What is the Source of Magic in the Real World?

I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the yesterday… Mostly because in the gap between Transformers and Ratatouille + The Simpsons Movie, there’s nothing else to see right now.

                     

When Harry and ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ clash with the Death Eaters in the Departmet of Mystery’s prophecy storage room, most of the kids fire off little spells – stun blasts and the like. But Hermione lets off one nice, big boom of a spell, blasting the baddies away momentarily and starting all the racks of prophecy globes falling over.

Which got me thinking: What is the source of magic in the Harry Potter universe? After all, it’s not explained where the energy comes from. If it were out of nowhere, then logically Hermione and the rest ought to let off the tactical nuke spells every single time, instead of pinging away with finger pokes.

I guess it’s because I’m familiar with RPG games and their concept of magic points or mana. As a balancing factor, more powerful spells use up more magic points. So if you keep launching big spells, you’ll run out of magic energy reserves quickly.

And IMHO, magic can’t come out of nowhere. Energy cannot simply be created out of no energy (according to the First Law of Thermodynamics). Ergo, magical energy must have a source.

So what could the source of Hogwartsian magical energy be?

And remember that Harry Potter’s universe is one where flashy, fun-times-for-all magic exists in our own Muggle-run world of science and technology.

So let’s take the question further, and ask: What could the source of magic in our nonfiction reality be? Where do humans draw their magic from, since we don’t come equipped with nuclear-fusion-to-magic-energy-reactors in our guts?

As a fan of the fantasy genre, especially high fantasy, let me tackle this pertinent question by comparing several different continuities as I delve into the source of their magic.

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ERAGON

   

In the Eragon universe, dragons can form a special bond with humans. The human becomes a Dragon Rider, sharing a special life-and-death link between them. This special link also gives the Dragon Rider access to magic – but using too much magic in one shot severely drains the caster.

Now, where the dragons get their magic is another thing, but suffice to say that Dragon Rider humans draw their magic power, or at least gain magic-usage, from their dragons.

Do dragons exist in the real world? No, Peter Dickinson aside. And especially not the spellcasting kind.

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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Ah, the great classic and grand-daddy of modern role playing gaming fun, Dungeons & Dragons in all its paper and electronic forms.

In the popular Forgotten Realms D&D setting, magic is drawn through something called the Weave. Spellcasters manipulate the Weave to alter its balance of energy, thus creating changes in reality that result in magical effects.

The Weave itself is a barrier between the Forgotten Realms world and raw magic. A similar, more sci-fi concept exists in the Immaterium of Warhammer 40000.

Does The Weave or a comparable magical energy barrier exist in the real world that we can manipulate to mess with the rules of physics? No, unless you count the freakiness of quantum theory.

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MAGIC: THE GATHERING

                          

In the multiple planes of existence that is the Magic universe, magical energy is called mana. Mana is drawn from the very land, and sometimes powerful artifacts. (But it can be argued that most mana-producing artifacts are merely storage devices for land-based mana.)

Anyway, magic-users draw mana from the lands they have formed a bond to, and use the accumulated mana to cast mighty spells and summon fantastic creatures to do battle!

The most gifted of these magic-users may actually have the in-born planeswalker spark, which makes them magnitudes more powerful. But it all still comes down to the magic of the land.

Do lands providing magical energy exist in the real world? No, ignoring the unproven claims of ley lines, geomancy and feng shui. Solar power as ‘energy cascading down onto the land’ doesn’t even come close! And definitely not in the channel-mana-cast-spell way.

You can also read my post about my tournament gaming experience, which has lots of links to card images that may give you a feel for how the game plays.

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WARCRAFT

In the world of Warcraft, magic comes from several sources. Mortal or limitless-lifespan folk can use magic, sure, but they need a source to draw their magic from.

In the Frozen Throne storyline, the High Elves used to have their source of magic in the mystical geographic feature known as the Sunwell. It was created long ago by smuggling out a small portion of the original source of magic on the world, the Well of Eternity.

Unfortunately, the invasion of the Undead Scourge resulted in the defiling and destruction of the Sunwell. Their homeland destroyed, the High Elves renamed themselves as the Blood Elves and pledged revenge.

