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Monday, June 24, 2019

Riverdays

Introduction
I went to Riverdays on the weekend and had a ball.  I sampled a lot of food and I bought sum as well. There were 7 major musical acts and many minor ones.  I met several people and ran into people I know.  I was there 4 three days and had different experiences each day.  I thought there would be foodtrucks from  50 states, but sadly it wasn't.  This was the largest foodtruck rally in the world.  200,000 people showed up!!!!
Friday
I sampled food from foodtrucks that were from 8 different states.  They were Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, New York, Louisiana, and Missouri.  In that order.  5 of them was sweet, 1 of them was ok, and 2 of them wasn't so good.

The Michigan truck is called 3 Lil Pigs BBQ, LLC.  I sampled mac & cheese, pulled pork with bbq sauce on it, and pickles.  I enjoyed all of it.  You can find them on facebook.  They have a sweet menu with a lot too choose from.       

The Pennsylvania truck was called Humpty Dumplings.  I ate a Philly Cheese Steak dumpling.  It was okay.  I should have put sum hot sauce on it.
The Ohio truck is called Wicked Lobster.  I got sum steamed lobster from them.  I wasn't a fan.

The Georgia truck is called Chazito's.  They have Puerto Rican food.  I sampled roasted pork, Spanish rice, and Extra Chaz Sauce.  It was dope!  They also have a restaurant in Georgia.
The Florida truck is called Di Big Jerk.  I sampled a chicken leg (drumstick) with jerk sauce from them.  It was delicious!!  You can find them on Facebook.

The New York food truck is called Dirty BBQ.  I sampled sweetheat: it was a chicken tender with spicy and sweet sauces on it.  It was the bomb!!!

The Louisiana truck or so I thought is called New Orleans Cajun Cooking.  I sampled Jambalaya, it had too much seasoning on it.  It was as bad as the lobster or worse!

The Missouri truck is called Bacon Me Crazy.  I sampled a bacon cheeseburger.  I was given a whole burger and I just wanted a sample.  It was crazy dope and fresh!!!!!!  I didn't eat it all because I was full from all the samples I ate. 

Click here to see the food trucks that was @ Riverdays.

There were jet ski stunts on Detroit River.  I only saw a little bit of it.  This one guy was on a jet pack that was fueled by water.

There 2 major music acts: The Grannies of Mary Jane and Smokey Robinson.  There were a lot people there to see the acts.  If you bought a ticket you could sit close up to the stage.  I didn't so I set behind the gate. 

The Grannies of Mary Jane real name is Mary Jane Girls, but I call them that because they are all grandmas.  They sung several songs, but one song they sung was Live & Die in LA.  That was my fave.  Ice Cube said hello during the Grannies of Mary Jane performance.  They were backup singers 4 Rick James.
Smokey Robinson sung sum of his songs and songs he wrote 4 the Temptations.  One of those songs was My Girl.  I bought pictures of him 4 my mom.  I liked most of the minor music acts.   
I met a lady from California that was collecting donations 4 abused a neglected children.  That was so awesome!!!!!  She was weird, she didn't know men wiped themselves.  I talked to her until my uber came.  A man wanted to shake her hand, but she told him she had makeup on her hands.  He felt rejected so he got upset with her and wouldn't tell her his name.  She really did have makeup on her hands. 

Saturday
I bought food from places that didn't give me samples.  Most places would gave me samples, but a few of them wouldn't.  I wanted to try samples from all 50 states, but only ten states was there.  I only samples on Friday, I bought food the the other days. 

Pollo is a food truck from Kentucky.  They were only food truck from Kentucky @ Riverdays.  I got to chicken tacos from them.  They were okay, it should have tasted better.  They specialize in chicken.   

I bought a cupcake from Simply Divine Cupcakes.  That foodtruck was from Indiana.  I ate a cookie's 'n cream cupcake.  It tasted as expected, it was delicious!  The cupcake even had icing in the middle.

I went back to Chazito's from Georgia and bought a Puerto Rican platte.  It consisted of  roasted pork, Spanish rice, and sweet plantains.  I enjoyed the meal, but couldn't eat it all because it was 2 spicy.  I put sum super hot sauce on it.  It made my eyez red, I cried, my hand tinkled, and my lips burned.

