...Don’t Let the Dead Sea Die Whether it's the rising sea levels, desertification or melting glaciers, climate change is rapidly changing the landscape of our planet. We may be one of the last generations to see some of the Earth's most cherished places, among which is the next door Dead Sea….… Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River and Dead Sea, was flooded by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed a narrow, curved bay which was connected to the sea. Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the sea could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became the lake we call the Dead Sea. A unique combination of several factors makes Dead Sea's total attraction: the chemical composition of its water, the filtered sunrays and oxygen-rich air, the mineral-rich black mud along the shoreline, and above all that is the spiritual legacy of the place. The area has a Biblical history. King Herod used it as his spa, and King David made it his retreat. It is believed to be the site of five biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zebouin and Zoar. More ominously, the Dead Sea witnessed the extreme, supernatural fire that violently destroyed the sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah down to make the lowest dry point on earth and one of the saltiest water bodies in the world. To this salty lake the blessed holy Jordan River feed. The Dead Sea is fed by the Jordan River...
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...Sean Vowells November 17, 2015 Dead Sea Scrolls Where: The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the spring of 1947 by a group of Bedouin goat herders. These goat herders were searching for a lost goat along the cliffs of the Dead Sea and came along a cave containing jars filled with manuscripts. Not until 1949 did they realize the significance of these letters. The finding of this cave led to the findings of many other caves containing ancient pottery, cloth, and wood. (WSRP) Who/What: The Dead Sea Scrolls are writings comprised of over 800 documents that deepened our understanding in the Bible and gave us more insight on the history of Judaism and Christianity. The scrolls also contained many hymns that we wouldn’t have known otherwise. The scrolls contain mystical formulas, commentaries, and an early version of the Ten Commandments. Many people could argue that the Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the most important sacred texts found in the western world. Parts of every book of the Hebrew Canon (Old Testament) contain some writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls. When:...
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...Was There Magic at Qumran? Abraham Kahn Amongst the body of Qumran literature there is a small portion of textual material that seems to deal with different aspects of magical practice. These texts have sparked plentiful debate as scholars have attempted to understand the meaning of these texts, their role within the Qumran community, and how the community’s members felt about the texts. One of the key issues at hand for scholars has been trying to understand how the community reconciled its use of these texts that seemingly describe magical properties with verses in Deuteronomy that prohibit several forms of witchcraft and magic. The purpose of this paper will be to offer definitions for the term “magic” in a religious context in order to gain some context for the broader discussion of the paper, to study two Qumran manuscripts that describe practices that have been categorized to some degree as “magic,” to deliberate whether or not the issue raised by scholars is valid, and, if it is, to offer two scholarly theories proposed to explain how the community used these manuscripts in light of the biblical prohibitions based within the context of the Qumran community’s texts, practices and ideology as a whole. Scholars studying religious societies and practices have struggled to define what characterizes “magic” and to highlight what exactly separates religious practice from magical practice. The crude term itself, “magic,” has been assumed, for the most part, to describe practices...
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...Jin Mun Thalassotherapy, from the Greek thalasso meaning ‘sea’ and therapia meaning ‘treatment’, uses the healing and beneficial properties of the sea and the marine environment for health and wellbeing. The principle behind thalassotherapy is that repeated exposure to sea air and immersion in warm seawater, mud, clay, and protein-rich algae helps restore the body's natural chemical balance. Seawater and human plasma are very similar. When immersed in warm seawater the body absorbs the minerals it needs through the skin. Thalassotherapy has important meaning in contemporary Health and Wellness Tourism industry, due to its applicability to various fields, not only tourism but also medical and beauty. Thalassotherapy is originated in France, during 19th century, and Worldwide, there are many health resort medicine centers dedicated to Thalassotherapy, especially in countries with coasts in northern and southern Europe, North Africa, Japan and, of course, the Dead Sea area (Armijo and San Martín 1994; Bobet 1999;Halevy and Sukenik 1998; Lucchetta et al. 2007). In this paper, the author will introduce 3 aspects of usage of thalassotherapy, usage in beauty, medical and tourism. In medical history, the concept of thalassotherapy casts back to approximately B.C. 400, by the book named “Ocean cures human disease” by Euripides. In 1791, Dr. John Latham established the first maritime hospital named ‘The Royal Sea-Bathing Infirmary’, east coast of England. In 1899, Dr. Louis...
