Let's try and get 1,000,000 replies to this post
- Thread starter The Ancient Mariner
- Start date
Both is blatantly apparent if you do historical research and mostly, if you read the Bible in the original languages they were written in which, ironically, Biblical literalists explicitly tell you not to do.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
it always amused me that the belief in the virgin birth may have been the result of a translation quirk regarding the Hebrew word for “young woman”. (And since Romulus and Remus from Roman mythology were said to have been born of a virgin, this made that particular interpretation of the story of Jesus more familiar to Romans.)
I had that discussion the other week, and it prompted me to look up the original text. The New Testament was written in Greek, not Hebrew, and the original of Luke 1:27 uses παρθενος, which is also the byname of Athena. Now, while it can simply mean "young, umarried woman", its much more common use is indeed "virgin", which is also indicated by the fact that Mary is described as εμνηστευμενην, which basically means "engaged". So going by intuitive interpretation, the text is rather unambiguous that she was a virgin.
Most versions of the birth of Romulus and Remus state that their mother Rhea Silvia was a vestal virgin, but that she was impregnated by Mars. The common disagreements in the sources go about whether she was seduced or raped by Mars, but most agree that the act deflowered her. It's possible that a Roman would have seen a parallel between the divine conception of Romulus and Jesus, but the details as far as they can still be determined are rather different.
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
I just played the Iron Maiden pinball game.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Happy birthday!
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
Happy birthday @karljant and also happy belated birthday to those whose birthdays I've missed lately (sorry). 
In other news, the Norwegian government has decided to follow the example of others and start referring to Belarus by that name (formerly we have used Hviterussland (White Russia)) which, as I understand, is more or less the literal translation of Belarus anyway. So the significance is somewhat unclear to me. Except it makes it easier to understand, for those among us who are not among the sharpest knives in the drawer, that the country is actually not part of Russia (even though their dictator behaves as if it were).
In other news, the Norwegian government has decided to follow the example of others and start referring to Belarus by that name (formerly we have used Hviterussland (White Russia)) which, as I understand, is more or less the literal translation of Belarus anyway. So the significance is somewhat unclear to me. Except it makes it easier to understand, for those among us who are not among the sharpest knives in the drawer, that the country is actually not part of Russia (even though their dictator behaves as if it were).
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
Oh, and it's now less than two weeks until I'll finally see Maiden again 
Travis The Dragon
AFTERGLOW!!!
That's way too freaking amazing!
Last edited:
karljant
Ancient Mariner
Wasn't aware this was the thread peeps used for congrats. Anyways (unlike you) I'm awful with dates. Nonetheless it's with joy I see you took a bit of your time to congratulate me (which is more this air head did to anyone around here). Anyway thanks a lot to you all (sorry if I misquoted someone).
P.s. : Better late than never... Happy Birthday @mckindog
I have a job offer 
Tell us more!I have a job offer
____no5
Free Man
The film Snatch starts with the discussion of how παρθένος from New Testament text was misinterpreted as virgin.
While Athena was the archetypical virgin, I've read about a text** (which I wasn't able to ever see with my own eyes) that Athena had some sort of sex act with Hephestos to get his gene and fertilise another woman and produce Erechtheus, the first king of Athens.
**No way, I may have just found it
In Homer's Iliad (2. 547–48) Erechteus is the son of "grain-giving Earth", reared by Athena.[3] The earth-born son was sired by Hephaestus, whose semen Athena wiped from her thigh with a fillet of wool cast to earth, by which Gaia was made pregnant.
Some say above describes some kind of in vitro fertilisation. From the original text we can see that unlike in translation, gene and sperm are clearly distinguished. The people who claim that, they also claim that Chest Pandrosus signifies some kind of refrigerator =cold chest.
