Stephen said

@manx said
I have read some of Ralph Ellis’s books. I personally find him to be along the lines of Zechariah Sitchen and David Icke. Basically sell books.

But hey what do i know    

Well what I know is that among real scholars these folks aren’t taken seriously at all. 

When you discuss points which are statements of Josephus, which Ralph Ellis does, sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully, I’d value your contributions and the contributions of real scholars more highly.

@manx said
Yesterday I logged on and was about to make a reply when a rare moment of clarity hit me, my transition from fundamentalist Christian to Atheist did not happen over night. As a result my perspectives will have been a gradual change as well.

As a result it seemed logical to take another look at Ralph Ellis. As the books I bought are not on my book shelves or listed as been boxed in the loft I checked my e-book library. Nothing there, which means they are among the ones donated to charity shops.

Next step was to search on-line for the titles of books he has published. After looking at the book titles and reading the descriptions another little light blinked on, Mr Ellis has a theme to his books I know only to well.

After a few minutes of searching out Mr Ellis on the inter-web I found what I expected to find … Mr Ellis is a Freemason and that put everything back into perceptive for me.

I am not a Anti-Mason, and modern Freemasonry does a lot for charity which is fair enough. On the other side of that coin is the fact that “secret fraternities” by their very nature of been “secret” are open to abuse, Mormonism been the best case of that abuse that can not be refuted. It was whilst researching Mormonism I encountered the link with Freemasonry and so added that to my list to be researched. 

To stop this post going on longer than necessary I did a long study on Freemasonry and read a lot of work published from the early 18th century right up to the present day. Some of it been extremely interesting such as the symbolism. 

Authors connected with Freemasonry in my experience tend to have a few traits in common such as trying to connect freemasonry with the building of Solomon’s temple (which is very unlikely to have existed due to the fact in Solomon’s time Judea was little more than a small clustering of villages that could not have possibly funded such a structure). Try connect Freemasonry with Egypt, and more often than not have a underlying hostility toward the Catholic church (there we at least have some common ground, though mine is based on early life experience).

It is my opinion that whilst Mr Ellis may have some good ideas, they are in the same vain as other Freemason writers I have encountered, and tainted with the masonic theology performing the same mental gymnastics to arrive at the conclusions they want.

Worth mentioning not all Freemason authors mention they are Freemasons, you just get to recognize the themes and connections.

And that gentlefolk is why whilst I enjoyed some of his ideas … I do not value them for my own purposes of research and understanding. Of course you are free to disagree with me and call me a billy who is silly with no hard feelings 

For obvious reasons i shall remove myself from this thread and catch you in another one.        

Sorry to hear you transitioned from Christian to Atheist. The road of life has so many ways for people to get lost and to be in battles or danger that an institution of salvation just makes sense. Given the pantheon of gods, deities, influencers, you are atheist against all. A human being is incapable of conclusively proving each an every god, deity, influencer has no integrity.

It is so important to look at the work instead of the biography. Imagine being at MIT at the chalkboard (or whiteboard or what have you). Are you going to study the formula on the board or not? I’m here to get an A not to gossip.

@manx

Authors connected with Freemasonry in my experience tend to have a few traits in common such as trying to connect freemasonry with the building of Solomon’s temple (which is very unlikely to have existed due to the fact in Solomon’s time Judea was little more than a small clustering of villages that could not have possibly funded such a structure).

Steefen

Ralph Ellis’ book, Solomon, Falcon of Sheba is a book I wish could be sifted for historical accuracy. I’m sifting the works of Josephus for historical accuracy. Maybe we could start a discussion thread on this. A Bible scholar definitely needs to spend some time with Egyptology.

@manx

It is my opinion that whilst Mr Ellis may have some good ideas, they are in the same vain as other Freemason writers I have encountered, and tainted with the masonic theology performing the same mental gymnastics to arrive at the conclusions they want.

Worth mentioning not all Freemason authors mention they are Freemasons, you just get to recognize the themes and connections.

Steefen

It is important to raise flags of bias. Thank you. Then, we get back to the chalkboard.

Stephen said
Steefen opined:

A human being is incapable of conclusively proving each an every god, deity, influencer has no integrity.

But you can’t even demonstrate that one of them exists.  The burden of proof is with the one making the assertion.  You have to first show some compelling reason to think a god exists. Then we can talk theology.  I don’t believe in the Loch Ness monster not because I have proof it doesn’t exist but because I haven’t seen any proof that it does.  Atheism is not an affirmation.  It’s a denial.  You haven’t made your case.  Until you do so your theological speculations are moot.

my thoughts on Andreas Lubitz the co-pilot who crashed his plane into the French Alps killing 150 people.

