Парадигмата е система на мислене (от гръцкото “paradigma”, ‘модел’). Тя е модел за разбиране и обяснение на определени аспекти на действителността. Макар че Томас Кун пише за науката, терминът бива широко възприет. Говори се за образователни парадигми, парадигми в градоустройството, промяна в медицинската парадигма и т. н.

Промяна в парадигмата представлява определено нов начин на мислене относно старите проблеми. Например в продължение на повече от два века видните мислители са приемали, че парадигмата на Исак Нютон (неговото описание на предвидимите механични сили) ще обясни в крайна сметка всичко чрез понятията за траектория, гравитация и сила.

Но в твърденията на учените крайните отговори се оказват неуловими, тук-там някои данни отказват да се вместят в Нютоновата схема. Това е типично за всяка парадигма. Накрая се натрупват твърде много наблюдения, външни за старата система на обяснение, и я “разпъват”. Обикновено в кризисната точка се явява човек с велика еретична идея. Едно ново могъщо прозрение обяснява очевидните противоречия. То въвежда нов принцип… нова перспектива. С налагането на една по-широка като обхват теория кризата от разрушителна става съзидателна.

“Съзаклятието Водолей”

Мерилин Фъргюсън

Pastor Frangipane offers us wise counsel. Some would have us run away from our circumstance – to bible school, religious activity, marriage, etc.. I do not say that you should not better your circumstance if you can – whatever it is that binds you; I only say that His grace is sufficient for you; acknowledging that I struggle with this as well.

Credo, jag tror…

Jag tror på demokrati.

På varje människas lika värde.

På att kärlek kan förändra mer än hat.

Att ingen föds ond.

På religionernas kärleksbudskap.

Att religion i allmänhet mest orsakar bekymmer.

Att extremism i alla former är förkastligt.

Att kön, sexualitet och ursprung har väldigt lite betydelse.

Att ingen människa ska behandlas illa eller diskrimineras utifrån kön, sexualitet eller urprung.

Att människan tyvärr är en egoistisk varelse.

Att egoism försämrar världen.

Att nyfikenhet är grunden till mycket.

Men att empati och solidaritet är viktigast i ett fungerande samhälle.

Att alla har en fri vilja och därmed gör sina egna val och ansvarar för sina handlingar.

För att kunna göra bra val behöver man stöttning.

Att man lär sig massor genom att läsa böcker.

Att alla borde resa till länder där de får känna sig annorlunda och udda.

Att alla borde resa och upptäcka världen och inte bara festa med andra svenskar på charterorter.

No man is an island

Inte heller kan något land isolera sig och överleva.

Vad tror du? Hur lyder ditt Credo?

Série: Momentos Especiais / Episódio 52 – Dia da Consciência Negra.

[Obs.: se copiar, não altere a imagem ou o texto; coloque um 'link' ou 'backlink' para esta página.]

True safety and wisdom are rarely found in conformity. These can be found at times in community, but not always.

Community and conformity are two different notions. Take note of the pastor who does not understand the difference between these two and learn from his or her mistakes.

One of the most remarkable statements I have come across in my virtual travels is an expression that one “cannot have God as your Father if you will not have the church as your mother.” The phrase comes from Cyprian, a figure in the early history (3rd Century) of the church. He wrote this in the context of offering commentary about how to welcome people back into the organized fellowship who had fallen away during a time of persecution by the Roman Empire.

I immediately disliked this phrase as it was being applied by a pastor in a Vineyard Church, and had to reflect a bit on why. I still dislike it, and beg your indulgence to explain why this matters and why it matters so much as to be elevated to a “Credo.”

The language is highly “loaded” – in an age where masculine dispositions themselves are under assault in the church (e.g. understanding ‘why’ you are to believe something, rather than passively accepting what you are told, for one.) Do we really need this further feminization of the language in our fellowships? Consider also the implications of “cannot” — and lest you think I am straining at gnats, remember those men driven from fellowships because a 20 year old with a G.E.D. wrote an objectionable book about ‘kissing dating goodbye’. Language is a container of ideas, and ideas matter, as well as how we express them.

