JOHN BECKETT: In my polytheism, the Gods are first. Not just because They're Gods, but because They've shown Themselves to be trustworthy and wise. Focusing on the Gods and on Their values and virtues allows me to be a part of something bigger than myself, something that will remain long after I'm gone. My polytheism includes ancestors and spirits.
Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller: Icons are not just decorative or symbolic. They are described as windows into the next world and are used in meditation and prayer. They are said to bridge the gap between the divine and humanity.
Mona Daniella: Before leaving the house of mourning visitors are supposed to say, "Min HaShamayim Tenuhamu" (May you be comforted from Heaven).
Dorothy Dittrich: Three years is the longest amount of time allotted for mourning and reflects the highest honour given..
Clifford Fabro Rivera: Happy Rosh HaShanah.
Phoenix Micah Khan: Happy Jewish Sauna.
Jack Zanerhaft: To hear the shofar is to hear the voice of heaven
Yaakov Astor: In reference to the shofar (Also for the Hearing~Impaired.) he says, "Happy is the people who know [alluding to the Tree of Knowledge of Evil and Good] the tru'ah [i.e. the shofar blast, the quavering sound which alludes to the attribute of justice]" (Psalms 89:15). King David does not say, "Happy is the people who hear the tru'ah." The emphasis seems to be on intellectualization. Accordingly, we would need to use our intellects with great effort if we truly wanted to benefit from the shofar.
jpost.com/j-spot/facebooks-meta-rebrand-translates-to-dead-in-hebrew-israelis-mock-name-683598
There is a mysterious solidarity in Christ between those who have already passed to the other life and we pilgrims in this one. Our deceased loved ones continue to take care of us from Heaven. They pray for us, and we pray for them and we pray with them. #Prayer #FaithfulDeparted
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) November 2, 2021
Marcus Tullius Cicero: The life of the dead is placed on the memories of the living.
New @IfNotNowOrg mvmnt song by Arielle Rivera Korman, from #Ladino proverb I found in Prof Naar’s Jewish Salonica https://t.co/eGwJwsL55S pic.twitter.com/pzAjt0u0sN
— Arielle Angel (@ArielleLAngel) October 20, 2017
Salvador Litvak: Although the aspiration to build was not wrong, the pretension to become God-like was not only absurd, but dangerous. They tried to reach the heavens (shamayim) only in order to make a name (shem) for themselves. It was pure self-aggrandizement. The Torah brilliantly underscores this point by the double use of the root word — shem — meaning both “heavens” and “name.” The people wanted nothing less than to override God’s dominion of the earth.
RHETORICIAN: Satan and his demonic forces, referred to variously in the New Testament as principalities, powers, rulers, authorities, world forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places (see Ro 8:38; Eph 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:15; 1 Pet 3:22) occupy, in a sense, the first heaven, although we see the evidence of their work vey clearly on earth, in and through people and perhaps even through some acts of nature (which we sometimes, perhaps mistakenly, call "acts of God"!).
Jorge Mario Bergoglio: "Demasculinize" the Church.
Steven J. Cole: Our habit should be to meet with the saints. Being a part of the church is more than just attending a worship service. It includes getting to know some of your fellow believers well and letting them get to know you, so that you can help each other grow in Christ.
Justin Bond: Yeshua asked how could we understand spiritual things if we don't understand the natural. Jacob, Jacob's physical descendents, The Land, United Kingdom/Political Entity under the rule of David and Solomon, The 10 Northern Tribes, The Jews who returned from the Babylonian Exile, Judaism as a whole, and the modern political state and its citizens can all be described as physical or legal Israel. "Kingdom Israel" is made up of both physical (Legal) and non-physical (Spiritual) Israelites who are believers in Messiah Yeshua. It's long overdue for us as believers to start trying to understand these things in the here and now for a foretaste of the future.
FFOZ STAFF WRITER: We have to consider the many varying influences of Judaism and Christianity. We must balance the positives and negatives that have come from our present day—there are myriads of negatives but there are surely many positives—and adjust our discipleship accordingly.
Jerri Harrington: It's not about bringing people to a building anymore. The church is going into the world, which is what Jesus told us to do.
DANIEL SILLIMAN: in the coming years, it's likely more Protestant churches will leave denominational names behind.
anthony alt: Our entire days and hours are rendered, as it were, a liturgy.
Greg Hartman: a people born in time but ordered toward eternity.
"Who is She that looks down at the Masculine Dawn, beautiful as the White Moon, pure as the fierce rays of the Eastern Sun, awesome as the Stars with their standards" (Song of Solomon 6:10)?
Biblical Ritual to Pray for Success
Offer a Dish and dip Bread with Horseradish or Ampalaya (Bitter Melon). Remember the Betrayal of Jesus. Wait a moment, then eat in Office. While filling a Purse with Coins, visualize the essence of Matthias being chosen by lots to replace Judas. Kiss the Purse. Asherite Blessings and Gadite Luck most potent on the Catholic Feast of Matthias on May 14.
Aaron Buer: With the rise in inflation comes an opportunity to improve our systems and processes around benevolence and care.
Pamela B. Zohar: Jewish synagogues (in most places) run on a membership system. Members pay dues, and the amount of dues are set by the congregation. I don’t ‘donate’ to support the synagogue. The synagogue sends me a BILL, which I pay, and by doing so, I am a) supporting the synagogue and staff and b) getting the benefits of being a member (attending all services, able to run for a synagogue office (there is a board of directors), and I get invited to all special events, etc. and my kids (if I had any that age) would be able to enroll in Hebrew school (which may have its own school fees, but be open only to children of members).
Joseph Mattera: The original Church was persecuted and often forced to meet secretly in homes and catacombs. Now, Christianity is so marginalized in a culture where buildings that hold Christian services are now synonymous with "churches." Hence, the faith has been relegated to a one-hour service in a building on Sundays.
Alejandra Oliva: Adina mentioned a foundational layer in her brain of Judaism, a foundation that colored everything built above it. "I don't think there's ever a time or a situation where I'm not somehow thinking about religion," she said, and again, I knew exactly what she was talking about.
The Walk to Paradise Garden (by William Eugene Smith).
Alejandra Oliva: I don't go to church anymore, but the faith I was pickled in still shapes me.
guest god-man blogger: To prophesy is not merely foretelling the future, but mainly to speak for Christ, to speak forth Christ and to speak Christ into others to encourage, edify, admonish, exhort for the building up of the church. Our speaking should be for the building up of the Body!
Nicholas LaBanca: Catholics are instructed to attend Mass and enjoy adequate rest on Sundays (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 2180-2188). This is not optional.
SAM ELLIS: The Bible associate feathers with holiness and purity as embodied in angels which are the purest and most divine creatures that God ever made. There has been a belief that when angels visit a place, they live behind traces of feathers.
