Daily Archives: February 8, 2015

From CNN : Jordan’s royal couple: 5 things to know


Jordan’s royal couple: 5 things to know
http://www.cnn.com//2015/02/07/world/jordan-king-and-queen-5-things/index.html

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From BBC : China executes ‘mafia’ mining tycoon


China executes ‘mafia’ mining tycoon http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-31284702

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From BBC : Planck puts new date on first stars


Planck puts new date on first stars http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31145520

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From BBC : The mathematical formula for love


The mathematical formula for love http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31168242

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From BBC : NFL concussion settlement ‘close’


NFL concussion settlement ‘close’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-31269252

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From BBC : Grammy glory for singer Sam Smith


Grammy glory for singer Sam Smith http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31164562

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From BBC : Ban racists from social media – MPs


Ban racists from social media – MPs http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31246808

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From BBC : Merkel takes Ukraine plan to Obama


Merkel takes Ukraine plan to Obama http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31279621

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From BBC : Egypt halts matches after deaths


Egypt halts matches after deaths http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31252429

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Avignon: Main Entrance of The Palais des Papes (Pencil sketch no.1 FotoSketcher) (My Art Collection)


Main_entrance_of_the_Palais_des_Papes BW pencil-sketch-1-_FotoSketcher

Avignon: Main_entrance_of_the_Palais_des_Papes BW pencil-sketch-1-_FotoSketcher (click to enlarge) (My Art Collection)

Avignon: Main entrance of the Palais des Papes (Pencil sketch no.1 FotoSketcher) (My Art Collection)

Quotation: Mark Twain, Notebook


Mark Twain“If Christ were here there is one thing he would not be—a Christian.”

Mark Twain, Notebook

this pressed: Les luminessences d’Avignon | Palais des Papes – Avignon


Seeing it in all its majesty, standing proud in the historical heart of Avignon, people often wonder: but what were popes doing here in Provence? Why did they leave the Roman hillsides to come to the banks of the Rhône? The monumental video projection, music and story-telling reveal the history of the building, the city and the region like never before. At the meeting of Europe’s great rivers, in the centre of old Avignon, come and experience an extraordinary 360° journey in time and space. For an unforgettable evening, on a unique and exceptional site: the cour d’Honneur of the Palais des Papes.

via Les luminessences d’Avignon | Palais des Papes – Avignon.

This Pressed: Avignon – the papal palace a short visitor guide


For most of the last 1500 years, the Catholic church has had at its head a pope, and the pope has been the Bishop of Rome. Yet the first thousand years of the Papacy included centuries of strife and turmoil, during which the popes, as well as being the spiritual leaders of the Catholic church, were also temporal rulers, major players in the geopolitics of Europe; they were princes with their own states and their own lands, even their own armies.

via Avignon – the papal palace a short visitor guide.

Avignon – Palace of the Popes – Portraits of Southern France – July 16, 2013

today’ Did you know… (DYK)


Did you know… (DYK)


Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire – Basilique Notre-Dame de la PaixArchitect(s): Architect – Pierre Fakhoury


Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (Yamoussoukro)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There is a similarly named Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu.
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix
Notre dame de la paix yamoussoukro by felix krohn.jpg

Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro
Basic information
Location Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire
Geographic coordinates 6°48′40″N 5°17′47″WCoordinates: 6°48′40″N 5°17′47″W
Affiliation Catholic (Roman Rite)
Year consecrated 1990
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Minor basilica
Website Official Website
Architectural description
Architect(s) Pierre Fakhoury
Architectural type Church
Direction of façade NE
Completed 1990
Construction cost US$300m
Specifications
Capacity 18,000
Length 195 metres (640 ft)
Width 150 metres (490 ft)
Width (nave) 55 metres (180 ft)
Height (max) 158 metres (518 ft)
Dome dia. (outer) 90 metres (300 ft)[1]
Materials marble

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The basilica was constructed between 1985 and 1989 at a cost of US$300 million. The design of the dome and encircled plaza are clearly inspired by[2] those of the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican City, although it is not an outright replica.[3] The cornerstone was laid on 10 August 1985, and it was consecrated on 10 September 1990 by Pope John Paul II.[4]

The basilica is not a cathedral. The nearby Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the principal place of worship and seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Yamoussoukro.[5]

Guinness World Records lists it as the largest church in the world, having surpassed the previous record holder, St. Peter’s Basilica, upon completion. It has an area of 30,000 sq metres (322,917 sq ft) and is 158 m (518 ft) high.[6] However, it also includes a rectory and a villa (counted in the overall area), which are not strictly part of the church. It can accommodate 18,000 worshippers, compared to 60,000 for St. Peter’s.[7]

The Basilica is administered by Polish Pallottines.

quotation: ― Augustine of Hippo


 

“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1490.

