Monday -- Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish religious manuscripts that were found in the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert, near Ein Feshkha on the northern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank. Scholarly consensus dates these scrolls from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE. The texts have great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the second-oldest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon, along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism. Almost all of the Dead Sea Scrolls are held by the state of Israel in the Shrine of the Book on the grounds of the Israel Museum, but ownership of the scrolls is disputed by Jordan and Palestine.

Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area. They represent the remnants of larger manuscripts damaged by natural causes or through human interference, with the vast majority holding only small scraps of text. However, a small number of well-preserved, almost intact manuscripts have survived – fewer than a dozen among those from the Qumran Caves. Researchers have assembled a collection of 981 different manuscripts – discovered in 1946/47 and in 1956 – from 11 caves. The 11 Qumran Caves lie in the immediate vicinity of the Hellenistic-period Jewish settlement at Khirbet Qumran in the eastern Judaean Desert, in the West Bank. The caves are located about one mile (1.6 kilometres) west of the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, whence they derive their name. Scholarly consensus dates the Qumran Caves Scrolls from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE. Bronze coins found at the same sites form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (in office 135–104 BCE) and continuing until the period of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), supporting the radiocarbon and paleographic dating of the scrolls.

In the larger sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls include manuscripts from additional Judaean Desert sites, dated as early as the 8th century BCE and as late as the 11th century CE.  SOURCE:  Wikipedia

A Theory of TRUTH

Our online dictionary defines truth as:

1. the quality or state of being true
2. that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality
3. a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

Don't ya just love dictionaries...  a state of being true...  not sure what the hell that means but it will work for a test.  Numbers 2 and 3 are equally as vague...

I have always been told that TRUTH IS THAT WHICH CAN ONLY BE PROVEN IN COURTS OF LAW...  so, if it cannot be proved in court, then it ain't true in accordance with fact or reality or that which has been accepted.

A College History Professor once told me that THE COUNTRY THAT WON THE WAR WROTE THE HISTORY BOOKS...  which may or may not be in accordance with the truth or the reality of that truth which is what we find in our history books about the CIVIL WAR,  WWI and WWII which is always from the perspectives of the WINNERS...  and, never the LOSERS, unless it is years later when writers decide to investigate the truth and dig deeper.

Our existence is proof of the truth that we are alive.

1. Is that truth an illusion or a reality?
2. Are we really alive now or truly alive only after we are dead?

The French Philosopher Descartes once said:  I THINK THEREFORE I AM and used this thought process of proof that he existed at that particular point-in-time.

1. Did our CIVIL WAR begin over slavery or because the South wanted to leave the union and President Lincoln needed their tax revenues?
2. Did President Lincoln free the slaves in the South because he was opposed to slavery or because he needed their bodies in the Union Army?
3. Which truth is evidence(fact) of your reality about our Civil War?

I have always wondered if my parents always told me the truth because there were several truths that I hid from my daughter when she was growing up.  I have also wondered if our Priests, Ministers, and Pastors are telling us all the religious truth there is to know and if they are not...  well, that concerns me because I really would like to know that truth for sure.

1. Was Jesus wealthy or poor as a result of the valuable gifts he was given as a baby?
2. Did Jesus really feel pain while he was on the cross being the son of God and all?
3. Is Heaven located in another dimension other than our own?

The VEDAS and the Pursuit of TRUTH

The Vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.

There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge). Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upasanas (worship). 

The Vedas have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques. The mantras, the oldest part of the Vedas, are recited in the modern age for their phonology rather than the semantics, and are considered to be "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer. By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base."  SOURCE:  Wikipedia

The Vedas teach us to pursue truth, to accept nothing but the Truth, which is one, though the wise describe it in various ways: ekam sat viprāh bahudhā vadanti. That Truth or sat is synonymous with being and becoming, with life and living in all its manifestations. Rita, the opposite of untruth (anrita), is the Cosmic Law that holds the entire creation together. Any transgression of Rita is punishable by Varuna, the dispenser of Divine Justice. Above both gods and humans, it provides the basis of karma that binds one to its consequence.

The countless forms of creation manifest the Truth or Reality of God or Brahman, which is variously imagined, described and named. But beneath and beyond all the names of gods and goddesses, ‘great is the single godhood of all the devas’.

The Truth Hurts But First It Will Piss You Off

 

Second Chances

DO PEOPLE DESERVE SECOND CHANCES?
I've always been of the mind that everyone deserves a second chance if they have learned and changed from their mistakes. Learning from your mistake means that you acknowledge it and are willing to take responsibility for yourself. Changing from your mistake is vital.

A MISTAKE is an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong.

BEING WRONG is that which is not correct or true; incorrect.

INCORRECT means not in accordance with fact; wrong.

