Tag: church

Henry VIII: St Alban’s the Martyr Church (Cheam) – Constructed from a Nonsuch Royal Stable! (14.5.2023)

The wood used for the roof (and support beams) dates to about 1550 CE – and was originally a very large royal stable used by King Henry VIII and I am told – his daughter – Queen Elizabeth I! It was dismantled from its original site (adjacent to Nonsuch Palace) by Shipwrights – and brought to what was once a remote area of Cheam – and reassembled (with added contemporary brickwork) to form a very large Church! The wood would have been part of a royal forest cultivated in the area – grown to make ships, buildings and other required ‘royal’ structures! Therefore, the wood itself will be far older than the 1550 CE date the barn is believed to have been originally constructed! The beams are held together entirely by wooden-pegs – just as they were originally designned to be – with no ‘modern’ nails or connecting materials! Indeed, Shipwrights reconstructed this building as if they were building a wooden ship!

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Russia: The Influence of the Modern Russian Orthodox Church! (9.5.2023)

This video features the ‘Great Eradication Squad of Dmitriya Donskogo’ (Великовражская дружина Дмитрия Донского) – a ROC-controlled Religious Education Camp operating in the Kstovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast – situated in Central Russia. Young students attend Kstovsky District- whilst throughout the day the religious teacher ‘arms’ the students and whilst they are taught to collectively ‘shout’ pro-government slogans – they are ‘ordered’ to run and crawl like soldiers with machine guns – performing various other combat related exercises. In the Camp’s posts on VKontakte – it is noted that such classes are held as part of the upbringing of ‘Patriots of the Native Fatherland!’ ‘Those who Graduate take part in ‘Special Military Operations’ – and are taught exactly what the ‘Truth’ is they are fighting for in this battle!’ The ROC states that theological study is ‘merged’ with current secular government ideology – so that ‘warfare’ is both ‘justified’ and ‘encouraged’. This is how the ROC now dominates a modern Russia. I wonder what a Palestinian Christ would think about his passivity being perverted in this manner? Surely, this modern ROC activity violates the Soviet Law which states ‘Incitement of hostility or hatred on religious grounds is prohibited’!

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May 9th 2023 – Long Live the USSR – Long Live Russia – Long Live the Eternal Victory Over Fascism! (9.5.2023)

For many – the Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany to the USSR was the Victory of the Communist ideology over that of the hate filled ‘reactionary’ thinking as embodied in Hitler’s Mein Kampf – an anti-intellectual tract that certainly does not get better with age (or subsequent re-readings). In short, from an academic perspective their is no ‘hidden meaning’. This Hitlerite anti-intellectualism is the exact opposite to the reality of the philosophical texts as constructed by Marx and Engels. This still holds true when elaborating the texts of Lenin, Stalin and Mao (amongst others) are critically assessed. Joseph Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet System from 1933-1945 should form a separate study on its own – as he had to lead the Soviet people (following numerous re-elections into the post of ‘General Secretary’) during what must be termed the ‘Hitler Years’ – although the rise of Mussolini (1922-1945) [the more inept of the two fascist world leaders] must also be taken into account, as the emergence of the Catholic-based totalitarianism in Italy manifested on the world scene when Lenin’s health started to fail.

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The Progressive Nature of the Trans Movement! (11.4.2023) 

The intellectual and personality offensives are just two components successfully deployed by these ‘New’ Red Army Shock Troops! On other Fronts these soldiers for humanity are paying the ultimate price with their minds and bodies as the forces of reaction take their sanity, their health and their very lives! Many so-called Communist Parties throughout the world should be ashamed of themselves for failing to acknowledge the vitally important spiritual, physical and cultural force that the Trans Movement represents! Whilst a capitalist Russia fights Neo-Nazism in the Ukraine – its leaders and Church perpetuates the most hideous homophobia and transphobic attitudes – certainly matching those of the Hitlerites occupying the opposite trenches! And then on occasion I see our Palestinian (Islamic) Comrades routinely expressing homophobic attitudes! These are the contradictions we all have to exist within! I would still stand with Russia and Palestine – but my family also stands firmly with ALL members of the Trans Movement and the 2SLBGTQN+ Community because ‘I’ – ‘We’ believe in ‘their’ – ‘our’ collective destiny!  

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Alchemy: Phlogiston – A Retrospective! (10.4.2023) 

I think the theory of ‘Phlogiston’ was a good first effort and is certainly more realistic than suggesting that a disembodied theistic entity is controlling everything ‘from afar’ just as an act of arbitrary will! This theory even covered the human-breath – which was ‘hot’ because ‘Phlogiston’ was being ‘breathed-out’! If not enough ‘Phlogiston’ was breathed-out – then the human body would literally ‘burn-up’ and a fever would develop! Of course, modern Chemistry has replaced Alchemy and has long since washed away virtually all of the original foundation that once formed the bulwark of human logic in the face of theological domination. It is now understood that when substances ‘burn’ – nothing is ‘given-up’ – but rather a chemical reaction is experienced. Combustion is a chemical reaction that rapidly combines various substances with oxygen – generating heat and light in the form of a flame as a useful by-product. Whereas the ‘inverted’ thinking of religiosity was inadvertently retained through the theory of ‘Phlogiston’ (i.e., ‘something is lost’) – the non-inverted reality regarding the correct scientific interpretation of combustion – is that ‘something is gained’! This demonstrates just how powerful outdated or outmoded systems of thought are – even if it is believed that certain approaches to understanding reality have been firmly rejected and left in the past.  

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DPRK: Churches and Religious Life in Pyongyang! (23.3.2023) 

North Korea has three Christian Churches – all located in the capital – Pyongyang. Among them are the Qigu (七谷) or ‘Seven Valleys’ Church and the Fengxiu (凤岫) or ‘Phoenix Mountain Peak’ Church – which belong to Protestantism. The Jiangzhong (奖忠) or ‘Reward Loyalty’ Church belongs to the Catholic Church – which has a history of more than ten years (writing in 2005). In addition, the first Orthodox Church is still under construction. North Korea has around 13,000 Protestants and about 3,000 Catholics. Every Sunday – all Christian and Catholic believers go to these established Church – or nearby House Churches. Religious activities – such as worship or mass – are ‘protected’ and ‘guaranteed’ under the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK! Indeed, the above photograph (dated 17.7.2005) features a female ‘Deacon’ collecting donations within the ‘Fengxiu’ (Protestant) Church! 

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