The Ancient Greek and Latin Dependency Treebank

treebank

Epigraphic Documents

p/epidoc

Text Encoding Initiative

Support/Learn

SEO for Bloggers

16-seo-for-bloggers-how-to-optimize-your-articles

Senior Level Interview Tips

interview-tips-every-vice-president-candidate-should-know

What's the Value of Learning Objectives?

Video

Write Effective Learning Objectives

Video

The National, Fake Empire

Lyrice

Shogunate Japan

History

Micro Master's Degrees at MIT

Innovation

Mister Ed Horses Communicate

Communicate

How to Write Job Search Pain Letters

Pain

Free Social Learning LMS

LMS

Video Training

Video

Banning Classroom Tech

Banning

Digital Textbooks

Books

Screencasting Tools

a-handy-chart-featuring-some-of-best

Financial Value of Religion

study-religion-has-1-2-trillion-impact-on-u-s-economy-each-year

TargetX Retention

/retention-webinar-recording

President Ends Reliance on Foreign Oil for the First Time in 75 Years

us-ends-reliance-foreign-oil-first-time-75-years

Tracking Research

/11-body-parts-defense-researchers-use-track-you

Anti-Arthritis Diet

Diet

Universal Human Language

Language

Art Lesson Plan

Lesson

Inside 9/11 War on America

Video

Moderate Muslims Can Not Save Us: Bill Warner

Moderate

Political Islam Videos

Videos

What Does Sharia Law State About Jihad?

What does Sharia law say about Jihad?

Maliki School, jurist Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 996):

“Jihad is a precept of Divine institution. Its performance by certain individuals may dispense others from it. We Malikis maintain that it is preferable not to begin hostilities with the enemy before having invited the latter to embrace the religion of Allah except where the enemy attacks first. They have the alternative of either converting to Islam or paying the poll tax (jizya), short of which war will be declared against them.”

Hanbali School, jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328), popular with modern terrorists:

“Since lawful warfare is essentially jihad and since its aim is that the religion is God’s entirely and God’s word is uppermost, therefore according to all Muslims, those who stand in the way of this aim must be fought. As for those who cannot offer resistance or cannot fight, such as women, children, monks, old people, the blind, handicapped and their likes, they shall not be killed unless they actually fight with words (e.g. by propaganda) and acts (e.g. by spying or otherwise assisting in the warfare).”

Hanafi School, Hedaya, classic manual of Hanafi laws, 12th century:

“It is not lawful to make war upon any people who have never before been called to the faith, without previously requiring them to embrace it, because the Prophet so instructed his commanders, directing them to call the infidels to the faith, and also because the people will hence perceive that they are attacked for the sake of religion, and not for the sake of taking their property, or making slaves of their children, and on this consideration it is possible that they may be induced to agree to the call, in order to save themselves from the troubles of war” If the infidels, upon receiving the call, neither consent to it nor agree to pay capitation tax, it is then incumbent on the Muslims to call upon God for assistance, and to make war upon them, because God is the assistant of those who serve Him, and the destroyer of His enemies, the infidels, and it is necessary to implore His aid upon every occasion; the Prophet, moreover, commands us so to do.”

Shafi’i School, scholar Abu’l Hasan al-Mawardi (d. 1058):

“The mushrikun [infidels] of Dar al-Harb (the arena of battle) are of two types: First, those whom the call of Islam has reached, but they have refused it and have taken up arms. The amir of the army has the option of fighting them”in accordance with what he judges to be in the best interest of the Muslims and most harmful to the mushrikun” Second, those whom the invitation to Islam has not reached, although such persons are few nowadays since Allah has made manifest the call of his Messenger”it is forbidden to”begin an attack before explaining the invitation to Islam to them, informing them of the miracles of the Prophet and making plain the proofs so as to encourage acceptance on their part; if they still refuse to accept after this, war is waged against them and they are treated as those whom the call has reached”

Dolphin Conversation

Conversation

Religiosity of 9/11 Islamists

Religiosity of 9/11 Islamists

911/hearings/hearing3/witness_emerson

last-night-document in Arabic Released by the FBI

9-11-handbook

Age Discrimination Job Search

overcoming-age-bias-discrimination

Sell Transferable Skills

transferable-skills-alone-wont-win-job

Disney Hire Doggie Animator

Doggie

Ian Hunter, YUIORTA Demos

YUIORTA Demos

Ian Hunter, Scandinavian Cover Band

Cover

UK Islamist School and Dawkins

UK Islamist School and Dawkins

Reforms of Ataturk

Reforms of Ataturk

2:08

JFK and Ataturk, 2:54

12-may-2011

Science, Adam & Eve

/Every-person-spawned-single-pair-adults-living-200-000-years-ago-scientists-claim

The study has been misunderstood by some religious parties who thought it meant that we all came into being in some seminal Big Bang-typed event 100,000 ago, but this isn't what the findings actually suggest. 

