Some Fun on Quora, I

1) Some Fun on Quora, I · 2) Some Fun on Quora, II · 3) Some Linguistics on Quora (III, still fun) · 4) Creationism vs Evolutionism on Quora, IV, still fun · 5) Medieval Related, Mostly, on Quora (part V)

How do the teachings about the nature of God expressed in Genesis 1 & 2 have no relevance to Catholics in the 21st century?

Oh, they do have most relevance for Catholics any century.

You mean perhaps Neo-Catholics of the Vatican II Sect?

Is it true the Jesus hasn't received even one 'thanks' in his life according to written stuff?

Where do you get that from?

What books should I read to achieve a comprehensive knowledge on World history?

One book?

The Bible.

You asked for the knowledge to be comprehensive, right?

But if you want to know details not mentioned in the Bible, and there are plenty, well, don’t take just ONE book, take several, compare them, get the chinks of the one book filled in by the excess of the other and so on. AND don’t stick to books on “world history”, but go to books on the specific periods/countries that you want to know about.

Are there any good books on early European history from origins up to Medieval times?

Tacitus Germania and his Agricola are two of them!

Plus south of the Barbarians, you have Romans. Tacitus (whom I have partly read), Cassius Dio, Suetonius (both of whom I have not read), for older Roman Livy, for older Greek Herodotus, then you come to Christian historians, like Socrates (not the philosopher, but a namesake) etc. For just limit to Medieval, read saints’ lives. For instance Vita Sancti Severini by Eugippius.

What if Alexios I didn't request help from the Pope?

Does the question mean “what if the historical fact that Alexios Komnenos requested help is a falsehood”?

In that case, I’ll have to disagree.

Or does it mean “imagine how history would have been different if Alexios Komnenos hadn’t”?

Very probably it would have been that.

[I could have added, but didn't, that it would have been even more different, perhaps, if he hadn't given an example of executing heretics by death, with Basil the Physician.]

Why didn't the Pope in Vatican prevent Hitler from committing such great sins -Holocaust and provide shelter for Jews?

Pius XII, whether good or bad Pope doctrinally, whether even as bad a Pope doctrinally as to be a non-Pope, certainly DID provide lots of shelter to the Jews.

A very fine Schindler, just not so great a Pope.

As to first part of question, it has already been answered : Pius XII was not in a position to, as Pope, control Hitler, least of all in his policies.

Hitler was a declared opponent to clerical interference in politics. The question is a parallel to why John XXIII and Paul VI (whom I don’t consider as Popes, at all, but as traitors) didn’t stop Valéry Giscard d’Estaing from legalising abortion in France.

When and why did you convert from Christianity/Islam into Hinduism/Buddhism?

Never at all.

I am still a Christian, despite what seem to be rumours to the contrary!

Do women in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches have to cover their heads in their churches?

It is recommended, and in some traditional parishes practically required.

It is however not an official duty, and even in the traditional parishes, new coming women are excused (not so for very short skirts).

What was the daily life for medieval children?

Depends VERY much on who their parents were.

And what they were going to be later.

If you were ging to become a monk or a priest, but also in some other cases, you went to school, learned letters and Latin, and started continuing an education in liberal arts (I think universities would admit you at 13–15 for a full course of 7 arts).

If you were going to become a knight or any feudal lord above that, your days were spent partly in training for the military part, that especially after puberty, but partly in training for the polite manners required of you once you were going to do representation. Page means you were among other things a waiter and a butler, but you were also trained in music and in poetic metres.

That was also the case for those going to be clergy.

One of the former would as an adult write

Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vîl geseit
Von heleden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit
Von fröuden, hochgezîten, von weinen unde klagen
Von edeler recken strîten, muget ir nu wunder hören sagen.

One of the latter, skipping religious poetry, was going to write:

Mihi est propositum
in taberna mori
Ut sint vina proxima
Huic potatori* …

And, as said, both started training versification skills early (my own date from age 13, by the way).

If you were going to be a peasant, and if not in school or when not in school, you were helping your dad and mum with things on the farm, lighter tasks, and looking on attentively when they were doing heavier ones.

If you were going to be a butcher or a goldsmith, you were cleaning up a lot in the shop of a butcher or a goldsmith and looking on a lot when they did their stuff, plus doing some minor tasks not requiring having acquired very much skill. At puberty you would then have the right to become a journeyman and start doing what you had learnt.

If you were going to be a grocer or a trader, you were obviously cleaning and tidying the shop a lot, and also learning to calculate sums at least faster than the guys who learnt arithmetic at university.

And if you were a girl, you learned a lot about motherhood, wifehood, sewing, cooking, looking after sick relatives and so on.

* Actually, huic potatori is the last line, and the next line is rather "morientis ori".

Do you know where are the foundations built by God in Earth?

I’d suppose under the continental shelves. Where they are thicker and further down into the magma, so as to keep in place.

