Margaret Starbird
Margaret Leonard Starbird (born June 18, 1942) is the author of seven books arguing for the existence of a secret Christian tradition that held Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, calling it the "Grail heresy", after having set out to discredit the bloodline hypothesis contained in ''The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail''. Career Starbird holds Bachelor of Arts (1963) and Master of Arts (1966) degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she majored in medieval studies, comparative literature and German language. During her graduate studies, Starbird taught German courses at the University of Maryland. Then from 1969 to 1970, Starbird taught foreign language courses at North Carolina State University. From 1988 to 1989, Starbird took classes at Vanderbilt Divinity School, later teaching religious education and Scripture in Catholic parishes. Starbird was a basic skills instructor at Central Texas College's extension program at the Fort Lewis military base in Tacom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their names, that vary between British English, British and American English. "Brackets", without further qualification, are in British English the ... marks and in American English the ... marks. Other symbols are repurposed as brackets in specialist contexts, such as International Phonetic Alphabet#Brackets and transcription delimiters, those used by linguists. Brackets are typically deployed in symmetric pairs, and an individual bracket may be identified as a "left" or "right" bracket or, alternatively, an "opening bracket" or "closing bracket", respectively, depending on the Writing system#Directionality, directionality of the context. In casual writing and in technical fields such as computing or linguistic analysis of grammar, brackets ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, northwest of Mount Rainier National Park, and east of Olympic National Park. The city's population was 219,346 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the List of municipalities in Washington, third-most populous in the state. Tacoma also serves as the center of business activity for the South Puget Sound, South Sound region, which has a population of about 1 million. Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, called in the Lushootseed, Puget Sound Salish dialect, and “Takhoma” in an anglicized version. It is locally known as the "City of Destiny" because the area was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hieros Gamos
''Hieros gamos'', (from and 'marriage') or hierogamy (, 'holy marriage') is a sacred marriage that takes place between gods, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities. The notion of ''hieros gamos'' does not always presuppose literal sexual intercourse in ritual, but is also used in purely symbolic or mythological contexts, notably in alchemy and hence in Jungian psychology. ''Hieros gamos'' is described as the prototype of fertility rituals. Ancient Near East Sacred sexual intercourse is thought to have been common in the Ancient Near East as a form of "Sacred Marriage" or hieros gamos between the kings of a Sumerian city-state and the High Priestesses of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers there were many shrines and temples dedicated to Inanna. The temple of Eanna, meaning "house of heaven" in Uruk was the greatest of these. The temple housed Nadītu, pries ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all reality, is Mahadevi (Supreme Goddess) and in some forms of Tantric Shaivism, the pair of Shiva and Shakti are the ultimate principle (with the goddess representing the active, creative power of God). Meanwhile, in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism, ultimate reality is often seen as being composed of two principles depicted as two deities in union (Yab-Yum, yab yum, "father-mother") symbolising the non-duality of the two principles of perfect wisdom (female) and skillful compassion (male). A single figure in a monotheistic faith that is female may be identified simply as god because of no need to differentiate by gender or with a diminutive. An experiment to determine the effect of psychedelics on subjects composed of leaders from diverse religio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isopsephy
In numerology, isopsephy (stressed on the ''I'' and the ''E''; , ) or isopsephism is the practice of adding up the Greek numerals, number values of the letters in a word to form a single number. The total number is then used as a metaphorical bridge to other words evaluating the equal number, which satisfies or "equal" in the term. Ancient Greeks used counting boards for numerical calculation and accounting, with a counter generically called ('pebble'), analogous to the Latin word , from which the English ''calculate'' is derived. Isopsephy is related to gematria: the same practice using the Hebrew alphabet. It is also related to the ancient number systems of many other peoples (for the Arabic alphabet version, see Abjad numerals). A gematria of Latin script languages was also popular in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and its legacy remains an influence in code-breaking and numerology. History Until Arabic numerals were History of the Hindu–Arabic numeral sys ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gematria
