Browsing: Religion

A Brief History On December 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte shocked the world as he crowned himself Emperor of the French by taking the crown from the Pope and plopping it on his own head.  48 years later on this same date, his nephew and namesake, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, was also crowned Emperor and given the title Napoleon III. Digging Deeper Over 9,500 people in the U.S. have Napoleon for a first name, a name that means “from Naples,” as in Naples, Italy.  More has been written about Napoleon Bonaparte than any other person in history after Jesus Christ. Just as Napoleon I’s attempts to…

A Brief History On November 10, 1793, the government of revolutionary France celebrated the “Festival of Reason” as it rejected traditional religion (mostly Catholicism in France) and inserted a philosophy known as the “Cult of Reason” as the national “religion.”  Nationwide, real women dressed up in white Roman dress and impersonated “Goddesses of Reason.” Digging Deeper This new government had renounced all forms of deities for a secular, scientific explanation of the universe and all in it.  Despite having Goddesses of Reason dancing around, the framers of this Cult of Reason were also careful to warn against worshipping science, liberty,…

A Brief History On November 5, 2009, Fort Hood, Texas became the scene of the worst slaughter of U.S. military personnel at an American installation when Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist of all people, went on a murderous shooting spree that left 13 dead and 32 wounded.  Digging Deeper On the morning of the fateful day, Hasan gave away his furniture and handed out copies of the Koran.  He then armed himself with a 5.7 mm FN pistol, went to the Soldier Readiness Center, shouted “Allahu Akbar!” (Arabic for “God is Great”) and spent the next ten minutes shooting his comrades.  Hasan…

A Brief History On October 30, 1501, the long history of sordid affairs involving popes and goings on in the Vatican reached a bizarre new level when Cesare Borgia, a cardinal in the Catholic Church and son of Pope Alexander VI, hosted “The Ballet of Chestnuts” at his father’s residence, the Papal Palace.  What made this gala party so special was that it was attended by 50 prostitutes for the pleasure of the guests. Digging Deeper Also at the party were the Pope and his daughter Lucretia.  The 50 “party girls” were at first clothed as they danced with and for the guests, but they then removed…

A Brief History On October 24th, 1537, in a cruel twist of fate, Queen Jane Seymour died of complications following childbirth after having just 12 days earlier provided Henry VIII with his much longed-for son and heir. Digging Deeper There is a popular rhyme that people can memorize to remember the fates of Henry VIII’s six wives: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Jane, the only one of his wives to bear that name (the rest were either “Catherines” or “Annes”), was the one who died.  If she had not died, however, she would have been the one who survived, as…