In the Beginning is the title of Chaim Potok's fifth novel. The story is about a Jewish young man living in the Bronx during the years preceeding World War II. David Lurie learns that "all beginnings are hard" as he must learn to fight the growing anti-semitism in his neighborhood and his own frail health.

2000 tract by Jack T. Chick.

So, what shall our mighty Bible-believer bash today? You guessed, evolution and general scientific world view.

The main characters of this tract are the Dinosaur Man, Jason, and the Computer Man, Bob.

Jason tells the Computer Man that the dinosaur (of which he has a plastic model being held on his mortal hand) lived 145 million years ago - and Bob thinks it's a joke and the DM's teacher had been brainwashed. - Evolution is the religion of scientists who laugh at God, he says, 145 million years?... Those guys are only guessing.

Bob then proceeds to tell that Since so many scientists contradict each other, I found this to be the only source I can trust. Yes, the Bible, of course.

(Of course, no one ever said that Bible would be entirely free of contradictions either - au contraire!)

Then follow the first chapters of Genesis, condensed.

No, Jason! There was nothing "prehistoric." That word was created to brainwash us. (Brainwashing? This sounds really Chickesque.)

Here comes the best part: Jason, there are photos of men's footprints walking next to dinosaur footprints. They were found in Glen Rose, Texas... God doesn't lie.

Well, the problem is, the footprints that were found there were not human footprints.

The tracks at many of these sites were produced by crouching dinosaurs, probably hunting, and left very distinct heel impressions, whereas the toe impressions were obscured. In some cases, they looked kinda sorta like really big human footprints.

(From God Hates Fundies website)

This theory has been abandoned by many creationists, but Chick doesn't believe...

Then follows the Argument by Original Sin and Jason ends up trying to find contact lenses from the floor or something. =)

This is the first Babylon 5 movie.
It is taken from Londo Mollaris point of view some years after the original series is supposed to have finished. He has become emperor of the Centauri Republic after it was sacked by the Drakh. He meets 2 children who are wondering around the palace. They ask him if he will tell them a story. One of love, honour and glory - one that actually happened. So he tells them some of the story of Babylon 5. Before it came into being, how the Minbari and Humans made first contact and the resulting war.

This is an amazing film, but not for those who want a soppy romance. A must see for B5 fans. J. Michael Straczynski succesfully manages to make all characters look the right age for the time the film is set (even Susan Ivonava who is supposed to be 17ish).

This was originally supposed to be the pilot episode for the series but as was to be the tradition for B5, the network execs decided that no, it didn't stand up properly and they had to make another one. One that actualy featured the station itself.

This film also features my favourite B5 monolgue.

A Diction of Matter
A Matter of Diction
A reading of John 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word." So begins the Gospel of John, already distinguishing its creation story as something different, centered not so much on the creator or the creation, but on the Word, whatever this word may be. This notion of The Word separates John's creation telling from other Judeo-Christian creation stories, such as those found in Genesis and in the later Zohar. At the same time, the creation story of John finds it very much bound to the earlier Genesis account and, to some extent, to the later Zohar text. All begin with the seeming same thing viewed from different angles -- Genesis with God invoking light with a simple subjunctive, Zohar with the King bringing forth the light, and John with the Word. If indeed the word brought about the light, was the invocation of light, or the light was the word, or all were god, depending on which text you read, the stories are very much the same viewed in very different lights. Therefore if the peculiarities of John's creation, the obsession with this Word among other things, mark it as different from other versions, it stands to reason that these differences stand at the essence of what the passage is about, for otherwise the text of Genesis could stand alone without need to tell the story again. Studying the creation story within John, we hope to see at least in some small way why it is as it is, what it means, and why it is phrased in such a peculiar manner.

