In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, it’s easy to forget how dramatically our lives have been transformed by the advent of the internet. For those of us born in the early 1990s, we had the unique experience of witnessing the world both before and after the digital revolution. This blog post aims to take a nostalgic journey down memory lane, reflecting on the wonders of life before the internet, and the simple joys and challenges we encountered as children.
The Art of Patience: Unlike the instant gratification we enjoy today, waiting patiently was an essential virtue in the pre-internet era. From sending letters through snail mail to developing photos at the local store, life required a more deliberate approach. The anticipation of waiting for responses or receiving news added a sense of excitement to everyday life.
Life before the widespread use of the internet was quite different compared to the world we live in today. Here are some notable aspects of life before the internet:
Communication: People relied heavily on traditional methods of communication such as landline telephones, letters, and face-to-face interactions. Long-distance communication was mostly done through expensive phone calls or letters, which could take days or weeks to reach the recipient.
Research and Information: Finding information involved visiting libraries, consulting encyclopedias, or relying on books and other printed materials. Research was a time-consuming process that required physical access to relevant resources.
Media and Entertainment: Television, radio, and newspapers were the primary sources of news and entertainment. People would tune in to their favorite TV shows or listen to the radio for music, news, and other forms of entertainment. Renting or buying physical copies of movies, music albums…
Many people today cannot do with the internet today. Every moment of the day they want to be, or want to feel, connected to the outside world, often even with a virtual world, they even are not aware that it is a fake world.
Although the “network of networks,” as it was first known, emerged in the United States in the 1970s, it did not become visible to the general public until the early 1990s and became to expand incredibly fast at the beginning of the 21st century.
The first televisions were for us an opening of the world, and when we stayed up all night, to watch the first landing on the moon, we were so excited that we could share such a world event all over the world, with millions of viewers. Almost every major aspect of the flight of Apollo 11 was witnessed via television by hundreds of millions of people in nearly every part of the globe.
We knew we were only a tiny globe in a full spectrum of the universe. At 10:56 pm EDT on July 20, 1969, commander Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the lunar soil with the words,
“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
It is fair to say, then, that from that day onwards, a lot began to change in the world of man which, with the rapid advancement of technology, would take us to what we then viewed as an imaginative futuristic world.
In the time, when the computer was still far from our bed, we enjoyed our simple life. We met people in our ‘known’ world and had newspapers and magazines to keep us informed of what was going on in the world. It was nice that on public transport there were people who would pass on their newspaper to others if they had read it. So we could satisfy our newsgathering from multiple sources.
Somehow, we had no need to examine what other people thought or did, except those we knew or had a connection with our ‘métier’ or job. The daily and Sunday newspapers with the weekly magazines gave us satisfaction with the information they brought to our doorstep.
Under our pseudonyms, we enjoyed press and media attention, but always kept our private lives outside professional life. Nowadays, we see many artists exposing their entire family life and doing silly things with it. We enjoyed the applause and after performances or at openings of shows or films, the handshake with royal members or authority figures. That gave us satisfaction, and let us go home peacefully where, silently, we enjoyed the night and free moments. (Even though in those days, we did not have that many days when we were not expected at training or performance.)
Everything seemed to take place in our little world, where we felt at home and did not worry too much about things happening far from us. The theatre was our ‘home’ and ‘place to be’, where we lived as one family.
For me, in 1995 I got my first device for processing, storing, and displaying information. With that automated electronic machinery or computer I also started going on the internet. Though, the sharing computer resources (called host computers or simply hosts) over an entire network was not yet so practical and limited in time, because of the high cost. Simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP, commonly referred to as e-mail), for sending short messages, and the file transfer protocol (FTP), for longer transmissions — quickly emerged. Messenger (MSN e-mail system) opened the gates to the world. From then onwards I started preaching more via that electronic tool, which brought me in contact with people from all over the world and from all sorts of religious groups.
I was so pleased the software giant Microsoft Corporation had become interested in supporting Internet applications on personal computers (PCs) and developed its Internet Explorer Web browser (based initially on Mosaic) and other programs. As it promised we could explore the electronic world, trusting Internet service providers (ISPs) could assure connecting us with people we never would have met. First the dial-up information services were not always giving a good connection with the “Internet services” in the world.
