Posted on 10/14/2008 6:23:13 AM PDT by NYer
The Miracle of the Dancing Sun at Fatima which was seen by 70,000 people on October 13th, 1917 has been written about often. I truly do enjoy reading about all the "scientific" explanations for the "anomaly of Fatima." The way that science has bent itself into a pretzel to explain away the vision of the sun dancing in the sky at a foretold time is always fun.
So, last year, I got together my top ten "scientific explanations" for Fatima that I was able to find on the internet.
First I'll start with a little history history: A writer named Avelino de Almeida who wrote articles for O Século, (a big newspaper in Portugal at the time). The papper took a strong anti-religious stance. Goodness, even then, the media wasn't a big fan of religion, huh? In fact, all of Almeida's previous articles had mocked the previously reported events at Fatima but here's what he wrote that day 81 years ago:
"Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bare-headed, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws — the sun 'danced' according to the typical expression of the people."But despite the fact that one of their own reported this, secularists have amassed an enormous amount of explanations as to why we should not believe our own eyes. Here are the astounding reasons they've amassed so we should believe nothing at all special happened in Portugal that great day.
claims that the position of the phenomenon as described by the various witnesses, is at the wrong azimuth and elevation to have been the sun. He suggests the cause may have been a sundog. Sometimes referred to as a parhelion or "mock sun", a sundog is an atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with the reflection/refraction of sunlight by the numerous small ice crystals that make up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. A sundog is, however, a stationary phenomenon, and would not explain the reported appearance of the "dancing sun". So Nickell further suggests an explanation for this phenomena may lie in temporary retinal distortion, caused by staring at the intense light and/or the effect of darting the eyes to and fro so as to avoid completely fixed gazing (thus combining image, afterimage and movement).So, in effect, 70,000 people all shook their heads and thought a mock-sun was dancing. All 70,000? Prety ridiculous, huh?
The plagues served to change the heart of the pharoah, so that he would let Moses’ people go. Ultimately, of course, since God could have achieved this through other means, the purpose was to strengthen the faith of the Israelites.
The miracle at Fatima served to encourage hundreds of millions of Catholics to pray for the conversion of Russia, to resist the heresy of universalism, and to know God was at work even during the horrors of WWII and the Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. In other words, to strengthen the faith of the faithful Christians in the Catholic Church.
(Incidentally, from 1918 until the end of the 20th century, Portugal emerged as the most Christian nation in Europe.)
:)And they time to hand wash all of their clothes.
It was pouring rain. Everyone was soaking wet. the ground was muddy.
After the miracle of the sun, the rain stopped, everyone’s clothes were dried, the ground was gry and no longer muddy.
Can they explain that?
Yes. That is what the Church always considers first as well as fraud and trickery before it approves miracles as "worthy of belief". BTW non natural demonic deception would be preternatural not supernatural. Supernatural is only rightly used in relation to God's actions. Great on line video:
I’m surprised they didn’t use “mass hypnosis” or “drug induced” as a reason.
There are quite a number of reports of even large UFO’s as well as dyads, triads, groups of UFO’s
—shining brightly quite similar to the sun
—dancing about precisely as described in the eyewitness reports
—appearing to crash, merge, sink behind, land on the earth—with and without ‘winking out’ phenomena associated at precisely that point in time and in their path etc.
—EVERY visible phenomena reported at Fatima by the most mature, ‘scientific,’ objective of the many observers regarding the sphere, light, craft . . . have been REPEATEDLY DUPLICATED numerous times in many UFO reports.
—ALSO, the personage, perhaps ‘designed’ to appear as a maiden plausibly convincing in the role as “Mary” has had counterparts in the UFO literature. There appears to be an ability to mimic, counterfeit, parallel, virtually any sort of political, spiritual personage such forces and powers care to bother with.
THESE DESCRIPTIONS ARE PARTICULARLY AND PRECISELY AS HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF DESCRIPTIONS OF ‘STANDARD’ UFO’s:
I veered to the magnet which seemed to be drawing all eyes, and saw it as a disc with a clean-cut rim, luminous and shining, but which did not hurt the eyes. I do not agree with the comparison which I have heard made in Fatima-—that of a dull silver disc. It was a clearer, richer, brighter colour, having something of the luster of a pearl. It did not in the least resemble the moon on a clear night because one saw it and felt it to be a living body. It was not spheric like the moon, nor did it have the same colour, tone, or shading. It looked like a glazed wheel made of mother-of-pearl. It could not be confused, either, with the sun seen through fog (for there was no fog at the time), because it was not opaque, diffused or veiled. In Fatima it gave light and heat and appeared clear-cut with a well-defined rim.
