New blog in English and Russian

Gaby

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I created a new blog in livejournal.com, a Russian platform. It's bilingual, but I must confess that the Russian is translated by DeepL. If anyone who knows better (and has the time) sees an egregious translation mistake, feel free to chime in. It's the best thing I came up with to solve a couple of things I've been meaning to do: learn the Russian language and refresh some concepts that I longed to review for some time. I looked at my schedule and realized that it's way too tight as it is, but I can always make "blog bites" any now and then, and review some Russian vocabulary as I go, that's doable.

I'll be using a "nom de plume" instead of my real name for basic strategic enclosure purposes, not that my identity is top secret, though.

First post here:


Study of Evil — Исследование зла​


The Temptation of Adam and Eve in the Chapel of Purgatory, Auch - Sainte-Marie Cathedral - Stained glass window: Adam and Eve — Искушение Адама и Евы в капелле чистилища, Ауш - Собор Сент-Мари - Витраж: Адам и Ева





The Temptation of Adam and Eve in the Chapel of Purgatory, Auch - Sainte-Marie Cathedral - Stained glass window: Adam and Eve — Искушение Адама и Евы в капелле чистилища, Ауш - Собор Сент-Мари - Витраж: Адам и Ева

Timothy Ashworth's interpretation of the teachings of Paul in his book, Paul's Necessary Sin: The Experience of Liberation, provide a valuable insight on how precious our current times are in terms of knowledge and being.


He argues that when a child encounters a situation that is dangerous and destructive in a way that is beyond its capacity to understand, the parent simply prohibits. This is most obviously true of situations where the child's life is in danger.


The desire for knowledge in the child is, in the child's mind, even though unarticulated, an absolute good which is not limited to only those things that are not dangerous. The desire to protect the child's life is, in the parent's mind, also an absolute good for the parent can see that knowledge is no use without life. So the unlimited desire for knowledge in the child is restrained by the prohibitions of the parents.

Similarly, we can draw a parallel to the Genesis story where "For humankind to be true to the gift of dominion given to it by God, there is an inevitability to its assertion of itself against the authority of God". This is the story of sin and the serpent in Genesis.

Did God Say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden"? (Gen 3:1). Paul sees the law as essential for the sin to arise: "For without law sin is dead" (Rom 7:8). [...]In Paul's understanding, God gave the law, knowing that sin would arise, just as a parent prohibits the child, even though this will bring a certain rebellion in the child. But just as the parent prohibits the child because he or she can see a greater good for the child - the development towards adulthood - so it is possible to see a similar purpose in Paul's understanding of God's giving of the law. As consequence of prohibition the sin inevitably arises, but this only makes sense because God has a greater good in view.

A child doesn't see or understands that prohibitions are there for its safety and survival. It is only through self-assertion of the child that knowledge and experience of destructive natures are acquired. The child can then discern the difference between good and evil in terms of the child own's good. It is then that the child's will aligns with the parent's will of "for my own good - for your own good". As Ashworth explains:


God makes a creature in God's image, that is, unlimited, and then places upon it a limitation; the creature, being true to its unlimited nature must resist, but this means opposing the very Creator. It is this opposition which is "the sin". But it is also in this opposition that the creature comes to understand the nature of sin

In order to align ourselves with thought patterns or forces of good, we have to learn and discern evil in our life and our current reality. That includes every single aspect within ourselves and in the world at large - our upbringing programs, religion, history, science, geopolitics, psychology of human beings, the nature of our world, etc.


"Your eyes will be opened, ... knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:5).

Our present reality presents us with a limitation that brings painful knowledge in order to develop being. It is also a crucial time when evil is stripping off its Mask of Sanity (to quote Hervey Cleckley's classical book on psychopathy), presenting a great learning opportunity for all of us human beings of good will. We can endure the painful lessons with dignity when we have this meaning in life.


He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. Aeschylus

Further reading:


From Paul to Mark: PaleoChristianity by Laura Knight-Jadczyk


Church of Revived Paleochristianity


***


Интерпретация Тимоти Эшвортом учения Павла в его книге "Необходимый грех Павла: опыт освобождения" дает ценное представление о том, насколько ценны в наше время знания и бытие.


Он утверждает, что когда ребенок сталкивается с ситуацией, которая опасна и разрушительна настолько, что он не в состоянии ее понять, родитель просто запрещает. Это наиболее очевидно в ситуациях, когда жизнь ребенка находится под угрозой.


