The Young Messiah (2016) Movie Review

The Young Messiah is a 2016 movie ​directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and  based on Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice. The movie tries to imagine several events in the seventh year of Jesus. It begins with an episode where Jesus raises a young Jewish boy from the dead after a religious crowd surrounds His house accusing Jesus of witchcraft. The family is forced to leave Egypt, and Joseph is willing to leave because he knows through...

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Basics of Chinese Characters

by Jess SuenFollowing are some approaches to Chinese character formation:1. Pictorial. It is the simplest and most basic method. The character is based on a pictogram or form. For example, 人 is human, the upper part is made of head and body and the lower part has the two legs. 口is mouth. 羊is sheep. The sheep character is seen with the two horns on its head, then face and feet. 馬is horse. 手is hand. 木is wood. When it is 林, it's woods. 森 means...

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Are Multiverses (or Multiple Universes) Possible?

(Multiverses. Screenshot from Google Image Search) Theologically, it is not an impossibility, given the notion of the "three worlds" or more as some tend to subdivide each. However, one must choose between whether to look atthe various "realms" as part of the one Universe or look at reality as containing multiple Universes not closed to each other. It is apparent from the biblical narrative that the gateway (or stairway as in Jacob's dream)...

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Kumarila Bhatta's (660CE) Foundationalism (or Intrinsic Reliability)

The 7th century Indian philosopher and proponent of Purva Mimamsa (realistic view based on the pre-upanisadic Vedas) argued in favor of Vedic fideism in lines similar to what the Reformed Epistemologists, especially the Foundationalists, are arguing. Following is an excerpt from an article on this philosopher in Standford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy:...if it is thought that any cognition finally counts as a reliable doxastic practice only insofar as it can be demonstrated to be such (for example, by appeal to a subsequent cognition of the causes...

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Understanding the Human Mind and the Spirit

Forthcoming in Revive Magazine Humans are made of body, soul, and spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays that the “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless.” The body signifies the physical dimension of man; the soul, the psychological; and, the spirit, the spiritual.The following are characteristics of the body (physical): It is Spatio-temporal (i.e. it extends and can be located in physical space-time continuum) It is Material...

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Placebo and the Philosophy of Mind and Matter in Drug Research

A placebo is a non-therapeutic substance administered under the camouflage of medication to deceive patients into believing that they are receiving medications; this done solely for psychological and not for physiological effects. Placebo may usually be used to compare its effects with the effects of other drugs in drug research.Let's take the case of an experiment that tries to establish whether a particular drug, say to treat weariness, is genuine...

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The Light of Law Vs Light of Christ (John 8)

JOHN 8:1-12Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This...

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Is Water Baptism Necessary Before Partaking in Lord's Supper

"Last Supper" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1750)Yes, it is. Water baptism identifies one with the redemption work of Jesus Christ, with His death, burial, and resurrection. It is anticipated of visible identification with Christ and His Church. Every person has the personal responsibility to examine him/herself before deciding to partake in the Lord's Table. The Bible makes it clear that those who chose not to be baptized were rejecting the counsel...

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POEM FOR FATHER AND MOTHER

FATHERLike the sky that burns red so that the earth stays cool,And its bluest color tells how hot is the noon;Like the lightning rod that takes the bolt to the ground,And the concrete slabs that take the beatings of storms,He stands to cover, to comfort, and to calm,And asks for nothing, giving all.MOTHERHer womb is God's crucible where a child is formed,Her bosom is the place where comfort is found,Her lips pour wisdom that guards our soulAnd sets it on track to reach life's goal."My son, hear the instruction of your father,And do not forsake...

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Matthew 6:31-33

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Mat 6:31-33)The original sense of nakedness was from that deep insecurity of autonomy that sprung from man's first alienation from God due to sin-- spiritual death. Seeking God marks man's refusal to stay alienated by turning towards...

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