#seth is such an un-biblical name???? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cwnerd12 · 3 years

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6. The Worst Thing That Can Happen Early morning in Daniel’s nursery, Jack wakes Daniel up. Daniel fusses, Jack replies with "Good morning." Out in the kitchen, Jack puts Daniel in a swing seat while Nuggets meows and rubs at his ankles. Jack, “Hold on, hold on.” He takes a bottle out of the fridge, sets it in the bottle warmer, and presses the start button. Nuggets jumps on the counter and meows at her dish. Jack gets a can of cat food out of the cabinet and cracks it open. Nuggets chows down. Daniel fusses, and Jack goes over and picks him up, “Breakfast is almost ready.” Daniel continues to fuss. Jack, softly, “I know, I know. Sucks when you can’t talk. I been there. Can’t talk, can’t walk. Can’t even hold your head up.” He gently kisses Daniel’s forehead. David enters, still groggy Captain following at his heels. David, “Morning.” Jack, “Morning.” David, “You okay?” Jack, “Yeah, just feeding Daniel.” David gets the box of dog show out from under the cabinet and feeds Captain. The bottle warmer timer goes off. Jack gets the bottle out. He goes and sits down out in the living room and feeds Daniel. David sticks his head out, “Hey, you want eggs?” Jack, “Yeah, sounds good.” David pauses for a moment to appreciate the scene: his family, the two people he loves the most in the world. He goes over and sits on the arm of the sofa beside Jack. He puts his arm on Jack’s shoulder, and Jack smiles lovingly up at him.

In their bedroom, David and Jack get ready for an event. The TV is on. A news anchor reads, “The fallout continues from King Wayne’s controversial taking of a second wife. Yesterday, the king’s cabinet issued a unanimously-signed statement condemning the marriage as un-Biblical. Today, Princess Grace released a statement claiming that Queen Mercy was coerced into the marriage with the threat of war between Ammon and Gilboa. King Wayne has yet to respond to the allegations…” David, “You ready for this?” Jack, “Yeah. Big deal. I’m excited.” David, “I’m really excited for you. You nervous?” Jack, “Nah. I’ve made speeches.” David, “Yeah, just not since… you know.” Jack, “I’ll be fine.” David, “I know you will.” David stares at the TV. Pictures form Wayne and Mercy's wedding show on the screen Jack, “You okay?” David, “Yeah, I just…” Jack looks at him. David sighs and goes on, “I just feel horrible about what happened with Mercy.” Jack, “It was her decision.” David, “It’s not a decision when the other option is lots of people die! There has to be some kind of way to stop all this from happening… There has to be some kind of deal. Some kind of union that stops us from going to war just because we fucking want to.” Jack, “You serious?” David, “I… yeah.” Jack, “You have to get rid of Wayne. Laura will agree. John, probably. Michael, maybe. Lawrence and Anthony… I dunno. Wayne will fight.” David sighs, “I haven’t even got a plan in place. I have no idea how that sort of thing would even work. Even if I figured it out perfectly, what do I do, call Council, only for Wayne to refuse? I’m being too much of an idealist here.” Jack, “Never stopped you before.” On the TV, “In other royal news, Prince Quentin of Edom was spotted cavorting around the Bahamas with boyfriend, Frankie Hatch…” David turns the TV off.

In Wayne’s council chamber, his cabinet, all older men ho were appointed by Warner, stands up as Wayne enters. Wayne gives them all a quick glance over, and without even sitting down, he says, “You’re all fucking fired.” The councillors all look at each other awkwardly as Wayne sit down. Wayne, “You all signed a declaration condemning my marriage, and I’m not going to tolerate it!” One councillor speaks up, “The king of a Christian nation cannot be a polygamist-” Wayne, “I’m not having this argument again! Unless there’s a new chapter of the Bible explicitly forbidding multiple wives, everything I’m doing is perfectly biblical!” One councilor tries to say something, but Wayne cuts him off, “And don’t bring up the New Covenant, I’ve already heard it! You’re all old men who served my father, and I need young men who are willing to serve me!” Gen. Dale McClintock, Commander General of the Ammonian army, speaks up, “Wayne, firing all of use would be reckless in a way that I know Warner never raised you to be. You have every right to be angry, but don’t go putting the country in at risk because of it.” Wayne rolls his eyes and thinks for a moment, "I still want to replace most of you. If you want to keep your job, you need to prove that you can be more useful to me than someone who's younger and more in-step with my ideals. McClintock, “Can I speak with you alone?”

Wayne and McClintock walk down a palace corridor. McClintock, “I know you admired me when you were a boy. I hope that you still look up to me.” Wayne, somewhat sheepishly, “I do.” McClintock, “I know that deep down you must understand why so many of us are unhappy with your decision.” Wayne, “It’s perfectly biblical!” McClintock, “Yes, I know! The kings of the Bible all had many wives, but it always sowed discord and distress in their families. Life during the times of the Old Testament was short and brutal. Men were called up to serve in the army, and so many of them were killed, it created a gender imbalance, and polygamy was a necessity to care for the extra women. By the time of Christ, society had settled and civilized, and the standard of monogamy was set. The nuclear family with one husband and one wife has lasted through the ages because it is the most stable and harmonious family unit.” Wayne, “I love Hattie and Mercy, and now that I’m married, I’m not going to divorce either of them!” McClintock, “I know that. But what about the rest of us? Is polygamy going to be the standard in Ammon now?” Wayne, “David got to re-define marriage!” McClintock, “But you’re not David!” Wayne, “A husband must provide for his wife. As long as a husband can provide, he should be able to have as many wives as he wants.” McClintock, “So wealthy men start hoarding women, they could have dozens of wives. That creates an imbalance and young men who would otherwise make excellent fathers and husbands are forced to go without. Women get bought like trophies. It de-stabilizes society.” Wayne makes a face and then mutters, “Well, if only the king does it, it can’t be that bad. Besides, I don’t want to marry anyone else. I’m satisfied with my two wives.” McClintock, “Will you still be saying that ten years from now?” Wayne, “I’m not a pervert!”

In a beautiful sun-filled garden, Mercy lays reading in a hammock. She wears a sun dress with spaghetti straps. Hattie, in her typical modest Chanel, bursts out of the door, “Good God, you don’t have to go showing it off!” Mercy lowers her book, “Pardon?” Hattie fumes at her, “We all know why Wayne married you, you don't have to dress like that!” Mercy sits up, “Wayne got me this dress.” Hattie, “Look, I know that I’m just going to have to put up with you now, but you have to understand, I’m still the one he married first! My son is his heir! I’m the queen of Ammon that everyone loves!” Mercy, “I’m not trying to compete with you. I only married Wayne so he wouldn’t go to war with Gilboa.” Hattie, sarcastically, “Oh, you’re so noble!”

Back inside, McClintock and Wayne continue to talk as they go down the corridor. McClintock, “I know you’re eager to prove yourself, but that takes time…” Wayne sees Mercy and Hattie tasing through a door, and stops walking. McClintock stops, “What?” Wayne opens the door and heads out.

Outside, Wayne says, “What is going on here?” Hattie, “I was just having a little talk with Mercy here. That dress is too immodest.” Wayne, “I picked it out for her. As long as she wears it here where no one else can see her, it's fine.” Hattie sneers. Wayne puts his arm around her and kisses her on the cheek, “You know, you and Mercy are sisters now, and I love the both of you dearly. I want you two to love each other like sisters, because my job is already hard enough without having to settle a catfight every day. Right now, I have to go face a room full of old men who are just furious at me for doing what is well within my right as king and perfectly acceptable in the Bible. I don’t want my beautiful wives being angry, too. Now, I have a meeting to go to. You two be good to each other.” Hattie lowers her gaze humbly, "I will." Mercy rolls her eyes and keeps reading. Back in the hallway, McClintock watches it all with disapproval.

