Podcasts about xenophanes

Fossielen zijn de vaak versteende resten van mensen, dieren en planten die in gesteentes, modder of zandlagen worden teruggevonden. Die vondsten hebben mensen altijd gefascineerd maar ook voor raadsels gesteld. Waren het grillen van de natuur, vergelijkbaar met mineraalafzettingen of wonderbaarlijk gevormde zwerfsteen? Of waren het resten van ooit echt levende dieren? In het Mycene van 1200 voor de jaartelling bewaarden mensen fossielen van neushoorns, paarden en schelpen als iets bijzonders. In veel culturen in Azië, Europa en Amerika werden fossielen in verbinding gebracht met mythologische wezens. Nog in 1657 publiceerde de vermaarde dierenkenner Joannes een boek over viervoetige dieren met afbeeldingen van draken. Die waren vermoedelijk gebaseerd op fossiele reptielen. Op Cyprus werden fragmenten van een dwergnijlpaard in een kerk vereerd, omdat men dacht dat het een heilige was.Wat nuchterder keek de Griekse filosoof Xenophanes zo'n 500 jaar voor de jaartelling naar fossielen: zeeschelpen moesten toch wel aangeven dat sommige gebieden ooit onder water gestaan hadden. Goede beschrijvingen van fossielen leverde rond het jaar duizend de Perzische wetenschapper Ibn Sīnā (980 – 1037), een aantal eeuwen later gevolgd door bijvoorbeeld Leonardo da Vinci. Maar de positie van het christelijk geloof maakte het steeds moeilijker om fossiele vondsten te interpreteren. In de eerste plaats was er het grondidee dat Gods scheppingen volmaakt zijn, en dus kan van uitsterven geen sprake zijn. Vondsten van fossiele skeletten van grote dieren als mammoeten betekenden dus dat die ergens op aarde nog aanwezig moesten zijn, en dat kon natuurlijk altijd zolang de aarde niet compleet in beeld was. Wat dacht u trouwens van het monster van Loch Ness? En wat kan er wel nog niet in de diepe oceaan leven? De vondst van schelpen en andere resten van zeedieren ook in hoger gelegen steenformaties vormde wel een probleem. Daar bracht de zondvloed uitkomst. Daar waren indertijd waarschijnlijk heel wat zaken misgegaan, zoals ook de zondvloedmens in 1725 gevonden in Öhningen, vlakbij de Duitse kant van de Bodensee. En wel 4032 jaar na de zondvloed. Een jaar later werd deze vondst als de “homo diluvi testis” beschreven door Scheuchzer. In een voor zijn tijd revolutionair betoog beschreef hij dus dat wel degelijk dieren uitgestorven konden zijn, al was het dan alleen in de kerkelijk goedgekeurde variant van de zondvloed. De “verdronken zondaar” werd gekocht in 1802 voor de collectie van Tylers museum in Haarlem. Even later werd het exemplaar door de Franse palentoloog Cuvier in 1807 gedetermineerd als ”reuzen salamander”.In zijn gelijknamige boek heeft Jelle Reumer de geschiedenis van de paleontologie prachtig beschreven. Cuvier geloofde dan wel niet in het zondvloedverhaal, maar dacht toch wel aan catastrofen waarom dieren uitgestorven waren. Het is pas later duidelijk geworden dat Leonardo da Vinci al niets van die zondvloedtheorie moest hebben, dat kon volgens hem nooit verklaren waarom zeedieren hoog in de bergen terecht waren gekomen. Maar om dat in zijn tijd te publiceren was levensgevaarlijk, de brandstapel van de inquisitie dreigde, en dus schreef hij zijn aantekeningen over uitsterven van organismen in het geheim in spiegelschrift op, pas veel later ontdekt. Cuvier was een in veel opzichten een geniale onderzoeker, maar hij had ook zijn eigenzinnige opvattingen. Hij moest niet hebben van het systematische systeem van Linnaeus, en was het ook in het geheel niet eens met Lamaerck die veronderstelde dat soorten in elkaar over konden gaan. Tyler's bevat nog veel meer klassieke schatten van de paleontologie. Zoals die van een reuzenkrokodil die in Maastricht in de Pietersberg in 1764 was gevonden en in 1784 gekocht door de directeur van Tyler's. Uiteindelijk was het Adriaan Camper, een zoon van de in Groningen beroemde Petrus, die samen met Cuvier tot de conclusie kwam dat de Mososaurus geen krokodil maar een op een varaan lijkende reuzenhagedis was. Ook ligt te midden van veel anders prachtigs in Tyler's een mooie Plesiosaurus, een zee-reptiel van drie meter lengte ontdekt door een vroege vrouwelijke fossielen-zoekster aan de Jurassic Coast, Mary Anning.De veranderende inzichten in de geologie, zoals door Charles Lyell in 1830 gepubliceerd, tezamen met de uitwerking van de evolutieleer door Wallace en Darwin veranderde de interpretatie van fossielen uiteindelijk compleet. Die staat geheel in het teken van de ontwikkeling van soorten, waarvan verreweg het allergrootste deel weer is uitgestorven. Soms was dat door een catastrofe, zoals het eind van de dinosauriërs (op de vogels na), na een botsing met een komeet. Maar veel vaker als de uitkomst van de vele oorzaken die in de natuurlijke selectie van het voortbestaan een rol spelen. In de puzzel op zoek naar die oorzaken speelt de paleontologie onverminderd een rol, ook door steeds weer nieuwe vondsten, waaronder in ons land. Al zijn die niet zo spectaculair als recent in Schotland, waar 150 meter pootafdrukken van dinosauriërs werden blootgelegd.Vond je dit leuk? Deel deze nieuwsbrief met vrienden, familie, of wie dan ook van een goed natuurverhaal houdt.Tot de volgende nieuwsbrief!Hartelijke groet,Menno & Erwin

ATHEISM! Where did it come from, and how did it evolve? This episode of Religion Camp dives into the history of atheism, from its ancient philosophical roots to its rise in the modern world. We're unpacking the key figures, cultural shifts, and societal impacts that shaped the concept of a world without gods. Skeptics, philosophers, and history buffs—this one's for you. Welcome to CAMP!

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it the Epicurean Velleius' criticisms of various ancient philosophers viewpoints on the divine. These include a number of pre-Socratics, such as: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Alcmæo of Croton, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Empedocles, Protagoras, Democritus, and Diogenes of Apollonia. He also criticises the views of post-Socratics like Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, Speusippus, Aristotle, Xenocrates, Heraclides of Pontus, and Theophrastus To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 3,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Cicero's On The Nature Of Gods - https://amzn.to/3JITSZc

In this episode, we delve into the life and philosophy of Xenophanes, an early Greek thinker who significantly advanced philosophical thought. Beginning with a review of previous episodes' discussions on early Greek philosophy and the pre-Socratic thinkers like Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, the conversation shifts to focus on Xenophanes' unique contributions. Notably, Xenophanes was the first to reject the traditional portrayal of Greek gods by Homer and Hesiod, arguing instead for a singular, morally superior deity. His work also laid foundational ideas in epistemology, questioning the nature of human knowledge and the possibility of true belief. Also highlighted are Xenophanes' influence on later philosophical discourse, particularly his introduction of distinguishing knowledge from mere belief. 00:00 Introduction and Greetings00:34 Setting the Context: Greek Philosophy03:10 Early Greek Philosophers: Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes06:50 Introducing Xenophanes07:59 Xenophanes' Critique of Greek Gods14:50 Xenophanes' Concept of God18:34 Xenophanes and Epistemology23:51 Conclusion and Next Episode Preview

