Religion

"Greece had to lose, her pure consciousness had to make our agony only more acute.We needed God loving us in our weakness and not in the glory of beatitude."

"My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that not enough to fill a man's whole life?"

"It was truly very good reason that we should be beholden to God only, and to the favour of his grace, for the truth of so noble a belief, since from his sole bounty we receive the fruit of immortality, which consists in the enjoyment of eternal beatitude.... The more we give and confess to owe and render to God, we do it with the greater Christianity."

"“The essence of happiness consists in an act of the intellect.” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica) … What is implicit in this sentence? This is implicit: the fulfillment of existence takes place in the manner in which we become aware of reality; the whole energy of our being is ultimately directed toward attainment of insight. The perfectly happy person, the one whose thirst has been finally quenched, who has attained beatitude—this person is the one who sees. The happiness, the quenching, the perfection, consists in this seeing."

"If, in traditional philosophical thought, it is wisdom – a wisdom built upon knowledge, careful thought, judgment, and so one – that ought to lead to beatitude, then we must recognize that this beatitude has nothing to do with the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. But the banishment of knowledge – any form of knowledge, whether philosophical or scientific, intelligible or sensory – in the process of Christian salvation is not gratuitous but rather is motivated by the very nature of the expected salvation. In order to vanquish the Forgetting that renders the absolute Life Immemorial, the Forgetting in which thought holds Life, we would precisely not ask that of thought. The salvation that consists of rediscovering this absolute Life escapes all orders of knowledge, expertise, and science. It does spring from consciousness as understood by classical or modern thought, as in “consciousness of something.” It is not some “becoming conscious of” that can liberate a person. It is not the consciousness’s progress through various kinds of knowledge that will secure salvation."

"The complexity and the elaboration of Mithraic iconography surpassed anything that had been done with the medium before. He was the last and finest gasp of a religious system based on vision, on epiphany, on things seen rather than unseen."

"This was one of the last great religious projects not to bring with it sacred texts."

"While the World Religions paradigm was brought in to allow the inclusion of non-Christian religions in education, it has instead remodelled them according to liberal Western Protestant Christian values (akin to what the Church of England promotes), emphasizing theological categories."

"A "world religion" is a tradition that has achieved sufficient power and numbers to enter our history to form it, interact with it, or thwart it. We recognise both the unity within and the diversity among the world religions because they correspond to important geopolitical entities with which we must deal. All 'primitives,' by way of contrast, may be lumped together, as may the 'minor religions,' because they do not confront our history in any direct fashion. From the point of view of power, they are invisible."

"By 'world religions,' we understand the five religions or religiously determined-systems of life-regulation which have known how to gather multitudes of confessors around them. The term is used here in a completely value-neutral sense. The Confucian, Hinduist, Buddhist, Christian, and Islamist religious ethics all belong to the category of world religion."

"Cornelis Tiele proposed that religions develop in phases, from being nature religions, to becoming mythological religions, then doctrinal religions, and ultimately as world or universal religions. The last stage, qualitatively different in kind, aspiring to be accepted by all men, and based upon abstract principles and maxims. In these categories, Tiele in 1877 placed Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam as universal religions."

"Of Weber’s five “world religions,” four — Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Confucianism — are associated with major civilizations. The fifth, Buddhism, is not. Why is this the case? ... Overall, however, the virtual extinction of Buddhism in India and its adaptation and incorporation into existing cultures in China and Japan mean that Buddhism, although a major religion, has not been the basis of a major civilization."

"Give me more Roman scabbards for my sword, That I may make my tomb a holocaust."

"Who are these coming to the sacrifice? To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?"

"And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits."

"And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done."

"Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon."