Стремление ребенка к знаниям является в его сознании, даже если оно не сформулировано, абсолютным благом, которое не ограничивается только тем, что не опасно. Желание защитить жизнь ребенка - это, с точки зрения родителя, также абсолютное благо, поскольку родитель видит, что знания бесполезны без жизни. Поэтому безграничное стремление ребенка к знаниям сдерживается запретами родителей.

Точно так же мы можем провести параллель с историей Генезис, где "для того, чтобы человечество было верным дару владычества, данному ему Богом, существует неизбежность утверждения себя против власти Бога". Это история греха и змея в Генезис.


Сказал ли Бог: "Не ешьте ни от какого дерева в саду"? (Генезис 3:1). Павел считает закон необходимым для возникновения греха: "Ибо без закона грех мертв" (Римлянам 7:8). [...]В понимании Павла, Бог дал закон, зная, что возникнет грех, подобно тому, как родитель запрещает ребенку, хотя это вызовет в нем определенный бунт. Но как родитель запрещает ребенку, потому что видит в этом большее благо для него - развитие к взрослой жизни, так и в понимании Павла можно увидеть аналогичную цель в Божьем даровании закона. Вследствие запрета неизбежно возникает грех, но это имеет смысл только потому, что Бог имеет в виду большее благо.

Ребенок не видит и не понимает, что запреты существуют для его безопасности и выживания. Только через самоутверждение ребенка приобретается знание и опыт разрушительной природы. Тогда ребенок может различать добро и зло с точки зрения собственного блага. Именно тогда воля ребенка совпадает с родительской волей "для моего блага - для твоего блага". Как объясняет Эшворт:


Бог создает творение по образу и подобию Божьему, то есть неограниченным, а затем накладывает на него ограничение; творение, будучи верным своей неограниченной природе, должно сопротивляться, но это означает противостояние самому Творцу. Именно это противостояние и есть "грех". Но именно в этом противостоянии творение приходит к пониманию природы греха.

Для того, чтобы присоединиться к мыслеобразам или силам добра, мы должны познать и распознать зло в нашей жизни и нашей современной реальности. Это касается каждого аспекта в нас самих и в мире в целом - наших программ воспитания, религии, истории, науки, геополитики, психологии человека, природы нашего мира и т. д.


"Откроются глаза ваши, ... познаете добро и зло" (Генезис 3:5).

Наша современная реальность представляет нам ограничение, которое приносит болезненное знание для развития бытия. Это также критическое время, когда зло срывает с себя маску здравомыслия (цитируя классическую книгу Херви Клекли о психопатии), предоставляя прекрасную возможность обучения для всех нас, людей доброй воли. Мы можем с достоинством пройти через болезненные уроки, если у нас есть смысл жизни.


Тот, кто научится, должен страдать. И даже во сне боль, которую невозможно забыть, капля за каплей падает на сердце, и в нашем собственном отчаянии, против нашей воли, приходит к нам мудрость по огромной милости Божьей. Эсхил Агаменон

There might be no users here at livejournal, but nevertheless, here it is:


I created a VK account to go with the blog here: Blanca Monastel | VK. I'll spend some time this weekend finding some friends there too.

I hope to know enough Russian in a few years 😅
 
I created a new blog in livejournal.com, a Russian platform. It's bilingual, but I must confess that the Russian is translated by DeepL. If anyone who knows better (and has the time) sees an egregious translation mistake, feel free to chime in. It's the best thing I came up with to solve a couple of things I've been meaning to do: learn the Russian language and refresh some concepts that I longed to review for some time. I looked at my schedule and realized that it's way too tight as it is, but I can always make "blog bites" any now and then, and review some Russian vocabulary as I go, that's doable.

I'll be using a "nom de plume" instead of my real name for basic strategic enclosure purposes, not that my identity is top secret, though.

First post here:




There might be no users here at livejournal, but nevertheless, here it is:


I created a VK account to go with the blog here: Blanca Monastel | VK. I'll spend some time this weekend finding some friends there too.

I hope to know enough Russian in a few years 😅
Wonderful, Gaby! I have to admit that the learning of the Russian language that I began to undertake a few years ago has fallen to the wayside lately. You inspire me to pick it up again. :thup: I mean, I still remember simple words and phrases I learned then, but that's about it. Thank you!

'In order to align ourselves with thought patterns or forces of good, we have to learn and discern evil in our life and our current reality. That includes every single aspect within ourselves and in the world at large - our upbringing programs, religion, history, science, geopolitics, psychology of human beings, the nature of our world, etc.'