“If cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do, horses like horses and cattle like cattle would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have.” —  Xenophanes, Fragments   This week, join Cyrus Palizban and Nicolas Sarian as we delve into the philosophical insights of Xenophanes, focusing on the anthropomorphization of worshiped deities gods. We explore the history and evolution of religious thought, from pre-Socratic philosophy to 20th-century sociology, discussing the works of thinkers like Émile Durkheim. The conversation covers how religious and societal structures influence one another, touching on topics like totemism, functionalism, and the psychological aspects of worship. Additionally, the discussion broadens to include reflections on modern cultural phenomena, the role of faith, and the implications of information overload in contemporary society.   00:00 Introduction and Greetings 00:15 Exploring Xenophanes' Philosophy 02:36 Functionalism and Sociology 07:21 Early Human Spirituality and Fear 12:12 Anthropomorphism in Religion 20:49 Proto-Indo-European Cultures 31:15 Modern Anthropology and Exploration 34:37 Jordan Peterson and Dennis Quaid on Movie Stars 35:53 The Cult of Celebrity 36:28 Favorite Actors and Their Impact 39:55 The Value of Mystery in Cinema 40:55 The Role of AI and Information Overload 43:41 Curating Information in the Modern Age 46:42 The Concept of Katechons 54:08 The Evolution of Worship and Fear 01:01:16 Conclusion and Upcoming Book Clubs   Want to continue the discussion? Join us for more learning and discussion in our Meditations and Chronicles WhatsApp groups!   Meditations: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JIFXc06ABCPEsyfUBtvm1U Chronicles: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FD6M9a35KCE2XrnJrqaGLU   Follow us on other platforms for more content!   Twitter: https://x.com/lightinspires   Instagram: https://instagram.com/lightning.inspiration?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng==   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightning-meditations/  

Ist Gott wirklich nur eine Projektion menschlicher Wünsche und Vorstellungen an den Himmel? Stephan und Manuel gehen dieser Kritik am Glauben auf den Grund. Sie zeigen ihre Grenzen auf und plädieren für einen Gott, der nicht nur menschengestaltig vorgestellt wird, sondern tatsächlich Mensch geworden ist…

Nicht Gott hat den Menschen nach seinem Bild geschaffen – der Mensch schafft sich Gott nach seinem eigenen Bild! Der Religionskritiker Ludwig Feuerbach hat dieses Argument bekannt gemacht, es geht aber weiter zurück. Manuel und Stephan zeichnen die Geschichte dieser Kritk nach und zeigen, wie erschreckend einleuchtend sie ist…

We have Ancient Greeks including Xenophanes, Democritus and Apollonius to thank for some of the ideas that underpin our study of astronomy

De laatste aflevering over de natuurfilosofen of presocratici. Ter sprake komen opgewekte filosofen als Xenophanes en Democritus. IJdele snoeshanen als Empedocles en nog meer grote denkers, die verbluffende ideeën hebben ontwikkeld.

This is the conclusion of Popper's grand lecture "On the sources of knowledge and of ignorance". We reach part 13 and move all the way through to part 17 - the conclusion. This is a celebration of Popper's epistemology. He summarises his outlook on how other views are mistaken and what it really takes to generate knowledge. He speaks of his vision as a critical rationalism and a critical empiricism - a form of knowledge creation that corrects the errors in advances made nearer to the beginning of the Enlightenment but also in the mould of some of the ancients like Xenophanes. Popper explains how truth is real and objective and why the idea that anyone can possess the truth causes knowledge to become subjective, rather than objective (in short because anyone claiming to possess the truth is themselves a subject claiming authority over truth). Popper explains in this part of the lecture how we are all equal in our infinite ignorance - and so his philosophy reaches into humanism - a celebration of fallibility and of our capacity to come to understand reality.

In today's episode we continue to discuss the first article of the Creed I believe "in God." Particular mention is made of the work of philosophers that discovered truths about God that belong to "Natural Theology." (e.g. Xenophanes, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle)

The Neutral Ground Podcast with Dr. Joe MeyerTired of the extreme political views? So are we. Let's bring back civilized discourse. Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

In the interpretation of Parmenides of Elea, there is a certain vulgate, one widely represented in general histories of philosophy and indeed assumed by philosophers broadly. The metaphysical tenor and thrust of the philosophy of Parmenides, according to this vulgate, is holistic monism: "all things are one," in Greek, hen to pan. As it may be recalled, Parmenides reached his metaphysical conclusions by initially reflecting on the language of to mē on or to ouk on (either of which may be translated as "what is not," or "non-being," or "not being"). Famously, or notoriously, he did rule that there is something conceptually and logically unacceptable in speaking or thinking of "not being." Ascribing that initial philosophical move to Parmenides is certainly beyond dispute. The vulgate, however, adds that he must also have reflected on the language of "different" (heteron) and "other" (allo); and then he proceeded to draw powerful metaphysical inferences in the following way: If, with respect to some A and some B, we are to hold that A is "different from" (or "other than") B, or vice versa, then we are committed to holding that "A is not B" and "B is not A." But if grasping "not-being" is inherently impossible, it should likewise count impossible that we should conceive more narrowly of "A's not being B," or of "B's not being A." Once distinctions of any sort are logically disallowed, the metaphysical conclusion seems inevitable: hen to pan, "all things are one." The epistemological corollary of holistic monism is that the world humans experience, fraught as it is with plurality and pervasively splintered by distinctions, is ultimately and fundamentally an illusion. Alexander P. D. Mourelatos is Professor Emeritus in Philosophy and in Classics at The University of Texas at Austin, where in 1967 he founded and for twenty years directed, the Joint Classics-Philosophy Graduate Program in Ancient Philosophy. He is the author of The Route of Parmenides (1970; 2nd edn., 2008), and editor of The Pre-Socratics: A Collection of Critical Essays 1974; 2nd edn., 1993). Scholarly articles of his have appeared in journals in: philosophy; classics; ; history of science; and linguistics. On more than 170 occasions, he has delivered invited lectures at academic venues in North and South America, Europe, and Australasia. He received all his academic degrees from Yale University (Ph.D., 1964), and has been awarded two honorary doctorates in his native Greece (University of Athens, 1994; University of Crete, 2017). Students of his and colleagues have presanted him with two collections in his honor: in 2002, Presocratic Philosophy—Essays in Honour of Alexander Mourelatos; and in 2019, a special double issue of the periodical Philosophical Inquiry. He has held research appointments at: the University of Wisconsin, Madison; the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ); the Center for Hellenic Studies (Washington, DC, Harvard University); Cambridge University; and the Australian National University. This podcast is an audio recording of Dr Mourelatos's talk - "Parmenides of Elea and Xenophanes of Colophon: the Conceptually Deeper Connections" - at the Aristotelian Society on 23rd May 2022. This recording was produced by the Backdoor Broadcasting Company.

