Friday, October 19, 2012

dies Veneris



 
 
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Greta Christina, a fine, fine writer has just announced that she has been diagnosed with cancer and needs some help.

Read all the details HERE

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Below is an excerpt from a letter sent by Albert Einstein to Eric Gutkind, the author of Choose Life The Biblical Call To Revolt.

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this. These subtilised interpretations are highly manifold according to their nature and have almost nothing to do with the original text. For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them."



You might ask why I posted the above excerpt. After all, who cares what Einstein thought about the religion of the Hebrews or about theism in general? Why should one conclude that just because Einstein is gifted in an a phenomenal understanding of higher mathematics he would necessarily also excel in deeper knowledge of other matters?

Why indeed?

It seems to be an enigma, does it not?


Religion.

As I see it, 'organized' religions such as Christianity, Mormonism, Scientology, Islam, and all the others are nothing more than preconceived and brilliantly executed methods of psychologically controlling groups of gullible people, cleverly put into play by unscrupulous individuals banded together to extract wealth and power from those being unknowingly manipulated.



This, to me, is so clearly obvious that I am amazed that so many people are unable to grasp it.

But as I have so often declared, I am not an Atheist. Nor am I a Theist.

It seems I am an enigma, does it not?


I would like to propose an analogy:

In your imagination try to picture a small ant colony existing mostly underground in the middle of a vast remote jungle in Africa. Within this colony (which represents the human race on planet Earth) dwells a group of typical ants whose reason for being is simply to work. This, unknown and unknowable to them, is, of course, only in order to perpetuate their species.

Could one of those ants possibly understand or even conceive of an astronaut aboard the orbiting International Space station?

How then, can a mere man {or woman} being biological animals possibly understand the make-up and workings of an almighty GOD powerful enough to have created the entire universe?

Ah yes . . .
An enigma, for sure.

Comments are most welcomed.

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WORD FOR TODAY

enigma [uh-nig-muh]
noun
-  a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation.
-  a person of puzzling or contradictory character.
-  a saying, question, picture, etc., containing a hidden meaning; riddle.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Born Oct 19, 1945
Age: 66 years old.

Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson) is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" (written by Tom T. Hall), which missed (by one week) becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time.

Jeannie C. Riley singing Harper Valley PTA



Born Oct 19, 1945
Age: 66 years old.

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Currently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio. He also has written and published several books of poetry and children's literature.

He appeared in the films The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983), receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for each. Lithgow is known for his roles as the Reverend Shaw Moore in Footloose, Dick Solomon on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, the voice of Lord Farquaad in Shrek, and Arthur Mitchell on Showtime's Dexter, for which he won Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

In terms of his television career, Lithgow is probably most widely known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the 1996–2001 NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Born Oct 19, 1962
Age: 49 years old.

Evander Holyfield is an American professional boxer. He is a former Undisputed World Champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal." After winning the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics, he debuted as a professional at the age of 21.

Holyfield was forced to retire in 1994, only to return a year later. On November 9, 1996, he went on to defeat Mike Tyson by eleventh round technical knockout to win the WBA title, in what was named fight of the year and upset of the year for 1996 by The Ring magazine. Evander Holyfield became the first Heavyweight since Muhammad Ali to win the World title three times.



Born Oct 19, 1922
Died Dec 17, 2005

Jack Northman Anderson was an American newspaper columnist, syndicated by United Features Syndicate, considered one of the fathers of modern investigative journalism. Anderson won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his investigation on secret American policy decision-making between the United States and Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. In addition to his newspaper career, Anderson also had a syndicated radio show with the Mutual Broadcasting Network, acted as Washington bureau chief of Parade Magazine, and was a commentator on ABC-TV's Good Morning America for nine years.

Jack Anderson was a key and often controversial figure in reporting on J. Edgar Hoover's apparent ties to the Mafia, the Watergate scandal, and the John F. Kennedy assassination. He also broke open the investigation and harassment by the Nixon administration of John Lennon during the fight to deport Lennon, the search for fugitive ex-Nazi officials in South America and the savings and loan crisis. He discovered a CIA plot to assassinate Fidel Castro, and was credited for breaking the Iran–Contra affair, though he has said the scoop was "spiked" because he had become too close to President Ronald Reagan.

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There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
--Dalai Lama

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