Does anyone else get the sense that something downright miraculous might be up ahead?

a reply to: NovemberHemisphere

I didn't felt adressed because what you said wasn't adressed at me in the first place.

I guess we agree then, as you seem to be familiar with psychology behind delusion of grandeur.

Obviously it speaks for a very high self esteem when the only argument remaining is grammar...

originally posted by: whereislogic
I think no amount of salt (or pepper) can make crap/excrement taste all that much better though.

Funny, that is what I think about all the AWAKE! stuff you post. If anything has ever sounded like propaganda it is the JW stuff, although the scientology stuff beats it.

Funny word though, did he make it up himself?

According to him it is the word used in some info shared with him.

originally posted by: cooperton

originally posted by: yuppa

OH AS IF I DIDNT SEE THIS COMING.SCIENTIST COP OUT AS USUAL. The people who wrote the bible were alive before YOU ,and sorry that means its on YOU to disprove it.

Yeah I reminded him that our entire calendar is based around the coming of the historical Jesus, and he said it wasn't evidence for his historicity.

Posted Feb 13, 2024 years after the coming of Jesus.

I think you had this conversation with a few others and then with me (briefly).

The calendar we have isn't proof or evidence of the historicity of Jesus. This point was made by other posters too who also told you who is responsible for this calendar. May want to have a look at the Gregorian Calendar

en.wikipedia.org...

We are not talking about historical or scientific events but for political decisions that established a calender based on the alleged son it God for you which there is no much evidence he ever existed let alone be the son of the creator of the universe.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: Venkuish1
There is no evidence of any kind miracles happening in this world.

Just going to jump back in for a minute ... yes there are.

People ask God for miracles, and sometimes God will give it to them. Impossible medical cases that are instantly cured. These are investigated and the Catholic church tries to disprove them. If it's impossible to disprove the miracle ... it's declared as such.

Such as these two cases of miracle cancer cures through the intercession of St. Maximillian Kolbe.

The healing of a woman’s cancer: In 1981, a woman named Francesca Rubatto was diagnosed with terminal cancer and prayed to Maximilian for a cure. After praying and receiving a relic of Maximilian, Francesca’s cancer disappeared and she was declared cured by doctors. This miracle was recognized by the Church as a legitimate healing.

The healing of a man’s brain tumor: In 1983, a man named Antonio Bellomi was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given only a few months to live. He prayed to Maximilian for a cure and received a relic of the saint. Shortly thereafter, the tumor disappeared and Antonio was declared cured by doctors. This miracle was also recognized by the Church

It's very easy to google up the miracles from God that have happened.
I could give pages and pages of examples.
The Catholic church tries very hard to disprove them in order to authenticate.
But when they can't be disproven ... they are declared as miracles.

Okay. I said I was out of this conversation because it'sreally going nowhere and is now nothing but a slam festival. Just thought I'd add that one last bit of information.

It's not uncommon to attribute the cure of a cancer or the cure of other serious diseases to Jesus and God. It's just human nature but there is zero evidence for it.

At the same time someone is cured or their life and health dramatically improve, there are many more in this world who die under tragic circumstances like famine, war, natural disasters, poverty and starvation. Usually the God of the Old Testament is absent from the stage...

originally posted by: yuppa

originally posted by: Venkuish1

originally posted by: yuppa

originally posted by: Venkuish1

originally posted by: IndieA
a reply to: Venkuish1

There is no evidence for the existence of the supernatural world, God, demons and angels, like after death. That's not debatable but a fact.

Out of body experiences are evidence of spirits, a spiritual realm, and the likelihood of spirits continuing to exist after the body dies.

Profound examples of reincarnation are also evidence.

But I'm not hear to argue, I'm just curious what it would mean to you if you found out that you were wrong about these things.

Would you be okay with part of yourself, let's call it a soul, continuing on after physical death?

No they are not.

Can you prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,as in you will stake your life on it?

And you know with absolute certainty that the bible was always a man made creation and not told to men to write down?
Most likely the answer wil be NO,because you are trying to prove a negative.
lack of evidence does not preclude lack of existence. Science just has not advanced far enough yet.

