Traditional Thomistic Catholic

Author: meerkatcheesephobos55464

  • What is a “Father” of the Church?

    What is a “Father” of the Church?

    This is a quote from the pertinent part a general forward by Roy J. Deferrari from a collection of pamphlets on the works of the fathers of the church. The Imprimatur for this particular pamphlet is from Henry J. O’Brien, archbishop of Hartford, October 15, 1958, as well as Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston, November 23, 1962.

    What is a “Father” of the Church? If you consult the theologians, you will find that they name four requirements which may be summed up as follows:

    1.  He must be and author whose works are still extant.  Fathers are important, because they are quoted as authorities in theology.  They are all people who wrote works that can be quoted.  St. Anthony the Hermit, St. Lawrence and St. Sebastian are not Fathers because they left no writings.
    2. He must be a Catholic, who lived in communion with the Church, whose writings are correct and orthodox. It is difficult to apply this criterion always.  Exceptions are sometimes made in the case of ancient authors who were learned and prolific and who were in close contact with the Fathers in the Strict sense of the term, even though they have been judged to be heretics.  Among these are Apollinaris of Laodicea (died c. 390) and Tertullian (d. 240).
    3. A Father is a person of eminent sanctity as well as learning.  The title “Father” includes and involves the title of saint, but in this respect also a few exceptions exist.  Thus Clement of Alexandria (d. 217) and Origen (d. 245) are not strictly Fathers, because they have not been named saints.  In all other respects, however, they are Fathers, and have made outstanding contributions to the early life of the Church.
    4. Antiquity.  The Fathers are the great authorities for ancient tradition.  They are the witnesses of the faith in earlier times and are the great interpreters of Holy Writ.

    The period of the Fathers begins at once after that of the Apostles.  It is commonly said that the age of the Fathers ends when the Middle Ages begins, although there is no clear line of demarcation here.  St. Martin of Bracara (d. 580) and St. Isidore of Seville (d. 600 or 601).

  • Understand-ing the 10 Command-ments: Catholic and Protestant Views

                      

          At first glance the differences on how Catholics and Protestants number the commandments seem insignificant or possibly nonsensical especially between non-Catholic Christian sects.  The case is similar for atheists and non-believers for different reasons   This is a chart comparing Catholic and Protestant numbering of the Commandments is from the Word of Mercy website specifically the URL at Catholic vs Protestant Ten Commandments: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters – Word of Mercy.  If you are a catechist and want a copy for your classroom, click here for a downloadable PDF.

    A chart comparing the Catholic and Protestant numbering of the Ten Commandments, highlighting differences in how they are grouped and interpreted.

          Some of the differences are covered in the aforementioned website. But let us start with the first commandment.  The fact is that the protestants in the fifteen-hundreds had an agenda. Before that, since Roman Catholics and Greek/Russian Orthodox were the only recognized Christian sects, their numbering of the commandments were the same.  One of the first things, if not actually the first sold thing, to be printed on the newly invented Gutenberg printing press was the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible. The content of the Old Testament section of this Bible was almost identical to the Greek Septuagint.  It was Martin Luther, based on the canon most recently approved, in the fifteen hundreds by the Jewish rabbis of Jerusalem. These were the Jews, whom it is recorded that Martin Luther disliked, and whom (the rabbis that is) literature relates had tried to down play any scripture relating to Jesus Christ to the point of not discussing Isaia Chapter 53. This being the case why would they include anything they thought might point to Jesus being the Messiah or his message that would lead to the salvation of the most souls if they could use any justification to eliminate them.

          A clearer explanation of why the Rabbis would try to downplay or downright refuse to talk about the most world changing prophecy of the Bible, Isaia 53? Well, the following is a quote from the Google AI Overview:

    AI Overview

    Isaiah 53 is called the “forbidden chapter” because it describes a suffering servant, which Christians identify as Jesus, but which many Jewish people do not. The chapter was once read in synagogues but was later removed from the weekly readings because its interpretation led to significant theological arguments and confusion, as it was used by early Christians to argue that Jesus was the Messiah. Many modern Jews believe the passage refers to the nation of Israel, Isaiah, or another Jewish figure, rather than an individual Messiah. 

    Reasons for the “forbidden” status

    • Christian interpretation: 

    Christians believe the chapter is a clear prophecy of Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection, as it describes someone being “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities”. 

    • Jewish interpretation: 

    Many modern Jewish interpreters believe the “suffering servant” refers to the Jewish people as a whole, or a righteous figure like Isaiah or Moses, and that a suffering Messiah is not a Jewish belief. 

    • Historical context: 

    Ancient Jewish sages once agreed the chapter was a prophecy about the Messiah. However, after the rise of Christianity, the chapter became a source of controversy because of its perceived connection to Jesus. 

    • Change in synagogue readings: 

    To avoid the resulting arguments and confusion, rabbis decided to remove Isaiah 53 from the weekly Haftarah (prophetic readings) in some synagogues, leading to its reputation as a “forbidden chapter”. 

        But surely like most prophesies (think Nostradamus) its pretty vague. I don’t know, it seems pretty clear to me, a traditional practicing Roman Catholic that it must be referring to Jesus Christ, but you decide (taken from the Douay-Rheims Catholic version of the Bible the following is Chapter 53 of Isaias in its in its entirety):

    1.Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?  2 And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:  3 Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.  4 Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.  5 But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.

     6 All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  7 He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.  8 He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him.  9 And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth.  10 And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.

     11 Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.  12 Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.

        Lets take the Catholic numbering of the commandments one by one comparing them to how they were combined or split up by the protestants after 1500 (a millennia and a half after the catholic church came into existence with its originator, Jesus Christ). Once again lets start with a look at the actual scripture taken from the Douey-Rheims Bible.

    [1] And the Lord spoke all these words: [2] I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. [4] Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. [5] Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:

    [6] And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments. [7] Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain. [8] Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day. [9] Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works. [10] But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.

    [11] For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. [12] Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. [13] Thou shalt not kill. [14] Thou shalt not commit adultery. [15] Thou shalt not steal.

    [16] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. [17] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. [18] And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking: and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off, [19] Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die. [20] And Moses said to the people: Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.

    Now to be fair it can be seen how they might logically say that: “Thou shalt not have strange Gods before me.” And “Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.” But that being the case why is “Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them.” This is logical but Catholics (the only recognized Christians before Martin Luther, others were labeled heretics by the Catholic Church including protestant sects after Martin Luther), as others before Martin Luther all the way back to the 3rd century for Christians, referred to them as the 10 commandments (in fact they are popularly referred to as the Decalogue) and in the original Hebrew culture referred to as the “Ten Words.” To have added Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them would have made them the 11 commandments and that of course would not have played well with cradle Catholics Martin Luther was trying to convert to his new religion. The Google AI overview is quoted as follows:

    These are results for When Did the commandments first come to be identified as “the 10 commandments.”
    Search instead for When Did the commandments first come to be identified as “the 10 comandments.”

    AI Overview

    The name “the Ten Commandments” originated with the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which occurred 

    between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The original Hebrew texts refer to them as “the ten words,” which was later translated into the Greek deka logoi, or Decalogue. 

    Development of the name

    • Original Hebrew: “Ten Words”: In the Hebrew texts of Exodus and Deuteronomy, the laws are called ʿĂśéreṯ had-Dibbərôṯ, which translates to “the ten words” or “the ten sayings”. This phrasing was repeated in the books of Exodus (34:28), Deuteronomy (4:13), and Deuteronomy (10:4).
    • Greek translation: Dekálogos: The Septuagint, the Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translated “ten words” into dekálogos. This is the origin of the term “Decalogue” used in theological and academic settings.
    • Early English translations: In the 16th century, early English biblical translations, such as the Tyndale and Coverdale versions, used the phrase “ten verses”.
    • Widespread use of “Ten Commandments”: The title “Ten Commandments” gained widespread recognition through later English translations, including the Geneva Bible and the King James Version (Authorized Version). 

    Clarifying the term

    It is important to note that the biblical texts themselves refer to the commandments as “ten words,” not “ten commandments.” This linguistic detail highlights that the popular title is an interpretive development over time. The exact numbering and division of these commandments differ slightly among Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant traditions, demonstrating that there is not a single, universal version.

          But why split it up this way, Martin Luther must have been aware of how the Catholic Church had always divide up the 10 commandments.  But he was trying to drive a wedge between the common people and the Catholic church and propagated the lie that Catholics worshiped the statues of saints, the chief of whom had been the Virgin Mary – mother of God (Jesus Christ), that were in almost all Catholic churches at the time.  The point is that Catholics never worshiped those statues, but merely saw them as people who had lived exceptionally holy lives, and “prayers” used in this context was the term used to ask these dead saints to appeal to almighty God, since they were thought to have lived lives holy enough (and previously confirmed by 3 miracles and a devil’s advocate to insure no “cheating” as to determining their holiness) to have good assurance of being in God’s presence, in heaven, and able to add their prayers for the petitions of the one “praying” (not worshipping the saint, since God Almighty – the Holy Trinity, alone is worthy of worship). The Apostles Creed (according to google AI Overview), was created about the second century AD, some 12 centuries before the protestant reformation, speaks of the communion of saints.  The communion of saints assumes 3 groups of Catholics: the church militant (those on earth that have not yet died), the church suffering (those in purgatory undergoing purification to become perfect as required in Matthew 5:48) and the Church triumphant (those humans who are already acquired heaven). Those who are assumed in heaven are those who we ask to pray for us (that asking is what Catholics sometimes referred to as “praying” to the saints).

          This is my argument for why protestants split this commandment into two. But what is my argument for them staying together as Catholics propose? Once again according to an AI overview searching on the phrase “what is a graven thing as described in exodus in the bible,” and alternate translation of Exodus 20:4-5 is “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.” Using this translation you have the word idol. Some irreverent people feel that this being the first commandment shows pride or conceit on God’s part making his worship more important than not murdering your fellow man which should be first.  But the minor argument is as Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, saying he was God is not blasphemy because He is God, God the Father, the First Person of the Blessed Trinity requiring worship is not conceit because He created everything including the one with this opinion.  The fact is, that the admonition to worship God with your whole being and not idolize anything else, necessarily needs to be first. Why?  If God is the most important thing in your life, and you “idolize” God, you will make sure to follow His commandments.  That why the admonitions to worship God and have no Gods or idols beside Him should be together.  Hitler idolized power instead of God and it led to violating the 5th commandment, “Thou shall not kill,” causing the deaths of millions (to include his own suicide). Bill Gates Idolizes wealth/money which led to violating the 8th commandment “thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor” (saying potentially harmful vaccines or medicines had no harmful effects, despite knowing the fact that myocarditis might be a side effect of some widely touted vaccines, and should be used by everyone to hopefully make him money) conceivably causing the illness of millions. Bernie Madoff idolizing greed, leading to breaking the 7th commandment, “thou shall not steal.” Finally, Jeffrey Epstien idolizing lust, which led to violating the 6th commandment, “thou shall not commit adultery (Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend, was secretly married to tech CEO Scott Borgerson in 2016, Epstein died by suicide in 2019).

          The fact is when you idolize someone or something other than God you face unhappiness in this world and the next. Hitler and Epstein committed suicide, Madoff is in jail and Bill Gates is ostracized and divorced. All the commandments are really summarized in Luke 10:27: “And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  If you love God you respect him and keep his commandments. It makes logical sense that the first 3 should be for God and that His worship goes with those commandments which apply to only Him. One, love God with your whole being, two, respect his name out of reverence to him (I think He also made this number 2 as a concession to the souls that are damned to have the almost non-existent satisfaction of cursing His name as against his second commandment for all eternity, though their skin be on fire and worms consume them constantly).  This is an easily recognizable quality showing your mindfulness and love of God.  Commandment number 3 is the transition from love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as yourself.  If you attend Sunday mass as honoring the new lord’s day (established since in Matthew 28:18 Jesus said: All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth and his church started this custom shortly upon his resurrection), which occurred on Easter Sunday), you learn what the lord requires of you in the Epistle and the Gospel and the sermon or homily.

         Commandment number 4, “honor thy father and thy mother” is the segway from the commandments purely about God in that God is the ultimate father and emphasizes that authority is given by God to all legitimate governments (John 19:11).  The last two commandments were real tripping point, supposedly, for Martin Luther.  In reading about him He asks what man does not covet and that no man can do that so God could not have meant us to actually do it, and that our sins can only be covered, that we cannot actually avoid sin and purify ourselves.  But as great saints have agreed with him, alone we cannot, but with prayer and the power of God supplying the help we need we can, as all the great saints have shown and have been able to purify themselves.  For in John 15:5 Jesus Himself tells us: “I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.” [emphasis mine] We must pray always and work with our Lord Jesus Christ to be successful in purifying and perfecting ourselves. In Matthew 5:48 Christ tells us that we must “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  This is how we know we can achieve this but if we can get close, there is purgatory, where the bad is burned away, to bring us the rest of the way (1 Corinthians 3:10-16) so that we may be saved.

