The similarities between the ancient god Tammuz and the Christian God are striking.
Tammuz was worshipped throughout Palestine and Mesopotamia, including Jerusalem, as early as 700 years before Christ was born. Tammuz worshippers called him “The Lord.”
The Church of the Nativity was built at the site Christian’s worship as the place Christ was born. It is located in Bethlehem. That same site was worshipped centuries before Christ was born as the place Tammuz was reborn.
In a letter from St. Jerome to Paulinis, St. Jerome writes, “This Bethlehem which is now ours, and is the most august spot on earth, was foreshadowed by a grave of Tammuz- that is to say, Adonis in the cave where the infant Christ once wailed....”
Tammuz was said to have been crucified. Tammuz symbol was the Tau, which was a pagan symbol for the cross.
Every year Tammuz’ was laid on a bed or bier and his death mourned by women. Afterwards, his resurrection was chanted and praised. Tammuz was said to have been a beautiful youth. The women who mourned him: the goddess Ishtar of Babylon and Assyria and the goddess Astarte of Phoenicia.
Many Christians, Muslims, and Jews reject any connection with gods like Tammuz that preceded their own. They call those gods “pagan.” For most of them that term is derogatory, particularly when the pagan gods are compared with their own. But why? Why are these “modern” religions so defensive? There is no reason to be ashamed. They may not be perfect, but Tammuz and the other pagan gods are the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim god’s ancestors.
Sources:
• “The Myth of the Resurrection” by Joseph McCabe (1925).(McCabe was once a Franciscan monk.) www.faithofyeshua.faithweb.com/crucified_sun_godno4htm
• “The Origins of Christianity & the Quest for the Historical Jesus Christ,” www.truthbeknown.com/origins.htm
• “Examining the Crucifixion of Jesus and Parallels to Crucified Sun-gods,”
www.faithofyeshua.faithweb.com/crucified_sun_godno4.htm.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Showing posts with label damned. Show all posts
Showing posts with label damned. Show all posts
Friday, July 25, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
INTRODUCING SHARON MARSHALL - DESTINY'S DAMNED
Sharon Marshall is a high-powered trial attorney in San Francisco, a partner in the large, prestigious firm of Braddick & Beene. Alex Caldwell is an investigative reporter with the New York post.
Close friends, Sharon meets Alex outside the Medical Examiner’s office in San Francisco on the day after Alex’s brother, Eric, is sadistically and ritualistically murdered.
Excerpt from: DESTINY’S DAMNED:
A figure in shadow, sitting on a bench in an empty, colorless hall paved with marble was motionless, not even the clacking of an approaching woman’s three inch heels disturbing him. Behind him, was a double glass door, shades drawn, marked “Medical Examiner.”
“Alex,” she said, her voice soft and soothing, “are you all right?” Crowded by small, high cheek bones and brows that had no curve, her forehead pinched with worry, she stooped and put her arms around him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah,” he said, beneath his breath. His eyes were red and worn with distress as he rose and hugged her. “Thanks for coming.
Tailored in every respect, her not too short, dark brown hair was brushed back and over her ears in a style that perfectly matched her expensive, conservative business suit and figure. Wearing just a touch of makeup, allowing her natural color and the brilliance of her bright green eyes expression, she possessed a kind of genuine attractiveness Alex always found appealing. Comforted by her, he held her closer. His brown eyes tearing, he cried.
He was tall and slender, casual in appearance, his all night flight across the continent telling. His pre stressed jeans, over stretched, bagged at the knees. His black wool, sports coat was crumpled. He had been out in the rain and he was wet. Shocks of his curly, black hair clung to his forehead, and he shivered.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Close friends, Sharon meets Alex outside the Medical Examiner’s office in San Francisco on the day after Alex’s brother, Eric, is sadistically and ritualistically murdered.
Excerpt from: DESTINY’S DAMNED:
A figure in shadow, sitting on a bench in an empty, colorless hall paved with marble was motionless, not even the clacking of an approaching woman’s three inch heels disturbing him. Behind him, was a double glass door, shades drawn, marked “Medical Examiner.”
“Alex,” she said, her voice soft and soothing, “are you all right?” Crowded by small, high cheek bones and brows that had no curve, her forehead pinched with worry, she stooped and put her arms around him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah,” he said, beneath his breath. His eyes were red and worn with distress as he rose and hugged her. “Thanks for coming.
Tailored in every respect, her not too short, dark brown hair was brushed back and over her ears in a style that perfectly matched her expensive, conservative business suit and figure. Wearing just a touch of makeup, allowing her natural color and the brilliance of her bright green eyes expression, she possessed a kind of genuine attractiveness Alex always found appealing. Comforted by her, he held her closer. His brown eyes tearing, he cried.
He was tall and slender, casual in appearance, his all night flight across the continent telling. His pre stressed jeans, over stretched, bagged at the knees. His black wool, sports coat was crumpled. He had been out in the rain and he was wet. Shocks of his curly, black hair clung to his forehead, and he shivered.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Thursday, July 17, 2008
A TROUBLED PRIEST - SATAN’S SCAT
Its air stagnant and old, its floors and ceiling, its tables and stools reeking of fifty years of stale body odor and smoke, the squalid, old bar in the heart of the Tenderloin District was home that night for Patrick. Sitting slumped at a booth in the farthest, darkest corner, a warm erotic body pressing him to the wall, he slugged down his sixth shot of mash and asked for more.
