Religious Place Names

Frascati, Italy: This resort town is named for the Church of St. Mary and Sebastian “in the bushes (frascati) ”

Omdurman, Sudan: Named for Um-Marium (1646-1730),  a Muslim saint.

Lima, Peru:  This city was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pixarro as Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the Kings).  The modern name is derived from the name of an ancient deity, Rimac, and means “he who speaks.”

Munich, Germany: Munich was built on the site of a Benedictine monastery and the name derives from the Old High Germany word “munih,”  meaning “monk.”

Concepcion, Chile:  With a Spanish name meaning “conception,” this city was founded in 1550 on the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Impersonations of Famous Preachers

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

Hello, Antigua and Barbuda!

Hello, Antigua and Barbuda!  Welcome to the group of readers from one hundred and fifteen other countries who also visit this blog.  I hope you find some of the posts useful or meaningful.

The “Translate This Page” gadget directly above the “Total Pageviews” Counter has the capability of translating the English text of this blog directly into numerous other languages.

One hundred and sixteen countries: Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France,  Georgia, Germany, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kampuchea, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta,  Mexico,  Moldova,  Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,  Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, 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, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zimbabwe.

What Zombies Really Represent

Zombies are quite popular right now, appearing in numerous films, television series, and novels.  Originally seen as soulless bodies animated by the will of a master, zombies were sent out to perform tasks.  They were represented in films as slave laborers (White Zombie, 1932), as a murderer/kidnapper (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919), and as a compliant, silent, and emotionless slave who will carry out any order by his master (I Walked With a Zombie, 1943).

Zombies have captured the imagination of the horror film community, with over 600 feature films and over 50 short films having been produced as of today.  One of the most highly regarded modern American television series is The Walking Dead.  One of the reasons for the success of the series is that, while it never flinches in showing gore and zombie violence, it is actually not about zombies.    The human characters of the series eventually come to realize that they, not the zombies, are the walking dead.

The concept of a zombie changed radically with the 1968 George Romero film, Night of the Living Dead.  Many consider this to be the first modern horror film.  The movie is not technically excellent, the acting is not of the best quality, and the low budget is very evident.  And, the movie is studied in every film school on Earth because it perfectly expresses the tensions and meaninglessness present in the modern world.   Some Christians have come to realize that zombies represent even more than that.

Numbers 19:11-22 declares dead bodies to be unclean; Romans 3:23 declares that everyone has sinned; and James 1:15 tells us that “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”  Without the unmerited grace of God, we are unclean, we are dead, we are decaying, we are the walking dead.  Because Christians are covered by the Blood of Christ, when God looks at us, He sees Jesus.

Think of the parallels between the film zombies and the unredeemed world.  Non-Christians, those who do not know Jesus, are unclean, they are dead, they are decaying, they are the walking dead.  Most do not realize that they are dead. They are like the zombies in the 1978 George Romero film, Dawn of the Dead, who cram themselves into the local shopping mall and walk around in front of the stores.  They are “pretending to be alive.”

Like the zombies in the movies, if they get a really hard bite out of a person, that person becomes one of them.  They are insatiable and virtually unstoppable.  They represent raw hunger, the primal lust for blood, which is life (Leviticus 17:14).

They will kill anything and anyone who stands in the way of their obtaining what they want.  What you want, need, or think is unimportant to them.  They are your neighbors, friends, and even members of your family.

The film zombies can be seen as representing raw sin.  The essence of sin is self at the expense of all other considerations.  Sin wants more and more, it is relentless.  Sin will use others to get what it wants; others are merely food.  And sin ultimately causes decay of the sinner, dulling the perceptions.  Sin takes on a life of its own.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10

"Amazing Grace" in American Sign Language

American Sign Language for the Deaf (ASL) is a totally separate language from English.  There is not a direct word-for-word correspondence and the grammar is not based on English grammar.  Neither is ASL related to British Sign Language or the sign languages of New Zealand, Ireland, or Australia.  Also, none of the languages is related to any of the others.  None of them are "mime," and none of them are based on English.

Numerous countries have their own sign languages, all of which seem to be unrelated to one another: South Africa, Nicaragua, Ghana, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Korea, Finland, Portugal, Japan, France, Russia, Netherlands, Italy, Kenya, Poland, and many others.

A translation of "Amazing Grace" into English from ASL.

Smile

A message seen on a Church Sign Board:

“When You Smile You Spoil The Day For Some Grouch”

“From The Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.”

Magic For Jesus

{Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.} 

This is magic (sleight of hand) not Magick or Sorcery.  It is not supernatural but is based on making you think you see something which you do not see.

Magic for Jesus is a ministry to Sunday Schools and youth groups presenting visual lessons about biblical truths.  Many people, children especially, are visually oriented and will understand a point if it is in the form of a story, or, in this case, a magic trick.

Jesus used this approach in his parables.  The Kingdom of God is like …”

Magic for Jesus is non-denominational and from their short statement of faith, appear to be doctrinally orthodox.  They state that “We believe kids are the church too; not the future church.  They are the church right now.”

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One commenter was concerned that sleight of hand is based on deception and, therefore, could be viewed as dishonest.  I would say that this is a needless concern.  Magic for Jesus never tells children that the magic is real.  The tricks are used to make spiritual truths understandable.

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Magick and Sorcery are a different thing entirely.  They are ceremonial magic based on occult concepts and amount to attempts to influence events and people by the use of rituals, ceremonies, and secret or hidden knowledge.  Some claim that Magick and Sorcery may be White (good or benign) or Black (evil or malignant).  The Christian view is that all magic which attempts to influence people or the world is based on man's rebellion against God.   
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A magic trick which looks stunningly real, but it is not.  The magician offers to sell you the information on how to perform the trick.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dreamlandmagic?v=bc7wJA8fhKg&feature=pyv&ad=6923422215&kw=magic%20tricks