Chapter 13: Sword of Islam

Phenomenology of World Religions ©

Chapter 13

Sword of Islam

ISLAMIC EMPIRE GROWS

Abu Bakr was the father-in-law of Muhammad and his first successor. He was given the command of the faithful as Khalifah (Caliph, meaning “deputy”). Several tribes refused to accept his right to rule and a war broke out called Ridda, fought by Abu Bakr and his general Khalid ibn al Walid. The success in that battle and battles thereafter against Persia and Byzantine initiated a series of war of conquest outside the Mohammed Arabian peninsula. Their army had become formidable with dedicated followers of Islam, swordsmen mounted on camels and able archers on horseback that came out of the desert and struck the heart of Persia and Byzantine empires. The two empires were already becoming weak and their army was not organized sufficiently to defeat the Arabs. The Arabs soon conquered Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, and Persia. The Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem in 640 and guaranteed the preservation of the Christian holy places there.

Biblical Archaeology: Birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth

Monday, December 24^th, Christian pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Bethlehem is in area known as the West Bank. According to NPR …

…Israeli archaeologists now say there is strong evidence that Christ was born in a different Bethlehem, a small village in the Galilee. About 100 miles north of where the pilgrims gathered, shepherds still guide their flocks through green unspoiled hills, and few give notice to the tucker-away village with the odd sounding name: Bethlehem of Galilee. But archaeologists who have excavated there say there is ample evidence that this Bethlehem is the Bethlehem of Christ’s birth. … It was inhabited by Jews. I know it was Jews because we found here remnants of an industry of stone vessels, and it was used only by Jews and only in the period of Jesus. He also found artifacts which showed that a few centuries later the community had become Christians and had built a large and ornate church. He says there is significant evidence that in early Christianity this Bethlehem was celebrated as the birthplace of Jesus. The emperor Justinian boasted of building a fortification wall around the village to protect it. The ruins of that wall … still circle parts of the Galilee village today.

Christmas: The Season For a Reason

The first Christmas was probably not on December 24^th – a cold, starry night with one particular star shining to guide those to witness the birth of a child who would be called “Messiah” and “Son of God” – the messenger of salvation, hope, promise that earthly life is not the end of one’s life, and the enlightenment of the soul. There is great debate upon the exact date or even time of the year.

You Can't Steal Christmas by Sharon Steege

Dixie Lee “Quills” sent me this email and the author has a name instead of “anonymous”, entitled You Can’t Steal Christmas by Sharon Steege …

I don’t know who they are
Saying I can’t greet the crowd
The way that I want to;
Can’t say CHRISTMAS out loud.
I walk into a business place
See things that I’d rather not see.
But dare I not say CHRISTMAS
And ask for a “holiday” tree.
What happened to freedom of speech
And living in the land of the free?
How can they take my CHRISTMAS money.
But can’t say MERRY CHRISTMAS to me.
Men and women have given their lives
So we could still go free.
I wonder how they would feel
At saying “HOLIDAY” TREE.

Chapter 19: Anatomy of the Soul, Afterlife, and Reincarnation

Phenomenology of World Religions ©

Chapter 19

Anatomy of the Soul and Reincarnation

Death of Socrates, Giambettino Cignaroli

Death has several descriptions in both physical and spiritual concepts. I guess the most simplest description is at Plato, Stanford University’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Death is life’s ending … However, life’s ending is one thing, and the condition of having life over is another. ‘Death’ can refer to either.

To me …

Death is a dream from which one cannot wake, the soul released from physical entrapment. It is a dream of chaos and all that which makes us fearful or which is pleasant. In that lies the true description and comparison of life after death and the difference between the concept of Heaven (Paradise) and Hell (Hades). It is all in the mind of the beholder, like beauty; the Dream Walker controls the dream and therefore may control their fate. If the soul be the spark of the divine, then we should protect it throughout our material lives. 

Thanksgiving Day: November 22nd 2012

St. Thomas Choir: Over 800 Years of Tradition and Classical Music

St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig (Thomanerchor) is a boys’ choir in Leipzig, Germany founded in 1212. Today, the choir consists of 92 boys from 8 to 18 years of age. The members are Thomaner and live in a boarding school called Thomasalumnat, and attend a Gymnasium school with a focus on musical education.