When the social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram became some of the most popular Internet sites through allowing users to share their own content with their friends and the wider world, we came to see lots of people started presenting themselves in a way they would love to see themselves or show off to the world around them. In turn, the ability to follow people or certain groups on a regular basis gave more openness and opportunities to know what was happening to friends and friendly organisations much more quickly.
Something we did not find so fine was that it sometimes took weeks before we got a reply to a letter. Questions asked, we had to remember when we got a return letter. For some good reason, we came to call it snail mail. Patience was one of the virtues we had to have.
After portable phones entered the world, these ever-shrinking devices could not be left behind. With them came the ability to connect to the internet and people started calling those mobile phones even “smartphones” like Apple’s iPhone (introduced in 2007). The introduction of faster computers, i-Pads and other tablets, with the increasing use of smartphones, made the number of Internet users worldwide explode from about one-sixth of the world population in 2005 to more than half in 2020.
Did this help mankind to improve? May we say we had it better before all that technology?
Maybe it has more to do with my age than the advancement of that technological marvel, but I still feel much lonelier after the internet introduction, than before.
I find that before the internet age, people seemed so much faster ‘content with life’. They also made much more contact with others and were keenly more interested in what others did and felt. Now it seems all so superficial. Today, it is for many, common to compare themselves with others, and to have a sort of jealous attitude towards those around them.
Instead of many things having become easier, it looks more like more things have become more complicated and lots of people have become excluded, often because they have no use or knowledge of smartphones, computers and the internet.
For the Internet period, I collected all kinds of data on dancers, choreographers and dance companies and thus developed a dance archive, which eventually became too heavy for my house, so I handed over that entire collection of newspaper cuttings, magazines, photos and books to the Flemish Theatre Institute VTI = Vlaams Theater Instituut), where researchers can now quietly browse that forgotten world of dance. I speak of “forgotten” because I notice that many names of very important dancers, choreographers, and teachers seem to be lost by the present generation because they only look for what they can find on the Internet and all the previous historical knowledge is not yet digitalised and as such not available to them.
Instead of having opened the world of information, it has reduced the information to the present times, more than before. A lot of people seem to think that they can get to know everything by the internet. Some even are convinced that when they cannot find it on internet “it does not exist”.
On the other hand, I also do not believe the Internet made people have more connections with friends. Today many may think they have lots of friends but it are all virtual ‘friends’. We made a difference between schoolmates or cronies, comrades, friends and close and intimate friends. A friend was something special and was treated with respect and honour.
We talked with many people and played outside a lot as kids and went on adventure. Now we see already toddlers glued to a screen, their imagination totally killed by an electronic tool, everything chewed up for them.
We all felt free, whilst now many think they are free but are enslaved by their smartphone and live in fear for what may spread along internet about them.
In general, life slowed down and it was easier for us to enjoy it more. Now time flies by even faster and we are not always comfortable with it.
Being without the Internet had its advantages, but I do agree it has brought us some other very interesting things too. So, I should not complain (do I?).
What I miss is the quality of time and friendship. And yes I do agree, I could sometimes say:
On the VRT journal we could see how the president handed out money to people in front of the ballot offices. We also heard some girl telling she had to come before court because on her Twitter-account she criticised Erdoğan. It were not only younger voices who expressed their fear for Erdoğan. Some elderly only wanted to talk about their choice when they were convinced that the camera pictures would only be shown in Belgium. Several voices we heard expressed the fear of being able to talk openly about the president and his actions. It was clear a lot of people are much afraid their country is moving more to a dictatorial state where no personal opinion is allowed.
Strangely enough, we have to conclude that a very large part of preference votes for Erdoğan come from Belgium where there are even Turks who fisted with anti-Erdoğan Turks. Strangely enough, those pro-Erdoğan Turks do not want to see how Erdoğan has nullified all the freedoms Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had brought to his country and how the Turks are more oppressed and silence is imposed, while those Turks living in Belgium have complete freedom of speech and can lead a not bad economic life here.
