#this song was written by Jews don’t @ me

[laineystein]

It’s the mosttttttt wonderful timeeeeee of the year 😍

#this song was written by Jews don’t @ me #and they were probably talking about kubbeh season #food things #lainey things

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Key terms necessary for understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict : Part 1- Ancient Israel to the founding of modern Israel, Jewish terms

A/N: Hey! The results are in, and this is the topic my followers chose🫶 Writing this felt very much like retaking my high school history finals lol. Enjoy reading.

*These terms and definitions will be organized by topics, in chronological order. **If I have made a mistake or if you feel like I forgot something important- don’t hesitate to tell me in the comments. It is very hard to summarize thousands of years. *** Be respectful, I am human.

1. Key terms in Judaism and the connection to the land of Israel :

Israel and Judea- Were the two ancient Jewish kingdoms.

Zion ציון- Is one of the 70 biblical names for the city of Jerusalem. In fact, Jerusalem is referenced by this name in the bible over 150 times.

The word Zion is very much embedded into our culture: it is used in many prayers and Jewish texts written throughout Jewish history, songs etc.

Zion and the exile from it:

It is especially used when describing longing and the wanting of return to the land of Israel:

The most famous example that uses the word Zion is the biblical prayer from the book of Psalms, 137:

1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

תהילים פרק קלז א עַל נַהֲרוֹת, בָּבֶל--שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ, גַּם-בָּכִינוּ: בְּזָכְרֵנוּ, אֶת-צִיּוֹן.

This verse is an example of the longing for Israel: as it was written after the exile to Babylon.

*Yes, the funky Boney M song is based on this Psalms verse :) Coming full circle- It is also used in the official hymn of the modern state of Israel, Ha'Tikva. התקווה, written by Naftali Herz Imber. This word might sound familiar to you, as it is also the origin of the word "Zionism".

Zionism- is the notion that the Jewish people deserve to have a state of their own.

Semite- is a term for people relating to, or constituting a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic language family:

Semite languages- are a group of ancient languages, that originated around the same time, in Africa and the Middle East- aka the neighboring countries of Israel.

The Semitic languages are: Hebrew and its other ancient dialects , Arabic, Amharic, Aramaic and more. Unfortunately , most of these are extinct and no longer spoken.

The languages that are still spoken to this very day are : Arabic, Amharic and Hebrew.

Some Hebrew Fun facts :

-While there are only estimated 8 million Hebrew speakers nowadays( most of them Israeli), Hebrew is considered a holy language in is spoken during prayer.

-Ancient Hebrew and modern Hebrew are very similar. So much so that if I were to time travel, I could have a decent conversation with my ancestors😊 (some pronunciations, grammar and words have changed, but it’s essential the same).

-Which cannot be done with Romanic languages or Celtic languages..

Antisemitism A\N: This word is getting its whole section because it simply deserves it. Nowadays, every time a Jewish person says something is antisemitic, they will usually be bombarded with mocking comments about how Jews like to call everything antisemitic. If had a nickel for every time I got those comments or an Arab person tried to troll me in the comment section by saying "I can't be antisemitic if I'm a Semite myself"... Let's make it clear (once again).

As I have explained before, the word Semite refers to a group of ethnicities. However, the word Antisemitic refers to Jewish hatred: "Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews.[2][3][4] This sentiment is a form of racism,[5][6] and a person who harbors it is called an antisemite. Though antisemitism is overwhelmingly perpetrated by non-Jews, it may occasionally be perpetrated by Jews in a phenomenon known as auto-antisemitism ".

TLDR: Don't be a Jerk and use antisemitic rhetoric, blood libels, and stereotypes... You don't get to choose if something is antisemitic or not, Jews do.

2. Modern Israel and its founding

The Knesset- Is the Israeli parliament consisting of 120 members, elected democratically every 4 years. Usually- there have been 5 elections in the last 5 years. It also currently has 36 ministers. Yes, that _IS_ a lot.

Kibbutz- "Kibbutz is a community where people voluntarily live and work together on a noncompetitive basis. The first kibbutzim were organized by idealistic young Zionists in the beginning of the 20th century."

As time moved on, starting in the 80s, many Kibbutzim struggled financially and closed down. Today, there are 265 Kibbutzim left, with approximately 200,000 residents. Less than 20% of them are communal.

Unfortunately today, the word Kibbutz has a different connotation:

British mandate- Yep, they colonized us too lol. After the first world war, Between 1917 and May 1948 (Israel was founded literally as soon as the mandate ended).

Fun fact- Today, there are still a few rules left from the British mandate In Israel (Most of them were updated or changed by Israeli law makers after it's founding, usually by the Knesset and the Supreme court of justice).

“Homa U’migdal” (חומה ומגדל Tower and stockade)- During the British mandate, Jewish settlements were built overnight due to a legal loophole still valid from the Ottoman rule. The loophole prevented the British from destroying the new settlement: "Homa U'Migdal is the name of an operation that the leaders of the Yishuv initiated in Palestine, during which 52 new settlements were founded. This operation was a response of the Yishuv to the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and the restrictions the Mandatory authorities placed, both on the building of new Jewish settlements, and on the amount of Jewish immigrants allowed into Palestine. The building of each settlement began at night. First, the guard tower and the defense stockade were set up, so the operation was named “Tower and Stockade”. According to an old Ottoman law that was still valid during the Mandate period, the destroying of a building was not allowed after the roof had been erected. For this reason the British did not destroy the "Tower and Stockade" settlements which had not received building permits. "

The 2-state solution - The notion that the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be two states for two people- one for Arabs and one for Jews.

Balfour's declaration- is the famous letter sent by then-British foreign secretary Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild in 1917. In the letter, Lord Balfour stated that the British Empire would support the forming of a Jewish Zionist state in the land of Israel.

Peel Commission- was a community created in 1936 by the British rule during their Mandate over Israel. As the name suggests, the head of the Commity was Lord Peel. A suggestion for a Two-state solution was suggested to representatives of both Jews and Arabs. Unfortunately, the Arabs have refused it.

1947 Partition Plan- A partition plan suggested by the UN, that included another draft of the two-state solution, with different borders. The Arabs have refused it once more.

Declaration of Israel's Independence from Britain:

And so, as the British mandate ended on May 14th, 1948, the people's Council (that later served as the initial government of Israel) declared the formation of the modern state of Israel.

The day following the declaration, the Arabs in Israel revolted and with the help of 5 foreign armies that invaded Israel, tried to stop the formation of Israel: Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.

They failed and Israel was formed.

You can watch David Ben Gurion, head of the council (and Israel's future first prime minister) declare its formation/independence here.

PS- this was the flag of Palestine before the current one:

Sources:

-Semite languages pic: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Semitic-languages

-Kibbutz: * https://kibbutzulpan.org/about_kibbutz/ *https://www.hamichlol.org.il/%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C (Hebrew)

-Homa U'Migdal" : http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/en/Pages/TowerStockade.aspx

#israel #jewish history #jewish #israeli #jewblr #gaza strip #human rights #ישראל #טאמבלר ישראלי #israel palestine conflict #hamas is isis #jewish tumblr #jewish studies #jewish ≠ israel #jewish culture is #jews #jumblr #judaism #current events #middle east #Israeli #עברית #ישראלי #Gaza #israeli palestinian conflict

[fdelopera]

I’m Christian but want to challenge what I’ve been taught after seeing your posts about the Old Testament having cut up the Torah to fit a different narrative. Today I was taught that the Hebrew word Elohim is the noun for God as plural and therefore evidence of the holy Trinity and Jesus & Holy Spirit been there at creation. Is that what the word Elohim actually means? Because I don’t want to be party to the Jewish faith, language and culture being butchered by blindly trusting what I was told

Hi Anon.

NOPE! The reason G-d is sometimes called Elohim in the Tanakh is because during the First Temple period (circa 1000 – 587 BCE), many of the ancestors of the Jewish people in the Northern and Southern Kingdoms practiced polytheism.

(A reminder that the Tanakh is the Hebrew bible, and is NOT the same as the “Old Testament” in Christian bibles. Tanakh is an acronym, and stands for Torah [Instruction], Nevi’im [Prophets], Ketuvim [Writings].)

Elohim is the plural form of Eloah (G-d), and these are some of the names of G-d in Judaism. Elohim literally means “Gods” (plural).

El was the head G-d of the Northern Kingdom’s pantheon, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah incorporated El into their worship as one of the many names of G-d.

The name Elohim is a vestige of that polytheistic past.

Judaism transitioned from monolatry (worshiping one G-d without denying the existence of others) to true monotheism in the years during and directly after the Babylonian exile (597 – 538 BCE). That is largely when the Torah was edited into the form that we have today. In order to fight back against assimilation into polytheistic Babylonian society, the Jews who were held captive in Babylon consolidated all gods into one G-d. Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad. “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”

So Elohim being a plural word for “Gods” has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of the Holy Trinity in Christianity.

Especially because Christians are monotheists. My understanding of the Holy Trinity (please forgive me if this is incorrect) is that Christians believe that the Holy Trinity is three persons in one Godhead. Certainly, the Holy Trinity is not “three Gods” — that would be blasphemy.

(My sincere apologies to the Catholics who just read this last sentence and involuntarily cringed about the Protestants who’ve said this. I’m so sorry! I’m just trying to show that it’s a fallacy to say that the Holy Trinity somehow comes from “Elohim.”)

But there's something else here, too. Something that as a Jew, makes me uneasy about the people who are telling you these things about Elohim and the Holy Trinity.

Suggesting that Christian beliefs like the Holy Trinity can somehow be "found" in the Tanakh is antisemitic.

This is part of “supersession theory.” This antisemitic theory suggests that Christianity is somehow the "true successor" to Second Temple Judaism, which is false.

Modern Rabbinic Judaism is the true successor to Second Temple Judaism. Period.

Christianity began as an apocalyptic Jewish mystery cult in the 1st century CE, in reaction to Roman rule. One of the tactics that the Romans used to subdue the people they ruled over was a “divide and conquer” strategy, which sowed division and factionalization in the population. The Romans knew that it was easier to control a country from the outside if the people inside were at each other’s throats.

Jesus led one of many breakaway Jewish sects at the time. The Jewish people of Qumran (possibly Essenes), whose Tanakh was the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” were another sect.

Please remember that the Tanakh was compiled in the form that we have today over 500 years before Jesus lived. Some of the texts in the Tanakh were passed down orally for maybe a thousand years before that, and texts like the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges (in the Tanakh, that’s in the Nevi’im) were first written down in Archaic Biblical Hebrew during the First Temple Period.

