It continues to amaze me (but not surprise me) how people will keep reposting memes about what Jesus looked like and what language he spoke, etc., when they have never studied the subject (and it shows). So, let me provide a little history lesson and a bit of scholarly understanding.
First, Hebrew was rarely spoken at all in the time of Jesus. Why? Because when other nations – the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Medo-Persians – took over their territory, they imposed their own languages on the people as all conquering peoples do in all cases. Hebrew simply became phased out over time because of this intrusion. It was kept alive only by priests and rabbis who continued to learn how to read the Hebrew texts and recopied them as part of the learning process – so they were able to read and write Hebrew. It was used on a limited basis in the Temple and the synagogues sort of the way Latin is used in the Roman Catholic Church today. That allows lay people to have a very limited knowledge of Latin while the priest have to study it and write it, just the way ancient priest and scribes had to study and write Hebrew. It’s the same dynamic. No one actually speaks Latin as a formal language today and no one spoke it as a formal language in the time of Jesus either. Frankly, the only reason that the ancient scriptures still exist at all in Hebrew/Aramaic is because of this process because by the time of Jesus virtually no one else could have read and understood them in the Hebrew/Aramaic.
Now, the Assyrians and Babylonians had a lesser impact as far as language is concerned than the Medo-Persians did. What that means is that under Medo-Persian rule they, like all others, imposed their language on the conquered, which happened to be Aramaic. Aramaic, by the way, is similar to Hebrew, but distinct from it. So, it was a relatively easy transition for most people. Because of their influence, Aramaic became the spoken language of the area, period. Again, Hebrew had basically been phased out in favor of Aramaic. THAT is why, even up to Roman times, the common people spoke Aramaic as a first language. This was basically universal to that area of the world.
However, as is always the case, once the Greeks conquered the Medo-Persian empire they imposed Greek upon the populations. But, in this case, there was a good bit of opposition from some elements of the population so that some areas continued to predominantly speak Aramaic. This included the area referred to as Galilee.
Now, the opposition was not just about language. See, the Greeks were determined to effectively impose their religion upon other peoples too. And, to a large extent, this effort worked. That’s why you see Greek temples all over the eastern world. That it became mixed with indigenous religions is just natural. But the Hebrews, to a large extent, resisted this. Over time, many did adopt the Greek ways and they generally became members of the upper classes because, frankly, if you wanted to get anywhere in life, you became Hellenized. This included a good number of priests, by the way.
All that being said, by the time of Jesus there were still pockets of resistance to Hellenization and that included Galilee. That is why scholars are generally satisfied that the first language of Jesus was Aramaic. The fact that there are a few instances in the NT that demonstrate that he spoke Aramaic support this. But that does NOT mean that he did not know Greek. He, like anyone else, would have known at least enough Greek to engage in commerce, etc. In his day, Greek was the dominant language of the area whether some people liked it or not. It would have been astounding for anyone of that area during that time-period to have known no Greek! They would have truly been a hillbilly! And Jesus could not very well have spoken only Aramaic and interacted with the masses, many of whom would have had Greek as their fist language, could he?
All of that having been said, even scholars seem to miss the point that Jesus, if the gospels are accurate, was brought up in Egypt. Now, granted, Aramaic was spoken there too to a limited degree. But by the time of Jesus Greek was the predominant language there – so much so that the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) had to be translated into Greek so that people could actually read them. What people need to understand is that a Jewish diaspora already existed by his time and most Jews who were outside of their homeland were in Egypt. And they spoke Greek. Would Jesus have likely been exposed to some of the Koptic (Egyptian) language while there? Certainly. But you never see a meme touting how he knew Egyptian, do you? So, the likelihood is really that Jesus’ first language actually WAS Greek and that he knew a limited amount of Koptic and was probably fluent in Aramaic too because his later life was spent in Galilee. He may have grown to prefer Aramaic and spoke it most often. But there can be little to no doubt that he also understood and spoke Greek.