There are few European prime ministers or presidents who would be ecstatic at the prospect of welcoming Ankara back into the fold after two decades of Erdoğan. After a 20-year rule in which he has grown increasingly autocratic the Turkish president is not yet planning to give away his post.
It is a big question if Turkey really could come to power by democratic means. We have seen a lot of pressure by the ruling party and by pro-Erdoğan people on the rest of their community. If one would vote differently in a community where everyone is watching you seriously and is willing to sue the government for land council,it is difficult to make a negative vote.
On social media, opposition groups have warned voters to be vigilant against attempts to interfere in the election, warning them to prepare for possible disruption to power and internet access. But we could also see images of how battles arose between those who wished to control the ballot box and the security services as well as Erdoğan supporters. The fact that no control could be carried out on counting the votes says a lot about whether or not the voting system was correct and democratic.
It says a lot when we know how not only on Friday, Mr Erdoğan warned his conservative supporters they could face reprisals if his secular rival won. Speaking at a rally in a conservative Istanbul district, the 69-year-old said Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s opposition alliance was driven by “vengeance and greed”.
“Do not forget,”
he told the flag-waving crowd.
“You may pay a heavy price if we lose.”
On Saturday, as he held his last election rally in the capital, Mr Erdoğan accused the opposition of working with President Joe Biden to topple him.
“Biden gave the order to topple Erdoğan, I know this. All my people know this,”
he said.
“If that is the case, then the ballots tomorrow will give a response to Biden too.”
He recalled comments made by Biden in 2020 in which he said Washington should encourage Mr Erdoğan’s opponents to defeat him electorally.
It can well be that
“The will for change in society is higher than 50 per cent”
But with a possible weapon of persecution, if a negative vote against the incumbent president becomes known, it is almost very difficult to realise that someone else obtains the majority of votes.
For the European Union, Erdoğan is not exactly a blessing, but rather a difficult party that takes overly dangerous boxing jumps. Patience with Mr Erdoğan was already strained after Turkey invaded Syria, which hurt relations with Washington and European capitals. Joe Biden, not as the only one, has wanted Mr Erdoğan gone for quite some time.
Unlike most Nato members, Turkey has refused to hit Russia with Western-style sanctions for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. But it was the distasteful Mr Erdoğan who struck a deal with Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to allow Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports. For this and the matter of refugees who want to come to Europe via Turkey, some could say we better keep Erdoğan as a friend instead of an enemy.
Mr Kilicdaroglu, who pledged to turn away from Russia if elected, could never match the president’s pull with Putin. Also, his sudden turnaround is to ensure that not so many refugees would use Turkey to find shelter with them or to cross to Europe, a thorn in the side of many European ministers.
Mr Kilicdaroglu his plans to revive Turkey’s long-stalled accession process to the EU, would have been greeted with barely disguised horror in Fortress Europe. We must fully oppose an annexation in the European Union. Even though part of Turkey may belong to the European mainland or Continental Europe, it is a nation that does not fit into European interweaving at all.
Even simple visa liberalisation has proved elusive in a bloc where even mainstream politicians wade into the culture war over the “islamisation” of Europe’s “Judeo-Christian” culture. The further continuation of what Erdoğan sees as one of his missions to spread Islam further is something that should keep us far from him.
We can already see how the latest years have cornered women in Turkey and many rights have been taken from them. In a constitutional state like ours, there is no place at all for the oppression of women or any form of sexism, nor for the removal or imprisonment of people with a different attitude or gender, than the majority of the population.
The European Union talks a good game about democratic values and human rights. But it does not dare to put Messrs Erdoğan, al-Assad and Putin in place and to sue them for human rights violations. Though, EU diplomats suggested that Mr Kilicdaroglu would have soon found out Ankara was likely to get a very cool welcome, certainly when the winning party would send even more refugees to Europe.
Turkey is still very far from being a possible bridge builder between East and West and between Russia and NATO countries.
After a long illness, the American-born singer Tina Turner, known as the Queen of Rock n’ Roll, died at the age of 83, letting to this world a fantastic voice that will sound like a rock in the surf for many years to come.
