tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post4285325745132286926..comments2024-03-28T12:34:14.649-07:00Comments on dangerous idea: Abortion and AnarchismVictor Repperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-73947516907914601742019-12-23T12:56:31.571-07:002019-12-23T12:56:31.571-07:00Not necessarily. There could have been a considera...Not necessarily. There could have been a considerable time lag between the celestial event and the Magi setting out. Dating Christ's birth is a bit iffy in any case. Herod died in 4 B.C., so Jesus had to have been born prior to that date. Also, it appears in Matthew that the Magi arrived in Israel at least a year after His birth. The Holy Family is now living in a "house" in Bethlehem, and Herod orders the massacre of not just infants, but of all those 2 years old and under. So 7 B.C. seems a not improbable date for the star.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-55612288067682613292019-12-23T12:44:22.295-07:002019-12-23T12:44:22.295-07:00They "observed" (mathematically) the ris...<i>They "observed" (mathematically) the rising Sun on April 17, 7 B.C. followed by a train of every planet plus the Moon.</i><br /><br />So, that would make Jesus 40ish at the time of his death?One Browhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11938816242512563561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-36142515359858945222019-12-23T09:12:46.844-07:002019-12-23T09:12:46.844-07:00Also, it was Alexander the Great that defeated the...Also, it was Alexander the Great that defeated the Persians, and so Hellenization set in there just as it had in Israel. Cultural diversity!bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-23218042295558814082019-12-23T08:44:17.926-07:002019-12-23T08:44:17.926-07:00Babylon was part of the Parthian empire at that ti...Babylon was part of the Parthian empire at that time which was a successor of the older Persian empire of Cyrus that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem.<br /><br />So that would tie into your theory.bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-24144545357281548632019-12-23T06:47:17.301-07:002019-12-23T06:47:17.301-07:00Some scholars say that the term "the East&quo...Some scholars say that the term "the East" as used by Matthew would have been understood by his readers to be Babylon, the place of Jewish exile. I think here's some reason to believe this, but it's far from conclusive. Also, the farther you get from Israel, the less interest there'd be in "the King of the Jews". But unless some extra-Biblical evidence shows up, my view is that at this point, we just can't say for sure.<br /><br />Personal opinion: Magi astrologers in Babylon, acquainted with Jewish thought through contact with the descendants of those Jews who never returned to Israel after the the exile, were also conversant in Greco-Roman astrological interpretations (in which Pisces was equated with Judea). They "observed" (mathematically) the rising Sun on April 17, 7 B.C. followed by a train of every planet plus the Moon. It made them think of the great Roman triumphal processions, where a conquering general would parade through the streets of Rome with his defeated enemies in chains behind his victor's chariot. The Magi saw this celestial spectacle as a sign of a King who would quite literally conquer the universe. St. Paul describes in many places precisely this, where he describes Christ as having overcome the "Spiritual Powers in Heavenly Places". <br /><br />"He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them." (Colossians 2:15)<br /><br />And this all occurred in Pisces. So the Magi saw in this sign of the birth of a new King, not just an Earthly event, but a universal one with cosmic consequences.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-30464120699244480092019-12-22T17:51:09.394-07:002019-12-22T17:51:09.394-07:00Think the wise men were from Persia?Think the wise men were from Persia?bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-35341711995086987292019-12-22T13:57:08.912-07:002019-12-22T13:57:08.912-07:00The Methodists are orthodox Christians who can rec...The Methodists are orthodox Christians who can recite every word of the Nicene Creed and mean it. It's when it comes to the Sacraments and the hierarchy that they differ from Catholics. <br /><br />But what I was (gently) making fun of is what I call a Christmas Card view of the Nativity - three wise men (kings) on camels arriving at a very Bavarian looking animal shelter on Christmas night itself, with a bright star overhead. <br /><br />Now I have no quarrel with the number three. After all, there were three gifts, so there is some basis for it. But no way were they kings. (That part comes from various places in the Psalms, which speak of the kings of the Earth "bringing Him tribute".) The camels likely are due to Isaiah 60:6 (" A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.") We all know that the ox and the ass are also from Isaiah (Chapter one).