Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Melchizedek Chronicles - The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia - What might destiny have in store? Can he complete the dreams of Cyrus the Great, Darius I and beloved Saladin?


Unify the Arab and Persian worlds


Restore the glory of the ancient empires?


Bring spiritual evolution to the Muslim world


Inspire peace between all religions


Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 

June 21, 2017 became Crown Prince.
Born   August 31, 1985

If you were the Creator, God, Allah, YHWH, the Supreme Being, and looked down on your Creation today, what would you think?

Personally, I think he would be disappointed to say the least.  No matter what your culture or religion might be, I am quite sure your God shares the same sentiment.  We live in a contaminated world.

People have lost their moral and ethical compass, they no longer live the Will of the Creator, hate overshadows love and anger dominates fear.  We are more enslaved than any point in our history, financial, sexual, addictions, digital, depression and despair.
    
Of all the disappointment we caused, thanks to our free will and poor decision-making, one disappointment stands alone in the eyes of the Creator.

God’s creations, us, after all their time on Earth, have never brought peace, sustained peace, to the holiest of all lands on earth, the Holy Lands, home to where God once talked to humans and we talked to him.

Where the sacred teachings were revealed to man, the holiest of Holy sites still remain, and where Jesus lived and worked miracles for man.


The Holy Land - birthplace of three religions

There are three religions whose history is interwoven with the Holy Lands, the old city of Jerusalem, where each religion has sacred sites.  The most important of these include;

The Temple Mount (Haram Al-Sharif)
The Temple Mount is a massive plaza of stone in the South East corner of Jerusalem’s Old City surrounded by date palms and cypress trees. Arguably the most holy place in the city, it has major significance to all three religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity).

It’s thought to be Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered to sacrifice his son Isaac to God. Today on the Temple Mount complex you’ll find two important Islamic structures, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.


For Jews, the Temple Mount was the location of the First Temple built by King Solomon in 957 BC to house the Ark of the Covenant (which held the Ten Commandments) in a special room called “The Holy of Holies”.  It is the most sacred site in Judaism, and the Foundation Stone under the dome is where Earth was first created.

For Muslims, Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) is the 3rd holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The rock under the dome is where the Prophet Muhammad left Earth to visit heaven on a winged horse during his Night Journey in the 7th Century. It was also the direction of Islamic prayer before God allowed Muhammad to pray towards Mecca instead.


For Christians, the Temple Mount is significant because the Jewish temple located here was where Jesus prayed daily and later preached with his disciples.  Jerusalem is also where the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus took place.

All three religions find themselves under attack from within their own congregations while also fighting off challenges from outside forces.  Oh yes, they even find time to fight each other in the process.


In order to understand the destiny of the Crown Prince in the eyes of Melchizedek, one must have a knowledge of the entire Middle East and the historic events that shaped them, not just the history of the region but of the entire world.

Recap of Middle East History

There is a reason Iran is considered the cradle of civilization, and the Middle East is the bridge between the European and Asian cultures, a crossroads for the world.  Yet for all the gifts bestowed on the Middle East by God or Allah, why is it not the holiest, most sacred, most peaceful place on Earth filled with the grace of the Creator?

Today, the young Crown Prince, has an opportunity before him to complete the dreams of some of the most powerful and beloved leaders of the Persian, Arab, and Muslim nations from the region.


Cyrus the Great, king of ancient Persia, founder of the greatness of the Achaemenids and of the Persian Empire (c. 559 – 529 B.C.)


Darius I (Darius the Great), king of ancient Persia (521 – 486 B.C.)


An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known as Salah ad-Din or Saladin, was the first sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish ethnicity, Saladin led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in the Levant (c. 1138 -- 1193 A.D.)

All sought to unify the Arabian – Persian – Middle East nations.  All wanted people of all religions to live in harmony and respect.  All protected not only the sacred sites of their own religion, but those of the other faiths as well.


