ISLAM
September 27, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Continuing my columns on the world’s great religions, it is very important that we look at and try to understand the second largest religious following in the world, Islam. Originally designed to be a beautiful religion, Islam has become the most misunderstood major religion in the world.
There are three basic reasons for this:
1. Islamic or Sharia Law. Of all the sets of laws in the world, Sharia Law is far and away the most heathen and most punitive set of laws existing. Sharia Law disregards the basic rights of any female. i.e. An Islamic man may marry and divorce, at will. But if an Islamic woman is even suspected of flirting with someone other than her husband, she can be buried in the ground up to her neck and stoned to death. More about Sharia Law later.
2. Muslim belief is that the only God is Allah and his only prophet is Muhammad. There is nothing wrong with this belief…except…that their Bible, the Quran (Koran), says that anyone who does not believe this is what they call an “infidel”. The Quran says that all infidels must be destroyed. Using this reasoning, Muslims attacked and killed approximately 75,000 Christians in Lebanon for the sole reason that they were what Islam calls “infidels”.
3. Lack of education runs rampant through the Islamic World. When people are uneducated, it opens the door to allowing others to control your life. In the case of Islam, Fundamentalist Clerics are the ones doing the controlling.
Muslims are sharply divided among themselves into the Shia and the Sunni. This division emanates from the death of Muhammad. Some Muslims believe that Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali Tabib, was Muhammad’s choice to take control of the religion (Shia); others believe that an early follower of Muhammad, Abu Bakr, was Muhammad’s choice (Sunni). This division is so sharp that hundreds of thousands of Muslims have been killed by other Muslims because of this difference in beliefs.
Muslim men, generally, have no fear of death because they are taught that if they kill in the name of Allah or are killed in the name of Allah they will be rewarded in Islamic Heaven with twelve virgins to serve each of them.
The history of Islam is strange: It is believed that Ishmael, one of the sons of Abraham and Hagar, was cast-off by Abraham into the desert. Ishmael claims to have been given a desert stone by the Archangel, Garbriel. That stone is now in the cornerstone of a building in Mecca called the Kabba. The Kabba stone is the most revered item in Islam.
Three thousand years later, a minor religious leader named Muhammad began to mutter in his hash-induced sleep, but spoke as if talking to the Archangel, Gabriel. There were few followers and Muhammad’s life was still that of a poor man. Years later, Muhammad again began talking in his sleep, as though he was speaking to Gabriel. This time, people listened and wrote down notes of what he said. These notes later became the Quran. As more people listened to Muhammad, the Arabian military became aware of Muhammad and the growing numbers of people who listened to him and followed him. The military encouraged people to follow Muhammad and the Arabian military became very strong. They used Muhammad as a holy man to lead in the Arabian Wars of conquest.
Islamic Clerics, even today, claim to have the original Quran, written in Muhammad’s hand, in Mecca. The problem with this is that most historians allege that Muhammad was illiterate and could neither read nor write.
Muhammad had several wives, one of whom was a seven-year-old girl. Some historians claim Muhammad was a pedophile.
Most Mulsims are adamant in their beliefs. They believe that if you do not bow down toward Mecca six times a day, you lose your right be a Muslim. They believe that the only purpose of women is to have children (and the Islamic population is growing at record rates). They believe the only law that can be used is Sharia law and have actually had Sharia Law supersede a nation’s laws in several places. They believe that the only good infidel is a dead infidel. Most Muslims who have immigrated to other countries still deny their families and their communities to be exposed to other beliefs or even to education, in general.
Have an opinion? E-mail me at stebrel@aol.com. Visit my website at www.yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
THE HINDUS
THE HINDUS
September 19, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Continuing my columns on the world’s great religions, it is very important that we look at and try to understand the third largest religious following in the world, the Hindus. At the latest count, there are almost one billion Hindus in the world, most living in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Little is really understood about Hinduism in the Western World. Although this column is brief, it may offer some enlightenment to a predominantly Christian and Islamic Western World:
Hinduism differs from the religions of the rest of the world in that it does not have a single founder; an orthodox theological system; a single concept of God; a single Bible; a single system of rules or morality; a central authority. Hinduism does not believe that there have ever been any angels or prophets of God here on Earth. Actually, Hinduism is more like an all-encompassing way of life rather than going to a place of worship to pray to a single God.
Hinduism claims to be the oldest religion in the world dating back to 1,500 BC. Contra to this, the Western World recognizes the Torah and Judaism as going back to approximately 4,000 BC.
Most forms of Hinduism do recognize a single God, but believe that other Gods and Goddesses are manifestations or aspects of that one supreme God.
Until recently, Hinduism had been thought of as probably the world’s most tolerant religion. Its leaders, like Mahatma Gandhi, preached tolerance and love of all peoples. Gandhi organized a non-violent civil disobedience in India which, in 1947, resulted in abandonment of the British occupation and India becoming an independent State. However, the predominantly northern part of India was populated by a very violent Muslim population that severed itself from India and the Hindus by forming their own country, Pakistan. Small wars between India and Pakistan have been ongoing since both became independent States.
With an independent nation came politics: As the Hindus became more political, they became more intolerant of people whose beliefs were different: There have recently been numerous attacks by Hindus on Christian and Muslim religions and their churches, temples, etc.
One of the strongest aspects of Hinduism is as much social as it is religious: This is called the “caste system”. Hindus believe that there are four basic castes, or social classes. Each caste has its own rules and obligations for living. The elite caste is the Brahman, or priest caste. Second are the Kshatriyas, or warriors and rulers. Third are the Vaisyas, or merchants and farmers. Finally, the fourth caste is the Shudras, or laborers. Outside the caste system are the “untouchables”; the lowest of the lowest. Designation as an “untouchable” was outlawed in the 1940s, but it still exists today. A person does not get to decide or have the ability to change his or her caste – that matter is decided when one is born into a particular caste.
In summary, these are the basic beliefs of Hinduism:
1. That God is a three-in-one God known as “Brahman,” which is composed of: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer). The level of Godliness can be achieved by humans through the stage of Nirvana.