Now, for those who insist (as the memes do) that he also spoke Latin, the problem really is how much Latin, if any? See, in the eastern empire, once again, the dominant language was Greek. This was something that the Romans simply did not try very hard to change. Why? Because they, for the most part, understood Greek too. There was simply no need for them to try to impose Latin in the eastern empire. There are a few monuments in the east that have Latin inscriptions but, for the most part, inscriptions in the east are in Greek. One notable exception (and this is not a complete exception) came when the Romans defeated the Jews during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt and afterward sought to change Jerusalem into Aelia Kapitolina. Note that I used the Greek form of the name here. Why? Because inscriptions from the city predominantly refer to it this way. But not all of them did. Some show Aelia Capitolina instead. There is a reason for this. The reason is that Aelia was a Roman colony. They deliberately settled Romans in the new city to Romanize it. They erected Roman temples, etc. there too. This was a deliberate effort to forever change the city. Therefore, there are more inscriptions in Latin there than elsewhere in the east.
Anyway, this simply illustrates the fact that Jesus did not have a need to even know much, if any, Latin. Might he have understood a limited amount of Latin? Possibly. But there is no proof of this. I know a few words on French, but that does not mean I know French. I studied it and did not do particularly well in it. So, I would never claim that I KNOW French even though I did try to learn it and, for a time, could almost reasonably use it.
In the end, the fact of the matter is that people like to post and repost memes that make them feel good as if they actually know something when they have never studied the subject at all. I agree that most scholars are right in that the predominant language of Jesus was likely Aramaic for the reasons shown. And I agree that he must have known some – probably a lot of – Greek. Beyond that we only have speculation.
christianity
What Some Really Think Western Civilization Means
This morning I listened to a news commentator state, paraphrasing, that the concept of western civilization is not the same for the rich and powerful today as it is for most other people. But even he seemed to be at a loss to explain exactly what the difference is. Indeed, without some direct knowledge as to what they really think western civilization is, explaining their viewpoint here can be rather futile.
The difficulty in grasping what those among the rich and powerful think western civilization is lies, in part, in the fact, as the commentator did point out, paraphrasing his statements once again, that these people favor the idea that rich oligarchs and dictatorial regimes are the way that western civilization is meant to go, so long as the rich benefit, rather than people-oriented democratic governments.
But even this does not quite get us to the foundational thought in the minds of these people. That they basically reject democratic ideals, favoring stricter forms of government in which the rich benefit seems directly at odds with what we have been taught that western civilization actually is, or should be. So, how can they justify their position?
Well, I would be at somewhat of a loss to explain this adequately too if I had not read something some time ago that basically laid out the answer to this dilemma. The world view of these people rests at least almost entirely on a singular event in western history, and it is an event that literally no one else would point to as the singular event that initiated western civilization. But for them, this event is pivotal. For these people, the spark that ignited western civilization, at least in its present form (or the form they see it as being) was the day when the Apostle Paul crossed from Asia into Europe and began to evangelize that continent.
What? Can they really have such an absurd and simplistic viewpoint and really, literally claim that the Apostle Paul lit the spark of western civilization? Yes they can! And based on this viewpoint, then, automatically, Christianity becomes foundational. For them, western civilization cannot exist without Christianity. And, therefore, western governments cannot function without the foundation of Christian ethics, if you will.
During the late Roman Empire Christian Bishops and apologists even went so far as to posit that the end o the Roman Empire, at least in the west, was part of God’s plan because the Roman Empire, literally, had done what it was brought into being to do in that it had served as a tool for protecting the savior and the initial spread of Christianity. Once the empire fell, what was left was several squabbling petty states, all headed by dictatorial kings. Well, at least where government did not fall apart completely. This became the model for Christian nations because all of these petty states used Christianity as a foundation, the empire of Charlemagne later becoming the most obvious example of what those who wished to rule envisioned.
Now, I am not asserting here any critique of what is good and what is not so good about Christianity. The fact of the matter is that Christianity has been used by various forces in history to do both good and bad things. And it is certainly true that the western civilization that we have today would in no way resemble what it is if not for the influence of Christianity.
But, frankly, Christianity is actually NOT foundational to western civilization and to posit that western civilization basically did not exist until Christianity came into Europe is, at best, a faulty way of viewing history and the development of western civilization, which had its foundations in ancient Crete and Greece and had its start long before Christianity came into being.
Anyone who has ever studied western civilization knows that it predates Christianity. But the truth is that what we see today is a western civilization that has been heavily influenced by Christianity for the last two-thousand plus years. So, western civilization has been greatly changed by it. But that does no mean that Christianity and dictatorial regimes should be re-imposed upon people in the western world as some sort of remedy for the ills we face today, as some would have it. What we are seeing today is, in a way, an attempt to return to the empire of Charlemagne. And this includes a somewhat natural alliance with Russia, even though Russia is rarely considered “western”, because the Russian state, except for the aberration of the Soviet Union, has always had Orthodox Christianity as a foundation along with their supposed Byzantine heritage.
