It is believed in New Orléans that a home with this magical egg in it will be free of jinx and curses.

Followers of hoodoo also like to take special herbal baths made with Dragon’s Blood, Five Finger Grass, Ginger, or Pine and Hyssop to protect them from sorcery. Herbs and special powders are also used by the secret “red sects” from Haiti to induce illness and fear in their victims. One pinch of these secret recipes is said to bring bad luck or illness. Similarly, this tradition holds that herbal baths may be used to combat an evil hex and also to bring luck in love and money.

Bath-time food offerings are made to the spirits of Ezili Freda (love) or Ibo Lele (money) and may include everything from popcorn to the blood of sacrificed animals. (I would try this technique myself, but am concerned that my wife would be a little alarmed to see chicken heads among the talc and soaps.)

REMOVING CURSES

Haitian voodoo has an armoury of amulets, totems, and tools to protect the soul. Malicious spirits are countered using an ason rattle made from a gourd and containing snake vertebrae. Music and dances are used to counterspells, and many of these ceremonies involve Catholic saints in the rituals. Most Haitian altars, in particular, include a mixture of both voodoo and Catholic imagery, with icons of saints placed next to tribal gods. Altars also include magical drawings of “verve” designs, which are made during ceremonies as an aid to draw the protective spirits from their divine homeland to the mortal world.

They look very similar to western protective talismans. But perhaps some of the odd tools of voodoo priests are dolls heads that they squash into bottles to ward off evil spirits and sequined bottles decorated with a skull motif of the Gede spirits (the guardians of the dead and masters of the libido). One strange protective totem, created by Franz Barra, featured a Barbie doll squeezed into a miniature, red-sequined coffin.

The Evil Eye

Voodoo and hoodoo are, of course, not alone in giving strange surreal remedies to protect the soul from curses and spells. Many believe that the soul can be harmed by a jealous stare or envious glance. The eyes are considered “the gateway to the soul” and, in many cultures, the “evil eye” is believed to harm the soul. It is one of the oldest and most culturally prevalent magical beliefs in the world.

The evil eye is believed to cause miscarriage, illness, business failure, marriage breakdown, bad luck, and a great many misfortunes. In addition, anyone, including those who have no special powers, can give the evil eye. Since it happens involuntarily, no one can be certain who or where the evil came from, making this one of the most feared of all magical powers.

People with different colored eyes or eyes set close together or deep in their head were often suspected of having the Evil Eye and were often persecuted as witches from the sixteenth to eighteenth century. In the 1930s, a man from New York earned his living by renting his evil eye to prize-fight managers. He would sit ringside and stare at opposing fighter.

Averting the Evil Eye

There are hundreds of ways to avert the Evil Eye. One of the most immediate techniques, and not recommended for dinner parties, is to spit three times in the eye of the onlooker. Another is to step aside, if someone is staring at you, so letting the negativity pass you by. The Italians wear special amulets of hands making sexually symbolic gestures for protection from the evil eye: called the mano fico (‘fig hand) or the mano corunto (horned hand).

In most cultures, the cure involves a complex series of rituals, which vary around the world. Water, oil, and melted wax often play a part, or the ritual may center on an eye-shaped and liquid-filled natural object such as an egg. Animals that were supposedly affected by the Evil Eye were burned, whereupon the person who had made the curse would suffer the same agony. Similarly, a clay manikin, or witch puppet, made in the likeness of the suspect person with the Evil Eye would be stuck with pins to lift the spell.

Naturally, I have always believed these things to be hocus-pocus; that is, until my Israeli friend brought us a present from his homeland. He knew we had had trouble with a neighbor so gave us an ornate hand in the “stop” gesture with an eye in the palm. “This will avert the evil eye of the bad woman,” he said. “It’s good. Hang it up in the front of your house and you will have no more trouble.” Within three months, the bad neighbor had moved.

Profits of the Prophets

“Praying is like a rocking chair–it’ll give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.” — GYPSY ROSE LEE (Rose Louise Hovick, American stripper)

Many claim that sympathetic magic is “mumbo jumbo,” that results can be explained away. This is no doubt true in some instances, but there are also times when such magic appears to have worked. Yes, belief alone may be enough to cure some people or fulfill a spell’s curse. But there are cases on record that contradict that scenario–where people appear to falter even though they are unaware a curse has been placed on them. Nonetheless, common sense is the primary ingredient in spiritual ventures, particularly in relation to magic and the healing arts.

Magic Snake Stone

Some people believe that snake bite calls for treatment by “magic snake stone,” which is, in reality, no more than benzine or a gallstone, having no effect on the venomous bite. Clearly, if a snake-bitten person were to rely on such magic in this instance, consequences could be fatal.

Sadly, charlatans still exist today to take advantage of those who are gullible and superstitious. Often this is the case with those who are upset about the break-up of a relationship: they will do, or pay, anything to get their partner back! A common scam is promising to change your luck by lifting a curse or a jinx or removing “negativity from your aura.”

Through my columns and website, I have received many letters from people frightened by threats of a curse that they are told can only be removed if they pay money. These “psychics” often target people who are already fearful, having met “bad luck” in their lives. The fraud psychic have good observational skills and is able to give the sitter with enough apparent information to convince them that what they say is true. They are alert to facial reactions and bodily gestures, and incorporate feedback information likely mentioned earlier in the sitting or consultation or hinted at in a response.

Once the sitter is hooked with this “cold reading,” the charlatan may offer to change the person’s luck for a price. I know of someone who was quoted $3,000 to have bad luck lifted from their lives. For this fee, the “psychic” would burn a magic candle to clear the misfortune. However, she warned that, as the case was particularly bad, it might be necessary to burn more candles. Of course, this would cause added costs, for the magic candles and her services.

Negative Energy Curses

A real curse is a set of words or a ritual that has been imbued with the negative energy of a thought-form. A curse cannot harm us unless we allow it to, by giving the negative energy an entry point. Certainly, paying money to someone else will not remove negative energy, nor will having rituals performed on your behalf. The key to protection from real curses come from your own refusal to give in to superstition and unfounded fear. Just as money can’t buy you, love, giving money to such people cannot change your luck or make you well again. People often incur such problems when they do not generally take personal responsibility for their lives.

They tend to go to a fortune-teller because they want someone else to make the hard choices for them. It is much easier to blame things outside of ourselves for our troubles. We accuse others, instead of owning up to our own faults. We blame circumstances and people for troubles that are of our own making. And, of course, many of us blame our bad luck on fate. How much better it is to take charge of our own lives! Personal responsibility gives a person self-confidence and a realistic view of circumstances.

The role of the true psychic is to give insight and inspire, not to make decisions for you. A psychic can encourage you, and even empower you to take charge of your destiny. To do something about it! So, take my advice: If you are ever asked for money to remove a curse or a spell, to regain health, to bring back a lover, or to change your luck, leave immediately and don’t look back!

psychics.co.uk/blog/curses-and-spells-that-work/

2 notes · View notes

pamphletstoinspire · 5 years

Photo

Lent

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

Origin of the word Lent

The etymological meaning of Lent is ‘long days’. It comes from ‘langgitinaz’, a prehistoric West Germanic compound formed from ‘lanngaz’ ‘long’ and an element ‘tina’-denoting ‘day’. This signified originally spring, an allusion to the lengthening days at that time of the year. It passed into Old English as lencten, which became Middle English Lenten, but in the 13th century the en-was dropped from the noun, leaving Lenten to function as an adjective. By this time too the secular sense of spring was fast dying out, having been usurped by the application of Lent to the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

This Teutonic word Lent from the Anglo-Saxon period translates to the more significant Latin term quadragesima meaning the “forty days”, or more literally the ‘fortieth day”. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New Testament times. This etymology is of some importance in explaining the early development of the Easter fast.

Biblical Reference

Lent is one of the oldest observations on the Christian calendar. Early Church father Irenanus of Lyons (c. 130-200) wrote of such a season in the earliest days of the Church, but back then it lasted only two or three days, not the 40 observed today. In 325, the Council of Nicea discussed a 40-day Lenten season of fasting, but it is unclear whether its original intent was just for new Christians preparing for Baptism, but it soon encompassed the whole Church.

How exactly the churches counted those 40 days varied depending on location. In the East, one only fasted on weekdays. The Western Church’s Lent was one week shorter, but included Saturdays. In both places, the observance was both strict and serious. Only one meal was taken a day, near the evening. There was to be no meat, fish, or animal products eaten.

Until the 600’s, Lent began on Quadragesima (Fortieth) Sunday, but Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) moved it to Wednesday, now called Ash Wednesday, to secure the exact number of 40 days in Lent-not counting Sundays, which were fast days. Gregory, who is regarded as the father of the medieval papacy, is also credited with the ceremony that gives the day its name. As Christians came forth to the church for forgiveness, Gregory marked their foreheads with ashes reminding them of the biblical symbol of repentance (sackcloth and ashes) and mortality: “You are dust, and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19).

