"Rapture's Delight" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series American Dad! It originally aired on the Fox TV network in the United States on Dec. 13, 2009 [and remains one of the funniest and most satirical takes the show dared to make]. This episode centers around CIA Agent Stan and his housewife Francine's life after the vast majority of the church, including their children Hayley and Steve, are raptured ("taken up"), leaving everyone else Left Behind. When Stan begins to blame Francine for not getting into heaven, Francine ends their relationship and befriends a man whom she later finds out to be Jesus Christ. Francine becomes his bride, leaving Stan behind to participate in the showdown at Armageddon. More
"The Rapture" is a Christian eschatological ("end-times") belief held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of a magic event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, together with Christians who are still alive, will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord [who might be in a spaceship] in the air" [1, 2].
I don't want to be left behind with all the sinners!
Many different timelines have been asserted that tie to ideas of a seven-year "Great Tribulation": pre-tribulation [3], mid-tribulation, pre-wrath, and post-tribulation raptures; and to a thousand-year age of Messianic rule: millennialism, pre-millennialism, post-millennialism, a-millennialism, and preterism [4, 5].
The origin of the term extends from translations of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Christian Bible, which uses the Greek word harpazo (Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω), meaning "to snatch away" or "to seize."
The idea of a rapture as it is defined in dispensational premillennialism is NOT found in historic Christianity. It is a relatively new doctrine, originating from the 1830s.
Why was I left behind, not good enough?
Most Christian denominations, and the numerically largest, do NOT believe or subscribe to "rapture theology" and have a different interpretation of the aerial gathering described in 1 Thessalonians 4 [6].
They do NOT use "rapture" as a specific theological term, nor do they generally subscribe to the dispensational theology associated with its use [7].
Instead, most Christians typically interpret "rapture" in the sense of the elect (the saved) gathering with Christ in Heaven directly after the Second Coming. They reject outright the idea that a large portion of humanity will be "left behind" (like the very profitable, fearmongering book series depicts) on Earth for an extended tribulation period after the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 [6, 8]. More
On June 11, 1963, he sat down in a Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) intersection and didn't move. But behind the famous photograph is a deeper Buddhist story about:
the monk whose final act shook the Catholic Ngo Dinh Diem regime and forced the world to look at Vietnam differently.
We had to kill Buddhists to rule by force!
It was the visible shape of a lifetime of Pure Land Buddhist practice, pressed all the way to the edge. This is the untold story behind the most powerful photograph of the 20th century and what Buddhism actually teaches about the mind that met that morning.
🔍 DISCOVER:
The real story behind Thich Quang Duc, the Burning Monk
How Buddhist persecution in South Vietnam led to the 1963 Buddhist crisis
How one photograph traveled from Saigon to Washington DC and changed global opinion...
and why U.S. President John F. Kennedy stopped mid-sentence when he saw it at breakfast
The heart relic that didn't burn...and what Vietnamese Buddhist tradition says it means
If this story moves viewers — subscribe. This channel exists to tell the stories Buddhism rarely gets credit for: historically grounded, honestly told [with a moving AI voice that only rarely mispronounces words], without the self-help packaging. New videos every week.