The burden of proof for the claims made in the Bible are on those who made them and not on me. All we know is that the Bible and all other religious books are written by humans who claim to have been inspired by God or sometimes even written by the hand of God. The Bible just like most religious books are devoid of science and philosophy and this is a very good sign they are written by men od that time.

Personal experiences are what they are. I don't contest that people can have personal experiences and sometimes strange ones. But that doesn't imply there is something paranormal to them. Personal experiences are not what we call evidence although I don't personally reject them.

OH AS IF I DIDNT SEE THIS COMING.SCIENTIST COP OUT AS USUAL. The people who wrote the bible were alive before YOU ,and sorry that means its on YOU to disprove it.

I am impressed with the star you were given for your post but let' see your argument.

Your flawed argument is based on who has written the book and when and not the merits of the claims made by the authors. (that's why is a flawed argument based on a flawed logic)

The Bible was written by humans and we all know it. But the burden of proof is on the authors and not the readers because it's the authors who made the various claims and not the readers.

Imagine I had to disprove the Lord of the Rings?! One of the best selling novel ever written...

en.wikipedia.org...

Now imagine 300 years pass and someone makes the same argument as yours. The people who wrote the Lord of the Rings were alive before you so it's on you to disprove it. You can make the argument even now as the novel was written back in 1939-1947

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: Venkuish1

Can you tell me which of the physical and biochemical processes have supernatural causes?

Yes.
pretty much all those that science can't fully explain. It's been used like that in the vernacular since like, i don't know, the advent of science?

You keep recycling the idea the scientific establishment and scientists are corrupt but that's not true.

And that's just denial...

The only thing that isn't corrupt is the scientific method. And a lot of what you claim to be irrefutable proofs really aren't if you'd follow the method to the T...
Alot of it actually are "common sense" agreement to fit a narrative.

Evolution theory was as fundamental to justify slavery as religion, during that time a global scientific network established itself that made lots of money and is to this day well established inside the whole scientific complex.

Follow the money...
history is science too, and so far the only thing scientifically proven about history is that it's written by the winners.

You still can't name any physical and biochemical process that has supernatural causes.

You are falling into the same trap as many others before you when they attributed everything that was unexplained, mysterious, or unknown, to God.

But I think you know the answer and the fact that we don't know of any physical and biochemical processes having supernatural causes.

originally posted by: Venkuish1


You are falling into the same trap as many others before you when they attributed everything that was unexplained, mysterious, or unknown, to God.

You fall into the trap of attributing everything that is unexplained to evolution and random chance. Evolution-of-the-gaps to replace god-of-the-gaps. God-of-the-gaps involves intelligence, evolution-of-the-gas involves unintelligence

a reply to: chr0naut

You seem to have a misunderstanding.

No, friend. That'd be you.

In Christianity, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Even the disciples had doubts, denied, and/or betrayed Christ...

Perfect moral sense doesn't mean perfect moral conduct.

By the way, I'll thank you not to try schooling me in Christian ethics and doctrine. Several earnest and able teachers, including some men of the cloth, educated me intensively in these matters when I was young. One is the emeritus bishop of my diocese and we remain friends to this day. When I want divinity lessons from random persons online I will ask for them, thank you very much.

Actually, I have read those posts

Good for you.

Ascribing a conceptual framework to instinct explains that it does exist, but it explains nothing about why, nor does it explain how it was 'installed' in the organism

It wasn't installed, it emerged, as all traits do, through natural selection.

Arguing that morality is prescriptive suffers from the issue that morality appears innate, before the appearance of the authority figure

You have this back to front. Reprisals by what you call the 'authority figure' ⎻ in reality, any member or members of the kin group higher than the individual in the social order ⎻ are the 'winnow of nature' that selects for 'moral' behaviour. It originated among the first successful social species, not in late-coming humans.

The success, socially, of psychopathy and of social conflict leading to war, murder and manslaughter, shows that as a survival mechanism, morality is is notably and obviously ineffective.

On the contrary, it shows that the winnow is working effectively.

Psychopaths are individuals without properly developed moral instincts. Their handicap allows them to game the system of reciprocity on which all societies are based ⎻ for a time. Psychopathy is a very risky reproductive strategy, because the individual rarely prospers for long before the justified ire of the whole community falls upon and suppresses (or eliminates) it. Very few psychopaths reproduce effectively because of this; but some do, and so this (very rare) genetic predisposition does get passed on.

