Thinking, Behavior, Religion and Church

Thinking and behavior, in the name of religion and church, seem foul sometimes. Instead of avoiding or blaming, a little experiment can be done. Religion and church can be evaluated to determine if they really are the source of thinking and behavior. This effort has to be scientific, minus the human emotionalism quite often attending the subjects of religion or church. The research will also be metaphysical, indicative to the evidence that thought and behavior is infinite, yet never idle.

It is not an arguing point in this experiment to say human beings are connected to, or disconnected from, religion and church. Religion and church are associated with systems of beliefs. Basically, we all do have a system of beliefs. Scientists, clergy, physicians, sports fans, aid-workers, the strange neighbor, and so on do not only believe something, but also act on those beliefs religiously. Admittedly, belief systems are mind boggling. However, confusion diminishes as beliefs are broken down into simple components. A belief of love versus a belief in hate. A belief in principle versus a belief in randomness. Although these simple components are almost too simple, simplicity is a valid starting point in research.

Love and Principle is the source of constructive, practical, healing, compassionate ideas and thus action. Religion or church did not invent or initiate Love, Principle. Although, religion and church can be tools by which enlightened understanding and behavior are brought to our attention; research reveals that systems of beliefs have no innate lasting power to create, authorize, or discredit, the thoughts and behavior of people. Ironically, belief systems that lack this knowledge will think human philosophies, agendas, and rituals, empower thinking and behavior. However, unnumbered people have acted on a particular belief for years until one day they realized the belief was bogus, easily changed by newly presented facts or by simply taking a stand for a better thought.

Thinking, Behavior, Religion and Church

Believing in an ultimate love and principle is better than believing in an unbeatable hate and chaos. A love belief contributes to the positive nature of thinking and action, contributes to our humaneness. But love without principle, flusters. Principle has order and includes an understanding of what love really is; a love that disallows suffocation or hurt feelings. Because religion and church are not the source of thought and behavior, they cannot be the source of humanities advancement. Also, they cannot be a source of foul play. Therefore, it would be backward either to love or hate religion and church. It is better to love Love and hate hate.

If human beings believe religion or church originates (or crushes) advancement they acquiesce to rote thoughts, creating unapproachable or callous behavior worthless to the well-being of people and our world. Effort put into comprehending Love, Principle, is necessary. Because to just believe what first pops into our heads concerning the truth of these topics, is not productive. Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, "To seek Truth through belief in a human doctrine is not to understand the infinite." The infinite nature of Love, Principle, precludes the beliefs that advancement and inspired behavior can only come from a select group of people or at a particular time in human history. Someone, somewhere, now, is receiving a better concept of love and principle and applying it in their daily life. It is our right and responsibility to be aware of, and implement into every avenue of life, progressive ideas. If a small business owner in New Zealand decides to renovate her merchandise, making it more functional for the customers, we too can keep in mind how to better serve others.

It is essential to make sure we are not our own worst enemy to progressive beliefs. Decisions and choices are too often mechanically made based on our very limited mortal imprints and expectations. Meditation can help us disconnect from finite, even stubbornly ingrained beliefs. Prayer can allow us to reconnect with loving principled beliefs that yield to understanding. For example, years ago I believed any advancement in religion or church had to come from a religious or churchy person. But, just as genes mutate, my belief changed-improved. I discovered people who never went to church who were healing, who were serene, logical, powerful examples of the religion of Love. Conclusively, progress in healing and comfort exists. Perpetual advancement is not confined to a mortal or to the discoveries of mortals even if they call the discovery a religion or church.

I am not you, and you are not me. Religion is not church, and church is not religion. No one church has a monopoly on truth and no religion can be limited to a particular church. Understanding unites you and me, unites religion and church, but at no point does a church become religion or vice versa. Even if a religion and church seem to be born at the same time-like twins-they still are not one and the same. The true identities of religion and church can't be distorted, discredited, or credited falsely, no matter how screwed up human belief systems and behavior can look. The object is to understand the Identities of Love, Principle, not so much the individualities of religion or church.

The individuality and unity of religion and church need to be viewed spiritually, with honesty and open-mindedness. If a belief system exaggeratedly magnifies the individuality of a religion or church, without appreciating the goodness of others, division is inevitable. Be aware though, if a belief system intensely strives to connect human beings, people mistakenly will assume that unity is to unify, to amalgamate into one and the same. Not possible. The Infinite is infinite uniqueness. Religions, churches, and human beings do not integrate into a similar, delineated body. Infinite identity requires endless unique individualities.

