Sunday, December 31, 2006

 

Nations (Language-Egyptian)


“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.” (Acts 7:20-22 NIV)

The schools of Egypt were for the elite. The court of Egypt provided educational facilities for royal heirs or tributary princes from city-states of the Syro-Palestinian territory subject to the Egyptian rulers. One important aspect of the education would be reading and writing, just as it is with today’s education.

Before proceeding with the details of Egyptian hieroglyphics, various English terminologies need to be defined.

Phonogram: a character or symbol used to represent a word or syllable. For example, a picture of a bee and a leaf to represent the syllables for the word belief are phonograms.

Logogram: a letter, symbol or sign used to represent an entire word. For example, a picture of a heart to mean love in “I love you!” is a logogram.

Ideogram: a picture or symbol used in a system of writing to represent a thing or an idea but not a particular word or phrase. An upside down triangle with red trim implies a driver should yield.

Most hieroglyphic signs are phonetic. These phonograms represent one consonant (uniliteral), two consonants (biliteral), or three consonants (triliteral). The uniliteral signs may be referred to the Egyptian alphabet (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_uniliteral_signs). The biliteral and triliteral signs can be seen at the following locations, respectively:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_biliteral_signs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_triliteral_signs

Hieroglyphics can be read left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-to-bottom. The reader determines the direction of reading by examining the direction the signs are facing. The Egyptians were very concerned with aesthetics; therefore, the hieroglyphics were usually written to give the best visual appearance.

Like English, ancient Egyptians had homonyms (words like wait and weight). To distinguish the different meanings, many times a scribe would add extra hieroglyphic signs called determinative symbols. These ideograms never carried phonetic importance. A good example can be seen in the picture to the right. The only phonetic signs are the h, n, and u. Because ancient Egyptians did not always insert every vowel (like ancient Hebrew) this word could either be pronounced henu, hinew, ohanow, or some other variant.

One of the most interesting hieroglyphics is found in the Temple at Soleb. On one of the men is written ta sasuw yehua[w] (see the picture of a replica below and see if you can duplicate the translation). The passage is translated “the land of the Shasu, (those of) Yhw.” Shasu refers to people living in Syria and Palestine. Makes one wonder what Yhw stands for (maybe YHWH)!

Other complexities of hieroglyphics are listed below:

1. Sometimes uniliteral symbols follow a triliteral symbol to emphasis the pronunciation.

2. Signs joined together, like an arm holding a scepter, are contractions.

3. Doubling a sign means the word is dual; tripling a sign means the word is plural.

4. The “correct” spelling of a word may not have existed. Sometimes the word would have redundancies, omissions, or alternate spellings.

5. Proper names of kings and queens were encircled with a cartouche.

Pretty complex for an ancient civilization.

REF: Casson, Lionel. Great Ages of Man: Ancient Egypt. Time: New York, 1965.
NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Zondervan: Michigan: 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_hieroglyphs
http://hieroglyphs.net/000501/html/000-002.html

Saturday, December 30, 2006

 

Nations (Language)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered …’” (Exodus 17:14 NIV)

“When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the LORD has said we will do.’ Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.” (Exodus 24:3)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’” (Exodus 34:27)

“At the LORD’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey.” (Numbers 33:2)

“After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, …” (Deuteronomy 31:24)

“If you believed Moses, you would believe me [Christ], for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (John 5:46)

I remember hearing the argument when I was younger that Moses could not have written the first five books of the Bible because writing had not fully developed until after his time. This argument showed the ignorance of this person. Archeological evidence now shows that the Sumerians had writing around 3400 B.C. and the Egyptians had writing around 3100 B.C. Furthermore, the writing was already in an advanced form. Theories exist that simplified pictures and lists existed before these dates.

In the following posts I hope to shed some light on how advanced these writings actually were, what they have in common, and how they are different. I especially want to spend some time on the interesting Chinese characters that give some intriguing insight into the ancient world.

Friday, December 29, 2006

 

Nations (Religion-Chinese)

"Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." (Isaiah 64:8 NIV)

As polytheism became the popular religious system, finding people groups who were monotheistic was harder and harder to find. One of the most ancient and most highly recognized monotheistic religions is Judaism. Oddly, the Hebrews kept their monotheistic beliefs (for the most part) in a region that was highly influenced by polytheistic beliefs: Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Hittites, Arabs, Persians, Greeks, and eventually Romans. But a more isolated group of people were discovered to be monotheistic.

Before the introduction of Confucianism and Taoism, followed by Buddhism from India, the early Chinese were monotheistic. They worshiped the god ShangTi, the Heavenly Ruler. Every year the reigning emperor of China would travel back west to the border of his country and sacrifice a young unblemished bullock on an outdoor altar. Eventually the Temple and Altar of Heaven was moved to Beijing, where it still stands today.

