Thoughts on Christianity

A place to relax and socialize - to muse, think aloud and suggest
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Under Babylonian and Persian Rule
By Yosef Eisen
...

Cyrus
Darius’ successor is known in world history as Cyrus the Great, and Jewish history likewise considers him to be an extraordinary person, albeit for different reasons. Cyrus permitted the Jews to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the Bais Hamikdash; indeed, his famous proclamation to that effect is the very last verse of the Bible: “Thus said Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘Hashem, G d of Heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has commanded me to build Him a Temple in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of His entire people — may G d be with him, and let him go up’” (II Chronicles 36:23).

This remarkable personality missed an opportunity to play a unique role in Jewish and world history. Had Cyrus personally involved himself in bringing the Jews back to Eretz Israel and building the Bais Hamikdash, he would have ushered in the Messianic Era. Two hundred years before Cyrus was born, Isaiah predicted the king’s reign, mentioning him by name. Bible critics, uncomfortable with such an accurate prophecy, try to say that there were three prophets named Isaiah, and that the third one lived during the time of Cyrus. However, the language and style of the book of Isaiah strongly indicate that there was only one author. Cyrus ruled for three years, 3390-3393.
...
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_ ... n-Rule.htm

In the words of Maxwell Smart, “Missed it by that much!”

Oh well, add it to the growing list of Persian/Iranian sins/shortcomings.

To the Germans who hope to be be let off the Holocaust hook sooner than later, keep dreaming!

And welcome to the Egyptian (Passover)- Iranian (Purim) "Never Again" Club, BTW.

Pack your bags, meine Freunde, 'cause you’re in for an extended...


The Guilt Trip Trailer (2012)

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezuLn0Eel6g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezuLn0Eel6g


Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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I don't think I need to elaborate much on the following articles. The problem, as I see it, is self-evident.

The Purim Story as a Model for Fighting anti-Semitism
Antisemitism, Take Action
By Michael Knopf

The Purim holiday, based on the events of the biblical Book of Esther, reminds me of the truth in William Faulkner’s famous line, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

The Book of Esther centers on the first explicit instance of anti-Semitism in recorded history. Nearly two thousand years later, anti-Semitism continues to be a significant global phenomenon, evidenced by incidents throughout Europe and, increasingly, throughout America and the rest of the world.

This reality was brought to my doorstep, when swastikas were spray-painted blocks away from my synagogue in Richmond, Virginia - an event that has since been replicated thousands of times in different forms on campuses, community and religious centers, and private homes.

For some, the parallel between history and current events might seem a cause for despair. Anti-Semitism, it seems, cannot be eradicated. While it may be true that it is impossible to vanquish irrational human hatred altogether, it seems to me that the Purim story actually offers some important lessons about successfully responding to anti-Semitism in our own time.

...

We may not be able to eradicate anti-Semitism, but through nurturing relationships within the Jewish community, with people of other religious and ethnic backgrounds, and with the State of Israel, we can, like the Jews of the Purim story, more readily withstand any threat or foe we might face.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS:

• How did you learn to interpret the story of Purim in relation to contemporary issues?

• Who helped you understand the relevance of Jewish history to your personal identity as a member of the Jewish nation?

• With antisemitism so widespread, and the lies believed more than facts, truth and historical evidence, how much do our efforts matter?

• If we cannot get rid of the continued transformation of Jew-hatred, how can we create a positive change in the public understanding of Jews and Jewish right?

https://israelforever.org/israel/celebr ... -semitism/


Wasn't Einstein's definition of insanity, doing something over and over again and expecting a different result?


Purim, the Invention of Anti-Semitism, and the Celebration of Jewish Creativity
The Book of Esther represents a turning point in Jewish history: the demonization of the Jews[?]
By Yaakov Elman

Hanukkah and Purim share their status as festivals established after the Sinaitic revelation; they were initiated by human beings responding to what they perceived as miraculous events, thus passing a human judgment on a hidden divine act. The rabbis contrast this voluntary acceptance of the Torah with the scene at Mount Sinai, when, as the Talmud puts it: “The Holy One, blessed be He, overturned the mountain upon them like an [inverted] cask, and said to them, ‘If you accept the Torah, ‘tis well; if not, there shall be your burial.’” In other words, Purim, when the Jews accepted the Torah willingly, is the completion of a process that began on that first Yom Kippur, when Moses descended the mountain bearing the second set of tablets containing the Decalogue.

In the light of all this, however, the paradox deepens: Why do we celebrate this by becoming drunk on Purim? And what does the Book of Esther, in which God is never mentioned explicitly, have to do with Torah study and explication? The key to understanding the puzzle of Purim lies in Haman’s charge against the Jews in Esther 3:8: “Their laws are different from every other nation, and they do not observe the King’s laws.” Nebuchadnezzer destroyed the Temple because the Judeans had rebelled. Haman was proposing to destroy them only because they and their laws were “different”—a charge that would echo throughout history.

