Celsus was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. He is known for his literary work, On The True Doctrine, which survives in quotations from it in Contra Celsum, a refutation written in 248 by Origen of Alexandria. On The True Doctrine is the earliest known comprehensive criticism of Christianity, it was written c. 175 to 177, shortly after the death of Justin Martyr, was a response to his work. Celsus was the author of a work titled On The True Doctrine; the book was suppressed by the growing Christian community, banned in 448 AD by order of Valentinian III and Theodosius II, along with Porphyry's 15 books attacking the Christians, The Philosophy from Oracles, so no complete copies are extant, but it can be reconstructed from Origen's detailed account of it in his 8 volume refutation, which quotes Celsus extensively. Origen's work has survived and thereby preserved Celsus' work with it. Celsus seems to have been interested in Ancient Egyptian religion, he seemed to know of Hellenistic Jewish logos-theology, both of which suggest The True Doctrine was composed in Alexandria.
Celsus wrote at a time. Origen indicates. Celsus writes that "there is an ancient doctrine which has existed from the beginning, which has always been maintained by the wisest nations and cities and wise men", he leaves Jews and Moses out of those he cites, instead blames Moses for the corruption of the ancient religion: "the goatherds and shepherds who followed Moses as their leader were deluded by clumsy deceits into thinking that there was only one God, without any rational cause... these goatherds and shepherds abandoned the worship of many gods". However, Celsus' harshest criticism was reserved for Christians, who "wall themselves off and break away from the rest of mankind". Celsus initiated a critical attack on Christianity, he wrote that some Jews said Jesus' father was a Roman soldier named Pantera. Origen considered this a fabricated story. In addition, Celsus addressed the miracles of Jesus, holding that "Jesus performed his miracles by sorcery": O light and truth! he distinctly declares, with his own voice, as ye yourselves have recorded, that there will come to you others, employing miracles of a similar kind, who are wicked men, sorcerers.
So that Jesus himself does not deny that these works at least are not at all divine, but are the acts of wicked men. Is it not a miserable inference, to conclude from the same works that the one is God and the other sorcerers? Why ought the others, because of these acts, to be accounted wicked rather than this man, seeing they have him as their witness against himself? For he has himself acknowledged that these are not the works of a divine nature, but the inventions of certain deceivers, of wicked men. Origen wrote his refutation in 248. Sometimes quoting, sometimes paraphrasing, sometimes referring, Origen reproduces and replies to Celsus' arguments. Since accuracy was essential to his refutation of The True Doctrine, most scholars agree that Origen is a reliable source for what Celsus said. Biblical scholar Arthur J. Droge has written that it is incorrect to refer to Celsus' perspective as polytheism. Instead, he was an "inclusive" or "qualitative" monotheist, as opposed to the Jewish "exclusive" or "quantitative" monotheism.
Celsus shows himself familiar with the story of Jewish origins. Conceding that Christians are not without success in business, Celsus wants them to be good citizens, to retain their own belief but worship the emperors and join their fellow citizens in defending the empire, it is an earnest and striking appeal on behalf of unity and mutual toleration. One of Celsus' most bitter complaints is of the refusal of Christians to cooperate with civil society, their contempt for local customs and the ancient religions; the Christians viewed these as idolatrous and inspired by evil spirits, whereas polytheists like Celsus thought of them as the works of the Daemons, or the god's ministers, who ruled mankind in his place to keep him from the pollution of mortality. Celsus attacks the Christians as feeding off faction and disunity, accuses them of converting the vulgar and ignorant, while refusing to debate wise men; as for their opinions regarding their sacred mission and exclusive holiness, Celsus responds by deriding their insignificance, comparing them to a swarm of bats, or ants creeping out of their nest, or frogs holding a symposium round a swamp, or worms in conventicle in a corner of the mud.
It is not known how many were Christians at the time of Celsus (the Jewish population of the empire may have been about 6.6-10% in a population of 60 million to quote one reference. Nixey, Catherine; the Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World. London, UK: Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-5098-1606-4. Hanegraaff, Wouter. Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521196215. R. Joseph Hoffmann. On the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians. Oxford Universi
Javier Nart Peñalver is a journalist and politician. He is a member of the European Parliament for Citizens, he was born on 19 August 1947 in the autonomous community of Cantabria. His father was the First Notary of Bilbao and Nart attended an Opus Dei school. Nart was being prepared to join the Jesuit order, something that did not suit him because he is nonreligious. Despite his unbelief, he says that he has “tremendous respect” for the Jesuits the ones he would meet in his travels in Nicaragua. Nart studied law at the University of Barcelona, but took up journalism because he wanted to make his way to Barcelona without his father, he jokes that he was citizen activist on the weekend. In his early career he worked as a war correspondent in many countries, including Lebanon, Chad and Yemen. Nart interviewed and got to know individuals who participated in most of the important world conflicts between 1977 and 1992; as he explains, he went from war to war and took photographs that aided international understandings of these conflicts.
