Category Archives: Belief Systems

Accident of birth

Belief Systems, Just for Fun

Accident of birth

This topic is one that tends to creep back into my consciousness frequently. I was born in the USA and experienced an upbringing in a military family and was conditioned for ten years via the Roman Catholic catechism. The since our population represents less than 5% of the world’s I could have easily appeared in another country and been indoctrinated in a vastly different faith.

If I had been born in North Korea I would have been indoctrinated into the cult of the ruling family and likely believed that my beloved leader was the light and the only truth leading to prosperity. Would I have been able to see the truth and break the spell? And if I did would I have the courage to rebel? Would I be willing to risk the devastation that would likely be unleashed on my family and friends?

If I had been born in India I likely would have been raised in the Hindu faith and traditions. The statistics would put in a relatively low economic class. Would I have had the drive to rise above my economic circumstances and prosper? If introduced to Christianity would I have seen that version of faith more attractive than my formative indoctrination?

If I had been born in Egypt I likely would have been raised by a devout Muslim family and would have prayed diligently to Ala several time a day. Would I believe some of the more radical teachings and sign up to fight the great Satan in the West? Would I be a more moderate Muslim holding to the more admirable teachings in the Koran?

How much of what we believe and hold as truth is simply an accident of birth?

Date of creation (From Conservapedia)

Belief Systems, Education, History, Uncategorized

Date of creation (From Conservapedia)

“The date of Creation has been debated for many years. Separate calculations have given different answers although most are fairly close to each other.

Basis of calculation

The Bible contains chronogenealogies from Adam to Abraham, listing the age at which each person in the genealogy gave birth to the next person in the list, thus allowing by simple addition a determination of how many years passed between Creation and Abraham. There are other chronological indications also, allowing that calculation to be extended into the times of the kings, when the dates can be correlated with other events in history for which the absolute date is known. By this means, in theory, one can calculate the date of Creation.

Calculated dates

The best known date of Creation is the one calculated by Archbishop James Ussher in the 17th century – namely 6:00 p.m. Saturday, October 23, 4004 BC. Ussher calculated the year of Creation by the following means:

  • He accepted the date of the death of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon at 562 BC.
  • He then assumed that Evil-Merodach began to reign in that year.
  • King Jehoiachin received a pension from Evil-Merodach beginning in this year, and that he was taken captive 37 years before then, or in 599 BC. (The final Fall of Jerusalem occurred eleven years later; hence Ussher places the Fall of Jerusalem in 588 BC, not 586 BC as most secular archaeologists assume.)
  • From that anchor point, Ussher worked backward through the king lists of the Divided Kingdoms Northern and Southern. See I and II Kings.
  • He worked backward further to set the dates-of-reign of King Solomon, and calculated the Exodus of Israel at 480 years earlier than the groundbreaking of the Temple, which was in Solomon’s fourth year. This fell in 1012 BC, and so Ussher fixed the Exodus at 1491 BC.
  • Based on his interpretation of Galatians 3:17 , Ussher then fixed the date of the entry of Abraham into Canaan. This was in 1921 BC.
  • Ussher here made a key assumption that is in great dispute. We read that Abraham was 75 years old when he embarked into Canaan. We also read that Terah was 70 years old when he “begat” Abraham, Nahor (the younger), and Haran. Ussher’s assumption, which added another sixty years to the reckoning of Creation, was this: that Abraham did not embark on his own until after Terah had died at the age of 205. This would mean that Terah was actually 130 years old, not 70, when Abraham was born—and presumably that Nahor the Younger or Haran was born when Terah was 70. Ussher’s sole warrant for this assumption is that the Bible describes Abraham’s departure after it describes Terah’s “death.” But Terah’s “death” might be spiritual rather than physical, in that Terah had originally intended to take all his family out of Ur of the Chaldees and into Canaan, but forgot his purpose and grew too accustomed to worldly enticements in the country of Haran. If that is the case, then Abraham might have departed when Terah was still alive—which is what the inventors of the present Hebrew calendar assumed.
  • Ussher then backtracked the pedigree of Abraham to Arphaxad, born to Shem two years after the Great Flood. He therefore concluded that the Great Flood happened in 2349 BC.
  • Finally, Ussher backtracked the genealogy of Shem to Adam.

