Showing posts with label holy-days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holy-days. Show all posts

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Long Time No See!

Hey there, readers!

I have been busy living this month. I have been working a lot and making a routine for myself.
I am happy.

The place I am working at is allowing us to dress up for halloween. I was thinking I would go in a baggy skirt and oversize t-shirt, but there are some hippies and people who shop there who dress that way by religion, so I figured it would be insensitive.

I then decided to dress in my square-dancing outfit (not really a costume, but still) but they said I looked more like a gypsy. I loved the idea, so I am painting my fingernails a bright red, I went out and bought some big gold bangles and gold necklaces, and I already have this long black skirt with bells on the waist ties!
It will be the first time I ever dress up, so I am excited and am having heaps of fun.

One of the most interesting posts about halloween and what its significance as a holiday means.
I am doing what many people do with Halloween: Put on a monster mask, confront what you fear, celebrate it for a day and then, move on.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Life so far: Update on the knee and hair

I have been absent again, but I had an enforced computer absence for other reasons. *grimace*

The turkey "holy-days" were grueling as far as constant movement and standing. My knee was in pretty fragile condition after them. The food was plentiful, but I found that I could not eat as much as I might have. Baking takes away my appetite. BUT, I did snack on cookies for the next 3 weeks!

Life these days is all-or-nothing. One day will be a complete drag, with nothing going on and nothing significant to do, and the next is full-throttle all day. Then comes weeks like this week, where Monday was blah, and then from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday night I had enough time to breate, but not to shower. (I curled and hair-sprayed my hair on Tue, and then had to make it do until Th. night. I couldn't brush out the spray, and I didn't have time for a shower! The curls had melted by 11pm anyway, so I was left with a "beach"shag that melted and frizzed anytime I tried to "do" something with it. Maybe this is what "afro" hair feels like?) I but on a self-made-crocheted beret on Wed, which may or may not have helped anything, and on Th, I put it in a ponytail and tired a western hat to hide the grease.
Moving on--------

My knee has also been in high demand for our weekply Square Dance sessions in preparation for the PA Farm Show competition being held Jan. 11th. For the first time in 3 years (as long as I have been with this group) and for the first time in....well....as long as anyone else can remember--there have been more guys than girls. Even some of the girls who dance (or prefer to dance) in the "boy" position (it does not really matter, as long as they use thier hands right) have had to switch over. Therefore, I have to dance all the time, every dance, whereas I had been able to sit out when not needed previously (I am a good 2 years older than most of the kids, so I come in as a "helper" when necessary). Last week I took medecine and danced without consequences (so I thought). Then, as I lay down to sleep, the medecine had had time to wear off, and my knee began to inform me of the drastic things I required of it...
Lets just say I slept fitfully that night.

This week.....I forgot to take anything. And I was a suddenly a very akward dancer. Besides being careful about what moves to make on dances that I was woefully unfamiliar with. Not only are there a whole bunch of new people (which can be good), but most of the new people are very young children who did not learn calls, or missed beginning weeks, or mixed up the calls, or forgot them since. This makes for some really messy squares. AND most of all, it makes for super slow weeks. Up until this week we had not done all the dances in a row...and this week was filled with mistakes and re-teaching easy stuff (a slide-through? OK, so I admit I was the one getting this wrong, but I had never danced slide-though boy, before!!) , and finally giving up on the break square (where everyone whi is NOT dancing this time dances to keep up on what is going on).

