Lost in a Lost World (Page 7)

chronology: Ghost. True virtually all Rome's grain was transported by ship. But Superpowers like Rome never left their asset's lieing out in the open unprotected. The old the Parthian Empire could have marched across the land and into Egypt. So keeping Legions in Judea was a precaution against a surprise attack on food sources. The ruling class in Judea were given Roman protection, in return the Legions had a land base and port's. The Jews were divided over the Roman presence in the country. Old fashioned conservative Jews looked to Parthia as the natural friend of Jews. They saw the Roman's as too liberal and advanced. Rome was also a'new kid on the block' as far as the old timers in Judea were concerned. Egypt, Babylon were the traditional nation powers. The old timers seem to have been mystified at what Rome was doing building roads, port's, sewers and water supply tunnels etc.

Fractured fairy tale: Breaking News . Wall mart was Selling pork with a Sper bug in it Resistant to Anti Abiotics Bit Un American prolly shipped from China

ghostgeek: Some of those old-timers in Jerusalem certainly got uppity when they heard Temple money was going to be used to improve the water supply. That's when somebody organised a protest. Clearly, the Jewish authorities and the Romans got wind of it and stamped down on it hard. Now here's the interesting thing, the Romans crucified anyone guilty of sedition and Josephus called this protest sedition. And straight afterwards a certain Jesus Christ was crucified. Is it too much to add two and two together and conclude that that our saintly hero was the instigator of the protest?

ghostgeek: Zanjan, why must it be presumed that mankind doesn't know what's best for itself and therefore needs God's help? After all, after looking at God's record as portrayed in the Bible, it's pretty clear that He's an incompetent deity that needs to be given a wide berth.

Zanjan: "Is it too much to add two and two together and conclude that that our saintly hero was the instigator of the protest? "

Well, we could blame their mothers. I've always said people should have a license to produce and bring up children. When those under the age of 30 are convicted of criminal acts, their mothers should be tossed in with them. The dad, well he's hardly around during those formative years.

"why must it be presumed that mankind doesn't know what's best for itself"

You gotta be kidding, right? Is a long recorded history of mismanagement a presumption? ANYONE WHO HAS MADE A MISTAKE is not one you can rely on for flawless direction. Since we know that, we're wise to do a group consult.

You may think you know what's best for yourself but that's just your imagination working overtime, and maybe just a wee bit dishonest. If you're doing the right things, you can trace each one of them back to God's direction. YOU didn't invent that behaviour.

You say you tipple some - who is responsible for your fatty liver and excessive dwindling number of brain cells? No offense, but check in with your doctor - he might make a mistake but he's just the first opinion. You can get as many opinions as you like, put them in a hat, shake and pull one out. Almost as good as religion.

Zanjan: I watched a TV show where a neurologist was studying brain scans of criminal psychopaths. In all scans, there was little to no activity going on in the frontal lobe area (between the eyes). That area governs empathy, emotional expression, judgment, language and communication and sexual behaviours.

Wanting a deeper study, he needed a control group with no history of Alzteheimers or other brain disease so he used his own family. All scans came back normal except for one - that one had a psychopathic brain. He pulled off the identification tag - it was him.

Why? He was so well-adjusted and articlate, having a happy life with his wife and kids.

Apparently, a good and loving upbringing offered a strong measure of prevention, buttressing other brain areas which helped him obviate those weaknesses. The spirit can profoundly affect all things.

ghostgeek: Once a year I go to the doctors for my "review". Never been told I'm falling apart.

ghostgeek: I suggest you take a peek at the Old Testament. God does some creating and immediately things start to go haywire. A snake tells the truth and God's gardener goes off the rails, then it really does go downhill. So what does God end up doing? He starts again but with the same flawed creations that messed up first time round. Mmm ... I guess only God couldn't see what would happen next.

Zanjan: Yeah, like an old car, once one thing goes, then another and another. You'll make that deduction yourself after several repairs. When they say you'll just have live with it - medicating the symptoms - you decide if it's worth the cost of bionics or cryonics.

Zanjan: Maybe you need reading glasses? The serpent lied. Same serpent that had always been in the garden but previously had no influence. Adam and Eve both told the truth - the serpent blamed God, Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve.

The problem was A & E absolved themselves. See, when the ship is sinking, the captain is supposed to courageously go down with it. Like the physical body, a religion ages and becomes feeble; one has to own up to the reality.

Zanjan: You be like my dad, who in his senior years failed his driver's test. He said "Pshaw, taint nuthin' wrong with me, I can see".

Then he drove his car through a stop sign, smashed into another driver, rolled the vehicle and broke his neck. A weird end for a 92 year old, who'd boasted navigating WW2 without injury.

ghostgeek: I've got a car, must be thirty years old by now. It needs a tweek now and then but it gets through the MOT every year. As for using glasses to read with, I gave up using them years ago.

ghostgeek: Since the dawn of recorded human time, many of our ancestors had recorded their adoration of the serpent in stone, onto walls and on paper. Without a doubt it is one of the most ancient and widely accepted symbols of spiritual wisdom that has ever been in existence.

