In England the atheists saw their numbers grow from 6 million, to 14.1 million. some do think it is the conservatism of the church which draws people further away form the church. this could well be, but is it progressiveness that should keep people into the church community?
We think a church community can still be very up to date and keep to the values and rules given by the Master Teacher Jesus from Nazareth.
In Belgium we noticed that certain ideas to modernize the church and the many changes it underwent made people even more confused and having them making the step to leave their church. Also the happening in the English church and discussions about women functions made more people laugh at the ongoings in those churches and consider them not worth spending their time in it.
New figures from the 2011 Census show that the number of people who
identify as Christians in England and Wales has fallen by 4 million over
the last 10 years.
The data shows that numbers fell from 37.3 million in 2001 to 33 million last year.
The statistics came as the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
Williams, claimed that English cathedral congregations are growing
dramatically, challenging the claim made by secularists that the Church
of England is fading in Britain.
Other polls have detected similar shifts. The 2012 British Social
Attitudes Survey showed that only about half of Britons claim a
religious affiliation, down sharply from 20 years ago when two out of
three Britons did. Barely a quarter of young people identify themselves
as religious.
The new figures show that Islam is the U.K.'s second-largest religion,
at 2.7 million. Hinduism is third, at 817,000. The number of
self-identified Jews rose by 3,000, from 260,000 to 263,000.
Monday 17 December 2012
Friday 14 December 2012
Sancta Claus is not God
On the net my eye caught some writings where Sancta Claus was compared to God.
Some people also write that He has a naughty and nice list.
For many who take Jesus to be God who came onto the earth on the 25th of December those who do not behave shall miss the nice list, but because of Jesus we can be forgiven.
Jeshua, the son of Mary and Joseph from the tribe of David got to be known as Jesus. When he came onto the earth on the 17th of October -4 nobody would have thought this baby born in a humble environment would be a world star.
About him we could use the opening line Once Upon A Time. We have this tendency to want to put the Christmas story into the Once Upon A Time genre. As a parent or grandparent tells the story to a child, “Once upon a time there was a girl called Mary.” That’s not how the story begins.
As in other stories (of my favourite writers)there could be written: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”
For some the family tree the apostle Matthew gives on the human side for Jesus is comparable to the First Christmas Tree. They do forget that in earlier times the pinetree was, as in certain traditions today, a universal symbol of life and fertility.
The pine-tree is associated with the early Romans decorations with little masks of Bacchus the Greek fertility god and with the mothergoddess Cybele. Like all evergreen trees which do not lose their leaves or green colour during the wintertime, the pine tree stands for immortality, resiliency, longevity, and rebirth.
The pine's strength in the face of adversity makes it symbolic of those who have become strong through suffering, or who have kept to their beliefs and promises in spite of opposition.
In Scandinavia, a myth of enduring love surrounds a certain pine. It is said that this tree grew from the blood of two lovers who had been wrongfully executed in the forest. During the Christmas season, strange lights can be seen shining in its branches as a testimony of their innocence and love.
In Japan, the pine tree stands as a tribute to strong character and energy because it holds up against strong winds. Taoists once believed that if a pine's resin was allowed to flow down its trunk and onto the earth, a fu-lin or mushroom of immortality would grow from it in 1000 years. Eating the fu-lin would give a person eternal youth.
The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge from the Garden of Eden were blended together in many customs and legends about the fir tree. Adam and Eve Day was celebrated on December 24th. During the Middle Ages it was customary to perform Paradise Plays on the Church grounds on this holiday, like they still do in many villages. Parents seem to adore their children playing in those Christmas plays. A single fir tree strung with apples was used to symbolize both of the garden's trees.
The priests and priestesses at the service for Cybele were castrated and inaugurated under the pine tree. The ecstasies with the dervish-like behaviour of the priests and devotees of the "great goddess" where taken into the Catholic Church by the convert Montanus who also made the mother of Christ into the mother godess Cybele. As mother god therefore Jesus had to become god as well. For those opposing the non-tinitarian believers at that time this was a good opposition to further the idea of the Trinity. Certainly because Montanus was of the opinion that the Holy Spirit was soon to return to the earth and would be the person to be the master of the New Jerusalem.
Montanus considered himself to be the Paraclete.