Religion and church are not the source of thought and behavior. They are thought and behavior. As effort is made to understand the thought and behavior of Love, Principle, instead of hate and uncertainty, religion and church can be seen as not something to avoid or blame but as something to include in our ever advancing world. Every effort made on the side of Love, Principle, will naturally diminish the tendency to repeat idle, self-destructive belief systems. With an infinite, beliefs constantly improve and progress can be understood and experienced by us and our world.

Thinking, Behavior, Religion and Church
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Cheryl Petersen advocates spiritual thought before action. Her website http://www.HealingScienceToday.com offers "21st Century Science and Health," an eBook that explains a practical metaphysical approach to everyday human situations.

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Bible Facts - What Does the Bible Really Say About the "Three Wise Men"?

At this time of year, many of us see nativity scenes every time we leave the house. These usually feature three Wise Men looking at the newborn baby Jesus or handing him little gifts. You'd be hard put to find someone who doesn't think that three Wise Men actually visited the newborn baby Jesus.

Does the Bible say three Wise Men gave gifts to a newborn baby Jesus? No! You won't find this in the King James Version, the NIV, The Message, you won't find this in any Bible version!

What does the Bible say? The Bible says that after Jesus was born, Wise Men (okay, this is not their ", but that's another article! I'll call them that here or this article will end up too long!) traveled hundreds of miles to Jerusalem to look for the one who would be called the "King of the Jews". When Herod heard this, he got quite upset because the Senate had appointed him Ruler of the Jews some time earlier and he was a ruthless guy known for murdering his competition. He called a meeting of the chief priests and Bible scholars to ask if they knew anything about this. They told him that the one who would be called "King of the Jews" would be born in Bethlehem.

Bible Facts - What Does the Bible Really Say About the "Three Wise Men"?

Herod then called the Wise Men to a secret meeting, and told them to look for this child in Bethlehem and report his whereabouts to him. He pretended his intention was to go there to worship him, but they didn't fall for that! Anyway, they headed off to Bethlehem and found Jesus in a house, as we are told in Matthew 2:11. Now instead of heading back to Herod, they took off in the other direction back to their own country.

Matthew 2:16-17 says that when Herod realized that the Wise Men had made a fool of him, he got extremely angry. He ordered the death of all the male children up to the age of two years old in Bethlehem and the whole area around it. Verse 17 says that he'd figured out the age from the information supplied by the Wise Men. So any Bible version you pick up will say the same thing - there were no Wise Men present when Jesus was baby, not a single one! They found Jesus as a child close to the age of 2 and living in a house. Remember that after Jesus was born, the Wise Men traveled many hundreds of miles from Persia to Jerusalem to look for him. It took them a while to get there - remember, they couldn't catch a plane!

Now, the Bible doesn't mention the number of these "Wise Men". No doubt the number "three" came into popular belief because they were three different types of gifts - and notice there were not three gifts, just different types of gifts!

History tells us that "Wise Men" were very wealthy, multi-millionaires in today's terms, and traveled with cavalry for protection for themselves and all their luxurious stores. Persians were known in those times for their over-the-top luxury. When they found Jesus, it is highly unlikely that they handed him little gifts the size of a shoe box, as those nativity scenes suggest. More likely it took several people to unload all the treasure from the camels! Gold, frankincense and myrrh were very expensive gifts, this is all well documented historically.

Bible Facts - What Does the Bible Really Say About the "Three Wise Men"?
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Dr. Ann Nyland is an ancient Greek language scholar and lexicographer known as the translator of The Source New Testament available at [http://www.smithandstirling.com] Her research field is word meaning from New Testament times.

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Great African Civilizations

There have been many misconceptions about the lives of Africans before the advent of European and American colonization. According to some historians, Africans were nothing more than savages whose only contributions to the world were farming and slaves. This is not true. The history of ancient Africa is just as interesting, complex, and sophisticated as any other ancient civilization, yet almost without exception; it is only Egypt that receives any consideration at all when writing history. Because of this mentality, European and American historians have long espoused that Africa and its inhabitants had no culture or history of their own, except what was given to them by outside factors.

However, long before the colonization of Europeans, Africans built kingdoms and monuments that rivaled any European monarchy. Nevertheless, because of racial prejudice, much of Black African history has been distorted and ignored to give justification to the enslavement of millions for financial profit. This paper will be discussing the ancient African kingdoms of Meroë, Ghana, and the Swahili and their rich contributions to the pages of history.

