Apr 5, 2024 06:07 PM
(This post was last modified: Apr 5, 2024 10:31 PM by C C.)
Awe and dread: How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries
https://apnews.com/article/eclipse-relig...78f3d05914
INTRO: Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.
Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here’s a look at how several of the world’s major religions have responded to such eclipses over the centuries and in modern times.
Buddhism: In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it is believed that the energy of positive and negative actions is multiplied during major astronomical events such as a solar eclipse....
[...] Christianity: Some Christians have believed that an eclipse portends the coming of the “end times” that will precede Christ’s return to Earth as prophesized at various points in the Bible...
[...] Hinduism: The origin of eclipses in Hinduism is explained in ancient legends known as puranas. In one legend, the devas and asuras, who symbolized good and evil respectively, churned the ocean to receive the nectar of eternal life...
[...] Islam: In Islam, a solar eclipse is a time to turn to God and pray. The eclipse prayer is based on narrations of sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad...
[...] Judaism: The Talmud — the collection of writings compiled more than 1,500 years ago that constitute Jewish religious law — offers specific blessings for many natural phenomena, but not for eclipses. Instead, it depicts an eclipse as “an ill omen for the world...” (MORE - missing details)
Could new hate speech law in Scotland target Christians?
https://www.osvnews.com/2024/04/04/could...hristians/
INTRO: Church leaders have expressed concern that some passages in the Bible or the Catechism of the Catholic Church could be deemed offensive under Scotland’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Act and that “vexatious” complaints under the law are now likely.
The Hate Crime and Public Order Act that came into force April 1 creates a new offense of “possessing inflammatory material,” which in the judgment of a police officer could “stir up hatred” on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation said the new laws will require officers to assess “emotive” subjects and “will cause havoc with trust in police in Scotland.”
During the pre-legislative scrutiny phase in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, members of the Scottish bishops’ conference expressed deep reservations. In a 2020 submission to the Justice Committee where the then-draft law was being discussed, the prelates warned that any new law must be “carefully weighed against fundamental freedoms, such as the right to free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
The Director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office Anthony Horan insisted that “whilst acknowledging that stirring up of hatred is morally wrong and supporting moves to discourage and condemn such behavior, the bishops have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity around definitions and a potentially low threshold for committing an offense, which they fear, could lead to a ‘deluge of vexatious claims.'”
“A new offense of possessing inflammatory material could even render material such as the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church … inflammatory,” he said... (MORE - details)
Video below is only a related example of such scenarios. It was released by The Telegraph circa a month before the bill came into effect on April 1st. And was shot in London, not Scotland.
Met Police officers threaten to arrest Christian preacher over hate crime allegations ... https://youtu.be/UxoTbIxr7Vs
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/UxoTbIxr7Vs
https://apnews.com/article/eclipse-relig...78f3d05914
INTRO: Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.
Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here’s a look at how several of the world’s major religions have responded to such eclipses over the centuries and in modern times.
Buddhism: In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it is believed that the energy of positive and negative actions is multiplied during major astronomical events such as a solar eclipse....
[...] Christianity: Some Christians have believed that an eclipse portends the coming of the “end times” that will precede Christ’s return to Earth as prophesized at various points in the Bible...
[...] Hinduism: The origin of eclipses in Hinduism is explained in ancient legends known as puranas. In one legend, the devas and asuras, who symbolized good and evil respectively, churned the ocean to receive the nectar of eternal life...
[...] Islam: In Islam, a solar eclipse is a time to turn to God and pray. The eclipse prayer is based on narrations of sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad...
[...] Judaism: The Talmud — the collection of writings compiled more than 1,500 years ago that constitute Jewish religious law — offers specific blessings for many natural phenomena, but not for eclipses. Instead, it depicts an eclipse as “an ill omen for the world...” (MORE - missing details)
Could new hate speech law in Scotland target Christians?
https://www.osvnews.com/2024/04/04/could...hristians/
INTRO: Church leaders have expressed concern that some passages in the Bible or the Catechism of the Catholic Church could be deemed offensive under Scotland’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Act and that “vexatious” complaints under the law are now likely.
The Hate Crime and Public Order Act that came into force April 1 creates a new offense of “possessing inflammatory material,” which in the judgment of a police officer could “stir up hatred” on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation said the new laws will require officers to assess “emotive” subjects and “will cause havoc with trust in police in Scotland.”
During the pre-legislative scrutiny phase in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, members of the Scottish bishops’ conference expressed deep reservations. In a 2020 submission to the Justice Committee where the then-draft law was being discussed, the prelates warned that any new law must be “carefully weighed against fundamental freedoms, such as the right to free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
The Director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office Anthony Horan insisted that “whilst acknowledging that stirring up of hatred is morally wrong and supporting moves to discourage and condemn such behavior, the bishops have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity around definitions and a potentially low threshold for committing an offense, which they fear, could lead to a ‘deluge of vexatious claims.'”
“A new offense of possessing inflammatory material could even render material such as the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church … inflammatory,” he said... (MORE - details)
Video below is only a related example of such scenarios. It was released by The Telegraph circa a month before the bill came into effect on April 1st. And was shot in London, not Scotland.
Met Police officers threaten to arrest Christian preacher over hate crime allegations ... https://youtu.be/UxoTbIxr7Vs
