I believe ..Religion

Written by the Rev.Jeannette van der Veen-Bosgra

I believe in a world where all people can live in happiness,
and that I too have a duty to create such a world.
I believe that for every human being there may be love, justice, pardon and peace.
I believe that joy will overcome sadness,
that love is stronger than hatred,
that not death has the final word, but life;
all this I belief by Jesus of Nazareth.
He has shown that such a world, such a life is possible
and that it is worth while dedicating ourselves to such a world.
I want to orientate myself towards Him. I want to live in his spirit,
because I believe that I can work for the salvation of others
and that this way happiness for others and myself is most successful.

Jerusalem 2012

Ik geloof in een wereld waarin het voor alle mensen goed is om te leven,
en dat het mede mijn taak is zo'n wereld te scheppen.
Ik geloof dat er voor iedere mens liefde, gerechtigheid,vergeving en vrede kan zijn.
Ik geloof dat de vreugde het zal winnen van het leed,
dat liefde sterker is dan haat,
dat niet de dood het laatste woord heeft, maar het leven;
dit alles geloof ik door Jezus van Nazareth.
Hij heeft laten zien dat zo'n wereld, zo'n leven mogelijk is
en dat het de moeite waard is zich voor zo'n wereld in te zetten.
Ik wil mijn leven op Hem oriënteren.
Ik wil leven in zijn geest, omdat ik geloof
dat ik zo anderen tot heil ben
en dat daarmee het geluk van anderen en van mijzelf
het meest gebaat is.
                                   

                                   Amen

Holy Sepulchre in Old City of Jerusalem

ABC Wednesday, Z for Zoomorphism

Zoomorphism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Zoomorph" redirects here. For the toy line, see Zoomorphs.

Zoomorphic decoration from the Book of Kells

Zoomorphism is the shaping of something in animal form or terms. Examples include:

• Art that imagines humans as non-human animals^.
• Art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal
• Art that creates patterns using animal imagery, or animal style
• Deities depicted in animal form, such as exist in ancient Egyptian religion^.

The word derives from the Greek ζωον (zōon), meaning animal, and μορφη (morphē), meaning shape or form.
 Long before the common era, people tried to communicate by means of drawing images of animals. First these paintings were important for hunters to know where animals were available. Lateron the paintings got a religious meaning. Cave paintings were found all over the world in mountainous regions with caves

Emoe, Australia

Dingo, Australia

Bats, Australia

Rock paintings by Aborigines in Australia

Egyptian Religion

Thot with the head of an ibis

Horus  Zoomorphic representation in religion in Egypt.

Israel

Zoomorphic representation in religion

Some tribes of Israel are

 represented by animal symbols.

Read Gen.49

 

The stained glass windows by Marc Chagall  Israel

 

 

The Milbi Wall in Cooktown Australia represents a wall of stories told by the Aborigenes .

Each story is represented by an animal.

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  Tribal animals depicted by the Indigenous people of Australia
  
  
• Tribal animals depicted by the Indigenous people of Australia
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• We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words   beginning with Z.

  Norway

  

  The Vikings used a dragon as their symbol.

  

  Norwegian legends often used animals.

  
  

  

  The dog Garm guards the entrance of the other world

  
  
  
  
  

  

  Odin on his eight-footed horse Sleipnir

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
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ABC Wednesday, Q for Qumran

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with Q.

Drenthe or Drente is the green part in the north.

In the last week of September I stayed in Assen  with a relative. Assen is the capital of the  small province of Drenthe, in the north of the Netherlands. We were going to an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the local museum.

Caves in Qumran

Qumran cave

You can find important extra information  on Dina's blog. She lives in Israel and has been there in Qumran. Her blog is: Jerusalem Hills daily photo. And her post about Qumran is written on November 5th, 2013.

Since the discovery of these Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947-1956, extensive excavations have taken place in Qumran. Nearly 900 scrolls were discovered. Most were written on parchment and some on papyrus.

The best-known texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls are the ancient religious writings found in eleven caves near the site of Qumran. Discoveries from additional sites yielded mostly documents and letters, especially papyri that had been hidden in caves by refugees from wars. Some of these writings survived as nearly intact scrolls.

Many scholars believe the location was home to a Jewish sect, probably the Essenes. Others propose non-sectarian interpretations, some of these starting with the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort that was later transformed into a villa for a wealthy family, or a production center, perhaps a pottery factory or something similar.

A large cemetery was discovered to the east of the site. While most of the graves contain the remains of males, some females were also discovered, though some burials may be from medieval times. Only a small portion of the graves were excavated, as excavating cemeteries is forbidden under Jewish law. Over a thousand bodies are buried at Qumran cemetery. One theory is that bodies were those of generations of sectarians, while another is that they were brought to Qumran because burial was easier there than in rockier surrounding areas.