Ribbon-cutting at the Prince Seth Benjamin Hospital for Children. David works the rope-line with Jack and Michelle, Daniel in his arms. Daniel has clearly inherited his father's charm and charisma: he smiles and laughs at all the strangers, delighting absolutely everyone who sees him. Helen chats happily with the hospital’s chief of surgery, Dr. Pooran Singh. Tears fill her eyes as she gazes up at Seth’s name on the hospital. As Jack, Helen, and Michelle prepare to give their speech, Abby leans in to show David something on her phone, “Can you believe this shit?” On the screen: OMGossip: One King, Two Beautiful Love Stories. David looks at it and makes a face, “Hm. I guess Andrew is trying to suck up to Wayne.” Abby, “Son of a bitch. What the fuck is he trying to do?” David, “I thought we agreed no swearing around Daniel.” Abby gives him a filthy look, “Jack and Michelle were raised around Silas. They turned out fine.” David, “Yeah, I know, but I still don’t like it!” Cut to: Jack and Michelle make a speech before the ribbon-cutting. Jack, “There’s no better way to honor our little brother than with this hospital. Here, children with life-threatening illnesses can receive the finest medical care available at no cost.” Michelle, “I know from experience how scary and lonely long hospital stays can be for kids. Here, kids will be cared for in a warm and friendly environment. Families will be given free nearby housing while their child receives treatment.” Jack, “On top of all this, The Prince Seth Hospital will be home to cutting-edge research-” He’s cut off by the sound of a gun firing. Immediately, everything erupts into chaos. Security guys dive. David turns around to protect Daniel, who starts crying. A couple more gun shots, a security guy falls, shot in the stomach. Everyone gets herded inside. At the entrance of the hospital is a large portrait of Seth, smiling innocently. Michelle tends to the wounded security guy, fully back in medic mode. David tries to soothe Daniel as they both get checked for injuries. Abby comes rushing up, “Daniel! Daniel!” She reaches him and takes him from David’s arms, “Shh, shh, mommy’s here, I’m right here, shhh, it’s okay.” David looks over at Jack, also being checked for injuries. Jack looks back at him, “You okay?” David, “Yeah.” When they’re done being checked, they embrace in a tight hug. Jack goes over to where Abby is trying to console Daniel, “Is he okay?” Abby, “Yeah, just scared.” Jack strokes Daniel’s hair and tries to soothe him. Aside, Helen cries into Dr. Singh’s arms, “Today was for Seth…”

Back in the residence, David and Joel sit and watch Liam make a speech on TV, “King David and all members of the royal family are safe and back at the palace. The only injury was that of a security agent, who was shot in the abdomen and is in surgery now. In the background, Jessie serves Helen and Michelle tea. Through a slightly open door, Jack yells into his cell phone, “The hospital has to open tomorrow!” a beat, “Kids! Sick kids! N-need treatment now!” Abby enters from her half of the residence, where she and Michelle live. Michelle looks up at her, “How is he?” Abby, “Fine. I think all the crying wore him out. He’s asleep.” She sits down next to Joel, and asks uneasily, “Is there anything I should know?” Joel shrugs, “Still no idea who did it. We’re looking through security cameras, social media posts, everything we can, but that takes time. Abby, “I mean, is it someone foreign? Is this something the ministry of state is going to have to deal with? I wouldn’t put this sort of thing past Wayne.” Joel, “We don’t know anything yet. Be prepared.” David, “It could also just be some crazy acting on his own.” Joel, “Or the beginning of something we haven’t even thought of yet.”

Mercy sits in her new room, painting her toenails and talking on the phone. She wears a comfortable tank top and boxer shorts as pajamas. The self-harm scars on her thighs and shoulders that she usually keeps covered with clothes and makeup are visible. Mercy, “I’m actually doing okay, all things considered. I’m living in a palace, so things could be a lot worse. Tomorrow I’m gonna try asking about finding some charities to work with. How are you holding up?” She listens. The door opens and Wayne appears on the other side. Mercy glances back at him. Wayne, “Are you finished?” Mercy talks into the phone, “Uno momento. Él está aquí.” She puts the phone down and turns to Wayne, “I’m talking to Gabriel. You told me I’d be allowed to talk to my family.” Wayne, “Why aren’t you wearing one of the nightgowns I got you?” Mercy smiles coyly, “They aren’t the most comfortable things in the world.” She gets up and goes over to him. She touches his arm and leans in close, smiling flirtily, “Besides, you’re with Hattie tonight. I prefer to save being beautiful for when I’m with you.” She kisses his cheek and goes back to the phone, “Sorry, what were you saying?” Wayne stays where he is, staring at Mercy. She laughs at something over the phone.

Dressed in a sexy retro-style nightgown, Hattie is waiting for Wayne when he enters the bedroom, looking tired. She sits up straight as he gets into bed. Hattie, “You know, I missed you terribly last week." She cuddles up to him. Wayne grabs a remote off of his side table and turns a TV on. Wayne, "I've had a good day today. David got shot at.” The news shows images of the shooting. Hattie lets out a low, happy, “Mmmm,” and rubs Wayne’s chest. Slowly, she lowers her hand towards the waist band of his boxers. Wayne, "What are you doing?!" Hattie, "I haven’t seen you in a week! I missed you!” Wayne, “Give me a chance to rest!” Hattie pulls away and settles into her place, apart from Wayne. After a moment, she says, “Do I still mean anything to you?" Wayne looks at her, “What?” Hattie, “I can't compete with her, so I’m not going to.” She gets out of the bed. Wayne, “Where are you going?” Hattie, “I’m going back to my room! I have no business being here!" Wayne, “You’re still my wife!” Hattie turns around, “You have another wife. I’ll be your queen. I’ll keep going out in public and putting a pretty face on this monarchy. I’ll raise your son to be your heir. But I can't be your wife if you’re in love with her." Wayne, "Hattie, don't embarrass yourself.” Hattie, brimming with anger, “You know nothing about humiliation!” She turns around and storms out of the room. Wayne sits there, stunned. He looks around awkwardly for a few moments, and then realizes he's alone, “Fuck.”

Hattie stumbles out into a hallway, sobbing and wiping at her eyes. She runs into a wall with a loud THUMP, and then sinks to her knees, sobbing loudly. A door opens, and Mae steps out, wearing a dressing gown, “Oh, what's wrong, dear?” Hattie sits up, wipes her eyes, and tries to re-gain some dignity. Mae kneels to sit down beside her. Hattie, “When I married Wayne, I thought I was living this fairy tale. There aren’t any fairy tales where the king marries a second wife.” Mae reaches out and puts a hand on Hattie’s arm, “This is just what being a woman is- pain and hardship. We bleed once a month and go through the pain of childbirth, but we bear it, because it’s what God wants from us.” Hattie, “I still don’t understand why God would want this! She- she didn’t even want to marry him! I know you know that this isn’t what God wants!” Mae, “God put men in charge, and it’s not up to us to question that. There were so many nights that I doubted Warner’s decision to fight King Allen. There were so many nights when I was so angry at him for drawing me and the kids into the war, but I held on, and prayed. Look at how gloriously God has rewarded us. You’re still Wayne’s wife. You have to find a way to love him through the pain.” Hattie, “How am I supposed to love him when he’s in love with someone else?” Mae, “You have to find contentment. Choose to be happy. You still have many blessings in your life. Think of Ryder and McKeighlynn.” Hattie, “He’s gonna have children with her. What’s gonna happen when she delivers a son? Is Ryder still gonna be the heir?” Mae, “That’s between Wayne and God, darlin’.” Hattie shakes her head, “So I’m completely useless. What do I do now?” Mae, “Dry your eyes, and go back in to sleep in the bed you share with your husband.” Hattie gives her a look, wrestling in her mind with what to do. Finally, she says, “Fine.” and gets up. She goes back over to the bedroom door, and opens it. In the bedroom, Wayne has called Mercy to join him. He has his arm around her shoulders, and she’s cuddled up to him. They both look up at Hattie, surprised. Mercy awkwardly scoots away from Wayne. Wayne, “You’re free to join us. Plenty of room.” He pats the empty space beside him. Hattie stares, all the voices in her head telling her to leave. She sucks up all her pride and gets into the bed. Wayne grins, “See? This ain’t so bad.” Mercy looks away. Hattie cuddles up at Wayne. He tries to pull Mercy in. Mercy glances over awkwardly at Hattie, and the two make eye contact. For a moment Hattie appreciates the irony of the situation: Mercy doesn't even love Wayne.