In today's increasingly chaotic world, learning about the evil around us and how it affects our every decision is paramount. With the help of Laura's writing, the C's, and the Forum, we have a 'roadmap' to align ourselves - to find 'our self'. This is a wonder and a great relief for me.
 
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Very good, congratulations! Russian language is a very beautiful language to see. To look at it, I mean when you do not know how to read Russian :-D And to listen to Russian, it is wonderful. Anyway, I think the Deepl made a good translation. Good luck with this project!
 
Gaby, it is very admirable that you are learning such a complex language as Russian. And thank you for reminding of Ashworth's ideas. I read the book but good stuff tend to evaporate from memory over time.

If I may I'd like to suggest you to try Yandex Translate service which gives the very best results for Russian language (either source or target) IMO. Also Livejournal lost its shine almost a decade ago and you won't find many readers there. One of the most popular today is Dzen, but its moderators are/were plagued by leftist ideology, so it's better to be careful what you say. VK should be safe enough with good audience.
 
This is awesome, Gaby! A lot of good luck to you with your project. :-) 🌸

And I agree with aimarok. Apparently Livejournal is pretty much a "dead platform" and now Russians are using a Livejournal "reincarnation" Teletype.


It got a popularity boost after a famous graphic designer Artemy Lebedev moved there from LiveJournal. But it was already well known prior to this as well.

Here's an article in Russian with a detailed information about Teletype. Here's a quote from the article:

You can link your own domain to the blog in the form: blog.yourdomain.ru , or first-level domains: yourdomain.ru. For example, the address of Artemy Lebedev looks like this — blog.tema.ru.

Unlike a similar service Telegra.ph , Teletype.in indexed by search engines. To track the statistics of visits, you can connect Google Analytics or Yandex.Metrica to the blog.

One of the advantages of the service, Muravyov calls his own fast Teletype editor.

This is our greatest achievement that we have written our own WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), which we control, manage and can give a variety of functionality to authors to work with content.

The Instant View function works for Telegram and Facebook — it is due to it that the service gained popularity in Telegram channels after launch, says Muravyov.

I never used it myself, so can't really share a personal impression. There are also various tutorials about Teletype on YT.

Perhaps you could write in Russian on Teletype and for English make a Substack. Or VK works too! You could write there in Russian and then your posts could be shared on the Russian SOTT VK page. :-)

Or your posts could be also posted on the Russian SOTT and then shared on other social networks as well. :-)
 
What a great idea, @Gaby ! It's delightful that you can find in your busy schedule some extra time for such a difficult task as learning, no less difficult, language like Russian. :thup:

I agree with @Keit and @aimarok . The livejournal platform has lost its popularity lately and can often be used more for spam than for news. In my opinion, it is better to use VK , DZen so that your posts can be read by a larger audience.
In any case, good luck with it! Happy to help if needed! 🌞
 
Hey Gaby, here are some corrections.

Timothy Ashworth's interpretation of the teachings of Paul in his book, Paul's Necessary Sin: The Experience of Liberation, provide a valuable insight on how precious our current times are in terms of knowledge and being.
Your translation:

Интерпретация Тимоти Эшвортом учения Павла в его книге "Необходимый грех Павла: опыт освобождения" дает ценное представление о том, насколько ценны в наше время знания и бытие.

Better:

Интерпретация Тимоти Эшвортом учения апостола Павла в его книге Paul's Necessary Sin: The Experience of Liberation, дает ценное представление о том, насколько важны в наше время знания и бытие.

Similarly, we can draw a parallel to the Genesis story where "For humankind to be true to the gift of dominion given to it by God, there is an inevitability to its assertion of itself against the authority of God". This is the story of sin and the serpent in Genesis.

Your translation:

Точно так же мы можем провести параллель с историей Генезис, где "для того, чтобы человечество было верным дару владычества, данному ему Богом, существует неизбежность утверждения себя против власти Бога". Это история греха и змея в Генезис.

Better:

Точно так же мы можем провести параллель с историей Бытия, где "для того, чтобы человечество было верным дару владычества, данному ему Богом, существует неизбежность утверждения себя против его авторитета". Это история греха и змея из книги Бытия.

Genesis in Russian in this context -> Бытие

Did God Say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden"? (Gen 3:1). Paul sees the law as essential for the sin to arise: "For without law sin is dead" (Rom 7:8). [...]In Paul's understanding, God gave the law, knowing that sin would arise, just as a parent prohibits the child, even though this will bring a certain rebellion in the child. But just as the parent prohibits the child because he or she can see a greater good for the child - the development towards adulthood - so it is possible to see a similar purpose in Paul's understanding of God's giving of the law.