Dr. Domingos Coelho (reported in the newspaper Ordem):
The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.
Fr. Manuel Pereira da Silva (in a letter to a friend)
The sun appeared with its circumference well defined. It came down as if to the height of the clouds and began to whirl giddily upon itself like a captive ball of fire. With some interruptions, this lasted about eight minutes. The atmosphere darkened and the features of each became yellow. Everyone knelt even in the mud....
began to move, and at a certain moment appeared to be detached from the sky and about to hurtle upon us like a wheel of flame.
which seemed pale and did not hurt the eyes. Looking like a ball of snow revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed to come down in a zigzag, menacing the earth.
The apparation at Fatima came to us through the Catholic Church.
To some folks, that makes it ipso facto evil, demonic and deceptive.
If the exact same phenomena had occurred within the context of some "independent", "nondenominational", "bible" "church" it would be an amazing prophetic witness.
It's all about the context.
1) I forget how the abductee sample was taken. The sample representing the general population was taken in very standard and kosher ways as was the sample for the abductees. Both samples were tested the same ways.
2) I don’t recall the labels used formally in the study. There was considerable effort to use standard neutral terms, IIRC.
3) Busy still glazing in the raised tomato bed. Outside crop has now died from first frost. Rescued some to the college greenhouse. Have 10 or so in the raised bed still looking quite happy. have 2 out of 6 top panels of polycarbonate in place and the end panels and one out of 6 front panels. Using plastic sheeting to fill in until I can get all the poly carbonate panels up. Earlier was cloudy and misting a bit but may be able to work on it now as the sun has come out.
Otherwise, classes are going well. Health is OK. Teeth still awaiting God’s touch or solution.
Still monitoring the prophetic field re supposed calamities on the near horizon.
Chinese high school student stayed in Flushing NY and parents came up with 2nd semester. Sounds like he has 3-4 closest friends at the church referred him to. Praise God for that.
Pottery is on hold until I get the tomato bed at least glazed in. May put up the foam insulation on the north back side largely today. Will see.
Church Men’s Retreat went very well. Was asked to lead Lord’s Supper and demonstrate footwashing as had led it in Taipei at many Cursillos/Tres Dias weekends there. Both were a blessed time and the worship times on the retreat were particularly full of the overt Presence of The Lord.
I guess I’m plugging along, encouraged in The Lord and productive with students etc.
HOW ABOUT YOU, DEAR BRO? How’s your feet, now . . . and the relatives of concern?
LUB
TRUE.
Short of various frequencies beamed at folks brains . . .
there is NO SUCH THING as mass
hallucinations. It’s a term thrown out by vain government types tasked with coming up with an explanation to lead people astray of the realities involved.
CERTAINLY UFO’s have been and will be even more so used to manipulate the masses.
. . . toward compliance with and support of the global government of satan.
100% correct, imho:
Witnesses of UFO phenomena undergo a manipulative and staged spectacle, meant to alter their belief system, and eventually, influence human society by suggesting alien intervention from outer space. The ultimate motivation for this deception is probably a projected major change of human society, the breaking down of old belief systems and the implementation of new ones.
Particularly where certain legislators and judges are concerned.
and/or
in a certain caricature of Mary . . .
usable later to manipulate the masses even more skillfully, seductively and . . . destructively-to-their-souls.
Context can be quite important.
However,
the objective facts are more important.
>> and/or in a certain caricature of Mary . . . usable later to manipulate the masses even more skillfully, seductively and . . . destructively-to-their-souls. <<
Now THERE’s an argument based on reason! (Sarcasm) Why don’t you spare yourself a lot of trouble and simply paste “CATHOLICS ARE GOING TO HELL!!!!” on every thread.
Silly me. ;-D
Well I guess leper soup is good for you.
Because I don’t believe that
all
Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, Charismatics . . .
are going
to
Heaven or Hell
God looks on the heart regarding whether we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior, or not . . . and have we earnestly endeavored to walk with Him.
However, idolatry of
AN INSTITUTION
A DOGMA
A LEADER
AN ORGANIZATION
A SCHEMA
A FANTASY
AN IMAGE
. . . OR ANY OTHER THING
OTHER THAN LOVING GOD ALMIGHTY SUPREMELY
is VERY hazardous to one’s spiritual health.
The hypothesis about the maiden/personage claiming to be ‘Mary’ at the Fatima UFO event quite likely being a long planned very skillful hoax from hell is very reasoned and based on considerable data points . . . particularly compared to the biased hostility I’m responding to.
However, I don’t expect a lot of worshippers of the Vatican Institution to be remotely influenced in the slightest by my perspective.
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