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Young people involved with Include Youth's Give and Take Scheme in the Southern area got together for a little event celebrating their big achievements on Thursday November 15 2012, at One Eighty on the hill, Armagh.
Our Essential Employability Programme delivering essential and employability skills to young people on our Give & Take Scheme is funded through Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out Empowering Young People programme.
For more information about Include Youth's Give and Take Scheme visit: includeyouth.org/index.php?/giveandtake
The illuminated initial includes the White Cobra and Kaa, the big rock python, for the story “The King’s Ankus.”
“The Second Jungle Book” is a sequel to “The Jungle Book” by English author Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli, the abandoned boy who is raised by wolves, and three unrelated stories. All but one is set in India and all were previously published in magazines in 1894-5. Kipling was born in India, spent the first six years of his childhood there and returned as an adult to work there for about six-and-a-half years. He put into his stories everything he knew about the Indian jungle. His father, John Lockwood Kipling, spent most of his career in British India as Principal of the Mayo School of Arts and curator of the Lahore Museum. He did the illustrations for the book.
Statue of Hovell, Department of Lands building, Bridge St, Sydney.
Each facade has 12 niches whose sculpted occupants include explorers and legislators who made a major contribution to the opening up and settlement of the nation. Although 48 men were nominated by the architect, Barnet, as being suitable subjects, most were rejected as being 'hunters or excursionists'. Only 23 statues were commissioned, the last being added in 1901 leaving 25 niches unfilled (Devine, 2011). In Nov 2010- a new statue of colonial surveyor James Meehan (1774-1826) was created and placed in an empty niche on cnr. Loftus/Bent Streets.
Hovell, William Hilton (1786–1875)
by T. M. Perry
This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (MUP), 1966
William Hilton Hovell (1786-1875), sailor, explorer and settler, was born on 26 April 1786 at Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. He went to sea as a boy and by 1808 commanded a vessel trading with South America. In London on 10 May 1810 he married Esther, a daughter of Surgeon Thomas Arndell, and in November 1811 applied for permission to settle in New South Wales. With an order for a grant of land, the Hovell family sailed in the Earl Spencer and in October 1813 arrived at Sydney. There Hovell became associated with Simeon Lord for whom he commanded vessels trading along the coast and with New Zealand; in 1816 he was wrecked in the Brothers in Kent's Group near Bass Strait. He appears to have had some mercantile interests, for in 1814 he was one of 'the Merchants of Sydney' who petitioned Governor Lachlan Macquarie for a charter for a company to trade with New Zealand. In November 1813 he chose a site at Narellan for a 600-acre (243 ha) land grant, but the deed was not issued until he took up residence there in December 1816, when he apparently forsook the sea.
Like other settlers Hovell made short exploratory journeys in the country surrounding the Cumberland Plain and in 1823 discovered the Burragorang Valley. At this time Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane hoped to have the country between Lake George and Bass Strait explored and planned an official expedition which never eventuated. Hovell and Hamilton Hume, who had been considered as the principals of Brisbane's party, decided to undertake the journey at their own expense, and on 17 October 1824 left Hume's station near Gunning for Westernport, the government having assisted them with some stores and equipment. After crossing the Murrumbidgee River, then in flood, they discovered a large river which Hovell named the Hume (later proved to be part of the Murray), crossed the Mitta Mitta, Goulburn and Ovens Rivers, and on 16 December sighted Port Phillip. An error in calculating their position led Hovell to believe that they had arrived on the western shore of Westernport, but they were on Corio Bay in Port Phillip. They returned to Gunning on 18 January 1825 and, as a result of their report, Brisbane decided to send a party to Westernport by sea. The party, which included Hovell, left Sydney late in 1826 under the command of Captain Wright and returned five months later. On arrival at Westernport Hovell realized his mistake; but the surrounding country was examined and 'great quantities of very fine coal' were discovered.
Hume and Hovell were each rewarded with grants of 1200 acres (486 ha), and Hovell was given a grant of 1280 acres (518 ha) for his part in Wright's expedition, though under unfavourable conditions. As his earlier grant had to be sold to defray expenses of the 1824-25 journey Hovell repeatedly sought more generous recognition of his own work and Hume's. He petitioned Governor (Sir) Ralph Darling in 1828 and 1829, the Colonial Office in 1829 and 1830, Governor (Sir) Richard Bourke in 1833, and the Colonial Office again in 1839. None of these applications was successful though Bourke did cancel debts to the government in 1837, about which time Hovell went to live on his property at Grabberdrack near Goulburn.
In 1853 Hovell revisited Port Phillip where he was welcomed as the discoverer of the district. An inaccurate press report of a speech Hovell made at a dinner in Geelong led Hume, who had already taken offence when William Bland placed Hovell's name first in the Journey of Discovery to Port Phillip … (Sydney, 1831), to believe that Hovell was claiming all the credit for their work. Hume therefore published A Brief Statement of Facts in Connection with an Overland Expedition from Lake George to Port Phillip in 1824 (Sydney, 1855). Hovell replied with An Answer to the Preface of … Hume's 'A Brief Statement of Facts …' and a Reply to 'A Brief Statement of Facts …' by Hamilton Hume (both Sydney, 1855). The ill feeling engendered by this exchange continued until Hume's death and for some time later. It is clear that the credit for the 1824-25 expedition must be shared by the two principals: Hume was certainly the better and more experienced bushman, but was unable to make observations or calculate position, which was Hovell's task; and although Hume claimed to have known that they had arrived at Port Phillip and not at Westernport he did not make this public when they returned to Sydney.
By his first wife Hovell had two children, Elizabeth Emily (1811-1848) and Arndell John Palmer (1813-1827). In 1848 at Goulburn he married Sophia Wilkinson (d.1876) who left £6000 to the University of Sydney to found the William Hilton Hovell lectureship in geology and physical geography. As a settler Hovell appears to have led a quiet and undistinguished life, his chief claim to fame being his part in the discovery of 'a vast range of country invaluable for every purpose of grazing and of agriculture—watered by numerous fine streams and rivers, and presenting an easy inland intercourse extending from Port Phillip and Westernport to the settled districts'. He died in Sydney on 9 November 1875 and was buried at Goulburn, survived by a natural son.
From:
Includes:
Omega applier clothing
AMD Babybump appliers
Available on MP marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/143383 and inworld store maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Renoir/199/75/41
Not suitable for classic avatars.
Washington Park is a public urban park in Portland, Oregon, USA. It includes a zoo, forestry museum, arboretum, children's museum, rose garden, Japanese garden, amphitheatre, memorials, archery range, tennis courts, soccer field, picnic areas, playgrounds, public art and many acres of wild forest with miles of trails. Washington Park covers more than 410 acres (166 hectares) on mostly steep, wooded hillsides which range in elevation from 200 feet (61 m) at 24th & W Burnside to 870 feet (265 m) at SW Fairview Blvd. It comprises 159.7 acres (64.63 hectares) of city park land that has been officially designated as "Washington Park" by the City of Portland,[1] as well as the adjacent 64 acre Oregon Zoo and the 187 acre Hoyt Arboretum, which together make up the area described as "Washington Park" on signs and maps.[2]
Contents
1 History
2 Notable features
2.1 Statues and fountains
3 Public access
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
History
Garden near north entrance
A blossoming tree at night in Washington park.
The City of Portland purchased the original 40.78 acres (16.5 hectares) in 1871 from Amos King for $32,624, a controversially high price for the time.[3][4] The area, designated "City Park", was wilderness with few roads. Thick brush, trees and roaming cougar discouraged access. In the mid-1880s, Charles M. Meyers was hired as park keeper. A former seaman without landscape training, he transformed the park by drawing on memories of his native Germany and European parks. By 1900, there were roads, trails, landscaped areas with lawns, manicured hedges, flower gardens, and a zoo. Cable cars were added in 1890 and operated until the 1930s.
In 1903, John Charles Olmsted of Olmsted Brothers, a nationally known landscape architecture firm, recommended several changes to the park including the present name, location of the entrance, separate roads and pedestrian paths, and replacement of formal gardens with native species. The name was officially changed from City Park to Washington Park in 1909.[5]
When the county poor farm closed in 1922, the 160 acres (64.75 hectares) were added to Washington Park.
Portland's zoo was founded in Washington Park in 1887 near where the reservoirs are presently located. It moved in 1925 to what is now the Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its present location at the park's southern edge. The only surviving structure from the old zoo is the elephant barn, now converted into a picnic shelter and decorated with tile mosaic of various animals and a life-size brick relief sculpture of an elephant and calf.
The City of Portland plans to demolish the existing number 3 and 4 outdoor reservoirs, then replace them with underground reservoirs covered by reflecting pools, due to their age and a federal mandate to cover all reservoirs.[6] The $67 million project has attracted opposition from historical preservationists and residents concerned about construction impacts.[7]
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Lolas tango
Mirage
Omega
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Sking Brazilia
G. Inc Perfect body (uses omega appliers)
Ghetto Booty
Maitreya
VS Fusion
Lena
Belleza
slink physique clothing applier
wowmeh applier
Eve applier hud pulpy and slim
I have an inworld shop. Use the telepad at the landing point.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Static%20Beats/84/236/59
Marketplace store.
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Graffitiwear - 3-piece outfit includes the turtleneck sweater, pants, and boots. Comes with a HUD of 6 turtenecks, 6 pants, and 6 pairs of boots. 3 design options available.
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Mechanical Engineer - November 1965
conceived by Gibbs & Cox, naval architects & marine engineers
designed & constructed by Mack Trucks - 1963
operational units delivered and accepted 1965
Final cost for design & construction was $875,000
In addition to the Super Pumper and Super Tender, the plan called for the Super Pumper to be supported by three "Satellite" units, which were basically a smaller hose tender, with 2000' of super high pressure 4 1/2" diameter hose, and a roof mounted 4000 g.p.m. water cannon. The three Satellites were refurbished in 1980.
In circa 1982, the three Satellite support plan was revised, and expanded to include a total of six Satellite units. But alas, the Super Pumper System was retired shortly after. The Satellites were re-equipped with conventional hose and responded to to major fires in a support capacity, until they too were retired..
The Super Pumper was designed in the day of pumper (known as engines in FDNY parlance) capacities of mediocre capacity, e.g. 1000 gpm.
As with any large city port, the prevalence of massive warehouses and piers made for spectacular fires. `Unfortunately, the smaller pumpers were not up to the task.
So, the Super Pumper was designed to take advantage of the waterfront supply of water, and / or the high pressure hydrant system in most of the industrial areas of New York City.
It should be noted that the water monitor (water cannon) as installed on the Super Tender had a removable reducing nozzle to increase pressure and water throw (stream) or could be used without (deluge).