⚠️ CONTENT ADVISORY! This video discusses the dying [by suicide] of Thích Quảng Đức (June 11, 1963) as a historical and Buddhist educational subject. While no graphic footage is shown, the topic involves dying, political persecution, and religious violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
Primary Sources: — Thích Quảng Đức's final letter, June 10, 1963 (translated versions available via Vietnam Buddhist archives) — Malcolm Browne, Muddy Boots and Red Socks (1993) — firsthand account of June 11 1963 https://amzn.to/4980Unr — David Halberstam, The Making of a Quagmire (1965) — eyewitness testimony https://amzn.to/4cLJNKE Buddhist Texts: — The Dhammapada (especially Chapter 1 — the Yamaka Vagga) — Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra — foundational Pure Land text on Amitābha's vow — Larger and Smaller Pure Land Sutras — the practice of nianfo/nembutsu
HISTORICAL AND SCHOLARLY
— Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire (1967) — written in direct response to the Buddhist crisis https://amzn.to/4cWRegz — Edward Miller, Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam (2013) https://amzn.to/4eEY2ST — Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie (1988) — broader Vietnam War context https://amzn.to/424gBs3 — Mark Moyar, Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965 https://amzn.to/42EAx4T On the Relic: — Vietnamese Buddhist Federation records on the heart relic preservation and enshrinement (2025) Historical records on Xa Loi Pagoda, the Hue Vesak crisis, and Buddhist protests in South Vietnam Reporting and archival material on the Diem regime, Madame Nhu, and U.S. reactions to the Buddhist crisis Malcolm Browne’s Associated Press photographs and reporting from Saigon, 1963 This video references and discusses Malcolm Browne's 1963 Associated Press photographs, archival news footage, and other historical materials related to the events of June 11, 1963 in Saigon, South Vietnam.
All copyrighted materials are used solely for educational commentary and historical documentation under Fair Use (17 U.S.C. § 107). Buddha's Wisdom makes no claim of ownership over any third-party material featured or discussed.
How this was made: Altered or synthetic content. Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated. Learn more
Young Jesus (known in Buddhism as Issa) in India and Tibet
Does curel, bloody black magic animal sacrifice really undergird all of modern Christianity?
.
The Church knew, buried truth
In 1887, Russian Christian war correspondent Nicolas Notovitch claimed that while traveling through the Himalayas with other Russian, he was thrown from a horse and broke his leg.
The others left him to recover over the winter at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery known as Hemis Gompa in Ladakh (now part of India), he was shown written documentation called the "Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men" (Isa being the Arabic name of Jesus in Islam) by the Buddhist abbot [30][31][32].
Notovitch's story, with a translated text of the "Life of Saint Issa," was published upon his return to the West in French in 1894 as La vie inconnue de Jesus Christ (Unknown Life of Jesus Christ) [5][32].
According to the Buddhist scrolls, Jesus (Issa) abandoned Jerusalem, Palestine/Israel, at the age of 13 and set out towards India, "intending to improve and perfect himself in the divine understanding and to studying the laws [the Dharma or Doctrine] of the great Buddha."
He crossed Punjab and reached Puri Jagannath, where he studied the Brahmin priests' Vedas (sacred text, lit. "Knowledge Books").
He spent six years in Puri and Rajgir (the famous Buddhist city Rajagriha, site of Vultures' Peak and Venuvana/Veluvana Vihara), near Nalanda (site of the world's first university, a Buddhist monastic learning center in India), an ancient seat of Brahminical/Vedic learning.
Then Issa/Jesus/Yeshua went up into the Himalayas and spent time in Tibetan lamaseries, studying Buddhism [30], and continued on through Persia (the Aryan Land of Iran), and returned to Jerusalem at the age of 29.
Notovitch's writings were immediately controversial, and German scholar Max Müller stated that either the Buddhist lamas at the lamasery had deceived Notovitch (or played a joke on him), or he had fabricated the evidence [30][33][34].
Müller then wrote to the Buddhist monastery at Hemis, and the [replacement] head lama replied that there had been no Western visitor at the monastery in the past 15 years and there were no documents related to Notovitch's story [35].
J. Archibald Douglas then visited Hemis Gompa and interviewed the [new] head lama, who stated that Notovitch had never been there [35].
Indologist Leopold von Schroeder called Notovitch's story a "big fat lie" [36]. Wilhelm Schneemelcher states that Notovich's accounts were soon exposed as fabrications and that to date no one has even had a glimpse at the manuscripts Notovitch claims to have had [5] [which is untrue since Swami Abhedananda traveled to Hemis and was allowed to see, touch, and confirm their existence].
Notovich defended himself by responding to these attacks and claims [37]. However, once his story was reexamined by historians – some even questioning his existence – they claimed Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence [36].
