aka Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Acorn – England Acorns are considered to be lucky, especially in England. The belief in the happiness of the Celtic druids can be traced back. According to stories, the Druids had carried oak leaves and dried acorns during the Norman conquest, because they considered them to be sacred and to have the luck on their side. Today acorns are regarded as a symbol of happiness, prosperity and strength. Bambus – China In China, he is considered to be one of the oldest fortune-tellers: the lucky bamboo. It symbolizes happiness, money and success and is happily given away in China for birthdays, weddings or business openings. In addition, the "Lucky Bamboo" is also used in Feng Shui, because it favors growth, strength, vitality and vital energy. Therefore, one can hope for a particularly good luck by placing the bamboo in the southeast area of the apartment. Elefants – Indien Elephants are seen all over the world as a symbol of happiness, intelligence, wisdom, strength and longevity. Especially in the Hindu-influenced India, they are regarded as lucky. For there, the god Ganesha possesses an elephant head and is responsible for success and happiness. Whether wood or marble, on patterned fabrics, on wall rugs or as amulets and ornaments, the elephants meet us in India everywhere. It should be richly decorated and adorned. As a statue, the elephant is particularly lucky when he carries his trunk high - as elephants welcome. Maneki-neko – Japan Probably hardly anyone has seen this fortune-maker anywhere. Maneki-neko, also known as waving cat, is a popular lucky cat in the form of a cat sitting upright. The raised right paw symbolizes happiness and health, but the left paw is raised, should be attracted to clientele. Because the cat is preferred in entrances of shops in shopping malls, restaurants or lotteries. At exhibitions and market places, the cat is to provide financial and business happiness. In the private household, she is happily placed to bring prosperity and keep away misfortune. Nazar boncuk – Türkei A "Nazar boncuk" (Nazar-pearl) is an eye-shaped, blue amulet, which is widely used in Turkey. The term originally comes from the Arabic expression "Nazar" and means "Blick" (among other things). According to this, the amulet is supposed to ward off the "evil eye" and is therefore also regarded as a fortune-teller. According to popular belief, people with the evil eye can harm other people. Nazar boncuks are to protect everything. Thus, they are often attached to clothes, especially by small children, hanging on the interior mirrors of cars or on entrance doors of houses or serving as decorations on the key pendant. Bats – China, Bali In European cultures, bats are considered rather sinister. But in China it is believed that especially red bats teach the devil the fear. For this reason the red bat is a symbol of long life and happiness. Besides, the Chinese character sounds just like that for happiness. Also in Bali, red bats are considered lucky symbols and sacred. There they are even venerated in special temples. Therefore, jewelry, amulets or trailers with bat motifs are often given away in these countries as lucky charms. Also as ornaments, as carvings on wooden doors or on fabrics embroidered one encounters the bat. Equipped with corresponding amulets, you are well protected, especially disaster and happiness and joy. Skarabäus – Ägypten Many people would feel disgusted at the sight of this lucky bearer: the scarab. A beetle that had a great significance many centuries ago. It is the symbol of life and resurrection, and thus represents a kind of fortune-teller. Its function as a fortune-bearer and also as a symbol of protection dates back to the flood period in ancient Egypt. At that time, the population believed that scarabs were able to recognize the important "Nile high water" at an early stage. The beetles moved away from the water and went into the houses of the Egyptians. Because of the constant drought, they were very happy about it and knew that the long-awaited flood that they needed for their harvest would finally come. Today, as a fortune-teller, jewelry and amulets are worn there in the form, color and style of a scarab. carp scales – Tschechien, Slowakei In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the carp is not only a delicacy for the turn of the year, but also a lucky winner. If you keep a carp scoop in your purse, you will be waving rich money in the new year. Even in the Stone Age, hunters pushed a shed as a fortune-maker behind the loincloth. Also in China, the carp dish is a New Year's feast. Here the fish wealth promises, because the Chinese pronunciation of the words "fish" and "excess" is almost identical. Hand of Fatima – Islamisch Lands In Islamic countries, the so-called hand of Fatima is a popular fortune-teller. On the one hand, the sacred hand with its unique form is regarded as a distance gesture and, like the Turkish Nazar pearl, is supposed to ward off the "evil eye". On the other hand, it is the symbol of strength and happiness as a "blessing hand". The name "Fatima" goes back to Fatima, the youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. This lucky charm can also be found in Islamic culture on many doors where it is used for protection. The Fatima hand nowadays is also encountered in many other forms: as a decoration, a wall decoration, an accessory or even a tattoo, it