The Book of Esther represents a turning point in Jewish history: the invention of anti-Semitism and the demonization of the Jews, whose laws are different and who are scattered; Purim thus represents both a new acceptance of those laws and a strengthening of the communal bonds of a scattered people. It also represents a new dispensation of divine governance: The age of open supernatural intervention was over. As the rabbis put it: Esther is prefigured in the Torah by the verse “I will surely hide (haster astir) my face from them” (Deuteronomy 31:18, see Talmud Hulin 139b).

Purim thus represented a double watershed: the removal of direct divine intervention along with the decay of idolatry; the Persian monarchy was Zoroastrian, a religion that did not worship idols, but rather the fire as a symbol of the creator, whom they called Ahura Mazda, “Lord Wisdom.” Lord Wisdom had revealed himself to Zoroaster with detailed prescriptions for leading a religiously sanctioned life. The Babylonian gods did not do that; with the advent of Zoroastrianism, Haman could attempt to manipulate Ahasuerus by pointing out a vital religious difference between the Persians and the Jews: therefore, “it is not worth tolerating them,” as he goes on to say.

Persians and Jews both worshiped a benevolent creator who was intent on extirpating evil and gave his worshipers laws to guide them in strengthening the forces for good. In such a case, one might expect the sociologists’ “Law of the Martian” to apply, that is, the smaller the differences between two views, the more intense the struggle between them. But in this case it was not so: The Persian emperors ruled the largest empire known to that time, consisting of 127 multi-ethnic and multi-religious provinces. Taxes were more important than religion. The Purim plot was very much an exception to the position of the Jews under successive Persian dynasties. And so, ultimately, Haman—who was not a Persian—failed, the Temple was rebuilt under Persian auspices, and the Jews and Persians went on to over a millennium of peaceful co-existence. But Purim remains and will remain, because that charge still has force: “Their laws are different!”

https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-a ... i-semitism


First they came for the Egyptians, and I did not speak out—because I was not Egyptian.

Then they came for the Iranians, and I did not speak out— because I was not Iranian.

Then they came for the Germans, and I did not speak out—because I was not German.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Battling hate in the spirit of Queen Esther
By Ellen Hershkin

Shots fired into a classroom window at an Indiana synagogue. Cemeteries desecrated in Pennsylvania, Missouri, and New York. Swastikas scrawled on Jewish buildings. More than 100 bomb threats called in to Jewish community centers.

History doesn’t always repeat itself, but echoes of the darkest chapters serve as warnings. We study the past and preserve our tradition so that we’ll recognize the signs. For these troubled days, the observance of Purim — commemorating the defeat of a plot to massacre the Jews in ancient Persia — is a timely reminder.
But as troubling as the recent anti-Semitic outrages are, the United States is not prewar Europe, let alone ancient Persia, where for all Queen Esther’s courage, protection depended on a king’s will. Here, the protection of the law and the fabric of society are with us.

https://www.hadassah.org/news-stories/b ... pirit.html

Fabric of society?

About Hadassah

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., was founded over a century ago, before Israel was a state, and before women could vote. Since that time, the organization has remained unwavering in its commitment to women’s health [abortions, birth control pills, mammograms, etc.] and well-being, to Israel, and to Jewish values [i.e. “De-Politicizing Anti-Semitism - Affirms that support for Israel and opposition to anti-Semitism must remain nonpartisan values.”] and continuity. But while Hadassah’s heritage and mission remain as strong as ever, the role of women and Jewish culture here and in Israel, has evolved over time. The organization, too, has evolved, taking on new challenges and developing new programs.

Hadassah believes in building a world where our Jewish values in action create strong community and an enduring Israel. That’s why our entire focus is on connecting and empowering Jewish women to effect change. We’ve done this for over 100 years and we will do it for the next 100—advancing health and well-being, advocating for women, and building community in the US and Israel. We invite all women who share our interests and passions to join in—to put their values into actions with us and through our programs.

https://www.hadassah.org/about/
Our History

Henrietta Szold

Born in 1860, Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold was raised in Baltimore, MD, by parents who encouraged education—even for a daughter. Henrietta was the first female editor of the Jewish Publication Society—then the premiere publisher of Jewish liturgical and secular texts. She defied convention and studied at Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the training ground for the conservative rabbinate, although female rabbis were unheard of in the early 1900s.

Henrietta saw the suffering of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, and organized English language and American citizenship night classes to provide them with greater opportunities. Her model of nighttime ESL schools continues to this day.

But it was a trip to pre-state Israel with her mother that changed Henrietta’s view of the world. She saw Jews living in camps without proper plumbing or sanitation. Horrified by the impact starvation and disease had on her people, she took action.

Returning to America, Henrietta founded Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America in 1912. Henrietta called for practical Zionism, proactive work to help meet the health needs of Palestine's people. She motivated Jewish women to support a feet-on the-ground approach to end the deplorable conditions in pre-state Israel [Palestine]. Their original mission was Aruhat Bat Ami: the Healing of the Daughter of my People.