It was a woman, born into a sharecropping family in rural Tennessee, who managed to continue to mesmerize and dazzle fans despite the hell she endured. Because the first years of her success were not at all a happy love story. With her voice that could go from the deepest growl to a tender coo and the infectious smile and air kisses to the audience that made it seem like she really was happy, but the American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scoutIzear Luster “Ike” Turner Jr., was not such a nice ‘husband’ as it looked to the outside world.
At a St Louis nightclub she first saw future husband Ike Turner, onstage with his band, The Kings of Rhythm.
In 1956, the vocalist Anna Mae Bullock, had begged Ike Turner to sing in his new line-up of the Kings of Rhythm and changed her name to Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner’s band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists called the Ikettes (originally The Artettes) who later became successful artists in their own right. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue was regarded as
“one of the most potent live acts on the R&B circuit.”
Her electric stage presence quickly made her the centrepiece of the show, which might have evoked some jealousy from Ike Turner who wanted to see himself as the key figure of the group. What perhaps could have been worse is that Phil Spector paid Ike to stay out of the studio, so that he could produce one of the most complex and nuanced of Spector’s famous “wall of sound” productions: “River Deep—Mountain High” (1966). It was a hit in Britain, but it attracted little American attention and is usually cited as the end of Spector’s early career.
She and Ike toured together for years. However, Ike with his cocaine addiction and infidelity on his part, was violent towards her behind the scenes, forcing her to perform with bronchitis, pneumonia and a collapsed lung. He even would choke her, throw hot coffee in her face, hit her and sexually assault her.
She realised this was a life not to continue, certainly when she got to understand it could well be her who was attracting the spectators.
Ike and Tina’s final hits as a couple were the cover version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” (a mythic journey down the Mississippi River of Fogerty’s imagination, 1971) and “Nutbush City Limits” (a a semi-autobiographical song, 1973). A line dance to the song, called the “Nutbush”, created in the 1970s disco era, took off in Australia during the 1980s, and it has seen sustained success, gaining viral popularity internationally through TikTok. Tina divorced Ike in 1978 and went her own way in the showbiz.
Private Dancer, the fifth solo studio album by Tina Turner standard cover art (original CD edition pictured)
What’s Love Got to Do with It, artwork for US and Canadian 7-inch vinyl sing
In a certain way, there was a “pause” with her doing only a series of guest appearances on the albums of other artists, until she released her debut solo album,Private Dancer, in 1984. It was a triumph, both critically and commercially, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide and winning three Grammy Awards, including record of the year and best female vocal performance for “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” The single became Turner’s signature song, ranking number 309 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and at 134 in their 2021 update.
Her greatest-hits compilationAll the Best was released in 2004. Turner continued touring into the 21st century and also appeared on other artists’ albums, notably Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters (2007), a Grammy-winning tribute to Joni Mitchell.
Turner had two sons, Craig, with saxophonist Raymond Hill, who died in 2018, and Ronald, with Ike Turner.
She went to live in Switzerland where she found love in later life with former EMI record executive Erwin Bach.
She said of their relationship:
“It’s that happiness that people talk about, ‘when you wish for nothing, when you can finally take a deep breath and say, ‘Everything is good.’”
In 2005 she received a Kennedy Center Honor (2005).
She formally retired in 2009, after her “Tina! 50th Anniversary” tour.
“I was just tired of singing and making everybody happy,”
she recalled to The New York Times.
“That’s all I’d ever done in my life.”
In 2016 Turner was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, which she discussed in her memoir,
“My Love Story.” While doctors caught the disease early and removed her malignant tumors, surgery delayed her kidney transplant for a year,
In 2018, the year Tina, a jukebox musical based on her life and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, opened in London’s West End, she was given a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. One year later that musical debuted on Broadway.
In 2021 she was the focus of the documentary Tina, that Tina called her goodbye to the public. The same year she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo performer.
As Angela Bassett, who played the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” in the Oscar-nominated turn in “What’s Love Got to Do With It” said in the documentary,
“It’s hard when the worst parts of your life have been an inspiration.”
