Ankh Symbol of eternal life. The gods are often seen holding an ankh to someone's lips this is considered to be an offering of "The Breath of Life".

What many Christian followers do not realize, is that many of their religious symbols are mostly derive from Pagan ancestors.  Symbols like the fish, the cross, the dove, and the wedding ring have deep seeded Pagan roots. During the great converting that took place, when Roman Emperor Constantine in 325ad converted the entire Roman empire to Christianity, he transposed many of the Pagan religious symbols into Christian ones. However, Christians did not only steal religious relics from the Roman Pagan rituals, but also from the Greeks, Egyptians as well as the Babylonians.  In the sacred rites of the Babylonian worship to there gods, their high priests were exposed were lavish “sacred garments.” Much like the Catholic Pope does today.  What Constantine did was to mold Christianity from a precise mixture of many customs that were familiar and acceptable to Jews and Pagans at that time.  He wanted and designed a religion and belief system that was  intertwined with superstitions, from all parts of his empire.  That is why there is such a vast combination of different religions, that were collaborated together to from the Christian movement.

From the concept of burring the dead to Christian wedding rituals, Constantine and his advisors had to consider, rearrange, organize and make into law.  It had to be an overwhelming task when one thinks about it.  Therefore, using other religions as a tool and guide to his new faith was a very logical solution, to a very demanding undertaking.    As it is today, many earlier Christians were converted Pagans, baptized in the blood of Christ by the Apostle Paul himself.  Paul, being a pagan himself doesn’t not write scripture on the rites of burring the dead.  No, it was Constantine who established the idea that the dead should be buried.  A concept he stole from the Egyptians and Jews.   It was also believed by the Pharisees that to be buried, delivered lost souls from the gates of eternal damnation.

Symbol of Kings

From how we receive our message from the pulpit to our church alters, there is not one symbol truly sacred to Christianity .  Almost every aspect of the Christian faith has been modeled after, or molded by another Pagan belief from somewhere off in the distant past.  Take the Flail and Crook image, it has long been a symbol of royalty, majesty and dominion.  Notice the Shepard’s staff.

Beth Cavener Stitcher

“There are primitive animal instincts lurking in our own depths, waiting for the chance to slide past a conscious moment. The sculptures I create focus on human psychology, stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms. On the surface, these figures are simply feral and domestic individuals suspended in a moment of tension. Beneath the surface they embody the impacts of aggression, territorial desires, isolation, and pack mentality.

Both human and animal interactions show patterns of intricate, subliminal gestures that betray intent and motivation. The things we leave unsaid are far more important than the words we speak out-loud to one another. I have learned to read meaning in the subtler signs; a look, the way one holds one’s hands, the tightening of muscles in the shoulders, the incline of the head, the rhythm of a walk, and the slightest unconscious gestures. I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for these underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits.

I want to pry at those uncomfortable, awkward edges between animal and human. The figures are feral and uneasy, expressing frustration for the human tendency towards cruelty and lack of understanding. Entangled in their own internal and external struggles, the figures are engaged with the subjects of fear, apathy, violence and powerlessness.

Something conscious and knowing is captured in their gestures and expressions. An invitation and a rebuke.” —Beth Cavener Stitcher

From time to time, I like to feature a favorite artist of mine.  This artist is a virtual unknown artist, in my neck of the woods, but, it’s my goal to change all that.  Therefore, I’m hoping this article will help do just that, and get people looking at her and her amazing talent.  I simply love her.

What you see today, is just a tiny glimpse, at Beth’s exquisite collection of bronze and ceramic sculptures.  Her talent exceeds her own beauty, as a designer and master craftsman. What drives me wild, about her particular pieces, is the human emotional embodiment, that literally exhumes from each one of her individual pieces.

Beth and her husband Matt, currently live in Washington State.  She enjoys traveling aboard, and inspiring young, talented, art students to expand their abilities.  I highly recommend exploring her pieces further, and you can do this by simply clicking on www.followtherabbit.com. You won’t regret it!

