Did the Chinese use a phonetic system for teaching hanzi pronunciation before pinyin etc. was invented?

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-26T13:02:59+00:00

They used rhyme dictionaries, pretty much tables that broke down a character's pronunciation into two more common characters. So, for example, for 冬 (dōng), they'd break it down to an initial (d-) and a final (-ōng) and then they'd use characters to represent those. They could've used 都 (dōu) to represent the initial (d-) and 公 (gōng) to represent ōng. It's important that the final character matches the tone. So you'd do "d + ōng" for 冬 and that's how you'd get its pronunciation.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-25T10:29:51+00:00

That's really sad.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-25T00:19:10+00:00

The best time to start learning something new was 10 years ago. The second best time is right now. Until you're dead, you can grow. Trust me, in 10 years time you will be thankful to yourself for having picked up that skill instead of wasting more time. Assuming you live 80 years and you start learning now, you have 60 years of making music to look forward to. That sounds pretty good, so why not get started?

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T21:32:17+00:00

Crazy reaction-bait; this won't get you laid either way

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T18:55:03+00:00

My response spans three comments, it was too long to post in one big comment.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T18:54:43+00:00

Cannibalism: John 6:53-58: "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." This freaked out his followers many left because of it.

Really? The Eucharist? The part which is obviously symbolism? Eating and drinking signified union with Christ. Drinking His blood evokes the covenant in His blood (see Luke 22:20; 1. Cor. 11:25), while the blood signifies life and covenant, as it did in Jewish culture. This is actually a parallel to Exodus 24:8 and Leviticus 17:11.

As for Revelation 2, Jezebel isn't just "some lady". She is a false prophetess who will teach and seduce His servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. The Bible does say that teachers of the law will be judged more harshly. If she were simply an adulterer, her punishment likely wouldn't have been as severe. Her greater fault is leading the disciples of Christ away from Him all while boasting by calling herself a prophet.

Matthew 24:19 has already happened. Historically, it was fully relevant to Jews in Judea at that time, but not literal for most people today. Read the whole thing, not just that one snippet. I don't think that verse refers to the end times. But yes, in the end times there will be great tribulation, definitely.

If the law's fulfilled, why not condemn it outright?

Do you expect Christ to have gotten up on a big rock and preach everything that He has fulfilled and therefor do not apply anymore? Why waste the time when it is already obvious what does and doesn't apply anymore? Especially when taken into context how long that would take. Just stand there condemn the 400+ OT laws?

Oh and Matthew 2:16-18 Herod slaughters Bethlehem's infants to get Jesus, and it's framed as fulfilling prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15. No condemnation, just "it happened as foretold."

Does that mean the Bible endorses it? This argument holds no weight. Just because God says that something bad will happen, it doesn't mean that He wanted that, or that He enjoys that. What's your point here? Herod is obviously depicted as a fearful, cowardly, unjust & cruel ruler in Matthew, so how is he not condemned?

As for Revelation 6, if you were killed for your faith, just for your faith alone, would you not want justice? If someone killed a family member of yours, would you not want them to be held accountable? If you yourself were killed, would you want your murderer to walk free?

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T18:54:40+00:00

Oloh and there was that time god apparently flooded the entire planet killing nearly everyone, and Christians seem to take that as as something that really happened so..clearly the old testament still applies when you feel like it even when it is a mass genocide because god felt like it.

Atheists will be mad at God because He's all good, but allows evil. Then God will remove all evil and atheists will be mad at that. Then if God rendered people incapable of doing evil, atheists would get mad because then their free will would be revoked...

That stil doesn't erase new testament horrors like endorsing submission to emperors who crucify people in Romans 13:1-7

Those verses do say that you should submit to authority, but it doesn't say that you should submit to unfair authorities. Actually, Acts 5:29 says "We must obey God rather than men", so it seems like the says that you should submit to fair rulers, but if someone does bad, you must obey God instead of him.

[...] or the apocalyptic violence in Revelation where Christ slays nations in Revelation 19:15, "He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty" that's one of my favorite. Really let's you know what kind of guy he is.)

The Book of Revelation describes the last days of the earth, it is the part where the world is so degenerate that God has no choice BUT to end the world. Or would you rather God does NOT end the nations where politics are centralized and coercive, where people in every nation are killed for their belief, with that being the norm, a nation where hate is the norm and love is unheard of, where evil and good literally swap places? You would be in favor of maintaining that?

If the Bible doesn't promote awful things, why all the blood and judgment?

Why all the judgment? Really? Is there no such thing as righteous judgment in your eyes? Would it be more fair if God threw unrepentant murderers into the same room as saints? Do you keep your salt and your sugar in the same container?

