Posts by fulltimestudent

redvip2000, quoted below is a snippet explaining why male rape was utilized in ancient times. My comment was not necessarily to "defend the Bible" per se, but to point out that things were different thousands of years ago.

I absolutely agree that the past is "different." As my Ancient History lecturer's often repeat (to help students get past mthe idea that contemporary culture is the only "correct" way), " the past is another country, they do things differently there."

But male rape sadly is not uncommon even today. Perhaps, its used as a means to humiliate the enemy, as in the civil wars that raged during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

It is claimed to be common in the inter-tribal conflicts that are accompanying the re-organisation of African societies.

Here's some examples:

From the UK Guardian:

Reference: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jul/17/the-rape-of-men

The rape of men: the darkest secret of war

Sexual violence is one of the most horrific weapons of war, an instrument of terror used against women. Yet huge numbers of men are also victims. In this harrowing report, Will Storr travels to Uganda to meet traumatised survivors, and reveals how male rape is endemic in many of the world's conflicts.

another story from the Interpress News Agency Service:

Reference: http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/11/unreported-horrors-male-rape-in-dr-congo/

Unreported Horrors – Male Rape in DR Congo
By Moses Seruwagi Reprint |
KAMPALA, Nov 13 2011 (Street News Service) - They are men who have lost all pride and self-confidence and who have been left severely traumatised by their experience.

...

John is one of the victims of male rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo who was brave enough to speak out about his horrifying experiences.

“In the past, I thought that it was only females who were raped but not men. I cannot understand myself today. I feel pain all the time in my anus and bladder. I feel like my bladder is full of water. I do not feel like a man. I do not know whether I will ever have children,” said John (not his real name), a 27-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who is just one of possibly thousands of victims of male rape as civil wars and tribal conflicts continue unabated across Africa.

On Jan. 14, 2009, rebels loyal to the former renegade Congolese general Laurent Nkunda attacked Jomba village in the DRC’s North Kivu province. There, the militia abducted ten people including six boys and forced them to carry out looting before taking them to a jungle base in Virunga National Park. John was among those captured.

“We were held for nine days. The leader of the group asked to have sex with me. I did not understand what he meant. He ordered that I be tied up and then he raped me. The other nine came after him. I passed out. My bottom was covered with blood. All nine days in the bush were like that. It was like that for the others. One of the boys died,” John said.

and, in case anyone thinks that this only happens in "uncivilised" places, please re-think and consider what happens in western prison systems.

And, also in the military, as this US Army story Illustrates:

From the Baltimore SUN:

Reference: http://data.baltimoresun.com/military-sexual-assaults/

MEN WHO ARE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED IN THE MILITARY - often find it difficult to report the crime. That’s one reason they rarely get justice.
Breaking the silence
BY MATTHEW HAY BROWN
DEC. 14, 2013
B rian Lewis figures he could have dealt with the rape.

It's the Navy's response to the attack that still haunts the Baltimore native.

Lewis, the son of a Defense Department civilian who commanded his JROTC battalion in high school, sailed through three years in the Navy and three months aboard the submarine tender USS Frank Cable.

Then, one night on shore in Guam, he was taken out to dinner by a higher-ranking shipmate, a man who had a wife and children. After the meal, he says, his dinner partner pulled out a knife, threatened his life, and sodomized him.

A friend reported the attack, and Lewis was visited by a senior officer on the Cable. He says the officer ordered him not to cooperate with Navy investigators.

That outcome is typical for male victims of military sexual assault, a Baltimore Sun analysis of hundreds of cases found.Lewis says he did as he was told. The investigation stopped dead. There was no court-martial. His attacker was never punished.

19

Churches (and other religious buildings) in China - Picture story

by fulltimestudent in

i'm busy organising my trip to china, ticket purchased.

the cheapest ticket was on australian airline qantas, whose fallen on hard times.

my ex-qantas friends warned me not to fly qantas - they predict disaster.

fulltimestudent

And heres a very modern example (built 2008)

Haidian Christian Church is a Protestant church located in Zhongguancun , Beijing . It's claimed to be the largest in China.

