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Correction of errors on this web site
Errors found during 2005
Sponsored link.
2005-JANUARY:
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None found by us or reported by others. We enter the year with about
2,700 essays and menus online. |
2005-FEBRUARY:
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In our essay "Christian seasonal days of
celebration" we mentioned that Advent lasts about 40 days. Actually,
it begins on Advent Sunday which is the Sunday closest to NOV-30, and
lasts until Christmas. It can thus be only about 24 days in length. |
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In our essay "about homophobia" we have a chart which compares
very conservative and very liberal viewpoints on the nature of
homosexuality. It suggested that conservatives believe that some young
people are "recruited" into homosexuality. Actually, "molested" is a more
accurate term here. Many conservatives consider homosexual feelings as well
as acts to be sinful. Also, conservatives are not generally opposed to
homosexuals having certain human rights -- such as the right to vote, own
property, attend school, etc. Their opposition is more in the area of
recognizing same-sex relationships. We modified the chart accordingly. |
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Our essay on homosexual milestones in the media
for the year 2000 until now incorrectly reported the development that
two teenage characters on the Desperate Housewives TV show were revealed to
be gay. We mixed up the names. |
2005-MARCH:
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In our essay on the causes of homosexuality,
we quoted Archbishop Desmond Tutu's comment that "Someone has said that if this sexual orientation were indeed a matter of personal
choice, the homosexual persons must be the craziest coots around to choose a way of life
that exposes them to so much hostility, discrimination, loss, and suffering."
Unfortunately, we used the wrong first name for Archbishop Tutu; we called
him by the name of a famous boxer. |
2005-APRIL:
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A visitor to our web site, who has far more knowledge of statistics than
any of our group, pointed out that our calculation of margin of error in
a study of assessing God's will is invalid. This
study evaluated the beliefs of about 85 self-selected visitors to our web
site, who attempted to use prayer to assess God's will on same-sex marriage
(SSM). Although they entered the study with a variety of beliefs on SSM,
they all found that God agreed with their assessment. We should not have
calculated a margin of error in this study
because the subjects were self-selected, and not picked at random.
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In our essay "End of the world predictions:
Secular predictions vs Christian Prophecy" we incorrectly listed the
data of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple as 30 CE. It was really 70
CE. 30 was the approximate date of Jesus' execution by the Roman occupying army
-- give or take a few years. |
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In our essay on the Burning Times, there was
a reference to Thomas of Brabant having written a book called Formicarius.
This is apparently an error. He is quoted in many information sources as the
author. However, the actual writer appears to have been Johannes (John)
Nider. |
2005-MAY:
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In our essay "Names of the Holy Land," we
incorrectly translated Eretz Israeal as "greater Israel." It should
have been translated "Land of Israel." |
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In our essay on the religion of Santeria, we
incorrectly defined Macumba as a synonym for Santeria. In fact, it is a
separate religion which is popular in Brazil. Both Macumba and Santeria have
their roots in West African Aboriginal religions. However, they evolved
separately. |
2005-AUG:
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Our essay on "The Gospel of Q," describe the
common liberal Christian belief that the authors of the gospels of Matthew
and Luke had copied material from the Gospel of Q. Our essay had implied
that this would conflict with the conservative Christian belief in the
inerrancy of the Bible. Not so. The concept of
inerrancy simply means that the autograph copies of the books of the Bible
are without error. It would not matter one iota where the material came
from. The belief in inerrancy implies that the Holy Spirit would have
prevented any invalid material from entering the canonic gospels. |
2005-SEP:
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Our essay on the debate in Redlands CA over the
separation of church and state referred to the object of the conflict as
the city seal. It is often referred to as a seal. For example a group who
wishes to retain the Christian cross in the symbol goes by the
name "Committee to save
Redlands' Seal." However, it is really a logo, not a seal. |
2005-OCT:
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Our essay on the definition of the word "Christian,"
as used by Roman Catholics, was in error concerning its description of
Purgatory. It said that people suffer the pains
of Purgatory until they are cleansed of their sin. Actually, it is only the
temporal consequences of their sin for which people experience the anguish
of Purgatory. |
2005-NOV:
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On this web
site, we had originally interpreted the term "Abramic
religions" to include only
Judaism,
Christianity,
Islam.
This is a commonly used definition. However, Wikipedia states: "What
constitutes an Abrahamic religion can be controversial, as this is not a
standardized classification, and the terminology is often used to imply
continuity between divergent faiths, in a way that is offensive to some
adherents of those faiths." 5
Sometimes, authors include additional faith groups such as the
Baha'is,
Druze, Falashas,
Karaits, Mandaeans, Rastafarians, Samaritans, etc. We tracked down the 43
essays and menus where we had used the term and reworked the text to make it
more inclusive. |
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We described a seasonal celebration called
"Satanic revels" which were alleged to be observed by members of the
Church of Satan. It appears that these have no grounding in reality, even
though they are widely believed to exist. |
2005-DEC:
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In our essay on the history of the Christmas
Tree, we had written that ancient Roman Pagans cut down evergreens,
brought them into their homes and decorated them. It seems that this is a
common but incorrect belief found throughout the literature and Internet. In
reality, Pagans only cut boughs and decorated them. To kill a tree would
have been disrespectful of nature. |
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A second error crept in to the same essay. It referred to the Druids
decorating trees in honor of their God Woden. In reality, it was the
Germanic people, not the Druids. |
Reference used:
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"Abrahamic religion,"
Wikipedia, at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/
Latest update: 2007-MAY-26
Author: B.A. Robinson 
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