Saturday, July 08, 2017

"Go, and he goeth" - Why Christianity Could Establish Itself in ancient Rome


Around Tokyo


Why Christianity Could Establish Itself in ancient Rome


Everybody wants to be rich.  But nobody uses violence, knives, or guns to be rich today, since there is any degree of rule of or control by law in addition to the police force.

In the Roman Empire about 2000 years ago, everyone wanted to be rich, too.  But there were not good police systems in ancient Rome and the Empire.  Even armed soldiers were forbidden in Rome except for some specified mission.  Only a small number of soldiers were stationed in Rome.  And as the assassination of Caesar showed, there were not enough special services for public figures.

 However, there were many slaves in Rome.  They were of curse restrained by not only Roman laws but also physical forces of their masters.  It means that although there were not many soldiers working as policemen in Rome, each free citizen was armed with swords, knives, etc.  Essentially, individuals in the Roman Empire had to protect themselves by themselves.  And, they had to suppress and manage their slaves first by their individual forces, although the Roman authority would send soldiers to suppress slaves who beat their masters and ran away.

In addition, the Roman Empire was not reluctant to give Roman citizenship to members of foreign tribes or ex-slaves taken to Rome after wars.  But, in Rome, order and peace were maintained not only by laws or the police forces but also by armed individual citizens and their will to maintain order and peace.

In other words, criminals could not be so easily arrested or punished by the Roman authority unless they had gathered to form a formidable force to which Roman troops must be mobilized to suppress it.

Originally, Rome was built by members of a tribe.  Order and peace were kept in Rome, because Romans had to fight in unity against other tribes and external forces for survival.  So, nobody in the tribe wanted a state of anarchy through violence and crimes.  No police was needed.  Basically, individuals should protect themselves with their own arms in peace time.

But as Rome became a center of the ancient Europe, many members of other tribes were brought to Rome as slaves, guests, or Roman citizens.  But the social system didn't change much.  Order and peace in peace time must be secured by individuals with their own arms.

This state of the Roman society allowed many criminals to perform crimes without being arrested or punished if they did not challenge the Roman authority.  So, ancient Rome or other cities in the Empire were full of petty crimes.

So, it is very natural for poor or weak Roman citizens and slaves or ex-slaves accepted Christianity, a religion of peace, to save themselves from violence and crimes.  Christian citizens could trust other Christian citizens.  They gathered, communicated, and kept contact with one another to protect themselves from violence and crimes being commonly observed in Rome and other cities in the Empire.

This must be one of reasons why Christianity could establish it in ancient Rome and the Roman Empire.

So, put extremely without fear of misunderstanding, we might be allowed to think if in America today there is only a small number of policemen, and order and peace of the society or communities are depended on armed individuals, Christianity should prevail more in a more serious manner.  




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Luk 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

Tuesday, July 04, 2017

"If I have rewarded evil" - The Miracle Distances among Global Religions




Around the Tokyo Station 

The Miracle Distances among Global Religions

A Japanese blogger measured the distances among the sacred sites of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.

Jerusalem to Bodh Gaya: 4904.248231 km
Jerusalem to Mecca:  1234.738123 km
The Vatican to Jerusalem: 2311.491879 km
The Vatican to Bodh Gaya: 6815.590147 km
Mecca to Bodah Gaya: 4622.295844 km
The Vatican to Mecca: 3421.269605 km

ワールドワイド魔方陣.
http://equaljapan.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-97.html

The distance ratios are as follows:
Jerusalem to Mecca over Jerusalem to Bodh Gaya is 1:3.972 or about 1:4.
The Vatican to Jerusalem over Mecca to Bodah Gaya is 1:1.9997 or about 1:2.
The Vatican to Mecca over the Vatican to Bodh Gaya is 1:1.992 or about 1:2
The Vatican to Jerusalem over the Vatican to Bodh Gaya is 1:2.949 or about 1:3.
The Vatican to Jerusalem over the the Vatican to Mecca is 2:2.960 or about 2:3.

Watching these ratios, the blogger got astonished to find that the ratios can be expressed only with small integers from 1 to 4.  Indeed, it can be an act of God.