Augustine of Hippo by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1490. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Monday: Archive of Did you know?


Drawing of Rome during the fourteenth century.

Drawing of Rome during the fourteenth century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Archive of Did you know?

 

Catherine of Siena escorted pope Gregory XI at...

Catherine of Siena escorted pope Gregory XI at Rome on 17th January 1377. Fresco by Giorgio Vasari (30.07.1511-27.06.1574). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Monday

 

Avignon, Palais des Papes, France

Avignon, Palais des Papes, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christianity (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)


Christianity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter, d. 1890.

Christianity (from the Ancient Greek word Χριστός, Christos, a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, Māšîăḥ, meaning “the anointed one”,[1] together with the Latin suffixes -ian and -itas) is an Abrahamic, monotheistic[2] religion based on the life and oral teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity is the world’s largest religion,[3][4] with about 2.4 billion adherents, known as Christians.[5][6][7][8] Christians believe that Jesus has a “unique significance” in the world.[9] Most Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and the saviour of humanity whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament. Consequently, Christians refer to Jesus as Christ or the Messiah.

The foundations of Christian theology are expressed in ecumenical creeds. These professions of faith state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected from the dead in order to grant eternal life to those who believe in him and trust in him for the remission of their sins. The creeds further maintain that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, where he reigns with God the Father. Most Christian denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge everybody, living and dead, and to grant eternal life to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life. His ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as “the gospel“, meaning “good news” (a loan translation of the Greek: εὐαγγέλιον euangélion). The term gospel also refers to written accounts of Jesus’s life and teaching, four of which – the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – are considered canonical and included in Christian Bibles.

Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century.[10][11] Originating in the Levant region of the Middle East, it quickly spread to Europe, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Egypt. It grew in size and influence over a few centuries, and by the end of the 4th century had become the official state church of the Roman Empire, replacing other forms of religion practiced under Roman rule.[12] During the Middle Ages, most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized, and adherents were gained in the Middle East, North Africa, Ethiopia, and parts of India.[13][14] Following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization.[15][16][17] Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization.[18][19][20][21][22]

Worldwide, the three largest groups of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the various denominations of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox patriarchates split from one another in the schism of the 11th century, and Protestantism came into existence during the Reformation of the 16th century, splitting from the Roman Catholic Church.[23]

Beliefs

Christians share a certain set of beliefs that they hold as essential to their faith, though there are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible on which Christianity is based.[24]

Creeds

Main article: Creeds

Concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds (from Latin credo, meaning “I believe”). They began as baptismal formulae and were later expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith.

Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even while agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal “in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another.”[25]:p.111 Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada and the Churches of Christ.[26][27]:14–15[28]:123

 An Eastern Christian Icon depicting Emperor Constantine and the Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea (325) as holding the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381.

The Apostles’ Creed remains the most popular statement of the articles of Christian faith which are generally acceptable to most Christian denominations that are creedal. It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western Christian tradition, including the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Western Rite Orthodoxy. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists. This particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. Each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was apparently used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome.[29]

Its main points include:

The Nicene Creed, largely a response to Arianism, was formulated at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople in 325 and 381 respectively[30][31] and ratified as the universal creed of Christendom by the First Council of Ephesus in 431.[32]

The Chalcedonian Definition, or Creed of Chalcedon, developed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451,[33] though rejected by the Oriental Orthodox Churches,[34] taught Christ “to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably”: one divine and one human, and that both natures, while perfect in themselves, are nevertheless also perfectly united into one person.[35]

The Athanasian Creed, received in the Western Church as having the same status as the Nicene and Chalcedonian, says: “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance.”[36]

Most Christians (Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Protestants alike) accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the creeds mentioned above.[37]

Ten Commandments

Main article: Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, theft, and adultery. Different groups follow slightly different traditions for interpreting and numbering them. According to the synoptic gospels, Christ generalised the law into two underlying principles; The first is “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” While the second is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[Matthew 22:34–40][Mark 12:28–33]