He developed a strong relationship with the Palestinians and the Fatah resistance forces. According to Nart, they deserve a better life than what they have under Israeli occupation, though he is not shy about criticizing some of the Fatah leadership; as a photographer, some of his photographs appeared in major newspapers like Newsweek. One photograph he took, as he explains in an interview with Pablo Iglesias, was of a dead boy with his mother holding 10 dollars to purchase some supplies, he regrets publishing this photograph. He speaks of the barbarity of war, that when images are shown to the public, it can cause them to lose support for a war they had liked, like the Vietnam War, he is concerned with remote-controlled drones making serious casualties seem like a video game. It dehumanizes the real sufferings of war, his first book, Viaje al otro Brasil: del Mato Grosso a la Amazonia y al nordeste Atlántico was published in 2002. Unlike most of his work, it does not have war as its subject matter, instead is a tour guide to see parts of Brazil many tourists who stick to hotspots like São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro do not visit.
¡Sálvese quien pueda! Mis historias e historias de guerra came out in 2003, it was written. The wars he reported from showed how barbaric humans can be, but the converse, how heroic they can be as well; the scenes he witnessed were so horrific that Nart could not talk to his family for days after his return to Spain. Nart published three books in 2007. Guerrilleros. El pueblo español en armas contra Napoleón, 1808-1814 is a history of the resistance to Napoleon and his brother Joseph installed as king of Spain, he put out two more Viajes, Viaje al Mekong. Cabalgando el dragón por Tailandia, Camboya y Vietnam and Viaje al desierto: de Kano a El Cairo. Nart published his most recent book, Nunca la nada fue tanto in the summer of 2016, that seeks to explain why he participated in so many conflicts. Nart's reply was “that it is a material duty, not only moral, to subtract a part of injustice, of pain, of misery; that life without freedom and without justice, or without striving for them, becomes useless movement.”
It is his commitment to justice, one of the defining facts of his life. In this book he criticized the guerrillas he lived amongst, who were neutral to his presence. Nonetheless, Nart did recognize the necessity of armed struggle against the Somoza oligarchy in Nicaragua. In 2002 Nart was one of the adherents to the Manifiesto contra la Muerte del Espíritu y de la Tierra, one of the attempts to thrust the ideas of the so-called Spanish Nouvelle Droite. On February 22, 2014 he was elected in primaries to head the candidacy of Citizens for the European elections of that year, he was subsequently elected to the European Parliament. In the Parliament, he is vice chair of the Alliance of Democrats for Europe. Nart was involved in foreign affairs, speaking out against the Venezuelan regime and human rights abuses in the Maldives, he renovated his seat the European Parliament at the 2019 European election, running 5th in the Cs list. On 24 June 2019, Nart renounced to his role as member of the Cs' national committee, after a voting in which the re-affirmed in its veto to negotiate with the PSOE.
Months in September 2019, Nart communicated the party the cancellation of his membership, although he would remain as MEP, defending the platform the party ran vis-à-vis the 2019 election. He explained he left the party because of the "absolute disagreement with establishing a single subjective alliance and objective one". Nart is supportive of a united Europe and considers the European Union a necessity. Like other Ciudadanos parliamentarians, he likes moving towards a United States of Europe. European integration involves foreign and defense policy, aligned with NATO. Nart believes that a European project that guarantees the member states peace and social welfare is too important to allow Euroskeptics to have their way
Jérôme Gondorf is a German professional footballer who plays as central midfielder for Karlsruher SC, on loan from SC Freiburg. Having played for Stuttgarter Kickers from 2010 until 2013, Gondorf joined 3. Liga club Darmstadt in 2013 on a two-year contract. With Darmstadt, he achieved back-to-back promotions in 2014 and 2015. In July 2016, he agreed to a contract extension until 2018. In May 2017, Gondorf signed with Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen activated a release clause in his contract with Darmstadt by paying a transfer fee of €1.2 million. In June 2018, SC Freiburg announced Gondorf would join for the 2018–19 season after spending one season at Werder Bremen; the undisclosed transfer fee was estimated at €1.3 million. On 15 January 2020, Gondorf was loaned out to Karlsruher SC for the rest of the 2019–20 season. Jérôme Gondorf at Soccerway Jérôme Gondorf at fussballdaten.de
Troubled Times is the fifth album by the English band Cast, released digitally on 2 November 2011. It is the first album they recorded since reuniting in 2010 for shows celebrating the 15th anniversary of their debut, All Change, it is the last album recorded with founding bassist Pete Wilkinson, who left the band in 2014. Nearly a decade after Cast split up shortly after the release of their fourth album Beetroot, lead singer and songwriter John Power had released three solo albums when he started writing material that he felt was more suited to the band. After spending the years since the split shying away from Cast's music, Power decided it was time to play the songs again with debut album All Change's impending 15th anniversary, he got in touch with the other band members: guitarist Liam "Skin" Tyson, bassist Pete Wilkinson and drummer Keith O'Neill. Following the All Change 15th Anniversary Tour around the U. K. in November and December 2010, the band started work on the new album with fans helping to fund the recording through PledgeMusic, with a percentage of the profits donated to the charity Shelter.
