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Mk 5:1-20 MAN IN CHAINS
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"...God chose the lowly of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. (1Cor 1:28)
What beautiful commentary! It is worth mediating on for hours. "Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord (Ps 31:25). The man in chains had his chains finally broken by the man with the key to life!
Again, it is a call to humility; a call to place your life in the Lord's hands. Allow him to take possession of it. Allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in you so that He can do great things through you. We have the examples of the ancients from long ago: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, "who by faith conquered Kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. (Heb 11:33-34)
The Lord is calling us to holiness through humility. The Beatitudes are the wakeup call, the call to arms, for all those who wish to fall into His arms - to be His followers! He thirsts! He desires! He is dying to configure us into his image and likeness. He wants His Light to radiate through this little candle of mine. The Lord loves the meek and humble of heart. He loves those who love those who do not love. This is how he multiples himself, by going after the lost sheep, the lost son, the possessed, the forgotten, the lowly and despised of the world. He proves over and over again that wealth and power have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with holiness. In fact, they are an obstacle. "Whoever wishes to lose his life for my sake, will gain it.
We live in a period of time where devotion and church attendance appears low and skepticism and self-love appear to be at an all-time high. But the Gospel message rings loud and clear, and in a way that continues to bewilder society at large. The Lord continues to call men, women and children to holiness, and we bear witness to the birth (and death) of Saints. He continues to do so even in the least likely of places. The call to righteousness continues. The Lord brings to the front the least, the unlikeliest, the last and makes them first.
Where? Where are the meek and humble of heart? "Mark Wahlberg", a daily communicant, is not a saint because he is a fighter, and went from rags to riches over night. He is a living testimony of the humility of a simple priest who never gave up on him, even as the one time juvenile delinquent was smirking at him and lying through his teeth! Humility never gives up on anyone and neither do the saints!
Young "Jordon Rice" of Australia is not a saint because he had to make the toughest decision in his life. He is a saint because he made it! Out of humility he lived the Gospel truth: "No greater love has man than to lay down his life for his brother."
No one should ever idolize a young American simply because he sings well, but Chris Medina deserves the title of American Hero because he refuses to walk out on his severely injured fianc'e. Chris is worthy of respect and admiration because he broke the chain of selfishness and embraced the ring of commitment. After all, a holy man is someone who imitates our humble God, who bore all our infirmities and iniquities for our sake.
Let us all help those in chains by breaking them and restoring them to life!
Origin: http://thelema-and-faith.blogspot.com
"Feris set the candle in the alcove. His companions stood around him, looking out into the darkness of the huge hall. Somewhere, just outside of the torchlight, were dozens of moving things. Things that clicked and hisseed, a hard wet sound that made Nimble's hair stand on end. Feris opened his water skin, and poured a drop onto the candle. The hall was quickly filled with wavy reflected bluish light, revealing a swarm of gnashing kruthiks. "
"The creatures were clearly agitated by the light, and they crept back into the shadows. "
The Elemental Candle (Water) doubles the range of any light within 20 feet (4 square) of the candle, and causes any creatures within the newly expanded area of light (but not the original radius of the light) to take a +4 vs will attack/save versus spells or back out of the area of the light. The candle must be resting on a solid surface to be used, and clean water must be used to light it, and it will "burn" for a total of 2 hours. This counts as a Level 6 magic item.
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As a drum circle facilitator, I get asked a lot about how to work with shamanic drums. Drums are an essential part of shamanic work; we use them for journeying, healing and celebration, both for ourselves and for the community. Additionally, the shamanic techniques of extraction, soul retrieval and divination can all be performed with the drum. Yet many people I meet who acquire a drum say they want to work with it but they are not sure how to. Connecting with the spirit of the drum is the first step in learning how to work with it.
There are many ways to connect with a drum. Some shamanic practitioners craft their own drums. A drum of your own creation will be imbued with your own unique essence. It will become a powerful extension of your essential self. Moreover, the spirit of a drum will pass through your hands into the drum as you make it. Other practitioners may choose to purchase drums, and then decorate them in ways that infuse their own energy into it.
One of the best ways to connect with a drum is by journeying to meet the spirit of your drum. Begin by smudging the drum, and then call upon the spirit of the drum and ask it to come to you and become your ally. To support your journey, you can play the drum you are working with or listen to a shamanic journey drumming recording while holding the drum.
When you meet the spirit of the drum, it may teach you some special ways you can use the drum for your shamanic work that you did not know before. It may have a specific name, purpose or type of energy (for example some feel very grounding, others more ethereal). Your drum may wish to be played, decorated or stored in a particular way. It may teach you a rhythm for invoking and enlivening it. When a helping spirit is invoked, there is often an accompanying rhythm that comes through. Be open to the possibilities.
If the initial communication with the spirit of the drum is not very clear, that's OK. Journeys like this can be repeated a number of times, in fact it is a good thing to do just to develop an ongoing relationship. You can journey to connect with the spirit of your drum as often as you like. To learn more, read "Waking the Drum."
Source: http://paganism-new-age.blogspot.com
Man has always been fascinated with the Moon and it's effects on the human consciousness. On Full Moon nights, something happens to us. With the initiation of the trance dance experience Full Moon nights turn out to be unforgettable experiences ranging across the spectrum of extreme polarities. There are some of us who take the opportunity to rejuvenate our connection with the Moon, dancing to the mystical vibe we collectively create when we come together on higher ground of collective consciousness. The beauty of our thoughts manifests as our collective experience as we individually transcend our acquired identities and commune as ONE, Cosmic Spirit ! Infinite ! We see everyone as reflections of the ONE divine source of all creation ! Everything is God ! God is Love ! Love is All !
One of the biggest Full Moon Festivals is the Full Moon Festival, Germany held each year at a picturesque location in Germany for a period of 4 days. They have a Psychedelic / Full On Stage, a Progressive-Electronic Stage, a Chill Out-Ambient Stage and this year they had a special Dark Psychedelic Stage with about 150 major Global Artists spinning foot stomping music non stop for 4 days ! Organizing a festival as big as this takes a whole lot of planning and ensuring all accounts are taken care of. You can see the details about the festival on their home page.
