How can I get a sense of geography during the book of Jeremiah?

How can I get a sense of geography during the book of Jeremiah?

Jeremiah chapter 49 is an excellent biblical resource concerning geography. Much of the book of Jeremiah concerns prophecies being made by the prophet Jeremiah to all of Israel concerning the impending siege of the Kingdom of Judah, Southern Israel, by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, Babylon, being a city 750 miles east of Jerusalem in the present-day Babylon Governorate, Iraq. Jeremiah does…

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Have concerts been held in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome?

Have concerts been held in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome?

Yes; the Baths of Caracalla is a popular tourist attraction and venue for concerts, namely classical music concerts. The Baths of Caracalla are more than 1800 years old and were used as public baths for 300 years.

Picture 1 is a photo of the baths today: attribution: Brittanica – Baths of Caracalla | building, Rome, Italy

Picture 2 is a promotional art poster for concerts in Summer 2018.

https://…

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How can I get a sense of geography during the book of Jeremiah?

Jeremiah chapter 49 is an excellent biblical resource concerning geography. Much of the book of Jeremiah concerns prophecies made by the prophet Jeremiah to all of Israel concerning the impending siege of the Kingdom of Judah, Southern Israel, by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Babylon was a city 750 miles east of Jerusalem that corresponds to present-day Babylon Governorate, Iraq. Jeremiah does not stop there, however, he also warns the Ammonites (Jordanians), the people of Ai ( a city ten miles north of Jerusalem), the Edomites (Transjordanians), the people of Kedar (Saudi Arabia), and the Syrians of Damascus, Syria that their days as sovereign nations are numbered as well; Jeremiah prophecies that the Babylonians are sure to besiege them also as a part of their conquest of the near-east. Jeremiah 49:21 reads, “The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry thereof was heard in the Red Sea.” This verse illustrates the devastation at which the Babylonians would conquer the nations of the near-east. The Red Sea, as spoken of in Jeremiah 49:21, is the sea that divides N.E. Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. By 568 B.C., the Babylonian Empire had absorbed all of the above-named kingdoms and the Kingdom of Egypt. Much of the conquest of the Babylonian Empire, as well as the respective locations of the Levantine kingdoms of the biblical Iron Age, can be referenced from Jeremiah chapter 49.

Picture 1 is a map of the Red Sea: attribution Google Maps

Picture 2 is a public domain map of the Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent in 568 B.C.

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d1131120bef3b14a18681a94664327e8

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-966e023a5ce9ba8b438ccfc5e837f586.webp

Have concerts been held in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome?

Yes; the Baths of Caracalla is a popular tourist attraction and venue for concerts, namely classical music concerts. The Baths of Caracalla are more than 1800 years old and were used as public baths for 300 years.

Picture 1 is a photo of the baths today: attribution: Brittanica - Baths of Caracalla | building, Rome, Italy

Picture 2 is a promotional art poster for concerts in Summer 2018.

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-21e9baef4a83dd806c4a73b92c74c174

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c127a7a6ed27c0ff4974ac7efd83f6a2

What is an example of a Bible story that has parallels to an old pagan tale?

What is an example of a Bible story that has parallels to an old pagan tale?

As I was re-reading the Bible, I came across a story detailing St. Paul’s journey to Rome to face trial for his Christian preaching in Palestine (Acts 28:1–6). This story has some pretty neat parallels to an ancient Egyptian story that has religious overtones in its own right.

In this story, which takes place circa A.D. 60, the Apostle Paul and his fellow prisoners were shipwrecked on the Island…

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What is an example of a Bible story that has parallels to an old pagan tale?

As I was re-reading the Bible, I came across a story detailing St. Paul's journey to Rome to face trial for his Christian preaching in Palestine (Acts 28:1–6). This story has some pretty neat parallels to an ancient Egyptian story that has religious overtones in its own right.

The story in Acts, which takes place circa A.D. 60, the Apostle Paul and his fellow prisoners were shipwrecked on the Island of Malta, an island approximately 425 miles south of Rome. On Malta, St. Paul was bitten on his hand by a viper; being unfazed by the attack, St. Paul shook the beast off into a fire to the amazement of the native Maltans.

This story has parallels to the Egyptian "Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor" (circa 2000 B.C.) in which an Egyptian sailor is shipwrecked on an island, and while offering burnt offerings to the gods, met a giant serpent claiming to be the “Lord of Punt,” an important trading partner with Egypt. The serpent then makes the sailor’s acquaintance and asks the sailor to make him a good name in his hometown once he leaves the island. The serpent then gives the sailor gifts, of among other things, spices, incense, elephants' tusks, giraffe’s tails, greyhounds, and baboons.

This image is a public domain image of the approximate location of the land of Punt.

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-667b19f509a73e898ec4f0b10603fb1c

Galatians Chapter 6 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

[vimeo 262229309 w=500 h=280]

Galatians Chapter 5 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

Pilate’s wife had a dream where she was told Jesus was innocent. Was the dream from Satan or God?

Pilate’s wife had a dream where she was told Jesus was innocent. Was the dream from Satan or God?

I believe that this dream was from God and I will tell you why. Pontius Pilate was already inclined to let Jesus go free, (Luke 23:4) so much so, that after having found no basis for charges against Christ, he sent him to Herod Philip II, the ruler of Jesus’ hometown, who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time, to render an opinion on Christ. Christ answered none of Herod’s questions which drew…

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Pilate’s wife had a dream where she was told Jesus was innocent. Was the dream from Satan or God?

I believe that this dream was from God and I will tell you why. Pontius Pilate was already inclined to let Jesus go free, (Luke 23:4) so much so, that after having found no basis for charges against Christ, he sent him to Herod Philip II, the ruler of Jesus’ hometown, who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time, to render an opinion on Christ. Christ answered none of Herod’s questions which drew the ire of Herod, his court, and the chief priests and elders of the Law of Moses who were in attendance. Jesus was mocked, further accused of being an undesirable, and was then sent back to Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate, after further examining Jesus, was still inclined to free him. Freeing Jesus, however, would have been disastrous for Pilate politically as there were increased demands being made by the citizens of Jerusalem and the chief priests for Christ to be crucified; they even began to question Pilate’s loyalty to Caesar (John 19:12, 15). Freeing Christ, would have likewise been disastrous for Christianity; this being the case, because it was Jesus’ fate to be tried and executed for the sins of mankind (Isaiah 53:8, Luke 18:31–33).

During a critical phase in Jesus’ sedition trial, namely the phase that would have ultimately decided Jesus’ fate, Pilate’s wife sent a note to Pilate, telling him to “have nothing to do with that just man,” namely, because she was tormented in a dream the previous night concerning Christ. Now as the prefect (ruler) of Iudæa, Pontius Pilate had the capacity to free Jesus which is what Satan wanted (i.e., Mark 8:31–33). Satan wanted Jesus to use his talents and divinity to rule kingdoms and become a conquering Emperor (Luke 4:5–6,) not much unlike King Nebuchadnezzar II, Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, and Caesar Augustus. What Pilate’s wife did was further facilitate, in the mind of Pilate, a disposition of passiveness concerning Jesus’ crucifixion that made the chief priests’ and elders’ role in the matter more prevalent. This is important because it fulfills Christ’s own prophecies concerning his execution being the result of malicious actions against him by the chief priests and elders (Luke 9:22, Matthew 16:21).

