Category Archives: Immortality

Bee Gee Barry Gibb says his recent revelation about being a victim of attempted molestation as a child "just sort of came out," but believes it's important to speak out about it. (June 30)

There's more to the story of the Bee Gees than meets the eye.

Brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb formed the Bee Gees, known for hits like How Deep Is Your Love and Love So Right, and became masters of music andof reinvention.

The band's tumultuous early years,commercially successful disco era and everything in between (and after) are chronicled in a new HBO and HBO Max documentary, "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (Saturday, 8 p.m. EST/PST).

The film, directed by Frank Marshall,goes deep into the archives with never-before-seen footage from concerts, recording sessions and home videos. It also features interviews with Barry, 74, as well as archival interview footage with his twin brothers Maurice and Robin, who died in 2003 and 2012, respectively.

You never know really what's going to be a hit, you just know what you love, Barry Gibb tells USA TODAYby phone from his home in Miami. But you've got to want to do it more than anything else.

The story of the Bee Gees is chronicled in the 2020 HBO documentary "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."(Photo: LENNOX MCLENDON/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Gibb says he isnt sure what the Bee Gees legacy will be, but he wants the songs to endure. His coming album, Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1 (out Jan. 8),features mainly country stars such as Dolly Parton and Keith Urban duetting with him on Bee Geeshits.

I just want the music to live, he says. I want people to maybe enjoy it years from now. Doesn't matter about whether people remember us or me or the Bee Gees. Its the music that counts.

For bothcasual listeners and fans who lived through it, the documentary is a trove of discoveries and memories.

Among the most poignant moments:

John Travolta and Barry Gibb on the CBS special "Stayin' Alive: A Grammy Salute to The Bee Gees."(Photo: MONTY BRINTON/CBS)

The Bee Gees navigated the trappings of fame and working with family, providing a blueprint for subsequent starson how to maneuver the industry.

Fame, the ego that comes with it, and sibling spats led to the trio disbanding briefly in early 1970.

We had this fascination with calling the newspapers up. You call NME or Disc or Music Echo and you say, Robin said this about me and I just want to be able to correct the record,'" Barry can be heard saying in the doc, as headlines like Robin Breaks the Silence and Barry says Robin extremely rude flash across the screen.

It wasnt until music executive Robert Stigwood formed a record label and took the Bee Gees with him that the brothers began to communicate again, reuniting and writing Lonely Days.

It was a whole strange episode of our lives, Robin said. We needed time apart to think about it. Wed always been boys growing up together, and I think we came back together as men.

Still, Barry has countless fond memories of making music with his brothers.

There's a lot of great moments between the three of us," he says. "Music always kept us happy and together."

Barry Gibb (from left) joins brothers Robin and Maurice in the studio in 1970.(Photo: MIRRORPIX VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Fellow sibling stars Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers and Noel Gallagher of Oasis appear in the film to talk about the perils and proud moments of working with your brothers.

Brothers in general, its a very complicated thing. Emotions are heightened and theres things that go back to childhood When you magnify that with the whole world, it changes the game a little bit, says Jonas, whose own band turmoil was chronicled in 2019s Chasing Happiness documentary. "Something about entering the world from the same place I think has an affect on your ability to sing together, your creative awareness and your artistic voice.

Making music with your family is equally the greatest strength and the greatest weakness you could ever have in a musical partnership, says Gallagher, who has had public disputes with brother Liam.

The brotherhood is the secret sauce, it seems:

You cant sing like the Bee Gees because when youve got family members singing together, its unique, Gallagher says.

The Bee Gees, photographed here in Britain in 1970, rank third among groups with the most No. 1 singles in Billboard Hot 100 history.(Photo: SOUTH COAST PRESS/SHUTTERSTOCK)

As the group fell into acreative rut in the years following their reconciliation, they decided to relocateto Miami in 1975, where theyfound a new, more Americanized sound and Barrys falsetto.

The result was Main Course, the album that spawned the hitsJive Talkin (the beat of which, Barry says in the documentary, was inspired by the sound of their car going over a bridge on the way to Miamis Criteria Recording Studio) and Nights on Broadway.

That was the turning point where we literally did find ourselves, because we never really knew what we were until that album, Barry says.

When recording Broadway, producer Arif Mardin asked the band to ad lib background vocals. Barrys signature falsetto was born, becoming part of the groups trademark sound.

My whole life, I didnt know I could do this, Barry says in archival footage.

Though Maurice noted we werent the first to sing falsetto, listing The Stylistics and The Delfonics as inspirations, the group made the new sound its own.

