Monthly Archive for December, 2007

New Year, and New Improvement: Syndication!

Published

on December 31, 2007

Currently Reading:
The Way of Zen
by Taisen Deshimaru

We Are Live:
I have set up my blog now, so that it can be syndicated w/a RSS feed or ATOM. The links are near the top-left of my blog, just under my pic. As you all know, just click on the type of subscription you use, and you'll be notified every time I make a new post. No having to manually go here and check, though you can do that if you REALLY want to. ;-)

Cheers,
CET

"Much of the suffering in the world comes from the illusion that we are separate from one another." - Gautama Buddha

Columnist unable to accurately quote head of own church

Published

Australian Atheist

on December 31, 2007

Christopher Pearson is one of Australia’s worst journalists.

A week ago the Pope said:

What would he say if he could see the state of the world today, through the abuse of energy and its selfish and reckless exploitation? Anselm of Canterbury, in an almost prophetic way, once described a vision of what we witness today in a polluted world whose future is at risk.

Pearson argues that Sydney Morning Herald journalist Ian Fisher “framed” these comments as the Pope voicing concern about global warming.

Pearson disagrees with this characterisation:

We already know what know we already know what Benedict thinks about global warming. He made a telling intervention during the Bali conference earlier this month… What matters is what the Pope himself says.

So what does Pearson think the pope said: He warned that “any solution to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not dubious ideology ... Fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disaster are nothing more than scaremongering.”
Pretty conclusive wouldn’t you think. Except that the pope did say any of that. The first three sentences of Pearson’s pope quotation are actually the words of Daily Mail journalist Simon Caldwell.

Only the final two sentences of the quotation are from the pope. And those don’t really mention global warming:

Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions.

A fact Pearson could easily have discovered. The pope’s message is produced in full here.

Possessed by demons? Satan got ya? Who ya gonna call?

Published

Dave McRitchie

on December 30, 2007

Well, you might start with your local Catholic church. The Vatican has recently ordered bishops to form teams of priests in each diocese trained to fight demonic possession. However, it has not...

A Random Walk Through the Bible: Psalm 148:12

Published

evtujo

on December 30, 2007

Psalm 148:12 (New International Version)

young men and maidens, old men and children.

Using our random verse finder and the basic methodology we begin our adventure.

discern the spiritual principle in this verse
- no idea
ask what was god trying to get across to these people when he spoke these words
- no idea
ask how does this apply to me
- no idea

OK, God is not going to make this easy I see. Perhaps it's more meaningful in the original Klingon.....

I guess I'll meditate on those profound words and try again next week. Let me know if anyone sees the wisdom of these words that I'm missing....

Please Stop Saying ‘Christians’ – You Owe It To Byzantium

Published

eltower

on December 29, 2007

A small personal gripe, after a very lengthy interval in posting.

We can all agree that Christianity has plenty of denominations. The basic divisions, we can all agree upon, are Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism and Protestantism.

There is one point, however, which everyone seems to fall into (as did I, but I’m trying to avoid it).

In the US there are countless variations and reforms of the Protestant branch of Christianity, the most notable here in Europe being the Evangelical Christians, for their relentless pursuit of converting others.

However, they call themselves ‘Christians’.

In Spain, the Catholic Church will in the very near future hold demonstrations in favour of the ‘Christian family’. Catholics call themselves ‘Cristianos’.

This is, admittedly, a small gripe, yet one I believe must be made in order to respect historical fact.

I am the first to denounce any kind of blind belief, however moderate or apparently harmless it may be. But there is a crucially important distinction to make when talking about Evangelicals or Catholics or any denomination of Christianity.

Because of my close affiliation with Orthodox Christianity as a family heritage (without succumbing to the inane beliefs), I get ticked off when people talk about, say, Creationists, as Christians, simply because this lumps everyone who calls themselves a Christian together into the Creationist category.

I say respect for history because of my loyalty to my Byzantine heritage. It might sound inane, but at a closer look, the Byzantine Empire has, in its over 1000 years of history, done more for the protection of European Christendom and Middle Age kingdoms than anyone actually in Europe.

The Byzantine Empire was shrouded in religion, Orthodox Christianity to be precise. As the inheritor of the Roman Empire, the new capital, Constantinople became one of the Empire’s religious centres, as well as a city of unrivaled splendor and the administrative centre of a vast Empire dominating East and West.

However, it made a point to shy away from mixing religion in warfare, something few other religions can claim to do. Indeed, priests blessed the soldiers and in desperate sieges, the morale was boosted with cries of the Virgin Mary or other Medieval incantations. But the Church often refused to make martyrs out of fallen soldiers. And the concept of holy war was as alien to them as despicable when they saw it wielded by their Latin and Muslim enemies [PDF].

And for 1000 years, until 1453, Byzantine soldiered on, holding off the unstoppable advances of the prophet’s armies, while Europe took the time to sink into the lowest pits of the Dark Ages. A cursory look at Byzantine Studies puts the rest of European history in perspective.

I make this tangential remark on the Byzantine Empire because its history is inseparable to that of the Orthodox Church. The Schools of Hellenic Wisdom were kept alive in the Byzantine Empire and transmitted to the Islamic worlds and the Western worlds after the Fall of Constantinople.

So whenever I see someone railing against an Evangelical or an American neo-con, or a Spanish Catholic fascist and calling them ‘Christian’, well, I can’t help myself from getting a bit ticked off. Mostly because it’s acknowledging them the privilege of speaking for a far greater body of people than they really are speaking for. But also, and I stress this is as much out of respect for history as it is a personal issue, because it lumps in the Byzantine Empire with an American Creationist.