The political passiveness of Pontius Pilate, which was brought on by a combination of his own inclinations concerning Christ and the warnings of his wife, was the reason that he washed his hands of Christ’s blood and gave the people their choice between the extinguishing of Christ’s life, or the life of Barabbas, of which, Christ’s life was chosen (Matthew 27:20–23). This scenario brought about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ which fulfilled Old and New Testament prophecies concerning Christ’s crucifixion.

Galatians Chapter 4 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

Is Judas Iscariot in hell?

Is Judas Iscariot in hell?

I believe that Judas Iscariot is in Hell. The reasons being are as follows: In John chapter 13:27, we see that after Christ identified Judas as his betrayer, and instructed Judas to do his deed “quickly,” that Satan entered into Judas and that Judas left the room and out into the night to carry out his deed. This shows that Judas had murder in his spirit and harvested hatred for Christ in his…

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Is Judas Iscariot in hell?

I believe that Judas Iscariot is in Hell. The reasons being are as follows: In John chapter 13:27, we see that before Christ identified Judas as his betrayer and instructed Judas to do his deed “quickly,” Satan had entered into Judas, and after Christ’s rebuke, Judas left the room and went outside so as to find his fellow conspirators and carry out his deed. This shows that Judas had murder in his spirit and harvested hatred for Christ in his heart, two mortal dispositions that the scriptures clearly denounce (Matthew 19:18 & John 15:23–25). It is clear that Judas not only hated Christ, but hated God also. The complexity of this scenario is that Judas was fated to betray Christ, and Christ’s betrayal was the catalyst for the divine atonement which was afforded by Christ’s crucifixion. Judas, however, had evil and malice in his heart, which he shamelessly and violently acted upon. It should be noted, that in Matthew 27:1–5, it says that after Judas’ betrayal of Christ was carried out, Judas “repented himself,” expressed remorse to the chief priests and elders, and then hanged himself. Judas’ “repentance” was not a repentance unto God, it was a selfish repentance, the kind of guilt that a person feels on their own behalf, rather than Godly sorrow which makes oneself accountable before God. The Bible does not report that Judas repented before God before taking his own life, so it can be safely assumed that Judas is one of the unfortunate souls that will perpetually dwell in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8).

Why did the Romans use crosses for crucifixion?

Why did the Romans use crosses for crucifixion?

Using crosses for crucifixions was about ensuring the public humiliation of the condemned and warning onlookers against engaging in certain behaviors. If Christ were impaled in a remote forest by the Romans and summarily buried, then other insurrectionists in Judea would not have had a sense of fear and trembling that would deter them from continuing in anti-government activities. It should be…

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Why is the Book of Baruch not in the Protestant Bible when the Book of Jeremiah 36:4 clearly says it is the Word of the Lord and was in the original 1611 KJV?

Why is the Book of Baruch not in the Protestant Bible when the Book of Jeremiah 36:4 clearly says it is the Word of the Lord and was in the original 1611 KJV?

The book of Baruch is considered “Bible apocrypha,” that is, books that were added to the narrative of the Bible after its original contents had already been written. The scribe, Baruch, that is present in Jeremiah 36:4, worked for Jeremiah exclusively as his subordinate and his scribe. Baruch wrote everything that Jeremiah told him to write concerning the fate of Northern and Southern…

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Why did the Romans use crosses for crucifixion?

Using crosses for crucifixions was about ensuring the public humiliation of the condemned and warning onlookers against engaging in certain behaviors. If Christ were impaled in a remote forest by the Romans and summarily buried, then other insurrectionists in Judea would not have had a sense of fear and trembling that would deter them from continuing in anti-government activities. It should be noted that in the Roman Empire, namely in Judea, crucifixions were generally used for insurrectionists e.g., Jesus Christ and revolutionary guerilla fighters e.g., Barabbas. The public nature of crucifixions and their exceptional cruelty were devised to strike fear into those who would commit crimes against the State.

Why is the Book of Baruch not in the Protestant Bible when the Book of Jeremiah 36:4 clearly says it is the Word of the Lord and was in the original 1611 KJV?

The book of Baruch is considered “Bible Apocrypha,” that is, books that were added to the narrative of the Bible after its original contents had already been written. The scribe, Baruch, that is present in Jeremiah 36:4, worked for Jeremiah exclusively as his subordinate and his scribe. Baruch wrote everything that Jeremiah told him to write concerning the fate of the Kingdom of Judah (Jeremiah 25:11) and the advent of the Messiah (Jeremiah 31:31-33).

What does Romans 3:23 mean?

What does Romans 3:23 mean?

Romans 3:23 reads, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This verse, which is a part of a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Christian church in Rome, illustrates that since the fall of Adam, all mankind has become accursed, and as a result, has committed acts tantamount to sin, and has therefore made the full glory of God impossible to realize in this life. The Apostle…

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Galatians Chapter 3 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

Is the Alexamenos graffito proof of the existence of Jesus Christ?

Is the Alexamenos graffito proof of the existence of Jesus Christ?

I wouldn’t say that the Alexamenos graffito is proof of the existence of Jesus Christ; it is rather proof that the legend of Jesus Christ was present in Rome, Italia, during the early third century. The Alexamenos graffito, which was drawn in A.D. 200, can be described as a stick-figure drawing of a Roman civilian worshipping an image of a crucified person that has a donkey’s head. The…

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What does Romans 3:23 mean?

Romans 3:23 reads, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This verse, which is a part of a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Christian church in Rome, illustrates that since the fall of Adam, all mankind has become accursed, and as a result, has committed acts tantamount to sin, and has therefore made the full glory of God impossible to realize in this life. The Apostle Paul asserts in previous letters to other churches, namely in Galatia, Asia Minor, that the only way to neutralize this curse is by having faith and getting baptized, which is the equivalent to “putting on Jesus” (Gal. 3:26-27,) a reference to letting Christ act as your mortal avatar in relation to what God sees when he observes you. It should be noted that in Galatians chapter three, Paul is describing the “Promise of Faith” which describes the nobility of believing in God’s new covenant with mankind, namely through his son, Jesus Christ. This promise consists of eternal salvation so long as a person has “pure faith” in God that is notably absent of the kinds of ordinances, and atoning rites that are prescribed in the Law of Moses, of which, the Apostle Paul routinely describes as burdensome and unnecessary (Gal. 3:10). Baptism, to Paul, was a personal affirmation of ones’ faith in God, and a physical demonstration of one’s belief in Christ’s testimony, one that the Apostle Paul was ever-ready to sustain with his words and deeds.

Is the Alexamenos Graffito proof of the existence of Jesus Christ?

I wouldn’t say that the Alexamenos Graffito is proof of the existence of Jesus Christ; it is rather proof that the legend of Jesus Christ was present in Rome, Italia, during the early third century. The Alexamenos Graffito, which was drawn in A.D. 200, can be described as a stick-figure drawing of a Roman civilian worshipping an image of a crucified person that has a donkey’s head. The inscription, Ᾰλεξᾰ́μενος σέβεται θεόν, which is written in Greek, translates to “Alexamenos worships his god.”