Well, it's been more than 20 years that I was looking to find the below, I guess internet makes things easier. Wow. I wasn't expect that
Apollod. 3.14.6
Ἀθηνᾶ παρεγένετο πρὸς Ἥφαιστον, ὅπλα κατασκευάσαι θέλουσα. ὁ δὲ ἐγκαταλελειμμένος ὑπὸ Ἀφροδίτης εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν ὤλισθε τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, καὶ διώκειν αὐτὴν ἤρξατο· ἡ δὲ ἔφευγεν. ὡς δὲ ἐγγὺς αὐτῆς ἐγένετο πολλῇ ἀνάγκῃ (ἦν γὰρ χωλός), ἐπειρᾶτο συνελθεῖν. ἡ δὲ ὡς σώφρων καὶ παρθένος οὖσα οὐκ ἠνέσχετο· ὁ δὲ ἀπεσπέρμηνεν εἰς τὸ σκέλος τῆς θεᾶς. ἐκείνη δὲ μυσαχθεῖσα ἐρίῳ ἀπομάξασα τὸν γόνον εἰς γῆν ἔρριψε. φευγούσης δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γονῆς εἰς γῆν πεσούσης Ἐριχθόνιος γίνεται. τοῦτον Ἀθηνᾶ κρύφα τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν ἔτρεφεν, ἀθάνατον θέλουσα ποιῆσαι· καὶ καταθεῖσα αὐτὸν εἰς κίστην Πανδρόσῳ τῇ Κέκροπος παρακατέθετο, ἀπειποῦσα τὴν κίστην ἀνοίγειν.
While Athena was the archetypical virgin, I've read about a text** (which I wasn't able to ever see with my own eyes) that Athena had some sort of sex act with Hephestos to get his gene and fertilise another woman and produce Erechtheus, the first king of Athens.
**No way, I may have just found it
In Homer's Iliad (2. 547–48) Erechteus is the son of "grain-giving Earth", reared by Athena.[3] The earth-born son was sired by Hephaestus, whose semen Athena wiped from her thigh with a fillet of wool cast to earth, by which Gaia was made pregnant.
Some say above describes some kind of in vitro fertilisation. From the original text we can see that unlike in translation, gene and sperm are clearly distinguished. The people who claim that, they also claim that Chest Pandrosus signifies some kind of refrigerator =cold chest.
Well, it's been more than 20 years that I was looking to find the below, I guess internet makes things easier. Wow. I wasn't expect that
Apollod. 3.14.6
Ἀθηνᾶ παρεγένετο πρὸς Ἥφαιστον, ὅπλα κατασκευάσαι θέλουσα. ὁ δὲ ἐγκαταλελειμμένος ὑπὸ Ἀφροδίτης εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν ὤλισθε τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, καὶ διώκειν αὐτὴν ἤρξατο· ἡ δὲ ἔφευγεν. ὡς δὲ ἐγγὺς αὐτῆς ἐγένετο πολλῇ ἀνάγκῃ (ἦν γὰρ χωλός), ἐπειρᾶτο συνελθεῖν. ἡ δὲ ὡς σώφρων καὶ παρθένος οὖσα οὐκ ἠνέσχετο· ὁ δὲ ἀπεσπέρμηνεν εἰς τὸ σκέλος τῆς θεᾶς. ἐκείνη δὲ μυσαχθεῖσα ἐρίῳ ἀπομάξασα τὸν γόνον εἰς γῆν ἔρριψε. φευγούσης δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γονῆς εἰς γῆν πεσούσης Ἐριχθόνιος γίνεται. τοῦτον Ἀθηνᾶ κρύφα τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν ἔτρεφεν, ἀθάνατον θέλουσα ποιῆσαι· καὶ καταθεῖσα αὐτὸν εἰς κίστην Πανδρόσῳ τῇ Κέκροπος παρακατέθετο, ἀπειποῦσα τὴν κίστην ἀνοίγειν.
I couldn't understand how in customs of the ancient world, a wife would be a virgin. Infertile, maybe, but not a virgin.
I'd be on loan, so I'd have a job to come back to after 12 months. It's a lot of legal and policy interpretation stuff, which I'd like to think I'm good at.
The temporary promotion one I applied for absolutely months ago. Actually half decent pay, and a different office, hopefully without having half as much sh** thrown at me (as happens with junior grade staff).
I'd be on loan, so I'd have a job to come back to after 12 months. It's a lot of legal and policy interpretation stuff, which I'd like to think I'm good at.
Travis The Dragon
AFTERGLOW!!!
That's good to hear for sure. But why did you censor yourself?
Used to posting on Teams chat at work