2. The Caste System.
3. Karma: The law that good begets good, and bad begets bad. Every action, thought, or decision one makes has consequences – good or bad – that will return to each person in the present life, or in one yet to come.
4. Reincarnation: Also known as “transmigration of souls,” or “samsara.” This is a journey on the “circle of life,” where each person experiences as series of physical births, deaths, and rebirths. With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste, or even to godhood. Bad karma can relegate one to a lower caste, or even to life as an animal in their next life.
5. Nirvana: This is the goal of the Hindu. Nirvana is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths.
At the same time, Hinduism teaches that all living things are Brahma, or God. Enlightenment is attained by becoming tuned in to the Brahman within. Only then can one reach Nirvana.
Some aspects of Hinduism, like Karma and Reincarnation, do have significant support within the religions of the Western World like Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Have an opinion? Write me at stebrel@aol.com and visit my website at your paranormal center.com. Stephen Ellis
September 19, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Continuing my columns on the world’s great religions, it is very important that we look at and try to understand the third largest religious following in the world, the Hindus. At the latest count, there are almost one billion Hindus in the world, most living in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Little is really understood about Hinduism in the Western World. Although this column is brief, it may offer some enlightenment to a predominantly Christian and Islamic Western World:
Hinduism differs from the religions of the rest of the world in that it does not have a single founder; an orthodox theological system; a single concept of God; a single Bible; a single system of rules or morality; a central authority. Hinduism does not believe that there have ever been any angels or prophets of God here on Earth. Actually, Hinduism is more like an all-encompassing way of life rather than going to a place of worship to pray to a single God.
Hinduism claims to be the oldest religion in the world dating back to 1,500 BC. Contra to this, the Western World recognizes the Torah and Judaism as going back to approximately 4,000 BC.
Most forms of Hinduism do recognize a single God, but believe that other Gods and Goddesses are manifestations or aspects of that one supreme God.
Until recently, Hinduism had been thought of as probably the world’s most tolerant religion. Its leaders, like Mahatma Gandhi, preached tolerance and love of all peoples. Gandhi organized a non-violent civil disobedience in India which, in 1947, resulted in abandonment of the British occupation and India becoming an independent State. However, the predominantly northern part of India was populated by a very violent Muslim population that severed itself from India and the Hindus by forming their own country, Pakistan. Small wars between India and Pakistan have been ongoing since both became independent States.
With an independent nation came politics: As the Hindus became more political, they became more intolerant of people whose beliefs were different: There have recently been numerous attacks by Hindus on Christian and Muslim religions and their churches, temples, etc.
One of the strongest aspects of Hinduism is as much social as it is religious: This is called the “caste system”. Hindus believe that there are four basic castes, or social classes. Each caste has its own rules and obligations for living. The elite caste is the Brahman, or priest caste. Second are the Kshatriyas, or warriors and rulers. Third are the Vaisyas, or merchants and farmers. Finally, the fourth caste is the Shudras, or laborers. Outside the caste system are the “untouchables”; the lowest of the lowest. Designation as an “untouchable” was outlawed in the 1940s, but it still exists today. A person does not get to decide or have the ability to change his or her caste – that matter is decided when one is born into a particular caste.
In summary, these are the basic beliefs of Hinduism:
1. That God is a three-in-one God known as “Brahman,” which is composed of: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer). The level of Godliness can be achieved by humans through the stage of Nirvana.
2. The Caste System.
3. Karma: The law that good begets good, and bad begets bad. Every action, thought, or decision one makes has consequences – good or bad – that will return to each person in the present life, or in one yet to come.
4. Reincarnation: Also known as “transmigration of souls,” or “samsara.” This is a journey on the “circle of life,” where each person experiences as series of physical births, deaths, and rebirths. With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste, or even to godhood. Bad karma can relegate one to a lower caste, or even to life as an animal in their next life.
5. Nirvana: This is the goal of the Hindu. Nirvana is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths.
At the same time, Hinduism teaches that all living things are Brahma, or God. Enlightenment is attained by becoming tuned in to the Brahman within. Only then can one reach Nirvana.
Some aspects of Hinduism, like Karma and Reincarnation, do have significant support within the religions of the Western World like Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Have an opinion? Write me at stebrel@aol.com and visit my website at your paranormal center.com. Stephen Ellis
Sunday, September 12, 2010
THE MORMONS
THE MORMONS
September 12, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Continuing my columns on the world’s great religions, it is very important that we review the history (and mystery) of the Mormons.
No church has ever approached the wealth and power of the Catholics (or Papacy)…except for the Mormons. They have grown in numbers and in wealth far faster than any organized religion since the Christians were handed the Roman Empire on a silver platter by the Emperor Constantine.
There appears to be a greater mystery…or misunderstanding…about what the Mormons preach and believe: Actually, Mormons are members of the Christian Church community: their full, proper, name is “The Church of Jesus Christ – Latter Day Saints”. They often refer to themselves by the initials “LDS” standing for “Latter Day Saints”.
The Mormon belief is that Joseph Smith, a young man from western New York State, was inspired by a Christian revival, where he lived in 1820, to pray to God for guidance as to which church was the true church of God. In answer to his prayers he says he was visited by God and his son, Jesus, who told him not to join any church because all the churches at that time were false, and that he, Joseph Smith, would bring forth the true church. This event is called "The First Vision."
In 1823 Joseph claims to have had another heavenly visitation, in which an Angel named Moroni told him of a sacred history written by ancient Hebrews and other inhabitants of North and South America that were recorded on gold tablets. Moroni told Smith that the tablets were conveniently buried in a nearby hill. With Moroni’s help, Smith found the tablets and unearthed them. They were inscribed in a script that no one could interpret. (Now, Mormon Elders allege the tablets were actually inscribed in ancient Egyptian). Angels came to help Joseph Smith interpret the inscriptions. These Angels became known as the Latter Day Saints (to be differentiated from the Saints and Angels in the New and Old Testaments). With LDS help, Smith claimed to interpret the inscriptions on those tablets and from those inscriptions wrote The Book of Mormon. Allegedly, there were eleven witnesses to the existence and interpretation of these tablets by Smith. No one knows “if” or “where” the tablets were re-buried or where they are now.
