Podcasts about Anathema

This week, our "4 Questions Journalist Spotlight" shines on Anila Yoganathan with the Atlanta Business Chronicle.The Chronicle is a weekly newspaper covering business news in Atlanta, published by American City Business Journals. The paper has both a weekly print edition and an online edition.Coolest Thing About Anila: Her mother runs a pottery business and she loves helping her set up for shows!Favorite Restaurant: Eclipse De Luna in Miami CircleFavorite Getaway: She doesn't really have a favorite place but wants to try more of north Georgia (so send her ideas!)Favorite Nonwork Hobby: Reading! "It helps me reset my brain"Last Book Read: "Anathema" by Keri LakeFavorite Guilty Pleasure: Dark chocolateWebsite: www.bizjournals.com/atlantaMitch's day job is providing public relations services, media training, and crisis communications, but he also operates Leff's Atlanta Media, an online database with contact info for thousands of Atlanta-based journalists.

A Time WarpBy FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.What follows is a diversion from the central storyline, but it is crucial to understanding why certain members of the supporting cast are behaving the way they are.808 BCE near Halab in what is today's Northern Syria:For me, Cael Nyilas, it was a return to last night's horrifying scene that engulfed me. The screams of dying horses and moribund men crying the pantheon of life's final regrets. Blood, piss, voided bowels and the stench of comingled sweat and leather filled my nostrils. The true cacophony of battle was all about. The battle shock faded into an innocuous background distraction.In my heart of hearts, I felt at ease, even content. We were cut off and surrounded yet hardly hopeless. Men, my brothers-in-arms and the younger noble sons of Assur and Nineveh combined to put a press of shields, armor and flesh encircling us. Those 'pampered' aristocrats stank with fear and well they should. Death was still possible before their relief arrived.I hurt, Shara (my deity?), I was wounded, but it meant nothing. I laughed; a primitive version of 'atheists and foxholes' passing through my mind. This body had lived through much worse. The closest man, her deceased husband's cousin, and I lifted the shattered wooden chariot off the person our circle was centered on. My arm was extended to her.She was glorious, fierce and half-drunk with battle lust. I could feel her talon-like fingers through the leather and 'parzillu' scales guarding my bicep. She half jumped and was half pulled to her feet. Her kinsman presented her 'misplaced' sword, hilt first. In her eyes, I saw the burning intensity of the Shamash (Sun God, consort of Aya?) at the height of the Burning Season.Her martial mirth exceeded any other noise as it passed her lips."You took your time getting here," Shammuramat taunted me, not a true reproach. "I was so bored, I decide to take a nap in the shade of my conveniently overturned chariot." She defied all fortunes that conspired toward her demise; her own breed of madness."You looked so peaceful in your sleep, I didn't want to wake you," I bantered back. Her 'kinsman' scowled at my familiarity with his monarch. My champions, more like brothers to me than any kin born of my blood, had carved a gory swath to her stranded bodyguard. Mounted on Median steeds, we had pressed back the entourages of two Aramean kings bent on her violent passing.A barricade of overturned, or unattended chariots gave us space to dismount and perform our very visible rescue mission. All the pieces were right where she wanted them; everything unfolding according to her plan. Focus the enemy in the center with her person and the banner of Assur while the rest of her chariots and all of her cavalry swept through an unguarded wadi and fell upon them from behind.Brilliant. Somewhat less brilliant when faced with the desperate energy of our enemies, but her victory was already a certainty. The allied Western Kings were sure my command was attempting to snatch the Queen back to the safety of her infantry. Those hardy, foot-bound souls were still holding their own against the greater mass of the enemy footmen.The children of rebellious nobles bent every bit of their remaining energy, squandered their last reserves to ensure Shammuramat didn't escape. If the positons were reversed, they would have eagerly abandoned their troops and sought safety to the rear. The idea of Shammuramat being overwrought with terror was absurd.Our opponents' bellows for our blood turned into wails of despair. The charging, plumaged steeds of Assyria had appeared behind them. Our enemies had nothing left to slow the new arrivals down, much less stop them. For those who dared defy Shammuramat, Queen of all the Akkadians, the slaughter was just beginning."Come 'Alal' (that was me); I promised 'Atarshumki' I would kick his head over his own city walls before sunset and I always keep my promises," she shoved one of my horse-holders aside and took one of my steeds. 'Alal' was not the name my father gave me. It meant destroyer and it was blasphemy to lay claim to it."Killing kings will cost you extra," was my impious response.Assyrians nobility barely tolerated mercenaries most of the time. My men and I didn't care. I hadn't taken up the killing business to make friends and my troops felt the same way. What mattered to us was that their coin was good and delivered on time. That was a good thing because whores and merchants were loath to advance 'our kind' anything on credit."I'll meet you half way," she grinned manically at me while my fighters and I raced for our mounts. (Saving the junior nobility wasn't what she were paying us for.) "I'll let you take any prince you capture as a hostage." I nodded. My men cheered hungrily, despite the choking dust. As long as I didn't get too greedy, the Kings would pay for their sons. Now we had to capture the bastards."Tūbātu," I reminded them. 'Goodwill'. It was a polite way of saying 'stop your chariot, rest your arms and your mother won't have to come begging for your corpse'. It was best to let opposing nobility keep their dignity in our business. Today's enemy might be tomorrow's paymaster.I blinked and things changed.Planting followed harvest and harvest followed planting. It had long ago become a blur. Shammuramat had grown older. Her first son became king when he was of age. I had long exceeded my welcome and my desire to stay. I was fixed to this small patch of the greater world by a rare emotion, empathy.It had come out of nowhere. We were campaigning against the Scythians raiding over the Zagros Mountains and followed them into Urartu. Night had fallen and I walked the camp as was my habit; being killed a few times in your sleep will make you err on the side of caution. Shammuramat was gazing out over the river Arkas."I though all the scouts have returned," I asked as I stepped to her side. A cool, early autumn breeze blew down the valley, tossing a few loose locks of her greying hair. She always had one patch shorn short which made her left-side braids prone to unwind."They have. We head back for Nineveh with the dawn," she murmured, her mind elsewhere."Do you ever dream of home?" she asked me out of the blue."No. I don't dream anymore. I rarely sleep and if I did, I would hope to dream of something less boring," I snorted in amusement. She had never talked about her home, to anyone as far as I knew."You will be going to Lydia when winter comes," she stated tensely."King Gyges needs someone with experience beating Cimmerians," I answered. The true reason was that I was no longer welcome on the Assyrian payroll because I insisted on recruiting only non-Assyrians into the ranks of my ferociously effective little band of one hundred; never more and rarely less."Shemtsu is a fool," she grumbled."That is unfair," I countered. My willingness to argue with her was one of my charms in her eyes. "He is an excellent Treasurer and he makes sure your vassals pay their tribute on time and in its full amount."The silence was hurtful to me because Shammuramat was never one to obfuscate her thoughts, especially around me. It was one of her charms, to my way of thinking."Salmu Eretu, the northern night sky has no answers for what ails you. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to start out cold before it bakes us." I called her 'Black Cloud' in Akkadian.I had first used that name twenty years ago to insult her, highlighting her tempestuous nature. In the Assyrian court, having just received recognition for my quick thinking, Shammuramat had belittled my accomplishment, throwing my body between her, her unborn child (the man who was now not-so-gently ushering me to the border) and a Kassite noble and his retainer bent on killing them both.Had my deed not been witnessed by half a dozen reliable sources, I wouldn't even have received that tawdry token."He sought glory without risk," she spat out her insult in a Hittite tongue alien to this court. Unfortunately for us both, I had worked for a Babylonian family for a few generations and they had been kind enough to turn me from an illiterate commoner to a man of some education.Ironically, they even taught me my native cuneiform long after my birthplace was barely a memory."Well aren't you a black cloud on an otherwise waste of a day," I replied somewhat bitterly. Her eyes widened, then narrowed and then I heard her laugh for the first time."Should I tell them what you said?" she mocked me and my predicament."But of course," I grunted in Akkadian. I'd screwed up. My inner thoughts were 'please not decapitation, please not decapitation' because getting my head on straight after that was a real bitch."You've been nothing but a black cloud bent on turning the choking dust at my feet into a grasping, muddy morass. Why stop now?" I announced loudly. If you are going to die, die well. Having died too many times to count, remembering my last words were all I had left to look forward to.The guards, familiar with the Queen's temper and stunned into inaction by me clearly embracing a long, messy death, stood around uselessly. Had I been allowed a weapon in the royal presence, I might have thought which one to kill first."I gift you, a lowborn man of the South (Sumerian), with honors and you respond by insulting my wife?" King, Shamshi Adad V growled as he rose from his throne."Husband," she stood to join him. I thought it was a pity she rarely smiled. "You asked that I too give a gift to my savior and the savior of our son (all unborn babies were sons back then until roughly half had the audacity to gender switch while exiting the womb). I have chosen." I was expecting my life for the moment and a day's head start to the border."It is your choice to make," the King allowed."From this day, until my passing, this man may always speak his mind in our lands," she demanded. She had a habit of fatally correcting anyone who saw her as less than co-ruler. The hesitation was deafening."As you will," Shamshi Adad V acquiesced to yet another of his wife's odd 'requests'. From that day forth we had been fast friends. She never asked about my immortality, where I was from, or how I ended up with my elite band of professional killers. I returned the favor. It was an unspoken understanding that in a few years, or decades, she would die and I would leave, not necessarily in that order. We had shared more years than I had given to any one person in quite some time."There is nothing left for me but ash," she declared with morbid certainty."Should any of us expect any better?" I did my best to offer words of comfort she would accept."Oh no," her noise was too bitter to be a laugh. "I had my own 'Life beyond Death' and it was stolen from me, along with my birthright.""We are chasing the thieves?" I asked."Yes and no," her face grew grim once more. "These were not the ones I was looking for. They share some bonds with some of the Scythian tribes who live on the far side of the Sea of Death (the Black Sea). These raiders weren't from those tribes.""Why are you turning back?" I questioned. "You know your Assyrians are loyal. They will follow wherever you lead. Your son won't begrudge you these few hundred. I'll come too.""Why?" she turned and looked into my eyes. She still had that blazing fire in her eyes. She was teasing me. If she asked, I too would follow and my men would follow me."The Scythians have been raiding the Lands of the Two Rivers from, well, before I graduated from 'spear for hire' to a 'seeker of a mastery of war'. The rich plunder of their camps will provide plenty of incentive for my men plus we can sell the horses when we come back," I stated."I do not have the years left to spend on such a campaign," she sighed. I had never heard a hint of defeat in her speech before. It was unsettling and rather tragic."I have squandered my years in marriage, being Queen and raising my boys. I tried to make Assyria my new family and I am revealed to be a fool. You had it right. We will always be outlanders. No matter how brave, loyal, just and smart, we would never be allowed in their sanctimonious circle," she said. "You. I should have ridden off with you after my first born was acknowledged (the present King Adad-nirari the 3rd).""We could have gathered up some more fighters, ridden over shattered Phrygia, to the narrows (Bosporus) and into the lands of the Thracians. There is a legend of a great river that pours out from the western shore of the Death Sea. What I seek is up that river.""How many would we face?" I grew equally serious."One," she coughed. "Me." My confusion was obvious. "I am not asking you to fight me, Alal. I want you to come back for me.""I can't. That is not how it works," I stated."How does it work then?" she looked into my eyes. The fire was there, but banked and waning. I didn't say anything. "I have never seen, or heard of you entering a temple.""Your men go. You do not stop them, but you have given up any pretense of worship," she pressed. "Do you not believe that anything exists beyond your senses?""I believe," I sighed. "I believe people are fools for giving offering, pledging their fidelity, pleading for mercy, or extending thanks to any deity. Those Shar-an (gnats) do as they will, unless it is to punish us for treating them like the spoiled children they are."Shammuramat regained her long-stilled laughter."I have always felt a kinship with you through our mutual bitterness.""Bitterness comes with familiarity," I snorted in amusement. Lovers had passion. We shared a simmering anger that came from being irredeemably wronged."I was born Baraqu, the first son of a potter in some city that no longer matters. I was a failure as a potter and an embarrassment to my house and my clan," I began a story I hadn't told another soul in, I couldn't recall. "In those days, the Priest-Kings declared wars and demanded each clan of the city give forth a certain number of males to fight. My family volunteered me and two rowdy cousins.Outside the gates, my clan elder gave each of us a cowhide shield and a spear with a small spindle of copper at the tip so we wouldn't think it was a staff. We marched, I forget which city we were fighting that time. Three days later we found the enemy behind a deep irrigation ditch that had dried out for the season. Our orders were simple, 'There they are. Attack!'My elder was at the back of our mob, making sure none of us ran away. My older cousin made it across the ditch first, but was speared twice; once in the right kidney, I can still remember my first sight of blood, and once, piercing the shield and lodging in his ribcage. My second cousin and I were pushed from behind into the fighting. I stabbed at one shield, doing no harm.Then my surviving cousin's morale broke and he tried to claw his way back into our ranks. He was stabbed in the back, his dying body tangling with mine and bearing us both to the ground. I saw this howling mad face over me. He was a commoner, like me, driven to violence by the terror of battle. His shoddily crafted spear plunged first into my right lung. The second stab found my heart. I died.From there, my spirit fell down toward the wretched dank caverns where all pitiful lowborn dregs are doomed to end up without hope of parole. Instead of endless misery, the Goddess Sarrat Irkalli appeared before me, barring my descent. With icy claws, she trisected my soul. I cannot begin to describe that agony. She snatched up my tattered bits and dragged me back into the world.Sarrat Irkalli is Goddess of the Netherworld, whispered a word that penetrated my brain through the left ear of my cooling corpse. It was an utterance so catastrophic to the fabric of the Veil I dare not repeat it even now.Baraqu? she blew a dark wind upon the first bit of my essence and it flew away.Cael, she whispered to the second portion and off it went in another direction. You are Baraqu no more. The second name was meaningless to me at the time but my name. Do you know that if you have your true name, your spirit can not find its way to your reward, no matter how foul, or pleasing? To the third part of my soul. I name you Alal, he who stands witness to the end of all he desires; their destroyer. Powerful yet powerless.}With that, she left me. My body was stiff from being dead so long. The next few hours were extremely painful. The Sun had set and the Moon was not in evidence. Jackals barked and hyenas laughed as they fought and feasted on the dead. I pushed the body of my cousin off me then crawled down into the ditch to hide. Hardly the reaction of a hero.""Not the actions of the man I know," Shammuramat smirked. "So, your name is Baraqu.""Was and I never much liked the name," I countered. "The priests gave it to me because right before my naming ceremony, a bolt of lightning from a spring storm struck the temple of Shara. So they named me Baraqu, which means 'struck by lightning'.""That sound likes a good name," the Queen Dowager regarded me."That is the noble meaning. The common meaning is less eloquent, it means 'idiot'."Another deep laugh from my treasured compatriot. So few had ever mattered so much to me."Struck by lightning, stricken dumb," she guffawed. "Still not the 'you' I know.""What does the other name mean?""I have no idea. In all my travels I have never found a people familiar with it," I shrugged. She looked out over the low waves lapping against the stony shore."No explanation?" she grudgingly inquired. She had wanted me to continue."No. I have never again come face to face with Sarrat Irkalli, been visited by a messenger, divine, or demonic, received an omen, or any otherworldly presence of any kind," I shrugged. I was long past any resentment. "After the battle I made my way back home, we'd lost, and resumed my life for a few years. My father took the excuse of me 'letting' my kinsmen die to place my younger brother over me.I didn't care. I always hated being a potter, so I ended up being a piddling nuisance all the time and a drunken brawler whenever I had wrangled some beer. I was always the first choice of my clan to send into battle. Despite my lack of training, I began surviving more battles than I died in. At some point, the priests began getting suspicious that I was still hanging around my great-grandnephew's house, so my house Elder suggested I leave the city.I was given a nice copper-headed mace that I had taken in a recent skirmish. Tradition dictated I offer it to the Elder, so he could give it back to me as a sign of my value to the clan. He had taken it for his own. Now he was giving it back out of fear that it held some part of my taint. I had no idea how to live on my own. Two days out, I was robbed and murdered for the first, but not last, time. That inaugural event, I got really angry and hunted those two farmers down.I got my mace back. I also relieved them of an onager, three slaves and a few ingots of silver. I guessed they had been rather successful robbers until they met me."

