#revelation — Public Fediverse posts

I am so fucking excited!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpugeKC14bw

#finalfantasy #ff7 #ffvii #revelation #squareEnix

I am so fucking excited!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpugeKC14bw

#finalfantasy #ff7 #ffvii #revelation #squareEnix

I am so fucking excited!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpugeKC14bw

#finalfantasy #ff7 #ffvii #revelation #squareEnix

I am so fucking excited!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpugeKC14bw

#finalfantasy #ff7 #ffvii #revelation #squareEnix

I am so fucking excited!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpugeKC14bw

#finalfantasy #ff7 #ffvii #revelation #squareEnix

A quotation from Robert Ingersoll

When we take into consideration the fact that a belief in the Trinity is absolutely essential to salvation, how unfortunate it was for the world that this doctrine was not established until the year 1274. Think of the millions that dropped into hell while these questions were being discussed.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

More about this quote: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertingersoll #robertgreeningersoll #ingersoll #Christianity #damnation #doctrine #dogma #God #orthodoxy #revelation #salvation #trinity #eternaltruth

A quotation from Robert Ingersoll

When we take into consideration the fact that a belief in the Trinity is absolutely essential to salvation, how unfortunate it was for the world that this doctrine was not established until the year 1274. Think of the millions that dropped into hell while these questions were being discussed.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

More about this quote: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertingersoll #robertgreeningersoll #ingersoll #Christianity #damnation #doctrine #dogma #God #orthodoxy #revelation #salvation #trinity #eternaltruth

A quotation from Robert Ingersoll

When we take into consideration the fact that a belief in the Trinity is absolutely essential to salvation, how unfortunate it was for the world that this doctrine was not established until the year 1274. Think of the millions that dropped into hell while these questions were being discussed.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

More about this quote: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertingersoll #robertgreeningersoll #ingersoll #Christianity #damnation #doctrine #dogma #God #orthodoxy #revelation #salvation #trinity #eternaltruth

A quotation from Robert Ingersoll

When we take into consideration the fact that a belief in the Trinity is absolutely essential to salvation, how unfortunate it was for the world that this doctrine was not established until the year 1274. Think of the millions that dropped into hell while these questions were being discussed.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

More about this quote: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertingersoll #robertgreeningersoll #ingersoll #Christianity #damnation #doctrine #dogma #God #orthodoxy #revelation #salvation #trinity #eternaltruth

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https://www.wacoca.com/games/1454697/ 【重要なお知らせ】Steamパッケージ版 商品・特典に関する誤表記のお詫び | NEWS | ファイナルファンタジーVII リベレーション | SQUARE ENIX ##GAMING ##スクウェア・エニックス #EpicGamesStore #FF7 #FFVII #FinalFantasy #Game #GameNews #games #GamingNews #PC #PlayStation5 #PS5 #Revelation #SQUAREENIX #steam #Switch2 #X│S #Xbox #ゲーミング #ゲーム #ゲーム攻略 #ゲーム最新情報 #スクエニ #ファイナルファンタジー

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https://www.wacoca.com/games/1454697/ 【重要なお知らせ】Steamパッケージ版 商品・特典に関する誤表記のお詫び | NEWS | ファイナルファンタジーVII リベレーション | SQUARE ENIX ##GAMING ##スクウェア・エニックス #EpicGamesStore #FF7 #FFVII #FinalFantasy #Game #GameNews #games #GamingNews #PC #PlayStation5 #PS5 #Revelation #SQUAREENIX #steam #Switch2 #X│S #Xbox #ゲーミング #ゲーム #ゲーム攻略 #ゲーム最新情報 #スクエニ #ファイナルファンタジー

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: Collector's Edition kommt 2027 für fast 400 Euro https://www.computerbase.de/news/gaming/final-fantasy-7-revelation-collectors-edition-kommt-2027-fuer-fast-400-euro.99247/ #finalfantasy7 #revelation #release

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: Collector's Edition kommt 2027 für fast 400 Euro https://www.computerbase.de/news/gaming/final-fantasy-7-revelation-collectors-edition-kommt-2027-fuer-fast-400-euro.99247/ #finalfantasy7 #revelation #release

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: Collector's Edition kommt 2027 für fast 400 Euro https://www.computerbase.de/news/gaming/final-fantasy-7-revelation-collectors-edition-kommt-2027-fuer-fast-400-euro.99247/ #finalfantasy7 #revelation #release

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: Collector's Edition kommt 2027 für fast 400 Euro https://www.computerbase.de/news/gaming/final-fantasy-7-revelation-collectors-edition-kommt-2027-fuer-fast-400-euro.99247/ #finalfantasy7 #revelation #release

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: Collector's Edition kommt 2027 für fast 400 Euro https://www.computerbase.de/news/gaming/final-fantasy-7-revelation-collectors-edition-kommt-2027-fuer-fast-400-euro.99247/ #finalfantasy7 #revelation #release

【完結編】2027.4.8発売決定🎉 | ファイナルファンタジーVII リベレーション #ff7 #ff7revelation
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xua3FDzDGDs

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Par être

https://dandanjean.com/2026/08/18/par-etre-4/

Mémoire musique Chant Ancestral Wendat

Un chant comme une révélation, comme un immense besoin d’exister, d’être reconnu.