I should tell you that since I joined RedGage.com, my traffic on my personal blogging websites has just about double itself.  I am also showing an  increase in my Google Adsense earnings from my HubPages.com articles.  I tell you this now, so far RedGage.com has been a real benefit and personal asset for my online businesses.  The best thing about RedGage.com is that it is FREE!  Not only that but, they pay you for your posts.  These days, you simply cannot beat a good deal like this one.  I need to tell you that the money that I have earned on RedGage.com hasn’t been all that much.  However, any extra money is good thing in my book.  The earnings that I have made has been well worth my time spent inputing data into their system.

Another great aspect about RedGage.com, happens to be the plain fact that it is super, super easy to use.  The hardest thing about the site is inputing the information you want to promote under your personal profile.   Because of this fact, I would honestly give RedGage a five out of five star rating, if it wasn’t for it’s one hiccup.  The server they use is irritatingly too slow.  It seems to get easily bogged down when there is a lot of traffic on the site at the same time.   Much like that of Twitter, when it is over maximum capacity.  However, instead of a blue whale appearing, you will just receive a 404 error request.  Therefore, don’t be alarmed by this.   It is just their standard message.  Nevertheless though, because of this issue  I would have to give them a four out of five star rating instead.  Other than that the website format is a perfect fix for any self-starters, needing to drive necessary traffic to their fleeting websites.  More site traffic, means better ads for your site, and a chance at receiving an online rating.  My site is now at a two rating.  A month ago it was at zero.  With that said,  I highly suggest you take advantage of what RedGage has to offer, by participating in their daily contests, and opening up your own profile.  Good luck!

page contents- Home page, Welcome Blog Readers.
With the onset of the big Panda update by Google, and the clear lack of direction by some of the company’s founding members Paul Edmondson (creative genius behind HubPages.com), Paul Deeds (HubPages.com software engineer), and Maddie Ruud (long time HubPages.com team staff member); HubPages.com has seen many of their longtime, veteran hubbers leaving by the droves.  The chief complaints arrange anywhere from inadequacy,  reckless inconsistency, out right favoritism, incompetence, and an unfair rating system.  Leaving many successful Hubbers pondering, whether or not publishing hubs, on HubPages.com is worth it anymore.

Since the Panda update, HubPages.com has taken a direct hit for Adsense infractions, inadvertently effecting the incoming site-traffic numbers, which comes in from Google’s search engine page.  The negative impact from the fallen traffic it seems, has not been handled in the most responsible manner.  For it does appear by all the incoming, recent complaints; these newly imposed infractions where directly enacted against the HubPages.com economic mainstay- the writers.  The clear back bone of HubPages.com online writing website.  But, instead of standing behind their authors, HubPages.com took a different approach in their management of the situation.  Blaming not themselves, but, their writers.  Thus, taking the path of hidden innuendos, unfriendly postings, self-imposed witch-hunts, and enacted inquisitions.   Thus, turning HubPages.com into a Gettysburg;  forcing Hubber against Hubber and online friends against online friends.

Nevertheless, some veteran Hubbers received a rare opportunity last Friday evening to vent their frustration at an actual HubPages.com employee, which nowadays is a rare event indeed.  The opportunity arose when HubPages’ staff member Norah Casey chimed into the, “Just when you thought the HubPages staff couldn’t be anymore clueless…” forum thread.  Which coincidently was started by veteran Hubber, Mr. Voodoo, a published hub writer with 2+ years writing experience on HubPages.com,and  a personal fan base of over 415  members strong.  Did I also fail to mention that not only has Mr. Voodoo’s  been writing on HubPages.com for two years, he also has 188 published hubs.  Making Mr. Voodoo’s success on the site, nothing to sneeze at or dismiss.

As the story goes, Mr. Voodoo’s trouble all began when an apparent reader flagged a hub for promoting “child pornography.”  In Mr. Voodoo’s own words, he tells us how he was flagged by a viewer over a comment that was left by a teenage boy in Mr. Voodoo’s hub,  in the comment section of the article.   In which the teenagers asks the Hub veteran a health related question to that of the said article.   Therefore, in response to HubPages.com automatic email notification, which I personally gathered was not in Mr. Voodoo’s favor, so he starts a forum thread by writing;

—”They (HubPages) all but accuse me of running some kind of kiddie porn dungeon, because on my hub about having ‘itchy nuts’, some worried ’14 year olds’ have questioned whether the fact they masturbate might be the cause of their itching.   In the comments section.”