By the 800’s, some Lenten practices were already becoming more relaxed. First, Christians were allowed to eat after 3p.m. By the 1400’s, it was noon. Eventually, various foods (like fish) were allowed, and in 1966 the Roman Catholic Church only restricted fast days to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It should be noted that practices in Eastern Orthodox churches are still quite strict.

The forty day period has symbolic importance in religion. Moses and Elias spent forty days in the wilderness; the Jews wandered forty years searching for the Promised Land; Jonah gave the city of Nineveh forty days’ grace in which to repent. Jesus retreated into the wilderness and fasted for forty days to prepare for his ministry. It was for him a time of contemplation, reflection, and preparation. So by observing Lent, most Christians join Jesus on His retreat.

The Lenten period of forty days owes its origin, as noted, to the Latin word Quadragesima, originally signifying forty hours. This referred to the forty hours of complete fasting which preceded the Easter celebration in the early Church. The main ceremony was the baptizing of the initiates on Easter Eve, and the fast was a preparation to receive this sacrament. Later, the period from Good Friday until Easter Day was extended to six days, to correspond with the six weeks of training, necessary to instruct the converts who were to be baptized.

A strict schedule was adhered to in the teaching of the converts. In Jerusalem near the end of the fourth century, classes were held throughout the seven weeks of Lent for three hours a day. With the acceptance of Christianity as the state religion of Rome in the 4th century, its character was endangered by the great influx of new members. To combat the hazard, the Lenten fast and practices of self renunciation were required of all Christians. The less zealous of the converts were thus brought more securely into the Christian fold.

Sometime before the year 330 the duration of Lent had been fixed at forty days, to correspond to Christ’s forty days in the desert. It was evident quite early that a six-week Lent contained only thirty-six days-since Sunday is never a fast day. Gradually four more days were added at the beginning of Lent and became known as Ash Wednesday. The first evidence of this increase is in the Galasian Sacramentary of the early eight century.

In Mark’s Gospel, the desert marks the beginning of Jesus’ battle with Satan; the ultimate test will be in Jesus’ final hours on the cross. In a similar way, our Lenten observances are only a beginning, a preparation for and a reinforcement of our ongoing struggle to resist the temptations we face in our lives. During Lent, we are led by the Holy Ghost to remember the vows of Baptism in which we promised to reject sin and to follow Jesus. Just as Jesus was ministered to by the angels, God also supports us in our struggle against sin and temptation. We succeed because Jesus conquered sin once and for all, in his saving death on the cross.

While, over the years, modifications have been made to the Lenten observances, making our practices not only simple but also easy, Catholics have been taught, “If you gave something up for the Lord, tough it out. Do not act like a Pharisee looking for a loophole.” Moreover, an emphasis must be placed on performing spiritual works, like attending the Stations of the Cross, attending Mass, making a weekly holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament, taking time for personal prayer and spiritual reading and most especially making a good confession and receiving sacramental absolution. Although the practices may have evolved over the centuries, the focus remains the same: to repent of sin, to renew our faith and to prepare to celebrate joyfully the mysteries of our salvation.

While Lent is about giving up (i.e. fasting), it is also about putting something positive in its place. The best way to remove vice is to cultivate virtue. Lent has been a traditional time of helping the poor and doing acts of charity and mercy...Giving alms can be done in more ways than just giving out money to people on the street. It can be done by helping your family, friends and neighbors...One of the best ways to give alms is to get out of your comfort zone and volunteering for a charity or shelter...Lent is a perfect time to discern a call to these or any other ministry…

From: www.pamphletstoinspire.com

#lent

1 note · View note

distaffgospels · 5 years

Text

Doing “50 Questions You’ve Never Been Asked” the wrong way

Because I’m a grumpy middle-aged woman and I do what I want.

1. What's your favorite candle scent? Lavender

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister? Gillian Anderson

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother? Martin Freeman

4. How old do you think you'll be when you get married? I was 27.

5. Do you know a hoarder? Yes.

6. Can you do a split? God, no.

7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike? Five.

8. How many oceans have you swam in? Atlantic, Pacific, plus Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas

9. How many countries have you been to? About 20.

10. Is anyone in your family in the army? My dad was in the Army Reserves during the Viet Nam war.

11. What would you name your daughter if you had one? I have one named Sarah. I was going to name her something else (Siobhan or Niamh) but this was in honor of a recently deceased family member.

12. What would you name your son if you had one? I have one. His name is Cian.

13. What's the worst grade you got on a test? I know I flunked a few. Didn’t stop me from getting a Ph.D. later on. Hang in there.

14. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child? Mr. Rodgers. Don’t judge me.

15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight? Wow, I haven’t the faintest idea. Possibly Glenda, the good witch of the north from The Wizard of Oz.

16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series? Harry Potter, which I read when my kids were small.

17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent? British.

18. Did your mother go to college? No. She attended a few classes at the community college.

19. Are your grandparents still married? All my grandparents have been dead for some time. All stayed married though.

20. Have you ever taken karate lessons? No.

21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is? Oh, please. I was four when Sesame Street started. I loved The Muppet Show. I’ve seen all the Muppet movies. I even met Jim Henson!

22. What's the first amusement park you've been to?

23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in? I’m reasonably fluent in French. There are lots of languages I would like to learn as well. Maybe Mandarin.

24. Do you spell the color as grey or gray? I can never keep straight which way I am supposed to spell it because I am American but I read a lot of books published in Great Britain.

25. Is your father bald? Yep.

26. Do you know triplets? No.

27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook? Never saw either.

28. Have you ever had Indian food? Sure! Love it!

29. What's the name of your favorite restaurant? Gosh. Not sure. I love restaurants, but I cook most meals. I loved a Dim Sum place and a Korean BBQ place I visited in New York long ago. I was recently at Jaleo, a tapas place in D.C. by José Andres, and I loved it.

30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden? It’s been a while, but yes.

31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ's, etc.)? Sam’s Club, because that’s the only choice I have in the state I live in.

32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender? I was Patrick until I was born.

33. If you have a nickname, what is it? I’ve had several, but none that anyone uses regularly.

34. Who's your favorite person in the world? Impossible to say just one. Certainly my husband and kids, parents, sister, plus several long-time friends.

35. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs? I prefer to live in college towns of about 100,000 people.

36. Can you whistle? Yes.

37. Do you sleep with a nightlight? No.

38. Do you eat breakfast every morning? Mostly.

39. Do you take any pills or medication daily? Yes. The number multiplies as I get older.

40. What medical conditions do you have? Do you want the list? Anxiety, depression, high cholesterol, and a milk heart problem. Used to have PCO but I’m past menopause, thank the Goddess.

41. How many times have you been to the hospital? As a patient? Twice. Once for each of my children.

42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? I have seen it endless times. It was the first movie my oldest ever saw.

43. Where do you buy your jeans? Lane Bryant. I don’t like a lot of their current styles (too form fitting), but they fit me the best.

44. What's the last compliment you got? My kids liked the cookies I made today. My husband told me yesterday that he loves that he can trust me not to ever deliberately hurt him. That was nice.

45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning? Briefly, but if I don't write them down I usually forget them quickly.

46. What flavor tea do you enjoy? I hate tea. Ick. If I have to drink something like tea, I’ll have peppermint herbal tea.

47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own? Too many. At a guess, something like 25.

48. What religion will you raise your children to practice? Tried to raise them as Catholic, got appalled by a lot of things going on in the church. Stopped going. Eventually switched to a liberal Episcopalian church, but it didn’t take. I figure as teenagers, my kids are allowed to decide for themselves whether they believe in God or not.

49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn't real? About five.

50. Why do you have a tumblr? Started one a number of years ago to keep up with BBC Sherlock news. I also am a long time Star Trek, Babylon 5, X-Files, Star Wars, and Terry Pratchett fan, so that’s cool as well. Plus I like seeing the creative stuff on Tumblr. I’m a professor, so it also helps keep me at least slightly plugged in to what young people are concerned about, and I think trying to understand that makes me a better teacher.

#50questions #middleagedwoman #get off my lawn

1 note · View note

everlastinggospelmw-blog · 6 years

Text

#everlastinggospelmw

HALLOWEEN!!!

OCTOBER 23, 2015

What Every Christian Should Know About Halloween

News commentary: The church’s opposition to the occult and the demonic preclude any support for this type of festival.

By Gerhard Pfandl, former associate director, General Conference’s Biblical Research Institute

Each year on Oct. 31, millions of people celebrate Halloween by dressing up as witches, devils, and demons.

Besides parties for adults, the day has become an occasion for children to go from house to house, often in costumes, demanding “trick or treat.”

The name Halloween derives from the Roman Catholic holiday All Saints’ Day, The Feast of All Saints, or All Hallows’ Day (hallow means “to make holy” or “consider something sacred”), celebrated on Nov. 1. All Saints’ Day commemorates the saints who have not been assigned a special day in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The day before All Saints’ Day was called All Hallows’ Eve, from which Halloween is derived.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the origin of Halloween goes back to a festival of the Druids, an order of pagan priests in ancient Gaul and Britain, in pre-Christian times: “In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain was observed on Oct. 31, at the end of summer.