The Paraclete ordered a few fasts and abstinences; the latter were strict xerophagioe, but only for two weeks in the year, and even then the Saturdays and Sundays did not count (Tertullian, "De jej.", xv). Not only was virginity strongly recommended (as always by the Church), but second marriages were disapproved. Chastity was declared by Priscilla to be a preparation for ecstasy: "The holy [chaste] minister knows how to minister holiness. For those who purify their hearts [reading purificantes enim corda, by conjecture for purificantia enim concordal] both see visions, and placing their head downwards (!) also hear manifest voices, as saving as they are secret" (Tertullian, "Exhort." X, in one manuscript).
Gifts were accepted, under the guise of offerings, and today this tradition keeps on in the giving gifts at Christmas. The decorations taken into the temples were liked by Pope Damus I who is celebrated in Catholic churches on the 11th of December. When you look at the statues and many paintings of Mary and the child Jesus you can clearly see the same composition as the goddess Cybele or Isis with child Horus.
Those heathen gods where taken into the gnostic teachings.
The Jesus of the apostles now became a man from the beginning of the world and an incarnation of the God Creator. In order, therefore, that finally the Great Man from above may be overpowered,
The god-son and god-mother had be born and it took only a few steps to bring them honour on the birthday of the goddess of light, on the 25th of December.
The
The way was further paved to bring the Trinity and worshipping of statues and artefacts of anathemata into the church.
In many churches the pine-tree as symbol of new life receives an important place in front of the church. The decorations from the Roman and Greek tradition with the decorations from the Celts and Slavic people were integrated.
Though the Christmas tree as we know it today found its 'rebirth' in the 16th century in Germany and only became more popular out of that country in later years.
The Sancta Claus also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and simply "Santa", came into existence in the 19th century coming from the tradition from Holland, Belgium and Northern France of Sinterklaas or Sint Nicholaas (Saint Nicholas), "De Goedheiligman " (The Good Holy Man). Parallels have been drawn between the legend of Sinterklaas and the figure of Odin, a major god among the Germanic peoples, who was worshipped in North and Western Europe prior to Christianization. This figure found its origin in the pagan customswhere Odin rides the sky with his gray horse Sleipnir.
The "pakjesavond" or "evening of presents" became a very appreciated moment to be together with the family.
It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam), reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past. The name Santa Claus supposedly derived from older Dutch and Flemish Sinter Klaas.
To compare this Sancta with the gift God gave to the world, or with that giver himself is total blasphemy. Jesus is really a gift which is precious and we should all praise. But he was a man of flesh and blood who gave his life for the sin of all, so that his Father would accept them as His children again.
God is not Sancta nor Christ and Christ is not Sancta nor God.
In case you would like to look at Christ Jesus as the Light that came unto us, be careful not to mix the heathen symbols and traditions in your actions and give each of the figures involved in this factual story their right place. Do not make it to some fictional fantasy and presentation of political cartoonist Thomas Nast with a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children.
Coming back to the opening lines of storybooks we may take these days Matthew his gospel, who starts by establishing the legal right to Jesus as the promised Messiah. If it’s surprising to start a book with a list of names, it’s even more surprising with the particular names chosen. They just are not what you would expect as an introduction to such an important figure who is by many considered to be God. But this family tree shows the family tree of the promised one, indicating that Jesus started life on this earth about two millennia ago.
Let us remember that and accept Jesus, the fulfiller of the New Covenant, for whom he really is: the son of God given to the world to bring us closer to his and our Father, the Only One God of gods, the Elohim Jehovah, our strength. Today Jesus is our mediator between His Father, God and us, which is a marvellous present for which we should be thankful to God the Most High.We can only hope that we shall be surprised by joy and be gathered with this Jesus to enter the Kingdom of God.
+
Please do read:
Some people also write that He has a naughty and nice list.
“He knows when we’ve been sleeping,We think of God a lot like we think of Santa Clause. Will we make it to His nice list? Our hope is that we will have done enough good so that we get to Heaven.
He knows when we’re awake.
He knows when we’ve been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake.”
For many who take Jesus to be God who came onto the earth on the 25th of December those who do not behave shall miss the nice list, but because of Jesus we can be forgiven.