The heritability of psychopathy and sociopathy point decisively, in fact, to a genetic basis for morality. The existence of other reproductive strategies and selective forces is not precluded by this. All things are grist to nature's mill.

People have given their lives in place of those who are not kin.

Of course. The enormous success of Homo Sapiens is due precisely to the emergence of social groupings (tribes, cultures, civilizations) in which ever larger numbers of ever more distantly related individuals treat one another as if they were parents or siblings. The great moral innovation of Jesus Christ was to propose extending the circle of kin-group belonging to the whole human race, viz. 'love thy neighbour as thyself.'

The rest of your post ⎻ 'reductionist mindset,' etc ⎻ merits no response.

originally posted by: cooperton

originally posted by: Venkuish1


You are falling into the same trap as many others before you when they attributed everything that was unexplained, mysterious, or unknown, to God.

You fall into the trap of attributing everything that is unexplained to evolution and random chance. Evolution-of-the-gaps to replace god-of-the-gaps. God-of-the-gaps involves intelligence, evolution-of-the-gas involves unintelligence

There are no physical or biochemical processes that have supernatural causes. We know this for sure. Nature doesn't have gaps- we have gaps in our knowledge and religions together with religionists tried to fill these gaps with the supernatural world. It didn't work out and whatever claim was made for the supernatural was shown later on not to be the supernatural but rather than gaps in our knowledge.

a reply to: Venkuish1

I think you had this conversation with a few others

Always the case with the ostentatiously and fanatically religious. They get schooled time after time, have their facts disproved and their logic exploded, and five minutes later they’re back with exactly the same rubbish claims, as though the conversation you had with them never happened.

Kings and queens of treachery and bad faith. No wonder they love despots and tyrants so much.

originally posted by: Astyanax
Always the case with the ostentatiously and fanatically religious. They get schooled time after time, have their facts disproved and their logic exploded, and five minutes later they’re back with exactly the same rubbish claims, as though the conversation you had with them never happened.

Kings and queens of treachery and bad faith. No wonder they love despots and tyrants so much.

You think 800,000 miles of neural circuitry compacted into the human brain was coded by random mutations and natural selection. Imagine a robot emerging through random chance lol... It's just as absurd. But because we were all raised in a system that tells us we're mutated ape-like things then many are fooled into believing it, despite there being no empirical examples of any population of organisms evolving into anything else.

You can believe your faith in unintelligence creating intelligent life, but don't act as though your religion is higher or mightier than anyone else's. You're literally just believing the thing you were programmed to believe growing up.

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: Venkuish1

I think you had this conversation with a few others

Always the case with the ostentatiously and fanatically religious. They get schooled time after time, have their facts disproved and their logic exploded, and five minutes later they’re back with exactly the same rubbish claims, as though the conversation you had with them never happened.

Kings and queens of treachery and bad faith. No wonder they love despots and tyrants so much.

That's the main characteristic and I agree with you. Creationism is devoid of science and creationists believe everyone else has a very short memory for some mysterious reason and after their arguments have been refuted they will come back with the same arguments after a few hours or a few days (depending on the situation).

Take a look at this for example.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

There could be something miraculous happening in the future if we are going to accept the version of evolution according to poster from my link. They claim E.Coli doesn't evolve to become another bacterium so evolution is not true... But miracles always happen (again according to them) so who knows?! In the end we can get E.Coli to evolve into Chlamydia Trachomatis.

originally posted by: Venkuish1

There are no physical or biochemical processes that have supernatural causes. We know this for sure.

There's no known natural cause for life to emerge from non-life. You merely believe it based on faith, and you fill the gaps with the assumption that abiogenesis and evolution did it without any intelligent input. When determining the origin of intelligibile structures, Unintelligence of the gaps is far less likely than intelligence of the gaps

originally posted by: Venkuish1 They claim E.Coli doesn't evolve to become another bacterium so evolution is not true... But miracles always happen (again according to them) so who knows?! In the end we can get E.Coli to evolve into Chlamydia Trachomatis.