He was frightened and confused. Sybil had come for him but had not taken him. She had revealed her spirit to him but not her name. What does she want? he kept asking himself. Staring at hands that brought his drink, he took a ten from the bills he had put in front of him when he came in and surrendered it. Sober for months, he had a great thirst not only for drink but for something else.
Seductive fingers, crawling through tiny hairs at the back of his neck climbed toward his mutilated ear and played there. As her tongue took their place, her hand reached for his thigh.
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
He was frightened and confused. Sybil had come for him but had not taken him. She had revealed her spirit to him but not her name. What does she want? he kept asking himself. Staring at hands that brought his drink, he took a ten from the bills he had put in front of him when he came in and surrendered it. Sober for months, he had a great thirst not only for drink but for something else.
Seductive fingers, crawling through tiny hairs at the back of his neck climbed toward his mutilated ear and played there. As her tongue took their place, her hand reached for his thigh.
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Monday, July 14, 2008
WHAT IF CHRIST LEFT HIS OWN TESTAMENT?
What if Christ left His own Testament? And what if that Testament survived and is hidden? Why would the Christian Church want to find and destroy it? And who would be protecting it?
The Christian Church is founded on the New Testament and its Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Yet none of these gospels were actually written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The Gospels were written by various people, many unknown, then added to, named, and materially revised during the hundreds of years following the apostles’ deaths.
During the 4th century AD, on the instructions of the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, Bishop Eusebius and others edited, rejected, or destroyed the stories of Christ then in existence. Writing new and revised stories that furthered Constantine’s ambitions, Eusebius and the others created a work that became known as the New Testament. As a result, through legend, folklore and revision, Christ’s original teachings might well have been lost.
But what if Christ’s original teachings survived in another form? In His own Testament? What if his teachings were recorded contemporaneously with his life and death and survive as originally written? Can you imagine what would happen then? What would the publication of Christ’s Testament do to the power and authority of a Church built on stories that have questionable origins? What would the Church do to protect itself?
from SATAN’S SCAT
Based partly on the work of Martin E. Marty in his A SHORT HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, the World Publishing Company.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
The Christian Church is founded on the New Testament and its Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Yet none of these gospels were actually written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The Gospels were written by various people, many unknown, then added to, named, and materially revised during the hundreds of years following the apostles’ deaths.
During the 4th century AD, on the instructions of the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, Bishop Eusebius and others edited, rejected, or destroyed the stories of Christ then in existence. Writing new and revised stories that furthered Constantine’s ambitions, Eusebius and the others created a work that became known as the New Testament. As a result, through legend, folklore and revision, Christ’s original teachings might well have been lost.
But what if Christ’s original teachings survived in another form? In His own Testament? What if his teachings were recorded contemporaneously with his life and death and survive as originally written? Can you imagine what would happen then? What would the publication of Christ’s Testament do to the power and authority of a Church built on stories that have questionable origins? What would the Church do to protect itself?
from SATAN’S SCAT
Based partly on the work of Martin E. Marty in his A SHORT HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, the World Publishing Company.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Thursday, July 10, 2008
WAS HEROD NOT A JEW? - SATAN'S SCAT
The infamous Herod may not have been a Jew. The man historically responsible for Christ’s death was probably not a Jew at all.
His grandfather was Antipater, an Idumaean. The Idumaean were conquered by John Hyrcanus at the end of the 2nd century BC. The Idumaean, together with Antipater and his family were obliged to live as Jews and were thereafter considered Jews. However, Antipater’s loyalty was to Rome.
Antipater won favor with the Romans by helping them in the Orient. That favor won Antipater’s son, Herod the Great, the office of governor of Galilee. The Roman Emperors Octavian and Antony later secured Herod the Great the crown of Judea. To help secure his position, he married into the Hasmonean family who were very popular with the Jews.
Herod the Great was known for building the temple of Jerusalem, but he also built temples to pagan gods. The most notable was a temple to Apollo in Rhodes.
Christ was probably born during Herod the Great’s lifetime.
After Herod the Great died, he was succeeded by his sons: first, by Archelaus; then by Antipas, the Herod accused of being responsible for Christ’s death. Both were educated in Rome.
Herod Archelaus publicly declared that his title and authority were dependent on the the good will of Caesar. But he lost that good will and was banished to Gaul ten years after his reign began.
His brother, Herod Antipas, succeeded him. It was Antipas who was allegedly responsible for Christ’s death.
Antipas, too, catered to Rome. The Roman Emperor Octavian confirmed him as tetrarch of Galilee. When Antipas built his capital city on the Western Shore of the Sea of Galilee, he named it after the Roman Emperor Tiberias. He tried to Romanize Galilee. He helped Rome extract as much wealth from the conquered land as possible.
He was devoted to the Romans. And like his family, Herod Antipas, appeared to be more interested in wooing the Jews than being one.
see: SATAN’S SCAT
Sources:
•Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, “Herod.”
•USU 1320:History and Civilization, “Section 13: Early Christianity and the Church,” http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320Hist&Civ/chapters/13XITY.htm
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
His grandfather was Antipater, an Idumaean. The Idumaean were conquered by John Hyrcanus at the end of the 2nd century BC. The Idumaean, together with Antipater and his family were obliged to live as Jews and were thereafter considered Jews. However, Antipater’s loyalty was to Rome.