In David and Jack's dining room, David cleans up after dinner. Michelle and Abby are there. Daniel fusses in his swing. Abby goes over to him, "I think he's ready for bed." David, "I'll get him. You and Michelle go relax.” Abby, "You sure?” David, “Yeah, I don’t mind.” Abby picks Daniel up. Michelle goes over and kisses the top of Daniel's head, “Good night, puppy.” Cut to, David in the nursery. He gently places Daniel in his crib, “Night, Daniel." He pauses and gazes at him for a moment. Daniel peacefully settles into sleep. David gently strokes Daniel's hair.

In their bedroom, David passionately fucks Jack from behind, both of them on their knees. He’s much more forceful and dominant than usual, and Jack is loving it. He moans with helpless pleasure as David kisses and bites at his neck. David pushes him down onto his hands and knees. For a very brief moment, Jack glances back, surprised by the roughness, but then goes back to enjoying the ride. David brings Jack to climax, and then climaxes himself. They both collapse onto their pillows. Jack happily rolls onto his back, “That was…. intense…” he smiles over at David, “But I liked it.” David, “Yeah. Good.” He shifts and rolls onto his back. Jack knits his eyebrows in slight concern, “You okay?” David, “It's been a long day." He reaches out an arm and pulls Jack in closer. Jack cuddles up to him. Gently he caresses David's cheek, and then murmurs, "You sure you're okay?" David doesn't say anything. Finally, after a long moment, he says, "I thought we were past the point of getting shot at." Jack, “Seven. I was seven, first time I got shot at." David, “I don't want that. That's not the sort of life I want for Daniel." Jack, "Crazies, they happen. It- we have security." David, "Do you really think it was just some crazy?" Jack, "Could be.” They lay in silence for a long moment. David sniffs loudly, his emotion starting to get to him. He wipes at his eyes, “Shit! I’m sorry.” Jack rolls off of David’s shoulder, and then brings David in closer to him. David buries his face into Jack’s shoulder and cries.

David talks to Dr. Othman, “It used to be, I knew what the worst thing that could happen was. Something happens to Jack. It used to be that the worst thing that could happen would be Jack dies, and if that happened, I’d kill myself. It was sort of comforting- I’ve been there, faced it. It can’t possibly get any worse than that, and if it does- that’s it. I don’t have to care about anything else. That’s what’s kept me sane through this whole thing. But now…. I have Daniel. I have to be his dad. I think about him losing me like I lost my dad, and… now that’s the worst thing that can happen. It’s thrown everything out of balance and I don’t really know how to cope with it.” Dr. Othman smiles gently, “I know the feeling. When people told me that being a father would change everything, I believed them, I just wasn’t prepared for what everything meant.” David, “So how am I supposed to live with it?” Othman, “By living, first of all. You’re still new at being a father. It's supposed to be scary and overwhelming. That’s how you find what works and what doesn't. You can't walk a tight rope on your first try. You have to practice before you can go fifty feet in the air with no net.”

In the council chamber, everyone is seated. Joel talks to David, “The MI is following some leads but there’s no confirmations yet. David talks to everyone, “It’s time to get serious with the North American Union thing. I want to see drafts of what the charter could look like.” Abby starts to say something but David cuts her off, “I know it seems impossible, but we’ve done the impossible before. I want to know what possible paths we can take to getting everyone to agree to it.” Abby, “I don’t know what you’re expecting, David.” David, “We have to at least try.” He looks around the table, “What else have I got going on today?” Monique speaks up, “You’re meeting with the documentary director at 1. Her name’s Annie Lin, and she’s good, and you are not cancelling this meeting. I’ve been trying to get it set up for weeks.” David, “Am I doing all that interview stuff today?” Monique, “We’re getting that all set up. You won’t have to answer any questions today, but be thinking about what you’re going to say.” David, “Yeah, okay, whatever.” Monique looks around at everyone, “You should all be thinking about what you want to say. Nows the time to get your shit together and your stories straight.”

At the OMGossip offices, Andrew is in a meeting with his editors & publishers, “What do you mean there’s no pictures of the shooter yet? It was a big fucking crowd and everyone had cameras!” An editor, “It’s possible that the Ministry of Investigation has blocked any social media posts, but it’s more likely that the shooter was trying to blend in.” Andrew, “How do you blend in with a fucking gun?!” A publisher, “We need to be careful. If we prematurely identify the wrong person as the shooter, it can have very serious consequences.” Andrew rolls his eyes, “Ugh!” Publisher, “We could get sued. It’s best to wait until there’s an official announcement from the MI.” Andrew, “Fine!” A secretary enters, “Mr. Cross? There’s a phone call for you.” Andrew, “I’m busy!” Secretary, “It’s from King Wayne.”

In his office, Andrew answers the phone, “Hello, your majesty!” Wayne, “I saw your article the other day, and I know what you’re doing.” Andrew, “Doing?” Wayne, “I know you want some kind of job off of me, since David won’t give you one.” Andrew, “I’m just interested in telling the truth.” Wayne, “I need a new press secretary. You’re already good at making David look bad, and that’s half the job.” Andrew, “I’d be absolutely honored.” Wayne, “Don’t think this is going to lead to anything bigger. I already have plenty of faithful Ammonians in the weapons industry here, and I’m not putting someone I don’t trust in that kind of position.” Andrew, “You can absolutely trust me, your majesty.” Wayne, “Prove it.”

David sits in a meeting room with Monique and Annie Lin, the director of the documentary. David, “If Monique says you're good, then I fully believe that you're good. I agree with her, I think this is something that needs to happen, and I trust you to make sure that the end product is going to be good." Annie, “I‘m not interested in making a piece of propaganda for you. I was in Shiloh during most of the war, when the Amalekites were active. That’s the story that needs to be defined. You just happen to be a character in it." David, “Hey, I get that! Frankly, I’m happy to just be a small part of it. Honestly, I- I don't like digging around in the past that much." Annie, "That's good for me to hear. Frankly, I'd planned to do a documentary whether you cooperated or not. I’ve already done a number of interviews." David, "Oh, really? With who?" Annie, “Former officials, AFG veterans. Minor players with interesting stories.” David, “Anyone I know?” Annie, “Adam Solano.” David, genuinely surprised, “Huh, really? I- I haven’t heard form him since he left the palace. What did he say?” Annie, “I’m not revealing that unless I’m under oath. Like I said, I’m trying to tell as much of the truth as I can.” David, “Okay. Guess I’ll have to wait for the documentary to come out, then.”

At the palace day care, Daniel plays with a teacher and some other babies. David talks to another teacher, “Is it okay if I pick him up for the afternoon?” Teacher, “Of course it is, you’re the king!” David, “Great!” He goes over and picks Daniel up. Up in the residence, David plays with Daniel, lying on the floor. Daniel reaches for a toy that David holds, but grabs David’s tie instead, and pulls on it. David laughs, and Daniel’s face lights up with a smile. The door opens, and Jack walks in, “David!” David sits up, “Yeah, what?” Jack, “You turned your phone off!” David, “After yesterday, I just need some time with Daniel, okay?” Jack, “They ID’d the shooter.” David looks up at him, “Who?” Jack hesitates to answer.

In David’s office, Joel and some security officials show David an image on a computer. Joel, “This is the best image we got of the shooter. Can’t see his face, but there’s a clear shot of what he’s wearing. Using the other security cameras in the city, we were able to trace his route to a car parked several blocks away. The tags were all stolen, it looks like he managed to get out of the city. We’re still looking for him.” David, “So who is the guy?” Joel, “Before he got into the car, a camera caught one clear image of his face. It can’t be 100% percent confirmed yet, but I think you’ll be able to identify who it is.” The image on the computer screen changes. David stares at it for a moment, and then says, “Adam?” Joel, “Yeah.”

