Podcast appearances and mentions of roman emperor constantine

Yes! We're Open: Living Faith with Needham UCC

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2024 Transcription Available

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638The Saint of the day is Exaltation of the Holy CrossThe Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.” To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. Reflection The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine's edict of toleration. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

The Satanic Panic - Where Did The Road Go?

Fringe Radio Network

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2024 92:38

Seriah is joined by Barbara Fisher and Amber, the Witch of Noccalula, to discuss the Satanic Panic in American history, pop culture, and current events. Topics include Dungeons and Dragons, a personal experience with censorship of a D&D afterschool club, the 2022 documentary “Satanic Panic”, the 1982 movie “Mazes and Monsters” starring Tom Hanks, the blaming of metal bands for youth suicide, the gross misinterpretation of Ozzie Osbourne's song “Suicide Solution”, the book “Michelle Remembers” by Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith, hypnotic regression and false memories, generational attitudes, the Moral Majority, Anita Bryant, the Mormon involvement in the Satanic Panic, reality TV ghost hunting shows and demonology, Beatrice Sparks, “Go Ask Alice”, “Jay's Journal”, Rick Emerson “Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries”, Runyon v. McCrary 1976 Supreme Court case desegregating private schools, the rise of Catholic/Protestant allied political conservatism, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, philosophy vs biblical interpretations of the beginning of human life, the rise of the religious right, disguised racism, Q-Anon, the Confederate flag, the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capital, West Virginia vs the Confederacy, John Brown, Appalachian Scotch/Irish anti-slavery attitudes, ahistorical views of Satan, the Silent Generation, anti-Polish prejudice, Seriah's personal experience in an interracial relationship, homophobia in 20th century America, Amber's personal experience with a mixed race family, the time Seriah went to church, C.S. Lewis, Satan as a psychological trigger, Seriah's alleged Satanic cult member pen pal, Barbara's experiences running a metaphysical book store and engaging in interfaith dialogue meetings, Amber's emotional abuse as a Catholic child, Barbara's youthful experiences in different Christian denominations, the novel “The Chronoliths” by Robert Charles Wilson, the case of the “West Memphis Three”, the “Paradise Lost” documentary series, demonic possession vs mental illness, the existence of Satan, Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, exorcism and its contradictions, “The Exorcist” movie, the Warrens and “The Conjuring” movies, demonic possession in ghost hunting reality TV, critical thinking and education, Seriah and younger people without basic life skills, Seriah and a heavy metal zine banned from a public school computer lab, scape-goating after Columbine, the Roman Emperor Constantine and making of the Roman Catholic Church as a state religion, the burning of the Library of Alexandria and the murder of Hypatia, origins of anti-Semitism, and much more! This is an intense but highly valuable discussion!

August 15, 2024, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Rosary (Glorious Mysteries)

Daily Rosary

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2024 27:54

Friends of the Rosary, Today, August 15, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. In 1950, Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: "The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven." Pius Parsch, in The Church's Year of Grace, wrote: “Now, toward the end of summer, when fruits are ripe in the gardens and fields, the Church celebrates the most glorious "harvest festival" in the Communion of Saints. Mary, the supremely blessed one among women, Mary, the most precious fruit that has ripened in the fields of God's kingdom, is today taken into the granary of heaven." The celebration of the Assumption is the oldest feast day of Our Lady. It was the "Memory of Mary." Its origin is traced to when Jerusalem was restored as a sacred city during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337). On a hill near Mount Zion in Palestine was the "Place of Dormition," the spot of Mary's "falling asleep." The belief in the Assumption dates back to the apostles themselves. Mary expired in the presence of the disciples of Christ, and her tomb, when opened later, was found empty. The apostles concluded that the body was taken into heaven and transferred to the glory of eternity. The location of that empty tomb is today the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition of Mary, a place of pilgrimage on the edge of Jerusalem. In the seventh century, the feast was celebrated in Rome as the "Falling Asleep" ("Dormitio") of the Mother of God. Today, this solemnity day looks to eternity. It is not just the commemoration of a historical event. It also gives us hope to follow Our Lady when our lives are over. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • ⁠August 15, 2024, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

god jesus christ friends church mother holy spirit rome jerusalem saints memory communion palestine catholic church catholics our lady assumption rosary mount zion blessed virgin mary solemnity ave maria falling asleep holy rosary glorious mysteries pius xii to jesus dormition roman emperor constantine benedictine abbey new york august i trust in you

Captivity

Play Episode Play 52 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 14, 2024 27:18

The Church of Jesus Christ started out as a counter-cultural movement, a vision of how things ought to be to challenge the way things were, particularly for the people the powers of this world consider “the least of these.” But thanks to its adoption by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the church became one of those powers, kicking off the “captivity of the church,” the subjugation of the Gospel of liberation to the very domination system it was created to critique. So under whose sign does the Church gather today? The cross of Christ? Or the flag of the United States? (Matthew 5:13-16; 13:33)Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www.NeedhamUCC.org.---The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a justice-seeking, peace-making, love-affirming, LGBTQ-welcoming, radically-inclusive congregation of the United Church of Christ in Needham, MA.Church is the practice.Love is the point.

united states love jesus christ live church gospel zoom lgbtq captivity needham united church of christ congregational church roman emperor constantine

As a counterculture

The Up Devotional

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2024

I was talking with some of my classmates at seminary. One of them said something like this: “Constantine messed everything up.” He was referring to the Roman Emperor Constantine. The Emperor's conversion in the early fourth century was a significant step in the legalization of Christianity. It was increasingly safe and acceptable to be a … Continue reading As a counterculture