Practical Zionism

The new organization's first act was to collect money and send two nurses to Palestine in 1913 to provide pasteurized milk to infants and new mothers, and to eradicate trachoma, an easily cured eye disease, that was robbing thousands of sight. From that beginning, Hadassah Medical Organization flourished over the next century into two world-class medical and research centers in Jerusalem. By 1918, Hadassah had sent an entire medical unit, comprised of 45 doctors, nurses, dentists and sanitary workers, to bring American-style medical care to the Middle East.

From these early efforts developed the beginning of the Israeli healthcare system, which today includes some of the world's leading research and treatment hospitals, and schools of medicine and nursing.

At the dawn of the Holocaust in Europe, in the 1930s, Henrietta Szold and a German colleague organized the rescue of thousands of Jewish children to safety in Palestine through Youth Aliyah. She met every boat as it arrived. Hadassah still supports Youth Aliyah villages for at-risk children in Israel.

Today, with 330,000 members, Associates and supporters, Hadassah remains committed to Jewish continuity and building a better world through medicine and healthcare, advocacy, and communities of women. In 2012 Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, celebrated its centennial in Israel. Not long before her death, when a sculptor was creating a bust of Henrietta Szold, she asked him to “make my eyes look to the future.” Henrietta Szold is testament to what one person, one organization, and one vision, can accomplish.

https://www.hadassah.org/about/history.html
Spice Girls Explain Girl Power

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5jeIg6sxj8
BlkGrlOnline
Some would say that the Spice Girls were "a force to be reckoned with" during the 90s. Because of their music, their "Girl Power" campaign reached millions across the world and left a huge impact. Here is a clip from their movie "One Hour of Girl Power" where they give their own definition of what Girl Power really means.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5jeIg6sxj8

Breast Cancer Awareness
What women need to know about breast cancer. We raise awareness and funds for research in creative ways. Learn about this disease and how to help yourself. <_<

Every Beat Counts
We’re teaching women everywhere about heart health, because heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women. Learn the facts. Your life could depend on it. :ph34r:

https://www.hadassah.org/get-involved/us-programs/
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Just in case you haven't already made the connection, dear reader, the "American-style" medical care that Henrietta Szold valiantly took to the Middle East was in actuality Rockefeller Medicine.

The Rockefeller University
Science for the benefit of humanity

A New Kind of Hospital

The Rockefeller Institute Hospital, crucial to the institute’s mission, opened in 1910. The first center for clinical research in the United States, it remains a place where researchers can link laboratory investigations with bedside observations to provide a scientific basis for disease detection, prevention, and treatment. Early on, researchers at the hospital studied polio, heart disease, and diabetes, among other diseases. This special hospital environment served as the model for dozens of other clinical research centers established in the next decades.

https://www.rockefeller.edu/about/history/


http://cluesforum.info/viewtopic.php?f= ... c#p2412059


Shortly thereafter the Far East felt the embrace of Rockefeller Medicine as well.


Preserving An Ancient Art - Kristin Nuttall

In Thailand, ancient wisdom of health and wellness
has survived for centuries as a powerful method
to sustain the people. Their concept of the body is
not limited to the physical plane, but also includes
a model for etheric energy. TTM encompasses the
four elements (Earth, Water, Fire and Wind) that are
associated with the energetic and physical bodies.
Supported by the spirituality of Theravada Buddhism,
treatment has developed in many forms,
ranging from spiritual counseling and nutrition, to
herbal remedies and iridology. Various ailments
are also addressed through therapeutic massage.
Sen line therapy is applied using point pressure
and yoga-based stretching. Also for self-renewal
is Ruesri Dut Ton; traditional Thai self-stretching
exercises, much like a blend of gentle Yoga
& Qi Gong. These methods keep the winds of the
body blowing free and unblocked. In Thai they say
“Bpert pratu lom”, meaning to open the wind gate.

The scientific mind cannot credit what it cannot see.
[Except for "viruses" of course]
Caged within the gates of suppression, Traditional
Thai Medicine suffered a great decline among Thai
people when pharmaceuticals began to replace
natural healing methods. During the 1950s, The
Rockefeller Foundation, a US enterprise, infiltrated
the Thai Education system. Disguised as a charitable
donation of Western technology, it imposed
the condition that, in exchange for bringing this new
information, existing methods
would be replaced
. Formerly, the knowledge of con-
ceptual anatomy and opening up the body for surgery
was unknown. Traditional Thai Medicine was
no longer taught conventionally in the universities.
To a certain extent, it was devalued and shamed.