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newstfionline · 7 years

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The ‘Lazarus Group,’ the armed robbers of the Internet

Matt Pearce, Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2017

On Feb. 4, 2016, as employees left work to enjoy their weekends, the central bank of Bangladesh began firing off dozens of transfer orders to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, asking to remove money from its accounts--almost $1 billion.

It was a heist. The robbers hadn’t walked in with guns or tunneled into a vault to get the money. They’d hijacked the bank’s computer systems to access an international financial network, SWIFT, which shunts around billions of dollars a day. The invisible thieves made off with $81 million before officials halted the geyser of cash.

The attack’s audacity, and the weaknesses it exposed, stunned bankers and financial regulators. Months later, cybersecurity researchers concluded that it was yet another notch in the belt of one of the most destructive hacker collectives on the Internet, the “Lazarus Group,” previously accused of being behind the devastating 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment hack and other attacks--and working for North Korea.

Now, the Lazarus Group has been tentatively linked to another audacious attack for cash, raising the question of whether North Korea has started sticking up Internet users while carrying out its very public standoff with the United States.

Hundreds of thousands of computers have been hijacked in the last week by a virus called “WannaCry,” which freezes files on computers and demands a ransom for their release. It’s called ransomware, and it’s a new spin on old-fashioned stickups: Pay up with bitcoin, the digital currency, or lose the files forever.

WannaCry spread to at least 150 nations over the weekend, including the U.S., shutting down hospitals in Britain and hijacking terminal screens at train stations in Germany, probably causing billions of dollars in damage. The virus was initially notable because it was an adaptation of a cyber tool to hack Windows that had been developed by, and then stolen from, the U.S. National Security Agency.

But as analysts and investigators began picking apart WannaCry for forensic clues--the digital equivalent of dusting for prints--a cybersecurity researcher at Google named Neel Mehta found something in an older version of the virus. It was just a few lines of code, but it has appeared only in one other known place: hacking tools created by the Lazarus Group. Word spread rapidly among researchers.

The connection to the Lazarus Group so far is only tentative, researchers caution, suggesting that it’s possible the code was inserted as a “false flag” to throw off investigators. Officials in Europe and the U.S., still in the beginning stages of their investigations, have not named the Lazarus Group or North Korea as a suspect.

But “with a group like Lazarus, where we have a long history,” said Eric Chien, a technical director at the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet security firm Symantec, “I would suspect that within a couple of weeks we should be able to rule them in or rule them out.”

The hacker group was identified and given a name in a collaborative investigation published in February 2016 called “Operation Blockbuster,” which was undertaken by several cybersecurity companies seeking to examine the perpetrators of the 2014 Sony hack.

Within the world of cybercrime, the Sony attack was highly unusual. The hackers struck as the studio was about to release “The Interview,” a Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy whose plot centers on a plan to assassinate North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

Hackers calling themselves “Guardians of Peace” launched a multi-pronged assault on Sony, destroying company files, demanding ransom, publishing embarrassing emails and salary information online, and leaking unreleased films. The U.S. government blamed North Korea, and the Guardians of Peace disappeared.

Later, the “Operation Blockbuster” coalition began to examine data from the attack published by the U.S. government. What it found surprised the coalition: The Sony hack was far from being a one-off attack.

“We saw things dating back years and years and years,” said Peter LaMontagne, the former chief executive of Novetta, the American firm that led the coalition.

Just as scientists examining DNA look for a creature’s ancestors, the researchers linked code and processes used by the Sony hackers to a string of earlier attacks.

A 2009 distributed denial-of-service attack on American and South Korean websites. A 2011 attack that tried to shut down South Korean network broadcast companies and banks. A 2012 attack on a right-wing South Korean newspaper. The attackers seemed to be well resourced, clever and dogged, coming back again and again.

That’s how researchers came up with “Lazarus Group,” an allusion to the biblical figure who rises from the dead.

“We came up with that name because we kept seeing unique chunks of code appearing/reappearing in new malware strains,” former Novetta technical director Andre Ludwig wrote in an email. He called it “one of the driving factors that enabled us to identify so many families of malware and make hard technical links between them all.”

The backwaters of the Internet are filled with agitators, spies and fraudsters. The most high-profile attacks of the last year have apparently involved Russia, which was accused of hacking Democrats and publishing their emails to sway the presidential election toward Donald Trump.

But the Lazarus hackers have stood out not for doing one thing, but for doing everything.

“We tend to see cyber groups falling into categories and staying in their lanes,” LaMontagne said. “You have hacktivists who have sort of a political agenda, and everything they do is geared to messaging. You have folks that are very focused on making money…. Then, thirdly, we have pure foreign intelligence cyber espionage.”

With the Sony hack, for example, LaMontagne said, Lazarus was “delving into all three.” And the group’s ambition seems unbounded.

“The scale of Lazarus operations is shocking,” the Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab said in a report on the Lazarus Group’s activities, likening its production to “a factory of malware.” “All this level of sophistication is something that is not generally found in the cybercriminal world. It’s something that requires strict organization and control at all stages of the operation.”

After the Novetta report came out in early 2016, the hackers remained busy and trackable.

“Lazarus Group has been active constantly,” said Chien of Symantec. “We constantly see them, doing little things here and there, but you only hear in the news the big event that happens.”

Industry researchers later linked Lazarus hackers to the 2016 Bangladesh bank heist, which took place before the release of the report, and a financial system attack in Poland in 2017. Top U.S. security officials have dropped hints that they think North Korea might be behind the financial attacks in addition to the Sony hack, citing private-sector research work.

“If that attribution is true … that means a nation-state is robbing banks,” NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett said during an Aspen Institute panel in March. “That’s a big deal in my opinion.”

“Do you believe there are nation-states now robbing banks?” a moderator asked Ledgett.

“I do,” Ledgett replied.

The WannaCry ransomware would be an unusual development, should North Korea end up being implicated--an instance of a nation trying to steal money from foreign users, both governmental and private.

Yet even though WannaCry is designed to steal money, it’s doing a poor job of it, raising less than $80,000 worth of bitcoin from a tiny percentage of the virus’ hundreds of thousands of victims. The payments were arranged to go to easily trackable accounts. Experts initially thought it was the work of amateurs.

“This piece of ransomware has a lot of bugs in it, a lot of weird things that other ransomware doesn’t have in it,” Chien said. “There’s actually no way [for the hackers] to determine who paid and who didn’t pay,” meaning that the chances of getting your files unlocked after paying a ransom “is very, very low.”

Others have speculated that, if WannaCry is the work of North Korea, maybe the attackers just wanted to test out its disruptive capabilities for future political attacks--a motive that would not be outside the realm of possibility for the Lazarus Group.

“There’s definitely no ceiling on their ambition,” Chien said. “They may come up with an idea and say, ‘Let’s go do it.’”

#hackers #the Lazarus Group #ransomware attacks

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blue-bower · 3 years

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Original Seth vs current Seth. Info below the cut!

One of my first OCs was a short emo-punk named Seth, with the voice of Chester Bennington. I used to draw him all the time, well into my high school years, but he kind of faded into obscurity for a long time until I thought of ways I could improve him as a character. Pretty much the only thing that stayed the same about him, besides his hair and emotional turmoil, is how he was brought up in a religious household and had a literal guardian angel that transferred some of their Divine powers to him.

In his old story, his parents were very religious, and his mom ended up dying in a car accident. His dad succumbed to grief and became an abusive alcoholic, but would still get angry at Seth for claiming there was no God. Seth was eventually visited by a Seraph, who formed a bond with him and taught him that God's light and love always prevails, that bad things happening to good people doesn't mean they've done anything wrong, and that his mother was in heaven watching over him.

