Live Updates: Manhunt for Assassin Stretches On as Minnesota Mourns Lawmaker

June 14, 2025, 10:36 p.m. ET 9 minutes ago

The police are looking for a suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, in relation to the killing of a state representative and the shooting of a state senator. A list in his car included about 70 potential targets, a federal law enforcement official said.

Minnesota Lawmaker Is Assassinated in Act of ‘Political Violence’

State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, died in the attack at their home. The assailant also shot and injured another Democratic lawmaker and his wife, officials said.

“We’re here today because an unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota. My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed early this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination.” “My prayers also go out to State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were each shot multiple times. The Hoffmans are out of surgery at this time and receiving care, and we are cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt.” “I just remind residents of Brooklyn Park. I know it’s been a long time, but those that are in the grid that we gave the alert out to continue to shelter in place. We’re also reminding them that if somebody comes to the door and they knock on the door and claiming to be a police officer, please do a couple of things. One, call 911 and confirm that the officer belongs there. If they are a police officer, dispatch will be able to confirm that that person is a police officer. Also, we’ve informed all our officers in Brooklyn Park that they are not to approach anybody by themselves. They’re to approach in pairs, meaning two officers. So if there’s only one officer outside the door, do not answer the door and call 911.”

My good friend and colleague,

Speaker Melissa Hortman,

State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, died in the attack at their home. The assailant also shot and injured another Democratic lawmaker and his wife, officials said.CreditCredit...Tim Gruber for The New York Times

Pinned

Mitch Smith

Mitch SmithReporting from Chicago

Here’s what to know about the attacks.

A manhunt unfolded across Minnesota’s Twin Cities region on Saturday after the assassination of a Democratic state legislator, the attempted assassination of another and the apparent escape of a suspect who fired at the police. Officials said the gunman was impersonating an officer and carrying a list of about 70 potential targets, and the authorities have been contacting the 70 to warn them.

State officials said the suspect, whom they identified as Vance Boelter, 57, was believed to still be in the Twin Cities area but might be trying to flee. They shared a photograph of him that they said was captured by a security camera in Minneapolis on Saturday, not long after the overnight attacks. He was wearing a cowboy hat.

Officials said that the gunman killed Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in separate attacks at the lawmakers’ homes in the Minneapolis suburbs. The gunman, who was wearing a rubber mask, also fired at police officers responding to one of the homes. “This was an act of targeted political violence,” Gov. Tim Walz said.

The attacks shook leaders from both parties, and many condemned the killings, which took place on a day of national protests of President Trump’s policies, including his deployment of the military in Los Angeles. The president attended a parade celebrating the Army on Saturday night, which coincides with his birthday.

Here’s what we’re covering:

Target list: Chief Mark Bruley of the police department in Brooklyn Park, Minn., where the Hortmans lived, said the gunman’s vehicle contained a manifesto and a target list. A federal law enforcement official said the list included about 70 potential targets, including politicians, doctors, community and business leaders, and locations for Planned Parenthood and other health care centers. Some were in other states. Authorities have been contacting the 70 to warn them, according to the official.

The suspect: Mr. Boelter served at one point on a state board with one of his victims, and a friend said that he was a Christian, opposed abortion and had voted for Mr. Trump. He is listed as the director of security patrols on the website of a Minnesota-based private security group. “We drive the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use in the U.S.,” the firm’s website says. Investigators have recovered a ballistic vest and mask that the suspect was believed to have used, the law enforcement official said. Read more ›

The lawmakers: Ms. Hortman served as the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives for a six-year period ending earlier this year and helped pass several key policies on abortion rights, marijuana legalization and medical leave. Mr. Hoffman is a fourth-term state senator from Champlin, another Minneapolis suburb and chairs the Senate’s Human Services Committee. Read more ›

Political hothouse: Both houses of the Minnesota Legislature are closely divided. Before Ms. Hortman’s death, the House had been evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats have a one-person majority in the Senate.

Wave of violence: The shootings in Minnesota were the latest in a series of attacks on political figures that have shaken U.S. politics. In the last year, gunmen and arsonists have targeted politicians in both parties, from state-level officials to a major-party presidential candidate. Read more ›

Condemnations: The attacks alarmed political leaders from both parties. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, said “it was an attack on everything we stand for as a democracy.” President Trump, who was the target of two attempted assassinations last year, said “such horrific violence will not be tolerated.”

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Adam Goldman, Ernesto Londoño, Glenn Thrush and Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/14/us/minnesota-shootings

Governor Tim Walz

May 14 2025

Wolves in 🖐️

https://www.facebook.com/GovTimWalz/posts/pfbid021JHf6iuXvCTzLLxBeUGWeRuajRxGo6MtEobCSSoif2UXsgwYWHLEB7yq5u2hfqXfl

Governor Tim Walz

June 14 2025

One Minnesota.

https://www.facebook.com/GovTimWalz/posts/pfbid022mUKgobk3kvEYB1cRyBuxd8p6zS7ygnXkx4d7rRi48XkmSFsB211PB9fmFkFAm7Xl

Carson Tahoe Behavioral Health

carsontahoe.com

Phone number

(775) 445-7350

Get Directions

1080 N. Minnesota Street Carson City, NV 89703

https://www.yelp.com/biz/carson-tahoe-behavioral-health-carson-city

Mobile Outreach Safety Team

The Mobile Outreach Safety Team (MOST) is a group of professionals committed to helping community members in crisis. MOST consists of a Public Safety Officer Deputy Shannon, a Licensed Clinician, and a team of Crisis trained professionals. MOST is designed to assist community members who are experiencing crisis including, but not limited to: mental health, emotional, and substance abuse. Their primary goal is to help alleviate the crisis, and to get community members connected with services and support resources.

Anyone can refer someone to MOST. If you or someone you know require M.O.S.T. services please contact Lyon County Non-Emergency Dispatch at 775-463-6620 and request a MOST referral

For more information contact:

Lyon County Human Services

775-577-5009

620 Lake Avenue

Silver Springs, NV 89429

https://www.lcsonv.com/most

Isaiah 14:14

1599 Geneva Bible

14 I will ascend above the height of the clouds, and I will be like the most high.

Read full chapter

Isaiah 14:14 in all English translations

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2014%3A14&version=GGNV

Lyon County Nevada Sheriff Brad Pope

https://www.facebook.com/brad.pope.14

Robert Stout

Lyon County Sheriff's Office

Dayton, Nevada, United States Contact info

About

I have served with the Lyon County Sheriff's Office since January 2004. I am currently also assigned to the Lyon County Gang Unit (2009 - Present) and the Lyon County SWAT team (2013 - Present).

I currently hold my basic POST certificate, with aspirations to obtain my intermediate and advanced certificates in the future. I am an active participant with the Joining Forces/ Office of Traffic Safety grant, being selected for the Outstanding Office award 3 years in a row.

My Department, although small by some standards, has given me the opportunity to learn a vast amount of knowledge about this field.

In my Department we do a lot of our own investigations, traffic enforcement , we are Deputy coroners, as well as a number of other functions bigger departments do.

Prior to working for Lyon County, I was a Correctional Office with Nevada Dept of Corrections. I served for 3 yrs, working lockdown, towers, central control and S&E (search and escort, the yard cops). Learned a lot, but my desire was to be on the streets.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-stout-310898aa/

Pope Leo XIV[a] (born Robert Francis Prevost,[b][c] September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the first to hold Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis).

Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he worked as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was based in Rome from 2001 to 2013, and extensively traveled to the order's provinces around the world. He then returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Made a cardinal by Pope Francis, Prevost emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Prevost's election in the 2025 papal conclave was unexpected by observers; he was a dark horse candidate, with Vatican insiders believing that a pope would never emerge from the United States.[12][13] He took his papal name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV

Fourteenth Rule. Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined and without having faith and grace; we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things.

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Trump posts AI-generated photo of himself as pope, drawing internet outrage

By Andrea Shalal

May 3, 2025 2:21 PM PDT Updated 12 hours ago

Summary

Trump and his wife Melania attended funeral of Pope Francis

Image shows Trump in white paper vestments

Former Italian PM blasts 'shameful' post

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, May 2 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photo showing himself as the pope ahead of this week's gathering of cardinals to choose a new leader of the 1.4-billion-strong Catholic Church, and just days after he joked he would "like to be pope".

Trump, who is not a Catholic and does not attend church regularly, posted the image on his Truth Social platform late on Friday, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who died at 88 last month. The White House then reposted it on its official X account.

The image shows an unsmiling Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, with right forefinger raised.

The irreverent posting drew instant outrage on X, including from Republicans against Trump, a group that describes itself as "pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism." The group reposted the image, calling it "a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith".

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment on the image during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, which begins on May 7.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown. In the meantime, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value."

Closer to home, the Catholic bishops of New York state also expressed their displeasure on X.

"There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President," they wrote. "We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us."

Trump on Tuesday had jokingly said he would be his own first choice to become pope, before adding that there was a "very good" candidate in New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Dolan, the archbishop of New York, is not on the short list of possible contenders for the top spot, but it does include another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. There has never been a pope from the United States.

In mid-February, both Trump and the official White House social media accounts posted a different AI-generated image of the president wearing a crown and captioned "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"

In West Palm Beach, Debbie Macchia, 60, stood waiting with a dozen other supporters as Trump's motorcade arrived at his golf club on Saturday morning.

"He was clearly joking. Clearly joking," said Macchia, who is Jewish. "But I wouldn't want to see them do anything sacrilegious with the pope, or anything."

Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Joshua McElwee in Vatican City, Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-posts-ai-generated-photo-himself-pope-2025-05-03/

No charges for Lyon County Sheriff Brad Pope after leaking case information on fake profile during 2022 election

by Ben Margiott Tue, January 2nd 2024 at 4:05 PM

Lyon County Sheriff Brad Pope

Fake Hank Tyme profile

Brad Pope sworn in as Lyon County Sheriff

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LYON COUNTY, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — State investigators determined Lyon County Sheriff Brad Pope did not break any laws when he created a fake Facebook profile and leaked confidential case information during his campaign for sheriff in 2022.

News 4-Fox 11 obtained a redacted copy of the investigation through a public records request. The story was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

No charges for Lyon County Sheriff Brad Pope after leaking case information on fake profile during 2022 election

The investigation, finished in January 2023, concluded that Pope did not violate laws regarding interference with an investigation, official misconduct or possible interference with an election.

The public comments and messages posted from a fake Facebook profile by "Hank Tyme," later identified as Brad Pope, leaked information regarding the details of murder suspect Troy Driver's 2022 suicide attempt.

One message sent to News 4-Fox 11 sought to undermine then-Sheriff Frank Hunewill, Pope's opponent in the 2022 election, by accusing him of covering up the suicide attempt without a proper investigation.

Comments from Tyme included calling Hunewill dishonest, incompetent and a joke. One accused Hunewill of dismissing complaints about Driver's suicide attempt to make it 'go away.'

Facebook comments from Hank Tyme

Hunewill, who spoke with News 4-Fox 11 via Zoom Tuesday, said he couldn't publicize Driver's suicide attempt because it was privileged information about an inmate in his care.

"It was disappointing because I felt that he was still better than that," Hunewill said.

Just goes to show you that some people will do just about anything to try to achieve their personal goals.

Then-Sgt. Pope defeated Hunewill in the campaign for Lyon County sheriff later that year by just 968 votes.

Brad Pope sworn in as Lyon County Sheriff

As of 4 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2024, Pope had not responded to multiple calls and emails seeking comment sent early Tuesday.

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation after it was determined that confidential information only known by LCSO employees regarding Driver's suicide attempt was made public.

The information was posted to a Facebook account by the name of "Hank Tyme." Investigators found the photo used in the profile was of a lawyer from Maryland.

Fake Hank Tyme profile

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office, through Facebook search warrants and a T-Mobile warrant, found that the phone number connected to the Facebook account was almost certainly that of an LCSO employee.

The phone number was only used to make a few calls, including one to Sheriff Hunewill's wife where the caller requested personal and financial information, according to the investigation.

Though Pope's name was redacted in the released report, investigators wrote that the subject of the investigation won the election and was the new sheriff of Lyon County.

After the election, the Nevada State Police major crimes unit determined that certain elements of the Nevada Revised Statute regarding disclosure of information to subject of investigation were not met.

"Due to the fact that there are no relevant charges that could be identified that would warrant further investigation of this case this case is closed," the report states.

Hank Tyme message to KRNV News 4

"If they didn't think there was enough criminally then, okay, I can live with that. Morally and ethically, is there a bunch of stuff in there? Oh yeah.

I spent almost 30 years working for the system. In the end the system let me down.

Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.

https://foxreno.com/news/local/no-charges-for-lyon-county-sheriff-brad-pope-after-leaking-confidential-case-information-fake-facebook-profile-hank-tyme

Local News

Timothy Cardinal Dolan responds to AI-generated image of Trump as pope, says "it wasn't good"

newyork

Updated on: May 4, 2025 / 11:32 PM EDT / CBS New York

ROME -- The selection of the new pope starts this week, but the focus on Sunday was on President Trump and an AI-generated image he posted on social media of himself dressed as a pope.

Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, is in Rome for the conclave -- the closely guarded gathering of the cardinal electors to choose the new pope -- and said the photo shared by Mr. Trump "wasn't good."

"I hope he didn't have anything to do with it," he told CBS News New York.

The New York State Catholic Conference wrote on social media, "There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us."

Mr. Trump joked to reporters outside the White House last week that he would like to be pope.

"That would be my No. 1 choice," he said Tuesday.

The president added he actually had no preference but referred to Dolan, saying, "I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who's very good, so we'll see what happens."

Cardinals gathering for conclave in Vatican City

calvi-dolan-on-trump-mc-11p-hi-res-still-12-49-3817.jpg

Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, is responding to an AI-generated image of President Trump as pope.

CBS News New York

The discussion over the image comes as cardinals from around the world have descended on Vatican City to begin the process of electing a new pope on Wednesday.

But the subject seemed far from the minds of the faithful who greeted Cardinal Dolan like royalty Sunday at the Roman church that he was assigned to lead by Pope Benedict. The simple, one-room church was founded by Mexican refugees, and it sits outside Vatican City in Our Lady of Guadalupe.

New York City resident Kathleen Awn said she moved from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to that specific neighborhood in Italy, because of the community church led by Dolan.

"I respect him very much," she said.

During the homily on Sunday, Dolan asked the congregation in Italian to pray for him and for all of the cardinals about to begin the conclave.

In just days, he'll move into seclusion to help select the next pontiff. He said each cardinal speaks for eight to 10 minutes to introduce themselves, and they all need to speak honestly to gain each other's trust.

"They just speak beautifully about their own dioceses, so we can get to know the church universal, and they speak about the challenges. They speak about the tremendous blessings of Papa Francesco," Dolan said.

Dolan laughs off prospect of him becoming pope

This isn't his first time among the cardinal electors choosing a new pope, and he said he feels more comfortable and seasoned.

When asked what kind of pope he is hoping for, Dolan replied, someone like Jesus.

"The first time Pope Francis spoke to us cardinals, he spoke so beautifully and humbly and simply," he recalled. "I was sitting next to the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schonborn, and he had tears in his eyes. He said, 'He speaks like Jesus.' I said, 'I think that's the job description.'"

CBS News New York also asked about his chances of being chosen as pope, and he jokingly responded, "Didn't I warn you what would happen after they legalized marijuana?"

One man referred to Dolan as the "cardinal of joy," adding the church needs more joyfulness.

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/trump-ai-photo-pope-cardinal-dolan-response/

Revelation 17:17-18

1599 Geneva Bible

17 [a]For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to do with one consent for to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God be fulfilled.

18 And that woman which thou sawest, is that [b]great city which reigned over the kings of the earth.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 17:17 A reason rendered from the chief efficient cause, which is the providence of God, by which alone S. John by inversion of order affirmeth to have come to pass, both that the Kings should execute upon the harlot, that which pleased God, and which he declared in the verse next beforegoing: and also that by one consent and counsel, they should give their kingdom unto the beast, etc., verses 13, 14. For as these being blinded have before depended upon the beck of the beast that lifteth up the harlot, so it is said that afterward it shall come to pass, that they shall turn back, and shall fall away from her when their hearts shall be turned into better state by the grace and mercy of God.

Revelation 17:18 That is, Rome that great City, or only City (as Justinian calleth it) the King and head whereof was then the Emperor, but now the Pope, since that the condition of the beast was changed.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2017%3A17-18&version=GNV

Politics

Vance says it was "pretty crazy" that he met Pope Francis in his last 24 hours

By Kaia Hubbard

April 23, 2025 / 9:58 AM EDT / CBS News

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that it was "pretty crazy" that he was among the last officials to meet with Pope Francis before his death earlier this week.

"When I saw him, I didn't know that he had less than 24 hours still on this earth," Vance told reporters in Agra, India. "I think it was a great blessing."

The vice president is on a four-day trip in India with his wife Usha, the first Hindu American second lady, whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from India. Vance's visit with his family comes after they traveled to Italy last week to participate in Holy Week events. Vance noted that plans remain in flux about whether he will attend the pope's funeral in the coming days.

The vice president outlined his brief visit with Francis on Easter Sunday, saying he knew the pope was "very ill," but he "didn't realize how sick he was."

"The thing that I will always remember Pope Francis for is that he was a great pastor," Vance said. "People on the margins, poor people, people suffering from diseases, they saw in Pope Francis an advocate and I think, a true expression of Christian love."

Vance added that the pontiff "affected a lot of lives," saying that he tries to remember "that I was lucky that I got to shake his hand and tell him that I pray for him every day, because I did and I do."

Vance and Francis' meeting came after the two men had sharp disagreements on immigration as the pontiff had long condemned the Trump administration's approach. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, told reporters Wednesday that he's aware of the disagreements the pope had with some of the Trump administration's policies, while noting that he would not "soil the man's legacy by talking about politics."

On the selection of the next pope, the vice president said he would "say a prayer for wisdom" for the Cardinals, saying that "I want them to pick somebody who will be good for the world's Catholics."

"But I'll let them make that decision, and obviously they're entitled to do so," he added.

The vice president's trip to India comes amid President Trump's recent actions on tariffs. Vance arrived in India on Monday and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after which the leaders touted progress on trade talks.

The vice president told reporters Wednesday that "we're making progress across the board," though he said of the trade discussions more broadly that it's "a little bit too early to prejudge, to say what any of these deals is going to look like."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-death-jd-vance-meeting/

EL SABOR DE HEREJIA: THE EDICT OF 1525, THE ALUMBRADOS

AND THE INQUISITORS’ USAGE OF LOCURA

Javier A. Montoya

May 2010

Chair: Nina Caputo

Major: History

The alumbrados of Spain were a mystical Christian movement that arose in the 1510s. Initially enjoying noble patronage and an environment of spiritual exploration fostered by the reforms of Cardinal Cisneros, the alumbrados spread their ideas throughout Castile. Led by charismatic female spiritual leaders or beatas, the alumbrados’ brief era of success ended when two of its leaders came before the Tribunal of Toledo in 1524. With a membership consisting mostly of second-generation conversos, the alumbrados advocated an interiorized approach to Christianity under the aegis of dejamiento. The meditational practice of dejamiento called upon its practitioners to “abandon” themselves to God and His will effectively releasing themselves from their ties (ataduras) to the material world that included the Church and the priesthood.

By 1525, convinced of the heretical nature of alumbradismo, the Inquisitors published El edicto contra los alumbrados consisting of 48 alumbrado Propositions followed by official Inquisitorial refutation and condemnation. The Edict of 1525 presented the alumbrados as a dangerous group of heretics in its attempt to delegitimize their beliefs.

This study focuses on the Inquisitors’ diction in their responses to and qualifications of the alumbrado Propositions, specifically their usage of the words loca (crazy) and locura

(madness). The usage of loca is then placed within a discourse about the attitudes prevalent in Castilian society towards conversos and beatas with the understanding that stereotyping and general dislike and fear of both groups contributed much to the Inquisitors’ reactions to the alumbrado Propositions. The Edict also reveals the Inquisitors’ interpretative difficulties in classifying alumbradismo and placing it within their continuum of heresy. The usage of loca as a negative qualifier in Inquisitorial responses was meant to highlight the danger the movement posed to Catholic orthodoxy. The alumbrados challenged the Inquisitors’ cosmological views and pre-established categories of heresy. In turn, the Inquisitors designated the alumbrados a novelty placing them in a third space of heresy, one neither crypto-Jewish nor Protestant and lying somewhere between heterodoxy and orthodoxy.

The analysis of the intertwined factors of the Inquisitorial portrayal of the alumbrados and the alumbrados’ status as conversos and women is placed within an overall discourse that addresses the historiographic problems that historians of alumbradismo have faced. As such, the alumbrados are presented as free as possible from labels of heresy or comparison to other contemporary religious movements. Inquisitorial testimonies and documents remain the primary sources of alumbrado history, however, this thesis attempts to set aside the Inquisitors’ interpretation of alumbradismo when representing their ideas. The alumbrados then function as an example of the growing spiritual and religious unrest prevalent in sixteenth century Europe and as an example of a uniquely converso understanding of Christianity.

https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/uf/e0/04/13/85/00001/montoya_j.pdf

James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman;[a] August 2, 1984) is an American politician, author, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran who is the 50th vice president of the United States serving under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate from 2023 to 2025.

Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio. After high school, Vance joined the Marine Corps, where he served as a military journalist from 2003 to 2007, and was deployed to the Iraq War for six months in 2005. He graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in 2009 and Yale Law School with a law degree in 2013. He practiced briefly as a corporate lawyer before embarking on a career in the tech industry as a venture capitalist. His memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, was published in 2016[2] and adapted into a film in 2020.

Vance won the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, defeating Democratic nominee Tim Ryan. After initially opposing Donald Trump's candidacy in the 2016 election, Vance became a strong Trump supporter during Trump's first presidency. In July 2024, Trump selected Vance as his running mate before the Republican National Convention. He served as Ohio's senator until his resignation in preparation to assume the vice presidency in January 2025. Vance is the third-youngest vice president in U.S. history, as well as the first millennial to hold the office.

Vance has been characterized as a national conservative and right-wing populist, and he describes himself as a member of the postliberal right. His political positions include opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control. Vance is an outspoken critic of childlessness and has credited the influence of Catholic theology on his sociopolitical positions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JD_Vance

Alumbrado, (Spanish: “Enlightened”, ) Italian Illuminato, plural Illuminati, a follower of a mystical movement in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its adherents claimed that the human soul, having attained a certain degree of perfection, was permitted a vision of the divine and entered into direct communication with the Holy Spirit. From this state the soul could neither advance nor retrogress. Consequently, participation in the liturgy, good works, and observance of the exterior forms of religious life were unnecessary for those who had received the “light.” The Alumbrados came primarily from among the reformed Franciscans and the Jesuits, but their doctrines seem to have influenced all classes of people. The extravagant claims made for their visions and revelations caused them to be relentlessly persecuted. The Inquisition issued edicts against them on three occasions (1568, 1574, and 1623)."

https://www.britannica.com/event/Alumbrado

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Pali Buddha (“the Awakened One, the Enlightened One”), from buddha (“awakened, enlightened”), from Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddha, “awakened, enlightened”), past participle of बोधति (bodhati, “to wake, to awaken”). Distantly related to English bid and bede. Also cognate with Russian будить (buditʹ, “to wake up”)."

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Buddha

Gautama

surname of the Buddha, from Sanskrit Gotamah, properly a patronymic, literally "descendant of the greatest ox," from superlative of gauh "ox, bull, cow."

https://www.etymonline.com/word/buddha

BULL of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302

For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass the temporal. This we see very clearly also by the payment, benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the acceptance of power itself and by the government even of things. For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power: ‘Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and over kingdoms‘ and the rest. Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle: ‘The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he himself is judged by no man‘ [1 Cor 2:15]. This authority, however, (though it has been given to man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to Peter himself, ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in Heaven‘ etc., [Mt 16:19]. Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2], unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which is false and judged by us heretical, since according to the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1]. Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff."

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/bon08/b8unam.htm

AI Overview

Astronomers estimate that there are about 200 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. That's 200 sextillion stars, or 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Explanation

To estimate the number of stars in the universe, astronomers:

Measure the color and brightness of starlight from our galaxy, the Milky Way

Use that information to estimate how many stars are in the Milky Way

Multiply the number of stars in the Milky Way by the number of galaxies in the universe

However, this is only a rough estimate because not all galaxies are the same. For example, spiral galaxies can have over a trillion stars, while giant elliptical galaxies can have 100 trillion stars.

Other ways to put it

The number of stars in the universe is so large that it's hard to imagine. It's about 10 times the number of cups of water in all the oceans of Earth.

Missions to learn more

The European Space Agency's Gaia mission is mapping about 1 billion stars in the Milky Way. The mission's data will help astronomers better understand the structure and evolution of our galaxy.

Generative AI is experimental.

In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string acts like a particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory

A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reaction

2 Peter 3:10

1599 Geneva Bible

10 [a]But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a [b]noise, and the elements shall melt with heat, and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt up.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%203%3A10&version=GNV

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid02pZjzLsA4PRW9ph5GMWFVhCWisN73Av74Qon3r7z6mYUAjeYq1Vr4ks74eHJvraxMl

2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS

Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).