What Stoeckle and Thaler's findings point to is that our species has to revamp far more often than we thought, and we do so in unison with all animals.

Their objections to a religious understanding seems superficial. The Bible does say we came from a couple, and the earth and it’s inhabitants has been destroyed with a race of giants, Noah, and the end of the world. Also, everything in the earth is a part of God’s creation.

https://biblehub.com/romans/8-22.htm

Zionism vs. Islamism

Zionism vs. Islamism

Debate

Who Are the Jehovah's Witnesses?

Who Are the Jehovah's Witnesses?

3:54

Transgender Violence

-steven-crowder-confronts-transgender-who-threatened-to-slash-his-tires-meltdowns-ensued

College Students Address Immigration

Immigration

“Mormon Underwear” is the Temple Garment and is Sacred to Latter-day Saints

“Mormon Underwear” is the Temple Garment and is Sacred to Latter-day Saints

4:15

History of the Middle East

History of the Middle East

Middle East

New Religious Movements

New Religious Movements

Top 10

Top Crazy Religions

Scientology: Cult or Religion?

When Does the U.S. Recognize a Religion?

Racist Thanksgiving

Turkey

How Islamic is the Islamic State?

ISIS

Haykel

A 2015 article in The Atlantic by Graeme Wood - "What ISIS Really Wants" – and the controversy it has given rise to, has brought once again to the fore questions about the kind of role scholars of religion can legitimately and usefully play in ‘defining’ religion in the public square. Wood, citing heavily the work of the Princeton Scholar of religion Bernard Haykel, is of the view that ISIS is Islamic, rooted in the textual tradition its supporters employ to authenticate their actions. In a response to this article, also in The Atlantic, Caner K. Dagli, associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, is sharply critical of Wood, writing, "On what grounds do non-Muslim journalists and academics tell Muslims that their judgment that ISIS does not take a full and fair view of the Quran and Sunnah (the example and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad) amounts to a 'cotton-candy' view of Islam, while these non-Muslims retain the right to judge how 'serious' ISIS is in its understanding of core Islamic texts?"

However, it is not just non-Muslim academics and journalists and their critics who are engaging in the formation of representations of what is and is not Islamic through different media channels (responses and counter responses to What ISIS Really Wants are being played out across new social media, Twitter, blogs etc). ISIS/ISIL itself makes use of social networking to also engage in a process of making a claim on what counts as Islam and Islamic. This is a very public strategy that has involved the production and the global dissemination of videos of beheadings as well as the use of Twitter and Facebook to apparently lure young Muslim women, including those from North America and Europe, to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS and engage in ‘radical’ ‘jihadist’ activities. This in turn has received no small amount of media interest and some emergent academic commentary from those wishing to document and better understanding the way that young women might be ‘radicalized’ in this way via new media.

This panel brings together experts from both academia and journalism that have engaged with:

1) The recent controversies over the way in which ISIS/ISIL is represented in the public square by academics and journalists; and
2) How ISIS supporters represent ISIS via different forms of new social media, including the rising concern over the radicalization of young women.

The panel session was recorded at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Atlanta, GA, November 21-24.

Panelists:
Kecia Ali, Boston University
Caner Dagli, College of the Holy Cross
Sohaira Siddiqi, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service

Ayesha S. Chaudhry, University of British Columbia, presiding

What ISIS Really Wants

what-isis-really-wants

CIA Watergate

/judicial-watch-uncovers-cia-inspector-generals-watergate

Islamic History

/islamhistory

Indira Gandhi

Handwriting and Artifacts of Gurus

Sikh Kingdom



Sikhs, British Army, Churchill


Sikh Bodyguards, Indira, Queen Elizabeth II

Indira Gandhi

Politics of 1984

Guru weapons

Was Guru Nanak a Muslim?