Although there are aspects of his backstory that I felt were compelling, I will admit that original Seth still had signs of my own biases and prejudices that, at the time, I was still un-learning and working through. I remember drawing a very cringeworthy "I say Merry Christmas" pic with him, I remember giving him an obligatory girlfriend just to prove that he was totally not gay or bi, and I can see how the whole "You should still be obedient to God even when horrible things happen to you" message is pretty insensitive. So ultimately it was a good thing to re-work him.

~~~~~

Current Seth underwent quite a bit of change. My biggest inspiration for his reworked character was the music of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHO6yZfpNu8

So basically, he went from a Linkin Park stand-in to a TSO stand-in. =P His parents are both alive, but are very high-strung & emotionally abusive Catholics, who saw his talent for music and used it for their own gain, putting constant pressure on him to be the perfect model son. This in turn instilled a great amount of anxiety and self-esteem issues in him. He isn't straight by any means; he was a closeted bisexual for most of his life and will still probably never come out to his parents. He is now boyfriends with my tall Gothic Nephilim, Terry.

Instead of a Seraph, there is a Throne angel attached to him now, because I felt like there was more potential to make a really cool design for them. Thrones are the prime example of how Lovecraftian biblical angels can really look. https://img.artpal.com/321651/5-20-2-25-20-46-46m.jpg

And this angel named Nova completely threw Seth's ideas and teachings about religion out the window. Heaven and the Divines are so much more complex than what can be portrayed in books written by mortals, and Nova - and by extension, all angels - find it baffling and concerning that humans claim things like "Anyone who is not cis or straight will go to Hell" or "Sex should only be saved for marriage" or "Men are superior to women". For the most part the Divines don't give a shit about what us hairless apes do as long as we treat people compassionately, learn from our mistakes, and have relations with consenting adults.

In a way, I've projected a lot of my own struggles as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and my inner conflicts about religious oppression, onto this character; especially the revamped version. I feel like the main reason I didn't just make him a new character entirely is because the core idea was still there: A talented, passionate person driven to mental & emotional turmoil because of an oppressive religious setting, and how he learned to overcome prior knowledge and biases and be allowed to grow and fully blossom as an individual.

#OC #original character #angel #musician #revamp #glow up #my art

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decaffeinatedlightluminary-blog · 7 years

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How humanity received Guidance from the God'?

New Post has been published on http://rolexsubmariner.shop/how-humanity-received-guidance-from-the-god-2/

How humanity received Guidance from the God'?

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By: Dr. P.R.Palodhi

This world of Humans has come after a process of unification between facets of two primal creations: Jinns (created from fire) and Adam (created from clay). Hence, final Revelation in Qur’an is found to address both Jinns and Humans (Insaan). The journey of Humans proceeds on earth via clash and co-existence, rise and fall of different civilizations and syntheses and integrations of divaricated cultures? In this episode God has granted a period of freedom for civilizations to flourish with cherishes of various human choices, but alongside the ‘Tradition of God’ rests abidingly with Prophetic heritage so that every generation vis-à-vis willing individuals may have the access to God’s Message for mankind. In the newer world after Flood, God’s guidance came in recurrent cycles of Revelation in Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam. These are found to born incommunicado, un-noticed by the enthralled civilization; and the golden rules have become universal with lasting impact on the humanity. But we find that there are about 2,500 various to and fro religious beliefs in our day world – many of which defy the laws revealed by the God. As regard the appearance of such outspread religious differences, God has pointed in the final Revelation that: the wily men (guided by the evil) repeatedly distort the Prophetic teachings, while these interpolations and errors are rectified via repeated cycles of Revelations from God (Qur’an, 22:52); people do not readily accept the recent most Revelation from God out of deep superstition-like affinity to their earlier belief (Q, 38:6-8); and men get divided into factions by creating difference of opinion within themselves, and they are quite satisfied holding their individual opinions (Q, 23:54).

‘Those who split up their religion, and become mere Sects — each party rejoices in that which is with itself! (Q, 30: 32) ‘Leave them in their confused ignorance for a time’ (Q, 23:53-54).

We know from the final Revelation in Qur’an that: pre-humans (i.e. Jinns in Qur’an) also received guidance from the God; and after creation of Insaan (humankind) revealed knowledge came via line of patriarchal Prophets initiating from Adam, Seth and Idris. Eventually aberrant progenies of pre-Flood world were devastated by the catastrophic Flood. In post-Flood population, while diverse races of mankind were flourishing outwardly with respective civilizations – the Tradition of God remained inwardly restricted within Prophet Noah’s son Shem (Sam in Arabic) and his descendants; thus successive Revelations came to the Prophets chosen from within among this Semitic lineage.Early post-Flood Prophets are from ancient Arabs; and thereafter came Prophet Abraham – the patriarch of new world’s prophetic generation.

As we look back to the world immediately after Flood, Noah’s contemporary generation was plunged into polytheism and those pagan people considered Prophet as some evil possession of their silly pagan gods (Q, 11:53-54). The Qur’an informed about the ancient Arab Prophets (Q, 11): one is Hud belonging to the Arabian tribe of A’ ad, and the other is Salih of the tribe of Thamud – who were near descendants of Noah after the Flood. Amidst rampant paganism, deep down a reshaping of a newer world began especially after arrival of Prophet Abraham; and then religious authority was handed down through his descendants from Sarah, Hagar and Keturah (the three wives of Abraham). Prophets like Ishmael and Adnan (descendants of Hagar) came within the pre-existing Arab community formed by the ‘ancient’ and the ‘descendants of Keturah’). The Qur’an refers (Q, 11) to the sons of Keturah when it mentions Prophet Shu’eyb of Midian (identified with Jethro). If Shu’eyb is indeed Jethro, the Qur’an is explaining further the transfer of authority of the Scriptures to Israel through Moses and Aaron (descendants of Sarah); and the tribe of Midian was used for activating that process through Moses’ sojourn in Midian and the preparation for the Exodus. Both Surahs (Q, 10: 76 & 11: 96) inform that it is only after ancient pagans denied to obeying God and His Prophets like Hud, Salih and Shu’eyb – God transferred the authority on Moses and Aaron. At this point, Arabs were crossed between paganized Arabs and Christianized Arabs. Religious guidance for humankind that began with Adam, recycled in every age and stage of mankind through succession of innumerable Prophets – finally culminated in the Revelation to Prophet Muhammad in Arabic Qur’an. A very significant and intriguing mention has come in the Qur’an in particular speaking of the end times when Midian was again referred to (unto Midian We sent Shu’eyb, their brother) – before who were ‘removed from sight’ (Q, 11: 94-95).

‘And look forward to the Last Day, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth.‘ (Q, 29:36).

