A blog about Photography and Politics.
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In memory of C.H.P. Officer Eric S. Manny R.I.P. CSUB's Budget Woes The Liberalization of the Jesuits? Aztec Religion and the Rape of Tenochtitlan Code of Hammurabi c. 1787 B.C.E. Tecumseh-Native American Words of Wisdom Shinto Jainism Zoroastrianism Taoism April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 
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December 21, 2005 I just got word the other day that CSUB is laying off a large number of its part-time lecturers due to budget constraints. In addition they will be increasing the work loads of professors, increasing class size, and initiating a hiring freeze. In the end it will be the students who suffer the most. This news comes in light of the expectation that CSUB will have one of the largest incoming freshman classes ever. Parents and students who will be coming to CSUB: you will be spending alot of money on your education. Demand excellence from this institution and hold president Mitchell accountable for this threat to your education. Ask him why he pays more attention to the shift to Division I athletics and not education. Contact him at (661) 654-2241 or electronically at: Hold him accountable and demand answers. Post script: Why hasn't the Bakersfield Californian reported this? This is a story about the Librorum Prohibitorum, the Catholic Church's list of banned books. Link to original article: http://www.chicagotribune.c... -------------------- History's forbidden books -------------------- Loyola showcases works by Copernicus, Galileo and others that once appeared on the Catholic Church's now-defunct index of banned texts By Ron Grossman Tribune staff reporter April 27, 2007 Those wearied by the current feuding between partisans of science and devotees of religion can take heart from an exhibit at the Loyola University Museum of Art. It shows there is a happy ending for some stories - or at least, for some chapters of some stories. The exhibit showcases books that were once on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the Roman Catholic Church's list of works forbidden to the faithful lest they lead readers down the road of heresy. Yet here they are, displayed in glass cases by Loyola, which is not just a Catholic institution. It is operated by the Jesuits, a religious order that served as papal enforcers for orthodoxy in an age when spiritual dissent carried the death penalty. "It might seem odd that a Catholic university would highlight an infamous piece of the history of the Catholic Church," said Pamela Ambrose, the museum director. "But there is also a good chance that Catholics under the age of 50 have never heard of the Index." In 1557, when Pope Paul IV created the Index, the church was in a defensive mood, said Jonathan Canning, a curator for the exhibit. Martin Luther's criticism of Catholic practices was splitting Western Christendom in two. The church had its hands full answering Protestant arguments and wasn't happy about having to fight a second front with science which was just then emerging from centuries of stagnation. Church doctrine had been built in accordance with Aristotle and other ancient Greek philosophers whose findings were under challenge by Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo and others. Rather than argue with those new theories, the church tried to put them beyond the pale.
Famed scientists on the list Virtually all the giants of early modern science wound up on the Index, as is represented in the Loyola exhibit. The show includes several volumes of the works of Copernicus, the Polish astronomer who held that the Earth revolves around the Sun. The church taught that the reverse was true, a theory seemingly backed by the biblical account. Once the precedent was established, the list grew over the centuries into something like a who's who of Western thought. Catholics were forbidden to even peek into books of philosophers like Rene Descartes and novelists like Emile Zola and Daniel Defoe. Local bishops made their own supplements to the papal Index. The growth of the printed book would eventually doom religious censorship. Before Gutenberg introduced publishing via movable type - roughly a century before the Index - ideas were spread, and suppressed, largely by word of mouth. Manuscript books were expensive; literacy wasn't widespread. "When Abelard was censured by the church, it was for his teaching, not his books," Canning said, referring to the 12th Century theologian now chiefly remembered for his fated love affair with his student Heloise. "But once printed books are introduced, their arguments are countered by other books. The argument can't be suppressed." Luther's ideas, for example, had been anticipated by previous would-be reformers, such as the Englishman John Wycliffe and the Czech John Huss. But while they and their disciples were easily repressed, Luther's ideas couldn't be contained. Spread in book form, they marked the first victory of the printed word. From that point, the suppressing of ideas in the name of religion was doomed - though it took the church many centuries to recognize the inevitable. "One of our docents, volunteer museum guides, was reminded that, in the 1950s, she had to get her parish priest's permission to read Upton Sinclair's novel 'The Jungle' for an English class," Canning said. The last edition of the Index was published in 1948, and the practice was abolished by Vatican II in the 1960s, Canning noted. The new exhibit, titled "Science and Faith Between Observance and Censorship," features 138 books lent by a consortium of libraries in Campania, in southern Italy. The works are in Latin, the long-ago international language of scholarship, and are handsomely leather-bound.
