The first time I ever went to an American cinema (in Germany, I think) I was shocked how people stood up for the national anthem; we Brits used to do that too, but many decades ago!
We just stood to attention - no hand on heart though as that is way too emotional and 'soppy' for us cold-blooded reptiles!
Great - and I was just going off to bed in a bad mood!
Did you know that.......... Billy Connolly has a place here in Gozo?
I've never met him, but apparently he chills out in the local square of the village and chats to the locals who haven't a clue who he is and don't given a monkey's either - as long as he buys a round!
"In Christian times, the egg was a symbol of new life just as a chick might hatch from the egg. The Easter egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent.
In the Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent as well as other traditional fast days. During the strict Lenten fast of forty days no eggs were eaten. It was traditional to use up all of the household's eggs before Lent began, which established the tradition of Pancake Day. This was because, in Christian times, the egg was a symbol of new life just as a chick might hatch from the egg.
Eggs were viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages.
It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals.
In Eastern Christianity, both meat and dairy are still prohibited during the fast, and eggs are seen as "dairy" (a foodstuff that could be taken from an animal without shedding its blood). That is the reason why eggs laid during that time were often boiled or otherwise preserved!"
"Despite claims being made that Easter Eggs were originally pagan symbols, there is no solid evidence for this. It was not until the 18th Century that Jakob Grimm theorised a putative pagan connection to Easter Eggs with a goddess of his own whom he named Ostara, a suggested German version of Eostre."
This is a quote.......... sorry I forgot to take the reference:
"Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday or springtime.
It is the influence of the traditional spring rites that made Easter so egg-special. And myths coming down to us from an incredibly distant past have shown man's relationship with the egg to be very deep seated one. This is caught in old Latin proverb: "Omne vivum ex ovo". This means "all life comes from an egg". Not just the Latin saying, eggs are just laid well over all corners of the world. From ancient India to Polynesia, from Iran, Greece, and Phonecia to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, from Central America to the west coast of South America, there are reports of myths of the whole universe created out of an egg. Thus, it is not unusual that in almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life. The concept of all living beings born from an egg is also a foundational concept of modern biology. "
I'll second that - Denmark is cool and democratic AND most people cycle everywhere so no need to use gas-guzzling SUV's and waste our (the world's) fossil fuels so selfishly!
A public holiday to celebrate the end of British rule.
Unfair!
Why not one to celebrate kicking out the French, Italians, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Aye_Rabs,Knights of Malta (oh, maybe they never left!)etc etc etc? - we could then have several more public holidays here then!
Mercedes is my ONLY friend, and ONLY member of my new religion 'Mercurialism'............. without her I am bereft of adulation, and without adulation I shall surely die!
I believe that if an individual believes he or she hasn't done anything bad it can make him or her a little arrogant; humility is a wonderful thing but hard to have if in the words of a song:
'Oh Lord, it's hard to humble, if I'm perfect in every way!' (joking lyrics, but jokes often contain the kernel of some truth)
So - making people feel guilty when they would otherwise not feel guilty has repercussions:
1.) It can humble them
2.) You can exert religious power over that individual.
3.) That superiority 'I am good' attitude can be restrained in those that have it and then the individual can then be used to serve the common good.
4.) Those who refuse to be internally humbled become either religious leaders or politicians or both!
Just some silly thoughts on my side - but is there any truth, or anything worth discussing from these silly thoughts?
Those at the top normally take a risk if they invest in their OWN companies (though many CEO's these days are just parasites living off their workers and giving the shareholders, the real owners, a very raw deal).
Those who are in charge of unions often also live like Kings.
I've met left-wing socialists who I could not travel in the same train compartment with because they were, of course, travelling first class at taxpayers expense while I was travelling second.
Those who risk their money deserve a fair return.
Those who labour as employees deserve a fair return.
Where the aims of both unite we have genuine prosperity - when either the managers of a company or their workers get too greedy then we have conflict ............ the REALITY is that we have to work towards common interests; if we cannot find common interests then we tend to destroy society instead of building for the future prosperity of everybody.
Well, I have to agree with you that I cannot agree with people who take the whole of the bible literally.......... that is insane to me (not wanting to disrespect anybody's beliefs but it is just incredible when translated and taken into context).
Let's imagine God wanting us to hear and read his word.
If I were God, I'd get somebody to write something that was clear, simple and straightforward something easy to understand - it would be cruel of me to inspire such conflicting writings.
You should join go see the pilot and spill coffee all over him and see if the auto pilot takes over while he screams in agony - if that doesn't cure the problem, forget it!
rusty_knight Forum Posts (6,840)
New religion.........
Ok - so you are 'God' or you invented 'God' (same difference)You are in charge of a new religion!
Never mind the reality and the faith or lack of it - what RULES would you write down that the followers of your religion should obey?
What punishment (e.g. being tickled to death with a feather duster) if any would your religion give to a follower who broke these rules?
Why?
Thank you,
Your Imperial Holy Mercurialness
'Bugs Bunny'