Gilles Sioui et Christian Laveau – Chant Ancestral Wendat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaWSzrJtJf4

Zabaniyah

The Zabaniyah are the “Wardens of Hell,” who torture the sinners or carry off the souls of the wicked. They’re identified with the “19 angels of Hell,” & “Angels of punishment,” & Guardians of Hell,” & “Angels of Hell.”

According to the Quran & the ahadith, the Zabaniyah are 19 in number. Maalik is their leader. Maalik is an angel in Hell/Purgatory who guarded the hellfire & assisted by the other angel guards of the Zabaniyah. As angels, despite their unsightly looks & actions, are ultimately subordinate to God. Their actions are considered just because of this.

Zabaniyah is the name for a group of angels. The angels of punishment are those angels who said, “Will you (God) place there in one who will cause corruption & shed blood?” questioning the creation of Adam.

A tradition from At-Tabhkirah, a book authored by Al-Qurtubi, recorded that 1 of Zabaniyah was named Daqa’il, who accompanied the Angel of Death whenever he took the souls of a sinner. A Zabaniyah angel called Susa’il shows Muhammad the punishments of sinners in hell. However, the 1 which Muhammad met during Mi’raj & shown Muhammad about hell was Maalik himself, the leader of Zabaniyah.

The Zabaniya are 19 in number. The number 19 is only meant for the archangels, or leaders of the angels of hell. Another classical exegesis addendum is that their number is 19,000. Modern Saudi mufti Abd al-Aziz Ibn Baz has mentioned some 4.9 billion angels who keep hell, where each 70,000 holds a bridle from 70,000 while restraining Jahannam. A mufti is an Islamic legal scholar who interprets religious law to issue authoritative rulings.

The 19 angels refer to the leaders of those angels, including Maalik. While the insurmountable numbers were referring to the hell angels, which were led by those 19 Zabaniyah.

Several features of the Zabaniyah describe their physicality:

• Face
  • Several Habiths as recorded that Muhammad has met Maalik, the Zabaniyah, in 1 occasion described that he had a sickeningly ugly face. The true face of Zabaniyah angels is so repulsive beyond comprehension, to the point that any living human could die by the shock of only looking at their face. Aside from those, the Isra’ &Mi’raj tradition, Muhammad also notes the gruesome appearance of Maalik in his dream. The eyes of Zabaiyah were like lightning & their mouths were like spurs of chicken. Their hair is so long that it’s dragged under their feet. They’ve “repulsive faces, eyes like flashing lightning, teeth white like cows’ horns, lips hanging down to their feet, & rotten breath.
• Size
  • The Zabaniyah are the largest type of angel. Their shoulders are described as having a distance of 500 years. The angels that protected Muhammad from Abu Jahl’s aggression near the Ka’ba were 12 zabaniyah as tall as the sky. 1 of the Zabaniyah has its chest as wide as 1 of the gates of Jahannam. Jahannam is the place of punishment for evildoers in Hell.
• Tools
  • Zabaniyah angels carrying tools such as an iron beater or Mirzabba with 2 prongs, & whip(s) made of fire. The Zabaniyah angels used these tools to punish the sinners vigorously. The Zabaniyah will drive the sinners into Hell with “iron hooks.” Also, they carry hot chains for torturing inmates.
• Strength
  • The Zabaniyah are the most powerful among angels. The Zabaniyah angels were created by Allah to perform any tasks commanded upon them to torture the inmates of Hell. Allah has granted Zabaniyah the ability to manage a torture for sinners that no one can emulate. Gripping strength that was so severe, which no creature could match. After the Judgment Day, 1 of Zabaniyah was described as being able to drag entire sinners who are judged to enter Hell while carrying a mountain on his shoulder. He’ll use the said mountain to crush the sinners, after all of them have entered Hell. During Judgment Day, the Zabaniyah angels will lift & drag out Jahannam from its place to the surface of the plain, and the inmates of Hell will be in blind & deaf condition. The Zabaniyah angels possessed an ability where those deaf inmates could somehow hear the voices of Zabaniyah, who tortured them.
• Fingers
  • The Zabaniyah angels possessed fingers with the number of the sinners that’ll be thrown into Hell after the Judgment Day. The fingers of Maalik are so hot to the point that if 1 of his fingers touched the sky, that finger would cause the sky to melt. Zabaniyah was created 1,000 years before Hell was created. While their physical strength grows every day, to the point that each of Zabaniyah’s fingers could squeeze a human from the head to the ankles.
• Wings
  • The Zabaniyah had wings. The Zabaniyah showed up before Abu Jahl (he was the main opponent of the Prophet Muhammad), as Muhammad prayed in/at the Kaaba. 1 of the Zabaniyah scares Abu Jahl when he tries to trample on Muhammad’s neck with his foot. When asked about his retreat, Abu answered that he suddenly saw a winged, terrifying monster in a trench filled with flames, between him & Muhammad. This incident were/was believed by Muslims to be the Asbab al-Nuzul (Revelation) of the Quran chapter al-Alaq 96:18. Allah made the Zabaniyah angels’ hearts hard because they have 0 mercy towards the inmates.

The Zabaniyah also imposes punishments on people who commit Riba (usury) by pelting their mouths with rocks while forcing them to swim in a river of blood. The situation of people who commit usury in Barzakh (a realm of the afterlife) before the Judgment Day.

According to the Quran, the Zabaniya are the angels of death who conduct the souls of sinners & question them in the grave. Nazi’at & Nasitat & Munkar &Nakir, they help Azra’il (Azrael), who’s the canonical Angel of Death in Islam. Nazi’at is commissioned to take the lives of unbelievers forcefully, while Nashitat takes believers gently.