The Boom Festival Portugal has come really strong over the years bringing together music, art and creative innovation to all these wonderful people from all cultures of the world. The Healing Area was a novelty at Boom 2008. With therapies and holistic projects being held every day, a new concept of entertainment was being made at Boom. Going to Boom Festival should be on your things to do list !
Nepal has an ancient heritage of Shamanic rituals on Full Moon Nights. One of Nepal's most famous religious places of pilgrimage is Gosainkunda lake situated at an altitude of about 4312 m. Surrounded by high mountains on the north and east, this lake is grand and picturesque. Every year during Janai Purnima in August, thousands of Hindu pilgrims come here for pilgrimage and it is quite a sight.
The large rock in the center of the lake is said to be the remains of a Shiva shrine and it is also claimed that channel carries water from the lake directly to the tank at the Kumbheshwar Temple in Patan, 60 km to the south. Shamans ("Dhami") come from all over Nepal arrive to the lake and on full moon night.
There is much dancing and singing. This day is considered holy by the shamans whereby apprentices or "Jhankris" graduate into full shamans. Trekking in August can be a bit wet as the monsoon is at its last stages, but the greenery is at its best and since it is not peak season, it is best for people who do not want to be part of the crowd.
There are many more Full Moon Festivals and we shall cover each of these individually, including the BoOm Festival which deserves an exclusive article to it's name !
((( We are One... BoOm )))
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BOOK: KABBALA DENUDATA THE KABBALAH UNVEILED BY SAMUEL LIDDELL MACGREGOR MATHERS
Simultaneously with the publication of the Qabalah in 1887, he received instructions from his occult teachers to prepare what was eventually to become his esoteric school. In this connection were associated with him the late Dr.
Woodman and the late Dr. Wynn?Westcott, both eminent Masons and Qabalists. They, with my husband, held high Office in the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, and other Masonic bodies. Since the year 1887, when the first edition of the Qabalah Unveiled appeared, the whole attitude of the thinking world has changed considerably towards occult philosophy and science.
The gigantic strides made by science since the end of the last century, the staggering facts disclosed by its practical demonstrations, simultaneously with the development of the great occult movement, must strike all thoughtful people as the evidence of some imminent change in the evolution of this planet.
Material science would appear to be spiritualizing itself and occult science to be materializing itself. If not clasping hands, they are certainly making tentative attempts in that direction. The Ancient Wisdom, the Sacred The general constitution of the teaching, the skeleton of the work, was handed to him by his occult teachers together with a vast amount of oral instruction.
The object of the establishment of this school was similar to that of the foundation in ancient times of centres for the Celebration of the Mysteries. The literature of this school, with a few exceptions, was written by my husband under the direction of these teachers, based upon the ancient mysteries, chiefly those of Egypt, Chaldea and Greece, and brought up to date to suit the needs of our modern mentalities.
It is a system eminently suited to Western occultism, which a man can follow while living the ordinary life of the world, given that this is understood in its highest sense. Dr. Woodman and Dr. Wynn Westcott aided in the administrative side of this school and its teaching to a certain extent. M. MACGREGOR MATHERS.
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"The next installment in Gardner Fox's saga of Niall of the Far Travels is "The Thing from the Tomb," which appeared in issue #23 (March 1979) of Dragon". What's interesting about this series is that, unlike Robert E. Howard's Conan tales, they're told in chronological order. Fox implies that Niall has other adventures "between "the published short stories, but each of them clearly takes place after the one that preceded it. Consequently, when we meet Niall at the beginning of "The Thing from the Tomb," he's still in the employ of King Lurlyr Manakor of Urgrik, as he was in "The Stolen Sacrifice." This time, though, he's the supreme commander of the king's armies and is leading a large number of his troops into the Balakanian Desert, where he's on an inspection tour of the forts that dot this desolate area.
While traveling, Niall encounters a wounded veteran, whom he quickly moves to aid. When asked what happened to him, he replies:
The man opened his eyes.
"Death," he whispered. "Death came in the night and -" He choked and his eyes closed. Niall leaned closer, his arm about the man, half lifting him as if to ease him of his pain. The soldier smiled, nodded. His eyes opened once again. "Beware the fort. They're all dead, inside it. Only I got away. Crawled. Crawled until I-could crawl no more."
His hand closed on Niall's wrist. "Beware the thing in the fort. It cannot - be killed..."
The man shuddered and writhed as pain ate inside him. He gasped at the hot desert air and stared upward into the face of the man who bent above him.
"It began when they were di-digging... digging to find more water. They - uncovered an old-tomb. And then..."
The man shuddered once more, violently, and then his body sagged. Niall looked down at him with pity in his eyes. Pity and - admiration. If this man had not struggled and fought to crawl out this far away from the frontier fort, he and his men would have ridden into untold danger.It's a fairly clich'ed beginning to what is my least favorite of these stories so far, but one that nevertheless continues to develop Niall's character in ways that clearly distinguish him from Conan and his many literary doppelgangers. That, for me, is what makes "The Thing from the Tomb" worth reading, despite the weakness of its story.
After meeting the veteran, Niall decides to head off - alone - to investigate the fort from which the dying man came. When his lieutenant questions the wisdom of this, the barbarian explains, "I am one man. I may discover what the thing is that has killed. One man may hide where many cannot. Besides, now that I command the armies of the king, mine is the duty to protect them." This explanation makes no sense whatsoever in my opinion. But it "sounds "noble, establishing that Niall takes his responsibilities as commander seriously. More importantly, it separates him from a huge number of professional soldiers, thus making it possible to place him in credible danger.
In time, Niall learms that the Balakanian Desert was once the realm of Sosaria Thota.
"A most famous witch. Some said she was the daughter of a demon, She ruled this part of the world with cruel fingers. Kings and emperors paid her fortunes to have her cast spells for them."I do not think I'm surprising anyone by revealing that Sosaria Thota is not in fact dead and that she is "the thing" mentioned in the short story's title, whose awakening led to the destruction of the desert fort. When Sosaria meets Niall, she is impressed by his honesty when he says that he would slay her to protect Urgrik. She then asks him of the current state of the world and commands him to show it to her. Niall reluctantly agrees, hoping that he might find a way to destroy her, as he originally intended. How he goes about this is the true meat of the story.