She also said on Wednesday
“How do we say farewell to a woman who owned her pain and trauma and used it as a means to help change the world?
“Through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life, no matter the sacrifice, and her determination to carve out a space in rock and roll for herself and for others who look like her, Tina Turner showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion, and freedom should look like.
“While we mourn the loss of this iconic voice and presence, she gave us more than we could have ever asked. She gave us her whole self. And Tina Turner is a gift that will always be ‘simply the best.'”
Oprah Winfrey, who had become a close friend of Tina Turner, remembered
“our forever goddess of rock ‘n’ roll” who she said was “a role model not only for me but for the world”.
Her music is never going to stop sounding in many houses.
Tributes poured in, including from her manager of thirty years, Roger Davies, who described her as a
“unique and remarkable force of nature, with her strength, incredible energy and immense talent”.
“From the first day I met her in 1980, she believed in herself completely when few others did at that time. It was a privilege and an honour to have been a close friend as well as her manager for more than 30 years,”
he said, adding that he would miss the star “deeply”.
Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.
by Dalai Lama XIV
Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Leven zo dierbaar voor een stom wezen als voor een mens
In the 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to sixth place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 7 the previous year. “Militants from the Fulani, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and others conduct raids on Christian communities, killing, maiming, raping […]
Sierra Leone’s fishing industry has been undermined by aggressive Chinese trawling dominating waters off the coastline Credit: Simon Townsley In Freetown, road signs from 2021 celebrate 50 years of friendship between China and Sierra Leone, which gained independence from the UK in April 1961. Indeed, the smooth, wide road that runs past Hill Station Club […]
Afternoon, “I said I would stop the boats and I meant it,” Rishi Sunak said on Monday on a visit to Kent where he delivered an update on his pledge to ‘stop the boats’ at a press conference in Dover. Channel crossings “are now down 20 per cent compared to last year”, with numbers from […]
By Daniel Hardaker The Prime Minister has indicated that he is prepared to use controversial legislation to force through his small boats Bill. Meanwhile, a vast Soviet-era dam was blown in Russian-controlled Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces step up offensive operations along the front line. Rishi Sunak willing to defy Lords over small boats Bill The […]
By Daniel Hardaker A major study declares that lockdown measures were a “policy failure of gigantic proportions”. Meanwhile, Camilla Tominey claims Prince Harry cannot win in his war against the media. Lockdown benefits ‘a drop in the bucket compared to the costs’, study finds Scientists from Johns Hopkins University and Lund University will today release […]
Originally posted on Maria Michaela Poetry: Image credit; EvgeniT @ Pixabay For the visually challenged reader, this image shows a person holding a bright lamp in their right hand, standing alone facing a sky lit with the light of the setting sun. The night sky is making its presence known too. Sometimes we get caught…
Naast Some View on the World is er een jonge zusje op de markt gekomen dat ook haar licht wil laten schijnen op wat er in de wereld gebeurt en dit in het licht van het Plan van God wil plaatsen.
Wist je dat in veel landen van de wereld fietsen helemaal niet zo vanzelfsprekend is? In België staan we er niet zo bij stil, maar we zijn uniek in de wereld. Elders is het verkeer vaak te druk of zijn de wegen te slecht. Toch zou het heel goed zijn als iedereen zou gaan fietsen. Goed voor […]
Originally posted on Bashartullah Rabby: Since the starting of Covid-19 era, few new trends were started in the whole world like Work from Home, Online Meetings, Online Classes etc. Despite of passing over 3 years since those trends started, it seems to me that, many of us still aren’t using Online Meeting platforms efficiently. It’s…
Jezus heeft zich aan God aangeboden als een loskoopoffer en met zijn dood heft hij de weg opengemaakt voor niet Joden om ook tot God te kunnen komen als kind van God, en als vrijgestelde van de Wet.
