The Church of THE ONE in Apolytonia

[Shiber]

Umm... Sid Meier's Guide to Civilization 3?
Seriously, I don't know but it reminds me of another book... not the same quote though. Nevermind.

[godinex]

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lover of bananas boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their prophets, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good or the holy war, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of The ONE -- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed plants, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. These men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

[Captain]

Jeremiah 14: 11-13 "Do not pray for..."

Genesis 26: 1-4 "Do not go down into Egypt...I will make your descendents as numerous as the stars..."

1 John 5:3-5 "This is love...commands are not burdensome... Who is it that overcomes..."

The next "quote" I posted, which Shiber claimed was from the Bible, actually isn't. It's a conglomerate paraphrase I made up from two sections. A common thread in the Pentateuch, specifically Gen 15:16, Ex 20:5, Ex 34:7, Num 14:8, Deut 5:9 and a common thread in the prophets, specifically Ezekiel 25:17 (popularized by the movie Pulp Fiction - which is why you are probably familiar with it.)

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 "Guard your steps... Do not be quick... when you make a vow..."

John 15:6-8 "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers..."

Isaiah 13:9-13 "- a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger...punish the world for its evil...humble the pride of the ruthless...make the heavens tremble... in the day of his burning anger."

Ecclesiastes 1:9 "What has been, will be again ...There is nothing new" (I guess I win my own dozen bananas...)

2 Timothy 3:1-9 "People will be lovers of themselves...treacherous, rash, conceited...Have nothing to do with them...always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth... their folly will be clear to everyone."


So, now you know.

---
I will admit I did have trouble finding the reference for the first quote, but I knew it was one of the prophets. The second was so obvious any Jew, Christian, or Muslim would recognize it, since it is one of the definitive phrases concerning the promise that created the chosen people. The third was way too obvious for any Christian. The fifth was tricky - sounded prophetic but its proverbial nautre directed me to the right author. The sixth was again, obvious to Christians. The seventh was very prophetic... Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Isaiah were candidates, but Isaiah won out as the day of the Lord is a common theme in the NT that is weighted heavily on Isaiah. The eighth, is well-known as a concept, but the reference has been obscured. Much of Ecclesiastes has been co-opted by culture and the origins lost... just think of the song Turn by the Byrds (may be a bit before the time of some of our younger citizens). The ninth is also a familiar passage from an NT epistle (letter), though less well-known than the other two NT references quoted. At first I thought of Peter or John, but it was Paul.


---
(Half) seriously, I'm surprised that such well-educated and obviously deeply civilization oriented people as are on these forums could have failed to recognize at least some of these well-known passages... especially considering most of the people here are from "Western" civ, with its strong Judeo-Christian civilizational heritage. Doesn't anyone pay attention in Sunday school anymore? Admittedly there are many versions and language choice and syntax may make the verses sounds slightly different, but anyone with even a scant knowledge of scriptures should recognize a bit of something.

Actually, it's a sad fact that the vast majority of Christians couldn't name all the ten commandments if they were asked to, without looking them up. An even smaller minority (less than 1%) could tell you the Beatitudes. More reassuring is that most Christians do know the two greatest commands; to love God and love your neighbour as yourself (which, by the way, are not just 2 of the 10).

[MrWhereItsAt]

I must abstain from this debate due to the separation of Church and State.

[godinex]

Good. At least one of You listen to the Words of the ONE. Here is my fistr miracle. ;P

[godinex]

Captain you know that not by your own. You know the truth by the grace of the ONE, WELCOME TO HIS CHURCH!

[UnOrthOdOx]

Who understands does not preach;
Who preaches does not understand.

Reserve your judgments and words;
Smooth differences and forgive disagreements;
Dull your wit and simplify your purpose;
Accept the world.

Then,
Friendship and enmity,
Profit and loss,
Honour and disgrace,
Will not affect you;
The world will accept you.

[Captain]

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.



But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from the ONE, and not from us.

[Captain]

Godinex, on that note... where exactly is his Church? Currently, I'm living at a horse ranch between Tassagrad and Apolyton and the commute is quite tiring. Between my job as a Justice, my duties at the War Academy, and the Machiavelli Institute, as well as my informal but participation in the focus group developing the Economic rules and groundwork for our nation (not to be confused with Adam Smith's), I'm just beat.

UnOrtho, that one, I must admit, I can't quite place. Is it liturgical? Kahlil Gibran? Unitarian? Lao Tzu? Sounds Buddhist or Tao... or something like that.... hmmm... I'll have to do a search...


[edit] It's from the Tao Te Ching, or Tao Teh King... I prefer the first, just like Beijing>>Peking[/edit]

[UnOrthOdOx]

Right you are captain.