This date was also the eve of the new year in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The date was connected with the return of the herds from pasture, and laws and land tenures were renewed. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the process of nature.

The Celtic festival of Samhain, which signaled the commencement of winter, consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1). It remained popular among the Celtic people even after the Christianization of Britain in the fifth century. The Christian church in Britain adapted the feast of Samhain by adding the Christian celebration of All Saints’ Day to the festival. Until the eighth century, the Feast of All Saints was celebrated on May 13.

It seems that because the British custom to celebrate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 had spread to other countries, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) transferred the feast of May 13 to Nov. 1.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia claims the reason was, “because provisions were inadequate for the numerous pilgrims coming to Rome in May,” but it acknowledges that some believe “the November feast originated in Gaul and was immediately adopted in Rome.”

The customs of Samhain survived in the Celtic areas of Great Britain: Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. In time they lost much of their religious significance and the eve of All Hallows’ Day became a secular festival, “although many traditionally Celtic ideas continued to be associated with the evening. Divination activities remained a popular practice. Adults, dressed in fantastic disguises and masks, imitated supernatural beings and visited homes where occupants would offer tributes of food and drink to them,” Leonard N. Primiano wrote in a section titled “Halloween” in The Encyclopedia of Religion.

Irish and Scottish immigrants introduced All Hallows’ Eve observances to the United States, and after the massive immigration of the Irish during the potato famine (1845-1852), Halloween became a national festival.

The custom for children to go trick or treating from door to door also goes back to the ancient Druid priests, who would go from house to house demanding food for their own consumption as well as for offerings to their deities. If the people in a home would not provide them with food, they would speak a demonic curse over the home, and, history claims, someone in the family would die within the year.

The Druids would carry with them a large turnip, which they had hollowed out on the inside and carved a face on the front, to represent the demonic spirit they depended upon for their power and knowledge. The turnip lighted by a candle from within was used as a lantern for the Druids as they went from house to house at night. When this practice came to America in the 18th and 19th centuries, turnips weren’t that prominent, and the pumpkin was soon substituted for the turnips.

Although the Seventh-day Adventist Church has not taken an official position specifically against Halloween, the church’s opposition to the occult and the demonic preclude any support for this type of festival.

Halloween and its customs have no roots in Scripture or in the Christian church. They are firmly rooted in the occult and in pagan practices. These connections, however, are today forgotten or made light of. Nevertheless, any practice derived from the occult is incompatible with the teachings of Scripture (Leviticus 20:6).

Since many people no longer believe in the existence of a personal devil and his demons, they feel there is no harm in making fun of these “religious relics of the past.” The children are taught that there are no such beings as witches and evil spirits and that it is fun to dress up as ghosts or goblins. The modern denial of the existence of Satan and demonic forces is clearly contrary to Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible affirms the existence of Satan and demonic spirit beings (Genesis 3:1; Job 1:6; Matthew 8:31; Revelation 12:9).

In the education of children, it is important that we do not plant false ideas in their minds. The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, NKJV). To teach them that there is no harm in imitating evil spirits is contrary to God’s will.

God in the Old Testament warned Israel not to dabble in the occult. “There shall not be found among you … one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls upon the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Since the occult is today more active than ever, this counsel is still valid today.

Participation in Halloween customs may seem innocent fun for children and adults, but it is one more way Satan can use to deceive people into thinking there is no harm in playing a little bit with the world of spirits and demons.

While Adventist Church cofounder Ellen G. White never mentioned Halloween, she warned many times against dabbling in spiritualism. “There are many who shrink with horror from the thought of consulting spirit mediums, but who are attracted by more pleasing forms of spiritism,” she said in Evangelism, p. 606.

Seventh-day Adventists recognize that spiritualism has many faces. Some of them may seem harmless and even fun. Nevertheless, they lead children and adults away from God’s truth, and can become stepping stones to further entanglement with the occult.

This commentary appeared in Perspective Digest, the journal of the Adventist Theological Society.

As the oldest publishing platform of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Adventist Review (est. 1849) provides inspiration and information to the global church through a variety of media, including print, websites, apps, and audio and video platforms.Content appearing on any of the Adventist Review platforms has been selected because it is deemed useful to the purposes and mission of the journal to inform, educate, and inspire the denomination it serves.Unless identified as created by “Adventist Review” or a designated member of the Adventist Review staff, content is assumed to express the viewpoints of the author or creator of the content.

1 note · View note

directlyjewelrysupplier · 3 years

Text

what-does-the-cross-bar-necklace-mean

A gold bar necklace, also known as a cross bar necklace– these necklaces are perfect because you can attach whatever meaning you want to them. The meaning behind my gold bar necklace is simple – I can carry my son close to my heart, whenever and wherever I want.There are not too many popular fashion or jewelry items that are all unique, while still having the same in vogue look. These necklaces achieve that perfectly.I’ve been wanting one of these necklaces for quite some time. Not only is this necklace absolutely beautiful, but it means so much to me since it has my baby’s name on it. No matter where I am, I always have him close to my heart.PERSONALIZE YOUR GOLD BAR NECKLACE TO MAKE IT SPECIAL TO YOU Put your kids’ name on it, or the name of a loved one. You can even have an inspiration word engraved on yours to help keep you motivated and to remind you of what’s important to you. That’s the beauty of these necklaces- everyone’s has a special meaning to them. The meaning behind a gold bar necklace is in the eye of the person wearing it.What Does Cross Necklace Mean?(Does it Protect You?) Cross jewelry is a little controversial, and though it would easily be one of the trendiest jewelry designs, not everyone is for the idea of wearing cross jewelry.Of course, everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and you may support cross jewelry or not, but not before you actually understand what cross jewelry means.So, in this article, let’s look at cross necklaces and what they mean.Cross necklace meaning For Christians, the cross symbolizes Jesus Christ’s Suffering and his Resurrect. Historically, however, people would wear the cross because it was believed that the cross offered protection against evil spirits – this belief stands to date, and the cross is still worn to symbolize security and one’s faith. That said, it’s important to note that the appearance of the cross differs depending on the wearer’s denomination. There should be qualms, however, regarding mix and match options for the cross or even the design preferences.📷 What Does Cross Necklace MeanIt, therefore, means that there is more than one type of cross, and these crosses carry different meanings. These include:The Papal Cross – as the name suggests, this is the cross that is designed just for the Pope. This cross features 3 horizontal bars placed towards the top of the vertical bar, with the bottom horizontal bar being the longest while the top bar is the shortest. Pectoral Cross – This cross is designed uniquely for the Bishops. It measures about 6 inches wide, and it’s meant to sit right in the middle of the chest and not near or on the collarbone. Roman Catholic or Latin Cross – This is the other religious cross. It is a simple cross, but its vertical bar tends to be longer than the horizontal bar. This cross design is rather common, and you may have seen this ring design in the world of jewelry. What Does Cross Necklace MeanCeltic Cross – The Celtic cross has horizontal and vertical bars, but in addition to these bars, there’s also a ring at the intersection of the bars. Interestingly, the origins of the Celtic cross remain unclear, with one of the older accounts noting that this cross was associated with specific regions that were evangelized by the Irish Missionaries between the 9th and the 12th Centuries. It is also believed to date back to the 19th Century Celtic Revival. Russian Orthodox Cross – This cross features 2 extra horizontal beams, with the shortest of these bars (the first) said to represent the sign of the cross; the middle represents where the hands of Jesus were nailed on the cross, while the lower bar at the bottom of the vertical bar is said to symbolize the footrest. Crucifix – this is the kind of cross that depicts Jesus’ image on the cross, and it’s a standard depiction across most of the Christian denominations. Other crosses include the Greek Cross, the Armenian Cross, Canterbury Cross(associated with the Anglican church), Gnostic Crosses, the Jerusalem Cross, Inverted Cross (St. Peter’s Cross), Cross of Constantine, Scientology