There is absolutely nothing of Jesus or Christianity in the Tanakh, and there is nothing in the Tanakh that in any way predicts Christianity.

Also, Christians shouldn’t use Judaism in any way to try to “legitimize” Christianity. Christianity was an offshoot of 1st century Judaism, which then incorporated a lot of Roman Pagan influence. It is its own valid religion, in all its forms and denominations.

But trying to use the Hebrew bible to give extra credence to ideas like the Holy Trinity is antisemitic.

It is a tactic used by Christian sects that want to delegitimize Judaism as a religion by claiming that Christianity was somehow “planted” in the Tanakh over 2500 years ago.

This line of thinking has led Christians to mass murder Jews in wave after wave of antisemitic violence over the last nearly 2000 years, because our continued existence as Jews challenges the notion that Christians are the “true” successors of Temple Judaism.

Again, the only successor of Temple Judaism is Rabbinic Judaism, aka Modern Judaism.

This line of thinking has also gotten Christians to force Jews to convert en masse throughout the ages. If Christians can get Jews to all convert to Christianity, then they don’t have to deal with the existential challenge to this core misapprehension about the “true” successor to Temple Judaism.

And even today, many Christians still believe that they should try to force Jews to “bend the knee” to Jesus. When I was a young teenager, a preacher who was a parent at the school I went to got me and two other Jewish students to get in his car after a field trip. After he had trapped us in his car, he spent the next two hours trying to get us to convert to Christianity. It was later explained to me that some Christians believe they get extra “points” for converting Jews. And I’m sure he viewed this act of religious and spiritual violence as something he could brag about to his congregation on Sunday.

Trying to get Jews to convert is antisemitic and misguided, and it ignores all the rich and beautiful history of Jewish practice.

We Jews in diaspora in America and Europe have a forced immersion in Christian culture. It is everywhere around us, so we learn a lot about Christianity through osmosis. Many Jews also study early Christianity because Christianity exists as a separate religion within our Jewish history.

But I don’t see a lot of Christians studying Jewish history. Even though studying Jewish history would give you a wealth of understanding and context for your own religious traditions.

So, all of this is to say, I encourage you to study Jewish history and Jewish religious practice. Without an understanding of the thousands of years of Jewish history, it is easy to completely misinterpret the Christian bible, not to mention the Hebrew bible as well.

#judaism #jumblr #jewblr #jewish history #as a jew i never thought i'd be explaining the bible to christians but here we are! #i hope i've answered your question! #i know that a lot of jews will already know most of the jewish history i've shared but just in case i'm putting this in the jumblr tag #antisemitism tw

[floralcavern]

All right I’m finally doing this.

Name’s Flora. I’m a gray-desinoromantic heteroflexible girl. This is my side blog. I write fanfics on there.

I’m 17 years old. I’m in a ton of fandoms, my main ones being The Song of Achilles, Percy Jackson, The Owl House, Wings of Fire, many different Webtoons, TBHK, and many others. I’m Catholic, so don’t talk shit about my religion to me, I’m so tired of it. From that one country where people eat way too unhealthy and likes freedom 👍 I am the embodiment of stressed and depressed, but well dressed. I really like writing and world building. If you wanna check out some of the stuff I’ve written, sort through the tags on my blog by putting in ‘Writers on Tumblr’ Here’s my Spotify account if you wanna check out my 200+ playlists:

I’m an Israel supporter and pro-Zionism. Sooo.. ya. I don’t give a shit what you think about me. But please know that this does not mean I do not care for the citizens of Palestine. The real threat is Hamas.

My opinion on the IDF (because it’s a lot more complex than you think)

HOLY SHIT PLEASE SEE THIS

Do you really know what it is you’re chanting?

Important

Important 2

Important 3 (extremely fucking important)

Important 4

Important 5

Important 6

Important 7

Important 8

Important 9

You guessed it. Important 10

Important 11

Important 12

Oh wow! Important 13!

Heartbreaking.

News on the hostages

Hamas doesn’t welcome Christians

Your antisemitism does hurt people

Fuck Hamas

ZIONISM. IS. SEXY.

They have security for a reason

Fuck UNRWA

Hamas’s war crimes

Al Jazeera is not credible

LET HER COOK

So much misinformation

Antizionism is antisemitism

Hostages

The side of everything that no one sees online

Your movement is turning into a death cult

Have it make sense

This is no where close to genocide

Israel has tried peace over and over again

But-But Israel hates Muslims!

I fucking swear, if I see one more person say the hostages were treated well, I will scream

I’m afraid ignorance is contagious

“The hostages said they were treated in well!” You are gullible as hell..

Wanna see some of the earliest ‘Anti-Zionists’?

Y’all can support the existence of Palestine without being racist toward Israelis

This is war, not genocide. Also, Hamas are liars

Get your savior complex out of here and learn to hold people accountable

Free the hostages, holy crap.. (t/w for blood)

Confuse them in their own bullshit!

Ignorance.. ignorance everywhere

You’re actually harming your own cause

The casualty numbers are FAKE

It’s the appropriation of Jewish history for me

Oh wow. Al Jazeera. Lying? Who would’ve thought?

Hamas aren’t freedom fighters

Actually extremely interesting

This literally is a war, no matter how much you deny it

Wait until they learn they’re reciting KKK and Nazi propaganda

Hamas do. Not. Care. For the Palestinians

Experts, people who have studied this shit for years, agree that this is not a genocide

Palestinian origins

The reason Palestine hates Israel and Jews (surprise, surprise, it’s because of Hamas)

Palestinians are taught to hate Jews

Wait until you learn that those “Palestinian hostages” are prisoners who were arrested for horrendous crimes (t/w for description of torture)

What the fuck, oh my gosh, this is awful.

Charities:

Free the hostages

Uyghur Muslims in China

#About me #Zionist #pro israel #aromantic #heteroflexible #TSOA #the song of achilles #Catholic #The owl House #TOH #PJO #wings of fire #WoF #Writers on Tumblr #Webtoon #Tbhk #toilet bound Hanako kun

[dreaming-of-the-end]

lessons in fire, lessons in hate: Marella

A/N: this has been sitting in my drafts for too long. Comments/reblogs are better than the satisfaction that comes with being right!

Summary: Marella was fourteen when she began to hate fire.

What happened was this: she woke up engulfed in it.

TW: self hate, fire, swearing, tell me if I should add more!

Taglist: @steppingonshatteredglass @real-smooth @sunset-telepath   @stardustanddaffodils @jaxtheoraliestanner  @song-tam @turquoise-skyyyy @skycourthouse @silveredviolets @wu-marcy  @b-blurryyfacee  @rune-and-rising @lavender-and-rainy-days @chasteliac @confusedamphibian @hellomyfriends @cadence-talle @kai-i-guess @callas-starkflower-stew @a-harmless-poison @professionalwhalewatcher @theogony @keeper-of-the-jew-jew @gay-otlc  @confuzzled-fox @almostfullnerd  @athenswrites @synonymroll648

Marella was nine when she learned to fear fire.

The lesson was this: fire burns, and so do you.

Simple enough when everything in her life was so complicated. Complicated like when you take a step too far and feel your body start falling; complicated like how lemon juice squirts in your eye when you try to make lemonade; complicated like watching your mom cry from the staircase when she doesn't know you're looking.

So this was a simple rule.

Fire burns, and you will with it.

(unless...)

She learned to fear it, scribbling down the lesson in her mind, taking notes on what not to do and what to do. She learned so well that it was written into her very being. DNA is unchangeable? Well, she changed it to be afraid of fire, like everyone told her to, because every else didn't really have to learn to hate it.

Lack of self-preservation was a shitty side effect of being unique.

Yes, she memorized, watching her father's lips move as he taught his lessons and rules. Yes, fire is bad.

(...unless you're smart enough to avoid it. unless you're quick enough to run. unless you know not to love it, not to like it, not to look at it like that, Marella stop looking at it like that—)

...

Marella was eleven when she decided to fear fire.

She'd learned her lesson two years ago (about how things are complicated, and fire is simple), but never once had she believed it.

Rules were hard, and not following them was easy. Rules were hard, like when you shake out your clothes after a night on the floor because your mother isn't there to tell you to pick them up, like when you give up on lemonade and sprinkle sugar directly on the lemons wedges and eat them like that to savor the puckering sweetness, like when the girls at school make fun of you for having messy hair and messy braids and a messy life.

Rules were hard, especially the ones about fire and how she had to stay away.

She'd learned to follow the easy rules: show up to class, don't talk to the Vackers (especially the youngest), help your mother on her hard days (even if she couldn't quite adjust to letting her mother help her), and don't complain.

The last one was the hardest. But she learned well.

But this was worse than that. This wasn't a rule, this was a fact: fire is bad, and so is anyone who can use it, anyone who loves it, (anyone who looks at it like that Marella please stop looking at it like that—)

So, she decided, it was time to fear it.

First, she lit a match. Then, she set her favorite shirt on fire.

It burned faster than she'd expected. There was more smoke than she'd planned for, fanned into her face and making her eyes water, swallowed with the gulp of air she tried to take, sending her into a coughing fit. By the time she remembered to pour water on it, it had already spread to her carpet, growing until she drowned it with her ready bucket.

More smoke went up. She coughed. The fire went out. The smoke drifted out the window lazily, turning the pure sky briefly gray.

Her shirt (pink, with sparkles around the edges) was crumbled to ashes. A portion of her carpet (blue, fluffy, with a pattern of scattered purple petals) was blackened with fire.

Marella sat down in the middle of her ruined carpet and let her tears clear the smoke from her eyes. She waited for the smell in her room to go back to normal. Then she shoved the ruined remains of her favorite shirt into a bag and threw it away, cleaned her floor as well as she could with the water and towels from her bathroom, cut away the burned part of her carpet, and went downstairs like nothing happened.

Another thing she learned that day was that fire was hungry. It spread faster than water could reach it.

That was the day she decided to fear fire.

...

Marella was fourteen when she began to hate fire.

What happened was this: she woke up engulfed in it.

That was the simple answer, the easy answer. The complicated, the hard, the dangerous answer took longer to say. It's the danger of not looking before you leap, the danger of tilting your face to the sky and staring straight at the sun as long as you dare, the danger of taking a breath and another and another and smelling smoke instead of air. The danger of fire.

So the answer was dangerous, and it was that Marella imagined herself crumbling into dust like the shirt she'd burned. She imagined the carpet catching (she had a new one now, one that didn't have a big section at the ends cut away) and spreading to her parents and the rest of her house without her bucket of water there to stop it. She would be ash. She would be burned. She would be—

Warm.

She was so warm.

