tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48931366445334121092024-03-14T05:48:51.447+06:00BEYOND BORDERSReligion, History and Human Rights.Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-52388256306066080552012-10-04T02:48:00.001+06:002012-10-04T02:48:51.492+06:00Archaeologist discover tomb of Maya Queen Lady K’abel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnFWcgpk8CM/UGykogQdJYI/AAAAAAAAEhU/tunOedxPc0Y/s1600/1-tombofmayaqu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnFWcgpk8CM/UGykogQdJYI/AAAAAAAAEhU/tunOedxPc0Y/s400/1-tombofmayaqu.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
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10/03/2012 Archaeologists discover the tomb of one of the greatest
queens of Classic Maya civilization piecing together for the first time
Maya archaeological and historical records.</div>
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The tomb of Lady K’abel, a seventh-century Maya Holy Snake Lord, was
discovered in the royal Maya city of El Peru’-Waka’ in northeastern
Pet’en, Guatemala.</div>
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The team of archaeologists at El Perú-Waka
found a carved alabaster jar in a burial chamber. The team concluded
that the tomb belonged to Lady K’abel partially based on the distinct
characteristics of the white alabaster jar.</div>
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The jar is carved as a
conch shell, with a head and arm of an aged woman emerging from the
opening. The depiction of the woman, mature with a lined face and a
strand of hair in front of her ear, and four glyphs carved into the jar,
point to the jar as belonging to K’abel.</div>
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The team also found
ceramic vessels in the tomb and stela (large stone slab) carvings on the
outside, the tomb is likely that of K’abel, says Freidel, PhD,
professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences and Maya scholar.</div>
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“The
precise nature of the text and image information on the white stone jar
and its tomb context constitute a remarkable and rare conjunction of
these two kinds of records in the Maya area.”</div>
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“In retrospect, it
makes a lot of sense that the people of Waka’ buried her in this
particularly prominent place in their city,” Freidel says.</div>
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K’abel,
considered the greatest ruler of the Late Classic period, ruled with
her husband, Kinich Bahlam, for at least 20 years (672-692 AD), Freidel
says. She was the military governor of the Wak kingdom for her family,
the imperial house of the Snake King, and she carried the title
“Kaloomte,” translated to “Supreme Warrior,” higher in authority than
her husband, the king.</div>
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K’abel also is famous for her portrayal on the famous Maya stela, Stela 34 of El Perú, now in the Cleveland Art Museum.</div>
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The
team of archaeologists led by Washington University in St. Louis’ David
Freidel included professor of anthropology at WUSTL, the project is
co-directed by Juan Carlos Pérez, former vice minister of culture for
cultural heritage of Guatemala. Olivia Navarro-Farr, assistant professor
of anthropology at the College of Wooster in Ohio, directed the
excavations with Griselda Pérez Robles, former director of prehistoric
monuments in the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and
archaeologist Damaris Menéndez.</div>
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The team has been working on the
project in El Peru-Waka’ since 2003 attempting to uncover and study
“ritually-charged” features such as shrines, altars and dedicatory
offerings. .</div>
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El Perú-Waka’ is an ancient Maya city in northwestern
Petén, Guatemala. It was part of Classic Maya civilization (200-900 AD)
in the southern lowlands. It is located approximately 75 km west of the
famous city of Tikal. The city center consists of nearly a sq km of
plazas, palaces, temple pyramids, and residences surrounded by many sq
km of dispersed residences and temples.</div>
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<a href="http://www.omglobe.com/2012/10/03/archaeologist-discover-tomb-of-maya-queen-lady-kabel/" target="_blank">Source :</a></div>
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Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-38625862420996103162012-09-26T06:55:00.003+06:002012-09-26T07:06:51.653+06:00Easter Island <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"> If They Could Only Talk</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The statues
walked,” Easter Islanders say. Archaeologists are still trying to figure
out how—and whether their story is a cautionary tale of environmental
disaster or a celebration of human ingenuity.</span></span></h2>
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<b><span style="color: red;">On a winter night last June</span>,</b> José Antonio Tuki, a 30-year-old
artist on Easter Island, did one of the things he loves best: He left
his one-room home on the southwest coast and hiked north across the
island to Anakena beach. Legend has it the earliest Polynesian settlers
hauled their canoes ashore at Anakena a thousand years ago or so, after
navigating more than a thousand miles of open Pacific. Under the same
moon and stars Tuki sat on the sand and gazed directly before him at the
colossal human statues—the <i>moai.</i></div>
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Carved centuries ago from volcanic tuff, they’re believed to embody the deified spirits of ancestors.</div>
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Sleepless roosters crowed; stray dogs barked. A frigid wind gusted
in from Antarctica, making Tuki shiver. </div>
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He’s a Rapanui, an indigenous
Polynesian resident of Rapa Nui, as the locals call Easter Island; his
own ancestors probably helped carve some of the hundreds of statues that
stud the island’s grassy hills and jagged coasts. At Anakena seven
potbellied moai stand at attention on a 52-foot-long stone
platform—backs to the Pacific, arms at their sides, heads capped with
tall <i>pukao</i> of red scoria, another volcanic rock. They watch over
this remote island from a remote age, but when Tuki stares at their
faces, he feels a surge of connection. “It’s something strange and
energetic,” he says. “This is something produced from my culture. It’s
Rapanui.” </div>
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He shakes his head. “How did they do it?”</div>
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Easter Island covers just 63 square miles. It lies 2,150 miles
west of South America and 1,300 miles east of Pitcairn, its nearest
inhabited neighbor. After it was settled, it remained isolated for
centuries. All the energy and resources that went into the moai—which
range in height from four to 33 feet and in weight to more than 80
tons—came from the island itself. Yet when Dutch explorers landed on
Easter Sunday in 1722, they met a Stone Age culture. The moai were
carved with stone tools, mostly in a single quarry, then transported
without draft animals or wheels to massive stone platforms, or <i>ahu,</i> up to 11 miles away. Tuki’s question—how did they do it?—has vexed legions of visitors in the past half century.</div>
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But lately the moai have been drawn into a larger debate, one that
opposes two distinct visions of Easter Island’s past—and of humanity in
general. The first, eloquently expounded by Pulitzer Prize winner Jared
Diamond, presents the island as a cautionary parable: the most extreme
case of a society wantonly destroying itself by wrecking its
environment. Can the whole planet, Diamond asks, avoid the same fate? In
the other view, the ancient Rapanui are uplifting emblems of human
resilience and ingenuity—one example being their ability to walk giant
statues upright across miles of uneven terrain.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>When the Polynesian settlers</b></span> arrived at Rapa Nui, they had
been at sea for weeks in open canoes. There were probably only a few
dozen of them. Nowadays 12 flights arrive every week from Chile, Peru,
and Tahiti, and in 2011 those planes delivered 50,000 tourists, ten
times the island’s population. Just three decades ago, cars,
electricity, and phone service were scarce; now Hanga Roa, the only
town, buzzes with Internet cafés, bars, and dance clubs, and cars and
pickup trucks clog the streets on Saturday nights. Wealthy tourists drop
a thousand dollars a night at the poshest of scores of hotels. A
Birkenstock shop caters to footsore ramblers. “The island is not an
island anymore,” says Kara Pate, 40, a Rapanui sculptor. She’s married
to a German she met here 23 years ago.</div>
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Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888, but until 1953 it allowed a
Scottish company to manage the island as a giant sheep ranch. The sheep
ranged freely, while the Rapanui were penned into Hanga Roa. In 1964
they revolted, later obtaining Chilean citizenship and the right to
elect their own mayor.</div>
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Ambivalence toward <i>el conti</i> (the continent) runs high.
Easter Islanders depend on Chile for fuel and daily air shipments of
food. They speak Spanish and go to the mainland for higher education.
Meanwhile, Chilean migrants, lured in part by the island’s income tax
exemption, gladly take jobs that Rapanui spurn. “A Rapanui will say,
What, you think I’m going to wash dishes?” says Beno Atán, a 27-year-old
tour guide and a native himself. Though many Rapanui have married
mainlanders, some worry their culture is being diluted. The population
is now around 5,000, nearly double what it was 20 years ago, and fewer
than half the people are Rapanui.</div>
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Just about every job on Easter Island depends on tourism. “Without
it,” says Mahina Lucero Teao, head of the tourism chamber, “everyone
would be starving on the island.” The mayor, Luz Zasso Paoa, says, “Our
patrimony is the base of our economy. You’re not here for us, but for
that patrimony.” That is, for the moai.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Thor Heyerdahl</span>,</b> the Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer
whose Pacific expeditions helped ignite the world’s curiosity about
Easter Island, thought the statues had been created by pre-Inca from
Peru, not by Polynesians. Erich von Däniken, the best-selling Swiss
author of <i>Chariots of the Gods,</i> was sure the moai were built by
stranded extraterrestrials. Modern science—linguistic, archaeological,
and genetic evidence—has proved the moai builders were Polynesian but
not how they moved their creations. </div>
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Researchers have tended to assume
the ancestors dragged the statues somehow, using a lot of ropes and
wood. “The experts can say whatever they want,” says Suri Tuki, 25, José
Tuki’s half brother. “But we know the truth. The statues walked.” In
the Rapanui oral tradition, the moai were animated by <i>mana,</i> a spiritual force transmitted by powerful ancestors.</div>
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There are no reports of moai building after Europeans arrived in
the 18th century. By then Easter Island had only a few scrawny trees. In
the 1970s and 1980s, though, biogeographer John Flenley of New
Zealand’s Massey University found evidence—pollen preserved in lake
sediments—that the island had been covered in lush forests, including
millions of giant palm trees, for thousands of years. Only after the
Polynesians arrived around <span style="font-size: 11px;">A.D.</span> 800 had those forests given way to grasslands.</div>
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Jared Diamond drew heavily on Flenley’s work for his assertion in <i>Collapse,</i>
his influential 2005 book, that ancient Easter Islanders committed
unintentional ecocide. They had the bad luck, Diamond argues, to have
settled an extremely fragile island—dry, cool, and remote, which means
it’s poorly fertilized by windblown dust or volcanic ash. (Its own
volcanoes are quiescent.) When the islanders cleared the forests for
firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back. As wood became
scarce and the islanders could no longer build seagoing canoes for
fishing, they ate the birds. Soil erosion decreased their crop yields.
Before Europeans showed up, the Rapanui had descended into civil war and
cannibalism. The collapse of their isolated civilization, Diamond
writes, is “the clearest example of a society that destroyed itself by
overexploiting its own resources” and “a worst-case scenario for what
may lie ahead of us in our own future.”</div>
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The moai, he thinks, accelerated the self-destruction. Diamond
interprets them as power displays by rival chieftains who, trapped on a
remote little island, lacked other ways of strutting their stuff. They
competed by building ever bigger statues. Diamond thinks they laid the
moai on wooden sledges, hauled over log rails—a technique successfully
tested by UCLA archaeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg, director of the Easter
Island Statue Project—but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of
people. To feed the people, even more land had to be cleared. When the
wood was gone and civil war began, the islanders began toppling the
moai. By the 19th century none were standing. Easter Island’s landscape
acquired the aura of tragedy that, in the eyes of Diamond and many
others, it retains today.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Rearrange and reinterpret</b></span> the scattered shards of fact,
though, and you get a more optimistic vision of the Rapa Nui past—that
of archaeologists Terry Hunt of the University of Hawaii and Carl Lipo
of California State University Long Beach, who have studied the island
for the past decade. It’s a vision peopled by peaceful, ingenious moai
builders and careful stewards of the land. Hunt and Lipo agree that
Easter Island lost its lush forests and that it was an “ecological
catastrophe”—but the islanders themselves weren’t to blame. And the moai
certainly weren’t. There is indeed much to learn from Easter Island,
Hunt says, “but the story is different.”</div>
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His and Lipo’s controversial new version, based on their research
and others’, begins with their own excavation at Anakena beach. It has
convinced them that the Polynesians didn’t arrive until <span style="font-size: 11px;">A.D.</span>
1200, about four centuries later than is commonly understood, which
would leave them only five centuries to denude the landscape. Slashing
and burning wouldn’t have been enough, Hunt and Lipo think. Anyway,
another tree killer was present. When archaeologists dig up nuts from
the extinct Easter Island palm, the nuts are often marred by tiny
grooves, made by the sharp teeth of Polynesian rats.</div>
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The rats arrived in the same canoes as the first settlers.
Abundant bones in the Anakena dig suggest the islanders dined on them,
but otherwise the rodents had no predators. In just a few years, Hunt
and Lipo calculate, they would have overrun the island. Feasting on palm
nuts, they would have prevented the reseeding of the slow-growing trees
and thereby doomed Rapa Nui’s forest, even if humans hadn’t been
slashing and burning. No doubt the rats ate birds’ eggs too.</div>
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Of course, the settlers bear responsibility for bringing the rats;
Hunt and Lipo suspect they did so intentionally. (They also brought
chickens.) But like invasive species today, the Polynesian rats did more
harm to the ecosystem than to the humans who transported them. Hunt and
Lipo see no evidence that Rapanui civilization collapsed when the palm
forest did; based on their own archaeological survey of the island, they
think its population grew rapidly after settlement to around 3,000 and
then remained more or less stable until the arrival of Europeans.</div>
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Cleared fields were more valuable to the Rapanui than palm forests
were. But they were wind-lashed, infertile fields watered by erratic
rains. Easter Island was a tough place to make a living. It required
heroic efforts. In farming, as in moai moving, the islanders shifted
monumental amounts of rock—but into their fields, not out. They built
thousands of circular stone windbreaks, called <i>manavai,</i> and
gardened inside them. They mulched whole fields with broken volcanic
rocks to keep the soil moist and fertilized it with nutrients that the
volcanoes were no longer spreading. In short, Hunt, Lipo, and others
contend, the prehistoric Rapanui were pioneers of sustainable farming,
not inadvertent perpetrators of ecocide. “Rather than a case of abject
failure, Rapa Nui is an unlikely story of success,” Hunt and Lipo argue
in their recent book.</div>
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It’s called <i>The Statues That Walked,</i> and the Rapanui enjoy better spin in it than they do in <i>Collapse.</i>
Hunt and Lipo don’t trust oral history accounts of violent conflict
among the Rapanui; sharp obsidian flakes that other archaeologists see
as weapons, they see as farm tools. The moai helped keep the peace, they
argue, not only by signaling the power of their builders but also by
limiting population growth: People raised statues rather than children.
What’s more, moving the moai required few people and no wood, because
they were walked upright. On that issue, Hunt and Lipo say, evidence
supports the folklore.</div>
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Sergio Rapu, 63, a Rapanui archaeologist and former Easter Island
governor who did graduate work with Hunt, took his American colleagues
to the ancient quarry on Rano Raraku, the island’s southeastern volcano.</div>
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Looking at the many moai abandoned there in various stages of
completion, Rapu explained how they were engineered to walk: Fat bellies
tilted them forward, and a D-shaped base allowed handlers to roll and
rock them side to side. Last year, in experiments funded by National
Geographic’s Expeditions Council, Hunt and Lipo showed that as few as 18
people could, with three strong ropes and a bit of practice, easily
maneuver a 10-foot, 5-ton moai replica a few hundred yards. In real
life, walking miles with much larger moai would have been a tense
business. Dozens of fallen statues line the roads leading away from the
quarry. But many more made it to their platforms intact.</div>
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No one knows for sure when the last statue was carved. The moai
cannot be dated directly. Many were still standing when the Dutch
arrived in 1722, and Rapanui civilization was peaceful and thriving
then, Hunt and Lipo argue. But the explorers introduced deadly diseases
to which islanders had no immunity, along with artifacts that replaced
the moai as status symbols. Snatching Europeans’ hats—Hunt and Lipo cite
many reports of this—became more appealing than hoisting a multiton red
pukao onto a moai. In the 19th century slave traders decimated the
population, which shriveled to 111 people by 1877.</div>
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As Hunt and Lipo tell it, Easter Island’s story is a parable of
genocide and culturecide, not ecocide. Their friend Sergio Rapu buys
some but not all of it. “Don’t tell me those obsidian tools were just
for agriculture,” he says, laughing. “I’d love to hear that my people
never ate each other. But I’m afraid they did.”</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Today islanders</b></span> confront a fresh challenge: exploiting
their cultural legacy without wrecking it. A growing population and
thousands of tourists are straining a limited water supply. The island
lacks a sewer system and a place to put the swelling volume of trash;
between 2009 and mid-2011 it shipped 230 tons to the mainland. </div>
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“So what
do we do?” asks Zasso Paoa, the mayor. “Limit migration? Limit tourism?
That’s where we are now.” The island recently started asking tourists to
take their trash home with them in their suitcases.</div>
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Tourists are forbidden to touch moai, but horses happily rub
against them, wearing away the porous tuff. </div>
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Though cars are now the
preferred mode of transport, more than 6,000 horses and cattle—“more
than people,” grumbles tour guide Atán—still run free, trampling ground
once trodden by Scottish-owned sheep and relieving themselves on once
sacred platforms. But the islanders’ own desire to develop their
ancestral lands may be a greater threat to their densely packed
heritage: more than 20,000 archaeological features in all, including
walled gardens and stone chicken houses as well as moai and ahu. More
than 40 percent of the island is a protected national park, which limits
available land. “People have to learn that archaeology isn’t their
enemy,” says Rapu.</div>
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Decades ago he himself helped get the moai at Anakena back
upright. In the process he and his colleagues also discovered how the
moai builders had breathed soul into their colossal statues after the
long trek from the quarry: As a finishing touch, they placed eyes of
white coral and pupils of obsidian or red scoria into the empty sockets.</div>
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A grove of coconut palms, imported from Tahiti, overlooks Anakena
beach today, reassuring sunbathers and Chilean newlyweds that they
really are in Polynesia, even if the wind is shrieking and the grassy
rolling hills behind them look like the Scottish Highlands. The moai are
eyeless now and not confiding—to the tourists, José Tuki, or anyone
else—how they got there or which story of Easter Island is true. Tuki,
for one, can handle the ambiguity. “I want to know the truth,” he says.
“But maybe the island doesn’t tell all its answers. And maybe knowing
everything would take its power away.”</div>
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<a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/easter-island/bloch-text?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ng%2FNGM%2FNGM_Magazine+%28National+Geographic+Magazine%29" target="_blank">Source :</a></div>
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Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-56176457448676070782012-09-20T01:27:00.002+06:002012-09-20T01:30:13.714+06:00'The Gospel Of Jesus' Wife,' New Early Christian Text, Indicates Jesus May Have Been Married <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-14ip-b8P4qE/UFocZlkr-MI/AAAAAAAAEQs/pB3bEvP0WgY/s1600/foto-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-14ip-b8P4qE/UFocZlkr-MI/AAAAAAAAEQs/pB3bEvP0WgY/s320/foto-003.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A discovery by a Harvard researcher may shed light on a controversial aspect of the life of Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Harvard Divinity School professor Karen L. King says she has found an ancient papyrus fragment from the fourth century that, when translated, appears to indicate that Jesus was married.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The text is being dubbed "<a href="http://www.hds.harvard.edu/sites/hds.harvard.edu/files/attachments/faculty-research/research-projects/the-gospel-of-jesuss-wife/29813/King_JesusSaidToThem_draft_0917.pdf" target="_hplink">The Gospel of Jesus' Wife</a>." The part of it that's drawing attention says, "Jesus said to them, 'my wife'" in the Coptic language. The text, which is printed on papyrus the size of a business card, has not been scientifically tested to verify its dating, but King and other scholars have said they are confident it is a genuine artifact.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said at a conference in Rome on Tuesday. "This new gospel doesn’t prove that Jesus was married, but it tells us that the whole question only came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage. From the very beginning, Christians disagreed about whether it was better not to marry, but it was over a century after Jesus’s death before they began appealing to Jesus’ marital status to support their positions."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">King, who focuses on Coptic literature, Gnosticism and women in the Bible, has published on the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of Mary of Magdala. She presented her research Tuesday evening in Rome, where scholars are gathered for the International Congress of Coptic Studies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The idea that Jesus was unmarried and chaste is largely accepted by Christian denominations and a reason for the practice of celibacy among Roman Catholic priests.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Beyond internal Catholic Church politics, a married Jesus invites a reconsideration of orthodox teachings about gender and sex," said journalist and author Michael D'Antonio, who writes about the Catholic Church, in a blog on The Huffington Post. "If Jesus had a wife, then there is nothing extra Christian about male privilege, nothing spiritually dangerous about the sexuality of women, and no reason for anyone to deny himself or herself a sexual identity." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The quote about Jesus' wife is part of a description of a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. In the conversation, Jesus talks about his mother twice and speaks once about his wife. One of them is identified as "Mary." His disciples discuss whether Mary is worthy of being part of their community, to which Jesus replies, “she will able to be my disciple.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fragment has eight incomplete lines of writing on one side and is badly damaged on the other side, with only three faded words and a few letters of ink that are visible, even with the use of infrared photography and computer-aided enhancement. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The private owner of the papyrus first approached King in 2010. King said she didn't believe the document was authentic, but the owner persisted. She then asked the owner to bring the papyrus to Harvard, where she became convinced it was a genuine early Christian text fragment. Along with Princeton University professor Anne Marie Luijendijk and Roger Bagnall, director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, King claims to have confirmed the document is real. The document's owner has not been named and King said he does not want to be identified.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's unclear when the text was initially discovered. The owner who showed it to King found it in 1997 in a collection of papyri that he acquired from the previous owner, who was German. The papyri included a handwritten German description that had the name of a now-deceased professor of Egyptology in Berlin who called the fragment a "sole example" of a document that claims Jesus was married.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The scholars believe the text is from Egyptian Christians before the year 400, as it is written in the language used at that time. Since writing appears on both sides of the fragment, scholars believe it came from a codex, a kind of book, and not a scroll. The scholars also believe the document is a translation of an earlier one that was likely written in Greek.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">King notes in her research that the idea of Jesus' celibacy hasn't always existed, and that early Christians debated whether they should marry or practice celibacy. It was not until around the year 200 that Christian followers began to say Jesus was unmarried, according to a record King cites from Clement of Alexandria. In his writing, Clement -- an early theologian -- said that marriage was a fornication put in place by the devil, and that people should emulate Jesus by not marrying.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One or two decades later, Tertullian of Carthage in North Africa declared that Jesus was "entirely unmarried" and told Christians to remain single. But Tertullian did not come out against sex altogether and allowed couples to get married one time, denouncing divorce and remarriage as overindulgent. A century earlier, the First Epistle of Paul to Timothy said in the New Testament that people who forbid marriage are going by the "doctrines of demons," but did not include anything about Jesus being married in order to make the point.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The point of view that ultimately became dominant was that celibacy is preferred as a high sexual virtue among Christians, but that marriage is needed for the sake of reproduction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The discovery of this new gospel," King said, "offers an occasion to rethink what we thought we knew by asking what role claims about Jesus' marital status played historically in early Christian controversies over marriage, celibacy, and family. Christian tradition preserved only those voices that claimed Jesus never married. The Gospel of Jesus's Wife now shows that some Christians thought otherwise."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The life of historical Jesus is often a matter of controversy, and this is not the first time it's been proposed that Jesus was married. Most recently, Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" depicted Jesus as being married to Mary Magdalene. The book was published as fiction, but nonetheless attracted loud criticism from Vatican officials.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Front of fragment with translation</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Back of fragment with translation</b></span></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><b>UPDATE</b></span>: 4:28 p.m. -- Speaking on a conference call Tuesday from Rome, King said that some people who have read about the discovery have asked if the papyrus fragment was describing Jesus as being married to the Christian faith, not to a woman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"One cannot overrule that it might be him saying 'my wife as a church,' but in the context where he's talking about 'my mother' and 'my wife' and talking about 'my disciple,' the one thing you would not say is that the church would be 'my disciple.'"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even before King's discovery, there has been speculation that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. "I do not think Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene," King clarified Tuesday, adding, "whether he was or was not married ... I really think the tradition is silent and we don't know."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">King also said that a professor who saw her report asked her if the text on the papyrus could have been a homily and not a gospel, an idea she said she had not considered.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">King added that she hopes the discovery will diminish the view outside of academic circles that the debate over marriage and sexuality in the early church is "fixed and over." In current church debates over issues such as same-sex marriage and marriage among Catholic priests, "having more voices from the early church and a better, more accurate version of early Christianity is more helpful," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/the-gospel-of-jesus-wife-_n_1891325.html?fb_action_ids=4157899198632%2C4157898798622%2C4157898438613&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%224157899198632%22%3A206806266116523%2C%224157898798622%22%3A278790835566566%2C%224157898438613%22%3A153780864763271}&action_type_map={%224157899198632%22%3A%22og.likes%22%2C%224157898798622%22%3A%22og.likes%22%2C%224157898438613%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]" target="_blank">Source :</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-58621038815919396382012-02-25T23:21:00.002+06:002012-02-25T23:23:06.586+06:00Secret £14million Bible in which 'Jesus predicts coming of Prophet Muhammad' unearthed in Turkey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQHXEQPckto/T0kXLXXPC0I/AAAAAAAAB4Y/bpmSTFEh8YA/s1600/article-2105714-11E5192E000005DC-836_468x321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQHXEQPckto/T0kXLXXPC0I/AAAAAAAAB4Y/bpmSTFEh8YA/s320/article-2105714-11E5192E000005DC-836_468x321.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">A secret Bible in which Jesus is believed to predict the coming of the Prophet Muhammad to Earth has sparked serious interest from the Vatican.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Pope Benedict XVI is claimed to want to see the 1,500-year-old book, which many say is the Gospel of Barnabas, that has been hidden by the Turkish state for the last 12 years.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The £14million handwritten gold lettered tome, penned in Jesus' native Aramaic language, is said to contain his early teachings and a prediction of the Prophet's coming.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; border: medium none; color: white; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The leather-bound text, written on animal hide, was discovered by Turkish police during an anti-smuggling operation in 2000.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It was closely guarded until 2010, when it was finally handed over to the Ankara Ethnography Museum, and will soon be put back on public display following a minor restoration.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">A photocopy of a single page from the handwritten ancient manuscript is thought to be worth £1.5million.</span><br />
<div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Turkish culture and tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay said the book could be an authentic version of the Gospel, which was suppressed by the Christian Church for its strong parallels with the Islamic view of Jesus.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He also said the Vatican had made an official request to see the scripture - a controversial text which Muslims claim is an addition to the original gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ybXjG3YPcZc/T0kX2zpDjVI/AAAAAAAAB4g/vVAi1ySEFnU/s1600/article-2105714-11E51934000005DC-885_468x286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ybXjG3YPcZc/T0kX2zpDjVI/AAAAAAAAB4g/vVAi1ySEFnU/s400/article-2105714-11E51934000005DC-885_468x286.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In line with Islamic belief, the Gospel treats Jesus as a human being and not a God.</span></div><div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;"><div style="color: #f1c232;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It rejects the ideas of the Holy Trinity and the Crucifixion and reveals that Jesus predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad.</span></div><div style="color: #f1c232;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In one version of the gospel, he is said to have told a priest: 'How shall the Messiah be called? Muhammad is his blessed name'.</span></div><div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">And in another Jesus denied being the Messiah, claiming that he or she would be Ishmaelite, the term used for an Arab.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Despite the interest in the newly re-discovered book, some believe it is a fake and only dates back to the 16th century.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The oldest copies of the book date back to that time, and are written in Spanish and Italian.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Protestant pastor İhsan Özbek said it was unlikely to be authentic.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">This is because St Barnabas lived in the first century and was one of the Apostles of Jesus, in contrast to this version which is said to come from the fifth or sixth century.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="clear"></div><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He told the Today Zaman newspaper: 'The copy in Ankara might have been written by one of the followers of St Barnabas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'Since there is around 500 years in between St Barnabas and the writing of the Bible copy, Muslims may be disappointed to see that this copy does not include things they would like to see.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'It might have no relation with the content of the Gospel of Barnabas.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Theology professor Ömer Faruk Harman said a scientific scan of the bible may be the only way to reveal how old it really is.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IAQVA5G01r8/T0kYQfRfEII/AAAAAAAAB4o/NVW8mx4HdDI/s1600/article-2105714-11B2241F000005DC-72_468x286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IAQVA5G01r8/T0kYQfRfEII/AAAAAAAAB4o/NVW8mx4HdDI/s400/article-2105714-11B2241F000005DC-72_468x286.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<h3 class="wocc" style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHO WAS ST BARNABAS?</span></h3><div class="ins cleared xolcc bdrcc"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Born in Cyprus as Joseph, Barnabas was an Early Christian later named an apostle.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">His story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But Christian tradition states that he was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Church, with his feast day on June 11.</span></div><div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105714/Secret-14million-Bible-Jesus-predicts-coming-Prophet-Muhammad-unearthed-Turkey.html" target="_blank">Source </a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-17429150872013778072012-02-19T17:58:00.005+06:002012-02-19T18:12:03.965+06:00Keith Barry "DECEPTION"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith Barry :</td></tr>
</tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_and_personal_life"><span style="color: #e69138;">Early and personal life :</span></span></h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Born in County Waterford, Ireland, Barry's interest in magic began at the age of fourteen when he purchased a book entitled <i>Magic for the Complete Klutz</i>.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Barry's grandfather, 82, was attacked in his home in Waterford by burglars in 2009, later dying of his wounds.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0"></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3"></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4"></sup>Barry and his father launched a high-profile campaign to stamp out abuse against the elderly in their homes, said the government was “insulting” the elderly and said he would “bring the country to a halt” until the Government responded.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5"> </sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7"></sup>Pundits referred to the incident in discussions of laws about the actions people can legally take to defend themselves in their homes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><h2 style="color: #e69138; text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Career">Career :</span></h2><h2 style="color: #e69138; text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Career"> </span></h2><div style="text-align: justify;">Barry’s television career began with a series entitled <i>Close Encounters with Keith Barry</i>, which ran from 2003-2005. The show originally aired in Europe and has since aired in 28 countries worldwide.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2004, Barry performed in a MTV television special entitled <i>Brainwashed</i>. 2005 ended with Barry performing a live Christmas special in Europe. <i>Keith Barry Live With Friends</i> featured various celebrities such as magician Billy McComb, Jim Corr of The Corrs, and The Conway Sisters.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9"></sup></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite never achieving the success of his British counterpart Derren Brown, and widely regarded as the inferior performer of the two, Barry's success throughout Europe coupled with his MTV special led to a four year multi-special deal with CBS. His first special with CBS debuted on 12 May 2006 and was entitled <i>Keith Barry: Extraordinary</i>.<sup> </sup>The special later aired on New Year's Eve 2006 on The CW and on New Year’s Day 2007 on TV3 in New Zealand and the Arena channel in Australia.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the <i>Keith Barry: Extraordinary</i> special, he performed various pieces of illusion and interesting mental feats. In one trick, which he referred to as "Black Ops Hypnosis", he made a host from <i>Entertainment Tonight</i> forget that he had torn a specific page from a book and sealed it in an envelope in the span of roughly five minutes. In another, he made a blindfolded man lift his arm when he thought others stopped touching him.<br />
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<br />
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Barry first used suggestion to make the man "concentrate" and lied that he was touching the man. The man imagined the touch and lifted his arm, but Barry and another member of the audience only moved their hand afar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following a successful Irish tour along with a week in Dublin's Vicar Street, Keith and his longtime manager Eamonn Maguire were badly injured in a horrific car crash on the Belfast to Newry road on 1 March 2007.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keith suffered severe trauma to his left leg and only returned to the stage later the same year at Vicar Street.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As an actor, he performed in the "Open Water" episode of <i>CSI: Miami</i>.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keith's prestigious TED Talk on www.TED.com is in the top 15 Most Viewed TED Talks of all time and follows from his first ever live stage performance which was at TED in Monterey, California in 2004.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
He returned to TED in 2005 and was the special guest performer then on the opening night.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On 29 December 2007 Keith performed in a live Saturday night primetime special on ITV in the UK titled <i>Keith Barry - The Escape Live</i>. The finale of the show featured an escape from a shed rigged with explosives.<br />
<br />
<br />
