'Lover and thinker alike stage their utterances in solitude, and there can be first persons only when there are second and third persons.'

2019 Gospel Worship Song | christian musical | Gospel hymn | "How to Search for God's Footprints" (Lyrics)

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/search-for-God-s-footprints/

 

Introduction

Since we are searching for the footprints of God, we must search for God’s will,

for the words of God, for the utterances of God,

for the words of God, for the utterances of God—

for where there are the new words of God, there is the voice of God,

and where there are the footsteps of God, there are the deeds of God.

Where there is the expression of God, there is the appearance of God,

and where there is the appearance of God, there exists the truth, the way, and the life.

While seeking the footprints of God,

you ignored the words that “God is the truth, the way, and the life.”

So when many people receive the truth, they do not believe that they have found the footprints of God

and much less acknowledge the appearance of God. What a serious error that is!

The appearance of God cannot be reconciled with the conceptions of man,

much less can God appear at the behest of man.

God makes His own choices and has His own plans when He does His work;

moreover, He has His own objectives, and His own methods.

It is not necessary for Him to discuss the work He does with man

or to seek the advice of man,

much less notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God and,

moreover, should be recognized by everyone.

If you desire to witness the appearance of God, if you wish to follow the footprints of God,

then you must first transcend your own conceptions.

You must not demand that God do this or that,

much less should you place Him within your own confines

and limit Him to your own conceptions.

Instead, you should ask

how you should seek the footprints of God, how you should accept the appearance of God,

and how you should submit to the new work of God; that is what should be done by man.

Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth,

man should seek, accept, and obey,

man should seek, accept, and obey.

from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs

Recommended for You：musical documentary

 

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

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God's Utterance "God Himself, the Unique II God's Righteous Disposition" (Part Three)

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/god-himself-the-unique-ii...

 

God's words in this video are from the book "Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh".

 

The content of this video:

 

(II) Humanity Wins God’s Mercy and Tolerance Through Sincere Repentance

 

Synopsis of the Story of Nineveh

 

Jehovah God’s Warning Reaches the Ninevites

 

The Stark Contrast in Nineveh and Sodom’s Reaction to Jehovah God’s Warning

 

The Repentance of Nineveh’s King Wins Jehovah God’s Commendation

 

God Sees the Sincere Repentance in the Depths of the Ninevites’ Hearts

 

If Your Belief in God Is True, You Will Receive His Care Often

 

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Christian Worship Song "God's Kingdom Has Appeared on Earth"

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/hymn-god-kingdom-has-appe...

 

I

 

Almighty true God, King on the throne,

 

ruling the whole universe,

 

facing all nations and all peoples.

 

The whole world shines with God’s glory.

 

All things in the universe shall see,

 

all living things everywhere shall see.

 

The mountains, lands, rivers and lakes,

 

oceans and all living beings,

 

in the light of the true God’s presence,

 

have opened their curtains, revived,

 

as though waking to life from a dream,

 

or like sprouts breaking through soil to light.

 

Oh, the one true God appears before the world.

 

Who dares, who dares to resist Him?

 

Everyone shakes with fear, all feeling convinced,

 

on their knees, on their knees before Him!

 

See them beg His forgiveness, pleading endlessly.

 

Every mouth, every mouth in worship!

 

II

 

Continents and oceans, mountains, rivers,

 

all things praise Him endlessly.

 

Spring breezes bring fine rain.

 

Stream currents, like people, mixing grief with joy,

 

they’re shedding tears of indebtedness,

 

they’re weeping, full of blame and remorse.

 

Rivers, lakes, surf, swells, all are singing

 

and praising God’s holy name.

 

All old things defiled by Satan,

 

each and every one will renew.

 

All things once corrupted will change.

 

They will enter a new circumstance.

 

Oh, the one true God appears before the world.

 

Who dares, who dares to resist Him?

 

Everyone shakes with fear, all feeling convinced,

 

on their knees, on their knees before Him!

 

See them beg His forgiveness, pleading endlessly.

 

Every mouth, every mouth in worship!

 

III

 

Then the trumpet sounds a holy blast.

 

Lend an ear and listen.

 

A sweet sound comes out from the throne,

 

announcing to every nation

 

that the time has already come,

 

the final end has come at last.

 

God’s management plan is finished

 

and His kingdom has come on earth.

 

Every kingdom in the world

 

has become the kingdom of God.

 

Seven trumpets sound from the throne,

 

what great wonders will now take place!

 

God joys to see His people, who hear His voice.

 

They gather from all nations and lands.

 

All people keep the true God in their mouths,

 

praise and jump, praise and jump endlessly!

 

Witnessing to the world of the one true God,

 

thundering, thundering like waters.

 

All will crowd into God’s kingdom!

 

from Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning

 

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

   

There are hundreds of people who walk down the Samaria Gorge each day in the summer. After a drink at one of the tavernas in Agia Roumeli where the gorge opens to the sea and perhaps enjoying a swim, most board the ferry taking them to Chora Sfakia (Sfakia).

There, waiting buses transport the aching crowds back to Chania. On the way, the ferry calls in at Loutro and many vow to visit it one day - few do so!

Loutro is peaceful - it is small and feels like a village even if 95% of the people here in the summer are visitors. It takes less than five minutes to amble from one side of the bay from Sifis Hotel & Maestrali Bar (Vangelis'), past Daskalogiannis Hotel, the tavernas, mini-market, the Blue House, the pebble beach, Hotel Porto Loutro, Notos, "Fat Stav's", a couple more tavernas and then Keramos rooms and fish taverna.

Don't forget the church, second mini-market and a few other buildings - more rooms including perched-on-the-hillside Villa Niki - that's it!

Loutro evokes some great emotion - produced perhaps by the unique combination of the steep, harsh, rock mountainsides - audibly decorated with the clinking of goat bells - the sun visibly changing the panorama in view as its ark lights different aspects of the slopes forming the bowl - the bay that houses Loutro, the often-warm sea, the history and the people. This magic place.

No road leads here - therefore no mopeds, cars and trucks disturb contemplation, conversation and consumption of food or drink. A port of shelter for St Paul we hear, and one of the best shelters from a stormy workplace or busy professional life.

Small, stunningly beautiful - no nightlife or discos, just a multinational, multi-everything group of visitors staying in its closely grouped buildings. During the day even when all rooms are full, Loutro can be almost empty - many have gone to sauté gently on nearby beaches, or tackle books, strolls, walks and - let's be serious - hikes.

You are left to act as your own custodian of the semi circular bay, with small pebble beach, edged with hotel, domatia and waterside tavernas. So gaze at the ruins on the hilltop, measure the approaching ferry, decide whether to read a few pages more, walk over the hill to the taverna of Phoenix, or plot your ascent to Anopolis a thousand metres above...it's up to you. Time passes.

Loutro village was named after the baths (Loutro or Loutra) found in the area, and from which water was directed to nearby Anopoli Village. Loutro also served as the port of ancient Anopoli. Later it became the winter time port of the town of Sfakia, due to the fact that the enclosed bay and the small island at its entrance create a natural harbor where ships can be safe even in very bad weather conditions.

Mountains rear straight up from the sea deep wooded gorges, ravines and valleys, stand proud and act as a magnet to the eye and the imagination. The Sfakia region has been the site of heroic deeds, ancient civilizations, and constant intrigue for thousands of years, and the home of brave tough people, made so by their labors on the land and their experiences.

Really Loutro is a place to let days flow by as they will. When you meet people who's poetic utterances appeal - converse, when striding rocky paths is the urge - proceed, when the water beckons - shout back / get in; eat and relax. You shouldn't come here expecting entertainment - the reward is being in Loutro and listening to what your heart desires...

The illustration on this postcard is based on a song, "The Bird on Nellie's Hat," that was popular when the card appeared in 1908, and the title of the book that Nellie is reading–Love's Young Dream–is a phrase that comes from the lyrics to the song.

 

The bird's snide utterance–"100 and 23 for yours"–to the guy who's lurking behind Nellie is a reference to the "23 skidoo" fad that started around 1906 or 1907. Telling someone "23 skidoo" or "23 for you" was a shorthand way of saying "scram," "beat it," or "get lost" (I'm not sure whether the addition of "100 and" to the more typical "23 for yours" phrase had any extra meaning). For more "23 skidoo" postcards, see my Skidoos and Lemons album.

 

Check out the sheet music for The Bird on Nellie's Hat (1906), which is part of the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music at Johns Hopkins University, or go to YouTube to see the lyrics and hear an Edison wax cylinder recording of Ada Jones singing "The Bird On Nellie's Hat" (1913).

 

Originally posted on Ipernity: The Saucy Little Bird on Nellie's Hat.

Zenith of the arch over the Auditorium Theater, Chicago. The architects-- a Who's Who of modern architecture-- for some reason went with their own schmaltzy poetry rather than looking to the classics.

Harry Kivijärvi: East and West / Monument to the memory of president J.K. Paasikivi, 1980.

 

www.hamhelsinki.fi/en/sculpture/ita-ja-lansi-j-k-paasikiv...

 

"Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1870-1956) was elected president of the republic in 1946 after C. G. E. Mannerheim's resignation. Paasikivi was elected for second term in 1950. His remarkable career in politics began already in the early years of the century and he held numerous key posts in the Finnish administration. He was the chairman of Finland's delegation at the Tarttu peace negotiations in 1920 and played a crucial role in the talks between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1939-1940 and 1944.

 

In addition to politics, Paasikivi made a career in the University of Helsinki and he was also the director of the Kansallis-Osake-Pankki in 1914-1934. Harry Kivijärvi (1931-2010) won the competition on the Paasikivi memorial with his entry `East and West'. The monument was unveiled in 1980 on the 110th anniversary of Paasikivi's birth. The monument comprises two black granite stones and a pedestal in which Paasikivi's famous utterance `Acknowledging the truth is the beginning of wisdom' ("Tosiasioiden tunnustaminen on viisauden alku") has been inscribed. The sculpture's height is 5.5 metres and it weighs 40,000 kilos. `East and West' derives its aesthetic force from the massive stones which have been polished and shaped to give an appearance of lightness.

 

The Paasikivi memorial became subject to much debate immediately after the winning entry had been selected. It received several nicknames, the most popular of which is probably `Juho Kusti and Alli', referring to the similarity between the to stocky stone blocks and the appearances of the president and his wife Alli."

  

# 16 Close together

122 Pictures in 2022

Utterances of Christ Gospel Books Testimonies Books on Life Entry

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/books/utterances-of-christ/

 

"Everyone should examine anew his life of believing in God to see whether, in the pursuit of God, he has truly understood, truly comprehended, and truly come to know God, whether he truly knows what attitude God bears to the various types of human beings, and whether he truly understands what God is working upon him and how God defines his every act. "

 

"from The Word Appears in the Flesh"

 

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I don't know where I picked up my interest in eyeballs. Well, I've always been atune to eyes in my work, because the eyes often tell what the mouth and heart are reluctant to say.

 

But lately, since I have been shooting in a more controlled environment. I like to chat with the subject while shooting if I am able. Admittedly, I talk to myself. Except in close proximity to the subject, they often can hear quite distinctly, "WOW, great eyeballs!"

 

It's times like that when the un-PC kid from Chicago kind of comes to the fore, and good sense or a team of horses can't restrain my (what the legal world calls) "excited utterance."

 

I'm finally beginning to understand how an old professional photographer of my youth, could work daily with beauties of every sort and still remain a model spouse and father.

 

For me it's becoming awestruck in the fineness of detail in the human face and body . . . the lines . . . the sense of "design". . . and the person themselves with their bearing, projection of presence, non-verbal cues, etc . . . and wanting to tell part of their "story" in a photograph.