Persian Facts

Persians entered Iran about 1,000 BCE.
Persians speak Persian (Farsi), related to Greek and Latin.
There are 120 million Persians, one half live in Iran.
Cyrus, the Achaemenid dynasty, build empire in 550 BCE
Most Persians are Shiite Muslims



Those are lofty goals that to this date have not been achieved.  Oh, several leaders came close, certainly the Persians Cyrus and Darius and Saladin, the Sunni Muslim.  Each consolidated or maintained major empires, and invoked the principles of coexistence, peace, and honor for all.  All three rank among the greatest leaders in the history of mankind.

The Greek versus Persian Empires

Few people, especially from the West, know the nature of the Middle East, the true history, nor the contributions to mankind that were generated in the Middle East.

Once upon a time, we all learned, there was the Greek Empire with adepts like Pythagoras to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle spanning the 600 BCE to 300 BCE era.  In western civilization it is considered the golden age of civilization, the hub of civilization of the world.

 

What we were not taught was there were other civilizations and cultures equally important to the evolution of mankind but located in areas not so well known as the European-based Greek Empire.

The Persian empire under Cyrus the Great was one, and would become the world’s first great superpower equaling Greece and the world in the areas of the culture, religion, science, art and technology.

Cyrus completed the consolidation of the Persian empire in 550 BCE by uniting the sacred sites of Mesopotamia, Egypt’s Nile Valley and India’s Indus Valley.


The Persian empire threatened the very existence of the Greek way of life and would remain the greatest threat to the Greek empire from 550 BCE until 334 BCE when Alexander the Great invaded Persia.

It took three years of grueling warfare and three decisive battles before Alexander smashed the Persian army and captured the Persian empire including the legendary city of Babylon, finally unifying the Greek and Persian competitors.  Yet Alexander died from disease at age 33 and his empire rapidly fell apart.


Conquering the Arab territories

Over the ensuing years many peoples would try to conquer and control the Middle East, especially the Arabian and Persian centers.  This included the Egyptians, Hittites, Philistines, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Franks and British among others and though the geographic boundaries and empire loyalties changed constantly the same people remained throughout the centuries.

It was not until the twentieth century that geographic stability was realized when the British allowed many nations to choose independence and they did. 

Yet even independence did not bring peace and today war still rages in the Middle East, 2,600 years after the rise of the Persian empire.


Arab Facts

There are 400 million Arabs.
Twenty-two nations are in Arab League (1945).
Arabs speak Arabic also incorporated into Persian.

So why does Melchizedek believe the Crown Prince might just be the one to complete the efforts of so many others before him and finally bring peace, stability, and tolerance again to the holiest lands in the world?


About the Crown Prince

Born August 31, 1985, Mohammed bin Salman is the eldest child of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his third wife, Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan bin Hathleen al-Ajmi, the daughter of the head of a powerful Arabian tribe, known as the Al Ajman. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the son of Ibn Saud, the founder and the first king of Saudi Arabia. Salman bin Abdulaziz was the governor of Riyadh province for more than 50 years, until stepping down in 2011. During his tenure, he earned a reputation as an efficient, if harsh, administrator.

The Crown Prince and heir to the Saudi Family Monarchy and throne, comes from one of the richest families in the world.  No previous Arab or Persian leader had access to such astonishing wealth estimated at over $1.4 trillion.


He is young, appointed Crown Prince June 21, 2017 at the age of 32, about the same age Jesus was nearing the end of his ministry on earth.  At his age it is conceivable he could reign for many decades.  The health of his father makes it quite possible he could succeed to the throne in the very near future.

Educated in Saudi Arabia with a law degree, rare for Saudi wealthy, he is amazingly beloved by the youth of the Muslim world.  Having the faith and confidence of the younger generation for a monarch is a rare occurrence indeed in the volatile Middle East and future opportunities for youth are crucial to their support.


At the same time, he has opened the door to improved relations with the United States and Israel.


Muslim facts

There are 1.6 billion Muslims, most non-Arab.
90% of Muslims in the world are Sunni.
10% of Muslims are Shiite.
70% of Muslims live outside the Middle East.
Seven million Muslims live in America.
Sunni in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Shiite in Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq.


Islam and the Muslim world

As the birthplace of Islam and holiest of holy sites, Saudi Arabia is the dominant nation for Sunni Muslims which make up 90% of the worldwide Muslim population.  The war-weary Middle East has dreamed of peace for 2,600 years and the Crown Prince has a real opportunity to complete the dreams of Saladin, Cyrus and others.