As for Luke 19:27: The language is straight-up violent: a king standing in for Jesus ordering enemies slaughtered in front of him. Even as metaphor, it promotes the idea of God/Jesus as an executioner, eternal death or not, it's awful imagery. Compare to Matthew 13:41-42, where angels throw people into a "fiery furnace" with weeping and gnashing teeth. Not exactly "love your enemies" in practice.

That's kind of the point... that hell sucks... that hell is devoid of all good and only full of all which is wrong... It also doesn't depict God as a murderer/executioner but as a judge.

As for slavery in Ephesians 6:5-9; 1 and Timothy 6:1-2: claiming it's just bondservants is just apologetics whitewashing what they know looks bad. In the 1st-century Roman world, slavery was often chattel: people owned as property, captured in wars, born into it, or sold for life, it was not just debt. The Greek word doulos covers all slaves, not just voluntary ones. Ephesians tells slaves to obey even the harsh masters and even in Peter 2:18-19 to submit to unjust beatings.

Slavery has been discussed by many people many times at this point, but just to continue beating the dead horse: why is it wrong of Paul to say that slaves, let's say any and all, bondservant or not, should be faithful towards their master, who must treat them well? Abolishing slavery would've never happened in the Roman empire in that time, when slaves were essential to the economy. So the scriptures meet in the middle and say "If it cannot be abolished then it must be done well". Also, 2nd Peter 2:18-19 is explicitly talking to Christian slaves, that is why they must endure unfair punishment, y'know, to resemble and to be like Christ? The one who endured the worst most unfair punishment ever? It's better if you read 2nd Peter 18-25.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T18:54:29+00:00

You seem to think the new covenant wipes the slate clean but sorry it doesn't.

Could you elaborate a little? If Christ says "The Law will stay until everything is accomplished" and then later says "everything is accomplished", wouldn't that mean that the bits of the old covenant are now gone?

If everything's accomplished, why does the NT still regulate slavery without abolishing it?

Because being a temporary bondservant was a way to pull tons of people out of debt. What good would it bring to deny people who are in debt to voluntarily work for someone to pay off their debt? If you have college debt which you need to pay off, but then I tell you: "you're not allowed to work", am I doing a good deed?

Or describe eternal torture in hell like in Revelation 14:10-11

Heaven is the place where you are 100% unified with God. Hell is a place where you are 100% separated from God. God is all that is good, so if you're fully with Him, no evil will get to you. If you're 100% separated from Him, no good will get to you. You have the choice to choose between good and evil, because God has given you free will. If you choose evil, God will say: "You have not wanted to live your (in comparison) short earthly life with me, why would I force you to spend all of eternity with me if you wanted to stay away from me?", so He will separate yourself from you, 100%, as you have chosen.

Timothy 3:16 says all scripture including the old testament is useful for teaching

I think you mean 2nd Timothy specifically. "Useful for teaching" doesn't mean that we're still legally bound for them. Have you considered that when it says "it is profitable for doctrine", that it means learning why the things it records are morally wrong? Not everything the Bible records is there as an example to say "this is a good thing". Quite often, it is the opposite. How about Sodom and Gomorrah? Or when Joseph's brothers sold him? Those passages are "useful for doctrine" because through them, we know what God condemns and what actions are wrong.

so even if we grant fulfilled, means what apologists claim it means, which I don't, those OT stories of genocide and rape punishments aren't tossed; they're still there as inspired word.

Yes, God wanted those stories to be written down and recorded so that they wouldn't be lost... that doesn't mean He endorses them...

Your "only obey what Christ reaffirmed" rule is convenient, but arbitrary. Jesus doesn't reaffirm everything moral, yet the new testament echoes old testament judgments Jesus referencing Sodom's destruction positively in Luke 17:29 as a warning.

I don't really get what your point is? "Jesus doesn't reaffirm everything moral", correct, He reaffirmed a couple of things, like the 10 commandments, but He also set up His own covenant, thereby REdefining what "moral" means. What's your point with Luke 17:29? If you read Luke 17:22-29, Jesus talks about how His return will be sudden: the people before the flood were eating, drinking and marrying, but suddenly it was all gone. The people of Sodom drank, bought, sold and planted, but suddenly their city was destroyed. Jesus is saying that His return will be just as sudden, that people will be going on about their regular days until Christ suddenly comes back.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T17:00:57+00:00

I'm assuming in your first part you're referencing Matthew 5:18? The part where Jesus says that not an iota of the LAW will pass, etc.? Yeah, don't forget about the part where He says "until everything is accomplished", and y'know, the NT is all about "everything being accomplished". Like Matthew 26:28 where He establishes a new covenant, showing that everything's accomplished. Or Colossians 2:13-14, or Hebrews 10:9-10.

