Now, cantleave, you have aroused my curiousity. Why do you feel an examination of that topic is as inconsequential as one on Harry Potter?
fulltimestudent
JoinedPosts by fulltimestudent
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Early Christian Journeys to Paradise
by fulltimestudent inan email from biblical archeological review yessterday, contained a link to a discussion by james tabor on paul's journey to paradise.
tabor demonstrates that we can read paul's 'experience' against the background of his times, in which the phenomenon of 'heavenly journeys' was common.
his analysis helps us understand what was happening and why paul would cite his 'experience.'.
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Early Christian Journeys to Paradise
by fulltimestudent inan email from biblical archeological review yessterday, contained a link to a discussion by james tabor on paul's journey to paradise.
tabor demonstrates that we can read paul's 'experience' against the background of his times, in which the phenomenon of 'heavenly journeys' was common.
his analysis helps us understand what was happening and why paul would cite his 'experience.'.
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fulltimestudent
We also have other records of other Christian 'journeys to paradise,' in later Christian documents. Robin Lane Fox, in his excellent history of early Christianity entitled, Pagans and Christians in the Mediterranean World, reviews the records of visionary experiences left by early Christian martyrs. Among the best, Fox claims, are the memoirs of the African martyr Marian. Marian wrote of his vision while awaiting his death...
Quote: "Our road lay through a country of lovely meadows, clothed with the lush foliage of green woods, shaded by tall cypresses and pine trees which beat on the very heavens, so that you would think the place was crowned, amid all its winding perimeter, with green groves. In the middle was a hollow abounding in the teeming veins of a crystal clear fountain ... (the place) ws like Paradise. A river ran in the valley betwen high hills on either side, like a theatre (so that) the stream in its hollow drank the martyrs' blessed blood. " unquote.
Fox suggests that Marian was drawing on traditional concepts (in Roman culture)and claims, "that there is no better literary evocation of the traditional 'pleasant spot' in all third century Latin." (Fox, Penguin edition, 2006. pp. 438,439).
Paradoxically, these green and pleasant spaces evoked by Marian's vision, were usually associated with pagan temples and were soon (a century or so later) to ring with the sound of axes, as Christian vandals sought to remove every trace of them from history.
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Early Christian Journeys to Paradise
by fulltimestudent inan email from biblical archeological review yessterday, contained a link to a discussion by james tabor on paul's journey to paradise.
tabor demonstrates that we can read paul's 'experience' against the background of his times, in which the phenomenon of 'heavenly journeys' was common.
his analysis helps us understand what was happening and why paul would cite his 'experience.'.
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fulltimestudent
An email from Biblical Archeological Review yessterday, contained a link to a discussion by James Tabor on Paul's Journey to Paradise. Tabor demonstrates that we can read Paul's 'experience' against the background of his times, in which the phenomenon of 'heavenly journeys' was common. His analysis helps us understand what was happening and why Paul would cite his 'experience.'
Here's the reference: http://jamestabor.com/2013/01/02/if-i-ascend-to-heaven-pauls-journey-to-paradise/
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India Buys New Fighter Jets from Russia
by fulltimestudent inthe wall street journal reports that india has again made a decision to buy 42 russian sukhoi su-30 mk1 fighter jets that will be assembled in india.
additionally india will buy 71 m--17 v-5 helicopters.
another deal was signed for russia to manufacture the ka and mi brand of helicopters in india .
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fulltimestudent
Work comes first, Doof... I've got to steel my soul and complete a dwg this morning, so I'm completely understanding.
On the Paki-India conflict - not much else to say. Except that it reminds me of some tensions on a refurbishment project for which I had done some design/oversight work. The building foreman had a large belly, and so did the owner of one of subbies who had won a tender I controlled, and he also had a large belly. They had a falling out and tensions escalated - there was not going to be an all out fight (both were over 60) - but the posturing was a grand sight. Can you imagine them bouncing off each others belly as they argued and threatened. Bet the other tradies had great stories to tell at the pub that night.
