pseudo boethius

CHRISTIANITY / HOLY SPIRIT

A very interesting blog post from Marianne Widmalm from back in April 17, 2019:

"For those of us who are Christians there is something that has been lost since around the 2nd-3rd century after Jesus walked the earth. In Hebrew, the Holy Spirit is a feminine entity. Scholars are aware of it, but most ordinary Christians are not.

"Jesus spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, which are closely related to each other. In both languages the Spirit is feminine. The reason you cannot see the Spirit’s femininity in the New Testament is because all the earliest manuscripts we have are Greek where the gender of the Spirit is neuter. The Old Testament on the other hand was originally written in Hebrew, with minor parts in Aramaic. But, where the feminine pronouns are present, they are left out of translations.

"When Christianity transitioned from consisting of mostly Hebrew-speaking Israelites to Greek-speaking gentiles, the gender of the Spirit was gradually lost. Once the 4th century creeds were written the Holy Spirit became part of an all-masculine Trinity and the spiritual implications the feminine Spirit had also disappeared. But, if Jesus addressed the Spirit as feminine, it is worth considering if this was theologically important."

Read the full essay here: The Importance of Hebrew with regards to the Holy Spirit in Christianity

MUSIC / ROCK AND ROLL / 1970'S

One of the greatest rock songs of all time: 

CURRENT EVENTS / CONSPIRACY THEORIES

This just in from Dr. Naomi Wolfe:

"There is no way to avoid this moment. The formal letter of apology. From me. To Conservatives and to those who “put America first” everywhere.

"It’s tempting to sweep this confrontation with my own gullibility under the rug — to “move on” without every acknowledging that I was duped, and that as a result I made mistakes in judgement, and that these mistakes, multiplied by the tens of thousands and millions on the part of people just like me, hurt millions of other people like you all, in existential ways.

"But that erasure of personal and public history would be wrong.

"I owe you a full-throated apology.

"I believed a farrago of lies. And, as a result of these lies, and my credulity — and the credulity of people similarly situated to me - many conservatives’ reputations are being tarnished, on false bases."

Read the full apology here:  Dear Conservatives, I Apologize

CURRENT EVENTS / RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

This is a podcast from Jack Carr's "Danger Close". 

In this podcast, Peter Zeihan discusses what sort of battles and wars we can expect to see next.  

"Today’s guest is an expert on geopolitics with unique insights into global conflicts.

"Peter Zeihan is a geopolitical strategist, renowned author, speaker, and consultant. His work includes analyses of global politics, demographics, and geography to better understand economic, cultural, political, and military developments to predict future trends. His firm Zeihan on Geopolitics provides custom analytical products to an array of clients including energy companies, financial institutions, agricultural interests, and the U.S. military.

"Zeihan is the New York Times bestselling author: The Accidental Superpower, The Absent Superpower, Disunited Nations, and The End of the World Is Just the Beginning.

"Find out more at Zeihan.com

"You can also follow Peter on Twitter @PeterZeihan

Listen to the podcast here:  Peter Zeihan Returns: China, Ukraine and What Comes Next

CHRISTIANITY / PERSECUTION 

From the Catholic Herald, Feb. 16, 2023:

“Allahu Akbar!” shouted a terrorist in Spain recently as he wounded a priest and killed a sacristan in broad daylight. God is great, certainly, but what made the deranged man think that God will reward acts of murder? 

"Such a question is all too often asked in Nigeria where persecution of priests and other Christians has now become so commonplace that when incidents like this happen, local media barely raise an eyebrow. Amid reports of widespread murders, mutilations, kidnappings and killings, politicians, bishops and media commentators have repeatedly warned of genocide, and yet Western politicians,  civil leaders and activists all too often respond with indifference. 

"More Christians are killed in Nigeria than everywhere else combined. Fresh data from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)’s latest report Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2020-22 confirms this. "

Read the full article here:  Why are more Christians killed in Nigeria than everywhere else combined?

CURRENT EVENTS / ECONOMICS 

"Fascism involves government control, but not ownership, of the means of production. Private companies exist, but they’re simply arms of the government.

"That’s pretty much how things work in America today, except that even functions traditionally government-performed in countries like Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy have been outsourced to private organizations.

"Take reordering the economy. The Nazis’ program of Gleichschaltung rearranged everything to suit the party’s goals, with the supervision of party officials and government boards.