Thus successive missions of the Abrahamic Prophets began to orient the newer world. Meanwhile from ancient pictorial mode the alphabetic languages were developing as well; and finally the Prophetic scriptures appear before us in the forms of OT from Moses, Zoroaster’s Gatha, NT after Jesus, and at last came the Qur’an revealed in Arabic to Muhammad. All these are called Abrahamic religions because they are inherently based upon ‘monotheistic principles’ revealed earlier to the patriarch Abraham. Their scriptures have common guidance to orient tradition in the direction of Abraham’s religion and for prayer facing towards the Ka’Ba of Abraham (but sectarian rivalry prevented them from arriving at a common platform). All of them are found to be revelatory, monotheistic, and Prophetic – and with same grounds of religion’s scared ethics, historical orientation, and isolated desert-origin. Thus from the chosen Prophets, humanity in every age has received ‘Holy name of God’ and inherently consonant religious messages that tell about Will of the Creator for His creations. Every new Revelation from God has a fulfilling function in relation to the previous one. Thus Judaism and Zoroastrianism are reformations to dwindling Noah’s religion – which was gradually corrupted by Sumero-Egyptian demigods and their closely affiliated proto-Aryans and the pagan factions within among Semites. Afterward came Christianity which is esoteric re-adaptation to decrepit Judaism; and then the Bible was again defiled by the Institutional hegemony of Council decisions. At the end, final Revelation for mankind came in Qur’an by exacting the misrepresentations of the un-named authors who wrote the Bible from age old oral tradition and not directly from the mouth of the Prophet (as it happened in Qur’an). Thus many ambiguities of Bible and other worn out scriptures become explicit and resolved after grasping the sense of exact revealed words from Qur’an. Tawhidic guidance in the Qur’an appears ‘in space’ as a polyvalent pattern embracing all the religions by retracing their essential positions; ‘in time’ it present itself by unifying what has been before it – implying the eternal continuity of God’s Guidance. The final Revelation for mankind came in Arabic when the languages of our new world gradually had assumed the definite alphabetic forms. Arabic preserves virtually all distinctive features of proto-Semitic – like inflection, systematic dual endings, and full consonantal distinctions which have generally been lost or merged in middle Semitic. Thus exegesis is not hampered by linguistic enigmas or obscurantism like that of other previous scriptures. In any other revealed scriptures, we cannot see complete language of Revelation by our own eyes. While the Qur’an with its each single revealed word has remained accessible to every willing eye vis-à-vis the enquiry of succeeding generations. Thus misrepresentations and wild speculations by ‘obscurantism of revealed truths’ so typical of the Jewish, Hindu, and other traditions – certainly are absent in the case of Qur’an. Archetypal ‘Words of God’ in the Qur’an are clearly attested by the self evident Divine authority of its supraliminal scriptural anthology, the Prophetic authenticity, and the universality of ‘revealed truths’ in its essential completeness.

The profound universality of last two revealed scriptures, the Bible and the Qur’an, could be fathomed by tracing out the cyclic homogeneity of eternal revealed principles – echoes of which are frequently heard amidst distorted pagan versions of the many ancient religions. Let us have a summarized view of the proceedings of successive revealed guidance that came in recurrent cycles of Abrahamic religions.

BIBLICAL REVELATIONS (of Old Testament) came in a post-Flood world when humanity not yet had attained the present state of anthropological homogeneity; various abnormal progenies (races of giants: Anakim, Rafaim, and Nephilim etc) belonging to pre-Adamite races used live by intermingling with the Adamic races. This ancient world was overwhelmed by the pagan enemies against ‘religion of God’; and God chose Semites (i.e. lineage of Noah’s son Shem) as the flag-bearers of God’s religion. Thus successive Semitic Prophets began to receive inspiration from God for removing anti-God paganism from the world. Hence early Biblical Revelations are found to address primarily to ‘the chosen people of God’ (the Semites like Hebrews and early Jews). Bible (from prolonged collection of ‘revealed knowledge’ in Tanakh [OT] and adaptations from Jesus in NT) provides guidance with respect to: (i) Creation in Six Days (in terms of God’s time); creations of mankind (that includes pre-Adamic races), then Adam and Eve in blissful Garden, and their fall from heavenly bliss after Satan seduces them. As a result two lines, the seeds of Satan (nachash) and the seeds of Eve have emerged and whom God has cursed to live by enmity with each other. (ii) how human race from Adam co-exist via miscegenation with pre-humans – producing consequently many generation of anti-God people in the out coming humanity; (iii) origin of the patriarchs of pre-Flood world and then post Flood generations from Noah with special emphasis on the Prophetic lineages of the Hebrews (from Heber) and the sons of Israel; (iv) how and when civilization begins and the language of mankind which was ‘one’ eventually becomes confounded into many tongues; (v) genealogy of diverse human races and geographical details of old and newer world; (vi) on going fights between good and evil i.e. detail narratives of successive Hebrew and Israeli Prophets and kings who fought for the cause of God and cleaned up the ancient world from adversaries of God (pagan demigods, giants, strangers and aliens etc) who overwhelmed this earth with the Paganism of false gods, and used to spoil daughters of humans by the charm of adornments, and established the hegemony of anti-God civilizations by their power of endless chariots and steeds of war and monuments of pagan idols; (vii) against all such odds, how God’s promise continues with Hebrews’ religious war against Paganism; (viii) then decay of Jewish pedigree when God’s hand was stretched out still; (ix) future prophesies regarding how God will intervene again to punish evil and feed the terrible oppressors with their own flesh and blood; (x) the last days of this world when God will redeem and re-establish with judgment – the righteous ones from among people of mixed generations on earth; and (xi) following the heels of Prophet how a blissful life on earth (golden age) shall begin in the humanity’s last age finally bringing an end to this present age of religious darkness.

ZOROASTRIAN GATHA meanwhile highlighted: (i) God’s religion with respect to newly emerged post-Flood generation descending from sage Kasyapa (Brahma’s descendant in Hinduism. Brahma has striking similarity with Abraham in Bible); (ii) a section called themselves as Aryans who were more affiliated to the Paganism and were being drifted more towards the pagan gods called daevas or devas. (iii) To stem this rot Prophet Zoroaster was raised from sage Kasyapa’s (Persian: Kashaf) lineage; who arrived with God’s Message in the name of Supreme God as Ahura (in Vedic tongue Asura). As a result, long religious conflict began between Avestan Persian and Vedic Aryan, whereby the old Aryan religion was separated simultaneously into Mazdaism by the followers of Supreme God, and Vedism by followers of devas (pagan gods). Eventually God believing Zoroastrians were mostly converted into Islam; this however, caused lapses in preservation of archaic Avestan literatures, and we became more dependent on Indic Vedas to know about the early Indo-Aryans. Tradition of Vedas exists now by exposing the Paganism of deva-centric Indo-Aryans in present Hinduism which virtually rejects Prophets and monotheistic principles of successive Abrahamic religions.

QUR’AN & HADITH: God’s Revelation to Prophets of humanity culminated in the Qur’an (6th century AD) – when the humankind finally attained more constancy in terms unification between pre-Adamic and Adamic races. Now the line of distinction between Adamic and pre-Adamic, or Semitic and non-Semitic etc have greatly been faded away. The prime distinguishable religious feature of present humanity remains to be the Believers (of God’s Revelation) and the Non-believers. Hence in Qur’an, Almighty God no more addresses to the Semites (as He did before in Biblical Revelations) but to all those ‘who submit to God’s Will’ i.e. Muslims (in Arabic). Irrespective of caste, creed and custom now anybody can know God’s Will by reading Qur’an, and chooses whether to follow God’s Path and becomes a Believer; or a self-willed path of religion and becomes virtually a Disbeliever of God’s final Revelation. The tradition of Qur’an (via immutable words of God (wahy matlu) to chosen Prophet of God, and received wisdom (wahy ghayr matlu in Hadith that came in response to Prophet’s prayer to God) exists as the most authentic ‘axes of revealed guidance’ conveying the conclusive Will of God in the final age of mankind. This final scripture enlightens the believers by revealing: (i) Six Days creation where every entity exists by submitting their ‘will’ to God – excepting the pre-human (named as Jinns) and the humans (named as Insaan); (ii) God created three different kinds of ‘beings having self-will’; firstly the Angels from light, then pre-human Jinns from fire, and at last humanity’s first Prophet Adam from clay and thereafter a new earthy and earthly race of Human (Insaan) at the end. Angels act only according to God’s Will, but Jinns and humans have been granted a period of freedom of conduct in this earth; (iii) how Satan origins from among the Jinn-kind to defy God’s Will for creation of earthy humans; how Satan spoils Adam’s generation, and God dispels them from blissful Garden and curses these spoiled generations to live on earth with enmity to each other. (iv) before casting Satan to hell-fire, God grants him a period of freedom till the Day of Judgement, and allows his Jinn tribe to share wealth and children with Adamites in order to judge between the races of humankind issuing from intermixing of Jinns and Adamites; (v) how the hands of Satan continue to mislead the people on earth; (vi) eradication of untoward generations by Flood, and then post-Flood Prophetic lineage originating from Noah’s lineage (highlighting their names); (vii) narratives of the righteous followers of Prophets and the fate of wrong doers of the bygone past; (viii) Divine Trial of mankind between the opposites of ‘good’ and ‘evil’; very purpose of living in this world and guidance about how to follow the straight path of God; (ix) second coming of Prophet Jesus in the final days before dissolution of this earth; (x) resurrection of each human soul, the Day of Judgment for reward and punishment in the Hereafter. And (xi) Hadith gives pertinent knowledge about how to orient one’s life according to the guidance of God; and the wisdom which Prophet received from God with respect to various pre-mental heavenly truths including questions on Hereafter and the blissful life in Paradise.