Modern allopathic drugs began to change an entire
belief system, throwing Thai society out of its finely
tuned balance. Now that the glory of pharmaceuticals
is wearing off, people are beginning to realize
the potency of its side effects. Natural methods
never had such repercussions. Integrity was stolen
again at the time of the Vietnam war.
During a stage
of suppression and weakness of the old ways, opportunities
arose to abuse therapeutic massage and
Bangkokʼs prostitution ring grew. Their services
quickly became known as “Thai Massage.” Stripped
of their dignity, Thais were quick to lay the blame
on refugees from surrounding countries.While in the
cities traditional healing modalities were discredited
and suppressed, the traditional sen line therapy continued
to have a stronger presence in rural areas.
...

http://thaihealingalliance.com/wp-conte ... nt_Art.pdf

http://cluesforum.info/viewtopic.php?f= ... c#p2401571

Typical Zionism.
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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file this under:

DOWN BY LAW


Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Was (is) Jesus the Messiah?

Imagine you just convinced the missionary that Jesus was not a prophet, (not that it would be so easy). He may now argue that he is the Messiah. Let’s see if his claim holds any water. (Note: this is very important information to impart to the students, even if you teach nothing else in this curriculum guide)

a. The Messiah According To Judaism

One of the basic premises upon which Christianity rests is that Jesus was the Messiah predicted in the Jewish Bible. Judaism has always rejected this belief. Since the goal of “Hebrew Christian” missionaries is to convince Jews that Jesus did in fact fulfill the requirements of the promised Messiah, it is necessary to examine the Jewish understanding of the Messiah to understand why such claims are simply not true.

b. The Hebrew Roots Of The Word “Messiah”

The Hebrew word for “Messiah” is “Moshiach - .” The literal and proper translation of this word is “anointed,” which refers to a ritual of anointing and consecrating someone or something with oil (I Samuel 10:1-2). It is used throughout the Jewish Bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and/or objects; for example, a Jewish king (I Kings 1:39), Jewish priests (Leviticus 4:3), prophets (Isaiah 61:1), the Jewish Temple and its utensils (Exodus 40:9-11), unleavened bread (Numbers 6:15), and a non-Jewish king (Cyrus king of Persia, Isaiah 45:1). *

* Some form of the Hebrew word moshiach is used over 150 times in the Jewish bible. Christians consistently translate this word as anointed, except in the ninth chapter of Daniel. In this chapter missionaries deviate from this and other correct translations in an attempt to prove that the messiah came before the destruction of the Second Temple. Rather than speaking about “the messiah,” when read in context and with a correct translation this chapter clearly speaks about two different “anointed” subjects hundreds of years apart. a) The first is the anointed King Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1) who granted permission to the Jews to return and build the Second Temple 52 years “7 weeks of years” after the destruction of the First Temple. b) The second is the anointed priesthood (Leviticus 4:3) that was terminated 434 years “62 weeks of years” later.

c. The Criteria To Be Fulfilled By The Jewish Messiah

In accurate translations of Jewish Scriptures, the word “Moshiach” is never translated as “Messiah,” but as “anointed.” Nevertheless, Judaism has always maintained a fundamental belief in a Messianic figure. Since the concept of a Messiah is one that was given by God to the Jews, Jewish tradition is best qualified to describe and recognize the expected Messiah. This tradition has its foundation in numerous biblical references, many of which are cited below. Judaism understands the Messiah to be a human being (with no connotation of deity or divinity) who will bring about certain changes in the world and who must fulfill certain specific criteria before being acknowledged as the Messiah.

These specific criteria are as follows:

1) He must be Jewish. (Deuteronomy. 17:15, Numbers 24:17)

2) He must be a member of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and a direct male descendant of King David (I Chronicles 17:11, Psalms 89:29-38, Jeremiah 33:17, II Samuel 7:12-16) and King Solomon. (I Chronicles 22:10, II Chronicles 7:18)

3) He must gather the Jewish people from exile and return them to Israel. (Isaiah 27:12-13, Isaiah 11:12)

4) He must rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1)

5) He must bring world peace. (Isaiah 2:4, Isaiah 11:6, Micah 4:3)

6) He must influence the entire world to acknowledge and serve one G-d. (Isaiah 11:9, Isaiah 40:5, Zephaniah 3:9)

All of these criteria for the Messiah are best stated in chapter 37:24-28 of the book of Ezekiel:


“and My servant David will be a king over them, and they will all have one shepherd, and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them, and they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant...and I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forever and My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their G-d and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.” (Ezekiel 37:24-28)

Emphasis: If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Messiah!

d. Why Jesus Could Not Have Been The Jewish Messiah

A careful analysis of these criteria shows us that, although Jesus was Jewish, he did not fulfill any of the other criteria. An examination of the contradictory accounts of Jesus’ genealogy demonstrates a number of difficulties with the fulfillment of the second criterion. Specifically, the New Testament claims that Jesus did not have a physical father. The Jewish Scriptures, however, clearly states that a person’s genealogy and tribal membership is transmitted exclusively through one’s physical father (Numbers 1:18, Jeremiah 33:17). Therefore, Jesus cannot possibly be a descendant of the tribe of Judah nor of King David and King Solomon.

There are even further problems with any attempts to use the Jewish Scriptures to prove Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph, the husband of Mary (Jesus’ mother).
For the New Testament claims that Joseph was a descendant of King Jeconiah, who in the Hebrew Bible was cursed to never have a descendant “sitting on the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah” (Jeremiah 22:30). Joseph’s genealogy, even if it were transmittable to Jesus, would only serve to further disqualify Jesus as the Messiah.

