h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh , thanks.

" a form of something called deism, and I have no idea what that is, either."

May I recommend to you the collected works of Messrs. Merriam, Merriam and Webster?
I believe they are quite famous on your side of the pond.

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/deism

Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within us. Heaven isn't a place in the sky. One of his apostles asked when heaven was going to come to earth, and Jesus answered that it was already here, but that we were blind to it.
Similar to what I read about buddhism years ago. We as modern day materialistic humans have pretty much lost touch with out spirtitual sides. If they had trouble with "oneness" back in the day, then I can imagine how much trouble WE might have with such a concept. It's strange, but many of the books excised from the New Testament (Gnostic Gospels some) really do have Jesus spreading the word of Buddhism.

Hi JS

Just wait until the Gospel according to Judas Iscariot is released this summer, that will cause a bit of a stir. Especially as he wrote it thirty years after the death of the man Jesus. I want to know if you can advance order a copy.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\

<<"We as modern day materialistic humans have pretty much lost touch with out spirtitual sides".>>

Well I'd sort of take issue with this, although depending on interpretation.

As a modern day Materialistic human, we haven't lost touch with our Spiritual sides, we've just realised they were never there.

As a modern day materialistic human, I am well aware of many many historical examples of people being controlled by desire for physical things, and indeed of complaining about the moral failings of their times . I am skeptical that people have changed so much in this manner. I am also quite capable of separating myself from all that, but feel times have changed in that a computer can become a (comparatively insignificant) extension of our inner worlds.

If a physical item is desirable because of the ways it facilitates interaction with other humans, is that desire a spiritual or a material one? Or is it just mental? (There needs to be tighter definition of terms, and indeed less repetition of cliches about the failings of modernity)

How sad, not to be in touch with your spiritual side! Worse you deny it exists! Whilst not believing in god, I do believe in the spirit.

There's an interesting article in today's 'Tablet' by Dr Christopher Kelly (Corpus Christi, Cambridge) setting out the evidence that Constantine was Christian from at least as early as 324 AD - and quite possibly 312 AD, which is the traditional view.

Briefly, the article explains that the account of Constantine's vision before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge was written by Eusebius, the contemporary bishop of Ceasaria. The historian Gibbon was sceptical of Eusebius' version of events. But there is more.

Eusebius goes on to quote a public letter to the people of Palestine written by Constantine in 324 AD, after he had won complete control over the whole of the Roman Empire. This letter is a fairly unambiguous statement of his Christian faith, and has sometimes been dismissed as a forgery, simply too good to be true. However, in 1954, it was discovered that on a scrap of fourth century papyrus from Egypt a scribe had copied out part of Constantine's letter - thus confirming the accuracy of Eusebius' version.

Apart from the evidence in the article that Constantine was a convinced Christian, in 325 AD he convened the Council of Nicaea.

Just a clarification as to what it was that Gibbon doubted: he didn't doubt that Constantine was a Christian, at least nominally - he issued the Edict of Milan, after all - but he did doubt the Eusebius' version of the story.

The article in the Tablet quotes from the letter of 324 AD. It seems unambiguous enough. But I don't mean to deny a role for St Helena, as astro-logica outlined.

:

I don't necessarily believe in the Christian "god" , but I do believe Jesus exisited..and I also believe that the 10 commandments are good. Personally I am not a Christian. I try to stay away from anything that causes more death than anything else combined, and mass hysteria. I also don't buy into scaring people into a faith. Is there a god? what a question..and it can't be honestly proven. It's all about faith. But I have met a few(and I stress a few) wonderful Christians. Hard to believe..but true..and if we all could have the views they have the world would be a better place. The main difference about these Christians is they don't go to church. They study at home and don't have a preacher or preist telling them what the bible says..it's up to there interpretation. Do I wish I knew what is to become of me..? Yes, but I will not grab on to the easiest religion out there.

On another note..I hate to be negative but I find it Hystericallly funny when a Christian says to me.."How can you no Believe in God?" Do they know the story? It's like millions of other fictional books I have read..It may well just be the first. I think I would rather Believe the Hitchikers guide to be the ultimate truth..it's much more fun to read.

May I welcome you to one of the longest running threads in the Guide.

Please feel free to jump right in - the idea of reading nearly 26,000 posts is too daunting to contemplate.

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There are other options - polytheism, pantheism, etc...

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Jez - polytheist heathen

Remember people, God is a jealous God.
Jealousy is dangerous.
Ever walk on eggshells?
I have.
Amen.

