Friday, 22 June 2012
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Satan
Satan - What the Scriptures Teach
Human philosophy and theology have not offered a better explanation of the origin of evil than that given in the Bible. What the Scriptures say about Satan is fundamental to understanding the origin of evil and of human suffering, as well as why the worst imaginable violence gets worse each year.
Some may ask: 'If God is the good and loving Creator, how could he create a wicked spirit creature like Satan?' The Bible lays down the principle that all of Jehovah God's works are perfect and that all of his intelligent creatures are endowed with free will. (Deuteronomy 30:19; 32:4; Joshua 24:15; 1 Kings 18:21) The spirit person who became Satan must, therefore, have been created perfect and must have deviated from the way of truth and righteousness by deliberate choice.—John 8:44;James 1:14, 15.
In many ways, Satan's rebellious course parallels that of "the king of Tyre," who was described poetically as "perfect in beauty" and 'faultless in his ways from the day of his being created until unrighteousness was found in him.' (Ezekiel 28:11-19) Satan did not contest Jehovah's supremacy or his Creatorship. How could he, since he had been created by God? Satan did, however, challenge the way Jehovah was exercising his sovereignty. In the garden of Eden, Satan insinuated that God was depriving the first human couple of something to which they had a right and upon which their well-being depended. (Genesis 3:1-5) He succeeded in causing Adam and Eve to rebel against Jehovah's righteous sovereignty, bringing sin and death upon them and their descendants. (Genesis 3:6-19;Romans 5:12) Thus the Bible shows that Satan is the root cause of human suffering.
Sometime before the Flood, other angels joined Satan in his rebellion. They materialized in human bodies to satisfy their cravings for sexual pleasures with the daughters of men. (Genesis 6:1-4) At the Flood, these renegade angels returned to the spirit realm but not to their "original position" with God in heaven. (Jude 6) They were abased to a condition of dense spiritual darkness. (1 Peter 3:19, 20; 2 Peter 2:4) They became demons, no longer serving under Jehovah's sovereignty but living in subjection to Satan. While apparently unable to materialize again, the demons can still exercise great power over the minds and lives of humans, and they are doubtless responsible for much of the violence we are witnessing today.—Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 8:27-33.
Human philosophy and theology have not offered a better explanation of the origin of evil than that given in the Bible. What the Scriptures say about Satan is fundamental to understanding the origin of evil and of human suffering, as well as why the worst imaginable violence gets worse each year.
Some may ask: 'If God is the good and loving Creator, how could he create a wicked spirit creature like Satan?' The Bible lays down the principle that all of Jehovah God's works are perfect and that all of his intelligent creatures are endowed with free will. (Deuteronomy 30:19; 32:4; Joshua 24:15; 1 Kings 18:21) The spirit person who became Satan must, therefore, have been created perfect and must have deviated from the way of truth and righteousness by deliberate choice.—John 8:44;James 1:14, 15.
In many ways, Satan's rebellious course parallels that of "the king of Tyre," who was described poetically as "perfect in beauty" and 'faultless in his ways from the day of his being created until unrighteousness was found in him.' (Ezekiel 28:11-19) Satan did not contest Jehovah's supremacy or his Creatorship. How could he, since he had been created by God? Satan did, however, challenge the way Jehovah was exercising his sovereignty. In the garden of Eden, Satan insinuated that God was depriving the first human couple of something to which they had a right and upon which their well-being depended. (Genesis 3:1-5) He succeeded in causing Adam and Eve to rebel against Jehovah's righteous sovereignty, bringing sin and death upon them and their descendants. (Genesis 3:6-19;Romans 5:12) Thus the Bible shows that Satan is the root cause of human suffering.