The only thing she could do was roll around her room to put out her fire, and scream. Scream from the pain that didn't exist, scream at the top of her lungs, the ones that weren't giving out from the smoke.

Something thudded, and then she was choking, losing her air, clutching at her throat, burning and dying and she couldn't breathe—

Air flooded her lungs and tears flooded her eyes as she gulped down air, knees stinging on her ruined carpet.

Her clothes were steaming.

"Marella—" Arms encircled her, flinched back. "Marella, you're burning hot. Boiling. Are you all right?"

"Does it look like I'm all right?" she forced out, a tear dripping down her cheek. She tried to wipe it away, but it had already evaporated. Her skin didn't feel hot to her. Her throat was the only part of her still on fire.

Her dad's face appeared in front of her, creased. "Look around you."

She did.

Her room was ruined. Blackened, charred, smoky. Her bedsheets, her closet, her carpet. The door to her bathroom had blackened, but was far enough away to be fine. Everything on her desk was in ashes. She would have to think of new excuses for her half-finished homework.

Heat swirled around her.

She could feel it in the air, in her very blood. It wanted her to touch it, wanted her to let it spill from her hands, to dance and twirl around her destroyed room with her. Hungry, hungry, hungry.

"Where did the fire come from?" Marella asked dully, staring at her hands.

Durand brushed a finger down her cheek, wiping away a tear. He winced like she'd burned him. Maybe she did. "I don't know."

But he did.

He did know.

And so did she.

"Your mother called a Regent when we realized there was a fire, Mare. They're coming now." Durand placed a hand on her knee, protected by a layer of still-hot pajama pants. They were an old pair, sparkly and pink from when she liked that sort of thing. His eyes searched hers, matching blue finding each other in the remnants of smoke. "They're coming here."

She sucked in a quick breath, choked, coughed. "Can you get rid of the smoke?"

"I took away your fire's air to put it out. I could blow away the smoke, but they're still coming here. It wouldn't dissipate in time."

Your fire, he said. Yours.

The doorbell rang from the end of a tunnel. "Where's Mom?"

"Waiting," he answered softly. Waiting for you to be safe. Waiting for the Regents to arrive. Waiting, waiting, waiting for it to be okay.

Marella stood on shaky legs. Durand stood with her.

The Regent had dark, deep eyes, like staring into an ocean. Dark skin, curls flopping around her head. Her ears were curved, but angled ever so slightly in a way that showed her age.

"What was the issue?" she was saying as Marella got close enough to hear.

"A fire," Caprise said, her voice strong. So this was a good day. Not a dangerous one. Not a hard one. Not a complicated one.

"Was it an accident?" This one knew who Caprise was. Knew what she was.

Was it an accident?

Marella started forward, but Durand placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yes."

"Of course. Where did it occur?"

Caprise looked at Durand, at Marella, her windblown hair, her unmarked skin. Her mouth tightened. "I set it. It was an accident, but it's out now."

Marella's eyes widened.

"How did you set it?" The woman wasn't surprised. Marella decided then and there that she hated her.

"During one of my moods." Caprise emphasized the last word too much, widening her eyes, making her bottom lip move when it shouldn't have.

Crazy Caprise. Where's your mom? Why isn't she here, Marella? Big talk from someone with a crazy mother, Redek. Why don't you let us come over to your house anymore? My dad says your mom is dangerous to be around. He says I can't sleep over unless she's not there. She might hurt me because she doesn't know what she's doing.

The woman nodded.

That was when Marella began to hate fire.

...

Marella is sixteen, and she doesn't know how she ended up here.

Here: hating herself like this.

Of course, she can trace every step that got her to this point.

She knows that Caprise falling off that balcony wasn't at fault any more than the person who pushed her. She knows that Sophie Foster didn't make Stina bully her after their friendship tore apart, and she didn't make Marella ostracize herself and hate every girl for being who she couldn't. She knows that Forkle didn't make her a pyrokinetic and Fintan isn't the reason she's dangerous and it isn't Biana's fault that she's too fucking beautiful.

Making everyone else at fault was an accident, and accidents happen all the time.

Accidents that she can count. Accidents like her mother's tumble, like Stina tripping her in the hall, like forgetting to flatten her uncombed hair before class or setting another fire or Gisela getting away for the millionth time or Keefe getting taken because Marella convinced Linh to take him underground.

If she burns the world down, it won't be an accident. It'll be the kind of burn that comes when lemon juice gets into a cut, when the sugar you tried to add turns out to be salt, when you aren't trying to catch yourself anymore because you fall down the stairs and land running, when you hear your mom crying and leave the house so you don't have to remember that you can't help anymore.

(she's crying because of you. because she found your plans to burn the world down. why'd you leave them out like that?)

She counts everything in her life, so why not mistakes? Why not dreams that never came true? Why not faults and blames, fires and flames, burned plans and lemons squeezed dry and flamed to charred bits of fragrant peel?

Fintan tells her that she shouldn't hate the fire erupting from her skin, that he doesn't hate his power even after everyone he's killed.

She can see it in him. How unafraid he is of himself, how proud he is of her power. Sometimes, she doesn't know if his satisfaction is in her or in the power constantly simmering in her veins.

"Don't be afraid of it, Marella!" he shouts constantly at her whenever they train. "Don't be angry! Fear and anger, this is how you lose control, of the fire and of yourself."

But fear and anger are all she has ever known. Fire burns, and she has to be ready to burn with it—

"It's everywhere!" she screams back, something in her voice breaking. The smoke is making her eyes tear up, and she's too afraid of crying to keep going. She puts out the flame with a twist of her wrists and falls to her knees on the ground, clothes steaming. She wishes Linh were here. "It's everywhere. All the fucking time. It's all over me."

"That's your burden. And your gift." Fintan's anger is clear in his voice. She's failed again. No fake pride today. "Start feeling the sun instead of wishing it was night."

"The sun shouldn't feel like fire ants when I use it." Her nails dig into the skin on her arms. "I can't forget it. I can't ignore it. I can't use it. Fintan, it hurts so bad. It hurts so bad."

"If you can't ignore it, then stop trying to. You are not afraid of your gift, you are not afraid of me." He's stone-cold like she's not on fire. "What are you afraid of?"

Her tears steam up as they fall. "Everything."

#i have 200000 different endings to this written #originally it ended after ''you have to be ready to burn with it--'' #but then i added more. and then i took that more away. then i changed it. etc etc #thats why the ending is wonky #summer's writing #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #marella redek #angst #angst without a happy ending #kotlc writing #the bare hint of marelliana snuck into this LMAO #fire tw

[thefiresofpompeii]

via this poll you are now being given the once in a lifetime opportunity to wield the ropes of fate for a random tumblr girl and decide what language they will be learning next (not through duolingo or something, but, like, hopefully, through their uni or a real tutor from next year), which could, by butterfly effect, determine the future of their life path. they’re fluent in russian and pretty decent at french, and, being a Humanities Guy they think it’s embarrassing that they don’t know at least one other language. here are the brief benefits and drawbacks of each

yiddish

as an ashkenazi jew growing up in a completely assimilated, secularised post-soviet family needless to say i’m disconnected from my heritage :)) this is all about reconnecting. it’s also about some fucking awesome songs and idioms and expressions and phrases and poems and stories that i want to know and understand so. cultural reasons. plus, it’s an endangered language that is slowly gaining more and more new learners so why not join the revival. afaik my great grandmother back in belarus spoke nothing but yiddish

hebrew

similar enough reasons, but this is specifically about rediscovering the religious side of judaism, which entails doing a lot of reading books and the torah and finding a synagogue to attend and a community to meet and a lot of googling and a lot of gathering information and also this, learning the holy language of the jewish people. my dad understands it quite well, as do my uncle and cousins, who are currently coloniser settlers in palestine. that’s the downside — learning hebrew may convince my zionist parents that it is now acceptable to begin hounding me once more to sign up for the Free Israel Youth Propaganda Trip (it is not acceptable nor welcome. leave me alone for the love of g-d i want no part in this)

spanish

almost (not going to risk upsetting brazilians) an entire continent and a couple of countries around the globe speak spanish — versatile that way and i wanna travel someday and not act like a Shitty British Tourist…it’s similar enough, being a romance language, to french, which i already know…i’m familiar with at least a couple dozen words and understand some of it quite well…there’s a lot of bomb ass literature written in it, and why read in translation when you are able to Not Do That…also some cool fuckin mexican goth bands that i found on a spotify playlist the lyrics of which i would like to Understand… and i am currently listening to the mabel podcast

german

same point with the bomb ass literature and bomb ass music, emphasis on the music this time, again, what if i ever decide i want to get into berghain and come to the entrance dragging my lousy brit accent along…my family emigrated to germany before england and lived there all through the late 90s…older brother is fluent in it because of that, and so is granny…studied it for about a year in year8 as an extra class but have forgotten almost everything by now, however, it would be quicker to pick up having the basics down

ukrainian

self explanatory, quite. almost feels like an obligation, considering nationality, considering having fled political repression from the country of the aggressor. similar enough to my mother tongue that i can understand around 40% when written/spoken by others. could be useful for joining volunteering initiatives, charity work, mutual aid, translation help for refugees. also, beautiful slavic culture, folk music, art and literature, though i haven't yet read much of it.

#jamie.txt #languages #linguistics

[azspot]

Early twentieth century fundamentalists called their opponents “modernists” for their willingness to pander to popular discontent with institutional Christianity and question what their grandfathers thought they knew about Scripture and tradition. Modernists were offensive to fundamentalists because they were willing to entertain questions about when various parts of the Torah were really written, whether the book of Job was really a true story, whether Paul really authored all those letters, what to make of the Song of Songs, and what it meant that Jesus was actually a practicing Jew. “Modernists” embraced the “scientific study” of Scripture and understood it as their Christian responsibility to reconcile reason with faith.

Call me a Product of the Nineteenth Century, But I Don’t Understand the Problem with Structural Sin

#books #fundamentalism

[rooftopvibes]

🎃Books i read in October🎃

Madeline Miller / The song of Achilles 🏹

(368 pages)

Greek myth and queer love. Patroclus gets exiled from his kingdom, meets Achilles, develops feelings and their relationship grows stronger. War starts, Achilles the great warrior wants to fight, wants to be famous and remembered so Patroclus joins him. There is also stuff going on with Achilles mother (a god, complicated relationship), other greek gods and so on. The novel is written in Patroclus point of view.