 

The fur is the tail of a sliver fox Amy got in Colorado and brought as one of the props. The tip of the tail was silver/white, but trying to work it in using it just above the nose really screwed up the balance. I wish there was more differentiation between the hair and the tail. That's about as much as I could without muddying the colors or making it look like she has white paint in her hair rather than highlights. But

"WOW, GREAT EYEBALLS!"

 

A Hymn of God's Words

God's Kingdom Is Established Among Men

I

In the earth and universe,

God's wisdom can be seen.

Among all things and all people,

His wisdom yields fine fruits.

Everything looks like

the product of God's kingdom.

Mankind rests under God's heavens

as sheep in the pastures of God.

God can rest in Zion again;

man can live under God's guidance.

People manage all in the hand of God.

Wisdom and first look,

they regain them after all.

No more dusty, pure as jade,

each with a face like a saint.

For God's kingdom has been

established among all men.

II

God walks above all people,

turning His gaze to look around.

Not one thing is as of old,

not one man is as he was.

God rests upon His throne,

He lies across the universe.

All things regain their sanctity,

and God's heart is satisfied.

God can rest in Zion again;

man can live under God's guidance.

People manage all in the hand of God.

Wisdom and first look,

they regain them after all.

No more dusty, pure as jade,

each with a face like a saint.

For God's kingdom has been

established among all men.

from "The Sixteenth Utterance"

of God's Utterances to the Entire Universe

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Recommended for You: Christian Music Video

 

jonathanmorse.blog/2023/06/21/obscene-utterance/

"Taxi and hold short for a MD-80 on two-mile final." When someone is in trouble, they might say anything to get out of trouble. They might claim something was said that was not said. The recorder is your buddy. Usually. Reel-to-reel logging recorders were made by Dictaphone, Stancil, and others. These were used to log voice-grade audio for activities such as air traffic control, railroad safety, 9-1-1 calls, and radio broadcast audio.

 

Some reel-to-reel machines had talking clock tracks. One recording track periodically announced of time of day so the time could be matched up with a point on the tape.

 

Two tape transports allowed recording to continue if a tape broke or the transport failed. These have been replaced by digital recorders which sound just as crappy but are cheaper and don't require changing tape reels. Computerized recorders can look like a 1U server and don't weight 200 pounds. Dictaphone digital recorders had the ability to search for words. You could type the word, "hammer," into a Window and the machinery would search recordings on the hard disk for every utterance of the word.

 

Chuck fowled up, (again)? Your corrections are welcomed.

 

[Over the phone:] Unit calling repeat your last traffic for dispatch. [Over the radio:] Just a minute, honey.

— unverified report of a mistake by a 9-1-1 dispatcher attempting simultaneous conversations with spouse by phone and a first responder by two-way radio

 

Journalism grade image.

 

Source: 2,200x3,800 16-bit TIF file.

 

Please do not copy this image for any purpose.

Notes from an exhibit in Venice in 2019.

 

The wallpaper room created by Nadia Myre to welcome visitors consists of three walls and a heart-shaped sculpture woven over with beads. Guided by a soundscape evoking a mythical origin story of the universe beginning with a single sound, the visitor enters a built environment that mixes European and Native elements around which mutually shared stories were variably passed on by American peoples and Europeans each in their own way. Contextual elements such as ships, sections of maps, and other culturally relevant icons displayed on Myre’s design walls furnish the background for the centre piece of her installation: a human heart covered with Murano beads. Presented in much the same way as a man-made object in a Renaissance cabinet of curiosity this three-dimensional piece is emblematic of the relationship that Venice has indirectly had with indigenous North Americans over the centuries. Beads are here a marker or difference and identity simultaneously. Europeans conquered with Venice beads the hearts and imagination of Native peoples who eagerly welcomed this new trade good since the early contact phases. Historically appreciated for their brilliance and versatility, indigenous women created artworks of accomplished skill and beauty. Myre’s glass-covered heart continues in a long-standing artistic tradition that poignantly reminds us of the centrality of women in shaping history. If, as proven by commercial records and economic history, Venetians saw the North American bead trade as a lucrative enterprise, it is equally true that indigenous women’s desire for this merchandise was the incentive for Venetians to produce more, and as a consequence, make more profits. Equally treated as both a commodity and a colonial tool, beads have historically been the means by which European imperial powers established diplomacy and trade with Native North Americans. Used as the soft arm of colonisation, beads are therefore not just trade items, but agents of historical change in a cross-cultural conversation that Myre here invites us to peruse and ponder over.

 

Myre calls upon deep mythologies and re-examines European claims to a ‘discovery’ of the New World. For Myre, the exhibit brings to mind an ordinary sound--a sort of zero-vibration, an uncontained note or utterance--that recalls the many creation myths wherein the world was formed around an unending aural reverberation. Calling on this notion of an unfettered, ever-expanding energy as a point of origin, Nadia Myre’s works in this exhibition juxtapose Native creation stories with European contact history. These works investigate the role that European print media, especially maps, played in imposing a new, colonial origin story on North America’s Indigenous peoples; one that was rooted in a Eurocentric narrative of discovery and ignored existing modes of self-determination and historical record. Jumping off from her practice’s continual interrogation of transcultural mutation, these works focus on critically reversing the gaze of the othering eye through remixing and Indigenizing symbols of control and production of knowledge that formed a legacy of European nation states as the centre of the world.

Depicted in Myre’s damask-patterned wallpaper is a woman falling through a dark, vast expanse to begin human life on earth. To the Haudenosaunee, Sky Woman signifies a matrilineal line of descent which traces the people of Turtle Island to North America. Cradled, framed, or entrapped by images of European ships and mapping motifs, Sky Woman continues her fall to earth, enduring amidst the impending colonial origin narrative of discovery. Here, Myre translates a typical floral damask motif into colonial and indigenous signifiers, whose forms reflect, repeat and oscillate between evocations of growth, nature, violence and destruction, forming a doubled narrative of struggle, resilience, and layered points of origin. Based on the decorative double-sided textile from the Middle East, damask, as a popular luxury wall covering in Renaissance Italy, resonates with thematics of mirroring, cultural transmutation, and power. Through her incorporation of an ornamental circular motif used in Giacomo Gastaldi’s 1556 Map to delineate Hochelaga (Montreal), Myre uses the decorative and narrative nature of this wallpaper to abstract devices of circumscription and colonial naming of territory in a move to reject settler cartographic and claiming practices towards a consciousness of Indigenous knowledge of land and history. Aptly positioned as the nucleus of the installation is a terracotta sculpture of a human heart--standing in for the hungry heart of capitalism, greed, empires and colonies--covered in an Anishinaabe floral pattern made with Venetian trade beads. Used as ballast in slave/trade ships, beads were an important economic currency and exchanged for both goods and services as well as people. As a call to indigenization--a return to a focus on the environment and relational ways of knowing--the wounded heart, blanketed with beads, reminds us to centre with respect and love on all our relations. As a haunting story of the start of the world from a zero-point that precedes humanity, life, and form alike, the soundscape in Myre’s installation is a representation of the mythic original sonic vibration--rethinking the ways beginnings are identified, inscribed, written, and read. Points of origin are chosen; they do not indicate an end to nothingness, but only an inability to read what previously existed. Engaging creation stories are powerful tools of self-determination, cultural definition, and expression of value.

Spell 229: Recitation:

"This is the fingernail of Atum, the one on the vertebra of Kas-Assigner’s spine, the one that stripped chaos from Hermopolis. Fall down, crawl away!"

- James P Allen's translation.

 

Utterance 229: To say the words:

"This is the nail of Atum upon the dorsal vertebrae of the Neheb-Kau-serpent, which stopped the strife in Wenu. Fall! Glide away!"

- Alexandre Piankoff's translation.

 

Utterance 229: To say:

"This is the finger-nail of Atum, which is upon the dorsal vertebra of the Nḥb.w-kȝ.w (serpent) and which caused the strife in Wn.w to cease. Fall, glide away."

- Samuel A.B. Mercer's translation.

 

West wall of the sarcophagus chamber of Unas.

Almighty God Uses His Word to Save Man - "The Main Purpose of God's work in the Flesh" (Music Video)

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/the-main-purpose-of-gods-...

 

1. God comes into flesh for the main purpose to make man see God’s practical deeds. He realizes the formless Spirit in the flesh so that man can touch and see Him. In this way, people made complete by Him can be those who live out Him. They are ones who are gained by Him, and ones who are after His heart.

 

2. If God only spoke utterances from the heavens and didn’t practically come to earth, man would never know God. They would just convey God’s deeds with hollow theories, but would never have God’s words as reality. God comes to earth to set an example and serve as a model for those He will gain. In this way, man can come to know God, touch God, and see God in a practical way. And only in this way can he truly be gained by God. God comes to earth to set an example and serve as a model for those He will gain. In this way, man can come to know God, touch God, and see God in a practical way. And only in this way can he truly be gained by God. And only in this way can he truly be gained by God.

 

from “You Ought to Know That the Practical God Is God Himself” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

 

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www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/gods-work-gods-dispositio...

Introduction

Almighty God says, "The appearance of the Lord Jesus materialized His intense concern for His followers in humanity and handed it over to His spiritual body, or you could say His divinity. His appearance allowed people to have another experience and feeling of God’s concern and care while also powerfully proving that God is the One who opens up an age, who develops an age, and He is the One who ends an age. Through His appearance He strengthened the faith of all people, and through His appearance He proved to the world the fact that He is God Himself. This gave His followers eternal confirmation, and through His appearance He also opened up a phase of His work in the new age."

God’s word in this video are from the book "The Word Appears in the Flesh".

The Hymn of God's word "All Men Live in God’s Light"

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/hymn-all-men-live-in-god-...

 

The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (woo …) fills every place on the face of the earth (woo …), the air is brisk and fresh (woo …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (woo …), and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.

 

On this jubilant occasion, at this moment of exultation, God’s righteousness and His holiness (hoy), have gone abroad throughout the universe (woo …), and all mankind extols them without surcease, and all mankind extols them without surcease. (Ah … ha….) The cities of heaven are laughing with joy, and the kingdoms of earth are dancing with joy. Who at this moment is not rejoicing? And who at this moment is not weeping? (Yee yeah.) Earth in its primordial state belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth. (Hoy.) Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth (ha), and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal, heaven is no longer concealed from earth, and earth is no longer silent toward heaven. The faces of humanity are wreathed in smiles of gratification, wreathed in smiles of gratification, and secreted (secreted) in their hearts, is a sweetness that knows no bounds (sweetness that knows no bounds). Man does not quarrel with man, nor do men come to blows with one another. Are there any who, in God’s light, do not live peacefully with others? Are there any who, in His days, disgrace His name? (Yee ya.) Earth in its primordial state belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth. (Ha.) Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth (ha), and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal, heaven is no longer concealed from earth, and earth is no longer silent toward heaven. The faces of humanity are wreathed in smiles of gratification, wreathed in smiles of gratification.

 

The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (woo …) fills every place on the face of the earth (woo …), the air is brisk and fresh (woo …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (woo …), and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent. The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts fills every place on the face of the earth, the air is brisk and fresh, dense fogs no longer blanket the ground, and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent. And the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.

 

from “The Eighteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Hymn of God's word "All Men Live in God’s Light"

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/hymn-all-men-live-in-god-...

 

The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (woo …) fills every place on the face of the earth (woo …), the air is brisk and fresh (woo …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (woo …), and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.