It is remarkable not only in that these ratios are expressed almost by simple integers but also in that they seem to show relative closeness among the three religions.  In addition, within the triangle set on the Vatican, Mecca, and Bodah Gaya, all the origins of the ancient civilizations except ancient Chinese civilization are included.  The ancient Egyptian Civilization, the ancient Mesopotamian Civilization, the ancient Indus Civilization, and the ancient Greek Civilization are all situated within this triangle.

The global civilization, including Europeans', Muslims', and Hindus', to date was originated in this triangle.  However, the ancient Chinese Civilization seems to have only influenced the regions northeast of the Himalaya Mountains, namely East Asia.  And in these regions, Japan is especially unique in that it could catch up with Western Civilization in the early 20th century.

Anyway, this is another global miracle God shows in terms of global religions.


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Psa 7:3 O LORD my God, If I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
Psa 7:4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)
Psa 7:5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

Monday, July 03, 2017

"the beam that is in thine own eye?" - Neanderthal-Origin DNA and our Religions


Tokyo


Neanderthal-Origin DNA and our Religions

According to a science survey, native human beings living outside Africa have all a few percentage of Neanderthal-origin DNA in their bodies.

However native Africans have no traits of Neanderthal-origin DNA.  Human beings are believed to have met Neanderthal people in the Middle East.  Indeed in Israel there are some famous remains of Neanderthals.  Even native Australians are believed to have met Neanderthals in the Middle East to carry some Neanderthal-origin DNA.
When our ancestors first migrated out of Africa around 60,000 years ago, they were not alone. At that time, at least two other species of hominid cousins walked the Eurasian landmass—Neanderthals and Denisovans. As our modern human ancestors migrated through Eurasia, they encountered the Neanderthals and interbred. Because of this, a small amount of Neanderthal DNA was introduced into the modern human gene pool.
Everyone living outside of Africa today has a small amount of Neanderthal in them, carried as a living relic of these ancient encounters. A team of scientists comparing the full genomes of the two species concluded that most Europeans and Asians have between 1 to 2 percent Neanderthal DNA. Indigenous sub-Saharan Africans have none, or very little Neanderthal DNA because their ancestors did not migrate through Eurasia.
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/neanderthal/
It is interesting, since Christianity started in the Middle East but the religion did not prevail in Africa (till colonization by European Christians started in Africa).  And, human beings met Neanderthals in the Middle East but native Africans were not influenced by Neanderthals.

Maybe there might be some linkage between Neanderthal traits and Hebrews or ancestors of Abraham.  Or as Abraham came from an area close to the domain of Sumerians, Sumerians might have more Neanderthal-origin DNA than other tribes.  If Abraham had had some linkage with Sumerians, and Sumerians who established the first urban civilization in the Middle East had had stronger linkage with Neanderthals, Hebrews should have had some linkage to Neanderthals through Abraham and Sumerians.

Then, the major three religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, might be influenced by Neanderthal traits.

In other word, we might owe our major religions to Neanderthal-origin DNA.  It is indeed an act of God!





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Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Sunday, July 02, 2017

"with what measure ye mete" - DNAs of Religions


Tokyo


DNAs of Religions

Muhammad's path for dissemination of his teaching was very different from Jesus Christ's.

Muhammad fought his enemies with his troops, using weapons.  Muhammad also attacked some Judaist communities who did not respect him.  Muhammad believed that God was on his side since he was winning the battles.

This is part of DNA of Islam, whereas peaceful preaching became part of DNA of Christianity.

God also helped Hebrews through various wars establish their nation.  Accordingly, Islam's relationship with God seems rather closer to that of Judaism than that of Christianity.

Indeed the Koran is full of curses against enemies of God, Islam, and Muslims.  In this context, Islam is not a religion of peace.  However, Satan can abuse these curses so that he would make righteous Muslims get attacked due to false accusation.  Yet, if followers of Satan are going to occupy Muslims, it may be reasonable for the Koran to give such strong warning to Muslim readers with such strong curses on these enemies of God, Islam, and Muslims.   Nonetheless, the Koran is not a book for peace in a Christian sense.

And, in any of these religions, it is believed that God will punish people on the last day or in the last judgment.

Of course, it is reasonable that God takes a hard stance against Satan in the showdown.  But does it mean that there are so many followers of Satan among human beings?



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Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.