American scholar Bart D. Ehrman states that, "Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter [other than German scholar Holger Kersten and his colleague German Indologist Gunter Gronbold, author of Jesus in Indien]. The entire story was invented by Notovitch, who earned a good deal of money and a substantial amount of notoriety for his hoax" [38].
However, others deny this. Notovich never accepted any accusations against him – that his account was a forgery or any such thing.
Although not impressed with his story, Sir Francis Younghusband recalls meeting Nicolas Notovitch near Skardu not long before Notovitch visited Hemis monastery [39].
In 1922, the President of the Vedanta Society of New York between 1897 and 1921 and the author of several books Swami Abhedananda went to the Himalayas on foot and reached Tibet, where he studied Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan Buddhism.
He traveled to Hemis Gompa and allegedly found the manuscript Notovitch claimed and translated, which was a Tibetan translation of the original scrolls written in the exclusively Buddhist language Pali.
One of the lamas said that it was a copy and that the original was in a monastery at Marbour near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
After Abhedananda's death in 1939, one of his disciples inquired about the documents at the Hemis Gompa but was told that they had disappeared [40][41] [which is to say moved for safety so that Westerners would not come kill everyone and steal them to hide the truth in accord with their sectarian religious views]. More
They never even have bothered to learn my real name, yet they claim they love me.
"Hear me out: Christianity [as practiced by most people in the USA and Europe, particularly in Rome] is just another Satanic cult." This is not a joke. Here's why. By the end of the video, what the correct path of Christianity, the steps Jesus (Yeshua, Issa, Kristos, the Annointed One, Christ) actually followed and advocated are covered. Hearing is believing, even though facing up to having been deceived for so long and to be so wrong will likely be impossible for most "Christians." For as it is said, a comforting lie is far more attractive than any bitter truth.
American Kim Iversen takes a look at an alleged growing trends of people turning to Christianity...whenever the economic and political condition of a country starts looking hopeless.
Morgue Official is an ex-Christian intent on exposing the Church and revealing the true teachings of Jesus Christ as understood for thousands of years in a body of literature called the "Gnostic texts." They are not one set of books but rather are buried secrets the official Church tried to stamp out, ban, censor, alter, and eradicate along with killing anyone possessing such knowledge.
In the Tlayócoc cave in Mexico, traces of a mysterious civilization from over 500 years ago have been discovered.
This find is the result of a cartographic expedition led by Yekaterina Katiya Pavlova and Adrián Beltrán Dimas.
During the expedition in the Tlayócoc cave, Yekaterina Katiya Pavlova and local guide Adrián Beltrán Dimas came across a hidden chamber. There, they found items that may indicate the existence of a lost civilization from more than 500 years ago. This discovery has sparked the interest of scientists from around the world.
Among the finds were shell bracelets, a large snail shell, and fragments of stone disks resembling pyrite mirrors. According to INAH (the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History), these objects may have been used for ritual purposes.
Archeologists discovered symbols on them that could be related to ancient beliefs.
Miguel Perez, an INAH archeologist, emphasizes that the discovery is of great importance for understanding the culture and symbolism of pre-Hispanic (before Spanish conquest) societies that inhabited the Sierra de Guerrero.
The findings may help interpret their cosmology and rituals related to fertility and creation.
History of the Sierra de Guerrero region
The Sierra de Guerrero region, where the discovery was made, was inhabited by the Tlacotepehaus ethnic group during the post-classic period, between 950 and 1521 AD. The area was abandoned due to extreme weather conditions, which made life difficult for its inhabitants.
Symbolism and significance of the artifacts
Cuauhtemoc Reyes Alvarez from INAH suggests that the symbols on the bracelets may be related to cosmology concerning creation and fertility.
Caves might have been perceived as portals to the underworld or sacred spaces connected with divinity.
(Zen Confidential) May 8, 2025: A Patron sent me an email that basically says, "I have a friend who just found Jesus, and she's driving me CRAZY!!"