The drawing was scratched onto a plaster wall in a house that is located on Palatine hill, which is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The house was purchased by the Roman Emperor, Caligula, circa A.D. 40, and was later changed to a boarding school for Roman noble’s messenger boys. Some observers of the drawing conclude that the drawing is proof of Jesus’ existence, as it was drawn a mere 166 years after his death, and describes the crucified being as a “god.”

The Alexamenos Graffito can effectively be seen as a drawing that one student scratched onto a wall to tease another student named Alexamenos. Perhaps Alexamenos expressed an affinity for Christianity and his peer took the opportunity to make fun of the boy by scribbling a cartoon of Alexamenos’ god. It should be noted that Christianity was roundly derided in Rome at this time, and Christians were believed to engage in a religious practice called Onolatry (donkey worship,) which would explain the depiction of Jesus Christ as a humanoid donkey.

I am inclined to believe that the Alexamenos Graffito was a childish prank, not much unlike the kinds of pranks that children of today engage in, e.g., writing puerile messages on bathroom stalls, school lockers, and classroom chalkboards. The boarding school for messenger boys was without a doubt filled with young boys that occasionally became bored and engaged in mischief. In A.D. 200, the Gospel of Mark, one of the books of the Four Gospels, had already been printed, and it is likely that the legend of Jesus Christ was fairly well-known in Rome.

Furthermore, by this time, in history, Christianity had already become an institution in the Roman Empire, although still a fledgling institution, as only one country in the entire world, namely Edessa, southeast Turkey, accepted it as the State religion. This would mean that the core doctrines of Christianity were already in the consciences of the populaces of quite a few Roman provinces, and certainly the capital city of the empire where the drawing was found. The drawing was taken out of the house at Palatine and is now located in the Palatine Hill Museum in Rome, Italy.

Public Domain Pictures of the original drawing and a trace-over of it can be seen here:

Picture 1 is the original and Picture 2 is the trace-over.

Picture 3 is a screen capture of a boss battle in Konami’s 1993 video game, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. An image of a cross that resembles the Alexamenos Graffito on account of the humanoid figure on the cross accompanied by a deformed, animal-like, head, can be seen on the screen capture. This goes to show that Roman legends and Christianity have both had a profound influence on modern entertainment.

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Is the Alexamenos graffito proof of the existence of Jesus Christ?

Is the Alexamenos graffito proof of the existence of Jesus Christ?

I wouldn’t say that the Alexamenos graffito is proof of the existence of Jesus Christ; it is rather proof that the legend of Jesus Christ was present in Rome, Italia, during the early third century. The Alexamenos graffito, which was drawn in A.D. 200, can be described as a stick-figure drawing of a Roman civilian worshipping an image of a crucified person that has a donkey’s head. The…

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[vimeo 260655121 w=500 h=281]

Galatians Chapter 2 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

Could the pre-big bang universe be the "end" of our universe and not the beginning?

Could the pre-big bang universe be the “end” of our universe and not the beginning?

I agree with this assertion. All evidence points to a “Big Bang,” or simultaneous appearance of the galaxies, being the “beginning” of the universe as we know it. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have recently found that the universe is expanding up to 9% faster than previously expected. Eventually, and no man knows when this will be, the universe will reach its density capacity and…

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Could the pre-big bang universe be the "end" of our universe and not the beginning?

I agree with this assertion. All evidence points to a “Big Bang,” or simultaneous appearance of the galaxies, being the “beginning” of the universe as we know it. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have recently found that the universe is expanding up to 9% faster than previously expected. Eventually, and no man knows when this will be, the universe will reach its density capacity and begin to contract again; that is, to begin to regress until it reaches the state that it was in before the Big Bang occurred. This means that the universe will at some point contract to the size of a peach, the same state that the universe was in 13.8 billion years ago before the Big Bang ever happened. This contractual occurrence is explained by a theory called the “Big Crunch,” the opposite of the “Big Bang.”

Based upon what I have read and observed, this mechanism is the very nature of the universe; it is in a perpetual and permanent state of Big Bangs, Big Crunches, and then further Big Bangs, over and over, fostering an endless cycle of the contraction and expansion of the universe. Based on this theory, I am inclined to believe that this endless cycle of “Big Bangs” and “Big Crunches” has been occurring for eons and that the universe that we live in is not the first universe that has ever existed, nor will it be the last, on account of this endless cycle of cosmic contractions and expansions.

So to answer your question directly, yes; the pre-big bang universe is the end of our universe on account that at some point in time, our universe will “crunch” to the state that it was in before the Big Bang, and at some point in time after that event, there will be another Big Bang, and a new universe will be formed.

The following image is a public domain gif that depicts what the Big Crunch might look like.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Big_Crunch.gif

What is the earliest record of the Knights Templar in Scotland?

What is the earliest record of the Knights Templar in Scotland?

The Knights Templar in Scotland were not soldiers, but men of affairs. Their activity consisted mostly of church stewardship, renting out land, and general business transactions. The earliest record of the Knights Templar is related to an early 12th-century land grant that was given them by King David I of Scotland. This parcel of land, located seven miles south of Edinburgh, is known as…

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Galatians Chapter 1 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

What is the earliest record of the Knights Templar in Scotland?

The Knights Templar in Scotland were not soldiers, but men of affairs. Their activity consisted mostly of church stewardship, renting out land, and general business transactions. The earliest record of the Knights Templar in Scotland is related to an early 12th-century land grant that was given them by King David I of Scotland. This parcel of land, located seven miles south of Edinburgh, is known as ‘Balantrodoch.’ Balantrodoch was a preceptory, the meaning it was a commune of sorts, that served as a headquarters for the Knights Templar in Scotland. Balantrodoch eventually became the site of a Templar-owned eight-sided church, that while dilapidated, still stands to the present day.

Here is a photo of the old Templar chapel at Balantrodoch - https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-810b2def4977f1011d9d5a29ba977bfb



A YouTube video showing the preceptory and the chapel can be seen here:

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

2 Corinthians Chapter 12 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

1k1KZnTSgAaPQDEuXQSz6FuCy08c5Epj0 from E. I. Smith on Vimeo.

How do you disprove Aristotle's idea of the unmoved mover?

How do you disprove Aristotle’s idea of the unmoved mover?

In Aristotle’s book Metaphysics, he describes an immortal being that is not only the “first cause” of all living things, but is also the progenitor of all things that are in “motion,” be they living things like people, or inanimate objects like planets. Aristotle’s theory on the unmoved mover asserts that everything that exists, exists because of something else, and everything that is in motion,…

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How do you disprove Aristotle's idea of the unmoved mover?

In Aristotle’s book *Metaphysics*, he describes an immortal being that is not only the “first cause” of all living things, but is also the progenitor of all things that are in “motion,” be they living things like people, or inanimate objects like planets. Aristotle’s theory on the unmoved mover asserts that everything that exists, exists, because of something already existing, and everything that is in motion, is in motion, because of something already in motion. This chain of “causes” eventually can be traced to an immortal force, a pure energy, an “unmoved mover,” to whom all intelligible physical objects and their movements can be credited. Aristotle, for all intents and purposes, calls this force “God” and believes that his existence is eternal and is one of pure self-contemplation.

