Hello, Seychelles! Bonjour, Seychelles !

 

Hello, Seychelles! 10 August, 2026.

 Hello, Seychelles! Welcome to the world-wide group of readers from many countries who also visit this blog.  I hope you find some of the posts useful or meaningful. Tell your friends about this blog. Everyone is welcome.

As of 10 August, there have been 1,356,004 page views of this blog. The current number of posts is 1882. These posts can be searched using the Search This Blog function. An alphabetical list of subjects discussed on this blog is at the extreme bottom of the blog page under Labels and indicates the number of posts about the subject in question. The Translate This Page tool can present the blog in numerous languages.

The Labels section at the bottom of the page is useful in searching for all Saints on the Loose blog posts which mention a particular subject. Numerous subjects are mentioned on this blog. All, in one way or another, are pertinent to the purposes of this blog. Search for any word of interest to you. There are hundreds of labels on various subjects including grace, sanctification, film commentary, food, horror, magic, archaeology, Star Trek, sanctification, blood, Pee-Wee Herman, Spain, blasphemy, Star of Bethlehem, doctrine, humor, distracted driving, ekklesia, and Arianism.

            This blog has been viewed from at least one hundred and fifty-four countries including Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia/Kampuchea, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo - Kinshasa), Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast/Core d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo (Congo - Brazzaville), Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Bonjour, Seychelles ! 10 août 2026.

Bonjour, Seychelles ! Bienvenue au sein de la communauté internationale de lecteurs, issus de nombreux pays, qui consultent également ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez certains articles utiles ou enrichissants. N'hésitez pas à faire connaître ce blog à vos amis. Tout le monde est le bienvenu.

Au 10 août, ce blog a enregistré 1 356 004 pages vues. Il compte actuellement 1 882 articles. Vous pouvez effectuer des recherches parmi ces articles grâce à la fonction « Rechercher sur ce blog ». Une liste alphabétique des sujets abordés figure tout en bas de la page, sous la rubrique « Libellés », et indique le nombre d'articles consacrés à chaque sujet. L'outil « Traduire cette page » permet d'afficher le blog dans de nombreuses langues. Ce blog a été consulté dans au moins cent cinquante-deux pays, dont l'Albanie, l'Algérie, l'Angola, Antigua-et-Barbuda, l'Argentine, l'Arménie, Aruba, l'Australie, l'Autriche, l'Azerbaïdjan, Bahreïn, le Bangladesh, la Biélorussie, la Belgique, le Belize, la Bolivie, la Bosnie-Herzégovine, le Botswana, le Brésil, Brunei Darussalam, la Bulgarie, le Burkina Faso, le Cambodge/Kampuchea, le Canada, le Cap-Vert, les îles Caïmans, le Chili, la Chine, la Colombie, le Costa Rica, la Croatie, Chypre, la Tchéquie, la République démocratique du Congo (Congo - Kinshasa), Danemark, Dominique, République dominicaine, Équateur, Égypte, El Salvador, Estonie, Eswatini, Éthiopie, Finlande, France, Gabon, Géorgie, Allemagne, Ghana, Grèce, Grenade, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hongrie, Islande, Inde, Indonésie, Iran, Irak, Irlande, Israël, Italie, Côte d'Ivoire/Core d'Ivoire, Jamaïque, Japon, Jordanie, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Koweït, Kirghizistan, Laos, Lettonie, Liban, Arabie Saoudite, Lesotho, Libye, Lituanie, Luxembourg, Macao, Macédoine, Madagascar, Malaisie, Mali, Malte, Mexique, Moldavie, Mongolie, Maroc, Myanmar, Namibie, Nauru, Népal, Pays-Bas, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouvelle-Zélande, Nigeria, Norvège, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Pérou, Philippines, Pologne, Portugal, Qatar, République du Congo (Congo - Brazzaville), Réunion, Roumanie, Russie, Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis, Seychelles, Sénégal, Serbie, Singapour, Slovaquie, Slovénie, Sud Afrique, Corée du Sud, Espagne, Sri Lanka, Soudan, Suriname, Suède, Suisse, Taïwan, Tanzanie, Thaïlande, Trinité-et-Tobago, Togo, Tunisie, Turquie, Turkménistan, Ouganda, Ukraine, Émirats arabes unis, Royaume-Uni, États-Unis d'Amérique, Uruguay, Ouzbékistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yémen, Zambie, Zimbabwe.

Bonjour, Congo-Brazzaville !

 Bonjour, Congo-Brazzaville ! Bienvenue parmi nos lecteurs du monde entier, venus de nombreux pays, qui visitent également ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez certains articles utiles et pertinents. Parlez-en à vos amis. Bienvenue à tous.

Ce blog a enregistré 860 216 pages vues depuis mai 2010. Il contient actuellement 1 808 articles. Vous pouvez rechercher ces articles grâce à la fonction « Rechercher dans ce blog ». Une liste alphabétique des sujets abordés sur ce blog se trouve tout en bas de la page, sous « Étiquettes », et indique le nombre d'articles sur le sujet en question. L'outil « Traduire cette page » permet de présenter le blog en plusieurs langues.

La section « Étiquettes » en bas de cette page est utile pour rechercher tous les articles de Saints on the Loose qui abordent un sujet particulier. De nombreux sujets sont abordés sur ce blog. Tous, d'une manière ou d'une autre, sont pertinents pour les objectifs de ce blog. Recherchez le mot qui vous intéresse. Il existe des centaines d'annonces, notamment sur la grâce, la nourriture, Star Trek, la sanctification, PeeWee Herman, l'Espagne, l'étoile de Bethléem, la distraction au volant, l'ekklesia et l'arianisme.

            The Translate tool above can convert this text into Kituba and Lingala.

            This blog has been viewed from at least one hundred and forty-seven countries: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia/Kampuchea, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo - Kinshasa), Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast/Core d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo (Congo - Brazzaville), Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

        Some references say that there are 197 countries on Earth, but many people will say the number is 195, the number of members of the United Nations, plus Vatican City and Palestine, who are not UN members.

 

 

Follow the Finger

 

Apologetics, derived from the Greek word, ἀπολογία, translated in English as "defense," consists of logical arguments and the presentation of provable facts which are intended to explain or justify religious doctrines and is aimed at defusing objections to the faith. This occurs in every religious tradition but, for our purposes, refers to Christian Apologetics.
            

It is difficult to understand how people can ignore or entirely discount some of the facts brought to light by Christian Apologetics, but some always do, sometimes vehemently. Some will insist that apologeticists are misinterpreting facts or taking them out of their proper context. Others outright reject any supernatural interpretations of any facts.

One can easily get bogged down in all the arguments, but I believe that the point of apologetics can be summed up by a line from the Jean-Pierre Jeunet film masterpiece, Amelie: “When the finger’s pointing at the sky, only a fool looks at the finger.” 

            Amelie is a quirky, but beautiful, French-language comedy and is not a Christian film. I, admittedly, am quoting the film totally out of context. The quote is a perfect fit for the point I am making in this post.

The Gospels

              Modern history can basically be described as two types. Geschicte, a German word meaning in English “story.” This is a factual recounting of what happened, giving dates, events, and provable facts.

The other type of history is described by the French word, histoire. This is an attempt to explain the meaning of things which have happened and why the events are important. There have been many different attempts to interpret history from widely varying viewpoints: religion, politics, feminism, LGBTQ interests, economics, military themes, and philosophy, are just a few.

All four of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) contain elements of both types of history to varying degrees. Mark and Luke are more historical while Matthew and John are more interpretive. All four are considered to be historical biographical narratives presented for theological treasons.

Unlike many modern biographies, none of the Gospels attempt to exhaustively tell us everything that Jesus ever did or said. John 20: 30-31 even tells us, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV

The gospels are all written to present their good news using different approaches and emphases. They want to tell us who Jesus was and what he did for us. They are theological documents.

Matthew stresses the Jewishness of Jesus. He shows how Jesus is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah who fulfills the Hebrew scriptures.

Mark shows Jesus in fast, urgent, and determined action. He does what only God can do. He is the Christ, the suffering Son of God.

Mark repeatedly uses the phrase kai εὐθὺς “and immediately.” This phrase carries the idea of “without any delay or hesitation” or even of “suddenly.” Mark stresses the urgency of Jesus’ message to which we should respond immediately.

Luke was a physician and a detailed historian. He had a scientific approach to his writing, seeking out eyewitnesses to the events he related. He wanted to show how Jesus fit into God’s plan for history.

            John is the most overtly theological of the gospels. He presents Jesus as the pre-existent God revealing himself to man. He clearly states the purpose of his book in John 20:31. “ … these are written that you may believe^[a] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV

Salam Türkmenistan!/ Bonjour Togo!/ Hello Turkmenistan and Togo!

Welcome Turkmenistan and Togo to the list of 140 countries which have viewed posts on this blog!

Hello, Burkina Faso!

Bonjour, le Burkina Faso! Bienvenue dans le groupe de lecteurs de cent trente autres pays qui visitent également ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez quelques-uns des messages utiles ou significatives.

Le gadget "Traduire cette page" au dessus de la «Total Pages Vues" Counter a la capacité de traduire le texte anglais de ce blog directement dans de nombreuses autres langues. Malheureusement, le traducteur est incapable de produire des traductions dans Moore, mandingue, bambara.

Cent trente et un pays: Albanie, Algérie, Angola, Antigua-et-Barbuda, Argentine, Arménie, Aruba, Australie, Autriche, Azerbaïdjan, Bahreïn, Bangladesh, Bélarus, Belgique, Belize, Botswana, Brésil, Brunei, Bulgarie, Burkina Faso , Cambodge, Canada, îles Caïmans, Chili, Chine, Colombie, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatie, Chypre, République tchèque, Danemark, République dominicaine, Équateur, Égypte, El Salvador, Estonie, Ethiopie, Finlande, France, Géorgie, Allemagne, Gabon, Ghana, Grèce, Guam, Hong Kong, Hongrie, Islande, Inde, Indonésie, Iran, Iraq, Irlande, Israël, Italie, Côte-d'Ivoire, la Jamaïque, le Japon, la Jordanie, le Cambodge, le Kazakhstan, Kenya, Koweït, Kirghizistan, Laos, Lettonie, Liban, Lesotho, Libye, Lituanie, Luxembourg, Macao, Macédoine, Madagascar, Malaisie, Mali, Malte, Mexique, Moldova, Mongolie, Maroc, Myanmar, Namibie, Pays-Bas, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouvelle-Zélande, Nigéria, Norvège, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Pérou, Philippines, Pologne, Portugal, Qatar, Réunion, Roumanie, Russie, Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis, l'Arabie saoudite, Sénégal, Serbie, Singapour, Slovaquie, Slovénie, Afrique du Sud, Corée du Sud, Espagne, Sri Lanka, Soudan , Suriname, Suède, Suisse, Taiwan, Tanzanie, Thaïlande, Trinité-et-Tobago, Tunisie, Turquie, Ouganda, Ukraine, Émirats arabes unis, Royaume-Uni, Etats-Unis d'Amérique, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yémen, Zimbabwe.

Hello, Madagascar!

Bonjour , Madagascar ! Bienvenue dans le groupe de lecteurs 120-5 autre pays des pays qui visitent également ce blog . J'espère que vous trouverez quelques-uns des messages utiles ou significatives .

Le gadget " Traduire cette page " au dessus de la «Total Pages Vues " Counter a la capacité de traduire le texte de ce blog Inglés Directement dans multitude de nombreuses autres langues dont le français , mais , malheureusement, pas malgache .
  
Cent vingt -six pays : Albanie , Algérie, Angola , Antigua -et-Barbuda , Argentine, Arménie , Aruba , Australie , Autriche , Azerbaïdjan, Bahreïn, Bangladesh , Bélarus, Belgique , Belize , Botswana , Brésil , Brunei , Bulgarie , Cambodge , Canada , îles Caïmans , Chili , Chine, Colombie , Congo , Costa Rica , Croatie , Chypre , République tchèque , Danemark , République dominicaine , Équateur , Égypte , El Salvador , Estonie , Ethiopie, Finlande , France, Géorgie , Allemagne , Gabon , Ghana , Grèce , Guam , Hong Kong , Hongrie, Islande , Inde, Indonésie , Iran , Iraq , Irlande, Israël , Italie , Côte-d'Ivoire , la Jamaïque , le Japon , la Jordanie , le Cambodge , le Kazakhstan , Kenya , Koweït , Kirghizistan , Laos , Lettonie , Liban , Lesotho , Libye , Lituanie, Luxembourg , Macédoine , Madagascar , Malaisie , Mali , Malte, Mexique , Moldova , Mongolie , Maroc , Myanmar , Namibie , Pays-Bas , Nouvelle-Calédonie , Nouvelle-Zélande , Nigéria, Norvège, Pakistan , Panama , Paraguay , Pérou , Philippines , Pologne , Portugal , Qatar , Réunion , Roumanie, Russie , Saint-Kitts- et-Nevis , l'Arabie saoudite , Sénégal , Serbie, Singapour , Slovaquie, Slovénie , Afrique du Sud , Corée du Sud , Espagne , Sri Lanka , Soudan , Suriname , Suède , Suisse , Taiwan , Tanzanie, Thaïlande , Trinité-et- Tobago , Tunisie, Turquie , Ouganda , Ukraine , Émirats arabes unis , Royaume-Uni , Etats-Unis d' Amérique , Venezuela , Vietnam , Yémen , Zimbabwe

Predictive Text Technology Threatens Chinese Ideography

An recent article in the USA Today newspaper talks about how the use of cell phones and computers with predictive text technology is causing a degradation in the ability of Chinese users to write the traditional Chinese language ideographic symbols. Many say that the technology causes the user to become fast but inaccurate.

Modern cell phones and word processors use predictive text technology in which one key or button represents many letters or characters. When the user enters a key or button, the program chooses the most likely next letter or character (a “prediction”). The next entry results in a smaller set of possible letters or characters based on the first two entries. As more keys or buttons are entered, the predicted text becomes increasingly likely. (Google and other search engines use predictive algorithms of words instead of letters to hone in on your desired search subject as you type in your request).

Predictive text technology as applied to the Chinese language makes use of the pinyin writing system. Written Chinese is an ideographic system rather than an alphabetic system. Alphabetic writing systems  represent sounds by using a set of distinct letter symbols. Ideographic writing systems use symbols to represent ideas or concepts. Alphabetic writing systems are much more compact and flexible than ideographic systems and are able to incorporate foreign or “loan” words much more easily.

Alphabetic writing systems (and the number of letters used by each) include English (26), German (26), French (26), Italian (21), Arabic (28), Urdu (38), Korean (24), Spanish (29), Russian (33), Greek (24), Vietnamese (30), and Hindi (46). In contrast, knowledge of 4000 characters is necessary to achieve functional literacy in written Chinese.

Chinese predictive text programs used in cell phones and word processors make use of the pinyin system which they “translate” into Chinese characters. Pinyin is the official phonetic system for transcribing the sound of Chinese characters into Latin script in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. An example: 北京 is represented in pinyin as Běijīng, which, in English is rendered as Beijing. In the older Wade-Giles system this was presented as Peking.

Some Chinese have become concerned that as the digital predictive text technology proliferates, traditional Chinese calligraphic script will fade away. That process has probably already begun with pinyin eventually being the victor. This is a sad phenomenon because written Chinese is visually beautiful, but it is probably inevitable at some time in the future

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/november/chinese-typewriter-historian-112812.html

http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2013/01/04/5218/

To demonstrate the beauty and the complexity of the written Chinese, see the following quotation from Acts 28:31, the verse from which this blog takes its theme.

“Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”

In the Greek, the final word of this verse is ἀκωλύτως, “unhindered,” hence, “Saints On the Loose!”

Acts 28:31 in the Simplified Chinese characters:

宣布神的国度，并教导有关主耶稣基督 - 所有的他勇气和！不受阻碍

Acts 28:31 in the Traditional Chinese characters:

他宣布神的國度，並教導有關主耶穌基督 - 所有的勇氣和不受阻礙

Acts 28:31 in Pinyin transliteration:

fang4dan3 chuan2/zhuan4 jiang3 shen2 guo2 de* dao4 , jiang1/4/qiang1 ye1su1 ji1du1 de* shi4 jiao4dao3 ren2 , bing1/4 mei2you3 ren2 jin4zhi3

Mortgage Loan

A mortgage loan is a monetary loan secured by real property such as a house or land.  The word “mortgage’ is derived from the French words “mort” (“death”) and “gage” or “gaige” (“”pledge””), so it is a “death pledge.”  What in the world does that have to do with the transfer of property?

The British jurist Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) explained the word.  He said that if the borrower does not repay the loan, the property becomes dead to them and is taken by the loaner.  If the borrower completely repays the loan, the property becomes dead to the loaner.  The assumption is that it is possible to repay the loan.

Christians do not have this type of relationship with the Lord.  We have received not a loan which must be repaid, but a gift.  The gift (the Blood of Jesus) is of infinite value and can never be bought or repaid.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Duccio di Buoninsegna: (b. ca. 1255-1260, Italy – d. 1318-1319)  Painter.  He worked on commission and provided paintings for churches, cathedrals, and government buildings.  Many of his works are now lost.

Frederick Fyvie Bruce: (b. 1910, Scotland –d. 1990; aka: F. F. Bruce) Biblical scholar, university professor, specialist on the life and ministry of Paul, wrote over forty books and biblical commentaries.  In his classic work, New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, he showed that the New Testament documents have better historical attestation than any other ancient documents.

Allan B. Bicknell: (b. ca 1890, USA –d. 1948) University professor of French, Greek, Latin, and Spanish at Bridgewater University for forty-one years (1906-0917), opera singer.    

Asa: On 6 June 2012, a pastor identified only as Asa was arrested for proselytizing in Laos.

Joseph Elliot Giradi: (b. 1964, Illinois, USA) Major League Baseball catcher anf manager. 2006 National League Manager of the Year.

Hello, Mali!

Bonjour, le Mali! Bienvenue dans le groupe des lecteurs de 102 autres pays qui ont également consulter ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez quelques-uns desmessages utiles ou significatives.
Le "Traduire cette page" gadget directement au dessus du «Total Pages vues" Counter a la capacité de traduire le texte anglais de ce blog directement en français.

Cent deux pays: Albanie, Argentine, Aruba, Australie, Autriche, Bahreïn, Bélarus, Belgique, Belize, Brésil, Bulgarie, Canada, Îles Caïmans, Chili, Chine, République Tchèque, Colombie, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatie, République tchèque République, le Danemark, République dominicaine, Équateur, Égypte, El Salvador, Estonie, Éthiopie, Finlande, France, Géorgie, Allemagne, Grèce, Hong Kong, Hongrie, Islande, Inde, Indonésie, Iran, Irak, Irlande, Israël, Italie, Ivoire Coast, Japon, Jordanie,Kampuchea, Kenya, Koweït, Laos, Lettonie, Liban, Lesotho, Lituanie, Luxembourg, Macédoine, Malaisie, Mali, Malte, Mexique, Moldova, Maroc, Myanmar, Pays-Bas,Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouvelle-Zélande, Nigéria, Norvège, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Pérou, Philippines, Pologne, Roumanie, Russie, Saint Kitts et Nevis, Arabie saoudite, Sénégal, Serbie, Singapour, Slovaquie, Slovénie, Afrique du Sud,Corée du Sud, Espagne, Sri Lanka, Soudan, Suède , Suisse, Taïwan, Tanzanie, Thaïlande, Trinité-et-Tobago, Tunisie, Turquie, Ouganda, Ukraine, Emirats Arabes Unis, Royaume-Uni, États-Unis, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yémen, Zimbabwe.

Hello, Ivory Coast!

Bonjour, Côte d'Ivoire. Bienvenue sur le groupe de lecteurs de cinquante-trois autres pays qui viennent visiter ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez quelques-uns des messages utiles et significatives.

Le "Traduire cette page" gadget directement au-dessus du "Total des pages vues" Counter a la capacité de traduire le texte anglais de ce blog directement en français.

Kimbanguism

"Kimbanguism

In the first half on the 20th century, prophetic movements sprang up. Their nature was both anti-colonial and Christian, and led to a rigorous crackdown by the authorities.

Simon Kimbangu was the prophet of largest of these movements. He was born in a village near Kinshasa, raised and educated by a Protestant Christian mission and trained to become a priest. In April 1921, at the age of 39, he reportedly had a religious vision of Jesus Christ, who called on him to reconvert his people and dedicate his life to Christ. Kimbangu chose to try to ignore the vision, and fled to Kinshasa where he abandoned his life as a priest and took to menial work. More visions came, and eventually he heeded the calling and returned to his home village and started to devote his life to Christ. Soon after, he is reported to have healed a sick woman by laying his hands on her. Dozens of apparent miracles were subsequently performed by Kimbangu, and he gained followers from surrounding villages and towns. The official Catholic organizations protested to the authorities, and the Protestant church abandoned him. The economic effects of Kimbangu's ministry were being felt, with thousands of Congolese leaving their work to listen to Kimbangu speak. In June the Belgians arrested him for inciting revolution and civil disobedience. Four months later he was sentenced to death. After an international outcry, Albert I of Belgium commuted the sentence to life impisonment. He died 30 years later in prison, in 1951.

Colonial authorities assumed his movement would wither after his imprisonment and death, but the church continued to flourish underground, and was an effective weapon in the fight against colonialism. In the post-colonial era, its record has been more mixed. Instead of banning the church, Mobutu used a far more effective method of neutralizing it: namely co-opting the church and giving it an official status. Kimbanguism has now spread across the country, and now has branches in nine of the surrounding countries, making it the most popular "native" form of Christianity in Africa. Followers do not smoke, drink alcohol and abhor violence. Monogamy is practiced."

From Wikipedia article, "Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo," under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike and the GNU Free Documentation Licenses.

The Kimbanguist church is a member of the World Council of Churches  and is officially known as Eglise de Jésus Christ sur la Terre par Son Envoyé Spécial Simon Kimbangu (Church of Jesus Christ on Earth by His Special Envoy Simon Kimbangu).