These are quotes from Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament comments on these verses saying: “These comprehend the substance of what Moses in the law, and what the prophets have spoken. What they have said has been to endeavour to win men to the love of God and each other. Love to God and man comprehends the whole [of] religion; and to produce this has been the design of Moses, the prophets, the Saviour, and the apostles.”[38]

Jesus Christ

The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah (Christ). Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus’ coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept. The core Christian belief is that through belief in and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.[39]

While there have been many theological disputes over the nature of Jesus over the earliest centuries of Christian history, Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate and “true God and true man” (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin. As fully God, he rose to life again. According to the Bible, “God raised him from the dead”,[40] he ascended to heaven, is “seated at the right hand of the Father”[41] and will ultimately return[Acts 1:9–11] to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and final establishment of the Kingdom of God.

According to the canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary. Little of Jesus’ childhood is recorded in the canonical Gospels, however infancy Gospels were popular in antiquity. In comparison, his adulthood, especially the week before his death, is well documented in the Gospels contained within the New Testament, because that part of his life was believed to be most important. The Biblical accounts of Jesus’ ministry include: his baptism, miracles, preaching, teaching, and deeds.

Death and resurrection

 
Crucifixion, representing the death of Jesus on the Cross, painting by D. Velázquez, 17th century

 
Resurrection of Christ by Noel Coypel, 1700, using a hovering depiction of Jesus.

Christians consider the resurrection of Jesus to be the cornerstone of their faith (see 1 Corinthians 15) and the most important event in history.[42] Among Christian beliefs, the death and resurrection of Jesus are two core events on which much of Christian doctrine and theology is based.[43][44] According to the New Testament Jesus was crucified, died a physical death, was buried within a tomb, and rose from the dead three days later.[Jn. 19:30–31] [Mk. 16:1] [16:6]

The New Testament mentions several resurrection appearances of Jesus on different occasions to his twelve apostles and disciples, including “more than five hundred brethren at once”,[1Cor 15:6] before Jesus’ Ascension to heaven. Jesus’ death and resurrection are commemorated by Christians in all worship services, with special emphasis during Holy Week which includes Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are usually considered the most important events in Christian theology, partly because they demonstrate that Jesus has power over life and death and therefore has the authority and power to give people eternal life.[45]

Christian churches accept and teach the New Testament account of the resurrection of Jesus with very few exceptions.[46] Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus’ followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church.[47] Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection,[48][49] seeing the story as richly symbolic and spiritually nourishing myth. Arguments over death and resurrection claims occur at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues.[50] Paul the Apostle, an early Christian convert and missionary, wrote, “If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless.”[1Cor 15:14] [51]

Salvation

Paul the Apostle, like Jews and Roman pagans of his time, believed that sacrifice can bring about new kinship ties, purity, and eternal life.[52] For Paul the necessary sacrifice was the death of Jesus: Gentiles who are “Christ’s” are, like Israel, descendants of Abraham and “heirs according to the promise”.[Gal. 3:29] [53] The God who raised Jesus from the dead would also give new life to the “mortal bodies” of Gentile Christians, who had become with Israel the “children of God” and were therefore no longer “in the flesh”.[Rom. 8:9,11,16] [52]

Modern Christian churches tend to be much more concerned with how humanity can be saved from a universal condition of sin and death than the question of how both Jews and Gentiles can be in God’s family. According to both Catholic and Protestant doctrine, salvation comes by Jesus’ substitutionary death and resurrection. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation does not occur without faithfulness on the part of Christians; converts must live in accordance with principles of love and ordinarily must be baptized.[54][55] Martin Luther taught that baptism was necessary for salvation, but modern Lutherans and other Protestants tend to teach that salvation is a gift that comes to an individual by God’s grace, sometimes defined as “unmerited favor”, even apart from baptism.