            Thanks to Martin Luther, protestants run the last two commandments on covetousness together into one commandment. But coveting another’s goods (commandment 10) is, in my opinion, is at the heart of the scourge of communism/socialism and that is why these 2 government systems have failed 20 out of the last 20 times they were tried, Germany, Russia and Venezuela being some of the most recent failures. But the story of Helen of Troy shows us how coveting another’s wife, commandment 9, is a totally different situation from commandment 10, which can, in its own way, separate from property, cause the death of thousands. So in my opinion commandment 10 and commandment 9 should be separate in that each can cause great damage by its own “merits.”

        Hopefully, I have made my point that commandments one and two in the protestant enumeration of the 10 commandments should be combined to make the first commandment strong enough to command its first priority in the list of commandments and that their combination as the first catholic commandment makes sense. Additionally, I also hope to have shown how the last 2 commandments should be seperate, since one focuses on jealosy and greed and the other focuses on jealosy and lust.

  • Great Courses that Create Cultural Literacy in Religion: Essential Courses for Understand-ing

    Great Courses that Create Cultural Literacy in Religion: Essential Courses for Understand-ing

          These courses concentrate on the largest religions/philosophies on earth today as well as touch on the Pagan religions with an emphasis on the larger religions, specifically Confucianism/Hinduism (the great Asian religions), Judaism, Catholicism, Muhammadism/Islam and Protestantism.  The courses outlined will be as follows:

    • Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should know.
    • Comparative Religion
    • The Pagan World: Ancient Religions before Christianity
    • Jesus and His Jewish Influences
    • Confucius, Buddha Jesus, and Muhammad
    • Beginnings of Judaism
    • The World of Biblical Isreal
    • The Book of Genesis
    • The Dead Sea Scrolls
    • Myth in Human History
    • Luther: Gospel, Law and Reformation

           The first course we will cover is one on “Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should know.” The lecturer is Professor Mark Berkson, an Associate Professor and Chair in the Religion Department at Hanline University. Professor Berkson is a regular presenter on religious issues fo conferences, universities, community groups, and churches and has been featured on television and radio news shows.  His work has appeared in such prestigious journals as the Journal of Religious Ethics, Teaching Theology & Religion and Buddhist-Christian Studies.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Religion – its Meaning and importance

    Lecture 2:  Facets of Religion – Divinity and Devotion

    Lecture 3:  Hinduism – Foundational Texts and Teachings

    Lecture 4: Hindu gods and Devotional Practices

    Lecture 5: Gita to Gandi – Yogas and Modern Hinduism

    Lecture 6: Waking Up Buddha and His Teachings

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Vehicles to Nirvana – The Schools of Buddhism

    Lecture 8: Chinese Religion and Cosmology

    Lecture 9: Confucianism – Rituals and Relationships

    Lecture 10: Daoism – Harmony, Nature, and the Way

    Lecture 11: Kami and Spirits – Shinto and Shamanism

    Lecture 12: East Asian Buddhism – Zen and Pure Land

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Judaism – God, Torah, and Covenant

    Lecture 14: Varieties of Jewish Thought and Practice

    Lecture 15: Living a Jewish Life

    Lecture 16: The Life and Commemoration of Jesus

    Lecture 17:  Catholic and Orthodox Christianity

    Lecture 18:  Protestantism and Christianity today

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19:  Muhammad, Qur’an, and Islamic civilization

    Lecture 20:  Unity in Islam – the Five Pillars

    Lecture 21: Forms of Islam – Diversity among Muslims

    Lecture 22: Jains, Sikhs, and Baha’is

    Lecture 23: Religion and Law in America

    Lecture 24: Religion Today – Trends, Challenges, and Hope

      The next course is actually called “Comparative Religion.” The lecturer is Professor Charles Kimball. He is the presidential professor and Director of the Religious Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma Former director of the Middle East Office at the National Council of Churches. Professor Kimball is a frequent lecturer and analyst on issues in Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations, Professor Kimball’s books include When Religion Becomes Evil, named one of Publishers Weekly’s Top 15 Books on Religion in 2002.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Comparative Religion – Who, What , Why How

    Lecture 2: Exploring Similarities and Differences

    Lecture 3: The Sacred, the Holy, and the Profane

    Lecture 4: Sacred Time, Sacred Space, Sacred Objects

    Lecture 5: Sacred People – Prophets, Sages, Saviors

    Lecture 6: Sacred People – Clergy, Monastics, Shamans

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Sacred Sign, Analogs, and Sacraments

    Lecture 8: Creation Myths and Sacred Stories

    Lecture 9: From Sacred Stories and Letters to doctrine

    Lecture 10: Sacred Text – The Bible and the Qur’an

    Lecture 11: Sacred Texts for Hindus and Buddhists 

    Lecture 12: Polytheism, Dualism, Monism and Monotheism

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13:  From Birth to Death – Religious Rituals

    Lecture 14: Daily, Weekly, Annual Religious Rituals

    Lecture 15: Ritual Sacrifice in the World’s Religions

    Lecture 16: The Human Predicament – How to Overcome It

    Lecture 17: The problems of sin and forgetfulness

    Lecture 18: Breaking through the Illusion of Reality

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: The Goals of Religious Life

    Lecture 20:  The Way of Faith and the Way of Devotion

    Lecture 21:  The Way of Action and the Way of Meditation

    Lecture 22:  The Way of the Mystics

    Lecture 23:  The Evolution of Religious institutions

    Lecture 24:  Religious Diversity in the 21st Century

       The next courses is entitled “The Pagan World: Ancient Religions before Christianity.” As the summary on the back of the set says the purpose of the course is to: “Take a close, Behind-the-scenes look at religion and life in the ancient Mediterranean to see how early pagan religions helped shape the world as we know it.” The lecturer is Hans-Fredrich Mueller.  He is the Thomas Lamont Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature at Union College.  He earned his PhD in Latin from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Mueller received the American Philological Association’s Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Classics at the College Level in addition to numerous articles.  Professor Mueller is the author of Roman Religion in Valerius Maximus and editor of an abridged edition of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the roman Empire.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Early Pagan religion in Mesopotamia

    Lecture 2:  The Rigveda and the Gods of Ancient India

    Lecture 3: State Religion in Ancient Egypt

    Lecture 4: From Myth to Religion: The Olympian Deities

    Lecture 5: Household and local Gods in Ancient Greece

    Lecture 6: Feeding the Gods: Sacrificial Religion

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7:  Prayers, Vows, Divination and Omens

    Lecture 8: Delphi and other Greek Sanctuaries

    Lecture 9:  Cults and Mystery Religions

    Lecture 10:  Philosophical Critiques of Paganism

    Lecture 11: Greek Funerary Practices and the Afterlife

    Lecture 12: Egyptian influences on Ancient Religion

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Ancient Roman Ancestor Worship

    Lecture 14: God of the Roman Household

    Lecture 15: Gods of the Roman State

    Lecture 16:  Priests and Ceremonies in the Roman Republic

    Lecture 17:  Religion, Politics, and War in Rome

    Lecture 18: Romes Reactions to Foreign Religions

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: The Roman Calander and Sacred Daus.

    Lecture 20: Julius Ceasar: A Turning Point in Roman Religion

    Lecture 21: Emperor Worship in Rome

    Lecture 22: Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians

    Lecture 23: Popular Religions of Late Antiquity

    Lecture 24: The End of Paganism in the Roman Empire

       The next Course is entitled “Jesus and His Jewish Influences,” Which is once again self-explanatory.  The lecturer is Dr. Jodi Magness. She is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She earned her PH.D in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania and has received many teaching and academic awards,.  An archaeologist with extensive field experience in Isreal. Dr. Magness also has published a number of books, including The Archaeology of the Holy Land: From the Destruction of Solomon’s Temple to the Muslim Conquest.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Jesus the Jew

    Lecture 2: Sacred Mountains and Law Giving in Judaism

    Lecture 3:  The United and Divided Israelite Kingdoms

    Lecture 4: The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple

    Lecture 5: The Jewish Samaritan Schism

    Lecture 6: The Jewish Diaspora and the Golden Rule

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Alexander the Great’s Impact on the Jews

    Lecture 8: Jews and Greek Rule: The Heliodorus Affair

    Lecture 9: Desolating Sacrilege and the Maccabean Revolt

    Lecture 10: Apocalyptic Works and the “Son of Man”

    Lecture 11: Jesus’s Jewish Lineage

    Lecture 12: Was Jesus a Pharisee?

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Jewish Ritual Purity: The Sons os Light

    Lecture 14: The Dead Sea Scrolls

    Lecture 15: Was Jesus and Essene?

    Lecture 16: The Hebrew Scripture and the Septuagint

    Lecture 17: The reign of Herod the Great

    Lecture 18: Pontius Pilate a Roman Prefect

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: Anarchy in Judea

    Lecture 20: Jesus’s Prophecy: Jerusalem’s Destruction

    Lecture 21: Flavius Josephus:  Witness to 1st Century AD

    Lecture 22: Rabbinic Judaism’s Traditions about Jesus

    Lecture 23:  Jesus’s Apocalyptic Outlook

    Lecture 24: Jesus’s Teachings and Sayings in Context

      The next course is called “Confucius, Buddha Jesus, and Muhammad.” It looks at each of these religious leaders and eventually compares them.  The lecturer for this course is Professor Mark W. Muesse.  He is and Associate Professor of religious Studies and currently Director of the Asian Studies Program a Rhodes College.

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1: A quartet of Sages

    Lecture 2: Confucius’s China

    Lecture 3: Becoming a Sage

    Lecture 4: A Gentleman and a Scholar

    Lecture 5: Heaven and Earth

    Lecture 6: Doing unto Others

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: How to Rule a Kingdom

    Lecture 8: What a Sage Does

    Lecture 9: Confucius and Confucianism

    Lecture 10: India at the Time of the Buddha

    Lecture 11: Siddhartha Gotama

    Lecture 12:  The First and Second Great Awakenings

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Knowing the World

    Lecture 14: Can’t Get No Satisfaction

    Lecture 15: Getting to the Farther Shore

    Lecture 16: How the Buddha Taught

    Lecture 17:  The Buddha and Buddhism

    Lecture 18:  The Jewish and Roman Worlds of Jesus

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19:  The Son of Mary

    Lecture 20:  The first 30 Years

    Lecture 21:  The Kingdom of God

    Lecture 22:  Back to the Future

    Lecture 23: Jesus Christology

    Lecture 24:  The Last Days in Jerusalem

       Disc 5

    Lecture 25:  How Jesus Became Christ

    Lecture 26: Arabia in the Days of Ignorance

    Lecture 27: The Trustworthy One

    Lecture 28: “I Am Only a Messenger”

    Lecture 29:  Madinah

    Lecture 30: “There is No God But al-Lah”

        Disc 6

    Lecture 31: The Ethics of Islam

    Lecture 32:  The Greater Jihad

    Lecture 33:  The Conquest of Makkah

    Lecture 34: Their Lives Compared

    Lecture 35: Their Teachings Compared

    Lecture 36: Their Enduring Significance

         The next course is the “Beginnings of Judaism” once again whose title is self-explanatory. The Lecturer is Professor Isaiah M. Gafni has taught students about ancient Judaism for mor than 40 years at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he is the Sol Rosenbloom Professor of Jewish History. His more than 15 books include The Jews of Talmudic Babylonia: a Social and Cultural History, winner of the Holon Prize in Jewish Studies. For his exceptional teaching, Professor Gafni received Hebrew University’s acclaimed Michael Milken Prize.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  The Beginnings of Judaism – Biblical Roots

    Lecture 2: New Challenges in the Late Biblical Period

    Lecture 3: Jews under Persian Rule – The Return to Zion

    Lecture 4:  The Challenge of Hellenism

    Lecture 5: The Maccabees – From Rebels to Kings

    Lecture 6: The Canonization of the Hebrew Bible

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Translating the Bible – The Septuagint

    Lecture 8: Adding to the Bible – The Apocrypha

    Lecture 9:  Tobit – A New Path of Righteousness

    Lecture 10:  Retelling the Bible – The Book of Jubilees

    Lecture 11:  Revealing the Unknown

    Lecture 12: “Judaism” or “Judaisms?             