Back in the early 1990s comedienne Mandy Knight did a show at the Edinburgh Fringe called, “Some of my best friends are ginger”. I always thought it was an inspired title, exposing a double standard that still persists today, and it always stayed with me.Then, a few years back I presented a series for Italian TV about beauty, Senso Della Bellezza - Sense of Beauty - and we did a feature on red heads. I thought it would be a nice piece today to mine that feature and expand on it, explore the history of redheads, and thereby celebrate the unjustly mocked 1% of the global population that carry the MC1R gene.The Book of Genesis is perhaps the first book to have been written down and, in the book of Genesis we have the first celebrity redhead, and a victim of some treachery, Esau. Esau came home hungry one day after a long shift in the fields, and his brother Jacob offered him a bowl of soup, but only in exchange for something: his birthright, his first-born son status. Esau, who seems to have been a bit of short-term thinker, put his stomach first and he accepted. Thus did Jacob inherit, and so did Jacob - and not Esau - go on to become one of the Fathers of the Israelites. All things considered, it was probably better for the Israelites that he did.Esau was born red all over “like a hairy garment”, and one interpretation is that Esau had some recessive Neanderthal gene - the theory is that Neanderthals had red hair, although I do not suggest red heads are any more Neanderthal than the rest of us. The genetic mutation responsible is different to the one that which causes red hair in modern humans.Red hair occurs most commonly in people of Germanic or Celtic origin. Ireland has the most red  heads per capita at around 10%, but the highest density of red heads and thus the red head capital of the world is actually Edinburgh. No wonder Mandy's show did so well there.It's thought that the reason red heads are more commonly found in colder climates is that it is actually an advantage to be pale, where sunlight is sparse. The lighter skin of red heads improves the absorption of sunlight, which is vital for the production of vitamin D by the body. Red hair is also relatively common among Ashkenazi Jews. Many Jews in literature have been portrayed with red hair. Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Fagin in Dickens' Oliver Twist, being two of the most famous. Judas, the betrayer of Christ, is often portrayed as a redhead.During the Inquisition in Italy and Spain, where red hair is less common, those with red hair were identified as Jews, even if they weren't actually Jewish. Today the commission for Racial Equality do not monitor cases of discrimination and hate crimes against redheadsRedheads were first mentioned in literature by the Greek poet Xenophanes around 500BC describing the Thracians, who it seems were red headed and blue eyed. The Ancient Greeks seemed to be particularly admiring of red heads. In men red hair was associated with honour and courage, while in women red hair was associated with beauty. Homer says the heroes Menelaus and Achilles were both redheads, while Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman that ever lived, was also a red head.Aphrodite, Goddess of beauty and love was also red headed. (During the Renaissance, Botticelli and, especially, Titian were always painting beautiful women with red hair to the extent that titian now means auburn).The hair of female statues in Ancient Greece was often painted red - the Greeks loved the colour red.Many slaves in ancient Greece and Rome were the northern territories. Red headed slaves would often fetch a higher price, as they were thought to bring good luck. Red wigs were given to actors depicting slaves in Greek and Roman theatre. Indeed one fringe theory to explain modern mocking of redheads is that it stems from the Roman subjugation and persecution of Celts after the Romans arrived in the British Isles.Aristotle was not as keen as other Ancient Greeks is supposed to have said that "Those with tawny coloured hair are brave; witness the lions. But the reddish are of bad character; witness the foxes."Romans seemed just as admiring of red heads as the Greeks, particularly among the fierce Gaulish tribes, who Titus Levy said, “stand first in reputation for war … with their tall bodies, long red hair, huge shields, very long swords, and songs and yells as they go into battle, they terrify their foes.”From the Gauls to the Vikings to the Celts there has always been this connection between martial strength and flame-colored hair. The English warrior queen Boudicca was a red head. Perhaps the greatest warrior of the lot, Ghenghis Khan, was “long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed.”Egyptian pharaohs were found to have hair with reddish pigments, among them ‘Rameses the Great', the most powerful of them all, and Cleopatra. Alexander the Great, Richard the Lionheart, the great Ottoman naval commander Hayreddin Barbarossa (Red Beard), Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Magdalen - they were all depicted with red hair. Even the gods Bacchus and Hades were.Red-headed men have often been stereotyped as temperamental and quick to violence, while red headed women as loose, libidinal and wild. The Prose Edda is one of the oldest Norse documents. Odin the All-Father, ruler of the gods, is a wise and thoughtful ruler with blonde hair, but his quick-tempered son Thor, God of Thunder, though, is possessed of a full head of red hair and an enormous bushy red beard.In Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift said "It is observed that the red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity."This might even be born out by science. A  German sex researcher found that women with red hair have sex more often, and an English study found that redhead girls have sex an average of three times a week, while blondes and brunettes only twice. As for the temper stereotype, a 2004 study found that redheads feel both pain and cold temperatures more vividly, and they get stung by bees more often. Maybe there's a reason for the anger.A 1486 Treatise on Redheads, Malleus Maleficarum, declared that those whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires. So now you know. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

