Tag Archives: india

Two Trees

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Bryan Hodge

There are some well-known living trees in the world today. Consider this list: (1) The General Sherman. It is a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) located in Sequoia National Park in California. It is reported to be, by volume, the largest … Continue reading →

Thoughts After a Year

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Bryan Hodge

It has been more than a year since I was detained, interrogated for hours, denied entry, locked up, threatened with prosecution, and unceremoniously sent home by immigration officials in India. This writing is designed to explain what happened and provide … Continue reading →

Posted in evangelism, Government, Prayer | Tagged 7th Day Adventist, 9/11, Acts 4:18-20, Acts 5:27-29, Acts 8:4, American Airlines, authority, benevolence, British Airways, Catholic or Protestant?, church organization, critics, denied entry, deported, evangelism, heathrow, Hindu, hurricane, india, John Cornyn, man in arena, minister of home affairs, missionary visas, persecution, politics, prayer, proselyting, recognized denominaions and religious societies in India, religious visas, Ted Cruiz, theodore roosevelt, tsunami indian ocean 2004, visas, WordPress, Zoom | 7 Comments

Christmas Tree?

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Bryan Hodge

“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles… for the customs of the people are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They decorate it with silver … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, History, holiday | Tagged 1840s, 1846, 1890s, 1931, america, balder, britain, christmas, christmas tree, christmas tree in america, christmas tree in germany, cultural meaning, culture, druids, egypt, england, evergreen trees, evil spirits, france, germans use dot for digits place, germany, ghosts, history channel, history.com, how french make decimal place, how india divides digits place, idolatry, india, intent matters, intented meaning, intentions matter, Isaiah 40, Isaiah 46, Jeremiah 10, june weddings, juno, martin luther, pagan holiday christianized, pagan origin, pennsylvania, prince albert, queen victoria, question mark in greek, rockefeller center, scandinavia, solstice, unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, vikings, winter solstice, witches | 1 Comment

Church of Christ: What is Said About Us?

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Bryan Hodge

From time to time, I have tried to provide some basic information on a religious group, denomination, or independent church. I have tried to be fair and accurate. The aim has been to provide information to you which may be … Continue reading →

Posted in church, Doctrine, Restoration History, Stats | Tagged 10 things to know anout history and beliefs, 1985, 1990, 2015, a capella singing, africa, alexander campbell, authority, baptism, barton w. stone, bob waldron, book voices crying in the wilderness, brannon deibert, caribbean, central and south america, christian standard, christianity.com, church autonomy, church of christ, david roper, distinctive plea, elders, global status of churches of christ, immersion, india, instrumental music in worship, kent fillinger, membership decline, missiodeijournal, new study reveals drastic decline, number of congregations, number of members, number of preachers, plan of salvation, process of salvation, ready to harvest YouTube, restoration movement, sola scriptura, stan granberg, stats, tennessee, texas, thomas campbell, tim woodroof, what is said about us | 2 Comments

Western Religions: Scientology (Part 1)

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Bryan Hodge

Scientology membership numbers are disputed. CNN reported in 2017, “The Church of Scientology says it has 10,000 churches, missions and groups operating in 167 countries, with 4.4 million more people signing up every year. Scholars say that, despite the global … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, History, World Religions | Tagged 1911, 1932, 1941, 1945, 1950, 1954, 1960, 1986, aleister crowley, amanda macias, analytical mind, battlefield earth, biographic.org, blackfoot indian, bob minton, bremerton washington, britanica, businessinsider, businessinsider.com, california, carnegie mellon university, china, church of scientology, clear, clearing the planet, cnn, dan gilgoff, david miscavige, dc-8, demystifying scientology's fundamental reality, dianetics, douglas frantz, eagle scout, engrams, genetic entity, george washington university, grunge.com, guinnessworldrecords.com, gwern.net, hailey eber, hawaii, helena montana, history of man, hubbard's medals, hydrogen bombs, india, jack parson, jason guerrasia, john travolta, knowing better youtube, l ron hubbard, lafayette ronald hubbard, lamag, lamasery, lieutenant, memories, most published works by one author, navy reserves, nolen moore, numbers, nytimes.com, ordo templi ortenis, psychosomatic illness, pulp fiction, reactive mind, reincarnation, robert linsey, sarah northrup, scientologynews.org, stats, tax exemption, the untold truth, thetans, tibet, tilden nebraska, tom cruise, tony ortaga, tricia escobedo, unconsciousness, war hero, who was l. ron hubbard, xenu | Leave a comment

The Excuses of Moses

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Bryan Hodge

Moses is one of the greats in Biblical history. He is by name more than 800 times in the Bible (only Jesus and David are mentioned more). He is included among the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11). However, when God … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible Study, exodus, Textual study | Tagged aaron, excuses of moses, exodus, Exodus 3:11, Exodus 3:13, Exodus 4:1, Exodus 4:10, Exodus 4:13, exuses, feeling inadequate, I am not eloquent, I am not good with words, I don't know enough, I don't know what to say, india, indian song leaders, moses, send someone else, sending out in pairs, suppose they do not believe, what if they do not beieve?, who am I?, whose job is it anyway?, why me? | Leave a comment

