Ian Thorpe's Comments
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Jun 30, 2008 | rating: 8.5 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe Nov 22, 2009, 10:19am EST
Johnice,
I'm not a Christian.
When Obama was electe a lot of his fans talked about how far America had moved forward. And a lot of us nasty, cynical Europeans said America had not moved forward one millimeter. America will only move forward when an atheist can be elected President or to any other high office.

Active membership of any of the Abrahamic religions sgould bar people from office in a secular state because all these three religions demand that a member's first loyalty is to the faith not to the country.

This can only work when a nation has a single official religion as part of its political establishment.

It is not convoluted at all, it is really very simple.
Nov 17, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 100
in reply to a comment by Holly C.
Ian Thorpe Nov 18, 2009, 11:16am EST
Sheryl,
OMG, I have a friend down in Texas who would dearly love me to go and visit. But I can do that Star Trek thing where you hold you index and middle finger and your ring finger and pinkie together then make a V in the middle (cue main chorus from O Fortuna) .

They'll lynch me as soon as I step off the plane. (Aniko - They, in my context, The Texan Religious Police)
Jun 30, 2008 | rating: 8.5 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Carla G.
Ian Thorpe Nov 14, 2009, 11:21am EST
Sophie,
Right, I've heard of that and kept off it as it is not Brotish related. In 1980 Obama travelled to Pakistan on an Indonesian passport that gave his religion as Muslim. Unfortunately Pakistan keeps recors that Obama cannot order sealed. His organizaion have managed to keep that one hushed up in America.
Jun 30, 2008 | rating: 8.5 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe Nov 14, 2009, 11:16am EST
Barack Obama Snr. was a muslim - he may not have actively worshipped but he had three or four wives simultaneously. British colonial records have him listed as a Muslim. Obama Jnr has in the past presented himself as a Muslim, travelled as a Muslim and enrolled in college as a Muslim. All this is documented. Being a Muslim ought indicate he is unfit for office. Being a liar certainly does.
Oct 30, 2009 | comments: 402
in reply to a comment by Frank Luke
Ian Thorpe Nov 11, 2009, 12:43pm EST
Aniko,
I don't know enough about North American tribal traditions to be able to comment but in Europe and India among the ancints the idea of "living" things was very different. The wind was a living thing as were river and springs. We have to tiptoe through such areas of history because the mindset was so totally different to ours. They handled time differently and had completely different attitudes on life and death. So the idea of a living spirit to, say, an Ancient Briton cannot be compared to a modern Christian's belief in The Living God.
You must spend a night on Cadar Irdis (a haunted mountain in Wales) Legend says those who do will wake up next morning mad or posessing the understanding of all things. I spent a night up there, so you can decide which I am.

It's too complex for a comment thread.
Oct 30, 2009 | comments: 402
in reply to a comment by Frank Luke
Ian Thorpe Nov 10, 2009, 10:32am EST
Frank,
If I tell you what I know I'll have to kill you LOL, I love saying that - even do it in my Bond villain accent.

The Illuminai are a modern myth based on the Iluminatus Trilogy books (not worth reading BTW), some too literal interpretations of The Book Of Enoch which many secular scolars think should sit in The Bible right where Genesis is. Here are two links offering diferent perspectives on Enoch.
Sacred Texts - Enoch
Book Of Enoch translated from The Dead Sea Scrolls
Though some Christian sects say Enoch is a modern forgery it is referred to in the New Testament Book Of Jude.

A quick reference on the symbolism of Enoch can be found in The Shadow Of Solomon by Lawrence Gardner This book deals mostly with the origins of masonry but contains some fascinating insights into middle eastern religious myth.