Keith was tied to a chair with thick ropes by two members of the audience. One of these was Glen Gathard, noted for hoping that Keith Barry would not make it out of the explosion. Participants lit a fuse, started a two minute countdown, and carried the chair into the shed. Workmen hammered additional wood to cover the door and windows from the outside, then left the scene when one minute remained on the countdown. After the countdown was complete, the shed exploded, then the camera changed to reveal Keith safely on top of a gantry some distance away.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keith has performed live on <i>The Ellen Degeneres Show</i> four times and <i>The Paul O'Grady Show</i> four times.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2009 on TV3 Ireland Keith hosted the Irish version of <i>Deal or No Deal</i>.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In February 2010, Keith finished a pilot for a new series on The Discovery Channel in the US. The show is called <i>Deception with Keith Barry</i> and the pilot aired in July 2010. The show was picked up for a season and premiered on 31 May 2011 with 4 one hour shows, Black Ops, Used Car Salesman, Cops and Robbers, and Daring and Dating. The show premiers on Oct 6th 2011 in Taiwan, Nov 1st in Japan, Nov 3rd on Quest in the UK, on Dec 7th in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, Dec 13th in Australia and New Zealand and in India in the 1st Quarter of 2012.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in 2010 and 2011, Keith toured extensively with his live show “The Asylum” which finished its run in May 2011. On this tour, Keith set the record as the most successful solo act ever to play The Olympia Theatre in Dublin. On 13 July 2011, Keith's new live show “Keith Barry - 8 Deadly Sins” opened to critical acclaim and a standing ovation at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin and ran for 5 weeks setting new box office records during the run. A National "8 DEADLY SINS" Irish tour is planned for Jan/Feb 2012 playing in Killarney, Letterkenny, Castlebar, Donegal, Galway, Wexford, Clonmel, Waterford, Cork, Arklow, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Carrick on Shannon, Limerick, Portlaoise, Mullingar, Ennis, Athlone, Castleblayney, and Navan.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Barry" target="_blank">Source : </a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"></sup></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"></sup></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-87661236641811004232011-09-20T20:24:00.000+06:002011-09-20T20:24:31.735+06:00Australia Veil Law Targets Muslim Women<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/304985/thumbs/s-AUSTRALIA-VEIL-LAW-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/304985/thumbs/s-AUSTRALIA-VEIL-LAW-small.jpg" border="0" height="146" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/304985/thumbs/s-AUSTRALIA-VEIL-LAW-small.jpg" width="200" /></a>Muslim women would have to remove veils and show their faces to police on request or risk a prison sentence under proposed new laws in Australia's most populous state that have drawn criticism as culturally insensitive.</div><div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vigorous debate that the proposal has triggered reflects the cultural clashes being ignited by the growing influx of Muslim immigrants and the unease that visible symbols of Islam are causing in predominantly white Christian Australia since 1973 when the government relaxed its immigration policy. Under the law proposed by the government of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, a woman who defies police by refusing to remove her face veil could be sentenced to a year in prison and fined 5,500 Australian dollars ($5,900).The bill – to be voted on by the state parliament in August – has been condemned by civil libertarians and many Muslims as an overreaction to a traffic offense case involving a Muslim woman driver in a "niqab," or a veil that reveals only the eyes. The government says the law would require motorists and criminal suspects to remove any head coverings so that police can identify them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Critics say the bill smacks of anti-Muslim bias given how few women in Australia wear burqas. In a population of 23 million, only about 400,000 Australians are Muslim. Community advocates estimate that fewer than 2,000 women wear face veils, and it is likely that even a smaller percentage drives. "It does seem to be very heavy handed, and there doesn't seem to be a need," said Australian Council for Civil Liberties spokesman David Bernie. "It shows some cultural insensitivity."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The controversy over the veils is similar to the debate in other Western countries over whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear garments that hide their faces in public. France and Belgium have banned face-covering veils in public. Typical arguments are that there is a need to prevent women from being forced into wearing veils by their families or that public security requires people to be identifiable. Bernie noted that while a bandit disguised with a veil and sunglasses robbed a Sydney convenience store last year, there were no Australian crime trends involving Muslim women's clothing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ad_wrapper" id="ad_mid_article" style="text-align: justify;"><form action="" id="qas_dfp_frm" method="get" name="qas_dfp_frm" target=""></form></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is a religious issue here," said Mouna Unnjinal, a mother of five who has been driving in Sydney in a niqab for 18 years and has never been booked for a traffic offense.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We're going to feel very intimidated and our privacy is being invaded," she added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unnjinal said she would not hesitate to show her face to a policewoman. But she fears male police officers might misuse the law to deliberately intimidate Muslim women.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If I'm pulled over by a policeman, I might say I want to see a female police lady and he says, 'No, I want to see your face,'" Unnjinal said. "Where does that leave me? Do I get penalized 5,000 dollars and sent to jail for 12 months because I wouldn't?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sydney's best-selling The Daily Telegraph newspaper declared the proposal "the world's toughest burqa laws." In France, wearing a burqa – the all-covering garment that hides the entire body except eyes and hands – in public is punishable by a 150 euro ($217) fine only.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The New South Wales state Cabinet decided to create the law on July 4 in response to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione's call for greater police powers. Other states including Victoria and Western Australia are considering similar legislation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I don't care whether a person is wearing a motorcycle helmet, a burqa, niqab, face veil or anything else – the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear," State Premier Barry O'Farrell said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The laws were motivated by the bungled prosecution of Carnita Matthews, a 47-year-old Muslim mother of seven who was booked by a highway patrolman for a minor traffic violation in Sydney in June last year. An official complaint was made in Matthews' name against Senior Constable Paul Fogarty, the policeman who gave her the ticket. The complaint accused Fogarty of racism and of attempting to tear off her veil during their roadside encounter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unknown to Matthews, the encounter was recorded by a camera inside Fogarty's squad car. The video footage showed her aggressively berating a restrained Fogarty and did not support her claim that he tried to grab her veil before she reluctantly and angrily lifted it to show her face. Matthews was sentenced in November to six months in jail for making a deliberately false statement to police. But that conviction and sentence were quashed on appeal last month without her serving any time in jail because a judge was not convinced that it was Matthews who signed the false statutory declaration. The woman who signed the document had worn a burqa and a justice of the peace who witnessed the signing had not looked beneath the veil to confirm her identity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bernie, the civil libertarian, said the proposed law panders to public anger against Muslims that the case generated on talk radio and in tabloid newspapers, which itself is a symptom of the suspicion with which immigrants are viewed. Muslims are among the fastest-growing minorities in Australia and mostly live in the two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. There are many examples to suggest they are not entirely welcome.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Muslim and non-Muslim youths rioted for days at Sydney's Cronulla beach in 2005, drawing international attention to surging ethnic tensions. Proposals to build Islamic schools are resisted by local protest groups. The convictions of a Sydney gang of Lebanese Muslims who raped several non-Muslim women were likened by a judge to war atrocities and condemned in the media. In 2006, then-Prime Minister John Howard published a book in which he said Muslims were Australia's first wave of immigrants to fail to assimilate with the mainstream. Government leaders have also condemned some Muslim clerics who said husbands are entitled to smack disobedient wives, force them to have sex and for suggesting that women who don't hide their faces behind veils invite rape.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I wouldn't like to go and say this is Muslim bashing," said Ikebal Patel, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, of the proposed New South Wales laws.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"But I think that the timing of this was really bad for Muslims," he said.</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-83623779916916872112011-08-24T02:11:00.001+06:002011-08-24T02:12:32.782+06:00Lamas At Loggerheads<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IoLS5aXOAQM/TlQI6_shDEI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/5k8NvMZXufU/s1600/20110820_ASP001_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IoLS5aXOAQM/TlQI6_shDEI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/5k8NvMZXufU/s320/20110820_ASP001_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h1 class="rubric" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Three articles look at China and religion. First, a war of attrition over Tibet; next, China v the Vatican; third, a Chinese project at the Buddha’s birthplace.</span></i></h1><h1 class="rubric" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></h1><div style="text-align: justify;">IT WAS never going to be easy. Installing the Chinese Communist Party’s chosen man as Tibet’s second-highest ranking religious leader has been an uphill struggle since 1995, when it declared him, at the ripe old age of six, to be the new Panchen Lama. But a recent attempt to introduce him to monastic life suggests that Tibetan resistance to China’s choice is still strong. Loyalty to the young man is brittle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For China, this matters hugely. Tibetan Buddhism has a religious hierarchy with the Dalai Lama at the top, followed by the Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama is traditionally involved in recognising the Panchen Lama, and the Panchen Lama is part of the process by which each new Dalai Lama is chosen. China has its eyes on a complex struggle that will play out after the death of the current 76-year-old Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India. With the endorsement of its own Panchen Lama, China wants to choose a successor to the current Dalai Lama and seek to control him. Hence it is believed to be keeping another young man, who was the Dalai Lama’s choice as Panchen Lama 16 years ago, incommunicado in an unknown location. China fears that Tibetan exiles will appoint their own Dalai Lama and it does not want any authoritative Tibetan figure to show him support. Both China and the exiles have recently been stepping up preparations for a coming dispute.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On China’s side, this has involved an effort to burnish its Panchen Lama’s credentials by getting him some monastic training. Gyaltsen Norbu, as he is named, has spent most of his 21 years in Beijing. His outings have been few and secretive. Across Tibet, images of the Dalai Lama’s choice of Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, can sometimes be seen on furtive display in monasteries, his face frozen in time as a little boy. Chinese officials probably hoped that installing Gyaltsen Norbu in a big-name monastery might win him more supporters. With some parts of Tibet roiled by unrest—a protesting monk burned himself to death on August 15th in Daofu, a Tibetan-dominated county of Sichuan Province—this was always bound to be tricky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The monastery they chose was Labrang in southern Gansu province, on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. It is not clear why. Historically, the Panchen Lama’s seat was Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse in central Tibet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Robert Barnett of Columbia University in New York says it is possible that even at Tashilhunpo some lamas do not accept China’s choice. In 1997, Tashilhunpo’s then abbot, Chadrel Rinpoche, was sentenced to six years in prison (he has not resurfaced since) for helping the Dalai Lama make his choice of Panchen Lama. In 1998, Chinese officials tried to give their Panchen Lama a monastic start at Kumbum in Qinghai Province, a monastery that has usually acquiesced to Chinese rule. Its abbot, Arjia Rinpoche, fled to America to avoid the duty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Labrang has no reputation for tameness. Its monks joined a wave of protests that swept Tibet and neighbouring Tibetan regions in 2008 after an outbreak of rioting in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. In recent days, Labrang has again proved stubborn. Locals gave China’s Panchen Lama, who arrived on August 11th, nothing like the rapturous reception his predecessor, the tenth Panchen Lama, received during visits to Tibetan areas. Large numbers of police prevented any protests, and foreigners were ushered out of town. Tibetan exile groups quoted sources at Labrang saying that Gyaltsen Norbu was expected to stay for weeks or months. A local official, however, says he left on August 16th. His cool welcome, it seems, hastened him on his way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Dharamsala in India’s Himalayan foothills, Tibet’s government-in-exile has been busy manoeuvring, too. On August 8th it swore in a new prime minister, Lobsang Sangay. This is touted by the exiles as an historic event, with the new man taking over all the Dalai Lama’s political functions. Mr Sangay, who has never been to Tibet, struck an ambiguous tone in his inaugural speech, referring to Tibet as “occupied” but also expressing his wish for “genuine autonomy” under Chinese rule.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Dalai Lama’s decision to give up his political role appears aimed at bolstering the post of prime minister before his death. A new Dalai Lama chosen by the exiles is likely to be a small boy who will need many years of tutelage before taking up his duties. It also presents a challenge to China, which has always refused to recognise the Dalai Lama’s political mantle. Now that he no longer has it, China has a face-saving opportunity to engage with him properly. Chinese officials have held several rounds of talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives in recent years, the latest in January 2010, but have not moved beyond finger-wagging.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Few see any sign of change. The man likely to become China’s next president, Xi Jinping, visited Lhasa in July for official celebrations of the Communist Party’s takeover of the territory 60 years ago. He praised the fight against “separatist and sabotage activities staged by the Dalai group and foreign hostile forces”. But there have been some positive signals, too. A meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama at the White House in July elicited the usual sharp criticism from China. But it did not derail subsequent exchanges between China and America, including a visit to Beijing this week by the vice-president, Joe Biden.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On August 13th the Dalai Lama told reporters in France that he would discuss the issue of his reincarnation at a meeting of Tibetan religious heads in September. He said that unlike China, he is in no hurry to make arrangements.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-4377816308150180472011-08-16T20:39:00.000+06:002011-08-16T20:39:22.256+06:00Knights Templar : The Hidden Side<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdEtR_PFW3Q/Tkpz1HyfDEI/AAAAAAAAArQ/6iMc-B_Qutg/s1600/Knight-Templar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdEtR_PFW3Q/Tkpz1HyfDEI/AAAAAAAAArQ/6iMc-B_Qutg/s320/Knight-Templar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial;">If the end of the Knights Templar was fraught with baffling enigmas, the foundation and early history of the Order seemed to us to be even more so. We were already plagued by a number of inconsistencies and improbabilities. Nine knights, nine “poor’ knights, appeared as if from nowhere and among all the other crusaders swarming about the Holy Land promptly had the king’s quarters turned over to them! Nine “poor’ knights without admit ting any new recruits to their ranks presumed, all by themselves, to defend the highways of Palestine. And there was no record at all of them actually doing any thing, not even from Fulk de Chartres, the king’s official chronicler, who must surely have known about Map 5Jerusalem the Temple and the Area of Mount Sion in the Mid-Twelfth Century them! How, we wondered, could their activities, their move into the royal premises, for instance, have escaped Fulk’s notice? It would seem incredible, yet the chronicler says nothing. No one says anything, in fact, until Guillaume de Tyre, a good half century later. What could we conclude from this? That the knights were not engaged in the laudable public service ascribed to them? That they were perhaps involved instead in some more clandestine activity, of which not even the official chronicler was aware? Or that the chronicler himself was muzzled? The latter would seem to be the most likely explanation. For the knights were soon joined by two most illustrious noblemen, noblemen whose presence could not have gone unnoticed.</span></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">According to Guillaume de Tyre, the Order of the Temple was established in 1118, originally numbered nine knights and admitted no new recruits for nine years. It is clearly on record, however, that the count of Anjou -father of Geoffrey Plantagenet joined the Order in 1120, only two years after its supposed foundation. And in 1124 the count of Champagne, one of the wealthiest lords in Europe, did likewise. If Guillaume de Tyre is correct, there should have been no new members until 1127; but by 1126 the Templars had in fact admitted four new members to their ranks.” Is Guillaume wrong, then, in saying that no new members were admitted for nine years? Or is he perhaps correct in that assertion, but wrong in the date he attributes to the Order’s foundation? If the count of Anjou became a Templar in 1120, and if the Order admitted no new members for nine years after its foundation, its foundation would date not from 1118, but at the latest, from 1111 or 1112.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Indeed there is very persuasive evidence for this conclusion. In 1114 the count of Champagne was preparing for a journey to the Holy Land. Shortly before his departure, he received a letter from the bishop of Chartres. At one point, the bishop wrote, “We have heard that .. . before leaving for Jerusalem you made a vow to join “la mi lice du Christ”, that you wish to enrol in this evangelical soldiery. ‘3 “La mi lice du Christ’ was the name by which the Templars were originally known, and the name by which Saint Bernard alludes to them. In the context of the bishop’s letter the appellation cannot possibly refer to any other institution. It cannot mean, for example, that the count of Champagne simply decided to become a crusader, because the bishop goes on to speak of a vow of chastity which his decision has entailed. Such a vow would hardly have been required of an ordinary crusader. From the bishop of Chartres’s letter, then, it is clear that the Templars already existed, or had at least been planned, as early as 1114, four years before the date generally accepted; and that as early as 1114, the count of Champagne was already intending to join their ranks -which he eventually did a decade later. One historian who noted this letter drew the rather curious conclusion that the bishop cannot have meant what he said.” He could not have meant to refer to the Templars, the historian in question argues, because the Templars were not founded until four years later in 1118. Or perhaps the bishop did not know the year of Our Lord in which he was writing? But the bishop died in 1115. How, in 1114, could he ‘mistakenly’ refer to something which did not yet exist? There is only one possible, and very obvious, answer to the question that it is not the bishop who is wrong, but Guillaume de Tyre, as well as all subsequent historians who insist on regarding Guillaume as the unimpeachable voice of authority.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In itself an earlier foundation date for the Order of the Temple need not necessarily be suspicious. But there are other circumstances and singular coincidences which decidedly are. At least three of the nine founding knights, including Hugues de Payen, seem to have come from adjacent regions, to have had family ties, to have known each other previously and to have been vassals of the same lord. This lord was the count of Champagne, to whom the bishop of Chartres addressed his letter in 1114 and who became a Templar in 1124, pledging obedience to his own vassal! In 1115 the count of Champagne donated the land on which Saint Bernard, patron of the Templars, built the famous Abbey of Clairvaux; and one of the nine founding knights, Andre de Montbard, was Saint Bernard’s uncle.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In Troyes, moreover, the court of the count of Champagne, an influential school of Cabalistic and esoteric studies had flourished since 1070.”2 At the Council of Troyes in 1128 the Templars were officially incorporated. For the next two centuries Troyes remained a strategic centre for the Order; and even today there is a wooded expanse adjacent to the city called the Foret du Temple. And it was from Troyes, court of the count of Champagne, that one of the earliest Grail romances issued quite possibly the earliest, composed by Chretien de Troyes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Amid this welter of data, we could begin to see a tenuous web of connections a pattern that seemed more than mere coincidence. If such a pattern did exist, it would certainly support our suspicion that the Templars were involved in some clandestine activity. Nevertheless, we could only speculate as to what that activity might have been. One basis for our speculation was the specific site of the knights’ domicile the wing of the royal palace, the Temple Mount, so inexplicably conferred upon them. In A.D. 70 the Temple which then stood there was sacked by Roman legions Under Titus. Its treasure was plundered and brought to Rome, then plundered again and perhaps brought to the Pyrenees. But what if there were something else in the Temple as well something even more important than the treasure pillaged by the Romans? It is certainly possible that the Temple’s priests, confronted by an advancing phalanx of centurions, would have left to the looters the booty they expected to find. And if there were something else, it might well be concealed somewhere near by. Beneath the Temple, for instance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9taPW-BcbTE/Tkp1CAqL7iI/AAAAAAAAArU/8bumw9vpmWA/s1600/Knight-Templar-Assassin-Creed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9taPW-BcbTE/Tkp1CAqL7iI/AAAAAAAAArU/8bumw9vpmWA/s320/Knight-Templar-Assassin-Creed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Among the Dead Sea Scrolls found at QumrAan, there is one now known as the “Copper Scroll’. This scroll, deciphered at Manchester University in 1955-6, makes explicit references to great quantities of bullion, sacred vessels, additional unspecified material and ‘treasure’ of an indeterminate kind. It cites twenty-four different hoards buried beneath the Temple itself .</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the mid-twelfth century a pilgrim to the Holy Land, one Johann von Wurzburg, wrote of a visit to the so-called “Stables of Solomon’. These stables, situated directly beneath the Temple itself, are still visible. They were large enough, Johann reported, to hold two thousand horses; and it was in these stables that the Templars quartered their mounts. According to at least one other historian, the Templars were using these stables for their horses as early as 1124, when they still supposedly numbered only nine. It would thus seem likely that the fledgling Order, almost immediately after its inception, undertook excavations beneath the Temple. Such excavations might well imply that the knights were actively looking for something. It might even imply that they were deliberately sent to the Holy Land, with the express commission of finding something. If this supposition is valid, it would explain a number of anomalies -their installation in the royal palace, for example, and the silence of the chronicler. But if they were sent to Palestine, who sent them?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In 1104 the count of Champagne had met in conclave with certain high-ranking nobles, at least one of whom had just returned from Jerusalem.” Among those present at this conclave were representatives of certain families r. Brienne, Joinville and Chaumont who, we later discovered, figured significantly in our story. Also present was the liege lord of Andre de Montbard, Andre being one of the co-founders of the Temple and Saint Bernard’s uncle.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shortly after the conclave, the count of Champagne departed for the Holy Land himself and remained there for four years, returning in 1108.35 In 1114 he made a second journey to Palestine, intending to join the mi lice du Christ’, then changing his mind and returning to Europe a year later. On his return, he immediately donated a tract of land to the Cistercian Order, whose pre-eminent spokesman was Saint Bernard. On this tract of land Saint Bernard built the Abbey of Clairvaux, where he established his own residence and then consolidated the Cistercian Order.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Prior to 1112 the Cistercians were dangerously close to bankruptcy. Then, under Saint Bernard’s guidance, they underwent a dazzling change of fortune. Within the next few years half a dozen abbeys were established. By 1153 there were more than three hundred, of which Saint Bernard himself personally founded sixty-nine. This extraordinary growth directly parallels that of the Order of the Temple, which was expanding in the same way during the same years. And, as we have said, one of the co founders of the Order of the Temple was Saint Bernard’s uncle, Andre de Montbard.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is worth reviewing this complicated sequence of events. In 1104 the count of Champagne departed for the Holy Land after meeting with certain nobles, one of whom was connected with Andre de Montbard. In 1112 Andre de Montbard’s nephew, Saint Bernard, joined the Cistercian Order. In 1114 the count of Champagne departed on a second journey to the Holy Land, intending to join the Order of the Temple which was co-founded by his own vassal together with Andre de Montbard, and which, as the bishop of Chartres’s letter attests, was already in existence or in process of being established. In 1115 the count of Champagne returned to Europe, having been gone for less than a year, and donated land for the Abbey of Clairvaux whose abbot was Andre de Montbard’s nephew. In the years that followed both the Cistercians and the Templars both Saint Bernard’s order and Andre de Montbard’s became immensely wealthy and enjoyed</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> phases of phenomenal growth.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EJga1cQBuc/Tkp3O5OG28I/AAAAAAAAArY/4uPbWeR_wcI/s1600/mithras-temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EJga1cQBuc/Tkp3O5OG28I/AAAAAAAAArY/4uPbWeR_wcI/s320/mithras-temple.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As we pondered this sequence of events, we became increasingly convinced that there was some pattern underlying and governing such an intricate web. It certainly did not appear to be random, nor wholly coincidental. On the contrary we seemed to be dealing with the vestiges of some complex and ambitious overall design, the full details of which had been lost to history. In order to reconstruct these details, we developed a tentative hypothesis a “scenario’, so to speak, which might accommodate the known facts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We supposed that something was discovered in the Holy Land, either by accident or design something of immense import, which aroused the interest of some of Europe’s most influential noblemen. We further supposed that this discovery involved, directly or indirectly, a great deal of potential wealth as well, perhaps, as something else, something that had to be kept secret, something which could only be divulged to a small number of high-ranking lords. Finally, we supposed that this discovery was reported and discussed at the conclave of 1104.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Immediately thereafter the count of Champagne departed for the Holy Land himself, perhaps to verify personally what he had heard, perhaps to implement some course of action the foundation, for example, of what subsequently became the Order of the Temple. In 1114, if not before, the Templars were established with the count of Champagne playing some crucial role, perhaps acting as guiding spirit and sponsor. By 1115 vmoney was already flowing back to Europe and into the coffers of the Cistercians, who, under Saint Bernard and from their new position of strength, endorsed and imparted credibility to the fledgling Order of the Temple.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Under Bernard the Cistercians attained a spiritual ascendancy in Europe. Under Hugues de Payen and Andre de Montbard, the Templars attained a military and administrative ascendancy in the Holy Land which quickly spread back to Europe. Behind the growth of both orders loomed the shadowy presence of uncle and nephew, as well as the wealth, influence and patronage of the count of Champagne. These three individuals constitute a vital link. They are like markers breaking the surface of history, indicating the dim configurations of some elaborate, concealed design.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If such a design actually existed, it cannot, of course, be ascribed to these three men alone. On the contrary, it must have entailed a great deal of co-operation from certain other people and a great deal of meticulous organisation. Organisation is perhaps the key word; for if our hypothesis was correct, it would presuppose a degree of organisation amounting to an order in itself a third and secret order behind the known and documented Orders of the Cistercians and the Temple. Evidence for the existence for such a third order was not long in arriving.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the meantime, we devoted our attention to the hypothetical “discovery’ in the Holy Land the speculative basis on which we had established our “scenario’. What might have been found there? To what might the Templars, along with Saint Bernard and the count of Champagne, have been privy? At the end of their history the Templars kept inviolate the secret of their treasure’s whereabouts and nature. Not even documents survived. If the treasure in question were simply financial bullion, for example it would not have been necessary to destroy or conceal all records, all rules, all archives. The implication is that the Templars had something else in their custody, something so precious that not even torture would wring an intimation of it from their lips. Wealth alone could not have prompted such absolute and unanimous secrecy. Whatever it was had to do with other matters, like the Order’s attitude towards Jesus.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fw5m_9Bqo40/Tkp7hGtgwJI/AAAAAAAAArg/iwmAnGVLxQs/s1600/Medieval_time_fantasy_wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fw5m_9Bqo40/Tkp7hGtgwJI/AAAAAAAAArg/iwmAnGVLxQs/s320/Medieval_time_fantasy_wallpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">On October 13</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt;">th</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, 1307, all Templars throughout France were arrested By Philippe le Bel’s seneschals. But that statement is not quite true. The Templars of at least one preceptory slipped unscathed through the king’s net the preceptory of Bezu, adjacent to Rennes-leChateau. How and why did they escape? To answer that question, we were compelled to investigate the Order’s activities in the vicinity of Bezu. Those activities proved to have been fairly extensive. Indeed, there were some half dozen preceptories and other holdings in the area, which covered some twenty square miles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In 1153 a nobleman of the region a nobleman with Cathar sympathies became fourth Grand Master of the Order of the Temple. His name was Bertrand de Blanchefort, and his ancestral home was situated on a mountain peak a few miles away from both Bezu and Rennes-leChateau. Bertrand de Blanchefort, who presided over the Order from 1153 until 1170, was probably the most significant of all Templar Grand Masters. Before his regime the Order’s hierarchy and administrative structure were, at best, nebulous. It was Bertrand who transformed the Knights Templar into the superbly efficient, well-organised and magnificently disciplined hierarchical institution they then became. It was Bertrand who launched their involvement in high-level diplomacy and international politics. It was Bertrand who created for them a major sphere of interest in Europe, and particularly in France. And according to the evidence that survives, Bertrand’s mentor some historians even list him as the Grand Master immediately preceding Bertrand was Andre de Montbard.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Within a few years of the Templars’ incorporation, Bertrand had not only joined their ranks, but also conferred on them lands in the environs of Rennes-leChateau and Bezu. And in 1156, under Bertrand’s regime as GrandMaster, the Order is said to have imported to the area a contingent Of German-speaking miners. These workers were supposedly subjected to a rigid, virtually military discipline. They were forbidden to fraternise in any way with the local population and were kept strictly segregated from the surrounding community. A special judicial body, ‘la Judicature des Allemands’, was even created to deal with legal technicalities pertaining to them. And their alleged task was to work the gold mines on the slopes of the mountain at Blanchefort gold mines which had been utterly exhausted by the Romans</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">nearly a thousand years before.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">During the seventeenth century engineers were commissioned to investigate the mineralogical prospects of the area and draw up detailed reports. In the course of his report one of them, Cesar d’Arcons, discussed the ruins he had found, remains of the German workers’ activity. On the basis of his research, he declared that the German workers did not seem to have been engaged in mining.3’ In what, then, were they engaged? Cesar d’Arcons was unsure smelting perhaps, melting something down, constructing something out of metal, perhaps even excavating a subterranean crypt of some sort and creating a species of depository.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QjTRicPVHcY/TkqAh9-gxKI/AAAAAAAAAro/a8EluoR6ZRo/s1600/medieval-fighter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QjTRicPVHcY/TkqAh9-gxKI/AAAAAAAAAro/a8EluoR6ZRo/s320/medieval-fighter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Whatever the answer to this enigma, there had been a Templar presence in the vicinity of Rennes-leChateau since at least the mid-twelfth century. By 1285 there was a major preceptory a few miles from Bezu, at Campagnesur-Aude. Yet near the end of the thirteenth century, Pierre de Voisins, lord of Bezu and Rennes-leChateau, invited a separate detachment of Templars to the area, a special detachment from the Aragonese province Of Roussillon.38 This fresh detachment established itself on the summit of the mountain of Bezu, erecting a lookout post and a chapel. Ostensibly, the Roussillon Templars had been invited to Bezu to maintain the security of the region and protect the pilgrim route which ran through the</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">valley to Santiago de Compastela in Spain. But it is unclear why these extra knights should have been required. In the first place they cannot have been very numerous not enough to make a significant difference. In the second place there were already Templars in the neighbourhood. Finally, Pierre de Voisins had troops of his own, who, together with the Templars already there, could guarantee the safety of the environs. Why, then, did the Russillon Templars come to Bezu? According to local tradition, they came to spy. And to exploit or bury or guard a treasure of some sort.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Whatever their mysterious mission, they obviously enjoyed some kind of special immunity. Alone of all Templars in France, they were left unmolested by Philippe le Bel’s seneschals on October 13</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt;">th</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, 1307. On that fateful day the commander of the Templar contingent at Bezu was a Seigneur de Goth .39 And before taking the name of Pope Clement V, the archbishop of Bordeaux King Philippe’s vacillating pawn was Bertrand de Goth. Moreover, the new pontiff’s mother was Ida de Blanchefort, of the same family as Bertrand de Blanchefort. Was the pope then privy to some secret entrusted to the custody of his family a secret which remained in the Blanchefort family until the eighteenth century, when the Abbe Antoine Bigou, cure of Rennes-leChateau and confessor to Marie de Blanchefort, composed the parchments found by Sauniere? If this were the case, the pope might well have extended some sort of immunity to his relative commanding the Templars at Bezu.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The history of the Templars near Rennes-leChateau was clearly as fraught with perplexing enigmas as the history of the Order in general. Indeed, there were a number of factors the role of Bertrand de Blanchefort, for example which seemed to constitute a discernible link between the general and the more localised enigmas. In the meantime, however, we were confronted with a daunting array of coincidences coincidences too numerous to be truly coincidental. Were we in fact dealing with a calculated pattern? If so, the obvious question was who devised it, for patterns of such intricacy do not devise themselves. All the evidence available to us pointed to meticulous planning and careful organisation so much so that increasingly we suspected there must be a specific group of individuals, perhaps comprising an order of some sort, working assiduously behind the scenes. We did not have to seek confirmation for the existence of such an order. The confirmation thrust itself upon us.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Source: The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-43603561822345591392011-08-16T18:44:00.000+06:002011-08-16T18:44:35.375+06:00Knights Templar : The Mysteries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RbpolRJnjJE/Tkpe4fSoz7I/AAAAAAAAArA/dlVNRbL6VoU/s1600/templar-knights-logo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RbpolRJnjJE/Tkpe4fSoz7I/AAAAAAAAArA/dlVNRbL6VoU/s320/templar-knights-logo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In greatly abridged form, this is the history of the Knights Templar as writers have accepted and presented it, and as we encountered it in our research. But we quickly discovered that there was another dimension to the Order’s history, considerably more elusive, more provocative and more speculative. Even during their existence, a mystique had come to surround the knights. Some said they were sorcerers and magicians, secret adepts and alchemists. Many of their contemporaries shunned them, believing them to be in league with unclean powers. As early as 1208, at the beginning of the Albigensian Crusade, Pope Innocent III had admonished “the Templars for un-Christian behaviour, and referred explicitly to necromancy. On the other hand, there were individuals who praised them with extravagant enthusiasm. In the late twelfth century Wolfram von Eschenbach, greatest of Medieval Minnesanger or romanciers, paid a special visit to Outremer, to witness the Order in action. And when, between 1195 and 1220, Wolfram composed his epic romance Parzival, he conferred on the Templars a most exalted status. In Wolfram’s poem the knights who guard the Holy Grail, the Grail castle and the Grail family, are Templars.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">After the Temple’s demise, the mystique surrounding it persisted. The final recorded act in the Order’s history had been the burning of the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, in March 1314. As the smoke from the slow fire choked the life from his body, Jacques de Molay is said to have issued an imprecation from the flames. According to tradition, he called his persecutors Pope Clement and King Philippe to join him and account for themselves before the court of God within the year. Within a month Pope Clement was dead, supposedly from a sudden onslaught of dysentery. By the end of the year Philippe was dead as well, from causes that remain obscure to this day. There is, of course, no need to look for supernatural explanations. The Templars possessed great expertise in the use of poisons. And there were certainly enough people about refugee knights travelling incognito, sympathisers of the Order or relatives of persecuted brethren to exact the appropriate vengeance. Nevertheless, the apparent fulfilment of the Grand Master’s curse lent credence to belief in the Order’s occult powers. Nor did the curse end there. According to legend, it was to cast a pall over the French royal line far into the future. And thus echoes of the Templars’ supposed mystic power reverberated down the centuries.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">By the eighteenth century various secret and semi secret confraternities were lauding the Templars as both precursors and mystical initiates. Many Freemasons of the period appropriated the Templars as their own antecedents. Certain Masonic “rites’ or “observances’ claimed direct lineal descent from the Order, as well as authorised custody of its arcane secrets. Some of these claims were patently preposterous. Others resting, for example, on the Order’s possible survival in Scotland -may well have a core of validity, even if the attendant trappings are spurious.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">By 1789 the legends surrounding the Templars had attained positively mythic proportions, and their historical reality was obscured by an aura of obfuscation and romance. They were regarded as occult adepts, illumined alchemists, magi and sages, master masons and high initiates veritable supermen endowed with an awesome arsenal of arcane power and knowledge. They were also regarded as heroes and martyrs. harbingers of the anticlerical spirit of the age; and many French Freemasons, in conspiring against Louis XVI, felt they were helping to implement Jacques de Molay’s dying curse on the French line. When the king’s head fell beneath the guillotine, an unknown man is reported to have leaped on to the scaffold. He dipped his hand in the monarch’s blood, flung it out over the surrounding throng and cried, “Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Since the French Revolution the aura surrounding the Templars has not diminished. At least three contemporary organisations today call themselves Templars, claiming to possess a pedigree from 1314 and charters whose authenticity has never been established. Certain Masonic lodges have adopted the grade of “Templar’, as well as rituals and appellations supposedly descended from the original Order. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, a sinister “Order of the New Templars’ was established in Germany and Austria, employing the swastika as one of its emblems. Figures like H. P. Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy, and Rudolf Steiner, founder of Anthroposophy, spoke of an esoteric ‘wisdom tradition’ running back through the Rosicrucians to the Cathars and Templars who were purportedly repositories of more ancient secrets still. In the United States teenage boys are admitted into the De Molay Society, without either they or their mentors having much notion whence the name derives. In Britain, as well as elsewhere in the West, recondite rotary clubs dignify themselves with the name “Templar’ and include eminent public figures. From the heavenly kingdom he sought to conquer with his sword, Hugues de Payen must now look down with a certain wry perplexity on the latter-day knights, balding, paunched and bespectacled, that he engendered. And yet he must also be impressed by the durability and vitality of his legacy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z8eB797KJgM/TkpgOIrEvuI/AAAAAAAAArE/yZAC4GMFo-Y/s1600/ELT200712200504358902410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z8eB797KJgM/TkpgOIrEvuI/AAAAAAAAArE/yZAC4GMFo-Y/s320/ELT200712200504358902410.