Finally, there is the problem of the contradictory accounts of Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew, Chapter 1 and Luke, Chapter 3. The common Christian explanation of this contradiction claims that Luke’s genealogy is that of Jesus’ mother, Mary. However, this is unfounded, even according to the Greek original. In addition, it has already been established that genealogy is transferred solely through the father, making this attempted explanation completely irrelevant. Even if one could trace one’s genealogy through one’s mother, there would be the additional problem in that Luke 3:31 lists Mary as a descendant of David through Nathan, Solomon’s brother, and not through Solomon himself as is prophesied in I Chronicles 22:10 of the Jewish Bible.

The third, fourth, fifth and sixth criteria have obviously not been fulfilled, either during Jesus’ time or since. Any Christian claims that these final criteria will be fulfilled in a “Second Coming” are irrelevant because the concept of the Messiah coming twice has no scriptural basis.

To summarize, we cannot know that someone is the Messiah until he fulfills all of the above criteria.

The Christian understanding of the Messiah and Jesus differs greatly from the Jewish biblical view. These differences developed as a result of the Church’s influence during the time of the Emperor Constantine* and the Council of Nicaea that issued the Nicene Creed in 325 CE.

Emphasis: The Messiah was never meant to be an object of worship. His primary mission and accomplishment is to bring world peace and to fill the world with the knowledge and awareness of one G-d.

https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/ar ... he-messiah
DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 11, 2019.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential ... -semitism/

Meanwhile, back at the "objective" ranch:

Rise & Fall [Episode 1]: The Four Events That Significantly Emboldened Islamic Totalitarians

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYFxl-A ... e=youtu.be

The Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Salman Rushdie Affair, September 11th and the Charlie Hebdo Massacre. Are we in the Western world doomed to more and more attacks by Islamic totalitarians? And what can anyone do about it? The answer might surprise you.

In this episode of Rise & Fall, you’ll hear commentary from philosopher Ayn Rand, philosopher Leonard Peikoff, Ayn Rand Institute senior fellow Onkar Ghate and Ayn Rand Institute fellow and foreign policy expert Elan Journo.

We want to hear from you! After you listen, call the Rise & Fall line (888-673-5553) and comment on the show – what we covered, what we got right, what we got wrong and what we should cover next. The best comments may make it into future episodes.

Content used in this episode:

• Onkar Ghate, 2015, Charlie Hebdo, The West and the Need to Ridicule Religion[?!]
• Ayn Rand, 1980, In Q&A of Leonard Peikoff’s Objective Communication
• Leonard Peikoff, 1989, Certainty and Happiness — Achieving Success in Thought and Action

https://ari.aynrand.org/rise-fall-episo ... litarians/

We mustn't forget the 1972 "Black September" Olympics when the antisemitism baton was passed back to the ME from Germany.

Are We Doomed To Keep Suffering Attacks by Islamic Totalitarians?
https://ari.aynrand.org/are-we-doomed-t ... litarians/
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Christmas Column 2019
Paul Craig Roberts • December 24, 2019

Thank you for your support in 2019. Although you have kept me working yet another year, I find it encouraging that there are some Americans who can think independently and who want to know. As Margaret Mead said, it only takes a few determined people to change the world. Perhaps some of you will be those people.

My traditional Christmas column goes back to sometime in the 1990s when I was a newspaper columnist. It has been widely reprinted at home and abroad. Every year two or three readers write to educate me that religion is the source of wars and persecutions. These readers confuse religion with mankind’s abuse of institutions, religious or otherwise. The United States has democratic institutions and legal institutions to protect civil liberties. Nevertheless, we now have a police state. Shall I argue that democracy and civil liberty are the causes of police states?

Some readers also are confused about hypocrisy. There is a vast difference between proclaiming moral principles that one might fail to live up to and proclaiming immoral principles that are all too easy to keep.

In the days of my youth Christianity was still a potent force in America. It was part of most people’s lives, whether they were believers or not, and it regulated their behavior. That is why in Atlanta during the 1940s and 1950s we did not have to lock our door at night, and boys and girls could be gone all day without parental supervision and be completely safe. It is why I, as a 5-year old, could walk a mile safely to school and return home safely. Today parents who allowed such independence would be arrested for “child endangerment.”

The power of Christian morality over behavior has faded substantially. Nevertheless, even today in the remains of our civilizational foundations many, if not most, people are still guided by Christian morality. As Christian tradition fades as the basis of behavior, barbarity will gather more strength and reign over us.

Liberty is a human achievement. We have it, or had it, because those who believed in it fought to achieve it and to preserve it. As I explain in my Christmas column, people were able to fight for liberty because Christianity empowered the individual.

