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Christians, when they deprecated the wrath of Diocletian, or solicited
the favor of Constantine, could allege, with truth and confidence, that
they held the principle of passive obedience, and that, in the space
of three centuries, their conduct had always been conformable to their
principles. They might add, that the throne of the emperors would be
established on a fixed and permanent basis, if all their subjects,
embracing the Christian doctrine, should learn to suffer and to obey.
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In the beginning of the fourth century, the Christians still
bore a very inadequate proportion to the inhabitants of the empire; but
among a degenerate people, who viewed the change of masters with the
indifference of slaves, the spirit and union of a religious party
might assist the popular leader, to whose service, from a principle of
conscience, they had devoted their lives and fortunes.
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The example
of his father had instructed Constantine to esteem and to reward the
merit of the Christians; and in the distribution of public offices,
he had the advantage of strengthening his government, by the choice
of ministers or generals, in whose fidelity he could repose a just and
unreserved confidence. By the influence of these dignified missionaries,
the proselytes of the new faith must have multiplied in the court and
army; the Barbarians of Germany, who filled the ranks of the legions,
were of a careless temper, which acquiesced without resistance in the
religion of their commander; and when they passed the Alps, it may
fairly be presumed, that a great number of the soldiers had already
consecrated their swords to the service of Christ and of Constantine.
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Personal interest is often the standard of our belief, as well as of
our practice; and the same motives of temporal advantage which might
influence the public conduct and professions of Constantine, would
insensibly dispose his mind to embrace a religion so propitious to his
fame and fortunes. His vanity was gratified by the flattering assurance,
that he had been chosen by Heaven to reign over the earth; success had
justified his divine title to the throne, and that title was founded
on the truth of the Christian revelation.
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As he gradually advanced in the knowledge of truth, he proportionally
declined in the practice of virtue; and the same year of his reign in
which he convened the council of Nice, was polluted by the execution,
or rather murder, of his eldest son.
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As the lower ranks of society
are governed by imitation, the conversion of those who possessed
any eminence of birth, of power, or of riches, was soon followed by
dependent multitudes. [74] The salvation of the common people was
purchased at an easy rate, if it be true that, in one year, twelve
thousand men were baptized at Rome, besides a proportionable number
of women and children, and that a white garment, with twenty pieces
of gold, had been promised by the emperor to every convert.
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War and commerce had spread the knowledge of the gospel beyond the
confines of the Roman provinces; and the Barbarians, who had disdained
as humble and proscribed sect, soon learned to esteem a religion which
had been so lately embraced by the greatest monarch, and the most
civilized nation, of the globe. [76] The Goths and Germans, who enlisted
under the standard of Rome, revered the cross which glittered at the
head of the legions, and their fierce countrymen received at the same
time the lessons of faith and of humanity.
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When Constantine embraced the faith
of the Christians, he seemed to contract a perpetual alliance with
a distinct and independent society; and the privileges granted or
confirmed by that emperor, or by his successors, were accepted, not
as the precarious favors of the court, but as the just and inalienable
rights of the ecclesiastical order.
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The Catholic church was administered by the spiritual and legal
jurisdiction of eighteen hundred bishops; [86] of whom one thousand were
seated in the Greek, and eight hundred in the Latin, provinces of the
empire.
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The bishop, or some distinguished presbyter, to whom he
cautiously delegated the powers of preaching, harangued, without the
danger of interruption or reply, a submissive multitude, whose minds had
been prepared and subdued by the awful ceremonies of religion. Such was
the strict subordination of the Catholic church, that the same concerted
sounds might issue at once from a hundred pulpits of Italy or Egypt...
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After a preamble filled with
passion and reproach, Constantine absolutely prohibits the assemblies of the Heretics, and confiscates their public property to the use either of the revenue or of the Catholic church.
The sects against whom the Imperial severity was directed, appear to have been the adherents of Paul of Samosata; the Montanists of Phrygia, who maintained an enthusiastic succession of prophecy; the Novatians, who sternly rejected the temporal efficacy of repentance; the Marcionites and Valentinians,under whose leading banners the various Gnostics of Asia and Egypt had insensibly rallied; and perhaps the Manichaeans, who had recently imported from Persia a more artful composition of Oriental and Christian theology.