It is a beautiful story and has captivated the hearts and minds of millions. Unfortunately, it does not jibe with historical records:
Smith, apparently, never told anyone about the "First Vision" until 1838; 18 years after its alleged occurrence and almost 10 years after Smith had begun his missionary efforts. It makes no sense that, if true, this “First Vision” would be concealed by a man trying to establish a new church.
In 1828, eight years after he says he had been told by God himself to join no church, Smith applied for membership in a local Methodist church. Other members of Smith’s family had joined the Presbyterian Church.
The eleven persons who claimed to have actually seen the gold tablets were all very close friends of Smith (many of them related to each other). Their testimonies are printed in the front of every copy of the Book of Mormon. Not one disinterested third party was ever allowed to examine or even view the gold tablets. Eight of those eleven witnesses subsequently abandoned Smith and left his church claiming that the so-called gold tablets never existed. Smith called them all "liars."
Contemporaries of Smith described him as something of a “confidence man”, whose chief source of income was hiring out to local farmers to help them find buried treasure (usually gold) on their farms via the use of folk magic and "seer stones”…the same magic and seer stones he later alleged enabled him to discover where the gold tablets were buried. Smith was actually arrested and tried in 1826 on a charge of “money digging”.
Joseph Smith stood firmly behind his statement that God had personally pronounced to him that the completed translation of the plates as published in 1830 were "correct". Yet, many changes have been made in later editions. There were thousands of corrections of poor grammar and awkward wording contained in the 1830 edition. There have been numerous other changes to reflect subsequent revisions of “God’s Word”, and in some of the fundamental doctrines of the church, including without limitation, a recent change to allow Black people to join the church.
Suffice it to say that the historical holes in the Mormon story are large enough to drive an eighteen-wheeler through.
Have an opinion? E-mail me at stebrel@aol.com and visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
September 12, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Continuing my columns on the world’s great religions, it is very important that we review the history (and mystery) of the Mormons.
No church has ever approached the wealth and power of the Catholics (or Papacy)…except for the Mormons. They have grown in numbers and in wealth far faster than any organized religion since the Christians were handed the Roman Empire on a silver platter by the Emperor Constantine.
There appears to be a greater mystery…or misunderstanding…about what the Mormons preach and believe: Actually, Mormons are members of the Christian Church community: their full, proper, name is “The Church of Jesus Christ – Latter Day Saints”. They often refer to themselves by the initials “LDS” standing for “Latter Day Saints”.
The Mormon belief is that Joseph Smith, a young man from western New York State, was inspired by a Christian revival, where he lived in 1820, to pray to God for guidance as to which church was the true church of God. In answer to his prayers he says he was visited by God and his son, Jesus, who told him not to join any church because all the churches at that time were false, and that he, Joseph Smith, would bring forth the true church. This event is called "The First Vision."
In 1823 Joseph claims to have had another heavenly visitation, in which an Angel named Moroni told him of a sacred history written by ancient Hebrews and other inhabitants of North and South America that were recorded on gold tablets. Moroni told Smith that the tablets were conveniently buried in a nearby hill. With Moroni’s help, Smith found the tablets and unearthed them. They were inscribed in a script that no one could interpret. (Now, Mormon Elders allege the tablets were actually inscribed in ancient Egyptian). Angels came to help Joseph Smith interpret the inscriptions. These Angels became known as the Latter Day Saints (to be differentiated from the Saints and Angels in the New and Old Testaments). With LDS help, Smith claimed to interpret the inscriptions on those tablets and from those inscriptions wrote The Book of Mormon. Allegedly, there were eleven witnesses to the existence and interpretation of these tablets by Smith. No one knows “if” or “where” the tablets were re-buried or where they are now.
It is a beautiful story and has captivated the hearts and minds of millions. Unfortunately, it does not jibe with historical records:
Smith, apparently, never told anyone about the "First Vision" until 1838; 18 years after its alleged occurrence and almost 10 years after Smith had begun his missionary efforts. It makes no sense that, if true, this “First Vision” would be concealed by a man trying to establish a new church.
In 1828, eight years after he says he had been told by God himself to join no church, Smith applied for membership in a local Methodist church. Other members of Smith’s family had joined the Presbyterian Church.
The eleven persons who claimed to have actually seen the gold tablets were all very close friends of Smith (many of them related to each other). Their testimonies are printed in the front of every copy of the Book of Mormon. Not one disinterested third party was ever allowed to examine or even view the gold tablets. Eight of those eleven witnesses subsequently abandoned Smith and left his church claiming that the so-called gold tablets never existed. Smith called them all "liars."
Contemporaries of Smith described him as something of a “confidence man”, whose chief source of income was hiring out to local farmers to help them find buried treasure (usually gold) on their farms via the use of folk magic and "seer stones”…the same magic and seer stones he later alleged enabled him to discover where the gold tablets were buried. Smith was actually arrested and tried in 1826 on a charge of “money digging”.
Joseph Smith stood firmly behind his statement that God had personally pronounced to him that the completed translation of the plates as published in 1830 were "correct". Yet, many changes have been made in later editions. There were thousands of corrections of poor grammar and awkward wording contained in the 1830 edition. There have been numerous other changes to reflect subsequent revisions of “God’s Word”, and in some of the fundamental doctrines of the church, including without limitation, a recent change to allow Black people to join the church.
Suffice it to say that the historical holes in the Mormon story are large enough to drive an eighteen-wheeler through.
Have an opinion? E-mail me at stebrel@aol.com and visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
THE PAPACY
THE PAPACY
September 5, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
My column last week entitled “A Man Named Jesus” brought a lot of e-mail. Most of it complementing what I had written, one letter came calling me a “fool” and containing implied threats if I continued to write lies about the church.
For the record, I do not lie! Last week’s article was based on research. If you don’t like what I’ve written, do your own research on the history of the Roman Empire and you will find that what I write is completely accurate. I’m not telling anyone not to believe in Jesus. Who or what you believe is both personal and important to you and I have no intention of disturbing your beliefs. All I do is present the facts as written by non-religious historians.