The scrolls were found in a series of eleven caves around the settlement, some accessible only through the settlement. Some scholars have claimed that the caves were the permanent libraries of the sect, due to the presence of the remains of a shelving system. Other scholars believe that some caves also served as domestic shelters for those living in the area. Many of the texts found in the caves appear to represent widely accepted Jewish beliefs and practices, while other texts appear to speak of divergent, unique, or minority interpretations and practices. Some scholars believe that some of these texts describe the beliefs of the inhabitants of Qumran, which, may have been the Essenes, or the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A literary epistle published in the 1990s expresses reasons for creating a community, some of which resemble Sadducean arguments in the Talmud. Most of the scrolls seem to have been hidden in the caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, though some of them may have been deposited earlier.

The entrance of Qumran Cave 11

Photo courtesy of:
Alexander Schick

While Hebrew is the most frequently used language in the Scrolls, about 15% were written in Aramaic and several in Greek. The Scrolls’ materials are made up mainly of parchment, although some are papyrus, and the text of one Scroll is engraved on copper.

Biblical ManuscriptsAbout 230 manuscripts are referred to as “biblical Scrolls”. These are copies of works that are now part of the Hebrew Bible.

PAM 43.784

A primary common factor among the selection of compositions found in the Qumran caves is the fundamental importance of religion.

Many of the 'sectarian' scrolls found in the Qumran caves emphasize spiritual purity and ritual purification through immersion in a ritual bath or 'mikveh' like the one shown here from Khirbet Qumran

Photo:
Tsila Sagiv

Among the finds in Qumran were these coins.

Silver tetradrachm from the Te'omim Cave, 134-135 CE Obv.: Façade of the Jerusalem Temple. Inscription: "Shim'on" Rev.: Bundle of Lulav and Etrog. Inscription: "For the Freedom of Jerusalem"
Photo:
Clara Amit

The Bar Kokhba Refuge CavesThe "Bar Kokhba refuge caves" preserved numerous documents including financial, military, legal, administrative, and personal records, as well as some religious texts including biblical Scrolls, brought to the caves by refugees seeking haven .

ABC Wednesday, M for Menorah

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with M.

Wikipedia says: "The menorah (Hebrew: מְנוֹרָה‎ [mənoːˈɾaː]) is described in the Bible as the seven-branched ancient lampstand made of gold and used in the portable sanctuary set up by Moses in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. Fresh olive oil of the purest quality was burned daily to light its lamps. The menorah has been a symbol of Judaism since ancient times and is the emblem on the coat of arms of the modern state of Israel".

Photo 1 is from Wikipedia,and the last photo shows the Chanukah Menorah with eight arms + one..

This photo is taken by an unknown photographer

Photo taken in the Jewish Museum in Jerusalem
 When I was in the Jewish Museum in Jerusalem with Dina, we saw this beautiful menorah. It was good to be in the company of such a great guide like Dina. She told me a lot of Jewish traditions and holy days. This menorah is used for Chanukah.

ABC Wednesday, K for Kippah or Kipa

When I came back from my tour in Israel by the end of March last year, I thought it might be a good idea to dedicate this post to the traditional headdress of the Jewish man.
A kippah or kipa
is a flat shaped cap, usually made of cloth, often worn by Jewish men to fulfill the custom that their head be covered at all times, especially worn by men at prayer.It is worn on the crown of their heads.

Jewish law dictates that a man is required to cover his head during prayer. Originally, wearing a head covering outside of the synagogue for Orthodox males was a custom.
For little boys there are kippot especially designed for children. A kippah is the word for the  religious cap that observant Jewish males wear as respect to God.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, and to Roger, our new Captain.We started round 11 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with K.

ABC Wednesday, J for Jackal

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thank you too, Roger! For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with J.
You can enlarge the video by pressing the rectangle in the right bottom corner.

When I was in Israel in March, I stayed in an apartment, which was surrounded by a fence, the gate of which had to be closed every night. This was to keep the jackals out.Although I never saw one, I could hear them every night. During the day they hide and it's difficult to find them, for they are very shy.The only thing I can show you is this fence and gate, and I can show a photo of Wikipedia.In Israel, golden jackals have been shown to be significant predators of snakes,
including venomous snakes, which is good, but the local cats run the risk to be caught as well.

Wikipedia says:"The vocabulary of the golden jackal is similar to that of dogs, with seven different sounds having been recorded. Different subspecies can be recognised by differences in their howls. This sound is usually uttered shortly after dark or before dawn. The golden jackal may howl for different reasons, such as to call other jackals or, seemingly, to announce changes in weather. It has been recorded to howl upon hearing church bells, sirens or the whistles of steam engines and boats. It typically howls at dawn, midday and the evening hours. Groups will occasionally howl in chorus, which is thought to reinforce family bonds, as well as advertise territorial status."

We had to close the gate every night.

The lodge where I stayed for two weeks.

 Jackals can not enter this area.