Symphony ~

Symphony

To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich;

to study hard, think quietly,
talk gently, act frankly;
to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages, with open heart;
to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely,
await occasions, hurry never.

In a word, to let the spiritual,
unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony.

~ William Henry Channing

Egyptian Christian: Why is the Church ignoring us? - Israel Today | Israel News

Egyptian Christian: Why is the Church ignoring us? - Israel Today | Israel News

Who will be the next Pope ?

Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign from the papal office on Feb. 28, marking the first resignation of a pope in the Catholic Church in almost 600 years.
So, what happens now? Who will be the next pope?
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed that the College of Cardinals will meet to elect the next pope some time in March, according to CNN. A new pope is expected to be in position by Easter on March 31.
There are 118 electors eligible to vote for Benedict's successor as of January 2013, according to USA Today. Italy has the most cardinal-electors at 28, and the United States follows with 11.
Some are already offering their guesses on who will be the next pope.
Three Vatican experts told USA Today that the top five cardinal contenders include: Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, former Archbishop of Quebec; Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan; Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture; and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, head of the Vatican's office for Eastern Churches.
Others believe the next pope may be from Latin America.
"I know a lot of bishops and cardinals from Latin America who could take responsibility for the universal Church,'' Archbishop Gerhard Mueller told Duesseldorf's Rheinische Post newspaper before Christmas, according to Reuters. "The universal Church teaches that Christianity isn't centred on Europe."
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana or Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria, each a front-runner, could become the first black pope. However, some suggest that "Victor I, from 189 to 199, was the first black pope. He was born in the Roman province of Africa, as were Pope Miltilades (311-314) and Pope Gelasius I 492-496," the Telegraph writes.
As HuffPost Italia notes, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila; and Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue are also in the running.
After Benedict's resignation on Feb. 28, a conclave -- the meeting of the cardinals to choose the next pope -- could occur as early as mid-March, according to the Guardian. Customarily, a pope's reign ends with his death, and a mourning period ensues.
Aside from the mourning period, all the same rules for succession selection are in place.
The conclave must begin between 15 and 20 days after Benedict's resignation, according to the Associated Press. Eligible cardinals under the age of 80 will place their votes in secret at the Sistine Chapel. Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon until a new pope is chosen. The ballots are burned after each round. Black smoke means no new pope has been selected, and white smoke means someone has been selected.
Benedict, who was elected in April 2005, announced on Monday that he will no longer lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. He is the first to resign from his position since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
Via Vatican Radio:

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

History of Valentine's Day ~

The Original Valentine
In deeply examining Valentine’s Day, we find a celebration that dates back to the very origin of paganism itself. Many historians and religious scholars trace this festival all the way back to Ham’s grandson Nimrod, the founder of Babylon and the Babylonian mystery religion. The Bible speaks of Nimrod as “a mighty one” and “a mighty hunter.” As Moses wrote:

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel... (Genesis 10:8-10).

The name Valentine comes from the Latin word “valens” meaning strong, powerful or mighty. Nimrod was such a mighty one and therefore became the subject of innumerable legends. Along with his mother Semiramis, he was worshipped as a god for thousands of years after his death and traces of his worship are still found in many religious practices today.
God punished the people who followed Nimrod as they were building the tower known as Babel. The project was then abandoned after the people began speaking different languages and were scattered throughout the earth (Gen. 11:8). However, where ever they went they took Nimrod’s mystery religion with them. In their new locations they erected false gods and observed unholy rituals based upon what they had learned from Nimrod in Babylon. As a result of the wide dispersion, and the fact that the people now spoke different languages, Nimrod came to be called by many different names. He was known as Asar, Dumuzi, Orian, Pan, Gilgamesh, Osiris, Eros, Cupid, Baal, and Marduk to name just a few. Speaking of Nimrod’s infamous influence, Ray C. Stedman stated the following in his article titled God’s Funnel:

The account zooms in on an individual named Nimrod, who is called a great hunter . . . but he was more than a hunter of wild animals. The Jewish Talmud helps us here, for it says that he was "a hunter of the souls of men." (Nimrod) therefore introduced a perverted, degraded form of religion into the world. It began at Babylon, spread to Nineveh, and can be traced in history as it subsequently spread throughout the whole of the earth. Thus, in this man Nimrod, we have the seed of idolatry and false religion coming in again after the Flood (p. 3-4).

Nimrod was said to be the spiritual heart of Babylon. In the Babylonian tongue the word for heart is “bal.” Baal, who is mentioned often in the Bible, is really just another title for the founder of apostate religion—Nimrod. According to Lempriere’s Classical Dictionary, the Semites understood that Baal was also known as Pan who was associated with the Phoenician sun-god of the same name.
Another link in Nimrod’s transformation to Baal is found in the god Marduk. Dropping the first consonant of Nimrod’s name and lining up the remaining letters, you end up with “MRD” which is literally the root word for the Babylonian god Marduk. The Encyclopedia Britannica Profiles World Religions documented the link between Marduk and Baal, and the proliferation of different names for the gods springing from this one person. They wrote:

Marduk was… in Mesopotamian religion, the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia; as such he was eventually called simply Bel, or Lord. The poem Enuma elish, dating from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I (1124–03 BCE), refers to Marduk as the god of 50 names, each one that of a deity or of a divine attribute (Marduk, CD-ROM).

The pagan god Baal is well documented in the Bible. The Israelites were seduced into the worship of both Baal and Ashtaroth, who many agree were originally known as Nimrod and Semiramis. The book of Judges records Israel’s sin of serving these two false gods stating:

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. (Judges 2:12-14).