In what I believe to be an attempt to gain fellow support, from other Hubbers visiting the forums that evening.  Well naturally it worked.  Mr. Voodoo goes onto to point out some of the few contradictions there at HubPages.com, regarding it’s sexual content policy.  One such comment, had many fellow hubbers in an uproar over learning more policy discrepancies, at the hand of incompetent HubPages.com staffers.

Again, the post was cleverly made by the originator of the thread, Mr. Voodoo.  He is writing in response to fellow Hubber, Marisa Wright’s comment; where she makes an assertion that HubPages.com never makes money off of sexually explicit content.

— Mrvoodoo wrote:

You’re mistaken.  HP is making plenty of money from adult products:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-a-Vibrator- … than-a-Man

http://hubpages.com/hub/Condoms-For-all-Occasions

I didn’t even delve very far in to find these.  They were both on the hottest hubs list.

Oh look, there’s Ryan Hupfer, previous HP spokesman, and Paul Deeds dad, in the comments,

Norah Casey’s position in the matter was one of self-preservation, and saving face.  She was careful to only answer comments where she could site the HubPages.com “adult content” policy literally, and often refused to answer any comments that directly put her in the line of fire, where she could be held accountable for some of  poor choices and mistakes as of late, made by several HP staffers.

—Norah Casey wrote:

“Advertisers are very strict about what they consider to be adult content. I’m not sure if Simone (a fellow HP staffer) knows the full scope of what they consider to be “sensitive” content. Her job does not involve reviewing 400 hubs a day.  I’m not going to respond any further on this issue…

In response to this comment made by Norah, another long time veteran Hubber mistyhorizon2003, herself having over 1212 fan members with 250 published articles under her belt, pipes into the debate.  Not only did this comment help shed a new light on current events, many hubbers were left wondering whether or not HubPages.com provides the proper employee training for some of these new HP hires.   Like the recent addition of HP employee, Simone Smith.

—Mistyhorizon2003 wrote:

“Hi Norah,
Just one question, if Simone is not familiar with ‘the full scope of what they consider to be sensitive content’, is it really wise to be allowing her to respond to so many complaints in various threads? Essentially you are ‘throwing her to the wolves’, because you are suggesting here that she lacks experience, therefore surely her responses may well be incorrect or contain inaccurate information!

That doesn’t seem fair to me!”

And, mistyhorizon2003 is 100% correct on this one.  She is right!  Not only is it not fair for the employee to not be properly trained in the industry, it is also not fair to all the HP Hubbers being forced to put up with these discrepancies.  This clear and blatant lack of  direction inside the HP home office, is the true cause and effect of many beloved HP Hubbers’ reason for leaving.

For now- the mood on the site is dark and dim, but, most of all it is demoralizing for many Hubbers, old and new alike.

Just take a look here below.  This recent hub was written by an obliviously frustrated writer, trying to break into the hard task of writing online.  It’s truly an eye opener!

• Here’s is one hubber’s disgruntled article about HubPages.com

Any users new to Hub pages you should be made aware that your content may be removed  at the whim of an administrator with out any warning or contact.

Not even a simple warning and window of time to remedy the issue. Just removed. I was considering moving all my blogs here as well as recommending my friends consider doing the same now there is no way.

I’m not an unreasonable person I understand there are rules. I also understand when someone is NEW to a site there is a possibility they may misunderstand some of it’s policies.  There at HubPages, the staff doesn’t care about that though,  it’s about them, and making money from your work.  No respect, not even basic, considerate, fair treatment.  It would have been nice, if they would have contacted me about the issues plaguing my hub opportunities.  Now there is one more (among many I would assume) person who will have nothing good to say about your site. I’ll make this point on my podcasts and in future blogs. —Reap Paden, of Fu*k you Hub Pages

 

(This NOT my personal reflection of HubPages.com.)