** you do not have permission to see this link **

Also:

From the Professional Astrologer Suzanne White In Her Book, The New Chinese Astrology Chapter: The Cat Out of the Bag Section: The Five Chinese Elements and How They Influence the Cat Sub-Section: The Fire Cat

Fire often brings instability to the staid Cat yet also adds verve to his prissy, over-correct nature.

He is not naturally well equipped for dealing with inner conflict. Yet he creates it by holding his real feelings in while waiting for the moment to strike. If he could learn to be more humane, put his ego in his pocket, acquire a knowledge of how to care for others and exchange his feelings more readily, he could avoid engendering complex chronic health problems such as depression and neuroses later on.

Cat men often choose bachelorhood or even a non-involved homosexual relationship rather than become embroiled in conflict-ridden marriages.

The Cat is gifted for neither war nor strife. Forcing himself to live or work in stressful situations will not only shorten but make his life perfectly miserable.

As the male Cat adores his independence, he often chooses to run his own enterprise. He doesn’t like to work in crowded places and is not relaxed about sharing professional quarters with people he deems his social inferiors. A solo operation suits his snobbishness and fits his character well. As his main aim in life is financial and mental security, a good home and a harmonious lifestyle, it behooves the Cat to play it safe, stay away from jobs which require daring feats of individual creativity and/or long periods of impecuniousness {definition: definition, having little or no money; penniless; poor} before reaching success.

He is devoted to self-preservation and often devoid of altruism, conscience, or humanity.

The moral struggle between good and evil does not unreasonably trouble the extenuated Cat’s soul.

To ensure the survival of his snug way of life or keep his psyche’s integrity intact, the Cat is capable of elaborate subterfuge. This underhand behavior can range from ignoring pleading letters

{ignoring the pleading of the pilot knocking on the door}

to recording phone conversations unbeknown to the caller, blackmail, or the concocting of dissimulations {definition: concealment of one’s thoughts, feelings, or character; pretense} so baroque as to make hair grow on your eardrums.

Worst of all, cornered Cats, apprehensive of confrontation, are capable of self-delusion bordering on madness.

~ ~ ~

The copyright on the text above is 1993. (On amazon, only the 2001 kindle version appears.)

~ ~ ~

In his natal chart he has Sun conjunct Uranus:

In the 10th House (pie wedge labeled 10), we see the stellium, in the stellium Uranus is to the left of the Sun in a conjunction (Sun conjunct Uranus).

Sun-Uranus Aspect: Conjunction

It is natural for those born under the Sun conjunct Uranus aspect to question tradition. These are individualists. They naturally rebel against that which is established. It doesn’t mean that they consistently break all the rules, but they definitely do question some of the rules, especially those that simply don’t make much sense to them. These people have a huge distaste for routine. They work best when they have some say as to when and how they get things done.

Sun conjunct Uranus people possess much self-integrity. They prefer to answer to no one except themselves. They avoid labeling people and are most offended when others attempt to label or stereotype them. Although progressive, they can be maddeningly stubborn at times. They do enjoy a certain level of excitement in their lives, and they do accept change as exciting, and they do appear to be quite open-minded–yet on a personal level, they can stubbornly stick to their ideas and they will resent anyone who tries to push them into doing something they really don’t want to do.

The Sun, as the ego, meets Uranus, the reformer. The result is a person whose identity rides strongly on being unique. Compare them to someone else, and these apparently open-minded, freedom-loving people can quickly turn livid. This is when these “free spirits” redefine the word temperamental. There, you’ve done it–you’ve found their weak spot. If you place them in a class of their own, on the other hand, they’re happy as can be.

These people are inventive, creative, and spirited. They perhaps appear more flexible than they are. On paper, at least, they are open-minded. If things get too personal, however, they can be difficult to deal with. This is largely due to the fact that they cling very tightly to their personal space and their personal sense of freedom. Anything that seems to threaten their individuality pulls up resistance in these people. Sun conjunct Uranus people are refreshingly honest, highly independent, intuitive, and somewhat erratic or inconsistent. They are often described as quirky, and they are nothing if not interesting.

Some Famous People with Sun Conjunct Uranus: Willem Dafoe, Walt Disney, Anjelica Huston, Meredith Baxter, Sigmund Freud, Donald Trump, Meryl Streep, Clara Barton, Ram Dass, Roy Orbison.

Source: cafeastrology dot com

Stephen said
My favorite deity is the gnostic Mandaean figure of DINANUKHT who is described in their sacred scripture as half man and half book, sitting by the waters between the worlds reading himself.

Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Also rather partial to the Hindu god Ganesh.  How could you not feel affection for a god with the head of an elephant, noblest of beasts? 

Vishnu is important.