Moderate Muslim vs. Sikh Debate

Muslims Who Converted to Sikhism

Critical Thinking, George Carlin, & the American Dream

American Dream

Electoral Choice

U.S. Pollution

Pollution

Hillsdale: Midterms, Churchill, & World War I

2018-midterms-churchill-and-world-war-i

Research for Classics

Studies

Entrepreneurs in Philadelphia

whos-next-entrepreneurs-16-self-starters-growing-business-in-philadelphia

Religion and the Founders

Religion and the Founders

Founders

Scientific Revolution By and For Christianity

Scientific Revolution By and For Christianity
Science

Dr. Mark Kalthoff addresses the false assumption that the scientific revolution, at its core, was motivated by a reaction against medieval Christianity. In fact, most of the architects of the scientific revolution were churchmen themselves, who did the majority of their work as members of a tradition, not as dissidents.

This video is an excerpt from Hillsdale’s Online Course: “Western Heritage,” featuring Mark A. Kalthoff, Henry Salvatori Chair of History and Traditional Values, and chairman and professor of history.

Hillsdale: Equality and Elections

equality-and-elections

Good Boy! Dogs and Speech

Dogs

Progressive Reactionaries Against the Constitution

/its-time-for-a-progressive-reading-of-the-constitution

Referred for Job

Part 1

President vs. CNN

President

Islam: Accomodation or Subjugation?

Islam: Accomodation or Subjugation?

Hillary Khan

Hillary Sharia

Sharia America

Harold Koh, State Department

Sharia Court in Texas

iPad Apps

Apps

Introduction: The Modern Presidency

Overview:

The American presidency is often called the most powerful office on earth. This is so not only because the nation which elects the president is the most powerful nation on earth, but also because the American Founders designed the office to be strong and effective. However, the Founders also placed certain restraints on this power, which are necessary to maintain liberty and protect citizens’ rights. The modern understanding and structure of the presidency are a threat to freedom due to the accumulation of all three powers—legislative, executive, and judicial—in the executive branch and the breakdown of constitutional restraints.

Video

Discussion Questions
How can we understand the presidency as a response to the weakness, and ultimately the failure, of the Articles of Confederation?
How is the presidency fundamentally limited by the Framers' Constitution? How have such limits been broken, and can they be restored?
Does the constitutional design of the presidency require that a person of virtue hold the office?

Q&A

Where is Obumbler’s Logic?

obama-unhinged-mocks-hillarys-emails-ebola-trump-migrant-caravan-in-under-90-seconds

Septembers of Shiraz

Septembers of Shiraz

Trailer

Septembers of Shiraz is a 2015 American drama film directed by Wayne Blair and written by Hanna Weg. It is based on Dalia Sofer's 2007 novel The Septembers of Shiraz. The film stars Adrien Brody, Salma Hayek, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Anthony Azizi, Bashar Rahal and Alon Aboutboul. The film was released on June 24, 2016, by Momentum Pictures.

The film is based on the novel by Dalia Sofer.

California Facts

Cali

Ian Hunter, Mott The Hoople, TV Appearances

Disco 2 - French

October 10, 1970
Mott the Hoople
Bridget St John

April 15, 1971 
Mott the Hoople
Hookfoot
Disco - German

Show 39

March 2, 1974
Mott The Hoople - Roll away the stone
Dan The Banjo Man - Dan The Banjo Man
Sweet - Teenage rampage
Danyel Gerard - Ti-lai-lai-li
Alvin Stardust - My coo ca choo
Barry Blue - Do you wanna dance
Ide + Tina Turner - Nutbush City Limits
Jürgen Marcus - Irgendwann kommt jeder mal nach San Francisco
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Happiness is me and you
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Who knows, perhaps maybe

Hits A GoGo - Swiss

1972 (episode 13?)
Mott The Hoople - Drivin' Sister
Kaminski & Gottemeier - Hauptsache daß man von Gestern ist
Wind - Josephine
Lynsey De Paul ‎- Sleeping Blue Nights
Greater Union - Heaven Help
Greater Union - Jimmy Webb Medley
Deke Leonard - Diamond Road
Wind - The Princess And The Minstrel
Amiel Cartwright - Pretty Baby
Mott the Hoople – Honaloochie Boogie
Lynsey De Paul ‎- All Night
Wolfe Tones - The Black Ribbon Band