The Bee Gees as photographed on June 5, 1979, in Los Angeles.(Photo: ED CARAEFF/MORGAN MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES)

Tragedy and You Should Be Dancing were on rotation at clubs as the then-underground disco scene thrived,when Stigwood tapped the Bee Geesto write songs for 1977s Saturday Night Fever, starring a young John Travolta. Stayin Alive was among the five songs the group penned for the film's soundtrack.

All at once, disco rocketed the trioto the top. The soundtrack was certified 16 times platinum and won album of the year at the Grammys.

Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb formed the Bee Gees, known for hits including "How Deep Is Your Love" and "Stayin' Alive."(Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK)

But just as suddenly, the '80s revolt against disco, in part because of racism and homophobia, wrapped them in backlash.

Initially, the cultural and musical phenomenon of disco was based primarily in Black, brown and LGBTQ communities, but that didnt stop critics like Chicago DJ Steve Dahl from lumping the Bee Gees and their music in with the takedown of the genre.

A lot of straight people feeling threatened and the corporatization of disco was the straw that broke the camels back, former Studio 54 resident DJ Nicky Siano says in the documentary.

'Stayin' Alive': Bee Gees tune helps hand washing for coronavirus prevention

Even those who think theyve never heardthe Bee Gees have almost certainly heard one of their songs.

Barry reveals the group would write our lyrics in the studio itself instead of composing them ahead of time. The unconventional approach led them to create countless chart-topping hits, with the trio ranking third under groups with the most No. 1 singles in Billboard Hot 100history.

Its very hard to describe how we write, but the only way I can describe how we work at it is by becoming one mind, Maurice said.

Reinventing themselves once again, the band turned to songwriting for other musicians in the 80s and 90s. They wrote songs for Barbra Streisands 1980 albumGuilty, with Barry singing alongside her on the title track; Dionne WarwicksHeartbreaker single; Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Islands in the Stream duet; Diana Ross Eaten Alive album; and the group'sImmortality duet with Celine Dion.

We just decided to write for other people and to ignore the slings and arrows, Barry says. "You know, let's just write songs (for other artists) and make sure the songs are great songs, and we prove ourselves to be songwriters more than anything else."

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'I just want the music to live': Barry Gibb reflects on the Bee Gees' new HBO documentary - USA TODAY

In tracing the Christian development of the doctrine of the nature of the soul, one soon finds that "very few Fathers attempt lengthy rational proofs for immortality." The pressing apologetic needs of the church's early centuries necessitated that attention largely be devoted to other subjects. Yet more than ample material exists from which to evaluate the thinking of the great writers of the early church on this matter. Citing selected quotations from that era, this paper will endeavor to illustrate what that thinking was and what trends were evident.

It is readily discovered that the theologians of the primitive age disagreed regarding the soul's immortality. Several of them "were persuaded that the soul was mortal by nature but could become immortal by good works, or, as others preferred to stress, by union with the Spirit of God, a teaching they thought to find in St. Paul" (Brady, p. 465). Specifically the teaching of innate immortality is absent from the Apostolic Fathers, those Christian writers who lived nearest to or whose lives partly paralleled the last of the apostles. The trend toward the view of inherent immortality, it will be shown, developed with the subsequent Ante-Nicene Fathers.

Before presenting the evidence, however, a few things must be kept in mind in the interest of accuracy:

Indeed we have scarce anything remaining of what was written in the first century, and little of what was written in the second. And besides, the writings of these and after times have been so interpolated, and so many spurious pieces have been ascribed to the writers of these ages, that it has been difficult to know their true and real sentiments.

Likewise it should be mentioned that it was generally common with the patristic writers to go to the other extreme when they set themselves against a particular doctrine (ibid., p. 265).

Earliest of the allegedly authentic writings of the Apostolic Fathers is an epistle by Clement of Rome. Though facts surrounding his life are obscure, he is identified by some third century writers as Paul's companion spoken of in Philippians 4:3. His date of death was around A.D. 100.

Characteristic of 1 Clement is the statement that "life in immortality" is the gift of God to Christians: "how blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the gifts of God! Life in immortality, splendour in righteousness, truth in perfect confidence . . . ." Man, he says, is but a "mortal creature, consisting only of dust and ashes" (chs. 38, 39, 17). Never does Clement speak of the natural immortality of the soul.

Next chronologically among the Apostolic Fathers is Ignatius (died ca. 107), bishop of Antioch, Like Clement his life also is surrounded by obscurity, though it is known that he suffered martyrdom during Trajan's reign by being thrown to wild beasts.