Radical Research has risen! For our first episode following the tragic event of Jeff's house fire and the loss of members of his beautiful feline family, we have chosen to return with an exploration of one of the most emotional and intense albums of the 1990's, Anathema's Eternity. This album takes the weight of the profoundest Pink Floyd and marries it with the doom and feedback sorcery upon which Anathema built its reputation. Please join us for this most cathartic and, ultimately, affirmative of episodes.Note I:The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast Note II:All past Radical Research episodes can be found here, where you can also find Hunter's Deserts of Hex Volume 2…and more to come soon! Radicalresearch.orgMusic cited in order of appearance:[all selections from Anathema's Eternity, 1996] “Sentient”“Angelica”“The Beloved”“Eternity Part 1”“Eternity Part 2”“Hope”“Suicide Veil”“Radiance”“Far Away”“Eternity Part 3”“Cries on the Wind” “Ascension” Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

The Gospel is about the eternal destiny of lives, and upholding its sanctity is of utmost importance. We cannot afford to let falsehood thrive in any form. It's crucial to recognize what the Gospel is not and to take a stand against it. Paul emphasized the gravity of this when he said, "If anyone preaches another Gospel, let them be accursed." As envoys of the Lord, we are called to present the right message every time.

Horror fans, get ready to feast! Episode 187 of Another Goddamn Horror Podcast features the twisted genius Nick Roberts, author of spine-chilling hits like Mean Spirited, The Exorcist House, and his breakout debut Anathema. We dig into his entire terrifying bibliography—including his upcoming Anathema sequel—and uncover the method behind the madness that's cementing him as a powerhouse in modern horror fiction. Ever wondered about the pros and cons of Goodreads for horror writers and readers? We discuss the platform's impact on reviews, ratings, and community building within the horror world. Whether you're a hardcore horror fan, a budding author, or just looking for your next terrifying read, this episode has something for everyone!

New Skeletal Faces, the genre-defying band led by Errol Fritz (vocals/guitar) and Don Void (drums), has once again pushed musical boundaries with their latest release, Until the Night. Following their debut, Celestial Disease, Until the Night showcases a bold evolution in their sound, blending elements of punk, gothic rock, metal, and more. In an insightful interview, Fritz and Void shared their thoughts on the album's creative process, signing with Peaceville Records, and what sets New Skeletal Faces apart from today's music scene.The band quickly points out how Until the Night differs from its predecessor. While Celestial Disease laid the foundation for New Skeletal Faces' identity Until the Night expands the band's sonic palette. "The songs are a lot more catchy on this album," Fritz explained. "It's just fucking catchy here to me." The album delves into a wider range of styles, from the aggressive, headbang-worthy Pagan War (arguably their heaviest track yet) to the darker, death-rock vibe of Enchantment of My Inner Coldness.Void also appreciates the new album's diversity: "There's stuff on Until the Night that's more punk, and stuff that's heavier than anything on Celestial Disease. It branches and pushes in every direction."Until the Night marks New Skeletal Faces' debut release on the legendary Peaceville Records. For the band, signing with the iconic label felt like a major milestone. "This is the first time I've ever been on a label of this size, so it's a big deal," Fritz said. Void added, "When we found out that they were interested, it was the easiest yes to ever say." The band had long admired Peaceville's roster, which includes genre-defining acts like Anathema, Paradise Lost, and Opeth. The support from Peaceville has been invaluable, allowing the band to stay true to their vision. "They immediately understood what we were about," Void said, noting how the label supported the band's unique artistic choices, including the gold foil album cover and custom vinyl variants.Speaking of the album cover, Until the Night features artwork by none other than Errol Fritz himself. Fritz, who also created the cover for the band's Sextinction EP, took a minimalist yet striking approach to the design. "Sometimes simplicity is better," he explained. "There's not a whole lot going on, but it says a lot." The artwork, which captures raw emotion, was a perfect complement to the album's diverse and atmospheric sound. "The minute you showed us those sick paintings of yours, we just knew they were the ones," Void said, praising Fritz's talent.The band also discussed making the music video for Ossuary Lust, filmed in a chapel in a cemetery just five minutes from Fritz's home. "We broke into this little chapel and just started filming," Fritz recalled. Despite the somewhat illicit nature of the shoot, the band had no issues with the church authorities. "Nobody stopped us. No priests walked in and tried to throw holy water on us," Fritz joked. The video, filled with striking imagery and a sense of rebellion, mirrors the band's aesthetic and attitude—uncompromising and raw.Another highlight for the band was working with legendary producer Bill Metoyer (Slayer, W.A.S.P., and the godfather of Los Angeles heavy metal). "Bill is a legend," Void said. "His resume speaks for itself." The band recorded Until the Night themselves before bringing the material to Metoyer for the final production. "It was incredible," Fritz noted, explaining how Mitoia understood the band's vision and helped bring it to life. Fritz and Void formed a personal bond with Metoyer outside the studio, enjoying nights of casual drinks and conversation. "He's just a lot of fun," Void said. "We hit it off with him immediately."When asked what sets New Skeletal Faces apart from today's musical landscape, the band had a simple answer: nearly everything. "We're too heavy for goth, and then we're too goth for metal," Fritz said. "We're not political enough for punk. We don't really fit into current trends." This genre-defying approach has earned the band a loyal following, with fans drawn to their unique sound that blends elements from multiple genres without being confined to any single one.When it comes to musical influences, New Skeletal Faces draws inspiration from an eclectic mix of artists, including Celtic Frost, The Cure, David Bowie, P.I.L., and Killing Joke. These bands, known for their boundary-pushing styles, have significantly shaped New Skeletal Faces' sound. "Looking ahead, the band is eager to continue experimenting and expanding their sound, creating music that is as unpredictable and exciting as their live shows. As Void said, "We just want to keep making music that stands out and pushes boundaries."With Until the Night, New Skeletal Faces has delivered an album that is as ambitious as it is bold—marking the beginning of a new era for the band. As they continue to challenge expectations, one thing is clear: New Skeletal Faces is a force to be reckoned with in the world of heavy music.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

Welcome back to Chats and Chapters! We had a dark week last week because of my trip and just pure exhaustion, but we are so happy to be back for this episode! This week we are going over the books we really want to read before the end of the year. We each picked five books so you will leave this episode having ten books we know you will want to add to your TBR! I have listed out the books below so you can find them easily. Get your book edited HERE! Follow the C&C TikTok! Books discussed in this episode: Caitlyn's - The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence  Odd Spirits by S.T. Gibson  The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling  HEXED by Emily McIntire  Assistant to the Villain by Hanna Nicole Maehrer  Erica's - Anathema by Keri Lake Never Lie by Frieda McFadden The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang Lightlark by Alex Aster Spectacular by Stephanie Garber Please FOLLOW, RATE and REVIEW the podcast to help us grow so we can continue doing what we are doing!

This week, we discuss three of the (many) big RPGs out this season: how Metaphor ReFantazio attempts to balance the[...]