I ran into my cousins and one of them gave me sum water.  They were on a double date.  It was good to see them because I haven't seen them in a while.  I texted them my blog.  Early I ran into someone from the church my mom goes too.  He remembered me.  I rarely go to church, because I don't subscribe to that theology.  I've been non-religious since 18.  I like the fellowship though and the singing and dancing.  It is like a concert.

There was an air show; it was somehow related to Tuskegee Airmen.  Planes were doing tricks in the air.  They were making circles and a trail of guess followed them wherever they went.       
I bought a vanilla iced latte from a Michigan foodtruck called Coffee Rescue.  I enjoyed it; it helped me be more awoke.  They had at least 5 different flavors 4 iced lattes: Carmel, Butterscotch, etc.  There were espresso shots and IV bags of fruit punch.  I didn't get any of that. 

There were 2 major musical acts.  They were Brian Mcknight and Brandy Norwood.  I thought he was bigger than Brandy, I was wrong.  I assume Brain sung more songs than Brandy, but I'm unsure. 

Brian sung about 30 songs.  Most of them were from his albums.  The first song he sung was Genesis.  I like the songs 10,000,000 Stars, Only 1 for Me, Back @ One, and Anytime.  He sung songs from singers that died: Whitney Houston, James Ingram, Prince, Maurice Wright (September), and Debarge (Switch).  He has been singing professionally for 31 years! 
Brandy sung several songs, but I left when I thought she was done.  She was just playing she kept on singing.  She wore a dress that had images of flowers on the front and a cap in the back that had a image of a Russian doll on it.  She sung 3 Whitney Houston songs.  Someone may have wanted her to sing I Will Always Love You.  She said she didn't have the range and she proved it.  She can't sing notes as high as Whitney Houston.  She was the star of the hit show Moesha, it came on upn.
Drones flew over the crowd during the concert.  Most likely drones from the news. 
Sunday
I was with my mom on this day.  The other 2 days I was by myself.  She enjoyed the festivities.  I bought Jerk wing dings and fries from Di Big Jerk (Floridia).  I also bought grape juice 4 me and my mom.  She ate a beef hot dog, which she didn't like.  The wing dings were to fatty.  The sample I had on Friday was better. 

There was another airshow.  The flew in squadrons and sum planes pretended to crash.  We were under the tent when this was going on.  We just got finished eating.  We saw a hula hoop lady and juggler.  They both did a good job but the hula hoop lady was better.

Later we listen to a rock band called Half Light.  They were sweet.  I bought mom their cd after the show.  Then we went to the kiddie section and saw a dance off.  The boy defeated the girl because when she flipped, she slipped.  Otherwise she would have won.  Then the kids did their favorite Fortnight dance in front of the stage. 

There were 3 major musical acts.  They were Bre L Leslie, Carl Thomas, and Faith Evans.  A young DJ did stretching and there were young dancers.    They didn't do so well.  They sounded bad 4 quite a while, then they sounded better.  Singers should practice b4 they come on stage. 

Bre L Leslie is a Detroit native.  Her songs sound good on the radio, but she sounds awful in person. She didn't sing much, she mostly danced.  Most of the songs were recordings.  I could listen to the radio 4 that.  Singers should sing @ their concerts.  What the point of hearing a recording.  All the women dancing with her were thin.  @ first I thought sum of them were men!  She should get sum thicker dancers. 

After that, a 12 year Dj came on stage and started spinning records.  His Name is Dj Who.  He did an amazing job, being that he is only 12.  Sum young dancers came stage and start cutting a rug.  Sum of the dancers were as young as 6!   

Carl Thomas came on after them.  The women were so happy when he got on stage.  He started off bad, but he got better.  He did a better job Than Bre L Leslie, because he sung all his songs.  I liked the songs emotional and I wish I never met her.               
                             
Finally Faith Evans came on stage.  She sounded bad @ first, so I was ready 2 go.  Mom wanted to stay for 1 song, so we left on the second song.  She started sounding better, so wished I stayed longer. A helicopter flew over the concert.  She was the wife of Biggie Smalls and they had a son together.  His name is Christopher Wallace Jr. ; he's a actor, musician, and entrepreneur.
 