is a very popular symbol of protection and happiness. dgrimm60, rudywoofs (Pam) and phkrause 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 My mother would get very cribbly if for some reason I'd take off my shoes from outside and put them on the family table. I have no idea why I did that, but on the few times I did she would worryingly say that we will have bad luck come if I kept doing that. Also, when I spilt my milk she'd swiftly take a pinch of salt out of the small salt container and throw it over her left shoulder. She said later it was to ward off bad luck. And in the course of conversations talking about future plans she'd knock on wood. I have no idea what she was accomplishing by doing that. She was a very strong believer in what the Catholic church taught her. But I wonder now at times when the belief began in some things such as magic or luck to have the power to affect her life. There are thousands of people out there with irrational beliefs arising from ignorance or fear. The power of imagination is not to be underestimated. dgrimm60 and phkrause 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 10 hours ago, aka said: She was a very strong believer in what the Catholic church taught her. But I wonder now at times when the belief began in some things such as magic or luck to have the power to affect her life. There are thousands of people out there with irrational beliefs arising from ignorance or fear. The power of imagination is not to be underestimated. Or the power of the nether world to confuse the mind as to the Truth. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ....John 8 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed....John 8 God is Love!~Jesus saves! Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted June 28, 2017 Members Share Posted June 28, 2017 On 6/26/2017 at 6:14 AM, aka said: In Islamic countries, the so-called hand of Fatima is a popular fortune-teller. On the one hand, the sacred hand with its unique form is regarded as a distance gesture and, like the Turkish Nazar pearl, is supposed to ward off the "evil eye". On the other hand, it is the symbol of strength and happiness as a "blessing hand". The name "Fatima" goes back to Fatima, the youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. This lucky charm can also be found in Islamic culture on many doors where it is used for protection. The Fatima hand nowadays is also encountered in many other forms: as a decoration, a wall decoration, an accessory or even a tattoo, it is a very popular symbol of protection and happiness. That is an interesting comment, I bolded the first sentence of the caption!! So what is a RCC article, or whatever you want to call it, doing as a "fortune-teller," for Islam?? Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 5 hours ago, phkrause said: That is an interesting comment, the bold type, or caption!! So what is a RCC article, or whatever you want to call it, doing as a "fortune-teller," for Islam?? What bold type/caption are you referring to? There is no where in the various picture descriptions referring to the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). Sorry, but I don't understand your question at all. Please explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted June 28, 2017 Members Share Posted June 28, 2017 There's a caption under the photo of "the hand of Fatima," that's what I'm referring to! In my reply to you, I copied that and bolded that first sentence! I also fixed my post! Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 I'm not into fortune telling so have no idea how they use the Fatima hand in fortune telling. Now after reading that in-bold sentence again I see no explanation within that statement after it. Truly, I don't believe everything printed in the press is to be believed. Most likely I mentally flew by that in-bold printed sentence the first time I read it. There are many times my mind is inattentive in reading through something and has lost the connection to alert cognition. I speculate that the reporter might know background info we don't have. Or the reporter had a outburst of predisposed prejudice while claiming something that just exists in his vivid imagination. Actually, come to think about it, it would be best to approach a Muslim in our personal environment and ask them what they know about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted June 30, 2017 Members Share Posted June 30, 2017 What I was trying to get at, was the connection between Islam and the RCC!! Walter Veith or Doug Batchelor, and I believe its WV, have a lecture on the link between the two religions. So when I saw that Islam had the hand of Fatima and using it to do fortune telling, it kind of brought that lecture into perspective a little more. Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 It sounds like a Veith lecture I need to listen to. This has been an interesting side step to the original posting of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gregory Matthews Posted June 30, 2017 Moderators Share Posted June 30, 2017 My comments are NOT related to the OP by AKA, who I believe posted accurately. As has been stated by others in this thread, I do not find any connection with the Roman Catholic Church. See: http://www.ancient-symbols.com/symbols-directory/hand_of_fatima.html Hand of Fatima is an Islamic symbol that commemorates Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad and the wife of Hazrat Ali. aka and JoeMo 2 Quote Gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 2, 2017 Members Share Posted July 2, 2017 On 6/30/2017 at 7:07 AM, Gregory Matthews said: My comments are NOT related to the OP by AKA, who I believe posted accurately. Absolutely!! On 6/30/2017 at 7:07 AM, Gregory Matthews said: As has been stated by others in this thread, Yes that would be me!! Not any other posters!! On 6/30/2017 at 7:07 AM, Gregory Matthews said: I do not find any connection with the Roman Catholic Church. I am in agreement as in my posting I didn't think of Muhammad's wife!! My thoughts were with Fatima of the Catholic faith. So when I read the caption under the photo of Fatima's Hand, my mind went right to the lecture by WV about the connection with Islam and the RCC. If you go to the thread that was started about WV, you will see a few posts that I had made there and one has the video of WV speaking on the topic!! So again thank you for correcting me on which Fatima was be referenced in aka's post! Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gregory Matthews Posted July 2, 2017 Moderators Share Posted July 2, 2017 And the Fatima of the of the Roman Catholic Church would be, probably, the typical response of most people reading the posts here. My so-called "correction" was as much informational to all as it was corrective and maybe even more informational. phkrause 1 Quote Gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 7 hours ago, phkrause said: My thoughts were with Fatima of the Catholic faith. Now that explains a lot. It amazes me how we all get different slants on the postings in accordance to the cache of personal information we hold. I'm just glad that the two of you guys were loving in discussion. phkrause 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gregory Matthews Posted July 2, 2017 Moderators Share Posted July 2, 2017 aka: Are we not always the most loving people? By the way, please do not answer that. aka and JoeMo 2 Quote Gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gail Posted July 2, 2017 Administrators Share Posted July 2, 2017 Is there power in superstitions? If one believes in one does that make it real? I have one of those Turkish eyes, given to me by a friend who lives in Istanbul... It's not hung up but kept in its bag as a souvenir. I have seen one in town here, though. It was hanging in a take-out eatery that sells donairs. I asked the woman who was working there if she was Turkish because I recognized the eye. She said that she was Iraqi and that they believe in those as well. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 Yes, if you want to live in the third world areas. Totally seeped in superstitions, are they indeed. No, if you keep on walking in faith in our creator God. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Just having the anti-evil eye object in your possession will have no impact on your life. Having a deep rooted anxiety toward life and putting up some idol like thing to ward off bad luck is indeed superstition. I have driven in cars owned by my catholic acquaintances who had a model of some travel-saint glued to the dashboard. They truly put their faith in that object for travel mercies. I did a check-list to clean out any lurking superstitions within me… Do I perhaps have worry when forced to walk under a ladder? Do I react with worry when a black cat crosses my path? Do I unconsciously feel uneasy at possible bad luck coming when opening an umbrella in the house? I passed the test and know I have no superstitious reaction in such cases. All of these are irrational fears. Generation of humans have made some stupid decisions based on irrational fears. We need to test the irrational beliefs that lurk in the nicks and crannies of our inner being. We need to look at our fears (as vague as they may be) and ask ourselves if this is being inconsistent with the known laws of science. Educating our children is to broaden their view of the world today which is govern by science. The more we understand about the nature of the world and humankind, the less vulnerable we are to irrational fears and disabling superstitions. Faith in God and His laws will free us from always being haunted by unknown fears and anxieties. This is unhealthy for one’s self-confidence. Having faith in certain superstitions is having faith in the power of Satan. It is he who works through people ignorant enough to let themselves be bound to what they believe is the power expressed in that false belief. phkrause 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 Known as the Hand of Fatima in Islam and Hand of Miriam in Judaism, it's believed to protect against against the evil eye and and all negative energies. In the Jewish culture, the hamsa symbolizes the Hand of God and might be called “hamesh,” also meaning “five.” It is talismanic symbol that people believed to protect them from harm against the evil eye. It is to bring them goodness, abundance, fertility, luck and good health when the hand is pointing downward. Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the Hamsa is believed by Jews and Muslims and others to provide defense against the evil eye. With the fingers pointed up, the Hamsa symbolizes a "stop sign" to the adversary, in other words, for protection. Many Jews believe that the five fingers of the Hamsa hand remind its wearer to use their five senses to praise God. The Hamsa has become a symbol in everyday Israeli life, and to a degree, a symbol of Israel itself. It has come to be a symbol of secularism, and a trendy talisman; a "good luck" charm appearing on necklaces, key-chains, postcards, telephone and lottery cards, and in advertisements. It is also incorporated into high-end jewelry, decorative tile-work and wall decorations. Similar to the Western use of the phrase "knock on wood" or "touch wood", a common expression used in Israel is: "Hamsa, Hamsa, Hamsa, tfu, tfu, tfu", (the sound for spitting) supposedly to spit out bad luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Another crazy superstition - burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down facing your house in order to expedite the sale of one's home. Many people say this works. I say if it the house sells after you bury Jesus' step-dad, it's coincidence. phkrause 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted July 8, 2017 Author Share Posted July 8, 2017 Good Gracious! Where are Americans going next? Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality. It’s belief that one event causes another without any natural process linking the two events. No reasonable logic. We find superstitions in such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft, prophecies. Superstition is that which contradicts natural science. Superstitions are found in fortune-cookies, having a preserved rabbit’s foot, having a pressed four-leaf clover, doing nothing on Friday 13, a lucky penny, breaking a mirror, etc. phkrause 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 8 hours ago, aka said: Superstition is that which contradicts natural science. Genuine miracles contradict natural science as well. Spontaneous healing from blindness, deafness, and even death - even your own death - is a blatant contradiction of natural science. Belief is a Being whom almost none of us has ever seen or heard from contradicts natural science. In some parts of the world, Christianity is considered to be an antiquated superstition; somewhat akin to Santa and the Easter Bunny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 8, 2017 Members Share Posted July 8, 2017 14 hours ago, aka said: Superstitions are found in fortune-cookies, having a preserved rabbit’s foot, having a pressed four-leaf clover, doing nothing on Friday 13, a lucky penny, breaking a mirror, etc. LOL, I try to do the opposite of some of those superstition things: like walk under a ladder for one; when I played basketball, baseball, football, etc. and I needed a jersey, I'd get the number 13; when younger I liked braking mirrors, etc.!! aka 1 Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Hi, Joe Natural science is clothed in materialism. Spiritual Christians are clothed with the garment of faith in God. He being above and beyond materialism. Science has to do with matter and how it functions. Science has no rights to meddle in the transcendental realms of the supernatural. Science has no authority outside nature. Of course when religious nuts make assertions about the natural world, that contradict well established scientific knowledge, we know such statements cannot be true. Science has nothing decisive to say about values. Like economic values, aesthetic or moral values. And certainly nothing to say about the meaning of life or its purpose. Now that’s a completely different kettle of fish JoeMo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Hi aka, Good points. IMHO, science and theology are two independent realms. Science deals with the natural - things that can be reproduced in an experiment. Scientists observe, hypothesize, and then do experiments to test their hypothesis. A scientific lab can only model natural processes; it cannot model supernatural processes like creation, spontaneous healing, and other miraculous events. Since science cannot "test" supernatural processes, some people naturally assume something unproven is something false. Christian doctors who try to document "spontaneous healings (like a cancer that just "disappears, or a person who was declared "dead" 24 hours earlier wakes up in the hospital morgue) are suspected chalatans or "quacks". Supernatural phenomena can only be accepted through faith. For example, study of evolution belongs in the realm of science; study of creation belongs in the realm of theology or philosophy (or the realm of pure faith). That being said, evil spiritual entities can "fake" miracles. They can give someone a physical or mental condition that appears serious; and then pull it back upon someone doing something superstitious like waving burning sage over their body or waving a crystal over their chest, giving the appearance of a miracle. How does one who does not know Jesus tell the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Well said. My worry is none the lest lurking in deep recesses of my thought life that I'm going to be conned again by devils like it happened to me before in moments of deception. I hate so much being deceived. Everyone does. JoeMo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Amen aka. I might only be 67 years young; but I have put a lot of miles on myself and missed a lot of maintenance appointments with the Master Mechanic because of deceptive follies I have followed in my "past lives". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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