FACT is a thing that is known or proved to be true.

TRUE/TRUTH is the quality or state of being accurate.

ACCURATE is being  correct in all details; exact.

DETAIL is an individual feature, fact, or item.

Perception means the ability 

to see, hear, or become aware 

of something through the senses.

My concern is how much does PERCEPTION influence:

• mistakes
• being wrong
• incorrect
• facts
• truth
• accurate
• details

Taking all these words into consideration, then it is difficult for me to see SECOND CHANCES as being anything more than being RELATIVE based upon the PERCEPTIONS of those asking for the SECOND CHANCE and those giving the SECOND CHANCE.

China Should Be Punished!!!

I may be a paranoid, biploar, SOB, but I have never done anything to anyone as bad as what CHINA has done to the USA and to the rest of the WORLD...

First of all, China being a COMMUNIST country failed to tell the rest of the world the TRUTH about the VIRUS and what was taking place in their country.

Second, the World Health Organization (WHO) helped China hide this from the rest of the world.

THIRD and probably the most important, our Military Intelligence (not an oxymoron) has uncovered evidence that the virus escaped from a Scientific Testing Lab in WUHAN, CHINA because of disgraceful but expected from a Communist Country SAFETY PRACTICES...

COMMUNIST COUNTRIES have never respected their own citizens or the citizens of any and all global countries, in particular the citizens of the USA, their arch enemy...

THE CHINA VIRUS...

One of my articles posted on LINKEDIN

WARNING:  if you want to read other article by me like the one below, CLICK HERE...


WORDS OF THE PROPHETS

The words by which we live our lives basically comes from two different but distinct groups of people: Republicans and Democrats.

“The main difference between the two parties is, indeed, their political orientation. The Democratic Party is left-leaning, liberal and usually associated with progressiveness and equality. The Republican Party, instead, is right-leaning, traditional and associated with equity and economic freedom and with the ideal of ‘survival of the fittest’.” 

Some of us believe that the Democrats support the following:

Large government

Adequate military

No homeland security

Social welfare

Abortion & Late Term Abortion

Strict regulation of second amendment

Same sex marriage

Open borders

Free healthcare

High taxes on wealthy

Free education

Increasing national debt

High wages

Universal legalization of marijuana

Consequently, some of believe that the Republicans support exactly the opposite.  Now, it is not this simply, but it is close except for the area of defense and military, the Republicans want it to be super big and strong…  just in case.

Recently, we have seen that a majority of the media outlets (now referred to as mainstream media) favor the Democratic points-of-view and in so doing, negatively report the news that looks bad for the Republicans while soft pedaling the news that looks bad for the Democrats.  And, even though we have “freedom of the press” in this country through the first amendment, biased reporting is not responsible journalism…  journalism should be fair, balanced, and unbiased regardless of one’s personal feelings.

These same standards should apply to our law enforcement agencies but we have discovered that our own FBI and quite possibly our DOJ were politically biased during the 2016 Presidential Election.  We have no idea of the ramifications that are yet to result from this realization that may impact the future of both these fine institutions that have served us so well in the past.

And so, the words of our prophets have again come into question.

And, once again, our prophets are on separate shores of our political present and ultimately our political future and in so doing have divided our great country into two bitter camps of attitudes and opinions.

And, once again, the words of our prophets have put us into a position where opposing anger could ignite another civil war in this country.  But, this civil war will not be fought with firearms but with words that will make the HATE of our first civil war look timid and foolish.

The words of our prophets will hurt and burn for decades with neither side giving any forgiveness to the other side, no matter how many Christian Churches both sides represent.

The words of our prophets will cause a lack of respect and trust worse than the racists attitudes of the 1960’s that has never quite disappeared even though the well-to-do’s of both sides claim have improved.

The words of our prophets are as hollow as hollow point bullets used by criminals and hunters in a futile attempt to level the playing field.

Who am I to make this kind of a claim and indictment of our society?

                       I am a nobody…

                       I was born in 1947 and have seen 7 decades of political missteps and stupid approaches by both parties…   and, what has been impressed upon me the most is that NOTHING CHANGES…

                       I am not a political expert.

                       I am not a historian.

                       I have never lived a very influential life although I have been a teacher of sorts.

                       I am a Vietnam Veteran and a very proud American who loves his country.

                 I am a senior citizen who now believes our two parties have gone too far with their political rhetoric and the general public is copying their attitudes by showing extreme hatred to the other side, that is to say, those that represent the other party.

It is also sad to say that these sentiments are now being absorbed by comedians who have only showed or demonstrated HATRED for the Republican Party while giving the Democratic Party a PASS.

What kind of equality or fair play is this?

Whose fault is this?

It is the fault of our prophets and their followers…

 And that my friends is you and I.