Today there is a big snow, which cancels the party I was supposed to be going to.
It is now scheduled for the 9th. Which speaking of boring-and-then-full-throttle...I have something going on then. And on the 10th is a final practice, and the 11th is the Farm Show....
Pass the Ibuprofen!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Notes from Astronomy

I know that me presenting such anti-religious and heretical thoughts on such a (traditionally) holy day must seem worthy of a burning, but for me to be on the computer on this day, and so unrepentant overall must surely be worse. So, for those squeamish ones, Please close your eyes, breath deeply and focus. (lol, that is what they tell you in Imax movie)

So, for all of you who follow days and signs and such, I have some thoughts from astronomy to present:

A "day" in the 24-hour-calendar-sense (at least according to the Jewish system) is sunset to sunset. If Jesus was dead 3 days (and the day-age theory does not work here!) he could not have been crucified on Friday. Friday sunset (ie. Saturday beginning) to Sunday (please forgive the Romanization... I would use "first day" and "6th day", but I find myself in a rut) sunrise is NOT 3 days. In fact Sunday sunrise is absolutely nothing.

Whom did the Angel roll the stone away for?

Jesus did not arise at sunrise. The rolling-away-of-stone was for the women! Jesus (especially if He had just risen from the dead) surely did not need an angel to help him with the tomb cover. In fact, why would he need to roll the stone away to get out in the first place? (Answer: He wouldn't)

The "first day" (Mark 16:9) began at sunset on the last day of the week (in Romanization: Saturday sunset) and "early" does not mean early morning (Greek/Romans again, with their midnight being the beginning of the day). Remember, Jewish days begin and end with sunset.

So, this begs the question, when WAS Jesus actually crucified? Well, mathematically speaking, three sunset-sunset periods (days in the 24 hour sense) would require that the crucifixion happened on Wednesday, the fourth day of the week. (Interestingly, there is not reference in the NT for the fourth day. Poor Wednesday. No one bothered to mention all the things that must have happened on Wednesdays)

Also: Some people say that Friday afternoon, all day saturday, and night and morning on Sunday make three "days" (or more truthfully: portions of days). However, they have a problem in that Jesus compared himself with Jonah and said specifically "three days AND three nights" (Mat. 12:40). In "day" Jesus must have meant "three light periods of time" and "night" must have meant "three dark periods of time". Therefore, the Friday afternoon to Sunday morning model is fallacious.



The next question is: Why does all this matter? Why am I arguing with "established" (read: Roman Catholic syncretized) tradition? Why, if I have problems with it, don't I just ignore it?
Because, first of all, it is fallacious, and way to many people accept it without knowing.
Second: Because I hope to enlighten some people and help them understand the significance of using the Bible to destroy man's false traditions.
Third: Because I find that in celebrating extra-biblically, we run into so many problems that we should stick with how the Bible tells us to celebrate/remember great events.

Oh? How SHOULD we celebrate then?

I Corinthians 11:

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

That is the Biblical celebration/remembrance of the crucifixion, death, resurrection, and second coming of Christ.


As for "easter" and "sunrise services" (shouldn't they be "sunset services"?) and bunnies that lay colored eggs.... I would not spend your hard-earned money, and if you want chocolate, wait a week... it will all go on sale! (oh, and all the flowers will as well)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

"Water with your milk?"

In my history of activism, I have written to and called Doctor James Dobson’s "Focus on the Family" many times. They have usually rebuffed me, or completely written me off, Then, they procede to send me emails and newsletters.

I usually read them, and always throw them away immediately afterwards. Inconsistency of message, watering-down of responsibility to a 200 word essay, or even blatant contradiction in message (in one magazine) have made me roll my eyes and head for the trash can (Tossmass, I believe they call it!?).
For instance, in a November magazine, the feature talked about how parents should not lie to thier children. The ending "question and answer" section had Doctor Dobson himself advocating telling your children about Santa Claus (as in, telling them he is real, coming, has a flying sleigh, and a certain amount of mythical animals that can also levitate—I don’t even know how many there are!) for the "special memories" that he considered priceless and his children had also enjoyed.

In another magazine (or was it the same, memorable one) their President Jim Daly wrote about how much he enjoyed adding "holy-day traditions" to their normal family holiday routine…like celebrating the days of Advent and Lent. I threw up my hands in horror…. Now, they are not only pseudo-Baptist, we are advocating Catholic and Anglican-Orthodox heresies *hem *…….er….traditions! (yes, thats the word!)
I have considered telling them to stop sending stuff to me, because they are wasting money that they beg their radio listeners for all the time. However, being a born procrastinator, and finding amusement in the foibles of others, I have not done so.

