Golden Grizzly

General George M (via explore.pa)

 
Sherman the destroyer (via clc.charter) 

Ricky Gervais quits being Christian
12.19.10. Believing in something doesn’t make it true. Hoping that something is true doesn’t make it true. The existence of God is not subjective. He either exists or he doesn’t. It’s not a matter of opinion. You can have your own opinions. But you can’t have your own facts.

I used to believe in God. The Christian one that is. I loved Jesus. He was my hero. God was by definition omnipotent and perfect. Jesus was a man. He had to work at it. He had temptation but defeated sin. He had integrity and courage. But He was my hero because He was kind. And He was kind to everyone. He didn’t bow to peer pressure or tyranny or cruelty. He didn’t care who you were. He loved you. What a guy. I wanted to be just like Him…  Later I learned of evolution– evolution of plants, animals and us- with imagination, free will, love, humor. I no longer needed a reason for my existence, just a reason to live. And imagination, free will, love, humor, fun, music, sports, beer and pizza are all good enough reasons for living. But living an honest life- for that you need the truth. The truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity. 

And why is [Christianity] such a popular view? That’s obvious. It’s an attractive proposition. Believe in me and live forever…  “Do unto others…” is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is‐ a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. “Do this or you’ll burn in hell.” You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway. (via WSJ Speakeasy)

Sweethearts together

While Adam was sleeping, The Lord God took one of his ribs. Then God made a woman from the rib and he brought her to Adam. Adam said, ” This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” That is why a man leaves his parents and is united to his wife. They become one flesh. (Genesis 2:21)

 
His voice took the sword out of my hand (via whatadag)


via redline.reso 

Bethlehem (Bread House), Palestinian NA
6,000 Christians live in Bethlehem today.

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:6)

Abraham & Isaac by Rembrandt (Amsterdam, 1634)
via dl.ket  blanked- by Gary Larson (via dwheezy)

Archangel Gabriel delivers Annunciation to Mary:
you will be the God-bearer (by Paolo de Matteis, 1712) via wiki

Abraham’s two sons
Sarah: “Get rid of that slave woman and her son (Ishmael), for he will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes and thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God said to Hagar, ” Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

Isaac: “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 21:8)

Lee J.Fan and Linda (1966)
via contact.music

Ben Fong (via kyaradio)

Wong C. Foo on Disbelief (1887)
Why should I be consigned to hell’s everlasting fire, despite being a good man, simply because I will not believe in Jesus Christ? The heathen does good for the sake of doing good. With the Christian, what little good he does, he does for immediate honor and future reward; he lends to the Lord and wants compound interest. Unlike Christianity, our Church (Confucianism) is not eager for converts. It teaches me to mind my own business, to be contented with what I have, to possess a mind that is tranquil and a body at ease, at all times… When the English wanted the Chinaman’s gold and trade, they said they came to “open China for their missionaries.” But opium was the chief missionary they looked after when they forced the ports open. As a result, 10s of millions of honest useful Chinese were sent to a premature death… “Do unto others as you wish they do unto you,” or “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the great Divine law which Christians and heathen alike hold, but which the Christians ignore.

Yan P. Lee on Belief (1887)
I am a Christian because I’m endowed with reason, supplemented with logic and a desire to tell the truth. My faith teaches me to cultivate my mind, rectify my heart, and to make my conscience sensitive. It bids me to be tolerant, charitable and just to my fellow men. It gives me the strength to act the good citizen and the true husband. I discriminate between true Christians and hypocrites. Confucius says, “it is impossible to carve on rotten timber.” Christianity is not responsible for the acts of morally rotten men; where there is any soundness at all, Christianity has shown its power to heal and save. The true Christian is the friend of the poor and the oppressed. During the famine in China it was the missionaries who went into doomed districts to heal the sick. I believe the truths of Jesus. I hope to be happy in this life and enjoy a blessed immortality in the life to come.