The serpent in most all cultures has a similar meaning and is generally accepted as a symbol of divine wisdom and spiritual purity.

[ https://gnosticwarrior.com/serpent.html ]

ghostgeek: How could you possibly think that a creature that embodies divine wisdom and spiritual purity would lie? It's as clear as day that it told the truth and that it was the Demiurge that was telling the porkies.

Zanjan: Yes, it's eerie how many cultures around the world have the serpent symbol as a religious icon. However, I wouldn't say they all held the same meaning - we're guessing. Those who used them didnt write down the meaning.

Stories were passed down but they change a bit over time; also human perspective changes. Once, our forefathers used the snake as a symbol of healing - not as a religious symbol but a medical one. They knew that a small drop of poison could be used to remedy ravaging symptoms - enter wholistic medicine.

This knowledge may have originated through observing nature, something people used to be very familiar with. When an animal is sick, it seeks out a particular plant to eat which remedies its illness. Our First Nations people said the antidote for every poisonous plant grows within a thousand feet away.

Thus, we have digitalis, a heart medication, extracted from the poisonous foxglove plant, and belladonna ( Parkinsons med) from the deadly nightshade family. We make vaccines from the killer and use snake venom for the antidote to its bite.

God uses this principle as a metaphor in the sacred texts. Actions speak the truth.

In western society, the snake is a nasty creature. In religious terms, one should recognize a serpent by the distinct way it moves. As Moses said, "Look at it!"

Zanjan: Maybe if folks were more familiar with police detective work, they wouldn't find themselves vulnerable to predation so often. On the other hand, if one had developed spiritual eyes, the snakes would be sorted in advance of their presence.

Perhaps that's how St. Patty drove the snakes out of Ireland - he'd have to be 10 steps ahead of them all the way.

ghostgeek: Would you care to expatiate on how a knowledge of police detective work mitigates predation.

Zanjan: Study some MOs - there are patterns everywhere; people can't depart from habitual behaviours and most of them are classics. However often they shed their skin, the wicked can't be something they're not.

Become familiar with constitutional law - the most knowledgeable here are the criminals. They design their jobs around that because if suspected or caught, they've got a legal back door. If one isn't a career criminal, one still has to plot.

See how people were caught - there's no such thing as the perfect crime because even the smartest succumb to emotions. He slips up and leaves evidence because he can't think of everything and isnt prepared when the unexpected intervenes.

I didn't suggest this awareness "mitigates predation". There's always going to be predators and evil individuals. Life is hazardous; when you practice hazard avoidance, you'll be less likely to fall into its traps. The vulnerable are unprepared.

If *you* are prepared, you're in a position to assist those who aren't.

Zanjan: After that post, you probably won't ask me to expatiate on anything again.

ghostgeek: Looks like I'll have to go back to my books. I need to sort out an MO for a story that's been in the planning stage for some time.

ghostgeek: Five waves of cholera erupted between 1817 and 1896, bringing the disease to the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and America. The novel coronavirus takes this principle of rapid connectivity to a new level: civil aviation in China is the fastest growing sector and is expected to become the largest in the world within a few years. Between 1978 and 2016, the number of Chinese air travelers increased from 2 million to 500 million. Since the outbreak of the SARS epidemic in 2002 to 2003, air and ground transportation inside China has increased immensely, by about 700% by some estimates. Today, hosts who carry Covid-19 can circle the world and spread pathogens even without knowing they carry them, as the incubation period is longer than their itinerary. Put differently: The thing that enables the rapid spread of Covid-19 is a fossil-fueled planetary conveyer belt.

[ https://qz.com/1839281/how-fossil-fuels-propel-covid-19-and-the-next-pandemic/ ]

Zanjan: When I was showing dogs; we went back and forth across the border at will, following the show circuits so we could get championships in both countries. That made our studs more popular and the gene pool improved with more diversity.

Well, some American yahoo decided all dogs had to be quarantined for 2 weeks after crossing the border. That ended everything to this very day. They said they didn't want rabies- liars, all dogs had been vaccinated for that by law!

If they can quarantine dogs in a shelter over nothing, why can't they do the same with humans over something that's already killed many? Is there any reason travelers should be trusted to self-isolate? The record says 90 % of them are rogues.

So, either they get tougher with travelers or accept population dieback until we reach herd immunity. Wanna toss a coin?

ghostgeek: Good old fashioned quarantine for six months in a dog kennel for every sod who steps off an aeroplane would improve the health of the planet no end. It won't happen but it's nice to dream.

Zanjan: "aeroplane"? Oh my. Was watching the news the other night and the TV reporter was commenting on the helicopters flying over the scene - she called them "airships". Brought to you by the same wingdings who referred to a fortunate escape as a 'near miss' and meticulous monitoring as 'oversight'.

Good Lord, what next?? I get the feeling people are running backward.

ghostgeek: Aeroplane or airplane, what is the difference? Three thousand miles of ocean.