<br /><br />What I find most fascinating is that the Magi are mentioned several times in the Bible, most prominently in Numbers and in Acts. And they are not nice people. In fact, Paul refers to the Magus Elymas, whom he encounters in Cyprus, as "you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy." But rather intriguing is the Magus Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 24:17. "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." Was this perhaps a prophetic mention of the mysterious Star of Bethlehem?<br /><br />In any case, after reading several books on the subject of the star, I have concluded that there was very definitely <i>something</i> visible to the Magi, but at this date we can never know precisely what it was. There are multiple possibilities. My own favorite hypothesis is that the star was actually a very curious procession of all the planets along with the Moon which "followed in a train" behind the rising Sun on April 17, 7 B.C. It would explain why no one other than the Magi "saw" it, because it occurred <i>in the daytime</i>, and only an astrologer who kept careful track of where all the planets were would be aware of its happening.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-36363837008643403532019-12-22T12:55:50.477-07:002019-12-22T12:55:50.477-07:00What do the Methodists believe about the birth of ...What do the Methodists believe about the birth of Christ?bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-89122058754820090972019-12-22T11:44:08.457-07:002019-12-22T11:44:08.457-07:00For the 2nd year in a row, I was a Wise Man in the...For the 2nd year in a row, I was a Wise Man in the Christmas Pageant that the Methodist Church down the street from me puts on. (It's a long story as to how I, a Catholic, got roped into this.) I love demolishing the "Christmas Card" image of the Nativity and replacing it in people's minds with the far more glorious (and believable) reality. The Methodists must be OK with what I say, because, after all, they did invite me back this year.<br /><br />Bottom Line: The Gospel stories of the birth of Christ are literally true, but hardly anyone ever takes the time to actually read them. They prefer the Christmas cards.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-92063711364811864882019-12-22T11:01:07.204-07:002019-12-22T11:01:07.204-07:00Legion of Logic said...
Hate to say it, but How th... Legion of Logic said...<br /><i>Hate to say it, but How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas are still my favorite Christmas shows/movies of all time.</i><br /><br />We sat down as a family to watch the Charlie Brown special this year.One Browhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11938816242512563561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-40672257863683518312019-12-22T10:58:10.940-07:002019-12-22T10:58:10.940-07:00Legion of Logic said...
The other would be the par...Legion of Logic said...<br /><i>The other would be the party that vowed to impeach him before he was ever sworn in, </i><br /><br />You mean, "a handful of members of that the party", right? Pelosi and the Democratic leadership firmly opposed impeachment until the Ukraine scandal came along.<br /><br /><i>pushed the Russian hoax for years </i><br /><br />Do you always describe investigations that results in dozens of convictions, including a half-dozen of Trump's advisers, as "hoaxes"?<br /><br /><i>along with corrupt FBI officials</i><br /><br />You do realize the FBI is overwhelming Republican, right? That includes Comey (actually register registered as a Republican), Mueller, and Wray. Unbroken Republican leadership going back to 2001.<br /><br /><i>and leftist media, </i><br /><br />The media owned by the wealthy, which pushes for wars and villianizes welfare recipients, is "left-wing"?<br /><br /><i>held a biased and, frankly, sham partisan impeachment inquiry </i><br /><br />I thought the partisanship was real, not sham.<br /><br />Seriously, what were the significant *process* differences between this impeachment and Clinton's.<br /><br /><i>which presented "experts" with no firsthand knowledge of anything, </i><br /><br />You mean, as opposed to the experts who would have been firsthand witnesses?<br /><br /><i>kept changing the alleged crime </i><br /><br />You mean, investigating with an open mind?