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In France this legacy is particularly powerful. Indeed, the Templars are a veritable industry in France, as much as Glastonbury, ley-lines or the Loch Ness Monster are in Britain. In Paris book shops are filled with histories and accounts of the Order some valid, some plunging enthusiastically into lunacy. During the last quartercentury or so a number of extravagant claims have been advanced on behalf of the Templars, some of which may not be wholly without foundation. Certain writers have credited them, at least in large part, with the building of the Gothic cathedrals or at least with providing an impetus of some sort to that burst of architectural energy and genius. Other writers have argued that the Order established commercial contact with the Americas as early as 1269, and derived much of its wealth from imported Mexican silver. It has frequently been asserted that the Templars were privy to some sort of secret concerning the origins of Christianity. It has been said that they were Gnostic, that they were heretical, that they were defectors to Islam. It has been declared that they sought a creative unity between bloods, races and religions a systematic policy of fusion between Islamic, Christian and Judaic thought. And again and again it is maintained, as Wolfram von Eschenbach maintained nearly eight centuries ago, that the Templars were guardians of the Holy Grail, whatever the Holy Grail might be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The claims are often ridiculous. At the same time there are unquestionably mysteries associated with’ the Templars and, we became convinced, secrets of some kind as well. It was clear that some of these secrets pertained to what is now called ‘esoterica’. Symbolic carvings in Templar preceptories, for instance, suggest that some officials in the Order’s hierarchy were conversant with such disciplines as astrology, alchemy, sacred geometry and numerology, as well, of course, as astronomy which, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was inseparable from astrology, and every bit as ‘esoteric’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But it was neither the extravagant claims nor the esoteric residues that intrigued us. On the contrary, we found ourselves fascinated by something much more mundane, much more prosaic the welter of contradictions, improbabilities, inconsistencies and apparent “smoke-screens’ in the accepted history. Esoteric secrets the Templars may well have had. But something else about them was being concealed as well something rooted in the religious and political currents of their epoch. It was on this level that we undertook most of our investigation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We began with the end of the story, the fall of the Order and the charges levelled against it. Many books have been written exploring and evaluating the possible truth of these charges; and from the evidence we, like most researchers, concluded there seems to have been some basis for them. Subjected to interrogation by the Inquisition, for example, a number of knights referred to something called “Baphomet’ too many, and in too many different places, for Baphomet to be the invention of a single individual or even a single preceptory. At the same time, there is no indication of who or what Baphomet might have been, what he or it represented, why he or it should have had any special significance. It would appear that Baphomet was regarded with reverence, a reverence perhaps tantamount to idolatry. In some instances the name is associated with the gargoyle-like, demonic sculptures found in various preceptories. On other occasions Baphomet seems to be associated with an apparition of a bearded head. Despite the claims of certain older historians, it seems clear that Baphomet was not a corruption of the name Muhammad. On the other hand, it might have been a corruption of the Arabic abufihamet, pronounced in Moorish Spanish as bufihimat. This means “Father of Understanding’ or “Father of Wisdom’, and ‘father’ in Arabic is also taken to imply ‘source’.””’ If this is indeed the origin of Baphomet, it would therefore refer presumably to some supernatural or divine principle. But what might have differentiated Baphomet from any other supernatural or divine principle remains unclear. If Baphomet was simply God or Allah, why did the Templars bother to re-christen Him? And if Baphomet was not God or Allah, who or what was he?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In any case, we found indisputable evidence for the charge of secret ceremonies involving a head of some kind. Indeed the existence of such a head proved to be one of the dominant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>running through the Inquisition records. As with Baphomet, however, the significance of the head remains obscure. It may perhaps pertain to alchemy. In the alchemical process there was a phase called the “Caput Mortuum’ or “Dead Head’ the “Nigredo’ or “Blackening’ which was said to occur before the precipitation of the Philosopher’s Stone. According to other accounts, however, the head was that of Hugues de Payen, the Order’s founder and first Grand Master; and it is suggestive that Hugues’s shield consisted of three black heads on a gold field.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xNIM9cwpOKo/TkphKHN2M8I/AAAAAAAAArI/KL2Xv7KuZeI/s1600/armor-sca-knights-templar-helm-2504g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xNIM9cwpOKo/TkphKHN2M8I/AAAAAAAAArI/KL2Xv7KuZeI/s320/armor-sca-knights-templar-helm-2504g.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The head may also be connected with the famous Turin Shroud, which seems to have been in the possession of the Templars between 1204 and 1307, and which, if folded, would have appeared as nothing more than a head. Indeed, at the Templar preceptory of Templecombe in Somerset a reproduction of a head was found which bears a striking resemblance to that on the Turin Shroud. At the same time recent speculation had linked the head, at least tentatively, with the severed head of John the Baptist; and certain writers have suggested that the Templars were “infected’ with the johannite or Mandaean heresy which denounced Jesus as a ‘false prophet’ and acknowledged John as the true Messiah. In the course of their activities in the Middle East the Templars undoubtedly established contact with johannite sects, and the possibility of Johannite tendencies in the Order is not altogether unlikely. But one cannot say that such tendencies obtained for the Order as a whole, nor that they were a matter of official policy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">During the interrogations following the arrests in 1307, a head also figured in two other connections. According to the Inquisition records, among the confiscated goods of the Paris preceptory a reliquary in the shape of a woman’s head was found. It was hinged on top, and contained what appeared to have been relics of a peculiar kind. It is described as follows:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">a great head of gilded silver, most beautiful, and constituting the image of a woman. Inside were two head bones wrapped in a cloth of white linen, with another red cloth around it. A label was attached, on which was written the legend CAPUT LVIIIm. The bones inside were those of a rather small woman</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A curious relic especially for a rigidly monastic, military institution like the Templars. Yet a knight under interrogation, when confronted with this feminine head, declared it had no relation to the bearded male head used in the Order’s rituals. Caput LVIIIm -“Head 58m’ remains a baffling enigma. But it is worth noting that the ‘m’ may not be an ‘m’ at all, but U, the astrological symbol for Virgo .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The head figures again in another mysterious story traditionally linked with the Templars. It is worth quoting in one of its several variants:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A great lady of Maraclea was loved by a Templar, a Lord of Sidon; but she died in her youth, and on the night of her burial, this wicked lover crept to the grave, dug up her body and violated it. Then a voice from the void bade him return in nine months time for he would find a son. He obeyed the injunction and at the appointed time he opened the grave again and found a head on the leg bones of the skeleton (skull and crossbones). The same voice bade him’ guard it well, for it would be the giver of all good things’, and so he carried it away with him. It became his protecting genius, and he was able to defeat his enemies by merely showing them the magic head. In due course, it passed into the possession of the Order .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This grisly narrative can be traced at least as far back as one Walter Map, writing in the late twelfth century. But neither he nor another writer, who recounts the same tale nearly a century later, specifies that the necrophiliac rapist was a Templar.Z3 Nevertheless, by 1307 the story had become closely associated with the Order. It is mentioned repeatedly in the Inquisition’s records, and at least two knights under interrogation confessed their familiarity with it. In subsequent accounts, like the one quoted above, the rapist himself is identified as a Templar, and he remains so in the versions preserved by Freemasonry - which adopted the skull and crossbones, and often employed it as a device on tombstones.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0DD5uD6OWGo/TkpldUPWqWI/AAAAAAAAArM/Li_YT7KX20I/s1600/templarbattle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0DD5uD6OWGo/TkpldUPWqWI/AAAAAAAAArM/Li_YT7KX20I/s320/templarbattle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In part the tale might almost seem to be a grotesque travesty of the Immaculate Conception. In part it would seem to be a garbled symbolic account of some initiation rite, some ritual involving a figurative death and resurrection. One chronicler cites the name of the woman in the story Yse, which would seem quite clearly to derive from Isis. And certainly the tale evokes echoes of the mysteries associated with Isis, as well as those of Tammuz or Adonis, whose head was flung into the sea, and of Orpheus, whose head was flung into the river of the Milky Way. The magical properties of the head also evoke the head of Bran The Blessed in Celtic mythology and in the Mabinogion. And it is Bran’s mystical cauldron that numerous writers have sought to identify as the pagan precursor of the Holy Grail.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Whatever significance might be ascribed to the ‘cult of the head’, The Inquisition clearly believed it to be important. In a list of charges drawn up on August 12</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt;">th</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, 1308, there is the following:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Item, that in each province they had idols, namely heads... Item, that they adored these idols .. . Item, that they said that the head could save them. Item, that lit could] make riches .. . Item, that it made the trees flower. Item, that it made the land germinate. Item, that they surrounded or touched each head of the aforesaid idols with small cords, which they wore around themselves next to the shirt or the flesh .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The cord mentioned in the last item is reminiscent of the Cathars, who were also alleged to have worn a sacred cord of some kind. But most striking in the list is the head’s purported capacity to engender riches, make trees flower and bring fertility to the land. These properties coincide remarkably with those ascribed in the romances to the Holy Grail.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Of all the charges levelled against the Templars, the most serious were those of blasphemy and heresy of denying, trampling and spitting on the cross. It is not clear precisely what this alleged ritual was intended to signify -what, in other words, the Templars were actually repudiating. Were they repudiating Christ? Or were they simply repudiating the Crucifixion? And whatever they repudiated, what exactly did they extol in its stead? No one has satisfactorily answered these questions, but it seems clear that a repudiation of some sort did occur, and was an integral principle of the Order. One knight, for example, testified that on his induction into the Order he was told, “You believe wrongly, because he [Christ] is indeed a false prophet. Believe only in God in heaven, and not in him.”zs Another Templar declared that he was told, “Do not believe that the man Jesus whom the Jews crucified in Outremer is God and that he can save you.” A third knight similarly claimed he was instructed not to believe in Christ, a false prophet, but only in a “higher God’. He was then shown a crucifix and told, “Set not much faith in this, for it is too young.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Such accounts are frequent and consistent enough to lend credence to the charge. They are also relatively bland; and if the Inquisition desired to concoct evidence, it could have devised something far more dramatic, more incriminating, more damning. There thus seems little doubt that the Templars’ attitude towards Jesus did not concur with that of Catholic orthodoxy, but it is uncertain precisely what the Order’s attitude was. In any case, there is evidence that the ritual ascribed to the Templars </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">-trampling and spitting on the cross was in the air at least half a century</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">before 1307. Its context is confusing, but it is mentioned in </span>connection with the<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>Sixth Crusade, which occurred in 1249.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Source : The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-34149131817540664562011-08-14T16:56:00.000+06:002011-08-14T16:56:22.692+06:00Lost Graffiti Of The Templars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CrO9f3omX5c/TkepnTfHsDI/AAAAAAAAAqU/YEfpOF-GZmM/s1600/fortean_times_6079_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CrO9f3omX5c/TkepnTfHsDI/AAAAAAAAAqU/YEfpOF-GZmM/s320/fortean_times_6079_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2 class="articlestrapline" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">Could graffiti left by the Knights Templar in southwestern France be the missing link between the order and the Holy Grail?</span></b></i></h2><div style="text-align: justify;">The assumption that first-hand evidence of the Templars’ mysteries was erased along with the structure of their organisation has been perpetuated by so many books that most researchers, scholars included, entirely ignore the fact that the Templars actually did leave behind some startling indications of their thoughts in the form of stone-carved graffiti in prisons where they were held following the suppression of 1307. <br />
<br />
There are Templar graffiti in the dungeon at Warwick Castle in England and at Chinon Castle in France, but by far the strangest and most intriguing examples are to be found at the guardhouse at Domme, in south-western France – traces of the order that have been unaccountably overlooked in the thousands of pages written about the Templars. These wall carvings are as close to first-hand Templar writings are we are ever likely to get, so when the opportunity arose to take a close look at them I seized my camera and sallied forth. Little did I suspect that what I was to find would leave me astonished and engulf most of my spare time in the following months as I became driven by the need to comprehend what the Templars had left behind on the walls of this terrible place. <br />
<br />
<b><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">THE MENORAH AND THE CROSS </span></b><br />
High on a rock overlooking the green hills of the Acquitaine region of the Dordogne, on the road from Perigeaux to Cahors, is the ancient village of Domme, a gem of sponge cake-coloured buildings and labyrinthine nooks. During the arrest of the French Templars, starting on the infamous morning of 13 October 1307, 70 of their number were taken to the guardhouse, one of the town’s gateways, where they could serve the pleasure of ‘fair’ King Philip IV while awaiting trial in an area no larger than a tennis court.With only four slit windows to admit light from the outside world, the prisoners’ focus was turned inward, and to forms of expression that might, even today, reveal fragments of their psychology: in the cold and uncertain months and years which followed, the Templars carved graffiti into the walls. <br />
<br />
My guide explained that, being denied possessions and food other than bread and water, fingernails and even teeth were used to scrape away the sandstone, although stones must also have been employed, as some of the carvings are deeply incised. It is some striking measure of their faith – as well as the anger and despair they felt in this place – that they were able to make these amazing graffiti so vivid and permanent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
The first carvings are found inside the entranceway: a large cross with a forked base, surrounded by four smaller crosses. Known as a Jerusalem or Crusader’s Cross, this emblem was adopted at the time of the First Crusade, and may have been the personal arms of Godfrey of Bouillon, first brief ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The emblem is surrounded by a circle, possibly representing the imprisonment of the Templars. The ‘stickman’ appearance of the large cross with its triangular base is repeated dozens of times all around the lower level of the guardhouse. <br />
<br />
On entering the guardhouse, it becomes clear that its walls are filled with carvings, many of them familiar, some less so. My eye is caught by what my guide explains is a representation of the crucified Christ within a square – for the Templars this square was the symbol of the Temple Of Solomon. So far, this interpretation ties in with what is known. The Templars’ headquarters in Jerusalem was at the al-Aqsa Mosque on the south side of the Temple Mount, what they thought of as the Temple of Solomon. The guide continues with words that touch directly on the mystery of these carvings, describing the other symbols as “geometrical signs that may represent the Jewish seven branches of the candelabra called <i>menorah</i>”. <br />
<br />
The menorah is one of the oldest symbols of Judaism, with its seven branches representing light, the seven days of Creation and, when lit, the seven planets, or the all-seeing eyes of God. Interpreting one of the strangest of the Templar carvings (I call it the ‘cross symbol’) as a menorah rests entirely on its having seven main branches. Yet these branches do not curve upwards to an equal height, as they should – four are at different heights, two of which are pointing downwards; the diagonal lines at the midway are different. Representationally, it is unlike the menorah, despite its seven ‘arms’ and triangular base. Seth Mandel, a menorah expert, has found no drawings from antiquity or mediæval times, either in Roman or Jewish sources, of the menorah with straight arms.At least one specialist I consulted offered a Cabbalistic interpretation of the tree symbol, but this requires a similar contortion to viewing it as a menorah.Having explored a number of avenues to find the source and meaning of the ‘cross symbol’, and although a precise correlation for it still eludes me, I believe its origins might now be within reach. <br />
<br />
<b><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">MARKS OF THE MASONS </span></b><br />
In 1097, the first crusader armies arrived at Constantinople. After taking Nicæa from the Seljuk Sultanate, they marched through Anatolia on their way to Jerusalem. A guide sent from the principality of Armenian Cilicia to the east led Baldwin of Boulogne to the mountains of the Taurus, then to the Marash plain where he joined with the Armenian forces. He continued towards Edessa (modern Sanliurfa), and was adopted by King Thoros. Upon the assassination of Thoros, Baldwin became the new ruler, and the first crusader state was created. In 1215 (nearly a century after the formation of the Knights Templar), an ancient monastery close to Mount Ararat in eastern Armenia was rebuilt and renamed Geghardavank. The name means ‘monastery of the spear’, for it was here that the lance that pierced the side of the crucified Christ was said to have been brought by Thaddeus (also known as Jude the Apostle). <br />
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The walls of the shrine are covered with distinctive carvings of crusader crosses. And there are several of the same engraved cross formations that we find at the Templars’ prison at Domme: one large cross with four smaller crosses in each of the four quadrants. It is not difficult to see what fascination the monastery held for crusading knights as the repository of the Holy Spear; the relic was clearly a huge draw, and is still kept in Armenia’s Etchmiadzin Cathedral (for other contenders to the Spear of Destiny, see FT70:35–37; 175:48–52). <br />
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Looking closely at early Christian sites in Armenia, another startling parallel leapt out from the numerous memorial stones, or <i>khatchkars</i>, that exist in their thousands in monasteries and ancient cemeteries. These carved stones, with their ornate branched crosses, reached a peak between the 12th and 14th centuries. If the khatchkar cross is reduced to its essential form – with the horizontal branches splitting off into two diverging branches, each finished with smaller crosses – it resembles the Domme complex cross emblem. There are, however, crucial differences: the five ‘digits’ of the Domme cross are extra elaborations, which may hint towards more ‘heretical’ inclinations; the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Professor Youssef Ziedan, emailed me with the opinion that the symbols are “pagan symbols and not Christian”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Yet having trawled through hundreds of examples of mediæval Christian and Arabic art and symbolism, nothing comes anything like as close to the strange carvings at Domme as these Armenian crosses, inviting the supposition that at least one of the Domme Templars had been to Armenia and taken the <i>khatchkar</i> carvings as a precursor to the, possibly unique, versions at Domme. It could have been during the Templars’ presence in the country in 1298–9 under the orders of the last grandmaster, Jacques de Molay. Perhaps the inscribing Templar had even visited Geghard monastery and been deeply impressed. Situated as it is close to Iran’s northwesterly borders, with Syria to the south, Armenia (the first country to adopt Christianity as its official state religion, in AD 301) appears to be something of an architectural and artistic ‘missing link’ between the advances of mediæval Islamic mathematicians and early Gothic buildings. Mediæval merchants’ and masons’ marks, for instance, also share characteristics with the Domme symbols, some having precisely the same triangular features. And there are mason’s marks from Chartres cathedral with exactly the same characteristics as the central motif of the ‘cross symbol’: a pair of bent horizontal lines linked by a vertical line. [8] Other masons’ marks at Chartres could well derive from the same ‘root shape.’ <br />
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“The great prevalence of these [masons’] marks, composed of mathematical lines,” wrote Robert Ingham Clegg, “is a strong confirmation of the truth of the opinion entertained by Paley, Lindsay, and many other writers, that the secret of the mediæval Freemasons was the application of the principles of geometry to the art of building.” These marks, I believe, are further clues to the obscure connections between Templars and Cistercian monks who facilitated the Gothic flourishing, and the nameless artisans who realised it using rules of form and structure derived from the Pythagorean and Eastern mystery schools. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">THE GRAIL OF THE TEMPLARS </span></b><br />
This curious, octagonal-diamond-triangle emblem resembled nothing I nor any of the dozens of scholars to whom I showed it could find elsewhere, so I eventually went with the official interpretation and looked at Grail representations in the Middle Ages. The chalice held by Melchizedek on the north porch of Chartres cathedral has a good three-dimensional resemblance to the ‘Graal de Domme’. Melchizedek’s chalice contains a stone sphere, an unusual depiction echoed in the early grail romance <i>Parzifal</i> by Wolfram von Eschenbach (1170–1220), where the grail is the <i>Lapis Exilis</i>, the stone that fell from Heaven. And who are the guardians of the grail in <i>Parzifal</i>? Wolfram calls them <i>Templeism</i>, an unusual word taken by most to mean the Templars. The octagonal shape found in the Domme ‘stone’ was of special significance to the Templars. It links to certain strictures imposed on them after breaking the rules. Architecturally, the octagon is an ordinary shape for mediæval fonts and church pillars, and also underlies the Jerusalem cross. The intimacy between the Grail and the number eight is encapsulated by the theme of renewal, or resurrection. Might it be that the ‘chevrons’ within the octagon represent the wings of the phœnix, which also appears in <i>Parzifal</i> with the <i>Lapis Exilis</i>: “By virtue of this stone the Phœnix is burned to ashes, in which she is reborn”? <br />
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As might be expected, the stone-in-chalice motif has its alchemical tradition. It persists in architecture even down to the watered-down Gothic-revival houses that line England’s suburbs. The banister-ends in many homes, for instance, are topped with identical wooden sculptures. I had always assumed they were eggs in eggcups – but that’s probably a more bizarre idea than them being Holy Grails! <br />
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More disturbingly, a graffito at Domme in the niche overlooking the valley depicts Pope Clement V as a serpent being speared by the Archangel Michael. This is clearly an angry satirical swipe at the man who betrayed the Templars, equating the Pope with Satan (or Belial), the ‘old serpent’ and ‘Father of Lies’, throwing his arm aloft as Michael, the most divine of the archangels and commander of the Army of God, is about to defeat him. It might be said that this moment of cosmic drama stems from a fleeting mention in the Book of Revelation (12:7), but considering the importance of Michael in apocryphal documents such as <i>The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness</i>, an apocalyptic prophecy and military manual, and other Gnostic and Rabbinic strands with a similar emphasis on Michael/Christ versus Satan, there is the possibility that some of the Domme Templars were influenced by pre-Christian ideas from the Holy Land.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
There are other enigmatic motifs to be found at Domme, including a pentagram and several Suns and crescents. A mass of complementary evidence suggests that these relate to the symbolic meanings ascribed to them by the Pythagoreans and Neoplatonists. The Pentagram derived from the proportions of man, and indicated good health. The Sun and Moon were the “guarantors of immortality”. The Pythagorean traditions of numerical and geometric harmonies underlie a family of symbols that, in the developing intellectual centres of Western Europe, were converging with the Christian iconography embraced and espoused by the religio-political establishments of the late mediæval period and culminating in the cloud-piercing summits of Gothic architecture. Pythagoras himself was depicted on French and Spanish cathedrals and illuminated manuscripts. By the 13th and 14th centuries, adherents of the way of truth through enquiry and observation were also indicating themselves via masons’ marks and English church graffiti, a wave of pictographic enthusiasm the likes of which was not seen again until “Kilroy was here” was unleashed across wartime Europe by allied soldiers. One of the very earliest features of Pythagorean sacred architecture, the oculus, can be found at Royston Cave.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="articlequestion" style="color: yellow;"><b>MEANING OR DOODLING?</b></span><b style="color: yellow;"> </b><br />
The graffiti at Domme could prove significant in providing extra insight into the members of the Templar order in southern France – it’s almost incredible to find such a place, entirely overlooked by English-language scholarship, and not much better known even in France. The motifs certainly deserve further enquiry (as do the markings at Royston, but for different reasons). A few academics to whom I showed the symbols denied they had any meaning at all, dismissing them as “doodles” or “the idlings of an inmate”. By trying to define a meaning for the symbols, I was, according to one assistant professor, engaged in a hopelessly outmoded way of thinking, since the new wisdom, in art history at least, is that even the word “meaning” requires careful definition. But those who think the symbols are merely doodles perhaps need to be reminded that to the mediæval mind <i>everything</i> was symbolic. <br />
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Stepping out of the guardhouse at Domme, I found myself unexpectedly shaken. Few artworks have ever affected me so powerfully; the sense of their presence, and of emotional contact with their creators is incredible – akin to the cave paintings at nearby Lascaux. But at Domme a combination of intense devotion and an angry sense of injustice emanates from the walls like heat, challenging you to walk away without reflecting on how it all came about. There amidst the many carvings and inscriptions – others include life-size hands, a Nine-Men’s-Morris board, a Madonna and Child, a Eucharist scene, numerous angels and dozens of crosses, with their curious dots and forked bases obsessively repeated – the situation of the Templars at their darkest hour is brought closer to us than anywhere else in the world. In considering these inscriptions, both familiar and mysterious, it’s impossible not to imagine the prisoners scoring over and over their traces, reflecting on and sharing their deeper meanings, gaining knowledge and peace of mind and preparing themselves for the trials they must have known awaited them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: yellow;">THE RIDDLES OF ROYSTON CAVE</b><br />
In the passageway around the side of the New Age shop on the main street of Royston in Hertfordshire is a doorway to another world. Step through into a descending tunnel, curving under the central crossroads of this mediæval market town, and you reach a cave unlike any other. The passage through which you have arrived is not the original entrance – that would have been by way of an old shaft, a vertiginous climb down footholds cut from the solid chalk. <br />
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Looking around the walls of this bell-shaped chamber, dozens of relief-carved figures are apparent, some of them arranged in groups or scenes. A few are easily discernible as Christian icons: crucifixions, St Christopher, St Katherine. Others are more contentious, and their ambiguity leaves a space of uncertainty into which some have allowed the Knights Templar to plant their flag. Indeed, so successful has the ‘Templarisation’ of Royston become (see also FT193:28–30) that the local museum endorses the view that the cave was a place where they gathered in secret after their suppression. <br />
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Scholars tread more cautiously. Dr Helen Nicolson, a Crusades expert and author of several books on the Templars, tells me that, since the Royston carvings show a knight in full armour (a feature I am unable to make out, I have to say), they must have been made at least a century after the Templars were dissolved. She reminded me of the theory that the cave was used as a hermit’s cell in the late 14th or 15th century, and that this hermit made the carvings, but admitted her own preference for the idea that the carvings “were made by Catholics in the 16th century in the time of Edward VI or Queen Elizabeth, or in the 17th century, when Catholicism had been outlawed and Catholics had to meet in secret.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Where does this leave the Knight Templars in Royston? Is the Templar theory for the carvings at Royston Cave just another example of how these knights inexorably gravitate towards any mystery and are consequently embraced by those – like the present guardians of the cave – who welcome the extra tourists? <br />
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The cave was discovered by accident in 1742. Initially thought to contain treasure, it was rapidly cleared of debris, revealing a chamber almost 8m high and 5m in diameter. Intrepid visitors entered via ladders, until in 1790 an enterprising bricklayer cut the 22m (70ft) tunnel and charged visitors sixpence to see the cave. <br />
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The first intensive academic study of the carvings was published in 1884 by Joseph Beldam, who assigned a pre-Christian or Roman origin for the cave and concluded that the carvings were made during the Crusades, when it was converted into a Christian oratory with a hermitage “probably attached”. No mention of Templars was made for almost another century, not until Sylvia Beamont suggested that the local knights were farmers and artisans, not fighters, and that they used the cave to store perishable foods and as an overnight lodging during market days. The lower part of the cave, she thought, could have been a chapel, possibly used for initiations.Peter Houldcroft, who for many years guided visitors around the cave, went further in supposing the cave’s purpose was entirely ritualistic, coming up with a raised star-shaped platform on which the Templars performed their secret rites.Houldcroft’s notion of the platform derived from post-holes found in the floor and possible beam-holes on the walls, a disputed but interesting theory. Philip Coppens pushes the boundaries even further with his ‘sacred landscape’ argument, making Royston “the only fully-developed geomantic site in Britain, situated at the intersection of two straight roads orientated to the cardinal directions”, a pagan origin reclaimed as a ‘creation myth’ by the later Christian imagery.Where esoteric matters are concerned, there are indeed no coincidences, yet this may be too close to a <i>Foucault’s Pendulum</i>-like masterplan for comfort. But who knows? <br />
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What most persuades this observer that the graffiti are linked to the Templars is the presence of the two figures being burned on woodpiles. One of them is beside a large St Christopher, an important Templar saint, the other, more memorable, one leads two rows of 31 figures (also heretics?) and wears a crown or mitre. The figure’s high status indicates that it could even be Jacques de Molay, the last Templar Grand Master. Tangentially, another figure with upraised arms is said to be King David rising from water, closely reflected in a 13th-century illuminated manuscript in Trinity College, Cambridge, library illustrating Psalm 69. Freemasons sympathetic to the Templar origins of their society might consider recognising this as one source for the Masonic Sign of Distress with its upraised arms. <br />
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Twelve metres above the floor, an oculus (“eye” or round opening) offers a glimpse of sky. This feature most strongly attests to the cave’s origins. Now that it is beyond question that Pythagoreans, mystic-scientists known for at least 500 years before Christ, met in secret, sometimes in the kind of underground temple discovered under Porta Maggiore in Rome, where the roof would have required an oculus for illuminating the living symbols of the sun (Apollo), light, the circle – the first causes of the Pythagorean perspective from which all else stems: number, harmony, geometry, music, the spheres and everything on them. Hadrian, one of the more inquisitive emperors, had Pythagoras’s mathematical discoveries expressed within the Pantheon, one of the great ventures into the relationship between the sphere and the cube. This is Pythagoreanism at its most glorious and showy; the religion is essentially practised and disseminated under varying conditions of secrecy. Royston’s echo of Pythagorean rules keeps to the basic essentials for a shrine. It is underground, has an oculus, and an entrance that expresses the tenets of “descending to the divine”, making it difficult to estimate one’s orientation to the surface. Thus the Pythagorean learns that by going underground you find the light. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-53689439864789287432011-08-14T16:45:00.000+06:002011-08-14T16:45:06.020+06:00Jerusalem Scholars Trace Bible's Evolution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: white; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgWMgwRbspM/Tkem-5LkHuI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/vhaqxUh8lUg/s1600/Mideast+Israel+Bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgWMgwRbspM/Tkem-5LkHuI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/vhaqxUh8lUg/s320/Mideast+Israel+Bible.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;">A dull-looking chart projected on the wall of a university office in Jerusalem displayed a revelation that would startle many readers of the Old Testament: the sacred text that people revered in the past was not the same one we study today.</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">An ancient version of one book has an extra phrase. Another appears to have been revised to retroactively insert a prophecy after the events happened.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Scholars in this out-of-the-way corner of the Hebrew University campus have been quietly at work for 53 years on one of the most ambitious projects attempted in biblical studies -- publishing the authoritative edition of the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, and tracking every single evolution of the text over centuries and millennia.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">And it has evolved, despite deeply held beliefs to the contrary.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">For many Jews and Christians, religion dictates that the words of the Bible in the original Hebrew are divine, unaltered and unalterable. For Orthodox Jews, the accuracy is considered so inviolable that if a synagogue's Torah scroll is found to have a minute error in a single letter, the entire scroll is unusable.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">But the ongoing work of the academic detectives of the Bible Project, as their undertaking is known, shows that this text at the root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam was somewhat fluid for long periods of its history, and that its transmission through the ages was messier and more human than most of us imagine.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The project's scholars have been at work on their critical edition of the Hebrew Bible, a version intended mainly for the use of other scholars, since 1958.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">"What we're doing here must be of interest for anyone interested in the Bible," said Michael Segal, the scholar who heads the project.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The sheer volume of information makes the Bible Project's version "the most comprehensive critical edition of the Hebrew Bible in existence at the present time," said David Marcus, a Bible scholar at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, who is not involved with the project.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">But Segal and his colleagues toil in relative anonymity. Their undertaking is nearly unknown outside a circle of Bible experts numbering several hundred people at most, and a visitor asking directions to the Bible Project's office on the university campus will find that many members of the university's own staff have never heard of it.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">This is an endeavor so meticulous, its pace so disconnected from that of the world outside, that in more than five decades of work the scholars have published a grand total of three of the Hebrew Bible's 24 books. (Christians count the same books differently, for a total of 39.) A fourth is due out during the upcoming academic year.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">If the pace is maintained, the final product will be complete a little over 200 years from now. This is both a point of pride and a matter of some mild self-deprecation around the office.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Bible Project scholars have spent years combing through manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek translations on papyrus from Egypt, a printed Bible from 1525 Venice, parchment books in handwritten Hebrew, the Samaritan Torah, and scrolls in Aramaic and Latin. The last member of the original team died last year at age 90.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The scholars note where the text we have now differs from older versions -- differences that are evidence of the inevitable textual hiccups, scribal errors and other human fingerprints that became part of the Bible as it was passed on, orally and in writing.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">A Microsoft Excel chart projected on one wall on a recent Sunday showed variations in a single phrase from the Book of Malachi, a prophet.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The verse in question, from the text we know today, makes reference to "those who swear falsely." The scholars have found that in quotes from rabbinic writings around the 5th century A.D., the phrase was longer: "those who swear falsely in my name."</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">In another example, this one from the Book of Deuteronomy, a passage referring to commandments given by God "to you" once read "to us," a significant change in meaning.</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Other differences are more striking.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The Book of Jeremiah is now one-seventh longer than the one that appears in some of the 2,000-year-old manuscripts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some verses, including ones containing a prophecy about the seizure and return of Temple implements by Babylonian soldiers, appear to have been added after the events happened.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The year the Bible Project began, 1958, was the year a priceless Hebrew Bible manuscript arrived in Jerusalem after it was smuggled out of Aleppo, Syria, by a Jewish cheese merchant who hid it in his washing machine. This was the 1,100-year-old Aleppo Codex, considered the oldest and most accurate version of the complete biblical text in Hebrew.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The Bible Project's version of the core text -- the one to which the others are compared -- is based on this manuscript. Other critical editions of the Bible, such as one currently being prepared in Stuttgart, Germany, are based on a slightly newer manuscript held in St. Petersburg, Russia</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">.</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Considering that the nature of their work would be considered controversial, if not offensive, by many religious people, it is perhaps surprising that most of the project's scholars are themselves Orthodox Jews.</div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">"A believing Jew claims that the source of the Bible is prophecy," said the project's bearded academic secretary, Rafael Zer. "But as soon as the words are given to human beings -- with God's agreement, and at his initiative -- the holiness of the biblical text remains, even if mistakes are made when the text is passed on."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: white; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><br style="color: white;" /></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-49163860861994027592011-08-14T16:37:00.000+06:002011-08-14T16:37:42.138+06:00Structural Violence Against Women In South Asia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ouTuN9cW38/TkelNCj3UNI/AAAAAAAAAqM/3qXbJivqt0Y/s1600/Violence-against-women_2332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ouTuN9cW38/TkelNCj3UNI/AAAAAAAAAqM/3qXbJivqt0Y/s320/Violence-against-women_2332.