Monday, June 17, 2019

Kikuyu

Introduction
This tribe lives in Kenya and they are amazing!!!  They have a long history.  They have their own culture; which consists of food, clothing, language religion, art, music, philosophy, politics, and cinema.  The first president of Kenya was from this tribe.  There are many famous people from this tribe.
History
The Kikuyu ancestors came to Kenya during the Bantu migrations.  They founders of the this tribe were 10 daughters of Gikuyu and Mumbi.  The families of the 10 daughters became 9 of them became clans; one of them became Kamba.  The Kikuyu started of matriarchal than became patriarchal.  This happened to several Bantu tribes.  Some of their ancestors were the Thagicu; they're the biggest tribe in Kenya.  They are related to the Kamba, Meru, Mbeere, and Embu.
The Mau Mau Rebellion was started by members of the Kikuyu tribe.  A British man killed a cat that made the sound Mau.  The cat was sacred to the Kikuyu.  So, they rebelled against the British and got independence.  Members of the Meru, Embu, Kamba, and Massassi tribes helped the Kikuyu fight the British too.  During their struggle 4 liberation a lot of them were put in concentration camps, and many of them died as a result.       
Culture
Language: Kikuyu has 4 dialects.  It has a high and low tone.  The sentence structure is subject-verb-object.  Nouns come b4 adjectives.  To write they use a latin alphabet.  They also speak Kiswihili.
 Music, Dances, and Art: Their music is polyrhythmic and it consist of drumming, singing, and humming.  Gourd, rattles, guitar, and harps are also used in music.  They like gospel and secular music and they created a bark flute. A lot of their songs tell stories and they love riddles and poems; and they have a riddle poem game.  They have a warrior dance, love dance, rites of passage dances, welcome dances, possession dances, etc.  They are good @ creating statues and shields.  There are different designs 4 face paint, which may indicate marriage, socioeconomic status, mariika, etc.       


Religion: This religion is monotheistic.  The Meru, Kamba, and Embu worship the same  God as the Kikuyu.  The Meru call him Murungu and the Embu call him Mulungu.  Ngai cannot be seen.  The sycamore tree, fig tree, and olive tree are sacred.  When Ngai comes to Earth he rest in Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro.     
Philosophy: They understand the universe was created by invisible forces.  These forces come from Ngai.  Ancestors are connection to Ngai.  Everything as sum lifeforce in it and is interconnected.  Humans have the most lifeforce on earth.  Ancestors reincarnate as babies of there descendants.  The king or queen has the most lifeforce, so they reconnect society to Ngai.  The job of the ruler is uphold Maat.   

Politics: They had age sets called mariika, which remind me of the Oromo and the Maasai.  Periodically boys were initiated into manhood.  Girls were initiated every periodically as well.  Boys were circumcised during initiations.  Girls were been exocised.  The ceremony was called Irua.  Boys were taught by their fathers and girls was taught by mothers.  The people within mariika were closely bonded.  There were rites of passage 4 different stages of life.  They were ruled by a 2 council of elders.  A male councial and a female council.         
Clothings: Each mariika has their own style of clothing.  The young wear skins around their waist and nothing on their upper body.  Men dress similar to the young, but they wear more clothes when it is cold.  Women wear clothes to cover their whole body. 
Food: They like corn, beans, green peas, potatoes, goat, beef, chicken, collard greens, spinach, and carrots.  They cook the food in pots and eat it on wooden plates.  They grow food in their garden and trade with their neighbors.  The Maasai and the Kikuyu are great friends and family!!!! 
Wedding: When a man wanted to marry a woman, he would bring her father a dowry.  Then his parents would meet the woman he wants to marry parents.  After that there is a meal where the families negotiate.  Women come to the bride's house singing and they bring gifts.  The groom has pick out wife in a group of women dressed the same.  If he get it wrong he has to pay her.  They eat goat ears together, which represents listening to each other. 
Cinema: In the 21th century they started to make their own movies.  They have created comedy series and channels.  There are channels in their language.  They are a very creative people. 
First President
Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya.  He was a freedom fighter.  When he was child he taught the ways of his people and he helped his grandfather heal people.  The missionaries helped the Kikuya read and write and helped them medically.  But they tried to get rid of their culture.  He went to boarding school and became a Christian.  He also became a carpenter and went through Irua.  He became a African nationalist.  He believed in freedom, dignity, tolerance, and peace 4 all of humanity.  He was/is loved by Africans, Asians, and Europeans!!!   
Famous People
Wangari Maathai: First African woman to get the Nobel Peace Prize.  She was a political activist and environmentalist.  She was pro-democracy.  She met Obama when he senator. 
Ng'endo Mwangi: She was the first Kenyan lady doctor.  She founded a medical center in 1987.

