The Jolly World of another Cultist - Santa Claus

by c.pio

 

Arcee Ofthepast katoliko lang ang meron nyan (only catholic has it)

Arcee Ofthepast may ipapakita ako ha? tapos sabihin mo gago ang may paniniwalang may santa.ipo post mayamaya ng kunti..hehehehe (I will show something? Then say ‘silly’ to those who believe in the existence of Santa. I will post it a little while.. Lol)

Mr. Arcee Ofthepast is a member of Ang Dating Daan (Old Path) the Church of God International, a quasi-Christian religion founded by Mr. Eli Soriano.  He started his argument by pointing out that the Catholic Church has a doctrine that teaches the existence of ‘Santa Claus’.

When we coined the word ‘SANTA CLAUS’,  he was referring to a mythical man who resides at the North Pole and delivers gifts to people throughout the world in the space of a few hours every 24^th of December in each year. The Church never believes nor teaches such mythical jolly red-man with magical flying reindeer friends as portrait in modern secular world.

Who’s who?

Contrary on their accusation, the Church honors a holy man named Saint Nicholas, he is not a mythical man who has magic power that can travel around the globe to distribute his Christmas presents, He is a real man (historical man) much admired by many for his piety and kindness. He was a 4th century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, now in Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. He is the inspiration of modern day ‘Santa Claus’.

Saint Nicholas – Santa Claus

When we say ‘SAINT’ especially the International language (English), dealing with gender has no problem simply because this is a ‘NEUTER NOUN’; we can apply it to a male or female’s name of Saint without any difficulty e.g. Saint Mary (a female saint) or Saint Paul (a male saint).

But this is not the case if you are in the Philippines; when you translate the neuter noun ‘SAINT’ into a Filipino language, this will now categorize as a Gender Noun: SANTA (for a female saint) and SANTO (for a male saint). Thus, it is wrong to say Santo Maria or Santa Pablo.  

Here comes the argument:  Knowing that he is a male, why they use ‘SANTA’ after all?

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nicholas' Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas)

English Name	Saint Nicholas
Dutch Name	Sint  Nikolaas
Shortened Name	Sinter Klaas

SIN-TER-KLAAS

Dutch Native Pronunciation

s	i	n	-	t	e	r	-	k	l	aa	s
s	ee	n	-	t	ee	r	-	k	l	ah	s
so	see	no	-	to	see	rat	-	key	let	car	so

English Pronunciation

s	i	n	-	t	e	r	-	k	l	aa	s
s	ī	n	-	t	ǝ	r	-	c	l	ä	s
so	vine	no	-	to	Same pronunciation for fäthǝ (r), ǝ –allow,   silent (r)		-	car	let	law	so
San-tuh Claus / Santa Claus

So therefore, the word ‘santa’ in ‘santa claus’ was not a gender noun like the ‘Santa’ in Filipino; it is only how Americans in 17^th century pronounce the word ‘sinter’.

Fact: Americans was the one who brought ‘santa claus’ in the Philippines.

Fact: The mythical character of this ‘santa claus’ was first introduce in 1822 by an Episcopal Minister named Clement Moore "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas".  Moore's poem included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks; and he is largely responsible for modern image of Santa Claus as a "right jolly old elf" with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head!

But this member of Ang Dating Daan of Mama Eli keeps insisting that we are the creator of this "right jolly old elf" during my exchange with him. 

Arcee Ofthepast I saw mommy kissing santa klaws...hehehehe

Arcee Ofthepast eh tanga pala ang papa nyo..wala pala kayong doktrina bakit nya pinaparactice ang santa? (Your Pope is fool… since it is not in your doctrine why he practices Santa?)

Arcee Ofthepast bakit nag co costume ng santa ang papa nyo kung hindi pala naman kayo naniniwala..sino sa inyo ang manloloko at sino ang nagpapaloko? (If you don’t believe, why your Pope wear a Santa’s Costume .. who are liar and who are those who believe in lie?) 

Arcee Ofthepast KUNG TANGA AKO KASI NANINIWLA AKO SA SANTA...EH DI LALONG TANGA ANG PAPA NYO KASI NAG COSTUME PA HAR HAR HAR (If I am a fool because I believe in Santa… your Pope much more fool because he wears a Santa’s Costume)

Santa’s Hat or Camauro?

Santa’s Hat is something we all know very well. That Red Hat with the Furry white trim and BIG POMPOM.

Papal Camauro

Santa Hat

A camauro is a cap traditionally worn by the Pope of the Catholic Church.

Papal camauros are of red wool or velvet with white ermine trim and are worn, usually in winter, in place of the zucchetto, which in turn takes the place of the biretta worn by other members of the clergy. Like the biretta worn by lower clergy and the mortarboard worn by academics, the camauro derives from the academic cap (the pileus), originally worn to protect tonsured clerical heads from the cold. It is often worn with a shoulder winter cloak (mozzetta), also sometimes fur-lined. (Wikipedia.org)

The mythical jolly red-man who wears Hat with the Furry white trim and BIG POMPOM (known as Santa’s hat) was first appeared in 1822 but the camauro has been part of the papal wardrobe since the 12th century.