Why is she driving him crazy? It's because my Patron's friend is convinced that there is ONLY ONE true religion, one way or path, and she thinks anyone who doesn't follow it -- that is, anyone who doesn't go "full Yazoo" -- is on AC/DC's Highway to Hell.
Is there ONLY ONE TRUE WAY? My Patron wants to know.
Yes, is my answer. There IS just one true way.
Darby Crash, frontman of the Germs and an early Hollywood Zen Buddhist, wrote "The Slave," which goes: "It starts in your head/ And moves to your hands/ Your body starts shakin'/ 'Cause you're in demand/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// You're lashed 'twixt the stars/ With your ice and motor cars/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// Oh yea, yea, pull out the Zen/ I've got a Buddhist principle in my hand/ Your life seems wasted/ Your bodies laced in/ Don't stop now, you've got to trace it/ You put your hands together/ Writhe in the shackle/ You twist your body round/ 'Til it starts to crackle/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// Right here right now/ Shake it in and out now/ Lights on off now/ Make it spin and fight now"
Unfortunately, it's different for absolutely everyone!
Let's touch on a lot of the basics that make Zen [and other forms of Buddhism] different from "religions."
For one thing, in Zen there is nothing to "believe" in [except maybe Taoism]. There is a practice, and there are principles, and the practitioner puts those principles into practice. That's kind of it.
What is Catholicism? It's Universalism
The main practice is zazen ("sitting meditation"), often defined as shikantaza ("just sitting"). Through this practice, attention is cultivated. But even this is saying too much.
Speaking of not speaking, we could say that Zen is the practice of not filling silences. To wit, there is the Great Silence from which we all come and to which we all go. Religion kinda sorta sometimes puts a great big Jesus statue right in the center of that silence, or a great big Buddha statue right there in the middle of serene silence.
It tries to fill the void, the peace of silence, as if it could improve on it, gilding the lily, giving the snake legs, papering over the gaps and blanks, pretending that we can fill the not-knowing with some kind of knowing.
But in the end, the job of a spiritual practice is not to remove uncertainty. Rather, in my experience at least, a practice humbles us before that uncertainty. There's a big difference. Every time I think I finally found the One True Way, something changes -- me, the world around me, the situation, life -- and I have to change along with it, grow, go with the flow, and keep going, keep living, keep not knowing.
No fake certainty!
Today, on YouTube,
I offer these videos for free, but you can support my work here:
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Shogan Jack Haubner, May 8, 2025; Darby Crash, Germs, "The Slave"; What is Catholicism? (video); Strangest Catholic relics (video #short); Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(WION) March 28, 2023: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama recently recognized an 8-year-old US-born Mongolian boy as one of the highest [Vajrayana] Buddhist spiritual leaders. He was recognized as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, but his enthronement did not yet happen.
#dalailama #spirituality #buddhism
Buddhism does not have "popes," but one might think so. The former Empire of Tibet, which extended from Mongolia to Bangladesh and across the Himalayas, developed a patriarchal "cardinal" and "bishop" system frighteningly like the rimpoches and high lamas (plus tulkus like Jesus the vegan Nazarene) of Roman Catholicism.
(Or is that the other way around? Same difference). Chinese atheist communists put a stop to that by nearly wiping out Lhasa (the Holy See at the center of the empire) and the Potala Palace (Vatican) at the center of that.
The dalai lama system goes a little further than Roman Catholicism in claiming that "His Holiness" the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso, Lhamo Thondup) is a tulku (unmistaken child), the reincarnation of the God/Goddess (Deva/Devi) of Compassion Avalokitesvara/Chenrezik (Kwan Yin), returning again and again like some kind of Virgin Mary to hear the cries of the world and pour out blessings like cooling water from a Hindu goddesses' vase to heal the suffering of devotees.
The selection of the next dalai lama is not an election but a search and discovery of where he has gotten to in his next rebirth, which is what a tulku is, a consciously reborn Buddhist master returning on purpose to continue his work in this world. This is unique to Vajrayana Buddhism, and only prominent in the Tibetan cultural practices of this amalgamation of Himalayan Bon shamanism (black magic) and Mahayana Buddhism ("great vehicle") tradition.