It would be just as impossible to disprove the existence of the unmoved mover, as it would be to prove that he exists. The idea of an unmoved mover is a pseudo-scientific and pseudo-theological insight that is rooted in a combination of physical observations, scientific inquiry, theoretical reasoning, and cult ideas of divine beings. In order to disprove Aristotle’s idea of the unmoved mover, you would have to be able to explain and then demonstrate why Aristotle is wrong, and then be able to prove why all things exist and why they move, and that mode of inquiry is the most elusive for modern humans to find a conclusion to on account of the mystery of the pre-big bang universe.

Were Adam and Eve the first man and woman?

Were Adam and Eve the first man and woman?

In Judeo-Christian cultural traditions, Adam and Eve are regarded as the first man and woman on account of Genesis 2:7 & Genesis 3:20. This view is often fortified by Genesis 9:19, in which it is said that the “whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah.” This would imply that Noah’s sons are the progenitors of “all” mankind.

In contrast to this popular view, I am inclined to believe that…

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Were Adam and Eve the first man and woman?

In Judeo-Christian cultural traditions, Adam and Eve are regarded as the first man and woman on account of Genesis 2:7 & Genesis 3:20. This view is often fortified by Genesis 9:19, in which it is said that the “whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah.” This would imply that Noah’s sons are the progenitors of “all” mankind.

In contrast to this popular view, I am inclined to believe that the Adam and Eve story and the story of Noah document the allegory of the progenitors of the middle-east rather than the progenitors of all humanity. My reasons for believing this are based on the following factors: “The Garden of Eden,” was, according to the Bible, an actual location. This location corresponds roughly to modern-day *al*-Baṣrah, Iraq. Furthermore, in Genesis 9:19, the context of the phrase “the whole earth” is similar to the context of the phrase, “the whole world” in Luke 2:1. This phrase is taken out of context by Bible readers more often than not. These phrases do not mean the entire world, as in planet earth in its entirety, it means the whole “domain,” meaning a specific territorial region on the earth. What this tells me, as a Bible researcher, is that the creation story in Genesis chapters 1–3 and the story of the flood in Genesis chapters 7–9, deal with precise geographic regions and peoples namely those of the Levant, other points in the near-east including Turkey, and African regions such as North Africa, and East Africa.

In regards to other parts of the world, including Europe, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, the Bible does not give clear references to their origins, although, in spite of this, the people of these regions are not exempt from salvation. The Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, reports seeing a vision in which people of all nations achieved salvation (Revelations 7:9).

Ultimately, the Bible should be seen as a book that documents the plight of the “seed of Abraham” and its progenitors from the year 4,000 B.C. - A.D. 100; I have always seen the Hebrew Israelites and the Jewish people, as presented in the Holy Bible, as proxies for all of mankind in the sense that God’s dealings with them are the same as his dealings with everyone albeit in different capacities based upon the times and the geographic regions relative to each race of people.

I wrote an entry on my Quora blog entitled, *The Origins of Man: Scientific and Biblical Examinations*. In this piece, I give scientific and biblical reasons as to why I believe that all of the races on planet earth have different original ancestors.

This blog entry can be read here:

The Origins of Man: Scientific and Biblical Examinations

Have you ever come across a spirit/demon so evil that it harmed you?

Have you ever come across a spirit/demon so evil that it harmed you?

Until last year, I was a skeptic of stories that people told concerning encounters that they had with evil spirits that physically attacked them; that is, until I watched the 1977 horror film *Alucarda*. I should note that I am a movie buff, and I have seen every notable horror film that there is, having done so without so much as flinching at the carnage within those movies. Now, having said…

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Have you ever come across a spirit/demon so evil that it harmed you?

Until last year, I was a skeptic of stories that people told concerning encounters that they had with evil spirits that physically attacked them; that is, until I watched the 1977 horror film *Alucarda*. I should note that I am a movie buff, and I have seen every notable horror film that there is, having done so without so much as flinching at the carnage within those movies. Now, having said that, I will admit that there is something rather gripping about the movie *Alucara*, even more so than any other horror film that I have ever watched. I would even go so far as to say that this film has changed my opinion on the effects that horror movies can have on a person both psychologically and spiritually.

After having watched *Alucarda*, I now believe in the power of satanic images and demonstrations to be able to unleash evil spirits upon the one witnessing them. Let me put this into context. The movie *Alucarda*, in my estimation, rivals the 1973 film, *The Exorcist, *in terms of its satanic imagery and shock value. I should add that there are scenes in The Exorcist that I still remember vividly and I first saw the movie seventeen years ago. I watched it again last year to see how my reaction to it would change, and some of the subliminal imagery in that film still makes an impression on me even as an adult. Like *The Exorcist*, every scene in the movie *Alucarda *is centered on occult philosophical derivations.

Now to the crux of the matter; there is a highly satanic execution scene near the end of *Alucarda *that ends with a girl getting pierced in her heart with a long needle-like object. Having watched every scene up to that point, I was already on pins and needles and was fairly shocked at what I was witnessing. When the girl in that scene breathed her last breath and died, I remember feeling a sharp pain in my own chest. I began to lose consciousness and decided to go to the upstairs bathroom to wash my face with cold water in order to wake myself up. When I got to the top of the stairs, I blacked out. The next thing I remember was a sharp pain in my right elbow, and me lying face-first at the bottom of the stairs that I had just tumbled down.

When I came to, I got up, went to the upstairs bathroom, washed my face with cold water, sat down on my couch, and continued watching the movie, of which, the last fifteen minutes was just as satanic as the previous hour was. As the movie was ending, I remember being convinced that something supernatural had just happened to me. I had never experienced such tension watching any movie as I did when watching *Alucarda. *To this day, I am convinced that the scenes in that movie contributed to an evil spirit being present in my townhouse, and I believe that this spirit attacked me as I was viewing the film.

I watched *Alucarda *a second time, one week later, to reconcile what I had experienced during my first viewing of the movie. This second viewing was much different. All of the effects of the movie had been neutralized, and I watched it just the same as any other movie that I had ever watched. I read a Bible verse a couple of days after my second viewing of *Alucarda*, namely, 1 John 4:4, which reads, “Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you (the Holy Spirit,) than he that is in the world (Satan).” What this verse says to me, is that if evil spirits do exist, and they are able to physically harm a person, then those spirits are derivative of something greater than them, namely a Creator. Furthermore, this verse reveals that this Creator is a greater power than any spirit, and he can expel the spirits from your presence so long as you have faith in his ability to do so.

How can we reduce or eliminate police corruption?

How can we reduce or eliminate police corruption?

Transparency. I will approach this question from personal and Biblical perspectives. In my opinion, there is a lack of transparency in U.S. law enforcement. In my opinion, the Congress of the United States of America should pass a law implementing a viewable, public, on-line roster of the names, rank, badge number, and number of years on the force of all of the police officers serving in police…

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How can we reduce or eliminate police corruption?