Sometime before the Flood, other angels joined Satan in his rebellion. They materialized in human bodies to satisfy their cravings for sexual pleasures with the daughters of men. (Genesis 6:1-4) At the Flood, these renegade angels returned to the spirit realm but not to their "original position" with God in heaven. (Jude 6) They were abased to a condition of dense spiritual darkness. (1 Peter 3:19, 20; 2 Peter 2:4) They became demons, no longer serving under Jehovah's sovereignty but living in subjection to Satan. While apparently unable to materialize again, the demons can still exercise great power over the minds and lives of humans, and they are doubtless responsible for much of the violence we are witnessing today.—Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 8:27-33.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Oldest Religion In The World
Religion goes back at least as far as human civilisations. Nobody knows what the first religion was. The Egyptians predate the Jews, The Mesopotamians predate them. The Chinese predate them...
Religions with a creation story often claim to be the oldest, since the world began with that creation and with the god or gods of that religion. Others say that animism would be the oldest known type of religion. This is a primitive religion, which sprang up independently in many areas of the world, but in most countries has mainly been replaced by more formal religion. In animism, spirits are considered to inhabit familiar objects in the landscape. For example, Australian aboriginal beliefs probably go back 60,000 or more.
Remnants of animal worship survived in Judaism and Christianity. Satan was a serpent; Jehovah, like Osiris, was worshiped as a bull; Christ was the lamb of God, and the Holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove. However, these are only symbols of the worshiped object, and are not worshiped in themselves.
The Egyptian religion can also be considered the oldest religion. Its origins date back beyond 3000 BCE.
Religion comes from "religare," which is to bind, or have union with, etc. so humans throughout our history have been seeking this union. Yoga, in Sanskrit, means union. This longing for connection to god, to worship god, is innate in most all human beings.
Hinduism: Since Sanskrit is the oldest written language, as far as religion being written down, and as far as organized religion is concerned, it would be Hinduism. It is said that when Rama appeared, according to our calendar, was a million or so years ago (not sure of the exact date, but it's a long time!) And Krishna, god himself according to the Vedic scriptures, appeared here 5,000 years ago. Buddha, about 500 B.C., Jesus, about 2,000 years ago. If you go through the different religious book and study this question deeply, you will find out that Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world. There are no dates and facts, but its history is about more than 50000 thousands years ago....
Further reading...
Remnants of animal worship survived in Judaism and Christianity. Satan was a serpent; Jehovah, like Osiris, was worshiped as a bull; Christ was the lamb of God, and the Holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove. However, these are only symbols of the worshiped object, and are not worshiped in themselves.
The Egyptian religion can also be considered the oldest religion. Its origins date back beyond 3000 BCE.
Religion comes from "religare," which is to bind, or have union with, etc. so humans throughout our history have been seeking this union. Yoga, in Sanskrit, means union. This longing for connection to god, to worship god, is innate in most all human beings.
Hinduism: Since Sanskrit is the oldest written language, as far as religion being written down, and as far as organized religion is concerned, it would be Hinduism. It is said that when Rama appeared, according to our calendar, was a million or so years ago (not sure of the exact date, but it's a long time!) And Krishna, god himself according to the Vedic scriptures, appeared here 5,000 years ago. Buddha, about 500 B.C., Jesus, about 2,000 years ago. If you go through the different religious book and study this question deeply, you will find out that Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world. There are no dates and facts, but its history is about more than 50000 thousands years ago....
Further reading...
Evidence of Black Africans in the Bible
Is the Bible a book by a white God for white people? Of course not. God is spirit and does not have "color" in our human and earthly sense. There is nothing in the Scriptures to indicate that people are excluded from God’s saving grace on the basis of ethnic origin or skin color.
http://www.gci.org/bible/africans
http://www.gci.org/bible/africans
Monday, 29 August 2011
Religion Timelines
Religion Timeline. This post is under constant construction and links will be added as research permits.