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Sectarianism – Pharisees and Sadducees

    Lecture 14: Out of the Caves – Discovery at Qumran

    Lecture 15: The End of Days – Messianic Eschatology

    Lecture 16: Other Lands, Other Jews – The Diaspora

    Lecture 17: Judaism in the Hellenistic World

    Lecture 18: Changing God’s Address – Temple to Synagogue

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: Rome Arrives in Jerusalem

    Lecture 20: Parting with the Temple

    Lecture 21: From Jerusalem to Yavne -Rabbinic Judaism

    Lecture 22: The Shaping of Rabbinic Judaism

    Lecture 23:  A Violent Epilogue – Bar Kokhba

    Lecture 24:  From “Roots” to “Tree”

       The next title is “The World of Biblical Isreal.” World is sort of an amorphous term.  In this case the lecturer talks about the day to day customs (worship, meals, etc.), politics, economy, literacy, education, living in certain times and things such as the Assyrian Incursion into Isreal and Judah. The lecturer is Professor Cynthia R. Chapman, an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences, where she has taught for 11 years.  She holds an M.Div from Vanderbilt Divinity School and a Th.D from Harvard Divinity School. At Oberlin, she offers courses in Old and New Testaments, biblical women, and other topics.  Professor Chapman’s research has focused on the historiography of the Bible considered with in the larger ancient Near Eastern environment and on gender in ancient Isreal. Her first book was entitled The Gendered Language of Warfare in the Israelite-Assyrian Encounter.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Biblical Isreal – The Story of a People

    Lecture 2: By the Rivers of Babylon – Exile

    Lecture 3: Ancestor Narratives in Genesis

    Lecture 4: Moses – The Torah’s Central Hero

    Lecture 5: Becoming the Nation of Isreal

    Lecture 6: Kinship and Economics in Highland Villages

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Three Wedding and a Funeral

    Lecture 8: Political Power Basics in Early Isreal

    Lecture 9: Kingdoms and King Making

    Lecture 10: Politics and Economy of a Centralized Cult

    Lecture 11: Worshiping Locally

    Lecture 12: Lives of the Rich, Lives of the Poor

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Assyrian Incursion into Isreal of Judah

    Lecture 14: Life under Siege

    Lecture 15: Religious Debates and Preserved Text

    Lecture 16: Ezekiel – Exilic informant

    Lecture 17: Life in Exile, Life in Judah

    Lecture 18: Literacy and Education

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19:  Religious Developments of the Exile

    Lecture 20:  The New Isreal – Resettling the Land

    Lecture 21:  Food  and the Family Meal – Boundaries

    Lecture 22:  National Identity – Intermarriage

    Lecture 23:  National Identity – Twins and Enemies

    Lecture 24: Loss and Restoration – Two Biblical Stories

       The next course is entitled “The Book of Genesis.”  This is about the stories in the first book of the Bible, the first book of the New Testament. The lecturer is Professor Gary A. Rendsburg who holds the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair in Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rudgers University. An expert in the history of ancient Isreal and the literature of the Bible, he has spent decades immersed in the study and exploration of Qumran and other ancient sites in Isael, Egypt, and Jordan.  Among his more than 120 scholarly articles and books is the Bible and the Ancient near East.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1: On Reading the Book of Genesis

    Lecture 2: Genesis 1: The Creation Story

    Lecture 3: Genesis 2-3: The Second Creation Story:

    Lecture 4: An Overview of Ancient Israelite History

    Lecture 5: The Ancient Near East

    Lecture 6: The JEDP Theory – The Alternative Approaches

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Genesis 6-8, the Flood Story

    Lecture 8: Genesis 9, Covenant

    Lecture 9: Genesis 12-22, the Abraham Story

    Lecture 10: When and Where Did Abraham Live?

    Lecture 11: Genesis 21-22, Abraham Put tot the Test

    Lecture 12: Women in the Bible – Sarah and Hagar

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Genesis 24: A Bride for Isaac

    Lecture 14: The Barren Woman and the Younger Son

    Lecture 15: The Literary Structure of Genesis

    Lecture 16: Different Bible Translations

    Lecture 17:  Genesis 27, Jacob and Esau

    Lecture 18: Genesis 29, Jacob and Rachel

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: The Date of the Book of Genesis

    Lecture 20: Genesis 37, Joseph and His Brothers

    Lecture 21: Genesis 38, The Story of Judah and Tamar

    Lecture 22: Genesis 39, The Story of Potipher’s Wife

    Lecture 23: The Egyptian background of the Joseph Story

    Lecture 24: One Last Text – and the Text as a Whole

    The next course covered in this blog is titled “The Dead Sea Scrolls.” The following description is taken from the google AI Overview: The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient religious manuscripts, primarily dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, discovered in caves near the Dead Sea. They consist of about 950 different manuscripts, with many found as fragments, and include biblical texts, sectarian documents, and other Jewish religious works written in Hebrew and Aramaic. They are considered one of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, offering invaluable insights into Judaism and the world of early Christianity. This incudes Biblical manuscripts where approximately 40% of the scrolls are copies of books from the Hebrew Bible, providing the oldest known versions of these texts. While the scrolls do not mention Jesus, they provide critical historical and theological context for the world in which he lived, showing that many of the ideas and expectations discussed in his ministry were topics of conversation among Jewish groups at the time. An Interesting article containing fascinating facts can be found at: https://guideposts.org/angels-and-miracles/miracles/the-dead-sea-scrolls-11-fascinating-facts/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22710552711&gbraid=0AAAAADzKssNXOsTTnRsEatrz1PNoptcIB&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9czHBhCyARIsAFZlN8Sk9Yn1Amn0_VzK0L4mdYWG0aFQXDhZHth0tPwTsHzohASmMuR2hx8aAsuYEALw_wcB

      The lecturer is the same as the previous course outlined – Professor Gary A Rendsburg.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1: The Discoveries and Their Significance

    Lecture 2: The First Seven Scrolls

    Lecture 3: Opening and Reading the First Scroll

    Lecture 4: The Historical Backdrop of Ancient Judaism

    Lecture 5: The Rise of the Jewish Sects

    Lecture 6: The Dead Sea Site

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: The Emergence of the Rabbinic System

    Lecture 8: A Dead Sea Scroll form Medieval Cairo

    Lecture 9: Pesher Interpretation – Prophecy Read Anew

    Lecture 10: The War Scroll and other Apocalyptic Texts

    Lecture 11: Biblical Manuscripts at Qumran

    Lecture 12: Alternative Views of Qumran and the Scrolls

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Stops and Starts En Route to Publication

    Lecture 14: The Qumran Vision for a New Temple

    Lecture 15: Daily Life of Qumran

    Lecture 16: The Halakhic Letter – Rituals Define the Sect

    Lecture 17: The Qumran Biblical Canon

    Lecture 18: The Qumran Calander

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: Jewish Scholars and Qumran Ritual Practices

    Lecture 20: Prayers, Hymns, and the Synagogue

    Lecture 21: Qumran Hebrew as an Anti-Language

    Lecture 22: The Enigma of the Copper Scroll

    Lecture 23: Connections to Christianity

    Lecture 24: Scroll Fragments and a New View of Judaism

         The second to last course outlined in this blog is entitled “Myth in Human History.”  The lecturer is Professor Grant L. Voth.  He is Professor Emeritus in English and Interdisciplinary Studies of Monterey Peninsula College and an expert in literature from Around the world. A former Professor at Northern Illinois University and Virgina Tech. Professor Voth is the author of more than 30 books and articles on subjects raging from Shakespear to modern American fiction His distinguished awards include the Alien Griffin Award for Excellence in Teaching.

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Myth and Meaning

    Lecture 2: The Continuing Importance of Myth

    Lecture 3: Creation Myths

    Lecture 4: Mesopotamian Creation – Enuma Elish

    Lecture 5: Hebrew Creation Myths

    Lecture 6: Emergence and World–Parent Creation Myths

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Cosmic Egg and Ex Nihlio Creation Myths

    Lecture 8: Earth-Diver and Dismembered God Creation Myths

    Lecture 9: Mesopotamian and Hebrew Flood Myths

    Lecture 10: Other Flood Myths

    Lecture 11: Myths of Cosmic destruction

    Lecture 12: Greek and Norse Pantheons

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: The Great Goddess Remembered?

    Lecture 14: The Goddess – Inanna and Dumuzi

    Lecture 15: The Goddess – Isis and Osiris

    Lecture 16: The Eclipse of the Goddess

    Lecture 17: Shamans and Vegetation Gods

    Lecture 18: Sky Gods and Earth Goddesses

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: Creator Gods

    Lecture 20: Gods and Goddesses of India

    Lecture 21: Hero Myths

    Lecture 22: Mythic Heroes – Gilgamesh

    Lecture 23: Mythic Heroes – King Arthur

    Lecture 24: Mythic Heroes – Jason and the Argonauts

       Disc 5

    Lecture 25: The Monomyths of Rank and Campbell

    Lecture 26: Mythic Heroes – Mwindo

    Lecture 27:  Female Heroes – Demeter and Hester Pryhee  

    Lecture 28: Female Heroes – Psyche and Beauty

    Lecture 29: The Trickster in Mythology

    Lecture 30: Tricksters from around the World

        Disc 6

    Lecture 31: Native American Tricksters

    Lecture 32: African Tricksters

    Lecture 33: Mythic Tricksters – Eshu and Legba

    Lecture 34: The Places of Myth – Rocks and Lakes

    Lecture 35: The Places of Myth – Mountains

    Lecture 36: The Places of Myth – Sacred Trees

        The Final course outlined in this blog is “Luther: Gospel, Law and Reformation” which is about Martin Luther, the progenitor of the Protestant movement. The Lecturer is Professor Phillip Cary. He is Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University (formerly Eastern College) is St Davids, Pennsylvania, where he is also Assistant Professor in the Templeton Honors College. He received his M.A. in Philosophy and Ph.D in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale Univesity. He has published several papers on St. Augustine and other topics.  He is author of Augustine’s Invention of the Inner Self: The Legacy of a Christian Platonist.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Luther’s Gospel

    Lecture 2: The Medieval Church – Abuses and Reform

    Lecture 3: The Augustinian Paradigm of Spirituality

    Lecture 4: Young Luther Against Himself

    Lecture 5: Hearing the Gospel

    Lecture 6: Faith and works

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: The Meaning of the Sacraments

    Lecture 8: The Indulgence Controversy

    Lecture 9: The Reformation Goes Public

    Lecture 10: The Captivity of the Sacraments

    Lecture 11: Reformation in Wittenberg

    Lecture 12: The Work of the Reformer

       Disc 3

    Lecture 13: Against the Spirit of Rebellion

    Lecture 14: Controversy Over the Lord’s Supper

    Lecture 15: Controversy Over Infant Baptism

    Lecture 16: Grace and Justification

    Lecture 17:  Luther and the Bible

    Lecture 18: Luther and Erasmus

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19: Luther and Predestination

    Lecture 20: Luther and Protestantism

    Lecture 21: Luther and Politics

    Lecture 22: Luther and His Enemies

    Lecture 23: Luther and the Jews

    Lecture 24: Luther and Modernity  

       The different perspectives and dimensions of Jesus, the Bible and religions in general are almost infinite, each giving us a deeper look into the ultimate reality.

  • The Path to Forgiveness: Sacraments and Salvation

    The Path to Forgiveness: Sacraments and Salvation

          When younger I though the best and most beneficent gift given to sentient creatures was free will.  But I found that the fact is the best most beneficent gift God gave them was the ability to become intelligent – to have well formed reasoning skills.  I am totally blown away by the fact that any of the angels decided not to remain with God.  Here on Earth if people decide to stray from God, they may have demonic based temptation, human based temptation and ignorance and pride to blame.  In my estimation angels only had half of these to contend with – ignorance and pride.  Theologians I have read postulate that the devil and his angels left due to pride and the only reason they could was they were ignorant of how much better (infinitely better) staying with God would be, because He gave them freewill and did not want them to stay if they did not want to stay, or had reservations about staying.  If they had reservations they should have erred on known good which I think a lot of them logically must have. There was no reason not to want to stay because He had just created them and in line with justice they should have wanted to stay to serve the one that had just made them out of nothing.  The angels, I assume, were aware of the fact that they couldn’t die so the warning God gave Adam and Eve, He could not give them and, short of losing existence they could think of no worst thing that could happen to them.  Unfortunately, their lack of foresight robbed them of the prospect of unimaginable happiness.

           But as in the case of several famous movie stars (Marilyn Monroe), politicians (Seward’s folly), singers (Kurt Colbain) and business men (Ted Turner’s father) a life of physical ease, power or fame does not make up for lack of love in a person’s life and what the angels lost was Love itself – God.  See the effects of Jesus Christs _ God’s Love on the first Christians, and their willingness to die horribly, even with the understanding of their own mortality, produced for them what would haunt them throughout the rest of eternity, not knowing the incredible bliss of the Love of God – the Beatific Vision.  The curiosity that doomed Adam and Eve to damnation before the promise of a savior, would be part of the punishment that would damn the fallen angels for the rest of eternity – the gnawing curiosity of what perfect love would feel like. Theologians also hypothesize they had not witnessed the Beatific Vision – seeing God as he really is, otherwise they would not have the free will to leave.  Only upon deciding to stay with God were angels granted the Beatific Vision. Man of course is granted the Beatific Vision for the same reason as angels, that is deciding to stay with God, no matter what. Wanting God without reservation.

          Why must we give our unconditional affirmation to whatever God wants of us?  Because to have the Beatific Vision we will be fundamentally changed in ways incomprehensible to human beings.  Mark 12:25 says: ”For when they shall rise again from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be married, but are as the angels in heaven.” As the angels? We have nowhere close to the intellect of angels or the control since they are not affected by the ravages of concupiscence as emphasized here.  God is not going to ask us: is changing X okay, or is changing Y okay?  He will simply change it and if we have reservations on His goodness as with the angels, we really don’t want to be in His presence for all eternity.  This life is to learn to trust him without reservation and to want whatever he wants without reservation (remembering 1 Corinthians 2:9).  ”This is my body and this is my blood” (Luke 22:18-20) must be believed (John 6:26-71), not what we might think or what might be easier to think: “this is a symbol of my body and is a symbol of my blood.”  We must believe the almighty God who created the universe actually transforms, through the priest he sent by way of apostolic succession, who offers the sacrifice of the mass that he is truly the bread and wine, all there, body, blood, Soul and Divinity.