Christians differ in their views on the extent to which individuals’ salvation is pre-ordained by God. Reformed theology places distinctive emphasis on grace by teaching that individuals are completely incapable of self-redemption, but that sanctifying grace is irresistible.[56] In contrast Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Arminian Protestants believe that the exercise of free will is necessary to have faith in Jesus.[57]

Trinity

Main article: Trinity

 The Trinity is the belief that God is one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit

Trinity refers to the teaching that the one God[2] comprises three distinct, eternally co-existing persons; the Father, the Son (incarnate in Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Together, these three persons are sometimes called the Godhead,[58][59][60] although there is no single term in use in Scripture to denote the unified Godhead.[61] In the words of the Athanasian Creed, an early statement of Christian belief, “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God”.[62] They are distinct from another: the Father has no source, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father. Though distinct, the three persons cannot be divided from one another in being or in operation.[63]

The Trinity is an essential doctrine of mainstream Christianity. “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” represents both the immanence and transcendence of God. God is believed to be infinite and God’s presence may be perceived through the actions of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.[64]

According to this doctrine, God is not divided in the sense that each person has a third of the whole; rather, each person is considered to be fully God (see Perichoresis). The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten; the Son being begotten of the Father; and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and (in Western Christian theology) from the Son. Regardless of this apparent difference, the three ‘persons’ are each eternal and omnipotent.

The word trias, from which trinity is derived, is first seen in the works of Theophilus of Antioch. He wrote of “the Trinity of God (the Father), His Word (the Son) and His Wisdom (Holy Spirit)”.[65] The term may have been in use before this time. Afterwards it appears in Tertullian.[66][67] In the following century the word was in general use. It is found in many passages of Origen.[68]

Trinitarians

Main article: Trinitarianism

Trinitarianism denotes those Christians who believe in the concept of the Trinity. Almost all Christian denominations and Churches hold Trinitarian beliefs. Although the words “Trinity” and “Triune” do not appear in the Bible, theologians beginning in the 3rd century developed the term and concept to facilitate comprehension of the New Testament teachings of God as Father, God as Jesus the Son, and God as the Holy Spirit. Since that time, Christian theologians have been careful to emphasize that Trinity does not imply three gods, nor that each member of the Trinity is one-third of an infinite God; Trinity is defined as one God in three Persons.[69]

Nontrinitarians

Main article: Nontrinitarianism

Nontrinitarianism refers to theology that rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. Various nontrinitarian views, such as adoptionism or modalism, existed in early Christianity, leading to the disputes about Christology.[70] Nontrinitarianism later appeared again in the Gnosticism of the Cathars in the 11th through 13th centuries, and by groups with Unitarian theology in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century,[71] and in the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century, and in some groups arising during the Second Great Awakening of the 19th century.

Scriptures

Christianity, like other religions, has adherents whose beliefs and biblical interpretations vary. Christianity regards the biblical canon, the Old Testament and the New Testament, as the inspired word of God. The traditional view of inspiration is that God worked through human authors so that what they produced was what God wished to communicate. The Greek word referring to inspiration in 2 Timothy 3:16 is Theopneustos, which literally means “God-breathed”.[72]

Some believe that divine inspiration makes our present Bibles inerrant. Others claim inerrancy for the Bible in its original manuscripts, although none of those are extant. Still others maintain that only a particular translation is inerrant, such as the King James Version.[73][74][75] Another view closely related is Biblical infallibility or limited inerrancy, which affirms that the Bible is free of error as a guide to salvation, but may include errors on matters such as history, geography or science.

 The Gutenberg Bible, the first printed Bible

The books of the Bible accepted among the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches vary somewhat, with Jews accepting only the Hebrew Bible as canonical; there is however substantial overlap. These variations are a reflection of the range of traditions, and of the councils that have convened on the subject. Every version of the Old Testament always includes the books of the Tanakh, the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Catholic and Orthodox canons, in addition to the Tanakh, also include the Deuterocanonical Books as part of the Old Testament. These books appear in the Septuagint, but are regarded by Protestants to be apocryphal. However, they are considered to be important historical documents which help to inform the understanding of words, grammar and syntax used in the historical period of their conception. Some versions of the Bible include a separate Apocrypha section between the Old Testament and the New Testament.[76] The New Testament, originally written in Koine Greek, contains 27 books which are agreed upon by all churches.

Modern scholarship has raised many issues with the Bible. While the Authorized King James Version is held to by many because of its striking English prose, in fact it was translated from the Erasmus Greek Bible which in turn “was based on a single 12th Century manuscript that is one of the worst manuscripts we have available to us”.[77] Much scholarship in the past several hundred years has gone into comparing different manuscripts in order to reconstruct the original text. Another issue is that several books are considered to be forgeries. The injunction that women “be silent and submissive” in 1 Timothy 12[78] is thought by many to be a forgery by a follower of Paul, a similar phrase in 1 Corinthians 14,[79] which is thought to be by Paul, appears in different places in different manuscripts and is thought to originally be a margin note by a copyist.[77] Other verses in 1 Corinthians, such as 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 where women are instructed to wear a covering over their hair “when they pray or prophesies”,[80] contradict this verse.