The kingdom of Meroë started around 1000 BC when Nubian rulers built up a politically independent state known to the Egyptians as Kush. Eventually, the rulers of Kush would move to Nubia and establish the kingdom of Meroë (Davis & Gates, p. 30). These rulers established their capital at Meroë around 300 B.C., and the kingdom lasted there for more than nine centuries.
However, some historians feel that because Meroitic culture imitated the Egyptian culture so closely, the Meroitës brought no culture of their own to the pages of history. This is not true According to archaeological evidence discovered in North Sudan that is over 2,500 years old, there was an old civilization along the Nile River at lower and Upper Nubia (modern day Sudan) that was older than the civilizations in the North (Egypt). Also, there is evidence that proves that the known Old Egyptian Civilization was an advanced stage of an even older civilization located in the Sudan (Davis & Gates, p. 35).

Great African Civilizations

This evidence proves that Meroë had a culture and history that was even older than of the Egyptians. If anything, Egypt was a carbon copy of Meroë. This kingdom also had its own language. Most historians however, attributed their language and alphabet system to the Egyptians. It was a common belief that ancient Black Africans could not and did not develop a written language. However, inscriptions in a distinct indigenous alphabet appear in Meroë as early as the 2nd century B.C, proving that these assumptions are not true (Davis & Gates, p. 110).
This written Meroitic language was used into the 5th century, when Old Nubian eventually replaced it. Widespread use of Meroitic on monuments indicates that a significant percentage of the population was able to read it. However, the meanings of these inscriptions remain unknown, as this hieroglyphic-derived script is as yet untranslatable.

Another little know fact about the Meroitës is that they had a unusually high number of
queens who ruled without male intervention. One queen, Queen Amanirenus led her army against a Roman invasion in 24 BC. She won the first battle, and despite losing a second battle, the Romans had enough, agreed to a truce and went back to Rome. Rome never did conquer Meroë, and this kingdom continued to thrive for another 200 years. Actually "queendom" would be more accurate, since the leader of Meroë was usually a warrior queen, called a "kandake" which means "queen mother" or more simply "gore"meaning "ruler"(Fairservis. p.60).

In terms of economics, Meroë was famed for its massive iron production, the first large-scale industry of its kind in the Nile Valley and had extensive trade with Greece and Rome. Because of the production of iron, the armies had better weapons to use during battle and the farmers had better axes and hoes to work their lands. Meroitë traders exported ivory, leopard skins, ostrich feathers, ebony, and gold and soon gained direct access to the expanding trade of the Red Sea (Shillington, p. 40).

The kingdom of Meroë eventually went into decline. Causes for the decline of the Meroitic Kingdom are still largely unknown. The Meroitic kingdom faced formidable competition because of the expansion of Axum, a powerful Abyssinian state in modern Ethiopia to the east. About A.D. 350, an Axumite army captured and destroyed Meroe city, ending the kingdom's independent existence.
The West African Empire of Ghana is another kingdom whose history was downplayed and attributed to outside factors. Although the Berbers originally founded Ghana in the fifth century, it was built on the southern edge of Berber populations. In time, the land became dominated by the Soninke, a Mande speaking people who lived in the region bordering the Sahara (McKissack & McKissack, p. 112). They built their capital city, Kumbi Saleh, right on the edge of the Sahara and the city quickly became the center of the Trans-Saharan trade routes.

Ghana accumulated great wealth because of the Trans-Saharan trade routes. This wealth made it possible for Ghana to conquer local chieftaincies and demand tribute from these subordinate states. This tribute, however, paled next to the wealth generated by the commerce of goods that passed from western Africa east to Egypt and the Middle East. This trade primarily involved gold, salt, and copper (Koslow, p. 70).

A hereditary king called the Ghana ruled Ghana. The kingship was matrilineal (as were all Sahelian monarchies to follow); the king's sister provided the heir to the throne (McKissack & McKissack, p. 115). In addition to military power, the king appears to have been the supreme judge of the kingdom.

Although northern African had been dominated by the religion of Islam since the eighth century, the kingdom of Ghana never converted (McKissack & McKissack, p. 120). The Ghanaian court, however, allowed Muslims to settle in the cities and even encouraged Muslim specialists to help the royal court administer the government and advice on legal matters.

The original founders of Ghana ultimately proved to be its demise. Unlike the Ghanaians, the Berbers, now calling themselves Almoravids, fervently converted to Islam and in 1075, declared a holy war, or jihad, against the kingdom of Ghana. Little is known about what exactly happened but nonetheless, Ghana ceased to be a commercial or military power after 1100. The Almoravid revolution ultimately ended the reign of Ghana.