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Violence against women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. The term encompasses physical, psychological and sexual abuse of women. It does not permit any exact boundary. It cuts across limits of age, race, culture, religion, wealth and geography.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In South Asia, the scenario of violence against women has an institutionalised form. Although the scenario of women’s participation in political leadership is quite different due to its dynastical proclivity. India, as the largest country of this region, saw a chronological development of female leadership. India has experienced several years’ female leadership by Indira Gandhi. Now, Sonia Gandhi, her party’s leader is also a woman. Pratibha Patil is the president of India. Pakistan has a political background of women’s rule as well. Nusrat Bhutto and Benjir Bhutto were two prominent political figures of Pakistan. In Sri Lanka, Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga were two legends of female leadership. In Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina are prominent female political leaders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But there is no impact, either direct or indirect, of female leadership in socio-cultural grounds in South Asia. A wide chasm exists here between these two — political and socio-cultural — fields. Want of equal honour and dignity of women is still a matter of frustration. Women in South Asia possess a large space in political leadership with the smallest amount of social dignity. This coexistence is a unique feature of South Asia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Violence against women begins prior to birth in South Asia. Social expectation and strong preference for male infants results into these sorts of problems. Female infants are considered less powerful, both mentally and physically, than the male. Parents believe that women cannot contribute financially. Dowry system is another curse. In India, dowry-related violence covers more than 32.4 per cent of crimes against women. A report stated that at least 9000 women become victims of the dowry system every year. These numbers increase at a rate of 1-2 per cent every year. As an outcome, abortion and female infanticide is increasing day by day in this region. A research showed that abortion leads to the killing of more women and children in India than does war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the South Asian societies, a male dominated trend has chronically existed. Patriarchal system does not provide equal opportunity for women. In conjugal life, women are tortured by their husband. Gender-based division of labour provides a vulnerable position for the women. They are always subjugated by male partners (i.e. brother, husband and son) in the name of cultural norms and religious values.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Kashmir, the Dukhtaran e Millat, a militant fundamentalist party went on to throw acid on the face of girls refusing to accept the Burqa. In Afghanistan, the Taliban, another Islamic party, after capturing power, banned women from the public sphere and confined them into home. These two are instances of violence in the name of religious value. These incidents are the same as Hitler’s agenda and the brutalities in the medieval period against women. During Hitler’s regime in Germany, women’s sphere of activity was only around fire house, church and children. In the medieval era, women were bound by greater limitations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beside these, there are many dimensions of violence against women in south Asia such as domestic violence, rape, assault, sexual harassment, prostitution, trafficking, pornography, acid throwing, bride pricing, abduction and early marriage of girls. Violence has no specific zone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In every sector of life, women face severe problems. In educational institutions, girls cannot get education opportunities as the boys do in South Asia. In India, only 54 per cent of women are literate compared to 76 per cent of men. Notable fact is that, girls even suffer from violence in their educational institutions. Recently a female student of Viqarunnisa Noon School in Dhaka became a victim of sexual harassment by her teacher. Stalking is another indicator of moral decadence. In the political sphere, women are controlled by some sectarian political norms, values and practices which flourish the agenda of fascism and fundamentalism. At home, in the food sharing system, women get smaller portions of food than that of their male counterparts. In India, two-third women are undernourished.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the domestic level, violence is multidimensional. Forced labour and sex, sexual harassment by relatives, browbeating and ‘honour killing’ are dangerous forms of domestic violence. Spousal rape is another menace of this society. A recent report prepared by World Health Organisation stated that in rural Bangladesh, 30 per cent women have their first sexual experience without any consensus. Even in rural areas, many women do not seek help or report violence when it occurs. A World Bank study affirmed that rape and domestic violence against women are more dangerous than cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Muslim-dominated areas, women are killed in the name of ‘fatwa’. They are killed in a savage way by ‘dorra’ or whip strikes as a punishment for extra-marital sex. Governments remain nonchalant. In property sharing system in both Muslim and Hindu societies, women are bereft from their property rights. They often suffer from malicious misrepresentation of religion in the society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">These incidents indicate a structural form of violence against women in this region. A 2002 report commissioned by UN stated that in India the police record as a whole shows that a woman is molested in every 26 minute and a rape occurs in every 34 minute; an incident of sexual harassment takes place in every 42 minute and a woman is kidnapped in every 43 minute. In every 93 minute a woman is killed. This report illustrates a pathetic scenario of south Asian women’s condition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As an inexorable outcome, a wide range of physical, mental, sexual and maternal health problem occurs in this region. Mental depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, sleep difficulties, eating disorders and emotional distress damage normal life of victims. To eliminate structural violence, observers and specialists suggest some strategies. Governments have to take direct policies to prevent violence. They must include norms and values in their education policies. Women’s participation in decision making of the society and their empowerment are two inevitable preconditions for establishing a violence-free society. Equality is another precondition. Only effective democracy can ensure political and legal equality for women in the societies of south Asia. State and non-state actors and factors can contribute in solving this problem. Local, national and international non-government and nonprofit organisations have to contribute in this sector.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a change of attitude, manner and behaviour of men is important to build a violence-free society. Only joint initiatives of both men and women can ensure a peaceful society. Together, we can establish peace in South Asia. This is the time to wake up.</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-10185587659073274382011-08-10T15:40:00.000+06:002011-08-10T15:40:04.878+06:00Are the Bible's Stories True? Archaeology's Evidence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dQ-THyHUbAc/TkJRl5Wl1II/AAAAAAAAApw/Kn_-m8aGUTk/s1600/3805-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dQ-THyHUbAc/TkJRl5Wl1II/AAAAAAAAApw/Kn_-m8aGUTk/s320/3805-1.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In another part of the world, it would have been a straightforward public-works project. A highway was too narrow to handle the increasing flow of traffic, so the authorities brought in heavy equipment to widen it. Partway through the job, however, a road-leveling tractor uncovered the opening to a cave no one knew was there. Work came to an immediate halt, and within hours a scientific swat team descended on the site to study it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> That's the law in Israel, where civilization goes back at least 5,000 years and where a major archaeological find could be lurking under any given square foot of real estate. Just about every empire since the beginning of Western history has occupied these lands, or fought over them, or at least passed through — Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Crusaders — leaving behind buildings or burial places or artifacts. Which is why there were about 300 active digs this year in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza — an area no bigger than New Jersey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's also a major reason why Israel has seized the opportunity to stage "Jerusalem 3000," a 17-month festival of art, music and archaeological exhibitions commemorating the 3,000th anniversary of the city's original conquest by the ancient Israelites. The festival, which opened in September, admittedly has more to do with luring tourists than with unraveling ancient history. And it has heightened resentment among Palestinian Arabs, who insist that Jerusalem belongs to them and fear that the Israelis' passion for excavating everything in sight threatens Islamic holy sites in the city, around the country and in surrounding areas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the celebration serves as a reminder that the region has witnessed a very special sort of history. For nearly 3 billion Jews, Christians and Muslims, this is the Holy Land, the place where the Bible and Koran say Jesus and Abraham and King David and King Solomon all walked the earth. Each spadeful of dirt an archaeologist turns up could yield evidence about how, and even whether, these and other biblical figures actually lived. As Hannukah and Christmas approach, believers around the world are attuned more than ever to the significance of archaeological finds of the past century, and especially the past few years, in establishing the reality of the events underlying their faith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some of the Bible's most familiar names, places and events, in fact — the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; King David, the slayer of Goliath; Moses and the Israelites' flight from bondage in Egypt; Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land and the gloomy prophecies of Jeremiah — are being seen in a new light thanks to a flood of recent discoveries. And archaeologists are always seeking new evidence that might help resolve some still-unanswered questions: Did Moses really exist? Did the Exodus happen? Did Joshua fight the Battle of Jericho? Did Jesus drive out the money changers? When — and why — were the earliest books of the Bible written?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At first, the Israelis who excavated the newly uncovered cave by the highway thought they'd found just that sort of evidence. Inside the rocky opening, located about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem, were 23 burial containers filled with bones. A hasty analysis seemed to show that letters on one stone box spelled out part of the name Hasmonean, a family of Jewish patriots, also known as the Maccabees, whose encounter with a miraculous oil lamp is now celebrated in the lighting of Hannukah candles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the first time, it appeared, there was physical proof that this legendary family, known only from the words of the Apocrypha, actually existed. The discovery, announced last month, set off an international wave of excitement (and protests from ultra-Orthodox Jews, who believe that any tampering with human remains violates Jewish law). Then, two weeks ago, came disappointing word from the Israeli Antiquities Authority: the letters on the crypt had been misinterpreted. There is no reason to believe these were the bones of the Maccabees after all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such are the frustrations of life in the scientific minefields of biblical archaeology. Digging up the past is always a tricky business, as researchers attempt to reconstruct ancient societies from often fragmentary bits of pottery or statuary or masonry. But trying to identify artifacts from Old Testament times in the Holy Land is especially problematic. For one thing, virtually no written records survive from the times of King Solomon or earlier. The ancient Israelites, unlike many of their neighbors, evidently wrote mostly on perishable papyrus rather than durable clay.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moreover, the whole subject is touchy because almost everyone has a stake in Scripture. Jewish and Christian ultraconservatives don't like hearing that parts of the Bible could be fictional. Atheists can't wait to prove that the whole thing is a fairy tale. And even for the moderate majority, the Bible underlies so much of Western culture that it matters a great deal whether its narratives are grounded in truth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For every discovery like the Maccabees' burial cave that doesn't pan out, there seems to be another that does. Few scholars believe that miracles like Moses' burning bush or Jesus' resurrection will ever be proved scientifically; they are, after all, supernatural events. Conversely, few doubt that the characters in the latter part of the Old Testament and most of the New — Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah, Jesus, Peter — really existed, though some will always doubt parts of their stories.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But a series of crucial discoveries suggests that some of the Bible's more ancient tales are also based firmly on real people and events. In 1990, Harvard researchers working in the ancient city of Ashkelon, north of the Gaza Strip, unearthed a small silver-plated bronze calf figurine reminiscent of the huge golden calf mentioned in the Book of Exodus. In 1986, archaeologists found the earliest known text of the Bible, dated to about 600 B.C. It suggests that at least part of the Old Testament was written soon after some of the events it describes. Also in 1986, scholars identified an ancient seal that had belonged to Baruch, son of Neriah, a scribe who recorded the prophecies of Jeremiah in 587 B.C. (Because Jews and Muslims don't consider the birth of Christ to be a defining moment in history, many scholars prefer the term B.C.E. to B.C. It stands for either "Before the Christian Era" or "Before the Common Era.") Says Hershel Shanks, founding editor of the influential magazine <span style="font-style: italic;">Biblical Archaeology Review</span>: "Seldom does archaeology come face to face with people actually mentioned in the Bible."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In what may be the most important of these discoveries, a team of archaeologists uncovered a 9th century B.C. inscription at an ancient mound called Tel Dan, in the north of Israel, in 1993. Words carved into a chunk of basalt refer to the "House of David" and the "King of Israel." It is the first time the Jewish monarch's name has been found outside the Bible, and appears to prove he was more than mere legend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, say many scholars, much of what is recorded in the Bible is at best distorted, and some characters and events are probably totally fictional. Most scholars suspect that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Judaism's traditional founders, never existed; many doubt the tales of slavery in Egypt and the Exodus; and relatively few modern historians believe in Joshua's conquest of Jericho and the rest of the Promised Land. In the most extreme view, all of the above are complete fabrications, invented centuries after the supposed fact.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">These discoveries and theories, and many more, are vigorously contested on all sides by archaeologists, religious scholars and historians. On some things just about everyone agrees. The Bible version of Israelite history after the reign of King Solomon, for example, is generally believed to be based on historical fact because it is corroborated by independent accounts of Kings and battles in Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions of the time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prior to that, though — before about 930 B.C. — the experts disagree on just about everything. At one pole in this scholarly version of Crossfire is the group known as the maximalists, who consider the Bible a legitimate guidebook for archaeological research. At the other are the minimalists, or biblical nihilists, who believe the Bible is a religious document and thus can't be read as any sort of objective account. "They say of Bible material, 'If it cannot be proved to be historical it's not historical,' " explains Frank Moore Cross, professor emeritus of Oriental languages at Harvard, who puts himself somewhere in the middle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First maximalists, then minimalists, have dominated biblical archaeology at one time or another. For early explorers, who began visiting the Holy Land in earnest in the middle of the last century, the Bible was — well, their Bible. The first serious researcher was Edward Robinson, an orientalist at New York City's Union Theological Seminary. In 1837 and 1852 he journeyed to Palestine and identified hundreds of ancient sites by questioning Arabs, who had preserved the traditional names for centuries. Robinson pinpointed Masada. He found a monumental arch supporting the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. "He did more than anybody before or after for biblical topography," says Magen Broshi, curator emeritus of the Dead Sea Scrolls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Robinson's excursions set off a wave of exploration that has never let up. Many of the early visitors weren't close to being objective; they were out to vindicate the Bible as history, not to test it. Toward the end of the century, that led to a backlash, especially among liberal German Bible critics. Their equally preconceived position was that the Bible is essentially a myth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pendulum swung the other way again in the 1920s, when William Foxwell Albright appeared on the scene. A professor of Semitic languages at Johns Hopkins and the son of a Methodist missionary, he took a much more scientific approach than most of his predecessors. Rather than assume that the Bible was either entirely accurate or completely fictional, he attempted to confirm Old Testament stories with independent archaeological evidence. And under his considerable influence, biblical archaeology finally became a disciplined and scientific enterprise.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although he was prepared to see the Bible proved wrong in its particulars, Albright assumed it was accurate until proved otherwise. He assumed the existence of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for example, and then used circumstantial physical evidence to deduce that they probably lived around 1800 B.C. He accepted the idea of the Exodus from Egypt and military conquest of Canaan (Palestine), and went on to date those events at about 1200 B.C.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Albright's intellectual heirs, including Israeli archaeologists Avraham Biran and the late Yigael Yadin, made similar assumptions. Said Yadin a few years before his death in 1984: "The Old Testament for me is a guide. It is the authentic history of my people." The Bible says, for example, that King Solomon fortified the cities of Hazor, Gezer and Megiddo during his reign. Sure enough, Yadin went out in the late 1950s and found a city gate at the ruins of Hazor, and dated it to Solomon's time, in the 10th century B.C. When he found that early explorers had discovered a similar-looking gate at Gezer, he assigned that to Solomon's era too. And because the Bible mentions Megiddo in the same breath with the other cities, he looked for — and conveniently found — a third gate at Megiddo, and concluded that Solomon had built them all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Modern critics point out that this approach can be scientifically perilous. Says John Woodhead, assistant director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem: "It's a circular argument. Yadin used the data to prove the verse, and the verse to prove the dating of the cities." In fact, says David Ussishkin, director of the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology, the gates at the the three cities don't come from a single period at all. "Hazor is probably Solomonic," he says. "Megiddo is definitely later. Gezer is either/or."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the case of the Patriarchs, the problems are even worse. There is no direct evidence, other than the Bible, to suggest that Abraham's exploits — his rejection of idolatry, his travels to Canaan, his rescue of his nephew Lot from kidnappers in the Canaanite city of Laish (later renamed Dan) — ever happened. And critics contend that several of the kings and peoples Abraham supposedly encountered existed at widely separated times in history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In reaction to these and other inconsistencies arising from overreliance on the Bible, a second wave of superskeptics emerged over the past five years. At last month's annual meeting in Philadelphia of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion, the pre-eminent conference on Bible scholarship in the world, they were out in force. And while there were differences among what individual scholars believed, radical minimalist John Van Seters of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, summed up many of their commonly held positions. The oldest books of the Old Testament, he declared with Pope-like confidence, weren't written until the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, after 587 B.C. There was no Moses, no crossing of the sea, no revelation on Mount Sinai.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just as the believers had to yield in the face of evidence that contradicts their assumptions, though, so have the naysayers. It's a truism in archaeology that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Digging up the past is a hit-or-miss proposition. And one hit can demolish a mountain of skepticism. Among the discoveries that strengthen the Bible's claim to historical accuracy:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1979 Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay found two tiny silver scrolls inside a Jerusalem tomb. They were dated to around 600 B.C., shortly before the destruction of Solomon's Temple and the Israelites' exile in Babylon. When scientists carefully unrolled the scrolls at the Israel Museum, they found a benediction from the Book of Numbers etched into their surface. The discovery made it clear that parts of the Old Testament were being copied long before some skeptics had believed they were even written.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1986 archaeologists revealed that several lumps of figured clay called bullae, bought from Arab dealers in 1975, had once been used to mark documents. Nahman Avigad of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem identified the impressions stamped into one piece of clay as coming from the seal of Baruch, son of Neriah, a scribe who recorded the doomsday proclamations of the prophet Jeremiah. Another bore the seal of Yerahme'el, son of King Jehoiakim's son, who the Book of Jeremiah says was sent on an unsuccessful mission to arrest both prophet and scribe — again confirming the existence of biblical characters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1990 Frank Yurco, an Egyptologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, used hieroglyphic clues from a monolith known as the Merneptah Stele to identify figures in a Luxor wall relief as ancient Israelites. The stele itself, dated to 1207 B.C., celebrates a military victory by the Pharaoh Merneptah. "Israel is laid waste," it reads, suggesting that the Israelites were a distinct population more than 3,000 years ago, and not just because the Bible tells us so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1993 Avraham Biran of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and Joseph Naveh of the Hebrew University announced they had found an inscription bearing the phrases "House of David" and "King of Israel." The writing — dated to the 9th century B.C., only a century after David's reign — described a victory by a neighboring King over the Israelites. Some minimalists tried to argue that the inscription might have been misread, but most experts believe Biran and Naveh got it right. The skeptics' claim that King David never existed is now hard to defend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year the French scholar Andre Lemaire reported a related "House of David" discovery in <span style="font-style: italic;">Biblical Archaeology Review</span>. His subject was the Mesha Stele (also known as the Moabite Stone), the most extensive inscription ever recovered from ancient Palestine. Found in 1868 at the ruins of biblical Dibon and later fractured, the basalt stone wound up in the Louvre, where Lemaire spent seven years studying it. His conclusion: the phrase "House of David" appears there as well. As with the Tel Dan fragment, this inscription comes from an enemy of Israel boasting of a victory — King Mesha of Moab, who figured in the Bible. Lemaire had to reconstruct a missing letter to decode the wording, but if he's right, there are now two 9th century references to David's dynasty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having seen science confirm the Bible in some instances and tear it down in others, most scholars have edged toward a middle-of-the-road position. As the <span style="font-style: italic;">Biblical Archaeology Review</span>'s Shanks puts it, "You can't look at the text literally. It wasn't written as modern history is written. But on the other hand, it's certainly not made up."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While most archaeologists agree with Shanks' sentiments in principle, that still leaves plenty of room for disagreement over parts of the Old Testament where the evidence is contradictory or still absent, including slavery in Egypt, the existence of Moses, the Exodus and Joshua's military conquest of the Holy Land. The Bible's accounts of these people and events are among the most familiar stories in the Old Testament. But even scholars who believe they really happened admit that there's no proof whatsoever that the Exodus took place. No record of this monumental event appears in Egyptian chronicles of the time, and Israeli archaeologists combing the Sinai during intense searches from 1967 to 1982 — years when Israel occupied the peninsula — didn't find a single piece of evidence backing the Israelites' supposed 40-year sojourn in the desert.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The story involves so many miracles — plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, the giving of the Ten Commandments — that some critics feel the whole story has the flavor of pure myth. A massive exodus that led to the drowning of Pharaoh's army, says Father Anthony Axe, Bible lecturer at Jerusalem's Ecole Biblique, would have reverberated politically and economically through the entire region. And considering that artifacts from as far back as the late Stone Age have turned up in the Sinai , it is perplexing that no evidence of the Israelites' passage has been found. William Dever, a University of Arizona archaeologist, flatly calls Moses a mythical figure. Some scholars even insist the story was a political fabrication, invented to unite the disparate tribes living in Canaan through a falsified heroic past.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike the Exodus, the story of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan can be tested against a rich archaeological record. The scientific consensus: bad news for the biblical account. According to the Book of Joshua, the Israelite leader and his armies swept into Canaan, destroying cities including Jericho, Hazor and Ai, after which the Israelites settled the land.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Archaeology tells a more complicated tale. Historians generally agree that Joshua's conquest would have taken place in the 13th century B.C. But British researcher Kathleen Kenyon, who excavated at Jericho for six years, found no evidence of destruction at that time. Indeed, says Dead Sea Scrolls curator emeritus Broshi, "the city was deserted from the beginning of the 15th century until the 11th century B.C." So was Ai, say Broshi and others. And so, according to archaeological surveys, was most of the land surrounding the cities. Says Broshi: "The central hill regions of Judea and Samaria were practically uninhabited. The Israelites didn't have to kill and burn to settle."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead, argues Tel Aviv University archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, the settlement of the Promised Land was a gradual process over a long period, and involved people both from within Canaan and from outside. "Some came from the Hittite country, some from the desert to the east and some from the south," he says. "I would also accept the idea that a core emanated from Egypt, and these people brought with them the idea of monotheism." Only after they had united in a sort of tribal league did they become the Israelites, and while they undoubtedly fought their neighbors for territory, it was only after they were firmly established in Canaan. An alternate theory: the Israelites were simply a breakaway group of Canaanites fed up with the existing society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just because most scholars no longer accept Joshua's war of conquest, though, doesn't mean the question is settled by any means. Conservatives have plenty of ideas about how the tide could swing back to a more biblical interpretation. Experts like Abraham Malamat, a biblical historian at the Hebrew University, suggest that no evidence exists of destruction at Ai, for example, because the city was in a different location 3,000 years ago. Bryant Wood, director of the pro-Bible Associates for Biblical Research, insists that his own research supports Joshua's assault on Jericho. Perhaps, he suggests, Kathleen Kenyon was biased, or just got it wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Defenders of the Exodus story have theories too, though their case remains circumstantial. There's no Egyptian record of the Israelites' departure, they suggest, because the losers would never have recorded such a major defeat. People may have been looking in the wrong part of the Sinai for remains of the Israelites' wandering, or perhaps the Israelis were in northwest Arabia all along. Anyway, say many scholars, what nation would falsely claim to have been enslaved?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even the widely accepted notion that the Patriarchs were mythical figures has been challenged. Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen of the University of Liverpool offered what has been called an "extraordinary demonstration" in <span style="font-style: italic;">Biblical Archaeology Review</span> earlier this year that the stories about Abraham are plausible. Drawing on nonbiblical records, Kitchen argued that everything from the quoted price of slaves to the style of warfare to the laws of inheritance in Abraham's day is amazingly consistent with the Bible accounts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is he right? Most scholars don't think so, but one crucial discovery — an independent, ancient chronicle of Abraham's wanderings, perhaps — could change their minds in an instant. Similarly, a single discovery could erase all doubts about the Exodus or the sacking of Jericho or just about anything else in the Bible. And new Bible-related discoveries and theories crop up all the time. Early next year, <span style="font-style: italic;">Biblical Archaeology Review</span> will be reporting on two of them. The first is another impression of the scribe Baruch's seal, this one with a fingerprint on the edge that was presumably made by Baruch himself. The second is an analysis that claims to fix the precise location where the Ark of the Covenant (the "Lost Ark" of Raiders fame) was stored. That's sure to be controversial; the author contends that it must have been placed in a rectangular indentation on the outcropping beneath the Dome of the Rock, the sacred Muslim shrine on the Temple Mount.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All of these finds are useful and interesting. But what scholars truly yearn for — what might even be called the Holy Grail of biblical archaeology — is a royal archive from before the time of King David or King Solomon. No such archive has ever been located inside Israel, although surrounding countries have yielded many from the same era. Sighs Amnon Ben-Tor, a Hebrew University archaeologist: "It's like striking oil. Everywhere but here."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many scholars believe the archive must exist, though, and Yigael Yadin even thought he knew where it was: in the ancient city of Hazor, in northern Galilee. At his death, Yadin was planning a major dig there to find the clay tablets he was sure lay hidden beneath the surface. His protege, Ben-Tor, has inherited the project. To date, Ben-Tor has found only a few uninformative tablets. But Hazor is the largest biblical site in the country, and it will take years of digging to explore it fully.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If and when Ben-Tor or his successors locate the archive, the effect on biblical scholarship would be be profound. Instead of relying on half-legible inscriptions and fragments of clay and stone, historians would suddenly have access to huge amounts of information, set down not to advance religious ideas but to record secular events. The historical accuracy of much of the Bible could be settled, one way or the other, almost at a stroke.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many professional archaeologists maintain that such questions are irrelevant. Says the British School of Archaeology's Woodhead: "I'm not interested in whether there was a David or a Solomon. I'm interested in reconstructing society: what was traded in clay pots, whether the pots or the contents were traded, where the clay was from ... I don't deal with the Bible at all." And even those who do deal with the Bible insist that their emphasis is science, not Scripture. Says Broshi: "Archaeology throws light on the Bible. It has no business trying to prove it."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet for ordinary Jews and Christians, it's impossible to maintain scientific detachment about ancient clay pots and fallen stones and inscriptions being dug up in the Holy Land. Hundreds of millions of people grew up listening to Bible stories, and even those who haven't set foot in a church or synagogue for years still carry with them the lessons of these stirring tales of great deeds, great evil, great miracles and great belief. Many may be able to accept the proposition that some of the Bible is fictional. But they are still deeply gratified to learn that much of it appears to be based on fact. Says Harvard's Cross: "To suggest that many things in the Bible are not historical is not too serious. But to lose biblical history altogether is to lose our tradition."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-67553435951625569292011-08-10T15:20:00.001+06:002011-08-10T15:25:55.056+06:00THE BIBLE : THE BELIEVERS GAIN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr style="color: yellow;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="date">Monday, Dec. 30, 1974</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The event shines across the centuries like a beacon. In a Bethlehem stable, a child was born, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger. But the rude circumstances could not conceal an extraordinary birth. Angels filled the sky, praising God and proclaiming peace on earth. Amazed shepherds came to honor the babe. Wise men from the East, guided by a miraculous star, arrived to do homage with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To Christians—and perhaps to a good many others at this time of year —the familiar details seem etched on the heart. Yet they have been questioned by liberal scholars for years. Though often believers themselves, these scriptural experts have challenged nearly everything in the Nativity story: the angels, the star, even the wise men. As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, the only one to mention them, the Magi are not the familiar three kings of Christmas legend (later piety gave them names, ages, races and crowns), but rather an unspecified number of astrologers, perhaps from Babylon. Even in that guise, some critics suggest, their existence is questionable, possibly merely a preaching device used by the evangelist to suggest the import and universality of the astonishing event: God become man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Nativity is hardly alone among biblical stories to come under the scrutiny of scholars. Even more than the Gospels, the Old Testament has been subjected to exhaustive investigations going back into the 18th century. Faced with mounting scientific evidence for evolution, many biblical critics long ago moved away from belief in the "six days" of creation reported in Genesis. More crucially, especially for the Christian doctrine of original sin, they began to regard Adam and Eve as prototypes of humanity, not real people who committed some terrible primordial sin. Genesis to the contrary, said the scholars, the flood that Noah escaped did not cover "all the high mountains under the whole heaven"; nor was Jonah actually swallowed by a "great fish."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the judgment of many biblical scholars, especially mainstream Protestants in the U.S. and Europe, a number of these scriptural issues have long been resolved. But others are still being examined. Roman Catholics especially, who contributed little to biblical research for centuries after the Reformation, are enthusiastically at work, encouraged by Vatican II to re-examine the Scriptures. They are embracing a wide variety of biblical opinions, some of them as liberal as Protestant views. Germany's Hans Küng, for example, has joined those rejecting the belief that Christ was born of a virgin. As Catholics swing away from the right, Protestants have been nudged by new research toward a more traditional view. In 100 licensed sites in Israel, archaeological digging continues to turn up new evidence that the Bible is often surprisingly accurate in historical particulars, more so than earlier generations of scholars ever suspected. By establishing physical settings of scriptural accounts and certain details of corroboration (finding horned altars like those mentioned in 1 Kings 1: 50, for example) recent archaeology has enhanced the credibility of the Bible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fundamentalists and other conservative churchmen never needed such corroboration. To them a literal biblical faith is a badge of honor, and their battles in its name have recently grown more intense. The most notable conflict has taken place between conservatives and moderates in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, one of the nation's largest denominations (2.8 million U.S. members, 300,000 more outside the U.S.). In 1969 conservatives captured its leadership, and last winter nearly 400 moderate students walked out of its major seminary and established a rival seminary in exile (TIME, March 4). Now the Synod may well be facing an outright schism within its ranks, probably after its biennial convention next July.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, local parishes are beginning to be caught up in the civil war. One historic congregation, 90-year-old Trinity Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has actually split this month over the biblical debate. Its liberal-leaning pastor, who quit under pressure from his deacons for his scriptural views, is being followed into exile by 50 of Trinity's families, with whom he is forming a new congregation called Peace Lutheran Church. The separation of Peace and Trinity will become official on Christmas Day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Resentments between traditionalists and those who advocate freer scriptural interpretation helped to cause schism a year ago among Southern Presbyterians in the U.S. The Roman Catholic Church is increasingly beset by similar quarrels. Last March, Bishop James Rausch, a progressive who is general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, publicly censured several conservative columnists who had questioned the orthodoxy of some current U.S. Catholic biblical scholarship.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Bible is being called as witness in other kinds of current ecclesiastical debate. Both Jesus' selection of his Apostles—all men—and St. Paul's restrictive remarks about women ("It is shameful for a woman to speak in church") are cited by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Missouri Synod Lutherans as precedents that forbid female clergy. On a quite different level, Gospel polemics against the Jews still help to nourish a residual anti-Semitism in Sunday-school and catechism classes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Biblical controversy also rages outside church doors. In Kanawha County, W. Va., the entire public school system has been disrupted this fall because of parental objections to textbooks. While complaints have been raised about patriotic, sexual and racial contents, the quarrel with the textbooks is very deeply a biblical issue. Fundamentalists all, the parents contend that the schoolbooks breed doubt of the Bible's literal truth. One contested passage compares the scriptural account of Daniel in the lion's den to the old tale of Androcles and the lion. Another suggests that the biblical story of the Tower of Babel is a myth explaining the origin of languages. "We object to books that ridicule a child's faith and treat biblical stories as fables," says Mrs. Alice Moore, a school-board member and vocal opponent of the teaching materials. "The inference in many of these texts is that the Bible is nothing but a book written by men and not to be taken literally."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In California, a similar protest against public school textbooks has resulted in widespread revisions. For nearly a decade, beginning in the 1960s, some Californians who adhered to the biblical view of creation sought to have that theory represented along with evolution in the state's public school science textbooks. In 1972 the state finally decided against requiring textbooks to include religious creation theory, but adopted a compromise measure, ordering that textbooks should not reflect a "scientismic" bias—i.e., the assumption that the scientific approach is the only one possible. Some fundamentalists are still not satisfied. The Creation Research Society, whose members subscribe to a literal, six-day view of creation, is currently buttonholing local school-board members to get them to include the teaching of creation theory.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some of this seems more than faintly reminiscent of the '20s, when William Jennings Bryan faced Clarence Darrow to prosecute Darwin's evolutionary theories in the Scopes "monkey trial." What is the reason for the revival today of such fierce fundamentalism? Perhaps the cause is an increased need for spiritual security in a troubled world. It may also derive from the current distrust of science and disillusionment with rationalism. This mood may account, too, for the Bible's growing popularity among people of all spiritual stripes—or none at all. Translated into 1,526 languages, it is being bought by or sent to more people than ever before. In the U.S., seven noteworthy new versions have come out since 1966. All have sold well (see box, page 41). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zondervan Publishing House, a Michigan firm that puts out probably more varieties and styles of Bibles than any other U.S. publisher, reports sales of all editions this year are five times as great as they were four years ago. Zondervan's Robert Bolinder thinks he knows why: "Our product has the answers."