It is also an interesting situation re fighter planes. India buys Russian and Pakistan buys Chinese, built in Pakistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZfPmA8EaUQ
On the topic of Pakistan-India conflicts the BBC web-site has a handy summary at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1996.stm
The conflicts have centred around the territory of Kashmir to the north of India. At the time of partition (as the British left India) there was a Muslim majority, here's a historians view of what happened.
Quote: ""Kashmir was neither as large nor as old an independent state as Hyderabad; it had been created rather off-handedly by the British after the first defeat of the Sikhs in 1846, as a reward to a former official who had sided with the British. The Himalayan kingdom was connected to India through a district of the Punjab, but its population was 77 per cent Muslim and it shared a boundary with Pakistan. Hence, it was anticipated that the maharaja would accede to Pakistan when the British paramountcy ended on 14-15 August. When he hesitated to do this, Pakistan launched a guerrilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to Mountbatten for assistance, and the governor-general agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India. Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. The United Nations was then invited to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of Kashmiris must be ascertained, while India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars."
That referendum has never been held. The Indians have their view - and the Paki's have theirs, and the middle ground is rather barren.
Indian support of what is now Bangladash, (formerly East Pakistan) during the seccession war with Pakistan also inflamed the situation. As we see, the problems, as with most so-called hot-spots all over the world, are a result of 19th century imperialism by European powers, as the whities got pushed out of their former colonial possessions, there were quirkie bits that did not fit neatly into the new political boundaries.
Finally, what was I getting at in asking the question about large Muslim populations, was the point that India likely has the third largest Muslim population in the world.
Pew consulting counts a world population of Muslims adding up to 1.62 billion.*
As you say, Indonesia is the largest ( according to Pew it is 203 million). Pakistan is next at 178 million. But India weighs in next with 177 million and then Bangladash with 148 million. ( Egypt has 80 million, Nigeria has 75 million and Turkey, 74 million)- (China by the way has a Muslim population of 23 million, though some Muslims claim that it is greater than that). India has a population of 1000 million, so 20% are Muslim. How does the Muslim vote play out in an election, I wonder?
Some people think that the west should just confront Muslims - Sorry guys, that just will not work. Better to look at what positives may exist. I suggest as you examine the differences between all the Muslim nations above, that there is a difference in Muslim practise, Islam is not monolithic.
James thinks I am totally enamoured with Muslim thought. Sorry, to disappoint you mate, but I am not**. In point of fact, I dislike Islam. But, I want to approach the topic from an objective (a fair crack of the whip, mate, to use aussie talk) viewpoint. Another poster got the subject thoroughly mixed up by saying that early Islam destroyed earlier science and philosophy.
Crap!
Early Islam preserved and expanded the science and philosophy writings of the 8th to 11 th C. Without Islamic scholars we would have lost a lot or information from Greek and Roman times.
Finally, (as a general point to the discussion) we should not look out of our windows and think everyone else in the world is looking out of the same window. They are not - they are looking out of their own windows and usually see the world from a totally different perspective.
I lost too many years looking out of Yahweh's bloody window to go back and be a conformist.
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* Time magazine ( http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/27/2-2-billion-worlds-muslim-population-doubles/ ) quotes Pew as forecasting that by 2030 Muslims will form 26.4 % of a world population of 8 billion. The Pakistan population could total moe that 256 million and Afghanistan may have 50 million.
** If I am enamoured with any 'thought' system, it is likely to be slightly Daoist in format, (The theoretical type, not temple daoism) with a dash of Buddhism (stirred, not shaken- grin)
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Is North Korea Changing ?
by fulltimestudent inthere's a good chance that a process of change is occurring in nk, which i'll come back to, as first i'd like to briefly explain how korea became divided.. i've spent a lot of time this past calendar year on the history and development of korea, this last semester focussing on modern korea with all its sadness, commencing with the japanese takeover in 1905, and the full annexation and military occupation in 1910. .
many korean's (naturally) opposed the japanese occupation.
some actively fought the japanese as guerilla's in the mountains.