Helen Gichohi: She's the president of the African Wildlife Federation.
Michael Ndurumo: Professor @ University of Nairobi.  Third deaf African person to get a Phd.
There are many other famous Kikuyu people, but this will suffice. 

Conclusion
This is my favorite tribe in Kenya!!!  Writing about them have given me so much joy.  They have long rich colorful history.  They have great culture and many famous people.  The first president of Kenya was amazing!!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_people
http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/kikuyu-tribe.html
http://orvillejenkins.com/profiles/kikuyu.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_Uprising
https://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Kikuyu-Sociopolitical-Organization.html
https://ashhalvellani.wixsite.com/kikuyu-culture/
https://otienojf.wixsite.com/thekikuyutribe/page2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Kenyatta
http://weddings.traditionscustoms.com/kikuyu_wedding






 

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Afro-Asian Language Family

Introduction
This language family has a long history. There are different theories about its origin.  This language family was created by Afrasan people.  It has several branches, one of which went into Asia.  It has the oldest written language or it's Sumerian.
Historical Theories
It is over 10,000 years old.  Most linguists believes the Afro-Asian language family was created in Northeast Africa.  There are theories that it came from the Sahara, Sudan, North Africa, Horn of Africa, or the Levant.

Haplogroup E1b1b is associated with Afro-Asian languages.  Men who speak Afro-Asian languages tend to have this haplogroup, excluding Chadic men and most Semitic men.  Haplogroup J1c3 is common among Semitic men.  E1b1b is a African haplogroup and J1c3 is a Southwest Asian haplogroup.     
Branches and Peoples
Cushitic:  These languages are spoken in the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley, and Great Lakes Region.  There are 3 types of this language.  They are as followed: North, Central, and East Cushitic.  There are 40 different Cushitic languages.  Oromo and Somali are the biggest Cushitic languages.

Kerma was an ancient Cushitic civilization.  They traded and warred with Ancient Egypt.  That civilization lasted for 1,000 years.  Blemmyes was a Beja kingdom that lasted for 600 years.  The Beja are a Cushiric tribe.   
Chadic: These languages are spoken Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic.  There are 150 of these languages and 4 subdivisions.  They are as followed: West-Chadic, Biu-Mandara, East Chadic, and Masa.  Chadic people interacted a lot with Nilo-Saharan people.  This can be seen in there languages.  Most Chadic men have R-V88 Y-chromosome.  That seems like their 4 fathers came Asia.
Sao civilization was Chadic.  They were great statues and other forms of art.  People were buried in fetal position until the 15th century.  It lasted 4 about a millenium.  Hausa is a Chadic tribe.  They had several city-states in the past.  They are called Hausaland.   
Ancient Egyptian: The language is known as Metu Neter.  There was 2 languages: Hieroglyphics and Hieratic.  Hieroglyphics are multi-dimensional; they can written and read left to right, right to left, up to down, and/or down to up.  It used it to write on stone.  It is the mother of alphabet!!!  Hieratic was used for legal, admintrive, religious, medical, mathematical, and other documents.  Demotic script was created 2,000 years after Hieratic.  It is based on northern Hieratic.  The last Egyptian language is Coptic.  It was influenced by the Greek alphabet.             

Amazigh (Berber): The language is spoken throughout North Africa.  It originated in the Horn of Africa.  Probably the Nile Valley.  These languages are about 2,000 years old.  Phoenician and Latin influenced Amazigh language  The Amazigh script is Tifinagh.  A lot of the Amazigh are nomadic.  They created ancient civilizations in North Africa.  Carthage was created by the Amazigh and the Phoenicians.  The Garamantes created a civilization in the Libyan desert.  Numidia was a Amazigh kingdom that was greatly influenced by Rome.       
Omotic: These languages are only spoken in Ethiopia.  There are 2 main versions of these languages.  They are North and South Omotic.  Omotic languages were created b4 cattle herding was in the horn of Africa.  It has its own written script called Ge'ez.  This script is used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.     
Semitic: This is the only branch of Afro-Asian languages that went into Asia.  Semitic languages have have come into being in Ethiopia, Arabia, or the Levant.  The first written Semitic language written was Akkadian.  The first alphabet was Semitic.  The 3 Abrahamic religions are Semitic.  This branch of Afro-Asian language is the most popular.  Arabic is the biggest Semitic language.  I guess Hebrew is the most famous.  There were many Semitic civilizations in the Middle East and there were sum in Ethiopia.           
Conclusion
This a great language family!  It is one of the most popular language family.  It originated in the Horn of Africa.  It has 6 branches: Cushitic, Chadic, Ancient Egypt, Amazigh, Omotic, and Semitic.  People from most of these branches created ancient civilizations.  The first alphabet and Western religions are Semitic.   
References
Afroasian Languages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Afroasiatic_languages
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Afro-Asiatic-languages
https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/lost-mists-time-ancient-sao-civilization-central-africa-003978
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieratic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numidia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Semitic-speaking_peoples