The other cornerstone of our culture is the Constitution. Indeed, the United States is the Constitution. Without the Constitution, the United States is a different country, and Americans a different people. This is why assaults on the Constitution by the regimes in Washington are assaults on America that are far worse than any assaults by terrorists. There is not much that we can do about these assaults, but we should not through ignorance enable the assaults or believe the government’s claim that safety requires the curtailment of civil liberty.

In a spirit of goodwill, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a successful New Year.

Paul Craig Roberts

Diversity at home and hegemony abroad are consuming values and are dismantling the culture and the rule of law. There is plenty of room for cultural diversity in the world, but not within a single country. A Tower of Babel has no culture. A person cannot be a Christian one day, a pagan the next and a Muslim the day after. A hodgepodge of cultural and religious values provides no basis for law – except the raw power of the pre-Christian past.

https://www.unz.com/proberts/christmas-column-2019/


Tower of Babel, indeed. If it’s any consolation, Iran’s immigration situation has been a nightmare as well.


Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home
By Shirin Hakimzadeh
September 1, 2006

The Islamic Republic of Iran has captured the world's attention. The hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the international community's subsequent focus on a nuclear weapons program, combined with the country's involvement in the ongoing crises in the Middle East, have all contributed to keeping Iran firmly in the spotlight.

Although Iran has been seemingly isolated from much of the outside world since the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979, its borders have by no means been closed. To the contrary, the country has produced and hosted abundant flows of emigration and immigration, a steady coming and going mainly driven by key political events.

However, what makes Iran's migration story unique is that it has experienced simultaneous emigration and immigration to extreme degrees. In its recent history, Iran has laid claim to producing the highest rates of brain drain in the world while simultaneously topping the list as the world's largest refugee haven, mainly for Afghans and Iraqis. Iran also exhibits one of the steepest urban growth rates in the world, largely driven by internal migration from rural areas.

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/ ... gees-home/


Here's to a more sane and peaceful 2020!


Iranian Poetry 'Bani Adam' Inscribed On United Nations Building Entrance

Iranian poet Sa'adi [Shirazi], from the 13th century, is one of the major influential Persian poets of the medieval period. He is recognised in the literary world for the quality of his writing style and in the spiritual realm for the depth of his thoughts.

Sa'adi is best known for his works 'Gulistan' and 'Busan', poetry which emphasised a unity in mankind, an interdependence regardless of social barriers and labels. Many of his poems greatly impacted India, and had influence throughout central Asia.

One particular poem written eight centuries ago became a motto and decorates the gate of the United Nations building entrance. Bani Adam, the Children of Adam, is an aphorism calling for the breaking of all barriers and was quoted by president Obama in a meeting with Iranian leaders. You can look that up.

A simpler translation that I like:

The sons of Adam are limbs of each other,
Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity of time affects one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others,
You are unworthy to be called by the name of a Human.


http://www.zaufishan.co.uk/2011/09/iran ... ed-on.html

United Nations connection

The first Iranian representative to the League of Nations (the predecessor of the United Nations) from 1928 to 1930 was Mohammad Ali Foroughi, the editor of Saadi's works.[27] In a speech made in Paris in 1929, Foroughi described how at a banquet of the League of Nations in Geneva in September 1928, an Albanian representative (who had apparently learnt Persian when Albania was still part of the Ottoman Empire) had made the suggestion that Saadi's poem would make a good motto for the organisation.[28]
...
The sentiment of Saadi's poem can be seen to conform to the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948,[31] of which the first article reads as follows:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bani_Adam


Mohammad Ali Foroughi
, who was a powerful figure during the reign of Reza Shah, was of Baghdadi Jewish origin and was looked upon with suspicion among the Iranian elite circles. Mohammad-Taqi Bahar wrote the following to warn Mohammad Reza Pahlavi about him:

O King, let me tell you about the wickedness of Foroughi. That vile Jew will make you suffer greatly—he will write your coronation and dismissal speech, just as he wrote them for your father (Reza Shah).


http://cluesforum.info/viewtopic.php?f= ... 0#p2412409

And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
Couldn't get away
:)
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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File this under:

“Christian” Zionists


'Let There be Light': Sean Hannity Stands for Christianity with New Film
10-24-2017 CBN News
Sean Hannity is taking on Hollywood… :rolleyes:
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/oc ... h-new-film

Tinseltown's bravest chickenhawk.

The Real Reason Americans Support Israel (Hint: It’s Not AIPAC)
The not-so-secret history of Christian Zionism and its legacy
By Samuel Goldman, February 15, 2019

In 1844, the New York University professor of Hebrew George Bush, an ancestor of the presidents, published a commentary on Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. Rejecting arguments that the restoration of Israel had to wait for a miracle, he argued:

When the Most High accordingly declares that he will bring the house of Israel into their own land, it does not follow that this will be effected by any miraculous interposition which will be recognized as such. … It does not appear, therefore, that any special duty of Christians is involved in this predicted lot of Israel, except so far as governmental action may be requisite in removing the political obstacles that stand in the way of the event.

https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-a ... ort-israel

Hmmm...
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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File this under:

JEW-ISH



“God does not play dice with the universe!”
-Saint Albert Einstein


Neither do the Kings of Sin City.