 

On this jubilant occasion, at this moment of exultation, God’s righteousness and His holiness (hoy), have gone abroad throughout the universe (woo …), and all mankind extols them without surcease, and all mankind extols them without surcease. (Ah … ha….) The cities of heaven are laughing with joy, and the kingdoms of earth are dancing with joy. Who at this moment is not rejoicing? And who at this moment is not weeping? (Yee yeah.) Earth in its primordial state belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth. (Hoy.) Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth (ha), and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal, heaven is no longer concealed from earth, and earth is no longer silent toward heaven. The faces of humanity are wreathed in smiles of gratification, wreathed in smiles of gratification, and secreted (secreted) in their hearts, is a sweetness that knows no bounds (sweetness that knows no bounds). Man does not quarrel with man, nor do men come to blows with one another. Are there any who, in God’s light, do not live peacefully with others? Are there any who, in His days, disgrace His name? (Yee ya.) Earth in its primordial state belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth. (Ha.) Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth (ha), and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal, heaven is no longer concealed from earth, and earth is no longer silent toward heaven. The faces of humanity are wreathed in smiles of gratification, wreathed in smiles of gratification.

 

The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (woo …) fills every place on the face of the earth (woo …), the air is brisk and fresh (woo …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (woo …), and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent. The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts fills every place on the face of the earth, the air is brisk and fresh, dense fogs no longer blanket the ground, and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent. And the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.

 

from “The Eighteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Pink Lotus Flower

Please view this Lotus Flower image on black BackGround- thanks

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Youtube video of Lotus Flowers + Music by Ahmad Farzad:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl4TKsmj_Ks&feature=search

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Pink Flower (Lotus) - a High-key image.

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Lotus Flower / pink lotus Flower: Symbol and Tattoos

Here are some interesting facts about lotus flower: its meaning, symbol and tattoos. Biblical, Indian, Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese and Tennysonian allusions are also referred to.

Lotus Flower / Pink Lotus Flower: Meaning

 

"I am the being, who in spite of my miry surroundings, have remained untouched and stood up to be the exemplar of beauty and purity."

 

If the lotus could speak it would have said these words and bragged about itself which is so unlikely for the humble lotus. It has been the symbol of detachment from worldly desires and illusions according to the Hindu religious scriptures. It symbolized purity in the true sense of the term in spite of its seed being the stagnant water. Lotus / pink flower symbolizes Life ever renewed and revitalized when it peeks out of the muddy waters every morning.

 

The flower has been a part of legends and almost every culture, civilization and religion in the world took up Lotus to teach something or the other to the multitude. According to the Egyptian mythology, Lotus was the flower to be created out of the inert fluid chaos of the world, Nun and the sun God, Atum walked out of it to spread his light allover the Cosmos. One of the versions also suggests that the Sun God emerged out of the petals of the flower as Ra. In Egypt it is rightly taken as a symbol of genesis, revival and restoration.

 

Though Buddhism adopted the concept of "Om Mani Padme Hum" – a hymn that celebrates the ‘jewel in lotus’-the essence and spirit being invested in the core of all mankind, which can glow into radiant brightness if he can save himself from the debris of life.

 

Christianity has White lily as the equivalent of Lotus, related to Mary the Virgin mother, signifies chastity and fecundity. Doesn’t "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" echo "Om Mani Padme Hum"?

 

Lotus as a Symbol

Lotus as a flower symbolizes the journey and advancement of the soul through the realization of the material world to be one with the supreme soul.

 

In Hindu Mythology, the utterance of first,’om’ brought forth the first "golden lotus" and the lotus is also the seat of Brahma (the creator), thus making it a strong creation archetype. The stalk of lotus originating in Vishnu’s (the preserver) navel also presents it as the umbilical cord in the creation of universe. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity and Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge are also seated on lotus

 

Late evening thunderstorm on the southern horizon

I've decided this past week that it's time to go private on Flickr, things in this hobby have changed drastically since I've been in the hobby 7 years ago. Private basically means, I have to convert all my contacts that I am currently following to "friends", so basically it amounts to "Friends Only", and that the Public cannot see my Flickr photos/postings and anyone that I have blocked. The reason? Bullying, Defamantion of Character, Outright Lies, Slandering, etc (Need anymore reasons why I should go private???) This past week I was REFUSED by a seller to sell a doll to me due to a horrible, lying, bullying post on Facebook that amounted to about 35 people bashing me in a group. (This post all stemmed from a bad dolly deal where me, the BUYER was written up in the post as being wrong, wait a minute....I'm the buyer and the doll was NOT what the customizer advertised) The Admin turned her head the other way and let it continue to go way past the point of no return. Due to this horrible post about me, a seller would not sell a doll to me, (she specifically wrote me and told me this directly!!) and that was a real eye opener for me. People I did NOT EVEN KNOW posted on the FB Posting, whom just chimed in, and never even did business with in the years in this hobby, which is pretty disturbing and sick!! I ended up blocking about 35 individuals both on FB and here on Flickr.

 

Anybody who made a comment about me on that post no longer will get my business as an Etsy Shop, Customizer, Dolly Sales, Etc. I cannot support someone who I did nothing too, but yet they were speaking horrible trash about me.

 

Currently on Flickr, even if you "block" someone, you can still see their photos and what they have to say/postings. I strongly disagree with this and in essence that bully can then report back to their sick little group and let them know what I am doing, posting, etc.

 

With all this being said, this means converting about 1,000 contacts all to friends and then doing some other changes to my Flickr. If you wish to follow me, you will HAVE to leave a comment or email me to let me know this, so that I can convert you to being a friend....it's just too much work. I'll have to spend the entire month of December doing this conversion....as if I don't already have enough to do!! There are some definitions below.

 

Defamation of character occurs when someone makes a false statement about you that causes you some type of harm. The statement must be published (meaning some third party must have heard it), false, and it must result in harm, usually to the reputation.

 

Definition of Slander by Merriam-Webster Dictionary

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slander

Definition of slander. 1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation. 2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person — compare libel.

 

Bullying - Wikipedia

There is no universal definition of bullying, however, it is widely agreed upon that bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behavior characterized by the following three minimum criteria: (1) hostile intent, (2) imbalance of power, and (3) repetition over a period of time

Anyone care to guess why?

 

While meandering through Pioneer Courthouse Square I noticed a security guard having a conversation on his radio. He looked serious and after spotting my camera I was approached. Pointing to a certain man carrying a backpack he asked; “Will you take some pictures of that man?” Without hesitating I began photographing the man from a distance but I asked the security guard the reason for his unusual request, also. “Because he has a gun and we might need pictures for evidence”, he replied. I was instantly gripped with an uneasy feeling of what have I gotten myself into. All I could think of were the tragic events of the past several weeks. My heart was off to the races.

 

The man began roaming the streets and so the security guard and I followed. He seemed perfectly harmless and at ease while taking pictures of the surroundings with his cell phone. He wasn’t trying to hide anything as the gun was not concealed but out in the open. By the time we had gone one full city block, though, the man was cautiously swarmed by Portland’s finest. There was no attempt to run and no arguing or shouting. He was briefly handcuffed as they searched his backpack and viewed the material on his cell phone. When the questioning process was complete the cuffs were removed. Obviously he had a legal permit and posed no public threat.

 

Less than 6 months ago no one would have noticed he was packing heat. Now everyone freaks out over the very utterance of the word “gun”. In a perfect world sales of firearms would be non-existent and the general public would be freed from the task of “staying vigilant” when going shopping or to a movie theater. Unfortunately our world is far from perfect so I understand why he was detained for questioning. What if the threat was real? The Police were merely doing their job to serve and protect. On the other hand I don’t blame the man for carrying a weapon for protection, either. Even I considered it and I’ve never owned a gun my entire life. After all, none of us really know when or where the next Sandy Hook Elementary or Clackamas Town Center will occur in our imperfect world, do we?

 

Btw, I’m not going to purchase a gun. Yes, the Clackamas Town Center shooting had my mind indulging in a paranoid-induced feeding frenzy of a plateful of “what-ifs”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone shopping at that particular mall. But after much soul searching I’ve come to one conclusion: I’d rather take my chances with the what-ifs than live my life in fear.

 

2019 Praise and Worship Hymn | "Everything God Does for Man Is Sincere"

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/everything-God-does-is-si...

 

Introduction

Everything God does is practical, and nothing He does is empty.

God comes among humans, humbling Himself to be an ordinary person.

He does not leave after simply doing a bit of work and speaking a few words;

rather, He actually comes among humans to experience the suffering of the world.

He pays the price of His own experience of suffering in exchange for a destination for humanity.

Is this not practical work?

Parents may pay an earnest price for the sake of their children, and this represents their sincerity.

In doing this, God incarnate is, of course, being most sincere and faithful to mankind.

The essence of God is faithful; He does what He says, and whatever He does is achieved.

Everything He does for humans is sincere. He does not simply make utterances;

when He says He will pay a price, He actually pays the price.

When He says He will undertake humanity’s suffering and suffer in their stead,

He actually comes to live amongst them,

feeling and experiencing this suffering personally.

After that, all things in the universe will acknowledge that everything God does is right and righteous,

that all God does is realistic:

This is a powerful piece of evidence.

Mankind will have a beautiful destination in the future, and all those who remain will praise God;

they will eulogize that God’s deeds were indeed done out of His love for humanity.

God’s essence of beauty and goodness can be seen in the significance of His incarnation in the flesh.

Whatever He does is sincere; whatever He says is earnest and faithful,

is earnest and faithful.

All the things He intends to do are done practically,

and He pays actual price for them; He does not simply make utterances.

Therefore, God is a righteous God; God is a faithful God.

from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs

Recommended for You：Christian Music Video

 

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Terms of Use: en.godfootsteps.org/disclaimer.html

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/god-word-creator-authority/

Introduction

Almighty God says, "Satan has been corrupting mankind for thousands of years. It has wrought untold amounts of evil, has deceived generation after generation, and has committed heinous crimes in the world. It has abused man, deceived man, seduced man to oppose God, and has committed evil acts that have confounded and impaired God’s plan of management time and time again. Yet, under the authority of God, all things and living creatures continue to abide by the rules and laws set down by God. Compared to the authority of God, Satan’s evil nature and rampancy are so ugly, so disgusting and despicable, and so small and vulnerable. Even though Satan walks among all things created by God, it is not able to enact the slightest change in the people, things, and objects commanded by God. Several thousand years have passed, and mankind still enjoys the light and air bestowed by God, still breathes the breath exhaled by God Himself, still enjoys the flowers, birds, fish and insects created by God, and enjoys all the things provided by God; day and night still continually replace each other; the four seasons alternate as usual; the geese flying in the sky depart in this winter, and still return in the next spring; the fish in the water never leave the rivers and lakes—their home; the cicadas on the ground sing their hearts out during the summer days; the crickets in the grass gently hum in time to the wind during autumn; the geese gather into flocks, while the eagles remain solitary; the prides of lions sustain themselves by hunting; the elk don’t stray from the grass and flowers…. Every kind of living creature amongst all things departs and returns, and then departs again, a million changes occurring in the twinkling of an eye—but what doesn’t change are their instincts and the laws of survival. They live under the provision and nourishment of God, and no one can change their instincts, and neither can anyone impair their rules of survival. Although mankind, who lives among all things, has been corrupted and deceived by Satan, man still cannot forgo the water made by God, and the air made by God, and all things made by God, and man still lives and proliferates in this space created by God. The instincts of mankind have not changed. Man still relies on his eyes to see, on his ears to hear, on his brain to think, on his heart to understand, on his legs and feet to walk, on his hands to work, and so on; all the instincts that God bestowed upon man in order that he could accept the provision of God remain unaltered, the faculties through which man cooperates with God have not changed, mankind’s faculty for performing the duty of a created being has not changed, mankind’s spiritual needs have not changed, mankind’s desire to find his origins has not changed, mankind’s yearning to be saved by the Creator has not changed. Such are the current circumstances of mankind, who lives under the authority of God, and who has endured the bloody destruction wrought by Satan. Though mankind has been subjected to the oppression of Satan, and is no longer Adam and Eve from the beginning of creation, instead being full of things that are antagonistic to God, such as knowledge, imagination, notions, and so on, and full of the corrupt satanic disposition, in the eyes of God, mankind is still the same mankind that He created…"