Old Grey Whistle Test

June 25, 1974
Heavy Metal Kids - Hanging On, It's The Same
Pete Atkin - An Array of Passionate Lovers, Care-Charmer Sleep
Ian Hunter - interview
Loudon Wainwright III
JSD Band - Reel Call (film)

June 21, 1975
Camel - Snow Goose excerpts
Graham Central Station - Feel The Need (film)
Ronson & Hunter - Once Bitten Twice Shy (film)
The Tempations - My Baby (film)

ABC In Concert

Show 21
September 9, 1973
Uriah Heep - Sweet Lorraine, July Morning, Stealin' (David Byron, Ken Hensley, Mick Box, Gary Thain, Lee Kerslake)
Canned Heat - instrumental, One More River to Cross, Hot Fish, Looking for My Rainbow (Bob Hite, Ed Beyer, James Shane, Richard Hite, Fito de la Parra; Henry Vestine absent due to car accident)
Shawn Phillips - Moonshine, Dream Queen
Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes, All the Way from Memphis
Country Joe McDonald and his All-Star Band - Coulene Anne, Janis, Fish Cheer > I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag

Don Kirschner's Rock Concert

The Midnight Special

December 7, 1973
Hosts: The Four Tops
--The Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself," "Love Music," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," "Sweet Understanding Love," "Keeper of the Castle" & "One Woman Man"
--Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - "The Cover of Rolling Stone," "Life Ain't Easy" & "Insane Asylum"
--John Mayall - "California Campground" & "Room to Move"
--Mott the Hoople - "Drivin' Sister" & "Hymn for the Dudes"
--Shawn Phillips - "Baby's Breakthrough"
--Todd Rundgren - "Black Maria" & "Hello It's Me"

Just Another Night, 9/79

Archive

Hillsdale College: The Glory of the Senate

the-glory-of-the-senate

Halal

Halāl (Arabic: حلال‎‎ ḥalāl, "permissible"), also spelled hallal or halaal, is any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term covers and designates not only food and drink but also all matters of daily life.[1] It is one of five Ahkam—fard (compulsory), mustahabb (recommended), halal (allowed), makruh (disliked), haram (forbidden)—that define the morality of human action in Islam.[2] Mubah is also used to mean "permissible" or "allowed" in Islam.

Halal Chicken

Halal

Facebook

Muslim Migrant Bombmaker

/muslim-migrant-bombmaker

Mott The Hoople, Ian Hunter, videos, 1973 TV Appearances

Drivin' Sister

Honoloochie Boogie

The sixth member is Deke Leonard from Man.

Islamic (Sharia) Law in America, J. Christian Adams, Minnesota

Islamic (Sharia) Law in America, J. Christian Adams, Minnesota

2012

James Lafferty

Minnesota, Sharia Law

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uB6gps7dkUA

Muslims in the USA want Sharia law and say they will not follow US laws, 4:26

https://youtu.be/uB6gps7dkUA

Condell on Sharia

Cultural Time

Time

Qur'an Textual Problems

Qur'an Textual Problems

The Qur’an was not collected before Mohammed died.

Significant parts of the Qur’an were obtained from its reciters and memorizers but not from manuscripts. The accuracy of those codices is questionable because many reciters and memorizers of the Qur’an had already been killed in the battles of the war of the apostasies (ridda), which raged for seven months in Arabia in 633 right after the death of Muhammad. In fact, portions of the Qur'an were irretrievably lost in the Battle of Yamama when about 450 of the companions of Muhammad who had memorized the text of the Qur’an had perished:

“Many (of the passages) of the Qur'an that were sent down were known by those who died on the day of Yamama ... but they were not known (by those who) survived them, nor were they written down, nor had Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman (by that time) collected the Qur'an, nor were they found with even one (person) after them” (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p.23).

In fact, Aisha, youngest wife of Muhammad, testified that certain verses of the Qur’an on suckling and stoning were lost (Muslim 8.3421). Second caliph ‘Umar bin al-Khattab stated emphatically that certain verses, including the verse of stoning adulterers, were lost (Bukhari 8.82.816-817; 9. .424; 4.52.299; 5.59.416, 421; Muslim 5.2286).