Back in the early 1990s comedienne Mandy Knight did a show at the Edinburgh Fringe called, “Some of my best friends are ginger”. I always thought it was an inspired title, exposing a double standard that still persists today, and it always stayed with me.Then, a few years back I presented a series for Italian TV about beauty, Senso Della Bellezza - Sense of Beauty - and we did a feature on red heads. I thought it would be a nice piece today to mine that feature and expand on it, explore the history of redheads, and thereby celebrate the unjustly mocked 1% of the global population that carry the MC1R gene.The Book of Genesis is perhaps the first book to have been written down and, in the book of Genesis we have the first celebrity redhead, and a victim of some treachery, Esau. Esau came home hungry one day after a long shift in the fields, and his brother Jacob offered him a bowl of soup, but only in exchange for something: his birthright, his first-born son status. Esau, who seems to have been a bit of short-term thinker, put his stomach first and he accepted. Thus did Jacob inherit, and so did Jacob - and not Esau - go on to become one of the Fathers of the Israelites. All things considered, it was probably better for the Israelites that he did.Esau was born red all over “like a hairy garment”, and one interpretation is that Esau had some recessive Neanderthal gene - the theory is that Neanderthals had red hair, although I do not suggest red heads are any more Neanderthal than the rest of us. The genetic mutation responsible is different to the one that which causes red hair in modern humans.Red hair occurs most commonly in people of Germanic or Celtic origin. Ireland has the most red  heads per capita at around 10%, but the highest density of red heads and thus the red head capital of the world is actually Edinburgh. No wonder Mandy's show did so well there.It's thought that the reason red heads are more commonly found in colder climates is that it is actually an advantage to be pale, where sunlight is sparse. The lighter skin of red heads improves the absorption of sunlight, which is vital for the production of vitamin D by the body. Red hair is also relatively common among Ashkenazi Jews. Many Jews in literature have been portrayed with red hair. Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Fagin in Dickens' Oliver Twist, being two of the most famous. Judas, the betrayer of Christ, is often portrayed as a redhead.During the Inquisition in Italy and Spain, where red hair is less common, those with red hair were identified as Jews, even if they weren't actually Jewish. Today the commission for Racial Equality do not monitor cases of discrimination and hate crimes against redheadsRedheads were first mentioned in literature by the Greek poet Xenophanes around 500BC describing the Thracians, who it seems were red headed and blue eyed. The Ancient Greeks seemed to be particularly admiring of red heads. In men red hair was associated with honour and courage, while in women red hair was associated with beauty. Homer says the heroes Menelaus and Achilles were both redheads, while Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman that ever lived, was also a red head.Aphrodite, Goddess of beauty and love was also red headed. (During the Renaissance, Botticelli and, especially, Titian were always painting beautiful women with red hair to the extent that titian now means auburn).The hair of female statues in Ancient Greece was often painted red - the Greeks loved the colour red.Many slaves in ancient Greece and Rome were the northern territories. Red headed slaves would often fetch a higher price, as they were thought to bring good luck. Red wigs were given to actors depicting slaves in Greek and Roman theatre. Indeed one fringe theory to explain modern mocking of redheads is that it stems from the Roman subjugation and persecution of Celts after the Romans arrived in the British Isles.Aristotle was not as keen as other Ancient Greeks is supposed to have said that "Those with tawny coloured hair are brave; witness the lions. But the reddish are of bad character; witness the foxes."Romans seemed just as admiring of red heads as the Greeks, particularly among the fierce Gaulish tribes, who Titus Levy said, “stand first in reputation for war … with their tall bodies, long red hair, huge shields, very long swords, and songs and yells as they go into battle, they terrify their foes.”From the Gauls to the Vikings to the Celts there has always been this connection between martial strength and flame-colored hair. The English warrior queen Boudicca was a red head. Perhaps the greatest warrior of the lot, Ghenghis Khan, was “long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed.”Egyptian pharaohs were found to have hair with reddish pigments, among them ‘Rameses the Great', the most powerful of them all, and Cleopatra. Alexander the Great, Richard the Lionheart, the great Ottoman naval commander Hayreddin Barbarossa (Red Beard), Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Magdalen - they were all depicted with red hair. Even the gods Bacchus and Hades were.Red-headed men have often been stereotyped as temperamental and quick to violence, while red headed women as loose, libidinal and wild. The Prose Edda is one of the oldest Norse documents. Odin the All-Father, ruler of the gods, is a wise and thoughtful ruler with blonde hair, but his quick-tempered son Thor, God of Thunder, though, is possessed of a full head of red hair and an enormous bushy red beard.In Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift said "It is observed that the red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity."This might even be born out by science. A  German sex researcher found that women with red hair have sex more often, and an English study found that redhead girls have sex an average of three times a week, while blondes and brunettes only twice. As for the temper stereotype, a 2004 study found that redheads feel both pain and cold temperatures more vividly, and they get stung by bees more often. Maybe there's a reason for the anger.A 1486 Treatise on Redheads, Malleus Maleficarum, declared that those whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires. So now you know. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit frisby.substack.com/subscribe

"Ancient history[edit] Ancient Greece was a polytheistic society in which the gods were not omnipotent and required sacrifice and ritual. The earliest beginnings of religious skepticism can be traced back to Xenophanes. He critiqued popular religion of his time, particularly false conceptions of the divine that are a byproduct of the human propensity to anthropomorphize deities. He took the scripture of his time to task for painting the gods in a negative light and promoted a more rational view of religion. He was very critical of religious people privileging their belief system over others without sound reason.[6][7] Socrates' conception of the divine was that the gods were always benevolent, truthful, authoritative, and wise. Divinity was to operate within the standards of rationality.[8] This critique of established religion ultimately resulted in his trial for impiety and corruption as documented in The Apology. The historian Will Durant writes that Plato was "as skeptical of atheism as of any other dogma."[9][7] Democritus was the father of materialism in the West, and there is no trace of a belief in any afterlife in his work. Specifically, in Those in Hades he refers to constituents of the soul as atoms that dissolve upon death.[10] This later inspired the philosopher Epicurus and the philosophy he founded, who held a materialist view and rejected any afterlife, while further claiming the gods were also uninterested in human affairs.[11] In the poem De rerum natura Lucretius proclaimed Epicurean philosophy, that the universe operates according to physical principles and guided by fortuna, or chance, instead of the Roman gods.[" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/antonio-myers4/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/antonio-myers4/support

After the Median invasion, the Ionian philosopher Xenophanes, a student of the Anaximander, was forced to flee to Elea in Magna Graecia and brought the philosophy of the Ionians to the Eleans. His student, Parmenides, then founded the Eleatic School, which was skeptical of the senses, and argued that despite its appearance to the contrary, the Earth was round. Parmenides's student, Zeno, in turn developed his famous paradoxes to prove his teacher's assertion that motion was an illusion.

Today's meditation comes from The Book Of Proverbs in The Old Testament, and from the writings of Xenophanes.

This episode of the Popperian Podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Robin Attfield. They speak about the life and work of the pre-Socratic philosophers Xenophanes and Parmenides, how Xenophanes in particular has been unjustly disparaged and misunderstood over the years, how Karl Popper rehabilitated Xenophanes' image and his philosophy, the place of both Xenophanes and Parmenides as earlier exponents of Popper's critical rationalism and falsificationism, the method used by Popper to interpret Herodotus in support of his conjectures about Xenophanes, whether it is possible to consider Xenophanes and Parmenides as ‘Popperian', and whether Popper's own study of Xenophanes is strictly ‘Popperian'. Robin Attfield is Professor Emeritus at Cardiff University where he taught philosophy from 1968. He is the author of 'Environmental Ethics: A Very Short Introduction' (Environmental Ethics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions): Attfield, Robin: 9780198797166: Amazon.com: Books), ‘Environmental thought: A Short History' (Amazon.com: Environmental Thought: A Short History (9781509536665): Attfield, Robin: Books), ‘The Ethics of the Global Environment' (The Ethics of the Global Environment (Edinburgh Studies in Global Ethics): Attfield, Robin: 9780748654819: Amazon.com: Books), ‘Wonder, Value and God' (Amazon.com: Wonder, Value and God (9781138388161): Attfield, Robin: Books), and 'Ethics: An Overview' (Amazon.com: Ethics: An Overview (9781441182050): Attfield, Robin: Books). Pertinent to this podcast Robin is also the author of: ‘Popper and Xenophanes' ((PDF) Popper and Xenophanes (researchgate.net)) and ‘Popper's Parmenides'' ((PDF) Popper's Parmenides (researchgate.net)). You can follow Robin Attfield's academic work on Research Gate at: (Robin ATTFIELD | Professor Emeritus | DLitt | Cardiff University, Cardiff | CU | Cardiff University Research Institute for Sustainable Places (researchgate.net)). Support via Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/jedleahenry Support via PayPal – https://www.paypal.me/jrleahenry Shop – https://shop.spreadshirt.com.au/JLH-shop/ Support via Bitcoin - 31wQMYixAJ7Tisp773cSvpUuzr2rmRhjaW Website – The Popperian Podcast — Jed Lea-Henry Libsyn – The Popperian Podcast (libsyn.com) Youtube – The Popperian Podcast - YouTube Twitter – https://twitter.com/jedleahenry RSS - https://popperian-podcast.libsyn.com/rss *** Underlying artwork by Arturo Espinosa

Polytheism, monotheism, and trinities, oh my! In this episode, Mark and Adam look at the evolution of Ancient theology as philosophers move away from the polytheism of the Greeks and head into belief in monotheistic prime movers. They also talk for an excessive amount of time about whether or not you can really think about thinking, or if you are really just thinking about nothing when you are only thinking abut thinking thoughts. They also notice a distinct trend towards the basis of Christian beliefs among the ancient philosophers as they wrap up the beginning section of Ancient Philosophy. Next week: Medieval Philosophy!