And so we return to the Word. This is no simple mandate from God, for it is there, in the beginning, and in the beginning, it is "With God."(John 1:1). Thus it cannot be simply the Genesis God's command for light, for Genesis describes God in the world, sweeping over the face of the waters, all before he utters the command for light. For insight into what exactly this word is, if not a command, we must look at the completion of the first line: "the word was God." Seemingly this statement either contradicts the statement made just previous (the word was with god) or it is BLINDINGLY obvious -- after all, if the word was god himself it would be very difficult for the god to not be with god, much as it is extremely difficult to see a situation as if one were not observing it. Leaving aside these interpretations for a moment, however (rest assured we will return to them) consider another option which makes the statement somewhat less confusing. What if the phrase, "The word was god," is meant to say not that the Word as an entity was identical with God as an entity but rather that the Word as an entity was identical with God as a word, as a name. Thus, in the beginning was the name of god, and the name of god was with god, the third phrase becoming simply a definition of what this word was. All of the sudden, the statement appears nearly straightforward.

This reading of the phrase, "The word was God," is not without basis either. Consider Exodus 3:14, where God as the burning bush reveals his name to Moses, "I am who I am." It is here that God reveals his name -- or at least the aspect of his name that Moses is able to comprehend -- to be simply a statement of his own existence. If we are already considering the name of God to be the Word, consider reading it a step further, substituting God"s statement of his own existence for the word God after changing all of the Words to the word God. We are left with: "In the beginning God acknowledged himself. And God"s acknowledgement of self was with God, and God's acknowledgement of himself was God." So, we have an image of God calling himself into being at the beginning of things, and his calling himself into being no different from his self. Thus it collapses back to the original supposition and follows from it: If the name of god IS the creative act, and god is the creative act, and the name of god is the word, then the word IS god as well as being with him, and thus either reading of, "the word was God," now appears correct, the ambiguity only furthering the deep and inextricable link among God, his name, and creation.

But now, having found that our semantic argument, rather then letting us out of the problem of reconciling the Word being both with God and the same as God has thrust us back into it, we must deal with the repercussions of this. Having revealed that it is indeed possible for the Word to be God proper, we are lead to wonder how the Word can be with God as well. As stated above, this is a seemingly impossible task -- for God to be both himself and with himself implied a certain ability to abstract the self from the self. But how can self be abstracted from self and remain of a single essence, that is, remain a single thing that can be called God, and not a dyad of God and Word, separate. We have already seen part of the possibilities of why this is in our exploration of the above semantic question. The name of God is not simply a name, it is not simply a pointer to another thing that one can use to talk about that thing. The name of God, instead, acts. The name acts because it not only implies the existence of God but actually spells out God"s own invocation of self; each time the name of God is spoken, God brings himself, in some manner, into existence -- each utterance of the name of God is tied to creation -- depending on one"s reading, it is conceivable that the speaking of the name of God is enough to bring another universe into existence. The fundamental point is that the name of God in this scenario is recursive: the spoken name of God is enough to bring both god and a universe into existence, and that universe will contain the word that is the name of god which is enough to bring another universe into existence, and on ad infinitum. The existence of God himself along with the Word, the name of God, can in this manner imply a sort of duality that is not a duality. For, in this system of self referentiality, even if you were to abstract God from the Name of God, or vice versa, each would imply each other despite the separate naming -- in a sense the naming of God as being WITH this Word/Name of God to imply a single entity, coupled with the statement of the equality between the word and god (which may be read as a statement of DUAL equality, naming the Word as both God and the Name of God) which implies a duality is the best way to imply the nature of a self-referential God -- a God which creates a thing separate from him, and yet manages only to create in that separate thing himself.

It is only a short step from here to a Christology, for after all the Word in John is used as a metaphor for Christ, though I use the term metaphor loosely in this place where descriptions can be both metaphoric and literal. What sort of Christology would it be, however? We have Jesus Christ who is the Word, and thus was both in the beginning with God, and was God, and created, or perhaps creates, God. However, this system allows a dual system of God and Christ to exist and a single entity, God implying Christ and Christ implying God. Indeed, it seems to be a major step toward a Trinitarian philosophy and a very convincing way to give God and Christ the same essence while allowing them to remain distinct. Christ is, in this text, a Word to be sure -- the part of a concept that can be manipulated and felt and dealt with in the world -- but he is a special word that by its very nature is what it describes because it by its very existence CREATES what it describes just as what it describes implies it because it creates it. It is a system outside of time intersecting with time and causality, both dictating and dictated by the world that it creates.