A final issue with the Bible is the way in which books were selected for inclusion in the New Testament. Other Gospels have now been recovered, such as those found near Nag Hammadi in 1945, and while some of these texts are quite different from what Christians have been used to, it should be understood that some of this newly recovered Gospel material is quite possibly contemporaneous with, or even earlier than, the New Testament Gospels. The core of the Gospel of Thomas, in particular, may date from as early as 50 AD, and if so would provide an insight into the earliest gospel texts that underlie the canonical Gospels, texts that are mentioned in Luke 1:1–2. The Gospel of Thomas contains much that is familiar from the canonical Gospels – verse 113, for example (“The Father’s Kingdom is spread out upon the earth, but people do not see it”),[81] is reminiscent of Luke 17:20–21[82][83] – and the Gospel of John, with a terminology and approach that is suggestive of what was later termed Gnosticism, has recently been seen as a possible response to the Gospel of Thomas, a text that is commonly labelled proto-Gnostic. Scholarship, then, is currently exploring the relationship in the Early Church between mystical speculation and experience on the one hand and the search for church order on the other, by analyzing new-found texts, by subjecting canonical texts to further scrutiny, and by an examination of the passage of New Testament texts to canonical status.

Catholic and Orthodox interpretations

 St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, the largest church in the world and a symbol of the Catholic Church.

In antiquity, two schools of exegesis developed in Alexandria and Antioch. Alexandrine interpretation, exemplified by Origen, tended to read Scripture allegorically, while Antiochene interpretation adhered to the literal sense, holding that other meanings (called theoria) could only be accepted if based on the literal meaning.[84]

Catholic theology distinguishes two senses of scripture: the literal and the spiritual.[85]

The literal sense of understanding scripture is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture. The spiritual sense is further subdivided into:

Regarding exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation, Catholic theology holds:

  • the injunction that all other senses of sacred scripture are based on the literal[86][87]
  • that the historicity of the Gospels must be absolutely and constantly held[88]
  • that scripture must be read within the “living Tradition of the whole Church”[89] and
  • that “the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome“.[90]

USA TODAY: ISIL, U.S. hostage spur talk of retaliation


From USA TODAY

ISIL, U.S. hostage spur talk of retaliation

http://usat.ly/1DSiqVQ

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From BBC : Grammy Awards 2015


Gram
my Awards 2015 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/entertainment-arts-31174429

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From France 24


Socialists win parliament seat in face-off with National Front

http://f24.my/1CIgRg6

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From France 24


Deadly clashes between football fans erupt in Egypt

http://f24.my/1C8GWlr

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From France 24


Ivory Coast beat Ghana 9-8 on penalties to win CAN final

http://f24.my/1M3GLxn

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From VOA : In Guinea, Ebola Infections Double as Hidden Cases Discovered


http://www.voanews.com/A/2631698.html

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From BBC : HSBC ‘helped clients dodge tax’


HSBC ‘helped clients dodge tax’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31248913

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From BBC : Africa Cup of Nations final


Africa Cup of Nations final http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/30665978

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From BBC : Greece needs loan, not bailout – PM


Greece needs loan, not bailout – PM http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31261475

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Andre Rieu – The Emperor Waltz (Kaiserwalzer) 2008 great compositions/performances


Andre Rieu – The Emperor Waltz (Kaiserwalzer) 2008

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Live in The Greene Space , great compositions/performances


Beethoven: String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Live in The Greene Space

this pressed: Modern martyrs are massacred by ‘corrupt people who hate Jesus’ :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)


Pope Francis celebrates Thanksgiving Mass for Canadian Saints François of Laval and Marie of the Incarnation on Oct. 12, 2014. Credit: Lauren Cater/CNA.

Pope Francis celebrates Thanksgiving Mass for Canadian Saints François of Laval and Marie of the Incarnation on Oct. 12, 2014. Credit: Lauren Cater/CNA.

by Elise Harris

Vatican City, Feb 6, 2015 / 07:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his homily on Friday Pope Francis said that he is moved whenever he thinks of the many Christians killed for their faith, and encouraged faithful to remember them and their courageous witness.

