Friday, 14 December 2012
One of the biggest scientific hoaxes of all time...
Scientists seek to solve mystery of Piltdown Man
By Jill Lawless, AP, Dec 12, 2012
LONDON (AP)—It was an archaeological hoax that fooled scientists for decades. A century on, researchers are determined to find out who was responsible for Piltdown Man, the missing link that never was.
In December 1912, it was announced that a lawyer and amateur archaeologist named Charles Dawson had made an astonishing discovery in a gravel pit in southern England—prehistoric remains, up to 1 million years old, that combined the skull of a human and the jaw of an ape.
Piltdown Man—named for the village where the remains were found—set the scientific world ablaze. It was hailed as the missing evolutionary link between apes and humans, and proof that humans’ enlarged brains had evolved earlier than had been supposed.
It was 40 years before the find was definitively exposed as a hoax, and speculation about who did it rages to this day. Now scientists at London’s Natural History Museum—whose predecessors trumpeted the Piltdown find and may be suspects in the fraud—are marking the 100th anniversary with a new push to settle the argument for good.
The goal, lead scientist Chris Stringer wrote in a comment piece published Wednesday in the journal Nature, is to find out “who did it and what drove them”—whether scientific ambition, humor or malice.
Stringer heads a team of 15 researchers—including experts in ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating and isotope studies—examining the remains with the latest techniques and equipment and combing the museum’s archives for overlooked evidence about the evidence unearthed at sites around Piltdown.
“Although Charles Dawson is the prime suspect, it’s a complex story,” Stringer, the museum’s research leader in human origins, told The Associated Press. “The amount of material planted at two different sites makes some people—and that includes me—wonder whether there were at least two people involved.”
Doubts grew about Piltdown Man’s authenticity in the years after 1912, as more remains were found around the world that contradicted its evidence. In 1953, scientists from London’s Natural History Museum and Oxford University conducted tests that showed the find was a cleverly assembled fake, combining a human skull a few hundred years old with the jaw of an orangutan, stained to make it look ancient.
Ever since, speculation had swirled about possible perpetrators. Many people think the evidence points to Dawson, who died in 1916.
Other long-dead suspects identified by researchers include Arthur Smith Woodward, the museum’s keeper of geology, who championed Dawson’s discoveries and gave them vital scientific credibility. The finger has also been pointed at museum zoologist Martin Hinton; Jesuit priest and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin; and even “Sherlock Holmes” author Arthur Conan Doyle, who lived near Piltdown.
Miles Russell, senior lecturer in archaeology at Bournemouth University, thinks the museum’s work may shed new light on how the forgery was done. But he thinks there is little doubt Dawson was the perpetrator.
“He is the only person who is always on site every time a find is made,” Russell said. “And when he died in 1916, Piltdown Man died with him.”
Russell is author of the new book “The Piltdown Man Hoax: Case Closed”—though he doubts speculation about the century-old fraud will stop.
“People love conspiracy theories,” he said. “And this is one of the biggest scientific hoaxes of all time.”
Stringer said Piltdown Man stands as a warning to scientists always to be on their guard—especially when evidence seems to back up their theories.
“There was a huge gap in evidence and Piltdown at the time neatly filled that gap,” he said. “It was what people expected to be found. In a sense you could say it was manufactured to fit the scientific agenda.
“That lesson of Piltdown is always worth learning—when something seems too good to be true, maybe it is.”
Friday, 19 October 2012
Jesus or Karma? Bono's interview
The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt. - Bono http://www.thepoachedegg.net/the-poached-egg/2011/04/daily-quote-bono.html
Bono Interview: Grace Over Karma
http://www.thepoachedegg.net/the-poached-egg/2010/09/bono-interview-grace-over-karma.html
(Excerpt from the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas)
Bono_Rose_Colored_GlassesBono: My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don't let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond [sighs] in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that's my religion. Where things get complicated for me, is when I try to live this love. Now that's not so easy.
Assayas: What about the God of the Old Testament? He wasn't so "peace and love"?
Bono: There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.
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Assayas: Speaking of bloody action movies, we were talking about South and Central America last time. The Jesuit priests arrived there with the gospel in one hand and a rifle in the other.
Bono: I know, I know. Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building. [laughs] A list of instructions where there was once conviction; dogma where once people just did it; a congregation led by a man where once they were led by the Holy Spirit. Discipline replacing discipleship. Why are you chuckling?
Assayas: I was wondering if you said all of that to the Pope the day you met him.