To arrive at the month and approximate date, Ussher concluded that Creation must have occurred during the Autumnal Equinox, which in fact is the favorite start of many of the world’s calendars, ancient and modern. He also assumed that the ancient Hebrews did not attempt to synchronize their months with the moon until after their exile into Babylonia. He thus calculated the date of Creation at October 23, 4004 BC according to the Julian calendar.

Because the seven days of Creation (including one day of rest) set the pattern for our week, Ussher decided that the Creation began on the first day of the week, i.e. Sunday. However, because the day was defined as being an “evening and morning”, and some calendars to this day still have the days beginning at sunset, Ussher concluded Creation actually began at what on modern western calendars would be 6 p.m. (sunset at the equinox) on Saturday.

James Ussher’s calculation was the best-sourced calculation in all of Christendom at the time. Ussher also spoke with authority, and from a position of authority. For those reasons, his dates for various Biblical events appeared in the margins of King James and other Bibles for centuries, until the last quarter of the twentieth century, when publishers abandoned this practice. Sir Isaac Newton defended Ussher’s date.

Johannes Kepler also attempted to calculate the date using his own methods (sadly lost to time); he worked it out to be 3992 B.C.

Such calculations in fact date from at least the Middle Ages, and offer a range of dates from around 5000 to 4000 BC. The date used by Eastern Orthodox Christianity is often 1 September, 5509 BC. This was the date used as the beginning point for their calendars. Traditionalist Catholics often use 5199 BC. Judaic tradition reckons the date of Creation at 3760 BC. Another calculation, beginning with the date of the destruction of Jerusalem known from secular history and working backwards, arrives at 4163 BC.”

Retrieved from:  “https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Date_of_creation&oldid=1255166”              The preceding information assumes that the bible is an accurate historical document. Most folks date the actual writing of the first book of Genesis at between 1200 and 900 BC. The latter date is likely the most reasonable as there is no conclusive evidence that the Aramaic Alphabet existed before that time. This means that only an oral account existing for at least 3,000 years. The veracity of every detail (and likely most details) is doubtful. If we place any value on the scientific evidence of creation of the Universe, the Galaxy and our Planet then common sense will dictate that the time frame is far off. This does not mean that certain elements of the bible are inaccurate. Many elements of the text that closely correspond to the Sumerian tablets.  The Sumerian tablets were written several thousands of years before the bible!

Myths as Beliefs

Belief Systems, Just for Fun

Myths as Beliefs

I have always felt that there were at least some truths contained in what we refer to as Ancient Myths. What we may not adequately consider is that, in most instances, the people that documented these events did not view them at myths. The “myths” were the accepted “belief system” of their time.

The Sumerian beliefs were first documented Circa 4,000 BC using cuneiform script, one of if not the oldest written language. These writings referred to a much earlier time and documented the Kings List going back hundreds of thousands of years!

The oldest Egyptian writings date to the mid-4th Century BC and document their beliefs in many gods, again from a much earlier time and whose origins were off planet.

The earliest Chinese writings date to 1,700 BC and document their beliefs of the time. In India, Indus Script dates to Circa 3,000 BC and other, more modern script dates to well over 1,000 BC. The Oldest written document was found in Northern Greece. The Dispilio tablet dates to circa 5,500 BC.

The consensus is that Aramaic appeared Circa 900 BC and arguably documents events back to about 4,000 BC. There is little doubt that the Greeks and Romans sincerely believed in their pantheon of gods and their powers.

I often wonder what an off-worlder would think about our modern-day beliefs? Would they consider them myths? Would their view be any different than our view of the many beliefs that we currently consider “Myths”?