So, if it’s not too much to ask, it would be a small battle won against ‘Christian’ fundamentalists to call them Evangelical Fundamentalists or Catholic Fundamentalists or even Orthodox Fundamentalists (whenever the rare occasion comes up). Just not ‘Christian’, because you lump in the noble defense of civilisation the ‘Christian’ Byzantine Empire held up for 1000 years with the barbarity of the Crusades, the insanity of Islamic propagation, the despotism of the Catholic Inquisitions, the inanity of Creationism and the barbarism of modern Islam.

I’m not going to try and say the Byzantine Empire was a centre for secular peace and modern progressive thought. It was a Medieval Empire, after all, not exempt from a considerable share of torture, irrelevant religious debate and eunuchs but a great empire nonetheless, one that in the interest of stabbing the real fundamentalists and in the interest of historical accuracy, deserves not to be lumped in with fascist bastards.

A verse a day keeps the hellfire away…

Published

evtujo

on December 29, 2007

"When you begin to ask yourself questions you will hear God speaking to you"

As you may have discerned by now I have an unhealthy fascination with Christian radio. On a recent program they were talking about the book "He Speaks to Me" (starts around 1h20m). Among other things they discussed the wonderful efficacy of reading a random verse a day and trying to apply it to your life. Now they suggested that you start with John, but that's not very random. Hence the program I posted yesterday.

Now I'm all about giving God a chance to talk to me. Unlike some religious skeptics I actually have no problem with a universe with a god in it. I just don't happen to think that this is such a place. But if it was I'd rather know. Just for the truthiness if not the eternal life (or at least avoidance of eternal torment).

So on the advice of the above program I will endeavor to occasionally (let's say weekly for now), take one verse completely at random (or by God's influence?) and do the following:

- discern the spiritual principle in this verse
- ask what was god trying to get across to these people when he spoke these words
- ask how does this apply to me

Also I vow not to cherry pick. I will take the very first one I find (ie I will just run the random verse picker once). If God has a message to get thru to me it should be easy enough to direct me to the important bits and show me things that relate to my life right now.

Tune into the next posting for the first episode of this feature.

PS: The random aspect of this experiment reminds of this interesting video series I saw awhile ago with Knuth talking about, among other things, his semi-random exploration of the Bible.

Finding random Bible verses

Published

evtujo

on December 29, 2007

The code below can be saved in a file (e.g. find_random_verse.py) and run as: python find_random_verse.py. The verse statistics were taken from: http://www.deafmissions.com/tally/bkchptrvrs.html. I was surprised to learn that there are 137 verse that are "unnumbered" (in Psalms). Just assume that those belong to the previous numbered verse.

Why do I or anyone else need a random Bible verse finder? Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.... (or is it just the beginning?)