Chadic Kingdoms

Monday, June 10, 2019

Theosophy

Introduction
Theosophy was created by 16 different people.  Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and William Quan Judge were the most important founders.  It is a mixture of eastern religions and western philosophies.  It has its own metaphysics, cosmology, ontology, axiology, and epistemology.  Karma, reincarnation, root races(involution), ascended masters, rituals play a big role in this religion.  Jiddu Krishnamurti was seen as the World Teacher by the leadership of the Theosophical church.  There were several famous people in Theosophy.  Western society was greatly impacted by this paradigm.     
Helena Blavatsky
She was born in Ukraine (USSR) in 8/12/1831.  She got married @ 17 to a Soviet soldier.  They broke up, then she learned about occult.  She traveled in U.S., Europe, Asia learning occultism.  In 1877 she wrote Isis Unveiled, which criticized science and religion.  The book promoted mysticism as the way to discover the truth.  She wrote Secret Doctrine (1888), The Voice of Silence (1889), Key of Theosophy (1889), her Collected Writings was written in 1951.       
Henry Steel Olcott
He was born in 8/2/1882 in New Jersey.  He was in the Navy, then he became lawyer.  The Theosophical Society moved its headquarters to India in 1882.  He help create 3 college and 250 schools in Ceylon.  He wrote a book in 1881 called Buddhist Catechism.  He was the first president of the Theosophical Society.  He was in charge for 32 years.     
William Quan Judge
He was born in Ireland in 1851.  He moved to New York with his family in 1864.  The occult was an important subject to him.  In 1874 he got married.  He became a lawyer and died in 1896.  He was the editor of the Path 4 ten years.  The Path was a Theosophical periodical.  Many books were written by him.  In 1894 he became the secretary of the U.S. branch of the Theosophical Society.   

Ologies
Metaphysics: We are all a part of one.

Cosmology: The universe is composed of spirit and matter. 

Ontology: We are spiritual beings that are experiencing ourselves through the human nervous system.

Axiology: Right actions produces harmony and wrong actions produce disharmonies. 

Epistemology: We gain knowledge from intuition and analogies.

More Beliefs
Round: Cosmic cycles 4 reincarnating souls.  It starts off very subtle than it becomes very gross.  It becomes very subtle again after that.

Septenary: There are 7 parts to a human.  They are as followed: atma (Atman), buddhi, manas, kamarupa, prana, linga sharira, and sthula sharira.
Karma: We create our destiny by what we do today.  The actions we do today will affect us in this life or the next.  What we did in past life affect us today!

Reincarnation: After we die we are reborn as someone else based on our karma.
Astral Body: This is a subtle body that corresponds to our emotion.  Most people call this body spirit.  This is the linga sharira. 

Astral Plane: It is like a dream, but more real.  Most people call it the spirit world.
Mental Body: It a subtle body.  More subtle than the astral body.  It corresponds to thoughts.  This is manas.

Mental Plane: A higher version of the spirit world.   
Root Races: There are seven of these.  Each of them have 7 sub races.  These 7 sub-races are composed of different tribes.

1: This root race was etheric.  They didn't have gender.  They lived never the north pole.  They reproduce by replicating.  They lacked intellect.

2: This root race lived in a place called Hyperborean.  It was Northern parts of the world.  The weather was tropical, because the earth haven't tilt yet.  They reproduced by budding and they mixed with the first root race.

3: Lemurians were the 3rd root race and they lived @ the time of the dinosaurs!!!  Lemuria was a continent in the Pacific Ocean.  They much taller than modern day humanity.  The first 3 sub-races reproduced by laying eggs.  The other sub-races had sexual reproduction.  Africans, Australians, and Dravidians are descendants of Lemurians.         