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fulltimestudent
Google chairman Eric Schmidt to visit North Korea
THURSDAY 03 JANUARY 2013
It's one of the few countries in the world that his website can't reach, but Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt is planning his first trip to North Korea.
The visit, which is being billed as a private humanitarian exercise, could take place as soon as this month.
North Korea boasts the world's strictest internet policies: just 4,000 members of the Pyongyang elite have access to the web, and visitors are ordered to leave their smartphones at the airport. But in a televised address on Monday, North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-Un declared the need for a technology-led "industrial revolution" to improve the country's ailing economy.
In a sign that the reclusive nation might be inching towards openness, Mr Schmidt will travel to Pyongyang accompanied by former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, an envoy who has dealt with the North Korean regime regularly over the past two decades. The US government is unhappy about the visit, however; State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said today that its timing was not "particularly helpful." The Kim regime recently arrested a US citizen, Pae Jun Ho, on unspecified charges.
It is not thought that Google has any immediate business interest in North Korea. Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul's Kyungnam University, told the Associated Press it was more likely Mr Kim's administration was keen to pick the Google boss's brains about software, such as email and mapping applications. Last year, a group of North Korean officials visited the search giant's headquarters in northern California.
Victor Cha, the Korea Chair at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a blog post today that Mr Kim - who was schooled in Switzerland - "clearly has a penchant for the modern accoutrements of life. If Google is the first small step in piercing the information bubble in Pyongyang, it could be a very interesting development."
Mr Schmidt is a vocal believer in the power of the internet to thwart political oppression, and has become increasingly involved in international affairs. In 2010 he hired Jared Cohen, a former advisor to Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton at the US State Department, as the director of Google Ideas: a think-tank that seeks technological solutions to global issues.
Steven Levy, author of In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, told The Independent: "In the last couple of years, Eric has really become interested in international diplomacy... He has thought more and more about the international impact of technology. Google is a big player in that."
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India Buys New Fighter Jets from Russia
by fulltimestudent inthe wall street journal reports that india has again made a decision to buy 42 russian sukhoi su-30 mk1 fighter jets that will be assembled in india.
additionally india will buy 71 m--17 v-5 helicopters.
another deal was signed for russia to manufacture the ka and mi brand of helicopters in india .
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fulltimestudent
Nope, I have not been to either India or Pakistan, and think I'm unlikely to make it now before I kick the bucket (smile) but, yeah! I understand how you formed your opinion, doofdaddy. And, to be absolutely honest, when I started this degree, India was hardly a blip on my radar. But, I decided to do a study unit at SU on India - so glad I did - my teacher (indian- and now moved to a US university) helped us bring the civilisation to life. I think both India and Pakistan can rightly be called 'civilisational states,' as can China. Inidan civilisation stretched (in the past) as far as Indonesia (but ruins and Bali are all tha's left of that part) and Cambodia.
Both South Asia Muslims and Hindus can be volatile people, and maybe from an anglo perspective they may seem to go over the top. Nonetheless, believe that if US pressure on the region was removed, things could change quickly.
Consider this question, which nations are the largest Muslim populations in the world? Have a try?
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India Buys New Fighter Jets from Russia
by fulltimestudent inthe wall street journal reports that india has again made a decision to buy 42 russian sukhoi su-30 mk1 fighter jets that will be assembled in india.
additionally india will buy 71 m--17 v-5 helicopters.
another deal was signed for russia to manufacture the ka and mi brand of helicopters in india .
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fulltimestudent
India and Pakistan
There is certainly friction between India and Pakistan, but is it totally irreconcilable? A closer examination may give a different picture.