Cross, Forked Cross, Tau Cross, and finally, the Greek Orthodox cross. It’s interesting to note that regardless of the type of cross necklace an individual chooses to wear, the cross necklaces symbolize the wearer’s faith. It is a physical representation of their beliefs; it enhances their awareness, and in most cases, offers a great sense of comfort to the wearer. That said, the cross necklaces are not a new thing or rather, they are not just associated with the Christian religions since the cross symbols on jewelry is a tradition that dates as far back as the oldest civilizations like the Ancient Egyptians – they also wore them as part of their belief system or as worship and celebration of a god. It wasn’t until the Romans popularize the cross as the Christian symbol when they were converted into an entirely Christian empire, something that ended the persecution of Christians and the religion. Today, Christians wear cross necklaces as a celebration and declaration of their faith. And in most cases, the cross necklace is gifted during religious celebrations like first communions, baptisms, Easter, and Christmas. They also represent re-dedication to the faith for individuals who are already seasoned in their faith or perhaps persons going through a hard time trying to keep their faith. 📷 What does a sideways cross mean? This cross design dates back to the Ancient Egyptians thanks to their looped cross called the Ankh. For them, the cross represented fertility and life. There has been widespread use of this cross that looks like a lowercase letter “t,” and this cross shape is said to be an emblem that symbolizes the wooden post that Christ was crucified on, hence an important symbol of sacrifice, love, and faith. The meaning of this cross has been reimagined in the modern world, though. Some people consider it a trendy fashionable cross design, but this ‘fresh’ update is not just a style representation; it’s also a symbol of honor and patriotism in countries like Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, and other Nordic counties where the cross is seen in tombs, to signify the souls’ resurrection or as was rumored in 1219, a sign that the gods were in favor of the Danish forces – so, wearing the sideways cross represents honor and patriotism.📷 Is it OK to wear a cross necklace? Yes, depending on your intentions and faith, the cross necklace could have one of two meanings – a religious symbol or a non-religious symbol.For religious individuals, the cross necklace is a wearable reminder of their faith, the Lord’s loving sacrifice, and an important way for these individuals to connect to their faith. It’s also regarded as a physical proclamation of faith and, in other cases, a grounding reminder serving as encouragement when faced with challenges. The cross necklace would also inspire wearers to live by faith and grace.For non-religious individuals, the cross necklace is an accessory that people connect to in different ways. And thanks to the diverse cross necklace styles, individuals are attracted to different designs of necklaces. Generally, the cross inspires dedication and strength in people’s daily lives – even for the people who don’t practice or observe the Christian faith, the cross is very inspiring and empowering to them.Others wear the cross as an important symbol that reminds them to have faith and hope, where this symbol serves as an important motivator encouraging them to be their best selves. The cross is also deemed as a declaration of a life guided by love and caring for other people.So, whatever the reason behind your preference for the cross necklace, this piece is personal, especially for people who wear it with appreciation and understanding. This is not, however, to say that the same meaning is what makes everyone wear the cross necklace.It is worth noting that wearing the cross necklace does not, in any way, mean that you are mocking Jesus.What Does Cross Necklace MeanDoes a cross necklace protect you?Well, no symbol can protect you. However, most people wear crosses and ankhs because they

believe that the cross offers them some great sense of protection against all evil, jealousy, harm, spells & curse, bad luck, hoodoo, and all forms of danger.Tips for wearing a cross necklace if you are not religious Generally, the cross is considered an accessory that allows the wearer a great sense of self-expression, hence the high demand for the necklace even among non-religious individuals.Personalize the cross. You could have a birthstone or any other preferred gemstone added to your cross necklace. If you wear the sideways cross, it’s recommended that you wear it with a casual outfit for a more stylish feel. But you could still dress it up, for example, with diamonds. You could wear it around the center of the chest or necklace or even to the side for that stylish asymmetrical look. Choose a cross necklace whose design and materials best express who you are. You could wear it as a pendant necklace, perhaps one with an additional charm. Get a gemstone encrusted cross necklace. Only wear the cross necklace if you are comfortable wearing it; make sure that it looks and feels good on your body. Opt for thicker chains for a more stylish look. Go for a layered look, say, one with a cross pendant and the other chain with a different kind of pendant.BAR NECKLACE MEANING, POPULAR STYLES & HOW TO WEAR IT RIGHT You’ve probably noticed the many elegant and classy women sporting bar necklaces to a variety of occasions – from a casual coffee to red carpet affairs. How could one piece of jewelry be so versatile? The truth is, a bar necklace holds a special meaning for each person that wears one.It can commemorate a special date, anniversary, occasion, or it can simply be an elegant piece of jewelry to layer with other pieces. Below, we cover everything you need to know about a bar necklace meaning, the different styles, ways to customize your bar necklace, and moreThe Meaning of the Sideways Cross Necklace A trend in religious jewelry that is appearing almost everywhere and amongst many celebrities, the sideway cross is a very popular contemporary trend of our time. Some may ask, what does a sideways cross mean? Truth be told, there is no textbook definition, yet many have different interpretations of the meaning behind this growing rapid jewelry trend. At My Name Necklace discover a vast collection of sideways cross jewelry including necklaces that will allow you to carry a powerful symbol and make a statement.Side Cross BraceletNORDIC MEANING In Nordic countries, the sideways cross is referred to as the Nordic Cross, popularly found on the flags of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, originating in Denmark. Legend says that the flag was given to Denmark in 1219. During the battle of Lyndanisse, it was rumored that the flag fell from the sky. Many believe that the flag was a sign from God in favor of the Danish forces, who later won the battle. Wear this symbol of honor, patriotism and of course Christianity, with the Sideways Cross Bracelet; just the right piece to match with your everyday wardrobe and makes for a timeless accessory.Side Cross Necklace in Sterling SilverRELIGIOUS MEANING Many individuals look at the sideways cross as a symbol of Jesus achieving salvation of his people. When his work is finished, the cross had been laid down, and he no longer had to carry the weight of the cross. Some individuals believe that it symbolizes one’s choice to accept God and His teachings, while others believe it is a symbol of earth lying between Heaven and Hell, representing the struggle of humanity to live according to the word of God. Carry a spiritual yet chic piece with the Side Cross Necklace in Sterling Silver, a contemporary twist to the classic cross necklace.18k Gold Plated Silver Engraved Side Cross NecklaceA FASHION TREND To some, the sideways cross is simply a fashion trend. The upright cross has been a trend used in fashion for many, many years, while the sideways cross is a rather new trend over the past few years that is now taking over the jewelry world by storm. Spotted amongst many celebrities, the sideways cross is a

sacred, stylish piece to wear. The 18K Gold Plated Silver Engraved Side Cross Necklace makes for a bold statement and can be customized with a name or words of significant importance, for a meaningful statement.

0 notes

secretladyspizza · 3 years

Text

PERSONALIZE YOUR GOLD BAR NECKLACE TO MAKE IT SPECIAL TO YOU

0 notes

mediocrelanguagelearner · 7 years

Text

Why Learn Czech? Why Study Czech and Slovak Culture?

I found this great article about the reasons to study Czech for different kinds of people

FOR THE SLAVIST:

Since Russian language and literature are usually the Slavist's main field, another language and culture is generally required. Outside the East Slavic group, Czech is an excellent choice. One of the two most significant West Slavic languages, Czech has the advantage of a simple orthography using three diacritical marks, and a simple stress rule (stress is always on the first syllable).

Bohemia - The Czech lands are the birthplace of the first Slavic literary language, Old Church Slavic, formed by Constantine and Methodius in the 9th century. Later, in the 19th century, Slavic Studies was conceived as a discipline in Bohemia, the site of the first Slavic Congress. Finally, in the 20th century Prague became the site of the development of one of the most important linguistic, literary and semiotic schools in the world, the internationally based Prague Linguistic Circle. Since many important works can be read only in Czech, study of the language can greatly benefit the Slavist in his or her research.

FOR THE LINGUIST:

Czech is of importance because of a considerable German lexical element, which has interesting stylistic functions, especially in the spoken language. For historical reasons, Czech has a well-developed diglossic system, where a spoken and a written variant are kept separate by the speaker and are also used in an intertwined way for stylistic purposes. The extremely rich and original linguistic tradition is exemplified in the well-known Prague School of Linguistics and Semiotics, a monumental movement of thought in the 20th century influencing linguistic thinking all over the world.

FOR THE STUDENT OF LITERATURE:

Many American readers know of one of the greatest satires of all times, Hašek's Good Soldier Švejk, others know Čapek's philosophical relativist novels, his artistic detective stories or his science fiction. (The word "robot" was created by Čapek from an old Czech word for heavy work, "robota"). But not many people are aware that these two authors are but a fraction of a rich and unique literary culture, especially rich in poetry (Nobel laureate Jaroslav Seifert is a significant, but again a small fraction of it). Bohemia and Slovakia have produced a great pléiade of outstanding poets, such as Mácha, Vrchlický, Neruda, Král', Holan, Halas, Nezval, and many others, as well as the writers Kundera, Škvorecký, Vaculík, Hrabal. Others still rest in darkness for the Western world. It is also barely known that Czechs produced their own avant-garde movement, poetism, a unique synthesis of constructivism, dadaism and cubism; these were all transformed into a qualitatively different, playful movement with its own theory and interdisciplinary applications (one creator of this movement was Jaroslav Seifert). Jan Mukařovský's theory of literature is only now making its full impact on Western theory.

The social and cultural milieu of Bohemia produced such important German language authors as Franz Kafka, Franz Werfel and Rainer Maria Rilke; writers such as Werfel, Rilke, Max Brod, and E. E. Kisch wrote in Prague between the First and Second World Wars.

Czechoslovakia also produced a remarkable new wave of cinema, concerned with realistic, understated insight into life, as well as poetic surrealist films. Names like Forman, Jireš, Němec, Kádár, Chytilová, Passer, have gained world renown ever since the 1960s.