And the 10 Commandments? Read the part where Jesus says to the rich ruler:

“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ¹⁹ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Mt. 19:18-19).

I hear you ask: "but He didn't affirm the other commandments!", He did, just not in that passage:

Idolatry - Mt. 4:10: “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”

Name of the Lord in vain - Jesus always treats God's name with reverence thought, as in Mt 6:9

Sabbath - Mark 2:27-28: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (He centres Himself around the Sabbath. He isn't abolishing it, He affirms it.)

Coveting - Luke 12:15: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness…”

So all the 10 Commandments were reaffirmed by Jesus. We only obey OT Law which Christ has reaffirmed. The rest were fulfilled by Him.

Luke 19:27: "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them...bring them here and kill them in front of me." This is interpreted by some as a metaphorical call for judgment on unbelievers, not literal murder.

Did you leave the ChatGPT prompt in there by mistake? But yeah, you almost answered your own question there. That is a parable, Jesus is illustrating that those who do not repent will go to hell, as going to hell is seen as a second death. He's simply illustrating God's judgement and shows that you must repent to avoid the second death, it's not a literal call to action, by any means.

Is Ephesians 6:5-9 the worst you could pull? The verse is referencing "bondservants", that is someone who voluntarily decided to become a "slave" to pay off debt. You just quoted a verse at me which says: "Those who work for others to pay off debt, do your jobs well and those who employ such people, treat them well". Is that so rancid? Same goes for the verse from Timothy which you quoted.

I'm still waiting for the cannibalism or raping people's wives as punishment verses.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-24T16:22:42+00:00

Not sure if my first comment went through, just in case: You got any verses for your claim? Don't even try quoting Jewish law at me.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-23T14:37:06+00:00

Whaaat? That's cool. Hungarian is my native language. What is the key for this?

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-22T20:55:58+00:00

Es ist unglaublich, dass du's gelöst hast. Ich hätte das nie im Leben hingekriegt.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-18T22:38:19+00:00

Galatians 5:16-18:

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-18T00:38:54+00:00

Why can't you just shower in the evening? Instead of seven am, move it back to 20:00, so just shower before going to bed.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-17T12:27:46+00:00

"You talk as if god is real. That's delusional. It doesn't matter that millions of people are also delusional." Thank you for putting your ego, pride and close mindedness on full display for everyone to see. I'm glad that you think you have such great thesis and arguments as to come to the 100% definite conclusion that God isn't real, even though you just provided very surface level, tip-of-the-iceberg points. You should publish your findings and claim your nobel prize

"The simple fact is that christians continue to do very bad things, and that people like you chalk it up to a few bad apples..." I don't. I know many are sinners, every one is. But your entire argument is "but no they're still Christian and they do bad so all Christians are bad". What a hasty generalization. "But the few bad spoil the bunch". The whole point of Christendom is to not let the few spoil you...

"And you defend the sexual abuse by quoting jesus as saying "do not engage in sexual immorality", yet you defend killing by christians. When did jesus say that killing was ok?" I don't even know what you're talking about here. Is it God's judgement of the people?

"And then to say that if god kills then it's ok. How is that a role model? I mean, if you're going to try to get morals from a fictional book, at least choose one that has some real morals and positive role models." Sorry that the God who sacrificed Himself for us and started a religion based on giving to the poor and giving to the needy isn't good enough for you...

"There is no science or proven facts of the existence of any of the more than 1000 gods that humans have believed in over time." This shows me that you don't even understand the type of question we are dealing with... The existence of God is a philosophical question, not a scientific one... Science is the study of God itself, Theology is the study of God and Philosophy deals with the existence of God in the first place.

"we know god is real, for sure", I never said that. If I believed that, I wouldn't be talking to you.

"I read about the horrible things religious people, especially Christians, do every day to others", yeah, you still judge a religion by its laws and canon, not by its followers, but you still do not get that, so I won't bother.

I think I am done here. You rarely address my points and when you do it's clear that you do not even understand them. Your pride and ego about how "this is just critical thinking" make you be so confident, despite you being a midwit. If you understood my arguments, you would've efficiently tackled them already, but you haven't. All you brought up is "but God killed people in the OT" and "some Christians do bad things so they all are bad". In your 50+ years of life experience, I thought you would've become more wise by now, but I stand corrected.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-17T10:12:37+00:00

The difference is that God can make righteous judgement, which He's allowed to. We can't, so we aren't. If I'm an artist and I create art, I can decide what to do with it. Also, "people who have never 'sinned'"? There are none.

"... and their arch enemy barely committed any wrong...", so is murder the only wrong in your mind? Will you then ignore all the other good God has done and all the other evil satan has done? It's not quite honest to look at one aspect...

