In the fifteenth installment of “Discovering Religion” I discuss the historical suppression of science by Christian authorities. But this is really nothing new. Modern-day Christians constantly attempt to suppress scientific knowledge they see as contradicting their literal understanding of the Bible. This is perfectly exemplified by Ray Comfort’s insane version of dog evolution, highlighted at the beginning of the episode. Although Comfort is satisfied to manipulate scientific information and denigrate Darwin’s life work, Christian authorities of the past were more keen to excommunicate, torture, and put to death anyone they deemed as heretical. VIDEOS: Using Common Sense to Debunk Evolution (Ray Comfort video) www.youtube.com Thunderf00d For Thought (NephilimFree) www.youtube.com ————————- LINKS: al-Haytham en.wikipedia.org Aristotle en.wikipedia.org Galileo Galilei: en.wikipedia.org Aristarchus en.wikipedia.org Roger Bacon: plato.stanford.edu books.google.com ———————– Other interesting links to learn more about Christians who were burnt at the stake for holding marginal ecclesiastical views. Jan Hus (1415) en.wikipedia.org Savonarola (1498) en.wikipedia.org Patrick Hamilton (1528) en.wikipedia.org John Frith (1533) en.wikipedia.org William Tyndale (1536) en.wikipedia.org Michael Servetus (1553) en.wikipedia.org Giordano Bruno (1600) en.wikipedia.org Avvakum Petrov (1682) en.wikipedia.org Hugh Latimer (1555) en.wikipedia.org Nicholas …
WARNING: This episode contains some graphic scenes of sacrifice and torture, view at your own discretion. The eighteenth installment of my original series, “Discovering Religion”. Although I have a feeling some of you might find this episode a little dry, due to the large amount of Bible quotations, this episode is a very important addition to my series. If you’ve ever debated a Christian about morality you are familiar with the large emphasis placed on the Ten Commandments, while vast majority of Moses’ other commands are selectively ‘cherry picked’ as it suits their needs. I attempt to rectify the fallacious attitude Christians have toward Scripture by examining the Mosaic Laws of atonement and morality, the purpose of Christ within God’s Law, and how Jesus defined himself with regard to the Law. This episode originally started off as a couple paragraphs in the next episode, “If America Became a Christian Nation”; however, I knew many Christians would contest my arguments if I had not thoroughly established the Law’s Christians are required to follow. Now that I have set the stage, so to speak, the next installment will be a two-part episode that discusses all the changes in public policy we might expect to see if America went the way of Islamic countries that follow Sharia Law. —————————————————— PLAYLIST: www.youtube.com —————————————————— Important Quotes: And by that will, we have been made holy …
The sixteenth installment of my original series, “Discovering Religion”. In this episode I discuss the current actions of Christian Americans to suppress modern-day scientific advancements. In particular, I address the movement by Christians to outlaw embryonic stem cell, a stance they have no justification from the Bible in taking — a situation that very closely parallels the Church’s suppression of Roger Bacon and Galileo Galilei’s scientific discoveries. Additional information I could not include in the video: Diabetes: Giving insulin to children with Type I Diabetes is a viable means of treating this disease, however; after 15-20 years of living with type I diabetes, the danger continues to grow, possibly leading to kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, brain damage, and premature death. This is why stem cell research is so crucial to patients suffering from this serious condition. Bone Marrow Transplants: There are many patients, both child and adult, in need of bone marrow transplants that would greatly benefit from the use of stem cells. For 2/3 of them, there is no donor with an acceptable genetic match. However, even when a match is found, it is never perfect. With stem cells, doctors could grow cells customized to the needs of the patient. On a personal note, a good friend of mine mentioned that his best friend in high school needed a marrow transplant. Each one of his friends volunteered for the test to see if they were compatible; however, an acceptable …
There was once a time, when magickal beings started appearing on earth; wise ones who knew that since they came from nature and would return to nature it was urgent that they didn’t affect the delicate balance of all that constituted our environment on this paradise. They revered the land, the seasons, celebrated the Sun and the Moon and held all animals sacred to their hearts.