As I said, "The Thing from the Tomb" is fairly weak as a story. Too much of its narrative happens simply because it "must "or else Gardner Fox can't advance his plot. At the same time, I find myself sufficiently interested in Niall and his world that I am willing to put aside such concerns and allow myself to be carried forward. Whether a reader is able to do that will probably determine whether or not they, too, will enjoy "The Thing from the Tomb."
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No one elected Barack Obama to be Pope. So why on Earth is he forcing Catholics to violate their religious doctrines?
President Barack Obama went a long way this month to proving conservative critics correct when they paint the president as aloof and arrogant. In a long-anticipated decision, Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius mandated that employers provide coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients at no charge - not even copays - as part of the ObamaCare regulation of health insurance. That mandate exempts "places of worship," but not religiously affiliated organizations such as schools, charities, and hospitals. When an eruption of outrage followed the announcement of this new rule, Obama announced an "accommodation" - without once bothering to consult the religious organizations impacted by the rule, nor changing the impact of the rule one whit through the supposed "compromise."
Obama's "diktat" to Catholics demonstrates just how arrogant the president can be.
SEE MORE: The 'permanent patients' in America's hospitals
First, let's take a look at the differences between the original rule published in late January and the supposed accommodation offered last Friday, as economist Greg Mankiw helpfull explains it. The original rule (A) required employers to buy health insurance that covers contraception and abortifacients for its employees. The compromise (B) requires employers to buy health insurance for its employees, and have the health insurer communicate its coverage for contraception and abortifacients to the employees. As Mankiw notes, the employer still bears the cost of the health insurance which will cover the costs of those products and services, so it's impossible to support B but not A, or A but not B. There is no substantive difference between the two positions.
Employers still have to provide coverage - at no cost, not even copays - for contraception and abortifacients such as "ella" and Plan B, as well as IUDs. Here's a question few are asking: Why? Obama and his administration insist that women need better access to contraception and abortifacients, but few women have problems accessing them. The CDC reported in 2009 that contraception use wasn't exactly lacking: "Contraceptive use in the United States is virtually universal among women of reproductive age: 99 percent of all women who had ever had intercourse had used at least one contraceptive method in their lifetime." Of all the reasons for non-use of contraception in cases of unwanted pregnancy, lack of access doesn't even make the CDC's list; almost half of women assumed they couldn't get pregnant (44 percent), didn't mind getting pregnant (23 percent), didn't plan to have sex (14 percent), or worried about the side effects of birth control (16 percent). In fact, the word access appears only once in this study of contraceptive use, and only in the context of health insurance, not contraception.
SEE MORE: Will Obama's contraception compromise help his campaign?
The mandate for no-cost insurance coverage makes no business sense, either. Insurers operate risk pools, and the more risks one group creates, the more they are expected to contribute to balance the risk for the other participants. For instance, when a driver buys insurance, his rates depend on a number of factors, including age, vehicle type, area of residence, driving record, and the number of miles driven in a year. If a driver chooses to drive more than 7,500 miles in a year, the risk increases, and so do premiums for that driver. If the insurer spread the cost of this one driver's increased risk across the whole pool of drivers, it would disincentivize risk minimization. Adults can choose to be sexually active. They might require contraception. But if the government mandates coverage of those products, shouldn't the people choosing that riskier behavior be expected to contribute "more" rather than less, to keep the rest of the risk pool from paying for their increased access?
The White House and HHS insist that this is immaterial, because it's cheaper to provide the contraceptive coverage than to exclude it. This is based on a cost-benefit analysis that claims that the use of contraception and abortifacients lower health-care costs for women. If that's true, however, health insurers wouldn't need a mandate to add such coverage to existing plans. The problem with this analysis is that it ignores the fact that insurers have to cover the up-front cost of such products and services, while any possible savings (by preventing more expensive pregnancy and childbirth costs) would occur over a much longer period of time. Those up-front costs will be borne by those paying the premiums - in this case, the employers (and sometimes, partially, by employees.)
SEE MORE: The Catholic Church vs. 'ObamaCare'
The insistence on enforcing a mandate on private employers to cover contraception use at no additional cost to the employee is arrogant. When has the U.S. ever mandated to private employers that they had to give away products and services for free? But in relation to religious organizations, it's more than arrogant. It flies in the face of religious freedom, and not just for Catholics (although we provide a clear example for the purposes of this debate).
SEE MORE: Obama's birth control compromise: 'Still unacceptable'?
The Catholic Church has opposed artificial birth control and abortion for two millennia. That opposition springs from the same core doctrine that animates the church's efforts in charitable outreach, education, and health care: The sanctity of human life and the meaning of sexual relations between men and women. The Obama mandate and its subsequent "accommodation" attempt to divorce the Church from the schools, hospitals, clinics, and charities it runs by declaring that only houses of worship deserve the protection of the First Amendment ban on government interference with the practice of religion. However, those hospitals, schools, and charities are the way in which the Catholic Church puts their religious principles into action, and the same is true for any number of other religious denominations. Those organizations are indeed the "free exercise ther" in a very real sense, the very activity that the First Amendment protects.
Now the Obama administration wants to force these organizations to violate the very doctrine that motivates their outreach to the communities they serve. By being forced to carry insurance that funds contraceptive and abortifacients, the U.S. would force religious organizations to facilitate activities that they see as immoral or evil, and which contradicts their faith.
SEE MORE: Time for Big Pharma to disclose its payments to doctors?
Some may well disagree with the Catholic Church's teachings on contraception and abortion, including more than a few Catholics. Those who disagree have no compulsion to attend Mass or to work for Catholic organizations. Opponents of Catholic doctrine can work to get the church to change its position, however unlikely that might be. However, no one elected Barack Obama to be Pope, and his "diktat" to Catholics and other Christians to accept his doctrine at the expense of their own violates our cherished freedom of religion - and demonstrates better than any of his critics might have done otherwise just how arrogant Obama can be. via news.yahoo.com
Posted via email from projectbrainsaver
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Worldwide Pagan Wicca Witch Paganism
MESSAGES IN THIS DIGEST (1 MESSAGE)
1. got my kosher salt this weekend From: Jim.BR549 View All Topics Create New Topic
MESSAGE
1.