Antipater won favor with the Romans by helping them in the Orient. That favor won Antipater’s son, Herod the Great, the office of governor of Galilee. The Roman Emperors Octavian and Antony later secured Herod the Great the crown of Judea. To help secure his position, he married into the Hasmonean family who were very popular with the Jews.
Herod the Great was known for building the temple of Jerusalem, but he also built temples to pagan gods. The most notable was a temple to Apollo in Rhodes.
Christ was probably born during Herod the Great’s lifetime.
After Herod the Great died, he was succeeded by his sons: first, by Archelaus; then by Antipas, the Herod accused of being responsible for Christ’s death. Both were educated in Rome.
Herod Archelaus publicly declared that his title and authority were dependent on the the good will of Caesar. But he lost that good will and was banished to Gaul ten years after his reign began.
His brother, Herod Antipas, succeeded him. It was Antipas who was allegedly responsible for Christ’s death.
Antipas, too, catered to Rome. The Roman Emperor Octavian confirmed him as tetrarch of Galilee. When Antipas built his capital city on the Western Shore of the Sea of Galilee, he named it after the Roman Emperor Tiberias. He tried to Romanize Galilee. He helped Rome extract as much wealth from the conquered land as possible.
He was devoted to the Romans. And like his family, Herod Antipas, appeared to be more interested in wooing the Jews than being one.
see: SATAN’S SCAT
Sources:
•Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, “Herod.”
•USU 1320:History and Civilization, “Section 13: Early Christianity and the Church,” http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320Hist&Civ/chapters/13XITY.htm
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Monday, July 7, 2008
An UNUSUAL DETECTIVE - DESTINY’S DAMNED
An UNUSUAL DETECTIVE - DESTINY’S DAMNED
San Francisco. The sadistic, ritualistic murder of Eric Caldwell brought Sybil Meter, Lieutenant Detective of Homicide into the case. Outside the Medical Examiners office, where Eric was being autopsied, his brother Alex waited.
At precisely the appointed time, the double door that led to the Medical Examiner opened and a woman in an inexpensive, somewhat worn, brown, slack suit and black turtle neck, without adornment, stepped outside. She wore her thick, light brown hair like a hat, full on top and short on the sides. Elfish, triangular sideburns extended to the middle of her ears and framed big, round cheeks slung low over a subtly dimpled jowl. A small, but not delicate, mouth and strong, definite chin line accentuated her perfectly oval head. Under gently sloping eyebrows, trimmed evenly from one end to the other, her walnut brown eyes were dark and equivocal. She was not to be read easily.
“You Alex Caldwell?” she asked. She wore no make-up at all, but had a clean, fresh look, her skin reflecting the hall light. Suddenly sharing the light with her eyes, she drew them toward her, holding them captive. “Lieutenant Detective Sybil Meter,” she said, breaking the spell as she extended her hand.
Excerpt from: DESTINY’S DAMNED
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
San Francisco. The sadistic, ritualistic murder of Eric Caldwell brought Sybil Meter, Lieutenant Detective of Homicide into the case. Outside the Medical Examiners office, where Eric was being autopsied, his brother Alex waited.
At precisely the appointed time, the double door that led to the Medical Examiner opened and a woman in an inexpensive, somewhat worn, brown, slack suit and black turtle neck, without adornment, stepped outside. She wore her thick, light brown hair like a hat, full on top and short on the sides. Elfish, triangular sideburns extended to the middle of her ears and framed big, round cheeks slung low over a subtly dimpled jowl. A small, but not delicate, mouth and strong, definite chin line accentuated her perfectly oval head. Under gently sloping eyebrows, trimmed evenly from one end to the other, her walnut brown eyes were dark and equivocal. She was not to be read easily.
“You Alex Caldwell?” she asked. She wore no make-up at all, but had a clean, fresh look, her skin reflecting the hall light. Suddenly sharing the light with her eyes, she drew them toward her, holding them captive. “Lieutenant Detective Sybil Meter,” she said, breaking the spell as she extended her hand.
Excerpt from: DESTINY’S DAMNED
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Thursday, July 3, 2008
SATAN’S SCAT: THE DEATH OF THE VIRGIN MARY
Scholars believe The Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, died about fifteen years after His death. Although there is a “Mary’s Tomb” attributed to her in Jerusalem, many believe she left Palestine and actually died in Ephesus, Turkey. She was apparently 13-15 years old when Jesus was born in AD 1. It follows that she was 46-48 when He died and was 61-63 years old when she died.
Evidence The Blessed Virgin lived and died in Ephesus includes the following:
A. Ephesus, Turkey was a major Christian community.
B. The synodal letter of the Council of Ephesus infers that Virgin Mary and St. John lived and were buried there.
C. “Bar-Hebraeus or Abulpharagius, a Jacobite bishop of the thirteenth century, relates that St. John took the Blessed Virgin with him to Patmos, then founded the Church of Ephesus, and buried Mary no one knows where.
D. Pope Benedict XIV said Mary followed St. John to Ephesus and died there. Benedict was going to remove from the Breviary the lessons which mentioned Mary’s death in Jerusalem but died before he could do it.
E. Mary’s residence and death in Ephesus are upheld by such writers as Tillemont, Calment, etc.
F. The remains of a house, identified as the one in which Mary lived is on a hill about nine or ten miles from Ephesus.
This evidence raises certain questions. For example, why would Mary, at the end of her life, take such an arduous journey away from her lifelong home in Palestine?