My Pilgrimage to Kirk Kerkorian’s Final Resting Place
March 6, 2019, Manouk Akopyan

In 2011, I interviewed Kerkorian’s former right hand man Alex Yemenidjian, who ran much of his business empire for 16 years before owning his own Las Vegas casino with the Tropicana. Yemenidjian told me, “If you are a Jewish kid, there are 2,000 of these guys. If you are an Armenian kid, there is only one Kirk Kerkorian. Mr. Kerkorian is a gentleman’s gentleman, and without question he is the smartest person I have ever known. It was like getting private lessons from Michael Jordan for 16 years. I was very fortunate to be in that position.”

https://armenianweekly.com/2019/03/06/m ... ing-place/

5 Amazing Facts About Kirk Kerkorian
By Brad Tuttle, June 16, 2015

He used to be four times as rich. According to Forbes, the world’s oldest billionaire is David Rockefeller, Sr., who turned 100 on June 12. Until he passed away at the age of 98, Kerkorian was the second-oldest billionaire, with a net worth of roughly $4 billion. As recently as 2008, however, Kerkorian was worth $16 billion. Kerkorian’s investments have taken a significant hit in value since then. While Kerkorian himself was not known to be an outlandish spender (he reportedly drove a Ford Taurus for a while), the same can’t be said of younger members of the Kerkorian clan. Some $450,000 was reportedly spent on his grandson’s 2014 Bar Mitzvah, which featured performances by Iggy Azalea and Nick Jonas.

https://money.com/kirk-kerkorian-facts/

Wild world... :P
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Inanna (Ishtar) - Akkadian Queen of Heaven, Goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, justice, and political power


Inanna[a] is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess associated with love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, justice, and political power. She was originally worshipped in Sumer and was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians under the name Ishtar. She was known as the "Queen of Heaven" and was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her main cult center. She was associated with the planet Venus and her most prominent symbols included the lion and the eight-pointed star. Her husband was the god Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz) and her sukkal, or personal attendant, was the goddess Ninshubur (who later became the male deity Papsukkal).

Inanna was worshipped in Sumer at least as early as the Uruk period (c. 4000 BC – c. 3100 BC), but she had little cult prior to the conquest of Sargon of Akkad. During the post-Sargonic era, she became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Sumerian pantheon,[4][5] with temples across Mesopotamia. The cult of Inanna-Ishtar, which may have been associated with a variety of sexual rites, was continued by the East Semitic-speaking people who succeeded the Sumerians in the region. She was especially beloved by the Assyrians, who elevated her to become the highest deity in their pantheon, ranking above their own national god Ashur. Inanna-Ishtar is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible and she greatly influenced the Phoenician goddess Astoreth, who later influenced the development of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Her cult continued to flourish until its gradual decline between the first and sixth centuries AD in the wake of Christianity, though it survived in parts of Upper Mesopotamia as late as the eighteenth century.

Inanna appears in more myths than any other Sumerian deity.[6][7][8] Many of her myths involve her taking over the domains of other deities. She was believed to have stolen the mes, which represented all positive and negative aspects of civilization, from Enki, the god of wisdom. She was also believed to have taken over the Eanna temple from An, the god of the sky. Alongside her twin brother Utu (later known as Shamash), Inanna was the enforcer of divine justice; she destroyed Mount Ebih for having challenged her authority, unleashed her fury upon the gardener Shukaletuda after he raped her in her sleep, and tracked down the bandit woman Bilulu and killed her in divine retribution for having murdered Dumuzid. In the standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar asks Gilgamesh to become her consort. When he refuses, she unleashes the Bull of Heaven, resulting in the death of Enkidu and Gilgamesh's subsequent grapple with his mortality.

Inanna-Ishtar's most famous myth is the story of her descent into and return from Kur, the ancient Sumerian Underworld, a myth in which she attempts to conquer the domain of her older sister Ereshkigal, the queen of the Underworld, but is instead deemed guilty of hubris by the seven judges of the Underworld and struck dead. Three days later, Ninshubur pleads with all the gods to bring Inanna back, but all of them refuse her except Enki, who sends two sexless beings to rescue Inanna. They escort Inanna out of the Underworld, but the galla, the guardians of the Underworld, drag her husband Dumuzid down to the Underworld as her replacement. Dumuzid is eventually permitted to return to heaven for half the year while his sister Geshtinanna remains in the Underworld for the other half, resulting in the cycle of the seasons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna


The Sisters of Mercy - Temple of Love (Official Music Video with lyrics)

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JXbKXotujc

R.I.P. Ofra Haza November 19, 1957 - February 23, 2000

If the lyrics, subtitle does not show up then turn on the 'Closed Captions'!

This song is on the 'Some Girls Wander by Mistake' compilation album by English band the Sisters of Mercy, released on their own label Merciful Release, distributed by Eastwest/Warner Music UK, on 27 April 1992.