With this mix, this combination of Western and Eastern Europe under the rubric of Christianity, the re-established nation of Israel also becomes a pivotal player because end-times prophecy requires it. Thus, the entirety of western civilization today is literally wrapped up in three political entities; the Western European nations along with the US, Australia, etc., Russia and its satellite nations, and Israel. That Israel is not Christian and does not have Christianity as a foundation is no issue since, with end-times prophecy, they will at some point be brought into the Christian fold. Then all will be complete.
This is literally what those who are seeking to keep power today mean by western civilization.
The Ultimate Failure of Monotheism
Today as we are witnessing a war against Iran initiated by Netanyahu and Trump, we see right in front of our faces the ultimate failure of all forms of monotheism. This statement is not made in sympathy for the Iranian regime. On the contrary, they are as complicit in what has happened as the two other powers, Israel and the US, are. The reason is that, contrary to what we have all been told, this war was never really about stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Instead, it is about the obsession each side has with end-times prophecy.
One must understand that every form of monotheism has, as a fundamental belief, the ultimate end of things. The monotheist thinks of time in strictly linear terms. That means that there must be a beginning and an ending. They also always posit a spiritual world in which there is a war between good and evil, with humans playing the pivotal role in it. In each scenario, all things come to a final point during which there is a great war between good and evil with good, of course, being the ultimate victor. Then comes a final judgment of all of humankind. This has been the scenario from the very beginning, starting with Zoroastrianism, which originated in the far east and was mainly espoused by the various Persian empires throughout ancient history. During their sojourn in Babylon and after their return to their homes, the Hebrew people were exposed to this thought process so that it was added to their own religious belief system. Christianity picked it up from both avenues. And Islam got it from all three. Thus, all forms of monotheism have this belief system as part of its fundamental doctrine, only in somewhat different forms. And, of course, each religion believes that their god will ultimately prevail (forget the idea that they all worship the same god, because they don’t).
So, now the powers that be, all of which follow one or another form of monotheism, have started their war. Never mind that it does not look like the scenario that they always told us it would be. That doesn’t really matter. The important point is that the end-times prophecy people on all sides see the culmination of all of their beliefs taking place at this time. Yes, there are some who say that they don’t see it that way, but they are a minority. But trust me when I say that Netanyahu thinks he is a kind of messiah who will usher in the Jewish version of the end while Trump thinks he is the Christian version and the Ayatollah thinks he is the Muslim version. And each thinks that his god will prevail. That the cost of this final battle will be the ultimate near destruction of one nation or another, along with its people, is of no consequence to either of these leaders.
And here we arrive at the true ultimate failure of all forms of monotheism in that in order for things to culminate into the heavenly world that they envision a final battle destroying whole nations and peoples must first take place. In the Christian version, for example, it is the Jewish people and the nation of Israel which will suffer this fate. Only when Israel is virtually destroyed and Jesus supposedly comes back to save what is left will they finally embrace him as their messiah. Of course, all of this is quite the opposite to everything that Paul wrote about the salvation of “all of Israel”, but that no longer matters. No, instead only that remnant left after the horrors of the battle of Armageddon will ultimately be saved. In addition to this, there are some even now who see this war as a way for the gospel to enter Iran so that the people there might accept it. These people are so jaded that they actually believe that the people would accept the religion of their aggressors! But,a gain, a war was required for this to even take place.
Once one sees this scenario for what it really is, it seems rather pointless, doesn’t it? Humanity has to suffer in order to bring about the salvation of a remnant of Israel (or Iran). Wow! But this is exactly what each side has, for their own reasons, started.
As a Pagan who rejects all forms of monotheism, I am thankful that zi am free of such end-times delusions. I do not believe that an ultimate war has to take place at all, whatever the result. This war is not something initiated by any god. It has been initiated strictly by humans who cannot grasp of any other scenario than the one I have laid out. They cannot conceive of getting to a better world without war first. But we polytheists are not infected with end-times thinking. We have no final great war and no final judgment. We are free of these things. And it is freedom indeed!
Renee Good is the New Hypatia
It was March, 415 CE. Egypt, once the crown jewel of learning, the arts, and science, was a waning culture. Strife and dissent were everywhere.
