Monday, September 6, 2010

Politics in "Black Panther" Animated Series

I think the reason why the Black Panther animated series will not be broadcasted in the United States is  because it is "too controversial". Mustn't let black children think about history and culture and how empires were built in Africa and North America.You may or may not be aware of the Black Panther animated series that was supposed to be on BET in 2009 from a collaboration between Marvel Animation and BET. IT didn't happen but the show was shown in Australia (no idea why?) in 2010. What happened was that the shows were supposed to be available on iTunes. However it was pulled from there as well. So why ? Why won't they just broadcast it on  TV or make it available over the Internet or DVD? I think the answer may be found in the clip below. Recall that the Black Panther is king over a fictional sovereign nation, Wakanda. This clip sets up a flashback of what happened to his father who was assassinated to gain power of Wakanda. The scene shows the Black Panther's father, King T'Chaka, interacting with other nations at an international  economic summit.




Watch Politics in "Black Panther" in Animation  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Look at what T'Chaka says about the greed and acts of the western patterns. This is true. I think that stance against racism is  unavoidable. It wasn't just that Wakanda was disliked they were hated because of their technology, ethics, and the fact that they are black. In real life we see this same reaction. Recall, the 2008 Presidential Election? People did not know how to relate to Obama, because like T'Chaka, he didn't meet the ideas of what a Black man should be like in their minds. I think that the telling the storjavascript:void(0)y in fiction also bring up what really happened in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and even today. The metaphor could be extended to black celebrities and how they become embroiled in scandals with white women. There is a lot there that could lead to much discussion and debate. But it seems like the powers that be in control over what get distributed is not ready for such discussions initiated by black artists like Denys Cowan, and Reggie Hudlin. It's sad to me. I've seen the whole series and anyone who hasn't is really missing something. For all I know, maybe Disney pulled the plug. I've been looking for an official announcement and have not found one yet explaining the situation.
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Parchment and Pen » What Bible Should I Own (Dan Wallace)

Dan Wallace is one of the Textual Critics and scholars working in Biblical studies today. Brian Auten tweeted an awesome post Dr. Wallace wrote about which English translation is the best one to use.

Parchment and Pen » What Bible Should I Own (Dan Wallace)
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Debunking Christianity: Why Should I Rent a Comedy When The Bible is a Joke?

John Loftus posted this video from YouTube last week. The same stupid arguments are made but this time trying to show that Yahweh in the Old Testament contradicts Jesus in the New Testament. All of the cases from the Old Testament are ripped from their contexts and it seems like God just out of hand and indiscriminately just murdered a bunch of people for no reason. Not True. I won't go through it here. It has been debunked and rebutted countless times.



The other thing that was lost in the video was the fact that the Trinity was misrepresented. Jesus is Yahweh. But that does not mean God the Father and Jesus are the same person. They are not. God is one being eternally self-existing in three persons! "Being" and "person" are not the same thing. This is confusing for us because in most experiences one being is one person. IF that is not the case..there are problems. There is no disconnect or conflict between Jesus and the Law at all. Oh, and God the Father ain't got a body. The reason why the Jews wanted to kill Jesus (okay one of the reasons) was because Jesus applied the Name Yahweh to himself - the same name given as self-identification from the burning bush to Moses.
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am ". This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " - Exodus 3:14
58"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" - John 8:58
Yahweh means "He is" or "I AM".
Debunking Christianity: Why Should I Rent a Comedy When The Bible is a Joke?
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Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The Bible and Mathematics

Dr. Mariottini has posted a video that got my attention. It suggests that if you take Genesis 1:1 perform a calculation on it, you will get the number PI and if you perform the same calculation on John 1:1 you get the base of the exponential function (e). I found this very interesting because PI and e show up in almost every calculation that is remotely interesting. The video he posted is actually of a set of two videos. Both videos are posted below:







Even if the videos are correct. I'd like to know how did they come up with the formula to get Pi and e, Here is some information to help you if you wanna try the calculation yourself.

Here is the equation:

The Greek Alphabet and the numerical conversion for each letter.

 The Hebrew Alphabet and the numerical conversion for each letter.



Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The Bible and Mathematics
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Who Made God?

Last week Brian Auten interviewed Professor Edgar Andrews' book Who Made God. I wanted to make special mention of his website. And I'm planning to read his book as soon as I can.



Who Made God?

Virtual Library of Christian Philosophy - Alvin Plantinga

Here is a link that Brian Auten was kind enough to share: a list of links to resources for making a great study of the work done by Alvin Platinga in Philosophy.
Virtual Library of Christian Philosophy - Alvin Plantinga
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Islam and Christianity A Common Word

Here is a great post by thegrandverbalizer. On this post is a master list of Muslim/Christian debates. It even included biographical information of Muslims who are engaged in engaging Christians and western culture in defense of Islam. This is a good resource even though I don't agree with Muslim.

Islam and Christianity A Common Word
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Apologetics 315: Apologist Interview: J.P. Moreland

This week Brian Auten interviewed JP Moreland! Brian has a gift for asking great questions of the people he interviews. This interview is no different. One thing that stand out different in contrast to most apologists about JP Moreland is that he talks about relying on the Holy Spirit and that miracles are for today. That's awesome. I find that this viewpoint hardly comes up, I think because a lot of people find this hard to defend against skeptics and unbelievers. However Professor Moreland doesn't seem bothered by that in the slightest. It would be worth heeding his advices and studying more philosophy as well as all the other things that help. Follow the link below to Apologetics 315 and listen to the interview.

Apologetics 315: Apologist Interview: J.P. Moreland
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They claimed to be wise | Uncommon Descent

I found the following quote on the Uncommon Descent blog:
Extracted from the UK Telegraph comes the faith creed of modern scientism.
Evolution by natural selection, and all the other processes that produced our planet and the life on it, are sufficient to explain how we got to be the way we are, given the laws of physics that operate in our universe. However, there is still scope for an intelligent designer of universes as a whole. The designer may have been responsible for the Big Bang, but nothing more. A very advanced civilisation would have the ability to set precise parameters, thereby designing the universe in detail. It would not be possible – even at the most advanced level – for the designers to interfere with baby universes once they had formed. From the moment of its own Big Bang, each universe would be on its own.”
So let me see it I understand the argument. Although the universe is obviously designed and without a designer we have no real explanation for the laws of Physics, the author believes that the laws of physics are good enough to explain what happens after the big bang. The author even hypothesizes an advanced civilization having the ability to design the universe but doesn't explain any such evidence. So it's easier to agree to the possibility of an advance civilization designing the universe and/or all the laws of the universe snapping into place after the Big Bang (neither if which you have any evidence of) than it is to believe in God? Wow. Romans 1:18-32
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
They claimed to be wise | Uncommn Descent
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Glenn Beck – politics and theology, Mormonism and Christianity | True Freethinker

Glenn Beck certainly has made a name for himself. Mariano has posted a very insightful essay regarding Glenn Beck and what his public persona means to politics and theology
Glenn Beck – politics and theology, Mormonism and Christianity | True Freethinker
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