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But what kind of answers? Strict fundamentalists believe exactly what the Bible says. The more learned of them use concepts like "inerrancy," which means that the original text of the Bible cannot be wrong in anything it says because it was inspired, word for word, by an infallible Deity. All this does not mean that every passage need be taken literally; obvious figurative language (Jesus calling Herod "that fox") is treated as such. A more moderate version of inerrancy holds that events like the Fall, though real, may have been recorded in a highly symbolic way. Some conservatives reject the Inerrancy idea altogether but insist that the Bible is absolutely trustworthy on theology and ethics and substantially accurate on history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world's most famous believer in inerrancy is Evangelist Billy Graham, but the most controversial hard-liner today is the Rev. Jacob A.O. Preus, 54, a Minnesota Governor's son with a Ph.D. in classics. Preus' crackdown as president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod led to the seminary walkout and the current threat of church wide schism. His personal view of Genesis includes a global flood in the Noah story and a six-day creation (though he leaves open to question how long the "days" were and how old the earth is). He believes literally in the Adam and Eve story and the entire New Testament, including accounts like Jesus' walking on water. Because of the way Jesus referred to Jonah's sojourn in the fish, Preus insists that the Jonah tale is history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was sharply contrasting interpretation of the Bible that led up to the ouster, in Cedar Rapids, of the Rev. Richard Osing, 41. In a letter to his district president, he made it clear that he doubted that Jonah or Adam and Eve were historical and that Jesus turned water into wine. Osing's views proved too much for his conservative parishioners. "The Lutheran Church has always been based on the Bible," explains Phil Beck, production manager of a local paint company and the church's Sunday-school superintendent. "If you start questioning it, where do you stop? If I have to have that much education to sit down and understand Genesis, then why did God ever let Luther put it in the people's language? At what point do I throw the whole mad mess out of the door? And at what point will my children throw it away?" The plea of that Cedar Rapids father is at the heart of the biblical controversy today, for he represents millions of Christians and Jews. His concern is a basic, agonizing one for any believer: How do you preserve faith in the Bible in a world that seems increasingly faithless? For Protestants it is an especially poignant question. Besides the Scriptures, Roman Catholics have the authority of tradition, Jews the guidance of the Talmud. But Protestantism bases its faith on the Bible alone. Its truth is essential; if the Bible falls, faith topples.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is not only the advocates of absolute inerrancy who worry about preserving faith; most liberal exegetes share that concern, as well as a profound respect for biblical truth. Yet the truth they discern is of a different order, less tied to the Bible's literal events than to its underlying spirit. The faith such scholars affirm reflects the endemic doubts of modern man, child of the Enlightenment, reading his faith largely in the light of reason.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are gnawing common-sense misgivings about Scripture: the awareness that a literal reading of the creation accounts seems to contradict science or, more importantly, that the Bible contains disturbing contradictions in its own moral teachings. Readers have been scandalized by a horrible incident in 11 Kings that tells how the prophet Elisha was taunted for his baldness by a group of youngsters. The prophet cursed the boys "in the name of the Lord," whereupon two bears came out of the woods and tore them apart. More immediate for Christians are the troubling "dark sayings" of Jesus like his warning that "I have not come to bring peace but a sword." One dire command is that a disciple must "hate his own father and mother and wife and children." Literal readings of such passages can lead to such mindless zealotry as that of the Children of God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Clearly there are two sets of assumptions at work in Bible criticism. Like a Missouri Synod mother who insists that God "would not give us a book with errors," the literalists insist that an omniscient and loving God would give the world an absolutely inerrant Bible. Today's liberals, on the other hand, recognize and generally emphasize the human, historical factor in the Bible's composition—a view that goes much farther in explaining its apparent contradictions and deficiencies. Believing critics argue—and experience has sometimes shown—that rigid faith is the most vulnerable to complete destruction. In their view, the believer who can live with some doubt is more likely to keep some faith. An occasionally fallible Bible, therefore, is a Bible that paradoxically seems more authentic. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Questions about the Bible's truth are nothing new; they have arisen from its earliest days. The Bible's first five books, the Pentateuch or Torah ("teachings"), had probably been canonized by Jews as the core of their sacred writings by the 5th century B.C. But even before that, there was growing up along with the Scriptures a body of oral interpretation eventually codified in the Talmud. It includes legal judgments known as halakhah and pious elaborations of biblical stories known as aggadah. Even in matters of law, however, the rabbis were not literalists. An "eye for an eye," for example, was not construed strictly (as it was in the Hammurabic Code). Instead, monetary compensation was deemed lawful. Nor were Jewish commentators troubled by the verbatim truth of every Bible narrative. Some, like the creation chapters of Genesis, were considered part of the "secrets of the Torah," mysteries to be continually probed for their hidden meanings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Early Christianity had its own embryonic scriptural criticism. The great 3rd century church father Origen declared that some passages in the Bible "are not literally true but absurd and impossible." Even St. Augustine of Hippo, a 5th century champion of biblical orthodoxy, cautioned against literalism. "We must be on guard against giving interpretations of Scripture that are farfetched or opposed to science," he wrote, "and so exposing the word of God to the ridicule of unbelievers." Despite such precedent, this spirit of critical inquiry—limited though it was—did not carry over into medieval Christendom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The historical setting of the Bible became the subject of investigations with the coming of the Reformation. Luther and Calvin believed doctrine should be based on "Scripture alone," not ecclesiastical tradition. Though the Reformers had a complete trust in the Bible's reliability and developed their own creeds to reinforce its teachings, their insistence that each individual read the Bible for himself set the stage for the rise of radical new ideas that they would have abhorred. In the 17th century the Dutch Philosopher Baruch ("Benedict") Spinoza, an excommunicated Jew, used a method that would be widely emulated by rationalist critics during the Enlightenment: he treated the Bible as a human rather than divine work and thus subject to investigation of its books according to date, authorship, composition and setting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The giants of biblical criticism who emerged in 19th century Germany basically believed in the Christian message but carried over from the Enlightenment the emphasis on the Bible as a human work. Their aim was to find the historical core of Scripture by confronting it with an entire range of scientific disciplines: linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, comparative religion. There were other influences, too. Hegel's philosophy of history characterized the "Tubingen School" of criticism, which saw the New Testament as a synthesis of competing theses in early Christianity: the Jewish church centered around Peter, the Gentile church around Paul.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for the Old Testament, 19th century scholars all but canonized a theory that discerns four major documents that were woven together in the five books of the Pentateuch. Two of them, the "Yahwist" and "Elohist" strands, are labeled by the different names—Yahweh and Elohim—which they used for God. The Yahwist strand portrays an anthropomorphic deity, the Elohist a spiritualized God. Though rigid application of this theory has come under fire, it is perhaps the most widely taught example of 19th century criticism.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The New Testament remained a formidable challenge to the critics. At the beginning of the 20th century, liberal scholars were still trying to peel back layers of the miraculous and the mythical to find out what the historical Jesus really taught. The Jesus that some of the searchers found was a mild-mannered ethical preacher, definitely not God incarnate. But Missionary-Philosopher Albert Schweitzer suggested that the real Jesus would be an embarrassment, that he had been a misguided fanatic who proclaimed an imminent apocalypse and died to bring it about.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">None of the reactions to the liberals' search for a historical Jesus were more profound or far-reaching than that of a Lutheran theologian and Scripture scholar, Rudolf Bultmann, who at 90 is living in Marburg, West Germany, and still writing in scholarly journals. Bultmann did not object to the liberals' methods or their presuppositions. Like them, he felt that the New Testament's supernatural world view was intolerable to modern man, but he believed that the liberals were on the wrong track in trying to reconstruct the teachings of a historical Jesus. Schooled in the thought of Martin Heidegger and Sören Kierkegaard, Bultmann was convinced that the Christian message, or kerygma (from the Greek "proclamation"), must be something more existentially powerful. One clue to the message, he thought, lay in the beliefs of the first Christian communities where the Gospel was preached, and their perception of Christ from their own situation in life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To uncover that earliest stratum of Christian belief, Bultmann joined other scholars like Martin Dibelius in perfecting a research tool called form criticism, which examined the Gospels and Epistles with an eye to discerning the various stylized forms of the oral traditions behind them. Distinguishing among the oral traditions would help the scholar determine how faith built up the experiences of these early Christians into the formulas of what Bultmann called myths. Getting beneath those myths to the believers' experience is the famous Bultmann process of "demythologization." It reveals the kernel of existential faith that can be translated into a meaning for modern man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What Bultmann sought was the "once for all" intersection of eternity and history that he called the "Christ event," which had clearly changed the lives of the first Christians. The Crucifixion, which Bultmann recognized as a fact, played a part in this encounter, but the event culminated in the Resurrection. This, Bultmann says, was not a historical occurrence but an existential one, a "coming to faith" by which the first Christians believed that Jesus was somehow victorious over death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead of the liberals' lukewarm "Jesus of history," what Bultmann came to offer his followers was a "Christ of faith": a historically intangible but existentially forceful figure whose liberation of mankind is an ever-continuing act. This Christ can free human beings from the banalities and cruelties of history, but only in terms of their own continuing decision to be free, which becomes the life of faith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bultmann's critics today feel that he too casually relegated the Resurrection to the realm of the unhistorical. One of his most famous students, Oscar Cullmann of the University of Basel, broke with his teacher because of Bultmann's overriding concern about the beliefs of the early church. "It is well and good to say that what matters is only the faith of the first Christian community," says Cullmann, now 72, "but after all, these oral renderings were based on specific facts as witnessed by the Apostles. No matter how you interpret the empty tomb, it was a historical event."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A somewhat younger generation of Bultmann's students form a loose alliance known as the post-Bultmann school. While their work usually reflects Bultmann's existential tone, it also recognizes that the master was too skeptical about recovering history. James Robinson, a leader of the school in the U.S., explains their rationale: "Liberal scholars, including Bultmann, used to say, 'We cannot write a biography of Jesus. There are too few facts in the New Testament. All we can say about Jesus is what Christians believed.' So the quest for the historical Jesus was given up." But Robinson and others today have taken it up again. "We say that if what you mean by history is the intentions, the stances, the understanding of existence, then that can be established with regard to Jesus. There are enough sayings of Jesus to see what he was up to."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Protestants enthusiastically debated the findings of biblical criticism in the 19th and 20th centuries, Roman Catholic investigation of the Scriptures was discouraged. Counter-Reformation Catholicism, petrified into a siege mentality at the 16th century Council of Trent, had become fiercely dogmatic in its defense of biblical truth. Though its own eminent scholars—Thomas Aquinas among them—had warned that the Bible was not intended to teach scientific truth, the Galileo case in the early 17th century suggested otherwise. Galileo's teaching that the earth revolved round the sun shocked church inquisitors, who charged that it contradicted Scripture, in particular the famous command of Joshua: "Sun, stand thou still."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roman Catholics who sought to follow the Protestant lead into biblical criticism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were either silenced or excommunicated by Pope Pius X. Those who chose to stay in the church were commanded to give "external and internal assent" to such decrees of the Pontifical Biblical Commission as the one insisting that woman had been formed out of the body of the first man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then in 1943, Pope Pius XII published Divino Afflante Spiritu (Inspired by the Holy Spirit). The encyclical encouraged new biblical research, literary criticism, and new translations from the original languages rather than from the sacrosanct Vulgate, the 5th century Latin translation by St. Jerome. In 1955, the Pontifical Biblical Commission told scholars that they had complete freedom to overlook the commission's literalist decrees under Pius X, unless the matter involved faith and morals. Catholic scholarship moved almost as fast in a decade as Protestants had in a century. By 1964 the biblical commission acknowledged that the Apostles "made use of various modes of speaking which were suited to their own purpose and the mentality of their listeners"—a virtual endorsement of form criticism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among the biblical questions still being pondered by Catholic scholars is monogenism—the belief in one set of Adam-and-Eve "original parents"—as opposed to polygenism, the theory that evolution to human form occurred in many places at roughly the same time. Pius XII's encyclical Humani Generis in 1950 cautiously left the door open regarding polygenism, pointing out that it "apparently" was not consistent with church doctrine on original sin. But Jesuit Francis McCool of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome says that "the scientific evidence for polygenism seems to have increased," and he feels that the theory need not necessarily clash with the Scriptures. McCool stresses that whether Adam and Eve are viewed as individuals or symbols in Genesis, the story still carries the traditional teaching on original sin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To Orthodox Jewish exegetes, like Catholics, modern critical methods were a stumbling block: by questioning Moses' authorship of the Torah, biblical criticism cut to the heart of Jewish tradition. A modern Orthodox scholar like Rabbi Norman Lamm of Manhattan's Yeshiva University still supports Mosaic authorship of the Torah because "it is a dogmatic necessity." But Lamm, like most Orthodox Jews, allows much more latitude than fundamentalist Christians in understanding Genesis accounts. "Certainly the creation text is not literal," says Lamm. He is also not concerned, for instance, whether Noah and his family were the sole survivors of the biblical flood. What is important about Noah's story, he explains, "is the moral teaching that man's actions have consequences and that ultimately God's judgment encompasses all mankind."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Liberal Jewish scholars tend to take Bible criticism for granted, but they no longer accept it as unquestioningly as they once did. Says Rabbi Eugene Borowitz of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Manhattan: "The scientists are no longer the bishops. Reform scholars can now relax and show their true affinity to the Bible."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fact that biblical critics pick and choose among the supernatural events they accept baffled the late Anglican novelist-critic C.S. Lewis. He wondered at the selective theology of the Christian exegete who, "after swallowing the camel of the Resurrection, strains at such gnats as the feeding of the multitudes." These critics would be apt to seek a naturalistic explanation for Jesus' multiplication of loaves and fishes—for instance, that he inspired the crowd to share food they had hidden for themselves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whether such an interpretation is justified may well be questioned, but changing the event from a physical to a spiritual phenomenon does not necessarily undermine its value as a miracle. It is quite orthodox Christian theology that miracles are not meant to be simply marvels. That sort of thing, accepted as a commonplace in the 1st century world, was left to pagan magicians. A miracle, rather, is understood as a sign of God's power to heal and save. George Bernard Shaw put it slightly differently. "A miracle," he wrote, "is an event which creates faith."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Compared with other ancient literature, the Bible contains relatively few miracles; mostly they accredit individuals through whom God's promises are carried out: patriarchs, prophets, Jesus. Even very conservative Bible experts will now agree that the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus can be too literally construed. Study shows that the Israelites apparently crossed the Sea of Reeds, a series of shallow lakes that once lay where the Suez Canal now runs. The high wind noted in Exodus could have made the lakes more easily fordable on foot—but not by the Egyptian chariots. None of that, however, really detracts from the immensity of the providential favor: in any event it helped to change permanently the way in which Jews thought of God.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The miracle of the virginal conception of Jesus is another problematic sign. Luke's account of the Nativity clearly means to underline Jesus' humanity: the shepherds, the humble surroundings, the hardships, the very fact of birth. The idea that he was born of a virgin, however, signifies an extraordinary event: a message that God's will, and not man's, was involved. New Testament Exegete Raymond Brown, probably the premier Catholic scriptural scholar in the U.S., is one of those who are deeply interested in the question of Jesus' virginal conception. Brown—the only American member now on the Pontifical Biblical Commission—has cautiously suggested that the church reopen the question to concentrated scholarly research, at least partly because other Christians are calling the virgin birth into public question. But he is also wary of shocking the beliefs of the pious, and thus spends considerable time explaining biblical criticism to priests and lay people.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brown combines a progressive approach to method and analysis of the Gospels with a careful attention to conserving some essence of fact. One telling example, in his widely used Anchor Bible commentary on John, is his treatment of the account of Jesus' raising of Lazarus. The miracle is a vivid incident, placed at the very end of Christ's ministry by the evangelist and cited as the reason for Jesus' arrest and execution. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet none of the other three Gospels mention the Lazarus incident, and all are presumed to be dated before John's time. Would not such a fateful miracle be reported by everyone?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brown readily allows that the Lazarus account is a dramatic embellishment by John of an event that is nonetheless in some way historical. In the Gospels there are other instances of Jesus raising a dead person (the son of the widow of Nain in Luke), and Brown suggests that John may have transposed a similar event to the end of Christ's ministry to symbolize in one act the audacity of his miracles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The breadth, sophistication and diversity of all this biblical investigation are impressive, but it begs a question: Has it made the Bible more credible or less? Literalists who feel the ground move when a verse is challenged would have to say that credibility has suffered. Doubt has been sown, faith is in jeopardy. But believers who expect something else from the Bible may well conclude that its credibility has been enhanced. After more than two centuries of facing the heaviest scientific guns that could be brought to bear, the Bible has survived —and is perhaps the better for the siege.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even on the critics' own terms—historical fact—the Scriptures seem more acceptable now than they did when the rationalists began the attack. Noting one example among many, New Testament Scholar Bruce Metzger observes that the Book of Acts was once accused of historical errors for details that have since been proved by archaeologists and historians to be correct.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are other levels of biblical truth that today's believers and nonbelievers alike can share. A purer, more accurate text, for example, closer to the original than scholars or laymen have enjoyed since antiquity. A more accurate understanding of its meaning, made possible by the abundance of excellent translations. The erosion of literalism, moreover, may have put the Bible's poetry in sharper relief. With a literal whale out of the way, readers can appreciate the splendid parable of Jonah: the story of a stubborn man trying to avoid doing good for an enemy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Jonah parable goes beyond that humanistic dimension, however. What Jonah resists is a call from God to preach repentance to the sinners of Nineveh. No manner of scientific search can establish the reality of a call from God. This is not a miracle, but it is a supernatural idea, and it requires from any critic who hopes to grasp it something more than secular understanding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The miraculous can be demythologized, the marvel explained, but the persistent message of the Bible will not go away. Both in the Jewish and Christian Bibles it is irreducible: some time, some where, God intervened in history to help man. Whether it was at the time of the Exodus, the giving of the Law, the Incarnation or the Resurrection, or any of those many smaller interventions that are still so cherished, ordinary human history was interrupted, and has never since been the same.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909023-1,00.html">Source :</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-39060567035479869252011-08-10T14:02:00.000+06:002011-08-10T14:02:13.574+06:00In an ancient Jerusalem tunnel, sword, oil lamps and pots from a 2,000-year-old war uncovered<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fGWgvfNo9yg/TkI6wwHVf-I/AAAAAAAAApI/z6ZJCMexDAo/s1600/5725578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fGWgvfNo9yg/TkI6wwHVf-I/AAAAAAAAApI/z6ZJCMexDAo/s320/5725578.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The excavation of an ancient drainage tunnel beneath Jerusalem has yielded a sword, oil lamps, pots and coins abandoned during a war here 2,000 years ago, archaeologists said Monday, suggesting the finds were debris from a pivotal episode in the city’s history when rebels hid from Roman soldiers crushing a Jewish revolt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tunnel was built two millennia ago underneath one of Roman-era Jerusalem’s main streets, which today largely lies under an Arab neighborhood in the city’s eastern sector. After a four-year excavation, the tunnel is part of a growing network of subterranean passages under the politically combustible modern city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tunnel was intended to drain rainwater, but is also thought to have been used as a hiding place for the rebels during the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. That temple was razed, along with much of the city, by Roman legionnaires putting down the Jewish uprising in 70 A.D.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority unveiled a sword found in the tunnel late last month, measuring 24 inches (60 centimeters) in length and with its leather sheath intact. The sword likely belonged to a member of the Roman garrison around the time of the revolt, the archaeologists said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> “We found many things that we assume are linked to the rebels who hid out here, like oil lamps, cooking pots, objects that people used and took with them, perhaps, as a souvenir in the hope that they would be going back,” said Eli Shukron, the Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist in charge of the dig.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The archaeologists also found a bronze key from the same era, coins minted by rebels with the slogan “Freedom of Zion,” and a crude carved depiction of a menorah, a seven-branched Jewish candelabra that was one of the central features of the Temple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The flight of the rebels to tunnels like the one currently being excavated was described by the historian Josephus Flavius, a Jewish rebel general who shifted his allegiance to Rome during the revolt and penned the most important history of the uprising.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the city burned, he wrote about five years afterward, the rebels decided their “last hope” lay in the tunnels. They planned to wait until the legions had departed and then emerge and escape.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> “But this proved to be an idle dream, for they were not destined to escape from either God or the Romans,” he wrote. The legionnaires tore up the paving stones above the drainage channels and exposed their hiding place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> “There too were found the bodies of more than two thousand, some slain by their own hands, some by another’s; but most of them died by starvation,” Josephus wrote. The victors proceeded to loot, he wrote, “for many precious objects were found in these passages.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The new tunnel, lit by fluorescent bulbs and smelling of damp earth, has been cleared for much of its length but has not yet been opened to the public. Earlier this month, a team from The Associated Press walked through the tunnel from the biblical Pool of Siloam, one of the city’s original water sources, continuing for 600 yards (meters) under the Palestinian neighborhood named for the pool — Silwan — before climbing out onto a sunlit Roman-era street inside Jerusalem’s Old City.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tunnel is part of the expanding City of David excavation in Silwan, which sits above the oldest section of Jerusalem. The dig is named for the biblical monarch thought to have ruled from the site. It is funded by a group affiliated with the Jewish settlement movement and has drawn criticism from Palestinian residents who have charged that the work is disruptive and politically motivated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel and the Palestinians have conflicting claims over Jerusalem that have scuttled peace efforts for decades. Both sides claim the Old City, which includes sites holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The excavation of the tunnel began in 2007. Last month, a worker found a tiny golden bell that seemed to have been an ornament on the clothing of a rich man, or possibly a Temple priest, and which could still ring 2,000 years later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the tunnel opens to the public sometime in the coming months, underground passages totaling about a mile (1.6 kilometers) in length will be accessible beneath Jerusalem. The tunnels have become one of the city’s biggest tourist draws and the number of visitors has risen in recent years to more than a million in 2010.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tunnels remain, however, a sensitive political issue. While for Israelis they are proof of the extent of Jewish roots here, for many Palestinians, who reject Israel’s sovereignty in the east Jerusalem, they are a threat to their own claims to the city and represent an exaggerated focus on Jewish history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 1996 opening of a new exit to a tunnel underneath the Old City’s Muslim Quarter sparked rumors among Palestinians that Israel meant to damage the mosque compound, and dozens were killed in the ensuing riots. In recent years, however, criticism has been muted and work has largely gone ahead without incident.</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-34124191164759706542011-08-09T17:23:00.002+06:002011-08-09T22:32:36.419+06:00Contradictions In The Holy Bible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kbgyPF-ZIE/TkEYRmCcdUI/AAAAAAAAApE/vTxGJdeLBGQ/s1600/Holy_Bible.183181354_std1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kbgyPF-ZIE/TkEYRmCcdUI/AAAAAAAAApE/vTxGJdeLBGQ/s400/Holy_Bible.183181354_std1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy Bible</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: yellow; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Theological doctrines:</span></b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<br />
1. God is satisfied with his works<br />
Gen 1:31<br />
God is dissatisfied with his works. <br />
Gen 6:6<br />
2. God dwells in chosen temples<br />
2 Chron 7:12,16<br />
God dwells not in temples<br />
Acts 7:48<br />
3. God dwells in light<br />
Tim 6:16<br />
God dwells in darkness<br />
1 Kings 8:12/ Ps 18:11/ Ps 97:2<br />
4. God is seen and heard<br />
Ex 33:23/ Ex 33:11/ Gen 3:9,10/ Gen 32:30/ Is 6:1/<br />
Ex 24:9-11<br />
God is invisible and cannot be heard<br />
John 1:18/ John 5:37/ Ex 33:20/ 1 Tim 6:16<br />
5. God is tired and rests<br />
Ex 31:17<br />
God is never tired and never rests<br />
Is 40:28<br />
6. God is everywhere present, sees and knows all things<br />
Prov 15:3/ Ps 139:7-10/ Job 34:22,21<br />
God is not everywhere present, neither sees nor knows all <br />
things<br />
Gen 11:5/ Gen 18:20,21/ Gen 3:8<br />
7. God knows the hearts of men<br />
Acts 1:24/ Ps 139:2,3<br />
God tries men to find out what is in their heart<br />
Deut 13:3/ Deut 8:2/ Gen 22:12<br />
8. God is all powerful<br />
Jer 32:27/ Matt 19:26<br />
God is not all powerful<br />
Judg 1:19<br />
9. God is unchangeable<br />
James 1:17/ Mal 3:6/ Ezek 24:14/ Num 23:19<br />
God is changeable<br />
Gen 6:6/ Jonah 3:10/ 1 Sam 2:30,31/ 2 Kings 20:1,4,5,6/ <br />
Ex 33:1,3,17,14<br />
10. God is just and impartial<br />
Ps 92:15/ Gen 18:25/ Deut 32:4/ Rom 2:11/ Ezek 18:25<br />
God is unjust and partial<br />
Gen 9:25/ Ex 20:5/ Rom 9:11-13/ Matt 13:12<br />
11. God is the author of evil<br />
Lam 3:38/ Jer 18:11/ Is 45:7/ Amos 3:6/ Ezek 20:25<br />
God is not the author of evil<br />
1 Cor 14:33/ Deut 32:4/ James 1:13<br />
12. God gives freely to those who ask<br />
James 1:5/ Luke 11:10<br />
God withholds his blessings and prevents men from receiving <br />
them<br />
John 12:40/ Josh 11:20/ Is 63:17<br />
13. God is to be found by those who seek him<br />
Matt 7:8/ Prov 8:17<br />
God is not to be found by those who seek him<br />
Prov 1:28<br />
14. God is warlike<br />
Ex 15:3/ Is 51:15<br />
God is peaceful<br />
Rom 15:33/ 1 Cor 14:33<br />
15. God is cruel, unmerciful, destructive, and ferocious<br />
Jer 13:14/ Deut 7:16/ 1 Sam 15:2,3/ 1 Sam 6:19<br />
God is kind, merciful, and good<br />
James 5:11/ Lam 3:33/ 1 Chron 16:34/ Ezek 18:32/ Ps 145:9/ <br />
1 Tim 2:4/ 1 John 4:16/ Ps 25:8<br />
16. God's anger is fierce and endures long<br />
Num 32:13/ Num 25:4/ Jer 17:4<br />
God's anger is slow and endures but for a minute<br />
Ps 103:8/ Ps 30:5<br />
17. God commands, approves of, and delights in burnt offerings, <br />
sacrifices ,and holy days<br />
Ex 29:36/ Lev 23:27/ Ex 29:18/ Lev 1:9<br />
God disapproves of and has no pleasure in burnt offerings, <br />
sacrifices, and holy days.<br />
Jer 7:22/ Jer 6:20/ Ps 50:13,4/ Is 1:13,11,12<br />
18. God accepts human sacrifices<br />
2 Sam 21:8,9,14/ Gen 22:2/ Judg 11:30-32,34,38,39<br />
God forbids human sacrifice<br />
Deut 12:30,31<br />
19. God tempts men<br />
Gen 22:1/ 2 Sam 24:1/ Jer 20:7/ Matt 6:13<br />
God tempts no man<br />
James 1:13<br />
20. God cannot lie<br />
Heb 6:18<br />
God lies by proxy; he sends forth lying spirits t deceive<br />
2 Thes 2:11/ 1 Kings 22:23/ Ezek 14:9<br />
21. Because of man's wickedness God destroys him<br />
Gen 6:5,7<br />
Because of man's wickedness God will not destroy him<br />
Gen 8:21<br />
22. God's attributes are revealed in his works.<br />
Rom 1:20<br />
God's attributes cannot be discovered<br />
Job 11:7/ Is 40:28<br />
23. There is but one God<br />
Deut 6:4<br />
There is a plurality of gods<br />
Gen 1:26/ Gen 3:22/ Gen 18:1-3/ 1 John 5:7<br />
</span></div><div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Moral Precepts</span></b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: yellow;">:</span><br />
<br />
24. Robbery commanded<br />
Ex 3:21,22/ Ex 12:35,36<br />
Robbery forbidden<br />
Lev 19:13/ Ex 20:15<br />
25. Lying approved and sanctioned<br />
Josh 2:4-6/ James 2:25/ Ex 1:18-20/ 1 Kings 22:21,22<br />
Lying forbidden<br />
Ex 20:16/ Prov 12:22/ Rev 21:8<br />
26. Hatred to the Edomite sanctioned<br />
2 Kings 14:7,3<br />
Hatred to the Edomite forbidden<br />
Deut 23:7<br />
27. Killing commanded<br />
Ex 32:27<br />
Killing forbidden<br />
Ex 20:13<br />
28. The blood-shedder must die<br />
Gen 9:5,6<br />
The blood-shedder must not die<br />
Gen 4:15<br />
29. The making of images forbidden<br />
Ex 20:4<br />
The making of images commanded<br />
Ex 25:18,20<br />
30. Slavery and oppression ordained<br />
Gen 9:25/ Lev 25:45,46/ Joel 3:8<br />
Slavery and oppression forbidden<br />
Is 58:6/ Ex 22:21/ Ex 21:16/ Matt 23:10<br />
31. Improvidence enjoyed<br />
Matt 6:28,31,34/ Luke 6:30,35/ Luke 12:3<br />
Improvidence condemned<br />
1 Tim 5:8/ Prov 13:22<br />
32. Anger approved<br />
Eph 4:26<br />
Anger disapproved<br />
Eccl 7:9/ Prov 22:24/ James 1:20<br />
33. Good works to be seen of men<br />
Matt 5:16<br />
Good works not to be seen of men<br />
Matt 6:1<br />
34. Judging of others forbidden<br />
Matt 7:1,2<br />
Judging of others approved<br />
1 Cor 6:2-4/ 1 Cor 5:12<br />
35. Christ taught non-resistance<br />
Matt 5:39/ Matt 26:52<br />
Christ taught and practiced physical resistance<br />
Luke 22:36/ John 2:15<br />
36. Christ warned his followers not to fear being killed<br />
Luke 12:4<br />
Christ himself avoided the Jews for fear of being killed<br />
John 7:1<br />
37. Public prayer sanctioned<br />
1 Kings 8:22,54, 9:3 <br />
Public prayer disapproved<br />
Matt </span>6:5,6<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
38. Importunity in prayer commended<br />
Luke 18:5,7<br />
Importunity in prayer condemned<br />
Matt 6:7,8<br />
39. The wearing of long hair by men sanctioned<br />
Judg 13:5/ Num 6:5<br />
The wearing of long hair by men condemned<br />
1 Cor 11:14<br />
40. Circumcision instituted<br />
Gen 17:10<br />
Circumcision condemned<br />
Gal 5:2<br />
41. The Sabbath instituted<br />
Ex 20:8<br />
The Sabbath repudiated<br />
Is 1:13/ Rom 14:5/ Col 2:16<br />
42. The Sabbath instituted because God rested on the seventh day<br />
Ex 20:11<br />
The Sabbath instituted because God brought the Israelites <br />
out of Egypt<br />
Deut 5:15<br />
43. No work to be done on the Sabbath under penalty of death<br />
Ex 31:15/ Num 15:32,36<br />
Jesus Christ broke the Sabbath and justified his disciples in <br />
the same<br />
John 5:16/ Matt 12:1-3,5<br />
44. Baptism commanded<br />
Matt 28:19<br />
Baptism not commanded<br />
1 Cor 1:17,14<br />
45. Every kind of animal allowed for food.<br />
Gen 9:3/ 1 Cor 10:25/ Rom 14:14<br />
Certain kinds of animals prohibited for food.<br />
Deut 14:7,8<br />
46. Taking of oaths sanctioned<br />
Num 30:2/ Gen 21:23-24,31/ Gen 31:53/ Heb 6:13<br />
Taking of oaths forbidden<br />
Matt 5:34<br />
47. Marriage approved<br />
Gen 2:18/ Gen 1:28/ Matt 19:5/ Heb 13:4<br />
Marriage disapproved<br />
1 Cor 7:1/ 1 Cor 7:7,8<br />
48. Freedom of divorce permitted<br />
Deut 24:1/ Deut 21:10,11,14<br />
Divorce restricted<br />
Matt 5:32<br />
49. Adultery forbidden<br />
Ex 20:14/ Heb 13:4<br />
Adultery allowed<br />
Num 31:18/ Hos 1:2; 2:1-3<br />
50. Marriage or cohabitation with a sister denounced<br />
Deut 27:22/ Lev 20:17<br />
Abraham married his sister and God blessed the union<br />
Gen 20:11,12/ Gen 17:16<br />
51. A man may marry his brother's widow<br />
Deut 25:5<br />
A man may not marry his brother's widow<br />
Lev 20:21<br />
52. Hatred to kindred enjoined<br />
Luke 14:26<br />
Hatred to kindred condemned<br />
Eph 6:2/ Eph 5:25,29<br />
53. Intoxicating beverages recommended<br />
Prov 31:6,7/ 1 Tim 5:23/ Ps 104:15<br />
Intoxicating beverages discountenanced<br />
Prov 20:1/ Prov 23:31,32<br />
54. It is our duty to obey our rulers, who are God's ministers <br />
and punish evil doers only<br />
Rom 13:1-3,6<br />
It is not our duty to obey rulers, who sometimes punish the <br />
good and receive unto themselves damnation therefor<br />
Ex 1:17,20/ Dan 3:16,18/ Dan 6:9,7,10/ Acts 4:26,27/ <br />
Mark 12:38,39,40/ Luke 23:11,24,33,35<br />
55. Women's rights denied<br />
Gen 3:16/ 1 Tim 2:12/ 1 Cor 14:34/ 1 Pet 3:6<br />
Women's rights affirmed<br />
Judg 4:4,14,15/ Judg 5:7/ Acts 2:18/ Acts 21:9<br />
56. Obedience to masters enjoined<br />
Col 3:22,23/ 1 Pet 2:18<br />
Obedience due to God only<br />
Matt 4:10/ 1 Cor 7:23/ Matt 23:10<br />
57. There is an unpardonable sin<br />
Mark 3:29<br />
There is not unpardonable sin<br />
Acts 13:39<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Historical Facts</span></b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: yellow;">:</span><br />
<br />
58. Man was created after the other animals<br />
Gen 1:25,26,27<br />
Man was created before the other animals<br />
Gen 2:18,19<br />
59. Seed time and harvest were never to cease<br />
Gen 8:22<br />
Seed time and harvest did cease for seven years<br />
Gen 41:54,56/ Gen 45:6<br />
60. God hardened Pharaoh's heart<br />
Ex 4:21/ Ed 9:12<br />
Pharaoh hardened his own heart<br />
Ex 8:15<br />
61. All the cattle and horses in Egypt died<br />
Ex 9:3,6/ 14:9<br />
All the horses of Egypt did not die<br />
Ex 14:9<br />
62. Moses feared Pharaoh<br />
Ex 2:14,15,23; 4:19<br />
Moses did not fear Pharaoh<br />
Heb 11:27<br />
63. There died of the plague twenty-four thousand<br />
Num 25:9<br />
There died of the plague but twenty-three thousand<br />
1 Cor 10:8<br />
64. John the Baptist was Elias<br />
Matt 11:14<br />
John the Baptist was not Elias<br />
John 1:21<br />
65. The father of Joseph, Mary's husband was Jacob<br />
Matt 1:16<br />
The father of Mary's husband was Heli<br />
Luke 3:23<br />
66. The father of Salah was Arphaxad<br />
Gen 11:12<br />
The father of Salah was Cainan<br />
Luke 3:35,36<br />
67. There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David<br />
Matt 1:17<br />
There were but thirteen generations from Abraham to David<br />
Matt 1:2-6<br />
68. There were fourteen generations from the Babylonian captivity <br />
to Christ.<br />
Matt 1:17<br />
There were but thirteen generations from the Babylonian <br />
captivity to Christ<br />
Matt 1:12-16<br />
69. The infant Christ was taken into Egypt<br />
Matt 2:14,15,19,21,23<br />
The infant Christ was not taken into Egypt<br />
Luke 2:22, 39<br />
70. Christ was tempted in the wilderness<br />
Mark 1:12,13<br />
Christ was not tempted in the wilderness<br />
John 2:1,2<br />
71. Christ preached his first sermon on the mount<br />
Matt 5:1,2<br />
Christ preached his first sermon on the plain<br />
Luke 6:17,20<br />
72. John was in prison when Jesus went into Galilee<br />
Mark 1:14<br />
John was not in prison when Jesus went into Galilee<br />
John 1:43/ John 3:22-24<br />
73. Christ's disciples were commanded to go forth with a staff <br />
and sandals<br />
Mark 6:8,9<br />
Christ's disciples were commanded to go forth with neither<br />
staffs nor sandals.<br />
Matt 10:9,10<br />
74. A woman of Canaan besought Jesus<br />
Matt 15:22<br />
It was a Greek woman who besought Him<br />
Mark 7:26<br />
75. Two blind men besought Jesus<br />
Matt 20:30<br />
Only one blind man besought Him<br />
Luke 18:35,38<br />
76. Christ was crucified at the third hour<br />
Mark 15:25<br />
Christ was not crucified until the sixth hour<br />
John 19:14,15<br />
77. The two thieves reviled Christ.<br />
Matt 27:44/ Mark 15:32<br />
Only one of the thieves reviled Christ<br />
Luke 23:39,40<br />
78. Satan entered into Judas while at supper<br />
John 13:27<br />
Satan entered into him before the supper<br />
Luke 22:3,4,7<br />
79. Judas committed suicide by hanging<br />
Matt 27:5<br />
Judas did not hang himself, but died another way<br />
Acts 1:18<br />
80. The potter's field was purchased by Judas<br />
Acts 1:18<br />
The potter's field was purchased by the Chief Priests<br />
Matt 27:6,7<br />
81. There was but one woman who came to the sepulchre<br />
John 20:1<br />
There were two women who came to the sepulchre<br />
Matt 28:1<br />
82. There were three women who came to the sepulchre<br />
Mark 16:1<br />
There were more than three women who came to the sepulchre<br />
Luke 24:10<br />
83. It was at sunrise when they came to the sepulchre<br />
Mark 16:2<br />
It was some time before sunrise when they came.<br />
John 20:1<br />
84. There were two angels seen by the women at the sepulchre, and <br />
they were standing up.<br />
Luke 24:4<br />
There was but one angel seen, and he was sitting down.<br />
Matt 28:2,5<br />
85. There were two angels seen within the sepulchre.<br />
John 20:11,12<br />
There was but one angel seen within the sepulchre<br />
Mark 16:5<br />
86. Christ was to be three days and three nights in the grave<br />
Matt 12:40<br />
Christ was but two days and two nights in the grave<br />
Mark 15:25,42,44,45,46; 16:9><br />
87. Holy ghost bestowed at pentecost<br />
Acts 1:8,5<br />
Holy ghost bestowed before pentecost<br />
John 20:22<br />
88. The disciples were commanded immediately after the <br />
resurrection to go into Galilee<br />
Matt 28:10<br />
The disciples were commanded immediately after the <br />
resurrection to go tarry at Jerusalem<br />
Luke 24:49<br />
89. Jesus first appeared to the eleven disciples in a room at <br />
Jerusalem<br />
Luke 24:33,36,37/ John 20:19<br />
Jesus first appeared to the eleven on a mountain in Galilee<br />
Matt 28:16,17<br />
90. Christ ascended from Mount Olivet<br />
Acts 1:9,12<br />
Christ ascended from Bethany<br />
Luke 24:50,51<br />
91. Paul's attendants heard the miraculous voice, and stood <br />
speechless<br />
Acts 9:7<br />
Paul's attendants heard not the voice and were prostrate<br />
Acts 26:14<br />
92. Abraham departed to go into Canaan<br />
Gen 12:5<br />
Abraham went not knowing where<br />
Heb 11:8<br />
93. Abraham had two sons<br />
Gal 4:22<br />
Abraham had but one son<br />
Heb 11:17<br />
94. Keturah was Abraham's wife<br />
Gen 25:1<br />
Keturah was Abraham's concubine<br />
1 Chron 1:32<br />
95. Abraham begat a son when he was a hundred years old, by the <br />
interposition of Providence<br />
Gen 21:2/ Rom 4:19/ Heb 11:12<br />
Abraham begat six children more after he was a hundred years <br />
old without any interposition of providence<br />
Gen 25:1,2<br />
96. Jacob bought a sepulchre from Hamor<br />
Josh 24:32<br />
Abraham bought it of Hamor<br />
Acts 7:16<br />
97. God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed <br />
forever<br />
Gen 13:14,15,17; 17:8<br />
Abraham and his seed never received the promised land<br />
Acts 7:5/ Heb 11:9,13<br />
98. Goliath was slain by Elhanan<br />
2 Sam 21:19 *note, was changed in translation to be <br />
correct. Original manuscript was incorrect><br />
The brother of Goliath was slain by Elhanan<br />
1 Chron 20:5<br />
99. Ahaziah began to reign in the twelfth year of Joram<br />
2 Kings 8:25<br />
Ahaziah began to reign in the eleventh year of Joram<br />
2 Kings 9:29<br />
100. Michal had no child<br />
2 Sam 6:23<br />
Michal had five children<br />
2 Sam 21:8<br />
101. David was tempted by the Lord to number Israel<br />
2 Sam 24:1<br />
David was tempted by Satan to number the people<br />
1 Chron 21:1<br />
102. The number of fighting men of Israel was 800,000; and of <br />
Judah 500,000<br />
2 Sam 24:9<br />
The number of fighting men of Israel was 1,100,000; and of <br />
Judah 470,000<br />
1 Chron 21:5<br />
103. David sinned in numbering the people<br />
2 Sam 24:10<br />
David never sinned, except in the matter of Uriah<br />
1 Kings 15:5<br />
104. One of the penalties of David's sin was seven years of <br />
famine.<br />
2 Sam 24:13<br />
It was not seven years, but three years of famine<br />
1 Chron 21:11,12<br />
105. David took seven hundred horsemen<br />
2 Sam 8:4<br />
David took seven thousand horsemen<br />
1 Chron 18:4<br />
106. David bought a threshing floor for fifty shekels of silver<br />
2 Sam 24:24<br />
David bought the threshing floor for six hundred shekels of <br />
gold<br />
1 Chron 21:25<br />
107. David's throne was to endure forever.<br />
Ps 89:35-37<br />
David's throne was cast down<br />
Ps 89:44<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Speculative Doctrines</span></b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: yellow;">:</span><br />
<br />
108. Christ is equal with God<br />
John 10:30/ Phil 2:5<br />
Christ is not equal with God<br />
John 14:28/ Matt 24:36<br />
109. Jesus was all-powerful<br />
Matt 28:18/ John 3:35<br />
Jesus was not all-powerful<br />
Mark 6:5<br />
110. The law was superseded by the Christian dispensation<br />
Luke 16:16/ Eph 2:15/ Rom 7:6<br />
The law was not superseded by the Christian dispensation<br />
Matt 5:17-19<br />
111. Christ's mission was peace<br />
Luke 2:13,14<br />
Christ's mission was not peace<br />
Matt 10:34<br />
112. Christ received not testimony from man<br />
John 5:33,34<br />
Christ did receive testimony from man<br />
John 15:27<br />
113. Christ's witness of himself is true.<br />
John 8:18,14<br />
Christ's witness of himself is not true.<br />
John 5:31<br />
114. Christ laid down his life for his friends<br />
John 15:13/ John 10:11<br />
Christ laid down his life for his enemies<br />
Rom 5:10<br />
115. It was lawful for the Jews to put Christ to death<br />
John 19:7<br />
It was not lawful for the Jews to put Christ to death<br />
John 18:31<br />
116. Children are punished for the sins of the parents<br />
Ex 20:5<br />
Children are not punished for the sins of the parents<br />
Ezek 18:20<br />
117. Man is justified by faith alone<br />
Rom 3:20/ Gal 2:16/ Gal 3:11,12/ Rom 4:2<br />
Man is not justified by faith alone<br />
James 2:21,24/ Rom 2:13<br />
118. It is impossible to fall from grace<br />
John 10:28/ Rom 8:38,39<br />
It is possible to fall from grace<br />
Ezek 18:24/ Heb 6:4-6, 2 Pet 2:20,21<br />
119. No man is without sin<br />
1 Kings 8:46/ Prov 20:9/ Eccl 7:20/ Rom 3:10<br />
Christians are sinless<br />
1 John 3: 9,6,8<br />
120. There is to be a resurrection of the dead<br />
1 Cor 15:52/ Rev 20:12,13/ Luke 20:37/ 1 Cor 15:16<br />
There is to be no resurrection of the dead<br />
Job 7:9/ Eccl 9:5/ Is 26:14<br />
121. Reward and punishment to be bestowed in this world<br />
Prov 11:31<br />
Reward and punishment to be bestowed in the next world<br />
Rev 20:12/ Matt 16:27/ 2 Cor 5:10<br />
122. Annihilation the portion of all mankind<br />
Job 3: 11,13-17,19-22/ Eccl 9:5,10/ Eccl 3:19,20<br />
Endless misery the portion of all mankind<br />
Matt 25:46/ Rev 20:10,15/ Rev 14:11/ Dan 12:2<br />
123. The Earth is to be destroyed<br />
2 Pet 3:10/ Heb 1:11/ Rev 20:11<br />
The Earth is never to be destroyed<br />
Ps 104:5/ Eccl 1:4<br />
124. No evil shall happen to the godly<br />
Prov 12:21/ 1 Pet 3:13<br />
Evil does happen to the godly<br />
Heb 12:6/ Job 2:3,7<br />
125. Worldly good and prosperity are the lot of the godly<br />
Prov 12:21/ Ps 37:28,32,33,37/ Ps 1:1,3/ Gen 39:2/<br />
Job 42:12<br />
Worldly misery and destitution the lot of the godly<br />
Heb 11:37,38/ Rev 7:14/ 2 Tim 3:12/ Luke 21:17<br />
126. Worldly prosperity a reward of righteousness and a blessing<br />
Mark 10:29,30/ Ps 37:25/ Ps 112:1,3/ Job 22:23,24/<br />
Prov 15:6<br />
Worldly prosperity a curse and a bar to future reward<br />
Luke 6:20,24/ Matt 6:19,21/ Luke 16:22/ Matt 19:24/<br />
Luke 6:24<br />
127. The Christian yoke is easy<br />
Matt 11:28,29,30<br />
The Christian yoke is not easy<br />
John 16:33/ 2 Tim 3:12/ Heb 12:6,8<br />
128. The fruit of God's spirit is love and gentleness<br />
Gal 5:22<br />
The fruit of God's spirit is vengeance and fury<br />
Judg 15:14/ 1 Sam 18:10,11<br />
129. Longevity enjoyed by the wicked<br />
Job 21:7,8/ Ps 17:14/ Eccl 8:12/ Is 65:20<br />
Longevity denied to the wicked<br />
Eccl 8:13/ Ps 55:23/ Prov 10:27/ Job 36:14/ Eccl 7:17<br />
130. Poverty a blessing<br />
Luke 6:20,24/ Jams 2:5<br />
Riches a blessing<br />
Prov 10:15/ Job 22:23,24/ Job 42:12<br />
Neither poverty nor riches a blessing<br />
Prov 30:8,9<br />
131. Wisdom a source of enjoyment<br />
Prov 3:13,17<br />
Wisdom a source of vexation, grief and sorrow<br />
Eccl 1:17,18<br />
132. A good name is a blessing<br />
Eccl 7:1/ Prov 22:1<br />
A good name is a curse<br />
Luke 6:26<br />
133. Laughter commended<br />
Eccl 3:1,4/ Eccl 8:15<br />
Laughter condemned<br />
Luke 6:25/ Eccl 7:3,4<br />
134. The rod of correction a remedy for foolishness<br />
Prov 22:15<br />
There is no remedy for foolishness<br />
Prov 27:22<br />
135. A fool should be answered according to his folly<br />
Prov 26:5<br />
A fool should not be answered according to his folly<br />
Prov 26:4<br />
136. Temptation to be desired<br />
James 1:2<br />
Temptation not to be desired<br />
Matt 6:13<br />
137. Prophecy is sure<br />
2 Pet 1:19<br />
Prophecy is not sure<br />
Jer 18:7-10<br />
138. Man's life was to be one hundred and twenty years<br />
Gen 6:3/ Ps 90:10<br />
Man's life is but seventy years<br />
Ps 90:10<br />
139. The fear of man was to be upon every beast<br />
Gen 9:2<br />
The fear of man is not upon the lion<br />
Prov 30:30<br />
140. Miracles a proof of divine mission<br />
Matt 11:2-5/ John 3:2/ Ex 14:31<br />
Miracles not a proof of divine mission<br />
Ex 7:10-12/ Deut 13:1-3/ Luke 11:19<br />
141. Moses was a very meek man<br />
Num 12:3<br />
Moses was a very cruel man<br />
Num 31:15,17<br />
142. Elijah went up to heaven<br />
2 Kings 2:11<br />
None but Christ ever ascended into heaven<br />
John 3:13<br />
143. All scripture is inspired<br />
2 Tim 3:16<br />
Some scripture is not inspired<br />
1 Cor 7:6/ 1 Cor 7:12/ 2 Cor 11:17<br />
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<i>Think not that I come to send peace on earth: I came not to send<br />
peace, but a sword.</i><br />
- Matthew 10:34<br />
<br />
<i>... all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.</i><br />
- Matthew 26:52<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>For wrath killeth the foolish man...</i><br />
- Job 5:2<br />
<br />
<i>... let not the sun go down on your wrath.</i><br />
- Ephesians 4:26<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And no man hath ascended up to heaven, even the Son of man which<br />
is in heaven.</i><br />
- John 3:13<br />
<br />
.<i>.. and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.</i><br />
- 2 Kings 2:11<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.</i><br />
- John 5:31<br />
<br />
<i>I am one that bear witness of myself...</i><br />
- John 8:18<br />
[Jesus was the speaker in both of these quotes]<br />
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<i>A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children...</i><br />
- Proverbs 13:22<br />
<br />
<i>Sell that ye have and give alms...</i><br />
- Luke 12:33<br />
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<i>Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord... Wealth and riches<br />
shall be in his house...</i><br />
- Psalms 112:1-3<br />
<br />
<i>It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than<br />
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.</i><br />
- Matthew 19:24<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>I and my father are one.</i><br />
- John 10:30<br />
<br />
<i>... I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.</i><br />
- John 14:28<br />
[Jesus was the speaker in both of these quotes]<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Thou shalt not kill</i><br />
- Exodus 20:13<br />
<br />
<i>Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his<br />
side... and slay every man his brother...</i><br />
- Exodus 32:27<br />
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<i>Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.</i><br />
- Exodus 20:8<br />
<br />
<i>The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot<br />
away with: it is iniquity.</i><br />
- Isaiah 3:22<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness<br />
of anything that is in heaven... earth... [or] water.</i><br />
- Leviticus 26:11<br />
<br />
<i>And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt<br />
thou make them.</i><br />
- Exodus 25:18<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>For by grace are ye saved through faith... not of works.</i><br />
- Ephesians 2:8-9<br />
<br />
<i>Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by<br />
faith only.</i><br />
- James 2:24<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>God is not a man, that he should lie: neither the son of man,<br />
that he should repent.</i><br />
- Numbers 23:19<br />
<br />
<i>And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his<br />
people.</i><br />
- Exodus 32:14<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> ... the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall<br />
hear his voice, and come forth...</i><br />
- John 5:28-29<br />
<br />
<i>As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth<br />
down to the grave shall come up no more.</i><br />
- Job 7:9<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> ... thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,<br />
hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for<br />
wound, stripe for stripe.</i><br />
- Exodus 21:23-25<br />
<br />
<i>... resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right<br />
cheek, turn to him the other also.</i><br />
- Matthew 5:39<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Honor thy father and mother.</i><br />
- Exodus 20:12<br />
<br />
<i>If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and<br />
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own<br />
life also, he cannot be my disciple.</i><br />
- Luke 14:26<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Lay not up for yourself treasures upon the earth...</i><br />
- Matthew 6:19<br />
<br />
<i>In the house of the righteous is much treasure...</i><br />
- Proverbs 15:6<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.</i><br />
- Genesis 32:30<br />
<br />
<i>No man hath seen God at any time.</i><br />
- John 1:18<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.</i><br />
- Ezekiel 18:20<br />
<br />
<i>... I the lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of<br />
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth<br />
generation.</i><br />
- Exodus 20:5<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth<br />
understanding.</i><br />
- Proverbs 3:13<br />
<br />
<i>For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth<br />
knowledge increaseth sorrow.</i><br />
- Ecclesiastes 1:18<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>The Lord is good to all.</i><br />
- Psalm 145:6<br />
<br />
<i>I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things.</i><br />
- Isaiah 45:7<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Whosoever shall say Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire.</i><br />
- Matthew 5:22<br />
<br />
[Jesus said] <i>Ye fools and blind.</i><br />
- Matthew 23:17<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>For all have sinned.</i><br />
- Romans 3:23<br />
<br />
<i>There was a man... whose name was Job; and that man was perfect<br />
and upright.</i><br />
- Job 1:1<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign.</i><br />
- 2 Kings 8:26<br />
<br />
<i>Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign.</i><br />
- 2 Chronicles 22:2<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>If a man vow a vow unto the Lord or swear an oath... he shall do<br />
according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.</i><br />
- Numbers 30:2<br />
<br />
<i>But I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven... nor by<br />
earth.</i><br />
- Matthew 5:34-35<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>... the earth abideth forever.</i><br />
- Ecclesiastes 1:4<br />
<br />
<i>... the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and<br />
the works that are therein shall be burned up.</i><br />
- 2 Peter 3:10<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> ... for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger<br />
forever.</i><br />
- Jeremiah 3:12<br />
<br />
<i>Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever.</i><br />
- Jeremiah 17:4<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> ... God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.</i><br />
- James 1:13<br />
<br />
<i>And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt<br />
Abraham.</i><br />
- Genesis 22:1<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> And God saw everything that he made, and behold it was very good.</i><br />
- Genesis 1:31<br />
<br />
<i>And it repented the Lord that he had made man on earth, and it<br />
grieved him at his heart</i><br />
- Genesis 6:6<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>For now have I chosen and sanctified this house that my name be<br />
there forever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there<br />
perpetually.</i><br />
- II Chronicles 7:16<br />
<br />
<i>Howbeit the most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands.</i><br />
- Acts 7:48<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
[God dwells] <i>in the light which no man can approach unto.</i><br />
- I Timothy 6:16<br />
<br />
<i>The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.</i><br />
<br />
- I Kings 8:12<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And the Lord called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? <br />
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid.</i><br />
- Genesis 3:9,10<br />
<br />
<i>Ye hath neither heard his voice, at any time, nor seen his shape.</i><br />
- John 5:37<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the<br />
elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel... They saw<br />
God, and did eat and drink.</i><br />
- Exodus 24: 9-11<br />
<br />
<i>Whom no man hath seen nor can see.</i><br />
- I Timothy 6:16<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>With God all things are possible.</i><br />
- Matthew 29:26<br />
<br />
<i>And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of<br />
the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the<br />
valley, because they had chariots of iron.</i><br />
- Judges 1:19<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>God is not the author of confusion.</i><br />
- I Corinthians 24:33<br />
<br />
<i>Out of the mouth of the most high proceedeth not evil and good?</i><br />
- Lamentations 3:38<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Those that seek me early shall find me.</i><br />
- Proverbs 8:17<br />
<br />
<i>Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer; they shall<br />
seek me early, but shall not find me.</i><br />
- Proverbs 1:28<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of<br />
atonement; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall<br />
afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire unto the<br />
Lord.</i><br />
- Leviticus 23:27<br />
<br />
<i>For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day<br />
that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt<br />
offering or sacrifices.</i><br />
- Jeremiah 7:22<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And the priest shall burn all on the altar to be a burnt<br />
sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the<br />
Lord.</i><br />
- Leviticus 1:9<br />
<br />
<i>Your burnt offering are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet<br />
unto me.</i><br />
- Jeremiah 7:20<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>God is not a man, that he should lie</i><br />
- Numbers 23:19<br />
<br />
<i>And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the<br />
Lord have deceived that prophet.</i><br />
- Ezekiel 24:9<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>There is none other God but one.</i><br />
- I Corinthians 8:4<br />
<br />
<i>And God said, Let us make man in our image.</i><br />
- Genesis 1:26<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>When ye go, ye shall not go empty; but every woman shall borrow<br />
of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels<br />
of silver and jewels of gold, and raiment; and ye shall put them<br />
on your sons and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the<br />
Egyptians.</i><br />
- Exodus 3:21,22<br />
<br />
<i>Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, nether rob him.</i><br />
- Leviticus 19:13<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of<br />
man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.</i><br />
- Genesis 4:5,6<br />
<br />
<i>And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should<br />
kill him.</i><br />
- Genesis 4:15<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,<br />
neither do they spin... if God so clothe the grass of the<br />
field... shall he not much more clothe you? Therefore, take no<br />
thought, saying what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or<br />
wherewithal shall we be clothed?... Take, therefore, no thought<br />
for the morrow.</i><br />
- Matthew 6:28, 30-34<br />
<br />
<i>But if any provideth not for his own, especially for those of his<br />
own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an<br />
infidel.</i><br />
- I Timothy 5:8<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Be ye angry and sin not.</i><br />
- Ephesians 4:26<br />
<br />
<i>Be not hasty in they spirit to be angry; for anger resideth in<br />
the bosom of fools.</i><br />
- Ecclesiastes 7:9<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good<br />
works.</i><br />
- Matthew 5:16<br />
<br />
<i>Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of<br />
them.</i><br />
- Matthew 6:1<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i> And Solomon stood before the alter of the Lord, in the presence<br />
of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands<br />
toward heaven...</i><br />
- I Kings 7:22<br />
<br />
<i>When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for<br />
they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners<br />
of the streets, that they may be seen of men...</i><br />
- Matthew 6:5<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a<br />
Nazarite unto God from the womb.</i><br />
- Judges 8:5<br />
<br />
<i>Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man hath long<br />
hair, it is a shame unto him?</i><br />
- I Corinthians 6:14<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.</i><br />
- Exodus 20:8<br />
<br />
<i>One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every<br />
day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.</i><br />
- Romans 14:5<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>For in the six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and<br />
all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the<br />
Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.</i><br />
- Exodus 20:11<br />
<br />
<i>And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and<br />
that the Lord thy God brought the out thence through a mighty<br />
hand and by a stretched-out arm; therefore the Lord thy God<br />
commanded the to keep the Sabbath day.</i><br />
- Deuteronomy 5:15<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>There is nothing unclean of itself.</i><br />
- Romans 14:14<br />
<br />
<i>Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat, of them that chew the cud or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel and the hare, and the coney; for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, therefore they are unclean unto you. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.</i><br />
- Deuteronomy 14:7,8<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Cursed is he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother.</i><br />
- Deuteronomy 27:22<br />
<br />
<i>And Abraham said... She is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.</i><br />
- Genesis 20:11,12<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>If brethren dwell together, and one of them die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife.</i><br />
- Deuteronomy 25:5<br />
<br />
<i> If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing... they shall be childless.</i><br />
- Leviticus 20:21<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.</i><br />
- Mark 3:29<br />
<br />
<i>And by him that believe are justified from all things.</i><br />
- Acts 13:39<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
[John the Baptist] <i>is Elias which was for to come.</i><br />
- Matthew 11:14<br />
<br />
<i>And they asked him, what then? Art thou [John the Baptist] Elias? And he saith, I am not.</i><br />
- John 1:21<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Now, after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee,<br />
preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.</i><br />
- Mark 1:14<br />
<br />
<i>After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea... and John was also baptizing Enon... for John was not yet cast into prison.</i><br />
- John 3:22-24<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And it was in the third hour, and they crucified him.</i><br />
- Mark 25:3-4<br />
<br />
<i>And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour; and he saith unto the Jews, behold your king... Shall I crucify your king?</i><br />
- John 19:14-15<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall.</i><br />
- Matthew 27:34<br />
<br />
<i>And they gave him to drink, wine mingled with myrrh.</i><br />
- Mark 15:23<br />
[Jesus was the thirsty chap in both verses.]<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And the men which journeyed with </i>[Paul] <i>stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.</i><br />
- Acts 9:7<br />
<br />
<i>And they that were with me </i>[Paul]<i> saw indeed the light and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.</i><br />
- Acts 22:9<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Abraham had two sons; one by a bonds-maid, the other by a free woman.</i><br />
- Galatians 4:22<br />
<br />
<i>By faith, Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac... his only begotten son.</i><br />
- Hebrews 11:17<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child unto the day of her death.</i><br />
- II Samuel 6:23<br />
<br />
<i>The five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul.</i><br />
- II Samuel 21:8<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel.</i><br />
- II Samuel 24:1<br />
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<i>And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.</i><br />
- I Chronicles 21:1<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i>All power is given unto </i>[Jesus] <i>in heaven and in earth.</i><br />
- Matthew 28:18<br />
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<i>And </i>[Jesus] <i>could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them.</i><br />
- Mark 6:5<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> <i>There shall no evil happen to the just.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> - Proverbs 12:21</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> <i>Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> - Hebrews 12:6</span></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-65448322302510618892011-08-09T17:14:00.000+06:002011-08-09T17:14:02.969+06:00Marange Diamond Field: Zimbabwe Torture Camp Discovered<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Myem_HNAo7w/TkEVKNx0F2I/AAAAAAAAAo4/Ga1OFZZUurc/s1600/_54447430_002901006-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Myem_HNAo7w/TkEVKNx0F2I/AAAAAAAAAo4/Ga1OFZZUurc/s320/_54447430_002901006-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>A torture camp run by Zimbabwe's security forces is operating in the country's rich Marange diamond fields, BBC Panorama has found.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The programme heard from recent victims who told of severe beatings and sexual assault.</div><div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The claims come as the European Union pushes to let some banned diamonds from the country led by President Robert Mugabe back onto world markets.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Zimbabwean government has not responded to the BBC's findings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In an internal document seen by the BBC, the EU said it was confident that two mines in the area now meet international standards and it wants diamonds from those areas to be immediately approved for export, which would partially lift a trade ban dating back to 2009.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ban was imposed by the Kimberley Process (KP), the international organisation that polices diamonds, following reports of large-scale killings and abuse by Zimbabwe's security forces in the Marange diamond fields.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="cross-head">'Forty whips'</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The main torture camp uncovered by the programme is known locally as "Diamond Base". Witnesses said it is a remote collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the prisoners are kept. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is near an area known as Zengeni in Marange, said to be one of the world's most significant diamond fields. The camp is about one mile from the main Mbada mine that the EU wants to approve exports from. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The company that runs the mine is headed by a personal friend of President Mugabe. A second camp is located in nearby Muchena</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is the place of torture where sometimes miners are unable to walk on account of the beatings," a victim who was released from the main camp in February told the BBC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All the released prisoners the BBC spoke to requested anonymity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the evening," said the man, who still could not use one of his arms after the beatings and could barely walk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They used logs to beat me here, under my feet, as I lay on the ground. They also used stones to beat my ankles."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div id="story_continues_2" style="text-align: justify;">He and other former captives said men are held in the camp for several days at a time, before new prisoners come in.</div><div id="story_continues_2" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Women are released more quickly, often after being raped, witnesses said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Even if someone dies there, the soldiers do not disclose, because they do not want it known," an officer in Zimbabwe's military told the BBC, again on condition of anonymity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Witnesses said the camps have been operating for at least three years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Marange, the police and military recruit civilians to illegally dig for diamonds for them. Those workers are taken to the camps for punishment if they demand too large a share of the profits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Civilians caught mining for themselves are also punished in the camps.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ttOTbd-DZIQ/TkEVfrQ86bI/AAAAAAAAAo8/ucrNlTfEk3s/s1600/_54445800__53667432_zimbabwe_marange_06.11-1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ttOTbd-DZIQ/TkEVfrQ86bI/AAAAAAAAAo8/ucrNlTfEk3s/s320/_54445800__53667432_zimbabwe_marange_06.11-1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="cross-head">Dog maulings</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A former member of a paramilitary police unit who worked in the main camp in late 2008 told the BBC that at the time he tortured prisoners by mock-drowning them and whipping them on their genitals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also said that dogs were methodically ordered by a handler to maul prisoners.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They would handcuff the prisoner, they would unleash the dogs so that he can bite," he said. "There was a lot of screaming".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said one woman was bitten on the breast by the dogs whilst he was working in the camp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I do not think she survived," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another witness the BBC spoke to said he was locked up in Muchena camp in 2008 after police set dogs on him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was recaptured in November 2010.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Nothing has changed between 2008 and 2010... a lot of people are still being beaten or bitten by dogs."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span class="cross-head">'Pandering'</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="cross-head"> </span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marange diamonds were banned in 2009 by the KP, the international initiative of the diamond industry, national governments and non-governmental organisations that attempts to keep conflict or so-called "blood" diamonds out of the lucrative market. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Representatives of the KP visited the area briefly in August 2010 and concluded that the situation in the diamond areas was still problematic but there had been significant progress.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The KP had previously requested that the Zimbabwean police secure the diamond area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Witnesses told the BBC that it is Zimbabwe's police and military that run the torture camps.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nick Westcott, spokesman for the Working Group on Monitoring of the KP, said of the BBC's discovery of the torture camps: "It is not something that has been notified to the Kimberley Process."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The EU's proposal to allow diamond sales from two key mines in Marange to resume is part of an attempt to broker a deal within the KP, which is in turmoil over the issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8XB7oULQtmk/TkEWRRC6NkI/AAAAAAAAApA/7hadOFEoC8k/s1600/_54445799__48390706__45260719_ad7f6379-ec82-4ba2-a91d-684d2295b324-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8XB7oULQtmk/TkEWRRC6NkI/AAAAAAAAApA/7hadOFEoC8k/s320/_54445799__48390706__45260719_ad7f6379-ec82-4ba2-a91d-684d2295b324-1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="story_continues_3" style="text-align: justify;"> In June, KP chairman Matieu Yamba formally announced that the export ban on the two key Marange mines was lifted with immediate effect. The EU, among others, did not accept his decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now the EU's proposal, designed to break the deadlock, agrees with the partial lifting of the ban, but insists that international monitoring should continue throughout Marange.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Panorama asked the Foreign Office to comment on the EU's position.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a statement, Henry Bellingham MP, Minister for Africa, said: "It is only from these locations that we support exports, subject to ongoing monitoring. From all other Marange mines, the UK and the EU continue to strongly oppose the resumption of exports until independent, international experts deem them to comply with the KP."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Critics have said it is a weak proposal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Annie Dunneback of the advocacy group Global Witness said of the EU proposal: "It is the latest in a series of deals that have cast aside the principle of exports for progress and pandered to the demands of the Zimbabwean government."</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-50326727677583215322011-08-06T16:53:00.000+06:002011-08-06T16:53:54.224+06:00The Third Crusade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-H2ZW939s8/Tj0ca3Ty1dI/AAAAAAAAAog/OnwQMEefQEg/s1600/2240917_f260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-H2ZW939s8/Tj0ca3Ty1dI/AAAAAAAAAog/OnwQMEefQEg/s320/2240917_f260.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>The second crusade was largely perceived as a failure and saw a shift of power to the Muslims. People quickly lost interest in further expeditions of this nature.<br />
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In 1146 Zengi was assassinated and his son, Nur al-Din, continued nibbling away at the Crusader states, taking Damascus in 1154 and was even acclaimed ‘king’ by the caliph in Baghdad at the time. He took Egypt shortly afterwards, a country vulnerable to the crusaders due to its isolation under the Fatimid dynasty and indeed the crusaders had made several attempts to invade the country.<br />
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After Nur al-Din's death the mantle of Islamic leadership fell on a Kurdish officer named Salah ed-Din, or Saladin as he is commonly known in the West. Saladin was arguably the greatest of Muslim generals, although by no means his undisputed successor, and possessed an appealing and admirable character. Using his Egyptian base he took control of Syria from his Zangid rivals and by the time he was poised to crush the crusader states, Saladin had acquired Damascus, Aleppo (1183) and Mayyafariqin (1185).<br />
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In 1187 Saladin caught the entire army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the mountain known as the Horns of Hattin, near the Sea of Galilee, and annihilated it. Within a few months he held the entire Kingdom except for the seaport of Tyre and a nearby castle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RVLhH4hCHQU/Tj0cmHJxilI/AAAAAAAAAok/kUQzPeAdXlA/s1600/third_crusade_route_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RVLhH4hCHQU/Tj0cmHJxilI/AAAAAAAAAok/kUQzPeAdXlA/s400/third_crusade_route_map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Tyre was heavily defended, almost impregnable to Saladin. However, in hindsight, his failure to capture the city was a major strategic error which would put all his conquests in jeopardy in the years to come. But in the two years that followed the battle of the Horns of Hattin, he had taken over 50 crusader castles and the Christians had lost nearly all of the kingdom of Jerusalem.<br />
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The loss of Jerusalem on 2nd October 1187 and the crushing defeat of the Christian army at Hattin provoked a massive reaction in the West. Pope Urban III is said to have died of shock at the news. His successor, Gregory VIII issued a new call to arms on 29th October in that year, and once again the West came to the aid of the Crusader states by mounting the Third Crusade. Led by Richard of Poitou, King Philip II Augustus of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa the following spring, it managed to recover much of the lost territory. William II of Sicily sent a fleet which helped relieve the remaining Christian outposts of Antioch, Tripoli and Tyre.<br />
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Emperor Frederick set out first at the head of a massive army. They marched across Europe and into Asia Minor where disaster struck. Frederick accidentally drowned when swimming in a river. Some of the army carried on, taking Frederick's body, pickled in vinegar, with them. But the German crusade was really over, the meagre remnants of his army reaching Acre in October 1190.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kaaeu4D-mTk/Tj0c2UBH00I/AAAAAAAAAoo/BbPx8Lsf2ac/s1600/third-crusade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kaaeu4D-mTk/Tj0c2UBH00I/AAAAAAAAAoo/BbPx8Lsf2ac/s320/third-crusade.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In July 1190 the English and French kings set out together and an advance guard was sent to Acre. Philip II sailed directly to Acre whilst Richard turned to wrest Cyprus from its Byzantine ruler Isaac Comnenus before landing at Acre on 8th June.<br />
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The crusaders continued by attacking Acre, taking the city in July 1191. Richard then moved south, with his army under constant attack from Saladin and his forces. Supported by a fleet offshore supplying his troops and with strict divisions of horsemen to defend against any attacks from land, they continued south and managed to drive away the Muslims at a site south of Rochetaillee, near Arsur.<br />
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Richard reached his first objective of Jaffa on 10th September 1191 and captured the city. Advances were made to within a few miles of Jerusalem. After Saladin attempted to retake Jaffa, a battle which was lost, a treaty was signed on 2nd September 1192, allowing Christians to retake control of the coast between Acre and Jaffa and the crusaders were allowed to visit the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jG0UgREcnLs/Tj0c-JT2pnI/AAAAAAAAAos/_zroadL6_2k/s1600/assassins-creed-20070521052850914_640w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jG0UgREcnLs/Tj0c-JT2pnI/AAAAAAAAAos/_zroadL6_2k/s320/assassins-creed-20070521052850914_640w.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Richard never reclaimed Jerusalem in the way he had obviously envisaged, but he had many victories along the way. Both Richard and the local barons agreed that unless the powerbase of Egypt was in friendly hands, Jerusalem could not be kept even if it could be captured.<br />