In this episode, Mark and Adam break down the first chapter of Anthony Kenney's "A New History of Western Philosophy." From the founding father of Greek philosophy, Thales of Miletus, to the ego of Heraclitus and the convoluted mess of Plato's "Republic," the beginnings of Greek philosophy are broken down in great detail. As expected, there are more references to Tolkien and linguistics!

More great books at LoyalBooks.com

"Achsenzeit" ist ein Buch über eine faszinierende Entdeckung: Zarathustra, Laotse, Konfuzius, Buddha, Parmenides, Xenophanes und Jesaja waren Zeitgenossen. Obwohl sie in weit entfernten Teilen der Welt lebten, ähnelt sich ihre kulturelle Wirkung auffällig. Gab es damals einen gemeinsamen Ursprung der Weltreligionen und heute noch einflussreicher Denkrichtungen? Der mit dem Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels ausgezeichnete Ägyptologe Jan Assmann zeigt hier die historische Entwicklung dieser Frage und kommt zu einer überarschenden Antwort. Eine Rezension

Join the PaRDeS Cause, and help the Universal ReConstitution Movement for World Repair! Visit my website www.pardesism.com, podcasts with pdf included, or at iTunes and other places. I have a calling; a book to deliver, “PaRDeSism ~ Human Science 101”; and a job to perform, PaRDeS Universal ReConstitution for World Repair. Title: “PaRDeSism ~ Human Science 101” Subtitle: (PaRDeS primevalism ~ treeseeding our original common-sense on the Bible’s Creation Story 1:1-2:3; World ReConstitution, from Crisis City to PaRaDiSe Earth) Author: Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla. Where: At Amazon Formats: In paperback and digital, in English and Spanish translation. As we are creative, here and now, the universe reconstitutes. 003_Catalonia, Iberia, New EU, by PaRDeS ReConstitution Dear World-Wide University Faculty, Students, and Alumni: Hi, I’m Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla, remote paternal ancestry Catalan and maternal Castilian, crypto Latino Jew, originally from Mexico, and UT, University of Texas at Austin Physics ’70, IC, Imperial College London, UNAM, National Autonomous University of Mexico, and UIA, Iberian American University, Mexico City. This makes me 5-way stakeholder in Catalonia’s Independence bid from Spain. My request is that we install a forum to dialogue University world-wide this issue ASAP. The end result has to be a win-win-win-win situation to all concerned, namely, Catalonia, Spain, Europe, and by extension, world-wide. We shouldn’t let a good crisis go to waste. In this singularity, unique state of affairs, it happens to be the case that the topic is the issue. What we have before us is a crisis of the mainstay of the West, what we understand by democracy. But here again, it’s not democracy alone that is at stake, rather, democracy might be the topic, but the issue is understanding. Let me first explain what I mean by saying that the topic of Catalonia’s independence bid from Spain, actually showcases the issue facing modernity moving forward. For too long we have been living out a stalemate situation of a prolonged crisis of Western civilization. The initial impulse given to the West by Israel, Greece, and Rome, has long since vanished into the gray background. What is now needed is a grassroots renewal, not more of the same top-down rancid Continental and Anglophone philosophies of postmodernity that miss the point to a considerable degree, if not entirely. Enough vitality has already been shed in useless struggles in the far and near past, that we surely need creativity to step up to the plate. Necessity is verily the mother of resourcefulness, and there’s nothing like a good crisis to put the stressed system to the test. The question is, will the globalized world of East-&-West deliver this time around? The understanding democracy theme is actually the issue of the primeval, the original common-sense, the ultimate source of reason. For reason is at the cornerstone of all learning, what universities do for a living, such that updating it would have a refreshing overall effect on civilization. I wrote a book precisely on the above theme, entitled “PaRDeSism ~ Human Science 101”, same that can be found on the Internet, in paperback and eBook format, in English, and in its Spanish translation. If we want the social edifice to continue ever higher, scraping the skies, then we need to concurrently dig deeper, till we reach bedrock. Nothing less than this will do on the long run. This essay addresses Crisis City, covering worldviews, starting with modernity of Newton; of the School of Athens, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; of the three schools of the preSocratics, Thales of Miletus, the Milesian, Xenophanes of Colophon and Parmenides of Elea, the Eleatic, and Pythagoras of Samos, the Pythagorean; and finally, Moses of the Pentateuch Chumash Five Books, of the Kabbalah. What I found was that there is an ultimate cornerstone to reason, a primeval,

On Melissus, Xenophanes, and Gorgias (Greek: ΠΕΡΙ ΜΕΛΙΣΣΟΥ, ΞΕΝΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΓΟΡΓΙΟΥ; Latin: DE MELISSO, XENOPHANE, GORGIA) may not have been written by Aristotle. Translated by T. Loveday and E.S. Forster. Painting: Auto de Fe en la Plaza Mayor de Madrid, Francisco Rizi, 1683, óleo sobre lienzo, 277 x 438 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

In this episode, we describe the new schools of thought that began to percolate in the 6th century BC about our existence and role in this universe absent from the gods, and we detail the lives, influences, and various theories put forth by the earliest of these so-called "Pre-Socratic" philosophers; included among them are Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pherecydes, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/020-intellectual-revolution.html