I use the term “non-religious historians” because much of history has been written and rewritten by religious historians. Clearly, religious historians have completely altered documented history to justify and support their church and religious beliefs. This is said without fear of contradiction, because the published history of one church will be astonishingly unlike the published history of a different church when discussing the same time periods and locations.
Without doubt, the most prolific re-writers of history emanated from what is called the “Papacy”.
The Papacy is and has been the cornerstone of Christian religious doctrine and history for almost two thousand years. Most often, we refer to the Papacy as the Catholic Church or the Vatican.
The foundation of the Papacy was the man called Peter the Fisherman or Saint Peter. The Papacy re-wrote the history of Rome to accommodate their burgeoning power during the middle ages. As mentioned in last week’s column, Peter was one of the most popular religious leaders in the land of Zion (renamed Palestina-Jordana by the Roman Emperor Hadrian). His true name was Simon Peter and he and his brothers were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee around the time of Jesus’ alleged crucifixion.
Non-religious historians (whose books survived the rampant book-burning by the Papacy) do not explain how it is that Peter abandoned fishing and became a religious leader, but his followers believed him to be a Prophet of the forthcoming Messiah (according to the “Governance of Judea-Palestina-Jordana” written by the then Roman Governor of that territory, Pontius Pilate). Peter’s followers (then called Christians based on the Greek words “Jesus Christos” meaning “holy savior”) were probably the strongest band of Christians given power in Rome following the 326 AD Conference in Nicaea. By early 400 AD, Peter’s followers became the leaders of the newly powerful Christians in Rome and established their own holy conclave inside the City of Rome. The City of Rome was “the” most important place in the Roman Empire, and the Papacy, feeding on the power granted them by Constantine, sectioned-off a prime part of Rome and called it the Holy See. In 1929, much of the area known as the Holy See was incorporated as an independent state within the city of Rome called the Vatican.
On or about 350-400 AD, the Papacy began to re-write the history of Christianity making their leader, Peter, the most important of the Messiah’s prophets. They created a history and lineage of Popes dating back to the time of Jesus’ alleged crucifixion and named Peter as their first Pope. They further designated Peter as the first Bishop of Rome, and gave him Sainthood by saying that the evil Emperor, Nero, had him crucified with his head hanging down in 67 AD on a cross such as the one upon which Jesus had allegedly been crucified.
Not one single word of this is supported by the non-religious histories written at that time.
There are numerous contradictions contained in Catholic history, not the least of which was that Rome had no Christian Bishops until after the Nicaea Conference in 326 AD. Rome was completely Pagan and had many Gods. Each God was worshiped for a different purpose: i.e for love, for war, for speed, the Sun God, etc. The Romans built a temple to their Gods called the Pantheon (the term “Pantheon” is from the Greek meaning “To All Gods”). The Pantheon contained graven images of a multitude of Gods to be worshipped for different reasons…but nothing even remotely resembling a Christian God. Rome, which did not recognize Christianity until after the 326 AD Conference at Nicaea, did not have any Christian Bishop during the lifetime of Peter. So, in its basic foundation, Papacy history fails to meet even a minimal standard of truthfulness.
In the 7th century AD, the Papacy took over the Pantheon and made it into a Catholic Church.
I’m not saying that Catholicism is “bad or “wrong”. Only that their history is grossly inaccurate.
Have an opinion you’d like to share? Write me at stebrel@aol.com and visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
September 5, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
My column last week entitled “A Man Named Jesus” brought a lot of e-mail. Most of it complementing what I had written, one letter came calling me a “fool” and containing implied threats if I continued to write lies about the church.
For the record, I do not lie! Last week’s article was based on research. If you don’t like what I’ve written, do your own research on the history of the Roman Empire and you will find that what I write is completely accurate. I’m not telling anyone not to believe in Jesus. Who or what you believe is both personal and important to you and I have no intention of disturbing your beliefs. All I do is present the facts as written by non-religious historians.
I use the term “non-religious historians” because much of history has been written and rewritten by religious historians. Clearly, religious historians have completely altered documented history to justify and support their church and religious beliefs. This is said without fear of contradiction, because the published history of one church will be astonishingly unlike the published history of a different church when discussing the same time periods and locations.
Without doubt, the most prolific re-writers of history emanated from what is called the “Papacy”.
The Papacy is and has been the cornerstone of Christian religious doctrine and history for almost two thousand years. Most often, we refer to the Papacy as the Catholic Church or the Vatican.
The foundation of the Papacy was the man called Peter the Fisherman or Saint Peter. The Papacy re-wrote the history of Rome to accommodate their burgeoning power during the middle ages. As mentioned in last week’s column, Peter was one of the most popular religious leaders in the land of Zion (renamed Palestina-Jordana by the Roman Emperor Hadrian). His true name was Simon Peter and he and his brothers were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee around the time of Jesus’ alleged crucifixion.
Non-religious historians (whose books survived the rampant book-burning by the Papacy) do not explain how it is that Peter abandoned fishing and became a religious leader, but his followers believed him to be a Prophet of the forthcoming Messiah (according to the “Governance of Judea-Palestina-Jordana” written by the then Roman Governor of that territory, Pontius Pilate). Peter’s followers (then called Christians based on the Greek words “Jesus Christos” meaning “holy savior”) were probably the strongest band of Christians given power in Rome following the 326 AD Conference in Nicaea. By early 400 AD, Peter’s followers became the leaders of the newly powerful Christians in Rome and established their own holy conclave inside the City of Rome. The City of Rome was “the” most important place in the Roman Empire, and the Papacy, feeding on the power granted them by Constantine, sectioned-off a prime part of Rome and called it the Holy See. In 1929, much of the area known as the Holy See was incorporated as an independent state within the city of Rome called the Vatican.
On or about 350-400 AD, the Papacy began to re-write the history of Christianity making their leader, Peter, the most important of the Messiah’s prophets. They created a history and lineage of Popes dating back to the time of Jesus’ alleged crucifixion and named Peter as their first Pope. They further designated Peter as the first Bishop of Rome, and gave him Sainthood by saying that the evil Emperor, Nero, had him crucified with his head hanging down in 67 AD on a cross such as the one upon which Jesus had allegedly been crucified.