I read the book in english (2nd language) and found it difficult to read at times especially at the beginning i didn’t know what was going on. After some time i got into it and it was easier to understand but it definitely took me some pages. The novel has beautiful paragraphs and is well written but i can’t say that i love it. If it wouldn’t have been for the queer love story, I wouldn’t have even read it so I was kinda disappointed that it was more about war and the queer love story wasn’t a big part of the book, you barley get to read about Patroclus and Achilles conversations, most part is about how Patroclus is obsessed with Achilles because of his blonde hair and his beautiful body. Some scenes were kind of unnecessary in my opinion since they didn’t add much to the story like the stuff Patroclus had going on with the women. There were chapters i liked more, the beginning i liked the most also the part where they are with Chiron but when the war was starting, that wasn’t too interesting for me. Also I wished to get more information or longer chapters about specific topics like Patroclus killing the boy, how Achilles and Patroclus sleep in the same room and talk, Achilles and his relationship with his mother, Patroclus and his feelings about being exiled… since these topics have a lot of potential for a good story. I feel like i didn’t get to know any of the characters well and they were only being touched on the surface. Regardless of that I totally understand that this book is loved by many.

Albert Camus / The Myth of Sisyphus ☕️

(174 pages with afterword)

In this essay Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd. He is influenced by philosophers like Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. He writes about absurd people, to give examples of people living the absurd, like Don Juan, an actor and a conqueror. In the third part of the essay Camus writes about philosophy and literature (the absurd artist), Kirillov (a character in Dostoevsky’s novel Demons) and finally about Sisyphus, following a chapter about the absurd in Kafka‘s work, which originally had to be removed from the novel (since Kafka was a jew and it was 1942 in Paris) and was meant to be there instead of the chapter about Kirillov (I‘m very glad that he included both!!)

Since it’s an essay it obviously isn’t read like a novel and I don’t read many essays so at times it was kind of difficult but I would say that it’s still a work that is relatively easy to understand in comparison. It only has 174 pages but i couldn’t read the book as fast as I would read a novel since you may want to reread certain paragraphs and you need to be focused to understand. It was my 2nd time reading this. The first time I read it 1,5 years ago. This time I feel like i understand it way better since I read more works that are being talked about. Still I think this is an essay you can never read enough times because you‘ll always come to new conclusions also with life experience and as you grow older, you‘ll have a different perspective on life, this means you‘ll also read this book in a different way and be able to understand it from another perspective. I found the first chapters more difficult to read than the later ones. My favorite chapters were the one about Kirillov, Kafka, and the one about the absurd artists. I found it very interesting since I make art and it made me question my work. Overall i find this essay so interesting and think about it a lot, it changes my perspective about suicide and life. The Myth of Sisyphus is truly a masterpiece and always a pleasure to read.

Franz Kafka / Der Verschollene (Amerika Roman) 💼

(320 pages)

What the novel is about: 16 year old Karl gets sent to america by his parents because the maid got pregnant by him (which seems not content and brutal). Surprisingly he meets his uncle on the ship to america (which was the funniest part of the book, it was so random). So he gets to stay at his uncles house but only for a short period of time because his uncle also throws him out of the house since he met with a friend and stayed there overnight which was absolute horror and the house gave me Dracula vibes. So now he meets two people in the hotel he‘s staying at, they are also looking for a job and invite him to come with them. He joins, he gets betrayed, he leaves his „friends“ to work at a hotel, he was getting food at. A lot of drama is also happening there, he gets fired. He meets his friends again and is a maid (slave) for the wife of one of his friends where he’s staying and sleeping on the balcony. The novel ends with Karl fining a job at a circus and an additional chapter about how he was brining Brunelda (the friend’s wife) to some man, basically „freeing“ her.

Unfortunately the novel remained unfinished so the end is kind of a mystery to me and i really wonder what is meant to happen. Kafka has this talent to not make me question anything while reading the novel and viewing the things that happen as „normal“ so after i looked through the phrases i underlined and reread some paragraphs I was so sad about the amount of abuse and sadness there is. I just love how the characters don’t have a reaction when something bad happens and are just like hm okay this is how things are and never question anything so it kind of leads the reader in this direction too. Somehow Karl was the only one who realized how messed up things are and stood up for himself but at the end of the novel it seems a little bit like he lost that energy but i might be wrong. It’s the typical thing you read in Kafka’s work: the hierarchy, the no escape which was not only a feeling but also a moment where Karl literally couldn’t escape from Brunelda’s room. Karl always gets rejected and betrayed it’s heartbreaking. To me the novel also screamed pleasing your parents/people. It also has fragments of Kafka‘s relationship with his parents since his father was not proud of him and scared him. I really see why Kafka makes the parents send Karl away even though it seems like he was abused. It’s just brutal. The rooms/locations that are being described make me claustrophobic, sometimes i even have to take a break from reading because i can feel like tight floors, full rooms and breath the bad air. There is so much to say about this novel. I could write a whole essay about it.

E.T.A Hoffmann / Der Sandmann | Fräulein Scuderi ⚗️

(47 | 77 pages)

I have a hard time summarizing these two short stories since so much happens. They both revolve around mysterious topics, and you always get the sense of this atmosphere. The sandman (engl. title) is about Nathanael, telling his brother about his childhood memory of Coppelius/the sandman who visits his father to they do alchemistic experiments. Coppelius appears as a mysterious scary figure. Later on he believes to see Coppelius again and he drives him insane.

Mademoiselle de Scuderi (engl. title) is taking part Paris. The city is in fear by thieves that steal jewelry and murder their victims. Lately there were also many attempts to poison people. Scuderi meets one who is believed to be a part of the group of thieves, but she believes in his innocence. He tells her the whole truth at the end.

I had to read the sandman some years ago for school and I just remember it making me feel scared and also disturbed. Now years later I still remembered what will happen so it didn’t surprise me too much when i read it again but still it didn’t lose it’s mysterious atmosphere and i loved how the sandman was being described. I think the story is up to date even though it was written in the 18th century. Especially that part when Nathanael falls in love with this pupped made me think of today and how we now have AI and things like this and this is something that can happen in the future.

I was really tired when I read Mademoiselle de Scuderi so i was slightly confused because there were so many characters in very few pages. I again liked the atmosphere a lot.

If you like Kafka, you will also like E.T.A Hoffmann. I read some articles about both of them and how they create a similar kind of atmosphere and I also saw the similarities.

Stefan Zweig / Schachnovelle ♟️

(75 pages)

The royal game/Chess story (engl. title) is Zweig‘s last and most famous novella. Here we also have an anonymous narrator like in his other novel „Amok“. The story takes part on a ship. One of the passengers is the world’s best chess player. Through this passenger the narrator meets another person Dr.B who happens to watch them play chess and interferes. He was imprisoned by the Gestapo and punished with the treatment of nothingness. He lived in a hotel room with no one to talk to and nothing to do. One day while he was waiting in a room to get interrogated, he was able to steal a book about chess. After getting bored by the book he played chess against himself and lost his mind as you can imagine. He ends up in a hospital and didn’t have to be imprisoned again. So he sees these people on the ship playing chess and they want him to play against the champion which he agrees to. The doctors told him to avoid chess since he could get ill again, but still he plays another game and he starts to get ill again.

It surprises me that this is Zweig‘s most famous works since i liked his other works more. But i can understand because it is a great work and historically relevant too. It amazes me how you can see deeply into the mind of Dr.B and have such a clear picture of how he suffered in his hotel room. Him going insane is a totally understandable process and it was like i felt his emotions and i knew what he was talking about since i had times where i played card games or thinking games and they really did something with my mind so i feel like it wasn’t only because he split into two different personalities (black and white chess players) but also because of the game itself. I also found this form of punishment interesting since it is something that is very likely to drive you insane so Dr.B thought he found something to save him, it ended up driving him insane but also saved him in a way since he could escape. Another thing that I love is this anonymous narrator and how Dr.B tells him about his life because I feel like it’s important that the narrator is anonymous, otherwise he would‘ve been more districted especially if someone already has an opinion about you. So this is really freeing and the whole atmosphere of being on a ship and confessing your life story in some kind of way is very freeing. Overall it’s an amazing book and I would recommend it to everyone since it’s only 75 pages and you can read it in one day.

#next month will be only female literature 🥳 #So a lot of british books i believe #classic lit #literature #kafka #camus #stefan zweig #E.T.A Hoffmann #song of achilles

[psalmonesermons]

Pentecost or Shavuot?

Guest blogger Linda Morris (aka Batnabas)

What is the difference? Is it important? Those of you who know me, or have read other things I have written, will not be surprised that my answer is ‘Yes.’ An emphatic ‘Yes.’ Because this is partially to blame for the church – in general – moving away from its Hebraic roots.

Pentecost is an important date in the Christian calendar. We sing songs proclaiming that God poured out His Holy Spirit on that day and “the church was born.” You will hear people preaching the same. Well it was not, and I am sorry if this offends you. But I am not apologising for it.

Jesus did NOT come to start a new religion. Neither did Paul.

The crowd in Jerusalem, in Acts chapter 2 were primarily Jews, but some gentiles (non-Jews) would have been there too. We know that the disciples plus Jews and others who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah were among them. The reason they were there was to fulfil the Biblical command to observe the feast of Shavuot. They were to present the firstfruits of the wheat harvest to God (Lev 22:15-17). Nowadays, it also represents the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. So they celebrate God’s provision for them physically and spiritually at Shavuot.

They received another gift from God that day – the Holy Spirit!

Jesus is called the firstfruits (1 Cor 15:23).

At Shavuot, the Book of Ruth is read, mainly because it is a story about a harvest, but it also tells the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, joining herself to the Jews. This gives a little hint that God would join the gentiles to His people in the future, through Jesus. Ruth is one of 4 women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, who were all gentiles. The only other woman in this list was His mother, Mary, who of course was Jewish.

Ruth said, “your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

Ruth joined herself to the Jews, but many Christians have at best, separated themselves from the Jews, and at worst turned against them, even hating them. The beginning of this was in the 4th century at the Council of Nicea when the church split from its Jewish roots. One of the results of this is that some years there can be a gap of a few weeks between the Jews celebrating Passover and the Christians celebrating Easter, depending on our calendars.

Another is the erroneous teaching that the Jews were unfaithful to God, therefore He broke His Covenant with them and replaced them with the church! This is called ‘Replacement Theology’ and is quite rife in the Christian church.

Don’t you see? If God broke His Covenant with the Jews He can just as easily break His Covenant with us! Are Christians perfect? Are we always faithful to Him? If we believe that God breaks His Covenants, then what are we doing going to church?

If He is not a Covenant-keeping God, then we are wasting our time!

Unfortunately, we have lost a lot by casting off our root, particularly in the area of understanding the Bible. I have often thought that as Christians we just float along the surface in Bible study. By discovering and accepting our Hebraic roots we gain such a deeper understanding of Scripture, of God, of Jesus. It brings the Bible to life.