Terms of Use： en.godfootsteps.org/disclaimer.html

She takes hold of me

The whole of me

but the hole in me

What used to be

You and me

Ceased to be

Since the beast

is harvesting

It's no longer in me

for loving

The dark-heart sun

is coming

 

A deep casm

Deeper than Jacque Cousteau

could fathom

Drunken phantoms gathered

with their sorrows in tandem

Singing their woe-filled anthem

of shattered glass hearts

from diamond betrayals

Through the dark they march

with soul-lit lanterns

and the stench of ale

 

👺 The beast feeds

off your flame

Haunted by the deeds

of the estranged

No sea is deeper

than our pain

We drink to cast them away

but lose ourselves

The pain is all that remains 👹🍻

 

The song fades

into the night

In the gorge

A succession of lights

A horde of swordsman

with a murderous plight

A tower suspended

with the threads of lives

the beast has comprised

from the souls of others

under a lover's guise

The end is nigh

 

She emerges from the dark

guided by her blades gleam

Over the ramparts

Even at the cost

of her own heart

She fights through an onslaught

of heartless entities

until they're slain

at her feet

The tower spire is reached

A column of dark energy

emitting from its core

The sun is weak

The light no longer reaches

the valley floor

This cannot be!

 

She makes her ascent

Traversing the soul web

Defeating the chrome men

and into the towers center

A willow tree looming

over a throne of broken hearts

Power lines connected

to the aortas

that feed into

the controls of the dark heart

of the sun

 

An engine that runs

on lust and the pain

of hearts broken

The willow sounds

like it's weeping

from the pressure release

of the exhaust openings

A pure heart

Mine in the willows

center enclosure

Feeds the beast

The queen

The Atom Heart Mother

Sowing her seeds

of discord and destruction

Cycling it through

my hearts chambers

to magnify the suns

dark heart corruption

 

She unsheathes her sword

as she lays eyes

on the queen beast

The queen bares her teeth

and steps back

into the shadows

Where she can't be seen

 

"I was once like you

but now I'm free

You can't break

a broken heart

Without it it's peace

Join me in the dark

and make love bleed

The last stage

of the dark-heart sun

is almost complete"☀

 

"I only do onto others

as I want done to me"!

 

Her sword begins to glow

as she cuts through the shadows

Exposed is the queen beast's true being

The Atom Heart Mother shrieks

rushing her in a desperate attempt

to pierce her heart to feed

The queen beast phases through

in disbelief

It was an afterimage

Stabbed from behind right through

where her heart used to be

 

A hoarse utterance

as the light

of broken hearts seeps

The queen returns to dust

Returning heartless entities

and drunken phantoms

to the material plane

and the way they used to be

 

She disconnects my heart

from the tree

and the darkness slowly dissipates

The soul webs start to snap

The tower begins to quake

My soul returns to my body

 

She cries,

 

"Have you really returned to me?

Your love was all that remained

in the darkest of days

I traversed the astral plane

in search of you

The demon fox said you went

through the thorn road doorway

but in the distance I recognized

your dim flame

and knew you were in pain

Please is it really you"?

 

"The queen beast left me weak

I had enough energy

to reach you in your dreams

There tower is crumbling

We have to jump before it sinks"!

 

We're free-falling

through time and space

The being Eternity

puts the sun back in place

 

You two will become

Earth and Sky

The sun is your hearts light

When it sets you

will join in nights embrace

Until the end of time

give birth to twilight

and raise a brand new day

 

Richard Ryals 2015©

God's Utterance " God Himself, the Unique X God Is the Source of Life for All Things (IV)" (Part One)

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/god-himself-the-unique-x-...

 

God’s words in this video are from the book “Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh”.

 

The content of this video:

 

God Is the Source of Life for All Things (IV) Part One

 

1. How God Rules and Administers the Spiritual World

 

1) The Cycle of Life and Death of the Unbelievers

 

Terms of Use

   

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/god-word-creator-authority

Introduction

Almighty God says, "Satan has been corrupting mankind for thousands of years. It has wrought untold amounts of evil, has deceived generation after generation, and has committed heinous crimes in the world. It has abused man, deceived man, seduced man to oppose God, and has committed evil acts that have confounded and impaired God’s plan of management time and time again. Yet, under the authority of God, all things and living creatures continue to abide by the rules and laws set down by God. Compared to the authority of God, Satan’s evil nature and rampancy are so ugly, so disgusting and despicable, and so small and vulnerable. Even though Satan walks among all things created by God, it is not able to enact the slightest change in the people, things, and objects commanded by God. Several thousand years have passed, and mankind still enjoys the light and air bestowed by God, still breathes the breath exhaled by God Himself, still enjoys the flowers, birds, fish and insects created by God, and enjoys all the things provided by God; day and night still continually replace each other; the four seasons alternate as usual; the geese flying in the sky depart in this winter, and still return in the next spring; the fish in the water never leave the rivers and lakes—their home; the cicadas on the ground sing their hearts out during the summer days; the crickets in the grass gently hum in time to the wind during autumn; the geese gather into flocks, while the eagles remain solitary; the prides of lions sustain themselves by hunting; the elk don’t stray from the grass and flowers….

Terms of Use： en.godfootsteps.org/disclaimer.html

This photo was taken shortly after the utterance of "GAHH, we're not going to make it to Tunnel View in time!" and a sprint through the snowy meadow.

The Chrysler Building, Empire State Building and skyscrapers of the midtown Manhattan skyline as viewed from Queens.

 

Camera: Sony a99 | Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 (Sony SAL-2470Z)

  

---

 

In the blink of an eye the city's lights twinkle like stars in a universe that rises up from the ground to the surface of a darkening sky.

 

And all at once, everything else seems to fade away.

 

---

 

This was taken on a frigid evening at Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens with wind gusts that roared across the river to the rocks I was teetering on with nothing more than my tripod and utterances of hope that the wind would let up for just a few seconds.

 

It didn't.

 

I was mostly ok with that though since the glow emanating from the city was akin to a roaring fire. At least that's how my hopeful mind processed the scene as I stood there frozen in place for the longest 30 seconds of the evening.

 

--

 

View more of my New York City photography at my website NY Through The Lens.

 

View my photography profile on Google Plus: New York City photography by Vivienne Gucwa

 

To purchase any of my work view my site gallery for info here.

  

To use any of my photos commercially, feel free to contact me via email at photos@nythroughthelens.com

God's Utterance "God Himself, the Unique (V) God’s Holiness (II)" (Part Three)

Introduction

God’s word in this video are from the book “The Word Appears in the Flesh”.

 

The content of this video:

 

A. How Satan Uses Knowledge to Corrupt Man

 

B. How Satan Uses Science to Corrupt Man

 

C. How Satan Uses Traditional Culture to Corrupt Man

 

D. How Satan Uses Superstition to Corrupt Man

History records Henry Ford as saying "you can have any colour car as long as its black". Historically one could have paraphrased him in B.R. blue days regarding locomotive colours. But this photo proves his other well known utterance "History is bunk" because history will show that cars were available in many colours, as it was for locomotives. On 9 July 2015, 6X65, the 2028 Didcot - Mossend is seen approaching Crawford behind 90036 and 90024.

"God's Utterance "How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work (Part Two)

Introduction

God’s word in this video are from the book “The Word Appears in the Flesh.”

 

The content of this video:

 

Walk in God’s Way: Fear God and Shun Evil

 

God Makes Use of Different Trials to Test Whether People Fear God and Shun Evil

 

To Not Fear God and Shun Evil Is to Oppose God

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny.

 

A moment comes which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, then an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.

 

To the people of India whose representatives we are, we make appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.

 

[Extracts from the Speech by Jawaharlal Nehru India's first Prime Minister to the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi at midnight on August 14, 1947]

 

63 years! Are we there yet?

 

Why boxing?

 

It is a big question, when considering the injuries you get, and the toll it takes. Strangely it was a song, and a deep look into that song, which produced this consideration of the question. In 1982 Midnight Oil released Jimmy Sharman’s Boxers, and over 40 years later, I found some answers. To help put it in a personal perspective, it was produced when I was ten. Here is a link to it on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4_TxQ-Aarc if you haven’t heard it, or haven’t heard it recently. My recommendation is that you play it with a good dose of volume, through the best audio you can get, it is worth it. It is a brilliant track to listen to, with wonderful audio engineering involved. An exceptional recording, which was meant to highlight the issue of worker exploitation, and for me it does, but probably not in the way, they thought it would affect someone.

 

It is a song, sung about, the reported, and or supposed exploitation of Australian Aboriginal boxers, by an Australian Boxing promoter, and those, that use to be voyeurs of his mobile itinerant boxing tent. But where the band, may have had a heart felt or genuine concern, they had an upper class, modern Christian puritan lack of pragmatism. A lack of pragmatism that was devoid of on the ground options, to solve the problems they raised. This is not a put down of the song, nor of the band, and it should be noted, I do not have solutions, for the issues they raise either. But the song, for me instigates the questions, where does a warrior earn his place in history, except on a battlefield? And how will he live for eternity, if he cannot father a child, or children? The legacy of their song was in part, that the band had metaphorically boxed many Australians regardless of race into intellectual corners. Yes, it is that deft of a song, and because of their music many copped an absolute social hiding. To use a thought generated for me by the song, and to paraphrase a little, what are we the listeners, or the Australian people, “…fighting for…”? I can only speculate on their motives, but most professional fighters fight for recognition and cash. Sharman’s fighters were, professionals, so I do not see them as an exception to the rule. In the process, were some endeavouring for the public, to “…remember their name…,” to paraphrase Brad pit from Achilles. Here is a YouTube link to Brad Pits portrayal of Achilles for you to consider, the motives of a warrior www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-TrC03Aklo

 

Let us have a look.

 

Where they, or are they, fighting for the not so grand but ever so humble, and idealistic, but not so attainable these days white picket fence? Or was it a fight, so that they would live in a double brick, with a special roof insulation, so important, it was worth dying for. Was the only alternative for a life to revolve around pugilism? No! But the unicorn like existence, for physical labourers here in Australia, was one, that only briefly appeared, and it vanished during the eighties. It vanished in the “recession we had to have” to quote Paul Keating, an Australian Labour party prime minister. And unlike the current labouring environment, in the eighties permanent physical injury while working was commonplace.

 

What other choice was there for Sharman’s boxers or any boxers regardless of their race? I personally, would not begrudge a man, for trying to earn a living, or even striving for international success in the ring? And that, is with all due respect, to the brain damage that most certainly happens. How could I be dismissive of brain damage? Well, I am not, as when it happens it is serious. And to qualify my statement, after having suffered brain injuries from being knocked out, on more than one occasion, while ironically being paid less than Jimmy Sharman’s boxers, or if I am honest, being paid nothing at all, I do appreciate what it does to a person, on a very personal level. I have a firsthand appreciation of the effects of being hit hard, but after doing a repeated cost benefit analysis, I still concluded, even after an additional risk analysis, that it might not have stopped me giving it a go, despite being confronted with a recurring conclusion, of permanent injury, as being foreseeable. Why?