                

However, the Elves soon began to feel ill and apathetic. Having been exposed to the Sunwell’s magical energies for so long, they had become addicted to magic. Now with no source of magic to feed their addiction, they were suffering from magic withdrawal symptoms.

Fate played out its hand, for the leader of the serpentine Naga came to them with the revelation that the Elves could always turn to other sources for magic… Such as demons.

Thus the Elves pledged their allegiance to Illidan Stormrage, the Demon Hunter who himself became a demon.

                

Does the Well of Eternity exist in the real world? Nope. Does the Sunwell exist in the real world? No.

Do demons exist in the real world?

YES.

According to Christian beliefs, demons really do exist in our real world.

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Did everyone read that right? Demons exist in the real world? What’s wrong with this blogger? Hasn’t he read The Demon-Haunted World and left his outdated superstitions behind yet?

But you forget. This particular nutter is a Bible-believing, fundamental Christian.

Of course you won’t see big, hulking, horned, hooved, flaming sword demons wandering around ripping people’s hearts out for snacks. In Christian doctrine, demons are always spiritual entities – non-corporeal beings who cannot take real physical form.

You can imagine how Hollywood would find itself hard-pressed to sell movies where the villians are all invisible, hence the popular portrayal of demons as physical-combat oriented warrior-beasts… Although Poltergeist and The Exorcist are good exceptions.

However, demons are no less real for all the Hollywood artistic license. Being spirits, they can’t be proven to exist through the usual scientific observation methods (although the reputed effect of spiritual phenomena on the electromagnetic spectrum may hold some promise).

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So there you have it – if magic exists in this real world of ours, then demons are in all likelihood the source of it. And since Christian doctrine claims that demons do exist, then it is likely that practitioners of demonic magic also exist (knowing or unknowing of the demonic origin of their magic, see the mafia rackets bit at the Conclusion to this post).

But not fancy, flashy magic mind you… No area-damage fireballs and Patronus here.

In line with their spiritual traits, demons called upon by various practitioners (such as malignant bomohs) to attack the target by disturbing the mind, emotions and will. And through the psychosomatic process, to affect physical health as well.

That doesn’t mean that all mental disorders are necessarily the work of demonic influence, but simply that demons can sometimes meddle with normal mental health.

(By contrast, holy miracles are not limited to messing with the mind, as anyone familiar with the more spectacular scenes in the Bible knows. Nor are they ever invoked by humans, but always commanded and caused by God. And they are never for selfish reasons, but always to glorify God.)

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This theory of demonic magic does have a Biblical basis, gleaned from the following passages (bolding is mine for emphasis):

They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. – Deuteronomy 32:16-17

They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. – Psalms 106:36-38 (SHOCKING! Still happening in modern times!)

Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. – 1 Corinthians 10:19-20

While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. – Matthew 9:32-33

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. – Matthew 17:14-15,18

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. – 1 Timothy 4:1

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. – Matthew 24:23-25

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. – 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. – Revelation 13:13-14 (see whole of Revelation 13 for more ungodly magic)

Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. – Revelation 16:13-14

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CONCLUSION

So what is the moral of this little exercise in high fantasy continuity? Well, if demons are the source of real ‘magic’ in our real world, then we shouldn’t risk having anything to do with them!

Like mafia rackets (see Virus/Anti-virus Scam on the Spiritual Plane for more), they will eventually demand a high price for their services.

It is the testimony of my Indigenous friend from Borneo that his uncle, a real life bomoh (tribal shaman), was full of deathly fear of something as he lay on his deathbed. We reckon that it was because he knew his magical patrons were coming (or already there) to collect their dues.

Perhaps you can see now why some Christian families do not want their children to become engrossed in the world of Harry Potter. Sure, it’s all make believe and rollicking good fun. And doubtless J.K. Rowling would not mould the Potter continuity to make his magic reliant on demons.

But those cute little don’t-know-better kids, who are so enamored of fly-on-broomsticks magic, might start experimenting with magic in real life… Hoping beyond hope to discover that elusive secret, the amazing gift of REAL MAGIC!

And God forbid, what they will find when they search long and hard enough… Or perhaps simply stumble onto the wrong names to utter in jest. It is never merely jesting to the demonic criminal syndicates of the spiritual realm.

