Tree Of Salvation

G. Ronald Murphy offers an insightful examination of the lasting significance of Yggdrasil in northern Europe, showing that the tree's image persisted not simply through its absorption into descriptions of Christ's crucifix, but through recognition by the newly converted Christians of the truth of their new religion in the images of their older faith.

Winner of the 2014 Mythopoeic Myth & Fantasy Studies Award At the heart of the mythology of the Anglo-Scandinavian-Germanic North is the evergreen Yggdrasil, the tree of life believed to hold up the skies and unite and separate three worlds: Asgard, high in the tree, where the gods dwelled in their great halls; Middlegard, where human beings lived; and the dark underground world of Hel, home to the monstrous goddess of death. With the advent of Christianity in the North around the year 1000, Yggdrasil was recast as the cross on which Christ sacrificed himself. G. Ronald Murphy offers an insightful examination of the lasting significance of Yggdrasil in northern Europe, showing that the tree's image persisted not simply through its absorption into descriptions of Christ's crucifix, but through recognition by the newly converted Christians of the truth of their new religion in the images and narratives of their older faith. Rather than dwelling on theological and cultural differences between Christianity and older Anglo-Scandinavian beliefs, Murphy makes an argument internal to the culture, showing how the new dispensation was a realization of the old. He shows how architectural and literary works, including the Jelling stone in Denmark, the stave churches in Norway, The Dream of the Rood, the runes of the futhark, the round churches on Bornholm, the Viking crosses at Middleton in Yorkshire and even the Christmas tree, are all indebted to the cultural interweaving of cross and tree in the North. Tree of Salvation demonstrates that both Christian and older Northern symbols can be read as a single story of salvation.

This is a study of the evidence in art, artifact, architecture, and poetry that the myth of Yggdrasil, the cosmic tree of life associated with the gods, the runes, fate, and ragnarok in Norse/Germanic mythology, was associated in northern Christianity with the cross of Christ. The events of the story of Yggdrasil were seen as a kind of foreshadowing for the events in the New Testament, especially the crucifixion and resurrection, and the ultimate salvation of human beings from death and their corpses from the Nidhogg.

"Walks through ten accounts in the Bible to provide an overview of God's vast, epic plan of salvation. Covers both Old and New Testaments, from creation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, to His return on the Last Day when He will judge the living and the dead and live together with all believers in His restored creation forever. Includes reflection questions"--

It has been an amazing journey, trying my hardest, to walk in the path towards the light, where Jesus Christ would want me. I am so grateful for second chances. I am thankful for third chances. And in my case, I am thankful for fourth, fifth, and sixth chances. That is the beauty of the atonement. This is the beauty of Jesus Christ. As long as we believe in Him and accept him as oursavior, we have an infinite number of opportunity to change for the better. I am so thankful to have these chances and to get the opportunity to grow in the process. I have learned through trial and error what is important in life, what makes me happy, and what it requires of me to be the best version of myself. I have also learned that having a father in heaven be there by my side to guide me, is real power that has truly worked miracles in my life. Also, I've noticed that His power can only work properly in me whenever I am doing what is expected of me to keep God by my side. This is where I find the atonement important to help fix my mistakes when I mess up and bring light back into my life. This book is just a portion of my life, through events that I have gone through, and how they have formed me into who I am today. Most of these trials that I have gone through have mostly came through my decisions to use drugs and alcohol, in a way that became a problem, revolving most of my time and energy focused around these substances. I have learned that having this lifestyle and way of thinking has given me many fallbacks in life. It has led me to be in even many dangerous situations and incidences that have happened to me because places and people that I chose to be around. It is a miracle that I am even still alive to share this story. I write this story of my life in hope that others may not have to go through what I have gone through. I also write this to also show even if you are dealing with any form of addiction that may be harming your life, there is still hope and a time to change if you really have the desire to change for the better. There is a father in heaven who loves you a great deal, who knows you by name, and gives us these trials so that we can be used in this life and the life to come for a direct purpose. I find it amazing that the creator of the universe created us to be His children. I find it amazing that we are created in His image. This makes me feel like we are an important part of the universe, being on the planet where the Creator has His children! I know that we live in a competitive world; a place where appearance, social media, and money means everything. It can sometimes be difficult to have an optimistic outlook on life. Also, we live in a world where religion is slowly decreasing, and people are losing hope. I believe that religion means everything and even helps explain why we are even here. My biggest issue with religion is that each religion tries to convert rather than accept. There is too much dilemma on who is right and who has the exact answers of complete truth. When in reality, each religion believes in a creator and a purpose of us all being here (Christian or not). This is just my personal opinion, but there seems to be too much arguing on truth that it pulls away from what religion teaches. And in my opinion, it should only express LOVE! I love having a testimony of life and the opportunity to strengthen my testimony in religion. Our Father in heaven means everything to me. You mean everything to me as well""being my spiritual family for being another human being. I know that we live in a difficult world but have hope in everyone here that we will each find our direct purpose. I believe my direct purpose was to experience a life of drugs and alcohol so that I could recover and share my experiences of the dangers of messing with these substances in a world that strongly revolves around this style of living, even considering them cool and fun. I'm still working on what else is expected on me but know by having faith and keeping our Father in heaven in my heart, he will guide me in what next to do. What's your purpose? I know that you have one; believe in yourself, believe in a Creator that knows you by name. Ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you. And that is a promise that comes from the HEAVENS! That is a promise that comes from GOD!

The cult-y pocket-size field guide to the strange and intriguing secrets of the Mojave—its myths and legends, outcasts and oddballs, flora, fauna, and UFOs—becomes the definitive, oracular book of the desert For the past five years, Desert Oracle has existed as a quasi-mythical, quarterly periodical available to the very determined only by subscription or at the odd desert-town gas station or the occasional hipster boutique, its canary-yellow-covered, forty-four-page issues handed from one curious desert zealot to the next, word spreading faster than the printers could keep up with. It became a radio show, a podcast, a live performance. Now, for the first time—and including both classic and new, never-before-seen revelations—Desert Oracle has been bound between two hard covers and is available to you. Straight out of Joshua Tree, California, Desert Oracle is “The Voice of the Desert”: a field guide to the strange tales, singing sand dunes, sagebrush trails, artists and aliens, authors and oddballs, ghost towns and modern legends, musicians and mystics, scorpions and saguaros, out there in the sand. Desert Oracle is your companion at a roadside diner, around a campfire, in your tent or cabin (or high-rise apartment or suburban living room) as the wind and the coyotes howl outside at night. From journal entries of long-deceased adventurers to stray railroad ad copy, and musings on everything from desert flora, rumored cryptid sightings, and other paranormal phenomena, Ken Layne's Desert Oracle collects the weird and the wonderful of the American Southwest into a single, essential volume.

The bunkers were built for the apocalypse. Just not the one they expected. Life was bad and getting worse in the depths of Salvation. It did not take the people of Level Three long to realise that the only reason they had been spared from the cataclysm was to become a slave class. Now, a single accident has changed everything. Fear is spreading like a virus. Rumours become facts the moment they're spoken. Neighbour is turning against neighbour. And time is running out fast. For most, this signals the end. For Callie and her friends, there is just one hope, but to find it, they're going to have to fight through the most terror-filled night of their lives. Can they escape the horror that awaits them? Or will these next few hours be their last?