They appear as black shadows to the dying person, pull their souls out of their bodies, & drag them to hell. It’s been recorded that after the Angel of Death has separated the soul of the sinner from their body, an Zabaniyah angel named Daqa’il will restrain the soul with a giant wrap which made from rough hairs & parading the soul to the sky. This is before throwing the soul towards another Zabaniyah angel(s), who react by taking the soul into the Sijjin, a rock-shaped prison of the sinners below the Barzakh.

The Zabaniyah’s role during the Judgment is that they’re tasked with gathering & suppressing all sinners, Muslims & non-Muslims alike. Whoever wants to be saved from torture AFTER Judgment Day should recite the basmala (This is an Islamic phrase that means: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”) frequently during their life. As the basmala consists of 19 letters in accordance of the number of Zabaniyah.

1 of their duties after Judgment Day is to push those who mocked Islam into Hell. They’re also described as leading the army of angels.

In some Isra’ & Mi’raj traditions:

The Zabaniyat landscape of the 1st layer of Hell & the fiery seas within. As Maalik was created by God inside Hell. So they would have no desire to leave & feel comfortable in it. They’re standing tall above Saqar, a place in Hell. They’re also described as leading the army of angels. Al-Muddaththir 69:30 is interpreted about how the group of Zabaniyah threw the sinners into Jahannam.

They have the task of Zabaniyah driving sinners to enter Hell. In some Isra’ & MI’raj traditions the Zabaniyat landscape of the 1st layer of Hell & fiery seas within. As Maalik explains to Muhammad that the Zabaniya were created by God inside hell so they’ve no desire to leave this place & fell comfortable in it. The Zabaniyah are standing tall above Saqar, a place in Hell.

Each Zabaniyah restrained the sinners who were fated to be thrown in Hell are shackling each sinner’s arms to their neck before dragging them down. The Zabaniyah perform their job by using both of their hands & feet in torturing sinners in Hell. The Zabaniyah will drag the face of those they torture.

The Zabaniyah will shackle the inmates, cursing them, pouring boiled water on top of their head. While at the same time, force-feeding them with the fruits of Zaqqum tree. In Islam, the Zaqqum tree is a cursed tree that’s rooted in the center of Jahannum. It’s 1st mentioned in the Quran, 3x by name, as a tree that produces fruits that’s fed to the inhabitants of Hell to burn their stomachs, before they’re also fed boiling liquids.

In an interpretation of Quran chapter Al-Haqqa verse 32 gave their explanation that the chains in the verse were meant to be the chains used by Zabiyah angels to shackle the inmates in Hell. The Zabaniyah will shove the hot chains to the inmates rectums until it emerges from their mouth.

As for Muslim sinners which has committed huge sins & never repented during their life, the Zabaniyah tasked to shackle them more leniently than non-Muslim, & torture them until all of their sins has paid off with the punishments inflicted. Thus sent them all to Heaven.

Meanwhile, for non-Muslims, Ka’b has described the Zabaniyah shackle & drag them more severely than Muslim sinners into Hell while burning them as they walked in, then punish them for eternity. The Zabaniyah angels will wrap the inmates of Hell with a nail made of fire. So they’ll not hear anything, & none of those inmates can see that there is other peoples tortured nearby.

Sufism tradition says the fate after death that an army of angels of punishment battled against the angels of mercy over the soul of a sinner. In some Turkish lore, it’s believed that both groups battle, their strikes cause thunder.

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The new #heman #motu #movie may not have set box offices aflame, but I very much liked it. And this track fucking rocks. This gives me fuel to write my own upcoming apocalyptic novel where heroic #cyborgs and #teens with special powers fight crazed #cultists trying to bring about #armageddon by #cloning the #beast of #revelation. Yes, I want to mash together #endtimes #prophecy with #1980s Saturday morning #cartoons set to a soundtrack of vaporwave and glam metal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajDJWk19_us

Carnets du grand chemin

Presque aucune des routes où j’ai aimé m’engager, et qu’aujourd’hui encore j’aime reprendre, qui ne m’ait été, qui ne me demeure, comme une ouverture musicale, qui n’ait remué devant moi au bout de sa perspective, les plis et les lumières d’un rideau tout prêt à se lever. Pour quelques-unes, leur coloration à jamais joyeuse ou sombre est liée à l’attente, à l’anticipation de tristesse ou de bonheur sur laquelle elles s’ouvraient la première fois que je les ai prises.

*

Rattachée seulement à la terre vers l’amont par l’étroite tranchée charbonneuse du chemin de fer, la ville semblait couler au fil de sa rivière et s’ouvrir avec elle vers les horizons plats de son estuaire, mangé de roseaux, tout distendu par les anévrismes de plans d’eau secrets, bordés de pelouses désertes au fond desquelles sommeillaient, les yeux clos sous le couvert des arbres, des châteaux perdus.

*

Ce qui me surprit le plus, quand je traversai les Causses pour la première fois, ce fut la pâleur du sol dans les lointains tremblés de soleil du plateau : tous les tons exténués que tirent d’un caban de berger, après dix années, les morsures de la canicule succédant au lessivage des pluies d’hiver, s’étalent ici à perte de vue: gris fumés, ocres rôtis, rouille délavée, blanc cassé des espaces qui montrent la corde. C’est là que pour la première fois – gravies les sombres pentes boisées qui donnent accès de Mende au Causse de Sauveterre – j’ai eu la révélation du Midi sans couleur.