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Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.
Marcus Aurelius
We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies come from that.
Marcus Aurelius
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.
Marcus Aurelius
The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.
Marcus Aurelius
Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.
Marcus Aurelius
If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.
Julius Caesar
Before beginning, plan carefully.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.
Marcus Aurelius
He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Marcus Aurelius
If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Originally posted by jackflap
reply to post by Hemisphere
These posers might not know or even consider to what extent the world is controlled or out of their control but I also don't think they care. They're in it for themselves and the short term. We see constant evidence of sexual trysts, payola, favors and more unveiled by the MSM.
You are right, there are people who are just going along with whatever the program throws at them and they are told to support publicly. Some even succumb to the desires of the flesh or greed and are set before us as examples of how they too belong to the system. They are the cannon fodder if you will. The monster that the masses have been longing to punish for their own ills in life. It's quite a show.
That's exactly it, it's a show. And we all have those desires, temptations and "sins" as they have been described. Of course the Roman Catholic Church gave those to us, courtesy of Pope Gregory I. We've come to know them as the Seven Deadly Sins. And I was considering how exactly did that come about? I knew it had to relate to control. Control of the masses of course not the priesthood. The Popes perfected if not invented the most egregious sins.
Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Any man is liable to err, only a fool persists in error.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
For how many things, which for our own sake we should never do, do we perform for the sake of our friends.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
In so far as the mind is stronger than the body, so are the ills contracted by the mind more severe than those contracted by the body.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Nothing is so unbelievable that oratory cannot make it acceptable.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Our character is not so much the product of race and heredity as of those circumstances by which nature forms our habits, by which we are nurtured and live.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
The greatest pleasures are only narrowly separated from disgust.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Systems Integration
As work proceeds on the five clusters, a parallel effort will focus on developing a better conceptual and practical understanding of the world systems within which they are linked and embedded. This will help to understand the linkages between trends, issues and actions and to identify the drivers of global change. The Programme will in this way recognize the immense complexity of world affairs.
A dedicated research network will focus on the issue of systems integration, including systems thinking and systems linkages and systems dynamics modelling. These networks will be supported by the Secretariat and accessed through the Club's website.
In late 2010 it is planned that the concluding "International Forum of the Club of Rome" will be held to integrate the final outputs of the expert meetings, of the research networks and of the related activities by all the elements of the Club and its partner organizations, leading to coherent conclusions and recommendations and to a major Final Report.
Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Christian pro-family congressman Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) recently resigned over an affair with a part-time employee saying, "to serve has been a blessing and a responsibility given from God. I wish I could have been a better example. I sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff." Oddly absent was any recognition of the betrayal of his nation and of his constituency - those who actually voted for him and entrusted him with a position of responsibility. Souder has referred to gay marriage as an "assault on American values" and was committed to preventing gay and lesbian Americans from enjoying equal rights and protections in marriage, all the while disregarding his own marriage. This is a classic example of Christian GOP hypocrisy: publicly professing dedication to "traditional" family values while screwing around on the side. Nothing unusual here; move along. Although Souder probably deserves extra points for having made a video - with his lover - praising his own advocacy of abstinence. (No, really) The Bible-thumping Souder has said his political beliefs are inseparable from his religious beliefs; "the closer to the clearness of the Bible, the less ability I should have to compromise. for example ...on abortion, there's really not much room to compromise." Likewise, Souder believes the US should unconditionally defend Israel because "... they're God's chosen people..." He hasn't explained why God can't simply defend his own people, but even Mark Souder's piety has limits. When offered the chance to fight for his own country in a military uniform, Souder refused to go on religious grounds. On the hypocrisy meter, this one ranks right up there with the recent scandal involving Rev. Dr. George Rekers, the anti-gay activist of "Rentboy.com" infamy. Both scandals underscore something deeply troubling: using one's religious faith to manipulate and control others without having to observe the same moral standards yourself - and then using faith as a cover for one's own failings.
Originally posted by kbeet
yep they all leed to rome.. with that road on the out skirts that form a big circle around rome.. lol theres only two directions you can go from there. out or in