The forms of organization and hierarchy of an embattled association of believers in North Africa in the 3rd century are not congruent with what you will find, say, in a white-bread suburban church in North America, circa 2009 (or a dark-bread urban church in the same time and milieu, either.) The literary forms and memes of that age are also not the same as, say, those used in the latest pop seller at your local Christian bookstore. So; if one were to blithely repeat what Cyprian said because it sounds cool (ooh! low cost Church history baco-bits for the sermon!) …without giving reflection as to what those words mean in a modern context it would be to engage in foolishness. In the time of Cyprian a father had a kind of position in law and social standing that might not even be understood by, say, your average bible – school diploma holding assistant church elder. Likewise the meme expressed with the use of the word “mother” as metaphor.

It is a constant in Christian life that we are called to be in meaningful fellowship with other believers. It is a natural sequelae of seeking Him that compassion will be engendered in you – and in others – for others in the same boat. Some believers may liken this to the nurturing love a mother has for her offspring. You aren’t hearing me deny, dispute, or otherwise disregard this feeling. Nor are you hearing me dispute legitimate spiritual authority in the assembly. I certainly do not say that you turn away from people who love you with a strong, nurturing love.

What you are hearing me say is that the language in this statement is loaded with assumptions that will take away from you rather than add to you if it is applied at face value, as I believe it has been and can be.

This is a far cry from “mothering” and from saying “you cannot …have God as your Father…

In summary, then: You need real community with believers actually seeking Him. You will prosper in your walk with competent help from more mature believers. But neither the community of believers nor their leadership have been called to be your “mother” or to “mother” you. They are in fact called to point you to your Strength and disciple you about those things they ought to… but they are not called to “mother” you.

….And a wise mother knows when to let her sons have their freedom.

One of the most remarkable statements I have come across in my virtual travels is an expression that one “cannot have God as your Father if you will not have the church as your mother.” The phrase comes from Cyprian, a figure in the early history (3rd Century) of the church. He wrote this in the context of offering commentary about how to welcome people back into the organized fellowship who had fallen away during a time of persecution by the Roman Empire.

I immediately disliked this phrase as it was being applied by a pastor in the Vineyard Church, and had to reflect a bit on why. I still dislike it, and beg your indulgence to explain why this matters and why it matters so much as to be elevated to a “Credo.”

The language is highly “loaded” – in an age where masculine dispositions themselves are under assault in the church. Do we really need this further feminization of the language in our fellowships? Consider also the implications of “cannot” — and lest you think I am straining at gnats, remember those men driven from fellowships because a 20 year old with a G.E.D. wrote a book about ‘kissing dating goodbye’. Language is a container of ideas, and ideas matter. And there are some real ‘mothers’ in church leadership positions who should not be trusted with a raw idea without some kind of fatherly supervision upon them.

The forms of organization and hierarchy of an embattled association of believers in North Africa in the 3rd century are not congruent with what you will find, say, in a white-bread suburban church in North America, circa 2009 (or a dark-bread urban church in the same time and milieu, either.) The literary forms and memes of that age are also not the same as, say, those used in the latest pop seller at your local Christian bookstore.

It is a constant in Christian life that we are called to be in meaningful fellowship with other believers. It is a natural sequelae of seeking Him that compassion will be engendered in you – and in others – for others in the same boat. Some believers may liken this to the nurturing love a mother has for her offspring. You aren’t hearing me deny, dispute, or otherwise disregard this feeling. Nor are you hearing me dispute legitimate spiritual authority in the assembly. I certainly do not say that you turn away from people who love you with a strong, nurturing love.

What you are hearing me say is that the language in this statement is loaded with assumptions that will take away from you rather than add to you if it is applied at face value, as I believe it has been and can be.

In the time of Cyprian a father had a kind of position in law and social standing that might not even be understood by, say, your average bible – school diploma holding assistant church elder. Likewise the meme expressed with the use of the word “mother” as metaphor.