As civilizations grew and selfishness and greed enveloped the world, wars and destruction became common and human beings found weapons to kill each other and thought of themselves as civilized and advanced societies. They created new religions and almost destroyed the old magickal cultures.
Deep in their hearts, some of these beings still held on to old beliefs and traditions which were the secret to the survival of our universe. These religions were called “pagan religions” by the ignorant warlords who used the new religions to conquer and destroy magickal people they called “savages” and “heathens”. They also tried to kill and burn people who did not believe in these new religions and called them Satanic or evil to incite the common people to destroy them.
Further, they came up with the idea of “Hell” where people would go to, if they did not believe in these new religions.
However, magick always prevails. In spite of the greed and ignorance of these so called “advanced” religions, some of the wiser, gentler, nature worshipping religions survived. They didn’t bomb each other, they didn’t create havoc and they didn’t pollute the world. They respected the environment, taking only enough, leaving plenty for others and never breaking the laws of nature.
Wicca is one of those nature loving religions that was practiced in Northern Europe before the advent of the middle-eastern Judeo-Christian religions and is now on its way to a revival in many parts of the world.
The Wiccans celebrate the cycles of nature and the four seasons, the Sunrise and Sunset as well as the phases of the Moon. They worship the Female Goddess as well as the Male God, and believe that all of us have the power of the cosmic energy that created us. “Wicca” is the old English term for witch. All ancient religions practiced some form of magick. Most of the witches worshipped nature and looked upon all creation as sacred.
Unlike some of the other religions which accept a male God and give up everything to HIS will, Wiccans believe that the Goddess and God are divine powers WHO guide us in our search for spiritual harmony and our urge to CREATE.
Nature had to take a backseat to wars and politics while fundamentalists attacked each other with bombs and chemical weapons to manipulate nature for selfish purposes. The answer to this catastrophic behavior is simple – to return to a peaceful, nature loving way of life.
Natural religions are being accepted back into cultures as a response to the tremendous damage done by modern religions on the earth’s resources and environment. Wicca seems to be one of the answers to such a dilemma.
Anyone can join the Wiccan religion. Although there are groups of Wiccans (covens) that make rules and initiate others into this religion, there are no basic requirements to join this religion other than a yearning to live a life of peace and joy in harmony with nature.
Anyone wishing to join the Wicca religion can read and study its history, principles and practice, perform the self-initiation ceremony and start practicing the religion immediately.
Wiccans usually have certain objects that are used for rituals and spells. To increase concentration, objects such as candles, incense, large pots (cauldrons), cups (chalice) and natural treasures such as sticks, stones, wood, etc are used. The symbol of a 5 pointed star, called a pentagram is especially significant to this religion and is used in rituals and ceremonies. To emphasize the importance of these ceremonies, Wiccans use ceremonial robes and wands. There are many books and websites on the Wiccan tools and sacred objects used in rituals.
Wiccans believe that whatever we do in life, whether it has a positive or negative outcome, we get it back three-fold. This is sometimes called the Threefold Law. Because of this belief, Wiccans always think before doing harm to anyone.
Magick is the method of directing energy that is around us to produce a pre-determined outcome. Magick is a command that is directed to the world with the expectation of immediate action. It’s a reinforcement of an expected outcome, without a hint of a doubt that it may not happen. Magick not a plea to an all powerful God, it’s a command to the divine Goddess of nature who is always ready to make it happen.
Tis the witching hour of night,
Orbed is the moon and bright,
And the stars they glisten, glisten,
Seeming with bright eyes to listen
For what listen they?
John Keats (1795 – 1821)
Wicca is a healing tradition that is based on the love of the Earth. Herbs and healing crystals as well as stones are usually used in rituals. The more they practice the religion, the better they get at understanding how spirituality can restore the world. Wiccans can help heal people with herbal remedies and other holistic healing methods such as Reiki and Meditation.