Yeah evolution requires more miracles than are present in the Bible. Miracles being defined as a defiance of known physical laws... That is why there is no laboratory example of abiogenesis, it is because the laws of nature don't allow it. The laws of nature actually do the opposite, polymers and ordered structures tend towards disorder once their respective organism dies. abiogenesis is appealing for known laws to be the opposite of what they are.

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: NovemberHemisphere

I didn't felt adressed because what you said wasn't adressed at me in the first place.

I guess we agree then, as you seem to be familiar with psychology behind delusion of grandeur.

Obviously it speaks for a very high self esteem when the only argument remaining is grammar...

Nobody said anything about grammar, specifically your spelling. Grammar is how words change their form and come together to form sentences etc., spelling is how letters come together to form words. It says a lot about how lazy a person is when the website literally has a built-in spellcheck that automatically highlights errors- and yet most of their posts contain obvious misspellings. It's not important or a big deal- but I'm certainly not intimidated by someone who cannot even proofread their own writing- that is an obvious sign of intellectual laziness.

a reply to: cooperton

You think 800,000 miles of neural circuitry compacted into the human brain was coded by random mutations and natural selection.

Kilometres, not miles. And no, I don’t believe it was ‘coded’ by random mutations and natural selection. It is coded by the individual’s lived experience.

Now stop pretending to be an expert on things you know nothing about.

Imagine a robot emerging through random chance lol...

The argument from incredulity is always popular with very stupid people. Their love of it is one of the reasons they’re stupid. Though it may just be genetic, and therefore incurable.

we were all raised in a system that tells us we're mutated ape-like things then many are fooled into believing it

I was raised in a ‘system’ (a literate person would say society or culture) that made no mention of evolution or mutation whatsoever until I read about it in a book when I was about ten years old. For the previous decade I was raised on the Biblical account of Creation, and as I said to the other fellow, I had a thorough Christian education. Where were you raised? The People’s Republic of China?

Don't act as though your religion is higher or mightier than anyone else's. You're literally just believing the thing you were programmed to believe growing up.

Irrelevant and inapplicable, just like Creationism itself.

a reply to: Venkuish1

Im right youre wrong. you will not convince me.

originally posted by: Kennyb75
a reply to: Kurokage

...
There is nothing New Age about the ancient knowledge that I understand ..

What Is the New Age Movement? (Awake!—1994)

IT IS not an organization, yet hundreds of organizations promote its teachings. It has no central leadership, yet its philosophers and masters probably number in the thousands. It does not have an official book of dogmas and beliefs, yet adherents can nurture their creed in virtually every public library throughout the world. It has no personal god to be worshiped, yet it often promotes the idea of a god that can be found everywhere and anywhere.

What is it? It is the New Age movement: a loose mix of religious, cultural, social, political, and scientific ideologies, combined with fascination for Eastern mysticism, the paranormal, the occult, and even some strains of modern psychology. The mix includes belief in astrology, reincarnation, extraterrestrial life, evolution, and life after death. Environmental and health concerns are also important ingredients.

Anyone can join this movement. There is no initiation rite or baptism. Nor do people have to give up their religious affiliations to belong to it. On the other hand, many resent being tagged with the “New Age” label simply because they believe in some of the concepts embraced by the New Age movement or enjoy some of the so-​called New Age art or music.

Devotees seldom identify themselves as New Agers. Actually, the expression “New Age” is used mostly by the media. These days, New Age books, shops, seminars, and programs often avoid the term. The Library Journal explains that “media overexposure in the late 1980s created a backlash about New Age’s more fringe elements (UFOs, channeling, crystals, etc.); this is reflected in the fact that major publishing houses . . . and even New Age presses are increasingly discarding the term New Age.” Thus, many people may be under the influence of New Age thought without even realizing it.

What Is New About It?

The New Age movement is considered by many to be a modern phenomenon. According to Professor Carl Raschke of the University of Denver, New Age thinking is essentially “an afterglow of the counterculture of the Sixties.” Other analysts also point to the 1960’s, with the hippies’ search for freedom and truth, as the beginning of the New Age movement. Many former hippies, now in their 40’s and 50’s, are still searching for that elusive truth. But their search is no longer dismissed as the capricious whim of teenagers. Many of them are professionals in reputable fields of knowledge, are politically active, and are now viewed as sensible community members.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s, they used their intellectual and financial resources to continue their search. The results? Their mixture of beliefs has received wide acceptance and respect. The media rapidly caught on, resulting in widespread awareness of New Age philosophy.