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In October 1192, after a period of illness, he sailed for home. But he was not to reach there easily. Some of his actions during the crusade had angered other rulers in Europe and he was captured and imprisoned by Leopold of Austria. He spent nearly two years in prison before a ransom was paid and he was able to return to England.</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-2907920382392382532011-08-06T16:44:00.000+06:002011-08-06T16:44:54.292+06:00The Second Crusade, 1145 - 1148<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLdK0bn_oMQ/Tj0auSQLNhI/AAAAAAAAAoU/5lBz2W3Jguw/s1600/2226278_f260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLdK0bn_oMQ/Tj0auSQLNhI/AAAAAAAAAoU/5lBz2W3Jguw/s320/2226278_f260.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the success of the first crusade, many crusaders fulfilled their vows and completed the journey to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Many stayed though, building what is referred to as <em>Outremer</em>, old French for ‘across the sea’, known otherwise as the four Crusader States. However, the second crusade proved to be a fiasco; a long and arduous march across hostile lands, finishing with a demoralising withdrawal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the new settlers’ main contributions to history was the formation of the military religious order, or "military order", in the early part of the twelfth century. These orders, a fusion of the monastic and knightly callings, were both a response to the desperate need for manpower in the East, and an example of the way the Church was attempting to tame and even monasticize the warrior class.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the Muslims began to recover from disruptions caused by Turkish invasions, major Muslim leaders began to emerge. They wished to reunite the Islamic world under one ruler and quickly realised that one option to gain prestige as an Islamic ruler was to win conflicts against the Christian Franks. Through this, the Islamic Counter-Crusade arose, a form of Jihad which roughly parallels the Christian doctrine of Holy War.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Christmas Eve 1144, the Muslim ruler of Aleppo, Imad al-Din Zangi captured Edessa, the oldest crusader state, which had been in Latin hands since 1098. The West reacted strongly to this news and in December the following year, the then pope, Eugenius III, called for a new crusade. His letter outlining the request gave details of spiritual and material privileges to be offered to the crusaders. The immediate response to this was muted however Eugenius reissued his request on 1st March 1146 and a more concerted recruitment effort began.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PojEMotroQo/Tj0a2cWOPtI/AAAAAAAAAoY/aHyembQqzqw/s1600/second_crusade_route_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PojEMotroQo/Tj0a2cWOPtI/AAAAAAAAAoY/aHyembQqzqw/s400/second_crusade_route_map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eugenius’ main contribution was to appoint St Bernard of Clairvaux as the main crusader preacher. He was a leading spiritual figure of his time and was later canonised. He appealed directly to individual hopes of salvation and was no stranger to knights’ spiritual and martial aspirations, having encouraged the idea of Templars as knights dedicated to serving God. For Bernard, the second crusade was more than just a military operation; it was the perfect opportunity for personal and collective redemption.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were two main forces bound for the East; the French under Louis VII and the Germans under Conrad III. They moved closely across Europe, reaching Constantinople in the autumn of 1147. Many crusaders sailed directly to the Holy Land, including groups of French and Italians. With large armies on Byzantine territory, it seemed that the crusaders were poised to attempt their original objective: the recapture of the city of Edessa.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--YLxrm5w36s/Tj0bBFzSYiI/AAAAAAAAAoc/iCAisdGmKow/s1600/Siege-of-Damascus-Second-Crusade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--YLxrm5w36s/Tj0bBFzSYiI/AAAAAAAAAoc/iCAisdGmKow/s320/Siege-of-Damascus-Second-Crusade.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The German crusaders divided when they reached Asia Minor, the non-combatant pilgrims moving off to the Holy Land under Conrad’s half-brother, Otto of Freising. Conrad himself led an army into battle with the Turks near Dorylaeum in October 1147 but was heavily defeated. He then fell ill and returned to Constantinople. The remnants of his army joined the French who were already suffering from heavy losses following a battle at Mt Cadmus by Turks in January 1148. However, the newly established Templars rallied around and imposed strict discipline and they reached Adalia, a city at the edge of the Byzantine empire and close to the borders of the Seljuk Turks. Disaster struck again when the Byzantine fleet to take them to Syria was insufficient in size and Louis had to abandon his original plan of taking Edessa, leaving behind many of his army who later died trying to reach Tarsus en route to Edessa.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With Conrad III returning to the cause in spring of 1148, the main crusader parties had assembled in Palestine. At a council at Acre on 24th June 1148, the crusaders agreed to attack Damascus together, with Louis still vowing to liberate Jerusalem. The assault was launched in late July and led by King Baldwin III. It was to be a disastrous attempt with heavy losses. The crusaders captured the orchards to the south west of the city but then moved after encountering heavy resistance to the east of the city walls, where the defences seemed less formidable. The area was open and waterless though. The crusaders were harried by Arab cavalry and faced local forces from the north, forcing them to make an ignominious withdrawal. The mutual recriminations that ensued soured relations between the west and the crusader states for many years to come.</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-38555200649833090342011-08-06T00:21:00.000+06:002011-08-06T00:21:41.586+06:00St. Lawrence of Rome and The Holy Grail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="http://www.stfrancisenid.com/images/Saints/Saint%20Lawrence%20-%20web.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.stfrancisenid.com/images/Saints/Saint%20Lawrence%20-%20web.JPG" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.stfrancisenid.com/images/Saints/Saint%20Lawrence%20-%20web.JPG" width="166" /></a>Few martyrs in the church are as famous as the glorious St. Lawrence, in whose praises the most illustrious among the Orthodox fathers of the West have exerted their eloquence, and whose triumph the whole church joins in a body to honor with universal joy and devotion. St. Lawrence was born in Spain of 225 AD, at Osca, a town in Aragon, near the foot of the Pyrenees. As a youth he was sent to Saragoza to complete his studies. It was there that he first encountered the future Bishop Sixtus, who was a Greek and a teacher in the most renowned center of learning at the time. Between master and disciple a communion of life and friendship grew. In time, Sixtus and Lawrence joined a migratory wave from Spain to Rome. When Sixtus was elevated to patriarch in 257, he ordained Lawrence deacon, and though Lawrence was still young, appointed him the first among the seven deacons who served in the patriarchal church; therefore he is called archdeacon of Rome. This was a position of great trust, which included the care of the treasury and riches of the church, and the distribution of alms among the poor.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The Emperor Valerian, in 257, published his edicts against the church, which he foolishly thought he was able to destroy, not knowing it to be the work of the Almighty. His hope was that by cutting off the shepherds he might disperse the flock, so he commanded all bishops, priests, and deacons to be put to death without delay. The holy patriarch Sixtus was apprehended the following year. St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, preserved an account of the death of St. Sixtus in one of his letters. Commenting on the situation of great uncertainty and unease in which the church found herself because of increasing hostility towards Christians, he notes: “The Emperor Valerian has consigned to the Senate a decree by which he has determined that all Bishops, Priests and Deacons will be immediately put to death. . . . I communicate to you that Sixtus suffered martyrdom on August 6th together with four Deacons while they were in a cemetery. The Roman authorities have established a norm according to which all Christians who have been denounced must be executed and their goods confiscated by the Imperial treasury.” The cemetery to which the holy St. Cyprian alludes is that of St. Callixtus. Sixtus was captured there while celebrating the Divine Liturgy. He was buried in the same cemetery after his martyrdom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/San_Lorenzo_fuori_le_mura_-_facade.jpg/300px-San_Lorenzo_fuori_le_mura_-_facade.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/San_Lorenzo_fuori_le_mura_-_facade.jpg/300px-San_Lorenzo_fuori_le_mura_-_facade.jpg" border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/San_Lorenzo_fuori_le_mura_-_facade.jpg/300px-San_Lorenzo_fuori_le_mura_-_facade.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Basilica of St. Lawrence </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span>As Sixtus was led to execution, his deacon Lawrence, who followed him weeping and judging himself ill-treated because he was not to die with him, said to him, “Father, where are you going without your son? To where are you going, O holy priest, without your deacon? Never before did you desire to offer sacrifice without me, your servant. In what way have I displeased you? Have you found me wanting to my duty? Try me now, and see, whether you chose an unfit servant for dispensing the blood of the Lord.” Lawrence could not without holy envy behold his bishop going to martyrdom, and himself left behind. From the love of God and an earnest longing to be with Christ, he condemned liberty and life, and thought of no other honor but that of suffering for his Lord. Therefore he regarded the world as nothing, and accounted it his happiness to leave it, that he might come to the enjoyment of his God. For this reason he grieved to see himself still free, was desirous to be in chains, and was impatient for torture.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The holy patriarch, at the sight of his grief, was moved to tenderness and compassion, and comforting him, he answered, “I do not leave you, my son. We are spared on account of our weakness and old age. But a greater trial and a more glorious victory are reserved for you, who are</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>stout and in the vigor of youth. You will follow me in three days.” He then commanded Lawrence immediately to distribute among the poor the treasure of the church which was committed to his care, lest the poor should be robbed of their care if it should fall into the hands of their persecutors.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Lawrence was full of joy, hearing that he should so soon be called to God, and set out immediately to seek all the poor widows and orphans, and distribute among them all the money of the church; he even sold the sacred vessels to increase the sum, employing it all in like manner. The prefect of Rome soon sent for Lawrence and said to him, “Christians often complain that we treat you with cruelty;</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="http://www.stlawrencechurch.us/Site/images/flash_image3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.stlawrencechurch.us/Site/images/flash_image3.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.stlawrencechurch.us/Site/images/flash_image3.jpg" width="209" /></a>but no tortures are</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>thought of here; I only</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>inquire mildly after your</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>charge. I am informed that</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>your priests offer their</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>divine sacrifices in vessels</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>of gold, that the sacred</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>blood is received in silver</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>cups, and that in your</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>evening services you have</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>candles fitted in golden</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>candlesticks. Bring to me</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>these concealed treasures;</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>the prince has need of them</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>for the maintenance of his</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>troops. I am told that,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>according to your doctrine, you must render to Caesar the things that belong to him. I do not think that your God causes money to be coined; he brought none into the world with him; he only brought words. Give us therefore the money, and be rich in words.” Lawrence replied, without showing any concern, “The church is indeed rich, nor has the emperor any treasure equal to what it possesses. I will show you its treasures; but allow me a little time to set everything in order, and to make an inventory.” The prefect did not understand of what treasure Lawrence spoke, but imagining he possessed much hidden wealth, was satisfied with this answer and granted him three days.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://inillotempore.com/blog/images/Martyrdom_of_St_Lawrence_Bernini.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://inillotempore.com/blog/images/Martyrdom_of_St_Lawrence_Bernini.jpg" border="0" height="199" src="http://inillotempore.com/blog/images/Martyrdom_of_St_Lawrence_Bernini.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><span>During this interval, Lawrence went all over the city, seeking out in every street the poor who were supported by the church, and with whom no other was so well acquainted. On the third day he gathered together a great number of them before the church and placed them in rows, the decrepit, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans, widows, and virgins; then he went to the prefect, invited him to come and see the treasure of the church, and conducted him to the place. The prefect, astonished to see such a number of poor wretches, who made a horrid sight, turned to the holy deacon with looks full of disorder and threatenings, and asked him what all this meant, and where the treasures were which he had promised to show him. Lawrence answered, “What are you displeased at? The gold that you so eagerly desire is a vile metal, and serves to incite men to all manner of crimes. The light of heaven is the true gold, which these poor objects enjoy. Their bodily weakness and sufferings are the source of their patience and virtue; vices and passions are the real diseases by which the great ones of the world are often most truly miserable and despicable. Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the church’s crown, by which it is pleasing to Christ; it has no other riches; make use then of them for the advantage of Rome, of the emperor, and yourself.” In this way he exhorted him to redeem his sins by sincere repentance and almsgiving, and showed him where the church placed its treasure. However, the earthly-minded man was far from forming so noble an idea of what he saw, the sight of which offended his carnal eyes, and he cried out in a flight of rage, “Do you mock me? Is it in this way that the sacred crests of the Roman power are insulted? I know that you desire to die; that is your frenzy and vanity: but you shall not die immediately, as you imagine. I will protract your tortures, that your death may be the more bitter as it shall be slower. You shall die by inches.” Then he caused a great gridiron to be made ready and live coals to be thrown under it, that the martyr might be slowly burnt. Lawrence was stripped, stretched out, and bound with chains upon this iron bed, which broiled his flesh little by little. To the Christians watching, his face appeared to be as that of the newly baptized, surrounded with a beautiful extraordinary light, and his broiled body to emit a sweet, pleasant smell. The martyr felt none of the torments of the persecutor, so vehement was his desire of possessing Christ, and while his body broiled in the material flames, the fire of divine love, which was far more active within his breast, made him to disregard the pain. Having the law of God before his eyes, he esteemed his torments to be refreshment and a comfort. Such was the tranquility and peace of mind which he enjoyed amidst his torments that having suffered a long time, he turned to the judge and said to him, with a cheerful and smiling countenance, “Let my body be now turned; one side is broiled enough.” When, by the prefect’s order, the executioner had turned him, he said, “It is cooked enough, you may now eat.”</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="http://www.lib-art.com/imgpaintingthumb/5/6/t18965-condemnation-of-st-lawrence-by-the-fra-angelico.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.lib-art.com/imgpaintingthumb/5/6/t18965-condemnation-of-st-lawrence-by-the-fra-angelico.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.lib-art.com/imgpaintingthumb/5/6/t18965-condemnation-of-st-lawrence-by-the-fra-angelico.jpg" width="271" /></a>The prefect insulted him in return, but the martyr continued in earnest prayer, with sighs and tears imploring the divine mercy with his last breath for the conversion of the ungodly. The saint having finished his prayer, and completed his holy offering, lifting up his eyes towards heaven, he gave up his spirit. Several senators who were present at his death were so powerfully moved by his tender and heroic fortitude and piety that they became Christians upon the spot. These noblemen took up the martyr’s body on their shoulders and gave it an honorable burial in the Veran field, near the road to Tibur, on the <b>10th of August, in 258</b>. It is known that he was buried in the cemetery of Cyriaca in agro Verano on the Via Tiburtina. St. Lawrence’s death was the death of idolatry in Rome, which, from that time, began more significantly to decline. From the moment of his burial, the faithful venerate his tomb with great devotion and fervor, commending themselves in all their needs to his patronage. An incredible number of miracles have been worked through the intercession of St. Lawrence. From the third century, the feast of St. Lawrence has been kept faithfully. Within fifty years of his martyrdom, the Christian emperor Constantine had a patriarchal church built over his tomb, on the road to Tibur; one of five churches where the patriarch of Rome celebrated regularly, the site now known as the church of St. Lawrence-outside-the-Walls. By the fifth century, the church had established his feast with a vigil, a weeklong after-feast and leave-taking. By the sixth century, the feast of St. Lawrence was one of the most celebrated Orthodox feasts throughout Western Europe. For centuries the Perseid meteor shower coinciding with his feast has been referred to as the ‘Tears of St. Lawrence.” The holy martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the power of his intercession on our behalf is hailed and testified to in the writings of St. Gregory of Tours, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Leo, St. Fulgentius, St. Optatus, Eusebius, and the fourth-century Orthodox poet Prudentius. The San Lorenzo Valley (Santa Cruz County, California) received the name of this great Orthodox saint from the Portola Expedition on October 17, 1769. St. Lawrence Orthodox Church, Felton, California, celebrates his feast on the Sunday nearest August 10 (Old Calendar).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><b>Prayer to our Patron Saint</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>O saint of God, Lawrence, deacon martyr, pray to God for me, for my home and my family. --Amen.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>Pray to God for me, O Saint Lawrence, well-pleasing to God, for I readily recommend myself to you, who are the speedy helper and intercessor for my soul. --Amen.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="http://www.csvfblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/St-Lawrence.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.csvfblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/St-Lawrence.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.csvfblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/St-Lawrence.jpg" width="244" /></a><b>Miracles of St.Lawrence</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Early on, the life and miracles of St. Lawrence were collected in a work titled, The Acts of St. Lawrence, which is now lost. The earliest existing documentation of miracles associated with St. Lawrence is found in the writings of St. Gregory of Tours (538–594). Miracles that occurred during St. Gregory’s lifetime include: “A priest named Fr. Sanctulus was rebuilding a church of St. Lawrence, which had been attacked and burnt, and hired many workmen to accomplish the job. At one point during the construction, he found himself with nothing to feed them. He prayed to St. Lawrence for help, and looking in his basket he found a fresh, white loaf of bread, it seemed to him too small to feed the workmen, but in faith he began to serve it to the men. While he broke the bread, it so multiplied that that his workmen fed from it for ten days. “Once a certain priest was repairing the church of St. Lawrence, and one of the essential beams was found to be too short for its span, therefore the priest prayed to St. Lawrence asking that the saint who had seen to the well-being of the poor would help him in his poverty of good lumber. And the beam grew in length so suddenly and significantly that it had to be cut for it was too long. The priest took the remainder, parted it into many pieces which he distributed among the faithful and by venerating the wood many were healed.” The holy Bishop Fortunatus of Poitiers (530–600), a contemporary of St. Gregory, a poet and the hymnographer who wrote the services for St. Martin of Tours, witnessed a man suffering greatly with a toothache who only touched this wood and was instantly healed. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<span><b>On the Feast of St. Lawrence</b></span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><b>by <i>St. Leo the Great, Patriarch of Rome</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>On the 10<sup>th</sup> of August celebrate the Feast Day of St. Lawrence. While the height of all virtues, dearly-beloved, and the fullness of all righteousness is born of that love by which God and one’s neighbor is loved, surely in none is this love found more conspicuous and brighter than in the blessed martyrs; they who are near to our Lord Jesus, who died for all men, by the imitation of His love in their suffering. For although that </span><span>Love, by which the Lord has redeemed us, cannot be equaled by the effort of any man (because it is one thing that a man who is doomed to die one day should die for a righteous man, and another that One who is free from the debt of sin should lay down His life for the wicked), yet the martyrs also have done great service to all men, in that the Lord who gave them boldness, has used it to show that the penalty of death and the pain of the Cross need not be terrible to any of His followers, but might be imitated by many of them. No model is more useful in teaching God’s people than that of the martyrs. Eloquence may make intercession easy, reasoning may effectually persuade; but examples are stronger than words, and there is more teaching in practice than in precept. And how gloriously strong in this most excellent manner of doctrine that the blessed martyr Lawrence is, whose memory we commemorate today. Even his persecutors were able to feel his faith, when they found that his wondrous courage, born principally of love for Christ, not only did not yield itself, but also strengthened others by the example of his endurance. For when the fury of the gentile rulers was raging against Christ’s most chosen members, and attacked those especially who were of priestly rank, the wicked persecutor’s wrath was vented on Lawrence the deacon, who was preeminent not only in the performance of the sacred rites, but also in the management of the church’s property, promising himself double spoil from one man’s capture: for if he forced him to surrender the sacred treasures, he would also drive him out of his true religion. And so this man, so greedy of money and such a foe to the truth, arms himself with a double weapon: with avarice to plunder the gold, and with impiety to capture Christ. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://saints.sqpn.com/wp-content/gallery/pope-saint-leo-the-great/pope-saint-leo-the-great-00.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://saints.sqpn.com/wp-content/gallery/pope-saint-leo-the-great/pope-saint-leo-the-great-00.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="http://saints.sqpn.com/wp-content/gallery/pope-saint-leo-the-great/pope-saint-leo-the-great-00.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>St. Leo the Great, Patriarch of Rome</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span></span><span>Therefore he demands of Lawrence, the guileless guardian of the sanctuary, that the church’s wealth on which his greedy mind was set should be brought to him. But the holy deacon showed him where he had them stored, by pointing to the many troops of poor saints, in the feeding and clothing of whom he had a store of riches which he could not lose, and which were entirely safe for they had been spent on a holy cause. The baffled plunderer, therefore, frets, and blazing out into hatred of a religion, which had put riches to such a use, determines to pillage a still greater treasure, the deacon’s faith in Christ, with which he was rich, since he could find no material hoard of money in his possession. He orders Lawrence to renounce Christ, and prepares to ply the deacon’s stout courage with frightful tortures: and, when the threats elicit nothing, fiercer follow. His limbs, torn and mangled by many cutting blows, are commanded to be broiled upon the fire in an iron framework, which was of itself already hot enough to burn him, and on which his limbs were turned from time to time, to make the torment fiercer, and the death more lingering. Yet you gain nothing, you prevail not at all, O savage cruelty! His mortal frame is released from your devices, and, when Lawrence departs to heaven, you are vanquished. The flame of Christ’s love could not be overcome by your flames and the fire which burnt outside was less keen than that which blazed within his heart. You did but serve the martyr in your rage, O persecutor: you did but swell his reward by adding to his pain. For what did your cunning devise, which did not contribute to the conqueror’s glory, when even the instruments of torture were counted as part of the triumph? Let us rejoice, then, dearly-beloved, with spiritual joy, and make our boast over the happy end of this illustrious man in the Lord, who is “wonderful in His saints,” in whom He has given us a support and an example, and has so spread abroad His glory throughout the world, that, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the brightness of His deacon’s light shines, and Rome has become as famous in Lawrence as Jerusalem was ennobled by Stephen. By his prayer and intercession we trust at all times to be assisted; that, because all, as the Apostle says, “who wish to live godly in Christ, suffer persecution,” we may be strengthened with the spirit of love, and be fortified to overcome all temptations by the perseverance of steadfast faith. --Amen.</span></span></div><h1 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>St. Laurence and The Holy Grail</span></span></h1><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span>Lawrence was born in Huesca, Spain which is located in what is now known as Northern Aragon. Lawrence spent most of his life in Huesca and recieved religious guidance from local priests and deacons. Until he was brought to Rome by Pope Sixtus II, who at the time was the Archdeacon of Rome. When Sixtus was ordained Bishop of Rome, Pope, Lawrence was ordained a deacon in 257. Sixtus then stationed him as the first Archivist of the Catholic Church.</span></span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
And under his job he had to take care of the holiest chalice known to Christians everywhere, he was given the Holy Grail so he could keep it far away for the Persecution of Christians under Valerian was starting to heat up. Lawrence sent the Chalice away to Huesca with a letter to his parents to give it to a Monk who was a friend of Lawrence and the family. The Chalice was taken to the monastery where it remained hidden for centuries, and many believe that the Chalice is now in the Cathedral of Valencia.<br />
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In the persecutions under Valerian in 258 A.D., numerous priests and deacons were put to death, while Christians belonging to the nobility or the Roman Senate were deprived of their goods and exiled. Pope Sixtus II was one of the first victims of this persecution, being beheaded on August 6. A legend cited by St Ambrose of Milan says that Lawrence met the Pope on his way to his execution, where he is reported to have said, "Where are you going, my dear father, without your son? Where are you hurrying off to, holy priest, without your deacon? Before you never mounted the altar of sacrifice without your servant, and now you wish to do it without me?" The Pope is reported to have prophesied that "after three days you will follow me". </span><span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bJXdbwhi7L8/TGCu-4_eNvI/AAAAAAAAAu8/lItANcVZHM4/s1600/the-martyrdom-of-st-lawrence-3839.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503591140120475378" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bJXdbwhi7L8/TGCu-4_eNvI/AAAAAAAAAu8/lItANcVZHM4/s400/the-martyrdom-of-st-lawrence-3839.jpg" style="float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 220px;" /></a></span><span><br />
After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. Ambrose is the earliest source for the tale that Lawrence asked for three days to gather together the wealth. Lawrence worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the poor as possible, so as to prevent its being seized by the prefect. On the third day, at the head of a small delegation, he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to give up the treasures of the Church, he presented the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering, and said that these were the true treasures of the Church. One account records him declaring to the prefect, "The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor." This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom. Lawrence is said to have been martyred on a gridiron as a part of Valerian's persecution. During his torture Lawrence cried out "This side’s done, turn me over and have a bite."<br />
</span></span> <h3><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="mw-headline">The Valencia Chalice</span></span></span></h3><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The other surviving <i>Holy Chalice</i> vessel is the <i>santo cáliz</i>, an agate cup in the Cathedral of Valencia. It is preserved in a chapel consecrated to it, where it still attracts the faithful on pilgrimage.<br />
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The piece is a hemispherical cup made of dark red agate which is mounted by means of a knobbed stem and two curved handles onto a base made from an inverted cup of chalcedony. The agate cup is about 9 centimeters/ 3.5 inches in diameter and the total height, including base, is about 17 centimeters/ 7 inches high. The agate cup, without the base, fits a description by Saint Jerome. </span><span><sup> </sup>The lower part has Arabic inscriptions.<br />
After an inspection in 1960, the Spanish archaeologist Antonio Beltrán asserted that the cup was produced in a Palestinian or Egyptian workshop between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD. The surface has not been dated by microscopic scanning to assess recrystallization.<br />
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" /></a></span><span><i>The Chalice of Valencia</i> comes complete with a certificate of authenticity, an inventory list on vellum, said to date from AD 262, that accompanied a lost letter of which details state-sponsored Roman persecution of Christians that forces the church to split up its treasury and hide it with members, specifically the deacon Saint Lawrence. It goes on to enumerate all precious items. The physical properties of the Holy Chalice are described and it is stated the vessel had been used to celebrate Mass by the early Popes succeeding Saint Peter.<br />
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The first explicit inventory reference to the present </span><span><i>Chalice of Valencia</i> dates from 1134, an inventory of the treasury of the monastery of San Juan de la Peña drawn up by Don Carreras Ramírez, Canon of Zaragoza, December 14, 1134: "En un arca de marfil está el Cáliz en que Cristo N. Señor consagró su sangre, el cual envió S. Lorenzo a su patria, Huesca". According to the wording of this document, the Chalice is described as the vessel in which "Christ Our Lord consecrated his blood".<br />
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Reference to the chalice is made in 1399, when it was given by the monastery of San Juan de la Peña to king Martin I of Aragon in exchange for a gold cup. By the end of the century a provenance for the chalice can be detected, by which Saint Peter had brought it to Rome. </span><span><br />
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Pope John Paul II himself celebrated mass with the Holy Chalice in Valencia in November 1982, causing some uproar both in skeptic circles and in the circles that hoped he would say </span><span><i>accipiens et hunc praeclarum Calicem</i> ("this most famous chalice") in lieu of the ordinary words of the Mass taken from <i>Matthew</i> 26:27). For some people, the authenticity of the Chalice of Valencia failed to receive papal blessing.<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2074620289493769390&postID=7508834361796568575&from=pencil" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" 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" /></a></span><span>In July 2006, at the closing Mass of the 5th World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Pope Benedict XVI also celebrated with the Holy Chalice, on this occasion saying "this most famous chalice", words in the Roman Canon said to have been used for the first popes until 4th century in Rome, and supporting in this way the tradition of <i>the Holy Chalice of Valencia</i>. This artifact has seemingly never been accredited with any supernatural powers, which legend apparently confines to other relics such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail" title="Holy Grail">Holy Grail</a>, the Holy Lance and the <a href="http://testament25.blogspot.com/2011/07/patron-saint-helena.html">True Cross</a>.<br />
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In </span><span><i>Saint Laurence and the Holy Grail</i>, Janice Bennett gives an account of the chalice's history, carried on Saint Peter's journey to Rome, entrusted by Pope Sixtus II to Saint Lawrence in the third century, sent to Huesca in Spain when the Hispanic saint was martyred on a gridiron during the Valerian persecution in Rome in AD 258, sent to the Pyrenees for safekeeping, where it passed from monastery to monastery, in accordance with all the claims to former possession of the Chalice, and venerated by the monks of the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña. Emerging there into the light of history, the monastery's agate cup was acquired by King Martin I of Aragon in 1399 who kept it at Zaragoza. After his death, King Alfonso V of Aragón brought it to Valencia, where it has remained.<br />
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Bennett presents as historical evidence a 6th-century manuscript Latin </span><span><i>Vita</i> written by Donato, an Augustinian monk who founded a monastery in the area of Valencia, which contains circumstantial details of the life of Saint Laurence and details surrounding the transfer of the Chalice to Spain. The original manuscript does not exist, but a 17th-century Spanish translation entitled "Life and Martyrdom of the Glorious Spaniard St. Laurence" is in a monastery in Valencia. The main source for the life of St. Laurence, the poem <i>Peristephanon</i> by the 5th-century poet Prudentius, does not mention the Chalice that was later said to have passed through his hands.<br />
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In 1960 the Spanish archeologist Antonio Beltrán studied the Chalice and concluded: "Archeology supports and definitively confirms the historical authenticity". "Everyone in Spain believes it is the cup," Bennett said to a reporter from the </span><span><i>Denver Catholic Register</i>. "You can see it every day that the chapel is open."</span></span> </div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-10113221761689492932011-08-05T17:51:00.000+06:002011-08-05T17:51:39.989+06:00Ancient Knights Templar name used in modern criminal crusades<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nm48MUtIjUU/TjvZD0H9waI/AAAAAAAAAoI/y-woyBZyBqE/s1600/t1larg.brevik.gun.afi.gi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nm48MUtIjUU/TjvZD0H9waI/AAAAAAAAAoI/y-woyBZyBqE/s320/t1larg.brevik.gun.afi.gi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A bright red cross marked the cover of a manifesto purportedly written by the suspect in last week's terror attacks in Norway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nearly 6,000 miles away, Mexican police seized white robes emblazoned with the same symbol in a series of raids aimed at cracking down on one of the country's newest drug cartels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Knights Templar -- warriors during the medieval holy wars known as the Crusades -- wore the cross insignia as they went into battle. Its red color represented the blood of Christian martyrs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The recent modern-day interpretations of the crusaders' ancient cause wouldn't sit well with the original Knights Templar, according to British historian and novelist Piers Paul Read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They'd have been horrified. ... They were very devout people," said Read, who detailed the knights' history in his book "The Templars."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The knights began in the 12th century as a religious order fighting Muslims and protecting Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">They mostly came from Western Europe and took strict vows of poverty, Read said. But over time, their organization amassed significant wealth and property, drawing ire from citizens and royalty alike.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amid accusations of heresy and devil-worship from France's king, the pope dissolved the order in 1312, Read said. The group's last leader was burned at the stake, but the story of the Knights Templar lives on, portrayed in films and popular fiction such as "The Da Vinci Code."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now authorities are investigating Norway attack suspect Anders Behring Breivik's purported manifesto, which claims that another group using the Knights Templar name intends to carry out "shock attacks" across Europe in a campaign to fight Islam and "cultural Marxism."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Authorities accuse Breivik of killing at least 76 people when he set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo last Friday, then ambushed an island political youth retreat. Breivik's lawyer told reporters that his client was "a little bit surprised" that he was able to pull off the bombing and shooting rampage, for which authorities say he has claimed responsibility.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Separately, Mexican officials blame members of a new criminal organization that use the Knights Templar name for extorting business owners, decapitating and dismembering kidnapping victims and setting vehicles ablaze to block roads during shootouts with police.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The original Templars' noble ideals and dramatic demise give them "an aura of glamour and mystery," said Paul Crawford, an associate professor of ancient and medieval history at California University of Pennsylvania.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Crawford and other historians argue that most fictional accounts of the group focus on unsubstantiated myths and conspiracy theories and that recent reappearances of the Knights Templar name in Norway and Mexico are just the latest attempts to manipulate their legacy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The drug gang and the murderer are trying to cloak the horror of their acts with the glamour and ideals of this religious order," Crawford said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Striving to be 'the perfect knight'</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rambling, 1,500-page account that constitutes Breivik's purported manifesto includes excerpts from a Wikipedia entry about the Knights Templar and pictures of sword-wielding medieval knights wearing cloaks and armor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">CNN has not independently confirmed that Breivik is the author of the manifesto, which bears his name and says it is intended to be circulated among sympathizers. The writer rails against Muslims and their growing presence in Europe, and calls for a European civil war to overthrow governments, end multiculturalism and execute "cultural Marxists."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author also makes numerous references to what he describes as a new incarnation of the Knights </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Templar, which he says was "re-founded as a pan-European nationalist military order" during an April 2002 meeting in London. The manifesto details necessary steps to become a "Justiciar Knight," including pledging a Knights Templar oath.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Any candidate prepared to walk this road must be willing to forfeit his materialistic ambitions and embrace voluntary poverty and martyrdom," Breivik writes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"You are operating as a jury, judge and executioner on behalf of all free Europeans. ... There are situations in which cruelty is necessary, and refusing to apply necessary cruelty is a betrayal of the people whom you wish to protect," he continues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a diary-like log of events leading up to last week's attacks, the manifesto's author says he is trying to set an example.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I am one of many destroyers of cultural Marxism and as such; a hero of Europe, a savior of our people and of European Christendom -- by default. ... The Perfect Knight I have always strived to be," he writes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Crawford, the historian at California University of Pennsylvania, said such assertions show a clear misunderstanding of the Knights Templar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They were soldiers. They confronted Islam on the battlefield and Islam returned the favor. They did not, to the best of my knowledge, ever engage in massacres of unarmed combatants," he said. "They were not terrorists and wouldn't have approved of it."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>'They want to demonstrate that they're courageous'</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The new Mexican cartel known as the Knights Templar announced its presence earlier this year. Banners hung in prominent locations -- and photographed by local media -- vowed to protect residents of the Mexican state of Michoacan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Our commitment to society will be to preserve order and prevent robbery, kidnapping and extortion, and protect the state from interventions by rival organizations," the signs said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For months, authorities and analysts said they suspected the Knights Templar had split from one of the nation's most notorious criminal organizations, La Familia Michoacana -- a cartel known for its mix of ruthless violence and religious ideology.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mexico's government said La Familia's founder, Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, was killed in clashes with authorities last year. In a dossier released as they announced his death in December, officials described Moreno as a "spiritual leader" who used religion to strengthen his stronghold. The government file said Moreno dubbed himself the "savior of the people" and outlined the cartel's philosophy in a "bible" provided to new recruits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The discovery earlier this month of the white robes with red crosses and handbooks outlining a code for the Knights Templar showed further evidence of a connection with La Familia, authorities said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Presumably they were indoctrinating their members," Mexican federal police spokesman Juan Carlos Buenrostro told CNNMexico.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the splinter group, choosing the Knights Templar name was no accident, said George W. Grayson, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They want to demonstrate that they're courageous and valiant, but at the same time they are generous," said Grayson, who studies Mexico's organized crime syndicates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said the alleged leader of the Knights Templar, a former lieutenant of La Familia known as "La Tuta" -- the teacher -- "has the same kind of religious inspiration" as Moreno.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While some of the cartels' leaders may believe in its ideology, Grayson says others have a more pragmatic approach, using religion as a "recruiting device."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Now you're at one with the Lord, even as you decapitate people and carve (messages) into the bodies of your opponents," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Promoting peace, fighting a 'social cancer'</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another group that uses the Knights Templar name has been waging its own campaign to distance itself from the Mexican drug gang and the Norway attacks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The international Christian nonprofit known as Knights Templar International issued a statement saying their group is not and has never been affiliated in any way with Breivik.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Christ's message is one of love, understanding and tolerance of all peoples of the world," the organization said in a statement. "How Anders Behring Breivik so misunderstood and corrupted Christ's message is beyond reason or belief."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The organization's Mexico chapter also issued a statement saying it has no connection to the drug gang, which it referred to as a "social cancer." The statement lambasted the criminal group for committing acts that are "full of shame, dishonor and totally contrary to the principles of the order."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Robert C.G. Disney, the grand commander of Knights Templar International, said the organization's more than 6,000 members around the world regularly support charitable projects, such as helping fund reconstruction of a Muslim mosque and a Christian church in Pakistan following mudslides there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Obviously it's very distressing for me and for all of our members to see our name bandied about by the drug cartel and this deranged person in Norway," he said. "Unfortunately, we do not have exclusive rights to the words 'Knights Templar.' Those words have been in the public domain for almost 1,000 years."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Members can join Knights Templar International only by invitation, Disney said, but the organization has no particular church affiliation, and provides humanitarian aid to anyone in need, regardless of race or creed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="cnnInline" style="text-align: justify;">"We have no political or religious agenda," he said. "Our agenda is basically all about bringing about peace, reconciliation and understanding."</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-50494791290257436772011-08-05T17:42:00.001+06:002011-08-06T00:04:46.872+06:00Hertford, home of the Holy Grail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtrKcclC7Tg/TjvW1e1Lg6I/AAAAAAAAAoA/qsN3GhxXZsY/s1600/300px-Hertford_Castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtrKcclC7Tg/TjvW1e1Lg6I/AAAAAAAAAoA/qsN3GhxXZsY/s320/300px-Hertford_Castle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>An ancient secret society; a demand for a papal apology; and a network of hidden tunnels. Strange things have been stirring in Hertfordshire recently. Oliver Burkeman goes in search of the Knights Templar and, perhaps, the cup of Christ.