GOT MY KOSHER SALT THIS WEEKEND
POSTED BY: "JIM.BR549" JIM.BR549@YAHOO.COM JIM.BR549
Sun May 8, 2011 9:26 pm (PDT)
Finally got to the dollar store and picked up me some kosher salt. I don't have
a source yet of just sea-salt so Kosher was suggest by a 2 good friends. I'm
not Jewish.
I just recently moved into a different house and will be looking to cast my
circle around the house as protection - soon.
I still can't get my mental circle cast around the house so give me a bit.
I do have white and rose quartz at the corners of the house and some larger ones
at the front door area. Most pieces are football size. The two at the front
door are the size of a kids car-seat ( 3ft x 1ft x 1ft ).
I'll listen to know a good moon time, or other good times.
thanks in advance
jim
Peace, Love and Laughter for you and your family
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SPIRITUAL MEANING:
Nowadays, with a greater acknowledgement of the appearance of angelic figures, they are once again accepted as messengers of the Gods - heavenly powers and enlightenment. Traditionally perceived as beings of light, their appearance in dreams indicates that we are seeking a spirituality and purity of being that goes beyond the mundane. In almost all religious belief angels stand as intermediaries between us and the Divine. Archangels are a higher order of angels, each with their own responsibilities, and are more likely to appear if you are undertaking esoteric studies.
PSYCHOLOGICAL / EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
From a psychological perspective the angel is the personification of the relationship with mother or mother figure and needs to be looked at as a separate entity to both her and the dreamer, i. e. as though it were a living, breathing being.
EVERYDAY MATERIAL ASPECTS:
Dreaming of angels indicates we are searching for a parental figure who gives unconditional love and support, or that we need to develop these qualities ourselves. We may be trying to introduce religious concepts into our lives.
GENDER / SPECIFIC MEANINGS:
Angels'appearance in dreams - for both men and women - suggest that we need to look at concepts that are particularly spiritual in origin. Both angels and archangels are traditionally identifiable by their attributes.
You might also like to consult the information on Spiritual Imagery in the Introduction for further clarification.
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Iran's powerful clerics have accused associates of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of witchcraft, including summoning genies, amid an increasingly bitter rift between Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme religious leader.
In recent days, some 25 confidants of Ahmadinejad and his controversial but loyal chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei have been arrested and charged with being "magicians."
One aide, Abbas Ghaffari, was described by conservative Iranian newspaper Ayandeh as "a man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with unknown worlds."
Ghaffari has reportedly been accused of summoning a genie, who caused his interrogator to have a heart attack.
The arrests are the latest window into the growing rift between Ahmadinejad, Iran's elected secular president, and Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the country's appointed religious supreme leader. Read the rest here.Syndicated by Atom
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From RORATE CAELI:
"2ORDINARY ADJ "3 B : DEFICIENT IN QUALITY : POOR, INFERIOR
Yes, the Ordinary Mass for "Pride" in Boston is turning out to be quite a "drama" - but that was to be expected, right? First, the "Pride" Ordinary Mass was scheduled (see bulletin image - right), then it was vacated by the Archdiocese, then the Archdiocese partly reversed itself to allow a "Pride 'Prayer Service'". And now the local priestly member of the Parish Council attacks all whose "hate" has prevented the Ordinary Mass.
All details in Joe Sacerdo's blog - he has been at the forefront of exposing this truly ordinary Ordinary Mass. (Image on the left: Father John Unni, the twelfth member of the local Parish Council).
NOTE: anyway, why is "pride" being celebrated at all? Should it not "be carefully repressed"? Is it not "hateful in the sight of God"? Is not the "prince and ruler of this world" the "king over all the children of pride"? Is not pride "the root of all sins"? This in a very cursory reading of the "Roman Catechism "("Catechism of the Council of Trent"). So what is exactly a "Boston Pride Prayer Service"? Is it perhaps a collective display of what this same "Catechism "recommends: "Humbled in spirit, the sincere penitent casts himself down at the feet of the priest, to testify, by this his humble demeanour, that he acknowledges the necessity of eradicating pride, the root of all those sins which he now deplores".
* Truly, truly ordinary
* Boston Priest Defies Archdiocese to preach gay inclusion
* Fr. Unni's Gay Pride Mass Gets Canceled
Reference: http://33witches.blogspot.com
"Dear Mr Postman - it is excellent to see you again with another letter - and I see it's about the celebration of food after Lent and the renewal of life.. spring lambs, eggs.."
"After 40 days of giving things up for Lent - this is the time for a family feast after the fast with a succulent spring roast lamb, roast or new potatoes, fresh young vegetables, onion sauce, and all the trimmings including mint sauce, followed perhaps by rhubarb crumble and custard..? Then into the foliage sprouting garden for a 'hunt the egg' game.. & an overdose of chocolate for the children & perhaps adults?
The Paschal Lamb or Jesus Christ, is the lamb sacrified for sin, hailed by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God then we tried blowing the eggs - a somewhat trickier 'operation'.. and I don't think we were too successful - as we were "get up and go kids".. always out in the garden running around.
Here in England.. hunt the Easter egg is a favourite.. chocolate eggs placed around the garden - public or private - hoping the dogs won't hunt them down first! Then everyone is teamed up to look for their particular coloured eggs.. and another orgy of excess can begin! Afternoon tea would be on the table soon afterwards...
Spring is ushered in around the world with a host of strange and wonderful religious, secular and pagan traditions.. all celebrating the universal experience of spring as a time of natural and spiritual renewal. These customs are mainly in the northern hemisphere - though no doubt have also been adopted and suitably amended for down under...
Egg rolling competitions still occur in parts of England and are held each year on the White House lawn (if there's enough room left after the new vegetable patch!?); egg tapping or knocking is another custom practised in the north of England, and is making revival in Louisiana, in the States... as well as local egg decoration and craft competitions for the children.
After the dark winter months, the lengthening days and the time of sorrow and self-denial during Lent - Easter allows us to let loose and start enjoying the pleasures of life again.. fresh spring air, young fresh food, new ideas, new leaves.. wonderful scents of flowering sweetpeas, roses to come.. the burgeoning of new life for a new season.. it happens every year.. but it makes such a difference! Enjoy the coming months...