In numerology, gematria (; or , plural or ) is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word, or phrase by reading it as a number, or sometimes by using an alphanumeric cipher. The letters of the alphabets involved have standard numerical values, but a word can yield several values if a cipher is used. According to Aristotle (384–322 BCE), isopsephy, based on the Milesian numbering of the Greek alphabet developed in the Greek city of Miletus, was part of the Pythagorean tradition, which originated in the 6th century BCE. The first evidence of use of Hebrew letters as numbers dates to 78 BCE; gematria is still used in Jewish culture. Similar systems have been used in other languages and cultures, derived from or inspired by either Greek isopsephy or Hebrew gematria, and include Arabic abjad numerals and English gematria. The most common form of Hebrew gematria is used in the Talmud and Midrash, and elaborately by many post-Talmudic commentators. It inv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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INRI
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Hellenic of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as ''Basileus ton Ioudaion'' (). Both uses of the title lead to dramatic results in the New Testament accounts. In the account of the nativity of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, the Biblical Magi who come from the east call Jesus the "King of the Jews", implying that he was the Messiah. This caused Herod the Great to order the Massacre of the Innocents. Towards the end of the accounts of all four canonical Gospels, in the narrative of the Passion of Jesus, the title "King of the Jews" leads to charges against Jesus that result in his crucifixion. The initialism INRI () represents the Latin inscription (in John 19:19 and Matthew 27:37), which in English translates to "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews", and John 19:20 states that this was written in three languages— Jewish ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blood Royal
''Blood Royal'' is a 1929 novel by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), the third in his '' Chandos'' thriller series. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator) and George Hanbury, with their servants Bell and Rowley. Jonathan Mansel does not appear in this book. Plot Chandos and Hanbury help Duke Paul to succeed as Prince of the fictional Principality of Reichtenburg in place of the incumbent, in the face of resistance from Duke Johann and Major Grieg. Background Commenting in 1958 through his character Boy Pleydell, the author acknowledged resemblances between his work and Anthony Hope's ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' and ''Rupert of Hentzau'', specifically citing this novel and '' Fire Below''. Critical reception ''Blood Royal'' was as well-received when it appeared in July 1929 as his earlier ''Chandos'' books had been, and was re-printed four times within the first six months. Mercer hoped to run the story as a serial ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hebrew Language
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival. It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being Aramaic, still spoken today. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew, with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and List of islands of France, many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it Exclusive economic zone of France, one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany to the northeast; Switzerland to the east; Italy and Monaco to the southeast; Andorra and Spain to the south; and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its Regions of France, eighteen integral regions—five of which are overseas—span a combined area of and hav ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (, alternatively with the definite article Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, "(the) Saint Marys of the Sea", locally Les Saintes, ; Provençal: ''Lei Santei Marias de la Mar'' or ''Li Sànti Marìo de la Mar'' ), is the capital of the Camargue (Provençal: ''Camarga'') natural region in Southern France. It lies on the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, it is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, on the departmental border with Gard. It covers the second-largest area of all communes in metropolitan France, smaller only than that of neighbouring Arles. In 2021, it had a population of 2,120. Geography The town is situated in the Rhône river delta, about 1 km east of the mouth of the Petit Rhône distributary. The commune comprises alluvial land and marshland, and includes the Étang de Vaccarès, a large lagoon. The main industry is tourism. Agriculture is also significant, and ranchers have raised horses and Camargue cattle, cattle uni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cult (religious Practice)
Cult is the care (Latin: '' cultus'') owed to deities and their temples, shrines, or churches; cult is embodied in ritual and ceremony. Its presence or former presence is made concrete in temples, shrines and churches, and cult images, including votive offerings at votive sites. Etymology Cicero defined '' religio'' as ''cultus deorum'', "the cultivation of the gods". The "cultivation" necessary to maintain a specific deity was that god's ''cultus'', "cult", and required "the knowledge of giving the gods their due" ''(scientia colendorum deorum)''. The noun ''cultus'' originates from the past participle of the verb ''colo, colere, colui, cultus'', "to tend, take care of, cultivate", originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate land ''(ager)''; to practice agriculture", an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized. ''Cultus'' is often translated as "cult" without the negative connotations ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |