An Extract out of Josephus’s Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades
Flavius Josephus
Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades is a brief essay thought to be written by Hippolytusof Rome. This work is likewise known as Josephus’s Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades because it was incorrectly credited to the Jewish writer in the 9th century. Although this addendum is still reprinted in versions of Whiston’s Josephus, modern academia’s believe crediting this work to Josephus is erroneous. Current scholars now credit this concise treatise to the church minister Hippolytus. The attribution to Josephus, chronicled by Photius in his Bibliotheca, did not go unquestioned even during his time, and the “Discourse” was likewise credited to Caius, Presbyter of Rome, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus. The Writer asserts that: “Hades is a place in the world not regularly finished; a subterraneous region, wherein the light of this world does not shine; from which circumstance, that in this region the light does not shine, it cannot be but there must be in its perpetual darkness. This region is allotted as a place of custody for souls, in which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who distribute to them temporary punishments, agreeable to everyone’s behavior and manners.”
The writer depicts Hades as having “a lake of unquenchable fire” formed by God for an impending day of judgment. The unjust and the dead are constrained in different regions of Hades. Everyone in Hades must go through a gate secured by “an archangel with his multitude”, with the just being led to the right hand towards a zone of light called the Bosom of Abraham. The unjust are forcibly driven toward the left hand by angels, to a region marked by a fire that radiates “hot vapor”, from where the just may be seen but they cannot cross over because of the “chaos deep and large” that functions as a barricade.” The writer reassures the Greeks he’s speaking to that God will resurrect the dead by raising their bodies, not by putting their souls into another body. The writer asserts that their resurrected bodies will no longer be susceptible to sickness or suffering. In contradiction, an unjust person’s body will be unchanged upon resurrection, including retaining their defects. Every person must be taken before the Judge, Jesus Christ. The writer clearly dismisses Minos and Rhadamanthus, whom the Greeks accepted as judges of Hades, as the mediators of humanity’s destiny. As an alternative, Christ will employ “the righteous judgment of the Father towards all men”, with unending suffering for the evil and everlasting joy for the righteous. The writer calls upon his readers to accept God so they might receive the reward of the just. The book’s last paragraph cites a biblical saying of Christ, “In whatsoever ways I shall find you, in them shall I judge you entirely”, which the writer interprets to mean that if someone who is living a righteous way of life falls into sin, his righteousness will not save him from the punishment of the unjust, while a wicked individual who atones for his sins may yet be restored “as from a whitewash”.
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What do the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe?
Pratt was one of the original leaders of the Latter-Day Saint movement and he wrote multiple books and pamphlets on the traditions and beliefs followed by the church. He talks about how the prophecies of the Biblical scripture have only been partially fulfilled. Combined with his coherent and deep discussion about Mormon doctrine, it makes his book a classic piece of religious thoughts. In the introduction, Pratt justifies the title and the book basically provides information about religious practices and prophecies of Mormonism and it gained a massive number of followers throughout North America when it was published. The book acts like a warning to honest Christians and prepares them to face the truths mentioned in the Bible, enclosed within the definitive messages of the Holy Ghost Pratt feels that everyone should know and act upon these truths irrespective of whether the reader Is a Mormon or a Christian. Everyone should realize that God is present in every territory on the planet and that all the essential looming events like the resurrection of the saints must come to fruition. Pratt also talks about the how the Mormons consider the Native Americans as descendants of the lost Tribes of Israel.
A Voice of Warning
A Voice of Warning is a dynamic and passionate 19th-century case for Mormonism. After it was published in 1837, It became Mormonism’s most Important non-canonical texts. The intelligent style of the book explains Mormonism and distinguishes it from the more traditional Protestant Christianity. The church believes that God’s revelations still continue today. They believe revelations for a ward come to the bishop of that ward, revelation to direct a stake comes to the stake president, and revelation to direct a church would come to the church’s president. Latter-Day Saints also believe that its possible for human beings to receive a personal epiphany and spiritual advice for handling their personal matters and raising their families. Latter Day Saints give significant importance to the lessons of the church leaders because they believe in the modern-day revelation given to them by the holy spirit. They appreciate and adore their words because it lets people think about the honesty of divine statements as present-day prophecies.