It was designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners, Architects in 2005-2007 for €3.5 million. It has a gross floor area of 4,000 m². It is interesting for another reason. It's designed to have commercial space that provides an income for the church. The Architects comment:

This design for the largest Christian church in China is characterized by a Chinese type of "triple p", meaning public-private partnership with commercial spaces on the ground floor, and by its striking facade rod system. Gerkan, Marg and Partners

The congregation is an official protestant group, known as the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. And that's another interesting story that reaches back into Chinese history. The military/commercial attempts by European powers to turn China into a European colony (in the 19th C) was soon used by Christian churches to piggyback on that military/commercial aggression and attempt to convert China to Christianity. The missionaries quickly started to utilise "extra-territoriality,"that is, that Europeans (and, their Chinese converts) were not subject to Chinese law, but to the law of whatever European nation the church they belonged to preferred.

When eventually the Communists came to power they told the churches that they had to be Chinese, or they could piss off.

Some did, some went underground and some conformed. This church is owned by a Chinese group that conformed to Chinese law.

The Three-Self Patriotic Movement ( 三自爱国运动 , colloquially 三自教会 , the Three-Self Church) or TSPM is a Protestant church in the People's Republic of China.

The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China ( 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会 ) and theChina Christian Council ( 中国基督教协会 ) are known in China as the lianghui (two organizations). Together they form the only state-sanctioned (registered) Protestant church in mainland China (see also: Protestantism in China and Christianity in China.) - Wikipedia.

19

Churches (and other religious buildings) in China - Picture story

by fulltimestudent in

i'm busy organising my trip to china, ticket purchased.

the cheapest ticket was on australian airline qantas, whose fallen on hard times.

my ex-qantas friends warned me not to fly qantas - they predict disaster.

fulltimestudent

I havn't had time to add to the buildings already shown. But just came across this pik in an architectural essay.

Its interesting because it seems to have been built circa early 1900's, and clearly has Chinese influences. And, that's an interesting story. Some say that western missionaries preferred to build in the style of their homelands. But during my recent visit I did see one other (protestant) church in Shanghai that had Chinese architectural influences . I'll try to post that soon.

4

Aussie Pentecostal Group busted as 'Abusive Cult.'

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the australian abc ( a government owned media group) has published the results of a four year investigation into a nsw-based registered charity and religious group christian assemblies international (cai).. the four corners program revealed that self-styled religious guru pastor scott williams was using his warped brand of evangelical pentecostalism to run a clandestine homosexual sex ring while allegedly misusing vast amounts of member donations for personal use.. courageous former members broke their silence and told of their torment living inside the group, which they said is not a christian church but a horrendous cult run by one man.. they detailed shocking acts of abuse ranging from spiritual abuse, financial abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and the sexual abuse of adult men.. they said bizarre sexual rituals were carried out in secret by williams, who described himself as "the anointed one" with the lord's authorisation to sidestep biblical commands against homosexuality and sexually train his male members into submission and obedience.. .

reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-28/former-members-break-silence-over-christian-cult-of-horrors/5627794.

(a short video extract from the abc program can be found on the rh side/top of the above page.

fulltimestudent

Note, the similarity with our former ever-loving brothers and sisters, this cult also used its membership to do improvements to properties that had been purchased.

Williams, now 70, is living with his wife Ree in a luxury apartment in the beachfront Pacific Towers complex in Coffs Harbour. It is one of many properties Williams purchased using money donated by church members who believed much of it was being used for charitable purposes.

Today, the CAI boasts an impressive multi-million-dollar property portfolio including Pitversie House and Douglas House, a hotel in Abernethy, Scotland.

All were renovated to luxurious standards by church members, who have told Four Corners they worked hundreds of hours updating the properties while Williams monitored their work and punished them for any mistakes or minor misdemeanours.
Katja Forkin was recruited into the Assembly as a teenager living in Germany. She says women and men were expected to work on the properties night and day, and if they did not they would be severely punished or excommunicated.
She says life in the Assembly got worse once Williams began to purchase more and more properties.

"It started to change once the Assembly owned properties in Scotland, because basically all we did from then is just work on the properties, renovating, looking after Scott and Ree more or less, and everything evolved around their lives," she said.

"So the little spare time that we had sort of dwindled away more and more to the point that we started to have less and less connections to the outside."

As members disconnected from the outside world, following Williams around the world and moving away from family and friends, they say their leader's language and demeanour began to change.

Former members told Four Corners they were regularly denigrated and humiliated, losing their self-identity, confidence and sense of self.

Klaus Tishcer says it happened gradually.