          Similarly in the case of the forgiveness of sins, we must believe only through baptism can original sin and any other sin be removed or having been baptized, if one commits a mortal sin only through the power of an ordained priest and performing the penance he prescribes can sins be forgiven.  Believing anything else, specifically that we can ask God – Jesus Christ, directly is simply lazy or the sin of presumption. Doing a Bing search yield this explanation of presumption: The Catholic Church does not consider presumption itself as a sin, but it is a violation of the virtue of hope. The sin of presumption occurs when a person assumes God’s mercy without genuine repentance or effort to follow His will. This sin can lead to a distorted relationship between human freedom and divine mercy, risking turning faith into a shallow convenience rather than a lived commitment. Salvation remains possible, but only through repentance and a return to God’s grace.

         You may ask why am I of the opinion that these are the only two ways? Well I base my opinion on at least 4 biblical references. First Acts 2:38 which states: But Peter said to them. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins: and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For to you is the promise and to your children and to all who are far off, even to all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

         Second is Matthew 9:1-8: 2And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee. 3And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth. 4And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk? 6But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. 7And he arose, and went into his house. 8And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men.

          Now this passage shows how Jesus Christ made clear that only God can forgive sins and partially made the case that he was God with the many signs (miracles) He performed during his life.  In the resurrection, in that He raised himself from the dead, He completed the argument. Now if only God, Jesus Christ can forgive sins, how can saying you are asking Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins when he is not there, result in your sins being forgiven? “Christ” or God has to say your sins are forgiven.  But can we in any way get Christ in our midst? According to Matthew 18:19-20, yes.  It says:

    • 19: “Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven.”
    • 20: “For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

    So if two of Jesus followers are together, IF THEY AGREE, and ask the father it shall be done for them.

           The problem with this is you need a second person and they must agree.  Also, it is not clear if Jesus is referring to any of his followers or just his apostles, the first priests and bishops.

          As serious as sin is, and Christs reference on how much harder it is to forgive and offense against God than it is to heal a cripple, should there not be some New Testament Biblical verse referring specifically to the forgiveness of sins, and how to obtain forgiveness of sins?

           The fact is there is, John 20:21-24 reads as follows:

    • 21: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
    • 22: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
    • 23: Whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained.
    • 24: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
    • 25: The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

    In the verses just prior to this we find the apostles are gathered away together in a locked room for fear of the Jews coming after them.  My point is that only the 11 apostles were there.  This strongly suggests that Jesus Christ only gave the first priests/bishops and their chosen successors the power to forgive sins.  The fact that Jesus sent them and that they were to chose successors, should be evident in that it was in the first Chapter of Acts if the Apostles (Acts 1:15-26) those successors, chose the successors, who in turn chose their successors so on and so forth until we get the priests and bishops of the present day.

         The question is even if you can just get another person to agree your sins should be forgiven, if you believed that would be accomplished, knowing the specific way Jesus appeared to want us to be forgiven, would you rather ask another believer, who may gossip, or a priest, who is under the seal of the confessional to tell no one even if threatened with death, in the anonymity of the confessional?

         Now Adam and Eve had a similar problem to the angels and that was they lived in a paradise and needed nothing, and though they knew God created them, because they had the “benefit” of physical bodies and since they had more distractions than the angels who were pure intellect, they might have thought more knowledge might have contributed to making their physical life better. But a concept that, I think, God has needed to teach thinking beings is there is a happy medium in everything. In life you must pray, be brave, meditate on God’s word and follow where we feel his words are leading us.  If where God is leading us seems to hard or dangerous, we can be classified as “cowardly,” avoid doing it and miss opportunities to improve either our spiritual lives or our physical lives, or both. If we try and do things which seem great, without proper meditation on the consequences, prayer and caution, we may do something which could be classified as “foolhardy” or “stupid” and lose either our happiness, our lives or quite possibly out souls doing it.  

         Good parents must foster the creation of a “right conscience” and if they can accomplish this then relying on conscience as to what to do in certain cases as touted by modern day clerics can be an acceptable solution.  But if one’s conscience is not well formed it will lead to damnation. But part of the sacrament of confession is not only the psychological reinforcement it gives us from telling someone else (which beats $70/hour psychotherapy session), it gives us the additional reinforcement of a priest (God’s Judicial arbiter and representative as a district court judge represents the country he is a judge for) prescribing your punishment (your penance, what you need to do to have your sins forgiven which may include turning yourself in for a crime to saying the prayers the priest asks you to say) and saying your sins are forgiven.

    This training of the conscience and also the training of the will is an important part of raising a good Catholic child, one who will fulfill their ultimate destiny to make it to heaven and be eternally happy.

  • Courses Giving a Taste of How Christianity Shaped Education and Knowledge

          Christianity has touched literally every corner of Human endeavor mainly because it is the progenitor of the University system.  Before Christ said all men, women, races and social classes are equal (Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11), there were experts that rose to fame among their people, for certain things, and the rich as well as Kings and Queens went to them for help in medicine, philosophy fighting skills. Knowing all men are spiritual equal they interpolated this to the assumption that all men’s intellects were basically equal and consequently experts could train other experts and they could pass their knowledge on in a common space among numerous people. So, literacy as well as all types of knowledge spread, expanding literacy from about (according to a google AI Overview) 5%-10% in the year 100 AD to about 81% according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)  in the year 2000 AD.

    The first course, seeing some of Catholicism’s influence on philosophy, is entitled “Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition.” The lecturer is Professor Tyler Robers who is a scholar of Western religious thought, and is Professor of Religious Studies at Grinnell College. He was educated at Brown University and the Harvard Divinity School.  Professor Robert’s essays have appeared in leading academic journals, including The Journal of Religion and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.  He is also the author of Contesting Spirit: Nietzsche, Affirmation, Religion.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Religion and Modernity

    Lecture 2: From Suspicion to the Premodern Cosmos  

    Lecture 3: From Catholicism to Protestantism

    Lecture 4: Scientific Revolution and Descartes

    Lecture 5:  Descartes and Modern Philosophy

    Lecture 6: Enlightenment and religion

        Disc 2

    Lecture 7:  Natural Religion and its Critics

    Lecture 8:  Kant – Religion and Moral Reason

    Lecture 9:  Kant, Romanticism, and Pietism

    Lecture 10:  Schleiermacher – Religion and Experience

    Lecture 11:  Hegel – Religion, Spirit and History

    Lecture 12: Theology and the Challenge of History

        Disc 3

    Lecture 13:  19th Century Christian Modernists

    Lecture 14:  19th Century Christian Antimodernists

    Lecture 15:  Judaism and Modernity

    Lecture 16:  Kierkegaard’s Faith

    Lecture 17:  Kierkegaard’s Paradox

    Lecture 18:  19th Century Suspicion and Feuerbach

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19:  Marx – Religion and False Consciousness

    Lecture 20:  Nietzsche and the Genealogy of Morals

    Lecture 21:  Nietzsche and the Ascetic Ideal

    Lecture 22:  Freud – Religion as Neurosis

    Lecture 23:  Barth and the end of Liberal Theology

    Lecture 24:  Theology and Suspicion

       Disc 5

    Lecture 25:  Protestant Theology after Barth

    Lecture 26:  20th Century Catholicism

    Lecture 27:  Modern Jewish Philosophy

    Lecture 28:  Post-Holocaust Theology

    Lecture 29:  Liberation Theology

    Lecture 30:   Secular and Postmodern Theologians

       Disc 6

    Lecture 31: Postmodernism and Tradition

    Lecture 32:  Fundamentalism and Islamism

    Lecture 33:  New Atheisms

    Lecture 34:  Religion and Rationality

    Lecture 35:  Pluralisms – Religious and Secular

    Lecture 36:  Faith, Suspicion and Modernity

    For Architecture we look at the course entitled “The Cathedral.” The lecturer we have seen in another blog. To refresh our memory “Professor William R. Cook has taught thousands of students over the course of more than 35 years at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he is Distinguished Teaching Professor of History.  Professor Cook is an expert in medieval history, the Renaissance and Reformation periods, and the Bible and Christian thought. The Medieval Academy of America awarded Professor Cook the CARA Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Medieval Studies for his achievements.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  What is a Cathedral?

    Lecture 2:  Early Christian Architecture

    Lecture 3: Romanesque – A New Monumental Style

    Lecture 4:  Vaulting – a look at Roofs

    Lecture 5:  Romanesque at its best

    Lecture 6: Saint-Denis and the Beginning of Gothic Style

        Disc 2

    Lecture 7:  The Urban Context of Cathedrals

    Lecture 8:  Notre Dame in Paris

    Lecture 9:  Early Gothic Style – Laon

    Lecture 10:  Chartres – The Building

    Lecture 11:  Chartres – The Sculpture

    Lecture 12:  Chartres – The Windows

        Disc 3

    Lecture 13:  Amiens – The Limits of Height

    Lecture 14:  Amiens – The Facade

    Lecture 15:  Reims – The Royal Cathedral

    Lecture 16:  Cathedrals – Who Builds? Who Pays? How Long?

    Lecture 17:  New Developments in Gothic France

    Lecture 18:  Late Gothic Churches in France

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19:  Early Gothic Architecture in England

    Lecture 20:  Decorated and Perpendicular English Gothic

    Lecture 21:   Gothic Churches in the Holy Roman Empire

    Lecture 22:  Gothic Churches in Italy

    Lecture 23:  Gothic Styles in Iberia and the New World

    Lecture 24:  Gothic Architecture in Today’s World

            For literature we look at “Dante’s Divine Comedy.” (of which the course has the same name) The lecturer, Professor Ronald B. Harzman, is Distinguished Teaching Professor of English at the State University of New York, Genesco. He received his Ph.D in English literature from the University of Delaware. He is coauthor of the Apocalyptic Imagination in Medieval Literature. Her received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.  We have seen Dr. Cooks credentials in other blogs but In 2003 Professor Herzman and Professor William R. Cook won the Medieval Academy of America’s first ever CARA Award for Excellence in Teaching Medieval Studies.

    The following quote about the course is provided by they great courses website: Professors Cook and Herzman provide you with an illuminating introduction to one of the greatest works ever written. One of the most profound and satisfying of all poems, The Divine Comedy (or Commedia) of Dante Alighieri is a book for life. In a brilliantly constructed narrative of his imaginary guided pilgrimage through the three realms of the Christian afterlife, Dante accomplished a literary task of astonishing complexity. But the full achievement of the Commedia goes beyond anything merely literary. In these twenty-four lectures, as you follow Dante on his journey, you’ll learn how medieval literature offers insights into fundamental questions: What is the quality of our moral actions? How does spiritual transformation come about? What is the nature of good and evil, virtue and vice, sin and sanctity? Why is the world so full of strife? How do we go on when we lose the things we love? You’ll discover why, in the centuries since the Commedia was written, not one of these questions has lost its force. Moreover, you’ll hear Dante address them in a demanding and innovative Italian verse form (terza rima) that makes the Commedia one of the great virtuoso pieces of world literature. With the guidance of these two master professors, you’ll learn invaluable background information on Dante’s life and times; why Dante wrote the Commedia; how to approach the various English editions available; and how each part of the poem is connected to what has come before. But above all, you’ll understand why the Commedia is not a puzzle to be solved or a book to be read and put aside-but a mystery whose beauty and richness is to be constantly savored.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Reading the Poem – Issues and Editions

    Lecture 2:   A Poet and His City – Dante’s Florence

    Lecture 3:  Literary antecedents, I

    Lecture 4:  Literary antecedents, II

    Lecture 5:  “Abandon Every Hope, All You Who Enter”

    Lecture 6:  The Never-Ending Storm

        Disc 2

    Lecture 7:  Heretics

    Lecture 8:  The Seventh Circle – The Violent

    Lecture 9:  The Sin of Simony

    Lecture 10:  The False Counselors

    Lecture 11:   The Ultimate Evil

    Lecture 12:   The Seven-Story Mountain

        Disc 3

    Lecture 13:  Purgatory’s Waiting Room

    Lecture 14:  The Sin of Pride  

    Lecture 15:  The Vision to Freedom

    Lecture 16:  Homage to Virgil

    Lecture 17:  Dante’s New Guide

    Lecture 18:  Ascending the Spheres

        Disc 4

    Lecture 19:  An Emperor Speaks

    Lecture 20:  The Circle of the Sun – Saints and Sages

    Lecture 21:    A Mission Revealed – Encounter with an Ancestor

    Lecture 22:   Can a Pagan Be Saved?

