ASK THE ANGELS

 

ASK THE ANGELS - PATTI SMITH

Move! Ask the angels who they're calling,

Go ask the angels if they're calling to thee

Ask the angels while they're falling

Who that person could possibly be

I inserted the Patti Smith song link because Richard of Richard's Bass Bag likes it when The Curmudgeons Incⓒ use music video links. It helps in his music appreciation and learning.

Anyway, by now you may be wondering what this Post is about. Yes, it does have a religious theme - angels - but is also political and what's the biggest political situation today? The US elections.

Have a look at this nonsense:

ANGELS HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED

Evangelical Christian Pastor George Pearsons claimed that people in heaven—as well as ballots—are "crying out" about alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election, saying that "angels have been dispatched."

"So not only are the voters crying out, not only are we raising our voices over this corruption and this fraud, but the ballots are doing the same thing," the pastor said.
"All the way down the line, even to people who have died and gone to Heaven. ... Especially if those people were born again, they're in Heaven right now and they're crying out," Pearsons told the congregation.

"They're crying out against the injustice of this. You cannot come against the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of angel armies. Angels have been dispatched; they are out there. That is why that voice is crying out. It is not just the people. It is the ballot itself," the pastor said.

Fuck! What the hell is going on in that country and how stupid are the people that this sort of shit gets airplay?

Maybe Robert can enlighten me.

SAME OLD

 

"OK Papa, I'll only do it on Sundays"

POPE JOHN PAUL II KNEW

Pope John Paul II knew former Newark archbishop was a pedophile before promoting him to cardinal in WASHINGTON DC.

A Vatican investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has found that a series of bishops, cardinals and popes downplayed or dismissed reports that he slept with seminarians, and determined that Pope Francis merely continued his predecessors’ naive handling of the predator until a former altar boy alleged abuse.

When does this shit end?

THANKS ROBERT

Robert the apathetic sinner has uncovered (stumbled upon in a Google search) the possible fact that Jesus, his hero and the guy that he eats every Sunday, was likely created by an affair between his mother Mary and a Roman soldier.

Poor Robert. He must be conflicted given his love of Christian lore and the 'truths' in the bible that are at odds with his love of the more salacious aspects of tabloid journalism and reality  'Kardashian-type' television shows. This latest is worthy of the features in  the women's magazines. he hides under his mattress.

See what Robert wrote in his latest post: HERE

HE DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH.

I had a quick search on Google and found this report: HERE which is more interesting reading than the bit that Robert found.

Here's a paraphrase of the article:

Tiberius Julius  Abdes Pantera c. 22 BC – AD 40) was a Roman soldier whose tombstone was found in Bingerbrück, Germany, in 1859. A historical connection from this soldier to Jesus has long been hypothesized by numerous scholars, based on the claim of the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus, was the author of a work entitled 'The True Word',

Celsus' work was lost, but in Origen's account of it Jesus was depicted as the result of an affair between his mother Mary and a Roman soldier. He said she was "convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier named Pantera". Tiberius Pantera could have been serving in the region at the time of Jesus's conception. Both the ancient Talmud and medieval Jewish writings and sayings reinforced this notion, referring "Yeshu ben Pantera", which translates to "Jesus, son of Pantera". 

In October 1859, during the construction of a railroad in Bingerbrück in Germany, tombstones for nine Roman soldiers were accidentally discovered. One of the tombstones was that of Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera and is presently kept in the Römerhalle museum in Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

In the 2nd century,  Celsus wrote that Jesus's father was a Roman soldier named Panthera. The views of Celsus drew responses from Origen who considered it a fabricated story. Celsus' claim is only known from Origen's reply. Origen writes:

"Let us return, however, to the words put into the mouth of the Jew, where "the mother of Jesus" is described as having been "turned out by the carpenter who was betrothed to her, as she had been convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier named Panthera".

The story that Jesus was the son of a man named Pantera is referred to in the Talmud, in which Jesus is widely understood to be the figure referred to as "Ben Stada":

It is taught that Rabbi Eliezer said to the Wise, "Did not Ben Stada bring spells from Egypt in a cut in his flesh?" They said to him, "He was a fool, and they do not bring evidence from a fool." Ben Stada is Ben Pantera. Rabbi Hisda said, "The husband was Stada, the lover was Pantera." The husband was "actually" Pappos ben Judah, the mother was Stada. The mother was Miriam "Mary" the dresser of women's hair. As we say in Pumbeditha, "She has been false to "satath da" her husband." (b. Shabbat 104b)

Peter Schäfer explains this passage as a commentary designed to clarify the multiple names used to refer to Jesus, concluding with the explanation that he was the son of his mother's lover "Pantera", but was known as "son of Stada", because this name was given to his mother, being "an epithet which derives from the Hebrew/Aramaic root sat.ah/sete' ('to deviate from the right path, to go astray, to be unfaithful'). In other words, his mother Miriam was also called 'Stada' because she was a sotah, a woman suspected, or rather convicted, of adultery." A few of the references explicitly name Jesus ("Yeshu") as the "son of Pandera": these explicit connections are found in the Tosefta, the Qohelet Rabbah, and the Jerusalem Talmud, but not in the Babylonian Talmud.

