tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post7091084493251596696..comments2024-01-01T19:49:13.788-08:00Comments on The Vigil: Moqtada Sadr's Back in Town!Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-62127299337146310882007-06-01T19:47:00.000-07:002007-06-01T19:47:00.000-07:00I'm really poor at Scrabble, vigilante. And e...I'm really poor at Scrabble, vigilante. And even worse with math.<br><br>=)Stella by Starlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16385761338190877425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-56031223103815277192007-06-01T09:21:00.000-07:002007-06-01T09:21:00.000-07:00Renaissance Stella: I'm making a note never to...Renaissance Stella: I'm making a note never to get in a game of Scrabble or Trivial Pursuits with you. (Actually, I'm not sure there is a game I could safely play with you.)Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-49946254806515536552007-06-01T09:09:00.000-07:002007-06-01T09:09:00.000-07:00Gawsh! Thanks. (~blush~) I'm intrigued by c...Gawsh! Thanks. (~blush~) I'm intrigued by comparative religion faiths that borrowed their religious doctrine from other texts. The evolution of the Christian bible alone takes a lifetime of study.<br><br>Thanks much, vigilante. I'm a neophyte in this area. The Gospel of Judas is an interesting discovery.<br><br><i>The text begins by announcing that it is the "secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week, three days before he celebrated Passover." <br><br>It goes on to describe Judas as Jesus' closest friend, someone who understands Christ's true message and is singled out for special status among Jesus' disciples. <br><br>In the key passage Jesus tells Judas, "'you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.'" <br><br>Kasser, the translation-project leader, offers an interpretation: "Jesus says it is necessary for someone to free him finally from his human body, and he prefers that this liberation be done by a friend rather than by an enemy. <br><br>"So he asks Judas, who is his friend, to sell him out, to betray him. It's treason to the general public, but between Jesus and Judas it's not treachery." <br><br>The newfound account challenges one of the most firmly rooted beliefs in Christian tradition.</i><br><br>Happy browsing around the <i>National Geographic</i>'s Gospel of Judas site.Stella by Starlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16385761338190877425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-37921667998508495192007-05-31T23:29:00.000-07:002007-05-31T23:29:00.000-07:00Peerless Stella! You never stop amazing me!Peerless Stella! You never stop amazing me!Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-41724751240220543572007-05-31T20:50:00.000-07:002007-05-31T20:50:00.000-07:00I guess it would depend on the physical size of th...I guess it would depend on the physical size of the book. Sorry if that sounds flip, but it's a factor. If I focus on verses, maybe I can answer you better.<br><br>I found an online <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=dNze9mo65YMC&dq=quran&pg=PP1&ots=GQKn2JQ58z&sig=ugzF_ap1IJiaXtGPpLBSedqaAw0&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dquran%26btnG%3DSearch&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=3" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Qur'an</a>version in Arabic of 634 pages. Wiki: "The <a href="http://lexicorient.com/e.o/koran.htm" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Qur'ān</a> consists of 114 [or 116] suras, or chapters,... of different lengths, with a total of 6236 verses, or ayat (lit. "sign") (6348 counting all the basmalas...."<br><br>The <a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/about.html" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">KJV </a>has 66 books, 1,189 chapters, and 774,776 words. [Caution: from the Christian Answers site.] There are three <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">KJVs </a>in use today, as well as many other editions. The problem with the KJV is that, in addition to the changes made during James I's reign, archaeologists found approximately 40 books [the Apocrypha] not included by Constantine or the Council of Nice. (The discovery of <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">The Gospel of Judas</a> fascinates me.)<br><br>Determining the length of either book is like cutting a Gordian knot: depends on which version. I seem to recall that scholars have indicated nine different people wrote the Old Testament. It's probably more. Both books' content evolved over ages with scribes recopying the text. So, we both know that there's no definitive answer as to authenticity of either text.<br><br>Probably more than you wanted to know... From an academic rather than religious perspective, how and why the texts were selected for inclusion is intriguing. I wish I had a more solid grounding in this area.Stella by Starlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16385761338190877425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-60103222103585501542007-05-29T20:35:00.000-07:002007-05-29T20:35:00.000-07:00You score some points here, Stella. But since I...You score some points here, Stella. But since I'm theologically challenged, could you oblige me by stating the comparable lengths of the Koran and the KJB?Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-76318362380908408172007-05-28T18:19:00.000-07:002007-05-28T18:19:00.000-07:00War is repeated 36 times in Quran, peace is repeat...War is repeated 36 times in Quran, peace is repeated 67 times. In the King James Bible, "war" is repeated 1,225 times and "peace" is repeated 356 times. KJB mentions "kill" 512 times, whereas the Quran uses the word only 29 times.<br><br>Sadr's words, ironically, parallel Abraham Lincon: "United we stand, divided we fall." His cooperation is at the heart of Islam. As I oft repeated, fanatacism breeds terrorism. As always, M.D. sums up my overwordiness eloquently and succinctly.Stella by Starlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16385761338190877425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-73351440616773163642007-05-28T15:36:00.000-07:002007-05-28T15:36:00.000-07:00Gareth Porter is an historian and national securit...Gareth Porter is an historian and national security policy analyst. His latest book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam", was published in June 2005. He says, <i>Sadr's project for a Sunni-Shiite united front against both al Qaeda and U.S. occupation offers a potential basis for an eventual settlement of the sectarian civil war in Iraq as well as for U.S. withdrawal.</i> <a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37865" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Source</a>Messengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703434191163556292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-48364766260207159242007-05-27T09:46:00.000-07:002007-05-27T09:46:00.000-07:002 perfect, M.D.2 perfect, M.D.Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356601405469434111.post-34904646234397276982007-05-27T07:17:00.000-07:002007-05-27T07:17:00.000-07:00Shorter Sadr:"I'm a uniter, not a divider...Shorter Sadr:<br><br>"I'm a uniter, not a divider."No. 44noreply@blogger.com