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...Water, War and Peace in the Jordan River Valley Introduction The Great Rift Valley extends longitudinally from northern Syria more than three thousand miles into southeastern Africa. Sweeping laterally across North Africa, Arabia, and Asia we find the world’s most immense expanse of deserts. At the crossroads of this desert space and Great Rift Valley, the Jordan River flows two hundred miles from its sources in Lebanon, Syria and Israel to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth . This dramatic geographic setting is home to some of the most ancient and continuously sedentary civilizations in known history. In this essay I intend to briefly explore the ecological history, sources, and climatic changes of the Jordan River, and give an overview of its political history. In a more in-depth investigation I will inquire how population increases during the past century have contributed to both conflict and cooperation between the diverse inhabitants of the region. Focusing on the major issues of water usage, distribution, and control, I will examine the negotiations, agreements, treaties, development projects and international laws governing the use of water from the Jordan River watershed. How have war, land disputes, and peace affected the management and distribution of this water? What is written in legal documents, and how successfully have terms of agreements been implemented? What importance do the clauses about water in the recent Jordan/Israel peace accords have...
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...SOME OF THE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH * Earth travels through space at 66,700 miles per hour. | * From a distance, Earth would be the brightest of the 9 planets. This is because sunlight is reflected by the planet's water. * Asia Continent is covered 30% of the total earth land area, but represent 60% of the world's population. * The world's deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1557 in central China, more than 830,000 people were killed. * The Persian Gulf is the warmest sea. In the summer its temperature reaches 35.6 degrees centigrade. * Sunlight can penetrate clean ocean water to a depth of 240 feet. * Louisiana loses about 30 square miles (78 square kilometers) of land each year to coastal erosion, hurricanes, other natural and human causes and a thing called subsidence, which means sinking. * Only 3% water of the earth is fresh, rest 97% salted. Of that 3%, over 2% is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. Means less than 1% fresh water is found in lakes, rivers and underground. * The total surface area of the Earth is 197 million square miles. * The word "Arctic" comes from the ancient Greek Arktikos, or "country of the great bear." Though the Greeks had no knowledge of the polar bear, they named the region after the constellation Ursus Major, the Great Bear, found in the Northern Sky. * A huge underground river runs underneath the Nile, with six times more water than the river above. * About 540 volcanoes on land are known. No one...
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...edible for miles and the water will practically kill you. It is called the dead sea for a reason. Bordered by Israel, there is nothing but deserts surrounding it. Dead Sea is at 31.5510 degrees north and 35.4732 degrees east. This extreme environment affects the plants and animals, water quality, and the landscaping around the dead sea. Plants and animals cannot live in the dead sea or around the dead sea because The Dead Sea is so salty because when the Water in the Dead Sea evaporator at leaves behind all that dissolved minerals. When the dissolved minerals absorb into the fresh rainwater or into the water that is already there it gets saltier so every day it is getting saltier. You can swim in the sea, but do not get any in your mouth because it is saltier than the ocean. Yuck! "dead because its high salinity prevents macroscopic aquatic organisms, such as fish and...
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...Yigael Yadin’s Archaeological Contributions Introduction Biblical Archeology has helped in supporting the historicity of the Bible. Not that archaeology proves or disapproves the Bible – this it does not, it only supports the history of the Bible. One of the discoveries that support the biblical historicity is the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls came from eleven caves, mined over the course of seven years, over 15,000 documents supporting biblical historicity have been unearthed at Qumran. One of the archeologist that played an important part in this discovery was Yigael Yadin of Israel. Yadin, not only contributed to the discovery and research of the Dead Sea Scrolls more than any other archeologist, but he also unearthed mysteries surrounding the history of Israel at Masada, Hazor and Tel Megiddo. He was not just an archeologist but he had a public life and military life to make him more of a person of interest. Even though Yadin died, his contributions will be remembered for years to come and will encourage others to continue where he left off. He will be missed greatly in the archaeological field. Hopefully, others will continue his work and continue to excavate different sites in order to find more useful and interesting discoveries of biblical nature. In this paper, we will review who he was, his life as well as his achievements and contributions in the archeological field. We will see that Yigael Yadin was truly an archeologist in every...