Ignatius declared that our Lord was anointed "that He might breath immortality into His Church" (Eph. 17). His belief in the natural mortality of the soul is made in the unequivocal statement, "For were he to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be" (Mag. 10). He is also silent in his epistles in regard to the concept of innate immortality of the soul.

The Epistle of Barnabas is seldom if ever ascribed to the apostle Barnabas, St. Paul's friend and companion. Nevertheless it dates to the time of the Apostolic Fathers. This unknown Barnabas echoes the theme of other writers of this era, stating typically:

It is well, therefore, that he who has learned the judgments of the Lord, as many as have been written, should walk in them. For he who keeps these shall be glorified in the kingdom of God; but he who chooses other things shall be destroyed with his works (ch. 21).

Such was the conditional immortality voiced by Barnabas.

One scholar, having exhaustively reviewed the Apostolic Fathers, came to this sweeping conclusion:

From beginning to end of them there is not one word said of that immortality of the soul which is so prominent in the writings of the later fathers. Immortality is asserted by them to be peculiar to the redeemed. The punishment of the wicked is by them emphatically declared to be everlasting. Not one stray expression of theirs can be interpreted as giving any countenance to the theory of restoration after purgatorial suffering. The fire of hell is with them, as with us, an unquenchable one; but its issue is, with them as with Scripture, "destruction," "death," "loss of life" (Constable, p. 167).

Belief in the mortality of the soul was by no means confined to the aforementioned era, however. Several of the Ante - Nicene Fathers (ca. 150-325) also maintained this position.

First in this series is Justin Martyr (ca. 106-ca. 165), the foremost apologist of the second century. Says Justin:

Now the soul partakes of life, since God wills it to live. Thus, then, it will not even partake [of life] when God does not will it to live. For to live is not its attribute, as it is God's; but as a man does not live always, and the soul is not forever conjoined with the body, since, whenever this harmony must be broken up, the soul leaves the body, and the man exists no longer; even so, whenever the life is removed from it, and there is no' more soul, but it goes back to the place from which it is taken (Dialogue, ch. 6).

Considered perhaps the "most orthodox of the Ante-Nicene fathers" was Irenaeus of Gaul (ca. 130-202). In an age in which Transition to innatism was taking place, he nonetheless wrote trusting that Christ would "in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy" (Against Heresies 10:1). Here immortality once again is not perceived as a natural endowment but rather that which must be conferred.

So in similar fashion did Novatian (210-280), presbyter of Rome, contend, declaring that "the word of Christ affords immortality" (On the Trinity, ch. 1). Again immortality is pictured as that which must be acquired.

Arnobius, who lived in northern Africa from the late third to early fourth centuries, would appear to be the last conditionalist spokesman among the Fathers (Froom, I, 917). His definition of final punishment of the unsaved leaves no doubt as to his view of the soul's nature:

This is man's real death, this which leaves nothing behind. For that which is seen by the eyes is only a separation of soul from body, not the last endannhilation: this, I say, is man's real death,when souls which know not God shall be consumed in long-protracted torment with raging fire (Against the Heathen 2:14).

Before moving to the rise of the immortal soul doctrine it should be mentioned that, in this area of thought, the pressing issue was that of ultimate reconciliation (the teaching that all mankind will eventually be saved) versus eternal torment of the unrighteous. Even this arena of conflict drew far less attention than the Christological controversies of the day. More precisely, the position taken by ultimate reconciliationists was that the punishments of the condemned are not eternal, but only remedial; the devil himself being capable of amelioration." Its leading spokesman was Origen (ca. 185-254) of Alexandria. It is noted that, while it is not essential to universalism, Origen affirmed innate immortality (Hagenbach, p. 221).

Athenagoras (ca. 127-190), however, appears to be the first Ante-Nicene ecclesiastic to assert innate immortality. Writing after the Apostolic Fathers, he states matter-of-factly that the soul is immortal (The Resurrection of the Dead, chs. 13, 20, 23, 24).

The better known Tertullian (ca. 160-240) of Carthage penned that "the soul, then, we define to be sprung from the breath of God, immortal. ..." He adds, "Some things are known even by nature: the immortality of the soul, for instance, is held by many; the knowledge of God is possessed by all. I will use, therefore, the opinion of a Plato when asserting 'Every soul is immortal.'" (On the Resurrection of the Flesh, ch. 3).

Such quotations as these express the rising trend of belief in natural immortality. With Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo and the most illustrious of the Latin Fathers, the die was cast. He was the first Christian philosopher in the West to write a formal treatise on the immortality of the soul.