"Thank you Mr Postman.. that's a great letter about Easter and the start of our wonderful seasons of plenty.. are you having roast lamb for lunch today - I expect most people will be having a family lunch and that is what is so important.."
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The Rosicrucian Order is a legendary esoteric Order publicly documented in the early 17th century. This hermetic Order is viewed among earlier and many modern Rosicrucianists as a "College of Invisibles" from the inner worlds, composed of great Adepts, aiming to give assistance in mankind's spiritual unfoldment. When compared to human beings, the consciousness of these Adepts is said to be like that of demi-gods.
Several modern societies have been formed for the study of Rosicrucianism and allied subjects. However, many researchers on the history of Rosicrucianism argue that modern Rosicrucianists are in no sense directly derived from the "Brethren of the Rose Cross" of the 17th century. Instead, they are considered to be keen followers. Moreover, some have viewed the 17th century Order as a literary hoax or prank, rather than an operative society. Others contend that history shows them to be the genesis of later operative and functional societies. Rosicrucianism has its roots in the western mystery tradition and is generally associated with the symbol of the Rose Cross. The Rosicrucian greeting is, "May the Roses bloom upon your Cross."
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From Catholic Culture:
The Archdiocese of Portland (Oregon) has rescinded a Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grant to "Street Roots," a newspaper that advocates on behalf of the homeless, after the newspaper refused to remove a reference to Planned Parenthood from its resource guide.
"Street Roots" said that it was a victim of a "witch hunt," and a columnist for the leading local newspaper attacked the decision. "It's too bad that under pressure they chose to do the Catholic thing rather than the Christian one," wrote Anna Griffin of "The Oregonian."
"It's disturbing that a small group of right-wing fringe elements within the Catholic Church are being successful at undermining the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's work to address the root causes of poverty through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education," said Street Roots executive director Israel Bayer, adding:
At the end of the day, a witch hunt is a witch hunt, and that's exactly what Street Roots and dozens of community organizations working to fight poverty in the United States are facing, a witch hunt born out of fear and intolerance. And let's be clear, this is far from over. Every group that currently receives funds from CCHD is being asked to not take part in activities, or align themselves with the very groups it will take to dismantle poverty in this country. An archdiocesan official also criticized critics of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Matt Cato, director of the Office of Justice and Peace for the Archdiocese of Portland, said that "there are one or two people within our diocese who spend their time looking for organizations on our grant lists that have connections to anything contrary to Catholic teaching, specifically abortion."
"I do know that plenty of people are uncomfortable when a group of low-income or poor persons have power," Cato told "Street Roots" in a lengthy article that includes comments from both leading CCHD critics and CCHD defenders.
"So you have the power of money, which corporations have, and you have the power of people, which is what community organizing is," Cato added. "The power of people which needs to balance the power of money, and that's what community organizing is about, and a lot of people are uncomfortable with the poor having the voice."
In a December 2009 LifeNews.com column, a local Catholic discussed another grant recipient's problematic ties and the lack of interest with which his concerns were initially met at the archdiocesan and national level.
Source(s): "these links will take you to other sites, in a new window."
* Archdiocese gave Street Roots a choice "(Catholic Sentinel)"
* Local Catholic Campaign for Human Development pulls money from Street Roots "(The Oregonian)"
* On the left side of God: How politics and religion mix in the world of charitable giving "(Street Roots)"
* Portland Archdiocese CCHD Office Admits, Stops Funding Pro-Abortion Group (LifeNews.com, 2009)
* Catholic Campaign for Human Development (USCCB)
Original:
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The book is, The Zombie Handbook: An Essential Guide to Zombies, And More Importantly How To Avoid Them by Dr. Robert Curran.
If all you care about is beautiful or interesting artwork then you will enjoy this book. If you demand factual information, as much as possible with regard to the subject matter, then you will be horribly disappointed in this book.
The positives about this book include the artwork and the entertaining style of writing. The negatives of the book include practically little-to-no actual research going in to writing the book, hence the book is filled with false information and outright nonsense. Ninety-nine percent of the book concerns the zombie of the Voodou religion. This would be fine if the information provided was correct. Unfortunately the information is not correct in the book. The author doesn't understand the difference between Haitian Voodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Hoodoo. In fact the author even states that Hoodoo is the "white form of Voodoo" and that it is practiced in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas! Of course just a basic google search will reveal that Hoodoo is not Voodoo and what is practiced in the Ozark Mountains is more properly referred to as Appalachian folk magic, or "granny magic". If this isn't perplexing enough, the author then contradicts himself later on in the book and states that Hoodoo is associated with Charleston, SC and New Orleans, LA. Of course he is a lot closer with this last passage. What the author simply fails to comprehend is that zombies have absolutely nothing to do with Hoodoo. To add insult to injury the author even claims that famous Hoodoo and New Orleans Voodoo practitioners, such as The Black Constable, Dr. Buzzard, and Marie Laveau, raised zombies. I simply cannot forgive this nonsense. I was extremely disappointed by this book, especially since a previous book by the same author titled, Biblio Vampiro was so good.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, I give this book a 1. Do not spend your money on this book. If you must read it, then check your local library.
Tags: introduction to psychology inner reality outer reality in diver forgiveness sundaybeginning of gre piritual positive energy claude monet book why teach evoluti el libro de las sombras pdf
It's the title of a nice little book by philosopher Simon Blackburn (who has a penchant for concise titles: he also wrote "Lust" and "Think," among others). It's more technical than I expected, but some of his points should be relevant to anyone interested in the demise of simplistic notions like the correspondence theory of truth, or the rise of postmodernism and "your opinion is as good as anyone else's" sort of nonsense.
Blackburn is as fair minded (especially about postmodernism) as one can possible be, which makes this book all the more relevant to the ongoing cultural wars. On p. 113, the author provides a useful little summary of the major philosophical positions about truth, in the form of a table with four corners.