Europeans and Arabs alike have portrayed the history of the Swahili kingdom as one of Muslim-Arab domination, with the African people and its rulers playing a passive role in the process. However, recent archaeological evidence found shows that the Swahili people are descendants of the Bantu speaking people who settled along the East African coast in the first millennium (Horton & Middleton, p. 70). Although both Arabians and Persians intermarried with the Swahili, neither of these cultures had anything to do with the establishment of Swahili civilization. These cultures became absorbed into an already flourishing African civilization founded by ancient Bantu Africans.

The eastern coast of Africa changed profoundly around the close of the first millennium AD. During this time, Bantu-speaking Africans from the interior migrated and settled along the coast from Kenya to South Africa. Next, merchants and traders from the Muslim world realized the strategic importance of the east coast of Africa for commercial traffic and began to settle there (Horton & Middleton, p. 72). Marriage between the Bantu women and men of the Middle East created and cemented a rich Swahili culture, fusing religion, agricultural architecture, textiles, food, as well as purchasing power. From 900 A.D., the east coast of Africa saw an influx of Shirazi Arabs from the Persian Gulf and even small settlements of Indians. The Arabs called this region al-Zanj, "The Blacks," and the coastal areas slowly came under the control of Muslim merchants from Arabia and Persia (Horton & Middleton, p. 75). By the 1300's, the major east African ports from Mombaza in the north to Sofala in the south had become thoroughly Islamic cities and cultural centers.

The language that grew out of this civilization is one of the most common and widespread of the lingua franca: a lingua franca is a secondary language that is a combination of two or more languages. Swahili or Kiswahili comes from the Arabic word sawahil, which means, "coast." Swahili belongs to the Sabaki subgroup of the Northeastern coast Bantu languages. It is closely related to the Miji Kenda group of languages, Pokomo and Ngazija (Horton & Middleton, p.110). Over at least a thousand years of intense and varied interaction with the Middle East has given Swahili a rich infusion of loanwords from a wide assortment of languages. Even with the substantial number of Arabic loanwords present in Swahili, the language is in fact, Bantu.

The Swahili civilization expanded southwards until they reached Kilwa in Zanzibar (from the Arabic word al-Zan). Later, its inhabitants carved out a small territory even further south around Sofala in Zimbabwe (Horton & Middleton, p. 140). While the northern cities remained localized and had little influence on African culture inland from the coast, the Sofalans actively went inland and spread Islam and Islamic culture deep in African territory (Horton & Middleton, p. 150).
The major Swahili city-states were Mogadishu, Barawa, Mombasa (Kenya), Gedi, Pate, Malindi, Zanzibar, Kilwa, and Sofala in the far south (Horton & Middleton, p. 155). Kilwa was the most famous of these city-states and was particularly wealthy because it controlled the southern port of Sofala, which had access to the gold, produced in the interior (near "Great Zimbabwe"), and its location as the farthest point south at which ships from India could hope to sail and return in a single monsoon season.

These city-states were very cosmopolitan for their time and they were all politically independent of one another. In fact, they were more like competitive companies or corporations, each vying for the lion's share of African trade. The chief export was ivory, sandalwood, ebony, and gold. Textiles from India and porcelain from China were also brought by Arab traders (Horton & Middleton, p. 175). While the Arabs and Persians played a role in the growth of the Swahili civilization, the nobility was of African descent and they ran the city-states (Horton & Middleton p.195). However, the nobility were Muslims and it was the Muslims who controlled the wealth. Below the nobility were the commoners and the resident foreigners who made up a large part of the citizenry.

However, Islam itself penetrated very little into the interior among the hunters, pastoralists, and farmers. Even the areas of the coast near the trading towns remained relatively unaffected (Horton & Middleton p.198). In the towns, the mud and thatch houses of the non-Muslim common people surrounded the stone and coral buildings of the Muslim elite, and it seems that most followers of Islam were wealthy, not poor.

Still, a culture developed for the Swahili that fused African and Islamic elements. Family lineage, for example, was traced both through the maternal line, which controlled property, an African practice, and through the paternal line, which was the Muslim tradition. Swahili culture had a strong Islamic influence but retained many of its African origins.

These city-states began to decline in the sixteenth century; the advent of Portuguese trade disrupted the old trade routes and made the Swahili commercial centers obsolete. The Portuguese wanted native Africans to have no share in African trade and busily set about conquering the Islamic city-states along the eastern coast (Horton & Middleton, p.225). In the late seventeenth century, the imam (religious leader) of Oman drove the Portuguese from the coast, and gradually established his authority over the coast.