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the problems with secret societies - especially the kind whose members exert a shadowy influence on the course of world events - is that they can be a bit difficult to track down. Never was this more true than of the Knights Templar, the ancient Catholic order rumoured, among other things, to know the whereabouts of the Holy Grail. Officially, the Templars don't exist, having been driven underground by the pope more than 600 years ago; in The Da Vinci Code, they are described as inhabiting "a precarious world where fact, lore and misinformation had become so intertwined that extracting a pristine truth was almost impossible". Nobody even seems to agree on what the Holy Grail is: some say it is the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper; others that it was used to collect his blood at the crucifixion. Needless to say, the Templars haven't been too eager to clarify any of this publicly. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" 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" width="185" /></a>Then, late last year, the group apparently made an unprecedented communication with the outside world. It emerged that the Templars were demanding an official apology from the Vatican, for having persecuted them in the 14th century - and that the Vatican was giving "serious consideration" to the matter. The demand came in a letter, signed on behalf of the grand master of the Templars. And for the conspiracy theorists who have pursued the knights for centuries, it was accompanied by a tantalising clue: an address. In Hertford. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If there is something implausible in the idea that huge stretches of world history have been secretly coordinated from a market town just north of the M25 - well, maybe that's what they want you to think. The local newspaper, the Hertfordshire Mercury, certainly seems convinced: over the past few months it has published several intriguing stories quoting local Templars, who told its reporter of a secret network of tunnels under the town that was still in use by the order. "It reaches beyond well known central Hertford locations," one Templar said, "including the tourist office, the castle, Monsoon, Threshers, the post office, Bayley Hall, and the council offices." Treasures of "immense importance" were hidden there, it was claimed. Was the quest for the Holy Grail finally about to come to an end? More surprisingly still, was it about to come to an end underneath Monsoon on Market Place? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The man who has persuaded the Vatican to consider apologising, Tim Acheson, meets the Guardian in icy morning fog in Hertford, wearing smart pinstriped trousers and a thick winter overcoat. His midnight-blue sports car is parked nearby. "As you might expect," he says, setting the tone for the day, "there are going to be some things that I'm not able to discuss." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acheson claims to trace his ancestry to a renowned Scottish Templar family of the same name, though he won't confirm his own role in the group. Might he just be a practical joker who managed to fool the Vatican? "That could well be, couldn't it?" he says, as we order coffee in a Hertford establishment closely modelled on All Bar One. "I can't tell you anything to prove that I'm not. I think that would be a perfectly reasonable theory." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://api.ning.com/files/rdIIxeb2LAKS3DOUwKC2Ay0AFPSX*kmYtWvMY5rI069CMYJ-Z*zTnjC*AerlyyF4UQo4*pYgdcP9YpyAEdAVVG--iZXQKs7B/KnightsTemplar2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://api.ning.com/files/rdIIxeb2LAKS3DOUwKC2Ay0AFPSX*kmYtWvMY5rI069CMYJ-Z*zTnjC*AerlyyF4UQo4*pYgdcP9YpyAEdAVVG--iZXQKs7B/KnightsTemplar2.jpg" border="0" height="240" src="http://api.ning.com/files/rdIIxeb2LAKS3DOUwKC2Ay0AFPSX*kmYtWvMY5rI069CMYJ-Z*zTnjC*AerlyyF4UQo4*pYgdcP9YpyAEdAVVG--iZXQKs7B/KnightsTemplar2.jpg" width="320" /></a>There is, however, sound historical footing for the idea that a Vatican apology might be warranted. The Templars were victims of their own success: they had been granted the right to operate, during the era of the Crusades, with unprecedented freedom, levying taxes and growing rich by establishing some of Europe's first banks. (According to legend, they also invented the biscuit.) Envy and hostility ran high, until, on Friday, October 13 1307 - the original unlucky Friday the 13th - hundreds of Templars were arrested in France. They stood accused of homosexuality, of devil worship, of crimes "horrible to contemplate, terrible to hear of", in the words of King Philip of France, who ordered the arrests. They were tortured, by the Inquisition, into admitting heresy, including their scandalous belief that Jesus had had children with Mary Magdalene. Their grand master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake a few years later, and the Templars were officially disbanded by the Pope.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But only officially. "The vast majority of Templars either escaped, or didn't escape, but survived," Acheson says. So how did they end up in Hertford? History records that a number of them were imprisoned in Hertford Castle, but how did Hertford become a centre of operations? "I can't really tell you that. All I can tell you - it's going to be quite vague - is that they flourished in western Europe." He explains that there is a stained-glass window in St Andrew's Church, just down the street, that contains a clear metaphorical allusion to the Holy Grail, and a cryptic hint that it might be hidden in Hertford. In the picture, Acheson adds, Jesus and Mary Magdalene are looking at each other "in a very meaningful way". (Later, I find the window, interrupting local parishioners who are decorating the church for Christmas. I think I can see what Acheson means about Jesus's expression, although mainly he just looks a bit depressed.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among the many things that don't quite add up about the Templars' request for an apology is: why now? Why break the silence, drawing all manner of unwanted curiosity from Grail hunters and Da Vinci Code tourists? Public accountability is a laudable goal, but it's hardly something you expect from the secret rulers of the universe. Indeed, when a group of amateur archaeologists recently announced their intention to investigate Hertford's tunnel network, someone posted a message on a local website warning that anyone who tried would be "dealt with". The message read: "Anybody intending to find out more, let alone discover hidden areas of the labyrinth, should check their life insurance policy very carefully indeed." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acheson simply says he thinks it would be fitting for the Vatican to issue their apology in time for 2007, the 700th anniversary of the start of the Templar suppression. "Among my peers, there are people like me who believe that these issues deserve further attention ... There's a new generation coming through that strongly believes it's time to be a bit more open. I'm part of that generation." Besides, he says ominously, "Things are about to happen that will deserve attention." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The notion that "things are about to happen" recurs throughout the Templar conspiracy theories that clog up the internet. Seemingly, 2000 had been awaited as a watershed, the moment the Templars' secret knowledge would cascade into the public domain. It didn't happen, of course. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So what sort of "things" is Acheson talking about? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I can't tell you." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">OK. But could you maybe give me a rough idea of the timescale? Are these things going to happen this year? This decade? Next century? "I honestly can't tell you. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can't tell you." </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acheson takes me on a walking tour of Hertford, and proves a knowledgeable guide, but a frustratingly cryptic one, too. So I decide to take matters into my own hands and head for Monsoon. Gemma, the manager, responds far more patiently to Grail-related inquiries than might arguably be her prerogative. There's no tunnel beneath the shop, she insists, "just the store room" - but it's "definitely haunted. When we have sales meetings there you can hear someone walking over our heads, or doing the vacuuming. But upstairs, the shop's closed and empty." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Has she ever found anything unexpected down there? Like maybe a cup, or something? "No," she says. "But there is ... the Accessorize cupboard." She leads the way through the store to the adjoining branch of Accessorize, pushing past a display stand of silky hats towards a corner cupboard. Opening it, she points to a square piece of metal resembling a manhole cover, sunk into the floor. "We don't know what's under there. But there's a strange smell." She enlists a colleague, Jo, who has worked there longer. "Have they ever looked underneath there?" Gemma asks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Yes," Jo replies. It would be atmospheric to be able to report, at this point, that her eyes open wide with terror, that she starts to tremble. But she doesn't. "It smelt a lot," is all she can remember. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Generally, in fact, the people of Hertford seem rather reticent on the subject of the Grail. Do they know something they're not telling? Eventually there seems nothing for it but to abandon any attempt at subtlety and ask Acheson directly. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Tim," I say, as we walk through the fog back to his car, "do you know where the Holy Grail is?" </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We stop at the kerbside to let an articulated lorry pull out. Then we cross the road, past a Mazda dealership, towards the car park.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"No," Acheson says after a while, with a thoughtful expression. "No, I'm afraid I don't." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-25351545928645393912011-08-04T14:51:00.001+06:002011-08-04T14:52:30.691+06:00Pope Approves Use Of Condoms In fFght Against Aids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PSsa3fUW8Zw/TjpdWCnvuYI/AAAAAAAAAnU/IGwFsjagV7M/s1600/pope_1767082c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PSsa3fUW8Zw/TjpdWCnvuYI/AAAAAAAAAnU/IGwFsjagV7M/s320/pope_1767082c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: yellow; text-align: justify;"><i><b>After decades of fierce opposition to the use of all contraception, the pontiff will end the Catholic Church's absolute ban on the use of condoms. </b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="firstPar" style="text-align: justify;">He will say that it is acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention is to "reduce the risk of infection" from Aids.<br />
</div><div class="secondPar" style="text-align: justify;">While he will restate the Catholic Church's staunch objections to contraception because it believes it interferes with the creation of life, he will argue that using a condom to preserve life and avoid death can be a responsible act – even outside marriage.<br />
</div><div class="thirdPar" style="text-align: justify;">Asked whether "the Catholic Church is not fundamentally against the use of condoms," he replies: "It of course does not see it as a real and moral solution.<br />
</div><div class="fourthPar" style="text-align: justify;">"In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way to another, more humane sexuality."<br />
</div><div class="fifthPar" style="text-align: justify;">He will stress that abstinence is the best policy in fighting the disease, but accept that in some circumstances it is better for a condom to be used if it protects human life.<br />
<br />
<div class="body">"There may be justified individual cases, for example when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be ... a first bit of responsibility, to redevelop the understanding that not everything is permitted and that one may not do everything one wishes.<br />
<br />
"But it is not the proper way to deal with the horror of HIV infection."<br />
The groundbreaking announcement will come in a book to be published by the Vatican next week based on the first face-to-face interview given by a Pope.<br />
<br />
In the interview, he admits he was stunned by the sex abuse scandal that has engulfed the Catholic Church and raises the possibility of the circumstances under which he would consider resigning.<br />
Most significant, however, are his comments on condoms, which represents the first official relaxation in the Church's attitude on the issue after growing calls from cardinals for the Vatican to adopt a more humane approach to stopping the spread of HIV.<br />
<br />
Although the Pope's ruling is aimed specifically to stop people infecting their partners, particularly in Africa where the disease is most prevalent, <br />
it will inevitably be seized upon by liberal Catholics in Britain who oppose the Church's long-standing stance against contraception.<br />
<br />
High-profile Catholics including Cherie Blair have stated publicly that they use birth control.<br />
The move by Pope Benedict is particularly surprising because he caused controversy last year by suggesting condom use could actually worsen the problem of Aids in Africa.<br />
<br />
He described the epidemic in the continent as "a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems". </div></div></div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-9198186250395425162011-08-04T14:46:00.001+06:002011-08-04T14:46:43.823+06:00Prove Thy Innocence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iVO5g12tWdo/TjpcIHIU0bI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/Qcsvzm1A_68/s1600/norway-massacre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iVO5g12tWdo/TjpcIHIU0bI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/Qcsvzm1A_68/s320/norway-massacre.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Altogether the instant reaction to the Norway incident, without any pursuance of proof or evidence, was that Muslim terror must be responsible for the attack. Once again, it has been proven that not all terrorists are Muslims</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prove your innocence — if you are a Muslim, because the media and the police believe Muslims are guilty by default.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Terror intimidates Muslims more than anyone else on earth. After any terrorist activity, inside their houses, Muslims try to put fingers into their ears so as not to hear the phrase: “another act of Muslim terror”. Outside, in non-Muslim countries, they avoid eye-contact with others to avoid giving possible explanations that “it need not be an act of Muslim terror” or “I was not a part of it”. For any terror attack anywhere, Muslims everywhere have to hang their heads in shame.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Muslims are the first suspects in almost all cases of violence the world over. The media usually has ‘credible sources’ and bigot analysts to hatch theories against Muslims and the police has ‘informers’ and matrix of terror links with names of Muslim youths inscribed as terrorists-in-line. Thus investigation, forensic analysis and fact finding all have become irrelevant. The new logic of both the media and the police is to blame Muslims first, and investigate later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moments after the horrific Norway bomb blast that killed seven people on July 22, followed by the massacre of 85 teenagers, speculations started regarding the possible culprits. Renowned media group, the BBC — considered objective — started speculating on the following night that the Islamist group al Qaeda could be behind the attacks, although the next morning they had to change their tone in front of the evidence. As The Sun labelled the attacks as “Norway’s 9/11”, The Guardian was not behind in their suspicion and analysis of jihadists’ role in the bloody episode. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The American media’s reaction was not different either. Fox News’ ‘O’Reilly Factor’ not only suspected the Norway killing spree as another incident of Islamic terror, the guest host — Laura Ingraham — even attempted to link it with the atrocious 9/11 that happened in the US a decade ago by reminding the audience about the Ground Zero mosque to be built in Manhattan. No doubt she would succeed in her effort to multiply the right-wing American hatred against the Muslims and Islam. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Blaming the jihadists, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Norway is targeted for being true to western norms.” Meanwhile, on The Washington Post’s website, Jennifer Rubin wrote, “This is a sobering reminder for those who think it is too expensive to wage a war against jihadists.” Altogether the instant reaction to the incident, without any pursuance of proof or evidence, was that Muslim terror must be responsible for the attack. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, within a day the whole story had to be changed, as the right-wing Christian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, with a background of hating Muslims and liberals, claimed responsibility for the attacks, exposing media bigotry to malign Islam’s image. Once again, it has been proven that not all terrorists are Muslims.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The same thing happens everywhere. Minutes after the Mumbai blasts on July 13, the Indian TV channels propagated the theory that Indian Mujahedeen (IM), deemed to be an Indian Muslim extremist group, could be behind the blast, although security agencies and the police took hours before adopting the hypothesis — solely on the basis of spurious previous trends. Based on their guesswork, the Mumbai police, as usual, detained several Muslims for questioning. One of those detained — Faiz Usmani — died while in police custody on July 17, sparking allegations of police brutality. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has been more than a week, yet the investigating agencies have found no evidence to support their claims against the IM nor those detained. The tameness of the media and police administration reflects that — Muslims have been harassed, some Muslims have been detained, and one of them got killed (all without any evidence). So what? Does it really matter? The Muslims are presumed guilty, by the unwritten rule, until proven innocent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This trend is not new. In the past, although there have been occasions in which Muslim groups have been found linked with terrorist activities, extremist Hindutva terrorists have also been proven to have carried out half a dozen attacks in India, such as bomb blasts in Samjhauta Express, Makkah Masjid, Ajmer Sharif in (2007), and Malegaon (2008) — the list goes on. When the right-wing Hindutva groups are known to have established links with the Indian military and intelligence agencies to carry out terrorist activities, yet raising fingers against them is an anathema. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The level of hypocrisy in the attitude of the police and the media is conspicuous. If a Muslim commits an act of terror, it is a terror plot but if a non-Muslim does, it is just an ‘act of violence’. If a Muslim is suspected in a terror act, he is an Islamic terrorist while a proven non-Muslim figure behind terror activities is merely ‘an accused’.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If this is how people’s sentiments against Muslims are aroused, how can the 1.5 billion Muslims live in peace with others and what message are we giving to the younger and future generations?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><br />
</div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4893136644533412109.post-71321721348327031922011-07-29T23:01:00.000+06:002011-07-29T23:01:24.142+06:00The Ways of Opus Dei<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRA8loWNepkg3ADvkYCKP8jGXjnvN__89ZYUqVpZ_tckQ2YfaBp&t=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRA8loWNepkg3ADvkYCKP8jGXjnvN__89ZYUqVpZ_tckQ2YfaBp&t=1" border="0" height="320" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRA8loWNepkg3ADvkYCKP8jGXjnvN__89ZYUqVpZ_tckQ2YfaBp&t=1" width="320" /></a>In early March, Elizabeth Heil, an arts-administration graduate student at Columbia University, was watching previews in a movie theater on Manhattan's Upper West Side when she cracked up inappropriately. The trailer was for the movie The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard and scheduled to open May 19, and it featured a grim-faced fellow uttering Christ's name repeatedly and then--wham!--whaling away at his already bloodied back with an Inquisition-issue cat-o'-nine-tails. It was not an intentionally funny scene. But Heil, who was familiar with the book on which the movie is based, recognized the figure onscreen as the albino assassin Silas, a fanatical, murderous member of a bizarre Catholic group called Opus Dei, and couldn't suppress a giggle. She is a member of the actual Opus Dei. "This is so outlandish," she recalls thinking. "I wish we were that interesting."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
The Da Vinci Code's Opus Dei--a powerful, ultraconservative Roman Catholic faction riddled with sadomasochistic ritual, one of whose members commits serial murder in pursuit of a church-threatening secret--is obviously not reflective of the real-life organization (although author Dan Brown's website states the portrayal was "based on numerous books written about Opus Dei as well as on my own personal interviews"). Yet in casting the group as his heavy, Brown was as shrewd as someone setting up an innocent man for a crime. You don't choose the head of the Rotary. You single out the secretive guy at the end of the block with the off-putting tics, who perhaps has a couple of incidents in his past that will hinder an effective defense. That's not Heil, but it's not a bad sketch of the organization to which she belongs.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In its 78 years, Opus Dei has been a rumor magnet. Successful and secretive, it has been accused of using lavish riches and carefully cultivated clout to do everything from propping up Francisco Franco's Spanish dictatorship to pushing through its founder's premature sainthood to planting conservative minions in governments from Warsaw to Washington. Brown's treatment of the group had seemed to represent an untoppable high-sewage mark--that is, until the movie trailer appeared. Says Juan Manuel Mora, director of Opus Dei's communications department in Rome: "Reading a print version is one thing. Seeing the color images is another."<br />
Yet Mora and his colleagues have inaugurated a countertrend, in part by breaking their organization's historical silence. They spoke at length on record to John Allen, a respected print and television Vatican commentator, and offered him unprecedented access to Opus Dei records and personnel. In November he responded with Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church (Doubleday), probably the most informed and sympathetic treatment of the group ever penned by an outsider. Opus has since talked freely to other journalists, including TIME's.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Opus' public relations offensive hasn't quite managed to close the gap between what critics say it is about and its own version of the story. On one side there is "Octopus Dei," or, as the current issue of Harper's magazine puts it, "to a great extent ... an authoritarian and semi-clandestine enterprise that manages to infiltrate its indoctrinated technocrats, politicos and administrators into the highest levels of the state." On the other is the portrait painted by Opus' U.S. vicar Thomas Bohlin, who sat for several hours with TIME at his group's Manhattan headquarters. Opus, he explained, is just a teaching entity, a kind of advanced school for Catholic spiritual formation with minimal global coordination or input as to how members and sympathizers apply what they learn. "You know Dale Carnegie courses?" he asked. "Businesses send their people there to learn to speak better, to organize--they teach all these kinds of things. People go there because they get something out of it, and then when they graduate, they don't represent Dale Carnegie."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Martin, an editor at the Jesuit publication America who has written critically about Opus, offers a middle ground between Dale Carnegie and the octopus: "Opus Dei provides members with an overarching spirituality for their life," he suggests. "It's an ongoing relationship that helps buttress and further shape the thought of people who are already conservative Catholics. That's a powerful symbiosis, and there's a personal connection between members, whether they're housewives or politicians. It's not an evil empire, but that doesn't mean there aren't serious issues that need to be addressed."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A first journalistic pass, by Allen or TIME, cannot fully resolve all those issues. But it can answer some of the questions that have long dogged the organization, and it may also show how The Da Vinci Code could end up helping Opus Dei.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>HOW DID IT START?</b><br />
On Oct. 2, 1928, a 26-year-old Spanish priest named Josemaría Escrivá was visited by a new vision of Catholic spirituality: a movement of pious laypeople who would, by prayerful contemplation and the dedication of their labor to Christ, extend the holiness of church on Sunday into their everyday work life. Escrivá's title for the movement was a literal description--Opus Dei means "the work of God"--and his ambition was correspondingly large. He saw Opus eventually acting as "an intravenous injection [of holiness] in the bloodstream of society."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/images/opusdeicilice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/images/opusdeicilice.jpg" border="0" src="http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/images/opusdeicilice.jpg" /></a>It was controversial almost from birth. Opus threatened the era's Catholic clericalism, which privileged priests, monks and nuns over the laity, and Escrivá was called a heretic. In the 1950s, several prominent Opus Dei members joined Franco's dictatorial but church-supportive regime in Spain, inaugurating speculation about the group's political leanings. The church's Second Vatican Council (1962-65) seemed to catch up with Escrivá's idea of lay activism--but his rigid adherence to Catholic teaching put his system at odds with liberals who accorded the laity a wide freedom of conscience. He himself was a polarizing figure, humble and grandiose, avuncular and ferocious. Opus grew slowly but steadily, remaining below the radar of most Catholics.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That all changed in 1982. Pope John Paul II, also a creative traditionalist interested in labor and faith, granted Escrivá's wish that Opus be a "personal prelature," a global quasi-diocese, able in some cases to leapfrog local archbishops and deal directly with Rome. Almost simultaneously the Pope publicly constricted the competing, more liberal Jesuit order. A perception that Opus' ecclesiastical power knew no limits peaked with Escrivá's 1992 beatification, a brief (for those days) 17 years after his death. Faultfinders, notes Allen, claimed that the judging panel had been packed and Escrivá's critics blackballed; they viewed his fast move toward sainthood as the muscle-flexing "ecclesiastical equivalent of [the Roman emperor] Caligula making his horse a senator." Allen sees the beatification as legitimate, as did 300,000 people who thronged Rome for Escrivá's 2002 canonization.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?</b><br />
Opus Dei is not a kind of spiritual pick-me-up for casual Catholics. It features a small, committed membership (85,500 worldwide and a mere 3,000 in the U.S.), many of whom come from pious families and are prepared to embrace unpopular church teachings such as its birth-control ban. Members take part in a rigorous course of spiritual "formation" stressing church doctrine and contemplation plus Escrivá's philosophy of work and personal holiness. Opus' core is its "numeraries," the 20% who, despite remaining lay, pledge celibacy, live together in one of about 1,700 sex-segregated "centers" and extend their training to a degree rivaling a priest's--all while holding day jobs, with most of their pay devolving to the group. That near cloistered life produces the group's most avid, satisfied members and its bitterest dropouts. Opus steers a small number of members toward the priesthood, and they exert considerable influence on the lay majority.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some 70% of the membership, called supernumeraries, are much more of this world. They bend Opus' daily two hours of religious observance around a more typical--or perhaps retro, given the large size of many of their families--existence. Opus' sureties provide a spiritual grounding to life's everyday chaos and ambiguities. While she was raising seven children in the anything-goes 1970s, says Cathy Hickey of Larchmont, N.Y., Opus gave her "an underlying stream of peace and joy." Members bring a pious concentration to jobs that might otherwise be done less ethically or carefully. Heil, the Columbia student, says Opus "helps your whole life melt into this 24/7 conversation with God."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>HOW SECRETIVE IS OPUS?</b><br />
For all its uniqueness in mission and structure, Opus Dei is best known for being secretive. It has a special set of greetings: "Pax" and "In aeternum" ("Peace" and "In eternity"). Its 1950 constitution barred members from revealing their membership without permission from the director of their center. In 1982 a new document repudiated "secrecy or clandestine activity," and Bohlin, the U.S. vicar, claims that the continuing impression is a misunderstanding based again on decentralization. "People [get Opus training] and go back to where they were," he says. "So we never march in a parade as a group because we don't form a group. And when people don't see us marching, they say, 'They must be secret.'"<br />
<br />
Yet Opus will still not identify its members, and many prefer not to identify themselves. In England, in late 2004, the Labour government's Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, went months before confirming she had received "spiritual support" from Opus. (Her exact status remains unclear.) Nor, as Allen shows in his book, will Opus formally own up to many of its institutions. Its U.S. schools tend to go by bland names like the Heights or Northridge Prep. For years, he reports, the 17-story U.S. headquarters in New York, finished in 2001, lacked an identifying street-level sign. Allen counts 15 universities, seven hospitals, 11 business schools and 36 primary and secondary schools around the world as what Opus calls "corporate works," as opposed to personal deeds. It is justly proud of 97 vocational-technical schools worldwide, which deflate the myth that Opus serves only the rich. But very few of the schools and hospitals are legally owned by Opus, which admits only to providing "doctrinal and spiritual formation." It is a tribute to the persistence of Allen and his financial expert, Joseph Harris, that they determined that at least in the U.S., Opus proper enjoys a minimum of "dual control" over them by placing members on their boards.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>HOW RICH IS IT?</b><br />
The normal assumption about such indirectness would be that the group is hiding something, and filthy lucre is a staple of the Opus myth. Two rumors about its popularity with John Paul were that it funded the Solidarity trade union and helped bail out the Vatican bank after its 1982 scandal. Poverty is demonstrably not one of Opus' vows. It has a reputation for cultivating the rich or those soon to be, at both élite colleges and its own institutions. (In Latin America many in the church feel that Opus priests served once ascendant oligarchs over the masses.) Even in the inner city, Opus is unabashedly less interested in identifying with the poor than turning them into the middle class. Bohlin jokingly distinguishes his members from "some Franciscans with holes in their shoes, driving a crummy car because of their sense of the spirit of poverty."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/blogger/_mg7D3kYysfw/SiAn0bDIObI/AAAAAAAAM-I/UqFeepMTbcM/s400/12_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/blogger/_mg7D3kYysfw/SiAn0bDIObI/AAAAAAAAM-I/UqFeepMTbcM/s400/12_1.jpg" border="0" src="http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/blogger/_mg7D3kYysfw/SiAn0bDIObI/AAAAAAAAM-I/UqFeepMTbcM/s400/12_1.jpg" /></a>On the basis of their study of IRS filings, Allen and Harris found $344.4 million in Opus assets in the U.S. and roughly estimate a global total of $2.8 billion. If correct, that sum approximates Duke University's endowment, yet is hardly Vatican bailout money. But those figures are only part of the picture. Opus members and its sympathizers, known as "cooperators," can be very generous, and their funds hard to track. Allen's research suggests that a most likely unexpected $60 million gift (a hefty portion of its total U.S. assets) financed much of the Manhattan building. Longlea, the group's Washington-area mansion, was donated by a couple who had just bought it for $7.4 million. Father Michael Barrett, an Opus Dei priest who pastors a chapel in Houston, recently raised $4.3 million for a new building and says, "I can assure you that cooperators and supernumeraries have given at the $100,000 level." That largesse, credited officially to the Galveston-Houston archdiocese, would not show up even on Allen's scrupulous balance sheet. Nor would similar Opus-generated funds.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>HOW MUCH POWER DOES IT HAVE?</b><br />
Some have said that Opus' true secret is its clout in international politics. Poland's new conservative regime includes an Opus minister and several Opus officials, according to one of the group's Warsaw directors; membership there is rumored to be a political stepping-stone. In Peru, Juan Luis Cardinal Cipriani, the church's first openly Opus Dei Cardinal, was seen as having sanctioned antiterrorist excesses by the regime of former President Alberto Fujimori; he scoffed at the accusations, writing that most human-rights groups were "fronts for Marxist and Maoist political movements."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For years, Catholics in Washington have kept informal count of possible high-profile Opus people, including Justice Antonin Scalia and almost-Justice Robert Bork, Senators Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback, columnist Robert Novak and former FBI head Louis Freeh. The tally was not totally arbitrary: Freeh's child went to an Opus Dei school, and his brother was a numerary for a while; Scalia's wife has attended Opus events, and the Justice is close to an Opus priest; and Brownback, Bork and Novak converted to Catholicism under one's wing. Several have denied the rumors ("I can't stress enough that he is not a member," says Santorum's communications chief). But a bonus of Opus' new candor campaign is that it now states freely that not one of the powerful Washingtonians belongs.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The more complicated question is what influence Opus Dei exerts on nonmembers. Says Bohlin: "We generally avoid talking about anything political, so as not to come down on one side or the other." Then he pauses. "But when you're talking about abortion, that's not a political issue. That's a Catholic issue," he says. "There are certain issues that we take a clear stand with the church on, and many of them are hot-button issues." Of course, you don't have to be Opus to oppose abortion, euthanasia or gay marriage. But the prelature, with an office on the capital's lobbyist-laden K Street, can act as a kind of validator to a broader spectrum of traditionalists. Scott Appleby, a Catholic history expert at Notre Dame, estimates that through programs for nonmembers and the articulate piety of its members, Opus Dei informs "about a million conservative Catholics." That's just 1.5% of the 67 million Catholics nationally, but it's a trove of motivated voters a politician can love, and may explain why Santorum has spoken at Opus events, in one case quoting Escrivá: "'Have you ever bothered to think how absurd it is to leave one's Catholicism aside on entering a professional association [or] Congress, as if you were checking your hat at the door?'"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.2ds.ca/Prayer/hours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.2ds.ca/Prayer/hours.jpg" border="0" height="316" src="http://www.2ds.ca/Prayer/hours.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>DO MEMBERS REALLY WHIP THEMSELVES?</b></div>The man doing penance advised his associate to cover his head with a blanket; but the observer could not stop his ears. "Soon," said the witness, "I began to hear the forceful blows of his discipline ... there were more than a thousand terrible blows, precisely timed. The floor was covered in blood." That is not an early Da Vinci Code draft. It is a description of Opus Dei founder Escrivá's routine by his eventual successor, quoted in a biography of Escrivá. Escrivá emphasized that others should not emulate his ferocity. But numeraries are expected, although not compelled, to wear a cilice, a small chain with inward-pointing spikes, around the upper thigh for two hours each day, and to flail themselves briefly weekly, with a small rope whip called a discipline.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With rare exceptions, even angry defectors don't cite self-mortification, as it's known, as their deal killer. Lucy, a former numerary assistant (see box, following page), told TIME it was "nothing. It's not like The Da Vinci Code." Catholic laity and luminaries, including Mother Teresa, have used it to identify with Christ's--and the world's--agony. San Antonio Archbishop José Gomez, an Opus member, notes self-mortification's tie to Opus' roots: "In the Hispanic culture," he says, "you look at the crucifixes, and they have a lot of blood. We are more used to sacrifice in the sense of physical suffering."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>WHAT ABOUT RUMORS OF MIND CONTROL?</b><br />
Self-mortification resonates with critics because, as Allen points out, it provides a metaphor for what they see as an "inhumane approach within Opus Dei, which demands a kind of dominance over its members, body and soul." Unnerving stories have been passed by ex-numeraries to journalists or posted to the anti-Opus website odan.org Many involve charges of deceptive recruiting, with prospective members unaware that the events they are invited to are Opus', of numeraries' realizing only belatedly that Opus expects them to sign away their paycheck and curtail relations with their families. The music they play and the publications they read are allegedly controlled, and they must report their own and others' deviations as part of a system of "fraternal correction." Center directors are portrayed as little dictators. Complaining to local bishops is futile because of Opus' semi-independent status. The critics claim that when the numeraries try to leave, they are threatened with damnation. Experts who have helped extract the disaffected have likened center life to a cult. And Martin, the America editor, contends that he gets "dozens" of calls yearly from parents saying the group has estranged or brainwashed their numerary children.<br />
<br />
Opus responds that those who leave are a small minority, and Allen describes the mood around the many centers he visited as cheerful. Bohlin dismisses charges that prospective members are unaware of what to expect, pointing out that all go through an 18-month preparatory process. He says that in a group as loosely knit as he claims Opus to be, "you can't keep all the people happy all the time; you can't keep people from making mistakes." And he says the organization has mellowed. "I was running a center as a 25-year-old," Bohlin, now 51, notes. "At this point, we hopefully have more mature people. A green organization is different from one with more experience." To those who have been hurt, he says, "the only thing we can do is try to apologize and hope people understand, and you move on with your life." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>WHAT IS ITS FUTURE?</b><br />
Prior to last year's Papal election, rumor held that Opus might end up brokering the conclave, but it turned out Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger did not need a broker. And the new Pope may be less concerned with aiding Opus than with strengthening the church's hierarchy. Nonetheless, Opus' second in command, Fernando Ocáriz, worked closely with Ratzinger on one of his last great conservative gestures as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Dominus Jesus, a reassertion of the primacy of Catholicism over other religions. Other members are "consultors" to that key office, and Opus' canon lawyers saturate Rome. Asserts John Navone, a Jesuit theologian at Gregorian University: "They're in the forefront of the Vatican."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Opus' future in the U.S. is more complicated. Recently, on the 16th floor of the New York headquarters, 40 men did a guided contemplation. Two-thirds were visitors, some "meeting the Work" for the first time. While they sat, eyes closed, an Opus member intoned questions for them to ponder. "Do I realize that Christian life means finding and following Christ closely, no matter what the cost?" he asked: "Am I waging a generous inner struggle?" "Do I find in my work many opportunities for small sacrifices?" "Do I restrain my curiosity?"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That last one is a particularly telling query. Restraint of curiosity is not a virtue much trumpeted in the West today. That may help explain both why Opus' membership levels appear to have remained static in the U.S. over the past few decades and, perhaps, why it has attracted so much negative energy. "I don't believe Opus Dei is either a [cult] or a mafia or a cabal," a senior prelate of another religious community in Rome told TIME. It is just that "their approach is preconciliar. They originated prior to the Second Vatican Council, and they don't want to dialogue with society as they find it." That would not describe the majority of self-identifying American Catholics, who are distinctly postconciliar, with more than 75% opposing the birth-control ban. Their sympathy for Opus Dei might be limited. Some might even feel hostile toward it: church liberals, once riding high, have understood for decades that Rome does not incline their way. They feel abandoned, says Allen, "and whenever you feel that way, there's a natural desire to find someone to blame."<br />
<br />
If that is the case--if much of the negative feeling regarding Opus at this point is displaced anger over the direction of the church--then The Da Vinci Code may be the best fate that could befall it. The movie will not deter Opus' usual constituency--conservative Catholics do not look to Ron Howard for guidance. But by forcing Opus into greater transparency, the film could aid it: if the organization is as harmless and "mature" as Bohlin contends, then such exposure could bring in a bumper crop of devotees--with perhaps even more to come if, as seems likely, American Catholicism becomes both more Hispanic and more conservative.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
That is the kind of outcome Julian Cardinal Herranz, Opus' ranking Vatican official, expects. Long ago, he says, when he was editing a university newspaper, someone submitted a story claiming that Opus Dei was part of a worldwide conspiracy. Fascinated, Herranz began talking to Opus members, eventually becoming one himself. "That article I read was fiction," he says. "And now I'm here. I became a priest, I came to Rome, I became a bishop, and now a Cardinal. All because I read a fictional story about Opus Dei."<br />
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</div>Admin.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15779884355133821523noreply@blogger.com