For example in 2012, the Indian government appointed a Muslim, Syed Asif Ibrahim as head of India's Intelligence Bureau. As such, Syed has to deal with such difficult issues as the threat of Islamic militancy, including home grown Muslim terrorists. There is also the very difficult issue of Kashmir an focus of ongoing conflict as its population is overwhelmingly Muslim. That Muslim majority wanted at partition to join Pakistan, and many militants still fight for that right. There was supposed to be a plebiscite, but the Indian government has refused that.
Muslims are the second largest religion in India with around 160 million adherents (2001 census. I think it is true to call them 'integrated' into Indian society, though there is evidence that there is some discrimination. But there is also evidence of integration. Hindu writer V.S> Naipul is married to a Muslim woman and his children are being raised as Muslims.
Islam first came to India in the 7th century (not long after it became established in Saudi Arabia). It travelled with the Arab traders who came each year to the Coast of Southern India, a long established trade centre for the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. The Romans had traded with the area from around the 3rd century BCE. From the south of the peninsula the trade routes continued to Guangzhou in south China. And Islam spread from southern India along the trade routes of the period.
The other road to India was in the north, through Afghanistan. That's the road that Alexander the Great had followed in the 4th century BCE, in his 'conquest and Hellenisation of the world," that brought him to the edge of the sub-continent. The evidence seems to be that militant Islam reached North India in the 12th century. Muslim and Hindu rulers jockeyed for power, and in the process various forms of Islam became part of India's culture. Consequently Muslims have been integrated into the Indian scene and in modern India, Muslim's live under Muslim Personal Law in the Indian Legal code. Sharia law takes precedence for Muslims over the Indian Civil Law.
Westerners make a mistake to see the world in black and white - the reality in Asia is much more nuanced. Sadly, those who are culturally influenced by the Bible are much more likely to see the world in binary opposition.
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Bombing of KH in Sydney australia late 1980's ?
by zeb ini recall the moment i heard of this on the radio.
but there was little mention of it in months oryears later.. does anyone know what became of the victims?.
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fulltimestudent
I was told, by someone from David Winder's congregation that he was lucky to survive. The nail bomb stripped his clothes from his body. And, from newspaper stories, some police investigators thought the KH bombing was associated with the murder of some family court Judges.
This same friend expressed the view that the police suspect (though, I should emphasise) was a former witness (once a congregation servant) from the north coast of New South Wales.
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JW.org publishing Urban Legends in their News section
by Gorbatchov incrazy, those fellows at jw.org pr news.
they publish their urben legends!!
http://www.jw.org/en/news/by-region/world/saved-from-suicide/.
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fulltimestudent
Yeeaaaah! Lots of witnesses look at a co-incidental event and think they are seeing a divinity's intervention. A friend tells me he was about 17. Having a few problems. (e.g. His father was ill and he thought he was going to die. He was in love with another boy and thought he'd finish up in gaol. The world was in dire trouble as the US and the USSR faced off with nuclear weapons. He was an idealist and did not want to go into the army when he turned 18. (Korean war was still raging). He tells me that from the deepest part of his heart, he called on God, if he was there, to help him.
The very next day, at the usual morning tea discussion/arguments, another guy (not a witness) started talking about the Bible and itshope (he'd been raised a witness, but did nto accept everything). This friend went out and bought a bible and started reading. Heard that the witnesses would not jpoing the army either, so went up to one on the street, found out where the meetings where and went the next sunday and just kept going.
Divine intervention? Well, he's out now - can no longer accept the Bible as 'divinely inspired truth.'
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The Open Society And Its Enemies - Karl Popper
by yadda yadda 2 inone of the greatest philosophical books of the last century on the social sciences, and very readable.
is very relevant for persons escaping the authoritarianism of the watchtower organisation who is aware of the dangers of subjection of the individual to a collective ideology, by one of the 20th century's greatest philosopher's, karl popper.
fascinating holiday reading for the more intellectual reader who is bored with trashy novels.
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fulltimestudent
Thank you for posting that yadda.