Your translation:

Сказал ли Бог: "Не ешьте ни от какого дерева в саду"? (Генезис 3:1). Павел считает закон необходимым для возникновения греха: "Ибо без закона грех мертв" (Римлянам 7:8). [...]В понимании Павла, Бог дал закон, зная, что возникнет грех, подобно тому, как родитель запрещает ребенку, хотя это вызовет в нем определенный бунт. Но как родитель запрещает ребенку, потому что видит в этом большее благо для него - развитие к взрослой жизни, так и в понимании Павла можно увидеть аналогичную цель в Божьем даровании закона.

Better:

Правда ли Бог сказал: «Не ешьте ни с какого дерева в саду»? (Бытие 3:1). Павел считает закон необходимым для возникновения греха: "Ибо без закона грех мертв" (Римлянам 7:8). [...] В понимании Павла Бог дал закон, зная, что возникнет грех, подобно тому, как родитель запрещает ребенку, хотя это вызовет в нем определенный бунт. Но как родитель запрещает ребенку, потому что видит в этом большее благо для него - развитие к взрослой жизни, так и в понимании Павлом Божьего дарования закона можно увидеть аналогичную цель.

The child can then discern the difference between good and evil in terms of the child own's good.

Your translation:

Тогда ребенок может различать добро и зло с точки зрения собственного блага. Именно тогда воля ребенка совпадает с родительской волей "для моего блага - для твоего блага". Как объясняет Эшворт:

Better:

Тогда ребенок сможет различать добро и зло с точки зрения собственного блага.

God makes a creature in God's image, that is, unlimited, and then places upon it a limitation;

Your translation:

Бог создает творение по образу и подобию Божьему, то есть неограниченным, а затем накладывает на него ограничение;

Better:

Бог создает творение по своему образу и подобию, то есть неограниченным, а затем накладывает на него ограничение;

In order to align ourselves with thought patterns or forces of good, we have to learn and discern evil in our life and our current reality.

Your translation:

Для того, чтобы присоединиться к мыслеобразам или силам добра, мы должны познать и распознать зло в нашей жизни и нашей современной реальности.

Better:

Для того чтобы привести себя в соответствие с мыслеобразами или силами добра, мы должны научиться распознавать зло в нашей жизни и нашей современной реальности.

"Your eyes will be opened, ... knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:5).

Your translation:

"Откроются глаза ваши, ... познаете добро и зло" (Генезис 3:5).

Better (official translation):

"ваши глаза откроются, ... познав добро и зло." (Бытие 3:5).

When translating Bible verses it's better to use official translation. Here is a good website for it.

Our present reality presents us with a limitation that brings painful knowledge in order to develop being.

Your translation:

Наша современная реальность представляет нам ограничение, которое приносит болезненное знание для развития бытия.

Better:

Наша современная реальность ставит нас перед ограничением, которое приносит болезненное знание для развития бытия.

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. Aeschylus

Your translation:

Тот, кто научится, должен страдать. И даже во сне боль, которую невозможно забыть, капля за каплей падает на сердце, и в нашем собственном отчаянии, против нашей воли, приходит к нам мудрость по огромной милости Божьей. Эсхил Агаменон

Better:

Тот, кто учится, должен страдать. И даже во сне боль, которую невозможно забыть, капля за каплей падает на сердце, и в нашем собственном отчаянии, против нашей воли, приходит к нам мудрость по огромной милости Божьей. Эсхил, Агамемнон

And here is one of the offcial translations of this strophe:

К разумению Добра
Зевс ведет путем скорбей,
Научает болью нас…
Нет сна; в сердце память каплет яд,
Злой укор… Видит грех, видит казнь —
В разум входит человек.
Нас к добру небесного насилья
Нудит благостный ярем.
 
Hey Gaby, here are some corrections.
That was most helpful, thank you! I did all the corrections and understood why. Yes, this will be a much better way for me to learn Russian. It's something I can look forward to.