What would make her leave? Was it fear of the people who killed Jesus? Scholars believe she did not depart Palestine until about 13 years after Jesus’ death.
Why did she leave St. Peter, Jesus’ successor?
Sources:
1. http://experts.about.com/q/turkey-207/virgin-mary-1.htm
2. Wikipedia, “Mary, mother of Jesus”
3. Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, “The Blessed Virgin Mary”
4. Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent. “St. John the Evangelist”
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Evidence The Blessed Virgin lived and died in Ephesus includes the following:
A. Ephesus, Turkey was a major Christian community.
B. The synodal letter of the Council of Ephesus infers that Virgin Mary and St. John lived and were buried there.
C. “Bar-Hebraeus or Abulpharagius, a Jacobite bishop of the thirteenth century, relates that St. John took the Blessed Virgin with him to Patmos, then founded the Church of Ephesus, and buried Mary no one knows where.
D. Pope Benedict XIV said Mary followed St. John to Ephesus and died there. Benedict was going to remove from the Breviary the lessons which mentioned Mary’s death in Jerusalem but died before he could do it.
E. Mary’s residence and death in Ephesus are upheld by such writers as Tillemont, Calment, etc.
F. The remains of a house, identified as the one in which Mary lived is on a hill about nine or ten miles from Ephesus.
This evidence raises certain questions. For example, why would Mary, at the end of her life, take such an arduous journey away from her lifelong home in Palestine?
What would make her leave? Was it fear of the people who killed Jesus? Scholars believe she did not depart Palestine until about 13 years after Jesus’ death.
Why did she leave St. Peter, Jesus’ successor?
Sources:
1. http://experts.about.com/q/turkey-207/virgin-mary-1.htm
2. Wikipedia, “Mary, mother of Jesus”
3. Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, “The Blessed Virgin Mary”
4. Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent. “St. John the Evangelist”
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Monday, June 30, 2008
THE REVEREND JOHN LESTER - DESTINY’S DAMNED
In a dramatic moment outside the apartment house where Eric Caldwell was murdered the reader meets the Reverend John Lester, minister of the Calvary Gospel Church, San Francisco.
As if thunder suddenly struck from a dry, clear sky, a scream rolled across the lawn and hit them. Sybil turned.
Her eyes on fire, her voice shrill as a whistle, the woman on the porch next door was shrieking in long desperate cries, setting them all on edge. Darting from side to side, her gaze a flurry of fear, she was frozen, unable to stop what was happening.
Outside an open gate and in the middle of the street, a curly haired toddler without a coat, in blue and pink overalls and shirt, was squatting, trying to pick up a penny, oblivious to the dinosaur about to consume him. Less than twenty feet from him, a 60’s vintage Lincoln with gray fender and dented passenger door, was about to run over him.
A middle-aged man with close cropped hair and thin, taut lips was driving, not paying attention to the road. His mouth agape, he was staring at them instead, ignoring the mother’s frantic screams.
With no time to move or otherwise react, Sybil picked up a stone and threw it as hard as she could at the passenger window. Sailing in the direction of the driver’s eyes, he started, clasped the wheel, and as the stone chipped the window, screeched to a stop. Exploding with rage, he opened the door on the driver’s side and got out, rounding the front fender to come after her. Grabbing the hood ornament to pick up speed, he cursed, “You bitch, I’ll get you for this!” He was pushing off the ornament when he heard the mother’s cries.
She was just feet in front of the car. Her arms around the toddler, weeping.
“Jesus,” he whispered, realizing what almost happened.
His anger turned to fear. Taking one last hateful look at Sybil, he retreated, jumping back into his brute of a car. Racing the engine and shoving it into reverse, his tires squealed as he careened backwards down the street. Wheels smoking, he backed around the corner, gunned the engine, and roared away.
Excerpt from DESTINY'S DAMNED
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
As if thunder suddenly struck from a dry, clear sky, a scream rolled across the lawn and hit them. Sybil turned.
Her eyes on fire, her voice shrill as a whistle, the woman on the porch next door was shrieking in long desperate cries, setting them all on edge. Darting from side to side, her gaze a flurry of fear, she was frozen, unable to stop what was happening.
Outside an open gate and in the middle of the street, a curly haired toddler without a coat, in blue and pink overalls and shirt, was squatting, trying to pick up a penny, oblivious to the dinosaur about to consume him. Less than twenty feet from him, a 60’s vintage Lincoln with gray fender and dented passenger door, was about to run over him.
A middle-aged man with close cropped hair and thin, taut lips was driving, not paying attention to the road. His mouth agape, he was staring at them instead, ignoring the mother’s frantic screams.
With no time to move or otherwise react, Sybil picked up a stone and threw it as hard as she could at the passenger window. Sailing in the direction of the driver’s eyes, he started, clasped the wheel, and as the stone chipped the window, screeched to a stop. Exploding with rage, he opened the door on the driver’s side and got out, rounding the front fender to come after her. Grabbing the hood ornament to pick up speed, he cursed, “You bitch, I’ll get you for this!” He was pushing off the ornament when he heard the mother’s cries.
She was just feet in front of the car. Her arms around the toddler, weeping.
“Jesus,” he whispered, realizing what almost happened.