Not one single word of this is supported by the non-religious histories written at that time.
There are numerous contradictions contained in Catholic history, not the least of which was that Rome had no Christian Bishops until after the Nicaea Conference in 326 AD. Rome was completely Pagan and had many Gods. Each God was worshiped for a different purpose: i.e for love, for war, for speed, the Sun God, etc. The Romans built a temple to their Gods called the Pantheon (the term “Pantheon” is from the Greek meaning “To All Gods”). The Pantheon contained graven images of a multitude of Gods to be worshipped for different reasons…but nothing even remotely resembling a Christian God. Rome, which did not recognize Christianity until after the 326 AD Conference at Nicaea, did not have any Christian Bishop during the lifetime of Peter. So, in its basic foundation, Papacy history fails to meet even a minimal standard of truthfulness.
In the 7th century AD, the Papacy took over the Pantheon and made it into a Catholic Church.
I’m not saying that Catholicism is “bad or “wrong”. Only that their history is grossly inaccurate.
Have an opinion you’d like to share? Write me at stebrel@aol.com and visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
Monday, August 30, 2010
A MAN CALLED JESUS CHRIST
August 29, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
There are very few people in this world that have never heard of Jesus Christ. The religion of Christianity has more followers than any other. Yet, very few of even the most ardent Christians know anything about Jesus Christ except what has been written in religious histories (The New Testament). It is important to understand that religious histories are not noted for their accuracy. If you read the Koran, the Mongolian Bible, the Zoroastrian Bible, the Greek or Russian Orthodox Bibles, etc, you will get a completely different picture of the man we call Jesus Christ and of the times in which he ostensibly lived.
If you believe most scholars and historians, they will tell you that a man named Jesus Christ never existed! The central character in “The Greatest Story Ever Told”…the baby born in the manger in Bethlehem, found by the three wise men, was not given the name Jesus or Jesus Christ. If you choose to believe the “Greatest Story…”, the baby would have been born “Joshua” son of “Joseph”. In those days, only the wealthiest or most prominent families used a first and a last name, and the name of the mother was, most often, omitted.
So then, where did the name Jesus Christ originate?
Again, according to most scholars and historians, the name came from two Greek words , “Jesus Christos” which, translated to English, mean “Holy Savior”.
The Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, Chapter 14, verse 7, states that a Messiah of the Lord will be born on Earth…and his name will be Immanuel. Belief that a Messiah would soon be born to save the world was rampant in the Middle East. Many religious leaders claimed to be the prophet of the coming Messiah. Their groups of followers believed in the coming of a Holy Savior…and thus identified themselves as “Christians”. Religious leaders of the day such as John the Baptist, Paul the Rabbi, Peter the Fisherman, Matthew, Thomas, etc. all claimed to be prophets of the coming Messiah. The belief of their followers was so strong that several of these groups lasted for hundreds of years.
But the numbers of followers grew fewer as time passed. The groups calling themselves “Christians” were weak and spread-out throughout the Mediterranean area.
Like many minority groups they became the subjects of bigotry and were often used by the wealthy for entertainment by putting them in an arena with hungry lions.
Shortly before 300 AD a minor incident took place that changed the history of the world. A teen-age Roman soldier called “Constantine” was wounded in battle and thought he was going to die. Like his father and most Roman soldiers he was a worshiper of the Sun God “Ra”. Constantine asked his father if there was not some Religion that would forgive him for having killed so many others in battle. His father brought back two people calling themselves “Christians”. They were gentile people and told Constantine that if he accepted the concept that a Messiah was coming, all his sins would be forgiven. Constantine did not die and he never forgot the promise of those two Christians.
History tells us that Constantine became the most powerful Emperor in the Roman Empire, but that his throne was always in danger from assassins. Even his own son tried to kill Constantine and claim his throne. So Constantine developed a plan: Rather than allow his Senate, soldiers or other claimants to his throne to challenge his power, Constantine decided to make some non-violent people the heir to his throne…and he remembered the Christians.
There was a problem: There were about ten different groups calling themselves “Christians”, but they each believed in a different prophet. So Constantine ordered his armies to pick up the leaders of each group and had them meet in Nicaea, France in 326 AD. Constantine made them a proposition: Get together! Unite your beliefs! Agree to one and only one prophet or symbol of your religion and Constantine would make Christians the most powerful group in the Roman Empire. Fail to do this and Constantine would “look the other way” when Christians were persecuted.
The Christian groups at Nicaea could not agree that one of the prophets they believed in would be ranked above any of the other groups’ prophets, so after weeks of haggling, they all agreed that they would create a brand new prophet and all of the current prophets they followed would become the disciples of the new leader.
Even better: they had all been expecting a Messiah for more than three hundred years. What if He had come and had not been recognized? To give the united Christians strength in their beliefs, they decided that he must have come…326 years earlier. They didn’t have a name or an identity for Him, so they met in conference and created Him.
There was no problem in giving the new Messiah a name, Jesus Christ. But, to be credible, there had to be a history to back-up their claim. So, in the name of each of their prophets, a book was written telling of the wonders of the Messiah and documenting the miracles attributed to him. So, in Nicaea in 326 AD, the “New Testament” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” were born.
Constantine helped the Christians and ordered that all histories of Rome being written from that day forward included mention of the new Holy Savior. They gave him a birth date of December 25 (because that’s what they believed was the date when days started to get longer…we now know the date to be December 22nd). Since the son of God could not be born to a normal woman, they fashioned the idea of the Immaculate Conception.
Constantine could not change the histories that were already written and well-read by Romans. For example, “The Governance of Judea Palestina Jordana”, written by the then Roman Governor of the territory, Pontius Pilate, could not be changed. Scholars often note that Pilate never mentions a Jesus Christ or a Joshua, son of Joseph, in his written history. Pilate does talk about Peter, Paul, John, Thomas, etc. Histories written after 326 AD not only mention Jesus but say that Pilate was the one who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion.