“I think of our martyrs, the martyrs of our times, men, women, children who are being persecuted, hated, driven out of their homes, tortured, massacred,” the Pope told attendees of his Feb. 6 Mass, held in the chapel of the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse.

This martyrdom, he said, “is not a thing of the past: this is happening right now. Our martyrs, who are meeting their end under the authority of corrupt people who hate Jesus Christ.”

via Modern martyrs are massacred by ‘corrupt people who hate Jesus’ :: Catholic News Agency (CNA).

this pressed: Killed by terrorists, named a martyr: the life of Fr. Alessandro Dordi :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)


 Fr. Alessandro Dordi. Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Bergamo/diocesibg.it. Fr. Alessandro Dordi. Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Bergamo/diocesibg.it.


Fr. Alessandro Dordi. Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Bergamo/diocesibg.it.

Lima, Peru, Feb 6, 2015 / 05:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Feb. 3, Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Father Alessandro Dordi, an Italian priest whose work of evangelization with the poor cost him his life at the hands of a Communist terror group in Peru.

Fr. Sandro, as he was known, came to Peru in 1980, the year in which the Shining Path launched its violent campaign to bring Communism to power in the country, killing thousands. At the time, Peru was also experiencing a severe economic crisis.

via Killed by terrorists, named a martyr: the life of Fr. Alessandro Dordi :: Catholic News Agency (CNA).

W. A. Mozart – Missa Solemnis C major KV 337 ,great compositions/performances


W. A. MozartMissa Solemnis in 

C major,  KV 337

Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, great compositions/performances


Today In History. What Happened This Day In History


Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

February 8

1587   Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded in Fotheringhay Castle for her alleged part in the conspiracy to usurp Elizabeth I.
1807   At Eylau, Napoleon’s Marshal Pierre Agureau attacks Russian forces in a heavy snowstorm.
1861   Delegates from seceded states adopt a provisional Confederate Constitution.
1862   Union troops under Gen. Ambrose Burnside defeat a Confederate defense force at the Battle of Roanoke Island, N.C.
1865   Confederate raider William Quantrill and men attack a group of Federal wagons at New Market, Kentucky.
1887   Congress passes the Dawes Act, which gives citizenship to Indians living apart from their tribe.
1900   British General Buller is beaten at Ladysmith, South Africa as the British flee over the Tugela River.
1904   In a surprise attack at Port Arthur, Korea, the Japanese disable seven Russian warships.
1910   The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated.
1924   The gas chamber is used for the first time to execute a murderer.
1942   The Japanese land on Singapore.
1943   British General Orde Wingate leads a guerrilla force of “Chindits” against the Japanese in Burma.
1952   Elizabeth becomes Queen of England after her father, King George VI, dies.
1962   The U.S. Defense Department reports the creation of the Military Assistance Command in South Vietnam.
1965   South Vietnamese bomb the North Vietnamese communications center at Vinh Linh.
1971   South Vietnamese ground forces, backed by American air power, begin Operation Lam Son 719, a 17,000 man incursion into Laos that ends three weeks later in a disaster.
1990   CBS television temporarily suspends Andy Rooney for his anti-gay and ant-black remarks in a magazine interview.
Born on February 8
412   St. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople
1820   William T. Sherman, Union general in the American Civil War.
1828   Jules Verne, French novelist, one of the first writers of science fiction (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea).
1834   Dmitri Ivanovich Medeleyev, Russian chemist, developed the periodic table of elements.
1851   Kate (O’Flaherty ) Chopin, novelist, short story writer (The Awakening).
1906   Chester F. Carlson, physicist, inventor of xerography, the electrostatic dry-copy process.
1906   Henry Roth, writer (Call it Sleep).
1911   Elizabeth Bishop, poet.
1926   Neal Cassaday, writer, counterculture proponent.
1931   James Dean, film actor and 1950s teenage icon (Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, Giant).
1940   Ted Koppel, television journalist.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.0vCOR4Hn.dpuf

today’s Image: Jules Verne (Image ArtToday)



Jules Verne

French author Jules Verne, born on February 8, 1828, is considered the father of science fiction. Many of his 19th-century works forecast amazing scientific feats–feats that were actually carried out in the 20th century–with uncanny accuracy. Verne’s 1865 book From the Earth to the Moon told the story of a space ship that is launched from Florida to the moon and that returns to Earth by landing in the ocean. An illustration from the original version of the book is shown above. Something of a scientist and traveler himself, Verne’s 1870 work about a submarine, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days also foretold technological advances that seemed fantastic at the time. Jules Verne died in 1905.