Divine Inspiration which had stopped after the death of Prophet Muhammad shall resume again at the time of descent (i.e. second coming) of Prophet Jesus who will rule according to Islamic Law during the last days of the world (see also Hadith no 425. vol. III – Al-Bukhari). Overwhelming all inflated ‘falsehoods’, again from the ‘spring of water of life’ (Kasava) shall appear miracle par excellence with Kausar i.e. which is ‘mine of truth’ and orient humanity towards the ‘Will of God’.

‘And Jesus shall be a Sign for the coming of the Hour of Judgment: therefore have no doubt about the Hour, but follow Me: this is a Straight Way.’ (Q, 43: 61)

We again come to know from the prophet Zephaniah about the state of religion at the time of re-establishment of Primordial Tradition (return of Krita age) by the Messiah (or Kalki Avatar): ‘For then will I (God) turn to the people a pure language that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent’ (Zeph. 9: iii). Vishnu Purana mentions about Kalki Avatar (4. 24): ‘He will then re-establish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who are thus charged by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of Krita age, the age of purity. As it is said, “when the sun and the moon, and the lunar asterism Tishya, and the planet Jupiter, are in one mansion, the Krita age shall return.’

REVELATION AND ITS AFTERMATH IN PRESENT AGE BEARERS OF THE SCRIPTURE

The Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (13 BH – AH 11 / 610-32 AD) in a world when Jews and Christians of Europe were living in a dark age with decrepit monotheism. Development of scientific reason i.e. burhan (proof based on evidence) had to wait Revelation and application of the Qur’an. God reveals to man only the ‘root ideas‘ – but the grasp of such vertical wisdom demands seeker’s constant striving for Truth by their horizontal mode of investigation. Hence in order to spur the believers’ penchant for Truth Qur’an guides: “read scripture (iqra)”, “see (yaraw)”, “travel (fa-siiruu)” and “observe (fa-anzuru)”. Within about hundred years (800 AD) early Muslims had traveled from Arabia to different parts of the world and kindled the novel ideas in science and learning; and they achieved world ‘intellectual supremacy’ which continued for about 500-600 years. They established educational centers and the Europeans learned much from these early Muslims. After Crusades the Christian Europe awoke and eventually turned out to be the leader of present materialistic civilization where the new role of Europe began to stand against Islam. Islam being the culminating epilogue of Prophetic religions before dissolution of earth – has begun to spread universally as the fastest growing religion on earth. Over 1400 years have past now since birth of Islam; but it is quite evident that present Muslims show clear signs of lapses and sit now just opposite to vitality of early Muslims’ sacred brilliance. And modern Christianity is no more heedful to God, instead is disposed to the paganized Christian brilliance. Thus the last two people of Book (Christians and Muslims) have sundered their Tawhidic religion by Takhsis (reductionism) and Tahrif (deviation); and both are drifting away from holistic Truth. Such spell of religious darkness within God’s tradition can not usurp unless Satan and his hands gain ascendancy in the very name of God, and are able to hoodwink believers by steering them from within.

CHRISTIANITY: Men without religion

ISLAM: Religion without men

It is a serious notice for any earnest believer of Islam, when above remark comes from Dr. Al-Hilali (Professor Islamic University, Medina) [1] who also points that: ‘a Muslim never lacks proofs about the purity and truthfulness of his religion, but what he lacks is the truthful brothers who stand for Allah testifying to the Truth’. Indeed, in this age, Islam is a religion without men who can appropriately utilize Qur’an’s rational-ethical holistic knowledge for the cause of true Islam. And Christianity is men without religion, yet by their endeavour, adventurous spirits, patience and worldly power they are able to falsify truth and make falsehoods appear true.

(i) ‘Obedience’ without ‘knowledge’ is Takhsis, and not Tawhid:

Believer’s ‘obedience‘ to God is lifeless unless there is constant ‘yearning for Truth‘. Dr. Husaini (p. 21) [2] pointed that: in recent centuries, by turning their backs on observable and knowable signs Muslims became like those ‘blinded people of civilization’ (qawmun ‘amin, Q, 7:64), deaf, dumb, and blind without any rational knowledge (Q, 2:171). Religious leadership has uphill task in orienting the ‘last scripture bearers’ especially because the Guidance of Qur’anic Revelation has twofold dimensions: ‘spiritual’ and ‘rational’. Qur’anic unitary or holistic (Tawhid) knowledge (‘ilm) has a ‘rational’ (‘aqaliyyah) part knowable by all human beings since God has made them accessible through ‘rational reasoning’. The other part of ‘ilm is value oriented or ideological; it is based on a tradition (any shari’ah) that may be a religion or a secular belief system. The integration or unification of these two parts is Tawhid (see Husaini, p. 33); and such integration demands profundity of holistic understanding both vertically and horizontally. Here any short cut or ‘reductionism’ is derogatory because seeker’s vision should not close within ‘words of the Book’, it must extend to view the polyvalent symbolism in Revelation (ta’wil), its aftermath in the human history in terms of linguistics, science, sociology and comparative religions etc. The Huffaz preserve Qur’an in memory, but role of Mufassir and teachers is to serve the cause of ‘ilm that God has made accessible through natural reason in order to remove the snags of spiritual awareness. Here every step demands precaution that ‘the word of God‘ is not manipulated to fulfill one’s self-will; personal interests have no room in Tafsîr (‘to make clear’). In this context, one must not confuse ‘sacred wisdom‘ with profane religiose flairs; the former arouses in believers theinnercalls of holistic Truth, but the later invest knowledge to attract and absorb lesser minds by the pulls of sentimental grounds. Unaware believers tend to count any brilliance as ‘gold’ that exalts in the very name of God and glitters by overly iterating the scripture. Inordinate inclinations for personality cult and bigot sectarianism lead to passive Shirk. Prophet Muhammad has said: “Shirk in Muslim nation is more inconspicuous than the creeping of the black ant on a black rock in the pitch darkness of the night” (Al-Bukhari, Introduction page. L, op.cit). History tells us how the many past traditions have been categorically atrophied by the crafty and solicitous masters who exalt at cost of wanting believers – without exacting the seeker’s sense of responsibility, commitment, and penchant for Truth.

In the state of decline, God commanded believers (in Surah Al-‘asr) to join together in mutual enjoining of Truth (tawaasaw bil-Haqqi) along with good deeds, patience and constancy (Q, 103:3). In search of religious vision, if the light of Qur’an, in stead of looking through the darkness, is turned back toward own eyes – it only leads to blindness. Divine Light (Missal) comes in essence not for the sake of shining a person or an Institution – but to show the path of Real and remove the snags of Unreal. The Tawhidic sense of the word ‘Muslim’ in Qur’an goes astray for those followers who revolve more around the ‘bigot sectarianism’ rather than evolving in terms of ‘purification of Soul‘ (see Q, 87: 14-15). If ritualism alone was enough to purify then God would not have warned the ardently ritualistic Jews (once chosen people) for their persistent wrong doings: ‘Your new moons and your appointed feasts My Soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me….when ye make many prayers, I will not hear…’ (Isa, 1: 14-15)