Cast began recording at Real World Studios on 3 May 2011 under the supervision of John Leckie, who had produced the band's first two albums, All Change and Mother Nature Calls. Keith O'Neill was absent from the album sessions due to his work as a tour manager; as a result, the album features drumming by Steve Pilgrim, who had played in Power's solo band and would fill in for O'Neill on Cast tours since the band's reformation. Tracking on the album was completed in September 2011, with Power taking time off in July due to having a baby. Days after mastering was complete, the album was released digitally on 2 November 2011 to fans who had helped fund the album through PledgeMusic. Troubled Times was released physically on 5 March 2012, with two bonus tracks. All songs written by John Power. Bonus tracks CastJohn Power – acoustic guitars, vocals Liam "Skin" Tyson – electric guitars, 12-string acoustic, lap steel, slide guitar, backing vocals Peter Wilkinson – bass guitar, backing vocals Keith O'Neill – drums Additional musicianSteve Pilgrim – drumsProductionJohn Leckie - producer, mixing Paul Hemmings - producer
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse is a video game for the Game Boy Advance featuring the X-Men comic book characters. It was designed by Digital Eclipse and released by Activision in 2001. Returning from their journey in the Mojoverse, the X-Men return to the destroyed remains of their home, the X-Mansion, they soon discover that they are in an alternate universe under the control of the evil mutant, Apocalypse. The X-Men must battle their way through Apocalypse's army of Sentinels and Mutants in order to return to their universe; the setting takes place in an alternate universe controlled by Apocalypse, with backgrounds that stay true to the X-Men comics. The X-Mansion, the Blackbird and other familiar locations are present in the game; the playable X-Men roster consists of Wolverine, Cyclops and Rogue. Each character has a different super power. Boss enemies include classic villains from the comics such as Magneto. Other X-Men from the 616 Marvel Universe, such as Colossus and Nightcrawler, are allies of Apocalypse in this alternate universe and must be defeated.
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse is a side-scrolling action beat'em up with 12 distinct levels. Each level has waves of enemies plus a mutant boss who all must be defeated to progress to the next stage. Players must defeat enemies to earn points which can be spent at the end of each stage to improve the character's strength, vitality, or mutant power. All playable characters share the same basic attacks, but each one has a unique special ability: Wolverine has claws that excel in close-range combat, Rogue has a charge ability, Storm controls tornado projectiles, Cyclops has long-range optic blasts. Up to two players can play cooperatively in campaign mode, or play against each other in a competitive mode to pit two of the playable characters in battle. X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse received mixed reviews upon release. Aggregate review websites Metacritic and GameRankings scored the game 61 out of 100 and 59.34%, respectively. The reviewer at GameSpot recommended the portable game to X-Men and beat'em up game fanatics, but was disappointed by the simplistic gameplay and ending.