verses_data = {
 '1 CHRONICLES': {1: 54, 2: 55, 3: 24, 4: 43, 5: 26, 6: 81, 7: 40, 8: 40, 9: 44, 10: 14, 11: 47, 12: 40, 13: 14, 14: 17, 15: 29, 16: 43, 17: 27, 18: 17, 19: 19, 20: 8, 21: 30, 22: 19, 23: 32, 24: 31, 25: 31, 26: 32, 27: 34, 28: 21, 29: 30},
 '1 CORINTHIANS': {1: 31, 2: 16, 3: 23, 4: 21, 5: 13, 6: 20, 7: 40, 8: 13, 9: 27, 10: 33, 11: 34, 12: 31, 13: 13, 14: 40, 15: 58, 16: 24},
 '1 JOHN': {1: 10, 2: 29, 3: 24, 4: 21, 5: 21},
 '1 KINGS': {1: 53, 2: 46, 3: 28, 4: 34, 5: 18, 6: 38, 7: 51, 8: 66, 9: 28, 10: 29, 11: 43, 12: 33, 13: 34, 14: 31, 15: 34, 16: 34, 17: 24, 18: 46, 19: 21, 20: 43, 21: 29, 22: 53}, 
 '1 PETER': {1: 25, 2: 25, 3: 22, 4: 19, 5: 14},
 '1 SAMUEL': {1: 28, 2: 36, 3: 21, 4: 22, 5: 12, 6: 21, 7: 17, 8: 22, 9: 27, 10: 27, 11: 15, 12: 25, 13: 23, 14: 52, 15: 35, 16: 23, 17: 58, 18: 30, 19: 24, 20: 42, 21: 15, 22: 23, 23: 29, 24: 22, 25: 44, 26: 25, 27: 12, 28: 25, 29: 11, 30: 31, 31: 13},
 '1 THESSALONIANS': {1: 10, 2: 20, 3: 13, 4: 18, 5: 28},
 '1 TIMOTHY': {1: 20, 2: 15, 3: 16, 4: 16, 5: 25, 6: 21},
 '2 CHRONICLES': {1: 17, 2: 18, 3: 17, 4: 22, 5: 14, 6: 42, 7: 22, 8: 18, 9: 31, 10: 19, 11: 23, 12: 16, 13: 22, 14: 15, 15: 19, 16: 14, 17: 19, 18: 34, 19: 11, 20: 37, 21: 20, 22: 12, 23: 21, 24: 27, 25: 28, 26: 23, 27: 9, 28: 27, 29: 36, 30: 27, 31: 21, 32: 33, 33: 25, 34: 33, 35: 27, 36: 23},
 '2 CORINTHIANS': {1: 24, 2: 17, 3: 18, 4: 18, 5: 21, 6: 18, 7: 16, 8: 24, 9: 15, 10: 18, 11: 33, 12: 21, 13: 14},
 '2 JOHN': {1: 13},
 '2 KINGS': {1: 18, 2: 25, 3: 27, 4: 44, 5: 27, 6: 33, 7: 20, 8: 29, 9: 37, 10: 36, 11: 21, 12: 21, 13: 25, 14: 29, 15: 38, 16: 20, 17: 41, 18: 37, 19: 37, 20: 21, 21: 26, 22: 20, 23: 37, 24: 20, 25: 30},
 '2 PETER': {1: 21, 2: 22, 3: 18},
 '2 SAMUEL': {1: 27, 2: 32, 3: 39, 4: 12, 5: 25, 6: 23, 7: 29, 8: 18, 9: 13, 10: 19, 11: 27, 12: 31, 13: 39, 14: 33, 15: 37, 16: 23, 17: 29, 18: 33, 19: 43, 20: 26, 21: 22, 22: 51, 23: 39, 24: 25},
 '2 THESSALONIANS': {1: 12, 2: 17, 3: 18},
 '2 TIMOTHY': {1: 18, 2: 26, 3: 17, 4: 22},
 '3 JOHN': {1: 15},
 'ACTS': {1: 26, 2: 47, 3: 26, 4: 37, 5: 42, 6: 15, 7: 60, 8: 40, 9: 43, 10: 48, 11: 30, 12: 25, 13: 52, 14: 28, 15: 41, 16: 40, 17: 34, 18: 28, 19: 41, 20: 38, 21: 40, 22: 30, 23: 35, 24: 27, 25: 27, 26: 32, 27: 44, 28: 31},
 'AMOS': {1: 15, 2: 16, 3: 15, 4: 13, 5: 27, 6: 14, 7: 17, 8: 14, 9: 15},
 'COLOSSIANS': {1: 29, 2: 23, 3: 25, 4: 18},
 'DANIEL': {1: 21, 2: 49, 3: 30, 4: 37, 5: 31, 6: 28, 7: 28, 8: 27, 9: 27, 10: 21, 11: 45, 12: 13},
 'DEUTERONOMY': {1: 46, 2: 37, 3: 29, 4: 49, 5: 33, 6: 25, 7: 26, 8: 20, 9: 29, 10: 22, 11: 32, 12: 32, 13: 18, 14: 29, 15: 23, 16: 22, 17: 20, 18: 22, 19: 21, 20: 20, 21: 23, 22: 30, 23: 25, 24: 22, 25: 19, 26: 19, 27: 26, 28: 68, 29: 29, 30: 20, 31: 30, 32: 52, 33: 29, 34: 12},
 'ECCLESIASTES': {1: 18, 2: 26, 3: 22, 4: 16, 5: 20, 6: 12, 7: 29, 8: 17, 9: 18, 10: 20, 11: 10, 12: 14},
 'EPHESIANS': {1: 23, 2: 22, 3: 21, 4: 32, 5: 33, 6: 24},
 'ESTHER': {1: 22, 2: 23, 3: 15, 4: 17, 5: 14, 6: 14, 7: 10, 8: 17, 9: 32, 10: 3},
 'EXODUS': {1: 22, 2: 25, 3: 22, 4: 31, 5: 23, 6: 30, 7: 25, 8: 32, 9: 35, 10: 29, 11: 10, 12: 51, 13: 22, 14: 31, 15: 27, 16: 36, 17: 16, 18: 27, 19: 25, 20: 26, 21: 36, 22: 31, 23: 33, 24: 18, 25: 40, 26: 37, 27: 21, 28: 43, 29: 46, 30: 38, 31: 18, 32: 35, 33: 23, 34: 35, 35: 35, 36: 38, 37: 29, 38: 31, 39: 43, 40: 38},