The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident (1077.1) 98:0.1 THE Melchizedek teachings entered Europe along many routes, but chiefly they came by way of Egypt and were embodied in Occidental philosophy after being thoroughly Hellenized and later Christianized. The ideals of the Western world were basically Socratic, and its later religious philosophy became that of Jesus as it was modified and compromised through contact with evolving Occidental philosophy and religion, all of which culminated in the Christian church. (1077.2) 98:0.2 For a long time in Europe the Salem missionaries carried on their activities, becoming gradually absorbed into many of the cults and ritual groups which periodically arose. Among those who maintained the Salem teachings in the purest form must be mentioned the Cynics. These preachers of faith and trust in God were still functioning in Roman Europe in the first century after Christ, being later incorporated into the newly forming Christian religion. (1077.3) 98:0.3 Much of the Salem doctrine was spread in Europe by the Jewish mercenary soldiers who fought in so many of the Occidental military struggles. In ancient times the Jews were famed as much for military valor as for theologic peculiarities. (1077.4) 98:0.4 The basic doctrines of Greek philosophy, Jewish theology, and Christian ethics were fundamentally repercussions of the earlier Melchizedek teachings. 1. The Salem Religion Among the Greeks (1077.5) 98:1.1 The Salem missionaries might have built up a great religious structure among the Greeks had it not been for their strict interpretation of their oath of ordination, a pledge imposed by Machiventa which forbade the organization of exclusive congregations for worship, and which exacted the promise of each teacher never to function as a priest, never to receive fees for religious service, only food, clothing, and shelter. When the Melchizedek teachers penetrated to pre-Hellenic Greece, they found a people who still fostered the traditions of Adamson and the days of the Andites, but these teachings had become greatly adulterated with the notions and beliefs of the hordes of inferior slaves that had been brought to the Greek shores in increasing numbers. This adulteration produced a reversion to a crude animism with bloody rites, the lower classes even making ceremonial out of the execution of condemned criminals. (1077.6) 98:1.2 The early influence of the Salem teachers was nearly destroyed by the so-called Aryan invasion from southern Europe and the East. These Hellenic invaders brought along with them anthropomorphic God concepts similar to those which their Aryan fellows had carried to India. This importation inaugurated the evolution of the Greek family of gods and goddesses. This new religion was partly based on the cults of the incoming Hellenic barbarians, but it also shared in the myths of the older inhabitants of Greece. (1078.1) 98:1.3 The Hellenic Greeks found the Mediterranean world largely dominated by the mother cult, and they imposed upon these peoples their man-god, Dyaus-Zeus, who had already become, like Yahweh among the henotheistic Semites, head of the whole Greek pantheon of subordinate gods. And the Greeks would have eventually achieved a true monotheism in the concept of Zeus except for their retention of the overcontrol of Fate. A God of final value must, himself, be the arbiter of fate and the creator of destiny. (1078.2) 98:1.4 As a consequence of these factors in religious evolution, there presently developed the popular belief in the happy-go-lucky gods of Mount Olympus, gods more human than divine, and gods which the intelligent Greeks never did regard very seriously. They neither greatly loved nor greatly feared these divinities of their own creation. They had a patriotic and racial feeling for Zeus and his family of half men and half gods, but they hardly reverenced or worshiped them. (1078.3) 98:1.5 The Hellenes became so impregnated with the antipriestcraft doctrines of the earlier Salem teachers that no priesthood of any importance ever arose in Greece. Even the making of images to the gods became more of a work in art than a matter of worship. (1078.4) 98:1.6 The Olympian gods illustrate man’s typical anthropomorphism. But the Greek mythology was more aesthetic than ethic. The Greek religion was helpful in that it portrayed a universe governed by a deity group. But Greek morals, ethics, and philosophy presently advanced far beyond the god concept, and this imbalance between intellectual and spiritual growth was as hazardous to Greece as it had proved to be in India. 2. Greek Philosophic Thought (1078.5) 98:2.1 A lightly regarded and superficial religion cannot endure, especially when it has no priesthood to foster its forms and to fill the hearts of the devotees with fear and awe. The Olympian religion did not promise salvation, nor did it quench the spiritual thirst of its believers; therefore was it doomed to perish. Within a millennium of its inception it had nearly vanished, and the Greeks were without a national religion, the gods of Olympus having lost their hold upon the better minds. (1078.6) 98:2.2 This was the situation when, during the sixth century before Christ, the Orient and the Levant experienced a revival of spiritual consciousness and a new awakening to the recognition of monotheism. But the West did not share in this new development; neither Europe nor northern Africa extensively participated in this religious renaissance. The Greeks, however, did engage in a magnificent intellectual advancement. They had begun to master fear and no longer sought religion as an antidote therefor, but they did not perceive that true religion is the cure for soul hunger, spiritual disquiet, and moral despair. They sought for the solace of the soul in deep thinking — philosophy and metaphysics. They turned from the contemplation of self-preservation — salvation — to self-realization and self-understanding. (1078.7) 98:2.3 By rigorous thought the Greeks attempted to attain that consciousness of security which would serve as a substitute for the belief in survival, but they utterly failed. Only the more intelligent among the higher classes of the Hellenic peoples could grasp this new teaching; the rank and file of the progeny of the slaves of former generations had no capacity for the reception of this new substitute for religion. (1079.1) 98:2.4 The philosophers disdained all forms of worship, notwithstanding that they practically all held loosely to the background of a belief in the Salem doctrine of “the Intelligence of the universe,” “the idea of God,” and “the Great Source.” In so far as the Greek philosophers gave recognition to the divine and the superfinite, they were frankly monotheistic; they gave scant recognition to the whole galaxy of Olympian gods and goddesses. (1079.2) 98:2.5 The Greek poets of the fifth and sixth centuries, notably Pindar, attempted the reformation of Greek religion. They elevated its ideals, but they were more artists than religionists. They failed to develop a technique for fostering and conserving supreme values. (1079.3) 98:2.6 Xenophanes taught one God, but his deity concept was too pantheistic to be a personal Father to mortal man. Anaxagoras was a mechanist except that he did recognize a First Cause, an Initial Mind. Socrates and his successors, Plato and Aristotle, taught that virtue is knowledge; goodness, health of the soul; that it is better to suffer injustice than to be guilty of it, that it is wrong to return evil for evil, and that the gods are wise and good. Their cardinal virtues were: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. (1079.4) 98:2.7 The evolution of religious philosophy among the Hellenic and Hebrew peoples affords a contrastive illustration of the function of the church as an institution in the shaping of cultural progress. In Palestine, human thought was so priest-controlled and scripture-directed that philosophy and aesthetics were entirely submerged in religion and morality. In Greece, the almost complete absence of priests and “sacred scriptures” left the human mind free and unfettered, resulting in a startling development in depth of thought. But religion as a personal experience failed to keep pace with the intellectual probings into the nature and reality of the cosmos. (1079.5) 98:2.8 In Greece, believing was subordinated to thinking; in Palestine, thinking was held subject to believing. Much of the strength of Christianity is due to its having borrowed heavily from both Hebrew morality and Greek thought. (1079.6) 98:2.9 In Palestine, religious dogma became so crystallized as to jeopardize further growth; in Greece, human thought became so abstract that the concept of God resolved itself into a misty vapor of pantheistic speculation not at all unlike the impersonal Infinity of the Brahman philosophers. (1079.7) 98:2.10 But the average men of these times could not grasp, nor were they much interested in, the Greek philosophy of self-realization and an abstract Deity; they rather craved promises of salvation, coupled with a personal God who could hear their prayers. They exiled the philosophers, persecuted the remnants of the Salem cult, both doctrines having become much blended, and made ready for that terrible orgiastic plunge into the follies of the mystery cults which were then overspreading the Mediterranean lands. The Eleusinian mysteries grew up within the Olympian pantheon, a Greek version of the worship of fertility; Dionysus nature worship flourished; the best of the cults was the Orphic brotherhood, whose moral preachments and promises of salvation made a great appeal to many. (1080.1) 98:2.11 All Greece became involved in these new methods of attaining salvation, these emotional and fiery ceremonials. No nation ever attained such heights of artistic philosophy in so short a time; none ever created such an advanced system of ethics practically without Deity and entirely devoid of the promise of human salvation; no nation ever plunged so quickly, deeply, and violently into such depths of intellectual stagnation, moral depravity, and spiritual poverty as these same Greek peoples when they flung themselves into the mad whirl of the mystery cults. (1080.2) 98:2.12 Religions have long endured without philosophical support, but few philosophies, as such, have long persisted without some identification with religion. Philosophy is to religion as conception is to action. But the ideal human estate is that in which philosophy, religion, and science are welded into a meaningful unity by the conjoined action of wisdom, faith, and experience. 