NOTE: Ls is the planetocentric longitude of the Sun along the ecliptic of Mars’ sky. 0° Ls is defined as that point where the Sun crosses the Martian celestial equator from south to north, that is the planet’s northern hemisphere vernal equinox. The other Ls values that define the beginnings of Martian northern hemisphere seasons are: summer, 90° Ls; autumn, 180° Ls; and winter, 270° Ls. For Mars’ southern hemisphere these values represent the opposite seasons. Distance (A.U.) - Distance from Earth to Mars in astronomical units, where one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,807.267 miles or 149,597,870.691 km.

Opposition occurs 11 months after conjunction when Mars is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. At that time, the two planets will lie nearly in a straight line with respect to the Sun, or five weeks after retrogression begins. Opposition will occur at 1157 UT on May 04, 2031 (138.4° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.7 arcsec. Mars will remain visible for more than twelve months after opposition and then become lost in the glare of the Sun around May 31, 2032 as it approaches the next conjunction (July 11, 2032). The cycle is complete in 780 Earth days.

Closest approach occurs at 0350 UT on May 12, 2031 (142.1° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.9 at a distance of 0.5533578 astronomical units (AU) or 51,437,823 miles (82,781,152 km). During closest approach in 2031 the apparent diameter of Mars will be 2.4 arcsec larger than it was at the same period in 2029; however, it will be 17.1 degrees lower in the sky - not quite as good for observing the Red Planet for observers in the northern hemisphere. It should also be noted that closest approach between Earth and Mars is not necessarily coincident with the time of opposition but varies by as much as two weeks.

https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet..."[1][2][3] – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs.[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

Edward Snowden Should Not Get a Pardon Under Any Circumstances

Dec 17, 2020 2 min read

Commentary By

James Jay Carafano

@JJCarafano

Senior Counselor to the President and E.W. Richardson Fellow

David R. Shedd

Former Visiting Fellow

Edward Snowden during the annual Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon on November 4, 2019.

SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

The intelligence community is still working to understand all this damage caused by Snowden.

Snowden should return to the United States and face prosecution for the criminal actions he has been charged with by the Justice Department.

Trump once called Snowden a “terrible traitor” and a “terrible threat.” He was right then and he is right now to want him back in the United States.

Copied

Those who think Edward Snowden deserves a pardon are pressuring President Trump to act. That would be quite a reward for a man who’s put our national security at great risk.

The president has already said he’s considering a pardon for the former federal government contractor, who fled the U.S. after stealing tens of thousands of classified and sensitive documents from the National Security Agency, many of which have been publicly released.

Getting Snowden back in the country would assist intelligence officials to determine the extent in which he breached national security and colluded with foreign powers. But he should not be allowed back by the means of a pardon from the White House. Snowden is a criminal fugitive who should be judged for his actions before a pardon can be considered.

Snowden claims he is no criminal but rather a whistleblower who released classified information to expose “illegal spying” on citizens at the National Security Agency and the intelligence services of our allies. But there is no evidence that Snowden ever tried to seek whistleblower protection. Even more important, however, his declaration is patently untrue.

Snowden revealed the data collection program known as Prism, lawfully conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and focused on identifying terrorists around the world with a goal of disrupting their plans. Snowden alleged that the National Security Agency abused such authority by illegally collecting and retaining information on Americans, yet no credible evidence has surfaced to back such claims.

It is hard to fathom the true extent of the damage that his treachery has done to our national security and our allies. A month before leaving for Russia, he downloaded and stole tens of thousands of highly classified documents. He also leaked some of our most sensitive information for collection platforms. This success with distributing so much classified data has made Snowden one of the most notorious traitors.

Russia has no doubt benefited from the treasure trove that he carried to Moscow in return for asylum. All the while, the United States dedicated years working to clearly understand the extent of the damage from the treasonous actions, like unauthorized removal of such highly classified information and the enabled leaks of some of that material.

The size and breadth of the intelligence breach conducted by Snowden remains unknown. We do, however, have a better sense of the gravity of the intelligence losses. The unclassified portion of a document released by Congress estimated that Snowden downloaded well over one million documents that are likely in the hands of officials in Russia.

The same report concluded that the vast majority of documents pilfered from the National Security Agency had no connection to what Snowden said was related to collection of data on Americans. The journalist Glenn Greenwald, who won a Pulitzer Prize for stories on the stolen documents, said in an interview that the disclosures included sensitive blueprints on how the National Security Agency operates. Such information can serve our adversary Russia as directions for evading surveillance.

The intelligence community is still working to understand all this damage caused by Snowden. When he illegally downloaded classified information, he did everything he could to hide his tracks, an effort made easier by the simple fact that the National Security Agency at the time lacked sufficient data removal tracking to account for such mishandled data.

Snowden should return to the United States and face prosecution for the criminal actions he has been charged with by the Justice Department. In the course of this prosecution, we stand our best chance to hear a broad account of what he removed from the National Security Agency and then what he did with those secrets that have not been released.

Trump once called Snowden a “terrible traitor” and a “terrible threat.” He was right then and he is right now to want him back in the United States. What is necessary, however, is a move that will hold him accountable for his crimes and assure that the intelligence community has a total idea of the damage that he has unleashed on our national security.

This piece originally appeared in the Daily Caller

https://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/commentary/edward-snowden-should-not-get-pardon-under-any-circumstances

Edward Joseph Snowden was born on June 21, 1983,[12] in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.[13] Snowden's father, Lonnie "Lon", was a warrant officer in the U.S. Coast Guard,[14] and his mother, Elizabeth, was a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.[15][16][17][18][19] His older sister, Jessica, was a lawyer at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. His maternal grandfather, Edward J. Barrett,[20][21] a rear admiral in the Coast Guard, became a senior official with the FBI and was at the Pentagon in 2001 during the September 11 attacks.[22] Edward Snowden said that he had expected to work for the federal government, as had the rest of his family.[23] His parents divorced in 2001,[24] and his father remarried.[25]

In the early 1990s, while still in grade school, Snowden moved with his family to the area of Fort Meade, Maryland.[26] Mononucleosis caused him to miss high school for almost nine months.[23] Rather than returning to school, he claims to have passed the GED test.[27][28] He took classes at Anne Arundel Community College.[17] Although Snowden had no undergraduate college degree,[29] he worked online toward a master's degree in computer security at the University of Liverpool, England, in 2011.[30] He was interested in Japanese popular culture, had studied the Japanese language,[31] and worked for an anime company that had a resident office in the U.S.[32][33] He also said he had a basic understanding of Mandarin Chinese and was deeply interested in martial arts. At age 20, he listed his religion as Buddhism after working at a U.S. military base in Japan.[34][35][36]

In September 2019, as part of interviews relating to the release of his memoir Permanent Record, Snowden revealed to The Guardian that he married Lindsay Mills in a courthouse in Moscow.[10] The couple's first son was born in December 2020,[37] and their second son was born sometime before September 2022.[38]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden

THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Secret societies by virtue of their very secrecy have often kept historians at bay, and the historians, reluctant to confess their ignorance, prefer to diminish the consequence of their subject. Freemasonry.. is of vital importance to any social, psychological, cultural or political history of eighteenth-century Europe, and even to the founding of the United States; but most history books don't even mention it. It is almost as if an implicit policy obtained: If something cannot be exhaustively documented, it must be irrelevant and thereby not worth discussing I at all. Investigators of the Holy Grail' Freemasonry, French and English, as we know it today, finds its loots in two organizations of the Middle Ages - the Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. What follows is the fascinating, if sometimes complicated and obscure history, of how these two modern, anti-Christian secular secret societies - English and French Freemasonry - developed from two groups that themselves had roots in the occult. We will see how the Priory of Sion desired to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem through its counterfeit Jewish Merovingian bloodline, and how its own creation, the Knights Templar, moved beyond its role as police and protector of Sion to financial masters of medieval Europe. We will trace the alliance of Sion and the Templars, their dispute over the discovery of Solomon's treasures, and the terrible intrigues which followed that led to the undoing of the Templars in their struggle over wealth, power, and politics. We will reveal the beliefs of these two groups: that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene; that a spiritual god of good (Satan) battles a material god of evil; that Lucifer, not Jesus, deserves worship; that a "Spear of Destiny" (later sought and possessed by Hitler) allows the holder to rule the world. We will also present data about the whereabouts of King Solomon's wealth, the plan to one day return it to Jerusalem, and reveal that the ultimate goal of these two groups is world government, and that their descendants, English and French Freemasonry, desire the same. The Historical Trail: The Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail In 1982 and 1986 three secular revisionist authors, Michael Baigent~ Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln published Holy Blood, Holy Grail followed by The Messianic Legacy. These two books dramatically reveal a secret order structured in the manner of Freemasonry, and founded in Europe twelve centuries before the Grand Lodge was officially formed in 1717. This order protects both the Holy Grail and the Merovingian bloodline, which bloodline carried Mystery Babylon into the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. 56 The Holy Grail, of course, is the so-called cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The Merovingians, owners of the Holy Grail, teach that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene. The Merovingians claim to be the offspring of that "holy" union, and as such, assert they are Jews of the Davidic line.

In Revelation 17:3-5 the apostle John describes a vision, which Rev. J. R. Church in Guardians of the Grail believes is fulfilled in the Grail legend. The Whore of Babylon is holding in her hand a golden cup full of blasphemy. Church believes the cup is the blasphemous Holy Grail Another element of the Grail legend is the spear supposed to have pierced the side of Jesus, also known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny. Whoever possesses this spear, so the legend goes, will rule the world. The Merovingians, whose descendants are the Habsburg pretenders to the Austrian throne today, are in possession of the spear. It is on display in the Habsburg museum in Vienna, Austria~ No one, however, knows the location of the Holy Grail. At least no one is telling. Although heretical, this secret society should not be discounted, for it is alive and well today. In fact, in 1956, an Order calling itself the Prieure de Sion, or Priory of Sion, registered itself publicly for the first time with the French government. (Sion is French for Zion.) It is from this Order that the legend of the Holy Grail originated five centuries after Christ's death. Rev. Church remarks of this organization: This mysterious group is presently made up of over 9,000 men, including Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Moslems. The members of this secret sect should be considered unfaithful to their respective beliefs, for in reality they are neither Christian nor Catholic, they are neither Jew nor Moslem. Their doctrine sidesteps the basic tenets of those beliefs and replaces them with the teachings of their greatest prophet - whom they believe to be Buddha.2 From this secret order J. R. Church believes will come the Anti-Christ, for he writes, "Their ultimate goal is world government!'"

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing

9. Interprovincial Works and Houses in Rome

304 §1. In the spirit of our fourth vow, the Society confirms its commitment to the interprovincial Roman works entrusted to it by the Holy See: the Pontifical Gregorian University and its associated institutes, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, as well as the Pontifical Russicum College, the Vatican Radio, and the Vatican Observatory, all of which are common works of the whole Society, placed directly under the superior general. Recognizing the very valuable service that these institutions have offered and continue to offer today, it calls upon major superiors who share Father General s responsibility for them to continue their help through subsidies and especially by training and offering professors and other personnel to them.

§2. Also recommended to the care of all the provinces are those other works or houses in Rome that render a service to the entire Society, such as the Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus and the international colleges of the Society in Rome.[142]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Santa Maria Maggiore (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsanta maˈriːa madˈdʒoːre]),[a] also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great,[b] is one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The largest Marian church in Rome, it is regarded as the first Marian sanctuary in the Western world and the mother of all sanctuaries.[2]

Santa Maria Maggiore is located in Esquilino, the 15th rione (administrative district) of Rome, on the Piazza dell'Esquilino [it]. Pursuant to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, the basilica is in Italy and not Vatican City.[3] However, the Holy See fully owns the basilica, and Italy is legally obliged to recognise its full ownership thereof[4] and to concede to it "the immunity granted by international law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign states".[3] The complex of buildings therefore has a status somewhat similar to an embassy.

The basilica enshrines the venerated image of Salus Populi Romani, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary as the health and protector of the Roman people, which was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Gregory XVI in 1838.[5]

Names

The Basilica is sometimes referred to as Our Lady of the Snows, a name given to it in the Roman Missal from 1568 to 1969 in connection with the liturgical feast of the anniversary of its dedication on 5 August, a feast that was then denominated Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Nives ('Dedication of Saint Mary of the Snows'). This name for the basilica had become popular in the 14th century[6] in connection with a legend that c. 352, during "the pontificate of Liberius, a Roman patrician John and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary."[7] The couple prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honor. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honor of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow.[8]

The legend is first reported only after AD 1000.[9] It may be implied in what the Liber Pontificalis of the early 13th century says of Pope Liberius: "He built the basilica of his own name near the Macellum of Livia".[10] It is shown in the early 15th-century painting of the Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale.[11][c]

The Blessed Virgin Mary overlooking Pope Liberius scrapes the outline of the foundation of the basilica into the snow. By Italian artist Masolino da Panicale, circa 15th century, Museo di Capodimonte.

The feast was originally called Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ('Dedication of Saint Mary's'),[12] and was celebrated only in Rome until it was inserted into the General Roman Calendar, with ad Nives added to its name, in 1568.[6] A congregation appointed by Pope Benedict XIV in 1741 proposed that the reading of the legend be struck from the Office and that the feast be given its original name.[12] No action was taken on the proposal until 1969, when the reading of the legend was removed and the feast was called In dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae ('Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary').[6] The legend is still commemorated by dropping white rose petals from the dome during the celebration of the Mass and during the Second Vespers on the feast day.

The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basilica or Santa Maria Liberiana, after Pope Liberius (352–366). This name may have originated from the same legend, which recounts that, like John and his wife, Pope Liberius was told in a dream of the forthcoming summer snowfall, went in procession to where it occurred and there marked out the area on which the church was to be built.[13] Liberiana is still included in some versions of the basilica's name, and "Liberian Basilica" may be used as a contemporary as well as historical name.[d]

On the other hand, the name "Liberian Basilica" may be independent of the legend, since, according to Pius Parsch, Pope Liberius transformed a palace of the Sicinini family into a church, which was for that reason called the "Sicinini Basilica". This building was then replaced under Pope Sixtus III (432–440) by the present structure dedicated to Mary.[13] However, some sources say that the adaptation as a church of a pre-existing building on the site of the present basilica was done in the 420s under Pope Celestine I, the immediate predecessor of Sixtus III.[14]

Long before the earliest traces of the story of the miraculous snow, the church now known as Santa Maria Maggiore was called "Saint Mary of the Crib" (Sancta Maria ad Praesepe),[15] a name it was given because of its relic of the crib or manger of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, four boards of sycamore wood believed to have been brought to the church, together with a fifth, in the time of Pope Theodore I (640–649).[16][17] This name appears in the Tridentine editions of the Roman Missal as the place for the pope's Mass (the station Mass) on Christmas Night,[18] while the name "Mary Major" appears for the church of the station Mass on Christmas Day.[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Maggiore

Politics

Vance says it was "pretty crazy" that he met Pope Francis in his last 24 hours

By Kaia Hubbard

April 23, 2025 / 9:58 AM EDT / CBS News

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that it was "pretty crazy" that he was among the last officials to meet with Pope Francis before his death earlier this week.

"When I saw him, I didn't know that he had less than 24 hours still on this earth," Vance told reporters in Agra, India. "I think it was a great blessing."

The vice president outlined his brief visit with Francis on Easter Sunday, saying he knew the pope was "very ill," but he "didn't realize how sick he was."

On the selection of the next pope, the vice president said he would "say a prayer for wisdom" for the Cardinals, saying that "I want them to pick somebody who will be good for the world's Catholics."

"But I'll let them make that decision, and obviously they're entitled to do so," he added.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-death-jd-vance-meeting/

Trump, Vance meet with Pope Leo's Florida brother, 'a major MAGA fan', at White House

Kim Luciani

USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

May 22, 2025, 12:58 p.m. ET

Key Points AI-assisted summary

President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's brother, Louis Prevost, at the White House.

Trump publicly praised Prevost, a Florida resident, for being a "major MAGA fan."

Louis Prevost acknowledged his political views and stated his intention to "tone it down" to avoid causing issues for the pope.

President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's Florida brother Louis Prevost at the White House on May 20, after praising Prevost to reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day, calling him a "major MAGA fan."

Trump told reporters he likes the pope and both of his brothers, but spotlighted the eldest brother, Navy veteran and Port Charlotte resident Louis Prevost.

"I like the new pope and I like the pope's brother. You know, one of the pope's brothers – actually both of them – but one in particular is a major MAGA fan. Did you know that? He lives in Florida," Trump said.

"And I look forward to getting him to the White House. I want to shake his hand, I want to give him a big hug."

Later that day, the White House visit happened. Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah met with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.

"Great meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and @Pontifex’s brother, Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah," Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin posted on X, along with a photo of the meeting.

Louis Prevost excited and happy about brother Pope Leo XVI's papacy

The Prevost brothers — Louis, John and Robert (Pope Leo XIV) — grew up in Chicago in a traditional Catholic family.

Louis Prevost said his youngest brother Robert wanted to "play priest" when he was 6 and set his sights on the priesthood as a freshman in high school. Their parents, neighbors and even strangers told Robert, "You're going to be pope someday," he said.

Robert Prevost's election as Pope Leo XIV left Louis Prevost excited, happy, mind blown and a little worried about how the papacy would impact their relationship.

“I just freaked out and said ‘It’s Rob, OMG.’ I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts,” he told WBBH.

“We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him,” he said.

Louis Prevost attended Pope Leo's inaugural mass at the Vatican on May 18. The brothers shared a hug after the service.

Pope Leo's Florida brother Louis Prevost is a MAGA, Trump supporter

Trump told reporters Louis Prevost is a "major MAGA fan."

In an interview with Piers Morgan, Louis Prevost said, "I don’t want to create waves that don’t need to be there because I’m a MAGA type and I have my beliefs,” he said. “I don’t need to create heat for him. He’s going to have enough to handle as it is without the press going ‘the pope’s brother says this.’ He doesn’t need that.”

Asked about his reposts of controversial social media memes, including one calling Nancy Pelosi a drunk (expletive), and how they might affect the pope, Louis Prevost said he will "tone it down."

"He knows I am who I am," he said of the pope. "He's well aware of my position. He knows I'm probably not going to change and I don't think I will, other than to, just like you say, tone it down."

Contributing: Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Herald-Tribune, Ashley Ferrer, USA TODAY Network-Florida

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2025/05/22/trump-pope-leo-florida-maga-brother-louis-prevost-white-house-visit/83773944007/

These are the individuals who act as spokespersons for the philosophy of the Church of Satan, which include the titles of “Priest”/“Priestess,” “Magister”/“Magistra,” “Magus”/“MAGA.” Members of the Priesthood make up the Council of Nine, which is the ruling body of the organization, appointed by and responsible to the High Priest/Priestess. The Order of the Trapezoid consists of the individuals who assist in the administration of the Church of Satan. Members of our Priesthood are people of accomplishment in the real world—they have mastered skills and have won peer recognition, which is how they have attained their position—“as above, so below.” They are “movers and shakers” who are the core of our movement. While expected to be experts in communicating our philosophy, they are not required to speak on our behalf and they may even choose to keep their affiliation and rank secret, in order to better serve their personal goals, as well as those of our organization. Thus, you may (even as a member), encounter members of our Priesthood and never know it." Hierarchy in the Church of Satan

Hierarchy in the Church of Satan - Church of Satan

https://www.churchofsatan.com/hierarchy/

On March 17, 1970, a curious article appeared in the Oakland Tribune. It was a report of an interview with Anton Szandor LaVey, Founder and "High PRIEST" of the "Church of Satan" in San Francisco, and the author of the Satanic Bible. Members of the Church of Satan wear an inverted pentagram, or pentacle (a well-known 'Satanic' symbol) with a a goathead on the inside of the circle. The cover of The Satanic Bible also bears an inverted pentagram, or satanic pentacle.

The Oakland Tribune article reported that LaVey had become " a favorite speaker at the University of San Francisco." When asked about his engagements at that university, LaVey proudly replied, "the Jesuits are my greatest audience." In case the reader was not already aware, the University of San Francisco is a renowned Jesuit institution of higher learning.

The statement by Satanist Anton LaVey about his work at this Jesuit University is no mystery. We invite the reader to give attention to this most audacious passage found in the writings of the Jesuit scholar Anthony Escobar. In his Secret Instructions, Escobar treats to what is perhaps the most innovative principle of Jesuitism (Roma Catholicism): "IT IS LAWFUL... TO MAKE USE OF THE SCIENCE ACQUIRED THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DEVIL., PROVIDED THE PRESERVATION AND USE OF THAT KNOWLEDGE DO NOT DEPEND UPON THE DEVIL, FOR THE KNOWLEDGE IS GOOD IN ITSELF, AND THE SIN BY WHICH IT WAS ACQUIRED HAS GONE BY." Such is the effrontery of the Jesuits; such are their nostrums-my, my, what intriguing doctrines these Jesuits have-these men will sell their souls on eBay."

pages 73-74

"SCIENCE ACQUIRED THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DEVIL"

Codeword Barbelon book One

by P.D. Stuart

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/730632681220167

I began by attending Fordham University in the Bronx, mostly because I wanted to be close to home. I got along very well with the Jesuits who ran the school, but after two years, I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best. I applied to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and I got in. At the time, if you were going to make a career in business, Wharton was the place to go. Harvard Business School may produce a lot of CEOs—guys who manage public companies— but the real entrepreneurs all seemed to go to Wharton: Saul Steinberg, Leonard Lauder, Ron Perelman—the list goes on and on."

Donald Trump The Art of the Deal

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DLcbnLrl6moQT7nGj1JitG6AiQ6qgK0y/view?usp=sharing

University of Scranton welcomes President Biden

The university has illuminated its Class of 2020 Gateway in red and blue lights.

Author: WNEP Web Staff

Published: 10:52 PM EDT October 19, 2021

Updated: 10:52 PM EDT October 19, 2021

SCRANTON, Pa. — In preparation for President Joe Biden's visit, a university lit up their lights in his honor.

The University of Scranton has illuminated its Class of 2020 Gateway in blue and red with the number 46 prominently displayed to welcome the 46th president."

University of Scranton welcomes President Biden | wnep.com

https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/university-of-scranton-welcomes-president-biden-gateway-lights/523-cdba68b1-822b-4747-94be-4cd7e4de9d67

"His son, Hunter Biden, 38, is a longtime federal lobbyist for the Jesuit university located in his father's hometown, Scranton PA. According to federal disclosures, Hunter Biden has been earning about $80,000 a year since 2006 to lobby for this university. Senator Biden himself has lectured at the Jesuit University of Scranton, and received an honorary degree from the same university, in 1976."

Codeword Barbelon

by P.D. Stuart

Pope Leo XIV[a] (born Robert Francis Prevost,[b] September 14, 1955) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was elected in the 2025 papal conclave as the successor to Pope Francis.

Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013, he returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and made him a cardinal the same year.

As a cardinal, he emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

A citizen of the United States by birth, Leo XIV is the first pope to have been born in North America, the first to hold Peruvian citizenship (having been naturalized in 2015), the second pope from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis), and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine. His papal name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution. Leo XIV believes the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, poses "new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor".[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project)[3] is a political initiative to reshape the federal government of the United States and consolidate executive power in favor of right-wing policies. The plan was published in April 2023 by The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank, in anticipation of Donald Trump winning the 2024 presidential election.[4][5]

The ninth iteration of the Heritage Foundation's Mandate for Leadership series, Project 2025 is based on a controversial interpretation of the unitary executive theory that states that the entire executive branch is under the complete control of the president.[6][7] The project's proponents say it would dismantle a government bureaucracy that is unaccountable and mostly liberal.[8] Critics have called it an authoritarian, Christian nationalist plan[9][10][11] that would steer the U.S. toward autocracy.[12] Some legal experts say it would undermine the rule of law,[13] separation of powers,[5] separation of church and state,[12][14] and civil liberties.[5][13][15]

The project calls for the replacement of merit-based federal civil service workers by people loyal to Trump and to take partisan control of key government agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Commerce (DOC), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).[16] Other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Education (ED), would be dismantled.[17] It calls for reducing environmental regulations to favor fossil fuels and proposes making the National Institutes of Health (NIH) less independent while defunding its stem cell research.[18] The blueprint seeks to reduce taxes on corporations, institute a flat income tax on individuals,[19] cut Medicare and Medicaid,[20][21] and reverse as many of President Joe Biden's policies as possible.[22][23] It proposes criminalizing pornography,[24] removing legal protections against anti-LGBT discrimination,[25][26] and ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs[5][26] while having the DOJ prosecute anti-white racism instead.[27] The project recommends the arrest, detention, and mass deportation of illegal immigrants,[28][29] and deploying the U.S. Armed Forces for domestic law enforcement.[30] The plan also proposes enacting laws supported by the Christian right,[9][31] such as criminalizing those who send and receive abortion and birth control medications[32][33][34] and eliminating coverage of emergency contraception.[20]

Most of Project 2025's writers and contributors worked in either Trump's first administration (2017−2021) or his 2024 election campaign.[a] Several Trump campaign officials maintained contact with Project 2025, seeing its goals as aligned with their Agenda 47 program.[8][40][41][42] Trump later attempted to distance himself from the plan.[b] After he won the 2024 election, he nominated several of the plan's architects and supporters to positions in his second administration.[50][51] Four days into his second term, analysis by Time found that nearly two-thirds of Trump's executive actions "mirror or partially mirror" proposals from Project 2025.[52]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0353WKTqpCrSdUBeM4r4upEVw9f7u9jxmseHAqRbsED98y3yLNfm1oj16NFfZiuLckl

The Masonic Word "Lewis"

Nov 8, 2009

(This paper was the first I ever wrote and presented, back in 1979)

Introduction

Brethren! How many of you can remember distinctly your Initiation and all the strange and bewildering events that took place on that night, when you took your first Freemasonic steps. Without doubt, your strongest recollection, as designed, would be of the position in which you found yourself placed, in the North-East Corner of the Lodge Room. Only after having seen other Candidates Initiated, would you have become aware of the actual ceremony itself.

