Posted on 01/11/2005 6:18:33 PM PST by malakhi
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After a nine month hiatus, The Neverending Story, the granddaddy of daily threads, has returned to Free Republic. Originally begun on March 24, 2001, as a religious discussion thread, the NES evolved over time into a daily thread spanning a wide variety of topics. The new and improved Neverending Story will feature conversation on religion, politics, culture, current events, business, sports, family, hobbies, general fellowship and more. We welcome you to hang your hat in our little corner of FR. We ask you to abide by the FR posting rules and, even in the midst of serious debate, to keep the discussion friendly and respectful. Those who wish to "duke it out" are asked to take it over to the Smoky Backroom. I placed this thread in "General/Chat" for a reason, so play nice and have fun! :o)
At any rate I came upon some verses this morning. Thought you might like them.
Isaiah 43:3 For I am YHWH thy God, The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am YHWH; and beside Me there is no saviour.
Isaiah 45:20 Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations; they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
21 Declare ye, and bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together: Who hath announced this from ancient time, and declared it of old? Have not I YHWH? And there is no God else beside Me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside Me.
22 Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.
23 By Myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from My mouth in righteousness, and shall not come back, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
24 Only in YHWH, shall one say of Me, is victory and strength; even to Him shall men come in confusion, all they that were incensed against Him.
25 In YHWH shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
Did you ever consider reading the text at the link you provide? It provides the explanation, in clear text for anyone to comprehend. Who isn't looking for clues for his own mystery religion and the great conspiracy, that is.
Erected in honor of Emperor Constantine, after battle to defeat Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge in 315 AD. Constructed of spolia stripped from earlier imperial monuments dedicated to Trajan (112) and Hadrian (128)
For those in Rio Linda, this means the arch was constructed using spoils (that's "stuff taken after winning a military victory") taken from earlier monuments. It's a display of war trophies.
If we kicked some British butt and set up the crown jewels on top of the Washington monument for all to see, this doesn't make us monarchists.
SD
And what does that mean to you?
Ask him if he's gonna play basketball tournament with us this year.
SD
I was hoping that you bring this up. Yes, indeedy I did see that, which makes it all the worse because that means that Constantine CHOSE to borrow and use these items depicting and honoring pagan gods, instead of erecting an arch dedicated to his alledged new found faith.
:)
Don't know... I don't speak French.
Okay, I think I've puzzled out what you were implying. Well, the pope not being there was irrelevent, because the pope's opinion was irrelevent. The man who called the council, and the only man whose opinion ultimately mattered, was Constantine. Had history gone only a little bit differently (say, had Arius not been poisoned by his enemies), you might be cracking jokes today about those heretical trinitarians.
Not exactly. It's like if we removed the Muslim spectre from the face of the earth and moved their big rock to Washington DC. That doesn't make us Muslims, that makes us conquerors of Muslims.
You're assuming (cause it fits your conspiracy theories) that these were placed there to "honor" pagan gods. Maybe he just liked the art, or the symbolism of the art.
SD
That's really sad. I hope he can recover to enjoy life.
I remember after Badger Bob Johnson led the Penguins to their first-ever Cup title, his head exploded.
SD
We would destroy it if we wanted to show we conquered it. Kind of like how we tore down Saddam's statue and destroyed it. :)
Maybe he just liked the art, or the symbolism of the art.
Like the golden calf?
LOL. He liked PAGAN ART AND SYMBOLISM more than christianity. hahahaha
Sorry Dave, you can't spin this one to suit your needs. It just won't work.
Not exactly. It's like if we removed the Muslim spectre from the face of the earth and moved their big rock to Washington DC. That doesn't make us Muslims, that makes us conquerors of Muslims.
Dave have you actually read the Tanach? Don't you recall all the times that YHWH instructed the Israelites to DESTROY the alters of the pagans and the images of the pagan gods?
Ahhh.... I see what you're saying.
Sorry, no. If Constantine had a preference going in (other than unity of the church) he could have just announced it. But Constantine was the civil leader... not a religious leader. He didn't get a vote. The partisan differences are well laid out in the histories... there was great dissagreement on the substance of HOW to describe Christ's God...um... "ness". But hardly anyone came in on Arius' side from the beggining. And the majority of Bishops in attendance were eastern (where Arius' support came from in the first place) yet he STILL had almost no support.
Had history gone only a little bit differently (say, had Arius not been poisoned by his enemies), you might be cracking jokes today about those heretical trinitarians
He died well after the council concluded. Constantine had exiled him and was considering allowing his return when he died. The decision was already made.
Ah... but He also said to take your enemies' children and bash their heads against rocks.
Doesn't mean that's how we have to fight every battle.
Constantine was a Roman conquerer... he didn't always do everything the way God might have preferred.
Are you suggesting that it's okay to be disobedient to YHWH? Do you happen to recall what happened when the Israelites were disobedient?
Constantine was a Roman conquerer... he didn't always do everything the way God might have preferred.
I guess that would depend on which god or gods Constantine was trying to appease at any given moment. ;)
Maybe so, maybe no. We do have spoils of war in this country. I remember reading about some bell in Wyoming or something that was taken during the Spanish American war that some PC people wanted to return. It doesn't mean we worship the god of bells.
Great works of art are rarely destroyed, at least not by non-barbarians. That they would be incorporated into the triumph monument of a Roman emperor is not exactly surprising.
LOL. He liked PAGAN ART AND SYMBOLISM more than christianity. hahahaha
The funny thing is that it really doesn't matter what Constantine liked or didn't like. It bears no relevance to anything, so it's amusing you spend so much time trying to "prove" he was a pagan.
So what if he was? He may have taken some time to move from a polytheistic approach to one of monotheism. He may have never fully grasped the concept. So what?
He is remembered for stopping the persecution of the Church and allowing it to grow.
SD
Are you placing yourself in the "bash the enemy's children's head" camp?
I guess that would depend on which god or gods Constantine was trying to appease at any given moment. ;)
I don't think anyone is claiming Constantine was ever a Jew, so I'm not sure of the relevance of judging him according to your interpretation of Jewish law.
Of course, Im not sure of the relevance of most of what you post.
SD
No.. I'm suggesting that He didn't give the same commands to each king... nor for each battle.
Don't you recall all the times that YHWH instructed the Israelites to DESTROY the alters of the pagans and the images of the pagan gods?
Yes... and do you recall second Samuel? "The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off." Does Scripture record that he DESTROYed them?
I just have to wonder if some innocuous hit he took recently may have triggered the stroke. I remember in my martial arts class, my instructor telling us there are certain strikes and holds he wouldn't do full strength on someone over the age of 35; for example, a forearm strike to the side of the neck. You can lay someone out flat with a strike like that, and the force of the strike can jar loose plaque from the carotid artery, which could lead to a stroke.
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