 

Being trapped in a job that is going nowhere fast, for an exceptionally long time, and while earning so little that I would never be considered to father children, is not a good thing. In those type of jobs, and I have done them, you can break your body for very little net reward, sometimes none. With little to no chance to father a child or children, where is the incentive to even exist, let alone not take a gamble with your life. In a breakdown of natural, or genetically gifted aptitudes, what happens to the man, a man who his best chance of survival, and having, or fathering children, is aided by skill of his fists? What happens if he has nowhere to legally fight? What happens to the professional fighter without a promoter? Unfortunately, the band may not have had lyrical space to delve into it, but the universal struggle, that of fighting for your life, still occurs. It may not be your chosen battlefield, but it is someone’s. It is a battle where it does not matter if you are white or Black, and Sharman had both in his tent. If the choice were to slowly die, or fight for your life, the choice for me at least, becomes academic. It makes for me, the consideration of getting in the ring, not such a crazy option, although I am too old, slow, and broken for it now. The consideration of being exploited, as we all are at work, one way or another, when considered, or compared, to a childless or near eternal bread line future, is for me at least a no brainer?

 

After long discussions with labourers, and old men with broken bodies, black and white, friends and family. We concluded that those that were meant to be, or where historically represented by Garrets political associates here in Australia, the Australian Labour Party, where always hit with the same wall. A wall, constructed with logic. It stopped us in our philosophical tracks. While we hit a wall, Garret, his band, and ideological associates seemed to hit the slippery slope instead. The law here in Australia, Garret’s first calling, nearly made Garret’s song utterly redundant, in any form of social commentary. At one time, the law here in Australia was trying to ban any, and every, physical sporting endeavour that involved injury that did not politically Aline with them, who every they were. In the process, they were neglecting the beautiful mathematics, done by John Nash, on the path of least resistance, (for lack of a better analogy, an analogy still easier to digest, than invoking the mental visual of Russel Crow staring at pigeons at least, but I will anyway). : ) Here is a link to the movies seen on YouTube if you haven’t seen it www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmlSSSN7C78

They the band, and their sympathetic critics, missed the beauty of the existence of biological distributions in human populations, a beauty that exists regardless of race. Despite the plasticity of the brain and its extraordinary adaptabilities, they neglected Darwin and his survival of the fittest, and its applications to warriors. They did not see the remarkable variation that exist in all races, and the potential of how Darwin’s theory would play out, on any group, they were trying to exclude from its best, or strongest natural aptitude. Not all people are cut out to do white collar jobs, and not all people can box. To miss quote Nash’s work to the extreme, find your niche. The wall we hit every time when it came to discussions on boxing, was why not? Why wouldn’t you take a big risk with your life in a gamble? The non-existent conundrum for me, or those I spoke to, was if you are going to end up with a broken body of a labourer, why would you begrudge the man who risks it all, to escape poverty in the ring? If the broken body is inevitable, why not try to escape poverty in the ring with the certain knowledge of permanent injury, while you are at it? Why feel pity for someone, who may, or may not, even want it? The Australian Aboriginal politician Jacinta Price said, and to quote, “the problem with the idea that there are two classes of people is that it doesn’t recognise people’s true capabilities as human beings,” “When you say I am a victim, you are effectively handing your power to somebody else.” She did not say it in relation to boxing, or anything closely, or even indirectly related, she was talking about colonialism. To me, it seemed that what she had said, was profoundly universal to not just her people, the Australian people, but everyone. It was applicable not to just her nation, but to all. It worked on multiple issues, and for me it seemed applicable to men entering Sharman’s tent and its ring.

 

Is it that victim hood sells albums? Is it that victimhood is an industry for some Australian Labour Party members, academics, and its political associates? The Australian Labour Party is no longer a nationalistic semi socialist group that they once were. A political party formed in 1890 to represent pastoral workers, or the working class of Australia. It has been argued that it has morphed into a mouthpiece, for groups absolutely opposed to the needs of the true working class, and especially lower income males. They failed, and fail, on many fronts, especially when it came to self-determination for blue-collar males, regardless of race. Ironically, the boxers of Sharmen’s tent were applying Nash’s rules on economics in Sharman’s tent, even if they didn’t know it. I personally find it condescending to the struggle of the men involved, and a reduction of their perceived intellect, for anyone to suggest otherwise. Yes, they did not have a beautiful algorithm as per Nash to explain what they were doing, they just knew instinctively that it was the thing to do.

 

When it came to men’s rights, and their capacity to earn a respectable living while labouring, they, Garrett’s old political party, the Australian Labour Party, did not publicly concede defeat on this topic. They replaced it with a fairy tale, and the idealist assumption that all blue-collar individuals will or could be all retrained into metaphorical non-back breaking jobs. It was, and has, turned out to be a fallacy. There have been workplace and safety advancements for sure, and they were welcome, but it is by the nature of the physical repetition where most injuries are unavoidable, and or unreported. If injury for some is unavoidable, isn’t it a process of self-determination by the men involved, to decide for themselves, where, and how, that injury occurs? Or if they want to box or not?

 

How far, they, the Australian labour party moved from its working-class mantras! And the song Jimmy Sharman’s boxers, was in part responsible for that shift. One labour politician went as far as to publicly lament, or question, who would make his café lat’e, and cook his meal for him, if it were not for mass migration! How very working class of him. His personal plight was epitomized by his self-perceived right, to be served like a historical aristocrat once was. His right to be served by those that he saw as should serve him, was more important, than trying to not dilute the ability of the working class, to use market forces to get a higher wage. And his insistence on educating foreigners on mass, before locals, made it essentially impossible for blue collar males, regardless of colour, to break the Australian glass ceiling of many, when it came to getting a higher education. His simple statement was ugly and revealing. He was either complicit, or blind, to a process of demographic social cleansing of people who no longer vote for his party. Social cleansing, is like ethnic cleansing, done along demographic lines, not along ethnic lines, and you cleans workplaces, and areas of employment with it. Potentially you take the cleansed group’s land. Not only had the Australian Labour Party, which was part of Garrett’s cohort, banned self-determination, for some socioeconomically poorer Australian males, regardless of race, some of his political group, had deemed it, that they should be waited on, by those that they saw as unfit to make up their own minds.

 

Regarding maiming yourself with physical labour for the profit of others, with little to no reward, the discussions I had, or have, range around what are the options? Everyone cannot be an academic, not everyone can be an international music star. Marriage until death, was essentially made obsolete by the political policies of the Australian Labour Party when they pork barrelled individuals instead of electorates, here in Australia. The result was, it was very possible, to have a broken body, no money, no woman, no shelter, and be denied the ability to father a child. So why wouldn’t you give anything a go? Why wouldn’t you even give boxing a go?

 

The challengers of Sharman’s tent risked public humiliation, brain damage, and broken bones for a little bit of local fame. In response so did Sharman’s men. So why wouldn’t Sharman’s men risk lifelong injury just to break the drip feed, of perpetual labouring or forever social welfare, in a system that has no reward here in Australia? Yes, it is, a near life and death competition, of man against man. To summarise the reward of the endeavour as they did to just revolve around a potential a racial exploitation for grog or dollars, as Garret and his band were speculated by some critics to have done, is to position them as academic social economic minimalists, ones that neglected the social rewards of boxing, that go beyond the publicly promoted, or visible. Strangely a member of what used to be a semisocialist group, made a song insinuating that the boxing ring of Sharman revolved around only the dollar and exploitation involving grog, physical, and alcohol abuse. Not a propaganda peace for the once Nationalist labour party, and their longest serving prime minister Bob Hawk, who had had a world record for the consumption of a yard glass of beer. They did not make a propaganda piece about the struggle of the proletariat to leave his station, or break his class barriers, or social constraints. A strange position for Garrett and his band, given his, and their political stance.

 

Why not risk it all? Why not try to break the cycle? A cycle that would have and see many drink themselves to death, or later in history turn to drugs in an in vain attempt to alleviate a life, which is wrongly characterised as having no meaning. Ironically while Garrett sang about alcohol abuse of Sharman’s Boxers, his political party ensured through legalisation of its legal sale, that whole communities would be exploited by the grog shops. The Labour policy would have maximum effect, on a scale that would literally leave Sharman’s men’s drinking for dead, to use and Australian euphemism. It the policy would go on, to decimate, person, after person, and child after child with the social effects. Garretts political associates would leave actual Aboriginal politicians like Jacinta Price, at wits end, trying to deal with the fall out, in her and their extended families.

 

Garrett sung and to paraphrase “Their days are darker than your nights, they will not be the first to fall,” but he was wrong, as sometimes they did, if you ask my dad, who went along to watch as a child. Sharman himself, had lifted the side wall of his iconic tent, to let his friends and him in. Why would Sharman have surrendered money if he were such a financial abuser? Why would he grant them entry, albeit through the metaphoric back door. Probably to make sure no one saw the non-paying underage members of the crowd enter. He let the local boys in, so that dad and his penniless mates, (and if you do not know, pennies where a coin, or pre 1966 currency, here in Australia), could see the spectacle.

 

For sure, Sharman’s men were not big money prize fighters, but that I presume, was not all they were striving for, they were fighting for their little piece of immortality.

 

Although it must be said that the drudgery of fighting so many fights would have been weathering. It should be noted that having personally lived in a tin shed, as a child during a mouse plague, and having done a lot of jobs well below that of the station of a janitor, or cleaner, does not make me bitter. I did jobs no one else wanted to do, jobs that broke my body, but that is ok as in the end I do not blame others for my choices. Correspondingly I do not blame those that chose to box in Sharman’s tent. I do not blame them for what they did, and I do not feel sorry for them either. And when it comes to fathering or having kids, both for Sharman’s men and their challengers, might just have given themselves a chance. A chance that was, and is not, available to all. Most men are unable to fight their way out of their childless and or fatherless poverty, as they cannot, or do not have that chance, and or, the natural ability! Sometimes you get, “one shot,” as M&M sung in his biographical take on his personal escape from poverty. Here is a link to M&M’s song www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YuAzR2XVAM

And sometimes that shot for some, is in a boxing ring!

 

Regardless, of if the efforts of Sharman’s boxers were seen as insignificant, or not. Even, if it was viewed that they were not suitably rewarded, by those that did not value their skill. Despite the fighters most visible physical sacrifice, that of public corporal suffering. And without any concern, of if, it had been seen as a waisted misery, by some. It, there endeavour, was not observed for what it really was. It was a life and death fight, for life itself. A fight for an existence, and an escape from a death that many Aboriginal men would suffer, outside of those who plied their trade in Sharman’s tent. They may not have achieved the historical magnitude or status of the warrior Achillies. But by utterance of their very names, and or their families’ names, regardless of what instigated that utterance; and despite being held up for public display in a song, and branded as victims, they had hit their mark. And just like Achilles, one way or another, they would live on, forever. Somewhere, part of them would exist for eternity. They would live, not because they were victims, but because, they had deliberately fought to exist.

  

Born in the City of London, 21 February, 1801, the eldest of six children, three boys and three girls; died at Edgbaston, Birmingham, 11 August, 1890.