The Magical World of Cultist

By c.pio

These past few weeks, I have been busy attending my FB account … I found myself answering and addressing some baseless accusations against True Church founded by Christ – The Catholic Church. Here are few funny but worth noting examples:

The Case: Pope Silvester II (c. 946 – 12 May 1003)

Birth name: Gerbert d'Aurillac, was a prolific scholar, teacher, and Pope. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab/Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics, and astronomy, reintroducing to Europe the abacus and armillary sphere, which had been lost to Europe since the end of the Greco-Roman era.

Pope Silvester II, as a scientist, was said to be far ahead of his time. He wrote a series of works dealing with matters of the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music), which he taught using the basis of the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric). In Rheims, he constructed a hydraulic-powered organ with brass pipes that excelled all previously known instruments, where the air had to be pumped manually. He may have been the author of a description of the astrolabe that was edited by Hermannus Contractus some 50 years later. Besides these, as a Pope he wrote a dogmatic treatise, De corpore et sanguine Domini—On the Body and Blood of the Lord. (Wikipedia.org)

The Argument:  Raymond C Ako (Iglesia ni Cristo fanatic member)

PAPA: SI SILVESTRE II AY PINANINIWALAANG TINULUNGAN NG DEMONYO (POPE SILVESTER II WAS BELIEVE HELPED BY THE DEMONS)

"SYLVESTER II INTRODUCED ARABIC NUMERALS INTO THE WESTERN WORLD,
"MANY PEOPLE WERE CONVINCED THAT THIS POPE WAS ELECTED WITH THE HELP OF THE DEVIL" (THE POPES,page 40)

According to him, the legend is true that he (Gerbert d’Aurillac known as Pope Silvester II) connived with the Demons to gain such knowledge and have the see of Peter.

I really don’t know how this professed ‘Bible only’? cult believes such magical Legend. But then again, one thing is for sure… they will use anything under the sun to attack us.

“SYLVESTER II INTRODUCED ARABIC NUMERALS INTO THE WESTERN WORLD”

Mr. Blake Morris in his novel “The Justification of Johann Gutenberg” wonderfully illustrates the answer how the ARABIC NUMERAL seen as Demonic Symbols by Medieval Western World that explain how poor Pope Silvester II was accused of conniving with the Demons:

Arithmetic in that school was taught with Arabic numerals. It was only when I had grown the legs for my second school, at the monastery of St. Viktor, a three-mile walk from home,  that I found what heresy these symbols were. Asked on my first morning to write down one to nine, I put the numbers as my old teacher had shown me – 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 – and felt proud at forming them neatly. But Brother Benedict, the ancient monk appointed my new teacher… shook with rage when he saw what I had done.

               ‘What infidel language is this?’ he bawled.

               ‘They are numbers, master.’

               ‘They are the work of Satan.’

… Seeing how I trembled myself, he spoke more mildly to me, and having slashed out my offence with angry flourishes of his pen, he tenderly crafted his chaste reply: I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VII,IX.

‘Observe’, he said, ‘the pure and beautiful simplicity. With Roman Numerals, you need master only three signs to write nine numbers.

…’May I ask a question, master? How do I make nought (zero)? ‘There is no such sign,’ he said, freshly displeased. ‘As a Christians, you must forget the notion of nought. In God’s universe, everything is alive and inhabited, even hell. There is never nothing.’ ‘But how can I do sums without a nought?’ ‘I repeat: there is no such number. The closest God allows us to come to nothing is purgatory. But even purgatory, though an in-between, is still a living place, not nought. … nought is the sign of Devil.

[Other point of how the medieval Christian Europe hated the Arabic Numerals as to compare in Roman Numerals it is because the latter reminds of something very Christians: X = 10 - the Cross, Christ Redemptive Act; L= 50 - Incomplete or half: power of Lucifer; C=100 Christ, Complete and you could ask no more. but in Arabic Numeral, all these reminders are not present.]

Funny it may sounds, but I think Iglesia ni Manalo Cult believe in these superstitious meaning of numbers and the ‘nought/zero’ is the sign of Devil. So since they believe that the Legend is true, I challenge them if they don’t use the symbol ‘0’ in any of their documents otherwise they connive with the demon.  =)

Next issue: the case of Santa Claus 

Arcee Ofthepast katoliko lang ang meron nyan (only catholic has it) member of Ang Dating Daan.

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Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is Risen
Death has no Power to us Now!

God our Father,
by raising Christ your Son
you conquered the power of death
and opened for us the way to eternal life.
Let our celebration today raise us up
and renew our lives by the Spirit that is within us.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

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For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]

Lord have mercy
When I stand in the shadow of the cross
Christ have mercy
When I kneel with a repentant heart
Lord have mercy
And shine your resurrection light on us
Amen.

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