Now, as for the bible references, I was choosing to ignore them, frankly. I percieved this as Godinex trolling for someone to knock the bible, however, which would lead down a dark path, and steered myself clear. Keep this as a seperate entity, and things should be fine, I hope. Or, if you want to literally quote the bible, go join the Fundamentalist faction in the SMAC game, they would be happy for new members. Personally, I get enough bible in RL, so don't expect me joining in this religion here.

[Captain]

really? I was just wondering why Godinex was using such very obvious (at least to me) "plagiarism", whether he really believed or something else, perhaps as you say, trolling. mimicry was my way to investigating, but no one picked up on that.

in any case, I think he's sincere - I think.

Personally, I think anyone can create or import whatever religion they want (Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Tao, Hindu, and whoever... as long as the mods allow it), but considering sensitivities, I think it'd be wiser to foster a holy war between the Banana g0d and the Spam g0d, than anyone's real-life deities. Contests are one thing... but contests between reality and role-playing can't be taken seriously, can they?

[UnOrthOdOx]

Exactly, this one was just a little too close to being real for my taste. I have seen it elsewhere where people trap others into religious discussions in this manner. Like I said, if done properly, this can work fine without offending anyone, but tread lightly. If he is serious, great! If not, I invite him to the off topic forum for debate, or, better yet, to the SMAC game to join the Fundamentalists who are spouting verses left and right.

[godinex]

In this moment I`m talking not as a prophet. Damm! this is just a game. My english is not enough good to be in other topic, I´m a religious man a really like to read the bible but I´m not a fanatic. In the Civfanatics forum we have a very hard discussion with a muslim for the way I begin to write. But here I´m talking for the ONE, or the Other ONE o the deity You want to believe. If You are from the Banana Church or from the Hell Requiem Party I really dont´t care. Just come here and have fun, discuss and I will responde with any verse taht fit in your question. Thats all. Good Afternoon, I´m very busy with my church.

[UnOrthOdOx]

I was aware of this 'hard discussion' and was trying to avoid it here, frankly. No offense meant, as I do not know you, just know that this could have become a touchy subject as it did there. I want these forums to remain fun and civil. As long as all are clear this is meant in fun, you should be fine. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that.

Forward and backward, abyss on abyss.
In danger like this, pause at first and wait,
Otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss.

[godinex]

Another miracle! Welcome to our church! UnOrthOdOx ;P

[UnOrthOdOx]

Whoa, there, I do not join. I cannot quote the good book as readily as you guys, and what I can quote would only confuse alot of people.

Consider me an official well-wisher of the church. I may even attend a meeting or three here and there, but I must wander:


So the sage nurtures all men
And abandons no one.
He accepts everything
And rejects nothing.
He attends to the smallest details.

So the strong must guide the weak,
For the weak are raw material to the strong.
If the guide is not respected,
Or the material is not cared for,
Confusion will result, no matter how clever one is.

And a warning:

Ritual is the end of compassion and honesty,
The beginning of confusion;
Belief is a colourful hope or fear,
The beginning of folly.

The sage goes by harmony, not by hope;
He dwells in the fruit, not the flower;
He accepts substance, and ignores abstraction.

[PadreMinor]

I want to be Your priest oh great prophet!

[GhengisFarb™]

Okay, I gotta ask....
What the heck is your avatar a picture of?

Is that something from Fraggle Rock or the hand puppet for Pets.com?

[Vitreous Humor]

How can we have a Church of The One when we haven't discovered Monetheism yet?

[Spiffor]

Godinex is a spy for Germany

[Ninot]

Originally posted by GhengisFarb
Okay, I gotta ask....
What the heck is your avatar a picture of?

Is that something from Fraggle Rock or the hand puppet for Pets.com?

looks like an ostrich

[GhengisFarb™]

Originally posted by Vitreous Humor
How can we have a Church of The One when we haven't discovered Monetheism yet?

Good point, Godinex is roleplaying ahead!

[Ninot]

Originally posted by GhengisFarb


Good point, Godinex is roleplaying ahead!

no he isnt

we need cult leaders proposing one-god religions before our nation as a whole can accept monotheism.

hes merely playing a vital role for our science department. good job Godinex!

[Shiber]

Originally posted by Ninot
hes merely playing a vital role for our science department. good job Godinex!

Well... he doesn't sound scientific, that's for sure.

Edit: then again Copernicus and his supporters also sounded like raving lunatics a few centuries ago. Uhh, I mean, they will sound like raving lunatics once we build Copernicus's observatory.

[Ninot]

Originally posted by Shiber


Well... he doesn't sound scientific, that's for sure.

how many cult leaders do?

ya think Jesus sounded scientific?

[Shiber]

How can you possibly sound scientific when you violate the basic laws of nature by walking on water?
And why walk on water when you can walk on air with Nike Air (tm)? Now available in the footwear store next to you.