 

His father was John Newman, a banker, his mother Jemima Fourdrinier, of a Huguenot family settled in London as engravers and paper-makers. His French pedigree is undoubted. It accounts for his religious training, a modified Calvinism, which he received at his mother's knees; and perhaps it helped towards the "lucid concision" of his phrase when dealing with abstruse subjects. His brother Francis William, also a writer, but wanting in literary charm, turned from the English Church to Deism; Charles Robert, the second son, was very erratic, and professed Atheism. One sister, Mary, died young; Jemima has a place in the cardinal's biography during the crisis of his Anglican career; and to a daughter of Harriet, Anne Mozley, we are indebted for his "Letters and Correspondence" down to 1845, which contains a sequel from his own hand to the "Apologia."

 

A classic from the day it was completed, the "Apologia" will ever be the chief authority for Newman's early thoughts, and for his judgment on the great religious revival known as the Oxford Movement, of which he was the guide, the philosopher, and the martyr. His immense correspondence, the larger portion of which still awaits publication, cannot essentially change our estimate of one who, though subtle to a degree bordering on refinement, was also impulsive and open with his friends, as well as bold in his confidences to the public. From all that is thus known of him we may infer that Newman's greatness consisted in the union of originality, amounting to genius of the first rank, with a deep spiritual temper, the whole manifesting itself in language of perfect poise and rhythm, in energy such as often has created sects or Churches, and in a personality no less winning than sensitive. Among the literary stars of his time Newman is distinguished by the pure Christian radiance that shines in his life and writings. He is the one Englishman of that era who upheld the ancient creed with a knowledge that only theologians possess, a Shakespearean force of style, and a fervour worthy of the saints. It is this unique combination that raises him above lay preachers de vanitate mundi like Thackeray, and which gives him a place apart from Tennyson and Browning. In comparison with him Keble is a light of the sixth magnitude, Pusey but a devout professor, Liddon a less eloquent Lacordaire. Newman occupies in the nineteenth century a position recalling that of Bishop Butler in the eighteenth. As Butler was the Christian champion against Deism, so Newman is the Catholic apologist in an epoch of Agnosticism, and amid the theories of evolution. He is, moreover, a poet, and his "Dream of Gerontius" far excels the meditative verse of modern singers by its happy shadowing forth in symbol and dramatic scenes of the world behind the veil.

 

He was brought up from a child to take great delight in reading the Bible; but he had no formed religious convictions until he was fifteen. He used to wish the Arabian tales were true; his mind ran on unknown influences; he thought life possibly a dream, himself an angel, and that his fellow-angels might be deceiving him with the semblance of a material world. He was "very superstitious" and would cross himself on going into the dark. At fifteen he underwent "conversion", though not quite as Evangelicals practise it; from works of the school of Calvin he gained definite dogmatic ideas; and as he rested "in the thought of two and two only absolute and luminously self-evident beings, myself and my Creator." In other words, personality became the primal truth in his philosophy; not matter, law, reason, or the experience of the senses. Henceforth, Newman was a Christian mystic, and such he remained. From the writings of Thomas Scott of Aston Sandford, "to whom, humanly speaking", he says, "I almost owe my soul", he learned the doctrine of the Trinity, supporting each verse of the Athanasian Creed with texts from Scripture. Scott's aphorisms were constantly on his lips for years, "Holiness rather than peace", and "Growth is the only evidence of life." Law's "Serious Call" had on the youth a Catholic or ascetic influence; he was born to be a missionary; thought it was God's will that he should lead a single life; was enamoured of quotations from the Fathers given in Milner's "Church History", and, reading Newton on the Prophecies, felt convinced that the pope was Antichrist. He had been at school at Ealing near London from the age of seven. Always thoughtful, shy, and affectionate, he took no part in boys' games, began to exercise his pen early, read the Waverley Novels, imitated Gibbon and Johnson, matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, December, 1816, and in 1818 won a scholarship of 60 pounds tenable for nine years. In 1819 his father's bank suspended payment, but soon discharged its liabilities in full. Working too hard for his degree, Newman broke down, and gained in 1821 only third-class honors. But his powers could not be hidden. Oriel was then first in reputation and intellect among the Oxford Colleges, and of Oriel he was elected a fellow, 12 April, 1822. He ever felt this to be "the turning point in his life, and of all days most memorable."

 

In 1821 he had given up the intention of studying for the Bar, and resolved to take orders. As tutor of Oriel, he considered that he had a cure of souls; he was ordained on 13 June, 1824; and at Pusey's suggestion became curate of St. Clement's, Oxford, where he spent two years in parochial activity. And here the views in which he had been brought up disappointed him; Calvinism was not a key to the phenomena of human nature as they occur in the world. It would not work. He wrote articles on Cicero, etc., and his first "Essay on Miracles", which takes a strictly Protestant attitude, to the prejudice of those alleged outside Scripture. But he also fell under the influence of Whateley, afterwards Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, who, in 1825, made him his vice-principal at St. Mary's Hall. Whateley stimulated him by discussion, taught him the notion of Christianity as a social and sovereign organism distinct from the State, but led him in the direction of "liberal" ideas and nominalistic logic. To Whateley's once famous book on that subject Newman contributed. From Hawkins, whom his casting vote made Provost of Oriel, he gained the Catholic doctrines of tradition and baptismal regeneration, as well as a certain precision of terms which, long afterwards, gave rise to Kingsley's misunderstanding of Newman's methods in writing. By another Oxford clergyman he was taught to believe in the Apostolic succession. And Butler's "Analogy", read in 1823, made an era in his religious opinions. It is probably not too much to say that this deep and searching book became Newman's guide in life, and gave rise not only to the "Essay on Development" but to the "Grammar of Assent." In particular it offered a rejective account of ethics and conscience which confirmed his earliest beliefs in a lawgiver and judge intimately present to the soul. On another line it suggested the sacramental system, or the "Economy", of which the Alexandrians Clement and St. Athanasius are exponents. To sum up, at this formative period the sources whence Newman derived his principles as well as his doctrines were Anglican and Greek, not Roman or German. His Calvinism dropped away; in time he withdrew from the Bible Society. He was growing fiercely anti-Erastian; and Whateley saw the elements of a fresh party in the Church gathering round one whom Oriel had chosen for his intellectual promise, but whom Oxford was to know as a critic and antagonist of the "March of Mind."

 

His college in 1828 made him Vicar of St. Mary's (which was also the university church), and in its pulpit he delivered the "Parochial Sermons", without eloquence or gesture, for he had no popular gifts, but with a thrilling earnestness and a knowledge of human nature seldom equalled. When published, it was said of them that they "beat all other sermons out of the market as Scott's tales beat all other stories." They were not controversial; and there is little in them to which Catholic theology would object. Their chastened style, fertility of illustration, and short sharp energy, have lost nothing by age. In tone they are severe and often melancholy, as if the utterance of an isolated spirit. Though gracious and even tenderhearted, Newman's peculiar temper included deep reserve. He had not in his composition, as he says, a grain of conviviality. He was always the Oxford scholar, no democrat, suspicious of popular movements; but keenly interested in political studies as bearing on the fortunes of the Church. This disposition was intensified by his friendship with Keble, whose "Christian Year" came out in 1827, and with R. Hurrell Froude, a man of impetuous thought and self-denying practice. In 1832 he quarrelled with Dr. Hawkins, who would not endure the pastoral idea which Newman cherished of his college work. He resigned his tutorship, went on a long voyage round the Mediterranean with Froude, and came back to Oxford, where on 14 July, 1833, Keble preached the Assize sermon on "National Apostasy." That day, the anniversary of the French Revolution, gave birth to the Oxford Movement.

 

Newman's voyage to the coasts of North Africa, Italy, Western Greece, and Sicily (December, 1832-July, 1833) was a romantic episode, of which his diaries have preserved the incidents and the colour. In Rome he saw Wiseman at the English College; the city, as mother of religion to his native land, laid a spell on him never more to be undone. He felt called to some high mission; and when fever took him at Leonforte in Sicily (where he was wandering alone) he cried out, "I shall not die, I have not sinned against the light." But during the earlier stages of that journey it was not clear, even to the leader himself, in what direction they were moving — away from the Revolution, certainly. Reform was in the air; ten Irish bishoprics had been suppressed; disestablishment might not be far off. There was need of resistance to the enemies without, and of a second, but a Catholic, reformation within. The primitive Church must somehow be restored in England. He took his motto from the Iliad: "They shall know the difference now." Achilles went down into battle, fought for eight years, won victory upon victory, but was defeated by his own weapons when "Tract 90" appeared, and retired to his tent at Littlemore, a broken champion. Nevertheless, he had done a lasting work, greater than Laud's and likely to overthrow Cranmer's in the end. He had resuscitated the Fathers, brought into relief the sacramental system, paved the way for an astonishing revival of long-forgotten ritual, and given the clergy a hold upon thousands at the moment when Erastian principles were on the eve of triumph. "It was soon after 1830", says Pattison grimly, "that the Tracts desolated Oxford life." Newman's position was designated the Via Media. The English Church, he maintained, lay at an equal distance from Rome and Geneva. It was Catholic in origin and doctrine; it anathematized as heresies the peculiar tenets whether of Calvin or Luther; it could not but protest against "Roman corruptions", which were excrescences on primitive truth. Hence England stood by the Fathers, whose teaching the Prayer Book handed down; it appealed to antiquity, and its norm was the undivided Church.

 

Meanwhile, Oxford was shaken like Medicean Florence by a new Savonarola, who made disciples on every hand; who stirred up sleepy Conservatives when Hampden, a commonplace don, subjected Christian verities to the dissolving influence of Nominalism; and who multiplied books and lectures dealing with all religious parties at once. "The Prophetic Office" was a formal apology of the Laudian type; the obscure, but often beautiful "Treatise on Justification" made an effort "to show that there is little difference but what is verbal in the various views, found whether among Catholic or Protestant divines" on this subject. Döllinger called it "the greatest masterpiece in theology that England had produced in a hundred years", and it contains the true answer to Puritanism. The "University Sermons", profound as their theme, aimed at determining the powers and limits of reason, the methods of revelation, the possibilities of a real theology. Newman wrote so much that his hand almost failed him. Among a crowd of admirers only one perhaps, Hurrell Froude, could meet him in thought on fairly equal terms, and Froude passed away at Dartington in 1836. The pioneer went his road alone. He made a bad party-leader, being liable to sudden gusts and personal resolutions which ended in catastrophe. But from 1839, when he reigned at Oxford without a rival, he was already faltering. In his own language, he had seen a ghost; the shadow of Rome overclouding his Anglican compromise. Two names are associated with a change so momentous — Wiseman and Ward. The "Apologia" does full justice to Wiseman; it scarcely mentions Ward. Those who were looking on might have predicted a collision between the Tractarians and Protestant England, which had forgotten the Caroline divines. This came about on occasion of "Tract 90" — in itself the least interesting of all Newman's publications. The tract was intended to keep stragglers from Rome by distinguishing the corruptions against which the Thirty-Nine Articles were directed, from the doctrines of Trent which they did not assail. A furious and universal agitation broke out in consequence (Feb., 1841), Newman was denounced as a traitor, a Guy Fawkes at Oxford; the University intervened with academic maladroitness and called the tract "an evasion." Dr. Bagot, Bishop of Oxford, mildly censured it, but required that the tracts should cease. For three years condemnations from the bench of bishops were scattered broadcast. To a mind constituted like Newman's, imbued with Ignatian ideas of episcopacy, and unwilling to perceive that they did not avail in the English Establishment, this was an ex cathedra judgment against him. He stopped the tracts, resigned his editorship of "The British Critic", by and by gave up St. Mary's, and retired at Littlemore into lay communion. Nothing is clearer than that, if he had held on quietly, he would have won the day. "Tract 90" does not go so far as many Anglican attempts at reconciliation have gone since. The bishops did not dream of coercing him into submission. But he had lost faith in himself.