Jeshua, the son of Mary and Joseph from the tribe of David got to be known as Jesus. When he came onto the earth on the 17th of October -4 nobody would have thought this baby born in a humble environment would be a world star.
About him we could use the opening line Once Upon A Time. We have this tendency to want to put the Christmas story into the Once Upon A Time genre. As a parent or grandparent tells the story to a child, “Once upon a time there was a girl called Mary.” That’s not how the story begins.
As in other stories (of my favourite writers)there could be written: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”
For some the family tree the apostle Matthew gives on the human side for Jesus is comparable to the First Christmas Tree. They do forget that in earlier times the pinetree was, as in certain traditions today, a universal symbol of life and fertility.
The pine-tree is associated with the early Romans decorations with little masks of Bacchus the Greek fertility god and with the mothergoddess Cybele. Like all evergreen trees which do not lose their leaves or green colour during the wintertime, the pine tree stands for immortality, resiliency, longevity, and rebirth.
The pine's strength in the face of adversity makes it symbolic of those who have become strong through suffering, or who have kept to their beliefs and promises in spite of opposition.
In Scandinavia, a myth of enduring love surrounds a certain pine. It is said that this tree grew from the blood of two lovers who had been wrongfully executed in the forest. During the Christmas season, strange lights can be seen shining in its branches as a testimony of their innocence and love.
In Japan, the pine tree stands as a tribute to strong character and energy because it holds up against strong winds. Taoists once believed that if a pine's resin was allowed to flow down its trunk and onto the earth, a fu-lin or mushroom of immortality would grow from it in 1000 years. Eating the fu-lin would give a person eternal youth.
The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge from the Garden of Eden were blended together in many customs and legends about the fir tree. Adam and Eve Day was celebrated on December 24th. During the Middle Ages it was customary to perform Paradise Plays on the Church grounds on this holiday, like they still do in many villages. Parents seem to adore their children playing in those Christmas plays. A single fir tree strung with apples was used to symbolize both of the garden's trees.
The priests and priestesses at the service for Cybele were castrated and inaugurated under the pine tree. The ecstasies with the dervish-like behaviour of the priests and devotees of the "great goddess" where taken into the Catholic Church by the convert Montanus who also made the mother of Christ into the mother godess Cybele. As mother god therefore Jesus had to become god as well. For those opposing the non-tinitarian believers at that time this was a good opposition to further the idea of the Trinity. Certainly because Montanus was of the opinion that the Holy Spirit was soon to return to the earth and would be the person to be the master of the New Jerusalem.
Montanus considered himself to be the Paraclete.
The Paraclete ordered a few fasts and abstinences; the latter were strict xerophagioe, but only for two weeks in the year, and even then the Saturdays and Sundays did not count (Tertullian, "De jej.", xv). Not only was virginity strongly recommended (as always by the Church), but second marriages were disapproved. Chastity was declared by Priscilla to be a preparation for ecstasy: "The holy [chaste] minister knows how to minister holiness. For those who purify their hearts [reading purificantes enim corda, by conjecture for purificantia enim concordal] both see visions, and placing their head downwards (!) also hear manifest voices, as saving as they are secret" (Tertullian, "Exhort." X, in one manuscript).
Gifts were accepted, under the guise of offerings, and today this tradition keeps on in the giving gifts at Christmas. The decorations taken into the temples were liked by Pope Damus I who is celebrated in Catholic churches on the 11th of December. When you look at the statues and many paintings of Mary and the child Jesus you can clearly see the same composition as the goddess Cybele or Isis with child Horus.
Those heathen gods where taken into the gnostic teachings.
Now earth,say the Greeks,
gave forth a man, (earth) first bearing a goodly gift, wishing to become mother not of plants devoid of sense, nor beasts without reason, but of a gentle and highly favoured creature.
The Jesus of the apostles now became a man from the beginning of the world and an incarnation of the God Creator. In order, therefore, that finally the Great Man from above may be overpowered,
from whom,as they say, the whole family named on earth and in the heavens has been formed, to him was given also a soul, that through the soul he might suffer; and that the enslaved image may be punished of the Great and most Glorious and Perfect Man, for even so they call him.
The god-son and god-mother had be born and it took only a few steps to bring them honour on the birthday of the goddess of light, on the 25th of December.