Links to further articles:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/time/origtime.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
http://cominganarchy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/timeline-of-world-religion3.jpg
Links to further articles:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/time/origtime.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
http://cominganarchy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/timeline-of-world-religion3.jpg
Gurdwaras
The word 'Gurdwara' means Guru's home. It is the Sikh place of worship. Gurdwaras, or Sikh Temples, were built at important Sikh historical places in memory of events that had occurred there. It is not easy to name each and everyone. However, like all religions, Sikhism has some Gurdwaras that have more historical significance than others. Harmandir Sahib is the most famous and world known Gurdwara.
Harmandir Sahib is commonly called Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple. The Golden Temple name is given because it is covered in the gold plating. It is the most holy and chief shrine for the Sikhs. It was built by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Amritsar. It is built in the middle of a square tank called Sarovar. It has four doors, one in each direction, indicating it is open to all. Golden Temple is known world wide. Visitors from all over the world visit this Gurdwara.
There are also the following five Takhats meaning thrones which are of great significance in Sikhism :
1) Akal Takhat 2) Keshgarh Sahib 3) Damdama Sahib 4) Patna Sahib 5) Hazoor Sahib
Akal Takhat
The Akal Takhat is the oldest and the first Takhat of the Sikhs. It is inside the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar. It was built by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. The Akal Takhat is the political center or in other words the highest seat of justice and worldly activity of the Sikhs.
Keshgarh Sahib
Keshgarh Sahib is a very important Gurdwara at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. This is the place where Guru Gobind Singh Ji had started the Khalsa Order by creating Khalsa brotherhood on the Baisakhi of 1699 AD, explaining the Panj Pyaras and five K's.
Damdama Sahib
Damdama Sahib is located in Talwandi Sabo in Punjab. Guru Gobind Singh Ji stayed here for nearly a year and prepared the Guru Granth Sahib Ji by revising and recompiling scriptures and this revised version is the eternal Guru of the Sikhs..
Patna Sahib
Patna Sahib, also Known as Sri Harmander Sahib is a very important Gurdwara in Patna, Bihar. It is the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
Hazoor Sahib
Hazoor sahib is a very important Gurdwara in the City of Nanded in Maharashtra. Guru Gobind Singh Ji went for his heavenly abode here. It was here that he passed the permanent Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib Ji before his heavenly abode.
http://www.infoaboutsikhs.com/gurdwaras.htm
Harmandir Sahib is commonly called Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple. The Golden Temple name is given because it is covered in the gold plating. It is the most holy and chief shrine for the Sikhs. It was built by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Amritsar. It is built in the middle of a square tank called Sarovar. It has four doors, one in each direction, indicating it is open to all. Golden Temple is known world wide. Visitors from all over the world visit this Gurdwara.
There are also the following five Takhats meaning thrones which are of great significance in Sikhism :
1) Akal Takhat 2) Keshgarh Sahib 3) Damdama Sahib 4) Patna Sahib 5) Hazoor Sahib
Akal Takhat
The Akal Takhat is the oldest and the first Takhat of the Sikhs. It is inside the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar. It was built by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. The Akal Takhat is the political center or in other words the highest seat of justice and worldly activity of the Sikhs.
Keshgarh Sahib
Keshgarh Sahib is a very important Gurdwara at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. This is the place where Guru Gobind Singh Ji had started the Khalsa Order by creating Khalsa brotherhood on the Baisakhi of 1699 AD, explaining the Panj Pyaras and five K's.
Damdama Sahib
Damdama Sahib is located in Talwandi Sabo in Punjab. Guru Gobind Singh Ji stayed here for nearly a year and prepared the Guru Granth Sahib Ji by revising and recompiling scriptures and this revised version is the eternal Guru of the Sikhs..
Patna Sahib
Patna Sahib, also Known as Sri Harmander Sahib is a very important Gurdwara in Patna, Bihar. It is the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
Hazoor Sahib
Hazoor sahib is a very important Gurdwara in the City of Nanded in Maharashtra. Guru Gobind Singh Ji went for his heavenly abode here. It was here that he passed the permanent Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib Ji before his heavenly abode.
http://www.infoaboutsikhs.com/gurdwaras.htm
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