The saw description: 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. (10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.")

And added: Actually, the Bible quote is about “the city with foundations”, that means the Church. The foundations in question are Patriarchs and Prophets, Apostles and Gospellers, with Jesus Christ as cornerstone.

What are the most interesting facts about Hinduism?

That depends entirely on who is interested.

In my case, Mahabharata and Ramayana are the most interesting facts.

Why?

Because I think they are memories of times written about in Genesis. Somewhat blurred and distorted memories, but still memories with lots of detail right.

I think Krishna was a MAN (not a god!) living before the Flood, and probably related to Ham’s wife, for instance his father or grandfather in law. His name means the same as Kush, and I think it was pronounced Kush in pre-Flood times when all spoke Hebrew. I also think the Biblical Kush, son of Ham, was named after him.

I think Rama was also a MAN (still not a god!) living after the Flood, and who was son of (the Biblical) Kush, among whose sons one has a similar name in the Bible. I even think Hanuman was a man, probably Nimrod, in his earlier and better days, before he went bad. Nimrod was a son of Kush, “Rama” was a son of Kush and Josephus says Nimrod was protecting his brothers in his earlier and better days.

Is the Pope divine?

If you mean “a god”, the answer is no.

Neither was St Luke or St Matthew.

But if God can both speak through and edit the words of a Bible author, He can at least providentially edit from error the words of real Popes on certain defined occasions. Or bishops, when it comes to what all of them agree about (Popes on some occasions and individual bishops not backed up by the rest contemporary and past can speak error).

Is it intentional that the cross Catholics make when praying in front of themselves is usually upside down?

The body below is supposed to mark the rest of the cross downward, the sign of the Cross is supposed to mark the three upper arms.

How did Jews and Christians live in pre-Islamic Arabia?

At war.

One tribe of Jews who were massacred by Mohammed had one century earlier themselves massacred a tribe of Christians.

What was Pope Leo I's goal in his lifetime?

Defending the truths of the Council of Ephesus.

How many Jews were brought to the Ottoman Empire and what made the then Sultan give them sanctuary after the Jews were banned and had to leave Spain?

How many overall? Don’t know.

How many precisely after 1492? Don’t know that either.

I don’t know exactly how many Jews there were in Castille and Aragon, and I don’t know how many went to Portugal or France or non-Spanish parts of Italy rather than Ottoman Empire.

How did the different Roman social classes view the fall of the republic?

If by “fall” you mean fall of antimonarchist principle of Republic, this was probably most deplored by the uppermost classes who were in a habit of having the power through being senators.

The addition to the constitutions of the Republic by Caesar and Augustus were mainly curbing the power of the senators.

Lower classes might have been disappointed with Augustus coming after Caesar, except that Augustus ended a war, which was worse than the inequalities.

Is Islamic fundamentalism getting more common? How do we stop it?o

In Islam, both Fundamentalism and Antifundamentalism are getting more common.

BOTH should be stopped by converting Muslims to Christians (of a Fundamentalist, more precisely not Protestant but Catholic type).

How would God send messages in the future if Mohammed was His last messenger?

• 1 Mohammed was NOT His messenger.
• 2 As to revealing doctrine, the LAST message was up to the burial and taking up of St John the Gospeller, the last of the twelve apostles, several centuries before Mohammed.
• 3 As to maintaining doctrine, and revealing momentary applications (like France getting independence from England back under St Joan of Arc’s ministry), God has NOT ended the witnesses. At least two more are to come, probably Enoch and Elijah (or Moses and Elijah) coming back.

Did Romans living in the Balkans speak Greek or Latin?

Both, probably mostly Greek in South Balkans and rather certainly Latin in Dalmatia.

How did the Kingdom of Judah fall?

Nabucco came and destroyed it.

What are the 7 sacraments of the Roman Catholic church? And why?

• 1 Baptism, because of John 3
• 2 Confirmation, because of Acts 8
• 3 Holy Eucharist, because of Hebrews, John 6, the psalm Dixit Dominus Domino meo, the Genesis story of Melchisedec, AND because of all the narratives of the institution.
• 4 Penance, because of John 20, verses 21, 22, 23, where Christ gives the keys of absolution and refusiing absolution to the first priests.
• 5 Extreme unction, because of James 5:14
• 6 Priesthood, again Hebrews with Melchisedec, narratives of institution, especially the words “do ye this” where He authorised His first priests and bishops to celebrate the Eucharist, and the words in Acts about cheirotonia or laying on of hands (except Acts 8, which is about confirmation).
• 7 Marriage because of Mark 10 and other places where Christ instituted the marriage of Christians as NOT subject to any letter of dismissal.

Should Europe try distributism?

Yes, except that for some special issues she already does, and therefore “should try” is not an appropriate description.

In France bakeries are a very great example of distributism.