The upper left corner is occupied by "eliminativism," the rather radical idea that one simply shouldn't think in terms of truth at all, because the concept is meaningless. Blackburn makes the parallel with astrology: we are wasting time if we debate about how to best divine the stars' influence on human life, because there is no such thing as a constellation (they are optical illusions). Similarly, an eliminativist about truth thinks the whole idea is misguided and cuts off the discussion before it gets started. And, as Blackburn notes, eliminativism isn't the same thing as skepticism (the idea that there is truth out there, but we simply can't reach it), because the eliminativist doesn't regret that we can't have truth, just like the astronomer doesn't feel bad about telling people that constellations are figments of their imagination. But somehow eliminativism feels more like a cop out than a serious philosophical position, as we give up much too much if we think of truth the same way as we think of constellations.
The upper right corner of Blackburn's classificatory scheme of theories of truth is occupied by realism, the position that yes, indeed, there is such thing as truth, and yes, we can say something, in fact, a lot, about it. Typically, scientists tend to be realists, and realists are generally optimistic about science. The problem with at least some na"ive versions of realism (so-called "real realism") is that there is no coherent account of it. For example, a typical realist account of truth is the above-mentioned "correspondence theory," whereby something is true if it in fact corresponds to the way things really are. But the objection is that we can't say in which way things "really" are because anything we say about the universe is bound to be affected (and distorted) by our own point of view, and the correspondence theory seems to require a "god's eye view" of things in which, clearly, we do not partake. (This is why Kant, for example, concluded that we have no access to "the thing in itself," but only to the world of sensation, and even that is biased by our innate "categories" of space, time, causality, etc.)
The lower right corner of Blackburn's table (btw, I believe the positions of the various schools of thought within the table are arbitrary) is "quietism." Here lies deconstructionism, whose fundamental tenet is that nobody can provide a theory of truth, because there is no neutral viewpoint one can adopt to stand outside personal or local truths (the above-mentioned lethal objection to real realism). This, however, quickly leads to what Blackburn Finally, we get to the lower left corner, what Blackburn labels "constructivism." The idea is in between realism and quietism: constructivists would disagree that "truth" means the objective representation of an independent reality, but also disagree with quietists because for a constructivist there are worthwhile theories of truth, and they do some kind of work, for example they might give us models that serve as useful fictions to navigate the world (pragmatists, for instance, are included by Blackburn under the umbrella of constructivism).
In the end, Blackburn finds something interesting everywhere he looks, but also a lot to be discarded in the various philosophical theories of truth. While he leans toward some sort of realism, he is not a hard core "real realist" because he appreciates the force of the basic deconstructionist critique, the fact that human beings simply cannot avoid adopting a non-neutral point of view, and that this impinges on their view of the world, making it inevitably partial. But he also rejects much nonsense that one hears these days about alternative truths: "There may be rhetoric about the socially constructed nature of Western science, but whenever it matters, there is no alternative. There are no specifically Hindu or Taoist designs for mobile phones, faxes or television. There are no satellites based on feminist alternatives to quantum theory. Even the great public sceptic about the value of science, Prince Charles, never flies a helicopter burning homeopathically diluted petrol, that is, water with only a memory of benzine molecules, maintained by a schedule derived from reading tea leaves, and navigated by a crystal ball."
Wow, talk about not pulling epistemological punches. And it's an excellent argument for getting rid of the monarchy too.
Tags: daily horoscope from astrology online original horoscope unset on the nile river magic spell love basics of paganism awakening the truth stuff sometimes youre too
Adam Darski, aka "Nergal" of the Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth, had already attained superstar celebrity status within Poland. Imagine a cross between Ozzy Osbourne, Johnny Depp, and Muhammad Ali, all brought together in a 33 year old mega rock star who also happens to be engaged to be married to Poland's answer to Lady Gaga.
So, of course, last week's announcement that Nergal's band, Behemoth, was canceling its tour, and that Nergal himself had been rushed in an ambulance to the Gdansk University Hospital for "serious medical treatment", unleashed a shit-storm of celebrity gossip madness.
Could anything be be more craven and depraved than swarms of mercenary photographers slithering around on the scaffolding that surrounds the hospital (which is currently undergoing major renovations) craning to get a shot of Nergal in his hospital bed with Doda, his beloved mega pop star fiance, at his side?
Yes - it turns out there is something more craven and depraved than that.
When they heard the news, good Christians around Poland immediately began making public pronouncements (including, naturally, on the internet) that they were praying for Nergal in the hopes that his illness (the exact nature of which is still not officially disclosed) would convince him to turn away from his Satanic Death-Metal ways and embrace the teachings of Jeebus.
Nergal responded to these "prayers" for his conversion yesterday in an interview he gave to the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. Here is what Nergal had to say (using google translator to render the English, so parts of it are more fluid and fluent than others):
I never thought that my illness may become a pretext for some people to pursue their own crusade.
Voices of the fact that my current situation I can supposedly closer to God, make it cast its ideals and neck ugne only right before the country's outlook, not only surprised me, but scared.
This is a typical example of cynical exploitation of someone else's misery for compacting additional capital for their own views.
Ill, certainly will be converted, discovers that the Christian religion, which so fiercely fought, it will be close... Stop!
Why would a disease in any way alter my perspective? Yes, it is a difficult time for me and I can hardly avoid thinking about what the final, but the idea that under the influence of suffering change my views, priorities and values is as if someone decided that my body and my head was attacked by disease.
Suggestions were that I was able to convert or are just so funny... because I like for what? Finally, I know quite well - and not just in the literary edition - Christian mythology, and I do not find there anything good, creative and beautiful.
I read a better book than the Bible, I read also wiser. War, blood, blackmail, rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, collaboration, betrayal... evil protrudes from each side.
Someone will come and say that they do not understand the message of the Bible, and I answer him that he did not understand that Christianity is nothing but rusty and archaic building, which at any moment simply will collapse, and still lasts only because there are naive who, like sheep, blindly follow the dictates of their pastors.
Without questions, without thinking, from my perspective in no promised land, and the intellectual slaughter. Therefore, all those who ill wind in my chances for breaking my values, and hence myself, I answer the first and last and very short: po moim trupie! (Over my dead body!)
The original Polish text of the above can be found at the band's website here.
An end to the pretense,
and lying hypocrisy of Christianity.
An end to the servile virtues,
and superstitious restrictions.
An end to the slave morality.