The book Toledot Yeshu, which dates to the Middle Ages and appeared in Aramaic as well as Hebrew as an anti-Christian satirical chronicle of Jesus, also refers to the name Pantera, or Pandera. The book accuses Jesus of illegitimate birth as the son of Pandera, and of heretical and at times violent activities along with his followers during his ministry.

A soldier by the name of Pantos/Pantera also appears twice in Ethiopian church documents. In the First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees he is listed as one of three brothers who resists the Seleucid invasion of Judea. Within the text itself he is cited as receiving his name from the act of strangling panthers with his bare hands. This name and personage also appears in the text of the Ethiopian Synaxarion (Tahisas 25), where he is remembered along with his brothers in the canon of Ethiopian saints. Neither text makes any clear identification of this figure with the legendary accounts of the paternal ancestry of Christ.

HYPOTHESIS CONCERNING A CONNECTION TO JESUS

A connection between the two Panteras has been hypothesized by James Tabor. Tabor's theory hinges on the assumption that Celsus' information about Jesus' paternity was correct, and a soldier with this name, living at the right period, might have been Jesus' father. Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera's career would place him in Judea as a young man around the time of Jesus' conception.

Well that's good enough for me and it makes for a much more interesting and contemporary story than all of the maudlin muck that the Church puts out. I think that a NETFLIX mini-series is in order. 

THE BEAUTIFUL SCAM

 I'm not religious but was brought up and educated as a Catholic.

As a Primary school student I enjoyed the pageantry of the church services we went to which, in the early days were conducted in Latin. I was an Altar Boy which meant that I officiated at Mass, Benediction and the odd (and I mean odd) other services.

It was all a bit of fun and a mystery - particularly the arcane practices and teachings from The Catechism which included fairy-tale nonsense like:

•  Transubstantiation (turning a dry wafer and some cheap sweet red wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ).
• The Resurrection (Jesus Christ raising himself from the dead).
• The Ascension (Jesus Christ taking off up into Heaven).
• The assumption (Jesus Christ somehow raising up Mary, his mother, into Heaven).

Of course, as a 7 year old this stuff while not making sense was accepted just as much as the fact that turning a light switch on created light and dad turning on the ignition switch in the car made it go. There wasn't any need to understand the workings behind these 'miracles'.

In Intermediate school, the same nonsense was taught but this time by Marist Brothers instead of Sisters of Mercy Nuns and to me at the ages of 10 through 13. I could see through it then.

By the time I got to Secondary school and was taught by Marist Priests there was no way that they could hoodwink me over The Catechism and Christian Doctrine stuff. It turned out to be my worst school subject as it was impossible to get good marks from such arrant nonsense. In hindsight I should have just winged it and regurgitate all the shit that they wanted to hear.

"Psst! You want to hear a story?"

After school and university I made a career in marketing. This was pretty good and I enjoyed doing it, particularly as the product I marketed for over 40 years was interesting (alcohol). The beers, wines and spirits all had their own back stories and interesting places of origin.

Marketing wasn't quite as formalised then as it is now so, like the TV series Mad Men we could pretty much wing it when it came to label creation, advertising and promotion. Later, with more sophisticated supply chain mechanisms, legislature changes and creation of international standards, did the whole thing become onerous and boring. There were so many new regulations that stymied creativity. I'm retired now and glad of it. I'd hate to be 'marketing' beers or wines to supermarkets where their only interest is in how much they can screw down the supplier on price and how much bribe money (disguised as cooperative advertising) they can solicit for prime shelf placement.

I thought I was a pretty good marketer and am proud of many great initiatives in brand creation, advertising and brand building but in truth, my efforts and the efforts of just about everyone around the world in marketing and promotion pales to insignificance when compared to the way that religion is fostered.

I hadn't given religion much thought for many years until I started blogging with friends Richard and Robert.

Richard, like me underwent Catholic education from Nuns, Brothers and Priests and similarly rejected it all as stuff and nonsense.

Robert, Richard's younger brother by two years also was educated by Nuns, Brothers and Priests at the same Wellington schools but - and here's the rub - he still embraces the stuff and nonsense. Somewhere along the line someone really did a good job on him. At 65 years of age he still goes to Mass on the weekend, sits and listens to bible readings and some Catholic propaganda from the pulpit and takes it away with him. It would be OK if he kept it to himself but no, he manages to thread it through his social and political beliefs (Trumpian) and expounds it via his blog.

Religion, particularly Christianity and especially Catholicism has managed to scam people magnificently - even royally for eons.

THE ROYAL SCAM - STEELY DAN

(inserted mainly because I like it)

How brand owners and marketers would love to be able to get away with what these scamsters get away with. Lies, exaggerations, puffery, misrepresentation, violence instigation, money soliciting, failure of delivery and broken promises are all part and parcel of the 'business' but they don't seem to lack customers. even when previous captives (like Richard and me) leave there are plenty of other dupes to baptise and intimidate and then fleece.

Imagine this scenario of a brand owner advertising their product:

Quick, buy this now or you will live for eternity in suffering and anguish.

We can't really explain how it works as it has never been proven but, if you have faith it will go.

There's no hurry in this. Don't worry if it doesn't work straight away.

It will work, if you believe, after you are dead and gone.

Believe us.

All that at premium prices. with no need to discount or have special offers (apart from the selling of indulgences to get out of Purgatory and Limbo). And, of course, no regularity authorities to vett the advertising and prosecute any fraud and misleading statements.

It's a BEAUTIFUL SCAM  alright.