While I've never witnessed it personally, it has been reported that the 7" water cannon / monitor on the Super Tender tractor was capable of blasting holes in the brick walls of warehouses. It's been said that in one instance in which the Super Pumper System responded to, that the water cannon punched a hole in the wall of the warehouse, ripped a significantly sized piece of machinery that had been bolted to the concrete floor, and pushed it clear across the warehouse floor to the other side.
Why it went out of service:
According to various sources, there were two reasons the Super Pumper System was retired.
The publicized and commonly accepted reason was that the cost of maintaining the system which was so infrequently used, was cost prohibitive.
The second reason which was told to us by one of the engineers, was more technical and consisted of two factors:
1) When constructed, the Napier Deltic diesel engine that powered the pump was mounted on the trailer. However, the air compressor and air reservoir for starting that diesel was mounted on the Mack tractor.
2) That model Mack tractor (that pulled the pump trailer, was prone to be out of service for repair frequently.
Even though the tractor of the Super Tender was of identical model, it was not equipped with an air compressor and therefore could not be used to start the Napier Deltic diesel engine.
Even so, with only one tractor in service (hypothetically if the other was out of service for repair) and had both unit been equipped with air compressors, only one piece of equipment could be pulled at one time. This would have required a third "spare" tractor, and this was not accounted for in the final plan.
Whether this reason can be confirmed through official channels at this time remains to be seen.
--- Current Disposition of the Super Pumper System ---
Super Pumper: private owner, Michigan (Bay City?)
Super Tender: private owner, California, (Hemet?)
Specifications:
--- Super Pumper ---
Tractor:
Mack F-715-ST Cab Over Engine
Trailer: custom designed
power plant: Napier Deltic 18 cylinder opposed piston (3 banks of 6 arranged in triangle (120 degrees) mechanically turbocharged
rated at 2400 h.p. at 1800 r.p.m.
equipped with ether injection system for cold weather starting
pump: DeLaval
parallel hook up: 8800 g.p.m. / 350 p.s.i @ 1800 r.p.m
series hook up: 4400 g.p.m. / 700 p.s.i @ 1800 r.p.m.
supply: four to eight 4½” diameter super high pressure hoses
--- Super Tender ---
Tractor: Mack F-715-ST Cab Over Engine
equipped with 7” bore water cannon
capacity: 10,000 gpm / 37 tons of water per minute
tractor is equipped with hydraulically operated outriggers to stabilize unit while water cannon is in operation.
Trailer: custom designed hose wagon
carries 2000’ of super high pressure 4½” dia hose
pressure hose: polyester construction, manufactured by Thermoid Division of H. K. Porter. 1000 psi burst strength, 800 psi continuous operation
tender also carriers twenty sections of 8" rigid wall suction hose for drawing water from rivers and standing bodies of water.
Trailer is also equipped with pressure reducing check valve equipped hose manifold to supply eight standard handheld 2½” diameter hose lines at 100 psi
(4 outlets located on each side of tender body)
I was stopped by the harsh light picking out the raised text and textures on this gravestone as I walked through the St Mary de Haura churchyard. The autumnal layer of leaves was a bonus.
This wall magazine is on sex-selective abortion. It includes poems, stories, songs, and information on the issue.
Includes 4 arm Chenrezi poster, special katas, statues of Padmasambhava, 4 arm Chenrezi, Namgyalma, Large Shakyamuni, Medicine Buddha, Manjushri, Green Tara, 1000 arm Chenrezi. Small photo of His Holiness in yellow hat, front left, brass offering bowls, Vajrasattva & consort (small card), Mitrugpa/Akshobhya lg card.
Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry today helped launch an Include Youth initiative aimed at assisting young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) entitled ‘Blow Your Socks Off’.
Blow Your Socks Off is part of Include Youth’s Give and Take Scheme which, aims to provide employability and learning opportunities to unemployed young people aged 16-21 throughout Northern Ireland.
Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry said: “I commend Include Youth’s Blow Your Socks Off initiative which aims to create public awareness among local businesses that can be seen as role models for young people. It is essential that young people can engage with people who are successful in business and who may be able to offer them support, guidance and employment opportunities.”
The campaign objective is to encourage more employers to provide valuable work experience and mentoring opportunities so that the NEET young people can be inspired to move into further learning or the labour market.
The Minister continued: “My Department and the European Social Fund work closely with the voluntary and community sectors to target those young people who are furthest removed from the labour market and support the ongoing efforts to engage in innovative ways to overcome barriers to employment.”
The 'Blow Your Socks Off' initiative will utilise social media and case studies of successful young people who have benefited from working with employers in a bid to encourage employers to open up their doors and support young people, who are most in need to follow in their footsteps.
The Give and Take Scheme is supported by the Department’s European Social Fund.
Notes to editors:
1. Photographs from the launch are available at: www.flickr.com/photos/niexecutive/sets/72157635584907415/
2. Include Youth is a voluntary organisation that works with disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people in the areas of youth justice, education, employment and training;
3. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Employment and Learning Communications Branch on 028 9025 7466. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
4. Follow the Executive online:
Manhattan’s Marrakech Hotel on Broadway offers distinctly unique lodging accommodations decorated with warm color tones and a hint of the Mediterranean. There are 127 unique and newly renovated guest rooms on three floors which come with a queen bed, single double bed or two double beds (Superior / Deluxe and Double/Double). All guest rooms feature down duvet, European bed linens. Baths at the Marrakech feature accenting tiles, curved shower rod, massage shower head, hair dryer and Eco-bath essentials. Other room amenities include flat-screen TVs, CD clock radios and coffee/tea maker. Daily maid service is also included.
The “INKredible 2″ Pack includes 20 NEW polymer clay patterns sheets designs introducing a variety & mix of materials to use along with alcohol inks.
These sheets can be applied in any bead, jewel, or accessory of your choice – flat or curved, small or large.
I implemented my pattern sheets on earrings & beads.
The materials I used are probably already in your polymer clay toolbox, taken from many of my previous classes –
Alcohol inks, chalk pastels, paints, stazon inks, stencils etc.
This class is a new version of my known previous INKredible class, now offering a celebration of exciting, new techniques, encouraging you to use anything on your worktable, along with alcohol inks.
20 patterns came out of my personal laboratory, but the combinations are infinite!
www.polypediaonlineexpress.com/product/complete-inkredibl...
If you are interested in combining these beads in elaborated, impressive Micro Macrame knotting, you are welcome to check out the new "INKredible Macrame" class -
www.polypediaonlineexpress.com/inkredible2-inkredible-mac...
As of the New Year, visitors to the British Embassy's consular section can now make use of a cash machine located at the Embassy.
The ATM was installed in partnership with Commercial Bank (CBQ) after consultation by the Embassy with its customers over recent months.
Vice-Consul Ann Munro explains: "Every person who visits the Embassy for passport or notary services is asked to give us feedback on our services. Our customers told us they wanted the ability to take money out in the Embassy in order to pay for our services, and we have responded.
"Also in response to further feedback, we are planning to activate a credit-card payment service at the Embassy in the coming weeks."
The British Embassy, based in West Bay near to the Rainbow roundabout, provides a range of services to British nationals resident in and visiting Qatar. This includes providing timely and high quality documentary and passport services. The Embassy also assists British nationals in distress, including those arrested or hospitalised.
Since the start of April 2008 the Embassy has issued 957 new passports to British nationals, of which 97.9% were issued within the service delivery target of 10-working days. The Embassy has also processed over 3000 notarial services in the same period.
For more information on British embassy services, please see our web-site ukinqatar.fco.gov.uk/
In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent (perfectly good), and all loving.
God is most often held to be non-corporeal,[3] and to be without any human biological sex,[4][5] yet the concept of God actively creating the universe (as opposed to passively)[6] has caused many religions to describe God using masculine terminology, using such terms as "Him" or "Father". Furthermore, some religions (such as Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[7]
In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[8]
There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[9] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.[10] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה, which means: "I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God, while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.[11][12][13][14][15] In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El", or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[16] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[17] Waheguru in Sikhism,[18] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[19]
The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,[20][21] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of Him."[22]
Contents [hide]
1Etymology and usage
2General conceptions
2.1Oneness
2.2Theism, deism and pantheism
2.3Other concepts
3Non-theistic views
3.1Agnosticism and atheism
3.2Anthropomorphism
4Existence
5Specific attributes
5.1Names
5.2Gender
5.3Relationship with creation
6Depiction
6.1Zoroastrianism
6.2Islam
6.3Judaism
6.4Christianity
7Theological approaches
8Distribution of belief
9See also
9.1In specific religions
10References
11Further reading
12External links
Etymology and usage
The Mesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite God Yahweh.
Main article: God (word)
The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[23]) comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[24] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.[25]
The word 'Allah' in Arabic calligraphy
In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[26][27] The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin possibly the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.[28]
Allāh (Arabic: الله) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[29][30][31] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.[32]
Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå, reflects Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh (female). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means "intelligence" or "wisdom". Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning "placing (dʰeh1) one's mind (*mn̩-s)", hence "wise".[33]
Waheguru (Punjabi: vāhigurū) is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God. It means "Wonderful Teacher" in the Punjabi language. Vāhi (a Middle Persian borrowing) means "wonderful" and guru (Sanskrit: guru) is a term denoting "teacher". Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all descriptions. The most common usage of the word "Waheguru" is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other:
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Wonderful Lord's Khalsa, Victory is to the Wonderful Lord.
Baha, the "greatest" name for God in the Baha'i faith, is Arabic for "All-Glorious".
General conceptions
Main article: Conceptions of God
There is no clear consensus on the nature or even the existence of God.[34] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.[citation needed]
Oneness
Main articles: Monotheism and Henotheism
The Trinity is the belief that God is composed of The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically in the physical realm by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.
Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism[35] and Sikhism.[36] In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity describes God as one God in three persons. The Trinity comprises The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.[37] Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhid (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Quran as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[38][39] Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.[41]
Theism, deism and pantheism
Main articles: Theism, Deism, and Pantheism
Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.[42] Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.[43] Not all theists subscribe to all of these propositions, but each usually subscribes to some of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).[42] Catholic theology holds that God is infinitely simple and is not involuntarily subject to time. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence. Open Theism, by contrast, asserts that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future. Theism is sometimes used to refer in general to any belief in a god or gods, i.e., monotheism or polytheism.[44][45]
"God blessing the seventh day", a watercolor painting depicting God, by William Blake (1757 – 1827)
Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.[43] In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and neither answers prayers nor produces miracles. Common in Deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity and may not even be aware of humanity. Pandeism and Panendeism, respectively, combine Deism with the Pantheistic or Panentheistic beliefs.[21][46][47] Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,[48] and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.[48][49]
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe.[50] It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church; Theosophy; some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism; Sikhism; some divisions of Neopaganism and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God—which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal Shem Tov—but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.[citation needed]
Other concepts
Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.[51]
In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.[52]
God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,[53] Augustine of Hippo,[53] and Al-Ghazali,[8] respectively.