                              

“You will not surely die. Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. – 1 Samuel 15:23

Somewhat Near JB: Cops Save Hostages

Pontian is 62 km from Johor Bahru. And the cops mounted a successful, daring rescue.

Have you noticed that of late, there is hardly any news of crimes in Johor, let alone the usual horrifying serious crimes?

Is it because the increased police presence is successful at deterring blatant criminal activities? It’s true that I often see a patrol car on the road wherever I’m driving to.

Or is it because the newspapers have decided/been told to play down the crime reporting on Johor? In order not to further excarbate the public outrage?

Or it could be some combination of both…

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 From The Star July 30:

Cops save hostages

PONTIAN: A daring police raid helped rescue two occupants of a home held hostage by three robbers in Pekan Nenas here. 

The 40-minute drama unfolded when the men, armed with knives and parang, broke into the house in Batu 24 at 1.40am on Sunday. 

They tied up the duo, who were renting the home, and ransacked the house, taking jewellery, mobile phones and cash. 

A neighbour heard the commotion and alerted the victims’ employer, who then called the police.  

“We tried to negotiate with the robbers to surrender but they refused. After 40 minutes, we had to storm the house,” Pontian OCPD Supt Zahaliman Jamin said. 

He said one of the robbers tried to escape via the balcony but fell and injured himself. 

He said two policemen who detained the other two robbers were hurt when they were slashed. They sustained minor injuries.  

50,000 Hits

         

                                          

At 50000 hits over 368 days, that averages 136.986 hits a day. For just this latest 10k hits, it averages 476.19 hits a day. Best day ever is still at 1044 hits since my blog hit 40k.

At 50000 hits over 531 posts (not including this one), that’s an average of 94.162 hits per post.

At 531 posts over 368 days, that’s an average of 1.443 posts a day – slightly up from 1.438 posts a day when I reached 40k, and less JB crime news regurgitation too, and more still than 1.398 posts a day when I reached 30k.

There are 467 comments over 368 days, that is 1.269 comments a day. I’ve been commenting on my own blog more recently.

Comparing all my previous 10,000 hits – It took me 195 days to get from 0k t 10k; 61 days to get from 10k to 20k; 63 days to get from 20k to 30k; 29 days to get from 30k to 40k; and now 21 days to get from 40k to 50k.

Just 21 days to go from 40000 htis to 50000 hits. Wow! Nice traffic. 

  

Looking at my Top Posts since 21 days back, it seems that the big draws were: One Piece Stream – Watch One Piece Anime (far higher than the rest), Magikarp Splash Attack (*flip flap flop*), Global Warming Editorial Cartoons (funny but sadly true), Live Earth Singapore – We’re Not Exaggerating, We’re Doing Something Else That’s Annoying (take that obnoxious greensanity!), How to Stop Chili or Chilli Burning (thanks mum!) and Scott’s Glory Days of Magic: The Gathering (go me!).

You can see my posts when I reached 40000 hits, 30000 hits, 20000 hits and 10000 hits.

And now, a selection of my recommended-reading posts over the last 10000 hits. Although I had a higher-than-ever posts-per-day rate, it’s still just 21 days, so the selection of posts is more limited:

A Brokeback Mountain Sanitation Query

A Skeptical Layman’s Guide to Anthropogenic Global Warming

Al Gore’s Secret Message Pics

Believing in Global Warming is Like A Hole in the Head

Continue to Learn Holy War With Nahoul the Bee

Christian Chastity Ring Banned, Hindu Tuberculosis Bull Allowed

D2Y2.com: Christian Apologetics Article

Ground Based Temperature Recording Stations: Stupid Locations For Measuring Global Warming

Live Earth? More Like Live Trash!

Michael Crichton on Ignorant Alarmism

Top Posts Since I Started Blogging (And How to View It In WordPress)

Death Threatened For 23 South Koreans Held For Ransom By Taliban

          

The South Koreans pictured above have been taken hostage by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. They were there as charity aid workers as well as to spread the good news that Jesus loves everyone – even the captors!

It has been threatened that the South Koreans will be all killed soon. People who have never lifted a finger in anger, but rather have been providing and serving the Afghan people for no other reason than love – and now they may die for it.