Tom Bradford, a Bible teacher in America, has said that ‘even open-minded Bible commentary writers find themselves at the end of a promising road to new discoveries of the Bible because they are unwilling to pursue it. It could be disruptive to the inner workings of the institutional church.’ He also says that in recent years there has been an upsurge internationally in Christians turning to Hebraic Roots teaching which he attributes to the Holy Spirit. So it seems that many Christians are realising that there is so much to gain, so much to learn. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Once you start, you wonder why you did not do it sooner.

I am not in any way advocating that we all convert to Judaism. That is a backward step. The Messianic Jewish movement (Jews who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah) is growing rapidly in Israel and among Jewish communities in other countries. When people in the UK accept Jesus, they say ‘the prayer’ committing their lives to Jesus and approach the faith through Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Messianic Jews have the whole story. The Covenant with God, the ‘Law and Prophets’ (The Tanakh – our Old Testament) which tells the whole story of God’s love for His people and the promised Messiah. We are not New Testament people – we are Bible people. It is a fascinating book, and you will discover and be amazed and excited by all the new things you can learn when you look at it in its Hebraic setting. If you need help with how to access this aspect of Bible study let us know and we will be glad to guide you.

Amen

Prayer

#christianity #bible study #bibletruth #blog post #blessings #psalmonesermons #faith #victory #Pentecost #Shavuot #first fruits

[spiritsoulandbody]

#DailyDevotion Hear Repent From Christians Now Or Judgment From Them On The Last Day

#DailyDevotion Hear Repent From Christians Now Or Judgment From Them On The Last Day Psalm 149 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, praising Him in the congregation of His devoted ones. 2 Israel should be happy in Him Who made them, and the people of Zion delight in their King. 3They should praise His name with dancing and play on the tambourine and lyre to Him. 4The LORD delights in His people; He glorifies the humble with victory. 5His devoted ones should rejoice in this honor and shout happily on their beds. As in the previous psalm, the first “praise the Lord” and the last “praise the Lord the Lord” is Yah. The LORD in other places is Yahweh. These are not the same name. They are the same person though. Why should we praise the Lord and sing to the Lord a new song? We note that it is the congregation, His devoted ones of Israel, or the people of Zion; these are those who are called to give praise to the LORD and sing to him a new song. He confesses here it is the LORD who made them and it is the LORD who is the king. This is important when Jesus is crucified and Pontius Pilate places to charge above him Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. When we say Jesus is King, we do not mean just any earthly king like King Charles, but we mean the Creator of the universe, the One who called Israel out of Egypt. Ancient Israel not only praised the name of the LORD and played musical instruments to Him but they also danced in their praising the Lord. I don't know when the early church stopped this, but it seems to me it would certainly be a lot of fun to do so. Perhaps not in a formal worship service, but perhaps on festival days in homes like on Christmas or Easter. I also have no idea what this would look like. Would we just copy the Jews and their dances today? I think not. Perhaps we could capture their spirit in what we do. It certainly shouldn't be provocative. I find it interesting here the LORD delights in His people. I don't think we focus on this a whole lot in the Church. It's not always gloom and doom and our relationship with our God and Father. He looks at us with our faith in Him and His Son Jesus Christ and takes great delight in that. What does that look like? I don't know but it's nice to think about. In His delighting of us He glorifies the humble with victory. That is to say, we who come to Him with all humility and not only confessing our sins but also confessing that everything we have is from Him, by Him, and for Him, this our humility God works our victory in. In this victory we should shout happily and loudly upon our beds even. 6High praise to God should be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands 7to take vengeance on the nations and correct the peoples, 8to bind their kings with chains and their leaders with iron fetters, 9to punish them as it is written. This is an honor which belongs to all His devoted ones. Praise the LORD! For the ancient Israelites, singing praise to God and having a two-edged sword in their hands made sense as they were executing judgment on the people of Canaan who rejected the word of the LORD through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For us people of God today, the double-edge sword for us is the Word of God. We use this to call the people of the world to repent before the Last Judgment so they can escape it. Yet, if they reject this Word, Paul writes in 1 Cor. 6, “2Or don't you know these holy people will judge the world? And if you judge the world, aren't you able to judge trifles? Don't you know we'll judge angels?” Calling people to repent isn't judging them. Warning them of the judgment to come isn't judging them. But we will judge them with Christ on the Last Day. This is the honor which belongs to all His devoted ones. Those who abuse us with, “Don't judge me,” will be embarrassed on that day and may plead to us for mercy, but they will receive none. It was our great mercy to call them to repent. It was rejected out of hand. They refused the mercy of God and will get what they deserve. Praise be to Yah! Heavenly Father, have mercy upon us and constantly call us to repent of our sins, so we may not be judged with the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Read the full article

#Christ #Christianity #devotion #faith #Jesus #judgment #LCMS #Lutheran #Messiah #praise

[thenatvral]

FTR: For those who don’t know, who are The Natvral?

Kip: Oh, that’s me— Kip. I usually just write songs and play ‘em with my electric guitar. As my surname is Berman I didn’t want to be confused with the legendary David Berman of Silver Jews, and I didn’t think I’d be confused with Robert Redford playing a past-prime erstwhile baseball phenom with one last shot at redemption— but… maybe.

FTR: You’ve just released your second album, Summer of No Light, what can you tell me about recording the record?

Kip: We just went over to Andy Savours studio in Willesden (London) and banged out 9 songs, mostly live. I did blow out my voice at an ill-advised 90s hip hop night before we were going to do the vocals, so we were forced to use the scratch vocals (the ones you sing when you’re recording live so you don’t get lost), but it worked out alright.

Andy’s brilliant, and has been there with me at every step of this project (as well as 2 records with PAINS). I credit him with not letting us get up our own backsides. I think he does a lot of other groups that want to “use the studio as an instrument, man” – and “redefine what a G chord could sound like if played on Venus.” But I’m grateful he was pretty keen on us just using our instruments as an instrument and getting to the pub at a reasonable hour before making it home to do bedtime with his kid.

FTR: I was intrigued to read the album was inspired by the climate crisis of 1816, do you think there’s anything we can learn from that as we face our own crisis?

Kip: Hide? Get fucked up? Write Frankenstein to pass the time?

Nah, I’m not sure if it’s applicable. The one in 1816 wasn’t anyone’s fault – unless you blame the Volcano gods of the South Pacific. This one seems like everyone’s fault. Maybe there’s something to be said about harnessing crises for the sake of art – but I think most people would prefer to forego cataclysm where possible— or at least I would. Dying of plague while under siege during the Peloponnesian War wasn’t any more palatable cuz “Euripides was channeling this shit for the ages,” was it? That said, I suppose you gotta keep doing the non-essential things in life, because those are actually the essential things in life.

FTR: Much of the record was written at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you think the record would have turned out differently without it?

Kip: I am fully aware no one needs to hear another person’s account of “what it was like during lockdown” – as these experiences are sadly universal. Everyone dealt with the same shit. Some had it worse than others, and we can all laugh at the celebrities that sang “Imagine” by their swimming pools. But I don’t think it’s a huge departure to also mock “the guy who wrote an album in his basement” between bleaching milk cartons and reflecting upon a familiar world that vanished suddenly, exacerbating the isolation and alienation that was already rampant in modern life. Right?

That being said, it’s very easy to write songs that do not give a hoot about what anyone thinks when you are pretty sure there’s not going to be anyone to think anything of them. It’s freeing— that sense that, “well, this won’t matter to anyone but me.” I’ve never been able to fully escape vanity or a sense of expectation in my writing. I’m too petty or prickly to be that zen. But for a brief period in early 2020, I got about as close to writing without any corrupting consideration – and while the album doesn’t relate to what was happening in the world, its formation was born of that weird, dumb moment.

FTR: I was struck by the way the record feels at times very domesticated and others almost fantastical. Do you think there’s an element of escapism in the record? Was music an outlet when you were stuck at home?

Kip: Yes. But isn’t it just an outgrowth of a feeling one gets even without state mandated isolation? Like, Odysseus gets home – finally – and that homecoming was the thing that animated most of all his actions for a decade or so (except for chilling with that not-his-wife on that island for a long bit). And then almost as soon as he gets home, he’s all “gotta go.” I’m not quite that way, but there’s a continual desire to idealize domesticity when you’re away, and yearn for adventure when you’re home. I’m certain I’m not unique in that.

FTR: You’ve obviously been making music for quite some time now, how do you think the current climate for musicians compares to when you started making music?

Kip: To be fair, I think my old band could have only happened as it did in this strange in-between era when the old “major” system was crumbling and the internet briefly offered equal access to unsigned or indie artists to reach the same level of listeners that you would have once only seen by handing your demo tape to a smarmy A+R guy in LA with the hope that maybe you were deemed marketable. Sure, great indie bands existed in the 80s and 90s – but so many of them never got the chance to have the experiences we did, and for that I’m humbled and grateful. But Myspace and the mp3 blogosphere was essential in people discovering PAINS without having to “get signed.” We played to our 12 friends at Cakeshop – suddenly some guy in Sweden wanted us to play to his 12 friends, only he had more than 12 friends.

Now, it seems the mp3 blogs are gone – with For the Rabbits being a notable and wondrous exception. It’s harder to find ways to get your music out to people, whether it’s through recommendations at a local record store or people online saying what you’re up to is worthwhile. My record label Dirty Bingo is lovely and helpful, but it’s just a guy in London named Sasha who probably has some difficult conversations with his partner about why he’s doing what he’s doing and if he can “get those boxes out of the basement soon.” I am familiar. I think power has reformulated itself behind maybe 2 or 3 very for-profit oriented websites that prefer a celebrity gossip model (who someone is dating gets more clicks than what they’re making), and I’m pretty sure streaming services have monetized their “playlists and discovery” to cater to modern payola in a familiar pay-to-play model. Bandcamp is still relatively “noble” but an indie label told me that even their promotional/editorial consideration is weighted to their own manufacturing and distribution program.

But this system will be smashed too, someday. Even if I’m not a 17 year old kid, I know young people will consistently seek what is meaningful and real to them in ways that (briefly) escape the clutches of huge companies trying to exploit it. The exploitation will inevitably (or not?) follow, but for a few shining moments – that good stuff shines through. I think of Teenage Fanclub on SNL or Huggy Bear on The Word – and to paraphrase the latter, “this (will be) happening without your permission.”

FTR: If you were starting your career from scratch, do you think music would be a viable option as a career?

Kip: There’s a friend I have that runs a small label, and he only signs bands that are (usually) a certain age and able to tour constantly. Yes, he likes the music he puts out and much of it is good, but everything is through the lens of “is this a viable career.”