This is a far cry from “mothering” and from saying “you cannot …have God as your Father…

In summary, then: You need real community with believers actually seeking Him. You will prosper in your walk with competent help from more mature believers. But neither the community of believers nor their leadership have been called to be your “mother” or to “mother” you. They are in fact called to point you to your Strength and disciple you about those things they ought to… but they are not called to “mother” you.

….And a wise mother knows when to let her sons have their freedom.

Moral da historia – Beber e dirigir pode te deixar muito feio (a) [/nãotevegraça]

Am rămas impresionat anul trecut când am fost pentru prima oară la Expoziția Internațională a Sculpturilor în Nisip din Blanckenberg, Belgia.  Tema de anul trecut a fost Povestea Cenușăresei. Tema de anul acesta a fost Lumea Piraților (mai precis Pete Pirate and the Barnacle Bill. Mai multe despre acest festival, aici. Te simți de-a dreptul copleșit, însă tot atât cât te gândești la măiestria cu care au au fost făcute aceste lucrări artistice te gândești și la fragilitatea materialului din care sunt făcute. Nu poți să nu te întrebi: cât vor dura? Cum vor rezista?

Uitându-mă la aceste castele… din nisip mă gândesc la eforturile celor de după potop de a crea „un turn cu vârful până la cer”, pentru a-și face „un nume clădit din cărămizile și smoala eforturilor noastre”. Sau mă gândesc la acele cuvinte înșelătoare: „Templul Domnului, Templul Domnului” (vezi Ieremia 7:4 și contextul). Mă gândesc la castelele-fortărețe ale Europei, care în secolele 16-17 nu își mai aveau rostul strategic, deoarece nu se mai puteau împotrivii ghiulelelor. Și. în cele din urmă, dar nu în ultimul rând, mi-l amintesc pe Sfântul Apostol Petru, care spune că:

„Orice făptură este ca iarba

și toată gloria ei este ca floarea de pe câmp!

Iarba se ususcă, iar floarea cade,

însă Cuvântul Domnului rămâne pe vecie!” (Întâia Epistolă 1:24-25).

„Cuvânt” prin care, spune Petru, am fost născuți din nou. Iar acest Cuvânt este „viu”, este „o sămânță nepieritoare” și „rămâne în veac”. „Și acesta este Cuvântul care v-a fost vestit prin Evanghelie.”

Ce contrast între acest „Cuvânt” și castelele… din nisip, din gheață, din grinzi și din piatră, între „Cuvânt” și acele turnuri făcute cu truda noastră, din cărămizile și smoala eforturilor noastre fără Dumnezeu.

„Mărturia este aceasta: Dumnezeu ne-a dat viața veșnică, și această viață este în Fiul Său (Cuvântul, vezi Evanghelia după Ioan 1, n.m.). Cel care-L are pe Fiul are viața; cel care nu-L are pe Fiul lui Dumnezeu nu are viața” (Întâia Epistolă a Sfântului Apostol Ioan 5:11-12). Oare poate să fie Ioan mai clar și mai direct decât atât?

You are not biblically obliged; nor are you obliged by God, to “own” every problem.

Edit: This expression is meant to respond to such sentiments as “seeing a need is a call” and “if there is a problem in a relationship, it is always the man’s fault” etc.

……

Não sei o que é pior, a Monalisa aí ou o bolo dela…

The scripture describes her as a “weaker vessel.” I do not say that she has warrant or reason to act as if she has no sinful nature; nor do I say that she does not have need of seeking Him. Nor do I say any such thing as that her sin is any less destructive than that of a man’s. I only say that married or single, that she is the “weaker” vessel. This does not mean that she is less (or more) spiritual.* The work He has made in you can only cause you to consider this with compassion.

*Another day will see a post as to my thoughts on the precise limits and meaning of this.

In nomine Dei nostri Satanas Luciferi excelsi!

Creo en un solo señor,
Satán, el todo poderoso dios del fuego,
creador de la justicia y la venganza.

Creo en un solo señor,
Lucifer, el ángel temido por el mismo Dios,
desde antes de todos los tiempos.

Satán, Lucifer, Belial y Leviatán,
temidos y respetados por el mismo Dios,
por quien fueron condenados.