Transparency. I will approach this question from personal and Biblical perspectives. In my opinion, there is a lack of transparency in U.S. law enforcement. In my opinion, the Congress of the United States of America should pass a law implementing a viewable, public, on-line roster of the names, rank, badge number, and number of years on the force of all of the police officers serving in police departments and Sheriff’s departments around the country. This way, the general public can know for certain who the state is commissioning to serve their community. This roster could be kept and maintained on the police/Sheriff’s department’s official website. This implementation would eliminate the anonymity that many law enforcement officers have, and in many cases exploit, so that they can engage in public corruption (John 3:19 & 2 Peter 2:19).

20 years ago when I was in jr. high-school, I played on a traveling AAU basketball team. I was always certain that God was with our team and gave us wins against other teams. I was always looking for spiritual advantages that would translate to in-game victories as I believed that God had a hand in athletics so long as a Christian was participating. The things I would do to secure these athletic…

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Psalms 44:5–7 says "Through you we push back our enemies and trample our foes." How does that belief work in a modern context if both sides are claiming that the God of the Bible is on their side?

20 years ago, when I was in jr. high-school, I played on a traveling AAU basketball team. I was always certain that God was with our team and gave us wins against other teams. I was always looking for spiritual advantages that would translate to in-game victories as I believed that God had a hand in athletics so long as a Christian was participating. The things I would do to secure these athletic advantages were prayer, fasting, and Bible reading. One day I asked a pastor the question, “If there were two AAU basketball teams that were playing against one another in the State championship game and in the locker room before the game they both prayed to God for victory, how would God decide on who to give the State title to? The pastor answered me, “God would give the victory to the team that is walking in righteousness.” I answered, “What if both teams are walking in righteousness?” He answered, “Then God would award the victory to the team that is walking in the most righteousness.”

Psalms 44:5–7 was written circa 1000 B.C. by David, King of Israel. During David’s reign, Israel looked to God for guidance during its military campaigns. God and Israel were very intimate with one another at this time in the narrative of the Bible. It should be noted that the Psalms, was in many respects a diary of King David’s; it was also letters of praise to God; it was also a book of songs that praised God. King David was a war-time king; during his 40-year reign over Israel, he defeated the Philistines, the Amalekites, the Edomites, the Jebusites, and the Ammonites. Many of the verses in the book of Psalms speak of victory in battle and God’s deliverance in relation to battle.

In modern-day contexts, the only enemy that a person should pray to God for victory against is Satan. If a person prays to God for victory over a mortal foe, in my opinion, they are missing the point. Ephesians 6:12 reads, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” This verse means that a Christian should recognize that the hardships that they are facing are not instigated by man, but by Satan; and that the adversarial conditions that are being placed upon them by wicked people, are not mortal devices, but Satanic devices.

So if we re-examine the question that I asked the pastor some 20 years ago, and apply it to a person’s life generally, it will show that if there are two or more parties that are Christians that have conflicting interests, and these parties pray to God for the victory in the situation, the question that begs to be asked is “Who would God give the victory to?” The answer as shown in Ephesians 6:12 is the person that recognizes that it is a spiritual war that is being fought and that the adversary is spiritual and not mortal. If all of the parties praying for victory have similar dispositions concerning the spiritual nature of the battle that they are in, then the one walking in the most righteousness will emerge victorious (1 John 5:4).

What religion were the Romans when they crucified Jesus?

What religion were the Romans when they crucified Jesus?

This answer requires a bit of breaking down. Let me explain if I may. The religion of the Romans during the first century A.D. was polytheistic. This means that they worshipped many gods and goddesses, many of which had a specific patronage. For example Jupiter is the Roman king of the gods and is the god of thunder, Mars is the Roman god of war, Mercury is the Roman god of wealth etc… The Romans…

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What religion were the Romans when they crucified Jesus?

This answer requires a bit of breaking down. Let me explain if I may. The religion of the Romans during the first century A.D. was polytheistic. This means that they worshipped many gods and goddesses, many of which had a specific patronage. For example Jupiter is the Roman king of the gods and is the god of thunder, Mars is the Roman god of war, Mercury is the Roman god of wealth etc… The Romans saw Judaism, Christianity, and monotheism as superstitious and foolish, namely because of all of the rites, ordinances, observances, and talk of an afterlife, of which, was believed by the Romans to be reserved exclusively for the kings and heroes of Rome.

The reason that this question deserves breaking down, is that while it was a Roman prefect (Pontius Pilate) that ordered Jesus crucified, Jesus’ executioners were Samaritan Jews, so Jesus wasn’t crucified by the “Romans” per se. The auxiliary unit that crucified Jesus, Cohors I Sebastenorum, was a Samaritan unit of palace guards and cavalrymen that were stationed in Judea to protect the prefect. Auxiliary soldiers obtained Roman citizenship after 25 years in the Roman army, so an argument could be made that it wasn’t Romans that crucified Jesus but Samaritans. The prevailing religion in all of Palestine at that time was Orthodox Judaism. So your question has two answers, and the answers are, that politically, Jesus’ crucifixion was ordered by Roman adherents to Roman Polytheism, and he was physically crucified by Orthodox Jews, adherents to the Law of Moses.

In what ways could AI contribute to Bible translations?

In what ways could AI contribute to Bible translations?

The Holy Bible has already been translated into every existing language. AI (Artificial Intelligence) programs such as Cortana, Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant seamlessly and efficiently further contribute to the study and understanding of the Bible by providing quick and accurate answers to general Bible questions such as “Where was the prophet Abraham born?” (Ur of the Chaldees) or “Where did…

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Are all Christians philosophical innatists?

Are all Christians philosophical innatists?

I agree with this statement on account of Psalm 58:3 & Romans 3:23. Christians believe that in general, the human mind is naturally prone to a selfishness that causes people to transgress against other people and that the only way to remedy this selfishness is through repentance (Hebrews 6:6).

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Was the Garden of Eden an actual place?

Was the Garden of Eden an actual place?

Yes. The Garden of Eden that is spoken of in the book of Genesis 2:8–14 is located just north of the Persian Gulf in modern-day al-Baṣrah Iraq. In Genesis 2:10–14 it reads:

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12…

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What form did the serpent take before God cursed it as mentioned in Genesis 3 in the Bible? Did the serpent walk before the curse?

What form did the serpent take before God cursed it as mentioned in Genesis 3 in the Bible? Did the serpent walk before the curse?

The Bible does not get into specifics regarding the serpent’s form or appearance before, during, or after he was cursed. If the Adam and Eve story is set in the territory of Eden, which is in Iraq, then the serpent should be seen as allegorical, as the snake most common in Iraq, the viper, never walked on legs in their evolutionary history.

If the Garden of Eden is instead, an allegory for the…

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What are the biblical origins of the Jubilee celebration?

What are the biblical origins of the Jubilee celebration?

The origins of the Jubilee celebration are found in the book of Leviticus chapter 25. In Leviticus chapter 25, we see where God gives the Children of Israel instructions on how to conduct business in the land of Canaan, the nation that they are journeying to. As a general rule, every 50 year period will have a total of 42 years of sowing, reaping, and harvest, a total of 7 years of rest, and then…

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Why was Jesus tried by Rome instead of the Sanhedrin?