Why does your god suffer from an inferiority complex.

Your god is neither just nor loving!

In the Hindu scriptures we find many practical verses e.g. mathamatics, ways for keeping healthy etc. The Hindus knew the so called 'Pythagorean Theorem' before Pythagoras, in fact it is quite possible that Pythagoras nicked it from them.
The Hindus were using a decimal syatem when we were still trying to count with Roman numerals (try adding LXIV to CXIX). Jews used their alphabet to count, likewise the Greeks.

It is believed the Hindus knew the speed of light thousands of years ago.
quote from Rajaroy and sarabhanga @ http://www.hindunet.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=15,44&Number=4869&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1;

"O Sun! You see all, create brightness and travel very fast. You brighten the whole sky." Rigveda 1.50.4

Sayana comments: "It is remembered that Sun traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesa."

(Bhatta Bhaskara (probably in 10th century) made the same statement in his commentary on Taittiriya Brahmana. He says this to be an old Puranic tradition.) (Hindu astromomers knew how fast the sun moved so the verse refers to the sun's radiance not to the sun itself).

NimeSa means shutting the eye or winking, and as a measure of time it is a wink of the eye or a moment.

Kautilya’s Arthashastra (c.320 BC) defines 1 nimesha as 1/360,000th of a day and night ~ i.e. 0.24 seconds.

2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha.

Given that 1 yojana is between 14.6 and 16.4 km, 2,202 yojanas must represent between 32,149 and 36,113 km.

Half a nimesha is 0.12 seconds.

Sayana (c.1315-1387 AD) thus gives the speed of light as between 267,910 and 300,940 km/sec.

The currently accepted value for the speed of light is 299,792 km/sec.

Impressive!

Hi Astro-logica

I seem to recall the writings of one old Greek who claimed that Pythagoras learned his geometry from the Druids of the Keltoi, who were apparently living in the Balkans at the time...?

The Hindus and their Vedas are very interesting. Not least because the Indus civilisation from which they sprang destroys the OT adherents' claim on the age of the earth. Their cities pre-date the earliest Biblical calculation for the creation of the Earth. Also many of their teachings seeped west and can be found in the OT, as well as other contemporary cultural texts.

Oh dear. Have I just reduced Jehovah to the status of a small god worshipped by a bunch of nomadic, homocidal hebrews who got too big for his boots?

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\

Hi Astrologica

Did a search - most unlike me I know but hey...and found:

ABARIS THE DRUID: - Various reports and fragments thereof, in what little was written and remains of ancient Greek times, tell us he visited Athens to teach Pythagoras. Hecateus of Miletus and others tell us he appeared in loincloth with animal skins and was an expert marksman with the bow and other hunting gear. Perhaps to their amazement he also was fluent in all the languages of the Mediterranean; and his knowledge was impressive while his manner beguiled all the elite who sought to meet him. They say he was the teacher of Pythagoras.

So was there a connection or is this just classical fancy? I doubt we will ever know as no contemporary documents survive that refer to this to my knowledge.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\

But who were the Druids, Math? I believe they were the Druhyus, one of five Vedic tribes.

quote;
'The Tribes in the Rigveda
Traditional history knows of many different streams of tribes or peoples, but the two main streams are of those belonging to the Solar Race of the IkSvAkus, and those belonging to the Lunar Race of the Ailas. The Ailas are further divided into five main branches: the Yadus, Turvasas, Druhyus, Anus and Purus.'



quote;
'The Druhyus spread out into Europe in two instalments: the speakers of the proto Germanic dialect first migrated northwards and then westwards, and then later the speakers of the protoHellenic and proto Italo Celtic dialects moved into Europe by a different, more southern, route.'


See http://sivaloka.tripod.com/ancient_links.htm for the Vedic/Celtic link.

It has been estimated that a quarter of the English vocabulary is connected to Sanskrit. Take for example the word convert. The root of this is vrt which is the Sanskrit word for turn. Linked words are invert, divert etc.

An early method for calculating square roots can be found in some Sutras(verses), the method involves repeated application of the formula: A = (a² + r) = a + r/2a, r being small.
e.g. If A=10, then a = 3 and r = 1.
10 = (3^ + 1) and the square root of 10 = a + r/2a = 3 + 1/6 = 3.16667 in decimal notation after one iteration.
The square root of 10 = 3.162278 to six decimal places when calculated on a calculator.

Hey, I'd always thought that the majority of them... were Celts.
I mean, there were some Gaulic ones, and a few other places had them; grant you that...
, *Shuts up*