Que con su saber y sus creencias,
lucharon cara a cara contra el cielo.

Y por obra de su convencimiento
se hicieron de legiones
y armaron el ejército de las tinieblas.

Padecieron y fueron condenados,
pero resucitaron con más poder
para acabar a Dios padre.

Y ahora aparecerán con la gloría,
para matar pastores y ovejas.
Y este reino caerá en su final.

Creo en el Anticristo,
señor dotado con el conocimiento oculto,
que procede de las millones de legiones,
que con los cuatro príncipes,
recibe el mismo temor y las mismísimo victorias.

El que hablo con los falsos profetas.
Creo en la Iglesia de Satán
que es sabía, poderosa y respetada.

Confieso que hay un solo bautismo
para recibir a Satán.

Espero la resurrección de nuestro ejército
y la batalla final contra el cielo.
Ave Satán!

Credo nell’ignoranza, perché è molto più semplice vivere come mi viene imposto.

Credo nella disillusione, in quanto è troppo doloroso scoprire che alla fine i sogni rimangono tali.

Credo nel sentito dire, poiché è troppo impegnativo accertarmi della verità delle cose.

Credo nel fottere il prossimo, altrimenti alla prima occasione sarà lui a fottere me.

Credo in Dio, perché se dopo la vita non ci fosse nulla non avrebbe senso l’esistenza.

Credo nelle raccomandazioni, dato che non c’è niente di male nel ricevere un favore.

Credo nell’ipocrisia, visto che un finto sorriso può celare magnificamente ciò che penso davvero.

Credo nell’essere pessimisti, così quando me lo metteranno in culo sarò già preparato.

Credo nella vendetta, poiché non sopporto che un torto rimanga impunito.

Credo nell’amicizia interessata, in quanto non è altro che un reciproco scambio di favori nel tempo.

Credo nelle mezze verità, poiché la pura verità è troppo scomoda e le menzogne non vanno lontano.

Credo nel generalizzare, perché da opinioni ed esperienze simili posso sicuramente trarre leggi di vita universali.

Credo nell’arroganza, visto che tutte le persone umili hanno fatto una brutta fine.

Credo nell’aspetto esteriore, dal momento che una bella presenza può mascherare la pochezza che ho dentro.

Credo nel fare ciò che mi pare, dopotutto non è un mio problema se gli altri non l’hanno ancora capito.

Credo nella retorica, in quanto si può sistemare tutto con qualche parola altisonante.

Credo che nulla abbia valore, in quanto ogni cosa ha già un prezzo.

Credo nella debolezza dell’uomo, visto il mondo in cui viviamo sarebbe stupido credere il contrario.

Credo che non esista la coscienza, tanto il mal di stomaco è sempre un’ottima scusa per mascherare il rimorso.

Credo che la musica migliore sia quella che passano, perché è troppo faticoso prendermi la briga di scoprire cosa mi piace veramente.

Credo nell’integralismo, poiché provare ad accettare un diverso punto di vista è oltremodo fastidioso.

Ed infine credo nei canoni standard della bellezza, poiché se una mattina mi alzassi commosso per l’immensa tempesta che scatena nel mio profondo l’asimmetria di un difetto e scoprissi di non poter fare a meno della dolcezza che mi trasmette un’imperfezione..

..già, se quella mattina mi alzassi potrei finalmente essere fiero di ciò che sono e cominciare a credere in me.

Quella mattina, forse, credo che resterò a letto, dopo tutto.

Cave

-

Algo a declarar Alf?

-

It should not require stating, but it does: Walking in forgiveness does not mean being in agreement with your accuser. It does not mean that you are obliged to be a foot-cleaning mat for someone. It does not mean that you are obliged to not react when you are wronged — though I think you are wise to choose the time, place, and manner of your response when you are wronged. It means just what it means: That you walk in forgiveness.

After the screening of CREDO at the Grimm Up North! festival this weekend, a review has been posted on the US film site Quiet Earth. Personally, I think it’s a really fair review. It would be good to know what other people think of it.

Posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 23:13:24 GMT by: projectcyclops

Year: 2008
Directors: Toni Harman
Writers: Alex Wakeford
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Credo is a low-budget horror film directed by Tony Harman, written by Alex Wakeford and set in London. The film starts off with a group of Catholic students attempting to summon the devil himself. Of the five, Simon (the late Stephen Gately, who carries himself very well) is their leader, with his roots in Irish Catholicism; he’s seemingly obsessed with finding Satan, so as better to defeat him. Poor old Seth however, gets cold feet and runs away from the séance. Next morning, his four friends are all dead from suicide…

We then cut to another group of students, several years later, and they’ve just been evicted from their flat. Jock, a boisterous American… um… jock, has held one party too many and the landlord boots them onto the streets. Alice (MyAnna Burning) is a practical and dedicated psychology student who spends all her time in the college library studying for exams. Timmi is a shy brunette who has a secret crush, and Scott is a well intentioned nerd, who also has a secret crush. With their somewhat token and underwritten black friend Jasmine in tow, the five of them break into Eden Catholic Halls to spend a weekend of boozy fun and Ouija board tinkering.

Hands-down the best thing about Credo is this, and if you really don’t want a slight spoiler then skip to the next paragraph: It’s old-school, it’s cerebral and it’s scary, but there is no horror except that which is suggested. I live for a film that can scare me without resorting to buckets of gore, grotesque make-up or weak CGI, and once Credo gets going, it’s really an effective horror film. After a shaky start which has some pretty dodgy acting, the film finds its feet and we follow the characters through a terrifying journey in which Satan will try his best, through hallucination and time-shifts, to convince each person to commit suicide, so they die in sin and he claims their souls.

Harman has wisely chosen an incredible location for Eden, it’s a huge complex of run-down bedrooms and hallways, full of old mattresses and filthy radiators, broken lights and years worth of dust and grime, and it helps to perfectly set the tone and atmosphere for the film. Scott attaches cameras around the building too, and we get shots on his laptop in night-vision which are used effectively and add to the chills. The music and sound design warrant mention too, as they are simply terrific in turning-up the fright factor and keeping the audience tense as to the next scare, especially the microphone that Scott uses to pick up signals that humans can’t normally hear, that freaked me out completely!

In all – An effective and chilling horror film that uses inventive camera work, imaginative sound design and that overlooked little technique known as suspense and suggestion to create some real scares.

Credo Old Poster Image

Here’s a review from US genre movie website QUIET EARTH

Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Credo is a low-budget horror film directed by Toni Harman, written by Alex Wakeford and set in London. The film starts off with a group of Catholic students attempting to summon the devil himself. Of the five, Simon (the late Stephen Gately, who carries himself very well) is their leader, with his roots in Irish Catholicism; he’s seemingly obsessed with finding Satan, so as better to defeat him. Poor old Seth however, gets cold feet and runs away from the séance. Next morning, his four friends are all dead from suicide…

We then cut to another group of students, several years later, and they’ve just been evicted from their flat. Jock, a boisterous American… um… jock, has held one party too many and the landlord boots them onto the streets. Alice (MyAnna Burning) is a practical and dedicated psychology student who spends all her time in the college library studying for exams. Timmi is a shy brunette who has a secret crush, and Scott is a well intentioned nerd, who also has a secret crush. With their somewhat token and underwritten black friend Jasmine in tow, the five of them break into Eden Catholic Halls to spend a weekend of boozy fun and Ouija board tinkering.

Hands-down the best thing about Credo is this, and if you really don’t want a slight spoiler then skip to the next paragraph: It’s old-school, it’s cerebral and it’s scary, but there is no horror except that which is suggested. I live for a film that can scare me without resorting to buckets of gore, grotesque make-up or weak CGI, and once Credo gets going, it’s really an effective horror film. After a shaky start which has some pretty dodgy acting, the film finds its feet and we follow the characters through a terrifying journey in which Satan will try his best, through hallucination and time-shifts, to convince each person to commit suicide, so they die in sin and he claims their souls.