Actually, there is very little that is new about New Age beliefs. For example, its philosophy is based primarily on Eastern mysticism, which is thousands of years old. Consider just a few New Age ideas.

The New Age Hope

With the year 2000 just around the corner, the notion of a better future, a better millennium, is gaining popularity. A principal belief is that modern society as we know it will be replaced by a Utopian society.* [Utopia: “An ideally perfect place, esp[ecially] in its social, political, and moral aspects.”​—The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.] According to New Age teachers, this will be accomplished by radically changing conventional thinking through mystical knowledge that has been hidden or ignored until recent years. They say that this new era of harmony will unleash human potential and will usher in universal spiritual peace.

This hope seems to be based primarily on the predictions of astrologers who point to our day as the threshold between the passing age of Pisces and the coming age of Aquarius. Proponents of this theory claim that the zodiacal sign of Pisces has had a negative effect on mankind for almost 2,000 years. They point the finger at Christendom as the principal culprit in the creation of a materialistic and backward society. Christendom is accused of hindering the progress of truth. But today that truth can purportedly be found in the occult and will be made clear during the impending age of Aquarius, the age of spiritual enlightenment, the new age.

New Agers are divided on whether this new society will be brought forth by impersonal cosmic forces or by human effort. One theory claims that “a race of mutant New Age Homo sapiens, emerging from genetic seeds planted by enlightened ancients 3,500 years ago, will soon flourish and save the world from greed.”​—The Wall Street Journal, January 11, 1989.

Such a hope for a golden age, Utopia, or new world, however, is not new. The folklore of virtually every major culture includes the hope of a future Utopian society. Sumerian, Greek, Roman, and Scandinavian mythologies incorporated this belief. The Encyclopedia of Religion notes: “The yearning for a utopia where one is free from want and where peace and prosperity reign supreme has been very much an integral part of Chinese religion since pre-​Ch‘in times (before 221 BCE).” The most ancient sacred book, the Bible, speaks of a millennium when mankind will be brought to perfection, and war, crime, pain, and death will be eliminated.​—Revelation 21:1-4.

A Religion of Self

In her autobiographical film Out on a Limb, famous actress and New Age author Shirley MacLaine stands on a windswept beach with her arms outstretched and exclaims: “I am God! I am God!” Like her, many New Agers promote the search for a higher self and the idea of a god within. They teach that humans need only raise their consciousness to find their divinity.

Once this is accomplished, they claim, the reality of a universal interconnectedness becomes clear​—everything is god, and god is everything. This is by no means a new idea. Ancient religions of Mesopotamia and Egypt believed in the deity of animals, water, the wind, and the sky. More recently, Adolf Hitler allegedly encouraged others to embrace the “strong, heroic belief in God in Nature, God in our own people, in our destiny, in our blood.”

New Age culture is saturated with literature, seminars, and training programs dealing with self-​potential and self-​improvement. “Getting in touch with my inner self” is a popular logo. People are encouraged to try anything and everything that can help them unleash their own possibilities. As one writer put it in the magazine Wilson Quarterly, the “movement’s central teaching is ‘that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as it works for you.’”

Margot Adler, a New Age guru, explains that many of the women who join women’s New Age movements do it “for reasons that are very personal. . . . They hate their bodies, they hate themselves. They come into these groups which basically say to you, ‘You’re the Goddess, you’re wonderful.’”

New York magazine describes one group’s quest for the higher self: “A woman intones, ‘We are the teachers of the New Dawn. We are the Ones.’ Other participants, wearing horned headdresses, feathered masks, and wispy gowns, dance through the forest, grunting and gesticulating, keening and moaning.”

Sanitized Occultism

...

New Age and Health

...

New Age and Crystals

...

New Age and the Environment

...

MacLaine, New Age, and Ramtha

“THE astral dimension was real even though we couldn’t see it or measure it in linear terms. There is a greater reality than our ‘perceived’ conscious reality. That is what has come to be called the new age of thought. A new age of awareness. . . .