As far as anyone really knows the Iluminati are fiction but the Bilderberg Group seem to fit the role assitgned by the conspiracy theorists.
Oct 30, 2009 | comments: 402
in reply to a comment by Ann M. (Site Scryer)
Ian Thorpe Nov 9, 2009, 11:26am EST
Aniko,
I don't even have to follow your link it's one of my favourites :-)
Oct 30, 2009 | comments: 402
in reply to a comment by Frank Luke
Ian Thorpe Nov 9, 2009, 11:24am EST
Surely the Illuminati are enlightened beings (or are they of the Dark Side? Oh well, back o The Book Of Enoch for me. LOL
Oct 30, 2009 | comments: 402
in reply to a comment by Frank Luke
Ian Thorpe Nov 9, 2009, 11:22am EST
Aniko & Ann,
There is a meaning of spiritual very relevant in this context but not included in the list (I find American dictionaries are very coy about things relating to religion). Definition (1) comes close but des not quite nail it.
Think of Shinto belief systems (ancestor reverence) or the beliefs of native American tribes about their reltionship to the land. In those contexts spiritual means connected in indefinable ways. All religions are tribal in origin, a set of beliefs and rituals that bound a tribe together. Withing the tribes there are other groups, the herdsmen would observe animal rites; the farmers, earth and season related rites and so on.
Scratch the surface of Christian, Jewsish or Islamic beliefs and you soon find these things buried under a veneer of monotheism.
There may be more to these land / ancestor beliefs but we are getting into quantum entanglement theory.

So people can be said to have a spiritual connection through cultural links, shared folklore etc. Lots of people tell me I should write a book on this but I can't be arsed. I guess I'm just not spiritual enough.

Aniko mentions music (above) which has the power to evoke emotions. This is a good illustration because many people tend to be drawn to the folk melodies of their ancestral cultures. It is said in Britain the Anglicans have the best churches, the Catholics have the best rituals and the Methodists have the best hymns. At the time the Methodist faith was growing rapidly there was a great surge of interest in pre Christian British culture. This led to the Methodists borrowing the ancient melodies of Celtic and Saxon tribes and putting new lyrics to them. Hear Us Now Our Great Redeemer ( that's close enough for jazz) is in fact Cwm Rhondda, a Welsh folk song praising the Rhondda Valley. Abide With Me is also a Welsh melody and many others of similar provenance have their origins in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the English regions. These songs are not truly British though. Versions of the same melodies are heard in he traditional music of most European nations and in Africa and Asia.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
Ian Thorpe Oct 24, 2009, 12:26pm EDT
BTW Sue, not need to explain yourself, you have added another dimension to the thread.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Sue B.© The Sting IS Worse Than the Buzz
Ian Thorpe Oct 24, 2009, 12:25pm EDT
Sue,
I did not tell it all. If the word Macbeth is uttered in a theatre the production, whatever it is, performance will be ruined by a mishap unless the person who said Macbeth turns round on the spot three times and spits.

In the theatre you alo never wish anybody "good luck" as it will bring the opposite. Instead they wish each other ill luck by saying Break A Leg. These things are usually joked about now but pre World War 2 they were still taken very seriously. Even so, when I spent a summer in NYS in 1966 and volunteered as a stagehand at the Warwick Theatre (a converted barn) although nobody admitted taking those things seriously if we amateurs had broken the rule our lives would not have been wrth living.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Sue B.© The Sting IS Worse Than the Buzz
Ian Thorpe Oct 24, 2009, 10:52am EDT
Sue,
Thanks, I could have added O is only going to be popular in Africa til they find he has no money to give them. They're very cynical.

I didn't say religion was all superstitious nonsense, though I am not religious myself. There is superstitious nonsense in all religions though. Have you never known anyone who threw spilled salt over their left shoulder? That is religious nonsense.

And when I referred to Macbeth by name I was seriously tempting fate. It is bad luck to use the name of The Scottish Play." That is superstitious nonsense.

In those acts, throwing salt to blind the devil and not using a word to avoid bad luck we hope to asure success and good fortunte.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Sheryl O.
Ian Thorpe Oct 24, 2009, 10:37am EDT
Sheryl,
Ooh you sweetie...XXX Are you free for dinner tonight?