Bono: Let's not get too hard on the Holy Roman Church here. The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. The physical experience of being in a crowd of largely humble people, heads bowed, murmuring prayers, stories told in stained-glass windows
Assayas: So you won't be critical.
Bono: No, I can be critical, especially on the topic of contraception. But when I meet someone like Sister Benedicta and see her work with AIDS orphans in Addis Ababa, or Sister Ann doing the same in Malawi, or Father Jack Fenukan and his group Concern all over Africa, when I meet priests and nuns tending to the sick and the poor and giving up much easier lives to do so, I surrender a little easier.
Assayas: But you met the man himself. Was it a great experience?
Bono: [W]e all knew why we were there. The Pontiff was about to make an important statement about the inhumanity and injustice of poor countries spending so much of their national income paying back old loans to rich countries. Serious business. He was fighting hard against his Parkinson's. It was clearly an act of will for him to be there. I was oddly moved by his humility, and then by the incredible speech he made, even if it was in whispers. During the preamble, he seemed to be staring at me. I wondered. Was it the fact that I was wearing my blue fly-shades? So I took them off in case I was causing some offense. When I was introduced to him, he was still staring at them. He kept looking at them in my hand, so I offered them to him as a gift in return for the rosary he had just given me.
Assayas: Didn't he put them on?
Bono: Not only did he put them on, he smiled the wickedest grin you could ever imagine. He was a comedian. His sense of humor was completely intact. Flashbulbs popped, and I thought: "Wow! The Drop the Debt campaign will have the Pope in my glasses on the front page of every newspaper."
Assayas: I don't remember seeing that photograph anywhere, though.
Bono: Nor did we. It seems his courtiers did not have the same sense of humor. Fair enough. I guess they could see the T-shirts.
Later in the conversation:
Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?
Bono: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.
Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.
Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.
Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.
Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.
Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.
Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.
Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.
Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.
Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?
Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched
Bono later says it all comes down to how we regard Jesus:
Bono: If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it.
The Poached EggRELATED POST: Grace Over Bono
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING:
We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2
Walk on: The Spiritual Journey of U2
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
good advice...
My best advice to any young person is to write down the top ten things you want in a partner, then become that person.
Kriss Hakala
Kriss Hakala
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Natural Cure against Cancer
Dear friends: what you are about to read in the paragraphs below, was published in the “Listin Diario” Newspaper, in Santo Domingo, one month ago. To tell you the truth, after I first read this article, I didn't believe too much of what it was saying. This remedy (cure) belongs to a Franciscan monk in Belen (Brazil), named Fray Romano. Nowadays he is a teacher at the seminary in Belen. His fame is spreading all over, like he says: “I treat cancer and every single person can do it, without miracles, just by using the products Mother Nature is providing. Before I give you the recipe, I want to tell you about my personal experience with this Blessed Recipe. I know a lot of people which were cured after they had drunk the “potion”, people given only 1 month to live having different types of terminal cancer. After experiencing myself the benefits of this completely natural cure, I decided to let it spread all over the internet so every person that has a friend, parent, relative, that is suffering from this terrible illness, will be able to make and drink his own cure. I assure you, you will see results even from the first week after starting. It is working really fast.”
The cure for Cancer:
½ or 1 Kg of honey.
2 or 3 big leaves of Aloe Vera
3 spoons of brandy, whisky or other strong liquor.
You wipe the dust off the leaves and you take away the thorns. Then you cut the plant in small pieces. You put all the elements in a blender and you blend it till it becomes a thick paste. Like this you can already use it. You can put it in the refridgerator or leave it outside, as you wish.
YOU MUSN'T TAKE OFF THE EXTERIOR PART OF THE LEAF AND YOU SHOULDN'T PASS IT THROUGH A STRAINER !!!
Monk Romano advices us that we should take 1 table spoon 3 times a day, 15 minutes before each meal. This should last for at least 10 days. You can repeat up to 4 more times only if the medical results are not the ones you hoped for, until the total recovery. They mention there is a possibility that some abscesses of the skin may occur, but not to worry this is a normal good symptom and you mustn't worry.
He continues saying that if you don't see any hoped for results after the first part of the treatment (10 days) you should repeat it. If medical tests show that the tumor has not yet disappeared, you should do up to 4 more sets of treatments (10 days each), until you are completely healed. The monk used this free cure for 6 years with optimum results. He treated many people in Belen and surroundings. He is saying it doesn't just cure Cancer, it also prevents it. It cures skin cancer, brain tumors, lung cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, etc.