I have another friend who runs a label who just puts out music he likes. He’s constantly out of money, but seems not to mind. He works with all kinds of artists, and yes – some of them break through – but most of them are the kind of bands that play a DIY popfest here or there and exist far from the conversations about “relevant indie artists” that make year end lists.

I may be naive, but in my heart I know that the truest music often comes from less commercially viable people – people that don’t even care if their music is commercially viable – people who live on the margins, and may not be creating for the sake of money, but simply because they feel compelled in their heart to get something inside their bodies out there.

I know you can argue against this too, saying that creating without thought of anyone buying something is its own kind of privilege. But the tools to make music are so cheap now, you can make bedroom records that sound interesting and powerful. And if a music career is your goal, I think the surest way of not having a music career is to make the kind of music you think you “should” make, not the kind of music you want to make.

FTR: Are you going to be taking this record on the road? What can people expect from The Natvral live show?

Kip: I don’t know. I would like to. I’ve been playing mostly just on my own – which can seem like “less than ideal” – but for this music, it might actually be the ideal.

FTR: A lot of people will know you from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. How do you think your songwriting now compares to writing for the band? Are you conscious of trying to do something different to what came before?

Kip: I stand by what I did in PAINS. I don’t want to put that part of my life down, just because I’m focussed on different ideas and different ideals now. In a way, I think what animates me about music is the same – immediacy and getting out the feelings that can’t be said, so they have to be sung. Just about everything about my life and how I record – even my voice itself – is different now, but I think there’s more similarities to these projects than might seem superficially apparent.

I sometimes wish I was notable enough only so someone insightful would write critically about my music and life, cuz I can never tell if I’m lying to myself— if I’m full of bullshit or not. I’ve recently been listening to biographical music podcasts (The History of Rock’n’roll in 500 songs by Andrew Hickey) while driving and love reading biographies (or autobiographies) of artists i love (Please Kill Me, Our Band Could Be Your Life, Chronicles, Meet Me In the Bathroom, Waging Heavy Peace, Coal Black Mornings and its follow up). So much of what people think they’re doing is wrong – or at least, there’s things you can’t see in yourself, even if your work is inward looking. Actually, maybe I don’t want to know – maybe it would be crushing. Delusion is a thing you both need and need to avoid in able to be foolish enough to write a song.

FTR: What’s next for The Natvral?

Kip: I have a bunch of songs that I wrote before this album came out that seem to bookend this period of The Natvral, tentatively titled “Love in Idleness.” I hope to track ‘em like I did the last 2 records with Andy Savours, and, knock wood, that will stand up as a cohesive 3 album run. It doesn’t mean the end, it’s just that these songs are all built in a similar way – a bit rough and ready and all-of-a-kind.

#the natvral #dirty bingo records #kip berman #summer of no light #for the rabbits #interview #the pains of being pure at heart

[zionsings]

Swarthy Yahudim aka Black Jews

I don't think the Hebrew roots movement should have took a racist turn, but  can you debunk John Olgilby's writings from the 1600's that described the Jews as Swarthy black people? His work is published in Justor, what about Tudor Parfitt who studied the scattered Negroid jews in Africa? He wrote many books as well. Can you explain the ark & the covenant being held in Axum? I studied art history as well  the paint used in the ancient days were made of natural materials that can fade over time especially if it wasn't well made. There are many other depictions of the Yahudim who were dark skinned too iconography of Ancient Egypt. the Vatican runs Egyptology, & yes there were mummies who had wooly hair. Just look up the piece named the Semitic prisoner, it isa depicted with dark skin and wooly hair. in my case it is not about religion bug actual history. What about when Gamal Abdel Nasser this was a the 2nd president in Egypt in 1956. Abdel went on television and radio in the 50's and stated to the Askenazi & I quote  "You have left Black and returned White you are impostors and shall never see peace","his words not mine".. He was right there still isn't peace.Rome wiped out the SYRIAC Christians, & even Constantinople some of the people from Palestine are very dark skinned too and never left the region. why is there so much ancient art, however we have to rely on Egyptian Iconography for ancient art of Israel? Can you debunk the Papal Bulls like Dum Diversas that lead up to the Spanish inquisition that birthed the Transatlantic slave trade? Those slave colonies were owned by Portugal land Spain and once of the colonies was named "the Kingdom of Judah on map cartography dating back to 1747.  Many other edicts were written expelling the non believers of" Roman Christianity" to enslavement in perpitutity, & no such edict would have to be written if it wasn't contradicting a law that a Hebrew slave was not supposed to he held in captivity forever. No they were supposed to be released after 6 years of service, just like the Vatican changed the Sabbath to Sunday with blue laws and the Jewish Sanhedrin changed the Sabbath to Saturday never incorporating the New Moon. You can't debunk these things, the roman captivity of the Jews in 70'AD ended in 139 AD. I'm not saying there are no white jews but I do believe history and the powers that be are lying to the masses. There was black Israelites rescued in the 1980's from Starvation, I think they were from the tribe of Dan. I get not wanting the movement to be racist but there is a lot of history that backs up the claim. You read Deuteronmoy 28:37 which part of the Torah which Reads "You will be become a thing of horror, a byword and the object of ridicule among all nations where the lord will drive you. You are Jewish you supposedly know your history, but still to this day you are called Jewish and blackness and whiteness was created in the 1600's after Bacon's rebellion to divide the people from indentured servant and slave revolts. The way some go about it maybe not as POC & I am although I am trying not to offend and use the fruit of the spirit to educate, I am trying relay this truth comely, it is offensive...Nick Cannon and Kyrie Irving got in trouble trying to educate people about this history, so did Michael Jackson, one of his lyrics said he looked to heaven to fulfill this prophecy, set me free on the song he got accused of being an antisemite on. See you don't know black history, because there is no such thing as black history beside the history that began in 1619 in the USA and 400 years later in 2019 BOOM Covid 19 stops the world. The Euphrates is dried up too. We have had triads of Blood moon and a solar eclipse that passed through 7 cities in America named Salem. Israel just outlawed Christianity.  Desantis is banning black history books. These are signs of the times. Sanhedrin changed the Sabbath to Saturday never incorporating the New Moon. You can't debunk these things, the roman captivity of the Jews in 70'AD ended in 139 AD. I'm not saying there are no white jews but I do believe history and the powers that be are lying to the masses. There was black Israelites rescued in the 1980's from Starvation, I think they were from the tribe of Dan. I get not wanting the movement to be racist but there is a lot of history that backs up the claim. You read Deuteronmoy 28:37 which part of the Torah which Reads "You will be become a thing of horror, a byword and the object of ridicule among all nations where the lord will drive you. You are Jewish you supposedly know your history, but still to this day you are called Jewish and blackness and whiteness was created in the 1600's after Bacon's rebellion to divide the people from indentured servant and slave revolts. The way some go about it maybe not as POC & I am although I am trying not to offend and use the fruit of the spirit to educate, I am trying relay this truth comely, it is offensive...Nick Cannon and Kyrie Irving got in trouble trying to educate people about this history, so did Michael Jackson, one of his lyrics sang  Jew me Sue me everybody do me , kick me Ki#e e, don'tcha black or white me,  he looked to heaven to fulfill this prophecy, set me free on the song he got accused of being an antisemite on. See you don't know black history, because there is no such thing as black history beside the history that began in 1619 in the USA and 400 years later in 2019 BOOM Covid 19 stops the world. The Euphrates is dried up too. We have had triads of Blood moon and a solar eclipse that passed through 7 cities in America named Salem. Israel just outlawed Christianity.  Desantis is banning black history books. These are signs of the times. May Yahuah be with us all because we have been lied too and a lot of history was white washed and rewritten.

[wcmcink]

at studio one/ beyond the realm of the magicians

only you & into my life: the souls in the frying pan sizzle when the day & the night they meet they gonna rendezvous in a circle this ragga man walk the dream & no bread for me only seen by the man who lives it "come on bro, don't diss the threads" you were invited but now you don't want to go holding onto the brand new satan-fly going thru the memories of time it doesn't continue/ it repeats  towards an overwhelming continuity of practice... the defrocked priest walked down the street; this black disciple, she said she don't want no poor man the antagonist shifts tones with his tongue here comes your man friday/ better look him up this puppy holds the space with some urgency & you will taste the belly of his war the only place to go the silver spoon in which i came from they talk to him like a dog "i speak for the fallen/ i came into my own" i think i've already written that while this moment persists  where i live in the heart of the city i gotta feeling in my clothes below the waist line— old voodoo box of hidden artifacts go & write this get those teeth in your heart... your eyes & she said "i loved the words you wrote down  on bitter paper straining your pen to mine," hey little woman/ blow away your tears ain't no hero to hide/ this long ride  to daylight & these are the only songs i sing she wants steady easy hits/ to drive by you'll never know how close i am to you they let me go by the make of the real & i don't care if it doesn't matter to anyone else... there is a project for humanity & keep it the priest is smoking five they left the serpent in his fingers what a drag! might as well not do it today i think thats the only one worth saving crazy jew chews them out in attendance are the young gods everything was going well except i reacted too i moved my leg & puffed out my cheeks & expelled hot air: he made a play for it outside the white lines & what does that signify? he's holding onto his word whatever that means

[thesadthyaheartbreakjournal]

Afterword 1: The Wandering Jew

I’ve written the epilogue to my journal, but I do find that I miss writing in it, so I thought I’d do a little reflecting and sharing here.

I had an interesting chat with my father. I asked my dad if he ever felt like the Wandering Jew. He laughed and asked me what makes me think he still doesn’t.

I’ve developed a theory. I think the more complex a mind, the harder it is for a person to find true companionship. I don’t use complex as a shorthand for “intelligent”. Rather, I think the more experiences and paradigm shifts a mind encounters, the more complex it becomes, in a sense. Companionship is not love I think, although love is the best outcome of companionship. I think the basis for all relationships is being understood. It’s why we often feel supported by friends and family, loved by lovers, and vulnerable before our enemies who all know us so well. If you’re there, then you know. We are understood, and while we cannot hide, we are also seen.

For a simpler mind, it is not hard to be understood. Life experiences that are core are more easily shared. Traumas do not stack or encompass often, and when they do, they are not numerous. It is easier to understand by minds of all natures.

For a more complex mind, the core life experiences may be more numerous and varied. Traumas may span a lifespan, and may branch into other traumas or experiences that take a life of their own. A complex mind is not easily understandable by even another complex mind, as the degree of complexity matters little as opposed to the direction of the branches that make up that complexity. The gulf between two complex minds of equal complexity is often wider than that between a relatively simple mind and a highly complex mind.