Nintendojo concluded that it was "a fun game that ends much too quickly." X-Men video games on Marvel.com X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse at MobyGames
Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas known by his laqab Asad al-Dawla, was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of Aleppo from 1025 until his death in May 1029. At its peak, his emirate encompassed much of the western Jazira, northern Syria and several central Syrian towns. With occasional interruption, Salih's descendants ruled Aleppo for the next five decades. Salih launched his career in 1008. In 1012, he was imprisoned and tortured by the emir of Aleppo, Mansur ibn Lu'lu'. Two years he escaped, capturing Mansur in battle and releasing him for numerous concessions, including half of Aleppo's revenues; this cemented Salih as the paramount emir of his tribe, the Banu Kilab, many of whose chieftains had died in Mansur's dungeons. With his Bedouin warriors, Salih captured a string of fortresses along the Euphrates, including Manbij and Raqqa, by 1022, he formed an alliance with the Banu Kalb and Banu Tayy tribes and supported their struggle against the Fatimids of Egypt. During this tribal rebellion, Salih annexed the central Syrian towns of Homs and Sidon, before conquering Fatimid-held Aleppo in 1025, bringing "to success the plan which guided his forebears for a century", according to historian Thierry Bianquis.
Salih established a well-organized administration over his Aleppo-based domains. Militarily, he relied on the Banu Kilab, while entrusting fiscal administration to his local Christian vizier, policing to the aḥdāth under Salim ibn Mustafad, judicial matters to a Shia Muslim qāḍī, his rule was tolerated by the Fatimids, to whom he paid formal allegiance. His alliance with the Banu Tayy drew him into conflict with the Fatimid general, Anushtakin al-Dizbari, whose forces killed Salih in battle near Lake Tiberias. Salih was succeeded by Thimal; the year of Salih ibn Mirdas' birth is not known. Both of Salih's parents belonged to noble households of the Bedouin tribe of Banu Kilab, his father was a Mirdas ibn Idris, from a princely clan of the Kilab from the Rabi'a ibn Ka'b line of the Abd Allah ibn Abu Bakr branch. Nothing else is known about Mirdas ibn Idris. Salih's mother, Rabab al-Zawqaliyya, belonged to the princely Kilabi clan of Zawqal, which inhabited the environs of Aleppo. Salih had at least three brothers, only one of whom, Kamil, is named in sources, at least four sons, Thimal and the youngest whose name is not known.
Salih's family controlled the town of Qinnasrin, to the southwest of Aleppo. Like most Aleppine Muslims in the 10th–11th centuries, the Kilab embraced Twelver Shia Islam. Although it is not clear how the tribesmen identified with their faith, Salih's kunya, "Abū ʿAlī", honored Ali ibn Abi Talib, a central figure in Shia tradition; the Kilab were a major sub-tribe of the Banu Amir and first migrated to Syria from central Arabia during the 7th-century Muslim conquest. They soon became a pillar of the Qaysi tribal faction and established their strongholds in the Jazira and the steppes around Aleppo, which thenceforth became their diyār. Through their military strength and consistent ambition to govern and keep order in the territories they inhabited, the Kilab persisted as a powerful force in northern Syria throughout the following centuries. In 932–933, another wave of Kilabi tribesmen moved to the environs of Aleppo as soldiers of an invading Qarmatian army. By the Kilab had established itself as the dominant tribal force in northern Syria and played a significant role in all of the uprisings and internecine fighting involving the Hamdanid rulers of Aleppo, between 945 and 1002.
Salih is first mentioned in 1008 in relation to the power struggle over the Euphrates fortress town of al-Rahba. The town was strategically situated at the crossroads between Syria and Iraq and contested by local and regional powers. In 1008, Ibn Mihkan, a native of al-Rahba, expelled its Fatimid governor and sought Salih's military backing to uphold his rule. Salih continued to dwell in his tribe's desert encampment, it is not known what he received in exchange for protecting Ibn Mihkan. A dispute soon arose between Ibn Mihkan, leading the former to besiege al-Rahba; the hostilities came to an end following an agreement that stipulated Salih's marriage to Ibn Mihkan's daughter and Ibn Mihkan's relocation to Anah, which he would rule in addition to al-Rahba. When Anah's inhabitants revolted against Ibn Mihkan, Salih intervened to reassert his father-in-law's rule. Amid these developments, Ibn Mihkan was assassinated. Salih proceeded to proclaim his allegiance to the Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim; this marked "the first step in Salih's career and from which his ambition evolved", according to Zakkar.
His capture of al-Rahba most boosted his prestige among the Kilab. Between 1009 and 1012, the Kilab participated in the struggle for control of Aleppo between the emirate's ruler Mansur ibn Lu'lu' and its former rulers, the Hamdanids, their regional backers. Twice the Kilab betrayed the Hamdanids and their allies, in return, demanded from Mansur numerous pastures to breed their flocks and war horses. Instead, who viewed the Kilab as a hindrance to his rule, strove to eliminate them by luring the tribesmen into a trap. To t