christianity emperor counterculture roman emperor constantine

431: Developers Are Professional Question Askers

The Bike Shed

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2024 38:54

Stephanie shares her newfound interest in naming conventions, highlighting a resource called "Classnames" that provides valuable names for programming and design. Joël, in turn, talks about using AI to generate names for D&D characters, emphasizing how AI can help provide inspiration and reasoning behind name suggestions. Then, they shift to Joël's interest in Roman history, where he discusses a blog by a Roman historian that explores distinctions between state and non-state peoples in the ancient Mediterranean. Together, the hosts delve into the importance of asking questions as consultants and developers to understand workflows, question assumptions, and build trust for better onboarding. Stephanie categorizes questions by engagement stages and their social and technical aspects, while Joël highlights how questioning reveals implicit assumptions and speeds up learning. They stress maintaining a curious mindset, using questions during PR reviews, and working with junior developers to foster collaboration. They conclude with advice on documenting answers and using questions for continuous improvement and effective decision-making in development teams. Class names inspiration (https://classnames.paulrobertlloyd.com/) How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States (https://acoup.blog/2024/06/14/collections-how-to-raise-a-tribal-army-in-pre-roman-europe-part-ii-government-without-states/) Diocletian, Constantine, Bedouin Sayings, and Network Defense (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCUI5ryyMSE) The Power of Being New: A Proven Recipe for High Impact (https://hazelweakly.me/blog/the-power-of-being-new--a-proven-recipe-for-high-impact/#the-power-of-being-new-a-proven-recipe-for-high-impact) How to ask good questions (https://jvns.ca/blog/good-questions/) Transcript: JOËL: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Bike Shed, a weekly podcast from your friends at thoughtbot about developing great software. I'm Joël Quenneville. STEPHANIE: And I'm Stephanie Minn. And together, we're here to share a bit of what we've learned along the way. JOËL: So, Stephanie, what's new in your world? STEPHANIE: So, if it has not been clear about just kind of the things I'm mentioning on the podcast the past few weeks, I've been obsessed with naming things lately [chuckles] and just thinking about how to name things, and, yeah, just really excited about...or even just having fun with that more than I used to be as a dev. And I found a really cool resource called "Classnames." Well, it's like just a little website that a designer and developer shared from kind of as an offshoot from his personal website. I'll link it in the show notes. But it's basically just a list of common names that are very useful for programming or even design. It's just to help you find some inspiration when you're stuck trying to find a name for something. And they're general or abstract enough that, you know, it's almost like kind of like a design pattern but a naming pattern [laughs], I suppose. JOËL: Ooh. STEPHANIE: Yeah, right? And so, there's different categories. Like, here's a bunch of words that kind of describe collections. So, if you need to find the name for a containment or a group of things, here's a bunch of kind of words in the English language that might be inspiring. And then, there's also other categories like music for describing kind of the pace or arrangement of things. Fashion, words from fashion can describe, like, the size of things. You know, we talk about T-shirt sizes when we are estimating work. And yeah, I thought it was really cool that there's both things that draw on, you know, domains that most people know in real life, and then also things that are a little more abstract. But yeah, "Classnames" by Paul Robert Lloyd — that's been a fun little resource for me lately. JOËL: Very cool. Have you ever played around at all with using AI to help you come up with the naming? STEPHANIE: I have not. But I know that you and other people in my world have been enjoying using AI for inspiration when they feel a little bit stuck on something and kind of asking like, "Oh, like, how could I name something that is, like, a group of things?" or, you know, a prompt like that. I suspect that that would also be very helpful. JOËL: I've been having fun using that to help me come up with good names for D&D characters, and sometimes they're a little bit on the nose. But if I sort of describe my character, and what's their vibe, and a little bit of, like, what they do and their background, and, like, I've built this whole, like, persona, and then, I just ask the AI, "Hey, what might be some good names for this?" And the AI will give me a bunch of names along with some reasoning for why they think that would be a good match. So, it might be like, oh, you know, the person's name is, I don't know, Starfighter because it evokes their connection to the night sky or whatever because that was a thing that I put in the background. And so, it's really interesting. And sometimes they're, like, just a little too obvious. Like, you don't want, you know, Joe Fighter because he's a fighter. STEPHANIE: And his name is Joe [laughs]. JOËL: Yeah, but some of them are pretty good. STEPHANIE: Cool. Joël, what's new in your world? JOËL: I guess in this episode of how often does Joël think about the Roman Empire... STEPHANIE: Oh my gosh [laughs]. JOËL: Yes [laughs]. STEPHANIE: Spoiler: it's every day [laughs]. JOËL: Whaaat? There's a blog that I enjoy reading from a Roman historian. It's called "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry", acoup.blog. He's recently been doing an article series on not the Romans, but rather some of these different societies that are around them, and talking a little bit about a distinction that he calls sort of non-state peoples versus states in the ancient Mediterranean. And what exactly is that distinction? Why does it matter? And those are terms I've heard thrown around, but I've never really, like, understood them. And so, he's, like, digging into a thing that I've had a question about for a while that I've been really appreciating. STEPHANIE: Can you give, like, the reader's digest for me? JOËL: For him, it's about who has the ability to wield violence legitimately. In a state, sort of the state has a monopoly on violence. Whereas in non-state organizations, oftentimes, it's much more personal, so you might have very different sort of nobles or big men who are able to raise, let's say, private armies and wage private war on each other, and that's not seen as, like, some, like, big breakdown of society. It's a legitimate use of force. It's just accepted that that's how society runs. As opposed to in a state, if a, you know, wealthy person decided to raise a private army, that would be seen as a big problem, and the state would either try to put you down or, like, more generally, society would, like, see you as having sort of crossed a line you shouldn't have crossed. STEPHANIE: Hmm, cool. I've been reading a lot of medieval fantasy lately, so this is kind of tickling my brain in that way when I think about, like, what drives different characters to do things, and kind of what the consequences of those things are. JOËL: Right. I think it would be really fascinating to sort of project this framework forwards and look at the European medieval period through that lens. It seems to me that, at least from a basic understanding, that the sort of feudal system seems to be very much in that sort of non-state category. So, I'd be really interested to see sort of a deeper analysis of that. And, you know, maybe he'll do an addendum to this series. Right now, he's mostly looking at the Gauls, the Celtiberians, and the Germanic tribes during the period of the Roman Republic. STEPHANIE: Cool. Okay. Well, I also await the day when you somehow figure how this relates to software [laughter] and inevitably make some mind-blowing connection and do a talk about it [laughs]. JOËL: I mean, theming is always fun. There's a talk that I saw years ago at Strange Loop that was looking at the defense policy of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and the Roman Emperor Constantine, and the ways that they sort of defended the borders of the empire and how they're very different, and then related it to how you might handle network security. STEPHANIE: Whaat? JOËL: And sort of like a, hey, are we using more of a Diocletian approach here, or are we using more of a Constantine approach here? And all of a sudden, just, like, having those labels to put on there and those stories that went with it made, like, what could be a really, like, dry security talk into something that I still remember 10 years later. STEPHANIE: Yeah. Yeah. We love stories. They're memorable. JOËL: So, I'll make sure to link that in the show notes. STEPHANIE: Very cool. JOËL: We've been talking a lot recently about my personal note system, where I keep a bunch of, like, small atomic notes that are all usually based around a single thesis statement. And I was going through that recently, and I found one that was kind of a little bit juicy. So, the thesis is that consultants are professional question-askers. And I'm curious, as a consultant yourself, how do you feel about that idea? STEPHANIE: Well, my first thought would be, how do I get paid to only ask in questions [laughs] or how to communicate in questions and not do anything else [laughs]? It's almost like I'm sure that there is some, like, fantasy character, you know, where it's like, there's some villain or just obstacle where you have this monster character who only talks in questions. And it's like a riddle that you have to solve [laughs] in order to get past. JOËL: I think it's called a three-year-old. STEPHANIE: Wow. Okay. Maybe a three-year-old can do my job then [laughter]. But I do think it's a juicy one, and it's very...I can't wait to hear how you got there, but I think my reaction is yes, like, I do be asking questions [laughs] when I join a project on a client team. And I was trying to separate, like, what kinds of questions I ask. And I kind of came away with a few different categories depending on, like, the stage of the engagement I'm in. But, you know, when I first join a team and when I'm first starting out consulting for a team, I feel like I just ask a lot of basic questions. Like, "Where's the Jira board [laughs]?" Like, "How do you do deployments here?" Like, "What kind of Git process do you use?" So, I don't know if those are necessarily the interesting ones. But I think one thing that has been nice is being a consultant has kind of stripped the fear of asking those questions because, I don't know, these are just things I need to know to do my work. And, like, I'm not as worried about, like, looking dumb or anything like that [laughs]. JOËL: Yeah. I think there's often a fear that asking questions might make you look incompetent or maybe will sort of undermine your appearance of knowing what you're talking about, and I think I've found that to be sort of the opposite. Asking a lot of questions can build more trust, both because it forces people to think about things that maybe they didn't think about, bring to light sort of implicit assumptions that everyone has, and also because it helps you to ramp up much more quickly and to be productive in a way that people really appreciate. STEPHANIE: Yeah. And I also think that putting those things in, like, a public and, like, documented space helps people in the future too, right? At least I am a power Slack searcher [laughs]. And whenever I am onboarding somewhere, one of the first places I go is just to search in Slack and see if someone has asked this question before. I think the next kind of category of question that I discerned was just, like, questions to understand how the team understands things. So, it's purely just to, like, absorb kind of like perspective or, like, a worldview this team has about their codebase, or their work, or whatever. So, I think those questions manifest as just like, "Oh, like, you know, I am curious, like, what do you think about how healthy your codebase is? Or what kinds of bugs is your team, like, dealing with?" Just trying to get a better understanding of like, what are the challenges that this team is facing in their own words, especially before I even start to form my own opinions. Well, okay, to be honest, I probably am forming my own opinions, like, on the side [laughs], but I really try hard to not let that be the driver of how I'm showing up and especially in the first month I'm starting on a new team. JOËL: Would you say these sorts of questions are more around sort of social organization or, like, how a team approaches work, that sort of thing? Or do you classify more technical questions in this category? So, like, "Hey, tell me a little bit about your philosophy around testing." Or we talked in a recent episode "What value do you feel you get out of testing?" as a question to ask before even, like, digging into the implementation. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I think these questions, for me, sit at, like, the intersection of both social organization and technical questions because, you know, asking something like, "What's the value of testing for your team?" That will probably give me information about how their test suite is like, right? Like, what kinds of tests they are writing and kind of the quality of them maybe. And it also tells me about, yeah, like, maybe the reasons why, like, they only have just unit tests or maybe, like, just [inaudible 12:31] test, or whatever. And I think all of that is helpful information. And then, that's actually a really...I like the distinction you made because I feel like then the last category of questions that I'll mention, for now, feels like more geared towards technical, especially the questions I ask to debunk assumptions that might be held by the team. And I feel like that's like kind of the last...the evolution of my question-asking. Because I have, hopefully, like, really absorbed, like, why, you know, people think the way they do about some of these, you know, about their code and start to poke a little bit on being like, "Why do you think, you know, like, this problem space has to be modeled this way?" And that has served me well as a consultant because, you know, once you've been at an organization for a while, like, you start to take a lot of things for granted about just having to always be this way, you know, it's like, things just are the way they are. And part of the power of, you know, being this kind of, like, external observer is starting to kind of just like, yeah, be able to question that. And, you know, at the end of day, like, we choose not to change something, but I think it's very powerful to be able to at least, like, open up that conversation. JOËL: Right. And sometimes you open up that conversation, and what you get is a link to a big PR discussion or a Wiki or something where that discussion has already been had. And then, that's good for you and probably good for anybody else who has that question as well. STEPHANIE: I'm curious, for you, though, like, this thesis statement, atomic note, did you have notes around it, or was it just, like, you dropped it in there [laughs]? JOËL: So, I have a few things, one is that when you come in as a consultant, and, you know, we're talking here about consultants because that's what we do. I think this is probably true for most people onboarding, especially for non-junior roles where you're coming in, and there's an assumption of expertise, but you need to onboard onto a project. This is just particularly relevant for us as consultants because we do this every six months instead of, you know, a senior developer who's doing this maybe every two to three years. So, the note that I have here is that when you're brought on, clients they expect expertise in a technology, something like Ruby on Rails or, you know, just the web environment in general. They don't expect you as a consultant to be an expert in their domain or their practices. And so, when you really engage with this sort of areas that are new by asking a lot of questions, that's the thing that's really valuable, especially if those questions are coming from a place of experience in other similar things. So, maybe asking some questions around testing strategies because you've seen three or four other ways that work or don't work or that have different trade-offs. Even asking about, "Hey, I see we went down a particular path, technically. Can you walk me through what were the trade-offs that we evaluated and why we decided this was the path that was valuable for us?" That's something that people really appreciate from outside experts. Because it shows that you've got experience in those trade-offs, that you've thought the deeper thoughts beyond just shipping the next ticket. And sometimes they've made the decisions without actually thinking through the trade-offs. And so, that can be an opening for a conversation of like, "Hey, well, we just went down this path because we saw a blog article that recommended this, or we just did this because it felt right. Talk us through the trade-offs." And now maybe you have a conversation on, "Hey, here are the trade-offs that you're doing. Let me know if this sounds right for your organization. If not, maybe you want to consider changing some things or tweaking your approach." And I think that is valuable sort of at the big level where you're thinking about how the team is structured, how different parts of work is done, the technical architecture, but it also is valuable at the small level as well. STEPHANIE: Yeah, 100%. There is a blog post I really like by Hazel Weakly, and it's called "The Power of Being New: A Proven Recipe for High Impact." And one thing that she says at the beginning that I really enjoy is that even though, like, whenever you start on a new team there's always that little bit of pressure of starting to deliver immediate value, right? But there's something really special about that period where no one expects you to do anything, like, super useful immediately [laughs]. And I feel like it is both a fleeting time and, you know, I'm excited to continue this conversation of, like, how to keep integrating that even after you're no longer new. But I like to use that time to just identify, while I have nothing really on my plate, like, things that might have just been overlooked or just people have gotten used to that sometimes is, honestly, like, can be a quick fix, right? Like, just, I don't know, deleting a piece of dead code that you're seeing is no longer used but just gets fallen off other people's plates. I really enjoy those first few weeks, and people are almost, like, always so appreciative, right? They're like, "Oh my gosh, I have been meaning to do that." Or like, "Great find." And these are things that, like I said, just get overlooked when you are, yeah, kind of busy with other things that now are your responsibility. JOËL: You're talking about, like, that feeling of can you add value in the, like, initial time that you join. And I think that sometimes it can be easy to think that, oh, the only value you can add is by, like, shipping code. I think that being sort of noisy and asking a lot of questions in Slack is often a great way to add value, especially at first. STEPHANIE: Yeah, agreed. JOËL: Ideally, I think you come in, and you don't sort of slide in under the radar as, like, a new person on the team. Like, you come in, and everybody knows you're there because you are, like, spamming the channel with questions on all sorts of things and getting people to either link you to resources they have or explaining different topics, especially anything domain-related. You know, you're coming in with an outside expertise in a technology. You are a complete new person at the business and the problem domain. And so, that's an area where you need to ask a lot of questions and ramp up quickly. STEPHANIE: Yes. I have a kind of side topic. I guess it's not a side topic. It's about asking questions, so it's relevant [laughs]. But one thing that I'm curious about is how do you approach