It is far harder to be understood, and I suspect that is why people stay in relationships that are unhealthy. Relationships may be unhealthy or toxic, but are based on the same understanding that underpins all relationships, healthy or otherwise. I also think dealing with trauma, and forcing our minds to “trim the branches” allows us to have simpler minds, which leads us to find happiness with more relative ease. The truth is, to some extent, we’re all Wandering Jews.

Anyway, I’m shocked that people actually engage in the content I reference, especially in angsty quotes. I’ve found recently with enough nicotine, caffeine, and cortisol, listening to music feels like it does when you’re on drugs (which I’ve never done). The listening experience also stays with me, and I find I can pick up every instrument and note even during healthier times.

To that end, I’ve curated three songs that sum up my experience so far with this whole thing. One of the songs is not like the other, being alt rock rather than jazz or blues. But rock is the child of jazz. The electric guitar was born out of a necessity for the instrument to be heard over the components of other parts of the band. The drums have always been the driver of rhythm for any music, and has remained the same across multiple genres for over a hundred years. And well, the upright bass has always been too damn big anyway.

The songs are, in this order:

Just the Two of Us by Joanna Wang

Naive by The Kooks

Tears Dry On Their Own by Amy Winehouse

I’ve developed a deep personal appreciation from my experience for each of these songs, both in production and lyrical content. They are my songs, but maybe they will be yours too. I’d like to talk about them briefly, but I urge you to give them a listen if you’ve never heard them before.

Joanna Wang, Taiwanese ballad singer and woman I would marry in a heartbeat delivers my favourite version of Just the Two of Us. Quite apart from the original Grover Washington Jr version, and the inexplicable three or four hip hop covers of the same, Joanna Wang’s version of the song captures a more moody and effortless vibe which I looked a long time for. Joseph Solomon’s vocals and guitar version comes a close second, but I’m a sucker for the sax (because it sounds like Sats).

I never appreciated the progression in the lyrics in Naive. I mean, I thought it was cool but didn’t really engage with it until now. I really get it, and it sounds like how I felt. Or feel, even these days.

Tears Dry On Their Own, produced by Salaam Remi, who you have to know if you like old school hip hop, or for some reason, reggae, is interesting for who sang it. One of Amy Winehouse’s more spirited vocal performances and ostensibly an “upbeat” song while managing to still be depressing as fuck, the sample of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough is ridiculously poignant given the context shift. It’s probably this song that I feel the most. I can’t say I understand a Jewish depressive singer from London, but I do feel like I’ve lived this song. 

If you need a dessert to the three course, I recommend giving Woods by Mac Miller a listen. Great bass, but I mean, I’m biased as someone who used to play bass.

I’m curious to see if I’d still feel this way in a couple of months time, but this post isn’t going anywhere anyway.

[ithisatanytime]

The Killers - Don't Shoot Me Santa

 now i know that christmas trees are plainly pagan ashera poles, please read ezekiel folks, and we all know that santa is an anagram for satan, yeah i know its a spanish way to say st nicholas and theirs years of catholic tradition etc, but the reason cannabis is commonly called “marijuana” instead of its english name was in part to demonize the drug by association with the spanish immigrants who frequently smuggled it over the southern border, we all know that, and we all know that the vast majority of christmas songs have nothing to do with jesus, and were all written by jews, yes yes we all know all this, but still i get excited for christmas every year, because i can post all of the killers christmas videos and i think they are fun

#youtube

[lesfeldickbiblestudy]

  Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 57 Water and Blood I John 5:1-7 As you know our television program started in Genesis about 13 years ago, and we’ve come all the way up now to these little letters of John and Jude; and we’re also going to hit part of Revelation, since it’s also mostly Jewish. After that we’ll probably go back into areas that we haven’t covered before, such as the Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah, but anyway, we’re going to keep going until the Lord comes, we hope! And we trust that that won’t be that much longer, as I feel God is about ready to wrap it all up. But before doing that, He will remove the true believers from the earth in what we call the Rapture of the Church, that is found so beautifully described in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. You know people get surprised; they’ll call and they’ll say "Well how long do you really think it’ll be?" Well, of course, we can’t put any timetable on it. But I say, "You know I’ll be surprised if it’s not within five years." And that shakes them up. Boy, they think that’s a short period of time. Well, day in and day out I think it’s going to be today! But as fast as the world is falling apart, it would almost seem as though the Lord’s coming is so close. But also remember that "with the Lord a day is a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day,"and that’s why we can’t set a time on it. As we begin today’s lesson, we’ll begin with I John chapter 5. We’ll start right at verse 1 and what do you know? Repetition. Same song, second verse, it’s all the same here in John’s writing to the Jews. John’s message is still the Kingdom Gospel, and that salvation message was, "Believing that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Where the salvation message for us today in the Body of Christ is, "Believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for our sins, was buried and rose from the dead." I Corinthians 15:1-4. So notice those differences as we study together. I John 5:1 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." In other words, what John is saying here is that if you truly love the Lord Jesus Christ, then you’re also going to love the other person that loves the Lord Jesus Christ, which is part and parcel of John’s Gospel. But as I pointed out in our last taping session, John is not writing to the Church Age believer, he’s writing to Jews. And, oh, that may shake a few up; but on the other hand, our response from listeners, since James, has just been phenomenal; how they’re seeing exactly what we’re saying (that these little epistles were primarily written to Jewish believers). And I don’t make any apology for that. These little epistles of James and Peter and John and Jude and on into the book of Revelation are Jewish because of an agreement that they once made with Paul. And I’m again going to repeat that over and over - as the Scripture does - so I guess that gives me authority to do it. So let’s just look at it now. Come back with me to Galatians chapter 2, a verse that I’ll use over and over whenever I make the point that these Scriptures which are written by these Jewish writers have nothing really to do with the Church Age, the Gentiles. But they have everything to do with the Nation of Israel and their Kingdom economy. Now when I say their Kingdom economy, I’m speaking of the fact that all the Old Testament from Genesis 12 is looking forward to the day when God the Son, the Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel would set up an earthly Kingdom with His capital in Jerusalem and every Jew that would go into that Kingdom would of course, be a believer. They would have the promises of the New Covenant. They wouldn’t have to learn them, they wouldn’t have to study them, it would just naturally come on them. And then according to the Old Testament, these believing Jews were to evangelize the pagan Gentiles. They were to be a light to the Gentile world.

But, by virtue of Israel’s dropping the ball, and not believing and receiving the Kingdom, and crucifying their King, now that whole scenario has changed where there will be no unbelievers in the Kingdom. So Israel won’t have the opportunity of being a light to the world because they’ve missed it. But we do know the 144,000 Jews will pick that ball up during the 7-year Tribulation period, and many will be saved. But, nevertheless, to show that all this is written to Jewish believers, you come back to Galatians chapter 2 and this Jerusalem counsel. And like I always tell my classes in Oklahoma, I’m not getting senile. I’m not repeating because I can’t remember what I’ve said, but I do it for emphasis because the Scripture does. And you just have to keep hammering it and hammering it before the majority of people see it. Now a few will see it just that quick. Some of you here know what I’m talking about. Others it takes a little longer. Some it just almost takes forever because the longer they’ve been brainwashed in something the longer and the harder it is to come away from it. But here we are now for the umpteenth time showing in this counsel in Jerusalem, this meeting between Paul and Barnabas, who had come up to Jerusalem now from their Gentile ministry there in Syria, and this meeting is between James and Peter and John primarily, to settle the question, "Do Paul’s converts have to become adherents of Israel’s Law?" And these believing Jewish people said "Yes they do, You have to be circumcised, you have to keep Moses’ Law." Acts 15:1-5. And Paul kept saying, "No they don’t! We’re not under Law, we’re under Grace." So this argument went back and forth. And now you’ve got to remember, this has been for a period of almost 15 years already that there’s been this dilemma, "Do Paul’s converts have to keep Israel’s Law?" Well, it finally comes to a head then in about 51-52 AD and that’s the Jerusalem counsel that we look at over and over again in Acts 15 and Galatians 2. Acts is Luke’s account. Galatians is Paul’s account. And we might as well go back to verse 1. We’ve got time enough. Galatians 2:1 "Then fourteen years after (that is after Paul’s Damascus conversion experience) I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also." Now you remember Barnabas became his co-worker up there in Antioch, and they also took Titus, a Greek, with them. Galatians 2:2a "And I went up by revelation,.…" In other words, the Lord instructed Paul that now it was time to go and confront the Jerusalem church about these people who are undermining his Gentile ministry. "Paul you’ve got to go up and confront the Twelve." Galatians 2:2b "…and communicated unto them that gospel…." (of salvation) Now emphasize the word ‘that’ because that indicates it was different than what Peter, James and John were used to. So he comes up to them and he shows them or he communicated unto them "that gospel." Galatians 2:2c "…which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain." And then privately, I imagine in a separate anteroom, I think it was with the Twelve and Paul and Barnabas by themselves. In other words, he had to get this settled with the Twelve because they were the ones in authority. They were the ones that could put an end to it, or they were the ones that could just run roughshod over Paul and Barnabas and say, "We’re going to continue to tell your Gentiles what we’ve been telling them." So it was paramount to meet with the Twelve. All right, now then verse 4. Galatians 2:4 "And that because of false brethren unawares (secretly) brought in, who came in privily (secretly) to spy out our liberty (contrary to law) which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:" Now you always have to remember that when Paul speaks of the Law that’s his word for it, it was bondage. They weren’t free to do as they pleased. If they picked up sticks on the Sabbath day, it was what? Death.