I pray for these good-hearted people. Could you too? Lord, deliver them from evil…

The goals of the captors seem many. It may be that they want the Afghan government to release Taliban prisoners (one of their earlier demands). It may be to force South Korea to pull out its troops on duty in Afghanistan (another demand).

It may also be to discourage Christian groups from protelysing. It may very likely be to cow and intimidate local Afghan Christians.

But it seems that what they really want if money. Lots of it. Hardcore extremist mujahideen, or plain old greedy Mammonites?

And as usual, humanist organizations care naught when the rights of Christians are abused. Michelle Malkin reports:

As of 8:30am, there is nothing on the front page of the Human Rights Watch website about the plight of the South Korean Christian volunteers. Instead, the lead story is an article lambasting U.S. mandatory deportation laws regarding convicted criminal aliens. I kid you not.

She kids us not. No laughing matter, as it seems that Christians are left to fend for their own again. 

Maybe in order to get more sympathy, they should file a frivolous lawsuit like CAIR loves to do? Or maybe, a few suicide attacks to attract bleeding-heart activists to take up the cause like the Palestinians do?

Play fair, you are bullied. Do good, you die. Go ranting crazy and riot while sueing everyone you don’t like… You are accepted as part of a tolerant and plural society. Since when did Crazytown expand to fill all of modern civilization?

It’s a sick, crazy, corrupted world where the nicer you are, the more dangerous they treat you as.

Lots of details, links and comments on the current updated situation at
Michelle Malkin’s blog and The Jawa Report.

American Civil Liberties Union Religious Bias

THIS POST IS UPDATED WITH NEW CONTENT AND LINKS AS I COME ACROSS MORE. STOP BY EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.

LAST UPDATE: 2 MAY 2008

Above from The Ryskind Sketchbook.

The American Civil Liberties Union often demonstrates the odd secular-liberal habit of kowtowing over backwards to appease Muslim demands and sensitivities in the name of ‘tolerance’, ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘multiculturalism’…

…While going out of their way to trample on the rights of Christians in the name of ‘separation of church and state’, ‘combating hateful language’ and ‘opposing religious discrimination.’

Fair and unbiased indeed. Hyper-hypocrisy more like! If you want to be heavy handed and deny religious believers their rights, at the very least be equally obnoxious towards ALL groups!

So join all of us who stand for true justice, equality and righteousness as we cry out: STOP THE ACLU!

See these posts for more ACLU (Anti-Christian Liberals Union) bias, and other blatantly biased activities where the ACLU’s protests and lawsuits in the name of ‘tolerance’ are nowhere to be seen :

ACLU’s Bias Against Christianity

The ACLU’s Liberal Bias

The ACLU vs. religious liberty

ACLU Assaults Constitution, Promotes Islam

The ACLU’s Hold on the Court (regarding the barring of teaching Intelligent Design from schools)

ACLU Biased On Religion? (correlated by Snopes)

ACLU Trying to Ban Bowing Head During Prayer (football coach ruled by court to be allowed to bow, kneel and pray as he has been doing for 25 years, but ACLU challenges decision)

An Army of Wiki Watchers (second gray box from top, ACLU employee edited Wikipedia article on the Pope to add in smear accusations)

ABC Equates Christianity with 9/11 (by mixing images of the World Trade Centre 9-11 attacks with a man holding up a sign saying ‘One Nation Under God.’ Here’s a thought experiment for you: Replace that man with an image of an imam and see how fast CAIR and the ACLU lunge for ABC’s legal throat.)

Ban Halloween, Christmas, Easter and pork from schools – To appease Muslims.

Blasphemous Ad For San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair (will the media condemn this offense against Christians with the same vigour they displayed in condemning the offense against Musims caused by the Danish Mohammed cartoons? Of course not. Also at Miller Beer steps in it again: The Folsom Street Fair fiasco)

Chicago Area Schools Ban Santa, Halloween, and Jell-O for Allah (in an effort to be more ‘culturally inclusive’, Chicago schools ban food and culture that is offensive to Muslims. Of course, food and culture offensive to any other religions is ignored.)

District sued over Islam studies (amazing double standards. While Christians are forbidden to utter even silent, personal prayers in US school cafeterias, kids in California are led to praise Allah and role-play as robed Muslims in official school curriculum. The textbooks used are also biased in favour of Islam and against Christianity.)

