tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post6272123945577798679..comments2024-02-26T00:59:26.907-08:00Comments on Ana the Imp: The Dream of PharaohAnastasia F-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-13083301517588208612012-02-22T15:47:46.463-08:002012-02-22T15:47:46.463-08:00Thanks, Rehan. I saw Akhenaten in Cairo. :-)Thanks, Rehan. I saw Akhenaten in Cairo. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-16049810245970456342012-02-21T16:26:01.075-08:002012-02-21T16:26:01.075-08:00The earliest instance where Pharaoh is used specif...The earliest instance where Pharaoh is used specifically to address the Egyptian ruler is in a letter to Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), who reigned circa 1353 - 1336 BC. There is also debate about whether Joseph et cetera were Egyptians or when Abraham came into Egypt. I am not an historian and <i>The Holy Quran</i> is not a text of history. However, without wanting to get into a pointless debate, as a Muslim I believe it to be the verbal revelation from God to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It is really something when what was said in eighth century Arabia corresponds with what is only being discovered in recent years.Rehan Qayoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02391797858691917631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-1246388439026069062012-02-15T15:18:12.814-08:002012-02-15T15:18:12.814-08:00Michael, I certainly have no reluctance in saying ...Michael, I certainly have no reluctance in saying that all sacred texts should be treated with caution.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-34047251966151279582012-02-14T03:41:50.147-08:002012-02-14T03:41:50.147-08:00I write as a non-practising member of the CoE. I ...I write as a non-practising member of the CoE. I would think that the general view (in this country) is that the Bible is a guide to Christianity. It is not a history textbook and it may not be factually correct. The Koran should be treated in the same way. It is not a textbook on how to live. It is a great pity that we don't say this loud and clear to the Muslims who have CHOSEN to live amongst us.Michael J McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15420031175369432868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-53482646097103818812012-02-13T15:23:12.861-08:002012-02-13T15:23:12.861-08:00Chris, people like you. :-)Chris, people like you. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-77213064028481150592012-02-13T15:14:02.557-08:002012-02-13T15:14:02.557-08:00Michael, on this issue for me the rest, or the bes...Michael, on this issue for me the rest, or the best, is silence. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-34158063289580180332012-02-13T15:13:02.165-08:002012-02-13T15:13:02.165-08:00Dennis, I think in the end, if there is an end, th...Dennis, I think in the end, if there is an end, that the bureaucrats will inherit the earth. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-68137735373200488282012-02-13T03:40:17.767-08:002012-02-13T03:40:17.767-08:00Since when do we regard the Koran as an authority ...Since when do we regard the Koran as an authority on anything? Let alone the correct title of Egyptian rulers.Michael J McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15420031175369432868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-92198352118078499632012-02-13T02:14:07.015-08:002012-02-13T02:14:07.015-08:00While I agree with you that history is cyclical, a...While I agree with you that history is cyclical, and I don't accept that the Apocalypse is nigh, there is also a long-term trend line, which I won't call progress, although some might, that is visible in events that are irrevocable and in some way improve the human condition, such as the Reformation and the scientific revolution.<br /><br />"It might be the delusion of democracy itself, which is arguably not the end of historical evolution, but merely a stage passing through..."<br /><br />I'm surprised that you wrote this Ana, although I think you're right. I've long thought democracy to be, in Churchill's words, "the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried", and some other form is probably necessary to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that other form is or should be.Dennis Hodgsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09409579380626581592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-27698320349471106252012-02-12T19:17:40.717-08:002012-02-12T19:17:40.717-08:00Bob, terrific quotes--thank you! Ana, I'm gla...Bob, terrific quotes--thank you! Ana, I'm glad to see how learned are your courtiers . . . ! ChrisChris Coffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16599801901347194290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-76998254227105506842012-02-12T15:49:39.307-08:002012-02-12T15:49:39.307-08:00Yes, thank you, Uttam, my friend. :-)Yes, thank you, Uttam, my friend. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-53087598383266409842012-02-12T15:48:34.062-08:002012-02-12T15:48:34.062-08:00Rehan, you surprise me. I was under the impressio...Rehan, you surprise me. I was under the impression that the sovereigns of Egypt from the days of Namer onwards were always known as Pharaohs. Clearly something I shall have to look in to.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-55741104250430218572012-02-12T15:45:52.796-08:002012-02-12T15:45:52.796-08:00Calvin, that's an excellent observation.Calvin, that's an excellent observation.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-47272477838573989462012-02-12T15:45:07.228-08:002012-02-12T15:45:07.228-08:00Hey, great stuff, Bob!Hey, great stuff, Bob!Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-45109040086239122722012-02-12T15:44:21.329-08:002012-02-12T15:44:21.329-08:00Yes we shall, Anthony. :-)Yes we shall, Anthony. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-81871253786988469202012-02-10T23:18:14.258-08:002012-02-10T23:18:14.258-08:00Anastasia you really have a great mind and the way...Anastasia you really have a great mind and the way, with ease you take any subject, it amazes me. Permit me to share my thoughts on Tim Stanley’s observations.