His anger turned to fear. Taking one last hateful look at Sybil, he retreated, jumping back into his brute of a car. Racing the engine and shoving it into reverse, his tires squealed as he careened backwards down the street. Wheels smoking, he backed around the corner, gunned the engine, and roared away.
Excerpt from DESTINY'S DAMNED
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Friday, June 27, 2008
SATAN’S SCAT-MARY MAGDELENE SET ADRIFT
The French claim Mary Magdelene came to France and died there. But did she really?
The Catholic version of Mary Magdelene’s journey to France begins with Mary and others being set adrift by the Jews. As the story goes: Fourteen years after Our Lord’s death, St. Mary was put in a boat by the Jews without sails or oars - along with Sts. Lazarus and Martha, St. Maximin (who baptized her), St. Sidonius (“the man born blind”), her maid Sera, and the body of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin. They were sent drifting out to sea and landed on the shores of Southern France, where St. Mary spent the rest of her life as a contemplative in a cave known as Sainte-Baume. She was given the Holy Eucharist daily by angels as her only food, and died when she was 72. St. Mary was transported miraculously, just before she died, to the chapel of St. Maximin, where she received the last sacraments.
Source: Catholic Online, St. Mary Magdelene “The Penitent,” www.catholic.org.
Even on its face, there seems to be problems with that story. First, if Mary and the others were set drifting in the Mediterranean, why did they go all the way to France? How did they get around all the land masses between Palestine and France? Where would the currents have taken them? Why didn’t they land sooner?
What destination would have made more sense in light of biblical and historical fact? Turkey maybe?
From: SATAN’S SCAT
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
The Catholic version of Mary Magdelene’s journey to France begins with Mary and others being set adrift by the Jews. As the story goes: Fourteen years after Our Lord’s death, St. Mary was put in a boat by the Jews without sails or oars - along with Sts. Lazarus and Martha, St. Maximin (who baptized her), St. Sidonius (“the man born blind”), her maid Sera, and the body of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin. They were sent drifting out to sea and landed on the shores of Southern France, where St. Mary spent the rest of her life as a contemplative in a cave known as Sainte-Baume. She was given the Holy Eucharist daily by angels as her only food, and died when she was 72. St. Mary was transported miraculously, just before she died, to the chapel of St. Maximin, where she received the last sacraments.
Source: Catholic Online, St. Mary Magdelene “The Penitent,” www.catholic.org.
Even on its face, there seems to be problems with that story. First, if Mary and the others were set drifting in the Mediterranean, why did they go all the way to France? How did they get around all the land masses between Palestine and France? Where would the currents have taken them? Why didn’t they land sooner?
What destination would have made more sense in light of biblical and historical fact? Turkey maybe?
From: SATAN’S SCAT
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Friday, June 20, 2008
SATANS SCAT: THE COMULSION TO KILL-THE AFTERLIFE
If you were a compulsive killer in one life, would that compulsion follow you into the next? And would it be even stronger?
What would you be?
What would you look like?
What would you feel like to your victim?
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT:
Curling beneath her robes and coiling up her legs, the swirling, black smoke took form, and something oily and bristly crawled upon the nun’s breasts and bit her. “Ooohhh,” she shuddered, frantically hitting and swatting at what she though was a rat.
Its jaw clenched, its teeth dug deep into her flesh, she screamed, but there was no sound. Flailing at him, hysterically clawing at the robes that confined her, her fingers tore at her chest. Ripping the robe to her breasts, she flung it open and grabbed.
An empty victory. The rat was gone, and so was her nipple.
A hesitant witness to what was happening to her behind the abbey, the sun was but a glint on the horizon waiting until it was over to rise. Crowded into a corner of the enclosure, the chickens were but stunned and silent observers.
Sobbing, she knelt, unaware that the form that bit her was still there. Stealthily moving just over the dust in circles around her, it was stalking her. Long and sinewy, its fingers reached up and hovered over the inside of her thigh. Titillatingly skimming over the soft hair of her skin it moved over her groin and upward.
....
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
What would you be?
What would you look like?
What would you feel like to your victim?
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT:
Curling beneath her robes and coiling up her legs, the swirling, black smoke took form, and something oily and bristly crawled upon the nun’s breasts and bit her. “Ooohhh,” she shuddered, frantically hitting and swatting at what she though was a rat.
Its jaw clenched, its teeth dug deep into her flesh, she screamed, but there was no sound. Flailing at him, hysterically clawing at the robes that confined her, her fingers tore at her chest. Ripping the robe to her breasts, she flung it open and grabbed.
An empty victory. The rat was gone, and so was her nipple.
A hesitant witness to what was happening to her behind the abbey, the sun was but a glint on the horizon waiting until it was over to rise. Crowded into a corner of the enclosure, the chickens were but stunned and silent observers.
Sobbing, she knelt, unaware that the form that bit her was still there. Stealthily moving just over the dust in circles around her, it was stalking her. Long and sinewy, its fingers reached up and hovered over the inside of her thigh. Titillatingly skimming over the soft hair of her skin it moved over her groin and upward.
....
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Friday, June 6, 2008
A POPE MADE MARY MAGDELENE A WHORE
Mary Magdelene was apparently not a whore until Pope Gregory the Great made her one in 591 A.D. He was at the Basilica San Clemente in Rome when he announced it.