Non-theistic views
See also: Evolutionary origin of religions and Evolutionary psychology of religion
Non-theist views about God also vary. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";[54] he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian god. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA). In this view, questions of the supernatural, such as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domain of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[55]
Another view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference."[56] Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[57]
Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.[58] Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Agnosticism and atheism
Agnosticism is the view that, the truth values of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God, the divine or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable.[60][61][62]
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, or a God.[63][64] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[65]
Anthropomorphism
Main article: Anthropomorphism
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.[66] Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[67] Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[68]
Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[69]
Existence
Main article: Existence of God
St. Thomas Aquinas summed up five main arguments as proofs for God's existence.
Isaac Newton saw the existence of a Creator necessary in the movement of astronomical objects.
Arguments about the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Different views include that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism[70]);"God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (de facto theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism).[55]
Countless arguments have been proposed to prove the existence of God.[71] Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and René Descartes.[72]
St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: "By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence." For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[73] His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.[74]
Scientist Isaac Newton saw God as the masterful creator whose existence could not be denied in the face of the grandeur of all creation.[75] Nevertheless, he rejected polymath Leibniz' thesis that God would necessarily make a perfect world which requires no intervention from the creator. In Query 31 of the Opticks, Newton simultaneously made an argument from design and for the necessity of intervention:
For while comets move in very eccentric orbs in all manner of positions, blind fate could never make all the planets move one and the same way in orbs concentric, some inconsiderable irregularities excepted which may have arisen from the mutual actions of comets and planets on one another, and which will be apt to increase, till this system wants a reformation.[76]
St. Thomas believed that the existence of God is self-evident in itself, but not to us. "Therefore I say that this proposition, "God exists", of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the subject.... Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature—namely, by effects."[77] St. Thomas believed that the existence of God can be demonstrated. Briefly in the Summa theologiae and more extensively in the Summa contra Gentiles, he considered in great detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways).
For the original text of the five proofs, see quinque viae
Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion. Since there can be no infinite chain of causes of motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is what everyone understands by God.
Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.
Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing. Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily, having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other things to exist.
Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative that is the truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God (Note: Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself).
Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God (Note that even when we guide objects, in Thomas's view, the source of all our knowledge comes from God as well).[78]
Alister McGrath, a formerly atheistic scientist and theologian who has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins' version of atheism
Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.[79][80] Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.[81]
Some findings in the fields of cosmology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience are interpreted by some atheists (including Lawrence M. Krauss and Sam Harris) as evidence that God is an imaginary entity only, with no basis in reality.[82][83][84] These atheists claim that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined, embellished and promulgated in a trans-generational manner.[85] Richard Dawkins interprets such findings not only as a lack of evidence for the material existence of such a God, but as extensive evidence to the contrary.[55] However, his views are opposed by some theologians and scientists including Alister McGrath, who argues that existence of God is compatible with science.[86]
Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Specific attributes
Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.
Names
Main article: Names of God
99 names of Allah, in Chinese Sini (script)
The word God is "one of the most complex and difficult in the English language." In the Judeo-Christian tradition, "the Bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of God". That the Bible "includes many different images, concepts, and ways of thinking about" God has resulted in perpetual "disagreements about how God is to be conceived and understood".[87]
Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning "God Almighty".[88] A third notable name is El Elyon, which means "The Most High God".[89]
God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[90]
Supreme soul
The Brahma Kumaris use the term "Supreme Soul" to refer to God. They see God as incorporeal and eternal, and regard him as a point of living light like human souls, but without a physical body, as he does not enter the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. God is seen as the perfect and constant embodiment of all virtues, powers and values and that He is the unconditionally loving Father of all souls, irrespective of their religion, gender, or culture.[91]
Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has list of titles and names of Krishna.
Gender
Main article: Gender of God
The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[92][93] Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[6]
Biblical sources usually refer to God using male words, except Genesis 1:26-27,[94][95] Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10 (female); Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2 (a mother); Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (a mother eagle); and Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 (a mother hen).
Relationship with creation
See also: Creator deity, Prayer, and Worship
And Elohim Created Adam by William Blake, c.1795
Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[96][97] He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[98] Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[99]
Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.
Jews and Christians believe that humans are created in the likeness of God, and are the center, crown and key to God's creation, stewards for God, supreme over everything else God had made (Gen 1:26); for this reason, humans are in Christianity called the "Children of God".[100]
Depiction
God is defined as incorporeal,[3] and invisible from direct sight, and thus cannot be portrayed in a literal visual image.
The respective principles of religions may or may not permit them to use images (which are entirely symbolic) to represent God in art or in worship .
Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazda (depiction is on the right, with high crown) presents Ardashir I (left) with the ring of kingship. (Relief at Naqsh-e Rustam, 3rd century CE)
During the early Parthian Empire, Ahura Mazda was visually represented for worship. This practice ended during the beginning of the Sassanid empire. Zoroastrian iconoclasm, which can be traced to the end of the Parthian period and the beginning of the Sassanid, eventually put an end to the use of all images of Ahura Mazda in worship. However, Ahura Mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure, standing or on horseback which is found in Sassanian investiture.[101]
Islam
Further information: God in Islam
Muslims believe that God (Allah) is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of His creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Judaism
At least some Jews do not use any image for God, since God is the unimageable Being who cannot be represented in material forms.[102] In some samples of Jewish Art, however, sometimes God, or at least His Intervention, is indicated by a Hand Of God symbol, which represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or Voice of God;[103] this use of the Hand Of God is carried over to Christian Art.
Christianity
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Early Christians believed that the words of the Gospel of John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time" and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts at the depiction of God.[104]
Use of the symbolic Hand of God in the Ascension from the Drogo Sacramentary, c. 850
However, later on the Hand of God symbol is found several times in the only ancient synagogue with a large surviving decorative scheme, the Dura Europos Synagogue of the mid-3rd century, and was probably adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art. It was common in Late Antique art in both East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in the West until about the end of the Romanesque period. It also represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or voice of God,[103] just like in Jewish Art.
In situations, such as the Baptism of Christ, where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used, with increasing freedom from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque. This motif now, since the discovery of the 3rd century Dura Europos synagogue, seems to have been borrowed from Jewish art, and is found in Christian art almost from its beginnings.
The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world.[105] However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures.[106]
The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the period of Byzantine iconoclasm (literally image-breaking) started. Emperor Leo III (717–741), suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to a military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons.[107] The edict (which was issued without consulting the Church) forbade the veneration of religious images but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross.[108] Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later.
The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.[109] However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as Saint John of Damascus, drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.
In his treatise On the Divine Images John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".[110] The implication here is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible, images and portrait icons can not be depicted. So what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote:[111]
"If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body:invisible, uncircumscribed and without form."
Around 790 Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini (i.e. "Charles' books") to refute what his court mistakenly understood to be the iconoclast decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of the Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church, images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church) reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book:[112]
We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.
But images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.[113] However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.
Prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolize God the Father in Western art.[104] Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century AD. A rationale for the use of a human is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of His own (thus allowing Human to transcend the other animals).
It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[114]
By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua.[115] In the 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush. By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden, which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti, begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram, continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ.
In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini, (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days.[116]
. ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)
Usage of two Hands of God"(relatively unusual) and the Holy Spirit as a dove in Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio, 1472
In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472.[117]
God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing, with a triangular halo representing the Trinity, Girolamo dai Libri c. 1555
In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown, specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian Pietà, God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion.[118]
Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had the effect both of reducing Church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Western Church, the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them was paid to the person, not the image.[119]
Artistic depictions of God the Father were uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common depictions of the Trinity were condemned. In 1745 Pope Benedict XIV explicitly supported the Throne of Mercy depiction, referring to the "Ancient of Days", but in 1786 it was still necessary for Pope Pius VI to issue a papal bull condemning the decision of an Italian church council to remove all images of the Trinity from churches.[120]
The famous The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, c.1512
God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, most famously The Creation of Adam (whose image of near touching hands of God and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God (Gen 1:26)).God the Father is depicted as a powerful figure, floating in the clouds in Titian's Assumption of the Virgin in the Frari of Venice, long admired as a masterpiece of High Renaissance art.[121] The Church of the Gesù in Rome includes a number of 16th century depictions of God the Father. In some of these paintings the Trinity is still alluded to in terms of three angels, but Giovanni Battista Fiammeri also depicted God the Father as a man riding on a cloud, above the scenes.[122]
In both the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin paintings by Rubens he depicted God the Father using the image that by then had become widely accepted, a bearded patriarchal figure above the fray. In the 17th century, the two Spanish artists Velázquez (whose father-in-law Francisco Pacheco was in charge of the approval of new images for the Inquisition) and Murillo both depicted God the Father using a patriarchal figure with a white beard in a purple robe.
The Ancient of Days (1794) Watercolor etching by William Blake
While representations of God the Father were growing in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Low Countries, there was resistance elsewhere in Europe, even during the 17th century. In 1632 most members of the Star Chamber court in England (except the Archbishop of York) condemned the use of the images of the Trinity in church windows, and some considered them illegal.[123] Later in the 17th century Sir Thomas Browne wrote that he considered the representation of God the Father using an old man "a dangerous act" that might lead to Egyptian symbolism.[124] In 1847, Charles Winston was still critical of such images as a "Romish trend" (a term used to refer to Roman Catholics) that he considered best avoided in England.[125]
In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the Great Moscow Council specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[126][127] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as Logos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox countries.
Theological approaches
Theologians and philosophers have attributed to God such characteristics as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. God has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable being existent.[3] These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including Maimonides,[53] St Augustine,[53] and Al-Ghazali.[128]
Many philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,[8] while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[129]
However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfectly infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.