When Muhammad, the founder and prophet of Islam was alive (around 600 A.D.), the Arabs were tolerant of all religions as Jews, Christians and Arabs coexisted peacefully.  Long before his time dating back to the Persian empire days (500 BCE) when Zoroaster was the inspiration for the main religion, it was the same, a peaceful coexistence between different religions although the Christian and Islam faiths did not appear until centuries later.


Even after the birth of Christianity and Islam, when the legendary Saladin recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem (1187 A.D.) for the Arab Kingdom, and negotiated a peace treaty with King Richard, Saladin still allowed the prisoners to leave with their belongings and sacred objects for worship.  Saladin was held in the highest prestige by friend and foe, even King Richard of England.


Islam Facts

Muslim believe in Islam.
Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD.
Muslims believe in One God.
Allah - the Creator, the One True God
All-powerful, invisible and unknowable.
They revere the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,
the last Prophet.
Muslims believe in all prophets before Muhammad.
and holy books brought by prophets
Psalms, the Torah, and the Gospel.
Believe in Day of Judgement, Angels and Predestination.


Accomplishments by Crown Prince

The Crown Prince is in a great position to use the power of the Saudi monarchy to bring peace between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and bring peace in the entire Middle East thanks to his relationship with the US and Israel.



To show his future vision for the Middle East, in April 2016, Prince Mohammed introduced Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's vision of the future, which is aimed at making the kingdom the heart of the Arab and Islamic world, an investment powerhouse, and a hub that connects three continents.



The reformative initiative seeks to diversify and privatize the economy, and to make it less reliant on oil. By 2030, the initiative also aims to establish an e-government system.  He also announced a $500 billion plan to create a business and industrial zone extending across its borders into Jordan and Egypt which will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, and will power itself solely with wind power and solar energy.



The Crown Prince has set in motion the potential for a revival of the incredible Arabian and Persian golden age when the world came to the Middle East to share in the culture, religion, science, art and technology at education centers throughout the land.


That is only the beginning.  He has also called for more entertainment options in the kingdom for both families and youth.

The cabinet passed regulations to reduce the power of the religious police.

An entertainment authority was established in May 2016.

In his attempt to override tradition, he also engaged younger Saudi Muslim scholars who are active on social media and better known among Saudi youth, as opposed to the kingdom's council of senior scholars who set official religious policy and often release religious opinions.



In December 2017, he lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas.

The monarchy ends the world's only ban on female drivers by announcing in September 2017 that they will be able to take the wheel from June 2018.




The decision is part of a vast modernization plan for the country inspired by the prince as he looks to bolster foreign investment.

Last year it was reported that Israel's Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz had invited the Crown Prince to visit Israel and recommended that peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel happen under the kingdom's auspices.



The new crown prince is also driving a far more aggressive foreign policy to counter the influence of their regional rival, Iran.

Prince Mohammed says in March 2018 that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, Riyadh will do so too.

In an interview with CBS television, he likens the territorial ambitions of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to those of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.


Riyadh holds deep reservations over the 2015 accord aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions and hails President Donald Trump's announcement in May 2018 that the United States is withdrawing from the deal.

In March 2018 the prince embarks on his first foreign tour as heir, visiting Egypt and Britain -- where he lunches with Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Mohammed then spends two weeks in the US, meeting Trump and other political and economic leaders. He also goes to France and Spain.



Last fall, the 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced plans to modernize Saudi Arabia and return the restrictive Muslim country to “what we were before: a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world.” 

Make no mistake, there will be setbacks along the way as a biased media will continue to look for weakness and mistakes in the efforts of the Crown Prince.  The recent death of Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known journalist and critic of the Saudi government is the latest example.

When Turkey accused the Crown Prince of involvement in the murder, it was vehemently denied by the Crown Prince and Royal family.  Yet Turkey, a bitter enemy of the Saudi’s since the time of the ancient empires up through the Ottoman Empire in World War I, fed the liberal press a stream of damning charges against the Saudi’s.

Of course, the press did not discuss the cultural differences between the Muslim Sunni nation and the US system of democracy, nor the fact that China, Russia, and even present-day Turkey all had far worse records in killing citizens and human rights violations than Saudi Arabia.


