Category Archive: Religion

According to the Bible, Great Prophet Moses lived in the XIII century BC at a time when the powerful neighboring countries could not imagine any other faith than polytheism. All the major powers of that time were pagan – Egypt, Babylon … Later states – Greece, Rome were also pagan. And only a small Israelite kingdom positioned itself as a country with faith in one God. Only one person managed to make such a revolution in the minds of the Jews – the great prophet and liberator of the nation.
To tell the truth, it is very difficult to fight old beliefs. They tend to come back. Only miracle could help. Even the birth of this biblical hero happened in the frame of miracles.
Moses was born in that ill-fated year when the Jews were in Egyptian captivity and the pharaoh made a cruel decision to destroy the Jewish children. The Egyptians believed that there were too many Jews. And they decided to get rid of the “extra” slaves. Baby Moses was also threatened with death because of this order. Sheltering a child from Pharaoh’s soldiers was mortally dangerous for the whole family. To save the future prophet, his mother desperately put the newborn in a basket and hid it in a thicket of reeds – she hoped someone would take pity and take a cute baby.
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Virgin Mary of Guadalupe is the most revered shrine of Latin America. Every year, about 14 million people come to the top of Tepeyac Hill (north of modern Mexico City) to worship the image of the Virgin. According to local beliefs, you need to come here on foot, with the last 100 meters with prayer and on your knees. Most believers come there from December 9 to 12, when all of Mexico celebrates St. Mary’s Day.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary stopped the deadly epidemic in Mexico City, which was raging in 1736-1737. In this regard, on April 27, 1737, Pope Clement XII declared the Virgin of Guadalupe the patroness of Mexico City. On May 25, 1754, Pope Benedict XIV proclaimed her the patroness and protector of New Spain, August 24, 1910 Pius X – patroness of all of Latin America, and July 16, 1935 Pius XI – patroness of the Philippines.
On January 22, 1999, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her “the patron saint of all the people of America and the star of evangelism.” Virgin of Guadalupe is the patroness and protector of unborn children. Her image is often used by pro-abortion advocates.
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Confucius was a Chinese teacher and thinker, who believed in people’s ability to improve themselves. His family name was Kong and Confucius is a European version of the Chinese name Kong- fuzi, meaning “Master Kong.” Confucianism is often called a religion, but it is really a system of values for living a good life.
Confucius was born in 551 BC in Qufu into a poor family. His exact birthday is not known, though many people in eastern Asia celebrate it on September 28. His father died when he was 3 years old and the mother educated the boy at home. Later teachers helped him learn many subjects, including music, arithmetic, chariot riding, calligraphy, shooting with a bow and arrow, Chinese poetry and history. At the age of nineteen Confucius married, but divorced four years later.
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Buddha means “enlightened one”. It is not a name but rather a title of respect. The Buddha or Gautama is the founder of Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama was the son of a king. He lived sometime in the 500s to 300s BC and was born near the border of what are today Nepal and India. His mother was visited in a dream by a white elephant, which touched her side with a fragrant blossom from the lotus tree, before she became pregnant. The newborn baby could speak and walk, and lotus blossoms sprouted where his feet had trod. Once Siddhartha Gautama saw in turn an old man, a sick man, and a dead man, sights that made him ask why suffering existed. At the age of sixteen Siddartha married a princess named Yasodhara. They had a young son.
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The Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibet and until 1959 he was the head of the Tibetan government. The word lama means “teacher” in the Tibetan language. In the Mongolian language dalai means “ocean” and stands for “sea of wisdom.” Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism that began in Tibet 1,400 years ago. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Yellow Hat order of Buddhists. They are called that because they wear a yellow headdress.
Tibetans believe that some lamas are reborn as other lamas. The Dalai Lama is considered the human form of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara known for kindness and mercy toward humans.
Dge-’dun-grub-pa was the first Dalai Lama who died in 1475. An oracle is believed to have visions about a newly reborn Dalai Lama.
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Alice Bailey became a real teacher for many people: her word was a law, and personality was an object for imitation. But Alice’s enemies questioned everything she said, wrote and did…
Much of her biography is surrounded by a veil of mystery, and today you cannot find out where the truth and the fiction are.
A certain fact: she was born in Manchester on June 16, 1880 in an old and noble family. When Alice LaTrobe Bateman (her full maiden name) was 6 years old, she was left without parents. At first the father died of tuberculosis, and soon the mother died. The girl was brought up by her grandparents. They were very strict. The girl was not allowed to communicate with other children. Her life was strictly regulated. Rhetoric, literature, music, dancing, riding, etiquette – the girl did not have a single free minute. If Alice did not cope with the task, she was punished. The girl tried to commit suicide three times. The first attempt was made at the age of 6 and the last when she was fifteen…
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John Calvin was a French theologian, church reformer, founder of Calvinism. His main work was Institutes of the Christian Religion. He was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation.
John Calvin (French Jean Cauvin, Latin Ioannes Calvinus) was born on July 10, 1509 in Noyon. At the age of 14, he was sent by his father, a lawyer Gerard Koven, to the University of Paris to study humanities and law.
In Paris, he studied dialectics. John owned parishes where at the age of 18 gave sermons. On the advice of his father he returned to Paris and began to study law. From Paris, he moved to Orleans, where he worked under the guidance of renowned lawyer Pierre Stella, and then moved to Bourges, where the Milanese lawyer Alciati lectured at the university. Under the leadership of Alciati he studied Roman law. Later he started studying humanities. After the death of his father, he quit law and began studying theology.
Calvin studied the Bible, the works of the Reformers, including Martin Luther. In the summer of 1531 he went to Paris, where he continued his self-education. He received little income from the two parishes. In the spring of 1532 he published his first scientific work – commentary on Seneca’s treatise “On the humility.” In 1532 he received his doctorate in Orleans.
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