 

From 1841 Newman was on his death-bed as regarded the Anglican Church. He and some friends lived together at Littlemore in monastic seclusion, under a hard rule which did not improve his delicate health. In February, 1843, he retracted in a local newspaper his severe language towards Rome; in September he resigned his living. With immense labour he composed the "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine", in which the apparent variations of dogma, formerly objected by him against the Catholic Church, were explained on a theory of evolution, curiously anticipating on certain points the great work of Darwin. It has many most original passages, but remains a fragment. On 9 October, 1845, during a period of excited action at Oxford, Newman was received into the Church by Father Dominic, an Italian Passionist, three days after Renan had broken with Saint-Sulpice and Catholicism. The event, although long in prospect, irritated and distressed his countrymen, who did not forgive it until many years had gone by. Its importance was felt; its causes were not known. Hence an estrangement which only the exquisite candour of Newman's self-delineation in the "Apologia" could entirely heal.

His conversion divides a life of almost ninety years into equal parts — the first more dramatic and its perspective ascertained; the second as yet imperfectly told, but spent for a quarter of a century sub luce maligna, under suspicion from one side or another, his plans thwarted, his motives misconstrued. Called by Wiseman to Oscott, near Birmingham, in 1846, he proceeded in October to Rome, and was there ordained by Cardinal Fransoni. The pope approved of his scheme for establishing in England the Oratory of St. Philip Neri; in 1847 he came back, and, besides setting up the London house, took mission work in Birmingham. Thence he moved out to Edgbaston, where the community still resides. A large school was added in 1859. The spacious Renaissance church, consecrated in 1909, is a memorial of the forty years during which Newman made his home in that place. After his "Sermons to Mixed Congregations", which exceed in vigour and irony all other published by him, the Oratorian recluse did not strive to gain a footing in the capital of the Midlands. He always felt "paucorum hominum sum"; his charm was not for the multitude. As a Catholic he began enthusiastically. His "Lectures on Anglican Difficulties" were heard in London by large audiences; "Loss and Gain", though not much of a story, abounds in happy strokes and personal touches; "Callista" recalls his voyage in the Mediterranean by many delightful pages; the sermon at the Synod of Oscott entitled "The Second Spring" has a rare an delicate beauty. It is said that Macaulay knew it by heart. "When Newman made up his mind to join the Church of Rome", observes R. H. Hutton, "his genius bloomed out with a force and freedom such as it never displayed in the Anglican communion." And again, "In irony, in humour, in eloquence, in imaginative force, the writings of the later and, as we may call it, emancipated portion of his career far surpass the writings of his theological apprenticeship." But English Catholic literature also gained a persuasive voice and a classic dignity of which hitherto there had been no example.

 

During the interval between 1854 and 1860 Newman had passed from the convert's golden fervours into a state which resembled criticism of prevailing methods in church government and education. His friends included some of a type known to history as "Liberal Catholics." Of Montalembert and Lacordaire he wrote in 1864: "In their general line of thought and conduct I enthusiastically concur and consider them to be before their age." He speaks of "the unselfish aims, the thwarted projects, the unrequited toils, the grand and tender resignation of Lacordaire." That moving description might be applied to Newman himself. He was intent on the problems of the time and not alarmed at Darwin's "Origin of Species." He had been made aware by German scholars, like Acton, of the views entertained at Munich; and he was keenly sensitive to the difference between North and South in debatable questions of policy or discipline. He looked beyond the immediate future; in a lecture at Dublin on "A Form of Infidelity of the Day" he seems to have anticipated what is now termed "Modernism", condemning it as the ruin of dogma. It is distressing to imagine what Newman's horror would have been, had his intuition availed to tell him that, in little more than half a century, a "form of infidelity" so much like what he had predicted would claim him as its originator; on the other hand, he would surely have taken comfort, could he also have foreseen that the soundness of his faith was to be so vindicated as it has been by Bishop O'Dwyer, of Limerick, and above all, the vindication so approved and confirmed as it is in Pius X's letter of 10 March, 1908, to that bishop. In another lecture, on "Christianity and Scientific Investigation", he provides for a concordat which would spare the world a second case of Galileo. He held that Christian theology was a deductive science, but physics and the like were inductive; therefore collision between them need not, and in fact did not really occur. He resisted in principle the notion that historical evidence could do away with the necessity of faith as regarded creeds and definitions. He deprecated the intrusions of amateurs into divinity; but he was anxious that laymen should take their part in the movement of intellect. This led him to encourage J. M. Capes in founding the "Rambler", and H. Wilberforce in editing the "Weekly Register." But likewise it brought him face to face with a strong reaction from the earlier liberal policy of Pius IX. This new movement, powerful especially in France, was eagerly taken up by Ward and Manning, who now influenced Wiseman as he sank under a fatal disease. Their quarrel with J.H.N. (as he was familiarly called) did not break out in open war; but much embittered correspondence is left which proves that, while no point of faith divided the parties, their dissensions threw back English Catholic education for thirty years.

 

For twenty years Newman lay under imputations at Rome, which misconstrued his teaching and his character. This, which has been called the ostracism of a saintly genius, undoubtedly was due to his former friends, Ward and Manning. In February, 1878, Pius IX died; and, by a strange conjuncture, in that same month Newman returned to Oxford as Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, "dear to him from undergraduate days." The event provoked Catholics to emulation. Moreover, the new pope, Leo XIII, had also lived in exile from the Curia since 1846, and the Virgilian sentiment, "Haud ignara mali", would come home to him. The Duke of Norfolk and other English peers approached Cardinal Manning, who submitted their strong representation to the Holy See. Pope Leo, it is alleged, was already considering how he might distinguish the aged Oratorian. He intimated, accordingly, in February, 1879, his intention of bestowing on Newman the cardinal's hat. The message affected him to tears, and he exclaimed that the cloud was lifted from him forever. By singular ill-fortune, Manning understood certain delicate phrases in Newman's reply as declining the purple; he allowed that statement to appear in "The Times", much to everyone's confusion. However, the end was come. After a hazardous journey, and in broken health, Newman arrived in Rome. He was created Cardinal-Deacon of the Title of St. George, on 12 May, 1879. His biglietto speech, equal to the occasion in grace and wisdom, declared that he had been the life-long enemy of Liberalism, or "the doctrine that there is no truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another", and that Christianity is "but a sentiment and a taste, not an objective fact, not miraculous."

 

Hitherto, in modern times, no simple priest, without duties in the Roman Curia, had been raised to the Sacred College. Newman's elevation, hailed by the English nation and by Catholics everywhere with unexampled enthusiasm, was rightly compared to that of Bessarion after the Council of Florence. It broke down the wall of partition between Rome and England. To the many addresses which poured in upon him the cardinal replied with such point and felicity as often made his words gems of literature. He had revised all his writings, the last of which dealt somewhat tentatively with Scripture problems. Now his hand would serve him no more, but his mind kept its clearness always. In "The Dream of Gerontius" (1865), which had been nearly a lost masterpiece, he anticipated his dying hours, threw into concentrated, almost Dantean, verse and imagery his own beliefs as suggested by the Offices of Requiem, and looked forward to his final pilgrimage, "alone with the Alone." Death came with little suffering, on 11 August, 1890. His funeral was a great public event. He lies in the same grave with Ambrose St. John, whom he called his "life under God for thirty-two years." His device as cardinal, taken from St. Francis de Sales, was Cor ad cor loquitor (Heart speaketh to heart); it reveals the secret of his eloquence, unaffected, graceful, tender, and penetrating. On his epitaph we read: Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem (From shadows and symbols goes the truth); it is the doctrine of the Economy, which goes back to Plato's "Republic" and which passed thence by way of Christian Alexandria into the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, the poetry of the Florentine, and the schools of Oxford. John Henry Newman thus continues in modern literature the Catholic tradition of East and West, sealing it with a martyr's faith and suffering, steadfast in loyalty to the truth, while discerning with a prophet's vision the task of the future.

“Rabbit, Rabbit” April 1

 

Ever heard someone say “rabbit, rabbit,” but there’s not a floppy-eared bunny to be found for miles? There’s a reason they’re saying it … and that reason may even convince you to start saying it too, if you haven’t already.

 

Why do people say “rabbit, rabbit”? Though it sounds a bit like gibberish, the phrase “rabbit, rabbit” is a long-held superstition thought to bring about good luck. But it’s not to be uttered just any old random day. Rather, if you say it on the first day of the month before any other words come out of your mouth, then luck is thought to be coaxed your way. If you get your rabbit is in, luck is yours for 30 days … or so goes the folklore.

 

There are a few twists on this tradition. Some people say rabbit three times, while others say the phrase white rabbits. Others put their own twist on it, like beloved comedian Gilda Radner, who reportedly used to say “bunny, bunny” on the first of each month to attract “laughter, love, and peace.”

 

What if you forget to rabbit? (Yes, we’re going to go ahead and use rabbit as a verb here.) Are you just out of luck? Nope, according to some, if you say “rabbit, rabbit” backwards, you’re safe. So, if you ask for coffee before you remember rabbits, then “tibbar, tibbar” it is.

Where did ‘rabbit, rabbit” originate?

 

According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the phrase goes back to at least 1909, when a British periodical featured a girl who said “Rabbits!” on the first day of each month for good luck.

President Roosevelt also reportedly ‘rabbitted’ every month without fail. In 1935, The Nottingham Evening Post wrote: “Even Mr. Roosevelt, the President of the United States, has confessed to a friend that he says ‘Rabbits’ on the first of every month—and, what is more, he would not think of omitting the utterance on any account.”

 

So, why do rabbits get all the glory and luck?

Why not “moose, moose” or “dolphin, dolphin”? There’s no concrete answer here, but it may stem from the fact that back in B.C. days, the Celts thought rabbits could communicate with spirits since they burrow underground. Also, a rabbit’s foot, especially the back-left one, has long been thought to be a good luck charm. In African-American folk spirituality, it was thought that rabbits’ feet would increase fertility since rabbits themselves are so fertile. But there were some rather eerie stipulations about those feet: the rabbit must be captured or killed in a cemetery, and the foot must be cut off on a certain day of the week under specific circumstances. Poor unlucky bunnies!

 

What about “hare, hare”?

Some people believe you also must say “hare” or “hare, hare” before you fall asleep on the last day of the month to bring about the luck. Why not rabbit again—is that just splitting hairs? (Okay, I know that was a bad pun!)

Though sometimes used interchangeably, rabbits and hares aren’t the same animals. While they’re closely related, rabbits are generally smaller and have shorter ears. Both belong to the family Leporidae, but hares make nests in the grass while rabbits make burrows.

 

For insight into the word rabbit, we don’t have to look any further than New York’s Coney Island (aka Rabbit Island). You see, coney was what people called rabbits until about the 1700s. The word comes from the French word for rabbit, coniz (plural conil), which came from the Latin word cuniculus.

Originally rabbit was only used to refer to a young coney, but over time it became the more popular term for all coneys.

As for the word hare, it isn’t related to the hair on your head as you might suspect. The word hare is a very old one in the English language. Developing from the Old English hara, hare is recorded before 900. The deeper roots of hare are Germanic in origin; compare the Danish word hare. Hare is related to the Dutch haas and German Hase. The Old English hasu meaning “gray,” may be connected to hare. So, while the phrase hare, hare may seem an obvious substitute, substitute it at your own risk.

 

Is there any proof that saying “rabbit, rabbit” will bring you 30 days of good luck? No, but like eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day or crossing your fingers, it also can’t hurt. So, write yourself a note, set a reminder, or do whatever you need to do to remember your rabbits … or don’t. The risk is yours!