At the time of your Initiation, mention would have been made of the various Jewels and Furnishings of the Lodge. As time and your proficiency in the Craft increased, many of them would have become more familiar to you. However, one item of Lodge furniture somehow seems to have become overlooked, maybe forgotten, but perhaps, more accurately, overshadowed. In those countries around the world where Freemasonry began under the influence of the English Grand Lodges, it is not uncommon to find, standing somewhere in the Lodge Room, what is known as a "Lewis". This piece of equipment takes the form of a tripod, or derrick, supporting, by means of a rope, a block of stone, usually in the form of a Perfect Ashlar. The way the rope is connected to the stone is by means of a five-piece metal cramp and it is this arrangement of metal pieces that gives its name to the whole structure.

Definition and Derivation of the Word

In most rituals, the only reference to the Lewis is in the Lecture of the First Tracing Board, where it is written that the Lewis signifies strength and the son of a Mason. Certain privileges are also mentioned. The Lewis is, however, far more important than is indicated by this scant ritual reference. The dictionary defines a Lewis as, "An iron dovetailed tenon, made in sections, which can be fitted into a dovetailed mortice, for example, an iron contrivance for raising heavy blocks of stone." Many suggestions have been put forward on how this word became adopted into the stonemason's craft, but no completely satisfactory explanation has been forthcoming. Many ideas display no more than the almost inexhaustible imagination of their authors.

One explanation of the derivation of the word, "Lewis", stems from the Anglicism of certain Masonic terms from Hebrew and French. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was not uncommon for the British to adopt affectations of speech, such as the false lisp, pronouncing the letter, "v" for, "w" and vice versa. This letter trait is particularly noticeable in Dickensian characters. Developing this hypothesis, it is possible to produce the word, "Lewis" as a corrupt singular form of the word, "Levite". The Standard English Dictionary defines the Levite as, "â€¦one of the tribe of Levi, whose members were priests of the sanctuary in ancient Israel (to 586 BC) and later (when priesthood was restricted to descendants of Aaron's family) assisted priests in caring for the Temple." It we allow that the Old Testament is the basis for many Freemasonic terms, then, "Lewis", could be substituted for the younger entrants (or assistants) in either the Jewish or Masonic Temple.

The most generally accepted view is that the Lewis is derived from the French, "louvÃ©", meaning, "she wolf". The word, "louvÃ©", refers to the whole Lewis assembly. It is also generally accepted that the, "louvÃ©teau", which means "wolf cub", or "little cub", refers to the two outer wedge shaped side pieces of the Lewis assembly. The word, "louvÃ©teau", was used, in France in the 1740's, to describe the son of a Mason, in the same way that "Lewis" was used, in England about the year 1738, to designate the uninitiated son of a Freemason.

It must be noted that, in the Egyptian mysteries of Isis, the Candidate was made to wear the mask of a wolf's head, hence, in these mysteries, a wolf and a Candidate were synonymous. This Osirian Rite arose from the legend that Osiris once assumed the form of a wolf during a contest with his brother, and ultimate slayer, Typhon. Within Greek mythology, according to Mackey, the wolf was consecrated to Apollo because of the similarity between "luke", meaning "light" and "lukos", meaning, "wolf". According to Ambosius Macrobius, a Roman grammarian of about AD400, the Ancients perceived a relationship between the wolf and the sun (or Apollo). As the flocks of sheep and cattle fly at the sight of the wolf, so the stars disappear at the approach of the sun.

Adopting the generally accepted view that the word, "Lewis", was handed down to us from the French, it is quite likely that the Rev. Dr. James Anderson incorporated it into the practice of the so-called English Moderns. This would have been done when he, according to himself, was asked by the infant Grand Lodge of England in September 1721, to "digest the old Gothic Constitutions in a new and better method". Thus he adopted the word both in its right and in conjunction with the Perfect Ashlar in the tripod assembly. It is noteworthy that once the English practice became popular, it found its way back across the English Channel, and was readily adopted by the French. They, however, adopted the view that the word came from the name, "Louis".

The Implement of Operative Masonry

The operative mason used three types of Lewis, namely; the three-legged, the chain and the split-pin Lewis. The common five-piece or three-legged Lewis with which we are familiar, consists of two tapered pieces and a centre parallel piece, connected by a shackle and pin. The two tapered pieces are inserted into the Lewis hole and then the centre piece is placed in position. The shackle and pin are then connected and the stone is then ready to be lifted. The chain and split-pin Lewis are unknown to us as Speculative Freemasons.

In Operative practice, the Lewis has the advantage in that it lifts the stone and lowers it directly into its final position. This cannot be achieved by chains, or ropes. It also avoids damage to external visible surfaces of the stone, which results from the use of grabs. Our familiar three-legged Lewis is used for doing the most difficult jobs, that is, lifting the heaviest blocks of stone. Because of the weight involved, the forces exerted are high and, therefore, it is useful for handling only strong, sound stone. Weak stones, or stones with flaws or cracks, would crack, or break away. Thus we learn from the Operative practice that the use of the Lewis indicates strength.

The Masonic Lewis

Just as the Lewis works only with good, strong, perfect stone, so Freemasonry exerts its greatest influence on men of good, sound character. The use of the word, â€˜Lewisâ€™, in modern Speculative practice is a logical development from its use in early operative days. The early Scottish manuscripts reveal that the Lewis, in the second half of the 17th century, was familiar with the Mason trade, because he had completed an apprenticeship in that trade. However, like a cowan, he was not a member of the Lodge, nor was he in possession of the Mason word.

There is no doubt that the Lewis and particularly the later development of the Lewis being incorporated in the tripod arrangement, with the Perfect Ashlar, was of particular significance to the "Moderns". As far as the "Antients" were concerned, it was nothing more than another "Modern" innovation and therefore, worthy only of scorn. The "Moderns" were of a different mind. They included the Lewis, in one form or another, in the frontispiece of several editions of their Book of Constitutions. The union of the "Antients" and "Moderns" brought about the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. Shortly before the unification, the greatest opponent of the "Moderns", Laurence Dermott, died and it became clear that one of the points won by them was the retention of the Lewis and tripod assembly. This is proved by the fact that it is still in use today.

By the end of the 18th century, the Masonic word, "Lewis", had the meaning and significance given to it today. The Lewis of today is familiar with many of the teachings of Freemasonry, because of his father's influence upon him. Like his Operative counterpart, he has remained out of the Lodge, even though he is familiar and perhaps skilled in many of its facets. However, if he should join the Lodge, he ceases to be a Lewis and becomes a Brother - the equal of the other members of the Lodge. The early written references show that for nearly three hundred years, some people associated with Operative and the Speculative Masonry, have been designated by "The Masonic Word - 'Lewis'".

Masonic Baptism and Adoption

Masonic ceremonies of Baptism and Adoption are very closely allied and at one time were probably performed simultaneously. They were never popular in Regular Jurisdictions in spite of some attempts to promote interest in them. Albert Pike prepared a ritual for the ceremony of Adoption entitled, "Offices of Masonic Baptism, Reception of a LouvÃ©teau and Adoption". The ritual was published by the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction, United States of America, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Mackey records that the earliest reference to such ceremonies being practised in the USA, was in the Foyer MaÃ§onnique Lodge of New Orleans, in 1859.

The adoption of a "louvÃ©teau" created an obligation upon all members of the Lodge. They had to see to his education and, when that was completed, to furnish him, if need be, with the means of establishing him in business. A Minute, in detail, of the Adoption Ceremony was drawn up, signed by all the members of the Lodge and delivered to the "louvÃ©teau's" father. When the "louvÃ©teau" (or Lewis) had attained the requisite age to be made a Freemason, it was necessary only, on production of the "Minute of Adoption", for him to take the Obligation. Possession of this document gave the holder the right of membership of any Lodge of his choosing, without the usual references or investigation. His character was taken for granted as being above reproach. Sadly, this preposterous assumption caused, at times, acute embarrassment to the Lodges concerned. A number of these Adopted Masons became expositors and revilers of the Craft, thereby bringing dishonour, rather than the opposite, to the Lodge. The ceremony of Adoption is today, still practiced in certain clandestine jurisdictions of France and Germany.

The use of the Lewis in Australian Lodges

The Lewis, as a piece of furniture in our Lodge Rooms and, as a subject for moralising upon, has been in use in "Modern" Lodges since the 18th century. According to current English practice, "â€¦the Perfect Ashlar suspended from its tripod, is generally placed in the south-west, sufficiently towards the centre of the room to leave space for the Deacons and the Candidates to pass outside it." This refers, of course, to rooms set aside permanently as Lodge Rooms. In other cases, that is, where the furniture has to be stored at the conclusion of the meeting, the equipment is, of necessity, smaller. Under these conditions, the tripod is generally placed on the Senior Warden's pedestal.

The use of the tripod assembly is purely of English origin, for it was unknown in Ireland and Scotland, (although Lodge Holyrood House St. Lukes No.44 S.C., was presented with one in 1897) and, as such, they can be found in a majority of Lodge Rooms throughout the British Commonwealth. In Australia, practices vary between states - in some ways, quite considerably. Not all Australian Grand Lodges are specific as to where the tripod assembly should be placed. For example, the document titled, "Information on Lodge Working - 1979", issued by the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, includes a statement to the effect that, "The tripod bearing a perfect ashlar and lewis, suspended by a system of pulleys, when used, shall be placed at the South-west corner of the pavement." This statement demonstrates that the apparatus is not an essential part of the Lodge furnishings, but is permissible. The United Grand Lodge of Queensland specifies the same location in their official ritual. The United Grand Lodge of Western Australia laid down upon the authority of its Board of General Purposes that the tripod shall be in a position on the north side of the Senior Warden's pedestal. The Grand Lodge of South Australia specifies the north-west corner of the mosaic pavement. Lodges under the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales place their tripod assembly in some convenient corner of the Lodge Room, generally behind the organ, out-of-sight and out-of-mind.

The "Lewis" as Masonic Furniture

It is interesting to realise that some of these Grand Lodges in Australia are, in certain cases, continuing a practice which is probably unique to them. In a small number of Lodges, the Perfect Ashlar is raised off its base when the Lodge is opened in the First Degree. It is raised a little higher in the Second Degree and higher still for the Third Degree. This process is reversed as the Lodge is closed and resumed in the First Degree. It appears that this practice, which may be likened to "flag-raising", began to lose favour towards the end of the 1930's and is found only rarely today in just one or two jurisdictions. However, a few Lodges still follow part of the practice. It is possible to find some Lodges in New South Wales and Victoria, in which the Perfect Ashlar is raised and lowered only when the Lodge is opened, or closed, in the First Degree. The Officer performing this duty varies from Lodge to Lodge, but is generally either the Junior, or Senior Deacon.

The most widespread use of this practice is in the Victorian Constitution, where the Senior Deacon adjusts the Ashlar, while the Junior Deacon displays, or conceals, the Tracing Board. An interesting variation occurs in the Centenary Lodge No.54 of the Tasmanian Constitution, where the Senior Warden raises and lowers the Ashlar in the First and Second Degrees only. In this case, the Ashlar is situated on the edge of the Tessellated Pavement, in front of him. If a Third Degree is to be worked, the tripod assembly is removed from the room before the Lodge is tyled. The practice of raising and lowering the Perfect Ashlar, suspended within the assembly, is dying out in all jurisdictions within Australia and in no State is it universally adopted. The use of the tripod assembly was introduced and fostered by the "Moderns" and its introduction into Australia was undoubtably a direct result of English influence. The practice of raising and lowering the Ashlar was probably also of English origin. It is interesting to speculate that it is now only followed in a few Lodges in Australia, having died out everywhere else, including England.

Some Masonic Symbolism

As has been previously mentioned, the Lewis is used in Operative practice only on strong, sound stone. In the same way, Speculative Freemasonry is concerned only with individuals of the highest and strongest character. Lewis denotes strength and this is demonstrated by its use in lifting the Perfect Ashlar by means of a winch and tripod. It also alludes to the son of a Freemason, whose duty it is, "to bear the heat and burden of the day from which his parents, by reason of their age, ought to be exempt". It is for this reason that several jurisdictions choose to specify that the tripod assembly must be located in the West, near the Senior Warden. The reasoning behind this is that the Senior Warden, representing the setting sun, symbolises Man in the decline of years. Thus it is most appropriate that the Lewis assembly should be placed near him. Ideally, the Perfect Ashlar (or father) should be in a raised position, to indicate that the Lewis, that is, the son, is supporting him.

The use of the Word in the names of Australian Lodges

An apparently unique Australian custom is the use of the word, "Lewis" in the name of a Lodge. With big, numerically strong Lodges, it is obvious that many capable Brethren never get the opportunity to demonstrate their ability and progress through the "Chairs". Many naturally become frustrated and disenchanted. Finally, they resign from the Lodge. Also, in big Lodges, fraternal fellowship is never as strong as it is in smaller Lodges. To overcome these difficulties, it had been the practice of these very strong Lodges to form spin-off, or daughter Lodges, as they have been called.

All this is simple and straight-forward, with the process having been repeated many times. However, in the early part of this century, two Brethren in South Australia were in the process of submitting a petition for a new Lodge. They endeavoured to find a name for it, which would permanently identify it with the sponsoring, or Mother Lodge. They hit upon using the word, "Lewis" in its title. Ultimately, the new Lodge was formed under the auspices of Lodge Emulation No.32 of the South Australian Constitution. It was known as Lodge Emulation Lewis No.69 S.A.C., and was consecrated on 8th August 1912, thereby becoming the first Lodge to be identified as a Lewis Lodge of Freemasons. Since that time, the use of the word, "Lewis" in Lodge names has expanded, but the practice has not been adopted outside of Australia, or indeed, throughout Australia.

Lodges, like many other subjects such as ships and aeroplanes, are regarded as feminine. For example, we talk of our "Mother" Lodge, that is, the Lodge into which we were Initiated. We use the expression, "daughter Lodge", to describe the sponsoring Lodge of one newly Consecrated. How natural, therefore, to use the expression, "she wolf", or "louvÃ©", that is, "Lewis", to describe the new Lodge. By simply adding the word, "Lewis" to the name of the sponsoring Lodge, that affiliation is maintained and the close maternal link between the two Lodges remains clear for all to see.

Lewis - The Son of a Freemason

From the explanation of the First Tracing Board, we have learnt that it is the duty of the Lewis to look after the needs of his parents and, for so doing, can claim the privilege of being made a Freemason before all others. It can be claimed that this privilege is exercised by his being Initiated at the age of eighteen years, whilst others who are not Lewises must wait until they reach the age of twenty-one. Such, however, was not the original intention. This is illustrated by an official directive issued by the Enquiry Office of the United Grand Lodge of England in these terms:

"A Lewis has no special privilege other than, should there be more than one Candidate on the day of his Initiation, he can claim to be the senior for the purpose of the ceremony. He cannot claim precedence over Candidates proposed previously to himself and must take his place in the usual rotation of any waiting list of applicants that there may be."

Clearly, this directive means that the Lewis comes first on the day of his Initiation, if there is more than one Candidate. It entitles him, by custom and not by rule, to be admitted before any other Candidate.

A unique membership arrangement exists in the Alumim Lodge No.58 on the Register of the Grand Lodge of Israel. This Lodge, the name of which means, "Youth" , requires that every Initiate must be a Lewis. In this case, Lewis is defined as a man who was born after his father had been Initiated. To these Brethren, fathers and sons alike, the Masonic word, "Lewis" is of special significance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can see that the contrivance called a "Lewis" is of doubtless antiquity, being known to the ancient Romans. As a symbol of Speculative Masonry, the moral teachings attached to it would appear to have been born at the time of the transition of Operative Lodges to those of Free and Accepted Masons. The tripod and Perfect Ashlar can be seen to be of English origin. Indeed, that symbol has been appropriately recognised in England, by being incorporated into the cap badge of the Royal Masonic Institute for Boys. Although the derivation of the Masonic word, "Lewis" is lost in antiquity, to us as masons, it lives as one of the most important symbols of our Mysteries. As such it deserves much more prominence than it receives.

https://www.myfreemasonry.com/threads/the-masonic-word-lewis.9169/

Clovis is the modern conventional French (and thence English) form of the Old Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in runic alphabet) or *"Hlōdowik" or "Hlōdowig" (in Latin alphabet), equivalent to the modern forms Louis (French), Lodewijk (Dutch), Lewis (English), and Ludwig (German).

Etymology

The name *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig is traditionally considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior".

However, scholars have pointed out that Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e. Fredegundis, Arnulfus, Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from Proto-Germanic *hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical Germanic name structure.[1][2]

Frankish royalty

Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler

Clovis II (637 – c. 658), king of Neustria and Burgundy

Clovis III (reigned 675–676), the king of Austrasia

Clovis IV (682–695), the sole king of the Franks from 691 until 695

Clovis (died 580), son of Chilperic I and Audovera, assassinated by his father and stepmother

Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, King of Aquitaine from 781 and sole ruler of the Franks 814–840, but counted as "Louis I of France" even though West Francia (the nucleus of the later kingdom of France) was formed only after his death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_(given_name

The Carolingian dynasty (/ˌkærəˈlɪndʒiən/ KARR-ə-LIN-jee-ən;[1] known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD.[2] The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious till the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.

Name

The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from Carolus, the Latinised name of multiple Frankish kings including Charlemagne and Charles Martel.[3] The name originates from a common Germanic word, rendered in Old High German as Karl or Kerl,[4] meaning 'man', 'husband', or 'freeman'.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_dynasty

The Wolfcatcher Royal (French: louvetier royal), a position also known historically as the Grand Wolfcatcher (French: grand louvetier) which is now known as lieutenant de louveterie, was established as a prestigious office in the House of the King during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration of France, tracing its inception to the luparii of Charlemagne. The office had been a fixture of the French crown as early as the reign of Louis XI, when the first recorded holder of the title Pierre Hannequeau reached prominence in 1467, although it had apparently existed in some form since 1308. Wolfcatchers Royal served under the Grand Huntsman and alongside the Grand Falconer and Captain of the Boar-hunt as members of the king's hunting service. They were responsible for organizing all aspects of the wolf-hunt and presided over the royal pack of wolfhounds and their handlers. A number of lieutenants, huntsmen, houndsmen, and valets assisted the Wolfcatcher Royal. By the 18th century Wolfcatchers, who rotated through office in alternate sessions, received stipends worth roughly between 1200 and 1400 livres.

On 9 August 1787 the office was dissolved due to financing issues but was reinstated in 1797. The office was further modified in 1971 and now serves an administrative function regulating vermin and maintaining healthy wildlife populations. Lieutenants often serve as moderators in disputes between the general public, hunters, and the government, keep the police informed of changes or nuances in hunting laws, and promote the use of ethics in hunting. A major focus of the position is the regulation of deer numbers. Wolfcatchers Royal are still required (in theory) to maintain a pack of at least four hounds capable of hunting boar or fox. There are twelve female lieutenants de louveterie in France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfcatcher_Royal

THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing

Matthew 7:15

1599 Geneva Bible

15 ¶ [a]Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Matthew 7:15 False teachers must be taken heed of, and they are known by false doctrine and evil living.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A15&version=GNV

Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence. It is named after former White House press secretary James "Jim" Brady, who was permanently disabled and later died in 2014 as a result of the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt of 1981, and his wife Sarah Brady, who was a chairwoman of the organization from 1989 until her death in 2015.[2][3]

Brady was founded in 1974 as the National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH). From 1980 through 2000, it operated under the name Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI). In 2001, it was renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and its sister project, the center to Prevent Handgun Violence, was renamed the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The nonprofits rebranded as Brady in February 2019, on the 25th anniversary of the implementation of the Brady Bill.[4]

History

In 1974, the National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH) was founded by armed-robbery victim Mark Borinsky, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. In 1975, Republican marketing manager Pete Shields, whose 23-year-old son had been murdered, joined NCCH as chairman. In 1980, the organization became Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI) and partnered with the National Coalition to Ban Handguns (NCBH). The partnership did not last long; the NCBH, renamed in 1990 as the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), generally advocates for stricter gun laws than does the Brady Campaign.[5]: 111–112 [6]

HCI had few resources until 1980, after the murder of musician John Lennon increased the public's interest in shootings. By 1981, HCI's membership exceeded 100,000. In 1983, the center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV) was founded as an educational outreach organization and sister project. In 1989, CPHV established the Legal Action Project to press its agenda in the courts.[5][6]

In 2001, Handgun Control, Inc. was renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and the center to Prevent Handgun Violence was renamed the Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, in honor of both Jim and Sarah Brady. The same year, the Million Mom March (MMM) was incorporated into the Brady Campaign.[5][6][7]

Leadership

Current

In September 2017, Kris Brown and Avery W. Gardiner assumed the roles of co-president, replacing Dan Gross.[8] Brown was named the organization's sole president in November 2018.[9] Liz Dunning, whose mother was randomly murdered by a serial killer in 2003, is the vice president for development.[10]

Former

Mark Borinsky founded the National Council to Control Handguns in 1974. He served as chair until 1976. Charlie Orasin was a key player in the founding and growth of Handgun Control (HCI). He worked at HCI from 1975 until 1992.[11]

Nelson "Pete" Shields became the organization's chairman in 1978 and retired in 1989.[12] In July 1976, Shields estimated that it would take seven to ten years for NCCH to reach the goal of "total control of handguns in the United States." He said: "The first problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second is to get handguns registered. And the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition – except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors – totally illegal."[13] In 1987 Shields said that he believed "in the right of law-abiding citizens to possess handguns... for legitimate purposes.".[14]

Richard Aborn served as president from 1992 until 1996 and went on to form the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City.[15][16]

Jim and Sarah Brady were both influential in the movement since at least the mid-1980s. Mrs. Brady became chair in 1989, and the Bradys became the namesakes of the organization in 2000.[3]

Former Maryland congressman Michael D. Barnes was the president of the Brady Campaign from 2000 to May 2006.[15]

Former Fort Wayne, Indiana, mayor Paul Helmke served from July 2006 to July 2011.[17] In November 2008, Brady president Helmke, a former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, endorsed the American Hunters and Shooters Association saying, "I see our issues as complementary to theirs." He said, "The Brady Campaign is not just East Coast liberal Democrats."[18]

Dan Gross was president from February 2012 to September 2017. He is one of the founders of the Center to Prevent Youth Violence (formerly PAX).[19]

Political advocacy

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

2009 Brady Campaign State Scorecard[20]

75–100, Most restrictive

50–74

25–49

11–24

0-10, Least restrictive

Undetectable Firearms Act

In 1988, HCI supported Congress in passing the Undetectable Firearms Act, which banned the manufacture, possession and transfer of firearms with less than 3.7 oz of metal, after the emergence of "plastic" handguns[6][21] like Glock pistols.

