Evolution of Christian Art

The most common items in this art are the images of Jesus and those from the narrative scenes of his life, images of saints and Virgin Mary, which are more common in the Roman Catholicism than in Protestants. Comparing the three main religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, this sacred art is mostly used in Christianity while Judaism and Islam are opposed to it. Renaissance art on the other hand is the sculpture, decorative arts and painting of the period referred to as the Renaissance in the European history.Art historyThe oldest of ecclesiastical art dates back to the origin of Christianity. Some of the oldest paintings are from the Megiddo site which was dated back to year 70. The oldest sculpture dates back to the 2nd century. Most of the Early Christian paintings were recovered from tombs in Catacombs of Rome. These paintings depict the evolution of depiction of the image of Jesus. Majority of the art that survived the Roman Empire fall is the Christian art.This is mainly because the church ownership continuity preserved the church art well than the secular works. Regardless of the fall of political structure of the Western Roman Empire during the fall of Rome, its religious pecking order funded and commissioned the production of religious art images.During the Byzantine Empire, ecclesiastical art developed from the naturalism established within Hellenistic art into a more conceptual aesthetic. This new style saw proportions, color and realistic perspective forgone in order to have reverse perspective, standardized conventions and geometric form simplification to depict events and individuals. Standardization of the religious imagery came as a result of the controversy about the use of graven imagery, Byzantine Iconoclasm crisis and interpretation of the Second Commandment.The Byzantine art came to an end during the collapse of Constantinople in the year 1453. Orthodox art however continued with production with minimal changes in style and subject to the present day. Russia gradually became the leading production center of the Orthodox art. The production of monumental secular works increased in the West during the Renaissance until the Protestant Reformation. This reformation led to a decline in production of sacred art in the protestant countries. It also led to the destruction of such art in those countries. In Catholic countries however, production of this art continued over this period. Later on, Catholic art was better controlled than before.Art is Christian and reveals in its beauty, the inner likeness of the radiance of grace. This is the case especially if the art is made from a heart that is suffused by grace. The beauty of art work is Christian if the artist is strictly disposed towards the beauty. The quality of Christian art is therefore a reflection of love it issues from.

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7 Tips For Super Health

What is real health and how do we get there? Getting down to your target weight, exercising every day, eating a balanced diet – is that health? Here are 7 Super Health tips that I’ve gained from my health journey.Super Health Tip # 1 – Become Your Own Doctor – Get a 2nd Opinion – Your Own. Three critical facts about today’s doctors. First, they have little, if any, training in nutrition, or how to prevent or cure diseases. Second, they treat your symptoms, not the cause, and third, statistics show that 94% of them get paid for prescribing drugs. 3 good reasons for a 2nd opinion.Super Health Tip # 2 – Balance is Critical. A stool Has 3 Legs – just one or two and you fall over. What you eat determines 70% of your health. Exercise determines 20% – do something. Your health environment, both internally, the way you think and feel, and externally, your social network, is 10%.Super Health Tip # 3 – Discover Super Foods. Whole foods provide better nutrition, more energy, and build a stronger immune system. Eat whole grains and seeds in cereals and breads, and wheat germ, bran and brewers yeast. Eat fruits and vegetables and drink green smoothies, fruit smoothies with 2 or 3 green veggies added. I have my green smoothie recipe on my site.Super Health Tip # 4 – Invest In You. You educate yourself, spend thousands on your home and cars. Invest in your body – for the best results over your lifetime. Take nutrition courses – read some health books. Learn what builds health and what causes degenerative diseases (tip: it’s what you eat). Read The China Study to revolutionize your life.Super Health Tip # 5 – Discipline Yourself – No-one Else Can. Become a closet health nut year by year. Don’t broadcast it – live it. Many people care more about their cars than their body – and spend more time planning their vacations than they do caring for the temple they live in. Don’t be one of them. Incorporate what you learn into your lifestyle.Super Health Tip # 6 – Health is a Journey. Your body is miraculously resilient. You can recover from obesity, alcoholism, drug addiction, and from abusing your body. Your health is always determined by what you do in the previous 3 months of your life. Commit to and become healthier, and live into your 80s and 90s, and even 100s with joy, zest, and bounding energy.Super Health Tip # 7 – Become a 95% Vegetarian. The evidence is now conclusive. The fat, cholesterol, triglycerides, and carcinogenic protein from meat and dairy products clogs us up, restricts our blood flow, decreases the oxygen to our cells, makes us sluggish, causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and cancer. Cut out 95% of meat and dairy. Fruits, vegetables and grains taste heavenly when your tongue isn’t filtering them through layers of fat, grease, salt, and sugar. The sensational Eating DVD documents it all.by Terry Kent, founder of The Health and Nutrition CenterTo your health,

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Beware the Business Cycle

About 30 years ago, I came to the USA and had great difficulty finding a job as Civil Engineer. Most of my applications resulted in polite regret letters citing one reason or the other for the refusal. When I spoke to a friend (who had come here many years earlier), he told me that the reasons given in the letters were all nonsense. The real reason was that the companies had no jobs. I had committed the cardinal sin of arriving here during a business down cycle or economic contraction.  At the time, I did not understand the full implications of what he said. Now however, after many years in the USA, I have lived through several ups and downs of the Economy and have a healthy respect for the Business Cycle. Further, I often hear about some acquaintances who have suffered heavy losses in their business start ups. These are hard working and intelligent people, but they started their business near the peak of a business cycle; consequently they paid almost the maximum price for purchasing their business, just before it was ready to go into a slump. Buying a business near an Economic cycle peak is a very risky move.Different stages of the business cycle exhibit different characteristics-Near the peak of a business cycle, you may observe the following:Your commute takes longer (if you drive).You have to park further and further from the train, (if you commute by rail).You often have to stand in the train, bus or subway.At the mall, parking may take several minutes to find.Prices of groceries and gasoline go up almost on a weekly basis.All your neighbors have purchased new, often bigger and luxury autos.Your friends are putting up additions to their houses or remodeling their kitchens.Handymen need 30 days notice for the smallest repair job.People are very confident about the future.Near the bottom (or trough) of a business cycle:You often reach work early, because the commute is easier (if you still have a job).You get comfortable seats in the train and good parking.At the Mall, you park in under two minutes and the checkout is very quick.The newspaper has many coupons for things you can actually use.Repairmen are happy to come and give you a free Estimate for work.People are gloomy about the future.       So much for subjective observations. For more objective readings, an excellent source is the website of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) at www.nber.org/cycles/. According to their studies, the last ten business cycles had an average duration of 67 months, with 57 months up and 10 months down. So roughly, we can say that we have 5 years of expansion followed by 1 year of contraction. Incidentally, the Economy last peaked in December 2007 and this was formally recognized in December 2008.While the NBER readings are an excellent and authoritative source of information, their determinations are made several months after the peak or trough is over. If you are interested in anticipating a recession or recovery before it begins, the Stock market is an early predictor of a turn in the economy. For this, you can look at a chart of the stock market as represented by the S&P 500 index and superimpose the 150 day and 200 day averages. The averages are useful in smoothing out the day to day gyrations of the market and show the general direction, or trend of the market, as smooth lines. These lines serve as advance indicators. In an expanding economy, these lines have an upward slope. As the economy begins to weaken, these trend lines flatten out and gradually turn down. This is a fairly reliable sign that economic growth will soon turn negative. Several months later (say 9 to 18), these lines again turn up, signaling that the economy will soon be improving.These trend lines can also be used as stock market entry and exit signals. In the 2000-2001, as well as the 2008 market meltdown, these signals could have saved the stock market investor from considerable losses, roughly 30-35% in each instance. So it pays to be aware of the Business Cycle.Let me quote from the 1969 hit song “Spinning Wheel” by the pop group “Blood Sweat and Tears.”"What goes upmust come downspinning wheelgot to go aroundtalkin’ ’bout your troublesit’s a cryin’ sinRide a painted ponylet the spinning wheel spin”(Blood, Sweat & Tears, 1969)In general, anybody who buys an economy-sensitive business or makes a large investment in the late stages of a business cycle, risks undergoing an experience involving “Blood, Sweat and Tears”, when the Economy does its next swan dive.

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