“I visited accredited mediums who channeled spirit guides from the astral plane. I developed relationships with those ‘entities.’ . . . One was more profound than any of the others. His name was . . . Ramtha the Enlightened One. . . . He said he had had one incarnation during the Atlantean time period and had achieved total realization in that lifetime. . . . As I looked into the eyes of Ramtha, I heard myself say, ‘Were you my brother in your Atlantean incarnation?’

“. . . Tears spilled from his eyes. ‘Yes, my beloved,’ he said, ‘and you were my brother.’”

MacLaine goes on to say: “The point of his spiritual education was to impart the truth that we were God. We were as capable of knowledge as he.”​—Dancing in the Light, by Shirley MacLaine.

Compare Genesis 3:5, where the Serpent (Satan) lyingly said to Eve: “God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” Those desiring divine approval must avoid any involvement with wicked and deceptive spirit creatures. The Law of Moses stated: “Do not turn yourselves to the spirit mediums, and do not consult professional foretellers of events, so as to become unclean by them. I am Jehovah your God.”​—Leviticus 19:31.

“Another Drug in a Drug-​Ridden Society”?

“THE New Age movement​—the latest contribution to our long history of bizarre spiritual fads and panaceas—​invites a mixture of ridicule and indignant alarm. Not just the degradation of piety but its blatant commercialization prompts the suspicion of large-​scale religious fraud. . . .

“The New Age movement tries to combine meditation, positive thinking, faith healing, . . . mysticism, yoga, water cures, acupuncture, incense, astrology, Jungian psychology, biofeedback, extrasensory perception, spiritualism, . . . the theory of evolution, Reichian sex therapy, ancient mythologies, . . . hypnosis, and any number of other techniques designed to heighten awareness, including elements borrowed from the major religious traditions. . . .

“The New Age replacements for religion soothe the conscience instead of rubbing it the wrong way. Their central teaching is that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as it works for you. ‘It’s true if you believe it’: slogan of the New Age. . . .

“The question is not whether New Age therapies really work but whether religion ought to be reduced to therapy. If it offers nothing more than a spiritual high, religion becomes another drug in a drug-​ridden society.”​—“The New Age Movement: No Effort, No Truth, No Solutions, Notes on Gnosticism—​Part V,” by Christopher Lasch, Watson Professor of History at the University of Rochester, New York, U.S.A.

New Age cults experiment with astrology, telepathy, meditation, and crystals, among other things

New Age healing methods include the use of crystals

Ecclesiastes 1:9,10:

What has been is what will be,

And what has been done will be done again;

There is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one may say, “Look at this—it is new”?

It already existed from long ago;

It already existed before our time.

originally posted by: whereislogic


What has been is what will be,

And what has been done will be done again;

There is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one may say, “Look at this—it is new”?

It already existed from long ago;

It already existed before our time.

Well just look at that; you said something I agree with. You're right, there is nothing new under the Sun- including christianity. There were dozens upon dozens of competing and conflicting Sun-god/mystery cults in the Roman world before christian theology was invented- it's literally mythological syncretism mixed in with just a bit of history. Just like islam, judaism, hinduism, scientology, new age nonsense, etc... All throughout human history religions/cults appear and disappear, some adapt and evolve as society evolves- akin to some kind of virus or parasite. I disregard christian ideology the same way I disregard the 'enlightened' hippy with a quartz crystal shoved up their ass or the scientologist claiming to have a dangerously high thetan count.. Theology is at it's core just a belief in powers greater than man and an attempt to propitiate or please those powers. It's nothing new at all- it's a natural concept in animism to believe in powers or entities beyond what is observable. It is ultimately a by-product of confusion, in my opinion.

originally posted by: whereislogic
...

Ecclesiastes 1:9,10:

What has been is what will be,

And what has been done will be done again;

There is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one may say, “Look at this—it is new”?

It already existed from long ago;

It already existed before our time.

Babylon the Great (Reasoning From the Scriptures)

... In time, Babylonish religious beliefs and practices spread to many lands. So Babylon the Great became a fitting name for false religion as a whole.

...

Ancient Babylonian religious concepts and practices are found in religions worldwide

“Egypt, Persia, and Greece felt the influence of the Babylonian religion . . . The strong admixture of Semitic elements both in early Greek mythology and in Grecian cults is now so generally admitted by scholars as to require no further comment. These Semitic elements are to a large extent more specifically Babylonian.”—The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (Boston, 1898), M. Jastrow, Jr., pp. 699, 700.