*

C’est comme un morceau de continent chauve et brusquement exondé qui ferait surface au-dessus des sempiternelles campagnes bocagères qui sont la banalité de notre terroir. Tonsures sacramentelles, austères, dans notre chevelu arborescent si continu, images d’un dépouillement presque spiritualisé du paysage, qui mêlent indissolublement, à l’usage du promeneur, sentiment d’altitude et sentiment d’élévation.

*

Littérature : quelle folie d’investir le meilleur de soi-même dans un art dont le médium, la langue, en continuelle évolution, reste à la merci de l’usage qu’en feront, année après année, quelques dizaines de millions d’analphabètes.

Julien Gracq dans Carnets du grand chemin

Une pièce musicale Anna Lapwood – Hans Zimmer & Camille Saint-Saëns • Opus Klassik 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR80hXugE00&list=RDhR80hXugE00&start_radio=1

Immaculate Conception

This is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was/is free from original sin from the moment of her conception. It’s 1 of the 4 Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. The feast day of the Immaculate Conception is December 8.

It wasn’t defined as a dogma until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. While the Immaculate Conception asserts Mary’s freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) had previously affirmed her freedom from personal sin non-dogmatically.

Many Protestant churches reject this doctrine as unscriptural. Some Anglicans accept this as a pious devotion. The teaching of the Immaculate Conception among Oriental Orthodoxy varies. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church & the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church accept it.

Anne (who eventually becomes a saint), the mom of the Virgin Mary & Jesus’ maternal grandma, shows up for the 1st time in the 2nd-century apocryphal Gospel of James. Anne & her husband Joachim (who also became a saint) were infertile. But God heard their prayers. Mary was then conceived.

Within the Gospel of James, Mary’s conception happens without physical sexual intercourse between Anne & Joachim. This is to demonstrate Mary’s purity. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that Mary was conceived by her parents like we all were.

Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, & Cyrus of Jerusalem came up with the idea of Mary as the new Eve. While yet immaculate & incorrupt, she wasn’t subject to original sin. Ephraim the Syrian said she was as innocent as Eve before the Fall.

Ambrose asserted Mary’s incorruptibility, attributing her virginity to grace & immunity from sin. Severus, the Bishop of Antioch, agreed to affirm Mary’s purity & immaculateness. John of Damascus extended the supernatural influence of God to Mary’s parents. This suggests they were purified by the Holy Spirit during her generation. According to John of Damascus, even the material of Mary’s origin was deemed pure & holy.

By the 4th century, the idea of Mary being free from sin was more widespread. But her being free from original sin, passed down from the OGs Adam & Eve, raised questions. The question became more acute when the feast of Mary’s conception brought the objection that, as adult spicy time is sinful, & to celebrate Mary’s conception was to celebrate a sinful act. (Let’s get 1 thing straight: God doesn’t make married adult spicy time between 2 consenting MARRIED adults a sin! He (God) in fact encourages a healthy marital sex life. “Be fruitful & multiply,” ring any bells! And how exactly do we multiply? This is the conclusion of our TED talk.)

The feast of Mary’s conception came from the Eastern Church in the 7th century. It reached England in the 11th century. From there, it spread out to Europe. It was given official approval in 1477 & extended to the whole church in 1693. The word “immaculate” wasn’t used until 1854.

This doctrine caused a “civil war” between the Franciscans & the Dominicans during the Middle Ages. The Franciscan “Scotists” were in favor & the Dominican “Thomists” against it.

The English ecclesiastic & scholar Eadmer (circa 1060-circa 1126) reasoned that Mary might have been conceived without original sin because of God’s omnipotence. It was also appropriate for her role as Mother of God. Potuit, decuit, fecit: “it was possible, it was fitting, therefore it was done.”

Others, like St. Bernard of Clairvaux (of the St. Bernard dog breed fame, 1090-1153) & Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) objected because if Mary were free of original sin at her superfluous conception. Then she would have no need of redemption. Thus making Christ’s saving redemption unneeded.

In 1439, the Council of Basel, in schism with Pope Eugene IV (who lived at the Council of Florence), declared the Immaculate Conception a “pious opinion” consistent with faith & Scripture. The Council of Trent made no explicit declaration on the topic. But did exempt her from the universality of original sin.

They also affirmed that she remained free from all stains of sin during her life, even the venial ones. By 1571, the revised Roman Breviary set out an elaborate celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.

Some devotees go so far as to hold that Anne had conceived Mary just by kissing her husband. They also believe that (St.) Anne’s dad & grandma had likewise been conceived without spicy adult time. However, (St.) Bridget of Sweden (circa 1303-1373) told how Mary herself had revealed to her that Anne & Joachim conceived their daughter through a spicy adult time, which was sinless because it was pure & free of sexual lust.

In the 16th & 17th centuries, Spain exploded with Immaculatist devotion. This led the Habsburg monarchs to demand the Holy See elevate this belief to the status of dogma.

In France in 1830, Catherine Laboure (May 2, 1806-December 31, 1876) saw a vision of Mary standing on a globe while a voice commanded her to have a medal made in imitation of what she saw. The medal said, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” which was a confirmation from Mary herself that she was conceived without sin. Laboure’s vision marked the beginning of a great 19th-century Marian revival.