Enteroviruses, the most prevalent viruses in the world, are on the news agenda after health officials revealed a possible link to an “unusual” cluster of heart infections in south Wales and southwest England. They are a group of viruses that cause a number of respiratory illnesses, which are usually mild, as well as hand, foot […]
Originally posted on Poetic potpourri: In the realm of the night, where dreams take flight,The moon, a luminary queen, shines so bright.Her celestial grace, a silver crescent gleams,Guiding us through darkness with enchanting beams. Oh, moon, your gentle glow, a soothing balm,Casting a celestial spell, a tranquil calm.A metaphor for hope, in the darkest of…
April 18, 2023 event: The U.S. and its NATO allies must remain alert for signs Russian President Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a “managed” escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman issued the warning during the opening session of […]
Christians in politics have been accommodated through a policy of don’t-ask, don’t-tell, but some argue endlessly about which bathrooms trans people should be allowed to use. Cisgender psychologists and sexologists pathologise the transgender experience according to their own biases, cisgender insurance executives arbitrarily what is and isn’t “necessary care” for transgender policyholders, and so on.
Originally posted on Quo Vadis: Zionisme is het (blijven) streven naar en behoud van een Joodse staat. Anti-zionisme is dus het verzet tegen de enige joodse staat. Behalve de genoemde landen met een islamitische meerderheid, zijn praktische alle andere landen, incl Israel, seculier, geen enkele religie is dominant en er is godsdienstvrijheid. Godsdienstvrijheid is één…
Event Turkey has broken Nato unity on Finland and Sweden’s push to join the alliance, blocking an initial vote on accession after President Erdogan demanded that the two countries hand over dozens of Turkish exiles he accused of “terrorism”. The veto came hours after Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-general, hailed a historic moment for western […]
The Times, May 2, 2022 Event Ukraine, one of the most fertile and productive countries in the world, has been known historically as the “bread basket of Europe”. Now it is facing a complex and unprecedented agricultural crisis, in which landmines are only one of numerous interlinked problems. The United Nations estimates this year’s harvest […]
BBC, April 22 + Audit of antisemitic incidents Event The number of anti-Semitic incidents around the world dramatically increased last year, a study by Tel Aviv University has found. The report identifies the US, Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia as among countries where there was a sharp rise. This was fueled by radical left- […]
Concerning my religious views and websites - Betreft mijn religieuze overtuiging en websites:
Recent Posts from my ecclesia: Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven
The letter to the Hebrews shows how the Law of Moses pointed forward to Christ. Chapter 9 tells how he was prefigured in the tabernacle and its contents (Exodus 25–27), and in the calendar of feasts and sacrifices which Israel had to follow. And what was true for the tabernacle, the temporary shrine in the […]
The short letter of Paul to Philemon has some valuable lessons for us about spiritual relationships one with another. Paul is writing as “a prisoner of Christ Jesus” (verse 1) and Timothy is with him – and other visitors support him, “Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke” (verse 24). He tells Philemon, “I remember you in […]
In Joshua 14 we read of the blessings received by a man who “wholly followed the LORD”. Caleb was the other man who with Joshua spied out the land and brought back an optimistic report; this was after the people had miraculously escaped from Egypt, been fed in the wilderness, built the tabernacle and received […]
Door Jezus Christus zijn wij vrijgekocht en horen zo niet meer gebonden te zijn aan de wereld, maar aan God met wie wij één willen zijn en Hem toebehoren.
Door zich als loskoper aan God aan te bieden kunnen allen die in Jezus willen geloven genieten van die vrijgave in Christus, maar dan wordt er van hen ook verwacht dat ze God, Jezus en hun naaste liefhebben.
Recent Posts – Recente bijdragen op: Broeders in Christus
Een interessante episode in het boek Handelingen is Paulus’ verblijf in Athene (Hand 17:15-34). Griekenland, en dan vooral Athene, had in de voorafgaande eeuwen een grote naam opgebouwd met zijn filosofen en filosofische stromingen. En hun namen en ideeën worden tot in onze dagen nog steeds in ere gehouden. In Lucas’ dagen was de glans […]
“Kind, bedenk wel dat jij je deel van het goede al tijdens je leven hebt ontvangen, terwijl Lazarus niets dan ongeluk heeft gekend; nu vindt hij hier troost, maar lijd jij pijn” In de gelijkenis van de rijke man en de arme Lazarus wijst Jezus op een misverstand waarin velen, ook in latere tijden, voortdurend […]
De veldtocht van Sanherib “In het veertiende regeringsjaar van koning Hizkia trok koning Sanherib van Assyrië op tegen de versterkte steden van Juda en nam ze in” (Jesaja 36:1). Het zal je maar gebeuren: je doet je uiterste best om naar Gods wetten te leven, en dan word je ineens met een schijnbaar onoplosbaar probleem […]
Sommigen zullen zeggen dat Bijbellezen geen nut heeft omdat er gedeelten in staan die geen toegevoegde waarde hebben voor het geloof. David schreef dat hij meer van God begreep uit zijn studie van de wet, en zo is dat ook voor.