4: Atlanteans were the 4 root race.  They were the descendants of Africans.  The 7 sub-races of the Atlanteans: Rmoahal, Cro-Magnons, Toltec, Turanian, Semites, Akkadians, Mongolians.  Asians, Turks, Malayans, and Native Americans are there descendants.   They were very technological and the first people to have organized warfare.  The Toltecs and Turanians practiced black magick, which called Atlantis to sink.  Because of that the Atlanteans spreaded to different parts of the world.

5: Aryans are the fifth root race.  The Kabyle people look the most like Aryans.  They left Atlantis over 70,000 years ago!  Caucasians are Aryans.  The 6th sub-race will be born in the Western United States.

6: This root race will come into being 700 years from now.  There will be a one world government and nuclear power.  They will move to a continent in the Pacific Ocean.   

7: They will come out of the Pacific Ocean.               
Mahatmas: These are people who died in the past that have great wisdom.  They live in the spirit world now and channel messages to people.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Theosophists believed he was the world teacher.  He later rejected that and became a speaker, writer, and philosopher.  The truth is independent of of any organizations.  He said truth is a pathless land.    Sum of the ideas in his philosophy was similar to ideas in physics.  He talked about consciousness, meditation, evolution, relationships, technology, etc.  Cancer killed him when he was 90 in 1986. 
Famous Followers
William Butler Yeats: He was a Irish poet.  After he got kicked out the Theosophical Society he joined the Golden Dawn.

Lewis Carroll: He wrote Alice in Wonderland.

Thomas Edison: U.S. inventor.  Famous 4 creating the light bulb.  Lewis Latimer made the filament that powers the light bulb. 

Rupert Sheldrake: He was a scientist that came up morphogenetic fields.

Rukmini Devi Arundale: Indian artist, dancer, and musician.  

Elvis Presley: U.S. copycat rockstar.  He got his sounds and moves from black men, but he is known as the king of rock and roll.  Most of his songs were covers.  He more famous 4 singing someone else's  songs, than the first people to sing them.     

Impact on Europe
They introduced Hinduism and Buddhism to Europe.  Prior to the Theosophists most Europeans didn't know about karma and reincarnation.  The idea of ascended master comes from mahatma.  The New Age Movement is a recreation of theosophy and alien contact.
Conclusion
Theosophy was created in the 1800's.  There was 16 founders, but 3 stick out.  It is mixture of Asian religions and philosophies.  This religions have a lot of beliefs.  Jiddu was a important figure in Theosophy and great philosopher.  There was many famous Theosophists and it had a big impact on Europeans.  Besides its racist undertones I like Theosophy.     
References
https://theosophy.nz/news-resources/the-power-of-worldview-by-dorothy-bell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Helena-Blavatsky
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Steel-Olcott
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy
https://theosophy.wiki/en/William_Quan_Judge
https://blavatskytheosophy.com/a-right-understanding-of-karma/
https://blavatskytheosophy.com/a-right-understanding-of-reincarnation/
https://jkrishnamurti.org
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/influence-theosophy.html
https://www.biography.com/inventor/lewis-howard-latimer

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Early Christianity

Introduction
The first Christians were Hebrews.  Several councils that changed the shape of the Christian world. Diversity was heavy early on, like today.   There was Christians that believed Jesus had one nature.  Another category Christians believed he had 2 natures.  These 2 groups battled each other.  There were 5 major cities of Christianity.   
Prominent Early Christians
James the Just: He was Jesus oldest brother.  He was the 2nd leader of the 1st Christian Church in Jerusalem and followed Jewish laws.  Paul and James came to an agreement about which Jewish law gentiles didn't have to fellow.  It was decided gentile men didn't have to be circumcised.  He was put to death in 62 CE, because Sanhedrin had stoned.  They didn't like Christianity; that why they had Jesus killed.  Paul became the leader of Christianity.  Many gentile churches were founded by him.         
St. Peter: 1st leader of the Christian Church in Jerusalem.  He founded the church in Antioch.  He encouraged Jews and gentiles to eat together.  Catholics see him as the founder of their church.  Nero blamed Christians 4 the fire in Rome, so he had Peter crucified.  He told them to crucify him upside down.  Nero caused the fire.         
Paul:  His real name was Saul, but gentiles called him Paul.  He murdered Christians until he converted, because he was a Pharisee.  A laser beam hit him in the eye and he went blind for 3 days.  After that he became a Christian.  He spreaded Christianity to gentiles.  What he said was in direct opposition to what Jesus said.  Something to think about.  A lot of the New testament was written by him.  Nero had him beheaded.
Cerinthus: He was a Gnostic Christian.  A lot of church fathers didn't agree with is views.  He believed the holy spirit came to Jesus when he got baptised and left him when he was crucified.  He saw Jesus as completely human, like the first Christians.  Jesus was a child of Mary and Joseph.   He saw Yahweh as the demiurge:(created the physical universe).  It wasn't evil.  Jewish law was very important to him.  He wanted gentile men circumcised.  Cerinthus was probably an Egyptian.       
Marcion: He was something like a pastor.  He believed Yahweh was evil and Jesus was son of the supreme god.  He also Yahweh is the demiurge and Jesus was a spirit never incarnating on earth.  He was the first person to create the New Testament.   