Dress like a Muslim day in school (While Christians are forbidden to even bow their heads or have a moment of silence in prayer, purportedly secular schools are encouraging/forcing studenst to dress in the manner of a certain religion. Cartoon below from Red Planet Cartoons at same link.)

Flags: Legal expression of free speech for an American to burn or desecrate the American flag, but a crime for an American to burn Mexicn flag. Also, hanging the Mexican flag above an upside-down American flag is a good thing.

GMU: Broadside Stands Up to Inequality (meditation space at the Johnson Centre is meant for all faiths, but being taken over for exclusive use of only certain faiths.)

Hot topic: Muslim prayer in public schools (Muslim students get 15 minutes off class to pray… A privilege not afforded to any other faith. Not exactly the inviting imams to lead prayers mentioned in the cartoon, but close.)

Islamic Rage Boy is Hate Speech? (cursing everyone is okay, but chiding the curser is not)

It’s the winter solstice, Charlie Brown! (Ann Coulter on anti-Christian-but-hey-let’s-promote-other-religions examples)

Kids told to write ‘Allah is God’ (ostensibly for ‘handwriting practise’. As usual, the ACLU is nowhere to be seen when this promotion of religion in public schools happens. They are only alert when you try stunts like copying Bible verses. See also Stop the Madrassas: What’s happening in your neighborhood schools?, with following cartoon from Red Planet Cartoons🙂

Michigan University Plans to Install Foot-washing Basins (as mentioned by the cartoon at top… So when will Christians get indoor pools for their full-immersion baptisms?)

Muslim religion taught under guise of history
(material on Islam given preferential treatment that would be outcried if the religion in question were any other, such as perfomring skits about the tenets of Islam. Similar to the above link to ‘ACLU Biased on Religion?’ that is correlated by Snopes.com)

Saudis in the Classroom (with accompanying news report This is a Saudi textbook)

South Park: Cartoon Wars Part II (where a completely non-obscene, non-insulting brief appearance by Mohammed was censored by Comedy Central as seen below, yet an explicit scene involving G.W. Bush, Jesus and others defecating on the American flag was retained and aired)

Texas Parents Sue Governor, School District Over Moment of Silence (so the joke in the comic isn’t quite as far-fetched as you might think… Why aren’t any of these parents concerned about – or even aware of – all the other much more explicit sponsorings of a certain religion, as listed in all these links?)

U.S. State Dept Funded “No Jews Allowed” Program (US State Department provides funds for business meetings, but for Israelis only accepted applications from Israeli Arabs, which by default bars Israeli Jews. ACLU is nowhere to be heard, bias has to be pointed out by a lone employer.)

Washington Post, Other Newspapers Won’t Run ‘Opus’ Cartoon Mocking Radical Islam (newspapers won’t run Opus cartoons that reference radical Islam, yet ran the previous week’s Opus cartoon that mocks the late Jerry Falwell’s mainstream Christian beliefs. You can compare them through the thumbnail image links below.)

What Holidays in December Are Important? (it’s been happening bit by bit for a long time now, but finally it happens – a case where Christianity is discriminated against in favour of every other belief system. Can you still say that it’s a phenomena of multiculturalism, and not a focused atatck on the Christian heritage of America?)

Which of These is a crime in America? (see Politically Correct Bathroom Etiquette in America for a video presentation on this topic)

YouTube controversy over Atheist criticism of the Koran and Dhimmitude at YouTube, again (atheist Youtube user regularly posts anti-Christian videos with no problem, but once he starts posting eyebrow-raising verses directly from the Koran, he is banned and his videos removed. Videos can be seen thru the links.)

More Youtube bias: Another Conservative Blogger Banned By YouTube, just like Michelle Malkin was. Meanwhile, YouTube Deepens Commercial Relationship With Al Jazeera (which is clearly anti-West biased – as if the Western Mainstream Media weren’t bad enough already – and likely regularly pays terrorists money for terror attack and beheading videos which the terrorists use to kill more people and make more videos to sell, ad infinitum)

See the other posts in the Faith Under Fire category for other evidence of secular and liberal bullying of non-violent-reprisal-at-the-slightest-provocation Christians.