An order transformed For Loyola, the exhibit demonstrates that the institution of religion is not immutable. The Jesuits, like the Index, were born in the 16th Century and pledged to unswervingly uphold the papal side of the argument in the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. "I will believe that the white that I see is black if the hierarchical Church so defines it," observed St. Ignatius Loyola, their founder. But the order now has become one of the most liberal-minded wings of the church. When she got the idea for "Science and Faith," Ambrose checked it out with her superiors at Loyola. "They said, 'Great. We're a university. That's just the kind of thing we should be doing,' " she said. From the beginning, the Jesuits - whose order is formally known as the Society of Jesus - have been devoted to educational enterprises, founding numerous schools and universities. Four centuries ago, teaching was a form of intellectual coercion: Students were expected to accept the church doctrine unquestioningly. For today's Jesuits, that view has passed into history. "The exhibit," Ambrose said, "is intended to show that the contemporary battle over creationism versus evolution had its antecedents. Our present squabbles over who is right, science or religion, may look quaint from the perspective of future generations." A place of honor is reserved in the exhibit for two early Protestant writers, Philipp Melanchthon and Ulrich Zwingli. Once they were considered the church's deadliest enemies, Canning noted. Now they enjoy a wall of their own in a Catholic university run by the Jesuits. rgrossman@tribune.com Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune By the year 1 Reed the Aztec Nation had reached the apex of empire. The Aztecs had a very large and sophisticated empire and their economic and political systems rivaled many European systems. The capital city, Tenochtitlan, had an elaborate infrastructue complete with paved roads, fresh water, markets, religious doctrines, and a sewer system. The problem, however, was the the year 1 Reed was also the Christian year 1519 and was the year of the arrival of Hernan Cortes. The Spanish had two primary goals. As Cortes once reflected, "we suffer from a disease that only gold can cure," and, to his pleasure, Tenochtitlan had ample deposits of gold. The second goal was to spread Christianity. The Aztecs practice a religion, the Spanish believed, was evil. These goals were to the detriment of the Aztec Empire; the gold was taken and the people were forced to convert or face death. This disregard and disrespect for culture spread like a disease and eventually led to the near extinction of native culture in the western hemisphere. The following is from http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/e... and explains the doctrines, history, and symbols of the Aztec religion. Aztec Religion
The Code of Hammurabi was found in 1901 in Persia. Although scholars suspect there are others that preceed it, the tablet that was found is the earliest written code known (cite). There are two hundred and eighty two codes of law and many argue they resemble some of the concepts presented in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Presented here is the prologue to the Code. The full-text including the prologue, the two hundred and eighty two laws, and the epilogue can be read here. So are there similiarities? If so, what are they? Code of Hammurabi When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind. Hammurabi, the prince, called of Bel am I, making riches and increase, enriching Nippur and Dur-ilu beyond compare, sublime patron of E-kur; who reestablished Eridu and purified the worship of E-apsu; who conquered the four quarters of the world, made great the name of Babylon, rejoiced the heart of Marduk, his lord who daily pays his devotions in Saggil; the royal scion whom Sin made; who enriched Ur; the humble, the reverent, who brings wealth to Gish-shir-gal; the white king, heard of Shamash, the mighty, who again laid the foundations of Sippara; who clothed the gravestones of Malkat with green; who made E-babbar great, which is like the heavens, the warrior who guarded Larsa and renewed E-babbar, with Shamash as his helper; the lord who granted new life to Uruk, who brought plenteous water to its inhabitants, raised the head of E-anna, and perfected the beauty of Anu and Nana; shield of the land, who reunited the scattered inhabitants of Isin; who richly endowed E-gal-mach; the protecting king of the city, brother of the god Zamama; who firmly founded the farms of Kish, crowned E-me-te-ursag with glory, redoubled the great holy treasures of Nana, managed the temple of Harsag-kalama; the grave of the enemy, whose help brought about the victory; who increased the power of Cuthah; made all glorious in E-shidlam, the black steer, who gored the enemy; beloved of the god Nebo, who rejoiced the inhabitants of Borsippa, the Sublime; who is indefatigable for E-zida; the divine king of the city; the White, Wise; who broadened the fields of Dilbat, who heaped up the harvests for Urash; the Mighty, the lord to whom come scepter and crown, with which he clothes himself; the Elect of Ma-ma; who fixed the temple bounds of Kesh, who made rich the holy feasts of Nin-tu; the provident, solicitous, who provided food and drink for Lagash and Girsu, who provided large sacrificial offerings for the temple of Ningirsu; who captured the enemy, the Elect of the oracle who fulfilled the prediction of Hallab, who rejoiced the heart of Anunit; the pure prince, whose prayer is accepted by Adad; who satisfied the heart of Adad, the warrior, in Karkar, who restored the vessels for worship in E-ud-gal-gal; the king who granted life to the city of Adab; the guide of E-mach; the princely king of the city, the irresistible warrior, who granted life to the inhabitants of Mashkanshabri, and brought abundance to the temple of Shidlam; the White, Potent, who penetrated the secret cave of the bandits, saved the inhabitants of Malka from misfortune, and fixed their home fast in wealth; who established pure sacrificial gifts for Ea and Dam-gal-nun-na, who made his kingdom everlastingly great; the princely king of the city, who subjected the districts on the Ud-kib-nun-na Canal to the sway of Dagon, his Creator; who spared the inhabitants of Mera and Tutul; the sublime prince, who makes the face of Ninni shine; who presents holy meals to the divinity of Nin-a-zu, who cared for its inhabitants in their need, provided a portion for them in Babylon in peace; the shepherd of the oppressed and of the slaves; whose deeds find favor before Anunit, who provided for Anunit in the temple of Dumash in the suburb of Agade; who recognizes the right, who rules by law; who gave back to the city of Ashur its protecting god; who let the name of Ishtar of Nineveh remain in E-mish-mish; the Sublime, who humbles himself before the great gods; successor of Sumula-il; the mighty son of Sin-muballit; the royal scion of Eternity; the mighty monarch, the sun of Babylon, whose rays shed light over the land of Sumer and Akkad; the king, obeyed by the four quarters of the world; Beloved of Ninni, am I. When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to the land, I did right and righteousness in . . . , and brought about the well-being of the oppressed.