Many references to ShangTi can be found in The Five Classics, five ancient Chinese books that are believed to be compiled by Confucius. Confucious was perplexed by these sacrifices. In one of his writings he wrote: “He who understands the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth … would find the government of a kingdom as easy as to look into his palm!” [ref].

Many of the prayers and songs that were sung to ShangTi at the Border Sacrifice can still be read today. One of the most profound is the following:

Of old in the beginning, there was the great chaos, without form and dark. The five elements had not begun to revolve, nor the sun and moon to shine. You, O Spiritual Sovereign first divided the grosser parts from the purer. You made heaven. You made earth. You made man. All things with their reproducing power got their being. … All the numerous tribes of animated beings are indebted to Thy favor for their beginnings. Men and things are all emparadised [sic] in Thy love, O Te [different name of same person]. All living things are indebted to Your goodness, but who knows from whom his blessings come to him? You alone, O Lord, are the true parent of all things. … He sets fast forever the high heaven, and establishes the solid earth. His government is everlasting. … Your sovereign goodness cannot be measured. As a potter, You have made all living things.

These songs and traditions outdate Moses’ writings by more than 700 years. Could the Chinese have taken memories from after the flood as they dispersed to the east? I believe what may be more telling is the language they developed and still maintain in a simplified form today! That is for another post.

REF: Nelson, Ethel R. and Richard E. Broadberry. Mystery Confucius Couldn’t Solve. Ethel R. Nelson: 1994.

(See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangdi)

Thursday, December 28, 2006

 

Nations (Religion)

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.’” (Joshua 24:2)

“Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot …, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.” (Genesis 11:31)

Nanna, the moon god in Mesopotamian mythology, was exalted in the City of Ur. Interestingly, Nanna was also worshipped in Haran. As the Mesopotamian area developed under the Babylonians and Assyrians, Nanna was added to the pantheon of gods, his name was changed to Sin, and he was elevated to the title of chief god.

Common among ancient societies is the large pantheon of gods and goddesses. The development of religion is still highly debated. There are many theories on why man “created” religion. Nevertheless, unknown to historians a god or a few gods would develop in various cities. As the cities were unified under a single power, the more popular gods would survive, and the pantheon of gods would increase. Therefore, polytheism was very common among ancient civilizations.

Note the Hall of Fame of mythological gods in ancient societies:

Egyptian
Amun, creator deitynubis, God of Embalming, Friend of the Dead, originally god of the dead
Apep, Serpent of the Underworld, enemy of Ra
Atum, a creator deity, and the setting sun
Bast, Goddess of Cats
Bes, God-Demon of Protection, Childbirth and Entertainment
Geb, God of the Earth
Hapy, God of the Nile and Fertility
Hathor, Goddess of Love and Music
Heget, Goddess of Childbirth
Horus, the falcon-headed god, God of Pharaohs and Upper Egypt
Imhotep, God of wisdom, medicine and magic
Isis, Goddess of Magic, sister of Nephthys
Khepry, the scarab beetle, the embodiment of the dawn
Khnum, a creator deity, god of the innundation
Maahes, god of war
Ma'at, Concept of Truth, Balance and Order, sometimes depicted as a goddess, God of Justice
Menhit, Goddess of war
Mont, god of war
Naunet, the primal waters
Neith, goddess of war, then great mother goddess
Nephthys, mother of Anubis
Nut, goddess of heaven and the sky
Osiris, god of the underworld, fertility and agricultural, possible father of Anubis
Ptah, a creator deity, also god of crafts, possibly Men-Nefer (Memphis)
Ra, the sun, possible father of Anubis, also a creator deity
Sekhmet, goddess of war and battles
Sobek, Crocodile God
Set, God of Storms, possible father of Anubis, later became god of evil, desert, also Lower Egypt
Shu, God of wind.
Taweret, Goddess of pregnant women and protecter at childbirth
Tefnut, goddess of rain and weather
Thoth, god of the moon, drawing, writing, geometry, wisdom, medicine, music, astronomy, and magic

Greek
Aphrodite - goddess of love and beauty, one of the twelve Olympians
Apollo - god of poetry, music, the sun, and prophecy, and an Olympian
Ares - god of violent war, an Olympian
Artemis - goddess of the hunt, virginity, and childbirth, twin sister of Apollo, and an Olympian, often associated with the moon
Athena - goddess of wisdom, defensive and strategic war, guardian-goddess of Athens, an Olympian
Chaos - non-gendered primordial entity from which Gaia was created
Cronus - leader of first generation of Titans, also a harvest deity
Demeter - goddess of the harvest and of grain, mother of Persephone, an Olympian
Dionysus - god of wine and sensual pleasures, took Hestia's place as an Olympian
Eos - goddess of the dawn
Eris - goddess of discord
Eros - god of love
Gaia - primordial goddess of earth, mother and grandmother of the first generation of Titans
Hades - god of the underworld and material riches, brother of Zeus
Hebe - wife of Heracles and goddess of youth
Hekate - goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the harvest moon
Hephaestus - god of smiths, an Olympian
Hera - Queen of the Gods and Heaven, goddess of marriage, an Olympian
Heracles - porter of Olympus, patron god of gymnasia and wrestling rings, god of strength
Hermes - messenger of the gods and transporter of souls to the Underworld, an Olympian
Hestia - goddess of the hearth, gave up seat at Olympus to Dionysus
Hypnos - god of sleep
Pan - god of shepherds and forests
Persephone - daughter of Demeter, queen of the dead, also a grain-goddess
Poseidon - god of the sea and earthquakes, an Olympian
Selene - goddess of the moon
Thanatos - god of death
Ouranos - sky god and ancestor of many of the other gods
Zeus - King of the Gods and god of the sky, air, and storms

Incan
Apo- mountain god
Apocatquil- god of lightning
Chasca- goddess of dawn, twilight, and Venus
Coniraya- moon god
Ekkeko- god of hearth and wealth
Illapa- weather god
Inti/Punchau- sun god
Kon- god of rain and wind from the south
Mama Allpa- multi-breasted fertility goddess
Mama Cocha- goddess of sea and fish
Mama Pacha- dragoness fertility goddess
Mama Quilla-moon goddess
Mama Zara- goddess of grain
Pacha Kamaq- creator god
Pariacaca- water god
Supay- god of death
Urcaguary- god of metal and jewels

Mayan
Ahaw Kin - Sun God
Bacabs - Gods of the 4 directions
Balac - War God
Balam - Protector God
Bolon tza cab - Ruling God of All
Chaac - Rain God
Hunah Ku - Creator God
Itzamna - Reptile Creator God
Ix Chel - Moon Goddess
Kukulcan - Feathered Serpent God
Xbalanque - God of the Jaguar
Xi Balba - God of the Death
Yum Kaax - Corn God

Mesopotamian
Anshar - father of heaven
Anu - the god of the highest heaven
Apsu - the ruler of gods and underworld oceans
Ashur - national god of the Assyrians, thought by the Assyrians to be king of the gods
Damkina - Earth mother goddess
Ea - god of wisdom
Enlil - god of weather and storms
Ereshkigal - Goddes of Darkness, Death, and Gloom
Hadad - weather god
Ishtar - goddess of love and one of the highest-ranking deities in Mesopotamian myth
Kingu - husband of Tiamat
Kishar - father of the earth
Marduk - national god of the Babylonians, later thought to be king of the gods
Mummu - god of mists
Nabu - god of the scribal arts
Nintu - mother of all gods
Ninurta - god of war
Nergal - god of war, disease, death and destruction; ruler of the underworld
Shamash - god of the sun and of justice (Shapash in Ugaritic, Shamsa in Sumerian)
Sin - moon god
Tiamat - dragon goddess slain by Marduk

Etc.

(This partial list was brought to you by Wikipedia. For a overwhelming list go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gods.)

Saturday, December 23, 2006

 

Nations (Literature/Mythology)

“I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But …” (Genesis 6:17)

Sumerian
The god Enki warns Ziusudra, king of Shuruppak, of the gods’ decision to destroy mankind in a flood. Enki tells Ziusudra to build a large boat. After 7 days of flooding, Ziusudra makes a sacrifice to An the sky-god and Enlil the chief god. Due to his prostrations, Ziusudra is given eternal life.

Babylonian
The hero Gilgamesh, seeking immortality, searches out for Utnapishtim (translation of Ziusudra into Akkadian) in the earthly paradise Dilmun. Utnapishtim tells how Ea warned him of the gods’ plan to destroy all life with a flood. Utnapishtim was instructed to build a large boat so he could save his family, friends, wealth, and cattle.

Akkadian
The world has become overpopulated. The god Enlil cannot sleep due to the noise. At the divine assembly the gods decide to destroy the world with a plague, then a drought, then a famine, and then bad soil. Each time the population is reduced only to grow again. The assembly decides to destroy the world with a flood. The god Enki, opposing this solution, tells the mortal Atrahasis to build a boat.

Greek
The men of the earth grew wicked; therefore, Zeus decided to destroy them all with a great flood. The god Prometheus who was partial to humans told his mortal son Deucalion to build a chest. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha float in their chest for nine days and nights and finally land on a mountain top. As the flood receded Deucalion and his wife walked down from the mountain. As they descended they threw stones over their shoulders, and the stones became human.

Mayan
The wind and storm god Huracan destroys the first humans because they do not worship the gods. After the flood, four men and four women repopulate the world. The descendants gather together in one location and speak the same language. However, their speech is changed and the people disperse throughout the world.

Chinese
Emperor Yao is faced with a problem of flood waters reaching to the heavens. Da Yu succeeds in controlling the flood and goes on to form the first Chinese dynasty. Other versions have a female named Nuwa who repairs the heavens after a great flood.

Indian
Satyavata, later known as Manu, saved a fish in a river. The fish tells him that a great flood would destroy all life. Manu builds a boat, and the fish tows the boat to a mountaintop where Manu spreads some seeds of life.

“… But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.” (Genesis 6:18)

Friday, December 22, 2006

 

Nations (Architecture)

“While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth.” (Genesis 11:28 NIV)

Archeologists excavated Ur between 1922 and 1934. One key aspect of the city was the large ziggurat near the center of Ur. This pyramidal tower can be found in almost every ancient Mesopotamian city. Currently, 32 known ziggurats have been discovered in Iraq and Iran. The ziggurat was not a place for public worship. The ancients believed the gods actually dwelled in the top of these towers.

While the ziggurats in Mesopotamia were being built, the Egyptians were building slightly different buildings. The Egyptians are the ones who have made pyramids popular. Where ziggurats were the houses of gods, Egyptian pyramids were the tombs of pharaohs. The early pharaohs were believed to be gods or descendants of the gods. Many archeologists believe the pyramids represent the rising and setting of the sun—that is Ra, the sun god.

Egypt is not the only ancient civilization who built pyramids. There are more than 16 pyramids spread over Greece. The oldest one, Pyramid of Hellinikon, probably is older than the oldest Egyptian pyramid. Several of these pyramids are still being investigated today. As of recent, there is no clear evidence on how these pyramids were used.

In modern day Sudan near the mouth of the Nile valley, the Nubian pyramids can be found. These pyramids shared many common traits with the Egyptian pyramids. They too were tombs for kings and queens.

Pyramids have also been discovered in China. The interesting tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China, is a mound in the shape of a pyramid. Qin Shi Huang is famous for unifying ancient China, constructing the terracotta army, connecting various walls to establish the precursor version of the Great Wall, and building a tomb that has not been opened to this day because of the high mercury levels detected inside. The emperors were not necessarily gods. However, they were connected to the dragons, which were immortal. Likewise, the Chinese emperors were the middle men for the gods and man.

Pyramids have also been discovered in South America and Mexico. The Mayans and Aztecs are famous for there stepped temples. Like with the Egyptians, the Aztecs put a lot of focus on the sun and heaven.

A recent site in Bosnia has been excavated. In the town of Visoko a controversial pyramid has been discovered. Could this pyramid also be an ancient man-made tower to the gods?

Did the ancients build these religious towers because of their memories of the Tower of Babel? Maybe.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

 

Nations (The new beginning)

“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there. They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’ … The LORD said, ‘Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.” (Genesis 11:1-4, 7, 8 NIV)

First of all, it is interesting that Moses wrote that they used brick instead of stone. “The building-material was largely brick, for stone was lacking in Babylonia, and to be found only in certain regions of Assyria.” (ref.) This knowledge from a man connected to Egypt and Canaan, where stone was the common building material, either adds to his credibility or increases the insight of God’s Word.

I picture the events occurring this way. As man came out of the mountains, they started to spread farther and farther apart. A few men—possibly tribal leaders—decided to try and unify the several family tribes who had migrated to the Mesopotamia area. They built a capital with a glorious tower in the center. As we will see in a later post, this tower was probably built to honor a god. The real God came down and put a stop to the development of this early empire. He then scattered them over the whole earth.

The different people groups would separate with different languages. However, they would part with common memories. And these memories might motivate later generations in literature, religion, architecture, and language.

REF: Moscati, Sabatino. Ancient Semitic Civilizations. Elek Books Limitied: New York, 1957. (p. 92)

Friday, December 15, 2006

 

Nations (Post-flood)


“… and on the seventh day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. … So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.” (Genesis 8:4, 18 NIV)

Based on the Biblical record, mankind starts anew with Noah, a man of the soil (Gen. 9:20) and his family. But does the Biblical account have secular historical support? I believe it does. In the several posts to follow, I hope to touch on several aspects that I have discovered. My hope is to change our current perspective of early man and the nations he started to one that is more Biblical. As a good historian, I hope to pull evidence from external Biblical sources and see if they coincide with the Biblical theory.