<br /><br /><i>until they found one that seemed to resonate with voters a bit more, and then impeached Trump over a phone call </i><br /><br />The phone call set off the whistle blower report, but there was certainly much more to it.<br /><br /><i>(whose import is contradicted by the Ukranian president himself) </i><br /><br />Because extortion victims *always* come clean, and there would be no danger to the Ukraine if its President said something Trump didn't like?<br /><br /><i>and his refusal to cooperate with their corrupt partisan games. </i><br /><br />You mean, Trump's corrupt attempt to get an announcement of an investigation of Biden that was not happening?<br /><br /><i>Only a complete idiot would cooperate with this House over anything except passing needed legislation. </i><br /><br />https://www.newsweek.com/democratic-senators-tweeting-photos-giant-pile-dead-house-passed-bills-mitch-mcconnell-desk-1478047<br /><br /><i>The House was never interested in governing, in helping anyone out.</i><br /><br />Yeah, the huge pile of bills says otherwise.One Browhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11938816242512563561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-76563137878211193552019-12-21T17:13:17.198-07:002019-12-21T17:13:17.198-07:00Sorry for your bad childhood experiences. We can&...Sorry for your bad childhood experiences. We can't change the past, but we can try to avoid the mistakes that were made in the past during the rest of our lives.<br /><br />Weren't there any bright spots?bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-48298496114635748942019-12-21T13:20:17.768-07:002019-12-21T13:20:17.768-07:00I personally was never particularly frightened by ...I personally was never particularly frightened by either threat, because the "man with the bag" seemed rather strange to me and I had no idea who Gypsies were. But in any case (as my brother likes to say), our family put the "fun" in dysfunctional.<br /><br />They say that such things are hereditary, but I maintain that I am super motivated to give my children and grandchildren happy and joyous memories of Christmas precisely because my own childhood experiences were (in large part) so dreadful. My father was a messed up, undiagnosed survivor of WWII PTSD and my mother a terrified victim of domestic abuse. We kids just made our own shelters and emerged from them only when we had to.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-41795442017450317022019-12-21T12:57:26.728-07:002019-12-21T12:57:26.728-07:00My childhood home was rather filled with echoes of...<b>My childhood home was rather filled with echoes of the Old World. As I said, my father would frighten us with the Man with the Bag, while my mother would threaten to sell us to the Gypsies (very probably a real possibility in Poland). </b><br /><br />It's Christmas time that we remember our fondest memories isn't it?bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-67311454306041140092019-12-21T11:05:39.289-07:002019-12-21T11:05:39.289-07:00My childhood home was rather filled with echoes of...My childhood home was rather filled with echoes of the Old World. As I said, my father would frighten us with the Man with the Bag, while my mother would threaten to sell us to the Gypsies (very probably a real possibility in Poland). We celebrated every Holy Day in our house with festive decorations and dinner table customs. Unfortunately, Americanization led astray most of my siblings. Only my (now deceased) older brother and myself maintained our Catholic faith. One of my younger brothers is a militant atheist, my youngest sister is an evangelical protestant, and my other 2 siblings are not much of anything. And I'm the only one who cares anything for our Polish heritage.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-23264121705076163792019-12-21T10:41:55.102-07:002019-12-21T10:41:55.102-07:00Yeah, that's what I thought about Krampus too....Yeah, that's what I thought about <i>Krampus</i> too. Just some idea a movie writer dreamt up.<br /><br />Following your link, it looks like it's not just a European thing but cuts across cultures:<br /><br /><i>In North India, children are sometimes threatened with the Bori Baba or "Father Sack" who carries a sack in which he places children he captures. A similar being, "Abu i Kees" (ابو كيس), literally "The Man with a Bag", appears in Lebanon. In Korea, mangtae yeonggam (망태 영감) an old man (yeonggam) who carries a mesh sack (mangtae) to put his kidnapped children in, thus, "Old Man with a Sack". In some regions, mangtae yeonggam is replaced by mangtae halmeom (망태 할멈), an old woman with a mesh sack. In Vietnam, misbehaving children are told that ông ba bị (in the North; literally mister-three-bags) or ông kẹ (in the South) will come in the night and take them away. In Sri Lanka, among the Sinhalese people, elders frighten misbehaving children with Goni Billa, (translates roughly as "sack kidnapper") a scary man carrying a sack who arrives day or night to capture and keep children. In the Western Cape folklore of South Africa, Antjie Somers is a Bogeyman who catches naughty children in a bag slung over his shoulder. Although the name is that of a female, Antjie Somers is traditionally a male figure (often an escaped slave who fled persecution by cross-dressing).