In 1849, Pope Pius IX issued the encyclical Ubi primum, soliciting the bishops of the church for their views on whether the doctrine should be defined as dogma. 90% of those who responded were supportive. Although the Archbishop of Paris, Marie-Dominique-Auguste Sibour, warned that the Immaculate Conception “could be proved neither from the Scriptures nor from tradition.”

In 1854, the Immaculate Conception dogma was proclaimed with the bull Ineffabilis Deus. Ineffabilis Deus found the Immaculate Conception in the Ark of Salvation (Noah’s Ark), Jacob’s Ladder, the Burning Bush at Sinai, the Enclosed Garden from the Song of Song/Song of Solomon, & many more passages.

The pope’s advisors singled out 2 Bible passages: Genesis 3:15 – “I’ll put enmity between you & the woman.” This is a prophecy which reached fulfillment in the figure of the Woman in Revelation, crowned with stars & trampling the Dragon underfoot. Luke 1:28 – Specifically the phrase “full of grace” by which Gabriel greeted Mary was another reference to her Immaculate Conception: “she was never subject to the curse & was, together with her Son, the only partaker of perpetual benediction.”

Four years after the proclamation of the dogma, in 1858, the young Bernadette Soubirous (of the Lourdes grotto fame) said that Mary appeared to her at Lourdes in southern France, to announce that she was the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church later endorsed the apparition as authentic. There are other “approved” Marian apparitions in which Mary identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. For example, Our Lady of Gietrzwald in 1877, Poland.

The feast day of the Immaculate Conception is December 8. The Roman Missal (which contains texts & rubrics (a set of rules)) & the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours (a set of Catholic prayers) include references to Mary’s Immaculate Conception in the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Its celebration seems to have begun in the Eastern church in the 7th century & may have spread to Ireland by the 8th century. The earliest well-attested record in the Western Church is from England early in the 11th century. It was suppressed there after the Norman Conquest (1066). The 1st thorough exposition of the doctrine was a response to this suppression. It continued to spread through the 15th century despite accusations of heresy from the Thomists & strong objections from several prominent theologians.

Beginning around 1140, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Yes, like the dog breed. That’s where the dog breed got its name.), a Cistercian monk (This is a religious order of monks & nuns that branched off from the Benedictines.), wrote to Lyons Cathedral to express his surprise & dissatisfaction that it had recently begun to be observed there.

But in 1477, Pope Lixtus IV, who was a devoted Immaculist, put it on the Roman calendar via the papal bull called Cum praexcelsa. In 1481 & 1483, Pope Sixtus IV published 2 more bulls which prohibited anyone from preaching or teaching against the Immaculate Conception, or for either side to accuse the other of heresy, under threats of excommunication.

Pope Pius V kept the Feast on the Tridentine calendar. But suppressed the word “Immaculate.” Pope Gregory XV, in 1622, prohibited any public or private assertion that Mary was conceived in sin. In 1624, Pope Urban VIII allowed the Franciscans to establish a military order dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo & Eritrean Orthodox Tewahed Churches believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on August 13 (Nehasie 7).

Eastern Orthodoxy does not exempt Mary from original sin. But they do affirm Mary’s purity & preservation from personal sin.

In the mid-1800s, some Catholics who were unable to accept the doctrine of papal infallibility left the Roman Church & formed the Old Catholic Church. They reject the Immaculate Conception.

Protestants overwhelmingly condemned the announcement of Ineffabilis Deus. Protestants teach that Mary was a sinner, saved through grace, like everyone else.

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The Maranatha Empire

There is a prayer so holy that it should burn the tongue of every empire that tries to speak it.

Maranatha.

Come, Lord.

It is the cry of the small church under pressure. The cry of the persecuted and the patient. The cry of those who have no armies to summon, no throne to defend, no voting bloc sufficient to save them, no market share large enough to secure their future. It is the cry of those who wait because they know they are not God.

But in every age, there are those who take this prayer of waiting and turn it into a banner of possession.

They say, “Come, Lord,” but what they mean is, “Give us control.”

They say, “Thy kingdom come,” but what they mean is, “Let our faction rule.”

They say, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” but what they build are prisons, borders, propaganda machines, religious celebrity platforms, and monuments to their own fear.

This is the Maranatha Empire.

It is not one nation only, though nations may become its servants. It is not one denomination only, though denominations may become its chapels. It is not merely Rome, nor Geneva, nor Washington, nor Moscow, nor any other city that has mistaken power for providence. The Maranatha Empire is the recurring temptation of the religious heart: to stop waiting for Christ and begin replacing him.

It begins quietly.

It begins with concern.

The world is dangerous. The children are vulnerable. The church is shrinking. The enemies are multiplying. The culture is changing. The old certainties are crumbling. The people are afraid.

Fear, when baptized, often calls itself faithfulness.

So the frightened church begins to reach for tools Jesus refused.

A throne.

A sword.

A spectacle.

A scapegoat.

A strongman.

A law that can accomplish what love has not yet persuaded.

A state that can enforce what the Spirit has not yet formed.

A leader who promises to defend Christ, as though Christ ever asked Peter to keep swinging after Gethsemane.

This is how the prayer becomes an empire.

The early church cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it knew that Caesar was not Lord. The Maranatha Empire cries, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it wants Caesar to become useful.

The early church broke bread in homes. The Maranatha Empire builds platforms and calls them altars.

The early church welcomed the stranger. The Maranatha Empire sees the stranger as a threat.

The early church died rather than kill. The Maranatha Empire kills and calls the dead collateral damage in the defense of righteousness.