This did not happen overnight. Egypt had become part of the seemingly ever-expanding Roman Empire some time ago. Although this had taken place by force, Egypt prospered for a long time under Roman rule. But, as the rest of the Roman Empire gradually moved toward decline, so had Egypt.
The divisions in Egypt were more acute than in most other regions of the Empire. Jews and Christians constantly bickered over just about any little thing, intentionally provoking each other, causing riots in the streets and damage to ancient structures everywhere.
Hypatia herself was of Greek ancestry, just as those who still ruled were. This had been the case since the time of Alexander the Great. She was a follower of the philosophy we call “Neoplatonism”. What little survives of her writings indicates that she held no particularly strong religious views (although she was a Pagan) other than that espoused by her philosophy. And she was neither Christian nor Jewish religiously, so that both religious groups held her in suspicion. Because she delved into mathematics and the sciences, especially astronomy, she was seen by many as being a witch. For many in that day in time, there was really no difference between astronomy and astrology. That she also taught these subjects to others made her even more of a target of contempt among those who could not understand any of it.
This is not to say that all Christians and Jews hated her or saw her as suspect. She had such students, who apparently loved her. And even prominent leaders in her city of Alexandria accepted her.
But this was not to continue. A series of popular uprisings and massacres somehow caused Hypatia to become the focus of those with hatred in their hearts. Perhaps it was partly because she would lecture openly in the streets at times, drawing crowds.
Regardless of the circumstances, on a sad day in March of 415, a mob of Christian zealots came upon her carriage as she was on her way home, and drug her from it. Either she got away and ran into a building, or they drug her into it – the sources are not certain. The building had formerly been a Pagan temple, since converted to a Christian Church. There, in front of the Christian altar, they stripped her and cut her flesh with seashells! She was dismembered by the mob, taken outside of the city walls, and burned along with as many of her writings as the mob could get ahold of!
Martyrs often become symbols for future generations. Hypatia did this in her death, just as others had done before her. Many Neoplatonists afterward saw her as a symbol of opposition to Christianity. During the Enlightenment she became a symbol of opposition to Catholicism. But, of course, she was also co-opted by Christians too, as in so many other cases, as part of the basis for the legend of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
It still took a few hundred years for the Roman Empire to completely decline and fall. But the trajectory never improved in the meantime. As they say, it was “all downhill” from here. Today, we in the USA face a stark reality that many refuse to acknowledge. We are an empire in decline. All of the signs are there. The leadership of this country claim that they are making us “great again”. They seem set upon expansion, like the ancient empires. But expansion is not really equivalent to greatness. Not while society is falling apart within. Not while military-style thugs function in a rampant manner in our streets as the mobs did in ancient Alexandria, killing innocent people. Not while our government will openly – immediately – vilify the victim of such military-style mobs in an effort to save face. Not while educational institutions are threatened in every possible way because they don’t teach subjects in a Christian enough manner. Not while the news media is forced to become little more than subservient to the regime!
When a person is murdered by a mob in the name of the regime and its objectives, it is a turning-point. That person becomes a martyr for a greater cause whether the regime likes it or not.
Renee Good is the new Hypatia.
Christian Extremism on Full Display in the US: “Wag the Dog”
Anyone who has paid attention, studied, and/or at least read my latest book, “Because They LIE” (pseudonym Celsus Porphyry) should have seen just about everything that is currently taking place in our nation coming long before it got here. It would be fruitless to go into detail about every situation, from certain segments of law enforcement acting in potentially illegal ways, arresting those who have committed no infraction whatsoever other than simply being here from another country, or arrests of even political figures simply conducting oversight or asking uncomfortable questions – something right out of Stalin’s playbook. It may not be long until we witness political opponents to the new American regime “disappearing” just the way they still do in Russia and the way many undocumented immigrants are in this nation today. If you think that statement is alarmist, I think you need to consider things a little more deeply. I have read a lot of history, and this is how it begins. We have entered the era of Christian fascism in America, something that I repeatedly warned about.