The Decree of the Holy, Great, Ecumenical Synod, the Second of Nice (787 AD). 549   (Found in Labbe and Cossart, Concilia. Tom. VII., col. 552.)   THE holy, great, and Ecumenical Synod which by the grace of God and the will of the pious and Christ-loving Emperors, Constantine and Irene, his mother, was gathered together for the second time at Nice, the illustrious metropolis of Bithynia, in the holy church of God which is named Sophia, having followed the tradition of the Catholic Church, hath defined as follows: Christ our Lord, who hath bestowed upon us the light of the knowledge of himself, and hath redeemed us from the darkness of idolatrous madness, having espoused to himself the Holy Catholic Church without spot or defect, promised that he would so preserve her: and gave his word to this effect to his holy disciples when he said: “Lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” which promise he made, not only to them, but to us also who should believe in his name through their word. But some, not considering of this gift, and having become fickle through the temptation of the wily enemy, have fallen from the right faith; for, withdrawing from the traditions of the Catholic Church, they have erred from the truth and as the proverb saith: “The husbandmen have gone astray in their own husbandry and have gathered in their hands nothingness,” because certain priests, priests in name only, not in fact, had dared to speak against the God-approved ornament of the sacred monuments, of whom God cries aloud through the prophet, “Many pastors have corrupted my vineyard, they have polluted my portion.” And, forsooth, following profane men, led astray by their carnal sense, they have calumniated the Church of Christ our God, which he hath espoused to himself, and have failed to distinguish between holy and profane, styling the images of our Lord and of his Saints by the same name as the statues of diabolical idols. Seeing which things, our Lord God (not willing to behold his people corrupted by such manner of plague) hath of his good pleasure called us together, the chief of his priests, from every quarter, moved with a divine zeal and brought hither by the will of our princes, Constantine and Irene, to the end that the traditions of the Catholic Church may receive stability by our common decree. Therefore, with all diligence, making a thorough examination and analysis, and following the trend of the truth, we diminish nought, we add nought, but we preserve unchanged all things which pertain to the Catholic Church, and following the Six Ecumenical Synods, especially that which met in this illustrious metropolis of Nice, as also that which was afterwards gathered together in the God-protected Royal City. We believe…life of the world to come. Amen.535 We detest and anathematize Arius and all the sharers of his absurd opinion; also Macedonius and those who following him are well styled “Foes of the Spirit” (Pneumatomachi). We confess that our Lady, St. Mary, is properly and truly the Mother of God, because she was the Mother after the flesh of One Person of the Holy Trinity, to wit, Christ our God, as the Council of Ephesus has already defined when it cast out of the Church the impious Nestorius with his colleagues, because he taught that there were two Persons [in Christ]. With the Fathers of this synod we confess that he who was incarnate of the immaculate Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary has two natures, recognizing him as perfect God and perfect man, as also the Council of Chalcedon hath promulgated, expelling from the divine Atrium [αὐλῆς] as blasphemers, Eutyches and Dioscorus; and placing in the same category Severus, Peter and a number of others, blaspheming in divers fashions. Moreover, with these we anathematize the fables of Origen, Evagrius, and Didymus, in accordance with the decision of 550 the Fifth Council held at Constantinople. We affirm that in Christ there be two wills and two operations according to the reality of each nature, as also the Sixth Synod, held at Constantinople, taught, casting out Sergius, Honorius, Cyrus, Pyrrhus, Macarius, and those who agree with them, and all those who are unwilling to be reverent. To make our confession short, we keep unchanged all the ecclesiastical traditions handed down to us, whether in writing or verbally, one of which is the making of pictorial representations, agreeable to the history of the preaching of the Gospel, a tradition useful in many respects, but especially in this, that so the incarnation of the Word of God is shown forth as real and not merely phantastic, for these have mutual indications and without doubt have also mutual significations. We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the honourable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. For by so much more frequently as they are seen in artistic representation, by so much more readily are men lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them; and to these should be given due salutation and honourable reverence (ἀσπασμὸν καὶ τιμητικὴν προσκύνησιν), not indeed that true worship of faith (λατρείαν) which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered according to ancient pious custom. For the honour which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented. For thus the teaching of our holy Fathers, that is the tradition of the Catholic Church, which from one end of the earth to the other hath received the Gospel, is strengthened. Thus we follow Paul, who spake in Christ, and the whole divine Apostolic company and the holy Fathers, holding fast the traditions which we have received. So we sing prophetically the triumphal hymns of the Church, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Rejoice and be glad with all thy heart. The Lord hath taken away from thee the oppression of thy adversaries; thou art redeemed from the hand of thine enemies. The Lord is a King in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more, and peace be unto thee forever.” Those, therefore who dare to think or teach otherwise, or as wicked heretics to spurn the traditions of the Church and to invent some novelty, or else to reject some of those things which the Church hath received (e.g., the Book of the Gospels, or the image of the cross, or the pictorial icons, or the holy reliques of a martyr), or evilly and sharply to devise anything subversive of the lawful traditions of the Catholic Church or to turn to common uses the sacred vessels or the venerable monasteries,536 if they be Bishops or Clerics, we command that they be deposed; if religious or laics, that they be cut off from communion. [After all had signed, the acclamations began (col. 576).]   The holy Synod cried out: So we all believe, we all are so minded, we all give our consent and have signed. This is the faith of the Apostles, this is the faith of the orthodox, this is the faith which hath made firm the whole world. Believing in one God, to be celebrated in Trinity, we salute the honourable images! Those who do not so hold, let them be anathema. Those who do not thus think, let them be driven far away from the Church. For we follow the most ancient legislation of the Catholic Church. We keep the laws of the Fathers. We anathematize those who add anything to or take anything away from the Catholic Church. We anathematize the introduced novelty of the revilers of Christians. We salute the venerable 551 images. We place under anathema those who do not do this. Anathema to them who presume to apply to the venerable images the things said in Holy Scripture about idols. Anathema to those who do not salute the holy and venerable images. Anathema to those who call the sacred images idols. Anathema to those who say that Christians resort to the sacred images as to gods. Anathema to those who say that any other delivered us from idols except Christ our God. Anathema to those who dare to say that at any time the Catholic Church received idols. Many years to the Emperors, etc., etc. 535 Anastasius in his Interpretatio (Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. CXXIX., col. 458), gives the word, “Filioque.” Cardinal Julian in the Fifth Session of the Council of Florence gave evidence that there was then extant a very ancient codex containing these words; and this MS., which was in Greek, was actually shown. The Greek scholar Gemistius Pletho remarked that if this were so, then the Latin theologians, like St. Thomas Aquinas would long ago have appealed to the Synod. (Cf. Hefele, Hist. Councils, Vol. V., p. 374, Note 2.) This reasoning is not conclusive if Cardinal Bellarmine is to be believed, who says that St. Thomas had never seen the Acts of this synod. (De Imag. Sanct., Lib. ii., cap. xxii.) 536 Constantine Copronymus turned many monasteries into soldiers' barracks. In this he has been followed by other crowned enemies of Christ. Epitome of the Definition of the Iconoclastic Conciliabulum held in Constantinople, A.D. 754.530   The Definition of the Holy, Great, and Ecumenical Seventh Synod. 543   THE holy and Ecumenical synod, which by the grace of God and most pious command of the God-beloved and orthodox Emperors, Constantine and Leo,531 now assembled in the imperial residence city, in the temple of the holy and inviolate Mother of God and Virgin Mary, surnamed in Blachernæ, have decreed as follows. Satan misguided men, so that they worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. The Mosaic law and the prophets cooperated to undo this ruin; but in order to save mankind thoroughly, God sent his own Son, who turned us away from error and the worshipping of idols, and taught us the worshipping of God in spirit and in truth. As messengers of his saving doctrine, he left us his Apostles and disciples, and these adorned the Church, his Bride, with his glorious doctrines. This ornament of the Church the holy Fathers and the six Ecumenical Councils have preserved inviolate. But the before- mentioned demi-urgos of wickedness could not endure the sight of this adornment, and gradually brought back idolatry under the appearance of Christianity. As then Christ armed his Apostles against the ancient idolatry with the power of the Holy Spirit, and sent them out into all the world, so has he awakened against the new idolatry his servants our faithful Emperors, and endowed them with the same wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Impelled by the Holy Spirit they could no longer be witnesses of the Church being laid waste by the deception of demons, and summoned the sanctified assembly of the God-beloved bishops, that they might institute at a synod a scriptural examination into the deceitful colouring of the pictures (ὁμοιωμάτων) which draws down the spirit of man from the lofty adoration (λατρείας) of God to the low and material adoration (λατρείαν) of the creature, and that they, under divine guidance, might express their view on the subject. Our holy synod therefore assembled, and we, its 338 members, follow the older synodal decrees, and accept and proclaim joyfully the dogmas handed down, principally those of the six holy Ecumenical Synods. In the first place the holy and ecumenical great synod assembled at Nice, etc. After we had carefully examined their decrees under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we found that the unlawful art of painting living creatures blasphemed the fundamental doctrine of our salvation—namely, the Incarnation of Christ, and contradicted the six holy synods. These condemned Nestorius because he divided the one Son and Word of God into two sons, and on the other side, Arius, Dioscorus, Eutyches, and Severus, because they maintained a mingling of the two natures of the one Christ. Wherefore we thought it right, to shew forth with all accuracy, in our present definition the error of such as make and venerate these, for it is the unanimous doctrine of all the holy Fathers and of the six Ecumenical Synods, that no one may imagine any kind of separation or mingling in opposition to the unsearchable, unspeakable, and incomprehensible union of the two natures in the one hypostasis or person. What avails, then, the folly of the painter, who from sinful love of gain depicts that which should not be depicted—that is, with his polluted hands he tries to fashion that which should only be believed in the heart and confessed with the mouth? He makes an image and calls it Christ. The name Christ signifies God and man. Consequently it is an image of God and man, and consequently he has in his foolish mind, in his representation of the created flesh, depicted the Godhead which cannot be represented, and thus mingled what should not be mingled. Thus he is guilty of a double blasphemy—the one in making an image of the Godhead, and the other by mingling the Godhead and manhood. Those fall into the same blasphemy who venerate the image, and the same woe rests upon both, because they err with Arius, Dioscorus, and Eutyches, and with the heresy of the Acephali. When, however, they are blamed for 544 undertaking to depict the divine nature of Christ, which should not be depicted, they take refuge in the excuse: We represent only the flesh of Christ which we have seen and handled. But that is a Nestorian error. For it should be considered that that flesh was also the flesh of God the Word, without any separation, perfectly assumed by the divine nature and made wholly divine. How could it now be separated and represented apart? So is it with the human soul of Christ which mediates between the Godhead of the Son and the dulness of the flesh. As the human flesh is at the same time flesh of God the Word, so is the human soul also soul of God the Word, and both at the same time, the soul being deified as well as the body, and the Godhead remained undivided even in the separation of the soul from the body in his voluntary passion. For where the soul of Christ is, there is also his Godhead; and where the body of Christ is, there too is his Godhead. If then in his passion the divinity remained inseparable from these, how do the fools venture to separate the flesh from the Godhead, and represent it by itself as the image of a mere man? They fall into the abyss of impiety, since they separate the flesh from the Godhead, ascribe to it a subsistence of its own, a personality of its own, which they depict, and thus introduce a fourth person into the Trinity. Moreover, they represent as not being made divine, that which has been made divine by being assumed by the Godhead. Whoever, then, makes an image of Christ, either depicts the Godhead which cannot be depicted, and mingles it with the manhood (like the Monophysites), or he represents the body of Christ as not made divine and separate and as a person apart, like the Nestorians. The only admissible figure of the humanity of Christ, however, is bread and wine in the holy Supper. This and no other form, this and no other type, has he chosen to represent his incarnation. Bread he ordered to be brought, but not a representation of the human form, so that idolatry might not arise. And as the body of Christ is made divine, so also this figure of the body of Christ, the bread, is made divine by the descent of the Holy Spirit; it becomes the divine body of Christ by the mediation of the priest who, separating the oblation from that which is common, sanctifies it. The evil custom of assigning names to the images does not come down from Christ and the Apostles and the holy Fathers; nor have these left behind them any prayer by which an image should be hallowed or made anything else than ordinary matter. If, however, some say, we might be right in regard to the images of Christ, on account of the mysterious union of the two natures, but it is not right for us to forbid also the images of the altogether spotless and ever-glorious Mother of God, of the prophets, apostles, and martyrs, who were mere men and did not consist of two natures; we may reply, first of all: If those fall away, there is no longer need of these. But we will also consider what may be said against these in particular. Christianity has rejected the whole of heathenism, and so not merely heathen sacrifices, but also the heathen worship of images. The Saints live on eternally with God, although they have died. If anyone thinks to call them back again to life by a dead art, discovered by the heathen, he makes himself guilty of blasphemy. Who dares attempt with heathenish art to paint the Mother of God, who is exalted above all heavens and the Saints? It is not permitted to Christians, who have the hope of the resurrection, to imitate the customs of demon-worshippers, and to insult the Saints, who shine in so great glory, by common dead matter. Moreover, we can prove our view by Holy Scripture and the Fathers. In the former it is said: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth;” and: “Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath;” on which account God spoke to the Israelites on the Mount, from the midst of the fire, but showed them no image. Further: “They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,…and served the creature more than the Creator.” [Several other passages, even less to the point, are cited.]532 The same is taught also by the holy Fathers. [The Synod appeals to a spurious passage from Epiphanius and to one inserted into the writings of Theodotus of Ancyra, a friend of St. Cyril's; to utterances—in no way striking—of Gregory of 545 Nazianzum, of SS. Chrysostom, Basil, Athanasius of Amphilochius and of Eusebius Pamphili, from his Letter to the Empress Constantia, who had asked him for a picture of Christ.]533 Supported by the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers, we declare unanimously, in the name of the Holy Trinity, that there shall be rejected and removed and cursed out of the Christian Church every likeness which is made out of any material and colour whatever by the evil art of painters. Whoever in future dares to make such a thing, or to venerate it, or set it up in a church, or in a private house, or possesses it in secret, shall, if bishop, presbyter, or deacon, be deposed; if monk or layman, be anathematised, and become liable to be tried by the secular laws as an adversary of God and an enemy of the doctrines handed down by the Fathers. At the same time we ordain that no incumbent of a church shall venture, under pretext of destroying the error in regard to images, to lay his hands on the holy vessels in order to have them altered, because they are adorned with figures. The same is provided in regard to the vestments of churches, cloths, and all that is dedicated to divine service. If, however, the incumbent of a church wishes to have such church vessels and vestments altered, he must do this only with the assent of the holy Ecumenical patriarch and at the bidding of our pious Emperors. So also no prince or secular official shall rob the churches, as some have done in former times, under the pretext of destroying images. All this we ordain, believing that we speak as doth the Apostle, for we also believe that we have the spirit of Christ; and as our predecessors who believed the same thing spake what they had synodically defined, so we believe and therefore do we speak, and set forth a definition of what has seemed good to us following and in accordance with the definitions of our Fathers. If anyone shall not confess, according to the tradition of the Apostles and Fathers, in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost one godhead, nature and substance, will and operation, virtue and dominion, kingdom and power in three subsistences, that is in their most glorious Persons, let him be anathema. If anyone does not confess that one of the Trinity was made flesh, let him be anathema. If anyone does not confess that the holy Virgin is truly the Mother of God, etc. If anyone does not confess one Christ both God and man, etc. If anyone does not confess that the flesh of the Lord is life-giving because it is the flesh of the Word of God, etc. If anyone does not confess two natures in Christ, etc. If anyone does not confess that Christ is seated with God the Father in body and soul, and so will come to judge, and that he will remain God forever without any grossness, etc. If anyone ventures to represent the divine image (χαρακτήρ) of the Word after the Incarnation with material colours, let him be anathema! If anyone ventures to represent in human figures, by means of material colours, by reason of the incarnation, the substance or person (ousia or hypostasis) of the Word, which cannot be depicted, and does not rather confess that even after the Incarnation he [i.e., the Word] cannot be depicted, let him be anathema! If anyone ventures to represent the hypostatic union of the two natures in a picture, and calls it Christ, and thus falsely represents a union of the two natures, etc.! If anyone separates the flesh united with the person of the Word from it, and endeavours to represent it separately in a picture, etc.! If anyone separates the one Christ into two persons, and endeavours to represent Him who was born of the Virgin separately, and thus accepts only a relative (σχετική) union of the natures, etc. If anyone represents in a picture the flesh deified by its union with the Word, and thus separates it from the Godhead, etc. If anyone endeavours to represent by material colours, God the Word as a mere man, who, although bearing the form of God, yet has assumed the form of a servant in his own person, and thus endeavours to separate him from his 546 inseparable Godhead, so that he thereby introduces a quaternity into the Holy Trinity, etc. If anyone shall not confess the holy ever-virgin Mary, truly and properly the Mother of God, to be higher than every creature whether visible or invisible, and does not with sincere faith seek her intercessions as of one having confidence in her access to our God, since she bare him, etc. If anyone shall endeavour to represent the forms of the Saints in lifeless pictures with material colours which are of no value (for this notion is vain and introduced by the devil), and does not rather represent their virtues as living images in himself, etc. If anyone denies the profit of the invocation of Saints, etc. If anyone denies the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment, and the condign retribution to everyone, endless torment and endless bliss, etc. If anyone does not accept this our Holy and Ecumenical Seventh Synod, let him be anathema from the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and from the seven holy Ecumenical Synods! [Then follows the prohibition of the making or teaching any other faith, and the penalties for disobedience. After this follow the acclamations.] The divine Kings Constantine and Leo said: Let the holy and ecumenical synod say, if with the consent of all the most holy bishops the definition just read has been set forth. The holy synod cried out: Thus we all believe, we all are of the same mind. We have all with one voice and voluntarily subscribed. This is the faith of the Apostles. Many years to the Emperors! They are the light of orthodoxy! Many years to the orthodox Emperors! God preserve your Empire! You have now more firmly proclaimed the inseparability of the two natures of Christ! You have banished all idolatry! You have destroyed the heresies of Germanus [of Constantinople], George and Mansur [μανσουρ, John Damascene]. Anathema to Germanus, the double-minded, and worshipper of wood! Anathema to George, his associate, to the falsifier of the doctrine of the Fathers! Anathema to Mansur, who has an evil name and Saracen opinions! To the betrayer of Christ and the enemy of the Empire, to the teacher of impiety, the perverter of Scripture, Mansur, anathema! The Trinity has deposed these three!534 In this epitome of the verbose definition of the council, I have followed for the most part Hefele. (Hist. of the Councils, Vol. V., p. 309 et seqq.) Now four years old. These are Hefele's words. These are Hefele's words. These are not given in full but are sufficient to give the true gist.

