The Tampa City Council has a habit of starting each meeting with an invocation. But this tradition caused half of the council to walk out Thursday when Michael Harvey stepped up to the bat for a turn at inspiring the council to acts of wisdom. In fact, Councilman Kevin White called for a vote to either replace Harvey as the speaker or to skip the invocation altogether. What caused such division among the council? Well, it seems that Harvey is an atheist, and many council members objecte...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- A church's plan for an old-fashioned book-burning has been thwarted by city and county fire codes. Preachers and congregations throughout American history have built bonfires and tossed in books and other materials they believed offended God. The Rev. Scott Breedlove, pastor of The Jesus Church, wanted to rekindle that tradition in a July 28 ceremony where books, CDs, videos and clothing would have been thrown into the flames. Not so fast, city officials...
From A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson. Sam(m)ael (Satanil, Samil, Satan, Seir, Salmael, etc.) - a combination of "sam" meaning poison and "el" meaning angel. In rabbinic literature, Samael is chief of the Satans and the angel of death. In the Secrets of Enoch ( Enoch II ) he is the prince of demons and a magician. Samael has been regarded both evil and good; as one of the greatest and as one of the foulest spirits operating in Heaven, on ear...
From A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson. Mithra (Mitra, Mihir, Mihr, Ized, etc.) - in Vedic cosmology, one of the shining gods, analogous to Judaean-Christian angels. King in The Gnostics and Their Remains equates Mithra with Metatron. In Persian theology, Mithra or Mihr is one of the 28 izeds (spirits) that surround the great god Ahura-Mazda. He "rises from a paradise in the east, has 1,000 ears and 10,000 eyes." Among Aryans, he is a god of l...
From A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels , by Gustav Davidson Ariel (Arael, Ariael, meaning "lion of God") - the name of an angel in the apocryphal Ezra; also in Mathers, The Greater Key of Solomon , the Grand Grimoire , and other tracts of magic, where he is pictured as lion-headed. Cornelius Agrippa says: "Ariel is the name of an angel, sometimes also a demon, and of a city, whence called Ariopolis, where the idol is worshipped." In Heywood, The Hierarchy of the ...
Heavy rains threatened to flood the small town, and the authorities asked the residents to evacuate. Old Abe refused and sat on his front porch while his neighbors packed up. Abe’s friend Bill asked, “Why aren’t you packing, Abe? Didn’t you hear a flood is coming?” Abe replied, “I have faith in God. He loves me and will protect me.” Bill shook his head and left town. The rain continued to fall, and the waters continued to rise, but Abe stayed on his porch, though the streets we...
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen F Roberts Stephen's quote has become rather popular, especially among athiests, because it points out that there are a great many religous beliefs, and none of them form a majority. The people at adherents.com have collected data (last updated 2002) about the adherents of popular belief sy...