Vindt ook mijn Nederlandstalige site van de Broeders in Christus – A Dutch language site of the Belgian Brethren: Belgische Broeders In Christus
Zij die geloven dat Jezus God is zouden best eens nagaan in hoeveel Bijbelfragmenten Jezus zijn plaats tegenover God kenbaar maakt en hoe hij met God in communicatie gaat en ons leert bidden tot God zoals hij tot God bad.
In voorgaande artikelen kon u al lezen hoe Jezus als hij wonderen had gedaan, tegen de mensen zei dat ze niet hem, maar God moesten danken. (Één van de onmisbare tekenen dat Jezus niet God is.) Voor hem was God danken ook een vorm van gebed waaraan hij en zijn discipelen zich ook aan hielden. […]
Or find recent posts on my other English site: Messiah For All
Bible prophecies do not deal only with the ancient past. They also accurately foretell events that are taking place in our day. But at the moment we focus at numerous prophecies preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures (commonly called the Old Testament) which long before the man was born told about events which would happen in his time and around him, his betrayal, humiliation, torture, execution, death, and burial. From those writings of the Old and New Testament nobody should have doubts who that man is who is called Immanuel, the son of man and Messiah, born out of the root of Jess in the tribe of king David.
In Scripture, all things are directed towards a man who was a servant of servants, in whom people should come to have faith. First we saw the connection with Eve and her seed, and in this article you may see the connection with Abraham.
Already in the Old Testament we find the focus on a son of man who is called the son of God, who shall be the most pure set apart (holy) servant of God who was been told about in the Garden of Eden, to be the one bruised.
Many Old Testament writers wrote about the prophet to come, about whom is spoke in the book of Moses and who shall be the special “Seed of a woman” given by God and who will bruise Satan’s head whilst his heel would be bruised with nails on the wooden stake.
Jewish and Christian literature since the time of Yeshua or Jeshua have pointed to Genesis 3:15 as the first reference to the Messiah in the Torah. Genesis 3:15 NHEBJE I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his […]
Or for thouse who have doubts about certain religious groups. A site trying to make matters clear and debunking the sayings of those against worshippers of the Only One True God. Recent Posts: Unmasking anti Jehovah sites and people
The apostle Paul wrote about the dispersion, the dispersed House of Israel. They had been “without covenant“, but Paul was sent out to recover them. So they were “grafted in again“ (Romans 11/23). Or, Grafted back in“. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been […]
Rob Mac wonders when the door to door will return? He wrote this a while back, and went sharing it again. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses hate the door to door ministry, although they won’t readily admit it. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses have developed ‘creative’ ways of counting their time doing this work, and many strategies for avoiding actually […]
Constantine wanted unity in his realm, and his call in 325 C.E. for a council of his bishops at Nicaea, located in the Eastern, Greek-speaking domain of his empire, across the Bosporus from the new city of Constantinople was in a certain way his goal to achieve some agreement by which many could live. Constantine […]
Superstition, misunderstanding and hatred caused the Christians trouble for many generations, and governmental repression they had to suffer occasionally, as a result of popular disturbances. No systematic effort was made by the imperial authorities to put an end to the movement until the reign of the Roman emperor (249–251) who fought the Gothic invasion of […]
Self-enhancing When the apostles had died there came a time when those in charge of teaching and going around telling about the gospel, started coming to see themselves as special people. Some even started to consider themselves as ‘clergy of the highest order’. After a time the organisation of the church was given only to […]