Therefore, if the soul . . .is the subject in which reason is inseparably present, then, by the same logical necessity with which reason being in the soul is proved, reason is immortal; so the soul, since the soul can be only a living soul.

The influence of Augustinian theology through the next millennium cannot be overstressed. Its dominance was such that the medieval church was virtually a unit in holding the doctrine of inherent immortality. Complete annihilation of evil was rejected as heretical by the fifth century.

Many have asserted that the rise of immortal-soulism has its roots in the influence of pagan thought and Greek philosophy. That, however, is outside the scope of this paper.

In closing, we frame the entire discussion within this perspective:

The whole question, however, had more of a philosophical than Christian bearing, as the idea of immortality itself is abstract negative. On the other hand, the believer by faith lays hold of eternal life in Christ as something real and concrete. The Christian doctrine of immortality cannot therefore be considered apart from the person, work, and kingdom of Christ, and rests upon Christian views and promises (Hagenbach, p. 223).

Continued here:
Immortality from the Apostolic Fathers to Augustine

Cultist Simulator: Initiate Edition, a special release of the award-winning roguelike narrative card game, will launch on Nintendo Switch in February 2021.

A game "of apocalypse and yearning," Cultist Simulator takes place inside a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. "Perhaps you're looking for knowledge, or power, or beauty, or revenge," the game's official description states. "Perhaps you just want the colours beneath the skin of the world." Intriguing.

This all-new Switch edition includes the base game and first three DLCs as standard the Dancer, the Priest, and the Ghoul. An optional add-on will also launch at the same time; called 'Exile', this DLC will be the game's biggest expansion yet adding a whole new game mode and "a third more content." The main game (with old DLC included) will cost $19.99 / 19.99, while the new Exile DLC will be an additional $6.99 / 6.99.

Here's a feature list:

Cultist Simulator: Initiate Edition will launch on Nintendo Switch on 2nd February 2021. Will you be giving this one a go? Tell us below.

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The Award-Winning Cultist Simulator Is Heading To Switch With All Past DLC Included - Nintendo Life

Star Wars' Doctor Aphra, the infamous archaeologist, has been hired to go after an ancient artifact that proves the power of the High Republic's Nihil

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars:Doctor Aphra #6

The High Republic era is fast approaching forStar Warsfans, revealing an all-new time period set 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. However, Marvel has already begun to tease the new era in their various comics, especially their ongoingDoctor Aphraseries from Alyssa Wong. The series has revealed new artifacts and elements of history from the High Republic, but the latest issue may have revealed its biggest tease yet, showing fans that the villains from the High Republic known as the Nihil might have been even more dangerous than the Empire.

In the first arc of Wong'sDoctor Aphra, the infamous archaeologist formed a crew to go after the legendary Rings of Vaale, said to grant their wielder immortality, fortune, and power. These valuable and rare artifacts were reported to have originated from the High Republic era, and Aphra's crew even manages to locate the ring in the abandoned Lost City of Vaale, uncovering symbols and iconography from the High Republic as well. However, the rich and powerful Ronen Tagge sought the rings for himself, leading to a confrontation between his forces and Aphra's crew. While the conclusion of this arc ended with Aphra besting Ronen, it did put her in the crosshairs of Ronen's Aunt Domina, the matriarch of the powerful Tagge family.

Related:Star Wars: High Republic's New Jedi Hero is The Anti-Anakin

Domina Tagge hires bounty hunters to bring Aphra to her ship inStar Wars: Doctor Aphra #6from Wong with art by Ray-Anthony Height and Robert Gill. However, it's remarkably not to seek revenge on Aphra for defeating her nephew. Instead, she actually hires Aphra to infiltrate a rival tech company that claims to have discovered an ancient path engine, a device designed by the villains of the High Republic.

From what's been teased so far, the High Republic will have been enjoying a period of peace and prosperity until the emergence of High Republic villains known as the Nihil. The Nihil will somehow be responsible for the Great Disaster, an event that involves the wreckage of ships coming out of lightspeed with highly destructive and deadly force, obliterating worlds in their wake. According to Domina is this issue, the Nihil path engine holds the key to a long-lost method of an even faster form of lightspeed, which in the grand scheme would not work in Lady Domina's favor. Faster lightspeed travel would completely change not just the galactic economy, but the current Galactic Civil War as well, neither of which would bode well for the Tagge Family.

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Star Wars: High Republic Villains May Be More Dangerous Than The Empire - Screen Rant

Griffins numbers more than back up that claim. At the time his career finished in 1975, Griffin was the NCAAs all-time leading rusher with 5,589 yards, which is still the Ohio State standard. Perhaps even more impressive was his consistency he set the NCAA record with 31 consecutive games with 100 or more yards rushing, a record that still stands today.