Critics said that so-called "plastic" handguns contain many metal components (such as the slide, barrel and ammunition) and can be detected by conventional screening technologies. Their response was to say the type of polymer used in the firearms is opaque to X-ray scanners, which would've hidden the metal components.[22]

Brady Law

HCI was the chief supporter of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, commonly known as the Brady Law, enacted in 1993 after a seven-year debate. It successfully lobbied for passage of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, banning the manufacture and importation of so-called military-style assault weapons.[23]

Castle and stand-your-ground laws

In May 2005, Florida passed a stand-your-ground law that authorized persons attacked in any place they were lawfully present to use lethal force in self-defense without a duty to retreat.[24] Brady Campaign workers passed out fliers at Miami International Airport offering tips like "Do not argue unnecessarily with local people." The group also published ads in The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, and The Detroit Free Press saying: "Thinking about a Florida vacation? Please ensure your family is safe."[25] In 2006, when similar laws were enacted or proposed in other states, the Brady Campaign and other critics warned they could result in vigilantism.[26]

Heller and McDonald cases

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2010 in McDonald v. Chicago, Brady president Paul Helmke said he was "pleased that the Court reaffirmed its language in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment individual right to possess guns in the home for self-defense does not prevent our elected representatives from enacting 'common-sense' gun laws to protect our communities from gun violence."[27]

Lawsuits

On March 19, 2009, a federal judge ordered a temporary injunction blocking the implementation of the rule allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry firearms concealed within National Park Service lands within states where their permits are valid, based upon environmental concerns, in response to efforts by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.[28][29] On May 20, 2009, the injunction was overturned by the passing of an amendment to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, added by Senator Tom Coburn (R, OK) over the objections of the Brady Campaign.[30]

Sandy Hook school shooting aftermath

In the month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Brady Campaign raised about $5 million[31] and renewed public interest in passing legislation to reduce gun violence. The Brady Campaign has continued to promote federal reform legislation, including an expansion of the national background check program. Its leadership met with President Obama and Vice President Biden to craft a package of bills aimed at reducing gun violence.[32]

Aurora, Colorado theater shooting

In 2014, the parent and step-parent of one of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting victims, represented by Brady Center lawyers, filed suit against the companies from whom James Holmes purchased the ammunition, magazines, and body armor he used in the shooting. In 2015, the judge in the case dismissed the suit on the grounds that such a lawsuit is in violation of both Colorado law and the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act because the guns and ammunition obtained from the online companies, including Lucky Gunner and The Sportsman's Guide, worked as claimed. He also ordered the plaintiffs to pay the legal costs of the defendants, which came to $280,000. As the Brady Center lawyers would be expected to know applicable case law in such a lawsuit, it is not clear whether the Brady Center or the plaintiffs themselves are responsible for paying the judgment.[33][34]

Assault weapons

The Brady Campaign contends that self-loading and select-fire weapons are virtually identical since a semi-automatic rifle may be fired rapidly.[35]

See also: Smarta tradition

The Bhagavad Gita is a synthesis of Vedic and non-Vedic traditions,[73][b][f] reconciling renunciation with action by arguing that they are inseparable; while following one's dharma, one should not consider oneself to be the agent of action, but attribute all one's actions to God.[14][74] It is a Brahmanical text that uses Shramanic and Yogic terminology to propagate the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or dharma, in contrast to the ascetic ideal of liberation by avoiding all karma.[12] According to Hiltebeitel, the Bhagavad Gita is the sealing achievement of the consolidation of Hinduism, merging Bhakti traditions with Mimamsa, Vedanta, and other knowledge based traditions.[75]

A didactic print that uses the Gita scene as a focal point for general religious instruction. c. 1960 – c. 1970 CE

The Gita discusses and synthesizes sramana- and yoga-based renunciation, dharma-based householder life, and devotion-based theism, attempting "to forge a harmony" between these three paths.[76][f] It does this in a framework addressing the question of what constitutes the virtuous path that is necessary for spiritual liberation or release from the cycles of rebirth (moksha),[77][78] incorporating various religious traditions,[79][80][76] including philosophical ideas from the Upanishads[81][6] samkhya yoga philosophy,[6] and bhakti, incorporating bhakti into Vedanta.[75] As such, it neutralizes the tension between the Brahmanical worldorder with its caste-based social institutions that hold society together, and the search for salvation by ascetics who have left society.[82]

Rejection of sramanic non-action

Knowledge is indeed better than practice;

Meditation is superior to knowledge;

Renunciation of the fruit of action is better than meditation;

Peace immediately follows renunciation.

Bhagavad Gita, chapter XII, verse 12[83]

According to Gavin Flood and Charles Martin, the Gita rejects the shramanic path of non-action, emphasizing instead "the renunciation of the fruits of action".[13] According to Gavin Flood, the teachings in the Gita differ from other Indian religions that encouraged extreme austerity and self-torture of various forms (karsayanta). The Gita disapproves of these, stating that not only is it against tradition but against Krishna himself, because "Krishna dwells within all beings, in torturing the body the ascetic would be torturing him", states Flood. Even a monk should strive for "inner renunciation" rather than external pretensions.[84] It further states that the dharmic householder can achieve the same goals as the renouncing monk through "inner renunciation" or "motiveless action".[77][note 9] One must do the right thing because one has determined that it is right, states Gita, without craving for its fruits, without worrying about the results, loss or gain.[86][87][88] Desires, selfishness, and the craving for fruits can distort one from spiritual living.[87][g]

Vedanta

The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Prasthanatrayi,[92][93] which also includes the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras, the foundational texts of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.[94][h]

Vaishnavism

The Gita is a revered text in the Vaishnava tradition,[95][96][97][98][99] mostly through the Vaishnava Vedanta commentaries written on it,[99] though the text itself is also celebrated in the Puranas, for example, the Gita Mahatmya of the Varaha Purana.[i] While Upanishads focus more on knowledge and the identity of the self with Brahman, the Bhagavad Gita shifts the emphasis towards devotion and the worship of a personal deity, specifically Krishna.[16] There are alternate versions of the Bhagavad Gita (such as the one found in Kashmir), but the basic message behind these texts is not distorted.[53][100][101]

Modern prominence

The Trinity test of the Manhattan Project was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, which led Oppenheimer to recall verses from the Bhagavad Gita, including "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds".

Mass recitation of the Bhagavad Gita by one lakh people in Kolkata, 24th December c. 2023 CE.

While Hinduism is known for its diversity and the synthesis derived from it, the Bhagavad Gita holds a unique pan-Hindu influence.[102][103][j] Gerald James Larson – an Indologist and scholar of classical Hindu philosophy, states that "if there is any one text that comes near to embodying the totality of what it is to be a Hindu, it would be the Bhagavad Gita."[104][105]

Yet, according to Robinson, "it is increasingly recognized by scholars that the extraordinary prominence of the Bhagavad Gita is a feature of modernity despite disagreement over the date at which it became dominant."[106] According to Eric Sharpe, this change started in the 1880s, and became prominent after 1900.[106] According to Arvind Sharma, the Bhagavad Gita was always an important scripture but became prominent in the 1920s.[106]

With its translation and study by Western scholars beginning in the early 18th century, the Bhagavad Gita gained a growing appreciation and popularity in the West.[web 1] Novel interpretations of the Gita, along with apologetics on it, have been a part of the modern era revisionism and renewal movements within Hinduism.[107] According to Ronald Neufeldt, it was the Theosophical Society that dedicated much attention and energy to the allegorical interpretation of the Gita, along with religious texts from around the world, after 1885 and given H. P. Blavatsky, Subba Rao and Anne Besant writings.[108] Their attempt was to present their "universalist religion." These late 19th-century theosophical writings called the Gita a "path of true spirituality" and "teaching nothing more than the basis of every system of philosophy and scientific endeavour", triumphing over other "Samkhya paths" of Hinduism that "have degenerated into superstition and demoralized India by leading people away from practical action".[108]

Hindu reform movements

Main article: Hindu reform movements

Neo-Hindus and Hindu nationalists have celebrated the Bhagavad Gita as containing the essence of Hinduism and taking the Gita's emphasis on duty and action as a clue for their activism for Indian nationalism and independence.[109][110] Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838–1894) challenged orientalist literature on Hinduism and offered his interpretations of the Gita, states Ajit Ray.[111][112] Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856–1920) interpreted the karma yoga teachings in Gita as a "doctrine of liberation" taught by Hinduism,[113] while Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) stated that the Bhagavad Gita teaches a universalist religion and the "essence of Hinduism" along with the "essence of all religions", rather than a private religion.[109]

Vivekananda's (1863–1902) works contained numerous references to the Gita, such as his lectures on the four yogas – Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Raja.[114] Through the message of the Gita, Vivekananda sought to energise the people of India to reclaim their dormant but strong identity.[115] Aurobindo (1872–1950) saw the Bhagavad Gita as a "scripture of the future religion" and suggested that Hinduism had acquired a much wider relevance through the Gita.[116]

Neo-Vedanta and yoga

Main articles: Neo-Vedanta and Three Yogas

While the Upanishads refer to yoga as yoking or restraining the mind,[117] the topic of BG chapter 6, the Bhagavad Gita introduces "the famous three kinds of yoga: 'knowledge' (jnana), 'action' (karma), and 'love' (bhakti).[118] BG XIII verses 23-25 famously mention four kinds of yoga, or ways of seeing the self, adding meditation to the three yogas.[8] Yet, the practice of dhyana (meditation), is a part of all three classical paths in Hinduism.[119][120] Knowledge or insight, discerning the true self (purusha) from matter and material desires (prakriti), is the true aim of classical yoga, in which meditation and insight cannot be separated. Furthermore, the Gita "rejects the Buddhist and Jain path of non-action, emphasizing instead renunciation of the fruits of action"[13] and devotion to Krishna.[121]

[23] He who in this way knows the Spirit

And material nature, along with the qualities [guna],

In whatever stage of transmigration he may exist,

Is not born again.

[24] Some perceive the Self in the Self

By the Self through meditation;

Others by the discipline of Sankhya

And still others by the yoga of action.

[25] Yet others, not knowing this,

Worship, having heard it from others,

And they also cross beyond death,

Devoted to what they have heard.

Bhagavad Gita, chapter XIII, verse 23-25[122]

The systematic presentation of Hindu monotheism as divided into these four paths or "Yogas" is modern, advocated by Swami Vivekananda from the 1890s in his books on Jnana Yoga,Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga, emphasizing Raja Yoga as the crowning achievement of yoga.[17][18] Vivekananda, who was strongly inspired by the Gita, viewed all spiritual paths as equal.[123] Yet, Vivekananda also noted that "The reconciliation of the different paths of Dharma, and work without desire or attachment — these are the two special characteristics of the Gita."[124] Similarly, Cornille states that the Gita asserts that the path of Bhakti (devotion) is the foremost and the easiest of them all.[125]

According to Huston Smith, a notable neo-Vedantin, referring to BG XIII verse 23–25, the Gita mentions four ways to see the self, based on the Samkhya-premise that people are born with different temperaments and tendencies (guṇa).[8] Some individuals are more reflective and intellectual, some are effective and engaged by their emotions, some are action-driven, yet others favour experimentation and exploring what works.[8] According to Smith, BG XIII verse 24-25 lists four different spiritual paths for each personality type respectively: the path of knowledge (jnana yoga), the path of devotion (bhakti yoga), the path of action (karma yoga), and the path of meditation (raja yoga).[8]

Medieval commentators argued which path had priority.[126] According to Robinson, modern commentators have interpreted the text as refraining from insisting on one right marga (path) to spirituality.[127] According to Upadhyaya, the Gita states that none of these paths to spiritual realization is "intrinsically superior or inferior", rather they "converge in one and lead to the same goal".[128]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid03r7LQkf6mjH4b8GSgx6zhm13AwiKJpQLxSuJj8Y2AzBjrXQKLZCmyQN89Awo2ykYl

"The Mother of All Demos" is a name retroactively applied to a landmark computer demonstration, of developments by the Augmentation Research Center, given at the Association for Computing Machinery / Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ACM/IEEE)—Computer Society's Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco, by Douglas Engelbart, on December 9, 1968.[1]

The live demonstration featured the introduction of a complete computer hardware and software system called the oN-Line System or, more commonly, NLS. The 90-minute presentation demonstrated for the first time many of the fundamental elements of modern personal computing: windows, hypertext, graphics, efficient navigation and command input, video conferencing, the computer mouse, word processing, dynamic file linking, revision control, and a collaborative real-time editor. Engelbart's presentation was the first to publicly demonstrate all of these elements in a single system. The demonstration was highly influential and spawned similar projects at Xerox PARC in the early 1970s. The underlying concepts and technologies influenced both the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows graphical user interface operating systems in the 1980s and 1990s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos

20And Adam named his wife Eve,e because she would be the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:20

https://biblehub.com/bsb/genesis/3.htm

Demo

From Old Galician-Portuguese demõ (“demon; devil”), from Latin daemon (“demon”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “god, goddess, divine power”).

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /ˈdɛ.mo̝/

Noun

demo m (plural demos)

1. devil; demon

Synonyms: diabo, diaño

2. (uncountable) the Devil

3. (figurative) an evil person

O demo ós seus quer. (proverb) ― Devil loves his own people.

4. (figurative) a playful kid

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/demo

Lilith (/ˈlɪlɪθ/; Hebrew: לִילִית, romanized: Liliṯ), also spelt Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam[1] and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished"[2] from the Garden of Eden for not complying with and obeying Adam.[2]

She is thought to be mentioned in Biblical Hebrew in the Book of Isaiah,[3] and in late antiquity in Mandaean and Jewish sources from 500 AD onward. Lilith appears in historiolas (incantations incorporating a short mythic story) in various concepts and localities[4] that give partial descriptions of her. She is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 100b, Niddah 24b, Shabbat 151b, Bava Batra 73a), in the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan as Adam's first wife, and in the Zohar § Leviticus 19a as "a hot fiery female who first cohabited with man".[5] Many rabbinic authorities, including Maimonides and Menachem Meiri, reject the existence of Lilith.[6]

The name Lilith stems from lilû, lilîtu, and (w)ardat lilî). The Akkadian word lilû is related to the Hebrew word lilit appearing in Isaiah 34:14, which is thought to be a night bird by some modern scholars such as Judit M. Blair.[7] In Mesopotamian religion, found in the cuneiform texts of Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia, lilîtu is a spirit or demon.[1][8][9] Many have also connected her to the Mesopotamian demon Lamashtu, who shares similar traits and a similar position in mythology to Lilith.[10][11][12]

Lilith continues to serve as source material in today's popular culture, Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror.

History

In some Jewish folklore, such as the Alphabet of Sirach (c. 700–1000 AD), Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same clay as Adam.[a] The legend of Lilith developed extensively during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism.[15] For example, in the 13th-century writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she had coupled with the archangel Samael.[16]

Interpretations of Lilith found in later Jewish materials are plentiful, but little information has survived relating to the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian views of this class of demons. Recent scholarship has disputed the relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish lilith to an Akkadian lilītu – the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash amulets[17] (see below for discussion of these two problematic sources).

In contrast, some scholars, such as Lowell K. Handy, hold the view that though Lilith derives from Mesopotamian demonology, evidence of the Hebrew Lilith being present in the sources frequently cited – the Sumerian Gilgamesh fragment and the Sumerian incantation from Arshlan-Tash being two – is scant, if present at all.[16]: 174 In the Sumerian King List, the name first occurs in a description of a king's lineage, and was identified by scholars as a class of demons.[18]

In Hebrew-language texts, the term lilith or lilit (translated as "night creatures", "night monster", "night hag", or "screech owl") first occurs in a list of animals in Isaiah 34.[19] The Isaiah 34:14 Lilith reference does not appear in most common Bible translations such as KJV and NIV. Commentators and interpreters often envision the figure of Lilith as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness.[20] Jewish incantation bowls and amulets from Mesopotamia from the first to the eighth centuries identify Lilith as a female demon and provide the first visual depictions of her.[20]

Etymology

In the Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia, the terms lili and līlītu mean spirits. Some uses of līlītu are listed in the Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD, 1956, L.190), in Wolfram von Soden's Akkadisches Handwörterbuch (AHw, p. 553), and Reallexikon der Assyriologie (RLA, p. 47).[21]

The Sumerian female demons lili have no etymological relation to Akkadian lilu, "evening".[22]

Archibald Sayce (1882)[23][page needed] considered that the Hebrew and the earlier Akkadian names are derived from Proto-Semitic. Charles Fossey (1902) has this literally translating to "female night being/demon", although cuneiform inscriptions from Mesopotamia exist where Līlīt and Līlītu refers to disease-bearing wind spirits.[24][25]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

What is the lily of the valley (Song of Solomon 2:1)?

Answer

The Song of Solomon is an extended love poem. In Song of Solomon 2:1, the woman declares, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” Then the man affirms in verse 2, “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.” Then in verse 3 the woman responds, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men.”

In the first verse, the woman says she is a rose of Sharon and a lily of the valleys. Many different plants have been called a rose of Sharon, and we do not know the specific species that is referred to here. There is also some question as to how the lily of the valley is to be identified. Suggestions include wild-growing anemone, hyacinth, tulip, iris, and gladiolus. In any case, the lily of the valley was a beautiful and fragrant plant. In the context of Song of Solomon, it may be that the woman is comparing herself to some common wildflowers that would not necessarily be considered valuable or beautiful when compared to cultivated flowers.

On the contrary, the man sees his beloved as a lily among thorns. Thorns are ugly, unattractive, and uninviting. But his beloved is a lily among the thorns—she stands out in his eyes, and her beauty outshines that of all other women. By the same token, the woman sees her bridegroom as an apple tree among the other trees in the forest—he is unique and valuable in her eyes.

The point seems to be that each lover finds the other superior to all the other options. The bride is a lily, as compared to thorns. The bridegroom is an apple tree, as compared to the other forest trees. There might be a lot of trees in the forest that are large and tall—like the mighty oak or the cedar of Lebanon. A rather small, scrubby apple tree would not seem to be very significant by comparison. However, when one considers the fruit that the apple tree gives, it is extraordinary. A person might chop down any number of trees for firewood, lumber, etc., but would most likely save an apple tree because of the fruit.

The point seems to be that comparing a beloved with others is all a matter of perspective. A lily of the valley compared to cultivated flowers might be rather insignificant, but compared to thorns that grow around it, it is beautiful. An apple tree is not the greatest tree in the forest, but when you consider the fruit that it gives, it is a wonderful tree.

This is the attitude that married people need to have when viewing each other. Each spouse needs to emphasize the positive strengths of the other. If one spouse looks around and starts to compare himself/herself against others who are better looking, more successful, richer, more powerful, more talented, more capable, etc., he or she may begin to feel inadequate or unworthy. It is the responsibility and privilege of the other spouse to point out the strengths and to demonstrate that “I only have eyes for you.” If the other spouse falls into the trap of negatively comparing his or her spouse with others, then things can go downhill quickly. Pornography and so much of what popular media defines as beautiful, sexy, or successful can be devastating to marriages because they set impossible, artificial standards that a spouse in real life can most likely never meet.

Every husband should see his wife as the lily of the valley and thank God for the beautiful and delightful blossom He has provided for him in the wilderness.

https://www.gotquestions.org/lily-of-the-valley.html

Song of Solomon 2

1599 Geneva Bible

2 3 The Church desireth to rest under the shadow of Christ. 8 She heareth his voice. 14 She is compared to the dove. 15 And the enemies to the foxes.

1 I am the rose of the field, and the lily of the valleys.

2 Like a lily among the thorns, so is my [a]love among the daughters.

3 [b]Like the apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my well-beloved among the sons of men: under his shadow had I delight, and sat down: and his fruit was sweet unto my mouth.

4 He brought me into the wine cellar, and love was his banner over me.

5 Stay me with flagons, and comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

6 His left hand is under mine head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

7 [c]I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor waken my love, until she please.

8 [d]It is the voice of my well-beloved: behold, he cometh leaping by the mountains, and skipping by the hills.

9 My well-beloved is like a roe, or a young hart: lo, he [e]standeth behind our wall, looking forth of the windows, showing himself through the [f]grates.

10 My well-beloved spake and said unto me, Arise, my love, my fair one, and come thy way.

11 For behold, [g]winter is past: the rain is changed, and is gone away.

12 The flowers appear in the earth: the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree hath brought forth her young figs: and the vines with their small grapes have cast a savor: arise my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 My dove, that art in the [h]holes of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, show me thy sight, let me hear thy voice: for thy voice is sweet, and thy sight comely.

15 Take us the foxes, the [i]little foxes, which destroy the vines: for our vines have small grapes.

16 My well-beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies,

17 Until the daybreak, and the shadows flee away: return, my well-beloved, and be like a [j]roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Footnotes

Song of Solomon 2:2 Thus Christ preferreth his Church above all other things.

Song of Solomon 2:3 The spouse testifieth her great desire toward her husband, but her strength faileth her, and therefore she desireth to be comforted, and felt it.

Song of Solomon 2:7 Christ chargeth them which have to do in the Church as it were by a solemn oath, that they trouble not the quietness thereof.

Song of Solomon 2:8 This is spoken of Christ, who took upon his our nature to come to help his Church.

Song of Solomon 2:9 Forasmuch as his divinity was hid under the cloak of our flesh.

Song of Solomon 2:9 So that we cannot have full knowledge of him in this life.

Song of Solomon 2:11 That is, sin and error is driven back by the coming of Christ, which is here described by the spring time, when all things flourish.

Song of Solomon 2:14 Thou that art ashamed of thy sins, come and show thyself unto me.

Song of Solomon 2:15 Suppress the heretics while they are young, that is, when they begin to show their malice, and destroy the vine of the Lord.

Song of Solomon 2:17 The Church desireth Christ to be most ready to help her in all dangers.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song%20of%20Solomon%202&version=GNV

The Manchurian Candidate is a 1962 American neo-noir psychological political thriller film directed and produced by John Frankenheimer. The screenplay is by George Axelrod, based on the 1959 Richard Condon novel The Manchurian Candidate. The film's leading actors are Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Janet Leigh, with co-stars Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, and James Gregory.[2]

The plot centers on Korean War veteran Raymond Shaw, part of a prominent political family. Shaw is brainwashed by communists after his Army platoon is captured. He returns to civilian life in the United States, where he becomes an unwitting assassin in an international communist conspiracy. The group, which includes representatives of the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union, plans to assassinate the presidential nominee of an American political party, with the death leading to the overthrow of the U.S. government.

The film was released in the United States on October 24, 1962, at the height of U.S.–Soviet hostility during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was widely acclaimed by Western critics and was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury) and Best Editing. It was selected in 1994 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3][4]

Plot

Soviet and Chinese soldiers capture a U.S. Army platoon during the Korean War, taking them to communist China. Three days later, Sergeant Raymond Shaw and Captain Bennett "Ben" Marco return to UN lines. Upon Marco's recommendation, Shaw is awarded the Medal of Honor for saving his soldiers' lives in combat, though two men were killed. Shaw returns to the U.S., where his mother, Eleanor Iselin, exploits his heroism to further the political career of her husband, Senator John Iselin. When asked to describe Shaw, two soldiers in his unit uniformly respond that he is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being they have ever known. In fact, Shaw is a strict, cold, unsympathetic loner hated by his men.

After Marco is promoted to major and assigned to Army Intelligence, he has a recurring nightmare: a hypnotized Shaw blithely murders two soldiers from his platoon before an assembly of communist military leaders to demonstrate their revolutionary brainwashing technique. Marco learns that Allen Melvin, a fellow soldier, has the same nightmare. When Melvin and Marco separately identify identical photos of the two male communist leaders from their dreams, Army Intelligence agrees to investigate.

Shaw with Major Marco after jumping into a lake in Central Park when his programming was accidentally triggered

During captivity, Shaw was programmed as a sleeper agent, who obeys orders to kill and immediately forgets having done so. His heroism is a false memory implanted during the brainwashing. Agents trigger Shaw by suggesting he play solitaire; the queen of diamonds activates him. Meanwhile, Eleanor is masterminding John's political ascent with his baseless claims that communists work at the Defense Department. To spite his mother and stepfather, Shaw takes a job at a newspaper published by Holborn Gaines, Iselin's harshest critic. Communist agents later have Shaw murder Gaines to confirm that his brainwashing still works.

Chunjin, a North Korean agent who posed as a guide for Shaw's platoon, arrives at Shaw's apartment asking for work. The unsuspecting Shaw hires him as a valet and cook. Marco recognizes Chunjin when he visits Shaw; he violently attacks him and demands to know what happened during the platoon's captivity. After Marco is arrested for assault, Eugenie "Rosie" Cheyney, an attractive young woman he met on the train, posts his bail.

Shaw rekindles a romance with Jocelyn Jordan, the daughter of liberal Senator Thomas Jordan, the Iselins' chief political foe. Eleanor wants to garner Senator Jordan's support for Iselin's vice-presidential bid. Unswayed, Jordan insists he will oppose the nomination. After Jocelyn inadvertently triggers Shaw's programming by wearing a Queen of Diamonds costume at the Iselins' party, they elope. Furious at Senator Jordan's rebuff, Eleanor—who is Shaw's American "operator" (handler)—sends him to kill Senator Jordan at his home. Shaw also kills Jocelyn when she inadvertently happens upon the murder scene. Having no memory of the killing, Shaw is grief-stricken upon learning they are dead.

After discovering the queen of diamonds card's role in Shaw's conditioning, Marco uses a forcing deck to deprogram him, hoping to learn Shaw's next assignment. Eleanor primes Shaw to assassinate their party's presidential nominee during the convention so that Iselin, as the vice-presidential candidate, will become the nominee by default. In the uproar, he will seek emergency powers to establish a strict authoritarian regime. Eleanor tells Shaw that she had requested a programmed assassin, never knowing it would be her own son. When taking power, she vows revenge upon her superiors for choosing him.

Disguised as a priest, Shaw enters Madison Square Garden, taking a sniper's position in a vacant overhead spotlight booth. Marco and his supervisor, Colonel Milt, race to the convention to stop Shaw. At the last moment, Shaw aims away from the presidential nominee and instead kills Senator Iselin and Eleanor. When Marco bursts into the booth, Shaw, wearing the Medal of Honor, says he was the only one who could stop his mother and stepfather, then kills himself. Later that evening with Rosie, Marco mourns Shaw's death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(1962_film)

PARTICULAR AND DAILY EXAMEN

It contains in it three times, and two to examine oneself. The first time is in the morning, immediately on rising, when one ought to propose to guard himself with diligence against that particular sin or defect which he wants to correct and amend. The second time is after dinner, when one is to ask of God our Lord what one wants, namely, grace to remember how many times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in the future. Then let him make the first Examen, asking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, which he wants to correct and amend. Let him go over hour by hour, or period by period, commencing at the hour he rose, and continuing up to the hour and instant of the present examen, and let him make in the first line of the G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. Then let him resolve anew to amend himself up to the second Examen which he will make. The third time: After supper, the second Examen will be made, in the same way, hour by hour, commencing at the first Examen and continuing up to the present (second) one, and let him make in the second line of the same G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. FOUR ADDITIONS FOLLOW TO RID ONESELF SOONER OF THAT PARTICULAR SIN OR DEFECT First Addition. The first Addition is that each time one falls into that particular sin or defect, let him put his hand on his breast, grieving for having fallen: which can be done even in the presence of many, without their perceiving what he is doing. Second Addition. The second: As the first line of the G------- means the first Examen, and the second line the second Examen, let him look at night if there is amendment from the first line to the second, that is, from the first Examen to the second. Third Addition. The third: To compare the second day with the first; that is, the two Examens of the present day with the other two Examens of the previous day, and see if he has amended himself from one day to the other. Fourth Addition. The fourth Addition: To compare one week with another, and see if he has amended himself in the present week over the week past. Note. It is to be noted that the first (large) G------- which follows means the Sunday: the second (smaller), the Monday: the third, the Tuesday, and so on.

GGGGGG

"The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

TRANSLATED FROM

THE AUTOGRAPH

FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J.

I.H.S.

NEW YORK

P.J. KENEDY & SONS

PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE

https://ia801306.us.archive.org/8/items/a588350800loyouoft/a588350800loyouoft.pdf

Église St-Pierre de Montmartre

Montmartre & Northern Paris,Paris,France,Europe

Montmartre & Northern Paris

All that remains of the former Benedictine Abbey of Montmartre, this church dates back to the 12th century and is one of the oldest in Paris, though it has been much restored. Built atop a Roman temple to Mars, it was witness to the founding of the Jesuits in 1534, who met in the crypt under the guidance of Ignatius of Loyola.

Some say that the name Montmartre is derived from ‘Mons Martis’ (Latin for Mount of Mars); others prefer the Christian ‘Mont Martyr’ (Mount of the Martyr), a reference to the 3rd-century St Denis, who, according to legend, walked across Montmartre and on to the site of today’s Basilique de St-Denis after having been beheaded by Roman priests.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/paris/montmartre-and-northern-paris/attractions/eglise-st-pierre-de-montmartre/a/poi-sig/1264286/1323143

JESUIT AND ROSICRUCIAN TRAINING

GA 131

This lecture is in the collected edition of Rudolf Steiner's works; the volume containing the German texts is entitled, Von Jesus Zu Christus, From Jesus to Christ (Vol. 131 in the Bibliographic Survey, 1961). It is the first lecture in this series of ten lectures.

5 October 1911, Karlsruhe

Translator Unknown

The object of these lectures is to place before you an idea of the Christ Event in so far as it is connected with the historical appearance of the Christ in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. So many questions of the spiritual life are bound up with this subject that the choice of it will enable us to make a wide survey of the realm of Spiritual Science and its mission, and to discuss the significance of the Anthroposophical Movement for the spiritual life of the present time. We shall also have the opportunity of learning what the content of religion is. And since this content must spring from the common heritage of mankind, we shall seek to know it in its relation to the deeper sources of religious life, and to what the sources of occult science have to tell us concerning the foundation of all religious and philosophic endeavors. Much that we shall have to discuss will seem to lie very far from the theme itself, but it will all lead us back to our main purpose.

We shall best come to a more precise understanding of our subject — modern religious life on the one hand and the spiritual-scientific deepening of spiritual life on the other — if we glance at the origins both of religious life on the one hand and of occult spiritual life in recent centuries, for as regards spiritual development in Europe during this period, we can discern two directions of thought which have been cultivated with the utmost intensity: on the one hand an exaggeration of the Jesus-Principle, and on the other a most careful, conscientious preservation of the Christ-Principle. When we place before our minds these two recent streams, we must see in the exaggeration of the Jesus-Principle a great and dangerous error in the spiritual life of those times, and on the other side a movement of deep significance, a movement which seeks above all the true paths and is careful to avoid the paths of error. From the outset, therefore, in our judgment of two entirely different spiritual movements, we have to ascribe serious error to one of them and most earnest efforts after truth to the other.

The movement which interests us in connection with out spiritual-scientific point of view, and which we may call an extraordinarily dangerous error in a certain sense, is the movement known in the external world as Jesuitism. In Jesuitism we encounter a dangerous exaggeration of the Jesus-Principle. In the other movement, which for centuries has existed in Europe as Rosicrucianism, we have an inward Christ-movement which above all seeks carefully for the ways of truth.

Ever since a Jesuitical current arose in Europe, much has been said and written in exoteric life about Jesuitism. Those who wish to study spiritual life from its deeper sources will thus be concerned to see how far Jesuitism signifies a dangerous exaggeration of the Jesus-Principle. If we wish to arrive at a true characterisation of Jesuitism, we must get to know how the three chief principles of world-evolution, which are indicated in the most varied ways in the different world-outlooks, find practical statement in human life, including exoteric life. Today we will first of all turn quite away from the deeper significance and characterisation of these 3 fundamental streams, which run through all life and all evolution, and will review them from an external point of view.

First of all we have the cognitional element in our soul-life. Now, whatever may be said against the abstractions of a one-sided intellectual search for truth, or against the alienation from life of many scientific, philosophical and theosophical endeavors, anyone who is clear in his own mind as to what he wills and what he can will, knows that Cognition belongs to the most deeply rooted activities of the soul. For whether we seek knowledge chiefly through thinking, or more through sensation or feeling, Cognition always signifies a taking account of the world around us, and also of ourselves. Hence we must say that whether we are satisfied for the moment with the simplest experiences of the soul, or whether we wish to devote ourselves to the most complicated analysis of the mysteries of existence, Cognition is the primary and most significant question. For it is basically through Cognition that we form a picture of the content of the world — a picture we live by and from which our entire soul-life is nourished. The very first sense-impression, in fact all sense-life, must be included in the realm of Cognition, along with the highest formulations of the intellect.

Under Cognition we must include also the impulse to distinguish between the beautiful and the ugly, for although it is true in a certain sense that there is no disputing about taste, yet cognition is involved when someone has adopted a certain judgment in a question of taste and can distinguish between the beautiful and the ugly. Again, our moral impulses — those which prompt us to do good and abstain from evil — must be seen as moral ideas, as cognition, or as impulses to do the one and avoid the other. Even what we call our conscience, however vague the impulses from it may be, comes under the heading of Cognition. In short, the world we are consciously aware of, whether it be reality or maya; the world we live in consciously, everything we are conscious of — all this can be embraced under the heading: cognitive spiritual life.

Everyone, however, must acknowledge that under the surface of this cognitive life something else can be discerned; that in our everyday existence our soul-life gives evidence of many things which are not part of our conscious life. When we wake up in the morning, our soul-life if always strengthened and refreshed and newly born from sleep. During the unconsciousness of sleep we have gained something which is outside the realm of conscious cognition, but comes from a region where our soul is active below the level of consciousness.

In waking life, too, we must admit that we are impelled by impulses, instincts and forces which throw up their waves into our conscious life, while they work and have their being below it. We become aware that they work below the conscious when they rise above the surface which separates the conscious from the subconscious soul-life of this kind, for we can see how in the moral realm this or that ideal comes to birth. It takes only a little self-knowledge to realise that these ideals do rise up into our soul-life, but that we are far from always knowing how our great moral ideals are connected with the deepest questions of existence, or how they belong to the will of God, in which they must ultimately be grounded. We might indeed compare our soul-life in its totality with a deep ocean. The depths of this oceanic soul-life throw up waves to the surface, and those that break out into the realm of air, which we can compare with normal consciousness, are brought within the range of conscious cognition. All conscious life is rooted in a subconscious soul-life.

Fundamentally, the whole evolution of mankind can be understood only if a subconscious soul-life of this kind is acknowledged. For what does the progress of spiritual life signify save that many things which have long dwelt down below take form for the first time when they are brought to surface level? So it is, for example, when an inventive idea arises in the form of an impulse towards discovery. Subconscious soul-life, as real as our conscious life, must therefore be recognized as a second element in our life of soul.

If we place this subconscious soul-life in a realm that is at first unknown — but not unknowable — we must contrast it with a third element. This element is immediately apparent to external, exoteric observation, for if we turn our attention to the outer world through our senses, or approach it through our intellect or any form of mental activity, we come to know all sorts of things. But a more exact consideration of every age of cognition compels us to realise that behind everything we can know about the world at large something else lies hidden: something that is certainly not unknowable but in every epoch has to be described as not yet known. And this not-yet-known, which lies below the surface of the known in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, belongs as much to ourselves as it does to external nature. It belongs to us in so far as we absorb and work up in our physical organism the materials and forces of the outer world; and inasmuch as we have within us a portion of nature, we have also within us a portion of the unknown in nature. So in the world wherein we live we must distinguish a triad: our conscious spiritual life; our subconscious soul-life below the threshold of consciousness; and that which, as the unknown in nature and at the same time in man, lives in us as part of the great unknown Nature.

This triad emerges directly from a rational observation of the world. And if looking away from all dogmatic statements, from all philosophical or theosophical traditions, in so far as these are clothed in conceptual definitions or formulations, we may ask: How has the human mind always expressed the fact that this triad is present not only in the immediate environment, but in the whole world to which man himself belongs? We must then reply: Man gives the name of Spirit to all that can be known within the horizon of the conscious. He designates as the Son or the Logos that which works in the subconscious and throws up only its waves from down below. And to that which belongs equally to the unknown in Nature, and to the part of our own being which is of one kind with Nature, the name of the Father-Principle has always been given, because it was felt to express the relation of the third principle to the other two.

Besides what has now been said concerning the Spirit, the Son and the Father-Principle, it can be taken for granted that other differentiations we have formerly made, and also the differentiations made in this or that philosophy, have their justifications. But we can say that the most widely accepted idea of this differentiation corresponds with the account of it given here.

Now let us ask: How can we characterise the transition from that which belongs to the Spirit, and so plays directly into the conscious life of the soul, to the subconscious element which belongs to the Son-Principle? We shall best grasp this transition if we realise that into ordinary human consciousness there plays quite distinctly the element we designate as Will, in contrast to the elements of ideations and feeling. If we rightly interpret the Bible saying, ‘The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’, it indicates that everything grasped by consciousness lies in the realm of the Spirit, whereas by ‘the flesh’ is meant everything that lies more in the subconscious. As to the nature of the Will, we need only think of that which plays up from the subconscious and enters into our consciousness only when we form concepts of it. Only when we transform into concepts and ideas the dark impelling forces which are rooted in the elemental part of the soul — only then do they enter the realm of the Spirit; otherwise they remain in the realm of the Son-Principle. And since the Will plays through our feelings into the life of ideas, we see quite clearly the breaking out into the conscious of the waves from the subconscious ocean. In our threefold soul-life we have two elements, ideation and feeling, which belong to conscious life, but feeling descends directly into the realm of the Will, and the nearer we come to the impulses of Will, the further we descend into the subconscious, the dark realms into which we sink completely when consciousness is engulfed in deep, dreamless sleep.

Thus we see that the Will-element, because it descends into the realm of the subconscious, stands towards the individual being of man in a relationship quite different from that of cognition, the realm of the Spirit. And so, when we differentiate between Spirit and Son, we may be impelled to surmise that man's relationship to the Spirit is different from his relationship to the Son. How is this to be understood?

Even in exoteric life it is quite easy to understand. Certainly the realm of cognition has given rise to all kinds of debate, but if people would only come to understand one another concerning the concepts and ideas they formulate for themselves, controversy over questions of cognition would gradually cease. I have often emphasised that we no longer dispute over mathematics, because we have raised mathematics entirely into consciousness. The things we dispute about are those not yet raised into consciousness: we still allow our subconscious impulses, instincts and passions to play into them.

So we see that in the realm of cognition we have to do with something more universally human than anything to be found in the subconscious realm. When we meet another human being and enter into the most varied relationships with him, it is in the realm of conscious spiritual life that understanding should be possible. And a mark of a healthy soul-life is that it will always wish and hope to reach an understanding with the other person concerning things that belong to conscious spiritual life. It will be unhealthy for the soul if that hope is lost.

On the other hand, we must recognise the Will-element, and everything in another person's subconscious, as something which should on no account be intruded upon; it must be regarded as his innermost sanctuary. We need consider only how unpleasant to a healthy soul-life is the feeling that the Will of another man is being put under compulsion. It is not only aesthetically but morally unpleasant to see the conscious soul-life of anyone eliminated by hypnotism or any other powerful means; or to see the Will-power of one person working directly on the Will of another. The only healthy way to gain influence over another person's Will is through Cognition. Cognition should be the means whereby one soul comes to an understanding with another. A person must first translate his wishes into a conceptual form: then they may influence another person's cognition, and they should touch his Will only by this indirect route. Nothing else can be satisfactory in the highest, most ideal sense to a healthy life of soul. Every kind of forcible working of Will upon Will must evoke an unpleasant impression.

In other words, human nature strives, in so far as it is healthy, to develop in the realm of the Spirit the life it has in common with others, and to cherish and respect the realm of the subconscious, in so far as it comes to statement in the human organism, as an inviolable sanctuary that should rest in the personality, the individuality, of each man and should not be approached save through the door of conscious cognition. So at least a modern consciousness, attuned to our epoch, must feel if it is to know itself to be healthy.

In later lectures we shall see whether this was so in all periods of human evolution. What has been said today will help us to think clearly about what is outside us and what is within us, at least for our own period. This leads to the conclusion that fundamentally the realm of the Son — embracing everything that we designate as the Son or Logos — must be awakened in each individual as a quite personal concern; and that the realm of common life, where men may be influenced by one another, is the realm of the Spirit.

We see this expressed in the grandest, most significant way in the New Testament accounts of the attitude of Christ Jesus towards His first disciples and followers. ====================== From all that is told concerning the Christ-Event we can gather that the followers who had hastened to Jesus during his life-time were bewildered when His life ended with the crucifixion; with that form of death which, in the land where the Christ Event took its course, was regarded as the only possible expiration for the greatest crimes. And although this death on the cross did not affect everyone as it did Saul, who later became Paul, and as Saul had concluded that someone who suffered such a death could not be the Messiah, or the Christ — for the crucifixion had made a milder impression on the disciples, one might say — yet it is obvious that the writers of the Gospels wished to give the impression that Christ Jesus, through his subjection to the shameful death on the cross, had forfeited some of the effect He had had on the hearts of those around Him.

But with this account something else is connected. The influence that Christ Jesus had acquired — an influence we must characterise more exactly during these lectures — was restored to Him after the Resurrection. Whatever may be our present thoughts about the Resurrection, we shall have to discuss it here in the light of occult science; and then, if we simply go by the Gospel narratives, one thing will be clear: for those to whom Christ appeared after the Resurrection He had become someone who was present in a quite special way, different entirely from His previous presence.

In speaking on the Gospel of St. John I have already pointed out how impossible it would have been for anyone who knew Jesus not to regognise Him after 3 days, or to confuse Him with someone else, if He had not appeared in an altered form. The Evangelists wish particularly to evoke the impression that the Christ appeared in this altered form. But they also wish to indicate something else. For the Christ to exert influence on human souls, a certain receptivity in those souls was necessary. And this receptivity had to be acted on not merely by an influence from the realm of the Spirit but by the actual sight of the Christ-Being.

If we ask what this signifies, we must realise that when a person stands before us, his effect upon us goes beyond anything we are conscious of. Whenever a human being or other being works upon us, unconscious elements affect our soul-life; they are produced by the other being indirectly through consciousness, but he can produce them only if he stands before us in actuality. What the Christ brought about from person to person after the so-called Resurrection was something that worked up from the unconscious soul-powers of the disciples into their soul-life: an acquaintance with the Son. Hence the differences in the portrayal of the risen Christ; hence, too, the variations in the accounts, showing how the Christ appeared to one or other person, according to the disposition of the person concerned. Here we see the Christ-Being acting on the subconscious part of the souls of the disciples; hence the appearances are quite individual, and we should not complain because they are not uniform.

If, however, the significance of the Christ for the world was to be His bringing to all men something common to all of them, then not only this individual working of the Son had to proceed from the Christ, but the element of Spirit, which can encompass something that belongs to all men, had to be renewed by Him. This is indicated by the statement, that after the Christ had worked upon the Logos-nature of man, He sent forth the Spirit in the form of the renewed or ‘holy, Spirit’. Thus was created that element common to all men which is characterised when we are told that the disciples, after they had received the Spirit, began to speak in the most diverse tongues. Here we are shown how the common element resides in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And something else is indicated; how different is this out-pouring of the Spirit from the simple imparting of the power of the Son, for in the Acts of the Apostles we are told that certain persons to whom the apostles came had already received the Jesus-baptism, and yet they had now to receive for the first time the Spirit, symbolically indicated by the laying on of hands. In the characterisation of the Christ-working, which acts upon the subconscious impulses of the soul and so must have a personal, inward character, and the Spirit-element, which represents something common to all mankind.

It is this Spirit-element that those who have named themselves ‘Rosicrucians’ have sought to preserve most carefully, as far as human weakness permits. The Rosicrucians have always wished to adhere strictly to the rule that even in the highest regions of Initiation nothing must be worked upon except the Spirit-element which, as common between man and man, is available in the evolution of humanity. It was never an Initiation of the Will, for the Will of man was to be respected as a sanctuary in the innermost part of the soul. Hence the individual was led to those Initiations which were to take him beyond the stage of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition, but always so that he could recognise within himself the response which the development of the Spirit-element was to call forth. No influence was to be exerted on the Will.

We must not mistake this attitude for one of indifference towards the Will. The point is that by excluding all direct working upon the Will, the purest spiritual influence was imparted indirectly through the Spirit. When we come to an understanding with another man with regard to entering on the path of knowledge of the Spirit, light and warmth are radiated from the spiritual path, and they then enkindle the Will, but always by the indirect path through the Spirit — never otherwise.

In Rosicrucianism, therefore, we can observe in the highest sense that impulse of Christianity which finds twofold statement: on the one hand in the Son-element, in the Christ-working which goes down deeply into the subconscious; on the other, in the Spirit-working which embraces all that falls within the horizon of our consciousness. We must indeed bear the Christ in our Will; but the way in which man should come to an understanding with each other in life concerning the Christ can be found only — in the Rosicrucian sense — through a conscious soul-life which penetrates ever more deeply into the occult.

In reaction against many other spiritual streams in Europe, the opposite way was taken by those who are usually called Jesuits. The radical, fundamental difference between what we justifiably call the Christian way of the Spirit and the Jesuit way of the Spirit, which gives a one-sided exaggeration to the Jesus-Principle, is that the intention of the Jesuit way is to work directly, at all times upon the Will. The difference is clearly shown in the method by which the pupil of Jesuitism is educated. Jesuitism is not to be taken lightly, or merely exoterically, but also esoterically, for it is rooted in esotericism. It is not, however, rooted in the spiritual life that is poured out through the symbol of Pentacost, but it seeks to root itself directly in the Jesus-element of the Son, which means in the Will; and thereby it exaggerates the Jesus-element of the Will.

This will be seen when we now enquire into the esoteric part of Jesuitism, its various spiritual exercises. How were these exercises arranged? The essential point is that every single pupil of Jesuitism goes through exercises which lead into the occult life, but into the Will, and within the field of occultism they hold the Will in severe discipline; they ‘break it in’, one might say. And the significant fact is that this discipline of the Will does not arise merely from the surface of life, but from something deeper, because the pupil has been led into the occult, in the way just indicated.

If now, leaving aside the exercises of prayer preparatory to all Jesuit exercises, we consider these occult exercises, at least in their chief points, we find that the pupil has first to call up a vivid Imagination of Christ Jesus as the King of the Worlds — mark this carefully: an Imagination. And no one would be received into the degrees of Jesuitism who had not gone through such exercises, and had not experienced in his soul the transformation which such psychic exercises mean for the whole man. But this Imaginative presentation of Christ Jesus as King of the Worlds has to be preceded by something else. The pupil has to call up for himself, in absolute solitude and seclusion, a picture of man as he was created in the world, and how by falling into sin he incurred the possibility of most terrible punishments. And it is strictly prescribed how one must picture such a man; how if he were left to himself he would incur the utmost of torturing penalties. The rules are extraordinarily severe. With all other concepts or ideas excluded, this picture must live uninterruptedly within the soul of the future Jesuit, the picture of the God-forsaken man, the man exposed to the most fearful punishments, together with the feeling: ‘That am I, since I have come into the world and have forsaken God, and have exposed myself to the possibility of the most fearful punishments.’ This must call forth the fear of being forsaken by God, and detestation of man as he is according to his own nature.

Then, in a further Imagination, over against the picture of the outcast, God-forsaken man, must be set the picture of the God full of pity who then became Christ, and through His acts on earth atones for what man has brought about by forsaking the divine path. In contrast to the Imagination of the God-forsaken man, there must arise that of the all-merciful, loving Being, Christ Jesus, to whom alone it is due that man is not exposed to all possible punishments working upon his soul. And, just as vividly as a feeling of contempt for the forsaking of the divine path had first to become fixed in the soul of the Jesuit pupil, so must a feeling of humility and contrition now take hold of him in the presence of Christ.

When these 2 feelings have been called forth in the pupil, then for several weeks he has to practise severe exercises, picturing to himself in Imagination all details of the life of Jesus from his birth to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. And all that can arise in the soul emerges when the pupil lives in rigorous seclusion and, except for necessary meals, lets nothing else work upon his soul than the pictures which the Gospels give of the compassionate life of Jesus. But these pictures do not merely appear before him in thoughts and ideas; they must work upon his soul in vivid, living Imaginations.

Only someone who really knows how the human soul is transformed through Imaginations which work with full living power — only he knows that under such conditions the soul is in fact completely changed. Such Imaginations, because they are concentrated in the most intense, one-sided way, first on sinful man, secondly on the compassionate God, and then only on the pictures from the New Testament, evoke precisely, through the law of polarity, a strengthened Will. These pictures produce their effect directly, at first hand, for any reflection upon them must be dutifully excluded. It is solely a matter of holding before one's mind these Imaginations, as they have been described.

What then follows is this. In the further exercises Christ Jesus — and now we may no longer say Christ, but exclusively Jesus — is represented as the universal King of the Worlds, and thereby the Jesus element is exaggerated. Because Christ had to be incarnated in a human body, the purely spiritual took part in the physical world; but over against this participation stand the monumental and most significant words: “My kingdom is not of this world.” We can exaggerate the Jesus element by making Jesus into a king of this world, by making Him that which He would have become if He had not resisted the tempter who wished to give Him ‘all the kingdoms of the world and the glory thereof’. Then Jesus of Nazareth would have been a king who, unlike other kinds who possess only a portion of the earth, would have had the whole earth under his sway. If we think of this kind portrayed in this guise, his kingly power so increased that the whole earth is his domain, then we should have the very picture that followed the other exercises through which the personal will of each Jesuit pupil had been sufficiently strengthened.

To prepare for this picture of “King Jesus”, this Ruler over all the kingdoms of the earth, the pupil had to form an Imagination of Babylon and the plain around Babylon as a living picture, and, enthroned over Babylon, Lucifer with his banner. This picture had to be visualized with great exactitude, for it is a powerful imagination: King Lucifer, with his banner and his hosts of Luciferic angels, seated amidst fire and dense smoke, as he sends out his angels to conquer the kingdoms of the earth. And the whole danger that issues from the ‘banner of Lucifer’ must first of all be imagined by itself, without casting a glance upon Christ Jesus. The soul must be entirely engrossed in the Imagination of the danger which issues from the banner of Lucifer. The soul must learn to feel that the greatest danger to the world's existence that could be conjured forth would be a victory for the banner of Lucifer. And when this picture has had its effect, the other Imagination, ‘The banner of Jesus’, must take its place. The pupil must now visualise Jerusalem and the plain around Jerusalem; King Jesus with His hosts, how he conquers and drives off the hosts of Lucifer and makes Himself King of the whole earth — the victory of the banner of Jesus over the banner of Lucifer.

These are the strength-giving Imaginations for the Will which are brought before the soul of the Jesuit pupil. This is what completely changes his Will; makes him such that in his Will, because it is trained occultly, he turns away from everything else and surrenders absolutely to the idea: ‘King Jesus must become the Ruler upon earth, and we who belong to His army have to employ every means to make Him Ruler of the earth. To this we pledge ourselves, we who belong to His host assembled on the plain of Jerusalem, against the host of Lucifer assembled on the plain of Babylon. And the greatest disgrace for a soldier of King Jesus is to forsake His banner.’

These ideas, gathered up into a single resolution of the Will, can certainly give the Will immense strength. But we must ask: what is it in the soul-life that has been directly attacked? The element that ought not to be touched — the Will-element. In so far as this Jesuit training lays hold of the Will-element, while the Jesus-idea seizes the Will-element completely, in so far is the concept of the dominion of Jesus exaggerated in the most dangerous way — dangerous because through it the Will becomes so strong that it can work directly upon the Will of another. For where the Will becomes so strong through Imaginations, which means by occult means, it acquires the capacity for working directly upon the Will of another, and hence also along all the other occult paths to which such a Will can have recourse.