The
Perfect ManCalled
PapaBy the Phrygians was to be worshipped as a god. Homer was considered as one of their prophets and made the following assertion: "he who says that all things derive consistence from one, is in error; but he who says that they are of three, is in possession of the truth, and will furnish a solution of the (phonomena of the) universe. For there is, says (the Naassene), one blessed nature of the Blessed Man, of him who is above, (namely) Adam; and there is one mortal nature, that which is below; and there is one kingless generation, which is begotten above, where, he says, is Mariam the sought-for one, and Iothor the mighty sage, and Sephora the gazing one, and Moses whose generation is not in Egypt, for children were born unto him in Madian; and not even this, he says, has escaped the notice of the poets. Threefold was our partition; each obtained His meed of honour due."
The way was further paved to bring the Trinity and worshipping of statues and artefacts of anathemata into the church.
In many churches the pine-tree as symbol of new life receives an important place in front of the church. The decorations from the Roman and Greek tradition with the decorations from the Celts and Slavic people were integrated.
Though the Christmas tree as we know it today found its 'rebirth' in the 16th century in Germany and only became more popular out of that country in later years.
The Sancta Claus also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and simply "Santa", came into existence in the 19th century coming from the tradition from Holland, Belgium and Northern France of Sinterklaas or Sint Nicholaas (Saint Nicholas), "De Goedheiligman " (The Good Holy Man). Parallels have been drawn between the legend of Sinterklaas and the figure of Odin, a major god among the Germanic peoples, who was worshipped in North and Western Europe prior to Christianization. This figure found its origin in the pagan customswhere Odin rides the sky with his gray horse Sleipnir.
The "pakjesavond" or "evening of presents" became a very appreciated moment to be together with the family.
It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam), reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past. The name Santa Claus supposedly derived from older Dutch and Flemish Sinter Klaas.
To compare this Sancta with the gift God gave to the world, or with that giver himself is total blasphemy. Jesus is really a gift which is precious and we should all praise. But he was a man of flesh and blood who gave his life for the sin of all, so that his Father would accept them as His children again.
God is not Sancta nor Christ and Christ is not Sancta nor God.
In case you would like to look at Christ Jesus as the Light that came unto us, be careful not to mix the heathen symbols and traditions in your actions and give each of the figures involved in this factual story their right place. Do not make it to some fictional fantasy and presentation of political cartoonist Thomas Nast with a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children.
Coming back to the opening lines of storybooks we may take these days Matthew his gospel, who starts by establishing the legal right to Jesus as the promised Messiah. If it’s surprising to start a book with a list of names, it’s even more surprising with the particular names chosen. They just are not what you would expect as an introduction to such an important figure who is by many considered to be God. But this family tree shows the family tree of the promised one, indicating that Jesus started life on this earth about two millennia ago.
Let us remember that and accept Jesus, the fulfiller of the New Covenant, for whom he really is: the son of God given to the world to bring us closer to his and our Father, the Only One God of gods, the Elohim Jehovah, our strength. Today Jesus is our mediator between His Father, God and us, which is a marvellous present for which we should be thankful to God the Most High.We can only hope that we shall be surprised by joy and be gathered with this Jesus to enter the Kingdom of God.
+
Please do read:
- Politics and power first priority #3 Elevation of Mary and the Holy Spirit
- The Legend of St. Nicholas
- Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
- Jesus begotten Son of God #2 Christmas and pagan rites
- Jesus begotten Son of God #14 Beloved Preminent Son and Mediator originating in Mary
- Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
- About a man who changed history of humankind
- Wishing lanterns and Christmas
- What Jesus sang
- Merry Christmas with the King of Kings
+
Thursday 13 December 2012
Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
David Kinnaman headed a five-year project of which the research is included in a new book by Kinnaman titled You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church.
No single reason dominated the break-up between church and young adults. Instead, a variety of reasons emerged. Overall, the research uncovered six significant themes why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15.
The impression we have is that many churches are in a way a closed group and not so friendly to new comers or people they do not know. Often they are also not keen to give full answers to people who have questions about faith and who have difficulties about the interpretation of certain Bible verses.