An episode packed with treats (no tricks) to celebrate Halloween. We have a couple of spooky teasers for you as Envy Of None release a new single which sets the tone for things to come from them and you'll hear the most recent release from Jonathan Hultén, who is currently on tour in the UK in support of The Cult while he builds momentum to his forthcoming album in January. We hear from Bruce Soord about the thoughts behind the upcoming The Pineapple Thief EP before they head off on tour in the USA. And as if that wasn't enough, we also mark the 10th Anniversary of “Distant Satellites” by Anathema, which is being released on sparkle Vinyl plus the beautiful remaster of a collaboration between Mariusz Duda and Steven Wilson on the 10th anniversary of “The Old Peace” penned by late Alec Wildey which is getting it's digital debut through Kscope.  

The gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ apart from works, must be jealously guarded, lest diabolically adulterated. Sermon Outline:I. Astonished (v. 6)!II. Adulteration (v. 7).III. Accursed (v. 8-9).IV. Approval (v. 10).

This week's show kicks off our annual celebration of Gothtober in a grand way! Your favorite fiends welcome local Atlanta goth legend Matt Spatial from Now After Nothing who provides us with some tunes that show a true appreciation of the grim and ghastly! That's right, everything turns grey as they once again explore the dark and ethereal world of Goth Rock…What is it we do here at InObscuria? Every show Kevin opens the crypt to exhume and dissect from his personal collection, an artist, album, or collection of tunes from the broad spectrum of rock, punk, and metal. Robert is forced to test his endurance and provide feedback, as he has no idea what he will be subjected to every week. Our hope is that we turn you on to something that was lost on your ears, or something you've simply forgotten about, or that (in our opinion) should have been the next big thing.Songs this week include:Bauhaus – “Sanity Assassin” from Sanity Assassin - Single (1983)Astari Nite – “Tongue Tied Galore” from Resolution Of Happiness (2024)Switchblade Symphony – “Bad Trash” from Serpentine Gallery (1995)Curse Mackey – “Lacerations” from Immoral Emporium (2022)Al1ce – “Wide Awake” from The Thirteenth Hour (2018)Now After Nothing – “Fixation Fantasy” from Artificial Ambivalence (2024)If you'd like to check out Kevin's band THE SWEAR, take a listen on all streaming services or pick up a digital copy of their latest release here: https://theswear.bandcamp.com/If you want to hear Robert and Kevin's band from the late 90s – early 00s BIG JACK PNEUMATIC, check it out here: https://bigjackpnuematic.bandcamp.com/Check out Robert's amazing fire sculptures and metal workings here: http://flamewerx.com/Please subscribe everywhere that you listen to podcasts!Visit us: https://inobscuria.com/https://www.facebook.com/InObscuriahttps://twitter.com/inobscuriahttps://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/Buy cool stuff with our logo on it!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/InObscuria?asc=u

Disclosure: We are part of the Amazon Affiliate/LTK Creator programs. We will receive a small commission at no cost if you purchase a book. This post may contain links to purchase books.Welcome back to the What to Read Next podcast! In this episode of our Novel Nights series, we dive into dark fantasy romances perfect for the fall season. Join Francesca as she shares her top recommendations featuring gothic vibes, dragons, and more. If you're in the mood for a mix of fantasy and romance, this episode is for you!Books Mentioned in this Episode:A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan https://amzn.to/47SAcgF- A dragon romance with a Game of Thrones feel, featuring an arranged marriage and a medieval setting. The Darkest Walz by Ashley R. King https://amzn.to/3Bn5Cja A gothic historical romance set in the 1920s prohibition era with a smuggler heroine and a haunted, secluded island. The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning https://amzn.to/4duUtKv - A southern gothic urban fantasy with a mysterious inheritance, a haunted mansion, and supernatural elements.The Wraith King by Juliette Cross - https://amzn.to/4dtQ4rq A romantasy featuring a fae world with light and dark fae characters, fate, and dragons. Described as a sweet story with a dark gothic vibe. Anathema by Keri Lake https://amzn.to/47SK0Hx- A dark gothic fantasy romance about a mortal woman thrown into an enchanted forest, an assassin lord, and an arcane prophecy. Available on Kindle Unlimited.About this Episode:This episode was recorded as part of our live show, Novel Nights, every Thursday night from 7 to 8 PM Eastern Standard Time on YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, and more. If you missed it, you can catch the replay on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/@WhattoReadNextBlog)Want to check out more book recommendations?Visit What to Read Next Blog for reader tips, popular books like recommendations, and many more posts. Join our What to Read Next Blog Community to get bonus book recommendations, listen to podcasts, and connect with other readers. As a podcast listener, you'll get 20% off your membership forever. Click here to sign up. (https://wtrnblog.substack.com/e3630d38) Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetterLicense code: IP29FC0QKB6DV2UE

People Pleasers or Slaves of the Messiah? Galatians 1:1-10 by William Klock The other day the phone rang.  I answered it and a stranger on the other end asked for Veronica.  I passed the phone to her.  I wondered who it was, but I didn't get much help from Veronica's end of the conversation.  It was all “Mmhmm” and “Yes” and “Okay”.  I had no idea who it was or what it was about.  In contrast, while walking to the church I ended up following a woman who was having a very loud conversation with someone on her cell phone.  I couldn't hear the other person, but I had a pretty good idea what he or she was saying based on the responses this woman was angrily yelling into her phone.  Things like, “Oh!  So I'm being dramatic?” and other things I probably shouldn't repeat in polite company.  We do this reading between the lines when we read St. Paul's epistles.  In them we have one side of a conversation and, thankfully, it's a lot more than “Mmhmm” and “Yes” and “Okay”.  In fact, it's a lot more like “Oh!  So I'm being dramatic?”  And it's not too hard, if we go slowly and think about the context, to piece most of the conversation together.  And so Paul begins his letter to the churches in Galatia writing, “Paul, an apostle…”  And then before he's even begun, he breaks off right there, because he has to defend himself against their attacks on his apostleship.  “My apostleship,” he writes, “doesn't derive from human sources, nor did it come through a human being.  It came through Jesus the Messiah, and God the Father who raised him from the dead.”  We know at the get-go that someone in Galatia is challenging Paul's credentials.  I think we get an even better sense of what's going on if we jump ahead to verse 10 of Galatians 1.  What Paul writes there doesn't get enough attention.  We'll come back and fill things in, but in verse 10 Paul writes to them: Well now…does that sound as though I'm trying to make up to people—or to God?  Or that I'm trying to curry favour with people?  If I were still pleasing people, I wouldn't be a slave of the Messiah.   Three times he says the same thing: Am I trying to make up to people.  Am I trying to curry favour with people?  Am I trying to please people?  So we know someone in Galatian is accusing Paul of abandoning the divine message of the gospel and, instead, preaching a merely human message that will tickle people's ears and win him friends.  Anyone who knew Paul should have known better, of course, but this is how it is.  Now there's actually a text—one that would have been well-known in the Jewish word of the First Century—there's a text that really sharpens the focus of this whole “people pleasing” accusation and that gives us some context for this whole dispute.  It stands out, because this Greek phrase Paul uses for “people pleasing” is essentially the same as another word that pops up in the Greek version of Psalm 52:6 and in the fourth of the Psalms of Solomon.  Psalms of Solomon is a little collection of eighteen psalms from the First Century B.C. and the First Century A.D., probably written by Pharisees or by people very much like the Pharisees.  And there's this Greek word that isn't actually Greek—anthropareskos—that was made up by Greek-speaking Jews and outside of Paul's writings, shows up only in those two other texts.  That fourth “Psalm of Solomon” is titled “A Psalm about the People Pleasers” and it's about people who compromised God's law, cutting corners here and there, in order to suck up to their pagan neighbours.  It speaks of men who would even enter the homes of pagans and fraternise with them.  That might not seem like a problem to us, but it was something faithful Jews did not do.  But once you got out into the real world, out of Judaea, a lot of Jews found it hard to get by in life while completely avoiding contact and fraternisation with gentiles.  In the Psalms of Solomon, the finger seems to be pointed at the corrupt Jewish rulers—people like the Sadducees, the Hasmoneans, and the Herodians.  To the faithful in Israel, these people were selling out the covenant by compromising God's law in order to ingratiate themselves with the pagans. And, we need to be clear, people like the Pharisees weren't angry about the compromise of the people pleasers because they were legalists who were trying to earn their way into heaven through good works.  There's been long tendency to read Galatians in that kind of light ever since Martin Luther.  Luther read the works-righteousness of the medieval church into Paul's adversaries.  And Luther was doing much what St. Augustine had done, when he read his own disputes with the heretic Pelagius into Galatians.  Pelagius, too, taught a sort of works righteousness.  As much as Pelagius and the medieval church did pose real problems, that sort of works righteousness wasn't at issue in these First Century disputes. The reason faithful Jews were obsessed with keeping the law was because they knew that God had chosen them, delivered them from Egypt, put them in the promised land, and called them to be holy—and that this was all for a greater purpose that would somehow involve God, one day, setting this fallen world to rights.  They were trying to be, in Jesus' way of putting it, the “on earth as in heaven” people.  There was a later rabbi who said that if all Israel would keep the torah for a single day, the Messiah would come.  The Pharisees had very similar ideas.  They also believed very firmly—because they knew the story of the Lord and Israel—that if Israel failed to keep the torah, if Israel flirted with pagans and their idolatry the way Deuteronomy warned them not to, the Messiah would not come and God would not establish his kingdom.  Not only that, but the very pagans with whom Israel compromised would destroy Israel and carry the people off into exile, just as the Babylonians had done six hundred years before.  I hope that helps us to understand what's behind this accusation made against Paul that he's a “people pleaser”.  It's not just that he's risking the salvation of some gentile believers in Galatia, but that he's putting in jeopardy the whole destiny of Israel—and probably even the world. In the First Century, Jews were faced with a crisis, and it was important to know who was “in” and who was “out”.  Who were your allies and who were the wicked risking another disaster.  The “people pleasers” were most definitely on the side of the wicked.  They pretended to be on God's side, but their compromises proved otherwise.  It's important for us to remember, too, that this was the mindset in which Paul had been steeped as a Pharisee.  This is the mindset that drove him to persecute the first Christians.  And now Paul is being accused of being one of those very people pleasers. So why would anyone accuse Paul of being a people pleaser?  Well, wherever Paul went, he was preaching that anyone who believed in this Jesus, who was crucified, died, and rose again…that anyone who believed that he is Israel's Messiah and, therefore God's King, this faith is the sign that that person is part of the people of God.  It didn't matter what their ethnic background was.  That was it.  Faith in Jesus the Messiah.  Period.  This is what Paul's epistle to the Galatians is all about.  Faith in Jesus the Messiah.  If a gentile believed, he was as much a member of the family as a Jew who believed.  He didn't need to be circumcised or to have any of the other signs that marked out Jews—not diet or Sabbath, not rules about who you could or couldn't eat with.  But to a lot of people this marked Paul out as a people pleaser.  He was compromising the law and the covenant.  That made him a traitor. I've begun with this, because I think it helps us understand where the focus of Galatians lies.  Ever since Luther, our tendency, at least in our Protestant circles, has been to read Galatians as a letter about how we are saved and as a warning about the dangers of legalism or of mixing works with faith.  The theology in that is right, but the perspective isn't where it should be and I think when we put Galatians back in the proper context and get a look at it from the proper angle, what we discover it's really about is community—about who the people of God are and what marks us out.  And in that light, the problem isn't just “legalism”.  Paul reminds us that what marks out the people of God is faith in Jesus the Messiah and that trying to define the community by any other means is to make it about something other than Jesus—to set up a false gospel. So the accusation against Paul, in a nutshell, is that he's got a gospel of human origin—that he got from someone else or that he made up himself—but a gospel that they think has been watered down to make it more palatable to the gentiles, that makes it too easy for the pagans to call themselves people of God.  If we understand that, then we'll understand these first verses.  This is why Paul breaks off after writing, “Paul, an apostle…”  Remember how be breaks off suddenly and adds: (My apostleship doesn't derive from human sources, nor did it come through a human being; it came through Jesus the Messiah, and God the Father who raised him from the dead.)   Some teachers had arrived in Galatia from Jerusalem and they've told the people there not to listen to Paul.  He's not a real apostle.  He wasn't there in the beginning with Jesus.  He never knew Jesus.  Instead, they should listen to them, because they got their gospel—at least so they claim—from the men who walked with Jesus for three years, real apostles like James and Peter.  And so Paul reminds them that he, too, had an encounter with the risen Messiah.  Paul would still be a Pharisee if it hadn't been for that miraculous encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  And it was in that encounter that Jesus himself commissioned Paul to take this good news to the gentiles.  In fact, it was seeing Jesus risen from the dead that convinced Paul of the truth of the gospel.  So he goes on: Paul, an apostle…[verse 2]and the family who are with me; to the churches in Galatia.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, who gave himself for our sins, to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God our Father, to whom be glory to the ages of ages.  Amen.   Paul…and the family who are with me.  That's the church in Antioch.  First Paul stresses that his apostleship is as from Jesus as that of any other apostle and now he stresses the relationship that he and the church in Antioch have with these churches in Galatia.  They were accusing him of being a people pleaser, of being a traitor, of being a false brother and here he reaches out with verbal arms and embraces them and reminds them that in Jesus they're all family, all brothers and sisters. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Jesus the Messiah our Lord.”  Paul has this amazing way of making everything about Jesus and the gospel.  In the Greek world they greeted each other with the word chairein, which meant “to rejoice”, but in a letter basically just means “greetings” or “salutations”.  This is, for example, how James opens his epistle.  But Paul exchanges chairein for charis, the word for “grace”—from God the Father and from Jesus the Messiah—grace to you.  He adds the Jewish greeting of shalom as well: that means “peace”.  But even his word order here in his greeting sets the tone for the whole letter.  It's not grace and peace to you; it's grace to you and then peace.  Because the sum total of God's position towards humanity is grace and this is manifest uniquely and finally in Jesus the Messiah.  Everything begins with God's grace poured out in and through Jesus.  Even the peace we know and the peace we look forward to in the age to come, even that comes as a result first of God's grace. Paul then follows this up with a four-faceted summary of the good news.  First, Jesus gave himself for our sins, (second) to rescue us from the present evil age, (third) according to the will of God our Father, (four) to whom be glory to the ages of ages.  Amen. Jesus has rescued us from the present evil age.  What does that mean?  Well, when the Jews looked at history, they divided it into two ages.  There was the present evil age dominated by sin and death and full of pain and tears and then there was the age to come when God would fulfil his promises to set the world to rights and where his people would live in his presence forever.  The present evil age is dominated by dark powers that enslave humanity through idolatry and sin.  We worship idols, giving to them the glory we were created to give to God, and we rebel against him—that's sin—and our sin tightens the chains those idols have on us and on creation.  While we were bound up in the present evil age, Jesus came to our rescue, writes Paul.  He seems to have Isaiah's song of the suffering servant in mind as he writes this, because it's this suffering servant who represents Israel and who gives his life to break the chains the idols have cast around God's people.  He dies for their sins and breaks sin's power and he leads the people in a new exodus—into the age to come.  I like the way Tom Wright often reminds us that Jesus' resurrection isn't an odd or one-off event within the old world, but rather it's a launching and defining event of God's new world.  Paul's gospel, his good news, is that Jesus has dealt with the sins that chained us as slaves in the dark and bloody temples of the idols, and he now leads us out into the sunlight, into the beginnings of God's new world. Now, here's why this is so important in Paul's letter to the Galatians.  Remember that for Jews, the problem with gentiles was that they were idolaters.  There was one true God, the God of Israel, but the gentiles instead worshipped idols and they lived and behaved sinfully, as idolaters do.  This is what made them unclean and so offensive to the Jews.  This why good Jews wouldn't go into their homes or eat with them.  There were some gentiles who saw the Jews and were attracted to their purity of life and joined up.  But to do that, they had to be circumcised.  It was a dramatic (and painful) sign that they were leaving behind the idolatrous pagan world and becoming part of Abraham's family.  But—and this is vital to understanding Galatians—Paul's point is that the gospel tells us that on the cross Jesus defeated those evil powers when he dealt with the sin that put us in their chains.  This is how there can now be one family.  This is how the gentiles can be welcomed into this new Israel.  Again, If God has defeated the idols, the dark powers of the evil age, then the gentiles, the pagans can trust in the God of Israel and become part of Jesus the Messiah's family.  And, second, because Jesus's death has dealt with sin, then those who believe in him and who become part of his family, they are no longer “sinners” or idolaters.  The thing that separated Jews and gentiles has been dealt with by Jesus at the cross, and so membership in his family is by faith in him alone and nothing else.  To add anything else to that—like circumcision or any of those other things that marked out the Jews—to add anything else is to detract from Jesus and to lose the gospel itself. And then points three and four of Paul's gospel summary: The cross wasn't some accident of history.  This was God's plan all along.  What Jesus has done reveals the faithfulness of God and that, in turn, brings the gospel back to the glorification of God.  We often make the gospel about us, but for Paul the gospel is always and only about God.  God has redeemed us and in that he shows his glory and this is why we give him glory and praise.  The gospel begins and ends in with God. So that's the gospel in all its magnificent glory.  We can hear the shock and the disappointment as Paul goes on in verse 6 and following, rebuking the Galatians.  He writes: I'm astonished that you are turning away so quickly from the one who called you by the grace of the Messiah, and going after another gospel—not that it is another gospel, it's just that there are some people stirring up trouble for you and wanting to pervert the gospel of the Messiah.  But even if we—or an angel from heaven!—should announce a gospel other than the one we announced to you, let such a person be accursed.  I said it before and I now say it again, if anyone offers you a gospel other than the one you received, let that person be accursed.   It's not just that these churches have gone astray.  That would be bad enough, but it's how quickly after he left them that they've turned away.  The language suggests that Paul might be comparing his own astonishment to the astonishment of Moses at how quickly the Israelites went from praising the Lord for his miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea to creating and worshipping a golden calf.  As dumbfounding as it was to Moses to find his people dancing around an idol, Paul is dumbfounded at how quickly and how easily the Galatians have been led astray to another gospel.  And Paul quickly amends that, because, really, there is no other gospel.  There's the gospel.  Everything else is just is a lie. Also, the language Paul uses to write of them “turning”, that has its own shameful undertones.  The word he uses is one used in the Greek Old Testament to describe desertion.  In 2 Maccabees there's the poignant story of seven brothers whom Antiochus tried to force to eat pork, killing them one after the other when they refused.  When it's down to the youngest of them, the text says that Antiochus tried to entice the boy to “turn form his ancestral ways”.  (Or course, the boy refused and became a martyr.)  This is the same language Paul uses here and I think just to stress his point.  This probably corresponds to what we read in Acts about “certain persons from James” who arrived in Galatia not long after Paul and Barnabas had returned from their mission there.  Paul had seen these people devoted to Jesus and to the gospel, he'd seen them transformed by it, and now he's shocked that they've turned from the gospel—and so quickly and easily.  If they're going to accuse him of being disloyal to Israel's traditions, he turns that accusation right back around on them.  They've been disloyal to, they've deserted Jesus. He's not into the details of their corrupted gospel yet, but he says here that they've turned from the one who called them by grace.  They've turned from God himself.  Paul puts the emphasis on grace as manifest in Jesus the Messiah.  God's call is an act of pure grace.  His sending of Jesus is a pure act of grace.  The God of Israel has finally sent his Messiah as a gift of pure grace—and Paul now points his finger at these people and says—And you've turned away from him! So what was their “other gospel”?  We have to do more reading between the lines and it won't be fully fleshed out until we get through the rest of the letter, but the best way to look at it may be to see these new teachers not so much preaching a different Jesus, but preaching Jesus as the culmination of a different story.  Paul was preaching Jesus as the fulfilment a story in which the God of Israel defeats the powers of sin and death to rescue his people from the present evil age, but these folks seemed to be preaching Jesus as an add-on to Jewish life as it already was—maybe Jesus as the fulfilment of some Jewish nationalist hope or agenda: maybe a message that fired up zeal against the gentiles, for example, instead of announcing to them the grace made available in Jesus. And I think it's likely that Paul had in mind what “gospel” meant in the Roman world.  To the Greeks and Romans, “gospel” was the good news announced about the accession or the birthday of Caesar.  Caesar's new cult was spreading like wildfire through Asia and that included Galatia.  It's not that the Christian there were in danger of worshiping Caesar.  The danger was that they would embrace torah to save themselves from persecution for not worshiping Caesar.  To refuse to worship Caesar—not to mention all the other gods—would be a bit like marching the wrong way, carrying the flag upside-down, and saying unpatriotic things in the middle of a Canada Day parade.  But in that culture, not only was it disloyal, if and when calamity struck the city or the country, you'd be the one to get the blame for it, because you'd angered the gods.  But the Jews, they were uniquely exempt.  The Jews would rather die than worship an idol, so after all the trouble they'd caused him, Caesar had granted them an exemption.  And those first Christians started claiming that exemption for themselves.  They were, after all, Jews.  Even the gentile converts claimed it.  But then to claim to be Jews, well there was pressure to start acting like Jews, too—and that became a problem. And so Paul announces: Anathema!  A curse.  The real gospel, the true gospel is about how, in Jesus and his death and resurrection, God has dealt with sin and inaugurated a new age.  That's why it's good news.  But these new teachers, they're not just veering off course a little.  They're completely wrong.  They're telling a different story.  They're not announcing the good news that God's new creation has started.  No, they're just giving advice about how to live and get along in the present evil age.  There's no good news there.  As my New Testament prof, Gordon Fee, used to put it, they'd gone backwards from AD to BC—going from the bright sunlight of God's new day, back into the darkness of the old.  No, Paul says, if any—even if an angel from heaven—proclaims anything other than the good news that I've proclaimed, let that person be accursed. Brothers and Sisters, it's really very simple.  It's about Jesus and Jesus alone and it's faith in him that defines the people of God.  There is an organic relationship between faith and works such that real faith will always show itself in our lives.  We know good trees because they bear good fruit.  But as much as good works borne of faith mark us out, the thing that makes, the thing that defines us as the people of God is faith in Jesus.  That's it.  Nothing else.  Whenever we add something else—whether it's circumcision as in Galatia or some other thing or set of rules, when we establish some ethnic or cultural criteria, when we set up some kind of personal or ecstatic or emotional experience that stands alongside Jesus—we diminish Jesus and we rob God of his glory and we lose the gospel.  The solution, I think, if we listen to Paul, is to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and the cross.  Over and over Paul comes back to Jesus, declaring things like “who loved me and gave himself for me”.  We need to do the same.  Every week the Lord offers us a reset when he invites us to his Table.  Here we recall and participate anew in those events by which Jesus the Messiah gave himself for our sins, to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God our Father.  Here we're reminded of grace, to go into another week with our eyes focused on Jesus that we might live to the glory of our gracious God and for the sake of his kingdom.  Here we're reminded again that it's all about God's grace poured out in Jesus.  It's not about us, it's not about who we are, it's not about what we've done or will do, it's all about and only about Jesus. Let's pray: Heavenly Father, you have poured out your amazing grace on us, giving your Son as a sacrifice for our sin and rescuing us from the bondage of the present evil age.  We should be overwhelmed by your grace and by your Son, but we confess that we too often lose our focus on him.  By your grace, set our eyes again and always on Jesus, that we might perpetually be amazed by your grace, so that we are never tempted to diminish your glory by adding anything else to the gospel.  In his name we pray.  Amen.