"Where, in the coppice, oak and pine And mystic yew and elm are found, Sweeping the skies, that grow divine With the dark wind’s despairing sound, The wind that roars from the profound, And smites the mountain-tops, and calls Mute spirits to black festivals, And feasts in valleys iron-bound, Desolate crags, and barren ground;— There in the strong storm-shaken grove Swings the pale censer-fire for love.The foursquare altar, rightly hewn, And overlaid with beaten gold, Stands in the gloom; the stealthy tune Of singing maidens overbold Desires mad mysteries untold, With strange eyes kindling, as the fleet Implacable untiring feet Weave mystic figures manifold That draw down angels to behold The moving music, and the fire Of their intolerable desire.For, maddening to fiercer thought, The fiery limbs requicken, wheel In formless furies, subtly wrought Of swifter melodies than steel That flashes in the fight: the peal Of amorous laughters choking sense, And madness kissing violence, Ring like dead horsemen; bodies reel Drunken with motion; spirits feel The strange constraint of gods that clip From Heaven to mingle lip and lip.The gods descend to dance; the noise Of hungry kissings, as a swoon, Faints for excess of its own joys, And mystic beams assail the moon, With flames of their infernal noon; While the smooth incense, without breath, Spreads like some scented flower of death, Over the grove; the lovers’ boon Of sleep shall steal upon them soon, And lovers’ lips, from lips withdrawn, Seek dimmer bosoms till the dawn.Yet on the central altar lies The sacrament of kneaded bread, With blood made one, the sacrifice To those, the living, who are dead— Strange gods and goddesses, that shed Monstrous desires of secret things Upon their worshippers, from wings One lucent web of light, from head One labyrinthine passion-fed Palace of love, from breathing rife With secrets of forbidden life.But not the sunlight, nor the stars, Nor any light but theirs alone, Nor iron masteries of Mars, Nor Saturn’s misconceiving zone, Nor any planet’s may be shown, Within the circle of the grove, Where burn the sanctities of love: Nor may the foot of man be known, Nor evil eyes of mothers thrown On maidens that desire the kiss Only of maiden Artemis.But horned and huntress from the skies, She bends her lips upon the breeze, And pure and perfect in her eyes, Burn magical virginity’s Sweet intermittent sorceries. When the slow wind from her sweet word In all their conchéd ears is heard. And like the slumber of the seas, There murmur through the holy trees The kisses of the goddess keen, And sighs and laughters caught between.For, swooning at the fervid lips Of Artemis, the maiden kisses Sob, and the languid body slips Down to enamelled wildernesses. Fallen and loose the shaken tresses; Fallen the sandal and girdling gold, Fallen the music manifold Of moving limbs and strange caresses, And deadly passion that possesses The magic ecstasy of these Mad maidens, tender as blue seas.Night spreads her yearning pinions, The baffled day sinks blind to sleep; The evening breeze outswoons the sun’s Dead kisses to the swooning deep. Upsoars the moon; the flashing steep Of Heaven is fragrant for her feet; The perfume of the grove is sweet As slumbering women furtive creep To bosoms where small kisses weep, And find in fervent dreams the kiss Most memoried of Artemis.Impenetrable pleasure dies Beneath the madness of new dreams; The slow sweet breath is turned to sighs More musical than many streams Under the moving silver beams, Fretted with stars, thrice woven across. White limbs in amorous slumber toss, Like sleeping foam, whose silver gleams On motionless dark seas; it seems As if some gentle spirit stirred Their lazy brows with some swift word.So, in the secret of the shrine, Night keeps them nestled, so the gloom Laps them in waves as smooth as wine, As glowing as the fiery womb Of some young tigress, dark as doom, And swift as sunrise. Love’s content Builds its own monument, And carves above its vaulted tomb The Phoenix on her fiery plume, To their own souls to testify Their kisses’ immortality."

"Yes, one time I did walk in on Dick Cheney down in the basement of the White House, and he was being fucked by a giant goat-devil in a room full of pentagrams. And he looked up at me with solid silver glowing orb-like eyes, and his breath had a strong ammonia scent to it, and he told me in a language that I knew in my heart had not been spoken in over a thousand years, "Parrav go lahlah!" And I just ran, I just got the hell out of there."

"Armageddon has already begun—the end of 1931 saw the start of the Great Battle, and I did not conceal it from you. So the Battle cannot end now, but must reach a victorious conclusion. Of course, when the flaming pentagram must be uplifted as a shield, all the sensations of the Battle affect the heart. You should not be surprised that events are piling up, for the earthly battle is following the heavenly. A great deal has been said about the Heavenly Host, about Michael the Archistrategus, the Supreme General, about the manifestation of the affirmed Leader, and about all the perturbations. That is why I say, “Caution!”"

"In Western Culture, starting from Phidias and the Parthenon, the Golden Section and the Golden Number are present, consciously or unconsciously, in very famous works. In the Renaissance, after the rediscovery of Fibonacci, it was a symbol of aesthetic perfection to be used in architecture and art with, among others, Leonardo da Vinci (1542-1519) and Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). The Golden Number is in many geometric figures making them Golden. We have it among other things in the octagonal architecture of Castel del Monte. The Golden Ratio enters the pentagon which is Golden because the side of the star and the side of the pentagon are in the ratio of 38% and 62%, as required by the Golden Number."

"The Brazilian Supreme Court’s verdict [regarding the use of religious clothing and accessories in photographs of official documents] comes one week after French Prime Minister created controversies in Canada by publicly expressing his support to the controversial Quebec secularism law that prohibits many public sector employees from wearing [any] religious symbol at work. While Attal used a visit to Canada to support the law, Canada’s federal government is considering joining the religious and educational organizations that have challenged the Quebec law at the Supreme Court."