An end to prudery and shame,
to guilt and sin,
for these are of the only evil under the sun,
that is fear.
[Liber 49, The Book of Babalon]
.
.
.If you admire the indomitable spirit of Nergal, you might also be interested in this other post on the subject of "BLASPHEMY", and links found therein.
[The beautiful image accompanying the quote from Liber 49 (you will also find this quote on the Behemoth website) is a painting by Mary MacGregor-Reid. Here is a direct link to the image at her website. The painting itself is available for sale!]
Source: http://thelema-and-faith.blogspot.com
We have previously discussed how some insanity defense cases raise actions that are identical to those of religious figures in the Bible. What is considered a divine act in the Bible remains a heinous act in the criminal code. That is the paradox involved in the case of Kimberly Lucas, 40, who killed her former partner's two-year-old daughter after listening to a sermon of Metropolitan Community Church Pastor Lea Brown on Genesis 22 where God asks Abraham to kill his son Isaac.
The MCC boasts "over 40 years of ministry to the GLBT community and beyond" in the "worship and celebrate God's all-inclusive love." Brown is quoted as saying later that the sermon on obeying the wishes of God to kill a child was meant to make another point: "The message of that sermon was the message of every sermon we have here which is about the redemption and the healing that we can find in God's love even in the face of things we don't understand. And that's what the message was and whatever happened in her mind, only god knows."
Lucas was arrested for allegedly killing Elliana Lucas-Jamason and attempting to kill her 10-year-old brother of the girl before trying to kill herself. In a suicide note, she refers to the sermon of Genesis 22 and said "Lea's sermon really, really touched me yesterday, but God never told me to stop!"
The note also reportedly blames Lucas former lesbian partner, the mother of the slain girl. The note states "In YOUR WORDS 'WHEN YOU ARE LAYING IN BED AT NIGHT REMEMBER YOU (expletive) DID THIS TOO YOURSELF!'"
We previously discussed how acts heralded in the Bible are viewed as manifestly insane in actual cases. For a prior column, click here. For those who are mentally unbalanced, stories like that of Abraham can resonate in a dangerous way as shown in this case. The fact that such individuals may believe that they are acting under orders of God is obviously no defense and prosecutors often often its use as part of an insanity defense.
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love-Isaac-and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you."
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me."
Source:: http://just-wicca.blogspot.com
"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."
26th Day of the 13th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Hecate
Lunar Tree Cycle of Ruis/Elder
26th Day of the Celtic Tree
Month of Ruis/Elder
Moon Phase: waning Half Moon
Moon rises: 2:58AM EST
Moon sets: 1:32PM EST
Moon in Libra v/c 4:48AM EST
Moon enters the Fixed Water Sign
of Scorpio at 5:33AM EST
Ceridwen's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The magic of snow
Sun in Sagittarius
Sunrise: 7:39AM EST
Sunset: 4:56PM EST
Solar Question for the Day: "What
is the source of your spiritual guidance."
Samhain (Calan Gaeaf) Quarter
of the Year
December 20th, 2011
MOON IN SCORPIO - The Moon in Scorpio gives us attitude, and brings out our primal side; it sharpens our curiosity and our edges, our focus to the point of obsession. Fluff doesn't cut it; get real or let it go; honor privacy, don't crowd. With Moon in Scorpio, dig deep. Scorpion weaves the visible and invisible worlds together. We see through and into the roots. Direct this energy away from obsession and towards creation. The Moon's transit through Scorpio is a time of death an rebirth (not necessarily physical death), iintensity, extremes and heightened sensitivity. It is good for focusing and doing psychic work because of the deep emotions and desires Scorpio brings. Emotional resentments from the past can surface and block your heightened creative energy, so fight urges to be suspicious, secretive and moody. This is a time of regeneration and cleaning out of emotional debris from the previous lunar cycle. There is great energy to complete things and focus on certain areas that you have found yourself to scattered to deal with in the previous cycle. Moon in Scorpio is the best time to work magick involving sexual matters, power, psychic growth, secrets and fundamental transformations. Healing rituals for ailments of the reproductive organs are also done during this period of time. Those born under a Scorpio Moon sign came here to find themselves in solitude first and then through transformative action with others. They may need to learn flexibility. They offer us a fearless guide to the inner worlds as they guide all transitions.
TIU'S DAY - Mars Day, the Day of Activity and Physicality, Passion and Desire - Action Day...
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I confess - I frequently haunt my local Goodwill and Savers thrift stores. I have found some pretty amazing things at these places including Lucky Brand jeans for 4.99 (yes, that is 4 dollars and 99 cents) a Jones New York leather skirt for 5.00, and a Cold Water Creek Suede Jacket for 6.99 to name just a few. If you know what you like and are willing to look through a lot of junk you can often find a real gem or two.
During the course of my wanderings through the thrifty stores I've also found a stunning amber colored goblet, a pentacle shaped candle holder and Yes it is a child's holiday dress. The ribbon is faded, there is a stain on the underskirt,oh yeah, and I really don't know anyone who would fit into it BUT the velvet is a lovely shade of purple and it is perfect for costuming my fairies AND this dress was a steal because it was only 99 cents! I couldn't get the fabric to make it for that price.
If you sew any type of craft, make doll clothes, purses, etc. check out your local thrift store for clothing that you can re-purpose. Some of the benefits of re-purposing old clothes are: you get the fabric at a really low cost, the colors and trims coordinate, the selection is amazing and because the item has been washed (usually repeatedly) you get to see how the fabric wears and you'll know whether it will drape how you want it to or be as soft as you need it to be.
Because I am on a deadline with my current Yule Fairy I won't be able to play with this until I get back from my cruise but ohhhh, I can't wait!
Credit: http://my-spiritual-path.blogspot.com
Hezekiah's religious reforms are described in detail in 2 Chronicles 29-31. At the time Hezekiah began his reforms, both the political and religious climate in Judah were favorable to a return to Yahweh. The prophets Amos and Hosea had been preaching reform in the Northern Kingdom before its demise in 722 B.C., while Isaiah and Micah had been preaching a similar message in the Southern Kingdom, warning the leadership of Judah that they could not survive if they continued oppressing the people and promoting the religious practices that were offensive to the religion of Yahweh.
