Arcadia Discussion Zone

Anyone would be defensive when greeted with personal insult instead of intelligent argument.

The reason I was drawn here was to rebut a slur on my apostleship.

To behave in a civilised and polite manner appears to be beyond the ability of most on here so far.

Hopefully this might change.

Welcome, Sean.

My thoughts on Glastonbury, which is my episcopal seat, are contained in detail in my book The Grail Church.

http://www.gothicpress.freeserve.co.uk/Grail%20Church%20Book.htm

Would you care to provide evidence of this alleged pomposity?

Furthermore, where have I demanded or insisted that members of this forum address me in a particular way?

I merely corrected someone who thought they should address me as Reverend. Since they asked it was only polite to inform them of the correct form.

Is Karl Marx really Highgate Cemetery's most famous inmate? Some might beg to differ.

The Marx memorial is located in the Eastern Cemetery, not the Western Cemetery where evidence of satanism was discovered throughout the 1960s.

If you are referring to my book The Highgate Vampire, there is no mention of Karl Marx within its pages.

+Seán Manchester wrote:

Thomas D. wrote:

Bishop,
If you've spent any time reading these boards then it may well have occured to you that pomposity tends to elicit a certain type of response from the inhabitants!
Whilst you may consider that it is are all rather 'infra-dig', demanding or insisting upon correct forms of address may provoke what you may come to see as a wearisome and tedious antagonism in some quarters.
Just a thought.
TD

Would you care to provide evidence of this alleged pomposity?

Furthermore, where have I demanded or insisted that members of this forum address me in a particular way?

I merely corrected someone who thought they should address me as Reverend. Since they asked it was only polite to inform them of the correct form.

Hmm,
Perhaps its just an unfortunate writing style, However best of luck!
My very imperfect rememberance of the Synoptic Gospels didnt leave me with the impression that Jesus was quite so keen on the dignity of his office as you clearly are on yours.
However, to quote the estimable Seeker,
" your mileage may vary ".
Enjoy your brief stay with us.
TD

Discretion forbids But! Click Here! and Here,

The Undead make a come back - Well they would wouldn't they

Hi guys.

I just wanted to thank Sean and David for joining the forum. I'm big fans of your work - both of you guys, and think that we can learn much from your experience and insight.

Best,

Andrew

So how many people in China have heard of him?

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi He put this question to His disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the Prophets.’ ‘But you,’ He said, ‘who do you, say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’." (Matthew 16: 13-16).

+Seán Manchester wrote:

[/b]

Indeed Bishop!
But he asked a question and received the reply by acclamation.
He DIDNT helpfully point out the correct term of address they should be using.
Subtle difference !

TD

I cannot help but feel you are missing the real point.

His "office" was the Christ (the annointed One) and Son of the Living God.

He persisted with the question of who they say He is until someone got it right.

Bishop Manchester:

In your interview with Andrew, you mentioned using Holy Water and salt on a wound inflicted by a demon. What is the significance of the salt?

Also, the rituals that you used; are they taught to all Bishops or did you have to research the rituals on your own? If you did your own research, may I ask where you looked for your information?

Thank you in advance.

I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday and notice some of my observations went unanswered...never mind, i'll try afresh.....the above quote from your good self is a bit materialistic is it not, do you actually believe that the 'Grail' is an object?

But Bishop Manchester, you should be at least clear that you are not a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Your ordination is with a group in schism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Catholic_Church

Your explanation of your denomination
http://www.holygrail-church.fsnet.co.uk/BOCC.htm

Your line of ordinations
http://www.holygrail-church.fsnet.co.uk ... 20Catholic).htm

Please note I'm not questioning the legitimacy of either your denomination or ordination; I know people who investigate such things, honestly it's not important enough to me to do it.

I have to admit when I see these long lists of "X-consecrated-Y-who-consecrated-Z" going back presumably 2000 years, or however long, my eyes glaze over, just like when I hit some of the long lines of "begats" in the Bible. Obviously, most Roman Catholic bishops don't feel any particular need to describe their succession or ordination going back centuries. The succession is implied.

I don't think all religion is tosh, but I find a lot of organized religion to be more of a dogmatic social control mechanism than answering the real need people have for the spiritual and transcendent. I find the way of the shaman just as important as the way of the priest.

Anyway, I am a Fortean not unlike DVB (many bookstores here in the U.S. get the Fortean Times and I am an occasional reader; I used to be a member of the U.S. Fortean organization) and that means I do accept there may be things out there which are paranormal. In the realm of things that exist, there might even be demonic entities and vampires (although I'm more doubtful about the latter). Even ghosts, although I tend to think such things may merely be "tape recordings" as T.C. Lethbridge once argued. However, from my reading of the case, it looks like Mr. Farrant merely claimed to see a ghost or spectre; you were the one who said the entity was a vampire.

