So long, I'm gone

Thomas

Thomas

So it goes ...
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As ever, I came back, and end up devoting more time to pointless discussions on this forum than I should.

I have a project on the blocks that's demanding my attention, and shaping up to be more fruitful and rewarding. And entertaining. It deserves my best shot.

Parting advice:
Do try and look at the reasoning, from whence it comes and to where it might lead, rather than just seeking ways to bend it back to where you want it to end up.

God bless you and be with you,

Thomas
 
So long Thomas. I'm sorry to see you go. If you read this I have a question that you, alone, might be able to answer. I was reading the Names of God Bible and found Genesis 13:15 translated as I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time. This is quite different from the usual translation where the time promised is forever. Do you know Biblical Hebrew well enough to offer an opinion? Is there any ambiguity there?

Jayhawker may also be able to answer this but he seems to be on leave also.

Anyone else?
 
Oh how interesting, Thomas, I hope it turns out great!
I look forward to your return as always.
 
Marcialou said:
I was reading the Names of God Bible and found Genesis 13:15 translated as I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time. This is quite different from the usual translation where the time promised is forever. Do you know Biblical Hebrew well enough to offer an opinion? Is there any ambiguity there?
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Marcialou, prepare yourself for a really, really, dreadful Sopranos impression:
"Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in."

The Hebrew word used is owlam, which is described here in greater detail.
1: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
A: ancient time, long time (of past)
B: (of future)
for ever, always
continuous existence, perpetual
everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity
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So in my humble opinion, I would say someone is being unnecessarily ambiguous. An indefinite period of time can be for ever, or for a nano-second. I would suggest the scribe meant to imply for ever.

I mean, consider: "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for quite a while." You'd have to ask, "When you say 'quite a while'?"

And as I cannot miss the chance to clarion my favourite dictum – context – I think the next verse tidies it up:
"And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."
That seems like a very long time. I don't know the exact number of grains of dust that comprise the earth, but I'm pretty sure it's a lot.
 
thanks for your contribution Thomas, I have learned a lot from you over the years :)


Take Care
 
A Cup Of Tea said:
??? Godfather?
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Of course!

Silly me. My (frankly dreadful) impression of Silvio in The Sopranos was, of course, of his impression of Don Corleone The Godfather (Part III).

Context, Thomas! Context!!! :D
 
... no, I'm back again ...

Well here's the thing.

Those who know me better than I know myself have suggested I might continue here a little longer. And it transpires the cogs of the cosmos have aligned themselves in such a way that I find I have more time at my disposal than I had previously thought.

My project 'on the blocks' is off the blocks, and running smoother than I imagined.

So, if it's OK with you guys, I'll hang around for a bit?

Having said that, may I introduce Thomas 2.0 ... or is it 3.0?

I was musing last night on my 11 years here at IO, and so dipped into a commentary on the Eleventh Card of the Major Arcana, and read this:
The "primal revelation", which is refered to by theology and to which natural religion is due, is the hope and faith, which vibrates both in the whole world and in each particular being, that life proceeds from a holy source, that it flows towards an end of supreme worth...

The mystery of natural religion ... is found expressed with remarkable clarity in the Apocalypse of St.John:
"Before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures ... and day and night they never cease to sing: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!" (Revelation iv. 6-8) (from Meditations on the Tarot p270)
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This, as they say, was more than coincidence. The song of the 'four living creatures' forms the core of the Angelic Trisagion – The traditional Christian prayer of devotion to the Holy Trinity. 'nuff said.

This gives a tableau of the working of natural religion, and its structure and elements. It is the Presence which is reflected in the limpid sea "like crystal" ... (ibid)
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As the commentary states, the Presence, reflected in the sea of glass, refracts "like crystal" into so many different facets of the one thing. And I would go further and say like the hologram, each facet contains the entire picture. It is, in a sense, The Semantic Sea...

This recollected a comment from one of my tutors when reviewing an essay of mine. A phrase that always stuck with me was his "... and on to the semantic web!"

So I looked that up and found this:
People keep asking what Web 3.0 is. I think maybe when you've got ... everything rippling and folding and looking misty ... access to a semantic Web integrated across a huge space ... an unbelievable data resource ... (Tim Berners-Lee, 2006)
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So while I tarry, I think I can say 'Thomas the Contender has left the building!' :D

I'm jumpin' right in ... I leave it to you.
 
Just call me 'yo-yo' ... Yo-Yo-T ... that's my Rap Name :cool:
 
Thomas said:
Just call me 'yo-yo' ... Yo-Yo-T ... that's my Rap Name :cool:
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Yo yo yo, chilly fresh fast five Freddy fender-o'matic ... what, that went retro ... yo yo yo, so glad to see you're still hangin' around. Who else the hell would keep me honest? ;)
 
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