The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, as does Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic", or to take, as does Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.[130] Some theists agree that only some of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but argue that faith is not a product of reason, but requires risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position summed up by Pascal as "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know."[131] A recent theory using concepts from physics and neurophysiology proposes that God can be conceptualized within the theory of integrative level.[132]
Many religious believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings such as angels, saints, jinn, demons, and devas.[133][134][135][136][137]
Distribution of belief
This is a photograph from the finish of the 6th annual Kinnegad 5KM Road Race and Fun Run 2015 which was held in the town of Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath, Ireland on Wednesday 8th July 2015 at 20:00. This race has firmly estbalished itself on the local race calender and yet again the race got wonderful support from local clubs and runners. The race is flat and fast and takes runners on traffic free route which includes 3KM on the local road 'Boreen Bradach'. The finish is on the famous main street of Kinnegad in front of Harry's Hotel. Over 200 people took part and the results by Premier Timing Systems are available here [www.premiertimingsystems.ie/]. Our full set of photographs from tonight's race is available here www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157653300652864
The race is organised by Coralstown Kinnegad GAA Club with proceeds from the race going towards the development of the club.
USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?
Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.
BUT..... Wait there a minute....
We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.
This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?
You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.
I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?
If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.
I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs
We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?
The explaination is very simple.
Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.
ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.
Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent (perfectly good), and all loving.
God is most often held to be non-corporeal,[3] and to be without any human biological sex,[4][5] yet the concept of God actively creating the universe (as opposed to passively)[6] has caused many religions to describe God using masculine terminology, using such terms as "Him" or "Father". Furthermore, some religions (such as Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[7]
In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[8]
There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[9] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.[10] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה, which means: "I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God, while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.[11][12][13][14][15] In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El", or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[16] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[17] Waheguru in Sikhism,[18] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[19]
The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,[20][21] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of Him."[22]
Contents [hide]
1Etymology and usage
2General conceptions
2.1Oneness
2.2Theism, deism and pantheism
2.3Other concepts
3Non-theistic views
3.1Agnosticism and atheism
3.2Anthropomorphism
4Existence
5Specific attributes
5.1Names
5.2Gender
5.3Relationship with creation
6Depiction
6.1Zoroastrianism
6.2Islam
6.3Judaism
6.4Christianity
7Theological approaches
8Distribution of belief
9See also
9.1In specific religions
10References
11Further reading
12External links
Etymology and usage
The Mesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite God Yahweh.
Main article: God (word)
The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[23]) comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[24] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.[25]
The word 'Allah' in Arabic calligraphy
In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[26][27] The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin possibly the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.[28]
Allāh (Arabic: الله) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[29][30][31] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.[32]
Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå, reflects Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh (female). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means "intelligence" or "wisdom". Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning "placing (dʰeh1) one's mind (*mn̩-s)", hence "wise".[33]
Waheguru (Punjabi: vāhigurū) is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God. It means "Wonderful Teacher" in the Punjabi language. Vāhi (a Middle Persian borrowing) means "wonderful" and guru (Sanskrit: guru) is a term denoting "teacher". Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all descriptions. The most common usage of the word "Waheguru" is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other:
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Wonderful Lord's Khalsa, Victory is to the Wonderful Lord.
Baha, the "greatest" name for God in the Baha'i faith, is Arabic for "All-Glorious".
General conceptions
Main article: Conceptions of God
There is no clear consensus on the nature or even the existence of God.[34] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.[citation needed]
Oneness
Main articles: Monotheism and Henotheism
The Trinity is the belief that God is composed of The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically in the physical realm by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.
Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism[35] and Sikhism.[36] In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity describes God as one God in three persons. The Trinity comprises The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.[37] Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhid (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Quran as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[38][39] Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.[41]
Theism, deism and pantheism
Main articles: Theism, Deism, and Pantheism
Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.[42] Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.[43] Not all theists subscribe to all of these propositions, but each usually subscribes to some of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).[42] Catholic theology holds that God is infinitely simple and is not involuntarily subject to time. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence. Open Theism, by contrast, asserts that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future. Theism is sometimes used to refer in general to any belief in a god or gods, i.e., monotheism or polytheism.[44][45]
"God blessing the seventh day", a watercolor painting depicting God, by William Blake (1757 – 1827)
Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.[43] In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and neither answers prayers nor produces miracles. Common in Deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity and may not even be aware of humanity. Pandeism and Panendeism, respectively, combine Deism with the Pantheistic or Panentheistic beliefs.[21][46][47] Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,[48] and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.[48][49]
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe.[50] It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church; Theosophy; some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism; Sikhism; some divisions of Neopaganism and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God—which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal Shem Tov—but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.[citation needed]
Other concepts
Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.[51]
In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.[52]
God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,[53] Augustine of Hippo,[53] and Al-Ghazali,[8] respectively.
Non-theistic views
See also: Evolutionary origin of religions and Evolutionary psychology of religion
Non-theist views about God also vary. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";[54] he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian god. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA). In this view, questions of the supernatural, such as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domain of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[55]
Another view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference."[56] Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[57]
Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.[58] Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Agnosticism and atheism
Agnosticism is the view that, the truth values of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God, the divine or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable.[60][61][62]
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, or a God.[63][64] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[65]
Anthropomorphism
Main article: Anthropomorphism
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.[66] Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[67] Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[68]
Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[69]
Existence
Main article: Existence of God
St. Thomas Aquinas summed up five main arguments as proofs for God's existence.
Isaac Newton saw the existence of a Creator necessary in the movement of astronomical objects.
Arguments about the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Different views include that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism[70]);"God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (de facto theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism).[55]
Countless arguments have been proposed to prove the existence of God.[71] Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and René Descartes.[72]
St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: "By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence." For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[73] His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.[74]
Scientist Isaac Newton saw God as the masterful creator whose existence could not be denied in the face of the grandeur of all creation.[75] Nevertheless, he rejected polymath Leibniz' thesis that God would necessarily make a perfect world which requires no intervention from the creator. In Query 31 of the Opticks, Newton simultaneously made an argument from design and for the necessity of intervention:
For while comets move in very eccentric orbs in all manner of positions, blind fate could never make all the planets move one and the same way in orbs concentric, some inconsiderable irregularities excepted which may have arisen from the mutual actions of comets and planets on one another, and which will be apt to increase, till this system wants a reformation.[76]
St. Thomas believed that the existence of God is self-evident in itself, but not to us. "Therefore I say that this proposition, "God exists", of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the subject.... Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature—namely, by effects."[77] St. Thomas believed that the existence of God can be demonstrated. Briefly in the Summa theologiae and more extensively in the Summa contra Gentiles, he considered in great detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways).
For the original text of the five proofs, see quinque viae
Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion. Since there can be no infinite chain of causes of motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is what everyone understands by God.
Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.
Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing. Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily, having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other things to exist.
Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative that is the truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God (Note: Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself).
Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God (Note that even when we guide objects, in Thomas's view, the source of all our knowledge comes from God as well).[78]
Alister McGrath, a formerly atheistic scientist and theologian who has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins' version of atheism
Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.[79][80] Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.[81]
Some findings in the fields of cosmology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience are interpreted by some atheists (including Lawrence M. Krauss and Sam Harris) as evidence that God is an imaginary entity only, with no basis in reality.[82][83][84] These atheists claim that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined, embellished and promulgated in a trans-generational manner.[85] Richard Dawkins interprets such findings not only as a lack of evidence for the material existence of such a God, but as extensive evidence to the contrary.[55] However, his views are opposed by some theologians and scientists including Alister McGrath, who argues that existence of God is compatible with science.[86]
Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Specific attributes
Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.
Names
Main article: Names of God
99 names of Allah, in Chinese Sini (script)
The word God is "one of the most complex and difficult in the English language." In the Judeo-Christian tradition, "the Bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of God". That the Bible "includes many different images, concepts, and ways of thinking about" God has resulted in perpetual "disagreements about how God is to be conceived and understood".[87]
Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning "God Almighty".[88] A third notable name is El Elyon, which means "The Most High God".[89]
God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[90]
Supreme soul
The Brahma Kumaris use the term "Supreme Soul" to refer to God. They see God as incorporeal and eternal, and regard him as a point of living light like human souls, but without a physical body, as he does not enter the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. God is seen as the perfect and constant embodiment of all virtues, powers and values and that He is the unconditionally loving Father of all souls, irrespective of their religion, gender, or culture.[91]
Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has list of titles and names of Krishna.
Gender
Main article: Gender of God
The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[92][93] Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[6]
Biblical sources usually refer to God using male words, except Genesis 1:26-27,[94][95] Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10 (female); Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2 (a mother); Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (a mother eagle); and Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 (a mother hen).
Relationship with creation
See also: Creator deity, Prayer, and Worship
And Elohim Created Adam by William Blake, c.1795
Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[96][97] He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[98] Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[99]
Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.
Jews and Christians believe that humans are created in the likeness of God, and are the center, crown and key to God's creation, stewards for God, supreme over everything else God had made (Gen 1:26); for this reason, humans are in Christianity called the "Children of God".[100]
Depiction
God is defined as incorporeal,[3] and invisible from direct sight, and thus cannot be portrayed in a literal visual image.
The respective principles of religions may or may not permit them to use images (which are entirely symbolic) to represent God in art or in worship .
Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazda (depiction is on the right, with high crown) presents Ardashir I (left) with the ring of kingship. (Relief at Naqsh-e Rustam, 3rd century CE)
During the early Parthian Empire, Ahura Mazda was visually represented for worship. This practice ended during the beginning of the Sassanid empire. Zoroastrian iconoclasm, which can be traced to the end of the Parthian period and the beginning of the Sassanid, eventually put an end to the use of all images of Ahura Mazda in worship. However, Ahura Mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure, standing or on horseback which is found in Sassanian investiture.[101]
Islam
Further information: God in Islam
Muslims believe that God (Allah) is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of His creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Judaism
At least some Jews do not use any image for God, since God is the unimageable Being who cannot be represented in material forms.[102] In some samples of Jewish Art, however, sometimes God, or at least His Intervention, is indicated by a Hand Of God symbol, which represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or Voice of God;[103] this use of the Hand Of God is carried over to Christian Art.
Christianity
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Early Christians believed that the words of the Gospel of John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time" and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts at the depiction of God.[104]
Use of the symbolic Hand of God in the Ascension from the Drogo Sacramentary, c. 850
However, later on the Hand of God symbol is found several times in the only ancient synagogue with a large surviving decorative scheme, the Dura Europos Synagogue of the mid-3rd century, and was probably adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art. It was common in Late Antique art in both East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in the West until about the end of the Romanesque period. It also represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or voice of God,[103] just like in Jewish Art.
In situations, such as the Baptism of Christ, where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used, with increasing freedom from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque. This motif now, since the discovery of the 3rd century Dura Europos synagogue, seems to have been borrowed from Jewish art, and is found in Christian art almost from its beginnings.
The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world.[105] However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures.[106]
The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the period of Byzantine iconoclasm (literally image-breaking) started. Emperor Leo III (717–741), suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to a military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons.[107] The edict (which was issued without consulting the Church) forbade the veneration of religious images but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross.[108] Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later.
The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.[109] However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as Saint John of Damascus, drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.
In his treatise On the Divine Images John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".[110] The implication here is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible, images and portrait icons can not be depicted. So what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote:[111]
"If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body:invisible, uncircumscribed and without form."
Around 790 Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini (i.e. "Charles' books") to refute what his court mistakenly understood to be the iconoclast decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of the Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church, images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church) reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book:[112]
We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.
But images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.[113] However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.
Prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolize God the Father in Western art.[104] Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century AD. A rationale for the use of a human is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of His own (thus allowing Human to transcend the other animals).
It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[114]
By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua.[115] In the 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush. By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden, which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti, begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram, continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ.
In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini, (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days.[116]
. ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)
Usage of two Hands of God"(relatively unusual) and the Holy Spirit as a dove in Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio, 1472
In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472.[117]
God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing, with a triangular halo representing the Trinity, Girolamo dai Libri c. 1555
In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown, specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian Pietà, God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion.[118]
Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had the effect both of reducing Church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Western Church, the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them was paid to the person, not the image.[119]
Artistic depictions of God the Father were uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common depictions of the Trinity were condemned. In 1745 Pope Benedict XIV explicitly supported the Throne of Mercy depiction, referring to the "Ancient of Days", but in 1786 it was still necessary for Pope Pius VI to issue a papal bull condemning the decision of an Italian church council to remove all images of the Trinity from churches.[120]
The famous The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, c.1512
God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, most famously The Creation of Adam (whose image of near touching hands of God and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God (Gen 1:26)).God the Father is depicted as a powerful figure, floating in the clouds in Titian's Assumption of the Virgin in the Frari of Venice, long admired as a masterpiece of High Renaissance art.[121] The Church of the Gesù in Rome includes a number of 16th century depictions of God the Father. In some of these paintings the Trinity is still alluded to in terms of three angels, but Giovanni Battista Fiammeri also depicted God the Father as a man riding on a cloud, above the scenes.[122]
In both the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin paintings by Rubens he depicted God the Father using the image that by then had become widely accepted, a bearded patriarchal figure above the fray. In the 17th century, the two Spanish artists Velázquez (whose father-in-law Francisco Pacheco was in charge of the approval of new images for the Inquisition) and Murillo both depicted God the Father using a patriarchal figure with a white beard in a purple robe.
The Ancient of Days (1794) Watercolor etching by William Blake
While representations of God the Father were growing in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Low Countries, there was resistance elsewhere in Europe, even during the 17th century. In 1632 most members of the Star Chamber court in England (except the Archbishop of York) condemned the use of the images of the Trinity in church windows, and some considered them illegal.[123] Later in the 17th century Sir Thomas Browne wrote that he considered the representation of God the Father using an old man "a dangerous act" that might lead to Egyptian symbolism.[124] In 1847, Charles Winston was still critical of such images as a "Romish trend" (a term used to refer to Roman Catholics) that he considered best avoided in England.[125]
In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the Great Moscow Council specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[126][127] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as Logos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox countries.
Theological approaches
Theologians and philosophers have attributed to God such characteristics as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. God has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable being existent.[3] These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including Maimonides,[53] St Augustine,[53] and Al-Ghazali.[128]
Many philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,[8] while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[129]
However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfectly infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.
The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, as does Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic", or to take, as does Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.[130] Some theists agree that only some of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but argue that faith is not a product of reason, but requires risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position summed up by Pascal as "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know."[131] A recent theory using concepts from physics and neurophysiology proposes that God can be conceptualized within the theory of integrative level.[132]
Many religious believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings such as angels, saints, jinn, demons, and devas.[133][134][135][136][137]
Young people involved with Include Youth's Give and Take Scheme in the Southern area got together for a little event celebrating their big achievements on Thursday November 15 2012, at One Eighty on the hill, Armagh.
Our Essential Employability Programme delivering essential and employability skills to young people on our Give & Take Scheme is funded through Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out Empowering Young People programme.
For more information about Include Youth's Give and Take Scheme visit: includeyouth.org/index.php?/giveandtake
You are free to use this image as long as you fave or comment AND include a credit via a clickable link to:
Thank you.
Valencia handles traffic of practically all types of goods from every sector of the economy. The main customers of the Port of Valencia include; the furniture and timber industries, textiles, footwear, agriculture and foodstuffs (grain and fodder, wine and beverages, tinned food, fruit, etc.), fuel products (diesel fuel, petrol, coal, etc.), chemical and motor vehicles (Ford, Fiat, Land Rover, Jaguar, etc.), the construction industry (cement and clinker, ceramic tiles, marble, etc.), machinery, etc. It also has regular passenger traffic to and from the Balearic Islands and Italy. In recent years the Port of Valencia has experienced a continued and solid growth in Mediterranean cruise traffic. Please see www.valenciaport.com/en/community/valencia/the-port/. It is the fifth busiest seaport in Europe and the busiest port in the Mediterranean. Size: 600 ha (6 sq km).
Annual cargo tonnage: 81 million tonnes (2019).
Available berths: 40
Employees: 15,000 people. Please see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Valencia.
This photo was taken on P&O Cruises - MV Britannia - IMO: 9614036, on 09/09/2022, when departing from Valencia. After a day at sea, the next port of call was La Seyne-sur-Mer(Toulon), France, on 11/09/2022. The cruise ship in the distance, and also awaiting departure, is Royal Caribbean International - Vision of the Seas - IMO: 9116876. She was built and completed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire, France, being laid down on 29/10/1996, launched on 01/09/1997 and completed on 15/04/1998. Her maiden voyage was 02/05/1998. This Vision class cruise ship has a GTW78,340. She has eleven decks with a capacity for 2,050 passengers(double occupancy), 2,514 passengers(maximum) and 765 crew. From 2002, she is registered in Nassau, Bahamas, however from 1998 until then she was registered in Monrovia, Liberia. Valencia was not the easiest of ports to get photos of other ships with it being so spread out.
MV Britannia was completed on 26/02/2015 by Fincantieri, Monfalcone, Italy. She was laid down on 15/05/2013, launched on 14/02/2014 and Christened by the late HRH Queen Elizabeth II, on 10/03/2015 with her maiden voyage on the 14/03/2015. She is from the Royal Class of cruise ships and is British registered in Southampton. She has a GTW of 143,730, has seventeen decks of which fourteen are passenger accessible giving a maximum passenger capacity of 3,647 and 1,398 crew. She is powered by Wärtsilä 12V46F x 2 & Wärtsilä 14V46F x 2 & propulsion electric motors - 2 x VEM Sachsenwerk GMBH and is capable of 21.9 knots and a cruising speed of around 19 knots.
MV Britannia had departed from Ocean Cruise Terminal, Southampton, on 04/09/2022 for a lovely 14-night Mediterranean Cruise; Southampton - A Coruña, Spain - Valencia, Spain - La Seyne-sur-Mer(Toulon), France - Barcelona, Spain - Cadiz, Spain - Southampton. She had latterly departed from A Coruña, on 06/09/2022. © Peter Steel 2022.
If your strengths include caring for others, building strong relationships and working as an effective member of a diverse team, you may be attracted to a career in an Allied Health field. Allied Health professionals apply their expertise to prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate, through delivering direct patient care, rehabilitation, treatment, diagnostics and health improvement interventions. If you are a healthcare or Allied Health professional or ready to graduate from a health related degree, there are some great reasons for wanting to work in the Public Sector. Job security, access to professional development and opportunities for career progression are a few of the reasons why health professionals are attracted to working in the Public Service.
Unfortunately, these attractions can mean that there is plenty of competition for advertised vacancies which will mean that you will need to ensure that your application stands out from dozens, if not hundreds, of other applicants. Given that many healthcare or Allied Health positions will require the same basic qualifications such as a three year or four year degree in your specialty, your application will need to highlight your particular skills, experience, characteristics or aptitudes in such a way that you are chosen to progress to the interview stage of the recruitment process. A well-prepared and professionally written application can help you put yourself in front of an interview panel thus giving you the opportunity to shine.
A good resume for a healthcare or Allied Health professional will be more than just a statement of your work history. A well-written resume should highlight to an employer the relevant experience and skills that you will bring to their organisation. The ‘right’ content will depend on your particular work history within the healthcare industry and the kind of role that you are targeting. How far back should your work history go? Should you include non-health related jobs? A professional resume writer will be able to advise you on the ideal layout for your resume to present your experience and skills in the best possible light.
Includes, Leeks, Onions, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Carrots, Red Cabbage, Onions, Garlic, Tomatoes, Potatoes, and Barley. Yum!
Italien / Lombardei - Lago di Como
Villa Carlotta
Villa Carlotta is a villa and botanical garden in Tremezzo on Lake Como in Northern Italy. Today the villa is a museum, whose collection includes works by sculptors such as Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Giovanni Migliara; painters such as Francesco Hayez; and furniture pieces of previous owners. The villa, whose architect is unknown, was completed in 1745.
History
Clerici family
The Clerici family rose from rural origins in the northern region of Lake Como to become successful silk merchants due to the efforts of Giorgio (1575-1660) and his sons Pietro Antonio (1599-1675), who was made a Marquis, and Carlo (1615-1677) who became the owner of numerous palaces in Milan and Brianza.
Carlo's son, the Milanese marquis Giorgio Clerici, became a senator in 1684 and was nominated in 1717 to be President of the Senate. In 1690, he decided to establish a country estate on ancestral lakeside land at Tremezzo. The estate was complete in its initial form by 1695, and the garden was first mentioned in 1699.
Upon the death of Giorgio Clerici, his great-grandson Anton Giorgio Clerici (1715-1768) inherited the family fortune, and completed the villa in 1745. He died after having dissipated nearly all of his fortune building the Palazzo Clerici in Milan, forcing his heirs to sell their Lake Como property.
Sommariva
In 1801, Anton Giorgio's only daughter, Claudia Caterina Clerici (the wife of Count Vitaliano Bigli), sold the property to Giovanni Battista Sommariva, a banker and politician who had risen from barber's apprentice to a position of power in Napoleon Bonaparte's government in Northern Italy. In 1802, he was a candidate for vice president of the Republic of Italy, but Napoleon selected Francesco Melzi d'Eril for the post instead. With his political career thwarted, Sommariva retired from public life and devoted his time to collecting art.
Sommariva modified the villa to bring it in line with early 19th-century taste, adding balconies to take in the lake view and installing a large clock on the facade, He commissioned works from artists, including the sculptors Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorwaldsen, and the painter Francesco Fidanza, whose works feature in the villa today. He built a domed family chapel and a mausoleum near the lake shore, and transformed part of the park into a romantic garden in the English style. For a time the house was known as Villa Sommariva.