Image ArtToday

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/picture-of-the-day#sthash.lnUNkvGi.dpuf

Saint of the Day for Sunday, February 8th, 2015 : St. Jerome Emiliani


Image of St. Jerome Emiliani

St. Jerome Emiliani

Jerome Emiliani lay chained in the dark dirty dungeon. Only a short time before he had been a military commander for Venice in charge of a fortress. He didn’t care much about God because he didn’t … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

today’s holiday: Finnish Sliding Festival (2015)


Finnish Sliding Festival (2015)

Patterned after the traditional event in Finland that celebrates Shrove Tuesday before the beginning of Lent, the Finnish Sliding Festival, or Laskiainen, has been held in White, Minnesota, every winter for more than 50 years. It features two large ice slides, which are constructed at the edge of Loon Lake. People bring their sleds or toboggans for an exciting ride down the slide onto the frozen lake. Other activities at the weekend event include log-sawing contests, Finnish music and dance performances, and traditional Finnish foods such as oven pancakes and pea soup. More… Discuss

quotation: “…Let every nation know…” – John F. Kennedy


Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, or oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Discuss

today’s birthday: Afonso IV of Portugal (1291)


Afonso IV of Portugal (1291)

Though he was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal, Afonso IV felt threatened by the apparent favoritism his father showed to his illegitimate half-brothers and spent the final years of his father’s life and reign in revolt. He succeeded to the throne in 1325 and, as history is doomed to repeat itself, found himself 20 years later the target of his own son’s rebellion against him. What had Afonso done to provoke his son’s rage? More… Discuss

this day inn the yesteryear: Boy Scouts of America Founded (1910)


Boy Scouts of America Founded (1910)

One of the largest youth organizations in the US is the Boy Scouts of America, which promotes community service and character building. The scouts’ activities aim at mental, moral, and physical development, stressing outdoor skills and training in citizenship and lifesaving. Scouts receive recognition in the form of merit badges and awards. The basic scout unit is a troop of about 15 boys, under the leadership of an adult scoutmaster. How many of the 12 men to walk on the moon were Boy Scouts? More… Discuss

health: Study Says Motion Sickness Is in the Genes


Study Says Motion Sickness Is in the Genes

If you feel an unpleasant queasiness while traveling in a car or boat, it could be genetic, according to a recent study by personal genomics company 23andMe. Using genetic data from more than 80,000 of its customers, 23andMe was able to link motion sickness to 35 genetic factors—many of which are involved in the nervous system, balance, and eye and ear development. However, having these gene variants does not guarantee that one will experience motion sickness. Research also showed that those who suffer from motion sickness are more likely to develop vertigo and migraines. More… Discuss

Environment News: Coral Reefs


Coral Reefs

A coral reef is a ridge of living coral, coral skeletons, and calcium carbonate deposits from organisms such as calcareous algae, mollusks, and protozoans. The resulting structure provides a critical habitat for a wide variety of fish and marine invertebrates. Coral reefs also protect shores against erosion by causing large waves to break and lose some of their force before reaching land. More than 90% of the estimated 109,800 sq mi (284,300 sq km) of reefs in the world are in what region? More… Discuss

word: sanguine


sanguine

Definition: (adjective) Of a healthy reddish color.
Synonyms: rubicund, ruddy
Usage: He had a sanguine complexion that was matched by his cheerful outlook. Discuss.

USA TODAY: Many Jordanians back ISIL despite pilot’s killing


From USA TODAY

Many Jordanians back ISIL despite pilot’s killing

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USA TODAY: Robocalls could soon dog cellphones


From USA TODAY

Robocalls could soon dog cellphones

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USA TODAY: Cellphone records sought in Jenner crash


From USA TODAY

Cellphone records sought in Jenner crash

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From VOA : Nigeria Government Denies Forcing Election Postponement


http://www.voanews.com/A/2633772.html

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From VOA : Quartet Urges Revival of Middle East Talks


http://www.voanews.com/A/2633762.html

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From NPR News


To Get Parents To Vaccinate Their Kids, Don’t Ask. Just Tell http://n.pr/1DIrV9G

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From NPR News


Climate Change Puts Alaska’s Sled Dog Races On Thin Ice http://n.pr/1DP4An1

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