kind of doing this in a place where question asking is not normalized and maybe other people are less comfortable with kind of people asking questions openly and in public? Like, how do you set yourself up to be able to ask questions in a way that doesn't lead to just, like, some just, like, suspicion or discomfort about, like, why you're asking those questions? JOËL: I think that's the beauty of the consultant title. When an organization brings in outside experts, they kind of expect you to ask questions. Or maybe it's not an explicit expectation, but when they see you asking a lot of questions, it sort of, I think, validates a lot of things that they expect about what an outside expert should be. So, asking a lot of questions of trying to understand your business, asking a lot of questions to try to understand the technical architecture, asking questions around, like, some subtle edge cases or trade-offs that were made in the technical architecture. These are all things that help clients feel like they're getting value for the money from an outside expert because that's what you want an outside expert to do is to help you question some of your assumptions, to be able to leverage their, like, general expertise in a technology by applying it to your specific situation. I've had situations where I'll ask, like, a very nuanced, deep technical question about, like, "Hey, so there's, like, this one weird edge case that I think could potentially happen. How do we, like, think through about this?" And one of the, like, more senior people on the team who built the initial codebase responded, like, almost, like, proud that I've discovered this, like, weird edge case, and being like, "Oh yeah, that was a thing that we did think about, and here's why. And it's really cool that, like, day one you're, like, just while reading through the code and were like, 'Oh, this thing,' because it took us, like, a month of thinking about it before we stumbled across that." So, it was a weird kind of fun interaction where as a new person rolling on, one of the more experienced devs in the codebase almost felt, like, proud of me for having found that. STEPHANIE: I like that, yeah. I feel like a lot of the time...it's like, it's so easy to ask questions to help people feel seen, to be like, "Oh yeah, like, I noticed this." And, you know, if you withhold any kind of, like, judgment about it when you ask the question, people are so willing to be like, yeah, like you said, like, "Oh, I'm glad you saw that." Or like, "Isn't that weird? Like, I was feeling, you know, I saw that, too." Or, like, it opens it up, I think, for building trust, which, again, like, I don't even think this is something that you necessarily need to be new to even do. But if at any point you feel like, you know, maybe your working relationship with someone could be better, right? To the point where you feel like you're, like, really on the same page, yeah, ask questions [laughs]. It can be that easy. JOËL: And I think what can be really nice is, in an environment where question asking is not normalized, coming in and doing that can help sort of provide a little bit of cover to other people who are feeling less comfortable or less safe doing that. So, maybe there's a lot of junior members on the team who are feeling not super confident in themselves and are afraid that asking questions might undermine their position in the company. But me coming in as a sort of senior consultant and asking a lot of those questions can then help normalize that as a thing because then they can look and say, "Oh, well he's asking all these questions. Maybe I can ask my question, and it'll be okay." STEPHANIE: I also wanted to talk about setting yourself up and asking questions to get a good answer, asking good questions to get useful answers. One thing that has worked really well for me in the past few months has been sharing why I'm asking the question. And I think this goes back to a little bit of what I was hinting at earlier. If the culture is not really used to people asking questions and that just being a thing that is normal, sharing a bit of intention can help, like, ease maybe some nervousness that people might feel. Especially as consultants, we also are in a bit of a, I don't know, like, there is some power dynamics occasionally where it's like, oh, like, the consultants are here. Like, what are they going to come in and change or, like, start, you know, doing to, quote, unquote, "improve", whatever, I don't know [laughs]. JOËL: Right, right. STEPHANIE: Yeah, that's the consultant archetype, I think. Anyway. JOËL: Just coming in and being like, "Oh, this is bad, and this is bad, and you're doing it wrong." STEPHANIE: [laughs] JOËL: Ooh, I would be ashamed if I was the author of this code. STEPHANIE: Yeah, my hot take is that that is a bad consultant [laughs]. But maybe I'll say, like, "I am looking for some examples of this pattern. Where can I find them [laughs]?" Or "I've noticed that the team is struggling with, like, this particular part of the codebase, and I am thinking about improving it. What are some of your biggest challenges, like, working with this, like, model?" something like that. And I think this also goes back to, like, proving value, right? Even if it's like, sometimes I know kind of what I want to do, and I'll try to be explicit about that. But even before I have, like, a clear action item, I might just say like, "I'm thinking about this," you know, to convey that, you know, I'm still in that information gathering stage, but the result of that will be useful to help me with whatever kind of comes out of it. JOËL: A lot of it is about, like, genuine curiosity and an amount of empathetic listening. Existing team knows a lot about both the code and the business. And as a consultant coming on or maybe even a more senior person onboarding onto a team, the existing team has so much that they can give you to help you be better at your job. STEPHANIE: I was also revisiting a really great blog post from Julia Evans about "How to Ask Good Questions." And this one is more geared towards asking technical questions that have, like, kind of a maybe more straightforward answer. But she included a few other strategies that I liked a lot. And, frankly, I feel like I want to be even better at finding the right time to ask questions [laughs] and finding the right person to ask those questions to. I definitely get in the habit of just kind of like, I don't know, I'll just put it out there and [laughs], hopefully, get some answers. But there are definitely ways, I think, that you can be more strategic, right? About identifying who might be the best person to provide the answers you're looking for. And I think another thing that I often have to balance in the consulting position is when to know when to, like, stop kind of asking the really big questions because we just don't have time [laughs]. JOËL: Right. You don't want to be asking questions in a way that's sort of undermining the product, or the decisions that are being made, or the work that has to get done. Ideally, the questions that you're asking are helping move the project forward in a positive way. Nobody likes the, you know, just asking kind of person. That person's annoying. STEPHANIE: Do you have an approach or any thoughts about like, once you get an answer, like, what do you do with that? Yeah, what happens then for you? JOËL: I guess there's a lot of different ways it can go. A potential way if it's just, like, an answer explained in Slack, is maybe saying, "We should document this." Or maybe even like, "Is this documented anywhere? If not, can I add that documentation somewhere?" And maybe that's, you know, a code comment that we want to add. Maybe that's an entry to the Wiki. Maybe that's updating the README. Maybe that's adding a test case. But converting that into something actionable can often be a really good follow-up. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I think that mitigates the just asking [laughs] thing that you were saying earlier, where it's like, you know, the goal isn't to ask questions to then make more work for other people, right? It's to ask questions so, hopefully, you're able to take that information and do something valuable with it. JOËL: Right. Sometimes it can be a sort of setup for follow-up questions. You get some information and you're like, okay, so, it looks like we do have a pattern for interacting with third-party APIs, but we're not using it consistently. Tell me a little bit about why that is. Is that a new pattern that we've introduced and we're trying to, like, get more buy-in from the team? Is this a pattern that we used to have, and we found out we didn't like it? So, we stopped using it, but we haven't found a replacement pattern that we like. And so, now we're just kind of...it's a free-for-all, and we're trying to figure it out. Maybe there's two competing patterns, and there is this, like, weird politics within the tech team where they're sort of using one or the other, and that's something I'm going to have to be careful to navigate. So, asking some of those follow-up questions and once you have a technical answer can yield a lot of really interesting information and then help you think about how you can be impactful on the organization. STEPHANIE: And that sounds like advice that's just true, you know, regardless of your role or how long you've been in it, don't you think? JOËL: I would say yes. If you've been in the role a long time, though, you're the person who has that sort of institutional history in your mind. You know that in 2022, we switched over from one framework to another. You know that we used to have this, like, very opinionated architect who mandated a particular pattern, and then we moved away from it. You know that we were all in on this big feature last summer that we released and then nobody used it, and then the business pivoted, but there's still aspects of it that are left around. Those are things that someone knew onboarding doesn't know and that, hopefully, they're asking questions that you can then answer. STEPHANIE: Have you been in the position where you have all that, like, institutional knowledge? And then, like, how do you maintain that sense of curiosity or just that sense of kind of, like, what you're talking about, that superpower that you get when you're new of being able to just, you know, kind of question why things are the way they are? JOËL: It's hard, right? We're talking about how do you keep that sort of almost like a beginner's mindset, in this case, maybe less of a, like, new coder mindset and more of a new hire mindset. It's something that I think is much more front of mind for me because I rotate onto new clients every, like, 6 to 12 months. And so, I don't have very long to get comfortable before I'm immediately thrown into, like, a new situation. But something that I like to do is to never sort of solely be in one role or the other, a sort of, like, experienced person helping others or the new person asking for help. Likely, you are not going to be the newest person on the team for long. Maybe you came on as a cohort and you've got a group of new people, all of whom are asking different questions. And maybe somebody is asking a question that you've asked before, that you've asked in a different channel or on a call with someone. Or maybe someone joins two weeks after you; you don't have deep institutional knowledge. But if you've been asking a lot of questions, you've been building a lot of that for yourself, and you have a little bit that you can share to the next person who knows even less than you do. And that's an approach that I took even as an apprentice developer. When I was, like, brand new to Rails and I was doing an internship, and another intern joined me a couple of weeks after, and I was like, "You know what? I barely know anything. But I know what an instance variable is. And I can help you write a controller action. Let's pair on that. We'll figure it out. And, you know, ask me another question next week. I might have more answers for you." So, I guess a little bit of paying it forward. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I really like that advice, though, of, like, switching up the role or, like, kind of what you're working on, just finding opportunities to practice that, you know, even if you have been somewhere for a long time. I think that is really interesting advice. And it's hard, too, right? Because that requires, like, doing something new, and doing something new can be hard [laughs]. But if you're, you know, aren't in a consultant role, where you're not rotating onto new projects every 6 to 12 months, that, I feel like, would be a good strategy to grow in that particular way. JOËL: And even if you're not switching companies or in a consulting situation, it's not uncommon to have people switch from one team to another within an organization. And new team might mean new dynamics. That team might be doing a slightly different approach to project management. Their part of the code might be structured slightly differently. They might be dealing with a part of the business domain that you're less familiar with. While that might not be entirely new to you because, you know, you know a little bit of the organization's DNA and you understand the organization's mission and their core product, there are definitely a lot of things that will be new to you, and asking those questions becomes important. STEPHANIE: I also have another kind of, I don't know, it's not even a strategy. It's just a funny thing that I do where, like, my memory is so poor that, like, even code I wrote, you know, a month ago, I'm like, oh, what was past Stephanie thinking here [laughs]? You know, questioning myself a little bit, right? And being willing to do that and recognizing that, like, I have information now that I didn't have in the past. And, like, can that be useful somehow? You know, it's like, the code I wrote a month ago is not set in stone. And I think that's one way I almost, like, practice that skill with myself [laughs]. And yeah, it has helped me combat that, like, things are the way they are mentality, which, generally, I think is a very big blocker [laughs] when it comes to software development, but that's a topic for another day [laughs]. JOËL: I like the idea of questioning yourself, and I think that's something that is a really valuable skill for all developers. I think it can come up in things like documentation. Let's say you're leaving a comment on a method, especially one that's a bit weird, being able to answer that "Why was this weird technical decision made?" Or maybe you do this in your PR description, or your commit message, or in any of the other places where you do this, not just sort of shipping the code as is, but trying to look at it from an outsider's eyes. And being like, what are the areas where they're going to, like, get a quizzical look and be like, "Why is this happening? Why did you make this choice?" Bonus points if you talked a little bit about the trade-offs that were decided on to say, "Hey, there were two different implementations available for this. I chose to take implementation A because I like this set of trade-offs better." That's gold. And, I guess, as a reviewer, if I'm seeing that in a PR, that's going to make my job a lot easier. STEPHANIE: Yes. Yeah, I never thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess I do kind of apply, you know, the things that I would kind of ask to other team members to myself sometimes. And that is...it's cool to hear that you really appreciate that because I always kind of just did it for myself [laughs], but yeah, I'm sure that it, like, is helpful for other people as well. JOËL: I guess you were asking what are ways that you can ask questions even when you are more established. And talking about these sorts of self-reflective questions in the context of review got me thinking that PRs are a great place to ask questions. They're great when you're a newcomer. One of the things I like to do when I'm new on a project is do a lot of PR reviews so I can just see the weird things that people are working on and ask a lot of questions about the patterns. STEPHANIE: Yep. Same here. JOËL: Do a lot of code reading. But that's a thing that you can keep doing and asking a lot of questions on PRs and not in a, like, trying to undermine what the person is doing, but, like, genuine questions, I think, is a great way to maintain that mindset. STEPHANIE: Yeah, yeah, agreed. And I think when I've seen it done well, it's like, you get to be engaged and involved with the rest of your team, right? And you kind of have a bit of an idea about what people are working on. But you're also kind of entrusting them with ownership of that work. Like, you don't need to be totally in the weeds and know exactly how every method works. But, you know, you can be curious about like, "Oh, like, what were you thinking about this?" Or like, "What about this pattern appeals to you?" And all of that information, I think, helps you become a better, like, especially a senior developer, but also just, like, a leader on the team, I think. JOËL: Yeah, especially the questions around like, "Oh, walk me through some of the trade-offs that you chose for this method." And, you know, for maybe a person who's more senior, that's great. They have an opportunity to, like, talk about the decisions they made and why. That's really useful information. For a more junior person, maybe they've never thought about it. They're like, "Oh, wait, there are trade-offs here?" and now that's a great learning opportunity for them. And you don't want to come at it from a place of judgment of like, oh, well, clearly, you know, you're a terrible developer because you didn't think about the performance implications of this method. But if you come at it from a place of, like, genuine curiosity and sort of assuming the best of people on the team and being willing to work alongside them, help them discover some new concepts...maybe they've never, like, interacted so much with performance trade-offs, and now you get to have a conversation. And they've learned a thing, and everybody wins. STEPHANIE: Yeah. And also, I think seeing people ask questions that way helps more junior folks also learn when to ask those kinds of questions, even if they don't know the answer, right? But maybe they start kind of pattern matching. Like, oh, like, there might be some other trade-offs to consider with this kind of code, but I don't know what they are yet. But now I know to at least start asking and find someone who can help me determine that. And when I've seen that, that has been always, like, just so cool because it's upskilling happening [laughs] in practice. JOËL: Exactly. I love that phrase that you said: "Asking questions where you don't know the answers," which I think is the opposite of what lawyers are taught to do. I think lawyers the mantra they have is you never ask a witness a question that you don't know the answer to. But I like to flip that for developers. Ask a lot of questions on PRs where you don't know the answer, and you'll grow, and the author will grow. And this is true across experience levels. STEPHANIE: That's one of my favorite parts about being a developer, and maybe that's why I will never be a lawyer [laughter]. JOËL: On that note, I have a question maybe I do know the answer to. Shall we wrap up? STEPHANIE: Let's wrap up. Show notes for this episode can be found at bikeshed.fm. JOËL: This show has been produced and edited by Mandy Moore. STEPHANIE: If you enjoyed listening, one really easy way to support the show is to leave us a quick rating or even a review in iTunes. It really helps other folks find the show. JOËL: If you have any feedback for this or any of our other episodes, you can reach us @_bikeshed, or you can reach me @joelquen on Twitter. STEPHANIE: Or reach both of us at hosts@bikeshed.fm via email. JOËL: Thanks so much for listening to The Bike Shed, and we'll see you next week. ALL: Byeeeeeeee!!!!!!! AD: Did you know thoughtbot has a referral program? If you introduce us to someone looking for a design or development partner, we will compensate you if they decide to work with us. More info on our website at: tbot.io/referral. Or you can email us at: referrals@thoughtbot.com with any questions.