According to “Legal Opinions” (part 1, p. 102) of Sheikh Kishk:

“The four most important commentators were ibn ‘Abbas, ibn Mas’ud, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and ‘Ubay ibn Ka’b al-Ansari”

However, according to Bukhari 6.61.510, the caliph ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (644-656 AD) commanded Zayd ibn Thabit together with Abdullah ibn Zubair, Sa’id ibn al-‘As and Abdul-Rahman ibn al-Harith to collect and edit the Qur’an. According to Islamic tradition, ‘Uthman’s text of the Qur’an was largely based on the text of the Qur’an in the possession of Hafsah (one of the wives of Muhammad and the daughter of ‘Umar bin al-Khattab). Other important Qur’anic codices were ignored. These important codices differed radically from Hafsah’s text though Mohammed favored Ibn Mas'ud.

Ibn Mas’ud was excluded from the committee despite the fact that Muhammad himself had considered him one of the best authorities on the Qur’an:

“Learn the recitation of the Qur’an from four: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Mu’adh ibn Jabal, and Ubai ibn Ka’b” (Bukhari 5.57.104; 6.61.521, 522, 524).

It is significant that Muhammad did not mention Zaid ibn Thabit in this list.

As a result, the two full chapters (Surahs) of al-Hafd and al-Khal’, which were in the Qur’anic versions of ‘Ubay ibn Ka’b, ibn ‘Abbas (a cousin of Muhammad) and Abu Musa, were eliminated. In addition, Surah al-Fatihah (1), Surah al-Falaq (113) and Surah al-Nas (114) were added (al-Suyuti, al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an, part 1, pp. 221-2). Those Surahs were not in ibn Mas’ud codex. More than 200 verses were dropped from Surah al-Ahzab (33) (al-Suyuti, al-Itqan, part 3, p.72). Al-Suyuti records the two deleted chapters (Surahs) of al-Hafd and al-Khal’ in their entirety in his “al-Itqan,” part 1, p. 185.

Twenty years after Muhammad’s death, the caliph ‘Uthman codified the revised Medinan codex and ordered the destruction of all other codices in order to standardize the consonantal text of the Qur’an.

After Mohammed's death, memorizers of portions of the Qur'an disagreed on verses of the text or were killed and thus portions of the Qur'an were lost forever. According to Muslim sources, Uthman collected what he wanted in the present text of the Qur'an and Uthman burned the portions he declined to include.

Saudis Pay for American View of Islam

Saudis Pay for American View of Islam

Saudi

Darwish on Peaceful Muslims

Nonie Darwish on Peaceful Muslims, 4:40

Nonie Darwish

https://youtu.be/cAoXgZLRee0

Europe Islamist

european-court-rules-that-defaming-muhammad-is-not-protected-by-freedom-of-expression

Islamic Art: Khan Academy

Islamic Art: Khan Academy

aam-islam-topic/islam/a/introduction-to-islam

America's Cold Civil War: Imprimis

americas-cold-civil-war

Kashmir

Video

Sikhism

Women's Rights, Sikhism vs. Islam

Sikh Women vs. Muslims, Partition of India, 1947

Golden Temple

Sections include: Emergence of Sikhism, Life of Guru Nanak, Sikh Theology, The Ten Gurus, The Khalsa, Sikh Scriptures, Sikhism in India and the Diaspora, Rituals and Rites of Passage, and Sikh Holidays.

Sikhism God, in BB

How Do I Find God Within?

Asian and Abrahamic Religions

How do you know God exists in your scriptures?

Islamist Reformation, Feminism

/Ziba_Mir-Hosseini

"I am a free-lance academic, passionately involved in debates on gender equality in law. As a feminist, I expose and criticize the injustices that these laws continue to inflict on women in some Muslim contexts. As a Muslim, I approach these injustices by stressing one crucial element in the tradition of Muslim legal thought: the distinction between Shari‘a (the ‘path’, found in the Qur’an and the Prophet’s practice) and fiqh (‘understanding’, the jurists’s efforts to deduce laws from these textual sources); this distinction enables us to see patriarchal laws not as ‘divine Shari‘a’, but as outdated human fiqh. My aim is to bring Islamic and human rights frameworks together in order to lay the basis for an egalitarian Muslim family law."