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...Sam Guinto Mrs. Hellmuth 9/7/11 Per. 5 The Scrolls of the Dead Seas The Dead Sea Scrolls, what exactly are they? Well, in this essay I shall be explaining and educating you on this subject exactly. You probably have more questions other than this, well, let us begin this journey of learning about the Dead Sea Scrolls. So what are the Dead Sea Scrolls. Well first off lets start with the legend. Legend says one day Sheppard were walking by a stream, threw a walk, they heard a shattering, found a cave full of treasure, and in that treasure was a set of decayed scrolls. These scrolls are called the Dead Sea Scrolls. These Scrolls were a copy of the biblical book of Isaiah. These Scrolls were most likely placed there by the same people at the time of the Great Revolt against Rome in CE 68-70, when Jerusalem was besieged and finally destroyed by the Romans. One other manuscript find also prepared the way for the Dead Sea Scrolls. A small scrap, now known as the Nash Papyrus, was discovered in the 1920's in Israel. On it was a copy of the Ten Commandments as found in the book of Deuteronomy. There were scripts found in the library of Qumran and they had 200 manuscripts on them. The theory is that the library was made and or found by a Jewish sect known as the Essences , and the scrolls were put there to keep the knowledge hidden. Now, there is much more information about the Dead Sea Scrolls but this is just a overall summary of it. I hope I have helped you and answered...
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...I believe the “empirical evidence of the fulfillment of prophecy” is the most convincing argument that the Bible is the Word of God based upon the fact that it has substantial evidence to support its claims. If one were trying to discredit the Bible and research the reasons they should not believe, they would have a hard time trying to discredit the prophecies within the Bible in which have already been fulfilled. However, some say the prophecies were written after the events happened, but as Dr. Towns discusses: “The Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls establish a historical date to indicate that these books were written before the events they predicted. The Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Old Testament (c. 285 BC) that indicates that Daniel correctly predicted the events of Jesus Christ before they transpired. The Dead Sea Scrolls indicate that the Hebrew text was written and collected before Christ was born.” (p.5) The prophecies were clearly written well before the events occurred, and not only that but the events occurred exactly as written. Psalms and Isaiah are filled with prophecies based upon the death of Jesus Christ. They clearly depict he would be betrayed (Psalms 41:9), falsely accused (Psalms 35:11), Beaten and Ridiculed (Psalms 22:6-17) and would die with the wicked and be a sacrifice for our sin (Isaiah 53:5-12). These prophecies were then fulfilled and the fulfillment told throughout the chapters of Mark, Luke and John. “When the writers...
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...Kevin Combs RELI-3350.1 Chad Spigel 11-9-2009 Beyond the Essene Hypothesis Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars have come up with a variety of theories surrounding the origins and nature of the Essene community at Khirbet Qumran. Gabriele Boccaccini discusses his theory on the origins of the Essene movement, specifically at Khirbet Qumran, in his book Beyond the Essene Hypothesis. In his book, Boccaccini argues that the Essene movement was actually an offspring of Enochic Judaism during the Second Temple period, which later led to the parties of Jesus and John the Baptist. Boccaccini looks at the historiographical analysis and systematic analysis of the Essene community at Qumran to construct his argument. Boccaccini believes that Khirbet Qumran was not the only Essene settlement, but a group of Essenes which were further isolated from society, and followed a stricter covenant than the mainstream Essene community. Beyond the Essene Hypothesis does not suggest anything too radical regarding the Essene hypothesis; but, Boccaccini believes that the term “Qumran” and “Essene” should not be interchangeable with one another. Qumran was merely one example of an Essene settlement throughout the Palestinian area of that time. Comparing the historical writings of Jewish to non-Jewish authors, Boccaccini largely looks at the writings of Philo; the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus; and Pliny the Elder for historiographical analysis. Boccaccini looks at the ancient...