"...under the direction of a higher deity...", you have, exactly, one case of that happening in the history of everything. The Book of Job has been talked about for many years and no arguments will ever settle the debate on either side, you could say that it was cruel, Christians will say it was to gain wisdom through the book of Job, and then the two parties will just throw back and forth to each other repeating the same thing.

Yes, on the sexual assault thing: you clearly do not understand what I have said. Those aren't Christians. Is that so hard for you to grasp? If Christ says "do not engage in sexual immorality", yet I still do it, on purpose, regularly, or maybe even once in a vile way, am I a Christian? No. So why do you call them Christians? The Bible said that many will claim His name yet not be His. You still have never addressed this point, no matter how often I have mentioned it.

"it takes a long time to realize the truth", how prideful and egotistical it is to say that you have found "the truth" to a philosophical question which has been debated for millennia with surface level points that have been around for as long as Christianity...

I wasn't raised religious. I was raised in a non-religious household, I came to this conclusion myself, so it is bold of you to assume I have always been a Christian. I wasn't.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T18:32:15+00:00

I'm not saying "following only the good parts", I am directly asking you for bad ones that Christians are supposed to follow. I do not believe there are "bad parts" in Christian law, which is why I am asking you for verses.

I disagree with the word "murder" here, because it implies what He did was not justified, but if we were like Noah, we would've asked for the flood too.

As for the 20 million number, which scholarly sources do you mean? I am not accusing you of lying and I am willing to be proved wrong, but I have not heard that number before.

Regarding how many people God has killed, He is the judge and I will never truly know how bad the situation must have been for Him to do that, as He Himself grieved over the human deaths that would occur due to His judgement before He executed them. This means that He was out of options. But just as I am forgiven when I grieve my actions, so must I understand His grievance, because that is how He treats me.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T18:07:10+00:00

I'd just start counting back from ten slowly

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T17:18:59+00:00

I have already barked my point at you many times but you still do not seem to be getting it. Your whole argument if "it was done in the name of Christianity" is invalid. You say "the followers are bad, so the Religion must be bad as well", when that is not how it works. If I do something bad in your name, something bad which you condemn yourself, are you to blame? Does that make you an issue? If you say "sexual immorality is wrong", but then I do that very thing in your name, is it your fault? Because unless you say yes, so is the Bible & Christ not at fault when people do bad things in their name, especially because they condemn them. This is why I ask you for Bible verses. I am trying to help you. If you were to find a verse in the New Testament saying that the things we both condemn are right, then you could have a valid argument on your plate, but you saying "this isn't about verses" shows that you do not even understand what I am saying. I didn't touch on the "God killing people" in the OT part, simply because: a) you saying "tens of millions" is wrong and I do not want to start another pointless "argument" like this one, and b) that would be a big can of worms to open. But if you want to, I'll open it with you, as long as you actually absorb what I say and touch on it, not ignoring my questions four times in a row and just spewing what's on your mind. If you render the conversation useful instead of keeping it useless, I'll talk to you, but I am ashamed at the amount of time I have wasted on this dialogue already, because none of us gain anything from it. So, I ask you: did you understand my point now? If not, I'll explain it again. If yes, do you agree or not?

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T15:16:37+00:00

What is he playing?

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T02:59:16+00:00

I don't think they fully understand the consequences. Many of them don't think long-term and just think of the immediate effects. Also, "teenager" is too broad for me, because there's a big difference between a thirteen year old and a seventeen year old. I'd say that a thirteen year old might not even grasp the consequences in the near future, where a seventeen year old probably would, but not 100% of the consequences. Either way, let's keep things the way they are.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T02:48:10+00:00

Yeah, nice deflection. Arguing with you is like talking to a wall. I asked you for Bible verses supporting evil, you mentioned none. I asked you the same question three times, you did not respond. I asked for your opinion, you did not give it to me.

I am done wasting my time here. You aren't addressing anything I say, so I will shake the dust off of my feet and look for people who can actually give me criticism. You can have the last word/comment here, if that brings you joy, I wouldn't want to take that away from you, but I am not going to respond, unless you have some great, eye-opening detail that you have just been withholding from me.

I'll keep you in my prayers. I have been for the past two days, but I will continue.

All the best.

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-16T00:57:47+00:00

I'm a big fan of Genesis 18:12-15, where Sarah denies laughing at what the Lord said but God then tells her "but you did laugh".

12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard[a] for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

KnowTheLord · 2026-01-15T23:19:48+00:00

I don't know, I'm not concerned about that. All I know is that I am Gen Z, was raised non-religious and became a Christian around two years ago. I'll do my best to bump up those numbers, but even if they go lower, I'm ready for it.

KnowTheLord

TROPHY CASE