    Lecture 23:  Faith, Hope, Love, and the Mystic Empyrean

    Lecture 24:  “In My End Is My Beginning”

    Finally for science we have the course entitled “Science and Religion.” The following is an overview quoted from the website:

    What is the nature of the relationship between science and religion? When do they conflict? And how do they influence each other in the pursuit of knowledge and truth? While conventional wisdom says that science and theology must perpetually clash, they have actually been partners in an age-old adventure. These 12 engaging lectures cover both the historical sweep and philosophical flashpoints of this epic interaction. You’ll encounter a surprisingly cooperative dynamic in which theologians and natural scientists – from St. Augustine to Sir Isaac Newton to contemporary thinkers – share methods, ideas, aspirations, and a tradition of disputational dialogue. Moving from the early centuries of the Christian era and the Middle Ages to our own day, Professor Principe examines St. Augustine’s profound ideas about reason and faith, and he follows St. Thomas Aquinas’s exploration of miracles – the need to identify them is one example of how scientific and theological inquiry overlap. You’ll meet a 19th-century writer whose anti-Catholic diatribe spread myths that persist today, and you’ll learn about the courage (and stubbornness) of Galileo, the unexpected rationality of his accusers, the inspiration of Darwin’s natural selection, and the religious implications of Lemaître’s big bang theory. The solution to modern conflicts is the study of history. Such study will equip you to join that partnership with ideas and a clear, historical perspective on the science/religion relationship. These tools will help you participate more effectively in a dialogue that is as thought-provoking today as it was hundreds of years ago.

    On the lecturer (also quoted from the website)

    Dr. Lawrence M. Principe is Drew Professor of the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University. Professor Principe earned a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of Delaware. He also holds two doctorates: a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in the History of Science from Johns Hopkins University. In 1999, the Carnegie Foundation chose Professor Principe as the Maryland Professor of the Year, and in 1998 he received the Templeton Foundation’s award for courses dealing with science and religion. Johns Hopkins has repeatedly recognized Professor Principe’s teaching achievements. He has won its Distinguished Faculty Award, the Excellence in Teaching Award, and the George Owen Teaching Award. In 2004, Professor Principe was awarded the first Francis Bacon Prize by the California Institute of Technology, awarded to an outstanding scholar whose work has had substantial impact on the history of science, the history of technology, or historically-engaged philosophy of science. Professor Principe has published numerous papers and is the author or coauthor of three books, including The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and His Alchemical Quest.

       Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Science and Religion

    Lecture 2:  The Warfare Thesis

    Lecture 3:  Faith and Reason – Scripture and Nature

    Lecture 4:  God and nature – Miracles and Demons

    Lecture 5:  Church, Copernicus, and Galileo

    Lecture 6:  Galileo’s Trial

        Disc 2

    Lecture 7:  God the Watchmaker

    Lecture 8:  Natural Theology and Arguments from Design

    Lecture 9:  Geology, Cosmology, and Biblical Chronology

    Lecture 10: Darwin and Response to Evolution

    Lecture 11:  Fundamentalism and Creationism

    Lecture 12:  Past, Present, and Future

      The courses should be a taste of how the Catholic church influenced the world around it, especially through its creation of the very first university system (as opposed to local experts which you could go to learn from, usually if you were rich or powerful, for example Alexander the Great and Aristotle) and its appending elementary school, mostly free, as I understand, offerings.

  • The Importance of Family and Faith During Christmas

    The Importance of Family and Faith During Christmas

    In a few days it will be Christmas once again. We must remember to make the best of this time of year to reconnect with our family if we are older and to make it a magical time for our children if they are still with us.  We must ensure we stress the reason for the season to our children and the fact that will the birth of Christ began the fight against evil that shall last until the end of time.  We must not forget the Holy Innocents which died because of evil in the world and how this incident threatened to end Jesus’ saving mission before it had even begun.  Make it a priority to attend mass, and to pray together for our country and our children.  We must try to make this time the opposite of what it was during the days of the slaying of the Holy Innocents, a time of joy, laughter and reconnection to strengthen our children against the fight against evil that is almost daily clear in our lives even in, America, one of the freest nations that has ever existed.

  • The Role of Tradition in Catholicism Explained

    It is my humble opinion that The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) is where some information not written in the Bible comes from by tradition and is passed on in the Catholic Church where Jesus Christ explains all the Old Testament references of Him to them, as well as the meaning of other references which are vague and confusing. But why did they not write it down, a letter possibly entitled: the Lords talk on the way to Emmaus? Because the two disciples were probably illiterate and they, over the course of their lives, passed on the information by word of mouth – Tradition.

    The Ethiopian with Philip (Acts 8:26-40) is why you need an apostolic church, one that springs from Christ and his apostolic supernatural “descendants” (as priests of the Old Testament were descendants of Aaron) to give the correct explanations of the New and Old Testaments and there can really only be one visible apostolic church otherwise you don’t know who to ask. These things make us part of one coherent body. Since the Ethiopian was a eunuch, it shows that Christ eliminated the capability to reproduce (Deuteronomy 23:2) as a qualification for being a member of the mature religion of Catholicism, and enjoying the benefits of being a citizen of heaven, the Beatific Vision.

    The born again quote by Christ means we are born again into the kingdom of God, not as white, black, Asian, Caucasian, Russian, Chinese, Korean, German, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, Columbian, Canadian or American etc. (Galatians 3:28-29) but as Roman Catholics. The tower of Bable (Genesis 11:1-9), the separation of mankind is repaired in the universality (the Greek Katholico meaning universal) of the Roman Catholic Church (event in the Churches name the 2 great ancient civilizations are joined – Greek and Roman) and in the fact that for about 1600 years the common language of the Catholic Church was Latin, and should remain so, so that all priests can have a common language to be able to communicate in emergencies across cultures. This would give them the ability, as in WWII, to help endangered communities, like the Jews, get to safety.  God is the king of all the earth and binds Himself to help all humans, even the ones that have not yet joined his Church. The longer a person lives, that is not in His church, the more time that person has to recognize his church and by joining be saved, and reap the benefits of eternal life in heaven with God, enjoying the Beatific Vision for eternity.

    Originally, for Gods chosen people, because most of society was patriarchal, the mark of conversion to the “Jewish religion” was mostly marked by a permanent physical change, specifically circumcision, for that part of the male body that produced more people for the Jewish religion. For women marriage to a Jewish man made you part of the Jewish religion if you raised your children as Jewish and accepted Jewish law.  With the advent of Jesus and the fulfilment of the Jewish religion in Catholicism, the physical sign was water being pored on the future Catholic while saying “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,” both male and female (outwardly indicating both sexes equal as citizens of heaven), and the permanent change being made in the spiritual realm, on the soul of the individual, with the onus being on the individual to realize their need for God and praying and making the reasoned leap of will to follow Gods laws/commandments as clarified by the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament the permanent, visible mark of circumcision.  In fact, Deuteronomy 23:2 states damage to a male’s genitals disqualified a person from entering the assembly of the Lord (found in a Microsoft copilot search on “Bible where does it indicate damage to your genitals disqulified”).  I think the other reason for this restriction is that God wanted to multiply the Jewish race to the point that it would be a significant enough population (all of chapter 23 of the book of Deuteronomy show ways of keeping genetically healthy, and physically healthy as well as not forming alliances with cultures that offer child sacrifice, the practice of which would decrease the Jewish population – which, to be clear, God strongly disapproved of anyway, but culture is a strong influence)  for the world to take notice and catalog its existence, culture and literature (the Old Testament of the Bible) so their would be adequate preparation for His Son, Jesus Christ, and a larger enough and significant enough platform (literary, philosophically and culturally to reflect the character and the desires of God with regard to mankind) to launch the religion of Catholicism to have the ability to save all of mankind.

    God used signs that were predominately physical, like circumcision, I think to show visible commitment by fairly primitive people from the time of Abraham.  Abraham had inner commitment to God, shown by his willingness to sacrifice his son Issac.  The point of that particular exercise was God revealing the commitment, through Abrahams actions, required to God. Being God, He could see Abraham’s heart and commitment but needed it visible to those, in future generations, reading the bible to see the requirement of commitment needed from us.  Being the example of the Ultimate Being, God, though he stopped Abraham, allowed His own son, Jesus Christ, to sacrifice himself to make reparations for original sin.

    Jesus changed the initiation into the fulfilled Jewish religion of Catholicism to one whose main imprint was spiritual, but whose physical sign was temporary because mankind’s reasoning and philosophical sensitivity had evolved to the point that he or she could understand the leap from permanent physical mark to one of permanent spiritual mark/change from one with original sin to one sinless in the sight of God.

    Upon the start of the Catholic Church, the fulfilled Jewish religion, The ability to reproduce became immaterial and so the injunction not to have damaged genitals was no longer an issue.  The whole reason around being able to reproduce arose from the fact that God needed a special people to train as an example in the way He wished to be worshiped and to carry the prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ, the world’s Messiah, not just the Jews very own exclusive Messiah.  Also to show what was required to be part of God’s people, to follow His commandments closely and not improvise and take literally what God says, not assume and improvise as Moses did in Numbers 20:8-11. God means exactly what He says

       In John 6:26 – 73 (copied from https://www.drbo.org/chapter/50006.htm )From, immediately after the multiplication of the loaves Jesus Christ said this, started in the middle of the verses cited at the beginning of this sentence: Jesus answered them, and said: Amen, amen I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled.  27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you. For him hath God, the Father, sealed.  28 They said therefore unto him: What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?  29 Jesus answered, and said to them: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he hath sent.  30 They said therefore to him: What sign therefore dost thou shew, that we may see, and may believe thee? What dost thou work?

     31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.  32 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you; Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.  33 For the bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.  34 They said therefore unto him: Lord, give us always this bread.  35 And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.

     36 But I said unto you, that you also have seen me, and you believe not.  37 All that the Father giveth to me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will not cast out.  38 Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.  39 Now this is the will of the Father who sent me: that of all that he hath given me, I should lose nothing; but should raise it up again in the last day.  40 And this is the will of my Father that sent me: that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up in the last day.

     41 The Jews therefore murmured at him, because he had said: I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  42 And they said: Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then saith he, I came down from heaven?  43 Jesus therefore answered, and said to them: Murmur not among yourselves.  44 No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day.  45 It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me.

    [44] “Draw him”: Not by compulsion, nor by laying the free will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet motions of his heavenly grace.

     46 Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father.  47 Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life.  48 I am the bread of life.  49 Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead.  50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.

     51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  52 If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.  53 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?  54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.  55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.

    [54] “Eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood”: To receive the body and blood of Christ, is a divine precept, insinuated in this text; which the faithful fulfil, though they receive but in one kind; because in one kind they receive both body and blood, which cannot be separated from each other. Hence, life eternal is here promised to the worthy receiving, though but in one kind. Ver. 52. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world. Ver. 58. He that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. Ver. 59. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.

     56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.  57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.  58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.  59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.  60 These things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in Capharnaum.

     61 Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it?  62 But Jesus, knowing in himself, that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: Doth this scandalize you?  63 If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?  64 It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life.  65 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning, who they were that did not believe, and who he was, that would betray him.

    [63] “If then you shall see”: Christ by mentioning his ascension, by this instance of his power and divinity, would confirm the truth of what he had before asserted; and at the same time correct their gross apprehension of eating his flesh, and drinking his blood, in a vulgar and carnal manner, by letting them know he should take his whole body living with him to heaven; and consequently not suffer it to be as they supposed, divided, mangled, and consumed upon earth.

    [64] “The flesh profiteth nothing”: Dead flesh separated from the spirit, in the gross manner they supposed they were to eat his flesh, would profit nothing. Neither doth man’s flesh, that is to say, man’s natural and carnal apprehension, (which refuses to be subject to the spirit, and words of Christ,) profit any thing. But it would be the height of blasphemy, to say the living flesh of Christ (which we receive in the blessed sacrament, with his spirit, that is, with his soul and divinity) profiteth nothing. For if Christ’s flesh had profited us nothing, he would never have taken flesh for us, nor died in the flesh for us.

    [64] “Are spirit and life”: By proposing to you a heavenly sacrament, in which you shall receive, in a wonderful manner, spirit, grace, and life, in its very fountain.

     66 And he said: Therefore did I say to you, that no man can come to me, unless it be given him by my Father.  67 After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him.  68 Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away?  69 And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.  70 And we have believed and have known, that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.

     71 Jesus answered them: Have not I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil?  72 Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for this same was about to betray him, whereas he was one of the twelve.

    Here Jesus Christ did not say that He – Almighty God, would feed us the symbol of his flesh, He (Truth itself) said He would feed us his flesh. Just as an animal we eat becomes part of us. By eating the body and Blood of Jesus Christ, He, the uncreated Son of God becomes part of us and as part of the uncreated God (not any of the stuff God created from nothing) our sacrifices, as Christ, can have merit.  This I think is what many Protestants miss that the Catholic religion, through priests sent through an apostolic succession that started with Jesus Christ and his first 12 apostle all of whom, except one, stuck with him after this incident.  This is how and why the Mystical Body of Christ is built, through the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Bread of Life. If Protestants truly believe man is saved by faith alone they must believe that almighty God can actually make himself bread through the consecrating power of priest/bishop.