Constantine’s plan worked. Constantine lived to a ripe old age and died a natural death. Christians became the most powerful religious force in Rome and were given the key jobs of teaching schools and religion throughout Rome. Constantine provided the funds to build churches and imposed an additional tax on all Roman citizens who did not accept Christianity.
At least, that’s what he scholars say.
Do you have an opinion? Write me at stebre@aol.com or visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
There are very few people in this world that have never heard of Jesus Christ. The religion of Christianity has more followers than any other. Yet, very few of even the most ardent Christians know anything about Jesus Christ except what has been written in religious histories (The New Testament). It is important to understand that religious histories are not noted for their accuracy. If you read the Koran, the Mongolian Bible, the Zoroastrian Bible, the Greek or Russian Orthodox Bibles, etc, you will get a completely different picture of the man we call Jesus Christ and of the times in which he ostensibly lived.
If you believe most scholars and historians, they will tell you that a man named Jesus Christ never existed! The central character in “The Greatest Story Ever Told”…the baby born in the manger in Bethlehem, found by the three wise men, was not given the name Jesus or Jesus Christ. If you choose to believe the “Greatest Story…”, the baby would have been born “Joshua” son of “Joseph”. In those days, only the wealthiest or most prominent families used a first and a last name, and the name of the mother was, most often, omitted.
So then, where did the name Jesus Christ originate?
Again, according to most scholars and historians, the name came from two Greek words , “Jesus Christos” which, translated to English, mean “Holy Savior”.
The Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, Chapter 14, verse 7, states that a Messiah of the Lord will be born on Earth…and his name will be Immanuel. Belief that a Messiah would soon be born to save the world was rampant in the Middle East. Many religious leaders claimed to be the prophet of the coming Messiah. Their groups of followers believed in the coming of a Holy Savior…and thus identified themselves as “Christians”. Religious leaders of the day such as John the Baptist, Paul the Rabbi, Peter the Fisherman, Matthew, Thomas, etc. all claimed to be prophets of the coming Messiah. The belief of their followers was so strong that several of these groups lasted for hundreds of years.
But the numbers of followers grew fewer as time passed. The groups calling themselves “Christians” were weak and spread-out throughout the Mediterranean area.
Like many minority groups they became the subjects of bigotry and were often used by the wealthy for entertainment by putting them in an arena with hungry lions.
Shortly before 300 AD a minor incident took place that changed the history of the world. A teen-age Roman soldier called “Constantine” was wounded in battle and thought he was going to die. Like his father and most Roman soldiers he was a worshiper of the Sun God “Ra”. Constantine asked his father if there was not some Religion that would forgive him for having killed so many others in battle. His father brought back two people calling themselves “Christians”. They were gentile people and told Constantine that if he accepted the concept that a Messiah was coming, all his sins would be forgiven. Constantine did not die and he never forgot the promise of those two Christians.
History tells us that Constantine became the most powerful Emperor in the Roman Empire, but that his throne was always in danger from assassins. Even his own son tried to kill Constantine and claim his throne. So Constantine developed a plan: Rather than allow his Senate, soldiers or other claimants to his throne to challenge his power, Constantine decided to make some non-violent people the heir to his throne…and he remembered the Christians.
There was a problem: There were about ten different groups calling themselves “Christians”, but they each believed in a different prophet. So Constantine ordered his armies to pick up the leaders of each group and had them meet in Nicaea, France in 326 AD. Constantine made them a proposition: Get together! Unite your beliefs! Agree to one and only one prophet or symbol of your religion and Constantine would make Christians the most powerful group in the Roman Empire. Fail to do this and Constantine would “look the other way” when Christians were persecuted.
The Christian groups at Nicaea could not agree that one of the prophets they believed in would be ranked above any of the other groups’ prophets, so after weeks of haggling, they all agreed that they would create a brand new prophet and all of the current prophets they followed would become the disciples of the new leader.
Even better: they had all been expecting a Messiah for more than three hundred years. What if He had come and had not been recognized? To give the united Christians strength in their beliefs, they decided that he must have come…326 years earlier. They didn’t have a name or an identity for Him, so they met in conference and created Him.
There was no problem in giving the new Messiah a name, Jesus Christ. But, to be credible, there had to be a history to back-up their claim. So, in the name of each of their prophets, a book was written telling of the wonders of the Messiah and documenting the miracles attributed to him. So, in Nicaea in 326 AD, the “New Testament” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” were born.
Constantine helped the Christians and ordered that all histories of Rome being written from that day forward included mention of the new Holy Savior. They gave him a birth date of December 25 (because that’s what they believed was the date when days started to get longer…we now know the date to be December 22nd). Since the son of God could not be born to a normal woman, they fashioned the idea of the Immaculate Conception.
Constantine could not change the histories that were already written and well-read by Romans. For example, “The Governance of Judea Palestina Jordana”, written by the then Roman Governor of the territory, Pontius Pilate, could not be changed. Scholars often note that Pilate never mentions a Jesus Christ or a Joshua, son of Joseph, in his written history. Pilate does talk about Peter, Paul, John, Thomas, etc. Histories written after 326 AD not only mention Jesus but say that Pilate was the one who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion.
Constantine’s plan worked. Constantine lived to a ripe old age and died a natural death. Christians became the most powerful religious force in Rome and were given the key jobs of teaching schools and religion throughout Rome. Constantine provided the funds to build churches and imposed an additional tax on all Roman citizens who did not accept Christianity.
At least, that’s what he scholars say.
Do you have an opinion? Write me at stebre@aol.com or visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com. Stephen Ellis
Sunday, August 22, 2010
GHOSTS AND HAUNTIGS
August 22, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
For some reason, there have recently been an uncommonly high number of articles and supposed eyewitness events concerning haunted houses, haunted commercial establishments and the like. While this is interesting, I suspect many readers may not even know what is meant by a “haunting”. Surely all of us have heard about haunted houses and maybe, when we were kids, stood outside some gloomy looking place afraid to go in. The brave kids may actually have entered such a house and left abruptly when there was some weird sound inside.
So let’s take it from “scratch”: Haunted houses are places where ghosts seem to inhabit.
Are there such things as “ghosts”? And, if so, what are they? Why do they pick some particular place to hang-out?