He based his conclusion on an event briefly described in the New Testament, Chapter Seven of Luke. Though the woman was not named, Luke mentions that a “sinful woman” anointed Jesus’ feet.” From that description, he assumed the woman was Mary Magdelene and that she was a whore. He made her a whore so Jesus could reform her.
After Pope Gregory made Mary a reformed whore, her reputation spread through Europe, and she became somewhat of a heroine. The French, as you might suspect, made her their heroine, which is why the stories were told she ended up there. In the 13th Century a Dominican Monk claimed, in writing, she came to southern Gaul after Jesus died.
SOURCE: May 29, 2006 issue of Newsweek, “An Inconvenient Woman,” by Jonathan Darman with Anne Underwood.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
He based his conclusion on an event briefly described in the New Testament, Chapter Seven of Luke. Though the woman was not named, Luke mentions that a “sinful woman” anointed Jesus’ feet.” From that description, he assumed the woman was Mary Magdelene and that she was a whore. He made her a whore so Jesus could reform her.
After Pope Gregory made Mary a reformed whore, her reputation spread through Europe, and she became somewhat of a heroine. The French, as you might suspect, made her their heroine, which is why the stories were told she ended up there. In the 13th Century a Dominican Monk claimed, in writing, she came to southern Gaul after Jesus died.
SOURCE: May 29, 2006 issue of Newsweek, “An Inconvenient Woman,” by Jonathan Darman with Anne Underwood.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Friday, May 30, 2008
MURDER FOR SALVATION
In the DESTINY’S DAMNED Trilogy, a man who has been a vicious killer through all his many lives, carries such evil within him that he becomes evil himself. He is haunted by it. He lives in a hell because of it.
He comes to believe his only hope is the Christian promise of salvation, but there is historical evidence there is no salvation. How desperate would he be? What would he do? He turns to the God that promised him salvation, joins hands with Him, and kills again.
Swearing to God his allegiance he did what he always did to satiate himself. He hurt someone. He murdered. He hurt even himself:
“Like stings from wasps, bits of razor woven in knots of sisal rope cut him in nine different places, their sharp points slicing into then ripping his bare back. The cat-o-nine he was using on himself was devised from pictures he saw of relics. Knees pressed hard against the concrete, shoulders rounded to stretch and make the cuts bleed, he bowed in prayer. Amid the musty darkness of the unfinished basement, the only light that single, 25-watt, purple bulb, he was in spiritual reverie, his mind unshakably linked with God’s.
Resting the tendrils of the whip on the floor, raising his eyes to heaven, he prayed, ‘Forgive me, Dear God, all my trespasses, and lead me not again into temptation.’ Lowering his head and, once more, rounding his shoulders, he flicked his wrist, raising the tendrils like willows in a wind over his shoulder. Striking himself even harder than before he repeated, ‘Forgive me, Dear God, for all my trespasses and lead me not again into temptation.’”
From DESTINY’S DAMNED.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
He comes to believe his only hope is the Christian promise of salvation, but there is historical evidence there is no salvation. How desperate would he be? What would he do? He turns to the God that promised him salvation, joins hands with Him, and kills again.
Swearing to God his allegiance he did what he always did to satiate himself. He hurt someone. He murdered. He hurt even himself:
“Like stings from wasps, bits of razor woven in knots of sisal rope cut him in nine different places, their sharp points slicing into then ripping his bare back. The cat-o-nine he was using on himself was devised from pictures he saw of relics. Knees pressed hard against the concrete, shoulders rounded to stretch and make the cuts bleed, he bowed in prayer. Amid the musty darkness of the unfinished basement, the only light that single, 25-watt, purple bulb, he was in spiritual reverie, his mind unshakably linked with God’s.
Resting the tendrils of the whip on the floor, raising his eyes to heaven, he prayed, ‘Forgive me, Dear God, all my trespasses, and lead me not again into temptation.’ Lowering his head and, once more, rounding his shoulders, he flicked his wrist, raising the tendrils like willows in a wind over his shoulder. Striking himself even harder than before he repeated, ‘Forgive me, Dear God, for all my trespasses and lead me not again into temptation.’”
From DESTINY’S DAMNED.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
IS CHRISTIAN SALVATION IMMORAL?
When we think about the possibilities of reincarnation or any other afterlife, we want to believe that when we leave this life and go into the next, we go with a clean slate. Even if we reincarnate into a dung beetle because of our wrongs or if we go to purgatory, we want to believe that despite our demotion or punishment we have a chance to redeem ourselves. If we’re a good dung beetle, we’ll come back on a higher order the next time and ultimately become human again. If we pay our debt in purgatory, we’ll get to go to heaven. Better yet, if we’re forgiven by the church here on earth, there is no debt and we’re free to continue our evil ways at will, unscathed.
It’s seems important to humans that we be forgiven for our evils. We want to be able to start over again with an unmarked soul even if we’ve done something awful. Christian churches have made a lucrative business out of forgiving us. They’ll forgive us even for cardinal sins as long as we worship the way they want us to worship and we give them tithing.
But what if those churches have no power to forgive? What if the men and women behind the pulpit aren’t really the agents of God? What if there is no redemption? The evils we commit in one life go with us into the next. Isn’t that the way it should be?
Is it right to be able to leave this life and go into the next with a clean slate? Should reincarnation or any other afterlife free us from the evils we commit? Isn’t it only fair that each of us carry forever the burden of our evil?
Doesn’t the promise of salvation by merely accepting a faith actually encourage evil? Doesn’t that alone, make it immoral?