"Temple of Love" is the only song from the 1980-1983 time period that had an actual extended version. The album contains the extended version of the original recording, but "Temple of Love" was re-recorded in 1992 to promote the compilation album's release. "Temple of Love 1992" featured Israeli vocalist Ofra Haza. Like the original recording, the re-recording had an extended version, which was contained on the 1992 CD single.

Cover versions of "1969", originally recorded by the Stooges, and "Gimme Shelter", originally recorded by the Rolling Stones, both of which appeared as B-sides (on the Alice and Temple of Love 12" EPs, respectively), were included on the album as well.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JXbKXotujc
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Uncut 1992 version:

OFRA HAZA with SISTERS OF MERCY - Temple of Love

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfp62uuubPQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfp62uuubPQ
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
-Mike Tyson


Sean Hannity calls for Trump to discard rules of engagement with Iran and “bomb the living hell out of them”
Published 01/03/20 10:30 PM

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): The president proved something with the caliphate in Syria when he wiped them out. He took off the rules of engagement of Obama and bomb the living hell out of them. Can that be done with Iran?

LINDSEY GRAHAM:
Well what you can do is you can hit them where they're the weakest. What would destroy the Iranian economy is to take them out of the oil business. Here is why it is important to let Iran know what will come their way if they continue to come after Americans. I think the target list that the president is looking at if they continue to escalate is inside of Iran itself. I want them the Ayatollah to know that if you continue to come after Americans, everything is on the table including your oil refineries. I’m not speaking for the president but I do believe the target list includes targets inside of Iran. The cost of killing an American has gone up exponentially after killing Soleimani. We are safer today and if I were an Iraqi, I would choose America over the Ayatollah. :blink: We are a much better friend and a much better bet.

HANNITY: I would imagine that those refineries and maybe even those nuclear sites that are buried deep underground could be potential targets.

https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hanni ... l-out-them


Senior United States Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham @ 23:14

Sean Hannity 1/3/20 FULL | Sean Hannity Fox News January 3,2020

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyiDYP0BIog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyiDYP0BIog

26:40 - Sean Hannity:
"Nobody would have imagined five years ago Jordan, Egypt, Saudis, Israel, US, the Emirates would all be working against Iranian Hegemony…" <_<
Last edited by ICfreely on Sun Jan 05, 2020 12:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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For some reason the Faux has cut Hannity’s circus to 22:17 now. Where's the Senator?

Hmmm…

Sean Hannity 1/3/20 | Breaking Fox News January 3,2020


full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8xXlCkVa3Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8xXlCkVa3Q

Michael Putnam 15 hours ago
Bravo Sean. Onward Christian soldiers, we seek peace, but will not cower from a fight. Peace be with you all.

Zombie "see" zombie do! :mellow:
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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ICfreely wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:58 am file this under:

DOWN BY LAW


These specific criteria are as follows:

1) He must be Jewish. (Deuteronomy. 17:15, Numbers 24:17)

2) He must be a member of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and a direct male descendant of King David (I Chronicles 17:11, Psalms 89:29-38, Jeremiah 33:17, II Samuel 7:12-16) and King Solomon. (I Chronicles 22:10, II Chronicles 7:18)

3) He must gather the Jewish people from exile and return them to Israel. (Isaiah 27:12-13, Isaiah 11:12)

4) He must rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1)

5) He must bring world peace. (Isaiah 2:4, Isaiah 11:6, Micah 4:3)

6) He must influence the entire world to acknowledge and serve one G-d. (Isaiah 11:9, Isaiah 40:5, Zephaniah 3:9)



The only guy I can think of is...
David de Rothschild- Plastic Jesus?

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7-fSHPWeZg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7-fSHPWeZg

Straight out of central casting.

All hail the King of Bling Bling!


B.G. Feat Big Tymers & Hot Boyz - Bling Bling (1999) (HD)


full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnRnKHS5ds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnRnKHS5ds

Pinky ring worth about fiddy.
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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File this under:

King of the Ring


Mike Tyson exposes the Rothschild Banking System

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssJmrnsdZ90
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssJmrnsdZ90
ICfreely
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Re: Thoughts on Christianity

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Matthew 15:11
It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.
Meditate on that, Sean.

When guys like you and your buddy, Rush, idiotically run your mouths off spewing toxic nonsense about Iran you:

1) Treat Iranians like goyim, which in turn makes you the actual goyim.

2) Make Americans look bad with your infantile behavior.

3) Repulse Iranians.


And you have the audacity to call us uncivilized?! :lol:

You can hide behind the flag and cross all you want, Sean, but I don't buy it for a second.

You and Lush always manage to bring up the Hostage Crisis and quote Ahmadinejad in your sophomoric diatribes.

When you starve a country and constantly threaten to "bomb the HELL out of them," you actually condemn yourself to HELL, my dear Sean.


If you want to be treated with respect, you must treat others with respect, Sean.

You don't get to treat others like garbage because your country has the coolest new bombs, Sean.
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