Post by pitbull on Oct 3, 2008 5:49:39 GMT -5
DAILY WISDOM
“For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son [in whom] he delighteth.” [Proverbs 3:12]
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
BECOMING A SOLDIER OF GRACE
2 Timothy 2:1-4
I. The Ministry Of Grace [Hebrews 12:28]
A. Gives Renewal To The Hurting [Philippians 1:28-29; Hebrews 4:15-16; 1 Timothy 2:5]
B. Gives Resolve To The Weak [2 Thessalonians 2:16-17]
C. Gives Respect For The Brethren [Acts 4:32-33]
II. The Multiplication Of God’s Grace
A. The Reception Of The Word
B. The Repetition Of the Word [1 Timothy 3:15-16]
C. Reproduction Of Faithful Disciples [1 Timothy 4:6; 3 John 4]
III. The Motivation Of God’s Grace [2 Timothy 2:4; 1 Corinthians 15:10]
A. To Personal Holiness [Titus 2:11-12; Galatians 5:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17]
B. To Please Him [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]
Are you a pacifist who is AWOL? Or are you a true freedom fighter?
RELIGIOUS AWARENESS
Mandaeism
Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. They describe Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as false Prophets. Mandaeans consider John the Baptist to be God's most honorable messenger.
Worldwide, there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans, and until the 2003 Iraq war, almost all of them lived in Iraq. The 2003 Iraq War reduced the population of Iraqi Mandaeans to approximately 5,000 by 2007. Most Iraqi Mandaeans fled to Syria and Jordan under the threat of violence by Islamic extremists and the turmoil of the war.
Mandaeism has historically been practiced primarily in the country around the lower Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab. This area is currently part of southern Iraq and the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Persecution in Iraq and Iran has caused many Mandaeans to leave for diaspora populations in Europe, Australia, and North America.
The Mandaeans have remained separate and intensely private—what has been reported of them and their religion has come primarily from outsiders, particularly from the Orientalists J. Heinrich Petermann, Nicholas Siouffi, and Lady Ethel Drower.
The term "Mandaeism" comes from Mandaic: mandaiuta (Arabic مندائية Manda'eyya, classical Mandaic mandaiia, Neo-Mandaic Mandeyānā), meaning followers of Mandā d-Heyyi (Mandaic manda ḏ-hiia "Knowledge of Life"). In Islam, the term Sabian (Arabic: صابئين) is used as a blanket term for adherents to a number of religions, including that of the Mandaeans.
Fred Aprim has suggested that the Mandaeans may be the descendants of the Babylonians.