With the fall of Samaria a few years before Hezekiah became king of Judah, the call to reform was taken more seriously in Judah. It was for this reason that the political and religious actions taken by Hezekiah were enthusiastically supported by many reform-minded people in Jerusalem.
Hezekiah's reforms came at a crucial time in Judah's history. The fall of Samaria provided the tangible evidence that the oracles of doom proclaimed by the prophets against Israel for over a century were indeed warnings from Yahweh. Israel had been severely judged. Now, Judah had to reform or face the same fate as the Northern Kingdom.
According to the elders of Judah who lived in the days of Jeremiah, Micah's prophecy made a profound impact on Hezekiah, leading him to initiate his religious reforms. Micah proclaimed the destruction of the temple and the devastation of Jerusalem:
"Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong. Its heads give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for hire, its prophets divine for money; yet they lean upon the LORD and say, 'Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil shall come upon us.' Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height" (Micah 3:9 -12).
According to the elders of Judah, Hezekiah feared the Lord and entreated his favor. Because of Hezekiah's repentance, the Lord relented of the evil which he had pronounced against the city and against the people (Jeremiah 26:19).
According to the Chronicler, the first action Hezekiah took at the beginning of his reform was to open the doors of the house of the Lord and begin repairing the temple. This happened on the first month of the first year of his reign (2 Chronicles 29:3).
As long as Sargon was alive, Hezekiah could not openly revolt against Assyria. He could not renounce the Assyrian gods immediately after his accession to the throne because this would be considered an act of open rebellion against Assyrian control. Hezekiah began his reform by purifying Judah's religious practices. Hezekiah was able to take these steps toward independence because, according to Assyrian records, Sargon was preoccupied with rebellions in the northern part of his empire. For this reason, Sargon was not able to make another campaign in Palestine until 712 B.C.
It is possible that Hezekiah began his religious reforms in the first year of his reign as the Chronicler suggests. Hezekiah began his reforms with minor changes in the Temple. Thus, as long as Hezekiah paid his annual tribute to Assyria, Sargon would not see the need to investigate closely the religious activities or other religious events taking place in Judah. It is impossible to know whether Hezekiah removed the Assyrian gods at the beginning of the reform, however, the repair, cleansing, and purification of the temple were the initial steps taken at the beginning of the reform.
It seems that the reforms of Hezekiah began with the centralization of the worship in Jerusalem. The words of the Assyrian ambassador imply that Hezekiah made an attempt at closing the places of worship outside Jerusalem. The Assyrian ambassador accused Hezekiah of eliminating the high places and the foreign altars and forcing the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar of God in Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:22).
The act of purging the cult of pagan altars and high places and the centralization of the worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem carried both religious and political overtones. By making the people worship in Jerusalem, the priests in the temple would be able to supervise the religious activities of the people and eliminate the syncretistic practices that took place in the local shrines. In addition, the religious pilgrimages to Jerusalem also would promote the people's allegiance to the Davidic covenant and to the Davidic king. Hezekiah sought to revive the old Davidic rule by seeking to bring the Northern tribes under the control of the king in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30:1-12).
It is possible that the repairs of the temple included overlaying the doors and doorposts with gold. According to 2 Kings18:16, during the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C., Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts in order to pay his tribute to Sennacherib, king of Assyria.
Hezekiah's reforms included the destruction of the local pagan shrines as well as the images that were in these shrines. According to 2 Kings 18:4, Hezekiah "removed the high places, broke down the pillars, and cut down the sacred pole. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it; it was called Nehushtan." The destruction of the bronze snake that Moses had made for the Israelites during their sojourn in the desert (Numbers 21:4-9) indicates that by the time of Hezekiah, the bronze serpent had become an object of worship.
At the beginning of his reforms, after the repair and purification of the temple, the people of Judah prepared for the celebration of the Passover. Hezekiah invited those Israelites from the Northern Kingdom who were living in the Assyrian province of Samaria (Samarina) to join the Judeans in the celebration of the Passover. Hezekiah's effort at bringing the remnant of the Northern Kingdom may have been an attempt at reuniting the two nations and restoring the Davidic dynasty, thus making Jerusalem and the temple the focus of the religious life of a revitalized Israel.
While some people may have come from Galilee, the effort to bring the people from the tribes of the North was unsuccessful. There are several reasons why Hezekiah's attempt at including the Northern tribes was unsuccessful. First, it is possible that the ancient problem of tribal rivalry and jealousy may have prevented some of the Israelites who lived in the former Northern Kingdom from coming to Jerusalem.
Second, the fear of Assyrian reprisal may have played an important role in preventing the people from the north from coming to Jerusalem. The Assyrians had restored and reorganized the Bethel sanctuary in order to provide a place of worship for the remnant of the Northern tribes.
Third, the people now living in the province of Samaria were Assyrian citizens, thus, a religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem could be construed as an attempt at rebellion against Assyrian control, an act which could bring severe punishment upon the people.
Following the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem, the people went throughout the cities of Judah and tore down the pillars, the Asherah poles, the altars, and the high places associated with pagan worship.
Hezekiah's reform also included the reorganization of the work of the priests and the Levites. Hezekiah made a personal contribution for the sacrifices of the burnt offerings, but he asked the people who lived in Jerusalem to bring their tithes and offerings to provide for the needs of the religious personnel in the temple so they could devote themselves to the service of the Lord. The people responded with enthusiasm and gave generously and liberally. The king and religious leaders prepared storage rooms and delegated some of the Levites to collect and distribute the gifts.
Hezekiah was successful in repairing and cleansing the temple and in centralizing the worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem. His reforms included the celebration of the Passover, the destruction of the high places of worship, and the removal of pagan cult objects, but in the long run, his reforms were not permanent. His son Manasseh became a loyal vassal of Assyria and in the process of declaring his fealty to his Assyrian overlord, Manasseh reintroduced several of the pagan practices Hezekiah had eliminated. During the long reign of Manasseh, the people of Judah returned to their idolatrous ways. This situation continued until the days of Josiah, king of Judah, who made another attempt at religious reforms in Judah.
To be continued.
Part 1: Hezekiah, King of Judah
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Source: http://healing-magic.blogspot.com