Walking with the Saints Podcast | Feast of St. Pachomius the Great, The Founder of Christian Cenobitic Life l May 9

PAULINES ONLINE RADIO

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2024 5:20

Walking with the Saints Podcast | Feast of St. Pachomius the Great, The Founder of Christian Cenobitic Life l May 9 According to the Pontifical Yearbook, the annual directory of the Catholic Church, there are now a million priests, brothers and nuns living in communities in various religious institutes. This is excluding the diocesan priests who serve in parishes. How religious life began to be lived in communities is what we shall discover in the biography of our saint today, St. Pachomius the Great. St. Pachomius was born in 292 A.D. in Thebes, now Luxor, Egypt. His parents were pagan but they gave him an excellent secular education. At twenty years old, he was conscripted in the army of Roman Emperor Constantine, where the new recruits were placed in a prison guarded by soldiers. Local Christians came to give them food and took care of their other needs. Pachomius was surprised and asked why those Christians were serving them. He learned that they were fulfilling the Commandment of God to love their neighbor. Impressed, he soon vowed to become a Christian himself. When he returned from the army, he asked to be baptized and went to a lonely place to lead an ascetic life. Then he sought the help of a desert-dweller Palaemon for spiritual guidance, and followed his instructions about monastic life. After a few years following this kind of life, he went to a desert and there he heard a voice ordering him to start a monastery. He and Palaemon believed that this voice came from God. They went to a certain spot and built a small monastic cell, but soon Palaemon died. Yet God did not abandon him. An angel came to Pachomius, disguised as a monk, and gave him a Rule of monastic life. It is this rule that both St. Benedict and St. Basil based and developed their Rules. Pachomius' brother came to join him. Gradually, other men began to follow him because of his love for prayer, love for work, his task of giving guidance and counselling and service to others, especially the sick. He introduced a cenobitic monasticism. Cenobitic life is life lived in common, with strict discipline, regular daily worship and manual work. The monks fulfilled the work assigned to them through obedience, they were not allowed to possess their own money and those who disobeyed were punished. Pachomius' sister Maria came for a visit, but observing the strict Rule, he did not see her. He only blessed her and asked her to enter monastic life, promising to help her. The monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the Nile River. Other women began to join Maria and soon a women's monastery was formed with strict monastic Rule furnished by Pachomius. Pachomius was not a priest. When he was to be ordained by St. Athanasius, he fled. But he was severe and strict upon himself, kind condescending to the other monks. He taught them monastic obedience, chastity, humility, fasting, austerity, prudence, to avoid judging others, to fulfill their assigned tasks and to treat the sick with special care. He instructed them to rely more on the mercy and help of God. The Lord granted Pachomius the gift of miracles, yet he suffered much from the wickedness of the devil. When he died in 348, there were eight monasteries and several hundred monks living cenobitic life. They spread from Egypt to Palestine, North Africa and Europe. He is remembered as the founder of Christian cenobitic life. His feast is celebrated on May 9. Virtue: piety, humility, austerity, prudence, chastity, obedience, fidelity, kindness and austerity. Prayer: St. Pachomius, we pray that all who live monastic cenobitic life may be faithful to the vows they profess.

4th Century - Church, State, & Christology

Antioch Reformed Baptist Church

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2024 37:00

During the 4th Century the church found it's greatest patron, the Roman Emperor Constantine. But this created an unhealthy syncretism between church and state while the church was dealing with the biggest controversy in its history, the doctrine of the deity of Christ.

jesus christ christology church state century church roman emperor constantine

4th Century - Church, State, & Christology

Antioch Reformed Baptist Church

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2024 37:06

During the 4th Century the church found it's greatest patron, the Roman Emperor Constantine. But this created an unhealthy syncretism between church and state while the church was dealing with the biggest controversy in its history, the doctrine of the deity of Christ.

jesus christ christology church state century church roman emperor constantine

Should You Wear A Cross

Church? Hell No

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2024 23:15

Ordained minister, Dr. Dennis Hall, is offended by the flippant wearing of a cross as a fashion statement. He explains the significance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on a cross to Christians. The history of the cross for crucifixion is outlined including the modern-day use of crucifixion. Dr. Hall points out that the practice of Christianity was outlawed until the fourth century when the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity. With the help of the Roman government Christian churches were built throughout the Roman empire and they included crosses in their architecture. The symbol of the cross played a role in darker episodes of history including its use by the Ku Klux Klan. The Christian community sees the cross as a central symbol of faith that Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross and that his death and resurrection offer salvation to humanity. Christians wear crosses for religious reasons, but many people wear them simply as a fashion accessory. Dr. Hall wonders if the most sacred image of other religions were worn as fashion accessories by half-naked women and rock stars, would it spark a protest? The podcast closes with Dr. Hall saying that he is not praying that nonbelievers will no longer wear the cross, but that they will come to understand what Jesus did for them so that they can wear the cross as a symbol of worship and not just fashion. Can also be seen on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/9LCfhFj6LlI

jesus christ christians christianity cross wear ku klux klan ordained roman emperor constantine dennis hall

Constantine's Sunday Sabbath

The Retrospectors

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2024 9:15

Rerun: Why is Sunday the Christian day of rest? Because Jesus said so? No! It was Roman emperor Constantine The Great who decreed on 7th March, 320 that “on the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrate and the people residing in cities rest and let all workshops be closed”.It was a departure from the tradition of commemorating Sabbath on a Saturday, which had been in line with Jewish teachings - and the word of God as depicted in the Bible itself.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Sumerians and Babylonians also played their part in the seemingly arbitrary division of the week into seven days; ask if Constantine was hedging his bets by merging the Christian calendar with the Roman sun-God's special day; and reveal how the Emperor tried to cheat his way into Heaven at the very last minute…Further Reading:• ‘Constantine Orders That Sunday Becomes A Day of Rest' (BBC History Magazine, 2016): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20160225/281698319039318• ‘Sol Invictus - Roman Sun God' (Mythology.net, 2016): https://mythology.net/roman/roman-gods/sol-invictus/• ‘Why Christianity Owes a Lot to the Roman Emperor Constantine' (Smithsonian Channel, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7c9vweo8k‘Why am I hearing a rerun?' Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join

god love jesus christ history bible jewish sabbath acast emperor mythology babylonians throwback thursdays sumerians matt hill arion smithsonian channel roman emperor constantine olly mann bbc history magazine

Mount Musine - Activity on a Mountain Dew To Aliens

But It Was Aliens

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 29, 2024 35:53

The extraterrestrial comedy podcast where we probe unusual activity atop Mount Musine in Italy. What went down between two hikers stayed between two hikers mainly because they couldn't remember what went down. Does that mean that aliens were involved? It would explain the burnt leg… Kinda. This one touches upon strange landmarks now found atop the mountain whilst detouring to Roman Emperor Constantine. All that and more on this weeks file. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/butitwasaliens Store: https://butitwasaliens.co.uk/shop/ Probe us: Email: butitwasaliens@gmail.com Instagram/Threads @ ButItWasAliens Twitter @ ButItWasAliens Facebook: @ ButItWasAliens - join Extraterrestrial Towers Music: Music created via Garageband. Additional music via: https://freepd.com and via Purple Planet at www.purpleplanet.com - thank you most kindly good people.

italy aliens activity mountain dew garageband purple planet roman emperor constantine

A to Z This Day in World History | December 25th (Christmas)

The A to Z English Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2023 4:41

Here are some historical events that occurred on December 25th:336: The first recorded celebration of Christmas on December 25th took place during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine.800: Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day.1066: William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.1776: George Washington led a successful crossing of the Delaware River during the American Revolutionary War, leading to a decisive victory at the Battle of Trenton.1814: The Treaty of Ghent, officially ending the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom, was ratified.1837: A fire destroyed much of the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris, France.1914: During World War I, a series of unofficial ceasefires, known as the Christmas truce, took place along the Western Front.1991: Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union, leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union the next day.2004: An earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami that affected several countries, resulting in one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.These events highlight a mix of historical, religious, and cultural occurrences on December 25th throughout the years.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/a-to-z-this-day-in-world-history-december-25th-christmas/Social Media:WeChat account ID: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok:@atozenglish1Instagram:@atozenglish22Twitter:@atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ADonate to the show: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/donationsRobin and Jack started a new You Tube channel called English Word Master. You can check it out here:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2aXaXaMY4P2VhVaEre5w7ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Joplin/Piano_Rolls_from_archiveorg/ScottJoplin-RagtimeDance1906/https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes

Gone Medieval

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 39:35

The city of Constantinople, founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 324 AD, was a glittering jewel in the eastern Mediterranean for more than a thousand years. Its dazzling cathedrals, ambitious emperors and mixing pot culture were the stuff of legend throughout Christendom. But how did it come to tower over medieval Europe as one of the continent's foremost cities? And why did it earn such a lofty reputation? In today's episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Bettany Hughes, author of Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities to discover how Constantinople came to rise, came to rule and came to ruin. This episode was produced and edited by Joseph Knight. Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie.Sign up to History Hit at historyhit.com/subscribe using code 'BLACKFRIDAYPOD' at checkout, for $1/£1 per month for 4 months and you'll get nearly £30 off our normal monthly price over your first 4 months.You can take part in our listener survey here.

europe mediterranean christendom constantinople senior producer three cities history hit bettany hughes eleanor janega roman emperor constantine joseph knight gone medieval

Emperor Constantine Did Not Invent the Catholic Church

catholic church invent emperor constantine roman emperor constantine

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2023 5:48

In today's episode, we tackle a myth I didn't know about until recently: the claim by some that the Roman Emperor Constantine actually started the Catholic Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/revisionisthistory/support

Constantinople (Encore)

Everything Everywhere Daily History Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2023 14:22

In the year 330, the Roman Emperor Constantine decided that the capital of the entire Roman Empire should be moved. The location he selected was a small Greek town by the name of Byzantium, located in the middle of the Bhosperous Straits, approximately 500 miles or 800 kilometers from Rome. From there, it grew into one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world and was the seat of more than one major empire. Learn more about Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/everywhere today to get 10% off your first month ButcherBox ButcherBox is offering our listeners turkey FREE in your first box plus $20 off your first order. Sign up at butcherbox.com/daily and use code DAILY Subscribe to the podcast! https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Cameron Kieffer Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

greek rome istanbul roman empire constantinople byzantium roman emperor constantine everything everywhere daily

Today's Catholic Mass Readings Thursday, September 14, 2023

jesus christ europe european christianity rome jews sword deadly antisemitism imperial proclaiming justice podcast roman emperor constantine

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2023 Transcription Available

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638The Saint of the day is Exaltation of the Holy CrossThe Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.” To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. Reflection The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine's edict of toleration. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Rome's Deadly Sword of Antisemitism - the latest "Proclaiming Justice" Podcast!