He also tells us that he treated a 29 year old nun suffering from sclerosis.
He who wants a confirmation of a person cured by lung cancer can contact Mr. Fausto Pimentel, in Santo Domingo. Tel (809) 247-2316.
This gentleman published what has been written above to show his gratitude for his life, although they only gave him a few days to live.
As I'm concerned I know different people which can testify they were cured just like Mr. Pimentel. Please broadcast this message in any way you can. I would like to mention (not me, but the author who wrote this article,) that the treatment doesn't cure just cancer but it also resurrects damaged cells and strengthens our immune system.
Does this treatment heal us of any kind of cancer? The answer is YES.
What kinds of cancer does this treatment cure us of? The answer is ANY.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW. PLEASE HELP THE ONES, WHO SUFFER FROM BREAST OR ANY OTHER CANCER, MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THEY MATTER AND THAT WE'RE ALL PRAYING FOR THEM. THANK YOU. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
Dear friends: what you are about to read in the paragraphs below, was published in the “Listin Diario” Newspaper, in Santo Domingo, one month ago. To tell you the truth, after I first read this article, I didn't believe too much of what it was saying. This remedy (cure) belongs to a Franciscan monk in Belen (Brazil), named Fray Romano. Nowadays he is a teacher at the seminary in Belen. His fame is spreading all over, like he says: “I treat cancer and every single person can do it, without miracles, just by using the products Mother Nature is providing. Before I give you the recipe, I want to tell you about my personal experience with this Blessed Recipe. I know a lot of people which were cured after they had drunk the “potion”, people given only 1 month to live having different types of terminal cancer. After experiencing myself the benefits of this completely natural cure, I decided to let it spread all over the internet so every person that has a friend, parent, relative, that is suffering from this terrible illness, will be able to make and drink his own cure. I assure you, you will see results even from the first week after starting. It is working really fast.”
The cure for Cancer:
½ or 1 Kg of honey.
2 or 3 big leaves of Aloe Vera
3 spoons of brandy, whisky or other strong liquor.
You wipe the dust off the leaves and you take away the thorns. Then you cut the plant in small pieces. You put all the elements in a blender and you blend it till it becomes a thick paste. Like this you can already use it. You can put it in the refridgerator or leave it outside, as you wish.
YOU MUSN'T TAKE OFF THE EXTERIOR PART OF THE LEAF AND YOU SHOULDN'T PASS IT THROUGH A STRAINER !!!
Monk Romano advices us that we should take 1 table spoon 3 times a day, 15 minutes before each meal. This should last for at least 10 days. You can repeat up to 4 more times only if the medical results are not the ones you hoped for, until the total recovery. They mention there is a possibility that some abscesses of the skin may occur, but not to worry this is a normal good symptom and you mustn't worry.
He continues saying that if you don't see any hoped for results after the first part of the treatment (10 days) you should repeat it. If medical tests show that the tumor has not yet disappeared, you should do up to 4 more sets of treatments (10 days each), until you are completely healed. The monk used this free cure for 6 years with optimum results. He treated many people in Belen and surroundings. He is saying it doesn't just cure Cancer, it also prevents it. It cures skin cancer, brain tumors, lung cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, etc.
He also tells us that he treated a 29 year old nun suffering from sclerosis.
He who wants a confirmation of a person cured by lung cancer can contact Mr. Fausto Pimentel, in Santo Domingo. Tel (809) 247-2316.
This gentleman published what has been written above to show his gratitude for his life, although they only gave him a few days to live.
As I'm concerned I know different people which can testify they were cured just like Mr. Pimentel. Please broadcast this message in any way you can. I would like to mention (not me, but the author who wrote this article,) that the treatment doesn't cure just cancer but it also resurrects damaged cells and strengthens our immune system.
Does this treatment heal us of any kind of cancer? The answer is YES.
What kinds of cancer does this treatment cure us of? The answer is ANY.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW. PLEASE HELP THE ONES, WHO SUFFER FROM BREAST OR ANY OTHER CANCER, MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THEY MATTER AND THAT WE'RE ALL PRAYING FOR THEM. THANK YOU. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
A beautiful, true story - Love
A Beautiful Story - Love
Author: John Powell
John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago writes about a student named Tommy in his "Theology of Faith" class:
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under 'S' for strange, very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was, for me at times, a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a slightly cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find God?"