"I'm bored!" we hear people say, maybe even we ourselves have said this. St. Theophan the Recluse offers practical advice to overcome boredom and the feeling of being all alone. -BUY the book which includes this text: "The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned to It": https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/new-products/the-spiritual-life-new-edition/ -LISTEN to "What is an Anathema?" by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://youtu.be/N7LEV_WqRw0 -LISTEN to "On Truth & Love" by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://youtu.be/rIOg5LTU-p4 -BUY “The Path to Salvation” by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/books/monastery-publications/the-path-to-salvation/ -BUY “Thoughts for Each Day of the Year” by St. Theophan the Recluse: http://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=tedy -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Theophan writes: You write, "I am left alone and I am bored." This is a natural feeling. But it seems to me that you should not feel this way after the decisions you made and what you were told to do in consequence of this. If the latter took root in you at all, then you would never have realized that you were alone, even though you are by yourself. You would not have realized you were alone, because you would have realized that the Lord is close by, as is your Guardian Angel—not in thought, but in actuality. Then the feeling of loneliness would have seemed out of place, and consequently, the boredom that follows. Here is the most reliable way for you to avoid it: Arrange things so you do not have a single idle moment and all your time is filled with suitable occupations so that, upon completion of one activity, you have another one ready to begin. What kind of activities should these be? 1) Aesthetic occupations: music, singing, painting. 2) Some sort of handicraft: knitting, needlework and the like. 3) The best remedy for boredom, however, is to acquire a taste for serious reading and the study of subjects that you are unfamiliar with. It is not so much the reading that drives away boredom as the study. would note for you that the study Count Speransky is referring to is the study of entire sciences, or certain parts of them. By this, it is obvious that one avoids any reading of frivolous books. It seems that you do not like to do this anyway. That is good. Do not give up this habit. Read more the spiritual books (than scientific ones). This is the sphere of the most serious subjects, and, most importantly, the most necessary. In this sphere everything is new and never becomes obsolete. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Kscope are releasing the debut EP by The Radicant who you may know as Vincent Cavanagh, the former frontman of Anathema. The Radicant is a solo project of sorts which includes collaborators from many disciplines, informed in part by Vincent's composition work for recent multi-media installations by fine artists; so this is pop music presented as aural sculpture. The EP is out now, so it was time for Billy Reeves to catch up with the man himself, in a Grade II listed north London church, recommissioned as London's newest art gallery. Where else?!

Talking about WEATHER SYSTEMS, a side-project from ANATHEMA's Daniel Cavanaugh. Plus Tim debunks his own unfounded conspiracy theory. WEATHER SYSTEMS "Do Angels Sing Like Rain?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbTCpEqGfuc #anathema #weathersystems @weathersystemsband #dannycavanaugh #doommetal #metalpodcast PODCAST THEM DOWN - https://linktr.ee/pctd https://patreon.com/podcastthemdown

St. Theophan's answer to arguably the most fundamental question for each man: How can I save my soul? "What does one say to the person who asks: 'How can I save my soul?' This: Repent, and being strengthened by the power of grace in the Holy Mysteries, walk in the path of God's commandments, under the direction which the Holy Church gives you through its God-given priesthood. All of this must be done in a spirit of sincere faith which has no reservations." -St. Theophan the Recluse -READ the text of this recording: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/soul_save.aspx#:~:text=Theophan%20the%20Recluse,through%20its%20God%2Dgiven%20priesthood. -LISTEN to "What is an Anathema?" by St. Theophan the Recluse:https://youtu.be/N7LEV_WqRw0-LISTEN to "On Truth & Love" by St. Theophan the Recluse:https://youtu.be/rIOg5LTU-p4 -BUY “The Path to Salvation” by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/books/monastery-publications/the-path-to-salvation/ -BUY “Thoughts for Each Day of the Year” by St. Theophan the Recluse: http://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=tedy _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Sunday Morning July 7, 2024

In this episode, we discuss the two pillars of the Church - Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Though Peter and Paul had some differences, their unity is symbolized by their love of Christ, which they embraced on their way to martyrdom. Read along with Father from 1 Corinthians 12: 1-20 "Now concerning spiritual things, my brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that when you were heathens, you went to dumb idols, according as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, saith Anathema to Jesus. And no man can say the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit; And there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord; And there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all. And the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit. To one indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom: and to another, the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; To another, faith in the same spirit; to another, the grace of healing in one Spirit; To another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the discerning of spirits; to another, diverse kinds of tongues; to another, interpretation of speeches. But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God hath set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. And if they all were one member, where would be the body? But now there are many members indeed, yet one body."

Start Artist Song Time Album Year 1. Anathema 0:00:36 Anathema Pulled Under At 2000 Meters A Second 5:17 A Natural Disaster 2004 2. Verbal Delirium 0:06:31 Verbal Delirium The Watcher 9:00 Conundrum 2022 3. Uriah Heep 0:16:14 Uriah Heep Silver Sunlight 4:27 Chaos & Colour 2023 4. Circus Maximus 0:21:08 Circus Maximus Ultimate Sacrifice 8:59 […]

Every year during the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the questions arise: "Why are we anathematizing people? Is the Church really sending them to hell? What is an anathema?" In his homily on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, St. Theophan the Recluse provides as answer to such questions, raising our theologoical consciences higher and guarding the faithful against seculization of the Church increasingly present today. -READ the text here: https://www.orthodox.net/articles/anathema-bp-theophan.html#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20an%20anathema%20is,to%20think%20upon%20joining%20her. -WATCH the Rite of the Triumph Orthodoxy (Anathema Service, or Synodikon) in English and Church Slavonic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZzhpSoaXtM&t=543s -WATCH a short, powerful video of the Proclomation of Anathemas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF00JJ13l7Y -READ St. John Maximovitch addressing the same topic: https://catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-word-anathema-and-its-meaning.html -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Audio of singing "Anathema!" at the beginning of this recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZzhpSoaXtM&t=543s _______ St. Theophan teaches: To some people our anathemas seem inhumane, to others constricting. Such charges might be valid in other situations, but there is no way they can apply to our Rite of Orthodoxy. Let us take, for example, a temperance society. It has rules which every member must fulfill. And each of its members is a member precisely because he accepts and abides by its rules. Now suppose that some member not only refuses to abide by the rules but also holds many views completely opposed to those of the society and even rises up against its very goal. He not only does not himself observe temperance but even reviles temperance itself and disseminates notions which might tempt others and deflect them from temperance. What does the society ordinarily do with such people? First it admonishes them, and then it expels them. There you have an anathema! No one protests this, no one reproaches the society for being inhuman. Everyone acknowledges that the society is acting in a perfectly legitimate manner and that if it were to act otherwise, it could not exist. Do you not see with what wisdom and foresight the holy Church acts when she makes us perform the present proclamation and listen to it? And yet they say, "This is outdated." It is precisely now that it is relevant. Perhaps 100 years ago it was not relevant. But one must say concerning our time, that if a Rite of Orthodoxy did not as yet exist, it would be needful to introduce one, and to perform it not only in the capital cities but in all places and in all churches: in order to collect all the evil teachings opposed to the Word of God, and to make them known to all, in order that all might know what they need to beware of and what kind of teachings to avoid. Many are corrupted in mind solely due to ignorance, whereas a public condemnation of ruinous teachings would save them from perdition. Whether your teaching and your name are pronounced as being under anathema or not, you already fall under it when your opinions are opposed to those of the Church, and when you persist in them. Fearful is the anathema. Leave off your evil opinions. Amen. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

Welcome back everyone to a return of our original podcast, not seen in quite some time! Today, Kevin and Jason are discussing some of the recent changes to Pathfinder 2e since the release of the remastered rules, as well as some random stuff that pops up mid-conversation! You can visit us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and even chat with us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Also, check us out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! If you'd like to help us out, and maybe give a Hero Point to a character, buy us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! In the market for some new dice? (who isn't?)  Use code SHOTS15 at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Easy Roller Dice⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 15% off your order!

THIS EPISODE COMES WITH A RUDE WORD WARNING! Welcome to Episode 167 of the Kscope podcast, the mornings are getting brighter, the daffs are out and Spring is round the corner so our thoughts have turned to regeneration and replenishment. Record Store Day special editions have been announced, and we will also be celebrating some of the other reissues that Kscope have either released recently or have on the horizon; we're re-stocking the shelves and the cupboards for you…  so…. ..in a bumper edition Billy Reeves chats to Mike Vennart who is trusting us with his Oceansize re-issues whilst he enjoys his day job(s) with Biffy Clyro and Empire State Bastard; Steven Wilson talks about the reaction to ‘The Raven That Refused To Sing'; Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) reflects on 25 years in showbiz; Kristoffer Rygg of Ulver on putting himself out there and Aviv Geffen (Blackfield) explains his ‘odd-couple' relationship with the aforementioned Mr Wilson.   And the music from the brand new unblemished vinyl editions comes from OCEANSIZE THE PINEAPPLE THIEF STEVEN WILSON BLACKFIELD LID (Daniel Cavanagh of Anathema & Eric Wagner of Trouble) OZRIC TENTACLES MANSUN   FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/Kscopemusic​​ INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/kscopemusic TWITTER www.twitter.com/kscopemusic​​ WEBSITE www.kscopemusic.com

Start Artist Song Time Album Year 0:00:49 11. Alternative 4 1998 0:00:56 Anathema Fragile Dreams 5:24 Alternative 4 1998 0:06:20 10. Serenades 1993 0:06:23 Anathema Alone 4:16 Serenades 1993 0:10:39 9. Eternity 1996 0:10:43 Anathema Sentient 2:54 Eternity 1996 0:13:36 8. A Fine Day To Exit 2001 0:13:40 Anathema Release 5:29 A Fine Day To […]

The siblings are exploring the world of cursed and haunted objects on today's episode! We take a look at the long history of medieval book curses, a haunted wedding dress and painting, and an African Power Figure. A curse on ye who dares to not listen to this episode! If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a review or give us a 5-star rating, and please, for the love of God!!! Follow us!   Medieval Book Curses Drogin Marc. Anathema! : Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses. Allanheld Osmun ; A. Schram 1983. https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2017/05/frying-pans-forks-and-fever-medieval-book-curses.html Haraszti, Zoltán. “Medieval Manuscripts.” The Catholic Historical Review, vol. 14, no. 2, 1928, pp. 237–47. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25012519. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.   The Haunted Wedding Dress and "The Hands Resist Him" https://www.blairhistory.org/baker-mansion-1849.html https://factschology.com/mmm-podcast-articles/haunted-wedding-dress-anna-baker http://www.pennsylvania-mountains-of-attractions.com/real-haunted-mansion.html https://www.stonehamstudios.com/haunted https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-hands-resist-him-the-moving-haunted-painting-that-scares-its-owners-to-death/ https://the-line-up.com/the-hands-resist-him   Music: Nightmare by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/    

Monday, 8 January 2024   “But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.” Acts 23:21   More literally, the Greek reads, “Therefore, you should not be persuaded by them. For more than forty men of them are lurking, who anathematized themselves, neither to eat nor to drink until that they have killed him. And now, they are ready, awaiting the promise from you” (CG).   In the previous verse, Paul's nephew told the Roman commander that the Jews agreed to ask him to bring Paul down to the council on the following day. His words now continue, beginning with, “Therefore, you should not be persuaded by them.”   Without having yet said it, the meaning is clear. Something is amiss that sets the council against Paul. He has heard of it and has come into the Roman barracks to reveal it to the commander. His words continue with the actual details of the preplanned plot, saying, “For more than forty men of them are lurking.”   The word is enedreuó. This is its second and final use in Scripture. The first was seen in Luke 11–   “And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, 54 lying in wait [enedreuó] for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.” Luke 11:53, 54   It is derived from enedra, an ambush, plot, treachery, etc. Thus, it signifies to lurk. Figuratively, then, it means to plot Paul's assassination. Of these lurking men, Paul's nephew continues to describe them, saying, “who anathematized themselves.”   It is the same word the men used in Acts 23:14 when speaking to the chief priests and elders, “Anathema, anathematized ourselves – tasting nothing until that we should kill Paul.”    They had irretrievably bound themselves to the killing of Paul until the matter was seen through. They were firm and fixed in their determination to “neither to eat nor to drink until that they have killed him.” This is, again, the same thought expressed in Acts 23:14 where it said that they would taste nothing until they had completed their task.   The words show the reliability of Luke's account. In verse 14, the overall word geuomai, or taste, was used. That is now explained by Paul's nephew as either eating or drinking. Nothing was to pass their lips until the matter was completed. With that stated, he next tells the commander, “And now, they are ready, awaiting the promise from you.”   Once the request by the Jews is approved by the commander, the plot will be put into action. In the case of this event, the charcoal is in the pit, the lighter fluid is absorbed into the coals, and the match has been lit. The only thing to start the fire is for the commander to approve the request.   If he takes the boy's recommendation and is not persuaded by them, the events will take a different turn. This is what the boy was sent to convince him of.   Life application: The use of the words “eat nor drink” instead of “taste” provides a nice touch as to the authenticity of the narrative. Unfortunately, many versions translate the word that should be rendered as “taste” in verse 14 as “eat.” In this, the true sense of the words is lost.   The words used in Scripture are purposeful and carefully selected by God to reveal the unfolding of a process that we can learn from. When those words are mistranslated, we will get a faulty sense of what is being conveyed. Unfortunately, pretty much every translation will have such errors because they were translated by men.   Men get distracted, they get tired, they get mentally overloaded, etc. Such things are inevitable. Therefore, it is profitable to read more than one translation if you want to get a fuller and probably more suitable sense of what is being conveyed. The next time you go through the Bible, maybe consider a parallel Bible. You can get them with two, three, or even four translations on a single page. It is a great way to compare what is translated and then to consider why there are differences.   Above all, keep reading the word! It is a treasure of delight as it details the unfolding of God's wonderful plan of redemption for the people of the world.   Lord God, how thankful we are that there is a written record of what You are doing in the history of redemption. We don't need to trust anyone who makes a claim about Your intentions if what they say doesn't align with Your word. How grateful we are that we have the anchor to keep us from being tossed about on the seas of theological confusion. Thank You, O God, for Your precious and superior word. Amen.