Proclaiming Justice

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2023 28:15

The Imperial declaration, "Let us then have nothing in common with the Jews" uttered by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 329 AD is known in history as "Constantine's Sword" --a declaration from Rome that declared a formal split between Christianity and the Jews. It signaled the first seeds of a violent intolerance towards the Jews some three hundred years after the death of Jesus. Impacting Jewish communities all across the European continent, "Constantine Sword" laid the groundwork for the waves of violent antisemitism that would later grow to engulf all of Europe.

Emperor Constantine Did Not Invent the Catholic Church

catholic church invent emperor constantine roman emperor constantine

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2023 5:48

In today's episode, we tackle a myth I didn't know about until recently: the claim by some that the Roman Emperor Constantine actually started the Catholic Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/revisionisthistory/support

February 27: St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor

Catholic Saints & Feasts

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2023 7:02

February 27: St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor 950–c. 1003 Optional Memorial: Liturgical Color: White Widely venerated in Armenia A mystical eastern monk praises God like a troubadour A crowning glory of the Armenian people is that their nation was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Approximately twelve years before the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313, an Armenian King converted to Christianity. Following the universal custom of mankind, the King's religion then became his people's. Though the actual conversion of individual souls required decades of subsequent evangelical effort, this early baptism of an entire nation has granted the Armenian Apostolic Church unique status as the custodian of Armenian national identity. Living proof of Armenia's ancient Christian pedigree is found in the old city of Jerusalem. An Armenian patriarch, cathedral, and seminary anchor the peaceful Armenian Quarter, one of the four neighborhoods packed behind the walls of the city where it all began. Today's saint, Gregory of Narek, was a medieval Armenian monk who wrote mystical poetry, hymns, and biblical commentaries. He is one of Armenia's greatest literary figures and poets. His principal work, the “Book of Lamentations” consists of ninety-five prayers he composed as an encyclopedia of prayer for all people. The twentieth-century Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that while Western Medieval piety developed the rosary as a lay substitute for praying the Psalms, the Armenian tradition developed hymns and songs to Mary as the primary expression of popular piety, as seen in the works of St. Gregory of Narek (CCC #2678). Pope Saint John Paull II also referenced St. Gregory in his encyclical on Mary, Redemptoris Mater: “…with powerful poetic inspiration (St. Gregory) ponders the…mystery of the Incarnation, …an occasion to sing and extol the extraordinary dignity and magnificent beauty of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Word made flesh.” Like St. Ephrem, a centuries-earlier Syrian archetype of Eastern monasticism, St. Gregory uses metaphor, songs, litanies, and poetry to communicate Christian truth. The Western tradition, especially since the time of St. Augustine, tends to communicate the truths of Christianity in less artistic ways - through close reasoning, apologetics, the synthesis of Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine, and by showing the internal harmony of Scriptural texts. The Armenian Christian tradition, like related ancient churches born near the cradle of mankind, has not sharpened its sword of thought by constant clashing with enemy metal, as has occurred in the West. The benefits of a monoculture - of a people who all speak the same language, kneel before the same God, profess the same faith, and sing the same songs – is deep unity. A monoculture has no need to hone arguments. When everyone agrees on the fundamentals, when the tapestry of a culture is not torn or frayed, the writer, priest, poet, composer, or monk can sing, whistle, ruminate, and dream like a madman or a troubadour. When he describes a rainbow as God's bow in the sky, hears the sweet voice of Mary in a lark, imagines a devilish monster lurking in the wine-dark sea, or is convinced that the blood dripping from the side of Christ soaks and sanctifies the earth itself, the faithful quietly nod in agreement and humbly whisper: “Thus it is. Thus it shall always be.” Little is known of the life of St. Gregory of Narek other than that he was a dedicated monk who lived his entire adult life in a monastery situated in todays' eastern Turkey, in the Armenian homeland between the Black and Caspian Seas. St. Gregory's essence is truly to be found in the spaces between his words. He is his writings. St. Gregory was never formally canonized, a not uncommon fact for holy men and women of his era. During a Mass in 2015 commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, Pope Francis declared St. Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, the thirty-sixth person so honored and only the second from the churches of the East. Surprisingly, St. Gregory was not a Catholic, though he did pertain to an apostolic church with legitimate sacraments and a hierarchical structure which, however, is not in formal communion with Rome. The narrow theological arteries that run east from Constantinople become thinner as they spread ever eastward, often terminating in ecclesiastical cardiac arrest – in churches without people, in thrones without bishops, in altars without sacrifices, and in monasteries without monks. It is one of the holy obligations of the still robust Roman Church to exalt those whom others cannot, to witness to beauty wherever it may be found, and to call Christian leaders to gather in the immensity of St. Peter's Basilica to anoint the memory of a gifted Christian of long ago with the noble title of doctor. St. Gregory of Narek, your quiet, humble, and hidden life produced a rich garden of poems and prayers. May your redolent words and rich images fire our imaginations and inflame our hearts so that our flame of faith burns as hot as yours in its love for Christ and Mary.

Don't Believe the Myth that Emperor Constantine Invented the Catholic Church

myth catholic church invented emperor constantine roman emperor constantine

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2023 7:05

In today's episode, we tackle a myth I didn't know about until recently: the claim by some that the Roman Emperor Constantine actually started the Catholic Church. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/revisionisthistory/support

Did Emperor Constantine Invent the Catholic Church?

catholic church invent emperor constantine roman emperor constantine

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2022 7:07

In today's episode we tackle a myth I didn't know about until recently: the claim by some that the Roman Emperor Constantine actually started the Catholic Church. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/revisionisthistory/support

Why Gnostic Teachings are Missing in the Bible

Ungraduated Living & Learning

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2022 8:23

At great cost to all of us, Jesus' private/Gnostic teachings were "outlawed" with the Roman Emperor Constantine's decision to make Christianity the state religion. For along with that decision came his command that all Christian bishops choose between Jesus' public/Orthodox and private/Gnostic teachings. In this way Constantine could unite the empire under one official church doctrine. My website: https://ungraduated.com/ Ungraduated Book: https://www.amazon.com/Ungraduated-Finding-dropping-outdated-systems-ebook/dp/B09SXCBY6R/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28QTYUU7T5BN4&keywords=ungraduated+book&qid=1655499090&sprefix=ungraduate%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1 Join the Ungraduated Living Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/454790476338234

jesus christ bible christianity missing teachings orthodox gnostic roman emperor constantine

Today's Catholic Mass Readings Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022 Transcription Available

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Exaltation of the Holy Crossof the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.” To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. Reflection The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine's edict of toleration. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

14 Sep 2022 (15th Wednesday after Pentecost)

Gracepointe Church - Nashville, TN

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022 15:42

Readings* Psalm 38* 2 Chronicles 33:1–25* Colossians 1:24—2:7* Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XI, 60–67FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of Holy Cross Day. Traditionally, Holy Cross Day is celebrated on the 14th of September in commemoration of the discovery of the original cross of Jesus by Helena, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, in AD 320. The festival was made official by Constantine in AD 335.ReaderCorey J. MahlerCopyright NoticesUnless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Lutheran Confessions are from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, copyright © 2005, 2006 by Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission. All rights reserved. To purchase a copy of Concordia, call 800-325-3040.Support the show

jesus christ scripture chronicles colossians pentecost apology xi traditionally holy bible english standard version augsburg confession good news publishers concordia publishing house roman emperor constantine readings psalm lutheran confessions crossway bibles mahlercopyright noticesunless

What About Creeds? | What About 2.0 Series

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2022 32:05

Many churches use creeds to standardize what they believe, but in the process, they ultimately end up excluding those who believe differently. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott explains why he takes issue with creeds, tracing their roots back to the merging of church and state under the Roman Emperor Constantine. He breaks down four reasons why most creeds are problematic and then shares the meaning behind GracePointe's only creed, “We Belong.” Episode Recap: Before the creeds, the Jesus movement was extremely diverse (0:10) There is no such thing as “Christianity,” there are only Christianites (3:08) The creeds were an attempt to homogenize and control the Jesus movement (5:20) Creeds are inherently exclusionary, and Jesus was about inclusion (14:53) Creeds are expressions of momentary understandings (19:37) Creeds are about believing in doctrine, not following Jesus (23:02) Creeds prioritize being right over being transformed (25:45) Our creed at GracePointe: We belong (27:10) Resources: Learn more about GracePointe Check out our schedule of upcoming events Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

jesus christ christianity creeds we belong josh scott roman emperor constantine gracepointe

To Every Man an Answer 7/15/2022

To Every Man An Answer

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2022 56:20

"To Every Man an Answer 7/15/2022" from July 15, 2022 by CSN International. 1. Colossians 2:5, can someone be present in spirit? 2. How do you know if you're judging somebody? What is the difference between being judgemental and knowing someone by their fruits? 3. Did the Roman Emperor Constantine fake the historical account of Jesus's crucifixion? 4. Is having many wives and concubines a sin? Many kings of Israel had them. 5. Matthew 23, what does it mean that the disciples will bring the gospel to all of Israel before Christ's return?

god jesus christ israel bible christianity radio colossians apologetics everyman csn roman emperor constantine

A Brief History of Constantinople

Everything Everywhere Daily History Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2022 14:37

In the year 330, the Roman Emperor Constantine decided that the capital of the entire Roman empire should be moved. The location he selected was a small Greek town by the name of Byzantium located in the middle of the Bhosperous Straits approximately 500 miles or 800 kilometers from Rome. From there it grew into one largest and wealthiest cities in the world today and was the seat of more than one major empire. Learn more about Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Subscribe to the podcast! https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Darcy Adams Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Search Past Episodes at fathom.fm Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Everything Everywhere is an Airwave Media podcast." or "Everything Everywhere is part of the Airwave Media podcast network Please contact sales@advertisecast.com to advertise on Everything Everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

greek rome istanbul brief history everything everywhere constantinople byzantium roman emperor constantine everything everywhere daily airwave media

SKATCAST | Episode 019

SKATCAST

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2022 46:23

SKATCAST with the Script Keeper #19 is ready to infiltrate your ear canal. That's weird. This episode was done by a drunken Script Keeper (minus the skits because we are fucking professional dumb fucks), so we hope you can forgive us. Today's Bullshit:[SKATCAST Nursery Rhymes] "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" - The cast of Skatcast re-do this classic tale about goats and a troll.[Ambling Through Religious History] "The Council of Nicea" - Be a fly on the wall when the Bible was edited for the Roman Emperor Constantine before he made it the law of the land. [Liam the Monster Hunter] "A Knight, His Horse and a Pigeon" - Liam takes on a side mission to find the missing piece of the Obsidian armor he's been collecting and the wizard does some shopping.[The Adventures of Gunner Halifax] "I Am Halifax" - The captain has an opportunity to learn about himself in solitude while the crew of "The Spade" are hunted by a surprise visitor.Visit us for more episodes of SKATCAST and other shows like SKATCAST presents The Dave & Angus Show plus BONUS material at https://www.skatcast.com Watch select shows and shorts on YouTube: bit.ly/34kxCneJoin the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/YmDG4gF8agFor all show related questions: info@skatcast.comPlease rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow SKATCAST on social media!! Instagram: @theescriptkeeper Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scriptkeepersATWanna become a Patron? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/SkatcastSign up through Patreon and you'll get Exclusive Content, Behind The Scenes video, special downloads and more! Prefer to make a donation instead? You can do that through our PayPal: https://paypal.me/skatcastpodcast Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

bible adventures discord behind the scenes paypal bullshit prefer obsidian spade exclusive content roman emperor constantine

Saint Peter's Basilica

Everything Everywhere Daily History Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2022 13:37

In the early 4th century, the Roman Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a church on the burial site of Saint Peter. It was the greatest church in Christianity. Centuries later, that building was falling apart, so Pope Julius II ordered the construction of a replacement church that would be newer and much bigger. Learn more about St. Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Subscribe to the podcast! https://podfollow.com/everythingeverywhere/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Darcy Adams Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Everything Everywhere is an Airwave Media podcast." or "Everything Everywhere is part of the Airwave Media podcast network Please contact sales@advertisecast.com to advertise on Everything Everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

christianity everything everywhere centuries basilica saint peter peter's basilica roman emperor constantine pope julius ii everything everywhere daily airwave media

April 1, 2022 - April Fool's Day | National Sourdough Bread Day

National Day Calendar

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022 3:30

Welcome to April 1, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate good gags and wild crafted dough. No one is really sure how playing pranks on April 1st each year became a tradition. One theory links it to the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine. Every year, the Emperor made one of his jesters king for the day. A jester named Kugel was dubbed king and he established what we call April Fools' Day. The best part of that story? It was just an April Fool's joke. Boston University professor Joseph Boskin made it up in 1983 and the Associated Press ate it up hook, line, and sinker. It's April Fool's Day, so try to not become the butt of a joke. We dare you to be on the offensive instead! Did you know that the world's oldest, leavened bread gets its magic from friendly bacteria that's wild at heart? That's right! Sourdough's the name, and its characteristic flavor comes from lactobacillus and un-cultured yeast. During the gold rush this food staple was so popular with prospectors it earned them the nickname The Sourdoughs. Word has it that they kept the sourdough warm by carrying it tucked inside their shirts. And because they were mostly found in San Francisco, the city still bakes up some of the tastiest loaves around. On National Sourdough Bread Day crack open a loaf of golden-crusted goodness. I'm Anna Devere and I'm Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

san francisco national april fools emperor boston university associated press kugel sourdough bread national day calendar roman emperor constantine marlo anderson celebrate every day

Constantine's Sunday Sabbath

The Retrospectors

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2022 10:43

Why is Sunday the Christian day of rest? Because Jesus said so? No! It was Roman emperor Constantine The Great who decreed on 7th March, 320 that “on the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrate and the people residing in cities rest and let all workshops be closed”. It was a departure from the tradition of commemorating Sabbath on a Saturday, which had been in line with Jewish teachings - and the word of God as depicted in the Bible itself. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Sumerians and Babylonians also played their part in the seemingly arbitrary division of the week into seven days; ask if Constantine was hedging his bets by merging the Christian calendar with the Roman sun-God's special day; and reveal how the Emperor tried to cheat his way into Heaven at the very last minute… Further Reading: • ‘Constantine Orders That Sunday Becomes A Day of Rest' (BBC History Magazine, 2016): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20160225/281698319039318 • ‘Sol Invictus - Roman Sun God' (Mythology.net, 2016): https://mythology.net/roman/roman-gods/sol-invictus/ • ‘Why Christianity Owes a Lot to the Roman Emperor Constantine' (Smithsonian Channel, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7c9vweo8k #Roman #Religion #Christian For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

god jesus christ bible jewish sabbath acast emperor mythology babylonians sumerians matt hill arion smithsonian channel roman emperor constantine olly mann bbc history magazine

February 27: St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor

Catholic Saints & Feasts

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2022 7:02

St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor950–c.1003February 27—Optional MemorialLiturgical Color: White (Purple if Lenten Weekday)Widely venerated in ArmeniaA mystical Eastern monk praises God like a troubadourA crowning glory of the Armenian people is that their nation was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Approximately twelve years before the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313, an Armenian King converted to Christianity. Following the universal custom of mankind, the King's religion then became his people's. Though the actual conversion of individual souls required decades of subsequent evangelical effort, this early baptism of an entire nation has granted the Armenian Apostolic Church unique status as the custodian of Armenian national identity. Living proof of Armenia's ancient Christian pedigree is found in the old city of Jerusalem. An Armenian patriarch, cathedral, and seminary anchor the peaceful Armenian Quarter, one of the four neighborhoods packed behind the walls of the city where it all began.Today's saint, Gregory of Narek, was a medieval Armenian monk who wrote mystical poetry, hymns, and biblical commentaries. He is one of Armenia's greatest literary figures and poets. His principal work, the “Book of Lamentations,” consists of ninety-five prayers he composed as an encyclopedia of prayer for all people. The twentieth-century Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that while Western Medieval piety developed the rosary as a lay substitute for praying the Psalms, the Armenian tradition developed hymns and songs to Mary as the primary expression of popular piety, as seen in the works of St. Gregory of Narek (CCC #2678). Pope Saint John Paull II also referenced St. Gregory in his encyclical on Mary, Redemptoris Mater: “…with powerful poetic inspiration (St. Gregory) ponders the…mystery of the Incarnation, …an occasion to sing and extol the extraordinary dignity and magnificent beauty of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Word made flesh” (31).Like St. Ephrem, a centuries-earlier Syrian archetype of Eastern monasticism, St. Gregory uses metaphor, songs, litanies, and poetry to communicate Christian truth. The Western tradition, especially since the time of St. Augustine, tends to communicate the truths of Christianity in less artistic ways—through close reasoning, apologetics, the synthesis of Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine, and by showing the internal harmony of Scriptural texts.The Armenian Christian tradition, like related ancient churches born near the cradle of mankind, has not sharpened its sword of thought by constant clashing with enemy metal, as has occurred in the West. The benefit of a monoculture—of a people who all speak the same language, kneel before the same God, profess the same faith, and sing the same songs—is deep unity. A monoculture has no need to hone arguments. When everyone agrees on the fundamentals, when the tapestry of a culture is not torn or frayed, the writer, priest, poet, composer, or monk can sing, whistle, ruminate, and dream like a madman or a troubadour. When he describes a rainbow as God's bow in the sky, hears the sweet voice of Mary in a lark, imagines a devilish sea-monster lurking in the wine-dark sea, or is convinced that the blood dripping from the side of Christ soaks and sanctifies the earth itself, the faithful quietly nod in agreement and humbly whisper: “Thus it is. Thus it shall always be.”Little is known of the life of St. Gregory of Narek, other than that he was a dedicated monk who lived his entire adult life in a monastery situated in todays' eastern Turkey, in the Armenian homeland between the Black and Caspian Seas. Saint Gregory's essence is truly to be found in the spaces between his words. He is his writings. Saint Gregory was never formally canonized, a not uncommon fact for holy men and women of his era. During a Mass in 2015 commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, Pope Francis declared St. Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, the thirty-sixth person so honored and only the second from the churches of the East.Surprisingly, St. Gregory was not a Catholic, though he did pertain to an apostolic church with legitimate sacraments and a hierarchical structure which, however, is not in formal communion with Rome. The narrow theological arteries that run east from Constantinople become thinner as they spread ever eastward, often terminating in ecclesiastical cardiac arrest—in churches without people, in thrones without bishops, in altars without sacrifices, and in monasteries without monks. It is one of the holy obligations of the still robust Roman Church to exalt those whom others cannot, to witness to beauty wherever it may be found, and to call Christian leaders to gather in the immensity of St. Peter's Basilica to anoint the memory of a gifted Christian of long ago with the noble title of doctor.Saint Gregory of Narek, your quiet, humble, and hidden life produced a rich garden of poems and prayers. May your redolent words and rich images fire our imaginations and inflame our hearts so that our flame of faith burns as hot as yours in its love for Christ and Mary.

Revelation 2:7 - "He Who Has An Ear..."

Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2022 5:08

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” We believe that Revelation 1:19 is the inspired outline of the book. ”Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” In Revelation 1, John wrote the things which he had seen. Now in Revelation 2 and 3, John deals with "the things which are." After chapter 3, the church is conspicuous by its absence. Up to chapter 4, the church is mentioned nineteen times. From chapter 4 through chapter 20 to the Great White Throne Judgment, the church is not mentioned one time. The normal reaction is to inquire as to the destination and location of the church during this period. It certainly is not in the world. It has been removed from the earth. We believe that the church is in heaven for the seven year tribulation. In chapters 2 and 3, Christ selected seven churches out of many in Asia Minor in order to get across His specific message. Certainly there were sins in the other churches, but the matters discussed in these seven churches cover all possible circumstances. Christ selected these seven churches to illustrate the spiritual conditions possible in the churches until He returns. John was writing to churches that he knew all about. Most Bible scholars believe that John had no doubt visited each of the seven churches personally and would have had firsthand knowledge of them and their condition. Along with many other students of the Bible, I also personally believe these churches illustrate the "prophetic history" of the church from apostolic times until the end of the church age. In other words they give a chronological picture of the panoramic history of the church from the Upper Room and Pentecost to the Rapture, the catching up of the church to heaven. There are seven distinct periods of church history. This prophetic picture is largely fulfilled and is now church history, which makes these chapters extremely remarkable. The letter to Ephesus represents the church of apostolic times, in the first century of the history of the church, which was starting to lose that first love for Christ. It was starting to focus more on its works than its relationship of love with the Lord. Smyrna represents the persecuted church of the first centuries especially from A.D. 100 to A.D. 300. The church underwent tremendous persecution in the Roman Empire by it emperors. Pergamos represents the church that was joined to Rome and it becomes the state church. This happen after the Roman Emperor Constantine, in 313 CE, issued the Edict of Milan, which granted Christianity—as well as most other religions—legal status. It was made the state religion in 380. Thyatira represented the period of time from about 400 to the 1500's when the church at Rome was dominant over the state. Sardis symbolized the Reformation church beginning in the 1500's with men like Martin Luther and John Calvin. Philadelphia, the church of brotherly love, represents the missionary church beginning in the 1600's to the present day. And Laodicea symbolizes the lukewarm, apostate church of the last days. However, we must keep in mind that all of the conditions named were present in the churches at that one time, and they are still present with us today. And while the seven churches may illustrate the general development of the church through the ages, that was not the main purpose of these seven letters. For sure, each letter to each church has a specific message for each of us today! “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says…” God Bless!

Being Jewish in Germany -- What does that look like as the country marks 1,700 years of Jewish life?