Because Sommariva's eldest son, Emilio, had died fighting in Spain in 1811, Sommariva's fortune was left to his second son, Luigi. After Luigi's death in 1838, the fortune (by then much diminished) was divided between his wife, Emilia Sommariva (a French noblewoman née Seillère) and numerous relatives.
Sachsen Meiningen
In 1843, Princess Marianna, the wife of Prince Albert of Prussia, bought the property for 780,000 lira, ten times the amount paid by Giovanni Sommariva forty years earlier. Emilia Sommariva relocated to a smaller house in Tremezzo, while reserving for herself ownership of the Sommariva family chapel and mausoleum on the grounds of the villa.
In 1847, Princess Marianne gave the property to her daughter Charlotte as a wedding present upon her marriage to Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1826-1914). The house was renamed Villa Carlotta, however, Charlotte enjoyed the villa for only a few years before she died in 1855 at the age of twenty-three of complications from childbirth.
In 1857, the author Ludwig Bechstein wrote a description of the villa which was published as Villa Carlotta. Poetische Reisebilder vom Comersee und aus den lombardisch-venetianischen Landen.
The Sachsen-Meiningens used the property as a private holiday home. While they didn't make substantial changes to the building, they sold part of the art collection that came with the property. Duke Georg, who had a passion for botany, dedicated himself to the development and enrichment of the garden, introducing a great variety of rare and exotic species. The Duke was a patron of the composer Johannes Brahms, who visited the villa at the Duke's invitation several times in the 1880s. Duke Georg died in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I.
Public ownership
After Italy entered World War I in May 1915 on the side of the Allies, the Italian state declined to confiscate the villa, as it had other properties of enemy aliens in Italy, but rather placed it, on 15 August 1915, under the management of an administrator. During the war, the interest of the owners was exercised by the Swiss Consulate.
In 1921, the financial administrator of Como Province informed the owners that the entire property was now the property of the Italian state arguing that the villa was of eminent national significance. It was proposed in 1922 that the villa would be sold at auction. However local enthusiasts led by Senator Giuseppe Bianchini and the Rotary Club of Milan opposed this, which led to the villa being entrusted to the care of the Ente Villa Carlotta, a charitable foundation constituted by royal decree on 12 May 1927. This foundation is still responsible for the villa.
Description
The villa and surrounding grounds are located on the lakeshore at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden with steps, fountains and sculptures was laid out at the same time.
The villa
The villa is located at the top of a terraced garden, from which there are views of Bellagio and also the mountains surrounding the lake. It consists of three floors (two of which are open to the public). The works of art on display are mainly located on the lower floor, while the upper one, which has an elegant gallery, provides views over the lake.
Among the sculptures on display in the villa are:
Eros and Psyche by Adamo Tadolini. This is a marble copy taken from the original model used by Antonio Canova for the sculpture commissioned by Prince Nikolay Yusupov (and today at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg). This copy arrived at the villa in 1834.
Mars and Venus by Luigi Acquisti. Dating from 1805 this is considered to be his masterpiece.
The original plaster model of The Muse Terpsichore by Antonio Canova. The sculpture was commissioned by Sommariva in 1811.
Palamedes by Antonio Canova. Sommariva commissioned this sculpture from Canova, but in 1805, when it was still in Canova's atelier in Rome, the Tevere River flooded the workshop and broke it into several pieces. Canova personally restored it, between 1806 and 1808. The sculpture arrived at the villa in 1819.
Repentant Magdalene. This is a copy produced by Canova's school of the original sculpture by Canova. Sommariva was also the owner of the original work.
The Entrance of Alexander the Great in Babylonia by Bertel Thorvaldsen. This work was originally designed in stucco for the Quirinale Palace in Rome to mark the occasion of Napoleon's visit. Completed in June 1812, it was so admired that Napoleon ordered a marble replica for the Pantheon in Paris. Napoleon's fall from power caused work to stop until in 1818 Sommariva decided to have it completed. The 33 marble slabs of the frieze arrived in the villa between 1818 and 1828. The last two characters at the end of the frieze are a self-portrait of Thorvaldsen and a portrait of Sommariva.
As well as paintings by Andrea Appiani and Giovanni Migliara there are also:
The Last Adieu of Romeo and Juliet by Francesco Hayez. This painting was commissioned by Sommariva in 1823.
The Reading of the VIth Book of the Aeneid by Jean-Baptiste Wicar. This large oil painting was commissioned by Sommariva in 1818. Before arriving at the villa it was exhibited with great success in Milan in 1821.
In addition, the villa is home to a collection of more than 470 plaster cameos created by the Roman artist Giovanni Liberotti and a large silk and wool tapestry by François Van der Borght.
The garden
The botanical garden covers an area of about 8 ha (20 acres)and consists of several different sections. Immediately around the villa, towards the lake, the Italian garden with cut hedges and pergolas with orange and camellia trees. The rhododendron and 150 varieties of azalea spread up the slope. The property is also home to cedars, palms, redwoods, plane trees and other exotic plants. there is also a bamboo garden, covering 3000 m2 which is home to over 25 different bamboo species. A greenhouse which had been used in the past to house citrus fruits during winter has been converted into a museum of old farm tools.
(Wikipedia)
Die Villa Carlotta ist eine Sommerresidenz aus dem 18. Jahrhundert in Tremezzo am Comer See, Lombardei, Italien. Sie dient heute als Museum und ist von einer großzügigen und mehrfach gegliederten Parkanlage umgeben. Sie war seit 1850 im Besitz des Fürstenhauses Sachsen-Meiningen, bis der italienische Staat sie nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg konfiszierte.
Geschichte
1690 wurde unter dem Mailänder Bankier Giorgio II. Clerici mit dem Bau der Villa begonnen. Unter seinem Sohn Antonio Giorgio Clerici wurde sie vollendet. Als dieser 1768 verstarb, erbte die Enkelin Claudia Clerici die Villa. 1801 verkaufte sie die Villa an Gian Battista Sommariva, der in der Cisalpinischen Republik (1797–1802) eine politische Karriere anstrebte. Als jedoch Napoleon Francesco Melzi d´Eril gegenüber ihm den Vorzug gab, endeten seine politischen Ambitionen und er widmete sich verstärkt dem Ausbau des Gartens und der Erweiterung der Kunstsammlung. Er starb 1826 und bereits 1838 auch sein Sohn Luigi. Das Erbe wurde zwischen seiner Frau Emilia Seillière und zahlreichen Verwandten aufgeteilt, die Villa musste verkauft werden. 1843 erwarb sie Marianne von Oranien-Nassau (1810–1883), Prinzessin der Niederlande und von 1830 bis 1849 mit Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (1809–1872) verheiratet. Diese vermachte das Anwesen 1850 ihrer Tochter Prinzessin Charlotte von Preußen als Geschenk zur Hochzeit mit Georg II. von Sachsen-Meiningen. Die Villa blieb im Besitz der Linie Sachsen-Meiningen bis zum Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges. Am 15. August 1915 wurde sie unter italienische Staatsaufsicht gestellt. Schon während des Krieges musste der Intendant Max Wundel als deutscher Staatsbürger die Villa verlassen. Die Interessen der Eigentümer wurden vom Schweizerischen Konsulat wahrgenommen.
Um die Rückgabe der konfiszierten Villa entbrannte ein zwölfjähriger Kampf. 1921 teilte der Finanzverwalter der Provinz Como dem Verwalter des Eigentümers mit, der gesamte Besitz sei in das Eigentum des italienischen Staates übergegangen.[2] Der Wert der Villa wurde in der „Schadensdarstellung Seiner Hoheit...“ mit 8.762.500 Mark angegeben. 1927 erfolgte der endgültige Entscheid des italienischen Staates, dass die Villa aufgrund ihres hohen nationalen Wertes in italienischen Staatsbesitz überführt werde. Nach der Konfiszierung wurde die Ente Autonomo Villa Carlotta gegründet, der sich um die Erhaltung und Pflege der Villa und des Gartens kümmert.
Villa
Die Villa, die von der Familie Clerici im klassischen Stil des 18. Jahrhunderts errichtet worden war, wurde im Directoire-Stil unter Graf Sommariva erneuert. Er ließ das Dachgesims mit einer Balustrade und Vasen versehen sowie den Risalit mit einer Uhr über der Loggia krönen. Die Villa steht auf der obersten von fünf Terrassen, die in den Hang angelegt wurden. Vom Seeufer führt eine doppelläufige Treppe mit dekorativen Balustraden über die Terrassen zur Villa.
Das Innere der Villa ist heute ein Museum. Die Sammlung zeigt, neben Möbelstücken aus der Zeit der verschiedenen Besitzer, Werke von Canova, Thorvaldsen, Migliara und Hayez.
Garten
Die gesamte Parkanlage nimmt eine Fläche von ca. 8 ha ein und besteht aus unterschiedlichen Abschnitten. Unmittelbar um die Villa, zum Seeufer hin, liegt der italienische Garten mit geschnittenen Hecken und Pergolen mit Orangen- und Kamelienbäumchen. Den Hang aufwärts breitet sich der Rhododendron- und Azaleengarten aus. Der Bambusgarten bietet auf einer Fläche von 3000 m² über 25 Bambusarten. Die Familie Sachsen-Meiningen erweiterte den Garten um einen Steingarten und einen englischen Garten mit seltenen Bäumen und einer künstlichen Schlucht.
(Wikipedia)
Young people involved with Include Youth's Give and Take Scheme in the Southern area got together for a little event celebrating their big achievements on Thursday November 15 2012, at One Eighty on the hill, Armagh.
Our Essential Employability Programme delivering essential and employability skills to young people on our Give & Take Scheme is funded through Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out Empowering Young People programme.
For more information about Include Youth's Give and Take Scheme visit: includeyouth.org/index.php?/giveandtake
Scarborough's finest personalised rock. Includes: To My Sweetheart, Princess and, of course, My Nympho and Suck On This.
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of pictureque Dorset. It is in the West Dorset district and is situated about 1 mile ( 1.6 km ) inland from the English Channel coast. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 481. The coastline within Abbotsbury parish includes a section of Chesil Beach, an 18-mile ( 29 km ) barrier beach which is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.Abbotsbury is known for its Swannery, subtropical gardens and surviving abbey buildings, including St Catherine's Chapel, a 14th-century pilgrimage chapel that stands on a hill between the village and the coast. Much of Abbotsbury, including Chesil Beach, the Swannery and subtropical gardens, is owned by the Ilchester Estate, which owns 61 square kilometres ( or 15,000 acres ) of land in Dorset.