"A mendicant (yogi/jogi) lived nearby. He was known for his trickery and many ignorant persons had become his disciples. They considered his sorcery and tricks as miracles, and his performances as extraordinary feats. Many people brought amusing stories about the mendicant to Sayyid ëAli Hamadani. At last the Amir himself went to see the jogi. When he came to his presence, the Amir spoke a few words by way of an advice. But the miserable and wretched jogi rejected Amirís words. He boasted and said that he would show him whatever he knew while he would also like him (the Amir) to prove to him what he knew. Because of satanic pride he considered himself above the Sayyid. As the jogiís do, he raised himself above the ground till he came up in the air up to the height of a man. People present in the audience were surprised thinking that it was a miracle. Amir Sayyid ëAli realised that this jugglery of the jogi was only to mislead the people. He, therefore, decided to demonstrate his religious sense of honour and his Islamic bravado. He pointed towards his shoes, which rose up in the air and came down on the head of the mendicant. Because of repeated shoe beats he came down to his original position. This exercise could be compared to a falcon swooping on its prey. Humiliated and debased, the jogi was made to sit on the ground. Then Amir Sayyid Ali provided advice and guidance to him and made him aware of the torture of hell. But the black- hearted jogi was not prepared to concede. Amir Kabir felt greatly dismayed at his aberration and returned to his abode. Repenting at what had befallen him and tormented by his inherent wickedness, the jogi gathered his belongings and left for Hindostan. Amir Kabir ordered that the place of residence of the mendicant be levelled. An Estrada rose at the spot. A mosque and praying space were provided for God-fearing men. Here he conducted five-time congregational prayers. In compliance with his directions, his disciples and devotees would recite awrad-e fathiyyeh and awrad-e ëasriyyeh at this place. This practice continued for a long time. Sultan Qutbuíd-Din (A. H 788- 799/ A.D. 1386 -1396) had seen his followers making these recitations."

"Tibetan monks have a mythical and mystical reputation for levitating. Marco Polo, in the 13th century, was the first to tell us about this mysterious land of Tibet where monks are said to practice levitation. It would seem that when their meditation reached a certain intensity, the body of the great lamas, at least in time, was affected by jolts, but without remaining suspended in the air. The Dalai Lama believes: “You Christians believe in many miracles; We Buddhists believe that through intensive meditation we can change the laws of the body – there is nothing extraordinary about it. »"

"A man may view his wife or his slave in any part.—It is lawful for a man to look at his slave girl in any part, provided he be not related him within the prohibited degrees; and also at his wife in any part, even in the pudenda, if he pleases; because the Prophet said, “shut your eyes from all excepting your wives and female slaves.” Nevertheless, it is most becoming that a husband and wife should neither of them look at the genital parts of the other, as the Prophet has said, “when ye copulate with women of your own tribe, you must conceal as much s possible; and be not then naked, as that savours too much of the custom of asses.”"

"Narrated Mu'awiyah ibn Haydah: I said: Apostle of Allah, from whom should we conceal our private parts and to whom can we show? He replied: conceal your private parts except from your wife and from whom your right hands possess (slave-girls)..."

"Women who would be dressed but appear to be naked will not enter paradise."

"Mark 14:51–52: "A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind."

"2 Samuel 11: From the roof of his palace, King David saw Bathsheba—a married woman—bathing. David later committed adultery with Bathsheba, impregnated her, and arranged for her husband Uriah to die in battle."

"Isaiah 20:2–4: "The Lord said to Isaiah: "'Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.' And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot. Then the Lord said, 'Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame'"

"John 19:23–24: "When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes,[...] 'Let's not tear [the undergarment],' they said to one another. 'Let's decide by lot who will get it.'"

"His disciples asked, "When will you become revealed to us and when shall we see you?" Jesus answered, "When you disrobe without being ashamed and take up your garments and place them under your feet like little children and tread on them, then will you see the son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.""

"At the same time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, 'Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.' And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. Then the LORD said, 'Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.'"

"1 Samuel 19:24: "He (Saul) stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, 'Is Saul also among the prophets?'"

"Micah 1:8a: (Micah speaking:) "Because of this [Jacob's transgression] I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked."

"Matthew 6:25 and Luke 12:22–23: "Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?'"

"And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

"2 Corinthians 5:1–4: "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."

"And guard their private parts save from their wives and what their right hands own then being not blameworthy"

"So schismatics the plain believers quit, And are but damn’d for having too much wit."

"The inexpiable sin of schism is not done away with even by suffering. No one can be a martyr who is not in the Church. ... He may be slain, crowned he cannot be."

"Schisms are the shadow side of success."

"Inexpiabilis et gravis culpa discordi nec passione purgatur. Esse martyr non potest qui in ecclesia non est. ... Occidi talis potest, coronari non potest."

"A censer’s swing-chain set in her fair hands Dances up wreaths of intertwisted blue In clouds of fragrant frankincense and myrrh."

"Heap cassia, sandal-buds and stripes Of labdanum, and aloe-balls, Smear’d with dull nard an Indian wipes From out her hair: such balsam falls Down sea-side mountain pedestals, From tree-tops where tired winds are fain, Spent with the vast and howling main, To treasure half their island-gain.And strew faint sweetness from some old Egyptian’s fine worm-eaten shroud Which breaks to dust when once unroll’d; Or shredded perfume, like a cloud From closet long to quiet vow’d, With moth’d and dropping arras hung, Mouldering her lute and books among, As when a queen, long dead, was young."

"For the tune from thine altar hath sounded Since God bade the world's work begin, And the fume of thine incense abounded, To sweeten the sin."

"And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills Where blossom’d many an incense-bearing tree;"

"For Adoration, incense comes From bezoar, and Arabian gums,"

"O blest unfabled Incense Tree, That burns in glorious Araby, With red scent chalicing the air, Till earth-life grow Elysian there!"

"And her hair fell about her in a dim clinging mist, Like smoke from a golden incense burned in Paradise."