"Jewish Zombie"? Is he, by any chance, associated with Rob Zombie, a.k.a, "White Zombie"?
Rapunzel
JoinedPosts by Rapunzel
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25
Christianity in a nutshell?
by gaiagirl in"the belief that a jewish zombie who can make you live forever in paradise if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree".. .
pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?
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The "Historical Jesus" and Christian Faith
by Narkissos inin the wake of lovelylil's recent threads on the "historical jesus," a side question.. let's assume, for the sake of the discussion, that the four canonical gospels are not historical accounts of jesus' life, but a much later elaboration of christian faith in narrative form -- there are many reasons for such a proposal, but i'm not going into them right now -- let's just assume.. what do you think would be better or worse to find out in the historical field, from the perspective of christian faith:.
1. that there was no "historical jesus" at all, and that the gospels are essentially a religious myth made (hi)story, "the word made flesh" so to say;.
2. that there was a "historical jesus" completely different from the christian saviour -- for example, a galilean apocalyptic prophet and political zealot, trying to cleanse the nation and the temple from both the roman occupation and ritual disorders, with no interest at all in starting a new universal (i.e.
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Rapunzel
I would say that, from a Christian perspective, number one would be worse; from the perspective of a believer, it would be devastating.And yet, although I'm not a believer in any revealed religion, I think that choice number one is how it is.
As I have said before, human beings are creatures that have always sat around and told stories to each other. All of our "truths" are merely stories and narratives. And because Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all religions of the Book - the [printed] Word - our foundational cultural narratives have been put down in writing.
If I may, I would like to quote a passage from the author, Imre Kertesz, who writes in the novel Liquidation - "I believe in writing - nothing else; just writing. Man may live like a worm, but he writes like a god. There was a time when that secret was known, but now it has been forgotten; the world is composed of disintegrating fragments, an incoherent dark chaos, sustained by writing alone. If you have a concept of the world, if you have not yet forgotten all that has happened, that you have a world at all, it is writing that has created that for you, and ceaselessly goes on creating it..."
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Were You Ever Counseled Because Of What You Wore (or didn't)?
by minimus inafter reading the thread about what is acceptable to wear and not wear in a factory run by jehovah's witnesses, i wondered whether any here ever got counseled or in trouble because of their fashion sense or attire.
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Rapunzel
When I was in France, in 1976, I was "counseled" ["harassed" or "taunted" are actually better words for the treatment] for wearing my hair unacceptably long. To this day, I still remember attending a meeting before field service. Although there was only one woman ["sister"] present, the elder in charge of the meeting quipped - "Well, it seems like we have have two sisters present today." This witticism drew chuckles and smirks from some of the brothers who were there. Of course, he was referring to me as the "second sister." Also one time, I was put in with the sisters on a food distribution line at a convention. In the 70's in France, selling food was strictly limited to "the sisters."
Of course, it is entirely a question of local standards. I found it a little ironic actually, because I remember clearly that the younger sisters in that same French congregation had the habit of wearing very, very tight-fitting blue jeans. It looked like they had had their jeans spray-painted on. But that was alright because that was the custom throughout all of France at that time. Guys wore their hair short, and young women wore their jeans tight.
On the other hand, the situation was quite different in Miami a year earlier, in 1976. There, the sisters would never think of wearing jeans or any other pants to the Kingdom Hall. In fact, they sneered at the women in the "worldly churches" who wore pant suits to church. So,I guess it all comes down to local mores and customs. Also, I have heard that some halls are more "liberal" and lenient than others.
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Any Independent Confirmation of Magi's "Travelling Star"?
by Rapunzel ineveryone is familiar with the biblical legend of how the magi were led to jesus' birthplace by following a roaming star that came to rest over bethlehem.
i would like to know if there are any recordings outside of the bible of this event.
are there any ancient chinese, persian, mayan, etc.
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Rapunzel
Everyone is familiar with the biblical legend of how the Magi were led to Jesus' birthplace by following a roaming star that came to rest over Bethlehem. I would like to know if there are any recordings outside of the Bible of this event. Are there any ancient Chinese, Persian, Mayan, etc. sources that speak of such an occurrence? According to tradition, Jesus was born in the period from the year 7 B.C. to 4 B.C. I'm sure that such a wondrous celestial phenomenon as a travelling star would have attracted the awe of astronomers the world over. Such an event would certainly have been recorded. Some people may mention a confluence of two heavenly bodies, but in mind, this is not the kind of phenomenon that is being described in the Bible account. The account describes a mobile star that comes to rest over a given spot. Has anyone ever tried to analyze astronomical records made at that time to verify if there is a recording of the event?