 

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Taieri river, upstream from Outram Glen, Otago, New Zealand.

 

'A river is never silent. Even its

deepest pools thrive with dark

or dreamy utterances. They shelter

more than we can say we know.'

 

Quoted from the poem LISTENING TO THE RIVER by Brian Turner.

 

Bryant Park

  

© 2015 ned walthall

  

Yet let no empty gust

Of passion find an utterance in thy lay,

A blast that whirls the dust

Along the howling street and dies away;

But feelings of calm power and mighty sweep,

Like currents journeying through the windless deep.

  

–William Cullen Bryant, “The Poet”

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/God-Himself-the-unique-ii...

Introduction

Almighty God says, "God’s authority is everywhere, at every hour, at every instant. If heaven and earth were to pass away, His authority would never pass away, for He is God Himself, He possesses the unique authority, and His authority is not restricted or limited by people, events, or things, by space or by geography. At all times God wields His authority, shows His might, continues His management work as always; at all times He rules all things, provides for all things, orchestrates all things, just as He always did. No one can change this. It is fact; it has been the unchanging truth since time immemorial!"

 

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

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“I am a spark from the Infinite.

I am not flesh and bones.

I am light.

In helping others to succeed, I shall find my own prosperity.

In the welfare of others, I shall find my own well-being.

I am infinite.

I am spaceless, I am tireless;

I am beyond body thought, and utterance; beyond all matter and mind.

I am endless bliss.”

Paramahansa Yogananda

God's Utterance " God Himself, the Unique X God Is the Source of Life for All Things (IV)" (Part One)

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/god-himself-the-unique-x-...

 

God’s words in this video are from the book “Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh”.

 

The content of this video:

 

God Is the Source of Life for All Things (IV) Part One

 

1. How God Rules and Administers the Spiritual World

 

1) The Cycle of Life and Death of the Unbelievers

 

Terms of Use

   

“The Open Society and Its Enemies” ―Karl R. Popper, 1945

 

“The so-called paradox of freedom is the argument that freedom in the sense of absence of any constraining control must lead to very great restraint, since it makes the bully free to enslave the meek. The idea is, in a slightly different form, and with very different tendency, clearly expressed in Plato.

 

Less well known is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. — In this formulation, I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be unwise. But we should claim the right to suppress them if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols. We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should claim that any movement preaching intolerance places itself outside the law, and we should consider incitement to intolerance and persecution as criminal, in the same way as we should consider incitement to murder, or to kidnapping, or to the revival of the slave trade, as criminal.”

God's Utterance "God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III" (Part One)

Introduction

Almighty God says: "God sees this instance of management of mankind, of saving humans, as more important than anything else. He does these things not only with His mind, nor is it only with His words, and He particularly does not do it casually—He does all of these things with a plan, with a goal, with standards, and with His will. It is clear that this work to save mankind holds great significance for both God and man. No matter how difficult the work is, no matter how great the obstacles are, no matter how weak humans are, or how deep mankind’s rebelliousness is, none of this is difficult for God. God makes Himself busy, expending His effort and managing the work He Himself wants to carry out. He is also arranging everything, and ruling all the people and the work He wants to complete—none of this has been done before. It is the first time God has used these methods and paid a great price for this major project of managing and saving mankind. While God is carrying out this work, little by little He is expressing to humans without reservation His hard work, what He has and is, His wisdom and almightiness, and every aspect of His disposition. He unreservedly reveals all of this to mankind bit by bit, revealing and expressing these things as He has never done before."

God's Utterance "God's Work, God's Disposition, and God Himself III" (Part Two)

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/gods-work-gods-dispositio...

 

God's words in this video are from the book "Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh".

 

The content of this video:

 

1. (Matt 12:1) At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

 

2. (Matt 12:6-8) But I say to you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

 

youtu.be/m29LzdxUmIs?t=5m33s

 

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus , Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

 

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we met at a book fair where I bought his copy of Breton's two volumes of 1812 China..its Costume etc etc......exceedingly interesting and equally rare. His interests and background are similar to mine...scientific and attempting to understand the Far East. I let him have my very battered copy of Francis Bacon's 1639 Natural History to research the binding and then restore it. He has done a wonderful job - the research and the restoration which is very sympathetic. Of course there are a few glitches but...at 90 something and the memory running dry..... anyway it is a very special book with a long, annotated occasionally, history Amazingly he knew my father....he designed optics and my old man was into astral navigation. They nearly flew to Woomera together back in the 1960s. Bacon talks about flying, amongst other utterances.....he was keeping his head down after being accused of using the Treasury for his own ends...better than losing it.

The sunset streaming across the ocean

The beautiful colors of orange and red

Is reminiscent of my devotion

And eagerness to stroll the road ahead

The glory seen in the view above me

Reminds me of the joy found in your heart

You have proven the splendor that can be

When tender love becomes a work of art

 

Across the array of vibrant shading

A flock of seagulls flies swiftly in pairs

As a testament to unending romance

Love remains after the daylight’s fading

Beyond the utterance of bedtime prayers

Lingering always, thanks to the heart’s dance

 

~ Jill Eisnaugle

There are hundreds of people who walk down the Samaria Gorge each day in the summer. After a drink at one of the tavernas in Agia Roumeli where the gorge opens to the sea and perhaps enjoying a swim, most board the ferry taking them to Chora Sfakia (Sfakia).

There, waiting buses transport the aching crowds back to Chania. On the way, the ferry calls in at Loutro and many vow to visit it one day - few do so!

Loutro is peaceful - it is small and feels like a village even if 95% of the people here in the summer are visitors. It takes less than five minutes to amble from one side of the bay from Sifis Hotel & Maestrali Bar (Vangelis'), past Daskalogiannis Hotel, the tavernas, mini-market, the Blue House, the pebble beach, Hotel Porto Loutro, Notos, "Fat Stav's", a couple more tavernas and then Keramos rooms and fish taverna.

Don't forget the church, second mini-market and a few other buildings - more rooms including perched-on-the-hillside Villa Niki - that's it!

Loutro evokes some great emotion - produced perhaps by the unique combination of the steep, harsh, rock mountainsides - audibly decorated with the clinking of goat bells - the sun visibly changing the panorama in view as its ark lights different aspects of the slopes forming the bowl - the bay that houses Loutro, the often-warm sea, the history and the people. This magic place.

No road leads here - therefore no mopeds, cars and trucks disturb contemplation, conversation and consumption of food or drink. A port of shelter for St Paul we hear, and one of the best shelters from a stormy workplace or busy professional life.

Small, stunningly beautiful - no nightlife or discos, just a multinational, multi-everything group of visitors staying in its closely grouped buildings. During the day even when all rooms are full, Loutro can be almost empty - many have gone to sauté gently on nearby beaches, or tackle books, strolls, walks and - let's be serious - hikes.

You are left to act as your own custodian of the semi circular bay, with small pebble beach, edged with hotel, domatia and waterside tavernas. So gaze at the ruins on the hilltop, measure the approaching ferry, decide whether to read a few pages more, walk over the hill to the taverna of Phoenix, or plot your ascent to Anopolis a thousand metres above...it's up to you. Time passes.

Loutro village was named after the baths (Loutro or Loutra) found in the area, and from which water was directed to nearby Anopoli Village. Loutro also served as the port of ancient Anopoli. Later it became the winter time port of the town of Sfakia, due to the fact that the enclosed bay and the small island at its entrance create a natural harbor where ships can be safe even in very bad weather conditions.

Mountains rear straight up from the sea deep wooded gorges, ravines and valleys, stand proud and act as a magnet to the eye and the imagination. The Sfakia region has been the site of heroic deeds, ancient civilizations, and constant intrigue for thousands of years, and the home of brave tough people, made so by their labors on the land and their experiences.

Really Loutro is a place to let days flow by as they will. When you meet people who's poetic utterances appeal - converse, when striding rocky paths is the urge - proceed, when the water beckons - shout back / get in; eat and relax. You shouldn't come here expecting entertainment - the reward is being in Loutro and listening to what your heart desires...

This is my wife, Jenny, nearing the top of what had been a long, steep and exhausting climb from the forest below to a high ridge running along the coast of Somerset. The views along the ridge made all the effort well worthwhile.

 

Seeing this shot reminded me of our first few walking holidays when our kids were small (about 5 and 7).

 

They hated it with a passion.

 

The first ever walk we did, it rained all day. I recall us crammed into a small church porch eating very soggy sandwiches. The kids were not happy bunnies.

 

Bribery and lies were the name of the game.

 

“You can have one square of chocolate when we reach that stile”

 

“Not much further now, soon be back”

 

“No, we’re not lost. It’s just the map that’s wrong”

 

These worked for a while. But the chocolate would run out and the “not much further comment” would be treated with derision after the tenth utterance.

 

My son in particular could be a stubborn little so and so. (A trait he inherits from his Mother).

 

On one occasion he just flopped down and wailed “I just can’t go on, Dad”. After promises of huge amounts ice cream he finally agreed to move and dragged along well behind us being overtaken by snails and tortoises.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30 years pass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

But it did them no lasting harm. Now they both love the outdoors and hill walking in particular.

 

They are also obviously much stronger and fitter now too.

 

Much stronger and fitter than me!

 

Now it is me that lags behind ……………………………. Well behind.

 

Sometimes out of sight behind.

 

And they have developed a cruel sadistic side (another one of their Mothers’ traits.)

 

Like waiting ages for me to catch up.

 

And when I do arrive, sweating, swearing, gasping and crimson faced, with pain etched on my face, they jump to their feet and rush on with comments like ……..

 

“………………. Only another 8 miles to the pub, Dad.”

 

“………………. Last one there buys the beer.”

 

“………………. Didn’t know anyone could walk that slow.”

 

“………………. Have you stopped for a sleep?”

 

“………………. If you can’t make it, we’ll just have to leave you here.”

  

Children can be so cruel.

 

View On Black

 

The Hymn of God's word "All Men Live in God’s Light"

 

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The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (woo …) fills every place on the face of the earth (woo …), the air is brisk and fresh (woo …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (woo …), and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.

 

On this jubilant occasion, at this moment of exultation, God’s righteousness and His holiness (hoy), have gone abroad throughout the universe (woo …), and all mankind extols them without surcease, and all mankind extols them without surcease. (Ah … ha….) The cities of heaven are laughing with joy, and the kingdoms of earth are dancing with joy. Who at this moment is not rejoicing? And who at this moment is not weeping? (Yee yeah.) Earth in its primordial state belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth. (Hoy.) Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth (ha), and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal, heaven is no longer concealed from earth, and earth is no longer silent toward heaven. The faces of humanity are wreathed in smiles of gratification, wreathed in smiles of gratification, and secreted (secreted) in their hearts, is a sweetness that knows no bounds (sweetness that knows no bounds). Man does not quarrel with man, nor do men come to blows with one another. Are there any who, in God’s light, do not live peacefully with others? Are there any who, in His days, disgrace His name? (Yee ya.) Earth in its primordial state belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth. (Ha.) Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth (ha), and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal, heaven is no longer concealed from earth, and earth is no longer silent toward heaven. The faces of humanity are wreathed in smiles of gratification, wreathed in smiles of gratification.

 

The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (woo …) fills every place on the face of the earth (woo …), the air is brisk and fresh (woo …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (woo …), and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent. The joyous exaltation in men’s hearts fills every place on the face of the earth, the air is brisk and fresh, dense fogs no longer blanket the ground, and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent. And the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.

 

from “The Eighteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh