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

Have you actually heard anything about the Christian astrology? I'm serious E. Raymond capt wrote a book about "God's Message in the Stars". Not the only one that did. Zeiss wrote another one.

Year starts with Virgo and ends with Leo. Each of the ancient constellations (there are twelve Zodiac and 36 supporting constellations or decans)tell of the coming messiah, his ministry and the coming of the end of the age. Never meant to be anyting personnal or predictive on a personal scale totally related to humanity in general.

Checkout www.drgenescot.com/archives/mysteries for further descriptions.

I understand there are many connections between astrology and the Christian faith.

Apparently the Templars and many other christian secret schools use astrological symbols as mnemonics and codes for the events of the bible they hold particularly important.

I am a member of the local Archeology Institute of America (AIA)here in my town and we have been searching for someone to come and tell us about the new discoveries in Pre-classical Mayan sites recently made in central America. That is one of the reasons why I was attracted to the nom-de-plume you chose.

The Mayan civilization were quite remarkable and advanced in some ways but not in others. What I've seen on television here has shown some of these discoveries but there is a disconnect between the pre-classical and the more recognized general Mayan civilzation, even the language is different significantly.

So if there is any reason to think that you can help us out in this then please get back with me.

Sorry! My alias is a cynical attempt at humour...the conspiracy theory regarding the Templars and the Priory of Sion and the Von Daniken theory that evidence from South America early civilasations indicates we were visited by aliens.

Yeah well I guess my nom-de plume is also reckless disregarding the truth. I do not actually travel in 26 dimensions , I only travel in four Oh well I had to ask.

I did read Holy Blood Holy Grail though and took in the apology the authors gave the world later heh, heh , heh

yes i understand they were crucified by the press for not following the conventions of historical research methodology (not that they pretended to) and proposing a alternate view of world history which respected scholars have been publishing for years

i dont have strong convictions about the validity of HBHG but i do believe that some churches (and i mean the executive and bureaucracies rather than the participants) have some explaining to do

I believe that the part about the priory of sion was actually the truth. The fact that the Papacy would stoop to paying off blackmaillers just seems like something they would do. But the part about the Moravingian dynasty being the blood line of Christ is off the truth not completely though.

The Bethany household did in fact move to France after the Jewish diaspora (70 AD)and there are chapels dedicated to them from the first century in the Rhone valley. But the idea of Christ just swooning is complete poppycock nobody lives through a Roman crucifixion and the disciples preached a completely healed Christ within 49 days not some weakened recovering Christ. It would have been so easy to provide the body of a recovering Christ to disprove the resurrection and the preaching would have stopped.

The problem with such books is that they are close to the truth so people will accept the part they themselves cannot refute. they confuse the issue and leave doubts in people's minds about what is real.
Adieu mon ami

i must admit i dislike scholars who deliberately conceal or pervert the truth to suit their own prejudices or the status quo, on the other hand i was taught not to rely on accepted wisdom and question everything...unfortunate but true that history is written by the victors, and can be twisted by the powerful

this philosophy may be cynical but my experience is that life is not as black and white as presented by history or the media

it does mean i have to think and dig a little harder to decide issues but that is the true cost of being a global citizen

it IS nice to have a worthy disputant

As someone who at least tried to be the scholarly type (and failed) I know the problems of those scholars and found that they repeat what others have said or written down so it is hard to know anything from a long time ago.

The honest ones report without prejudice the facts as they are presented in the literature/archives, but even then maybe there just isn't the complete information available in the archives. Generally the victors burned what little archival information was available so the loser cannot make the objective historical presentation.

And it is the powerful who PAY for the history to be written so guess who gets the benefit of the doubt? All ideas are not worth the same though. Ptolomy's Astronomy surely isn't worth the paper it was printed on. While the more modern source is not always the better source it frequently is, and generally more accessible.

Adieu

I also attempted to be a scholar…in engineering, so my training is in the methods of the technical research, which is admittedly less demanding than the humanities. In technology disciplines there is no need to compare and select from contradictory sources and opinions, it is more like choosing the right vegetable for a salad. Technology does suffer from a similar blight though; established “experts” who resist valid new ideas because they are unable to understand them (though usually because they are too heavily involved in their own “life stream” to jump to another).

I have probably come across as a cynic in this dialog…the truth is I delight in all the bright endeavours of humanity but am so disappointed our political leaders and systems are so strangled and disfigured by a populace that seems to be purblind. I know that there are able people out there but they seem to be drowned by a tsunami of the lowest common denominator. There is so much that we are and have done and have created but it is overwhelmed by the malignant and the banal; vested interests, the sublimation of ethics by legality, pandering to demographics.

At the moment it seems that growth and the economy are the sheild behind which the conservatives conspire. If any enlightened soul proposes (even hints) we balance economic with social requirements they can say goodbye to any mandate they thought they had.

How many dimensions today?

Well, Its not so much how many dimensions but how wel focused each one is that counts.

Cynics like the one my father was and appearantly many people are just haven't bought into the idea of the "Fall of Man". Somehow they really know it is true but dont really like the idea so they defend themselves from disappointment by being cynical.

Well humans are fallen creatures all of us from the inside to the outside and always inbetween. Which ultimately means that we are incabable of perfection. Anything less than perfection means that we cannot qualify to go to heaven based upon our own performance.

Cynics prefer to think that we can make it ourselves. They ignore the one way that is provided to us humans that works. Which is to trust God. Because after seeing what humans actually do they have a complete distrust of others perfection and that includes God's. Instead they somehow figure that we can make this world into paradise by their efforts and they try mightily (and fail not because they dont try but because it is pathologically impossible for fallen creature to do this)

Cynics in their distrust of God, will perversely claim they will do what God wont do, glorify humans!
Enough of the sermon for today (I am a fourth generation preacher's son so you must forgive my sermonizing it's in my genes.)
adieu

Why would God want me to abrogate my civic responsibilities to him? Either I put my complete trust in God and leave everything to Him becoming no better than the beasts or I use the intellect He gave me and take personal responsibility for the universe or at least those dimensions I can comprehend.

I have no distrust of God, I distrust the less worthy parts of myself I am too lazy to overcome. I see these flaws reflected in the individuals who impact, to greater or lesser degree, upon me. I find the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins to be anachronistic; I rather ”First do no harm”. Once that is firmly established anything else is merely petty.

It would be foolish to attempt to perfect myself but I rather like the idea that perhaps by the appropriate application of forces (sorry the engineer will out) my failings may become assets for the universe and myself. Every person is God and the Devil; there is no perfection in this world but if we work with the grey rather than trying to attain the white, and amend society to exploit those attributes we currently find reproachable, humanity may achieve light-years more than we are presently wallowing through.

Ciao

Quite the opposite is true.

There is no aminal who has the same relationship with God as the human. Reports are that during the garden of Eden the Animals didn't fight and eat eachother but they do now?

If I take responsibility then I will be found wanting. Everyone is guilty of something. Check with the writings of some of the most obvious "saints" such as Mother Teresa who claimed she was one of the chiefest sinners. Even Mahatma Gandhi would confess his failures to meet his own expectations.

It is only sociopaths who ignore the feelings of guilt. There is no escaping these feelings because God has wired them into our make up. Certain existential philosophers have gone insane trying to avoid them, (Sartre,or Russell) There is no animal I know tha
t feels guilty like humans.

My guess is that at times you have even felt guilty over something or another. These are not useless feelings, like the popular press would have us believe. They will lead us to God if we allow them.

Enough of the serious stuff it is clear that nothing will come of this line of argument and I am not the one to convince anyone I am just as guilty as all the rest, perhaps more.

adieu

That we feel guilty and realise that we will always come up short is still no reason to ever expect God to fix things for us. God may but we cannot expect it; that is impertinent. So we must take our destiny in our own hands and hope that we measure up to His expectations.

Guilt is intimately tied to morals, ethics and conscience. Guilt is good if the structures of ethics that trigger it are appropriate and proportioned. I would want to feel more guilt over killing than stealing. However guilt is not instinctive; it is a learned response. Children learn what activities are transgressions from their family and society. If the ultimate source of those criteria is a good one like scripture then that is a bonus.

An untended child will revert to the blank state of the beast; the social and ethical skills that bind a civilisation together are self-perpetuating only in that civilisation. God may have given us the tools (ourselves including our minds and spirits) and a manual (the scripture) for civilisation but these things would not automatically generate that civilisation from scratch.

I firmly believe that, like any father, God’s greatest glory is his children (humanity) becoming constructive, compassionate and independent citizens as a result of His guidance.

Guilt and recognition of imperfection are the reasons for assuming responsibility rather than the opposite. To say "I failed" is not reason to despair but an opportunity to use God’s gifts in an endeavour to overcome.

ciao