"As the years went on and he was sort of more sure that things were going his way or going the Lord's way, then he was more confident to express that we were a waste of space, useless heathen and would burn in hell and "the devil would rip our balls off" in a man's case, or in females other words were used," he said.

4

Aussie Pentecostal Group busted as 'Abusive Cult.'

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the australian abc ( a government owned media group) has published the results of a four year investigation into a nsw-based registered charity and religious group christian assemblies international (cai).. the four corners program revealed that self-styled religious guru pastor scott williams was using his warped brand of evangelical pentecostalism to run a clandestine homosexual sex ring while allegedly misusing vast amounts of member donations for personal use.. courageous former members broke their silence and told of their torment living inside the group, which they said is not a christian church but a horrendous cult run by one man.. they detailed shocking acts of abuse ranging from spiritual abuse, financial abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and the sexual abuse of adult men.. they said bizarre sexual rituals were carried out in secret by williams, who described himself as "the anointed one" with the lord's authorisation to sidestep biblical commands against homosexuality and sexually train his male members into submission and obedience.. .

reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-28/former-members-break-silence-over-christian-cult-of-horrors/5627794.

(a short video extract from the abc program can be found on the rh side/top of the above page.

fulltimestudent

The message of this cult was so similar to other self-styled 'prophets' that we are familiar with:

his message was that the world was going to come to an end very soon and that we didn't have much time and we needed to convert as many people as possible before the return of Jesus," he said.

His beautiful saying was always, 'I'm gonna convert the German nation, this time to do a better deed instead of what Hitler did, a bad deed'.
Former member Gunther Frantz

" his message was very much predominating around that Russia would invade Germany, a third world war would break out, and he brought up all sorts of scriptures from the Old Testament to prove his prophetic statements."

Gunther Frantz, Williams's first convert in Germany, says he was 12 when he began to be indoctrinated. He says Williams brainwashed him into doing almost anything.

"He had such power over people," Mr Frantz said.

"His beautiful saying was always, 'I'm gonna convert the German nation, this time to do a better deed instead of what Hitler did - a bad deed'."

Williams's core beliefs included a strict literal adherence to the Bible and a highly conservative lifestyle.

Upon baptism, members would often speak in tongues. As part of their membership, they were expected to donate 10 per cent of their gross income to the CAI in addition to many different offerings every year. "

From the ABC web-page cited in the first post.

4

Aussie Pentecostal Group busted as 'Abusive Cult.'

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the australian abc ( a government owned media group) has published the results of a four year investigation into a nsw-based registered charity and religious group christian assemblies international (cai).. the four corners program revealed that self-styled religious guru pastor scott williams was using his warped brand of evangelical pentecostalism to run a clandestine homosexual sex ring while allegedly misusing vast amounts of member donations for personal use.. courageous former members broke their silence and told of their torment living inside the group, which they said is not a christian church but a horrendous cult run by one man.. they detailed shocking acts of abuse ranging from spiritual abuse, financial abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and the sexual abuse of adult men.. they said bizarre sexual rituals were carried out in secret by williams, who described himself as "the anointed one" with the lord's authorisation to sidestep biblical commands against homosexuality and sexually train his male members into submission and obedience.. .

reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-28/former-members-break-silence-over-christian-cult-of-horrors/5627794.

(a short video extract from the abc program can be found on the rh side/top of the above page.

fulltimestudent

I ask again, as I have many time before:

"Where was the Yahweh/Jesus combo God, when all these wicked things were being done IN THEIR NAME?"

4

Aussie Pentecostal Group busted as 'Abusive Cult.'

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the australian abc ( a government owned media group) has published the results of a four year investigation into a nsw-based registered charity and religious group christian assemblies international (cai).. the four corners program revealed that self-styled religious guru pastor scott williams was using his warped brand of evangelical pentecostalism to run a clandestine homosexual sex ring while allegedly misusing vast amounts of member donations for personal use.. courageous former members broke their silence and told of their torment living inside the group, which they said is not a christian church but a horrendous cult run by one man.. they detailed shocking acts of abuse ranging from spiritual abuse, financial abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and the sexual abuse of adult men.. they said bizarre sexual rituals were carried out in secret by williams, who described himself as "the anointed one" with the lord's authorisation to sidestep biblical commands against homosexuality and sexually train his male members into submission and obedience.. .

reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-28/former-members-break-silence-over-christian-cult-of-horrors/5627794.