FOR THE HISTORIAN

Today's Czech Republic lies on the border of East and West. The earliest state of the region, the Great Moravian Empire of the 9th century, saw two important developments: the democratic concept of the linguistic accessibility of religion and culture (unheard of in Western Europe at the time), and the birth of the first Slavic literary language, Old Church Slavic. Later, Bohemia posed the first successful challenge to the outdated practices of the Catholic Church as the first carrier of the Protestant idea in Europe; it was the home of the early encyclopedist Comenius, who reformed the outdated scholastic education so effectively that he is to this day known as the "teacher of the nations." His ideas even now serve as the basis of modern pedagogy. This great humanist also shares the fate common to the Czech people--he is one of the first of hundreds of thousands of Czechs, Moravians, and Slovaks who for historical reasons and reasons of conscience or profession were forced to emigrate. The wealth of Western cultures owes much to such exiles.

Many important historical events — the Thirty Years' War, the First and Second World Wars — had their inceptions or took decisive turns precisely on the territory of this early industrialized country on the crossroads of the East and West.

FOR THE STUDENT OF FOLKLORE, THEATER, FILM, VISUAL ARTS, OR MUSIC:

The Czech lands are a place of important developments in modern semiotic theory, not only of literature and linguistics, but also in visual arts, music, theater, film and folklore.

FOR THE STUDENT OF ART:

During many culturally and artistically rich periods, Bohemia was at the heart of Western Culture. It played the role of catalyst, ready more than any other nation to absorb foreign influences, but also to creatively transform them into something unique. Thus during the Gothic period, Bohemia created the so-called "beautiful style", and much more recently, during the European avant-garde, poetism. Some modern painters (Toyen, Šíma, Štyrský, Muzika, Kotík, Zrzavý, Tichý) not only achieved broad renown, but anticipated new art forms. Those forms included artificialism, mental countryside painting, and magic realism. The application of modern forms to content and value concerns had taken place in Czechoslovakia as early as the 1940s - earlier than in other countries. Only a few Czech painters have achieved worldwide acclaim, like Kupka or Mucha, who created a unique Art Nouveau style ("le style Mucha"). Much translation work remains to be done in bringing so many exquisite artists to the attention and awareness of the North American public.

FOR THE STUDENT OF MUSIC:

Czechs are said to be a "nation of musicians." Already in the 17th and 18th centuries there was such a surplus of excellent musicians that they emigrated in large numbers to Western Europe. There, they formed important new directions in music, especially in Germany (for example, the Mannheim School, where they contributed to the development of the modern sonata form). The 19th century composers Smetana and Dvořák are well known; however, a great musical tradition preceded those composers, one that enriched the musical world with such forms as pastorella and melodrama. The modern composer Janáček, the pioneer of onomatopoetic music, has only recently been discovered by the Western world. The tremendous musical creativity of both Janáček and Martinů finds its source in the remarkable themes of Czech and Moravian folk songs. Other great neglected modern composers are Josef Suk (father of the famous violinist) and the Slovaks Ján Ciker and Eugen Suchoň.

FOR THE STUDENT OF JEWISH CULTURE AND HISTORY:

Bohemia, and Prague in particular, were the seat of a richly developed Jewish culture. The Gothic-Jewish quarter of Prague with its beautiful synagogues is the oldest preserved in Europe and embodies the continuity that this Jewish community enjoyed. It is not by chance that during the Second World War Hitler chose Prague for his "Museum of the Extinguished Race"; thus an invaluable collection of Jewish materials and objects was formed and is preserved to this day in the Jewish Museum there. One of the greatest Jewish writers of our time, Franz Kafka, grew up and wrote in Prague, in the center of this special mixture of intercultural relationships.

FOR THE STUDENT OF ECONOMICS OR POLITICAL SCIENCE:

Bohemia and Slovakia offer highly interesting and important resources for the study of political science. They are countries that historically and culturally belong primarily to the West; however, until recently they found themselves under the domination of the Eastern Soviet Empire. Czechoslovakia had its own communist tradition, conceived originally independently of Russia, and an extremely well-developed democratic tradition, being the only democracy in Central Europe between the wars. Because of these elements and because of Czechoslovakia's unfortunate and prolonged experience with totalitarian regimes, both the underground Czechoslovak and émigré literatures played an important if little-recognized role in the fate of the modern world. Today, as members of the EU, the Czech Republic and Slovakia offer examples of economic transition and business opportunity.

#czech #learn czech #learning czech #čeština #language learning #langblr

203 notes · View notes

in-pleasant-company · 6 years

Note

ik this is late, but i read you're post ab Josephina being a witch, and I find that Marie-Grace could be a witch / into voodoo. In Louisiana and New Orleans, Voodoo and the craft is hand in hand with religion. she very well could be.

Based on Marie-Grace’s attitudes and practices in the books (working closely with nuns and going to Catholic Mass at the oldest cathedral in North America ), I don’t think Marie-Grace is a witch. The Catholic church is very much against witchcraft.

She might have interacted with people who practiced voodoo, maybe learned a couple cautionary tales that kept her up at night, but I don’t think she practiced it herself.

We all have our headcanons about what the girls might be like in modern day, but I don’t think its right to say that Marie-Grace could be both a witch and practicing Christian, especially not Catholic. Its one or the other. People might mix their favorite bits of both today, but they still couldn’t say they were practicing 100% Christianity or witchcraft.

Its a little different to compare Marie-Grace and Josefina though. Anglo/French Catholicism is different from Mexican Catholicism.

#answered asks #marie-grace gardner #real history

4 notes · View notes

itshistoryyall · 4 years

Text

Part Two: Well, We’re Here Now

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Here, we have to start with what we can recognize as a proverbial snowball rolling down a hill. Essentially, we have the Catholic church establishing a precedent for getting rid of people who were problematic for them by placing some trumped up charges on them, executing them in a way that makes an example for others whilst simultaneously encapsulating the attention of the commoners, and then carrying on as if they had every justification for making a scene like your mom at a restaurant when they bring out the food and it’s cooler than expected. You can only imagine the out of control spiral into unadulterated chaos that followed, and that, my friends, is known to history as the European Witch Trials (ßthe snowball that is now much larger than when it began rolling at the top of that hill). A few quick notes before we power through this—at this time we can see a multitude of “assassination conspiracies” popping up against one king or another, against the Pope, or against high ranking church officials/the nobility. A bishop is executed for heresy and attempted assassination of Pope John XXII via sorcery, others were arrested with similar charges attached to the very public executions, and ultimately you start to see sorcery, idolatry, and heresy all becoming somewhat synonymous. A few decades later, as we near the central part of the 1300’s, we see the Black Death beginning to rear its ugly head and as fears, tensions, and misinformation mount, people start seeing conspiracies everywhere they look. In 1340 when people start getting grossly sick and some inquisitions start popping up. Spearheaded by the Church, the united heresy combat forces (henceforth known as UHCF—I just came up with that it’s not, like, a term historians use) went out and, as Jesus commanded,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” Matthew 28:19-20 (King James Version).

You know what that means (*insert eyebrow waggle here*), of course, they set out to rid the world of anything deemed “heresy” by the Church and that, most certainly, was up for personal interpretation. The reason we hear about these inquisitions getting such a bad rap is because people were genuinely afraid that any action they took might be mistaken for heresy, and without a clear definition of what that entailed they were most certainly right to be afraid. It’s important to highlight a bit of “Inquisition Era” timeline here—in and around 1100 the Catholic Church had, by its own definitions, all but eliminated heresy (whatever that actually means, we may never know), and they did so predominately without harm to those who stood accused. This “era of peace,” we’ll call it, ended around the 12th century when we start to see a spread of some opposing Christian ideas that were not specifically Catholic, and that couldn’t be tolerated. To nip that in the bud, we had some inquisitions come around checking things out. This process usually included, but was not limited to questioning, interrogation, arrest, imprisonment, and torture.

As a general rule, torture was, at least, publicly frowned on in Europe while other countries typically had a death sentence for heretics. As previously mentioned, in the 12th century that all changed when a tiny little papal bull, similar to a public decree, was issued by the not-at-all ironically christened Pope Innocent IV (I, quite frankly, can NOT believe that there were three others prior to this pope who were also called “Innocent” it’s just so god damn pretentious that it physically makes my skin crawl…I digress). The bull allowed torture in 1252, and by 1256 inquisitors who used this form of extracting information were promised absolution by the Church. So, to recap, we have this widespread knowledge of public executions of some of the most prominent figures in the medieval world (like that one guy in charge of the Knights Templar that predicted the deaths of a king and a pope in a non-awkward way that had no bearing on whether or not people believed in the supernatural, I’m sure), the establishment of an anti-heretic police force with little to no oversight and the ability to torture folks at will, and panicked people afraid that if the plague didn’t take them the inquisitors surely would.