The early church believed the Lamb had conquered. The Maranatha Empire keeps looking for a beast strong enough to protect the Lamb.

And there is the blasphemy.

Not that empire rejects Christ outright. That would be too honest. The Maranatha Empire does something more dangerous. It uses Christ as decoration for a power that is fundamentally afraid of the cross.

It sings of the Lamb while trusting the dragon.

It preaches resurrection while organizing itself around survival.

It displays the cross while despising weakness.

It quotes Jesus while ignoring the people Jesus told us to notice: the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the foreigner, the enemy, the child, the wounded man beside the road.

The Maranatha Empire is not built by atheists. It is built by believers who have lost patience with the way of Jesus.

For the way of Jesus is slow.

It is seed, yeast, salt, light.

It is foot-washing.

It is forgiveness seventy times seven.

It is refusing the shortcut of domination even when domination appears efficient.

It is telling Peter to put away the sword when everything in Peter’s body screams that this is the moment for holy violence.

It is standing before Pilate and saying, “My kingdom is not from this world,” not because the kingdom has nothing to do with the world, but because it does not come by the world’s methods.

The Maranatha Empire cannot tolerate this.

It cannot tolerate a Messiah who will not seize power.

It cannot tolerate a church that would rather be faithful than influential.

It cannot tolerate a people whose politics begin at the basin and towel.

It cannot tolerate enemy-love, because enemy-love ruins the machinery. Empire requires enemies. It needs them. It feeds on them. Without enemies, the crowd might look too closely at the throne.

So, the Maranatha Empire manufactures urgency.

There is no time to love.

No time to listen.

No time to discern.

No time for reconciliation.

No time for peacemaking.

No time to ask whether the means resemble the Christ we claim to serve.

The hour is late, they say. The danger is great. The stakes are too high. We must act now. We must take control now. We must win now.

And somewhere beneath all that urgency is a terrible confession:

They do not actually believe the Lord is coming.

Or, if he is coming, they do not trust him to arrive in the right way.

So they build him an empire to inherit.

But Christ does not inherit empires.

He judges them.

He walks in alleyways, not palaces. He asks whether the churches have kept their first love. He warns those who are rich and comfortable and self-satisfied that they may be poor, blind, and naked. He stands at the door and knocks, not because he has been defeated by secularism, but because religious people have locked him outside while holding meetings in his name.

The Maranatha Empire is always shocked when Jesus is found outside the gate.

Outside the camp.

Outside respectability.

Outside the approved narrative.

Outside the walls with the crucified, the excluded, the unclean, the inconvenient, and the condemned.

The empire expected him in the capital.

But he is with the refugees.

The empire expected him in the cathedral of victory.

But he is with the mother of the disappeared.

The empire expected him on the reviewing stand.

But he is washing feet in the basement.

The empire expected him to bless the troops.

But he is asking why his followers are still carrying swords.

This is why Maranatha must remain a dangerous prayer.

It must never be allowed to become a slogan for conquest. It must never be printed on the banners of those who are unwilling to be converted by the One they summon. To pray “Come, Lord” is not to invite divine endorsement of our projects. It is to invite judgment upon them.

Come, Lord, and judge our churches.

Come, Lord, and judge our flags.

Come, Lord, and judge our markets.

Come, Lord, and judge our weapons.

Come, Lord, and judge our sermons.

Come, Lord, and judge our secret hatreds.

Come, Lord, and judge the ways we have used your name to avoid your way.

This is the prayer empire cannot honestly pray.

Because if the Lord comes, the first thing to fall may not be our enemies.

It may be our idols.

The algorithm.

The nation.

The party.

The brand.

The gun.

The strongman.

The myth of innocence.

The lie that we can harm others for a righteous cause and remain untouched by the harm.

The Maranatha Empire teaches us to fear the collapse of Christian influence.

Jesus teaches us to fear gaining the world and losing our soul.

The Maranatha Empire asks, “How do we take back the culture?”

Jesus asks, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”

The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the winners.”

Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”

The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the forceful, for they shall secure the future.”

Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

And perhaps this is the word for us now:

The church does not need to become more powerful.

The church needs to become more faithful.

Not passive. Not silent. Not withdrawn into pious irrelevance. But faithful in the particular, cruciform, stubborn way of Jesus. Faithful enough to resist evil without becoming its mirror. Faithful enough to tell the truth without hatred. Faithful enough to protect the vulnerable without worshiping violence. Faithful enough to build communities of economic sharing, hospitality, forgiveness, courage, and joy. Faithful enough to be a people who can live without controlling the outcome.

That is the hard part.

Empire is attractive because it promises control.

Jesus offers communion.

Empire promises security.

Jesus offers peace.

Empire promises victory over enemies.

Jesus offers reconciliation that may begin with our repentance.

Empire promises to make us great.

Jesus invites us to become small enough to enter the kingdom.

So, let the Maranatha Empire fall.

Let it fall first in us.

Let it fall in every place where we have confused anxiety with zeal. Let it fall where we have preferred dominance to witness. Let it fall where we have wanted laws to do what discipleship would not. Let it fall where we have used the suffering of others as fuel for our own righteousness. Let it fall where we have asked Jesus to come only after we have arranged the throne to our liking.

And when it falls, may something older and more beautiful remain.

A table.

A basin.

A towel.

A loaf.

A cup.