Why was Jesus tried by Rome instead of the Sanhedrin?

Pilate, being the Prefect of Judea, was the final legal authority in Judea in respect to capital punishment. The Sanhedrin was a decision-making body in respect to local matters. Members of the Sanhedrin, including Caiaphas knew that in order to eliminate Jesus, they had to make him an enemy of Rome; this is why they asked him if he was the Son of God, (a title more-or-less held by Emperor…

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What are the relations between anthropology, sociology and political science?

What are the relations between anthropology, sociology and political science?

Anthropology, sociology, and political science are related in that they all ultimately observe human being’s reactions to power. Anthropology observes people’s development over time in relation to the family unit, inventions, and the advent of civilizations, all three being heavily dependent on authoritative processes, namely those that govern the concepts of household hierarchies, ownership and…

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How were legionary maniples numbered in a Republican Roman legion (Circa 2nd Punic War) from the front (hastati) or from the rear (triarii)?

How were legionary maniples numbered in a Republican Roman legion (Circa 2nd Punic War) from the front (hastati) or from the rear (triarii)?

The legionary maniples during this time period were numbered from the hastati. The reason for this is that the maniple strategic formation that the Roman Republic adopted for battles during this time was arranged based on age, experience, and social class. The younger soldiers where placed in the front, the veterans where placed in the center (principes,) and the most experienced (and/or wealthy)…

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How much do Western versions of the Bible, e.g., the New Revised Standard Version, differ from prominent Orthodox translations?

How much do Western versions of the Bible, e.g., the New Revised Standard Version, differ from prominent Orthodox translations?

The writers and interpreters of modern western translations of the Holy Bible tend to use the Hebrew translations of the Old Testament, and the Greek translations of the New Testament as focal points for translation. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible makes a point of being “as literal as possible” when translating from Hebrew and Greek to modern-day English.

In contrast, the…

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In what ways could AI contribute to Bible translations?

The Holy Bible has already been translated into every existing language. AI (Artificial Intelligence) programs such as Cortana, Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant seamlessly and efficiently further contribute to the study and understanding of the Bible by providing quick and accurate answers to general Bible questions such as “Where was the prophet Abraham born?” (Ur of the Chaldees) or “Where did Jesus Christ walk on water?” (The Sea of Galilee).

Are all Christians philosophical innatists?

I agree with this statement on account of Psalm 58:3 & Romans 3:23. Christians believe that in general, the human mind is naturally prone to a selfishness that causes people to transgress against other people and that the only way to remedy this selfishness is through repentance (Hebrews 6:6).

Was the Garden of Eden an actual place?

Yes. The Garden of Eden that is spoken of in the book of Genesis 2:8–14 is located just north of the Persian Gulf in modern-day al-Baṣrah Iraq. In Genesis 2:10–14 it reads:

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

The River Pison, in my opinion, is a reference to a river that may have dried up over time due to geological changes in the near-east. It was likely a river that emptied into the Persian Gulf.

The Gihon River is another river that likely dried up over time due to geological changes in the near-east. It also likely emptied into the Persian Gulf.

The River Hiddekel is known today as the Tigris River. It is one of the two major rivers in Iraq and it empties into the Persian Gulf.

The River Euphrates is the other major river in Iraq and it also empties into the Persian Gulf.

Here is a map of the location of the biblical Garden of Eden based on Genesis 2:10–14.

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-20eec4ae1a35db7119b17dd161f87b98

What form did the serpent take before God cursed it as mentioned in Genesis 3 in the Bible? Did the serpent walk before the curse?

The Bible does not get into specifics regarding the serpent’s form or appearance before, during, or after he was cursed. If the Adam and Eve story is set in the territory of Eden, which is in Iraq, then the serpent should be seen as allegorical, as the snake most common in Iraq, the viper, never walked on legs in their evolutionary history.

If the Garden of Eden is instead, an allegory for the general state of earth, then species’ of reptiles such as pythons and boa constrictors that have vestigial legs could be considered to be the serpent spoken of in Genesis. So in summary, if the curse mentioned in Genesis 3:14 concerning the serpent is taken to mean a curse on the serpent’s body, and provided that the serpent was an actual reptile, and not a metaphor, then the pre-cursed serpent could have been a python or a boa constrictor with fully developed functioning legs.

What are the biblical origins of the Jubilee celebration?

The origins of the Jubilee celebration are found in the book of Leviticus chapter 25. In Leviticus chapter 25, we see where God gives the Children of Israel instructions on how to conduct business in the land of Canaan, the nation that they are journeying to. As a general rule, every 50 year period will have a total of 42 years of sowing, reaping, and harvest, a total of 7 years of rest, and then on the 50th year, Hebrew creditors were to cancel all debts. Furthermore, the Hebrew heads of household were to release all indentured servants, and creditors who were also landowners were to return any land or possessions to people who had them taken from them as payment for a default on a loan (Leviticus 25:10).

The Jubilee is a representation of the communal heart of God in relation to the well-being of people.

Why was Jesus tried by Rome instead of the Sanhedrin?

Pilate, being the Prefect of Judea, was the final legal authority in Judea in respect to capital punishment. The Sanhedrin was a decision-making body in respect to local matters. Members of the Sanhedrin, including Caiaphas knew that in order to eliminate Jesus, they had to make him an enemy of Rome; this is why they asked him if he was the Son of God, (a title more-or-less held by Emperor Tiberius Caesar). Jesus responded that he was the Son of God, and in the process put himself above Emperor Tiberius in terms of authority, a seditious act punishable by death. Jesus later confirmed to Pontius Pilate that he was the “King of the Jews” a statement that Pilate did not see as worthy of death in and of itself, however when Pilate saw, that the citizens of Jerusalem were willing to designate Pilate as an enemy of Rome for not punishing Jesus, then he relented and sentenced Jesus to death.

What are the relations between anthropology, sociology and political science?

Anthropology, sociology, and political science are related in that they all ultimately observe human being’s reactions to power. Anthropology observes people’s development over time in relation to the family unit, inventions, and the advent of civilizations, all three being heavily dependent on authoritative processes, namely those that govern the concepts of household hierarchies, ownership and implementations of ideas, and the authority mechanisms that ensure a thriving civilization.

Sociology is the study of the collective psychology of demographics of people. Sociology, being a fairly recent psychological course of study, observes these demographics in depth, and it should be noted that the studies always ultimately show how the subject demographics react to the governmental powers that are present during their lifetime. The subject demographics of sociological studies in many respects, are always linked to the socio-political environments that impact them.

In political science, the pure study of how constituents react to political power is on full display. The political processes in countries all over the world are directly responsible for the psychological mindset of the countries’ respective constituents. When it really comes down to it, whether the government of a country is democratic, fascist, or a monarchy, the reactions of the majority of the people to the conditions caused by these forms of government, eventually becomes the determining factor as to whether or not that particular form of government continues to exist.

How were legionary maniples numbered in a Republican Roman legion (Circa 2nd Punic War) from the front (hastati) or from the rear (triarii)?