Only God can pass judgement on what happened, and the same God offers redemption and salvation to all souls.  If there is a chance the Crown Prince can achieve what destiny has to offer him, then the good he does for the world will far eclipse what it took to get there.   

In the end, the strength of Saudi Arabia, the fierce independence of the Arabian, Arab, Persian and Muslim residents, and the sacred sites and Holy Lands they occupy will be available to all people and religions of the world.  They will be the envy of many nations, and after 2,600 years of war they will finally take their rightful place as a leader at the table for the future of all mankind.


Melchizedek believes Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince are up to the challenge and the world can only benefit if they are given the chance to lead.


Who are Muslims?

Muslims submit to the Will of God

Under Islam what is the Muslim character?

A Muslim is truthful, not dishonest

He is humble, not arrogant

He is moderate, not an extremist

He is honest, not corrupt

He is reserved, not garrulous

He is soft-spoken, not boastful

He is loving and solicitous to others, not unmindful of them

He is considerate and compassionate, not harsh

He is polite and helpful, not insulting and disrespectful to people

He is generous and charitable, not selfish and miserly

He is refined and gentle in speech, not prone to swearing or cursing

He is cheerful and generous, not bitter and resentful

He is grateful for what he has, not ungrateful

He is cheerful and pleasant, not irritable and gloomy

He is chaste and pure, not lustful

He is alert, not absent-minded

He is dignified and decent, not graceless

He is sincere and straightforward, not hypocritical

He is optimistic and hopeful, not cynical or pessimistic

He is confident and deep in faith, not doubtful and wavering

He is spiritually oriented, not materialistic

He always has faith in God’s mercy, not losing heart or becoming desperate

He is diligent and vigilant, not negligent to his duties

He is thankful to God and constantly prays to Him, not forgetful of His innumerable blessings

Saturday, January 26, 2019

The Roots of Country Music in America - Appalachia to Nashville


Most people probably have little understanding of the roots of country music in America because it has always been taken for granted that country is one of the core genres we have always had around. It is known as the heartbeat and soul of America and been around about as long as the Europeans have been here.

John Denver's Country Roads played around the world!



Over the years we may have heard country music we liked, some even crossed over to pop and rock charts, and many stars in other genres either started as country music singers or became famous and then cut a country song or album. But do we really know from whence it came?


When English speaking America was first being colonized in the 1600's the coastal areas were settled first, Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland, all by 1634 and it did not take long for the European immigrants to make their way to the Appalachian Mountains, the Southern Appalachians that is, which included the Blue Ridge Mountain range and Cumberland Plateau. Western Virginia and Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee territories along with pieces of the Carolinas and Georgia made up the region which served as a barrier to westward expansion.

Immigrants came to the area because the coastal regions were already populated and with them came the Old World musical instruments were brought together in barn dances and celebrations by these hardy people settling the region. This was in the days before electricity, before electric guitars and synthesizers


The Irish fiddle, German dulcimer, Italian mandolin, Spanish guitar and African banjo were brought to these celebrations and played together in hillbilly jam sessions far from the operas and symphonies of the cities on the east coast. This came to be known as "Old Time" music.

In the 19th century some immigrant groups moved to the Texas area to settle and further integrated the hillbilly sound with Spanish, Mexican and Native American music and large dance halls were built where the locals could gather and dance to the sounds. This was the final step in the evolution of the roots of Country Music.

Then came the 20th century with cars and roads and radio which brought down the barriers of communication and people from throughout the nation could hear this unique American creation. The first country recording was in 1921 and throughout the 1920's as radio expanded so did the country music.


Country musicians were great innovators ever since mixing the instruments from five counties up in the Appalachians and electricity, recording and touring gave them more and more opportunities to do this. Hillbilly music grew in popularity driven by the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers and in 1925 WSM-AM radio in Nashville started the first country music broadcast, on November 28, 1925, when the WSM Barn Dance was first broadcast. In time it would become the Grand Ole Opry under the guidance of people like Roy Acuff.