Ghosts exist! There are millions of claims regarding ghosts and haunting. That’s a pretty high number of people to call “liars” or “delusional.
Ghosts are the energy of people who have died who for some reason (and we’ll talk about the possibilities) have not gone to the usual place dead people go. When someone’s body dies, the energy that was that person’s mind or aura does not die. Most people who have died and come back to life (yes…there are many such people) seem to suggest that they went to a place like Heaven…or a free-floating world…or to someplace where they saw other ghostly energies waiting to be reborn. Speaking of being “re-born”, there is absolutely overwhelming evidence that reincarnation is a fact of life.
Ghosts are never something to be feared. They were people, just like you…only now they do not have a body. If the energy that was a person is still alive, that energy may not want to go to the places mentioned above and may prefer to remain where they lived or where their life was abruptly ended. When this happens, we say that the place the energy decided to remain is “haunted”.
The person whose energy is located in a specific place usually decides to remain there for one of several reasons: 1-They do not believe or are not willing to accept that their body has died. 2-The person, when alive, may have been someone who built that house and does not want to let go of it. 3-The person whose energy has remained in a house may be because their life was ended abruptly there and they still do not understand their abrupt death. 4- The person who died may want to remain there to watch over those who are still living.
There can be many other reasons, of course, but what makes a place haunted is the fact that the dead person’s energy is still there.
What can a ghost do? Not much! The energy has no body. It has no larynx…no vocal chords, etc. So if it tries to talk, it’s going to sound like a super-faint whisper. That’s why ghost-chasing organizations use equipment to monitor the faintest of whispers. Can it harm you physically? Of course not. It has no body to do any harm to anyone.
Can it affect you mentally? That’s a good question: Energy has a way of permeating your own energy and it can put thoughts into your head. It can make you think you are hearing sounds or voices that are really not there. It can make you think you are seeing someone who is not there…at least until your own energy chases out the intruding energy. That’s how I was able to see the exact image of a girl who was murdered in an apartment I was renting, but then as I became more awake, the image disappeared. It is safe to conclude that your own energy, the energy that comprises you mind/aura has been with your body since birth, can always override any foreign energy that may have entered your mind. Ghostly energy may be able to (temporarily) take over the mind of a child, but in both the long and the short run, ghostly energy cannot harm you. It may give you some strange dreams when you sleep…but that’s about all it can really do.
How do you get rid of a ghost? You talk to them! For some reason, still inexplicable to me, the energy in your body can both see and hear without an optic nerve or an ear drum. This has been verified thousands of times by people who practice astral projection. So, If a ghost can see you and hear you, the usual, most successful, way to rid a house of a ghost is to speak to them; tell them they are dead; that they no longer own the property they are haunting, that you now own the house and you want them gone, etc. This seems to work almost 100% of the time.
If you’ve had some ghostly experiences, I’d like to hear about them. Write me at stebrel@aol.com. If you’d like to learn more about ghosts, visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com.
Stephen Ellis
For some reason, there have recently been an uncommonly high number of articles and supposed eyewitness events concerning haunted houses, haunted commercial establishments and the like. While this is interesting, I suspect many readers may not even know what is meant by a “haunting”. Surely all of us have heard about haunted houses and maybe, when we were kids, stood outside some gloomy looking place afraid to go in. The brave kids may actually have entered such a house and left abruptly when there was some weird sound inside.
So let’s take it from “scratch”: Haunted houses are places where ghosts seem to inhabit.
Are there such things as “ghosts”? And, if so, what are they? Why do they pick some particular place to hang-out?
Ghosts exist! There are millions of claims regarding ghosts and haunting. That’s a pretty high number of people to call “liars” or “delusional.
Ghosts are the energy of people who have died who for some reason (and we’ll talk about the possibilities) have not gone to the usual place dead people go. When someone’s body dies, the energy that was that person’s mind or aura does not die. Most people who have died and come back to life (yes…there are many such people) seem to suggest that they went to a place like Heaven…or a free-floating world…or to someplace where they saw other ghostly energies waiting to be reborn. Speaking of being “re-born”, there is absolutely overwhelming evidence that reincarnation is a fact of life.
Ghosts are never something to be feared. They were people, just like you…only now they do not have a body. If the energy that was a person is still alive, that energy may not want to go to the places mentioned above and may prefer to remain where they lived or where their life was abruptly ended. When this happens, we say that the place the energy decided to remain is “haunted”.
The person whose energy is located in a specific place usually decides to remain there for one of several reasons: 1-They do not believe or are not willing to accept that their body has died. 2-The person, when alive, may have been someone who built that house and does not want to let go of it. 3-The person whose energy has remained in a house may be because their life was ended abruptly there and they still do not understand their abrupt death. 4- The person who died may want to remain there to watch over those who are still living.
There can be many other reasons, of course, but what makes a place haunted is the fact that the dead person’s energy is still there.
What can a ghost do? Not much! The energy has no body. It has no larynx…no vocal chords, etc. So if it tries to talk, it’s going to sound like a super-faint whisper. That’s why ghost-chasing organizations use equipment to monitor the faintest of whispers. Can it harm you physically? Of course not. It has no body to do any harm to anyone.
Can it affect you mentally? That’s a good question: Energy has a way of permeating your own energy and it can put thoughts into your head. It can make you think you are hearing sounds or voices that are really not there. It can make you think you are seeing someone who is not there…at least until your own energy chases out the intruding energy. That’s how I was able to see the exact image of a girl who was murdered in an apartment I was renting, but then as I became more awake, the image disappeared. It is safe to conclude that your own energy, the energy that comprises you mind/aura has been with your body since birth, can always override any foreign energy that may have entered your mind. Ghostly energy may be able to (temporarily) take over the mind of a child, but in both the long and the short run, ghostly energy cannot harm you. It may give you some strange dreams when you sleep…but that’s about all it can really do.
How do you get rid of a ghost? You talk to them! For some reason, still inexplicable to me, the energy in your body can both see and hear without an optic nerve or an ear drum. This has been verified thousands of times by people who practice astral projection. So, If a ghost can see you and hear you, the usual, most successful, way to rid a house of a ghost is to speak to them; tell them they are dead; that they no longer own the property they are haunting, that you now own the house and you want them gone, etc. This seems to work almost 100% of the time.