The legionary maniples during this time period were numbered from the hastati. The reason for this is that the maniple strategic formation that the Roman Republic adopted for battles during this time was arranged based on age, experience, and social class. The younger soldiers where placed in the front, the veterans where placed in the center (principes,) and the most experienced (and/or wealthy) soldiers where placed in the triarii.

How much do Western versions of the Bible, e.g., the New Revised Standard Version, differ from prominent Orthodox translations?

The writers and interpreters of modern western translations of the Holy Bible tend to use the Hebrew translations of the Old Testament, and the Greek translations of the New Testament as focal points for translation. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible makes a point of being “as literal as possible” when translating from Hebrew and Greek to modern-day English.

In contrast, the writers and interpreters of prominent Orthodox translations of the Holy Bible tend to translate from the “Septuagint,” which is the Greek Old Testament; the Greek New Testament is used as well by the translators of the Orthodox versions of the Bible, making the entire translation from the Greek language.

Another key difference between these translations is their differences in literary variety. The Greek/Eastern Orthodox Bibles use Masoretic elements in their texts in addition to their Greek translations. Masoretic Bibles have Rabbinical footnotes and are Talmudic in nature, meaning that they are edited and so forth to the aid of Jewish Rabbis.

The NRSV on the other hand, is available in three formats: a standard edition with or without the Apocrypha, a Roman Catholic Edition, which has the "Apocryphal" or "Deutero-canonical" books in the Roman Catholic canonical order, and The Common Bible, which includes all books that belong to the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox canons.

Which Roman Legion crucified Jesus?

Which Roman Legion crucified Jesus?

Jesus was not crucified by a Roman legion; legions were made up of Roman citizens that were standing armies that were mobilized in times of war. In Judea, the country in which Jesus was crucified, the Roman Empire had already handily besieged the country about 100 years prior; there were no wars being fought and thus there were no mobilized legions. The armed unit that crucified Jesus was an…

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Which Roman Legion crucified Jesus?

Jesus was not crucified by a Roman legion; legions were made up of 8,000 Roman soldiers that were also Roman citizens. Legions were standing armies that were mobilized in times of war. In Judea, the country in which Jesus was crucified, the Roman Empire had already handily besieged the country about 100 years prior; there were no wars being fought in the region and thus there were no legions in Judea. The armed unit that crucified Jesus was an auxiliary unit called Cohors I Sebastenorum. It should be noted that auxiliary units, otherwise known as Cohorts, were made up of 800 non-Roman soldiers who provided military support to the Legions themselves. Cohors I was an armed unit of palace guards and cavalrymen that was founded by Herod the Great, king of Judea, before his death which occurred approximately 34 years prior to Christ’s crucifixion. Pontius Pilate and his palace were protected by Cohors I which was still a functioning military unit. It is a common misperception that Cohors I was an Italian/Roman unit. The soldiers that protected the prefect were actually Samaritans from Samaria, Northern Israel, that were enlisted to protect the Prefect in Judea, Southern Israel. The practice of stationing soldiers a sizeable distance away from their hometown was done to decrease the chance of the soldiers ever revolting. Cohors I was trained in all aspects of military combat including capital punishment and crucifixions.

What is the oldest verse in the Bible?

What is the oldest verse in the Bible?

The oldest verse in the Bible is as follows: “There was a man in the land of Uz, (Iraq) whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible, having been written by an unknown author circa 1400 B.C.

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What is the oldest verse in the Bible?

The oldest verse in the Bible is as follows: “There was a man in the land of Uz, (Iraq) whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible, having been written by an unknown author circa 1400 B.C.

Who are the Knight Hospitallers?

Who are the Knight Hospitallers?

The Knight Hospitallers was founded in Jerusalem in the year 1070, approximately 26 years before the First Crusade commenced. The Knight Hospitallers was founded as a hospital that tended to sick pilgrims visiting the Holy Land (Jerusalem). After the First Crusade ended, the Hospitallers transformed themselves into a military order as a safety precaution and resumed their duties as a hospital for…

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What were the entry requirements for the Roman army?

What were the entry requirements for the Roman army?

The entry requirements for becoming a soldier in the Roman army were relatively basic as there were Roman soldiers in many Roman provinces, protectorates, and client states, from France to the Levant. The requirements for entrance into the Roman army were as follows: A man must be a freeborn Roman citizen, able to pass a medical exam, be at least 5′ 8″ tall, be least 20 years of age, be able to…

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What is the Knights Hospitaller?

The Knights Hospitaller was founded in Jerusalem in the year 1070, approximately 26 years before the First Crusade commenced. The Knights Hospitaller was founded as a hospital that tended to sick Christian pilgrims who were visiting the Holy Land (Jerusalem). After the First Crusade ended, the Hospitaller transformed itself into a military order as a safety precaution and resumed its duties as a hospital for Christian pilgrims.

In 1187, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty, expelled the Hospitaller from Jerusalem after having laid siege to the city using a combination of diplomacy and military might. The Hospitaller would move its operations to Acre, Israel, and after Acre was besieged by the Muslims in 1291, the Hospitaller moved its operation to Limassol in Cypress, an island that is southeast of Greece. In 1309, the Hospitaller captured the island of Rhodes, which is a part of the Aegean Islands of Greece. The knights ruled the Island as a sovereign country and established the right to coin money there. They changed their name to the "Knights of Rhodes," and kept a standing army, a hospital, a church, and they commissioned other public works projects on the island. The Knights of Rhodes ruled the island of Rhodes for more than 200 years. Eventually, however, the Turks would become the dominant Muslim nation in the near-east. They overpowered the Arabs and subsequently expanded into new territories. In 1522, the Muslims, under the leadership of Süleyman the Magnificent, would capture the island of Rhodes and the Knights of Rhodes had to leave the island. This catastrophic event devastated the knights to the point where they had trouble re-establishing themselves as an institution.

The knights wandered from place to place over a seven-year period before eventually settling on the island of Malta, an island 230 miles south of Sicily. This island was given to the knights as a gift from King Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. The Knights of Rhodes then changed their name to the Knights of Malta, and they established themselves on the island, becoming a formidable fighting force. In 1565, they famously and successfully defended themselves from an attack that was spearheaded by Süleyman the Magnificent. This battle was significant because the knights would have lost everything including their freedom, and their lives, had they been defeated.

The Knights of Malta exist to this day under the name of the Order of Malta. The Order of Malta is overseen by the Vatican, and it exists as a staunchly Catholic humanitarian organization. It is always interesting to see medieval orders such as the Knights Hospitaller evolve over time and continue to the present day. Orders such as these have a sense of history, purpose, and political relevance that sets them apart from other religious orders that do not have the same longevity and history.

What were the entry requirements for the Roman army?