A people gathered without illusion, without empire, without the need to be impressive, whispering the ancient prayer not as conquerors but as witnesses:

Maranatha.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Come not to crown our domination, but to free us from it.

Come not to baptize our fear, but to cast it out.

Come not to make our empire holy, but to teach us again that your kingdom comes like a seed, like yeast, like mercy, like a Lamb who was slain and yet lives.

And until you come, make us faithful.

Not imperial.

Not triumphant.

Not afraid.

Faithful.

“Eureka!”*…

Whence insight?…

New research published in BMC Psychology suggests that the structural wiring of the brain may play a significant role in how people solve problems through sudden insight. The study indicates that individuals who frequently experience “Aha!” moments tend to have less organized white matter pathways in specific language-processing areas of the left hemisphere. These findings imply that a slightly less rigid neural structure might allow the brain to relax its focus, enabling the unique connections required for creative breakthroughs.

For decades, scientists have studied the phenomenon of insight, which occurs when a solution to a problem enters awareness suddenly and unexpectedly. This is often contrasted with analytical problem solving, which involves a deliberate and continuous step-by-step approach.

While previous studies using functional MRI and EEG have mapped the brain activity that occurs during these moments, there has been little understanding of the underlying physical structure that supports them. The researchers behind the new study aimed to determine if stable differences in white matter—the bundles of nerve fibers that connect different brain regions—predict an individual’s tendency to solve problems via insight.

“For over two decades, neuroscience has mapped what happens in the brain during these moments using EEG and fMRI. We know from prior research that insight feels sudden, tends to be accurate, and involves distinct functional activation patterns — including a burst of activity in the right temporal cortex just before the solution reaches awareness,” said study authors Carola Salvi of the Cattolica University of Milan and Simone A. Luchini of Pennsylvania State University.

“But one major question remained open: what structural features of the brain might make some people more likely to experience insight in the first place?”

“Most previous white matter studies of creativity did not specifically focus on Aha! experiences. They measured how many problems people solved, or how creatively, not how they solved them (with or without these sudden epiphanies). Yet insight and non insight solutions are phenomenologically and neurally distinct processes.”

White matter acts as the communication infrastructure of the brain, transmitting signals between distant regions. To examine this structure, the researchers employed a technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). This method tracks the movement of water molecules within brain tissue.

“We wanted to know whether stable white matter microstructure — the brain’s anatomical wiring — differs depending on whether someone tends to solve problems through sudden insight or through deliberate step-by-step reasoning (non insight solutions),” Salvi and Luchini explained. “Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed us to examine this structural dimension directly.”…

… The findings offered a counterintuitive perspective on brain connectivity. The analysis revealed that participants who solved more problems via insight exhibited lower fractional anisotropy in the left hemisphere’s dorsal language network. This network includes the arcuate fasciculus and the superior longitudinal fasciculus, pathways that connect brain regions responsible for language production, comprehension, and semantic processing.

“One striking finding was that people who more frequently experienced insight showed lower fractional anisotropy in specific left-hemisphere dorsal language pathways, including parts of the arcuate fasciculus and superior longitudinal fasciculus,” Salvi and Luchini told PsyPost.

“At first glance, that might sound counterintuitive. Fractional anisotropy is often interpreted as reflecting the coherence or organization of white matter pathways. In many cognitive domains, higher fractional anisotropy is associated with better performance.”

“But insight may operate differently. The left hemisphere is typically involved in focused, fine-grained semantic processing — narrowing in on dominant interpretations of words and concepts. The right hemisphere, by contrast, is thought to support broader, ‘coarse’ semantic coding — integrating more distantly related ideas. Slightly lower fractional anisotropy in left dorsal language pathways may reflect a system that is less tightly constrained by dominant interpretations.

“In other words, it may allow a partial ‘release’ from habitual patterns of thought and it is in line with other studies where lesions in the left frontotemporal regions have been shown to increase artistic creativity,” Salvi and Luchini continued. “Taken together, these findings imply that left hemispheric regions play a regulatory role in creativity and that their disruption lifts this constraint, thus promoting novel ideas.”…

This somehow makes your correspondent feel better about his messy desk…

More at: “Neuroscientists identify a unique feature in the brain’s wiring that predicts sudden epiphanies,” from @psypost.bsky.social.

The journal paper: “The white matter of Aha! moments.”

* Archimedes (after one of his famous insights)

###

As we ruminate on revelation, we might recall that it was on this date in 1939 that the college fad of swallowing live goldfish began at Harvard: a freshman named Lothrop Withington, Jr., reportedly bragged to his friends that he had once eaten a live fish. They bet him 10 bucks he couldn’t do it again. Perhaps because he was running for Class President, he took the challenge…

The moment of truth came on March 3, within the hallowed halls of Harvard. Standing in front of a crowd of grinning classmates and at least one Boston reporter, Withington dropped an ill-fated 3-inch goldfish into his mouth, gave a couple chews and swallowed. “The scales,” he later remarked, “caught a bit on my throat as it went down.”

Soon the word spread to other colleges. Other students began to take up the challenge, swallowing more and more goldfish each time to top the last record. By the time students were downing dozens of live, wriggling goldfish to uphold their school’s honor, the Massachusetts legislature stepped in and passed a law to “preserve the fish from cruel and wanton consumption.” The U.S. Public Health Service began to issue warnings that the goldfish could pass tapeworms and disease to swallowers. Within a few months of its start, the fad died out.