The many fables and deities that sprang from Nimrod also included Nimrod’s mother Semiramis queen of Babylon. Semiramis is said to have lusted after her son and eventually seduced and married him. One example of a false god springing forth from this incestuous relationship is found in the god Osiris. Osiris is literally the Egyptian name for Nimrod and this popular Egyptian god was the husband of his mother
Even more significant, after Nimrod’s death, Semiramis became pregnant. She claimed that her pregnancy was induced without intercourse and that her child was the rebirth of her god husband—Nimrod. This claim became the foundation of belief in a virgin birth long before Christ walked the earth. From this we can see a clever attempt by Satan to mislead people in anticipation of the genuine virgin birth of Jesus by Mary that would take place centuries later.
The incestuous relationship of Semiramis with Nimrod, and the lie of an immaculate conception, eventually spread throughout much of the world to become the modern day worship of Madonna and child, a foundational teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Lupercalia
As the people were scattered abroad from Babel, the legends of Nimrod went with them becoming a catalyst for the creation of new gods. These gods were actually the old gods of Babylon, but they were given new names according to the language now spoken by the relocated people. This is clearly demonstrated by the way in which the folklore of Nimrod gave rise to the pagan gods Lupercus, Pan, Februus, and Faunus which were all associated with a Roman festival that ultimately evolved into our modern Valentine’s Day. This ancient festival was called the Lupercalia and was originally celebrated on February 15th with various festivities also occurring on the 14th.
Lupercus was the god of shepherds and was called upon to protect their sheep. He was known as a mighty mountain wolf hunter, a title very similar to the description of Nimrod found in the book of Genesis. Coincidentally, there is also evidence that Nimrod himself traveled to modern day Italy to hunt wolves as the Italian Apennine Mountains were at one time known as the mountains of Nembrod. Thus a god called Lupercus was fabricated from the Babylonian traditions found among the people residing in the hills of modern Rome. By this, Nimrod became honored in their festival of Lupercalia.
As a sequel to the celebration of the Saturnalia, the Lupercalia was a festival that honored the legendary founders of Rome; Romulus and Remus. Falling on February 15th, this festival was conducted in the spring and regarded as a festival of purification and fertility as well as a spiritual means to protect the flocks by warding off dangerous wolves. The official ceremony took place in Rome at the foot of the Palatine Hill, at the cave of Lupercal, where it is said that the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were nurtured by a she-wolf during their early years of life. The tales surrounding these brothers were filled with sensuality and idolatry and were included as a part of the Lupercalia.
The religious ceremonies were directed by the Luperci, meaning brothers of the wolf, who were priests of Faunus. The festivities began with Vestal Virgins offering cakes, called mola salsa, made from the first ears of last year’s grain harvest. Two naked young men, assisted by the Vestals, sacrificed a dog and one or two goats at the site. Goats were used because of the symbol of sexual vigor and Lupercus was also considered a god of shepherds. A dog was used because it was considered to be the flock’s main defender against the wolves. The blood from the victims was then smeared on the foreheads of the young men and wiped off with wool or goat’s hair dipped in milk. A sacrificial feast followed, after which the youths would then gird themselves with loincloths made from the goat’s skin.
The goatskin hide was also used to fashion whips called “februa.” The young men were then to begin laughing as they gallivanted around the hilly boundaries of the city—striking men and women with the februa who would line up along the way.
This act was believed to provide fertility, easy child birth and protection from curses or bad luck to anyone the februa touched. It is said that some women would even bare their nakedness to the februa in hopes of obtaining better results.

Abide in Me

Abide in Me and I in you, as the branch cannot bare
...fruit of itself except in the vine
I am the Vine, ye are the branches,
He that live in Me and I in him,
The same bring forth much fruit
For without me, you can do nothing
Oh Jerusalem, you're traditions have deceived you
I've chosen you, you haven't chosen Me
Do whatsoever, you asking My Name He may give to you
But in vain they call My Name
teaching doctrines just the same
Justified among themselves
But God know knoweth the heart,
what man esteemed as smart
Is an abomination to Emmanuel
Just repent, turn from selfish motivation
So iniquity will not cause your demise
Make you a new heart and a new spirit
...for why would you die
Oh Jerusalem, please tell me why

Many Starrs ~

Many are the starrs I see,
but in my eye no starr like thee.
- English saying

How Babies LEARN ~

You know when your baby is just lying around doing nothing much in particular? Or when he sticks out his tongue for fun? He's not just goofing around -- he's learning! Babies' brains develop quickly during the first 12 months, and they're absorbed in acquiring a new skill or understanding from their interaction with you and from their surroundings. Find out more about how your baby learns, and what you can do to help him.

How babies learn

Babies learn through all their senses, by:
Listening to you. Your voice is the sweetest sound to your baby, and just hearing you talk teaches him a lot -- how language works, what words mean, how people interact, and more. Since he prefers the voices of people he cares about to those of strangers, your words have great power to teach.
Watching the world go by. Even when you're in the car or at a store, your baby is learning. She sees the shapes and colors all around her, and starts to make sense of what objects are and how they work.
Touching everything. Does your baby seem to pick up everything in sight, peer at it, turn it around, shake it, put it in his mouth, then take it out and look at it again? What seems like random child's play is actually the way babies learn about everyday objects, starting as young as 1 month. They want to know how new objects look, feel, sound, smell, and taste. They're also discovering the effect they can have on something (does it make a funny noise when it's shaken?) and how things differ (metal feels colder and smoother than wood).
Playing. One of the most important ways babies learn is through play. Picking up blocks, shaking a rattle, banging trucks &-- all these things are fun, but also major brain-boosters. A baby's job is to figure out how the world works, and playing is how she does it.
Taking some time out. Downtime is crucial to a baby's development. His brain needs quiet time to process everything it's taking in. Especially in the first few months, babies need breaks to avoid overstimulation.