Caesar
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Posts posted by Caesar
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What makes modern Christians strange is that they celebrate the death of their savior by toting mini-Roman death devices around their necks, in their hands, and atop hills.
Basicaly, the Cross (and to a greater extent the Crucifix) is meant to remind us of the suffering of Christ, the most important moment in Christian history. I agree that it is a rather grotesque symbol, but it represents the core beliefs of Christianity.
The Fish symbol, while it does represent charity, has many meanings to Christians. It reminds us of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, when Christ turned a couple fish and a couple loaves of bread into enough to feed 5 thousand people (as well as the many other Biblical stories associated with fish); and the Greek word for fish Ichthys, stood for (in Greek letters) Iēsous Christos Theou Huios Sōtēr (Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior). The symbol of the cross was used since the beginings of Christianity, but as Roman persecution increased it became too well known so Christians would use the Ichthys symbol instead. Unfortunatly the cross did become associated with the crusading medieval Christians.
Anyway, I dont see what Christian symbols have to do with Hitler and Genocide
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To bring out and grow already existing hate is much easier. Jews have always been outcasts in Christian societies, if only because Jesus spoke against them and most of their religious traditions. It also didn't help that the Gospels (and Roman secular texts) place most of the blame for Jesus' death.
To be fair, Jesus Himself was Jewish, as were all the apostles. Unfortunatly for the Jews, while Christ was executed by the Romans, it was mostly Romans who converted to early Christianity, and they would never have wanted to accept that they were the cause of His death, hence the rather unaccurate portrayal of Pontius Pilate (who was historicaly a very cruel person, even by Roman standards), and the focus on the Jewish mob (riled up by their chief priests and elders against Jesus) rather than on the Romans who actualy held the power and made the decision to execute Christ.
For me the "holy" cross is simply a miniature representation of yet another device used by the Romans to torture, execute, and instill obedience by fear. Ah, those were the days...Aye, the Romans had death by Crucifixion down to a science. They could control how long a person suffered on the cross just by positioning the legs in a certain way, or nailing the feet to a specific place. Truly one of the, if not the most, brutal methods of execution to this date.
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0AD, since I'm somewhat of a history buff myself and am totally fascinated by the time period that runs from the rise of Greece to the height of the Roman empire.
Well, from what I have seen of 0ad so far, we are in for a real treat
Although the real fun wont start until TLA comes out
History! *blech* I can hardly stand it. At least I'm a Christian and I have alot less than evolutionists. We start history a few million years ahead.Lol, just do what I do and be a Christian and an evolutionist
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Well 0ad is expected to have a roughly playable alpha version by spring, while TLA is still in the design stage
Which, may I ask, are you looking more forward to?
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This is similar to the Christian controversy over the meaning of the upside-down cross. For fundamentalists an upside-down cross represents Satanism or "anti-Christianity". As a Catholic and a parishioner of St. Peter's Cathedral in London Ontario, I see it as St. Peter's Cross (for you non-Christians out there, basically the belief is that when St. Peter was leader of the Church in Rome he was arrested and executed by order of Nero. Church beliefs dictate that Peter asked that he not be crucified in the same manner as Christ and as a cruel joke the Roman guards crucified him upside down atop Vatican Hill). In fact up until a few years ago the Cathedral had a painting of the execution of St. Peter but it was removed due to the false connotations it stirred up. Too bad, it was a nice picture
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Nope, I use the admin account.
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The Swastika is an ancient symbol used in many cultures- Hinduism, Buddhism, and Celtic/Germanic Paganism. Heinrich Schliemann discovered the Swastika symbol in the ruins of Troy in the 1800s. The ancient Egyptians are believed to have used it. It seems to have also been a symbol for the native peoples of the Americas, so obviously it is a very ancient and universal sign, with universal meanings.
In 1818 the Thule Society adopted the Swastika, probably taking it from ancient Germanic traditions (they began as a group promoting German antiquity). Whether Adolf Hitler and the leaders of the early National Socialist Party took the Swastika as their symbol due to its use in the Thule Society, or took it directly from German antiquity is not known. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 it became the official German emblem. Despite its ancient roots, the Swastika is today associated with racism, anti-semitism and nazism.
Just to give some examples of the Swastika's use:
Buddhist/Taoist Swastika
Swastika pattern in the floor of Amiens Cathedral, France
Swastika on a Buddhist Temple in Korea
Swastika Emblem of the Thule Society with rounded arms
Banner of the The National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) and the flag of Nazi Germany
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I've been doing some reading lately about the Thule Society and Nazism. The Thule Society (see topic post) seemed to be a major faction in the Nazi Party and the basis for many National Socialist beliefs. They seem to have possessed almost paganist-beliefs based around Germany superiority and racial purity (in constrast to the common belief that the Nazis were Christian). The Thule society was founded before the National Socialist Party, and they used a Swastika as their symbol.