Sheba visits Solomon by Ed Poynter (1890)
David’s son wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. via wiki

Babel
Said God: “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from Shinar over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel- because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. (Genesis 11:7) via.bible.history

5,000 fed
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Luke 9:16)via free.stories]

Muslims won the Crusade
by Thomas Madden (11.2001) NRO

The crusades were in every way a defensive war. They were the West’s belated response to the Muslim conquest of fully two-thirds of the Christian world. While the Arabs were busy in the 7-10th centuries winning an opulent empire, Europe was defending itself against outside invaders and then digging out from the mess they left behind. Only in the 11th century were Europeans able to take notice of the East. The event that led to the crusades was the Turkish conquest of most of Christian Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Christian emperor in Constantinople, faced with the loss of half of his empire, appealed for help to the rude but energetic Europeans. 

Pope Urban II called the First Crusade in 1095. The crusade’s real purpose was to turn back Muslim conquests and restore formerly Christian lands to Christian control.  The crusaders marched hundreds of miles deep into enemy territory and recaptured not only the lost cities of Nicaea and Antioch, but in 1099 Jerusalem itself. The Muslim response was a call for jihad. With great leaders like Nur ed-Din and Saladin on the Muslim side and Richard the Lionheart & St. Louis IX on the Christian side, holy war was energetically waged in the Middle East for the next century and a half (until 1291)

The Giantkiller (via:pinata)

Jesus and the 12 Apostles [messengers]:
Matthew (tax-collector), John P, Peter (aka simon j, fisherman),
Andrew (fisher), James Z, Jimmy A, Philip, Bartholomew,
Thomas (doubter), Thaddeus, Simon (zealot), Judas (iscariot, traitor),
Matthias* (replaces traitor) via: da.bergs

Detour to Damascus by Pete Rubens (1601)
via: lisa.picasa

Thomas Madden on Crusades
The crusades were in every way a defensive war. They were the West’s belated response to the Muslim conquest of fully two-thirds of the Christian world. While the Arabs were busy in the seventh through the tenth centuries winning an opulent and sophisticated empire, Europe was defending itself against outside invaders and then digging out from the mess they left behind…. As it happened, the First Crusade was amazingly, almost miraculously, successful. The crusaders marched hundreds of miles deep into enemy territory and recaptured not only the lost cities of Nicaea and Antioch, but in 1099 Jerusalem itself.

The Muslim response was a call for jihad, although internal divisions put that off for almost fifty years. With great leaders like Nur ed-Din and Saladin on the Muslim side and Richard the Lionheart and St. Louis IX on the Christian side, holy war was energetically waged in the Middle East for the next century and a half. The warriors on both sides believed, and by the tenets of their respective religions were justified in believing, that they were doing God’s work. History, though, was on the side of Islam. Muslim rulers were becoming more, not less powerful. Their jihads grew in strength and effectiveness until, in 1291, the last remnants of the crusaders in Palestine and Syria were wiped out forever.

by David Villavera (via: whine.dine)

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” God created man and woman in his own image… God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:3)

Blessed are:
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
those who thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
the merciful, for they will see mercy.
the pure in heart, for they will see God.
the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Rejoice and be glad (Matthew 5:1)

God and his Adam by Michelangelo (1512)
via wiki

Bugliosi on God’s power & goodness
“God can’t be all good and all powerful at the same time… These are irreconcilable virtues in a world overflowing with the bloody crops of evil.” Bugliosi quotes 14-year-old Rutka Laskier: “If God existed, He would have certainly not permitted that human beings be thrown alive into furnaces, and the heads of little toddlers be smashed with butts of guns or be shoved into sacks and gassed to death.” “If Christians want to have their God, that’s fine,” the former prosecutor said. “But if they have any respect for logic, they’re going to have to redefine him.”

Cradle of the Deep by Sailor Jerry (via: selvedge.yard)

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery- God

God’s 10 Commands
1.) You shall have no other gods before me.
2.) You shall not make an idol in the form of anything in heaven, on earth, or the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them. I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the 3rd and 4th generation. But showing love to a 1,000 generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3.) Do not misuse the name of the Lord.
4.) Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the 7th is a day of rest.
5.) Honor your father and mother.
6.) Do not murder.

7.) Do not commit adultery.
8.) Do not steal.
9.) Do not give false testimony (lie) against your neighbor.
10.) Do not covet (desire) your neighbor’s house, wife, servants, animals, and belongings. (Exodus 20:1)

Our father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9)

[sam & lion]
Samson whomps lion (via catholic.trad)