Fiqh (/fɪk/; Arabic: فقه‎‎ [fɪqh]) is Islamicjurisprudence.^[1] While Sharia is believed by Muslims to represent divine law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), fiqh is the human understanding of the Sharia^[2]—sharia expanded and developed by interpretation (ijtihad) of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (Ulama)^[2] and implemented by the rulings (Fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them.

Documentary Films

“RUNAWAY is a powerful and heart-breaking documentary about a group of young runaway girls who are taken to a women's shelter in Tehran, Iran. The film focuses on the sufferings of young girls who struggle to free themselves from the tyrannical and abusive power of their families, mainly their fathers, brothers, and stepfathers. The sisterly feelings of the girls towards each other, their spiritual strength, their courage to rebel, and their wit are shown with a great degree of compassion and empathy in the film. The filmmakers have beautifully criticized the patriarchal system of family and the destructive power of male family members over the lives of their daughters and sisters. One can imagine that the issue of confinement and abuse goes beyond the issue of class when it comes to the problem of domestic violence and the desire to control women through anger, aggression and madness.” - Mehrnaz Saeed, Colombia College Chicago

Divorce Iranian Style
Hilarious, tragic, stirring, this fly-on-the-wall look at several weeks in an Iranian divorce court provides a unique window into the intimate circumstances of Iranian women’s lives. Following Jamileh, whose husband beats her; Ziba, a 16-year-old trying to divorce her 38-year-old husband; and Maryam, who is desperately fighting to gain custody of her daughters, this deadpan chronicle showcases the strength, ingenuity, and guile with which they confront biased laws, a Kafaka-esque administrative system, and their husbands’ and families’ rage to gain divorces. 


Scholar and filmmaker Ziba Mir-Hosseini, a specialist in Islamic law, gender and development and Professorial Research Associate at the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Law, University of London, is the recipient of the 2015 Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. At the Marty Forum, Professor Mir-Hosseini will be interviewed by Diana L. Eck, Harvard University. The Marty Award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the public understanding of religion.

Michael Kessler (Georgetown University) and Ayesha S. Chaudhry (University of British Columbia), Presiding

Fight for equality for women in Islam: Musawah.

I am a free-lance academic, passionately involved in debates on gender equality in law. As a feminist, I expose and criticize the injustices that these laws continue to inflict on women in some Muslim contexts. As a Muslim, I approach these injustices by stressing one crucial element in the tradition of Muslim legal thought: the distinction between Shari‘a (the ‘path’, found in the Qur’an and the Prophet’s practice) an

Ian Hunter, 10 Songs That Changed My Life

17/ian-hunter-the-10-songs-that-changed-my-life

Ian Hunter, guitarist, Mark Bosch

/vintageguitar

Jewish Journalist Killed in Hate Crime in Ner Jersey

/mainstream-media-ignores-death-of-jewish-journalist-who-died-from-alleged-hate-crime-in-new-jersey

Minnesota Incestuous Bigamist Islamist to Win Seat in Congress

ilhan-omar-faces-charges

Led Zeppelin, BackMasking Satan

Check out this episode: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religions-ancient-mediterranean/id266183212?mt=2&i=345179442

Podcast 8.24 Satanic Imagery And Conspiracies In Modern Culture

by Philip A. Harland

Published June 19, 2015

Usage Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0

Topics Satan, devil, backmasking, film, country blues, rock

This final episode in the series looks at some ways in which Satan still finds a place within modern culture.  After discussing the importance of the film Nosferatu (1922), I discuss Satanic imagery within the country blues (1930s) and rock and roll.  Then I conclude with a discussion of two Satanic conspiracies of the 1980s, the Satanic ritual abuse scare and the notion of backmasking in rock and roll.

At 37:00 you hear Led Zeppelin's, "Stairway to Heaven" played forward and backward according to backmasking: do you hear a reference to Satan?

Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. Backmasking is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.

Backmasking was popularised by the Beatles, who used backward instrumentation on their 1966 album Revolver.^[1] Artists have since used backmasking for artistic, comedic and satiric effect, on both analogue and digital recordings. The technique has also been used to censor words or phrases for "clean" releases of explicit songs.

