thehopething

[thehopething]

“Faith is a state of openness or trust. To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float. And the attitude of faith is the very opposite of clinging to belief, of holding on. In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe, becomes a person who has no faith at all. Instead they are holding tight. But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be.”

— Alan Watts (via ellaenchanted2004)

#quotes

[thehopething]

“The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter; the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin. Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this? Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common laborer; the wise, to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate; a child of a prince, to a peasant.”

— St. Anthony of Padua

#quotes

[thehopething]

"هكذا قال الرب. احفظوا الحق واجروا العدل. لانه قريب مجيء خلاصي واستعلان بري."

“this is what the lord says: maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.”

isaiah 56:1 (NIV)

[thehopething]

Cover detail of a book about John the Baptist with the illustration by Jan Henryk Rosen, 1934.

[thehopething]

Crucifixion icons by Ulyana Nyshchuk, Ukraine

Today is Good Friday for those in Orthodox churches.

This recent 'Crucifix' icon is by Ulyana Nyshchuk of Ukraine.

Size: 50x50 cm Medium: egg tempera, gilding, acrylic Material: gessoed wood Year: 2024 https://iconart-gallery.com/en/catalogue/#!/Ulyana-Nyshchuk-Crucifix/p/638356171/category=164915385

Painted on thin wood, this is the front:

and this is the back:

All of the icons below are similarly on thin wood with the artist's information on the back.

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Today the Archbishop of Canterbury issued this relevant statement:

On this Orthodox Good Friday, we remember in particular our sisters and brothers in the Eastern Church who will be reflecting on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in places of profound fear, suffering and loss.

For Orthodox Christians in places such as Ukraine, Gaza, the West Bank and Armenia, my prayer is that even in the darkness and despair of Good Friday, they will know the comfort and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ – and the promise of his resurrection.

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Here is a 'Crucifixion' icon by the same artist, from 2021:

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See 60+ icons by this artist at https://iconart-gallery.com/ua/buy-art?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3bLiRFSGRRVWECCDrNQtMrwmtlENlAxqAS3-Hw96kVDDzNdj9c4xE9y68_aem_ARom16gxCh8cm3Dr4654I71uTZE7wTi6jd7Eg8YsPoRG2XdIVHilBOdilmSyg68Ju7ahFyu_v9haWtQ9ZjjlV7o0#!/Ulyana-Nyshchuk/c/56772117

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'Crucifix' icon, 2023

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'Crucifixion on a Black Board,'2023

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'Mother of God with the Crucifixion,' 2022

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Follow the artist at https://www.facebook.com/ptafka

Her 'Crucifixion' from 2022:

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Another 'Crucifixion' icon from 2024:

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A close-up of the icon above:

[thehopething]

jesus no

[thehopething]

#yes and positive but also i chose it for myself #and argued my parents into letting me get baptized

[thehopething]

[thehopething]

Hey guys, I have a priority fundraiser rotation for you:

Fadi & Shahed: 5,885 USD out of 62.5k

Sana'a & Sujood: 15,049 £ out of 50k

Mahmoud Qassas: 12,466$ out of 200k

Ezzideen Shehab: 11,075€ out of 32.5k.

Hussam Aburamadan: 17,657€ out of 148k.

Hamdi Hijazi: 6,614$ out of 25k.

Suheir Hojok: 17,557 AUD out of 70k.

Madleen Abu Jayyab: 33,808$ out of 70k.

Hani Al-Hajjar: 2,536€ out of 50k.

Little Yusuf: 664€ out of 85k.

Nael Helles: 255$ out of 50k.

Alia's family: 516€ out of 30k.

Hala's family: 350 CAD out of 50k.

Mohammed Al Shaer: 150£ out of 50k

Mona Abu Hamda: 75k out of 150k.

Sahar El Tibi: 15€ out of 30k.

Youssef Munir: 596£ out of 50k.

Muhammad Munir: 1,528£ out of 45k.

Amal & Ruba A.S.: 0€ out of 50k.

I have personally verified every one of these campaigns listed here.

The invasion of Rafah grows nearer everyday. Please understand the urgency of this campaign.

Version date: April 30th 2024.

[thehopething]

So when Jesus rises from his grave everyone rejoices and it becomes a holiday but when I, Count Dracula-

[thehopething]

Snoopy and Jesus eating ice cream together <3 this was based off a dream I had last night of... literally, Snoopy and Jesus having ice cream together. I dream really random stuff but this had to be one of the top ones if I'm honest jasdhjsahjdsa I found it quite nice because I love Jesus, I love Snoopy, so... yeah!

[thehopething]

Eduard Jacob von Steinle, The lost sheep, etching, 1810

[thehopething]

Jesus stands at the door knocking (Rev. 3:20). In total reality, he comes in the form of the beggar, of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help. He confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you. That is the great seriousness and great blessedness of the Advent message. Christ is standing at the door; he lives in the form of a human being among us. Do you want to close the door or open it?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

#quote

[thehopething]

#poem

[thehopething]

Many books of the Bible that didn't make it to the official canon(s) and other incredibly important pieces of scripture and literature are only known today because they were preserved in the Ge'ez script in Ethiopia. It is very likely that there are lots of other texts dating to the earliest days of Christianity that are still to be "found", only because there aren't enough international scholars who know the Ge'ez script or work in Ethiopia. There are many, but not as much as it deserves. (Important note is that Ge'ez is both a liturgical language, like Latin, and also is a script, much like Latin or Chinese characters, used by many Ethiopian languages, but others can be written and indeed are written in Ge'ez script, this is why it has preserved such a range of literature)

Ge'ez looks like this:

ሀሎ! ይህ በአማርኛ ቋንቋ እና በግእዝ ፊደል የተጻፈ ነው! ለእርስዎ እና ለቤተሰብዎ በረከቶች!

There was briefly a very bad taste meme calling it a "demon language", with people even copypasting random religious literature in Ge'ez thus making it seem more "sinister". I won't comment on how ignorant and offensive that is.

Ge'ez is an important script and language, much like Greek or Latin, because of its connection to major religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Ethiopia is a wonderful country with a deep, rich history, and is an example of how Africa has always been part of world history. But like all languages, it's also a cultural heritage on its own, worth cherising, preserving, and learning about, regardless of its importance to the rest of the world. Instead of being ignorant for a racist joke, we could always take our time and learn and appreciate such things.

[thehopething]

“I’m very fond of Jesus Christ. He may be the most beautiful guy who ever walked the face of this earth. Any guy who said “Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the meek” has got to be a figure of unparalleled generosity and insight and madness… A man who declared himself to stand among the thieves, the prostitutes and the homeless. His position cannot be comprehended. It is an inhuman generosity. A generosity that would overthrow the world if it was embraced because nothing could weather that compassion. I’m not trying to alter the Jewish view of Jesus Christ. But to me, in spite of what I know about the history of legal Christianity, the figure of the man has touched me.”

— Leonard Cohen (via hymnsofheresy)

#quote

[thehopething]

#gjkfddjkh