 'EZEKIEL': {1: 28, 2: 10, 3: 27, 4: 17, 5: 17, 6: 14, 7: 27, 8: 18, 9: 11, 10: 22, 11: 25, 12: 28, 13: 23, 14: 23, 15: 8, 16: 63, 17: 24, 18: 32, 19: 14, 20: 49, 21: 32, 22: 31, 23: 49, 24: 27, 25: 17, 26: 21, 27: 36, 28: 26, 29: 21, 30: 26,
             31: 18, 32: 32, 33: 33, 34: 31, 35: 15, 36: 38, 37: 28, 38: 23, 39: 29, 40: 49, 41: 26, 42: 20, 43: 27, 44: 31, 45: 25, 46: 24, 47: 23, 48: 35},
 'EZRA': {1: 11, 2: 70, 3: 13, 4: 24, 5: 17, 6: 22, 7: 28, 8: 36, 9: 15, 10: 44},
 'GALATIANS': {1: 24, 2: 21, 3: 29, 4: 31, 5: 26, 6: 18},
 'GENESIS': {1: 31, 2: 25, 3: 24, 4: 26, 5: 32, 6: 22, 7: 24, 8: 22, 9: 29, 10: 32, 11: 32, 12: 20, 13: 18, 14: 24, 15: 21, 16: 16, 17: 27, 18: 33, 19: 38, 20: 18, 21: 34, 22: 24, 23: 20, 24: 67, 25: 34, 26: 35, 27: 46, 28: 22, 29: 35, 30: 43, 31: 55, 32: 32, 33: 20, 34: 31, 35: 29, 36: 43, 37: 36, 38: 30, 39: 23, 40: 23, 41: 57, 42: 38, 43: 34, 44: 34, 45: 28, 46: 34,
             47: 31, 48: 22, 49: 33, 50: 26},
 'HABAKKUK': {1: 17, 2: 20, 3: 19},
 'HAGGAI': {1: 15, 2: 23},
 'HEBREWS': {1: 14, 2: 18, 3: 19, 4: 16, 5: 14, 6: 20, 7: 28, 8: 13, 9: 28, 10: 39, 11: 40, 12: 29, 13: 25},
 'HOSEA': {1: 11, 2: 23, 3: 5, 4: 19, 5: 15, 6: 11, 7: 16, 8: 14, 9: 17, 10: 15, 11: 12, 12: 14, 13: 16, 14: 9},
 'ISAIAH': {1: 31, 2: 22, 3: 26, 4: 6, 5: 30, 6: 13, 7: 25, 8: 22, 9: 21, 10: 34, 11: 16, 12: 6, 13: 22, 14: 32, 15: 9, 16: 14, 17: 14, 18: 7, 19: 25, 20: 6, 21: 17, 22: 25, 23: 18, 24: 23, 25: 12, 26: 21, 27: 13, 28: 29, 29: 24, 30: 33, 31: 9, 32: 20, 33: 24, 34: 17, 35: 10, 36: 22, 37: 38, 38: 22, 39: 8, 40: 31, 41: 29, 42: 25, 43: 28, 44: 28, 45: 25, 46: 13,
            47: 15, 48: 22, 49: 26, 50: 11, 51: 23, 52: 15, 53: 12, 54: 17, 55: 13, 56: 12, 57: 21, 58: 14, 59: 21, 60: 22, 61: 11, 62: 12, 63: 19, 64: 12, 65: 25, 66: 24}, 
 'JAMES': {1: 27, 2: 26, 3: 18, 4: 17, 5: 20},
 'JEREMIAH': {1: 19, 2: 37, 3: 25, 4: 31, 5: 31, 6: 30, 7: 34, 8: 22, 9: 26, 10: 25, 11: 23, 12: 17, 13: 27, 14: 22, 15: 21, 16: 21, 17: 27, 18: 23, 19: 15, 20: 18, 21: 14, 22: 30, 23: 40, 24: 10, 25: 38, 26: 24, 27: 22, 28: 17, 29: 32, 30: 24, 31: 40, 32: 44, 33: 26, 34: 22, 35: 19, 36: 32, 37: 21, 38: 28, 39: 18, 40: 16, 41: 18, 42: 22, 43: 13, 44: 30, 45: 5, 46: 28,
              47: 7, 48: 47, 49: 39, 50: 46, 51: 64, 52: 34},
 'JOB': {1: 22, 2: 13, 3: 26, 4: 21, 5: 27, 6: 30, 7: 21, 8: 22, 9: 35, 10: 22, 11: 20, 12: 25, 13: 28, 14: 22, 15: 35, 16: 22, 17: 16, 18: 21, 19: 29, 20: 29, 21: 34, 22: 30, 23: 17, 24: 25, 25: 6, 26: 14, 27: 23, 28: 28, 29: 25, 30: 31, 31: 40, 32: 22, 33: 33, 34: 37, 35: 16, 36: 33, 37: 24, 38: 41, 39: 30, 40: 24, 41: 34, 42: 17},
 'JOEL': {1: 20, 2: 32, 3: 21},
 'JOHN': {1: 51, 2: 25, 3: 36, 4: 54, 5: 47, 6: 71, 7: 53, 8: 59, 9: 41, 10: 42, 11: 57, 12: 50, 13: 38, 14: 31, 15: 27, 16: 33, 17: 26, 18: 40, 19: 42, 20: 31, 21: 25},
 'JONAH': {1: 17, 2: 10, 3: 10, 4: 11},
 'JOSHUA': {1: 18, 2: 24, 3: 17, 4: 24, 5: 15, 6: 27, 7: 26, 8: 35, 9: 27, 10: 43, 11: 23, 12: 24, 13: 33, 14: 15, 15: 63, 16: 10, 17: 18, 18: 28, 19: 51, 20: 9, 21: 45, 22: 34, 23: 16, 24: 33},
 'JUDE': {1: 25},
 'JUDGES': {1: 36, 2: 23, 3: 31, 4: 24, 5: 31, 6: 40, 7: 25, 8: 35, 9: 57, 10: 18, 11: 40, 12: 15, 13: 25, 14: 20, 15: 20, 16: 31, 17: 13, 18: 31, 19: 30, 20: 48, 21: 25},
 'LAMENTATIONS': {1: 22, 2: 22, 3: 66, 4: 22, 5: 22},
 'LEVITICUS': {1: 17, 2: 16, 3: 17, 4: 35, 5: 19, 6: 30, 7: 38, 8: 36, 9: 24, 10: 20, 11: 47, 12: 8, 13: 59, 14: 57, 15: 33, 16: 34, 17: 16, 18: 30, 19: 37, 20: 27, 21: 24, 22: 33, 23: 44, 24: 23, 25: 55, 26: 46, 27: 34},
 'LUKE': {1: 80, 2: 52, 3: 38, 4: 44, 5: 39, 6: 49, 7: 50, 8: 56, 9: 62, 10: 42, 11: 54, 12: 59, 13: 35, 14: 35, 15: 32, 16: 31, 17: 37, 18: 43, 19: 48, 20: 47, 21: 38, 22: 71, 23: 56, 24: 53},
 'MALACHI': {1: 14, 2: 17, 3: 18, 4: 6},
 'MARK': {1: 45, 2: 28, 3: 35, 4: 41, 5: 43, 6: 56, 7: 37, 8: 38, 9: 50, 10: 52, 11: 33, 12: 44, 13: 37, 14: 72, 15: 47, 16: 20},
 'MATTHEW': {1: 25, 2: 23, 3: 17, 4: 25, 5: 48, 6: 34, 7: 29, 8: 34, 9: 38, 10: 42, 11: 30, 12: 50, 13: 58, 14: 36, 15: 39, 16: 28, 17: 27, 18: 35, 19: 30, 20: 34, 21: 46, 22: 46, 23: 39, 24: 51, 25: 46, 26: 75, 27: 66, 28: 20},
 'MICAH': {1: 16, 2: 13, 3: 12, 4: 13, 5: 15, 6: 16, 7: 20},
 'NAHUM': {1: 15, 2: 13, 3: 19},
 'NEHEMIAH': {1: 11, 2: 20, 3: 32, 4: 23, 5: 19, 6: 19, 7: 73, 8: 18, 9: 38, 10: 39, 11: 36, 12: 47, 13: 31},
 'NUMBERS': {1: 54, 2: 34, 3: 51, 4: 49, 5: 31, 6: 27, 7: 89, 8: 26, 9: 23, 10: 36, 11: 35, 12: 16, 13: 33, 14: 45, 15: 41, 16: 50, 17: 13, 18: 32, 19: 22, 20: 29, 21: 35, 22: 41, 23: 30, 24: 25, 25: 18, 26: 65, 27: 23, 28: 31, 29: 40, 30: 16, 31: 54, 32: 42, 33: 56, 34: 29, 35: 34, 36: 13},
 'OBADIAH': {1: 21},
 'PHILEMON': {1: 25},
 'PHILIPPIANS': {1: 30, 2: 30, 3: 21, 4: 23},
 'PROVERBS': {1: 33, 2: 22, 3: 35, 4: 27, 5: 23, 6: 35, 7: 27, 8: 36, 9: 18, 10: 32, 11: 31, 12: 28, 13: 25, 14: 35, 15: 33, 16: 33, 17: 28, 18: 24, 19: 29, 20: 30, 21: 31, 22: 29, 23: 35, 24: 34, 25: 28, 26: 28, 27: 27, 28: 28, 29: 27, 30: 33, 31: 31},
 'PSALMS': {1: 6, 2: 12, 3: 8, 4: 8, 5: 12, 6: 10, 7: 17, 8: 9, 9: 20, 10: 18, 11: 7, 12: 8, 13: 6, 14: 7, 15: 5, 16: 11, 17: 15, 18: 50, 19: 14, 20: 9, 21: 13, 22: 31, 23: 6, 24: 10, 25: 22, 26: 12, 27: 14, 28: 9, 29: 11, 30: 12, 31: 24, 32: 11, 33: 22, 34: 22, 35: 28, 36: 12, 37: 40, 38: 22, 39: 13, 40: 17, 41: 13, 42: 11, 43: 5, 44: 26, 45: 17, 46: 11,
            47: 9, 48: 14, 49: 20, 50: 23, 51: 19, 52: 9, 53: 6, 54: 7, 55: 23, 56: 13, 57: 11, 58: 11, 59: 17, 60: 12, 61: 8, 62: 12, 63: 11, 64: 10, 65: 13, 66: 20, 67: 7, 68: 35, 69: 36, 70: 5, 71: 24, 72: 20, 73: 28, 74: 23, 75: 10, 76: 12, 77: 20,
            78: 72, 79: 13, 80: 19, 81: 16, 82: 8, 83: 18, 84: 12, 85: 13, 86: 17, 87: 7, 88: 18, 89: 52, 90: 17, 91: 16, 92: 15, 93: 5, 94: 23, 95: 11, 96: 13, 97: 12, 98: 9, 99: 9, 100: 5, 101: 8, 102: 28, 103: 22, 104: 35, 105: 45, 106: 48, 107: 43, 108: 13,
            109: 31, 110: 7, 111: 10, 112: 10, 113: 9, 114: 8, 115: 18, 116: 19, 117: 2, 118: 29, 119: 176, 120: 7, 121: 8, 122: 9, 123: 4, 124: 8, 125: 5, 126: 6, 127: 5, 128: 6, 129: 8, 130: 8, 131: 3, 132: 18, 133: 3, 134: 3, 135: 21, 136: 26, 137: 9, 138: 8, 139: 24,
            140: 13, 141: 10, 142: 7, 143: 12, 144: 15, 145: 21, 146: 10, 147: 20, 148: 14, 149: 9, 150: 6},
 'REVELATION': {1: 20, 2: 29, 3: 22, 4: 11, 5: 14, 6: 17, 7: 17, 8: 13, 9: 21, 10: 11, 11: 19, 12: 17, 13: 18, 14: 20, 15: 8, 16: 21, 17: 18, 18: 24, 19: 21, 20: 15, 21: 27, 22: 21},
 'ROMANS': {1: 32, 2: 29, 3: 31, 4: 25, 5: 21, 6: 23, 7: 25, 8: 39, 9: 33, 10: 21, 11: 36, 12: 21, 13: 14, 14: 23, 15: 33, 16: 27},
 'RUTH': {1: 22, 2: 23, 3: 18, 4: 22},
 'SONG OF SONGS': {1: 17, 2: 17, 3: 11, 4: 16, 5: 16, 6: 13, 7: 13, 8: 14},
 'TITUS': {1: 16, 2: 15, 3: 15},
 'ZECHARIAH': {1: 21, 2: 13, 3: 10, 4: 14, 5: 11, 6: 15, 7: 14, 8: 23, 9: 17, 10: 12, 11: 17, 12: 14, 13: 9, 14: 21},
 'ZEPHANIAH': {1: 18, 2: 15, 3: 20}
}

import random

def random_verse(data):
    index = 1
    current = None
    for b in data:
        for c, vc in data[b].items():
            for v in range(1,vc+1):
                if random.choice(range(index)) == 0:
                    current = (b,c,v)
                index += 1

    return current
   
def main():
    print random_verse(verses_data)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Live Like Your Hair’s on Fire

Published

The Spiritual Atheist

on December 28, 2007

Currently Reading:
The Way of Zen
by Taisen Deshimaru

New Book:
So I finished the last book, and had 2 more in the wings. So what do I get? 2 MORE BOOKS! I swear, I must be a masochist or something. These things are piling up on my desk faster then I can read them . . . that's entirely my fault though.

Like Your Hair's on Fire:
The first sentence of this new book is as follows, "You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair." Incidentally, this is also how I drive.

The author goes on to describe this Bushido (way of the warrior, or "Samurai Code") phrase. He says that you should live each moment fully, as though it may be your last. Leave no room for regret, hesitation, or fear.

This is synchronous with a thought I was already carrying, though it goes a bit further then mine. The thought I was already carrying was simply, "If we're lucky, we get a mere 28,000 days on this little blue marble." This had already forced me to consider what it is that I have time for on a day to day basis, and what I don't have time for. I quickly discovered that I have no time for holding grudges, anger, hatred, jealousy, etc. The only thing I do have time for is love and compassion.

These first few words in my study of Bushido already reaffirm that sentiment, and actually carry it to the next step. I MIGHT have 28,000 days, then again I may only have this one. Of course, this is no excuse to blow everything I have on a quick wild ride, because I may be around for many years still. I should simply act in every moment as though it may be my last.

Cheers,
CET

"Much of the suffering in the world comes from the illusion that we are separate from one another." - Gautama Buddha

Proof of god’s existence, your stupidity

Published

Australian Atheist

on December 28, 2007

Peter Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, preaching at St Andrew's Cathedral on Christmas day, acknowledges the critics:

People ask us where God is, why they can't see God, and if it is true, we should be able to know it is true.

But he has an answer: The Christmas story tells us that it is true.

This man’s standard of evidence is not very high.

There was a point in history where God became flesh. Those who were with him saw him, talked to him, lived with him and in the end crucified him.

No. There as a point in history where an egomaniac’s claims that he was god were taken seriously. A few wrote about it, and now millions of people take these claims seriously.

The son of God, Jesus, showed us exactly what God is like.

A delusional hippie with a penchant for party tricks.

Our problem with God is not that he is invisible or that he does not exist. The real problem is that we wish that he did not exist.

The success of religion in modern times is a testament to the fact that people do wish that god exists.

Jensen’s real problem is because god is invisible, and doesn’t exist, his church is dying. And blaming people for being unable to believe in a sky fairy will do nothing to slow it.

The War on Christmas* comes to the Australian suburbs

Published

Australian Atheist

on December 28, 2007

On Christmas Eve I went to a Catholic mass. The priest began his homily by using Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a metaphor for how Catholics should treat the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. (Although obviously not homosexuals.)

Towards the end he stumbled in into controversial territory, bemoaning the fact that “some people in this country don’t want us to publicly celebrate Christmas”. No names were mentioned.

He went on to argue that such illiberalism was unacceptable as Australia was founded by Christians and that “this is our land”.

*Originating in the US, the ‘War on Christmas’ is a term used by some Christians to characterise what they see as secular attacks on the annual religious festival.

The Irony…

Published

Robert

on December 26, 2007

I couldn't resist, Everyday I see this sign and kept telling myself I was going to snap a shot of it, and finally today I did. The irony of this sign speaks for itself :)

The Islamist War on Muslim Women

Published

Dave McRitchie

on December 25, 2007

While I normally much prefer to post original material to The View from Here, I feel strongly that the following op/ed piece from The Boston Globe deserves a much wider audience than it may be...

The World Needs This Magic

Published

drmomentum@gmail.com

on December 25, 2007

In ancient times, as today, the seasons changed. For part of the year, the nights grew longer and longer until they froze. And then, just near the darkest time of the longest nights, people celebrated the promise of the return of the light. They had different symbols for the coming of the light. Evergreen represented rebirth — the promise that warmth would always return. People gathered with their loved ones, flung their voices against the darkness and shared a marvelous feast. Some called this celebration “Yule.” And, slowly at first, the light has always returned.

Another very old story tells of an anointed one (the “Christ”) who represented a new beginning, a chance for redemption. Some people who believed the anointed one had already come combined their story with the traditions of Yule and called it “Christmas.” This became a time to celebrate the fulfillment of a promise, like the return of the light, but embodied in a specific human person.

Many people all over the world celebrate this time of year. In my country, the United States of America, we have made “Christmas” an official national holiday, though nobody is required to celebrate it. It is a very inclusive holiday if you are open to the idea, no matter what your religious beliefs are. Perhaps you believe, through some supernatural force, an anointed one has already come. Perhaps you believe he has yet to come. Perhaps you believe in no such supernatural force at all. Perhaps you choose to celebrate something in your heart, some idea. It’s up to you, as all your choices are up to you.

And what a very wonderful idea it is, that at the darkest time there is hope that the light will return. And what a very powerful idea that the light can be embodied in a human person.

When things seem at their darkest, I choose to believe that you are that person. It is an important idea that the return of the light is not outside of you, but is within your heart and mind. And if you believe it, too, then you will act on it. Through your actions, change will happen slowly at first, but the light will always return. This is the magic the world needs.

Merry Christmas to you, and may your heart be filled with joy and bereft of despair. And may your friends, family and everyone you meet share that joy.

What happened to Jesus’ sacrifice?

Published

pseudonymouse

on December 25, 2007

Suffer the Little Children to believe that they and their loved ones are at risk of eternal punishment in the fires of hell. Why would parents insist that their children be terrified by such images?

In the Western world, where love of children does not seem to be an anti-religious indulgence, fundamentalists believe that they are warning their children when they teach them to fear the admittedly vicious god of their literalist bible. (In Islam, parents seem to be more delighted by children who blow themselves and others to smithereens for Allah.) In Christianity, loving parents warn that, "behave and god will love you, disobey or disbelieve and your'e headed for hell, Jesus' sacrifice or no."