(∞)

...

(0)

In the beginning

(.)

In the beginning Was.

(1)

In the beginning Was the One, and the One Spoke.

(2)

In the beginning Was the Word, and the Word was Pronounced.

(3)

In the beginning Was the Fist, and the Fist was Opened.

(4)

In the beginning Was the Seed, and the Seed was Sewn.

(5)

The Seed was planted in the Darkness. The Seed was Alone in the Darkness. The Seed was the only thing that Was, except for the Darkness and except for what Came Prior and what Was To Come.

(6)

The Seed began to Want. It tossed and it turned in the Darkness. It began to tremble. It broke its Shell, and its Shell fell through the Darkness, and coalesced with the Darkness. And Chaos was born. And the Darkness was made fertile.

(7)

Then the Seed split the Darkness in twain with the unfurling of its Root. The Root traveled through the Darkness, and as it traveled, the Darkness countered it, and when this happened, the Root sought another direction. Fore and Aft. Dense and Light. Hate and Love. Hot and Cold. Night and Day. Pleasure and Pain. Inner and Outer. Distant and Close. Increase and Decrease. Heaven and Hell.

(8)

The Root wove through the Darkness, and split and was split by the Darkness until the Darkness and the Root became Equal. And this Equality was a House. To this House belongs the name Kronos, That Which Is.

(9)

Kronos looked inside itself, and saw that it was vast, and so it set its Self inside itself. To this Self belongs the name Cronos and the name Time.

(10)

Cronos traveled through Kronos, and as he traveled, Kronos encountered Cronos, and when this would happen, both Cronos and Kronos found Belonging. To this Belonging belongs the name Nuit and the name Space.




(11)

Now Cronos and Nuit experienced eachother. And this experiencing created a sound, which is given the name Harmony. And this Harmony traveled through the extent of Kronos, out into the Darkness, where Chaos overheard it.

(12)

And when Chaos heard this Sound, she knew that she was Alone. Chaos wished not to be Alone, and so she came to the boundary of Kronos, and she made a song from herself, and she whispered this Song into Kronos. To this song is given the name Melody.

The Melody of Chaos attracted the Harmony of Nuit and Cronos, and Harmony was the lesser, and Melody was the stronger. And as the Sound and the Song co-mingled, Chaos was able to feed herself on the Self and the Belonging, and Cronos and Nuit began to fall asleep.

(13)

Kronos saw what was occurring. He did not Want this to happen. He struggled with Chaos, and made his Song to become stronger, and louder. And then something amazing occurred. Something truly miraculous happened. From the Self of Kronos ejaculated a seed. And this seed never before was. And this seed was New.

To this seed is given the name Instrument, and the name Yezirah, the World of Formation, or the Greater World.

And the Belonging said: That is where We belong.

And the Self said: I will follow you.

And Kronos said: No, do not go there. That place is small. We are truly vast. All that We need is within Us.

And the Belonging tasted the new seed, and she fell into it. And the Self tasted the seed, and he fell into it. And Kronos reached after the new seed, but it slipped through his grasp, for it was too small. And the new seed fell into the Darkness, where Chaos took it to her, and planted it within her, that she might feed from it, and no longer be Alone.




(14)

In the beginning Was Time, In the beginning Was Space.

Time and Space were Alone and they were contained within Chaos.

In the beginning Time and Space were asleep.

And in their sleep they began to Want. And in their want they began to tremble, and from their trembling broke the Shell of the Greater World.

And when a Quarter of this shell encountered Chaos, it became heavy and dense, and it fell into the Greater World. These shells fell to the bottom of the Greater World, and created its floor, created it base. These are the Shatans, the Elementals.

(15)

And when the second quarter of the shell encountered Chaos, it became damp and cold. And this wetness condensed into the Greater World, and sloshed around within it, giving the greater world habitat, giving it atmosphere. These are the Daimons, the Faeries.

(16)

And when the third quarter of the shell encountered Chaos, it became hot and dry, and it became aware, and it turned towards the Greater World, and it saw that it wanted it, and so entered into the Greater World. These are the Jinn, the Genius.

(17)

And when the last quarter of the shell encountered Chaos, it became light, and it became conscious. These are the Numen, the Ideals. A portion of the Numen remembered their True Home, and they wished to return there, so they departed from the Greater World and began to make their way towards Kronos. But few that fled found there way from Chaos, for most were trapped within Her.

But those of the Numen who did not flee, they looked upon the Greater World and they saw their Self, and they saw their Belonging, and they wished to awaken their Parents, that they may begin the Work of Life. So they entered into the Greater World, and they took residence there.

(18)

Now there were five Numen who were greatest of all the Numen. To these are given the name Watchers, or Witnesses. They are also known as the Wills or Ambitions.

The Witnesses are of colors five: Black, Red, Yellow, White, and Brown.

To the Black Witness is given the vowel sound O. To the Red Witness is given the vowel sound E. To the Yellow Witness is given the vowel sound U. To the White Witness is given the vowel sound I. To the Brown Witness is given the vowel sound A, which contains and sounds the others.

To the vowel sound O is given the small finger; to the vowel sound E is given the ring finger; to the vowel sound U is given the middle finger; to the vowel sound I is given the index finger; to the vowel sound A is given the thumb, which may touch and articulate the others.

To the little finger is given the planet Mercury. To the ring finger is given the planet Mars. To the middle finger is given the planet Venus. To the forefinger is given the planet Jupiter. To the thumb is given the planet Saturn, which rules and rings the others.

To the planet Mercury is given the ambition To Seek. To the planet Mars is given the ambition To Work. To the planet Venus is given the ambition To Know. To the planet Jupiter is given the ambition To Refine. To the planet Saturn is given the ambition To Create, which culminates and justifies the others.

The boundary of the Witnesses does not end there. They are evident throughout the World of Formation. The Witnesses encompass and permeate the Measure of Life, which spans the entirety of the Greater World, though its origin does not reside there.

(19)

The Witnesses told their brothers:

We must awake Time and Space, our Parents.

But how? asked the others.

See here. We will compose a dance, and you will dance it, in the space we delineate.

We will do as you say, answered the others.

So the Watchers constructed a place, a Field, and composed a dance, which their brothers danced. To this Field is given the name Dreaming, and to this dance the name Imagination, and to the dancers, the Dreams.

(20)

And as the Dreaming was danced, a sound went out through the boundaries of the Greater World, and penetrated through Chaos. And some of the Numen who were lost in Her folds overheard this sound, and gravitated to the Greater World. There, they peered into the seed, and saw what their brethren were about, and shouted to them,

Faith! That is a wonderful sound you are creating!

We are trying to awaken the Parents! Answered the Witnesses.

That is a noble work! Let us join you!

And the lost Numen entered the Greater World, and offered their services to the Witnesses. The Witnesses directed them thus:

Here is a Path. If you wish to assist us, walk this Path, and speak of everything you know.

But not much has happened yet to speak of, replied the Numen.

Nevertheless, speak what you know, and watch and listen and speak of what you hear and what you see, and your knowledge will grow.

So that is what the Numen did. They walked the Path, which is given the name Mind, and they spoke of all they knew and saw and heard. To these Numen is given the name Thoughts or Intelligences.

(21)

And as the Numen danced and spoke, their sounds became strong, and traveled through the length of the Greater World. And the Jinn looked up, and spied what their cousins were doing, and the Prince of the Jinn spoke

Brothers! Our cousins are about something clever! They are trying to seduce the Parents of us all, that they might gain dominance over the Greater World. This we cannot allow!