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
It’s seems important to humans that we be forgiven for our evils. We want to be able to start over again with an unmarked soul even if we’ve done something awful. Christian churches have made a lucrative business out of forgiving us. They’ll forgive us even for cardinal sins as long as we worship the way they want us to worship and we give them tithing.
But what if those churches have no power to forgive? What if the men and women behind the pulpit aren’t really the agents of God? What if there is no redemption? The evils we commit in one life go with us into the next. Isn’t that the way it should be?
Is it right to be able to leave this life and go into the next with a clean slate? Should reincarnation or any other afterlife free us from the evils we commit? Isn’t it only fair that each of us carry forever the burden of our evil?
Doesn’t the promise of salvation by merely accepting a faith actually encourage evil? Doesn’t that alone, make it immoral?
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Friday, May 16, 2008
DESTINY'S DAMNED: A KILLER'S SACRIFICE TO GOD
Careful not to remove the veil, Judy reveled in the feel of the towel across her body. Like a hot, cleansing bath of the kind she had not had in weeks, she did not mind when he took the towel to reach around her and tenderly clean her back and buttocks. Better than a meal, life almost again worth living, she sighed. Patiently waiting while he returned the towel to the bathroom, she clasped her hands, looked to the ceiling, and prepared to pray.
From his pants pocket, he took a tobacco tin and, holding his hand over the tin, dipped his fore and middle fingers inside. “Repeat after me. Our father,” he began, as she followed, “who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven....” Stepping toward her, he put his ash soiled fingers on her forehead and made the sign of the cross. “In this time of sacrifice, we must forego our sins and be penitent,” he continued alone. “Judy Bowers, You and I are adulterers. We are sinners before God. If we are to find salvation we must sacrifice. We must free ourselves from sin.”
Instinct telling her this was the moment of her release, hope erupted inside her. Looking up at him expectantly,she smiled as his blade found her throat and cut.
FROM DESTINY'S DAMNED
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
From his pants pocket, he took a tobacco tin and, holding his hand over the tin, dipped his fore and middle fingers inside. “Repeat after me. Our father,” he began, as she followed, “who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven....” Stepping toward her, he put his ash soiled fingers on her forehead and made the sign of the cross. “In this time of sacrifice, we must forego our sins and be penitent,” he continued alone. “Judy Bowers, You and I are adulterers. We are sinners before God. If we are to find salvation we must sacrifice. We must free ourselves from sin.”
Instinct telling her this was the moment of her release, hope erupted inside her. Looking up at him expectantly,she smiled as his blade found her throat and cut.
FROM DESTINY'S DAMNED
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Monday, May 12, 2008
JACK THE RIPPER-HIS HOPE FOR SALVATION
Murder for salvation. Even the most evil of men hope to be forgiven. Hope to be granted the salvation offered by the crucifixion.
Jack the Ripper, whose actual identity has not been established, murdered, cut open and removed organs from five women in London in 1888. According to Richard Patterson, Jack the Ripper may have been Francis Thompson, a renowned poet. He was also a cricket fan who impressed and made friends with other poets. His most famous poem was “The Hound of Heaven” in which he talks about God’s pursuit of a human soul.
All of Jack the Ripper’s victims were prostitutes, all murdered near Christ Church of Whitechapel. Richard Patterson, in his casebook FRANCIS THOMPSON, believed The Ripper’s motive might have been that he was chosen by God and that he was the voice of God. Killing these women would have wounded society. Patterson argued that The Ripper may have perceived himself to be a “messiah.”
Patterson connected the murders to the feast days of martyred saints, all eastern crusaders and saints of Innocence, Butchers, Soldiers, Doctors and Scholars. Contending The Ripper was attempting to project the five wounds of Christ’s Crucifixion on society by murdering five sinners near a church, Patterson believed The Ripper was trying to be a key player in the apocalypse so he could be forgiven his sins.
Source: From an article entitled: “Francis Thompson” by Richard Patterson at http://www.casebook.org/suspects/ft.html
In DESTINY’S DAMNED, the serial killer is also obsessed with the hope that by murdering he will be granted salvation by virtue of the promise of the Crucifixion. How can we help but wonder why these murderers conclude the Christian promise of salvation was meant for them? Meant they would be forgiven if only they killed for God. Is it something the Church said?
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Jack the Ripper, whose actual identity has not been established, murdered, cut open and removed organs from five women in London in 1888. According to Richard Patterson, Jack the Ripper may have been Francis Thompson, a renowned poet. He was also a cricket fan who impressed and made friends with other poets. His most famous poem was “The Hound of Heaven” in which he talks about God’s pursuit of a human soul.
All of Jack the Ripper’s victims were prostitutes, all murdered near Christ Church of Whitechapel. Richard Patterson, in his casebook FRANCIS THOMPSON, believed The Ripper’s motive might have been that he was chosen by God and that he was the voice of God. Killing these women would have wounded society. Patterson argued that The Ripper may have perceived himself to be a “messiah.”
Patterson connected the murders to the feast days of martyred saints, all eastern crusaders and saints of Innocence, Butchers, Soldiers, Doctors and Scholars. Contending The Ripper was attempting to project the five wounds of Christ’s Crucifixion on society by murdering five sinners near a church, Patterson believed The Ripper was trying to be a key player in the apocalypse so he could be forgiven his sins.