36% of the respondents felt they could not ask their most pressing life questions in church. In a related theme of how churches struggle to help young adults who feel marginalized, about one out of every six young adults with a Christian background said their faith “does not help with depression or other emotional problems” they experience (18%).
Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
No single reason dominated the break-up between church and young adults. Instead, a variety of reasons emerged. Overall, the research uncovered six significant themes why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15.
The impression we have is that many churches are in a way a closed group and not so friendly to new comers or people they do not know. Often they are also not keen to give full answers to people who have questions about faith and who have difficulties about the interpretation of certain Bible verses.
36% of the respondents felt they could not ask their most pressing life questions in church. In a related theme of how churches struggle to help young adults who feel marginalized, about one out of every six young adults with a Christian background said their faith “does not help with depression or other emotional problems” they experience (18%).
- Churches seem overprotective.
- Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
- Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
- Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
- They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
- The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.
Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
Christadelphian Heritage College denied to continue their years 7, 8 and 9 classes
Despite the setback of being denied, by the Christadelphian Heritage College Melbourne in The Basin, to continue their years 7, 8 and 9 classes for next year the Christadelphian Heritage College Melbourne in The Basin the school would work towards starting its senior college again in the future.
"We're very enthusiastic about our numbers in the primary school for next year,'' chairman Jack Lawson said.
"We're a small school but we offer a more personalised teaching
experience and we have a beautiful environment that surrounds our
school.''
The school was founded in 2010 and teaches students from prep to grade six.
Food parcels in Esselen Park and Tembisa
Liezl Viljoen and P2P presented parcel of dry foods and a parcel of fruit and vegetables to the GoGo's (Granma's and Granpa's) in Esselen Park and Tembisa.
In many regions we are looking at festive seasons, so for this occasion a small gift was included in the parcels.
Find some photo's and more information:
In many regions we are looking at festive seasons, so for this occasion a small gift was included in the parcels.
Find some photo's and more information:
102 years of Age
Blueprint for Ancient Egypt
SEPE (Survey and Excavation
Projects in Egypt), directed by Dr. Gregory Mumford, is based at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham. It is funded by the National
Science Foundation, National Geographic, NASA,
and private donors. The objectives of this project are broad, but include
(1) an examination of the relations between Egypt and her neighbours, concentrating on the East Delta and Sinai,
(2) the excavation, analysis, and reconstruction of all aspects of the Late Period settlement of Tell Tebilla (East Delta), and
(3) investigating the more neglected aspects of Egypt's exploitation of and interaction with South Sinai.
Tell Tebilla is situated in the East Delta. Work on this site began with a summer reconnaissance trip in 1999, and has continued through December 1999, the summers of 2000, 2001 and 2003.
For more than a year, Parcak and her team scanned giant swaths of Egypt with a combination of NASA and commercial satellites, using techniques they had developed on a smaller scale and previously employed in regions in the South Sinai, East Delta and Middle Egypt. “The thing that was new for me was that I had never before been able to apply the technology over a broad area and test it on different environments and sites,” Parcak explained. “We scaled up our methodology across Egypt.”
Satellites orbiting 400 miles above earth have revealed numerous hidden ancient sites across Egypt, including 17 pyramids, 1,000 tombs and 3,100 settlements, the BBC reported in May.
The contours of ancient Egyptian homes and other buildings appear in infrared imagery because they were constructed from mud brick, a dense material that stands out from surrounding soil. As a result, the satellite images showed both known archaeological sites that have been studied and excavated for decades and other ancient treasures ostensibly buried deep beneath the sand.
Continue reading: Satellite Images Provide Blueprint for Ancient Egypt
Related:
(1) an examination of the relations between Egypt and her neighbours, concentrating on the East Delta and Sinai,
(2) the excavation, analysis, and reconstruction of all aspects of the Late Period settlement of Tell Tebilla (East Delta), and
(3) investigating the more neglected aspects of Egypt's exploitation of and interaction with South Sinai.
Tell Tebilla is situated in the East Delta. Work on this site began with a summer reconnaissance trip in 1999, and has continued through December 1999, the summers of 2000, 2001 and 2003.