Basilides: He was a Gnostic Christian teacher in Alexandria, Egypt.  Yahweh was a evil demiurge.  Knowledge saves us, not faith.  Hell does not exist.  His disciples had to be silent 4 five years.     

Origen: He was a Christian leader and wrote over 2,000 books!!!  The Romans threw his father in jail 4 being a Christian.  He was going to turn himself in, but his mom stopped him.  He may have got himself castrated.  The jury out on that.  He became a philosopher and created his own school.  He Socratic reasoning, cosmology, natural history, and theology.  Jesus died so human souls can be free of sin and go to heaven.  We all have free will.  Biblical scriptures are divinely inspired.  The Christian god is a trinity.  The Father is greater than the Son.  The Son is greater that the holy spirit.  He made Christianity intellectual.  Prior to him it was a savage beast.       

Helena:  She was Constantine's mom.  2 churches were built because of her.   She made a pilgrimage to Palestine to relics of Jesus.  There was a Venus temple built on top of the tomb of Jesus.  Helena had it torn down.  She found Jesus tunic, rope, parts of the cross, and nails.  She is now a saint.   
                                         
St. Augustine: He was born Numidia, later he became a Christian.  Humans are combination of body and soul.   He was against abortion and he was sure if a fetus has a soul.  Yahweh/El created all things @ once, not in 6 days.  'The fate of our souls are determined @ death.'  Purgatory burn out the impurities of the unrighteous faithful.  He believed Mary was a perpetual virgin, but we know that's not true.  Joseph had sex with her often, because he was her husband.  He knew the bible was metaphorical.  Freewill and destiny exist side by side.  He was against slavery; Jews will become Christians @ the end of time.  Lust is a sin a because it lacks love, unless you're married.  He wrote over a 100 books!!!  He was a great genius that got mixed up in the wrong religion.         
Cyril: He was the Patriarch of Alexandria.  He knocked of Nestorius crown.  Jews and a sect of Christians were kicked out of Alexandria because of him.  Hypatia was killed by a mob of Christians led by Cyril.  Mary is the Mother of God!  Not really, but that's what he thought.  Jesus existed as the Word of God b4 he incarnated.  Greeks called the world the logos.  He wrote about 20 books and he's a saint.         
John Chrysostom: He was the archbishop of Constantinople.  He didn't want Christians  to practice Jewish rituals nor celebrate Jewish holidays.  He was homophobic, he thought it was the worst sin.  "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind.  It is an abomination."  Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because of homosexuality.  Something to think about!!!!           
First 7 Ecumenical Councils (debates on trinity than nature)
Nicean(2 councils): @ the first council it was decided Jesus is divine.  They determined the trinity is real and the Son and Father are equal.  Arius was denounced because he saw the Father as greater than the Son.  @ the 2nd council they decided icons should be venerated but not worshipped.  This was the last ecumenical council.  Alexandria and Jerusalem had the most authority @ this time.         

Constantinople(3 councils): The first council went ain't several forms of Christianity.  Different rules were created 4 clergy.  They decided the Holy Spirit is equal to the Father and Son.  Constantinople became more important than Rome.  Not much known about the second council.  @ the 3rd council it was decided Jesus human nature is a slave to his divine nature.     

Ephesus: Nestorius became a heretic @ this council.  Anyone that didn't accept the decrees were excommunicated.  Christians from different sects battled each other.  It was a battle royale.   