Eastern Religions: Jainism and Sikhism

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Bryan Hodge

These two religions are from the subcontinent. They are closely related to Hinduism, as is Buddhism. Jainism There are between 6 -7 million Jains in the world. Most live in India. There are about 80,000 in the U.S.A. (Countries with … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, History, World Religions | Tagged 5 k's, adi granth, ahimsa, alcohol, amritsar.com, aparigrapha, asceticism, asteya, attempt to reconcile islam and hinduism, bangle or bracelet, baptism, bbc, beliefs, biography online, book handbook of todays religions, brahmacharya, britanica, buster dobbs, caste system, celibacy, digambara, don stewart, eastern religions, five great vows, fuve nahavratas, Hinduism, idols, india, Islam, jains, jina, josh mcdowell, kachera, kangha, kara, kaur, kesh, khalsa, kirpan, lion, mahavira, moksha, monks, nanak, nanak devji, narcotics, no stealing, nonpossessiveness, nonviolence, nuns, pakistan, princess, punjab, pure, reincarnation, sanskrit, satya, self defense, short trousers, sikh legend missing body, sikhism, sikhiwiki, sikhs.org, singh, sky clad, stats, subcontinent, suetambara, sword, thoughtco, tirthankara, tobacco, truth, uncut hair, vardhamana, white clad, wikipedia, wooden comb, world atlas, World Religions | Leave a comment

Eastern Religions: Zoroastrianism and Bahaism

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Bryan Hodge

These two religions are from Persia (Iran). One is ancient. One is of more recent origin. Zoroastrianism There are fewer than 200,000 followers of this religion in the world. Most are in India, Pakistan, and Iran (Top Countries of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, History, satan, World Religions | Tagged a dying religion, abdul baha, abraham, acre, adam, adrianople, after life found early in scriptures, ahura mazda, angra mainyu, bagdad, bahais, bahaism, bahaiteaches, balance good deed and bad deeds, basic beliefs, book the chaos of the cults, book the kingdom of the cults, buddah, Christ, confucius, did jews borrow idea od satan?, eastern religions, failed assasination attempt a sign for Bahais, haifa, history, history.com, india, iran, israel, istanbul, judgement, karel van baalen, krishna, menachem recker, mirza husayn ali, moses, muhammad, origin, pakistan, persia, satan, shanghi effendi, siyyid ali muhammad shirazi, stats, the bab, the bahaullah, the twelveth imam, theatlantic, walter martin, what do they believe?, world atlas, World Religions, zararthrustra, zoroaster, zoroastriam | Leave a comment

Halloween, Nike, Mazda, and Paganism

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Bryan Hodge

Many go “all out” for Halloween. Houses are decorated. Costumes are selected. Candy is purchased. Did you know that ¼ of all candy sold in the U.S is sold for Halloween? (Halloween 2018- History, history.com). Personally, I have never understood … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Ethics, History, holiday | Tagged ! in math v. english, ; in greek v english, all saints day, aphrodite, apollo, apollos, bobbing for apples, bonfires, book: piloting the strait, businessinsider, candy stat, carved vegetibles, celtic, change of life, change of name, culture, dave miller, dike, druids, epaphras, epaphroditus, ferelia, halloween, hallows eve, history.com, holidayinsights, holidays, how nike got its name, india, intent matters, jujiro matsuda, june weddings, juno, mazda, mazda's name, mazda.com, names of days of week, nike, pagan holiday christianized, pagan holidays, perian, pomona, pope gregory III, rome, samhaim, should one change a pagan name when converted?, swastica, taditions, thor, thursday, toyo kogyo, traditions and customs, treats, veil | 2 Comments

World Religions: Buddhism

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Bryan Hodge

Buddhism is the fourth largest of the world’s religions. It numbers about 488 million (Largest Religions in the World, worldatlas.com). Most of these live in Asia (List of religious populations, Wikipedia). There are an estimated 1.2 million Buddhists living in … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, History, World Religions | Tagged archaeology, asia, bhutan, bodhi tree, book handbook of todays religions, book kingdom of the cults, buddah, buddah's bones, buddhism, buddhism v. christianity, cambodia, caste system, cause of suffering, china, daily mail uk, daisetz teitaro suzuki, dalai lama, dhammapada, don stewart, dukkah, end of suffering, ethics, extremes, founder, God, greater vehicle, hinduism v. buddhism, india, japan, john ankerberg, josh mcdowell, karma, korea, lessor vehicle, loas, magga, mahayana, man his own savior, mantra, mongolia, myanmar, napal, nirhodha, nirvana, numbers, origin, rahula, ravi zacharias, right action, right effort, right meditation, right mindfulness, right occupation, right speech, right thought, right understanding, samma ajiva, samma ditthi, samma kammanta, samma samadhi, samma sankappa, samma sati, samma vaca, samma vayama, samudaya, savior, siddhartha gautama, sri lanka, stats, teaching, thailand, the eight fold path, the four noble truths, the middle path, theravada, thunderbolt vehicle, tibet, tim collins, truth within, types of buddhism, vajrayana, vietnam, walpola rahula, walter martin, way of the elders, World Religions, yasodhara, zen | Leave a comment