    The death on the cross is the consummation of Christs wedding with His bride, part of the mystical body of Christ since He and His bride are one flesh (Genesis 2:24) because His death gives us the privilege of being born again (John 3:1-21), through baptism, into the Kingdom of Heaven as adopted sons and daughters of God.  Just as the marital act, an act produce by the will of at least one of two parties, can, but won’t necessarily produce children, between a man and a woman, Jesus Christs death won’t necessarily produce a citizen of heaven in any particular human being, but just as the marital act, it might, bearing on the acts as parents (if the child is baptized as an infant, like all human infants would have to be trained by parents to be a good citizen of heaven just as a child in the United States is trained to be a good United States citizens, trained in its laws and culture. It is sometimes argued that a parent should give a child a chance to choose on his or her own, but should that child die before reaching adulthood, the salvation of his or her soul would be in question, and by the opinion of most theologians, lost to heaven itself, but destined to reside in an environment natural happiness of limbo – deprived of the Beatific Vision, and it is the parent’s responsibility, having brought that child into existence to try and ensure their existence is the infinitely happy one of heaven) or the individual if baptized as an adult. Just as with Adam and Eve and as with the whole of salvation history, every one is the result of the cooperation of at least 2 people but their ultimate destiny is in their own hands in the case of a reasoning person. As natural life is a gift of our parents to us, supernatural life CAN be a gift to a child that is baptized but dies before reaching the age of reason.  As many great saints show us, men have been given the ability to help save souls, and it is a travesty to possibly let your own son or daughter lose heaven simply because they were not baptized!

  • Great Courses Looks at the Modern Day Religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism Separately

    The first course we will cover is the one on Judaism.

    A summary from the website is as follows:

    “However Judaism is defined, the beliefs, practices, attitudes, and institutions of Jews through the ages display a striking diversity, despite the fact that all would ascribe to a common heritage. Join Professor Gafni for these 12 lectures that explore the ever-changing 4,000-year-old saga of Judaism, one of the world’s most ancient and influential religions. Throughout the lectures, you’ll study Judaism from within – as it was understood by its adherents in the past and by those who practice or identify with Judaism today. You’ll cover the critical stages of Jewish history; the centrality of such books as the Torah, Talmud, Midrash, and Mishna; and the manner in which the Jewish calendar and Jewish law, or Halakha, define daily life. You’ll learn how Judaism reinvented itself by embracing the rabbinical tradition after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and consider the thinking of such philosophers as Philo of Alexandria and Moses Maimonides. You’ll consider how Judaism deals with converts and other members of the outside world. And you’ll investigate how Judaism manages its dual missions: to be true to itself as a people chosen by God and to be a spiritual example to the world. Rich with historical and spiritual insights, this is your chance to dig deep into the heart of what makes Judaism one of the world’s most important monotheistic faiths.”

    The lecturer is Dr. Isaiah M. Gafni. The following is a background on him from the Great Courses website.  He “is the Sol Rosenbloom Professor of Jewish History at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he earned his Ph.D. and has taught for more than 40 years. He was formerly the Director of the Mandel Center of Jewish Studies at the university and also previously served as Director of Graduate Studies at the university’s Rothberg International School. He has been a visiting professor at numerous American universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Brown. Professor Gafni has written extensively on a broad range of topics relating to the social, religious, and cultural history of the Jews in late antiquity, including more than 100 entries in the Encyclopaedia.”

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1: What is Judaism?

    Lecture 2: The Stages of History

    Lecture 3: The Jewish Library

    Lecture 4: The Emergence of Rabbinic Judaism

    Lecture 5: Jewish Worship – Prayer and the Synagogue

    Lecture 6: The Calendar – A Communal Life-Cycle    

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Individual Life-Cycles

    Lecture 8: God and Man: God and Community

    Lecture 9: Philosophers and Mystics

    Lecture 10:  The Legal Frame works of Judaism – Halakha

    Lecture 11:  Common Judaism – or a Plurality of Judaisms?

    Lecture 12: Judaism and “Others”

    In addition to this is might be enlightening to read or listen (available as an audio book) to a book on the Holy Scripture of both Judaism (the Old Testament part of the Bible) and Christianity (Both the Old and New Testament parts of the Bible, that is the whole Bible) A place to start is “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible.”

    A quote of the overview of the course “Great World Religions: Christianity” from the website reads as follows:

    Discover profound insights into what Professor Johnson calls “one of religion’s great success stories” with these 12 lectures that provide a clear survey of the most important elements of Christianity and a framework for further study. In these lectures, you’ll consider a range of fundamental issues, including Christianity’s birth and expansion across the Mediterranean world, the development of its doctrine, its transformation after Christianity became the imperial religion of Rome, its many and deep connections to Western culture, and tensions within Christianity today. Professor Johnson’s synthetic approach provides first an overview of the Christian story, how it understands history, the relation of scripture to that history, and the Christian creed (what Christians believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the church). He explains Christian practice as expressed, in turn, by the structure of the community and its sacraments, by the struggles of Christians to find a coherent and consistent moral teaching, and by various manifestations of Christianity’s more radical edge in martyrs, monks, mendicants, missionaries, and mystics. By the conclusion of his last lecture, you’ll have a firm grasp of Christianity’s distinctive character, the major turning points in its history, its shared beliefs and practices, its sharp internal divisions, its struggles to adapt to changing circumstances, and its continuing appeal to many of the world’s peoples.

    The lecturer we saw in earlier blogs and the following short reminder quote also from the great courses website is as follows:

    Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor Johnson earned a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Yale University, as well as an M.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University, an M.Div. in Theology from Saint Meinrad School of Theology, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. A former Benedictine monk, Professor Johnson has taught at Yale Divinity School and Indiana University, where he received the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Christianity among World Religions

    Lecture 2:  Birth and Expansion

    Lecture 3:  Second Century and Self-Definition

    Lecture 4:  The Christian Story

    Lecture 5:  What Christians Believe

    Lecture 6:  The Church and Sacraments

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Moral Teaching

    Lecture 8: The Radical Edge

    Lecture 9: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant

    Lecture 10:  Christianity and Politics

    Lecture 11: Christianity and Culture

    Lecture 12: Tensions and Possibilities

    Arguably their can only be one truth that Jesus Christ brought us which in my personal opinion was kinda muddied up after Vatican II and to get back to the root I suggest a 1959 copyright edition by Fides Publishers which carries the Imprimatur entitled “THE FAITH EXPLAINED” by father Leo J. Trese.  The fact that it is the 1959 edition is important in that there have been later editions – the latest one is from 2000, I think, and this edition is expository of the old Tridentine Latin form of the mass, which was in some form the mass of the Church for almost 2000 years. It, I think, was responsible for most of the people who lived exceptional Christ like lives referred to as saints, and its loss with the attended silence and reverence, is what is responsible for many of today’s scandals.  In the Bible Hebrews 13:8 reminds us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

    The next course on religion we will cover is on Islam. This is a quote of the overview again from the great courses website as well as the quote on the lecturers credentials.

    In these 12 lectures, Professor Esposito guides you through the facts and myths surrounding Islam and its more than 1.2 billion adherents. They’ll help you better understand Islam’s role as both a religion and a way of life, and its deep impact on world affairs both historically and today. Moving from Muhammad to the present, from the 7th to the 21st centuries, you’ll explore Muslim beliefs, practices, and history in the context of its significance and impact on Muslim life and society through the ages, as well as world events today. Along the way, you’ll examine topics including Jihad; Muslim beliefs about other faiths; whether the Quran condones terrorism and what it says about God; the contributions to mathematics, science, and art made by a flourishing Islamic civilization; the role of women in Islam; and whether Islam is compatible with modernization, capitalism, and democracy. These lectures also expand the human dimension to spotlight the ever-increasing reality of Muslims as our neighbors and colleagues in Europe and America, examining how and why Muslims came to Europe and America, and the issues of faith and identity, integration and assimilation, that face them in their new homelands and how they are grappling with these challenges. “We will see that Islam is not monolithic,” says Professor Esposito. “Although Muslims share certain core beliefs, the practices, interpretations, images, and realities of Islam vary across time and space.”

    The lecturer, “Dr. John L. Esposito is University Professor, Professor of Religion and International Affairs, and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He earned his B.A. at St. Anthony College, his M.A. at St. John’s University, and his Ph.D. at Temple University. Professor Esposito is Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He has served as President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, and the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies. A specialist in Islam, political Islam, and the impact of Islamic movements from North Africa to Southeast Asia, Dr. Esposito serves as a consultant to the Department of State as well as multinational corporations, governments, universities, and the media worldwide. In 2005, Professor Esposito won the American Academy of Religion’s prestigious Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. This award honors a scholar who has been exemplary in promoting the public understanding of religion. A prolific writer, Professor Esposito is the author of over 25 books, including What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford History of Islam, and The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.”

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Islam Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

    Lecture 2: The Five Pillars of Islam

    Lecture 3: Muhammad-Prophet and Statesman

    Lecture 4:  God’s Word – the Quranic Worldview

    Lecture 5:  The Muslim community – Faith and Politics

    Lecture 6:  Paths to God – Islamic Law and Mysticism

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: Islamic revivalism – Renewal and Reform

    Lecture 8:  The Contemporary Resurgence of Islam

    Lecture 9: Islam at the Crossroads

    Lecture 10: Women and Change in Islam

    Lecture 11: Islam in the West

    Lecture 12: The future of Islam

    Much is said about Islam good and bad. For complete disclosure it may be helpful to read or listen to something from another perspective covering, as we did in Christianity above, the Holy Book of Islam the Koran.  I found “the Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran” by Robert Spencer interesting.

    Once again, for course on the religion of Buddhism of we take the overview and lectures credentials from the great courses’ website

    Overview

    Buddhism challenges some of the most important Western ideas about God, human life, and the self. An excellent study in the basics of Buddhism, these 12 lectures illustrate why Buddhism is an astonishingly lively and adaptable religion – one which has transformed the civilizations of India and much of Asia, and has now become a vital part of Western culture. In the company of Professor Eckel, you’ll study the Buddhist idea that there is no single almighty God who created the world, that all of life is “suffering”, and that there is no permanent self; the life story of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama; the Buddha’s teaching, or Dharma; the development of his Samgha, or community of disciples; key Buddhist terms such as nirvana, tantra, mandala, bodhisattva, and Zen; the lives of contemporary, well-known Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama; and Buddhist responses to some of the fundamental problems of life. These lectures survey Buddhism from its origin in India in the 6th or 5th centuries B.C.E. to the present day. During its 2,500-year history, Buddhism has grown from a tiny religious community in northern India into a movement that now spans the globe. And, with these lectures, the history, insights, and perhaps the profound peaceful influence of this great world religion may reach you.

    Lecturer

    Dr. Malcolm David Eckel is Professor of Religion and Director of the Core Curriculum at Boston University. He holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in English from Harvard University and a second in Theology from Oxford University. Professor Eckel earned his master’s degree in theology at Oxford University and his Ph.D. in the Study of Comparative Religion at Harvard University. He held teaching positions at Ohio Wesleyan University, Middlebury College in Vermont, and the Harvard Divinity School, where he served as acting director of the Center for the Study of World Religions. At Boston University, Professor Eckel teaches courses on Buddhism, comparative religion, and the religions of Asia. In 1998, Professor Eckel received the Metcalf Award for Teaching Excellence, the university’s highest award for teaching. In addition to writing many articles, Professor Eckel has published two books on Buddhist philosophy: To See the Buddha: A Philosopher’s Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness and Buddhism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places.

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1:  Buddhism as a World Religion

    Lecture 2: The Life of the Buddha

    Lecture 3:  All is suffering

    Lecture 4:  The Path to Nirvana

    Lecture 5: The Buddhist Community

    Lecture 6: Mahayana Buddhism – the Bodhisattva Ideal

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7:  Celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

    Lecture 8:  Emptiness

    Lecture 9:  Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia

    Lecture 10: Buddhism in Tibet

    Lecture 11:  Buddhism in China

    Lecture 12:  Buddhism in Japan

    The final religion we will outline the great courses course on is Hinduism. I take it last because thought there appear to be many adherents they seem localized in the geographical and cultural area of India.

    Once again the over view and lecturers credentials are taken from the great courses website.

    Overview

    In Hinduism, you’ll find a religion that is perhaps the most diverse of all. It worships more gods and goddesses than any other, and it rejects the notion that there is only one path to the divine. These 12 lectures provide a window into the roots of, perhaps, all religions. You’ll explore over the course of Hinduism’s 5,000-year journey: the Indus Valley civilization; the sizable variety of Hindu gods and goddess; the sacred writings in the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads; ritual purity rites; the Aryan language of Sanskrit; and more. As you’ll discover, the story of Hinduism is the story of very non-Western traditions – such as arranged marriages and the caste system – that have survived and thrived for thousands of years. It’s also the story of gods, terms, and practices – karma, Krishna, yoga, guru – that have found a home in Western lives and language. The lectures move chronologically through the history of Hinduism, from its earliest precursors through its classical manifestations to its responses to modernity. Along the way, you’ll encounter the multiple paths to divine reality acknowledged by Hindus: the Way of Action (which aims to improve an individual’s future lives through meritorious deeds), the Way of Wisdom (a more demanding pathway to salvation), and the Way of Devotion (oriented toward faith in a deity of one’s personal choice). Dr. Muesse also discusses salient aspects of Hindu life and places them in historical and theological context.