Chalcedon: 30 rules was created @ this council.  Most of these rules were 4 clergy.  The rules from previous councils still applied.  The bishop of Constantinople became has powerful as Pope. 
Types of Christians
Original Christianity: They are known as Ebionites and/or Nazarenes.  Nazarenes were a Jewish cult similar to the Essenes, but they could marry.  Jesus may have been a member of this cult.  Ebionites were Jews who believed Jesus was the messiah.  They still followed Jewish laws.  They didn't believe in the virgin birth and the trinity.  Those are gentile beliefs.         
Gnosticism: This was a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Greek Philosophy, etc.  It was created in Alexandria.  Some Gnostic sects saw Jesus as good and Yahweh as evil.  This group was very diverse.  Sum of them saw the physical universe as evil and the spiritual universe as good.  They believed Yahweh created the physical universe because he was unconscious of the spiritual universe.  His mother Sophia (goddess of wisdom) gave birth to him when she was confused about the all Father.  Because of this he is cut off from the true reality, so he created a false one: phenomenal universe.  There are other sects of Gnosticism that had other beliefs.   
Manichaeism: This religion was created by Mani.  He mixed Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity.  There was 3 types of Jesus in this religion.  He was the reincarnation of various religious figures.  They are as followed: Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus.  Knowledge is salvation.  Augustine was into this religion b4 he became a Christian.  It seems like he converted because he was afraid.  Theodosius made Manichaeism illegal right b4 Augustine converted.  This religion died out because Roman, Arab, and Chinese people persecuted it.           
Arianism: This form of Christianity was created by Arius.  He believed Jesus was inferior to the Father.  He didn't believe in the trinity.  There were different forms of Arianism.  Germanic tribes embraced this form of Christianity.  Mormons and Jehovah Witness have Arian views.   
Nestorianism: Nestorius created this form of Christianity.  He didn't want Mary to called the mother of god, because Mary was a human.  She should be called the Christ bearer.  Humans can't give birth to gods.  Jesus represents the Logos.
There were many other groups but this will suffice.  The various christian groups broke up into 2 camps.  The ones who believed Jesus had one (monophysite) nature and those who believed he had 2 (dynophysite).  They battled each other.

Jesus Wars (mention the book)
There is a book with the same name as this section.  It explains in detail the wars between the monophysites and dynophysites.  Monophysites started the wars, but the dynophysites finished it.  They shouldn't have fought each other.  They should have accepted difference in opinion.  The monophysites became the Coptic and Ethiopian churches.  The dynophsites became the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. 
5 Cities of Christendom
Jerusalem: The first church was built there.  The 1st bishop of this church was James the Just, Jesus brother.  Christianity started out as a Messianic Jewish cult.  Than later became its own religion. 
Antioch: The first gentile church was there.  Monophysitism was popular here. 
Alexandria: The the Old Testament was translated into Greek there.  This city ruled over all the Christian cities in Africa.  The Coptic Church was found in Cairo by St. Mark.  Ethiopians and Nubians were members of the Coptic Church. 
Constantinople: This city got a patriarchate in 381 BCE.  The patriarchate was the liaison between bishops and the emperor.  This city later became Istanbul. 
Rome: This is the city of the Pope.  It became uber powerful because all those other cities were taken over by Muslims; and it was the capital of the Roman empire.  There were several priesthood in this city.  They severed different Greco-Roman deities.  I believe those priesthoods became Christian after Christianity became the state religion.  4 example vestal virgins became nuns. 
Conclusion
Christianity has a very colorful history and a lot of misguided souls.  There were many prominent early Christians and councils.  There were a lot of different forms of Christianity.  It came from a melting pot of ideas.  There were 5 major Christian cities.  Christianity is the most popular religion in the world because of European imperialism.  If you are a victim of European imperialism, yo are following a religion that was forced on your ancestors.  That's why I gave it up when I was a freshman in college.
References
http://mainsailministries.org/index.php/q-a-a-god-bible-theology-culture/105-what-is-the-difference-between-dyophysitism-and-miaphysitism.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_early_Christianity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_the_Catholic_ecumenical_councils
Jesus Wars Download
http://www.gospel-mysteries.net/james-the-just.html
https://www.biblica.com/articles/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-apostle-paul/
www.britannica.com
http://www.essene.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_in_early_Christian_theology
http://www.atlantaserbs.com/learnmore/history/Jerusalem-church.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenical_Patriarchate_of_Constantinople#The_Great_Church_of_Christ