Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Monday, November 26, 2018
Sunday, November 25, 2018
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
https://biblehub.com/romans/8-22.htm
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Friday, November 23, 2018
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
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
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
Monday, November 19, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Friday, November 16, 2018
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Monday, November 12, 2018
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Saturday, November 10, 2018
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.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Monday, November 5, 2018
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.
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.
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?
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Septembers of Shiraz
Septembers of Shiraz
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.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
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
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
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
Friday, November 2, 2018
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.
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Islamic (Sharia) Law in America, J. Christian Adams, Minnesota
Islamic (Sharia) Law in America, J. Christian Adams, Minnesota
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
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
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.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Friday, October 26, 2018
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