Their gods: There were triads of gods, and among their divinities were those representing various forces of nature and ones that exercised special influence in certain activities of mankind. (Babylonian and Assyrian Religion, Norman, Okla.; 1963, S. H. Hooke, pp. 14-40) “The Platonic trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity of attributes that gave birth to the three hypostases or divine persons taught by the Christian churches. . . . This Greek philosopher’s [Plato’s] conception of the divine trinity . . . can be found in all the ancient [pagan] religions.”—Nouveau Dictionnaire Universel (Paris, 1865-1870), edited by M. Lachâtre, Vol. 2, p. 1467.

...

Belief regarding death: “Neither the people nor the leaders of religious thought [in Babylon] ever faced the possibility of the total annihilation of what once was called into existence. Death was a passage to another kind of life.”—The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, p. 556.

...

Practice of astrology, divination, magic, and sorcery: Historian A. H. Sayce writes: “[In] the religion of ancient Babylonia . . . every object and force of nature was supposed to have its zi or spirit, who could be controlled by the magical exorcisms of the Shaman, or sorcerer-priest.” (The History of Nations, New York, 1928, Vol. I, p. 96) “The Chaldeans [Babylonians] made great progress in the study of astronomy through an effort to discover the future in the stars. This art we call ‘astrology.’”—The Dawn of Civilization and Life in the Ancient East (Chicago, 1938), R. M. Engberg, p. 230.

...

Why is it urgent to get out of Babylon the Great without delay?

Rev. 18:4: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.”

Rev. 18:21: “A strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: ‘Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again.’”

Luke 21:36: “Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.”

...

Revelation 17:1-5, 15:

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me: “Come, I will show you the judgment on the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and earth’s inhabitants were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.”

3 And he carried me away in the power of the spirit into a wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored wild beast that was full of blasphemous names and that had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and she was adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, and she had in her hand a golden cup that was full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality. 5 On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes and of the disgusting things of the earth.”
. . .
15 . . . “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.* [Or “languages.”]

More information about this mystery can be found in my response to twistedpuppy. Where I said:

originally posted by: whereislogic
a reply to: twistedpuppy

No need to scare people. This is the next big event coming up (see picture as well):

You can't miss it.

a reply to: Kennyb75

Try to read both my comments just now in a row (as one comment). On ATS there's always someone 'trying' to get you off the scent (of truth). Of course, usually this is not done on purpose, so I'm actually looking for another verb than "trying", but I didn't want to change the English expression. Compare the last line in Bob Marley's song "So much things to say": "they don't know what they're doin' ".

It's still a bit distracting and it will affect your mind and thinking if you read another comment in between, hampering one's ability to process this information in a beneficial manner.

“For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome* [Or “healthful; beneficial.”] teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled.* [Or “to tell them what they want to hear.”] They will turn away from listening to the truth and give attention to false stories.” (2 Timothy 4:3,4)

“So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14)

“All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

Isaiah 48:17,18

This is what Jehovah says, your Repurchaser, the Holy One of Israel:

“I, Jehovah, am your God,

The One teaching you to benefit yourself,* [Or “for your own good.”]

The One guiding you in the way you should walk.

18 If only you would pay attention to my commandments!

Then your peace would become just like a river

And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Coming back to the documentary I used earlier concerning the accuracy of Bible history and reliability of Bible prophecy, more details concerning the prophecy about Cyrus (called Cyrus the Great by historians, the most famous Persian or Medo-Persian king) is mentioned in part 2. It is useful to be aware of that prophecy and its fulfilment before watching the video below (keep in mind that this was written approx. 200 years before Cyrus was even born, or became king of Medo-Persia):

Actualy, there's more background in the playlist I used earlier to better understand the chapter from Isaiah (45) quoted above with illustrations. It is a message from Jehovah to all mankind (for their own good). All that is required, is for one to be receptive to what He has to tell you. And thus overcome the 'dullness in your hearing' spoken of at Heb 5:11-14, which I quoted before in this thread. Which causes people to end up “always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” (2Ti 3:7)