And things proceeded from there. Most accounts of the case suggest you have a talent for the melodramatic. I believe I'm beginning to see that.

Salt, of course, is present in Holy Water, but salt of itself has been used for purification and exorcisms for centuries. Traditionalist bishops would most probably be aware of the rituals I use; those in the exorcism ministry certainly would.

The Prophet Eliseus employed salt to make palatable the waters of a well (2 Kings 2: 19). In Matthew 5: 13, salt symbolises wisdom, though originally it had an exorcistic signification.

Its use in the Catholic Church belongs exclusively to the Roman Rite. The Ritual knows two kinds of salt for liturgical purposes, the baptismal salt and the blessed salt. The former, cleansed and sanctified by special exorcisms and prayers, is given to the catechumen before entering church for baptism. According to the fifth canon of the Third Council of Carthage it would seem that salt was administered to the catechumens several times a year. This use of salt is attested by St Augustine (Confessions I.11) and by John the Deacon. St Isidore of Seville speaks of it (De off., II, xxi), but in the Spanish Church it was not universal.

The other salt is exorcised and blessed in the preparation of Holy Water for the Asperges before High Mass on Sunday and for the use of the faithful in their homes. The present formula of blessing is taken from the Gregorian Sacramentary (P.L., LXXVIII, 231). Both baptismal salt and blessed salt may be used again without a new benediction.

The appendix of the Roman Ritual has a blessing of salt for the use of animals and another in honour of St Hubert. The Roman Pontifical orders salt to be blessed and mixed in the water (mixed in turn with ashes and wine) for the consecration of a church. This is also from the Gregorian Sacramentary. Again salt (not specially blessed) may be used for purifying the fingers after sacred unctions.

Hello David. I notice your side of the story is given here.

http://www.davidfarrant.org/about/index.html

Just curious. How many members does the British Psychic & Occult Society (BPOS) have? The Highgate Vampire Society?

You strike me as a very funny guy. I like your FAQ on the situation.

http://www.davidfarrant.org/faq.html

It might be a nice way for people unfamiliar with your side on the subject to get up to speed.

Do you mind if I ask you one quick & simple question. You apparently believe ghosts exist (if not vampires). What would you say ghosts actually are?

You should know, David, that the only organization I am Grand Master of is the Order of Memphis Meshugenah. Here in our order we teach that Elvis still lives on and that his cinematic contributions, like Blue Hawaii, exist purely to illumine the human spirit.

Those silly titles the forum awards us based on the # of posts mean not a thing. Not to me, anyway. I can see it as a nice reward mechanism for encouraging people to post, sort of like the pellets given to hamsters in their cage. Being the verbose (or perhaps typehappy) person I am, it's wasted on me.

I do happen to be a college professor, but you don't have to call me Doc, Prof, Mr, Sir, Lord, Bishop, Grand Master, or SubGenius. Seeker is fine. I do have a real name and I'm not hiding it (unlike others), but I like to think of it as my CB Radio Handle. So to speak. In fact, call me what you like as long as it's not an insult, but bear in mind I'm rude to people who are rude to me.

Let me just conclude by saying that I am a Fortean and I gravitate to enigmas and puzzles ... not just the RlC one, but also the Voynich Manuscript which was recently mentioned, also the May Day Mystery, the Kryptos Sculpture, UFOs, etc., etc. I also believe in the existence of the paranormal. But my viewpoint tends to be that paranormal phenomena are not "supernatural" - I don't even really care for the word - i Just think they may be phenomena of nature whose laws we just don't yet understand. Like Charles Fort, I think we can learn something by looking at the anomalous, the enigmatic, the nonparadigmatic.

I'm glad to see we might be branching out into other topics - the RlC one is clearly mired in a variety of turf wars, so it might be refreshing to go elsewhere. Even to another topic evidently plagued by mudslinging. Que sera, sera.

Which is just my usual long & verbose way of telling you why I hang out in places like this. Welcome again.

Thank-you, for your reply it is much appreciated and it helps me to understand, further.

My friend got me to concentrate on a pyramid without disclosing it as she did not identify it as a religious icon.
I also used a Sri Yantra for meditation without realizing how powerful it was.

Both left me with an impact for a few weeks after that I couldn't dispel.
I generally make my own mandalas now, or I paint/draw my own meditational gateways.
I also have the wild divine biofeedback game, which is good because I can now see my rates without having to guess.

Well...thank you Sir...but I read most of that on Wikipedia.

Dear Reverend Manchester,

I do apologise if a former post belonging to myself caused you upset - I hope I have addressed you correctly?

Welcome.

Could you provide the link where you read it?

Needless to say, I did not read it on Wikipedia.