    Lecturer

    Dr. Mark W. Muesse is W. J. Millard Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Asian Studies Program, and Director of the Life: Then and Now Program at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in English Literature from Baylor University and a Master of Theological Studies, a Master of Arts, and a Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University. Before taking his position at Rhodes, Professor Muesse held positions at Harvard College, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Southern Maine, where he served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a recipient of the 2008 Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching, Rhodes College’s highest faculty honor. Known for his experiential teaching style, Professor Muesse was honored for his effective use of imaginative and creative pedagogy as well as his ability to motivate his students toward lifelong study. Professor Muesse has written many articles, papers, and reviews in world religions, spirituality, theology, and gender studies and has coedited a collection of essays titled Redeeming Men: Religion and Masculinities. He is currently compiling an anthology of prayers from around the world. Professor Muesse is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Indian Philosophy and Religion and has been Visiting Professor at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary in Madurai, India. He has traveled extensively throughout Asia and has studied at Wat Mahadhatu, Bangkok, Thailand; the Himalayan Yogic Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal; the Subodhi Institute of Integral Education, Sri Lanka; and Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.

        Disc 1

    Lecture 1: Hinduism in the World and the World of Hinduism

    Lecture 2: The Early Cultures of India

    Lecture 3: The World of Veda

    Lecture 4:  From the Vedic Tradition to Classical Hinduism

    Lecture 5:  Caste

    Lecture 6:  Men, Women, and the Stages of Life

       Disc 2

    Lecture 7: The Way of Action

    Lecture 8:  The Way of Wisdom

    Lecture 9:  Seeing God

    Lecture 10: The Way of Devotion

    Lecture 11:  The Goddess and Her Devotees

    Lecture 12:  Hinduism in the Modern Period

    Hopefully this will give some insights into other major religions of the world, and help us understand the motivations of various peoples based on their religious beliefs to help us better work with them and understand them in friendships, relationships, business and politics.

  • Great Courses Black Friday Sale from Today Until 1 December 2025 with A Good Sample of Courses Available

    Great Courses Black Friday Sale from Today Until 1 December 2025 with A Good Sample of Courses Available

           As I said in an earlier post the Great Courses’  business model is switching from making and selling tapes, CDs and DVDs (physical media) to selling streaming content.  I am out lining courses I have bought in physical media while hopefully some copies can be ordered off of Amazon, ebay and other sellers over the next few months.  Currently this company is running a sale to from what I understand, have unlimited access to their content starting at a reduced monthly rate of $1.99 for the first 2 months in the U.S. rising to $9.99/month for and unlimited subscription after that.  You can also buy titles for about $50 that you can stream anytime without a subscription.  Everything I bought directly from them in physical media, is available for me to stream from their website.  Physical media I am now buying off of Amazon will not be available to me through the website unless I either buy a subscription or buy a particular title.

          In my opinion this would be a good time to take advantage of this offer and see if you like the content or just find the content you like and binge watch that for about 2 months and then terminate your subscription, possibly buying anything you might like.  This company is going the way of providers; amazon prime etc. so they will not need the evidently more costly logistics train and just create and store content in servers and distribute it on the internet.

         I’m buying the ones contained on physical media because though it may be unlikely, the company may go out of business or may be temporarily unreachable through the Internet when I need access to the content, possibly for my family in the future.  A catastrophic occurrence like an earthquake (meteor strike, civil unrest or war) could also destroy their servers leading to a prolonged outage of a month or so until they can reload backups. Yes, I am overly cautious.

          I am printing out a list of titles I currently have at my location that I can find (I have a lot of them since I am using them in some part to write these blogs in parallel with looking at the website) or i am currently in the process of buying, below. I am currently in the process of trying to move to another house. As a parent I would examine the content before allowing access to children.  I have not watched all the courses but I have seen complaints on line of iffy material when it comes to literary images and only a few that I have seen that show images of any sort.

    This is the Comprehensive Catalog of Course to give people who take advantage of the Black Friday 2 month deal to see what was available before deciding to commit for a couple of months for a lower price and decide if there is something they want to buy or if they want to subscribe.

    1) Courses related to comparative religions and religious cultural literacy

    • Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should know.
    • Comparative Religion
    • The Pagan World: Ancient Religions before Christianity
    • Jesus and His Jewish Influences
    • Confucius, Buddha Jesus, and Muhammad
    • Beginnings of Judaism
    • The World of Biblical Isreal
    • The Book of Genesis
    • The Dead Sea Scrolls
    • Myth in Human History
    • Luther: Gospel, Law and Reformation

    2) Courses on Catholicism’s Influence on Philosophy, Architecture, literature, and Science

    • Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition
    • The Cathedral
    • Dante’s Divine Comedy
    • Science and Religion

    3) Courses on Christianity

    • From Jesus to Constantine: A history of Early Christianity
    • The Historical Jesus
    • The History of the Bible, the making of the New Testament Canon
    • After the New Testament: The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers
    • Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication
    • The Triumph of Christianity
    • The History of Christianity II: From the Reformation to the Modern Megachurch
    • The History of Christianity in the Reformation Era
    • Jesus and the Gospels
    • The History of Christian Theology
    • Myth in Human History
    • Luther: Gospel, Law, and Reformation

    4) Courses on the great world religions:

    • Great World Religions: Judaism
    • Great World Religions: Christianity
    • Great World Religions: Islam
    • Great World Religions: Buddhism
    • Great World Religions: Hinduism

    5) Courses on General Health Self Education

    • The Human Body: How We fail, How We Heal
    • Changing Body Composition Through Diet and Exercise
    • The Science of Natural Healing
    • Nutrition Made Clear
    • Body Composition: Diet & Exercise
    • The Mayo Clinic Diet: The Healthy Approach to Weight Loss
    • Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age
    • Mind-Body Medicine: The New Science of Optimal Health
    • The Science of Integrative Medicine
    • The Skeptic’s Guide to Health, Medicine, and the Media
    • Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us
    • Stress and Your Body
    • Understanding the Human Body: An Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology

           –     What Science Knows about Cancer

    6) Great Courses on Raising Children

    – Scientific Secrets: for Raising Kids Who Thrive

    – Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids

    – How the World Learns: Comparative Educational Systems

    – How to Become a SuperStar Student, 2nd Edition

    – Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition

    – The Art of Debate

    – Effective research Methods for Any Project

    – Music and the Brain

    – The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience

    7) A few courses of interest to more mature adults

    -Tai Chi for Aging with Strength and Tranquility

    -Secrets of Sleep Science: From Dreams to Disorders

    -How to Stay Fit as You Age

    -Physiology and Fitness

    – Myths of Nutrition and Fitness

    -Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age

    -Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong

    8) Courses for people and students considering medical school

    -Understanding Genetics: DNA, Genes, and Their Real-World Applications

    -Medical School for Everyone: Pediatrics Grand Rounds

    -Medical School for Everyone: Grand Rounds Cases

    -Medical School for Everyone: Emergency Medicine

          9)  Great Courses involving Self Help Wisdom

    –  Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World

    –  Origins of the Human Mind

    –  The Neuroscience of Everyday Life

    –  Outsmart Yourself: Brain Based Strategies to a Better You

    –  Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior

    –  How to Break the Habit of Self-Doubt and Build Real Confidence

    –  Understanding and overcoming Fear

    –  Cognitive Behaviors Therapy: Techniques for Retraining Your Brain

    – Scientific Secrets of Self Control

    –  Music and the Brain

    – Essentials of Strength Training

    – Understanding and Applying Self-Defense Strategies

    –  How to Turn Your Passion into Profit

    –  Understanding Inner Genius

    – Boosting Your Emotional Intelligence

    – Building Love That Lasts

    – The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience

    – Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking

    – Achieve Your Potential

    – How Colors Affect You: What Science Reveals

    – A Brand Called Your

    – Understanding the Brain

    – The Learning Brain

    – The Addictive Brain

    – Memory and the Human Lifespan

         10)  Great Courses for Writers

    –  Writing Creative Nonfiction

    – Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write About Anything

    – Building Great Sentences: Exploring the writer’s Craft (CD)

    – The Art of Storytelling: From Parents to Professionals (CD)

    – Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques

    – Writing and Civilization From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

    – The Secret Life of Words: English Words and Their Origins

    – Storytelling and the Human Condition

    – How to Write Best-Selling Fiction

    – The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction

    – How to Publish Your Book

        11)  Great Courses for Travelers and Tourists

    – Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are

    –  The World’s Greatest Churches

    –  Experiencing Rome: A Visual Exploration of Antiquity’s Greatest Empire

    –  Understanding Japan: A Cultural History

    –  The Great Tours: Washington DC

    – The Great Tours: African Safari

    – The Great Tours: A Guided Tour of Ancient Egypt

    – The Great Tours: Greece Turkey, from Athens to Istanbul

    – The World’s Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites

    – London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World

    – The Great Tours: England, Scotland, and Wales

    -The Great Tours: Ireland and Northern Ireland

    – The Celtic World

    – The Great Tours: Experiencing Medieval Europe

    – Wonders of the National Parks: A Geology of North America

    – World Heritage Sites: Exploring the World’s Greatest Places 

    – Food: A Cultural Culinary history

     12) Great Courses on the American Founding Fathers, Constitution and Thought Constructing the United States of America and The Industrial Revolution plus courses concerning American History

    – The Industrial Revolution

    – Experiencing America: A Smithsonian Tour through American History

    – Thinking about Capitalism

    – Socialism Vs. Capitalism: Comparing Economic Systems

    – History of Freedom

    – The American Mind

    – The Skeptic’s Guide to American History

    – Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies

    – The Great Debates: Advocates and Opponents pf the American Constitution

    – Civil liberties and the Bill of Rights

    – The Evolution of American Federalism

    – Books that Matter: The Federalist Papers

    – What America’s Founders Learned from Antiquity

    – America’s Founding Fathers

    – The Age of Benjamin Franklin

    – Origins and Ideologies of the American Revolution

    – The American Revolution   

    – Turning Points in American History

    – The American West: History, Myth and Legacy

    – History of the United States 2nd Edition

    – America in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

    – United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11

    – America and the New Global Economy

    – America and the World: A Diplomatic History

    – Understanding the US Government

    – The American Identity

    13) Great Courses on Mathematics for the most part are overviews for the general public. If you want to actually learn to do the type of problems covered might I suggest the Khan academy at Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice. Though it is free it works on donations so if you can donate. I have also heard Beestar is good at Beestar.org – Math and Reading for Kids for the more basic math.  Math appears to be free but I think you need to pay for English Language Arts (ELA) which is how they probably get some of their funding.

    – The Joy of Mathematics

    – The Queen of the Sciences: A History of Mathematics

    – Zero to Infinity: A History of Numbers

    – Mathematics, Philosophy, and the “Real World”

    – Secrets of Mental Math

    – An Introduction to formal logic

     – Introduction to Number Theory

    – Great Thinkers, Great Theorems

    – Discrete Mathematics

    – Geometry: An Interactive Journey to Mastery

    – High School Level-Geometry

    – The Art and Craft of Mathematical Problem Solving

    – Mathematics Describing the Real World: Precalculus and Trigonometry

    – Algebra I

    – Algebra II

    – How Music and Mathematics Relate

    – The Power of Mathematical Visualization

    – Mastering Linear Algebra: An Introduction with Applications

    – Learning Statistics: Concepts and Applications in R

    – Mathematical Decision Making: Predictive Models and Optimization

    – An Introduction to Numbers Theory

    – Understanding Calculus: Problems, Solutions, and Tips

    – Understanding Calculus II: Problems, Solutions, and Tips

    – Change and Motion: Calculus Made Clear, 2nd Edition

    – Mastering Differential Equations: The Visual Method

    – Understanding Multivariable Calculus: Problems, Solutions, and Tips

    – The Shape of Nature

    – Mathematics from the Visual World [on triangles, conics, circle, squares, planes, etc.]

    – What are the Chances? Probability Made Clear

    – Chaos

    – Prove it: The Art of Mathematical Argument

    14)  Great Courses on Physics. Once again these are looked at for the most part from the qualitative aspect as opposed to the quantitative or more technical aspect, and as with mathematics the Khan academy is a good place to start for the more elementary stuff.

    – The Joy of Science

    – Physics in Your Life

    – Fundamentals of Sustainable Living

    – Physics and Out Universe: How it All Works

    – Science and Mathematics, Great Ideas of Classic Physics

    – The Nature of Matter: Understanding the Physical World

    – Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe

    -The Science of Energy: Recourses and Power Explained

    – The Science of Flight

    – The Scientific Wonder of Birds

    – Understanding the World’s Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity

    – Understanding the Quantum World

    – Quantum Mechanics: The Physics of the Microscopic World

    – Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small

    – The Theory of Everything: The Quest to Explain All Reality

    – Superstring Theory: The DNA of Reality

    – Dark Matter, Dark Energy: The Dark Side of the Universe

    – The Nature of Matter: Understanding the Physical World

    – Particle Physics for the Non-Physicists: A Tour of the Microcosmos

    – Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time

    – Nuclear Physics Explained

    – Cosmology: The History and Nature of Our Universe

    – Radio Astronomy: Observing the Invisible Universe

    –  Introduction to Astrophysics

    – The Life and Death of Stars

    – The Search for Exoplanets: What Astronomers Know

    – Black Holes, Tides and Curved Spacetime: Understanding Gravity

    – Impossible Physics: Beyond the Edge

    -The Evidence for Modern Physics: How We Know What We Know

    – The Origin and Evolution of Earth From the Big Bang to the Future of Human Existence

    – My Favorite Universe

    – Physics in Your Life

    15) Great Courses on the Pre-Historic/Ancient world, history changing events and exploration.