For more than a year, Parcak and her team scanned giant swaths of Egypt with a combination of NASA and commercial satellites, using techniques they had developed on a smaller scale and previously employed in regions in the South Sinai, East Delta and Middle Egypt. “The thing that was new for me was that I had never before been able to apply the technology over a broad area and test it on different environments and sites,” Parcak explained. “We scaled up our methodology across Egypt.”
Satellites orbiting 400 miles above earth have revealed numerous hidden ancient sites across Egypt, including 17 pyramids, 1,000 tombs and 3,100 settlements, the BBC reported in May.
The contours of ancient Egyptian homes and other buildings appear in infrared imagery because they were constructed from mud brick, a dense material that stands out from surrounding soil. As a result, the satellite images showed both known archaeological sites that have been studied and excavated for decades and other ancient treasures ostensibly buried deep beneath the sand.
Continue reading: Satellite Images Provide Blueprint for Ancient Egypt
Related:
Archaeology and the Bible researcher 4/4
Wednesday 12 December 2012
A New Jerusalem
Many Christians view the New Jerusalem as a current reality, that the New Jerusalem is the consummation of the Body of Christ, the Church and
that Christians already take part in membership of both the heavenly
Jerusalem and the earthly Church in a kind of dual citizenship.
The term New Jerusalem occurs twice in the New Testament, in verses 3:12 and 21:2 of the Book of Revelation. A large portion of the final two chapters of Revelation deals with John of Patmos’ vision of the New Jerusalem. He describes the New Jerusalem as “‘the bride, the wife of the Lamb’”, where the river of the Water of Life flows (22:1).
After John witnesses the new heaven and a new earth “that no longer has any sea”, an angel takes him “in the Spirit” to a vantage point on “a great and high mountain” to see the New Jerusalem’s descent. The enormous city comes out of heaven down to the New Earth. John’s elaborate description of the New Jerusalem retains many features of the Garden of Eden and the paradise garden, such as rivers, a square shape, a wall, and the Tree of Life.
Read more about Revelations and the New Jerusalem:
- Alchemy Geometry in the New World
- The Song of The Lamb #1 Visions, symbols and suggested meanings
- The Song of The Lamb #2 Sevens
- The Song of The Lamb #3 Daniel and Revelation
Who are the honest ones?
Do Christians have to be honest and are they more honest than others? Do you feel that you are working in the right way, having the right ethics about social and work attitude,?
Are you concerned how you treat others and how honest you and others are?
Do you really care about the ethics of the people in the many professions? Does it truly matter to us whether they are honest?
Former attorney, political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN, Dean Obeidallah is left with a few burning questions and writes: "If we actually did care about the moral fitness of Congress, why would we re-elect them to the tune of 91% in 2012? If honesty truly meant something to us, wouldn't we have voted out at least half of them? Even 25%? But no, when given a chance last month to vote out Congress, we sent home only 9% of those up for re-election.".
As the American Congress remains involved in protracted negotiations over the pending "fiscal cliff" that could disrupt the nation's economy if not addressed by Jan. 1, one in 10 Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of its members as very high or high. This puts the lawmaking body second lowest on a list of 22 professions measured -- higher only than car salespeople.
Topping the list of professions we find most ethical were nurses, followed by pharmacists and doctors. Dentists came in lower, but I doubt that dentists are truly less honorable than M.D.s; it's just that dentists seem to enjoy causing us so much pain that this may be our way of paying them back.
![Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields -- very high, high, average, low, or very low? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]? November 2012 results](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tDYIFU_CVwkbGHESI2ajB1QO7oMkLhkEvFW4Vu2DfkOSoLShmFgk3YpFMS5pF4N7I5tsePSbQ6c2Ge1wVTcLUQIeduEd8dj5hBXpmsZAMlWhOLstIv2-cEUTZoKsWOUZLyRJKoBQg6MNp6B5S_c1ymf5Ohfsx7SIRvCEwe1i8NNa3JnYZHG1WWMUpdZQMs7KIpLgg=s0-d)
Read also:
Are you concerned how you treat others and how honest you and others are?
Do you really care about the ethics of the people in the many professions? Does it truly matter to us whether they are honest?
Former attorney, political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN, Dean Obeidallah is left with a few burning questions and writes: "If we actually did care about the moral fitness of Congress, why would we re-elect them to the tune of 91% in 2012? If honesty truly meant something to us, wouldn't we have voted out at least half of them? Even 25%? But no, when given a chance last month to vote out Congress, we sent home only 9% of those up for re-election.".