I navigated DZen and Teletype and liked the later much better. The way I understand it, livejournal is "defunct" kind of like blogger. Some people still use it, but it's just a thing of the past. Nevertheless, I'll keep livejournal because I like its simplicity and friendliness to use. I created Teletype and will be posting only the Russian version there:

 
To write a bilingual blog with these topics while learning this beautiful language, this is impressive. Unfortunately I will only be able to read your articles in английский, (english, transl. deepl. : ) Thank you for all your work, Gaby. :flowers:
 
This post is about Timothy Ashworth again, being his more accurate translation of Paul's Rom 1:18-25 the most difficult to translate into Russian because it seems the automatic translator can't pick up the subtle differences:

Ever since the creation of the world [God's] eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they know God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became foods; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling [Greek 'the likeness of an image of'] a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. (Rom 1-20-25)

But anyhow, it's as good as it gets:


Lies vs Truth - Ложь против правды​


Plaque with Saint Paul and His Disciples ca. 1160–80 — Мемориальная доска со святым Павлом и его учениками ок. 1160-80





Plaque with Saint Paul and His Disciples ca. 1160–80 — Мемориальная доска со святым Павлом и его учениками ок. 1160-80

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." Romans 1:18-25
Timothy Ashworth explains in "Paul's Necessary Sin" how Paul views the reality of the fall from Eden as taking place in each human being. The author explains how the fall, according to Paul, is a change of perception, or rather, a loss of the perception of the divine which is reflected in the assertion of futile human thought and a darkening of the heart. The consequence of this is that humankind can only see clearly the physical and comes to be identified with the physical, visible, material and mortal part of human existence. This is 'the lie'.


Ashworth further clarifies that each human being is made up of the invisible, creative 'inner person’, and the visible, created 'outward person'. That which is created in each human being is 'the flesh' which is 'visible' and 'mortal'. It's the material world, materialism. The individual human being, identified with its material body or flesh, loses sight of the invisible things of God, and comes to serve instead the flesh, losing perception of that which is of God in him or herself - that which is invisible, glorious and immortal. This is the 'exchanging the truth of God for the lie'. This 'exchange' is, for Paul, a matter of human perception or identification. The 'darkened understanding' and 'senseless mind' is a description of humankind having lost sight of the invisible, eternal things of God, including knowledge of being the image of God. Therefore, humankind identifies its existence with the separate, material and individual flesh.


Those who can see 'the invisible things of God' are seeing the 'eternal'. Things which are seen in our material world are 'temporary', our mortal bodies. Thus, there's a dividing line that is drawn in each individual human being between seen and unseen, temporal and eternal, corruptible and incorruptible.


As the visible, mortal creation and the invisible, eternal things of the Creator co-exist in each human being, the experience of the fall - exchanging the truth of God for the lie and identifying life with the physical body is part of the state of each person. What follows is Timothy Ashworth's more accurate translation of Paul's saying:


Ever since the creation of the world [God's] eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they know God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became foods; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling [Greek 'the likeness of an image of'] a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. (Rom 1-20-25)

Just how badly are we identified with our flesh and with materialism during the present times? It seems that a significant part of the world's population resonate strongly with materialism, and that it is only a smaller part who is willing to wake up and see the unseen.


G.I. Gurdjieff illustrated very well our plight as humankind in his story about the Evil Magician:


"First of all it must be realized that the sleep in which man exists is not normal but hypnotic sleep. Man is hypnotized and this hypnotic state is continually maintained and strengthened in him. One would think that there are forces for whom it is useful and profitable to keep man in a hypnotic state and prevent him from seeing the truth and understanding his position.
"There is an Eastern tale which speaks about a very rich magician who had a great many sheep. But at the same time this magician was very mean. He did not want to hire shepherds, nor did he want to erect a fence about the pasture where his sheep were grazing. The sheep consequently often wandered into the forest, fell into ravines, and so on, and above all they ran away, for they knew that the magician wanted their flesh and skins and this they did not like.
"At last the magician found a remedy. He hypnotized his sheep and suggested to them first of all that they were immortal and that no harm was being done to them when they were skinned, that, on the contrary, it would be very good for them and even pleasant; secondly he suggested that the magician was a good master who loved his flock so much that he was ready to do anything in the world for them; and in the third place he suggested to them that if anything at all were going to happen to them it was not going to happen just then, at any rate not that day, and therefore they had no need to think about it. Further the magician suggested to his sheep that they were not sheep at all; to some of them he suggested that they were lions, to others that they were eagles, to others that they were men, and to others that they were magicians.
"And after this all his cares and worries about the sheep came to an end. They never ran away again but quietly awaited the time when the magician would require their flesh and skins.
"This tale is a very good illustration of man's position. - G.I. Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous by P D Ouspensky.
 
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