By the 1930's and Great Depression people were poor and the radio became the primary source of news and entertainment. Soon a fledgling movie industry introduced the Singing cowboys while radio was expanding the barn dances with legendary country shows being broadcast from Chicago to Texas to California. In the 1940's these shows introduced singers like Roy Acuff, Bill Haley, Eddie Arnold and singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.


Bob Wills and his legendary Texas Playboys was among the innovators of country music when in 1935 he introduced drums to the band, a first, then became the first group with the electric guitar in 1938. Yet it was not until the early 1960's that the steel guitar and drums were fixtures in country bands.

Hillbilly music spawned Hillbilly Boogie by 1939 and a new country genre called Bluegrass emerged with the sound of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs at the end World War II. By this time country music included Hillbilly, Boogie, Blues, Honky Tonk, Gospel and Rockabilly.


To the rest of the world country music was called Hillbilly until 1944 when the name was changed to Folk and Blues music. By 1949 it was labeled Country or Country Western, the latter referring to the singing cowboys of movies and then television. Honky Tonk saw the rise of Ernest Tubb, Floyd Tillman, the Maddox Brothers and Rose, Lefty Frizell and Hank Williams.


Along came the 1950's and country music changed again as Rockabilly dominated with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins leading the way. From 1955-1960 ABC-TV became the first network with a nationwide country show called the Ozark Jubilee that showcased country stars to the nation. Elvis helped drive the cross-over between Rockabilly and Rock 'n Roll.



Late in the '50's came the Lubbock Sound of Buddy Holly and then there was a country backlash as the industry felt rock 'n roll was to dominate. Ray Price, Marty Robbins and Johnny Horton began to shift the music back to traditional country.


In the early 1960's the Nashville sound became dominant with producers like Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley and Billy Sherrill reviving the genre with legendary singers Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold.

Patsy Cline – Crazy - (Written by Willie Nelson)



Ray Charles introduced Country Soul in 1962 with his release of I Can't Stop Loving You. A new sound in Nashville called Countrypolitan was created featuring the sounds of Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich. But soon the Nashville sound became stale.

Out west Honky Tonk and Western Swing were merged by Bob Wills and Lefty Frizell to form the Bakersfield Sound. It would encompass the diversity of different styles from Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins and Wynn Stewart.



In other places like Lubbock, Tulsa and Austin the disappointment with the Nashville Sound and control of the record labels was causing an Outlaw movement. Inspired by the success of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones in demanding creative control of their music and control of their songs, the Outlaws gravitated to Austin where Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson became the leaders.

Not only did their music change but their image as well. Gone were the clean cut, clean shaven cowboys of old and in were the long haired radical Outlaws of the future. Jessie Colter, wife of Waylon, was one of the female pioneers while Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard soon joined forces.

With The Beatles astounding success blending rock and pop music Nashville was hungry to tap into the crossover sound needed to reach the mainstream markets. Others, seeking a return to the "old values" of rock 'n roll, created a new genre called Country Rock.



The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Poco, Buffalo Springfield and Eagles exploded onto the music scene as Southern Rock and Heartland became new subgenre spin offs. Ever since there has been a tug of war between traditional country and country rock or country pop as stars like Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Juice Newton, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakum, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and Keith Urban helped move country towards rock over the years.



By the mid 1970's Olivia Newton John and John Denver captured the Country Pop crossover market and powered their way to CMA and Grammy Awards with multi million selling hits. Soon a whole new group of country performers would take up the mantle.



George Straight, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Tim McGraw among others perform the Classic Country style today while the pop crossover comes from new artists like Carrie Underwood from American Idol fame and newest sensation Taylor Swift who have breathed new life into the country music industry.



What is next? Who knows. Still, those who understand that country music is an ever-changing genre that morphs into a variety of styles depending on the needs of the people and the innovation of the artists, must feel good as a broad range of artists currently dominate the radio airwaves and rule the concert circuit.


Alan Jackson - Remember When (Official Music Video)


As the major record labels collapse, the radio stations strangle on their own automated programming and the formula music once again becomes stale we know it is the time when country music always rediscovers itself. Nashville will be a lot better as a result, all country artists will benefit, the public will reap the rewards of new and innovative country music and history will once again record that the American country sound once again became relevant in a time of need and a time of truth.
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