(a short video extract from the abc program can be found on the rh side/top of the above page.

fulltimestudent

The Australian ABC ( a government owned Media group) has published the results of a four year investigation into a NSW-based registered charity and religious group Christian Assemblies International (CAI).

The Four Corners program revealed that self-styled religious guru Pastor Scott Williams was using his warped brand of evangelical Pentecostalism to run a clandestine homosexual sex ring while allegedly misusing vast amounts of member donations for personal use.

Courageous former members broke their silence and told of their torment living inside the group, which they said is not a Christian church but a horrendous cult run by one man.

They detailed shocking acts of abuse ranging from spiritual abuse, financial abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and the sexual abuse of adult men.

They said bizarre sexual rituals were carried out in secret by Williams, who described himself as "The Anointed One" with the Lord's authorisation to sidestep biblical commands against homosexuality and sexually train his male members into submission and obedience.

Reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-28/former-members-break-silence-over-christian-cult-of-horrors/5627794

(A short video extract from the ABC program can be found on the RH side/top of the above page. A former member explains how difficult it is to leave a cult once you're hooked - something we are all too familiar with)

Christian Assemblies International

The claimed HQ of the group in Cofffs Harbour, northern NSW.

19

Why are 'most' of the people fighting in the Middle East MEN???

by NAVYTOWN in

jw
friends

it seems that in every war or revolution, 'most' of the participants are men and young boys.

aside from the occasional female suicide bomber.

does this have something to do with their religion and/ or cultural traditions?

fulltimestudent

NotNew:

Another feature of the Bedouin ethos is the law of blood revenge. A much quoted Arab proverb is, “Blood demands blood.” Relatives must avenge the blood of the slain by killing either the actual murderer or one of his relatives.

It comes from the Bible, or, should I say that the ancient Israelites also had this crazy law. Kill someone, even if accidently, and one of his relatives had the right to kill YOU. The person with the right to kill was called the blood avenger. You can read about it in Numbers 35:19

The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death. (NIV)

We had this wonderfully crazy series of WT study articles once (I think you could see Freddies mind behind it) on this topic. In Numbers, six cities were set up as "cities of refuge," to which the accidental man-slayer could flee and be safe from the blood avenger.

So Yup! you guessed it, there's a modern day city of refuge, and I can safely say that if you are HERE (grin) you are NOT in the city of refuge.

3

$30 million for a Shang Dynasty bronze casting

by fulltimestudent in

in 1922 some farmers in taoyuan county, hunan province, china, dug up a beautiful cast bronze vessel with a lid.

the farmer's son took the lid to school to ask his teacher what it was.

the teacher saw that it was something wonderful and raked up 800 silver dollars to buy it.

fulltimestudent

In 1922 some farmers in Taoyuan County, Hunan Province, China, dug up a beautiful cast bronze vessel with a lid. The farmer's son took the lid to school to ask his teacher what it was. The teacher saw that it was something wonderful and raked up 800 silver dollars to buy it. Someone else heard about it and bought the vessel itself for 400 silver dollars. So the two parts went their separate ways. The lid finished up in the hands of an army officer, who gave it to the Hunan Provincial government in 1952

The body finished up in the hands of the Shanghai City government, but during the chaos of the times, was sold to foreigners, eventually being bought by a French collector in 2001 for the huge sum of $9,246,000. His recent death saw it back on the market.

Hunan Museum thought there was little chance of buying the vessel's body and displaying it complete, but a group of Chinese businessmen from both China and Taiwan negotiated a deal that brought it back to China and the complete vessel will soon be on display in the Hunan Museum.

The vessel was made as a wine serving vessel and stands around 600 mm (two feet) high.

The history blog of Livius describes it:

The vessel’s massive size distinguishes this extraordinary work as one of the foremost examples of its kind. The surface is intricately cast with stylized animals and mysterious monster masks that provide a fascinating insight into early Chinese culture and beliefs. The crisp, precise casting of this complex design vividly illustrates why bronze vessels created during the Shang and Zhou dynasties rank among the finest examples of bronze casting the world has ever seen.

Reference: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/category/ancient

FYI: The Shang dynasty existed between the mid 18th C BCE and the mid 11th C BCE and was followed by the Zhou Dynasty which at its end in the third C BCE was only a nominal ruler of China.