Source: From an article entitled: “Francis Thompson” by Richard Patterson at http://www.casebook.org/suspects/ft.html
In DESTINY’S DAMNED, the serial killer is also obsessed with the hope that by murdering he will be granted salvation by virtue of the promise of the Crucifixion. How can we help but wonder why these murderers conclude the Christian promise of salvation was meant for them? Meant they would be forgiven if only they killed for God. Is it something the Church said?
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
SATAN'S SCAT: SYBIL AND THE ASYLUM
Furrowing her brows, she stared at him, slowly and steadily guiding her eyes along straight planes as she carefully examined his face, hesitating but once as she paused at the ear she bit off.
“Remember?” he asked, restraining his impatience.
Her eyes met his, and as she gazed at him, he felt her soul move inside him. It startled him. His saliva turned to salt. When he gulped, his throat burned. His legs unwilling to wait, his body forcing him to get up, he stood. “That’s all right, you don’t have to remember. I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”
He found himself running down the hallway, down the stairs, and onto the street, his heart skipping beats every time it tried to repel her. “Sybil!” he screamed, as he kept running.
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
“Remember?” he asked, restraining his impatience.
Her eyes met his, and as she gazed at him, he felt her soul move inside him. It startled him. His saliva turned to salt. When he gulped, his throat burned. His legs unwilling to wait, his body forcing him to get up, he stood. “That’s all right, you don’t have to remember. I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”
He found himself running down the hallway, down the stairs, and onto the street, his heart skipping beats every time it tried to repel her. “Sybil!” he screamed, as he kept running.
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Friday, May 2, 2008
CLOISTER
Forbidden to touch anyone or anything but the cold, stone floor on which they prayed and prostrated themselves, sleeping without cover on thin beds of straw, they lived isolated and alone. In a dark, dank, six-hundred-square-foot room with a fourteen-foot high ceiling, in a structure made entirely of stone, with only two, scant candles on the granite altar providing light, the brilliant orange dawn was lost somewhere outside.
In control of her shaking, the cold forgotten, she allowed her senses to wake and heard from a distance, a thick, bronze bell, the sound muffled by pungent smoke which draped the air and hindered her breathing. Her awareness aroused, the rich, lingering sound of the bell came closer and, with it, a voice, a grim, deliberate voice in methodical rhythm.
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
In control of her shaking, the cold forgotten, she allowed her senses to wake and heard from a distance, a thick, bronze bell, the sound muffled by pungent smoke which draped the air and hindered her breathing. Her awareness aroused, the rich, lingering sound of the bell came closer and, with it, a voice, a grim, deliberate voice in methodical rhythm.
Excerpt from SATAN’S SCAT.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Monday, April 28, 2008
JESUS NOT ONLY GOD WHO ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN
Jesus was not the only god believed to have been resurrected and thereafter ascended into Heaven. One of those gods was Hercules.
Like Jesus, Hercules was the son of the god that ruled Heaven. Like Jesus, Hercules descended into Hades where he wounded Hades, the god of the underworld, whom we know as Satan.
After being cursed by an enemy, Hercules suffered from an inner fire. Thus tortured, he built his own funeral pyre and set himself on fire.
When the flames reached Hercules a cloud descended from Heaven and amidst thunder and lightning, the beautiful, young god disappeared to live with his Father in Heaven forever.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Like Jesus, Hercules was the son of the god that ruled Heaven. Like Jesus, Hercules descended into Hades where he wounded Hades, the god of the underworld, whom we know as Satan.
After being cursed by an enemy, Hercules suffered from an inner fire. Thus tortured, he built his own funeral pyre and set himself on fire.
When the flames reached Hercules a cloud descended from Heaven and amidst thunder and lightning, the beautiful, young god disappeared to live with his Father in Heaven forever.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Thursday, April 24, 2008
DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT EBOOKS
DESTINY'S DAMNED and SATAN'S SCAT are now available as Ebooks.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
IN A CAGE-THE CREATION OF A SERIAL KILLER?
Alternately whimpering and begging, the tears in my voice garbling my words, I was terrified. Like a wild animal, I began to circle, looking for a way out, repeatedly scraping my knees and hands on the hundreds of edges of iron.
“Please, Daddy, I won’t do it again,” I kept crying, as I circled.
But he and Grandpa were busy working around that piece of plywood, attaching the steel bars together, making some kind of an arch with the wheel in the middle. “What’s that, Daddy?” I called, when they were finished and I gave up circling to watch.
Peering into the cage, getting his face as close as he could to mine, he answered. “The wings that will take you to hell.” His eyes were like stone, his face like blank paper, and I knew there was no hope for me.
Excerpt from DESTINY’S DAMNED.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
“Please, Daddy, I won’t do it again,” I kept crying, as I circled.
But he and Grandpa were busy working around that piece of plywood, attaching the steel bars together, making some kind of an arch with the wheel in the middle. “What’s that, Daddy?” I called, when they were finished and I gave up circling to watch.
Peering into the cage, getting his face as close as he could to mine, he answered. “The wings that will take you to hell.” His eyes were like stone, his face like blank paper, and I knew there was no hope for me.
Excerpt from DESTINY’S DAMNED.
© Shawna Ryan
Author: thrillers DESTINY'S DAMNED & SATAN'S SCAT
available:
www.pilchuckpublishing.com
amazon.com
books stores and libraries
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