<br />The sheer adventurism of an intellect with absolute disconnection from the reality, cultivates the mind with cynical impressions of apocalypses. Talk any subject; they will create crises from that. They peel patches of history to illustrate the resulting events, which they foresee would bring doom. Crises were there in the past, crises will remain in future too...Crises won’t go. As I understand the dynamics of crises, it involves many aspects of life. When I say crises, it means any event of very significant nature which causes considerable impact over the world and its inhabitant.<br /> Anastasia world is a dangerous place to live and we are living in this, mankind surviving for thousands of years, we have learned the way to live with given terms and we survive too...Don’t you think amidst all confusion and chaos around we are surviving...This is a miracle ...With all due regard to Tim Stanley, I believe, he needs to examine many other aspects by taking into account, the world as whole...I surely don’t wish to question his authority on this subject. Whether the prophecy of doom as predicted by Maya calendar and Chinese holds any substance or not, but the happenings (as you have enumerated) around the globe is a matter of grave concern...I see that as churning...<br />Come what may I still hold natural disaster as the only threat to we mankind...It happened earlier, it can happen now...I am just keeping my finger crossed... As you are resting and dreaming of Maya...The world is living dangerously<br />Anastasia, if with God grace, we both survives the natural catastrophe, then surely we would have wad of currency notes to look at...loluttam gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17499890429720124885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-84830831711620050732012-02-10T12:15:18.959-08:002012-02-10T12:15:18.959-08:00By constantly referring to the sovereign of ancien...By constantly referring to the sovereign of ancient Egypt during the time of Abraham and Joseph as 'Pharaoh' <i>The Bible</i> portrays an anachronistic setting not in consonance with the Egyptological data, this is an historical inaccuracy. <i>The Quran</i> on the other hand correctly mentions them as 'Kings' rather than Pharaohs. As for the monarchs who ruled during the time of Moses <i>The Quran</i> repeatedly calls them Pharaohs.Rehan Qayoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02391797858691917631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-41339570119183498862012-02-09T21:38:17.703-08:002012-02-09T21:38:17.703-08:00History is change; sometimes a gentle tidal ebb an...History is change; sometimes a gentle tidal ebb and flow, sometimes a tempest or a cataclysm, but always in motion. There is no state of being so benign some pestilential meddler doesn't want it different. Someone's always scheming; factions are always plotting, even in the quietest times.<br /><br />Ambition and rivalry are part of human nature, just as much as curiosity and creativity. Without these characteristics, humans would be mere ants. For us to reach an end of the infinite variations that create history, would mean we had finally lost our humanity and become something else.Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10640148105202971907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-27395157612122887372012-02-09T21:36:36.870-08:002012-02-09T21:36:36.870-08:00Coincidentally, I've just finished reading Sir...Coincidentally, I've just finished reading Sir John Glubb's little treatise <em>The Fate Of Empires</em> (1978). Sir John made quite a few insightful and prescient comments, which I found somewhat remarkable in such a short work. A sampling:<br /><br /><em>"The first direction in which wealth injures<br />the nation is a moral one. Money replaces<br />honour and adventure as the objective of the<br />best young men. Moreover, men do not<br />normally seek to make money for their<br />country or their community, but for themselves. Education undergoes the same gradual<br />transformation. No longer do schools aim at<br />producing brave patriots ready to serve their<br />country. Parents and students alike seek the<br />educational qualifications which will<br />command the highest salaries."<br /><br />"Money being in better supply than courage,<br />subsidies instead of weapons are employed<br />to buy off enemies...The weakness of pacifism is that there are still many peoples in the world who are aggressive."<br /><br />"As in the case of the Athenians, intellectualism leads to discussion, debate<br />and argument, such as is typical of the<br />Western nations today. Debates in elected<br />assemblies or local committees, in articles in<br />the Press or in interviews on television—<br />endless and incessant talking. Men are interminably different, and intellectual arguments rarely lead to agreement. Thus public affairs drift from bad to worse, amid an unceasing cacophony of argument. But this constant dedication to discussion seems to destroy the power of action. Amid a Babel of talk, the ship drifts on to the rocks."<br /><br />"Another remarkable and unexpected symptom of national decline is the intensification of internal political hatreds. One would have expected that, when the survival of the nation became precarious, political factions would drop their rivalry and stand shoulder-to-shoulder to save their country."<br /><br />"One of the oft-repeated phenomena of<br />great empires is the influx of foreigners...the immigrants are liable to form communities of their own, protecting primarily their own interests, and only in the second degree that of the nation as a whole."</em>Bob Mackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13452703873713992208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-43439875231368962312012-02-09T18:57:09.986-08:002012-02-09T18:57:09.986-08:00It ain't over yet, soon enough we will see.It ain't over yet, soon enough we will see.anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02931330128135957439noreply@blogger.com