From Glenn McCoy:

50 Hours of Christian Drumming Reminder 1

A reminder for all readers:

          

50 hours of non-stop drumming by Malaysian Christians in celebration of Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka!

The Event: 50 hours of non-stop drumming
The Venue: Sungei Wang Plaza, Kuala Lumpur
Time Duration: 4.00 pm (7th Sept 2007, Friday) to
6.00 pm (9th September 2007, Sunday)

Official website at  http://drummerforchrist.com/50hours.html

See the original (outdated) post at at this post.

The Jeremiah Tablet – Evidence of the Bible’s Accurate History

An ancient clay tablet dating back to 595 BCE has recently added more corroborative evidence of the historical accuracy of the Bible.

The pictured tablet contains an inscription that is translated as:

[Regarding] 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

Now, why is that name Nabu-sharrussu-ukin bolded? As it turns out, that is the key part of the inscription with regards to the following verse from the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.” – Jeremiah 39:3

That name, Nebo-Sarsekim, is the same name as Nabu-sharrussu-ukin although worded differently. It’s like Susan compared to Suzanne.

Now, the mention of names like Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar or Caesar would be nothing special. Famous rulers like these would have been remembered long after their time had passed.

But hundreds of years later, who would remember the name of a mere court official in an empire full of various officials?

Thus it is argued that the book of Jeremiah was really written as an accurate hisorical record during the time-span it covers – not as a fake story made up long after the events. And if it is so accurate on such minor details, would it not too be accurate on the important events – such as the Jewish exile to Babylon?

See Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet for more details, and see also the famous Cyrus cylinder for another archaeological artifact that correlates with the Biblical narrative of Ezra 1:1-4.

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Excerpts from Time.com:

On July 10 the Museum announced that a Viennese expert working his way through thousands of similar clay documents in its possession translated one dating from 595 B.C that described a gift of 1.7 lbs. of gold to a Babylonian temple by a “chief eunuch” named Nabu-sharrussu-ukin.

A museum official called it “a world-class find.” What makes the ancient but seemingly mundane receipt significant is that the book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) mentions the exact same official — though under a different transliteration, Nebo-Sarsekim, and a different title, chief officer, as accompanying the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar when he marched against Jerusalem in 587.

According to some experts, that proves that whoever wrote Jeremiah wasn’t making it up.

Conservatives are calling the Nebo-Sarsekim tablet, stamped in cuneiform script, such a proof. Lawson Stone, a professor of Old Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, describes Nebo-Sarsekim’s rank as roughly equivalent to Deputy Undersecretary of the Interior.

“The logical assumption,” he contends, “is that Jeremiah wasn’t written by a later writer, but a person writing at the time. I don’t know why a later writer trying to create a legendary basis for [a later Jewish regime] would want to make reference to a third-ranked Babylonian clerk. This argues that the document is accurate in its references to the world around it.”

Stop Free Love! Casual Sex Is Killing Humanity!

Dear sirs/madams,

This is A Very Special Message to HIV and AIDS High Risk Groups.

As you may know, recently the top scientific advisor to the Bush administration has highlighted that the world is losing the battle against HIV/AIDS.

More and more people are becoming infected with HIV and may develop AIDS.

The spread of the disease is far outstripping efforts to contain, prevent and treat it.

It this continues unabated, we will truly have a debilitating plague on our hands. Civilization will be long dead by the time global warming ever becomes a major threat (if it were real).

Therefore, in light of the dire revelation, I would ask all at risk of, or currently suffering from HIV/AIDS to…

STOP

F*CKING

AROUND!!!!

If everyone would just STOP HAVING EXTRAMARITAL SEX, then the spread of HIV would be greatly restricted! Not only that, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases would be almost completely eliminated!

STOP HAVING CASUAL SEX DAMMIT!!!

Is that so hard? I’m a 25 year old hot blooded hormone loaded young male, but somehow I’ve managed to NOT SCREW AROUND all these years. If I can do it, why can’t you? You weak, pathetic fools!

Especially you already with the HIV/AIDS. I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic, but it is WHOLLY IRRESPONSIBLE and AKIN TO PREMEDITATED MURDER for you to continue a lifestyle whereby you knowingly spread a killer virus to as many sex partners as you like!