Harman has wisely chosen an incredible location for Eden, it’s a huge complex of run-down bedrooms and hallways, full of old mattresses and filthy radiators, broken lights and years worth of dust and grime, and it helps to perfectly set the tone and atmosphere for the film. Scott attaches cameras around the building too, and we get shots on his laptop in night-vision which are used effectively and add to the chills. The music and sound design warrant mention too, as they are simply terrific in turning-up the fright factor and keeping the audience tense as to the next scare, especially the microphone that Scott uses to pick up signals that humans can’t normally hear, that freaked me out completely!

In all – An effective and chilling horror film that uses inventive camera work, imaginative sound design and that overlooked little technique known as suspense and suggestion to create some real scares.

Just got back from a CREDO cinema screening at the Grimm Up North! Horror Film Festival at the Odeon Printworks in Manchester.

It was great to see CREDO playing on the big-screen especially as we had a really good audience reaction at what actually was it’s cinematic premiere. The only sadness was that the screening was being dedicated to the memory of Stephen Gately.

For me personally, I loved doing the Q&A’s!

I was on a “Directing Your First Horror Feature” panel where the discussion was all about transferring the skills from making short films to feature films and about what lessons we had all learned from directing our debut horror flicks. There were four directors on the panel, so myself and the directors of three other indie UK horror flicks – SPLINTERED, GNAW and THE FALLOW FIELD.

What really struck me was that we all had very similar experiences – that we didn’t find directing our first feature film that different from directing either shorts or TV, that we all struggled with the night shoots, that finding objectivity in the post-production was our biggest problem, we were all working on our next feature and that actually, all of us were just really normal not-up-ourselves (sorry to use this word) “nice” people who just happened to love horror.

After the screening, I did another Q&A with my producer partner Alex Wakeford and our gorgeous star from Credo, MyAnna Buring, about exactly how / where / why / how quickly etc we made CREDO and again, I just loved talking about it! I could have talked about it for hours. It just gave me a real rush. (Although it was a bit weird, doing the Q&A being surrounded by a dead very bloodied model sheep and decaptitated heads which were part of the Grimmfest Exhibition.)

And I loved talking all things horror with all the other directors / actors / horror fans present.

The thing that really struck me was that I absolutely felt that I belonged in this world of horror and fear. And I felt really proud that a film I directed was one of those being screened. It felt right and it felt good.

So thank you Grimmfest. Hope to see you same time next year.

CREDO screening dedicated to the memory of Stephen Gately

I’ve just returned from Grimmfest in Manchester where Credo had it’s cinema premiere at the Odeon Printworks. It was really nice to see the film up on the big screen; it was the first time any of us had seen it projected properly like this. Credo was screened at the London Independent Film Festival earlier in the year, but that was held in a strange bar/cinema venue with an amateurish projection system, so the screening at the Odeon was in a different league (although, with my cinematographer’s hat on, the projection was a little on the dark side! But hey, it was Halloween after all!)

The other great thing was seeing  MyAnna, Credo’s leading lady there. We haven’t seen her since we were in the last throes of post production a very long time ago, so it was lovely to catch up with her. The occasion was all the more special as she hadn’t seen this UK version at all. In fact she had only seen what turned out to be a first cut of the film which has changed massively since then. And I’m happy to report that she hid behind her hands throughout most of the screening, being way too terrified to watch properly!

Afterwards we had a fun question and answer session in a room filled with severed heads, bloody limbs and disemboweled sheep (amongst other gory horror mementos!). I definitely saw Pinhead eyeballing us from the back of the room too!

The occasion was tinged with sadness too, however, as it was Stephen Gately’s cinema premiere too. We really missed him being there, but seeing his performance up on the big screen brought back a lot of happy memories and we will be eternally grateful for everything that he did for us and for the film.

Big respect to the Grimm Up North (Grimmfest) Horror Festival team! It was the inaugural occasion of this festival and  the organizers have done an amazing job. They clearly love horror and they know what they’re talking about. I hope it turns out to be the success that it deserves and they can make it an annual event. And thank you Sim and Rachel not only for putting on the Credo screening, but for getting us up to Manchester and back in the first place.

There’s definitely a real thirst for blood oop north!