I like to be controversial and go against the mainstream. Gather say "join the conversation" but if everyone agrees or else they just contradict each other it isn''t a conversation is it? Where's Aniko, we could use her here when I do my next thing which will be an exploration of human consciousness.

BTW The article above is basically a transcripts of the verbal reply I gave to a caller on a radio phone in. I've tidied it a bit and cut the few seconds waffle we always do to allow gathering of thoughts on the topic and then because the producer was signalling me not to let the guy talk (he had a really slow, weary voice) I launched.

Rush should be thanking whatever God he prays to I'm not American. Not only can I busk it off the top of my head as well as he can, I throw a bit of culture in too.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Sheryl O.
Ian Thorpe Oct 24, 2009, 10:28am EDT
Chris,
Horatius and the Bridge, the battle of Thermpopylae. There is a great deal of wisdom in such myths. The important thing about standing one's ground is choosing where to stand.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Chris Brockman
Ian Thorpe Oct 24, 2009, 10:21am EDT
Chris & Sheryl,
Those of us who have the hope/faith/belief thing mastered do not hope for the best we make it happen. Also I'm a bit puzzled by the phrase "hopeful frame of mind." Does this mean the happy frame of mind of somebody determined to make the best of whatever life throws at them, i.e. the copers, in life of those who see themselves as having no way of controlling what happe ns to them other than to rely on the help of supernatural forces. The latter are not copers.
As for how we can make sure of the best outcome it is first necessary to understand all aspects of the problem. Marcus Aurelius had some good advice to offer on that and it did not include faith or hope and only the belief that one is capable of dealing with any circumstance.

Possunt Quia Posse Videntur as my old school's motto goes (they can because they believe they can.)
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Bert B.
Ian Thorpe Oct 23, 2009, 2:13pm EDT
Yeah but it was the fact that the winner had to be chosen bythe End Of March (when Obama had been in office ten weeks) that caused the raised eyebrows. It prompted one fairly left wing paper to predict that the men's ice dance gold medal for the 2010 winter olympics would be awarded to Obama before the end of 2009.
Oct 23, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 21
in reply to a comment by Bert B.
Ian Thorpe Oct 23, 2009, 1:48pm EDT
The consensus in Europe was they are a gang of self important old farts who awarded Obama the prixe because they saw an oppourtunity to push themselves into the limelight. This view gains some traction when you know that the committee rejected Obama by a majority of three (one conservative, one social democrat and one independent) to two (both Eurosocialists. ) The two Eurosocialists went ahead and announced the award was going to Obama anyway. Strangely the Socialist Group in the European Parliament is alone in supporting the admission of Turkey, which is an Asian nation, into Europe. Obama "told" west European leaders some months ago he wanted Turkey in the EU. They told him to eff off and run his own country. Reports of Obama's popularity outside the USA and Africa are greatly exaggerated.
Oct 21, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 25
Ian Thorpe Oct 22, 2009, 10:10am EDT
I'm a Dr. Who man myself but I've never felt the urge to travel back in time to watch Battlestar Galactica. I think the fact it starred a plank of wood with grey hair put me off.
Oct 13, 2009 | rating: 9.2 | comments: 122
Ian Thorpe Oct 16, 2009, 3:54pm EDT
BTW Bert, I've never seen John kick your ass in debate. All I have ever seen him do is keep repeating the same point over and over, rephrasing it with each repetition. Which is "ad nauseum." Appropriate really.
Oct 13, 2009 | rating: 9.2 | comments: 122
Ian Thorpe Oct 16, 2009, 3:44pm EDT
Seeing as you like Latin phrases here's a chance for me to show off and give you a couple of to throw into a discussion Bert. Roman humanism.
Mens culusque is est quisque. (The man's mind is all the man): Marcus Tullius Cicero
Possunt Quia Posse Videntur (they are able to because they believe they are able to) Apocryphal
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