To make matters worse, a new papal bull (pesky, those public decrees, I’ll tell ya..) issued around 1450 verified that witchcraft, heresy and a religious group called the Cathars were one in the same which gave them license to prosecute them as heretics or witches without just cause. Without going into too much detail about this, it’s important for you to know that the Cathars called themselves, “the good Christians,” and celebrated a twin deities that represented the God portrayed in the Old Testament, and the other represented the God of Judaism who was a bit synonymous with Satan, or either fathered, seduced, or created Satan (it’s a bit confusing, but that’s what happens when intolerant Christians try and convert believers of other religions to Christianity by way of removing what they originally believed and then replacing it with a more favorable and sort of similar Christian Approved™ bible story—i.e. pagan Ireland, Scotland, or literally any pagan religion in history). You should also know, Cathars essentially saw gender as meaningless and believed in the idea of reincarnation between genders which rendered normal gender roles and other “gender exclusive ideas” as basically useless to them. You can draw your own conclusions about why a male-dominated medieval world run by a religion known for its historical mistreatment of women, wouldn’t have received this idea well.

To reign this all in a bit, we’ve only moved a few centuries away from the establishment of Thomas Aquinas’ rules when we hit a milestone in the 15th century. Occasionally, the Church holds councils to decide on, debate, or discuss church matters, and one such event took place from 1431-1437 called the Council of Basel. Some historians suggest that while a bunch of old men were sitting together talking about stuff for six years that they may have gossiped amongst themselves (as silly men are want to do), and that this may explain the correlating witch trials that coincided with these same dates. It is only about 300 miles from where the council was held and the location of the first trial so you can see how this conclusion is easily drawn. AND NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, it’s time to talk about our first round of witch trials.

The Valais witch trials named so because of its location in Valais in one of the oldest ecclesiastical territories that lies in the southern part of the country separating the Pennine Alps and the Bernese Alps. This region was French and German speaking and that’s important because the German word for witch is hexen, which is where we get the idea of a witch’s hex today, and although we can see an occasional and sporadic burning of witches throughout the 15th century, this marked the first time we see a large-scale systematic persecution for peoples accused of witchcraft/sorcery. It’s also important to point out the lack of accounts that we have during this time period, in part this is due to a general hatred for inquisitors who were in charge of keeping records, and later when the accusations included less heresy and more witchcraft we often see occasions of inquisitors being attacked and records being sabotaged or altogether destroyed. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t blame them, but it makes this part of history a bit more difficult to sus out, and a lot left up to really good detective work or wherever your imagination can take you (this is basically my favorite part). So, that was a long-winded way of saying, a lot of this next part is gonna be me doing my best to make this make sense, and to draw concise and enlightening conclusions that you can read and hopefully learn from (I know I am!).

So, what do we know here? We know that the main record of these trials comes from a guy named Johannes Fründ of Lucerne who was a Swiss clerk of the court, and his account is thought to be the, I won’t say accurate, but more likely only usable document to have an account of these events, though, severely lacking as they were written in the middle of the trials and with only 17 years before they ended. The trials began in the southern French-speaking part of Valais and then spread to the northern German-speaking part where we see a following expansion into the French and Swiss Alps, Savoy, and further into the valleys of Switzerland. It took place a solid fifty years before the witch trials started in Europe, and while the total number of victims is still unknown to us, the estimated death toll is an estimated 400 total men and women. When these accusations began to take place, the duchy of Savoy was recovering from a tumultuous civil war between the noble clans, and in August of 1428, seven delegates representing the districts in Valais insisted that the authorities investigate some supposed instances of witchcraft. If three or more people accused someone of witchcraft or sorcery they were to be arrested, questioned, and made to confess. At a time when torture practices were acceptable forms of interrogation you can see how that might have inspired a few people to confess to being witches without much prompting, but those who refused to do so were tortured until they did. What we know about the victims is that they were more likely women than men, but a significant portion of men were also executed, they were all peasants that were not specifically described as well-educated, but some were. Very few of their names were recorded, and they were not likely elderly as most of them withstood immense torture before they died.

The victims were accused of quite an array of magical experiences including flying, invisibility, removing an illness from one person and issuing it to another, curses, lycanthropy, conspiracy to deprive Christianity of its power, and the most famously known, conspiring with the Devil. These pacts that the witches supposedly entered into with the Devil included trading their souls, paying him taxes, renouncing Christianity, and halting all confession or church-going in exchange for supernatural abilities or an education in the magical arts. Those accused of these crimes were tied to a ladder with a bag of gunpowder hung around their necks, and a wooden crucifix in their arms and then burned alive, others were decapitated first, and even more were tortured to death but were nonetheless burned at the stake for good measure. Now here is where we can see a bit of a conspiracy emerge. Recall from earlier, my mentioning that clergy and nobles alike used witchcraft as an excuse to get rid of people, and just ruminate on that as I tell you that the property of these deceased and accused only passed to their families if they could swear that they were unaware of the sorcery. If they could not prove that, then the land passed to the noble who paid for the execution of these accused. I don’t know about you, but sounds sus to me. This particular genocide is unique to other witch trials in that almost as many men were executed as women, and that leads me to believe a few things: first, that the men were landowners and the nobility wanted the land they were on (would love if a map was available to see this progression, but alas, it has been lost to the sands of time), and two, this wasn’t about gender, but more about the crybaby nobles who were upset that they lost some things during the recent civil war and needed a hobby. It’s not a good look, and it certainly wasn’t without its consequences.

#witches #witch trials #inquisition #medieval europe #itshistoryyall #history #valais #switzerland #valais witch trials #part two #covid-19 #coronavirus #what day is it #social distancing

0 notes

warsofasoiaf · 7 years

Note

I've been thinking about this for a while, so I decided to find out your thoughts on the matter. How would you go about creating a good fantasy religion?

When it comes to building a religion, the key things to remember is that religion is tied very much to ethics, the nature of reality, the meaning of life (and anything that comes after), and other deep philosophical underpinnings of what it means to be alive, to be good or evil, what responsibilities do we have in life. Religion offered to the people of the past (and continues to offer to the people in the present) profound comfort, meaning, and purpose for the entire life. So, you have your work cut out for you. But this is not beyond the ability of the aspiring worldbuilder and fantasy writer. I’m going to caveat this: I’ve studied religions, but a lot of my studies were focused on western religions. Someone who has studied more Eastern, African, or Pacific religions feel free to add anything. I acknowledge my limitations and have done what I could be as inclusive as possible, but I am certain there was stuff I missed.

Who Are You, Who Worships Me?

It’s tempting to start building a religion by building a deity or pantheon and moving from there, but I find it altogether more productive to look at the society that practices the religion and build up, rather than craft the divine and build down. Unless the piece you’re writing focuses on the perspective of the gods, or has them act as characters, they won’t be the focus of your story, but the society that your characters will be interacting with will have a profound effect on the story you’re writing.

So, when it comes to your society, the cardinal virtues that your society wishes to express will become central tenets of your religion. A society that prizes military strength, for example, will emphasize bravery, duty, loyalty, obedience to orders, hierarchy, and all of the things that enhance military cohesion. Deities will often be emphasized in martial roles, whether against enemies, other deities, or against evil itself. Antiquity often had gods pitted against each other, with the winner in warfare being the “stronger” deity, because clearly, those worshippers were the ones that won, right? The positive virtues and negative virtues of your society will be emphasized in all aspects of life, to include religion, and how it evolves over time.

Did You Ever Wonder Why We’re Here?

The meaning of life almost seems too cliche, but having a reason for existing is tremendously comforting. Religion have, throughout history, offered answers to very difficult and very terrifying questions. Why are we born? What happens do us when we die? Is this the only existence there is? Are all the bad things that happen to me just random, or is there a greater purpose to it all? Your fantasy religion is almost certainly going to have to attempt to address some of these questions in order to seem like a credible religion.

Always make sure to take into account the context of your world to think up of confusing questions that the world has to answer. Does magical talent happen seemingly randomly? Religion might attribute a divine origin to such a thing. Can the dead come back to life? That’s certainly going to factor in to your answers about what happens when humans die.

Religion offers other answers as well. Early religions attempted to make sense of the world and phenomena, because, as I’ve mentioned before, knowing why something is the way it is offers tremendous comfort. The fear of the unknown is one of the oldest fears in existence, and it’s one of the most pervasive fears even into our modern day, because the unknown calls into question a human’s mastery over his or her environment and ability to control and handle situations as they occur. Not knowing means losing one of our most powerful attributes: our ability to think rationally and plan accordingly, and this feeling of disempowerment is wholly terrifying. Good horror makes uses of feelings of weakness to amp up the fear effectively, and the use of the unknown, the paranoid cloying that something is out there but we have no idea what it is, where it is, or how to stop it, is amazing. It’s comforting to think of the sun as a flaming chariot powered by a god who wishes to keep us warm. After all, chariots are something familiar, even if the scale is beyond us, and a powerful being that looks out for our survival helps guard against the fear that at any minute, the sun could go away or expand into a giant and burn us to a cinder.