Backmasking has been a controversial topic in the United States since the 1970s and 1980s, when allegations from Christian groups of its use for Satanic purposes were made against prominent rock musicians, leading to record-burning protests and proposed anti-backmasking legislation by state and federal governments.^[2]

^{A well-known alleged message is found in rock group Led Zeppelin's 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven". The backwards playing of a portion of the song purportedly results in words beginning with "Here's to my sweet Satan" (listen (info)).[84] Swan Song Records issued a statement to the contrary: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards."[19] Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant denied the accusations in an interview: "To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway To Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music."[85]}

Metaxus on Christians and Political Involvement

Metaxus on Christians and Political Involvement, 2:23

What is the proper role for Christians in politics?

Best selling author Eric Metaxas explains what it means to "be political God's way." Metaxas is a board member of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement of Christians for life, marriage and religious liberty founded by Chuck Colson and over 100 religious leaders in 2009. Read, sign and share the Declaration at www.manhattandeclaration.org.

https://youtu.be/sQrtbVVpnjU

Metaxus

Where Does Jesus Say He Is God?

Where Does Jesus Say He Is God?

Mark says it at the outset of his gospel (1:1).

The angel told Mary her child would be the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

John the Baptist said the same thing (John 1:34).

Nathanael said it (John 1:49).

Martha believed it (John 11:27).

The centurion said so (Matthew 27:54).

Jesus claimed that He said so (John 10:36).

Jesus clearly implies it in John 11:4.

The demons called Jesus the Son of God (Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:41; Mark 3:11).

The charge against Jesus was that He claimed to be the Son of God (Matthew 27:43; John 19:7), a claim He never denied, and virtually admitted (Luke 22:70).

The Gospel of John was written to convince the reader that Jesus was the Son of God (John 20:31).

Why, you might ask, does Jesus not say so plainly. I think the answer is found in Matthew 16:15-17:

15 He said to them, “And who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!” (Matthew 16:15-17).

Jesus did not want Peter and His disciples to believe He was the Son of God just because He said so. He wanted God to bring them to this conclusion, based upon the evidence of Scripture.

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven is a British and Irish film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a script by Guy Hibbert. The film was premiered on 19 January 2009 at the 25th Sundance Film Festival^[2] where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award for Oliver Hirschbiegel, and the World Cinema Screenwriting Award for Guy Hibbert.^[3] It was broadcast on BBC Two on 5 April 2009, and also had an international theatrical release.

The first part reconstructs the historical killing of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little in 1975, and the second part depicts a fictional meeting between Little and Jim's brother Joe 33 years later.

In Lurgan, Northern Ireland, during 1975 and the Northern Irish Troubles, the Irish Republican Army are targeting British loyalists and the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force are exacting revenge on Catholics they claim are militant republicans. Alistair Little, 17, is the leader of a UVF cell, eager to let blood. He and his gang are given the go-ahead to kill a young Catholic man, James Griffin, as a reprisal and a warning to others. When they kill Griffin, his 8-year old little brother Joe Griffin watches in horror. Little is arrested and sentenced to prison for 12 years.

The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) is the common name for the ethno-nationalist^{[11][12][13][14]} conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict,^{[15][16][17][18][19]} it is sometimes described as a "guerrilla war" or "low-level war".^[20][21][22] The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement of 1998.^{[3][23][24][25][26]} Although the Troubles mainly took place in Northern Ireland, violence spilled over at times into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe.

The conflict was primarily political, but it also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension,^[27] although it was not a religious conflict.^[11][28] A key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists, who are mostly Protestants and consider themselves British, generally want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists/republicans, who are mostly Catholics and consider themselves Irish, generally want it to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. The conflict began amid a campaign to end discriminationagainst the Catholic/nationalist minority by the Protestant/unionist government and police force in 1968.^[29][30] The campaign was met with violence, eventually leading to the deployment of British troops and subsequent warfare.^[31]

The main participants in the Troubles were republican paramilitaries such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA); loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA); British state security forces – the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC); and political activists and politicians. The security forces of the Republic of Ireland played a smaller role. More than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict, of whom 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, and 16% were members of paramilitary groups.^[6] There has been sporadic violence since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, including a campaign by anti-ceasefire republicans.^[3][25][32]

Trailer, 1:55

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