Monday, 1 January 2024   They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. Acts 23:14   A literal translation is, “Who, having come to the chief priests and the elders said, ‘Anathema, anathematized ourselves – tasting nothing until that we should kill Paul'” (CG).   In the previous verse, it was noted that forty men had come together against Paul. Of them, it next says, “Who, having come to the chief priests and the elders.” They had made a joint oath to kill Paul. This is often translated as a conspiracy. Now, they will present their intentions to the chief priests and elders. As such, and even if they have not joined in the oath, these rulers are now a part of this conspiracy.   It was said in their midst quite some time earlier, “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; 39 but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God” (Acts 5:39). This was repeated in part in Acts 23:9.   As this movement has taken root, it means that these men are clearly pitting themselves against God if they agree to what is next said by the forty men, “Anathema, anathematized ourselves.”   The way the Greek is structured in these words follows the pattern of a Hebrew idiom where a verb is repeated while being restructured for emphasis. This intensifies the words being spoken. The word “great” stated in the NKJV may help convey this idea for our English understanding, but it is not a part of the Greek. The idiom itself is sufficient to understand the intensive nature of the statement.   They have irretrievably bound themselves to a particular matter until it is seen through. With that, they next explain what it is they have committed to, saying, “tasting nothing until that we should kill Paul.”   These men know that the faction of the Sadducees would be more than happy to hear this news. The brutality of the high priest was known, and he would be most displeased with how the events of the inspection of Paul came out. Knowing this, they will use his authority as a pretext to be rid of Paul.   In their oath, and in the fact that they are repeating its substance to the chief priests and elders, there is conveyed a sense of urgency. They would quickly lose their strength and their stamina if their request was not expedited. They are trusting that what they recommend will be approved and acted upon speedily. What is occurring also matches the words of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14 –   “Then one of the people said, ‘Your father strictly charged [literally: swearing, has sworn] the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.' And the people were faint. 29 But Jonathan said, ‘My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?'” 1 Samuel 14:28-30   Life application: If you are plotting to do wickedness and you go to someone in a higher position of authority to get approval for what you are doing, it does not exonerate you from your actions.   For example, if you are planning on murdering your child through abortion, you might go through the court system and get them to declare abortion legal in the land. Should that be approved, it does not mean that you are now absolved from the guilt of murder when you have your child killed.   This goes along with things like voting as well. If you vote for someone who will work to make abortion legal, you are participating in the resulting laws being passed. We all need to understand that just because something is legal, it does not mean it is morally right in God's eyes. The only way to be freed from the sin debt you bear is to come to Jesus and be cleansed. From there, live rightly and in accord with Scripture. This is what God would have you do.   Lord God Almighty, we are prone to make all kinds of mistakes in life. We may try to hide some of them by claiming what we are doing is legal. But if it is contrary to Your will, we are guilty of our actions, nonetheless. Help us to consider this and to do what is right and good in Your eyes at all times. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.

Quick Teaser trailer for Grey Matters Episode 3Support the show

Kscope Podcast 164 - Questions Answered: Bruce Soord, Mariusz Duda, Daniel Cardoso & Anathema YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Is there a new The Pineapple Thief album on the way? What does it sound like? How about the new Mariusz Duda album? Is it as beautiful as they say? How are the Anathema boys getting on? Are they OK? These questions are answered right here, simply tune in and use your ears as radar. Tracklist; - THE PINEAPPLE THIEF The Frost (from It Leads to This) 9th February 2024 - MARIUSZ DUDA I Love To Chat With You, Good Morning Fear Mongering, Embracing the Unknown (from AFR AI D) OUT NOW - HEAD CONTROL SYSTEM Skin Flick (from Murder Nature) OUT NOW - ANATHEMA Anathema (from Distant Satellites) OUT NOW FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/Kscopemusic INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/kscopemusic TWITTER www.twitter.com/kscopemusic​​ WEBSITE www.kscopemusic.com

When Chroma's army marches Rowen and the kids into the center of Reddington. The Anathema rescues them. Chroma reveals his true identity. If you want even more Rainbow Surfers adventures, be sure to pick up the "Becoming A Rainbow Surfer" storybook! Head over to this Barnes and Noble link to pick up your copy of the Rainbow Surfers book today!

--{ "And by Peace... "Enormity of Conformity, Aimed at Majority, Modus Psycho Logical, Cunningly Diabolical."}-- Original Talk June 23, 2019 - War - Adapting - Israel, Pro-Palestinian Protesters - Ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan, Nigorno-Karabakh - History of Middle East, Ottoman Empire, Turkey - China's New Silk Road - Brandon Turbeville's New Articles on Syria - Iran was on the List from the 1990s - Remember to Visit My Website www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com and See All Official Sites Listed There - Please Donate and Order - Nudge Units, Behavioural Insights Teams - Depopulation, Austerity Agenda - Hegelian Dialectic - United Nations has Called China the Model State for the World to Follow - Shadow Banning - Bertrand Russell, Credit System - CIA, MK Ultra; Shocks, LSD to Depattern the Brain - Money, Central Banking Systems - Africa, Boer War, Claiming Resources (Diamonds) for Themselves - Rockefeller, Competition is a Sin - U.S. Soldiers in Iraq, "We've Come to Give You Democracy" - In Stores, Secret Surveillance Tracks Your Every Move - DNA and Facial Recognition - Data is Power, That's Why They're After It - Movie, Anon - Social Credit System is also To Do with Eugenics - Movie, Gattaca - Cold Spring Harbor - The Uniqueness of the Individual is the Target; That is Anathema to Conformity of the Social System - Well-Paid Teachers to Indoctrinate.

Join Clancy and the gang as they zoom through Yellowburg on the LightTrain, only to discover a G.L.E.A.M. machine that's not just broken—it's sabotaged! Can Clancy trust anyone in this colorful world turned dark? Find out as secrets are revealed, alliances are tested, and a magical amulet could change everything! If you want even more Rainbow Surfers adventures, be sure to pick up the "Becoming A Rainbow Surfer" storybook! Head over to this Barnes and Noble link to pick up your copy of the Rainbow Surfers book today!

This week I am joined by Samuel David, author of the recently released book The Red Shepherd: Towards a New Image of Dumuzid to discuss aspects of Mesopotamian magic and his work with these Mysteries. Samuel is a Mesopotamian polytheist, artist, writer, researcher, and educator based in the American Midwest. His presentations at local pagan festivals, national, and international conventions include lectures, rituals, and workshops and his adaptation of “The Descent of Inanna” has been featured as classroom material for California State University, Los Angeles' 2020 ancient history syllabus. As a representative for Temple Sangamon, chairperson for The Council of Near Eastern Pagan Religions, and founder of the religious non-profit organization known as Four Reeds, he actively networks and collaborates with others to represent and protect the interests of those who seek to revive the worship of the Ancient Near Eastern gods. This episode sheds light on the intricate practices and beliefs surrounding the revered Shepherd of Mesopotamian lore. With evidence sourced from various historical documents and archaeological findings, we aim to provide a balanced and well-researched viewpoint. Samuel's new book has been released through Anathema, and you can find it here: https://www.anathemapublishing.com/books-prints/p/the-red-shepherd He is also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rodandring/ Interested in Esoteric Scholarship & historical Occult practice? Check out our flagship training program: https://www.mystai.co.uk/omm Follow Mystai in all your usual places:

This week's show kicks off our annual celebration of Gothtober! Your favorite fiends provide a true appreciation of the grim and ghastly as they don all-black garb, guy-liner, and a healthy dose of black no. 1 on their mop tops. That's right, everything turns grey as they once again explore the dark and ethereal world of Goth Rock…What is it we do here at InObscuria? Every show Kevin opens the crypt to exhume and dissect from his personal collection, an artist, album, or collection of tunes from the broad spectrum of rock, punk, and metal. Robert is forced to test his endurance and provide feedback, as he has no idea what he will be subjected to every week. Our hope is that we turn you on to something that was lost on your ears, or something you've simply forgotten about, or that (in our opinion) should have been the next big thing.Songs this week include:Now After Nothing – “Sick Fix” from Sick Fix - Single (2023)Marble Orchard – “We Who Were Born To Suffer” from Building Monuments To Misery (2023) The Damned – “Bad Weather Girl” from Darkadelic (2023)Wailin Storms – “In The Heart Of The Sea” from The Silver Snake Unfolds (2022)Unto Others – “Out In The Graveyard” from I Believe In Halloween (2021)De Arma – “Illusions Of Love” from Strayed In The Shadows (2021)The Swear – “Love Moves On” from Love Moves On - single (2014)If you'd like to check out Kevin's band THE SWEAR, take a listen on all streaming services or pick up a digital copy of their latest release here: https://theswear.bandcamp.com/If you want to hear Robert and Kevin's band from the late 90s – early 00s BIG JACK PNEUMATIC, check it out here: https://bigjackpnuematic.bandcamp.com/Check out Robert's amazing fire sculptures and metal workings here: http://flamewerx.com/Please subscribe everywhere that you listen to podcasts!Visit us: https://inobscuria.com/https://www.facebook.com/InObscuriahttps://twitter.com/inobscuriahttps://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/Buy cool stuff with our logo on it!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/InObscuria?asc=u

This episode looks at the third goddess in our Canaanite trilogy, the warrior goddess Anath, the sister or helpmate of the Canaanite deity Ba'al Hadad. Anath's attributes and role with respect to the Israelites is contested, as is her role as a fertility and hunting goddess. The scholarship has a hard time reconciling this bloodthirsty goddess with a connection to fertility, but the connection is actually very clear. We talk about ancient Earth mother worship, the idea of something that is "anathema" (a term that comes from the name of this goddess), and how her violent nature connects her to the agricultural cycle of life.