Perhaps the most obvious incident related to this, however, is not any of those things mentioned above. No, instead it was an incident that took place barely over a week ago which, it would seem, the news media has generally already forgotten about and moved on from. This incident, in which Vance Boelter allegedly killed one important Minnesota political figure along with her husband, and wounded two others, is actually a prime example of what I have warned about for some time. Not only did Boelter allegedly perpetrate these heinous acts, but allegedly planned even more, having a supposed list of other targets, all Democrats who, apparently in his mind, stood as “pro-abortion”. And this, in a nutshell, is exactly the problem – a person who can hate abortion so much that he is willing (again, allegedly in this case) to murder those he sees as supporting it. Some would have a difficult time rationalizing how murder can be a remedy for supporting abortion rights. But I submit, this is not difficult for those like Boelter.
You see, people of this sort are what we might generally term, “religious extremists”. They fully believe that they have some God-given right to rule over everyone else to keep them in-line religiously, socially, and politically. It’s really the standard Christian playbook from as far back as Constantine. But few know this simply because they have not studied that part of history. This is the reason that many of this persuasion can refer to President Trump as a “Cyrus ruler”. And why they can also refer to former Senator Hillary Clinton as a “Jezebel”. Not to mention those who regularly insist that everyone should prepare for Armageddon! Yes, preppers are included in all of this too.
Most people who might hear their preaching and rhetoric would simply dismiss these people as at least sort of “unhinged” and pay them no further mind. The problem, however, is with those who do actually listen to them and take in their pronouncements as “gospel”. Such are people like Vance Boelter.
Sadly, I am not making this up. His close associates have referred to him as an ardent Christian and Trump supporter. They have also referred to him as “anti-abortion”. They have stated that he recently returned from a mission trip to Africa and was changed somehow from that experience. But not just that. See, he also appears to have been part of a growing movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. This is a movement that I, in fact, referred to in my latest book, “Because they LIE”. The very reason I did this is because it is a danger to our democratic way of life. And he was a prepper.
Put even some of these things together into one person, not to mention all of them, and you have a domestic Christian terrorist. Put Christian extremism of this nature together with political discontent and the prepper movement, and the natural result is the type of incident that we witnessed when Vance Boelter allegedly committed the above-mentioned atrocities. But if anyone should think that this is some kind of aberration, they should consider the fact that it was only a couple of years ago when such extremists allegedly plotted to kidnap and torture Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for similar reasons. And we don’t yet know what was really in the mind of Trenton Abston, who allegedly attempted to kidnap Memphis Mayor Paul Young. But I submit that we may find out his thoughts were actually similar too.
Regardless, the basic similarity between all of these is political kidnappings and violence in the name of religion (except, perhaps, for the last one). And this is what the rhetoric of religious groups such as the New Apostolic Reformation movement can easily lead to. And what we are witnessing is the reality that home-grown terrorism is a much bigger problem than the Trump regime is willing to admit. The real truth is that our investigative forces do tend to catch foreign terrorist elements before they have a chance to strike. But those that are home-grown are obviously much more difficult to catch beforehand. We can see this just by recalling the multiple incidents that have taken place in this country this year alone.
Of course, extremism and violent behavior of this type is not relegated only to those who hate Democrats or hate abortion. We can also recall more than one attempt to assassinate Trump himself during the campaign, not to mention the veteran who blew himself, and a Tesla, up in front of Trump Tower earlier this year. But these latter incidents, heinous as they are, were clearly not motivated by any level of religious ideology. No, that is reserved only to the conservative-minded side. You know, the type of people who want the Ten Commandments plastered everywhere you look.
Vance Boelter is exactly the type of individual who has been created by domestic movements such as, but not limited to, the New Apostolic Reformation movement, and the very type of individual whom I have been warning about. But he is also exactly the type of individual that those on the other side of things – those who support such movements and who support Trump – do NOT want you to focus on or really even think about.
Remember back in the 1990s when then President Bill Clinton struck Somalia militarily? The conservatives were all up in arms about it, claiming that he only did that in order to take attention off of his political troubles. They insisted that Clinton had no other good reason for that military strike. And, thus, the phrase, “wag the dog” was coined – a method of distracting people from the real issue by causing another issue to emerge.
Frankly, militarily striking Iran was already in the Trump playbook. I doubt that anyone will easily forget the little tune, based on a song by the Beachboys, “Bomb, Bomb Iran” that the Trump campaign used from the very beginning. Please don’t try to tell me that they weren’t just waiting for the opportunity. But many did ask, “why now”? They asked, “what was the emergency if Iran didn’t yet have a nuclear weapon”? Some are still asking that, and rightly so.
I submit that this military operation was carried out at this particular time exactly in order to distract everyone from the fact that a home-grown religious extremist allegedly perpetrated as political assassination. They don’t want you to dwell too much on that. They want you to focus elsewhere, almost anywhere else. They don’t want people to recognize the fact that the person who allegedly perpetrated this horrible act is not only someone who ardently supported Trump, but who is just like so many others who also do for exactly one reason – religion.
Wag the dog.
“My Government Did It”
March 28, 2025
Those of us who are Pagans and those who understand Paganism know that Pagans accept the right of all – ALL – to practice whatever religion they personally see fit whether we personally agree with it or not. Those of us who are Americans, and all others who live and breathe “freedom”, also know that there are certain basic human rights applicable to ALL people, no matter who they are or what they believe. In fact, the Declaration of Independence states, in part, “[w]e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….”
Thus, even our Declaration of Independence explained that the reason our ancestors moved to seek separation from the British Empire was exactly because ALL human beings inherently possessed certain rights which were given by the Creator and could not be taken away by man. It does not state that only certain persons have rights or that only those who are citizens have rights. It states that ALL persons have rights. And these rights are not bestowed by man or by government, but that it is the responsibility of government to preserve these rights for ALL.
What rights? “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, among others. THIS WAS OUR FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT before even the Constitution and Bill of Rights were even formed! My own ancestors fought for EVERYONE to have these rights, risking their very lives and livelihoods so that a government that would preserve these rights could be established.
As we all are aware, certain rights have been further enumerated in the amendments to the US Constitution. Among these are freedom of religion AND Freedom of the press. I mention these two specifically exactly because they are most relevant to this exact point in time. See, it is one thing to round up violent gang members and deport them back to their countries of origin. No one really disagrees with this even though they may disagree with the methods sometimes used in so doing. I will go even further and state that no one really condones violent behavior in the form of protests either, although protests do often become violent due to human nature. So, finding, trying, and punishing those who commit violent and destructive acts is indeed in order.
These things having been said, you don’t have to be a lawyer to recognize that kidnapping people who have committed no violent or destructive acts, or who are not members of violent gangs, off of the street in broad daylight without any form of due process is abridging the person’s basic human rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Only totalitarian and dictatorial regimes engage in such kidnappings! And, yet, as we speak, we see this very scenario play out before our very eyes IN THIS COUNTRY!
While there are some who did participate in protests that became violent on college campuses and elsewhere, in the latest case that was not the situation at all. Rumeysa Ozturk, a PhD student in this country with a Green Card did nothing more than co-author an op-ed for her campus periodical making the case that the university should divest from Israel due to human rights abuses (remember, ALL human beings have the same basic Creator-bestowed rights no matter where they live and no matter what religion they choose to follow) against Palestinians. I have read the op-ed. There was no hint whatsoever of violence or abusive intent within that article. None. In fact, it was very thoughtful and something that one might see in any campus newspaper.
For those who have not been trained in journalism, as I have, the definition of op-ed may be a bit obscure. But an op-ed is really nothing more than an opinion piece. Those who write such articles are expressing their own personal opinions, nothing more. I wrote several of them while in college and, indeed, the present work could be characterized as such with the exception that it is not contained in any newspaper publication. People are allowed to express their opinions. At least, that has been the case until now in this country as opposed to countries where tyranny prevails. It’s part of freedom of speech and freedom of the press – freedoms that we are all supposed to cherish in this country.
“Freedom” has always been the standard, the watchword, for us Americans. We claim to export it as an ideal to the whole world. Yet, it seems that now it is becoming nothing more than a byword here. And that is an absolute tragedy. Not just for those being subjected to a lack of freedom, but for us ALL. For everyone who sits back and watches this taking place and does nothing participates by fiat. And this is exactly the reason I had to write this article. To do and say nothing means that I would be acquiescing in what my government is now doing. And that is something that I cannot countenance.
Some of you may know that a few years ago I wrote and published a book entitled “Killing Roma”, which detailed how the Christian religion, partnering with the dictatorial Christian regime started by Constantine I, within just a few generations caused what Gibbons coined as “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. Yes, I know that historical apologists today try to explain the role of Christianity away in this. There are indeed those who just can’t fathom the religion they espouse having perpetrated deeds such as those I detailed in my book! In fact, they can’t bring themselves to believe that any of it even took place. After all, they were taught otherwise. But just the following quoted excerpts from my book demonstrate the reality:
“It is Our pleasure that the temples shall be immediately closed in all places and in all cities, and access to them forbidden, so as to deny to all abandoned men the opportunity to commit sin. It is also Our will that all men shall abstain from sacrifices. But if perchance any man should perpetrate any such criminality, he shall be struck down with the avenging sword. We also decree that the property of a man thus executed shall be vindicated to the fisc [confiscated]. The governors of the provinces shall be similarly punished if they should neglect to avenge such crimes” (Codex Theodosianus, XVI, 10.4). But punishments were not limited to Pagans, after all, but also extended to Christians who didn’t adhere to orthodox theology.
“The devil, wrote Eusebius, called together his crowd of followers, who carried us off to the factory of their infidelity, shut [us] in, and claimed this whole power had been entrusted to them by the emperor” (Washburn 731).
“Yet in the midst of these anxieties, as if it were prescribed by some ancient custom, in place of civil wars the trumpets sounded for alleged cases of high treason; and to investigate and punish these there was sent that notorious state-secretary Paulus, often called Tartareus [meaning, “The Diabolical”]. He was skilled in the work of bloodshed and just as a trainer of gladiators seeks profit and emolument from the traffic in funerals and festivals, so did he from the rack or the executioner. Therefore as his determination to do harm was fixed and obstinate, he did not refrain from secret fraud, devising fatal charges against innocent persons, provided only he might continue his pernicious traffic” (Ammianus, Rerum Gestarum Libri 19 XII, I-II).
Ammianus introduces him, in Book XIV, Chapter V, thus:
“Prominent among these was the state secretary Paulus, a native of Spain, a kind of viper, whose countenance concealed his character, but who was extremely clever in scenting out hidden means of danger for others. . . . He patched together many accusations with utter disregard of the truth. . . . On their arrival, the racks were made ready and the executioner prepared his hooks and other instruments of torture.”
“Off went Paulus (as he was ordered) in panting haste and teeming with deadly fury, and since free reign was given to general calumny, men were brought in from almost the whole world, noble and obscure alike; and some of them were bowed down with the weight of chains, others wasted away from the agony of imprisonment”(Ammianus, Rerum Gestarum Libri 19 XII, III-VII).
“And Skythoupolis was chosen as the theatre of torture and death, a city of Palestine which for two reasons seemed more suitable than any other, because it is isolated, and because it is midway between Antioch and Alexandria, from which cities the greater number were brought to meet charges. . . .” (ibid, Rerum Gestarum Libri 19 XII, VIII).
Ammianus stated that it seems that people “without number” were subjected to this cruel episode in history, which took place during the reign of Constantius II, son of Constantine I. Constantius is known to have said of Pagans, “It is enough that they merely be allowed to live”, his hatred was so great! And thus began the decline of the empire.
We have only been a nation for a mere fraction of the time the Roman Empire existed, less than 300 years. And yet we are already seeing in our nation the kinds of things that the Romans saw so many centuries ago. We see hordes of people taken and placed into gulags with no due process whatsoever. And while some of these people likely have committed violent acts, Rumeysa Ozturk has not. Still, none have been afforded due process under the law. Rumeysa Ozturk was only expressing her basic human right of having an opinion. She was brave enough to express that opinion one year ago, before the present administration came into poser. Yet now, a full year later, she is being punished for that opinion. She, like all other human beings, had the full right to express her opinion. She exercised her “freedom of the press” rights. And she was forcibly taken into custody as she was about to express a part of her religious freedom as a Muslim, breaking the fast of Ramadan. Thus, she was denied two fundamental freedoms, freedom of speech (in this case via the press) and freedom of religion. That should sicken anyone!
Sadly, we have come to a point in this country – in the United States of America – that so many other people around the world recognize and fear. In many other countries people know that to stray outside of the dictates of their government – to express the wrong opinion or to do the “wrong” thing – will get you kidnapped and thrown into some gulag from which you may never emerge again. Or it may get you assassinated in the street or poisoned while you are eating out at a restaurant. Yes, many, many people around the world are well-acquainted with exactly this. They well know that it doesn’t happen only to foreigners too. It’s not supposed to happen here. Yet, now, we Americans can without exaggeration say the same kind of thing that millions of others around the world can also say – “If anything happens to me, my government did it”.
Pagan Voices Almanac (PVA); Authored & Edited by: Hekataios Pindaros Amerikos, Hierophant of Hyperboreanism and Oracular Priest of Dodona 