Thus we see how in recent centuries we encounter these two movements, among many others: one has exaggerated the Jesus-element and sees in ‘King Jesus’ the sole ideal of Christianity, which the other looks solely at the Christ-element and carefully sets aside anything that could go beyond it. This second outlook has been much calumniated because it maintains that Christ has sent the Spirit, so that, indirectly through the Spirit, Christ can enter into the hearts and minds of men. In the development of civilisation during the last few centuries there is hardly a greater contrast than that between Jesuitism and Rosicrucianism, for Jesuitism contains nothing of what Rosicrucianism regards as the highest ideal concerning human worth and human dignity, while Rosicrucianism has always sought to guard itself from any influence which could in the remotest sense be called Jesuitical.

In this lecture I wished to show how even so lofty an element as the Jesus-Principle can be exaggerated and then becomes dangerous, and how necessary it is to sink oneself into the depths of the Christ-Being if we wish to understand how the strength of Christianity must reside in esteeming, to the very highest degree, human dignity and human worth, and in strictly refraining from groping our clumsy way into man's inmost sanctuary. Rosicrucianism, even more than Christian mysticism, is attacked by the Jesuit element, because the Jesuits feel that true Christianity is being sought elsewhere than in the setting which offers merely ‘King Jesus’ in the leading role. But the Imaginations here indicated, together with the prescribed exercises, have made the Will so strong that even protests brought against it in the name of the Spirit can be defeated.

https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19111005p01.html

“Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to). This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view?usp=sharing

Robert Blair Kaiser (January 11, 1931 – April 2, 2015) was an American author and journalist, best known for his writing on the Catholic Church.[1]

Biography

Kaiser trained as a Jesuit from 1949 to 1959. He left the order and his intention to be ordained to the priesthood, to become a journalist and to marry.[2][3]

As a correspondent for Time Magazine, he won the Overseas Press Club's Ed Cunningham Award in 1962 for the "best magazine reporting from abroad" for his reporting on the Second Vatican Council.[4]

From 1981 until 1983, Kaiser was the Chairman of the University of Nevada's Journalism Department in Reno. Rapid growth of the department, prior to becoming an independent school from the College of Arts and Science, happened under Kaiser's tenure.

Four of his sixteen published books[3] deal with Catholic Church reform. His books include A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the Battle for the Future and Cardinal Mahony: A Novel. A new version of his 1970 best seller, R.F.K. Must Die! was published in 2008, with a new sub-title, Chasing the Mystery of the Robert Kennedy Assassination.

In a speech in Ireland on August 19, 2010, at the Humbert Summer School, entitled "Catholic Church Reform: No More Thrones", Kaiser called for Irish Catholics to boldly initiate an ecclesiastical revolution through which they would remove secretive hierarchy, take back their cathedrals, and elect their own bishops.[5] He was co-founder of takebackourchurch.org, a web community of American Catholics seeking "ownership and citizenship in the people's church envisioned at Vatican II", Catholic Church Reform International and on the Board of Directors of Catholic Church Reform International.[6][3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blair_Kaiser

People v. Sirhan

Annotate this Case

[Crim. No. 14026. Supreme Court of California. June 16, 1972.]

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. SIRHAN BISHARA SIRHAN, Defendant and Appellant

In Bank. (Opinion by Burke, J., with Wright, C. J., Peters, Tobriner, Mosk and Sullivan, JJ., concurring. Separate concurring and dissenting opinion by McComb, J.)

COUNSEL

George E. Shibley, Luke McKissack, Abdeen Jabara, Grant Cooper, Russell Parsons, Robert E. Mundy, Martha Goldin, Godfrey Isaac and Ernest L. Graves for Defendant and Appellant.

Evelle J. Younger, Attorney General, William E. James, Assistant Attorney General, and Ronald M. George, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

BURKE, J.

A jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder of Senator Robert Kennedy and fixed the penalty at death for that crime. [7 Cal. 3d 717] The jury also found defendant guilty on five counts charging assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder upon Paul Schrade, Irwin Stroll, William Weisel, Elizabeth Evans and Ira Goldstein respectively, and prison sentences were imposed on those counts. The court denied a motion for a new trial, and defendant's automatic appeal is now before us. (Pen. Code, § 1239, subd. (b).)

Defendant contends that (1) the death penalty is cruel or unusual punishment; (2) in view of proof of his diminished capacity the evidence is insufficient to support the first degree murder conviction; (3) he was denied a fair trial as a result of certain publicity; (4) his right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures and his privilege against self-incrimination were violated by the receipt of evidence found in his bedroom and in his yard; (5) other evidence was erroneously admitted; (6) his constitutional rights were violated by having the prosecution initiated by an indictment rather than an information; (7) the court erred in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether the exclusion of veniremen opposed to the death penalty results in an unrepresentative jury on the issue of guilt or substantially increases the risk of conviction; and (8) the petit and grand juries were illegally selected. fn. 1

People v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628 [100 Cal. Rptr. 152, 493 P.2d 880], holds that the death penalty violates our state constitutional provision against cruel or unusual punishment (Cal. Const., art. I, § 6). The first of defendant's contentions thus is meritorious. We have concluded that the other contentions set forth above cannot be upheld and that the judgment should be modified to provide for life imprisonment and as so modified affirmed.

At the trial it was undisputed that defendant fired the shot that killed Senator Kennedy. The evidence also established conclusively that he shot the victims of the assault counts. The principal defense relied upon by defendant was that of diminished capacity. Extensive evidence was presented of the circumstances surrounding the shootings and of defendant's mental condition, which evidence may be summarized as follows:

About 8:30 p.m. on June 2, 1968, two days before defendant shot Senator Kennedy, the senator made a speech in the Coconut Grove at the [7 Cal. 3d 718] Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, following which he delivered a second speech outside the hotel. Defendant was seen at the hotel about 8:45 that night by an acquaintance. A half hour or less after the senator's second speech a hostess saw a man who looked like defendant in the kitchen near the Coconut Grove.

During the day on June 4, 1968, defendant practiced firing at a gun range for several hours and had also practiced shooting at ranges on several prior occasions. On June 4 he engaged in rapid fire with the .22 revolver he used a few hours later to kill Senator Kennedy. The revolver had been obtained by defendant in February 1968 when his brother Munir paid a fellow employee for it.

A person who talked with defendant at the gun range on June 4 testified that defendant stated he was "going to go on a hunting trip with his gun," that he told defendant it was not permissible to use pistols for hunting "because of the accuracy," and that defendant said, "Well, I don't know about that. It could kill a dog."

About 10 or 11 p.m. on June 4, 1968, a secretary whose duties included seeing that unauthorized persons were not near the Embassy Ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, saw defendant near that room and asked him who he was, and he turned and walked toward the doors leading into the ballroom.

Shortly before midnight on the same day defendant asked hotel employees if Senator Kennedy was going to come through the pantry, and they told him that they did not know. One of the employees observed defendant for about a half hour in the pantry and noticed nothing unusual about his manner or activity.

About midnight on June 4, Senator Kennedy made a speech in the Embassy Ballroom announcing his victory as a Democratic candidate for president in the California primary. Following the speech he and his entourage proceeded toward the hotel's Colonial Room, which was then being used as a press room. En route the senator stopped in the pantry to shake hands with the kitchen staff. Suddenly defendant darted toward the senator, pulled out a revolver, and fired several shots. The senator and a man adjacent to him, Paul Schrade, fell. Pandemonium ensued.

A hotel employee grabbed defendant around the wrist of the hand holding the gun, but defendant, who was still able to move that hand, continued shooting. Irwin Stroll, William Weisel, Elizabeth Evans and Ira Goldstein were injured by the gunfire. Several persons joined in the struggle and succeeded in restraining defendant, and one took the gun [7 Cal. 3d 719] from him. When asked "Why did you do it?," defendant replied something to the effect "I can explain."

The senator was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery. He subsequently died on June 6, 1968. According to the autopsy surgeon, the cause of death was a gunshot wound "to the right mastoid" that penetrated the brain; the senator also received two additional gunshot wounds, one in an armpit and another slightly lower. Expert testimony indicated that the gun was an inch and a half or less from the senator's head when the fatal bullet was fired and in contact with him or within a few inches when the other wounds were inflicted.

Around the time that the senator was taken to the hospital the police arrived at the hotel and took custody of defendant. Two officers, defendant, and Jesse Unruh got into a car and drove to the police station. En route the officers advised defendant of his constitutional rights. Subsequently Unruh asked defendant "Why did you shoot him?" and defendant replied "You think I am crazy? You think I will tell you so you can use it as evidence against me?" Unruh also heard defendant say "I did it for my country." Unruh believed that defendant was not intoxicated, and police officers who were with defendant at the time of his arrest or shortly thereafter reached the same conclusion.

About 12:45 a.m., minutes after defendant arrived at the police station, he was seen by Officer Jordan. The officer estimated that he was with defendant between four and five hours on this occasion. Jordan stated that defendant never appeared irrational and that in the officer's many years on the force defendant was "one of the most alert and intelligent people I have ever attempted to interrogate." Jordan initially identified himself and asked defendant his name but received no response. The officer then advised defendant of his constitutional rights, and defendant, after asking a few questions, indicated he wished to remain silent. Defendant, Jordan, and other officers subsequently discussed various matters other than the case. Tapes of the conversations were played to the jury.

The police found various items on defendant's person, including a newspaper article which in part noted that in a recent speech Senator Kennedy "favored aid to Israel 'with arms if necessary' to meet the threat of the Soviets."

A trash collector testified that on one occasion he told defendant he was going to vote for Kennedy in the primary election and that defendant replied "What do you want to vote for that son-of-a-b for? Because I'm planning on shooting him." On cross-examination the witness admitted that following the assassination when asked if he would testify he stated [7 Cal. 3d 720] he "would not want to take the oath because [he] hated Sirhan so much that [he] would do anything to see him convicted."

The prosecution also introduced documents found by the police at defendant's home. The documents contain statements in defendant's handwriting regarding various matters including, inter alia, killing Senator Kennedy. fn. 2

Defendant, testifying in his own behalf, admitted having shot Senator Kennedy, but claimed that he did not remember having done so. He conceded, however, that he stated "I killed Robert Kennedy wilfully, premeditatively, with twenty years of malice aforethought." (The context in which this statement was made is set forth later herein.) Defendant further testified that he "must have," or had no doubt that he, shot the victims of the assault counts.

Defendant's account of what transpired on June 4 and 5, was as follows: He intended to go to the races on June 4, but did not like the entries and decided to go target shooting instead. He took his revolver to a gun range, stopping en route to buy ammunition, and stayed at the range until about 5 p.m. He practiced shooting there but was not the person who engaged in rapid fire. He had gone to gun ranges on several prior occasions and practiced with the gun because he "liked to" and "was interested ... in ... target practicing perfection." He first developed an interest in guns as a member of a high school cadet corps. He did not recall making a statement about killing a dog. He might have said "it [apparently his gun] is strong enough to kill an animal," but he did not have in mind killing Senator Kennedy. After leaving the range, he stopped to eat and subsequently saw an article concerning a march for Israel, which made him angry. He drove to the area where the march was scheduled but found it was not on that date. On the drive he passed Thomas Kuchel's headquarters and went in. There someone mentioned a "bigger party" at the Ambassador. The person did not mention whose party it was, and defendant did not know there was to be a Kennedy party that night. He went to the Ambassador, was mad at the Zionists, and started to drink. He bought two Tom Collins during about an hour. He does not recall how many drinks he had that evening. After a while he felt high and returned to his car to go home but was afraid to drive because of his condition and decided to return to the hotel for coffee.

He did not recall picking up his gun but as a result of what subsequently [7 Cal. 3d 721] transpired he realized he must have done so. Upon returning to the Ambassador, he found some coffee and talked with a girl. The next thing he remembered he was being choked.

He did not remember asking anyone "where Kennedy was going to come through" and did not know if he asked "what time [Kennedy] would be there." He did not remember saying "I did it for my country" but "Jesse Unruh must have been correct in saying that [defendant made the statement]." He recalled getting into the police car, being advised of his constitutional rights, and various other matters following his arrest.

Defendant also admitted having gone to the Ambassador Hotel on June 2 where he heard Senator Kennedy speak but denied having been in the kitchen that night. He stated that the senator "looked like a saint" but that defendant still had in the back of his mind a broadcast in which the senator committed himself to sending jet bombers to Israel.

Defendant denied having made the statement to the trash collector regarding killing Senator Kennedy.

Defendant further testified regarding his background as follows: He is a Palestinian Arab. He was born in 1944 in New Jerusalem, and in 1948 he and his family moved to Old Jerusalem where they remained until coming to the United States in 1956. Throughout his eight years in Old Jerusalem there were intermittent bombings. He attended school there. His family lived under poor conditions in Old Jerusalem [e.g., the whole family resided in one room with grossly inadequate toilet facilities]. He was told they were living as they were because "The Jews kicked us out of our home." He was also told of a massacre in which 250 people including children were slaughtered in cold blood by the Jews. While living in Old Jerusalem he went to a well for some water, and when the bucket came up it contained a hand and it sickened him. On one occasion he saw the exploded remains of a grocer he knew. In 1956 he heard about aggression by Israel against the Arabs in the Suez Canal. About a year after they came to the United States his father returned to Jordan. In 1963 defendant graduated from high school and subsequently attended college but was dismissed in 1965 after missing classes. He thereafter worked with horses but left his job in 1966 and did not find another job for a year. He read everything available on the Arab-Israel conflict and on the occult, in which he became interested in 1965. He joined the Rosicrucian Order in 1965. He performed several experiments such as concentrating on a mirror and seeing the face of Robert Kennedy instead of his own.

Defendant also described in detail his views regarding the Arab-Israel conflict and his hatred of the Zionists. [7 Cal. 3d 722]

Additional evidence was introduced by the defense regarding the bombings in Old Jerusalem during the period defendant resided there, the various gruesome matters he saw during his childhood, and his poor living conditions in that city. Several defense witnesses also testified that they saw defendant with a drink in his hand on the night of June 4, 1968.

In support of his defense of diminished capacity defendant called to the stand two psychiatrists Eric Marcus, M.D. (a court-appointed psychiatrist) and Bernard Diamond, M.D.; two psychologists who administered psychological tests to defendant (Drs. Orville Richardson and Martin Schorr) and four psychologists who evaluated the tests administered to defendant by Dr. Richardson and/or Dr. Schorr (Drs. Stephen Howard, William Crain, Georgene Seward, and George De Vos).

Doctors Marcus and Diamond testified that at the time of the alleged murder defendant was a paranoid schizophrenic, and Dr. Diamond further stated that defendant was then in a "dissociated state of restrictive consciousness as a ... consequence of [his] psychotic condition." According to both psychiatrists, defendant lacked the capacity to maturely and meaningfully reflect upon the gravity of the contemplated act of murder and to comprehend his duty to govern his actions in accord with the duties imposed by law, and they explained the reasons for their conclusion. They further testified concerning the origin, development, and manifestations of the illness.

Doctors Richardson, Schorr, Crain, De Vos and Seward likewise testified that defendant was a paranoid schizophrenic, and, according to Dr. Schorr, defendant went into a dissociate state before the shooting. Doctors Richardson and Schorr also agreed with the psychiatrists that defendant lacked the capacity to maturely and meaningfully reflect upon the gravity of his contemplated act of murder and to harbor malice aforethought.

Dr. Howard concluded that defendant has "paranoid features" and is "a borderline psychotic person," i.e., a person "who can go in and out of psychosis, depending on the ... relative minor stresses ... in daily life."

In rebuttal the prosecution called to the stand Seymour Pollack, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and law at the University of Southern California. Dr. Pollack interviewed defendant eight times, spending about 24 hours with him. The first such interview was on January 19, 1969. The doctor also observed defendant in the courtroom during preliminary proceedings that began June 28, 1968, and during the trial. In addition he interviewed members of defendant's family; reviewed the psychological tests given by [7 Cal. 3d 723] Drs. Richardson and Schorr to defendant and numerous other matters such as the grand jury transcript and tapes of defendant's conversations after his apprehension; and attended a conference with other psychiatrists and psychologists concerning the case. The overall time Dr. Pollack spent on the case was close to 200 hours.

With respect to his diagnosis, Dr. Pollack testified: Defendant was not "clinically psychotic," i.e., there were "no observable signs or symptoms to a degree and of a kind that would allow [the witness] as a psychiatrist to say that [defendant] was mentally ill as a psychotic person." There was insufficient proof of schizophrenia. fn. 3

On the other hand, according to Dr. Pollack, defendant is, and was at the time of the killing and for "some time before that," mentally ill and emotionally disturbed, and his mental illness was substantial, i.e., of a degree and kind that is not present in most of the population.

Dr. Pollack concluded that defendant is a paranoid personality, which is not a psychosis but a form of mental illness in which there is an exaggeration of certain personality characteristics. Such a personality is more suspicious and sensitive than most people, "takes things more personally to a greater degree than the average person," and tends to collect grievances.

Dr. Pollack testified that defendant also is "a borderline schizophrenic," i.e., "a person who has ... or shows some minimal evidence of peculiarity in his thinking, in his feeling ... but who doesn't have, who hasn't shown ... any clinical signs or symptoms of psychosis." According to Dr. Pollack, there are indications that defendant has "a psychotic personality structure," and a person with such a structure is not "held together as well" and becomes "more easily unglued than ordinary."

Dr. Pollack further stated: Defendant demonstrated evidence of psychosis in the psychological tests. However, in the interviews he did not have the degree of personality disorganization that the doctor would have expected from the tests, although the interviews revealed specified matters indicating the possibility of psychosis. For example, during the interviews after the initial ones defendant exhibited a degree of paranoid thinking with accompanying emotional responses that led the witness to suspect that there were psychotic characteristics in his personality. "[T]he paranoid [7 Cal. 3d 724] element "is quite strong in defendant's notebooks, but Dr. Pollack did not believe that the notebooks were evidence of psychosis since he found none of the peculiarities therein that would have been "more definite proof of [defendant's] being clinically psychotic." The doctor believed the repetitious statements in the writing relating to killing Senator Kennedy were examples of defendant's attempts to strengthen "his courage [and] capability to carry out his intention to kill Kennedy." Part of the writing was not "the writing of a healthy mature mind." He acknowledged that had he spent many additional hours with defendant it is possible or probable that more definite evidence of psychosis would have been found. fn. 4

Dr. Pollack traced defendant's life history and the effect of various incidents upon him. He stated, inter alia, that "defendant's personality standard as it was on June 5, 1968, was related to the experiences he had as a boy, experiences in Jerusalem and these all, significantly, substantially affected him to a certain extent and were related to what he did." Dr. Pollack stated that he believed that defendant was exposed to the turmoil and violence that accompanied the Arab-Jewish conflict but that he had no material that defendant had any greater exposure than others in his family and community and that there were many times they were reasonably secure. Dr. Pollack believed that in spite of defendant's early life experiences defendant developed "into a much stronger person than others believe him to be," although "these experiences to some degree left [him] vulnerable in the development of this subsequent character formation ...."

Dr. Pollack further testified that "I believe the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy was triggered by political reasons with which [defendant] was highly emotionally charged; I believe that Sirhan focused on Senator Robert Kennedy as an individual who should die, not only because of the Kennedy promise to give Israel the jet bombers that would cause death to thousands of Arabs, in Sirhan's opinion, but also because Sirhan wanted the world to see ... how strongly our United States policy was in the pro-Israel-anti-Arab movement in ... spite of our Government's professed interest for the underdog, and world justice" and "Sirhan ... saw himself as a defender of the Arab cause and, as an individual who through[7 Cal. 3d 725] this act would bring world attention to the Arab plight and also ... materialize his fantasy of success."

He testified, "In my opinion when Sirhan shot Kennedy, Sirhan's mental capacity was not impaired to the extent of diminished capacity to maturely and meaningfully premeditate and deliberate and reflect upon the gravity of the contemplated act of shooting the Senator" and that Sirhan "did not have ... diminished mental capacity to harbor malice aforethought." The doctor explained that he considered the following "functions" in reaching the foregoing conclusions: He found no evidence of any altered state of consciousness or dissociate state, and various matters indicated to the contrary. For example, testimony of eyewitnesses showed defendant was aware of the significance of questions asked him and the tape recordings of his conversations at the police station indicated "a great deal of reasoning ability." There was no substantial impairment of his attention (i.e., ability to attend to his environment in a meaningful manner), perception (i.e., ability to perceive objects in a meaningful manner, using past experiences), understanding (i.e., ability not simply to know but to appreciate "in a fuller sense"), ability to associate ideas logically, and freedom of choice. His emotions were "not that disturbed." He was becoming more irritable and explosive but there was no substantial evidence that "this was an impulsive explosion." His foresight (i.e., his ability to look forward and plan) appeared to be reasonably intact, and the same was true regarding his memory.

Dr. Pollack stated that mental capacity is on a continuum, ranging from zero (close to absence of capacity) to 100 percent (which none attain); that psychiatrists are not specialists as to where society wants to draw the line, but that as a psychiatrist he "can say that if an individual is considered to have ... substantial impairment of any of these functions it should be below 50 percent" and those persons with a substantial impairment of any of the recited functions would have diminished capacity.

Dr. Pollack further testified that in his opinion defendant's mental illness "affected" what he did "some" but not "enough" and that it related to the assassination. In a report to the district attorney Dr. Pollack stated, "Sirhan's mental illness was related to his act of assassination in that his paranoid convictions went beyond those of a normal personality in the average citizen .... This mental illness should be considered a substantial mitigating factor on the issue of penalty. ..."

Dr. Pollack also testified that defendant believed it was "good" and "right" to kill Senator Kennedy and had that belief when he made the entries in his notebooks. Defense counsel then asked, "As a matter of fact, [7 Cal. 3d 726] he felt it was his duty almost to do it, didn't he?", and Dr. Pollack replied, "Almost, yes. As an Arab he felt that it was his duty, that he would be looked up to by the Arab world and that he would be considered a hero." Dr. Pollack indicated that he did not consider defendant's belief that it was "right" and "good" to kill the senator a delusion and stated that "it's there that I think a major difference exists between the other psychiatrists and myself." fn. 5 He testified defendant gave no evidence of believing himself to be a person chosen by God to kill Kennedy whom he regarded as the devil -- that such a belief would have been a delusion. Dr. Pollack further testified that defendant did not expect to be punished for his act because in his view Kennedy and others having the senator's views about the Arab-Israel conflict were murderers.

Leonard Olinger, a clinical psychologist, was also called in rebuttal by the prosecution. He contacted the prosecution after concluding on the basis of news reports that some of Dr. Schorr's testimony was unwarranted by the material presented to support it. The prosecution furnished Dr. Olinger with, among other things, the tests given to defendant by Drs. Schorr and Richardson. So far as appears Dr. Olinger never personally examined defendant. After criticizing various interpretations given to defendant's test responses by other witnesses and techniques employed in administering certain of the tests, Dr. Olinger stated that in his opinion it appeared from the tests that defendant was "a borderline schizophrenic with primary neurotic features." He stated that on the basis of the capacity demonstrated by the tests, such an individual could maturely and meaningfully premeditate and deliberate to commit the act of murder. He further stated that the tests suggest that defendant had the capacity to comprehend his duty and to conform it to the dictates of society.

1. Sufficiency of Evidence to Support First Degree Murder Conviction

[1a] Defendant contends that in view of proof of his diminished capacity the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of first degree murder and that he should have been convicted of manslaughter or at most second degree murder.

[2] "'It has long been settled under the Wells-Gorshen rule of diminished capacity that in cases other than those where a felony murder is charged, a defendant cannot be convicted of murder of the first degree if, at the time of the alleged offense, he was operating under a mental disability not amounting to legal insanity that prevented him from acting with [7 Cal. 3d 727] malice aforethought or with premeditation and deliberation.'" (People v. Risenhoover, 70 Cal. 2d 39, 51 [73 Cal. Rptr. 533, 447 P.2d 925], quoting from People v. Ford, 65 Cal. 2d 41, 54-55 [52 Cal. Rptr. 228, 416 P.2d 132].)

[1b] The recited evidence, including, among other things, the expert testimony introduced by the prosecution and proof of the circumstances surrounding the crime, is sufficient to support the jury's implied finding that defendant committed the killing with malice aforethought. (Cf. People v. Risenhoover, supra, 70 Cal. 2d 39, 51; People v. Goedecke, 65 Cal. 2d 850, 854 et seq. [56 Cal. Rptr. 625, 423 P.2d 777, 22 A.L.R.3d 1213]; People v. Nicolaus, 65 Cal. 2d 866, 869-878 [56 Cal. Rptr. 635, 423 P.2d 787].) It may be noted that at the trial defense counsel told the jury that in his opinion the evidence and law justified a second degree murder conviction.

We turn next to whether the evidence is also sufficient to support the jury's implied finding that the murder was wilful, deliberate and premeditated.

The meaning of deliberation and premeditation was elucidated in People v. Wolff, 61 Cal. 2d 795, 821-822 [40 Cal. Rptr. 271, 394 P.2d 959], a case involving a 15-year-old boy who had a permanent form of schizophrenia according to undisputed psychiatric testimony and was charged with the murder of his mother. Wolff stated that the true test" must include consideration of the ... extent to which ... defendant could maturely and meaningfully reflect upon the gravity of his contemplated act. ... Certainly ... defendant had ample time for any normal person to maturely and appreciatively reflect upon his contemplated act and to arrive at a cold, deliberated and premeditated conclusion. He did this in a sense -- and apparently to the full extent of which he was capable. But, indisputably on the record, this defendant was not and is not a fully normal or mature, mentally well person. He knew the difference between right and wrong; he knew that the intended act was wrong and nevertheless carried it out. But the extent of his understanding, reflection upon it and its consequences, with realization of the enormity of the evil [italics added], appears to have been materially -- as relevant to appraising the quantum of his moral turpitude and depravity -- vague and detached." Wolff theretofore had pointed out (at p. 820) that "'Dividing intentional homicides into murder and voluntary manslaughter was a recognition of the infirmity of human nature. Again dividing the offense of murder into two degrees is a further recognition of that infirmity and of difference in the quantum of personal turpitude of the offenders. ... [W]hen it is claimed that the homicide is by "any [7 Cal. 3d 728] other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing" there is necessity for an appraisal which involves something more than the ascertainment of objective facts. ... [People v. Holt, 25 Cal. 2d 59, 86 (153 P.2d 21); italics added.]'" (See also People v. Bassett, 69 Cal. 2d 122, 124 et seq. [70 Cal. Rptr. 193, 443 P.2d 777]; People v. Nicolaus, supra, 65 Cal. 2d 866, 876-878; People v. Goedecke, supra, 65 Cal. 2d 850, 855-858.)

Here, defendant had ample time to reflect upon the killing, and, although the evidence is conflicting, the heretofore summarized evidence constitutes substantial proof that at the time of the shooting defendant was not a paranoid schizophrenic, in a dissociate state, or intoxicated. Also, as we have seen, Dr. Pollack, who examined defendant on eight occasions as well as having reviewed extensive materials and interviewed members of defendant's family, testified that although defendant was mentally ill, defendant did not have diminished capacity to harbor malice aforethought or to maturely and meaningfully reflect upon the gravity of his contemplated act, and the doctor explained the reasons for his conclusions. There was also evidence that the assassination was politically motivated, and defendant's actions in carrying out the crime are, of course, additional proof of his then mental state. In addition a lay witness who observed defendant for about a half hour shortly before the killing noticed nothing unusual about defendant's manner or activity, and an officer who was with defendant for several hours shortly after the killing found him highly alert and intelligent.

We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the first degree murder conviction.

https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/7/710.html

Michael Myers is a character from the slasher film series Halloween. He first appears in 1978 in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his elder sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he returns home to Haddonfield, Illinois, to murder more teenagers. In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film and substituted by Tony Moran in the final scene where Michael's face is revealed. The character was created by John Carpenter and has been featured in twelve films, as well as novels, video games, and comic books.

The character is the primary antagonist in all the franchise's films with the exception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which is a standalone film disconnected from the continuity of the other films. Since Castle and Moran put on the mask in the original film, six people have stepped into the same role. Castle, George P. Wilbur, Tyler Mane, and James Jude Courtney are the only actors to have portrayed Michael Myers more than once, with Mane and Courtney being the only actors to do so in consecutive films. Michael Myers is characterized as pure evil directly by the filmmakers who created and developed the character over nine films. He typically kills using a chef's knife. In the films, Michael wears a white Halloween mask, as well as coveralls, which he usually steals from a victim. The mask used in the first film was a Captain Kirk mask that originated from a cast of William Shatner's face made for the 1975 horror film The Devil's Rain.[2][3]

Appearances

Michael Myers appears in all of the Halloween films excluding the standalone Halloween III: Season of the Witch, although he is briefly seen on a television advertisement for the original film. Myers has also appeared in expanded universe novels and comic books.

Films and canons

Michael Myers’ story has gone through different timelines and canons, with some retconning previously established plots.

The Original timeline

Myers made his first appearance in the 1978 film Halloween. At the beginning of Halloween, a six-year-old Michael murders his teenage sister Judith on Halloween night in 1963. Fifteen years later, he escapes Smith's Grove Sanitarium and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he stalks a teenage babysitter named Laurie Strode, while his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, attempts to track him down. After murdering three of Laurie's friends, Michael attacks her as well. She fends him off long enough for Loomis to arrive and shoot Michael six times, knocking him off a balcony; when Loomis goes to check the body, he finds that Michael has disappeared.[4] Halloween II (1981) picks up directly where the original ended. Michael follows Laurie to the local hospital and kills the staff one by one. Loomis discovers that Laurie is Michael's younger sister and rushes to the hospital to find them. Laurie shoots Michael in the eyes, and Loomis blows up the operating theater while Laurie escapes. Michael emerges from the explosion, engulfed in flames, before finally collapsing dead.[5]

The Thorn timeline

Michael does not appear again until Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers in 1988, which picks up ten years after the events of Halloween II. In this canon, known as the “Thorn Timeline”, Michael survived the explosion, leaving him in a coma. He awakens when he learns Laurie has died in a car accident but has a nine-year-old daughter, Jamie Lloyd. Returning to Haddonfield, he causes a citywide blackout and massacres the town's police force and some civilians before being shot by the state police and falling down a mine shaft.[6] Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers begins immediately after the fourth film ends, with Michael escaping the mine shaft and being nursed back to health by a local hermit. One year later, he kills the hermit and returns to Haddonfield to find Jamie again, chasing her through his childhood home in a trap set by Loomis. He is eventually subdued by Loomis and taken to the local police station, but a mysterious "Man in Black" kills the officers and frees him.[7]

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers takes place six years after the events of the previous film. Jamie, now fifteen, has been kidnapped and impregnated by a druid cult led by the Man in Black, later revealed to be Dr. Terence Wynn, Loomis' friend and colleague from Smith's Grove. After giving birth, Jamie escapes with her baby, only to be killed by Michael. The baby is found by Tommy Doyle, whom Laurie babysat in the original film. Upon returning to Haddonfield once more, Michael kills relatives of Laurie's adoptive family, who are living in his childhood home. He is revealed to be inflicted with the Curse of Thorn, which drives him to kill his family. Wynn and his cult kidnap Jamie's baby, as well as Kara Strode and her son Danny. Loomis and Tommy follow them to Smith's Grove, where Michael ultimately turns against the cult and slaughters them all. Tommy injects Michael with chemicals and beats him unconscious. Loomis stays behind as the others escape. In the theatrical version, Michael's mask is shown on the ground as Loomis screams in the distance, leaving their fates unknown. In the longer “Producer’s Cut”, however, Loomis unmasks whom he thinks is Michael, but instead is revealed to be the dying Dr. Wynn (the “Man in Black”), passing the Mark of Thorn on to Loomis as Michael, now donning the outfit of the “Man in Black”, escapes.[8]

The H20 timeline

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later establishes a new timeline ignoring the events of the previous three "Thorn" films. In this particular film, Michael has been missing since the hospital explosion twenty years ago. Laurie Strode has faked her death and gone into hiding in California under an assumed name. She is the headmistress of a private boarding school and has a teenage son named John. Michael tracks them down and murders John's friends. After getting her son to safety, Laurie decides to face Michael and ultimately decapitates him.[9] Halloween: Resurrection, which picks up three years after H20, retcons Michael's death, establishing that the man Laurie decapitated was a paramedic whom Michael had attacked and swapped clothes with before escaping. Michael tracks down an institutionalized Laurie and kills her. He returns to Haddonfield, where one year later, he kills a group of college students filming an internet reality show inside his childhood home. Contestant Sara Moyer and show producer Freddie Harris escape after electrocuting Michael. Michael's body and the bodies of his victims are then taken to the morgue. As the medical examiner begins to inspect Michael's body, he awakens.[10]

The Rob Zombie timeline

The series was rebooted in 2007 with Rob Zombie's Halloween remake.[11] The film establishes from the beginning that Michael and Laurie are siblings, and has an increased focus on Michael's childhood: a ten-year-old Michael is shown killing animals and suffering emotional abuse at home. After killing his sister Judith and three others, he is committed to Smith's Grove where he takes up the hobby of creating papier-mâché masks and receives unsuccessful therapy from Dr. Sam Loomis. His mother Deborah commits suicide after witnessing him killing a nurse. As an adult, Michael returns to Haddonfield to reunite with Laurie. However, Laurie has no memory of Michael and is terrified of him, ultimately shooting him in the head in self-defense after he kills her friends and adoptive parents. In an unused alternate ending, Michael is shown listening to reason as Loomis convinces him to release Laurie and drop his weapon. He then begins to approach them, intentions unclear, before being shot down by Sheriff Brackett's overzealous men.[12]

Zombie's story is continued in the sequel, Halloween II, which begins in the moments after the 2007 remake ends. The subsequent events and Michael's fate differ between the theatrical cut and extended Director's Cut of the film; in the former, the events of the film take place one year later, whereas in the latter, it is two years later. In both versions, Michael is presumed dead but resurfaces after a vision of Deborah informs him that he must track Laurie down so that they can "come home". In the film, Michael and Laurie are implied to have a mental link, with the two sharing visions of their mother. During the climax of the theatrical cut, after Michael has murdered Loomis, Laurie kills Michael by stabbing him repeatedly in the chest and face with his knife, with the final scene suggesting that she has taken on her brother's psychosis as she dons his mask. In the Director's Cut ending, Michael speaks a single word, 'die', before killing Loomis. He is then gunned down by the Haddonfield police. Laurie approaches Loomis' body whilst holding Michael's knife, and appears to raise the knife before she too is shot dead by police.[13]

The Blumhouse timeline

Michael's appearance in the 2018 film Halloween establishes the “Blumhouse timeline”. This version is a direct sequel to the original film in which Michael and Laurie are not siblings. It is established that after being shot by Loomis, Michael fled to his childhood home and was arrested by the Haddonfield police. After forty years at Smith's Grove Sanitarium, he escapes again and returns to Haddonfield for another killing spree. He again encounters Laurie, who has been living in fear of his return. She shoots off two of his fingers and, with the help of her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson, traps him in the basement of her house, which they then set on fire. Michael is heard breathing at the end of the credits, indicating that he survived.[14][15][16]

Halloween Kills is a direct sequel to the 2018 film in which Michael escapes the burning house when the fire department arrive to stop the blaze before it becomes too intense. As Michael resumes his killing spree, the enraged townspeople form a mob to hunt him down. While the mob proves to be unnecessarily destructive, they do eventually swarm him and seemingly kill him. As they attempt to confirm he's really dead, Michael rises again and massacres them all. He returns to his childhood home, where he kills Karen as well.[17] Halloween Ends (2022) picks up four years after its predecessor, revealing that Michael went into hiding after killing Karen. Now in a badly weakened condition, Michael inhabits a sewer cavern where a troubled young man named Corey Cunningham, who is dating Allyson, encounters him. Corey begins helping Michael kill people and starts to manifest the same evil. He eventually steals Michael's mask and murders several people who wronged him. He also goes after Laurie, but is shot down a stairwell. Michael arrives to retrieve his mask and kills Corey. Laurie pins Michael to a table and slits his throat, but he chokes her with the last of his strength. Allyson intervenes and breaks Michael's arm, allowing Laurie to fatally slice his wrist. A town-wide procession takes place, where everyone watches Laurie dispose of Michael's corpse in an industrial shredder, ending his rampage once and for all.[18]

Literature

Michael Myers made his literary debut in October 1979 when Curtis Richards released a novelization of the film. The book follows the events of the film but includes references to the festival of Samhain. A prologue provides a possible explanation for Michael's murderous impulses, telling the story of Enda, a disfigured Celtic teenager who butchers the Druid princess Deirdre and her lover as revenge for rejecting him; the king subsequently has his shaman curse Enda's soul for walking the earth reliving his crime for eternity. It is later revealed that Michael Myers suffers nightmares about Enda and Deirdre, as did Michael's great-grandfather before shooting two people to death at a Halloween harvest dance in the 1890s. The novel shows Michael's childhood in more detail; his mother voices concern over her son's anti-social behavior shortly before he murders Judith. Dr. Loomis notices the boy's effortless control and manipulation of the staff and patients at Smith's Grove during his incarceration. Later in the story, Michael's stalking of Laurie and her friends is depicted as more explicitly sexual than was apparent in the film, with several references to him having an erection.[19] Michael returned to the world of literature with the 1981 adaptation of Halloween II written by Jack Martin; it was published alongside the first film sequel, with the novel following the film events, with an additional victim, a reporter, added to the novel.[20] The final novelization to feature Michael was Halloween IV, released October 1988. The novel was written by Nicholas Grabowsky, and like the previous adaptations, follows the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.[21]

Over a four-month period, Berkley Books published three young adult novels written by Kelly O'Rourke; the novels are original stories created by O'Rourke, with no direct continuity with the films.[22] The first, released on October 1, 1997, titled The Scream Factory, follows a group of friends who set up a haunted house attraction in the basement of Haddonfield City Hall, only to be stalked and killed by Michael Myers while they are there.[23] The Old Myers Place is the second novel, released December 1, 1997, and focuses on Mary White, who moves into the Myers house with her family and takes up residence in Judith Myers' former bedroom. Michael returns home and begins stalking and attacking Mary and her friends.[24] O'Rourke's final novel, The Mad House, was released on February 1, 1998. The Mad House features a young girl, Christine Ray, who joins a documentary film crew that travels to haunted locations; they are currently headed to Smith Grove Mental Hospital. The crew is quickly confronted by Michael Myers.[25]

The character's first break into comics came with a series of comics published by Brian Pulido's Chaos! Comics. The first, simply titled Halloween, was intended to be a one-issue special, but eventually two sequels spawned: Halloween II: The Blackest Eyes and Halloween III: The Devil's Eyes. All of the stories were written by Phil Nutman, with Daniel Farrands—writer for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers—assisting on the first issue; David Brewer and Justiniano worked on the illustrations. Tommy Doyle is the main protagonist in each of the issues, focusing on his attempts to kill Michael Myers. The first issue includes backstory on Michael's childhood, while the third picks up after the events of the film Halloween H20.[26]

In 2003, Michael appeared in the self-published comic One Good Scare, written by Stefan Hutchinson and illustrated by Peter Fielding. The main character in the comic is Lindsey Wallace, the young girl who first saw Michael Myers alongside Tommy Doyle in the original 1978 film. Hutchinson wanted to bring the character back to his roots, and away from the "lumbering Jason-clone" the film sequels had made him.[27] On 25 July 2006, as an insert inside the DVD release of Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, the comic book Halloween: Autopsis was released. Written by Stefan Hutchinson and artwork by Marcus Smith and Nick Dismas, the story is about a photographer assigned to take pictures of Michael Myers. As the photographer, Carter, follows Dr. Loomis; he begins to take on Loomis's obsession himself, until finally meeting Michael Myers in person, which results in his death.[28]

In 2008, Devil's Due Publishing began releasing more Halloween comic books, starting with a four issue mini series, titled Halloween: Nightdance. Written by Stefan Hutchinson, Nightdance takes place in Russellville, and follows Michael's obsession with Lisa Thomas, a girl who reminds him of his sister Judith. Lisa is afraid of the dark after Michael trapped her in a basement for days, and years later, he starts sending her disturbing, childlike drawings and murdering those around her on Halloween. Meanwhile, Ryan Nichols is hunting Michael down after seeing him attack and kidnap his wife. In the end, Michael frames Ryan for the murders and buries Lisa alive.[29] Hutchinson explains that Nightdance was an attempt to escape the dense continuity of the film series and recreate the tone of the 1978 film; Michael becomes inexplicably fixated on Lisa, just as he did with Laurie in the original Halloween, before the sequels established that a sibling bond was actually his motivation for stalking her.[30] Included in the Nightdance trade paperback is the short prose story Charlie, which features Charlie Bowles, a Russellville serial killer who taps into the same evil force which motivates Michael Myers.[29] To celebrate the anniversary of the Halloween series, Devil's Due released a one-shot comic entitled Halloween: 30 Years of Terror in August 2008, written by Hutchinson. An anthology collection inspired by John Carpenter's original film, Michael appears in various stories, tampering with Halloween candy, decapitating a beauty queen, tormenting Laurie Strode, and killing a school teacher.[31][32]

Concept and creation

The character derives his name from English film distributor Michael Myers,[33] who successfully distributed Assault on Precinct 13 in the UK through his Miracle Films. According to John Carpenter, Myers helped "push Assault on Precinct 13 into the London Film Festival, that's where my reputation kind of began, so I felt I owed him. So that was my tribute to him, he was this dearest, dearest man". Carpenter wanted to "raise this Michael Myers character up to a mythic status; make him human, yes, but almost like a force. A force that will never stop, that can't be denied."[34] He did not want to give Michael a backstory, but put him immediately into a "legendary kind of situation".[35] To elaborate, Carpenter explained that he was influenced by Yul Brynner's "killer robot that couldn't be destroyed" in Michael Crichton's Westworld.[34] Carpenter felt this kind of character, one that was "a force", would be more terrifying than personifying him. Michael's mask was meant to help illustrate this further, because it would "blank out his human features […] Making him then just some sort of force of evil that is irrational, unstoppable."[35]

When developing the 2007 Halloween remake, Rob Zombie commented on his intentions for the character, stating that he wanted Michael Myers to be the lead character in the film. Zombie felt the character could be made "more intense" if he was more than just a "faceless thing floating around in the background". Zombie believed it was important to be able to see the events that shape the character, making it "more disturbing" to the audience.[36]

Developing "The Shape"

In the original film, three actors portrayed Michael Myers. Will Sandin played a six-year-old Michael, who murders his sister Judith on Halloween night. Later in the film, Tony Moran and Nick Castle would portray the adult Michael, with Moran credited as "Michael Myers (age 23)" and Castle credited as "The Shape". Nick Castle was a friend, and former University of Southern California schoolmate, of John Carpenter. Production on Halloween was taking place near Castle's house, so he asked Carpenter if he could hang around the set, because he was attempting to get his own movies "off the ground". Carpenter agreed on the condition that Castle play the role of the masked killer. For his part, Castle was paid $25 a day.[34] Debra Hill remarks: "[Nick Castle's] father was a choreographer for Fred Astaire, and he just moved great. And I think John really wanted to play him as that, where he just looks, and his head turns, and he's enamored by this sister-like character that he sees in Laurie Strode. He makes the connection; he breaks out of the insane asylum and gets to his house, and sees this young girl, and makes this sort of subtle connection."[34]

Moran at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con.

Castle's motivation while filming was simple, "walk from this point to the end point, and roll"; this was reflected in Carpenter's directing, or lack thereof, as Carpenter himself admits that the only bit of direction he gave Castle was, "Do nothing, just walk. Don't act, just walk."[34] To elaborate, during filming Castle tried to find extra motivation for the character, attempting to get into the mind of someone who is mentally ill. Carpenter had to keep reminding him to keep it "simple"; he wanted Castle to make sure the character moved "gracefully" and was a "blank slate that we can project everything into, and make it much more horrifying".[35] Jamie Lee Curtis believes Castle kept the character from being nothing more than just a "thug in a suit". Castle was replaced by Tony Moran for the scene where Michael is unmasked, because Carpenter and Hill wanted someone who had more of an "angelic" face.[34]

Moran, who was looking for work, received a call from his agent about an audition for a "B flick", where he would be playing a "psycho". Moran prepared for his audition by neglecting to sleep, shave, shower or wash his hair for three days. He wore tattered clothes, with hiking boots to the audition. After being introduced to John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, Moran proceeded to slam his feet up on the table and demand some coffee. He startled everyone at the table, and that afternoon received a phone call that he had gotten the job. Moran would take up the role from the point that Michael is strangling Laurie, as production designer Tommy Lee Wallace had performed the job during the scene where Michael breaks through the closet and Nick Castle in the part up to that scene. Moran would film the rest of the scenes—the removal of Michael's mask, being shot by Loomis and then falling over the balcony—except where Michael's body lies on the ground outside. In response to the "angelic face" remark made by Castle, Moran contends that he was not made aware of that "concept" when he was hired, but after viewing some photos of him and Carpenter on an A&E special, he "kind of sees what [Castle] means".[37]

Stunt performer Dick Warlock played Michael Myers in Halloween II, replacing Castle who was beginning a career as a director. Warlock's previous experience in film was as a stunt double in films such as The Green Berets (1968), Jaws (1975) and the 1974 television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Warlock had not seen the original film before he was hired, but after getting the job he watched the film "two or three times", modeling his behavior after the few scenes Tommy Lee Wallace performed. Wallace portrayed the character in the scene where Michael attacks Laurie in the closet, and the scene where he sits up and turns toward Laurie, after having fallen down wounded from her counter-attack. Warlock modeled his movements for Halloween II after those scenes, as well as the scene where Michael tilts his head to the side while staring at the body of Bob stuck on the wall.[38] Warlock took on Michael's characteristic "breathing", which was heard in the original film, while he was behind the mask.[39] Debra Hill claims that although "the Shape" had no lines, Castle's portrayal gave them the presence that they wanted for the movie; she goes on to say that Dick Warlock was unable to emulate that presence, despite studying Castle's performance.[35] George P. Wilbur did not study any of the previous Halloween films when he took over the role in The Return of Michael Myers.[38]

Nick Castle would return to portray Michael in the 2018 sequel for select masked scenes. Newcomer James Jude Courtney would take over primary duties for the film and its subsequent sequels.[40][41][42] Director and writer David Gordon Green explained to Courtney that he wanted his version of Michael to be an amalgamation of Castle's original performance and the addition of an efficient cat-like style of movement. Courtney used John Carpenter and Castle's work on the original film to determine how the 40 years that transpired between the events of the films would inform the character over time.[43]

The mask

Tommy Lee Wallace, writer/director of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, was the production designer/co-editor on Halloween, and it was up to him to find "the perfect mask" for the Michael Myers character. The mask was intended to have a "blank face", and the William Shatner Halloween mask he found was exactly what he needed, "It didn't really look like anybody." Wallace cut the eyeholes larger and rounder, removed the eyebrows and sideburns, poofed up the hair so it looked "demented and strange" and finally spray-painted the mask white. Wallace explains, "It created a shiver right in the room, and we knew we had something special." John Carpenter claims that the mask looked nothing like William Shatner whatsoever, but joked, "I guess I owe the success of Halloween to William Shatner."[34] According to Jamie Lee Curtis, the mask needed to be a "human image", and the only thing in stores at the time that matched what they needed on set was the Shatner mask.[44] Carpenter elaborates:

"We didn't have any money to make a mask. It was originally written the way you see it, in other words, it's a pale mask with human features, almost featureless. I don't know why I wrote that down, why Debra and I decided on that, maybe it was because of an old movie called Eyes Without a Face. It's a French film, Franju made it, this girl had a burned face so she wore this face mask, it was real creepy because it was featureless and immobile except for her eyes. So Tommy Lee Wallace, our production designer, ran up to the mask shop on Hollywood Boulevard and bought a couple, one was a clown mask, and that's, you know, one way to go, and the other he got this William Shatner Star Trek mask; Captain Kirk."[34]

Contrary to reports, the mask used in Halloween II was the same mask used in the original film. According to Dick Warlock, Debra Hill stored the original mask under her bed before she brought it to Warlock to wear. Warlock offers his opinion on why the mask looks different in the second film: "I think the lighting has a lot to do with the way the mask looks from film to film. The shape of my face is also totally different than [Nick] Castle's, [Tommy Lee] Wallace's or probably any of the other people who wore it in Halloween." The original mask has since been sold "to a man in Ohio. He has two haunted houses. One in Toledo and one in Tiffin. He had the mask and coveralls on display there this past October. I'm supposing he'll display them every year in one place or the other," according to Warlock.[38] In 2017, the owner of the original mask identified himself as Mark Roberts, and provided new pictures of the mask as it appeared that year. Although Roberts pays to keep the prop in an airtight, climate-controlled storage case, the mask has significantly degraded over the years. Roberts stated that despite resisting for many years, he was considering a professional restoration.[45]

Dominique Othenin-Girard, director of Halloween 5, began casting for the Michael Myers character using the Halloween 4 mask during auditions, but was "perplexed" with Don Shanks' performance. Girard wanted the character to "feel human and alive", but knew that without dialogue or facial expressions he would not be able to achieve his goal. Girard decide to use latex material to create new masks for Don Shanks, and the KNB special effects team attempted to go for a human interpretation of evil. Girard also felt it was necessary to distance himself from the "plastic, shiny look of the hockey mask of Friday the 13th". While the special effects team worked on the new masks, Girard requested that the team alter the traditional design of the nose, which he thought felt "too realistic and too normal, too round and soft, too much like a human nose". Girard wanted "the feel of a mask", something "unmovable, like a façade hiding a terrible secret behind steel".[46]

Adam Arkin, who plays guidance counselor Will Brennan in Halloween H20, remarks, "There's something that's so minimalistic and so neutral about that face, that becomes sort of indelibly etched in your memory, number one. And I think number two, you're able to project any kind of frightening idea or image on top of it."[44]

Characterization

"I met this six year old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes; the devil's eyes […] I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply…evil."