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...Study Guide for Exam #2 Religion!!!! 1. Canaanite Religion is the name of people who lived in the land before the Israelites got there. Prophecy; 1. Prophets are social critics they critique the flaws they see in society they also lay forth an alternative and they lay out a vision of what could be Navi means English prophet and prophet means messenger or spokesperson for god 2. Classical prophets are prophets that books that bear in their very own name and there are 15 classical prophets major and minor and they differ only in the size of books 3. They did not predict events of 100 or 1000 yrs more ahead of time. They envisioned the impact that it would have on them and the society. 4. H 5. H Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature 1. Cult refers to the outward ritual expressions of inner religious attitudes. Passover – annual holy day spring on the calendar –commemorated the deliberation of the slaves under mosses. Yom Kippur – most solemn day of the entire year national day of forgiveness (Day of Atonement) took place 10 days after New Year’s Day. 2. Parallelism – each line of the Hebrew poetry is divided in half and the first half and the second half operate in parallel with each other. Synonymous meaning that the two halves express the same idea; or they can be antithetical, meaning they express opposite ideas. Synonymous; the heavens are telling the glory of god; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Psalms (19; 1) Antithetical...
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...REL 1300 MWF 11:15-12:05 Final Exam: Apr 25, 2016 | 10:00AM-12:00PM Study Guide 1. Which early theorist of religion said the following: “The criticism of religion disillusions man, so that he will think, act, and fashion his reality like a man who has discarded his illusions and regained his senses, so that he will move around himself as his own true sun”? 2. Which early theorist of religion proposed the concept of the numinous? 3. What does Emile Durkheim say that religion essentially is? 4. In Eliade’s model of the sacred and profane, what does it mean for something to be profane? 5. What does Martin Ruel say about the concept of belief in the study of religion? 6. Why does Catherine Bell suggest that scholars reframe their discussions of ritual to instead talk about ritualization? 7. What does Steven Ramey say is the major problem in the popular video “the spread of world religions”? 8. What is the main point that Edward Said makes when talking about Orientalism? 9. Which public speaker in the 1893 World Parliament of Religions spoke about “little wells” and which religion did he/she represent? 10. Which of the following is not one of the postmodern critiques of “religion”. 11. What does Masuzawa say about the study of religion? 12. What is Craig Martin’s “Rule of Thumb”? 13. What does Portier-Young say about apocalypses? 14. What label do we use to refer to a religious discourse that maintains the basic logic...
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...years and revised to produce the work known today however it is surprising the amount of effort and thought that went into the transcription. Key factors in the translation process include the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Masoretic Text, and the New Testament Manuscripts. The Dead Sea Scrolls were some of the most influential documents discovered in modern archeology. A young Arab boy stumbled on the location of the Scrolls in a cave near the Dead Sea in March 1947. Archeologists discovered that an ancient Jewish religious sect had used the caves as their library. The oldest manuscripts we know of were discovered in the caves as old as the fourth century BC. The Dead Sea Scrolls...
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...Stephen had introduced him to. Stephens speech before the Jewish ruler is the first apology for the universalism of the gospel as a message to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Within Acts, it still remains the longest speech. Dead Sea The Dead Sea is located at the end of the Jordan Valley on the southeastern border of Canaan. The name was attributed by Greek writers of the second century to the sea in Scripture called the “Salt Sea” (Gen. 14:3), the “Sea” (Ezekiel 47:8), and the “Eastern Sea” (Joel 2:20). Other areas in scripture may refer to is as the “Sea of Asphalt,” the “Stinking Sea,” and the “Devil’s Sea.” It is around fifty miles long and ten miles wide and around 1292 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s source of water is received from the Jordan River, but other small rivers pay a contribution as well. The waters of the Dead Sea contain 24.6 per cent. of mineral salts; thus they are unusually buoyant. The region within the Dead Sea was once a lush area, but the result of Sodom and Gomorrah left the place as a further representation of sin in the world (Deut. 29:23). Nothing living can exist in this sea. It’s mention can be found throughout Genesis, Joshua, Ezekiel, and other chapters throughout the Old and New Testament. The Dead Sea is home to some significant events which took place in the Bible. It is the location where Abraham fought in war. It is where Davis fled to from King Saul and where Ezekiel received his some of his visions. The story of Masada...
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