As seen in the map, Mt. Ararat is believed to be in the northern Zagros Mountains. While the waters receded, man would slowly migrate out of the mountains. Interestingly, the mountain ranges lead east into modern day Pakistan and India, north into Russia, west into Turkey, southwest into Palestine, and south into the “Land Between the Rivers” (Mesopotamia).

The Time Life book on the Cradle of Civilization states an interesting theory of the early cities in this area. Robert J. Braidwood of the University of Chicago believed “the first agricultural hamlets and villages must have arisen in the north, on the hilly flanks of the Zagros ranges, in the region now commonly known as Kurdistan.” (ref.) However, every village Braidwood excavated showed signs of a relatively advanced stage of agriculture. These old communities showed no signs of a transition from food-collecting to food-producing.

“Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.” (Genesis 9:20-21)

REF: Kramer, Samuel Noah. Great Ages of Man: Cradle of Civilization. New York: Time, 1967.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

 

Nations (Pre-flood)

The majority of your history books will start this way:

Early man started his life hunting wild game. In family groups the tribes would move from area to area chasing their prey while foraging for edible plants. Eventually the climate would improve and man would throw off his nomadic ways and settle down. Small towns would develop as agriculture became more advanced. Then man would domesticate wild animals.

All of these ideas come from a handful of fragmented bones and a few broken pots. However, I lay before you a theory: an unsatisfying theory to most historians. My theory is that the first civilizations will always remain hidden. We only have one source of mankind in the pre-world-flood world: chapters 1 to 8 of Genesis.

These chapters paint a different picture of the first humans. First, the first humans were fully dressed.

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

Secondly, civilization appears to be quiet developed as early as the second generation of mankind. Simultaneously, Abel was herding a flock while Cain worked the soil. And someone who works the field is less likely to be nomadic. Furthermore, after killing Abel, Cain picks up and moves to the land of Nod and starts building a city.

“Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.” (Genesis 4:17)

However, not everyone in Cain’s family desired to settle down. One of his descendants, Jabal, was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. Furthermore, Jabal’s brother Jubal was the father of those who play the harp and flute. What is more shocking is what their cousin Tubal-Cain did for a living. Tubal-Cain forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron (Gen. 4:22).

And if that is far from the common theories, how about this one: a man inspired by God created a ship that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

Monday, December 11, 2006

 

Nations (update)

I apologize for the large time gaps between posts. I am currently in the reading-mode and research mode. My plan is to start a series on ancient civilizations and a few of the interesting things I have discovered. Until then, go to Joe Napalm's blog and begin the Jamestown 400 treasure hunt! The hunt is quite fun so far.

Friday, December 08, 2006

 

Nations (Intro)

"These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood." (Genesis 10:32 NIV)

"The devil led him [Jesus] up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want.'" (Luke 4:5-6)

Saturday, December 02, 2006

 

Razzle Dazzle 'em


“The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. It is man’s fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.” (Isaiah 44:13-15 NIV)

The other day I was at an electronics store with my dad looking for a new projector screen for church. We kindly asked a sales representative where they keep such an item. And like the ring master of a circus, he led us into the most dazzling section of the store. The floor was like waxed hardwood. Black leather recliners spotted the dimly light room. A mysterious glow flickered above our heads. “Welcome,” he said, “to our home entertainment.” The projector screens lowered all around us. Immediately, high definition pro football was in visual stereo. My initial urge was to lie prostrate on the floor. The gods had descended.

Today, after playing an awesome game of flag football, the guys all sat down to rest. One gentleman mentioned that he was hopeful that his wife would allow him to buy a new HD flat screen. Before long, several guys were spitting out dimensions, pixel numbers, and other visually enhanced features.

Just as wood is used for warmth, the television can be used for good. However, I believe most of the time the TV is destructive. My grandparents commonly ate very fattening foods: cornbread, lard, and potatoes. However, they maintained an active life which kept the weight off. The TV says to sit back and relax. The TV also indorses a vital sex life. It defines great sex. The TV even defines who can partake in the gift of sex. Where has homosexuality been recognized the most? The TV. Reading and socializing were once the food of the wise. Now the television has made us all fools.

Fathers have been ruined by televisions, mothers have been distracted by televisions, and children have been destroyed by televisions. Minds have been turned to mush and muscles have been turned to fat.

“They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think …” (Isaiah 44:18)

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?