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very emphatically.
"Oh," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were pushing."
I let him get five steps from the classroom door, then called out, "Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!"
He shrugged a little and left my class and my life. I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line: "He will find you!" At least I thought it was clever.
Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful. Then a sad report came. I heard Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy, but his eyes were bright, and his voice was firm for the first time, I believe.
"Tommy, I've thought about you so often. I hear you are sick," I blurted out.
"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of weeks."
"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
"What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?"
"Well, it could be worse."
"Like what?"
"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals; like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real 'biggies' in life."
(I began to look through my mental file cabinet under 'S' where I had filed Tommy as strange. It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something you said to me on the last day of class."
(He remembered!)
He continued, "I asked you if you thought I would ever find God, and you said, 'No!’ which surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find you.' I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time.
(My clever line... He thought about that a lot!)
"But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that's when I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven, but God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try something for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted; fed up with trying. And then you quit.
Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn't really care about God, about an afterlife, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class, and I remembered something else you had said: 'The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.'
So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him.
"Dad."
"Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the newspaper
"Dad, I would like to talk with you."
"Well, talk."
"I mean it's really important."
The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"
"Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that."
(Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him.)
"The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me.
We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me.
It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying really nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.
I was only sorry about one thing - that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.
Then, one day, I turned around and God was there! He didn't come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop; 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll give You three days, three weeks.' Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But the important thing is that He was there. He found me. You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him."
"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather to open up to love. You know, the Apostle John said that.
He said: 'God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.'
Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn't be half as effective as if you were to tell them."
"Ooh ... I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your class."
"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days, Tom called, said he was ready for the class that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date, but he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class.
Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard, or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
"I'm not going to make it to your class," he said.
"I know, Tom."
"Will you tell them for me? Will you tell the whole world for me?" "I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best."
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to hear this simple statement about love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven - I told them, Tommy, as best I could.
If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend or two. It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
With thanks, John Powell, Professor Loyola University, Chicago
I verified this story on www.truthorfiction.com ; which stated the following: “This story was written by Father John Powell; a retired professor at Loyola University in Chicago. Father Powell is advanced in years, but TruthOrFiction.com found him and talked with him. The story was fresh in his mind and he confirmed that it is true and happened in the way that he described it.”
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” - John 15:9
“Soos die Vader My liefgehad het, het Ek julle ook liefgehad. Bly in hierdie liefde van My.” - John 15:9
Author: John Powell
John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago writes about a student named Tommy in his "Theology of Faith" class:
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under 'S' for strange, very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was, for me at times, a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a slightly cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find God?"
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very emphatically.
"Oh," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were pushing."
I let him get five steps from the classroom door, then called out, "Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!"
He shrugged a little and left my class and my life. I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line: "He will find you!" At least I thought it was clever.
Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful. Then a sad report came. I heard Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy, but his eyes were bright, and his voice was firm for the first time, I believe.
"Tommy, I've thought about you so often. I hear you are sick," I blurted out.
"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of weeks."
"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
"What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?"
"Well, it could be worse."
"Like what?"
"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals; like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real 'biggies' in life."
(I began to look through my mental file cabinet under 'S' where I had filed Tommy as strange. It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something you said to me on the last day of class."
(He remembered!)
He continued, "I asked you if you thought I would ever find God, and you said, 'No!’ which surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find you.' I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time.
(My clever line... He thought about that a lot!)
"But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that's when I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven, but God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try something for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted; fed up with trying. And then you quit.
Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn't really care about God, about an afterlife, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class, and I remembered something else you had said: 'The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.'
So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him.
"Dad."
"Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the newspaper
"Dad, I would like to talk with you."
"Well, talk."
"I mean it's really important."
The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"
"Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that."
(Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him.)
"The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me.
We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me.
It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying really nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.
I was only sorry about one thing - that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.
Then, one day, I turned around and God was there! He didn't come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop; 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll give You three days, three weeks.' Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But the important thing is that He was there. He found me. You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him."
"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather to open up to love. You know, the Apostle John said that.
He said: 'God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.'
Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn't be half as effective as if you were to tell them."
"Ooh ... I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your class."
"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days, Tom called, said he was ready for the class that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date, but he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class.
Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard, or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
"I'm not going to make it to your class," he said.
"I know, Tom."
"Will you tell them for me? Will you tell the whole world for me?" "I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best."
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to hear this simple statement about love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven - I told them, Tommy, as best I could.
