This post will stray a bit from martial arts:
My wife and I just returned from a trip to Croatia, where among other things we kayaked along the coast around Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is an incredible city, and if you ever get the chance to go in May or June, do so. We brought our folding kayaks, which I would also highly recommend to anyone who likes to get off the beaten path.
While we were in the south of Croatia, we decided to make a short trip to Medjugorje, the former Yugoslavian town now in Bosnia and Herzegovina known around the world for the supposed siting of the “blessed mother” by 6 people in 1981. It’s incredible that so many people fell for this hoax and continue to do so. At least one of the 6 people who “saw” Mary in 1981 still sees her monthly, in front of hordes of religious tourists mostly from the United States. She makes goofy faces as if she’s having a conversation with the virgin mother, acting as if she’s having a hard time understanding, etc.
To get to Medjugorje you have to drive through small towns along horrible roads, full of shot up and bombed out houses and buildings from the last of the Balkan Wars in the 90′s. Medjugorje is an oasis of B.S. in this sad country. The contrast between what surrounds Medjugorje and the town itself couldn’t be more striking.
How many of these “believers” who visit Medjugorje even pay attention to Bosnia and Herzegovina or think about what happened there just a decade or so ago? Do they really think buying a statue of Mary most likely made in China, with dirt supposedly from Medjugorje is going to do them any good? Apparently so! You can get holographic pictures of Mary, “holy water” bottles, etc. It’s amazing…how so many people can believe such lunacy! With such a lack of thought and questioning, it’s no wonder people can be led to war so easily.
So how different are martial arts? Not much. Ever heard of a no touch knockout?
How dare you question peoples faith in such a disrespectful tone. Does it not occur to you that God protected Medjugorje from destruction exactly because this is a holy site? READ about the many many times since 1981 (Our Lady has been manifesting herself since then, 30 years ago) that communist bombers tried to destroy this town (precisely because of these events) and failed to do so because the heavens closed in split seconds in front of the pilots eyes! And guess what. People that travel through the destructed towns actually pray for the many thousands killed ….not out loud but in the heart…. quietly…. I cant believe you went all the way over there (like I wish I had the money to do) and falied to perceive the spirituality of the place…unbelievable. You should have gone elsewhere if you were not open hearted enough!
LOL. “The heavens closed in split seconds”??? Are you serious? What is that even supposed to mean?
Are you “open hearted” enough to believe in Mohamed, Buddha, and Zeus?
Latest Special Medjugorje Message, June 2, 2011 – Our Lady’s apparitions to Mirjana
€œDear children; As I call you to prayer for those who have not come to know the love of God, if you were to look into your hearts you would comprehend that I am speaking about many of you. With an open heart, sincerely ask yourselves if you want the living God or do you want to eliminate Him and live as you want. Look around you, my children, and see where the world is going, the world that thinks of doing everything without the Father, and which wanders in the darkness of temptation. I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit. According to God’s plan I am with you to help you to have my Son, His Cross and Resurrection, triumph in your hearts. As a mother, I desire and pray for your unity with my Son and His works. I am with you; you decide. Thank you. €
You didn’t answer my question. Are you open hearted enough to believe in Mohamed and Zeus? How about Shiva?
And since you’re fond of quotes, here’s one from the bible:
Exodus 15:3: “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.”
My mother tounge is spanish so I will try to explain in as best english as I can write. The communist (thus atheist) government in the old Yugoslavia was outraged at the international attention Medjugorje got way back when the alleged apparitions began (june 24, 1981, 40 days after Pope John Paul II’s failed murder attempt). To get rid of this “bad publicity” for their socialist ideology, the yugoslavian authorities ordered their planes to destroy Medjugorje, then a tiny town located in an extremely poor corner of the yugoslavian mountains. They never succeeded. The officers who flew the airplane bombers on repeated occasions said that they were appalled when in front of their eyes, while flying in blue skies, and as they approached their target , heavy clouds suddenly appeared, in split seconds, making it impossible for them to shoot and destroy…it may sound creepy, but it does explain the contrast between the destruction you saw around intact Medjugorje…
Obviously, it’s pointless to have a discussion with you, since you actually believe that god made heavy clouds appear to protect Medjugorje. Pure craziness.
One question at a time. I was bred as a Christian, a Catholic Christian but and for this reason I have not read much about other religions, much less share their beliefs,. although I respect them. Zeus was an ancient greek God, and while I have fun reading mythology, I have no reason to believe in it. I understand Mohamed was a prophet. Neverthekless Our Lady did express to the messengers some revelations about other faiths. She expressed God to be a God of love, and as long as men and women share in this love, a spiritual love, and respect and excercise compassion, charity and goodness, people will go to heaven. There is a testimony regarding a well known woman to one of the childrens families ( a neighbor who lived closeby) to be a saintly woman, and she was a moslem. There is much mystery around the entire medjugorje story and part of this mystery is the revelation of the universality of Gods love, regardless of faith, but based on each persons individual story, experience, and faith in a loving God, regardless of his name. Yet she invites all to know Her Son, the true Son of God who lived and died for our redemption.
I rather be Crazy in Love with Jesus than empty and cold hearted.
Regarding God to be a Lord of War, dont you think its VERY cool that He chose cloudy skies as a weapon to protect Medjugorje instead of making fire fall from the sky etc,?