A Brief History On January 3, 1521, Roman Catholic (Augustinian) priest and reformer Martin Luther was ex-communicated from the church by Pope Leo X. 440 years later, on January 3, 1962, Pope John XXIII ex-communicated Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, an avowed communist and therefore an atheist. Digging Deeper The reasons for each of these men to be ex-communicated from the church are obvious, since Luther went against church dogma and policy and ignored numerous warnings to desist in his heretical teachings. Luther made the unforgivable sin of going against church policy of selling indulgences, a money making scheme by which…
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A Brief History As it is said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it” (George Santayana, but you will see this quotation in many different forms), today we will go way back into History and find some things that may be worth repeating after all, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This list consists of the generally accepted list of “wonders” but feel free to nominate anything you think belongs on this list. (Note: List is by age, starting with the oldest.) Digging Deeper 7. Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt), 2561BC. The only one on…
A Brief History On January 1, 1950, a new method of designating what year it is (or was) went into effect with the BP system, meaning “Before Present.” The Anno Domini (“the year of our Lord”) choice of a starting date for modern counting of years was proposed by the colorfully named Dionysius Exiguus (a monk from what is now modern Bulgaria or Romania) back in 525 AD. (Yes, you can use the letters with or without the periods.) Digging Deeper The Lord referred to in AD is Jesus Christ, which of course seems to slight people of any religion…
A Brief History Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix -IZA no mai- was a mixed martial arts event held by Rizin Fighting Federation. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31, 2015. Digging Deeper Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix -IZA no mai- Information Promotion Rizin Fighting Federation Date December 31, 2015 Venue Saitama Super Arena City Saitama Attendance 18,365 Event chronology Rizin Fighting Federation 1 Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix -IZA no mai- Results Main Card Weight class Method Round Time Notes Heavyweight Muhammed Lawal def. Jiří Procházka KO (punch) 1 5:09 [a] Heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko def. Singh…
A Brief History On December 31, 192 AD, Roman Emperor Commodus was assassinated by his own inner circle, setting the stage for The Year of the Five Emperors in 193. Digging Deeper A typical Roman emperor egomaniac, Commodus saw himself as a demi-god and often had himself depicted as Hercules. Robust physically, he often participated in gladiatorial events, and his character was played by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2000 movie Gladiator (with Russell Crowe in the title role), a Best Picture Oscar winner. On December 22, 2015, we featured an article about the hazards of serving as Emperor of Rome…