If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend or two. It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
With thanks, John Powell, Professor Loyola University, Chicago
I verified this story on www.truthorfiction.com ; which stated the following: “This story was written by Father John Powell; a retired professor at Loyola University in Chicago. Father Powell is advanced in years, but TruthOrFiction.com found him and talked with him. The story was fresh in his mind and he confirmed that it is true and happened in the way that he described it.”
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” - John 15:9
“Soos die Vader My liefgehad het, het Ek julle ook liefgehad. Bly in hierdie liefde van My.” - John 15:9
Monday, 18 October 2010
Awesome story
Awesome Story
Author: Ken Gaub
At the time I was driving on 1-75 near Dayton, Ohio, with my wife and children. We turned off the highway for a rest and refreshment stop. My wife, Barbara, and children went into the restaurant. I suddenly felt the need to stretch my legs, so waved them off ahead saying I’d join them later.
I bought a soft drink, and as I walked toward a Dairy Queen, feelings of self pity enshrouded my mind. I loved the Lord and my ministry, but I felt drained, burdened. My cup was empty.
Suddenly, the impatient ringing of a telephone nearby jarred me out of my doldrums. It was coming from a phone booth at a service station on the corner. Wasn’t anyone going to answer the phone? Noise from the traffic flowing through the busy intersection must have drowned out the sound because the service station attendant continued looking after his customers, oblivious to the incessant ringing.
“Why doesn’t somebody answer that phone?” I muttered. I began reasoning. It may be important. What if it’s an emergency? Curiosity overcame my indifference. I stepped inside the booth and picked up the phone.
“Hello,” I said casually and took a big sip of my drink. The operator said: “Long distance call for Ken Gaub.” My eyes widened, and I almost choked on a chunk of ice.
Swallowing hard, I said, “You’re crazy!” Then, realizing I shouldn’t speak to an operator like that, I added, “This can’t be! I was walking down the road, not bothering anyone, and the phone was ringing....”
“Is Ken Gaub there?” the operator interrupted, “I have a long distance call for him.”
It took a moment to gain control of my babbling, but I finally replied, “Yes, he is here.” Searching for a possible explanation, wondered if I could possibly be on Candid Camera!
Still shaken, perplexed, I asked, “How in the world did you reach me here? I was walking down the road, the pay phone started ringing, and I just answered it by chance. You can’t mean me.”
“Well,” the operator asked, “is Mr. Gaub there or isn’t he?”
“Yes, I am Ken Gaub,” I said, finally convinced by the tone of her voice that the call was real.
Then, I heard another voice say, “Yes, that’s him, operator. That’s Ken Gaub.”
I listened dumbfounded to a strange voice identify herself. “I’m Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don’t know me, Mr. Gaub, but I’m desperate. Please help me.”
“What can I do for you?”
She began weeping. Finally, she regained control and continued, “I was about to commit suicide, had just finished writing a note, when I began to pray and tell God I really didn’t want to do this. Then, I suddenly remembered seeing you on television and thought if I could just talk to you, you could help me. I knew that was impossible because I didn’t know how to reach you: I didn’t know anyone who could help me find you. Then, some numbers came to my mind, and I scribbled them down.”
At this point she began weeping again, and I prayed silently for wisdom to help her. She continued, “I looked at the numbers and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had a miracle from God, and He has given me Ken’s phone number?’ I decided to try calling it. I can’t believe I’m talking to you.
Are you in your office in California?”
I replied, “Lady, I don’t have an office in California. My office is in
Yakima, Washington.”
A little surprised, she asked, “Oh, really, then where are you?”
“Don’t you know?” I responded. “You made the call.”
She explained, “...but I don’t even know what area I’m calling. I just dialed the number that I had on this paper.”
“Ma’am, you won’t believe this, but I’m in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio!”
“Really?” she exclaimed. “Well, what are you doing there?”
I kidded her gently, “Well, I’m answering the phone. It was ringing as I walked by; so, I answered it.”
Knowing this encounter could only have been arranged by God, I began to counsel the woman. As she told me of her despair and frustration, the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the phone booth giving me words of wisdom beyond my ability. In a matter of moments, she prayed the sinner’s prayer and met the One who would lead her out of her situation into a new life.
I walked away from that telephone booth with an electrifying sense of our heavenly Father’s concern for each of His children. What were the astronomical odds of this happening? With all the millions of phones and innumerable combinations of numbers, only an all-knowing God could have caused that woman to call that number in that phone booth at that moment in time.