</i>bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-41203820984064227392019-12-21T10:31:16.883-07:002019-12-21T10:31:16.883-07:00Hell yes! My (Polish American) father used to thre...Hell yes! My (Polish American) father used to threaten my brothers and me with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_Man#/media/File:Der_Mann_mit_dem_Sack.jpg" rel="nofollow">the Man with the Bag</a> when we misbehaved. I'd always assumed that it was his own invention, until long after I had left home and learned of the "Sack Man's" folk tale origins.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-67160458635049398542019-12-21T10:23:45.571-07:002019-12-21T10:23:45.571-07:00Krampus<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus" rel="nofollow">Krampus</a>bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-60463359603285778102019-12-21T10:22:19.011-07:002019-12-21T10:22:19.011-07:00Krampus is of a different genre. Bad campy horror...Krampus is of a different genre. Bad campy horror/comedy. But it's based on a real middle European folklore tradition. Anything like Krampus in Poland?bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-62398208392787165812019-12-21T10:08:23.174-07:002019-12-21T10:08:23.174-07:00I'd never even heard of Krampus until bmiller ...I'd never even heard of <i>Krampus</i> until bmiller mentioned it 2 days ago. I haven't seen it, so I can't comment on it.<br /><br />On my personal list, for best "serious" Christmas movie it's a tie between <i>Smoke</i> and <i>The Bishop's Wife</i>. For best funny Christmas movie, it's either <i>A Christmas Story</i> or <i>Scrooged</i>. For best non-English language Christmas movie, it's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irony_of_Fate" rel="nofollow">Ирония судьбы</a>, a 1976 Soviet film. I make a point of watching it every year about this time.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-74347841956786519882019-12-21T09:50:48.983-07:002019-12-21T09:50:48.983-07:00I just looked at that Rotten Tomatoes list of the ...<b>I just looked at that Rotten Tomatoes list of the supposedly 55 best ever Christmas movies. </b><br /><br />Did you guys notice that even <i>Krampus</i> rated higher than <i>Home Alone</i> or <i>Christmas Vacation</i>? Just saying.bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-69400954910631917242019-12-21T09:46:33.712-07:002019-12-21T09:46:33.712-07:00I never saw A Christmas Story at all until just la...I never saw <i>A Christmas Story</i> at all until just last year despite it being on all the time and everyone talking about it. I thought it was good, not the best but still funny. Liked <i>Scrooged</i> too.bmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855545675821692382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-18695442040691576702019-12-21T08:31:22.263-07:002019-12-21T08:31:22.263-07:00I just looked at that Rotten Tomatoes list of the ...I just looked at that Rotten Tomatoes list of the supposedly 55 best ever Christmas movies. Seems I've only seen 20 of them (and more than half of those only once), and there were quite a few that I had never even heard of.<br /><br />I would count only 7 of them amongst my "favorites", and one of those (<i>Holiday Inn</i>) would have a giant asterisk next to it, due to its cringeworthy blackface scene.Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-13739136845724540182019-12-21T08:21:55.534-07:002019-12-21T08:21:55.534-07:00But does your dad relate to the father in the movi...But does your dad relate to the father in the movie, or to the son?<br /><br />Also, does anyone else here like <i>Scrooged</i> with Bill Murray?Starhopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350334327301656588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-86849634938975303542019-12-21T08:03:32.431-07:002019-12-21T08:03:32.431-07:00There's some channel that plays A Christmas St...There's some channel that plays <i>A Christmas Story</i> 24 hours straight, and my dad watches it the entire day and has since I can remember. So I can't help but hate it!Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593005679430527458noreply@blogger.com