— Loomis' description of a young Michael was inspired by John Carpenter's experience with a real life mental patient.[34]

A common characterization is that Michael Myers is evil. John Carpenter has described the character as "almost a supernatural force - a force of nature. An evil force that's loose," a force that is "unkillable"[44] Professor Nicholas Rogers elaborates, "Myers is depicted as a mythic, elusive bogeyman, one of superhuman strength who cannot be killed by bullets, stab wounds, or fire."[47] Carpenter's inspiration for the "evil" that Michael would embody came when he was in college. While on a class trip at a mental institution in Kentucky, Carpenter visited "the most serious, mentally ill patients". Among those patients was a young boy around twelve to thirteen years-old. The boy gave this "schizophrenic stare", "a real evil stare", which Carpenter found "unsettling", "creepy", and "completely insane". Carpenter's experience would inspire the characterization Loomis would give of Michael to Sheriff Brackett in the original film. Debra Hill has stated the scene where Michael kills the Wallace's German Shepherd was done to illustrate how he is "really evil and deadly".[34]

The ending scene of Michael being shot six times, and then disappearing from the ground outside the house, was meant to terrify the imagination of the audience. Carpenter tried to keep the audience guessing as to who Michael Myers really is—he is gone, and everywhere at the same time; he is more than human; he may be supernatural, and no one knows how he got that way. To Carpenter, keeping the audience guessing was better than explaining away the character with "he's cursed by some..."[34] For Josh Hartnett, who portrayed John Tate in Halloween H20, "it's that abstract, it's easier for me to be afraid of it. You know, someone who just kind of appears and, you know [Mimics stabbing noise from Psycho] instead of an actual human who you think you can talk to. And no remorse, it's got no feelings, that's the most frightening, definitely." Richard Schickel, film critic for TIME, felt Michael was "irrational" and "really angry about something", having what Schickel referred to as "a kind of primitive, obsessed intelligence". Schickel considered this the "definition of a good monster", by making the character appear "less than human", but having enough intelligence "to be dangerous".[44]

"Michael Myers is enduring because he's pure evil."

—Steve Miner[44]

Dominique Othenin-Girard attempted to have audiences "relate to 'Evil', to Michael Myers's 'ill' side". Girard wanted Michael to appear "more human […] even vulnerable, with contradicting feelings inside of him". He illustrated these feelings with a scene where Michael removes his mask and sheds a tear. Girard explains, "Again, to humanize him, to give him a tear. If Evil or in this case our boogeyman knows pain, or love or demonstrate a feeling of regrets; he becomes even more scary to me if he pursue his malefic action. He shows an evil determination beyond his feelings. Dr. Loomis tries to reach his emotional side several times in [Halloween 5]. He thinks he could cure Michael through his feelings."[46]

Daniel Farrands, writer of The Curse of Michael Myers, describes the character as a "sexual deviant". According to him, the way Michael follows girls around and watches them contains a subtext of repressed sexuality. Farrands theorizes that, as a child, Michael became fixated on the murder of his sister Judith, and for his own twisted reasons felt the need to repeat that action over and over again, finding a sister-like figure in Laurie who excited him sexually. He also believes that by revealing Laurie to be Michael's literal sister, the sequels took away from the simplicity and relatability of the original Halloween. Nevertheless, when writing Curse, Farrands was tasked with creating a mythology for Michael which defined his motives and why he couldn't be killed. He says, "He can't just be a man anymore, he's gone beyond that. He's mythical. He's supernatural. So, I took it from that standpoint that there's something else driving him. A force that goes beyond that five senses that has infected this boy's soul and now is driving him." As the script developed and more people became involved, Farrands admits that the film went too far in explaining Michael Myers and that he himself was not completely satisfied with the finished product.[48]

Michael does not speak in the films; the first time audiences ever hear his voice is in the 2007 remake. Michael speaks as a child during the beginning of the film, but while in Smith's Grove he stops talking completely. Rob Zombie originally planned to have the adult Michael speak to Laurie in the film's finale, simply saying his childhood nickname for her, "Boo". Zombie explained that this version was not used because he was afraid having the character talk at that point would demystify him too much, and because the act of Michael handing Laurie the photograph of them together was enough.[49]

Describing aspects of Michael Myers which he wanted to explore in the comic book Halloween: Nightdance, writer Stefan Hutchinson mentions the character's "bizarre and dark sense of humor", as seen when he wore a sheet over his head to trick a girl into thinking he was her boyfriend, and the satisfaction he gets from scaring the characters before he murders them, such as letting Laurie know he is stalking her. Hutchinson feels there is a perverse nature to Michael's actions: "see the difference between how he watches and pursues women to men".[30] He also suggests that Michael Myers' hometown of Haddonfield is the cause of his behaviour, likening his situation to that of Jack the Ripper, citing Myers as a "product of normal surburbia - all the repressed emotion of fake Norman Rockwell smiles". Hutchinson describes Michael as a "monster of abjection". When asked his opinion of Rob Zombie's expansion on Michael's family life, Hutchinson says that explaining why Michael does what he does "[reduces] the character". That being said, Hutchinson explores the nature of evil in the short story Charlie—included in the Halloween Nightdance trade paperback—and says that Michael Myers spent fifteen years "attuning himself to this force to the point where he is, as Loomis says, 'pure evil'".[50] Nightdance artist Tim Seeley describes the character's personality in John Carpenter's 1978 film as "a void", which allows the character to be more open to interpretation than the later sequels allotted him. He surmises that Michael embodies a part of everyone; a part people are afraid will one day "snap and knife someone", which lends to the fear that Michael creates on screen.[30]

A study was conducted by California State University's Media Psychology Lab, on the psychological appeal of movie monsters—Vampires, Freddy Krueger, Frankenstein's monster, Jason Voorhees, Godzilla, Chucky, Hannibal Lecter, King Kong, and The Alien—which surveyed 1,166 people nationwide (United States), with ages ranging from 16 to 91. It was published in the Journal of Media Psychology. In the survey, Michael was considered to be the "embodiment of pure evil"; when compared to the other characters, Michael Myers was rated the highest. Michael was characterized lending to the understanding of insanity, being ranked second to Hannibal Lecter in this category; he also placed first as the character who shows audiences the "dark side of human nature". He was rated second in the category "monster enjoys killing" by the participants, and believed to have "superhuman strength". Michael was rated highest among the characters in the "monster is an outcast" category.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Myers_(Halloween)

Fulcanelli’s main strategy, the key to unraveling the mystery, lies in an understanding of what he calls the “phonetic law” of the “spoken cabala,” or the “language of the birds.” This punning, multilingual wordplay can be used to reveal unusual and, according to Fulcanelli, meaningful associations between ideas. “What unsuspected marvels we should find, if we knew how to dissect words, to strip them of their bark and liberate the spirit, the divine light which is within,” Fulcanelli writes. He claims that in our day this is the natural language of the outsiders, the outlaws and heretics at the fringes of society. (See appendix A, “Fulcanelli on the Green Language,” for the complete text of this chapter.) 6 This spoken cabala was also the “green language” of the Freemasons (“All the Initiates expressed themselves in cant,” Fulcanelli reminds us) who built the art gothique of the cathedrals. “Gothic art is in fact the art got or art cot —χοτ—the art of light or of the spirit,” Fulcanelli informs us. Ultimately the “art got,” or the “art of light,” is derived from the language of the birds, which seems to be a sort of Ur-language taught by both Jesus and the ancients."

The Mysteries of the Great Cross

by Jay Weidner

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vrxcBcn4h7RRM2SA3X1SS1DsooSxfitI/view?usp=sharing

How to Speak Ignatian: Common words and phrases of the Society of Jesus

Adapted from “How to Speak Loyola,” a glossary developed by the Office of Mission &

Identity, Loyola University, Chicago.

Microsoft Word - How to Speak Ignatian.doc (jesuithighschool.org)

https://www.jesuithighschool.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/how_to_speak_ignatian_0.pdf

Micah 7

1599 Geneva Bible

7 1 A complaint for the small number of the righteous. 4 The wickedness of those times. 14 The prosperity of the Church.

1 Woe is me, for I am as the [a]Summer gatherings, and as the grapes of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruits.

2 The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none righteous among men: [b]they all lie in wait for blood: every man hunteth his brother with a net.

3 To make good for the evil of their hands, the prince asked, and the judge judgeth for a reward: therefore the [c]great man he speaketh out the corruption of his soul: so [d]they wrapped it up.

4 The best of them is as [e]a brier, and the most righteous of them is sharper than a thorn-hedge: the day of [f]thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh: then shall be their confusion.

5 Trust ye not in a friend, neither put ye confidence in a counselor: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

6 For the son revileth the father: the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

7 Therefore [g]I will look unto the Lord: I will wait for God my Savior: my God will hear me.

8 Rejoice not against me, [h]O mine enemy: though I fall, I shall arise, when I shall sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.

9 I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: then will he bring me forth to the light, and I shall see his righteousness.

10 Then she that is mine enemy, shall look upon it, and shame shall cover her, which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? Mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

11 This is [i]the day, that thy walls shall be built: this day shall drive far away [j]the decree.

12 In this day also they shall come unto thee from [k]Assyria, and from the strong cities, and from the strongholds even unto the river, and from Sea to Sea, and from mountain to mountain.

13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, and for the fruits of [l]their inventions.

14 [m]Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage (which dwell solitary in the wood) as in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in old time.

15 [n]According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, will I show unto him marvelous things.

16 The nations shall see, and be confounded for all their power: they shall [o]lay their hand upon their mouth: [p]their ears shall be deaf.

17 They shall [q]lick the dust like a serpent: they shall move out of their holes like worms: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.

18 Who is a God like unto thee, that taketh away iniquity, and [r]passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage! He retaineth not his wrath forever, because mercy pleaseth him.

19 He will turn again, and have compassion upon us: he will subdue our iniquities, and cast all [s]their sins into the bottom of the sea.

20 Thou wilt perform thy [t]truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as thou hast sworn unto our fathers in old time.

Footnotes

Micah 7:1 The Prophet taketh upon him the person of the earth, which complaineth that all her fruits are gone, so that none is left: that is, that there is no godly man remaining: for all are given to cruelty and deceit, so that none spareth his own brother.

Micah 7:2 He showeth that the prince, the judge, and the rich man are linked together all to do evil, and to cloak the doings one of another.

Micah 7:3 That is, the rich man that is able to give money, abstaineth from no wickedness nor injury.

Micah 7:3 These men agree among themselves and conspire with one consent to do evil.

Micah 7:4 They that are of most estimation and are counted most honest among them, are but thorns and briers to prick.

Micah 7:4 Meaning of the Prophets and governors.

Micah 7:7 The Prophet showeth that the only remedy for the godly in desperate evils, is to flee unto God for succor.

Micah 7:8 This is spoken in the person of the Church which calleth the malignant Church her enemy.

Micah 7:11 To wit, when God shall show himself a deliverer of his Church, and a destroyer of his enemies.

Micah 7:11 Meaning, the cruel empire of the Babylonians.

Micah 7:12 When the Church shall be restored, they that were enemies afore, shall come out of all the corners of the world unto her, so that neither holds, rivers, seas, nor mountains shall be able to let them.

Micah 7:13 Afore this grace appear, he showeth how grievously the hypocrites themselves shall be punished, seeing that the earth itself, which cannot sin shall be made waste because of their wickedness.

Micah 7:14 The Prophet prayeth to God to be merciful unto his Church, when they should be scattered abroad as in solitary places in Babylon, and to be beneficial unto them as in times past.

Micah 7:15 God promiseth to be favorable to his people, as he had been afore time.

Micah 7:16 They shall be as dumb men, and dare brag no more.

Micah 7:16 They shall be astonished and afraid to hear men speak, lest they should hear of their destruction.

Micah 7:17 They shall fall flat on the ground for fear.

Micah 7:18 As though he would not see it, but wink at it.

Micah 7:19 Meaning of his elect.

Micah 7:20 The Church is assured, that God will declare in effect the truth of his merciful promise, which he had made of old to Abraham, and to all that should apprehend the promise by faith.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Micah%207&version=GNV

Castel Sant'Angelo

Rome, Italy

Roman Emperor Hadrian (76-138AD) was, as just about everyone would agree, a big deal. He's mostly remembered today for having been responsible for Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain, which was begun in 122AD and which marked the northern boundary of Rome's dominion on that rocky isle.

By most accounts Hadrian did a pretty good job as Roman Emperor (he ruled from 117 to 138AD), but most people die at one point or another, and Hadrian prepared for this possibility by arranging for a mausoleum to be built for he and his family to reside into eternity. Just in case they did actually die. This Hadrianum was built from 123 to 129AD, and was the repository of Hadrian's ashes upon his death in 138AD.

Though the necessity of defending a mausoleum seems strange, the Aurelian Wall was added to the Hadrianum in 271, which defended its "strategic southern flank." This big, defensible mausoleum would go on to also hold the earthly remains of the succeeding seven Roman Emperors.

Some of Hadrian might still be there, brushed into a corner somewhere, but for the most part his and his successors' ashes were scattered by the Visigoths, when Alaric (370-410) led them in the Sack of Rome in 410...so much for the Aurelian Wall!

Legend has it that the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum in 590, sheathing his sword. This supposedly announced the end of Rome's latest bout with the Bubonic Plague in 590, and 'twas from this "event" that this fort got its name. A marble statue of Michael and his plague-vanquishing sword was perched atop the Castel in 1536, then replaced with a bronze sculpture of the same subject in 1753.

By 1309, the Papacy had been doing things other than bellowing how awesome Rome was, so the Pope was kicked out of the Vatican and took up residence in Avignon, France. When as much Avignonian fun was had as could be had, Pope Gregory XI (1329-1378) returned to Rome in 1377 and...died almost immediately. His successor, Urban VI (1318-1389), had enough troubles in reestablishing the Papacy in Rome that he figured that he deserved his own proper fort, and Castel Sant'Angelo was finally born.

Conveniently close to the Vatican, the Castel Sant'Angelo had defensive fortifications built all around it by the 14th century, and a covered walkway was built leading to St. Peter's Basilica, so the Pope could stroll unmolested to his private fort. At exactly what point the Castel gained its current starrish shape seems a bit murky, but it was strong enough to protect Pope Clement VII from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558)'s Landsknecht (German mercenary pikemen) in yet another Sack of Rome in 1527.

Pope Paul III (1468-1549) had a sumptuous Papal apartment built in the Castel, just in case he'd have to sit through another Holy Papal Siege.

Sant'Angelo's days as an operable fort were over, but as we all know starforts make excellent jails, and the Castel was used as a Papal prison for the next 300+ years. Among those who had the honor of being imprisoned at the Castel was Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), an Italian friar who was convicted of heresy for his belief that the sun was a star, and other outlandishly dangerous theories. Fortunately, Bruno was burned at the stake in 1600 for his transgressions, and the world continued safe in the knowledge that the sun is in fact a magical dolphin.

The slightly overdecorated corridor that leads to the Papal apartments

The fort was decommissioned in 1901 and made into a museum. The Castel Sant'Angelo features prominently in Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)'s opera Tosca, which takes place in Rome in 1800: The title character, Gloria Tosca, flings herself from its battlements in the final act. The Castel also makes appearances in two of the Assassin's Creed video games. In 1980, American rock bands Kiss and the Ramones performed at the Castel.

I also have it on good authority that one can visit the Castel Sant'Angelo and have absolutely no idea that one is in the presence of a starfort: My dad visited the mausoleum in 2008, at which time, he insists, it obviously wasn't a starfort yet.

http://www.starforts.com/santangelo.html

Daniel 2

1599 Geneva Bible

2 1 The dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. 13 The king commandeth all the wise men of Babylon to be slain, because they could not interpret his dream. 16 Daniel requireth time to solute the question. 24 Daniel is brought unto the king, and showeth him his dream, and the interpretation thereof. 44 Of the everlasting kingdom of Christ.

1 And in the [a]second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed [b]dreams wherewith his spirit was [c]troubled, and his [d]sleep was upon him.

2 Then the king commanded to call the enchanters, and the astrologians, and the sorcerers, and the [e]Chaldeans for to show the king his dreams: so they came and stood before the King.

3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in the [f]Aramite’s language, O king, live forever: show thy servants thy dream, and we shall show the interpretation.

5 And the King answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me. If ye will not make me understand the dream with the interpretation thereof, ye [g]shall be drawn in pieces, and your houses shall be made a jakes.

6 But if ye declare the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards, and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation of it.

7 They answered again, and said, Let the king show [h]his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation thereof.

8 Then the king answered, and said, I know certainly that ye [i]would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

9 But if ye will not declare me the dream, there is but one judgment for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words, to speak before me till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, that I may know, if ye can declare me the interpretation thereof.

10 Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon earth that can declare the king’s matter: yea, there is neither King nor Prince nor lord that asked such things at an enchanter, or astrologian, or Chaldean.

11 For it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can declare it before the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.

12 For this cause the king was angry and in great fury, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babel.

13 ¶ And when sentence was given, the wise men were slain: and they [j]sought Daniel and his fellows to be put to death.

14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the king’s [k]chief steward, which was gone forth to put to death the wise men of Babel.

15 Yea, he answered and said unto Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the sentence so hasty from the king? Then Arioch declared the thing to Daniel.

16 So Daniel went and desired the king that he would give him leisure, and that he would show the king the interpretation thereof.

17 ¶ Then Daniel went to his house, and showed the matter to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah his companions,

18 That they should beseech the God of heaven for grace in this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babel.

19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision by night: therefore Daniel praised the God of heaven.

20 And Daniel answered and said, The Name of God be praised forever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his.

21 And he changeth the times and seasons: he taketh away kings: he setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and understanding to those that understand.

22 He discovereth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in darkness, and the [l]light dwelleth with him.

23 I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my [m]fathers, that thou hast given me wisdom and [n]strength, and hast showed me now the thing that we desired of thee: for thou hast declared unto us the king’s matter.

24 ¶ Therefore Daniel went unto Arioch, whom the King had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babel: he went and said thus unto him, Destroy not [o]the wise men of Babel, but bring me before the king, and I will declare unto the king the interpretation.

25 Then Arioch brought Daniel before the king in all haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of Judah that were brought captives, that will declare unto the king the interpretation.

26 Then answered the king, and said unto Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to show me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, can neither the wise, the astrologians, the enchanters, nor the soothsayers declare unto the king.

28 But there is a God in [p]heaven that revealeth secrets, and showeth the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the things which thou hast seen in thine head upon thy bed, is this:

29 O king, when thou wast in thy bed, thoughts came into thy mind, what should come to pass hereafter, and he that revealeth secrets, telleth thee what shall come.

30 As [q]for me, this secret is not showed me for any wisdom that I have more than any other living, but only to show the king the interpretation, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thine heart.

31 O king, thou sawest, and behold, there was a great image: this great image whose glory was so excellent, stood before thee, and the form therefore was terrible.

32 This image’s head was of fine [r]gold, his breast, and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

33 His legs of iron, and his feet were part of iron, and part of clay.

34 Thou beheldest it till a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken all together, and became like the chaff of the summer flowers, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36 This is the dream, and we will declare before the king the interpretation thereof.

37 ¶ O king, thou art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

38 And in all places where the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all: thou art [s]this head of gold.

39 And after thee shall rise another kingdom, [t]inferior to thee, of silver, and another [u]third kingdom shall be of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for as iron breaketh in pieces, and subdueth all things, and as iron bruiseth all these things, so shall it break in [v]pieces, and bruise all.

41 Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron: the kingdom shall be [w]divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, as thou sawest the iron mixed with the clay, and earth.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so shall the kingdom be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with clay and earth, they shall mingle themselves with [x]the seed of men: but they shall not join one with another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which [y]shall never be destroyed: and this kingdom shall not be given to another people, but it shall break, and destroy all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

45 Whereas thou sawest, that the [z]stone was cut of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold: so the great God hath showed the king, what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof is sure.

46 ¶ Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and [aa]bowed himself unto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meat offerings, and sweet odors unto him.

47 Also the King answered unto Daniel, and said, I know of a truth that your [ab]God is a God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and the revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest open this secret.

48 So the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many and great [ac]gifts. He made him governor over the whole province of Babel, and chief of the rulers, and above all the wise men of Babel.

49 Then Daniel [ad]made request to the King, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the charge of the province of Babel: but Daniel sat in the [ae]gate of the king.

Footnotes

Daniel 2:1 The father and the son were both called by this name, so that this is meant of the son, when he reigned alone: for he reigned also after a sort with his father.

Daniel 2:1 Not that he had many dreams, but because many matters were contained in this dream.

Daniel 2:1 Because it was so rare and strange a dream: that he had not had the like.

Daniel 2:1 He was so heavy with sleep, that he began to sleep again. Some read, and his sleep was broken from him.

Daniel 2:2 For all these Astrologers and sorcerers called themselves by this name of honor, as though all the wisdom and knowledge of the country depended upon them, and that all other countries were void of the same.

Daniel 2:4 That is, in the Syrian tongue which differed not much from the Chaldeans, save it seemed to be more eloquent, and therefore the learned used to speak it, as the Jewish writers do to this day.

Daniel 2:5 This is a just reward of their arrogance (which vaunted of themselves that they had the knowledge of all things) that they should be proved fools, and that to their perpetual shame and confusion.

Daniel 2:7 Herein appeared their ignorance, that notwithstanding their brags, yet were they not able to tell the dream, except he entered them into the matter, and therefore they would pretend knowledge where was but mere ignorance, and so as deluders of the people, they were worthy to die.

Daniel 2:8 Hebrew, redeem the time.

Daniel 2:13 Which declareth that God would not have his servant joined in the company of these sorcerers and Astrologers, whose arts were wicked, and therefore justly ought to die, though the king did it upon a rage and no zeal.

Daniel 2:14 Or, the captain of the guards.

Daniel 2:22 He showeth that man hath neither wisdom nor knowledge, but very dark blindness and ignorance of himself: for it cometh only of God, that man understandeth anything.

Daniel 2:23 To whom thou madest thy promise, and who lived in thy fear: whereby he excludeth all other gods.

Daniel 2:23 Meaning, power to interpret it.

Daniel 2:24 Whereby appeareth that many were slain, as verse 13, and the rest at Daniel’s offer were preserved on condition: not that Daniel favored their wicked profession, but that he had respect to equity, because the King proceeded according to his wicked affection, and not considering if their science were lawful or no.

Daniel 2:28 He affirmeth that man by reason and art is not able to attain to the cause of God’s secrets, but the understanding only thereof must come of God: whereby he smiteth the king with a certain fear and reverence of God, that he might be the more apt to receive the high mysteries, that should be revealed.

Daniel 2:30 Because he had said that God only must reveal the signification of this dream, the King might have asked, why Daniel did enterprise to interpret it, and therefore he showeth that he was but God’s minister and had no gifts, but such as God had given him to set forth his glory.

Daniel 2:32 By gold, silver, brass and iron, are meant the Chaldean, Persian, Macedonian and Roman kingdoms, which should successively rule all the world till Christ (which is here called the stone) come himself, and destroy the last: and this was to assure the Jews, that their affliction should not end with the empire of the Chaldeans, but that they should patiently abide the coming of Messiah, which should be at the end of this fourth monarchy.

Daniel 2:38 Daniel leaveth out the kingdom of the Assyrians, which was before the Babylonian, both because it was not a Monarchy and general empire, and also because he would declare the things that were to come, to the coming of Christ, for the comfort of the elect among these wonderful alterations, and he calleth the Babylonian kingdom the golden head, because in respect of the other three, it was the best, and yet it was of itself wicked and cruel.

Daniel 2:39 Meaning, the Persians which were not inferior in dignity, power, and riches, but were worse touching ambition, cruelty, and all kind of vice, showing that the world should grow worse and worse, till it was restored by Christ.

Daniel 2:39 That is, of the Macedonians shall be of brass, not alluding to the hardness thereof, but to the vileness in respect of silver.

Daniel 2:40 That is, the Roman empire shall subdue all these other aforenamed, which after Alexander were divided into the Macedonians, Grecians, Syrians and Egyptians.

Daniel 2:41 They shall have civil wars, and continual discords among themselves.

Daniel 2:43 They shall by marriages and affinities think to make themselves strong: yet shall they never be joined in hearts.

Daniel 2:44 His purpose is to show, that all the kingdoms of the world are transitory, and that the kingdom of Christ shall only remain forever.

Daniel 2:45 Meaning Christ, who was sent of God, and not set up by man, whose kingdom at the beginning should be small and without beauty to man’s judgment, but should at length grow and fill the whole earth, which he calleth a great mountain, as verse 35. And this kingdom which is not only referred to the person of Christ, but also to the whole body of his Church, and to every member thereof, shall be eternal: for the Spirit that is in them is life eternal, Rom. 8:10.

Daniel 2:46 Though this humbling of the king seemed to deserve commendation, yet because he joined God’s honor with the Prophet’s, it is to be reproved, and Daniel herein erred, if he suffered it: but it is credible that Daniel admonished him of his fault, and did not suffer it.

Daniel 2:47 This confession was but a sudden motion, as it was also in Pharaoh, Exod. 9:28, but his heart was not touched, as appeared soon afterward.

Daniel 2:48 Not that the Prophet was desirous of gifts or honor, but because by this means he might relieve his poor brethren, which were grievously oppressed in this their captivity, and also he received them, lest he should offend this cruel king, which willingly gave them.

Daniel 2:49 He did not this for their private profit: but that the whole Church, which was then there in affliction, might have some release and ease by this benefit.

Daniel 2:49 Meaning, that either he was a judge, or that he had the whole authority, so than none could be admitted to the king’s presence, but by him.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+2&version=GNV

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0vbNYuVTqm8YMamBNa75ZQDCXs3Hqyo8AkYxVjnupWjWtx3nmgiEWhMKTwp6A9W8bl

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