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. Chief Tecumseh (Crouching Tiger) Shawnee Nation 1768-1813 Approximately 4 million people practice Shinto and It ranks just below Jainism. Shinto is practiced primarily in Japan.A SHINTO PRAYER
O Most High, help to bring thy Light into the darkened conditions of the world! Be gracious to us thy humble servants and bless us with illumination as to that which is Divinely relevant to the fulfilment of thy will! O Most High, inspire thy servants throughout the world to further efforts towards leading back thy children who are led astray to the right way, and to live and act on the faith of what has been taught by the great founders of the religions! Bless all spiritual leaders with thy power and enable them to give help, joy, comfort and reassurance to those suffering, to whom they minister! Link: http://www.dlshq.org/religi...ShintoismBy Sri Swami SivanandaIntroduction IntroductionShinto is an all-pervading indefinable way which is quite universal. Shinto or Kaminomichi or the way of the Kami or the Gods is the name of the religion observed by the Japanese from time immemorial. ‘Kami’ means God or deity, or sometimes soul. Shinto implies spontaneous following of the ‘Way of the Gods’. Shinto is not really an ‘ism’. It is only a teaching. It is not a set of verbal theories or concepts. It is the all-pervading way. It is very difficult to translate ‘Shinto’ into English. ‘Shinto’ means ‘The way of the Gods’ or the ‘God-like way’ or ‘The way from the Gods’. There is no proper equivalent for the term ‘Shinto’ in English. Shinto is an all-pervading, indefinable way which is quite universal. Shinto is divided into two classes, viz., the Sectarian Shinto, which is sub-divided into 13 sects; and the Shinto of the national faith of the Japanese, or the State Shinto Religion. A perfect understanding of Shinto will enable one to have proper understanding of the Japanese nation and their culture. There is neither much grand philosophy nor complicated ritual in Shintoism. Shinto is not a religion adopted by the State. It is a religion of the heart. Shinto is a natural and real spiritual force which pervades the life of the Japanese. Shinto is a creative or formative principle of life. The Shinto principle is the background of Japanese culture, code of ethics, fine arts, family and national structure. Shinto is the chief agent which has rejuvenated, vitalised and reinforced the social and religious life of Japan. The system of Shinto resembles more the system of Hinduism than that of Confucianism or Buddhism. It is a kind of personal religion. It ascribes divine attributes to every being. It is a kind of pantheism. For the Japanese, nation means a harmonious complex of individuals, Kuni-hito. Salvation, for the Japanese, means the Salvation of the whole nation instead of salvation of a few individuals. Shinto TheologyAccording to Shinto theology, Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi is the Absolute Universal Self. This corresponds to Hiranyagarbha or the thread-Soul (Sutratman) of the Hindus. The visible universe (Ken Kai) and the invisible world (Yu Kai) have come into being from Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi through the activities of the three deities of Musubi, Principle of Creation, Completion and the Controlling Bond between the spiritual and the material, the invisible and the visible, the real and the ideal. These contradictory attributes are functional only. The Absolute Universal Self is not affected by these contradictory attributes. It is beyond these attributes. It-corresponds to the Nirguna Brahman (Attributeless Absolute) of Hinduism. The idea of time has come into existence from the attributes. Absolute loyalty to the Sovereign Emperor, who is regarded as a direct descendant and representative of the highest God, respect for ancestors, profound feeling of piety towards the parents and love for children form the fundamental structure of the Great Universal Way. The mirror, the sword and the jewel have a figurative meaning in the course of the development of Shinto. They symbolise wisdom, courage and benevolence or intelligence, will and love in Shinto theology. These three are the holy ensigns of royalty of the Sovereign Emperor. They are supposed to symbolise the dynamic working of the Great Way and so they are found in the forefront of every Shinto shrine, popularly known as Mistu-tomo-e or the three big commas. There are many Gods in Shinto, but the ancestral Sun-God, Anaterasu-omi Kami, stands supreme above them. Susano-o-no-Mikoto is the impetuous divine brother of the Sun-God. He is the God of rainstorm. Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto is the Moon-God. These three constitute a divine triad. They preside, respectively, over the plane of High Heaven, the vast ocean, and the realm of Night. Shinto EthicsPurity is one of the fundamental virtues of Shinto ethics. There are two significations of purity. One is outer purity or bodily purity and the other inner purity or purity of heart. If a man is endowed with true inner purity of heart, he will surely attain God-realisation or communion with the Divine. Sincerity is also the guiding ethical principle of Shinto. Ten Precepts Of Shintoi) Do not transgress the will of the gods. ii) Do not forget your obligations to ancestors. iii) Do not offend by violating the decrees of the State. iv) Do not forget the profound goodness of the, gods, through which calamity and misfortunes are averted and sickness is healed. v) Do not forget that the world is one great family. vi) Do not forget the limitations of your own person. vii) Do not become angry even though others become angry. viii) Do not be sluggish in your work. ix) Do not bring blame to the teaching. x) Do not be carried away by foreign teachings. Shinto SayingsThe heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form. Even the wishes of an ant reach to heaven. Leave the things of this world and come to me daily with pure bodies and pure hearts. A single sincere prayer moves heaven. You will surely realise the divine presence through sincere prayer. Where you have sincerity, there also is virtue. Sincerity is a witness to truth. Sincerity is the mother of knowledge. Sincerity is a single virtue that binds Divinity and man in one. Retribution for good or ill is as sure as the shadow after substance. To do good is to be pure. To commit evil is to be impure. To admit a fault is the beginning of righteousness. The first and surest means to enter into communion with the Divine is sincerity. If you pray to a deity with sincerity, you will surely feel the divine presence. Common Shinto PrayerOur eyes may see some uncleanliness, but let not our mind see things that are not clean. Our ears may hear some uncleanliness, but let not our mind hear things that are not clean. ConclusionShinto is the ‘Way to God’. ‘Tao’ of Lao-Tze is also the ‘Way to God’. Lord Jesus says: "I am the Truth, Way and the Life." Lord Krishna says: "Howsoever men approach Me, even so, do I welcome them, for the path men take from every side is Mine, O Partha!" The Way to God is as much important as the end or destination or God itself. The Way to God is righteousness or Dharma. He who shows the Way is the Guru or the spiritual preceptor. Guru and God are one. If you stick to the Way, you soon reach God. If you stick to your Guru, you will surely attain God-realisation. Way, Truth, Life-everlasting are one. Glory to the Way, Shinto or Tao! Glory to Guru! Glory, glory to God, the Destination or Goal of all religions. May Shinto or Tao guide you, rejuvenate, vitalise and reinforce you all! Be true to Shinto or Tao. It is estimated that approximately 4.2 million people practice Jainism. Its practice is primarily limited to India. For an explanation of the accompanying symbol please click here. A JAIN (UNIVERSAL) PRAYER FOR PEACE Lead me from Death to Life, from Falsehood to Truth. Lead me from Despair to Hope, From Fear to Trust. Lead me from Hate to Love, from War to Peace. Let Peace fill our Heart, our World, Our Universe. -- SATISH KUMAR
Incarnations Origin of Universe and Life After Death Why Evil? Salvation Undeserved Suffering Contemporary Issues A ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER With bended knees, with hands outstretched, do I yearn for the effective expression of the holy spirit working within me: For this love and understanding, truth and justice; for wisdom to know the apparent from the real that I might alleviate the sufferings of men on earth. . . . God is love, understanding, wisdom and virtue. Let us love one another, let us practice mercy and forgiveness, let us have peace, born of fellow-feeling. . . . Let my joy be of altruistic living, of doing good to others. Happiness is unto him from who happiness proceeds to any other human being. RESPONSE: We will practice what we profess. A TAOIST TEACHING I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle, and you can be bold; be frugal, and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others, and you can become a leader of men. Gentleness brings victory to him who attacks, and safety to him who defends. Those whom Heaven would save, it fences round with gentleness. The greatest conquerors are those who overcome their enemies without strife. -- LAO TSE |