As regard lapses of present Muslims, the most relevant words of wisdom came from Imam al-Ghazali – the greatest of the Islamic scholars of all times and one of the most influential intellectuals in the history of mankind – who profoundly influenced the Christian scholastics, but it was not so in the case of his succeeding Muslims. ‘Within forty years of his death (1111 AD), most of his books had been translated into Latin…His ideas were transmitted to generations of Europeans who studied them in new universities of Europe patterned on Muslim models; and this initiated the renaissance of Europe and the reformation of Christianity’ (Husaini, p. 35, op.cit). Imam al-Ghazali reminded about a thousand years ago that most of the Muslims are not holistic or Tawhidic Muslim; they are reductionist Muslim (Takhsisiyyun). They have restricted Qur’an and Islam to the “five pillars”, personal morality etc and excluded from them Islamic natural sciences, technology, and economics etc. Thus tradition gets categorically depleted of the vitality of ‘ilm. Every valid discipline, vocation, or science is an ‘ilm which has its origin in the Qur’an in a general or in a specific sense. The sciences which are knowable are based upon man’s natural reason (‘aql) and experience; and are called natural or rational (tabi‘iyyah,‘aqaliyyah) sciences. Hence God commanded (Q, 29:19) believers to ‘see’ ‘observe’ and ‘travel’; thus constant striving for knowledge and application of all discipline is an Islamic duty (Fard) and necessity. Dr. Husaini informs: ‘in his book (Kitab al-‘ilm, i.e. Book of knowledge) Imam Ghazali has pointed that reductionism (takhsis) is the one major cause that deviated (tahrif) Muslims from the true knowledge of Qur’an. For example, the word fiqh in Qur’an means understanding, a science, and any or all knowledge in the holistic sense. But fiqh was reduced to mean only Islamic law; and gradually Islamic fiqh or knowledge was confined to only Islamic personal law’.

‘Ulûm al-Qur’an‘ – the Sciences of the Qur’an, is not a new field of study; it began in the very lifetime of Prophet Muhammad which included all aspects related to understanding of the Qur’an. But the later Muslims excluded the duty of ‘holistic truth seeking’ and banked more upon a ritualistic platform; this may have helped them to expand, but only in horizontal sense and not in terms of vertical depth. Thus present Muslims so easily succumb to worldly pleasure and its glitters. Prophet Muhammad has narrated to his companion Sasban (R.A) in Hadith [3] that Muslims with the passage of time shall spread all over, and then they will suffer loss of spiritual vitality due to their leaning for worldly lust and fear for death. Another Hadith mentioned that they will gradually turn into the likes of decrepit Ummat of Jews and Christians. A time will come when Islam would be capsized as a pot is capsized with all its contents. Allah protects believers but does not spare them from being put on trial: “Verily in this are Signs and We put men to test” (Q, 23: 30). From guidance of Qur’an it is conceivable that to prevent such decline, tradition demands believer’s constant striving for Truth by shaking off the desires of worldly gains, pleasures, pomp and glitters that Allah has granted for temporal enjoyment of the ‘sinners’ rather than His true believers (see Q, 11: 15-16; 20: 131). Transcending the apparent lapses, Islam shall reign supreme again following the second wave of Muhammadis [4]. Present Scripture bearers have a call up lesson in the Qur’anic Revelation when it forewarns those spoiled people of the past Scripture bearers – who were abandoned because their wrong doings, yet they went on hoping for too long while their allotted terms had expired.

‘O ye who believe! if any from among you turn back from faith, soon will God produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him, (these people) humble towards believers, stern towards disbelievers, striving in the way of God, and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of God which He giveth unto whom He will.’ (Q, 5: 54); ‘because God will never change the Grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their own souls: and verily God is He Who heareth and knoweth all things.’ (Q, 8: 53)

‘The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying books. Wretched is the likeness of folk who deny Revelations of God: and God guides not people who do wrong.’ (Q, 62: 5)

(ii) ‘Knowledge’ without ‘obedience’ is Takhsis, and not Tawhid:

Without obedience God never guides man; and in absence of obedience man’s yearning for Truth continues to wander in the vagueness until it turns lame. Defying Qur’an since 19th century Christian Scholars are especially trying to patronize ‘realm of theology’ exclusively within Bible. Judeo-Christian history revealed how these people of past scriptures had been categorically atrophied by the spells of many ‘master minds’ of the religion. At present there are signs of revivals within Christian world especially after realizing how the present Bible versions mislead Christianity from the implied senses of the original Hebrew words. In this effort of truth-seeking, if their cherishes of ‘self-will’ become more important than the ‘Will of God’ – then all their painstaking works will add another dimension to religious deviations via reductionism with which the early quasi-pagan usurpers of Christianity have already inflicted enough damage to their religion. As regard Christian revival, the question is: does God approve reductionism (takhsis) in exegesis (i.e. loud with Bible’s message by denying Qur’an or vice versa; in other word, heedful about ‘penultimate Revelation‘ but heedless about the ‘ultimate one‘!).Different orthodoxies like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam etc came form God because: whenever the religious vitality of a tradition depletes, God restores it again by creating a newer orthodoxy. After Judeo-Christianity drifted categorically from the sacred Oneness of God, the Qur’an came to restore the religion of God in a world different from that of the Biblical times – and it is the last Revelation before dissolution of the earth. Any effort to gravitate towards God demands attention to God’s final Message in Qur’an. Now if a section tries to find its ‘identity’ via mode of bigot reductionism – it only breaches the universal Oneness of God (Tawhid), rather than it reaches to Yah-El/Yahweh-Elohim/Allah.

References:

* See: Al-Ghazali, 1995. ‘Tahafut al-Filasafah‘ (Incoherence of the Philosophers).Trans. by

Sabih A. Kamali.

1. In introductory part of (p. liv) “The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari” Vol.I,

Trans. by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Islamic University, Madina Al-Munawwara, (Kitab

Bhavan, New Delhi)

2. Husaini, S Waqar Ahmed, 2005. The Qur’an for Astronomy and Earth Exploration from Space. (Goodward Press, New Delhi). Author (Ph.D, Engineering-Economic System Planning., Stanford Univ. California) is the Founder-President, Institute of Islamic Sciences, Technology & Development since 1986.

3. Abu – Daus, Miscat from Baihaki, Babe Tagyarunnas; Miscat of Allahma Kutubuddin Khan Dehlavi (R.A)

4. ‘Sabhatul marjan fi tariqi Hindustan‘,Chapt. I, Risala ma-arif, p. 88, 1975(Feb), Babu Kurbus Shah.

5. ‘The Holy Qur’an’ – with original ‘Arabic Text, English translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Islamic Book Service, India. 2000.

And also ‘The Meanings of the Glorious Qur’an‘ by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, trans., Mecca and New York: Muslim World League. 1977.

6. ‘The Holy Bible‘, Revised Standard Version (New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1946, 1971); Holy Bible, B & FBS, Printed in Great Britain by Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited His Majesty’s Printers, London.

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How humanity received Guidance from the God'?

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How humanity received Guidance from the God'?

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By: Dr. P.R.Palodhi

‘Those who split up their religion, and become mere Sects — each party rejoices in that which is with itself! (Q, 30: 32) ‘Leave them in their confused ignorance for a time’ (Q, 23:53-54).

‘And look forward to the Last Day, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth.‘ (Q, 29:36).

‘And Jesus shall be a Sign for the coming of the Hour of Judgment: therefore have no doubt about the Hour, but follow Me: this is a Straight Way.’ (Q, 43: 61)

REVELATION AND ITS AFTERMATH IN PRESENT AGE BEARERS OF THE SCRIPTURE

CHRISTIANITY: Men without religion

ISLAM: Religion without men

(i) ‘Obedience’ without ‘knowledge’ is Takhsis, and not Tawhid:

(ii) ‘Knowledge’ without ‘obedience’ is Takhsis, and not Tawhid:

References:

* See: Al-Ghazali, 1995. ‘Tahafut al-Filasafah‘ (Incoherence of the Philosophers).Trans. by

Sabih A. Kamali.

1. In introductory part of (p. liv) “The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari” Vol.I,

Trans. by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Islamic University, Madina Al-Munawwara, (Kitab

Bhavan, New Delhi)

3. Abu – Daus, Miscat from Baihaki, Babe Tagyarunnas; Miscat of Allahma Kutubuddin Khan Dehlavi (R.A)

4. ‘Sabhatul marjan fi tariqi Hindustan‘,Chapt. I, Risala ma-arif, p. 88, 1975(Feb), Babu Kurbus Shah.

5. ‘The Holy Qur’an’ – with original ‘Arabic Text, English translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Islamic Book Service, India. 2000.

And also ‘The Meanings of the Glorious Qur’an‘ by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, trans., Mecca and New York: Muslim World League. 1977.

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