This blog post is about the watering-down of Christianity.
Unlike my former self, ranting here a couple months ago, I now find it obvious that a poli-two-speaker like two-faced/two-party McCain would appeal to their set. They have no problems adopting and adding to their faith and doctrine. A good mix is the key to full flavor, I’m sure. They add in public schooling, adolescence theories, church going as the basis for estimating Christianity, and various shades of self-help advice. (like how to estimate the total amount of "pay withholding from a worker’s W-4")

If there is a "revival" of Christianity, it will not come from this outlet. They are entrenched firmly in their "pro-government" mentality that accepts government education (and then asks for money so they can help de-louse the youth from all their statist instruction)

I must add, in their favor ( and it even shocked/surprised me) there were actually TWO whole pages with the world (dare I say it) homeschooling on them. One, was an add for Christianbook.com and the other for a completely Biblical homeschooling curriculum.
In the entire magazine, there were 7 verses quoted (three in the main article, about death, when asking about the favorite verses of comfort). Two were references for two-hundred word essays on Transition, and "having-a-big-group-of-church-friends-so-your-kids-can-have-multi-generational-community". The last one was stuck on a bio of a guy who makes wooden crosses to give away free.

The last article, and the one that sparked this posting, was about Guitar Hero. Although I have not posted any material, I have about 5 posts buried in my drafts section about rock music and such. I have not actually had the time (or wish to read all the depressing and horrible stuff again) to format them into coherent, readable format.
The article talked about the objectionable material inherent in the system, and the guidelines some families had used (Is the singer modest; Is the concert atmosphere appropriate (i.e. not a bar?); And are the lyrics "acceptable"). Then talked about all the former/previous had-beens who are delighted with their music coming back into circulation.

They ended with these oh-so-politically-correct admonitions:

" …parents can’t afford to sit this one out. Since rhythm games are here to stay, we should strive to understand why our children connect with certain music, then channel those deep desires into healthy, positive outlets. One option is Guitar Praise: Solid Rock, a Guitar Hero alternative featuring dozens of tracks by popular Christian bands. Most important, help children sort through the values zipping at them in their music—whether they’re coming from a stereo, and iPod, or a frenetic virtual fretboard."

I don’t know how much more "Would you like some water with all your milk?" we can get.
While advocating "family worldwide" they allow the parents to cater to the children’s selfishness, tell the children that new, worldly fads are "Ok, with a ‘detox’ bath afterwards", and then wonder why so many see through the mist-screen and turn away to spit on the values they were taught.


They weren’t taught to be dumb. And their inner instincts know that when two opposing things seem to intersect, one has to be right, and one wrong.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

May you have a merry season of "the birth of the unconquered Sun".

That was an ancient Persian/pagan/Roman feast held on December 25th.

Wikipedia is almost shockingly frank in it's coordination of "Christmas" with it's pagan roots.

An interesting note for those who still believe in the "christian Constantine" myth:

Constantine decreed (March 7, 321) dies Solis—day of the sun, "Sunday"—as the Roman day of rest [CJ3.12.2]: "On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed..."

The first mention of celebrating the birthday of Christ was 345 AD--

Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[5]

The Twelve Days of Christmas end on January 5. December 26 is St. Stephen's Day and January 6 is Feast of Epiphany This period encompasses the major feasts surrounding the birth of Christ. In the Latin Rite, one week after Christmas Day, January 1, has traditionally been the celebration the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Christ, but since Vatican II, this feast has been celebrated as the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.


In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681.


So, in case you felt like celebrating.....think twice about what it means.


Some links for Saturnalia:
An almost satanic description of how to celebrate Saturnalia.
Specifications on ancient decorations, gift giving, etc, (very similar to Solis Invicti)
Wikipedia