Now, a big part of religion is the concept of the sacred mystery. In the more ‘public’ sense, this would be supernatural phenomena that cannot be explained by rational means, and this forms a crucial understanding in the relationship between the mundane world and divinity. How the divine interacts with the world, if at all, is critical to understanding the relationship between any divine figure and the mortal practitioner. In the more esoteric sense, a sacred mystery is knowledge that is not commonly available to the public, accessible only by initiation and elevation to the proper rank. This was done in Greco-Roman mystery cults, as an example. In a fantasy story, for example, this is excellent for bringing in elements of the supernatural while keeping it rare and out of public hands.

Don’t fear that any point is too esoteric or minute to be important. The meaning of the divine have launched wars. Just to take an example, look at all the early theological disputes as to the exact nature of Jesus in Christianity. Arianism, Monophysitism, Monotheliteism, there was a tremendous amount of discussion and excommunications over aspects that seem almost trivial to a layperson, but this was a matter of the soul and of life everlasting to the people who lived in those times. Just because it seems unimportant to you, it can still have great significance to those who believe it. The same is true in fantasy as in reality.

The Path to Power

Now, religion is, like any other institution, controlled by humans, and humans are many things, but one thing that they are good at is building power structures. Religion has often been used as a vehicle to power. In some cases, this means an out-and-out theocracy, where political power is exercised through the clergy, but it hardly needs to be official. When a religion can control something as powerful and meaningful as an immortal soul, even without any official political power, the clergy will exert a great deal of influence.

Of course, when it comes to designing a religion, one of the big questions that will determine how much hard and soft influence said religion will have on the society at large. An informal, deeply personalized religion based on direct relationships with divine entities will not be very organized, but will still form a significant part of the daily lives of practitioners; in ASOIAF, it’s considered proper to perform important moments in front of a heart tree so that the Old Gods may bear witness, yet there does not appear to be an organized clerical hierarchy. A more organized religion will have a much more formalized organizational structure, with sacred texts and formalized rituals. Religions like Christianity and Islam are very organized, and as the number of worshipers grew, so did the size of their organizations.

The size of the organization is critical, because that determines the amount of resources it has. The Catholic Church was the largest organization in medieval Europe, and as such, had a truly gigantic amount of resources in both money and land, and that translated into a lot of power. The most powerful Popes could cow the mightiest kings of Europe, send ambassadors to distant lands, call Crusades and sanction invasions that forever changed the face of Europe. The most powerful Caliphs left their stamp on Islamic philosophy and jurisprudence that affected the way the religion is practiced today.

Now, as you might imagine, the bigger the organization and the wealthier it is, the more attractive it is to gather money, power, and influence, just like any secular organization. Corruption is present in all organizations, even the tiniest and weakest ones, and the largest and most powerful ones will definitely have corrupt officials, and those in power will use their organization to protect their power for reasons both benign (if I lose this power, I can’t help my flock) and malicious (if I lose this power, then I can’t help myself), and everywhere in between. As might be expected, corruption in any religion would be abhorrent to honest practitioners no matter their rank, corruption and hypocrisy rankle any outsider, and so anti-corruption movements would result. There were plenty of anti-corruption initiatives in Catholicism, and this ranged from peasant revolts who railed against inequality and classism to reformist Popes who cracked down on simony and usury. These anti-corruption initiatives can form critical moments in the history of your religion…or are a perfect way to have a conflict over the course of your novel.

What is a God, Anyway?

Now, of course, if you have a religion, you’ll need some sort of divine figure or idea. There has to be an origin for these sacred mysteries after all. Whether you have a monotheistic religion, a dualistic religion, a polytheistic religion, or even an atheistic one built around a philosophy, the big thing to capture is a sense of something much larger than humanity.

In a one-god religion, it’s important to settle exactly how powerful the god is. Monotheism typically asserts that the one god is all powerful, and has no peer, but that is far from the only way that works. Henotheism asserts a single divine essence which takes the form of many valid gods, and monolatrism, where many gods exist but only one is worshiped. In this latter two cases, defining the relationship between the gods is critical to the nature of the divine. Can a mortal worship the underlying divine essence of henotheism (or even comprehend it)?

In a ditheistic religion, the relationship between the gods becomes even more important, because usually whatever the one god is not, the other is. This dichotomy is often central to the formation of the world, and the religion offers a lens of contrasts and binary choices. Zoroastrianism is one of the most influential ditheistic religions I’m aware of, and it stresses the constant choices that mankind makes, to do good or to do evil, and this impetus of behavior affects many aspects of Zoroastrian societies.

In a polytheistic religion, the gods typically resolve around certain spheres of influence, and so it might be possible and necessary to pray to certain deities who have access over this sphere. Polytheistic deities typically emphasize human characteristics, and not all of them benevolent. The Greek Gods might bestow favor that ended up with horrible things happening to them. Susano-o got into a fight with his sister and flayed her favorite pony and threw the skin at her. Tezcatlipoca and Quetzlcouatl constantly unmake creation to show each other up. Odin repeatedly tried to renege on deals. Eshu walked around with a hat that looked different depending on how you looked at it just so people would fight over it. Taken as a strictly secular observer with modern values, you could probably say that these gods were, well, dicks (apologies to anyone if I called your god a dick), but they seem so strikingly and extremely human: concepts and personas taken to their immortal conclusion. Death is also a real thing for these gods. Many of the Tuatha died, including Nuada and Lugh, and they eventually lost Ireland. The Norse Gods were all fated to die on Ragnarok (save for a select few). The Aztec gods were built around death and sacrifice providing power. These concepts were all special, magical, and relatable.

I’d recommend researching ancient religions and seeing how they explored these concepts (and others) to make your religion feel genuine.

Bringing it Together

Just like anything else, you will be building a lot of things from single ideas that will invariably change. Do not fear change, and this is especially true for religions. After all, the changes you make, you can incorporate into the fictional history of your religion, as it grows and shifts over time, just like everything else (hopefully) in your setting.

For example, the religion in my fantasy setting started with a single idea. I wanted to build a society where doing good was a real concern, so I based it off Zoroastrianism. The religion was a dualistic one, with one good and one evil deity. Doing good actions strengthened the good deity of creation, doing evil strengthened the bad one. At the judgment day at the end of time, the two deities would fight, and the winner would be the one strengthened by the active thoughts and deeds of worshipers. If the good deity won, it was a remaking of the world into a land of endless paradise and plenty. If the evil deity won, the world became an endless suffering pit. This resolved the issue of free will, because mankind and free will is the active shaping force of the end of the world. It assigns significance to actions because everything that everyone does matters in judgment day, even if ever so little. The ethical framework of this society, then, becomes rather judgmental, as each evil deed is not only a crime against man, but against existence itself, and villains became interesting as they justified their crimes to render them good, or even went so far as to do other things to stave it off, and in one particularly horrible case, believed that the patient suffering of his victims offset the damage he was doing.

Then, to make matters more interesting, I made a religious schism that was based off the Great Schism of 1054, naming them after their implement of religious purity. One side, the ones who follow the sacred fire, believe that action is the principal driver of good, and so their doctrines resolve around actively doing good. The other side, who follow the sacred waters, believe that contemplation and thought are the most important, that one must actively think good and the action will follow. To the fire side, thought without action is impotent, empowering nothing and permitting evil to triumph, strengthening the evil god. To the water side, wanting to do good because of benefit (even just to strengthen the good god for the hope of the eternal paradise) is selfish and strengthens the evil god. Now, there’s actually a lot more theological discussions and some of it concerns secular concerns of power. The spectrum of belief has heretic hardliners who believe in violent action to eliminate the other sect before they do more wicked things, to more mellow followers who believe that the other side is misguided by not actively evil, to active Unificationists who attempt to use theological argument to reconcile the two sides with a variety of compromises. There’s even a sect in the hills that are fundamentalist Rejectionists who say that the schism is a sign of corruption and that there needs to be a return to a simpler, purer form of the religion, and that all came from one idea of a man constantly quoting scripture as if every single line he said was pregnant with meaning. I have (horrible) sketches of two grand temples devoted to sacred waters and sacred fires with beautiful architecture and ideas for how this schism will play out to create conflict for the protagonists, and how their ideas on it shape their actions. Follow the path where it takes you, write your notes, and don’t be afraid to come back and make revisions.

Thanks for the question, Overlord.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#writing #religion #worldbuilding #essays on writing and worldbuilding

147 notes · View notes

denverstainedglass-blog · 5 years

Text

The Reasons For Stained Glass in Churches?

New Post has been published on https://www.denverstainedglass.com/stained-glass-repair/the-reasons-for-stained-glass-in-churches/

The Reasons For Stained Glass in Churches?

There is no denying that stained glass is lovely. Whether on the towering windows of Notre Dame Cathedral to the quaint windows of local Denver churches it is simply a delight to congregations and members and communities alike. These types of windows have been delighting congregations for more than a thousand years. They span generations and denominations alike. Regardless of people’s theology from church to church, one fact that most can agree on is–stained glass windows are stunning. But why exactly do churches have stained glass? Is there something to them beyond simply beauty? Is there something more to these pieces beyond their obvious artistic value? Why are they such a ubiquitous part of cathedrals and chapels not just here in Denver but across the US and even the world? As it were, there are actually a few reasons why you see stained glass on many churches. Today we will highlight the two most prominent ones–spiritual and practical.