3. The Melchizedek Teachings in Rome (1080.3) 98:3.1 Having grown out of the earlier religious forms of worship of the family gods into the tribal reverence for Mars, the god of war, it was natural that the later religion of the Latins was more of a political observance than were the intellectual systems of the Greeks and Brahmans or the more spiritual religions of several other peoples. (1080.4) 98:3.2 In the great monotheistic renaissance of Melchizedek’s gospel during the sixth century before Christ, too few of the Salem missionaries penetrated Italy, and those who did were unable to overcome the influence of the rapidly spreading Etruscan priesthood with its new galaxy of gods and temples, all of which became organized into the Roman state religion. This religion of the Latin tribes was not trivial and venal like that of the Greeks, neither was it austere and tyrannical like that of the Hebrews; it consisted for the most part in the observance of mere forms, vows, and taboos. (1080.5) 98:3.3 Roman religion was greatly influenced by extensive cultural importations from Greece. Eventually most of the Olympian gods were transplanted and incorporated into the Latin pantheon. The Greeks long worshiped the fire of the family hearth — Hestia was the virgin goddess of the hearth; Vesta was the Roman goddess of the home. Zeus became Jupiter; Aphrodite, Venus; and so on down through the many Olympian deities. (1080.6) 98:3.4 The religious initiation of Roman youths was the occasion of their solemn consecration to the service of the state. Oaths and admissions to citizenship were in reality religious ceremonies. The Latin peoples maintained temples, altars, and shrines and, in a crisis, would consult the oracles. They preserved the bones of heroes and later on those of the Christian saints. (1080.7) 98:3.5 This formal and unemotional form of pseudoreligious patriotism was doomed to collapse, even as the highly intellectual and artistic worship of the Greeks had gone down before the fervid and deeply emotional worship of the mystery cults. The greatest of these devastating cults was the mystery religion of the Mother of God sect, which had its headquarters, in those days, on the exact site of the present church of St. Peter’s in Rome. (1080.8) 98:3.6 The emerging Roman state conquered politically but was in turn conquered by the cults, rituals, mysteries, and god concepts of Egypt, Greece, and the Levant. These imported cults continued to flourish throughout the Roman state up to the time of Augustus, who, purely for political and civic reasons, made a heroic and somewhat successful effort to destroy the mysteries and revive the older political religion. (1081.1) 98:3.7 One of the priests of the state religion told Augustus of the earlier attempts of the Salem teachers to spread the doctrine of one God, a final Deity presiding over all supernatural beings; and this idea took such a firm hold on the emperor that he built many temples, stocked them well with beautiful images, reorganized the state priesthood, re-established the state religion, appointed himself acting high priest of all, and as emperor did not hesitate to proclaim himself the supreme god. (1081.2) 98:3.8 This new religion of Augustus worship flourished and was observed throughout the empire during his lifetime except in Palestine, the home of the Jews. And this era of the human gods continued until the official Roman cult had a roster of more than twoscore self-elevated human deities, all claiming miraculous births and other superhuman attributes. (1081.3) 98:3.9 The last stand of the dwindling band of Salem believers was made by an earnest group of preachers, the Cynics, who exhorted the Romans to abandon their wild and senseless religious rituals and return to a form of worship embodying Melchizedek’s gospel as it had been modified and contaminated through contact with the philosophy of the Greeks. But the people at large rejected the Cynics; they preferred to plunge into the rituals of the mysteries, which not only offered hopes of personal salvation but also gratified the desire for diversion, excitement, and entertainment. 4. The Mystery Cults (1081.4) 98:4.1 The majority of people in the Greco-Roman world, having lost their primitive family and state religions and being unable or unwilling to grasp the meaning of Greek philosophy, turned their attention to the spectacular and emotional mystery cults from Egypt and the Levant. The common people craved promises of salvation — religious consolation for today and assurances of hope for immortality after death.* (1081.5) 98:4.2 The three mystery cults which became most popular were: (1081.6) 98:4.3 1. The Phrygian cult of Cybele and her son Attis. (1081.7) 98:4.4 2. The Egyptian cult of Osiris and his mother Isis. (1081.8) 98:4.5 3. The Iranian cult of the worship of Mithras as the savior and redeemer of sinful mankind. (1081.9) 98:4.6 The Phrygian and Egyptian mysteries taught that the divine son (respectively Attis and Osiris) had experienced death and had been resurrected by divine power, and further that all who were properly initiated into the mystery, and who reverently celebrated the anniversary of the god’s death and resurrection, would thereby become partakers of his divine nature and his immortality. (1081.10) 98:4.7 The Phrygian ceremonies were imposing but degrading; their bloody festivals indicate how degraded and primitive these Levantine mysteries became. The most holy day was Black Friday, the “day of blood,” commemorating the self-inflicted death of Attis. After three days of the celebration of the sacrifice and death of Attis the festival was turned to joy in honor of his resurrection. (1082.1) 98:4.8 The rituals of the worship of Isis and Osiris were more refined and impressive than were those of the Phrygian cult. This Egyptian ritual was built around the legend of the Nile god of old, a god who died and was resurrected, which concept was derived from the observation of the annually recurring stoppage of vegetation growth followed by the springtime restoration of all living plants. The frenzy of the observance of these mystery cults and the orgies of their ceremonials, which were supposed to lead up to the “enthusiasm” of the realization of divinity, were sometimes most revolting. 5. The Cult of Mithras (1082.2) 98:5.1 The Phrygian and Egyptian mysteries eventually gave way before the greatest of all the mystery cults, the worship of Mithras. The Mithraic cult made its appeal to a wide range of human nature and gradually supplanted both of its predecessors. Mithraism spread over the Roman Empire through the propagandizing of Roman legions recruited in the Levant, where this religion was the vogue, for they carried this belief wherever they went. And this new religious ritual was a great improvement over the earlier mystery cults. (1082.3) 98:5.2 The cult of Mithras arose in Iran and long persisted in its homeland despite the militant opposition of the followers of Zoroaster. But by the time Mithraism reached Rome, it had become greatly improved by the absorption of many of Zoroaster’s teachings. It was chiefly through the Mithraic cult that Zoroaster’s religion exerted an influence upon later appearing Christianity. (1082.4) 98:5.3 The Mithraic cult portrayed a militant god taking origin in a great rock, engaging in valiant exploits, and causing water to gush forth from a rock struck with his arrows. There was a flood from which one man escaped in a specially built boat and a last supper which Mithras celebrated with the sun-god before he ascended into the heavens. This sun-god, or Sol Invictus, was a degeneration of the Ahura-Mazda deity concept of Zoroastrianism. Mithras was conceived as the surviving champion of the sun-god in his struggle with the god of darkness. And in recognition of his slaying the mythical sacred bull, Mithras was made immortal, being exalted to the station of intercessor for the human race among the gods on high. (1082.5) 