KCRW Berlin: Common Ground

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2021 29:51

In A.D. 321, an edict drawn up by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great appointed Jewish people to the Cologne town council. This decree is the oldest known document showing Jewish life thriving north of the Alps.But what does it mean to be Jewish in Germany today? In this episode, guest host Stephanie Wolf speaks with Anti-Defamation League's Assistant Director for European Affairs, Dalia Grinfeld, and visual and performance artist Rachel Libeskind.This show is produced by Dina Elsayed and Stephanie Wolf.

community germany jewish assistant directors cologne difficult conversations alps common ground anti defamation league jewish life european affairs roman emperor constantine stephanie wolf

Today's Catholic Mass Readings Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2021

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Exaltation of the Holy Crossof the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.” To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. Reflection The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine's edict of toleration. Saint of the Day Copyright Franciscan Media

Jewish Germans and German Jews

Foreign Podicy

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2021 33:38

Jews have lived in the lands we now call Germany for a rather long time. They first arrived in the 4th century under the Roman Emperor Constantine. By the end of the 19th century, there were about 500,000 German Jews – or Jewish Germans. Though less than one percent of the population, a significant number had become prominent in literature, music, the theater, journalism, science and other fields that were open to them – not all fields were, of course. Twelve German Jews won Nobel Prizes. Guenter Lewy was born in Germany in 1923. He lived for six years under Nazi rule. He fled to Palestine in early 1939, where he worked on a kibbutz for three years. In 1942, as General Rommel's divisions were closing in Palestine, posing a lethal threat to Palestinian Jews, he volunteered for the British Army. He fought in Egypt and Italy. After the war, he served as an interpreter for the British military in occupied Germany. In 1946, he came to the U.S. where he has taught, studied, and written 17 books. His most recent: “Jews and Germans: Promise, Tragedy, and the Search for Normalcy” – the only book in English to fully explore the long, eventful, and troubled history of what he calls the “German-Jewish relationship.” He joins Foreign Podicy host Cliff May for a discussion of his excellent book and his extraordinary life.

english british germany italy search jewish nazis jews tragedy palestine nobel prize british army normalcy german jewish german jews roman emperor constantine cliff may guenter lewy

Jewish Germans and German Jews

Foreign Podicy

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2021 33:38

Jews have lived in the lands we now call Germany for a rather long time. They first arrived in the 4th century under the Roman Emperor Constantine. By the end of the 19th century, there were about 500,000 German Jews – or Jewish Germans. Though less than one percent of the population, a significant number had become prominent in literature, music, the theater, journalism, science and other fields that were open to them – not all fields were, of course. Twelve German Jews won Nobel Prizes. Guenter Lewy was born in Germany in 1923. He lived for six years under Nazi rule. He fled to Palestine in early 1939, where he worked on a kibbutz for three years. In 1942, as General Rommel's divisions were closing in Palestine, posing a lethal threat to Palestinian Jews, he volunteered for the British Army. He fought in Egypt and Italy. After the war, he served as an interpreter for the British military in occupied Germany. In 1946, he came to the U.S. where he has taught, studied, and written 17 books. His most recent: “Jews and Germans: Promise, Tragedy, and the Search for Normalcy” – the only book in English to fully explore the long, eventful, and troubled history of what he calls the “German-Jewish relationship.” He joins Foreign Podicy host Cliff May for a discussion of his excellent book and his extraordinary life.

english british germany italy search jewish nazis jews tragedy palestine nobel prize british army normalcy german jewish german jews roman emperor constantine cliff may guenter lewy

12 Jun 2021 (3rd Saturday after Pentecost)

god jesus christ women god doesn nicaea first council roman emperor constantine

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2021 15:33

Readings* Psalm 37* Psalm 101* Proverbs 10:1–23* John 14:1–17* Small Catechism, Morning and Evening Blessings and Blessing and Thanksgiving at Meals* Nicene CreedCommemorationToday we commemorate the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Convoked in AD 325 by Roman Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicaea ruled against the Arians, who taught that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but was a created being. The chief opponents of the Arians were Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, and Athanasius, deacon to Alexander. It was at this council that an early version of the Nicene Creed was adopted — the full version being adopted in its entirety at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381.ReaderCorey J. MahlerCopyright NoticesUnless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Lutheran Confessions are from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, copyright © 2005, 2006 by Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission. All rights reserved. To purchase a copy of Concordia, call 800-325-3040.Support the show (https://confident.faith/donate/)

GOD doesn't talk to women ???

john16and12

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2020 58:59

GOD came and talk in this episode.I got a call from a woman in a church today. She said immediately that GOD doesn't talk to any woman, HE only talk to men.Then she was angry at me that I deny Jesus to be GOD.I am not here to create one more church that speak lies and am under the devil. So many preacher is saying the same thing ...generation after generations and if they had the right that Jesus is GOD have we had a paradise for long time ago and Messiah had been here to get his bride.Those lies is going on since year 325 when men decided that Jesus was God and killed all those other that said something else. the Roman Emperor Constantine was that force and power to make the church believe in Jesus as God.Read about the First Council of Nicaea in 325

GOD doesn't talk to women ???

JOHN16AND12.COM

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2020 58:58

GOD came and talk in this episode. I got a call from a woman in a church today. She said immediately that GOD doesn't talk to any woman, HE only talk to men. Then she was angry at me that I deny Jesus to be GOD. I am not here to create one more church that speak lies and am under the devil. So many preacher is saying the same thing ...generation after generations and if they had the right that Jesus is GOD have we had a paradise for long time ago and Messiah had been here to get his bride. Those lies is going on since year 325 when men decided that Jesus was God and killed all those other that said something else. the Roman Emperor Constantine was that force and power to make the church believe in Jesus as God. Read about the First Council of Nicaea in 325

god jesus christ women nicaea first council roman emperor constantine

GOD doesn't talk to women ???

John16and12.com

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2020 58:58

GOD came and talk in this episode. I got a call from a woman in a church today. She said immediately that GOD doesn't talk to any woman, HE only talk to men. Then she was angry at me that I deny Jesus to be GOD. I am not here to create one more church that speak lies and am under the devil. So many preacher is saying the same thing ...generation after generations and if they had the right that Jesus is GOD have we had a paradise for long time ago and Messiah had been here to get his bride. Those lies is going on since year 325 when men decided that Jesus was God and killed all those other that said something else. the Roman Emperor Constantine was that force and power to make the church believe in Jesus as God. Read about the First Council of Nicaea in 325

god jesus christ women nicaea first council roman emperor constantine

To be listened to on Thanksgiving

Patrick E. McLean

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2020 4:17

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think it's the only good one we've got left, primarily because it can't effectively commercialized. It's also a holiday devoted to something I consider to be a virtue -- gratitude. Among other things, it's a time to take a moment to enjoy and reflect on what you have. Eat a good meal, spend some time with friends and family, take a nap. It's like the antidote for the worst ills of modernity. Everybody just calm down for second. Christmas comes with huge expectations. It can be ruined in so many ways. It makes people stressed and broke. In the broader culture, it's only loosely connected with the birth of Christ anymore. And even that is only because the Roman Emperor Constantine decided not only that Christianity was going to be the state religion of Rome, but that it would also take over the traditional Roman and Pagan festivals held near the winter solstice. New Year's is another nightmare of a holiday. Get drunk, make resolutions that you won't even manage to keep until the 16th of January and if you don't have someone to kiss at midnight, you just get to feel like more of a lonely failure.All these expectations. So many of these holiday conventions have just become an assault on our psychological and financial well-being. But not Thanksgiving. Nah man. It's a couch of a holiday. Sit down, relax. It's the slacker holiday. Even if you ruin it, it's only Thanksgiving. Nobody has a weepy story about how Thanksgiving was ruined. And even the stories of Thanksgiving disaster all seem to have an element of comedy about them. But ruin Christmas... yeesh. Even worse, the mere fear that you might ruin Christmas, ruins Christmases. So Thanksgiving manages to be sacred without being serious. Because however threadbare the mythology of the 'first' Thanksgiving might be wearing for you, you can't get around the fact that it's a holiday predicated on the idea of being grateful. I have in mind a longer essay about the virtue of Gratitude -- how it works to dispel envy. Allows you to appreciate and enjoy what you have, but this is not that essay. So I will leave you with a Poem by Carl Sandberg, which I read every year at Thanksgiving. It's called Fire Dreams(Written to be read aloud, if so be, Thanksgiving Day)I REMEMBER here by the fire,In the flickering reds and saffrons,They came in a ramshackle tub,Pilgrims in tall hats, Pilgrims of iron jaws,Drifting by weeks on beaten seas,And the random chapters sayThey were glad and sang to God. And so Since the iron-jawed men sat downAnd said, “Thanks, O God,”For life and soup and a little lessThan a hobo handout to-day,Since gray winds blew gray patterns of sleet on Plymouth Rock,Since the iron-jawed men sang “Thanks, O God,”You and I, O Child of the West,Remember more than ever November and the hunter’s moon,November and the yellow-spotted hillsAnd so In the name of the iron-jawed menI will stand up and say yes till the finish is come and gone.God of all broken hearts, empty hands, sleeping soldiers,God of all star-flung beaches of night sky,I and my love-child stand up together to-day and sing: “Thanks, O God.”Happy Thanksgiving. Get full access to How It's Written by Patrick E. McLean at patrickemclean.substack.com/subscribe

The History of The Man of Sin

The Advent Message

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2020 43:23

The Roman Emperor Constantine in effect married Christianity with paganism. in an effort to distant himself from the Jewish Sabbath, he introduced his own holy day, in honour of Christ's resurrection from the grave. That day of course, is Sunday. For a while the church celebrated both Saturday and Sunday as holy days, because Christian Jews also attended the Roman church. Eventually, Constantine retired from Rome, and left the caring and keeping of the church to the bishop of the church. This individual today, is known as the Roman Catholic Pope. That is when God's seventh day Sabbath was set aside, and the first day of the week, Sunday, was instituted in its stead. Visit: AdventMessage.com

god jesus christ history christianity rome sabbath man of sin jewish sabbath christian jews roman emperor constantine roman catholic pope

Episode 7: Constantine

100+ Significant Moments in Church History

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2020 20:27

Today we consider the life of the Roman Emperor Constantine, whose influence was enormous.

roman emperor constantine

2020-07-26 Religion Today - History of Christianity

Religion Today

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2020 20:00

The first Christian meetings were held in homes of followers of Jesus, right after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Christianity was accepted when the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian. The split between the Orthodox and Catholic churches occurred over whether the Church at Rome had authority over all other branches; and, over whether the Holy Spirit came forth from the Father (Orthodox position) or equally from the Father and Son (Catholic position). The Protestant split came about with Martin Luther's 95 Theses or differences with the Church, chiefly over indulgences, but also over whether salvation was solely by faith or whether some degree of works was required.

jesus christ church father holy spirit christianity rome catholic martin luther protestant orthodox theses history of christianity roman emperor constantine religion today

12 Jun 2020 (2nd Friday after Pentecost)

Spiritual Life and Leadership

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2020 13:03

Readings* Psalm 37* Psalm 101* Proverbs 10:1–23* John 14:1–17* Small Catechism, the Morning and Evening Blessing and the Thanksgiving at MealsCommemorationToday we commemorate the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Convoked in AD 325 by Roman Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicaea ruled against the Arians, who taught that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but was a created being. The chief opponents of the Arians were Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, and Athanasius, deacon to Alexander. It was at this council that an early version of the Nicene Creed was adopted — the full version being adopted in its entirety at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381.ReaderCorey J. MahlerCopyright NoticesUnless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Lutheran Confessions are from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, copyright © 2005, 2006 by Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission. All rights reserved. To purchase a copy of Concordia, call 800-325-3040.Support the show (https://confident.faith/donate/)

67. How the Church Lost its Missionionary Identity

Play Episode Play 44 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 17, 2020 47:28

Christendom was that period of history in which Western culture considered itself to be formally and officially Christian. It was an era in which Christianity had a lot of cultural power--a far cry from the Pre-Christendom time of the Roman Empire.This episode will give you a lot of insight into how Christianity moved from being a marginalized and persecuted religion during its first 300 years, to being the most powerful cultural force in Western society for 1500 years. And we’ll talk about the ways Christianity was unfortunately negatively affected by Christendom culture.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Cody and Markus discuss how the Coronavirus threat has revealed churches’ dependency on having to meet in person. But the need to cancel services provides an opportunity for churches to discover what it means to be the church without the weekly gathering.Markus reviews the characteristics of Pre-Christendom, which he and Cody discussed in episode 66, “The Improbable Growth of the Early Church.”Christendom is the period of history during which Western culture considered itself officially Christian.In a Christendom society everyone is considered to be a Christian.The era of Christendom began with the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity. This thrust the church into a position of power and authority.Constantine was neither baptized nor catechized until shortly before his death. Because of this, Constantine offered the world a new kind of Christianity, one that required neither conversion nor commitment.Christendom affected Christianity in three ways:The church lost its missionary identity.The church emphasized a new distinction.The church invented a new reason to exist.Christianity is not at the center of society the way it used to be. We are moving out of Christendom and into an era we might call Post-Christendom.Post-Christendom gives the church the opportunity to rethink the reason for its existence.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Books mentioned:Missional Church, edited by Darrel GuderAnother City, by Barry A. HarveyBeyond Thingification, by Markus WatsonInstruction to leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-life-and-leadership/id1435252632Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link." This will open iTunes.To the right of the Spiritual Life and Leadership logo, click "Ratings and Reviews."Under the heading, "Customer Reviews," click on the button that says, "Write a Review."Select the number of stars and write your review.Click submit.I'd be so grateful if you did this. Thank you!— Links to Amazon are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through any of these links, I’ll receive a small commission–which will help pay for the Spiritual Life and Leadership podcast!