But, scare tactics don't necessarily help. Even though the media is probably more likely to report dalliances by hypocritical ministers and televangelists than those of the average parishioner, such reports come thick and fast.

So what about Jesus' supposed sacrifice to save us from our sins? In essence, from some sins, but not the sin of employing our reason. Why should this sacrifice apply only to those who agree to believe in god, a virgin birth, a crucifixion, and a resurrection? Why would god send his son to die to save a murderer yet not to save a disbeliever?

Why would anyone believe in, still less, worship such a god?

The Soul

Published

Steve and Brandon

on December 25, 2007

One of the greatest concerns of all faiths, and a primary motivator of belief, is the issue of what happens to us after death. The faithful look forward to life after death, meeting their maker in his kingdom, and living in eternal bliss. But what part of us continues to the world beyond this one? General consensus among believers is that each of us possesses a soul, an immaterial, eternal essence which, following death, leaves our body and continues on to the afterlife. The concept of a soul is almost taken for granted, as though it were a clear reality; this couldn't be further from the truth.
The most obvious objection one might raise against the idea of a soul is this: how can an immaterial, eternal "thing" be associated with a material, temporal body? Those who believe in the soul consider it to be associated with an individual, either somewhere inside of them (there was once a time when the pineal gland was the supposed soul container) or around them. Yet how could this be? By simple definition, things which are immaterial are not bound by the laws of the material world. In fact, they represent the opposite of the world we know; these objects have no substance, can not be housed, nor can they interact with those things which are material, like a human body. In a perfect world, the argument would end here, and yet I'm sure that some of our detractors would appeal to the omnipotence of god and his creations to explain that my puny human mind can not understand the complex interactions of a soul and a body. I must admit that this is possible and therefore, must appeal to more complex arguments.
Let us take a moment to reflect upon the reason why the idea of souls is so appealing. Aside from the obvious appeal to be found in looking towards infinite bliss, one must admit that every ship needs a captain and the soul seemingly provides this role for the human body. The scientifically inclined may pipe up at this moment to claim that the human body already has a perfectly good (and clearly verified) captain, the brain. And yet, the brain is no more than a collection of neurons which send and receive signals amongst one another. Physiologists have yet to discover a "master neuron" which spontaneously instructs the other parts of the brain. Therefore, one can't help but wonder, when Sally decides she would like a new dress, which particular neuron or region of the brain came up with that desire? Surely something must be in charge, and the soul concept provides us with a conductor.
Indeed, most people who believe themselves to possess a soul, see that entity as more or less analogous to their personality/consciousness/mind. The soul, simply put, is us in the purest sense; it is the thing which desires, fears, loves, becomes inspired and somehow transmits these things to our brain. This is demonstrated by the way people discuss the afterlife: they look forward to seeing deceased relatives once more, and interacting as they once did in life, by speaking, and feeling emotions. Further, those who pray or speak with the souls of loved ones who have passed on, do so as though they were talking to any living person, which is to say, using their mind to communicate with an other's. Once again, one might wonder how an immaterial thing could communicate with the material brain (who's only language is physical neurotransmitters), yet this is besides the point. The far more important issues is the simple fact that, if the soul is in anyway similar to one's "mind," than this reality raises some serious concerns about the benevolence of the giver of souls, god.
These concerns arise because, if the soul is indeed some sort of reflection of the mind, then it would seem as though a great deal of mankind has been endowed with flawed souls. Take for example, the developmentally delayed, those whose minds never develop beyond late childhood, those who are never capable of the full complexity of adult thoughts and emotions. Are these minds a reflection of these peoples' souls? If so, this means that they must spend all of eternity as an idiot angel, never to fully reap the joys of paradise. One should also consider the mentally ill. Following death must a delusional schizophrenic spend all of eternity plagued by the delusions which tormented him in life? What heaven is this? It sounds much more like eternal damnation. Those who are born with imperfect minds, and thus imperfect souls, could not have possibly committed some sin at the moment of conception that would merit god's punishment. Why then does he choose to endow some of us with flawed souls, and others with normal ones? How can we call such a creature benevolent?
Yet the concerns do not end here. After death, we are told that one's soul continues on in either paradise or hell for all of eternity (though some religions do not include the concept of hell, they do all refer to the infinite nature of souls). This concept begs a serious question: what version of our soul/mind persists for eternity? One must admit that the mind certainly goes through significant changes as one goes through life. These changes can be rather mundane, from acquiring the taste for a new dish, or changing one's political affiliation. Yet, these changes can also be much more significant. Take for example, the development of a child. At one time, each and every one of us could not help but defaecate in our own clothes, nor could we communicate to anyone around us what we had done. Indeed, our minds did not even possess an understanding of defecation, or verbal communication at that time. Hopefully as we grew, these things changed, and our minds became more sophisticated and capable of a greater complexity of thought and emotion.
Now I ask you: does the child that sadly dies shortly after birth, persist in eternity as a dribbling, helpless soul, incapable of communicating or appreciating the situation it finds itself? Consider also the man who dies after having suffered from age related dementia; is his soul to forever wander paradise not knowing its name or recognizing the souls of its relatives? Once again one must wonder, have the above two reached paradise or hell? Perhaps our souls have the opportunity to transform into the form which represents us at the stage of life we enjoyed most. Thus, the old man's soul can become that which reflects him at his most vibrant age. This would pose a problem for the infant, who never had the life experiences necessary to transform its soul. Further, what of the murderer, who when standing at the pearly gates, and having to answer for his sins declares: "No, no lord, for that was me at age 34, I would like to submit my 32 year old soul for judgement."
The concept of the soul/mind is plagued with problems, and problems not encountered when one considers his mind to be nothing more than the sum of all the neural processes occurring in his central nervous system at any given time. The brain does change as we age, as neural connections become more extensive and varied, allowing for greater diversity of thought. Sometimes, these connections are aberrant, or individuals develop without the normal density of a certain neurotransmitter or receptor. In these cases, developmental delays or mental illnesses can arise. There is no current explanation for how a soul could lead to such malignancies. Further, does one's soul "go to sleep" when the brain does? What of the comatose soul, how does it know that it is not yet time to leave the body? What does it do in the meanwhile? When one takes drugs, drugs which physically interact with the brain to cause mental status changes, does the soul suffer the same ill effects? If not, why is it somehow incapable of preventing the lapses in judgement we are so prone to during these moments?
One could bypass all of the above arguments with one simple statement: the soul is not a reflection of one's mind, but rather something else, something completely different. Perhaps they would call this something one's "essence." If this were so, I would certainly have to admit that the issues raised above would no longer apply. However, I would also have to ask: of what besides one's consciousness is he aware? I am not aware of any part of myself that would not fall under the umbrella of my consciousness or mind, and so, if some part of me existing outside this umbrella were to pass onto eternity, why look forward to it? If the soul is not the mind, this would mean that one is completely ignorant as to the nature of his own. Where is the motivation to looking towards eternity as a foreign entity? No where to be found, I would answer.