The Christian Religion’s Relationship With Light

In the Christian religion, there has always been a special relationship with light. Stained glass in churches clearly reflects this. In fact, it allows for the use of light in a particularly ethereal way. It is understandable then, that churches from Methodists to Catholic appreciate the play of light combined with the iconography so important to them. In Genesis, God’s first words were “‘Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3-4) With this type of reference to light so early in such a sacred book, it is easy to see why Christian churches would embrace light through stained glass. Accordingly, they spent much time and energy developing a church feature that perfectly embodies God first gift to man. Stained glass windows in churches bring light into an otherwise dark interior, it casts out shadows and brings relief. Not unlike the God of Genesis. There is no doubt that early architects wanted light through the lovely ornate windows of old to play out much like it did in the Bible. They saw stained glass as a perfect way to highlight the spiritual truth of light while at the same time being functional. Ostensibly this happened over 1000 years ago, as, the oldest surviving stained glass window is found in the Augsburg Cathedral in Germany and was built in the 11th century. Since those days stained glass windows in churches have changed a lot. However, embracing the proverbial light of God has not. In fact, stained glass windows changed in their relationship with the church over time to become more than just spiritually useful but practical as well. Eventually, these windows began to not only served as a representation of the light of God but as a critical teaching tool as well.

Stained Glass Symbolism As A Teaching Tools

During the medieval period, stained glass windows were the best way to teach the poor about God. Because during this time the masses were illiterate. Also, they lacked access to copies of the bible, which were few. Only the rich and clergy had Bibles so it was easier to disseminate stories through the use of stained glass on churches rather than books. It was more accessible and easier for the poor to understand. If fact, in some larger church windows almost all the important stories from the books of Genesis to Revelations played out in glass. Soon the saints too appeared on windows and helped inspire both the poor and rich struggling on their Christian journey. They lent hope to the hopeless in their time of need in a most lovely way. The stained glass and the light dancing light were the perfect teaching tool for the Christian religion. As cathedrals grew in size and technology so too did the depth of the symbolism contained in the stained glass. The new colors achieved through evolving chemistry appeared on the windows and were given deep meaning. Read the list of the various ways colors and symbols came to have meaning on stained glass over time.

Stained Glass Symbolism Explained

Jesus: Represented by Lifelike images; cross; lamb; a shepherd

Holy Spirit: Represented by a flame; wind; a white dove

The Saints: Represented by an image of the man or woman; the name of the saint; the way the saint was martyred

Virgin Mary: Often depicted wearing blue robes; on her own or with her son

Black: Death

Blue: Heavenly Love, Virgin

Brown: Death

Grey: Mourning, Humility

Green: Spring, Charity, Life over death

Purple: Royalty God The Father

Red: Love, Hate, Martyred

Violet: Love, Truth, Passion, Suffering

White/Gold: Innocence, Holiness

Yellow: Jealousy, Treason, Deceit

Why Stained Glass In Modern Churches?

Times have, of course, changed quite a bit since stained glass began adorning churches. Today most church folks here in the US can read the bible for themselves. Meaning they don’t need stained glass to guide the way. However, stained glass on churches still remains revered and important. Many religions have come to embrace these lovely works of art. Today, rather than being a teaching tool for this generation, stained glass has become a way to preserve history for the next generation. Because today’s church stained glass has significant historical value. Furthermore, while still useful for conveying religious themes–it also has become very valuable secular art. Since stained glass in the US was made in an era of what could be considered the last frontier–it has intrinsic historical value. Furthermore, churches today often use stained glass windows to honor beloved family and patrons–making it valuable on a personal level. For these reasons, although stained glass in chapels and churches has changed over time, it is just as important today as it was 1000 years ago. It is an incredible asset for any church to preserve and restore when necessary.

To learn more about the stained glass on your Denver Church and whether or not it may need restoration, contact us at Church Stained Glass Restoration in today!

0 notes

joannrochaus · 5 years

Text

The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral cannot destroy the church

Listen to The Daily Article Podcast, then subscribe.

The fire that devastated the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was an accident, according to the president of the Paris region. Donors have already pledged millions of dollars to rebuild the medieval landmark, one of the most iconic in the world.

The Cathedral was begun in 1163 with the laying of the cornerstone and largely completed by 1345. The cathedral towers are both 226 feet tall. They were the tallest structures in Paris until the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889.

Around four hundred firefighters battled the blaze for nine hours before extinguishing it. The cathedral’s iconic spire fell, but the towers were saved.

People in Paris lined the streets as the cathedral burned, praying and holding vigils for the monument.

The “emotion of an entire nation”

The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral cannot destroy the church: https://t.co/LoeVZbT9p0 #NotreDame #church #Christianity pic.twitter.com/OO7X0OnsEy

— Jim Denison (@JimDenison) April 16, 2019

The Notre Dame Cathedral is a significant metaphor for religion in our times.

French President Emmanuel Macron described the devastating fire as the “emotion of an entire nation.” Thirteen million people visit the cathedral each year, making it one of the world’s most beloved structures.

And yet, practicing Catholics make up only 1.8 percent of the French population. According to a recent study, “the practice of the immense majority of French Catholics is limited to life events such as baptism, marriage, death, etc. and to the major feasts of the Church.”

The French are by no means alone in their view of the church’s relevance today.

“Where is the church?”

The oldest church building in the world is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Begun in AD 327 by Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, it marks the location of Jesus’ birth. The second-oldest church building is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, also begun by Helena and intended to mark the location of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I have visited both many times over the years. Each time, I am struck by the beauty of the structures and the way they draw my attention vertically to the Lord they are intended to serve.

However, the fourth-century decision to begin constructing church buildings across the Empire marked a major shift in the way Western culture understood the nature of the church.

If you had asked a first-century Christian, “Where is the church?” he or she would not have known how to answer your question. It would be like asking, “Where is the Republican (or Democratic) Party?” or “Where is the pro-life movement?”

Early Christians knew that they were the church. Buildings they used to gather for worship were just that—buildings. Jesus launched the church as a movement intended to attack the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18). The church is not a location but an army that marches on its knees as it makes disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).

“We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard”

The fire that destroyed two-thirds of the Notre Dame Cathedral was indeed a tragedy. But fire cannot destroy the church of Jesus Christ.

Fire cannot destroy the church of Jesus Christ.

Jewish authorities tried to stamp out the church at its beginnings (Acts 4, 5). Nero blamed the fire that swept Rome in AD 64 on the Christians and mistreated them mercilessly. According to tradition, Peter and Paul were both executed during this persecution.

Over the following centuries, Christians were blamed for causing natural disasters by refusing to worship the Roman deities. They were accused of immorality and black magic. By AD 325, as many as two million believers had been martyred for their faith.

Over the centuries since, Christianity has remained the most persecuted religion in the world. But, as Tertullian famously declared, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

During my first visit to Cuba, I told one of the church leaders that I was praying for persecution to lessen against his people. I was surprised by his response.

He asked me to stop, explaining that the persecution they endured was being used by the Holy Spirit to purify and strengthen his people.

The apostles’ answer to our first persecutors must be our declaration today: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

What the book of Revelation means

The Notre Dame Cathedral still stands this morning. Even if it had been totally destroyed, the church it represents would be just as strong and just as significant today.

The strength of the church is not in her buildings but in her people.

The strength of the church is not in her buildings but in her people. Our willingness to pay any price to worship and serve Jesus is the test of our faith and the foundation of our witness.

When last did it cost you something significant to follow Jesus?

What sacrifice will you make today in gratitude for the grace you have received?

In response to the “mercies of God,” will you surrender your day and your life to your Lord as a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1)?

Will you use your influence to help other people know and follow your Lord?

If you do, you will join a global movement of believers across twenty centuries whose faith and witness circle the globe and advance the kingdom of God. And you will be part of a movement that cannot be destroyed by fire or persecution—the church triumphant on earth and in heaven.

A seminary student was playing basketball with some friends at a nearby high school gym. He noticed the school’s custodian sitting on the steps of the building with a Bible open on his lap.

He made his way over to the elderly gentleman and asked him what he was reading.

“The Bible,” the man replied.

The seminary student grinned and said, “I can see that. What book of the Bible?”

The man responded, “The book of Revelation.”

The student was surprised and asked, “The book of Revelation? Do you understand it?”

“Of course I understand it,” the custodian answered.

“What does it mean?” the seminary student asked.

The custodian smiled and said, “It means, we win.”

The post The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral cannot destroy the church appeared first on Denison Forum.

source https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/the-fire-at-the-notre-dame-cathedral-cannot-destroy-the-church/ source https://denisonforum.tumblr.com/post/184224550887

0 notes

directlyjewelrysupplier · 3 years

Text

What Does the Cross Bar Necklace Mean

0 notes

denisonforum · 5 years