A prominent member of the Thule Society was Heinrich Himmler, Commander of the SS. He was big into Germanic mythology and even based the SS on medieval miltary orders (like the Templars and Teutons). He incorporated pagan symbology into the SS, like the Germanic "Sig-Runes" that were used as the SS insignia, while trying to make connections between Nazi Germany and the Middle Ages. He even purchased Wewelsburg Castle that was to be used as an elite training center for the SS commanders and the leaders of the Nazi Party. Swastika patterns are used in floors, windows and other places in the Castle (the Swastika itself, used as the banner for both the National Socialist party and the Thule Society, was an already ancient symbol from Hinduism and Germanic and Celtic pagan mythology). In the North Tower of Wewelsburg Castle is a room that was built by Himmler to be used as a ceremonial chamber for the SS. Heinrich Himmler had meant for Wewelsburg Castle to become a sort-of Vatican City for a New World Order- the religious center of a new Germanic Religion, based on traditional paganism and the ideas of racial purity and the Aryan Race.
The Thule Society was full of mystics and spiritualists of all kinds. However, these kind of pagan beliefs used by the Thule Society (with some of the politcal ideals used by the National Socialist Party) seem to undermine the presumption that Nazism was based around Christianity. One of the first things that struck me when I first saw pictures and footage of the Nuremberg Rally was that it looked almost religious, and ritualistic. But Adolf Hitler himself was never a member of the Thule Society, and in fact openly surpressed them with other so-called "secret societies" when he came to power in the 1930s. The more I look into this subject, the more it seems that the whole concept of racial purity and the Master Ayran Race revolved around Heinrich Himmler and the Thule Society, rather than Adolf Hitler. Perhaps Hitler only used anti-semitism and other ideas borrowed from the Thule Society for political gains.
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But science is the investigation and study of the natural world. What other beliefs could push science out of the way?
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How stupid do you have to be to buy a black hole? Thats even stupider than the "Buy a square mile of the moon" scam they had a few years ago
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I just stayed up watching the Exorcist and other horror flicks
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I go through anime phases
I might watch a certain anime show once in a while, but I find that they get too complicated after the second series and it gets hard to keep up and somewhat confusing
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I've planned to learn, at some point, to speak Quenya.
I too plan to learn it at some point, but for now it must be put behind my German studies, and my Latin lessons
Dajimmíj nakjawtáwsuv kiwqankewenkír tufqávit. (Thinhedadndasaw)It sort of reminds me of an aboriginal language.
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Concept art
in News
Very detailed
Good to see you again draugaer
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I do not believe in luck. Well, I think the Universe was to become as it is, and all its existence is well defined from the start.
Ah, so you take the Fate-based approach. But in your opinion, what determines the fate of the universe?
My own opinion on this is that God, being transcendent and immanent and not involuntarily subject to time, knows all the possibilities that exist for the world. He knows what the outcome of every decision and every action can be, but He gave humans free will which allows us to make decisions for ourselves. God knows all the possibilities and outcomes for our decisions, but it is ultimately up to us to determine what the outcome will be. This begins to answer the question "why does God allow bad things to happen?". To put it simply, we as humans would rather have free will than allow God to make decisions for us and live in bliss (this is explained in the story of Adam and Eve, which contrary to literal interpretation desribes humanity's desire for free will over bliss).
Perhaps will we find a new way to apprehend our Universe, and that this new way will be way better than what has been precedently. Then, scientists will be seen as totally outdated and stupidly darkagedWell, for the moment at least, evolution seems to be the best theory to explain our existance.
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Concept art
in News
WOW
Great work
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Off-hand I wouldnt know, although here is an article about how, in the 48 hours after thousands of American troops took over Baghdad, the Iraqi National Museum was looted and destroyed, losing 50, 000 priceless artifacts- http://www.irak.be/ned/nieuws/lootingOfMuseum.htm
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I think it might be interesting to try a piece, but the fact that (or at least Hufu claims) there seems to be a market for this stuff is kind of disturbing
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I watch Star Trek sometimes, mostly the original episodes though. They are so corny for today, but they are still entertaining.
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What must be remembered when considering the incorporation of Christian concepts into Tolkien's works is that he drew on a number of sources- Classical and Norse mythologies, the many legends that surround the British Isles (King Arthur for example), and yes, Judeo-Christian stories. The Ainulindalë and Valaquenta are very similar to the Christian Creation Story.
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I kew I recognized some traces of latin in Tolkien's languages.
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Hopefully the TLA art department has some better ideas than Peter Jackson did regarding the appearance of the Dead (*looks hopefully at Anushka*)?
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Right- Hitler needed to unite the German people against a common enemy. Instead of an enemy in another country or half a world away, he gave them an enemy in their own communities. At that time many Jews in Germany worked as bankers or similar occupations and for the most part the wealthy Jews did pretty well even during the depression , so it was easy for Hitler to convince the people that their problems and the economic problems of Germany were the fault of an already-disliked race.
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I believe in luck, and therefore I am a Deïst.
Personaly I dont believe in luck- that is I dont believe that we exist simply out of "luck" or that coincidences take place out of pure luck.
My belief is that everything has can have 3 causes- human, natural, and divine. Much of what takes place on earth is caused by humans. God gave us free will so that we could make decisions and face the consequences of those decisions whether good or bad. A lot of stuff is caused naturaly, for example the wind, the weather ect. (although some of these things can be influenced by human action- eg. global warming). Indirectly, natural causes for events in our world are caused by God, as it was He who created the universe, and therefore nature itself (btw, I do believe in evolution- just so you dont think my mind is still in the Dark Ages
). Finally, God can directly cause events on earth (I dont think this needs any explanation).
Happy Halloween
in Introductions & Off-Topic Discussion
Posted
Cool costume
The last time I dressed up for Halloween was in grade 8 when I was a mental patient