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)
Good one for me as well. Redskins in... Dallas out.... Philly becomes the first Super Bowl team to lose every single division game the following year.
My heart was in my throat for what seemed to be hours.
Ya. Not a big fan of either team either but I stayed up and watched it. My heart's not in my throat but my eyeballs are now trying to look at the inside of my eyelids. :-)
Some believe that the Magi were originally taught by Daniel.
Traditions Most of what we associate with the "Magi" is from early church traditions. Most have assumed that there were three of them since they brought three specific gifts. (But the Biblical text doesn't number them.) They are called "Magi" from the Latinized form of the Greek word magoi , transliterated from the Persian for a select sect of priests. (Our word "magic" comes from the same root.)As the years passed, traditions became increasingly embellished. By the third century, they were viewed as kings. By the sixth century they had names: Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa. Some even associated them with Shem, Ham and Japheth, the three sons of Noah, and thus with Asia, Africa, and Europe. A fourteenth century Armenian tradition identifies them as Balthasar, King of Arabia; Melchior, King of Persia; and Gasper, King of India.
(Relics attributed to them emerged in the fourth century and were transferred from Constantinople to Milan in the fifth century, and then to Cologne in 1162, where they remain enshrined today.)
These are all very interesting traditions, but what do we really know about the Magi?
The Priesthood of the Medes
The ancient Magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes credited with profound and extraordinary religious knowledge. After some Magi, who had been attached to the Median court, proved to be expert in the interpretation of dreams, Darius the Great established them over the state religion of Persia.2 (Contrary to popular belief, the Magi were not originally followers of Zoroaster.3 That all came later.)
It was in this dual capacity whereby civil and political counsel was invested with religious authority, that the Magi became the supreme priestly caste of the Persian Empire, and continued to be prominent during the subsequent Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods.4
The Role of Daniel
One of the titles given to Daniel was Rab-mag, the Chief of the Magi.5 His unusual career included being a principal administrator in two world empires: the Babylonian and the subsequent Persian Empire. When Darius appointed him, a Jew, over the previously hereditary Median priesthood, the resulting repercussions resulted in the plots leading to the lion's den.6 Daniel apparently entrusted a messianic vision (to be announced in due time by a "star") to a secret sect of the Magi for its eventual fulfillment. But first, let's cover some historical background.
Political Background
Since the days of Daniel, the fortunes of both the Persian and the Jewish nations had been closely intertwined. Both nations had, in their turn, fallen under Seleucid domination in the wake of Alexander's conquests. Subsequently both had regained their independence: the Jews under Maccabean leadership, and the Persians as the dominating ruling group within the Parthian Empire.
It was at this time that the Magi, in their dual priestly and governmental office, composed the upper house of the Council of the Megistanes ("magistrates") whose duties included the absolute choice and election of the king of the realm. It was therefore a group of Persian-Parthian "king makers" who entered Jerusalem in the latter days of the reign of Herod. Herod's reaction was understandably one of fear when one considers the background of Roman-Parthian rivalry that prevailed during his lifetime.
from Who Were the Magi?
b'shem Y'shua
These games are way too long. Yeah, that was a good one.
SD
Two great college football teams and they each deserved to win.
Don't get carried away too much though. Young is certain to go to the NFL and how good will Texas be then?
When you can string together a record similar to some of the great teams such as, for example, the Patriots then you'll have something to brag about. In the meanwhile it might be wise to be a humble and happy winner. :-)
He'll probably go pro. But it is a tough choice. His stock is way high right now, but he's sure to win the Heisman next season if he stays healthy. That could boost his salary potential. Texas will of course be a different team w/o him and were lucky that he wasn't injured this season because they don't have any stellar back ups.
You forget ... Texans are humble by nature (native Texans, that is). So much so that we have a town with that very name. So the graphic I posted is over the top ... that doesn't make me a braggart.
Never let it be said I'd suggest you were a braggart. :-)
We don't have any college football teams in New England which can compete with the likes of Texas and USC. In fact our best team, Boston College, thinks it more important to concentrate on a silly little thing like the graduation rate. Tch Tch. They don't have their priorities straight.
We do a pretty fair PROFESSIONAL team though.
We have a town called "Intercourse." ;-)
Good to see ya, Al. I was rooting for the Texans, cause I hated the media hype about the golden boys from Calif.
SD
Of course not. I just forgot to add the ;o)
I'm glad you ended that little story right there.
Good to see ya, Al. I was rooting for the Texans, cause I hated the media hype about the golden boys from Calif.
Ditto. In fact, I had to mute the TV because Fouts was just making me sick. He's usually pretty good and being unbiased, but he just couldn't help himself Wednesday night.
Can you imagine the same correspondence with the citizens of Intercourse? :-)
Look at this picture and tell me how a block could cause this to happen. Here I replayed this many times. He "accidentally" kept twisting and turning until he brought Palmer down.
This is similar to the "accidental" low, late, tackle which took Brady out of the 2001 playoff game.
The sad thing is, I think the Steelers would have beaten the Bengals straight up.
I have no idea how the Pats will do against the Broncos or the Steelers will do against the Colts but an AFC championship at Gillette would be very interesting.
The Pats have new high top shoes for Tom Brady which are studded with 6" spikes and go all the way up to his knees. Maybe, just maybe, this will discourage "accidental" low hits below his knees.
Old Dumby
SD
They should have thrown Big Ben out of the game just to level the playing field. :-)
You could look at Kimo's reaction to the play and see that he was not happy with the outcome. You can talk to his former teammates on the Bengals (he played there for 5 years) and they tell you he isn't that kind of guy. Sometimes stuff happens.
In any event, it's largely a moot point. The Bengals had success in the first half under Kitna and were leading at half. The Steelers out-coached, out-played and out-desired the game in the 2nd half.
And Cincinnati started to get down on themselves and fell into their bad habits. You could tell they quit believing in themselves.
SD
Let me repeat - - - I don't think it was a deliberate "get him" play. I do however believe the extra twist wasn't necessary.
As I already told you, I think the Steelers would have won anyway.
The Colts are almost 10 point favorites. What do you think?
I honestly don't know how good the Patriots are. The secondary is still suspect and a good quarterbck might just pick them apart.
Even Leftwich, who was very rusty, completed almost 60% of his passes even when the Pats had stopped the ground game and their front seven were crushing Jacksonville. Under these circumstances the Pats secondary should have had an easy day.
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