Before the reformation of Carcass, there was a project that brought together many different metal musicians. Jeff Walker seemed to call his entire roladex of metallers. Including members of Napalm Death, Him, other members of Carcass, Cradle of Filth, Anathema, and Faith No More! So, when you have this esteemed group of players from legendary metal bands, he did exactly what everybody would have wanted, he released a covers album of classic country and Americana songs. Who asked for this? Join Nik and Duncan to see if you should be. https://duncan-evans.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/dmapodcast/

August 20, 2023 Galatians 1:6-10

Why is Baptism such an Anathema to so many people who claim they follow Jesus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Q&A episode, I address a question from Duncan, who reached out and asked: Is technology anathema to permaculture? Software That Can Be Used While Designing Adobe Creative Cloud AutoCAD Google Earth Google Meet Google Slides Procreate ShapeWorks Sketchup Two Drones I Like DJI Air (I flew the 2 for a Summer. The 3 is now out) Skydio 2+ (Recommended to me by a friend who is a professional drone pilot for a Made-in-the-USA alternative to DJI.)

re.Fika with Vicky's guest this week is Horror Author Nick Roberts. Nick Roberts is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Marshall University where he earned his doctorate in Leadership Studies. As an active member of the Horror Writers Association, his short works have been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. His novel, Anathema, won Debut Novel of the Year at the 2020-2021 Horror Authors Guild Awards. His best-selling novel, The Exorcist's House, was released in 2022 by Crystal Lake Publishing, and his first fiction collection, It Haunts the Mind & Other Stories is available now. He currently resides in South Carolina with his wife and three children and is an advocate for people struggling with substance use disorders. You can learn more about Nick, and his work at these links. www.nickrobertsauthor.com www.facebook.com/spookywv www.instagram.com/spookywv www.tiktok.com/@spookywv www.twitter.com/nroberts9859

re.Fika with Vicky's guest this week is Horror Author Nick Roberts. Nick Roberts is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Marshall University where he earned his doctorate in Leadership Studies. As an active member of the Horror Writers Association, his short works have been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. His novel, Anathema, won Debut Novel of the Year at the 2020-2021 Horror Authors Guild Awards. His best-selling novel, The Exorcist's House, was released in 2022 by Crystal Lake Publishing, and his first fiction collection, It Haunts the Mind & Other Stories is available now. He currently resides in South Carolina with his wife and three children and is an advocate for people struggling with substance use disorders. You can learn more about Nick, and his work at these links. www.nickrobertsauthor.com www.facebook.com/spookywv www.instagram.com/spookywv www.tiktok.com/@spookywv www.twitter.com/nroberts9859

Homestead on the Corner is proud to present the winner of our 2023 Anathema Writing Contest! Thank you to everyone who submitted their stories and took part in our first writing competition, and we hope you enjoy their story. CONTENT WARNING: Descriptions of religiously motivated violence in a fantasy setting, body horror and transformation, and some mentions of gore B-Side 12: In 2005, Anna Sheridan published her first collection of short stories through Poultice Press. This is one of those stories... Written by Griff and narrated by Van Winkle, with original music by Jesse Haugen. Produced by Virginia Spotts, with dialogue editing and sound design by Van Winkle. This episode was made possible by our supporters at Patreon.com/homesteadcorner, ko-fi.com/homesteadcorner, and our backers on Seed&Spark. For more information, additional content, and episode transcript, visit homesteadonthecorner.com/tstB12 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Nick Roberts, the best-selling author of The Exorcist's House and Anathema, comes fifteen dark tales that are as horrific as they are moving.“Come for the horror, stay for the heartbreaking emotion that bleeds into every page. Roberts really shows his range here, and it's obvious early on in these stories that they will stick with you long after reading them. It Haunts The Mind is that damn good.”—John Durgin, author of The Cursed Among Us and Inside The Devil's Nest.Witness absolute evil in “Sally Under the Bed” and “It Haunts the Mind.” Endure vengeance and violence in “The Noose” and “The Bitter End.” Face the realities of addiction and grief in “Thanks for Sharing” and “The Weeping Wind.” Survive otherworldly monsters in “The Paperboy” and “Voodoo Bay.”In balancing the terrors of the supernatural with the horrors of real life, this collection drags you down the dark alleys of a haunted mind, forcing you to confront your demons, both real and imaginary.“Nick Roberts has an uncanny ability to scare the bejesus out of readers. With It Haunts the Mind & Other Stories, he does it time and time again. Highly recommended if you don't want to sleep in the dark again.”—James Aquilone, Bram Stoker Award nominated editor and writer of Classic Monsters Unleashed, Shakespeare Unleashed, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker - 50th AnniversaryThis horror fiction book is perfect for fans of horror short stories, short story anthologies, horror collections, U.S. Horror fiction, ghost fiction, suspense horror, stories about substance abuse, possession, and coming of age horror.Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/houseofmysteryradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this thought-provoking video, Dr. Fredrick J. Long will delve into the Greek text of Galatians 1:8-10 and explore the meaning behind the words. Dr. Long discusses the implications of Paul's use of the word "anathema" and the significance of cursing in the context of the early Christian church. This video provides a fascinating glimpse into the linguistic and cultural nuances of the Greek language, and offers insights into the ways in this text can be interpreted and understood. This video is a great resource for anyone interested in biblical studies, theology, or the Greek language. It provides an engaging and accessible introduction to the complexities of biblical interpretation, and encourages viewers to think critically and deeply about the text. Tune in. #Greek #BiblicalStudies #Theology #Galatians #Anathema #Cursing #Christian #Language #Interpretation #CriticalThinking Greek, Biblical Studies, Theology, Galatians, Anathema, Cursing, Christian, Language, Interpretation, Critical Thinking --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/glossahouse/message

We kick off the second half of the season with a bang! Our ineffable husbands are dealing with their break up, while being found out by their respective sides, Adam is coming to his power, while The Them try to keep him grounded and Newt meets Anathema, while their faith has already been sealed. Vero and Lina go through a few giggly phases, find out each others eye colour, but still manage to talk about so much, that the episode is packed with suprise reveals and mindblowing realisations. Here's a link to a random episode of Happy Tree Friends (sorrynotsorry), (CW violence): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=165VjNKRNdw And please send us your thoughts, either via email at goodomens@taot-podcast.com or use our social media: * Twitter: https://twitter.com/theappleoftruth * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taotpodcast

It was the shot heard round the world.  Martin Luther King, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, by James Earl Ray, a crazed racist. Dr. King had become to emerge as the face, and more importantly the voice for America, and even the world over for racial equality. King was an eloquent spokesman, learned academically, Christian in belief and determined to make a difference. He would never know the difference he would make.  The assassin's bullet, deadly and accurate, was the beginning in many ways of a new awareness of racial inequalities, primarily black and white. Perhaps that dastardly assassination awakened right – thinking men and women of good faith, and color blind and constitutional to the beginning of a new respect for each other regardless of color or skin and a commitment to build different and better human relationships. WE THE PEOPLE, real Americans, millions of us people of faith both black and white were challenged by the King assassination to really live up to the requirements of our faith, to understand and love one another and to be champions of the constitutional rights of all people, all citizens, all Americans as guaranteed by our beloved constitution. We were challenged by the first amendment and its five incredible rights and freedoms, and the fourth amendment, and the fifth amendment and in fact all amendments which defined, protected and guaranteed the rights and freedoms of ALL. That was so, no matter the color of ones skin, whether red, yellow, black, white or brown or any mixture thereof.  All men and women were created equal, none were inferior, even though all were different in terms of talents, skills, capabilities, intellect and even work ethic. It was in fact those differences that made America great when at work and when each of us, WE THE PEOPLE were the best we could be, as God created us to be. We counted upon HIS inalienable rights as defined by our constitution which were permanent, eternal and guaranteed to all. If only America and WE THE PEOPLE could be that way, live that way, respect others that way. What a wonderful world that would be.  It is simply possible for us in the 21st century to comprehend servitude, to think in terms of any man or woman as SLAVE. Most regrettably, slavery did actually exist in America up until the year 1865. Thereafter, any who were slaves were freemen and women and we embarked on the difficult task of freedom for all. Slavery was gone but racism continued. It existed overtly and subtly. I find racism so difficult to understand, much less justified. In my family, as we were raised, there was no such thing. Our family, my parents respected all men and women no matter the color and as Christians, we offered and expected love, understanding and mutuality from all.  And the very same in my company, the Crawford Broadcasting Company. We have more than 200 employees and partners. They are diverse, men and women, elderly and young, many of different skin color, all equal and treated fairly. Skin color never matters but only, as Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently stated, the content of ones character and the quality of ones work. We ask that these special men and women have a serious commitment to Christianity, to the God of Abraham, and to the real America, the real constitutional America. We ask more for a strong work ethic and that each do the very best possible in the job for which they were hired. If there is any sign, any hint, any possibility of racism, or prejudice, or discrimination, any overt conduct in that regard which affects the workplace, that individual would be immediately dismissed. Racism of any kind will never be tolerated in the Crawford Broadcasting Company. That is so whether white for black, black for white or discrimination shown or displayed for any other race or ethnicity. IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Racism begins if and only if parents do not:             TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY THAT CHILD SHOULD GO If parents are prejudice, children will be likewise. If parents respect, show love, give unto others and construct a true CHRIST – LIKE HOME environment, children will live and believe accordingly. Without that, the love of Christ at work at home, there can be no end to racism, none at all. That is so no matter a 1619 project, no matter the efforts of BLACK LIVES MATTER, no matter how much cancel culture is at work, no matter how much of American history is destroyed. None of that in any way will affect racism in a positive way. The violence our society now experiences is fostered so much so by racism. Killing is commonplace. Lawlessness abounds. There is so little respect for police, for law and order, for borders as illegal immigrants pour into America by the tens of thousands. Racism, disrespect for others fosters all such and sooner or later, will be the end of the greatest nation in the history of mankind, our beloved America.  Right thinking voices, the voices of reason, tolerance, even love are silent or unheard. They are drowned out by the shrill, hateful voices of intolerance, those voices, posing as WOKE, progressive, enlightened not only help NOT to solve the problem, but actually foster division, lack of understanding and distrust among races. College and University campuses stamp out free speech, order things politically correct and do not allow right thinking men and women to exchange ideas, speak freely on issues and otherwise pursue mutual understanding. Churches move away from the real gospel, from the love of Jesus Christ, from salvation, from dealing with sin and make it so difficult for men and women to approach each other equally, trusting, and concerned with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Diversity is emphasized far more than oneness, each of us first and for most human beings, God – created, entitled to inalienable rights and constitutional guarantees and protections. WE ARE AMERICANS. All of us. There are diversities, differences but there is only ONE AMERICA. It is up to us as Dr. Martin Luther King advised and warned to live up to our constitution, to what makes America great and only then can racism be dealt with. But the truth of the matter is that there is only ONE SOLUTION.  There is only one way to do away with racism once and for all and that is in the person of, the love, the sacrifice, the salvation, the cleansing, the life changing capabilities of the one and only:             JESUS CHRIST Without that transforming power, salvation and guidance, there will never be a real end to racism, never. That solution is available today, NOW. A heart transformed by the love of Jesus Christ will produce a mind which would find anything racist ANATHEMA. Then, what a wonderful world this would be, Christ – centered and love – filled. The Christ of glory loves all men and women, ALL! All regardless of skin were created by Him, loved by Him and so should we. The solution to racism is so simple, but so difficult so it seems. If not before, CHRIST ON EARTH once again will see to the end of this insidious, satanic problem. Only HE an do that. 

It's time again to set the controls for the heart of the sun and celebrate our co-host: Robert Harrison's birthday! Space out with us as we absorb a collection of songs that evoke the essence and vibes of his favorite band: Pink Floyd. While not obscure at all (they have 2 albums that are diamonds!), we shine on with snippets of similar sounds and themes by somewhat more modern bands from the 90s until today. What is it we do here at InObscuria? Every show Kevin opens the crypt to exhume and dissect from his personal collection; an artist, album, or collection of tunes from the broad spectrum of rock, punk, and metal. Robert is usually forced to test his endurance, but this week is all about songs firmly in his big bang zone. Our hope is that we turn you on to something that was lost on your ears, even with this collection of great dance songs sounding similar to one of the biggest selling rock acts of all time.Songs this week include:The McBroom Sisters – “What Do You Want From Me”from Black Floyd(2020)Porcupine Tree – “The Jokes On You” from Up The Down Stair (1993) King Buffalo – “Mammoth” from Regenerator (2022)RPWL – “Masters Of War” from The RPWL Experience (2008)Thee Oh Sees – “Carrion Crawler” from Carrion Crawler / The Dream (2011)North Atlantic Oscillation – “Ceiling Poem” from Grappling Hooks (2010)Anathema – “Your Possible Pasts / Goodbye Cruel World” from Alternative 4 (1998)Check out Robert's amazing fire sculptures and metal workings here: http://flamewerx.com/Please subscribe everywhere that you listen to podcasts!Visit us: https://inobscuria.com/https://www.facebook.com/InObscuriahttps://twitter.com/inobscuriahttps://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/Buy cool stuff with our logo on it!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/InObscuria?asc=uIf you'd like to check out Kevin's band THE SWEAR, take a listen on all streaming services or pick up a digital copy of their latest release here: https://theswear.bandcamp.com/If you want to hear Robert and Kevin's band from the late 90s – early 00s BIG JACK PNEUMATIC, check it out here: https://bigjackpnuematic.bandcamp.com/

A.M.W. - Always More Wednesday. Our last episode in our main series of Salvation was on No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church. Another misunderstanding within this context is the meaning of the word "anathema" that is used by the Church throughout history and in ecumenical councils - this episode is to clear this up! Here is Jimmy Akin's article that we read through - https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/anathema. Books: Salvation What Every Catholic Should Know - https://www.amazon.com/Salvation-What-Every-Catholic-Should/dp/1733522182/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DFPU5HYUDN57&keywords=salvation+what+every+catholic+should+know&qid=1584448774&s=books&sprefix=salvation+what+%2Caps%2C170&sr=1-1 s Drama of Salvation by Jimmy Akin - https://www.amazon.com/Drama-Salvation-Rescues-Delivers-Eternal/dp/1941663125/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PMI0WA4M0MOY&keywords=the+drama+of+salvation+jimmy+akin&qid=1584448744&sprefix=drama+of+salvat%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1 Church Father's: https://www.churchfathers.org/purgatory; https://www.churchfathers.org/reward-and-merit; https://www.churchfathers.org/salvation-outside-the-church Check out the podcast website here: https://sites.google.com/view/crossingthejordan/welcome. On the website you can find episodes/topics that you want to hear, find recommended resources to grow in your faith, submit questions/request, and/or subscribe to the podcast to receive emails with direct links to your preferred podcast platform. If you'd like to reach out for a prayer request, feel free to email me directly at crossingthejordan1@gmail.com. God bless you all abundantly! Available on iTunes, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Player FM, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Stitcher. Artwork by Yongsung Kim