Forgetting my drink and nearly bursting with exhilaration, I headed back to my family, wondering if they would believe my story. “Maybe I had better not tell this,” I thought, but I couldn’t contain it. “Barb, you won’t believe this: God knows where I am!”
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” –Jeremiah 33:3
“Roep My aan, en Ek sal jou antwoord en jou bekend maak groot en ondeurgrondelike dinge wat jy nie weet nie.” –Jeremiah 33:3
Author: Ken Gaub
At the time I was driving on 1-75 near Dayton, Ohio, with my wife and children. We turned off the highway for a rest and refreshment stop. My wife, Barbara, and children went into the restaurant. I suddenly felt the need to stretch my legs, so waved them off ahead saying I’d join them later.
I bought a soft drink, and as I walked toward a Dairy Queen, feelings of self pity enshrouded my mind. I loved the Lord and my ministry, but I felt drained, burdened. My cup was empty.
Suddenly, the impatient ringing of a telephone nearby jarred me out of my doldrums. It was coming from a phone booth at a service station on the corner. Wasn’t anyone going to answer the phone? Noise from the traffic flowing through the busy intersection must have drowned out the sound because the service station attendant continued looking after his customers, oblivious to the incessant ringing.
“Why doesn’t somebody answer that phone?” I muttered. I began reasoning. It may be important. What if it’s an emergency? Curiosity overcame my indifference. I stepped inside the booth and picked up the phone.
“Hello,” I said casually and took a big sip of my drink. The operator said: “Long distance call for Ken Gaub.” My eyes widened, and I almost choked on a chunk of ice.
Swallowing hard, I said, “You’re crazy!” Then, realizing I shouldn’t speak to an operator like that, I added, “This can’t be! I was walking down the road, not bothering anyone, and the phone was ringing....”
“Is Ken Gaub there?” the operator interrupted, “I have a long distance call for him.”
It took a moment to gain control of my babbling, but I finally replied, “Yes, he is here.” Searching for a possible explanation, wondered if I could possibly be on Candid Camera!
Still shaken, perplexed, I asked, “How in the world did you reach me here? I was walking down the road, the pay phone started ringing, and I just answered it by chance. You can’t mean me.”
“Well,” the operator asked, “is Mr. Gaub there or isn’t he?”
“Yes, I am Ken Gaub,” I said, finally convinced by the tone of her voice that the call was real.
Then, I heard another voice say, “Yes, that’s him, operator. That’s Ken Gaub.”
I listened dumbfounded to a strange voice identify herself. “I’m Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don’t know me, Mr. Gaub, but I’m desperate. Please help me.”
“What can I do for you?”
She began weeping. Finally, she regained control and continued, “I was about to commit suicide, had just finished writing a note, when I began to pray and tell God I really didn’t want to do this. Then, I suddenly remembered seeing you on television and thought if I could just talk to you, you could help me. I knew that was impossible because I didn’t know how to reach you: I didn’t know anyone who could help me find you. Then, some numbers came to my mind, and I scribbled them down.”
At this point she began weeping again, and I prayed silently for wisdom to help her. She continued, “I looked at the numbers and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had a miracle from God, and He has given me Ken’s phone number?’ I decided to try calling it. I can’t believe I’m talking to you.
Are you in your office in California?”
I replied, “Lady, I don’t have an office in California. My office is in
Yakima, Washington.”
A little surprised, she asked, “Oh, really, then where are you?”
“Don’t you know?” I responded. “You made the call.”
She explained, “...but I don’t even know what area I’m calling. I just dialed the number that I had on this paper.”
“Ma’am, you won’t believe this, but I’m in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio!”
“Really?” she exclaimed. “Well, what are you doing there?”
I kidded her gently, “Well, I’m answering the phone. It was ringing as I walked by; so, I answered it.”
Knowing this encounter could only have been arranged by God, I began to counsel the woman. As she told me of her despair and frustration, the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the phone booth giving me words of wisdom beyond my ability. In a matter of moments, she prayed the sinner’s prayer and met the One who would lead her out of her situation into a new life.
I walked away from that telephone booth with an electrifying sense of our heavenly Father’s concern for each of His children. What were the astronomical odds of this happening? With all the millions of phones and innumerable combinations of numbers, only an all-knowing God could have caused that woman to call that number in that phone booth at that moment in time.