But what shall we do? asked the Jinn of their Prince, who answered them

Let us take our cousins the Shatans and our cousins the Daimons, and let us create from them a work of our own, that shall influence the Parents, that they will regard us with favor and set us above the Numen.

And so the Jinn went out, and they manipulated the Shatans and the Daimons into a grand mobile, and within this they placed a spiral staircase, that gradated and connected all what they had built. To this mobile is given the name Asiyyah, the Lesser World, the World of Action, what man regards as the Universe.

(22)

1. Long the Jinn strove at this work, and loud was the sound of their forgings. Soon, the Witnesses overheard this and one of their number, he who is White, went down to the Prince of the Jinn.

2. What are you about? asked the Witness.

3. Ha! answered the Prince. We are full aware what you are trying to do, and we will not be so easily duped! We know you wish to have control over this world, and we will not idly let you have it! And see here, what we are about is something real, not a fancy show of light and sound. No, look at the solidness and tangibility of our creation, no less stunning in detail than yours, and much better articulated!

4. But this is just a shadow, answered the Witness, gesturing at the mobile, which to him was as small and insignificant as a clockwork would be to a behemoth. And besides, we are not after power, as you suppose. You judge our work by your own standards. We only wish to awaken the Parents, that they might Live, and return to their True Home, which is far and far greater than this place.

5. The Prince again scoffed at the Witness, and turned back to directing the work of the Jinn.

6. Now the White Witness returned to his brothers, and related to them what he had seen. The Witnesses then held counsel amongst themselves, and came to admit that, for the Parents to truly awaken, the whole of their children must work as one.

7. But how shall we persuade the Jinn to work with us? they asked.

8. For some while they discussed this question, until they decided that the only way to persuade the Jinn to work with them was to set up a system of barter. They must exchange something for the Jinn’s cooperation. And what would the Jinn favor more than power?

9. And what would be more powerful than Chaos?

10. So the Witnesses went unto the boarders of the Greater World, and they began to make an incision in the veil there, hoping to extract a portion of Chaos to deliver to the Jinn.

11. But as they attempted to breach the boundary, the remaining Numen what had been lost in Chaos noticed what their brothers were about, and came unto them.

12. What are you doing?

13. We are seeking to obtain a portion of Chaos.

14. Why would you do such a thing?

15. The Witnesses answered them, explaining what they were about.

16. You are being foolish, declared the remaining Numen. She is greedy. She knows no bounds. Would you to bring her unto that place, she will devour it within moments.

17. But we must awake the Parents, that we might all return to our true Home, spoke the Witnesses.

18. We will help you then, spoke the remaining Numen. We have existed within Her longer than any other, and we know the measure of her flow, and the dynamic of her currents. So if you instruct us on how to encounter that place, we will mediate between Her and It.

19. Faith, that would be helpful! cried the Witnesses, relieved. And straight away they created a channel and a series of channels that ran the length of the Greater World, a system of ducts and arteries that spanned the extent of Time and Space. And when this Channel was complete, the remaining Numen entered unto it, and traveled through it steadily, delivering unto the whole of the Greater World the substance of Chaos.

20. To this Channel is given the name Heart, and likewise the Numen who run its lengths are known as the Feelings.

21. And when all the Shells came into coincidence with eachother, Equality was established.

22. And Time awoke.

23. And Space awoke.

24. And they saw they were Alone, but full of Life.


These are the 24 keys.
These are the Dimensions of the Crypt
This is the Labor of Ercwlf
These are the Letters of the Interface
These are the Hours of Day
These are the Masks of the Builder
This is the hidden pattern of the Root.
This is the first chapter of the Book of the Prodigal

*

This is the Root of Pantheon. The (FALSE) Branch of Pantheon begins here.

p a n a d o r a , q. o. h.

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