This is the only place in the world where you are able to walk through the heart of a colony of nesting Mute Swans, spread over a site of some 25 acres. A visit to the Swannery is considered one of the finest things to do in Dorset. The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during the 1040’s. The monks farmed the swans to produce food for their lavish Dorset banquets. St Peter’s monastery was destroyed in 1539, during the dissolution. Some of the ruins are still visible around St Nicolas’ Church in the village. Since that time, the Swannery has been under the stewardship of the Ilchester Estates. I visited this Swannery in July 2017. Having only gone the cafe as a motorbike ride many years earlier. It was a beautifully sunny day when we arrived around 02.00pm. So sadly I did not have much time to visit the Tropical Gardens or the Childrens Farm further along the narrow road into the Swannery. By this time the small swans were grey in colour but there were so many of them. Be very careful of getting to near to the grown up Swans when they are with their flocks. They get a bit nasty hissing and rearing if you get too near. Trying to get close ups is not easy and you take your life in your hands with these huge 7 foot ( about 2.15 metres ) or so wingspan swans. They can do a lot of damage if they attack you. You are warned to to feed or approach the Swans before you enter.
Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, near Dorchester has become one of the most popular things to do for the family visiting Dorset. Located on the dramatic Dorset Coast, this unique natural wildlife habitat is also popular with film makers and has been used as a location for Harry Potter filming. So if your family is looking for unusual things to do on holiday in Dorset, come to the Swannery and help hand feed 600 swans at 12.00 noon and 4.00 pm daily, or try out giant maze ( the largest willow maze in Dorset ), swing on the swinging nests play area, at the Kennels café or browse our quality gift shop. Parking is free also. The swans at Abbotsbury are all free flying: this is a sanctuary, not a zoo. There are no cages but there are pens for the family swans to keep them all together. On that day Birds of Prey were on display from Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue. A chance to see some beautiful birds of prey. Next to it was Giant Swan Maze. Further on a huge Bouncing Bomb is on display from the Barnes Wallis Dambusters in World War 2. Pedal Go karts for the kids to keep them quiet can be seen here also.
One and a half miles ( 2.4 km ) northwest of the village, at the top of Wears Hill, are the earthworks of Abbotsbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort. The earthworks cover a roughly triangular area of about 10 acres , of which about 4.5 acres are inside the ramparts In the 10th century a charter of King Edmund records a granting of land at Abbedesburi, a name which indicates the land may have once belonged to an abbot. In 1086 in the Domesday Book Abbotsbury was recorded as Abedesberie or Abodesberie; it had 62 households, 16 plough lands, 32 acres of meadow and 2 mills. It was in the hundred of Uggescombe and the lords and tenants-in-chief were Abbotsbury Abbey and Hawise, wife of Hugh son of Grip. Abbotsbury Abbey existed for 500 years, but was destroyed in the dissolution, although the abbey barn survived. Stone from the abbey was used in the construction of many buildings in the village, including the house of Abbotsbury's new owner, Sir Giles Strangways.
Arguably the stars of the show at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed, were the drift cars. This competitor got caught out by the tricky Molecomb corner
British postcard by Heroes Publishing LTD, London, no. SPC 2691. Keanu Reeves in Point Break (Kathryn Bigalow, 1991).
Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in various genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).
Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, New York and Toronto. He lived with various stepfathers as a child, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardour for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-travelling high jinks. The success led to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.
In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played Prince Siddharta who became the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-Fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 2003) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.
Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in big-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in the American-German occult detective film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated Science Fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006), his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-Fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the Neo-Noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016). Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukaemia and has supported such organisations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.
Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Trade Facilitation Programme – Information Session and Annual Award Ceremony
The Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) currently includes over 104 Issuing Banks in the EBRD region and more than 800 Confirming Banks worldwide.
This event offerED the opportunity to network with the EBRD’s most active issuing and confirming banks. Panellists included representatives from the World Trade Organisation, International Chamber of Commerce and EBRD’s Chief Economist Office who discussed current economic development and consequent challenges for international trade and the trade finance sector.
The TFP Annual Award Ceremony concluded the event, featuring recognition of The Most Active EBRD TFP banks and Best Transactions in 2013.
ROCKTROPOLIS is a progressive rock band that is like a volcano ready to explode upon your ears. Members include guitarist ROCKTROPOLIS, Bassist and Keyboardist Sam Metropoulos and Drummer Marc Stemmler. Influences are Dream Theater, Rush, Yngwie, Yes, Deep Purple and Iron Maiden to name a few. Guitarist ROCKTROPOLIS has worked with The Process, Gabe Gonzalez (George Clinton) and former drummer John Macaluso (Yngwie Malmsteen, ARK and VOX). Multi instrumentalist Sam Metropoulos has collaborated on several albums with The Process, played with John Macaluso and has opened for Yngwie Malmsteen. Akin to the pillars of the great Parthenon, drummer Marc Stemmler provides the foundation for which ROCKTROPOLIS bridges the hemispheres between classical and progressive rock music. ROCKTROPOLIS is a Nominee of the 2013 Detroit Music Awards.
ROCKTROPOLIS is represented by Howard Hertz/Joseph Bellanca (Hertz Schram, p.c.) Mr. Hertz’s impressive roster includes George Clinton, Sippie Wallace, The Romantics, The Bass Brothers, Eminem, Marilyn Manson, Russell Simmons, O-Town, Pantera, Marcus Belgrave, The GO, Mike Posner, Elmore Leonard, Warner Tamerlane and Atlantic Records.
ROCKTROPOLIS is currently recording/producing their debut album, with Chris Lewis as their recording engineer (Fire Hyena Studio). Projected release date is summer 2013. Be prepared to own a collection of brilliant compositions that are melodic, epic and infectious to the soul.
www.RocktropolisMusic.com (c) 2012
Page 8 of a brochure celebrating the centenary of John Smith (Keighley) Ltd. This page includes a photograph of a John Smith crane on duty at The Midland and Low Moor Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. The 20-page booklet is approximately A4 sized.
John Smith (Keighley) Ltd. was originally established in 1866, operating from a small millwright’s shop and manufacturing woodworking and stone-making machinery. The firm was founded by John Smith then run by his son Frank and then grandson George Albert Smith for around forty years. The firm became a private limited company in 1900, had moved into new works and started to focus on the design and manufacture of cranes (both derrick and overhead travelling cranes). During the Second World War, Smiths of Keighley were the sole manufacturers of specially designed cranes used to construct Bailey bridges, used by British and Allied Forces to advance troops and tanks. In 1944 the company was acquired by Thos. W. Ward Ltd. of Sheffield but continued to operate as John Smith (Keighley) Ltd. Expansion of the Crane Works off Bradford Road in Stockbridge, Keighley, continued and by the 1960s the site covered nearly five acres. The range of cranes manufactured under the name John Smith Cranes stretched from small derricks to overhead cranes with a span of up to 120 feet, capable of lifting up to 150 tons. John Smith’s Electric Overhead Travelling Cranes were to be found in all the major industries including steelworks, power stations and atomic energy projects around the UK. There were clients around the world including those in Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia. They continued to trade throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, adding John Smith Micromotive (remote radio control technology for overhead cranes). The company downsized in the late 1980s and relocated to Worth Way in Keighley. The Crane Works site was demolished in the late 1980s and is now occupied by the Alston Retail Park (with B&Q). Parent company Thos. W. Ward Ltd. went into administration in 1992 and John Smith (Keighley) Ltd. closed in Keighley in 1995.
The booklet was donated to Keighley and District Local History Society by Arthur Woollacott. It was scanned and uploaded to Flickr in July 2020.
WATERFALL WAR MEMORIAL STAFFORDSHIRE
Situated in St James and St Bartholomew Church, Waterfall, Staffordshire
Compiled with additional information with permission of the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
This memorial also includes the names of those who did not fall.
I have not included them on the listing below.
This memorial can be seen in St James and St Bartholomew the parish church
To the Glory of God and in affectionate remembrance of the men of this parish
who fell in the Great War
1914-1918
BOLD Edward. Private 68038 106th Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps Died of Wounds 21 August 1917 Son of Thomas and Hannah Bold of Waterfall His last place of abode was at Hexham, Northumberland. Buried at Tincourt New British Cemetery, France.
BRADDOCK Charles. Private 21418, 4th Grenadier Guards died of wounds 4 October 1915. Son of Mr J Braddock of Stoke on Trent. Born at Foxt, Staffordshire. Buried at Sailly-Labourse Communal Cemetery, France.
PIGGOTT Frederick. Second Lieutenant, 10th East Yorkshire Regt killed in action 28 September 1918 age 26. Son of Frederick and Constance Piggott, and nephew of Mr Massie Piggott of 143 Lisburn Lane, Liverpool. who returned from the Great War. Buried at Pont-D’Achelles Military Cemetery, Nieppe.
ROBOTHAM Herman. Private TR6/13824, 14th North Staffordshire Regiment died 8th February 1917 age 35. Son of Samuel Lowe and Mary Ann Robotham of Swincoe, near Waterfall. Buried at St Bartholomew Churchyard, Blore Ray, Staffordshire.
TWIGG John Ernest. Private 10661, B Coy, 1st Sherwood Foresters [Notts and Derby Regt] killed in action 13 March 1915 age 26. Son of Mary Ann and the late George Twigg of Pitchings Farm, Waterfall. Commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, France
“Their name liveth for evermore”
Listed below are names from a War Grave and Private Memorials
that are at this location.
Sergeant Air Gunner 1817983 William Frederick George EDGE, 166 Sqdn, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve died 3 July 1945 age 20. Son of William and Murial Elizabeth Edge of Winkhill near Waterfall. Buried in St James and St Bartholomew churchyard, Waterfall, Staffordshire
Sergeant, 944380, Thomas Albert HALL, 49th Sqdn Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, missing 22 June 1944 age 23. Son of James and Minnie Hall of Waterfall. Buried at Woensel General Cemetery, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Flying Officer 164397 Maurice AUSTIN, Glider Pilot killed in action 24 March 1945. Son of Thomas Walter and Ida Alice Austin of Waterhouses near Waterfall. Buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Lance Corporal 14779913, Arthur William JONES 2nd Seaforth Highlanders killed in action 10th February 1945 age 18. Son of Arthur and Mary Ellen Jones. Buried at Mook War Cemetery, near Nijmegen, Holland
From the August 2016 return trip to Siem Reap and the Angkor complex:
I love the Angkor complex, Siem Reap, and the Cambodian people so much that I returned again for about a week to photograph as much of the “non-major” sites as I could. Some of them are slightly far from Angkor Wat (by that, I mean to say more than 10 kilometers away), and usually require a little more money to get to. Also, some of the sites (Beng Mealea, Phnom Kulen) are not included in the Angkor ticket price and have an additional admission fee.