Forgetting my drink and nearly bursting with exhilaration, I headed back to my family, wondering if they would believe my story. “Maybe I had better not tell this,” I thought, but I couldn’t contain it. “Barb, you won’t believe this: God knows where I am!”
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” –Jeremiah 33:3
“Roep My aan, en Ek sal jou antwoord en jou bekend maak groot en ondeurgrondelike dinge wat jy nie weet nie.” –Jeremiah 33:3
Prevention and cure for colds etc....
Onion Health
Onions are very effective against cold symptoms, coughs and asthma, as well as helping with insomnia, and repelling insects.
An open jar containing an onion, left beside the bed, will help with breathing, relaxation, and restful sleep as well as reducing snoring, wheezing and coughing. With the added benefit of keeping insects at bay!
The stronger tasting onions have a higher nutrient content than the sweeter, smoother tasting type. Shallots have proved to be the most health giving type of onion, having up to 6 times more of the health giving components than other onions.
The oligomers in onions help the growth of healthy bifidobacteria and fight harmful bacteria, especially in the colon, and help reduce the risk of tumours, and colon and stomach cancer.
Onions are rich in flavonoids, which protect against cardiovascular disease, and their sulphur content also helps prevent clumping of platelets.
Onions are helpful in lowering the risk of blood clots, which makes them useful in fighting cardiovascular disease.
These pungent vegetables are rich in vitamin C, making them helpful with fighting colds, and also in chromium, helping cells respond to insulin, and lowering blood sugars.
Onions are also active in keeping levels of cholesterol and triglycerides balanced, increasing the good HDL, and decreasing LDL levels, thus preventing arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.
Regular consumption of onion, like its cousin the garlic, will greatly reduce the risk of cancer in various forms, including: larynx, pharynx, oesophagus, oral cavity, breast, ovaries, prostate, renal, colon and stomach.
Onions rival milk for maintaining bone health, making them especially beneficial for women, particularly at menopausal age, to prevent osteoporosis.
Apart from their vitamin C content, onions have chromium, dietary fibre, manganese, vitamins A and B6, folate, potassium, molybdenum, copper, phosphorus, calcium and iron.
Onion is known to be a powerful antiseptic, and an onion paste was widely used in World War II to help close wounds and ease pain.
The many functions of the onion include:
Anaemia
Because of its high content of iron, the onion is extremely helpful in the treatment of anaemia
Anticoagulant
Just one small onion a day, makes a big difference to cholesterol levels, so helping to prevent heart disease.
Anti-inflammatory
The natural anti-inflammatory in onions help to relieve symptoms in arthritis and gout, among other inflammatory diseases.
Antiseptic
A natural antiseptic, onion fights bacteria in the digestive system, including E. coli and salmonella, as well as bacteria in the respiratory system, making it effective against tuberculosis bronchitis etc. Onion is also effective against infections of the urinary tract (UTIs) including cystitis.
For treating UTIs, boil some onion in water, let the water reduce by about half, strain and leave to cool. Drunk cold, this will help relieve irritation and burning.
Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
Both raw and cooked onions help in lowering BP, as well as thinning blood, dissolving clots, and clearing fats, cholesterol and triglycerides from the bloodstream.
Cancer
Apart from helping prevent cancer in the stomach and colon, will also relieve constipation and flatulence. Helpful in most stomach problems, in fact.
Hearing
Some cultures use onion juice on cotton wool to help against tinnitis, or 'ringing' in the ear.
Onion juice has also been claimed to promote hair growth, when applied to the scalp, although this has not been proven.
Osteoporosis
Onions have proved helpful in strengthening of bones, and the prevention of bone breakdown.
Respiration
Onion juice mixed with honey helps to break down mucus, thus helping against coughs and colds, and respiratory problems. Also useful in fighting infection, reduce fever, and other flu symptoms. This mixture is particularly helpful with asthma, taken three or four times a day will help to stave off attacks.
Many people who find onions irritate their eyes, will run them under cold water to cut them, but this can wash away a lot of the benefits. Better to chill onions in the fridge, or a couple of minutes in the freezer, before cutting, and use a very sharp knife which will cut through with less 'squirting'.
So in answer to the question "how healthy are onions?" The response is "Extremely! Very! Amazingly!"
Like anything else, they are much more beneficial in their raw state, but still retain their goodness when cooked, provided you don't overcook. Many people cannot take raw onions to their system, for whatever reason, but lightly cooking is okay. Cooking them until they are soft and opaque, they are still beneficial. Fried until brown and starting to crisp, they've lost a lot. Adding them to stews and soups is fine as the nutrients remain in the dish.