The doctrine of Mormonism is a belief that God is the creator of the universe and everything in it. However, the Mormon concept of -eternal’ differs from that of traditional Christians, according to them God’s eternal nature lives outside of time or space. The Bible helps in understanding that Jesus formed His Church with prophets, teachers, apostles. pastors and several other Church officials whose primary goal was to unify all men in Jesus Christ and His teaching. Old Testament prophets talked about the last days as an era when the entire ordinances and grace of the gospel would be available to humanity. Every glorious event that was supposed to take place in the present was spoken of by ancient prophets like Malachi, Joel, Daniel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. For instance, Isaiah talked about the incredible work and wonder regarding the promised restoration of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and Peter talked about the indemnity of everything in the last days.
Parley P. Pratt
“Dignity and majesty have 1 seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village of Missouri.”
Parley Parker Pratt Sr. was born on April 12, 1807, in Burlington, New York, and died on May 13, 1857, in Arkansas, United States. His father was Jared Pratt and his mother was Charity Dickinson who was an offspring of Anne Hutchinson. He wedded Thankful Halsey in Canaan, New York on September 9, 1827. and they moved to Cleveland, Ohio afterwards. In Cleveland, he became a member of the “Disciples of Christ”, a reformed Baptist Society after being motivated by Sidney Rigdon’s sermons. He eventually took up preaching. He also believed in polygamy and had a massive family of 12 spouses, 30 children, and 266 grandchildren.
His first wife, Thankful Halsey Pratt, died during the birth of their first child in March 1837. He tied the knot to his second wife, Mary Ann Frost Stearns, on May 14, 1837. Mary, a widow, and her daughter had arrived in Kirtland in 1836. Frederick G. Williams executed the marriage ceremony and David W. Patten baptized Mary Ann. Joseph Smith was not supportive of Latter-Day Saints who got married within such a short time after the death of their partner.
Pratt and Mary Ann had a strong bond in their marriage, especially after she willingly went to prison in Missouri to join her husband. But after he started marrying other women, they separated. According to him, the reason why his marriage with Mary Ann didn’t work was that she was influenced by the false teachings that were spreading in the Church.
Between 1846 and 1847, Pratt tried several times to persuade Mary Ann to join him on his journey to the west, but she decided otherwise and returned to Maine after spending the winter of 1846 to 1847 in a deserted Nauvoo. She received clothes and money from Pratt for her return and also some proceeds from when Pratt sold his home to a Roman Catholic priest. Till today, the Nauvoo home is used by the Catholic priests as a place of residence.
Mary Ann traveled to Utah Territory in 1852, but she had severe disagreements with Pratt regarding how their children would be raised and hence Mary Ann got a divorce decree issued in 1853, with the help of Brigham Young. After that Mary Ann established herself in Pleasant Grove, Utah where she remained in the Latter-Day Saints Church, worked as a midwife, and eventually became a leading advocate to fight for Mormon women against the attacks of those opposed to polygamy.
Matthew J. Grow said that being surrounded by a brimming world of descendants and wives is what gave Pratt happiness.
Publications
The Millennium and Other Poems (1840)
Late Persecutions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: With a Sketch of Their Rise, Progress and Doctrine (1840)
“A Dialogue between Joseph Smith and the Devir, 1844
Key to the Science of Theology (1855)
Key to the Silence of Theology (1855)
The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt (1874, posthumous)
The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt
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A Critical Exposition of the Popular jihad Originally published in 1885 explains that all of Muhammad’s wars were defensive and that wars of aggression, or forced conversion, were not permitted by the Qur’an. Cheragh All believed the wars of Muhammad were sell protective because the Qur’an doesn’t condone wars of hostility. He contended that Muhammad only fought battles in reaction to actions that opposed the Qur’an’s instructions. Cheragh’s conviction that Islam was misconstrued by much of the world spurred him to translate the Qur’an. In opposition to what radicals and anti-Muslim people proclaim, the word “jihad” doesn’t mean “to wage holy war,” or “to kill the infidel,” it means “to struggle.” The Prophet Muhammad proclaimed that the best jihad was to say words of truth”. The only 2 organizations with the philosophy that “jihad means terrorism” are Islamic State terrorists and Islamophobes with a hidden agenda. To some jihad is the most frightening word in the world. As Muslim activist Linda Sarsour said in her speech “I hope that God accepts the efforts of Muslims to peacefully resist and-Muslim discrimination in the United States as a form of jihad,” the word jihad is Sar sour most often used to promote peace.
Three Kinds of Jihad
The Qur’an defines 3 kinds of Jihad (struggles), Including: the jihad against yourself (the greatest jihad), the jihad against Satan (the greater jihads) and the Jihad against an open enemy (the lesser jihads). After returning home from war Muhammad stated, “we are returning from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.”
First Jihad
The first jihad is the struggle against yourself Jihad against oneself unveils itself in countless forms. The struggle to obtain a college degree, learning an unfamiliar job skill. surviving a bout with cancer, trying to lose weight, trying to quit smoking and parenting challenges are all forms of the greater jihad. Accordingly, the primary and highest form of jihad in Islam is the jihad to improve yourself and to advance all mankind.
Second Jihad
The second jihad is the struggle against Satan. This jihad teaches Allah’s message through the Qur’an. In the late 19th century Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Messiah and founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, denounced Muslim religious leaders who maintained that Islam should be spread by force, writing in 1902, “No legitimate Muslim has ever believed that Islam should be spread by the sword.” Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, believes that Satan deceives and sows hate and fear, and perverts the truth to incite bloodshed. The second jihad counters with wisdom, integrity, truth and love.
Third Jihad
The third jihad is a struggle against an open enemy. An open enemy Is described by the Qur’an as an adversary that a Muslim is allowed to fight. An open enemy is neither the government nor people of another faith. Instead, the Qur’an only allows Muslims to fight in then lesser Jihad when one of the following five conditions is satisfied: for self-defense
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A Brief Account of the Rise and Progress of the People called Quakers
Pennsylvanian Quakers
Early Pennsylvanian Quakers were recognized for their honesty in social and economic matters. Many Quakers worked in manufacturing or business, because they were not permitted to earn academic degrees. These Quaker businessmen were prosperous because people trusted them. The customers understood that Quakers had a deep conviction to set a reasonable price for goods and not to quibble over prices. They likewise knew that Quakers were devoted to quality work, and that what they produced would be worth the cost. At the same time that Friends were becoming successful in manufacturing and business and were emigrating to different areas, they were becoming more involved in social issues and more active in society at large. One such issue was slavery. The Germantown (Pennsylvania) Monthly Meeting published their resistance to slavery in 1688, but abolitionism did not become prevalent among Quakers until the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting reached agreement on the issue in 1754. Reaching unity was a difficult process. William Penn himself had slaves. Some Quaker businessmen had made their fortunes in Barbados or owned ships that sailed the British/West Indies/American triangle. Most Quakers didn’t oppose slave ownership when they first arrived in America. To most Quakers, “slavery was acceptable given that slave owners attended to the spiritual and material needs of those they enslaved”. 70% of the officers of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting owned slaves in the period from 1681 to 1705; however, starting in 1688 some Quakers began to speak out against slavery. Things changed when John Woolman, a farmer, retailer, and tailor from New Jersey became convinced that slavery was unjust and published the universally read “John Woolman’s Journal”.
He wrote: “Slaves of this continent are oppressed, and their cries have reached the ears of the Most High. Such are the purity and certainty of his judgments, that he cannot be partial to our favor”. Woolman argued that not only was it unjust to abuse slaves and deny them access to spiritual learning, but that the entire system of buying, selling, and owning human beings was unacceptable in principle. Other Quakers agreed and became very active in the abolition movement. After deciding that they would buy no slaves off the boats, they united on the issue in 1755, after which time no one could be a Quaker and own a slave. In 1790, one of the initial documents introduced by the new Congress was an appeal by the Quakers, presented through Benjamin Franklin, to eradicate slavery in the United States. By 1756 only 10% of officers of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting owned slaves. The Southern states, however, insisted on continuing slavery. Because of this, a network of safe houses and escape routes, called the Underground Railroad, was established across the United States to bring enslaved people out of America and into Canada (British North America) or the free states. The Quakers were a prominent force in the Underground Railroad, and their efforts helped free many slaves. Immediately north of the Mason-Dixon line, the Quaker settlement of Chester County, Pennsylvania, one of the first hubs of the Underground Railroad, became the heart of the abolition movement, however, not all Quakers were of the same view point concerning the Underground Railroad: because slavery was still lawful in many states, it was therefore illegal for anyone to assist an escaped slave gain freedom. Many Quakers, who regarded slaves as equals, considered it was appropriate to help free slaves and felt it was unjust to hold someone as a slave. Other Quakers saw this as breaking the law and disturbing the peace, both of which fly against Quaker values, therefore breaking Quaker doctrine in being pacifistic. Involvement with the law and the authority was something from which the Quakers had sought to detach themselves. This controversy caused the Quakers to break off into smaller, separate branches who shared similar ideas and views.
The Quakers
Thomas Garrett, a prominent Quaker abolitionist, had an Underground Railroad stop at his residence in Delaware and was found guilty in 1848 of helping a group of slave’s escape. It was also said that Garrett worked with Harriet Tubman, a particularly well-known slave who managed to help other slaves obtain their freedom. Educator Levi Coffin and his spouse Catherine were Quakers who resided in Indiana and helped the Underground Railroad by smuggling slaves in their home for over 21 years. It is said that they helped 3,000 slaves secure their freedom. Susan B. Anthony, another well-known Quaker, did a great deal of antislavery along with her women’s rights work.
During the 20th century, two Quakers, Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon, both from the Western evangelical wing, were elected to serve as presidents of the United States, thus gaining higher secular political power than any Friend had retained since William Penn. The Quakers, were called “The Religious Society of Friends”, now just “Friends”, have a curious way of conducting various portions of their church services. During these services there is no formal authority. They are required to sit in silence and wait until the spirit moves them to speak. They can observe, answer, remain silent, analyze, modify, defend, or explain. The process promotes discussion. It is the act of civil debate on matters of mutual interest. If this sounds like how democracy should work in operation, it’s because, to some measure, this is where we picked up many of our concepts of how citizens should behave. This book embodies everything that attracts one to Quakerism from the beginning; a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ and the belief that everyone has the light of Christ in them and are of equal significance in His eyes. Sadly, these views are no longer common within the Religious Society of Friends. Quakerism has changed considerably since the 17th century. It has moved away from strong conviction in Jesus Christ into a blend of people who have a general notion of God as a ‘light’ or even dismiss God and Jesus altogether and represent themselves as pagans or atheists.
William Penn
English Quaker leader and colonist
William Penn, (born October 14, 1644, London, England—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire).
English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.
William was the descendant of the distinguished seaman, knight and national hero Admiral Sir William Penn. Admiral Penn was affluent and occasionally lent substantial amounts of money to the crown. William received the foundations of a classical education at the Chigwell grammar school in the Essex countryside, where he fell under Puritan influences. After Admiral Penn’s naval defeat in the West Indies in 1655, the family moved back to London and later to Ireland. In Ireland William heard Thomas Loe, traveling preacher, preach to his household at his father’s invitation. In 1660 William started college at the University of Oxford, where he rejected Anglicanism and got expelled in 1662 for his theological nonconformity. Resolved to curb his son’s piety, Admiral Penn dispatched his son on tour of the European continent and to the Protestant college at Samur, in France, to finish his studies. After 2 years his father called him back to England, where William entered Lincoln’s Inn and spent a year Studying law.
In 1666 Admiral Penn sent William back to Ireland to govern the family estates. There he crossed paths again with Thomas Loe and, after listening to him preach, elected to join the Quakers (the Society of Friends), a faction that was deemed religious fanatics who were denounced by respectable society and subject to religious persecution.
William formed his new colony, Pennsylvania, to establish a sanctuary for Quakers and other religious minorities, who would be accorded freedom of worship. He described his master plan as a “Holy Experiment.” William Penn didn’t coin the name Pennsylvania. He originally wanted to call it New Wales, because of its hilly topography which reminded him of the Welsh countryside. However, a Welsh-born secretary in England’s Privy Council took issue with this, causing Penn to rethink that name. His next proposal was Sylvania, after the Latin term for forest. The Council tweaked this new name by adding the prefix “Penn” to honor William Penn’s father, the late Admiral.
When Pennsylvania and Maryland were initially broken up, they gave everything south of Cape Henlopen to Maryland and all that lay above the Cape was divided vertically with the eastern half going to William Penn and the western half to Maryland. However, the dispute of where the Pennsylvania-Maryland border should be remained unresolved. This matter wasn’t resolved until the 1760s, when surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon plotted out the most famous dividing line in America (the Mason-Dixon Line).
Penn’s capacity to govern his colony from overseas was weakened by three paralytic strokes he had in 1712. As his health declined, his spouse Hannah stepped up. Over the next 6 years, she managed Pennsylvania’s affairs from afar, sending instructions to governor Charles Gookin and working with James Logan, Penn’s colonial advisor. Penn passed on July 30, 1718, but Hannah continued to run Pennsylvania for another 8 years after his passing.
Penn spent most his time in England and passed over 50 years before the colonies proclaimed their independence. He is considered by many as one of America’s founding fathers. He received high praise from the illustrious statesmen; Thomas Jefferson, who called him “the greatest law-giver the world has ever produced. On November 28, 1984, both William and Hannah were posthumously made honorary citizens of the United States, an honor that bestowed on only 6 other persons.
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