The existence of these ancient Black African civilizations proves once and for all that Africa had a culture and a history of its own other than Egyptian that endured for centuries before the advent of outside factors. The kingdom of Meroë ruled for centuries before the Egyptians and deserves its rightful place as one of the premier ancient civilizations of the world. The kingdom of Ghana proved that Africans were capable of managing their own affairs without the intervention of Europeans. The Swahili and their language were around for centuries before Arabians and others "discovered" them.

These civilizations had their own culture, language and commerce before the advent of Europeans and Muslims in Africa and for the most part, the world does not know anything about them. That is a major crime against the study of history and hopefully, through more archaeological studies and writings, the rich and interesting history of these magnificent civilizations will be told and treasured for future generations.

Great African Civilizations
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Bibliography Fairservis, Jr., Walter A. The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1962.

Davis, Lynn. Gates, Jr. Henry Louis. Wonders of the African World. New York: Random House Publishing, 1999.

Horton, Mark & Middleton, John. The Swahili: The Social Landscape of a Mercantile Society (Peoples of Africa). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2001.

Koslow, Philip. Centuries of Greatness - The West African Kingdoms: 750-1900. London: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995.

McKissack, Patricia & Fredrick Mckissack. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay - Life in Medieval Africa. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1994.

Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa. Oxford: Macmillan Education, 1995.

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Statistics of Divorce

Divorce has become a common occurrence both in the United States and around the world. According to divorce statistics, it is estimated that between 40 percent and 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce in the United States. In some countries, divorce rates for first marriages exceed 50 percent. Second and third marriages in the United States have even higher divorce rates. According to statistics, second marriages fail at a rate of 60-67 percent, and third marriages fail at a rate of 73-74 percent.

Divorce statistics show that there are number of reasons why marriages fail. According to divorced couples, the number one reason that marriage fails is due to either a lack of communication or poor communication. The second most cited reason for divorce is martial conflicts and arguments. Thirdly, many divorced couples say infidelity led to divorce. While these are the primary reasons cited for divorce, statistics show that there are several underlying factors that contribute to these trends. These factors include, but are not limited to: age, education, income, religion, and cohabitation.

Age

Statistics of Divorce

Statistics show that those who get married in their mid to late-twenties are less likely to get divorced that those who marry at a younger age, and that this age group tends to be more satisfied in marriage than those couple who marry later in life. For divorced couples under the age of 20, the women are more likely to initiate the divorce; whereas for divorced couples over the age of 20, the men are more likely to initiate the divorce.

Education and Income

Education and income both play a role in divorce statistics. Data shows that a married couple with a higher education and a higher income is less likely to divorce than a couple with lower education and lower income.

Religion

While several religious denominations show a slightly lower divorce rate of 21-34 percent, other data suggests that those with no religious affiliation have a lower divorce rate than those with reported religious affiliations. It has also been suggested that pastors of local congregations, for various reasons, may not be aware of how many divorced couples are actually in, or have been part of, their congregations.

Cohabitation

Reports suggest that between 40 percent and 85 percent of couples who lived together before getting married had the marriage end in divorce.

Divorce statistics indicate that about one-fourth of adults in the United States have been divorced at least once in their lifetime. Characteristics of individuals that have a higher probability of divorce include:

o younger age at time of marriage
o lower education
o has children from a previous relationship
o cohabitation prior to marriage
o sexual activity prior to marriage

According to divorce statistics, it does not appear that only one factor contributes to a couple's decision to divorce. Although three primary reasons have been identified by divorced couples as the leading causes of divorce, it seems that underlying factors may contribute to these issues as well.

Statistics of Divorce
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Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about divorce [http://divorceadvicesite.info/divorce-statistics/] visit Divorce Advice Site [http://divorceadvicesite.info/] for current articles and discussions.

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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker - A Review

This is a story, set in the rural American south, family house in a pasture, in which an African-American mother, "Mama Johnson," who grew up in the early part of the past century, struggles to absorb, understand, evaluate and appreciate the ramifications of her strongly bucolic and dirty background in comparison with a daughter (Dee) who had obtained an impressive advanced formal education in Augusta in Georgia and migrated to work in an urban environment. Mama, in several ways, views her other daughter, Maggie, who is in the comparison the less fortunate one. Her ungenerous appearance partly stems from a house fire that left her with severe burns from which conspicuous scars remain. In Mama's words: "Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks. She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground. Dee is lighter-skinned than Maggie, has nicer hair and a fuller figure."

The story begins with Mama and Maggie awaiting the visit of Dee. Despite Dee's being a direct blood relative, the two went to great lengths, the previous afternoon to make the yard, "so clean and wavy." This is a moving short story that illustrates the conflicts between formal education, rural tradition, urban modernism, culture, individualism, egocentrism, community, cooperation, family relationships, aesthetic appearances, capitalism, morality, abandonment, transformation, opportunism, intimidation, oppression, and emancipation. The story illustrates a common American scene, more so in the African-American context.

It was realized early in life that Dee was the significantly brilliant and ambitious one of the two daughters, she longed for the modern advanced setting; in Mama's words, "She use to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know." She was outspoken and unabashed, loved to dress well and display her beauty, "Dee wanted nice things." Mama, a woman whose formal school education was shut down in 1927 right after she had achieved a second grade education, apparently embraces her daughter's brilliance and ambitiousness by raising money, with the help of their church to send her to school in Augusta. Mama and Maggie, must have, on one hand, been eager to see Dee leave the home habitation, at least for sometime. The aura in the story, of her boldness, ambitiousness, and zeal for sophistication and achievement making people uneasy while struck with awe, is very powerful. Dee was a young lady of beauty and sophisticated language; Mama tells Maggie that she knows of some childhood friends that Dee had. To Mama, such friends were mostly mysterious, grim-faced, and they often seemed to be in a Dee-induced trance...astounded by her knowledge, bombastic articulation, and beauty. Mama says, "She [Dee] had a few [friends]....Furtive boys... Nervous girls who never laughed. Impressed with her they worshipped the well-turned phrase, the cute shape, the scalding humor that erupted like bubbles in lye." The author, Alice, Walker does not mention the father or fathers of Dee and Maggie, although she is strong on mentioning her, "rough man-working hands." It is hence safe to presume that Mama is a single mother. Walker would also lead us to wonder about the relationship between the two sisters. Mama, in the piece of writing, concentrates on these two so much that it is likely that these were her only children. Dee apparently has a certain level of fondness for her less fortunate sister, but that seems to be overshadowed by her superiority complex, by her looking down upon Maggie because Maggie does not measure up to her aesthetic and intellectual attributes as well as world view. Dee is quite outward looking and ambitious.

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker - A Review

Maggie is quite the opposite...burned, bruised, poor sighted, ungainly in appearance, abashed to the extent of often hiding in corners and wanting to bury her head in the sand. At some point in the text, Mama says of Maggie, "...she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toe," giving us the impression that she sometimes wished that the world would swallow her. The fire that burned and handicapped Maggie, undoubtedly contributed to her stultified development and reservedness. But it is not clear whether the bullying attitude of her older sister Dee also contributed to this. We must remember that Dee did read to her sister and mother, indicative of her desire for these blood relatives to become of higher social level and esteem. Mama talks of Maggie, "Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good-naturedly but can't see well. She knows she is not bright." The author also makes us curious about the house fire that scarred Maggie. Mama emphasizes that Dee hated the house and seemed to rejoice in it's burning down. This would raise suspicion that Dee had something to do with the fire. But hardly anything about how the fire was started is mentioned.

As Mama and Maggie await Dee's arrival, Mama imagines what it would be like for her to be introduced alongside an imagined celebrity Dee in a Johnny Carson-like high audience show, a situation in which she would get to travel in a luxurious limousine. She knows it is mostly a dream, and she knows that there is some pretentiousness and vanity in such shows, much of it scripted. Mama opines that in the TV spotlight, it is people of such attributes as slender build ("hundred pounds lighter" than she is) and fair-skin ("like an uncooked barley pancake") that are preferred. She displays unappreciation for staring straight into a ("white") stranger's eyes, and she was raised to be wary of whites. She marvels that Dee can look anyone in the eye, without hesitation. It is indeed a new generation of blacks, and more are coming. Mama knows that TV leaves out a lot of reality. She is a good example of reality, and she is proud of her bucolic strength: "In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands....I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man." Unlike this era, such comparisons between masculine and feminine strength seem to have been quite common.

The visit, by Dee, to such close blood relatives that she had not seen for years, is notably short. Mama and an intimidated Maggie are astounded by the glamorous, brilliant, luxurious attire and jewelry on Dee. They are also awe-struck by the appearance of her, "short, stocky," companion from the other side of the car. Dee starts by uttering, "Wa-su-zo.Tean-o." Although, nothing further is mentioned about those words, some, with some knowledge of African languages would know that it stands for, "Wasuze otya nno?," 'How was your night,' in the Luganda east African language. The man starts with the Arabic-Islam greeting, "Asalamalakim," which Mama, at first, thinks is his name. Dee says she is no longer Dee, but now goes by the African names, "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo." No explanation of these African names is offered, aside from Dee's dubious mentioning that they attach her to her indigenous African heritage, and displace names given to her by "oppressors," this in reference to her legacy of slavery. Walker does not tell us that Leewanika is probably a misspelling of the name of southern African King Lewanika who collaborated with the British. Neither does Walker elaborate further on the other names. "Ngero," in Luganda, means "stories" or "tales," "Wangero" meaning, "the one associated with stories/ tales." Kemanjo is probably a misspelling of some African name, or it is not a common African name. Mama gets to learn that "Asalamalakim" is Hakim-a-barber, probably a mishearing of the Arabic Islam names, "Hakim Akbar." All this is quite representative of the movements toward Africanism and black power in the 1960's and 1970's. Many of the quite formally educated, started adopting African and Islamic names, many times they did not know the meaning or histories of these names, and many became misspelled. It was an attempt at Africanization of identity, and embracing of Islam as an alternative religion to Christianity which was often perceived as the religion of oppressors. Indeed, many slavers and their ancestors have been Churchgoers. The paradox here is that the Dees and Hakims of this world are disdainful of their black-African heritage that is closest to them. Compared to the African culture of the Deep South, adopting African names is only a token of African culture. This ambivalence is becomes even more profound as Dee attempts to plunder his family of valuable crafts, such as quilts (put together over ancestral generations) and a churn handed down from previous ancestors. Dee likely wants to keep these valuables, as tokens of her heritage, as souvenirs, displayed in her home. Dee even belittles Maggie who owns some of them, saying she was only capable of putting them to, "Everyday use," and laughingly saying that, "Maggie's brain is like an elephant's" (also meaning that she has a good memory). Both Mama's and Maggie get disturbed and angered by Dee's demeanor of disrespect, insulting, selfishness, and aggression. Maggie still wants to give in to Dee, over the quilts that she really wants. An animated Mama, strongly declines and throws the quilts into Maggie's lap. Dee and Akbar leave shortly, soon after Dee implying to Mama that she did not understand the value of heritage and that Maggie should elevate herself out of the southern black rural environment. It is in this last incident that Mama gets to appreciate the strength and value of her younger daughter as against the seemingly foreign brash mannerisms of her older sister.

This story is quite representative of African-American social dynamics and dilemma. Of those who look down upon their past, as well as their less fortunate peers, while looking for fame and fortune in the capitalist world that involves aggressiveness, opportunism, and acquisition of wealth. The rural South is slow, family is important, with traditionalists finding it hard to cope with the extremes of urbanism. Many who leave traditional black culture are ashamed of it, but they still try to hold on to it by keeping cultural artifacts, antiques and souvenirs. Dee delights in seeing their house burn down, yet she comes back to retrieve articles that well could have burned in the same place. She comes to visit with a weird looking man whom she little talks about. But Mama knows exactly the man that Dee will marry. Family, and culture is strong in the rural south; Individualism and ambiguity are strong amongst the black educated elite, who in this piece are shifting to the culture of "oppressors," though they quite deny that they are doing so. It is a story on black identity crisis, and the place of black culture and values.

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker - A Review
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Spiritual Meaning of Numbers - Numbers in the Bible

References to numbers in the Bible begin almost immediately in the Book of Genesis in passages that tell the story of the seven days of Creation. Thus, numbers play an integral role in spiritual writing. The Spiritual meaning of numbers in reference to time, for example, may be literal or symbolism. For instance, God, a supernatural spirit, all-powerful, created the universe in seven days. Or, perhaps, seven days was merely a symbol to facilitate the weaker human's understanding of time. One day in Creation could have been a symbolic reference to one phase, one millennium or ten thousand years. It's impossible to know for certain how long Supernatural Design actually took place. In faith, we accept that which is beyond our human understanding as applied by God.

The Spiritual meaning of numbers play a very important role in helping the faithful to understand supernatural intent. Most religions of the world use chronological time to set standards for religious traditions, rituals and special feast days. But, religious peoples also accept numbers as spiritual signs. The 10 Commandments in the Old Testament stand out as a singular code of behavior for basic human behavior as well as human rights. Numbers in the New Testament play an extremely important role for many Christians who calculate the days of Advent and Lent, the numbers of hours of the Crucifixion and the number of days before Resurrection and Ascension occurred. Catholics, for example, pray a 5-decade rosary and pray before 14 Stations of the Cross.

The Bible, a Testament to the Inspired Word of God, includes numbered passages as well as numbered chapters. In the Old Testament, a closer review of Deuteronomy Verses 1-4, tells of the Israelites, punished by God, wandering 40 years in the desert for refusing to enter the Promised Land. With respectful deference to God's choice of 40 years, the faithful may wonder: "Why 40 years? Why not 5 years or 10 years?". Perhaps, the answer lies in the life span of humans of the day. 40 years was considered a full generation. A full generation, perhaps, to recompense lack of obedience to God. Only a supernatural spiritual being, all-knowing and all-powerful really knows the answer. The spiritual meaning of the number "40" becomes clearer.

Spiritual Meaning of Numbers - Numbers in the Bible

The New Testament, the Book of Revelation in which is described the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, various visions of the Book's author, John, of Armageddon and Second Coming of the Messiah. It's a Book of 7 cycles of events wherein the number "7" appears often, as well as the frequently misinterpreted number "666". Religious scholars believe the number "666" actually was a numerical reference to Emperor Nero, whose name in Hebrew equals 666. Numbers in the Book of Revelation have been interpreted to calculate the precise year of Armageddon. The Writing of the Book of Revelation is believed to be the work of John the Apostle while on Patmos.

The spiritual meaning of numbers take on special significance when accepted literally and without misinterpretation.

Spiritual Meaning of Numbers - Numbers in the Bible
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History of the Celtic Druids

The Druids were an ancient order of Celtic priests in the societies of Western Europe, Britain and Ireland. The Celtic Druids served their communities by combining the duties of seer, priest, poet, philosopher, historian, scholar, teacher, doctor, astronomer and astrologer. The Celts had developed a highly sophisticated religious system, with three divisions of men who were held in exceptional honor; the lowest division were called the Ovates, the second division were called the Bards and then the Druids. The ovates were the healers and seers; the bards memorised the songs, poems, and stories of the tribe (historians); while the druids taught moral philosophy and were experts in the workings of natural science.

The Celtic Druids were advisers to the rulers of that time, acted as judges in the event of disputes, supervised executions and even controlled the legal system. They were held in such respect that if they intervened between two armies they could stop the battle. The Druid priests and priestesses acted as mediums through which the spirits could be summoned and heard, with rituals throughout the history of the Celtic Druids being enacted in sacred groves of oak trees and circles of standing stones

The first surviving and fullest account of the druids and their religion is that given by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, book VI, written in Gaul in 59-51 BC. Overall, not much can be said of the druids with assurance as the sources of information about them is limited. However they continued to feature prominently in later sources of Irish myth and literature. Thus, the history of the Celtic Druids presents many obscurities and our main literary sources date back to the 2nd century BC with Pliny and The Commentaries of Caeser.

History of the Celtic Druids

"The principal point of their doctrine", Caesar wrote, "is that the soul does not die and that after death it passes from one body into another."

Caesar continued:

"With regard to their actual course of studies, the main object of all education is, in their opinion, to imbue their scholars with a firm belief in the indestructibility of the human soul, which, according to their belief, merely passes at death from one tenement to another; for by such doctrine alone, they say, which robs death of all its terrors, can the highest form of human courage be developed. Subsidiary to the teachings of this main principle, they hold various lectures and discussions on astronomy, on the extent and geographical distribution of the globe, on the different branches of natural philosophy, and on many problems connected with religion".
-Julius Cesar, "De Bello Gallico", VI, 13

After the first century BC the continental druids disappeared entirely and were referred to only on very rare occasions. However, there is some evidence that the druids of Ireland survived into the mid- to late-seventh century. In the De Mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae of Augustinus Hibernicus, there is mention of local magi who teach a doctrine of reincarnation in the form of birds.

During the first millennium, Celtic and Druid spirituality was preserved by the Christian clerics who performed the valuable service of recording many of the stories and myths by which the oral teachings of the Druids were conveyed. People who think that Druidry was destroyed with the coming of Christianity fail to understand the resilience of spiritual teachings when they are encoded in myths and stories: and it is thanks to the clerics' recording of these tales that we can be inspired by them today. St Patrick also recorded all of the old Druid laws in Ireland - providing us with invaluable information on the ethics and social structure of Celtic Druid culture.

DRUID'S CIRCLES
A Druid's Circle is a popular name for circles of standing stones such as Stonehenge, which is the most famous example. These are also known as the "Temples of the Druids". Great mounds of earth were also built where the practice of seeking rebirth within the Earth was performed (in which initiates would sit in darkness awaiting the time of their rebirth). The best example of this is found at New Grange in Ireland, where a shaft is oriented to the Winter Solstice sunrise, so that the dawn rays can bathe the initiate in sunlight after his or her vigil through the night.

History of the Celtic Druids
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Irish Astrology is about bringing awareness of the Celtic Symbols used in the Druid belief system. They were used as early as the Vedic, Greek, or Roman systems. Click here for more info on Celtic Symbols and here for lovely Free Screensavers

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