And the same way with a lot of other mundane failures. It was death. It was bondage. All right, verse 5. Galatians 2:5 "To whom (that is to the Twelve, the leaders of the Jerusalem church) we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you." In other words they were pressing Paul to give in. "Give in Paul, you should know that these people have to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses." But Paul said, "No they don’t." And he didn’t give in, "Not for an hour so that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you." All right, now you know how I teach. I jump around a lot. Here’s where we’re going to have to jump. Keep your hand in here; we’re going to come back. Now back up to the left a few pages to I Corinthians 15 and, again, for the hundredth time we’re going to show this as clearly as Scripture can make it. This is Paul’s Gospel of salvation. I Corinthians 15:1-4. Now anybody that’s been under my teaching very long knows these verses by memory just because of the constant repetition of them. But this is Paul’s Gospel. And I was just reading something again yesterday on how to be saved. And you know what? Not even a mention of Paul’s Gospel. Not a mention. Why? Well, when you find out tell me! I can’t figure it out, unless people are just blinded. People just totally ignore it but here’s Paul’s Gospel, and how we are saved. I Corinthians 15:1a "Moreover, brethren, (so he’s writing to Gentile believers at Corinth and he’s writing to you and I in this Church Age) I declare unto you the gospel…." Now the reason I’m doing this early this afternoon is because I’m going to refer to it probably a few more times before the afternoon is over. I Corinthians 15:1b-2a "...I declare unto you the gospel (singular - exclusive) which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (by faith) 2. By which also ye are saved,…."Now plain English! It’s this Gospel that saves people and nothing but! I’ve got people in this room who know what I’m talking about. You went years thinking you were saved and you’d never heard this Gospel, but the minute you hear it, then you suddenly realize, that wasn’t what I believed. But the moment you believe in your heart THIS Gospel then God moves in and you’re a different person. You don’t have to grovel in repentance. And you don’t have to go down an aisle. You don’t have to get baptized. You don’t have to speak in tongues. You don’t have to give ten percent of your money. YOU JUST BELIEVE THE GOSPEL. And then God will take care of all these other things. I Corinthians 15:2-3a "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (in other words, you’ve got to understand this simple Gospel. And here it comes) 3. For I delivered unto you.…" Why does he use the pronoun ‘I’? Because it began with Paul. It was part of his revelation of the mysteries that had been kept secret since the Ages began. I Corinthians 15:3a "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,.…" From where? From the ascended Lord in Heaven! That’s what Paul is always referring to, the revelations that he received from the Ascended Lord. Now that’s because it was after the work of the cross had been finished. Peter and the Eleven couldn’t hear things like that because they were in front of the cross. But now on this side of the cross, it’s the revelations that God has given to this Apostle of Grace. I Corinthians 15:3b-4 "…that which I also received, (here it comes) how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (it had been foretold) 4. And that he was buried, (He was really dead. He was in the tomb three days and three nights.) and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" The Old Testament spoke of all of this, but in such veiled language nobody knew what it was talking about. And that’s why Peter, as we saw in our program several month’s back, said the Old Testament prophets did what? "They searched diligently.

"They knew there was something that they weren’t catching. But it was in such veiled language, God didn’t intend them to. But when He revealed it to this Apostle, it was as plain as the noonday sun that salvation would now be based on believing that Christ died, was buried and rose from the dead. That’s Paul’s Gospel! All right, while we’re in Corinthians, just back up a few pages to Romans chapter 2. Now for those of you who have been listening to me for years and years, you’re going to say, "Well isn’t he going to ever get off this track?" No! Because today we’re going to have a whole bunch of new people that have never heard this before. We had the sweetest letter day before yesterday. A lady from Florida wrote, and said, "I’m 92 years old. Been in church all my life. I’ve learned more the last six-months than in the previous 91 years." We hear that over and over, so we have to keep repeating it for the benefit of those who are just now hearing it for the first time. For those of you who have heard it now for ten, fifteen years, just feast on it like you do plain old "meat and potatoes." Do you ever get tired of that? No. We’ve got a couple of ladies - a mother and daughter that are at almost every seminar wherever we are. I don’t care whether it’s Ohio, Carolina, Indiana, Minnesota – there they are. And I asked the mother of the two here I think last fall in Minnesota, I said, "Mary, don’t you get tired of hearing me say basically the same thing?" She said, "Do you get tired of meat and potatoes?" Well, she asked the wrong guy that! Never! So we’re going to keep repeating these things for the benefit of new listeners. Here Paul writes: Romans 2:16 "In the day (judgment day) when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (He’s going to be the judge at the Great White Throne, but what will be mankind’s plumbline?) according to my gospel." Do you see that? I dare say that the vast majority of the people in Christendom don’t know this verse is in the Bible. And if they do they sure won’t admit it. But read it again. "In the day (at judgment day, when the lost will come before Jesus Christ the Judge) and he will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." That’s why I went to I Corinthians 15:1-4 a few minutes ago so everybody knows without a shadow of a doubt what Paul means when he says, "My Gospel? That Christ died for you. He was buried and He arose from the dead the third day!" That’s what we must believe in our hearts to get to heaven. I just read an interesting article in one of our major news magazines. And the guy was pointing out this very thing – how many masses of Christendom believe that Christ died. But they don’t believe that He rose from the dead. But they claim to be born again. And he says, Are they? And he made the same point that I have over the years, how many people are basing their salvation on the fact that they went forward to "take Jesus into their hearts." Now that’s not the Gospel. And he made the same point. That doesn’t even touch the Gospel of salvation! It’s a result of it! But that’s not the Gospel. Jerry asked me a question a few years ago. He’d been to a funeral of a dear lady that he’d known all his life. And he was quite sure that she’d never heard "this Gospel" and Jerry, as good hearted as he is, said, "Les do you suppose God will bend the rules just a little bit and let that poor lady in?" Well, knowing Jerry that was a logical question. But will He? I don’t think so. God is absolute! He’s laid it out in His Word just as plain as day and mankind is not going to tweak His nose like a little kid does on the lap of Santa Claus. It’s not going to happen. And that’s why I feel duty bound to just keep hammering away at this very thing – you have to be saved by believing Paul’s Gospel. Nothing less. Nothing more. Okay, now I can come back to Galatians chapter 2 and at that Jerusalem counsel in 52 AD. Now use a little arithmetic. Pentecost was 29 AD. Paul begins his

ministry at about 40 AD, so here we are 10-12 years after Paul has been out there amongst the Gentile Roman Empire establishing these little Gentile churches. But the Judaisers had been undermining all these folks with the demand for legalism. Circumcision. Keeping the Commandments. And Paul is now confronting the folks in Jerusalem. Galatians 2:6a "But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (now I’m sure that that’s a side reference to the Twelve) (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepts no man’s person)" In other words, just because they were one of the Twelve, that didn’t cut any extra mustard with God. What God looks at is the heart. Galatians 2:6b "...for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:" In other words, when they started comparing their theology, and in their discourse (their arguing) when the Twelve suddenly realized that they could not add one Biblical truth to Paul’s revelation. But on the other hand, see? Galatians 2:7 "But contrariwise, when they saw (and suddenly realized) that the gospel of the uncircumcision (the Gospel of the Gentile, the Gospel of Grace) was committed unto me, (now I do this for emphasis, he’s making a comparison here…that as the gospel of the Gentile under Grace was revealed to Paul, even) as the gospel of the circumcision (which is the Gospel of the Kingdom as Jesus called it in the Gospels) was unto Peter." Now that’s why people are beginning to see my ministry. They’re seeing the difference between Israel and the Gentile church. They’re seeing the difference between the Kingdom economy and the Body of Christ. They’re beginning to see the difference between Peter’s Apostleship and Paul’s. And it just thrills us to see that people are finally seeing it! It’s not gobbledy-gook. I’m not twisting. I’m just leaving everything exactly as it sits. No interpretation to it whatsoever. And so as the Gospel of the Uncircumcision (Gentiles) was committed to Paul, the Gospel of the Circumcision (Israel and the Jew) was committed to Peter. Now this is all Holy Spirit inspired. Every word that Paul wrote is just as much the Word of God as what Moses wrote in the Torah. Or what the others wrote in the Gospels. This is ALL the inspired Word of God. Galatians 2:8 "(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, (Israel. There’s no Gentiles in the ‘Circumcision.’ That’s Israel) the same (God) was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)" See that constant separating? That’s what Paul meant when he said, "rightly dividing the Word of Truth." What’s given for Israel is Israel’s. What’s given to the Church is ours. Now granted both can learn from some of these things. We can learn from that which was written to Israel and I’m sure Jews can learn from what’s written to us, but they were still written to two totally different groups of people. All right, now read on. Verse 9. Here’s the verse that I always use now to back up my teaching that these little Jewish epistles in the back of our New Testament are all directed to Israel, because of this agreement. And an agreement is an agreement between two gentlemen. And if one of them breaks it, then it’s no longer a ‘gentlemen’s agreement.’ And these men were men of integrity. I cannot see Peter, James and John making this kind of a deal with Paul and then turn around and even by the Holy Spirit’s leading, write to the Gentile world; it just cannot happen. Galatians 2:9 "When James, Cephas, (Peter) and John, who seemed to be pillars, (and they were at one time, of the Jerusalem Church) perceived (or understood) the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas (now here it comes, watch it. Don’t just gloss over it) the right hands of fellowship; (they shook hands) that we (Paul and Barnabas) should go unto to the heathen (the Gentiles, the uncircumcised) and they (James, Peter, and John) unto to the circumcision." Israel. The Jew. Now can you make it any plainer? I don’t see how anybody can.

It was a gentlemen’s agreement. And James and Peter and John said, "Okay Paul, you win. We are now understanding, that you are God’s delegated Apostle for the Gentile (Romans 11:13) and we are to keep our business with Israel." You know I’ve got all kinds of proof back in the book of Acts that those twelve men never attempted to go into the Gentile world. My favorite is in the house of Cornelius. My, under ordinary circumstances, when Peter saw that all of a sudden God was going to save Gentiles like He did those several Romans in the house of Cornelius, he shouldn’t have even bothered to go back to Jerusalem. He should have just sent a messenger boy back to Jerusalem and said, "Hey fellows, God is saving Gentiles! I’m out of here. You won’t see me for a while." But does he? No. He goes right back to Jerusalem. Takes a kick in the seat of the pants for having gone into the house of a bunch of Gentiles and stays in Jerusalem! Now that’s what the Book makes so plain. And yet the vast majority of Christendom refuses to see it. Well, I’ll keep banging away at it and banging away at it as our letters keep coming in saying, "I’m finally seeing it for the first time. I’m seeing it that God is sending Paul to the Gentiles with the Gospel of Grace, calling out for the Body of Christ." Peter and the others are still maintaining the hope of Israel, which of course, that gate’s going to drop, and did in 70 AD, because Israel refuses to believe it. Well anyway, I’ve only got a minute left. Didn’t expect to spend the whole half-hour on that but it’s so easy to do when you get into the Gospel of salvation! All right, back to I John for a moment then. I John chapter 5 and again we’ll just read those first three verses and, as I read, I want you (as well as all of you out in our television audience) to see if there’s any language in here that smacks of Paul, and his message of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection for salvation. And I’ll warn you ahead of time. You’re not going to find it. But you can look. I John 5:1-3 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: (Not a word about the cross. Not a word about the shed blood. Not a word about the resurrection.) and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." Anything about the cross? Do you see a word in there that He died for you and that He rose from the dead? I don’t. And you know what, you can go back to James 1:1 and go all the way through Jude and you won’t find it. Because these are Jewish writers and they are writing under the Jewish system of Law and the Kingdom Gospel and they have no understanding of Paul’s revelations of this Gospel of the Grace of God.