The entry requirements for becoming a soldier in the Roman army were relatively basic as there were Roman soldiers in many Roman provinces, protectorates, and client states from France to the Levant. The Roman Empire, wanting to maximize the number of soldiers at its disposal, made it a point to keep the entry requirements basic and to keep as many battle-ready soldiers as possible. The requirements for entrance into the Roman army were as follows: A man must be a freeborn Roman citizen, able to pass a medical exam, be at least 5′ 8″ tall, be at least 20 years of age, be able to march at least 20 miles in a day, and be willing to commit to 25 years of service to the Roman army. As you can see, the requirements were all about the physical abilities and the level of loyalty that each prospective soldier possessed. Roman soldiers were measured on their ability to act rather than to reason, and they were expected to do whatever their centurion told them to do in the heat of battle. As a reward for their service, when a soldier completed his 25th year of duty, the Roman government gave him a plot of land and a pension for he and his family to live off of for the rest of their days.

It should be noted that there was a significant number of non-Roman soldiers that served in Roman auxiliary units across the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire routinely absorbed foreign-born soldiers into auxiliary or “helper” units to assist Roman soldiers. These soldiers were often times natives of a country that the Romans annexed. These auxiliary soldiers were held to the same standards of age, fitness, and tenure as the Romans were. As a reward for their service, the Roman government granted the soldiers serving in auxiliary units full Roman citizenship at the end of their tenure as soldiers.

Why did God create Satan?

Why did God create Satan?

God did not “create” Satan. God created angels. Angels have freewill just like people have freewill. Lucifer was the name of the chief musician and exalted angel that dwelt on the mountain of God and “walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:14). Lucifer became “Satan” when he decided to rebel against God (Isaiah 14:12–15). It would be like saying “Why did God create…

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Why did God create Satan?

God did not “create” Satan. God created angels. Angels have freewill just like people have freewill. Lucifer was the name of the chief musician and exalted angel that dwelt on the mountain of God and “walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:14). Lucifer became “Satan” when he decided to rebel against God (Isaiah 14:12–15). It would be like saying “Why did God create criminals?” God does not create criminals, he created mankind (Genesis 1:27;) a person can become a criminal through their actions however. This is the discipline of understanding the Word of God in relation to why living beings, both natural and supernatural, often times degenerate and do bad things.

How has Roman Polytheism retained prevalence in the West?

How has Roman Polytheism retained prevalence in the West?

It would appear to me that Roman Polytheism has retained much of its prevalence since antiquity, particularly in the West; one example being the naming of three months of the year after Roman gods, namely January, (after Janus, the god of beginnings and endings,) June, (after Juno, the queen of the gods,) and March (after Mars, the god of war). Another example of Roman polytheism’s prevalence in…

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What if God had picked the Babylonians as his "chosen people" instead of the Jews?

What if God had picked the Babylonians as his “chosen people” instead of the Jews?

If God had chosen the Babylonians as his chosen people rather than the Jews, then the Bible as we know it would have different cultural significance, although the core narrative of the holy book wouldn’t change. The creation story onward would be centered on the development of Babylonian civilization in relation to their dealings with God rather than on the development of Hebrew civilization in…

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How has Roman Polytheism retained prevalence in the West?

It would appear to me that Roman Polytheism has retained much of its prevalence since antiquity, particularly in the West; one example being the naming of three months of the year after Roman gods, namely January, (after Janus, the god of beginnings and endings,) June, (after Juno, the queen of the gods,) and March (after Mars, the god of war). Another example of Roman polytheism's prevalence in the West, is during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, seven of the nine planets in our solar system were named after Roman gods, namely the planets Jupiter, (the god of the sky and thunder and the king of the gods,) Mars (the god of war and a protector of borders,) Mercury (the god of commerce and eloquence,) Venus (the goddess of beauty and fertility,) Saturn (the god of wealth and agriculture,) Neptune (the god of freshwater and of the sea,) and Pluto (the god of the underworld and the judge of the dead). Furthermore, there are notable business enterprises named after Roman gods e.g. Mars Inc., and Janus Corp that show how attractive Roman polytheistic gods are to business strategists.

While mostly Christian in regards to religion, the West has certainly embraced Roman polytheism in the way of naming historically significant entities after them.

What if God had picked the Babylonians as his "chosen people" instead of the Jews?

If God had chosen the Babylonians as his chosen people rather than the Jews, then the Bible as we know it would have different cultural significance, although the core narrative of the holy book wouldn’t change. The creation story onward would be centered on the development of Babylonian civilization in relation to their dealings with God rather than on the development of Hebrew civilization in relation to their dealings with God. Furthermore, if the Babylonians had been chosen by God as “his” people, then God would have raised up Babylonian patriarchs, prophets, judges, and kings to exact his will on earth in the exact same manner as he did with the Children of Israel. Furthermore, God would establish a Babylonian kingdom and he would divinely inspire Babylonian prophets to write laws and commandments of which the kingdom would be expected to obey. The Babylonians would not have had to fight many battles to establish this kingdom, because the Babylonians had already established a civilization in Babylon as early as 1894 B.C.

God, in order to spiritually claim Babylon as his chosen nation, would engage in measures to “set aside” the Babylonian people as his “children” and take the nation of Babylon in its entirety as his “bride.” The measures that God would take to ensure that his plan for the Babylonians would come to fruition, would include, among other things, the implementation of precise laws concerning diet, marriage, law and order, personal conduct, religious ordinances, the ordination of kings, priests, and prophets, and the atonement of sins. God would proceed to hold the Babylonian people to these laws, rewarding them as they kept the laws, and punishing them as they break the laws. The Babylonian Bible would chronicle the plight of the Babylonian people up to and including the birth of God’s son, a Messiah, who being a Babylonian national, would have the name “Eashoa Msheekhah,” an Aramaic variation of “Anointed Savior.” This Messiah, his life, his mission, and his death, would have to have been prophesied by ancient prophets first, so as to glorify God and show God’s divine providence in relation to all earthly matters.

It should be noted that the prime reason that God would call any ancient people as his own people is to ensure that he would have a nation of people that is familiar with him so his son can have a religiously and culturally fertile birthplace. The entire plight the of the Babylonian people from the founding of Babylonia to the birth of God’s son would be to this end. The son of God would be conceived by a Babylonian maiden so as to demonstrate God’s true parentage of his Messiah. In his adult years, Eashoa would preach the “pure” and “ultimate” gospel of God to the Babylonian people by inspiration of his Father in Heaven. Eashoa would save those that accepted the gospel from being eternally damned, and he would designate those that rejected his gospel as “sons and daughters of perdition.” Eventually, Eashoa Msheekhah would call Babylonian disciples as his companions and fellow ministers of the gospel so as to help Eashoa establish God’s new covenant with mankind on the earth.

The progress of the Babylonians from this point going forward is left to speculation. The conditions of the Babylonians at this time would be dependent on their continual obedience to God. If the Babylonians were faithful, then they would gladly accept the Messiah’s words and Babylonia would be a continually prosperous kingdom; and if they were not, then Babylonia at this time would be a nation handed over by God to foreign powers who would rule over Babylonia. In the latter scenario, the Messiah would be directed by God as to how he is to proceed with regard to his earthly assignment. Also in the latter scenario, Msheekhah would call his disciples as apostles, and would instruct them to preach his gospel to all of the nations on earth should he die before his time. In any case, the Messiah would ultimately be called by God to preach of the eternal and divine kingdom to the Babylonians, and his life and his ministry would follow prophetic narratives from his birth to his death irrespective of the political conditions that prevailed in Babylonia during his lifetime.