Even if you use protection, there’s the risk of infection. Would you condone a prankster who goes around stabbing people with a knife wrapped in plastic bags? It’s all harmless fun, but sooner or later that bag will break and someone’s eye is going to get poked out.

Abstinence has a 100% success rate in avoiding STDs, HIV/AIDS and pregnancy. I mean, think about it: You don’t have sex with people except the person you finally marry, then surely you won’t have any risk for the above!

Makes sense, no duh? How can you deny this fact? Even condoms don’t do perform that well! All it takes is a little thing called SELF CONTROL, which is sadly not a tenet of the liberal mindset.

So in conclusion…

STOP THE FREE LOVE!!!

IT IS DESTROYING OUR HEALTH, OUR ECONOMY AND OUR WORLD!!!

REAL LOVE DOESN’T IGNORE THE HUMAN SUFFERING IT CAUSES!!!

AND STOP BEING STUBBORN ABOUT IT, IT’S SELFISH OF YOU.

Ipoh: Girl Raped By Clinic Robbers

Here are good candidates for whipping, castration, death by a combination of the most slow and torturous means possible, and eternal judgement by a very unhappy Father in heaven.

This settles it for me: Whether you struggle or cooperate, the robbers may still attack you.

Therefore, I advocate TOTAL NON-COOPERATION. Fight and injure them! If they want anything from anyone in my vicinity, they’ll have to go through my eye-gouging, face-biting wrath first.

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From The Star 24 July 2007:

Girl raped by two robbers

IPOH: It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for two girls who sought treatment at 2am at a 24-hour clinic in Ipoh Garden here. 

Two robbers armed with a parang suddenly stormed into the clinic. After robbing the place of RM1,900 and two mobile phones early on Saturday, one of the girls was taken on a terror ride in a grey BMW and gang-raped by the two robbers. 

Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Jalaludin Ibrahim said the victim was dumped in Tanjung Malim at about 6.30am the same day. 

“She sought the help of a passer-by, who took her to the police station to lodge a report,” he told a news conference here yesterday. 

Police are looking for two men in their late 20s to assist in investigations. 

Those with information on the incident are urged to contact the Ipoh district police at 05-2451500 or the nearest police station. 

ACP Jalaludin, who said the suspects were not serial rapists, appealed to the public to remain calm. 

“It is an isolated, one-off incident,” he said, adding that the suspects did not wear masks. 

To a question, ACP Jalaludin said the clinic was equipped with CCTV but the system was not functioning at the time of the incident.

Top Posts Since I Started Blogging (And How to View It In WordPress)

Below are the hits for the top 20 most popular posts on my blog for its entire existence.

As you can see, my ever-popular post WRYYYYYY!!! Dio Brando The World far outstrips any other, with almost double the hits of the runner-up!

My brag-adelic recounting of my best Magic: The Gathering days is at number two, and my source for One Piece manga at number three.

At third is the controversial Datuk Azhar Mansor, probably higher still because of the inclusion of the tiltillating word hot thongs.

My very early posts on Russell Crowe in South Park and Tom & Jerry have always been popular search engine fodder.

But glad to see that after another Azhar Mansor post, at number 7 is a relatively young post featuring cartoons mocking global warming mindless fearmongering. Yay! Take that, Gore and IPCC truth-manipulators!

And rounding up the ten most popular are my post on the horrific rape case that awakened Malaysia to Johor’s terrible crime rate and my mum’s very helpful advice on how to stop chilli burning your skin.

For any of the rest, you can find and view them by using the Search function at the right side of the main page.

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HOW TO VIEW YOUR ENTIRE POSTING HISTORY

To view the Top Posts for your blog’s entire history, first get into the WordPress Dashboard. Click on the Blog Stats tab near the top.

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Now click the Top Posts link, it should be under the graph.

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Now click the link for 30 Days (you can use 7 Days too, but I’m using 30 Days for this example).

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Go to the address bar near the top of the screen. See the number 30 near the end, that’s highlighted by my red box?

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A close-up shot of it. Select that number.

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Replace the number with any figure. 10000 works for me.

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Press Enter/Return and walah! A summary of all my posts’ hits for the last 10000 days (or since the year 1980, which is before WordPress started).