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Memorial Billboard!
by Robert7 inthis kind-of goes with the thread "why not use mass-media".
i got this email forwarded to me by a relative.
i guess it could have been photoshopped.... wow, someone actually advertised the memorial on a billboard.
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Memorial Billboard!
by Robert7 inthis kind-of goes with the thread "why not use mass-media".
i got this email forwarded to me by a relative.
i guess it could have been photoshopped.... wow, someone actually advertised the memorial on a billboard.
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Rapunzel
The language on the billboard is Portuguese. The phone number does not appear to be a number in the United States, so perhaps it is a billboard in Portugal or Brazil. It's ironic because underneath the billboard, on the right, is the phone number of an "iglesia catolica, " a Catholic church.
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Evidence of Jesus Outside the New Testament (long article)
by lovelylil in.condemned him to be crucified, those who had .
finally, the claim that on the third day jesus appeared to his disciples restored to life, inasmuch as it affirms jesus' resurrection, is quite unlikely to come from a non-christian!.
we read that he was a wise man who performed surprising feats.
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Rapunzel
The Qur'an is also "historically accurate," as historically accurate as the Bible - even more so. According to the Qur'an, there have been 124,000 prophets throughout human history. Of these 124,000, there are 28 major prophets, among whom are included Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus. According to the Qur'an,Jesus is simply one prophet in a long list of prophets.
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Stop buying things made in China
by joelbear69 inreasons.. 1. china has a horrible human rights record.. 2. they are evaporating the us economy.. stop buying.
tell your store manager you won't buy their products..
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Rapunzel
As a sixteen-year resident of Taiwan, I am well aware of the brutal and barbarous tactics emloyed by the Chinese Communist Party. They are currently threatening Taiwan by aiming more than one thousand missiles at the island. The Taiwan Strait is most definitely one of the world's "hot" zones; it's a powderkeg just waiting to explode. Most people don't fully realize just how important a shipping lane the Strait of Taiwan is, but it is crucially important - as important as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The Strait of Taiwan is not only a vital lifeline for American shipping interests, it is also vital for Japan. If there is war between China and Taiwan, both the United States and Japan will have to get involved. Historically, the U.S. has always used military force to protect its shipping lanes. In truth, the U.S. probably does not give a fig about Taiwan in itself, but God help anyone who tries to impede shipping in the Taiwan Strait.
In terms of aggression toward Taiwan, the Chinese have three choices - 1.) missile attack, 2.) invasion, 3.) blockade
Option number one would cause havoc and chaos throughout the world, but it would not gain China one inch of Taiwanese territory.
Option number two is not presently feasible because the Chinese lack the hardware and the tactical skills to mount an amphibious invasion. Military amphibious operations are extremely complex and difficult to execute successfully. The only country with such skills is the U.S.
This leaves option number three - a naval blockade, possibly combined with air force protection.
However, should China mount a blockade, there will be war.
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What To Think About John Cages' Opus 4'33"?
by Rapunzel injohn cage composed 4'33" [four minutes, thirty three seconds] in 1952. for cage, 4'33" represented the epitome of aleatoric - that is to say random or chance - music; it was the epitome of his notion that any sound constituted, or could possibly constitute, music.
4'33" was composed for any instrument, or any combination of instruments; and the score specifically instructs the musician(s) not to play their instrument for the entire four-minute-thirty-three-seconds duration of the piece.
they do not play so much as one single note.
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Rapunzel
John Cage composed 4'33" [four minutes, thirty three seconds] in 1952. For Cage, 4'33" represented the epitome of aleatoric - that is to say random or chance - music; it was the epitome of his notion that any sound constituted, or could possibly constitute, music. 4'33" was composed for any instrument, or any combination of instruments; and the score specifically instructs the musician(s) NOT to play their instrument for the entire four-minute-thirty-three-seconds duration of the piece. They do not play so much as one single note. This piece is sometimes called "four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence", but according to Cage, this is missing the point. For Cage, this piece consists of the ambient sounds in the listeners' environment. For Cage, it was not a question of silence at all, because the random sounds in the environment constituted a sort of music that was as valid as any other kind music. To state it simply, Cage equated any sound or noise whatsoever - no matter how random - with music.
Although I cannot cite a specific example at present, I have heard the Dadaists performed similar musical pieces at the beginning of the twentieth century. For example, a pianist would approach a piano and sit down. He would put his hands on the keyboard and then do nothing but sit there. Such displays were often not well received by the public, and sometimes riots would erupt.
Has anybody ever heard John Cage perform? Have you ever heard 4'33" performed? Would you be angry or upset if you paid money to hear a musical performance, only to listen to people breathe, chatter, cough etc. for four minutes and thirty three seconds? Opinions on Cage run the whole spectrum between genius and fraud. What's your opinion of him and what he does?