Why Christ Performed Miracles

A very good post

Thoughts On Witchcraft Part 2

 A question has been asked:

"If it is possible to disturb the peace of your dead relatives -no, I cannot believe it is possible with christian souls. Isaiah 57:2, right?"

This is a very difficult question and I will admit that I don't know the answer. But there is this story in the Bible about King Saul and the witch of Endor who is said to summon Samuel from the dead. 

Here is an article I found on this topic:

Our questions about 1 Samuel 28 probably cannot be resolved. The Torah had forbidden necromancy (Deut. 18:9-12). Moses didn’t say it didn’t “work”; he said it was an abomination. So the writer of 1 Samuel will truly report that Saul dabbled in necromancy, but he seems to be stingy with particulars that would satisfy our curiosity. No overly intricate details. He’s not about to provide us with a necromancy “how to” kit. Hence I doubt that these subsidiary queries can ever be definitely answered.

Is the spirit the medium summons actually Samuel? Apparently so, since what “Samuel” says in vv. 16-19 is entirely consistent with what he had said prior to his death (see 1 Sam. 15:17-19, 22-23, 28). (Saul got no “new light” here.) Or could it have been a demon impersonating Samuel? Some have thought so; others have thought that the woman screamed because she was actually a phony and not accustomed to the real thing happening, as it did on this occasion (see Youngblood, in revised EBC, vol. 3, for various views). Or it could simply be that God permitted a bona fide manifestation of Samuel through this forbidden means in order to confirm Saul’s forsakenness to him.

It seems reasonably clear that Samuel is coming from the realm of the dead.

Feel free to express your opinion in the comments section:)

Did Prayers Save The Pope?

 This is interesting:

Alfieri said he believed that prayers for the pope help keep him alive, something that the doctor said is backed by scientific literature.

“In this case the whole world was praying. I can say that twice the situation was lost, and then it happened like a miracle,’’ the doctor said, adding that “of course he was a very cooperative patient.’’

Is Witchcraft Real?

 An interesting article on this topic:

 In brief, witchcraft is an ideal avenue for the postmodern view of life. The modern view understood life and religion through scientism. Due to its focus on the methods of natural science, scientism rejected organized religion and the existence of anything supernatural. The ideal faith of the modern view was atheism. The postmodern mind, however, both recognizes that science does not have all the answers and is skeptical of organized religion. For example, many postmodern thinkers claim to be “spiritual, but not religious.” The combined emphasis on personal subjectivity and skepticism toward organized religion is the fertile ground in which witchcraft has grown.

Dunkirk 1958

 Few people actually know that Dunkirk 2017 is a sort of remake of a British movie Dunkirk which came out in 1958. The story is somewhat similar. Instead of 1 soldier there is a group of five British soldiers stuck on the beach. There are also civilian boat owners who volunteer to sail to France to help with the evacuation. There is a young guy among them. One of them will die tragically. So far the similarities. 

Now for the differences. The 2017 production is, of course, much more spectacular. The one from 1958 is black-and-white but it does somehow look more authentic. After all, only 18 years had passed since the events it depicted so it wasn't some ancient history. 

Another difference and a very important one, imho, is that the 1958 version actually tells us the whole story and not a fragment of it. It shows how in the beginning nobody in Britain takes this war seriously. The soldiers deployed to France are shown cartoons with Hitler running away and everybody is laughing. Back in England people call it a lovely war. And then, within several weeks Belgium and France fall to the enemy who is much stronger than anybody has thought and thousands of soldiers are stuck on the beaches of Dunkirk in a hellish nightmare.

The 1958 movie is also unashamedly Christian and shows a prayer meeting on the beach. Religion, quite predictably, is totally left out in the modern version, despite an old saying about the absence of atheists in foxholes. 

I will admit I liked it much more than the remake (if it could be called one). I'd recommend this movie to anyone interested in those events. 

Another Conspiracy Theory

 Sorry couldn't resist this one as I have been re-reading some of his works:

Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays? 

Well and what do you think? 

The Battle Of Britain

 I'm not going to write a review of that one, but it was a nice movie. Recommend:)

This Is Actually Cool

 The Chinese Multiplication Method:

How to Multiply Like Chinese

Stick and Squirrels

Lattice Method

Candace Owens And Conspiracy Theories

 This is a very long article. And the 1st part of it deals extensively with the claims that famous women may be secretly men. Well worth reading, imo.