98:5.4 The adherents of this cult worshiped in caves and other secret places, chanting hymns, mumbling magic, eating the flesh of the sacrificial animals, and drinking the blood. Three times a day they worshiped, with special weekly ceremonials on the day of the sun-god and with the most elaborate observance of all on the annual festival of Mithras, December twenty-fifth. It was believed that the partaking of the sacrament ensured eternal life, the immediate passing, after death, to the bosom of Mithras, there to tarry in bliss until the judgment day. On the judgment day the Mithraic keys of heaven would unlock the gates of Paradise for the reception of the faithful; whereupon all the unbaptized of the living and the dead would be annihilated upon the return of Mithras to earth. It was taught that, when a man died, he went before Mithras for judgment, and that at the end of the world Mithras would summon all the dead from their graves to face the last judgment. The wicked would be destroyed by fire, and the righteous would reign with Mithras forever. (1082.6) 98:5.5 At first it was a religion only for men, and there were seven different orders into which believers could be successively initiated. Later on, the wives and daughters of believers were admitted to the temples of the Great Mother, which adjoined the Mithraic temples. The women’s cult was a mixture of Mithraic ritual and the ceremonies of the Phrygian cult of Cybele, the mother of Attis. 6. Mithraism and Christianity (1083.1) 98:6.1 Prior to the coming of the mystery cults and Christianity, personal religion hardly developed as an independent institution in the civilized lands of North Africa and Europe; it was more of a family, city-state, political, and imperial affair. The Hellenic Greeks never evolved a centralized worship system; the ritual was local; they had no priesthood and no “sacred book.” Much as the Romans, their religious institutions lacked a powerful driving agency for the preservation of higher moral and spiritual values. While it is true that the institutionalization of religion has usually detracted from its spiritual quality, it is also a fact that no religion has thus far succeeded in surviving without the aid of institutional organization of some degree, greater or lesser. (1083.2) 98:6.2 Occidental religion thus languished until the days of the Skeptics, Cynics, Epicureans, and Stoics, but most important of all, until the times of the great contest between Mithraism and Paul’s new religion of Christianity. (1083.3) 98:6.3 During the third century after Christ, Mithraic and Christian churches were very similar both in appearance and in the character of their ritual. A majority of such places of worship were underground, and both contained altars whose backgrounds variously depicted the sufferings of the savior who had brought salvation to a sin-cursed human race. (1083.4) 98:6.4 Always had it been the practice of Mithraic worshipers, on entering the temple, to dip their fingers in holy water. And since in some districts there were those who at one time belonged to both religions, they introduced this custom into the majority of the Christian churches in the vicinity of Rome. Both religions employed baptism and partook of the sacrament of bread and wine. The one great difference between Mithraism and Christianity, aside from the characters of Mithras and Jesus, was that the one encouraged militarism while the other was ultrapacific. Mithraism’s tolerance for other religions (except later Christianity) led to its final undoing. But the deciding factor in the struggle between the two was the admission of women into the full fellowship of the Christian faith. (1083.5) 98:6.5 In the end the nominal Christian faith dominated the Occident. Greek philosophy supplied the concepts of ethical value; Mithraism, the ritual of worship observance; and Christianity, as such, the technique for the conservation of moral and social values. 7. The Christian Religion (1083.6) 98:7.1 A Creator Son did not incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh and bestow himself upon the humanity of Urantia to reconcile an angry God but rather to win all mankind to the recognition of the Father’s love and to the realization of their sonship with God. After all, even the great advocate of the atonement doctrine realized something of this truth, for he declared that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” (1084.1) 98:7.2 It is not the province of this paper to deal with the origin and dissemination of the Christian religion. Suffice it to say that it is built around the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the humanly incarnate Michael Son of Nebadon, known to Urantia as the Christ, the anointed one. Christianity was spread throughout the Levant and Occident by the followers of this Galilean, and their missionary zeal equaled that of their illustrious predecessors, the Sethites and Salemites, as well as that of their earnest Asiatic contemporaries, the Buddhist teachers. (1084.2) 98:7.3 The Christian religion, as a Urantian system of belief, arose through the compounding of the following teachings, influences, beliefs, cults, and personal individual attitudes: (1084.3) 98:7.4 1. The Melchizedek teachings, which are a basic factor in all the religions of Occident and Orient that have arisen in the last four thousand years. (1084.4) 98:7.5 2. The Hebraic system of morality, ethics, theology, and belief in both Providence and the supreme Yahweh. (1084.5) 98:7.6 3. The Zoroastrian conception of the struggle between cosmic good and evil, which had already left its imprint on both Judaism and Mithraism. Through prolonged contact attendant upon the struggles between Mithraism and Christianity, the doctrines of the Iranian prophet became a potent factor in determining the theologic and philosophic cast and structure of the dogmas, tenets, and cosmology of the Hellenized and Latinized versions of the teachings of Jesus. (1084.6) 98:7.7 4. The mystery cults, especially Mithraism but also the worship of the Great Mother in the Phrygian cult. Even the legends of the birth of Jesus on Urantia became tainted with the Roman version of the miraculous birth of the Iranian savior-hero, Mithras, whose advent on earth was supposed to have been witnessed by only a handful of gift-bearing shepherds who had been informed of this impending event by angels. (1084.7) 98:7.8 5. The historic fact of the human life of Joshua ben Joseph, the reality of Jesus of Nazareth as the glorified Christ, the Son of God. (1084.8) 98:7.9 6. The personal viewpoint of Paul of Tarsus. And it should be recorded that Mithraism was the dominant religion of Tarsus during his adolescence. Paul little dreamed that his well-intentioned letters to his converts would someday be regarded by still later Christians as the “word of God.” Such well-meaning teachers must not be held accountable for the use made of their writings by later-day successors. (1084.9) 98:7.10 7. The philosophic thought of the Hellenistic peoples, from Alexandria and Antioch through Greece to Syracuse and Rome. The philosophy of the Greeks was more in harmony with Paul’s version of Christianity than with any other current religious system and became an important factor in the success of Christianity in the Occident. Greek philosophy, coupled with Paul’s theology, still forms the basis of European ethics. (1084.10) 98:7.11 As the original teachings of Jesus penetrated the Occident, they became Occidentalized, and as they became Occidentalized, they began to lose their potentially universal appeal to all races and kinds of men. Christianity, today, has become a religion well adapted to the social, economic, and political mores of the white races. It has long since ceased to be the religion of Jesus, although it still valiantly portrays a beautiful religion about Jesus to such individuals as sincerely seek to follow in the way of its teaching. It has glorified Jesus as the Christ, the Messianic anointed one from God, but has largely forgotten the Master’s personal gospel: the Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of all men. (1085.1) 98:7.12 And this is the long story of the teachings of Machiventa Melchizedek on Urantia. It is nearly four thousand years since this emergency Son of Nebadon bestowed himself on Urantia, and in that time the teachings of the “priest of El Elyon, the Most High God,” have penetrated to all races and peoples. And Machiventa was successful in achieving the purpose of his unusual bestowal; when Michael made ready to appear on Urantia, the God concept was existent in the hearts of men and women, the same God concept that still flames anew in the living spiritual experience of the manifold children of the Universal Father as they live their intriguing temporal lives on the whirling planets of space. (1085.2) 98:7.13 [Presented by a Melchizedek of Nebadon.]

Diogenes Laertius gibt ein Zitat von Xenophanes an, aus dem hervorgeht, dass er ein hohes Alter erreicht hat: Siebenundsechzig Jahre sind schon verflossen, seitdem ich durch das hellenische Land wandere, sorgenbeschwert;Noch um fünfundzwanzig vermehrt sich die Zahl, wenn ich rechneVon der Geburt ab, sofern mich das Gedächtnis nicht täuscht.

The gods in Homer and Hesiod, and the critique of Xenophanes