To Touch on Miracles

Published

Steve and Brandon

on December 25, 2007

The truth of divine intervention is most often validated through the vehicle of miracles. If people did/do not subscribe to such events faiths spanning the world would have to rely on personal feelings of faith alone. Personal conviction may have some power of transmission but certainly falls short compared to tangible eyewitness accounts. There are many miracles worth discussing but since today is the eve of Christmas we are presented with a perfect opportunity to evaluate Immaculate Conception. The main ideas presented in this article come from the works of David Hume, Anatole France and Christopher Hitchens.
It is possible for a miracle to occur, but as the following will demonstrate the possibility is bleak. In order for a miracle to withstand sufficient proof, the falsification of the event must be more miraculous then the said event at question (An enquiry concerning Human understanding, Hume). For example is it more likely that Jesus was born of a virgin mother or as Hitchens brings to question is it more likely that a Jewish minx was telling a lie? Again we are simply applying Occam’s razor, with all things equal the simplest explanation is the best. To claim that the natural order of sexual reproduction was suspended only presents more questions.
Further, is a miracle a one-time event, or is it possible to have numerous occurrences? Based on the definition, a miracle is: a surprising and welcome event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific laws. Therefore how many occurrences would it take to lose its surprise, Jesus is not the first deity born of a virgin, he is just one of at least fifteen others that we know of born by the same method. At what point does a virgin birth transform itself from miraculous to common occurrence. In this case a said miracle is in fact occurring more and more frequently. Perhaps then the current physiological model of procreation should be in question and remodeled, if this is accomplished. The stated miracle is dissolved, along with its claim to supernatural intervention.

On Trial – Freedom of Speech in Canada

Published

Dave McRitchie

on December 24, 2007

Canadian Muslims are using Canada’s democratic principles to further their own non-democratic agenda. Responding to complaints by the Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC), the Canadian Human Rights...

Let’s Put the P Back in Xmas

Published

Devout Atheist

on December 23, 2007

For two millennia, Christianity has had a lock on December 25, denoting this day as “Christmas”, the celebration of Christ’s birthday. And of course many of us non-Christians, atheists included, do partake of the Christmas traditions. But celebrations of December 25 has pagan origins dating from ancient times. For untold centuries, the winter solstice was marked by celebrations of the time when the Sun finally turned the tide in its battle with night, offering the promise of a return to the long, warm days of Spring and Summer. The Romans called the winter solstice “Sol Invictus”- the Undefeated Sun.

The Romans celebrated the anticipation of the return of Spring -and the birthday of the sun god Mithra- with a festival ending on December 25 (then believed to be the year’s shortest day) called Saturnalia, after the god of agriculture. Saturnalia was a joyous occasion filled with lusty pursuits such as feasting, drinking, and fornication. Certainly a somewhat different event than our present-day fairly sedate, religious, and family-oriented Christmas!

So how did this pagan celebration of the winter solstice get translated into a celebration of Christ’s birth? Christ’s birthdate is not mentioned in the Bible, and is thus unknown. So the early Christian church arbitrarily decided to denote December 25 as Christ’s birthday.

This was a very smart, pre-Madison Avenue PR move by the church. Paganism was a major rival of early Christianity, and the winter solstice was a widespread and beloved occasion for celebration. So the church’s choice of December 25 permitted an entrenched old Pagan tradition to continue, but transformed into a new Christian tradition. And it probably seemed quite natural to transform the universal human joy at the return of the life-giving Sun, into joy at the birth of a Son who was the Saviour of humanity. Thus the Christian church managed to turn bawdy Saturnalia into the pious Christ’s mass, Christmas.

But many of the most beloved trappings of our present-day Christmas celebrations come directly from these age-old pagan winter solstice traditions- the spirit of kindness towards friends and strangers, the wassail punch (very similar to the Roman drink calda), kissing under the mistletoe (from ancient Scandinavia), the Advent Wreath (from the pagan fire wheel symbolizing life), and the age-old Celtic Yule log. And of course our traditional Christmas tree is simply a continuation of an ancient pagan tradition of bringing bits of greenery into the house to celebrate the winter solstice.

So let’s take December 25 back from the Christians, and restore it to its wonderful Pagan traditions. For starters, I offer the modest proposal that we remove the X from Xmas, and rename this day Pmas.