    – A New History of Life

    – Rise of Humans: Great Scientific Debates

    – Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations

    – Latin 101: Learning a Classical Language

    – Greek 101: Learning an Ancient Language

    – Ancient Greek Civilization

    – The Other Side of History: Daily life in the Ancient World

    – Decoding the Secrets of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

    – The History of Ancient Egypt

    – The World Was Never the Same: Events that changed history

    – Cities of the Ancient World

    – The Holy Land Revealed

    – Understanding Greek and Ronam Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon

    – Great Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor

    – Between the Rivers: The History of Ancient Mesopotamia

    – Ancient Empires before Alexander

    – Late Antiquity: Crisis and Transformation

    – Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire

    – 30 Masterpieces of the Ancient World

    – The World of Byzantium

    – Barbarian Empires of the Steppes

    – Rome and the Barbarians

    – The Story of Medieval England: From King Arthur to the Tudor Conquest

    – Native Peoples of North America

    – Lost Worlds of South America

    – Maya to Aztec: Ancient Mesoamerica Revealed

    16) Great Courses on more Recent history – More or less since the time of Jesus Christ

    – A Brief History of the World

    – World History

    – Power over People: Classical and Modern Political Theory

    – The Great Trials of World History and the Lessons, They Teach Us

    – The Vikings

    – The Wisdom of History

    – The Real History of Secret Societies

    – Turning Points in Middle Eastern History

    – The World Was Never the Same Events That Changed History

    – The Foundations of Eastern Civilization

    – The Foundations of Western Civilization

    – The Foundations of Western Civilization II: A History of the Modern Western World

    – African Experience: From Lucy to Mandela

    – The long Shadow of the Ancient Greek World

    – Irish Identity: Independence, History, and Literature

    – A History of India

    – A History of British India

    – The Ottoman Empire

    – The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age

    – Era of the Crusades

    – Living History: Experiencing Great Events of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds

    – History’s Greatest Voyages of Exploration

    – The High Middle Ages

    – The Late Middle Ages

    – Ancient and Medieval History: The Italian Renaissance

    – The Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Rise of Nations

    – The Age of Henry VIII

    – A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

    – The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

    – Victorian Britain

    – The Real History of Pirates

    – European History and European Lives 1715 to 1914

    – Modern History the Long 19th Century

    – Europe and Western: Civilization in the Modern Age

    – The Modern Political Tradition: Hobbes to Habermas

    – Utopia and Terror in the 20th Century

    – Understanding Imperial China Dynasties, Life and Culture

    – Communism in Power: From Stalin to Mao

    – From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History

    – Turning Points in Modern History

    – Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History

    17) Great Courses on Hobbies or handy crafts

    – Veterinary School for Everyone: Caring for Cats and Dogs

    – Fundamentals of Home Maintenance: From Repairs to Renovations

    – Fundamentals of Photography

    – Fundamentals of Photography II

    – How to Grow Anything Food Gardening for Everyone

    – Do it yourself Engineering

    – Woodworking Tips, Tricks, & Secrets

    – The Art of Reading

    – Pioneering Skills for Everyone

    – The Everyday Gourmet: Making Health Food Taste Great

    – The Everyday Gourmet: Essential Secrets of Spices in Cooking

    – The Science of Gardening

    – Essential Techniques Every Knitter Should Know

    – Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

    – National Geographic Guide to Birding in North America

    – The Everyday Guide to Wine

    18) Great Coursed on Books that Matter and great literature

    • The  Skeptic’s Guide to Great Books
    • Books That Matter: The City of God
    • Understanding Literature and Life: Drama, Poetry and Narrative
    • St. Augustine’s Confessions
    • The Odyssey of Homer
    • The Iliad of Homer
    • Masterworks of Early 30th Century Literature
    • Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
    • Great Authors of Western Literary Tradition, 2nd Edition
    • Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life
    • Machiavelli in Context
    • Literature and the English Language, Understanding Literature and Life: Drama< poetry and Narrative
    • William Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies
    • Classic Novels: Meeting the Challenge of Great Literature
    • Classics of Russian Literature
    • Classics of British Literature
    • King Arthur: History and Legend
    • Classics of American Literature
    • Joyce’s Ulysses
    • Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature
    • How Great Science Fiction Works

    19) Miscellaneous courses concerning Religion that I did not have, did not remember I had or forgot to put in the first few blogs I had on religious subjects.

    – Exploring the Roots of Religion

    – Reading Biblical Literature: Genesis to Revelation

    – Biblical Hebrew: Learning a Sacred Language

    – Live of Christians

    – Philosophy and Religion in the West

    – Philosophy of Religion – Philosophy & Intellectual history

    – The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity

    – Reason and Faith: Philosophy in the Middle Ages

    – Religions of the Axial Age: An approach to the World’s Religions

    – Between Cross and Crescent: Jewish Civilization from Mohammed to Spinoza

    – The Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History

    – Sacred Texts of the World

    – Mystical Tradition: Judaism, Christianity and Islam

    – Jewish Intellectual History: 16th to 20th Century

    – Introduction to the Study of Religion

    – Reading Biblical literature: Genesis to Revelation

    – Old Testament

    – Understanding the Old Testament

    – New Testament

    – Understanding the New Testament

    – The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History

    – The Apostle Paul

    – The Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History

    20) Early Greek, and Roman Civilization, Thinkers and Leaders

    – Greek Tragedy

    – Herodotus: The Father of History

    – Famous Greeks

    – Emperors of Rome

    21) Great Courses supporting financial, market and investment literacy

    – Economics 3rd edition

    – The Economics of Uncertainty

    – Unexpected Economics

    – Money and Banking: What Everyone Should know

    – Understanding Investments

    – Thinking about Capitalism

    – The Art of Investing: Lessons from History’s Greatest Traders

    – How the Stock Market Works

    – Advanced Investments

    – Financial Literacy: Finding Your Way in the Financial Markets

    22) Great Courses with information for running businesses big and small

    – The Art of Negotiating the Big Deal

    – International Economic Institutions: Globalism vs. Nationalism

    – Entrepreneur’s Toolkit
    – Thinking about Capitalism

    – Critical Business Skills for Success

    – How to Build a Thriving Workplace: A Leader’s Guide

    – How to Turn Your Passion into Profit

    – Effective Communications Skills

    – Games People Play: Game Theory in Life Business and Beyond

    – Big Data: How Data Analytics is Transforming the World

    – Meaning from Data: Statistics Made Clear

    – Thinking like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making 

    – Understanding Complexity

    – Strategic Thinking Skills

    – Modern Economic Issues

    23) Great Courses on Law and Forensic Science

    – Law School for Everyone

    – Law School for Everyone: Legislation and Regulation

    – Law School for Everyone: Contracts

    – Law School for Everyone: Constitutional Law

    – Trails of Evidence: How Forensic Science Works

    24) Great Courses on War

    – The Agency: A History of the CIA

    – Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers

    – The Peloponnesian War

    – The Decisive Battles of World History

    – Histories Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach

    – War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe 1500-2000

    – Living the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon

    – The American Civil War (CD)

    – World War I: The “Great War”

    – Churchill

    – Unsung Heroes of World War II Europe

    – World War II: A Military and Social History

    – World War II: Battlefield Europe

    – World War II: The Pacific Theater

    – History’s Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach

    – War and World History

    25) Great Courses on philosophy:

    – Philosophy as a Guide to Living Part 1 & Part 2

    – The great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

    – The Meaning of Life: Perspectives from the world’s Great Intellectual Traditions

    – Exploring Metaphysics

    – Masters of Greek Thought: Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle

    – Philosophy & Intellectual History Plato’s Republic

    – Great Minds of Eastern Intellectual Tradition

    – Great Minds of the Medieval World

    – The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida

    – Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism

    – No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life

    – The Will to Power: The Philosophy of Fredrich Nietzsche

    – Athenian Democracy: An Experiment for the Ages

    – Philosophy of Science

    – Redefining reality: The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

    – Philosophy of Mind, Brains, Consciousness, and Thinking Machines

    – The Big Questions of Philosophy

    26) Great Courses on Art      

    – Renaissance: The Transformation of the West

    – Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance

    – The Genius of Michelangelo

    – From Monet to Van Gogh: a History of Impressionism

    – Dutch Masters: The Age of Rembrandt

    – How to Draw

    – Sketching People, Places, and Landscapes

    – Realistic Watercolors Step by Step

    – Painting with Watercolors

    – Simple & Stunning Watercolor Techniques

    – Improve your Paintings with Luminous Watercolor Mixing

    – How to Look at and Understand Great Art

    27) Great Courses on Music

    – Understanding the Fundamentals of Music

    – How to Listen to and Understand Great Music

    – Music as a Mirror of History

    – The Symphony

    – Great Music of the 20th Century

    – Great Masters: Mozart – His Life and Music

    – Chamber Music of Mozart

    – Great Masters: Brahms – His Life and Music

    – Great Masters: Haydn – His Life and Music

    – Great Masters: Tchaikovsky – His Life and Music

    – Great Masters: Robert and Clara Schumann- Their Lives and Music

    – Great Masters: Liszt – His Life and Music

    – Great Masters: Beethoven – His Life and Music

    – The Music of Richard Wagner

    – The String Quartets of Beethoven

    – The Symphonies of Beethoven

    – Bach and the High Baroque

    28) Great Courses on Chemistry

    – Chemistry, 2nd Edition

    – Foundations of Organic Chemistry

    – Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

    29) Great Courses on fields of study Other than law, medicine, math, physics and chemistry

    – Introduction to Astrophysics

    – Introduction to Paleontology

    – Major Transitions in Evolution

    – Zoology: Understanding the Animal World

    – Classical Archaeology of Ancient Greece and Rome

    – Electrical Engineering for Everyone

    – The Science of Extreme Weather

    – Oceanography: Exploring Earth’s Final Wilderness

    – Life in the World’s Oceans

    – Archaeology: An Introduction to the World’s Greatest Sites

    – Nature of Earth: An Introduction to Geology

    – Meteorology: An Introduction to the Wonders of the Weather

    – Plant Science: An Introduction to Botany

    – Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language

    30) Great Courses concerning The Cyber world and Cyber Security:

    – Social Media 101

    – How Digital Technology Shapes Us

    – Thinking about Cybersecurity: From Cyber Crime to Cyber Warfare

    – The Surveillance State: Big Data, Freedom, and You

    Note: Since I don’t know when I’m going to talk about this again 2 books by Fr. Jean-Pierre Bouree, SSPX are worth looking at and they are Screen Man: Toward a virtual Humanity published by STAS 2015 and the other is Half-Life: The Decay of Reality published by Angelus Press 2018 both translated from the French by Ann Marie Temple

    31) Great Courses on Programming Languages plus Robotics Overview

    – Learning Java Programming

    — How to Program: Computer Science Concepts and Python Exercises

    – Introduction to C++: Programming Concepts and Applications

    – Robotics

    32) Great Courses on Human Communication

    – Brain Based Guide to Communicating Better

    – Understanding Nonverbal Communications

    – The Story of Human Language

    – American Sign Language for Everyone

    This is not an exhaustive list of all, once physical media, such as book, cassette, CD, VHS or DVD produced by the Great Courses, not even close, but it is most of what I either have or ordered recently off of Amazon, new or possibly used, to give you a taste of what is available now, on their streaming service. There is such a wide variety of titles I have because I hoped to either watch or have my grand children watch if they might have a question on any particular subject!  I know my archive is not complete but it has a lot of the famous places, things, concepts and people in many subjects.

  • Understand-ing Thanksgiving: History and Celebrations

    Understand-ing Thanksgiving: History and Celebrations

    Thanksgiving, coming on Thursday this week, is a mainly North American holiday (though other countries celebrate something similar) that falls on the 3rd Thursday of November in the United States and on the 2nd Monday in October in Canada.

    The United States holiday was selected to be close to the date that the Mayflower landed in “the New World,” celebrating, I assume, that they did not die at sea, and successfully made it to North America.

    In Canada it is celebrated for a different reason, and Thanksgiving is in October in Canada because it corresponds to the earlier harvest season in Canada’s colder climate. The holiday’s date was officially set to the second Monday in October in 1957 to ensure good weather for outdoor activities and travel before winter sets in. 

    Thanksgiving has traditionally been a day to get together with family to thank God for the blessing we have received in the past year, at least in the United States, which makes sense because it took the prior 3 months to get from England to Cape Cod, and back then, in wooden ships successful sea travel was an iffy situation at best.

    Even though this is considered a secular holiday, it is a good time to get with friends and family to reminisce and get together and try to renew family closeness, especially for older families, empty nests, where the children are adults and moved away from home.  We should also use this time to especially thank God for our family and the blessings he has given us in the past!