If you’ve had some ghostly experiences, I’d like to hear about them. Write me at stebrel@aol.com. If you’d like to learn more about ghosts, visit my website at yourparanormalcenter.com.
Stephen Ellis
Friday, August 20, 2010
Music and the Mind
MUSIC AND THE MIND
August 15, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Ever wonder why a song will just pop into your mind for no apparent reason? I’m not talking about a song you may have just heard on the radio. I’m talking about a song you may not have heard for years and years. Even lyrics that have long been buried in your mind will suddenly pop into your head while you’re sleeping…while you’re busy doing something else. It usually happens without warning.
I’ve wondered about this, too and I’ve been trying to give it some thought: I based my thoughts on the fact that music is an international language. It is a way of communicating when language isn’t there. Some music makes you feel happy; some makes you feel sad…and some music brings back long-forgotten memories.
It just seemed logical to assume that music did not permeate my mind for no reason. Perhaps someone, somewhere was trying to communicate with me….send me a message. But “who” and “why”?
One of the unique things about music is that it is almost, invariably, connected with someone. Not the recording artist, but people you know…or more likely, knew. Music…songs…usually remind you of people and places past.
For example: I’m already in my late seventies (where did all the years go?), so it might seem strange for some songs to enter my head that I haven’t heard for more than sixty years…yet, pop-into-my-head they do…and even the lyrics were there. One night, shortly after my brother died, I started hearing songs I sang around a campfire at a summer camp in Connecticut. There was no question in my mind that the only person I knew…someone who was there with me when we learned those songs…was my deceased brother. Was my brother trying to communicate with me from the after-life world? I went over and over the lyrics of these camp songs to see if there might be a message contained in them, but all I was able to come up with is that they were very happy times…happy memories. Perhaps my brother was trying to tell me that, wherever he was, he was happy and all was well.
This is a pretty far-out theory, and it certainly is not based on anything forensic. Still, if you put a lot of things together, maybe it does make sense: Our thoughts are energy. Energy knows no bounds, so it’s quite likely that thought energy is everywhere around us…in our atmosphere…in our minds. It’s the thing that makes us inwardly recoil when we meet some people for the first time and find ourselves attracted when we meet others. It’s the thing that makes us very uncomfortable when we enter some places and very relaxed when we enter others. It’s also what memories are made of.
Readers of my blogs know that I feel strongly that communication with the dead is extremely rare and, in fact, the only cases I could ever verify occurred within hours after an unexpected death. The logic is simple: A ghost no longer has a real body; it does not have vocal chords or a larynx, so communication with it in a normal fashion simply cannot exist (I am not a fan of John Edwards, James Van Praagh or anyone else who claims to be able to communicate with the dead).
But thoughts and energy do not die. They will continue as long as there are people.
I’m suggesting that, just “maybe”, music that simply pops into your head for no apparent reason may have entered your mind because someone else’s energy is trying to communicate with you. Maybe it’s the lyrics or maybe it was the surrounding ambiance when you first heard that music.
Certainly it’s worth thinking about.
Write me at stebrel@aol.com. I respond to all communications.
Visit my website at Yourparanormalcenter.com.
August 15, 2010 By Stephen Ellis
Ever wonder why a song will just pop into your mind for no apparent reason? I’m not talking about a song you may have just heard on the radio. I’m talking about a song you may not have heard for years and years. Even lyrics that have long been buried in your mind will suddenly pop into your head while you’re sleeping…while you’re busy doing something else. It usually happens without warning.
I’ve wondered about this, too and I’ve been trying to give it some thought: I based my thoughts on the fact that music is an international language. It is a way of communicating when language isn’t there. Some music makes you feel happy; some makes you feel sad…and some music brings back long-forgotten memories.
It just seemed logical to assume that music did not permeate my mind for no reason. Perhaps someone, somewhere was trying to communicate with me….send me a message. But “who” and “why”?
One of the unique things about music is that it is almost, invariably, connected with someone. Not the recording artist, but people you know…or more likely, knew. Music…songs…usually remind you of people and places past.
For example: I’m already in my late seventies (where did all the years go?), so it might seem strange for some songs to enter my head that I haven’t heard for more than sixty years…yet, pop-into-my-head they do…and even the lyrics were there. One night, shortly after my brother died, I started hearing songs I sang around a campfire at a summer camp in Connecticut. There was no question in my mind that the only person I knew…someone who was there with me when we learned those songs…was my deceased brother. Was my brother trying to communicate with me from the after-life world? I went over and over the lyrics of these camp songs to see if there might be a message contained in them, but all I was able to come up with is that they were very happy times…happy memories. Perhaps my brother was trying to tell me that, wherever he was, he was happy and all was well.
This is a pretty far-out theory, and it certainly is not based on anything forensic. Still, if you put a lot of things together, maybe it does make sense: Our thoughts are energy. Energy knows no bounds, so it’s quite likely that thought energy is everywhere around us…in our atmosphere…in our minds. It’s the thing that makes us inwardly recoil when we meet some people for the first time and find ourselves attracted when we meet others. It’s the thing that makes us very uncomfortable when we enter some places and very relaxed when we enter others. It’s also what memories are made of.
Readers of my blogs know that I feel strongly that communication with the dead is extremely rare and, in fact, the only cases I could ever verify occurred within hours after an unexpected death. The logic is simple: A ghost no longer has a real body; it does not have vocal chords or a larynx, so communication with it in a normal fashion simply cannot exist (I am not a fan of John Edwards, James Van Praagh or anyone else who claims to be able to communicate with the dead).
But thoughts and energy do not die. They will continue as long as there are people.
I’m suggesting that, just “maybe”, music that simply pops into your head for no apparent reason may have entered your mind because someone else’s energy is trying to communicate with you. Maybe it’s the lyrics or maybe it was the surrounding ambiance when you first heard that music.
Certainly it’s worth thinking about.
Write me at stebrel@aol.com. I respond to all communications.
Visit my website at Yourparanormalcenter.com.
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