Add onions to your diet as often as you can, and reap the benefits. You will find the way that you like best to eat them, and you are only doing your body good.
Onions are very effective against cold symptoms, coughs and asthma, as well as helping with insomnia, and repelling insects.
An open jar containing an onion, left beside the bed, will help with breathing, relaxation, and restful sleep as well as reducing snoring, wheezing and coughing. With the added benefit of keeping insects at bay!
The stronger tasting onions have a higher nutrient content than the sweeter, smoother tasting type. Shallots have proved to be the most health giving type of onion, having up to 6 times more of the health giving components than other onions.
The oligomers in onions help the growth of healthy bifidobacteria and fight harmful bacteria, especially in the colon, and help reduce the risk of tumours, and colon and stomach cancer.
Onions are rich in flavonoids, which protect against cardiovascular disease, and their sulphur content also helps prevent clumping of platelets.
Onions are helpful in lowering the risk of blood clots, which makes them useful in fighting cardiovascular disease.
These pungent vegetables are rich in vitamin C, making them helpful with fighting colds, and also in chromium, helping cells respond to insulin, and lowering blood sugars.
Onions are also active in keeping levels of cholesterol and triglycerides balanced, increasing the good HDL, and decreasing LDL levels, thus preventing arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.
Regular consumption of onion, like its cousin the garlic, will greatly reduce the risk of cancer in various forms, including: larynx, pharynx, oesophagus, oral cavity, breast, ovaries, prostate, renal, colon and stomach.
Onions rival milk for maintaining bone health, making them especially beneficial for women, particularly at menopausal age, to prevent osteoporosis.
Apart from their vitamin C content, onions have chromium, dietary fibre, manganese, vitamins A and B6, folate, potassium, molybdenum, copper, phosphorus, calcium and iron.
Onion is known to be a powerful antiseptic, and an onion paste was widely used in World War II to help close wounds and ease pain.
The many functions of the onion include:
Anaemia
Because of its high content of iron, the onion is extremely helpful in the treatment of anaemia
Anticoagulant
Just one small onion a day, makes a big difference to cholesterol levels, so helping to prevent heart disease.
Anti-inflammatory
The natural anti-inflammatory in onions help to relieve symptoms in arthritis and gout, among other inflammatory diseases.
Antiseptic
A natural antiseptic, onion fights bacteria in the digestive system, including E. coli and salmonella, as well as bacteria in the respiratory system, making it effective against tuberculosis bronchitis etc. Onion is also effective against infections of the urinary tract (UTIs) including cystitis.
For treating UTIs, boil some onion in water, let the water reduce by about half, strain and leave to cool. Drunk cold, this will help relieve irritation and burning.
Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
Both raw and cooked onions help in lowering BP, as well as thinning blood, dissolving clots, and clearing fats, cholesterol and triglycerides from the bloodstream.
Cancer
Apart from helping prevent cancer in the stomach and colon, will also relieve constipation and flatulence. Helpful in most stomach problems, in fact.
Hearing
Some cultures use onion juice on cotton wool to help against tinnitis, or 'ringing' in the ear.
Onion juice has also been claimed to promote hair growth, when applied to the scalp, although this has not been proven.
Osteoporosis
Onions have proved helpful in strengthening of bones, and the prevention of bone breakdown.
Respiration
Onion juice mixed with honey helps to break down mucus, thus helping against coughs and colds, and respiratory problems. Also useful in fighting infection, reduce fever, and other flu symptoms. This mixture is particularly helpful with asthma, taken three or four times a day will help to stave off attacks.
Many people who find onions irritate their eyes, will run them under cold water to cut them, but this can wash away a lot of the benefits. Better to chill onions in the fridge, or a couple of minutes in the freezer, before cutting, and use a very sharp knife which will cut through with less 'squirting'.
So in answer to the question "how healthy are onions?" The response is "Extremely! Very! Amazingly!"
Like anything else, they are much more beneficial in their raw state, but still retain their goodness when cooked, provided you don't overcook. Many people cannot take raw onions to their system, for whatever reason, but lightly cooking is okay. Cooking them until they are soft and opaque, they are still beneficial. Fried until brown and starting to crisp, they've lost a lot. Adding them to stews and soups is fine as the nutrients remain in the dish.
Add onions to your diet as often as you can, and reap the benefits. You will find the way that you like best to eat them, and you are only doing your body good.
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