If you join, you still can't be powerful like us.
This gives the person of the Dalai Lama great power as pope and king, though China tore away his political power and left him only a spiritual leader and symbol of a nation and countless sympathetic outsiders, most of them in the US and EU with the help of the CIA, PR firms working to benefit dalailama.com (not necessarily hired by the organization), and anti-China forces.
As such, the 14th Dalai Lama's blessing carries immense power and influence, so much so that the current person in office says he may not be reborn at all next time, or that he may come back as a female, a hot one (no joke), outside of the Sinosphere, far from Asia and China's meddling.
(Jupitar Star) This thought-provoking video explores Bertrand Russell's classic essay, "Why I'm Not a Christian," in which the logician and renowned philosopher outlines his reasons for rejecting Christianity and organized religion.
Russell critiques the historical and philosophical foundations of Christianity, addressing topics such as the problem of evil, the lack of empirical evidence for religious claims, and the contradictions within religious texts.
Through logical reasoning and intellectual clarity, Russell presents a compelling case for skepticism and atheism (or at least rejection of monotheistic claims by the Abrahamic faiths), challenging traditional beliefs while encouraging viewers to think critically about religion and its role in society.
(T&H - Inspiration & Motivation) Alan Watts gives a clarifying and powerfully insightful lecture on knowing, religion, Jesus, and the big questions we ask. "Life is not a problem, in other words, not a contest between ourselves and our environment. This conception of life turns out to be basically phony." Original audio source: Alan Watts, "Extended Seminars, Early Radio Talks - Ghosts" (T&H).
Jupitar Star, March 26, 2025; A Dose of Reason (YouTube), 2024; T&H - Inspiration & Motivation, Oct. 23, 2023; Sheldon S., Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
It always seemed that it would be nice to live in a country where Hollywood saw fit to do movies on all religions, but seeing what it does to Christianity, it's good that it does not see fit to warp every other religion. Secular Judaism gets the most exposure, but as for historical fantasies, it's all Cecil B. DeMille and Charlton Heston. Religion is the addictive opiate of the masses, so the government and its propaganda arm have to wield it to maintain control, so Christians should beware of what they are being fed. JC Superstar was good, coming from the Jewish perspective, but how much of it was real? John C. Reilly helped almost get a Siddhartha G Superstar play off the ground, possibly turning it into a spec script then a Broadway play and finally a big movie release. Alas, it was not to be because one of the first drafts was pretty darn good and accurate, having played in Westwood next to UCLA years ago in a tiny playhouse. Then in 2003, he played a Buddhist monk in the comedy Anger Management.
5 faith-based movies and shows Christians and Catholics can’t miss in 2025
(Movieguide) Jan. 23, 2025: Get ready for 2025’s most inspiring [Judeo-Christian propaganda, Bible based but much less violent and gross than the Book version] faith-based movies and TV shows. These upcoming releases are perfect for the family and packed with uplifting stories that will warm hearts and soften brains. Don’t miss out on the best in faith-filled entertainment coming this way.
🎥✝️ #spiritualcinema #movieguide #christianministry #christianfilm #christian #hollywood #inspirational #moviereview #moviereviews #wholesome #christianmovies - Subscribe to get more uplifting Hollywood content, because if Hollywood can do anything, it is make psyops and recruitment films for the military (like Top Gun) and wholesome Disney entertainment promoting LGBTQIA+ issues. Visit https://movieguide.org. Facebook: movieguide, Twitter: movieguide, Instagram: movieguide. Movieguide® is a not-for-profit organization, so tithe and donate here: https://www.movieguide.org/donate. Music: https://www.artlist.io. All trailer footage provided to Movieguide® courtesy of Studio via Electronic Press Kit and being used for promotional purposes as per required by the rights holders.
Team Recovering Catholics (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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