– Source

source

💥 In what might be the most #groundbreaking #revelation since the discovery of gravity, somehow #rally #games teach us that cars are, in fact, #bouncy springs! 🎢 Apparently, controlling a 1000 kg hunk of metal is all about understanding #physics, but don't worry—momentum is the only thing that matters. Who knew? 🙄
https://combo.cc/posts/its-all-about-momentum-innit/ #momentum #springs #HackerNews #ngated

We need something that lasts, not just a temporary banner of God's love. Fortunately, that's exactly what God provides for us. https://youtube.com/live/C_mAZjSrdu8

#Christianity #Advent #Incarnation #Revelation #Jesus

L'Apocalypse illustré ?!!! 😲

#editionsbiblio #valentinfroute #apocalypse #revelation #prophetie #symbole #conversion #image #illustration #dessin #bd #sacre #mystere #feu #lumiere #contemplation #meditation #bible #tradition #foi #beaute #priere #art #spiritualite

https://youtube.com/shorts/dUfhZdqQ9Ks?feature=share

A quotation from Ambrose Bierce

SCRIPTURES, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Scriptures,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

More info about this quote: wist.info/bierce-ambrose/1074/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ambrosebierce #devilsdictionary #divineplan #faith #holiness #perspective #religion #religiousintolerance #revelation #sacredness #sanctity #scripture #writings

🚪💨 In a shocking #revelation, our brave author realizes that dealing with people isn't all sunshine and rainbows, especially when you're a landlord. 🎩🤡 After pontificating about online drama, they conclude that human interaction might be best left to, well, other humans. 🙄 Bravo, Evan, you've cracked the code!
https://oddevan.com/2025/10/13/people-are-people-or-why.html #landlordlife #humaninteraction #onlinehumor #dramaunfolds #HackerNews #ngated

A quotation from Omar Khayyam

If I were God, I would not wait the years
To solve the mystery of human tears;
   And, unambiguous, I would speak my will,
Nor hint it darkly to the dreaming seers.

Omar Khayyám (1048-1123) Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer [عمر خیام]
Rubáiyát [رباعیات ][tr. Le Gallienne (1897), # 116]

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/omar-khayyam/77325/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #rubaiyat #omarkhayyam #divinewill #God #problemofevil #problemofsuffering #revelation #suffering #theodicy

A quotation from Montaigne

We must be content with the light that it may please the sun to shed upon us by his beams; and he who shall raise his eyes to bring a brighter beam into his very body, let him not think it strange if, for the punishment of his audacity, he thus lose his sight.
 
[Il se faut contenter de la lumiere qu’il plaist au Soleil nous communiquer par ses rayons, & qui eslevera ses yeux pour en prendre une plus grande dans son corps mesme, qu’il ne trouve pas estrange, si pour la peine de son outrecuidance il y perd la veuë.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essay (1572), “We Should Meddle Soberly with Judging Divine Ordinances [Qu’il faut sobrement se mesler de juger des ordonnances divines],” Essays, Book 1, ch. 31 (1.31) (1595) [tr. Ives (1925), 1.32]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/montaigne-michel-de/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #montaigne #arrogance #audacity #discernment #divineplan #divinepunishment #divinewill #God #hubris #ineffability #mystery #presumption #pride #revelation #sun #understanding

The Origins Of The #UnholyTrinity Explained

https://www.grunge.com/1712186/origins-unholy-trinity-explained/

Derived almost exclusively from the #Bible's #apocalyptic final book, #Revelation, the idea isn't official #churchdoctrine. Focused on #Satan, #Antichrist, and #FalseProphet characters from Revelation 12 and 13, it took all the way to the 20th century to gain traction in the minds of the public.

Knockin 'On Heaven's Door.

#poetry #writing #books #wisdom #knowledge #god #divine #music #Climatechange #War #famine #denialism #Atomicbomb #Death #EndOfTheWorld #Alternative #Revelation #Scientist #1970s #rock #hippy #fediverse #MakeLoveNotWar #Religion #marijuana #givepeaceachance #hippieday #1960s #peace #MeaningOfLife #ScienceNews #Psychology #Philosophy #PinkFloyd @rogerwaters #supertramp #DirectDemocracy #ecology #christianism #Freedom #Trump #Truth #ULTIMAHORA #Prophecies

What the End of the World could be like

#poetry #writing #books #wisdom #knowledge #god #divine #music #Climatechange #War #famine #denialism #Atomicbomb #Death #EndOfTheWorld #Alternative #Revelation #Scientist #1970s #rock #hippy #fediverse #MakeLoveNotWar #Religion #marijuana #givepeaceachance #hippieday #1960s #peace #MeaningOfLife #ScienceNews #Psychology #Philosophy #PinkFloyd @rogerwaters #supertramp #DirectDemocracy #ecology #christianism #Freedom #Trump #Truth #ULTIMAHORA #Prophecies

Now or never

#poetry #writing #books #wisdom #knowledge #thoughts #god #divine #music #Climatechange #War #famine #denialism #Atomicbomb #Death #EndOfTheWorld #Alternative #Revelation #Scientist #1970s #rock #hippy #fediverse #MakeLoveNotWar #Religion #PeaceSigns #marijuana #givepeaceachance #hippieday #1960s #peace #MeaningOfLife #ScienceNews #Psychology #Philosophy #PinkFloyd @rogerwaters #supertramp #DirectDemocracy #ecology #christianism #Freedom #Trump #Truth #ULTIMAHORA #Prophecies #arte