I don’t know if there’s a set number of how many sites belong in the Angkor complex, though I’m sure it would vary. (Do you only count the major sites like Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm? Do you add the sites that aren’t included in the standard “Angkor Pass,” but are clearly of the same era? Do you include sites that aren’t even named (as are one of the sites in this series)? All in all, I’ll put a very rough number at…50 sites in the Siem Reap area, and that includes the sites that are about 100 km away. Of those, I would say I’ve been to all but 5-10 now. All are included here with the exception, obviously, of the sites that I didn’t visit. (Off the top of my head, I can say they include Koh Ker & that respective group, which is about 120 km ENE of Siem Reap; Phnom Krom, one of the three “mountains” with temples; Ta Prohm Kel; and Mangalartha.)
In practical terms, I’m afraid that with the volume of shooting (about 1,500 frames in the past 7 days), photos will start to look redundant to those who don’t have the same interest in ancient/historical architecture or Angkor as I do. That being said, there are a few things besides temples here. The Old Market area (now Night Market/Pub Street) is represented – a little – and Phnom Kulen has a pretty nice waterfall which is also in this series. Also, I tried to catch a few people in here, though didn’t get as many as I would’ve liked.
I had my friend Mao (tuktuk driver) take me around for 5 of these 7 days this time around. As I mentioned last time, he may cost a little more than what you can arrange through a hotel/guesthouse, but he’s well worth the money (and, in the grand scheme of things, not too expensive; I paid less than $200 for the five days, two of which were “long” trips). He loves his country and heritage, he knows what he’s showing you, he’s flexible, he gives you enough ice water to keep you hydrated, and he’s just a good guy. (He even bought me a birthday cake for cryin’ out loud…) Anyway, I highly recommend Mao. You can find him here: www.facebook.com/mao.khvan (or on Trip Advisor: www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d10726821-R... )
Now that shameless plugs and other assorted rhetoric are out of the way, it’s time to get on to the temples, ruins, and other miscellany.
My last two days of this weeklong Angkor trip were spent alone (with no guide, that is). I just hired a tuktuk to drop me off and took a different one back both days. The price for that was $15 round trip, so was ten dollars cheaper than going with Mao, but as I mentioned…Mao does a lot of extra things to make the extra cost worthwhile.
By this point, however, I’m pretty familiar with anything I want to see or do in the Angkor area, so had no problems haggling over prices or anything else. On Sunday, I woke up fairly early and started to walk towards the Night Market area to grab a tuktuk. (My Home Tropical Villa is about 600 meters walk due south of the Night Market for those who are interested, though there is definitely no shortage of places to stay in Siem Reap.)
Anyway, a fellow stopped by and $7 and 20 minutes later, I found myself at the east gate of Ta Prohm. I wanted to come back here because the previous two times I was here, I was dumb enough to not take my tripod out. So a few of the shots in this particular group may be a bit redundant, though I hope not too much so. The only “new” part I saw while here this time around was the west gate, which I didn’t bother photographing. (Both the east and west gates didn’t impress me terribly, though they aren’t unattractive.) I don’t even have a shot from anywhere along the rather short west causeway represented here.
Since I was sans driver for the first time, I walked a bit. All told, I think I probably covered 3-4 km through the forest/jungle, but along roads I’d covered with Mao previously. After coming out the west gate of Ta Prohm, I headed straight north and followed the road as it goes north or west into the heart of Angkor Thom (ending directly in front of the Elephant Terrace).
En route, I took one or two very quick pictures at Spean Thma (or ‘Thmor,’ as I’ve seen spelled elsewhere; it means “stone bridge” in Khmer). I also returned for a few more detailed shots at Thommanon, but didn’t stop at Chao Say Tevoda.
Continuing west, I made my way into Angkor Thom and passed by some monkeys who looked to have some nefarious intentions of taking my camera gear. I squashed that by threatening them with my tripod. I also stopped to dance with a Cambodian family for a few seconds – literally – before reaching the South Kleang & South Suor Prat Towers for a few quick shots.
After that, I crossed over to the Elephant Terrace and wandered around the Phimeanakas area (north of the palace with the pool) before approaching Baphuon from the north. Coming out from Baphuon’s main entrance, I walked the 100 or so meters to Bayon to photograph some more of the reliefs from there.
That was the end of the Angkor shooting for Sunday. I paid $8 to a driver to drop me off by Pub Street where I grabbed lunch, did a little shooting in the Old Town area, then spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Monday was even easier than Sunday. I started a little bit later in the day after yet another ham & cheese omelet at My Home. I did some more shooting in the Old Town area before taking a tuktuk to Angkor Wat – the only temple I would shoot on my last day – where I stayed for an hour or two. Most of the shooting was of the grounds and the reliefs around the outer wall of the temple (though they aren’t nearly as distinct as those of Bayon). Distinctive…yes. They tell a story and are essentially a religious historical record. But, they’re not as easy to photograph as Bayon’s simply because they’re worn down a bit more.
After finishing up at Angkor Wat, I spent the rest of the day pretty much the same as Sunday. Sitting around the Old Town area and getting some night shots as well With that, my August holiday to Angkor & Siem Reap was finished. I wouldn’t see Mao again, though his wife and daughter came with a tuktuk driver on Tuesday morning to take me to the airport. If I’m lucky, I’ll be back again someday.
As always, I hope you enjoy this set. I appreciate you taking time to look. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message or leave it via comment.
Rough waves crashing on to Shoreham Beach this afternoon. Made me feel for those involved in the search for missing guys who tragically went in to sea at Brighton last night
Water, #94 in 101 pictures
The impressive and richly decorated Grand Staircase of Petworth House (NT), which opened this weekend for the new season
The staircase is decorated with murals by Louis Laguerre. The ceiling - shown here - depicts "The Assembly of the Gods".
Looking southeast from Im Fettgarten.
"Merl is a district of the city of Zell (Mosel) in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Cochem-Zell. The district had 658 residents in November 2021.
Merl lies on the Moselle, east of the municipality of Bullay and north of the Zell-Kaimt district.
Merl includes the Adlerhof, Thiesenmühle and Weinhof Sankt Stephanus residential areas.
First mentioned in a document in 782 as “Merila”, Merl was an independent municipality until 1969, before it became a district of Zell as part of the Rhineland-Palatinate administrative reform. In 2007, the district had a total of 703 inhabitants (1885: 1297 inhabitants; 1939: 1563 inhabitants) with a total area of 12.65 square kilometers.
The parish church of St. Michael was the monastery church of the affiliated Franciscan convent until 1805. On the high altar it has an Antwerp retable from around 1520. The sacristy is built as a single-supported room with an almost square floor plan. Remains of medieval wall paintings have been preserved in the parish hall and the roof structure of the old dormitory in the monastery wing, which is not open to the public, is considered one of the rarely preserved medieval roof structures in Germany.
The old Romanesque parish church of St. Michael (hall church) was demolished in 1823 after the monastery church was taken over; the old Romanesque tower was preserved in today's Merl cemetery.
Merl is known for its viticulture. The vineyards are located above Merl and then run parallel to the L199 all the way to Bullay. Some of them are extremely steep slopes. In 1897, the Merler vineyards, along with another 14 locations on the Moselle, Saar and Ruwer, were classified as top locations in category 1.
Zell (Mosel) is a town in the Zeller Hamm (Moselle loop) and is located in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate. It is the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Zell, of which it is also a member. Zell is a state-recognized resort and designated as a medium-sized center according to state planning.
Zell (Mosel) is an hour's drive from both Koblenz and Trier, almost exactly in the middle between these two cities. The neighboring town towards Koblenz is Cochem, neighboring towns towards Trier are Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel-Kues. To Frankfurt-Hahn Airport on the Hunsrück and to the health resort of Bad Bertrich in the Voreifel: ½ hour by car each. The riverside districts, the old town, Kaimt and Merl are at an altitude of around 100 m above sea level. NHN on a striking Moselle loop, the Zeller Hamm.
Zell was founded by the Romans after 70 AD. The district of Kaimt was first mentioned in documents in 732/33. In 1222 Zell received city rights. Since 1332, Zell was an Electoral Trier town and until 1794 the Electoral Trier seat of the Zell district. With the occupation of the left bank of the Rhine by French revolutionary troops in 1794, the place became French, and in 1815 the city was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Fires in 1848 and 1857 destroyed a large part of the old town. Since 1946, the city has been part of the then newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Kaimt was incorporated in 1950. Until 1969, Zell was the district town of the Zell (Mosel) district of the same name. As part of the Rhineland-Palatinate administrative reform, this became the Cochem-Zell district with the administrative headquarters in Cochem. With the district headquarters, Zell also lost numerous other government offices and other institutions. At the same time, Merl was incorporated. The city also achieved compensation through the settlement of numerous commercial companies, particularly in the high-altitude district of Barl.
On June 7, 1969, the previously independent municipality of Merl was incorporated.
Mosel (German: [ˈmoːzl̩]) is one of 13 German wine regions (Weinbaugebiete) for quality wines (Qualitätswein, formerly QbA and Prädikatswein), and takes its name from the Mosel River (French: Moselle; Luxembourgish: Musel). Before 1 August 2007 the region was called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, but changed to a name that was considered more consumer-friendly. The wine region is Germany's third largest in terms of production but some consider it the leading region in terms of international prestige.
The region covers the valleys of the rivers Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer from near the mouth of the Mosel at Koblenz and upstream to the vicinity of Trier in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The area is known for the steep slopes of the region's vineyards overlooking the river. At 65° degrees incline, the steepest recorded vineyard in the world is the Calmont vineyard located on the Mosel and belonging to the village of Bremm, and therefore referred to as Bremmer Calmont. The Mosel is mainly famous for its wines made from the Riesling grape, but Elbling and Müller-Thurgau also contribute to the production, among others.
In the past two decades red wine production, especially from the Spätburgunder (Pinot noir), has increased in the Mosel and throughout the German vignoble and has become of increasing interest to the international wine community. Because of the northerly location of the Mosel, the Riesling wines are often light, tending to lower alcohol, crisp and high in acidity, and often exhibit "flowery" rather than or in addition to "fruity" aromas. Its most common vineyard soil is derived in the main from various kinds of slate deposits, which tend to give the wines a transparent, mineralic aspect, that often exhibit great depth of flavor. In the current era of climate change much work has been done to improve and gain acceptance for completely dry ("Trocken") Rieslings in this region, so that most of the more famous makers have found acceptance for such wines, particularly in Europe." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
Now on Instagram.