Lechem Panim #80 "Testing The Spirits" (1 John 4:1-6) Pastor Cameron Ury

The Lechem Panim Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2020 14:28

Greetings! Welcome to the program today. In our study of 1 John, we have been talking about false teachers. John was adamant in writing to the church in Ephesus that they ought to be wary of any false teaching that might lead them astray; teaching that might present a false view of Christ that would affect their faith, their love, and their holiness in the world. False Prophecy of Mt. Saint Helens-- Someone once pointed out how [Sadly, those who believe the false teachers will be judged with them. Believing the "experts" can kill you. On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens {here} in Washington {not far from where I live}, a supposedly dormant volcano, began to quake and rumble. {Many of you remember it well. And you will remember that} The local population was evacuated to a “safe” distance 8 miles away. Later, the side of the mountain began to bulge. Scientists were not alarmed because past research of volcanoes indicated that they never blew sideways.Then on May 18 the side of Mount St. Helens exploded, shooting tons of debris downhill at the speed of 150 miles per hour. A minute later, the volcano exploded upward with the equivalent power of 500 atomic bombs! Two hundred thirty square miles of forest were devastated and 57 people lost their lives. The scientists had assumed that natural events would continue as before. But they were wrong.] It's easy to believe the experts, especially when that person is wearing a lab-coat or even a clergy uniform. That is why John says here in verse 1… 1 John 4:1 (ESV)— 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Test— Now here [The word “test” is a metallurgist's term used for assaying metals to determine their purity and value.] And so [Christians are to be like the Bereans {in the book of Acts} who, as students of the Word, examined the Scriptures to determine truth and error (Acts 17:11, 12).] “Chapter and verse!”-- You and I always need to be cultivating the habit of testing every thought; every idea; every teaching against the Word of God to make sure that whatever is claimed to be true matches up with God's truth. Don't be afraid to ask questions like, “Hey, I just want to understand you better. Where exactly does it say that in scripture?” My mentor Roman Miller would always tell me how he always lived by the motto, “Chapter and verse, my friend. Chapter and verse!” And then look it up to see if the Bible does in fact say what they say it says; being sure to look at the context it is in. The context of a verse always determines its meaning; therefore we have to always look at the verse in context. [the spirits…many false prophets. By juxtaposing “spirits” with “false prophets” John reminds his readers that behind human teachers who propagate false doctrine and error are demons inspired by Satan (see notes on 1 Thess. 5:20–22; cf. Acts 20:28–30). Human false prophets and teachers are the physical expressions of demonic, spiritual sources (Matt. 7:15; Mark 13:22).] Measuring Experiences-- Now when we deal with people's claimed spiritual experiences, we have to always measure those experiences by the Word of God. John Wesley was a master of this. If anybody claimed to have some kind of special revelation or new insight, he always tested that against the Bible. Does it enhance someone's Christian experience? Is it workable? And, most of all, is it in accord with Scripture? Now that's not being judgmental in a bad sense, for Jesus tells us in… John 7:24 (ESV)-- 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Mr. Red Pen-- I remember when I was in school I had an English professor named Mr. Redmond. But Mr. Redmond had a nickname; Mr. Red Pen; because whenever you handed in a book report and you got it back there would often be more red ink on it than black. He would show with his red pen your grammatical mistakes and what you should have done instead. Now you might have had the best of intentions, but when you got that paper back you realized that as good as your intentions were, those intentions apparently did not match up with the rules of the English language. But what would have happened if I challenged my teacher one day. Nah, “I'm right; you're wrong. My sentence here is correct because I have had a special revelation that this is in fact the correct way to use the English language.” What would he do? He'd pull out his own revelation; an English grammar book and dictionary, point me to the chapter on sentence construction, and reveal where and how my sentence had gone astray. Well, the same is true when it comes to how we live our Christian experience. If there is an experience that is unfamiliar (like a sentence that just doesn't look right), look it up in God's Word to make sure that it fits with the rules and teaching God has already clearly given us in His Word. God's revelation in your personal experience will always agree with His written revelation, the Bible. Test The Spirits-- So how do we wade through what is false and find that sure foundation of what is true? [In this section, John gives two doctrinal tests to determine truth from error and false teachers from true teachers.] What About Jesus?-- First and foremost, the most fundamental way to test every spirit to see if you are dealing with an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit is to examine what that spirit/teaching says about Jesus. For Jesus says (as recorded in John's Gospel): John 15:26 (NIV)-- 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And in verse 2 of our passage today John tells us what the true Spirit of God will testify… 1 John 4:2-3 (ESV)-- 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Dan Brown De-Bunked-- I am sure most of you have heard of Dan Brown, author of such books as The DaVinci Code, an appalling work of fiction. But someone I read this week pointed out that [Brown is right about one thing (and not much more). In the course of Christian history, few events loom larger than the Council of Nicea in 325. When the newly converted Roman Emperor Constantine called bishops from around the world to present-day Turkey, the church had reached a theological crossroads. An Alexandrian theologian named Arius had argued for a small minority that Jesus had undoubtedly been a remarkable leader, but he was not God in flesh. Arius was enough of a problem and persuasive enough as a false teacher to justify dealing with the issue in this formal fashion. Actually, more specifically, Arius claimed that Jesus was a created being. This effectively denied His divinity. This was a departure from what the church had understood and accepted from the beginning. It was what the martyrs had been willing for three centuries to die for. It is absurd to say that Constantine decided to make Jesus a God. In The Da Vinci Code, Brown apparently adopts Arius as his representative for all pre-Nicene Christianity. Referring to the Council of Nicea, Brown claims that "until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet … a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless."In reality, early Christians overwhelmingly worshipped Jesus Christ as The Son of God, God in the flesh, their risen Savior and Lord. And as for the vote: it was 318-2 – a "real close" vote as Dan Brown claims.] Always Attacking Jesus-- But that is what these heresies always do. This spirit of false teaching; the spirit of the antichrist always attacks the biblical teachings on Jesus. They will either attack His divinity in saying He is not God, or His humanity in saying He is not man. He is and must be both. By contrast, those who are true followers of Christ embrace the truth of Christ revealed in His word. If they are truly Spirit-filled people, then they will agree with what the Holy Spirit has revealed about Christ through the writers of scripture. 1 John 4:4 (ESV)— 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. God is Stronger-- Now that is encouraging to me because, honestly [It is easy to be frightened by the wickedness we see all around us and to be overwhelmed by the problems we face.] [Evil is obviously much stronger than we are. John assures us, however, that God is even stronger {than evil}. He will conquer all evil—and his Spirit and his Word live in our heart!] We don't have to be afraid because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Now the second test John gives is we fin in verses 5-6. 1 John 4:5-6 (ESV)-- 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Who The World Likes to Hear-- [False teachers are popular with the world because, like the false prophets of the Old Testament, they tell people what they want to hear. John warns that Christians who faithfully teach God's Word will not win any popularity contests in the world. People don't want to hear their sins denounced; they don't want to listen to demands that they change their behavior. A false teacher will be well received by non-Christians.] But we will not always be. And yet when we offer people truth (even when they may not want to hear it at the time), it will often take root and slowly move them closer to Jesus. Now you may have to plant and water for years before you see any fruit. But God will reward your efforts. It is merely up to us to be that voice that is willing to speak truth into a person's life at the right time and in the right way; let me repeat that: at the right time and in the right way. This week, commit to stand for truth in a deeper way. And let people be changed by the truth they experience in and through you and me. Let us ask the Lord for grace to help us to be revealers of truth to people in order that they might come to know He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.

LATTER-DAY EXCOMMUNICATIONS, Chapter 13 of The Church and The Priesthood

Fundamentally Mormon

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2020 77:00

LATTER-DAY EXCOMMUNICATIONS, Chapter 13 of The Church and The Priesthood by Ogden Kraut During the first three centuries following Christ’s death the Christians were nearly exterminated. Between the reign of Nero and Diocletian there were approximately ten major waves of persecution, the last ending shortly after 306 A.D. So successful had been the destruction of the Christians that Diocletian was praised on two monuments or pillars in Spain. One was inscribed, “For having extended the Roman Empire in the east and west, and for having extinguished the name of Christians, who brought the Republic to ruin.” And on the other, “For having everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ.” (Milners Church History 2:6) Finally between 326 – 330 A.D. the great Roman Emperor Constantine brought the Christians and Romans together. This was an improvement for the pagan Romans but a catastrophe for the Christians. The Christian church exploded in numbers, became popular and ultimately became rich. These three elements were the deadly seeds of apostasy and worldly approval that quickly took over the church. High positions in the church were coveted–bought, bribed and blackmailed. Some church leaders were even murdered to provide a better chance for someone else to be Pope. Other office holders were eliminated to make room for ambitious office seekers. The Popes soon gained political as well as religious powers. Excommunications became more and more popular, not because of sin, but because of threats and [216] opportunity seekers. Thousands upon thousands became victims of prison, torture and horrible death. It was centuries before Christianity finally crept out of the Dark Ages into the light of a reformation–and even later, a restoration

TDP 856: @BigFinish at 20 Ep07 MR71 The Council of Nicaea

Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2019 10:45

another 20 for 20 Houndsite this time talking @BigFinish at 20 Ep07 MR71 The Council of Nicaea The year is 325AD. In the city of Nicaea, the first great Church council, called by the Roman Emperor Constantine, is due to begin. Here theology, philosophy and politics will be brought together for millennia to come. The Doctor, Peri and Erimem are there simply to watch events unfold. Gaps remain in the history books, and the Doctor has come to satisfy his curiosity. But none of them are ready for what greets them in Nicaea. Intrigue within the Imperial Palace has become violence on the streets. Mobs roam the alleyways and blood is spilt in the name of faith. Even in the face of murder and injustice though, the time travellers must force themselves to stay aloof. This is history, after all. Yet what is history to one person is the future to another. Is it possible for history to be rewritten? And if it can, can the Doctor afford to let it? THIS TITLE IS NOW OUT OF STOCK ON CD.

church doctors council gaps intrigue mobs nicaea big finish imperial palace roman emperor constantine

14 Sep 2019 (14th Saturday after Pentecost)