As the American Congress remains involved in protracted negotiations over the pending "fiscal cliff" that could disrupt the nation's economy if not addressed by Jan. 1, one in 10 Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of its members as very high or high. This puts the lawmaking body second lowest on a list of 22 professions measured -- higher only than car salespeople.
Topping the list of professions we find most ethical were nurses, followed by pharmacists and doctors. Dentists came in lower, but I doubt that dentists are truly less honorable than M.D.s; it's just that dentists seem to enjoy causing us so much pain that this may be our way of paying them back.
Read also:
We're the ones who are unethical
Kerstboomversiering en vruchtbaarheidsritus
De 37ste paus van de Rooms-katholieke Kerk, Damasus I (Guimarães, ca. 305 - Rome, 11 december 384), vond het niet zo erg dat zoals bij de vereringsdiensten van de Montanisten beelden werden gebruikt. 
De godmoeder Cybele met daarmee gepaard gaande leeuwen, bekroond met een polos en een tympanon vast houdend. Van Nicaea in Bithynië (Istanboel Archeologisch Museum).
De vroegere priester in de dienst van de Frygische godin Cybele, Montan of Montanus, bracht de Magna Mater(Moedergodin of Grote Moeder) naar voor in de kerkgemeenschap.Ook de castratie en feestelijkheden onder de dennenboom brachten een nieuw symbool in de kerk, welk nu bij het kerstgebeuren zelfs een centrale plaats krijgt toegewezen in de huiskamer. Die symbolen van vruchtbaarheid begonnen in de 4° eeuw een belangrijker rol te spelen en vonden van uit de heidense gebruiken hun weg in de Katholieke Kerk.
Vaak gebruikte afbeelding van Isis als de Moedergodin met Horus, haar zoontje, op schoot. Musée du Louvre
Zoals de godin Cybele in een tempel op de Palatijn geplaatst werd kon men nu Maria, de moeder van Jezus, zoals de vruchtbaarheidsgodin Isis op een altaarstuk of verhoog vooraan in de gebedsruimte plaatsen. De oude gebruiken van Hellas, Etrurië en elders werden naar de tijd vorderde weer opgenomen onder diegenen die zich aansloten bij de geestelijken die zich uitgaven als uitverkorenen en dienstheren van God en Christus Jezus. Zoals anathemata bij tempels werden geplaatst vond men alom meer geen bezwaar om deze ook bij de christelijke huizen te patsen. Zoals sommige typen wijgeschenken aan de tempel konden worden opgehangen, begon men ook voorwerpen te wijden en deze in de gemeenschapshuizen op te hangen. Dit gebruik nam op sommige plekken zelfs zulke vormen aan, dat men genoodzaakt was de geschenken te verwijderen. De verwerper van het arianisme, zoon van een Spaanse priester, Antonius genaamd, en een zekere Laurentia, hield van het wereldse en zal de sobere gebedshuizen zonder veel franjes denkelijk te koel gevonden hebben. Voor hem mochten die ontmoetingsplaatsen gerust meer versierselen hebben. Terwijl in de vroeg christelijke kerk elke gelovige de dienst op maakte, vonden al snel enkele machtliefhebbers dat het diegene toebehoorde met de meeste macht en verbondenheid met de zelfde denkers. Naast de versiering van kerken, moesten de uitvoerders van de dienst nu weer verschillend zijn van de andere gelovigen en duidelijk herkenbaar anders zijn. Daarom bracht de paus Damasus I de versierselen in opgang en stimuleerde hij het verfraaien van liturgische handelingen. Damasus zijn pontificaat kenmerkte zich vooral door een versterking van de pauselijke macht, en de zoektocht naar een theologisch argument voor deze macht. Dat vond hij onder andere in Mattheus 16:18, waar staat:
Lees meer over de machtsverhoudingen in de eerste kerk, Montanisten e.a.:
De godmoeder Cybele met daarmee gepaard gaande leeuwen, bekroond met een polos en een tympanon vast houdend. Van Nicaea in Bithynië (Istanboel Archeologisch Museum).De vroegere priester in de dienst van de Frygische godin Cybele, Montan of Montanus, bracht de Magna Mater(Moedergodin of Grote Moeder) naar voor in de kerkgemeenschap.Ook de castratie en feestelijkheden onder de dennenboom brachten een nieuw symbool in de kerk, welk nu bij het kerstgebeuren zelfs een centrale plaats krijgt toegewezen in de huiskamer. Die symbolen van vruchtbaarheid begonnen in de 4° eeuw een belangrijker rol te spelen en vonden van uit de heidense gebruiken hun weg in de Katholieke Kerk.
Vaak gebruikte afbeelding van Isis als de Moedergodin met Horus, haar zoontje, op schoot. Musée du LouvreZoals de godin Cybele in een tempel op de Palatijn geplaatst werd kon men nu Maria, de moeder van Jezus, zoals de vruchtbaarheidsgodin Isis op een altaarstuk of verhoog vooraan in de gebedsruimte plaatsen. De oude gebruiken van Hellas, Etrurië en elders werden naar de tijd vorderde weer opgenomen onder diegenen die zich aansloten bij de geestelijken die zich uitgaven als uitverkorenen en dienstheren van God en Christus Jezus. Zoals anathemata bij tempels werden geplaatst vond men alom meer geen bezwaar om deze ook bij de christelijke huizen te patsen. Zoals sommige typen wijgeschenken aan de tempel konden worden opgehangen, begon men ook voorwerpen te wijden en deze in de gemeenschapshuizen op te hangen. Dit gebruik nam op sommige plekken zelfs zulke vormen aan, dat men genoodzaakt was de geschenken te verwijderen. De verwerper van het arianisme, zoon van een Spaanse priester, Antonius genaamd, en een zekere Laurentia, hield van het wereldse en zal de sobere gebedshuizen zonder veel franjes denkelijk te koel gevonden hebben. Voor hem mochten die ontmoetingsplaatsen gerust meer versierselen hebben. Terwijl in de vroeg christelijke kerk elke gelovige de dienst op maakte, vonden al snel enkele machtliefhebbers dat het diegene toebehoorde met de meeste macht en verbondenheid met de zelfde denkers. Naast de versiering van kerken, moesten de uitvoerders van de dienst nu weer verschillend zijn van de andere gelovigen en duidelijk herkenbaar anders zijn. Daarom bracht de paus Damasus I de versierselen in opgang en stimuleerde hij het verfraaien van liturgische handelingen. Damasus zijn pontificaat kenmerkte zich vooral door een versterking van de pauselijke macht, en de zoektocht naar een theologisch argument voor deze macht. Dat vond hij onder andere in Mattheus 16:18, waar staat:
- "En ik zeg U dit: Gij zijt Petrus, de steenrots, en op deze steenrots zal ik mijn Kerk bouwen."
Lees meer over de machtsverhoudingen in de eerste kerk, Montanisten e.a.:
- Politiek en macht eerste prioriteit #1
- Politiek en macht eerste prioriteit #2 Arianisme, Nestorianisme en Monofysitisme
- Politiek en macht eerste prioriteit # 3 Verhoging van Maria en de Heilige Geest
- Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
- Jesus begotten Son of God #2 Christmas and pagan rites
- Bijgeloof en feesten
- Een Groots Geschenk om te herinneren
- Achtergrond Christelijk Kerstfeest
- Niet gebonden door labels maar vrij in Christus
- Religious Practices around the world
- Worship and worshipping
Monday 10 December 2012
Hall Chairs needed
Does any ecclesia have 20+ surplus quality chairs it is willing to pass on to us? Ware Ecclesia in Hertfordshire is presently refurbishing its hall. We were proposing to buy new chairs but wondered whether another ecclesia had a surplus they might like to sell on to us ? We need 20 minimum for our own use, and 10 more if possible. Chairs need to be with cushion fabric seats and ideally be stackable. A mix of chairs with and without arms would be ideal, in a neutral colour. At the same time, we expect to have c 30 chairs available for passing on elsewhere if required. These are brown metal framed with varnished light wood seats and backs, and are stackable. We can arrange collection from anywhere in the UK. Please contact gordon.dawes@talk21.com with any offers. With love in the Lord Gordon Dawes
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