For Griffin, his path to stardom wasnt a straight one. A Columbus native and graduate of Eastmore High School, Griffin was strongly considering attending Northwestern before Hayes came to visit him in 1972. The conversation wasnt about football, but instead mostly about academics and what he wanted to accomplish off the field. Griffin put on a Buckeye uniform for the first time of September 16, 1972 and the result was ominous: his only carry of the game resulted in a fumble.

Two weeks later against North Carolina, Hayes and the Ohio State coaches gave Griffin another shot. And he ran with it literally. Griffin broke a team record that had stood for 27 seasons when he rushed for 239 yards. He had officially introduced himself to Buckeye Nation and college football and the rest was history.

The four decades following his Ohio State career would be full of achievement and accolades for the only player to ever start in four Rose Bowl Games and who was president and CEO of the Ohio State Alumni Association from 2004 to 2015. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2006 he was named one of the NCAAs 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes. In 2011 he was the first recipient of the Big Tens Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award. In 2013 he was named the Rose Bowls All-Century Player. Griffins name, along with that of Red Grange, graces the Big Ten championship game MVP award. Ohio State retired his jersey number 45 on Oct. 30, 1999.

Griffin also is a living example of what his coach, Woody Hayes, meant when he talked about paying forward. It was Hayes who instilled in his players the importance of giving back with your time, talent and treasure. And thats exactly what Griffin has done: his many community leadership activities led him to create the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund, which benefits Ohio States Olympic sports programs.

Simply put, it easy to see why Griffin is still regarded as one of the all-time great players in college football history. But its equally easy to see why hes regarded as a first-class person and representative of Ohio State.

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45 Years Later, Griffin's Still the Only Two-Time Heisman Winner - ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Although the Jedi were at their most powerful during the prequels, they still didnt know Palpatine was a Sith Lord. Here's why they failed.

The Jedi Order may have been at the height of its power during theStar Wars prequels, they still didnt know Palpatine was a Sith Lord the whole time. When his true nature is revealed in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, its too late for the Jedi Council to stop his plans and avoid their utter destruction. The fact that Palpatine was able to hide his identity in plain sight and without any fears of discovery is a true testament to his abilities in the dark side of the Force.

Palpatine's rise as the Emperor didnt happen overnight. Sheev Palpatine was born to an influential family in Naboo and, as a young man, he was quick to amass an incredible amount of political knowledge, turning into a cunning and astute politician and risein the ranks of Naboos governance. At some point in his life, he became Darth Plagueis apprentice. From his dark master, he learned incredible powerful secrets of the Force, including how to harness the full power of the dark side and perhaps reach immortality. The two worked together for years to unlock the ultimate secret to cheat death, but once Palpatine realized his master had outlived his usefulness, he murdered Plagueis in his sleep.

Related: Star Wars Reveals The First Time Yoda Sensed Palpatine Could Be Sith

At the same time as he became Darth Mauls master and continued amassing strength, Palpatine kept his public persona clean, forming alliances and preparing the ground for his master plan of toppling the Republic and creating a new Sith Empire. As he grew more powerful, both in the political arena and as Darth Sidious, Palpatine carefully and masterfully used his ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of those around to manipulate and shape events to his advantage. He was even able to hide his own mind and intentions even from Master Yoda, clouding the Jedis ability to sense the dark side.

Palpatines ability to sense the future probably helped a great deal to stay hidden from the Jedi Order. He was extremely talented at sensing the future and seeing the different paths ahead, so he could easily predict multiple outcomes and avoid ones that led to the discovery of his true identity. Along with his cunning and manipulative skills, he had the perfect combination of powers in order to appear innocent while working in the shadows to destroy the Jedi. However, the history ofthe planet Coruscant might hold another element that worked against the Jedi.

According to the novel Tarkin, below the Jedi Temple on Coruscant lies an ancient Sith shrine overflowing with corruptible energy of the dark side. Originally, the Jedi thought that by placing their temple on top of it, their light energy would neutralize the influence of the dark side, however, that wasnt the case. Its possible the influence of the shrinecontributed to the Jedis weakened ability to use the Force, which Mace Windu mentioned in Revenge of the Sith. It was like the perfect storm: Palpatines strong dark side powers and the shrines energies blocked the Jedi Order from seeing the truth as Palpatine plotted their destruction right in front of them.

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Star Wars: Why The Jedi Didn't Know Palpatine Was a Sith Lord - Screen Rant